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tagged by lovely @lovelymasks
I was thinking what to post since a lot of my stuff rn is for fests that shouldnât be out yet, butâŚ
Heâd be lying to everyone but most of all to himself if he said his whole body wasnât screaming for it. Months and months since they did the deed for the very first timeâduring that unexpected desperate heat.Â
âSo, when will it happen?â Marlene threw herself onto the sofa after handing yet another frozen margarita to both Dorcas and Remus, immediately propping her feet onto the coffee table in front of her.Â
Dorcas tuts with a sigh, nudging her side. âMarly, let go.âÂ
Remus sips on his new drink, silent.Â
âWe havenât really talked about it,â he mumbles and at the periphery of his vision he can see Marleneâs pursed lips and Dorcasâ worried crease between her brows.Â
âYou gotta give it a rest. Itâs not like they have promised anything. They are together. Together. Iâm lucky to even be included.â His tone is defensive, and Remus hates it.Â
Marlene huffs and when Remus looks at her, she is gnawing at the straw in her drink, jaw clenched. Dorcas is squeezing her hand.Â
âIâm not yourâŚâ Remus starts but never finishes his sentence, not knowing what to say really. Your child. Your project. He just looks down at his drink now cradled in his lap. The damp surface of the icy glass is making his fingers all wet as he nervously strokes up and down with them over it. The history would suggest otherwise.Â
âWhat?â she snaps at him, but more than anything else, when he looks up to protest, thereâs love staring at him from her bright, blue eyes. Everything inside Remus softens all at once. Thereâs no need to be like this with his two best friends.
âWe just worry about you, Remus,â Dorcas finally speaks up. Her voice is gentle, somehow persuasive, but thereâs no need to convince him of their good intentions. Dorcas and Marlene have always been two people he knows he can count on, people who look out for him no matter what. Itâs them who he owes his encountering James and Sirius to after all. He owes his happiness to them. Had it not been for them pushingâŚÂ
Remusâ bites down at his lower lip harshly. âLook, Iâm happy.â Despite how long itâs been true, the words feel foreign in his mouth. Clumsy. Like a hot potato, burning his soft palate. Heâs hardly used to saying them aloud. Still, Remus goes on. âI truly am. Itâs beenâŚâ His mind wanders to his two alphas, two people who surely care for him like no one else in the whole wide world. Even after all this time, this status quo feels very much new. But Remus doesnât want to get used to it. After all those years in solitude it seems blasphemous to just accept that now he is a part of something. Something thatâs bigger and more comfortable than anything he has ever known.Â
And sure, there have been bumps in his unconventional relationship with Sirius and James, something to keep him on edge, Remus supposes. So he truly just canât stop making an effort now that he seems to have it all. But the more Remus thinks about those, it only seems more natural way to be. There are problems in two-people arrangements, itâs no wonder the three of them bicker about things from time to time. And so, in spite of feeling awkward saying it aloud, Remus is willing to admit to being happiest heâs ever been and just because he hasnât been formally claimed just yet, well thatâŚthat doesnât change a thing.
âItâs been months, Remus. And you must admit this thing between the three of you is a little⌠extraordinary, unusual. Marly and I really like Sirius and James, but youâre still our priority, and we donât want anyone taking advantage of you, you know?â
âThey donât!â Remusâ response comes out louder than he wishes for, but itâs a natural mechanism at play, just like he knows the two men would try to protect him, Remus canât help reacting this strongly where their honour is concerned. Still, itâs not like him, so he sticks the straw of his drink between his lips and loudly slurps it all up, cheeks burning in shame. Or frustration. Marleneâs brow arches half-amused, half-knowing.
Remus leans forward to set his empty glass on the coffee table, propping his elbows on his knees, head hunched between his shoulders. One of his hands shoots up to his neck, to the spot where he knows his mating gland is, and he rubs the wetness from his fingers in. Itâs cool, soothing. Remus closes his eyes momentarily and inhales quietly, shakily.
âThey would never do anything to hurt me, you know? They are good to me, Marlene. And it doesnât matter to me whether I get those bites or not.âÂ
Remus wishes it werenât an utter lie.Â
When Remus arrives home that night, new home that has very recently turned from his only to theirs, Sirius is already asleep, but James is sitting in the kitchen at a slightly battered, mid-century rectangular table with rounded edges that the three of them found at the flea market in Hackney a couple of months ago and that prompted their moving in together. The window behind him is open, letting in a soft breeze permeated with the beginning of summer. It brings all kinds of smells, flowers from a nearby park and rain thatâs about to fall and mixes it with the familiar raspberry. Itâs Remusâ favourite fruit now.
James looks up from the documents heâs been studying, pushing his glasses sliding down his nose up with his left ring finger. Itâs always left ring finger. Remus expects that by now. They smile at each other, the corners of Jamesâ eyes crinkling in the loveliest way. He lets himself fall against the backrest, tilting his face up when Remus comes closer and reaching for his waist to pull him into his side.Â
âHey, had a good night with the girls?â James asks quietly.
Remus nods, but before he has a chance to say anything James straightens up in his seat and taking Remusâ hand into his big one, he pulls him even closer and right between his legs, his knees falling apart to accommodate him.Â
James is too bloody perceptive. Or maybe itâs just Remusâ scent. They know each other scents like the back of their hand by now and thereâs no escaping, no getting away with the slightest bitterness in them.Â
âNothing,â Remus realises he sounds less than cogent.
James raises his brow, and Remus is immediately reminded of Marlene. âTalk to me.â Remus can only wish he were just like the two of them, with a propensity for talking through things rather than keeping them all in until they come out leaking through the cracks of his soul under the sheer pressure of their amount.Â
âWe just talked about different things that made me think,â eventually Remus decides to add to appease the man a little, itâs not like he wants to hide things from James, but this particular issue is hard to bring up. He rests the hand that isnât captured by Jamesâ onto his shoulder, then moves it up along his strong neck and into the dark mess of his hair. Remus brushes through. Thereâs more raspberry, and of course, spicy black pepper and vetiver swirling in the air. Itâs a good, calming mix, always have been; Remus wishes he could make it into a draught he could just sip onto any time he feels upset. Remusâ mind settles at once. âBut itâs really nothing.â He almost believes it as he keeps gazing into Jamesâ eyes.Â
This time James comments with nothing and instead moves to encircle his arms around Remusâ waist. âCâmere. He doesnât need to tell Remus twice. After a bit of shuffling, Remus is sitting in his lap astride, James nuzzling his neck with his nose, then letting Remus reciprocate. âShall we head to bed? Remus breathes in deeply and nods in agreement. Jamesâ hands are running up and down his back. âGood.â And then, âIâve got you.âÂ
âIs that okay?â Remus turns his head to the side, eyeing the documents on the table. âAm I not disturbing?â
âYouâre definitely not. Itâs past midnight. And itâs the agency stuff. Iâd much rather be engaged in activities other than work on Saturday night.â James hands slide down to Remusâ bottom and squeeze which draws a merrier laughter out of Remus.Â
âYeah, y-yeah, I can see that.â This is all it takes for Remus to forget all about what he talked about with Dorcas and Marlene less than an hour ago. How can this not be enough?Â
James looks up again and Remus takes the opportunity to cup his cheeks with both of his hands and pull him into a deep kiss. They both whimper a little as they separate for air. âMaybe we can wake the Sleeping Beauty up as well. Thatâs no way to spend the weekend either,â says James huskily and with the strong muscles straining a little, he gets up, Remus still in his arms, his legs wrapping around Jamesâ waist immediately, and just like that he walks them both into their bedroom.Â
Yes, how can this not be enough?Â
Low pressure tagging @thistlecatfics @autistic-draco-malfoy @ohyou-pretty-things @tealeavesandtrash @marlenemckinn