Title: Counting On It

Author: tarotgal

Fandom: Harry Potter, Marauder years

Rating: R

Pairing: Remus/Sirius

Warnings: sex and mushy talk (and an implied bit of that werewolves mate for life cliché)

Disclaimer: JKR owns these lads. No puppies were harmed in the writing of this puppy-love fic. And no writers were paid, either

Summary: A lazy afternoon, an allergy, and some affectionate puppies

Notes: This was written in July 2003, forgotten about, and then found in August 2004

Counting On It

     It was another lazy afternoon which should have seen them both in class and studying the books that were now strewn about the grass. They managed to slip away from the rest of their pack during the commotion a prank had caused at lunch. And instead of staying to see the startled reactions on everyone's faces when they found all the food tasted of chocolate, they made a break for it into the entry hall and through one of the secret passages that led out to the grounds behind the castle.

     There was a small patch of bushes that surrounded the greenhouses which they took shelter behind, putting them between the bushes and the Forbidden Forest, and putting a long stretch of grass, bushes, and two greenhouses between them and the castle. With this reliable cover, Padfoot had wasted no time at all in lifting up his robes and mounting Moony. And Moony, as always, found his face smashed into the ground to muffle his strangled yelps of pleasure.

     They lay together on their backs afterwards, panting like dogs in heat, as the early spring sun bore down upon them and their wrinkled robes. Remus gave a huff of frustration and rubbed his wrist at his nose. His nose wrinkled to match his robes and hair and half the pieces of parchment that had been in his bag. "uhhh...KUTChhhhhh!"

     Not minding in the least, Sirius wiped the light spray from his own face with his sleeve. "Eight."

     Remus coughed from the congestion. "Eight what?" he asked, narrowing his amber eyes in confusion.

     Light, bubbly laughter burst from Sirius. "Eight sneezes, of course!" Sirius turned, his head resting on Remus' stomach. "What did you think I meant?" He looked over at Remus, still laughing. He reached a hand out and walked his fingers up Remus' chest, getting closer and closer with every word he uttered. "You cute... sneezy... little..."

     Remus grabbed his hand at the wrist and held on to it tightly. "You're making fun of this bloody allergy of mine?"

     Sirius nodded playfully, sticking out his tongue and licking at Remus' stomach. "Why not? It's amusing as hell. Every time we make love, we lie here afterwards and you sneeze that adorable scruffy head of yours off. If I didn't know any better..."

     Remus chuckled and cupped his hand over his nose this time. "uhhh-KUHchooo! KITChuhhh!"

     "Nine and ten," Sirius counted. He pulled his hand back and used it to help prop himself up on one elbow. He still lay sideways, looking up at Remus with his soft grey eyes. "Sure you wouldn't like to go to Madam Pomfrey about it?"

     "And deprive you of this... amuse... uh... amusement?" He sniffled and cupped his hand over his nose again. Besides, nothing he ever took worked thanks to his heightened werewolf senses which were apparently not calmed by normal remedies. It was better just to sneeze it out. "huh-KUHchhhhh!"

     "Eleven."

     "ihh-KUTchhoo!"

     "Twelve." His smile showed through as he counted off that one.

     "KURChoooo!" This one jerked him forward harder.

     "Thirteen." Grinning, Sirius leaned forward and brushed his lips against Remus'.

With his eyes still closed, Remus let his lips part and returned the kiss, first gentle then more involved, then broken off completely. He turned his head and shook with sneezes. "ihKUTchhhh! ehKTCHooo!"

     "Fourteen and fifteen."

     Remus nodded, sniffled, and closed his eyes. "You know it is customary to say bless you when someone sneezes."

     "Oh... I can come up with much better things to say." Remus looked terribly doubtful at this, not sure he wanted to see Padfoot's creative side come through right about now. Luckily, his nose felt much better and though he sniffled a bit, there was no immediate urge to sneeze. Not understanding this, Sirius poked Remus in the chest. "Go on, sneeze and I'll show you."

     Laughing, "I can't just sneeze like that. I have to wait for that tickle in my nose to start up."

     Sirius pouted. "But I want you to sneeze now!" he whined. In the blink of an eye, he transformed into the big black dog, and began nuzzling Remus, whining pitifully all the while.

     Remus laughed and tried to push him away, but the dog was powerful, and rolled with him, licking Remus' face, but still whimpering. Finally Remus caught hold of his tail tightly, and Sirius had no choice but to transform back into human form to break free. The roll in the grass had done its job however. Apart from tossing more of their books out of the way, it now made Remus' eyes water and his nose twitch with terrible tickles. "Gonna sneeze?" Sirius asked hopefully, lying on his stomach while Remus was still on his back, and pawing at Remus in anticipation.

     His eyes were closed and his mouth hung half open. All he could do was nod around the breaths he was forced to take, leading up to the sneeze. "huh-UHKChhhhh! EHKERchhhhhh!"

     "I want you," Sirius whispered in what was much more pleasurable to both sets of ears than a simple 'bless you'.

     "ehhh-heh-KURChooo! TChhahhhh! Chuhhhh!"

     "I need you and adore you," Sirius tried again, grinning from ear to ear at watching his mate helplessly sneeze but actually smile in between despite the rebuilding need to sneeze again. There was no doubt about it. Miserable from sneezing or not, Remus was thoroughly enjoying this attention.

     Remus sniffed hard and wiped his hand on the side of his robes before bringing it back to his face for more. "huhKERTChhhh! uhhKUHChahhh!"

     "I am completely and utterly infatuated with you."

     Grinning back, Remus felt another sneeze close at hand and kept his eyes closed. "her-UHTChhhhh! ihKEHchooo!"

     "I love you."

     Remus froze. The sneezy feeling was again gone for the moment, but his whole body broke out in chills at the sound of those words. His hairs stood on end. His heart pounded. His stomach churned with nerves. Cautiously, he opened his eyes to find himself staring back into Sirius' pale ones.

     But Sirius looked just fine, relaxed and enamored but with that spent look about him. "Don't look so surprised, Moony. It's not as though I'd knowingly bed a werewolf without having researched and understood the consequences."

     "Deep magic," Remus whispered softly to him, and Sirius nodded firmly with agreement. "It's breakable, of course. It's hard to do, but if anyone I know you could so I wasn't worried about it. But at the same time I never really expected you to... to..."

     "Fall deeply and hopelessly in love with you?" Sirius tried.

     Remus nodded. He rubbed at his nose and sniffed a few times though that wasn't a result of his allergy this time. "They call it lovemaking for a reason, Moony."

     Unable to resist, Remus grabbed Sirius and pulled him so closely and so tightly that it hurt. He placed the most passionate kiss he could muster on Sirius' lips to find it being returned in all enthusiasm, emotion, and meaning. But as quickly as it had started, he stopped it. He turned his head again, chest heaving desperately as he tried to hold back the sneezes long enough to cover his nose. "ihhKCHTshhhhh! ihhKERChoooo!"

     Sirius wrapped his arms around Remus so that they held each other. "Twenty-five and twenty-six." They both dissolved into light laughter, holding each other so tightly for fear that letting go would make the moment end in a way they could not recover from. Finally, Sirius whispered with what was the closest thing he ever came to embarrassment, "So you don't mind that I'll be hanging around with you like this for many more years to come?"

     Sniffing more, Remus rubbed his nose at his wrist to allow himself to answer more clearly. "I'm counting on it." Sirius whimpered again, this time still in human form, and nuzzled Remus affectionately. Finding it endearing, Remus stroked his head as they settled down together to speak more seriously about things. They fell to sleep there eventually, as the sun beat down upon them, still hugging each other. While they had meant to skip one afternoon class just for the sex, they skipped the rest for much more important reasons.