FICLET: A Taste of Blood (Remus/Peter) PG

[innerslytherin]

Title: A Taste of Blood
Character Pairing: Remus Lupin/Peter Pettigrew
Prompt: 7. lightning bolts in the snow
Rating: PG
WC: 964
Summary: 1980 - Peter and Sirius have a row, and Remus suspects nothing.
Author's Notes: Thanks to severity_softly for inspiring my Lupigrew love and beta-reading. I'm doing the prompts as a series; this is 7/13.
Link to Prompt Table: http://innerslytherin.livejournal.com/842995.html



Peter's toothbrush hit the painful split in his lip, sending a fresh line of blood down his chin. He didn't flinch. His mind was too full to react to physical pain. He'd accomplished more today than he had even hoped to, and Sirius had played right into his hands. He rinsed the toothbrush, spat, then dipped the brush into the paste once more. He couldn't seem to get rid of the taste of blood that coated his tongue and clung to his teeth. He kept fancying it was Fenwick's blood he could taste, rather than his own. He hadn't expected to feel so bad about Fenwick.

"Don't think I can't see what you're doing," Sirius had said. Had it really just been two hours ago? The words, the narrow-eyed expression on Sirius' face, the angry blotches of red on his skin, had all been rather alarming. Was Sirius really on to him?

"W-what?" Peter had stammered, because stammering sounded genuine, endearing. "What d'you--"

Sirius growled in annoyance. "Sowing seeds of confusion and making yourself look rosy as you get rid of embarrassments like Fenwick!" Sirius' voice was ugly, but his gaze was uglier. It had taken Peter aback; he'd never been the target of Sirius' malice before. Teasing, yes, but this sort of behaviour had always been reserved for Snivellus and his ilk. Not that the teasing had ever been very kind; there was a reason Peter had chosen Sirius to set up as the traitor.

"I don't know what you're talking about! I liked Benjy!"

"He wants your boyfriend!" Sirius had snapped.

"Remus loves me! He would never have looked at Benjy! Anyway, I was always nice to him. I can't believe you would accuse me of that! For God's sake, Sirius--"

"What exactly d'you think I'm accusing you of? Treating Fenwick like he's a halfwit just because he's practically a Squib? Being a condescending little rotter to him just because you can! No one's going to mess with Moony's boyfriend, are they?"

Peter had gone still, staring at him. It would almost have been funny, in other circumstances, the thought of Remus protecting Peter. The only reason Peter was doing this was to protect Remus. He didn't like being a traitor; he would stop in an instant if he could think of any other way to keep his lover alive. But... "You don't know? Where have you been, Padfoot? Benjy's dead!" He felt an odd little twinge at that, which he suppressed.

Sirius stared at him in silence for a moment, then barked a laugh. "Good one, Wormy, Make me feel a right ass for--"

"Maybe I ought to be making you feel like a TRAITOR!" Peter had shouted, his heart thudding in his chest. That was by far the most blatant accusation he'd made. "Where were you two nights ago, Sirius? Maybe you're just playing dumb so I don't suspect you of being the one who sold Benjy out!"

He couldn't have planned it better if he'd tried. James and Frank had walked in just as Sirius threw the first punch. Peter had reeled backwards, staring, and let Sirius hit him once more before he hit back, a low punch to the gut. They'd traded a few blows each before Frank and James pulled them apart.

Panting, Peter had stared at his friend, feeling blood pooling in his mouth and trickling down his chin. James and Frank had demanded answers, Sirius had started shouting, but Peter had just stared at them all as if gobsmacked...



"There you are." Remus' voice was warm and concerned. "James came round to see me at work. He said you and Sirius had a row." He slid his arms around Peter's waist from behind, resting his chin on his lover's shoulder.

Peter rinsed his toothbrush again and swallowed the bloody mess in his mouth. "He fucking punched me."

Remus examined Peter's face in the mirror, turning his head with gentle fingers trailing over the cut on his eyebrow, licking softly at the split in his lip. Peter sucked in a breath, his eyes fluttering closed. It was a strange sort of gesture, oddly tender, and he thought of the way blood always brought Moony more to the surface in Remus. God, he loved Remus. Fenwick's blood, he thought, and pushed it away.

Remus pulled away a little and nuzzled Peter. "What happened, Pete?" he asked huskily.

Peter sighed. "I said something about Benjy. He actually claimed he didn't know Benjy's dead."

Remus frowned. "That happened two days ago. Where has he been all this time?"

"He wouldn't say. Just hit me."

Remus wrapped his arms around Peter, burying his face against his neck. "It can't be him, Pete. It can't, it just can't, it can't..."

"I don't want to believe it, but Remus, he attacked me!"

"He turned his back on his family, on all of that. He wouldn't do this! He loves James! Calling him the traitor--it's like...it's like going out in a blizzard and being struck by lightning!"

Peter stroked Remus' hair, holding him tightly. He felt bad about Fenwick; the man had been a useful reminder to everyone that Remus and Peter were forever. And everyone knew Peter was annoyed by Fenwick, but he'd been kind to him, just to prove that Peter Pettigrew was a nice bloke. Still, the Dark Lord had demanded an Order member, and Peter couldn't very well give him Sirius, not after working so hard to point to him as the traitor. Remus, he reminded himself. You're doing this to protect Remus. "That can happen, you know," he murmured absently. "Thundersnow. It isn't impossible."

Remus just sobbed against his neck. Peter probed with his tongue at the cut in his lip, still tasting the blood.