Chapter 8
Remus POV
Remus stood and went to walk with rest but before he could a hand wrapped around his arm. He turned to face James looking at him worriedly.
"Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, he literally trains to tackle people." His hand tightened on Remus' arm.
Remus smiled, appreciating his worry, "Thanks, James. I'll be fine, I promise. Tackling and fighting are two very different skills. Just because someone has muscles does not mean they know how to use them."
James nodded reluctantly and let go of his arm, with one last smile he turned to join the rest.
Two people went to the coffee table and moved it to the side, while others pushed the couches back a bit to make more room. Everyone got up and formed a circle around the carpet that they were using as the ‘mat’.
Sirius POV
Remus and Jack got on opposite sides and Caradoc was playing ref.
He's not going to lie, he's scared. He doesn't want Remus to get hurt, but he also trusts him. If he thinks he can win this fight then, he can. Right?
Remus and Jack both got into their fighting stances, fist up protecting their face, dominant foot back, and non-dominant forward. Unlike Jack, Remus' stance seemed to come naturally to him, like muscle memory. He was on his toes giving him easier mobility while Jack's feet were planted clearly showing his inexperience.
“The first person to be knocked out or tap out wins okay?" Jack and Remus nodded. "On fight. Three, two, one, fight.”
It happened in a flash, Remus's fist flew straight into Jack's jaw, and that was all it took. Jack was on the ground out cold. The room was silent. No one dared move or make a sound.
He watched as Remus relaxed from his fighting stance smiling smugly down at Jack. He stood for a moment then took a bow.
A literal fucking bow. As he should. They all underestimated him, but he came out victorious.
“Bloody hell!” Of course, James broke the silence first.
Seeming to snap out of whatever shock people were in, loud cheers broke out through the common room. Some were chanting his name while others whispered and gawked. There were even some girls who seemed to be eyeing Remus and giggling like they had a chance. He's fucking gay, idiots, and mine.
“Can someone get ice?” Remus' voice broke through his thoughts. Next thing he knew he was watching as Remus bent down, picked up Jack bridal style, who looked twice his weight, and brought him to the couch.
“Seriously, he needs ice. Can someone find some please?” Some people continued dancing, ignoring Remus entirely. Others crowded around the couch where Remus sat, too busy fangirling to leave his side. He could hear whispers going around about Remus but ignored them and walked over to the drink table. He grabbed a napkin and put some ice in it and walked it back to the couch.
Remus sat on the couch next to Jack's feet, ignoring the people surrounding him. He looked up as he noticed Sirius coming, and took the ice when handed to him. He placed the ice gently on the side of Jack's face where he punched him.
“Nice punch.” He said before he could stop himself.
Remus looked back up at him and smiled sheepishly, “Thanks, I don't really like to fight people unless necessary. I feel guilty even though he wanted to fight.”
“It might not help much but you really don't have to feel guilty.” He leaned closer, realizing too late it was a bad choice. He could now smell his natural nature and chocolaty scent mixed with the scent of alcohol wafting off Remus. The scents should not smell as good as they do combine on him, it was intoxicating. Snapping back to his thought he lowered his voice, “He's a bit of a dick, and his ego needed to go down a few pegs.”
Remus laughed, “Does that mean I should punch you? Lower your ego a bit.”
“I may have a big ego but I also have common sense. And unlike our mate Jack, I would never challenge someone to a fight.” He replied coolly.
Remus just nodded while smiling.
"Why did you start fighting in the first place?" Sirius asks. Remus' smile falters a bit before returning, seeming a little forceful.
He shrugged, "I wanted to protect myself and others. There were a lot of bullies at my old school."
Sirius didn't pry not wanting to make him uncomfortable, "Well you're very good at it."
Remus released a little laugh, a true smile returning to his face, "Thank you. People tend to underestimate the lanky jumper-wearing kid. But the scars help, they tend to freak people out."
"They're beautiful." Sirius curses himself for saying that out loud.
Remus' eyes widened a bit before what looked like a blush appeared on his cheek and he looked back down.
"Thank you."
Sirius smiled, both of them avoiding eye contact.
They stayed there talking for who knows how long as Remus iced Jack's face. Jack finally gained consciousness and seemed well enough. He was swept off by his friends informing him of what happened while jabbing at him. Jack seemed okay and laughed along with them, not seeming hurt in the least.
Lily, James, and Pete made their way over to the couch where they were. Sirius had previously been sitting a good distance away from Remus but now James has wedged himself between Sirius and the side of the couch pushing him against Remus.
Their shoulders and thighs were touching and neither tried to move away.
Pete brought drinks for Remus and him, he grabbed him as fast as he could needing the confidence alcohol gave him. Remus tried to reach for him but Lily grabbed it before he could.
"No." He looked at Lily, confused about why she was stealing Remus' drink. Her face was very serious and seemed to be in mom mode.
He came up with the idea behind mom mode when Lily would constantly berate them about their pranks. She would scold them like children, so when she made that face it was now mom mode.
Remus sighed, "Lily," he whined.
Lily didn't budge, keeping his drink away from him, "No, you've had enough already."
Sirius was really confused now, why the hell did she care how much he drank?
"Lily stop. Just give me the drink." Remus' voice changes, becoming more frustrated.
"Remus, no. You know damn well why." Lily said in a harsher tone.
That seemed to make Remus madder, "I don't need a mother Lily. In case you haven't noticed my mother is dead and I've done damn well without one." With that, he stood up and left into the crowd letting the people swallow him. He resisted the urge to go after him.
A large sigh drew him back to his friends. Lily's head was in her hands, elbows resting against her knees.
"What was that about?" James asked hesitantly.
Lily slowly removes her head from her hands and looks up, she shrugs, "Nothing, he just needs a while to cool off."
"Are you okay?" James asks, concerned.
She smiles and nods, "Yeah, he's said stuff like that before. It's usually when he is mad and drunk. I know he doesn't mean it, he’ll apologize tomorrow."
James scrunched his eyebrows, seeming to be mad, "Yeah but he shouldn't say that stuff to you, you're just trying to show you care."
Lily sighed again and smiled at him, "It's fine, I honestly don't care. He needs to vent sometimes so I let him and he does the same for me. It's easier to take it out on each other knowing we don't mean it, instead of hurting someone else. He's been through a lot, like a lot. More than most people. He rarely does it and when he does he doesn't just apologize to be friends again, he does it because he means it. Remus won't apologize for things he doesn't want to apologize for. I appreciate your concern but everything is okay."
James nods and accepts the explanation. Sirius can understand, he and James do the same thing, especially after he left his home. He tended to yell at James a lot for the smallest things and James let him. He let him take his anger out on him instead of doing something stupid. James did the same sometimes but never as much. He didn't know where he would be if it wasn't for James.
"I'm going to bed." He announced and stood. He didn't wait for others to respond. He went up to the dorm and looked towards Remus' bed. His curtains were shut and the light by his bed was out. He slowly changed and got into his own bed willing to sleep to take over.