Chapter 5
The full moon always made Remus antsy. As it approached, he found himself spending his evenings pacing the kitchen as he waited for the kettle to boil for his calming tea. The closer it got, the less calm it helped him achieve. Occasionally Padfoot would join him, muzzle resting on his paws as he dozed under the kitchen table, butting against Remus’ hip when he got too jittery.
Not this night though.
The kettle clicked, making him jump, though he supposed the click was preferable to the shrill scream he was accustomed to.
“Is that tea?”
He spun at the voice and had no idea that his eyes had taken on an unnatural glow for the briefest of moments before he recognized the speaker.
“Mr. Scamander.”
“Newt, please.” the man insisted, as he always did. Remus, feeling sheepish, nodded.
“Would you like a cup?”
“If it’s no trouble.” Newt replied easily, settling against the table. He was fiddling with a pocket watch, small tool in hand, and Remus found his gaze wandering towards the small device.
“Is it broken?” He asked, pouring the hot water over the tea leaves.
“Not exactly. It’s just a bit confused.”
Remus huffed out a laugh.
“How can a pocket watch be confused?” He asked, and Newt offered a shy smile.
“The same way a wand can be temperamental. Don’t your belongings get a bit funny when you’ve had them long enough?”
Remus though of the little bookshelf that was a part of his luggage and how the last few times he’d been forced to lack it away he’d needed to coerce it into shrinking.
“Yes, I suppose they do.”
Newt nodded, eyes lighting up with gratitude as Remus placed a mug of tea in front of him.
“Thanks for that. Despite the caffeine, I can never sleep before an evening cup.”
Remus hummed, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. He was mildly uncomfortable discussing the reasons behind his own need for a cup of tea. Especially considering that Newt had ben asking, with less and less subtlety as of late, if he could bear witness on the full moon.
He’d managed to avoid the man right after Harry’s birthday, but this time there was nothing going on he could use as a distraction.
Nobody outside of his closest friends had ever watched him change before - not fully anyways - and he still felt guilty about even that. Despite the fact that he’d never hurt his friends, the thought still terrified him.
Bruce chose that moment to shuffle in.
“That kind of night, huh.” The scientist commended, and Remus felt his ears burn.
Newt answered immediately and cheerfully.
“It is. Joining us for a cuppa?”
Bruce nodded, scrubbing a hand over his face. He looked more tired than usual, Remus noted, but he felt uncomfortable trying to ask why.
“Tony should be up soon looking for coffee. I hid the machine in the lab.” He announced to the room with a tired smile. Come to think of it, Remus realized, that Tony had been looking worse for wear these last few days too.
Guilt started to seep into his thoughts and his shoulders hunched self consciously over his cup. He didn’t see the look Newt and Bruce exchanged over his head.
“It’s the anniversary of his kidnapping.” Bruce murmured, coming to sit at the table with his own cup. The words had Remus’ head jerking up.
“What?”
Bruce gave both wizards a look, and at their confusion, sighed.
“You really should start paying more attention to the news. Before we had Harry, before we’d even all met, Tony was kidnapped by a terrorist group in Afghanistan. He was caught in an explosion. That’s how he ended up with the reactor in his chest.” He tapped his own chest where the arc reactor sat on Tony. “He gets nightmares. So we all take turns staying up with him. Tonights my turn, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let him drink anymore coffee.”
Tony chose that moment to shuffle into the kitchen, gaze zeroing in on their mugs.
“Coffee?”
“‘Fraid not.” Newt offered, tilting the cup towards Tony. “But you’re welcome to it either way.”
Tony waved the offer away, grumbling as he made his way towards the coffee machine. He clicked the button to turn it on, but it remained lifeless.
“Jarvis?”
“You have exceeded the acceptable amount of caffeine, sir.” The AI answered immediately. Tony glared into space.
“I need it. I need the inspiration boost. I’ve got nothing.” He complained, but the machine remained off. Tony scowled, spinning around to glare at Bruce.
“You’ve converted my AI.”
Bruce gave an easy shrug.
“I’m sorry that we care about your health.” Bruce replied, tone dry. Tony’s eyes narrowed.
“I’m not falling for that. I’ve lived this long, haven’t I?”
“You need a new project?” Remus blurted out, trying to relieve the pressure of a growing dispute as it made his skin feel too tight over his bones.
All eyes turned to him.
He ducked his head, staring at his tea before his gaze lifted to meet Tony’s.
Once again, there was gold streaking through the blue, though he had no idea.
“Newt wanted to be present for the transformation but I don’t feel safe having anyone join me in the woods. It would be best if there was some sort of secure place we could be that could also take damage just in case. Though nothing too sterile. We’re not a fan of labs.” the words came spilling out over each other, almost too quick to understand, and he flushed from the attention, the itch spreading across his shoulder blades until he thought he might scream. Then, Tony broke the silence.
“I could do that.”
His gaze shot up again from his tea, meeting the warm brown eyes of the genius.
“Really?”
The question was met by a shrug.
“Sure. No problem. Brucie, you planning on participating?”
Bruce looked at Remus who made a non committal noise. Bruce gave a slow nod in turn.
“Why not?”
“Right then. Newt, why don’t you help me figure out a suitable environment. I’ve already got measurements for the Big Guy and I know wolves aren’t bigger than him.”
Newt was on his feet in an instant, nodding in agreement as he followed Tony out of the kitchen, they couldn’t quite hear his response, but they heard the soft tone of his voice as the two drifted away.
“That was kind of you.” Bruce murmured, interrupting his thoughts. Remus shrugged again, feeling embarrassed.
“It was inevitable, really. Sirius was already annoyed at me for trying to run off, and Newt-”
He stiffened at the hand on his shoulder, relaxing when it just gave a gentle squeeze. He met Bruce’s gaze evenly. The scientist didn’t say another word, but he didn’t have to. With a nod, he stood as well, presumably to follow after the other two, leaving Remus alone in the kitchen.
He realized that the anxiety that had crawled over his skin like ants earlier had disappeared, and he was left feeling more at ease than he had in an age.
With a sigh, he rinsed his cup out, deciding it was high time to get some rest.
>>>
It was the night of the full moon and Remus’ whole body ached. They’d convinced Natasha and Clint to take Harry out for the night, just in case something went awry, and it eased his conscience that at least he wouldn’t have to worry about the boy. He was fairly certain that was the only reason they’d all agreed.
He looked around the woods and felt assured in the fact that Tony had shown him the barrier - how it wouldn’t allow anything in or out once it was activated, and he could just feel the hum of it on the edge of his senses. He stripped down, feeling the ripple over his skin as the shift began to take over.
This part was always the worst.
Sirius was practically hopping in place as he waited for the full moon to take its toll. He’d been there for the last full moon, but it had been mostly spent reacquainting the wolf to Padfoot, and dealing with the sense of abandonment that had come from being apart for over a decade.
He glanced at James who waited beside him, but on the other side of the barrier. He knew from the scowl on the man’s face that it was not where he wanted either of them to be, but it had come at Remus’ insistence. One ‘human’ presence was enough this time. As both Sirius and Bruce had agreed with him, both having met the wolf before, James was overruled.
He’d taken it rather gracefully, though Sirius would bet anything that James was fully equipped for a fight, just in case.
It was as sweet as it was unneeded.
Sirius glanced at Newt who was so excited he practically vibrated with it. Bruce was reading a paperback as he leaned against the tree, waiting.
It was Sirius who reacted first, recognizing the silence for what it was. He shifted without a thought, his body reacting before his brain had caught up, and he knew it was because Moony had joined them. With a happy bark, he bound towards the trees.
In a blur of movement, Moony shot from the shadows, lunging at Padfoot, sending the two tumbling.
The howl rent through the air and from where he was wiggling on his back, Padfoot saw James had lurched towards the barrier. He wriggled around, licking at the wolf to let him up before bounding back towards the barrier and giving yips of delight to show he was fine before shooting back towards Moony to play.
He paused when he saw the wolf’s gaze focused on Newt, and Padfoot put his body between them even as he watched Bruce’s shape start to shift.
It caught his attention - he’d never seen the other man change before - he’d been too focused on Moony the last time, but now he watched as his whole body just seemed to expand up and outwards, growing into the huge creature known as the hulk.
His senses pinged just in time to turn as Moony tried to creep forward, muscles bunging for a leap, and he threw himself forward instead, crashing back into Moony before the wolf could lunge at the zoologist.
Hulk’s roar sounded through the air and Padfoot whined, pawing at his ears. When the noise stopped, he was poked by one big finger in the side, and glanced up to see the Hulk scowling at him.
“Dog hurt.”
In order to prove he wasn’t, Padfoot immediately bounced up, barking and yipping, and Hulk grumbled before turning his attention on Moony who was eyeing the larger predator carefully.
“No hurt human.” Hulk intoned, waving at Newt. All eyes turned to the redheaded man who offered a nervous wave. Moony looked between Newt and Hulk a moment, golden gaze landing on Padfoot then, who immediately nudged Moony’s ribs, and the werewolf snuffled before turning his nose up at the human, loping back into the trees.
Padfoot followed gleefully.
While the initial interactions had felt tense to James, he relaxed as the evening wore on. He spent most of his time with Tony, the two of them at the edge of the barrier, circling it from time to time, with Jarvis projecting a real time image of those inside when they were out of range. Once the helplessness at being stuck on the wrong side of the barrier had faded, James could admit to being amused by the puppy-like behaviour of everyone inside.
It had only taken 2 hours before the werewolf had made eyes at Newt again, and while James had been surprised, Tony had just snorted out a laugh when Newt had ended up scratching under the wolf’s chin, sending it into bliss.
From then on, though there were a few warning growls from Hulk, the 4 of them played quite nicely, and James found himself wondering, not for the first time, just what he’d gotten himself into.
As if reading his mind, Tony clapped him on the shoulder.
“It’s sneaks up on you, doesn’t it?”
At James’ look, Tony rolled his eyes.
“We expect to be alone.” Tony said then, eyes fixed into the trees where they could see Hulk had lifted Newt up onto his shoulder for a break from the roughhousing. “Learning we don’t have to, and even weirder, others don’t want us too, it sneaks up on you.”
James looked out at Sirius, bounding around in dog form, and realized the genius was right. He must have made some sort of face because Tony laughed.
“Don’t worry, nobody will hold it against you.”