Sweet Surrender

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Remus woke up slowly, not really sure it was worth all the effort of opening his eyes.

When he did open his eyes, however, he still saw black. He tried to rub his eyes, only to discover that his arms were above his head and he couldn't move them.

He panicked, trying determinedly to free himself. "Sirius?" He called out; the last thing he remembered before he had fallen asleep last night was being with Sirius.

Sirius hadn't expected Remus to wake up so early or so violently. In an instant, he was straddling Remus, his lips near the struggling boy's ear.

"Relax, Moony. I'm here."

"Sirius?" Remus voiced again. It sounded desperate, panicked, angry, and scared.

"You're not trapped, Remus," Sirius whispered soothingly, knowing what Remus was feeling. "Relax."

The werewolf struggled again, trying to free his arms and pull them down. Sirius responded by gently running his hands up Remus' arms.

"Sirius, this isn't funny. This isn't romantic, and Merlin, please untie me." There was more desperation in his voice.

"Why are you so frightened, Moony? It's just you and me."

"Why are you doing this?" Was the answer he received. Sirius had never heard his boyfriend so scared of anything. Remus had always hidden his fears very well. But now, Sirius saw a feral animal, trapped.

"To teach you to relax," he said softly, wondering if he should stop this now. But Sirius always liked to push the boundaries. "To trust me. I won't let anything happen to you."

Before Remus could protest, Sirius placed a finger to his lips. "You think too much Moony. Just feel. Talk to me. What are you feeling?"

"I can't move."

"I know," Sirius said as if he were talking to a child. "And that's okay, because if anything happens, I'll protect you."

"What if you can't?"

There it was.

"Don't you trust me?"

Silence followed, but Sirius knew that it was because Remus did trust him, and just wasn't ready to admit it in this case. "What do you think is going to happen, Rem?"

"I don't know."

"For once, Remus, your emotions have overpowered your logic," Sirius grinned, even though Remus couldn't see it. "How's it feel?"

"Horrible," the tawny haired boy replied. "Godric, let me go, Sirius. I don't like this."

"I know you don't."

Remus was shaking, sweating. His muscles were so tight that Sirius wondered if it was painful.

"Relax, Remus. What has you so riled up?"

"I don't like being trapped."

"You're not trapped," Sirius said gently. He paused, then added, "How do you know you don't like it?" His hands glided gently over Remus' stomach, and a whimper was the only answer he received.

"Have you been trapped before?"

"Yes," Remus said truthfully, very near tears.

Though this surprised Sirius, he kept moving his hands in gentle patterns over Remus' skin. "When?"

"When I was six."

"Just after the bite?"

"Yes."

"The Ministry?"

"Yes."

Six years old. There were days when Sirius hated the Ministry more than his own family, and that was saying something. "What happened?"

"They tied me down, scared I was going to transform. Tried over and over to convince my parents that it would be better to put me out of my misery."

Apparently, when panicking, Remus had no problem talking. It was probably something to distract him, Sirius mused.

"It's the wolf in you, Rem. The wolf is scared to submit. I'll take care of you. I love you, Remus. Relax."

Remus sucked in a shallow breath, but said nothing. Content with the lack of protest for now, Sirius began trailing kisses down Remus' chest. "Don't close this all out, Rem. Stay with me."

"Where are we?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does."

Sirius smiled against Remus' skin. "Nothing is happening. You and I are alone, and I'm touching you. That's all. I won't hurt you." He continued leaving trails of kisses on Remus' body.

"Close your eyes."

Remus drew a slow breath. "How do you know they're open?"

Sirius smirked. "Because I know you. You can't see anything anyway, close your eyes and just feel."

"There better be a lot of chocolate involved when this is over."

Sirius laughed at this. A joke from Remus was a good sign, and he didn't feel so bad any more for pressing the boy. They had just made it past the hardest part. "There is, I promise."

Sirius continued whispering things, nonsense, really, but he knew that Remus wasn't paying much attention. Every so often, he would add a "relax," and after a while, he could feel Remus' muscles loosening.

"You all right?"

"I'm okay."

Sirius waited a few more minutes before moving his lips to Remus' mouth, kissing the boy gently, tenderly.

Remus finally relaxed. He even lifted his head to deepen the kiss.

Sirius smiled, reaching up with one hand to release Remus'. The werewolf pulled his arms down, his hands immediately tangling in Sirius' hair, pulling him closer, leaving the blindfold in place, forgotten.