Pathetic Fallacy
Remus leaned into the kiss, hungry for the taste and feel of Sirius under his tongue after so many years apart.
"Oh, God, I missed you," he murmured against Sirius's mouth, sliding his lips along the angular, stubbled jaw, enjoying the way Sirius twisted beneath him, panting.
"It must have been so difficult for you," Sirius said against his neck.
"You always did have a talent for stating the obvious." Remus slid his hands through Sirius's hair, rediscovering the feel of it against his skin. "It was worse for you." He pressed a leg between Sirius's thighs, hoping desperately that this wasn't going to degenerate into another round of recriminations. He really wanted to get some quality sex in before Sirius had to leave again, and he found guilt completely put a damper on things. No wonder generations of mothers wielded it so effectively.
"But, but--" Sirius said, pulling away. Remus bit back a sigh. "I left you alone. You were without your mate."
"Being alone out here is much easier than being alone with dementors--" Sirius's words sunk in. It was Remus's turn to draw back. "My what?" he asked, incredulous.
"Mate. You know. Unable to be with anyone else, because werewolves mate for life," Sirius said, and Remus was reminded of how much time he'd lost. In these private moments, Sirius seemed so young, so much like the youth he'd been before Azkaban.
"What?" he asked again.
"You know, Moony. I read all about it. Werewolves mate for life, so they can't have casual sex, and being separated from their mate can cause madness and even death..." Sirius trailed off as Remus burst out laughing. He laughed so hard he fell off the sofa, but he just lay on the floor and kept laughing. "Moony?"
After a few more minutes during which Remus laughed and Sirius eyed him like he was a madman, Remus finally sat up, wiping tears from his eyes.
"God, Sirius," he said, still snickering, "I can't believe you bought into that ridiculous myth. Werewolves mate for life." He almost went off again, but he saw the confusion and, 'oh God,' hurt in Sirius's eyes. He sobered immediately. "Scoot over." He joined Sirius on the couch and wrapped his arms around him, pressing light kisses to his temple and jaw.
"I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Sirius, but we don't have some sort of mystical soul bond. I mean, no more so than any other couple."
"But, the books--"
"Since when did you ever believe anything you read that wasn't the Quidditch scores?"
Sirius sighed. "So we're not going to develop telepathy or something? And you didn't go mad and almost die when I was in prison?"
Remus tightened his arms around Sirius. "To answer your second question first, yes, I did go mad and want to die when you went to prison, Sirius. I loved -- love -- you and it was really hard to believe that you could have betrayed me -- and James and Lily -- again. Finally, it was just easier to hate you and move on." He closed his eyes, all levity gone. "I'm so sorry I didn't believe in you, Sirius, that I didn't figure it out--"
Sirius laughed, but the harsh sound bore no resemblance to the joyful noise Remus made a few moments earlier. "Fifteen dead bodies is an awful lot of evidence to wave away based on feelings, Remus."
"Still, I ought to have known--" Now he was getting bogged down in guilt. 'It's fucking contagious,' he thought.
"So," Sirius interrupted, running a hand down Remus's chest, "we're not going to develop telepathy?"
"God, I hope not," he answered before he could stop himself, grateful that Sirius had taken the initiative to lighten the mood himself.
Sirius laughed again, and this time, it didn't sound like a death rattle. His hand landed on the bulge in Remus's trousers. "I bet I know what you're thinking right now, though."
"God, I hope so," he replied this time. "Don't read anymore books, okay, Sirius? I'll teach you whatever you want to know about werewolf mating habits."
"Sounds good to me, Professor," Sirius replied, and then the time for talk was done as he pushed Sirius back against the cushions and resumed kissing him intently.