the_debt_of_time

"You're not upset?"
"Are you?"
"A little," he confessed.
Mia reached over and brushed the sweat-soaked hair from his forehead. "Tell me
why."
"Because I.. ." He turned and stared into her eyes, reaching out to stroke his
knuckles tenderly against the skin of her cheek.
She smiled. "I love you too, Remus."
"I do love you."
"I know."
"Plus, you're my best friend."
"You're more than that to me." She pulled herself forward, melding her body against
his and sighing as he wrapped his arms around her to kiss her forehead. "You're... I don't
know. Mine," she said possessively, and Remus chuckled. "You belong to me. At least until
you find her."
After a tense moment, he whispered, "What if I don't?"
"You will," she promised as the vision of a pink-haired woman and a blue-haired
baby came into her mind.
"You don't know that, Mia. Do you know the chances of someone like me finding
their mate? Rare. Beyond rare. I thought you.. ." He sighed sadly. "You've always been
good to me. You've never been afraid to touch me. I just assumed."
"You'll find her. I promise."
"You don't regret it?" he asked hesitantly.
"Honestly, I'm having a hard time feeling guilty enough to not want to do it again."
Mia laughed, tracing her fingers over his ribs, following the lines of scars down to the taut
muscles of his stomach. He was beautiful, and she could stare at him all day and night.
He blinked down at her. "Why would you feel guilty?"
"I don't know," she lied. "It feels like... I'm helping you cheat on her."
He shook his head in disbelief. "A future mate I might never meet."
"You'll meet her, and then what? What will I be? How can she not hate me?" she
asked and gasped at the very real thought of a very real person waiting for Remus in the