the_debt_of_time

"And last I checked, tomorrow's the full moon, so feel free to stick around if you'd
like, and we'll see what happens, yeah?" He watched with half amusement, half guilt as the
girl shrank away from him, terrified. Before she had a chance to say anything more, he
stormed down the hallway, kicking open the back bedroom door and levitating Sirius into
the bathroom.
After filling the copper clawfoot tub and using a Vanishing Charm to get rid of
Sirius's clothes, Remus removed the Binding Curse and let Sirius's body drop into the
bathtub with a splash. Sirius struggled against the water, coughing and spitting as Remus
took a seat on the nearby windowsill after closing and locking the door. He waved his
wand, charming a bar of soap and a nearby flannel to scrub down Sirius against his will.
"Fuck! Remus!" Sirius yelped. "Moony, stop!"
"Consider this Day One of your forced detox," Remus declared, unaffected by the
glares that Sirius was now throwing him. "I made a promise to Mia that I would take care
of you no matter what, so here I am, literally bathing your drunken arse because you can't
be bothered to do it yourself."
"You've no right—!" Sirius began to yell.
"McKinnon!?" Remus screamed, standing up and kicking the nearby ceramic bin,
launching it into the opposite wall where it shattered into a thousand pieces. "Are you
kidding me? Mia hated Marlene!"
Sirius had the grace to look ashamed, and he finally stopped struggling against the
charmed flannel that was now scrubbing dirt and sweat off of his chest and shoulders,
revealing a plethora of new tattoos that now covered the majority of his upper body; there
was more ink than skin these days.
"I didn't mean to. I... I didn't even know it was.. ." Sirius grimaced. "Marlene?
Really?" he asked, looking up at Remus who nodded angrily. "Fuck."
"It needs to stop."
"It hurts to stop," Sirius admitted, clearly trying to rein in his emotions but doing
poorly. "I can't breathe when I'm sober, Moony. All the evidence says that she's still alive,
but everyone tells me she's dead. Why are they telling me she's dead when I can still feel
her," he confessed, pounding his fist against his chest. "The Soul Bond, it's... it's different.
Like it's almost entirely supported by me, but it's still there. It feels broken. I feel broken."