Taking a
page out of Remus' book, Sirius brought over tea. Their kettle didn't like
making single servings, so Sirius had two identical, pale teal cups in hand. He
had the end of a metal spoon sticking out of his mouth as he walked. He stirred
Remus' tea after handing it over, then stirred his own, leaving the spoon there
and drinking around it.
Remus sat
on the edge of his bed, partially wrapped in a thick, dusky grey blanket. He
took a careful sip at first. Then, deciding the temperature was bearable and
the sweetness acceptable, he took a few more sips. A tiny sniffle made him stop
and thrust the cup back at Sirius, who had settled down next to him on the bed.
"hehhhh..." There was trembling in the sound of
his breath and his nostrils twitched slightly. "heh-IHHTchh! HihhKSchhh!"
Remus pitched forward with two strong, wet sneezes.
"Bless
you!" Sirius chimed in pleasantly. Sirius put down the tea in favor of the
tissue box. He offered it to Remus, then bumped Remus' arm with it until Remus
took a tissue out of the box. Remus blew his nose one-handedly. Sirius sat,
staring. "Aren't you going to say thank you?"
Remus
stared blankly at him for a moment, then, "Of course." His voice had some
underlying stuffiness to it. "Thank you, Padfoot," he murmured.
Sirius
beamed. His eyes danced and his smile turned into a proud grin.
However,
Remus was not finished expressing his appreciation. "Thank you for the
blessing. Thank you for the tea. And thank you ever so much for giving me your
head cold." Sirius' elation slowly faded. Remus went on. "Thank you for the
sneezes. Thank you for this constantly running nose. Thank you for this sore
throat. Thank you for the bouts of coughing. Thank you for this monstrous
headache." He took a tissue from the box and rubbed at his nose. "Thank you for
getting me sick and confining me to this bed. And thank you for getting better
right after I got sick so that I don't even have anyone to commiserate with."
"All
right!" Sirius said, stopping Remus' long list before he knew how long it could
get. He sighed deeply. "Would you feel better if I said I'm sorry?"
Remus
grabbed another tissue. "hhhih-uhhh... hitChuhhh! Yihschhh! Ihhh... HIHShihh!" As he blew his nose, his eyes met Sirius'
over his growing handful of tissues. At this point, he was willing to believe
anything might make him feel better. Even the unthinkable: a voluntary Padfoot
apology.
Sirius bit
his lip. "Bless you," he said thoughtfully. "And..." Quietly, "M'sorry."
"Will wonders never cease..." said Remus. "yihhhKShhh! Sniff!"
It was
clear Remus didn't feel all that much better. Such a thing was going to take a
lot more than just an apology. It would take something more powerful. And Remus
knew of only a few things that could fit that description. He turned to his
right, towards Sirius, and immediately kissed the man.
Sirius'
eyes widened and he tried to pull away. But Remus' lips were amazing as they
moved against his. He had never been able to resist one of Remus' before and he
sure wasn't going to start now, even if he had no idea what this one was
for. The kiss was far from perfect, but
it was incredible just the same. Remus' tongue probed and stroked, but his nose
whistled and struggled to breathe. Finally he had to break away to cough.
Sirius took advantage. "What was that exactly?"
Remus
rubbed the back of his hand at his nose, then the side of his hand, and then a
tissue. None of it did any good. "ihhhh-Yihshuhh! hihhhSchhh!
ehhhKShhhh!" He blew his
nose into another tissue. "After you gave me your cold, you got better, right?
Well, I'm giving it back."
He leaned
forward, grabbing Sirius by the collar. He forced the man back on the bed,
lying on top of him while kissing as hard as he could.
Sirius
grinned around the kiss before returning it. Remus rubbed against him from
above. He kissed and sniffled, sniffled and kissed. There was, of course, not
guarantee he'd get a cold, but... "You're giving me something else," Sirius joked
as his erection pressed into Remus' thigh. "Either way," Sirius continued, "I'm
going to have to stay in bed for a long while with you."
Sliding his
arms under Sirius to hold him, Remus snuffled and nuzzled him. "Thank you,
Padfoot," Remus murmured, this time with appreciation as well as a kiss.