Title: The Second of Many Nights

Author: tarotgal

Fandom: Harry Potter- Marauder's fifth year

Rating: PG13 for slash

Parings: a very new Sirius/Remus

Spoilers: HP3

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the Harry Potter-verse and its characters. I write this only in fun, I mean no harm, I get no money from this.

Summary:

Note: Sequel to 'First of Many Nights' in which they spend the night together... again.

 

 

The Second of Many Nights

 

     Remus's cheek was pressed so hard against the side of the high-backed armchair that when the hand touched his leg and he pulled out of sleep, a red cross-cross pattern had embedded itself there. "Time to go to sleep," Sirius said, hovering over him, looking concerned.

 

     "Mmm... was asleep," Remus answered in a mumble, pulling his legs up onto the armchair as well, the books and papers slipping from his lap. He let them fall, preferring to close his eyes and rest his head back against the chair. All he wanted was to sleep, and this was as good a place as any. He wanted nothing and no-one to make him move.

 

     Sirius cleared his throat, calling Remus' eyes back open again. "Time to go to bed, then." He swooped down, collecting Remus' school things for him, straightening the bent pages and stacking them neatly as he cradled them in his arms. When he looked up, Remus's eyes had closed again, and his breathing was beginning to slow. With his free arm, he reached down and shook Remus' knee to get his gentle amber eyes to open again. "Come on. You're just getting over that cold. You need a proper sleep." Remus opened his mouth to object, "Yes I know you've got work to catch up on, but you're not doing it right now either." He turned and squatted, his back to Remus. "Come on, I'll carry you."

 

     Unable to resist so tempting an offer, Remus climbed on. Sirius held Remus on with one hand, holding the books in the other. He had to bend forward a lot to support Remus' weight with only one hand to help, but Remus was experienced enough to know how to balance and where to hold on. Sirius took off slowly, but the light sound of Remus' laughter spurred him on to go faster.

 

     As they left the common room and entered into the staircase, Sirius paused, leaning against the wall to catch his breath. "Padfoot?" said Remus, straining to look down and catch an unfamiliar look on Sirius' face. "What's the matter?"

 

     "It's nuh-nothing." But the unsteady way with which he stepped forward made Remus jump down anyway. His now free hand pawed at his nose quickly on its way over to secure the books and parchment.

 

     Remus made a thoughtful noise in the back of his throat. Remus bent his arm and linked it with Sirius'. He let the boy escort him up to their dormitory and to bed. Sirius dropped the school stuff onto Remus' trunk to be dealt with later, and paused a bit awkwardly, leaning forward a little, trying to make out the look in Remus' eyes. The eyes were no different than they had been a week ago, when they had looked at him so quizzically and curiously, wondering if Sirius felt the way Remus did and wondering which one of them would voice their feelings first. The eyes were no different than they had been a year ago when they had been just the best of friends. They were the same soft, amber eyes. But the expression behind them had changed considerably.

 

     To end the awkwardness, Remus grabbed Sirius by the collar, pulling him in for a fantastic kiss that never seemed to want to end. But it was true that Remus was still getting over his cold, and his nose wasn't quite what it usually was. He broke away to be able to breathe properly, which was hard as the kiss, even though he had initiated it, had practically taken his breathe away. "Next time you want to kiss me, just do it," he whispered. Though he looked around to be sure there was no movement from the beds of the other two boys. His senses told him both were fast asleep.

 

     Sirius nodded, leaning forward a little more to give a softer kiss. "Good night, Remus." He turned quickly, letting the hangings of Remus' bed fall closed, and retreated to his own bed at once.

 

     Remus smiled, changing quickly and crawling beneath the blankets of his bed. He stretched and yawned, feeling the soft sheets and warm blankets against him, familiar and comforting. And he thought how silly he must have been to want to sleep out on the armchair in the common room when this was waiting for him back in his dormitory.

 

     "harchuhh! HEH-chuhh!"

 

     Remus' eyes shot open as he sat back up in bed. That had not been his own sneezes, of that he was certain. And his ears had been sure of their source. He pulled himself out from beneath his covers, taking along what remained of the stack of handkerchiefs on his nightstand.

 

     He walked softly, sliding on the floor in only socks, and pulled back the hangings of Sirius' bed. Sirius was sitting up, hands cupped over his nose and mouth, eyes looking over at Remus apologetically. His voice was terribly muffled, "You heard?"

 

     "I heard," Remus nodded, crawling onto the bed and closing the curtains behind. He brushed the handkerchief against the back of Sirius' fingers. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming down with my cold?"

 

     Sirius shrugged, half his face still hidden behind the hanky. "Maybe I just had to sneeze. Who said I had a cold?"

 

     Remus smiled. "No one had to say it. I can just tell." He reached out and forced Sirius' hand down, so he could address Sirius properly. "And the fact that you're grumpy and defensive about it proves it. Like the time you broke your leg and insisted it was just a bad bruise until you tried to walk on it and it snapped on you."

 

     A laugh escaped Sirius' lips, and he clapped his hand over his mouth so as not to wake the others up. "I'd forgotten that!" But then his eyes grew wide. "And you lied to the others and said you had a terrible headache. And you stayed in the hospital bed next to me all night because I was scared to sleep in that big ward all alone."

 

     "That's what friends do," said Remus nonchalantly, though having little basis for comparison as James, Peter and Sirius had been the first friends he had ever had in his life.

 

     At this, Sirius laughed again, but kept it to quiet chuckles. "Yeah, but James just taunted me about it."

 

     "That's what friends do, too," replied Remus. "Besides, you were being a bit of an idiot about it. It was pretty obvious it was broken and you weren't going to fool us."

 

     "I could never fool you," he said meaningfully. Their eyes locked in the silence, and Sirius, taking a deep breath, leaned in for a kiss. But his nose twitched and he pulled back and once, face buried in the folds of the hanky. "herchuhhh! herushuhhh! huhchuhh! huh-herChahh!"

 

     Remus, acting on instinct, drew Sirius close, wrapping his arms around him. Unlike friendship, he had all the basis in the world to draw from where comforting was involved. As a werewolf, pain had been a part of his life since he'd been a very small boy. But comforting had always been something denied to him. His parents believed he had to be strong to survive, and the barely looked twice when he had a cut or scratch. And they were probably right, but the lonely nights of being trapped in his room, cold and lonely, made him yearn for someone who would comfort him and care for him. And so every book in his parents' library had been his companion, and every story of romance and love had been his to cherish, to learn from. He learned that true love could defy all obstacles. He learned that every time someone hurt in a love story, they were comforted. Physical wounds healed in time, but emotional wounds could be healed only through true caring and compassion. And he had learned from Sirius, too, the night before when Sirius had held him all night, touching and caressing, hugging and comforting.

 

     "You don't have to stay here, Remus. You need your sleep," Sirius said, though snuggling closer to Remus all the while.

 

     "You need your sleep, too." He stroked Sirius' cheek. "Besides, you said yourself you wanted to spend the night in bed with me."

 

     "herChuhhh! hehktchuhhhhh!" He sniffled and rubbed more with the handkerchief. "This wasn't exactly what I was talking about, you know."

 

     "I know," Remus nodded. He pulled the sheets and blankets up to cover them both. "But it doesn't make much of a difference to me. In fact, I prefer it if it means I get to take care of you all night the way you... you took care of meh-me." He raised the back of his hand to his face. "ehhhIHHShhh!" He sniffed. "Sorry. A left over."

 

     "Sure you don't want to go back to your own bed?" Sirius ran a hand down Remus' front, tracing the seems and the folds and wrinkles. "I can, um, be a bit of a cover hog."

 

     Remus laughed. "Then I suppose I'll just have to press myself close to you." A hand forced Sirius to roll over, then he scooted up behind, holding the man tightly from behind. It was cold in the bed at first, the sheets rough and the mattress hard. It was nothing like his own bed. But with Sirius there, in his arms, he could no find cause to complain.

 

     "hehhChuhh! hehTchhhhh!" Sirius rubbed his nose again. "And I snore when I've got a cold."

 

     "That won't bother me if I'm sleeping next to you more than if I were sleeping in the next bed over." He tightened his hug from behind, nuzzling into the back of Sirius' neck. "And I'd rather be here, given the choice."

 

     "But..." Sirius blushed and turned his face into the pillow. "James and Peter--"

 

     Remus finished for him, "Will have to get used to us being together, too. Because I don't intend to leave you now when you're sick. And I don't intend to sleep alone any more." He chuckled and tilted his head, kissing Sirius' cheek at the jaw line. "I don't care about blankets or snoring or any of that. Face it, Padfoot. I'm staying this night in your bed and there's nothing you can do about it. If you don't like it, tough, you shouldn't have invited me."

 

     Sirius dropped the attempt to get Remus to leave and let himself be taken in by Remus' comforting ways. "All right. Then stay." He reached up and stroked Remus' arm and hand gently to ask them to remain in place.

 

     Wanting to reply but caught with another urge to sneeze, Remus merely nodded. He cupped his hand to his nose and mouth. "ehhhh...ehhIHHShahh! ehhIHHHShhhh!"

 

     Sirius passed back a handkerchief. "Besides, it'll be nice having you close so I can keep an eye on you, too."

 

     "We can look after each other," mumbled Remus with a smile, rubbing his own nose. His arm wrapped around Sirius again, and both closed their eyes. It was some time before the occasional sneezes gave way to allow them to think about sleeping, and some time before Remus felt comfortable enough in the bed to even consider it. But once there, even the fighting for blankets and snoring didn't do anything to kick Remus back to his own bed. Just holding Sirius through the night would have been enough for him, even if he hadn't gotten any sleep at all.

 

     "Rebus?" Sirius whispered, some time later. "You asleeb?"

 

     There was a yawn and a groggy, "No, not at all," which sounded much like Remus' response when Sirius had woken him up earlier in the common room.

     

     "Good," he said. "'Cause I've really gotta blow by dose."

 

     A light chuckle sounded behind Sirius. "You don't have to ask my permission. Just do it."

 

     "But I did't wadt to wake you ub," Sirius replied, selecting a handkerchief and holding it to his nose. He gave several strong blows into it that Remus was sure would have startled him to wake up to. "Excuse me," he muttered with much less congestion.

 

     "Better?" asked Remus, stroking the back of Sirius' dark head. Sirius nodded. "Good. Now try not to worry about that cute little nose of yours and get some sleep." He lay awake for an hour until he was sure Sirius had finally drifted off, confirming that the man did, indeed, snore when he had a cold.

 

*

 

     After a late night, morning seemed to come much too early with its hot sun and disturbing noises. Even the hangings around Sirius' bed did not help keep them protected by the dawn's arrival. Or from their nosey best friends.

 

     "You reckon we should wake them?"

 

     Remus woke from his sleep to strange smells and an odd warmth at his side. It took a while for him to remember that he was neither in the shack nor in his own bed, but instead in Sirius'. He could feel Sirius' head and arms weighting down his chest. He could tell from Sirius' breathing and snoring that he was still asleep but Remus did not open his eyes for he could smell and hear the others there as well.

 

     James and Peter stood at the foot of the bed, looking down on them between a gap in the hangings. "Nah," replied James. "They're both sick. I bet they just weren't feeling well, needed to keep warm, and didn't want to get us sick." James didn't sound convinced of this fact at all.

 

     Peter, on the other hand, believed every word. "Oh yeah, that makes lots of sense." He laughed. "'Cause I thought... maybe... well..."

 

     The silence that followed spoke for itself. "Come on, Wormtail. Let's go to down to breakfast before we wake them up." With a heavy hand on Peter's shoulder, James directed him out of the dormitory.

 

     With the slam of the door, Sirius' snores stopped abruptly. He opened his eyes, staring into Remus'. "Were you awake?" he whispered, his voice hoarse and congested.

 

     Remus nodded. "You sound horrible, Padfoot. Blow your nose." He dangled a handkerchief in front of Sirius' face.

 

     Sirius snatched it away and blew his nose multiple times, closing his eyes with a sigh. "Do batter how bady tibes I blow by dose is still all stuffed."

 

     "You'll get better." Remus gently caressed his cheek, cupped his chin, and directed it up, placing a gentle kiss on his lips.

 

     Sirius pulled away. "Ick, I haved't brushed yet."

 

     "I don't care," Remus replied, smiling.

 

     Sirius sighed, rubbing his cheek against Remus' chest. "I wish we could stay id bed like this all day."

 

     "But the professors--"

 

     "Would skid us alive!" Sirius laughed. "And... heh...herChuhhhh! hehCheshhhh!" Wearily he blew his nose. "I'b gettig tired of this."

 

     Remus ran his hand through Sirius' hair, roughly combing and straightening it. "I'll help you down to the hospital ward. Madam Pomfrey can give you some of that potion she gave me. Really cleared me up a lot."

 

     Sirius lifted his head so that Remus could get to all his hair. "Thags," he snuffled. "She's goig to yell at be for gettig so close to you whed you were sick."

 

     "Probably," Remus shrugged. "But I'll be there to tell her how much you made me feel better by watching over me. And I'll be there to watch over you." He kissed Sirius again, letting his lips linger this time, tugging and pushing against Sirius'. Then he pulled out of bed with a shiver to get dressed. Sirius, feeling sick, did not bother and let Remus lead him down to the hospital wing in pajamas. Sirius was so comfortable with his hand in Remus' that he barely noticed the looks they were getting in the corridor. And Remus, who had since refused to let anyone see them even walking too close together, did not seem to mind the stares as he helped Sirius down to where he could be taken care of.

 

     Madam Pomfrey, as it turned out, did indeed get angry at Sirius. But the anger was short lived in the face of Remus' explanation. Sirius was tucked into a hospital cot and, after taking the potion, started to drift off to sleep. His hand was still clutched tightly in Remus'. "Don't sleep too long," Remus warned, as Sirius nodded off. "Because I want to spend the night in your bed again," he whispered. Sirius smiled.