Saving Sooty - gift for colourlesshade

[starla-kid.livejournal.com]

Title: Saving Sooty
Pairings: Remus/Sirius
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I'm not sure it makes any difference saying this, but unfortunately - not mine.
Summary: Gift for colourlesshade in response to the prompts 
(1) Joke me something awful just like kisses on the necks of 'best friends'
(2) Scarves
(3) First time

(sorry it turned out rather flufftastic!)

Saving Sooty.

 

 

In Remus’ opinion it was a stupid day to be out of doors, let alone playing Quidditch in a Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff grudge match. James had suggested that he and Peter stay inside during what was turning out to be a violent snow storm, but Remus wouldn’t be swayed.

 

 Sirius had been driving himself hard over the last months, training longer than ever before. Remus wasn’t sure why, but for some reason, Sirius had been throwing all his energies into Quidditch and, to the surprise of not only the Marauders but a number of professors, his schoolwork as well. Remus thought it only fair that someone come out and support him - everyone else had given up or not bothered in the first place. Even McGonagall had gone to watch from inside the castle when the snow had started blowing in under her cloak after fifteen minutes.

 

“They can’t last much longer out here. They’ll have to postpone the match,” shouted Peter over the high wind. “No one’s ever going to find the snitch in this visibility.”

Remus’ insides knotted up as he saw Sirius lurch downwards suddenly only regaining his balance as James swooped down and saved him by grabbingthe collar of his robes.

 

“Oh for goodness sake,” said Remus pulling his scarf tighter round his neck. ‘This is getting dangerous.’

 

Both teams played on valiantly for another half an hour despite two more near misses for Gryffindor and the Hufflepuff keeper being blown backwards into the goalpost. Eventually the referee called time on the game.

 

“Let’s go inside,” said Peter who was so cold that his body his body had stopped even bothering to shiver. He dragged Remus from the stands and they both marched to the castle with freezing limbs. The castle wasn’t much warmer than the Quidditch stands, but the lack of wind was a least a mercy.Remus and Peter stomped up to the Gryffindor tower.

 

“They’re not going to be in very pleasant moods you know. Perhaps it’d be a better idea to leave them to it and go to supper without them” said Peter.

 

“I’m not sure Pete,” said Remus.” Sirius has been out of sorts for weeks and I’m worried about him.”

 

“Well, I’ve no sympathy with you if you get yourself on the wrong end of his temper. I’ll meet you down there.”

 

Pete left Remus in the common room. The fire blazed but the wind still jabbed its icy pokers in through the gaps in the windows. Remus really was concerned for Sirius. Something had seemed to take away his usual vibrancy of late; the casual happiness had dissipated. But Peter was right, Sirius hated to leave Quidditch match unfinished and would be in an even fouler mood than before. Most people took Sirius’ flamboyant mood swings to be simply a reflection of his temperament, but Remus knew him too well by now to think this recent diligence was normal. Sirius might be a tough old soul, but Remus knew that he needed a little gentle prodding from a friend to get to the core of things. Remus resigned himself to the likelihood of getting an earful of ranting Sirius and climbed the stairs into the dormitory to wait for him.

 

James it seemed had not made it back from the changing rooms yet but the drawn curtains around Sirius’ bed gave him away.

 “Pads are you in here?” called Remus.

A muffled grunt came from behind the drapes around Sirius’ bed. Remus tentatively pulled them back to find Sirius lying face down on the bed, his head buried in the pillow. He was still wearing his soaked Quidditch kit and had wrapped a scarf around his neck.

 

“For crying out loud Padfoot, you’ll catch your death like that. Get changed, have a shower,” said Remus. Sirius groaned as he rolled over onto his back.

 

“Bloody hell Sirius,” said Remus, as he saw his flushed face. “You’re burning up.” Remus laid his hand on Sirius’ brow. A thin sheen of sweat gleamed over his face.

 

“I’ll be fine Moony,” groaned Sirius.

 

“I think not,” Remus replied tartly. “You’re going to get into your pyjamas and I’m going to get Madam Pomfrey.”

 

“Not that old bag,” said Sirius before breaking into a fit of coughing.

 

“Sorry mate but you haven’t a choice in the matter,” said Remus. He pulled Sirius so he was sitting on the bed and began to unwrap the scarf from around his neck. Sirius shivered as Remus unlaced his Quidditch robes and peeled the cold wet cloth and his sodden jumper from his body. Sirius sat on the bed in his vest and a pair of breeches that were splattered with mud.

 

“You’re wet through, Padfoot. Why didn’t you change?”

 

“Couldn’t stand up long enough,” stuttered Sirius.

 

Remus felt idiotic and more than a bit embarrassed as he moved to take off Sirius’ vest. He tried to remember that the others had done this for him during countless transformations but it didn’t make tending to his best friend like a baby any less weird.

 

“No!” Sirius flinched away as Remus took hold of the hem.

 

“Sirius, don’t pretend to be shy. I’ve seen you in the altogether countless times. As has the whole of the school on three separate occasions.”

 

Sirius turned his feverish gaze to Remus who stood there still smiling.

 

“Please Remus,” he said. Remus was taken aback. He couldn’t remember the last time Sirius had called him by his real name.

 

“Right then. I’ll, erm, get the nurse then,” he said.

 

 

By the time Madam Pomfrey had seen Sirius, fussed over him, and forced him into bed, Remus had decided that something more than a chill must be afflicting him. He sat on the bed leaning on one of the posts and prodded Sirius in the leg.

 

“So, you wet nosed mutt, are you going to tell me what’s up or do I have to announce to your fan club that you’re retiring from your job as the life and soul of Gryffindor in favour of moping like a girl?”

 

“Stop prodding,” grumbled Sirius turning his head into the pillow.

 

“Not until you stop being miserable or at least tell me why you’re miserable so that I can try and help you.” Remus reached a hand under the blankets and twisted Sirius’ big toe.

 

“Oi!” squeaked Sirius indignantly. “That’s not on. Poking me’s one thing, but toe twisting is out of order. I’m an invalid.”

 

“You’re not that ill,” said Remus. Sirius had perked up after Madam Pomfrey’s warming charm had tingled through his body thawing his limbs and had forced four spoons of Pepper-Up down his throat.

 

“So just tell me and I’ll stop.”

 

Sirius buried his head in his hands, his black hair falling over his face. He mumbled something unintelligible.

 

“What?” asked Remus.

 

“I said it’s too embarrassing.” Sirius was bright red again though this time not through fever.

 

“What? Got piles from sitting on your broom too long?” Remus said.  

 

“You’re so mean today. You’re normally the nice one,” said Sirius. Remus threw a cough drop at him.

 

‘Well James is with Evans I expect and so I’ve got to fill his role. Now tell me or I will show your stuffed cat, Mr Sooty, to Severus Snape tomorrow at breakfast.”

 

“You leave Sooty out of this. He never did anything to you!”

 

Remus leaped off the bed and stuck his hand bravely into Sirius’ trunk.

 

“All right, I’ll tell you!” said Sirius as Remus unearthed the toy and placed a pair of Sirius’ pants on its head. “You won’t like it though.”

 

“I didn’t say I had to like it,” said Remus clambering back up again.

 

“You might hate it.”

 

“Not as much as I despise seeing you moping. And bloody hell – working. You’re usurping my place as the one in the group who finishes essays.”

 

“Well you’ve turned into James,” said Sirius.

 

“Which means that Peter will turn into you.”

 

“Agh!” said Sirius faking a death scene. Remus threw another sweet at his head.

 

“I’m waiting. Your amateur dramatics will not distract me.”

 

Sirius stopped performing and went very quiet. His hands knotted and unknotted in the blankets.

 

“’minlove.” It came out as one sound. Remus wanted to laugh but seeing the look on Sirius’ face he bit it back.

 

“Isn’t that supposed to be a good thing?” he sucked harder on his own sweet.

 

“ ‘Dunno. ‘Snot though.”

 

“And why’s that? Did she tell you to bugger off?”

 

“Oh forget it,” said Sirius turning over and hiding under the covers again. Remus launched himself onto Sirius and began a tug of war with the blanket. Sirius was strong though and all that Remus could get access to was one ear and the side of his neck.

 

“Doesn’t matter Sirius,” he said before planting a wet kiss on the bare stretch of skin.

“I’ll still love you even if you do smell of unwashed Quidditch kit.”

 

Another mumble.

 

“What?”

 

Sirius pulled the cover away from his face.

 

“It’s not a girl.”

 

“Don’t tell me you’ve found a doggy playmate to piss up lamp posts with!”

 

“Not exactly.”

 

“Right. You are not making any sense. Talk now or I will not wait until breakfast…”

 

“It’s you.”

Sirius, Remus knew, was laying himself open. The flush had returned yet again to his cheeks and he looked as though he might cry. Remus shuffled backwards to the end of the bed hiding his hands in the sleeves of his jumper. “You’re going to have to repeat that.” he said.

 

“I said I love you.”

 

Remus’ ears were ringing with the silence that lay between them.

 

“Well?” said Sirius.

 

“Well, Mr Sooty is safe.”

 

“Moony, I…”

 

“Padfoot shut up.”

 

Remus knew that he’d possibly regret this, but even as he thought so, he stood up and walked round to the head of the bed. Sirius looked at him with wide, pale eyes as

Remus knelt on the floor.

 

“You are my best friend,” he said as he ever so gently entwined his fingers in Sirius’ hair. “You are more than a friend should have to be. You risk your own life for me every moon.” Remus pushed his face into Sirius’ neck and breathed in the antiseptic scent before softly kissing his warm skin.

 

“You idiot boy. I have always loved you,” he said.

 

“You never said,” gasped Sirius raggedly.

 

“I didn’t have to,” said Remus with a puzzled expression. “I thought it was obvious.”

 

“You are joking?” Sirius looked hard at Remus.  “No, you’re not. Remus,” he said gently.  “You arse. I have done every piece of homework with added footnotes and nearly died of Quidditch induced flu trying to forget that I love you.”

 

“Why would you want to forget?” asked Remus.

 

“God you’re dense.”

 

“Cheers mate,” said Remus.

 

“I thought you fancied girls.”

 

“I do,” he said.

 

“Oh.” Sirius’ face fell.

 

“But I love you. And - I know you won’t believe me because even though people think you’re vain, you’re not – you’re beautiful.”

 

“Ah. Oh. Well. No. Bloody well don’t believe you.”

 

Remus smiled then. “Then I’ll have to show you how beautiful I think you are.”

 

Remus didn’t know what was happening, but he knew that if he stopped to think about it he’d stop altogether.

 

There was a flickering moment where they shared each other’s breath, hot little puffs of air smelling of menthol and lemons.

 

“You want me,” said Sirius. It was more a statement than a question and he gazed at Remus with his mouth hanging open.

 

“Of course,” replied Remus before pressing their lips together and curling his hands around the top of Sirius’ arms.

 

They pulled away and Sirius’ face broke into a wide smile.

 

“I still think that Snape would love to meet Mr Sooty,” said Remus. Sirius pulled the stuffed cat from under the covers and threw it at Remus.

 

“So, I tell you I love you and you’re still thinking of a stuffed cat. You need your head seeing to, Lupin.”

 

“I do if I’m going out with you,” said Remus shoving Sirius back on the bed and emptying the rest of the bag of sugary throat sweets over Sirius’ laughing face.