~~~
Remus woke in a hospital bed on the first floor of St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. He stared at the ceiling as he tried to remember how the hell he had gotten there.
“You’re awake. Good.”
Remus turned his head to find a familiar face. “Hello, Molly. How are you?”
“Good,” she answered honestly. “You really can be dumb when you want to be,” she added in a scolding manner, to which Remus blinked in slight surprise. “That was very irresponsible of you, Remus, very unlike you. Instead of admitting you were in need of help, you allowed Sirius to risk being sighted in order to get you here.” She huffed as she finished, giving him a disapproving look.
Remus’s mouth fell open.
“Did Sirius tell you all this?”
“He certainly did,” Molly replied.
Remus opened his mouth to say something in return, somewhat along the lines of ‘there are two sides to every story,’ but he quickly thought it over and instead asked, “Was he worried?”
“He was.”
“Where is he now?”
“He’s back at his parents’ house, making some last-minute arrangements for tomorrow evening.”
“Tomorrow?”
“The Order’s first meeting.”
Remus sat up at the words without any help; his body felt fine and his bandaged arm barely hurt now. If Sirius was back at Twelve Grimmauld Place he wanted to help. “When can I leave?” he asked Molly.
She blinked softly at him. “Healer Perkins said you could leave as soon as you woke up.”
Remus smiled, and Molly smiled back kindly as he stood up from the bed and got ready to leave.
As they walked out, Molly mentioned that the Order’s members would be arriving a little after nightfall. She then offered Remus to stay at her house for the night, but he kindly refused, saying that he wanted to thank Sirius for aiding him as soon as possible and to help him with the house. They said their goodbyes, and Remus started on his way back to Grimmauld Place, thoughts of Sirius frequently popping into his head.
~~~
Sirius cursed for the fiftieth time in an hour as another shriveled doxy managed to scratch him, this time across the face; at least they hadn’t bitten him. His concentration just wasn’t on what he was supposed to be doing, mostly because he was thinking of Remus every ten seconds or so. The last thing he had heard was that Remus was going to be fine but that they still needed to check to see when he could leave. That meant Sirius was caught completely by surprise when someone knocked on the door.
Sirius couldn’t hide the shock in his voice. “Remus!”
Remus smiled. “Need any help?” he asked. Sirius couldn’t help but smile back as he reached forward and pulled Remus into a warm embrace. “How’s your arm?”
“It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
“Are you sure?”
Remus let out a soft laugh. “You worry too much.”
“Do I?” Sirius asked with a grin.
“Yes,” Remus replied quickly, grinning himself. He paused for a second, gazing deeply at Sirius's eyes. “Did you happen to lie and say the whole ordeal was my fault?”
Sirius’s eyes widened a bit. “Don’t tell me you’re angry because of that?”
“Not at all. Just annoyed.”
“And what could I do to make up for it?” Sirius asked.
Remus didn’t even hesitate. “Kiss me.”
Sirius didn’t reply, he didn’t comment. He just leaned forward and did what he was told.
~~~
“Tomorrow the house will be full of people,” Sirius commented as he picked his plate along with Remus's after finishing their dinner.
“What’s that suppose to mean?” Remus said with a bewildered look on his face as he followed Sirius's every movement with his eyes, keeping his position on a chair by the table.
Sirius sighed to himself as he stopped a few feet behind Remus and placed the dishes in the sink. “It means that after tonight we might not get a chance to be alone.”
Remus raised his eyebrows, quickly catching on to what was being said. “Alone?” Only one thing popped in his head that the two of them needed to be alone for. “Are you serious?” he almost yelled in surprise, turning his body around in the chair to look at Sirius.
Sirius burst out laughing, and Remus didn’t really know what to make of it.
Then the laughter stopped suddenly. Quick hands wrapped around Remus's back, trapping his arms. Remus could feel the altered beating of Sirius's heart as his face was pressed to the other’s chest. Fingertips grazed his chin, tilting his head upwards. They stared at each other, not speaking; it just wasn’t necessary. There was a kiss, then another and another.
Sirius retreated, parting their lips. Remus could feel the heat on his cheeks as they kept staring at each other.
“I’ll be in my old room.” Sirius said in a low tone. He leaned down then and whispered in Remus's ear. “I’ll be waiting for you, Moony.”
Remus blinked, taking a deep breath as his heart hammered fiercely against his chest. He turned his head swiftly toward Sirius, but he was already gone.
~~~
Remus was standing in front of Sirius's door without being able to move, just as he had for an hour.
He knew what would happen if he opened that door, and he wanted it. He loved Sirius so much it hurt. For all he knew, this could be their only chance to be together. So why was it so hard to turn the doorknob?
Remus took a deep breath, clearing his head of everything and grabbing the doorknob. The door didn’t even creak when he opened it. A soft scent overtook the air all around him, some sort of incense. Dozens of candles floated around the room, casting dim light around the room.
“Padfoot?”
A hand surfaced from the darkness, wrapping itself around Remus's wrist and pulling him in. There was a tumble, then a bed, then a kiss. A hand traveled down his chest and a soft moan escaped from his lips.
Too fast. “Wait. Sirius, wait!”
“What?” Sirius exclaimed as he forced himself to stop what he was doing. “What did you think I was going to do once you got up here, talk?”
“No,” Remus replied earnestly, “but at least give me a second to breathe.”
Sirius chuckled lightly, then he grinned. “Your second’s up.”
Remus had barely registered the words before Sirius latched his mouth to a spot on his neck and started suckling at it. Remus sighed to himself as his body reacted to the touch. He dug his hands into Sirius's hair pulling his mouth from his neck and kissing it fully.
Words weren’t necessary anymore.
~~~
The following morning both Sirius and Remus woke to the feeling of the other’s loving touch. It was the first time in a very long while that either hadn’t woken up alone. It was the best feeling in the world.
Remus was smiling. The smile just wouldn’t leave his face.
This moment, this instant, this love in his heart: no matter what, it would be a part of him forever.
~xxx~