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Remus woke up in a cold sweat, gasping for air and wrapping his arms tightly around himself as he was jolted back to reality. Unlike in most cases, reality was preferable to the dream. In reality, he still had 2 weeks until the full moon. No bone-breaking, skin rending, agonizing transformation tonight.
"Just breathe", he said softly aloud. He didn't want to wake his dorm mates, and checked quickly to make sure his curtains were pulled tight closed. As his shuddering breaths slowed, he heard a low whisper, "Remus?" He sat silently, hoping they would fall back asleep.
"Moony, you alright?" A beat of silence passed. "You know I won't stop until you answer me". Ah, it was Padfoot then. Stubborn arse.
"I'm fine, go back to sleep", Remus rasped.
"You don't sound fine". Sirius' voice sounded closer than before - his face appeared between the bed curtains, eyes squinting in the low light, low black hair a tangled mess framing his face. Sirius had seen him shirtless before plenty of times - they had lived in the same room for the past 5 years, after all - but for some reason right now Remus felt particularly vulnerable and exposed.
"I said it's fine", the words coming out more harshly than he intended. Sirius looked taken aback, then defensive before his face softened. He sat on the bed, near Remus' feet. Remus could feel his body heat next to his leg.
"Moony, just tell me what's going on. I'm not going to to let you push me away. It's what you always try to do. How many times do we have to tell you, you don't have to protect us from you." The look in his eyes was so earnest and his face so uncharacteristically open that Remus wondered if he was still dreaming. Sirius had been showing up in his dreams more often of late, in ways that were more than friendly. Remus hadn't dealt with those feelings yet, instead choosing to push them to the back of his mind, where apparently his subconscious liked to show him everything he could never have.
"It was just a bad dream, that's all", Remus replied quietly, unable to resist the worried look on Sirius' face. Sirius reached up to grasp his hand without saying a word, giving him the space to talk if he wanted to. Remus felt warmth bloom in his chest and spread out to the very tips of his fingers, and was only partly due to the hand gently holding his. Sirius - bold, loud, abrasive Sirius - was sitting there silently, no running commentary, no jokes. Just giving Remus the support he needed, the support he couldn't even find the words to ask for. Remus blinked furiously at the tears burning in the corners of his eyes and looked down at his lap.
"It was the full moon. I - I was transforming but I wasn't in the Shack. I was so afraid I was going to hurt someone..." he choked on the words, the taste of copper on his tongue. He closed his eyes tight enough to black out the vivid images from his dream. Sirius' hand left his, leaving him only a moment to mourn the loss of contact before he felt the bed dip next to him and strong arms wrap around him.
"Just breathe Moony, it was only a dream. We wouldn't let the wolf hurt anyone", Sirius murmured softly into the nape of his neck. Remus and Sirius did not have a particularly tactile relationship, so the action was a surprise. Remus didn't realize how much he yearned for the contact until it was there, a solid, safe presence keeping him grounded. The last of his defenses fell as Remus sagged into Sirius and silently broke into a million pieces. His shoulders shook and tears fell onto the sheets as Sirius rubbed circles on his back and shh-ed away his fears.
As Remus' breathing gradually returned to normal, Sirius leaned them both back on the pillows without releasing Remus from his embrace, their legs intertwined and Remus' head resting in the crook of Sirius' neck. They stayed there quietly for long minutes, each finding comfort in the other they had never been able to find elsewhere. Remus somehow found his voice, reaching out into the silence like a vine creeping between two bricks to reach towards the sun.
"Will you stay?"
"For as long as you need", Sirius replied, his lips brushing against Remus' temple as his eyes slowly closed.
And Remus slept peacefully through the night for the first time in a long time, comforted instead of terrified when his dreams imitated reality.