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“Mother of everloving buggering FUCK,” Remus managed to somehow quietly shout. He has an intensity about him, that boy.
“What’s wrong, Moony?” James asked, looking concerned.
“Oh nothing,” Remus replied nonchalantly. “Just my entire body staging a revolt against me.”
“Do you wanna go upstairs, Moons? Get some rest?” Sirius offered. “I’ll go with you so you’re not lonely.”
“Yeah, that might be a good idea,” said Remus. Though his mind was instructing his body to stand up from its prone position on the couch, it refused to respond, leaving him pushing himself up on his arms with absolutely no help from his legs.
Sirius rushed over to his side. Despite being a seemingly reckless twelve-year-old, Sirius was particularly sensitive to his friend’s needs, especially those regarding his furry little problem. Remus didn’t get far into his second year at Hogwarts withholding the truth about his lycanthropy from his friends. As soon as they found out, the three boys did everything in their power to help him, whether that be visiting him in the hospital wing and sneaking him chocolate when madame Pomfrey wasn’t looking, or helping him catch in classes he missed after the full moon. He stuck his arms under Remus’ armpits and hoisted him up to a standing position.
“Thanks, Pads,” Remus sighed with a pinched look on his face. The boy was clearly in tons of pain. He subconsciously continued to lean into Sirius, causing the other boy to hug him tight to his chest.
“C’mon Moony. Let’s get you to bed,” Sirius gently shifted Remus so he was standing next to him, and kept one arm around the smaller boy to lessen the effect of his limp. Too tired to let his pride win this battle, Remus leaned into his friend for help.
Slowly, they managed to get up the seemingly endless staircase to the boys’ dormitory. When they got there, Remus flopped onto Sirius’ bed.
“No, no, no. Go to the bathroom and brush your teeth, young man,” Sirius demanded sternly. “You know you hate it when you fall asleep without doing that first.”
“Yes, Mum,” Remus replied, de-crumpling himself from Sirius’ bed. “Be right back.”
As Remus walked to the bathroom, he heard Sirius mutter something about Hamley and “getting thee to a bathroom,” whatever the fuck that meant.
***
When Remus returned from the bathroom, he plopped down on Sirius’ bed once again.
“What’s up, Moons? You have your own perfectly good bed,” Sirius said, questioning his friend’s motives.
“It’s warmer here,” Remus murmured. “Plus, you make me feel better when I have nightmares. But I can go if you want.”
Remus made to get up from the bed when Sirius flung his arm out on top of the other boy to stop him, generating a quiet oomph from him as his arm whacked his stomach.
“Sorry,” Sirius said sheepishly. “But you don’t have to go… I like it when you stay with me.”
“Really?” Remus asked shyly.
“Really,” Sirius responded. An unsuspecting blush crept up onto his face as he looked into the eyes of his friend, his amber eyes molten and soft.
Quickly, so quickly he wasn’t even sure it happened, Remus leaned forward and placed a quick kiss onto Sirius’ cheek. When he pulled back, Remus’ beet-red flush went straight through his hairline. Sirius raised a hand to his cheek, as though the ghost of a kiss would graze his fingertips as lovingly as his friend’s lips did his cheek. He still felt the magic coursing through the spot where their bodies touched. Bewildered by these thoughts and feelings, Sirius tucked this away in his mind for further inspection at a later date.
“Goodnight, Padfoot,” Remus said as he snuggled into Sirius’ side, blush still riding high on his cheeks.
“Goodnight, Moonymine,” Sirius whispered. And they fell asleep wrapped up in each other, a world full of fear and monsters and pain far away from them.