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“Can you make it up the stairs?” Sirius asked as they stumbled through the doorway of his flat, his arm still around Remus’ shoulders, holding him steady. Remus’ head lolled forward and his arms flew out in front of him, ready to catch his fall. He snorted a laugh and grumbled something unintelligible. Sirius grabbed his hand and forced it to grip the railing, staying close behind him as they made their way up the stairs.
Remus was drunk. Remus was never drunk. But tonight at the Three Broomsticks, Sirius looked away for what felt like a moment and turned back around to see Remus with the goofiest smile plastered on his face, slurring his words and stumbling around like he was a first year with too much butterbeer. James and him did some teasing before Sirius offered to take him home. He was too wasted to apparate to his countryside cottage and Sirius was only a taxi ride away in London.
Remus drew his wand and held out his hand in front of Sirius’ face. “I’ve got this,” he said with the most confidence Sirius had ever seen from him. He flourished his wand and whispered a garbled attempt at an unlocking charm. Oh Sirius was going to have fun teasing him in the morning.
“Moony, will you let me get the door?” he asked with a smirk, trying to hold back his laughter. Remus tried again and again, his slurred words not getting any clearer. After the fifth attempt he grunted, looked at Sirius with an adorable pout, and stepped aside to let his friend unlock the door.
“Can I trust you to go get some water for yourself, hm? Not going to fall down if I don’t have my eye on you?” Sirius asked as he took off his jacket and hung it up on the coat rack.
“I’m not that hopeless,” Remus replied, already off wandering down the hall to the kitchen.
Oh, but he was.
“ That isn’t water, Moony,” Sirius said with a laugh. Remus was in the middle of popping open a bottle of Prosecco when he met him in the kitchen. Sirius took the bottle from his hands and the glass on the counter, taking it to the tap and filling it with water. He held the bottle out of reach and pushed the glass of water at Remus until he took it with a scowl.
“Spoilsport,” grumbled Remus, reluctantly taking the glass of water and downing it. “Mm, bring the bottle.”
“What’s the occasion?”
“We’re alive, I guess.”
“Oi, that’s a bit dark for you, Moony.”
“Have you met me?” he quipped with a smirk over his shoulder.
He left the kitchen and Sirius did bring the bottle with him. Sirius kept replenishing his glass with water instead of more alcohol and Remus was too drunk to notice. After a few rogue flicks of his wand, shattering a picture frame, vase, and exploding the seams of the armchair, Sirius confiscated Remus’ wand and with a few reparo ’s of his own, set the room back to order. They both ended up on the floor somehow, lying down and staring at the ceiling.
“Are you okay?” whispered Sirius after a while. Remus hummed in response. Sirius wasn’t sure if that was a yes or no.
“I think it’s time for werewolves to go to bed,” Sirius sang, sitting up. He turned to see Remus’ eyes were shut and a small smile on his face. He pushed the hair from his forehead, running his fingers through the waves and getting deeper to the scalp. He smiled at the sleepy grumble that gave him. “Remus?”
“You just want to get me in bed with you,” Remus replied knowingly, his smile growing. He opened his eyes and blinked up at Sirius, squinting a bit at the overhead lighting.
“How dare you,” Sirius feigned offense even though his heart was beating rapidly in his chest at the accusation. They had been dancing around each other for what felt like forever if he was honest, but Sirius could never get a read on his friend and he certainly didn’t want to sacrifice their friendship for what was probably a one-sided infatuation.
“You’re not denying it,” Remus quipped, but he sat up slowly, closing his eyes to stop the room from spinning.
Sirius stood behind him, helping him up to his feet and keeping him steady. They made their way to the bedroom and Sirius flicked his wand behind him to turn off the lights and send the bottle and glass soaring back to the kitchen. Remus fell onto the bed, moaning at the sudden comfort of the bedding and cushions enveloping him.
“Do you need anything else?” Sirius asked as he helped Remus kick off his boots, settling them gently at the foot of the bed. He shook out a throw blanket and tossed it over his friend as it seemed like he was too comfortable to get under the covers. With his face smashed in the pillow, Remus’ one exposed eye squinted at Sirius before he patted the bed beside him.
“Time for bed.”
“Oh, I’m going to kip on the couch.”
“Why?”
“Er, well..”
“Sirius,” Remus said, very seriously all of a sudden. He struggled to sit up, but once he managed it, he reached for Sirius’ hand. “I need to tell you something.”
“What is it?”
“It’s something important.”
“Are you sure you want to tell me this now? When you probably won’t remember it tomorrow?”
“I’ll lose my nerve tomorrow.”
“Lose your nerve? Why..”
“You’re lovely.”
Sirius shut his mouth and blinked, wide-eyed. He gripped Remus’ hand tightly and sat down on the bed beside him.
“You’re lovely and I– I want you to know how much I care for you and–”
“Moony, please..”
“No, let me…”
“Moony,” Sirius spoke more adamantly now, pressing a hand to Remus' chest and gently lowering him back to the bed. “I want to hear this. I so want to hear this, but I don’t want to be the only one who remembers this conversation, yeah?”
Remus gave him a small nod, letting himself be pushed back, head resting against the pillow. Just to give himself something to do to distract himself from his thundering pulse, with shaking hands, Sirius tucked him in, patting the blanket over his chest.
“I promise we’ll have this conversation, okay?” he murmured, fingers threading through Remus’ hair, combing it back. He pointedly avoided Remus’ gaze, hoping that he wouldn’t have to try and avoid this topic again, because Merlin , did he want to hear what Remus Lupin was truly thinking. But it wouldn’t be fair…
“I want to tell you some things, too. And I’m not sure how much time we may have left with everything going on, so I–”
He was interrupted by a light, ever so quiet, snore. Sure enough, Remus’ eyes were shut and he was sleeping soundly. Sirius couldn’t help but laugh, kicking off his own shoes and settling in for the night beside him. They would talk in the morning, or at least, he hoped he wouldn’t lose his nerve.