Happy, love? (Harry Potter: Sirius/Remus)

[elizachoo]

This is my first ever sneezefic... or fanfic... or, well, the first time I've written anything fictional in years.  But I wanted to try, so here is a short attempt! I wrote it from a general first-line prompt (that I changed the names in to make it fanfic, clearly).

____________________________________________

Even though Peter had eaten the last of the pancakes, Sirius couldn’t find it in himself to get worked up about it.

Normally Sirius could find it in himself to get worked up about anything, and his fuse was especially short when it came to pancakes. Remus usually made two whole batches just for the four of them, because Sirius would inevitably insist on at least four helpings. Which is why it was so strange that Sirius would shrug it off when he came downstairs to find Peter had already eaten them all before he and James left for work.

“Love?” said Remus as Sirius lowered himself into a chair and reached for the teapot.

Sirius raised his eyebrows at his beloved, but said nothing. Remus frowned. That was even stranger than Sirius not overreacting to the pancake situation.

“Do you want me to make a fresh batch? It won’t take long,” Remus offered.

Sirius shook his head, still not speaking. Now Remus was worried. Sirius was never this quiet, except when -- 

herKtschTT!  Sirius turned away, trying to be discreet. 

Remus sighed. “Love, you know I can see you even if you don’t look at me when you sneeze, right?” Sirius narrowed his eyes... silently.

“My magical powers extend quite a ways, in fact,” Remus continued casually. “For instance, when the love of my life shows no interest in either pancakes or talking, I can conclude that something is wrong.” Sirius’ glare deepened but he did not argue. Instead, he turned away again and --

haKtschoo! hiTSCHii!

Sirius sniffed wetly, then turned back and looked coolly at Remus, as if daring him to comment.

Remus merely sighed again, crossed the kitchen and bent down for their usual morning kiss, hoping to force a response from Sirius. Sirius knew that Remus could see right through his game, and Remus knew he knew it. The only way out of admitting that he was ill would be to chance getting Remus sick as well, and Remus knew Sirius cared too much to take that risk.

Remus leaned closer... and closer... 

Finally Sirius pushed him away. “Fine!” he growled, with a voice as rough as his shove had been. “Fine. I’m sick. Happy, love?”

“Not the word I’d use, exactly, but at least we’ve got it out in the open now.”

“Congratulations. I’ll alert the presses.”

“I appreciate it. Though, to be honest, I’d appreciate it even more if I could take you back to bed and get you under the covers. You’re shivering out here,” Remus pointed out.

“No’m not. Besides, tea’s here.” Sirius sniffed.

“We can bring the tea with us, love. I’ll put a warming charm on it and everything. Come on, Padfoot, I’ll even stay with you.”

Sirius looked as if he were inclined to protest again, but the words seemed to stick in his throat. “hh... hhehh...herKiTScht! hiktshoo!” he sneezed in succession. He shook his head, although Remus couldn’t tell if it was in argument or to clear it.

“A powerful counterargument to be sure, but let’s get you back to the bedroom anyway,” he coaxed, trying to humor Sirius and get him out of the kitchen simultaneously.

hikTTSH! hertchuu! ertsschhOO! Sirius slumped back in his seat, dragging his wrist across his nose. He nodded in defeat, and allowed Remus to help him back to the bedroom, looking longingly over his shoulder at the cup of tea growing lukewarm on the table. Remus guided the other man onto the bed and tucked the covers around him, then flicked his wand toward the kitchen and drew an arc through the air back toward the nightstand. Sirius’ teacup flew obligingly through the doorway and landed smoothly on the stand without spilling a drop. With a final tap on the up, Remus laid a warming charm on it and turned back to Sirius.

“Happy, love?”

But Sirius was silent yet again. He had already fallen asleep.

[ProfessorBiscuit]

This is so lovely! The characterization is perfect, and the banter is adorable. I really hope you continue with this!

[sneezymui]

This is so sweet and perfect  Would love to see more!

[LP]

Wow! This is really good! I'm not much for shipping in the HP world, as Rowling so neatly hands us these couples we're supposed to believe are in love, but this is really convincing.

One thing I really like is slow signs hinting that a character isn't feeling well. In this case, it was Sirius not making a fuss that there were no pancakes left, and not wanting to talk. I just love that, it makes my heart smile.

I like how you were able to make Sirius "argue" or protest without him even speaking a word half the time. It was pretty brilliant. How he narrowed his eyes, glared, and then gazed cooly at Remus was really greatly described. I could imagine the expressions in my mind. And then how he would turn to the side to sneeze and how it sounded like he was holding it back, that was just yes.

Remus is a smart fellow, using his partners love for him to get him to confess he wasn't feeling well •3• absolutely adorable. I like how it doesn't feel in your face about their relationship, it's just there, yet it's also important in the story. It's a nice touch, one that I really liked.

If this is your first fic, then wow, you got talent and I look forward to more from you. Happy writing!

Edited March 29, 2016 by Leapingriver

[elizachoo]

Thank you! I'm glad you guys are enjoying this. 

ProfessorBiscuit and sneezymui - I originally wrote this as a one-shot to get it out of my head so I could go back to the much longer, more complicated sneezy mystery fic I'm trying to work out. However, I'm having trouble moving out of the Sirius/Remus stuff and the other story doesn't have that at all, so there may be more to this one after all. We'll see. Obviously it's nice to know more would be welcome, though.

Leapingriver - I'm actually not much for a lot of the HP shipping that happens either, although if there's well written sneezing and the characters are otherwise true to form, I don't mind too terribly. But the Sirius/Remus one just hooked me. Maybe it's just that it avoids the whole Sirius dying thing, maybe it's because Remus is just such a sympathetic character, I don't know, but it's the one extra-canonical pair that's really compelling to me. And I'm glad you enjoyed the slow build - I didn't really think about it as I wrote, but I am definitely a big fan of the slow build to a character getting sick or admitting illness myself. At any rate, I really appreciate how specific your feedback is. I write a lot for work and rely heavily on the constant feedback and learning process, and I'm especially grateful for it here since it's my first foray into fiction.

[elizachoo]

Did I say there may be more to this one? Strike that - there is more. Last night's insomnia led to me mapping out a seven-part plot (where "plot" = fluffy outline). So... here is part 2. I hope it suits!

_____________________________________________

hheh..

Remus pushed the front door shut behind him and shook his wet hair out of his eyes. He paused, the paper sack still in his arms, listening.

heh... hheh...sniff...

He eased his way over to the bedroom and peeked in. Sirius snuffled into his pillow again, rolled to the other side, and began to snore.

Remus smiled with relief and amusement. Moving as quietly as he could, he took the bag into the kitchen and began to unpack it: juice, tissues, soup, sherbet, tissues, honey, lemons, tissues... His smile faded as he pushed his damp hair back again and hung up his raincoat in the entryway. Although he hoped he was just overpreparing, he knew the odds were not in his favor. As rare as it was for Sirius to catch a cold, it was far more rare for him to keep his cold to himself once he did.

hheh... hehh.. herKTsch...ektaschatsCHOOO!!  “Rebus?” the voice mumbled thickly.

Remus stuck the sherbet in the freezer and hurried back into the bedroom. “I’m right here, love” he assured Sirius as he moved to sit on the bed and rub the man’s back. “That was quite a sneeze. How are you feeling?” 

Sirius rolled over with a groan and Remus was dismayed to see how puffy Sirius’ eyes now were and how tender and drippy his nose had gotten. “Oh, Padfoot...” he murmured, his hand drifting to the man’s forehead. “You’re warmer. And pinker.”

herkTCHshu! atchhERR! hakshOO!  “Pigker?” Sirius cocked his head. “Yes,” smiled Remus, stroking the bridge of the man’s nose and giving the end of it a light tap.

“Oh, dod’t...” Sirius pulled away and took a short, quick breath in. Remus grabbed a handful of tissues and held them to the man’s face just in time to catch the next round of sneezes. hhehhetschOO! hehtschOO! atschoo! herkTCHshahh!

Remus rubbed Sirius’ arm as the latter blew his nose wetly and then reached for the teacup on the side table. “Do we have ady Pepper-Up?” Sirius asked. 

Remus shook his head. “Sorry, love. I slipped out and around the corner to the muggle store for supplies, but I didn’t want to leave you alone for too long, and you know it takes forever for the order to get through the apothecary. I owled it in for James to pick up tonight. But I’m afraid you’ll have to get through the day without it.”

Sirius’ face took on its most pitiful puppy look. “A whole day?” he whispered. “Ugh.” He nestled closer to Remus. Clearly Sirius had given up on the grouchy, resisting attention stage of being sick and was ready to be his neediest, poutiest self for a while.

“Hold on, love.” Remus tried to disengage from the man’s arms.

“Dod’t leave!” The arms tightened. “I’m not leaving, love. But if I’m going to snuggle you, I need you to let go so I can get up on the bed properly first.” Remus paused. “In fact...” He loosened Sirius’ grip, stood up, and slipped out of the bedroom.

“Rebus! Where are you going?” Sirius sniffed wetly. He pushed himself back and up so he was propped against his pillow, but the headboard cut into the nape of his neck uncomfortably and he whimpered.

Moments later, a tray floated through the doorway, followed in procession by a bowl of soup, a glass of water, a spoon, a fresh box of tissues, and finally Remus himself, peering over the very large box he was balancing with one arm as his wand hand guided the tray and its appurtenances to the bedside table, where they dropped neatly into place.

Sirius pulled a tissue from the box, blew his nose loudly and asked “Are we moving?”

Remus rolled his eyes. “Yes. You caught me. I’m moving out, and I hoped that you wouldn’t notice the box if I sent in a floating parade in front of me.” He opened the box and pulled out several pillows and a fuzzy blanket. “It seemed like you were ready to settle in for quite a while, love, and I thought we’d both be more comfortable with a little extra down.” He nudged Sirius forward and plumped up a second pillow behind him, then filled the head of the bed with a few more before joining the man and pulling him over to rest against him. “Now isn’t that better?” he queried.

hiktchERT! hakschoo! Sirius sneezed freely and shrugged. “I cad’t reach the tissues dow...” He watched as Remus quietly stretched across him to grab the box and place it between them, and noticed a slight tension in the man’s lips. “Sorry, love,” he sniffled. “You were busy. I should let you go back to what you were doig.”

Another smile played at the corners of Remus’ mouth. “Nice try, Pads,” he chuckled. “I know better. If I left now you’d look at me all pathetic and sniffly until I felt guilty enough to come back, or you’d try to trudge after me and end up fainting in the middle of the apartment or something. I’ll stay.” He pressed his cheek to the top of Sirius’ head. “Purely for practical reasons, you understand.” 

Sirius nuzzled against Remus’ chest. “You always were the practical ode. I, of course, ab a siggularly robadtic sort - ” He broke off coughing. Remus rubbed his back in circles. “Ah, yes. Your well known predilection for romancing men by coughing on them. I’m lucky it’s just the two of us or I’d have to fight off the others with a stick.” He passed Sirius the water. 

“Dabn right you would,” Sirius replied with a slight wheeze. He dropped his head into Remus’ lap and curled up against him. “I’ve got big pladns...” 

“Best not use all your effort on talking, then, hmm? Go back to sleep, Sirius. You need your strength for all that romancing.”

Sirius glanced up sleepily. “Thigk I will. Will you stay with be?” 

Remus smoothed back Sirius’ hair, kissed the warm forehead, and yawned. “Don’t worry, love. I’m not going anywhere.” He leaned back into the soft pillows, and together both men dozed off.

[AngelEyes]

This is adorable. I love their banter. LOL.

[sneezymui]

Seven parts? I can't wait 

They're so cute.

Sirius nuzzled against Remus’ chest. “You always were the practical ode. I, of course, ab a siggularly robadtic sort - ” He broke off coughing. Remus rubbed his back in circles. “Ah, yes. Your well known predilection for romancing men by coughing on them. I’m lucky it’s just the two of us or I’d have to fight off the others with a stick.”

I would probably need to be fought off with a stick.  Seriously though, the banter is great. Great job.

[elizachoo]

Thanks guys! Part 3 is in progress... hopefully it'll go up sometime this weekend. Right now it's just a messy drabble.

[elizachoo]

Well, that happened faster than I expected... the part I was blocked on came to me today while I was writing for work. The rest of the weekend is pretty heavy on work writing too, which I guess means that either I won't end up working on part 4 at all until Monday or it will be all I can think about while I'm trying to write for work. Part 3 is longer than I meant it to be - it has just the faintest whiff of plot about it, unlike parts 1 and 2, and I guess that took me longer to work into all the sickness. On the other hand, maybe that's not a bad thing, as I know I'm usually glad when there's more story than I expected. Anyway, here it is!

___________________________________________

Thud.
Thud.
Thud.

Remus woke with a start and was surprised to find that the light was beginning to fade from the room. How long had they slept this time? And who on earth was pounding so insistently against the front door?

“About time,” James said cheerfully as Remus opened the door to find their roommate standing in the hall, his foot drawn back ready to kick the door again.

Remus rubbed his face vigorously to clear the sleep from his head. “Why were you knocking?”

“So you’d open the door and let me in, of course.”

“Why did you need me to let you in? Why didn’t you just let yourself in as usual?” Remus frowned.

“Are you kidding, mate? Do you know how disgusting doorknobs get? You owled and told me to drop by for Pepper-Up - which they’re backed up on, by the way, won’t have any ‘til tomorrow - because Sirius was down ill. Which means, I assume, that you’ll be down next. You’re probably both contagious. I don’t want to touch anything more than I have to, at least until you’ve told me what you’ve touched and what you’ve sanitized. I am taking Lily out on Friday night and until that’s done you’ll both keep your bloody germs to yourself, okay?” James declared.

Remus sighed. “Sirius has been in bed all day, ever since he came to breakfast and didn’t want pancakes. And I’m fine, James.”

“Didn’t want pancakes? Poor bloke must really be miserable.” Remus nodded.

A shuffling from the doorway drew their attention to a rumpled, red-nosed Sirius holding his pajama sleeve against his running nose. 

“Pepper-Up?” he sniffled.

James instinctively drew back, despite the fact that Sirius was still several feet away from him. “Er, no - apothecary’s backed up on it, can’t get any until tomorrow. Uh, shouldn’t you be in bed and not out contaminating door frames and whatnot?”

Sirius inhaled with a long gurgle followed by a quick snort. “Dod’t be ad arse, Jabes.” He leaned back against the door frame as a sudden coughing fit bent him double. He wheezed as he tried to catch his breath, his eyes looking brighter and more fevered again to Remus.

Remus rolled his eyes and stepped over to take Sirius by the arm, turning him back to their room. “He may be a right arse, but he’s also an arse who’s right. Back to bed with you.”

“But will you-”

“Yes, James and I will come stay with you until you fall asleep,” replied Remus patiently, with a hard look at James who looked horrified at the idea of actually setting foot in the sickroom. “Won’t we, James?” He raised his eyebrows as far as they could go as he looked back at the black-haired man.

“Uh, yeah. ‘Course.” James followed his friends at what he considered a safe distance and lingered in the doorway, hands shoved in his pockets, while Remus put Sirius back to bed and settled down next to him. He held out one arm and Sirius snuggled against his chest, already drowsy again. 

He looked up at James to see their friend biting his nails as he watched the couple get settled. “Something wrong, James?” asked Remus. James shrugged. 

“That beads it’s Lily-related,” announced Sirius, his eyes half-shut. “When Jabes shrugs like that, it beads the probleb is Lily.”

“Lily’s not a problem!” James shot back.  

Sirius smirked. James had to chuckle - that smirk, even on a sick, half-asleep face, was just perfectly Sirius. “Easy, bate. Do, you’re the probleb, I'll wager. I just beadt it bust have sobethig to do with LileetschOO! HAtschoo! hershiiKT! He jerked forward, not bothering to cover his sneezes.

“No need to be formal, Sirius. You can just call her Lily,” said James, wincing, as Remus folded a tissue and placed it over Sirius’ nose and mouth. Sirius blew wetly and Remus wiped his nose, then balled up the tissue and threw it toward the trash can, missing by a foot or so and hitting the outside edge of James’ shoe instead.

“Remus!!” James shrieked. “I am not getting sick!” Both Remus and Sirius burst out laughing at the shrillness of James’ voice until Sirius broke off coughing again and Remus calmed down enough to rub his back.

“All right. We’re not helping you get any rest like this, love. If we’re going to stay we’d better quiet things down so that you can drift off. James, what are your plans with Lily on Friday?” Remus asked.

“Mmm, yes,” said Sirius. “Tell us all about it. That’ll put be to sleep for sure.”

Remus gave him a light smack on the back of the head and then pulled him in so his head rested on Remus’ chest again. “Win-win, then.”

“I’m not sure, honestly,” James began nervously. “She’s got some sort of big plans, wants to surprise me. She says I’m always the one putting on surprises for her and she wants a turn to do me.”

“Dod’t deed special plads for her to do you, mate, does she” murmured Sirius sleepily. Remus lowered a hand over Sirius’ eyes, noticing as he did how warm Sirius’ head was getting, and admonished, “Sleep now. Mock James later.” He looked up at James. “Why’s that got you so on edge, though?”

“It’s not that, exactly, although that’s why I’m so bound and determined not to catch his plague, with all the work she’s putting into this,” James replied. 

“Don’t be a prat. You’re always impossible about getting sick. I’ve seen you duck Quidditch to avoid contagion, let alone actually touching things.” Remus looked down as Sirius snorted but couldn’t tell whether it was laughter or illness; the man was so close to sleep he might well not have heard the comment at all.

“Whatever. My point is, it’s not that I mind being surprised. I’m just... worried. About us. We’re engaged. We’re planning a wedding. A small one, but still, a wedding in the middle of wartime. I keep thinking I’ve got to be crazy to be doing this now, in the middle of all this. What if I’m making Lily a target? What if she’s making me one? What if we have kids?” James began pacing between the door and the desk. “A family, Remus? What am I thinking? I’m not a family man and these are not family times.” He sat heavily in the desk chair and put his head in his hands.

Remus half thought of standing up and going over to him, but Sirius had finally drifted off and he didn’t want to wake the man. He shifted slightly to face James and spoke quietly. “James.”

James looked up wearily. Remus continued, “A small wedding is not going to be the end of us - or at least it’s no more likely than us all out working for the Order. It’s going to be a smaller gathering than an average Order meeting, and Dumbledore will see to it that it’s just as protected. And it’s not like Voldemort doesn’t already have it in for us anyway. Why not have some joy as well?”

James sighed and opened his mouth to reply, but Remus forged ahead. “And as for family, mate - what do you think this is, here? If you don’t want to have children yet, don’t have children yet, the potions and things that I assume you’re using now won’t stop working just because you’re married.” Remus thought he detected a slight blush. “But you are in fact already a family man, Prongs, whether you like it or not.”

James nodded and smiled bleakly. “I s’pose I am.” He stood and stretched. “I’d better let you get your rest if you’re going to fight off this cold, and get to bed myself. I’ve an early morning tomorrow and with Peter away on mission there’ll be no knocking and calling to get me up, just the alarm clock that stops ringing if I throw it against the wall. Peter may be annoyingly chipper in the morning, but he doesn’t shut up when I throw him against the wall.” He smiled again, this time for real, and clapped Remus on the shoulder before he turned to leave. “Thanks, Moony. What would we do without you?”

Remus returned the smile. “Goodnight, James.” Slowly, gently, he transferred Sirius to the pillows and went to go brush his teeth. He looked in the mirror as he moved the brush up and down. The worry he’d seen in James’ face now stared back at him in his own. “What would we do without you?” The question echoed in his mind as he spat and wiped his face on the towel.

Remus made his way back to bed and slipped under the covers. It wasn’t really that late, but despite his nap he was tired, and the conversation with James had left him feeling slightly uneasy all over. He turned out the light and wrapped his arm securely around Sirius, who was snoring congestedly. “What would I do without you?” he whispered, a lump growing in his throat. He fervently hoped he’d never have to find out.

[sneezymui]

1 hour ago, elizachoo said:

I won't end up working on part 4 at all until Monday or it will be all I can think about while I'm trying to write for work.

Yeah, totally can relate to this lol. Good luck!

Amazing as always and so many FEELS. Poor guys.

1 hour ago, elizachoo said:

“What would I do without you?” he whispered, a lump growing in his throat. He fervently hoped he’d never have to find out.

I really wish none of them would have to find out 

[elizachoo]

8 hours ago, sneezymui said:

I really wish none of them would have to find out 

Right??? Half the reason I like Marauders stuff so much is to pretend away all that finding out and yet it just sort of went like this  until I gave in and let it into the story.

[Artemis]

I'm this adorable. I love them, especially Sirius. You hit him spot on, even the teasing but still not like destroying James perfect!! Looking forward to more.

[rodakemopetojoen]

Ahhh so adorable!! I was so delighted when I finished reading the first part you wrote that you told us there'd be more XD XD your writing is lovely, thanks for sharing it  

[elizachoo]

On 4/2/2016 at 3:25 PM, Artemis said:

I love them, especially Sirius. You hit him spot on, even the teasing but still not like destroying James perfect!!

Thank you! Sirius is really fun to write. 

On 4/2/2016 at 5:39 PM, rodakemopetojoen said:

I was so delighted when I finished reading the first part you wrote that you told us there'd be more 

I'm glad! I probably would have written more anyway just because it was in my head, but there's definitely more motivation to keep going in the stuck moments when someone else is interested in reading, you know?

Anyway, sorry this part took me a little longer to finish - things got crazy and I had to work an overnight unexpectedly. It's also somewhat more expositional and less sneezy, but don't worry, there'll be more sneezy goodness in part five!

___________________________________

Remus lay in bed, his eyes closed against the bright sunlight peeking past the edge of the shade. He hadn’t slept well. He’d dreamed of emerging from his transformation to find the body of a large black dog lying motionless beside him, its eyes wide as if shocked to death. That conversation with James last night must have affected him more than he expected, he thought, noticing that the lump in his throat was still there and he still felt uneasy and off-kilter.

Nervously, he rolled over to check on Sirius. Remus was relieved to find him sleeping soundly and reached out a hand to smooth back his hair. His relief was short-lived; he had barely touched Sirius before he felt the heat radiating from his face. Fully awake now, Remus ducked into the bathroom for a cold compress, then sat at the edge of the bed beside Sirius, hesitating. Should he wake him up to check on him? Should he let him sleep? Rest was probably the best healer for him, but his fever needed to come down. Remus reached into the nightstand for his wand and held it to Sirius’ forehead. He would check the temperature on its own first, he decided, then see if the cool cloth woke Sirius. A golden number issued from the wand: 38.5. He felt his muscles relax. Not good, but not so bad either. It must have been that dream just making him jumpy and anxious. He shivered as he realized he was still holding the cold compress, and set it on the bedside table, feeling silly for having overreacted.

To his immense relief, Sirius stirred at the intrusion and opened his eyes. “Morning, love,” murmured Remus. Sirius coughed slightly and his eyelids drooped again. “Wake up, okay? How do you feel?” 

Sirius was about to reply when a sudden hikt-isch-ishh-shOOO! caught him by surprise. “Rottedn,” he muttered. His brow wrinkled as Remus sighed, pulled a few tissues, and wiped the spray from his face. 

“Thank you for that,” Remus said, no longer so relaxed.

“Sorry, love.” Sirius blew wetly into a handful of tissues and groaned. “Is Jabes sendig over the Pepper-Up by owl or briggig it later?”

Remus hesitated. “I’m not sure... I didn’t see him this morning. I only just woke up myself.” Sirius’ brow furrowed again. “But... love...” He paused. “I’m afraid you’re past Pepper-Up now, Sirius.”

“Past? No! I’ve only beed sick for a few... I bead for a day! Add I deed it!” Sirius moaned. 

“Yes, but your fever is up. It’s not dangerous or anything, and we can try the Pepper-Up when it comes, but you know it doesn’t usually help as much once the virus has taken hold this strongly,” Remus reminded the man. “But we’ll try it,” he hastened to add, seeing the objections forming on Sirius’ lips.

Sirius nestled deeper into his pillow. “Okay,” he relented. 

“Breakfast time, then,” Remus announced matter-of-factly. Sirius grunted in disinterest. “Right then, tea and toast for two,” replied Remus, pressing his lips to Sirius’ forehead and pushing himself up off the side of the bed. He paused for a minute before heading to the kitchen. He was still finding it strangely difficult to get going this morning. Damned dream. 

***

Remus lifted his head and eyed the man across the room. He waited like that a moment, but Sirius just hitched his breath, coughed into his pillow, and continued sleeping. Remus returned to his correspondence with a sigh. It was difficult to concentrate on the letters and keep an eye on Sirius at the same time when every ten minutes he thought the other man was about to wake up.

“Just focus,” Remus said to himself. He reread his last paragraph, picked up his quill, and began to write. He was halfway through coding his message to Dedalus Diggle when he heard it again.

hheh... sniff...

“He’s asleep. You’re working,” he thought distractedly. “Focus.” He rubbed his temples, trying to get rid of the dull ache that had begun behind his eyes. He needed to get this letter off today. Three Order members were waiting to begin a mission and they needed his report before they set off. Determined to finish coding it before Sirius woke up, Remus kept going. Finally he rolled up the parchment, tied it to the leg of his tawny owl, and sent her off with a sigh of relief. He plopped back down in the chair, yawned, and rested his head in his hands. 

“All right, love?” came a raspy voice from the bed. Remus looked up to find Sirius awake and watching him... a little more carefully than he would have liked, if he were honest with himself. He was starting to wonder, himself, whether he was indeed all right - the headache was growing worse, and the lump in his throat and strange feeling from last night had stayed with him all day - and he did not fancy Sirius poking his nose in the question. 

“Fine,” he said at last, trying to smile. “Bit tired, maybe, but certainly a sight better than you. Do you want anything? Soup? Juice? Tea?”

Sirius looked at him a moment longer and then shrugged. “Duddo.” 

“Well, we should probably check your temperature again at least,” said Remus, ready to make himself useful, but not ready to play guessing games to figure out how. He moved to sit on the bed and laid his hand on Sirius’ head. “I think it’s down a bit. You seem cooler and you’re more awake now.” 

Sirius nodded and sniffed loudly. “Awake edough to be bored, adyway.” He paused a moment and then asked meekly, “Will you read to be?”

Oh. Remus swallowed heavily. He really didn’t feel like reading aloud right now, between the headache and the lump in his throat, but he also really didn’t want to tell Sirius that. “So that’s why you were skirting the issue, hunh?” he asked, dodging the matter a bit himself as he stalled. “You know you either fall asleep or complain about the book by a few minutes in.” 

“Well, I dod’t like readig buch. But I dod’t dow what else to do while I’b stuck here awake,” Sirius grumbled.

“How about a bit of soup, first, and then a game of chess?” Remus countered. Chess might take some concentration, but he wouldn’t need to talk so much or focus his eyes so hard. And it moved slowly, which seemed appealing.

“Dot huggry,” Sirius replied. “But chess would be ok.” 

“You need food to keep up your strength. Just a little, ok? Besides, I’m hungry myself,” Remus cajoled. He wasn’t really hungry, but he figured the same logic applied to him, and if he was going to end up sick he thought he should eat while he still had the energy to prepare food. And heating up soup was a quiet and mindless task.

“Here we are, love,” Remus set the chess board in the middle of the bed and climbed up to settle himself against the foot of the bed, facing Sirius. He had stacked the half-empty soup bowls as well as two dishes of melted sherbet remains on the desk and decided to clean them up later. He’d hoped that either the heat or the cold, or both, might help dispel that tenacious lump, but it only seemed to irritate it, and he cleared his throat in annoyance. It was going to be a long afternoon.

[elizachoo]

New chapter, now with more sneezing and sniffling! Less banter, because Sirius sleeps through this whole chapter, but more sneezing. Part 6 should follow faster - I've been working on that one simultaneously as I kept getting stuck on this chapter. And part 6 has more banter AND more sneezing, so hopefully that will make up for the lack of banter here (and the sad lack of both sneezing and banter in the last chapter, sorry about that). 

Anyway, here it is, hope you enjoy it!

_____________________________________

Remus lay in bed, his face pressed into his pillow, trying simultaneously to fall asleep; to cling desperately to the last shreds of pretense that he wasn’t getting sick; and not to panic about where on earth James was and why he still wasn’t home.

It was an exhausting combination, and the longer he lay there, the worse he felt. He wished he could nestle up to Sirius and have the man pet his aching head until he fell asleep. He wished James would come home so he could stop wondering whether he had been attacked (and perhaps, could nick a bit of the Pepper-Up he was supposed to bring, while it was night and no one would see his ears smoke). He wished Peter were not away. He wished he could just give in and be sick himself without worrying about who would take care of Sirius or think to search for James.

Eventually Remus grew tired of wishing. He rolled over and sat up, reaching for his water glass. He had charmed it to stay chilled, and he began to drink thirstily, expecting it to soothe his swollen throat. Instead he discovered that it now hurt to swallow at all. He slumped back against his pillows, dispirited. 

Sirius shifted in his sleep and Remus took the opportunity to scrutinize the other man’s condition - if nothing else, as a distraction from his preoccupation with his own. He’d thought that Sirius was turning a corner that afternoon - showing more interest in quiet activities, sleeping less - but evening had brought another spike in his fever again. Remus was discouraged to see that Sirius’ face was still ghostly pale except for the spots on his cheeks that were as red as ever, and he reached to smooth back the dark fringe from his forehead. He pursed his lips at the fierce, dry heat that met his hand. He guessed that the fever had continued to rise from the 39.1 it had registered at bedtime, and a quick check with his wand confirmed his instinct: 39.7. 

“Distraction managed, love” Remus thought. There was little room for self-concern right now. He pulled on his bathrobe and headed to the bathroom for a cold compress. Asleep or not, Sirius needed something to keep his fever from rising too far. Halfway there he noticed his nose starting to itch, and he picked up the pace a bit, admonishing his nose to behave itself. He made it across the threshold of the bathroom and closed the door just as the betrayal struck - inTSCHT! higNGKsch! he stifled. He paused, waiting, and was relieved to find that the itch was gone. He turned the tap on as cold as it would go and reached for a fresh washcloth.

hetSHAAA!!!  he sneezed, without warning and without cover. He groaned, sat down on the edge of the tub, and blew his nose twice. There was no more avoiding it; he had officially caught Sirius’ cold, or whatever it was. The only thing left was to hide it as best he could until Sirius was well again; that, and hope against hope that it would be a milder case than Sirius was suffering.  Shaking his head resolutely, he stood and ran the washcloth under the water.

Remus had his hand on the doorknob when he heard a loud THUNK from the bedroom. He yanked the door open and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw someone leaning awkwardly against the dresser, almost embracing it.

“James?” he whispered cautiously. 

The shape swung around, hitting the dresser again. “Moooony!” it slurred, “mate!” 

Sirius whimpered and tossed a bit. Remus hurried over and guided James to the door. “Go out to the living room, James,” he said flatly. “I’ll be there in a minute.”  

“Aww, come on, Moony, old friend, let me stay.” Remus sighed. “Fine,” he murmured, “but sit right here and stay quiet.” He planted his friend in the desk chair and went over to Sirius. For a few minutes the room was quiet again as he pressed the cool cloth to Sirius’ forehead, cheeks, neck. 

Then James began to hum, an old drinking song that tended to get loud fast. “James!” Remus hissed, not wanting Sirius to wake up. If James heard him, he was ignoring the implied request. Remus closed his eyes for a moment, wondering if this night would just keep getting worse. Laying a cooling charm on the cloth and the cloth on Sirius’ forehead, he stood up and walked to the door.

“Out. Now.” He opened the door and pointed to the living room. James started to whine but Remus cut him off. “I will come with you, but you are not staying here to disturb Sirius. Now let’s go.”

“Right. Have to go. ‘Cos Padfoot’s all sneezy and sleepy, right, mate?”

Remus shut the door behind them. “Yes. And feverish, for that matter. I don’t suppose you remembered to pick up the Pepper-Up you promised?” he asked irritably. 

“Did.” James nodded and Remus felt his spirit lift a tiny bit. “It’s... around... somewhere...oh! Oh. S’in my coat. No, don’t have a coat... wait - yes. In my coat. At the office. Or possibly the pub. Not sure.” James dropped onto the sofa and looked up at him with puppy eyes. “Sorry, mate.”

Remus was torn between wanting to ignore James and go back to bed, or rail at him for staying out so late without owling and coming home without Pepper-Up in the end. Unable to decide, he cleared a spot for himself at the other end of the sofa and sat down. He looked at his friend for a long moment before he finally said, “I don’t know what you want me to say, James. You stay out half the night, you don’t owl, you come home loud and drunk and potionless...” 

“What’re you, my mum? Can’t a bloke go out for a pint?” James laid his head in his hand but missed the armrest with his elbow and ended up smacking himself in the face.

Remus snorted. “Must have been some pint. You can barely sit up straight.” He immediately regretted the snort as his nose began to twitch again. He sniffed, wrinkled his nose, and held his breath, trying desperately not to sneeze in front of James. He wasn’t sure whether James would remember anything in the morning anyway, but he didn’t want to gamble his cover on a drunk friend’s memory or mental filter.

To his great relief, James interpreted the sniff and Remus’ strange expression as an emotional symptom rather than a physical one. He dropped his head and stared at the coffee table. “Sorry, Remus. Guess I kind of lost my head. When you said last night I was already a family man, it sounded comforting. But then I thought about it more today and I got scared again. It just gives us that much more to lose. And there’s nothing to be done about it - not like I can just not be friends with you lot, or just not love Lily. ‘S just too much.”

“I know,” Remus affirmed. “It’s scary. But it’s worse just being alone and scared. At least we can be scared together.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and sniffled again. A persistent tickle was building at the very front of his left nostril, and he really needed to escape back to the bathroom and blow his nose again before the tickle grew up into a sneeze. He glanced at James, who seemed to be mellowing out. “What do you say we call it a night, and you get some sleep before your big date tomorrow?”

James nodded, then suddenly flung himself toward Remus in an awkward cockeyed embrace. “Thanks, Moony. You’re the best.” The hug caught Remus off guard and he felt his breath start to hitch out of control. hheh... heh.. hah... He tried to pull away but failed as the sneeze burst out of him - hiSHOO! hipshEH! With his arms pinned to his side, there was nothing he could do but sneeze right across James’ back. He cringed and waited for James to start squawking.

James, however, just giggled. “Sneezy Moony,” he said sleepily. Remus guessed he had about five minutes to get the man to bed before he fell soundly asleep on top of him, and pushed James back to sitting. “Come on, drunk baby James,” he said patiently. “Let’s get you to bed.” James smiled sweetly and slung his arm across Remus’ shoulder as he pulled himself up. The pulling threw Remus a bit off balance and he stumbled and caught himself on the edge of the sofa. “Oops,” James said penitently. 

Remus led James down the hall to his bedroom, dropped him heavily into a chair, and instructed him to take off his shoes. While James kicked at them sloppily, Remus straightened out the covers and pillows. There was no chance of James staying awake long enough or having the sense enough to change into pajamas, so once the shoes were off, Remus simply helped the other man swing himself into bed, pulled the sheets up over him, and turned off the light. James’ eyes were already closed before Remus made it back out of the room. 

He sighed, rubbing his hand across his head. He couldn’t wait to sink into his own bed again, but there was something he had to do first. Quietly, Remus slipped back through the room he and Sirius shared and into their bathroom, shutting the door behind him. He plucked three tissues from the box and blew wetly, several times. Pausing, he wriggled his nose to test it. It wasn’t quite clear, but he didn’t feel like he was about to sneeze either. Remus breathed a sigh and headed toward his bed. He could feel sleep already reaching for him as he lifted the covers and let himself collapse heavily onto the waiting mattress.

[WishUponAUnicorn]

Please continue this is amazing

 

[elizachoo]

On 4/16/2016 at 5:06 PM, WishUponAUnicorn said:

Please continue this is amazing

 

Thanks! It's encouraging to hear that someone is enjoying the story.

Here's part 6 - all Remus/Sirius all the time in this part! (There'll be one more part after this.)

______________________________________________

“Morning,” a voice rumbled in his ear. Remus rolled over slowly to find Sirius propped up on his elbow and smiling down at him. He reached up and was pleased to find that Sirius’ face was cool to the touch now. Sirius turned away to cough, barking into his fist, and pushed himself up to sitting. 

“Feeling better, love?” Remus mumbled softly. “Much,” Sirius replied with relief. “ ‘m soaked through, though. I think I’m going to be daring and try a shower.” 

Remus nodded. “Good idea. Don’t go too fast though. You don’t want to relapse.” Sirius plucked a tissue from the box and blew his nose. “Don’t worry. I’m better, not well,” he assured Remus. “As sexy as I know this low husky voice is, I don’t plan to keep it. I just need to get out of this bed for a while and freshen up.” He headed to the bathroom with more energy than Remus had seen from him in days and closed the door.

Remus closed his eyes again, relieved not only to see Sirius on the mend, but to have Sirius out of sight of him. Everything hurt this morning - not just his throat and his head. His whole body throbbed. He wanted nothing more than to roll over and go back to sleep, but he knew that Sirius was likely to try to do too much too fast if Remus didn’t keep an eye out. He could still hear the other man’s rough cough over the sound of water running. He needed to get up. 

He took a deep breath, preparing to heave himself up to sitting, but was assaulted by a series of sneezes instead: ishHAA! ishHOO! hepshAOO! hershiiEE! Remus pressed a tissue to his nose and paused, listening. The shower was still going; Sirius wasn’t likely to have heard.

Remus blew his nose quietly and tossed the tissue at the trash can, falling far short. He sighed. The sneezing had at least shifted him to a sitting position. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat there for a moment, arms resting on his thighs, head bent. It was going to be difficult to keep appearances up today, he thought to himself as he reached into the nightstand for socks and started to put them on.

A moment later, it seemed, Sirius was crouched in front of him taking the socks back off. Slowly and deliberately he lay them over the edge of the drawer and looked at Remus, saying nothing. His still-pale face held a strange mix of tenderness, guilt, and anger.

Remus tried to clear his swirling head. “You’re wet.”

“And you’re ill.”

“Not so bad,” Remus shrugged, trying to look well.

“Not so bad?!”  Sirius exploded.  He broke off, barking into his elbow.  He tried again, a bit more calmly. “Not so bad? Remus, you fell asleep sitting up, and barely sitting up at that. You didn’t make it through socks.”

“If I didn’t make it through socks, why were you taking the socks off?” Remus shivered, despite his best efforts to control it.

Sirius gritted his teeth. “You made it through one and a half socks, Remus. One and a half. You fell asleep in the middle of a sock. What did you think you were doing?” He paused to cough again, his body shuddering with the spasm.

“You shouldn’t push yourself too hard, Sirius. You’re not - hiTSCH! ingchshT!” Remus stifled.

Sirius closed his eyes. Remus could see him counting backward from five in his head, trying not to explode again. He stood up, pushed Remus awkwardly back onto the mattress, and crawled across to his own side of the bed, settling back into the pillows.

“I know I’m not well yet, Remus. That shower took just about all the energy I had. But what did you think was going to happen? That if you just pretended you weren’t ill, you would be fine? That if I was sick you couldn’t be sick too? What if you had made it through socks and went and fainted in the hall? I wouldn’t be able to pick you back up. I probably wouldn’t be able to catch you properly even if I were right there.” The fire in Sirius’ eyes softened to worry. 

“Sorry, love,” Remus whispered, wincing as he shifted to a less awkward position on the bed. He stared at his hands, not sure what else to say. Both men were quiet for a moment: Sirius waiting for Remus, Remus at a loss for words. He’d set out to protect Sirius and ended up just upsetting them both. He wished his immune system could just have held on a bit longer so they wouldn’t be in this position. His nose began to twitch and he gave a liquid sniff to try to settle it. 

Sirius sighed and reached over to run his fingers through Remus’ hair. “Come here,” he said finally.

“What?” Remus looked up in surprise. Sirius held up a finger and reached for a tissue. hetCHOO! He wiped his nose and tossed the tissue away. “I said ‘come here’, love,” Sirius repeated, and slid his arm down around Remus’ shoulder to pull him in toward his chest.

Remus let out his breath and allowed himself to melt into Sirius’ side. “I’m sorry I made you worry, Padfoot. I just wanted to make sure that you were taken care of, that you wouldn’t overdo it.”

“Sounds familiar,” Sirius replied. He yawned. “How about if we just spend the day here in bed, where you can keep an eye on me and I can keep an eye on you?” 

Remus nodded, but suddenly tensed. “Remus?” Sirius’ brow furrowed. Remus held his breath a moment longer, not wanting to leave the comfort of Sirius’ arms, but it was no use. He turned his head and lifted his arm just in time to cover - hitschAA! herCHII! hatschOO! hepshAA! ishOO!

Remus fell back against the pillows and sniffled miserably. Sirius passed him the tissues, then took one himself. “Cheers,” he said wryly. For a moment there was a duet of nose blowing in the bed: gurgling low tones from Remus, whose nose was growing more congested by the minute, countered by the higher trumpeting of Sirius’ slowly clearing sinuses.

The anthem concluded with a few final coughs before Sirius declared, “We are quite the pair, aren’t we, Moony?” He took a few swallows of water and looked back at Remus. “How are you feeling now, truthfully?” 

“Truthfully?” Remus closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. “Lousy. Everything hurts: sitting, sneezing, swallowing, thinking, everything.” Tears of frustration threatened and he glanced away to blink them back. “I’m sorry, Sirius. I really tried to hold it off until you were better at least.”  

“I know, love. You’ve just taken such good care of me that you haven’t had much of a chance to fight this thing off yourself. And it mostly worked, but you can’t help being sick and I’m enough better that I can get up and get the things we need. So it’s my turn to take care of you now.” Sirius soothed. 

“I guess you’ll have to.” Remus conceded. “I don’t think I could make it as far as the kitchen at this point.” Sirius looked pointedly at the socks hanging from the drawer, adopted his mocking stern expression, and answered, “Indeed.”

Remus gave him a half-smile. “What about you? How are you feeling now?”

“Exhausted,” Sirius admitted. “I’m ready for a nap after all that excitement. What do you say?”

“Nap sounds good,” Remus agreed, his eyelids starting to droop already at the first suggestion of sleep.

“Do you need anything first?” Sirius asked. “Juice or tea or anything?”

Remus shook his head almost imperceptibly and nestled close to Sirius. As he drifted off, he murmured, “Just you, love.”

[WishUponAUnicorn]

that ending was so sweet

[elizachoo]

Thanks! I'm glad you like that ending... because the "one more part" I had planned for this just isn't coming to fruition. Or, at least, it might be an entirely different story sometime, but every time I try to get back to it for the end of this one, I just get caught on where it already ends. So I think this one is over now.

[truth]

oh my gosh !! this is so in character and wonderfully done !! ahh !! the banter kills me. and the whole scenario is so perfect, yes yes yes, i do like this very much. thank you so much for sharing this beaut !

[NoThankYou]

On 3/23/2016 at 1:11 AM, elizachoo said:

“A powerful counterargument to be sure, but let’s get you back to the bedroom anyway,”

Just read the first part. This was my favorite line. Loving the snark.

[NoThankYou]

I was going to try to portion it out, but it was too good and I read it all in one sitting. Very sweetly done, I love the mutual concern/care-taking. I feel like Lupin is really in character - always putting others first, to his own detriment, which just ends up frustrating the hell out of his friends.

I just have one question - in the first part, you mention that Peter finished the pancakes, and later on, James mentions him being on a mission. And do all four of them live together?

To be honest, if I were to write any Marauders Era fic, I would probably try to find a way to get rid of Pettigrew so I wouldn't have to write him. On the one hand, it would be hard to write an adolescent or young (barely) adult as a deplorable human being, but I wouldn't particularly want to humanize someone who ends up effectively murdering his best friend either.

[elizachoo]

Hi there! It's nice to know this story has caught someone's eye.

So, I originally wrote it as a one-shot, where mentioning Peter did not require me to actually write Peter into the story. Then I decided to continue it, so I sent Peter off on a mission starting the same day as the story, so that he could have eaten the pancakes and then not returned until after I was finished with the story. If I'd written it all before posting it, I probably would have edited things so that James simply ate the pancakes, but as it was, I needed a workaround, and that was it.