Who: Harry Potter, Severus Snape, Sirius Black and Remus and Teddy Lupin.
What: In response to
this.
When: 2:36am. Sunday morning, until about 1pm Sunday afternoon.
Where: Snape/Potter/Lupin Residence
Rating: Relatively low.
Status: Complete
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Sleepless nights.. )
He wanted to hug Harry. He wanted to step inside and grab hold of the green-eyed man in front of him and hold on. But Remus Lupin didn't do things like that. His reserved nature kept him from doing it. His worry of being rejected kept him from doing it. And his frozen, aching bones kept him from doing it.
So he only stood there and stared, cheeks flushed from the cold, or embarrassment, or both. He couldn't even muster up a 'Hello, Harry'. All he could do was stand there and stare, like the idiot wolf he was, as the heat from the house escaped and the freezing air from outside rushed in.
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I missed you. Harry let the door shut after Remus and stood there without an iota of confidence radiating from his pose. They were both idiots. Tell me you did too.
"I have your mittens still. If you want them back," Harry whispered. Not simply because he didn't want to wake anyone, but because he couldn't get his voice to go louder.
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It was a hard task to get Remus to look uncomfortable, at any age. Yet here he stood, in the living room of his best friend's son's home, and he couldn't have looked more out of place. He didn't look quite uncomfortable per-se, but he did look unsure, a rare facial expression on the always collected man.
Thankfully, Harry finally broke the long awkward silence. And Lupin shook his head in response, his voice just as low, and for the same reasons. "They were a gift. They're yours." And with those few words, blue eyes had become damp. Oh, Remus, you were an idiot. You could control yourself better than that. The werewolf hadn't cried since he was six. Yet, talking about mittens made his eyes misty? He needed to have his head examined. But for now, he was tightening up his jaw in an effort to force the emotion down and become calm again. Remus Lupin did not show emotion like that, and he certainly didn't cry. He was a rock. He was the solid force. Rocks didn't cry.
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He was choking without making a sound.
Remus never cried. Ever. Even after being sacked, even when being told off by someone twenty years younger, even when happy. It didn't happen, and Harry felt his own eyes begin to burn anew in reaction. They were both so stupid.
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"I love you, Harry. Did I never tell you that, when I was older? Did I not tell you enough? I love you. And it's only been three days and I miss you." What Remus had trouble saying with actions, he often had better luck saying with words. He wasn't so good at putting emotions into words.. but he had to try, and it came out as just whispers, against the shell of Harry's ear.
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No. No Remus hadn't said it, but Harry'd known it, or at least suspected it. Hardly anyone had said it to him. Hermione might have once or twice but everyone else implied it heavily. It wasn't entirely British to become soppy like that. Harry'd known that since he was a small child, but as a small child no one had loved him either.
The fact that this settled on him like a heavy weight made him grip Remus tighter. It was too late at night for this sort of thing and he sighed shakily.
"Are you sure? I'm pretty bad at everything, what's to miss?" Harry joked weakly. He'd say it before Remus left that night. Not just that he'd missed him like someone'd removed his spleen without his express permission, but how much him saying that meant. Even after five years.
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"What are you still doing up? You should be sleeping. Come on, sit down." It was only then that the werewolf was very carefully extracting himself from Harry, only enough that he could begin to move them towards the couch in the living room. He wouldn't release him completely, but he didn't want them to trip over one another and crash into the floor at two thirty in the morning, either.
Once at the couch, Lupin was sitting down, pulling Harry to sit with him, so they were both nearly on the same cushion, thighs, hips, and sides still touching in a very intimate manner. "Can I get you some tea?" He was finally extracting one hand to attempt to briefly smooth that always-crazy hair, but it was impossible, as always. And it was in the paler light of the dim living room that the streak of gray (maybe two inches wide, along his temple) would show up starkly against sandy brown hair. Remus had earned himself a bit of gray. A bit too early. But he was smiling, at least.
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"I haven't really slept in two days." He'd managed maybe six hours between the two nights. This wasn't abnormal to him anymore. He had always had some issues sleeping. If the weather wasn't so poor, he would have likely gone for a walk instead of staring at his computer screen. This, thought, was much better.
Harry leaned into Remus, sighing quietly at the fingers through his hair. He needed Remus to stay for the night. No matter how utterly selfish that made him in the morning. He needed his friend to stay more than he needed tea, that was for certain.
"It's my home," Harry pointed out, returning Remus' smile with a weary one of his own, "don't you have that a bit backwards?"
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"Get some sleep, if you can. I'll stay. I'll stay right here, and I won't move, until you wake up." Quietly assured down to him. "You need to rest." And all Remus wanted to do was hold onto him like this, and stroke his hair. He wasn't usually touchy feely, and he wasn't often eager to be so close with someone for so long. But he couldn't have moved away from Harry now even if he tried.
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He opened his eyes up with an unhappy frown as he kicked the blanket into place so it was covering him from his chest to feet. Never growing particularly tall the blanket covered him perfectly.
Settled, Harry breathed in and out freely and mumbled into Remus' knees, "I missed you too."
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What if Harry'd gone away again? He wouldn't leave again though, he promised he wouldn't when they'd gone to the hotel because Harry wanted to. Harry had promised. Unhappy tears mixed with drying saliva and snot trickling from his nose as he moved through the rooms, seeking and not finding Harry.
A hiccuping sob caught in his throat as he ran to the last room, and he stopped. His face scrunched in confusion at the strange sight, and he doubled back in search of Severus. He had to tell him that Harry was okay and he didn't have to worry and ask if it was okay if Mr. Remus stayed for breakfast with them, and if they'd finally have pancakes, because Severus had promised him pancakes and they still hadn't had them yet. And he really wanted them.
Scurrying into Harry and Severus' bedroom, Teddy jumped up onto the bed and started shaking Severus immediately.
"Sev'us! Get up!" he demanded. "Up! Up!"
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"Sev'us wake up," Teddy repeated, shaking him again.
Snape opened his eyes and looked at Teddy. It was obvious he'd been crying. "What's the matter? Are you hurt?" he asked, his eyes looking for any obvious lumps or bruises as he sat up. "What happened and where's your father?"
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"Yes, we can have pancakes," Snape muttered, throwing his feet over the side of the bed.
Teddy grabbed his hand, pulling him into the living room. "Shh they're sleeping," he whispered softly. Snape stopped dead in his tracks, frowning at the sight in front of him. Lovely.
He quietly walked Teddy back to his bedroom. "Get dressed, we're going out for pancakes," he told him, grabbing a sweatshirt and helping him pull it over his head over his pajama top. "Put some pants on and your shoes, I'll be right back."
Snape went to his room and pulled on some clothes, then returned to find Teddy tying his shoes.
"Is Harry and Remus comin' too?"
Snape's jaw clenched. "No, they're sleeping. They can eat when they wake up."
"'Kay!"
Snape summoned their coats, bundling up Teddy, then himself. Having what they needed, he Disapparated them.
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None of that explained who had just Apparated into or Disapparted out of his house. He groaned as he sat up, rolling his shoulders to relieve the stiffness around his neck. Remus wouldn't be much better when he woke up, Harry was sure.
His eyes sought and found the clock on the wall and after reading it for a few uncomprehending moments, he realized what happened.
"I hope you like toast," Harry muttered more to himself than to Remus, though the inquiry was directed toward his friend, or whatever he was supposed to think of Remus as now.
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So when Harry spoke, Remus smiled slowly. "You've got to have more than toast in this house with a boy that age.." He rolled his shoulders back and moved his hand from his neck to his stiff shoulders. And his legs were asleep, from the weight of Harry having been on them all night. He was still dressed in his coat, and was still wearing his boots-- and his PJs beneath it all. "Did you sleep well?" They were both sore, but Remus had slept better than he had in a long time.
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