The Very Best Christmas Remus Lupin Ever Had (Remus/Sirius)
Title: The Very Best Christmas Remus Lupin Ever Had
Fandom/Genre: Harry Potter, fluff
Character/Pairing: Remus/Sirius
Rating & Word Count: PG / ~1,129
Prompt(s): winter, snow, fireplace
Recipient: jenwryn! Hope you like it. It ended up a LOT longer than I thought it would, sorry. =P I know it's a bit early for Christmas fics, but... Well, I couldn't help it. For The Multi-Fandom Request-A-Fic Meme here: http://fallenmelody.livejournal.com/140374.html?page=1#comments .
Summary: Remus wasn’t sure how long they were outside, but he would have guessed it to be over several hours. And despite his earlier uncertainty, he did enjoy what Sirius had woken him up to do. Very much, in fact.
“Remus! Remus, wake up!”
Remus buried his head into his pillow and gurgled something indistinct.
“Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!”
“Wotsa matter?” he murmured, squirming away from Sirius’s prodding.
“I’m bored and James’s asleep.”
“So’m I.”
“Not anymore, you’re not!” Sirius grinned and yanked the blankets away from him. When Remus tried to curl into a ball and ignore it, Sirius grabbed his left ankle and began to drag him out of bed. Only when Remus was hopping along after Sirius, windmilling his arms and shouting, “Okay! Okay!” did Sirius let go and clap his hands together, “Great!”
“What time is it?” Remus asked crossly.
“Irrelevant.”
“What are we doing?”
“You’ll see. Get your coat.”
“But it’s snowing!” Remus protested.
Sirius shrugged, lingering in the doorway. “So? And it actually stopped snowing an hour ago.”
Remus, knowing his attempts were futile anyway, grabbed his coat and tugged on his boots. Sirius bounded down the steps ahead of him while Remus tucked a scarf around his neck and grumbled quietly to himself.
By the time they made it outside Remus was wide-awake and none-too-happy about it, but he knew there was no point protesting now; he was already here, wasn’t he? Judging by the position of the moon, it was well past midnight, but Sirius didn’t seem fazed by that fact as he trounced down the steps and into the smooth, packed layer of snow that blanketed the grounds as far as the eye could see. Remus crossed his arms at his chest and watched his breath fog out in the crisp night air. “Sirius, why are we out here?”
“Because such a glorious night, my most groggy companion, cannot go to waste!” Sirius leapt forward, tearing up mounds of snow with each excited step, hop, and kick he gave it -- all seemingly for no other purpose but to do so. He spun in a circle, plowing ahead in a flurry of white. He laughed as it swirled around him, and even Remus had to crack a smile.
“Plus,” Sirius added, stopping suddenly, snow in his hair. “There’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”
Remus narrowed his eyes. “What? I hope you didn’t wake me up just so I could help you pull another one of your stupid --”
“Oh, come on, quit being a Snivellus. It’s nothing like that. You’ll enjoy this.”
Remus highly doubted that.
- - - - - -
Remus wasn’t sure how long they were outside, but he would have guessed it to be over several hours. And despite his earlier uncertainty, he did enjoy what Sirius had woken him up to do. Very much, in fact.
The two labored long and hard, and even though they knew they could use their wands to complete the job much faster, they enjoyed the work. Remus had expected a number of things from Sirius tonight, and this had not been one of them. They talked about a wide range of topics in lowered voices, and Remus found himself laughing more than he had in a long time. He was cold and sweaty and his pajamas were drenched from the snow, but he hardly noticed. They tossed snow at each other, tripped each other when they crossed paths, and even wrestled once on the ground -- knocking elbows and heads and tangling up in each other’s awkward teenage limbs.
Remus glanced up once during one of their quiet, peaceful lapses in conversation to watch Sirius shoveling through the snow with an intense earnesty in his eyes, an open and honest grin on his face. Remus couldn’t help but grin also as he turned back to his task.
- - - - - -
“It better not snow or I’ll have to kill an house-elf,” Sirius threatened as they finally mounted the steps and reached the massive wooden doors that lead into the castle.
“It won’t. Look -- sun’s about to come up and there’s not a cloud in the sky. If it does snow, then even that won’t be for a few hours and by then everyone will have seen it.”
They turned around and looked down upon the object of their late night’s hard effort. Sirius let out a low, appreciative whistle. “Well, Moony my man, I’d say we did a stellar job tonight.”
“I think I’d have to agree.”
Spanning from the leftmost corner of the castle and across the entire grounds to the rightmost corner, carved into the snow in trenches at least knee-high, were the very clear, very large words, “HAPPY CHRISTMAS HOGWARTS!” in green and red. The smooth snow around the words sparkled in the moonlight.
“Every person on this side of the castle will be able to read it,” Remus declared proudly.
“Let’s go see what it looks like from Gryffindor Tower.” Sirius tugged on Remus’s arm eagerly, and they started back to the dorms.
- - - - - -
The walk was a long one, and coupled with their earlier exertion, by the time they made it through the portrait and stumbled into the Common Room all they could do to keep from collapsing on one another was to collapse on the rug in front of the crackling fire instead -- face down, in Sirius’s case.
“D’you think they’ll like it?” Sirius asked, his words muffled in the dusty carpet.
“They’ll love it.”
“The buggers better.”
Remus chuckled lazily. Neither boy felt like moving, and they didn’t for a while. Had anyone happened down the stairs they would have assumed the two 5th years to be out cold for the night, but after some time Remus reached over and prodded Sirius in the side.
“Hey. Wake up.”
“No. Why?”
“Because,” Remus grinned wickedly, “I’m bored.”
Sirius huffed and punched Remus. “You prick.”
Remus laughed and rolled over to face Sirius, who had turned his head out of the ground to glare at him.
“James missed out, you know.”
“That he did. Now can I go back to sleep?”
“No,” Remus insisted, “I have a question.”
“What?”
Remus hesitated, sitting up on his palms and watching the fire. “You didn’t even try to wake James up, did you?” He didn’t look at Sirius when he asked.
“I did too,” Sirius objected, lurching upward and crossing his legs. “You know how deep of a sleeper James is.”
“No, you didn’t. Yes, James is a deep sleeper, but you know just as well as I do that he stays up tossing and turning some nights. It’s only when he snores that he’s out like a brick.” Remus raised an eyebrow at Sirius, “And he definitely wasn’t snoring.”
“...Yeah, well,” Sirius fumbled. “Um.” He averted his gaze, his hands fiddling with each other in his lap.
Remus just smiled. “It’s okay. I’m glad you got me instead.” He reached forward and gave his friend a soft pat on the shoulder. He was in the process of withdrawing his hand when Sirius grabbed it.
Bewildered, Remus opened his mouth to ask what the matter was, but Sirius quickly covered it with his hand. “Remus,” he said harshly, and unsure of what he had done, Remus squirmed around under his hand, “If you ever say anything about what I’m about to do to anyone -- ever -- I’m going to personally tie you to the Whomping Willow in your knickers during the next snow storm and leave you there, but--” his voice softened and Remus stopped squirming for one second, “--Happy Christmas.”
Sirius removed his hand and quickly kissed Remus. When he pulled away, Remus sat slack-jawed and stared at him. “Sirius, what--”
“Whomping Willow,” Sirius repeated.
“Right. Happy Christmas, Sirius.”
Fandom/Genre: Harry Potter, fluff
Character/Pairing: Remus/Sirius
Rating & Word Count: PG / ~1,129
Prompt(s): winter, snow, fireplace
Recipient: jenwryn! Hope you like it. It ended up a LOT longer than I thought it would, sorry. =P I know it's a bit early for Christmas fics, but... Well, I couldn't help it. For The Multi-Fandom Request-A-Fic Meme here: http://fallenmelody.livejournal.com/140374.html?page=1#comments .
Summary: Remus wasn’t sure how long they were outside, but he would have guessed it to be over several hours. And despite his earlier uncertainty, he did enjoy what Sirius had woken him up to do. Very much, in fact.
“Remus! Remus, wake up!”
Remus buried his head into his pillow and gurgled something indistinct.
“Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!”
“Wotsa matter?” he murmured, squirming away from Sirius’s prodding.
“I’m bored and James’s asleep.”
“So’m I.”
“Not anymore, you’re not!” Sirius grinned and yanked the blankets away from him. When Remus tried to curl into a ball and ignore it, Sirius grabbed his left ankle and began to drag him out of bed. Only when Remus was hopping along after Sirius, windmilling his arms and shouting, “Okay! Okay!” did Sirius let go and clap his hands together, “Great!”
“What time is it?” Remus asked crossly.
“Irrelevant.”
“What are we doing?”
“You’ll see. Get your coat.”
“But it’s snowing!” Remus protested.
Sirius shrugged, lingering in the doorway. “So? And it actually stopped snowing an hour ago.”
Remus, knowing his attempts were futile anyway, grabbed his coat and tugged on his boots. Sirius bounded down the steps ahead of him while Remus tucked a scarf around his neck and grumbled quietly to himself.
By the time they made it outside Remus was wide-awake and none-too-happy about it, but he knew there was no point protesting now; he was already here, wasn’t he? Judging by the position of the moon, it was well past midnight, but Sirius didn’t seem fazed by that fact as he trounced down the steps and into the smooth, packed layer of snow that blanketed the grounds as far as the eye could see. Remus crossed his arms at his chest and watched his breath fog out in the crisp night air. “Sirius, why are we out here?”
“Because such a glorious night, my most groggy companion, cannot go to waste!” Sirius leapt forward, tearing up mounds of snow with each excited step, hop, and kick he gave it -- all seemingly for no other purpose but to do so. He spun in a circle, plowing ahead in a flurry of white. He laughed as it swirled around him, and even Remus had to crack a smile.
“Plus,” Sirius added, stopping suddenly, snow in his hair. “There’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”
Remus narrowed his eyes. “What? I hope you didn’t wake me up just so I could help you pull another one of your stupid --”
“Oh, come on, quit being a Snivellus. It’s nothing like that. You’ll enjoy this.”
Remus highly doubted that.
- - - - - -
Remus wasn’t sure how long they were outside, but he would have guessed it to be over several hours. And despite his earlier uncertainty, he did enjoy what Sirius had woken him up to do. Very much, in fact.
The two labored long and hard, and even though they knew they could use their wands to complete the job much faster, they enjoyed the work. Remus had expected a number of things from Sirius tonight, and this had not been one of them. They talked about a wide range of topics in lowered voices, and Remus found himself laughing more than he had in a long time. He was cold and sweaty and his pajamas were drenched from the snow, but he hardly noticed. They tossed snow at each other, tripped each other when they crossed paths, and even wrestled once on the ground -- knocking elbows and heads and tangling up in each other’s awkward teenage limbs.
Remus glanced up once during one of their quiet, peaceful lapses in conversation to watch Sirius shoveling through the snow with an intense earnesty in his eyes, an open and honest grin on his face. Remus couldn’t help but grin also as he turned back to his task.
- - - - - -
“It better not snow or I’ll have to kill an house-elf,” Sirius threatened as they finally mounted the steps and reached the massive wooden doors that lead into the castle.
“It won’t. Look -- sun’s about to come up and there’s not a cloud in the sky. If it does snow, then even that won’t be for a few hours and by then everyone will have seen it.”
They turned around and looked down upon the object of their late night’s hard effort. Sirius let out a low, appreciative whistle. “Well, Moony my man, I’d say we did a stellar job tonight.”
“I think I’d have to agree.”
Spanning from the leftmost corner of the castle and across the entire grounds to the rightmost corner, carved into the snow in trenches at least knee-high, were the very clear, very large words, “HAPPY CHRISTMAS HOGWARTS!” in green and red. The smooth snow around the words sparkled in the moonlight.
“Every person on this side of the castle will be able to read it,” Remus declared proudly.
“Let’s go see what it looks like from Gryffindor Tower.” Sirius tugged on Remus’s arm eagerly, and they started back to the dorms.
- - - - - -
The walk was a long one, and coupled with their earlier exertion, by the time they made it through the portrait and stumbled into the Common Room all they could do to keep from collapsing on one another was to collapse on the rug in front of the crackling fire instead -- face down, in Sirius’s case.
“D’you think they’ll like it?” Sirius asked, his words muffled in the dusty carpet.
“They’ll love it.”
“The buggers better.”
Remus chuckled lazily. Neither boy felt like moving, and they didn’t for a while. Had anyone happened down the stairs they would have assumed the two 5th years to be out cold for the night, but after some time Remus reached over and prodded Sirius in the side.
“Hey. Wake up.”
“No. Why?”
“Because,” Remus grinned wickedly, “I’m bored.”
Sirius huffed and punched Remus. “You prick.”
Remus laughed and rolled over to face Sirius, who had turned his head out of the ground to glare at him.
“James missed out, you know.”
“That he did. Now can I go back to sleep?”
“No,” Remus insisted, “I have a question.”
“What?”
Remus hesitated, sitting up on his palms and watching the fire. “You didn’t even try to wake James up, did you?” He didn’t look at Sirius when he asked.
“I did too,” Sirius objected, lurching upward and crossing his legs. “You know how deep of a sleeper James is.”
“No, you didn’t. Yes, James is a deep sleeper, but you know just as well as I do that he stays up tossing and turning some nights. It’s only when he snores that he’s out like a brick.” Remus raised an eyebrow at Sirius, “And he definitely wasn’t snoring.”
“...Yeah, well,” Sirius fumbled. “Um.” He averted his gaze, his hands fiddling with each other in his lap.
Remus just smiled. “It’s okay. I’m glad you got me instead.” He reached forward and gave his friend a soft pat on the shoulder. He was in the process of withdrawing his hand when Sirius grabbed it.
Bewildered, Remus opened his mouth to ask what the matter was, but Sirius quickly covered it with his hand. “Remus,” he said harshly, and unsure of what he had done, Remus squirmed around under his hand, “If you ever say anything about what I’m about to do to anyone -- ever -- I’m going to personally tie you to the Whomping Willow in your knickers during the next snow storm and leave you there, but--” his voice softened and Remus stopped squirming for one second, “--Happy Christmas.”
Sirius removed his hand and quickly kissed Remus. When he pulled away, Remus sat slack-jawed and stared at him. “Sirius, what--”
“Whomping Willow,” Sirius repeated.
“Right. Happy Christmas, Sirius.”