Title: Radish Rising
Fandom: Harry Potter (Marauder-era/First War)
Rating: G.
Length: 580 words.
Characters/Pairings: Sirius/Remus.
Summary: In which Remus attempts gardening.
Notes: For
dogdaysofsummer,
prompt 23. (
Original post,
Dreamwidth,
AO3.)
Radish Rising
A radish rises in the waiting sky.
For the first time ever, Sirius found Remus sitting in a pile of dirt. It was particularly interesting to see on the balcony of their flat, since it was not a place Sirius had seen dirt before.
"Gardening?" Sirius asked. He stepped onto the tarp and was pleased to hear a loud crackling when he shifted.
"I've always wanted to try it," Remus said, "but I never thought I could. Not in the city."
"What's in there?"
Remus patted the top of the boxed dirt with his gloved hand. "Radishes."
"Radishes?"
"Is it surprising?"
"I didn't know you like radishes."
Remus pulled the gloves off his hand, stood, and surveyed the mess he'd created. "I don't, actually."
"So why?"
"Because they're easy to grow." He grinned. "If you don't want them, I'll pass them off."
Sirius frowned. "I'm going to have to eat these for weeks, aren't I?"
Remus smudged a bit of dirt on Sirius's nose. "Only if you eat slowly."
-
A little over a month later, Sirius found Remus's side of the bed empty in the middle of the night. It wasn't odd - they both needed the loo sometimes - but the mattress where Remus should have been lacked heat.
He got out of bed, rubbing his eyes. It seemed a good time to check on Remus and drink some milk from the fridge. Or drink some milk, then check on Remus? Either way.
When he opened the door, he heard noises on the balcony. He immediately changed and ran out into the living room. As he hid behind the sofa, he smelled. A breeze brought Remus's scent clearly to his nose, and no one else's. He changed back, and Remus's head whipped toward him.
"Sirius," he said. "The radishes."
That was the last thing Sirius noticed. Dirt was ground into the carpet, their easy chairs were knocked over, and Remus was in his pants and nothing else. His skin would have seemed pale in the moonlight normally, but there were smears of dirt gave it a bit of a filter.
Moon. Sirius looked toward the sky. Sure enough, the moon was nearly full; he had to be tired if he didn't remember Remus's impending trip to the country.
With wide eyes, Remus noticed where Sirius's gaze focused. He trembled and yanked a radish out of the box. As he thrust it up and away from him, it cast a shadow on his face.
A radish eclipse. It was almost funny.
Sirius walked forward and took the radish from Remus's hand. "Why don't you take care of these in the morning?"
Remus jumped to his feet. "The radishes."
"Let's go inside," Sirius said. He tried to pull Remus into a shadow, but he squirmed and broke free.
"Sirius," Remus said. He lowered and leaned against the railing.
He put a hand over his eyes. "Aren't you tired?"
Remus cried out wordlessly, and Sirius ran a hand through his hair. It had been so long since one of these pre-moon incidents that he'd almost forgotten how to handle them.
He dropped to Remus's level. "I'll stay out here with you, if it's okay."
Remus snatched the radish back. "The radishes."
"I'm sure they're delicious," Sirius said.
He patted Remus's knee and got as comfortable as he could. He hoped sunrise would come soon.