August 4 - Melted Ice Cream
The dogdaysofsummerseries continues from parts: I
II, and III
I'm lagging a bit behind, since I was gone all day on the 4th and feeling rather blah on the 5th, but hopefully I shall be caught up again in a little bit and the saga will continue.
Perhaps they should not have left the ice creams in the back seat, easily exposed to the August sun, but at that particular moment of arrival, Peter and James had disappeared over the hill and Remus and Sirius were not going to waste their few precious moments together They were still in that stage of a relationship where Sirius was always wondering how long it would be until he could kiss Remus again, where he was continually measuring the distance between them in the back seat and the proximity of various body parts (and would James notice if he slipped his hand into Remus’s, somewhat obscured by the bulky ice chest?). Alone and together in combination were still the most exciting words, and why should Sirius resist pulling Remus down as they huddled in the back seats, out of view?
Maybe they should have noticed the ice lollies melting all over the upholstery of the back seats, but they were too busy with other matters to notice the demise of the shag carpeting. Remus protested at first, but Sirius insisted-“It’ll take them at least ten minutes walking to the cabin, time to look around, and then ten minutes back. We have time”-and Remus acquiesced without much further prompting. They were occupied with pulling up trousers, fiddling with belt loops, and making sure all their clothing was properly adjusted when Peter and James returned, breathless and flushed from the heat.
“The cabin’s brilliant!” James said. “Why don’t you lazy sods help me carry some stuff down and have a look?”
“Yes, it’s wonderful, really,” Peter said, attempting to heave the ice chest out of the back seat. “It was a brilliant idea to come here, don’t you think?”
“I-yeah, it’s great.” Sirius had been about to say that he had been at the Potter family’s summer house plenty of times before, but then he realized that neither Remus nor Peter had ever visited, and maybe that wasn’t the most sensitive thing to say.
“Come on mates, it’s going to get dark soon and we need to get everything back to the house. Tomorrow we’re going fishing and we’ll need to be up early, y’know,” Peter said happily.
“And who was clever enough to leave the ice creams out on the back seat?” James asked. “You think we can magic this stuff off or will we need some of Mum’s stain remover?”
“Which you didn’t pack.”
“Thank you, Moony, but we can’t all be pack rats like you. And really, who on earth brings stain remover with them on holiday? We’re not all obsessed with cleanliness-what kind of poncy guy is always on about, ‘Oh no, I might stain my clothes! I might get a spot on my carpet’”
Remus’s face went carefully blank and he turned his attention to the picnic material he was hauling out of the back.
“Let me grab that fishing pool,” Sirius said hastily, prying fishing tackle out of Remus’s hands. “No need for the long face,” he whispered in Remus’s ear when James and Peter were ahead of them on the path to the cabin. “It just makes me want to cheer you up now, and I can’t do it how I’d like here in the open.”
Remus did not brighten as Sirius hoped he would; instead, he still looked thin-lipped and drawn. “Look, I know you mean well, but could you lay off about that? We’ll talk later.” Before Sirius could say anything, Remus lengthened his stride and moved to catch up with Peter and James, leaving Sirius stumbling over his armful of drooping fishing poles, each bobbing and trying to drag on the ground.
II, and III
I'm lagging a bit behind, since I was gone all day on the 4th and feeling rather blah on the 5th, but hopefully I shall be caught up again in a little bit and the saga will continue.
Perhaps they should not have left the ice creams in the back seat, easily exposed to the August sun, but at that particular moment of arrival, Peter and James had disappeared over the hill and Remus and Sirius were not going to waste their few precious moments together They were still in that stage of a relationship where Sirius was always wondering how long it would be until he could kiss Remus again, where he was continually measuring the distance between them in the back seat and the proximity of various body parts (and would James notice if he slipped his hand into Remus’s, somewhat obscured by the bulky ice chest?). Alone and together in combination were still the most exciting words, and why should Sirius resist pulling Remus down as they huddled in the back seats, out of view?
Maybe they should have noticed the ice lollies melting all over the upholstery of the back seats, but they were too busy with other matters to notice the demise of the shag carpeting. Remus protested at first, but Sirius insisted-“It’ll take them at least ten minutes walking to the cabin, time to look around, and then ten minutes back. We have time”-and Remus acquiesced without much further prompting. They were occupied with pulling up trousers, fiddling with belt loops, and making sure all their clothing was properly adjusted when Peter and James returned, breathless and flushed from the heat.
“The cabin’s brilliant!” James said. “Why don’t you lazy sods help me carry some stuff down and have a look?”
“Yes, it’s wonderful, really,” Peter said, attempting to heave the ice chest out of the back seat. “It was a brilliant idea to come here, don’t you think?”
“I-yeah, it’s great.” Sirius had been about to say that he had been at the Potter family’s summer house plenty of times before, but then he realized that neither Remus nor Peter had ever visited, and maybe that wasn’t the most sensitive thing to say.
“Come on mates, it’s going to get dark soon and we need to get everything back to the house. Tomorrow we’re going fishing and we’ll need to be up early, y’know,” Peter said happily.
“And who was clever enough to leave the ice creams out on the back seat?” James asked. “You think we can magic this stuff off or will we need some of Mum’s stain remover?”
“Which you didn’t pack.”
“Thank you, Moony, but we can’t all be pack rats like you. And really, who on earth brings stain remover with them on holiday? We’re not all obsessed with cleanliness-what kind of poncy guy is always on about, ‘Oh no, I might stain my clothes! I might get a spot on my carpet’”
Remus’s face went carefully blank and he turned his attention to the picnic material he was hauling out of the back.
“Let me grab that fishing pool,” Sirius said hastily, prying fishing tackle out of Remus’s hands. “No need for the long face,” he whispered in Remus’s ear when James and Peter were ahead of them on the path to the cabin. “It just makes me want to cheer you up now, and I can’t do it how I’d like here in the open.”
Remus did not brighten as Sirius hoped he would; instead, he still looked thin-lipped and drawn. “Look, I know you mean well, but could you lay off about that? We’ll talk later.” Before Sirius could say anything, Remus lengthened his stride and moved to catch up with Peter and James, leaving Sirius stumbling over his armful of drooping fishing poles, each bobbing and trying to drag on the ground.