writers-muses: 36.4. Sick.
Prompt: Ficlet: Your muse wakes up sick, sore throat, hacking cough, fever, dizziness, they have it all. Describe their day. Do they fend for themselves or call someone to take care of them? What kind of a patient are they if they do?
Timeline wise it can really fit in anywhere, I think...? I'm not placing it anywhere, at least, though it was mostly inspired as another take on this fic. As usual, not binding to any muse unless the mun would like it to.
For years now - he had lost count how many - Remus hated to look at himself in the mirror. There were days he despised the reflection staring back at him because he couldn't stop or fight away the thoughts and feelings that would surface as he saw the mask that he presented for the world to see. So many people saw the good in him, but Remus could only see the bad with such a force that reflections were best to be avoided.
As he finished rinsing his mouth, however, he couldn't stop his eyes from trailing towards the mirror in front of him. He was so dizzy that at first everything was simply a blur, but it didn't take long for things to slowly start coming into focus. His skin was pale, making those dark circles under his eyes look worse than what they already were. His eyes showed just how drained he actually felt and, for some reason, as he stood there he could almost swear that the scars along his face had only become more obvious. They were bigger, he thought; bigger and deeper. Shifting his attention towards his hair, with a shaky hand he let go of the sink and tried to fix how disheveled it was.
Doing so had been a big mistake. Letting go of the sink made him become suddenly unbalanced, and the room seemed to spin once more. Closing his eyes to fight the nausea, he grasped as tightly as he could onto the sink again and tried to simply focus on breathing for now.
Just as he felt his stomach make another violent spin, his knees starting to buckle from under him, a pair of arms held him up by the waist and gently steadied him on his feet. Remus didn't have to turn or ask who it was, because he knew that familiar scent that he caught a whiff of and he only tried hard to focus on that so he could steady himself again.
"Ready to sit down?" Sirius murmured once Remus' grasp on the sink loosened. He didn't even bother to scold him for not sending a patronus asking for help earlier because, besides from the fact that it wouldn't do any good at the moment, he already knew Remus and how convincing him to accept help was as close to impossible as it could get. Especially when it was something regarding his health. That was why he had hurried as much as he could to get to him.
Well, one of the reasons.
"I don't think I'm quite ready to move just yet." Remus cleared his throat, in hopes that he could somehow make his voice less dry and hoarse. "Everything keeps spinning," he admitted under his breath after a moment. "It hasn't stopped since I woke up." Once he trusted himself enough to do so, he let go of Sirius so he could lean against the wall and slowly slide down to sit on the floor. He needed to sit, but moving back to the bedroom wasn't something he wanted; Sirius knew that routine well by now. He knew in the same way that Remus knew that Sirius would sure enough sit next to him once he was settled with his back against the wall.
Sirius stayed silent, watching him for a moment until he noticed the way that his body kept trembling. Summoning a blanket from the bedroom, he put it over him and rubbed his arm to create some warmth with the friction his hands were making. "Still refusing to see a healer, I see."
Lips tugging very slightly at the corners into a ghost of a smile, Remus just shook his head. "It won't do any good. We both know that."
"Well yes, but...they could try to help," he offered, his voice still sounding normal and calm even if Remus could see the way that his brow seemed to furrow with each word. Normally he wouldn't push it, knowing Remus' dislike towards going anywhere near St Mungo's, but the way he looked... "You're making me regret the fact that I never became a healer, you know."
"Oh Merlin," he said, suddenly letting out a small chuckle at that suggestion, "I'm thankful for that, actually. I don't need you to be a healer."
"Then?" Sirius passed his fingers over his hair to brush his hair back in the way that Remus had attempted to do earlier. In doing so he noted the way his brow felt clammy, and made a note to possibly bring a healer while Remus slept so he wouldn't have to get upset. "What can I do?"
Remus turned to him then and opened his mouth, but at first he couldn't answer. He just felt his mouth go dry, and a knot grow in his throat as he stared at him. There were things he wanted to say, but he couldn't bring himself to talk just yet. So, instead, he reached for his hand and held it in his as Sirius began to pass his thumb over his knuckles.
"...just don't leave, please," he finally managed to say. He forced himself to smile, as if to reassure him that it would be fine. Somehow, it would be, right? Funny how earlier reassurances of how things would be fine were the last things he wanted to think of, while right now that was all he wanted to believe for at least a moment. Maybe it was because the nausea wasn't as strong as it had been earlier. "I suppose being a wizard comes in handy in moments like this, yes? We can simply accio whatever it is that we need." Remus looked down at their joined hands, and after staying silent for a moment he murmured, "I just... I really need you to stay."
Not to wait on him. Not to torture him by having to be there with him when he was so ill, which was what it felt like to Remus because the last thing he wanted was to be an even bigger burden. He hated being ill. He couldn't stand it, but it wasn't as if he had a choice. His body had had a mind of its own for years now that he couldn't control; he just still had to get used to that fact.
And Sirius knew that, of course, because he knew Remus. He knew those thoughts and that blame that he kept dumping on himself, so at once he gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm not going anywhere. I was actually already planning on staying, so it's a good thing that is what you need." Giving him a small of his own, he nodded towards the bedroom. "Come on, let's get back there. It's freezing in here."
With a nod, Remus finally conceded to the idea. At first he tried to get up on his own, not wanting to accept the help that he obviously needed, but after a moment he just looked up at Sirius and took the hand that had already been extended. The walk back to the bed seemed never ending, but thankfully Sirius was there to keep the room from spinning too much for his body to take and soon enough he was laying back down on his side as he tried to stop shivering. Noticing, Sirius crawled into bed next to him and wrapped his arms from behind him as he held him close.
A low chuckle bubbled out of Remus then, his voice already getting thick with sleep since the effort had exhausted him. "Helping me stay warm?"
"Possibly." Sirius' lips quirked upwards slightly. "Unless you want Padfoot to keep you warm instead."
"No, this is fine. 's perfect, actually." A beat. "Thank you."
A kissed was placed on the top of his head, and Sirius responded quietly as he felt Remus' body slowly starting to relax as he fell asleep, "Don't worry. I promise I'm not going anywhere."
Timeline wise it can really fit in anywhere, I think...? I'm not placing it anywhere, at least, though it was mostly inspired as another take on this fic. As usual, not binding to any muse unless the mun would like it to.
For years now - he had lost count how many - Remus hated to look at himself in the mirror. There were days he despised the reflection staring back at him because he couldn't stop or fight away the thoughts and feelings that would surface as he saw the mask that he presented for the world to see. So many people saw the good in him, but Remus could only see the bad with such a force that reflections were best to be avoided.
As he finished rinsing his mouth, however, he couldn't stop his eyes from trailing towards the mirror in front of him. He was so dizzy that at first everything was simply a blur, but it didn't take long for things to slowly start coming into focus. His skin was pale, making those dark circles under his eyes look worse than what they already were. His eyes showed just how drained he actually felt and, for some reason, as he stood there he could almost swear that the scars along his face had only become more obvious. They were bigger, he thought; bigger and deeper. Shifting his attention towards his hair, with a shaky hand he let go of the sink and tried to fix how disheveled it was.
Doing so had been a big mistake. Letting go of the sink made him become suddenly unbalanced, and the room seemed to spin once more. Closing his eyes to fight the nausea, he grasped as tightly as he could onto the sink again and tried to simply focus on breathing for now.
Just as he felt his stomach make another violent spin, his knees starting to buckle from under him, a pair of arms held him up by the waist and gently steadied him on his feet. Remus didn't have to turn or ask who it was, because he knew that familiar scent that he caught a whiff of and he only tried hard to focus on that so he could steady himself again.
"Ready to sit down?" Sirius murmured once Remus' grasp on the sink loosened. He didn't even bother to scold him for not sending a patronus asking for help earlier because, besides from the fact that it wouldn't do any good at the moment, he already knew Remus and how convincing him to accept help was as close to impossible as it could get. Especially when it was something regarding his health. That was why he had hurried as much as he could to get to him.
Well, one of the reasons.
"I don't think I'm quite ready to move just yet." Remus cleared his throat, in hopes that he could somehow make his voice less dry and hoarse. "Everything keeps spinning," he admitted under his breath after a moment. "It hasn't stopped since I woke up." Once he trusted himself enough to do so, he let go of Sirius so he could lean against the wall and slowly slide down to sit on the floor. He needed to sit, but moving back to the bedroom wasn't something he wanted; Sirius knew that routine well by now. He knew in the same way that Remus knew that Sirius would sure enough sit next to him once he was settled with his back against the wall.
Sirius stayed silent, watching him for a moment until he noticed the way that his body kept trembling. Summoning a blanket from the bedroom, he put it over him and rubbed his arm to create some warmth with the friction his hands were making. "Still refusing to see a healer, I see."
Lips tugging very slightly at the corners into a ghost of a smile, Remus just shook his head. "It won't do any good. We both know that."
"Well yes, but...they could try to help," he offered, his voice still sounding normal and calm even if Remus could see the way that his brow seemed to furrow with each word. Normally he wouldn't push it, knowing Remus' dislike towards going anywhere near St Mungo's, but the way he looked... "You're making me regret the fact that I never became a healer, you know."
"Oh Merlin," he said, suddenly letting out a small chuckle at that suggestion, "I'm thankful for that, actually. I don't need you to be a healer."
"Then?" Sirius passed his fingers over his hair to brush his hair back in the way that Remus had attempted to do earlier. In doing so he noted the way his brow felt clammy, and made a note to possibly bring a healer while Remus slept so he wouldn't have to get upset. "What can I do?"
Remus turned to him then and opened his mouth, but at first he couldn't answer. He just felt his mouth go dry, and a knot grow in his throat as he stared at him. There were things he wanted to say, but he couldn't bring himself to talk just yet. So, instead, he reached for his hand and held it in his as Sirius began to pass his thumb over his knuckles.
"...just don't leave, please," he finally managed to say. He forced himself to smile, as if to reassure him that it would be fine. Somehow, it would be, right? Funny how earlier reassurances of how things would be fine were the last things he wanted to think of, while right now that was all he wanted to believe for at least a moment. Maybe it was because the nausea wasn't as strong as it had been earlier. "I suppose being a wizard comes in handy in moments like this, yes? We can simply accio whatever it is that we need." Remus looked down at their joined hands, and after staying silent for a moment he murmured, "I just... I really need you to stay."
Not to wait on him. Not to torture him by having to be there with him when he was so ill, which was what it felt like to Remus because the last thing he wanted was to be an even bigger burden. He hated being ill. He couldn't stand it, but it wasn't as if he had a choice. His body had had a mind of its own for years now that he couldn't control; he just still had to get used to that fact.
And Sirius knew that, of course, because he knew Remus. He knew those thoughts and that blame that he kept dumping on himself, so at once he gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm not going anywhere. I was actually already planning on staying, so it's a good thing that is what you need." Giving him a small of his own, he nodded towards the bedroom. "Come on, let's get back there. It's freezing in here."
With a nod, Remus finally conceded to the idea. At first he tried to get up on his own, not wanting to accept the help that he obviously needed, but after a moment he just looked up at Sirius and took the hand that had already been extended. The walk back to the bed seemed never ending, but thankfully Sirius was there to keep the room from spinning too much for his body to take and soon enough he was laying back down on his side as he tried to stop shivering. Noticing, Sirius crawled into bed next to him and wrapped his arms from behind him as he held him close.
A low chuckle bubbled out of Remus then, his voice already getting thick with sleep since the effort had exhausted him. "Helping me stay warm?"
"Possibly." Sirius' lips quirked upwards slightly. "Unless you want Padfoot to keep you warm instead."
"No, this is fine. 's perfect, actually." A beat. "Thank you."
A kissed was placed on the top of his head, and Sirius responded quietly as he felt Remus' body slowly starting to relax as he fell asleep, "Don't worry. I promise I'm not going anywhere."