Fic: Waking
Title: Waking
Author: remuslives23
Rating: PG15
Word Count: 668
Summary:"...it would probably be some kind of great karmic retribution if Remus bolted from the bed muttering dark statements about the dangers of excessive alcohol intake and proclaiming the whole night was nothing more than a massive mistake."
Notes: Thanks dogsunderfoot for reassurance and correction. Written for Prompt Fifteen at dogdaysofsummer. Also meets potterprompts #53: Writer's Choice - morning, and lover100 #080: Warmth.
Waking was usually instantaneous for Sirius; by morning, his restless body had had enough of the enforced stillness of slumber and couldn't wait to get on with the day. But this morning, wakefulness crept up slowly upon him and he lay with his eyes closed as each element of his surroundings made itself known.
First, the furnace-like heat hit him. It was summer, so waking in tangled, sweat-soaked sheets wasn't an unusual occurrence, but this heat was different. This heat wasn't from the already too-hot sun shining through the window because Sirius forgot to close the curtains again despite Lily's constant warnings that his bedspread would fade and rot. No, this heat came from the close proximity of another body, the not-always-welcome warmth that came from the heat of another's skin against your own. Any other morning, Sirius would groan out a complaint and turn away from the sticky slide of the other body, searching out the cool spot in his sheets, but today, he wanted to turn towards it, to bury himself in the damp warmth and never come out.
The weight registered next. He usually hated the sensation of being trapped by another body as it draped over his, the claustrophobia of being pinned down and enclosed in a clinging embrace usually driving him from bed with his heart pumping furiously and excuses for his abrupt departure dripping from his lips. But there were no panic-induced endorphins flooding his system today, no quickquickquick exit strategies forming in his brain. This morning, the arm flung across his chest and the legs entwined with his own felt comforting, possessive and right.
Sirius opened his eyes, staring for a long moment at the cobweb on his ceiling that he kept meaning to take a broom to, and contemplating the various aches that plagued him, wondering how the dull pain could possibly make him feel so contented, so damn good. A light snuffling sound from beside him made him turn his head, smiling when he saw Remus' first-thing-in-the-morning scruffiness.
Lazily, his eyes traveled over the long, slightly awkward limbs, the lean line of Remus' back, broken by the sharp angles of his shoulder blades, by the too-prominent ridge of his spine, down to the rounded flesh of his buttocks, marred by the already-blooming bruises Sirius' fingers and teeth had raised just hours earlier. Sirius reached out, aligning his fingers with the four oval marks he had branded onto Remus' flesh when the other man had breached him. He still wasn't sure if he'd been trying to halt Remus' slow slide, or encourage him to go harder, deeper.
A soft sigh made him look up and he saw Remus' eyelids twitching as the other man left his dreams behind to face the possible awkwardness of the morning after the drunken night before. Sirius held his breath. He'd told more than his share of uncomfortable 'So, I'll call you, yeah?' lies and made too many hurried, half-dressed departures and it would probably be some kind of great karmic retribution if Remus bolted from the bed muttering dark statements about the dangers of excessive alcohol intake and proclaiming the whole night was nothing more than a massive mistake.
Sirius had a sneaking suspicion that, if Remus did utter that word 'mistake', it would crack his scarred heart so deeply that it would never be able to be repaired.
And that realisation was simply terrifying.
Remus' eyes opened and almost immediately found Sirius'. There was a moment where he could see memories of last night flashing through Remus' mind and the other man's eyes showed the battle he was fighting between panic and acceptance.
Finally, Remus smiled.
And Sirius smiled back.
fin.
Author: remuslives23
Rating: PG15
Word Count: 668
Summary:"...it would probably be some kind of great karmic retribution if Remus bolted from the bed muttering dark statements about the dangers of excessive alcohol intake and proclaiming the whole night was nothing more than a massive mistake."
Notes: Thanks dogsunderfoot for reassurance and correction. Written for Prompt Fifteen at dogdaysofsummer. Also meets potterprompts #53: Writer's Choice - morning, and lover100 #080: Warmth.
Waking was usually instantaneous for Sirius; by morning, his restless body had had enough of the enforced stillness of slumber and couldn't wait to get on with the day. But this morning, wakefulness crept up slowly upon him and he lay with his eyes closed as each element of his surroundings made itself known.
First, the furnace-like heat hit him. It was summer, so waking in tangled, sweat-soaked sheets wasn't an unusual occurrence, but this heat was different. This heat wasn't from the already too-hot sun shining through the window because Sirius forgot to close the curtains again despite Lily's constant warnings that his bedspread would fade and rot. No, this heat came from the close proximity of another body, the not-always-welcome warmth that came from the heat of another's skin against your own. Any other morning, Sirius would groan out a complaint and turn away from the sticky slide of the other body, searching out the cool spot in his sheets, but today, he wanted to turn towards it, to bury himself in the damp warmth and never come out.
The weight registered next. He usually hated the sensation of being trapped by another body as it draped over his, the claustrophobia of being pinned down and enclosed in a clinging embrace usually driving him from bed with his heart pumping furiously and excuses for his abrupt departure dripping from his lips. But there were no panic-induced endorphins flooding his system today, no quickquickquick exit strategies forming in his brain. This morning, the arm flung across his chest and the legs entwined with his own felt comforting, possessive and right.
Sirius opened his eyes, staring for a long moment at the cobweb on his ceiling that he kept meaning to take a broom to, and contemplating the various aches that plagued him, wondering how the dull pain could possibly make him feel so contented, so damn good. A light snuffling sound from beside him made him turn his head, smiling when he saw Remus' first-thing-in-the-morning scruffiness.
Lazily, his eyes traveled over the long, slightly awkward limbs, the lean line of Remus' back, broken by the sharp angles of his shoulder blades, by the too-prominent ridge of his spine, down to the rounded flesh of his buttocks, marred by the already-blooming bruises Sirius' fingers and teeth had raised just hours earlier. Sirius reached out, aligning his fingers with the four oval marks he had branded onto Remus' flesh when the other man had breached him. He still wasn't sure if he'd been trying to halt Remus' slow slide, or encourage him to go harder, deeper.
A soft sigh made him look up and he saw Remus' eyelids twitching as the other man left his dreams behind to face the possible awkwardness of the morning after the drunken night before. Sirius held his breath. He'd told more than his share of uncomfortable 'So, I'll call you, yeah?' lies and made too many hurried, half-dressed departures and it would probably be some kind of great karmic retribution if Remus bolted from the bed muttering dark statements about the dangers of excessive alcohol intake and proclaiming the whole night was nothing more than a massive mistake.
Sirius had a sneaking suspicion that, if Remus did utter that word 'mistake', it would crack his scarred heart so deeply that it would never be able to be repaired.
And that realisation was simply terrifying.
Remus' eyes opened and almost immediately found Sirius'. There was a moment where he could see memories of last night flashing through Remus' mind and the other man's eyes showed the battle he was fighting between panic and acceptance.
Finally, Remus smiled.
And Sirius smiled back.
fin.