dogdaysofsummer Day 02
01
Picnic Pit-Stop
PG, 950 words
Remus/Sirius
Summary: On the way to visit James and Lily, Remus and Sirius stop off for a picnic.
They could have just Apparated, of course. But there are some, admittedly very rare, occasions where magic just takes the fun out of things.
‘Onwards!’ Remus cries, clinging to Sirius’ hips and squaring his shoulders, trying to negate the extraordinarily feminine position he’s in. Sirius’ hair is flying back and it’s getting in Remus’ eyes and as the engine roars smoke seems to bypass his mouth and go straight into his lungs.
It is completely brilliant.
They are speeding through the English countryside on the way to visit James-and-Lily, that single entity that is their two friends. The sun beats down on Remus’ neck, but the whistling wind of air resistance keeps him cool. The war rumbles on, of course, but it is not for today.
Although he can’t hear him, Remus knows Sirius is laughing by the shaking of his ribs and the way his head is thrown back against Remus’ temple as they move.
They travel on this thin line between earth and sky, and Remus wonders if he could reach out and grab the universe, if only he could bear to take his hands away from the security of Sirius.
The field has nothing particular about it - probably the fiftieth they’ve driven past since they set off, but Remus realises it’s the right one.
‘Here it is,’ he yells into Sirius’ ear, and Sirius nods and careers off the road straight through a very small gap in the hedge, which the bike rather miraculously has no trouble fitting through at all.
Remus jumps off the bike, partly because he’s afraid it’s about to topple over, partly because he feels ridiculously energised.
Sirius fumbles for a hidden catch underneath the bike seat, and produces a large basket from essentially nowhere. Remus laughs and puts Mary Poppins on his list of films to show Sirius as part of his Muggle education (they were late starting, but he was doing tremendously well so far, being particularly taken with Star Wars, which didn't have anything to do with the supposed attractiveness of Harrison Ford, obviously).
Sirius whips out a picnic rug and spreads it with a flourish on the grass, bowing in a very poor attempt at a subservient manner. Sirius couldn’t look servile with Polyjuice Potion, Remus suspects.
Remus laughs at the sheer Englishness of it all - there’s strawberries (with cream, naturally), limp little sandwiches who have suffered in the heat, and a flask of tea that only Sirius will drink, because it is too hot for tea unless you are Sirius Black, ultimate tea addict.
Remus grabs the Pimms he brought for himself, lies back on the picnic rug and indulges himself in contemplating just how happy he is at this moment.
Sirius has brought a particularly dry tome from the Black library that he’s lending to Peter later on, and he pulls out now, proceeding to read aloud from it and making Remus double over in fits of laughter. Hearing about the properties of Plantes Moste Potente read in Sirius’ best Sexy Voice was an experience like no other.
When Remus has laughed his last, they lie back on the grass, spread like starfish, heads gently nudging each other.
‘So, tell me. What is it about this field in particular?’
Remus sighs slightly, having anticipated the question. ‘It’s silly, really. I must have been about five, I suppose. I don’t know where we were going, or why, but the journey had been taking longer than expected and I think I was quite cranky. We had food in the car, and so my dad suggested we should just have a picnic in a field beside the road.’
‘This field?’
‘Yeah, I’m pretty sure this was it…’ Remus trails off for a moment, debating whether to explain just why this field was important. ‘It’s just-- that day is the last thing I remember before-- you know.’ He pauses again. ‘I think I’ve been trying to come back to this field my whole life,’ he murmurs, more to himself than Sirius.
But Sirius listens anyway. He doesn’t say anything, because he doesn’t need to. They know each other so well, so in and out and in the silliest ways (Remus knows that Sirius never wears matching socks, Sirius knows that however much you feed him, Remus will still be ravenous for precisely half an hour after every meal). Sirius doesn’t have to offer polite condolences - they are for the rest of the world.
Instead, Sirius just clutches Remus hand, tangling a dandelion between their fingers, and suddenly Sirius is the world.
Then Sirius breaks the sentimental moment, and Remus is glad of it. This is no time for such sappy nonsense.
‘That’s quite enough picnicking for one day, I think! And now, a Marauders weekend awaits! Frogspawn! Explosions! Havoc! It’s going to be fantastic.’
Remus chases after Sirius as he galumphs back down the road. ‘No, Padfoot, no! We may be giving Prongs a break from Lily’s hormonal madness, but that involves not seeking out her wrath!’
Sirius turns around, smirking. ‘Moony, m’boy. Lily is incredibly pregnant. The very sight of us, charming lads though we are, is going to invoke her wrath. We may as well make it worth the inevitable pain.’
It is very difficult to argue with Sirius logic, so Remus just laughs instead and hops back onto the bike, behind Sirius who quickly whirls them onwards towards the horizon.
Next...
Picnic Pit-Stop
PG, 950 words
Remus/Sirius
Summary: On the way to visit James and Lily, Remus and Sirius stop off for a picnic.
They could have just Apparated, of course. But there are some, admittedly very rare, occasions where magic just takes the fun out of things.
‘Onwards!’ Remus cries, clinging to Sirius’ hips and squaring his shoulders, trying to negate the extraordinarily feminine position he’s in. Sirius’ hair is flying back and it’s getting in Remus’ eyes and as the engine roars smoke seems to bypass his mouth and go straight into his lungs.
It is completely brilliant.
They are speeding through the English countryside on the way to visit James-and-Lily, that single entity that is their two friends. The sun beats down on Remus’ neck, but the whistling wind of air resistance keeps him cool. The war rumbles on, of course, but it is not for today.
Although he can’t hear him, Remus knows Sirius is laughing by the shaking of his ribs and the way his head is thrown back against Remus’ temple as they move.
They travel on this thin line between earth and sky, and Remus wonders if he could reach out and grab the universe, if only he could bear to take his hands away from the security of Sirius.
The field has nothing particular about it - probably the fiftieth they’ve driven past since they set off, but Remus realises it’s the right one.
‘Here it is,’ he yells into Sirius’ ear, and Sirius nods and careers off the road straight through a very small gap in the hedge, which the bike rather miraculously has no trouble fitting through at all.
Remus jumps off the bike, partly because he’s afraid it’s about to topple over, partly because he feels ridiculously energised.
Sirius fumbles for a hidden catch underneath the bike seat, and produces a large basket from essentially nowhere. Remus laughs and puts Mary Poppins on his list of films to show Sirius as part of his Muggle education (they were late starting, but he was doing tremendously well so far, being particularly taken with Star Wars, which didn't have anything to do with the supposed attractiveness of Harrison Ford, obviously).
Sirius whips out a picnic rug and spreads it with a flourish on the grass, bowing in a very poor attempt at a subservient manner. Sirius couldn’t look servile with Polyjuice Potion, Remus suspects.
Remus laughs at the sheer Englishness of it all - there’s strawberries (with cream, naturally), limp little sandwiches who have suffered in the heat, and a flask of tea that only Sirius will drink, because it is too hot for tea unless you are Sirius Black, ultimate tea addict.
Remus grabs the Pimms he brought for himself, lies back on the picnic rug and indulges himself in contemplating just how happy he is at this moment.
Sirius has brought a particularly dry tome from the Black library that he’s lending to Peter later on, and he pulls out now, proceeding to read aloud from it and making Remus double over in fits of laughter. Hearing about the properties of Plantes Moste Potente read in Sirius’ best Sexy Voice was an experience like no other.
When Remus has laughed his last, they lie back on the grass, spread like starfish, heads gently nudging each other.
‘So, tell me. What is it about this field in particular?’
Remus sighs slightly, having anticipated the question. ‘It’s silly, really. I must have been about five, I suppose. I don’t know where we were going, or why, but the journey had been taking longer than expected and I think I was quite cranky. We had food in the car, and so my dad suggested we should just have a picnic in a field beside the road.’
‘This field?’
‘Yeah, I’m pretty sure this was it…’ Remus trails off for a moment, debating whether to explain just why this field was important. ‘It’s just-- that day is the last thing I remember before-- you know.’ He pauses again. ‘I think I’ve been trying to come back to this field my whole life,’ he murmurs, more to himself than Sirius.
But Sirius listens anyway. He doesn’t say anything, because he doesn’t need to. They know each other so well, so in and out and in the silliest ways (Remus knows that Sirius never wears matching socks, Sirius knows that however much you feed him, Remus will still be ravenous for precisely half an hour after every meal). Sirius doesn’t have to offer polite condolences - they are for the rest of the world.
Instead, Sirius just clutches Remus hand, tangling a dandelion between their fingers, and suddenly Sirius is the world.
Then Sirius breaks the sentimental moment, and Remus is glad of it. This is no time for such sappy nonsense.
‘That’s quite enough picnicking for one day, I think! And now, a Marauders weekend awaits! Frogspawn! Explosions! Havoc! It’s going to be fantastic.’
Remus chases after Sirius as he galumphs back down the road. ‘No, Padfoot, no! We may be giving Prongs a break from Lily’s hormonal madness, but that involves not seeking out her wrath!’
Sirius turns around, smirking. ‘Moony, m’boy. Lily is incredibly pregnant. The very sight of us, charming lads though we are, is going to invoke her wrath. We may as well make it worth the inevitable pain.’
It is very difficult to argue with Sirius logic, so Remus just laughs instead and hops back onto the bike, behind Sirius who quickly whirls them onwards towards the horizon.
Next...