Fic: Early Morning Cold for yndigot
Title: Early Morning Cold
Author: planetgal471
Recipient: yndigot
Rating: PG
Highlight for Warnings: *NONE*
Word Count: 1008
Summary: The heat's out in their first muggle flat.
Author's notes: Beta'd by wandersfound
Early Morning Cold
Sirius awoke to the somewhat pleasant sensation of being blinded by fresh December sunlight. He preferred not to be awoken at all, as a rule, but if something must wake him, sunlight was better than many things (and not as good as others). This first sensation was ruined by the second, though. He noticed, as his eyes cracked open, that his fingers were aching where they curled around the tops of the down comforter. He also noticed that his nose was so cold that it was running. Underneath the blankets seemed pleasant enough, but outside of them, the air was cold enough that a pane of ice coated the inside of the bedroom window. The sunlight that had awoken Sirius came to him through this window, warped and somehow exaggerated.
The third sensation of the morning, however, was the best of all. Remus Lupin, fully curled under the blankets rather like a pup, sidled closer to Sirius. Remus pressed ice cold fingers up under Sirius's shirt and against the flat of his stomach, and Sirius took in a sharp breath.
"You awake then?" a muffled voice asked from beneath the covers.
"Yeah."
"You feel that?"
"Feel what, your ice-cube fingers?"
Remus laughed, but his voice was serious when he answered, "I think the heat's gone out." He was still curled under the blankets.
"Are you... Is that why you're under all the blankets?"
"I'm cold." Remus said it with a slight whinge, like a child who felt that being cold was one of the worst things a person could be.
"Alright," Sirius sighed. He did not want to get out of bed, especially as he suspected that Remus was correct about the heat. The damn flat had been such a bargain, but this was the second time the heat had gone out. He knew, though, that Remus would not budge from his circle of warmth under the covers until the heat was fixed. Remus was oddly cold-blooded like that. Not a werewolf thing, just a Remus thing, and it made Sirius laugh, especially because people thought 'werewolf' and expected the exact opposite. That just went to show what people knew about anything.
Sirius swung back the blankets, and Remus yelped pitifully as the cold air hit him. Sirius chuckled and pulled the blankets back over Remus, but not before stealing one to wrap around his own shoulders. The bare floorboards felt like ice, and he padded across the pint-sized bedroom to the hallway, still half asleep. There was no radiator in the bedroom but the one in the bathroom, sure enough, wasn't warm. Sirius also checked the ones in the kitchen (it was generous to call it a kitchen, at its size) and main room, but none were warm. He cursed and returned to the bedroom.
"Remus," Sirius whinged.
"What?" Remus's voice was still muffled under the covers.
"The heat's out."
"I know, you berk. I told you that."
"I can cast a few atmospheric warming charms, but I don't know how to use the felly-what's-it. You've got to call the building manager."
Remus groaned and answered, "You cast those charms first."
Sirius gladly would have done, but it took him a good fifteen minutes to even find his wand. When he did, it turned up underneath the futon couch and inside a shoe he had lost weeks ago. "I swear it has a mind of its own," he muttered to himself. He put on the one shoe so that he would not lose it again, and cast the atmospheric charm in each room as he limped, one-shoed, back to the bedroom.
"It's warmer out here," he called to Remus. Only then did Remus's head slowly appear above the covers. The distorted, magnified sunlight coming through the melting ice on the windowpane illuminated his face. Only under such brightness could you catch them, but Sirius could easily see, in this light, the peppering of pale freckles that ran across the bridge of Remus's nose. Sirius dove into bed.
"I suppose I have to call the manager." Remus frowned, turning to see Sirius right up against him, though on top of the covers.
"Yeah, don't know how long the charms will hold."
"Your wand?"
Sirius, entirely unsure why it was needed, passed over his wand without question. Well, he did have one question: "Where's yours?"
Remus frowned. "The freezer, I think."
Sirius nodded. This made perfect sense to him. He vaguely remembered Remus getting into a raging brawl with a tub of ice cream late on the night before.
Remus pointed Sirius's wand toward the kitchen and muttered, "Accio telephone." Luckily, when the phone came flying into the room, stretched to the very end of its long, curly cord, Remus deftly caught it, preventing it from rebounding.
"Nice. You should have been a Seeker," Sirius smiled.
Remus said nothing other than a small curse.
"What?"
"The numbers to dial are on the base. In the kitchen. I didn't think this through."
Sirius laughed and jumped back out of bed, limping to the kitchen. "Tell me which ones."
Sadly, their apartment had been in poor enough repair of late that Remus seemed to have the building manager's number memorized. He recited it dutifully to Sirius. Sirius pressed each number on command, and Remus carried on a softly insistent conversation that Sirius could only hear the half of. When Sirius had hung up the phone, he dove back into bed as though he hadn't done that exact same thing only a minute earlier.
"Ok, so," Remus frowned at him, "Why are you wearing one shoe?"
Sirius didn't answer, but kicked it off and shoved it under the bed, where it was sure to be lost for another good while. He pushed the covers down and crawled back underneath. "I'm sleepy," he mumbled. "Any way we can restart the morning?."
"I think it can be arranged," Remus smiled.
Sirius curled up against Remus and both of them promptly fell back asleep.
*****
Sirius awoke to the extremely pleasant sensation of being cradled in warm hands. Soon, he was aware that the hands were moving, angling skin and bodies. Sirius turned into the warmth that was like sunlight but richer. This was by far the best way to be awakened.
Author: planetgal471
Recipient: yndigot
Rating: PG
Highlight for Warnings: *NONE*
Word Count: 1008
Summary: The heat's out in their first muggle flat.
Author's notes: Beta'd by wandersfound
Early Morning Cold
Sirius awoke to the somewhat pleasant sensation of being blinded by fresh December sunlight. He preferred not to be awoken at all, as a rule, but if something must wake him, sunlight was better than many things (and not as good as others). This first sensation was ruined by the second, though. He noticed, as his eyes cracked open, that his fingers were aching where they curled around the tops of the down comforter. He also noticed that his nose was so cold that it was running. Underneath the blankets seemed pleasant enough, but outside of them, the air was cold enough that a pane of ice coated the inside of the bedroom window. The sunlight that had awoken Sirius came to him through this window, warped and somehow exaggerated.
The third sensation of the morning, however, was the best of all. Remus Lupin, fully curled under the blankets rather like a pup, sidled closer to Sirius. Remus pressed ice cold fingers up under Sirius's shirt and against the flat of his stomach, and Sirius took in a sharp breath.
"You awake then?" a muffled voice asked from beneath the covers.
"Yeah."
"You feel that?"
"Feel what, your ice-cube fingers?"
Remus laughed, but his voice was serious when he answered, "I think the heat's gone out." He was still curled under the blankets.
"Are you... Is that why you're under all the blankets?"
"I'm cold." Remus said it with a slight whinge, like a child who felt that being cold was one of the worst things a person could be.
"Alright," Sirius sighed. He did not want to get out of bed, especially as he suspected that Remus was correct about the heat. The damn flat had been such a bargain, but this was the second time the heat had gone out. He knew, though, that Remus would not budge from his circle of warmth under the covers until the heat was fixed. Remus was oddly cold-blooded like that. Not a werewolf thing, just a Remus thing, and it made Sirius laugh, especially because people thought 'werewolf' and expected the exact opposite. That just went to show what people knew about anything.
Sirius swung back the blankets, and Remus yelped pitifully as the cold air hit him. Sirius chuckled and pulled the blankets back over Remus, but not before stealing one to wrap around his own shoulders. The bare floorboards felt like ice, and he padded across the pint-sized bedroom to the hallway, still half asleep. There was no radiator in the bedroom but the one in the bathroom, sure enough, wasn't warm. Sirius also checked the ones in the kitchen (it was generous to call it a kitchen, at its size) and main room, but none were warm. He cursed and returned to the bedroom.
"Remus," Sirius whinged.
"What?" Remus's voice was still muffled under the covers.
"The heat's out."
"I know, you berk. I told you that."
"I can cast a few atmospheric warming charms, but I don't know how to use the felly-what's-it. You've got to call the building manager."
Remus groaned and answered, "You cast those charms first."
Sirius gladly would have done, but it took him a good fifteen minutes to even find his wand. When he did, it turned up underneath the futon couch and inside a shoe he had lost weeks ago. "I swear it has a mind of its own," he muttered to himself. He put on the one shoe so that he would not lose it again, and cast the atmospheric charm in each room as he limped, one-shoed, back to the bedroom.
"It's warmer out here," he called to Remus. Only then did Remus's head slowly appear above the covers. The distorted, magnified sunlight coming through the melting ice on the windowpane illuminated his face. Only under such brightness could you catch them, but Sirius could easily see, in this light, the peppering of pale freckles that ran across the bridge of Remus's nose. Sirius dove into bed.
"I suppose I have to call the manager." Remus frowned, turning to see Sirius right up against him, though on top of the covers.
"Yeah, don't know how long the charms will hold."
"Your wand?"
Sirius, entirely unsure why it was needed, passed over his wand without question. Well, he did have one question: "Where's yours?"
Remus frowned. "The freezer, I think."
Sirius nodded. This made perfect sense to him. He vaguely remembered Remus getting into a raging brawl with a tub of ice cream late on the night before.
Remus pointed Sirius's wand toward the kitchen and muttered, "Accio telephone." Luckily, when the phone came flying into the room, stretched to the very end of its long, curly cord, Remus deftly caught it, preventing it from rebounding.
"Nice. You should have been a Seeker," Sirius smiled.
Remus said nothing other than a small curse.
"What?"
"The numbers to dial are on the base. In the kitchen. I didn't think this through."
Sirius laughed and jumped back out of bed, limping to the kitchen. "Tell me which ones."
Sadly, their apartment had been in poor enough repair of late that Remus seemed to have the building manager's number memorized. He recited it dutifully to Sirius. Sirius pressed each number on command, and Remus carried on a softly insistent conversation that Sirius could only hear the half of. When Sirius had hung up the phone, he dove back into bed as though he hadn't done that exact same thing only a minute earlier.
"Ok, so," Remus frowned at him, "Why are you wearing one shoe?"
Sirius didn't answer, but kicked it off and shoved it under the bed, where it was sure to be lost for another good while. He pushed the covers down and crawled back underneath. "I'm sleepy," he mumbled. "Any way we can restart the morning?."
"I think it can be arranged," Remus smiled.
Sirius curled up against Remus and both of them promptly fell back asleep.
*****
Sirius awoke to the extremely pleasant sensation of being cradled in warm hands. Soon, he was aware that the hands were moving, angling skin and bodies. Sirius turned into the warmth that was like sunlight but richer. This was by far the best way to be awakened.