Written for Sylvia (glowing neon) for the Gift-Giving Extravaganza - the creator of this. I used the prompt 'cards'
Written for our dancing days' The Joys of Wolfstar Challenge with the line: "Oops?" It really wasn't his fault; he just so happened to be the one to leave on the ancient cooker that ended up burning down Remus' flat. Meaning that Remus had to come live with him. Worse things had happened, right?
Written for Clever Ink Slinger's Christmas Boot Camp using the prompt 'december'
A Fine December
December. The finest month of the year in Sirius' opinion. Tiny snowflakes would fall against the windows in Grimmauld Place, Christmas carols could be heard in the streets nearby, and Christmas cards would arrive by owl post every other day, wishing him a happy Christmas and happy holidays. What wasn't there to love?
On December twenty-third, he was on his way down the stairs, whistling the tune of God Rest Ye Merry Hippogriffs, when there was a loud knock at the door. Wondering who it could be, he pushed through the narrow hall where he'd recently hung many decorations, and opened the door to Remus.
"Remus! Hey, you wanna come in? Come in!" He grinned at his friend as he allowed him into his house. Remus shook off the snow from his coat and hung it on the coat rack, smiling back.
"What are your plans for Christmas?" was the first thing that Remus asked him.
Sirius gave a shrug. "Wake up, eat breakfast, and maybe see if anyone's bothered to give me anything." He shrugged again. "Yours?"
"Would you like to spend Christmas with me?" Remus asked without answering his question. "My father is choosing to spend it with his new partner, and has asked me to join, but I think I would rather stay here. But it'll be just me. Unless you would like to join me. I will cook and everything. All you need to do is bring yourself."
"Oh." Sirius frowned, contemplating the offer. There were many pros and cons that he could debate for days over, but the one main pro that outweighed all the cons combined was that he may or may not have had feelings for Remus in a more-than-just-friends fashion. He dressed quite shabby, but underneath the old moth-eaten clothes and scruffy hair was a very handsome man. And those eyes… he could stare into those eyes all day.
"Oh?" Remus inquired, appearing slightly nervous.
"Yeah, that sounds good," Sirius said. "I will see you in two days' time."
Remus beamed. "Great! See you then!" And he was gone before Sirius had even thought to invite him in. He was too busy thinking about what might happen on Christmas day when it was just himself and Remus.
…
The twenty-fifth came around quicker than he could have imagined. One moment, Sirius was putting up the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve, and the next, he was Flooing over to Remus' tiny flat that was designed just for him.
"Hello?" Sirius called, searching the room for any sign of his friend. "Remus?"
Remus appeared around the corner, grinning from ear to ear. He was dressed quite plainly for what was supposed to be a cheerful, wintery day, but Sirius didn't mind. He just liked that it was them… just the two of them….
"Hey, Sirius!" Remus said. "Make yourself at home. There is Butterbeer by the cooler over there if you'd like some."
Sirius nodded. He'd like a Butterbeer very much. Maybe a few.
Remus disappeared again, but returned moments later with food in hand. He placed it on the small coffee table in the tiny living room and sat on the couch next to Sirius. "Thanks for coming," he said.
Sirius shrugged. "No problem," he replied. "If I wasn't here, I'd be sharing a Christmas lunch with Kreacher." He snorted. "I'd rather be here, thanks."
Remus reached out and patted his knee. "Well, I'm glad you're here," he said. "It can get a bit lonely when it's just me."
Sirius almost retracted his knee, but at the last minute, decided against it. He liked that. He'd often wondered what it would be like to have Remus touch him in a way that was more than just an I-haven't-seen-you-in-so-long friendly hug. And it had been a while. Two years, almost. He'd shamefully been spending a lot more time with James and Lily than Remus and Peter since leaving Hogwarts. There was something about their newly-married joy that he liked.
"So, how has your day been so far?" Sirius asked after a few moments. "I can see you've been busying yourself."
Remus nodded, then gave a modest shrug. "There isn't much to do," he confessed. "Except cook."
Sirius nodded. "Well, you're a better cook than I am, I'm sure. Remember that rosemary chicken I made once? Or, should I say, charcoal rosemary chicken?"
Remus laughed, nodding. "That was a disaster. I think James said he and Lily were sick for days after that."
"This is why the house-elves cook for me. Not because I'm lazy, but because I can't."
"And maybe a little bit of laziness added into the mix?" It was a question, and one that Sirius agreed to. Anything to make him happy.
"Maybe."
"Well, you don't have to worry about that tonight," Remus said. "Leave the cooking to me. Help yourself to as many Butterbeers as you want, the lunch will be ready shortly." And with that, Remus vanished into kitchen again.
Sirius did as his friend suggested and helped himself to another Butterbeer after downing the first. When Remus still didn't return, he had another one, and then a fourth, when eventually he couldn't focus on the couch in front of him without it looking like there were two there.
He laughed to himself at his own stupidity. Butterbeer had always been his weakness.
"Well, I think it's safe to say that you may have the looks, but I have the talent to cook." Remus returned to the living room carrying a tray with a steaming turkey on it. Sirius stumbled to his feet, grinning lopsidedly.
"Definitely," he agreed. He sniffed the air. "Smells good."
Remus turned a faint pink and placed the tray on the table in front of him. "Well, I hope it tastes as good."
And it did taste just as good. In fact, it was one that could rival Kreacher's, and as much as Sirius hated the wretched house-elf, he liked his cooking quite a bit. But now, just maybe, he had a new favourite cook.
To go with his four Butterbeers before lunch, Sirius had another one with it, then another one afterwards. There was just something about the sweet taste, and the way it made him feel. It gave him more confidence to be himself around Remus. Normally, he was trying very hard to just be Remus' friend.
"I don't think I could eat another crumb," he eventually said, leaning back into the chair.
"But there's still dessert," Remus replied with a smile. "Surely, you have room for that?"
"Well… if you insist," Sirius answered, and he winked. Dessert was never something he passed up. "But please let me help you at least clean up. I feel terrible for just sitting here, drinking all your Butterbeer, while you slave away." He waved a hand at the ever-growing pile of bottles sitting on Remus' coffee table. "Maybe even I could help with dessert?"
Remus smiled, and then nodded. "Very well," he agreed.
Sirius took the plates from the table in one hand, and with the other, levitated the remaining dishes into the kitchen. There was some pudding cooking in the oven that smelled absolutely divine, and as he set about washing the dishes, the smell grew stronger and stronger until he could resist taking a peak at what it was.
It smelled of chocolate and fruit and many other things he couldn't put a finger to. He opened the oven door, and just as he was contemplating putting a fork in to have a taste, footsteps shuffled behind him, and he almost jumped from his skin in fright.
"Like what you see?" Remus' voice said, and when Sirius came spun around, he realised his face was only inches from his friend's.
"Yes, yes, I do," he replied, ignoring the small part of him that was telling him to back away. He liked this; he liked this a lot.
"Well, it's not quite ready yet. How're the dishes going?"
Sirius turned his head to the sink. He'd managed one.
"I'll get right on that," he responded, and as he went to turn away, he was pulled back by Remus, this time a lot closer to him.
"Thank you, Sirius," he said softly. "For coming today."
Sirius shuffled, not sure what to do. "Er, you're welcome," he said. "Anytime."
There was a moment where the two of them just stood there, looking at each other – was that a moment? – and then… and then... was Remus leaning closer to him?
No, surely not. It had just been in his head, he was certain of it. Remus didn't return those stupid feelings he had. Surely not.
But then his lips were on his, as sweet and as soft as he'd ever hoped them to be, and Sirius was kissing him back. He tasted of cranberries and Butterbeer, and mixed together, it was absolutely delicious. Sirius wanted more, he silently asked for more, but Remus pulled away. Their eyes met, and for a very long moment, neither of them spoke. They just stared.
"Er…." But he had no time to respond, because suddenly he felt a heat from behind him – this time an unpleasant heat. Remus' eyes widened in surprise, and as he spun, there were flames everywhere.
"What the –?"
Shoving him out of the way, Remus leapt to remove an old pot from the stove. It had Butterbeer leaking down the sides, and it had caught alight from the sauce cooking on the top. The drapes hanging over the kitchen window were smouldering in the orange flames, and smoke was filling their eyes and ears quickly.
"Oh, shit," Sirius said. He searched for something that might put the fire out, but the only thing there was a half-drank bottle of the stupid drink that had caused it in the first place.
The flame had now moved to some paper towels near the drapes, and they had no choice. There would be no dessert.
"Let's get out of here!" Remus cried over the roaring fire. With his hand on Remus' back, Sirius followed his friend to the door until they were safely in hall. Neighbours were coming out of their flats to see what had disrupted their Christmases, and cries of fright could be heard all the way down as the smoke slowly drifted from Remus' door.
"Somebody call the fire department!" one called, and Sirius had no time to wonder what the fire department was. Remus had grabbed his hand, and along with the rest of the floor, they were all hurrying to the bottom, outside, and safely onto the street. Smoke billowed from Remus' window, and sirens could now be heard in the far-off distance.
Remus turned to Sirius, smirking. Sirius grimaced. "Sorry," he mumbled.
"I asked you to turn it off," Remus said quietly. "When you, er, went in there."
Sirius could not recall hearing that in the slightest, but he turned away shamefully anyway. And they had been having such a good time too….
"Oh well," Remus sighed. "Oh well… I guess I'm moving back in with my father…."
Sirius nodded. And then he shook his head. No. No, Remus would not have to go back to live with his father. "You know," he said, and he gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I live in such a big house with just me. I've plenty of rooms."
Remus looked at him, eyes wide. "You mean…?"
Sirius nodded again. "You can move in with me."
Remus smiled, squeezing back. "Thanks, Sirius," he said. "But…." He glanced up at his smouldering window, "Are you replacing everything I owned?"
Sirius gave him a sheepish look. "Oops?"
It really wasn't his fault; he just so happened to be the one to leave on the ancient cooker that ended up burning down Remus' flat. Meaning that Remus had to come live with him. Worse things had happened, right?
He glanced down at his friend. Yes, worse things had definitely happened.
I know Sylvia likes a little bit of humour and a touch of crack in her fics, and the prompt just so happened to inspire that. So, I hope I managed it well. I hope you like, Sylvia. And thank you to Amber for betaing this at short notice :) She's wonderful. And, I have many open spots for 2014 on my profile for gift-giving, so if you'd like me to write you something, please PM me with pairings and prompts. I'm happy to do anything.
Okay, so NaNo month now, so this will be my last one-shot for a while. I have a chapter with beta of Precious Moments, so that will be updated, but other than that, see you in December :D