Title: The Heat of December
Rating: K+
Summary: It's an unusually chilly winter. Sirius proposes the idea that maybe sleeping in the same bed would warm them up some.
Warnings: SLASH. Remus and Sirius TOGETHER. ROMANTICALLY.
Disclaimer: I do not own. If I did, they would've BLEEPed in every chapter of every book.
Enjoy!
-:-
The winter was harsh and tiresome. Windows rattled and the wind howled and whistled between cracks in stone and wood. It was constantly freezing, and everyone's breath came out fogged. Fires, warm food, and Pepper-Up Potion didn't seem to help at all. It was like the cold was sucking the life and warmth out of everything. It had to be one of the worst winters ever, not once in the history of Hogwarts had the cold of December ever surrounded them so completely.
One student was taking it worse than the others. His name was Sirius Black, and had already been severely cold intolerant before this. Even in normal room temperature he was seen with his jacket; now that classes were over for Christmas break(barely anyone was left) Sirius was rarely seen out of his dorm room – and even then he'd had a blanket.
Only three Gryffindor boys stayed for the holidays. Their names were Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and James Potter. Sirius on principle never went home for the holidays – he hated his family and they hated him. Remus's parents were going to a conference in America, and James's parents were visiting his older sister who had left Hogwarts many years ago.
While Remus and James had grown accustomed to the biting cold, Sirius had not. He just couldn't.
The story starts late one snowy December night, the twenty-eighth to be exact, and Remus Lupin was getting ready for bed.
"Moony?" called a voice, barely discernable under a pile of blankets.
"Yes, Sirius?"
Sirius popped his head out from underneath his cave of blankets, his mop of black hair falling in his eyes. Sirius didn't brush them away and Remus's fingers twitched, itching to brush them back. "Will you come in here tonight?"
Remus raised his eyebrows. "Excuse me?"
"You know, sleep in here tonight."
"Why?"
"Because I can get warmer from body heat than I can from blankets."
"Why not ask James?"
"Because he hogs the blankets."
"You mean like you?"
Sirius ignored his retort. "Please, Remus?"
Remus found it extremely hard to resist the beseeching look Sirius was giving him, which was rather fittingly reminiscent of an extremely hungry puppy in front of a bowl of food that was too high to reach.
"Do I have to?"
"Yes," Sirius answered, without hesitation.
Remus sighed, and made a big show of grumbling about how much he didn't enjoy having to do this. In truth, he didn't mind at all. Hopefully, Sirius would remember this act of friendship the next time he was broke when they visited Honeydukes. Remus highly doubted it, though.
Finally, he slipped in under Sirius's amassed blankets. He could hear Sirius breathing and their legs and arms and hands touched, just barely. For every inch of his skin that came in contact with Sirius he felt strange warmth shooting up through that spot. Warmth that the cold could not steal. He found that he actually liked the feel of Sirius's skin on his, snuggling closer before realizing what he was doing and abruptly stopping. He heard Sirius's breathing hitch when he'd came closer. Remus wondered if he could do that to Sirius's breathing again. He wanted to. It made his skin crawl with pleasure when he'd heard it. He snuggled into Sirius's side. Sirius's breathing hitched again. It made Remus smile.
"Remus?" Sirius whispered. "Are you still awake?"
Remus didn't say anything. He wondered what Sirius wanted. When he'd not answered for quite some time, Sirius snuggled in with Remus. Remus was shocked. He hadn't expected that.
He was snuggling with his best friend. Snuggling with his best friend. Remus knew that he was enjoying this a lot more than he was supposed to. Was he supposed to enjoy the feeling of Sirius's arm clutching his? The sound of his steady breathing, or the way the moonlight from the waxing gibbous played across his beautiful face? Sirius's face couldn't really be described as handsome. Beautiful was a more choice word. The moonlight made his face look paler than usual and blue lights in his hair darker than night. At this point in time Sirius looked like a god; he was ethereal and beautiful and oh my god why am I thinking these things about Sirius?
Sirius made a small snuffling sound and buried his face in Remus's arm. Remus sighed happily, before realizing that he was sighing happily, and told himself that he was not supposed to be sighing happily about sleeping with his best mate. But Remus couldn't really help it. He felt like he was breathing for the first time, like a weight had been lifted. He'd been in denial for so long, but now he'd realized what it was. He liked Sirius. He like liked Sirius. As in non-platonic like. Oh dear.
Sirius made another small sound and clutched him tighter. Remus let him. He heard James slowly open the door and get into pajamas, collapse on his bed. He sighed contentedly; at this moment, he was happy. When Remus fell asleep, he dreamed of Sirius.
-:-
When Remus woke up in the morning, he found James sitting on the bed opposite, grinning like a loon. He made to sit up but found that he couldn't. A large weight on his body was keeping him down. Sirius.
Apparently, Sirius couldn't keep still, and apparently he found Remus's body comfortable enough to curl his whole body around. His knee was dangerously close to Remus's groin, and his lips brushed against the nape of his neck.
He looked at James.
'Help me', he mouthed.
"Yeah, right," James laughed. "The last time I asked you that, you said, and I quote, 'Screw you, I'm eating chocolate'."
"Yes, well, the situation is different."
James looked at him mischievously, eyes dancing. "And?"
"Please?"
"Oh, would you look at the time! I'm hungry, I'm gonna go down to breakfast."
"James!" Remus whisper-yelled. "James!!"
The door closed.
"Great," Remus said, listening to the sound of James laughing on his way downstairs.
He looked at the sleeping boy stretched across his chest. He tried to push him off but he was too heavy. "Damn it, Sirius," he muttered under his breath.
Sirius made an indistinct sound and buried his face deeper in Remus's neck.
Remus tried to shake Sirius off, but Sirius made a dog-like whining sound that made Remus feel horribly guilty for trying to wake him up.
"…love you," Sirius murmured.
Remus's heart felt like it was being squeezed. Who did Sirius love? Why hadn't he told any of the Marauders? Did Sirius not trust him? He suddenly didn't have any restrictions about waking Sirius up.
Sirius's neck was exposed; Remus bit it. Finally, something seemed to have worked. Sirius moaned and pushed himself up off of Remus a bit. Sirius's arms were on either side of Remus and his face was in front of his. Sirius's eyes were blurry with sleep and he looked confused, as if wondering how he'd got there. Suddenly, without warning, Sirius swooped down and kissed Remus.
Remus, in his panic, pushed Sirius off (though the kiss had been rather enjoyable). When he looked down at Sirius's new position on the floor, he looked wide awake – and terrified.
"I am so sorry, Moony," Sirius gasped. "I didn't mean to, I thought I was dreaming, I –"
"You thought you were dreaming?" Remus asked.
"…Yes?" Sirius said tentatively.
Remus put it together. Sirius thought he'd been dreaming when he'd kissed him. Sirius said he'd loved the person he'd been dreaming about.
"You love me?"
Sirius did not meet his eyes. Remus could see that Sirius knew it was all going to come out. He waited for him to speak.
Sirius slowly lifted his gaze to meet Remus's, and said in a low voice, "Since first year."
Remus slowly slid off the bed and onto the floor next to Sirius, who looked extremely apprehensive.
"And you made fun of James for loving Lily."
Sirius laughed nervously, and ran a shaking hand through his hair. "Yeah, well…couldn't let anyone find out."
Remus turned toward him. "I like you, Sirius, I really do."
Sirius waited for the 'but', but it never came. Remus didn't say anything else; instead he leaned forward and kissed Sirius again.
It was better and longer than the accidental first; there was a good deal of tongue and moaning. Remus felt like he and Sirius were melting together, meshing into the other.
Eventually Remus pulled away, breathless. "Scratch that. I love, love you."
Sirius grinned, before getting a shocked look on his face.
"What is it?" Remus asked.
"We figured out a way to make the cold go away."
Remus raised one eyebrow. "Did we now?"
"Yes," asserted Sirius. "And I think we might just have to employ our methods again. You know, so we don't get chilled."
"I think I can do that, as long as you don't mind missing breakfast."
Sirius smiled. "Who needs food when I have all I want right here?"
"You are such a sap."
"I know. You love me for it."
"Yes," Remus agreed. "I do."
-:-
To be completely honest with you, I love this little ficlet. If you did too, feel free to give me a review.
Much love,
SunnyD-Pumpernickel