Prompt: "You're imprisoned in the castle where I work and whenever I pass that tiny window of your cell, you beg me to bring you food, I don't have the heart not to do it but if they catch me I'm dead. Also you say you're not a bad person, should I trust you?" (blog: diegoalvesisgod on tumblr)
A 5 + 1, except it's a four plus one.
The four times Sirius surprised Remus and the one time Remus surprised Sirius.
It was Remus's second week working there when it first happened. He'd been reassigned from working as a tailor's assistant for one of the various daughters of the king to being an errand boy for the higher-ups in the castle staff. He was on his way to the kitchens to deliver a note from the King's assistant's assistant to the chef about changes to the meal plan for the night or something similar, when he got a little lost. He'd been to the kitchens before, several times actually, but never from the west wing of the castle and somehow he ended up in the corridor that passed through the kitchen. Thankfully, the dungeon was surprisingly empty for once, which was unusual given the King's plethora of infractions that could lead to imprisonment or even capital punishment.
"Hey, you're not usually down here. Got any food you wouldn't mind sharing? They don't exactly keep us well fed here, you know?" The voice was soft and slightly husky, probably from disuse considering the lack of company in the dungeons and all, and came from one of the cells towards the end of the corridor and to Remus's right. Damn, he'd thought it was empty down here; it's not so much that he's afraid of the people locked up down here, but walking through a whole row of people locked up gave him the creeps. This guy though, there was something about him that didn't scream scary, made him feel safe, as odd as it was, and that alone put Remus on edge because, obviously, this guy was a criminal and not safe.
Despite that, he couldn't just say no when he did, in fact, have some biscuits from one of the older ladies who worked in the kitchens and loved to mother him had given him early that morning when he'd arrived, and he knew that they really didn't feed the prisoners that well, if at all sometimes. And, yes, this guy was a prisoner but he wasn't a murderer or something, because otherwise there'd be guards everywhere down here and the staff of the castle would have been put on lock-down, only let into certain areas of the castle and only with guards present, and they weren't, in fact there weren't even any guards around at the moment. "Yeah, I have a couple of biscuits, here," Remus gave him all three of the biscuits, even though he debated keeping one for himself, through the bars of the tiny window of the man's cell, careful not to touch him because, lack of murder charges aside, Remus was still a little on edge.
"Thanks," The reply was soft and sincere, a small smile clear in the man's voice, and it had come just as Remus was pulling the door that connected the dungeon corridor to the stairs that led up to the servant quarters that were a few floors above the dungeon shut behind. It was quiet and tentative and Remus wondered whether the man had meant for him to hear it at all.
The next time it happened Remus went down there on purpose. It was a few days later, late at night. He'd checked with James, a friend of his who was a guard, to see if there were any guards down there tonight; he'd asked under the pretense of being afraid of any dangerous criminals since the servant quarters where he stayed on days when his work ran long weren't that far from the dungeons. He'd been assured that there was just one minor criminal down there and that he's so tame that no guards were necessary, but James had offered to stay with him that night if he was really that freaked out. He'd declined on the grounds that Lily and Harry would probably like it better if he went home and he would be fine, honest.
In reality though, he'd asked because he couldn't get that mysterious man out of his head. He'd been quiet and polite and he didn't scare him and Remus just couldn't wrap his head around it. Something about him just stuck with him, and so Remus had set aside some of his dinner, wrapped it in a towel, and headed down to the dungeon late that night, hoping the man would be awake. He was silent making his way down the stairs to the dungeon corridor and thanked every god he could think of when he made it down there without incident. True to James' word, there wasn't a single guard down there, just the light snores of the man in the only occupied cell. For all the forethought he had given this whole illegal excursion to visit this guy he didn't even know, he had completely forgotten to plan for the event that this guy would not be awake at some ungodly hour of the night, and now Remus was at a loss. Does he leave the food on the windowsill of his little cell window and hope he knows it's from him, a stranger he met once? Does he attempt to wake him up? Does he leave and come back tomorrow and hope for better results?
All his worrying was interrupted by a soft "Who's there?" from the man Remus had just been thinking about, who he must have woken by making a bit of noise by coming down here.
"I'm the guy from the other day, you know, with the biscuits. I, uh, brought you some more food." Remus was quiet and awkward as he moved to put the food through the window, his hand brushing with the other man's when he took the food.
"Why?" He was just as quiet as he'd been the other day, voice barely above a whisper.
"Honestly? I haven't a clue, I just kept thinking about you all alone and hungry and down here and I had to do something, I suppose." Remus surprised himself with the honest answer he gave to this guy he barely met, a man that he didn't know and was committing a minor crime for.
"Charmed you, did I?" It was soft, just like everything else he said, but it was said with humor and between bites of bread.
"I suppose you did." And it was true, Remus was a little charmed by the stranger, oddly enough. He wasn't one to pay much attention to anyone outside of work, and he had never had his attention caught like this, but it had happened.
"Good to know prison hasn't lessened my irresistible personality and charm." Remus laughed at that, hardly believing the sense of humor of this guy- he's in prison, God knows what for, and he's making jokes.
"Maybe you'll still have it when you get out." Remus's joke elicited a humorless snort, obviously striking a nerve.
"If I get out, you mean," He sounded angry and bitter and Remus had to wonder what he could've done to land him in a position where he would be stuck in prison for life.
"Surely you couldn't have done something so horrible to be in here forever, I mean, no one is even guarding you. When I asked my friend James if there were any guards down here tonight, he said they weren't needed for such a minor criminal."
"Yeah well, flirting with one of the guards near the castle wall while incredibly drunk is minor, but it'll also land you here for a good long while, too." He sounded bitter, not that Remus blamed him; the persecution of anyone who liked the same-sex was ridiculous and strictly enforced and it scared Remus half to death and made him bitter as hell, being gay himself. Still, despite his understanding, Remus was surprised that this stranger he'd met was just like he was.
"Oh," was all he could say without revealing that he was gay also, since he wasn't sure if this guy was actually gay or just liked to flirt with everyone when he'd had too much to drink.
"I suppose this is the last I'll being seeing of you then, now that you know I'm gay and not really worth committing a crime for, huh?" He said, softer than his normal speech, obviously used to being rejected over this.
"No, it isn't, unless of course, I can't get back down here because someone has committed an actual crime worthy of guards being around all the time," Remus said, coming closer to the small window and offering the man a small smile.
The man didn't say anything, just smiled back and reached his hand through the bars to hand Remus back the towel he'd wrapped the food in. When he took it, their hands lingered, just barely touching, before Remus backed away with another quiet smile and went back to the temporary quarters he'd been allowed to use for the night.
The third time was much later than the first two visits, as there had been a band of thieves arrested and being held in the dungeons for a month and a half while they waited for the Royal Court to set a trial and execution date for them. It was on the day of their public execution that Remus snuck down to see the man he couldn't stop thinking about, laden with foods he sweet talked the grandmotherly cook, Minerva, into giving him early that morning.
"Ah, if it isn't my knight in shining armor," Came the soft, husky voice he'd been waiting to hear as he entered the corridor.
"It's just Remus, I'm no knight after all, but I do come bearing gifts," He handed the bread, meat, and sweet biscuits through the window, feeling lighter than he had in weeks.
"Remus, eh? I like it. I'm Sirius."
"Like the constellation?" Remus was fascinated by the name, it reminded him of his mother who'd studied astrology and mythology and had tried to get him to be a scholar, but his father hadn't allowed him to try, said they were too poor and he'd never be allowed into any sort of higher education.
"Yes. It's a Black family tradition," He said this softly, looking at Remus with anticipation of the recognition to come, the Blacks were a noble family known for their strict adherence to religion and they were notorious for passing laws that persecuted those they saw as less than holy, especially people in same-sex relationships.
"You're a Black? But then why did they put you in prison, why not send you away or something. How could they do that to their own family?" Remus was surprised and utterly outraged on Sirius's behalf; yes, he hated the Noble House of Black, and yes he understood being the family disappointment, but they were still family and that should mean something.
"Because, to them, I stopped being a Black the second they found out about my sexual preferences and I should be treated as any other criminal." Sirius sounded so resigned, so used to this, and that made something inside Remus feel like it was breaking. Nobody deserved to be shunned so completely from family like that.
"I'm so sorry. I wish there was something I could do," and Remus meant it too, he'd forged a bond with Sirius in the short time he'd known him, and he desperately wanted to do something, anything, to help him.
"Me too"
The next time Remus went to see him, his heart broke. When Remus came down in the middle of the night, as he'd been doing for several nights now, and he found the surprisingly cheerful, witty Sirius to be replaced with a silent, beaten, and bloody Sirius instead. He was lying on the floor of his cell, clutching his chest and breathing raggedly. This sight made Remus want to retch, but, instead, he ran to the cell door and looked in through the window, getting as close as he possibly could, trying to assess the other man's injuries from afar. He could see obvious bruises on his face, clear hand marks on both his cheeks, a black eye that was completely swollen shut, and his lip was split and bleeding. His body was also obviously bruised, at least what Remus could see outside of his baggy prison clothes, and his left arm was bent unnaturally and Sirius was cradling it against his chest while he clutched his chest, which Remus could now see was bleeding, with his other hand.
"What happened?" Remus was quiet, but loud enough for Sirius to hear over his own moans of pain.
"Visit from," Sirius drew in a harsh breath of air, "father."
"I'll be right back, hopefully with help." With that, Remus fled the dungeon, going up the servant stairway, through several corridors, into the kitchen, and out the delivery entrance to the path outside. He ran down the path as fast as his legs would carry him the massive barn where he knew James was stationed on a guard post that night, as they'd had several attempts to steal some of the horses that were used for the Royal carriage recently.
"James," He hissed, hiding around the corner of the barn, hopefully out of sight of the guard on the other side of the barn.
"What the hell? Remus? What are you doing here?" He came around the barn to see his best friend bent over, hands on his knees and panting, in the lantern light. "Oh my god, Remus what's wrong? Why'd you run out here?"
"Long. Story" He replied between breathes, still bent over and trying to breathe normally. Once he had some semblance of control over his breathing, he continued, "Remember that friend I was telling you I met? The one who was like me?"
"Yes, but what does that have to do with why you're running out here to find me in the middle of the night? Unless he tried to pressure you into something, and you went to me for help or something. Do I need to hurt someone, Remus?" James said, now clearly worried about his best friend.
"No, nothing like that. He's actually the one who's been hurt. Remember that minor prisoner you mentioned a while ago, the one in the dungeons who didn't need a guard and was nothing for me to be afraid of? That's Sirius, the man I was telling you about. He's there because he's like me and his family is, well, they're important people, and they've hurt him and I need to get him out of there and I need your help." Remus was pleading now, begging James with his eyes to understand, to help him help Sirius.
"This is illegal, you know that right?" James said, but he was already heading toward the path back to the castle that Remus had come barreling down minutes before.
"Not more illegal than visiting him, feeding him, and being gay." Remus said with a small smirk, jogging to keep pace with James's long strides as they went back the way Remus came.
This time, Remus was woken by the sun shining through the small window of the cottage in the woods far from the castle where he once worked. He blinked and stretched, at least as much as possible with Sirius wrapped around him. He was content to lay there and watch Sirius sleep, peaceful and tucked into his side, so unlike the unhappy prisoner he'd been three years ago when they'd met. He pressed a kiss to Sirius's forehead, feeling so content with his life here with this man, truly happy for the first time in a long time, out here with nothing but Sirius and their small farm, and their isolation. The kiss elicited a small hum from his bed partner, meaning he was waking up, and all Remus could do was watch as the love of his life stretched as he woke up, reminding him a bit of a sleepy cat stretching itself out.
"Good morning, love." Remus said, drawing Sirius back down to lay beside him and bask in the early morning light coming through their window.
"Morning."
They were quiet for a little while more, just basking in each other, when Remus said what he'd been feeling for years, "I love you." It was soft and quiet and completely unprompted, and it took Sirius by surprise. Yes, he'd known they loved each other, but they'd never vocalized it, too afraid someone might hear, even when they were all alone out here in the middle of nowhere.
"You do?" Sirius' voice was soft and surprised, but also content.
"Yes, of course, I do." The quiet contentment and obvious affection in Remus's voice delighted Sirius beyond measure. It felt so surprisingly good to have something you knew but never acknowledged cemented by verbalization.
"Me too." His voice was just as soft and husky as when they first met, and those words, the admission of love reciprocated made Remus melt on the inside, and made him even more content to bask in the sunlight and his partner's presence that morning. So they did.