Title: Alone on Christmas
Author: Netzoid Nerd
Pairing: Remus/Sirius
Disclaimer: I'm not J.K.Rowling, I'm not making any money off of this. Don't sue?
Author's Notes: Had to crank out some more Remus/Sirius, and what better Christmas Present for the lovely readers? Happy Belated Christmas everyone, and Happy Holidays to those who don't celebrate Christmas.
Christmas Day was supposed to be happy, and it generally was to everyone. Everyone but a certain sandy haired boy ridden with lycanthropy. It was his lycanthropy that made Christmas unpleasant, though he was't letting on to everyone else. When Lily would come up to him and ask him about his holiday plans, he'd smile and say he was spending it with family. When James asked him what he planned on doing, he would say he looked forward to decorating the tree.
But because of his werewolf disorder, Remus Lupin would be spending Christmas in the shrieking shack, very alone with no tree to decorate, no presents to open, and no holiday cheer to spread.
Remus' family had written, of course. Telling him he was welcome home. Saying how much they missed him and how badly they wished to spend Christmas with him. But Remus, on more than one occasion, had been with his family during a full moon. Every time his father would yell, get drunk, and walk out on the family only to come back a week later. His mother would cry and try to hide it, pretending nothing was wrong.
He couldn't't put them through that, not on Christmas.
He would much rather spend it alone then break apart his family on a holiday that was suppose to bring them all together.
And with Christmas hastily approaching, Remus' mood turned for the worst. He hid it though, hid it well. All smiles, all the time. When he felt the pulls on his heartstrings he easily hid his hurt expression behind a book.
It was all he would be spending Christmas with, his books. It was a constant reminder that was hung over his head. It was made only worse by the fact that he couldn't't tell anyone else. Why bring them down?
The day before everyone who was leaving left, Sirius approached him. "Hey, mate, how come you are't packing?" Sirius was sporting a huge smile and a large suitcase, bursting at it seems with Sirius' effort to fit everything he owned into it.
Remus rattled off an answer as soon as Sirius had finished the question. "Already got it done. I did't wait until the last second like you."
Sirius saw right through his dear friend's fake smile and premeditated answer, but said nothing of it. After being friends for over six years, Sirius trusted that if something was wrong, Remus would tell him.
Of course, the same could not be said for Sirius. Sirius felt his heart grow more close to Remus than anyone else, and though he did't consider himself gay, he would admit to himself that when he stole peeks at Moony reading his heart jumped and feelings were definitely there.
With six years and more stacked against their friendship, Sirius kept his shy glances and soft blushes hidden from the boy he'd come to care for. He just couldn't't bring himself to tell Remus, though he expected Remus to tell him everything.
It was the night before Christmas and Remus was as tired as ever. The sun was setting and the sandy haired boy was sitting alone in the shrieking shack. Time was ticking away and loneliness was eating at Remus' heart. His back propped up against a makeshift bed, he let his eyes fall closed. If he fell asleep, the change would come quicker, and would be over sooner.
Sure enough, Remus did fall asleep only to be awoken by a moonbeam hitting his face. His body ached as his muscles contorted and transformed. The wolf part of him took over, and even on Christmas he was tearing the room apart like a wild beast until he passed out from exhaustion. Every Month. But it was especially exhausting on Christmas. The strain on Remus' body from the mild depression to the pain he felt during transforming made going wild too much to handle. Luckily, Remus was only sleeping off his tiredness and not suffering worse consequences.
While he was aching and asleep, he did't notice the large shaggy dog that had curled up next to him, licking his werewolf face and using it's fur to keep Remus warm.
When the sandy haired boy awoke he did't expect to see Sirius curled at this side. He gave the other boy a shake, and when Sirius' eyes finally opened Remus realized he had no idea what he was going to say.
"Merry Christmas...shouldn't't spend...all alone...Dumbledore...family...love you, Remus. Can't leave you alone. Merry Christmas." Sirius' words slurred out in tired, sleep driven mumbles.
"Hey, Sirius?" Remus couldn't't believe Sirius had done this for him.
"Yeah, mate?"
"Best Christmas present ever." Remus wrapped his arm tight around Sirius, not questioning why the slightly older boy was snuggling against him or what he meant by 'I love you.' The gesture was sweet, and it was obvious Sirius cared deeply about his friendship with Remus, that was all that mattered.
"Merry Christmas, Padfoot. I love you too."