A/N: Remus x Kingsley. Post-OotP. Fluff. Rated PG. Prompt: Balloons.
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It was Remus' birthday. The rain had been coming down in sheets for hours. when he pushed open the door of Number 12, Grimmauld Place. Rainwater clung to his hair. Finding the front hallway deserted, he ran a weary hand over his face. His eyes fell on the clock at the end of the hall, which read two-am. He sighed. As far as he, or anyone else, was concerned, it was just another day.
He mounted the steps, feeling his legs ache with the day's exhaustive work. Something in the back of his mind hissed "You're getting too old for this." Just a week ago, he had peered into the mirror in the upstairs hallway only to find that the streaks of silver in his hair had grown increasingly more pronounced in the last two months, since the death of Sirius.
Absentminded as he was, Sirius did not remember much. Not to pick up groceries, nor to wash dishes, nor even to shower, a large portion of the time. Oops. I'll get to it later, don't worry. But it was he who always, without fail, remembered his birthday, even when no one else did. Not that it mattered, Remus told himself, pushing away the perpetually dull ache in his stomach, which he had (almost) grown used to. Not that something so small saved Sirius' life, in the end.
When he reached the door to his room, he stopped. Light was peeking out from underneath the mahogany frame. Frowning, he pushed the door open.
Inside was a sea of color so thick, he could not even see through to the other side. Balloons of every size and shape were spilling from al crevices and corners. Blue square ones, magenta octagons, orange-and-yellow striped stars, goldenrod cylinders, all pressed against each other, filling nearly every inch of open air.
Awestruck, Remus raised his wand and magicked a pathway towards the center of the room. As the helium-filled shapes parted, they revealed the sturdy, dark form of Kingsley Shacklebolt, a wide smile cutting across his face. In his hand, he held a single red balloon in the shape of a heart.
"Happy birthday," he breathed, stretching his arm out in an offering of affection.
Remus let a wide grin spread over his own face. Bypassing the balloon Kingsley held, he wrapped his arms tightly around his strong body and kissed him long and hard on the mouth, to which Kingsley kissed him back.
This, he though, was what it felt like to be remembered.
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