This was written for the marvellous remusjacy for his donation to one of the help_haiti charities over at LJ. If you'd like a drabble written, all it will cost is a $3 donation towards any of the Haitian Relief Funds. Send me proof at my email address and I will not only also donate $3 also, but I will write you a drabble of 500+ words. See my thread at LJ to claim your fic.

http: // community DOT livejournal DOT com SLASH help_haiti SLASH 2706 DOT html?view=1384594#t1384594 (leave out the spaces and replace DOT and SLASH with appropriate symbol)

Or you can PM me through this site and I can send you the link details.

Disclaimer: This fiction is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling and affiliates. No money is being made and no offense is intended. Characters are of legal age for sexual situations.

Cold Comfort

Sirius rolled over, still half-asleep, but was suddenly jerked awake rudely and painfully as a jarring impact rattled his bones.

'Fuck,' he mumbled, cracking his eyes open and staring uncomprehendingly at the stone floor he was now splayed across.

The hard, cold stone floor.

'Fuck,' he repeated, far more emphatically this time as the chill crept through the cloth of his thin pajamas, pricking his skin like a thousand needles.

He looked up at the bed from which he'd fallen and cursed a little more under his breath as he slowly clambered to his feet. This wasn't the first time he'd fallen – or was kicked – out of bed, and he winced as he rubbed his sore hip, imagining the impressive bruise that would discolour his skin the next day. He couldn't help but smile, though, when he remembered how Remus had soothed his aches and pains last time this had happened.

He gazed down at the barely visible figure in the bed. Remus was curled up on his side with an arm shoved under the pillow. Extra blankets were folded in half and tucked in tight around his body; a compromise because Remus felt the cold so badly, but Sirius couldn't stand the weight of the extra bedding. Sirius smiled despite the growing ache in his hip and shoulder, despite the slow burn of the ice cold floor on the bottoms of his feet. This was a moment as precious and priceless as a rare gem; seeing Remus so peaceful, the lines that seemed etched into his skin, born from pain and the weight of his secrets, smoothed out in repose.

It was worth being regularly tossed onto an unforgiving stone floor to wake up next to that beautiful face every morning, to see those softly curved lips quirk into a smile, to see the affection and... Sirius shivered in pleasure at the memory of recent revelations... love glinting in those blue eyes. Sometimes he lay awake, transfixed by Remus' face, not wanting to tear his eyes away from him for fear that this - Remus in bed next to him, Remus loving him - was all really just a wonderful, yet cruel dream.

Remus stirred under the mountain of blankets, rolling over as he mumbled, 'You going to stand there gawking at me all night or are you coming back to bed?'

Sirius exhaled a huff of amusement. 'Fell out again,' he complained as he lifted the sheets and crawled back into bed. 'Bed's too bloody small.'

'Maybe your arse is too big?' Remus retorted, voice thick with sleep but tinged with humour. 'Go back to your own if you can't sleep.'

Pleased by the reluctance in Remus' voice, Sirius whispered, 'Never,' and his chest squeezed tight when he saw Remus' lips turn up into a tiny, unmistakably happy smile.

He turned onto his side, curling his body into the heat of Remus' and closing his eyes in satisfaction. 'You're warm,' he murmured, settling his chest comfortably against Remus' too-bony back.

Remus mumbled something into his pillow then hissed loudly. 'Cold feet,' he gasped, trying to scoot away from Sirius' freezing toes as they invaded his space.

Sirius' feet chased Remus' across the mattress, catching a warm foot between his cold ones and rubbing them together briskly to heat his cool skin. Sirius' hands crept beneath Remus' night shirt, seeking the warmth of his stomach, and Remus yelped as, at the same time, a cold nose pressed against his nape. Sirius felt Remus jerk away from his grasping fingers and feet then suddenly, with a startled, choked-off cry, he was gone. Sirius opened his eyes as a loud thud broke the silence then chuckled as Remus scrambled off the freezing stone floor, trying to untangle himself from the blankets.

'Bastard,' Remus muttered, without venom, then he threw himself back into bed, the brief excursion into the cold making him shiver.

'Poor baby,' Sirius cooed sympathetically, pulling a still-grumbling Remus into his arms and twining their legs together. 'Do you need me to warm you up?'

Remus' muttering stopped abruptly at the sound of Sirius' teasingly seductive tone, and he stared at Sirius with wide, hopeful eyes. 'Yeah?' he said, voice still rough from sleep.

'Oh, yeah,' Sirius said with a grin, leaning in to press a kiss to Remus' cool lips then they both laughed quietly as, together, they tugged the blankets over their heads and proceeded to warm each other in the most effective and enjoyable way.

fin.