His eyes are grey and wild, and that's the only way I'm sure that the creature that stands before me is Sirius Black.

"Remus". His voice stumbles over the syllables of my name- his voice is rusty from lack of use, and cracks the word in half.

We stand and stare at each other for a minute or so until I snap out of it and remember my manners.

"Merlin, what am I thinking? Come in."

The door bangs behind him, and suddenly I'm very aware that particular door now separates the two of us from the outside world.

Suddenly Sirius is very, very real.

"You look awful, Moony."

I'm not ready for the sound of him saying that name.

"So do you, Padfoot."

The old nicknames; we remember.

Of course we do.

The truth of it is written in every line on our faces.

We have missed, and been missed. We have loved and we have hated- not always independently of each other.

What now? Are we like any other couple now set in the past tense?

We are staring at each other- there's no shame or pretence.

He breaks the silence.

"Fucking hell, I've missed you."

And then we're much closer, and everything moves more slowly.

We are young again and we are clumsy.

And we kiss.

Just once.

Just once and everything comes flooding back.

Thirteen years of pain and loss and trying to cope and not doing a particularly good job of it.

We have a lot to talk about.

I tell him this.

He smiles. In that moment, he looks like the Sirius of old.

It makes my heart ache.

"We have time." He says.