Notes: Written for cenori, cause I want a stuffed "Mood Egg" too. Thanks to quasiquibble for the tiny teeth because she thought a yellow tongue was ghastly. ETA: This was inspired by a discussion of the little critter in the Zoloft commercials. It looks like an egg. A sad or anxious egg who is quickly cured by doses of Zoloft. I love the little sad egg. I can relate to him. I was thinking of making a little "stuffed animal" version of the egg.
Remus rushed into the room, breathing heavily after a quick run. He was prepared to be irritated. He already had a frown between his eyebrows. "Sirius! Come on! What are you doing? Why aren't you ready? It's almost time to leave! This is our last trip as students!" He hurried to Sirius's bed. The curtains were drawn, hanging with a tense stillness that suggested some sort of charm had been cast. He pulled at them impatiently, almost hoping to catch Sirius smoking just so he could lecture him. The curtains rippled but didn't part. "Sirius, I know you are in there. Open these curtains now!" Remus stepped back, crossing his arms to wait. "Sirius!"
The curtains suddenly relaxed. He pushed them aside, mouth open in Lecture Mode and stopped. Sirius was face down on the bed, his face buried in his pillow, arms stretched so that his hands were hanging off the edges of the bed. He was obviously awake as his wrists wheeled in circles and his feet kicked into the mattress. Remus attempted to regain his composure and set on the edge of the bed, opening and closing his mouth as he tried to figure out what to say. A still and quiet Sirius was confusing. "Sirius? You all right? It's time for Hogsmeade. If you don't hurry, we'll miss the trip."
"Don't care." Sirius's voice was muffled by the pillow, but clear.
"Who are you?" asked Remus suspiciously, convinced a prank was afoot.
"Sirius," replied Sirius, balefully. His hands and feet ceased their movement and he lay still.
"Um… Er… Well." Remus scratched the back of his head, tilting it with a confused look on his face. Sirius rolled over and looked up at Remus.
"I don't want to go. Go on without me." His voice was low and monotone and the expression on his face made Remus think he might burst into tears at any moment. He sighed deeply without making it seem like one of those 'please ask me why I'm sighing' sighs.
"What's in your hand?" Sitting up, Sirius had closed his hand around something under the pillow.
"Nothing." Sirius wrapped his hands closer around him and looked away. His expression changed only by a slight pout of lips.
Remus raised an eyebrow and held out his hand. "What is it?" Sirius shook his head. They sat quietly for a few moments; Sirius silent and staring and Remus thinking and confused. A shrill whistle echoed faintly. Remus sighed and reached into his robe pulling out a bar of dark chocolate he'd saved for the ride to Hogsmeade. "Well, looks like we missed out."
Sirius's face shifted miserably and his shoulders fell. "Sorry."
Remus shrugged. "It's just Hogsmeade. Not like we can't ever go. But you… I'm worried about you. Do you want to go to the infirmary?" Sirius sat still as if he didn't hear Remus. He cradled something in his hand. Remus tried to look without being obvious. Sirius finally raised his hands to his face and stared face to face with the object, staring at it sadly.
"Is that an egg?" asked Remus, incredulous. "Are you hungry?"
"He's never been sad before." Sirius said in a near whispered mournful voice.
"Er… he?" Remus shifted into a more comfortable position on the bed and leaned back against the pillows, crossing his legs at the ankles.
"My Mood Egg, Zeno." Sirius held out his hand, palm flat, to show Remus the egg. A small face sighed as Remus watched. As Sirius turned to face Remus, the egg looked at Remus, turned pink and rocked closer to Sirius with another sigh. Sirius, watching the egg, sighed along with it.
I've never seen something so simple look so pitiful. I pity an egg. "You think the egg, er, Zeno might like some chocolate?" Remus asked, trying not to stare the little egg down.
Sirius looked up, his expression one of surprise. "Oh! Good idea, that." Using his fingernail, he broke off a small bit of chocolate from a corner of the bar. He gave the bar back to Remus and held out his finger to the little egg. The egg trembled with another sigh and looked away.
"Go on, try it," said Remus softly, noting absently that he was cheering on an egg.
Sirius held the little egg close and coaxed it into eating the small bit of chocolate. The egg, resigned, tipped itself back and forth closer to Sirius's finger, opened its mouth and nibbled the nugget of chocolate with tiny teeth. Sirius's lips quirked into a small grin as the egg eyed him warily while eating the chocolate. He looked up at Remus, who was smiling at the scene before him. "I think he liked it," he said to Remus.
The egg tilted to one side as if contemplating the taste of the chocolate. It turned slowly to look at Sirius, its eyes wide. It then rounded on Remus, who smiled encouragingly. I am encouraging an egg. Remus looked down as he broke off a piece of chocolate for himself and began nibbling at it. He jerked up sharply as Sirius let out a loud yell.
"What?" cried Remus.
"The butterfly is back!" Sirius shouted. He pointed at the egg, now sitting on the bed. A small white flickering shape spiralled around the egg, which jumped and bounced along the bed. Remus looked back up at Sirius who was little more than an infectious grin and smiled with him.
"Brilliant, Remus! I didn't know what I was going to do. He was miserable. I was miserable." Sirius paused. "And you were gone."
"Gone? I was right here!"
"You were going to be gone," Sirius said, with an exasperating calmness.
Remus shook his head. "Well. I am here now." Sirius smiled, nodding slowly. Remus narrowed his eyes. "What?" he asked suspiciously.
"You ate all the chocolate." Sirius's eyes glinted with a wicked gleam.
"I did n-oh dear. I did." Remus held up the empty wrapper.
Sirius smiled as he crawled toward Remus from the end of the bed. "And here we are all alone," he whispered, before licking his lips.
Remus sat up straight as he felt something twist, not unpleasantly, in his stomach. "Er, I, um…." Here comes the prank. I knew it.
Sirius sat beside him, facing him. "There's no more chocolate. And I wanted some."
Remus stared at Sirius, open mouthed, unsure what to say as Sirius moved closer to him. His breath caught as he started to speak. He realised he doesn't know what he was going to say. "Agh." Sirius raised his eyebrows. He was now so close that Remus could feel the edges of Sirius's breath against his face. Remus's eyes flickered to the door, expecting James and Peter to fall in yelling, pointing, and laughing.
"Hogsmeade," whispered Sirius.
Remus turned back to face him, swallowing deeply. His mouth formed an 'o' as he nodded slowly. Why is he so close? What is he doing? Why am I nodding? Why is my heart pounding? Remus looks down, his fingers rolling the fabric of his robe nervously.
"Remus?"
"What?"
"Look at me." Remus looks up, biting his lip, his eyes nervously wide. "Thank you for making me and Zeno feel better."
Remus nodded anxiously. "Of course," he breathed out. He glimpsed to the end of the bed where Zeno and the butterfly frolicked and let out a nervous chuckle as he felt Sirius move. Sirius leaned over him, bracing one hand on the side of the bed, his body hovering over him. This is feeling less and less like a prank, I think I…. Remus resolved to relax and his shoulders dropped a bit of their tension. He raised his chin and looked Sirius right in the eye. Voice low, he asked, "Is there anything else I can do?"
Sirius opened his mouth and blinked twice.
Remus tilted his head expectantly and started to say something else when Sirius leaned forward, his hand on Remus's neck. For a second he rested against Remus, who was still against the pillows. If there was any backing out, now would have been the time to do it. They stared at each other for what seemed like a long stretch of time, noses almost touching, breath against each other cool and nervous.
The chance to back out passed and someone opened his lips against the other. One of them closed his eyes. The other kept his eyes open. A set of hands worked into a tangle of hair, twining and pulling. Another set of hands pushed under a shirt and rubbed the warm skin beneath. Legs twined and parted and shifted. Someone pressed his hips against the other and smiled as he heard a gasp turn into a low moan. Someone worked his fingers under the waistband of a pair of trousers as an ear got nipped.
Nails dug into Sirius's back and he arched against Remus, kissing him frantically. Sirius's fingers drifted to Remus's neck and worked at his tie, loosening it, kissing, loosening it more and then finally pulling it off while kissing his neck underneath. Remus pulled out more of Sirius's shirt and worked his hands between them unbuttoning the shirt and pushing it away as his fingertips studied Sirius's chest. He closed his eyes and stopped moving when he felt Sirius's lips on his chest and moving over his nipples, teeth grazing first one and then the other. He didn't recall losing his shirt, but suddenly it was off him, entirely and Sirius had his wrists in his hands, holding them down. Sirius pulled back and looked at Remus thoughtfully.
Remus frowned at the pause and then raised his eyebrows. "Yes?"
Sirius smiled. "I've wanted to do this for a very long time."
"Is that so?" Remus made a faux thoughtful face, pursing his lips and raising an eyebrow. Sirius nodded.
"Shall we carry on then? Please?"
Sirius nodded again. Smiling, he released Remus's hands and snaked his own underneath Remus as he put those released hands to good use.
James and Peter returned later that evening wondering aloud where Remus and Sirius were and how they'd missed the trip. As they entered the room, Peter looked around and with a slight wail in his voice, said, "They aren't here! Where are they?"
"Is that an egg on the floor?" asked James. A small white blob bounced up and down, chasing after a smaller flitting creature.
Peter turned to look and noted that Sirius's curtains were still drawn. He pointed this out to James. James looked up and cocked an eyebrow. The curtains hung with a tense stillness that suggested some sort of charm had been cast. James opened his mouth to speak, shook his head and drug Peter back to the Commons Room, explaining that they ought to linger for a while after dinner.
end
Standard Disclaimer: These are not my characters. All rights belong to JK Rowling. I use them solely for the purpose of fandom and intend nothing more than that. )