Remus coughed and blew his nose, hoping that he wouldn't get thrown out of the library. But nobody came to arrest him for infesting the books with germs, so after a minute, he sniffed quietly and continued reading, leaning his head against the bookshelf. He was sitting instead of standing because standing had seemed like too much for his legs to handle. It wasn't actually all that comfortable on the floor, either, but never mind that. He coughed into his hand and turned a page.
Somebody broke out into a (quiet)coughing fit just in front of him. Remus wouldn't have looked up, but it sounded like they were being attacked by a massive cold germ itself. When he did look up, he wished he had kept his silly wishes for keeping people alive to himself.
"Sickie hiding in the library?" Sirius grinned. His hair, still long after the summer, fell across his face and he brushed it casually aside in a manner that Remus had thought only comic book characters could accomplish.
"Trying to get away from the sympathy that threatens to overwhelm me," Remus retorted, feeling his face set into a scowl.
Just last year, Remus reflected, Sirius would have broken down into a gentle grin at that point, knelt down beside him, and tried to cajole him straight back into health and good temper. Remus felt his own expression soften at the thought.
But this wasn't last year. This was now, with this Sirius with his long hair, leather jacket, and cigarettes hidden in his back pocket. This Sirius shrugged and said, "Oh, well if you're gonna be like that, I'm gonna go visit Katie after all." He grinned, looking at Remus' eyes, seeing his reflection in them. "She's sick too, and I thought she might like some soup. And I might like what happens after I'm so nice."
"You're a generous soul," Remus wheezed, trying to refrain from coughing.
Sirius grinned in acknowledgement, nodded a goodbye, and vanished around the corner of the mahogany bookshelf.
Remus leaned his messy brown hair back onto the shelf, thinking that he'd like some soup too, and that last year Sirius would have brought him some.