This fic was inspired by a line in GiantInflatableWalrus's fic Memories. I'd like to thank her for allowing me to center a fic around it. Enjoy.
"Sirius, you have officially lost it. You do know that, don't you?" Remus muttered, shivering against the cold.
"Ah, but you know that you wouldn't have me any other way, Rem!" Sirius called cheerfully back. He was yards ahead of Remus, trampling through the thick snow like it wasn't dampening the hem of his robes and making his feet ache with numb with cold.
If a passer by would have happened to see the two of them at that moment - which was very unlikely, seeing as though most sane people were wrapped up in their warm homes - they probably would have wondered what the hell one of them was doing carrying a picnic basket.
Flurries of thick snow drops were falling from the stark white sky, weaving a dance through the bitterly cold air and blanketing the ground. There had to be at least four inches already, which didn't seem like a lot until you were actually stepping through it. Sirius was intent on not wasting any time carrying out their plans, but Remus was too lost in the beauty of the frozen meadow around them that he was struggling to keep up.
The trees and bushes, which looked skeletal without their sun dappled emerald leaves, were coated in thick layers of frost. A few abandoned, frozen birds nest still clung to the bare branches of the trees which seemed to glint in the pale winters sun. The ground glittered up ahead of them, as if a one million tiny diamonds had been strewn across a soft white cloth. Remus's breath made wispy yet billowing clouds in front of his face. He managed to tear his gaze from this scintillating wonder land in time to see Sirius stop beside a particularly large tree and throw the frost encrusted picnic basket to the ground.
"This is the spot," He announced as he tossed the blue checkered blanket over the snow with a flourish.
Remus, who had thought ahead when he heard Sirius's strange suggestion, extracted from his cloak pockets two large, empty jars. He drew his wand and flicked it through the air a few times, muttering incantations under his breath. Flickering blue flames appeared in the jars. He set them down in the middle of the blanket.
Sirius was knelt down, hovering over the picnic basket. He began to pull things from inside and Remus was impressed by the haul. There were neatly cut sandwiches containing nearly every kind of filling that he could think of, thick slabs of cake that Remus knew Lily had baked the previous evening, a box of biscuits, a selection of Muggle crisps that, after being introduced to them by Lily, Sirius was rather partial to, two flagons brimming with pumpkin juice, a flask containing steaming tea, and, to Remus's delight, a handful of Honeydukes best chocolate bars.
"Should fill us nicely," Sirius commented as he arranged the food carefully on to the blanket and closed the basket with a snap.
"Lets hope so," Remus said with a smile.
"Aren't you going to sit down?" Sirius asked, mouth already full of ham sandwich, "It's really not that cold once you get used to it."
Remus gingerly sat down on the blanket, shuddering as he felt the ice seep in to the seat of his pants, and selected a custard cream with shivering fingers.
"Nothing better than a nice winter picnic," Sirius mused.
"It would have been nicer in the summer," Remus said, his words almost undecipherable as they passed through his chattering teeth.
Sirius frowned. He swallowed the remainder of his sandwich. "You cold, Rem?" He asked.
"Bloody freezing," Remus muttered.
Sirius brushed the crumbs from his cloak and shifted over to sit directly beside Remus. He picked up the jars and placed them carefully in his lap. Then he took Remus's hands in his own and began to rub quickly against them, blowing every few seconds. "Any better?" He asked kindly.
Remus didn't have the heart to tell Sirius that since his fingers were like icicles and his breath was like a cool fan, he was, if anything, making Remus's own hands even colder. And the jars were angled much closer to Sirius than they were him. So instead of pointing all of this out, Remus just gave what he hoped was genuine smile and nodded. "Much better," He said.
"Good," Sirius smiled, and leaned in to give Remus a gentle, lingering kiss, "So," He said, after he had pulled away, "Care for a jam tart?"
I tried not to make this too clichéd or fluffy, but failed miserably. Ah well. Please leave a review.