~Christmas 1993~
Snow was falling gracefully onto the ground, coating the cemetery in a white powdery mess. No one was outside in it because of the cold. It was early Christmas morning. No one in their right mind would be out in this weather. They would be fast asleep in their bed where it was cozy and safe. Everyone seemed to be home except one person who was slowly trudging their way in a direction that they seemed to know by heart. That person held something in their hand that seemed impervious to the cold or even to the snow as well as a small wrapped up gift in the other. The snow, on the other hand, was covering his hair and shoulders as well as sticking to his shabby clothes.
The man knelt down and pulled something out of his pocket. It looked like a stick. With a muttering under his breath the snow cleared away from the ground and the headstone. He put the wand in his pocket then set down the simple rose where he had all those years ago. With a look of longing in his eyes he put a hand on the stone, a finger tracing the name on the grave. Sirius Orion Black. In his eyes there was that deep longing of something that had been suppressed for so long. He smiled a little bit as he simply let himself revel in the moment. He looked rather old for his actual age in his facial features because of the marks that littered his skin.
"It's Christmas," Remus finally said. Even his voice made him sound older and wiser. Maybe it was because of the life he had gone through. "It's been over twelve years since I last saw you. Coming now just felt right because everything's stable now. I have a job and a place to live up until summer holidays come up. I can't complain about anything because I'm finally doing something that I want to do. Yes, I'm teaching up at Hogwarts." He put a hand on the frozen earth. It was almost as if he could feel Sirius there.
He let himself fall into silence as he stayed there, simply just touching the dirt. It had been too long since he had been able to do this. Taking a deep breath in and out he continued. "As I was saying, it's Christmas. I still remember how it was always your second favorite holiday, first being Halloween. I never really liked Christmas because of how cold it would be." With a simple smile on his face the memory of their last Christmas together came to him.
~*Flashback: 1979*~
"No, Sirius! I do not want to go outside!" Remus turned around to glare at Sirius before going back to the laundry he was folding. Each shirt he folded was slammed onto the bed in a separate pile, designating what belonged to whom. Since Remus did the laundry he could chose what of Sirius's clothes he wanted.
"Moooonnnnnyyyy, please? For me? I want to play out in the snow." Sirius put arms around Remus's waist, pulling him close. "I don't want to look stupid playing in it by myself." The man put his chin on Remus's shoulder.
"You already look stupid enough."
"That hurt. That really hurt." Sirius turned and raised a fist, making Remus flinch as if expecting something, and stabbed himself in the heart in a mock Juliet way.
"Stop being overly dramatic; you have no idea how childish it makes you look Padfoot. Now, let me finish folding your laundry. I'll make you some hot chocolate if you go outside by yourself." Sirius was pouting at him, still holding him close even though Remus had crossed his arms across his chest.
"Please?"
"No."
"Please, please?"
"No and no."
"Please? I'll treat you if you do." Sirius let his hands drift down to rest on Remus's bum lightly. "Come on. I'll make it worth your while. Just this once. I really want to play outside with you." He had to tell that Remus was starting to give in.
"Fine—but just this once. I'm not going to do this every year with you." Sirius grinned and pecked Remus's lips before letting him go so they could both get ready.
Winter was upon them. It really became known to Remus when he had to start pulling on all these layers just so he would be able to keep warm. He'd always been a bit sicklier than most kids when he had been younger, but that had been brought out more when he had become infected with his condition as well as the torture his parents had put him through. He hadn't come from a very loving family. For the final touches, Remus shoved a hat over his head and put gloves on then a thick pair of mittens. He looked like an Eskimo, which wasn't very attractive for him.
He walked out to see Sirius standing there with a lean winter jacket that brought out his muscles and how well he looked in anything. "Aren't you going to freeze?" That was when Sirius looked up at him, a grin slowly spreading across his face.
"You look like you're going out in a blizzard, Moony! It's just a little bit of snow. You're not going to get sick." Sirius walked to Remus, reaching his hands out. He gently pulled off the layers until there was a simple jacket, a pair of gloves, and a hat. "There; now you look normal. I won't let you get a cold since you're the one who does the cooking and cleaning around here. I think I'd die if you got sick, mostly because of lack of food."
"Glad to know what I'm good for, Sirius."
"I was joking, Remy! I'm sorry. Forgive me?" Sirius pouted in that way that showed his personality so well. It was that face that Remus just had to kiss. He leaned in and pressed his lips gently against Sirius's.
"This better be a damn good reward for going out here," he whispered.
"It will be." Sirius grabbed Remus's hand and pulled him out of their apartment to go down the stairs and out the door to the bustling streets of London. The man continued to pull him along until they got to Hyde Park, which was in the midst of its Winter Wonderland festivities. Since it was Christmas there were many people out there with their families, playing in the snow and enjoying the games. The snow that was falling at a slow rate was sticking to everything. "See? I told you it'd be good. I won't make you ride any rides, though, since I know that you don't feel comfortable getting on them. How about we find a place where we can just… talk."
Talk. That was their code word for doing something a bit more than talking. Remus smiled and actually nodded his head. "Alright, alright; I think I can condone this activity, especially since I'm going to be involved in it." As the coldness set into his bones he sidled on closer to Sirius, who was still holding his hand to pull him along.
"Who says you're going to be involved? What if you were just watching? What would you do then?" Sirius looked over at him and kissed Remus's cheek. "I'm just playing. I wouldn't be able to leave you out. Besides I've always wanted to do a three-some; I think it would be entertaining to see what shenanigans can go on with three people having sex at once rather than just two."
"Of course you would think that, Sirius. It is, after all, you."
"You have that right; I am me."
"Stop taking things so literally."
Sirius huffed, and the silence engulfed them. As usual it was comfortable feeling for everyone involved. They walked in the silence, listening to the people screaming and shouting around them from having fun around the icy cold of the weather surrounding the inhabitants of London. The further they walked, the louder the voices got. Soon enough they were in the heart of the fair going on around them. Sirius pulled him along, forcing him to go on rides.
And Remus had fun, actual fun, while out in the snow. It had to have been years since that happened last. What felt like minutes later, but was actual hours, the boy pulled him in a direction away from everyone else. It wasn't too long that they were away, the voices a murmur in the distance. Sirius stopped them, leaning over to press his lips against Remus's. They kissed over and over again, not letting anything linger for very long.
"Sirius, I love you," Remus whispered, as they stood there with their foreheads pressed together.
"I love you too, my Moony."
~*End Flashback*~
"That had to be the best Christmas of my life. And I'm not lying, Sirius. But this is a second close." The snow had covered up the name on the grave, but Remus didn't even bother to wipe it away. "As I was saying, I'm working up at Hogwarts now. I'm the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher now. Something odd's going on, though. I…I don't think Peter's dead. I think he could be alive. I dunno though." He ran a hand through his hair, successfully getting more snow than needed on it. While he stared at the snow covered headstone he sighed. The snow was bothering him. With nimble fingers he brushed off the powder just to see that name all over again; Sirius Orion Black.
The boy he had fallen for so many years ago had been named after two stars. He had noticed that many people in the Black family tree named their children so that in some way they related back to the Greeks and Romans. Remus took his hand back to rest on one of his knees.
"I met him. Harry, I mean. I met James and Lily's son. Merlin, Sirius, he's wonderful. He has the trickster and pranking streak that James had paired with the compassion that Lily had. And he still looks just like James; same black hair that's always messy, the slender body, and the need of glasses. But he has Lily's eyes, those perfect green eyes that show the kindness in him. He's also on the Quidditch team; according to McGonagall, who likes to brag about him, he's been on the team since he was in his first year."
Remus couldn't help but beam with proudness. It felt like Harry was his own kid because he had been there, out in the waiting room at least, when the boy was born. He remembered standing there waiting to find out what it was that Lily was having. It was a miracle when a nurse had come out to get James and saying it was a healthy little boy. "He's thirteen now. Last year he defeated Tom Riddle and the year before that took on He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I've listened enough when the teachers talk about him. He had no idea about any of us, or that his parents even had friends.
"Muggles have been, and still are, raising him. I wish that things could have been different. If you were alive, Harry would have gone to you. And we would be taking care of him. Like a family." Remus knew better than to dwell on those shattered hopes. He had no family; it was just himself like the way he liked it. He couldn't see it in any other way than that.
A cold chill washed over him. It was time for him to get going. He felt that it was just too soon to leave; twelve years of never going, but always remembering, had taken a toll on him. If he could help it, he would go back as often as he could. As long as nothing interfered he would come just to say hello and talk about his day, even when it was uneventful and boring.
Now, as he had done the last time he had been to the grave, he leaned down and pressed his lips against the stone lightly. When he pulled away after that brief second he sighed. "I love you." Remus smiled as he stood, brushing the snow off of himself, and walked away from the scene of a single rose on top of a grave.
A/N
And I finally got this up! Going to be a bit busy lately, doing another contest as well as a project in school. I hope you enjoy. And remember to review!