Christmas Day
I woke up early and shot straight out of bed, it was Christmas day and I was dying to see what Sirius had gotten me. He was still asleep in his bed with Rensen. I smiled, they were so cute together and I liked waking up in the bed next to them.
I quietly got out of my bed and climbed onto Sirius'.
"No." Sirius groaned, trying to bury his head underneath his pillow.
"It's Christmas day," I said.
"So?"
Rensen perked up and left Sirius, landing on my lap. "Hi, bud," I said, "Merry Christmas."
Rensen hooted back.
"Come on, Russ," I said, "we're all waiting on you."
"No."
"Can I at least have my gift from you?"
"No."
That wasn't fair. I sat Rensen back near Sirius' head and laid down on the bed. Maybe I could annoy him into getting up. I made sure my body was flush against his side and then I wrapped my arm around him tightly, crushing my chest to him, it didn't work.
I ran my hand up his side, to his neck, and then I started playing with his long hair. Sirius sighed in contentment, this wasn't working either. I headed in the opposite direction, heading south. I ran my fingers down his chest, his stomach, to his hip… I was so close to his dick. Could I do what he did to me? Could this be my Christmas gift to him?
I was almost there when Sirius' hand shot out of nowhere and wrapped around my wrist.
"No," he said.
"But it's Christmas," I said, "and you did it for me, you made me feel good, I just want to return the favor."
"Thanks," he said, sitting up, "but I'm good."
"Russ," I said, "I'm getting sick of you telling me no all the time. Why won't you let me do what I want when it comes to you?"
"Okay," Sirius said, "tell me this, why do you want to touch my dick?"
Because I wanted to make him feel good, I wanted to be close to him, and maybe if I could do this for him then he'd start seeing me in a different light and not as just a friend.
I stayed silent, my honesty wasn't worth it, I didn't want to start today off with a rejection.
"Exactly," Sirius said, "if you can't admit these things out loud then you're not ready. I only just showed you what to do a couple of days ago, I'm not sure if you've even done it yourself yet, you need practice first, just… leave it alone."
Fine. I didn't like it, but he was probably right. I was brand new to all of this. I had tried touching myself once since Sirius had brought me to orgasm, it was in the shower, but Sirius had come in to pee and I panicked and stopped. I didn't want to be a bumbling idiot when I touched Sirius for the first time, but what if now was it? What if he got a girlfriend and I lost my chance?
"Why don't we get ready for the day and go and see Madam Pince," Sirius suggested.
That had me forgetting my plight. Sirius had refused to meet Irma, but now he was offering? I couldn't waste this.
I smiled and got off his bed.
"Irma," I said, "this is Sirius." I didn't bother using his last name as Irma already knew it and I didn't want to remind Sirius of his family on today of all days.
Irma and Sirius didn't say anything, they just regarded each other with a slight dissatisfaction.
"Did you bring Rensen?" Irma asked instead.
Sirius opened his jacket and grabbed Rensen out, he flew straight over to Irma.
"Are you not going to talk to each other?" I asked. "You're both important to me." Still nothing. "Sirius," I said, "Irma may not like how you act in her library, but she doesn't hate you. Irma, Sirius may be disrespectful, but you're the one who told me he was a Russ."
My words seemed to soften them both.
"Sirius," Irma said, nodding her head.
"I'm only here because of Remus," Sirius blurted out.
"So?" Irma said. "That's the only reason I'm here too."
Was this a terrible idea? No, they were just both acting like idiots, but why?
"What's going on?" I asked. "You can't both hate each other."
"I don't trust her," Sirius said, "I don't like that you confide in her, she already knows too much. What if she's like Dumbledore or Madam Pomfrey, I don't want her ruining anything."
We were finally getting somewhere.
"And you?" I prompted Irma. We needed to get all of this animosity out in the open.
"He's a Russ," Irma said, "and I don't trust that. I don't like people who are one thing on the outside and a different thing on the inside. Remus ensures me that you have your good qualities," she said, "but I've yet to see them."
Now they were glaring at each other. I sighed.
"Russ, Irma hasn't betrayed my trust and trust me when I say she's had plenty of chances and reasons. When I ran away, she stuck her neck out for me, not only did she do something out of character, but she convinced me to come back and she lied to Dumbledore about it all."
"Irma," I said, "you're right, Sirius is one thing on the outside, but I've told you about his goodness, you know he's my friend and that I care for him. You're the adult here, so just suck it up or Sirius and I will go elsewhere."
"Fine," Irma said.
I turned to Sirius.
"Fine," he agreed.
I knew this was far from perfect, but at least they'd stopped glaring at each other.
"Let me put on a pot of tea," Irma said.
I knew once Sirius and Irma, my two closest friends, got to know each other, things would be okay.
"See," I told Sirius, "she's not out to get me, or you. You need to be more trusting."
"I'm trying," Sirius said. "It's just… Everyone I've known has had a hidden agenda, they're like the Russ' she talks about, the ones who pretend to be good, but are really bad. It's all I know, but I am trying."
"I know," I said, "I can see that, but surely you can trust my word when I say that Irma is on our side."
"I do," he said, "but I also know that you haven't had the life that I have, it's good to be cautious, it's better than trusting someone and being completely destroyed by them."
I decided to let it go. Today had been strained, but we'd also had our good moments. Spending Christmas with Sirius was fun and I could see him slowly having a good time too, even though it was hard for him. I had no idea what Christmases at the Black house were like, but I had a feeling they wouldn't be good. I had to keep reminding myself that just like Sirius' thirteenth birthday, this was our first Christmas together and we'd have many more. We had plenty of time to get things right.
"Do you want to go to the feast?" I asked Sirius.
"Not really."
Oh.
"What do you want to do?"
"I, umm…" he said, "I kind of have something planned, back in our dorm room."
Really? Was I finally going to get my gift? Sirius had been telling me no every time I asked for it, which was constantly. I wanted to know what it was so badly.
"Okay," I accepted.
Sirius smiled shyly and we walked back to our dorm room. We paused outside the door.
"Let me check if it's ready yet," Sirius said.
I was brimming with anticipation, what was it?
Sirius ducked into our room and I waited patiently for him to return. It took longer than I expected and I was so tempted to take a peek, but I couldn't ruin anything. I had no idea about what he could've gotten me.
He reappeared and held the door open for me. I noted that he was still acting shy, what was going on? I stepped into the room and froze just inside the door. In the center of the room was a table filled with every food item they'd be serving in the Great Hall and there were two chairs sitting side-by-side, but the most perfect thing of all was that the ceiling had been enchanted to look like the night sky, just like in the Great Hall.
"Do you like it?" Sirius asked. "I know how you like the feasts and the atmosphere of being in the Great Hall, but that's not something I can be a part of. I could try for you, but I hope this works. If not, we can go down to the hall, it's okay, whatever you want."
Sirius hardly ever rambled, so I could tell just how nervous he was.
"It's perfect," I told him, and it really was.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Russ," I said, bringing him into a hug, "this is what I was talking about, you can't just keep thinking about me, your thoughts and feelings are just as important. Of course this is fine, all I wanted to do was spend my time with you and you've done that and more. I'd rather be up here in your version of the Great Hall where we can be Remy and Russ rather than have to play the part in front of Dumbledore and everyone else."
Our embrace ended and we sat down at the table.
"Did Buttons do all this?" I asked.
"Yeah," Sirius said, "I still find that weird, our house elf hates me, but Buttons doesn't. I used to think it was because of me, but now I just think it's Kreacher, I don't know."
"You have a good soul," I said, "I don't know how anyone could dislike you." I felt my face heat up. I turned away and started piling my plate up with food, so Sirius wouldn't see.
"Thanks, Remy," he said, "I can always count on you."
We had a good meal and I was still waiting on my present, but maybe the feast was it, I'd be okay with that, but I was expecting an actual present.
"Was that my gift?" I asked, trying not to give anything away. I knew I'd be a little disappointed if that was the case, but only because I was expecting something physical, yet another thing I could become attached to.
"No," Sirius said, pulling something out of his pocket, "here."
He handed me an ornate wooden sphere.
"I don't get it," I said. It looked cool, but that was it.
"It's an enchanted sphere," Sirius said, "your gift is inside, but you can't open it with magic or by destroying it."
"Then how does it open?" I asked, shaking it, there was definitely something inside.
"It opens when the time is right," Sirius said, "not before, not after."
"And why isn't now the right time?" I asked. Of course Sirius would give me a cryptic gift.
"This is something I've been debating for a while," Sirius said nervously, "so I figured if I gave it to you in this way then it wouldn't reveal itself until the timing was perfect. All I want you to know is that I've given this to you, what's inside, I'm giving it to you."
"You can't be serious," I said, and before he could comment on that slip up, I continued, "you've given me something that I have to wait to open? That's not what Christmas is all about, presents are to be opened immediately. I'm sorry, but this is a lame gift."
Sirius laughed.
"What?" I asked him.
"Just you," he said. "Be patient, Remy, it'll be worth it."
Screw that. I pulled out my wand and started trying to break it open.
"Be careful," Sirius said, "if you do that too many times it hexes you."
I stopped immediately.
"Can't you tell me what it is?" I pleaded.
"No," Sirius said.
"But it's something I'll like?" I asked. "Something I want?"
"Let me put it this way," Sirius said, "if I wrong, which I doubt I am, then it'll never open."
I groaned, this was stupid.
"So, what now?" I asked.
"All you can do is keep it close to you," Sirius said, "because you'll never know when it's going to open."
He was laughing at me. What did it hold? It was only small so it couldn't be much. What had Sirius given me? What was he waiting for? This was frustrating. Part of me wished he hadn't even gotten it for me. I sighed and shoved the wooden sphere into my pocket. Maybe the wolf could accidentally open it on the next full moon.
