SPOV
„Sirius!" hissed James, walking down the front steps, dragging Sirius by the arm.
„You can't flirt with Remus like that. I like the house, it is close to the Uni and close to the stadium and I like Remus. This would be great place for us. Don't ruin it by flirting with the bloke before we even get the rooms!"
„Ha! You know it was just for fun. Did you hear what Remus said? Didn't miss a beat. That was epic response. Don't be such a prude. At least we know he is not a total homophobe or something. Besides I'm pretty sure him and that Lily girl are together. So it was just for a laugh. But it is him, do you remember? That cute barista from the library?"
„Yes, I know, but listen. Are you seriously ok with potentially living in a house with a guy you have a crush on and not doing nothing about it?" Asked James with raised eyebrows.
„Jimmy. It. Is. Not. A. Crush." Replied Sirius, making his point by jabbing his index finger into James' side. „Besides, just because Remus is easy on the eyes doesn't mean I need to hit on him or something. You obviously fancy Lily and I don't see you doing anything about it right? So no worries."
They drove home in silence. James parked the car in their driveway and switched off the engine.
„Do you think they liked us? Do you think we could get this place?" He asked Sirius.
„Well, the rooms are the smallest ones we saw so far, but the kitchen was cool, and imagine having that garden during summer. I loved it. I think we made a good impression. We'll have to keep our fingers crossed and hope that the rest of the applicants they interview are absolute idiots. Now come on, I think mom was going to bake scones for tea."
RPOV
Remus was lying in bed that evening. Lily went home to have dinner with her sister and he was left alone. Remus had his head full of thoughts. He was thinking about his uncle, whom he didn't see for the last five years, before his death. He was thinking about what the uncle would think about him renting out the rooms.
He thought of his parents, back home, in the little Welsh village, with religious and close minded neighbours and all the gossip going around, when he cut his hair, how his parents tried to support him, but insisted he keeps his name and pronouns for home, and still pretends to the outside world, that he is someone else. How he could be himself at home but never in front of anyone else. He thought of Lily, trying to fix the relationship with her sister and clinging to the last bits of hope, even though Petunia and her new boyfriend were extremely dismissive and pushed Lily away most of the time.
Remus was feeling alone. Alone in the big empty house. Maybe getting James and Sirius to move in wouldn't be so bad. Maybe they could be friends.
Remus was laying on top of his double bed staring out of the roof window. It looked like it was going to be a stormy night. He opened his laptop and hit send on the e-mail that Lily wrote for him that afternoon. Short message sent to James, letting him know that they are both welcome to move in, asking them to confirm when they'd like to move and sign the rental contract. After that he closed the laptop, rolled over and fell asleep.
Remus woke up on a rainy Sunday. He opened the garden door and stood in the breeze, hugging his morning cup of tea with milk. This quiet mornings will soon be replaced with busy breakfast preparation and three boys trying to walk around each other in the kitchen. He breathed in the humid fresh air and turned around. He needed to get ready for the afternoon shift at the library café and tidy up the house a bit.
He collected his laundry from the floor, stripped down the bed sheets and carried everything downstairs to the small laundry room off to the side of kitchen, when his phone rung.
„Hello?" Remus picked up sitting down at the wooden dining table.
„Hi Remus? This is James, from yesterday. I just saw your e-mail. Thanks mate, we are super excited to move in. My parents wanted to come with us to have a look at the rental contract, check the place and see that you are not a serial killer, you know. The usual." James laughed, sounding embarrassed.
„Sure, that sounds good, when did you want to stop by? I'll have to get the rental contract ready and printed." Remus tried to play it cool, realising just now that he will have to find some examples of contracts online so James and Sirius would have something to sign. He was beginning to think that this idea was way over his head.
„Ugh, mom works all week so they suggested we could come on Saturday? And move in already? That way it will be like middle of May and we can always pay rent in the middle of the month if that makes sense?" asked James.
„Yeah, that's fine, I have the Saturday off so I can help you with moving as well, if you need extra pair of hands." Offered Remus.
„Great, that is set then. See you on Saturday!"
Wow, things were moving much faster than Remus ever imagined. He expected his new tenants to take their time to decide, maybe suggest moving in at the end of May, or even later, but boom, here they are. Moving in on Saturday. He closed the door of the laundry machine and pressed the power button absentmindedly.
There was so much to do! He quickly texted Lily that he will be going to work earlier, to print the contracts in the library and talk to Dorcas about cutting back on is shifts.
Thank god he shared his work shift with Lily that day, because his mind was all over the place and he could already feel a migraine starting behind his right eye.
„Hey Remus, do you want to discuss the schedule changes? Lily can you manage to keep the place running alone for 5 minutes?" Dorcas asked from the door of the backroom.
„Sure, no problem." Lily smiled and pushed Remus towards Dorcas. „Go and fix the schedule so you can get your migraines under control."
„So, you mentioned that you'd like to switch to a part time schedule?" Dorcas said, looking through schedule tables printed out on endless sheets of paper.
„Yeah?" Remus answered. Somehow, even though Dorcas was their friend and they did hang out together outside work, whenever he needed to talk to her as his manager, he got extra anxious.
„Ok, what exactly do you need? The schedule will be pretty flexible in summer with fewer people in the library." Dorcas tried to coax an answer out of him.
„Well, if I could take the weekend shifts? Maybe, if it's not too much trouble? And a day during the week, or two half days? Whatever works better for you?" Remus asked.
„Ok let me see. Not many people want the weekends so I could put you down for Saturdays and Sundays full day, Lily will be working Saturdays and Sunday afternoons as well, I know you guys are besties. And then, let's see...it would be better if you could do two morning shifts? I have no one for Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 8:00 am until 13:00?"
„That would be great. Is it going to be the same for every week this summer?" remus asked surprised. So far they had mixed schedules which were different almost every week.
„Well, I'm changing the system and we'll see how it works for summer. I hope to continue using it during academic year as well. It is easier for me but also for you guys. So should I adjust your schedule from June onward?" Dorcas asked, already typing on the old library computer.
„Yeah that would be awesome. Thanks." Remus said, wincing as another wave of paid shoot behind his eye. Migraines sucked but this one seemed to be manageable for now. Just two more hours before he could go home.
The rest of the shift dragged on and on. Few students stopped by and ordered coffee or one of the summer-flavoured iced beverages they now offered.
Lily took care of most of them and let Remus slowly shuffle around and do the cleaning and maintenance.
„I'll drive you home." Lily whispered, knowing that loud noises could be overwhelming when Remus got into the fully blown migraine attack. „Here just sit down while I clean up." She guided him to the step stool in the corner.
Remus felt like crying. He could never fully concentrate during an attack and it felt extremely humiliating and overwhelming at the same time. But it was not the first migraine Lily helped him through. It will be ok. He will be ok.
They drove quietly in Lily's car. She parked in front of his house, and she got out, carrying his bag on her shoulder.
„Come on." She said quietly while helping him out of the passenger seat. She fished the keys out of his pant pocket, unlocked the front door and closed it quietly.
„Go on upstairs, I will bring you a glass of water."
Remus walked slowly, one step at a time. A he reached the first floor his eyes teared up and he choked on a sob.
„No, no, none of that now." He heard Lily from behind him, as she pressed an encouraging hand on his back and gently pushed him towards the stairs which lead to the attic.
„You know that will only make your head hurt more. You are ok now. We will get you settled down and you can rest."
They slowly climbed the stairs to the attic room.
„Sit." Lily commanded and put a glass of water on his nightstand. She took out a pill box and turned to Remus. „Do you want to try the almotriptan one more time?"
„No. It makes me feel like I'm gonna die." Remus whispered back from his spot of sitting on the side of his bed.
„Ok then. Here, paracetamol and Ibuprofen is all we can do now." She handed him the pills and waited while he swallowed.
„Arms up." She ordered and took of his work shirt. „Do you need help with the binder?"
„I can manage." Remus croaks out and starts to slowly take the restrictive piece of clothing off. Lily busied herself with the curtains, making the room as dark as possible, while Remus changes into a loose cotton t-shirt. He slowly laid down with his feet still on the ground.
„Come on." Lily commands again, as she takes off his sneakers. „Pants."
Remus lifts his hips just enough for her to unbutton his jeans and take them off.
Lily has done this countless times. She knows how to deal with Remus with a migraine. Quiet, short instructions work the best. No joke, no chit-chat. Get him to bed and as comfortable as possible is all that can be done.
She sits down on the side of the bed and tucks a blanket around Remus.
„Anything else?" she asks while gently combing his hair with her hand.
„No." He groans. „I love you. I'm sorry." Remus whispers and another tear slips from the corner of his eye, he's not even sure why at this point.
„Hey, nothing to be sorry about. I'm happy I could help. Do you need me to stay?"
„No. I'll try to sleep." He whispers even though they both know sleep won't come for a couple of hours.
„Luv ya." She whispers, kisses his forehead and quietly leaves the house, shutting the front door behind her.
Any other migraine warriors out there? I will be basing Remus' migraine struggles on my own experiences, it is of course different for everyone. If you're going through the struggle of finding medication or therapy that would work for you, remember you are not alone. It's a journey.
Let me know what you think about the story so far :)