Title: Beauty Sleep
Author name: Daria
Category: General
Sub-Category: Cuddly?
Rating: PG-13 (language!)
Spoilers: PoA
Summary: After a selfless night of comforting his nightmare-plagued friend, Sirius finds himself less embarrassed than he would have previously imagined.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made from this, and no copyright infringements were intended.

Beauty Sleep

"- sure Sirius isn't like that. It's not even an option."

"I w-wasn't implying that, James. I just wondered if.. if maybe they-."

"Of course. I mean, they were probably just cold. It is blood chilly in here, after all. Isn't it? Ha ha."

The conversation wafted in and out of the boy's conscious as if it were taking place far away. Or maybe underwater. It took a few moments for him to realize the shifting of cloth and hushed murmur of voices was actually just outside the four-poster. Heavy eyelids forcefully thrust open, Sirius lifted his upper body as best he could and scooted back, brushing the hair out of his ill-functioning eyes and propping himself up on his elbows, waiting for the room to come into focus. The dim realization that he might have slept through classes was beginning to sink in just as he felt the curious, yet familiar, sensation of being watched.

Sirius opened his mouth to say something but quickly let the idea fade away as his light gaze fell upon the boy next to him. The. boy. next. to. him. The discovery would not have been so shocking had he spent the night at Billy Rookwood's house or woken up in a sleeping bag beside James, like that time the bed curtain re-decoration scheme failed and they'd had to abandon the four-posters for a whole week. Instead, the dark-headed wizard found himself staring at an almost comforting sight. It was Remus, though he somehow didn't seem right. The messy-haired brunette had both arms crossed around the pillow and his expression was nothing short of serene. Wolf-boy rarely ever relaxes. It's almost unnatural. SuddenlySirius had the impression that Remus really hardly slept. It made perfect sense, and he almost wanted to smack his forehead for it, but the idea was disheartening all the same.

Now he remembered. That was the reason he had slipped into Remus' quarters in the first place. Still, the memories of the previous night disappeared as Sirius found himself studying the unconscious boy. Almost transparent hairs covered the boy's pale skin, and just as unnoticeable were the light scars. Like whip marks, Sirius mentally noted, embarrassing himself at the comparison. All were healed, but the conscious Gryffindor could not take his eyes away. So many. Remus was always very hesitant about wearing short-sleeved shirts or slipping on some shorts when the boys decided to go on romps across the grounds. He also made a big show to avoid the others in the showers, which was an almost alien concept to Sirius, who often went about tossing soap at the other boys and giving himself sudsy mustaches to make fun of the headmaster. Of course, the latter impression didn't get Sirius half as much applause as the one of the time Professor Dingle accidentally Vanished his clothes in a Charms lesson.

And there it was. Lupin had shifted in just such a way that one shoulder was in plainer view as his arm was thrust over the pillow. The rosy scar Sirius had studied the night before was even more fascinating in the light. It was crescent-shaped, though not wide in diameter at all. Other scars were around it, probably moving down his rib cage (that side of his friend was out of view) and plainly sliding across the small bicep of his right arm. They were darker than the many that covered the frail body, and almost equally fascinating, but Sirius found his attention back on the scar. As he did, that curious stinging sensation - eyes boring into you from a different angle - stopped his perusal.

"I didn't know you stayed." Soft-spoken, and with precise diction, Remus always caught his friend off guard.

"I.. guess I fell asleep, I didn't mean to. I-", Sirius began, surprised to find sleep had thickened his speech. Being startled didn't help any.

There was a silence that seemed to thicken the hazy atmosphere of the world between the crimson curtains, and yet Sirius didn't really mind. Remus hadn't moved, but had noticeably stiffened and let his chin sink into the pillow, strange light-dark eyes averted from the other boy's clothed form. Up until now, Sirius had completely forgotten another complex of his friend: the lycanthropic wizard really disliked physical contact. It didn't make much sense that the night before, Remus had only calmed down once Sirius had gotten close, but there were many things about the werewolf that puzzled the larger boy.

"Okay, ladies. Enough bonding. We'll be late for breakfast if you two don't quit - whatever it is you're doing," James suddenly announced, gently parting the curtains to grin at Sirius, who was the closest.

"Shove off, Jamie. We're coming. You know I'm not one to miss a meal. You could use a few yourself," the reigning prankster remarked to his partner-in-crime, shoving an index finger into Potter's ribs as he spoke.

Sliding his legs over the side of the four-poster, as James had turned to begin pulling on some shoes, Sirius found himself turning to stare backwards into the now-darkened four-poster. Remus had turned around and appeared to be either fast asleep or convincingly ignoring him. Only pale back was visible, shaggy brown hair spread across the pillow. That's fine. We'll sort things out later, he silently told the vertebrae. The larger boy stood, closed the curtains, and began to collect his things nearby.

Peter was on the other side of the bed and managed to cast Sirius a baleful stare before starting out the door. Whether or not the largest boy could show them all up in an eating contest, the stocky, mousy-haired Pettigrew was ceremoniously the first to start down the many stairs which would eventually lead to the Great Hall. James was struggling with a knot in his shoe lace but eventually found his footing and followed in Peter's path, adjusting his hopeless hair as he did so.

Pulling a fresh shirt over his own messy black locks, Sirius began to make his way around the four-poster and start out of the room, but found himself forced to stop mid-meander when something snagged his shirt. Looking over his shoulder, he found thin fingers clutching him. Remus released his grip as his friend obediently turned around. The smaller, sleepier boy was sitting on his knees, partly covered by the curtains, and withdrew his arm as his dark-headed confidante met his heavy-lidded gaze.

"Thank you, Sirius. I don't know what else to say," Lupin admitted, soft words dripping with sincerity, though Sirius was guilty of immediately believing anything Remus ever told him.

"Hey, it helped me catch up on some beauty sleep, anyway," he said cheerfully. "As if I needed it. You should probably slide back in there and get a bit more! You could use it, you know..," he answered, angular features tugging to muster a wide, white smile.

That said, the larger boy ran a hand through his hair and smiled again to himself. Turning on his heel, continuing out of the room, Sirius quietly closed the door in case his friend had taken the words to heart and actually slid back into bed. Had Remus been awake, he would have appreciated the simple gesture.