Sirius had relished the feel of a real shower, and had used every drop of hot water possible, and then some, to scrub himself (and his hair) truly clean. He'd had to use Remus' shampoo and the like, and it was beginning to get to him, having Moony's smell in his nose constantly. Seeing Remus' reaction to his near-nakedness had given Sirius a moment of hope that his old friend wanted to pick up the pieces of their relationship and try again, but Remus had laughed it off and thrown him some clothes, which gave Sirius a nasty jolt. He still loved his old friend, had loved him all throughout his stay in Azkaban, and seeing him again in the Shrieking Shack, even under the circumstances, he had been hard pressed not to kiss him right there, in front of Harry and his friends. Only the thought of having to deal with Peter had made him resist. And seeing Moony tonight, once again under unhappy circumstances, the urge was still there, carefully controlled but present.
Sirius dressed himself quickly, noting the fact that the jeans, while tight, fit him quite well, as did the t-shirt. He no longer looked as thin and lanky as he had when he' d escaped from Azkaban, but he still had a lot of weight and muscle to gain, if he wanted to look anything like his former self. Chucking his dirty robes into the hamper in the bathroom, Sirius strolled barefoot out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, where he watched Remus make a light supper for them. Time had added more gray to his friend's auburn hair, and a few more lines to his face, but he was still the same, wiry, thin Remus Lupin that Sirius had known in school, and he still found him beautiful. He wondered, briefly, if Moony in werewolf form was still half as amazingly handsome as he had been in school.
Remus turned, and, spotting Sirius lurking in the doorway, motioned him into the kitchen. "Food's ready. I don't have much," he explained, sitting down at the tiny table. "But I'll get more tomorrow, if-"
"Remus, this is fine," Sirius assured him, smiling. "Really. It's the first proper meal I've had in months," He paused for a moment, considering how best to wipe the worried frown off his friend's face. "You could serve me boiled socks and I'd eat them. As long as they weren't Snape's."
That did it. Remus chuckled, digging into his sandwich at the same time Sirius did. For a while, they ate in comfortable silence, broken only by the occasional hum of satisfaction from Sirius, or the chink of glasses as they drank the tea Remus had made. Finally, when the table was cleared of every crumb, Remus magkicked the dishes into the sink with his wand, then leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and regarded Sirius with an intent gaze.
"Why are you here, Sirius?" he asked, gazing seriously at his old friend. "I know you-this isn't a social visit. Something happened."
Sirius sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers for a moment before regarding Remus with a tired, haunted look. "Lord Voldemort is back," he said simply, waiting for Remus' reaction to the news.
Remus did not shout, nor did he try and deny what Sirius had just told him. Rather, he gave a tired sigh and his shoulders slumped in defeat, looking off into the distance as if lost in thought. Sirius would have preferred it if he had gotten angry, or had started crying. Anger, fear ...those he could deal with. But Remus' exhausted acceptance gave Sirius pause, and he waited for his friend to say something.
"When? And how?" Remus finally asked, his intense gaze back on Sirius. So Sirius recounted the tale exactly as Harry had done just hours earlier in Dumbledore' s office. When he had finished, Remus was looking even more tired and worried than before, but he regarded Sirius with a calm, determined look.
"We won't let him get Harry, Sirius," he said softly, voicing Sirius' main concern. "You know that."
Sirius sighed, dropping his head into his hands. "I know that, Moony," he said, his voice muffled. "But it doesn't make me worry any less. If anything happens to him-"
"Nothing will happen to him. Not on Dumbledore's watch," Remus said firmly. He glanced briefly at the grandfather clock in the corner and raised an eyebrow: it was nearly midnight. He turned back to look at Sirius and caught him mid-yawn. Sirius froze, then smiled sheepishly.
"It's been a long night," he explained, but Remus shook his head, standing up.
"You're going to bed. I don't care if I have to make you drink a sleeping potion- you're getting some sleep."
Sirius didn't even protest as Remus hauled him to his feet and led him to the bedroom. Remus never entertained, and his spare bedroom was now a study/storeroom, so he laid Sirius down in his own bed and covered him up.
"You sleep till you're rested. Don't worry about contacting everyone else--I'11 take care of that for you," he said, as Sirius began to feebly protest this demand.
"Where will you sleep?" he asked finally, making Remus blink in surprise
"The couch," he replied, picking up one of the extra pillows off the bed. " And no worries-I've slept there plenty of times."
Sirius looked like he wanted to protest this, but he yawned again and simply mumbled a 'thank you' before falling fast asleep. His light snoring soon filled the room and Remus smiled, closing the door behind him as he went back into the living room. He had a lot of letters to write, and he hoped his owl, Roma, would be back from her hunting soon, so he could send them off quickly.
He had just sat down to write the first letter when a noise from the hallway made him look up. Sirius stood there, now shirtless, looking exhausted but embarrassed.
"Can't sleep," he confessed, blushing. "Don't like the dark much anymore."
Remus knew in an instant what Sirius was asking, and decided the letters could wait until morning.
"No worries. Padfoot." he said softly, following him back into the bedroom. Shedding his own robe, Remus lay down beside Sirius in the bed, and the two quickly fell into a deep, easy slumber.
(Next: Chapter three—Remus plays dirty, letters are written, and Sirius makes an accidental confession.)