Disclaimer: JKR's characters.
Notes: Written for my beloved Master.
Prints in the Dust
"I have never seen so much dust in my life," Sirius Black observed, glancing around his old family home.
At his elbow, Remus Lupin toed the ground and watched the dust particles rise from the floor and coat his shoe and the hem of his pants. "I'm afraid I will have to agree with you. Didn't your family have a house elf?"
Sirius shrugged carelessly. "Doesn't look like he's still alive, does it? I suppose that's one other thing we'll have to clean out. Dust, moths, boggarts and a decayed house elf."
"That's disgusting," Remus chuckled, shoving his old friend playfully. "I'll leave that part to you. After all, dogs love the scent of rotting things, don't they?"
In response, Sirius growled at Remus and they both started laughing. Perhaps they laughed a bit longer than necessary, but seeing as they didn't really want to get started on the tedious task of cleaning a house that had been empty for years, it was to be expected.
During the course of the day, they aired out most of the bedrooms to make room for the members of the Order who would be lodging there. The kitchen was given a cursory cleaning job, and the house elf was discovered, though he didn't prove to be much help.
Another room they made sure to clean was the bathroom off of Sirius' old bedroom. After all, they had spent all day cleaning and getting completely filthy. It would have been daft to then attempt to clean up in a bathroom that was as dirty as they were.
Remus washed first, and went about making the bed with the cleanest sheets they had been able to find. He was very much looking forward to the arrival of Molly Weasley and her family, as he knew that not only would she start cleaning, but she would force her children to help as well. Perhaps it was selfish, but as he was planning to live in this house, he would really rather like it a bit more sanitary than it was.
Not too long after, Sirius emerged from the bathroom, his damp hair clinging to his face and neck in a rather appealing way. Winking at Remus who was watching him intently, he tossed his dirty clothing onto a rickety old chair and crossed the bedroom, sliding under the covers and into the arms of his waiting companion.
"I've missed this," he confessed, nuzzling at Remus' neck.
The other man chuckled and kissed the top of his head. "I have too. It's amazing how hard it is to sleep alone when you've gotten spoiled by sleeping with someone else."
Sirius murmured sleepy agreement, and they settled in for the night, too exhausted from working all day to make the best of the evening alone. There would always be more nights to share, after all.
"How many nasty things did we end up chasing out today, Rem?"
Remus yawned widely, mentally calculating. "About five, I think."
"Think there are a lot more?"
"Would be surprised if there weren't."
"Me too."
Silence settled over the room. Both of the men began to drift peacefully off to sleep, when suddenly a weight landed on Sirius' stomach.
"Gah!" Sirius was suddenly wide awake, staring in horror at the creature sitting comfortably on his gut. Remus, however, seemed to find this amusing.
"Scared, Padfoot?"
"I didn't… of course. How could I not have known. How appropriate. To find a beast like this living in my mothers home. I'm just surprised it didn't occur to me before."
Chuckling, Remus reached out to the furry little thing and began to scratch it behind the ear. "One more way that your mother tries to tell you that you don't fit in here, hm?"
"Shut up, Moony," Sirius growled, burying his face in the pillow, dislodging his 'guest' with the motion. It glared at him balefully before leaping off the bed and trotting out of the room.
"I mean, think of it. What dog really belongs in a house that is overrun by cats?"
Sirius groaned and hit Remus with the pillow.