A/N: Hey y'all! Ghost!AU Wolfstar.
Word Count: 770
WARNINGS: Death, implied child abuse
Enjoy!
"Is it easy?"
Remus glanced over at where Sirius was lounging on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He frowned sharply. "Is what easy?"
Sirius bit his lip before answering. "Being a ghost."
That wasn't the question Remus had been expecting. For a split second, memories flooded him—memories of being trapped in this house as a servant centuries ago, until his untimely death in the same attic Sirius occupied. For years, Remus had watched Sirius grow up, becoming less and less like the Blacks he'd had to serve. This past summer, he'd finally been comfortable enough to reveal himself to Sirius; the sixteen-year-old seemed different from the rest of his family, and Remus had thought he needed the company.
He never guessed what a strong friendship would follow, but he wasn't disappointed.
"No," he said slowly. "It isn't easy. It's lonely, and it can be a bit dull." He hesitated, then confessed, "But it is better than when I was living. I have you now, and I'm not..." He trailed off. He suspected that Sirius had guessed at the way he'd been treated in life; the scowl on Sirius' face confirmed that theory.
"Why..." Sirius' voice was small. "Why didn't you ever leave? Surely there are other places you'd like... or have you traveled the world already?"
A flicker of a smile crossed Remus' face. How he wished he could say he had! He'd always wanted to leave England and see what the rest of the world had to offer. But alas... "A ghost is stuck in the place they died until their unfinished business is completed. Then they have the choice of whether or not to move on," he explained patiently.
"Oh." Sirius rolled over onto his stomach and peered critically at Remus. "What's your unfinished business?"
"I don't know," Remus admitted. "I've been here a long time, though. I think..." The words were like bile in his mouth. "I think I may have missed my chance."
"I'm sorry," Sirius said. His voice was so sincere, so hurt for his friend. He twisted a strand of black hair around his finger, then blurted out guiltily, "I'm sort of glad. Because—" He took a shuddering breath, then hurried on. "Because I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come to me this summer."
A small smile covered Remus' scarred face. "I'm glad, too," he assured Sirius. Sirius answered with a grin, and Remus tried to ignore the voices in his head asking him what he would do when Sirius went back to school, and, eventually, moved out.
"Remus?"
"Yes?"
Sirius took a deep breath. "Do you like it here?"
Remus cocked his head to the side, his tawny curls falling across his forehead. "I like being with you. Of course I do."
"I mean..." Sirius seemed to flounder for the right words. "Do you like being in this house?"
No. No, he didn't. But there wasn't any way he could change his fate.
"As long as you're here, Sirius, I can stand this place."
Sirius frowned, but he didn't say anything else.
.o.O.o.
"I can't go," Sirius gasped out as Remus gaped at him. "I can't—you said you hate it here. I can't just leave you."
"No." Remus swallowed thickly. "No, Sirius, you need to go. You can't stay here with them—not for me. You'd break my heart, Sirius. Please."
There was hesitation in those grey eyes, but Remus, for once in his life, was forceful.
"If I have to come back to life to drag you through that fireplace, so help me Sirius, I will. You're hurt, and it's the Potters who will help you."
"But what about you?" Sirius sounded so lost and alone. And Remus realized... he realized that as much as it hurt to let Sirius go, it was worth it to know that he'd given Sirius friendship. He'd made this house bearable for Sirius, just as Sirius had done for him. And even if he had to spend eternity alone, it would be comforting to know that he'd made a difference.
He told Sirius all of this. "Your parents will be back soon," Remus whispered. "Go now. I'll wait for you, Sirius... because I have to believe that we'll meet one day."
It took a minute of silence, but Sirius nodded. "I'll see you again," he promised. "And Remus... I'll never forget you."
Not for the first time, Remus wished that he could embrace the other boy. "And I'll always remember you," he swore in a whisper.
And then, in a flash of green flames, Sirius was gone.