More Christmas fluff, because how is not Christmas yet?
"Sirius, it's bloody freezing!" Remus could barely make himself heard over the wind. "You know I hate flying!"
"Sorry, can't hear you!" Sirius shouted though he could hear Remus just fine. "Too much wind, see —"
"Just. Land the bloody broomstick!"
"Love you too, Moony!"
A declaration like this normally wouldn't have made him blush, but the potency of those words combined the strength of his feelings for Sirius made Remus's stomach pleasantly swoop (or maybe it was just the flying).
Sirius angled the broomstick down and they began descending, breaking through the clouds. Remus wiped the moisture from his face, his eyes scanning for a place to land.
He saw a rickety old building with a fire escape from the roof all the way to the ground. "Over there!"
Sirius swerved and Remus clung onto his waist for dear life. His feet hit the ground with a resounding thump.
"Not bad," Sirius remarked as he and Remus disembarked. "I would say that's a solid nine out of ten."
"Yeah? Well, I give it a five out of ten. The descent was bumpy and I think one of my teeth fell loose from that landing."
"Fun squasher." Sirius pouted and Remus's stomach did the swoopy thing again. "C'mon, the town awaits us!"
"...that was at least a seven out of ten!" Sirius insisted, trying to make Remus up his rating. "The descent wasn't that bumpy!"
"Your rating was based on the fact that, to begin with, I loathe flying and you dragged me out of my comfortable, warm bed to go on this dangerous adventure. Not to mention I'm freezing my arse off."
"Oh please, this is hardly dangerous," Sirius said, scoffing. "No one is going to recognize us here, much less attack us. Lighten up a little."
Remus sighed. Admittedly, it was a pleasant excursion — it was Christmas time and the atmosphere was cheerful and the air was saturated with Christmas smells. The aroma of hot chocolate wafted by and he grabbed Sirius's arm. "Do you smell that?"
"I do, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
Five minutes later, the two of them strolled into the Christmas market with cups of hot chocolate. Remus felt much more content with a warm chocolate drink in his hand.
"It's a shame the others couldn't be here," Sirius said, breaking the comfortable silence. "James and Peter would've loved it here."
"Yeah," Remus said wistfully. "Makes me wonder why you didn't drag James out instead of me, he's much more at home on a broom than I am."
"Aw, c'mon, the poor guy just went through a breakup," Sirius said. "The least I could do was let him sleep. Besides, I'd rather be with you right now." The admission was accompanied by a shy smile, which was unlike him. Warmth rushed to Remus's face and he ducked his head.
"Yeah, well," he said, "I'm glad I'm here with you." He hesitated. "Do you think that James will be okay? Lily hurt him pretty badly."
"James is strong," Sirius said confidently. "Lily may have hurt him, but give him time and he'll recover. The least we can do is give him some time and space to heal and he'll be back to normal."
Remus looked at him with raised eyebrows, impressed. "I had no idea you were so insightful."
"I have my moments." Sirius sipped his hot chocolate, an enigmatic smile on his face.
"Why aren't you in a relationship?" The question left Remus's mouth before he could stop it and he hurried to remedy his mistake. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean —"
"No, it's fine," Sirius said, his voice taking on a soft tone. "I've been thinking about that a bit lately, and I suppose I'm just holding out for the right person. I don't want to date just anyone, you know."
Remus murmured his agreement, though his heart was screaming. "Yeah, that's a good way to think about it…"
"I don't want to just date around anymore, I want a serious relationship with someone who knows me, someone who won't break my heart, regardless of how imperfect they are." Sirius was staring ahead thoughtfully. "Besides, not everyone is perfect like me. I'm holding out for a ten. Because I'm worth it."
The complete one-eighty had Remus nearly choking on his hot chocolate. "Wow, that's —"
"Philosophical, right?" A smile broke out on Sirius's face. "C'mon, I see an ice skating rink over there. If you love me, you'll come with me."
Remus winced, both at the prospect of ice skating and the double meaning of his words. "...Yeah, I might sit this one out, though."
"...damn you, Sirius." Remus cursed as he fell on his arse for the third time that night. "At this rate, you're going to have to hold my hand." Heat crawled up his neck, but Sirius simply smiled.
"That's not a bad idea." He seized Remus's hand and hoisted him up, but didn't let go as they glided across the rink. This proved to be an internal struggle for Remus, as he wanted to melt into a puddle on the ice. He was trying to focus more on balancing and less on Sirius's hand in his. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a couple dancing, their movements effortlessly graceful and he felt a spark of anxiety in his chest.
"Sirius, I'm scared," he said as his feet slid along unwillingly.
"You're safe here, I promise. You're with me, after all. I won't let you fall." Sirius sounded reassuring and there was the fact that he trusted his best mate with his life, so Remus believed him.
Maybe...maybe this wasn't such a bad outing after all.
(But he wasn't looking forward to the return journey.)
961 words
Assignment 4, Flying Lessons Task 1 - Write about someone not enjoying flying.
Auction - "Not everyone is perfect like me. I'm holding out for a ten. Because I'm worth it." (29-2)
Founder Says - Helga: 5. "[name], I'm scared." / "You're safe here, I promise."
Skyscraper, Floor Two - (action) dancing
Pick a Wick - 22. Peppermint
Build A Better Breakfast - 5. Oatmeal
1000 - 38. Balance