A/N: Well here's another one, unfortunately on a similarly gloomy theme to the previous two chapters. Apologies for this - I didn't actually mean for this to be an angst-ridden and depressing collection, that's just how the first few chapters I happened to get ideas for have turned out! I'll make an effort to make things more light-hearted after this one. For now, enjoy the melancholy! Oh, and if you want me to love you forever/write faster, review ;)

Sirius had never really thought it odd that he and Remus sometimes slept in the same bed.

Growing up, he'd been used to Regulus waking him up in the middle of the night to crawl into bed with him, usually on the nights when his mother had berated one of them particularly viciously. That had been long before Hogwarts, long before the older Black brother had been sorted into Gryffindor instead of Slytherin, and lost the companionship of the only remaining member of his family who had seemed able to stand the sight of him. But when he cast his mind back to those nights when his baby brother would cry into his shoulder, desperate for the tiniest bit of familial support in a house that seemed to offer none, Sirius just couldn't find it in himself to hate him back. Reg was a follower, and he didn't exactly have the strongest personality. If displaying open hostility towards his older brother was what it took to keep him in his parents' good graces, Sirius was, if not happy, then at least able to tolerate bearing the brunt of it.

With Remus, the situation was somehow similar, despite the drastic differences between the two boys. Remus was anything but weak, as any Slytherin who'd been on the receiving end of one of his hexes could attest. And anyone who knew him intimately enough to be aware of his lycanthropy, and the unique challenges he faced every day simply being at a school the rest of the wizarding world took for granted, could hardly label him a follower. Yet from the moment in Second Year when Sirius had first heard his friend crying out in the middle of the night in the throes of a nightmare, he'd known that Remus was in many ways just as desperate for love and companionship as his own younger brother had been. Back then, ignorant of the fact that one of his best friends was a werewolf and young enough to believe that everyone's upbringing had been similar to his own, Sirius had thought that he understood perfectly where that need was coming from.

"Alright there, Remus mate?" He'd called softly across the dormitory, not wanting the other boys to wake up and embarrass his friend. The cries had stopped, but after a few moments without a response Sirius had realised they'd been replaced by quiet whimpers. Climbing out of bed, he'd padded across the room to reach his friend in order to wake him if he was still dreaming. Reaching out to grasp the other's shoulder though, he'd been sharply startled to find Remus sitting bolt upright in response to his touch, an expression of utmost horror on his face.

Sirius had jolted backwards, almost falling of his perch on the edge of Remus bed, before recovering to reach forward and gently pat his friend on the arm.

"It was just a nightmare, mate. It's ok. You're safe."

Remus had flushed instantly, simultaneously trying to suppress the remnants of fear from the nightmare where he'd relived his last transformation, and the embarrassment that he'd woken Sirius up for something so stupid.

"Thanks for waking me." He'd replied – or at least tried to before realising that, to his horror, his voice had cracked and his eyes were starting to sting.

"Oh, Merlin, you must think I'm such an idiot!" He'd choked out. To his surprise though, Sirius had simply shuffled right up to him and wrapped his arms around Remus' shoulders, pulling him in tight. As if a damn had broken, Remus was suddenly sobbing his heart out, thoroughly drenching his friend's pyjama top and completely unable to get a hold of himself. He'd probably only cried for less than a minute, but for a twelve-year-old boy, eager for his first proper friends not to view him as some kind of ridiculous cry baby, it had felt humiliatingly longer. Sirius hadn't seemed to mind, though, simply supporting Remus and holding him firmly against his chest until he'd gotten himself under control. If he was honest, even then he'd liked the idea of being the only one who could care and comfort Remus more than a little.

"You're not an idiot," he'd chuckled once Remus' sobs had subsided and he'd deemed it time to cheer him up once more. "Merlin, Remus, if you're an idiot with your grades then where does that leave the rest of the wizarding world?"

He'd sounded incredibly lame, even to himself, but the fact that Sirius hadn't judged his friend to be an emotional girl unworthy of his time was more than enough for Remus, who'd let out a shaky laugh and grinned back as he sat up.

"Well I dunno about the rest of them, but for you and James? Probably rotting in Azkaban before long if I ever stop pulling you out of trouble."

"Moron," Sirius had replied, somehow maintaining an affectionate smile towards Remus whilst slapping him around the head. Satisfied from his friend's ensuing chuckles that his work was done, he'd made to get up and return to his own bed, before a hand on his arm had stopped him.

"Sirius?"

Remus was looking at him, but blushing furiously and unable to meet his eyes.

"What is it Rem?"

"Would you mind…maybe sleeping here for the night?" Remus had asked hesitantly in a small voice that didn't suit him at all.

Sirius had been more than a little surprised, but had quickly found that he really didn't mind and, smiling back at Remus, had climbed straight under the covers and allowed the other boy to curl up against him.

"Thanks." Remus had said, still in that small, hesitant tone that was so uncharacteristic of his daytime self.

"No problem, mate, I understand." Sirius had replied, still smiling and secretly somewhat enjoying the feeling of being snuggled up to Remus. "Night, Rem."

"Night, Sirius."

And they had both fallen straight asleep. In the morning, James and Peter had smirked at the sight of the two boys cuddled up against each other but, perhaps surprisingly, hadn't teased them or made any comments on their sleeping arrangements. Then again, even at that stage it had been clear that the friendship between Sirius and Remus was somehow different from that between the rest of the Marauders

After that, whenever Sirius woke up to find Remus tossing and turning in the middle of the night, he'd go over to the other boy's bed and slide under the covers next to his friend. Sometimes Remus would wake up, sometimes not, but Sirius' presence always seemed to calm him enough that his distress would fade and he would sleep contentedly for the rest of the night. Sometimes, the roles would be reversed. Sirius rarely had nightmares, but over the years his family situation became more and more apparent to the other boys – and, particularly once Regulus arrived at Hogwarts and was sorted into Slytherin, it was always clear to Remus when his friend was desperate for someone to talk to, even if he was too proud to say so. They often talked well into the night after James and Peter had fallen asleep, and their late night talks became the lynchpin of a friendship that Remus cherished more than he had anything else. And, like Sirius, if he was honest with himself he loved the fact that he was the only one the other boy felt he could lean on and open up to when things got too much for him.

Later, for a fourteen-year-old Remus, the most nerve-wracking thing about telling the other Marauders that he was gay was the knowledge that, with his revelation, those nights sleeping next to Sirius would come to an abrupt end. He was hopeful that the other boys wouldn't desert him. By then they'd known about his lycanthropy for well over a year – and if the fact that he turned into a savage, bloodthirsty monster once a month wasn't enough to have them running for the hills, he liked to believe that his being into other blokes wouldn't scare them off. Still, he was painfully aware that telling them would probably change their friendship towards him irrevocably, and he could hardly expect Sirius to still be comfortable with their sleeping arrangements knowing full well that the boy curled up against him got turned on by other boys. In fact, the year since the others had known about him being a werewolf had made his fear of loss far greater. Once Sirius had known the origin of the nightmares Remus was plagued by, the frequency of their shared nights had increased dramatically to the point where it was unusual for them not to wake up beside each other.

The night after Remus had finally gathered all of his Gryffindor courage and told Sirius his secret, he'd made sure he got into bed while the other three boys were still in the bathroom and had, for the first time since First Year, drawn the curtains around him. Terrified that he'd already ruined the friendship that had been his most precious possession, he was adamant that he wouldn't add even more of a strain by making the other boy feel guilty for being too uncomfortable to share a bed with him. He'd heard the rest of the Marauders come into the dormitory after him and heard the almost palpable silence that cut off their friendly banter as they'd seen his closed curtains. In his mind's eye, he'd seen James' confused questioning look, unaware as he was of the conversation Remus and Sirius had had earlier that evening, and then imagined Sirius' satisfied, relieved nod as he'd headed for his own bed, and a night of untroubled sleep.

The following week had passed in a haze of tiredness for Remus. Every night he'd lain behind closed curtains trying in vain to get to sleep whilst feeling like his gut had been pulled out. Each time he drew his curtains felt akin to self-harming, but he was determined not to screw things up with Sirius even more than he probably already had. Had he been less exhausted, less caught up in his certainty that his best friend would no longer be able to be around him without feeling incredibly awkward, he might have noticed that he was not the only one sitting at Gryffindor table with dark rings around his eyes every morning. After a few days, his fatigue had left him so withdrawn that James and Peter couldn't help but notice and had confronted him, asking what was wrong. Sighing, Remus had resignedly explained to them what he had to Sirius – who, thankfully, had been absent at the time. Unable to meet gazes he was convinced would be full of discomfort and, perhaps, nervousness that he'd been looking at one of them in that way, he'd quickly made his excuses and headed for the dormitory, drawing his curtains once more in now-familiar fashion and consigning himself to another sleepless night.

All this had meant that, roughly an hour later after he'd heard the other boys arrive in the dormitory for bed and James and Peter's snores had filled the room, Remus had been taken completely by surprise when a hand appeared around his curtains, followed swiftly by the form of his best friend.

"Sirius!" He'd whispered sharply as the boy sat down gingerly next to him on the bed, "What are you doing here?"

Sirius had winced at that – again, to Remus' surprise – before lighting his wand and casting a silencing charm over the curtains so that they didn't wake the others up. In the light cast by the other's wand, Remus was confused to see that Sirius looked even more exhausted than he felt.

"Look, I know I shouldn't be here," Sirius had said, for some reason unable to meet his friend's gaze and leaving Remus completely at sea, "I just had to come and say I'm sorry. I don't know what it was I did, but I know it must've been bad for you to shut me out like this. I'm sorry Rem. I'm just…I'm so sorry."

At these last words, Sirius had finally looked up and met the other boy's eyes, and in that moment Remus had instantly seen the sincerity behind his words, and his own stupidity over the past week. Sirius honestly thought that he had done something wrong, and that Remus was angry at him! Sirius hadn't been avoiding him since finding out he was gay, he had been avoiding Sirius. The full absurdity of the situation at last laid bare, Remus did the only thing he could. He burst into laughter, at first shaky and relieved but quickly developing into hysterics that rendered the silencing charms on the curtains a very good call by his friend.

"Errrm…what?" Sirius had asked, looking completely bemused and more than a little worried that the other boy had finally cracked.

Remus had instantly sobered up, insecurities flooding back as he realised he'd have to explain himself.

"I…I thought you wouldn't want to be – you know – as…well…close to me as before now that you know I'm, well…" He'd trailed off, unable to complete the thought for fear that he'd misread his friend and that his fears had been well-founded after all.

"Gay?" Sirius had supplied gently, understanding finally dawning over his face as Remus nodded in response. Wordlessly, Sirius had shaken his head and moved right up next to his friend, ignoring his feeble protests as he pulled back the edge of the duvet and climbed under the covers next to Remus. Only once he was there did he realise how much Remus was shaking – how genuinely scared the other boy had been that he'd want to put distance between them.

"You know how, the first time we slept in the same bed, I said that you weren't a moron, Rem?" He'd asked, snaking an arm around the his friend's torso and pulling him into a tight hug. Remus had nodded in reply, still apparently lost for words. "Well, I take it back. I've never heard something so stupid in my whole life. And I've heard a drunk Narcissa Malfoy giving a dinner toast."

Finally, Remus trembling had stopped and he'd laughed, this time genuinely and without hysteria. And, once more in that small, hesitant voice that Sirius hadn't heard since Second Year, he'd said simply "Thank you Sirius."

"Nothing to thank me for, mate. You're not the only one who looks like they haven't slept the last few nights. Good night."

And, after those words, Remus had known that he would never again go to sleep at Hogwarts without Sirius to curl up against.