The last three months of their 5th year at Hogwarts were among the worst that Remus had had in his entire life. He'd already had a difficult year, with his private revelation that he was deeply in love with Sirius Black, but then Sirius had gone and pulled what he'd called 'a prank'.

Just a dumb, harmless prank, or at least that's what he had said it was supposed to be. They had all just been incredibly lucky that James Potter, though occasionally misguided and sometimes a bit of a bully, really did have a huge heart of gold, and had been able to rescue Snape before the worst had happened.

But it had been bad enough for Remus that Snape had found out his secret. As soon as he'd woken in the hospital wing to find Dumbledore sitting by his bed, he'd known something awful had happened. He'd immediately panicked, sure that he'd hurt one of his friends, but then the Headmaster had explained the situation, and the panic had turned into outright heartbreak. One of his best friends, the only people outside of his family who he'd trusted with his whole self, had betrayed him.

When he had finally been released from the hospital wing that evening, he'd immediately tracked the boys down in their dorm and walked in to find James and Peter yelling at a very sorry-for-himself Sirius, and his heart had broken all over again as realisation hit him. He would have been devastated if either James or Peter had done this, of course, but Sirius? The boy who'd stayed up with him late at night, who he'd shared all of his fears with about what the future might hold for a young, gay werewolf?

He'd blacked out for a moment when they'd all turned to look at him, and he'd come to just as his bandaged fist connected with Sirius' sharp jaw. The boy had staggered back and fallen against his bed, and while he'd stared up at him sorrowfully, Remus had snarled that he would never forgive Sirius for nearly getting Snape killed and for further endangering Remus by letting others find out his secret.

Sirius' eyes had widened as the truth of those words sunk in, and he'd opened his mouth to say something, but Remus had turned on his heel and stormed out of the dorm, James and Peter hot on his heels.

For the next few weeks, the two Marauders had showed complete solidarity by ignoring Sirius alongside Remus. Remus didn't think he had ever seen James so livid, and part of him loved the boy all the more for his loyalty. Peter had been quiet, sad and disappointed by the situation, but nevertheless he had been just as passionate in his disgust at Sirius' actions.

For a while, Sirius had taken to sleeping on the sofa in the common room, but this had later turned into him being absent throughout the evenings, waiting somewhere in the castle for long enough that the other boys had the chance to fall asleep, or at least draw their curtains and ignore the sounds of him creeping around in the dark. Remus had tried to pretend that it didn't make his chest ache when he'd heard Sirius sobbing into his pillow on the night that he'd forgotten to cast a silencing spell around his bed.

They maintained a united front for as long as they could, but James had cracked first. Remus had known he would, had known that James would not be able to stay away from the boy that was essentially the other half of his soul. Remus had also known that as soon as James folded, Peter would follow suit, which he had. To give them credit, they had lasted longer than he'd thought they would, and they'd still made a point of spending separate time with Remus where no-one mentioned that their fourth member was missing.

Remus had filled the occasions when James and Peter hadn't been with him by spending more time with the girls. They had only asked him once what had happened, but he'd burst into such violent tears that it had taken hours for Lily, Mary and Marlene to calm down, and they had never mentioned it again. He had been grateful for their company and easy conversation - it had been the distraction he'd needed to make it through to the end of the term.

The Summer break had also initially been difficult, as he'd had too much time with his own thoughts, his chest aching constantly and the full moon leaving him more tattered and bruised than he'd been for a long time. But then his parents had had some building work to do on the house, and Remus had gotten stuck into this, helping the contracted tradesmen where he could and finding that the manual labour had kept his mind busy.

One of the builders, who had introduced himself as Grant, had taken to Remus immediately. He was a couple of years older, almost as tall (which Remus was finding increasingly unusual the more he grew), and Remus had been captivated by his relaxed mannerisms and the way his blonde hair fell over his blue eyes when he laughed.

Grant had chatted with Remus, asking him questions about himself and his school but never prying, respecting Remus' boundaries about how much he shared. Then one day, Grant had taken Remus with him to the local hardware shop to get a few supplies, and on the way back he had pulled his van over to the side of the road and had kissed Remus. Remus had initially been surprised, pulling away sharply, but Grant had smiled sadly at him.

'I know you've been hurt, Remus,' he'd said gently, thumbing at Remus' cheekbone. 'I can hear it, it's all over what you say. And what you don't say.'

'I ... It's complicated,' Remus had murmured, dropping his gaze but getting caught on Grant's lips. He'd not expected them to be so soft, and Grant had tasted like the cherry Coke he had been drinking all afternoon. He had been distracted enough by the thought of tasting him again to add, 'I love him, so much, but he hurt me so badly and I can't ...'

'Oh, honey,' Grant had chuckled softly, and Remus had looked up into his eyes once more, surprised to see a fondness in the older boy's gaze. 'If you love him as much as it seems you do, then don't let him go. I know, I know -' he'd plowed on, cutting off Remus' protest. 'It's alright for me to be saying that without knowing the situation, right? But trust me, Remus. This life is far too short to let something like that go, just because someone made a mistake. We all make mistakes. It's how we learn in this life.'

Remus had absorbed his words, letting them mull in his mind for the remainder of the holiday. Grant had continued to provide a healthy distraction by chatting with him about books and buildings, and also by periodically dragging Remus off into dark corners to snog him senseless.

On one occasion, they'd ended up in the back of the van, and Remus had asked Grant to teach him how to go down on a guy. Grant had eagerly demonstrated on Remus, who'd orgasmed harder and faster than he ever had before. Then he'd done it to Grant, and with his guidance and plenty of practice Remus had learned enough that, by the time the building works on the house were finished, he could get Grant off in minutes.

Remus had been sad to say goodbye to Grant, but he'd been grateful to have him in his life. He'd learned a lot from him, and Grant had given him the space and advice he'd needed to think about things objectively. Remus still hadn't quite been ready to forgive Sirius, though, even by the time they'd gotten on the train to head to school for their 6th year. And he had fully intended to ignore the other boy, as he'd been doing at the end of last year, until he arrived at the Marauders' usual carriage and froze at the sight of him.

Sirius was a complete wreck. Remus could tell that he'd lost weight over the Summer, his skin was sallow and paler than usual, and there were deep purple bags under his strangely flat grey eyes. His usually immaculate, lustrous black hair was now dull, hanging limply around his shoulders, and although Remus tried not to look, his eyes flicked over Sirius' body and he caught sight of the boy's hands folded in his lap. They were shaking steadily, and the edges of the thumbs were so badly bitten that they looked raw and painful.

Remus felt a small twinge of guilt as he took all of this in. He had ignored every one of the many letters that Sirius had sent him over the Summer, just throwing them unopened into the bin as soon as they arrived. He'd written back to James and Peter, ignoring their subtle hints and requests that he reply to Sirius, too.

But seeing Sirius for the first time since the end of 5th year, seeing the obvious changes in the boy ... He finally understood why the others had even mentioned it at all. He realised that they must have been watching Sirius slowly eat away at himself for 6 weeks. And although he wanted to feel justified, wanted to believe that Sirius deserved to suffer, actually seeing him like this just broke something inside him.

So although he didn't speak to him directly, he gave Sirius a curt nod when the boy's gaze met his before sinking into the chair next to Peter and launching into conversation about their break. He noticed how James' shoulders sagged in relief, and tried not to notice how Sirius stared at him for almost the entire train ride with the tiniest flicker of hope to his expression. He didn't acknowledge Sirius an awful lot during their journey, but he participated in the group conversations as best he could.

Dinner that night was easier, as Remus immediately slid onto the bench next to Mary the moment they entered the Great Hall. She subconsciously linked her arm through his as she babbled away happily about her visit to Jamaica. And when they all headed up to the Common Room after dinner, he sat by the fire with Lily and comforted her while she told him about how vile her sister had been over the summer.

It was only really at bedtime that they were forced back together again, all of them silently trooping up to their usual dorm room to unpack their belongings. But by then Remus was just so happy to be back at Hogwarts, so relaxed by seeing the girls again, that he comfortably joined in the conversation as they all moved around their dorm, reacquainting themselves with the familiar space.

'This is the year, lads,' James said for the fourth time that night. He was sitting on his bed, already unpacked and in his pajamas, and he chatted away as the other boys took their time getting ready for bed. 'This is the year that Evans agrees to go out with me. I can feel it in my bones.'

'You said that last year, Prongs,' Remus snorted as he pulled his jumper off and quickly replaced it with a long-sleeved thermal T-shirt that would keep him a little warmer during the night.

'And the year before that,' Peter quipped from where he was leaning in the bathroom doorway, though he had his toothbrush in his mouth and it sounded more like 'an' ee ear 'eefoh 'ah'.

'And the year before that, etc, etc,' Remus smirked, then chuckled when James lazily flipped them both off.

'Yeah yeah, alright, you wankers,' he grumbled, his wide grin taking the edge off his words. 'I know what I said. But this year. This year's the one. Right, Sirius?'

'Right, mate,' Sirius added, his voice straining with such forced enthusiasm that Remus would have cringed if he hadn't caught himself in time. Instead, he turned back to his bed and pretended to be fluffing his pillows.

'There, see?' James said triumphantly. 'I've been working on new ways to ask her all summer. She can't say no, not with what I've got planned. Merlin, she's so perfect. I can't wait to kiss her!'

'And what are you going to do if she does actually say yes, James?' Remus asked, a little exasperated as he crossed his arms and leaned against his bed post, raising one eyebrow at the grinning boy. 'You know that going out with someone is more than just kissing, right? You have to put actual effort into a relationship.'

'I know, I know,' James said, flapping his hand dismissively, then he froze. 'Wait a minute. I do know that, but Moony, how do you know that?'

'What do you mean?' Remus asked, a little stunned by the question.

'Well,' James said slowly, and Remus could almost feel the effort it was taking for him to not look at Sirius. 'Well, it's just, um, we've never actually seen you date anyone.'

'And that means that I can't know how you should treat someone in a relationship?' Remus said, trying to hide his amusement as he watched James squirm uncomfortably.

'Well, no, I suppose, didn't mean anything by it, Moony, mate, sorry I -'

'James.' Remus smiled when James' worried brown eyes met his. 'Breathe, or you'll pop.' James huffed out a relieved laugh, then took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Remus considered for a moment, then added, 'Anyway, I did sort of date someone over the summer, so I suppose I do know what it's like to be in a relationship.'

The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly, as though all of the air had been sucked out of the dorm. It seemed that there was nowhere that James and Peter were willing to look, and their eyes kept shifting around the room awkwardly. Remus didn't dare look at Sirius, but he could feel the boy's gaze burning into him from across the room. He frowned and straightened up.

'Are you all ... Are you all suddenly uncomfortable because of the idea of two men dating?' he asked. He'd meant for the question to sound teasing, but there was enough tension in the room that his voice came out in a rasp. He'd told them all that he was gay in fourth year, and they'd all seemed accepting enough at the time, so why -

'No!' Peter gasped, and Remus looked around to find that the short blonde boy was pink-cheeked but staring at him earnestly. 'Gods, no, Moony, that's not what it is at all!'

'Then what -' He turned his head, and caught it. The look that Sirius was giving him. He wanted to look away, but he found himself struck entirely dumb by the devastation on the boy's thin face. He had only ever seen Sirius look so broken once before - on that awful day, when Remus had told him that they were done.

And the way that expression pulled at his heartstrings made him whip himself around to face his own bed, unable to look at Sirius any longer. He scrambled onto his mattress, blathering, 'Never mind, it's alright. Well, I'm shattered. See you in the morning.' And with that he flicked his wand, causing the drapes around his bed to snap shut violently.

Remus sat in the dark, his knees against his chest, arms wrapped around them as he tried to control his breathing. He listened to the muted sounds of the others getting ready for bed, noting that there wasn't the usual buzz of first-night-back conversation. He tried to put it down to the fact that the three boys had spent most of the summer together, reasoning that they probably didn't have that much to talk about.

But something about the whole interaction niggled at him, and every time he got close to figuring out what it was, his mind reeled so violently that he found it completely impossible to calm himself. He really wanted a cigarette, but he thought he'd better wait until nobody was likely to catch him sneaking out. So he just sat there for a long time, listening out for the sounds of the boys' breathing changing, for the indications that they were all asleep.

Peter went first, as usual, his breaths turning deep and snuffly as the night went on. James was next, his breathing becoming slow and steady after a period of uneasy silence. But still, Remus sat. No matter how hard he listened, he couldn't hear Sirius breathing. Not even the steady sound it made during the day. And despite himself, Remus started to worry. He hadn't heard the boy leave the dorm, surely he should be asleep by now?

He was just debating whether he could covertly wake James and tell him to check on Sirius, when he heard the mattress of a bed creak as one of the other boys got up. Remus let out a soft sigh. Sirius must have stayed awake so that he could sneak into James' bed, as he often did on nights when something was bothering him.

And something was clearly bothering him tonight. He listened to Sirius' feet shuffle across the wooden floor of the dorm room, and let out a soft breath when the sound stopped, assuming that Sirius had reached James' bed and silenced the area around them. Well, fine. At least he didn't have to think about that anymore.

Remus was just about to unwind his arms and stretch out his stiff legs when the curtain around his bed twitched. He bit down on the scream of surprise that rose in his throat, then clenched his teeth harder when Sirius crawled in through the small gap in the curtains. No, no, no, this isn't allowed. They weren't talking, Remus hadn't forgiven him, he was not supposed to just crawl into Remus' bed like he used to and -

'I'm sorry,' Sirius murmured as he waved his wand around them, and Remus heard James and Peter's breathing become muffled as a silencing charm wove around the space. Sirius kept talking, 'I'm sorry, I know you're still angry with me, and you have every right to be. You don't have to say anything, but I have something to say and I need you to hear it.'

'You shouldn't be in here,' Remus whispered, then silently cursed himself. The one opportunity he'd been given to cooly remind Sirius that they weren't even a they anymore, and he'd blown it.

'I'm sorry,' Sirius said again, his head hanging briefly before he looked up at Remus. 'I tried to just go to sleep, I really did. But I can't, and I figured that you already hate me anyway, so I might as well just get this over with.'

Sirius paused, and Remus watched him fiddle with a loose thread on the duvet cover between them. He'd never seen Sirius so nervous before, and the sight was unsettling enough that when Sirius looked back up at him, he didn't move, didn't say anything. He just stared right back, and Sirius seemed to take this as permission to continue.

'Did you really go out with someone this summer?' Sirius whispered, and Remus jolted. Of all the things he'd expected Sirius to say, it wasn't that.

'Yes. So what?'

'Did you ...' Sirius cleared his throat, and tried again. 'Are you still ...' He reached up with pale, shaking fingers and brushed the lank black hair out of his face, gripping it as he let out a groan of frustration at his own inability to finish a sentence. There was silence for a while, then Sirius blurted, 'Fuck, I hate the idea of it. Of some guy getting to touch you, to kiss you, getting to see all of you. He better treat you well, Remus, because I swear to fucking Merlin -'

'You have no right to be upset about this, Sirius.' His voice was tight, sharper than he'd meant it to be. But he couldn't stop the roiling in his stomach. Had Sirius really just come in here to disapprove of his choices?

'I know, I'm sorry Moo- Remus,' Sirius corrected quickly, but it was too late.

'You don't get to call me that,' Remus snapped, his back straightening as anger flared through him, and Sirius cringed away from him slightly. It did nothing to improve his temper, and Remus found the words flowing freely with no end in sight. 'And anyway, what is it to you that I was with someone this summer? Why should it matter to you whether I'm still with them? Just because, for once in my life, someone decided to show me a little kindness and -'

'I love you.' Remus nearly swallowed his own tongue in shock, his anger snuffing out instantly. He just gaped at the other boy, sure that he'd misheard him, but the light flush in Sirius' cheeks indicated otherwise. Sirius was suddenly tripping over his own words as he spread his hands out between them placatingly, pleadingly. 'Look, I know what I did last year was incredibly fucked up. It was stupid and selfish and I just didn't fucking think, OK? But all summer I've been imagining what could have happened to you if things had ... if James hadn't ...' Sirius passed a trembling hand over his mouth, before he finished with a whisper, 'It's been eating me alive, Remus.'

'I ... I can see that,' Remus croaked, his mouth working on autopilot as he tried to make the jigsaw fit together. 'But how does that relate to -'

'Well, that's just it, isn't it?' Sirius interjected, leaning forward and gazing at Remus in desparation. 'It was the knowledge that I'd betrayed your trust, that I could have made your world infinitely harder than it already is through my own selfishness and ego, that really made me address my feelings. Because if I'm honest with you, and with myself, I've had feelings for you in some capacity since we were eleven. I've just never taken the time to consider what they meant until it was too late, until I had lost you because of my own fucking failures and faults. And knowing that you dated someone over the summer was just confirmation of that. Knowing that I've loved you so much all this time and didn't do anything about it when I had the chance? It has fucking ruined me.'

Sirius was rambling, but Remus was still too astounded to even try and stop him. Sirius loved him. Had loved him all this time. For the whole time that Remus had loved him, it sounded like. Sirius loved him so much that when he realised he might have destroyed any chance of those feelings being reciprocated, he had turned his hatred for himself into something physical, something dangerous. He'd slowly been destroying himself because he had hurt the one he loved.

And oh, Merlin, Remus was falling. Falling and falling and falling, and it wasn't like falling in love, because he'd known how that felt from the moment he had laid eyes on Sirius Black. No, this was something deeper, something infinitely more thrilling and terrifying, and Remus was absolutely helpless as he fell further and further down into a pit that he never wanted to find the bottom of.

'And now,' Sirius went on, flinging his hands up in apparent dispair. 'Now you've found someone who can love you like you deserve. As you should. And you hate me. As you should. Fuck, I hate me, more than I ever have in my whole life, and that's saying something.' Sirius gave a bitter little laugh, and brushed the back of his hand over his eyes quickly before straightening his back again. 'So, now you know. I just needed you to hear it, Remus, just once. And I will be sorry until the day that I die for what I've done to you. I suppose it's a suitable punishment, really, to live the rest of my life with this fucking guilt. But I promise you, even if you never forgive me or speak to me again, I will do everything in my power to make things right.'

Sirius finally fell silent, surveying Remus carefully and chewing on his lower lip. It seemed he'd used what little energy he had left on his outburst, and now he was fading fast. He stared at Remus for a few more moments, seemingly waiting for Remus to speak, but the werewolf couldn't get anything past the lump in his throat. Eventually, Sirius gave up, and Remus watched as he collapse further in on himself. Sirius shrugged sadly, then turned away to find the parting in the curtains, to leave Remus alone. For ever.

And he couldn't let that happen. For all that he had hated Sirius, hated him for what he'd done, for breaking his trust, he now saw that the part of him that was raw and taking too long to heal was the part that still loved Sirius with everything he had. That part of him had been screaming since Sirius' confession, and it was screaming louder now as Remus watched Sirius shuffle towards the edge of the bed. Don't let him go, it screamed. We all make mistakes, and if you let that boy walk out of your life, it could be the biggest mistake you'll ever make.

Before he knew what he was doing, Remus reached out and wrapped his scarred fingers around Sirius' slender wrist. His heart leapt at their first physical contact in over 4 months, and he briefly wondered how he'd made it this long without just touching Sirius. The action appeared to have the same affect on Sirius as the shorter boy gasped immediately, and Remus heard the other's heartrate skip as he spun back into the bed area, his grey eyes falling to where Remus' skin touched his.

'You're such a fucking drama queen,' Remus murmured, and Sirius' eyes snapped up to meet his. Remus watched as the boy's lower lip trembled, his eyes welling up, then Sirius was bawling noisily, burying his face in the hand Remus wasn't holding. And Remus was helpless in the face of his distress. It had been a large part of the reason why he'd been avoiding looking at Sirius for too long. He'd known that if he saw the boy like this, his resolve would have crumbled in seconds, just as it did now.

'I'm so f-fucking s-sorry!' Sirius wailed, and Remus couldn't hold back from chuckling as he gently tugged at Sirius' wrist, pulling the slender boy into his lap. Remus wrapped his arms around him, swallowing a gasp when he felt just how thin Sirius really was under his t-shirt.

'Christ, Pads, did you eat at all this summer?' he murmured against Sirius' greasy hair.

'O-only when Effie m-made me,' Sirius hiccuped, his face nuzzling automatically into the crook of Remus' neck. They'd done this so many times before in the past, subconsciously reaching for each other for comfort and warmth. But it had never been with the weight of all these emotions hanging around them, and the gesture made Remus' stomach twist in a way that it hadn't for a long while. Sirius seemed to sense his hesitation, and stiffened. 'Is this too much?'

'No,' Remus breathed, his hand squeezing Sirius' hip lightly. He swallowed hard, steeling himself before adding, 'It's ... It's never been enough, honestly.' Sirius pulled away to lean back and blink at Remus in the dark, his exhaustion making his movements sluggish. But he looked worried, and Remus exhaled sharply before taking the plunge. 'I love you, too. Have done for years.'

'Oh,' Sirius whispered, swaying slightly in Remus' lap. Remus wound an arm round his shoulders to steady him.

'But you've really hurt me, Sirius,' he said quietly, and fresh tears began spilling from Sirius' silver eyes immediately. Remus reached up to brush them away as he went on, 'I can't pretend that you didn't break my trust, and that it didn't nearly fucking kill me.' He looked away from Sirius' intense gaze so that he could put his thoughts together, then said, 'But a good friend told me that this life is too short to let something like love go. He said that we all make mistakes, and that's how we learn in this life.'

It felt strange to be repeating Grant's words to Sirius, and the way Sirius shifted in his arms, he knew that the other boy had realised who had said those words to him. But Sirius didn't say anything, silently acknowledging that he had no right to, and Remus pushed on.

'It's going to take a long time for me to trust you again, Sirius,' he told the boy honestly, catching his gaze again to emphasise his words. 'I'm going to need you to respect that. I need you to let me work this out myself. It'll be hard for you, for both of us. But if you can promise me that you'll give me the time and space to work through this, then maybe we could ... maybe we could give this a go? If that's what you want, of course?'

'Remus,' Sirius breathed, his face now completely soaked with tears. 'Gods, yes, Remus. Whatever you need, whatever I can do to make this happen, I'll give it to you, no questions asked.'

'Alright,' Remus murmured, wriggling the sleeve of his shirt down over his hand and using it to wipe Sirius' face. 'Alright then. I want to trust you, I really do. And I'll try. Just ... Go easy on me if it's difficult, yeah?'

'Of course,' Sirius answered promptly. They stared at each other, a familiar easiness settling over the bed. Then Sirius breathed, 'Can I kiss you?'

'No, Pads,' Remus said softly, grimacing as his head and his heart fought against each other violently. 'Sorry, it's too soon, I -'

'That's alright, Re,' Sirius said, his face sad but resigned. 'I understand, I shouldn't have asked.'

'But you could ...' Remus chewed his own lip as he brushed his fingertips over Sirius' puffy, purple eye bags. 'You could maybe sleep in here tonight? You know, like we used to? Believe it or not, I've been having trouble sleeping, too.'

'Really? I can stay here, with you?' Sirius perked up, apparently eager to take whatever Remus was willing to give him right now. Remus chuckled again as he nudged his nose against Sirius' cheekbone.

'Really. But only to sleep, yeah?'

'Of course!' Sirius was instantly wiggling out of his grasp and slipping between the covers, turning his back to Remus as he assumed the position that they'd slept in for many, many nights over the years. Usually it had been when Sirius had been having a particularly difficult time with his family, or when Remus was really suffering with the moon. It was easy to do this, when they both just needed the contact, needed to be wrapped up in each other.

Remus eased himself in behind Sirius, his long legs tucking up against those bent in front of him, one scarred arm winding around that narrow waist while the other found its position under Remus' head. Remus groaned as his whole body relaxed more than it had done in months, and he pulled Sirius closer, pressing his nose to the back of the boy's neck and taking a deep lungful of his scent. Home. Remus was finally home, and he hadn't realised just how homesick he'd been until this very moment.

'Oh, Gods,' Sirius choked out, and suddenly he was sobbing again, his whole body shaking with it.

'Pads?' Remus tried to pull back, to lean up and turn the boy towards him, but Sirius' hands clamped down on the arm around his hips.

'No!' he gasped, his sobbing getting harder. Remus froze, letting Sirius get control of himself enough to tell him what he needed. Finally, Sirius whimpered, 'Don't move, OK? Please, just ... Just hold me, just like this? I've missed you, I've missed you so fucking much, I -'

'Alright, Pads,' Remus rumbled, tucking himself tight against Sirius' back again. 'I've got you.'

Sirius let out a long, wobbling sigh as he pulled Remus' forearm up and hugged it fiercely to his chest. Remus smiled, and leaned forward to brush his lips over the nape of Sirius' neck, a calming motion. Sirius' crying cut off with a low moan, and though Remus had the immediate urge to do anything that would make him emit that noise again, he made himself still. There would be time enough for that in the future, when they got there. For now, this was enough. He blinked once, twice, before the warmth and smell of Sirius, back where he belonged, lulled him into restful sleep.