Remus woke at dawn to his body splitting itself apart and reforming. The rough transition from anxious dreams to burning pain along every inch of his body wasn't necessarily something he could ever get used to, but after several months of Wolfsbane he knew more or less what to expect.
So for the first few seconds, as his consciousness slowly took hold again in his human brain, Remus was extremely confused by the presence of another person's face, watching him.
"Alright, Moony?"
Oh, yeah.
The previous night came back in a rush of memories and Remus shot up from the ground- only to remember that he was completely naked in front of Sirius Black. He hastily turned around to grab at the duvet on the bed nearby, but Sirius was already chucking clothes at him from the doorway and jeering good-naturedly at him.
On any other day Remus would be fixating on these immediate circumstances, but he'd barely finished pulling his pants on before he whirled around to look at Sirius.
"Peter! He's- Did- We really got him?- He's here?"
Sirius grinned at him. "Still stuck in the jar, Moons. You were brilliant last night."
Remus's entire chest clenched at the ramifications until his head swam. "We really did it?"
Sirius nodded. "We really did. But you don't look too hot and it's still the crack of dawn. Why don't you go back to sleep?"
All of a sudden Remus realized how tired he was; he nodded dumbly as an enormous yawn cracked open his jaws. "I can't sleep for too long," he mumbled. "Have to meet Amanda- no, Aramintha- er, you know, the Bone. Have to meet Madam Bones at eleven."
"I'll have you up at ten for Amelia Bones," Sirius smiled with barely restrained laughter.
Remus let himself fall back onto the four-poster and crawl beneath the sheets. It smelled musty and old but also like Padfoot.
Remus woke again at ten o'clock to Sirius' face hovering over him- and wasn't it weird that he was already starting to get used to the occurrence?
"Rise and shine, Moonykins."
Now there was a name Remus never thought he'd hear again.
He groaned and pushed himself upright, searching out his clothes where Sirius had tossed them earlier. He really would've liked to take a shower, all things considered, but-
A bottle of Mr. Skower's self-rinsing shampoo was deposited into his lap, followed a moment later by a bottle of Mr. Skower's self-rinsing body wash.
Remus jerked his head up to look at Sirius. "I bought these for you."
"I know you're dying for a good wash right now, Moons."
"I have daily access to a literal castle with a couple dozen bathrooms. I'm not using this stuff I bought for you."
"Ah, but you won't make it back to the castle for a shower before your big meeting. We both know it's important and we both saw you rolling around in the dirt last night-"
"In the snow," Remus grumbled.
"- And since this is such a big day for me, too, you should do as I say and use the damn soaps."
Sirius was looking at him with such sincerity that Remus could do nothing but drop his shoulders in defeat. As soon as he saw it, Sirius broke out in a wide grin.
"Go on," he said, shooing Remus towards the bathroom. "I'll launder your clothes while you're washing up. Throw your pants out too, once you're in there!"
Remus flushed so deeply he was sure Sirius could see the red creeping down the back of his neck, but he refused to respond. If he'd known Sirius would jump on every opportunity to make lewd comments like this, he would have snuck out alone to transform or something. Wanker.
He most definitely did not throw his pants out for Sirius to launder, instead hitting them with his own cleaning charms from the privacy of the bathroom. Then he applied the relf-rinsing soaps- it was a very peculiar feeling; he would rub the soap into his skin until all of a sudden the soap would disappear, leaving nothing but a faint tingling feeling in its wake.
If Remus took his time washing up, and debating whether he should borrow Sirius' toothbrush or just use a Breathmint Charm, well, Sirius would never have to know. And Merlin's beard, he did not want to ask Sirius to borrow his toothbrush, so the debate really need not have taken as long as it did.
Finally, he could procrastinate no longer, and he emerged back into the bedroom. Sirius had cleaned and levitated the clothes Remus had abandoned the night before, and now they hovered next to the bed as if on hangers. Sirius was standing next to them, eyes shamelessly lingering on all the worst scars of Remus' last thirteen years. Remus cleared his throat uncomfortably.
Sirius' eyes snapped up to Remus' and he could have sworn Sirius looked-
But he wasn't going to think about that wearing only his boxers. Nope.
Remus grabbed his trousers and quickly pulled them on, ducking his head as he did so to hide the blush he was furiously trying and failing to fight back.
"Come down to the parlor when you're ready," Sirius said with an annoying suggestion of indulgence in his voice, then finally left the room.
Remus finished dressing himself and sank down onto the edge of the four-poster, his head in his hands. Sirius was acting so strangely all of a sudden, and it was making Remus feel things he really had no right feeling, all things considered.
Well, never let it be said that Remus was no Gryffindor: he walked downstairs and into confrontation.
"You've been acting weird," he blurted out before he could lose his nerve.
Sirius looked up from his seat on a couch cushion placed on the floor, and laughed.
"I'm in a good mood, Moonykins. Today's the day we turn the rat in. I never even dreamed I'd see the day- and I mean that literally, given all my original plans involved much more murder and much less retrial."
He gestured at a cushion on the other side of the blanket. Between them was a strange array of foods obviously left over from Tippy's last basket.
"Eat," Sirius instructed.
Remus scoffed. "I'm not eating your food, Pads."
"You have to eat something," Sirius huffed.
"Didn't we just go over this? I live in a castle, unlimited food, et cetera, you're on the run, et cetera?"
Sirius just rolled his eyes and shoved a bread roll into Remus' hands. "Didn't we just go over this?" he parroted. "Most important day of my life, et cetera, have to be on your best game for my sake and Harry's, et cetera?"
Remus sighed and took a grumpy bite of dinner roll. Sirius beamed at him.
They spent the next twenty minutes congratulating each other and going over how Remus would present Peter and the convoluted story of Sirius' innocence to Amelia Bones. It was a rather strange plan, in Remus' opinion, but Sirius swore it was his best option and Remus was willing enough to give it a shot. Remus ate only enough food to keep Sirius from glaring at him, and fell into a contemplative silence towards the end of their makeshift meal.
While catching Peter had obviously made Sirius giddy with elation, it was having the opposite effect on Remus. He found himself fixated on the fact that he was planning to confess a multitude of crimes and misdemeanors, willingly, to the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement today. As a werewolf.
"I've probably gotta go soon, Pads," Remus said eventually.
Sirius nodded. "Come visit me after, tell me how it went?"
Remus stared at Sirius for a long moment before answering, drinking in his relative contentment before he screwed everything up, again.
"Actually, I think you should leave."
Sirius blinked several times as his smile fell. "Like, go back to the cave?"
"Like, leave the area," Remus sighed. He couldn't look Sirius in the eye anymore.
"I just, I don't know how Madam Bones is going to react," he explained. "It's going to be an enormous shock either way, and all of this on top of the fact that we'll have already probably upset her with Harry's situation. And then all of a sudden Peter Pettigrew is back from the dead, an animagus, and a traitor; the supposed mass-murderer who escaped from Azkaban is also an animagus and innocent; and I, the Hogwarts professor leading the charge to remove Harry from his abusive home, have been aiding and abetting said escaped mass-murderer and was also witness and reason for the aforementioned animagery by all parties, and also a werewolf, which I have no reason to believe I will be able to keep secret from Madam Bones with Severus in the room."
He dropped his head into his hands wearily. "It's a fucking lot to spring on one person, even a competent department head," he moaned. "And even if she believes everything I say, I still don't come off looking great, Pads. I think there's a good chance she takes me in for questioning, at the very least, and possibly charges me with accessory to all sorts of crimes."
"I know you'd never give me up though, Moons," Sirius said quietly.
"I may not have a choice! I barely have any rights of the accused as a Dark Creature. If they want to dose me with Veritaserum they don't even have to wait for a trial. Madam Bones could have me spilling all your secrets by dinnertime. But she can't use me to find you if I don't know where you are. So you need to leave."
"Moony, that's not going to happen," Sirius insisted gently.
Remus snorted into his hands. "You should be literally the last person to place your trust in the fairness of the Ministry."
Sirius was quiet; Remus dared not look at him.
"I'm sorry," Remus sighed. "I should have brought you more food last night; I was in a rush and I wasn't thinking straight."
"That's not- Remus, don't worry about the food. I survived six months on my own; I can last a few more…"
How long would it take before it would be safe for Sirius to come out of hiding?
"I think you should stay hidden until Peter's trial is over," Remus said reluctantly. "I'm sure it'll be all over the Prophet when it happens. I won't reach out to you before that in case I'm being watched."
Sirius lifted his hand as if to reach out to Remus, then stilled and lowered it back down. "Send me updates when you can, please? Even just the one to let me know if you were arrested?"
"If I'm arrested I've no doubt it'll be front page news. But also as soon as you hear about it you'll have to be extra careful, because every wizard alive will be looking out for a giant black dog. Stick to muggle parts, yeah?"
"Remus," this time Sirius did indeed place a hand on Remus' arm. "Stop talking like that. You're not allowed to get arrested because I need you, okay? I barely remember how to take care of myself and I sure as hell don't know how to take care of a teenager."
Remus shook his head. "It's fine, you'll be fine. Harry's a good kid and he's strong, much too independent for his age. You'll take care of each other."
"We'll all take care of each other," Sirius insisted, squeezing his arm.
But Sirius' soothing words were having the opposite effect on Remus; he suddenly realized he was trembling. "I think I'm done for, Pads. I don't know how I can possibly come out of this meeting untouched. But it's fine, really. I never expected to be the last one of us left. I never wanted to. And I've buggered it all up, really; I let Harry down and I let you down and I'm making my amends now twelve years too late. It's fine. I know you'll be good for each other."
"Remus, that's all rubbish." Sirius would have sounded convincing if not for the hint of panic that snuck in on the last word.
Remus shook his head again. "It's fine, Sirius; don't worry about me."
"Like hell!"
"Whatever. I should probably be going. Don't want to make a bad impression on Madam Bones by showing up late." A slightly hysterical laugh escaped him as he stood up.
"Remus John Lupin, you're not doing anyone any favors by getting yourself worked up like this!"
Remus didn't respond as he walked to the couch and retrieved the jar of Wormtail.
"You can't be panicking like this if you want her to take you seriously about Harry, Remus, so I suggest you get over whatever self-deprecating spiral you've set yourself on and pull yourself together," Sirius said harshly.
Petunia, Vernon, Dudley, Umbridge, Peter; Petunia, Vernon, Dudley, Umbridge, Peter Remus bobbed his head slightly to the beat of his hit list, waiting for it to calm him down. He fumbled with the glass jar, which was slightly too big for his robes pocket; eventually, he just enlarged the pocket and stuffed Wormtail inside.
Remus was so fixated on the jar and his list that he didn't realize Sirius had gotten up and walked over to him until he touched his cheek. Remus jerked his head up in surprise to find Sirius much too close and still getting closer- he barely had time to close his eyes before Sirius' lips were on his, soft and hesitant and gone much too soon.
Sirius pulled back and Remus' eyes flew open in shock.
They stared at each other for several long moments.
"I- Why- What was that for?" Remus spluttered.
"Good luck," Sirius shrugged, all easy and confident airs that would have had a stranger fooled. But to Remus, his eyes gave him away; they were darting back and forth between Remus' much too quickly to be anything but nervous.
"I don't- Sirius, you- We-"
All of his words had fled him in a rush that had flooded Remus' entire body and left his fingers and toes tingling. Whatever Sirius was looking for in his eyes, though, he must have found it, because he stepped back with a wry grin.
"And I figured you could use something else to panic about on your walk to the village."
Sirius pushed him lightly on the chest until Remus had rotated to face the front door of the shack, and then steered him all the way down the hall to the door.
Remus halted in the doorway. He turned back to look at Sirius, mouth open but still at a loss for words.
Sirius smirked softly and shoved him out the door. "Go on then, you're going to be late," he said, and shut the door behind Remus.
Lost in thought, Remus stumbled down the saggy wooden porch of the shack and down the hill to Hogsmeade village. Sirius was right about one thing: it was hard to think the worst about his future with the warmth of Sirius Black's kiss lingering on his lips.