Growing Up

Part 22.

⚠️slight emetophobia warning! skip to the asterisks if you can't handle it⚠️

Sirius started to stir uncomfortably so Remus groggily lifted his arm up to let him go. Sirius immediately got up and stumbled to the bathroom, dragging his feet across the carpet.

"Ugh, ew," Remus mumbled as soon as he knew what was going on. He got up and walked to the kitchen, got a glass of water, extra ice as he liked it; and walked back to the bathroom.

"Pads? You alright?" He knocked on the door softly with his ear up to it.

"No," He groaned, coughing.

"Okay, good to know."

Remus opened the door and walked towards Sirius, handing him the glass of water and sitting next to him, but keeping his distance.

"Are you pregnant or something?" Remus sat down next to him, chuckling softly as he tried to rub the tired away from his bleary eyes.

"If anything, you'd be the pregnant one." Sirius grumbled, his head resting on his arm.

"Damn. Point taken." Remus stood up and grabbed a hair tie off the bathroom counter, stood over Sirius and massaged his head.

"Oh my god" he whined happily, leaning his head back into Remus' hands.

"I know." He continued. "What do you think you ate?"

He scoffed. "Your stupid muggle beer."

Remus scoffed and gathered his hair in his hands. He managed to get most of the black wavy hair in one spot to put the tie in, once he did, Remus leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. Frowning, he backed away.

"You're hot."

"Not right now I'm not." Sirius giggled, looking up at him.

"No, you're hot."

"This is not how I planned to spend my day." Remus reached over and put his hand to his forehead. "Yep, fever."

"Damn it." Sirius sighed. "No wonder I had the weirdest dreams last night."

"You want some tea? Peppermint?" Remus' voice got softer. "Talk about it?"

"Not with you, you're a dick." Sirius laughed.

"I love you!" his voice lingered as he walked out the bathroom door to the kitchen.

***

Sirius walked to Harry's room and put his hand on the doorknob before a hand to his shoulder and stopped him.

"You are not getting that poor boy sick," Remus wiped the now contaminated doorknob with his shirt and grabbed his hand, walking him towards the kitchen.

"Aw come on, Moony! I wanna see him!"

"Nope. Come get your tea, I want you to get better."

Sirius sat down across from Remus, resting his head on his hand as he stared.

"We should do something. Just us."

Remus looked up from the newspaper and tilted his head.

"Why?"

"Because I'm with you for a reason. I love you, and we need a break."

Remus smiled. "Sirius."

One thing he loved about Remus was the way he said his name. He didn't slur it like most people did, even his own mother. Sir-i-us.
It never got old. He was the one. Saying that to himself made the pressure of proposal a little softer.

He was the one.

"I'm serious!"

"Yeah, we know." he snorted, trying to stifle a laugh.

Sirius' face went blank, part of him wishing he had never made that joke so many years ago.

"Okay, I think it's a good idea," He put the paper down and pushed Sirius' cup closer to him.

"Where are we going?"

"We're going shopping." Sirius blurted. It was the first idea he had.

"Okay then. It's settled."

Why aren't you taking him to dinner? You want to propose, right? God, you're an idiot. Mention it! You want to go to dinner!

"We can go to dinner afterward?"

"That sounds nice. I'd kill for restaurant food." He picked up the newspaper once more, unphased.

"We should go somewhere nice."

Remus laughed as he turned the page of the thin paper. "Well, good thing you have time to think about it." He stood up and grabbed Sirius' hand.

"We're not going tonight?" He asked, trailing behind Remus.

"No, you're sick."

Sirius gasped and smiled. "Are we?-"

"No." He blurted and called for Kreacher to watch Harry, closing the bedroom door.

"I'm gonna lay down, and you're gonna lay down next to me and take a nap because that's what I would want if I was sick."

It was funny, They really were the perfect match. Remus was the temperature of a living furnace. He was always warm to the touch. Sirius on the other hand was always cold, the very antithesis of his warmer counterpart. His hands felt like ice when you held them, his mostly pale skin never absorbing any warmth, So when they did sleep in the same bed, it was always comfortable for the both of them.

Remus ran his fingers through Sirius' soft, jet black hair.

"I love you" He whispered.

"à la lune et retour, mon amour." Sirius whispered back

***

Sirius gasped as he opened the door, laughing. He kicked the foot of it and gawked at the detail.

"James! You've got a boggart in your house! And boy, it's a freaky one!"

No answer.

"Look, James I know it's Halloween, but this is freaking me out,"His smile was still on his face, but quickly fading.

No answer.

"Prongs?...."

He knelt by James body, tapping it on the shoulder. He scanned his face trying to catch any discrepancies. Boggarts always had some flaw, this one had none.

"James! It's not funny anymore!"

Tears pricked Sirius' eyes as he saw his best friend, lifeless on the ground. The truth finally etched into reality.

"Ridikulous! Ridikulous!"

The spells hit the ground and did nothing.

Sirius fell to the ground sobbing, eyes fixated on his best friend. He froze when someone grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Missed me, Padfoot?" The oddly familiar voice hissed.

***

Sirius shot up out of bed and gasped, hands grasping at his throat for a breath.

"Peter!"

Word count: 1010

p.s: "à la lune et retour, mon amour" translates to "to the moon and back, my love."