All the Young Dudes ( Sirius' Perspective )

The War : Home Front

Late summer, 1978

Sirius drifted, in the hazy fugue halfway between dreaming and consciousness. He stood at the edge of a pond, grimy with muck, staring down at black seaweed that twisted aimlessly back and forth, back and forth…

Something jostled his shoulder, and the dream slipped away, and he was in his bed, curled under the sheets. Next to him, Moony rolled over—he’d been sleeping poorly since the last full moon, tossing and turning all night.

“Can’t sleep?” Sirius mumbled, yawning.

“No.” Remus sighed, heavily, and sat up, tugging the sheets with him. “Sorry. I should go in the other room.”

“Please don’t.” Sirius rubbed the sleep from his eyes, “It’s fine, I’m up too now, I’ll keep you company.”

“I’m really not in the mood to talk.”

“That’s ok. I can talk, I’m always in the mood to talk.”

That earned a smile, and the tension in Moony’s shoulders unwound, slightly.

“Go on, then.” He lay back down, and Sirius rolled closer to him, throwing an arm across his chest and nestling his face into the pillow beside Remus’s, so that he could mumble sleepily into his ear.

“I can’t wait for tomorrow,” he said, eyes sliding closed, “I can’t wait for you to see the flat finally. I never had anywhere that was just mine before.”

“Me neither.” Remus murmured, quietly.

Sirius was still a bit nervous about it—he’d bought the flat the previous week, without any input from Remus. The other boy had been recuperating after the full moon, and Sirius had just stumbled upon it, as if by magic, while he was wandering around muggle London, searching for the restaurant where he’d promised to meet Mary. He hadn’t thought twice before putting in an offer—and had ended up being very late to dinner, which Mary was still a bit peeved about.

The Potters had been rather surprised with his decision to live in a muggle neighbourhood, but they were supportive nonetheless. Fleamont made sure that the flat was equipped with all of the security charms that were now standard for Order members, and the process had dragged on a bit, so Remus hadn’t actually been to see it yet.

“Tell me what it’s like.” Remus rolled over again, facing Sirius, and curled up into a ball, burying his face in Sirius’s night shirt. Usually, their sleeping positions were reversed—but Sirius didn’t mind it tonight, happy to feel like there was something he could do for Remus, even if it was just holding him.

“It’s small,” he mumbled, pressing his face into Moony’s curls, “Just one bedroom, one bathroom, one kitchen.”

“Sounds massive.” Remus said, voice muffled by Sirius’s shirt.

“We can have it however we want; furniture, wallpaper, anything.”

“I’ll leave the interior design up to you.”

“Fine. You can build the bookcases.”

“Bookcases?” Remus peered up at him, a spark of interest in his eyes.