Bittersweet (Wolfstar)

Six

R E M U S

He doesn't remember anything when he wakes up. Just a few flickers of drinks and dancing and stars. He sits up, rubbing his raw eyes and stretching. The fresh and cool air startles Remus, who doesn't know where he is and who is lying beside him. He doesn't dare wake the sleeping form, scared to find who it is. Had he done something regrettable? Surely not. The figure snorts a little, sitting up quickly and looking over at Remus. His long black hair should have been the first giveaway. "Morning, Moony." He mumbles, running skinny fingers through his tangled mop. He sighs, relief flooding through him.

"What happened?" Remus asks, a sudden, unpleasant pounding sensation in his head.

"You drank a lot. I figured your dad wouldn't want you showing up at your house drunk and so we came here. You wouldn't sleep in the bed." He explains, pulling his knees up and resting his arms over them.

"Why?"

"You didn't want to dream." Sirius replies, shrugging his shoulders.

"Of what?" Remus asks, staring at Sirius.

"Dora." Sirius answers, looking down at the ground and the cars driving past.

"Oh." Remus mumbles, biting the inside of his cheeks with so much force he tastes blood. He has only known Sirius for a little over two weeks and this makes him feel awkward. He doesn't know how to thank him properly for taking care of him.

"Yeah, so we came out here and stayed awake until you couldn't. You were wasted." Sirius laughs, throwing the blankets off of him and standing up. Remus notices a weird white thing stuck to the bottom of his boot.

"You've got...what is that?" Remus pauses, then claps a hand to his mouth, "Oh, god." Remus holds back a smile. "There's a pad stuck to your foot." Sirius looks at the sole of his shoe and rips the sticky white pad off of it.

"For fucks sake." He groans, tossing it off the balcony and signing. "Who left an opened pad just lying around for me to step on?"

"Footpad. That's your nickname." Remus suggests, nodding to himself and standing along with Sirius. "Footpad."

"This will not be the legacy I leave with you, Moony." He pouts, grabbing up the bedding on the ground and hauling it inside, shoving it in a closet. "Plus, you're awful at nicknames."

"It will be your legacy, Footpad." Remus follows Sirius blindly, who begins to pour two bowls of cereal for them. "I don't want any." Sirius looks up at him, eyes squinted.

"Do you ever eat?" He asks, making Remus' skin twitch. He didn't eat, really. Eating makes him sick and being sick makes him hungry, so he usually only eats once within three days. He is still surprised he isn't just skin and bones already.

"I would be dead if I didn't." Remus shrugs, sitting at the table in the middle of the room. "What is today?"

"Friday." He replies, pouring milk into his bowl.

"Shit. I've got a class at one." Remus curses, checking the time on his watch. 12.37. Sirius groans.

"Do you have to?" He asks, taking a bite of his cereal and raising an eyebrow questioningly at Remus, who just sighs.

"Yes. I've already disappointed my dad enough, he doesn't need me to flunk out of Uni, too."

"Fine." Sirius huffs, grabbing a jacket and Marlene's car keys. They race down the steps, Remus' head feeling like it is being hammered from the inside. They climb into Marlene's car, buckling themselves in. Sirius drives at a leisurely pace, in no hurry to reach the college where Remus has his lessons. Remus sits uncomfortably in the seat, suddenly aware of how much he had been talking. It was something about Sirius that made his words just tumble out of his mouth. He hasn't talked this much to a single person since Nymphadora.