MsKingBean89

-Was it scary ? Was I scary ?
-No, you were beautiful.

31st July 1980

“Remus, wake up!” Sirius shook him hard.

“Piss off.” Remus grunted, covering his head with the duvet, “S’the middle of the night.”

“Who cares?! Come on, it’s time! Baby Prongs is on his way - or her way… their way!”

“What?!” Remus sat bolt upright in bed, “Fuck!”

“That’s the spirit!” Sirius cheered, “Get dressed!”

“Billy rapped all night about his suicide,

How he’d kick it in the head when he was twenty-five,

Speed jive, don’t wanna stay alive, when you’re twenty five…”

“Turn it up!” Mary nudged Marlene, who flicked her wand at the wireless, lazily, then cracked open another can. They all hushed to listen, nodding along and tapping their feet softly on the grass. When the chorus came, the girls all sang along in that soft, under the breath way that girls were so good at,

“All the young dudes, carry the news…”

When the song finished they cheered drunkenly, laughing amongst themselves.

“I bloody love you lot,” Marlene slurred, “You’re all my best friends,”

“Same to you, McKinnon,” Sirius grinned across the flames, raising his can.

“Shhh!” She waggled a drunken finger at him, dopily, “I know your game, Black. I’ll have you know, you’re not my type.”

Everybody laughed at that, even Sirius.

Born that way.” James shrugged, mirroring Remus’s grin. “Come here, tosser.” He pulled him in for a hug. Remus relaxed, finally. All was well.

At that moment, the door swung open once more, and Sirius sauntered into the room, closely followed by Peter.

“Oi!” Sirius barked, pointing at James, “Hands off my man.”

This was no great thing for them – James and Sirius treated it as any other afternoon; the hospital bed was just an extension of their dorm. For Remus it was everything – it was time that would otherwise be spent anxious and alone. It was the closest thing to family he could imagine.

"Yeah, that’s right. Odysseus gets into all sorts of trouble as he tries to get home to his wife, Penelope. But the sea god gets angry with him about something - can't remember what, but he destroys Odysseus’s ship, and he washes up on this island, where Calypso lives. She falls in love with him and holds him hostage for seven years.”

“What does she do to him?”

“Oh, I dunno. Feeds him, heals his wounds and stuff. I think she dances a lot.”

“She doesn’t sound too bad. She sounds kind.”

“Maybe. But she wants to make him immortal, and Odysseus wants to get back to Penelope. Calypso isn’t his true love.”

“Sort of sad.” Grant huffed, sounding put out.

“It’s just a story.” Remus shrugged.

“But I want you,” Sirius said, desperately.

That struck Remus in an unusual way. To anyone else, it might have sounded whinging; childish. After all, Sirius was a grown man, and Remus had important work to do. But somehow it dislodged a feeling Remus hadn’t had for Sirius in a long time - a desire to protect him. To hold him close and tell him everything was going to be ok, and to be strong and reliable for the man he loved.

Anyway,” he lowered his voice, in case Madam Pomfrey was lurking nearby, “The whole point of having a nickname was so no one knew who wrote the map. I don’t think ‘Remu’ is going to fool anyone.”

“He’s got a point, there.” James said, wisely, “As much fun as it’s been.”

“Fair enough,” Sirius heaved a sigh, “But can we call you Remu until we come up with something better?”

“No.

He reached over and stilled Sirius’s hands with his own, weaving their scarred bony fingers together. He caught his eye and smiled encouragingly. “You were always too much for me. I never minded.”

The look of relief which flooded Sirius’s face was worth every lost moment. It was an entire lifetime. He raised Remus’s hand to his lips, and gently kissed the inside of his palm.

He picked up a glass with about two inches of golden brown coloured liquid in it, raising it, “To our beloved Moony - inventor of the marauders map, architect of our greatest pranks, completer of our overdue homework…”

“To Moony,” The other two smirked. Remus looked at the band, too embarrassed to respond.