Shelter • wolfstar au

26 ; shopping

"Oh."

Once again, silence fell over them, leaving the two to eat uncomfortably, none knowing what to say, what to talk about. When Sirius had finished eating, he stood and began to wash the dishes using magic, while Remus watched in slight amusement as the plates washed themselves before stacking up neatly on the counter.

Remus went up to his bedroom and changed to his pajamas. He lay back on his bed with a tired sigh, closing his eyes and letting his mind relax. After a few moments of hesitation, he rose to his feet and trudged downstairs.

Sirius was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He didn't notice as Remus slowly pushed the door open, or maybe just ignored him. He hovered hesitantly by the doorway before letting himself in.

Sirius's eyes flitted over to glance at him as he sat down on the side of the bed, though he kept his mouth shut. Remus fumbled for words. "Tomorrow is the - the weekend," he said quietly, gazing down at the pale blue bedsheets and running his hand repeatedly over his knee. "And they'd let me leave the shelter early. So I thought I'd take you out, buy you some new shirts. Is that okay with you?"

Sirius's eyes remained fixated on the ceiling, which seemed to be more important than Remus's words, the prospect of which annoyed him greatly. He brought a small frown on his face and continued. "It would also help you. After being holed up in here for days."

"There's no need," Sirius spoke finally, a hoarseness to his voice. "Marlene's brother lent me some of his clothes -"

"That's not the point," Remus's voice rose minutely. He cleared his throat. "I want to - uh - make up for how I have treated you." He paused. "Please let me do this, Sirius."

He finally turned his head to look at him and raised himself slightly to lean back on the headboard. "You just have to remember one thing if you don't want me to kill you," his voice was firm and full of angry determination. "No one calls me a coward. Do you get it?"

Remus stared mutely at him, taken aback. Sirius once again lay back on his bed without giving him a chance to speak, and turned the other way, so that his back faced Remus. He sat there in silence.

"Can you turn into any other animals?" asked Remus quietly, peering over to see if he was awake.

Sirius didn't turn. "No. Animagi can only become one animal. The form depends on the wizard's personality and traits."

Remus suddenly had a strange image on his mind. "So," he began, unable to keep his smirk from seeping into his voice, "so you have a habit of licking people's faces?"

He could almost see the annoyed scowl on Sirius's face, and when he turned his head to look at him, he noticed he was right. Sirius glared at him with the mild exasperation of a parent listening to the silly questions of their child, and said, "Go to bed."

Remus obeyed.

❇

12 November, 1982

The cloak that was wrapped tightly around Remus's slim frame offered hardly any warmth, but he enjoyed the slight frigidity that seeped in through the woollen material. Walking home was always a pleasurable activity for him, and in a cold afternoon such as this, the weather provided enough mildness to boost his mood up. It would be a nice day for shopping.

When he reached home, Sirius wasn't there, and with a frown, he searched all the rooms for him, but ended up with no result. Confusion building up inside him, he went into the kitchen and sat down, pondering over the possibility of another attack Sirius may have gone to. He sighed and dropped his head over his folded hands, before jerking up as a sharp crack echoed across the kitchen.