The Alchemy
Angry Daddy
Are you awake?
Sirius. No 6.
Sorry! Can you hear me?
Angry Daddy
No?
Teddy bought the flu or something home from nursery.
It’s not COVID, we tested.
Sorry
Do you happen to have any paracetamol or cold/flu stuff I could borrow?
Teddy has a bit of Calpol left, but I have a fever and don’t want to waste it on me in case he needs it overnight.
Sirius had found that after inviting them around so Teddy could see the (thoroughly boring and disappointing for the toddler) soundproofing and seeing them in the hallway a few times, Remus was starting to warm to him, or at least not think he was an asshole anymore anyway.
Sirius. No 6.
Yeah, I have a box of cold and flu stuff for when I’m on tour
Like
With my friends
When they’re on tour obv
I’ll bring it over
Give me five minutes.
Sirius knew that eventually, Remus would figure out who he was. He was surprised that he didn’t recognise Reg, who’d won a silver medal in the 100m backstroke at the Paris Olympics and was arguably more famous than he was right now. But he enjoyed just having someone treat him like Sirius for now.
Angry Daddy
You don’t have to do that.
I’ll be fine with paracetamol.
Don’t want to get you sick too.
Sirius. No 6.
I’m a tough old bird. I’ll be fine. See you in a minute.
Sirius grabbed the box of medicine he kept with his music gear. He looked inside to make sure nobody had put anything questionable in there. His last tour had ended six months ago, so everything should be up to date and fine. He pulled on a T-shirt before heading into the hallway.
Sirius. No 6.
I’m at your door.
Angry Daddy
Ok, I’ll come grab it in a sec, thank you so much.
Sirius debated going back into his flat but wanted to make sure Remus was ok, or maybe he just wanted to see Remus. So he lingered. When Remus opened the door, his eyes widened as he saw Sirius standing there, large plastic box in his hands. His skin was pale and clammy, the dark shadows under his eyes were pronounced and he was shivering despite the hoodie he was wearing and the blanket wrapped around his shoulders.
“I said I don’t want to get you sick.” Remus frowned, his voice was hoarse.
“You look like shit.” Sirius said, “Oh, sorry. That was— Wow. Sorry. Uh, you look… sick?”
“I am sick.” Remus deadpanned. “Thank you for your expert diagnosis.”
Sirius nodded, he deserved that, he supposed, “There’s all kinds of stuff in here.” He handed Remus the box. “Lemsip, Sudafed, those cold things you stick to your head, all sorts.”
“Thank you.” He sighed, leaning on the door frame, and closing his eyes for a moment. “You have this for when your friends are on tour?”
“I like to be prepared,” Sirius lied, concerned about his neighbour. “Can I come in?”
“It’s a mess.” Remus said, “Just… pretend that it isn’t ok?”
Sirius chuckled as he followed Remus inside. “Of course.”
It wasn’t really a mess at all, Remus had made himself a nest of sorts on the sofa. “Teddy needed cuddles in my bed to fall asleep and then proceeded to thrash around in his sleep, so I left him there. I don’t need to be smacked in the balls while my head hurts like this.”
Sirius laughed, “Understandable. Alright. Get back in your nest.”
“It’s not a nest.” Remus frowned as Sirius just grinned at him, “Fine, it’s a nest. I need things in arms reach.”
“Go on, get comfy. I’ll put the kettle on. See what you can take.”
Remus crawled back onto the sofa, pulling the blanket over him as he opened the box. It was full of every cold medication he could think of, plus random bits and bobs; Vicks, olbas inhalers, tissues, strepsils, and ah yes. A singular condom. Remus chuckled, but it got caught in his throat and he ended up coughing.
Sirius poked his head back into the room and groaned to see Remus half laughing, half coughing, waving a condom at him.
“I appreciate the thought, Sirius.” He choked out, ‘But I’m not sure I’m up to that currently.”
“Oh my god, shut up!” Sirius blushed violently. “I specifically went through the box to make sure nothing like that had… fallen in there.” Remus choked out another laugh, his eyes were watering and Sirius was equal parts mortified and very amused. “I’m so glad this is entertaining for you. What kind of tea do you want? I didn’t realise you’d have an entire cupboard of tea.”
Sirius was still stunned by Remus’ kitchen, every cupboard and drawer he opened to find tea and mugs was a tiny insight into Remus and he loved it. The entire cupboard full of tea bags, loose-leaf tea and matcha, meticulously organised was adorable. The pink KitchenAid, sparkly cutlery and shelf of novelty teapots; so endearing.
“I like tea.” He shrugged, “Decaf Earl Grey, please. Thank you.”
Sirius set Remus’ tea next to him and put his mug next to the armchair. “How do you feel?”
Remus just stared at him, “I, uh— cold, boiling, like I got hit by a train.”
“Ah, not too bad then.” Sirius laughed as Remus rolled his eyes. “Can I do anything?”
Remus tilted his head slightly, “Do you not want to go home and sleep?”
“I was awake anyway. I thought I’d woken you up honestly. I had an idea for a song and… well it’s good to know the soundproofing works.” He smiled, “It’s the first time in a while that anything’s come together for me. It could be something really interesting.”
“Why are you still here then?” Remus asked, sincerely. “Go back and work on it.”
“Remus I mean this in the kindest possible way, but you really don’t look well. To a concerning level. You can’t sit upright, you’re swaying all over the place, will you just lie down?”
“Tea.” Remus frowned. Sirius shook his head In disbelief. “Everything spins when I lie down.” He said quietly.
Sirius thought for a moment. “Do you have any more pillows?”
Remus nodded, “By my bed.”
“Do you mind if I go in your room and get them? I’ll be super quiet to not wake Teddy, don’t worry.”
Remus chuckled, “I’ll be fine. I can sit up.” He said, swaying.
“Ok, no.” Sirius stood up, “I’ll be right back.”
Remus didn’t protest as Sirius left the room, slowly picking up his tea and sipping it. He’d expected Sirius to drop a box of paracetamol in front of his door. This was a lot. But Remus, deep down, didn’t really mind. It had been a long time since anyone had taken care of him. He was so focused on Teddy, writing and managing his pain and fatigue that allowing someone in never really occurred to him. Or maybe he’d resisted the idea wholeheartedly. The last person he let in, didn’t work out great for him. He drank his tea, staring into space, feeling a bead of sweat roll down his neck. He put down his empty cup and pushed the hair back off his damp forehead.
Sirius opened Remus’ bedroom door quietly, smiling as he saw a small lump under the blankets in the middle of the bed. He saw a large basket with pillows and blankets in, by the radiator and decided to take the whole thing back to the living room. Before he left, he took a moment to look at Teddy. His cheeks and nose were red, and he was snuffling in his sleep, but he didn’t look like he was suffering as badly as Remus.
Remus with his soft curls falling over his face was one thing. Remus with his hair pushed back (Sirius instantly had ‘your hair looks sexy… pushed back’ on a loop in his head and hated himself.) was another beast entirely. He had to stop himself from staring as Remus opened his eyes.
“Pillows,” Sirius said, as if Remus didn’t have eyes. “Sit up.”
As Remus sat up, Sirius realised that this was going to involve getting closer to Remus than he’d anticipated. He inhaled sharply before clearing his throat. He leaned over him and moved the pillows already behind Remus, putting them in the corner of the sofa. He had no idea why Remus had tried to make his little nest at the other end of the sofa, honestly. He wasn't sure if Remus' breath had hitched slightly as he leaned over him, or if he just couldn't fucking breathe.
Then he added every other pillow and blanket to the corner until it looked like a fancy reading nook from Pinterest minus fairy lights. Remus watched him with interest, struggling to stay upright, but fascinated by the way Sirius was putting together what looked like the cosiest fucking thing he’d ever seen.
Then Sirius was in front of him, holding out a hand to help him up. Remus frowned slightly, then took it, allowing Sirius to pull him to his feet. He swayed dangerously. Sirius’ hands steadied him, firmly grasping Remus’ arms. Remus definitely shivered, but he also had a fever, Sirius reasoned. Wow, he was a mess.
“Are you ok?” He asked quietly, Remus' face was so close to his, and he didn't trust himself to look at him. Remus nodded, “Come on, get comfy.”
Remus let him lower him to the corner of the sofa, where he curled into a ball, surrounded by pillows. Sirius sat next to the new nest and pulled a blanket over him.
“Is that better?”
“I don’t know if I’ve ever been this comfy. If I didn’t feel like I was dying, this would be fucking magical.” He opened his eyes as Sirius laughed. “Thank you. You really didn’t need to do any of this.”
“I know. But you’re glad I did, right?” He smiled down at Remus.
“Yeah,” Remus admitted. “Yeah, I am.”
“Well, then. Oh, Teddy looked fine, when I went in, by the way. Seemed to be sleeping ok, not thrashing around or anything.”
“You checked on him?” Remus’ chest did something peculiar, but before he could think too much about it, he was coughing again. Sirius handed him the bottle of water from the table. As he got his breath back, Remus wheezed, “Thank you.”
“No problem. I’m happy to help.” And Sirius realised that he was happy to help. He knew that objectively he was attracted to Remus, but the domesticity of taking care of him was soothing to him somehow. He didn’t particularly want to think about it too much. He checked his phone. Reg had replied after Sirius had texted him about the new song idea.
Reginald the First
Sounds pretty gay to me.
Of course. He huffed out a small laugh before sliding the phone back into his pocket.
“Do you have any siblings?” He asked Remus. Remus shook his head, “You’re lucky.”
“Your brother?”
“I told him about my new song and his response was ‘sounds gay’.”
“Why would he say that?” Remus laughed softly, holding his abdomen.
“Well, I suppose because it is.” Sirius laughed. “But he’s still a twat.”
“Oh,” Remus did his best to keep his face neutral. “Like when your friend is an asshole, but they’re your asshole and nobody else can call them that? Only you can call it super gay?”
“Exactly like that!” Sirius grinned, “And I never said ‘super gay’.”
“It was implied.” Remus shivered against the pillows. “Is that typical of your relationship with Reg, then? He seems to enjoy winding you up.”
“I usually give as good as I get, I swear.” Remus hummed noncommittally, “I do! But— oh I didn’t tell you. When I was locked out the other week, I called him and he didn’t answer, obviously. That motherfucker decided that because I called him without texting first, he was going to put me in timeout for an hour before replying. He was awake the whole time.”
Remus blinked at him, then laughed. Wincing as his ribs ached. “You’re kidding?”
“No! To think I missed him when he was in Paris this summer.”
“He went to the Olympics?” Remus asked.
“Oh… yeah. He’s… weirdly into sport. Can’t relate.” Sirius laughed.
“Are you going to roast me if I tell you I like cricket?” His eyes had slipped closed again. “Watching it, not playing it, obviously.”
“I think it would be unfair to roast you in your current condition, but I reserve the right to come back to it in the future.”
Remus laughed, pressing his face into the pillows, “Why did I say anything?”
“My ex insisted that I bought a huge TV to watch the Olympics and I literally watched the gymnastics and the swimming and that was it. Prick was glued to it every hour of the day for weeks. Then I took it with me when I left and he was furious.”
Remus laughed again, “He thought he should get to keep it?”
“Apparently, because it was his idea to buy it, and he used it more.” Sirius scoffed, “You know those relationships where you shove everything down and think it’s normal and then once you’re out of it you realise the bullet you dodged?”
“I know that type of relationship intimately. Be glad you weren’t married to him.” Remus looked up from the pillows, “Or have a kid with him.”
“Ah.” Sirius didn’t know what to say to that. “Yeah, I see how that would be complicated.”
“Fuckin’ understatement.” Remus huffed out a laugh. “I’ll tell you about it at some point, I’m sure.”
“Aw, does that mean you consider me a friend, Remus?” Sirius cooed.
“You brought me medicine… and a prophylactic, in the middle of the night. Yes, we’re friends, ok, Sirius? Happy?”
“Very.” Sirius grinned.
They talked a little more, discussing music mostly. Sirius found out that Remus' music taste was as eclectic as his taste in decor, and that while he still regularly listened to Fall Out Boy, Paramore and My Chemical Romance, he loved Motown, Soul, Blues and 'Classic Rock'. Every time the subject skirted close to people he knew, Emmeline, Marls, Pete's girlfriend's band, it felt more and more like lying not to tell Remus that he'd been nominated for two BRIT Awards the previous year.
He could tell that Remus was tired, and after a short lull in the conversation, he realised that Remus had fallen asleep. Not wanting to leave in case he or Teddy needed anything, knowing full well that Remus wouldn't message to ask him for anything twice in one night, he decided to stay. He browsed Remus' bookshelves for something to read, and found that Remus had a lot of books by an author called RJ Howell, all of which seemed to be smutty, gay romances. Sirius, naturally, was intrigued and picked up one with two men on the cover who looked like they'd stepped out of Bridgerton, mid-snog in a garden. Yes, that would do quite nicely. He was a little curious about why Remus seemed to have a very large collection of queer romance novels. It did explain why Remus had zero reaction at learning his ex was a man, he supposed.
He wondered if Remus would let him read some of his writing someday, maybe if he played him his new song. Once he started reading, everything else just left his mind. He was hooked.