Sirius knew that it was going to be a bad day from the moment he woke up. He couldn't explain it, really. Everything just felt off, too bright, too much.
"Sweetheart, come on. We've got to eat something." Remus gently rubbed his arm, already up.
Sirius thought about protesting, but decided that would take too much energy. He didn't really feel like making noise today. So he let his boyfriend pull him up out of bed and half-heartedly got ready. He glanced at James' bed, not surprised at all to see his brother lying beside him. Regulus had been sleeping in the dorm for the past week. Sirius couldn't blame him - he wouldn't have slept at all if he couldn't cuddle with Remus.
Remus noticed something was off as they went down the stairs to the common room. "Hey, are you feeling okay?" His amber eyes - so very pretty, even when they were filled with concern - met Sirius's.
Sirius nodded, forcing himself to use his voice. "Yeah." He almost flinched at the sound of it, reverberating through his head. He would have to speak a little quieter if he wanted to make it through the day without spiraling.
"Are you sure?" Remus glanced around the common room. "We can go back up and rest a bit longer."
He was still recovering from that last reply, so Sirius just shook his head, grabbing Remus's hand and pulling him through the common room. Having Remus's hand helped a little, though Sirius still felt like there was fog in his brain. He'd be fine, though. He just needed to eat something and get out of his head.
Remus seemed to know that he was struggling as they sat down in the Great Hall, making both of their plates and setting Sirius's down in front of him. He'd let go of Sirius's hand to make them, and Sirius felt a bit untethered without it. Remus took it back, though, so that was all right.
He tried to eat a pastry, but the flavor was too sweet. He reached for something else, but the texture was off. Sirius gave up after that, leaning his head on Remus's shoulder. He let his eyes close, trying to block out the sound of everyone in the Great Hall.
"Hey," Remus said quietly, tapping Sirius's lower lip. "Open, please."
Sirius did, trusting Remus as he placed something cold and slightly sweet between his teeth. Cantaloupe, Sirius realized. One of his safe foods when he was overstimulated.
Remus gave him a few more pieces. Sirius kept his eyes closed, focusing on how warm Remus felt and the hand tracing circles on the back of his hand. Then Remus shifted, gently guiding Sirius to sit up. "Hey, we have to go. Are you okay to go to class or do you need to go to the dorm?"
Sirius forced his eyes open, wincing at the bright lights. "Class is fine." It was a lie, but Sirius was determined to go anyway. He couldn't miss class just because his head hurt. He'd be fine.
"Are you sure?" Remus checked with him. When Sirius nodded, he sighed. "Alright, sweetheart."
Sirius was kind of out of it for the walk to class... and the class itself. He was there, he knew that he was, but at the end of the lesson he really couldn't have repeated a single thing they took notes on. The next two classes went pretty much the same way. Sirius felt like his head was full of static, noticing all the wrong things. The table was chipped, there was a question mark drawn on the floor. Someone kept sneezing across the room.
In potions, someone knocked over a couple of glass vials. They shattered against the stone floor. Sirius froze at the sound, holding his breath. His heart started racing, the static roaring in his ears as he sat still in the back of the room. For a few minutes, he couldn't hear anything but the sound of breaking glass and static, crackling around him. Then he could hear Remus, close and quiet as he talked to him. Sirius focused on that - on Remus - until he could make out the words he was saying.
"It's okay, you're safe, we're at school. It's just a small vial or two, no one is mad or hurt and you are okay. You're okay, Sirius, just breathe."
Sirius nodded, forcing himself to take a deep breath. He felt Remus relax next to him. "Good job, Padfoot." His arm came around Sirius, holding him together. "Do you think we can go to the dorm after class?"
Sirius nodded, too tired and confused to care about class anymore. He knew Remus did, though. "Sorry."
"There's nothing to be sorry for." Remus told him, kind and caring and more than Sirius deserved. "You haven't been letting yourself process things since you and Regulus saw your parents. This was bound to happen at some point, and we'll get through it. Okay?"
Talking felt like too much, so Sirius just nodded. Remus didn't need him to talk, though, so that was okay. Sirius followed him after class, back to the dorm. Remus laid down with him, closing the curtains to block out the light. Sirius hummed in appreciation, wiggling close to Remus until they were pressed together.
Things were better now, in the quiet. There wasn't any noise hurting his head, no bright lights in his eyes. It was peaceful, just him and Remus, and Sirius felt like maybe the static got a little easier to handle.