Night terrors.
No.
This couldn't be happening.
He was stuck,unable to get away.
But not like physically stuck,almost frozen.
How was he back there? was he back there?
Remus wouldn't say he's a heavy sleeper,not at all but he wasn't the lightest of sleepers.Especially not recently,after the surgery.The physio and working to get walking properly again was working him hard and made him exhausted at times.
He slowly came out of his sleep,his eyes fluttering open in confusion at the sound of a sharp gasp.Was it him? did he gasp? he didn't think so but then again who knows? he rolled over pulling his phone off of the night stand beside him and tapped the screen,squinting at the brightness.
2:37am
Remus placed his phone back on the table when he felt a sharp kick to his calf from behind him."ow,Sirius" he whispered quietly,laying back down and closing his eyes again.That was until it happened again this time Sirius' knee bumped into his thigh.Remus opened his eyes at the sound of Sirius' once soft,even breathing now growing slightly more rapid and uneven.
Sirius began mumbling something to himself,almost as if he was-
oh.
The nightmares.Sirius had once told Remus he hadn't slept well,something about a nightmare but he assured him he didn't get them often.Remus was starting to think maybe he wasn't telling the whole truth.
Remus had experience with nightmares.He had them often.Maybe not every night,sometimes he got a break but most nights he'd wake up in a cold sweat,alone in his bed.
"no,no stop it" Sirius mumbled and Remus pulled himself to rest on his elbow.Sirius jerked his head towards Remus before moving away his whole body jerking harshly.
"stop! no stop it hurts!" what was hurting? who was hurting him? Remus pulled himself to sit up,watching as Sirius thrashed around,gasping and breathing heavily,his voice getting louder.
Remus was starting to think that maybe it wasn't just a nightmare and was now more of a night terror.He watched as Sirius thrashed and shouted,his body still tucked under the covers.
"stop! no! mother-"
oh.
Remus froze slightly.The topic of Sirius' family had been brushed over lightly,joked about by Sirius "my mother would have my head" when he got in trouble for a prank or he'd say how his brother was "just like them"
Remus of course,didn't know what 'they' were like but he knew that Sirius hadn't been treated right as a child or else why would he have moved in with the potters and ran away from home at such a young age?
Remus didn't know what to do.If he was having a nightmare about being hurt,would he want Remus to touch him? place a hand on his shoulder to try wake him up? probably not.But how else could he help?
He contemplated going and getting James,surely he would know what to do but his thoughts were interrupted when Sirius shot up,sitting upright "No!" his cheeks were wet with tears,as his chest heaved up and down,struggling for air.
"Sirius.Hey,it's okay.You're safe" Remus whispered as he placed a hand on Sirius' back,as gently as he could to avoid startling him.Of course,Sirius startled anyways,Whipping his head to look at Remus beside him with a gasp.Remus looked at Sirius,his eyes soft as the boy infront of him crumbled into him."i'm sorry,Remus" He whispered,crying into his chest.
Remus held him close,running his fingers up and down his back as he whispered sweet nothings into the crying boys ear."i'm sorry" Sirius repeated over and over again."baby theres no reason to be sorry.You're okay,you're safe and no one can hurt you here,i promise" Remus might not have known the whole situation with what happened with Sirius' family but he knew how to calm someone down and thats exactly what he did,managing to get Sirius to stop crying and allow his breathing to slow.
"it was so real,i swear she was here" Sirius whispered into Remus' chest,his voice so quiet he struggled to hear it."shh,it was just a bad dream.Just a dream,okay? none of it was real,i promise" Remus whispered,his fingers combing gently through Sirius' hair.
"i'm sorry i woke you up" Sirius whispered after a few minutes of silence."No,don't apologise,love.I just had to make sure you were okay" Remus whispered,pulling back to gently hold Sirius' face in his hands.
Remus' fingers brushed over the tears left over on Sirius' cheeks as he sighed.He noticed Sirius' hands still shaking and looked at him softly,his thumbs still stroking across his cheekbones."do you Want to go have some warm tea?" Remus whispered and Sirius nodded.
The pair walked downstairs,Remus holding gently onto Sirius' hand and guiding him quietly towards the kitchen,his other hand in his crutch.Sirius sat at the table as Remus made the tea as quietly as he could,still keeping an eye on Sirius.
Remus placed Sirius' tea down infront of him,settling his own in his hands and watched as Sirius continued to scratch at his lip with his thumb nail.Remus said nothing and instead gently took Sirius' hand in his own,taking a sip of his tea.
"i really am sorry.You shouldn't have had to deal with that" Sirius' voice was nearly a whisper as he stared down at his tea,his hand still in Remus'."Sirius" Remus spoke but Sirius kept his gaze trained on his tea."Baby,please look at me" Remus whispered and Sirius slowly raised his head to look at Remus who sat beside him,his body turned to face Sirius.
"you don't have to apologise.I've told you so many times, I love you and that means that i'm not going anywhere,okay? Nothing you could do or say could scare me off,believe me i've had experience with Nightmares and Night terrors,i'm not going anywhere.I promise" Sirius' eyes filled up and he sighed,dropping his head down onto Remus' shoulder.
"i love you" Sirius whispered,gently wiping his tears away with his free hand."i love you more" Remus whispered back and the two sat in a comfortable Silence,enjoying eachothers presence until Remus was sure Sirius was going to fall asleep.
He guided a now exhausted Sirius back up to bed and slid in beside him,holding his arms out to him.Sirius gave him a tired smile and moved to lay right next to Remus,his body flush against his as he tucked his head into Remus' neck."i'm not going anywhere,i promise" Remus reminded him,his voice hushed and Sirius nodded pressing a soft kiss to Remus' collarbone.
"good night,moony"
"good night,padfoot"