Sirius was woken up by the sound of muffled sobs from somewhere in the dorm, which was strange; he was usually a heavy sleeper. Whatever, he mutters to himself, not my problem I'm too tired to deal with it. He turned over and tried to go back to sleep, but something in his heart kept pushing him to get up and check on his best friends. He stumbled out of bed, pushed the curtains of his bed open, and then realised. It was Remus crying.
He quietly hurried across the room, being careful not to wake anyone up. Moony loved attention, sure, but the younger surely didn’t want everyone staring at him when he had a breakdown. He opened the curtain, and with a small “Hey Moons” he got the brunette’s attention. He noticed the panic that rose in Remus’ eyes and the way he tried to appear happy. I mean of course he didn’t fall for it, he did this all the time when his parents were around or even mentioned, but why was Remus doing this too?
Was he also a bad kid, one who got punished often even when something was out of his control? Surely not, Remus was the most amazingly kind person Sirius had ever met, he had a small ego and was quiet, but his heart and understanding made up for the introverted side of him. He looks back at Remus, the reality of the current situation hitting him and then he has an idea: does he have any of the Star Cream left?
Okay, the cream wasn’t called Star Cream, but the name became an inside joke between Sirius and his brother. The cream was a gift from Andromeda and was what Regulus always asked Sirius for help with after their parents punished them, and they eventually nicknamed it the Star Cream like their names. The joke was laughter surrounded by angst, humour within trauma. This fits the whole nature of their bond. Sad, beautiful, and tragic all at once.
He wandered back across the dorm and grabbed the container, and then headed back to Remus. The almost-silence was painful, the room had no sound apart from the (now even quieter) sobs of the taller. Sirius decided he needed to break the silence, he couldn’t bare to see his love- best friend in this much pain without helping him. “Moony, can I touch you? This cream helps, I promise. Me and Reggie use it when our parents are particularly bad, it works miracles”. Sirius says this as if it’s the most normal thing, and Remus can’t help but feel his heartbreak at the nonchalant tone of this concerning statement.
He nods, and is zoned out again by the time the cream is rubbed onto his back and arms, and only drags himself out of his head as the pain relief starts to kick in. Once it’s worked enough that he dares to move, he holds his arms up as if it’s a secret invite to a cuddle session. Sirius of course agrees, and they both move around until they are lying comfortably in the bed. Sirius falls asleep first, with Remus tucked between his arms, and only one thought is replaying and keeping Remus up for who knows how long: is that why Sirius is always here during holiday time?