Remus
Remus opened his eyes.
His vision spotted, and he blinked at the unfamiliar room. Everything was eye-achingly bright, especially the sun streaming in through the open window. It threw warm hues over the sterile surfaces and scratchy white sheets, dancing across Remus’ face. Just bright enough to wake him up.
Through the pane, leaves took shape first, then a branch of a tree, and Remus realized it must be late afternoon. The outside world was beautiful— green and crisp and peaceful— it was the kind of day that kids loved but adults coveted.
He groaned a little and his throat clenched. He wiped at his mouth, wrist coming away red with blood.
He froze.
The white walls. The beeping machines. The spots of crimson. Remus was in a hospital.
His vision surged into spotty blackness.
He blinked furiously until the room came into focus for the second time, and saw the outline of someone’s shoulders across the room. He grabbed the ice cup from the bedside table and threw it with all his might.
It hit the person square in the head, and Sirius yelped. “I have a concussion, you fucker!”
Remus sat up and found that the pain was almost gone, dispersed throughout his body so it was just a dull ache. He looked at Sirius. “What did I do?”
Sirius’ face softened. “It wasn’t a full moon.”
Remus rubbed a hand across his face and swore.
“There was trouble at the house,” Sirius continued slowly. “It’s gone now, by the way. The house. It completely fell apart.”
Remus felt a stab in his heart. “I’m sorry, Sirius.”
Sirius shrugged, then tried to smile. “The kids are alright, that’s what counts. They had to sit through a completely batshit astronomy lesson last night, though. I hope they didn’t go home and tell their parents there’s a constellation called Wormtail.”
Remus remembered that. Trying to keep conscious until help arrived, not knowing which children he was holding and which were listening to Sirius say, “and that one’s a moose— no, a stag, excuse me. And next to it is a Quidditch pitch, yeah? Looks to me like a Quidditch pitch, I’ll call that one Marlene.”
They had both been bleeding, slipping in and out of delirium, but the children didn’t notice. Because of Sirius’ batshit astronomy lesson, their heads were tilted up, which meant Remus could silently try to heal his ribs and extract the dark magic from Sirius without them knowing.
But he wasn’t a very good healer. He never had been.
“How are you?” Remus asked, voice sounding annoyingly grating on his ears. He reached over and grabbed a full cup of water from the bedside table.
Sirius sat down on the twin bed across from Remus, watching him intently as if the water might slip from his hands and fall to the floor. “I’m fine,” he said, then suddenly brightened. “I woke up in the middle of surgery. Now I’m considering a future career in medicine.”
Remus stared at him blankly. “You want to be a doctor and a mechanic?”
“Oh, can I not be both?”
“Why would you want to be both?”
“For fun.”
“It takes work, you know.”
Sirius scoffed and waved his hand. “Eh… for some.”
The thought was so hilarious to Remus— the idea that Sirius could simply bypass all the extra work and wield a pair of surgeon’s scissors with no problem and no experience (or maybe it was funny because Remus could see that exact scenario playing out. Or maybe it was the pain medication that made him laugh so hard, he didn’t really know).
Water shot from Remus’ nose and sprayed across the hospital bed.
Before either of them could react, the door opened and a young nurse stepped in. A cacophony of yelling and arguing filled the room before she could closed the door, and Sirius asked, “What was that?”
The nurse wiped flyaways from her forehead, looking nervously over her shoulder. “Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin, how are you feeling?”
A slow smile spread across Sirius’ face. “Honey, who’s behind the door?”
Remus tilted his head so he could see Sirius. The starchy pillow rustled loudly in his ears, almost drowning out the nurse’s answer.
She sighed. She looked so very young, younger than them. She had the kind of fearful youth that made her follow every rule under the sun. Remus could see it in her face, that faithful obedience. Of course Sirius couldn’t.
“You have visitors,” she said, “but I want to run tests first—”
“Oh, let them in.” Sirius waved a hand.
“It’ll be too much excitement. I don’t think it’s a good idea given your injuries.”
“Let them in,” Sirius repeated, voice lilting even though both Remus and the nurse knew it wasn’t a joke. “I’ll jump up and dance a jig right now if it proves anything.”
The nurse peered through the small window on the door, finally turning to Remus helplessly. “I don’t think— they’re very noisy.”
“And persistent?” Remus croaked.
The nurse sucked in her teeth. “And persistent. Fine. But they have to leave when the visiting time ends. That’s in an hour. Understand?”
Sirius nodded, and Remus noticed that they both sat up a little straighter.
The nurse sighed again and opened the door.
“PADFOOT AND MOONY!”
Fred and George zoomed into the room, hurling themselves at Sirius’ bed. Fred grabbed the sheets in fistfuls to climb towards Sirius and knocked the wind out of his chest with a violent hug. George stood beside them, poking Sirius’ face and babbling about something that Remus’ fogged up brain could barely make out.
“We would’ve been here sooner, but someone wouldn’t let us in.” Lily kissed both Sirius and Remus on the cheek, shooting daggers at the nurse with her sharp green eyes.
The nurse threw up her hands in exasperation and stalked past Marlene, who slammed the door behind her.
Marlene rolled her eyes and swiped a pack of cigarettes from her back pocket. She pulled one halfway out and offered it to Sirius.
Sirius nodded his head in appreciation. “Thanks, McKinnon.”
Lily pulled Fred away from Sirius and sat him on the end of the bed. “You can’t smoke in hospitals.”
Marlene ignored her, handing a second cigarette to Remus.
He took it gratefully and immediately lit it with a snap of his fingers.
“Hey!” Lily snapped. “No smoking in the hospital!”
Marlene cupped one hand to her mouth and lit a cigarette of her own. “Relax, Evans. I bribed the front desk.”
Lily mumbled a string of curse words, twisting her neck back towards the door. She waved, gesturing someone to come closer.
Remus exhaled, the smoke swirling sharply above his head. It felt like heaven— better than heaven— to absolutely destroy a cigarette again while his boyfriend savored every drop of nicotine in the bed beside him.
Lily waved again. “Missy, why don’t you come say hello?”
Missy stepped from the corner, nervously picking at her nails. Every muscle on her body was tense, and she walked carefully over to Remus. She stood at the foot of the bed, but didn’t offer a “hello,” like Lily had suggested. Instead, she stared at Remus with eyes sure to discern the lies from the truth, and asked, “Where are you hurt?”
“I don’t feel a thing,” he said, stubbing out his cigarette so she wouldn’t cough. “The doctors gave me medication, so I feel fine.”
Missy stared at him. “I didn’t ask if you feel hurt, I asked where you are hurt. I know you still are or else you wouldn’t be here.”
Remus snuck a glance at Lily and Marlene for some direction, but Lily was telling Marlene off about the cigarettes while Marlene blew a medical glove into a dopey, blue balloon.
Sirius gave Remus a curious look, but was suddenly asked to go hunt for markers with George.
“The doctors realigned my ribs.” Remus pointed at his stomach and Missy nodded, looking ill. “They fixed my broken nose and my sprained wrists. They gave me a sleeping draught and I slept for eighteen hours and feel fine, I promise. I’m okay, Missy, I’m just worried about you.”
Missy gave another quick nod, reaching out as if to grab onto the hem of his shirt. Her fingers wrapped around the metal bed post.
“Would you like to come sit up here with me?” Remus asked gently, and of course she did.
Missy climbed up onto the bed, wrapping her arms around Remus so she held him in a suffocating hug. She smothered her face in his hospital robe, and Remus felt her try to take deep breaths until she gave up and began to cry.
“We’re alright, Missy.” Remus held her tighter— one arm around her shoulders and the other stroking her hair.
He worried for a moment that he wasn’t saying enough. These things didn’t come easily to him. Sometimes he wished he could write his thoughts down before speaking, just so they’d come out the way he intended.
But what else was there to say, really?
We’re okay. The two of us. All of us. We’ll be alright.
In time, Missy’s breath steadied, but Remus didn’t dare let go. A smile tugged at his lips as he imagined ten years from now, fifteen, when Missy would be too big to curl against his side and her hair would no longer smell faintly of strawberries and engine oil.
Remus dropped his head to whisper in Missy’s ear. “What helps you when you’re feeling sad?”
Missy laughed. She looked up, refusing to loosen her grip around him. Her cheeks were streaked with tears. “Chocolate.”
“Chocolate?”
“Yeah!”
Remus pondered the thought. “Do you think that cheers up most kids your age?”
Missy shrugged. “Probably.”
“I’ll have to remember that,” Remus said. He caught Lily’s gaze over Missy’s head, and she pressed a hand to her heart.
Remus let himself relax, head tilted back against the pillows.
On the bed next to him, Fred and George were coloring in Sirius’ tattoos. Marlene stood over the twins, instructing them to use the nonsensical colors and create the most lewd designs. Sirius was trying not to look over at Remus and Missy, giving Missy time to dry her tears.
The room slowly filled with noise and love.
Lily’s eyes flashed and she reached deep into her bag. “Fred, George, and Missy, do you remember we brought something for Padfoot and Moony? Who wants to give them their present?”
Three hands shot up in the air.