"Fuck me bloody naked," Sirius curses.

For a rather disturbing second, the image of an unclothed Sirius etches itself in Remus' mind.

Sirius Black sans Fabric - A Study in Monochrome

His upper body is dangerously vivid as he hangs in effigy somewhere inside Remus' skull, but not quite inside his brain either. Remus clears his throat before he can paint himself a picture of the rest of Sirius' body; all sharp angles and long limbs, pale gray face blending into the dark, angular shadows in the colour of stormy clouds lining his cheeks.

It's the angry thud that he hears that actually clears Remus' mind from all traces of naked Sirius.

He frowns at the boy, who's now holding his foot, a string of muttered curses flying out of his lips.

Remus rolls his eyes, "Kicking it won't get it to work."

Sirius gives his bike a more violent kick anyway. "Have a better plan?"

Remus sits down on his porch - it's actually just an extended step, three feet wide - and leans his elbows on his knees as he looks at Sirius. "No, not really," he admits. Sirius looks  at him, the corner of his mouth tilted in a smirk. He walks over and drops down next to Remus.

"My foot hurts now," he grumbles, untying the lace of his boot and flinging it away. It doesn't surprise Remus that he's got no socks on. " You clearly weren't sorted into Ravenclaw for a reason," he scoffs, which makes Sirius laugh.

Remus feels bad as he watches Sirius rub his foot. "I might be able to give you something for that," he offers. "Nah, I think I'll live," Sirius shakes his head.

"Come inside, then. You clearly can't get that thing to start, and there's a storm coming." The sky groans in the distance as if to prove Remus' point. "How the hell am I supposed to get back home now?" Is all Sirius says.

"The Floo?"

"No Floo anywhere close to where I live..." Sirius looks at the sky, sighing as the first raindrops fall to the earth, drawing from it that sweet, green and brown smell of life that Remus loves so dearly.

"That... is unfortunate," Remus bites his lip. "Do you live very far away?"

"Quite far,"

"Maybe... You can stay here?" It's the only offer Remus can make, as he has no means of personal transport. "Here?" Sirius looks at Remus as if he just proposed they fly to La La Land on Aladdin's Magic Carpet. Wherever the hell that is.

"Have a better plan?" Remus raises an eyebrow, mocking Sirius. A dejected No is his reply. "Come on, then." Remus stands up and offers his hand to Sirius, who uses it to heave himself up.

"Accio!" Sirius calls for his jacket, which flies into his hands from the motorbike. They make their way inside.

"It's not that I'm not used to spending nights away from home," Sirius blows at his peppermint tea to cool it before taking a tentative sip. He hums softly and sets the mug down a wooden coaster, taking a moment to examine a coffee stain that marks its varnished surface. "It's just that the circumstances are usually quite different."

"Different how?" Remus sips his own tea.

"For one," Sirius extends his index finger, " My clothes are usually off," His middle finger joins in, as does a despicable smirk, "And there's a lot more physical contact with my host," a third finger is woken from his fist, "And definitely no tea involved."

Remus manages not to choke on his chamomile.

Sirius looks at him with sparkling eyes, searching his face for just a second before he erupts in laughter.

Remus doesn't know whether he should join in or not. He doesn't have to ponder for long.

"You, my friend," Sirius reaches for his tea again, "need to loosen up."

"I'm quite fine, thanks. You, however, can afford to consider adopting a different sense of humour." Remus says dryly.

"Sure I could," Sirius shakes his hair, "But that's not very-"

A flash of pink light blinds them, and the loud crash of thunder reverberates throughout Remus' small house, bouncing off of the walls and sinking into the plush carpet covering the floor.

"What the hell is that?" Sirius frowns at a blur of black darts under a chair. "Oh that... that's Mavis," Remus kneels down next to his small dining table to look under it. "Here, kitty," he pulls the cat out gently. Mavis hisses at Sirius and throws herself off of Remus, leaving a bloody scratch on his arm. "Little shit," Remus curses. Sirius snorts.

"What? Does my pain amuse you?"

Sirius has to place his mug on the coffee table to stop it from spilling. He throws his head back as he laughs, exposing his pale throat. His shoulders rattle with the sound; he laughs with his whole body.

Remus thinks it's lovely.

"Why are you laughing?" He can't help the wide smile that creeps on to his lips.

"No it's just... You cursed."

Remus looks at him, no longer smiling. "Wow, I had no idea." Sirius laughs harder at that. Remus smiles again, shaking his head. He can see why Sirius was best friends with James.

Sirius ends up spending the night in Remus' guest room.

The lightning only lasts for a little while, and the storm recedes as suddenly as it appeared, leaving behind only the sweet smell of fresh rain and the distant rumble of thunder.

It's almost three in the morning when, looking up from The Encyclopoedia of the Undead, Remus notices that he only has three of his beloved children with him.

Marshbutton, with her bushy grey tail slowly moving up and down as she sleeps.

Mentos, snow white fur glowing in the pale moonlight as his chubby paws swat at Marshbutton's restless tail.

And Mittens, happily sleeping on Mysteries Unveiled : Hogwarts Edition.

Remus scans the room to see if Mavis is anywhere to be seen in his room. His eyes move past books, his old computer, books, his jar of chocolates, books, books, and more books, but no black cat. Remus winces inwardly when he realises that most of his books are actually  textbooks. A sad development that he would never have predicted during his school years, when he swore to Lily that he would burn all his textbooks right after his NEWT exams.

He also grudgingly accepts that his room is in desperate need of cleaning.

Sighing, Remus slips out of his bed and grabs his empty mug. He might as well make himself some tea before going to sleep. The wooden floor is cool under his feet, so he gets into his slippers before leaving the room. The floorboards still moan in protest as he walks over them, even if he tried his best to patch them up when he moved in.

Remus moves past the guest room -which is just a room which has no purpose but has a spare bed- where Sirius is sleeping, and descends the stairs in a series of shrill creaks. Even the staircase seems to hate him sometimes.

He's surprised to see the faint amber glow of a magic lantern spill into the living room. He stops and listens. He can hear soft, irregularly timed swatting. Frowning, he peeks into his dining area.

Remus' heart warms at the sight that meets his eyes. Sitting at the table with his head laid on his arm is Sirius. He drags his wand left and right along the table almost lazily with two fingers, a sleepy smile on his face. Reduced to a ball of dark fur in the dim light, Mavis paws at its tip, occasionally kicking her legs when Sirius lets her grab it before swiftly pulling it back.

Remus curses at himself when Sirius raises his head. Sirius' cheeks flush as their eyes meet. "Hey, um... nice cat," he smiles at the tablecloth. Remus finds it strangely endearing.

"Don't feed her ego," Remus sets his mug down on the table. "Can't sleep?"

Sirius shrugs.

"Come on, then. I'll make you some tea."