"Reg," Remus says gently for the third time, shaking Regulus by his shoulder. He's fallen asleep, his head in Remus' lap.

"Reg," Auguste tries this time, and Regulus finally stirs. "Hey, wake up."

"Nnh?" Regulus turns his face up, not removing his head from Remus' lap. "Can we see him now?"

"No, not yet," Remus helps him sit up.

"Ow," Regulus leans down to rub his leg, "My leg's fallen asleep."

Remus smiles, shaking his head. "Why don't you go home and get some proper sleep?"

Regulus looks at him like he just suggested they murder the cats and have them for dinner. "No way," he says, stomping his foot on the ground, "This fucking leg... But no, no way. I'm waiting for Sirius to wake up."

"That could take hours, Reg," Remus sighs, looking at Auguste for help.

"And you look a mess," Auguste points out.

"A hot mess," Regulus tells him, "I always do."

"That's it, we're leaving," Auguste stands up, holding his hand out to Regulus. "Come on. Up you get, Reg."

"I can't, my fucking foot isn't working," Regulus snaps.

"You'll be fine," Auguste laughs, "Come on, let's go. If Sirius wakes up while you're at home, I promise I'll drive you here as soon as he does."

Regulus gives a defeated sigh, and gives his leg a final rub. "Fine," he mumbles, "Call us if you hear anything, Remus. Will you be okay alone?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. How hard can it be to sit and wait?" Remus gives him a smile, and turns to Auguste. "Why don't you have some rest, too? You can come back with Reg in the morning, right?"

Auguste looks like he wants to protest. "Yeah, stay with me," Reg says then, pulling himself up using Auguste's still outstretched hand. "I hate staying the night alone."

"Alright," Auguste sighs. "We'll be back as soon as we can, Remus. Take care."

"Bye—" Regulus is interrupted by a yawn. "—Remus."

Remus waves at them as they leave, wondering what to do until Sirius wakes up. He doesn't have to wonder for much long, however, because his phone starts vibrating in his pocket.

It's James. Remus picks up immediately.

"Something's wrong, isn't it?" James asks.

"Hello to you, too," Remus mumbles, stretching his legs. "Where were you, James? We called so many times,"

"Sorry, I... It's a long story. Where's Sirius? Please tell me hasn't hurt himself,"

"I wish I could," Remus says, holding back a sigh. "But I can't. We're at St. Mungo's—"

"Oh, oh no," James' voice wavers, "What happened? Actually, you know what? I'm coming. Which floor are you on?"

"James," Remus says as gently as he can, "Just take a deep breath, okay? I haven't seen Sirius yet, but his Healer said he'll be fine."

"Fuck, that never means anything good." Remus can hear James moving around. He hears Lily's voice, but can't make out what she's saying. "I'm coming anyway. Are you alone there? Have you had dinner?"

"I was with Auguste, but he just left with Regulus to drop him off.
And... I'm not hungry,"

"Reg came back? Fuck, it's bad, isn't it?"

"James, please," Remus channels his gentlest tone, "Sirius is going to be fine. You just come here, and ask for the non-magical injury wing. I'm in the waiting room, okay? We'll meet up there and then we can talk."

James stays quiet for a second. "Okay," his voice is thin, like he's trying not to cry. "I'll be there."

***

"I... I don't even know what to say," James says quietly when Remus is done repeating what Auguste told him.

"It's okay," Remus rubs his back. He doesn't really know what else to say, either.

James buries his face in his hands. When some time passes like that, Remus speaks up again.

"James?" He asks carefully. When he gets no response, he says, "Hey, we don't know if it's that bad yet. He's going to be fine,"

James raises his head. He removes his glasses and presses his hands into his eyes, forcing his tears back.

"You can cry if you want to," Remus tells him, "It's just me here."

"No, that's okay. I think... It's gone now." James puts his glasses back on. He slides a little closer. "Can I like, have a hug instead? A massive one? I think I could really use one right now."

"Of course," Remus smiles at him, pulling James into his side. James sighs, snuggling into Remus. Remus is used to everyone being shorter than him, but James is the same height as him. Maybe a centimetre taller. Or shorter. Remus doesn't know for sure. He has to crane his neck up to make space for James' head on his shoulder.

"Stop trying to act small," he tells James, "You're too tall for this."

"How can you make being tall sound like a bad thing?" James mumbles.

"It's my unique charm," Remus mumbles back, feeling, all of a sudden, terribly sleepy.

"I brought sandwiches, you know," James mumbles, sitting up. "Ham sandwiches," he adds.

"I don't know if I can eat..."

"Wasn't a question. Here," James pulls out of his pocket something a little smaller than the size of a wallet out of his pocket. He grabs his coat and fishes inside it for his wand. "Engorgio!" He waves his wand, and the small object grows bigger, revealing itself to be a brown paper bag.

"Go on. Eat one, at least," James holds the parcel out to Remus.

"Okay," Remus accepts it, "Thanks, James."

Remus can tell by the way that the crust of the bread is trimmed that it's Lily who made them. He turns to James.

"Where's Lily? Did you tell her? And what on earth happened to your phones anyway?"

"At home, yes, and they were turned off," James replies before taking a bite out of a sandwich.

"Oh. Why'd you turn them off? And what's the long story that you mentioned on the phone?" Remus frowns.

James sighs.

Remus stares at him, daring him to avoid answering.

"Fuck, okay, okay," James mumbles, shoving the last bit of his sandwich in his mouth.

Remus hands him the water bottle. "Well? Are you going to—"

Just then, the doors open, and a young woman in light blue scrubs steps in. "Sirius Black?" She asks.

"Uh, we're his friends," James stands up, capping the water bottle. Remus shoves his half-eaten sandwich back in the bag and takes a quick sip of water.

"You can see him now," the woman, whom Remus assumes to be a nurse, says. "Follow me."

***

Author's Note

I told my Google Assistant that I was depressed and she sang me a song :')