When Remus wakes, the sun has risen already. It was late when he went to sleep. Somewhere around four or five in the morning, with Sirius reading a book at his desk to keep him company.

Just like he promised, Sirius is still there. Remus can tell he woke up earlier, because there's an empty mug next to him and he's changed out of his nightclothes. But he's fallen asleep again, at his desk with a book open in front of him. His head is down on the wood, hands on his lap. It looks uncomfortable.

Remus sits up. His head feels a little heavy. He tests his strength by standing up. Judging himself to be fit enough, he takes an unsteady step towards Sirius.

"Sirius," he calls, placing a hand on Sirius' shoulder. His voice is hoarse. "Oh, hey," Sirius raises his head. He stretches his arms and rubs his eyes. "Good morning," he smiles.

"Good morning," Remus replies, staring at his hands.

"Uhm, I'll give you something to change into," he throws his wardrobe open and rummages through it. "This is the biggest one I have," he hands Remus a soft gray jumper. Remus tries to picture him in it. "My jeans might not fit you... can you make them? Just cast an Engorgio on it."

"Okay," Remus says, taking the clothes from him. "Thank you."

"I'll just run to the grocery while you get ready." Sirius disappears out the door. A second later, he pops his head in again. "I charged your phone, by the way," he says. "It was dead. It's on the nightstand."

Remus thanks him again and picks his phone up. He takes his time getting ready. His reflection in the mirror reveals a haggard boy, red-rimmed eyes and chapped lips. He wets his fingers and rubs his lips to remove the dead skin.

Sirius has laid everything out in advance, a toothbrush with the toothpaste already squirted on to its bristles, a towel, soap. It makes Remus tear up a little.

Some time later, he hears a knock on the bathroom door. "Remus? Are you done?"

Remus looks at himself in the mirror one last time before opening the door. Sirius beams at him. "Look at you," his eyes sparkle. "Beautiful. Now come on. Let's fix you something to eat."

The kitchen is larger than Remus' entire house. He sits at the table and watches Sirius move around. "Here. I got you that mud you can't live without," Sirius grins, placing a mug in front of him. It's the same one from last night, the blue one.

Sirius takes a sip of his own mug as he works. "What do you want? Pancakes? Waffles?"

"I'm fine..." Remus says, holding his face over the steam curling up from his chamomile. "What nonsense," Sirius turns to him. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, my friend."

Remus makes no reply.

"Alright, look," Sirius kneels down in front of Remus, his palms firm on Remus' knees. Remus looks down into the clear grey of his eyes. "I won't have you turn into a stranger inside my own home, Remus." he says softly.

"What do you want me to do?" Remus asks, looking away.

"Just let me take care of you," Sirius replies earnestly. "Can you do that?"

Remus nods. Sirius waits, eyebrows raised. "Yes," Remus says clearly, "I can do that."

Sirius face blooms into a wide smile. He pinches Remus' cheeks. Out of instinct, Remus shoves him away. "That's more like it," Sirius laughs, standing up. "Now... today on the menu we have pancakes, waffles, waffles and pancakes."

Sirius ends up making both.

Of course.

"Eat," he piles them on two plates and places them in front of Remus. He gives Remus a plate and places some cutlery next to him. "For drinks," he opens the fridge and frowns at it, "You can drink Regulus' blackcurrant juice and face death or have some apple juice and live a couple decades longer."

"Um, apple juice," Remus bites his lip. "Thank you," he says when Sirius pours him a glass.

"Won't you eat?" He asks when Sirius turns to leave.

"I had some cereal when I woke up. You know, before I fell asleep again," Sirius laughs, "I need to make some calls. Just holler if you need me."

Remus watches him go. He really isn't hungry, but after all the effort Sirius put into making food, it would just be too rude to not eat. He dribbles some chocolate over a waffle and takes a forkful in his mouth. He's forgotten how hungry he is.

Remus pulls his phone out.

2 missed calls from Sirius B.

Text message from Sirius B. : Where are you?

1 missed call from James P.

3 missed calls from Lils.

They must've heard of what happened. Remus groans to himself. He wants to go back home and go to bed with his cats-

His bloody cats. Remus pictures his four cats, dead. Starved to death. But then he figures they wouldn't die from missing two meals. All they do is eat anyway. If the chicken nuggets at McDonald's could run Sirius' bike for a week, the collective fat reserves of his cats could probably carry it a year.

"Hey," Sirius returns, phone in hand. He places it on the counters. "You done?"

Remus nods. Sirius places his plate and glass in the sink. The tap shoots out a jet of water, and a sponge floats over to start scrubbing the plate. Remus watches it in awe.

"I need to tell you something," Sirius says. Heart thumping loudly under his ribs, Remus follows him into the living room. They sit down on a plush sofa with pale beige cushions. Sirius is biting his lip, trying to find words.

"What is it?" Remus asks when he can't take it anymore.

Sirius look at him, nervous. "Your house," he says, and stops.

"What about my house?" Remus heart is thrashing in his chest like a fish out of water.

"It's... They," Sirius swallows, "They burnt it down."

Silence falls. Thick, tense silence, like what follows a roll of thunder.

The cats.

"Remus?"

"The cats... Oh my God, Sirius. They never go outside, I-"

Sirius takes Remus' hands in his. "Relax, just breathe," he says. "Breathe?" Remus raises his voice, wanting to cry all over again. "You're telling me to fucking-"

"Shh, just hear me out. The cats are fine."

Remus freezes. He looks at Sirius' long fingers, curled tightly around his hands. He waits for Sirius to explain. "Where do you think I went after hiding you in that alley last night?"

Remus remembers. The cold, the dark. How foreign it felt. How he pleaded Sirius not to leave.

"Where are they?"

"It's a bit of a surprise-"

In what can only be perfect timing, the front door opens. Smiling widely, Sirius stands, pulling Remus up as well. Remus wishes he could disappear. But his dread disappears when he hears who it is.

"Where is he? Oh," Remus hears a familiar voice, "Remus!" It's Regulus. He throws himself on Remus. Remus stumbles a little, but manages to wrap his arms around the young boy.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Regulus says into Remus' neck. He pulls back to examine Remus' face. "I'm fine," Remus ruffles his hair. Regulus purses his lips. "I'm just surprised Sirius didn't get you both killed," he shakes his head. "If anything," Remus says softly, "he saved my life."

Remus notices someone else in the room. He looks away from Regulus to see who it is.

It's Auguste.

And he's not alone.

"Hi Remus," he smiles his beautiful smile, trying not to drop the massive cardboard box in his hands. "I've brought some friends."