It's Cold Outside

Remus had really hated to Apparate back from London, even though his feet were beginning to ache and the chilly air was cutting him to the bone as it gusted down and covered the Muggle streets and pavement with snow, much to his tired delight. It had started to snow as he had perused the shops on Oxford and New Bond Streets, hoping to find something special for Sirius in the Muggle parts of the city. He'd felt three again in the snowy street as the holiday lights and storefront windows glittered with brilliant red, green and gold decorations of all sizes. He had barely paid attention to the cold wind and the slush and snow soaking through the hem of his trousers and his worn Converse as he ducked in and out of the shops, trying to finds gifts and pretending the money he was spending wasn't Sirius'.

He hadn't had much luck in finding Sirius anything truly special for Christmas. Content and tired despite himself, he finally ducked into a side street to Apparate home. The front stoop of the small house they shared outside the city was also covered in a small layer of snow that crunched beneath his shoes when he Apparated onto it with a small "pop." Humming a song he heard at least twenty times on the stores' wirelesses, he fumbled with the door knob, the metal cold against the bare skin of his palm.

"Sirius?" Remus called as he walked in. After struggling with them for a moment, he sat down the shopping bags he'd been carrying and kicked the door shut with a resounding "bang." He flinched. "Sirius? You still here?"

He shrugged out of his coat, hung it up neatly in the hall closet, and ruffled his snow-damp hair.

"You'll never guess who I bumped into at Marks and Spencer today," he called as he took out his wand. With a quick flick of his wrist, he shrunk the bags and hid them inside the closet, just behind the old hat boxes his mother had used to bring them some of her old dishes and cutlery last year as a modest housewarming gift. "Ted Tonks. He said to tell you hello for him and that he expects us over for drinks sometime when Dora's staying with his parents.

"Sirius? Are you even listening to me?" Remus called and kicked off his wet trainers before poking his head into the front room.

He smiled and leaned against the doorframe, hands stuffed casually into his pockets.

Sirius was sprawled out on the old, well-worn couch in front of the fire, a blanket from their bed draped across his waist. His right hand was hanging off the side of the couch, loosely clutching a letter written on a wrinkled section of the Daily Prophet. The Muggle lights from the humbly decorated Christmas tree reflected red and orange in Sirius' hair, lending him an innocent, almost angelic look of peace as he slept.

Remus sighed and watched him sleep as the fire flickered and crackled, warming him and casting a glow over the small room. After a few long, peaceful minutes he crossed the room and carefully took the letter from Sirius' hand. Sirius muttered something about angels getting wings and shifted as Remus slipped the paper from his fingers.

"Wanker," Remus said affectionately and chuckled as Sirius' lips twitched in his sleep. Placing a gentle kiss on the man's temple, he whispered, "That's why I love you."

Sirius' eyes fluttered open at the touch and, voice raspy from sleep, said, "Love you too." He yawned, squinting at Remus as he stretched, and sat up. "Why are you wet?"

Remus grinned widely, put the letter on Prophet on the side table by the couch and sat down next to Sirius, nudging him with his hip to make room on the small couch and practically bouncing with excitement. "It's snowing! It never snows this early in London."

Sirius frowned and wrapped an arm around Remus, pulling him close. "Why didn't you wear something heavier? It was bloody cold when you left this morning. You'll catch your death of pneumonia and leave me all alone with the parents-to-be and no one but poor Mr Wormtail for company."

"Mr Moony thinks Mr Padfoot is just grumpy from being woken up from a long winters nap," Remus said, pecking Sirius on the cheek.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend, a half smile tugging at his lips. "Mr Padfoot concurs with Mr Moony and thinks that he has eaten one too many chocolate frogs today," he said, tickling Remus' sides.

Remus laughed as Sirius' fingers danced across his sides and stomach, half-heartedly trying to push him away. "S-stop that," he stuttered, swatting at the other man.

"Why?" Sirius said, one hand resting on Remus' abdomen, the other cupping a cheek as he leaned in for another kiss. "I like to hear you laugh."

"And I don't like being tickled," Remus said, looking into Sirius' eyes as he tucked a strand of Sirius' hair behind his ear.

"But I like tickling you," Sirius said, hand slipping under the hem of Remus' jumper. He sighed and frowned at the contrast of Remus' icy skin against his sleep warmed palm. "Moony, you're freezing."

Remus smiled at him. "It's cold outside. That tends to happen this time of the year."

"Ha bloody ha," Sirius said and straddled Remus, leaning in close so that their lips were almost touching. He smiled coyly and kissed Remus, teeth nibbling on his lower lip, before suddenly pulling away from him and tugging Remus' jumper up.

"Oi!" Remus cried out, trying to push Sirius off of him. "What are you doing?"

"By now I think you'd know what exactly it is I'm doing, Remus," Sirius said with a wink.

Remus rolled his eyes.

"Seriously, you're cold and you'll get a cold if you don't get out of these clothes."

"So getting me down to my pants is supposed to warm me up, is it?"

"What? The fire's nice and there's the blanket and me to keep you warm, Moony.... Besides, you're no fun when you get a cold, you know. All you do is mope and sneeze and yell at me."

"You're not the world's greatest patient either," Remus said and lifted his arms as Sirius pulled the jumper over his head. "You're a drama queen with all your 'I think I may be dying' nonsense."

"Surely Mr Moony jests," Sirius teased, hands dropping to Remus' belt and slowly undoing the buckle.

"Mr Moony does not jest and thinks he can take his trousers off by himself." He smiled as Sirius started to undo the fly on his pants. "He also thinks that Mr Padfoot has done nothing but wait for him to get back today."

"Mr Padfoot is wounded by Mr Moony's so-called sense of humour. He did more than wait around for his Moony, the idiot who goes out in the cold dressed improperly in threadbare trousers and jumpers when he knows he could borrow Mr Padfoot's clothes," Sirius said, plopping back onto his side of the couch as Remus struggled out of wet corduroy and argyle socks.

Remus raised an eyebrow at Sirius before laying his head on the man's shoulder. "Mr Moony takes offence at being called an idiot and would like to remind him that Mr Padfoot's jackets are too big around the shoulders and his jeans are too long for Mr Moony to wear without looking like they devoured him. He also thinks that maybe Mr Padfoot should sleep down here tonight if he keeps up this badgering about Mr Moony's clothing, which he assures Mr Padfoot can last another winter."

Sirius chuckled, pulling Remus close and wrapping the blanket around both of them. "Mr Padfoot would like to remind Mr Moony that that big, comfy bed gets cold without Mr Padfoot there to keep Mr Moony warm. Mr Padfoot also thinks Mr Moony needs a warmer wardrobe for Christmas."He kissed the top of Remus' head and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, fingers trailing through the man's soft brown hair. "So, did you get me anything?"

Remus laughed. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. And don't even think of looking for anything."
Sirius stuck his bottom lip out in a mock pout. "Now why do you think I'd do something like that?"

Remus swatted at him and shifted to wrap his arms around Sirius. He kissed his collarbone before resting his head against Sirius' chest. "Because I know you too well and you tried to find them that last year."

"But I didn't find them--you hid them."

"I transfigured them, but that's beside the point," Remus said and stifled a yawn. "I found some nice baby things for Lily and James today, though."

"Hmm," Sirius said and started running and hand up and down Remus' forearm. "They'll like that. I still can't believe Prongs is going to be a dad." He sighed. "How'd that happen?"

"You see, Padfoot, when a witch and a wizard love each other very much, they have--"

"Spare me the details, Moony...." Sirius trailed off as Remus kissed him.

"I will, don't worry," Remus said, smiling as they lay back against the arm of the couch.

"Ta, Moony," Sirius said and rested his chin on top of Remus' head. "But still--James is going to be a dad. I didn't think that would ever happen."

"What? You thought Peter'd be the one to get a girl up the duff first?" Remus said.

"I don't which is a worse mental picture--Prongs and Lily doing it or little Wormtails running around," Sirius said sarcastically, grinning.

"He is getting pretty serious with Marlene, though," Remus said. "Or a least it seemed that way last I talked to him. He mentioned something about asking her to move in with him."

Sirius sighed. "They do make a nice couple, I guess. It's just, when did we grow up? It seems just like yesterday we were stuffing dungbombs and Filibuster's down the toilets in the dungeons and avoiding Filch on our way back to the Tower."

"I know, but best I remember, James and Peter took the cloak back to the dorm while you and I hid in a broom closet," Remus said and listened to Sirius' heart beat and the crackling of the fire, feeling his eyelids growing heavy and another yawn coming on.

"Too bad we lost the Map, though," Sirius said. He laughed. "I still remember Prongs' face when we came back and told him about what we were doing when Filch took it."

Remus smiled against Sirius' chest. "I don't think I've ever seen someone's face turn that shade of red before."

They laughed and fell silent, the sounds of a car door slamming shut on the Muggle street outside and the roar of the fire as it popped and crackled in its grate.

"So what did you do today? Besides sleep on the couch, that is," Remus asked, breaking the silence as his eyes started to droop with sleep.

"I didn't mean to do that," Sirius said with a small laugh. "You left and I got lonely after I'd finished reading over the post--Uncle Alphard says hello, by the way, and that he hopes we'll come around his place on Boxing Day--so I decided to see what was on the telly."

"Find anything besides kids' shows on?" Remus asked with a sly grin. "Oh wait, last time you watched those, you enjoyed them."

Sirius tickled him again. "Funny. I found a Christmas film with that Stewart fellow--the one where he wants to off himself and an angel shows him what life would have been like if he'd never been born. I'd never seen it before and Lily mentioned it the other day, so I watched it. Pretty interesting as far as Muggle films go. Not as funny as those horror ones they make, though."

"They're not supposed to be funny..." Remus murmured and trailed off with a yawn.

"But they still are," Sirius said. "Have you seen that Nosferatu one? The one where no one talks?"

"Dracula knock off from the early twenties?" Remus said. "The 'werewolf' is a hyena and you can tell they filmed it in the daylight."

Sirius chuckled. "So I take it you've seen it before?"

"Dad took me to the cinema one Halloween when they had a horror film fest. They showed it and The Wolf Man back to back. Scared the shit out of me at the time," Remus said quietly and Sirius felt him tense. "I've always liked It's a Wonderful Life better."

"Really? Why?" Sirius asked and ran his fingers across' Remus shoulder blades. "It's seemed a little boring at places."

"Stewart realises he's got people who love him and that he'd just be hurting them by jumping off the bridge." Remus looked up at Sirius, sleepy amber eyes meeting knowing grey ones. "Those 'monster' films Muggles make aren't any better than our world's superstitions about dark creatures anyway."

"I shouldn't have brought it up," Sirius said. "This isn't the time of year to be thinking about the Ministry's bollocks."

"It's always the time of year for me to think about it, Sirius," Remus said. "I have to buy your Christmas gifts with your money because I can't keep a job once they find out about my furry little problem."

"Not everyone cares that you're a werewolf," Sirius said and rubbed Remus' back reassuringly. "We never did. Lily doesn't either."

"Lily thought my kind was fiction growing up," Remus retorted bitterly and stared into the fire, jaw set and eyes shining.

"Remus," Sirius said and shifted, lifting Remus' chin to make him meet his eyes again. "They're not your kind. They never will be. You're better than them.

"Let me finish," he said as Remus started to protest. "You're just as human as the rest of us and if the Ministry can't see past their pureblooded, prejudiced noses, then that's their problem."

"I haven't been human since I was five," Remus murmured. "I'd do anything to be that way again."

"And that's what makes you different from those other wolves--they're bitter because they feel powerless."

Remus snorted. "So that's why Dumbledore has me pleading with them not to join up with Voldemort. They either hate me because I live with humans instead of in their packs or because they know I'm shagging another bloke. Somehow I can't seem to win for losing, as the Muggles say."

Sirius sighed and let his hands wander over Remus' back. "At least the majority of them aren't siding with Voldemort--and I think that's your doing, Moony. They must trust you to a point."

Remus mumbled, "It'll be worse than it is now for us if Voldemort ever does take the Ministry-- Merlin forbid--and they know that. He's been making empty promises about equality.

"You should hear how some of the Death Eaters I've ran into talk. They're like religious nutters going on and on about why their particular dogma is better than the rest. It's disgusting and I think most of them see through him, but some of the more ignorant ones like Greyback can't see that Voldemort just wants to use them and, though he may talk differently, he's no better than the Ministry when it comes down to dark creatures, werewolves or not."

"He's the one who bit you, isn't he? Greyback?" Sirius asked, voice cold, and tensed as he waited for Remus' answer.

Remus looked up at Sirius, searching his face for something. "Yes, he is. Why?"

"You shouldn't have to be doing this, Moony," Sirius whispered.

Laying his head back on Sirius' chest, Remus said, "I know. But someone has to do it and it's too dangerous for anyone else."

"But I still don't think it should be you," Sirius said. "Dumbledore should make someone else do it."

"Why?" Remus asked and yawned. "And who would he get that would be able to reason with the other werewolves without being mauled the next full moon?"

"Because I love you and don't want to see you get hurt...or worse," Sirius said, smiling as Remus nuzzled against his chest. "Dumbledore could just as easily get Moody to....What are you doing?"

"Listening to your heart beat," Remus murmured sleepily. "And you worry too much about me. I can take care of myself, you know."

"Sometimes I think I don't worry enough." Sirius paused and looked down at Remus, amber eyes closed and a smile playing on his lips.

"You can be worse than my mum sometimes," Remus whispered, tightening his arms around Sirius. "I don't know whether it's maddening or endearing."

Sirius chuckled. "Your mum would have had a coronary if she saw you in those wet clothes."

"And she would have made me take a nice, warm bath instead of stripping me down to my pants and sharing body heat with some bloke I happen to fancy."

"So Mr Moony fancies someone... Who's the lucky guy?" Sirius teased, smiling as he ruffled Remus' hair.

"Mr Padfoot should know who Mr Moony fancies since it was Mr Padfoot whom he shagged senseless this morning," Remus said and looked up at Sirius, grinning impishly.

Sirius laughed. "Mr Padfoot has no comeback for that other than that he loves Mr Moony. Even if he is being a snarky little git this evening."

"Mr Moony says battling crowds at the high-end shops and trying to find a gift for Mr Padfoot, whom Mr Moony loves more than should be legal and whom also seems to already have everything both Muggle and magical, would make anyone tired enough to act like a 'snarky little git.'" Remus yawned again.

"You don't have to get me anything for Christmas, Remus," Sirius said quietly after a moment.

"But I want to."

"If you're getting me something, then I'm getting you something," Sirius said, looking down at Remus with a grin. "Sleepy, love?"

"Shut up," Remus said and Sirius let out a barking laugh. Remus smiled against his chest. "Just don't get me anything too expensive."

"Like hell I won't. You're worth every last Knut," Sirius told him, running a hand slowly down Remus' back and coming to rest on the small of it. "You want something to eat? Take away or anything? There's still some curry from last night in the refrigerator."

"'M not hungry," Remus said softly. "I'd like to sleep, if you don't mind."

Sirius smiled and placed a kiss on the top of Remus' head again. "Fine. Do you want to go upstairs to bed?"

Remus took a deep breath, drawing in Sirius' scent, and smiled as he moved to twine their fingers together. "This," he said and nuzzled Sirius' chest before giving his hand a firm squeeze, "is where I always want to be."

Sirius smiled and, staring down at his Moony, said, "I love you."

"I love you too. Always will," Remus said before the warmth of their bodies and the fire, the steady beat of Sirius' heart, and the simple, slow rise and fall of their chests lulled him into sleep as the snow continued to fall outside.