Neutral Omens

Quite surprised by the sudden arrival of two people she had yet to meet from the Manor, one who looked injured badly, she immediatly went about making a bed. She had just gotten in too, so these people were lucky.

"Put him up on this bed here," she said to the dark haired one supporting his friend. She pointed to the bed nearest to them. "What injuries does he have? Anything other than a broken leg and a shoulder that looks out of place?"

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Sirius nodded, and lay Remus down gently on the bed, supporting his head with his arms until the rest of the body was lying against the mattress. Then he lay Remus' head against a pillow.

"I think that's it," he responded, still keeping his eyes on Remus. "There were some scratches, but I think I got rid of them. The leg is bad, though, and it needs to be healed fast, because otherwise he'll just hurt it again," a brief, nearly imperceptible pause, "soon."

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"Healed fast?" That could present a problem, after all, she was no angel able to heal with a touch, bu tgive her a month or two and the leg could be as good as new.

"Well, first, we will have to straighten the bone to make sure it heals properly. And it looks very nasty."

She looked down at the man whose leg was broken. "This is going to hurt a lot," she said.

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"Okay, you heard her, mate," he said softly at the unconscious man. He gave Remus a very gentle nudge, attempting to wake him without jarring the shoulder. Sirius had known Remus a long time, and he knew the man didn't like to be surprised.

Sirius then took his wand and muttered a charm, tapping it against Remus' leg. It should soothe the pain a bit in that area, but Sirius didn't want to try a more thorough numbing charm when Remus is already so out of it. Instead, he took Remus' hand in his and squeezed, hoping it would help a bit. It couldn't hurt worse than transforming did, but Remus was so exhausted, it wasn't fair that this curse should keep hurting him even when the moon had set.

Of course, Sirius has learned many times before that the universe doesn't give a rat's arse about fair.

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There was pain, hazy and sometimes sharp, as Remus awoke, clinging half-heartedly to the painless darkness.

He made a half-groan, eyes opening and fixing on Sirius' face, and the name mouthed silently. His expression was creased, up at the temples, and quizzical - what was to happen?

There were bones to set, he figured out, a moment later, floating still in that painful fog. He clutched Sirius' hand.

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As she saw her patient wake, she grimaced in pain.

Sighing before any more time passed, she carefully took hold of the leg both above and below the break, and gave a tug to put it back together again. She hoped that this fwellow had figured out he had a broken leg in the first place, if not she may have some apologising to do.

It might have taken two seconds and she would really have liked to take an x-ray to see if it truly was in the proper place, but she knew that it would cause a terrible amount of pain.

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Used to pain, Remus convulsed at the sharp break, but was silent, hand tightening slightly.

"...Is 'at it?" he said, hoarsely, opening one eye.

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He glanced at Anathema. "Think that's it for the leg, old man," he said, rubbing Remus' knuckles with his thumb. "Still have to fix your shoulder there, but it shouldn't be too bad, all right?"

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"Your shoulder is dislocated too." She said, feeling the shoulder and wincing as she did so, then grabbing hold of the arm, she gave it a shove and felt the bone pop back into place. She hated using force on things like this, but in a dislocation it was necessary.

"There, all done now," she stated, smiling slightly donw at the man on the bed.

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Remus nodded, as twisted muscles relaxed with deep twinges, and settled deeper into the pillows.

"Thank you," he returned finally. "Padfoot, are we staying? I'd like to..." He'd like to be in his own bed, Remus told Sirius with a glance.

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"Okay, mate," replied Sirius, reading Remus' look with practiced ease. With a quick spell, he bound the now straightened leg-- it would be easier to heal now that Anathema had found all the right spots, but he wasn't going to try it when he was on a night with no sleep and Remus clearly just wanted to rest.

Instead, he wrapped his arms around Remus' limp torso and, taking great care with the leg, lifted the man into his arms once again.

"Thanks for your help," he said to Anathema, before apparating them to their own bedroom and laying Remus down on the bed.

"Covers, or are you warm?" he asked. Remus was still wrapped loosely in blanket, but it smelled like grass and sweat and blood to Sirius, and he gently pulled it off to be washed, replacing it with the cool bedsheets.

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"Warm. If that's all right."

The bones, where they were healing, ached sharply, and Remus twitched with a bit of a moan, trying not to tense or curl up. "Ergh," he said, intelligently, when the pain eased slightly.

He turned his head slightly, sticky hair poking up in great grey-streaked tufts, and watched Sirius bustle about.

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"Mmhmm," he said absent-mindedly, leaving the heavy covers off. He changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt, and then crawled in bed next to Remus over the sheets. He winced when Remus moaned, and inched himself closer.

"Here, let me--" He placed his hands on Remus' back and began to gently massage the muscles, keeping below the injured shoulder. He'd wait for the go-ahead from Remus before he went any deeper.

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He put up - a very brief - struggle.

His mouth moved, thin dry lips forming a sheepish, "Thank you."

The surrender let him relax, allowed him to burrow into the sheets a little, as familiar - oh, so familiar - fingers and palms pressed into sore skin and stiff muscles.

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Sirius had found the ability to give good massages among the most useful in his life, or at least his life up until Azkaban, where the skill had found little use. But he'd really learned and perfected the technique to help soothe sore post-moon muscles. His fingers easily found the spots he knew instinctually would be tense and knotted, and just as easily avoid the places where his touch would only aggravate the pain.

The way Remus relaxed and seemed to get more comfortable as he worked was a surprisingly good motivator. "See? Not so bad at all. Close your eyes and get some sleep, mate," he said, lightening his touch to a more soothing pace.

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"Ummm."

He shifted, eyes beginning to close, catlike, as the assault on his muscles grew, and rested his greying head, sighing as he did so.

Unbidden, the feeling of exhaustion and contentment grew, as his body grew heavier, and he drifted off, in the safe intimacy of the moment.

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Sirius continued his gentle massaging until he was certain Remus had finally drifted off. Then he slowly relaxed the movement of his hands until he could remove them without waking his friend, and ran his hand through Remus' hair in a gesture that was something in between ruffling and petting. Finally he curled around Remus with his arms circling the other man's waist.

What? There was nothing wrong with wanting to snuggle with a friend. Especially one like Remus, and one who had recently been hurt.

Of course, there was the matter of the werewolf, and the fact that it had tried to-- well. He wasn't going to bring the subject up, even if Remus was ripe for teasing this time. It didn't seem fair to tease him for something done on full moons when he lost all control of his actions. Besides, it didn't mean Remus was interested in him. It just meant the wolf never had any other wolves or dogs around, so it was only natural its instincts would center around the one canine companion it did have.

Besides, the thought of Remus interested in him was an odd one. Remus's sexual preference was no secret, and, well, there was no reason why he wouldn't feel that way about his friends, but for some reason Sirius hadn't considered the possibility before. The thought was strange, and also a bit...strange.

Shaking his head, he let himself drift off to sleep, thinking he was done with the subject.

That night he dreamed of a night a long time ago, when he'd picked a stranger up in a pub and took him home. It hadn't been too memorable an occasion, he hardly even remembered what the man had looked like, but in the dark light and the strange way dreams do, Sirius could've sworn he looked a bit like Remus. A Remus who'd wanted him all along.

It was a very nice dream. Right up until the part where he woke up and realised he was curled up around Remus with only the sheets between them, and he was dealing with a...somewhat pressing concern.

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"Mmmnf."

Remus was usually the early riser, but he was deep in sleep, held in thrall by the silent lull before REM sleep.

He didn't notice anything, just shifted slightly restlessly in the blankets, before settling down quietly again.

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