Tightening the faded gray scarf around his neck, Remus walked down the crowded streets of Diagon Alley. It wasn't like him to procrastinate his Christmas shopping. Last year he picked out Sirius's gift in August. This year, there was no picking out Sirius's gift. He was gone.
Remus couldn't help but stop in front of one brightly lit window that snowy Christmas Eve. The window belonged to the Weasley twin's joke shop. Sirius used to think the two were brilliant. But that made him think of the trapped look on Sirius's face when he couldn't leave Grimmauld Place for his last year. Sirius never even got to go into their shop.
No matter how badly he wanted to go inside, he just couldn't. Not without Sirius. So instead, Remus continued down the street. The snow fell into his hair and onto his coat, but he didn't notice anymore. He just kept going. Lupin didn't even notice his turn down Knockturn Alley. What brought him out of his fog was the dark window where two goblets shone in the shadows of the streetlights. Remus didn't even need to look twice to recognize them as Sirius's most hated possessions. The Black family goblets. Just the sight of them sent him back to the night Sirius had told him about them…
Z
Many years previous
It had been two years since they had left Hogwarts. Remus had been living in a tiny second floor flat in London, working at a small wizard book store. Hardly anyone went in there, so he suspected that was why he had been hired.
It'd been a while since he heard from Sirius, and he missed everything about him. His jokes, his smile, his ego. The way he would always turn a dark mood playful and fun. The way his temper would flare if someone ever insulted his friends. Everything about him. When he got the visit that night, he'd not been expecting to see Sirius on Christmas Eve.
"Good evening, Moony." Sirius smiled from the open door frame. Remus could only gawk at the handsome man that stood before him in scruffy clothes with snow in his hair.
"What are you doing here?" His voice felt weak, the words coming out as a stutter. Sirius's grin seemed to light up the room as he stepped into the apartment, shaking the snow out of his hair.
"Felt like visiting. It's been forever since I've seen my dear old Moony!"
"On Christmas Eve?"
"Why, of course!" Sirius sat on Remus's sad excuse of a couch, his eyes darting around the place. "How do you keep your apartment so organized?"
"I take it you learned nothing from me while we were in Hogwarts?" A grin formed on Lupin's lips as he said that, joining his best friend on the couch.
"I learned plenty from you." Remus froze for a second, wondering if the phrase had the double meaning he thought it did. Sirius had been his first kiss after all, and the first person to accept him as a werewolf. At one point, they had even been dating, but as Hogwarts ended, they fought more and more until both left for their new lives, angry and alone.
With Sirius's good nature though, they didn't stay angry for long. The two just hadn't ever fully returned to the relationship they had before.
"Just not organization?"
"Exactly. Anyway, I came visiting to ask if you wanted to spend Christmas with me. James and Lily are awfully busy and who knows where Peter is…"
"Yes."
"Really? I thought you'd be celebrating with someone. Didn't you have someone last year?" Sirius was now the one smirking. Last year, as in the disastrous Marauder Christmas at Lily and James's house that resulted in four very drunk Marauders. Remus was supposed to have been at the library to celebrate with a copy of Shakespeare's complete works, but called in sick. Sirius hadn't let him live down his drunken remarks on 'Christmas with Shakespeare' yet.
"No." Remus replied. "I'll be alone as usual."
"Correction. You will be alone with me. As usual." Remus felt his face flush at Sirius's smirk. Sirius started to laugh. "You never were one for jokes."
"No. I was never one for your jokes." Remus joined the laughter. Neither had much company anymore, and both felt it was lovely to hear another familiar voice along with their own.
"That's nice, Remus I make a special trip over to your house just to see you and you insult my jokes." Sirius pretended to look hurt, but Lupin kept laughing.
"You didn't have to come see me."
"Yes, I did! I had to invite you to tomorrow's festivities!"
"Festivities?"
"Yes. As in celebration."
"Sirius learned new words! That's a reason to celebrate right there." Remus was still laughing as Sirius stood up and began to walk towards the door.
"I did not come here to be insulted." Sirius snapped, but Remus could tell by his slow steps that he wasn't angry at all.
"Nope. You came to see me." Remus countered, leaving the couch to walk towards the door. Sirius was in the hallway by that point.
"Damn right I dido." Sirius turned to face the man who had finally caught up with him, a smile on his face. His hand grasped Moony's shoulder, pulling his body into his.
"I miss you, Moony," Sirius whispered. Remus held him closer for a second before brushing his lips against Sirius's warm cheek.
"I miss you too, Padfoot. But I get to see you tomorrow." Remus smiled, pulling himself out of Sirius's grasp. "Bye, Sirius."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. See you tomorrow, Remus." Remus wasn't sure, but he thought he saw Sirius frown before disappearing away.
Z
In the morning, there were only a few presents waiting. Lily and James sent him a furry-looking sweater, obviously James's pick. Peter had gotten him a small spell book and a bar of muggle chocolate. That was all he had been expecting, but another package was sitting on his tiny kitchen table. Inside was a tiny piece of parchment that simply said 'Gifts at my house. See you at noon. I even cooked dinner for you. Aren't I a good friend? Love, Sirius.'
"Leave it to Sirius." Remus laughed quietly. He turned on the radio, one of the few muggle possessions he hadn't been able to part with when he became a wizard, and hummed along to a bouncy Christmas tune.
From out of his back closet, he pulled Sirius's Christmas gift. The first half of it was a book he'd forgotten to give him last year called 48 Ways to Torture a House-Elf without Getting Near It. It was meant for use against Kreacher, but it could be used on people too. Remus felt fairly stupid looking at it now. Sirius hated his family and would probably never set foot near Kreacher again. Still, they could always be useful against James.
The other gift was a dark, black coat. Sirius never seemed to have one on and with the very little money Sirius made on his own, couldn't afford one. Neither of them knew it at the time, but the coat was the very one he entered and left Azkaban wearing.
Remus spent the two hours before noon cleaning up his appearance and writing out thank you notes to Peter, Lily, and James. The owl was going to have a tough time finding Peter, seeing as how no one really could as of that moment. With five minutes to spare, Remus appparated his way over to Sirius's apartment. Without meaning to, he ended up in the middle of Sirius's living room/kitchen area, not in the hallway outside.
"Remus! What a surprise! Is this revenge for me showing up by your door last night?" Sirius grinned from behind a large pot containing who knows what. He walked up and removed the present bag from Remus's hand. "I'll take those."
"You're not angry that I just apparated into your kitchen?" Remus questioned, removing his coat. It surprised him to notice a possible organization attempt on the bookshelves. Remus used to make a habit of giving Sirius books to read at any chance he could. They were the very same books that lined the shelves.
"Not at all. You had gifts!" Sirius grinned from the other room. Lupin left the living room half to find Sirius sitting at the kitchen's table.
"It's only you and me today?" Moony questioned, eyeing the two chairs at the table. For some unknown reason, he thought there would be more.
"Of course. Why else would I not hand out invitations and have a grand feast? I'd much rather spend Christmas with you than anyone else." Sirius grinned, picking up both bowls and bringing them to the kitchen counter. Remus didn't know what to say after a comment like that.
"Thanks," was all he could mutter. Sirius smiled warmly, filling up his own bowl and pouring the soup concoction into it. He did the same for Remus's bowl before handing it back to him. Both took a seat at the table, Remus finally getting a good look at the food before him. In the bowl was the normal yellow broth. It was the yellow noodles he had not been expecting.
"What is this?" Moony asked, eyeing the soup. Sirius had already begun eating, noodles dripping down his chin.
"They're called ramen noodles. Some Japanese muggle food. Discovered it when I once accidentally ventured into a muggle market. Damn tasty though." Sirius slurped down more noodles between words. Hesitantly, Remus took a bite, finding the strange yellow noodles as tasty as Sirius described.
The two ate the rest in silence, each enjoying the flavor. However, the second Sirius was done eating, he launched himself at his presents. Remus watched with an amused expressions as Sirius pulled the book out of the bag.
"48 Ways to Torture a House-Elf without Getting Near It. Wow. Thanks, Remus." A devilish grin, almost an exact replica of James's, was on his lips. The reaction to the coat was less jocular. "This… thank you. This is a really nice jacket."
"I thought you'd like it." Remus grinned, the warm, fuzzy feeling often associated with gift-giving had hit him.
"Your gift… ah, shit… hang on a minute." Sirius dashed off into another room, pulling a large bag out. "Happy Christmas."
He handed the bag over to Remus, leaning over lightly to kiss his cheek. The first thing Lupin pulled out was a very large book entitled Teaching Others: Organization. The second was a gray scarf that Remus would wear often following that day.
"Thank you, Sirius." Remus replied from his seat. Sirius's arms wrapped their way around the back of the Lupin's chair and his neck, holding lightly. On his own accord, Remus titled his head up to look into Sirius's sparkling gray eyes. Remus stood up then, breaking free of Sirius's grasp. Sirius wore a puzzled expression until Remus threw himself at Sirius, their lips meeting on impact.
Both had forgotten how good it was to kiss the other. Remus's fingers played in Sirius's long, elegant hair, while Sirius's own hands were around his best friend's waist.
Awkwardly, Sirius pulled away to ask, "Would you like some coffee?"
"I'll take care of it." Remus smiled, walking over to the kitchen. He opened one of the kitchen cabinets, still thinking of his kiss with Sirius. His happy thoughts were distracted by the odd artifact in front of him.
In the cabinet were two silver goblets with the Black family crest on them. It struck Remus as strange that Sirius would have a memento of the family he had once had and hated.
"Sirius? What are the black family goblets doing here?" Remus asked. Sirius practically jumped out of the chair he had been gone to sit in, his face very pale.
"You weren't supposed to see those." Sirius's voice was in the cold, hardly recognizable tone he saved strictly for speaking of his family.
"Why do you have them anyway?" Remus hardly recognized his own voice. It sounded so angry. His mind was angry too, though. Sirius should have known better than to bring a memory of that part of his life along. It only would cause more pain for him.
"Strictly a memory," he paused, "of the only family I ever had."
"That's a lie!" Remus shouted, his eyes locked on Sirius's shocked expression. "You have plenty of family." He stopped yelling, his voice disappearing.
"Remus." Sirius stood up from his chair, walking forward. "You've always been more than just my family." Neither could speak. Their lips and eyes said every word as they embraced again. For the second time in their lives, they were truly together.
Z
In the Present
Remus wandered into the shop, purchasing the goblets without thinking. Every inch of his heart was hurting as he paid for them. These had been Sirius's. Yet he had to thank whoever had stolen them and brought them there.
Remus went home right after that, ignoring the snowflakes and smiles all around him. There was nothing to truly smile about this Christmas. He cooked himself a simple dinner of spaghetti, trying his best not to think about the two goblets set on his table. Lupin was trying so hard that he completely missed the crack of a typical apparation. It was hardly audible of the recording of the Weird Sister's "God Rest You, Merrye Hippogriffs." The song only added to his frustration, seeing as how Sirius had made up that rendition back in fourth year. It had spread around the school like wildfire until one of the future Weird Sisters picked it up and turned it into the number one wizarding Christmas song of all time. That fact was probably what inspired Mr. Lovegood to question just who Sirius Black was.
So lost in thought Lupin was, that he never heard the door click open or hear the four, soft sets of footprints heading his way. He even missed the soft whimpering of a dog that gradually became human humming. The pair of frail arms slipping around him did not go unnoticed.
"Happy Christmas," said the voice Remus's heart only could imagine. The figure's gray eyes were sparkling at him, the warm lips capturing his own. Remus didn't have to question how Sirius had survived his fall. It didn't matter. His family had returned.
A/N 2: Reviews and constructive critcism would be loved. Flames are unnecessary, please.