This Wanton Snow
i.
Remus was concentrating on the finer points of the Patronus charm, wracking his brain for a memory happy enough to make it work, when Sirius burst into the room, eyes wide and cheeks flushed, and hit him in the chest with a snowball.
Remus leapt up, scrambling for boots and coat and scarf so he could give chase, relieved to have an excuse to put aside his homework for a while.
Sirius waited until Remus was shrugging into his coat before bolting off again, and Remus pursued, coat half-buttoned, muffler nearly strangling him as he ran.
Another snowball greeted him on his exit, but Remus didn't worry about anything other than chasing Sirius, who continued to run, through various factions engaging in the massive snowball fight that seemed to occupy every Hogwarts student during the first significant snowfall of the year.
Sirius wove his way down to the stand of trees that signaled the beginning of the Forbidden Forest, and when he slowed, Remus launched himself in a flying tackle. Sirius went down beneath him with a loud gasp, and they wrestled for a few minutes, the snow, cold and wet, sneaking beneath coats and inside scarves to chill overheated skin.
Remus was laughing too hard to put his full strength into it, and he was too caught up in the moment to worry about his body's increasingly embarrassing response to Sirius, something he'd been secretly concerned about since the beginning of sixth year.
He was still laughing, enjoying the weight of Sirius's body pinning him down, when Sirius stilled, dipped his head, and pressed full, cold lips to Remus's chapped ones.
Remus would remember the moment forever: the dark branches of the trees above, heavy with snow, bits of grey sky visible through the filigree of limbs, the cold damp against his skin, the smell of wet wool emanating from both of them. Sirius's hair glistening with melting snowflakes like stars in its darkness, the thrilling intensity of those wide, grey eyes before Sirius's lids slipped closed, lashes long and dark against his fair skin. The easy, breathless joy Sirius brought to everything he loved doing. The feel of Sirius's lips moving against his and his own body's response, heat uncurling in his belly, warming him down to his toes despite the cold and the snow.
Sirius licked at his lips and Remus opened to him, letting their tongues slide against each other for a few electrifying moments, his hands tangling in Sirius's hair, Sirius's hands clutching almost painfully at his shoulders.
"They went this way." Peter's voice intruded on their privacy. Remus's eyes flew open to see Sirius staring down at him in shock before he rolled off to lie on his back, beside Remus in the snow.
"There you are," James said, coming through the trees to stand over them. "Ravenclaw's kicking our arses, boys. We need you out in the trenches, not lying about under the trees like idiots." They stared at James wordlessly as he turned and began walking back to the scene of the battle. "Come on," he called over his shoulder as he walked away.
Remus surreptitiously reached out a tentative hand to brush Sirius's, the contact with his cold skin sending another shock of heat through Remus's body.
Sirius didn't return the touch. He jumped up, avoiding Remus's eyes. "You heard the man. Let's go."
And Remus realized it had been a fluke, a single moment outside time, a product of hormones or luck or the frost shimmering like fairy lights under the bright overcast. Nothing more. It hadn't meant anything to Sirius and would probably never happen again.
Both overheated and chilled to the bone, Remus decided not to think about it too much. Instead, he joined the snowball fight with his friends, and helped Gryffindor prevail.
Three days later, Remus finally managed to conjure something more than a wisp of silver smoke when casting the Patronus.
ii.
Remus was poring over the job listings in the "Guardian" when he heard the crack of Apparation and felt the sting of a cold, wet snowball hit him between the shoulders, soaking through his thin cotton shirt.
He jumped up, nearly knocking over the rickety kitchen table and spilling some tea onto the newspaper. He turned to see a self-satisfied Sirius smirking at him, eyes sparkling and cheeks red from the cold.
"It's snowing, Moony."
Remus glanced out the window at the rain spitting down in the grey afternoon light and said, "Not in London."
"No, not in London," Sirius answered dismissively. "In Hogsmeade."
Oh. Of course. Where Sirius's current girlfriend lived.
But all Remus said was, "You're back early."
Sirius shrugged impatiently. "Had to pack up my stuff. Took a little longer than expected, even though I rushed."
"What?"
"It's snowing, Moony. Come on. First snowfall--"
Remus was a bit confused, but he found Sirius hard to resist even when it wasn't snowing, so he pulled on his boots and grabbed his coat from the closet. As he wound his muffler around his neck, Sirius Disapparated. With a smile, Remus followed him. He'd missed the snowball fights and other childhood entertainments since they'd left school.
Arriving at the Shrieking Shack, Remus bent to pick up a handful of snow, fingers already freezing, cursing because he'd forgot his gloves. He wasn't prepared for the full weight of one Sirius Black tackling him, and he hit the snow-covered ground with a loud, "Oof," as the wind was knocked out of him. He brought up the handful of snow and shoved it down the back of Sirius's coat with a triumphant laugh. Sirius's face moved inexorably toward his, bright and laughing, and Sirius's lips brushed over his, cool and confident, and Sirius breathed into his mouth and Remus felt as if he'd never tasted air before.
Remus kissed him back hungrily, not caring about the cold, hard ground chilling his body or the snow still falling all around them. Sirius's kiss warmed him, and this time, there was no one to interrupt.
Sirius slid his lips over Remus's cheek and jaw, up to his ear. "Inside," he whispered. "Come on." He Disapparated before Remus could respond, and even though Remus hated the Shack, he did the only thing he could, and followed.
This time he was prepared, and he laughed as Sirius tumbled him onto the bed. Sirius made short work of Remus's coat, his own already lying in a heap on the floor. Remus didn't think, didn't question. He just pulled Sirius down for another kiss, chilled, fumbling fingers already unbuttoning his shirt so he could touch warm, silken skin. He sucked greedily on Sirius's full lower lip before thrusting his tongue into Sirius's mouth.
Remus undid Sirius's trousers and slipped a cold hand inside to curl around Sirius's cock. Sirius gasped and swore as Remus stroked him, and Remus couldn't get enough of it, marveling at the way Sirius responded to his touch, breath hitching as a steady stream of words poured from his mouth whenever he was able to speak.
"Fuck, yeah. Just like that, Moony. So good. So fucking good."
And Sirius's hands were not idle, nearly ripping Remus's jeans open so he could do the same to Remus. Remus gasped as cold air hit his skin, and again when Sirius's fingers curled around him, the touch for which he'd been aching for years.
They stroked each other hard and fast, hips and hands pumping furiously in counterpoint. Sirius kissed and nibbled and whispered his way around Remus's face and neck, and Remus writhed beneath him, lost in heat and lust and pleasure until he came hard, pulsing warm and wet over Sirius's hand and their half-clothed bodies, Sirius swallowing his hoarse cries in a fierce kiss.
"Fuck, Remus," Sirius growled in his ear when he was done. "You're so fucking hot when you come." He slipped his fingers into Remus's mouth and Remus tasted himself on them, bitter and strange.
He jacked Sirius harder, willing him to come. Sirius's eyes opened wide and then fluttered closed as his whole body went rigid. Then he was coming, hips thrusting frantically, head thrown back in abandon, the arch of his neck and curve of his spine the most beautiful thing Remus had ever seen.
Sirius collapsed on top of him, showering his face with wet, sloppy kisses. Unthinkingly, Remus lifted his hand to his mouth, tongue darting out to taste Sirius's come. He decided he liked it better than his own.
"God, Remus. You're so fucking hot," Sirius muttered in his ear, and Remus felt his prick twitch in response.
After a few more minutes of kissing and petting, Remus reached for his wand, but Sirius stopped him.
"Want to lick you clean," he whispered, and Remus blushed, heat flaring under his skin as his cock responded enthusiastically to Sirius's words. Sirius began kissing and licking his way down Remus's body, and Remus thought there was nowhere else he'd rather be.
The storm outside continued to pile snow on Hogsmeade, but inside the Shrieking Shack, Remus and Sirius generated enough heat to keep each other warm.
iii.
When Remus came back to headquarters (he still couldn't think of Grimmauld Place as home), Sirius was staring out the window, his back to the door. Remus smiled and launched the snowball he'd kept hidden behind his back, just in case, and it caught Sirius on the back of the neck.
Sirius whirled, startled, and Remus laughed.
"It's snowing," he said.
"Not here, it's not," Sirius replied glumly, tapping the windowpane with one long finger.
"No," Remus agreed, "not here. But in Hogsmeade..." He trailed off, trying to breathe around the ache in his chest at the unhappiness in Sirius's tired eyes.
"I can't," Sirius began, and stopped. "I shouldn't," he tried again. "Dumbledore said--"
Remus nodded, summoning Sirius's coat and scarf. "I agree completely," he said. "You really oughtn't." He held out the coat and helped Sirius shrug into it. When Sirius turned to face him, Remus wrapped his muffler around his neck, red and gold bright against fine black wool, and used the ends to pull him close for a kiss. "First snow of the season," he murmured against Sirius's lips.
Sirius's eyes lit and he returned the kiss eagerly. "No one ever has to know," he said when they came up for air.
"Mum's the word," Remus agreed. "And if they do find out, you can say I kidnapped you against your will."
"To have your wicked way with me?" Sirius asked hopefully.
"But of course," Remus replied with a smile and another quick kiss. "Here." He'd prepared for this since early November. He produced a black wool cap from his pocket and yanked it down low on Sirius's forehead and pulled the scarf up to cover the lower half of his face. "I couldn't find a balaclava, and that'd make you look suspicious, anyway." He stepped back and looked at his handiwork. "You'll do, Mr. Padfoot. You'll do."
He couldn't actually see Sirius's mouth curve in a smile, but his eyes shone with mischief.
Remus held out his hand, and Sirius took it, and together they went out into the grey afternoon, off to enjoy the first snowfall of the season.