language barrier one-shot!
hey @thislifekindasucks !! this might be a little shorter/fluffier than what you had in mind, but i hope you enjoy it nonetheless x
p.s. french might be a little messy... i tried!
Sirius wasnāt sure he had ever been so lonely.
And that was saying a lot, for someone whoād grown up in a massive, cold house. Heād spent most days until then either with a tutor or alone in his room. Hogwarts, so far, had been fantastic in comparison.Ā
It was warm and well-lit, and every adult heād met so far had been oddly nice to him. He was allowed to wander wherever he pleased, and even when he wasnāt, the worst punishment heād get would be a gentle, guiding hand on his shoulder. His uniform was loose and soft, unlike his usual frilly, itchy layers. Craziest of all, at dinner, kids were screaming and laughing, food smudged on their faces without a drop of decorum between them. Sirius had never seen anything like it. He spent half his dinner gawking, and the other half ducking away from the glares of his cousins because heād been sorted into Gryffindor.Ā
Now, Sirius sat on his bed, all the curtains closed, in the Gryffindor first yearsā dorms, on the brink of tears because now, due to a stupid old ratty hat, he couldnāt even be with his cousins. Not like theyād ever treated him kindly, but at least they spoke French. As it would turn out, no one else did. Sirius, of course, had been supposed to. He could read in English, and he got bits and pieces by listening, but heād never gotten many chances to speak it. He doubted that there were regular English classes here, or that anyone would be willing to learn French. He heard two of three boys in his dorm chattering and laughing, with the occasional clatter of something. Heād seen them both earlier, right after dinner. One with glasses had tried to introduce himself as James, and his little blond friend as Peter, but Sirius had (guiltily so) shrugged them both off with a poorly-mustered smile and then hid. He hadnāt seen the supposed fourth, but heād locked himself in his room pretty early on.
He wiped at his face. Since when had he been crying? God, what his mother would do if she was here. He heard little phrases from outside.Ā
āIāll write to her tomorrowāā
āYou think heāsāā
Sirius sighed as the conversations each trailed off into gibberish, scrubbing at his face. The Ancient and Noble House of Black didnāt raise crybabies. Heād figure something out. It didn't help that he was tired. Just as he was about to hide under the covers and force himself to sleep, the velvet of his curtain was swept up, letting a swath of light in. A little boy peeked his head in. He looked older, though, a little gaunt and tired, with deep, silvery scars all over his face. Sirius knew he flinched at them by the consequent wince. The boy rolled his eyes.
āYou deaf?ā The boy waggled a finger from his ear to his chin with a snarky little eyebrow. Sirius heard that word from sarcastic tutors enough to know what it meant.
He shook his head. āNon, um⦠no.ā
The boy squinted. āFrench?ā
Sirius nodded, still somewhat taken aback. The boy looked worn in a way Sirius had never seen before. Sirius had never been allowed to eat off of chipped dinnerware, and once his childhood teddy bear lost an eye, it had been immediately discarded. Sirius imagined that this boy was a good visual representation of what it would look like if something never got fixed or taken away. It made Sirius feel safe, in a weird way. Homesick for one heād never had.
The boy ducked away, leaving Sirius alone in the dark once more. Sirius let out all the breath heād been holding. All by himself again, to the surprise of nobody. He slumped back against his headboard, feeling more miserable than he had. The only thing worse than being alone was being left alone. Right as Sirius went to shut his eyes, he felt his bed dip. The boy was back, now cross legged in his ragged pajamas on Siriusās bed. Between them he set down two objects: a chess board, and a bright red book.
Sirius never had many toys, but he had been allowed chess. The boy flicked through the book for a little while, squinting and stuttering over āEhā¦Eh-check? Esh-ex?ā
Sirius smiled, for the first time in a while. āĆchecs?ā
The boy smiled, raising a thumb and an eyebrow in question. He said something Sirius didnāt understand, and Sirius lolled his head to the side. The boy picked up the book and thumbed through it for a little while longer before turning it towards Sirius, thumb over jouer - play. Sirius nodded, still pinching back a smile. He wasnāt sure if he was really awake or if heād dreamed up a friend, like he did so often when he was younger and alone in his room.
Remus grappled for the book again and searched for a little bit before pointing at his chest. āUh⦠jay-map-ell⦠Remus.ā He pointed questioningly at Sirius, who wrinkled up his nose at the pronunciation.
āVous pouvez māappeler Sirius.ā He cooed, before realizing that mightāve been a bit too complicated, so he just pointed at his face, still smiling. āSirius.ā
āSirius.ā Remus nodded, moving one of his pawns.
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āSiriusā¦ā Remus complained as Sirius shoved his nose into Remusās shoulder. āI said no.ā
āBut an essay is so boring⦠and charming McGonagallās furniture to the ceiling would be so funā¦ā Sirius nipped his ear and thus earned himself a swift elbow to the ribs, gently knocking the wind out of him. He sighed and slumped on the table, head tucked into his folded arms.
āYouāre so boring, Moony.ā Sirius jutted his chin out to kiss Remusās knuckle that was holding his paper still. āAnd I miss you. We havenāt done anything in ages.ā He pouted.
Remusās will was being eroded. Sirius was nothing if not persistent. And a sweetheart. And Remusās very favorite, since heād wedged his way into his life five years ago. And he was completely correct. Theyād both been so busy recently and Remus missed acting completely immaturely with the love of his life.
Partially out of guilt, and partially out of want that heād been putting off for the sake of productivity, Remus let Sirius kiss him in what could be considered a little much for the library. Sirius hummed happily and kept their noses tight, even when he stopped to breathe.
āMm.. Je tāaime, Moony. Est-ce que tu m'aimes?ā
āDirty trick.ā Remus smiled wryly, kissing Sirius once before pulling back, rolling his eyes as Sirius faked a big, honest plead. Remus sighed. āOuais.ā The word stuck on his tongue a bit. French had never worked quite right with his scratchy Welsh accent, but heād always tried for Sirius.
Sirius beamed, kissing Remusās cheek when he pulled away. āMignon.ā Another kiss. āJe pense Ć toi tout le temps.ā Another. Remus covered his face with his palm, pushing it away.
āStop, stopāā He giggled as Sirius continued into his cheek, now in a dramatic monologue voice.Ā
āJe ne supporte pas dāĆŖtre loin de tāā
āFine.ā Remus rolled up his parchment, sighing. āFine, fine, fine.ā