Cold Nights, Warm Hearts

Remus was doing a fairly decent job of not letting himself be alone, especially in his home - but these odd evening hours always brought him trouble. After he put the twins to bed, what was he to do? He couldn't deny that he'd been having trouble sleeping, as well. Half the time he didn't even sleep in his bedroom, opting for one of the spares or the living room couch instead. That's where he was tonight, whiling away the hours with a glass of whiskey until he was tired enough to slump over into the cushions. Tonight he also distracted himself with a warm fire in the hearth and a book, something dry and dull about the nuances of transfiguration, hoping it would all speed the progress along. At the very least, it all meant he wouldn't have to think about anything else.

That is, until, he heard the noises of arrival on his front porch. At this hour, such noises couldn't appropriately be ignored. Someone probably needed him for something or another, and being needed was certainly better than sitting around waiting for sleep. Remus pulled himself out of the couch cushions and went to the door. When he pulled it open, he found Mali, red-faced and shivering something fierce. She looked so incredibly down that Remus acted on instinct alone (mostly instinct...those instincts were flavored with something different recently), reaching out and pulling her inside. She was cold to the touch, and Remus ran his hands up her arms. "Merlin, you're freezing. Come here."

He was most definitely needed now, and Remus was taking full advantage of the fact. He took Mali's cold hand and led her into his living room, situating her close to the fire. He stayed next to her, crossing his arms over his chest and looking down at her with deep concern. "What happened?" She was pretty obviously in some sort of trouble - and she felt safe enough to come here, of all places. Remus wasn't blind to that fact. Mali took care of him and he took care of Mali, it was a little unspoken game of back-and-forth they both played along with. Over the past few weeks, Remus felt the growing awareness that it was becoming more than just a game, more than just the returning of a favor. Everything in his life was confusing right now, not in the least just his feelings for this young woman who showed him such kindness. Such attention. Something about her being here now, trusting and vulnerable, felt like the solidification of something Remus couldn't quite acknowledge.

Remus had the same quick flashback as Mali as the pair of them once again ended up on his living room couch - inspiring his closer scrutiny of the woman. She didn't look hurt, she certainly wasn't bleeding like she had been that day. Given their short yet violent past, it made sense for Remus' utmost concern to be with Mali's physical well-being. And it was probably the same for him - one could only bleed a certain number of times on a person's floor before it sort of just became expected...As far as Mali's emotional well-being, though...well. Remus cared a lot about that, too, but sometimes felt like he shouldn't. She had other people that were supposed to take care of that for her.

People that, apparently, liked to argue with her. Since she'd stopped shivering so much in front of the fire, Remus could stop worrying so much about her freezing to death and start worrying more about what that meant. An argument. Mali had a fight with her boyfriend, and the first person she thought to seek out afterward was him. It wasn't completely outlandish to Remus - people came to him for advice on a lot of things. Comfort, less so...but taking just the slightest hints - the way she spoke and the way she looked up at him - Remus let himself believe that's why she was here. She just needed to take the edge off, somehow. He was vaguely aware that he was letting what he needed influence what he thought she needed. But...she had come here, after all.

Thus Remus was both fully distracted by and fully concentrated on Mali. He tried to focus on her words rather than her fidgeting hands or the frown lines around her mouth. Her words made it worse, adding anger to the mix. "What?" Mali, incompetent - Remus himself was living proof of how foolish a statement that was. Eventually, he just had to reach over and take one of her hands - still very cold - in his, trying to quell some of these things (on both sides) making it so hard to focus. Mali was upset and she needed him to make it better and his being distracted and angry wouldn't help either of them. He nodded, watching her words form on her lips and not at all paying attention to his gradual leaning toward her. Just the words.

Then those words became focused on him. 'You just seemed like where I should go' - it hit Remus right in the gut, but not at all unpleasantly. Like the world's most pleasant sucker punch, warmth and butterflies. He shifted against the cushions, still holding Mali's hand, trying to pass on that warmth. Hoping she could feel it, too - because to be perfectly honest, Remus was starting to feel pretty damn good right now, despite the circumstance. "Don't worry about me." He smiled slightly at her. "You know he's wrong, right? You know you're not incompetent. You're brilliant. Maybe you needed to come here to remind yourself of what you're capable of." He was feeling emboldened, too. Overly warm. He pulled Mali's hand to him, still in his, and used her finger to tap against his chest, one of many points she'd mended with her competency and kindness.

Remus finally managed to pull a smile, tiny and faint, from Mali - and that was the very moment he knew he was done for. The warmth from the fire and the warmth from his guest on the couch and the warmth from something else entirely, spreading in his chest like a lightning flash, combined and left him feeling like a schoolboy with a crush. Their little game of back and forth was bound to come to this moment, wasn't it? No one else had shown up for Remus in his grief in the way Mali had, and it was entirely too easy for him to let that all go to his head, assigning big meanings to little actions.

Remus found himself entirely focused on that smile, gaze lingering on Mali's lips even as they moved to form around words. He was smiling, too. "I think I'll leave the healing to you. I kind of like having you on call." They could sit here and tell each other how great they thought the other was all night, but Remus didn't think that's all Mali wanted from him. If she only wanted his words, she could have written him. Instead, she was seated on his couch, running her fingers over his chest and leaning ever so closer with each word.

And those words, they were going straight to Remus' head. She was saying everything he wanted to say. She wanted to know his scars, wanted to know his story - the very same thought that had been growing in the back of Remus' mind for weeks, in all honesty. He wanted to know Mali. She mentioned having almost no scars...Remus' hand slipped down to her side, enveloping the spot where he'd tried his best to heal her. He could feel bits of raised skin through her clothes. Remus stared at the spot for a moment before his gaze inevitably went back to Mali's lips, finding himself increasingly unable to stop thinking about them. He really needed to do something about that. Pressing lightly on Mali's back, he finished the gap between them and pressed his lips just slightly against hers. The kiss was brief, but even as their lips parted again, Remus left no space between the two of them anymore. His eyes were on Mali's eyes now, nervous and eager for a reaction. "I want you to - I want you to know every single one."