Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Other Challenges listed at the bottom.

Word Count - 1494

Written for Gab, for the Hogwarts Secret Santa. I hope you enjoy it :D

A New Focus

"You could try yoga?" Remus suggested, his lips tilting up slightly at the look of utter disgust Sirius gave him.

"I would rather stick pins in my eyes."

"But wouldn't that hurt?"

Sirius glared at him for a long moment. "You're cruisin' for a bruisin', Lupin."

"Okay, okay," Remus said, holding his hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry. Really. I've just run out of suggestions for things for you to do. I know it's hard for you to be stuck here."

Sighing, Sirius nodded. He glanced around the kitchen of the home he grew up in and grimaced at the nausea the sight arose.

He knew that the house was definitely part of the problem, but it was more the lack of freedom that hurt. He'd been in prison for twelve years already, and now he was once more stuck in what amounted to a jail cell.

A roomier one, certainly, but it wasn't more comfortable.

Not really.

Sirius even understood why Albus thought it was necessary; he just didn't agree. So what if the Death Eater's knew about his animagus form. What did that matter? It was only the same as them knowing that Arthur was on the Headmaster's side.

He was still allowed to leave the house.

Sirius let his head fall down on the table and closed his eyes. He was so tired, but he didn't want to sleep.

Sleep brought nightmares, and when it didn't bring nightmares it brought dreams of running free. Sirius wasn't sure which was worse, but he wanted to avoid both for as long as he possibly could.

Maybe if he exhausted himself enough, he'd be able to rest without dreaming for a change.

Remus squeezed his shoulder on his way out of the kitchen, murmuring a promise to be back within a few days. Sirius couldn't bring himself to reply to his friend.

He couldn't bring himself to do a lot these days.

…

Hands on his shoulders startled him, and Sirius spun around to see Kingsley standing behind him, a small smile on his face. Sirius had been sitting with Buckbeak—Witherwings just didn't suit the Hippogriff quite so well—and had been lost in a world of his own.

"Hey you," Kingsley greeted, his smile widening when Sirius wrapped his arms around Kingsley's shoulders and tugged him down a little for a hug. "I missed you."

"I missed you," Sirius replied, voice rough with emotion. "It's been almost three weeks."

Kingsley nodded and pressed a kiss against Sirius' temple. "I know. I'm sorry, I didn't expect to be away for so long. Fudge is really on our asses at the moment."

"I really hate that man," Sirius grumbled.

"You're not alone," Kingsley agreed. "Come downstairs? I've brought you a present home."

Sirius pulled back a little to look at his face. His eyebrow quirked. "A present?"

"Uh huh."

"For little old me?"

"Uh huh."

"Then let's go! Stop loitering, Kingsley!"

Kingsley allowed his boyfriend to pull him from the room, chuckling to himself. It was nice to see Sirius smile. It didn't happen often enough.

…

"He brought you home a plant?"

Sirius nodded, his eyes on the plant pot. "Apparently."

Remus snorted. "But why?"

"To give me something to focus on," Sirius replied. "Something to look after."

"Huh. And you… are just going to sit staring at it?"

Sirius glanced at Remus. "Obviously. What if it does something when I'm not watching?"

"Plants take time to grow, and they don't really require much upkeep, you know? You've just gotta water it, and make sure it's getting enough sunlight."

Sirius blinked. "How's it going to get sunlight? Oh, Merlin, I'm a terrible plant parent! Why did Kingsley think I could do this? I can't even look after myself, never mind—"

"Lumos Solem," Remus muttered.

"Oh. Good thinking, Moony!"

"Uh huh. You need to relax."

Sirius slumped against the table and nodded. "I know. I just… he brought it home for me, you know? What is it going to look like if I just let it die?"

"It's going to look like you almost failed your Herbology O.W.L, which…"

"Why are we still friends?"

…

"I'm craving seafood," Sirius said, later that night when he was curled up in bed with Kingsley.

"You're allergic to seafood," Kingsley replied, running a hand through Sirius' hair.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Allergies don't stop cravings, you know? I'm sure lactose intolerant people still want chocolate every now and then."

Kingsley stared at him. "That's… really not the same thing."

"Sure it is. Tell me about your day?"

"Not much to tell," Kingsley admitted. "I stayed in the office for most of the day. It's getting harder to balance Auror work with the Order, and I believe Fudge is getting more and more suspicious of anyone he thinks is even friendly with Dumbledore."

Sirius sighed. "He's an idiot. What's it going to take for him to finally believe that Dumbledore isn't just trying to stir up trouble? Does he need Voldemort to dance naked in the atrium of the Ministry to take this seriously?"

Snorting, Kingsley shook his head. "Not sure a naked dancing Dark Lord is something anyone is going to take seriously, to be honest."

Sirius nodded. "Probably. You know, you make an excellent pillow."

"New career path when Fudge finally drives me to quit," Kingsley replied cheerfully as Sirius nuzzled even closer. "How's our plant doing?"

"It's good," Sirius replied. "Remus suggested a good place for it, and I set the room up for it with timed sunlight charms."

"You gave the plant it's own room?"

"Of course I did."

There was a long pause, and then Kingsley pressed a kiss to Sirius' forehead. "I love you, you loon."

…

"How long has Kingsley been away?"

Sirius startled, almost dropping the coffee mug he was holding. He turned to look at Remus and shrugged pointedly. "I don't know, it's not like I count the days of anything, Moony."

"Uh huh. Or the coffee cups, apparently," Remus replied, looking at the coffee cups littering practically every surface in the room. "Sirius… did you feed the plant coffee?"

"It's not growing! I thought it might just need a bit of energy!"

"You shouldn't ever be left in charge of anything," Remus said, tone flat. "Come on, genius, you need to sleep."

"Nope. Nope, I do not need to sleep because I have coffee and coffee means I don't need sleep," Sirius replied, grinning widely.

Cursing silently that he couldn't just call Kingsley back to the house, Remus gently pulled the cup from Sirius' hand and led his friend from the room.

"We can't just leave Frank on his own! Moony, don't be cruel, he'll get lonely!"

Ignoring his friend, Remus carried on his way, leading Sirius to his bedroom. When Sirius tried to pull away, Remus carefully but firmly pushed him down on the bed and then followed, wrapping his arms tightly around his friend.

"Go to sleep," Remus murmured softly. "I'm right here. I'll stay until Kingsley gets back, okay?"

There was a long silence and then Sirius shifted against Remus, resting his head against his best friend's chest. "Do you think I'm being too needy, Moony? Am I driving him away?"

"Of course not," Remus replied immediately. "Being stuck back here, it's no surprise that you need comfort sometimes."

Sirius huffed, but slowly, he relaxed against Remus' chest.

…

Kingsley stood in the doorway, watching Sirius and Remus sleep. It didn't take long for Remus to wake, sensing his presence.

As Remus moved, Kingsley used his wand to silently levitate a pillow into his place so that the movement wouldn't disturb Sirius.

"Tea?" Remus offered, when he stepped out of the bedroom.

Kingsley nodded softly and followed Remus down to the kitchen. "How's he doing?"

"He fed coffee to the plant," Remus replied shrugging. "And he's not sleeping. Aside from that, I think he's doing as well as can be expected."

Kingsley sighed. "Maybe he shouldn't be here. Wouldn't it be kinder to smuggle him out of the country? At least then he could be free."

"But then you wouldn't be there," a sleepy voice behind them said, and Kingsley turned just in time for Sirius to flop into his lap, burying his face against the navy robes Kingsley wore. "And I wouldn't be close in case Harry needs me."

"You wouldn't be trapped here though," Kingsley replied, his hand automatically settling against Sirius' back.

"You're enough to keep me here," Sirius murmured. "You and Harry. And Frank."

"Who… who is Frank?"

Sirius blinked up at him, offended and adorable. "Our son, you heathen!"

When Kingsley still looked lost, Remus took pity on him. "The plant."

"You called our plant Frank?"

"It's a bold name. Brave and strong," Sirius replied with a firm nod. "Frank will grow up and be amazing, just you watch."

Chuckling softly, Kingsley shook his head. "I look forward to it."

Also Written For:

Disney - D3. "I would rather stick pins in my eyes." / "But wouldn't that hurt?"

Space - 17. Balance

Amber's Attic - 11. Descendants: Write about someone consuming copious amounts of caffeine.

Angel's Archive - 2. Fluff

Scamander's Case - 18. Believe

Bex's Basement - 3. I really hate that man.

Film Festival - 11. (phrase) In charge

Funfair, North - Do You Wanna Build A Snowman: Step 4: 7. Navy

Funfair, East - Cookies for Santa: 21. Sugar Cookie: "You make an excellent pillow."

Funfair, South - Paper Chains - KingsleySirius / [Dialogue] "I'm craving seafood." / "You're allergic to seafood."

Galleon - Necessary

365. 291. Levitate