Disclaimer: If they actually belonged to me, this wouldn't be fanfiction, now would it?

Warning: Six 100-word drabbles. Slash. Duh. Rating for safety.

Five Ways Sirius Ran Away to Remus (And One Way He Didn't)

1.

Barely awake, Remus shuffles to his bedroom window, jaw cracking in quick succession with his yawns. Heaving the pane up, he squints into the deeper darkness outside, too tired to even muster a glare for the boy-shaped shadow that had been tapping on the glass.

"It's the mid'le 'f th' night, Sir'us," he manages to get out, between yawns. "Wha're you doin' here?"

"Ran away," is the hoarse response. "Where else would I go?"

Remus shakes his head, feeling disoriented, and retreats so Sirius can tumble over the ledge into the room. "Sleep now," he says. "Explain in th' morning."

2.

Remus is about to head to bed when he hears the knock on the back door. Confused but curious, he opens it to a somewhat bedraggled Sirius, clutching a broom and an overstuffed satchel.

"I'm not going back," Sirius informs him before Remus can open his mouth.

Remus doesn't ask, just nods, and reaches out to gently touch the split in Sirius's lower lip. His hand hovers perhaps a moment too long before he jerks it back as if burned.

"Can I get you some tea?" he offers, hoping his blush isn't noticeable in the dim light from the hall.

3.

Remus excuses himself from dinner to answer the door, and blinks in surprise to see a defiant-looking Sirius on the porch.

"Sirius? What –" he doesn't get to finish his sentence, because Sirius has grabbed him by the shirtfront to haul him forward, and Remus, unbalanced, lands on Sirius's lips. He struggles for a moment before melting into it, but it's over almost before it's begun.

"I've left home," Sirius announces, two brilliant blotches of color highlighting his aristocratic bone structure. "For good." He swallows hard, but there is a determined gleam in his eyes. "Can I kiss you again?"

4.

The afternoon sun beats down on Remus's back as he sprawls reading in the grass behind his house. A shadow blocking his light causes him to look up into the grey eyes of a giant black dog.

He raises an eyebrow. "Padfoot?"

The dog changes into a crouching boy. "Mother blasted me off the tapestry," he says by way of explanation. "Can I stay with you for a bit?"

Remus starts, but collects himself quickly. "Of course." He unthinkingly tucks a wisp of black hair behind Sirius's ear. "Stay as long as you want."

Sirius leans into the touch. "Thanks."

5.

Remus's sandwich drops when the fire roars green and Sirius tumbles out with his school trunk. All he can think is, It's happened, he's run away, as he falls to the ground by his friend's side.

Sirius looks at him and there's something shattered behind those grey eyes. "They don't want me anymore," is all he says before breaking into a million pieces, choking the words out again between sobs, "They don't want me. No one wants me."

Remus wraps his arms around him, unsure how else to hold him together. "I want you," he whispers. Sirius only clings tighter.

And The Way He Didn't

Remus is at breakfast when the letter arrives. He unties it swiftly from the owl's leg and offers the well-known bird a bit of bacon before reading the missive. It's short and frustratingly lacking in detail.

"What is it?" his mother asks, sounding worried.

"It's Sirius," he replies, a sinking feeling in his stomach as he frowns at the parchment. "He's run away from home. It doesn't say why." Something uncomfortable clenches in Remus's chest, and he wonders briefly why he feels hurt when he should be more concerned with why Sirius has finally left his home. "He's with James."