A Flashback-Friday Drabble: A Nude in Woollen Socks

[paulamcg]

Or the final part in the series of Sketches for a Portrait – or of The Dregs of My Old Works :)

When reaching this end, I've just got a new laptop, which is good for gaming, too. It remains to be seen if I'll continue to rewrite old work – proceeding to the chapters I wrote in 2003 – or start writing for fests again, or playing games :).Writing fic is my greatest love, but for several months now it's repeatedly left me feeling nauseous when – after some promises even – I still don't hear that a story has been received. I've treasured the exceptions and the lovely conversations on some of my posts and elsewhere.


Title: A Nude in Woollen Socks
Author: paulamcg
Pairing: Remus/Sirius
Word Count: 100
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Remus and Sirius won’t help me make any money.
Notes: This "draft for Remus's self-portrait", or perhaps a double portrait was made as a bonus fic for Livejournal user dreaminginblack at R/S Small Gifts in December 2010.
Summary: A happy moment in Grimmauld Place.

Read here on AO3
or right here.

(13)



Under this canopy once erected for the Noble heir’s bed, I’m a full-body portrait for him to look at: scars, gauntness, damage drawn by hardships in my beautiful life. Yes, beautiful – happy at moments.

Wearing my ancient sweatshirt, he hasn’t exposed everything. But unlike mine his feet are bare, ice-cold – touching my shins when he kneels over me.

“Help me take off one pair…” I say.

It’s tricky when there’re two layers of wool. We’re howling with laughter, but we succeed before he guesses my goal.

Both wearing socks, with feet slipping on the floor, we’re gliding in dance.




Notes: I think this scene takes place in December 1995, perhaps right after the end of In Lines of Charcoal.

Comments

[kelly_chambliss]

I’m a full-body portrait for him to look at: scars, gauntness, damage drawn by hardships in my beautiful life. Yes, beautiful – happy at moments.

Love this line -- especially because it could apply to either one of them. We get a good sense of their connection.

And that last image is wonderfully joyous.

[paulamcg]

Thank you so much for reading and for commenting in such a lovely way! (I thought you might have read this here back in 2010, but no... I've now checked the comments.) I forgot to mention in the notes here that I'd now made some changes in the text – just in the first paragraph none.

I hope that it's not confusing that the “I” could be Sirius, too. I realise now that “him” referring to “the heir” is not the only possible interpretation. Myself I've taken it for granted, of course, that all these “attempts at a self-portrait” are from Remus's perspective, but perhaps I should imply it in the summary (instead of using just the words of the prompt as summary).

Your notion that the description, as such, in the opening could apply to the two of them could mean that the text is just more evocative than I hoped. I love the way you tell me you've seen their connection. I feel the tragedy is that Sirius's life has been less beautiful – that for twelve years there couldn't possibly be any happy moments, and after Azkaban such moments have been hard to reach in memory or in the present (as I've shown in other OotP-era stories, one of which is rather recent, and which are now my Grimmauld Place series on AO3).

I'm thrilled the closing works for you so well. For a long time (eight years) I thought that this was truly the last image in the story I had completed.

[chez_jae]

Love it!

[paulamcg]

Thank you for commenting to say that! I'm glad this drabble works for you so well, and these Remus and Sirius always need more love. :)