InsaneJournal

Saving (Remus/Irwin, G)
Title: Saving
Pairing: Remus/Irwin
Rating: G
Word Count: 247
Warnings: None.
Disclaimer: Not mine. JKR's and Alan Bennett's.
Summary: Tom collects. Remus saves.
Notes: An Advent Drabble for westernredcedar, who requested Remus/Irwin, "maps".

They both have their affectations, which start to come out after a while, after the question of who'll sleep where is no longer an awkward one, after Remus feels at home in a dressing gown that's not his own, after Tom no longer has to ask how Remus takes his tea.

Remus saves things. His pockets are full at the end of the day, and he secrets things away as if he's afraid to lose the most insignificant scrap of paper or a button that belongs to a cardigan he no longer owns.

And Tom saves things, too, but not like Remus does. Tom collects things, he would be quick to point out. Mostly, he collects maps. Historical maps, yes, but in among them there are others, maps one might pick up from tourist stands and information kiosks in cities strange and familiar.

On the breakfast table, there's a map of Oxford. It's dog-eared and there's a series of round marks on the corner as if Tom studied it to memorise it, setting cup after cup of tea down on it.

Remus picks it up from where Tom's left it spread out and folds it carefully, stowing it among Tom's other maps—Poland, Germany, the Russian Empire. Underneath the map is a pen that's nearly out of ink. Tom might've thrown it away, frustrated with its spits and scratches, but Remus pockets it. He'll save it. He doesn't like to see anything go to waste.