Oh, sure he could be himself as much as he wanted to be, and he'd been told time and again that that was all he should be around Remus (which Sirius forever appreciated, but did not always follow) but desperate times called for desperate measures and this was the worst ever, basically.
Luckily, it seemed to have worked. Sure, neither of them were going to be happy exactly, but putting on a good front was a nice first step. It wasn't hard to see when Remus softened a bit and his smile wasn't wholly disingenuous. "Yeah," he said and had to blink his eyes a bit before they felt puffy and he was tired now from all that emotion. "Of course they are. You're not gonna find better." And when Remus touched, Sirius leaned into it.
He always did that. He was a glutton for it, on most days. But today he needed it more than usual. Just that simple reassurance. He reached forward too -- hesitant fingers resting on Remus' knee. "Hey," he said, a little awkward. "Sitting in the dirt is... anyway. I've got a place. Reckon a roof and some walls might be good." This public display was getting to be -- well. Too public. Even if it was night and no one else seemed to be around.