Chapter Text
The next night’s moon was somehow less brutal than previous ones. The transformation still hurt like hell and he ached the following day, spending most of it in bed, dozing from the pain potions he took by rote. But somehow, the knowledge that not only was Sirius not afraid of him but in fact willing to go on a real date with him filled him with such hope that he was distracted from the aches in his joints and stiffness in his taxed muscles.
Remus stood in front of his wardrobe on Friday evening after closing the shop a few minutes early in despair over what to wear. He settled for his softest jumper along with gloves and a hat since he wanted to be warm. He very quickly ran down the back stairs to meet Sirius as the clock had just struck six and he didn’t want to be late. Sirius was waiting when he reached the back door and smiled at him.
“So… Erm, how – how was the moon?” Sirius asked shyly.
Remus hesitated before answering. So few people ever asked him that and he was still uncertain of how much to share with Sirius. “It was…okay,” he said at last. When Sirius didn’t pull away or appear to lose interest, he added, “It’s never good , but this one wasn’t as bad as the others usually are. I had this to look forward to, didn’t I?”
Sirius beamed at him and took his hand. “This okay?” he asked softly.
“Of course,” Remus replied, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. “Erm, where are we headed?”
“Well, I thought we might try someplace muggle. Do you like Indian?”
“Love it.”
Sirius led him through Diagon Alley and out the muggle side of the Leaky Cauldron. Sirius’ motorbike was sitting at the curb, chrome glinting in the streetlights. With a delighted look, Remus glanced at Sirius, who handed him a spare helmet.
With a roar the bike took off and Remus reveled in getting to cling to Sirius’s back. The wind whipping his face, the engine and surrounding traffic roaring in his ears, and the solid warmth directly in front of him filled him with an exhilarating sense of freedom he rarely experienced. Sirius easily maneuvered in and out of London traffic, mindful of Remus holding on to him but striving to keep his focus on his driving rather than the warm body wrapped around his.
Once in the restaurant, their conversation was a bit stilted after placing their orders.
“So, erm, what do you do other than knitting and spoiling unborn godchildren?” Remus asked, wincing inwardly at his poor delivery.
Sirius shrugged. “Not much, really. James and I were going to join the Aurors together but… Halfway through training it seemed to lose its appeal. A lot more protocol and paperwork and a lot less chasing down bad guys and dueling in dank alleys.” He ran a hand through his long hair. “I’m very much not the paperwork type,” he chuckled. “In case you hadn’t picked up on that.”
“Oh, I assumed as much,” Remus said.
“Yeah. So for now I’m living off an inheritance left to me by an estranged uncle, since my family disowned me. That’s actually part of what brought me into your shop,” he brightened. “The Black Sheep – it’s a bit of an inside joke considering …” He trailed off a bit when he saw Remus’s look of concern.
“Disowned you?” he asked. “Seriously?”
“I’m always Sirius,” the other man said cheekily.
Remus scoffed and rolled his eyes but the corners of his mouth quirked as he kept a smile from escaping.
“Truly, though,” Sirius said. “I wouldn’t fall in line with their pureblood superiority, their political leanings, the future my parents had already decided for me,” he sighed. “Then to come out and say, ‘I don’t want to marry my cousin, I’d rather blow the Quidditch team,’ well… That was the last straw.” He caught Remus’s eye and said, “I’m so sorry, this is terrible dinner conversation. I usually save the bitter family history for a third date.”
Remus chuckled a bit but said, “No, it’s fine. I – I like hearing about you. Your experiences with your family sound awful but those experiences are part of what make you who you are. I’m sorry they weren’t the supportive family you deserved,” he finished quietly.
“It’s alright, really,” Sirius was earnest. “James’ parents took me in and they were the best. Truly. Jamie and I joke all the time that I was actually their favorite son.” He smiled a bit crookedly, cocking his head like a dog. Then their food arrived and they tucked into rice, naan, and curries of all colors while Sirius regaled Remus with tales of his school days.
“And then Pete ran in, sopping wet, and said, ‘I saw the whole thing, Professor, they’re telling the truth!’ before he realized that the whole plan had fallen apart as soon as we flooded the corridor.”
Tears were streaming down Remus’s face and he was gasping with laughter. “Wha – what happened with the cat?”
“Professor McGonagall was the cat! We hadn’t learned about Animagi in Transfigurations yet so we had no idea she’d been watching us the whole time. When she transformed we were so scared we were going to be expelled but instead she just gave us detention for a week and suggested we come up with a better alibi next time.”
“And the three of you became inseparable after that?”
“Yeah, that was our first real prank. It was terrible, compared to our more brilliant schemes, but it cemented our bond.”
“I feel so bad for the other boys in your dorm,” Remus chuckled.
“Aww, Frank didn’t mind too much. He had plausible deniability anyway, since he spent most of his time in the common room while we were busy plotting.”
The ride back to Diagon Alley was quick as it was late and there was very little traffic. Remus clung to Sirius’s back and closed his eyes against the chilly January wind as Sirius wound the motorbike through the streets. Once they reached The Leaky Cauldron, it was Remus who reached out to take Sirius’s hand, and the dark haired man grinned at him as they walked but said nothing. Remus felt his stomach flip at the sight of that smile, nervous anticipation swirling in his chest as they walked along the darkening street.
Remus led them around the back of his shop to the door leading to his flat. He fumbled with his free hand at the door, and looked at Sirius with searching eyes.
“So, er, this is me,” he said softly.
Sirius leaned against the wall and sly smirk spread across his face. Remus considered how unfair it was that someone could do such a simple action so gracefully.
“Yup,” Sirius said, making no move to walk away or release Remus’s hand from his own. “I had fun tonight,” he continued. “I hope you did, too.”
“Yes, yes I did, thank you,” Remus answered, eyes never leaving Sirius’ mouth.
Sirius pushed himself away from the wall against which he had been leaning so expertly and leaned in until he was nose to nose with Remus. “I’d really like to kiss you,” he murmured.
A wolfish gleam lit in Remus’s eyes, and he pushed Sirius up against the wall, kissing him fiercely. When he broke off to breathe, Sirius laughed and twisted his fingers in the soft wool of Remus’ jumper.
“You know,” he murmured, “I never would have thought of you as the aggressive type, but I kind of like it.”
Remus chuckled, “I hope it’s a pleasant surprise.”
“Hmmm,” Sirius hummed, petting Remus’ jumper again, then laughing, “Maybe you’re a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” he said, and tugged him close to kiss him again.