Work Text:
Technically, Sirius didn’t need to go to the French club and technically, he didn’t even need to take the language in the first place. Due to his upbringing, he knew French long before he started the subject in school but when it came to his subject choice, he still picked French.
This had nothing to do with the pretty freckled boy who was ridiculously bad at French but still took it regardless. Absolutely nothing. Sirius knew his name, obviously from being in the same French class for the past few years now and he thought it was quite a fitting name because Remus Lupin was a name that was different, much like Remus himself. There was just something about the other boy that drew Sirius in. Maybe it was his loud and obnoxious best friend who never seemed to leave his aside apart from French class. Or maybe the way he rarely wore his school coat in class when everyone else was freezing, even in the middle of winter when the school wouldn’t put on the heating. Or, and this was much more likely, it was because of the pride pin on his school bag and how he didn’t hide it, despite getting shit for it numerous times.
So, when Sirius heard about the French club and that Remus was joining, he was eager to take up the opportunity. Unfortunately during the meeting, Remus sat nowhere near him. Instead, the wonderful boy sat with a small group of girls.
It was only after the meeting when the girls had bid their goodbyes and Remus was putting away his lunch did Sirius get the opportunity to speak to him.
“You’re really good at French”
Remus didn’t even look up, just let out a small glorious laugh. “You think so?”
“Yeah” Sirius nodded, “I really do”
“Liar” Remus rolled his eyes, lunchbox in hand and water bottle under his arm. “I’m barely passing the subject and when I am, it’s usually on accident”
Sirius felt his face heat up, eyes darting around and looking everywhere but Remus. “I could help you”
“Help me?” Remus narrowed his eyes, gaze firmly fixed on Sirius.
“Like… I dunno, tutor you or something” Sirius shrugged, trying not to die under the intense look Remus was giving him.
“Why?” The taller boy asked, “what do you get out of it?”
What do I get out of it?, Sirius thought. In all honesty, he hoped he could woo Remus. Or at least become friends because it hadn’t happened organically and Sirius would be damned if he had to keep pining after the boy, doing nothing about it. Friends first and then maybe he could show Remus how great he is and somehow get him to fall in love with him. Of course Sirius figured this would be hard so maybe it was best to be straightforward?
Eventually he settled on, “a date?”
Something crossed Remus’ face so quickly that Sirius would’ve missed it if he hadn’t been watching him with the utmost attention. For about a millisecond his gaze softened, a half smile forming on his lips. Then, his expression changed within a matter of seconds as caution flashed across his wonderful honey coloured eyes, his shoulders squared and his jaw set.
“Very funny Black” he said, pushing past him and turning around when he reached the door just for a moment. “If you’re trying to pull my leg and see how long it takes James to come rescue me or whatever, you can fuck off”
“Remus no-“ Sirius called after him but the boy didn’t stop so Sirius had to run up to him.
Seeing as Remus was a fair bit taller than Sirius meant that Sirius had to jog to keep up with his long, purposeful strides. “Remus I wasn’t joking”
Remus refused to make eye contact now, staring straight ahead. “Leave me alone, I need to get my books and then go to chemistry”
“Let me walk you,” Sirius offered desperately. “I have biology and the labs are just across from each other”
“I already have James, I don’t need to be escorted” Remus replied, sending a small glance in his direction which Sirius read as a good sign.
“Can you please , reconsider my offer?” Sirius asked, hopefully. “You don’t have to go on the date if you don’t want to”
Remus stopped dead in his tracks, causing Sirius to bump into him and stumble backwards at the contact. He gave Sirius a once over, chewing his bottom lip as if trying to figure out if this was worth his time or not.
“I don’t want to owe you a favour” He admitted after a couple of seconds, “boys like you and favours are generally dangerous things”
Sirius quirked an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I don’t feel comfortable owing pretty boys like you favours” Remus sighed, fixing Sirius with that intense look once more.
“Fine-“ Sirius nodded, judgment clouded by the fact that Remus just called him a pretty boy. “I know what you can do to repay me without owing any favours”
Remus glanced at his watch; it was a very old looking watch, a rotary brand with a brown leather strap. The metal around the face of it looked quite rusty, as if Remus wasn’t the first person to wear it. “And what’s that?”
“I do art, right?” Sirius gave him a grin, trying to suppress his excitement at the excellent idea that popped into his head. “You could model for me- I mean, I need to practice my life drawings anyway for the y’know final exam and stuff”
Remus took a moment to answer and Sirius was afraid he’d blown his chance. “Alight”
Sirius blinked. “Alright?” he hadn’t thought it would be that easy but he was over the moon that Remus agreed to this. He liked looking at Remus so this gave him a good excuse to do it more.
“Yeah, fine,” Remus confirmed, and began walking again.
This time Sirius didn’t have to jog to keep up with the taller boy and he appreciated it a lot. “I’d offer my house but um…” he trailed off trying to think of an excuse for his horrible parents who would most certainly do something very bad if Remus, with his pride pins and tawny curls that were probably really soft and his shy smile, stepped foot into the house. “My parents are super strict- I can’t have anyone over”
“Right” Remus nodded and didn’t pry, which Sirius really appreciated. He patted the pockets on his pants and pulled out a pen. “I can give you my number and address- I’m free any day after school really-“ Sirius gave him his hand, he held it while scribbling down his details “-except for Fridays, James has training and gets me to go watch by bribing me with chocolate”
Good to know that the way to Remus’ heart was through his stomach, Sirius would need to make note of that and maybe brush up on cooking skills or just buy him a chocolate bar every now and again.
When Remus finished talking, he let go of Sirius’ hand and walked away. He said something about James and homework but Sirius was too busy aching at the loss of contact. Looking down at Remus’ handwriting, Sirius felt a longing to get to know the other boy.
After a brief exchange and having to literally beg his parents on his hands and knees, Sirius was given permission to go to Remus’ on Saturday.
“Kreacher will drive you” His father said on Friday evening during supper.
Kreacher was their butler. He was a bitter old man who hated children but was very loyal to the Blacks nonetheless and he was also part of the reason Sirius hated having other people his age over. No one else had a butler and everyone thought it was weird.
Sirius’ head shot up, a frown on his face. “Oh no, it’s not too far- I can cycle”
Sirius couldn’t let Kreacher drive him because he didn’t tell his parents where Remus lived. He couldn’t, or else he wouldn’t be allowed to go there. This was because he, Sirius Black, lived in a very big, old manor house while Remus (Sirius discovered this after a couple google searches) lived in a council estate. If his parents knew that was where he was going, he’d never let him. He shuddered to think what they would do.
His father looked unimpressed. “I see, what did you say this boy’s name was?”
“Remus Lupin”
Regulus quickly glanced at his brother. Sirius felt his throat tighten because Regulus knew . Of course he did, everyone at their school had at least heard of Remus. Especially after what Severus Snape, the greasy git, did to him. To call it a fight would be unfair because it was said to be at least four against one (at least that’s what the most believable rumour says, Sirius hadn’t witnessed it first hand though because he had been at rugby training that day) until James Potter came to his rescue but still, even then it wasn’t a fair fight. Sirius assumed that the appearance of the football team captain intimidated the others enough to make them back off.
“Interesting name” his mother said, almost approvingly. Strange names were loved by all members of the Black family. Well, not loved maybe but there was a tradition.
Sirius shot Regulus a glare, telling him to back down when his father spoke. “Certainly, I don’t recognize it,” he nodded. “Where does his father work?”
Shit. “I’m not sure,” Sirius replied, not daring to make eye contact. “I haven’t asked”
“Make sure to find out” His father smiled a little. It wasn’t a nice smile, or even a polite one, it was more of a sneer of someone who thinks they are above you despite not knowing the first thing about you.
Sirius nodded, wanting to end the conversation there. There was more talk but he tuned it out, more focused on finishing his food and getting to go back up to his room.
Saturday saw Sirius throw all his things into a bag after lunch. All his art supplies and his French things, he was eager to go but they had agreed on after lunch and Sirius was going to respect Remus’ wishes.
By the time he got to Remus’ house, leaving the bike against the wall, Sirius wished dearly that Kreacher had driven him; consequences be damned because it turned out that Remus lived further away than he had anticipated. He turned to the front door, a slightly askew metal number 3 greeted him, and knocked.
The person who answered wasn’t Remus. She looked a lot like Remus, if Remus had been a short woman and not a very tall boy. They shared the same tawny hair colour and slight curls. The same nose, large and crooked nose. When she smiled, it was the same polite smile Remus often wore. The only striking difference were her bright blue eyes compared to Remus’ amber ones. She wore overalls, the legs cuffed above her ankle with a white t-shirt peeking out from underneath. Sirius noticed there was dirt on her clothes, like actual soil, and he couldn’t imagine his own mother being out in the garden.
“Oh!” She gasped, seeing him. “You must be Sirius- Remus! Come down, your friend is here” she called then turned to Sirius. “Come in, come in-“ she ushered him inside.
He took a moment to look around the hall. It was narrow but warm and inviting with pictures of what he assumed was Remus when he was little, a small orange cat, a cottage that looked like it belonged in a fairytale book and Remus’ mum with other people who could’ve been friends or maybe even family.
“Yes, nice to meet you er- Mrs Lupin” Sirius said, remembering he was raised to be much more polite than this.
She shook her head. “Oh there’s no need for that- call me Hope please” She offered him a warm motherly smile as he nodded, then she shouted something in a language that Sirius didn’t recognize or understand followed by: “...selective hearing, I swear this boy will be the death of me- Remus!”
The boy in question appeared at the top of the stairs. Nothing could’ve prepared Sirius for how Remus Lupin looked without his school uniform. For one, he looked much more relaxed and (ironically) more at home than Sirius had had the pleasure to see him. His features were much softer in the early afternoon light, curls falling haphazardly across his forehead and covering the top of an old faded scar that Sirius wanted nothing more than to ask about. He was wearing a football jersey (Sirius had been certain that Remus hated football but maybe he was wrong) of a team or club that Sirius only vaguely recognized and blue jeans. His lips curled into a small smile when he saw Sirius.
“Geez, there’s no need to scream” He rolled his eyes, nodding at Sirius. “Upstairs, let’s go”
“Door open Remus John Lupin or else I swear to everything that is holy, you will regret it!” Hope called, as Sirius ran upstairs.
Remus’ face went red and, shaking his head, he walked towards his bedroom with Sirius in tow. He made his legs move to follow Remus, despite wanting to stay there, looking at the pink dusting Remus’ cheeks in a way Sirius thought was the best thing since sliced bread. In fact, Sirius thought everything about Remus was the best thing since sliced bread.
“Sorry about her” He said, pushing open his bedroom door and falling back on his bed. “She’s absolutely cracked sometimes”
Sirius shook his head, kicking his shoes off. “I think she’s bloody brilliant- at least compared to mine”
Remus just shrugged. “She has her moments”
“Alright, wanna get started on the stuff we need for the oral?” He asked, taking a seat on the bed across from Remus. “I was thinking we could go over the pronunciation for moi-même today”
About an hour or so later which consisted of Remus butchering the French language and Sirius correcting him, they decided it was enough and that it was Remus’ turn to do something for Sirius.
They set up a chair in the middle of the room, facing the bed. Remus sat down on it while Sirius moved him around to get him into one of the poses that came up in previous exams. Every time he touched the other boy, he wanted to scream. The skin on Remus’ hands and arms was soft, softer than Sirius thought should be legal. It took a lot for him to not grab Remus’ chin and tilt it back so that he could snog him silly right there right then.
“What’s with the jersey?” Sirius asked after about a few seconds of silence, drawing a rough outline. “I thought you said you hated football?”
“I do,” Remus confirmed, clearly trying his best not to move. “It’s James’- at least I think it is, he always ends up leaving everything here so sometimes I’ll steal a jersey or a jumper”
Sirius let out a laugh, thinking about whether if he left a jumper or something like that here, would Remus wear that too?
“What?” Remus protested, “it’s not like he doesn’t steal my jumpers in the winter, he’s awful for it”
“You guys seem like good friends” Sirius commented, glancing up at Remus to see his reaction.
“I hope so- we’ve known each other since primary school”
“That long?”
“Yeah, I’m surprised he’s not sick of me” Remus laughed that glorious laugh again and even though he was joking, Sirius couldn’t imagine anyone getting sick of Remus. Not when there was so much to love about him.
“I don’t think I could ever get sick of you” He confessed, eyes flickering back down to the paper to avoid eye contact.
“Oh” Remus said in what was almost a whisper. “Why did you tell me I was good at French when we both know I’m not?”
Sirius shrugged. “I didn’t want to hurt your feelings” This was partially true, seeing as Sirius fancied him and generally you don’t want to hurt the feelings of people you fancy.
“I’m used to getting my feelings hurt, it’s not like it would’ve matter” Remus’ tone was very a-matter-of-fact and that was the bit that sort of broke Sirius’ heart.
A comfortable silence descended on the boys with only the one sound being the scribbling of Sirius’ pencil against paper. Eventually, Remus started complaining so they took a small break in which Remus and Sirius ended up lying shoulder to shoulder on the bed.
“What does your dad do?” Sirius asked, suddenly remembering that his own father would ask about this and that saying he didn’t know wouldn’t be an acceptable response.
“Dunno”
Sirius turned his head to look at him. His face inches away from Remus and if he really wanted to, he could lean forward slightly and kiss him. He didn’t. Instead he said: “what do you mean you don’t know?”
Remus’ eyes flickered momentarily to Sirius’ as he frowned. “Left when I five” he shrugged, “All I’ve got is his last name and bad posture”
Something in Sirius’ stomach dropped. Shit, shit shit- “I’m sorry, I-“
But Remus stopped him with a shake of his head, turning so that they were looking at each other. “Nah don’t be, wasn’t much of a loss for me- I don’t really remember him anyway”
“Still that’s-“ Sirius tried but he was getting too distracted by the way Remus’ breath tickled his face and by how much he wanted to kiss him.
Remus raised an eyebrow. “That’s shit?” he supplied helpfully.
“Yeah” Sirius replied breathlessly because fucking hell, Remus had freckles that ran across his nose and weren’t visible unless you were this close to his face. “Something like that”
He laughed again and Sirius thought he was done for. He could’ve melted right then and there but apparently their ‘small’ break had stretched long enough for Hope to call for her son.
Remus groaned, rolling his eyes but getting up regardless. He walked out the room only to come back in a second later. “Dinner?”
“Yeah, I’m starved” Sirius nodded eagerly and the two boys made their way to the kitchen.
Dinner with Remus and Hope was nothing like dinner with his family. Sirius was vaguely aware of the fact that children could be close to their parents but he never thought they could be as close as Remus and his Mum. The way they chatted, witty remarks and affectionate words, made Sirius ache a little with longing and a small bit of envy.
“So where’s Jamie?” Hope asked at some point, “he’s usually here by dinner”
“He’s got a date” Remus replied before putting a forkful of pasta in his mouth.
“Right yes- with that Lily Evans girl isn’t it?”
“Yeah, the one with the red hair, she’s my partner for biology” He said through a mouthful of good, “I’m sure he’ll be around later to tell us all about it”
Hope shook her head. “Don’t talk with your mouthful, cariad”
This time Remus swallowed before replying and even cleared his throat. “Sorry Mum”
“Mum?”
“Yes, you’re my Mum aren’t you?”
“But cyw, you-“
“Well Sirius is here” He said, casting a glance and a shy smile at the boy in question.
“You’re not like that around James”
“Yeah well that’s cause James and I have no dignity left between us- not after he’s seen me laugh so hard tea came out my nose and I saw him projectile onto a girl’s shoes”
This made both Sirius and Hope laugh, then Hope smiled, looking delighted with herself. “You see Sirius, Remus is embarrassed because he still calls me Mummy”
Remus groaned, dropping the fork on his plate and putting both hands over his rapidly reddening face. Hope laughed again, a delightful laugh that reminded Sirius of the way Remus would laugh sometimes. This of course, prompted Sirius to let out a chuckle of his own as he watched the interaction between the mother and son.
“You’re awful and you wonder why I never bring people over”
“Oh hush” Hope shook her head despite the fond smile on her face. “Tell me Sirius, you taught him French and did he help you with chemistry? or maybe English?”
Before Sirius had the chance to answer she went on. “Has he ever told you he always wanted to be a teacher? I keep telling him to go into editing or writing- oh! when Remus was small, he used to make up all these stories about-“
“Mum”
“What is it cyw?”
Remus sighed, chuckling softly, “You’re scaring him off”
“Oh! sorry dear” Hope smiled bashfully. “I tend to get a little over excited, this one rarely brings any friends over” she nodded towards Remus.
“Rubbish” Remus protested. “I have James over all the time”
Sirius shook his head, a warm feeling flaring up in his chest. “No it’s alright… um- he’s actually helping me with art”
“Art?” Hope raised an eyebrow. “Remus doesn’t take art though”
Sirius glanced at Remus to see a light pink dusting across his cheeks. It was that moment when he decided that this was the Remus he wanted to see more of. Not that he didn’t appreciate the shy, soft Remus that was clearly the demeanor he put in school but the open, flustered, bantering Remus was just so much better.
“No” Sirius smiled, “I asked him to model to me, I wanted to practice my life drawing”
Hope leaned forward, ruffling Remus’ hair much to her son’s dismay. “Oh he’s always been a looker, hasn’t he”
“Alright thanks Mum” Remus said, standing up and still looking rather mortified. “But I think we’ll head back up”
“Door-“ Hope reminded them as the two boys made their way out of the room.
“Yes door open, I know!” Remus called then doubled back into the room. “Send James up when he shows”
“Will do, cyw” Hope nodded, walking past Remus and stopping to kiss his forehead. She had to go up on her tippy toes to reach.
A couple moments later they were back upstairs, Remus sat back down in the chair and Sirius began drawing again.
“I like your Mum” he said, rubbing out a bit here and redrawing the line a little differently. “She seems nice”
“She is, loves me a lot” Remus replied, smiling a little. “Loves to embarrass me more than anything and she can’t do it in front of James anymore cause he’s seen it all”
“I’m almost afraid to ask what all means”
“If you stick around long enough you won’t have to ask” Remus said softly, as if he was admitting a deeply buried secret.
In a way, he was. Both boys felt the weight of the words hang in the atmosphere. This was something Sirius had wanted for a while. He wanted the chance to get to know Remus, he wanted fond memories, footsie under the kitchen table, morning cuddles, lingering kisses and those hugs where the other person squeezes a little tighter. He wanted to be the reason Remus got flustered. The person responsible for his smile, the one where his nose crinkled and his shoulders shook.
“Do you want me to stick around?” he asked, putting down his pencil and speaking just as softly as Remus had.
Their eyes met for a moment, Remus leaned forward in his chair and Sirius put his sketchpad to the side. “Yeah” Remus nodded, “I think I’d like that, a lot”
“Changed your mind about the date then?” Sirius teased, moving so that he was at the edge of the bed.
Remus blushed, pink faced, eyes darting down to Sirius’ lips for a split second. “Maybe, now that I know you’re not messing with me” his gaze flickered back up to Sirius’ eyes.
Sirius put his hand on Remus’ thigh and opened his mouth to say something but Remus got there first. “Kiss me” he blurted and Sirius took that as a green light.
He grabbed the front of Remus’ shirt, pulling him closer and kissing him. They fell back onto the bed, Remus just about managing to not crush Sirius with his weight by balancing on one arm as the other drifted to Sirius’ hair. Sirius’ own hands made their way down to Remus’ hips, staying there. They pulled apart breathless, Sirius’ mouth immediately finding Remus’ neck and leaving behind a trail of hot kisses.
“Fucking hell, Moony!”
Sirius pushed Remus off him while the other attempted to roll away, landing on his back on the bed beside him. He glanced over to see Remus with an arm thrown over his face, which was scarlet. “Fucks sake, Prongs” he grumbled.
“Listen Moons, mate” James walked into the room, no shame about him, and sat down on the chair opposite the bed. “I’m all for you getting cock but I’ve got to tell you how it went with Lily”
Remus sat up, rolling his eyes. “Sirius, this is my best friend James, James this is Sirius”
The two boys nodded at each other and Sirius felt a pang of annoyance go through him when it became obvious James wasn’t leaving any time soon. Usually Sirius wouldn’t have minded but seeing as they were literally in the middle of something that could’ve probably gone a lot further.
Remus settled, back against the wall with his legs out in front of him. “Alright, tell me about this date with the girl you’ve been pining over since primary school”
James began a much too detailed and much too long winded recount of his night. Just when Sirius was starting to get annoyed, Remus pulled him over and sat him between his legs, arms around his waist and chin leaning on his shoulder. While Sirius relaxed, back against Remus’ chest as he felt each rise and fall. If James noticed, he didn’t say anything about it.
“....she actually kissed me!” James went on, “can you believe that Moony?”
“That she kissed you or that someone in general did because both are a little hard to comprehend”
“Arsehole- but anyway, I’m meeting her again tomorrow”
“Wow you’re practically married”
“Stop being such a wanker, I’ll tell your Mum” James threatened, looking smug. “And you know she likes me more than you”
“I’ll tell Effy about what really goes on during those post match parties”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
“Try me Prongs”
“Fine! I’ll go” James stood up, faking offense. “I know where I’m not wanted” he said before dramatically strutting out of the room.
Remus rolled his eyes, placing a kiss on the side of Sirius’ jaw before untangling himself from Sirius. “Be back in a tick”
Then Remus disappeared, going after James. Sirius slouched against the wall, his head still dizzy with the taste of Remus’ lips on his own and the lovely smell of chocolate, cigarettes and tea that seemed to have a funny effect on Sirius.
When Remus came back in, Sirius was busy thinking about the fact that James had gone. And what they’d end up doing because he was gone, could they just continue? Sirius certainly wouldn’t mind.
“Penny for your thoughts?” He asked, sitting down on the bed next to Sirius.
“Can I kiss you again?”
Remus was already leaning forward, even before Sirius had asked the question. “Absolutely”