Chapter Text
Uncle Alphard had been a very strange man indeed. But leaving all he had to Sirius after his passing had been a move that had wreaked havoc in the Black family. If Sirius thought his family had it in for him before, it was no match for the wrath that had ensued right after the funeral. They all could only guess the amount of money Alphard had left Sirius, but none of them knew of the farm. A farm. Or, rather, a farmhouse. A quaint little cottage with stone walls and exposed beams in Godric’s Hollow, to be completely honest. A little out in nowhere town with a church, a post office, a pub, and a few shops for necessities. It was absolutely nothing and yet everything Sirius could dream of.
Far away from his family, far away from his so-called prestige peers, and away from the closet. Out in Godric’s Hollow he could be whoever he wanted. He knew no one and no one knew him. It was a win-win situation all around. Sirius would live a life in complete honesty with himself from now on.
It was perfect. Except that the cottage had been untouched for probably as long as Sirius had been alive, and Sirius prided himself as a man that could handle his own. He had once painted his room with no help. It had earned him three nasty gashes on the back from his father. But pink was better than that god awful dark green and black that was the overall decor of the Black manor.
This cottage though …
Needed more than a fresh coat of pink paint. Or any paint.
Sirius had pulled his roots up instantly. Never had cardboard boxes been filled and moved as quickly as those he took with him from his apartment to his new cottage home. And don’t get it wrong, the cottage was suitable for living, just not luxurious living. More the kind of living that was branded “it could be worse” and so it could, but he didn’t dare speak these words, no thank you. Sirius had seen enough movies. It had taken him a while to get the hot water running, or any kind of water, to be exact, and to be fair he had called a plumber. Then he had fixed a hole in the roof, by himself, with a bucket and a piece of wood, and replaced the front door, because that turned out to be not too hard to do once he knew the measurements. Pulled the weeds in the driveway, washed all of the windows, put up a lamp that now hung crooked, and of course scrubbed the whole house down, which had been the hardest, most tedious job he had ever thrown himself into. But it had actually cleaned up rather nicely, if he should say so himself. The windows needed replacing, the kitchen was from the 70’s, the bathroom was hideous with acid green tiles decorated with flowers, the walls of the house were covered in orange and brown wallpaper, the floor was carpeted, and Sirius was dead sure a family of mice lived in the wall.
But when he looked out of his kitchen window while doing the dishes, he was met with woods that seemed to stretch on forever, and when he looked out of the windows in his living room, the moor stood harsh and beautiful with his neighbours' sheep grazing. It was idyllic and refreshing. Everything would be ok. All evil had perished from his life, now he only had to rid it off of his mind. But this was a start. A start of something better.
He would take a year off. He would focus on the house. He wanted the cottage to look more cottage-esq. Tall paneling, flowery, light wallpaper, wooden cupboards in the kitchen, a light bathroom with either soft pink or Easter yellow, maybe even go the other way and choose a dark orange with Moroccan blue tiles. The possibilities are endless. He had the money to make it happen. When the year had passed he would get back out and find himself a job. It had been written in the stars, no pun intended, that he was the heir to the Black family’s fortune and that he would follow his father’s footsteps as a lawyer, but not only did he flunk out of law school, but when his little brother, under the pressure of his parents, had told them that Sirius had kissed a boy at school, his father had made sure that Sirius for the rest of his life would be able to look at the marks on his body and remember what a disgrace he was. His new job would be something he wanted to do. Maybe a school or a kindergarten. Sirius wanted to change lives and fill his own life with happy, carefree young souls. He looked forward to it.
He did not look forward to the flat tire he was greeted with out in his driveway. He knew he had a spare in the back of the car, so he got it out and placed it on the ground. Autumn was coming, leaves had begun to dry out, the air a little more crisp and fresh. Sirius actually loved winter, especially snow, though he was a little nervous as to how he would manage out here if the snow fell deep this year. He rummaged through the boot of the car, there was a weird tool shaped like a skinny cross, another thing that Sirius had no idea what to do with, a triangle reflector, and a dead fly. The fly was removed but no burial was held.
Sirius gave a big sigh and walked a few paces away from the car, his hands running through his hair when he realized that he had no chance in hell changing this tire by himself. He didn’t want to call up some mechanics just because he’d never been taught such a simple thing. A Black didn’t change tires. And now he really wanted to prove that he could.
Sirius went back up to look at his flat tire and touched some of the bolts with his finger.
“So those,” he pressed each bolt before letting his hand slip, “have to be- I donno, removed?” Another sigh. “Wait, the cross-thingy!” Sirius got up from where he was crouching and got the tool from his boot. Sure enough, the ends matched the bolts. He got it on and pushed but it wouldn’t budge. With grunts and curses he pulled, pushed, and twisted but to no avail.
In a huff Sirius got up and swung around in frustration as he pulled his hair.
“Just come off, you bloody fucking—“ he groaned and kicked at nothing on the ground. He straightened up and took a steadying breath. His eyes fell on his neighbour’s farm. It was a large house, white with black wooden beams holding it together, the roof made of straw. The house was cute, neat, with wild flowers all around it, though autumn was taking its toll on them. The stable was in red brick, newer than the house. No one left each morning or came back in the afternoon. He had seen a man take care of the sheep or go into the woods, but nothing besides that. Sirius had been their neighbour for six weeks now, maybe it was time to pay them a visit.
Hello, I’m the new neighbour, I grew up awfully entitled which means I’m incompetent and I need help changing a fucking tire.
What an opening line.
He had no other option. Or, he did, but he liked that one less. So he took a deep breath and walked out of his driveway and down the gravel road to his neighbour. It looked empty and silent. An old Land Rover and a livestock trailer were parked in the courtyard, not neatly, just dropped off as if this was the easiest thing to do. The trailer stood open, the ramp down and it was clean. A broom was resting up its side. The car had mud splattered up around it, almost covering the dark green with light brown. Pots with flowers stood by the entrance to the house, marguerite daisies in orange and purple. It gave Sirius the impression that it was probably an older couple that lived here.
Sirius gathered his courage and knocked on the light blue painted door to the house with a knocker shaped like a horse's leg hanging on a horseshoe. It gave a loud metallic sound. He waited for a few minutes, then knocked again. His attention was caught by the sound of a thud coming from the stable and he turned to cross the topped cobblestones and to the large open port in the stable. It was dark in there and had a pleasant smell of straw and wool. Sirius hoped that this was the smell of his future, because it reminded him of some sort of safety he had never experienced himself.
“Hello?” He called into the stable. “Excuse me, hello?” No answer. “I’m your new neighbour, I wondered-“ Sirius stepped into the stable, it was long and he heard another thud at the end of it. With careful steps he walked down the stable. “I don’t want to intrude, hello?” Sirius stopped and stared at the pool of red that greeted him. With his heart in his throat he took a tentative step closer and looked up at the shape hanging from a beam in the ceiling. He gave a little gasp but was relieved to see a deer hanging from a hook. Blood dripped from its nose and Sirius felt his stomach drop.
Sirius glanced down the stable and saw other but empty hooks hanging. Rope, buckets, a stepladder, and a workbench with different tools hung in perfect order.
“Hello?” Sirius' voice had shrunk to a whisper. “Anybody here?”
Thud. Thud.
Curiosity killed the cat, right?
Sirius continued. A shuffling, pointed sound came from behind him and Sirius turned quickly on his heels. In the darkness lurked a shadow, large yellow eyes gleaming in the darkness. They were locked on Sirius and Sirius felt his blood freeze. The shadow moved slowly into the light, a growl emanated from it. It was covered in shabby, grey fur, canine teeth bared, and it had a bit of what looked like blood smattered on its lower jaw.
With his hands in front of him in a pathetic protective gesture towards what he could only assume was a fucking werewolf, he backed away. The animal snarled and sat down, blocking Sirius's only known way out. He took another step back and bumped into something that his fear-stricken mind told him was another werewolf. His whole body became rigid, the blood drained from his face and he felt instantly nauseated. It all happened so fast. In the matter of seconds he jumped forward, spun around and yelled the first thing that came into his mind:
“Get away from me, werewolf!” Sirius covered his face with his arms in a desperate attempt to shield himself. Nothing happened. He peeped out and came face to face with the chest of a man that towered above him. “I—“ Sirius looked up into a face that seemed not at all amused with being mistaken for a werewolf. “I-I-I—“ the man had a scar over his lips, running from his left cheek to his chin. Then another one crossed his left eyebrow. The largest one ran over his nose and made his nose seem even more prominent on his face. His eyes were a warm honey colour, his hair curly and unruly in a light brown colour with specs of grey. He was dressed in boots and hunting gear, smears of maroon blood mixed into the dark green of his flannel shirt.
“Who are you?” The man said low in his throat and with a rather distinctive accent.
“Y-your new neighbour.” Sirius stammered.
“Right.” The man said. “Get out.”
Sirius opened his mouth to say something but came up blank. He glanced back at the obscenely large dog that sat behind him. It looked just as bored as the man before Sirius, whom he could only guess would be the owner.
“I wanted to ask you if you could help me.” Sirius blurted out. “I just moved here, you probably know that. But my tire is flat.”
“Change it.” The man pushed past him and gave the dog's head a pat as he walked past that one too.
“I tried, I don’t know how to.” Sirius admitted with a defeated shrug. The man stopped and looked back at him in disbelief. Even the terrifying dog looked at him with a resemblance to a dumbfounded expression under its tufts of hair over its eyes.
“Come again?”
“I don’t know how to change a tire.”
“Why?”
Sirius shrugged and looked around in a hurry for something to stare at beside the man’s face. Afraid that his eyes would land on the scars and not his eyes, or that he would focus too much on only looking in his eyes that he suddenly was staring menacingly. The man was probably met with this particular dilemma often.
“Fine.” The man said and walked over and rummaged under one of the many workbenches.
“Fine?” Sirius took a step forward. The man glared at him over his shoulder.
“You got a jack?”
“A what?”
“How about you go home and then I’ll come and fix it in a moment.”
“You would do that?”
“I have to, haven’t I?”
“I— no? I don’t want you to feel obligated to-“
“You rely on your car. I can’t be the reason that you starve to death just because you don’t know how to change a tire.” The man said as if that was the most normal comment to give. Sirius crossed his arms and thought about what the other said.
“Thank you.” He concluded it was probably the only thing he could say. “See you in a bit, then.” He said and the man huffed. Sirius made his way past the dead deer with a frown. It came as a shock to him that the daylight was this bright still. His mind was sure that all light in the world had perished after a visit into a deer's nightmare.
Many thoughts crowded Sirius’ mind as he walked the short distance home. The man had been different, to put it kindly. Very gruff and unfriendly but somehow still helpful. He had made Sirius feel like a right fool, but still taking Sirius’ well being seriously. Sirius shook his head. And then there was the dog, the size of a pony, but slim and as rough to look at as the man. Though the man did have a certain scary charm to him. Sirius' mind had burned with questions about his scars but he knew that he had no right to know.
The sight of the car made Sirius feel miserable. He wanted to kick it, but he still had groceries to pick up and if his neighbour actually did change his tire, he didn’t want to become enemies with the car itself and then it would crash somewhere down the hill to get back at Sirius. So Sirius sat down on a rock in the driveway and waited.
He didn’t have to wait long.
The large Land Rover came slowly down the gravel road, the pony sized dog trotting beside it. The man had the window rolled down and was resting comfortably on the edge, half leaning out of the window to watch his overly large pet. When he pulled up he blocked the whole driveway. The dog ran past Sirius and barked loud and deep enough to make Sirius jump up in surprise. It eyed him suspiciously before making its way into Sirius’ garden. The man got out without a word and opened the boot where he picked out a rather large metal thing on tiny wheels. He pushed it over to Sirius’ car, stuck it underneath and then pumped it to lift Sirius’ car off the ground.
“Your dog,” Sirius broke the silence rather awkwardly, “what is it? Sorry, but it's massive.”
“Irish wolfhound.” The man said without offering much conversation.
“Oh. I’ve never seen one before.” Sirius looked on into the garden where the dog was sniffing something and wagging the tip of her tail. “What’s its name?”
“Luna.” The dog looked up when she heard her owner's voice, but quickly continued sniffing when she figured it wasn’t for her.
“Like the moon.” Sirius exclaimed with a smile but felt positively stupid when the man ignored him. He got to work on Sirius’ tire and Sirius tried to watch closely, but with a bit of distance. He felt uninvited. Minutes passed in silence again.
“I’m Sirius, by the way.”
“About what?” The man said without sounding too invested.
“What?” Sirius looked at him quizzically. “No, I mean my name. My name is Sirius, like the star.”
“Remus.” He replied with an accent thick enough to make it sound like a slur.
“Come again?”
“Name’s Remus.”
“Hello, Remus.” Sirius gave a bashful smile but was met with a blank stare before Remus continued his work. “What will this cost me?” Remus froze completely. He slowly looked back once again, his eyebrows drawn down and lip set in a frown.
“Cost?”
“Yes, I’d like to pay you. I am stealing your time, and I really am thankful for it.”
“I don’t want your money.” He grumbled and tightened every bolt once again for good measure. Then he got up and brushed off his knees. Sirius watched the flannel around his arms tighten as he pumped the stand down again.
“But I want to pay you.” Sirius insisted.
“Too bad.”
“What do you want?”
“Why would I want anything?”
“Because this is an exchange! You just fixed my tire, that would’ve cost me maybe 30 quid in the shop.”
“But I’m no shop, now, am I?” Remus pulled a rag from his trouser pocket and wiped his fingers. He stared down at Sirius.
“No, that’s why I’m asking you.” Sirius sighed. “Let me pay you.”
“City boy.” Remus grumbled and stuffed the dirty rag back into his pocket. He gave a shrill and well-practiced whistle and Luna came bouncing up the garden again. Before Sirius could so much as think of a goodbye, Remus was in his car and backing it out of the driveway, Luna running by its side, tongue lolling out of her mouth.
Days went by, another week came and went. Sirius hadn’t seen anything to Remus since he helped fix his tire. He had thought about him, every day, embarrassingly enough. But his neighbour was so strange. Not that Sirius meant anything bad about it, but maybe he was missing a piece or two? He hadn’t seen him smile one single time the last, and first, time they’d met. He had been so grumpy and yet so adamant to help without expecting anything in return. The mere thought of payment had made him almost angry.
But the awkward tire fixing had turned out for the better. By a freak coincidence involving a glass marmite, a runaway shopping cart, and a ladies hat, Sirius is introduced to one James Potter.
James invited Sirius to join him and his friend Peter at the local pub for a pint and it had been platonic love at first sight. They had hid it off like a band of brothers who had been seeing each other every day for the past twenty years.
James had a wife, Lily, who Peter explained that James was still completely gone for, even after twelve years together. He worked with his father and designed and produced hair products. James had been a semi pro football player but an accident had left him with a bad knee and he had had to change directions, thus following his father.
Peter was single, or in between ladies, as he’d put it. He worked an office job in the next town over and did pretty good for himself. He had an unfiltered humour, like he didn’t quite know the unwritten rules of society, or maybe he did but made a conscious choice to skid over it every time he opened his mouth. He and James had known each other since they started school. They had grown up right here in this community and knew every passage and every nook.
Sirius told as much about himself that he was comfortable with. Just the random facts that were necessary. He told them that he was twenty nine, that he didn’t see his family anymore because he was gay and both men took that information surprisingly well and said that Lily’s best friend was gay too. He told them that he came from London and that he had inherited a cottage up at Gryffindor Hill, to which the two gentlemen shared a look that Sirius didn’t quite understand. He told them about his projects and James rose to the occasion instantly and said that he would love to help. He’d never done anything like it, but he’d always wanted to. He and Lily had bought a top renovated townhouse near the church, and he longed for something to test his manliness on, as he put it.
They ended up spending the afternoon together, drinking beer and talking as if that was the most natural thing for them to do. At the end of it, James even invited Sirius over for Sunday dinner at his house, an invitation Sirius agreed to with childlike enthusiasm. Sunday dinner wasn’t a thing in the house of Black. Nothing was done for the sake of cozy family time, everything was done with the thought of being seen as better than anyone else.
Sirius had forgotten about his weird neighbour, or, forgotten as much as one could forget about a person living right next door. The days went by and Sunday rolled around. He had been invited to twelve o’clock so Sirius had time to get something done. It was a nice day, sun was shining, perfect conditions to trim the hedge before winter made its appearance. With his hedge trimmer in hand and an unstoppable optimism, Sirius stepped out to assert the situation at hand. It had been quite a while since the hedge at the front garden had gotten a good trim and maybe a handheld oversized scissor was too optimistic, but he’d have to make do with what he had.
Though he regretted his optimism half an hour later when his arms and hands were sore. Not only that, but the sight of his neighbour walking up to him with his giant wolfhound made him feel slightly embarrassed.
Remus had a long electric trimmer resting over his shoulder, a cable drum in one hand, and he looked just as unimpressed as he had the first time he had met Sirius.
“Here.” Remus put the drum down.
“Well, hello to you too, Remus.” Sirius said with a beaming smile on his overheated face. Luna gave a big bark towards Sirius, but she still looked like she wasn’t too at ease with him, so Sirius kept his hands to himself. “And you, Luna.”
“Hi.” Remus held out the trimmer. ”you won’t get anywhere like that.”
Sirius stared at the machinery that was offered to him, like he was a man that obviously knew how to operate such a thing. His face must have told Remus what Sirius’ mind was telling himself because he gave a soundless sigh and showed Sirius the plug.
“Oh I know where that goes!” Sirius said with maybe confidence and Remus raised a brow. Sirius realized how stupid that had sounded and his cheeks reddened. Remus looked away quickly, searching for an outlet and Sirius rose to the challenge and grabbed the cable. He went over and plugged it in, Luna came bounding past him into the garden and Sirius wondered if she only just did it now because Remus had given her permission or because she knew Sirius had his back turned. When he had plugged it in, he came back to watch what Remus was doing. He was utterly surprised when Remus said in his heavy accent:
“On switch there, squeeze the handle. If you let go, it stops.” and then he waited for Sirius to take it.
“What? I haven’t- I-“
“This isn’t rocket science.” Remus grumbled and Sirius took it with the air of a man that doubted himself profoundly. Which he did.
Sirius flipped the switch and squeezed the handle, but the loud electric sound and the buzzing startled him enough for him to let go of everything again and the motor died. His heart was in his throat. Honestly, he was scared to death. What if he took off one of his fingers?
“You have to squeeze.”
“I’m scared!”
“Why?” Remus asked and looked at Sirius like he had grown a second head.
“I’m just- I don’t like it!”
“Let me.” And Remus snatched it back and gestured towards the hedge. “How much?”
“Wait, no. You don’t have to help me.”
“Then do it yourself.” Remus presented the trimmer for him again and Sirius took a step back.
“I’ll use my scissors, they work just fine.”
“Your arm is sore.” Remus pointed out without Sirius ever telling him. “And if not, then it will be. It’ll take you weeks to get through it, it’ll take this,” he lifted the trimmer, “a couple of hours. Maybe four if you do it.” He said the last part so matter of factly that Sirius didn’t even take offence.
“I can’t just let you do it.”
“Why not?” Remus watched him with scepticism. Sirius crossed his arms.
“It wouldn’t be right.” Sirius said and Remus turned the machine on and started trimming without another word. Sirius gaped at him, arms falling limp to his sides. Remus continued his work without any regard towards Sirius and his state of mind.
“What can I pay you?” But Remus ignored it. “Remus, answer me. I want to pay you something.”
“Tea.”
“What?”
“Black.” Sirius opened his mouth but closed it again. He did it again. And a third time.
“Sugar?” He quipped.
“What?” Remus asked over the noise.
“Sugar?” Sirius asked a little louder.
“Two.” Remus answered and gave Sirius what looked like an appreciative nod before he turned towards his work once again.
When the clock struck ten thirty Remus placed the trimmer on the ground and stepped back. Luna sat down by his side and looked up at him. Remus caressed her head in gentle strokes and he spoke, but the words were different. Sirius tried to listen but they made no sense at all in his mind. Luna was wagging her tail, tongue lolling out to the side. Remus then glanced back at Sirius.
“Is it alright?” He asked and Sirius took in the work he had done. In less than two hours Remus had managed to trim the wild shrubbery and turned it into a perfectly linear hedge.
“It's perfect.” Sirius was smiling from ear to ear. “Really nice, thank you.” Sirius dared to walk closer and held out a third cup of black tea with two sugars for Remus. Remus took it with a little thank you. “Come sit with me?” Sirius asked and nodded towards the stone step by the entrance. He retreated to sit there himself and made enough room so that Remus had enough space too. The other man eyed the step for a moment before coming over to sit, cradling his tea in his hand. It painted a good picture. Remus, rough as he was, clad in hunting gear and holding a bright blue cup with white clouds on it. He smelled like straw and wool and sheep. The silence stretched. They watched Luna sniff around the hedge now that she could get even closer under it. Probably sniffing out a critter.
“Why do you do it?” Sirius asked and looked at Remus. Their eyes briefly met when Remus hastily looked up, but he looked away just as quickly.
“Because that’s what people do.” Remus answered. Sirius chuckled and it made Remus chance a look at him again.
“People don’t-“ Sirius smiled as he took a deep breath. “People don’t just fix a stranger's tire and then trim his entire hedge, just because said stranger only has a pair of oversized scissors!”
“Not strangers.”
“What?”
“Neighbours.”
“But you don’t know me. What if I’m just going to take advantage of you? If I can’t do it myself, I could just hire someone to do it.”
“Waste of money.”
“Waste of money? Remus, I’d willingly pay you.” Remus glared at him. “I know, I know, you don’t want payment. I’m just saying that I don’t want you to rescue me. I don’t want to take advantage of you.”
“You won’t.” Remus said with finality.
At James and Lily’s house Sirius was greeted like an old friend. Lily was stunning. Petite, red hair, green eyes that shined with unconditional love. She had a firm handshake, but not the dominant kind. She showed him around the house as James checked on the roast. The house had the most lovely smell of homemade meals and fresh laundry.
It was indeed newly renovated and everything had a carefully designated place where Sirius was sure that after usage it was put back as it rightfully should. Sirius never knew where he had anything. He left it where he’d use it last and then curse himself when he couldn’t find it.
They sat Lily, James, Peter, and Sirius around the table. The roast was served with buttered potatoes, vegetables, gravy, and Yorkshire pudding. Everything Sirius had dreamed of, but never been allowed to have.
They talked about everything and nothing for quite some time. Lily was an art teacher. She, like Sirius, wanted to have a positive influence on young people and she and Sirius had a bonding session right there at the table. Sirius was told about James' endless pursuit of Lily and how she had finally agreed to go out with him when he had actually stopped bugging her that much. Peter and James had apparently been quite the troublemakers with Moony, whom Sirius had no idea who was.
“Moony’s not coming today?” Peter asked and looked up at Lily.
“No, he’s visiting his mother.” She replied and sipped her wine.
“Poor thing.” James muttered and Sirius felt a shift in the cozy atmosphere. He tried to hide his obvious curiosity behind another bite of food. James nudged Sirius' foot under the table and Sirius looked at him with his brow raised. James was sporting a mischievous smile and the atmosphere changed back again. “Moony is that guy we told you about at the pub.” He waggled his eyebrows and Sirius grunted with an eyeroll.
“You’ve known me for a week and already trying to set me up with your gay friend?” Sirius asked with his fork halfway to his mouth. James had the decency to look a little abashed. “How original.”
“Well, I just— not many guys to choose from around here.”
“Very considerate.” Sirius managed to say right before Lily blurted out:
“Wait, are you gay too?” With so much enthusiasm that Sirius was momentarily lost for words. “Sorry, that doesn’t really concern me, and really, we shouldn’t play matchmakers, sorry-“
“It’s fine.” Sirius cut her off with a polite smile. “Honestly I’m just happy to have found new friends that accept it with open arms.” He looks down at his plate when his cheeks heat up a little.
“Oh, of course, Sirius! We’ve known Moony since we were kids. Hell, I think the first person he came out to was Lily.” James said with a gesture towards his wife. Lily nodded in agreement.
“We would never think any less of you, mate.” Peter chimed in and Sirius felt his heart swell in his chest with a burning happiness.
“Thank you.” Sirius said with sincerity. “But you really don’t have to set me up.” He shot James with a smile that held mischievous secrets.
“I don’t think anyone can be set up with Moony. He’s kinda weird.”
“Peter!” Lily scolded but her face betrayed her and Sirius could see that she thought Peter’s words held some truth.
“He is, Lily.” James peeped up and Lily gaped at him.
“He hasn’t had an easy life.” Lily pointed out and stabbed a potato with temper.
“Sounds like a real treat.” Sirius mumbled and made James and Peter crack up with laughter.