Archive of Our Own

Remus stands on the pavement, letting himself be buffeted by the wind and watching through squinted eyes as the hired car that picked him up from the train station pulls away, shuddering from the cold before he turns his eyes to the building in front of him. 

The Vita-WOW office is just outside of London, in a brightly colored building with gleaming windows that reflect the weak sunlight, and he’s really not sure what he expected the headquarters for a vitamin company to look like but it still doesn’t look anything like what he would have imagined. There are a handful of people coming and going, standard looking office workers and trendy young professionals with their phone in one hand and those blended green tea drinks that Teddy loves but Remus thinks taste like grass, and he watches them all for a long moment as he tries to work up the nerve to go inside. 

He just needs to do it and get it over with. Like ripping off a plaster. 

He’s shivering by the time he finally makes his way to the door five minutes later—getting stumped by the door itself until he realizes that there’s a button he’s supposed to push—instantly feeling entirely too warm once he makes it inside the lobby. He unwinds his scarf and undoes his buttons with stiff fingers as he looks around, wondering where he’s supposed to go, until he spots some sort of reception desk and decides that’s his best bet. 

Remus still can’t believe that this is happening.

It had been a fluke that he noticed the little banner on the packaging of his Vita-WOW chocolate flavored calcium supplement while doing the shopping—his preferred brand despite the fact that they’re considerably more expensive than the rest—and when he’d gotten home and found his reading glasses he’d squinted at the banner. He’d thought it was cruel for them to put such tiny words on something geared towards people getting up there in years, getting distracted for a moment as he’d puzzled over why companies felt the need to do that, feeling his eyebrows arch as he finally read the words: a contest to win a lifetime supply of the supplements. 

He’d mulled it over for a few days before he decided to enter on a whim, thinking that surely there was no way that he would win, and had forgotten about it completely until months later when he’d gotten an email congratulating him on winning, at which point he’d realized he should have read the terms and conditions much more thoroughly. 

“Excuse me, hi,” he says to the receptionist when he finally glances his way, twining his scarf around his hands, feeling bad that he’s bothering him for something as silly as this. “My name is Remus Lupin, and I’m here for-”

“Oh, Mr. Lupin! We’ve been expecting you,” the receptionist says, cutting him off with a wide smile, plucking a shiny badge on a lanyard and a bottle of water off the cluttered desk before holding them out towards him. “Just take the lift up to level three, hang a right, and at the end of the hall you’ll find everyone in the idea factory. I’ll let them know you’re on the way up.”

Remus just gapes at him for a moment, scarf and badge and water and the handle of his cane held awkwardly in his hands, before he nods and loops the lanyard around his head, getting it caught on the collar of his shirt for a moment. He can feel sweat gathering beneath his arms as he makes his way towards the bank of lifts, fighting with his jacket and dropping both the bottle of water and his cane, finally getting it off with a frustrated growl and draping it over his arm with his scarf before he awkwardly stoops down to pick everything up.

He’s pretty sure that people are staring at him but refuses to look, willing his cheeks to stop burning as he stares resolutely at the shiny metal doors. After a second he glances up at the numbers overhead, realizing that he never called for the lift and pressing his thumb against the button, before he digs around in his pocket and pulls out his phone. Just as he expected he has several missed calls and texts waiting for him from Teddy, another one coming in as he types in his password, pressing his lips together tightly as he skims them. 

He knows that he’s considered old now, especially with his sixtieth birthday approaching fast, but the fact that his son doesn’t trust him to get to London on his own stings a little. 

I’m fine, Ted, he types before the doors slide open, stepping to the side to let a few people off before he enters the lift himself, staring at the panel of buttons blankly for a moment before he remembers that he’s going to level three. I just arrived at Vita-WOW. I’ll text you when I’m done, alright?

He shakes his head as he hits send and slips his phone into his pocket again, grabbing the bottle of water so that he can hold his cane properly, wondering if it’s common for them to give one to everybody that walks through the door or if the receptionist thought he looked particularly thirsty. The lift slows before easing to a stop, chiming softly as the door swings open, and he takes a deep breath to steady himself before stepping out into the corridor. He heads to the right, as instructed, hoping that he’s able to find whatever the hell the ‘idea factory’ is. 

Remus nearly walks right past the windowed room until he catches a glimpse of black hair shot through with grey and almost trips over his own cane, cursing loudly and dropping the water bottle again, shamefully watching it roll away from him before he raises his head and finds the entire room full of people staring at him. He spares them a quick glance before he focuses on the man that caused him to embarrass himself—noting that he’s even taller than expected in person—taking in his sleek hair, stunning grey eyes, and all black ensemble that is somehow endlessly cool and extremely stylish, all while he mentally talks himself out of doing a runner. 

It really is Sirius Black.

In the flesh. 

For a brief moment he’s transported back in time to his awkward teen years, almost able to feel the thick braces on his teeth and the equally thick acne on his face, remembering what it felt like the first time he saw one of Sirius Black’s music videos. He’d been obsessed from the start, nurturing a hopeless crush on the absolutely gorgeous boy who made the kind of music that his parents hated, pinning every magazine clipping he could find above his bed and staring at them each night before he went to sleep, as well as while performing less polite acts that he’ll take the knowledge of to his grave. 

When Remus had been off to university in the late 80’s, Sirius and his band, Black Dog Night, had been heading off on a jam-packed world tour that he’d regretfully been unable to acquire tickets for. He managed to catch them once years later in the late 90’s, when the band was on their last legs, standing the length of the entire concert despite the fact that his hip was already causing him problems by that point in his life. He let the music flow through him while he watched Sirius stalk back and forth across the stage, moving like a caged animal and screaming into the mic, still considering it one of the best nights of his life right after the birth of his son. 

Things had gotten messy for Sirius after that—sex scandals, drug accusations, public indecency, his face plastered across trashy tabloids that Remus still collected even if he felt guilty for giving the publication his money—everything coming to an abrupt stop when the news broke that Sirius had crashed his infamous motorbike. He’d vanished from the public eye after that, and while the rumor mill had gone wild with his disappearance, speculating on whether he was in the hospital or rehab or had been injured so badly that he was in the process of being cryogenically frozen like Walt Disney, and as the months went on their interest died. He was forgotten, eventually, Remus’ favorite radio station occasionally playing his songs, but wherever Sirius had gone it was completely out of the public eye. 

Up until a few years ago. 

Remus had accidentally thrown the remote for the telly when he was flipping through channels one night before bed, hastily smashing the button to go back, gasping so hard that he choked when he was greeted with an aged, but still gorgeous, Sirius Black on his screen. It was a commercial for some brand of shoes that he’d never heard of, but that he went and bought for himself at the earliest possible chance, gifting them to Teddy when he regretfully realized that they didn’t offer enough arch support. Sirius started popping up more and more often, making social media accounts that Remus immediately followed, appearing in random advertisements and on daytime talk shows, and when he’d become the spokesperson for Vita-WOW there hadn’t been a doubt in his mind about switching his supplements over to that brand. 

And now Sirius is standing just on the other side of the glass wall from him, staring at him with one arched brow, because the tricky little detail that Remus had missed in the fine print of the contest was that the prize included a meet and greet with the very person that he’s been obsessed with for most of his life. 

“Mr. Lupin,” someone calls, startling him so badly that he jumps in place and whacks himself in the shin with his cane, tearing his eyes away from Sirius to find a young woman approaching him with blonde hair in a rather unique style and a serene smile. “We’re so glad you could join us. Please, come into the idea factory. Water?”

“I-” He starts to jerk his thumb towards the bottle that’s rolled away from them before he sighs and takes the water she’s offering him, adjusting his grip around the handle of his cane before he follows her into the windowed room. He immediately overwhelmed as people start introducing themselves—Dorcas, some sort of upper level manager, who seems like a no-nonsense kind of woman; Luna, the social media manager who greeted him in the hall, who speaks in an airy tone usually associated with the chronically stoned despite the fact that her eyes are clear and bright; Pansy, part of the marketing department, who is dressed in all black and keeps popping her gum like she’s annoyed; Edgar, whose role he doesn’t quite understand even after a long winded explanation, wincing as he crushes his hand in a too-strong handshake; interns whose names he misses completely—barely able to respond because he’s too focused on the man leaning against the conference room table. 

Surprisingly, Sirius seems to be equally as focused on him. 

“I’m Sirius Black,” he finally says when the steady stream of introductions have died down, pushing to his feet and swaggering across the room towards him, and Remus spends far too long staring at his outstretched hand before he remembers to take it. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“I know,” Remus responds stupidly, stomach swooping as he thinks about the fact that he’s touching Sirius Black’s hand, right up until his brain catches up to his mouth. “Sorry, I meant- Not that I know that it’s nice to meet me, but that I know who you are. It’s nice to meet you Sirius. Mr. Black? Remus Black. No! I’m sorry, I just meant- Lupin. Remus Lupin. That’s me. It’s nice to meet you as well.”

Sirius, to his great relief, laughs like he’s told a particularly funny joke, giving his hand a little squeeze before he lets it go. “Remus Lupin, that’s a hell of a name. Were your-”

“Mr. Lupin, I just want to congratulate you again on winning the sweepstakes,” Edgar interrupts, stepping forward and clapping a hand on Remus’ shoulder, making him wobble unsteadily. Sirius catches this, gaze quickly flashing down to his cane as his lips press together, one brow twitching when he meets Remus’ eyes again. “A lifetime supply of calcium supplements! What do you plan on doing with them all?”

“Taking them, I suppose,” Remus says, unsure of what else he’s supposed to say, biting down on the inside of his cheek when Sirius snorts and turns away. “Good bone health is important.”

“Right you are,” Edgar says jovially, waving his hand towards the corner, and Remus startles a little when he spots the nicely stacked tower of supplement bottles. “Would you mind stepping over this way with Mr. Black? We’d like to take a few photos before we move on with the day.”

“Oh, no, I’d rather not-”

“You can put your belongings there,” Edgar says, nodding towards one of the chairs, and Remus feels too awkward to argue so he dutifully sets aside his scarf and jacket, as well as the water bottle that he hasn’t touched. “Can I offer you a water? Tea? We have an espresso machine if coffee is more your speed.”

“No, thank you. I’m all set,” he responds, giving the top of his water bottle a little pat, earning another quiet snort from Sirius. “If I’m being honest, I’d rather not-”

“If you could step right over here,” one of the interns says as he dips his chin towards to spot in front of the vitamin pyramid, interrupting Remus once again, and he’s still not quite sure of his name. Something with a c-sound, he’s pretty sure. Colm or Callum or Colin. 

He eyes him as he shuffles over to where he’s directed, flushing when Sirius shoots him a look that he can’t quite read, wondering what on Earth the intern needs so many devices for. There’s a very fancy looking camera dangling from a strap around his neck, two phones in one hand and one of those pad things in the other, along with a bag hanging from his shoulder filled with wires and other bits and bobs that Remus has no idea what they’re called or what their purpose is.

“We need a decent array of stills before we move onto videos,” Pansy says, pursing her lips together as she glances at her phone, holding one finger up to the room as she holds it up to her ear and slips out into the hall.

“Wait, what videos?” Remus asks, horrified, jolting in place when Sirius laughs and gently bumps their shoulders together. “What videos?!”

Remus really isn’t sure if free supplements are worth all of this. 

He’s been made to pose for countless photos, both with Sirius and a revolving door of Vita-Wow employees. He was allowed a small break, where he was finally able to take a drink of his water and it was replaced with three more bottles. Someone put makeup on his face and he had to pose for the photos again. He had to film a series of little videos, which he didn’t quite understand the purpose of, those ticky-tok things that Teddy enjoys, one of which he had to pretend to sing with Sirius standing back-to-back with him before the camera panned around to him as he pretended to rap. Someone took pictures of him taking one of the supplements.

Frankly, he’s exhausted, but he barely notices it as he watches Sirius throw his head back in a full-bellied laugh. He never really expected to meet the man that he idolized for most of his life, or put much thought into what he would be like in person, but Sirius has blown every half-formed preconception that he held out of the water. 

He’s warm and friendly, treating every person that he speaks to like they’re his equal, but even more surprising than that, he seems to have taken a liking to Remus. He sticks near him whenever the various people in the room take breaks from bossing them around, making little jokes and sparking conversations that are surprisingly easy to keep up with, and as hard as it is for him to believe, Sirius actually seems interested in the things that he has to say. More than that, he’s pretty sure that he’s flirting with him, but Remus isn’t really sure why he would be doing that unless it’s part of Sirius’ public persona to flirt with the most pitiful looking person in the room, so he’s been assuring himself that it’s just a very touchy form of friendliness. 

“So, you’re a professor?” Sirius follows up to an offhand comment he’d made about his job as Remus collapses into a chair, finally having been freed from the camera hell he found himself in, smoothly lowering himself into the one at his side.

“Teacher,” Remus gently corrects, rubbing at his hip, wishing he would have known how much standing would be required of him today. He would have brought his medication with him, for starters. “Year seven and eight, which is an incredibly humbling experience. Children are mean at that age.”

“Oh, tell me about it,” Sirius groans, leaning back in his chair and letting his legs spread wide, which Remus definitely doesn’t steal a sneaky glance at. “My Godson was a nightmare at that age. Well, it actually hit him a little later, but he was a cheeky little snot. Getting in trouble with his friends, which was no surprise because his dad and I were hellions at that age, mouthing off to his teachers, he and his friends even stole one of their parents’ cars for a joyride. Luckily he matured and became a fully functioning member of society without ending up with a facial tattoo or police record.”

Sirius’ head flops to the side, peering at him with a look that has Remus’ skin tingling with awareness, before he gently bumps their knees together. “How about you? Any children?”

“Teddy,” he says, blinking down at their legs, expecting Sirius to pull away but he doesn’t. He can feel the warmth of his skin through their trousers, the pressure of his knee pressing against his own, and he really isn’t quite sure what it means. “He’s a good kid. Well, not a kid, he’s in his twenties now, but he’ll always be a kid to me.”

“Is he in university?” Sirius asks, leaning forward to snag one of the bottles of water that keep appearing in front of them—Remus is pretty sure that one of these interns jobs is to keep them hydrated—the touch of his knee disappearing for a brief second before it’s pressing against his own again. 

“Mhm, yeah, he’s studying biology. He’s still living at home, though, makes the commute into London every day. His partner stays over quite often as well. I keep telling him that he can move out if he wants to, he was discussing it with some friends last year, but… Well, he worries about me.”

“Ah, Harry is the same way.” Sirius nods, shifting around in his chair, and when he settles again he’s facing Remus with legs settled on either side of his, which makes him notice that they’re sitting much closer than he previously realized. “Somehow I’ve made it through sixty years of life on my own without his nagging me, but he’s still going to text me at all hours of the day reminding me to exercise and drink water and take these blasted calcium supplements otherwise surely my bones will turn to dust.”

Remus huffs out a soft laugh, eyes flashing over to the pile of supplement bottles in the corner before they drop to where Sirius’ knees are resting against the outside of his own, absently rubbing his hip again. “Just imagine how much worse it will be in ten years. Teddy will have wrapped me in bubble wrap and implanted a tracker beneath my skin, I guarantee it. He already tracks my phone and calls me every time I deviate from my routine, like he’s worried that I’ll get lost popping around the shops after work.”

When he looks up Sirius’ eyes are fixed on where he’s trying to soothe the persistent ache, blinking slowly before he raises his gaze. “Alright?”

“Oh, fine,” he says, letting his hand drop to rest on his thigh, wondering if Sirius really cares or if he was just asking to be polite. “Lifelong joint issues, and now arthritis. It affects my hands as well, though not nearly as bad as my hip, which I’m actually due for a replacement for at some point.”

Sirius doesn’t say anything for a long moment, gaze flicking over him, before he grins and knocks their knees together. “Getting old is a bit shit, isn’t it?”

“It absolutely is,” Remus agrees with another laugh, his cheeks aching, and he really can’t remember the last time he smiled this much. It would have been with Teddy, certainly, but he can’t pin down when exactly it would have been. 

“How about your partner?” Sirius asks, catching him off-guard, something cautious on his face when Remus looks at him. “Do they worry about you as well?”

“No partner,” he says after a second, glancing down at his hands, twining them together in his lap. “There hasn’t been one of those in many years.”

Sirius whispers something beneath his breath that he doesn’t quite catch, looking relaxed and confident again when he glances up at him, and when he smiles Remus can’t quite help but to do the same. “Does that mean that-”

“Mr. Lupin, we can’t thank you enough for being here today.” Remus jolts as Dorcas grabs his hand, shaking it firmly as Sirius huffs and scoots away from him, and he looks at him for another moment before he turns his attention towards her. “We just have a few things for you and then we’ll let you get out of here and on with your day.”

Just a few things turns out to be a stack of paperwork agreeing to allow the company to use all the photographs and videos they took today in their marketing—something Remus thinks they should have done before making him sit through all of that, but he’s not going to push the issue, even if he’d rather not have his face plastered all over the internet—meeting a few more people, and before he knows it he’s being ushered out the idea factory with a box full of supplements, a booklet of free supplement vouchers that will cover the rest of his lifetime and probably most of Teddy’s, a bag full of what Pandora called swag, and his own belongings awkwardly cradled in his arms. 

“Can I give you a hand with all of that?” Sirius calls out behind him when he’s managed to shuffle forward a bit, looking for a flat surface to organize things a little better, and Remus glances over his shoulder to find him hurrying down the hall while shrugging on a battered leather jacket. “Here, let me just-”

Sirius takes everything from him, standing there patiently as Remus puts on his scarf and coat, grinning and tightening his grasp when he holds his hands out for his things. “Let me walk you down to the street. It’s the least I can do.”

Remus thinks about arguing for a moment, but there’s no way that he’ll be able to manage everything on top of his cane, so he just nods and motions down the hall towards the lift bank. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

Sirius smiles in response, which Remus spends several seconds staring at like an idiot before he remembers himself and jolts into action, making his way towards the lift with Sirius trailing along at his side. Remus casts around for something to talk about once they’re on their way back down to the ground floor—they’ve already talked about kids, their jobs, and a conversation about technology in which he revealed that he’s absolutely hopeless with it all—but then the doors are sliding open again before he can think of anything to say. 

“Where are you parked?” Sirius asks as they step out onto the pavement, which gives him pause, and he realizes that despite Vita-WOW arranging his transportation that morning he’s most likely on his own for the trip home.

“Ah, no, I took the train,” he murmurs, glancing around for any nearby cabs before he pulls his phone from his pocket, frowning at the screen. He knows that Ted put one of those app things on there that lets you hire a ride, but he doesn’t know how to work it or even what it’s called, so he tucks it away again. “The station isn’t that far, I can just walk.”

“What? No.” Sirius steps backwards when he reaches for his things, shaking his head and shoving his hair off his face with one hand. “Let me drive you.”

“I couldn’t ask that of you-”

“I’m insisting,” Sirius says, giving him such a pleased smile that it takes Remus’ breath away, stepping forward and nudging their shoulders together while he gapes at him like an idiot. “Come on. I’m parked right around the corner in the garage. Special privileges for them slapping my pretty face on all their products.”

“It’s why I buy them,” Remus blurts out before he can think better of it, feeling his face flush hot, watching as Sirius’ smile slowly spreads. “I, um… Well, I suppose this is a terrible time to announce that I’m actually a huge fan. Have been for years.”

Sirius chuckles quietly, shaking his head, teeth digging into his plump lower lip when he looks up again. “Come on. Let me drive you to the station.”

Remus fiddles with his seatbelt as Sirius’ car—much more modest than he was expecting, part of him thought the former rockstar would drive something much flashier, like a sports car—flies down the motorway, trying to figure out exactly how he got here. 

He hadn’t thought much of it when Sirius asked where he lived, explaining how he’d settled in Chelmsford when Ted was little, so distracted by rambling on about how much he missed Wales that he completely missed Sirius poking at his navigation system. It wasn’t until he drove straight past the train station that Remus realized what was happening. There had been a small argument—Sirius insisting that it was no problem despite the fact that not only would the train have been faster, and that he apparently lives the complete opposite direction in Kew—but Remus hadn’t been able to talk him down from driving him all the way home.

“Why would I miss out on the opportunity of hearing your lovely voice for a little bit longer?” Sirius had asked, reaching across the console and wrapping his fingers around Remus’ thigh before giving it a soft squeeze, which had flustered him so completely that it had been nearly five minutes before he was able to speak again. 

He listens intently as Sirius tells him a story about his childhood, which actually sounds quite depressing when Remus reads between the lines, and when he says as much Sirius lets out a bark of surprisingly happy laughter, throwing his head back against the seat. He looks good behind the wheel—his knee propped against the door with his legs spread wide, one hand draped over the top of the wheel while the other rests near the gear shift, eyes flicking over to him every few seconds—and while normally Remus would have concerns about safe driving habits the man in front of him is so distracting that the thought is lost by the next time Sirius shoots him a beaming grin. 

They don’t talk the entire time, occasionally lapsing into silence that somehow doesn’t feel awkward, letting the radio play softly before the conversation picks up on its own again. They get stuck in traffic for a bit, swapping school stories as the car crawls along at a snail’s pace, and when they stop at a service station to use the bathroom and stretch their legs Remus marvels internally over the fact that spending time with Sirius feels like hanging out with a friend.

It doesn’t matter that they only met that morning. He feels like there’s a connection between them, maybe something more than friendship based on the fact that he’s still pretty sure that Sirius is flirting with him, but he really doesn’t know what to do about it. 

Sirius is so radiant, and bright, and outgoing, and Remus is… not.

“Water?” Sirius asks, a smirk pulling at his lips as he moseys up to Remus in front of the drinks cooler, holding up one of the two water bottles in his hand. “Can I interest you in a bottle of water, Mr. Lupin?”

“Piss off,” he mumbles playfully, grinning when Sirius laughs, taking one of the bottles and giving him a little nudge towards the front. Their hands brush together when Sirius falls into step beside him, fingers tangling for a brief moment, and Remus nearly trips over his own feet before he desperately tries to get his burning face under control. 

“You can pull around the back,” he says when Sirius starts to stop in front of his house, Remus having directed him the rest of the way once they were off the motorway, swallowing when Sirius glances over at him from the corner of his eye. 

Sirius doesn’t say anything, turning the car into the small laneway and then the shared driveway, parking beside his own car in front of the garage that houses Ted’s drum set and clutter that he should probably get rid of but has never had the energy or initiative to sort through. Remus takes a steadying breath as Sirius engages the parking brake and kills the engine, rubbing his sweaty palms against his trousers as they sit in almost weighted silence, before he turns to him with what he hopes is a small, normal smile.

“Would you like to come in? Have some tea, stretch your legs out for a bit before you head back to London?”

Sirius’ answering grin and nod catches him off guard, part of Remus had really expected him to refuse, and when he twists around in his seat to grab some of his belongings out of the back Sirius waves him off and grabs them himself. Remus fumbles around in his pockets for his keys before he opens his door, hip locking up for a moment when he tries to swing his legs out the car, and by the time he makes it to his feet Sirius is watching him with an expression he can’t quite read. 

“Sorry about the mess,” Remus murmurs as Sirius follows him inside—it’s not quite messy but he definitely would have cleaned up a little if he knew that he’d be having company—toeing off his orthopedic trainers and watching as Sirius moves everything to one arm so that he can unlace his boots. “Here, let me take that.”

Remus takes the box of supplements and his so-called swag bag, carrying them through to the kitchen, and once he’s dumped them on the table he has half a thought about turning the kettle on before he turns and finds Sirius standing just behind him. They stare at each other for a prolonged moment, the radiator ticking and Remus’ heart pounding, before Sirius steps forward and slowly, carefully, lays his hands over Remus’ hips.

“Have I been misreading this?” Sirius asks quietly, eyes flicking over his face, moving closer until their chests are pressing together with each breath and the tips of their noses nearly touching. 

“No,” Remus whispers back, nudging his chin up just enough that their lips brush together, both of them gasping as his stomach fills with butterflies. He sets his cane to the side, hesitantly resting his hands against Sirius’ chest before he slides them up to loop around his neck, a small sigh escaping from between Sirius’ lips as Remus brings their mouths together again and kisses him properly. 

It’s chaste, tentative, closed-lipped and soft, and without a doubt the best kiss Remus has had in decades.

Sirius makes a small noise, pulling back long enough that their eyes can meet while his hands tighten around his hips, before he dives back in to kiss him again. It starts slow—lips moving against one another while Remus lets his hands tangle in Sirius’ hair, dragging his fingers up the nape of his neck to cradle his head while one of the hands on his hips slides around to his lower back, pulling their bodies impossibly closer—before there’s the wet brush of a tongue against the seam of his mouth and he opens his lips for more. 

Distantly he thinks, while Sirius’ tongue flicks over the roof of his mouth, that entering that stupid contest was one of the best decisions he’s ever made. 

Remus wishes that he could spend hours there, snogging with Sirius Black in his kitchen, spreading his legs slightly when a knee nudges between them, but he’s spent far too long both sitting and standing today and his hip is starting to protest. He pulls back, panting for air, and takes one look at Sirius’ swollen lips before he’s craning up to kiss him again. He gasps as Sirius takes his lower lip between his teeth, nibbling on it gently, hands tightening in his hair until a jolt of pain has him cursing beneath his breath. 

“Alright?” Sirius asks, pulling away from him, eyes flicking over his face before they drop to where his knees are trembling. 

“Fine,” he rasps, reluctantly pulling one hand away to rub at his thigh where it’s tensing, hoping that he hasn’t ruined the mood. “Can we just, ah- Move into the sitting room or the bedroom? We don’t- We don’t have to go any further, I’m just not sure I can handle being upright anymore.”

“We can move into the bedroom,” Sirius says, leaning in to kiss him again, and despite the fact that it’s relatively tame it has Remus’ socked toes curling against the floor before his cane is being pressed into his hand with a soft squeeze. “And I agree, we don’t have to do more, but I would be a liar if I said I didn’t want to go further.”

“Oh, thank fuck.” Remus lunges forward and presses their mouths together again, Sirius halfway holding him up as they stumble backwards, and he directs him towards his bedroom through gasped half-words between kisses. When they get to the foot of his bed he pauses, bracing himself against the footboard, reaching out to give the hem of Sirius’ shirt a tug. “On or off?”

“Off,” Sirius rushes out, ripping his shirt overhead, and Remus gets a split-second glimpse of a toned chest covered in dark hair and tattoos before he’s being guided backwards until he collapses onto the bedspread. Sirius peers down at him, eyes heated, before his fingers go to the buttons of Remus’ shirt. “Can I?”

“Yeah,” he murmurs, watching as Sirius’ nimble fingers quickly work down the line of buttons, drawing it off his shoulders and pulling his undershirt overhead, and Remus only has a brief moment to be self-conscious about the soft expanse of his stomach before Sirius is kissing him once again. Sirius cups his face between his hands, tongue pressing between his lips, and Remus shuffles backwards on the bed as Sirius crawls up onto the bed to press between his thighs.

Sirius kisses him like they have all the time in the world, which Remus supposes they do, keeping himself propped up on one elbow to keep his weight off his hips. He appreciates it, even if he does want to feel Sirius pressing him down in the mattress, thinking that he should take his pills and getting distracted as Sirius’ thumb strokes over his cheek before moving down. He pants against his mouth as his touch trails softly down the side of his throat, his chest—taking a moment to thumb at his nipple in a way that has him squirming—and it isn’t until Sirius’ fingers are tucking themselves beneath the waistband of his trousers with a questioning tug that he remembers himself. 

“I just need, ah-” Remus lets out an embarrassingly high-pitched noise as Sirius mouths at the hinge of his jaw, hands clutching at his back helplessly as he wraps his lips around the soft skin just beneath his ear and sucks, absently wondering what the appropriate age limit for love bites is. He’ll never hear the end of it if he walks into work with a hickey on his throat. “I need the little basket of pills from my bedside table.”

“I’ve got it,” Sirius whispers, kissing the skin he was nibbling on and then the shell of his ear, giving Remus a glorious view of his chest as he kneels up and reaches for it. “Alright?”

“Yeah,” he rasps, reluctantly dragging his eyes away as he takes the basket, sitting up and worrying his lower lip between his teeth as he stares down at the contents. Sirius has gone still and quiet, surely picking up on the fact that the mood has changed, but Remus doesn’t know what to do. He needs to take something for his pain, that’s not really a question, but for the rest of it…

“We can stop if you want to,” Sirius says quietly, watching him with a guarded expression when he looks up, hand hovering midair before he reaches out to gently touch his cheek. “We don’t have to keep going.”

“I want to,” Remus murmurs, meaning it more than anything, he’s just… Well, frankly, he’s embarrassed beyond words and wishes he would have had the opportunity to do this in private. But Sirius is kneeling between his legs, those silver-toned eyes fixed on his face and filled with concern, and Remus picks up one of the bottles like it’s a live grenade, holding it in his fist before he takes a couple of paracetamol for his hip and chasing them with the slightly stale glass of water he left next to his bed last night. 

“It’s just going to take me a bit if you want to keep going,” he says, peering down at his lap as he turns the bottle over in his hands, cringing a little at how bold the brand of medication is. “I-”

“That’s okay.” Sirius’ fingers close over his, thumbs stroking the back of his hand, and when Remus lifts his chin he sighs as he leans in to press their lips together. “That’s so fucking okay, are you kidding me? Christ, I thought I’d done something wrong.”

“No, not at all,” Remus breathes against his mouth, fumbling with the top of the bottle before he’s finally able to get it open, pulling away from Sirius long enough to swallow the little blue pill before he’s kissing him again. 

Sirius makes a little noise beneath his breath as he guides him down onto pillows, holding his head as he licks into his mouth, and Remus is helpless to do anything but turn into a puddle beneath him. Time turns hazy as they kiss, their lips growing swollen as they slide together again and again, and the feeling of Sirius’ hard cock grinding idly against him is enough to drive him out of his mind with desire even though it hasn’t been long enough for the medication to start working yet. Their hands roam, Sirius petting at his bare chest with what feels like reverence and Remus finally getting his hands on the round arse that he’s been eyeing all day. 

“Do you want to take these off?” he murmurs, slipping his thumbs beneath the waistband of Sirius’ trousers, laughing when he nods and sits up so quickly that it leaves him reeling. He watches, feeling kissed stupid and slightly dazed, as Sirius shuffles off the bed and fights with his belt, mouth filling with drool when he pushes his trousers and pants down in one go. 

His cock is as beautiful as he is, standing thick from a thatch of well groomed hair, flushed purple at the head and dripping.

“Fucking hell,” he murmurs, desire burning hot in his gut, and finally raising his gaze when Sirius’ hands smooth over his shins.

“You too?”

Remus feels a little furl of shame as he nods his head—he’s not hard yet even though he’s ridiculously turned on—lifting his hips and allowing Sirius to strip him bare, other than his socks. He looks down at himself, soft cock laying in the crease of his thigh, eyes fluttering shut when Sirius crawls between his legs again and trails kisses up the inside of his thigh.

“I’m not-”

“I know,” Sirius says, exhaling heavily and making him shiver as his breath washes over his cock, peering up the length of Remus’ body as he arranges himself on his knees. His eyes are heavy-lidded, gaze heated, and Remus feels the first stirrings in his loins as he absently sends a mental thanks to Vita-WOW and their ridiculous contest. “That’s okay. I really want to anyway, if you’re comfortable with it. Can I?”

“I couldn’t imagine anyone ever saying no to you,” he mumbles, reaching down and tangling his hands in Sirius’ hair, cradling his head between his hands. “You have my enthusiastic consent to do anything you like.”

Sirius gives him a grin that has goosebumps erupting across his flesh, holding his eye as he presses a lingering kiss to his hip, before he turns and takes his cock into his mouth. Remus nearly arches off the bed completely as Sirius suckles at him, feeling like he might come undone from the hot wet heat of his mouth, squirming around as Sirius drags his tongue up the underside of his cock. He thinks that he might be babbling nonsense as Sirius hollows his cheeks, his theory proven correct when he hears him chuckle quietly around his cock, which sends bolts of heat shooting up his spine, and Remus reluctantly disentangles one hand from Sirius’ hair before reaching for the drawer of his bedside table. 

Sirius’ brow arches when he tosses lube and a condom down on the bedspread—which hopefully aren’t expired considering that Remus truly can’t remember when he bought them—but doesn’t stop the delightful suction around his cock until he’s half-hard and panting like he’s run a marathon. 

“What do you prefer?” Sirius asks, letting him fall from his mouth, glancing down and groaning quietly before he leans down to drag his lips along the length of his cock. 

“I’m the farthest thing from picky,” he breathes out, rolling his head against the pillow as Sirius gives the head an open-mouthed kiss, hissing as his hips thrust up involuntarily and a dull ache spreads up his side. “I’m not sure if I’d be able to top at the moment, however.”

“That’s okay.” Sirius grabs the lube from the bedspread, leaning down to kiss his hip again as the cap clicks open, looking at him from beneath his lashes as he says, “You can fuck me next time.”

Remus lets out a breathy groan, spreading his legs apart wider as he watches Sirius warm the lube between his fingers, his entire body jerking when he takes him into his mouth again. He can’t keep his eyes open as slick fingers probe between his cheeks, rubbing over his hole and spreading the lube around before the blunt tip of a finger is gently pressing inside of him. He can’t quite help the way he gasps—it’s been more than a while since he’s done anything like this—willing his body to relax as Sirius works his finger further inside.

He’s nearly lost to the waves of pleasure rolling over him, each exhale catching in his throat before it bleeds into a moan as he’s stretched around one finger then two then three,  a little voice in the back of his head whispering next time. Maybe Sirius was just being flippant, making a lighthearted joke, but Remus really does hope that there’s a next time. He likes Sirius, liked spending time with him today, and would really like to get to know him better.

Maybe he can talk him into staying for dinner tonight.

“Fuck, fuck,” he gasps, giving Sirius’ head a little shove when he swallows around him, suddenly so close to the edge that he’s worried it’s all going to be over far too soon. “I’m going to come if you keep that up. I’m ready.”

Sirius gives him a devilish look, drawing his lips up so slowly that it has him twitching, fingers still twisting in and out of his arse as he cranes up to kiss him. “Are you sure?”

“So sure,” he mumbles, tugging at his shoulders, and Sirius lets out a little laugh as he pulls his fingers free and reaches for the condoms. Remus suddenly realizes that he’s been a bit of a passive bystander this entire time, quickly snatching one from his grasp, tearing it open and removing the wrapper as he sits up, finally getting a hand on Sirius’ cock. 

He takes advantage of the moment to give him a few slow strokes, swiping his thumb over the head and spreading the wetness gathered at the tip around, before he rolls the condom down his length. Sirius catches his mouth in a heated kiss, crowding in over him as Remus drags his hand up and down, fingers slipping lower to fondle his bollocks, rolling them around in his palm. 

“Which position do you want to be in?” Sirius asks him between kisses, trying to lick the words back out of his mouth, and Remus can barely concentrate long enough to take stock of his body. He’s touched by how thoughtful Sirius is being about the limitations his body puts on him, without being pitying or condescending, pulling him closer so that he can deepen this kiss. 

“Like this, I think,” he whispers, pulling Sirius down over him, squirming around before he reaches for one of the pillows behind his head. “Can you-”

“Yeah, I’ve got it.” Sirius grabs the pillow, wrapping one hand around Remus’ hip to help him hold himself up as Sirius shoves it beneath his lower back, rubbing his sides as he scoots in closer. “Good?”

“Perfect.” Remus smiles as Sirius leans down over him again, elbow braced against the bed while his fingers comb through his hair before wrapping around the nape of his neck, watching as he takes his cock in hand and gives himself a loose stroke with a shuddering exhale. “Your back isn’t going to bother you in this position? Mine would.”

“Only if I manage to last longer than a handful of minutes,” Sirius says, giving him a grin that’s too cocky for the previous statement, and he laughs as he cranes his head up to press their mouths together again. “If it does we can just move around a little, alright?”

Remus opens his mouth to respond and moans again as Sirius rubs the head of his cock against him, sucking in a breath as he thrusts and his cock slides along his crease to nudge at the underside of his bollocks, eyes fluttering shut when Sirius pulls back and the head notches at his hole. He forces himself to open his eyes again, panting for breath and staring up at Sirius, who stares right back as he carefully pushes into him. 

The initial stretch makes him gasp, Sirius’ eyes flicking over his face as the burn rushes through his body, but the last thing Remus wants for him is to stop so he grabs at him with clumsy hands, wrapping his good leg around Sirius’ hip to keep pulling him in. Neither of them stop until Sirius’ hips are pressed against his arse. Sirius groans so deeply that it makes his stomach flip, panting against his open mouth, and Remus clings to him as he tries to adjust. Sirius’ fingers are gentle as he gives the back of his neck a soft squeeze, patiently kissing him as he waits, and when Remus finally nods he starts to move. 

“Oh, fuck, really not going to last,” Sirius groans as he pulls his hips back and rolls them forward again, less of a thrust and more of a grind into him as he braces his other hand on the mattress next to his head, and Remus moans as his cock rubs between their stomachs. “You feel too good, baby, holy shit.”

Little fizzles of pleasure shoot through Remus’ veins at being called baby, which is ridiculous, because he’s a more than grown man and he’s sure he’s not the only person that Sirius calls that, but it affects him all the same. He can’t find words, quiet moans falling from his lips as Sirius rolls his hips, his cock dragging against his prostate with devastating accuracy. It feels too good, it all feels too good, but at the very least he’s pretty sure that Sirius won’t mind if he comes far too quickly. 

He licks into Sirius’ mouth to distract himself, hands sliding over the sweaty expanse of his back as they trade sloppy kisses, fingers tangling in Sirius’ hair as he pulls him in impossibly closer. The entire act feels so much more intimate than he was expecting, Sirius holding him like he matters, and part of Remus knows that this is more than a hookup. He can accept now, with Sirius around and over and inside of him, that the lighthearted flirting earlier that day was really anything but. For some reason, which he can’t figure out, Sirius was earnest in wanting him.

“Remus,” Sirius breathes out, catching his lower lip between his teeth and biting softly before his mouth trails to the side, leaving kisses along his cheek and jaw before he sucks a mark onto the side of his throat. “I need you to come. I can’t-”

“I’m going to,” he murmurs, one hand pressing down against Sirius’ back to pull him in even closer, each grinding thrust sending sparks racing across his skin and making the pressure between his hips coil tighter and tighter. His stomach is wet where his cock has been dripping, pressed tight between their bodies, arching up as much as he can beneath him. “God, Sirius, I’m going to-”

Sirius kisses him almost desperately, somehow managing to deepen his thrusts without pulling away from him, and the noise that Remus makes when he tips over the edge would be mortifying in any other circumstance. Sirius makes a low noise and fucks him harder, their skin slapping together loudly, managing a few more thrusts before he buries himself deep and stills with a punched out groan. Their lips are still pressed together as they try to catch their breath, Remus whining quietly when he feels Sirius pulse inside of him, holding him as close as possible as they both come down. 

“You were right,” Sirius mumbles quietly after a moment, kissing the corner of his mouth and his cheek before he pulls back with a little grunt, cock slipping free and leaving Remus uncomfortably empty as he collapses onto his side beside him. “My back does hurt.”

He just laughs, wiggling around as he tries to get the pillow out from beneath him, rolling over onto his side when he does. Sirius immediately reaches for him, one arm tucking beneath his neck and the other wrapping around his waist while their legs tangle together, pulling him in until their lips are brushing together again. He’s been kissed so many times today that his lips feel swollen and bruised, but he’s certainly not complaining, hugging Sirius as best he can as their lips move against each other sluggishly.

“The condom is going to fall off if I don’t take it off soon,” Sirius says against his mouth, making him snort, and Remus pulls back enough to get a hand between them before he carefully removes the condom. Sirius winces as he does, watching as Remus ties it off and tosses it towards the bin, nudging their noses together when he rests his head against his bicep again. “Hi.”

“Hello,” he responds, feeling warm and surprisingly tender as he stares into Sirius’ eyes, curling his hand around his ribcage. “Do you have to go? Or can you stay for a while?”

“I can stay.” Sirius’ lips spread into a wide, almost shy smile, arms tightening around him. “I want to stay.”

“Good. I want that too,” he whispers, giving him a soft kiss before he pats around the bed, finding the duvet where it got kicked down around their feet and pulling it up over them. “We can clean up after we take a nap.”

“What’s your favorite book to teach?” Sirius asks, stretched out in bed beside him, one of Remus’ hands held between his as he plays with his fingers.

Their hair is still wet from their shared shower, both of them cramming into the tub together and nearly ending up at A&E when they couldn’t keep their hands off each other, and neither of them had been able to stop giggling as they toweled each other off. He’d given Sirius some of his own clothes to wear—the joggers too short, his threadbare t-shirt from uni clinging to his chest—and they’d made a quick stop by the kitchen for tea and sandwiches before curling up together in his bed again. 

Remus hums, watching as Sirius lines their hands up to compare them—Remus’ fingers are longer despite their hand difference—lacing their fingers together and squeezing softly. “I’m not sure if I could actually choose. Some of the books are chosen by the curriculum, but we have some freedom, and a few years ago I added-”

His words are cut off by the sound of the door slamming closed, both of them startling slightly, and when he hears Teddy shout ‘dad’ in a panicked tone he realizes that he’s forgotten something very important…

He never texted his worry-prone son earlier before heading home, and he hasn’t seen his phone in hours.

“Oh no,” he whines quietly, sinking down beneath the blankets like a naughty teenager that’s about to get caught in a compromising situation, and Sirius gives him an alarmed look before the bedroom door flies open so hard that it bounces off the wall behind it.

“Dad, are you-” Teddy freezes, mouth falling open and eyes going wide as his gaze flicks between Remus and the man plastered against his side, looking so gobsmacked that he can’t help but to laugh. “What- What is happening here? Are you- Oh, my God, you’re Sirius Black. Dad, why in the bloody fuck is SIRIUS BLACK in your bed? Is he wearing your shirt?”

Teddy’s increasingly panicked spiral unfortunately only makes Remus laugh harder, the absurdity of the situation hitting him all at once, setting Sirius off who starts to laugh as well as he buries his face against his shoulder. He hears Teddy huff by the door, feeling ridiculous he tries to smother his giggles, and when he raises his head again Ted is staring at them with crossed arms and a flat expression. 

“It’s not funny. I was worried sick.”

“Sorry, Ted, I really did mean to text you earlier,” Remus finally manages to get out, sitting up in bed and leaning back against the headboard, Sirius’ hand tightening around his own. “But you could have checked your tracker thing and saw that I made it home.”

“I saw that you’d arrived home via a car instead of train, after not bothering to update me, and then you weren’t answering your phone,” Teddy says sourly, shuffling back and forth awkwardly in the doorway, eyes tracking Sirius as he hauls himself up to lean beside him. “Why is there a celebrity in your bed?”

“Former celebrity,” Sirius says, giving him one of those easy grins that Remus had spent so long staring at earlier in the day, and he misses the slightly crooked tilt of his real smile. “I’m a C-lister these days, at best. It’s nice to meet you, Teddy. Your dad has told me all about you.”

Teddy’s lips scrunch to the side like he’s hiding a grin, eyes narrowed, reaching up to shove his bright blue fringe out of his face. “I am… going to go. I’m going to go crash at Vic’s tonight, now that I know that you’re not kidnapped or incapacitated. I’ll be home by… breakfast?"

“Who on Earth would want to kidnap me?” Remus asks incredulously, blinking at his son, feeling his cheeks go warm when Sirius mutters “me” beneath his breath. “And I don’t know why you’re phrasing it like a question, you know that you’re free to come and go as you please.”

“I just want to make sure I won’t be interrupting anything,” Teddy mutters, his eyes fixedly remaining on their faces, which is when Remus realizes that the strip of condoms and bottles of lube are still laying at the foot of the bed. “I can bring something for breakfast home in the morning. Will, uh… Will Sirius still be here?”

“Unless your dad kicks me out,” Sirius responds, squeezing his hand again, and Remus has to bite down on the inside of his lower lip to contain the giddy laugh that rises in his chest. 

“Right. Well, I’m just going to…” Teddy trails off, staring at them, before he hikes a thumb over his shoulder and spins on heel, pulling the door closed behind him. They sit in silence as they listen to Ted rummage around in his room across the hall before the front door clicks shut a few moments later, locks rattling. 

“You’re in trouble,” Sirius says in a sing-song voice, barking out a laugh when Remus softly smacks their still joined hands against his chest, wrapping his free arm around him and gently wrestling him down onto the bed. Sirius leans over him, eyes flicking over his face, before he leans down and claims his lips in a lingering kiss. “Will you be kicking me out before Ted comes home in the morning?”

“I wasn’t planning on it.” Remus stretches out beneath him, hooking his ankles around Sirius’ calves, peering up at him as a bright, relieved expression crosses his face. “I wouldn’t want to deprive you of, what did you call it? My lovely voice?”

“Very lovely,” Sirius murmurs, cupping his cheek and bringing their mouths together, thumb stroking along his cheekbone. “Let me take you out tonight? Dinner, drinks, whatever you want, I just… I’d like to take you out on a date.”

“Dinner sounds nice,” he responds, worming one arm free so that he can touch Sirius’ face, hand sweeping back to tangle in his hair. “But takeaway on the sofa sounds even better. You can woo me some other time.”

“Oh, there will absolutely be wooing.” Sirius grins, turning to press his lips against Remus’ wrist, eyes never leaving his face. “I really like you, Remus.”

“I really like you too,” he says, meaning it wholeheartedly, knowing that he could oh-so-easily fall in love with the man above him. He’s had a hopeless, silly crush on him for years, but now that he knows Sirius Black the person instead of the celebrity he realizes that there’s really no comparing the two. One is an act, and the man leaning in to kiss him again is real. “I- Sirius, I just want you to know that I- Well, I didn’t sleep with you because you’re famous, or formerly famous, however you want to call it, or because I’m a fan.”

Sirius pulls back enough to look at him, expression softening, thumb smoothing over the wrinkles beside his eye. “Yeah, I know. I knew that the second you treated me like a person instead of someone to fawn over. Though it has been a very long time since I hooked up with a fan.”

Remus snorts as he waggles his brows above him, pinching Sirius’ hip, who lets out a delightful little shriek of laughter and collapses on top of him, careful to fall to the side so that his weight isn’t on his hips. “C’mon. I’ve a drawer in the kitchen full of takeaway menus that we can poke through.”

“Or I could teach you how to use your phone,” Sirius offers lightly, rolling off of him completely and jumping to his feet with a surprising spryness, Remus taking his offered hands and letting himself be hauled up until he’s sitting on the edge of the bed. 

Sirius releases his hands, cupping his face and leaning down, and his eyes flutter shut as he’s kissed so deeply that it makes his toes curl. He reaches up, grabbing at Sirius’ hips and pulling him closer until he’s planting his knees against the bed, straddling Remus' lap, both of them moaning against each other’s mouths as they collapse backwards onto the mattress.

They can order food later.