Orange haze filled the attic as the sun rose over the first day of June. Remus Lupin sat at his deck, staring at his laptop screen with surprise.

"Wow," he whispered to himself, then rubbed his eyes vigorously.

He picked up his phone and sent a text to Lily:

I'm done. I finished it.

It's done.

She was probably sleeping in some sort of configuration with James Potter at the moment. James hardly spent much time in his own room anymore, especially now that summer break had begun. Lily had even mentioned the vague idea that if James could move into her room she could rent out his room, an idea that made Remus more than a little nervous.

He stared at his phone. He was excited. He'd done it. He'd finally finished and he needed to talk about it. Sirius was probably asleep but he couldn't help giving him a try:

I finished the fic!

To Remus's surprise he received an immediate text back:

WHAT? HOW?

You're awake?

Yeah. Guess I couldn't sleep.

Can I come downstairs?

It's a free house…

No, I mean… to talk to you?

Yeah. Of course.

Remus dashed downstairs, glad that he was no longer nervous around Sirius. Sirius was waiting in the doorway to the living room when Remus got to the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey," Sirius said warmly.

"Hey," Remus replied, grinning wide.

"So… you've defeated the beast," Sirius said.

"Yeah. I guess I have. I mean… these chapters still need edits but essentially… I'm done. I wasn't even sure if it would have an ending… but it spoke to me. It felt… right," Remus said.

"Is it a happy or a sad ending?" Sirius asked.

"Geez, you want spoilers?" Remus said and laughed.

"I'm just saying… I'm not sure my heart is prepared for a sad ending," Sirius said.

Remus stepped over to Sirius, his body trembling inside. He picked up Sirius's left hand and held it, feeling strangely confident, maybe because he was tired or maybe because finishing the fic had given him a natural high.

"I think I gave it the right ending. They deserve to be together," Remus said.

"But they're so different," Sirius said softly.

"Well, if a vampire and a vampire hunter can't make it work then what hope is there for the rest of us?" Remus said, smiling up at Sirius and briefly making eye contact before looking down.

"Indeed," Sirius said and gave Remus a hug.

As they pulled away from the hug, Remus felt like he was moving in slow-motion past Sirius's face, painfully aware of how close his lips were but not finding the courage to explore them just yet. After they parted, they stood there in silence for a moment. Suddenly, the front door began to unlock and Remus jumped. Peter Pettigrew quietly walked into the house, removing his shoes in silence.

"Hey, Pete," Sirius said to his friend.

After all these months, Remus still barely knew Sirius and James's friend who lived in Lily's basement. He spent a lot of time caring for his mom or being with his girlfriend, Maddy.

"Hey," Peter said sadly.

"Something wrong?" Sirius said, stepping out of the dark of the hallway over to Peter who was leaning against the back of the sofa.

"Maddy broke up with me," Peter said.

"Oh. I'm sorry, Pete," Sirius said and leaned down to give Peter a hug.

"Thanks, man. I don't know. It came out of nowhere. Everything was fine. And then we were… we were in bed, after… erm. Anyhow, she just turned me to and said it was over. She said the relationship had run its course. And I tried… I tried to say something to change her mind. But she didn't care. She was cold as ice. She didn't even kick me out. She just rolled over and went to sleep. So I left… Don't want to be where I'm not wanted," Peter said, whimpering the last line.

Sirius gave Peter another hug.

"Don't fret, Pete," Sirius said.

"I'll try not to. I guess I need some rest. Good night… erm… morning," Peter said, waving at Remus as he walked to the basement.

Sirius frowned at Remus.

"Well, I hope Steve and Bucky get a better ending than that," Sirius said.

"Definitely," Remus said and headed back upstairs.

Lily giggled as she kissed James, naked and sweaty on top of him as euphoria still coursed through his body. Morning sex with Lily was such a great way to wake up, James thought. Everything to do with Lily was great. Sex with Lily was great and it wasn't losing its novelty, no matter how hard they had been going at it for all these weeks.

They lay there kissing and sliding against each other for several minutes before Lily finally rolled away, pulling on clothes to head to the bathroom. James wasn't sure he had the energy to climb out of bed yet and grabbed his phone to check his email.

To his surprise he had an email from his ex-girlfriend, Charity Burbage. He hadn't seen her since last autumn. They had briefly texted a few times but that had been it and even that hadn't been in months.

James opened the email, which turned out to be sent to a bunch of her local friends and family. She said that she was moving out east and getting married. She was having a get together shortly. Curious, James thought. She hadn't been dating anyone the last time they talked.

He decided to text Charity for some clarification as he wasn't sure if he was just too tired and had forgotten something.

Hey, Char. Got your email. You're getting married? WHAT?

Yep. It's not as a sudden as it seems.

I met this guy online back in January.

I've gone out to Vermont to meet him a few times.

And he's been out here :)

James stared the texts in disbelief as Lily returned to the room.

"I'm gonna take a shower, babe," Lily said.

"Yeah," James said.

"You OK?" Lily asked.

James looked up at her.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I just found out Charity's getting married. She's… moving to Vermont. Like apparently in two weeks," James said.

"Vermont? Where at?" Lily asked.

"Some place called… Brattleboro?" James said.

"Brattleboro? That's not far from Keene. Huh. Small world. Maybe I'll say hi while I'm out there?" Lily said.

Lily was planning on spending the month of July out in New Hampshire visiting her girlfriends and old friends out there. James had been working up the courage to see if she wanted him to come along with her but he was worried he would be intruding.

"Yeah…" James said, getting another text from Charity with more clarification.

"Or, I mean, you could just come out there too. When is the wedding?" Lily asked.

"It's in July," James said, realisation coming over him.

"That pretty much means you have to do it, right?" Lily said with a wink.

"Shit. I… guess I'm going to New England," James said, throwing his head back as plans began to take shape in his mind.

"Two words: road trip," James said, as he stood in front of the television in the living room, Sirius and Peter seated in front of him on the sofa.

"We just went to San Francisco a couple of months ago," Sirius countered.

"I didn't!" Peter complained.

"Only because you dropped out," Sirius replied, bumping his shoulder into Pete's shoulder.

"No, no, this is different. Let me explain. I'm thinking the four of us boys rent an RV or something-"

"And cook meth?" Peter interjected, making Sirius chuckle.

"No! Hush! Listen! Lily is going to New Hampshire for the summer. Well, July, anyhow. I just found out Charity is moving out there and is getting married. Her wedding is in July. She's flying out there… I figured we could take the long way there and back," James said.

"Remus isn't going to New Hampshire. He didn't want to fly," Sirius said, having been looking forward to getting to spend time with Remus over the summer.

"So convince him to come with us. Come on! This is the sort of male-bonding shit they make movies about!" James said.

"I'm in. What else am I gonna do? I need to stop thinking about Maddy…" Peter said, still looking distraught from his breakup the night before.

"I won't go if Remus won't," Sirius said firmly.

James knelt in front of Sirius, clutching his hands in front of him.

"I understand that. He's your boyfriend," James said.

Sirius cringed briefly but it turned into a smile, feeling his face turn hot with embarrassment.

"Not exactly but… I guess. Beyond that, I won't leave him alone in this house for a month," Sirius said.

"Just… as a favor… will you ask him? Please? I really want him there," James said, seeming sincere.

Something in James Potter's hazel eyes, made it seem like he really needed this. He really wanted Remus there, not just so Sirius would come too.

"OK. I'll… ask him this weekend. We're going to Cannon Beach together," Sirius said with a smile.

"Nice. Literal hot date," James said, lightly slapping Sirius on the knee and standing up.

"So what did you think?" Remus said sitting at the top of his bed with his knees pulled up to his chest, while Lily sat cross-legged on the opposite end.

"It was… amazing. Touching. Sad but hopeful. I… can't believe it's over," Lily said, feeling in a daze since finishing reading the final chapter of Reliquary of Blood, minutes before.

"Really? I was worried… I thought I would be letting everyone down for not tying everything up neatly. I just didn't think it was realistic. So Steve and Bucky get to be together… but the circumstances aren't what they wanted. And people still died," Remus said.

"And isn't that how love should be? Anyhow, I'll try to finish up my Peggy and Angie fic… before too long. Busy summer ahead," Lily admitted.

"Yeah…" Remus said, looking sad.

Lily knew he wasn't looking forward to her going away for the summer… she supposed she should tell him it might be worse than he thought.

"I don't know if Sirius has said anything but… James is planning on going to New Hampshire too. I think he wants to take everyone on a road trip, well, all the guys anyhow. He said he was going to talk to Sirius and Peter earlier but I never heard how that went…" Lily said.

"I haven't heard anything. And I've been texting with Sirius almost all day," Remus frowned.

"Oh. I'm sorry," Lily said.

Remus shrugged.

"I guess it would've been nice to be invited," Remus said.

"I'm sure they will. Maybe they just think you wouldn't do it?" Lily said.

"I would go if Sirius is going. I just don't want to have to fly out there," Remus said.

"Maybe you should talk to Sirius?" Lily suggested.

Remus shook his head.

"If they want me they'll invite me. I'm not gonna impose where I'm not wanted," Remus said.

He sounded so sad that she wanted to leap across the bed to hold him. He hung his head, not revealing his emotions on his face.

"Hey," Lily said, scooting herself up the bed until she was at his feet.

Lily rubbed the side of Remus's leg.

"Yeah," Remus said.

Lily sighed.

"The final chapters were really great. I'm really proud of you," Lily said.

"Thanks," Remus said.

Remus probably wanted to cry in private. Lily frowned and slid out of the bed.

"Lemme know if you want to talk or something. Think about talking to Sirius," Lily said.

"OK. I will," Remus said, and Lily left the attic.

Lily strolled through downtown with a smile on her face as the summer sun beamed down on her, filling her with light. When she entered Molly and Arthur's, Molly was scrolling through her phone, laughing at something. Knowing her, probably a cat meme.

"Hey," Lily said as she approached the front counter.

"Lily!" Molly said, and set her phone down and came around to give Lily a hug.

"Sorry, I haven't been by," Lily said.

"It's fine. Things have been busy anyhow. Business is really picking up. Tourist season!" Molly said, pulling away but leaving a hand rested on Lily's shoulder.

"That's great!" Lily said.

"So what are you up to today? Anything you need?" Molly asked.

"Nah. I'm just… out for a walk. I've been indoors a lot lately. My boyfriend is busy visiting a friend today so I just thought I would… walk around," Lily said.

"Fair enough. Say, have you visited the bookstore since it reopened?" Molly said.

"What bookstore?" Lily asked.

Molly pointed west, through the walls of the store and said, "It's around the corner. It closed a couple of a years ago. Man who owned it passed away. Cancer. His daughter has reopened it. She's Muslim! And British. Aren't British accents wonderful? They always sound so nice!" Molly said, scrunching her nose in a pleased fashion.

"Oh. No. Should I?" Lily asked.

"Do you like books?" Molly asked.

"Yeah. I mean… I mostly read books on my Kindle, though," Lily said, making an apologetic face.

"Oh, I love real books. Especially old books," Molly said, closing her eyes and making a wistful face.

"Well, maybe I will go by there. Hey, we should hang out sometime. I could bring James over. We could all play boardgames or something," Lily said.

Molly opened her eyes and grinned.

"That sounds lovely. When were you thinking?" Molly asked.

"I don't know. I'm actually leaving town at the end of June. I won't be back until August," Lily said.

"Oh. Well, let me know. You can just text me and we'll make plans," Molly said.

"Will do. Well, it was nice seeing you. Guess I'm gonna check out that bookstore," Lily said.

They gave each other another hug and Lily stepped outside the store and turned left to head around the corner. The bookstore was on the opposite side of the alley from Molly and Arthur's.

The bricks of the shop were painted black and the large window just said Bookstore in large gold letters. Lily stepped inside and was greeted by a very friendly, big, fluffy cat.

"Well, hello, kitty," Lily said, kneeling down to rub the cat's head as it loudly purred.

As she stood back up and walked away the cat made a sad sound and ran up behind her, purring as it attempted to circle her legs.

"Well, goodness. You really are friendly," Lily said, kneeling to pet the needy kitty.

"Sorry about that. Tuvok likes making new friends," a voice from behind Lily said.

Lily turned around to see a woman with long, dark hair, dark eyes and brown skin a shade darker than her own, standing tall above her. She was wearing jeans and a white t-shirt that said Girls on it in big black letters. She was absolutely gorgeous.

"H-hi," Lily said, standing up to shake the woman's hand.

"Pleased to meet you," the woman said.

Her accent was very pleasant, indeed, and Lily wished she knew more about British accents so she could place where she was from.

"I'm Lily," Lily said.

"I'm Marlene," the woman replied, a smile stretching her brightly red painted lips.

Lily wasn't sure she had ever seen a woman so beautiful so instead of saying anything else she just smiled, still unconsciously shaking her hand. The woman lightly chuckled and Lily pulled away, feeling her face turn red.

"So, um, you're new here?" Lily said, suddenly finding it hard to remember whatever Molly had told her about the bookstore's new owner.

"No. I mean, the shop has been reopened for a week but I've been living in the U.S. for about six years. Since I was twenty. I moved here when my father became ill," Marlene said, frowning and making a small gulp.

"Oh, Molly told me about your father. I'm so sorry," Lily said.

Marlene nodded and quietly said, "Thank you."

Lily looked around the shop. Every inch of free space was covered in used books. Despite the shop not being all that large she felt like she could waste hours perusing all the shelves, especially with Marlene about.

"So you're English?" Lily said.

Marlene smiled and nodded.

"Actually, my father was American. He was in the military and married my mum in England. She was from Norwich. He got British citizenship. They had both turned fifty and didn't have any kids. Decided they wanted one. I was barely three when they adopted me in Iran," Marlene said, sounding like she had told the story enough times that the words had lost meaning.

Lily just nodded, unsure of what to say.

"I'm not sure what a white couple wanted with a Persian child but I'm grateful for the life they gave me. They divorced when I was fifteen. I didn't want to leave my mum… but someone needed to help my dad. And now here I am… I own a shop," Marlene said, throwing her arms open with a bitter smile.

"You could sell it, couldn't you?" Lily said.

Marlene shrugged.

"It didn't seem right. All my friends told me I was daft for taking it on. Told me I should just sell it and come home to England. But… I feel like I have unfinished business here. A purpose yet to be unfulfilled. I pray to God for guidance but…" Marlene said, shaking her head in disappointment.

"Well, whatever it is you're looking for… I hope you find it," Lily said, wanting to offer her physical comfort and just barely remembering that they met mere minutes before.

"Thank you. So, was there any thing you were looking for?" Marlene inquired.

"Me? Oh uh. I don't know. My life is pretty good. I… I wish I could see my girlfriends more often," Lily said.

"I meant books," Marlene said then laughed.

"Books. Right! Books," Lily said waving a hand around, wanting to place her palm right over her face in humiliation.

"So girlfriends, what, like your mates?" Marlene asked, seeming interested.

"Umm… no, not exactly," Lily answered, never knowing how much she should reveal to a stranger.

"You're a lesbian? I hope you don't mind me asking," Marlene said.

"No. And no it's all right. I'm uh… pansexual and polyamorous," Lily said.

"How lovely. I'm gay," Marlene said, smiling and touching her chest, just about where her shirt said Girls.

"Cool," Lily said and Marlene laughed as if that wasn't the response she was used to.

"You're funny, Lily. How about I show you some books?" Marlene said.

"Sounds great," Lily said, thinking at this point Marlene could probably convince her to buy an entire thirty year old set of Encyclopedia Britannica.

Petrova was grinning like she was about to burst. Her girlfriend, Donna, laughed and shouted, "Just say it, Pet!"

"OK, OK. Donna and I are getting married," Petrova said, smiling broadly.

"Really? Congratulations! Gosh, I just found out Charity is engaged the other day. Is it contagious?" James asked, reaching across the table to hold one of each of their hands.

Petrova laughed. Petrova Porskoff had never been James's girlfriend, unlike Charity Burbage. They had been friends with benefits until she started dating Donna.

"No. Congrats to Charity. I met her one time. Did I tell you? Bumped into her at the Farmer's Market," Petrova said.

"No, you didn't tell me that. That's cool," James said.

"Yeah. I mean, I didn't know it was her. We just got to chatting and once I found out her name… I put things together. She was nice," Petrova said.

Donna elbowed Petrova.

"Ask him!" Donna growled in Petrova's ear.

Petrova groaned then said, "All right. So… I know this might seem strange but… would you… be my best man?"

"Best man? Really? I mean, I'm flattered… but surprised. You've only known me for a couple of a years," James said, remembering the particular circumstances when he woke up naked on her floor, mere feet from where they were chatting in her dining room at the moment.

"Is that a no?" Petrova asked.

"No. I mean yes. I mean… no? I'm confusing myself. Yes, I'll be your best man. I guess I just thought… you had other friends?" James asked.

"Sure. But I've drifted off from a lot of them. I don't know. I just thought about everyone I knew… Whenever I get in a relationship I tend to get tunnel vision. I only think about me and her or… whoever it is," Petrova said, leaning over to kiss Donna on a a dark-skinned cheek.

"So you thought I was… the best man for the job? Erm… literally," James said, realizing he walked right into that pun.

"Yup. So you'll do it?" Petrova said.

"Yeah. Definitely," James said.

"Awesome! The wedding is on August the fifteenth by the way," Petrova said.

"Thank god. I'm gonna be gone all July to New Hampshire," James said.

"Cool. Yay, we're gonna have the most awesome Jewish lesbian wedding ever! Donna is converting," Petrova said.

"Just between you and me, I'm an atheist. Don't tell God or anything," Donna said.

"It'll be our secret," James said.

Sirius glanced over his shoulder as James entered the house.

"Hey," James said as he removed his shoes.

"Hey. What's up?" Sirius said.

"Visited Petrova and Donna. They're getting married!" James said.

"Them too? Is it contagious?" Sirius said.

"That's what I said. I guess so," James said, and came around and sat down next to Sirius on the sofa.

"So what's up with you?" James asked.

Sirius frowned.

"I spent today looking over my photos. All of them. Every single one I've ever done. I've realised something… photography is the only thing I want to do. Going to college… it's a waste of my time," Sirius said.

"Or at least go to college but take something better than history!" James said.

"No. I'm not going back to college," Sirius said with a frown.

"But dude, you're never going to have a career as a photographer here!" James laughed.

Sirius sighed.

"I know that. It's been lurking at the back of my mind for months. The new life I've built here… it's untenable. Not if I want a serious career as a photographer," Sirius said.

"Or a Sirius career, am I right?" James grinned, patting Sirius on the back.

"Dammit, this is a big deal, James," Sirius said with a scowl and sideways glare.

"Right. Sorry, man," James said, the smile fading from his face as he adjusted his glasses.

"I don't know what to do. I can't tell Remus. I'll break his heart," Sirius said.

James rubbed Sirius's back.

"I mean, you're still deciding, right?" James said.

"Sort of. Or rather, I'm trying to convince myself to do what's best for myself, not what's best for my heart," Sirius said, feeling tears well up in his eyes as he wondered if there was even a difference between those two things.

"I understand. Really, I do. Do you think I don't know that I can't work on video games here? We didn't come to this town to start new lives," James said.

"But you still have money. You can do anything you want," Sirius said.

"That's not as true as you think. My parents's money will run out eventually. But it's not about the money. I love video games. I've wanted to make video games since I was eight years old. It's my dream and it can't happen here. But I've got another year of school here to figure things…" James said.

"I have… until the end of the summer. That's the deadline I'm giving myself," Sirius said.

"Everything will work out," James declared.

"I hope so. Everything is so perfect… but we're young. I'll be twenty-one soon. Remus loves my photography. He tells me I should pursue it. But would he really feel that way if he knew it meant I had to leave?" Sirius said.

James didn't reply, perhaps wondering what he would say to Lily when that day inevitably came for him.

"If I'm not going to be a photographer… then who will I be? I'm not good at anything else," Sirius said.

"I'm sure that's not true. But don't worry about it right now. You've given yourself a summer. A lot can happen in three months," James said, reaching over and squeezing Sirius by the shoulders.