Sirius was stuffing papers into his suitcase when he heard the door creaking open and sighed irritably. 'Beth, I'm off in two minutes. You know I won't be attending any calls until tomorrow,' he said without looking up.
'I was hoping you could spare a moment for me…'
Sirius recognised the voice immediately and lifted his eyes only slightly to acknowledge it. 'Lupin. Shouldn't you be snogging James right now?'
Inwardly Sirius was groaning in frustration. What the hell was Remus Lupin doing here, in his office? Remus Lupin, who had been the bane to his existence ever since he arrived and the man Sirius had been trying very hard to avoid for the past month. Obviously, he wasn't trying hard enough.
Remus blushed a deep crimson. 'The team manager called – Ms. Evans, I think. Apparently, Monday's interview's been rescheduled to today afternoon.'
Sirius vaguely wondered if Remus knew about James's old crush on Evans. 'And Jamie-boy didn't ask you to go? Now, that is a surprise…'
'He did actually,' replied Remus, watching Sirius clean up his desk and log off his computer. 'I refused to.'
Sirius raised an eyebrow. 'Not photogenic, are you?'
Stupid comment, really. Remus would look great in a picture - with his blue denims hugging his long legs, loose white t-shirt that showed a firm body underneath and his dirty blonde hair constantly falling into his eyes. It took all of Sirius's self restraint to not jump him right there. This infatuation really had to stop.
Remus shrugged. 'Guess not. I don't like publicity much.'
Sirius laughed sarcastically. 'Remus Lupin – the man who stole Britain's most eligible bachelor! You should be proud.'
Remus stared at Sirius for a while and then flopped down heavily on the couch beside the window. 'You hate me, don't you?' He asked bitterly, burying his face into his hands.
Sirius nearly screamed in frustration. He had to have the biggest, lustiest crush imaginable on Remus Lupin. Hate would have been a very preferable option, but was currently non-existent. Why the Gods did this to him, he could not imagine.
'What gave you that idea?' Sirius asked, telling both his mind and his cock to cool down.
Remus looked up from his hands. 'Well, that derisive expression to start with.'
Sirius didn't bother responding, didn't even know how to. If Remus thought Sirius hated him, maybe he would stay the fuck away. So, Sirius simply shrugged off his jacket and tie, and folded them into his suitcase. He untucked his shirt and let a few of the top buttons loose.
Remus watched Sirius apprehensively. 'Is it – I mean…can I ask you a question…if it's not too much-'
'Spit it out, Lupin.' Sirius examined his reflection in the window and started fiddling with his hair. It had become somewhat of a ritual on his part now. He'd comb his hair to the right, then decide on the left, and then just brush it back instead. Eventually, he would just leave it to nature to sort it out, because as much as he loved his dark hair, he rarely knew what to do with it.
'Are you in love with James?'
Sirius nearly choked on his own spit. Remus really was clueless. Hadn't he learned anything in these past few months? Sirius in love with James? Bloody ridiculous. Still, it would be a shame not to have some fun at Lupin's expense, especially after what Lupin put him through.
'And what if I were? What would you do about it?' asked Sirius, looking directly at Remus and trying to keep a straight face.
Remus looked away, twisting the hem of his t-shit between his fingers. 'I-I guess I'd leave…if you want me to…'
Sirius snorted. How typical. 'I must admit, I never thought you'd be the kind to back out of a fight.'
'I'm not!' cried out Remus, standing up. 'I-I just think your friendship's more important, that's all. I mean, James has known you for years! It shouldn't be something you'd have to lose because of me!'
Sirius was a bit taken aback by Remus's answer. No one…no intelligent, self-respecting person would have ever said anything of that sort…and yet, Remus had. He had considered his and James's friendship first, the only form of relationship Sirius had truly believed in his entire life. He looked at Remus again, fidgeting under Sirius's gaze, and a newfound respect grew inside of him. Surprisingly, it had very little to do with Remus's tight arse.
'So, you're saying,' continued Sirius. 'That if I said yes, you'd leave James to me, knowing that I'm completely incapable of loving someone and will dump him once I find out how bad he is in bed…'
Remus laid a sympathetic hand on Sirius's arm, sending pleasant tingles through his body. 'You're not incapable of love.'
Sirius shifted a bit, so that Remus's hand slid off his arm. 'I see you're not defending James in my "bad in bed" statement,' he replied, grinning.
Remus's jaw dropped open, and he cuffed Sirius sharply up the head. 'You were having me on this whole time!'
Sirius burst out laughing.
'I can't believe it!' Remus cried out indignantly. 'And here I was, trying to do a good deed!'
Sirius pinched Remus's cheeks, still chuckling. 'You're too easy, Lupin. Everyone knows James and I are like brothers.'
Remus swatted Sirius's hand away. 'I hate you.'
Sirius stopped laughing abruptly. For some reason, that statement had sent a painful jolt to his chest. He shook his head and looked back at his reflection in the glass. Pulling at a single lock of hair, he wondered if he'd been infected with anything. What was happening to him?
'So, if you're not in love with James…why are you ignoring me?'
'Don't be bloody daft,' growled Sirius, frustrated with his hair more than usual. 'I'm not avoiding you.'
It was a lie of course. Sirius had been avoiding Remus in every possible way imaginable. He would get up early before anyone else and stayed in the club till two in the morning. He'd even stopped having meals at home and sometimes chose to spend nights at whoever his potential fuck was. He knew James must have noticed…knew that he might even be hurt…but if James wanted Sirius to keep his dick away from his boyfriend, it was really the best way.
Remus sighed and stood up. 'Well, I could be wrong.' He gently turned Sirius by the shoulders to face him, and ran long fingers through his dark hair. 'See, James is always saying how much fun you guys used to have and how bloody great you are, and…'
Sirius could feel his eyes closing as Remus fixed his hair, both hands delved deep into his scalp, massaging and pulling, and Oh God…Sirius's mind began to imagine other places these hands could be and he barely stopped himself from groaning out loud.
'I was hoping we could be good friends too, you know…maybe hang out somewhere.' The hands left, and Sirius felt himself unconsciously drift in search of them. 'It would make James happy,' reasoned Remus, turning Sirius to face his reflection again.
Remus was manipulating him. This sly, beautiful man was manipulating him by making his hair look fucking gorgeous, and tempting him with wonderfully talented hands, and using his friendship with James as a weakness. He was trying to make Sirius agree to things he would regret later…things he'd rather not be doing…things that might lead to other things on Sirius's part that James might not appreciate. Remus was manipulating him and it was working.
'I'm going to the bar for a couple of drinks,' Sirius found his traitorous mouth saying. 'Do you want to come?'
Remus grinned and any inhibitions Sirius had seemed to vanish. 'I thought you'd never ask.'
XxxxX
'I wouldn't go for him if I were you.'
Sirius tore his eyes away from Mr. Six Pack at the pool table, halting his list of Ways to Get Into His Pants to look at Remus, who was sipping his drink calmly. He raised a questioning eyebrow. 'Why not?'
Remus looked at Mr. Six Pack knowingly. 'He's shite.'
Sirius grinned. 'You talk from experience, or is this just a random statement you made up so that you won't have to walk home?'
Remus snorted and cast a disgusted look towards the man. 'My friend, Peter, he set us up together sometime last year. I hadn't dated for months after my last break up, and he thought we would be perfect for each other.'
Sirius really couldn't imagine how Mr. Six Pack could be perfect for scrawny, skinny (utterly gorgeous) Remus Lupin. But for once, he held his tounge, convincing himself that he didn't really want to know anything about Remus, and that Remus wasn't interesting at all, and that so far, they weren't having a good time because Remus did not talk about anything interesting.
Liar.
'Obviously, my friend thought very little of me,' continued Remus, completely oblivious to Sirius who had finally caught Mr. Six Pack's eye. 'The guy was a royal jerk. He had the looks and all, but as soon as he opened his mouth – ugh!'
Sirius smiled slyly at Six Pack and raised an eyebrow. Oh, he was going to get laid tonight. 'I don't care if he's a jerk. The only thing he'll be opening his mouth for is a blowjob.'
Remus rolled his eyes as Mr. Six Pack winked at Sirius and signaled towards the door with his chin. 'Anyway, I hadn't slept with anyone for five months, so I stuck with him for a while…painfully bore his company. But when he opened his trousers, I had just about had it.'
Sirius's eyes automatically went from Six Pack's chest to his crotch.
Remus grinned, knowing he'd finally caught Sirius's attention. 'He comes short of expectation, if you get my drift.'
Any interest Sirius might have had on the bloke quickly disappeared and he gulped down the last of his drink. 'Well, that saved me a fucking lot of trouble.'
Remus chuckled. 'Hm. Do you and James come here a lot?'
Sirius shrugged and ordered another beer. 'Best place for a drink and a shot of pool. But we go to the club more often…couple of blocks from the house…you've seen it, haven't you?'
Remus swallowed. 'I've never been to a club before.'
If Sirius had any beer in his mouth, he would have spat it out. 'You've never? I can't believe James didn't take you! What the hell do you guys do for fun?'
'He took me to that nice restaurant a couple of days ago,' Remus defended. 'And we went to the movies. Those were fun too…'
Sirius slammed his bottle down on the table. 'Are you a woman or a ponce? For Gods sakes, come on, we'll go there right now.' He stood up and started practically marching towards the exit, when Remus grabbed his hand.
'No, wait…I love this song.' Remus pointed towards the stage where the band had started playing another song Sirius hardly recognised. 'Dance with me?'
Sirius looked at him disbelievingly. 'You're kidding.'
Remus squeezed his hand. 'Come on. We'll go after this, I promise. This song is absolutely beautiful…'
'It's slow,' Sirius argued, even though he'd already put both arms around Remus's waist. 'And boring…'
Remus ignored him, swaying and singing along softly. 'I can't take my eyes off you…'
He wasn't Pavarotti, but his voice was soothing and melodious at the same time; and Sirius found himself wondering if there was anything Remus was actually bad at. He closed his eyes and leaned a bit closer, knowing it was a bad move, but ignoring the alarms in his head for once.
'The pupil in denial…'
'Do you wish I was James?' Sirius found himself asking. He didn't know why, but the thought made him uncomfortable.
'No.'
An unexplainable bubble of happiness welled up inside him, and he rested the side of his head against Remus's, taking in the sweet smell of shampoo.
'James always steps on my feet.'
Sirius laughed softly, relaxing into the song. He could feel the vibrations of Remus's voice against his hair as he sang quietly for only the two of them to hear. Sirius wondered if this was what it was like to be James and sighed. He wished Remus's arms would hold him tighter.
'I can't take my mind off you.'
XxxxX
