Sorry this took so long. I had the Swine Flu! Never mind, I lied… It was just the regular flu. Pity me anyways.
Anyhow… In the last chapter Remus met Rosemerta, so now he has a place to stay, so that's good. In this chapter you get to meet Sirius Black, the tattoo artist and his badass girlfriend! You'll FLIP when you see who I made Sirius date. Unfortunately, Sirius doesn't meet Remus yet. The last two chapters were very depressing and angsty, so hopefully this one has a little less depression and me being mean to Remus. That's all for now! Toodles!
P.S. This chapter is for DracoHermioneForever. Every one, please give her a round of applause! She deserves it, for she is a Super Reviewer!
Remus looked around the small, almost squashed, kitchen. "I like it. It's nice and cozy."
Rosemerta laughed. "If by 'cozy' you mean 'cramped'." She threw her wet rain jacket onto a small, slightly slanted, wooden table. "Let me show you where you'll be sleeping."
Remus followed Rosemerta out of the kitchen and found himself in a somewhat bigger living room that had nothing but a deep red leather couch, a television, and a Persian rug that was hung on the blue wall behind the television.
"Do you mind sleeping on the couch? Just for tonight. I just now realized that Brody's old room is filled with boxes." Rosemerta rolled her eyes at her absentmindedness.
"I'm fine anywhere." Remus mumbled. He was grateful that he had a place to stay that was out of the streets. It didn't matter where he slept as long as it was indoors. Besides, the couch looked extremely comfortable.
"Okay, good. Um… put your stuff down, and I'll show you where the shower is." Rosemerta walked down the hall and opened the door to a positively claustrophobic bathroom. "The toilet flush gets stuck sometimes, so you may have to open the lid and hold the floater down."
Remus nodded. "Okay."
"I'll just leave some sleeping clothes on the floor outside the door, alright?"
"That will be great. Thanks."
Rosemerta gave him one last smile and shut the bathroom door, leaving Remus alone. He quickly stripped off his rain damp clothes, and stepped underneath the icy spray of shower water. Closing his eyes, Remus waited for the water to warm up, and when it did he heaved a sigh of relief. Hot showers had the habit of washing away troubles and worries, and this one was no exception.
Remus closed his eyes, and let the water cascade down his back and chest. It soothed him in a way that no words could. He felt the days traumas and troubles swirl away down the shower drain as if they were nothing. The steaming water soothed the dull soreness in his backside. Remus stood underneath the hot spray until Rosemerta knocked on the door and asked him if he was drowning.
"I'm fine." Remus called. He turned off the water and shivered as the cold air touched his wet skin. Remus cracked open the bathroom door and brought the towel and clothes that Rosemerta had left inside, before closing the door again and getting dressed.
Stepping out of the bathroom in a raggedy old tee shirt and a pair of oversized sweatpants, Remus made his way to the living room, where he was pleased to see that Rosemerta was making a comfortable looking makeshift bed on the couch.
Rosemerta looked up and grinned at Remus. "Did you have a good shower?" Remus nodded. "Well good." She stepped back and observed her handy work. "There. That should do it."
"Thank you." Remus flushed. Rosemerta was really too kind. Looking at his 'bed' Remus noticed something slightly off. "Where's my suitcase?"
"Oh!" Rosemerta looked surprised, and a little sheepish. "Well, your suitcase was absolutely soaked from the rain, and so was everything in it. I put your clothes in the dryer. I hope you don't mind."
"No! No… That 's really very kind of you." Remus looked embarrassed. "You didn't have to go through all that trouble for me."
"It was no problem." Rosemerta shrugged and yawned. "Well, I need my beauty sleep. Holler if you need anything, yeah?"
"Alright." Remus smiled shyly at Rosemerta. "Thanks, again."
"Again, it's no problem." Rosemerta reached over and wrapped Remus in a tight, hug. Remus squeezed back. He really needed this, this physical comfort.
Rosemerta was extremely tall for a woman. At least six one. Remus, being only five nine, felt extremely small. He felt as if he were being embraced by a favorite Aunt, or an older sister. His own mother, who was tiny and bird like, had never held him like this. And John Lupin didn't exactly believe that two men should show physical affection. Even a simple hug was considered 'odd' in Remus' father's book.
Remus felt himself break at the thought of his parents, and hot tears escaped his eyes. Rosemerta sat down on the couch, and cradled Remus against herself, and soothed him and stroked his hair as Remus sobbed against her chest. She didn't say anything. She just held Remus until the sobs died down and was replaced by soft sniffles and heavy breathing. Remus had fallen asleep.
Rosemerta gently laid Remus down on the couch, tugged a blanket over his sleeping body, and tip-toed out of the living room, making sure to turn off the light behind her.
(Somewhere about a fifteen minutes car ride away from Rosemerta's flat.)
Sirius Orion Black hated cats. Especially Nagini. Nagini was a small grey tomcat with creepy reddish eyes. He was convinced that it was the Devil in disguise. Why his girlfriend loved Nagini so much, he could not possibly fathom in he slightest.
At the current moment, Sirius was looking for his second favorite leather jacket, because someone had let their Demon Cat piss all over his very favorite one.
"BELLA!"
"What?" Sirius' girlfriend, Bellatrix Lestrange, shouted from the direction of the bathroom.
"Where's my leather jacket?" Sirius almost literally tore up the bedroom, looking for his beloved jacket.
"What?"
"Where is my leather jacket?"
Bellatrix came stalking into the bedroom, wearing nothing but a skimpy leather mini-dress and ridiculously high stilettos. "Why do you need to know?"
"I need it!"
A look of dawning comprehension crossed over Bellatrix's face, and she started to shake her head slowly. "Uh-huh. No way. You're not about to go out with James Potter right now. We've been planning this dinner for two months!" It was their five-year anniversary, and Sirius had been planning on proposing that night but James Potter, Sirius' best friend, had to go and ruin everything.
"My dignity is in danger!" How could Bellatrix not comprehend the severity of this situation? If Sirius didn't go to prove his manhood once and for all, then he would forever be disgraced as an Eternal Weenie. And Sirius Black was not in any circumstance, a 'Weenie'.
"My evenings in danger!" Bellatrix shouted at Sirius' back as though that solved everything.
Sirius spun on Bellatrix. "YOU TELL ME WHERE MY JACKET IS, WOMAN! We are talking about the Greater Good!"
Bellatrix's mouth fell open in shock as Sirius loomed over her. She recovered much too quickly for Sirius' tastes. "'Greater Good'? Sirius, I am your Girlfriend. I am the Greatest 'Good' you are ever gonna get."
A half an hour later Sirius was sitting in a disgustingly fancy restaurant, wearing a dress shirt, a tie, and no leather jacket, being waited upon by a snotty, snooty, waiter that was wearing way too much hair gel. The waiter was rattling off the list of specials, and not one of them sounded the least bit appetizing in Sirius' opinion.
"That last one sounded interesting, didn't it Sirius?"
Sirius shrugged. "Yeah, sure, whatever. I'll get that."
The waiter nodded, jotted down their orders on the note pad that he kept in his pocket and left.
When the waiter was gone, Bellatrix looked at Sirius, smiling joyfully. "Thank you so much for taking me out to dinner, Sirius. I've been wanting to go here for ages. Rita Skeeter said in her review that this was the it restaurant. She gave this place five stars, you know. Just wait till my younger sister Narcissa finds out we went here for dinner, Sirius! Oooh, she'll be so jealous! She's been trying to get a reservation here for her and her boyfriend Lucius since forever, but it's nearly impossible! I heard that all sorts of celebrities come here all the time! Like the Weird Sisters and Celina Warbeck. Oh. My. God. What if we see Gilderoy Lockhart! What if we get to talk to him! He was just in that movie 'Wandering with Werewolves', and he was so good, I don't know what that Minerva McGonagall woman was thinking when she said on The Prophet that it was the worst movie of the decade, I mean I loved it when…. "
Sirius zoned out. He was, after five years, a complete master of drowning Bellatrix out. All he had to do was nod, and look interested. Sirius doubted that Bellatrix even cared whether he was paying attention or not, just as long as she got to hear her own voice, Bellatrix was happy.
'Do I really want to spend the rest of my life with her?' Sirius found himself thinking as Bellatrix continued babbling on about various celebrities. Sirius studied Bellatrix as the latter chattered on and on. Well it was true that Bellatrix was extremely high maintenance, had expensive taste, and in truth, was a bit of a gossip whore.
But she was beautiful. God was she beautiful. Bellatrix's hair was the color of dark chocolate and it reached her mid back and was all tangled and wild like some sort of untamed Goddess'. Her lips were full and red, as if she had just been ravished. Her skin was pale and creamy, and had never known a single blemish. It was like touching some exotic silk. Her body was lithe; model thin, with all the right curves in all the right places, and her clothes clung to those curves in all the right ways. Underneath those clothes were a whole new world. Her light brown nipples were pierced with gold rings shaped like snakes and there was a dark green gemstone in her belly button. Bellatrix's back was like a map. Rich, vivid colors stretched themselves along her back. Grass greens, blood reds, ocean blues… all the colors of the rainbow lived on Bellatrix's back, woven in intricate designs, and Sirius had done them all himself. Bellatrix's eyes were her most beautiful feature. They were grey, like Sirius', but instead of his light laughing eyes, hers were dark and the kind of dangerous that came with dark clubs, and stolen kisses. Bellatrix was gorgeous. And she knew it.
"Sirius!"
Sirius started slightly as Bellatrix's voice cut through his thoughts. "What?"
"I asked you what you thought of my dress." Bellatrix snapped angrily. "I swear, Sirius. You have the attention span of a two year old."
Sirius scowled and looked at the dress. It was tiny and tight and made up of nothing but leather and silver zippers. "It's nice. Why?"
Bellatrix sighed. "I just told you that there was a dress just like this one in that new movie. You know, the one directed by Tom Riddle."
"Oh." Sirius turned disinterestedly from his girlfriend. "When's the food coming? I'm starving."
'How should I know?" Bellatrix snapped.
The two lovers sat in a tense silence until the food arrived.
"What the Hell is this?" Sirius made a disgusted face at his plate. Were those snails?
"Escargot."
"What?"
"They're snails, alright Sirius?"
"Snails?" Sirius blinked and stared down at his plate in horror. "Why would I want to eat snails?"
"I don't know. You ordered them." Bellatrix shrugged and took a bite of her shrimp.
Sirius scowled at Bellatrix's plate. "I only ordered it because you said it was good."
"I said that it was interesting." Bellatrix corrected. "If they bother you so much, I'll share my meal with you. I couldn't possibly eat this much by myself."
Sirius shook his head. "No, you eat. I'll just order some soup or something, and eat at home."
A half a plate of shrimp scampi and a bowl of French onion soup later, Sirius and Bellatrix were ready for desert.
Sirius had his hand in his pocket and was fingering the small emerald green velvet case that was hidden inside it. Sirius wasn't nervous. Not at all. No one ever said no to Sirius Black, and Bellatrix herself had been hinting at marriage for the longest time now. It as just that Sirius wanted the proposal to be perfect. Even if the marriage itself fell to shit, then at least they could both be able to say that the proposal and the actual wedding ceremony were absolutely perfect.
"I need to go to the Powder Room." Bellatrix said, patting her lips with her napkin. "If the waiter comes when I'm gone, I want the crème brulee."
Sirius nodded, and watched Bellatrix as she walked away. As soon as he was sure that Bellatrix couldn't see him, Sirius walked around and put the velvet box on Bellatrix's chair, before sitting in his own and waiting for her to come back from the Ladies Room.
When Bellatrix came back, she accidentally sat on the velvet case. She winced and reached underneath her. "What the hell is- OH MY GOD!" Bellatrix gawked at the case. "Sirius, is this what I think it is?"
Sirius smirked. "Well, why don't you open it and find out?"
For once, Bellatrix obeyed Sirius without questioning him, and gaped at the ring. While she was busy staring, Sirius quickly knelt down next to her, and grasped Bellatrix's hand between both of his.
"Bellatrix Druella Walburga Lestrange. You are the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen. You are far more lovely then any other person. I love you. Will you do me the honor of becoming my bride?"
Bellatrix preened underneath Sirius' praises to her beauty. She looked down at her kneeling lover and then at the ring. Sirius was just as beautiful and attractive as she was, and the ring itself was gorgeous and looked ridiculously expensive. Bellatrix smiled, nodded and slid the ring onto her ring finger, before leaning over and kissing Sirius softly on the mouth.
Okay, that's the end of THIS chapter. In the next one I plan to have Remus and Sirius actually MEET. So that should be fun. Maybe a sexy little anonymous snog fest between the two…. yummy.
If anyone's seen the movie 'The Lost Boys', I imagine Sirius to look a lot like Dwayne, Billy Wirths character, but taller, sexier, (Not likely! He was voted one of the Top 10 sexiest vampires of all time! Or, well he WAS. I don't know about now. He's probably still in the Top 15…) and with more tattoos and piercings. ON WITH THE REVIEWS! Please…
