Rating: PG

Characters: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and OC

Summary: Sirius and Remus broke up because of Sirius's roommate. Now it's up to that very roommate to put things right…even though he really detests Remus.

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire! Now you're caught and on the pyre! Silly, stupid, naïve liar! "It shouldn't take me so long next time." Ha! You know, you guys should all yell at me if you want more! Particularly if I'm failing that miserably! Nothing gets me motivated faster. It took me two months to get around to chapter three and has been eight since then! Light a fire under me, y'all, if you're tired of my shit! Bring on the flames! Half this freaking chapter has been sitting here on my computer, but I've been a lazy moron.

I hereby give all my readers permission to call me on my habitual laziness and chronic procrastination. [/rant]

Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to all of you who have waited for it so patiently for it (though I advise against such patience in the future.) I don't know if you still had faith in me that this would ever update, but here it is; if you didn't, that's okay, I was a hair short of with you on that one. Also dedicated to Half-Blood Metamorphmagus whose review of Pffft! final inspired me to get his up, you can all thank her for it's very existence.

Dusty book covers and all the same words just rearranged into a facsimile of novelty. Suddenly, Remus understood why Sirius had never visited the book store with him. Though understanding that small aspect of Sirius was trivial and inadequate, when he really wanted to know was why.

Why he was suddenly not enough; why Ken was. Why he had to figure this all out on his own. Why Sirius had not been upfront about it, as he was with everything else.

None of the books that he'd once planned on reading held any appeal; Remus seriously wondered why he'd bothered coming at all. He stared through the gap between books, out the window, and- at the same time- at nothing at all. At his future as it stood: right on top of the present, unable and unwilling to change.

And, past that, through the window was Ken, laughing, tugging Sirius along by the hand. Sirius looked tired and a bit down, but was clearly doing his best to humor Ken. Remus had always suppressed his romantic, pull-him-down-the-street-by-the-hand-laughing side for Sirius's sake- Sirius had never much cared for displays in public.

Yet more proof, but no answers still. Remus sighed and fell back on one of the chair scattered around the store. He stared off into space, not even bothering to pretend to be reading the titles of the history books.

Sirius had to know Remus would be here. Had to know that he'd see. Had to have a reason. Remus sighed, and looked at the poorly lit ceiling for answers; not surprisingly, it failed to supply any. Is this, he wondered, a message? 'Leave us alone, you're unwanted'? But when had he given Sirius the impression that he would intrude? When had he done anything but step back and let Sirius have Ken? When had he said so much as a word in protest, so much as asked for an explanation? Never. So, why…? Well, that was the question, wasn't it? Why, why, why, why?

Outside, Ken was tugging at Sirius's hand, laughing at nothing, and seriously reconsidering. For one thing, Sirius was giving him a look that clearly asked, "Are you insane!?!" Exclamation points included, no assembly required.

For another, this had to look so fake. He felt caught in this lie, stuck on stage in front of a hostile audience. A hostile audience who might emerge from the book store any moment. Which would make this halfway interesting, if Remus got the fguts to stand up to Ken and make a scene. Not like that would ever happen.

They made it inside just as lightning split the sky and it opened up, unleashing torrents of rain and lashing winds. Ken made Sirius get a window seat before he went up to the register and purchased lunch. Tapping his fingers impatiently on the counter, he watched Sirius, not that there was much to see.

"You know," he started, and Sirius raised his head to look at him with soulful eyes. Behind Sirius, he caught sight of Remus, booking it out of the book store, pun intended. Remus looked absolutely miserable. Triumph warred with a queasy feeling of guilt in his gut, seeing him. In front of him, Sirius blinked, waiting for Ken to finish without any real interest. Beyond Sirius, Remus had his arms crossed, keeping his jacket wrapped around him in the sudden downpour, but not shielding his precious books. He looked unusually cold and small.

Seeing them both together- yet, clearly and undeniably separated- struck home something in Ken's gut. He had to fix this. He'd started it, and now he had to fix it. He just had to think of a way to do so without implicating himself. With Sirius, he might, if he played with his emotions right, be able to get off scot-free, but Remus… Remus was entirely too perceptive. Remus would know, instantly, what had been going on, once Ken lifted the blindfold of heart brokenness that was smothering his instincts.

The only way out of this, he concluded, was to leave Remus with the impression that, while Ken had been going out with Sirius, things hadn't worked out. And- if Ken was in a particularly generous mood- that Sirius's stint with Ken had shown him all he loved in Remus that no other man had.

Ugh, no, never that generous, Ken thought. That was entirely too mushy for him to pull off believably anyway. No, he just had to focus on "breaking up" with Sirius without Sirius ever figuring out that they were supposed to be going out in the first place.

How, Ken mused as he spun the pepper shaker around on the table, do you keep a werewolf and a broken-hearted idiot silent about such a misunderstanding, without letting either know there had ever been a misunderstanding?

Too complex, there was no way Remus would fail to bring it up for the rest of their lives. Or that Sirius wouldn't say something, innocently, that would cause questions. Did it matter? If he was leaving soon anyway… Yes, it mattered, it was a point of pride now. There had to be another way…

Ken resolved to think about it later, taking a bite out of his sandwich, but this time, food failed to lessen the guilt. Sirius, half turned in his chair to stare out the window at the entrance to the book store, waiting to see someone who'd already gone, had long since given up on Ken finishing his sentence. He did anyway. "You know, you and I, the messes we get ourselves into, we really are stupid sometimes."

"Yeah…" Sirius said, his breath fogging up the window his nose was pressed against. Ken wasn't sure if he'd actually heard.

Hoping for a semblance of normalcy, at least externally, Remus purchased a few books that had been on his mental reading list, but then left the book store several hours earlier than he used to.

Used to be, only the thought of Sirius waiting impatiently next door could tear him away from books, and not until at least half the day had passed. Now, he failed to muster the emotional involvement required to enjoy fiction and the attention span required to read nonfiction. The whole book store was useless.

He returned to his apartment, tossed the bag of books on his bed- an unusual display of lack of respect for them, but there were empty for him now, no matter how many thousands of words they contained- and crumpled on the floor. Leaning back against the door, he stared forlornly at the wall.

He was still functioning, held up by his routine, his carefully laid out life, but he was struggling to find any point left in it at all.

TBC...