When Remus returned to Grimmauld Place the house was dark and silent. He tiptoed up the stairs trying not to make a sound so that he wouldn't disturb any of the many residents. He stopped at Sirius' room first but finding it empty went to his own with a feeling of deep reservation.

Sirius was laying on the bed with his face hidden behind a copy of the day's Daily Prophet. Remus was aware he was holding his breath. Sirius sat up folding the paper and setting it on the nightstand.

"And where have you been?" He asked though his tone was one of mockery rather than accusation.

Remus let go his breath. "Tonks wanted to ask me some questions about Harry since she is going to be going with us to get him." Remus was standing in the middle of the room, not quite sure what to do with himself. He had expected Sirius to be in a foul mood but he seemed to be in good spirits, playful even. Still Remus didn't want to misinterpret anything. A wrong word and Sirius would revert back to a sulking silence.

Sirius smiled brightly at Remus and got to his feet to greet him. "And how did that go?" he asked taking Remus' hands in his own.

"It went well," Remus felt his body relax a little. Sirius tooks his hands in his own. "She's very considerate. She wants to make sure that Harry feels comfortable and respected," Remus replied. He interlaced his fingers with Sirius' and squeezed them faintly. Sirius was still smiling.

"I missed you," Sirius replied leaning in closer.

Remus still felt a bit unnerved. He had thought to find Sirius still brooding over the meeting, and his current mellow mood was confusing. "I expected you to be upset still," Remus said anxiously.

Sirius pursed his lips for a moment then he smiled and nipped Remus under the chin. "Why should I be upset? Harry is finally coming home," he pulled back and looked at Remus. His eyes were shining. "I was waiting here for you so we could celebrate." He gently turned Remus around and nudged him to sit on the bed.

Remus, unsure of what to expect next, sat down on the bed. He hoped he did not look nearly as confused and anxious as he felt. Regardless of how Remus looked or felt, Sirius seemed to be enjoying himself.

Sirius crossed the room to the desk and picked up a large bottle and two glasses. "It's Albanian Goblin's wine," Sirius explained. "Mundungus gave it to me as peace offering so I don't jinx him into oblivion after he left Harry undefended. Suppose to be some of the best wine in all of Europe."

Remus was still struggling to adapt to Sirius' good mood. He had prepared himself for a difficult night of trying to get a surly Sirius to break his silence, but Sirius seemed down right chatty compared to how he had been the rest of the week. Remus wasn't sure how to respond so he remained silent, staring at Sirius from the bed his arms curled around his knees.

"Look I know I can be difficult sometimes," Sirius said moving toward the bed.

Remus gave him a pointed look.

"Okay I'm a moody ass half the time," Sirius replied setting the bottle and glasses down on the night stand and climbing onto the bed next to Remus. Remus smiled. "You could at least pretend to disagree," Sirius teased. He made a show of narrowing his eyes at Remus. "Anyways, I thought we could have a nice night in celebration of Harry's impending liberation from the Muggles." He peeled Remus' arms away from his knees and kissed each of his hands. "So have a drink with me," He trailed kisses up Remus' arm. "And lets just relax, maybe play a few rounds of chess?"

Remus looked at Sirius for a long moment. Sirius looked back sheepishly. The knot that had been in Remus' stomach dissolved. He smiled and pulled Sirius into a kiss. This was a glimpse of the Sirius he use to know, before grief and misery had robbed him of his carefree spirit and charm. The moments when he resurfaced were too few.

"Or we could not play chess," Sirius teased when they broke apart.

"Oh no Padfoot. I was promised some fancy wine and chess," Remus retorted, pushing Sirius toward the night stand. "You've been quite a bit of work this week. It's going to require some serious wooing if you want in my pants tonight."

Sirius chuckled at his response. He tapped the top of the bottle with his wand to open it and poured Remus a glass.

Remus took the beverage and sipped it as he watched Sirius cross the room to the desk. He pulled out Remus' battered old chess set and brought it to the bed to set it up. Remus watched him carefully place each piece on the board, no longer weary. It would be a good night he thought as he savored the wine.

Sometimes, during moments like this, when they were both happy and content, he started to wonder about the dramatic turn his life had taken in the past few months. Here he sat on his bed with Sirius Black's undivided attention. The boy who he had loved for so long who had never once looked his way, at least not romantically or sexually. The man he had longed for in his bed until he had been betrayed by him. Then he had been the man he loathed (and loved for which he loathed himself). Later still the man he had tried (and failed) to forget.

There were times he thought perhaps this was a very elaborate fantasy. That perhaps his life of lonely isolation and the horror of the betrayal of his best friend and secret love murdering the only friends he had ever known had resulted in his own madness. Perhaps the real Sirius Black was still rotting in Azkaban and Remus was living a depraved delusion in which Sirius was innocent and had fallen in love with him.

He watched Sirius place the last piece on the board. "Go easy on me. I haven't played in 15 years," Sirius said jokingly. He looked across the board at Remus and startled, "Moony are you alright? You look like hell." He took the half empty glass from Remus' hand and placed it next to the bottle. He moved warily around the chess board and pulled Remus into his arms. "What's wrong?" He asked, concerned.

Remus grasped him tightly. The secure feeling of Sirius' arms around him reassured him that this was real. He was so relieved that he felt tears prickle at the corners of his eyes. He didn't want to ruin the night by confessing that he had just been questioning reality. Instead he whispered, "I'm just tired. It's been a long few days."

Sirius squeezed him gently. "Well we can just go to bed if you need to."

Remus did not answer right away, instead he held onto Sirius, willing the tears that were threatening to spill to evaporate. Sirius continued to hold him without comment. Remus took a steadying breath and replied into his chest, "And miss kicking your ass at chess?" He pulled back and smiled, "No way. I need to keep you humble."

Sirius returned the smile and gently untangling himself from Remus, carefully slid back to the other side of the board. "I can think of better ways to keep me humble," his voice had that arrogant edge that drove Remus a bit mad. He found it both obtusely annoying and incredibly seductive. "But if you think your going to beat me perhaps we should make some wagers."

"I'd be happy to take your money, Padfoot," Remus replied with a slight smirk.

"I wasn't thinking of wagering money. I've got something much more fun in mind…"

Remus rolled his eyes playfully and made his first move.