Written for QL round 6.

CHASER 1: Write about a light character committing the sin of GREED - Prompts: 7 - (Song) Unconditionally, 3 - (word) favour, 13 - (Word) Therapy

Bad Movie Tuesday - Poltergeist [Plot device] Moving House

A/N This is an AU and not canon. I've changed Regulus' age so there is a bigger gap between him and Sirius.

Shade Nineteen - Poor!Sirius

Defining Importance

Sirius stripped off the expensive suit, throwing it carelessly into the washing basket in the corner for the servant, Kreacher, to deal with.

Sirius smiled as he climbed into bed, getting comfortable under the silk sheets. It had been a good evening. He had attended a ball, and Lucius Malfoy had looked ravishing in the simple Armani suit.

Anyone else would have worn something flashier, but with Lucius, simple was better. He could pull anything off.

Sirius fell asleep entertaining himself with other things the Malfoy heir could pull off.

...oOo...

Sirius sat in the brown leather armchair, feeling as though he was holding court as he looked around. His friends surrounded him, giving him their undivided attention.

He brought the crystal tumbler to his lips, feeling the slight burn of whiskey as it slid down his throat, before turning his attention to the others.

"Your father has been in a giving mood," Rodolphus began. "I've heard stories about the latest car he's purchased for you."

Sirius smirked. "You mean the Limited Edition Bugatti Veyron?" he asked, noticing the look of envy flash in at least three pairs of eyes. "It's a fun little toy. It'll be nice to add to my collection."

"Does that mean you won't be driving the Ferrari F60 America?" Avery enquired.

Sirius shook his head. "That's my baby. Like I said, the Bugatti is a fun toy for now."

"Planning on buying up more cars?" Snape sneered. "Is that all that matters, having stuff you don't need? Compensating for something?"

Sirius' smirk widened. "Severus, no need to be bitchy just because you're jealous," he sneered. "As for the compensating… I know you'd like to find out, but you're not my type!"

The laughs caused Snape to sit back silently in his seat, envy and anger in his eyes as he listened to Sirius talk about his latest posession.

It wasn't long before the cigars were passed around. Sirius lit his, though he wasn't a fan of cigars.

It didn't matter that he didn't like them, as long as they were the best!

The conversation turned to Lucius and the party he was hosting and Sirius' thoughts moved to the appointment he had for a new suit fitting.

It didn't matter that he owned more suits than he could remember to count — all that mattered was having a new one, one that would impress Lucius.

...oOo...

Everything happened fast.

Too fast.

The death of Orion Black revealed extreme debts in his name. Stocks had dropped in value. The company wasn't making the money it was supposed to.

Sirius didn't involve Regulus in it, instead he dealt with it all by himself. Both mourned as much as they could, for a man that they saw every few months — the man that threw money at others to raise them.

Sirius assumed that they would still be left with a lot of money once the bills had all been paid. It was a shock to find out that they had lost everything except a few possessions. The lawyer had explained housing to Sirius, telling him to refuse to leave until the court forced him out.

Even though Sirius had no money to pay the family lawyer, the man's loyalty still stood with the family to the extent of making sure Sirius and Regulus had somewhere to live, and that Sirius had gained custody of his younger brother.

It wasn't long before the lawyer had managed to get arranged housing with the local council. From what the man told Sirius, it wasn't what they were accustomed to, but it was a roof over their heads.

"Will it fit our stuff?" he asked, clinging to the idea of fitting everything they still owned into the place.

The lawyer, Mr. Sawyer, looked around at the items that the bailiffs weren't legally allowed to take.

"It's possible," he admitted. "But you have to learn to be careful. You've not got much money, and you'll have to get a job to support yourselves. Regulus is still fourteen… so you'll get help with him, but there's no-one to pay your way."

Sirius nodded in understanding, relieved that he didn't have to lose anything else. The dining table was too beautiful to have to get rid of, and he couldn't even consider life without the lamps!

He had already lost so much. His father — yes, he was sad, but he had never really known the man. But he had also lost everything that the man had given him in place of attention and love.

...oOo...

Sirius pulled out a packet of cigarettes from his pocket, lighting the last one with shaking hands. He had just seen the tiny apartment which looked to be the size of his living room back at the mansion.

How did they expect him and his brother to live there? It was insanity. He dropped down on the step, taking deep pulls of the cigarette, trying to calm down.

Lost in his despair, he failed to hear the man approach.

"Excuse me, could you let me past, I… are you alright?"

Bags hit the floor, and before Sirius knew what was happening, a man was crouching in front of him, concerned.

"Yeah," Sirius muttered, using a shaking hand to bring the cigarette back to his lips.

The man stayed where he was. "Are you the new tenant?"

Sirius nodded miserably.

"So this is your moving van?" Remus asked, gesturing to the nearby van.

"I just needed…" Sirius held up the cigarette. "Calm my nerves."

"First time living on your own?" Remus asked kindly.

"Something like that," Sirius muttered. He heard the door swing open and Regulus call his name.

With a sigh he stubbed out the cigarette.

"Sirius, the moving guys are about to leave."

Sirius nodded, standing up. "Nice to meet you. I'm Sirius." He turned his full attention to the other man, his eyes widening slightly as he took in how breathtaking he was.

"Remus," the man replied, smiling and shaking his hand. "If you need anything, I'm in number seven."

...oOo...

It was a stupid thing he had done, texting Lucius his new address. Sirius wasn't sure why he had done it. Possibly for someone to remind him of his old life or a friend? Or maybe to see if Lucius still wanted to be with him.

What he didn't expect, though he knew he should have, was Lucius taking one look around the place and sneering at him.

"My, my, how you have fallen, Sirius."

"I'm doing the best with what I have," Sirius replied, not feeling as confident as he had done in the past. Before, he had been top dog. Now he was nothing.

"Which isn't a lot. Tell me, where are the cars?"

"They… they were taken to pay… to pay Father's bills."

"And the wardrobe full of expensive clothes and Armani suits?"

"I still have some," Sirius admitted. "Just because I'm not rolling in money, it doesn't mean that we—"

"We?" Lucius laughed. "My dear, there is no 'we'. I don't date below my station, and you most certainly are below my station. Father has requested I set my sights on Narcissa."

Sirius' stomach turned. Narcissa was a distant relative to his, but had always had her sights set on Lucius. "You're ending this?"

Lucius' smile dropped. "It ended the moment you lost everything, Sirius. I won't be contacting you again, so refrain from contacting me. You're not worthy of my time."

With that, he walked out of the open door, past a shocked-looking Remus and down the stairs.

Sirius dropped down onto the sofa, his face buried in his hands. He heard footsteps coming into the room and looked up hopefully.

"R-Remus?" he whispered.

"What a… a lampy bastard," Remus said, dropping down onto the sofa. "You can do better than him!"

"How do you know?" Sirius muttered.

"Because no-one deserves being stuck with someone like that," Remus said, putting a comforting arm around Sirius' shoulders.

"I'm like that… was like that," Sirius admitted, his eyes moving to the door. He was tense under Remus' arm, but the other man didn't move. Sirius found himself leaning into the touch.

"You said 'was'. That's the past, right? New place to live, new life, new Sirius?" Remus suggested.

Sirius nodded his head. "You've got that right."

"I'll help you whenever you need. Have you had a job before?"

Sirius snorted. "Of course not," he replied. "Why would I have ever needed to work?"

Remus merely raised his eyebrows. "Well, I suggest you start with finding a new job," he suggested. "I'll help. What are you qualified for?"

Sirius shrugged his shoulders. "I don't want a menial job," he replied. "I don't like people telling me what to do. I don't want to serve people, like in a fast-food restaurant or something. Something that pays well!"

"You're not going to get something brilliant with no experience," Remus pointed out. "You have to work your way up, Sirius. There's no-one here to pay your way or pull strings and give you everything you want, or pay you too much money. Look, come over later and I'll help you make a CV so you can start looking for a job and I'll show you how to go about it."

...oOo...

A month had passed with Sirius searching for a job, and the only interview he could get was one that Remus had arranged for him.

Despite Remus' comment before about nobody being able to pull strings for him, the other man had seen how hard he was trying and wanted to do him a favour to help him out.

Granted, the job was at the same coffee-shop that Remus worked in, but Sirius decided that it was better than nothing. Their meagre funds meant he had to stop being fussy. It wasn't permanent; it was only until he had something better sorted out.

It was just a shame that Remus couldn't have called in a favour to get Sirius an interview for a better job, but on the other hand, it was more than anyone else was doing for him.

The interview didn't last that long. It was clear that Remus was friends with the manager, James, and that James was happy to trust Remus' judgement. Something about the statement made Sirius determined to work hard and prove himself. He wanted to prove to James that he was right to have given him a chance where no-one else wanted to hire him, and that Remus made the right choice in choosing him to put forward for the job.

The money wasn't brilliant, but as Remus had said, experience was key.

...oOo...

Sirius eagerly pushed his tip money into his pocket. It wasn't much, but every little bit of money helped him. He wiped the table down with a cloth and pushed the chairs back in before returning to the counter.

"How long before we're done?" Sirius asked, looking around at the now empty coffee-house.

"Can you sweep up? I'll start clearing out the old pastries," Remus replied.

Sirius nodded, quickly collecting the broom and sweeping the floor. He watched Remus out of the corner of his eye as he worked.

Once done, he found himself presented with a box. "What are these?"

"They'll be stale soon. We get to take them home, otherwise they'll just end up in the bin," Remus explained.

Sirius thanked him, taking the box from his hands. Regulus would be happy with the pastries. He put the broom back in the cupboard, and the pair locked up and started home.

Sirius loved the walks home with Remus. For the whole thirty minute walk, he had Remus' undivided attention. He didn't even care about the length of time it took anymore. For the first few days, he had mourned his car until Remus told him to stop complaining about something he couldn't do anything about.

Halfway home, and Remus stopped suddenly. Sirius turned back, watching Remus take his own box of pastries and hand it over to a man huddled in a doorway under a sleeping bag. He walked over to Sirius, falling in step beside him.

"Why did you give away your box?"

"Because that man has less than me. For me those were a treat, but for that man… well, he needs food to survive."

Sirius looked at his own box. He had already been planning to eat them, knowing that Regulus would enjoy the treats too, but Remus made a good point. He clutched the box, the thought of giving to someone else playing on his mind for the first time.

He was so lost in his thoughts, that he almost didn't stop when Remus stopped next to a woman curled up in the entrance to a public walkway. Remus pulled his tips from his pocket, handing it all over. His gaze flickered to the box Sirius was holding.

Without even thinking, Sirius handed the box to Remus, who passed it to the grateful woman.

"You said you were saving for a book?" Sirius asked as they continued walking, their building within sight. "That sets you back?"

"A book isn't important," he said. "I'd rather help someone who needs it. I can get the book another time, or borrow it from the library." He hesitated for a moment. "After all, there are more important things in life: friends, family and relationships. Those can make me happier than anything I can buy in the shops."

"Yeah?" Sirius was too focused on Remus holding his hand. What Remus said made sense — he owned loads of things, but it didn't really bring him the same joy it once did.

In the past, he had owned beautiful or valuable things and used those to brag to his friends. He had desired to own more and more, not caring whether he even liked them or not.

But now… he only kept the dining table because it was expensive, when in reality it was too big for their home. There were too many lamps because he couldn't bring himself to part with them either. There was so much stuff that wasn't suited to his new life, and Sirius had hesitated in parting with them, thinking they offered him a slightly higher status.

But Remus had very little and still gave to others. He was happy without owning too much. "I don't know how to not need things," Sirius whispered.

"I'll help you," Remus promised, smiling softly. They headed into the building and up to their floor, their hands still clasped together.

...oOo...

More often than not, one of them would take the other's hand on the walk home from work. They would sit closer when on the sofa watching films, and there were innocent touches if they were both in the kitchen at the same time.

Remus also spent most of his time at Sirius' flat, and Sirius could almost pretend that Remus lived there with him and his brother. It was too easy to see Remus as fitting into his life like that, but for the first time, he didn't know how to proceed.

He couldn't admit the strong feelings that had developed between them, and in the past, it was all about money he had and his name. Things were different with Remus — neither of those meant anything to him.

Fortunately it was Remus that made the first move — just leaning in and kissing Sirius on the lips one night before heading back to his own place.

Sirius had followed him minutes later. "Why me?" he asked.

"Because you're the one I fell for, Sirius. I know you're insecure, and you put on this facade, but I know the real you. I don't care about the stuff from the papers that was written about you, I don't need anything but you, just as you are. I've fallen in love with you. Unconditionally."

Sirius couldn't help but smile. "You love me?"

"I have for a while. That's not going to change. Through the good and the bad, I'm here as long as you want me."

"I want you," Sirius stated, moving closer and wrapping his arms around Remus' waist and meeting his amber eyes. "I've fallen in love with you too."

...oOo...

Sirius took off his suit and carefully draped it over the chair. He pulled on something comfortable and headed out into the living room where James and his girlfriend were curled up in the armchair together. He dropped down next to Remus.

Remus' arms slipped around him, pulling him close.

Regulus was curled up on a pile of cushions on the floor, and hit the play button.

"How was work?" Fingers played with a loose strand of Sirius' hair.

Sirius smiled. He had started working at the bank. It wasn't a brilliant job, but he had a years' customer service experience, and the bank liked his confident attitude, offering him a junior role on the spot. "It was boring, though I got paid today."

"Oh?" Remus murmured. "Buy anything nice?"

Sirius just grinned. After he admitted that he had a problem with spending — that he felt he had to purchase things to prove his own worth, Remus had gently suggested that Sirius should go to therapy to talk through why this was.

A year of therapy and Sirius didn't feel the need to waste his money. Now he had more important things to use it on: rent, food, bills. Plus he was able to treat Regulus or Remus when he wanted to.

He knew that money and possessions weren't important, it was the people surrounding him. His friends, his brother and his boyfriend.

The only possession that mattered to him at that moment was the ring sitting in his suit pocket until he found the perfect moment to present it to Remus.