Song Note: The song mentioned is actually Adele's One and Only. All rights for the song go to her.
A/N: Hey all, I'm back. Just wanted to let you know that this is the second to last chapter (there will be an epilogue though). So you have a warning I suppose that things are ending. I may be writing a short followup that will be separate and maybe even a Alice/Frank fic (to those who do read het fic as well). And another quick thanks to everyone who reads and those who comment. They really do inspire me to write more or as fast as life will allow me.

It was a rather warm night and Sirius took the good weather as a sign. After the scene at the restaurant, Sirius had Kingsley find him a hotel room with a piano. Sirius needed to think and he knew that the best way to do it was with an instrument. Thoughts were running through so fast in his head and he couldn't stop thinking about what could have been or what was going to be now that he knew the truth of it all. Sirius thought about his one night stands in Vancouver and how with almost all of them, he had ended up calling Remus' name. He thought about how he said he would never be able to really forgive Remus because he couldn't be trusted. And he thought about how he knew deep down that he still loved Remus. All the regrettable anger. All those nights alone sobbing because no matter what beautiful man Sirius brought home, he'd spend so much time comparing them to Remus. Then Sirius wondered, with fear in his stomach, if Remus would ever understand or forgive him for what he did.

The resulting song was one in which Sirius poured out all his fears and hopes. He wasn't sure if he was ever going to play it for anyone. Maybe if the shame had lessened over time, he'd be willing to let Remus listen it. Assuming Remus would ever talk to him again. But it was better not to think like that. For once, Sirius felt like he was looking at the sunlight at the end of the tunnel and not mistaking some dim street lamp for it instead.

So that was way he was standing nervously outside of Remus' flat in the middle of the night. The least Sirius wanted was to make amends- to apologise for being such an idiot. Despite him trying to be optimistic, thoughts of what would actually happen was what stopped him from just walking up and knocking on the door. Sirius wasn't sure if Remus would shut the door on his face or if Sirius would just stand there, tongue tied once he finally saw Remus after so many long months of dreaming about him.

Although Sirius didn't want to acknowledge it, he knew he'd been hoping for a rather sentimental reunion. The one thing that had been stopping him from even considering actually getting back together with Remus was insignificant now. The image of holding Remus again and kissing him filled Sirius with exhilaration. It made him ignore any fear and he bounded up to the door and pounded. He didn't care what Remus said or if Lily was there and tried to pull him away. The first thing that Sirius was going to do when he saw him was give him a kiss on the lips.

When an unfamiliar woman opened the door, Sirius almost took a step back.

"Uh, oh is Remus here?" Sirius asked uncertainly. The woman was curvy and dressed up as if she were about to go to a club. Her tight purple dress was too short and her matching heels too high. Although she was still attractive, she would have looked nicer dressed down. She wasn't the type that Sirius saw Remus or Lily hanging out with.

"Oh my god! Are you Sirius Black? The Sirius Black?" she asked, recognition causing her smoky eyes to grow big.

"Um."

"Have I won some contest or something?" she continued to ask, excitement in her every frantic movement. Another voice behind her called out to ask if there was a problem.

"Hey, who's at the door?" a second woman appeared behind the girl. This one had long, straight black hair and an outfit similar to the blonde, though was taller and skinnier. She was curling one of her eyelashes as she looked at Sirius with her other eye.

"Sirius Black! He's really here!" the curvy blonde woman continued to say, almost near a scream. Realization grew on her friend's face and then she started to join in on the celebration, making Sirius rather uncomfortable.

"No- I, I mean I am him I just…the people who used to live here. Or…are you visiting?" Sirius was able to get out. He normally wasn't the one who had to handle his more rabid fans (at least not without security) and so was a little unprepared. Not to mention the fact he was feeling extremely disappointed and stupid for practically rushing to the door for Remus like everything was going to be all right.

"Oh, you came to see the people who used to rent this place?" the newer woman said, understanding the situation. She put a hand on her curvy friend's shoulder to try and calm her down.

"Yeah. Sorry."

"No it's all right. They moved out a few weeks ago I think. We just moved in last week. Got the place through a company though so we never actually met who used to live here."

"Ah. Okay. Thanks. Um, I'm a little embarrassed about this. Do you want uh, an autograph or something?" Sirius offered. He didn't want to come off as a complete arse.

"Really? Can we get a picture too maybe?" the curvy woman tried, a little calmer now but still overexcited by the prospect.

"Sure. If I come in you won't lock me up will you?" Sirius joked, though there was an air of caution in his voice just in case they were that crazy.

"Ha, course not. We're not that crazy. Promise," the tall one ensured, hand over heart and Sirius took a step inside. It only took a glance around to see that everything about the flat had changed. Two young socially functioning women lived here. Not punks. The hall way had a small pile of shoes and boots that hadn't been put away and the walls had a series of black and white photos that tried to convey an air of sophistication but was likely bought from Ikea. Sirius followed the two women into the living room, where they asked him to stay put while they went to get their camera and his newest album. Before he could soak up the vast changes of the living room, one of the girls called out to him

"Normally, I don't really buy CDs anymore- what with iTunes being so convenient but I heard the singles for this one and I dragged a few of my friends to wait in line the day it came out. It's amazing. I don't know how you do it. I can hardly whistle much less write a song." One of the girls, he thought maybe the blonde one, said loudly as she rummaged through her room. There was a slight pause and Sirius assumed she wanted him to say something back.

"Well, I've been playing instruments since I was a little kid. It's just how I express myself now."

"I wish I could do something even slightly artsy. Can't even draw a proper stick person."

"Just takes practice," assured Sirius, starting to get a little nervous with all this waiting. Suddenly, the blonde walked out with a pen and two CDs.

"If you don't mind signing this one and this Marauder's CD." She asked, a little shyly.

"Okay, who should I make it out to?" Sirius started to take the booklet out and didn't notice the woman blanching slightly.

"Oh my god, I didn't introduce myself. You must think I'm a right twat! No wonder you're looking nervous. I'm Claire and my roommate is Jodi."

"All right, how about, 'To Claire, sorry to bother you this late, Sirius Black'?"

"Oh that's wonderful," giggled Claire, beaming to have a special message from him. Although this was rather annoying for Sirius, it was always nice to see his fans light up from something so simple. When he was finishing with the second CD, Jodi walked out with a camera and a large poster of him.

"I'm so glad I've been putting off taking this to get framed." Jodi said, handing the poster to Sirius. There was a number of times that fans would present Sirius with pictures or posters of himself that he didn't know was available for the public. Though nowadays, it seemed everything was available to the general public, long as they had a computer.

Sirius remembered this particular picture was from a photo shoot that Sirius remembered though. It was one of the many he had been dragged to for the album art before he was able to convince the record label that it only needed one or two photos of him in all. The poster had Sirius looking a little scruffy and his shirt was riding up so his abs and his tattoo could be seen.

"Okay, so should I say something similar to Claire's?" Sirius asked, lump forming on his throat. He deliberately wrote near his head so he could avoid looking at the tattoo. After tonight, he wasn't sure he was going to go to the laser treatment.

"Haha, that's cute. Yeah that will work. Oh and it's Jodi spelled J-O-D-I."

After everything was signed and pictures were taken, there was a slightly awkward pause before Sirius mentioned he should get going.

"I don't suppose it's too much to ask you to come out with us? We're going to meet up with some friends for a drink or two," Jodi pressed, ever so shyly.

"No, I need to get some sleep. Leaving for a tour tomorrow."

"Oh, all right, thought it wouldn't hurt asking. The girls tonight are gonna hardly believe this though, even with the pictures."

"Do you want us to call you a cab?" Claire asked, taking out her mobile. "I was going to call one for us before you knocked."

"Oh, if you don't mind, that would be nice."

"No problem at all," Claire assured, she dialling the cab services. As she stepped to the side to talk to the operator, Jodi made more small talk with Sirius.

"Say, before I forget, these people you were trying to see, you don't think you'd be seeing them anytime soon or would be able to get something to them. I know you're leaving and all but they left a box behind and we haven't been able to figure out what to do with it. Claire said just throw it out but I was about to call the company that's running the building now to see if they had a new address."

"I suppose I could take it. I mean, I've got other ways to contact them before the night's over," Sirius shrugged, not really sure that he wanted to carry around a box of Lily's things but it would just be as simple as getting the receptionist at the hotel to send it to James' flat.

"Great, it's not a large box or anything. I'll be right back." Within a few minutes, the cab was on its way and Jodi reappeared with a medium sized box that made Sirius' stomach feel queasy. He recognised that box but was hoping he wouldn't find what he feared inside.

"It's not too much, just a few shirts and an old pair of shoes and some soap and stuff."

"Jodi, why are you giving that to him? I told you, it's a break up box. We should just throw it away," chastised Claire.

"He said he can give it to the people that used to live here. Calm down. Oh, are you all right?" Jodi frowned when she noticed how white Sirius had become. Just one look in the box and Sirius knew that it had everything he had sent to Remus after they broke up. He wanted to drop the box and leave now but a much more sadistic part of him wanted to look through the items again.

"What? I'm fine, I think I'll wait outside for the cab. A bit of fresh air and all." He said his goodbyes before leaving, box clutched tightly against his chest.

If one were to take a quick look at Remus Lupin, they likely wouldn't guess at first try that his favourite meal was paella. People tended to think that he preferred something like fish and chips or a quick pub meal. Truth of the matter was that Remus enjoyed things that were flavourful, spicy, had rice or even tofu. It might have had to do with one of the friends he had as a child. Before Remus discovered punk music and even before he had become fodder for most of the bullies at school, he was friends with a Spanish boy named Emilio. Emilio was a cute, dark, curly haired boy who would always have Remus over for dinner, which was when Remus developed a taste for more exotic foods. Before Emilio's family went back to Spain, Remus was sure that he was in love with the boy, cementing his love for Spanish food and darker haired boys.

"That's a cute story. Wouldn't have pegged you to fall for the tall, dark and handsome type when I first met you," Dorcas said before shovelling a spoonful of rice in her mouth. The description fit Sirius Black rather well but everyone in company ignored that.

"Well back then he was more short, dark and cute," corrected Remus.

"You know, I like this sharing thing we've all been doing lately," Alice cut in. "I guess all doctors aren't completely bonkers."

"One suggestion out of many doesn't mean everything they say is golden," mentioned Remus. "Though I'm glad they finally let me out of that hell hole."

It had been a couple of weeks since Remus was finally let out into the real world and he had been enjoying his freedom to the fullest. Well, as full as he could within legal limits and while still doing community service. A lot of his free time was spent writing songs, hanging out with the girls and wandering about London. All of it was done sober and Remus was on the path to full recovery. One way the girls liked to contribute to Remus' health was to provide him with ample amounts of food. Even though he had been eating steadily, the food in the mental ward was a little below par and so Remus stayed rather skinny. Now, he had been eating with a little more gusto, some colour and size was returning but he was still too skinny for the girls' tastes. So eating together had become a daily occurrence with the intention of 'fattening' Remus up. Today was Dorca's turn and unfortunately Lily had other plans with James (something they would give her a hard time about later).

"So anything else you ladies want me to tell you?" asked Remus.

"Since we're on the subject of the things the docs told you to do, tell us in one sentence what you learned about yourself in rehab?" Alice asked, earning a look from Dorcas who didn't want to undo any progress Remus had made. Even if Alice liked to deal with situations through sarcasm and jokes, Dorcas would not allow them to joke about anything good that had happened to Remus.

"It's all right Dorcas. I'm not going to go into a relapse anytime soon. Quite frankly though Alice, I have daddy issues."

"I could have told you that. You're a whore Remus and whores always have daddy issues," teased Alice.

"So you have them too?" Remus asked innocently, causing Alice to smirk.

"Why yes, yes I do."

"You shouldn't belittle your problems Remus," Dorcas interjected, "it's what got you into your mess in the first place."

"What got me into this mess was being blamed for something I didn't do."

"You also punched a copper," Alice helped.

"You know what I mean. If that bastard hadn't freaked out and dump me then date someone else and brag about it to all those magazines after he spent months telling me to hide in his flat, I would have told Rosier to fuck off a little more effectively."

"Did he really brag?"

"I don't care. I was so angry and hurt about everything that happened with him. You know what Lily told me? She said that it turns out it was one of the guys in his band told everyone that Sirius was gay," Remus stated while stabbing a piece of shrimp violently.

"Yeah I heard that," said Dorcas in a darker tone.

"You could do better than him. Trust me," Alice assured.

"Whatever," Remus answered rather noncommittally, rubbing a finger over the tattoo on his left wrist. "I mean, Lily showed me all these videos off of his new album when I was still in the hell hole and for a moment I thought I could really forgive him. He seemed to be in almost as much pain as me. I was sure that if I saw him when I got out and he wanted to get back together, I would say yes within a second. After everything, a bit of me still loved him and I had some deluded bit of hope that we'd end up together in the end but after hearing about his friend I got so pissed off. And well, I just think he's an idiot. How do I trust someone who doesn't bother to trust me and blames me the first chance he gets?"

"Like I said Remus, you'll find someone much better," Alice said again with confidence.

"I'm not sure I'm going to be with anyone for a while. I think I need a break."

"I think that's a good idea," complimented Dorcas. "In fact, you know what would be an even better idea? To stop talking about him? He's a wanker. So let's not think about him."

"I agree. Say, to better times and a much better album?" Alice lifted up her drink for a toast and they clinked their glasses together. They fell into another silence where they just enjoyed their food until it was broken suddenly by Alice.

"Oh, speaking of good news, want to hear who got caught breaking probation?"

"Who?" Dorcas asked but before Alice was able to rely the good news, Remus' mobile beeped. The two others waited impatiently while Remus took a quick look at the text message he received. After a tight-lipped frown, he deleted the message and brought all his attention back to Alice and Dorcas.

"Wrong number," he explained but they didn't fully believe him. Despite wanting to know more, Alice decided to go back to her previous topic.

"Anyway, it's Rosier. Evan Rosier was caught dealing again and now he's unlikely to get out for quite a while."

"Now that's something I can toast to," Remus smiled, lifting up his glass.

[Excerpt from Huffington Post]

Sirius Black Reveals New Song In US Tour

It's been a week and a half since Sirius Black started the US leg of the Time of My Life tour and almost all remaining venues have been sold out or appear to be on their way towards it. With the album reaching Platinum within a week, the album appears to be about as successful as any project Black has done in The Marauders, if not more.

If having millions of records sold, 3 number one hits and a sold out tour wasn't enough, Black has written a new song and after trying it out to a very receptive crowd in New York City, revealed plans to record it on tour and release it as another single. The song, titled One and Only is a soulful piece about giving love a chance. According to Black, it was written right before he left for the US tour. Before playing it to the excited audience, he specifically asked those who were able to film it to post it onto the Internet in hopes that a special someone would possibly see it.

"I don't know mate, you sure about this?" James asked Sirius. It was nearing noon in England, which meant it was pretty early morning for Sirius. Although Sirius was still busy with his US tour, soon to become South American tour and eventually European tour (on top of deciding he wanted to record and produce another song while doing all this), he had called James up a number of times when he couldn't sleep. All of them were Remus related. At first, it was about Sirius complaining about Peter and wondering how he could have been such an idiot. Today, it had moved onto Sirius deciding that he needed to win Remus back.

"Yes I'm sure. I want to be with him James," insisted Sirius. "The more time away I've been spending since I found out what the hell actually happened, the more I realise what an idiot I've been and how much I really do need him in my life."

"Not to suggest that the two of you shouldn't get back together- or should for that matter because I'm staying out of this- but are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, you seemed to be getting over things before you had found out Peter told Celestina."

"I'm sure. I'm positive actually. I think about him all the time and I can hardly sleep because all I can think about is him and what I did. I need him in my life and I can't take it anymore," declared Sirius. Thoughts of Remus had been consuming him to the point that he couldn't close his eyes without seeing him and the longing had just been growing exponentially.

"Look, I'm sure that it just feels like you broke up all over again but running back to him may not be the best answer. Is it really good for you? For him?" James countered. In a perfect world, he was sure that Sirius and Remus would likely end up together. But from what Lily had been spouting lately and what she claims Remus had been saying when they were alone, James wasn't all too sure that Sirius wouldn't get a bloody nose if he simply ran up to Remus thinking they could have a sensible talk. Also, Remus had been stopping by after some of his physical therapy sessions that included workouts to rebuild his muscle mass. In all likelihood, it was possible that by the time Sirius got back, any physical alteration could end with someone actually getting injured.

"It's the right thing. I can feel it. I just…I just wish he would talk to me."

"You've...contacted him?"

"Yeah, a number of times. He hasn't answered or texted back though."

"Maybe he doesn't want to spend the money on the long distance? Or maybe it's the wrong number?" James suggested. It wasn't possible to not try and cheer Sirius up after hearing the utter misery in his voice.

"I don't know. It's the only reason why I decided to play that song and record it. I thought maybe he'd hear it and think about things a bit."

"Sirius, I know where you're coming from but just a few weeks ago you were telling me how you could never be with him again because there was no trust in the relationship," James tried to reason.

"Yeah, but that was before I realised what an utter idiot I had been. I can trust him. I want a relationship again and this time I won't care who sees us together. That's one of the reasons behind releasing this new song. I hoped he'd understand that I'm willing to try it again. Do it all right and be out in the open like we should have been," explained Sirius. "James, I've been out of my fucking mind without him now that I know it was all my fault. I went to go see him before I left only to find out that he and Lily had moved out. I ended up having to humour a couple of birds who wanted my picture and autograph and eventually gave me a box that was left behind from Remus. Want to know what was in it? Everything I had sent back to him when we broke up. It killed me. The shirts still smelled like him and for the first week here, I'd been wearing them until they stopped smelling like him. James- I need him."

"I'm not the person you should be telling this to," sighed James after a long pause.

"I know," admitted Sirius, defeated.

"Look, you've got a while until the tour's done and you get back. And I think that's a good thing. Not to upset you more or anything but from what Lily's been telling me, Remus isn't too happy about you right now. Especially not after he heard that it was Peter who was the reason the two of you fell out. Let him breath a bit and let yourself think- really think about this. Think about what would happen if you tried to get back together and what would happen if you do. Okay?" James had started to use his calm, sensible voice and Sirius could almost see the truth in what he was saying.

"Okay. I suppose I can do that. But I still think that I'm going to want the same thing then as I do now."

"Well, I don't doubt that too much but still, its better to go at this with a clear head. Give some time for everyone to cool off a bit."

"You're right. I know you're right," Sirius said with a frustrated groan.

"I'm always right," smiled James.

"I hope you know I'm still not going to be able to get any sleep again tonight."

"I know. Oh, Sirius, before you go…Peter. Do you have anything you want to say to Peter? He feels awful."

"Well he should."

"Sirius-"

"I don't have anything to say right now. I need time James. Give me time."