Chapter 25: Your Star
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The scent of fresh pine wafted through the Black household, interlacing and twisting with the aroma of spiced apple cider coming from the kitchen. A large pine tree, standing over twenty feet high, stood in the far back corner of the party room, decked in several sets of twinkling, red Christmas lights and silvery strands of tinsel that moved every time someone walked by it, causing the light to shimmer. Piles of wrapped boxes laid under the tree, all covered in red, green or silver paper, each topped with an extravagant bow. The boxes were empty, save the small weight which lined each one to hold it in place. The 'Christmas presents' were more a show, a decoration of sort, for typically the children of the Black family received a large check and a shove out of the door for Christmas.
Orion and Walburga Black were not Christmas people. The only reason their house contained a tree was to impress the guests of their annual client Christmas party, which was to be that night. Housekeepers and caterers ran back and forth through the house, readying the banquet tables and the food as though their jobs, and lives, depended on the level of perfection. Regulus sat at the kitchen counter, already dressed in his suit and well primped for the party, snagging the occasional stuffed mushroom or mini-quiche when the caterers weren't looking. A sharp slap to his hand as he reached for a covered cracker made Regulus spin around and narrow his eyes at his brother.
"You aren't supposed to touch those," Sirius said, his voice authoritative as he lifted the same cracker and shoved it into his mouth. He brushed his hand over the front of his suit jacket as several crumbs scattered down over it. "Stupid suit," he muttered, cramming another cracker into his mouth.
"Shouldn't you be consoling your boyfriend?" Regulus asked dryly, taking a cracker for himself and dodging the scowl from a caterer.
"What?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow and picking up a few crackers into his hand before the caterer whisked the tray away. "What do you mean consoling?"
"Consoling. Verb. To allay the sorrow or grief of. To make one feel better when they are upse-"
"I know what consoling is, you jerk. I mean why would Remus need consoling?" Sirius gave his brother a sharp kick against his shin with the toe of his over-polished black shoes.
Regulus winced, then shrugged and tilted his head towards the party room. "I don't know why. I saw him in there a minute ago, he was crying. Wiping his eyes, sniffling, all red. I didn't ask, it isn't my business."
"Why would he be crying? He was fine when I went up to change." Sirius cast a distressed look towards the party room and felt anger build inside his chest. "Did someone say something to him?"
"I don't know. I didn't ask. Maybe he just doesn't like Christmas," Regulus offered.
"He loves Christmas," Sirius argued, not holding back from his urge to stick out his cracker covered tongue at his brother. He dropped the crackers onto the counter and turned away from the boy's annoyed face, then hurried into the party room, scanning over the faces of all the housekeepers in search of Remus'. "Remus!" he called out, spotting the boy in the corner. His heart gave a flutter at seeing his boyfriend dressed in a sleek black suit, his hair parted and neatly combed. "Remus, what's wrong?"
Remus turned around, his eyes flushed with red and his nose slightly runny. "Nothing's wrong," he answered, wrapping his arms around Sirius' neck and giving the boy a huge smile. "I'm...well, I'm allergic to that," he whispered, tilting his head towards the large tree across the room. "Real pine tree," he added, to clarify, as he drug the back of his hand across his nose and sniffled loudly.
"Moony," Sirius whined out, lifting his hands to the boy's face and dragging his thumbs under his eyes where the wet was collecting. "Why are you in here if that's bothering you?" He grabbed Remus' hand and swept the boy from the room without waiting for an answer.
"You said to meet you in there," Remus answered with another sniffle as he was pulled up the stairs and into Sirius' bedroom.
Sirius shook his head in disbelief and pushed the door closed behind them. "Not if it was gonna make you sick." He pushed the boy down to sit on the edge of the bed and dropped beside him. "Are you alright now?" he whispered, once again wiping Remus' eyes from the tears building in them.
Remus nodded and gave Sirius a tight, yet genuine, smile. "I'm okay now." He pulled Sirius' hands into his own and held onto them tightly, then leaned his head over on the boy's shoulder and nuzzled into his neck. "You look great, babe," he muttered against Sirius' skin. "Very suave and sensual. Makes me wanna jump you," he added, the last bit filled with a quiet laughter.
"I don't know what suave is, but if it makes you wanna jump me, then I'd say it's a good thing," Sirius laughed out, hugging his arms around Remus' shoulders and holding the boy tightly against him.
"It's a good thing," Remus answered, pushing his arms around Sirius' waist and clinging to him just as tightly as Sirius was.
"Y'know, you look all sorts of good things in that suit of yours. Where'd ya get it?" Sirius rubbed his hand up and down Remus' arm and pressed his face against the top of the boy's head, breathing in his hair.
Remus shifted awkwardly and pulled back out of Sirius' hold. "It was my dad's, he only wore it once. It's a little loose because I'm not as built as he was," he answered, distantly. "You think I look good?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively and smoothed his hands over Sirius' neck, cradling it between them.
Sirius nodded and leaned forward to meet Remus so that their lips crashed together roughly. Within moments, their arms were snaked around each other, both struggling to hold the other closer than was humanly possible, as their lips moved fiercely and they struggled for breath. Remus' fingers were tangled tightly into Sirius' hair when the sound of the turning door knob made them slip apart and turn to see who was opening the door.
"Oh, sorry," James gasped as he stepped into the bedroom and spotted the two boys still semi-wrapped in their embrace. "The lady said...she just said that Sirius...she didn't say you were both..." He let his words trail off as he dropped his eyes to the floor and forced an awkward cough into his hands. The messy haired boy was was dressed in a pristine grey suit and light blue tie, most likely an exact copy of the way his father would be dressed that night. "Lu-Lupin, can I talk to Sirius alone for a minute?" he asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets and twisting them uncomfortably.
Remus exchanged a weary glance with his boyfriend, but stood up none-the-less. "Sure," he muttered as he brushed past James and out into the hallway. "I'll just be downstairs," he said, glancing back at Sirius.
"Not by the tree," Sirius called out to the boy before the door was closed and his view of Remus was cut off. His eyes flashed and he stood up, bringing himself to an even keel with James. "You think calling him by the right name is going to make everything okay?" he growled out, narrowing his eyes at the other boy.
"No," James answered, simply. "I don't think that will make everything okay, but I'm going to do it anyways. I'm going to do...whatever I need to. I want to fix this. I want to fix us. I hate, hate being at odds with you, Sirius." His bottom lips was trembling despite his efforts to keep it steady. "I'm a total asshole. More than an asshole. I'm a total, complete, first class jackass that should be shot for my behavior."
"Don't be so dramatic, Potter," Sirius spat, throwing himself down on his bed and leaning back onto his elbows. "You shouldn't be shot. A mild bat to the face would do the trick." Though the boy's voice was steady and firm, he couldn't hold back the faint smile that began to creep across his lips. "You could always just apologize."
"I'm sorry," James said, as though it were obvious.
"I didn't mean to me, you dunce, I meant to Remus," Sirius laughed out. He grabbed onto his pillow and flung it heavily across the room, sending it straight for James' face.
"Hey!" James laughed as he caught the assault pillow. "I'll apologize to him. I promise." He flung the pillow back and held his arms out, smiling brightly as his friend stood up and embraced him.
After an awkward and quick hug, the two boys spilled out into the hallway and started down the stairs to the party room, which was already starting to fill with uptight and high class clients from the Black's law firm. Sirius' eyes narrowed dramatically at the sight at the bottom of the staircase. Remus was standing, looking very suave he might add, at the base of the stairs, his hand held out expectantly in front of him. Regulus was standing, looking very tetchy he might add, in front of him, his own hand perched above Remus'. The exchange was quick, but Sirius distinctly saw pills fall into Remus' hand from his brother's.
"What the hell are you doing?" Sirius cried out, charging down the stairs and shoving his brother rather carelessly into a passer-by. He grabbed onto Remus' hand and wrenched the two, tiny pills from the boy's grasp. "What is this?" he asked, staring down at them with disgust.
"Sirius! Stop freaking out, they're allergy pills." Remus snatched the medication back from his boyfriend and stared at him with a look of pure shock on his face. "What did you think it was? You're acting all out of shape about it." He rolled his eyes and turned away from Sirius, then took off towards the kitchen without bothering to wait for an answer.
Sirius grabbed onto his brother's arm and stared hard into the boy's eyes. "Why would you have allergy pills?" he asked, his voice still annoyed.
"Stage make up," Regulus answered bluntly, yanking his arm from his brother's grip. "That shit makes my eyes get all p-"
"Shut up, I was being rhetorical, I don't give two shits about your make up. Just...don't ever let me see you doing that again," Sirius growled, shoving his brother away from him and tearing after Remus. He pushed his way through the annoyed crowd and stepped up behind Remus while the boy was taking a drink, presumably having just taken the medication. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to freak out like that," he said, his eyes locked hard onto the floor in front of him.
Remus turned around and slipped one arm around Sirius' waist while his other hand stayed clutched around his glass of cider. "It's alright, Sirius. It didn't really occur to me what you mighta' thought seeing that, not until I was half way to the kitchen."
"Wait, so you know?" Sirius asked, staring up into Remus light blue eyes with shock. "He...told you?" When Remus nodded and sipped at his drink, Sirius pulled the boy into a tight embrace. "I was stupid to think that you'd ever get mixed up in something like that. Besides, he's staying away from that stuff too. He swore. Not that he's the most trustworthy but I believe him."
"Yes, you looked like you believed him when you were shoving him into one of the guests," Remus said, his tone a bit more snarky than he intended it to be. "What do you say we just get out of here? I know that your parents want you to stay, but do you think they'll even notice if we go?"
Sirius nodded slowly and grabbed Remus by the hand, using his free one to take the boy's glass and set it on the counter behind him. "You're right, let's go," he mumbled as he pulled Remus from the house and out to the guest house in the back yard.
The two boy's slipped inside of the small guest house and both started off in two different directions. Remus turned towards the living room area where they typically went to drink or goof around, though they hadn't actually hung out in the guest house since James and Sirius' fight, and Sirius instead, turned to the bedroom. A small tug of the hand was all it took for Remus to change course and follow the other boy into the bedroom. Sirius dropped the boy's hand an pushed the bedroom door closed, then spun back to face Remus and wrapped his arms around the boy's waist.
"Sirius, you aren't up-" Remus' words were cut off by Sirius' lips crashing onto his own. He made a small whimpering protest before giving in and cradling the other boy's neck between his hands.
"I don't wanna talk," Sirius whispered as he pulled his lips away and stepped into Remus. "I've just had a really bad few weeks and I could use some alone time with you right now. Quiet alone time."
Remus nodded in understanding and stepped away from Sirius, his hands lacing into the other boy's as he led him over to the bed. "Lay down," he ordered, his voice stern but kind. He pushed the boy to lay out on the bed and quickly unbuttoned his sport coat. With a shrug, Remus let the jacket slip from his shoulders and fall to the floor. He climbed onto the bed beside Sirius and wrapped his arms around the boy. "Everything's going to be okay, babe," he whispered.
"I know," Sirius whispered with a yawn. "I trust you, Moony. If you say it'll be okay, then it will." He rolled onto his side and curled against the other boy as Remus held onto him tightly. "I love you so much, Remus."
A Note From the Author: Deck the halls with boughs of mystery. Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-please-re-view. Do you think that James is changing? Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-pleeeeease-reeeee-vieeeew. -Jenna
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