Written for:
Soulmates - Soulmates sharing talents after meeting (I made this that they had to touch first)
Hogwarts - Assignment 3: Care of Magical Creatures - Write about three unlikely people coming together for something
Auction -
Writing Club -
Buttons - Object: (4) Cigarette
Disney - Character: (2) Write about someone with many talents
AAA - (2) Write about a character who is popular
Lo's Lowdown - Character (4) Write about someone who prefers actions to words
Working Together
Mentions of Omegaverse :)
"Can everyone come inside?" Remus asked, glancing around at the group that were smoking out the back of the Community Centre.
Sirius pushed himself away from the wall, the cigarette in his hand falling to the floor and quickly getting crushed under his boot. His eyes scanned the Alpha before a smirk crossed his lips. "Alpha Lupin," he began, reaching into his pocket and withdrawing his packet of cigarettes. "Maybe you could come out here, spend some time with me?" he suggested. "I bet you'd look good with something between your lips."
Remus rolled his eyes. "There's an important announcement," he said, not reaching for the cigarette Sirius was offering. "Only chocolate goes between these lips I'm afraid." He was going for a jokey tone, though there was a hint of red on his cheeks that gave him away.
Sirius grinned. "You know where I am if you change your mind, and trust me, you will." He nodded to his friends before following Remus inside. The group crowded into the back of the room and Remus headed back over to where Frank was standing. Sirius' eyes followed him, waiting for Remus to look over.
When Remus did, Sirius made a show of climbing onto the pool table, stretching out and lounging across the middle. His t-shirt rode up a little, and he glanced again, glad that Remus' eyes were still on him. He blew a kiss towards him, causing Remus to blush again and turn his attention away.
Sirius followed Remus' gaze turning his attention to where James was stood on the bar, waiting for everyone to pay him attention.
"I have some bad news," James said, choosing not to beat around the bush. "The Community Centre is closing at the end of the month. Now, I've been thinking about this ever since I heard earlier today and I don't want it to close."
"It can't close!" Sirius shouted, distracted from how sexy Remus was looking leaning against the wall.
"I agree. The school is locked after a certain time, and we have the room next door perfect for doing homework and for me to tutor," Remus added.
"We all love it here," James said, cutting off the murmurings around the hall. "That's why we're strict on the rules. They said that we can use this place if we keep it clean and tidy, keep the noise down and don't cause trouble. We don't break things, there's no alcohol and certainly no drugs. Anyone breaking rules are banned and this place matters to the rest of us."
"So we're going to save it, right?" Sirius shouted, quickly standing on the pool table. "We need to save it, Potter. What do we need to do?"
"We need to buy it, I guess," James said, running a hand through his messy hair. "We have a lot of money saved from when you all pay to get in. Unfortunately we sell things at the bar at the same price we paid for them, so make no money there. So that's a start."
"A good start?" Remus asked hopefully.
James shook his head. "We have a long way to go. I want volunteers to… no, I want people to talk to their groups and assign a leader. I want to meet with those leaders and I want us to work this out. I'm not sure if we can save this place, but I'm not giving up without a fight."
Sirius glanced around at his friends, before holding his arm up. "Team Leader here," he said. "When do we meet?"
"Immediately. When you have your leaders picked, meet me in the study room." He climbed down from the bar and left the room.
Ignoring everyone else, he walked over to where Remus was talking to his friends as they decided who the team leader was.
"Come on, Lupin, you know you don't want to pass up the chance to spend more time with me," Sirius murmured in what he hoped was a seductive tone. One that Remus tended to be immune to. "We get to spend a lot of time together." He turned his gaze on the others, his eyes narrowing slightly in warning.
They took the warning, all muttering about how Remus was the best option and Sirius grinned as Remus sighed loudly. "Lead the way, Black."
...oOo...
"We need to make money," James said, pacing the room. "We need to think of ways to do this."
"Book sale?" Remus suggested. "I'm sure we have a lot of old books between me and my friends—"
"Maybe just a good old-fashioned jumble sale," Sirius countered. "Books and everything else we have that we don't want. I have some artwork which I could sell perhaps?"
"Art?" Remus asked, glancing at him. "Are you sure you'd want to put that in a jumble sale?"
Sirius shrugged. "Whatever it takes to keep this place open. I don't know what I'd do without this place." Remus started to analyse the worried tone that Sirius had never before used in his vicinity, but suddenly Sirius was grinning at him. "Besides, where else can I spend my time watching as you sexily read books?"
"How is Remus reading 'sexy'?" James asked, pausing in his pacing for a moment.
"The way he's deep in thought. The way he concentrates and frowns ever so slightly. The way his eyes widen at the exciting part. The way he leans back in his chair, or curls his legs underneath him. The way he unfolds any pages that have the corners turned down. The way he always uses a bookmark. The way—"
"Okay, we get it," James said, quickly realising that the list would never end. Sirius winked at Remus who was staring at him, shocked.
"How about we do a series of events?" Remus said, quickly recovering and turning his gaze back to James. "Sirius paints, so we could do an art show. We could send out flyers, contact local artists and ask them to show their stuff… at a small price. We could do a bake sale, car washing, book sale. We need to show the council that this place is useful. We could put on a show perhaps?"
"This is all perfect," James said. "Write this down, someone."
"On it," Remus replied. "We use this place two or three times a week. If we can show that this place is useful on the other days, perhaps the council won't make us buy it - perhaps they'll leave us here."
"It's worth a try," James muttered.
"And maybe in the meantime, I could start a petition for this place to stay open?" Sirius suggested.
...oOo...
Remus frowned as he tried to paint the banner the sign to hang outside. No-one would want to come to an art show where the sign was painted wonkily.
He sighed as he dropped the brush. James had given him the worst job, in his opinion. But he could see why - James was overseeing the tasks and picking up slack, Sirius was trying to teach others how to cook. Remus was currently left to do things like sign making. He had tried his hand at cooking, but was quickly evicted from the kitchen.
"I can't work like this!" Sirius shouted, storming into the room. He flung his oven gloves to the floor. "Peter is unteachable. He can't make cakes. He can't follow simple instructions. I bet he can't even read the fucking instructions."
"I'm sure he's not that bad," Remus offered, standing up and wiping his hands on the nearby kitchen roll.
Sirius looked over, as though he was surprised Remus was even there. "Remus," he said, his tone changing quickly. "Fancy finding you in here… alone." He moved closer, but froze at the sight of the signs. "What the fuck happened to those?"
"I happened," Remus replied, sighing. "I have no artistic ability - which I told James, but he still put me in charge of the signs."
"No offence, but we can't hang these," Sirius said. "I'll help you with them though after I teach a group of morons how to turn on an oven and why you shouldn't eat cake batter that hasn't been cooked."
"Are you making chocolate cakes?" Remus asked hopefully.
Sirius' smile widened. "We are now," he replied. "And just so you know, I make a wonderful chocolate cake. You should come over to mine sometime and try it out. My house is almost always empty, so we can be alone. Just you, me and that delicious chocolate."
He was inches from Remus now. "I can make any chocolate dessert you want," he continued. "I make a wonderful chocolate sauce. It drizzles nicely."
Before Remus could react, Sirius fell into him and they both hit the floor. They glanced up, to where Frank was looking at them, his face red. "Sorry, I slipped," Frank muttered, clearly mortified.
"It's okay," Remus said, pushing himself up from the floor and offering a hand to Sirius. "No harm done."
Sirius took the offered hand and allowed Remus to pull him up, but as Remus went to let go, Sirius tightened his grip. "Can't tell me it doesn't feel right," he murmured.
"I… James wants you urgently. He needs someone to check the numbers for something."
Remus nodded. "Sure, I'll be right there." This time, Sirius let go of his hand. "I'm sure I'll need your help later," he said. "I better go and see what James wanted."
Sirius watched as Remus rushed from the room, before glaring at Frank. They were having a moment and he felt like he was finally making some headway with his crush.
Frank nervously backed out of the room.
...oOo...
"I heard you taught Peter to cook," Remus said, walking into the room where he had been painting earlier, to find Sirius lounging on the floor.
Sirius nodded, frowning slightly. "It was strange. I suddenly had this… patience and stuff. I could explain myself better and could tolerate him. Earlier I couldn't be in the same room as him."
Remus smiled. "Well, perhaps you're just a good teacher."
"But that's just it - I've never been able to teach anyone anything before," Sirius pointed out. "It… I…" the frown faded. "I started on the signs. Well, I painted over then so we have a fresh base to start with. They're almost dry, we'll need to give it a few more minutes."
"You don't have to stick around," Remus insisted, taking a seat near Sirius, as James walking into the room. "I've got this."
Sirius shook his head. "I'd much rather be here," he insisted. "Better company."
Remus recalled Sirius' comment about how his house was almost always empty and wondered whether that was flirting or something more.
"Do you want to call your mum and tell her you're here?" James said, pulling out his phone and offering it to Sirius.
Sirius stared at the phone for a long moment. "She won't even know that I'm out," he replied, with a shrug. "As long as Regulus is home."
Remus didn't miss the resentment in his tone, before Sirius smiled widely. "Which means you're stuck with me." He did notice the way Sirius' tone quickly changed, trying to stay cheerful.
"Fine, if you're sure - I'll drop you both home later. Now, let's get these signs done and you can tell me how you got Peter to make an edible cupcake for the sale tomorrow."
They all reached for brushes and began painting. "I found I had a lot more patience and stuff," Sirius said, his eyes fixed intently on Remus. "Earlier I wanted to punch him, I almost did, but…" he trailed off, his eyes following the brush-strokes. "That's looking better than before already."
"Yeah, it feels easier," Remus murmured, focusing on the sign. "I'm usually terrible at painting."
"Yeah, you are," Sirius agreed. "But now you're good." He watched Remus for another moment. "You were also the worst cook ever. But… maybe that's changed too?"
James looked between the pair briefly, before setting down his brush. "Well, it doesn't hurt to have some more batches of cakes for tomorrow," he said. "Why don't we give it another shot."
Sirius smiled at him. James clearly had made the same connection, but Remus' uncertain look told them both that he hadn't.
"It's a waste of your time trying to teach me," Remus insisted. "Why don't you both make cakes and I can stay in here and do the signs? We can get more done that way!"
"Just give it one more try," Sirius insisted. "Please, Remus."
Remus glanced between Sirius and the brush for a moment before nodding. He set the brush aside and stood up, accepting the hand Sirius offered to pull him up from the floor.
...oOo...
Remus stared at the cupcake doubtfully. This time it wasn't burnt, but that didn't mean that it didn't taste like crap. Looks were deceptive. He had never been able to eat a single thing he had cooked and wasn't looking forward to putting the cake near his mouth.
But Sirius didn't ask him to. Instead, he watched as Sirius brought the cake to his own lips, a nervous but expectant look on his face, before taking a bite from it.
"Fuck, it's perfect," he murmured, his eyes meeting James'.
Remus chuckled. "Yeah, right," he replied, certain that Sirius was lying.
"No. Really, try it. I promise it's good." He held a piece up to Remus' lips and Remus couldn't help himself but take it, his lips brushing against Sirius' fingers as he did. He fought to keep his cheeks from going red at the lewd sound that came from Sirius' lips - he knew Sirius was putting it on.
He tried hard to hide the blushes and the staring, never wanting to admit the effect the Omega had on him. He had managed to keep his attraction to Sirius to himself for so long and he wasn't going to admit it now. Because perfect, beautiful Omegas like Sirius never went for guys like him, no matter how much they flirted. Sirius would tire and move on, and this way was easier for Remus' heart to remain intact.
The cake tasted amazing. "Did you switch our cakes?"
"No," Sirius replied. "You've just suddenly gotten very good at cooking and painting." Remus noted the emphasis in Sirius' voice and frowned slightly. He made a good point.
"Yes, but how?"
"Well, I noticed today that I was suddenly good at tutoring - or teaching someone something. That I suddenly had a lot of patience that I didn't have before. In fact, I noticed it happened after I fell over earlier. More precisely, it was after you helped me up from the floor. You touched my hand, Remus. From what I've heard, you're the best tutor around. In fact, aren't you planning to be a teacher?"
Remus looked at James for help, but James was watching the pair as though it was the most entertaining tv show. If there had been popcorn around, James would be eating it. "I don't… this can't be…"
"It can be," Sirius replied softly, reaching out and taking Remus' hand. "Doesn't this feel so right to you, Remus?"
"You can't say that to me. You flirt with everyone and now… now you're…"
"Is that why you never take me seriously? Because you think I'm a flirt?" Understanding dawned in Sirius' eyes. "So, if I only flirted with you, you'd believe me?"
James walked around and picked up the discarded cake, trying a bit and Remus waited for James to be disgusted.
"Amazing," James murmured. "Remus, if you want proof, make more cakes."
Sirius nodded. "Keep making cakes until you believe that I'm your soulmate and your Omega. Come on, Alpha, show me how good you can cook now."
Something primal inside of Remus was eager to take up the challenge and prove himself, just because of Sirius' use of the word 'Alpha'. He moved away from Sirius and headed back to the cooking station he had been using.
Three trays of cakes later (and some with decorations he would have never been able to do before), Remus had to admit that he could now cook. It certainly wasn't a skill he had acquired on his own, and he couldn't recall touching anyone but Sirius Black since the first cooking session where Sirius had kindly suggested he help James out instead.
"We're soulmates," he exclaimed, realising it had to be true.
Sirius beamed at him. "Finally," he murmured. "You believe me. Would you believe I've been mad for you since the first time I walked into this place?"
"You flirted with everyone in here," Remus replied.
"I don't need to flirt with anyone else ever again," Sirius insisted. He walked over, taking Remus' hand in his own. "I have the Alpha of my dreams. So… you know how we share talents?"
Remus nodded.
"I've been told I'm an amazing kisser. Want me to share that with you?"
Remus couldn't stop the growl from passing his lips at the idea of someone else kissing Sirius. Sirius was his soulmate and his Omega. He pushed the thoughts away. Jealousy wasn't good. Of course Sirius had dated before. Remus could just make sure to be an Alpha worthy of him, so Sirius wouldn't have to kiss anyone else.
"Uh… maybe we can hold off on that because we've got the bake sale tomorrow," James said, glancing between them. "Let's get everything done here and then you two can…"
Sirius ignored him, leaning in and letting his lips brush gently over Remus'. "Don't be jealous, luv. I'm all yours now," he whispered softly. "My house is probably empty. How about you come over afterwards and…"
"How about we start with going out on a date tomorrow after the bake sale, and then a bunch more dates before we find an empty house?" Remus suggested softly. "You're my soulmate, Sirius. If you're really interested, I'd like us to get to know each other first."
Sirius nodded, smiling softly as he weaved his fingers through Remus'. "As long as you finally give me a real chance," he requested. "It's all I've wanted since I first laid eyes on you." The smile turned into a smirk. "Well, except during my heat. I'll tell you all about those another time though. But you're all I thought about the entire time."
Remus' mouth felt dry. "I can hardly wait," he whispered.
3082 words
As always, I appreciate reviews :)
