Written for: Quidditch League - Finals Round 1 - Wigtown Wanderers - Chaser 1
Task: Player 2: A simile AND a section written in epistolary form (an exerpt from a diary, letter, document etc)
Prompts:
(word) warmth
(song) 'Jingle Bell Rock'
(setting) a Muggle café
A/N - The mistake in the letter is intentional: Siriusly instead of seriously.
This story is an AU.
Everything He Ever Wanted
James,
Wales is awful. I'd much rather be out kicking Death Eater arse than staring at sheep 24/7. Siriusly (yes I said it) why are there so many? There are more sheep than people. And why in the name of Merlin is it so cold?
I can't wait to get back into real civilization. I can't wait to go into Muggle London or Diagon Alley.
I need you to reconsider this decision and let me come home!
Sirius.
...oOo...
Sirius glanced around the room he had rented. After some hard missions for the Order and Sirius' reckless habit of throwing himself into danger, he'd been banned from missions until he reined in his behaviour.
Sirius wouldn't have listened had it not been James who had suggested this. James could be reckless at times but usually backed Sirius up. This time though, he hadn't.
The bed looked warm with a heavy duvet covering it. A chest of drawers and a wardrobe stood against one wall and a desk against another. A mirror hung by the door.
Sirius removed his shoes and laid on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. It was boring, but at least it was a lot warmer than outside.
He just wanted to go home but had promised James he'd stay for a week.
...oOo...
December in Wales was freezing. Sirius found himself on the high-street buying a warm coat and some jumpers before hurrying back to his room to change into something warmer. He admired his jumper-clad form in the mirror.
He pouted slightly at the reflection. His mirror, back in the spare room at James and Lily's place, would have told him how utterly gorgeous he looked. This mirror stayed quiet.
Though it wasn't his usual look, it was practical for the weather. Sirius pulled the coat on before grabbing his wallet and room-key and headed back out.
Sirius walked towards the high-street hoping to find somewhere to have lunch. The smell of warmed bread made him pause, and he turned, his attention fixed on a Muggle cafe. Other smells drew him in, and Sirius found himself following the smell of bacon as if he were a cartoon character.
The bell above the door dinged as Sirius entered. A handful of tables were already taken, but he found one by the window that looked nice and sat down.
The cafe was decorated in warm browns and reds. The chairs were mismatched but fit with making the place appear comfortable and homey. Christmas decorations adorned the walls, and a small tree stood in the corner.
Frowning slightly at the reminder of Christmas approaching, Sirius drew his attention away from the tree and to the menu.
"Can I help you?"
Sirius nodded, his eyes still on the menu. "What's the soup of the day?"
"Today is vegetable soup," the man said. "It comes with some crusty rolls. You're new around here, right? I don't mean to brag, but my mum makes the best soup in this part of Wales."
Sirius smiled. "I guess I have no choice but to order it. Can I also have a cup of tea please?"
"Of course."
Sirius glanced up, his eyes quickly falling on a man around his own age with shaggy dark-blond hair and amber eyes. There was something familiar about the stranger, but before he could figure it out, the man smiled and walked away.
Sirius watched after him, appreciating the sight. The man was oblivious to his gaze, his back to Sirius as he made the tea.
Throughout his meal, Sirius found himself wondering how he knew this man.
...oOo...
Sirius sat at the same table in the cafe the next day with the same man serving him. He remembered the warmth of the place from the day before and couldn't stop himself from returning.
"Soup again?"
Sirius smiled. "I'm not that hungry. I'll just have a cup of tea. It's so cold out, and I could do with warming up."
"Remus, can you help me a moment?" came a shout. The man—Remus—looked behind him before turning back to Sirius. "I'll have that tea for you in a moment," he said before walking away.
Sirius watched him leave, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Remus.
That name was familiar. It took a moment before he remembered where he knew the name from. The boy back at Hogwarts. The friend from their dorm. The one who was a werewolf who had disappeared shortly after they had found out.
"Remus Lupin?"
"Yes? How did you… do I know you?" Remus placed the cup down on the table and gave Sirius a guarded look.
"I think so," Sirius murmured.
"Where—"
"When do you finish work?" Sirius interrupted, reeling as he realised that the boy they spent a year and a half befriending stood before him. "We can talk later?"
"I get a break in about half an hour. Meet me out front."
...oOo...
The pair walked in silence to an empty playground across the road from the cafe.
"I'm Sirius Black," Sirius began, breaking the silence.
"I… I thought you looked familiar, but I wasn't sure why."
"So it is you!" Sirius grinned and threw his arms around the other man. "Merlin, I remember James owling you time and time again!"
Remus stood stiffly and Sirius let go, realising that the hug wasn't welcome. Remus watched him suspiciously. "Why are you here? Did you come here to find me?"
"No!" Sirius exclaimed. "I didn't know you were here. When I was picking somewhere to take some time off, the name just stood out to me. I didn't know why… but maybe I remember James writing the envelope?"
"James wrote a lot of letters," Remus murmured.
"It wasn't the same at Hogwarts without you," Sirius admitted. "I think you held our little group together. By the end of school, Peter had made other friends, and it was just me and James."
Remus was silent for a long time. "I didn't have a choice," he finally said. "Word got out about what I was. The only people who knew were the ones in our dorm room, but someone told my secret."
"Who'd do such a thing?" Sirius asked, eyes widening.
"I… I wondered for a long time if it had been you," Remus admitted, turning his gaze to the ground. "You always talked about how you didn't think the same way as your parents, but when you found out what I am, you wouldn't even talk to me. Two days later, the Headmaster informed me that everyone knew. He said I could stay, but I knew I couldn't."
Sirius frowned. "You thought it was me?" he repeated. "You didn't even ask, you just assumed! Is that why you didn't reply to James?"
"No. I thought you were all better off without a beast like me as a friend," Remus murmured.
"You could've trusted me," Sirius snapped, glaring at Remus before stomping off. When he got to the gate, he glanced back.
Remus was sitting on a bench, and Sirius could just about make out that his head was in his hands.
He was tempted to go back but knew that he needed to calm down first before talking to Remus again.
...oOo...
"Soup?" Remus asked nervously.
"Two soups," Sirius said, smiling softly. "And I hope you can take an early break." Remus hesitated before nodding.
Remus returned minutes later with two bowls of soup and a plate of hot rolls. "Help yourself."
"I just wanted to apologise," Sirius began. "You only knew me for a short time. Of course you'd suspect it was me due to my behaviour."
"It was my fault," Remus argued. "I should have asked. I was so caught up in losing Hogwarts and you hating me, I didn't think…"
"I just want you to know that I never believed what my parents said. I reacted badly at the time. I wasn't prepared for what we had found out, but I never hated you. You were still my friend, and I still cared."
"Really?"
Sirius smiled. "I'm staying for a bit longer. Maybe we could catch up?"
Remus nodded, his face lighting up beautifully at the words. Sirius couldn't help but stare as they both reached for a roll.
...oOo...
"So, what was it like working your way through Hogwarts?" Remus asked, joining Sirius for dinner at the cafe on his fourth day there.
"Hey, those were just rumours!" Sirius exclaimed, quickly getting defensive. "I didn't get any of them pregnant. Not even the girl that was actually pregnant. That was one of the Hufflepuffs!"
"Sirius, did you think I—"
"Really, it wasn't me. I'm gay!"
"Sirius. I meant like lessons and stuff," Remus laughed.
"Oh." Sirius blushed. "Yeah, it wasn't really the time to come out to you. I know some people don't like gay people, and James said to ignore those, but—"
"I don't mind that you're gay," Remus interrupted. "I… I like women, but I… I've been attracted to men on occasion."
"You have?" Sirius asked, leaning in. "What does a man need to do to get your attention?"
Remus bit his lip. "If you're asking because you want my attention, well, you don't need to worry about that."
"Not your type?" Sirius asked disappointedly.
"Maybe you already have my attention," Remus whispered. "Maybe you've had it since I first saw you."
"Would you have done anything?"
"I don't date," Remus said. "Too much to explain, too many questions."
"But I'm different. I know who and what you are, Remus. You don't have to hide from me. I'm serious about getting to know you!"
Remus smiled, and Sirius reached across the table, taking Remus' hand in his own. "Are you connected to the Floo? I could visit and we could see where this friendship or more-than-friendship, if you'd like, takes us."
"I'd like that," Remus admitted shyly. "I was actually wondering if you planned on staying in Wales over Christmas. My mum said you could spend it with us. Though if you're not staying, we could arrange something else?" Remus suggested.
"I'm planning on sticking around," Sirius lied, even though he had tickets to return to London before Christmas. He liked the idea of spending Christmas with Remus. After all, James had Lily for Christmas, and Sirius felt like a third wheel around them half the time. Maybe it'd be good to let the pair celebrate Christmas together without him in the way.
Plus, Sirius couldn't think of anything he wanted more than to spend Christmas with Remus.
"Aren't you spending it with your parents?" Remus asked, looking delighted at Sirius' acceptance of his invitation.
"I ran away from home when I was sixteen," Sirius said with a sigh.
Remus squeezed his hand. "Do you want to tell me about it?" he murmured.
And Sirius did. The story that only James Potter knew passed his lips without any hesitation. He felt comfortable talking to Remus. It felt like he'd always had Remus around. As though Remus had never left.
...oOo...
Sirius stood on the doorstep of the Lupins' house, nervously clutching last minute gifts he'd bought.
The door swung open seconds after he knocked, and the woman from the cafe stood there, beaming at him. "You must be Sirius. I can't tell you how glad I am that Remus has finally made a friend."
"We were friends at—"
"Yes, dear, I know all about it. I'm so glad that you're friends again. Poor Remus was so upset when he thought he lost you all. We tried to convince him to reply to the letters, but my son is extremely stubborn. Come in and take off your coat."
Sirius followed Hope in, getting out of the cold and shutting the door tightly behind him. Hope rushed down the hall, and Sirius took a moment to hang up his coat and take his shoes off before heading in the direction he had seen her go.
He could hear singing coming from the kitchen and headed towards the voices, pausing in the doorway at the sight.
As Jingle Bell Rock started up on the radio, Hope pulled Remus around the kitchen in a dance, and Remus kept trying to escape, only for Hope to pull him back.
"Help me!" Remus begged when he caught sight of Sirius.
"Snowin' and blowin' up bushels of fun; now the jingle hop has begun," Hope sang, letting go of Remus and dancing over to Sirius. She grabbed the presents, pushing them into Remus' arms.
She took Sirius' hands and drew him into the kitchen as the song continued. Sirius glanced at Remus who looked apologetic.
Sirius grinned. "Dancin' and prancin' in jingle bell square, in the frosty air," he sang.
Hope was clearly delighted to have a willing partner to sing and dance with, and Sirius was so caught up, he didn't notice Remus' father come into the room and stand next to Remus.
When the song ended, Hope beamed at him. "Well, I had better get back to cooking. Remus will show you around and get you a drink."
Remus smiled widely at him, and Sirius couldn't help but smile back before turning his attention to Remus' father, whom he remembered.
"Sirius Black," Lyall said, sizing him up as he held out his hand. "I was surprised to find you back in contact with my son."
"Mr. Lupin. We should have stayed in contact; it was all a misunderstanding," Sirius assured him, taking his hand and shaking it. "I fully intend to stay in contact this time."
"I expect you will," Lyall replied, his eyes flicking between them, though the tone of his voice held a warning. Sirius merely nodded his head, allowing Remus to take his hand and lead him from the kitchen.
"My parents are curious. I've never invited anyone here for Christmas before," Remus said as they walked up the stairs. "This is the bathroom—" he gestured to a closed door "—and this is my room."
Sirius walked into the small room, the walls decorated in a pale green with bits of yellow and lined with overstuffed bookcases. There were wizarding pictures on the wall, moving and waving, and Sirius moved closer. "This is of us?"
"Yeah. I found it after… well, it's been up for a couple of days. Though I'm still not sure who turned me over if it wasn't you three."
Sirius stared at the picture. He knew for sure it wasn't James, but Peter had been terrified at the news. It was all James could do to talk Peter into sleeping in the same dorm as Remus. Back then he'd never have considered it to be Peter, but now… well, Peter wasn't spending time with the nicest wizards and witches. Clearly they hadn't known Peter as well as they thought.
He turned his attention back to Remus, reaching for his hand and entwining their fingers.
"You won't believe how much I've been looking forward to spending Christmas with you," Sirius murmured.
"I bet you had loads of offers."
"Nothing better than yours," Sirius insisted. "I was supposed to go home already but changed my ticket because I'm not ready to leave just yet. I believe there could be something good here between us and want to work that out first."
Remus smiled wider. "I think there's something here," he agreed. "I must confess, the only romance I know is from my mum's movies. You'll have to take the lead here."
"I can do that," Sirius murmured as he tilted his head, his lips quickly finding Remus'. His hands gripped Remus' hips, pulling him close.
Sirius had watched James and Lily fall in love and had envied the pair of them.
But here with Remus, it felt like he had everything he ever wanted. How could he leave?
...oOo...
James,
I know you've been waiting to hear from me, and I'm sorry it's taken me so long to reply. I've had so much on my mind trying to work out what to do. I've had to make a difficult choice.
The first day here, I bumped into an old friend, though I didn't realise who he was at first. When I did, we spent a lot of time catching up. I couldn't say no when he invited me to spend Christmas with him.
You always told me that you would do anything for Lily because of how you feel about her, and I finally understand. I can't begin to describe how wonderful this man is, only that I'd do anything to make him happy.
I'd do anything to be with him.
I'm sure by now you understand what I'm trying to say. I'll still be a part of the Order and go on missions and hang out, but my room would make a good nursery. Today I signed a new tenancy for a place close to his home and his work.
I don't care that Wales has more sheep than people or that it's too quiet. All I care about is that Remus is here and therefore it's where I belong.
We'll be coming back on Friday to pack up my things (so Remus will have time to recover from the full moon) and so you can catch up. We won't be returning to Wales until Monday morning. I've already sent an owl to the Ministry requesting a Floo connection in my new place, so we can still see each other often.
I've included a photo (Remus' mum took it for us) so you can see just how happy he makes me. I want this picture back though. Remus looks rather sexy in his Christmas jumper, and I'll need it for the nights he's not staying over if you catch my drift…
Sirius.
Review Please :)
Thanks to the Wanderers and Shannon for helping/betaing. :)
