[Pier Pressure]

The rest of the barbeque passed in a blur. Remus surprisingly found himself enjoying the company of the absurd boy with the absurd name. A breath of fresh air he should call it. Sirius didn't hold back much. He jumped from one topic to another like candy, and while usually this would be something that wore Remus' patience thin, it only sharpened the wit on his tongue. Sirius didn't seem to mind this. In fact, he looked to be enjoying it a little too much with the permanently drawn boyish grin.

"I'm Welsh, actually." Remus corrects when Sirius asks him where he's from. "Up in Conwy. I moved to the states when I was thirteen. I'm only visiting here on an annual family vacation."

Sirius tilts his head in a puppy-dog manner in a silent urge for him to continue.

"I'm from New-Jersey if you know where that is. Up north. I go to Princeton."

Sirius's eyes widen slightly. "University?"

"No, the bat dung farm," Remus deadpans. Sirius laughs despite it not being that good of a joke. Regardless, he finds himself staring inconspicuously at the boys bobbing Adam's apple.

"Oh, you're a goody-two-shoes then."

Remus's face scrunched up in the center showing his wave of disgust. "How did you come up with that conclusion?" He asks harsher than intended. He used to be called that in primary school and has hated it ever since. It made him sound stuck up. Just because he knew when to pick his battles didn't make him anything. If it did, it only granted him his freedom because he was sure as hell wouldn't be here today if he hadn't learned that skill early on.

Sirius straightened his band and held his hands in the air. "I didn't mean to offend you! Honest! I'm just saying isn't that one of those really cult-like uni's that only accept the elite? My brother applied there last year and got rejected despite being the top in his class!"

His shoulders slouched, losing their tension the question had caused him. "Dunno. My dramatic backstory probably gained me a few points with the admissions team."

It wasn't a lie. If you looked up the name 'Lupin' you'd come up with hundreds of different search results. You would find his father's anti-gay legislation he'd worked tirelessly to defended up until his untimely death to his mother's overdose. It was the sob story of the century the media couldn't get enough of. Though, he had a couple creative insults to tell them where else they could shove their cameras.

He hadn't even intended to apply in the first place. He would have been plenty content sitting in community college taking classes with a part-time job at the theater. It had been his cousin's push to just 'test the waters' that forced him to apply and ending up with a near full-ride. He almost didn't accept, refusing to take the pity money but his aunt went into tears every time he brought it up.

Sirius is biting his lip and Remus is afraid he might have scared him off. Instead, he stretches out on the chair fully. Content, he gives another smile. "Never went myself. Uni I mean. Just wasn't my forte."

"Wouldn't have guessed." He teases with the same mocking tone.

Sirius faked gasped. He flung a chip off his plate at Remus. "Now what's that supposed to mean?"

"Dunno. Seems like you're the kind who would drop out at sixteen and start their own underground drug operation."

'I'll have you know I graduated third in my class! With honors!" Sirius huffs. "It seems we both aren't what we seem, huh?"

Remus pauses. God he really needed to learn how to shut his mouth, didn't he? "I suppose so."

He wanted to ask why he hadn't chosen to go, but Sirius was switching the conversation before he could wrap his head around it fully. "-hey you said annual family vacation. Does that mean you know you're way around here well?"

"I would say so," he says. He looks down and realizes with a pang that all of his food was long gone.

Remus knew this place like the back of his hand. From where the swans on the lake liked to hang out to the best pools to break into overnight. What could Remus say? He was a restless night owl. Every nook-and-cranny had a story he could tell.

"Brilliant!" Sirius exclaims, then at Remus's raised eyebrow, hesitates. "Err- I mean, I've never been here before so maybe you could show me around? 'Cause this is my first time in the states and I'm only here for a short time and want to make the best of it, you know?"

Remus stops and stares at the exceptionally hot boy in front of him. For a second, he swears he swears he's being asked on a date. Except, with all common sense, it shouldn't be possible. There was no fucking way that Remus could be so lucky to have this god-like creature interested in him, let alone swing his way. That's just not how things happened for him. He automatically thinks it must be a joke, but one look on the other's face told no malice. He was genuine.

But, there was also the possibility he was reading way too much into it (just like he always did). And that Sirius might just want to hang out with a bloke. Sirius seemed like that kind of guy - too friendly and extroverted for his own will. He probably had no idea of the implication of his words.

"How much are you willing to pay me?" Remus tries to snap back but immediately cringes internally. God that made him sound like a prostitute.

Sirius' finger taps against his chin in consideration. "Free ice cream?"

"Fair enough," Remus smiles. Meanwhile, his head is a continuous monologue of confused screaming. What the fuck did he think he was doing? Whatever it was, it wasn't going to end nicely for him. He could feel it. "There's a Herhesy's one. It makes the best caramel drizzle."

"Much more of a fruity person myself."

Remus gives him a hard stare. Sirius does it right back, eyebrow raised. Right. There was no misinterpreting that.

Sirius slides the sunglasses off the top of his head and over his head, allowing the long strands of silky black hair to fall loose. His attention has turned to watch the people splashing inside the swimming pool but Remus doesn't miss the faint smile that comes with it.

The party slowly starts to wound down around them to Remus' favor. He's been twitching for a fag for hours now and hadn't found the time. He doesn't want this conversation to end though. It had been a while since someone had taken interest in just him, and while he wouldn't admit it, he was enjoying it.

Tentatively, he shakes the box of Marlboro's still making sure his aunt won't see it. Sirius eyes it with curiosity.

"Want one?" He asks. He's already standing up, not waiting for his answer so Sirius pops up quickly beside him.

"Sure."

Remus finds Maddy sitting with a boy at the edge of the pool before they go. Someone would freak if they didn't know where he was. She merrily winks at him before making an obscure comment that makes Remus shove her face-down back into the water and soaking the boy to her left. He doesn't need to see her to know she's flipping him off as walks back to the brunet.

"Who's that?" Sirius asks as they slip past the pool's gates into the disgustingly perfectly green cut grass that itches his foot.

"My cousin. She's a dick, really."

"Oh," is all that he says. For a second he thinks he was right and that the boy really was a straight tosser, but then he opens his mouth again and surprises him. "She looks a lot like my cousin. Seven now I think. Lights up the room."

"Yeah?"

"I haven't seen her in ages, though."

Sensing that the subject was teetering towards subjects that neither of them wanted to sway into, he points out one of the villas next to them.

"See this? No cameras and full roof access. The best place to watch the Disney firework at night." Remus leaves out the part that the only reason he knew that in the first place was because he was running from the security after vandalizing some douchebags BMW with window markers at thirteen and was too afraid to come down.

Sirius lights up. "Really? They do fireworks?"

"Every night if you catch them on time. Nine-thirty, I think."

They find a small alcove after that. It's tucked in between some more perfectly cut bushes and the backside of a building with no windows facing their direction. Sirius doesn't seem to mind that he's been taken to a completely isolated location with somebody he'd just met. Again, he supposes that he doesn't make out to be a very imposing kidnapper.

"So," Sirius asks when they're sitting on the ground and backs to the wall. "Have you been?"

Remus had almost forgotten what they had been talking about. "Disney? Nah. Too many kids."

"I've always wanted to. "

Remus couldn't help himself. He laughs with his head thrown back.

"What?" Sirius asks but he's also smiling.

"I was right. You really are just an overgrown kid."

"You barely know me!" He says, repeating Remus words from earlier. Sirius doesn't seem to be fighting against the claim, though.

Remus holds the filter between his lips as he lights it. "I have a good judge of character." A small puff of smoke trails out after the words and he blows it away from his face. Sirius watches him with what he could only write off as fascination.

He lets Sirius take one although he knows he shouldn't. It's obvious he'd never done it before. Remus might have been a little bit of a sadist watching him try to fumble through it.

Sirius takes a couple tries to light it right. He tries to hold back his cough at first but ultimately gives up and releases a cloud of grey.

Maybe he was a bit of a dick. "You good?

"No- no, I'm fine." He says through a coughing fit and fanning the smoke around him. "It's good."

Remus smiles then looks away and off into the distance where the small pond shimmered in the heat. "Alright, then." Then, feeling bad he adds, "don't take it in all at once. Lightly. You'll become sick like that."

Sirius rubs his watery eyes which he tries to pass off a bug in his face. "I think I already am."

Remus laughs again. He spends a few minutes teaching him how to properly. Later he would laugh at the picture of his scrawny, disabled person trying to teach this 70's punk rip-off how to blow smoke rings. It was about as cliche as you could get.

A comfortable silence falls over them as Sirius tries to fall into the steady rhythm of it. Remus had finished his own ages and was now stretching his legs out in front of him. Sirius tries to keep his staring to himself but was failing terribly.

"Go on, ask about it. You aren't the first."

Sirius bites his lip. Remus realizes it must be a habit. "I don't know. That seems kind of rude, doesn't it?"

"And I said you could ask," Remus says having to withhold his urge to roll his eyes. Another one of pet-peeves.

Sirius sits up a little bit straighter. "Well…. I've never actually met someone with one before, you know."

He doesn't know actually, but he lets him continue.

"Does the bone stick out?"

Remus had his lips already parted to say some generic answer to a generic question he'd been asked a thousand times, yet this time he has to stop and pause. "I- what?"

"I mean I watched this movie once and he got his leg cut open and they had to amputate it with like the cool bionic one. It showed the surgery and everything. Really gory. My mate had nightmares for weeks."

If Remus hadn't been so confused he would have laughed. That had to be the most obscure question he'd ever got. "Well - no. I don't actually remember the surgery. I was kinda knocked out of gas."

"Wicked," Sirius gives a rugged smile. "Does it come off?"

"Why - planning on kidnapping me? Because I can assure I'll make a terrible prisoner. Every single one of my report cards says 'does not work well with others".

"I'm sure you'll make a dazzling one," Sirius says with a wink. "But it seems just a bit of a lag. Can you swim?"

"I gotta take it off but I can manage. Not exactly an Olympian."

It was a touchy subject. He still had some of the medals he'd won in primary school on the children's regionals swimming teams before the accident happened. He'd moved on since then but obviously, it still held a small twinge of pain.

"How about sex? How does that work?"

Remus sputters. Jesus Christ, the boy surely wasn't a prude. "You realize you're asking me about my sex life. A stranger. I'm pretty sure this counts as harassment."

"You said I could ask. This is on you."

"You know, most people keep to the same questions of 'How did it happen?' or 'Does it hurt?'"

"I am a curious man."

"You're a pervert. You probably have some weird amputee fetish thing."

"Oh shove off."

The conversation had taken a weird turn that Remus was feeling as if he'd locked himself into the corner. It was to his best of luck when the loud guitar intro of 'Howling for You' by The Black Keys breaks through the odd atmosphere. Sirius quickly slips the phone out of his back pocket and curses whatever name shows up as the caller ID.

"Hold on," He says sheepishly as he answers it. Remus overhears music and unintelligible mumbles from the other side of the line.

"Yeah- yeah. Yes. You're worse than Mrs. Potter, you know that?" There's a pause where the other person must be talking, then Sirius turns to give Remus a once-over that makes his stomach tighten nervously. "Yeah, no. I'm good. Stop worrying. Seriously- don't even start. See you later."

The call ends with a 'click'.

"Heading back? He asks before Sirius can beat him to the punch. He just sighs dramatically and kicks loosely at one of his loose laces on his Doc Martens. It reminds him of his younger cousins.

"Ya, just my mate again. Really pushover with safety." Sirius pretends to barf but Remus can hear the traces of appreciation miles away. Faintly, we wished he had a friend who was the same.

"I wouldn't have any clue." He jokes and Sirius laughs.

"You're an alright bloke, Remu."

"Remus."

Sirius pushes himself off the wall using his half-bent leg. Remus tries not to stare at how his sunglasses start to slip off his nose from the action. "We'll see about that."

They quickly exchange numbers at Sirius's insistence. He'd almost forgotten about showing him around. A hot guy being interested in you did that.

It almost saddens him to see him go. And - okay he would admit it - that magnificent arse too.

Remus takes out another cigarette. Alright bloke indeed.

? ﾟﾌﾣ?

7:42 PM Rat Boy: Please tell me you have the chemistry homework.

8:04 PM Remus: No dice.

8:05 PM Rat Boy: You're cruel.

8:06 PM Remus: I was gonna bug Marlene for it.

8:09 PM Rat Boy: I already asked. She called me rat boy

8:09 PM Rat Boy: :(

8: 10 PM Remus: ha

8: 14 PM Rat Boy: i hate you

8:14 PM Remus: me too

Remus looked up from his phone to see the twins, Noah and Ben, bickering about something out of the balcony with the glass door wide open and letting out all the cool air. Beside him lay Madaline in an oversized Diamond Dogs t-shirt (which he was certain she'd found in his room after he moved out) and pajama bottoms. She lazily stuffed ice cream in her face from their shared container sitting between them as they watched The Great American Baking Show.

He knew he really ought to be catching up on his schoolwork but he generally couldn't let himself bother with it. The thought of reading fifty pages on the formation of ATP synthase made him want to bang his head against a brick wall. The peaceful bliss of pretending he had nothing to do was much more preferable.

He was about to suggest they should go down to the pool that should be emptying by now when a small ping caught his attention. Thinking it must be Peter tormenting him so much, he swipes it open once again but instead comes up with an unknown number. He immediately knows who it's from.

8:20 PM Unknown: who knew welsh boys had so much balls.

8:20 PM Unknown: [picture]

Remus chuckled to himself, remembering the absurd nickname he'd put inside the other's phone. It all caps, it said hipster with a big dick ;) It was childish, he knew it. He couldn't help himself with it. As they said, 'go big or go home.

8:25 PM Remus: is that supposed to be a pick-up line? It's lacking, really.

8:26 PM Hoy Boy: wait hold on

8:26 PM Hoy Boy: I can do better

8:26 PM Hoy Boy: On a scale of 1 to America, how free are you tonight?

Was Remus really prepared to start a summer fling? He thought of the boys peeking collarbones and boyish grin. Yes. Yes, he was.

He could hear the lecturing from her from his aunt coming in already. (He didn't even know she was gay yet but he could feel it in his bones). On the other hand, he said fuck it. He wasn't a child and he could take care of himself.

But then with jarring realization, he remembered he was in charge of the little ones. He was sure Maddy could handle them herself, but it wouldn't be fair to leave her all alone on their family vacation when he already saw so little of her. Then there was the matter of having no idea when the 'adults' (obviously they didn't consider 20 old enough) would be returning. They were at Medieval Times - some themed dinner show they went to every year - and if they came back to see him gone there would be hell to pay. Family came first.

8:28 PM Remus: North Korea

8:29 PM Hoy Boy: my ego is devastated :(

8:29 PM Remus: I've got homework :/ How about tomorrow night?

8:35 PM Hoy Boy: nerd.

8:35 PM Hoy Boy: deal.

? ﾟﾌﾣ?

As it turned out, he didn't have to wait until then.

Remus had woken up at six am because some third cousin of his had shown up and his grandpa had fussed at him to help them up, completely forgetting he'd only been able to fall asleep at three. So now he was running on less than three hours of sleep and an itching feeling to snap at the next sorry person who spoke to him as he walked to the small store for an energy drink. Just another thing his health-crazy aunt would freak about. He wondered if she really understood what just so happened in college after hours. It might just give her a heart attack.

He stood in the back of the line filled with other grouchy guests ready to retreat back into the comforts of the rooms when, once again, a debate upfront of the line caught his attention. He was almost tempted to ignore it completely and go back to glaring at his frayed pajama pants but the voice was familiar.

"-Oh come on, it's not like I haven't any before." Said the boy in front of the counter that laid a 12-pack of beer and separated him from the cashier. Remus couldn't see his face but knew it was Sirius immediately. It was hard to forget that cheeky accent meddled with aristocracy and silky, black hair even if had only been a few short hours

"I don't care, kid. Read the sign: 21 years or older. No valid ID, no booze. Now beat it. You're holding up the line."

"It's allowed where I live so-"

"The law is the law."

Sirius turned around with a resigned huff. He gathered the box in his arms to place it back in the fridge in the back of the store and turned around. Remus considered saying something but dismissed it quickly. Looking down at his paint-stained jumper and pajama bottoms he hadn't cared enough to switch out before his drink, he suddenly felt self-conscious. (Not something that happened very often, mind you.) He very much wanted to disappear before he could be spotted. Unfortunately, his famously bad luck had other plans.

"Remus?"

He winced. Of course.

Maybe I should pretend I have a twin. That's what Marlene does. But it was too late - he'd already responded with a small wave. He reluctantly opens his mouth. "Hey."

"Shit, I almost didn't see you." Sirius sets down the pack of beer in the corner and, to his terror, comes up next to him. He didn't have a hair out of place. Remus suppressed a snort. Of course, he would be a morning person. Looking as if he'd come straight out of a magazine wasn't enough. "You don't happen to know where I could get some of this?" He asks, gesturing to the alcohol. He didn't bother to lower his voice despite blatantly asking him something illegal. The cashier hadn't even blinked, too busy with the next customer. Daily occurrence he supposed.

Remus tried to act casual despite his insecurity. "At six-thirty in the morning?"

Sirius scratches the back of his head with a shy smile. It's aggressively endearing. "Well, I exactly know it was so early…"

"You stayed up all night?" Remus asks ludicrously.

Sirius playfully shrugs. Remus finds it hard to believe at first but on closer look, he realizes Sirius is wearing make-up. It's light yet enough to cover what-ever exhaustion he must have. That he should have. He still doesn't seem to show it, though. How can someone be so filled with energy all the time? "Lost track of time is all…"

Remus stuffs his hands in his pockets and whistles. "I'd be biting off someone's head by now."

"Come's naturally to me I guess."

The line moves forward and Remus finds himself in front of the cashier. He pushes forward four cans of Redbull and a pack of M&Ms as he swipes his card.

"Hi again," Sirius says to the man. He merrily gives a grunt in return and hands Remus his bagged items back.

"Rude," Sirius mutters under his breath when they're heading out the door together. The dewy, humid air hits him on full blast.

"You did just try to buy illegal underage alcohol and then argue about it."

That was rather hypocritical of him. He paid his roommate to get him his cigarettes. Still, that was better than the blatant stealing he used to do in his adolescence. He was lucky he was never caught.

"Oi, don't look at me like that! How was I supposed to know you maniacs have to wait until twenty-one?

"Not all of us are teenage alcoholics."

Sirius' smile falters for a fraction of a second before it's back up again. Guilt immediately eats at him. He really really needed to learn to think before he spoke if his past experiences were anything to learn by. He should know better than anyone that some things were off-topic to joke about.

"Maybe I was providing my elderly grandmother on her deathbed one last whoo-rah before she kicked the bucket. You wouldn't deny a dying old lady, would you?"

Remus snorts. "If she's anything like mine I'd say go ahead."

He'd only met his father's mother once and that was right after the incident. She'd cried and yelled, blaming everything on his mother when it was in fact her own son who'd been targeted. On bad days, he swore he could still hear the screaming accusations and fights ringing through his ears.

"Probably right. She's a mean old bugger. She'd probably be happier in hell, to be honest. Like calls to like and all that."

Remus laughs. He hadn't even noticed his cranky mood had started to drift away without ever cracking open a can.