"Prongs if you don't get me a fucking McDonalds I will start world war three," Sirius said childishly, shaking the seat James was sitting in. He reminded Remus of a child in a grown man's body.
"Is that a promise?" James laughed, hands occupied with flicking through the collection of CD's that Remus kept in his car.
"Moony, how is it that you own the entire discography of Billy Joel but no Britney Spears?" James asked, and Sirius's head snapped towards Remus, smirking and clearly proud his nickname for him had caught on.
"Yes, how is that? Moony." Sirius teased, bumping shoulders with Remus. They had left London a couple of hours ago, and Remus had been resisting the urge to look at Sirius the entire time, opting instead to pretend to read his battered copy of The Secret History.
"Well, there's always the radio.." Remus commented, making eye contact with Sirius and returning a smirk. Sirius paused for a moment and unbuckled himself, moving onto the middle seat and rebuckling himself.
Remus tried to forget how his skin heated up from being so close to Sirius, and tried his best to keep his eyes focused on the page.
"Jesus Christ, stay in your seat." Lily lectured, looking at Sirius sternly from the mirror.
"Wait, am I Jesus?" Sirius retorted, sticking his tongue out.
"I'd say that you're just an arsehole." James quipped, popping The Stranger into the car. Sirius rolled his eyes but looked over Remus's shoulder, face crumpled up as he read a paragraph.
"Why no pictures?" Sirius said, pointing at the words with his finger accusingly.
Remus smiled, "Funnily enough Pads, books are for reading."
"Reading, smeading, now play a game with me," Sirius said cheekily, leaning further into him, his breath hot on Remus's ear, and Remus had to fight off a shiver.
"The game being?" Remus asked, snapping his book shut and putting it away, he was fed up with rereading the same page over and over again.
"I call it How fast can Evans drive to the nearest McDonalds?" Sirius said, and Remus laughed.
"Wait, I have another game," Lily said. Sirius raised his brow in confusion. "What game?" He asked.
"It's called, How long can Sirius shut the fuck up for," Lily said and James laughed, putting a hand on Lily's knee. Sirius's jaw gaped open and he looked at Remus.
"What, when, who?" Sirius whispered, pointing to the hand, getting close so that Remus could hear him over the blasting of 'Movin' Out' by Billy Joel. Remus smiled,
"It's a long story."
"I knew it, I knew she liked him!" Sirius excitedly whispered, so close to Remus that it hurt. The last time he'd been this close to Sirius was when they were in the shop...
"Yeah, I knew it as well. I mean, Lily only puts men in headlocks if she really likes them." Remus whispered back and Sirius quietly giggled. Remus's stomach filled with excitement once more over hearing that wonderful sound.
"I really missed you Moon-baker, thanks for, ya know - rescuing me…" Sirius said bashfully, grabbing Remus's hand and linking his fingers with his own. Remus smiled in spite of himself and he gripped Sirius's hand, rubbing his thumb over Sirius's.
"Anytime Pads, anytime."
It had been months since Remus had dreamed about the crash, but now, trapped in a deep sleep, he was reliving it yet again.
Fenrir grinned wickedly as he looked over to Remus, usually, this type of smile would've made Remus blush a crimson red, but this time it just made Remus feel more nauseous than he already did. "You don't trust me then? Is that it?" Fenrir said defensively, his anger strengthening more and more with each passing minute. Remus felt that familiar feeling of fear, and he just hoped he could stop Greyback from getting mad too fast.
"Fen, maybe we should just call a cab, we've both had too much to-." Remus began, and Fenrir's grin dropped instantly from his face, a now darkened expression overtaking his features. The couple had just spent the night drinking away in their favourite club, celebrating Remus's graduation that had earned him his degree in English.
"No- No! Of course, I trust you babe-" Remus said frantically.
"Then shut your FUCKING mouth Lupin," Fenrir screamed, making Remus flinch and sink back into his seat, as Fenrir started the engine and reversed out of the space.
Remus kept on looking at Greyback nervously, his pale hands were gripping the steering wheel and his eyes were fixated on the dark road ahead of them, Remus knew that they were going fast, way too fast.
"Fen, why don't we slow down a bit eh? It's not like we're in a rush." Remus said nervously, putting his hand gently on Fenrir's knee. Fenrir's eyes snapped to Remus and he pulled his hand away from his leg, that dangerous look in his eyes making Remus feel more and more nervous with each passing moment."Do you think we should wake him up?" Sirius whispered to Lily, who had parked the car and was about to wake James up so that he could drive. Lily unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to the backseat, looking at the moaning Remus, who was shifting about and groaning nonsensically.
"No, he's- he's had them for a while. Probably because he's back in a car-" Lily stopped herself, looking guiltily, like she had said something she hadn't meant to say. Sirius looked at Remus worriedly, and he wished that he could take away all of his suffering.
"Fenrir, please stop the car," Remus begged, the two were now on the motorway, and Fenrir had well surpassed the speed limit,
"Shut up Lupin," Fenrir growled, his eyes ablaze, sending chills through Remus's body.
The last thing Remus remembered before the two crashed into the truck was Fenrir's eyes, panicked as the blinding white light crashed into the car-"Moony, Moony! Wake up."
Remus shot up, shaking and voice hoarse from screaming. He looked up at Sirius, who was sitting back, cautiously looking at Remus, making sure to give him space.
Remus ran his hands through his sweaty hair and tried to breathe, he was with Sirius, Greyback was gone. Greyback was. Gone.
"Sorry I woke you up, it's just that we're at the Inn," Sirius said pointing out of the car window, and Remus blinked the sleep out of his eyes and stared up at the Inn, the same one the three had stayed in on the way down.
"Wait, we're in Newcastle? Shit, did Lily drive all that way?" Remus panicked, noticing that neither James nor Lily were present in the car.
"No, her and James split the way, they're in the Inn now, getting us rooms," Sirius explained, his cockney accent soft and eyes concerned.
Remus nodded and breathed out slowly, unbuckling himself and avoiding Sirius's eyes, he knew that Sirius deserved the truth. It's clearly not normal for someone to cry their eyes out just because they fell asleep in the back of a car.
"I've not always had these scars ya know," Remus murmured, glad that the car was dark, he didn't want to see Sirius's beautiful face right now, he didn't want Sirius associated with this.
"Remus-" Sirius began but Remus shook his head and smiled softly.
"He was my first proper boyfriend, and I didn't know that it wasn't normal to be terrified of him." Remus looked away and focused his gaze on his lap.
"My parents weren't- They weren't exactly hoping for a gay son. My dad… My dad has never accepted it, and my mum doesn't want to upset him."
"So when I went to uni with Lily and got away, it was so weird to be able to just fancy a lad, that I could have a boyfriend." Remus looked up and saw Sirius nodding knowingly, and Remus knew he understood.
"He was older, much older. Like forty-something and he was-" Remus paused for a moment to breathe out, gathering his senses.
"He was my creative writing professor," Remus admitted, hearing the sharp intake of breath from Sirius, but no judgy look, only one of pure sympathy. This warmed Remus's heart a bit as he continued.
"Anyways, so he fancied me, and he didn't hide it either. All the lads back where I came from had hidden it, always in quiet corners or secret meetings. But Greyback, he was my first date, my first love and I thought he loved me back." Remus said this painfully, blinking away tears.
"Oh Moony, it's not your fault," Sirius said, moving to grab Remus's hand but stopping himself just before he grabbed it, nervously looking at Remus for permission. Remus nodded and took Sirius's hand himself, loving the way he was so much warmer than he was.
"Looking back, we probably should've hidden it more, he had a wife and- Well, it didn't matter in the end I guess," Remus said bitterly, gripping Sirius's hand tighter.
"Lily hated him, and she was very vocal about it, and this obviously pissed me off. I thought I was living this real-life rom-com and was totally deluded, so one day I told Lily to fuck off and she did, and I over-compensated this by spending practically 24/7 with Fenrir." Remus sighed, feeling embarrassed.
"So, when he started drinking a lot and hitting me occasionally I truly didn't think it was bad, I obviously didn't like it but, he told me he loved me and, to be honest, I still loved him," Remus admitted, thinking painfully about the memories when Greyback would come to his flat completely pissed or when he had a particularly nasty fight with his wife.
Remus stole a glance at Sirius, whose fist's were clenched defensively.
"It hadn't been good for a while, and I had to deal with him being at my shitty flat all the time whilst writing my dissertation, and doing all my final projects." Remus sighed, running his fingers through his hair.
"But when I graduated, somehow, he was so happy. It was the first time in months he'd seemed like how he used to be like how he was when we'd first met." Sirius breathed out slowly, his thumb running over Remus's palm comfortingly.
"And we went out, and he drank a lot. So, this time, I drank with him." Remus let his shoulders drop for a second, trying not to clam up.
"And I idiotically got in a car with him. A car that he was driving." Remus finally said, and Sirius put his hand over his mouth in shock.
"And we crashed, I was almost crushed, left with these scars and a lifelong muscle condition. So some mornings, I can't get up. I can't even fucking sit up." Remus said, anger finally pouring in. He dropped Sirius's hand and clenched his fist.
"And guess what happened to him? Nothing. He's completely fine. I could have died." Remus almost shouted, the anger clouding everything, and the look of Fenrir's cocky smirk and eyes burning in his mind.
"So Lily and I thought, fuck it. She was running from her horrible ex-boyfriend Snape, and I was running as far away from Greyback as I could." Remus said, calming down slightly.
"You ran away and opened a book cafe?" Sirius said with a slight smile, his beautiful eyes so different from Greybacks.
"Yes smart-arse, we opened a book-library-cafe in the middle of bum fuck nowhere." Remus smiled, but it quickly disappeared.
"It was only six months before Fenrir found me, tracking me down by word of mouth and crashing into the cafe. It was a very rare busy day, loads of people in. And he obviously saw the crowd and announced 'Are you Christian folk sure you want a gayboy in your town? And obviously, the town has been slightly nervous of me ever since, but thanks to Effie and Monty they're more or less okay with me." Remus blushed and cringed at the memory.
"Fenrir was obviously drunk, and unsurprisingly had driven all the way to Godric Hollow, so I phoned the police on him, and I haven't seen him since." Remus finished, looking at Sirius nervously.
Sirius looked at Remus for a moment, before crashing into him, engulfing him in a much-needed hug. The smell of his overpriced cologne and the feeling of his beloved leather jacket bringing Remus back to earth, hugging the boy in his arms tighter.
"You are probably the bravest person on earth, Moon-baker," Sirius whispered, burrowing his head into Remus's chest. Remus smiled and stroked Sirius's back slowly, letting himself begin to fall for him.
"Oh 'ello!" The jolly face of Alice Fortescue smiled up at Remus, her pixie-ish features reminding him of a small elf.
"Hey, Alice, nice to see you again." Remus smiled at her, ignoring Sirius's confused stare.
"Your pals have just gotten a couple of rooms, so here's your room key," Alice said, looking at Sirius and back to Remus with a slight smirk.
"Brilliant," Remus said as Alice handed him the key.
"Phones still open to you if you need it, no need to draw another dick on your mate's head."
Remus let out a laugh at this and Sirius's eyes widened in shock.
"A dick?" Sirius asked and Alice laughed heartily, her gap-toothed grin widening. Remus looked over his shoulder and shrugged.
"James made the rookie mistake of falling asleep."
Sirius shook his head but had a crooked grin plastered on his face, "I will never understand you Lupin."
Alice looked up from her computer with a slight frown on her face. "Lupin? Are you Remus Lupin?" She asked and Remus nodded.
"Holy crap! You know my fiancé! Frank? Frank, Longbottom?" Alice said with a smile and Remus felt relieved, sometimes people knew him from the story that was printed about the accident, and the court case that had followed it.
"Frank was one of my best mates from high school." Remus nodded, and Alice stood up.
"He speaks about you all the time! We were going to visit your cafe, did you get the wedding invitation?" Alice said, writing something down on a pad of paper.
"Yes! How moronic am I? I didn't even recognize your name, your Alice, the Alice that he met on holiday-"
"On holiday at Butlins when we were sixteen, Yes," Alice said excitedly, hopping over the desk and giving Remus a hug, she was so short that she only reached Remus's chest.
"What a small world eh? How's Frank 'n' Furter?" Remus smiled and Alice pulled away, rolling her eyes.
"Stupid gits working on the rigs, won't be home for a month, but we need the money for the wedding."
"I can't believe that you're Alice, I didn't even think you actually existed until I got that invite." Remus laughed and Alice shook her head, climbing back behind the desk.
"Frank will freak! Anyways I'll let you two go to sleep, we'll come to visit you before the wedding, I need to see this café for myself!" Alice said and Remus smiled warmly.
"I'd love that, see you later Alice," Remus said, walking away, looking at Sirius, who looked oddly pissed off.
Remus looked suspiciously at Sirius, he had been quiet ever since the two had entered the room, silently getting himself ready for bed, and now he had been in the bathroom for over fifteen minutes. So either he was doing the biggest shit ever, or something was wrong.
Remus stood up from the bed he had been sitting on and knocked on the bathroom door.
"Pads, are you okay?" He asked cautiously, wondering if his sob story had put him off.
"M'fine." A muffled Sirius said from inside the bathroom and Remus's stomach dropped.
"Listen, Sirius, If you have a problem with sharing the bed I can sleep on the floor. Or switch with Lily." Remus said painfully. Even though that was the last thing he wanted to do.
To Remus's surprise, the bathroom door opened and Sirius was standing at the door, wearing a tank top and tartan pyjama pants, obviously bought by Effie.
"Was Frank… More than a pal?" Sirius said slowly, shifting uncomfortably, and it finally clicked for Remus as to why Sirius had seemed so annoyed earlier.
"Frank?" Remus said, trying and failing to hide a laugh. Sirius's shoulders dropped and he shied away, embarrassed.
"Was he? You told me that you did some stuff with guys from high school and-"
"Frank's a rugby player who's been in love with Alice since he was 16, Frank once peed on me, so no Pads," Remus said and Sirius put his hands on his face leaning against the door.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be jealous," Sirius said, walking out of the bathroom and Remus chuckled, loving the adorable look dorning Sirius's face.
"Jealous huh? Careful Black, someone might think that you have a crush on me." Remus flirted, grabbing both of Sirius's hands and putting them on his waist. He didn't want to pine anymore. These longing looks and Sirius's stupidly adorable tartan pants were getting to be too much.
"Well Moony," Sirius said, grabbing Remus's waist and moving closer, his aristocratic nose bumping against Remus's crooked one, their breaths mingling. Remus's heart sped up, his thoughts clouded by Sirius's grey eyes, piercing into his own.
"That someone, would be correct."
Remus was about to retort with a witty remark but before he could even think Sirius's lips were on his own and Remus's hand was on his cheek, stroking tenderly as Sirius passionately kissed him. Remus tried to contain a moan as Sirius's tongue met his, deepening the kiss as Remus dipped Sirius onto the bed.
"I charge by the hour." Remus jokes in between kisses, and Sirius pulls his lips from Remus's to kiss his neck, unbuttoning the collar to gain further access.
"Shut the fuck up Lupin. Sirius growls, and Remus pushes his hands into Sirius's hair, causing him to moan and buck his hips upwards. Remus smiled and lifts up his head, staring into Sirius's eyes.
"Do you understand how sexy you are?" Remus said, his eyes dark, a grin lingering on his face. Sirius blushed slightly.
"You do, don't you? In your stupid tight jeans and motorbike, you knew all along I couldn't resist you." Remus said, kissing his way back up to Sirius's face.
"No, I was too busy trying to resist you," Sirius said, pulling Remus's face in for one last searing kiss. Sirius pulled away, looking at Remus's freckled face and tracing the faint scars with his thumb, before kissing along the line gently, loving as Remus's eyes fluttered closed, humming slightly.
"Thank you Moony," Sirius said, and Remus's eyes opened, looking down at Sirius questionably.
"Thanks for what?"
"For not shutting up." Sirius smiled, kissing the tip of Remus's nose.