Apparently my tonsils are somewhat swollen. Here's an idea- let's get them removed, then they obviously CAN'T be swollen because they're not THERE! Sounds good to me!
Now, you didn't need to hear that...
Disclaimer: again, as I said in first chappie, not mine.
Chapter Two: Living with WHOM?!
"Delayed until when?" Lily Evans (James hadn't quite proposed to her yet) stood in the kitchen brandishing a spatula at Sirius and Remus.
"August," Sirius said simply, crossing his arms and leaning against the counter. "Only two months."
"I can't survive with you two for two months!" Lily proclaimed. "James, do something, he won't listen to me!"
James was taking it rather well, trying to hide his grin. "It isn't that long, Lily, they can stay-"
"Er, we don't want to be a burden," Remus cut in quickly, noting how infuriated Lily was likely to become. "I'm sure we can find somewhere to stay temporarily."
"Don't be silly," James waved Remus's kindness aside. "It would be a waste of money!"
"Sirius has money to spare," Lily spat, setting down the spatula in a huff. "I can barely stand you living like a pig, but Sirius on top of it is disgusting."
Both Sirius and James glowered at Remus for the small laugh he attempted to suppress. "Don't worry, Lily, we'll find someone. Yes, we will," he frowned at Sirius's pout. "That won't get you everything, Siri."
"But I can still try…"
Remus sighed and had opened his mouth to speak again when the phone rang. James went to answer it, but Lily intercepted him and grabbed it before James could make a fool out of himself (James was just about as familiar with muggle technology as Sirius was). James looked slightly disgruntled; he jumped up and sat on the counter while Lily wasn't looking.
"Hello? Oh, yes, he is, just one moment please." She turned to Remus and handed him the phone, which he hurriedly took out of the kitchen as Lily spotted James on her clean counter. Hearing them bicker in the background, he lifted the receiver to his mouth.
"This is Remus Lupin."
"This is Ted Wincheston from the building company. We spoke a few weeks ago on the phone."
"Oh, yes, Mr. Wincheston! Nice to hear from you. Actually, I was going to call, I wanted to ask about-"
"The delay, I'm sure."
"Oh…yes…"
Mr. Wincheston cleared his throat. "I'm terribly sorry about that, we had a problem with a small strike. The company feels completely responsible for not being ready on time, and we want to offer you some alternatives."
Remus peered into the kitchen where James was currently hiding behind Sirius, who was laughing, and Lily had picked up her spatula again and was threatening them both. Ah, timing, he thought to himself. "Yes, I'm listening."
"Well, there's always the option of renting a flat for the time being, but I can't see you wanting to spend any extra money."
Thinking back to Sirius's sometimes annoying selfishness, Remus nodded to himself. "That would be…correct…"
"In that case, we happen to have a house for sale about fifteen minutes away from the construction site. I've discussed things with the manager, and he agreed you and your partner could live there while you're waiting."
Remus brightened- things were looking up. "That- that's wonderful!"
"There is," Mr. Wincheston cut in, "one catch."
It couldn't be anything too bad. "What is it?"
"There's another man that had a contract on a house to be built in the court as well. We feel it is our responsibility to provide a residence for him as well. I already spoke with him about the prospect of being joined by two other men, and he agreed. The house isn't overly spacious, but I daresay two months isn't long enough to become mortal enemies."
"It sounds like a pretty good plan to me," Remus felt as though this was his lucky day. Two months wasn't that long; if all else failed, they could just avoid the other person. "I'll go ask Siriu-"
"I accept."
It took Remus a moment to comprehend the fact that it was Sirius's voice coming from the phone, not Mr. Wincheston's. He peered into the kitchen and saw Sirius holding the other phone, grinning at him and giving a thumbs up.
"Well, that's settled, then." Mr. Wincheston sounded relieved. "Come by the office in five hours with as much stuff as you can pack up in that time, and you can meet your new…roommate."
"Sounds good!" Sirius seemed fairly cheerful; a distinctive click was heard as he put down the phone.
"Er…we'll be there, thank you."
"See you soon." Mr. Wincheston hang up as well, and Remus was left standing there somewhat perplexed. When did Sirius…?
Speaking of Sirius, the dark-haired teen came up to Remus and put an arm around his shoulder. "New roommate! Sounds exciting, I wonder who it is."
"…Right…" Remus sighed and brought the phone back to the kitchen. "I suppose it's time we go pack, then?"
Both James and Lily nodded. Remus stared at them for a second, wondering how they could know, when James sheepishly held up yet another phone. "We were listening in."
"Oh." The amount of privacy in the house was stunning, and it made Remus very glad him and Sirius had never tried phone sex like Sirius suggested. Remus had turned him down not because he didn't want to, but mainly because he wasn't quite sure Sirius had mastered the art of using a telephone yet, and having him yell everything out in the open didn't seem like a good idea.
Sirius still had an arm around him. "Let us go, then!"
"We'll help," said Lily quickly, obviously intent on getting them out as soon as possible. James agreed, but Remus was fairly sure it was out of friendship and not out of…whatever drove Lily to her current state.
And they spend the next four-and-a-half hours packing.
By the time they were done, all four of them were pretty much exhausted. The room Sirius and Remus shared had at first been turned into a giant city of boxes, and now it was almost entirely empty. As much as they could fit into the car (without magic, of course) had been fit in somehow. They would have to make a few trips, but James said they could leave whatever they didn't need at the moment back at the house for storage. Lily had somewhat reluctantly agreed.
Remus decided it would be a better idea for him to drive this time instead of Sirius, an idea to which Sirius didn't complain one bit. He sat in the passenger's seat next to Remus, staring out the window at the trees and houses passing by. His silence was comforting yet unnerving at the same time; Sirius and quiet were two words one didn't normally find in a sentence. Remus opened his mouth to speak a few times, but he always thought better of it and closed it before even stammering a syllable. Eventually, as they neared the construction company's building, it was Sirius who broke the silence.
"Kinda exciting, don't you think? On our way to getting a new house…"
So he was just thinking. A rare occurrence, but acceptable. "Mmm-hmm…"
"Something of our very own…"
"Yup…"
"Just us, alone. Together."
Remus paused as he parked the car. Staring at Sirius, he saw a warmth in the man's eyes he hadn't seen in a long time. He opened his mouth, unable to think of anything to say, but Sirius cut him off by clearing his throat and staring at the building. "Well, we should probably go up. Time to meet our…ah, new roommate."
Gulping, Remus nodded and stepped outside of the car into the heat. Somehow it had intensified within the past thirty seconds, making him feel rather uncomfortable. He began walking towards the entryway when he felt Sirius grip his wrist tightly.
He looked over to see what Sirius could possibly want, but he had no sooner turned his head than Sirius pulled him forward and kissed him. It was a very brief kiss, but one of the first they had ever shared in public. Sirius pulled back after a few seconds and, smirking, walked inside.
Remus followed him, praying the blush he felt growing on his face wasn't too noticeable.
They followed an assistant up to Mr. Wincheston's office on the second story. Mr. Wincheston was already waiting for them, sitting at his desk and looking very professional. He invited them in, asked them to take a seat, and proceeded with some business matters Sirius found extremely dull.
Sirius busied himself by looking around the small office and counting the dots on the ceiling. He also thought of what the newcomer would be like- hopefully someone they'd be able to get along with easily. He was sort of sad it wasn't a girl that he could flirt with and therefore annoy Remus half to death, but Remus apparently became annoyed with him on a regular basis without a girl around.
254…255…256…he had just hit 258 when he felt Remus poke him hard in the ribs. Rubbing the area, he scowled at Remus slightly. "What?"
"Our roommate is about to be introduced to us."
That got Sirius's full attention. He turned to face Mr. Wincheston, who, when satisfied both men were listening, called out for whoever it was to come in. The door to the office opened and in walked the stranger- but it wasn't really a stranger. Both Sirius and Remus stared at him with wide eyes; he didn't look too surprised. Perhaps Mr. Wincheston had already informed him of the two nutters he was going to be staying with.
"…You've got to be kidding me." Sirius found himself wishing he had continued counting the dots instead.
"Well…this is…quite a surprise…" Remus seemed to be taking it fairly well, as usual. Sirius still stared at the man with a slight gleam in his eye, although it wasn't clear whether it was a maniacal gleam or simply because he was in shock. He sighed, running a hand through his hair and looking up at the doorway again.
"Hello, Snivellus."
Um...here it is...this is what happens when you get bored and ticked at one of your male friends for being all homophobic and saying how liking Remus/Sirius as a couple is "just wrong, and it just ruins the whole story." Direct quote from a nice argument that's still sitting on my tag-board. Oh well. R&R!