Title: Least Expected
Authors: DemonessOfPunishment and The Demonic Duo
Rating: R
Disclaimer: We do not own Harry Potter.
Summary: Sirius leaves home for an all boys school, returning later to reunite with past friends and notices an unexpected change with one Remus Lupin. It seems that the librarian's tired of being "proper" and "prudish." AU, SLASH. SBRL.
Sirius leaned against his bed, finally finished with unpacking major items of his bedroom. This was all he needed, everything else could be unloaded with time. The next room was his art room. The whole purpose of moving was to meet up with his friends, but his job still remained. He was in the position of having to make a new animation show, for children or adults. He chose adults. Why not?
He adjusted the boxes for his own convenience, the two largest being in the hallway along with three or four small and moderately sized ones. He pieced together his art table, centering it by the window and pulling the chair over, checking the height. Nodding to himself, Sirius swirled around and picked up a random box, finding paper and pens. He placed that aside, opening another one, finding other objects, mostly tools. Triangles, t-squares, French curves... etc.
"I am never, ever moving again. Ever." He griped to himself, pulling his small plastic organizers closer, stacking their boxed drawers on top of one another, four on each side of the desk. He placed away the paper, pens and tools, leaving the t-square on the desk. He'd hang it up later.
This went on for almost two hours, without a break, and by the time Sirius was finished, he sagged in his chair and stared at the room.
"Finally...." He sighed, grabbing paper from his drawers and doodling briefly on them, pushing the page aside and taking a fresh sheet. He sketched James in a cartoonish way, still staying realistic. It was more based on anime than western works, but seemed appropriate with what he created.
He finished James, grinning lazily at the image of his friend on paper. Sirius sharpened his pencil, starting on Lily and eventually on Remus and himself. Once a picture of the three of them was done, he moved onto a new piece pf paper. He started off drawing himself, James, and Lily. Slowly, background was sketched in, then darkened over with each pass of the pencil.
One picture turned to two, then two to four, four two ten. Eventually, instead of drawing his friends, Sirius was making a storyline to the new show he was to put out. He couldn't think of anything better then the relationship between him and his friends. There was comedy, drama, action, and a little romance on the side. It had the makings for the prefect story, Sirius thought. He just wasn't sure how it would finished, there were a lot of open endings to chose from.
He set aside the freshly drawn pictures, grabbing another scrap of paper and sketching two people. He was more focused on the lines than on the actual look of the entire piece. Soft scratching noises on the paper were the only thing that produced life to his otherwise quiet home. He finished the face of one of the characters, added clothes, wrinkles and creases. Soon after was he finished, and he stared at the completed picture. It was Remus, and surprisingly, himself. They were pressed together at the hip, intimately. His character's arm around Remus's waist while Remus's sketch had his head rested on his shoulder, his hand on his chest lightly.
"Oh." He muttered, scratching his neck with a bemused expression. He already knew he fancied Remus, there was no doubt about it, but to put it into story form... that, he never considered. Until now, that is. I wonder if Remus would mind? He pondered quietly.
A soft knock sounded on his door, and he stood carefully to walk downstairs. He opened it slowly, peeking out before smiling warmly at the sight of his neighbor. "Michelle, hello. Can I help you?"
Michelle grinned. "I was wondering if you had sugar and milk. My car had to be taken to the shop today, and Dee's at work, so I can't get any."
Sirius laughed quietly, silently thinking: Thank the lord her girlfriend isn't here, I'm still convinced she'll castrate me.
"Sorry, I don't think I have any." He paused. "Would you like me to drive you to the store? It's not like it's very far."
Michelle thought silently over the offer, thoughtful expression present across her features. "Well... I don't know, I mean, I don't want to be a burden," she stated.
Sirius shook his head. "It's no problem, I wasn't doing anything important anyway," he said, his mind drifting back to the picture he drew of Remus and himself.
Again, Michelle grinned. "Well, if you're sure! I'll go get some money, be back in five!" she declared, then ran off towards her house.
Laughing softly, Sirius shut the door, and went to turn off all the lights in the house. In his room, he grabbed his car keys and a thin windbreaker. By the time he stepped outdoors, Michelle came bouncing over with a pair of sneakers on, instead of the slippers from before. She had a blue denim jacket over her baggy orange sweater, wearing faded green sweatpants. Tacky, he liked the outfit. Sirius chuckled and locked up, leading her to his car.
"Oh, wow!" She ducked down and looked around the car before opening the door when Sirius unlocked it. "Compared to my tin box on wheels, this is awesome!"
Sirius beamed at her and started the car. "It was a gift, nifty, huh?"
He put the car in reverse and eased into the street, shifting the gears and driving down to the end of his block. Sirius turned down a road and caught sight of Michelle reaching for the radio. Sirius eyed Michelle, ready to change the station back should he need to. He didn't like when other people would pick the radio station. Last time he let someone pick, he spent half an hour listening to annoying boys bands.
"What is this!?" Sirius asked, staring down at the radio after Michelle changed the station.
Grinning, Michelle started dancing in her seat. "It's Dragostea din Tei, by O-zone!" she stated.
After listening for a few moments, Sirius started bouncing in his seat as well. "This song is catchy."
She giggled, bopping her head back and forth, causing her light brown hair to bounce around her head. "It drives Deidre nuts, at times, and she's the one that showed me the song..."
"Really?" Sirius blinked.
"Uh-huh, I play it too much." She admitted, reaching over to turn it up. Sirius turned it down and she frowned before turning it up again. He turned it down again.
"Please, don't, I get distracted when I have loud music." He said, causing her to murmur a sheepish apology. He pulled into the parking lot, turning the music down more. "Are you just going to run in? Or do you want me to come with you?"
Michelle shrugged. "If you'd like, you can come in. We'll make an adventure out of it!" she stated.
Sirius blinked twice. "What adventure can you have in the super-market?"
Michelle shrugged. "Deidre and I always do something different, because its so boring in there."
"I'm afraid to ask, but what kind of adventure can you make out of getting two small items?" Sirius inquired. He shut off his car, not exactly willing to go into the store. "If it's about your relationship, no offence, but I'd really rather not know. I'm not against it, or anything, it's just I was quite serious when I said I liked men instead."
"Oh, we only do stuff like that at times..." She giggled.
Sirius blinked a few times. "So, what do you do?" he questioned.
Michelle shrugged. "Shopping kart bumper cars, chicken football, just about anything we can get away with." She said, walking towards the entrance with Sirius. "Have you ever done stuff like that?"
Sirius shook his head. "I've never had someone to do that with, but it sounds like fun to me."
"So, you'll participate?" She chirped brightly. They stepped through the doors, heading straight for the sugar first.
"As long as I don't make a mess of myself before we get into the car, then I guess so."
"Great." She said, picking up a plastic broom most stores sell for cheap, screwing off the brushes and handing one of the long handles to Sirius. "En guardé."
Sirius took the pink broom stick, holding it up with both eyebrows raised. Michelle did the same with an orange broom, turning to face Sirius in a fighting pose. "We're going to sword fight with broom handles?" he asked.
Michelle nodded. "It's fun! Last time, Dee and I nearly took out three shelf stockers!" she stated happily.
"What did they do to you?" Sirius asked.
"...they said we couldn't have sword fights with broom handles." Michelle grumbled, swinging first when Sirius laughed. He blocked the swing and pushed it aside, poking her in the stomach with the broom handle.
"Well, then! I guess it's fortunate I'm here, because they haven't said I couldn't do it!" He ran off in one direction, Michelle chasing after him. If they were both straight, than they could be considered flirting, but since the whole 'straight' ordeal was thrown out the window...
"Where are you going, we haven't even got the sugar yet!" She called after him, running carefully with the broomstick. He skidded down another isle and towards the sugar and flour, stopping and turning around. In time to see an orange blur swing past him and smack open a bag of flower. "Whoops."
"Whoops, indeed." He said, brushing the powdery white substance out of his hair and off his shirt. She giggled.
"I guess we'll be getting flour, too. We were running low anyway." She said, slashing the broom sideways, Sirius colliding his pink one with hers and hitting the already once mutilated flour bag, dousing Michelle in white.
Sirius laughed loudly as Michelle brushed the flour from her hair and face, adding more of the white powder into the air. She coughed and smiled weakly, putting the broom down and picking up the broken bag. "Lets... go and put this in a bag, buy it and then continue destroying the store."
Sirius agreed and soon they were in check-out, holding a ceaselessly pouring bag of flour and earning stares. Sirius paid for the flour, while Michelle put it in a bag and smiled. "Lets get the sugar, and then we can go get the milk?"
He nodded, walking with Michelle towards the isle they made a mess in, sheepishly grabbing a bag of sugar and making their way towards the dairy section. Sirius wondered what kind of trouble Michelle could possibly get them into in the dairy section, but he didn't put it past her to think of something. Wouldn't you know, he was right.
"Sirius! Catch!" Michelle called, picking an egg from the carton and throwing it at Sirius.
Blinking, Sirius stuck out his hand to catch it, but realized that he would end up breaking the egg. Thinking quickly, he grabbed a plastic bag and used that to catch the flying egg. "That...would have been so gross if it had broken." He stated. "I thought I told you I didn't want to make a mess of myself, I don't want to literally be walking bread dough, especially if we're getting in my car afterwards."
She blinked. "Right... well, give me back the egg and we can move on."
He walked closer to her and handed her the unharmed egg from the bag and putting it in the carton, putting it back. They both walked towards the milk, and Michelle grabbed a gallon. She sighed. "I guess we should go and buy this stuff, Deidre will be home soon and she'll want to know where I've been."
Sirius blanched. "Deidre's not going to kill me in my sleep, right?" He sulked playfully, silently meaning the question.
Michelle giggled musically. "No, no. You're gay, right, no harm done!"
Sirius shook his head, "Well, if you're sure, because quite honestly....she scares me," he stated.
"Everyone is scared of her at first, but she's actually an awesome person to be around." Michelle nodded.
Sirius shrugged gracefully. "If you say so," he said. "Although, you live with her, so you'd know her better then I would."
Both of them made their way through the isles, and eventually to the checkout, with the same cashier from before. He eyed them wearily, checking out the items. He stated the price and Sirius handed him the money, Michelle protesting some. "You didn't have to pay, I'm the one using them!"
"What are you doing with them?" Sirius smiled, taking the bag and walking out with her.
"I'm baking. Deidre loves sweets, I can give you some of the cookies if you'd like?" She said, prancing beside him amicably.
"That would be great, thanks."
"No, thank you! I have a half made batter in the fridge, so it would have really sucked if I couldn't finish it." Michelle said honestly, getting into the car again. Sirius started the engine.
The drive back to their homes was quick, the music filtering softly through the speakers. Sirius was speeding a little, so they made it back faster then when they left. Sirius pulled into his driveway and stopped the car, shutting it off. Michelle and him got out of the car, and she grabbed the two bags. Glancing over at her house, she smiled.
"Dee's home already!" she stated. "And...Remus is here...! Well, my cookies won't last long," she commented.
Sirius chuckled, raising an eyebrow at her. "If you and Remus are there, you can save me from your lover's wrath, right?"
"...maybe." Michelle laughed. They both exited the car, and Michelle invited Sirius over. She opened the door. "I'm home, and I've got a stray mutt, too."
"Hey, now, who's a mutt?" He blinked. Sirius stepped in after her, closing the door and smiling warmly at Remus and laughing weakly at the sight of Deidre's glare.
Deidre rolled her eyes, turning back around to face Remus. "Take him to the shelter when you're done, you can't keep him," she stated, taking a few papers and looking them over. "I'd double this order," she said, pointing to an item on the list and showing it to Remus.
"Are you sure?" Remus asked, and Deidre nodded.
"Better to be on the safe side, right?" she asked.
"Deidre! Be nice to Sirius!" Michelle called.
Sirius just stood there, blinking innocently. "Shelter? Oh, hey, that reminds me. I have to get a dog to eat Remus's cat."
Remus peeked at him and stuck his tongue out. "Yeah, right."
Sirius hummed happily, being pulled towards the couches by Michelle and taking his seat next to Remus. Remus slipped whatever document he was holding into an envelope and smiled at Sirius. "You're... white."
Sirius blinked. "What?"
Remus reached over, brushing flour off of him. "I take it Michelle and you were in the market?"
Deidre eyed Sirius for a moment then turned to Michelle. "Broom handle sword fight in the baking goods?" It was more of a statement then a question.
Michelle nodded happily. "It was fun!" she stated.
Sirius nodded. "Actually, it was. Although, we kept getting strange looks from the cashiers," he commented.
"I guess that's good, you bought the flour you destroyed, right?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow sharply.
"Yes, Remmy, we did." Sirius sighed, rolling his eyes and winking at him. "I think I saw BECKY in the market, but she didn't see me. Heh."
"Good lord, Sirius, lets hope not. She could have followed you home and you would have yourself a stalker." Remus griped, sighing but smiling at the thought. "That would be funny."
"Yeah? Well, I bet you'd love being pegged with rocks and mud every time you came over." Sirius drawled playfully, painfully aware of the scrutiny of his two neighbors.
"Is this the same Becky from the hardware store?" Deidre asked Remus.
Remus nodded. "Why? You're not going to do anything mean, are you?"
Deidre thought it over for a moment. "No, but I can always talk Michelle into doing something."
Michelle saluted. "You name the task, and I'll see what I can do."
"I'd rather not hear it, so I'll leave while the two of you conspire." Remus stood, still clutching the mysterious, in Sirius' opinion, envelope. "Can I come over your house, Sirius?"
"Sure, but first I have to take a shower." He said, pouting. "It's going to get all sticky and gooey."
"Oh, yuck, I didn't think of that." Michelle whined, fussing with her hair.
Deidre and Remus shared a look, snorting before Remus grabbed his friend's hand and directed him outside. "We'll talk later, okay Dee?" Remus said softly, waving goodbye to them both and closing the door. He followed Sirius quietly, opening the door and going inside.
"I'll be back down in ten minutes," Sirius stated, heading up the stairs. Remus nodded, sitting on the couch. He didn't stay there long, getting bored without Sirius there to talk to. Standing, he headed upstairs, deciding to look around the house and see what his long haired friend had done with it. He headed up the stairs, looking at the pictures hanging on the wall as he went.
The first room he went into was Sirius' studio. The once neon green walls were now a deep midnight blue. They sent James to the hardware store to pick up the color, since Remus didn't want to deal with Becky, and Sirius was too scared to. Remus noted Sirius's degrees on the wall next to his desk.
Walking over to the desk, Remus sat down in the chair and picked up a pile of papers off the varnished wood. Looking through them, Remus took note that they were of himself, Lily, James, and Sirius. He laughed softly, reading the comic Sirius had done of the video store. He went through each picture, taking in the design and detail of each. He neared the end of the stack, and was somewhat disappointed. For some reason, he figured that at least one picture would give him a hint about his friend's sexual orientation. A scene with a previous girlfriend, maybe, who knew?
Remus got down to the last two pictures, and was looking over the one on top. Shaking his head, he laughed at the drawing of them painting the house, before moving it away. "Remus, what are you doing in here?" Sirius asked from the door way. He jumped, startled before blinking innocently at Sirius. His eyes met Sirius's and he grinned.
"Nice comics." He said, his eyes trailing down Sirius's hair to his shoulders and down the surprisingly bare chest. Nice towel, he thought, admiring his friends abdomen and legs and the scanty towel.
"Uh, thanks." Sirius said, not having caught on to the appreciative staring his friend was giving. Instead, he was more worried on whether or not Remus saw THE pictures. The ones of Remus and himself. "Want coffee? I think I found the coffee pot earlier when I was meandering about. Coffee too."
Remus placed the drawings down, distracted. "Aren't you... going to get dressed first?"
Sirius shrugged, turning away and rubbing his towel teasingly back and forth on his bum, flashing the hallway but not his friend. "My house, I can walk around nude if I want to." Sirius peeked over his shoulder, winked and pulled the towel around himself more. "So, coffee?"
Remus nodded, his cheek a light red. "Yes, please," he said, pulling his eyes away from Sirius's nude body.
Sirius nodded. "Alright, head down stairs and I'll be down in a minute." He stated.
Remus nodded, leaving the studio and walking back down the stairs, that image of a nude Sirius on his mind. He went back and sat on the couch, his cheeks still a faint pink.
"Wow, that was..." Remus sighed, mewing pitifully. That tease, he thought, he's so... hot. Duh, his mind screamed, that's why you want to jump his bones. Oh, boy, did he dig himself deep. Not only was Sirius only dressed in a towel, he had no qualms with shaking his ass in the said towel.
"Was what?" Sirius asked, stepping into the room. He had on a pair of silky black pajama pants and a loose, button up shirt that was left undone. His hair was tied back and left over his shoulder.
"Nothing." Remus smiled. He stood up, exhaling slowly rubbing his knuckles against his cheek to feel if they were still warm. They were, he was still flushed. You and that towel... he groaned.
"Remus?" Sirius blinked. "Are you... okay?"
Remus nodded, biting his bottom lip. "Yeah, I'm fine," he stated. "Just...go start the coffee, and I'll be there in a minute."
Sirius eyed his friend for a moment, "Well, alright," he said, heading into the kitchen.
Remus sighed, groaning inwardly. This...is war..., he thought to himself as he stood, plan already formulating in his head. He would begin tomorrow after classes, he knew that he had some sort of clothing that would be considered... sexual. Not sexy, sexual.
He walked into the kitchen, Sirius preparing his own coffee with freshly bought cream and a spoonful of sugar. Remus prepared his with some cream, but that's all. He leaned against the counter, crossing his legs and sipping the coffee, licking the droplet away from the lip of the mug.
Sirius watched Remus drink his coffee, mesmerized. His tongue! Good lord, his tongue. "Is it good...?" Conversation. Anything to make you stop, Remmy, it's too good to just watch, I'd want something more to do with that mouth of yours.
"Mmm, yes it is." Remus hummed in delight.
Sirius nodded, sipping his cup of coffee, averting his eyes. He tried thinking of anything that would keep his mind off Remus. He thought of his family, his mother, father, Regulus, but it didn't work. Then he tried the Malfoy's, but that didn't work. He even tried thinking of what it would be like to have sex with Becky, and that didn't work. Only made him feel a little green. Slowly, he looked back over at Remus, who seemed oblivious to the fact that he was staring.
He licked his lips, wetting them thoughtfully and placing his mug down. He took a step forward, opening his mouth to speak and being interrupted with a soft knock and than a horribly loud and rude one. "C-comming!"
Sirius blinked at Remus who shrugged, and waded through the remaining boxes to the door. He peeked through the eyehole and opened it up. He stared at James, raising both eyebrows and then dragging his attention to the shorter and more petite version of... himself. The only major differences were the heights, builds and eye colors. Everything else between the two of them was pretty much similar. "Regulus...?"
"Sirius." Murmured his younger brother, stepping closer and giving a very delicate hug. Sirius hugged back just as lightly, not able to help it.
"Regulus, how are you? Come in, you too Jamsie, want some coffee?" He babbled, dragging his sibling inside. Regulus stumbled after him, his green eyes wide.
"S-Sirius- wait." He whispered.
"Hm?" Sirius turned to his brother, and stared expectantly. Regulus fidgeted some, finding some encouragement from James.
"Siri," He said again, quieter. "Father died. From... lung cancer."
Sirius felt the air get knocked out of him. "What?"
Regulus bit his lip, looking at the ground shyly. Sirius caught his breath. "When exactly, did he die?"
"This morning...."
"Oh."
Regulus looked at his older sibling. "So, are you attending the funeral service?"
Sirius paused, looking momentarily torn before scowling. "Should I? I barely knew the fucking man... all I remember is his temper and chain smoking and alcoholism."
"Sirius, you should go." Remus offered, having overheard. "It might provide some closure."
"Yeah." Sirius scoffed and sobered. He thought about it, his face slackening with a tired grief that shouldn't have made itself present. "Maybe I should, huh?"
"Yes, maybe you should." Regulus said solemnly.
TBC.