Naked Attraction
Just you and me feeling the heat even when the sun goes down.
"I really appreciate this."
Barty Crouch was slightly embarrassed. He didn't have many friends, and before now, he'd never really considered Remus Lupin to be a friend. Back in Hogwarts, he'd been in the year above him and in a completely different house, and if it wasn't for Barty's frequent visits to the library, he probably would never have spoken to Remus.
No one else had ever noticed Barty hiding his tears in the dark corners of the library, except Remus. There'd been many occasions where Remus had sought Barty out and comforted him, told him not to worry too much about the bullies, and promised to help wherever he could.
He'd never really been able to help at school other than lending a shoulder to cry on. But they weren't at school anymore, and when Remus and Barty bumped into each other once again, he was only too happy to help out an old acquaintance.
"It's not a problem." Remus's reply was breezy as he unlocked the door to his house; a quaint two-storey cottage with a burgundy front door. "There's plenty of room in my parent's old house, a lot more than it seems. Sirius and I share the front bedroom, and his little brother is camping out in the back. There's a spare bedroom on the ground floor that you can stay in for as long as you need."
"Are you sure Sirius won't mind?" Barty remembered Sirius Black from Hogwarts, and while he never had the pleasure of interacting with him, he wasn't sure if he would appreciate Barty's company.
"So long as you don't wake him up." Remus dropped his voice as they crossed the threshold. "It's late, and Sirius is terrible if he doesn't get his full eight hours of beauty sleep." He grinned, but his face softened as he noticed that Barty still appeared nervous. "Look, don't worry about Sirius. You know we're going away tomorrow for two weeks, so I'll have plenty of time to sweeten him up to the idea if he isn't happy about it. But I'm sure he'll be fine—especially if you provide some company to his little brother."
"Regulus, right?" Barty whispered as they ventured into the dark hallway. "I remember him from school—but he was friends with Rodolphus and his gang, so I tended to avoid them."
"Yeah, Regulus has always tried to stay in his parent's good graces, even if that meant hanging around with...unsavoury types." He shrugged and led Barty through the house until they reached a bedroom. "Here's your room." Remus snapped his fingers and a lantern on the bedside table illuminated with warm candlelight.
The little bedroom was cosy, with a small double bed covered in a knitted, multicoloured blanket. The window had heavy yellow curtains and there was a small desk pushed against the wall, with a painting of a quiet seaside. A blue and red sailboat bobbed along the teal brush-strokes.
Remus caught Barty looking at the painting and smiled. "That's where my parents live now, in Wales. That's where Sirius and I are heading off to tomorrow."
"It looks nice," Barty replied wistfully. The entire bedroom was nice. His bedroom at home had always been plain, with a stiff board covering the window ("to prevent any distractions," his father always said) and boring, colourless decor. His mother had unsuccessfully tried to brighten up the place with some of her own decorations, but Crouch Senior never let them stay.
"Like I said, it's yours as long as you need it." Remus stepped out of the room. "I'm going to head off to bed. Sirius and I have to leave pretty early in the morning, so we may be gone before you wake up. I'll get Sirius to leave Regulus a note to let him know that we have another guest." He gave Barty a beaming smile. "I'm glad you're out of his way, Barty."
Remus shut the door behind him, leaving Barty to flop down on the patchwork quilt and stare up at the ceiling. He was completely grateful that he'd bumped into Remus when he had.
They had been crossing paths in the Ministry—Remus visiting some office or another, and Barty trying to get away from his father. He'd just escaped from a lecture that had gone on for about forty or so minutes about how his twelve O grades just weren't good enough; he had managed to get thirteen after all, so how did Barty think it made him look that his son couldn't match or surpass his talents?
He'd had tears in his eyes when Remus caught him in the Atrium.
But none of that mattered, at least not for now. Barty wriggled out of his jeans and shuffled under the blanket, which was so much more comfortable than his bed at home. He could worry about his dad another time.
oOo
The next morning, Barty awoke to the sound of crackly music and the smell of bacon. He rolled out of bed, feeling fresh for having a full night of uninterrupted sleep, and stretched out his limbs, before slipping out of the bedroom and heading into the kitchen.
The sun was streaming through the wispy nets in the window, and the kitchen was alive with music—not just from Celestina Warbeck blaring from the wireless, but from the semi-nude man who stood by the oven, singing along into a spatula.
Barty leaned against the doorframe, idly watching as his old classmate danced from tile to tile, wearing nothing but tight white boxer shorts and a smile. He skipped between blasting out lines of the song to flipping the bacon in the saucepan, then waving his finger at the breadbin, silently commanding two slices of white bread to jump out and butter themselves. Thick dark hair tickled the nape of his neck as he danced, and his backside in those shorts...
Despite the terrible dancing and worse singing, Barty had never seen anyone so good looking in his life. Regulus Black had certainly blossomed from the scrawny teen that he'd been at Hogwarts. All those years of Quidditch had paid off.
It only took one pirouette for Regulus to notice Barty standing by the door, and he released a scream of shock, instantly dropping the spatula and covering his underpants with his hands.
"It's a bit late for that, I've seen everything," Barty said with a smirk.
"What the heck are you doing here?" Regulus yelped, pushing the pan of bacon off the hob. His skin was bright red from his toes to his ears. "Barty Crouch? I haven't seen you since...since…"
"Seventh year," Barty finished. "I'm certainly glad we got to...reunite." His eyes trailed down Regulus's body.
"Stop ogling," Regulus snapped. "What are you doing here?"
Barty wandered over and took a perch at the breakfast bar. "I bumped into Remus yesterday afternoon...he said I could stay here."
Regulus arched a brow. "Any reason in particular?"
"I don't think you're in the predicament to ask questions, given your current state."
"I wasn't expecting anyone to be here," Regulus hissed. "My brother has gone on a romantic getaway. I was expecting an empty house."
"This is what you do when you have an empty house? I wish I was a fly on the wall around here more often."
Regulus rolled his eyes and flicked a finger towards the ceiling. "Accio." There was a sound from upstairs, and suddenly a fluffy blue dressing gown sped towards him. Once he was suitably covered up and seemingly much less embarrassed, he turned to face Barty.
"Look, I'm sorry for embarrassing you," Barty said with a sheepish grin. "Your gang gave me a lot of crap at school, so it kind of feels like Karma."
"I didn't give you any crap," Regulus corrected. "But yeah. I'm sure I would have found this hilarious if it was the other way around."
"Your brother was supposed to give you a note," Barty added.
Regulus rolled his eyes. "Sirius has caught me prancing around in my underpants many times before now," he explained. "He probably thought this was the perfect prank." Regulus picked up the pan and slid the bacon onto the bread, pressing it together into a sandwich, and handed the plate to Barty. "Here. I'll make another one. This is your compensation for having to catch me in such a state."
Barty smirked as he took the plate from Regulus. "I promise you, I didn't mind at all."
Written For:
Meet Cute March Day #4: (scenario) Person A had a rough day and ended up crashing at a friend's house overnight. The next morning, a groggy A gets up and finds his/her way to the kitchen to make about seven hundred cups of coffee. Instead, A finds B, the friend's new roommate, cooking with significantly less clothes than expected. He-llo.
Assignment #5/Demonology Task #1: Write about lusting after someone/something.
Writing Club/Disney Challenge: Songs #5 - Burning Love: Write about someone 'hot'.
Writing Club/Showtime: 9. Sherry – (action) Dancing
Writing Club/Sophie's Shelf: 17. Spencer Hastings, Pretty Little Liars: (character) Straight A Student
Writing Club/Elizabeth's Empire: 7. (character) Remus Lupin
Writing Club/Liza's Loves: 8. Ballerina Dance - Write about someone dancing or watching someone else dance
Writing Club/Lizzy's Loft: 10. (relationship) Siblings
Winter Seasonal/Days of the Year: January 3rd - Humiliation Day: Write about being humiliated.
Winter Seasonal/Religious Events: March 19th - St. Joseph's Day (Christian): Colour: Red
1,000 Prompts: 137. (object) Oven
Supernatural Club: 1. Madison (Splash): (scenario) Being caught in the nude
Hogwarts Fortnightly/Mario Day: 4. (action) Dancing
Word Count: 1,429
