"Immature love says, 'I love you because I need you.'" [...] - Erich Fromm
Sirius's friends, and understandably Remus's parents, had all felt properly scandalized, and Remus and Sirius had split into their respective groups to explain things. Remus wasn't sure what Sirius told Lily, James and Peter, but he was honest with his parents - actually more honest than he'd been with Sirius himself.
"Why in the world would you marry someone you've just started dating?" John frowned at his son, eyes level with the pretty hazel eyes Remus had inherited from him.
"Complete stranger."
"What was that?" Catherine blinked, off-guard.
"He was a complete stranger to me when we got married. We were both drunk, apparently the package we paid for included cheap gold rings, and..." He shrugged slightly, before glancing over his shoulder at his husband, who was talking as he normally did - hands flailing and with a smile on his face. That brought a smile to his own face. "He's a really good guy though, and I'm actually kind of hoping this lasts for a while."
"Why didn't you just divorce him? What happened to Greyback?" His mother's distaste for that man was clear. He shook his head.
"We almost did, the next morning." A sigh. Suddenly, Remus was regretting telling them so soon, "But I had gone out in that area after Fenrir and I pretty much broke up, and I just wanted to drink, and well..." He shrugged. "He called while we were talking how to go about a divorce. And I just decided that it would serve him right if he found out that I'd ran out and gotten married." The further he went into the explanation, though, the sillier it seemed.
"And does Sirius know about this decision you've made?" John quirked a brow.
"Not... not exactly." Remus shook his head, crossing his arms. "We agreed to give this thing a chance though. And it's going really well so far." At least, he thought so. It felt like it was, and he was having so much fun getting to know Sirius.
Finally, the Lupins, Potters, and Peter had all left with tentative well-wishings to the new couple, leaving Sirius and Remus in their small booth with their watered down iced-teas. Remus stared at his, watching a drop of condensation run down the side of it, while Sirius sucked down the remainder of his.
His parents had warned him. 'We don't want you putting yourself in a loveless marriage'. 'We don't like the idea of you marrying a stranger'. There were tons of ways to phrase it all, but ultimately, it was all the same. They weren't happy about his idea of throwing himself precariously into interacting with a complete stranger. But they trusted him, and were happy to see him smiling - especially without Fenrir still at his side.
"That was rather eventful." He jokingly summed up, looking at Sirius, who nodded in agreement.
"Lily and James adore you, Remus." He informed with a grin, reaching over and ruffling his hair. "Fucking adore you. Peter wants to get to know you more before he makes a decision, but he's always been a tough critic. Thinks I fuck everything that moves. Well, so does James, but I really don't, promise!"
There was only a slow blink for a moment, Remus trying to register everything that the other man hurriedly said, before he dissolved into laughter.
"Wha-? Remus, what's so funny?" If it was possible, Sirius sounded wounded at the laughter, pouting slightly.
Waving his hand, Remus shook his head until the laughter subsided. "You're just energetic, Sirius. Like a puppy. It's cute." He smiled, and it was a sincere expression. "My parents like you plenty. They're worried I've made a huge mistake, but mom even admitted she had been thinking what a wonderful boyfriend you'd be for me, before we told them." He laughed softly.
"Really? That's great to hear." Sirius was practically beaming, before he stood. "C'mon, I feel like a real date suddenly. Especially if you're going back to work tomorrow." There was a pout, but still, Remus couldn't help but take the extended hand that was offered to him.
"Sure, a date sounds nice." He laughed gently, as the dark-haired man tugged him close.
"Told you I wouldn't half-ass this, Rem." He smiled at him, stealing another sweet, quick kiss to his check. He seemed delighted to see the blush rise to the teacher's cheeks, and released him. "Now, let's see..." Sirius seemed to take delight in the way Remus shrunk slightly at the public display, and the looks it now attracted, as he pretended to stroke a beard that wasn't there. "How about a club? Those are always fun." He suggested chipperly, with a laugh that was low.
"Clubs are a bit noisy, and neither of us are dressed for it." Remus turned down with a smile, shaking his head.
"Dinner?"
"Little expensive after we just rented our apartment, don't you think?"
"Well, what in the world can we do that doesn't cost money?" Exasperated, Sirius threw his hands in the air, and froze when Remus laughed and kissed his cheek.
"We'll figure out something. How about just play for shots of cheap beer for blackjack, or something? It's nice, at home..." He shrugged at the suggestion.
Sirius made a face, but assented. "As soon as I have a job, though, I'm taking you out on a proper date. A movie, a dinner, and then we'll go to a club. Got it?" He grinned.
"Yeah, yeah, sure you will." Remus laughed softly, confidently taking his hand and pulling him out of the coffee shop, and back to his treasured car.
Night fell sooner than they realized, but they didn't care. The whole apartment smelled like Irish beer, and they were both easily reduced to laughter - one of them miscounted, or misspoke, and suddenly they were both leaning on each other to laugh it out. It wasn't that they were so drunk that it was a repeat of the night they'd met each other. No, they were mostly lucid.
"Blackjack!" Remus declared happily, flipping his facedown card. He was sitting up, crossed-legs and all, though his dress-shirt was mostly unbuttoned and hanging off his frame - that was from a decision Sirius had made, stating that Remus was making him hot just looking at him. And granted, the apartment did seem to get hot easily - their dinner of Blue Boxed Mac n Cheese had warmed the entire flat up, after all. But Remus had a sneaking suspicion, with how Sirius's fingers had lingered on each button just a little too long, that he was only using the heat as an excuse.
"What? Buggering hell, Remus, how the hell have you pulled three Blackjacks out of your arse?" Sirius, who was sitting with his legs sprawled out in front of him, scowled at the tawny-haired teacher. He was still fully dressed, but he was also taking the brunt of Lady Luck's beating. Pouting as he poured out two shots and downing them both - the rules they had decided up in the event of a Blackjack.
Remus watched as those tempting lips parted around the rim of the shot glass and knocked back the drink, and swallowed hard as part of the second shot dribbled out onto Sirius's stubbled chin. He licked his lips, and, as if controlled by some out-of-body desire, leaned over their small play area, over the long (so so long) legs of his husband's, and cupped his cheek, tugging him into a long, slow kiss.
To Sirius's credit, he only gave a choked sound of surprise before he was returning the kiss with leisurely hunger, a strong, calloused hand wrapping around Remus's wrist, holding his hand still. Without the slightest care, he crawled closer, over their suddenly abandoned cards, narrowly avoiding knocking over their latest opened beer. They drew away for a brief moment, hooded eyes regarding each other curiously, as if asking if this was okay, and when no denial came, their lips came crashing together once more - a kiss that was full of teeth and tongue and grunts and groans.
Sirius fell back, sprawling out completely on the floor, and the unrelenting man over him hardly paused, his hungry, wanting mouth moving over the rough chin of his lover to suck up the strayed drops of beer. And then, while his mouth ventured lower, nipping and sucking along the side of his neck, he was aware of Sirius's hands venturing up under the loosened dress shirt - the rough ridges and callouses of a life as a mechanic almost setting fire against his soft skin.
He returned the favour automatically, going after his husband's shirt and tugging it up, meeting minimal resistance from the carpet against the fabric.
It had hardly started when he heard Sirius breathing out "No, no. Stop."
Confused, he drew away, panting softly when his body found he didn't have nearly the acceptable amount of air in his body. This was what the man who laid on the floor in front of him /did/ to him. "What's wrong?" The husky, murmured question was filled with millions of other questions. Was he doing something wrong? Were they moving too fast for Sirius, or did he think Remus was only doing this because of the drink?
Nevertheless, no meant no.
Sirius sat up and there was no way anyone should've been allowed to have such a careless, easy grin on their face with a flushed face and mussed hair and his t-shirt halfway removed. "Why the hell should we bother with this when we have a perfectly good mattress in the other room? Two, in fact." He reminded, and Remus felt his face grow blank for a moment.
Then he was grinning and standing, tugging Sirius up with him. "You know? Silly me forgot. You have quite a good idea right there, Mr. Black." He murmured, tugging him into another kiss, brief, but this one ended with their mouths still touching. "Your place or mine?" His arms had settled around Sirius's waist, and Sirius's were over his shoulders, and for a brief second, they looked more like they were dancing, more than ready to go at it.
"I think yours. Mine's a mess." Sirius laughed breathlessly, and then suddenly they were /moving/. And more than moving but there were tugs and nips and grabbing at each others' clothes, leaving a nice trail from the living room to the slightly larger room. Sirius was pinned to the door for a moment while Remus fumbled for the knob. He groaned softly into the silent air while Remus sucked on the side of his neck again, and then the wood holding him upright was gone, crashing slightly into the wall. They themselves went tumbling back, landing on the bed with a sot creak of the mattress that hadn't quite been broken in, yet.
Remus had an inkling of a feeling that they'd manage to do just that, before the night was out.
Author's Note: Okay, we're approaching the end of the month, and I am so sorry, guys, but I only have chapter 5 written. Dx I hope you'll be okay with waiting three weeks before I update, after next week. u.u Though, I'll try my hardest to work on the chapter after that in spare time.
Still, just rest assured that I'm thinking about this story and how to progress it. =] I don't want to let down so many readers!
As for reviews, my mail got messed up, and I couldn't remember who I had replied to and who I hadn't. I'm very sorry, but I was very grateful for the reviews. They mean a lot to me!
