Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended. All credit goes to JK Rowling. If you see something you remember from the books or films, it does not belong to me. You can't sue me, I don't have any money.
Authors note: Chapter two, as promised. Please feel free to let me know if you find any mistakes and I'll try to fix them. The next chapter should be up soon.
The ancient oil lamp on the table didn't have much of an effect, not that there was anything they wanted to see, but it was far to hot to light the fireplace.
The two of them had spent most of the day alone in his old family home, trying to make a dent in the huge amount of cleaning they would need to do to make this place inhabitable again. Melin only knows what that disgusting house elf had done in the ten years since his dear old mother finally kicked the bucket. Speaking of which, he really did need to find some way to undo the permanent sticking charm the hag had put on the portrait in the entrance hall, he didn't know how much more of her insults he could take.
If she would stick with insulting him, it probably wouldn't bother him that much, but she just had to have a go at Remus as well. The sight of a werewolf in her beloved house gave her something brand new to scream about. Remus didn't say anything, he simply helped him to close the curtains in front of the portrait and then moved on like nothing had happened, but Sirius couldn't wait until the moment he could blast that disgusting creature of the wall.
He looked over at the other man again. Remus really hadn't changed all that much over the years. O, yes, he had a few more lines on his face, a few more scars, and he was going grey, but he still had the same walk, the same way of holding his wand, the same love of music and books, the same clean shaved look. His clothes were worn and neatly mended in places, but they were clean and pressed, the combination of long sleeved shirt, tie, trousers and jacket still exactly the same as he could remember it.
Remus gave a sigh and tiredly rubbed his face.
"Stay here tonight, Remus. There's no point in going home now, it's almost midnight and we have to start again in the morning."
They had only managed to clean one of the bedrooms, and he wasn't sure if he could trust himself to share a bed with the other man yet, but he couldn't send him away, he didn't want to be alone tonight.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, please stay, I'll take the chair and you can have the bed, I'm sure Snuffles won't mind."
"Thank you, Sirius."
The werewolf looked almost... relieved. It wasn't something that he wanted to think about.
As far as he new, Remus was never openly gay, despite the fact that he didn't really do anything to hide it. He couldn't blame him, the man had to put up with enough abuse and discrimination because of his lycanthropy, he didn't need to ad being homosexual to the list, but they had secretly been lovers since seventh year and later shared an apartment after Hogwarts. The idea that Remus didn't want to share a bed with him now upset him a little.
He gave Remus a few minutes to freshen up and then spent far more time than he needed to in the bathroom so that the other man could strip and get into bed without being watched.
To his amazement he found the werewolf fast asleep when he finally came out if the bathroom. He must have been more tired than he was willing to show. He resisted the urge to slip into bed next to him, but he couldn't help wondering if they would ever fall asleep in each others arms again.
"Good night, my darling."
He blew out the candle, transformed, and curled up on the stuffed rocking chair in the corner before drifting of into a dreamless sleep.