So won't you let me see
I said "won't you let me see"
I said "won't you let me see
Your naked body?"
"Memories" by Leonard Cohen

Sirius awoke the following morning smelling of olives. No, it wasn't just him. It was everything. He remembered now. Things had got messy after Remus's revelation. Sirius had resolved quickly to go find something that could replace lubricating potion, preferably without leaving the hotel.

By chance he ran into a young couple who wondered why he looked so distressed. He wasn't sure what possessed him to make such an admission but he just burst right out with, "I'm looking for lube!"

"I'm not sure where you could buy any this late," one of the women said.

"You could just grab some olive oil," the other woman said, causing the other woman to nod in agreement.

"Yeah, I've heard that works well. I bet you could get some at the hotel restaurant," the first woman said.

"Thanks!" Sirius said.

"Have fun doing the touchy touch!" the second woman said as he dashed towards the what he had learned earlier that day was called an elevator. Merlin, Muggles were strange, he thought.

They had been right, though. The olive oil wasn't that difficult to obtain. Actually, he basically begged them to let him buy an entire bottle. He wasn't sure if the price they had asked was fair or not but he didn't really care. He had rushed back up to the room to find Moony lounging back on the bed, naked, his cock stiff and proud.

"Oh, Moony!" Sirius said.

"Welcome back, Padfoot. What's that?" Remus said and pointed at the bottle in Sirius's hand.

"Oh. It's olive oil," Sirius admitted.

"Okay. Whatever works, I suppose," Remus said.

Sirius had then pulled his clothes off as fast as he could, feeling like a young pup eager for his bone. He jumped on the bed only for Remus to roll himself on top of him, rubbing his cock against Sirius's and kissing his mouth, deep and hard.

Remus had then kissed his way down Sirius's neck and torso until he arrived at his cock. Whatever Sirius had given Remus earlier, Remus paid back in full. Well, almost in full. Just as Sirius was about to come Remus tugged on his balls and wrapped his fingers hard around the base, letting him get to the edge of orgasm but no further, not yet.

At this point they considered the olive oil silently before they finally decided to to try it out. In the end it wasn't that much different than using lubricating potion. It wasn't as good but it did smell better. And once Remus was inside of him nothing really mattered.

Sirius looked around at the bedsheets, now well illuminated by the morning sun. He wasn't sure which spots were come and which were olive oil.

Sirius slid out of bed to go take a piss when suddenly Remus called out in his sleep, "No!"

"Moony!" Sirius said and was quickly back at his lover's side, rubbing his bare back with a hand.

"P-Padfoot?" Remus said, sounding scared and disoriented.

"I'm here, Moony," Sirius said reassuringly. Remus turned over and clung to Sirius desperately.

"I'll never be free," Remus said, his body shaking. "No, I didn't change last night. But the nightmares… Merlin, the nightmares." Sirius stroked Remus's hair then bent over and kissed the top of his head.

"It's okay. I will be here for you just like you've been there for me," Sirius said. He didn't say it but he knew Remus knew he was talking about his nightmares of Azkaban and awful fucking Dementors. So many nights waking up in a panicked sweat fearing he was still there, that the last two years had been a cruel fucking illusion.

For awhile, Sirius stayed there and comforted Remus. Remus declined to discuss the details of his dream. That was fine. It was his right.

Eventually, Remus opted to get up and get dressed and Sirius finally went to the bathroom, his bladder feeling far too full.

Once he was out he found Remus laying on the bed holding one of the Harry Potter books in his hands.

"I suppose we better get to it then, haven't we?" Remus said.

Sirius shrugged and nodded. He then climbed in bed next to Remus.

"Read to me, Moony?" Sirius asked.

"Of course, Padfoot," Remus said.

Getting through the first couple of books hadn't been a big deal, though it took them all day. By the time Harry had killed the Basilisk and destroyed Tom Riddle's diary Sirius was barely conscious.

It was a surreal and slightly disconcerting experience. Everything felt a little off. It didn't feel like reality as they had known it. And yet everything was so true. He thought the author really captured the personalities of people like Hagrid or Dumbledore very well. Nothing was, strictly speaking, wrong. But it did feel like a story. In fact, it seemed as if it had been written for children. Who the hell would write a story like this for children?

But then he remembered some of the stories he'd read as a child and thought better of it. Wizarding books for children could be quite scary now that he thought about it. But as he drifted to sleep he had a small moment of panic. What if the only reason those stories were scary was because this person, JK Rowling, had created them that way?

After they had managed the first two Harry Potter books in a single day Remus was disappointed they had only got through the third on the second day. It was entitled Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It was a far less comfortable book than the first two to read as he and Sirius actually featured in it prominently.

He had to admit though: these books were good. The third one in particular was exceptional. Sirius seemed far more bothered than he was, however. Understandable, Remus thought.

Whether, JK Rowling had written about them because they existed in another universe and somehow her mind was some sort of window into their universe or they existed purely in her imagination and had somehow been willed into existence they had to face the fact that there were forces at work in their lives that were far beyond comprehension.

No, there was one thing was really getting under Remus's skin and he wondered if it bothered Sirius too.

"So did you notice, in this book," Remus said holding up Prisoner of Azkaban, "That she doesn't even once reference our romantic relationship?"

Sirius jerked his head and stared at Remus.

"Bloody hell!" Sirius said. "You're right! I mean, it's obvious though isn't it? Surely, anyone could see it! I mean she didn't lie, really… she just… left things out!"

"Maybe she will be more explicit in the next few books," Remus said.

The fourth book took them a couple of days to get through. It was longer, darker and more intense than the prior books. There were no references to their relationships but he supposed that was fine. The whole story was being told from Harry's point of view and he couldn't possibly know what he and Sirius were busy doing in private.

The fifth book was a trickier matter. After all, this was delving into the future. A future that they now would likely never live. Would they disappear in the actual book? What if they didn't? What would that mean?

With great courage they read the fifth book over a couple of days. The fact that their relationship was never directly referenced was the least of their worries.

"She fucking killed me!" Sirius screamed. "Fuck, JK Rowling!"

"Relax, Padfoot," Remus said, though tears were in his eyes. His Padfoot, dead? He couldn't bear the thought.

"Why would she do that? What bloody purpose does it serve?" Sirius said.

"I don't know," Remus said. "Best to relax and just accept it's just a story. Come, sit. Let's finish. We still have two more books," Remus said.

With great effort they had finished the sixth book the next day.

"Fucking Snape!," Remus said as he read Dumbledore's death at Snape's hand. He felt so disgusted with himself for believing he could ever trust Snape. What had Dumbledore been thinking?

"My cousin! You cheating bastard!" Sirius said, standing next to the bed pointing at Remus.

"I didn't! I… wouldn't. It's not possible!" Remus said. He didn't understand. How could he have fallen in love with Tonks? She was a girl and Sirius's cousin! And why would he get with her so soon after Sirius's dead? No, it made no sense.

And Dumbledore… his death stung. Dumbledore had given him chances when no one else would. And yet he couldn't mourn because it didn't feel real. None of it did.

After the sixth book they put off the seventh and final book for several days. Sirius finally calmed down and stopped calling Remus a "cousin fucking werewolf." He supposed he didn't really deserve that. After all, he hadn't really done that. He was here with Sirius in an alternate universe, in Seattle in the year 2014.

The final book had sat on a table in the hotel room like a dark omen. They avoided even looking at it. Who knew what manner of horrors JK Rowling would conjure up in it? But there had only been so long they could put it off. Two weeks after they had first arrived in Seattle Remus read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows aloud to Sirius.

They didn't sleep until it was done. They both had agreed to not react to the book until it was done. That had mostly worked out well. But Sirius did let out a whimper when Remus (and his cousin) died. And he couldn't stop himself from sobbing when Harry summoned ghostly versions of himself, Remus, James and Lily.

At last they reached the epilogue and Sirius felt his heart pounding in his chest as tears streamed down his face. Harry had lived! And he had a family! But… what the hell did he name the younger boy?

"Albus! Severus! Potter!" Sirius howled. "The bravest man I ever knew? What about me? What about you? He named his son after fucking Snivellus? Gah!"

Remus was scowling and he nodded.

"What? Snivellus wasn't a good man! He was a bully! Look at the way he treated Harry and his friends in these bloody fucking books!" Sirius shouted, standing up and pacing by the back window.

Remus remained silent. Whatever he was thinking, he kept it to himself.

"Argh! He wasn't brave! He was obsessed! He honored Lily by bullying her son! Just because he died a fucking martyr doesn't make him a good man!" Sirius shouted.

Remus sighed and finally spoke, "I think Snape was brave." Sirius was shocked. He stared at a Remus, mouth agape.

"And a bully," Remus clarified. "You're right. He wasn't a good man. But… I don't think we can question his bravery. Though I admit it does sting that Harry would name his son after Snape before he would name him after me."

Sirius groaned. Remus was right. Snape was brave… and a fucking dickhead. Sirius sat on the bed and nodded at Remus to finish reading.

When they were done they sat in silence for awhile. Remus looked thoughtful. Sirius felt numb. It was Remus who spoke first.

"I don't really understand the epilogue," Remus admitted.

"Hmm?" Sirius said.

"I mean… I am glad that things worked out well for Harry and I'm glad that my…" Remus stopped and shook his head then continued, "My son was well taken care of. But… well, I don't know. Even aside from Harry naming his son after Snape it sort of… seemed, a bit too cheery for my taste."

"Interesting. You see the tone of the chapter was the only thing I really liked. I guess after so much misery it was nice to see things work out so well," Sirius said.

"But it's not earned! We jump straight from the end of the war to nineteen years later and everything is sunshine and roses! I want to know more about what happened after the war. I want to see how it changed everyone. How did they all pick up the pieces?" Remus said. He didn't sound angry or annoyed. He sounded disappointed.

"And also: Why doesn't she mention the fact that Dumbledore is gay?" Remus said. Now he did sound angry and annoyed.

"I guess Harry didn't pick up on it," Sirius said.

Remus groaned.

"I didn't know about his history with Grindelwald but it's bloody obvious to me!" Remus said.