A/N: I guarantee this chapter will shock people. I expect death threats, and I deserve every one of them.
Dedications:
Melita. The Sirius to my Remus. You make writing fanfiction eight million times more fun and you make my fucking WORLD. Wonk you. x3
Fiona. FANFICTIONFANFICTIONFANFICTIONARG. You manipulate me into writing things XD. NO SNUCIUS THOUGH EVER. No matter how much I love you, you can never push me to that. :P
Nicki/Nick. "Do I dazzle you?" "Frequently." Nick is king of dazzling. I'll have to get some dazzling lessons off him. Oh, Nick is so Edwardesque. Even his toenails are beautiful.
Matthew. My husband times three! We make dancing an olympic sport. My Queen Of The Golden Centre. I do so enjoy our Golden Centre dates. Though our library rendezveese are better.
WARNING: MORE M/M SEX, though it's not as explicit as last chapter so neurgh.
Disclaimer: I wish I had teeny weeny Marauders living in my bookcase playing me pretty music and making out all the time... but I don't. :C
Note: Writing that first scene was an absolute dream. I love when dialogue writes itself, which seems to happen often with the pups. (See my fic Falling. That whole fic wrote itself, from start to finish, and it's the most fun I've had in ages.)
The Marauders
"Sirius." Remus sighed fondly, an unconscious sound. It had been three whole months since they got together, and neither one could be happier. Remus was currently sitting on the sofa, Sirius' head in his lap, running his fingers though his love's beautiful hair. Sirius abandoned the song he had been making up about (as far as Remus could tell) Remus' eyes again. He was still trying to perfect some ideas and shape them into an actual song, to the werewolf's embarassment.
"Yeah?" Sirius asked, an impish grin on his face.
"Wha?" Remus blinked.
"You said my name."
"Oh... I didn't notice." Remus giggled slightly. Sirius shuffled closer to him, sitting up so he was seated next to Remus on the sofa, putting his head on Remus' far shoulder.
"It's because you love me so much." He smiled.
"Definitely." Remus affirmed, stroking the top of Sirius' head. Their faces drew close, a playful, rebellious glimmer in Sirius' eyes.
"Hey guys." James grinned, wandering into the lounge. "Woah, what's going on here."
Smoothly, Sirius stuck his finger into the side of Remus' eye and pretended to pull something out, wiping it unaffectionately on Remus' shirt. "Eyelash."
"Then why's he holding your head like that?" Remus blushed, releasing said head.
"It was so painful that Remus simply had to break down like a baby girl. He was crying on my head, damaging my precious locks trying to rub the hair out. I tried to explain to him that that defeated the purpose, but he simply wouldn't listen. His wails were too loud." Sirius smirked. Remus shoved him off the sofa.
"I was holding Sirius so that didn't happen." He explained. James raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
The guitarist had been becoming increasingly suspicious of Sirius and Remus' closeness lately. He kept a constant eye on them, frequently destroying romantic moments such as this.S
"What were you playing?" He asked Sirius, gesturing to the other man's guitar.
Sirius shrugged. "Just something I'm working on. I sang you part of it awhile ago, remember? Those tender eyes, the soft and luscious lips..."
"Oh yeah." James grinned. "How's it going?"
"Dunno... I'm kind of stuck. I don't remember what the hell it was about."
"Some girl you were seeing?" Remus suggested, catching Sirius' eyes and smirking.
Sirius smirked back. "Probably." He rested against Remus' legs, perfectly contented to sit on the floor.
"Mhmm." James rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna go talk to Lily."
James was also of the opinion that Lily knew something he didn't, given his wife's apparent total ignorance when it came to Sirius and Remus's sudden increased affection. As it happened, he was right, but James didn't need to know that.
"We have to tell him." Remus said, as soon as James was gone. "Lily's right, there's no way we can keep this up for long."
"We can't tell. I just... I'm not ready to do that. I know I've had fifteen years to come to terms with it, but I still... I don't know. It took me that long to trust you enough." Sirius stared at his guitar again.
"But how would he react if he just walked in on us? I'd like to think I'd be pissed if you and James had been going out and hadn't told me."
"Well that is because you are my boyfriend. My gorgeous, sexy, perfect boyfriend." Sirius crawled up Remus as he spoke, settling in his love's lap and kissing him passionately.
"Oh god guys! James could walk in!" Lily's voice came from the vicinity of the door.
"He already did, now you bugger off!" Sirius demanded.
"He did? Oh god!" Lily covered her mouth.
"We weren't kissing yet when he did, no need to get all gasp-y." Sirius rolled his eyes, dismounting Remus' lap to sit beside him.
"Oh. Right. You might want to think about taking it somewhere more private though."
"Yes, we might." Sirius waggled his eyebrows at Remus, who giggled.
"Oh, gross!" Lily laughed. "God, I don't make crude jokes about my sex life!"
"James does, especially back when you first got married." Remus smirked.
"Constantly." Sirius nodded. "I think he still can't quite believe he actually has you."
"Speak of the devil." Remus smiled as James came in, wrapping gentle arms around Lily's waist and kissing the top of her head.
"Hello, my beautiful love. Hey arsewipes." James smiled over the top of Lily's head. Lily laughed gently, taking his hands and removing them, turning around to kiss James gently on the chin.
"Hypocrite." Sirius muttered and Remus sniggered.
"Sorry." Lily giggled. "James lives in some crazy fantasy world where I love him, and sometimes it's fun to play along."
James' face took on a tortured expression. "Lily! Don't mock my worst fear!"
"It's okay guys, Sirius and I were just going." Remus stood up, pulling Sirius with him by the hand.
"See you!" Sirius grinned, waving as Remus pulled him towards his 'room' area.
000
"Well well, Black. You certainly have done well for yourself, haven't you?" A familiar voice sneered.
"Snape?" Sirius blinked. "I haven't seen you since school ended. What are you doing in Berlin?" Sirius pushed his hair back subconsciously, folding his arms. They were in the middle of the street, Sirius having gone out on a chip run.
"A man here hired me for some potions work. I'm teaching at Hogwarts most of the time now." Most of the malice vanished from Severus' voice upon hearing the lack of venom in Sirius' response.
"Potions, I take it?" Sirius smiled, a genuine smile. "That's cool. You've probably heard, I'm-"
"-In a band, yeah. I still remember the first few concerts at school. You guys were actually pretty good." Severus smiled back.
"Thanks... Apparently other people thought so too, we're pretty popular."
"Congratulations."
"We're actually playing a show tonight, I could get you a backstage pass if you want." Sirius grinned.
"That'd be great." Severus grinned back. "It'd be nice to see how you've improved."
Both of them silently reflected on how much they had grown since school. Somehow their bitter rivalry seemed less important now, in the face of all the years that had passed. Severus had matured a lot physically too; from a gangly, unsure teenager, he had grown into a powerful, confident man. The long nose was still present, as well as the slight greasiness to his hair caused by potion brewing, but he had a greater, more sure of himself presence now.
"So... you seeing anyone these days?" Sirius asked as they started walking down the road together, a strange, almost chummy feeling passing between them.
"Nope... Teaching at a boarding school isn't exactly the best place to meet people. Unless you have a thing for older ladies. Which I very much do not."
Sirius laughed. "Oh come on, you know McGonagall's dominant side is kinky."
Severus laughed too. "What about you, some famous flame? Or are you just living it up in groupie heaven, somehow that seems more like you, Black."
Sirius snorted. "Actually, Pete's more into groupies than me. But... uh... yeah, there is someone. It's very much on the down-low though, not even the others know yet, so don't go alerting the tabloids."
"Oooh, secret romances now, eh? You have changed since school, I generally thought lots of embarrassing PDAs were more your style."
Sirius laughed loudly. "That was my style at the time, but I've... I dunno... gotten to know myself more since then. After more than a quick shag now."
"And you couldn't have decided that before everyone in the whole sodding school was forced you to watch you stick your tongue down a different girl's throat every week?" Severus raised an eyebrow, and Sirius laughed.
"Sorry to have inconvenienced you with my youthful... enthusiasm."
Severus rolled his eyes. "Who's the new lady then, someone special and sweet?"
"Yeah." Sirius smiled. "Like no other."
"Do I know her?"
"You might." Sirius admitted slyly.
"Oh god, you've not gone and stolen Potter's wife, have you?"
"What? Oh god, no. I am so very very much not going there. I value my life too highly."
"So they're still happy?"
"Nauseatingly." Sirius smiled.
"That's good." Severus said softly. "For awhile... I was jealous of Potter. But now, as long as Lily's happy, I'll be happy for her."
Sirius nodded. "Well she is. Honestly, it's like they never stopped being newlyweds."
"Do they have any children?"
"They've talked about it, but not yet. Lily wants to wait until we're not on the road so much... maybe when we're next recording."
Severus nodded. "How is she? And everyone else, of course." Sirius shrugged.
"Lily and James are great. Delirious with ooey gooey lovey dovey happy shiny rainbow bunny-ness. Peter's good, he seems pretty happy with the whole rock star gig. Groupies and whatnot. Remus is... Remus is great. His... um... his violinning is getting really awesome."
"He still plays? I remember hearing him once or twice in an abandoned classroom, but he didn't play it at the concerts I saw, just the bass. I figured he'd given up the violin for bass."
Sirius shook his head. "He plays both... not at the same time obviously, but still... both."
Severus nodded. "That's good, he sounded really good."
"He's amazing." Sirius nodded.
"Oooh, Black's sounding smitten." Severus smirked. "Maybe all those girls were just overcompensation..."
"Shut up, Snivellus." Sirius snarled, far more aggression in his voice than was necessary.
"Oh my, did I hit too close to home?" Severus smirked, stepping closer to Sirius. Somehow they had wound up in an alley together, far from any prying eyes. Severus took another step, pressing Sirius up against the wall. "Perhaps you prefer something a little... manlier than you did back in school." He whispered against Sirius' jaw. Sirius was helpless with surprise for a moment, but then he pushed Severus away.
"No. I love Remus." He announced. "I don't know what the fuck you're trying to pull, but you can forget it." Sirius stormed away, chips forgotten. Try as he might, he couldn't help hearing Severus' last smirking remark.
"See you at the concert tonight."
000
"Sirius, what's wrong?" Remus asked, looking up from his bass as Sirius entered the bus. There was a scowl on the taller man's face, and his boots were rather louder on the floor than was necessary.
"I... nothing." He grunted, slumping into the seat next to Remus.
"What happened to the chips?" James raised an eyebrow.
"What ch-oh yeah. I dunno. I ran..." He sighed. "Ran into someone I knew."
"An ex?" Peter asked, taking a swig of his beer.
"What? God no. Just... unpleasant reunion pretty much sums it up." Sirius sighed, grabbing a beer for himself. His eyes caught Remus' concerned ones and he looked away, leaning back to swig from his drink. Remus sighed, standing up.
"I'm gonna go to my room, get ready for tonight." He said, heading for his bunk area.
"Crap, is that the time? We should all be getting ready right about now." Peter said, standing up. "See you backstage guys."
James departed too, leaving Sirius to go talk to Remus.
"So what happened?" Remus asked as soon as Sirius entered, turning around from putting his hair in a ponytail in the mirror. Sirius sighed.
"I so very much do not want to talk about it." He grabbed the eyeliner, applying far more than usual.
"Will you at least tell me who you met?" Remus asked, touching Sirius' arm caringly.
Sirius sighed, rubbing his face. "It... it was Snape."
"Oh. Did you... Did you fight?" Remus asked concernedly.
"No. He was nice. Really nice."
"Well that's good."
"Like too nice nice. Like creepy almost kissed me nice."
"Oh." Remus was taken aback. "Did... I mean... what?"
"That was my general reaction." Sirius smiled sheepishly. "It was kind of scary. But god... he's grown so much."
"And he tried to kiss you? God..." Remus sat down, running a hand through his hair and ruining his ponytail.
"Yeah. And I might have given him a backstage pass for tonight beforehand."
"Eep." Remus said.
"You just eeped." Sirius was unable to control a giggle.
"So?" Remus blinked.
"So you're adorable." Sirius wrapped his arms around Remus' waist, sitting down next to him and kissing him softly on the neck.
"No kissy time now, I have to get ready." Remus giggled, fighting Sirius off.
"Fine, Mr. Bossy McBoss Pants. Just remember this when you want sex tonight." Sirius pouted, getting up.
"I will." Remus smirked. "I'll also remember how badly you want it, regardless of threats."
"Shut up." Sirius eyed him, picking up the eyeliner again. "You're a meanie."
"Yes I am."
"My meanie?"
"Always."
000
The show was brilliant as ever, although Sirius and Remus were slightly preoccupied by thoughts of just who might be in that crowd. Sirius finally caught sight of him as the last song started, dancing in the mosh pit with others, almost indistinguishable from the seething mass of fans. Sirius only just saw the moment of recognition as he began singing their last song, Remus's werewolf one, before he lost sight of Severus, and had to throw himself into the music.
"By day I walk among you
Moonrise brings the worst of me
I can never be clean
Bones breaking in my body"
The beat was slow and soft, deceptively seductive. Remus' violin danced around the tune in a lament all it's own. Sirius leaned right over the microphone stand as he started the second verse, caressing the stand gently, singing not just for the crowd.
"Twisting, mutilated from within
My body betrays me by night
Watched by the silver orb of heartache
I lose sight of who I am"
Remus came closer and closer to him, and Sirius turned around, dancing over to him as the guitar died down, the violin taking over the tune almost completely. Sirius leaned closer, kissing Remus softly on one of the scars on his cheek, just for an instant, before returning to the song.
"Skin stretching, stretching, sprouting
I am nothing but a monster
My face is broken
I bear the marks of my beast within"
Remus began his solo at this point, dominating the stage totally with the power of his playing, arms working furiously, a strange expression of peaceful concentration coming over his face. His fingers flew across the strings, body swaying lightly in tune as the solo came to it's dramatic, chaotic, intense climax, and Sirius dove for the microphone, throwing himself full force into the final verse to the screams of the crowd.
"Ripping, tearing
My flesh is paper
I am broken by myself
And I howl.
AhwoooOOOOO!" Sirius yelled jokingly, grinning to the crowd. "Thanks so much, you've all been fantastic. I love you all very much, my pets."
The band waved to the cheering audience as they headed backstage, Peter and James exchanging joking comments about something or other, in the lead, as Sirius and Remus trailed behind, walking in silence.
"Your solo sounded really good." Sirius was the one to break it and Remus smiled, turning to him.
"So did your voice."
Sirius smiled back, taking Remus' hand and squeezing it, just for a second, before they entered the tour bus they used as a backstage area at all times. It was just easier than moving tons of costumes and makeup around all the time.
"Great solo in Whom by the way, guys." Remus commented as they entered, James grinning at him.
"Could say the same for you in By Night, you're getting so great at that." He responded.
"I guess... I always get more into that one at a certain time of month." Remus smiled, referring to the full moon of three days before. They dealt with the moons easily enough, the bus would always be conveniently parked near a forest that night, and all four band members would mysteriously vanish. A few of the roadies suspected something, but thankfully nobody had gotten too inquisitive.
"Not surprising." Peter smiled, blinking when there was a knock at the door. "Hey... we didn't invite anyone backstage today, did we?"
"I did." Sirius said quietly, sitting down on the sofa next to Remus, who squeezed his leg encouragingly, just for a second, while Peter and James were focused on the door.
"Snape?! This is who you ran into in town?" James said incredulously, turning to Sirius, who nodded.
"Severus!" Lily leaped up, running over to hug her old friend.
"Hey Lily." Severus smiled, hugging her back. "I'm sorry to just barge in, I thought Sirius would have told you he gave me a backstage pass." He said sheepishly, releasing Lily.
"It's so good to see you!" Lily was unable to help herself, hugging him again. Severus chuckled.
"Hey Severus." Remus smiled innocently from the sofa next to Sirius. "What's been going on, none of us have heard from you since school ended."
Severus shrugged, stepping further into the room. James and Peter seemed to still be in shock. "I haven't really done much, I'm teaching at Hogwarts now, and I make potions for people who aren't quite so adept on the side. What about you lot? You're all clearly living the life."
000
"And then... and then she said to me... 'I know how to use drumsticks myself, you know!'" Peter said, and they all fell about laughing. Everyone was quite drunk now, Remus passed out on the sofa next to Sirius, Lily sitting in James lap, and Peter and Severus taking up the other two chairs.
"God, groupies are idiots!" James laughed, Lily giggling with him.
"Come on Jamesy James James, we are drunk and it is time to go to bed." Lily got up, pulling James to his feet. "It was so wonderful to see you Severus, you have to write me again, and come visit while we're still in Berlin!" She grinned, hugging him again drunkenly.
"It was great to see you too, Lily." Severus said fondly, hugging her back. "I will definitely write, and you know my address well enough."
"Nighty night!" Lily giggled, pulling James off to bed.
"I should sleep too..." Peter got up groggily. "I'll take Remus to bed, see you t'morrow Sirius." He lifted Remus to his feet easily, putting the smaller, still sleeping man's arm around his shoulder and walking him toward his bed. "It was good to see you, Snape."
"You too." Severus smiled, waiting for a moment while Peter and Remus left and doors closed, then turned to Sirius. "We're all alone now." He stood up, walking towards the other man.
"Oh god. Bugger off Snape. I am far too drunk to deal with this." Sirius rubbed his face.
"Then don't try to deal." Severus whispered, pressing alcohol laced lips to Sirius's.
000
'Oh hell. Oh shagging bloody bollocks hell.' Was pretty much all Sirius Black could think of when he awoke alone on the sofa the following morning, a splitting headache, and a familiar pain in... other areas. 'Snape.'
"Nergh... morning. Where were you?" Remus asked, entering the living room, cup of tea in hand.
"I... oh. I must have... passed out in here." Sirius said, trying not to wince as he sat up.
"Fine... I actually missed your creepy forehead sucking this morning though. It better not happen again." He sat down next to Sirius, kissing him on the forehead and leaning against him. "I feel like crap."
"Me too. In every sense of the word." Sirius agreed, resting his head on top of Remus's.
A/N: Oh no. Baddy badness! At this point, I'm thinking two more chapters, though this maaay change. Hmm. Also, you got to see the werewolf song, and isn't it neat? Haha. Next chapter will not be especially feel-good-y either, just warning ya. Stay tuned.
This chapter actually felt kind of short to me... hmm. /
I LOVE MY REVIEWERS.
remuslives24: XD I have a general 'la la not here la la la' approach to writing smut. It works for me. Aaaah thank you so much you're such a great reviewer and general person all round.
xX-Fiona-Xx: Well I hope you're happy XD No Snucius though. But there was your sexy sexy Snape appearance. Dammit if only I could stop loving you, I would be FREEE!
Actually no I wouldn't, because as soon as I get to Venturers you'll just own my soul again dammit XD
And Sirius sends his kisses of lurve to Shiri Razi, BlackLycanth, and rekahneko. Wuvv you all :)