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Chapter 2: John Lupin

When Remus pulled into the parking lot of his business complex, he killed the motor on his van, leaned his head against the back of his seat, and breathed deeply. The encounter with the owner of the Black house—Sirius, he thought to himself—had left him feeling shaky and breathless. He had noticed Sirius staring at him from the house and had bent over to pretend to pick something up in order to enhance the little staring contest Sirius had seemed to be having with his ass. Sirius was incredibly sexy, and it had taken all of Remus's will power to keep his feelings intact when they were in the kitchen together. Even that minimal contact had left Remus wanting so much more. Sirius's somewhat combed over, short, wavy black hair was long enough for Remus to be able to run his fingers through it, and he could not get the image of this out of his head. He had been wearing khaki pants and a blue and white striped polo and his hair was wet as if he had just gotten out of the shower. His aristocratic features and toned body were enough to drive Remus crazy and that hair was going to put him over the edge.

Remus wanted him. Even the brief time together made Remus know that he wanted Sirius to kiss him, to touch him, and he wanted Sirius inside of him. He wasn't sure quite what it was about Sirius that made him so incredibly desirable, but the feeling was there nonetheless. As he thought of Sirius, Remus felt a tightness in his pants that he desperately wanted to relieve. Remus knew that it was wishful thinking to believe that he and Sirius could ever be more than employer and employee. Lupin Lawn Care had a strict policy about dating clients, not to mention the fact that Sirius was married. Despite this, Remus could not deny the chemistry between himself and Sirius, and he knew that Sirius had not been able to keep his eyes from wandering whenever he was working. Remus imagined himself coming into Sirius's house after a particularly hot day and walking wistfully towards a shower as Sirius held his hand and guided him there. Remus's hand moved inside his pants as he imagined himself in the shower with Sirius, and his hand began to move up and down his shaft slowly as he imagined Sirius lathering him up. When Remus's imagination took him to the point where Sirius was just about to enter him, he felt a rough rap on his window.

Remus nearly jumped out of his skin, and he yanked his hand from his pants when he looked out and saw one of his workers squinting against the sunlight, trying to get a look into his van. Although Remus had been cursing the sun just an hour earlier, he was now extremely thankful for the sun's glare that had just protected the outside world from his indiscretions. Remus took a moment to gather his thoughts before he made a move.

"God, Pete, what do you want?" Remus said as he stepped out of the van and slammed the door shut. "You scared the shit out of me."

"Sorry, boss," the boy named Peter said. He was a round boy with mousy features who Remus had just hired a few months earlier. Despite what the boy had said, however, Remus was not the boss. He did much of the boss-worthy duties, but the boss—the one who got to sit in a cool, comfortable office all day—was Remus's father, John. Remus knew that one day the business would be his and his father did give him many responsibilities now, but he still did the manual labor that any other worker would do. "Mr. L's looking for you," Peter said.

Remus nodded and headed inside the business complex toward his father's office. He walked slowly toward the office knowing that he would only get a look of disappointment and a scolding from his father when he reached his destination. Every time Remus came back from a job, it was the same. Remus would return to home base (which was the name they gave to Lupin Lawn Care's central building), and his dad would call him into his office to grill him on the job he had just done. He would ask why he had done the job so slow and if he had done it up to company standards. Even though Remus was the fastest and best worker, John still found reason to lecture Remus on his work ethic. No, John was not a loving man, but he did want the best for his only son. He had started his business from the ground up and he wanted to make sure that when the time came, he could leave it in the right hands. Remus understood this, which was why he put up with the scolding, but he dreaded what was to come nonetheless.

When he knocked briefly and opened his father's office door, instead of seeing his father's disappointed scowl, he was surprised to see a worried John Lupin staring back at him. Remus frowned and sat down right before his father spoke softly. "He was here, Remus. He came here looking for you." Remus only sighed. He didn't have to ask who his father was talking about. Remus had just broken off a two year long relationship with an addict, and now that he was in the program, he had been trying to contact Remus for weeks. Remus, however, was having none of it. He knew that his ex was only trying to make amends, but Remus did not care. He wanted to forgive, but he could only remember the pain. He could only remember coming home and seeing his lover passed out on his couch with the empty bag of cocaine lying on the table and the remnants of the lines dusted across his glass coffee table. He could remember the withdrawals and the rage that came with them when he had to go a day without shooting up heroine. Remus could not deny that when his lover was high, the sex was incredible, but when he crashed, the aftermath was pure destruction. Remus wanted nothing to do with his old lover and even less to do with his recovery.

"What did you tell him?" Remus asked his father.

"I told him to leave and never come back," John said. Remus exhaled in relief and said nothing. John continued. "You should have never even started up with him Remus. You knew he was trouble from the start. That long hair and all those tattoos—"

"I know, dad," Remus interrupted. "But I fell in love with him." John sighed and shook his head. Remus smiled and said, "Aren't you going to ask me about my jobs today?" John's brow furrowed.

"No," he said softly. "I heard you did great work today. I got a call from the owners of that Victorian and they specifically requested you for their next job."

Remus felt like he had just done a somersault in a swimming pool. He tried to keep his voice steady but he could feel the heat climbing up his neck. "Oh, they did? She didn't seem to like me much."

"No, it was him." John didn't seem to notice the flush on his son's face. "He said you did an excellent job and that he would never do business anywhere else as long as you were the one doing the work. He said that next time there might be other work involved, as well, besides just mowing." I can only hope, Remus thought suggestively as he felt a rush to his groin. "He must have liked your work, so great job."

Now, Remus knew that he had to be with Sirius no matter what it took. His arms felt weak and images of Sirius were running through his head. Not only had he given Remus a serious hard-on, but he had also made his father proud of him. The man was a god.

"You can head on home for the day," John then said. "You look a little flushed. But stop by the house first. Your mother made dinner and she wanted you to have some."

Remus said goodbye to his father and walked out to his car that was parked behind the building. Sirius must have called immediately after Remus left. Maybe, just maybe, Remus thought, it would be more than just looking between the two of them.

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"Finally, Priscilla spoke. 'Do you still have feelings for him?' she asked quietly. When Sirius did not respond Priscilla spoke louder. 'Do you love him, Sirius?'"