Thank you so much for the reviews so far! I really do enjoy hearing all of your feedback. It really gives me a lot of motivation. You're all so wonderful and insightful and so kind to me. I wanted to respond to one review specifically, but first, I never mentioned this in my other stories, but let me just say that sometimes I'll respond to a review in an author's note before the next chapter rather than in a private message (you'll notice this if you've read my other stories). The reason for this is that if someone has a question or a comment that I think everyone should pay attention to in particular, I want everyone to be able to see my response to it just in case they were thinking the same thing or if I think everyone should know. But if I don't respond to you personally, don't think I don't care about your comment. I do more than you know! Okay. ANYWAY. To TechNomaNcer28, I am so happy that you noticed my word choice there (Severus [aka, Snivellus] telling Remus to "stop sniveling")! It was completely intentional. Canon shout-out!

Now that I got all that out... I hope that all made sense, and I hope you all enjoy this next chapter. If you know the song that I reference in this chapter and the band who plays it without looking it up on google, you are AWESOME. If not, you're STILL awesome. Keep reading and reviewing and enjoying!

Chapter 6: Sirius's Remus Reverie

A week had passed, and Remus was pulling out of the parking lot of Lupin Lawn Care and heading toward the Black house. It was going to be another long day at the Black house, as Sirius had requested another full work up. It had been a week, as well, since Remus's encounter with Severus. Since then he had heard nothing from him and he hoped it stayed that way. Despite his physical absence, however, Severus dominated Remus's mind that week. Thoughts of Sirius were the only thing that took a greater prevalence in Remus's mind. Remus was grateful that Severus had stayed away. The only thing Remus was worried about was the potential relapse that Severus might face from the emotional encounter they had had. He knew that Severus had to be in a very fragile state due to his sobriety and their emotional exchange. Remus tried not to think about that, however, but he instead tried to focus his thoughts on what was sure to be a very long day.

The day was going to be even longer because he was going to be near Sirius for the first time since the dream he'd had about him. The dream had seemed so real that sometimes Remus was convinced that he had just blacked out after the episode and woke up in his bed hours later. The way he'd felt—the way Sirius had made him feel—seemed so real that it was nearly impossible for Remus to forget. But Remus was desperate to forget. It was as if he was walking into a room full of people completely nude. He was going to have to talk to the man that he dreamed had pleasured him beyond belief and act as if nothing was out of the ordinary even though everything was out of the ordinary. Not only had he had this dream, but the last time he'd seen him they had shared a kiss. It was far too complicated for Remus to bear, and he was trying to focus his mind on something else. Anything else.

The sun was high in the sky when Remus arrived in the long driveway of the Black residence. Despite his apprehension about seeing Sirius, he smiled to himself briefly and bit his bottom lip when he thought of the last encounter he'd had with Sirius. Remus now knew why he had pulled away. He liked Sirius. Yes, he barely knew the man, but Remus thought Sirius was funny and smart and sexy, and he didn't want to just be a thing on the side that Sirius used to get back at his wife for whatever problems it was obvious they were having. Not only that, but he wanted Sirius to want him. He wanted Sirius to be so overwhelmed with desire for him that he couldn't take it anymore. Remus had never wanted anyone like he wanted Sirius, and he was determined for Sirius to feel the same way. It was complicated. All of this was very complicated, but now that Remus was at Sirius's house, he found his care slipping away with his resolve. He just wanted to be near him. His stomach fluttered a bit when he glanced up at the house and thought of who was inside.

Remus started to breathe slowly and deeply so that he could gather his thoughts as he removed the equipment from his van and moved it right in front of the back gate. He closed his eyes briefly and took a big, deep breath before walking up to the front steps of the Black house. He felt bashful as he approached the door, but he tried to portray a confidence that he did not feel.

He started to say hello, but when the door opened, he stopped abruptly and the small, shy smile that he had been wearing slid off of his face. "Good morning, Mrs. Black," he said to the very last person he wanted to see. She lives here, idiot. Yeah, that's his wife, Remus forced himself to think. It was a momentary reality check when Remus wanted it least.

Priscilla had a nasty look on her face as if to say "Oh, you again," but she only said "I just unlocked the gate. You can start back there as always." Remus nodded and headed to the back without a word.

The grass hadn't grown terribly long since Remus had been at the residence a week earlier, but he knew how these elite types wanted to keep their yards nice and trimmed in order to make sure they were up to par with the neighbors. The grass had a slight yellow tint to it and desperately needed to be watered. It had not rained in New York for almost three weeks and it was beginning to show all over the city. Everything had a dry look about it, and everyone in the city seemed to be affected by it. Remus made a mental note to tell the Blacks to keep their grass watered if they wanted it to have a luscious green look to it. And perhaps some fertilizer, he added in his head.

It was exactly ten a.m. when Remus fired up his lawn mower and began his trek back and forth across the lawn. He had his ear buds in and was listening to one of his favorite bands loudly. He really did love his job despite his annoyances with it at times. It was nice to be in the sun, working, listening to music, and being able to just focus on the job at hand and the music blaring in his ears. He was on about his fifth go around across the yard when he felt the familiar sensation of eyes on him, and he could not help but smile to himself. Attempting to focus his mind on something other than Sirius's eyes on him, Remus embraced the music that was crescendoing in his ears.

And sometimes when you're on,
You're really fuckin' on.
And your friends they sing along, and they love you.
But the lows are so extreme
That the good seems fuckin' cheap,
And it teases you for weeks in its absence.
But you'll fight and you'll make it through;
You'll fake it if you have to,
And you'll show up for work with a smile.

Remus nodded along and mouthed the words that he knew so well. He could feel the beads of sweat forming on his forehead and arms, along with the rest of his body, but for some reason—no doubt something to do with Sirius—Remus felt invigorated and the sweat only energized him further. It was as if his dream of Sirius and his encounter with Severus were both temporarily forgotten, and Remus just decided to embrace the current situation: he was listening to his favorite music, doing something he enjoyed, and being stared at by a gorgeous man. Not bad.

A few hours later, Sirius had long retreated from his spot by the window, and he was momentarily forgotten by Remus for perhaps the first time in weeks. Remus had finished the mowing of the back yard and had started on the hedge trimming when the glass door slid open. Remus, who was busying trimming and blasting Barbra Streisand in his ears, did not hear the door and was mouthing lyrics very animatedly. When the song switched from lyrics to instruments, Remus began to hum along.

Sirius leaned against the door frame, folded his arms across his chest, and smiled as he listened to Remus hum and watched him trim. Thinking he would be hard-pressed to find anything more adorable, Sirius felt his heart swell with a feeling he had not felt in a long time, although he could not pinpoint the feeling. It was a comical sight—a sexy, shirtless, sweaty, toned man humming to Barbra Streisand. It was so comical that Sirius almost didn't notice how incredible Remus looked gleaming in the sunlight. Almost.

Remus was unlike anyone he had ever known, and for a moment, Sirius forgot himself. He imagined that he and Remus were a long-time couple, and it just happened to be Remus's turn to fix up the yard. He imagined that he would sneak up behind Remus and put his hands over his eyes. Then Remus would tackle him to the ground and they would playfully wrestle and eventually succumb to a kiss in the freshly mown grass. He imagined himself fixing Remus lemonade after a hot day and making love to Remus in the yard behind the seclusion of their high fences.

As Sirius was lost in his thoughts, Remus turned and noticed Sirius standing there. Startled and embarrassed that Sirius had possibly seen him mouthing Streisand lyrics, Remus blushed, yanked an ear bud out of his ear, and stared up at Sirius with a faint smile.

"Hey there," Sirius said with a smile, finally exiting his reverie. He could tell Remus was embarrassed, but he didn't care. He wanted to tell Remus how much he had loved everything he had just seen, but he said nothing.

"Hi," Remus said as he fumbled with small music-playing device in his hands. "How long have you been standing there?" he added hesitantly.

Sirius smiled widely and said, "Long enough to hear you humming 'People'." Remus closed his eyes tightly in embarrassment and smiled weakly.

"You heard that?" he said, running a hand through his hair. It was possible that he had never been more embarrassed in his life. Sirius, who looked so incredibly handsome standing there in khaki trousers and a dark green v-neck shirt, had heard him, Remus, humming to one of his guiltiest pleasures. Remus was mortified.

"I thought it was fantastic," Sirius said happily. Remus looked up at him and realized that Sirius was sincere. He thought he might faint right there. "Want some water?" Sirius said after a moment of silence.

"I think I'm okay," Remus said, turning back to the hedges in an attempt to hide his face. He was much too embarrassed to be anywhere near Sirius at the moment.

"Okay," Sirius said with a shrug and an its-your-loss tone. Remus glanced at him. "You can put your shirt on the deck, by the way," Sirius said as he motioned to the shirt that was hanging from Remus's back pocket. "The missus went out so she won't scold." Sirius shook his head and smiled to himself briefly before he turned and walked back inside pulling the sliding door closed behind him.

Remus tried not to react because he knew that Sirius's eyes were on him, but that did not stop him from hanging his head briefly and taking several deep breaths. The effect Sirius had on him was profound. Even the sound of his voice made Remus feel weak and shaky. Knowing that Sirius still had his eyes on him, Remus stuck his other ear bud back in his ear, set the clippers down, and bent his arms above his head. He was stretching, but he knew that his back and arm muscles would be flexing in the sunlight. He had to find some way to distract Sirius from the scene he had just witnessed. When Remus bent over to pick the clippers back up, he made sure to bend slower than normal. He bit his lip and smiled to himself as he thought of Sirius staring at him.

Inside, Sirius's mouth was practically watering as he watched Remus stretch and bend over to pick up his hedge trimmers. Streisand was temporarily forgotten as he felt a familiar bulge in his pants, and he knew that Remus was teasing him. There was no disguising how he felt now, and he didn't want to. He wanted Remus and he was determined to get him.

A few hours later—hours full of longing stares and not-so-subtle displays after Remus had regained his confidence—Remus walked up to the glass door of the Black house with the receipt in his hand. Before he knocked on the door, through the glass he saw a cup of ice water sitting on their high kitchen table. Remus smiled before he knocked.

It only took a second before Sirius came to the door. He opened it and motioned for Remus to come inside. "I got you some water," he said before he turned to face Remus.

"Thanks," Remus said quietly. He drank the water quickly, and as soon as he set the glass down, Sirius pushed him against the glass door and began to kiss him roughly. Remus made a small noise when he felt Sirius's tongue in his mouth. He wrapped his arms around Sirius's neck and pulled him closer as Sirius kissed him. All the doubt and embarrassment Remus had felt a little while earlier seemed to be all but forgotten. Sirius put one hand on Remus's leg and pulled it up so that it wrapped around his waist, and he put the other hand into Remus's shirt slowly, caressing his stomach underneath the white v-neck. Remus gasped when he felt Sirius's hand on his chest. It was more than just the temperature that had Remus hot all over. This gorgeous man was kissing him, and he never wanted it to stop. Sirius then moved his hand down slowly, and it found its way inside Remus's pants right before Remus felt Sirius's hand around his cock. Remus moaned into Sirius's mouth right before he pulled his mouth away and leaned his head against the glass door. He gripped Sirius's shoulders hard as he felt Sirius's hand begin to massage his cock and balls.

"Sirius," Remus moaned. Then, with a small grunt, Sirius pulled Remus away from the glass and whipped him around so that Sirius's hard cock was pressed against Remus's butt through their clothes. Remus pressed his back against Sirius's chest and Sirius moved his hand inside Remus's pants once again, eliciting a soft groan from Remus. Sirius was only touching him lightly but it was driving Remus absolutely crazy. Now that Sirius had touched him, Remus knew that he would be having many more dreams, and he knew that he would crave this touch from here on out. Sirius, by the same token, never wanted this to stop. It had been so long since he had done this, and the years of deprivation were now beginning to show.

With his hand still wrapped around Remus's hard member, Sirius stopped moving any part of his body briefly and nuzzled the back of Remus's neck. Remus looked behind himself quizzically but could not turn his head enough to meet Sirius's. Sirius moved his mouth up and nibbled Remus's ear. "I loved your humming," Sirius then said into his ear. Remus sighed in happy disbelief, then gasped quietly when Sirius leaned in slowly and placed a very soft kiss on his neck. Remus licked his lips, closed his eyes, and pulled Sirius's arms tighter around him.

Sirius then moved his hand from Remus's cock, turned Remus around once again, and began to unbutton Remus's pants with urgency right when he heard the soft dinging sound that rang through his house when someone stepped onto the front walk way. With a small, startled jump, Sirius moved himself away from Remus, and each of them straightened up their clothes before Sirius heard Priscilla's voice ring from the front door.

"The lawn guy is still here?" she asked with annoyance in her voice. Remus heard her heels click-clacking down the hall. "What is taking him so long?" she said as she entered the kitchen. Her face reddened when she saw that Sirius and Remus were both standing in the kitchen.

"He was just bringing in the bill," Sirius said to Priscilla with a look. Remus could tell she was embarrassed, but he knew she wouldn't apologize.

"I was just on my way out, ma'am," Remus said with a small smile. His face was still flushed and his heart was still racing from his encounter with Sirius, and he tried to move his body away from Priscilla so that she couldn't see the erection in his pants. "See you all in a few weeks," Remus said before he turned and walked quickly out the back door.

"Why do you have to be such a bitch?" Sirius said as he picked up the glass Remus had drunk from and moved it to the sink. He did this in order to turn himself away from Priscilla so she would not see how hard he was.

"I didn't know he was in here!" she said indignantly.

"Even if he wasn't, you don't have to be like that. What does it matter if he's still here?" he said, shaking his head. He began to wash the dishes in the sink even though they had a maid who would do that. He just needed something to take his mind off Remus in order to shrink the large bulge in his pants. It had been the adorable humming, the sweat gleaming off his bare chest, the years without this feeling that had driven him to be almost caught in the kitchen by his wife with a man he barely knew. Sirius, however, did not care in the slightest. Something happening between himself and Remus was inevitable now, and Sirius was more excited than he had ever been for anything in his life. It had his adrenaline pumping and a smile forcing itself through on his lips. It was only a matter of when they would finally be alone.

"Don't wash those," Priscilla said angrily, ignoring Sirius's last comments. "Why are we paying her if you're going to do the dishes?" Sirius just rolled his eyes and shook his head while trying to contain his smile, and Priscilla walked quickly and angrily out of the kitchen.

Sirius exhaled with relief when she turned away and put his hands against the sink. He dropped his head, and let the thoughts of Remus wash over him.

Outside, Remus packed his things into his van quickly and drove away from the Black residence as fast as he could. He was no longer hard, but he was still horny and he longed for release. I guess I'll just have to wait another week, he thought to himself with a sly smile as he continued toward home base.

Preview for next chapter:

"Oh…" she lowered her voice and walked toward them. "Are you talking about it right now?"
"What?" Sirius said nervously.
"About Regulus, of course."