Hello readers and thank you so much for the reviews so far! A quick note: For those of you who don't quite hate Priscilla, just understand that her attitude of "just wanting to be loved by her husband" is not entirely sincere. I know I've portrayed her that way, and that's for a reason. Just trust me on this. You'll understand more in this chapter (and in chapters to come), I think. Anyway, keep reading and reviewing!
Chapter 8: Sirius's Ball and Chain
"Sirius?"
Sirius froze. The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon when Sirius snuck into his house after the night he spent with Remus. After sitting together on the couch watching television, Remus had eventually laid his head on Sirius's shoulder and taken Sirius's hand in his. They had fallen asleep like that on Remus's couch, and it wasn't until he had woken up with a full bladder that Sirius realized how late—or rather, early—it was. Now, he was attempting to sneak back into his house and get ready to go to work without waking his wife. Apparently, he had been unsuccessful.
"Go back to sleep, Pris," Sirius whispered as he continued toward his bathroom. He heard Priscilla moving in their bed, and when he looked over at her, she was sitting up looking at him.
"Where were you, Sirius?" she said as she flipped on the light. Sirius stared at her for a moment before he spoke. Her eyes were red and puffy and her face was slightly swollen as if she had been crying. Sirius suddenly felt unbearably guilty. He hadn't done anything sexual with Remus the night before, but the way they had looked at each other—the way Remus had rubbed the back of Sirius's thumb when they held hands, the way Sirius's heart had raced at even the slightest touch—it all certainly had not been entirely innocent. He had been having this emotional exchange with Remus while his wife had waited for him, mind probably whirling with where he could have possibly been. Sirius felt bad until—
"You look like shit."
That's my girl, Sirius thought sardonically. Sirius had noticed Priscilla's change in mood over the last few weeks. She had been nicer, more loving, than she had been in more than a year. Sirius could only think of a few explanations. She either suspected something was going on, or she had some kind of ulterior motive. He knew Priscilla much too well to suspect that she had had a genuine change of heart. Now, however, she seemed to be back to her old self.
"I'm going to take a shower," he said.
Priscilla jumped up from the bed and stood in front of him, blocking his path to the bathroom. "Not until you tell me where you were."
"I was at a bar," Sirius said without a moment's hesitation. "Getting drunk and trying to forget about my horrible life." When tears welled up in Priscilla's eyes, Sirius regretted his words and moved to put his arms around her in comfort. Instead of accepting his means of apology, Priscilla pushed Sirius away from her roughly.
"Don't touch me!" she shrieked. "I'm so sick of you. This is how you've always been. One bad thing happens and it immediately turns into one big fucking pity party. So your brother was arrested—"
"So I've been working on this case for months, and now it's going to mean practically nothing. It's never when 'one bad thing happens,' it's always a series of events. But you only ever notice the one event that pushes me over the edge," Sirius interrupted, anger suddenly flaring. "Don't act like you can possibly understand, Priscilla. You don't work. I work every single day, practically twenty-four hours a day so that you don't have to work. You don't understand the stress of this job. I know that the New York social circles can be stressful, but I don't think it quite compares," Sirius said sarcastically. "So I have a wife who has only been kind to me for the past two weeks after being cruel for a year because now she wants a baby." Sirius raised an eyebrow and looked at Priscilla as if to dare her to challenge what he had just said. She stared at him squarely and crossed her arms, but did not deny his claim. Sirius nodded and smiled acrimoniously. "I'm going to take a shower," he said again. This time, Priscilla did not object. When he took one step into the bathroom, Priscilla spoke.
"I'm going to my sister's Saturday and I'm going to stay there through Sunday," she said quietly.
"We have lunch with James," Sirius said with his back to her.
"I'm leaving after that."
Sirius did not say anything. He instead walked into the bathroom and shut the door.
Right on schedule, Saturday morning, Remus walked up to the front door of the Black House. In a flash, Sirius opened the door and pulled Remus in gruffly. He pushed Remus against the wall and brought his mouth toward his. Sirius could feel Remus shaking and twitching with need underneath him, but instead of kissing him, he spoke. "We're just finishing up lunch with a friend," Sirius said into Remus's mouth. "After that, he'll be going, and Priscilla is going to her sister's for the rest of the night and into tomorrow." Remus moaned when Sirius brought his knee up and used it to massage Remus's cock through his pants. Sirius leaned up to Remus's ear and nibbled at it before whispering, "And then I'm going to fuck you." Remus groaned and pushed himself against Sirius. Then, Sirius removed his body from Remus's and turned and walked down the hall.
Remus collapsed against the wall and nearly slid down into a sitting position after Sirius turned and walked away from him. He did not know how he was going to be able to concentrate on the job today at all after that brief exchange. Remus bit his lip with a smile as he thought of what was going to happen on this day. Finally, he thought.
Sirius joined Priscilla and James in the dining room once again, leaving Remus alone with his thoughts. "Who was that at the door?" James asked.
"Oh, just the man who does our yard," Sirius said into his wine glass. "He needed to get into the back yard."
James looked at Sirius, but Sirius deliberately avoided his eyes and tried to contain the excitement that was practically threatening to burst from his body. He could not remember the last time he had ever been this excited. After another moment or two, Priscilla broke the silence as she scooted her chair back and stood up.
"Well, I have to get going," she said.
"Oh? So soon?" James asked. He gave Sirius another knowing look, but received no eye contact in return.
Priscilla tried to give James a regretful look, but it was perhaps the most insincere thing Sirius had ever seen her do. He knew she could not wait to leave, and he frankly couldn't wait for it either. "Yes," was all she said with a smile. "My sister's expecting me."
"Okay, well, it was nice having lunch with you," James said as he leaned forward and placed a small peck on her cheek. "I'll see you soon."
Priscilla smiled and squeezed his arm before she turned to her husband.
"Car's all packed? Everything's ready?" he asked. She nodded. Sirius then held out his arms and embraced her before placing a soft kiss on her lips. The hug was stiff and she barely moved her mouth in response. This did not go unnoticed by Sirius or James. Sirius pulled away and said, "Well, call me when you get there so I know you got there safe." Her sister lived in Warwick, Rhode Island, which was a little more than a three hour car trip away. She nodded again but still said nothing as she turned and walked down the hall and out of the house.
Sirius watched her as she left the house and he could not help but feel a tinge of regret and guilt. The fight they'd had the morning earlier had been one of their worst in a while, and they had hardly spoken since then. Sirius had spent most of the day before today at the firm. He had come home very late to find a blanket and pillow sitting on the sofa in their front sitting room. He knew he should feel worse about the fight, but he just could not bring himself to care the way he usually did. And as Priscilla's car drove down the street, a great wave of relief washed over him.
When James sat back down in his chair in the dining room and made himself comfortable once more, Sirius looked at him curiously. "Should you be going, too?"
"Eh, no," James said with a shrug and an air of nonchalance. "I thought I'd hang out with you a bit longer. We never really get to do this anymore." Sirius suppressed a groan and sat back down across from James. "What's up with you and her anyway?" James then said.
Sirius shrugged. "Same old thing."
James furrowed his brow. "I've seen your petty arguments before and the results of them." James shook his head. "That was something more. She looked like she fucking hated you, man."
Sirius could not help but laugh. "Well," was all he said with a shrug. When James gave him a look, he rolled his eyes with a smile and consented to be questioned. "After I found out about Regulus the other day, I stayed out all night. I was just pissed off, and I needed to let off some steam. Well, she was not happy when I came home at six a.m., and we got into a fight."
James narrowed his eyes, but the twinkle in them was unmistakable. "Where were you all night?" he questioned suggestively with a single raised eyebrow.
He knew it was useless. James had always been able to read him like an open book. Sirius sighed and said, "I was with Remus."
James smirked. "And?"
"We didn't do anything," Sirius said calmly. "I was pretty drunk." Sirius paused. "And… he said he couldn't." Sirius took a sip of his wine and stared into his glass as the stinging memory from that night came back to the surface. For the rest of the night he had not made any mention of Remus's rejection of him, and he had let Remus lead the way in any further moves that were made. Sirius had tried to figure it out. Maybe it was that he was too drunk? But if that was the case why didn't he just say that? Sirius knew it couldn't be that Remus wasn't attracted to him. The attraction on both of their parts was pretty obvious. The last thing that Sirius had considered—the thing that had given him the most trepidation—was that Remus, too, was in a relationship, and he hadn't yet made up his mind about whether or not he wanted to risk an affair. Sirius had ruled that out, however, as he looked around Remus's apartment and did not notice any trace of a partner of any kind. But if it was none of these things, what could it be?
"I thought you said he felt the same way?" James said with a furrowed brow and a tilt of his head.
"I think he does," Sirius said, recalling with a smile the way Remus had writhed with need when they were in the hallway together just a short time ago.
"Then, why—?"
"I don't know, James!" Sirius snapped. He didn't want to think about why Remus had denied him. He spent almost all of that following day thinking about it. "It was nice, anyway. We just sat together."
James just shrugged and changed the subject. "So, what do you think this situation with Reggie is going to do to the case?" Sirius clenched his jaw at the mention of his younger brother, and he nearly cringed at James's use of Regulus's nickname. It had been years since he had called Regulus by that name, and it was a mark of the length and closeness of James and Sirius's friendship that James used the name.
"James, I honestly think we should just throw in the towel and settle." Sirius shook his head. "There's no way we can come back from a blow like this."
"Have you talked to him?" James asked.
"My father posted his bail, and he wants me to talk to Regulus tomorrow," Sirius said grumpily. "I don't have anything to say. I've been cleaning up his messes since we were kids, and I don't want to deal with this one. I told him, did I not?" James nodded. "I told him not to take the job with that company, but all he could think about was the money." Sirius launched into a tangent about his brother after that, and the conversation then quickly focused on the Riddle case for a long time. They talked about the work they had been doing and strategies they had developed and where they could go from here. James had more faith in the work they had done for the case and believed that they still had a chance to make their hard work count.
"But I have to be honest with you," James was saying some time later. "I wouldn't mind seeing that company burn. After everything they've done to their consumers. It's sick." Sirius shook his head with disgust as he thought of what Riddle Insurance had done to their sick and dying purchasers. James shivered. "Ugh. Let's talk about something else. Jesus." Sirius looked at his watch. He had only requested mowing and weed-whacking service from Lupin Lawn Care today, and he knew that Remus would be done soon. If he wanted to spend time with him, he knew he would have to get James out soon. James noticed Sirius looking at his watch and said, "Got a hot date?"
Sirius blushed. He knew that James was only kidding, but the implication was still clear. When Sirius didn't say anything, James stood up and laughed. "Okay, I'll go. I know when I'm not wanted."
"James, I—"
James held up a hand with a chuckle. "I'm only kidding, Sirius," he said. Sirius sighed and was thankful that his friend was so perceptive and understanding. "But I really should get going anyway. Well, let me know how your conversation with Regulus goes, and…" he glanced around with a stupid grin on his face. "Let me know how this goes," he said, clearly referring to Remus. Sirius laughed and shoved James playfully.
"Shut up," Sirius said. Sirius and James then shared a brief hug before Sirius said, "But I will. For both," he added.
James wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "I know I shouldn't be condoning this, but I just like seeing you happy." James was about to say something else until he was cut off by a light rapping on the glass door. Sirius looked around James to see Remus standing at the door. Sirius gestured for him to come in, and when he did, Sirius's mouth nearly watered in anticipation. As usual, Remus had sweat glistening all over his entire body. His tanned skin looked slightly red in some areas, and dirt was smudged on his face, body, and clothes. Sirius licked his lips involuntarily and unknowingly, and when James saw his friend practically salivating, he turned around and saw Remus standing there. James noticed that Remus looked comfortable in the kitchen like he had been here many times before. Seeing James, however, Remus looked at bit apprehensive.
"Remus," Sirius breathed. James noticed the desire in his voice and suddenly felt like he was intruding on an intimate moment. When Sirius finally composed himself and realized that James was still standing there, he said, "This is my best friend, James. James, this is Remus." Remus noticed that Sirius did not give any statement qualifying who he was. Not 'the man who does our yard," not 'my friend,' not anything. Remus did not know what to think of it, but from the look James was giving him, Remus suspected that he knew their relationship was more than platonic.
James approached Remus and extended his hand. When Remus grasped it and shook it, James said, "It's nice to meet you, Remus. I've heard a lot about you." That confirmed it for Remus. He knew something was going on between them, but how? Had Sirius told him? Remus smiled warmly and James could see what Sirius liked about him. Even in this brief moment of interaction, James could see how different from Priscilla this man was. He seemed kind and warm and down-to-earth. If James had picked up on this in just a few seconds, it was a wonder to James that Sirius had even been able to keep things as innocent between him and Remus as he had so far. James smiled.
"Nice to meet you, too," Remus said after they dropped hands. "Though I can't say I've heard anything about you." James chuckled but gave no response.
"Well, I was just getting ready to head out," James said. He gave Sirius a pat on the shoulder and turned toward the kitchen's exit. "I'll see you around, Remus. It was nice meeting you. And you," he gave Sirius a playfully stern look. "Stay out of trouble." Sirius rolled his eyes and smiled as his friend headed toward the front door. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" he called from the foyer. Sirius shook his head. When the door snapped shut, Sirius stared at Remus.
"Well," he said. "Looks like it's just the two of us."
What a terrible place to end it, right? Well, don't worry, there's more to come in the next chapter. Let me know what you thought of this one, and I'll try to make the next chapter EXTRA special.
Also, just an fyi, if you haven't noticed, you can check the progress of upcoming chapters on my profile page. I pretty regularly update on how far along I am in writing the chapter, so if you want to know when you can expect the next chapter, find out there!
In the next chapter we find out what happens when the dog's away and the cats decide to play. Preview:
"Can I ask you a question? About the other night?"