Chapter 16: Playing House

A week and a half later, Sirius was slipping the key that Remus had given him into Remus's door after a particularly rough day at work. Things with the Riddle case did not seem to be looking up. Today, the grand jury had indicted his brother on charges of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. He had been working closely with Regulus and his lawyer on his father's orders. His father wanted to win the case but make sure that Regulus stayed out of prison. From what Sirius had discovered so far, he knew that only one would be viable. According to his brother's testimony, the Riddle Company had been looking for a scapegoat—someone to blame for everything that had happened so that they could win their settlement. The only way for them to win the case now was for their lawyers to use this to their advantage—take one brick out instead of the whole building. It might weaken the foundation, but the building would still be able to stand. Sirius did not want his brother to go to prison, but even more than that, he did not want the blame that would inevitably be placed on him if that happened. He was in an impossible situation, and there was no foreseeable way out.

The only thing that gave him comfort was Remus. When Sirius had arrived on Remus's doorstep over a week ago, in the heat of passion, Remus had not noticed the duffle bag that Sirius had brought with him. Since that night, Sirius had been staying with Remus. He had told Remus everything about Priscilla, and as such, Remus had not only comforted Sirius but he had also willingly agreed to let Sirius stay with him. Remus knew it was a lot. They were having an affair and had only been having one for about a month, and now Sirius was living with him. It was Remus's secret hope that this would be the last straw for Priscilla and Sirius that had caused Remus to agree to let Sirius stay with him. And he certainly wasn't complaining. It was amazing to be with Sirius every night. Sirius always came home later than Remus, and when he did, they would talk about their days as they ate dinner together. Then they would usually watch some TV before they would make love and then fall asleep in each other's arms. A few times, they had gone out to dinner, but typically they stayed in. It wasn't that they were still hiding their relationship; it was just that they only cared about being around each other. Remus had a surprise in store for Sirius the coming weekend, but other than that, he was perfectly content to stay inside.

Since the night that Remus had unknowingly confessed his love to Sirius, Sirius had not spoken of it. Instead, he attempted to sort out his own feelings, and show Remus in every way possible without saying it explicitly that it would be okay if Remus shared his true feelings. "Always be honest with me about how you feel," Sirius had told Remus one night over a particularly intimate dinner. "That was always my problem with Priscilla"—Remus noted the past tense—"No matter how you think I might react, just tell me." Part of Sirius felt that if Remus confessed his love to him knowingly, that would give Sirius the courage to do the same, even though he wasn't totally sure how he felt. Remus had looked bashful after that speech, but he hadn't said anything. It could have been because he was still worried about Sirius's dear wife. Sirius had told Priscilla that he was done, but that did not stop him from taking her calls in private or responding to her texts occasionally. The two of them never talked about his marriage, but it was always in the back of Remus's mind. Was it truly over? It was safe to say that not Remus, Sirius, nor Priscilla knew the answer to that question.

Whatever the answer may be, that did not stop Remus from feeling elated when he saw Sirius's smiling face come through the door with arms full of Chinese takeout.

"I brought dinner," Sirius said happily as he kicked the door shut behind him.

"Mmm, smells good," Remus said as he walked over to Sirius. He leaned in for a quick kiss before he took some of the food out of Sirius's hands and helped him bring it over to the table.

As Remus was grabbing two plates out of one of his cabinets, he felt strong arms wrap around his waist and lips press against his neck. Remus shivered and sighed. It didn't matter how long it had been since they had been together, Remus was fairly certain that he would always feel like a giddy schoolboy every time Sirius laid so much as a finger on him.

"I missed you today," Sirius whispered as he trailed kisses along Remus's neck.

"Missed you more," Remus said quietly as he leaned into Sirius's kisses. When Sirius's hands began to travel south, Remus stopped him. "We should eat first." He knew that if he let Sirius start, he wouldn't have the power to make him stop.

Sirius whipped Remus around and pressed his lips to Remus's firmly. It only took moments for Remus to open his mouth for Sirius and let Sirius's tongue slide smoothly in. Sirius grasped the back of Remus's neck and pulled him closer while Remus's arms snaked around Sirius's waist. In seconds, Remus was humming in pleasure as Sirius was grinding his hips against his lover's.

Then, Sirius's hands left Remus's neck and slid down his arms until they were moving to undo his pants. Before Remus could protest, his pants were pulled just below his cock, and Sirius was on his knees in front of him. Remus moaned loudly when he felt Sirius's mouth around him. His moans came out in a steady rhythm as Sirius moved his mouth up and down along the length of Remus's pulsing cock. Sirius moved his mouth off of Remus's cock for a moment so that he could run his tongue along Remus's length, causing Remus to begin shaking violently as orgasm crept closer. Then, Sirius took Remus all the way in again and sucked in his cheeks hard with each backward movement. Remus clutched the counter behind him for support and cried out as he came into Sirius's mouth.

After Sirius had wiped his mouth and Remus had redone his pants, Sirius leaned in to whisper into Remus's ear. "Dinner can wait for that, right?"

Remus smiled, completely satisfied. "Always."

After they had finished eating and chatting with each other about their days, they had settled in front of the TV. Sirius, who was now down to his boxers only, was laying down with his head in Remus's lap while Remus, who was wearing one of his signature white v-necks and a pair of black boxer-briefs, stroked Sirius's hair. Since the night Remus had said he loved Sirius out loud, Sirius could never get enough of the feeling of Remus's hands in his hair. Because Remus had been stroking his hair when he had confessed his love, it was as if Remus doing that now was a reminder to Sirius that Remus loved him. Sirius felt a pleasant shiver course through him.

"You cold?" Remus asked, pulling the blanket from off the back of the couch and draping it over Sirius. Sirius then reached up and put a hand behind Remus's neck in order to pull him down into a deep kiss. "Mmm," Remus hummed whenever their tongues found one another. As the kiss deepened even further, both of them had shifted so that now Remus was hovering over Sirius a bit, although Sirius's legs remained across Remus's. Sirius needed to get closer. In one quick movement, he was straddling Remus grinding against him as their tongues fought to taste every inch of the other's mouth. They were both hard already and were both looking to relieve the tension when they heard a knock at the door.

Sirius groaned in frustration and pulled his mouth away from Remus's long enough to shout "Fuck off!" to the person outside.

"Sirius!" Remus scolded with a smile as he pushed Sirius off of him and went to his door. He was laughing and looking back at Sirius when he opened the door, but when he faced the visitor, his smile faded quickly.

"What are you doing here?" Remus asked rudely.

Severus laughed. "Nice to see you, too. Can I come in?"

Remus blanched. "I'm a little busy at the moment," he said disbelievingly, gesturing towards Sirius, who waved with a fake smile on his face.

"Oh," Severus said. He swept his long, dark hair out of his face. "Who's he?" he asked Remus without thinking.

Sirius stood up and walked over quickly. "Sirius Black. I'm his boyfriend," he said a little too loudly. "Who the hell are you?"

Severus's face fell and looked even paler than he normally did. Remus, on the other hand, felt intensely giddy. He and Sirius had never referred to each other as boyfriends even though that's what they obviously were.

"Boyfriend?" Severus and Remus both said at the same time. Severus, however, sounded like he might be sick, while Remus sounded like he wanted to giggle maniacally.

"Yeah," he said, looking at Remus with a smile. Remus wanted to kiss him and pick up where they had just left off, but he kept his cool. Sirius turned back to Severus with raised eyebrows.

"Uh… I—uh… I'm Severus," he said, sticking out his hand for Sirius to shake. Sirius shook it very briefly but dropped it almost instantly.

"My ex," Remus confirmed, although Sirius had suspected as much.

"I should go," Severus said quickly before turning and walking down the hall.

"Wait inside, please?" Remus turned to Sirius quickly and gave him a small kiss before following Severus. Sirius looked skeptical, but he did as Remus asked. Remus waited for his door to close before calling out to his old lover.

"Sev!" he called. Severus was halfway down the first flight of stairs when he turned back.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come," he started.

"It's okay, Severus, but you know you can't just keep coming by unannounced," Remus said gently.

"I know," Severus said, looking down. "I guess I'm just not used to… calling ahead," he finished.

"Friends call ahead," Remus said with a smile. Severus looked up at him and smiled back.

"I'll remember that next time," he said. They looked at each other momentarily before Remus spoke.

"Well, bye, Severus," Remus said as he turned to walk back toward his apartment.

"Rem, wait," Severus said quickly. After a moment: "Is that guy really your boyfriend?" Remus hesitated, but then he nodded. "He's hot," Severus said with a smile. Remus smiled back.

"Thanks," he said and turned again to walk back to his… boyfriend. As he walked back to Sirius with high anticipation, he couldn't help but think that maybe a friendship with Severus would work out after all.

That night, as Remus moaned loudly, calling Sirius his boyfriend playfully the entire time, Sirius longed for some different words to tumble from Remus's lips. Just three words—and he was kind of picky about which words they would be.

"That was really good, Lily. Who knew you could cook?"

James Potter flashed Lily Evans a handsome smile and she blushed lightly. After several calls and texts for nearly two weeks, Lily had finally agreed to go on an official date with James. Although later she realized it was too soon for her to have the man over at her place, she had eagerly invited him over for dinner when she had finally answered one of his calls. She made a delicious spinach and lobster pasta that she was always excited to feed to new friends.

Throughout the entire meal, James had been stealing glances at Lily that did not go unnoticed by her. She had tried to maintain her composure, but every time he looked at her or brushed his hand across hers or let his foot graze her leg under the table, her heart began to race. She was extremely attracted to him, as he was just her type—dark hair, athletic build, sarcastic, and a little arrogant.

"Thanks?" Lily said with a smirk as she got up from the table and took both of their plates. When she brought their plates to her sink, she stopped for a moment before turning back so that she could gently finger and admire the bouquet of exotic flowers that James had brought her. Normally she wasn't fond of cliché gifts and gestures, but for James she would make an exception.

She hadn't noticed him come up behind her. She gasped when she felt his arms slide around her waist, and she sighed with pleasure and content when she felt his lips brush against her neck.

"Thanks for dinner," he whispered into her ear. When his hot breath blew against her ear, she had to fight to stifle a moan. He was way too close. If he didn't back up soon, she didn't know if she would be able to stick to her rule about sex on the first date. She wanted to push him away, so then why was she responding so enthusiastically when she felt his lips and tongue kissing her neck? She pressed herself back against him and braced her arms on the counter in front of her as he began to suck on her neck. She knew he would leave a mark on her freckled skin, but she thrilled in the thought.

Lily sighed as James wrapped his arms around her tighter so he could pull her closer. His hands began to caress her stomach as he kissed her neck. She shivered at his touch—gentle yet needy. When she pushed herself into him again she could feel him, and it seemed that he was more than ready to break any dating rules that existed. James hissed when she ground against him, and his hands traveled upwards slowly, causing her breathing to speed up. Just when the anticipation was starting to kill her, his hands stopped just below her breasts. She groaned in disappointment, and James took a step back.

Usually, as with the other women he had been with, James would have taken this a lot further. He knew that he was good looking and that many women found him hard to resist, and he knew Lily was feeling similar to those women, but with her it was different. He really liked her. He'd only known her for a few weeks but in that time, he had already discovered that he wanted things to be different with her. Special. So, with every ounce of willpower he could muster, he took another step back and gently brushed Lily's red hair out of her face when she turned to look at him. He smiled.

"Got anything for dessert?" James asked.

Lily looked incredibly flushed, and James could see the disappointment in her eyes, but she was also relieved. She didn't want him to lose interest, and she always feared that would happen if she gave herself up to a man too early. That, and she feared that sex too early tended to define a relationship on a purely sexual basis. She smiled back at him.

"I might have some cookies or something," she said. "You can go in and have a seat on the couch, and I'll bring some to you." James leaned in, and Lily held her breath, but he only placed a soft kiss on her forehead, causing Lily to exhale smoothly. She could not suppress the shiver that ran through her body. His lips—however innocent—felt so good.

After Lily had brought some cookies over for them to eat, and James had picked a movie for them to watch, they snuggled up close to each other on her couch. Lily sat with her knees bent slightly under her and her head resting on James's shoulder while James sat, now with his shoes off, his feet reclining out in front of him on her coffee table, and his arm around Lily's shoulders. It felt comfortable and natural for both of them, and Lily released a contented sigh that caused James to smile knowingly. He pulled her closer and she moved to rest a hand on the inside of his inner thigh. James's smile slipped and he felt a jolt below his belt. Her hand was dangerously close to his pleasure zone, and he knew he likely wouldn't be able to control himself in the event that it moved any higher. Slow, James, he told himself. Slow.

But her hand stayed where it was, and they watched the movie in a comfortable silence. James had picked out a suspense thriller that he had heard good things about, and he was happy to discover that this was exactly the kind of movie that Lily enjoyed. Another thing to add to the "likes" column, he thought to himself. There was currently nothing in his "dislikes" column—a column that only existed in his head, coincidentally.

Despite both James and Lily's best efforts to tell themselves that they wanted to take things slow, they had not gotten even twenty minutes into the movie and they were already into a very heated make-out session.

It had started with Lily's small tilt of the head upwards so that she could look at James. She couldn't resist. That small gesture had sent James's heart into a tail spin, and he had barely known what he was doing when he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. She had released a small whimper of surprise, but she had responded eagerly. Within moments, the kiss had gone from soft and sweet to hungry and passionate. She could taste the chocolate in his mouth from the cookies they had eaten, and when his tongue entered her mouth, she sighed in pleasure at the feeling and the taste. Soon she was straddling him and grinding her hips slowly against his as their mouths pressed together as close as they could go and their tongues tried to get a fill of every taste.

For their date, Lily had been wearing a floral sundress that was now hiked up to her waist. James pulled the straps down as he kissed her and then moved his mouth down to her collarbone so that he could trail kisses all along it. She released a breathy moan and thrust her hips gently against his. She felt him jump slightly, and through her panties and underneath his slacks, she could feel his hard length pressing against her. She began to unbutton his shirt, and she removed it quickly and through it to the side. While he continued to kiss her neck and shoulders, she marveled at his toned stomach and chest. She couldn't resist running her hands across it, and when her fingernails trailed down his chest, he shuddered visibly and brought his mouth back up to hers in order to kiss her fiercely. When she ground her hips into him harder this time, he whimpered. It was the sexiest sound she had ever heard. Then, with a heated grunt, she was on her back in an instant, and he was over her.

Lily wrapped her legs around James's waist and pulled him tight against her so that she could feel him again, hard and wanting. She moaned into his mouth as James thrust himself against her deeply but slowly. The sound she released seemed to kick him into overdrive and he brought one hand down to pull down one side of her dress in order to expose one of her breasts. While his tongue roamed the inside of her mouth, his hand went to work massaging her breast and playfully pinching and tweaking her hard, sensitive nipple.

When each of them needed to breathe, James broke away from her mouth, and Lily was surprised at how hard and fast her breath was coming out. She could feel her panties getting wetter as she pressed her hips against him to match his thrusts. And when his mouth moved down and wrapped around Lily's exposed nipple, she let out a loud, strangled, hoarse moan and arched into him. She moaned and whimpered as his mouth licked and sucked her nipple until she could no longer stand the dull ache between her legs. She needed him, and she needed him now.

Right when she was about to reach her hands down and work on his zipper, he stopped, braced his arms on the couch on either side of her head, and leaned up so that he could look at her.

"You're so beautiful," he said in a voice laden with lust. She blushed and smiled as he brushed a strand of her red hair out of her face for the second time tonight. He was out of breath and so was she. Before she could say anything, he said, "I think I should go."

A nervous knot formed so tightly in her stomach that Lily thought she might be sick. He gave her a light peck on the lips before he sat up and began to put his shirt back on. Lily pulled her dress up above her breast once again and sat up next to him, pulling her dress down at the bottom as she did so. The movie was still playing on her television. She just watched him. She didn't understand. He seemed pretty into it. Extremely into it, in fact. As if he could read her mind, as he laced his shoes, he spoke.

"Look, Lily, I…" He stopped what he was doing to look at her. "I really like you, and… Well, I'm infamous for fucking things up in relationships. I don't want to fuck this up because I think this could be something real." He went back to finishing up his shoes. "You're just so fucking beautiful, and I know if I stay here any longer I'm not going to be able to stop myself." He finished up his shoes and looked at her again, taking her hands in his. "I just want to take things slow and do it right. Does that sound good?"

She felt even more out of breath than she had a moment before. He liked her and he really wanted this to go somewhere. He was stopping himself because he wanted it to mean something more than it would after a first date. He cared about her, and he thought she was beautiful, and he wanted to change his ways in relationships for her. Did it sound good? No, it sounded fucking amazing.

"Yeah," was all she could manage to breathe out. He saw the look of joy and adoration in her eyes, and it was a struggle for him to look away. He could get lost in those beautiful green orbs. Eventually, he stood up, and it took her a moment to realize that she needed to stand up, too, and walk him out. Once they got to the door, Lily put an arm above her head on the door and leaned against, and James stopped and turned around to say a proper goodnight.

"I had," he couldn't stop his eyes from roaming up and down her body, "an incredible time tonight."

Lily smiled, and James felt his heart rate increase. "Me too," she said.

James stepped close to her so that only about six or so inches separated them. She looked up to meet his gaze. "When can I see you again?" he asked her.

Lily lifted the hand that had been hanging loosely at her side, brought it to the front of James's shirt, and bunched it in her fist so that she could pull him closer. She gave him the softest and sweetest of kisses before taking his bottom lip in between her lips and sucking on it. Before she pulled away she bit his bottom lip and tugged on it gently. James could not resist pushing his body against hers and his tongue into her mouth. She stumbled back a bit but regained her balance as she wrapped her arms around James's neck and kissed him deeply. He held her so tightly around the waist that she was raised nearly off the ground. This time, it was Lily who pulled away. She pulled her mouth back but they stayed in each other's embrace.

"Soon, I hope," she said quietly, her voice filled with desire. With a quiet, almost undetectable groan, James released Lily from his arms.

"I'll call you," he said before placing one last peck on her lips.

"You better," Lily said as he walked backwards away from her.

"This time I'll make dinner," James said as he continued to back away slowly.

Lily shook her head and laughed. James's stomach did a flip at the sound of her sweet laughter. "Who knew you could cook?" Lily called after him, repeating his sentiment from earlier in the evening.

"I can't," he said, nearly to the elevators. Lily shook her head again, and with a small, flirtatious wave, she closed the door. Once she did so, she leaned her back against it and covered her mouth as she released a giggle that had been dying to escape. James Potter was really something.

When the elevator door closed, James nearly leapt in the air with joy. He collapsed against the back wall of the elevator and sighed contentedly. He decided that he would call her the next day. He couldn't wait too long with a girl like Lily Evans.

Preview for next chapter:

"Your husband is not being faithful to you."