Shades of Gray
(the THIRD AND FINAL companion to "No Better Mistake" and "Finding Home")
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter, or any other related characters from the world of Harry Potter. I also don't own the setting, plot lines, relationships, etc. ANYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH HARRY POTTER BELONGS TO J.K. ROWLING, not me.
o o O O o o O O o o O O o o
3
As Remus stood, bleary-eyed, in his living room the following day, he thought, as he had so many times before, of how much he loved magic. It took him only a few waves of his wand and well-practiced charms to have the place cleaned up again, even after the disaster of disorder from the night prior. In no time at all, the dishes were whisked clean, the various beer and liquor bottles finding their place in the bin, and Lily's plate of cookies, which had continued to multiply during the night, packed up for Sirius to eat later. Yawning, Remus padded across the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee. Though it was past noon, he had just risen, waking on the floor above to pull on a pair of crumpled pajama pants and a sweatshirt; and now, shivering in the kitchen, he had no real plans for the day except to return upstairs and curl up in bed with his coffee. Thinking he might as well take a cup to Sirius – who was still dead asleep when he'd left the bedroom – Remus snatched up the sugar as well, a few packets held carefully between his lips, beginning again his ascent up the wooden stairs.
He nearly tripped over it, holding the two tall cups of coffee. Matt's book was, just where he had left it, perched precariously on the edge of the bottom step. The front page, though plain, had been neatly typed with Matt and the novel's name. Curiously, Remus set down his coffee and picked it up. It wasn't terribly thick – Remus flipped open the first couple pages, skimming them – and so he picked his mugs back up again, tucking the book underneath his arm.
He saw at once that Sirius was awake when he reached the top step; though, as Sirius pulled himself into a sitting position, he yawned heavily, eyes still just barely open. He took the cup Remus offered him with a murmured "thanks" and then sank back into the pillows, watching as Remus stripped back to his t-shirt and shorts, and fell back down beside him.
"What's that?" he asked, ripping open the sugar with his teeth, gesturing to the book, which Remus had now opened against his knees.
"You know that Matt guy?" Sirius nodded, leaning over curiously. "It's his book – or, I guess, what he hopes is going to be his book. He gave me a copy last night."
"That's weird," said Sirius, now flipping through the pages himself, "I thought he like… had a thing for you, or something?"
"I think maybe he has a thing for you, Padfoot," Remus teased him, and Sirius scoffed, "one more glass of that eggnog and I think he might have—" Sirius threw an empty sugar at him, and he laughed.
"What is with you and thinking that people are interested in me?" Sirius asked, looking extremely amused. "Especially when they clearly think you're fit… Remember Zoe?"
"Yes, yes, but to be serious," Remus began, in a much more characteristic tone, "Matt—" but he was once again cut off by the other boy, who loudly interrupted him with his typical exclamation of "No, I'll be—"
"Oh—honestly, Sirius, every time?" Remus cried, but Sirius was clearly pleased with himself, emptying yet another packet of sugar into his coffee before taking a long gulp. "Yes—your name is humorous, but what else am I supposed to call you? An S.O.B., like your dear old mother named you?"
"Ugh," groaned Sirius, setting down his mug on the floor and pulling the many quilts to his chin, "don't remind me of that horrid bitch, Moony. It's Christmas, for crying out loud…"
"Oh yeah, it is, isn't it?" said Remus, suddenly remembering that it was, in fact, Christmas day, "well… It won't be a very exciting one. We decided not to get each other anything… Remember?"
"I remember," said Sirius, his eyes glinting devilishly, "although I think you gave me quite a large something last night, if I correctly recall…"
"Oh, shut up," Remus retorted, but he, too, was grinning as he covered Sirius' face with a pillow, turning back, once again, to his book.
It was quite comfortable – Sirius drifting back in and out of sleep, one hand rubbing Remus' lower back as he sat up in bed, sipping occasionally and beginning to read. After only a few pages, though, he set down his mug as Sirius had, now staring at the text before him, turning each page with more speed than the one before it.
"What's it about?" asked Sirius, prompted by the confused look on his face, and Remus shook his head.
"Me…" he said, slowly, sounding shocked, and Sirius lifted his head back from off the pillow, looking equally as puzzled.
"What do you mean?" he asked, but Remus continued almost instantly, pointing to the line he referred to:
"I mean—not directly, of course, but… I saw him every day, reading his book and looking studious, always with his ever-present cup of tea…"
"What…" Sirius repeated, taking the book from his hands and skimming the page. "It is about you!" he laughed, and it sounded bark-like, "Listen: A beautiful type of a man, soft, fawn-colored hair and eyes that shone like precious gems… Remus, darling, you know I love you, but this makes you sound kind of like a prat…"
"Don't you think it's strange though?" Remus persisted, snatching the book back from Sirius, who was still laughing. "I mean, he was supposed to be working on this before we even met – do you think he changed the whole thing?"
"I guess," Sirius shrugged, "but yeah – I mean, it's definitely super fucking odd, but… what's it even about? The book?"
"That's the strangest part," Remus struggled to find a way to make his sentence less awkward, but there was no way—"That's just the beginning of it, but that—that me guy is all throughout; I checked. It's like… some sort of love story or something. He goes on and on about it..."
"Are you kidding?" Sirius' eyes darkened now, and he looked, for the first time, angry. "He wrote a romance about you? And he gave it to you last night, at our house?"
"Yeah, it's…"
"It's fucked up, is what it is," Sirius told him, his face now looking sour. "What an ass..."
"Well…" at the irritated look on his boyfriend's face, Remus shut the book, casting it across the room on top of a pile of Sirius' shirts and ties. "It's probably rubbish, anyway." He settled himself back down, curling up closer to Sirius and wrapping his arms around his chest, which was still bare. "Besides," he kissed the tip of Sirius' nose, which was wrinkled somewhat in displeasure, "he's alone. He's got to make up stories…"
"Yeah, I've got the real thing," growled Sirius, pressing his head against Remus' once more. "I suppose I can't blame him, after all, I'd certainly be jealous of you, too…"
o o O O o o O O o o O O o o
They went to Lily and James' home that evening – after all, it had nearly been 24 hours since they'd seen the pair – for a delicious, though rather unorthodox Christmas dinner. It appeared as though (rather uncharacteristically) the engaged couple had spent the majority of their day the same as Remus and Sirius had, lounging about in bed, and, as a result, all of them agreed that the leftover Christmas cookies, eggnog, and sandwiches were the best meal they could have possibly pulled together. They, like Sirius, had laughed when Remus first told them about Matt's strange story, but James' face grew clouded, just as Sirius' had, when he explained the context of the novel.
"He's… a piece of work," he said, shaking his head, reaching for what must have been his fifth or sixth cookie. "I mean, if some guy tried to tell Lily he was into her…"
"Yes, yes, we all know what you'd do, James," Lily rolled her eyes in his direction, but she certainly seemed pleased. With their wedding only a few months away, this was a rare time for Remus to see her without a million things to do, something that Sirius had, surprisingly, become extremely involved in. It amused Remus to see his boyfriend so excited over the wedding of his best friend/adoptive brother – he helped them with everything, from the planning of the guest list to even the final decision on Lily's dress – this last bit was probably more a hindrance than a help, as Sirius had absolutely no eye for anything matching. It wasn't so strange (Sirius had always been somewhat of a romantic), but it was funny – Sirius didn't seem to care one bit just what they were deciding, he only desired to be involved in it, eager for something so joyous to happen… like a very small puppy. This day, however, was a time for Lily to forget her planning, and she seemed to be taking full advantage of it; dressed in jeans and a hooded sweatshirt that said plainly she had just thrown them on. She did, though, seem happy, beaming even more widely as James leaned across the table to kiss her on the cheek.
"What makes me so mad, though," Sirius continued, "is that he would just shake my hand after handing him that thing, like it was no big deal…"
"It's not a big deal," said Remus, and all three looked at him. "I mean, the book isn't a big deal," he hastily corrected, "like I said, I reckon it's probably all just rubbish anyhow."
"Probably," said Lily, as if that settled that matter. "James, tell them about that game last week…"
But Remus was only partially listening as James launched into a colorful tale of Quidditch. His mind was, instead, several miles away, up on the second floor of his house, curled up in between a number of crumpled shirts, wondering, in spite of his better judgment, what precisely Matt's "rubbish" said about him.
o o O O o o O O o o O O o o
I really like the dialogue in this chapter... once again, lots of time talking to myself!
But things are starting to heat up a little.