For the Gringotts Prompt Bank:
A-Z AU: Rockstar!au, alien!au
All Color Prompts: gold, lavender
Charmed Prompts: (dialogue) "You're up early."/ "I haven't been to sleep."
"You're up early," James notes.
Remus grins. "I haven't been to sleep," he admits.
"Typical. You discover that Earth exists, and you're the biggest fanboy. Geek."
With a roll of his eyes, Remus dresses in his finest clothes, a gold and lavender suit that's sure to set him apart from the crowd. "It's Earth music!" he says. "Real music from another planet, James! Why are you not more excited about this?"
James smirks, pulling away a stray thread on his friend's jacket. "And I'm sure the fact that the musician has a nice ass doesn't hurt," he teases.
Remus feels his cheeks glow red. "No. I suppose it doesn't," he grinds out.
…
"Remember," Lily says for the hundredth time. "Their atmosphere is not like ours. Not the typical oxygen mix. Keep your helmet on or-"
"Or I'll breathe in a bunch of shitty chemicals and die," Sirius interrupts. "Got it, love. How about a coffee now? Extra sugar, soy milk."
Her eyes narrow at him. "When did you become such a diva?" she asks with a scowl. "What happened to the whole sex, drugs, and rock and roll way of life?"
"Rock and roll never dies. You won't put out, so that leaves out the sex bit. I don't fancy a sixth go at rehab, so I'm over drugs," he answers, narrowly dodging her hand as she goes to slap him. "Oi!"
"I'm your manager. Not your maid, not your sex slave," she reminds him. "Now, have you read up on Planet Lycan?"
Sirius holds up the file. "Yeah, yeah. Fascinating stuff. I particularly like the bit about the uh…"
Lily groans. "We're docking at their space station in less than five minutes, and you haven't bothered to read anything?" she demands, incredulous. "I could kill you sometimes, Sirius! Maybe you'll unknowingly be rude to them, and they'll save me the trouble. I can only dream."
"Calm down. I'll dazzle them with my smile. Spin some rubbish about how Earth is a peaceful place and welcomes their alliance. Play some tunes. Wam, bam, thank you, ma'am, back to my own planet where the air won't kill me."
"Don't screw this up," she warns.
…
"Is that it?"
James snorts. "Of course that's it. Look at the spacecraft. Primitive. Of course it's Earth," James says.
Remus stretches on his tiptoes, straining, desperate to get a better look over the fence. James is right. The spacecraft is primitive. The metal looks so flimsy that Remus is surprised it's made it this far. But he soon loses interest when the door rises, and a figure steps out.
His face is obscured by his visor, but Remus has seen enough pictures of Sirius Black to know that a handsome man dwells inside the ridiculous orange and tan suit. He imagines his dark hair, his piercing grey eyes.
"If you start squealing, I swear I will punch you," James warns.
Remus grabs James by the shoulders. "It's really happening! He's really here! Sirius Black is on our planet!" he says, jumping up and down.
"I can see that. I do have eyes, you know," James groans. "You're such a fanboy. It's embarrassing."
…
Sirius is surprised that the Lycans are so humanoid. Aliens were meant to be weird things with funny shaped heads and too many eyes and limbs. Perhaps if he'd read the papers Lily had pushed on him, it wouldn't be such a shock, but he's hardly had time for that nonsense.
President Kingsley beams at him, and if it wasn't for the thick patches of fur on his dark skin and the abnormally sharp canine teeth, Sirius could almost believe he's just a regular bloke from Earth. "Lycan welcomes you, Sirius Black," he says warmly with outstretched arms.
Sirius looks desperately at Lily, confused. Is he supposed to hug the bloke or shake his hand?
Lily steps in with her most winning smile. She bows, and Sirius follows her lead. "It is an honor to be here," she says. "Earth is humbled by your generous welcoming."
"Yeah. What she said," Sirius mumbles.
"Think of Lycan as your home away from home," the president says. "Whatever you need will be at your disposal."
"Thanks," Sirius says.
…
"How'd you manage front row seats?" Remus asks in awe.
James presses a finger to his lips and winks. "Can't give away all my secrets, can I?" he teases.
Remus watches as Sirius Black takes center stage. His band- The House of Black- follow in behind him, setting up. Remus grabs James' hand and squeezes, his chest aching. "We're front row at the biggest thing in intergalactic history," he hisses.
"Geek."
Sirius Black positions his guitar- an Earth instrument that Remus has grown to love in his extensive research of the distant planet- around his neck and raises a hand. The crowd grows silent.
"Earth is a friendly planet," he announces. "And we are thrilled to extend our friendship to this beautiful place. From this day forward, Lycans and Earthlings will no longer be strangers. We will live together as one."
The crowd cheers at this. Remus swoons.
"Don't you dare," James says, steadying his best friend.
"He's so dreamy," Remus whines.
"This first song is a little number I wrote about loneliness and love," Sirius continues, fingers gracefully strumming the strings.
"Oh, baby, this heart is shattered. But you know, baby, your love could be the only thing that matters."
"He looked right at me!" Remus says, grabbing James by the arm. "Did you see that? He looked at me when he said that!"
"You and probably a hundred others," James points out.
But Remus doesn't care. As Sirius' raspy voice continues, he feels himself melting a little.
…
"You can't be back here without a pass," a guard says.
Sirius looks up to see the young Lycan from the front row peering through the security barricade. He grins. Just like Earth. Boys and girls love trying to sneak backstage after a show.
And just like Earth, Sirius loves it. "Let him through," he calls.
The Lycan damn near sprints to him. Sirius tries not to laugh.
He's cute enough, in spite of the creepy fangs. The type that Sirius would gladly welcome on his tour bus for a night.
And what better a gesture of goodwill from Earth than a little personal love? Or lust, but who was keeping score?
"What's your name?"
"R-Remus," he manages.
"You already know who I am."
"Let me through! That's my friend back there!" a new voice calls. "And that redhead makes me want to do things!"
"That's James."
"Sirius, I swear to God," Lily warns.
Sirius smirks. "Let him in."
"Hello, beautiful!" James calls, bowing to Lily. "Did you know Lycans howl when they make love? I'd love to show you our more intimate customs."
Sirius laughs. Maybe he won't be the only human getting a piece of alien ass on this trip.
…
Remus feel like he might explode, his happiness is so overwhelming. He's alone with Sirius Black. Well, not completely alone. A camera is beaming all of this back to Earth. But it's close enough to private.
"I love your music."
He feels lame. Surely Sirius has heard that countless times. But the rockstar just laughs and turns to the camera.
"Hear that, folks? The Lycans love Earth music here," he says. "They really are a lovely bunch."
He moves closer to Remus. "And you, quite possibly, are the loveliest of all."
Remus feels the heat return to his face. He's lovely. Sirius Black has said so.
"Do Lycans kiss?" Sirius asks.
Remus is familiar with the practice from researching. "No. We nibble."
"We do that, too, but it's usually just kinky."
"What's kinky?"
"Me."
Remus doesn't understand. But he takes it as an invitation. His hands rest on Sirius' shoulders.
"Don't worry. If it gets too NSFW, I'll turn the camera off," Sirius mumbles.
Remus nods, not understanding the acronym. In that moment, he doesn't care. He just wants to be closer to his idol, as close as possible.
…
Sirius feels dizzy. His blood is rushing to the wrong head.
Remus' hands fumble with the space suit. Sirius thinks that he should stop him. Something is bad. Lily had said something about it…
But Sirius is too lost in the moment to remember or even care what it is that he's supposed to be mindful of.
"Is it safe?" Remus asks hesitantly.
"Yeah. I brought protection."
"Okay."
The helmet is lifted, and Sirius breathes in.
Their atmosphere is not like ours. Not the typical oxygen mix.
Lily's words echo in his head far too late. His lungs sting and burn, and his chest feels like it's expanding. Sirius chokes, grabbing desperately at something, anything.
His vision is blurry, and everything is slowly fading to black.
…
"Earth is not going to like this." Lily says.
"You think?" Remus mutters sarcastically before convulsing into sobs again.
He'd had a once in a lifetime chance, and he'd ruined it as much as could possibly be ruined. Accident or not, he'd killed the Earth's goodwill ambassador in a moment of desire.
"We'll send an apology fruit basket," James suggests.
"No. You don't understand. Sirius wasn't completely truthful about humans. They- we- tend to love war. Not me, personally, but humanity as a whole."
"Well, that sounds stupid," James notes.
"It is," Lily agrees. "But now they have a reason. They would have found one, regardless. Don't be too hard on yourself, Remus."
"I killed Sirius Black…"
"A reason for what?" James asks.
The screen blinks on, and an old human appears with fire in his eyes. "Citizens of Lycan," Cornelius Fudge says, "we have sent you a gift of goodwill, and you have repaid us with murder. We had hoped to live peacefully with you, our brothers across the stars, but we are left with no choice."
Remus watches the screen with wet eyes.
"Sirius Black was first blood. But we will shed so much more. Planet Earth has formally declared war on Planet Lycan."