A/N: Thank you, guys, for your continued support. It is much appreciated :)

Chapter 27 – None of Your Business

There was a knock on the door the next morning. Regulus flew up and looked around, at first not realising where he was.

"Boys? Are you awake? I've made a large breakfast, so if you want to come down…"

Remus rubbed his eye sleepily and sat up in bed. He ran a hand through his hair and yawned. "Yeah. Yeah, we're up," he called back and smiled at Regulus who still looked rather startled.

"What if she had opened the door?" said Regulus. "What's she thinking about me sleeping here? Does she think we're having sex?"

"She's polite enough not to barge in," assured Remus. "And besides, she wouldn't think that even if she had opened the door. We're both dressed." He leaned in and gave Regulus a quick kiss. "Do you want to come down for breakfast?"

"Yes, alright," said Regulus. "But she didn't see that we were dressed. Doesn't she worry?"

"I think she's fine with whatever we do," said Remus. "She likes you even more after you stayed with me at the hospital. She's happy that you're my boyfriend."

"She thought I was a pain in the bum at the hospital. And all the nurses complained to her, asking her to control her son's Rottweiler. I heard them say it."

"I don't care what they said," smiled Remus.

Regulus took another shower - he always showered at least twice a day so dirt and sweat did not get a chance to feel at home on his body. Then he dressed and went downstairs, seeing that Remus had already gone.

"Good morning, Regulus," said Mr. Lupin, lowering the sports-section. "Did you lot sleep well?" Regulus nodded and sat down. Mr. Lupin eyed the two boys and then flipped up his newspaper again. "I hope you didn't wear out my son. He looks a little tired and he isn't fully recovered yet."

Remus almost choked on his freshly pressed orange juice. "Dad!"

Regulus stared at Mr. Lupin. "I didn't do anything! I swear! We just went to sleep!"

"I'm just teasing," grinned Mr. Lupin.

"Lyall, you behave around those poor boys!" Mrs. Lupin said with a stern look on her face and her hands on her hips.

Regulus stared a hole in his plate as Mrs. Lupin poured him a glass of orange juice. "What would you like to eat, dear?" she asked.

"A bit of everything, please. Except the meat."

"What about kippers?"

Regulus shook his head. "I don't eat fish. There might be heavy metals in them."

Mrs. Lupin sighed but didn't comment on it. She took his plate and put a bit of everything on it and handed it back to him.

"Regulus and I are going to start running together," Remus beamed as they had all sat down to eat.

"Oh?" said Mrs. Lupin. "That sounds wonderful. But do be careful not to overexert yourself, dear."

"I'm going to wait until I'm stronger, but then I'll start with a slow run." He turned his head to look at Regulus. "I won't be able to keep up with you, though."

"Don't worry, I'll run at your speed," said Regulus, spearing a piece of fried tomato on his fork.

"Thank you," smiled Remus. "Maybe we can start today with just a walk? I haven't been out much since I got ill and I really miss it."

"Only a short one, Remus," said Mrs. Lupin, pointing her fork at him. "And wear plenty of clothes."

"Yes, Mum," sighed Remus. He hoped he would be better soon so she wouldn't fuss so much over him.

Regulus asked for the marmalade and Mr. Lupin took it, but before passing it on, he took some with his own knife. His own knife, which he had already been using on his other things. Regulus stared at him incredulously. It wasn't that he hadn't seen people with poor table manners like this before - Sirius did it all the time - but somehow he was surprised to see Mr. Lupin do it. He didn't take the jar when Mr. Lupin handed it to him, and the man seemed to remember that Regulus did not like to touch people, so he put it down and shoved it forward so it came to a halt right in front of Regulus. Regulus ignored it. "Is something wrong?" asked Mr. Lupin and looked a little puzzled at the jar and back at Regulus.

Remus looked at Regulus as well and then understood the problem. "Dad... you used your own knife in the jam. You should have used the spoon that came with it."

"Oh, that?" laughed Mr. Lupin. "But that's nothing to make a big deal out of. I didn't lick it or anything."

"It has been in contact with other parts of your food," pointed Regulus out stiffly. "Food, which you have eaten of. Saliva may have been transferred."

"But I'm not ill."

"Well, if you won't eat it then please pass it here, Regulus," said Mrs. Lupin.

Regulus hesitated with taking anything else from the table that Mr. Lupin might have used his own cutlery for. Suddenly his appetite was gone. He kept imagining eating part of the man.

"May we be excused?" Remus asked when they were done eating. His mother nodded and the boys left the table.

"Sorry about my dad. He sometimes forgets his manners," Remus excused as they went upstairs. "Do you want to go for a walk or just lie in bed and watch a movie or something?" Remus looked at his watch and saw that it was already eleven. "Or do you have to go home?" Remus knew that Regulus' mother was home and doubted that he had asked permission to go see Remus. He doubted very much that his mother even knew that Remus was a part of Regulus' life.

"I don't want to go home. The witch is there all weekend. I texted Sirius asking him to check on Kreacher when he gets back from his booty call."

"Booty call?" asked Remus, looking puzzled. "Oh, he went out yesterday?"

Regulus realised he had forgotten to tell Remus how he had gotten there yesterday. "Yeah, he picked up some bird at a fancy party. Mother insisted he take her home, so he did. And then went straight to the bird's place. Mother thought she could bend Sirius to her will that easily. Idiot."

Remus smiled. "Well, that's Sirius for you."

They lay down on top of the covers, facing each other. It didn't take long until they were kissing, Remus topless and Regulus exploring his upper body.

"You can kiss me on the neck if you want," said Regulus after a while, getting a little excited.

Remus smiled and started kissing slowly down Regulus' jawline. He reached his neck and let his tongue caress the skin there for a while. "Will it be okay if I place me hands on your hips?" he asked in an almost whisper.

"Mm," hummed Regulus, his eyes closed. Remus' lips felt good and Regulus wanted to feel more. Further down. Remus had now reached the edge of his T-shirt and was kissing along the upper hem. It was strange how Regulus was so much more relaxed about Remus kissing than touching. He obviously had a huge issue with hands. Regulus sat up and pulled his shirt off. "Y-you can go a bit lower. Just a bit. And keep your hands off. If you don't keep your promise this time I'm going home."

Remus blinked in surprise and then nodded eagerly. He felt his heart leap at the sight of Regulus lying back down and giving him permission to go lower. He leaned in over him, his hands planted solid on the mattress and he kissed along his collarbone and then slowly down his chest.

Regulus jumped a little but then lay still again, telling himself to relax and trust Remus. Once he managed that, he started actually enjoying what Remus was doing. His right hand carded through the other his brown hair, enjoying the feel of the soft locks between his fingers. "You can go as far as the navel," he instructed.

"Okay," said Remus in-between kisses. This was exciting, he thought as he moved a little further down and reached the navel. He kissed right on it, dipping his tongue into it. This made Regulus jump a little again and Remus smiled. "Is this okay?"

"Mm," hummed Regulus, almost afraid that Remus would stop. He had never before enjoyed any kind of physical contact below his neck. Five minutes later Regulus thought they better stop while the going was good. He had taken a huge step and he didn't want to push it. "Let me do you," he said, rolling onto his knees.

Remus looked at him a little surprised but then smiled and lay down on his back.

"Still no touching my body," Regulus reminded him before dipping his head to kiss Remus' neck.

"I won't," Remus said and bit his lip. Regulus' hot lips on his neck felt incredible and he had to dig his fingers into the sheets so he didn't accidentally touch him. "You feel wonderful."

Regulus smiled against the warm skin, hearing how good he was doing. Remus' voice clearly showed it. He moved a bit around on the neck and collarbone, experimenting with lips and tongue, trying to see what would get strongest reactions.

Regulus moved down to his chest, letting tongue and lips play around, his left hand roaming stomach of its own accord, and at one point it went so low that it brushed against the hem of Remus' trousers. The gasp of excitement and the slight raise of the other boy's hips piqued Regulus' interest. So this was getting Remus very excited, he thought to himself. His breathing had become a bit shallow too and Regulus got an intense desire to see how much more excited he could make him, so he moved his hand down again, running his fingers slowly along the hem of the Remus' jeans, touching the bare skin

Remus let out a gasp. He had a strong urge to press his hip up against Regulus' hand but didn't want to risk scaring him off now that he was being so bold. Remus tilted his head to the side and let out another gasp when Regulus moved his hand again while kissing his way around on his chest, exploring every inch of it.

Curiosity had made Regulus forget all his reservations. He wanted to try more. In a bold move he let his hand crawl over the top of Remus' jeans and move slowly down the front. He nearly jerked it away when feeling something hard under the fabric, but he forced himself not to.

Remus' eyes shot open. He had never in his wildest dreams imagined that Regulus would touch him there. Even through clothes. Moving his hand a bit away from Regulus' hair, he laid it on his neck, letting the fingers dance around on the soft skin, closing his eyes, focusing on Regulus' touch.

Regulus looked up at Remus, suddenly thinking that he should have asked before going there. If Remus had touched him there without permission he would have freaked out. "Is it alright?"

"It is," Remus nodded. "It feels really nice." It felt more than nice, really, but Remus didn't want to sound too needy.

Regulus wasn't sure where to go from here. Remus wanted more, that was clear, but could he give more? He pressed his hand a little harder against the hardness and felt the shape with his fingers. It took all his willpower to not pull away, because this was really pushing his limits.

Remus let out another gasp and moved his fingers on the back of Regulus' neck in a circular motion.

It felt incredible but he knew in the back of his mind that it must be hard for Regulus and he suddenly felt a little guilty for not telling him he shouldn't feel obliged to keep going. "Re... Regulus. If you don't want to touch me there, it's okay. I won't get mad."

"It's alright," said Regulus, trying to sound confident. He moved his hand up and down a few times.

Remus moved a little and took a few sharp breaths though his nose. He had actually expected Regulus to pull away when Remus told him it was okay. But now he was rubbing him and it made Remus' vision spin.

"Is... is it good?" asked Regulus curiously, his hand becoming more steady.

"Y-yes. God yes," gasped Remus, moving his hip slightly, not being able to hold completely still.

"Do you... have you... do you sometimes... you know… while thinking of me?"

"Yes. I always think about you," nodded Remus and gulped, feeling slightly nervous about the questions. "I hope that's okay? I find you extremely sexy."

"O-of course," said Regulus, moving his hand a bit faster. He was getting turned on himself, although he still did not want Remus to touch him.

Remus' breathing picked up pace. "G-god," he gasped and his toes twitched as he drew closer and closer. "Regulus… I won't be able to hold back much longer."

Regulus pulled his hand away as though he had received an electric shock. The thought of Remus coming in his pants anywhere near him was very uncomfortable. He didn't even jerk himself off anywhere but in the shower, where the mess would be washed away immediately. Why had he not thought about where this was going? He knew very well what happened when you rubbed someone's knob. What kind of idiot was he to start something he couldn't finish? Like some stupid bird who didn't know how boys' physiology worked.

Remus took a deep breath. He had expected Regulus to pull away but he couldn't help being disappointed. He raised himself onto his elbows and had to collect himself for a moment. Seeing the expression on Regulus' face made his heart sink. "Hey... it's okay," he smiled.

Regulus was so ashamed of himself that he couldn't meet Remus' gaze. "How about that walk?" he suggested.

"Alright. I just need a moment," said Remus and took another deep breath. He reached out for Regulus' hand and gently caress it. "Hey... why won't you look at me?"

"No reason," mumbled Regulus. "I just want to go for that walk."

"I just need a minute," said Remus and left for the bathroom.

o0o0o

Regulus was moody, not saying anything for a long while as they walked down the street.

Remus looked at him out of the corner of his eye. He felt like he had done something wrong. "I'm sorry if I did something," he finally said as the reached the park.

Regulus stopped dead, eying Regulus with a mix of disbelief and annoyance. "Sorry if you did something? Are you mocking me or just being stupid?" Of course Regulus knew Remus wasn't mocking him. He always blamed himself, and it only made Regulus feel even guiltier.

"I'm sorry," said Remus and hung his head. He hated it when Regulus was upset. "I didn't mean to mock you. You just seem so upset and I feel like I have a part in that."

"Why aren't you bloody mad at me? Why do you put up with everything and then say thank you? Oh, a bloke just totally dick teased me but that's probably my own fault! I shouldn't have scared him with getting hard and excited just because he rubbed me through my trousers!"

Remus kicked a rock, still looking down. "I'm not mad, because I know how hard it was for you to touch me like that. It doesn't matter that you couldn't go through with it on your first try. I wasn't expecting it. I wasn't expecting you to be ready to give it a try at all, so please don't be mad at yourself. You know I'm happy to go at your pace. I'm not in a hurry."

Regulus didn't know what to say. He was frustrated and mad - mostly at himself. Well, he really had no reason to be mad at Remus at all, other than annoyed with him for being so much nicer than Regulus deserved. He was useless. Taking Remus nearly all the way and then stopping was worse than not having started at all.

Remus reached out his hand and gently took Regulus' in his, glad that he didn't smack it away. "You know..." he started. "It felt really good and I hope it hasn't scared you off from trying again some other time. I don't care that you can't finish it just now." He swung their hands back and forth and sent him a smile and decided to change the subject. "I've been meaning to ask you... would you like to go out on a date with me? I mean a real date? I have some money saved up and I'd like to take you out. There is this organic restaurant downtown that we sometimes go to and I'd like to take you there."

Regulus' head snapped up, looking wide-eyed. "A date? A restaurant? Oh, you don't need to take me out on a date. We have fine dates at home. At my place and yours." The thought of going to a restaurant and eating the food there was very unappealing.

"It's a great place and I'd really like to take you out," insisted Remus. "They are very hygienic as well. Never had any incidents with anyone getting ill, otherwise my mum would never let me eat there."

"How do you know that? You don't see what goes on behind closed doors in the kitchen. And do you think they would newsflash every time somebody became ill from eating there? People get ill at restaurants all the time. Having strangers prepare your food is very unwise. It could kill you."

Remus sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "I'm just saying it's a very nice place. Will you at least think about it? I'd really like to do something nice for you."

Regulus opened his mouth, about to tell Remus that doing something nice for him was very far from taking him to a restaurant, but he closed it think about it," he said. "If that makes you happy."

"It does," smiled Remus and swung their joined hands. The weather was rather cold today, Remus thought and he flipped up his collar to shield his neck from the wind. "We could go get a cup of coffee or something?" he suggested, really wanting to get away from the cold but not wanting to go home. He knew his mother would fuss over him the minute he stepped through the door.

"Ok. Let's get back to your place, then," said Regulus, turning on his heel, dragging Remus with him, afraid that he would suggest they took the coffee at a café.

It turned out to be a good decision to go home because only five minutes from the house it started pouring down and both boys were soaked when they stepped through the door. Mrs. Lupin was there in a heartbeat. "Get upstairs and get on some dry clothes!" she ordered and pushed Remus towards the stairs. "I'm not sending you to the hospital again!"

o0o0o

Sirius picked his brother up later that day. He was about to get out of the car to go say hi to Remus, but Regulus pushed him back into the car with a hand to his chest. Sirius landed on his bum, gawking up at his brother in surprise.

"Remus is a little vulnerable right now and I don't want you to go give him some germs from wherever you've been."

"I'm allowed to say hallo to Remus!" spat Sirius. "You're not the only person in his life and I actually showered before I came here, so I'm clean!"

Remus looked from one brother to the other. "Regulus, it's okay -" he started.

"Remus!" gasped Regulus, discovering that the boy had stepped out of the house. "You should go back inside! The weather's chilly. I thought you said you were going to bed?"

"I wanted to see you off," said Remus and shivered a little, pulling his bathrobe tighter around himself.

"You stayed long," said Regulus as they drove, checking the clock on the steering board. It was four. "Not one of those drunken nightstands where you wake up and run away screaming when you see what you've slept with?"

"For once no. However I did go home first to fetch the car so I could pick you up, but I have to tell you - this bird is amazing!" He couldn't help but smile as he thought about last night and he knew he must have looked a little goofy. "How was your night with Remus?" He then asked, trying to socialise a little with his brother although he knew he would probably not get an answer.

"None of your business," said Regulus, still not in the best of moods, looking at the cars driving past them in the opposite direction. "If you think you're getting any steamy details, you can think again."

"I wouldn't want details," said Sirius and shuttered theatrically. "Bloke on bloke action is not a turn-on for me, I'm afraid, so those details you can save for when you wanna give the old handle a wank."

o0o0o

James was waiting for them by his car outside of 12 Grimmauld Place. Sirius had obviously texted him about when he would be home. He grinned as Sirius got out of the car. "Get something good last night?

"Did I ever!" beamed Sirius and punched James on the shoulder. "You've no idea how wild this bird was!"

"Details!" demanded James as they walked in from the garage. "Give us all the details, mate!"

"Oh yes, please give us all the details," said Regulus, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Shut up, princess," said James and turned back to Sirius.

Regulus hurried off to his own room, not interested in listening to the Neanderthals most blokes turned into when bragging to each other about their conquests.

Sirius just grinned and walked with James towards the lounge. "I'll give you all the details, mate, don't worry." He sent him a smirk and wiggled his eyebrows. "I'll even show you the scratch marks on my back."

James grinned. "Yeah?"

"I'm definitely seeing her again if she wants to. And I'm bloody sure she does."

"Yeah? Are you sure you lived up to her expectations? I mean, just because you're pretty, doesn't mean you're good in the sack," James teased.

"Hey, I've never had a complaint about my performance. They usually come back begging for seconds," said Sirius and stuck out his tongue. "And the way she was acting, it was pretty clear she was thrilled."

"How do you know she wasn't faking?" grinned James. "Maybe she's used to better, but she didn't want to hurt your feelings."

"Shut up, Potter," Sirius gave his friend a half-hearted grin and a punch on the shoulder. "She was pleased with me. Otherwise she wouldn't have dug her fingers into my back."

"Maybe it was out of frustration. Hey - are you insecure? Sirius Black, the lover?"

"Am not!" said Sirius and straightened his back. "She'll call me soon, just you wait and see. Speaking of sex - did you get into Evans' pants yet?"

The grin on James' face faltered. They had been going out for months now but had not slept together yet. "No, mate, we've decided to take it slow. You know - when something is meant to be, there's no need to hurry. We've got a whole lifetime ahead of us."

Sirius raised an eyebrow and a smirk spread on his face. "She doesn't want you, then? You two've been together forever. If you don't use that thing it will die of boredom." He slapped his friend on his back. "I told my brother the same."

"Your brother? He will never get around to using his thing. I bet he doesn't even use it alone."

"Poor Remus," said Sirius. "He's going to die in celibacy, but I guess he knew what he was getting himself into."

"Yeah, we warned him plenty," said James and threw himself on a couch in the TV lounge. "He's still crazy about him, though. Fuck me if I get it. No offence, but you brother he... well."

"I know what you mean…" said Sirius and sat down in a beanbag chair. A chair he insisted to keep in the lounge because his parents hated it. "But speaking of Remus - the fundraiser was a great success but there's still some ways to go."

"Right!" said James. "My parents chipped in with 1000 pounds! So did Lily's."

"Really? That's brilliant!" beamed Sirius. "I wish our parents would do that, but you know them. Not even gonna ask."

Padfoot, who had joined them when they came inside, lay sprawled on the back with his head in James' lap, whining demandingly every time he stopped scratching his chest.

Mrs. Black entered and stopped in front of them. "Where have you been all this time?" she asked, ignoring James' presence. James had a hunch that she had a pretty good idea just where Sirius had been.

"Out for a bit of fun," said Sirius, not even looking up at her.

"Fun? Where did you go? You left late last night; don't think I didn't notice!"

Sirius finally looked up at her with a dull expression as if he didn't care about what she had to say. "I went to McKinnon's apartment because she invited me, and we had a lot of fun."

Mrs. Black's face looked like she had just bit into a lemon. "What did I tell you about not defiling that nice young lady? If you're interested in her, you court her properly before you even think about doing... bed activities with her!"

"I just gave the lady what she wanted. Isn't that what a gentleman is supposed to do?" Sirius smirked.

"Slut. You're a filthy slut!" was all Walburga said before turning on her heel and marching out of the room.

James whistled, shaking his hand and chuckled. "Yeah, Sirius - you're a slut!"

Sirius bent his head a little, trying to hide that his mother's words actually stung a little. Then he jumped up and flew at James to wrestle him off the couch, laughing as he went. Padfoot jumped around them and barking happily, wanting to join in on the fun.

A/N: To see Zayhad's illustration to the chapter go to deviantart dot com and look up Zayhad. She has a folder in her gallery with the story's name on it.