Thanks to the Wanderers for coming up with the tweets featured in this chapter. I have to admit that I struggled with how to write them in without affecting the flow.

I've struggled with that part of the chapter for too long now with two choices. Have them being read out or have the group reading them. In the end, it fit better having them be read out.

The only way to make that part of the chapter flow better would be to take the tweets out, but I have to admit I love them too much to take them out.

This won't allow me to use the AT sign, so I've bolded the text that should have an AT sign. Hopefully it's clear enough. Sorry about that guys!

Remus carefully watched each of the men sitting around the table as they ate their dinner, trying to remember all he knew about them. His eyes found Kingsley first. Kingsley was a well known dancer, having been on television as well as in the theatre. Judging by the way Kingsley and Barty had fallen into conversation, Remus guessed that they had met before. Remus wondered if they had performed together on stage at any point.

As though he knew he was being watched, Kingsley turned his head away from Barty, meeting Remus' gaze. He smiled warmly and Remus couldn't help but return the smile before Kingsley turned his attention back to Barty.

Remus noticed that Barty leaned slightly closer when getting Kingsley's attention and wondered why that was.

As he wandered about it, he twirled a bit of pasta onto his fork, bringing it to his mouth. He savoured the flavour of the food. It wasn't that often he had someone to cook for him: only his mum when he went to visit, or his nan. Remus himself was not the best cook, but Kingsley was as good at cooking as he was at dancing.

He gaze shifted from Kingsley to Barty as he thought about what he knew of the man. Barty's father was a member of Parliament and Remus knew he was a candidate in the next election. Remus was aware that Barty hadn't been out for that long and got the impression from when he met Barty and his father at a party that his father was the type of father that took pride in his image. Barty Senior was the type of man that would want his son to hide his sexuality at all costs, in case it reflected negatively on him.

But Barty was out. Remus wondered if Barty Senior was using that to his advantage by getting his son to appear on this show. After all, apart from a few polite words, Barty didn't seem to be showing any interest in Remus. So maybe he was there on his father's request?

Or perhaps he was shy?

Lucius Malfoy was next, sitting at the other end of the table—the head seat—and frowning down at the food. Remus saw nothing wrong with the meal, but the simplicity of spaghetti bolognaise was clearly an issue with Lucius.

Remus couldn't fault the dish, and due to timing that day and not having a schedule, he thought that Kingsley did an amazing job. He wondered if Lucius' cooking would be any better. He doubted it.

He tried to think of how much publicity Lucius was used to and if he minded sharing it with all of the others.

Remus had seen Lucius' picture in magazines before but hadn't paid as much attention. Yes, the man had amazing hair and was attractive, but he didn't know much else about him. He watched Lucius for a few more moments, wondering about him, before Gilderoy Lockhart cleared his throat loudly, looking around him.

"Not a bad dinner," Lockhart began. "Though it's a shame I wasn't put on food duty myself. I could have stopped the dish having that strange aftertaste and would have managed to put some garlic bread on. I can make my own as long as the kitchen is stocked, that is. I could give you some lessons sometime?"

Kingsley continued his conversation as though Lockhart hadn't spoken, turning slightly so that his body was completely facing Barty. Remus caught a few words about a composer before tuning out, not wanting to listen in on others conversation. Instead, he turned his full focus to Lockhart.

It was clear the man was there for publicity and nothing else. He had no interest in any of the causes that Remus hoped to help with his appearance on the show or in actually dating Remus himself, which was a shame. Remus had hoped that there would be four eligible men to choose from… well, with the surprise arrival of Sirius Black, there were still four eligible men.

But even if Gilderoy Lockhart had been attentive to Remus, Remus couldn't see himself going out with the man after the show. He had read some of Lockheart's self-help books in the past to see what the fuss was about and seen a few of his hundreds of interviews. The man was vain and self-centred, and his books were terrible.

Remus doubted Lockhart was as good at everything as he made out. The stories were awful and a child could have written better. Remus couldn't understand how a man like that could ever get published. He had given up trying when Lockhart published his last book.

'What it takes to be gay!' A book that was filled from front to back with stereotypes. Remus had felt offended reading it, and he hoped his time in the house could be used to discuss the book with Lockhart and educate him to how wrong he was.

Though Gilderoy struck him as the sort of person who wouldn't listen and would act like he knew better. Perhaps there would be no helping or educating someone like him.

Remus turned his attention to the last man at the table: the man he had been trying to avoid looking at for as long as possible. He already knew that he could get lost in Sirius Black without knowing much about the man.

After all, he hadn't even known Sirius was gay until he walked into the house and removed his hat and glasses. Sirius Black was well known for not doing interviews and avoiding his name being in the papers for anything other than his musical talents. There were a few small pieces about his interactions with fans which showed that he valued the people who listened to his music, but the man himself was a mystery.

Remus loved mysteries though, and he couldn't wait to find out just why Sirius Black had decided that coming into the house was the way to tell people his sexual orientation. He wanted to know whether Sirius thought this through, or if this was Sirius doing what he was doing: letting the public see a more personal side of him.

Maybe Sirius was just bored and wanted to shake things up a bit?

Remus smiled as Sirius looked up from his food and met his gaze. The smile was returned, and Remus itched to reach up and run his thumb over the corner of Sirius' soft looking lips to wipe the speck of sauce that was there. Probably there.

Fine. The sauce that he could pretend was on his face, just so he could touch him. Remus' fingers twitched at the thought of running his fingers beside Sirius' mouth, feeling the soft skin. He swallowed nervously, turning his gaze quickly away, certain that his cheeks were reddening at the idea. Remus wasn't sure what was happening. Sure, he had been attracted to men in the past, but this was crazy.

Remus knew he couldn't wait to get to know more about Sirius Black.

...oOo...

Remus made quick work of the washing up, wanting to have a few minutes alone with his thoughts. He knew it wasn't fair for him to make an immediate choice on who he wanted at the end of the show and firmly decided that he'd give everyone a fair chance, even Gilderoy Lockhart. Even if the man was there for publicity, he could be a nice guy and they could get along really well.

He lingered on his task until there was a knock on the door-frame. He turned around, spotting Barty standing in the doorway. "Five minutes," Barty said with a shy smile.

"Thank you," Remus replied, glancing back at the sink. "Only one plate left so I'll be right in."

Barty nodded and disappeared, and Remus quickly wiped the plate clean before putting it to dry. He had always found washing up a good time to think. It was a task he didn't really have to think about what he was doing which was one of the reasons why he didn't own a dishwasher.

When Remus headed back in, he found the others in the same seating positions as usual, but with Sirius laying back across the comfortable looking rug, his eyes closed as he mouthed something. His eyes flew open as Remus sat down on the chair, and he turned his head, smiling.

"I hope we're not too hungry later," Remus said, breaking the silence of the room. "We did eat quite early."

"I didn't get to eat lunch today, so I'm glad about the early dinner. Plus, there are snacks. I noticed some chocolate in the cupboard too." He gave Remus a knowing smile. "I'd say about a month's worth... or maybe a week if you get your hands on it."

Remus couldn't help but grin as he dropped down into the comfortable armchair. "It's time?"

"It is," Lucius drawled from the sofa. "Does anyone know any of the details of this show? Was anyone given all of the information?"

Remus shook his head. "I wasn't told much," he replied. "I knew I was going to meet four men and one would have to leave each week, but nothing more. I didn't even know who else was coming in."

"I was told who would be in the house," Lucius replied. "Though Black was an unpleasant surprise."

Sirius' smile fell and he turned to Lucius with narrowed eyes. "Where you're just unpleasant," he stated. His smile wasn't as wide as he turned back to Remus. "I didn't know I was going to be on the show until this morning actually. It was good timing, I've just finished a tour and was just working on some new songs that had come to mind. I can do those things here."

The screen lit up, drawing attention from the conversation. Sirius sat up from the floor and Remus turned, his attention on the enthusiastic woman on the screen.

"Remus, we're live on the air now! How are you? How is it going?"

"It's going great," Remus replied, smiling around the room before turning his attention back to Alice. "I felt slightly overwhelmed at first, I must admit, but it's a nice atmosphere and I'm looking forward to taking the time to get to know everyone in here."

"Has anyone caught your eye yet?"

Remus blushed slightly. "I'm going to give everyone here a chance before I make any plans," he said, avoiding the question. He could tell by the way her eyes narrowed that she wasn't fooled by his evasive answer.

He made sure not to look towards Sirius Black. Maybe the public wouldn't realise, but Alice would know. He was scared of what she'd do if she found out that he was attracted to the rockstar. Determined not to look at Sirius, he didn't notice how Sirius straightened up at his comment, looking more determined than ever.

"How are you finding your first afternoon in the house?" Alice asked instead.

Remus smiled shyly. "I must admit it's very overwhelming to be here, but I'm sure I'll have a wonderful time. I've never properly met anyone here before today, so I'm excited to get to know all of the contestants."

Alice nodded. "Well, the first part of the show is up, and now we're live. I have to tell you: the show is extremely popular. We're already trending online. I think you might break the Internet."

"Trending online?" Lockhart asked with interest.

Remus resisted rolling his eyes. Of course Lockhart would care more about publicity than anything. Had the show gotten low ratings, Remus was certain that Lockhart would just cause drama and walk out to get his name in the papers that way.

"Do you want to hear some of the messages?"

"I'm sure they'll be quite entertaining," Barty replied with a grin.

Alice smiled evilly. "Well, the hashtag that we chose ourselves is #CelebDates. We've had it in the bottom corner of the screen throughout the whole show..." She lifted a sheet of paper up, turning her attention to the words.

'Is anyone watching Celebrity dates? The surprise guest looks like Sirius Black. It can't be, can it?'

"So, there's a lot of people confused by your appearance, Sirius. Do you have any comments?" Alice asked.

Sirius flashed her a smile. "I'm not quite certain what I can say at this point about it. I'm on a television show competing in the hopes to win Remus Lupin's heart. I think that speaks for itself. I do have very high hopes for winning this."

Remus' eyes widened as he looked at Sirius, who was staring unblinkingly at the screen. Remus hoped Sirius would turn his head; he wanted to see how much truth was behind the words, but Sirius didn't move to look at him. After a moment, Remus looked back at Alice.

Alice was staring at Sirius with wide eyes. "Sirius Black," she finally said. "You are completely adorable! I just want to grab you and run away with you... Oh, I mean… I'm sure you're breaking some hearts out there, but there's a lot of people praising you for coming out! There's not many in the rock-world that admit to their sexuality."

Sirius shrugged his shoulders. "It was the right time," he said. Remus wondered what made that day and show the right time but didn't voice his questions. If Sirius wanted to elaborate, he would have done so already.

"'How nice is Remus Lupin, offering his chair! He's so adorable. #CelebDates.'"

Remus blushed at the words. "Anyone would have done the sa—"

"Actually, you were the only one who offered," Alice said, interrupting him. "So, not everyone would have done the same. You could have shared, Remus. You could have sat on his lap or had Sirius sit on yours!"

Sirius looked at Remus with a wide grin. "You know, your lap does look pretty comfortable," he murmured. "All those layers of knitwear make for a comfortable seat. I'll remember that for next time."

"'Yay Remus gay Sirius happy happy game show luv #OTP #CelebDates'"

"What is an OTP?" Remus asked curiously.

"One true pairing. It basically means the writer wants you together," Alice explained. She glanced back at the paper. "Now, here's someone I can relate to!" She cleared her throat.

"'Too many beautiful men. Time for a cold shower! #CelebDates'"

She fanned herself with the paper. "You're all so beautiful," she said. "If I wasn't with Frank…"

"We'd still be dating other men," Remus finished for her, smiling in amusement.

"'I wish Barty would Crouch in front of Remus... #CelebDates.'"

Remus turned quickly at the sound of Kingsley's booming laughter. "Just brilliant," the man said, turning to look at Barty.

Barty snorted. "I've heard that one before," he admitted.

"These are great," Alice murmured. "And there are just going to be so many more that we've missed. We only looked through a few." She grinned widely. "'Did you see those looks between Sirius Black and Remus Lupin? Squishes them together NOW KISS! #Blupin #CelebDates.'"

"We have a ship name, I love that," Sirius said. He opened his mouth to continue, but Alice reading the next one cut him off.

"'Remus wears the best cardigans. Where does he shop? #fashion #CelebDates.'"

"Oh? People like these?" Remus asked, looking confused. "Wherever sells knitwear. This cardigan is from Burtons. The jumper underneath is from Primark. Wait, am I allowed to say the shop names on the show?"

"It's fine. You're not being paid to advertise them, and it's not product placement," Alice confirmed. "Lucius Malfoy, we have some hair envy." She glanced back at the paper.

"'Wishes she had hair like Lucius Malfoy. #tooprettytobereal #CelebDates.'"

He smirked, his fingers reaching to his hair.

"'OMG atLuciusMalfoy #HairEnvy is trending #CelebDates.'"

"'Mmmmm Lucius is one luscious piece of man. #HairEnvy #CelebDates'"

The smirk grew at the comments and Alice laughed. "Oh, I hadn't read this far down the list before," she admitted. "'atDancingKingsley #CelebDates — any chance #hairenvy phenomenon is directed at you?'"

Kingsley chuckled at the comment, his fingers resting on his bald head. "Who wouldn't be envious?" he asked. "Not many men can pull this look off."

"'atBlackStar - #HairEnvy is for Sirius and Sirius alone. How could Lucius' locks ever compete? #CelebDates." Alice giggled. "Lucius, how do you feel about Sirius stealing your crown? Oh - that look is enough... and speaking of crowns..."

'Kingsley, let Remus be your queen!' #CelebDates

Before anyone could answer, Alice's face lit up. "Remus. This one is the best messages I've ever seen. It was posted to our facebook page rather than twitter, but... it's wonderful."

"What is it?" Remus asked, suspiciously.

"#CelebDates Did I do this hashtag thing correctly? Remus, Darling, you have too many attractive men there. I anticipated this, so I slipped a giant box of protection into the pocket of your suitcase yesterday when I came to visit. You can't be too careful, Sweetheart. I also set My Little Ponies to record for you. I noticed how much you liked that show the other day when I was cooking Sunday Lunch."

"There you have it, viewers," Alice said. "Remus Lupin watches My Little Ponies!"

Remus covered his face with his hands. "That was from my nan," he muttered. "I was not watching My Little Ponies. I just couldn't find the remote to turn the television over!"

"The last message on the paper is: "'Will Gildroy put a lock on Remus' heart? #truelove'"

Remus was tempted to shake his head but resisted, choosing to hide behind his hands in mortification.

"Thanks, Alice," Sirius said, looking delighted at the messages. "Watchers, as much as I like Blupin, I think you can all do better. I'll give a prize to the person who comes up with the best ship name for me and Remus!"

Alice's expression matched Sirius'. "I have a few ideas," she admitted. "Well, I need to get back to presenting the show. I'll talk to you again tomorrow morning after breakfast, and I'll have my favourite new tweet."

After everyone said their goodbyes, the television went blank and Lucius stood up.

"I assume we'll be getting more information on the show tomorrow, so for now, I will retire to—"

"Let's make the schedule up before you retire anywhere," Barty suggested. "Can someone get some paper?"

Sirius headed to his room, returning a minute later with a pen and paper. "So, is there any task that people despise? I hate washing up but don't mind cooking."

"Really?" Remus asked. "I can't cook to save my life. I don't mind cleaning up afterwards though."

Kingsley pulled the pad over and picked the pen up. "That works. You two can be team one. I'll team up with..." he glanced longingly at Barty for a moment before sighing. "Lockhart. That leaves Barty and Lucius Malfoy as team three."

"How are we going to do this?" Sirius asked, glancing at the paper.

"We separate the jobs into three groups. Each team has a group of chores that day. Each day, different teams are assigned."

"Sounds good."

"Sirius and Remus, you're on dinner tomorrow," Kingsley said. "Plus washing, cleaning up the kitchen... I'll make some lists out and show you all tomorrow morning."

"Who is on breakfast?" Lockhart asked.

"Barty and Lucius," Kingsley replied. "We're doing lunch."

...oOo...

The six all pitched in to tidy up before everyone went their seperate ways that night, and Sirius watched Kingsley and Barty chat, sitting a little bit closer than he would consider friendly. He couldn't help but smile. If the pair had found each other that meant they wouldn't be after Remus, which meant that he only had two men to compete with.

Gilderoy Lockhart and Lucius Malfoy.

Despite what Remus said about equal chances, Sirius didn't consider Lockhart competition. Remus was a smart guy, and he'd be able to see that Lockhart only cared about his own image and whether this show was going to help him sell his next book… or he was probably going to write a book about this show and sell that.

No, his only competition was Lucius Malfoy, and Sirius knew he had to work even harder than he had first considered. He knew Lucius too well. He wouldn't let Lucius win.

Even if Sirius himself didn't win Remus' heart, he wouldn't let Lucius get it because he didn't want the cold man to break it like he did with Sirius'.

"There's space on the other sofa now," Remus said softly.

Sirius turned his head, realising he had been staring. "Huh?"

Remus followed his gaze before shooting him a curious look.

"No, I'm not staring at them because I'm interested. I'm actually wondering… is something going on there?"

"Why would you wonder that?" Remus asked. Sirius was certain he saw a flicker of relief on Remus' face and couldn't help the cocky grin when he pushed himself off the floor and onto his knees.

"Because that gives me more chance to win your heart," he murmured.

"My heart or the show?"

"Remus, I don't even know what this show is about. I heard you were on it and signed whatever I was told to sign. I'm here only for you."

Remus smiled shyly. "So you came out… because of me? Why?"

"I couldn't win your heart if everyone thought I was straight, could I?" Sirius replied, shuffling closer to the chair. He rested his hands on Remus' knee and his chin on his hands. He looked up at Remus through long eyelashes. "Consider my appearance and my coming out as a show of how serious I am about this."

Remus was speechless, and Sirius decided to give him time to think. He stood up from the floor and leaned closer to Remus. "Goodnight," he whispered, before turning and heading towards the stairs.

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