Sirius had all of the lights off, the blinds shuttered, his covers drawn over his head, and he'd been digging the heels of his hands into his eyes (which didn't help and only made his head ache), and it wasn't dark enough.
would you like to come over? microwave popcorn and a movie? xx
Jenny had sent him that, about a half-hour ago, and it was killing him.
Xx . He shuddered. What's that, kisses? Love, Jenny? The level of profane behaviour she was expecting from him? Nauseating.
It was sometime during Sunday morning, probably a respectable 10 or 11. Sirius was huddled in a corner of his bed wearing days-old clothes and moaning miserably.
He hadn't seen the sun since Friday. The day before, all he'd done was sit around in his room, read a couple of books by the weak grey light through the window, and lie on the floor staring at the ceiling, and all he'd done today was wake up and read the message.
He hadn't responded.
When he eventually got out of bed, his head rushed and both his knees popped.
It was raining and the thuds against his ancient window were heavy enough to fill the room. Sirius hadn't showered since Thursday, and it'd been even longer since he changed his shirt, but his room didn't smell like body odour and the stench faded to nothing once he padded away from his bed. It never smelled bad in this house. It was too big. The only thing that it had smelled of for decades was linen, parchment, and little twinges of misery—blood in the hidden corridors, piss and sweat in the disused servants' quarters.
Sirius stepped over the dirty trousers and rumpled button-downs collected on the floor—the help didn't go in his room—and heaved open his curtains, coughing weakly from the dust.
He put his forehead on the glass. It was frozen solid, rattling gently.
Far beneath him lay the full glory of the Black estate. It was low rolling hills and acres of farmland. Orion Black had decided most of it would be fallowed that year, which had forced Walburga, who loved to watch people toil in her back garden, to drift around the manor like a restless ghost for weeks. Sirius had been pleased. The fields looked mean when they were bare. The Blacks didn't eat what they grew, but the sight of the empty rows still made Sirius feel skinny and hungry like he could pull up his shirt, look down, and see all his ribs through his skin like a mongrel dog.
Right then, as he watched the wide fields be pummeled and sloshed over by the rain, he was only thinking about Jenny Lupin's round, sweaty, burgundy face.
He sighed and watched a fly on the window get smacked by a raindrop.
Me, too, he thought mournfully.
would you like to come over? microwave popcorn and a movie? xx
It took another hour for Sirius to gather the nerve to respond.
(12:30 PM) Alright
(12:30 PM) cool! ;)
Her response came immediately. Sirius squinted. He inspected the small winking face finely, feeling a deep sensation of dread.
(12:30 PM) Should I bring anything?
(12:31 PM) nope! i've got everything
would u like a blanket to keep you warm, or one to match ur eyes?
(12:31 PM) You've got a blanket that matches my eyes?
(12:31 PM) what kind of girlfriend would i be if i didn't? :
Sirius grimaced.
"Fuck you, James," he grumbled, trying hard to separate his irritation with James from whatever he was about to say to Jenny, "Fuck you, fuck you…"
Jenny typed for a second, stopped, and then his phone dinged twice.
Sirius couldn't look. He thought about it, shuddered, then cursed and set his phone down.
It already felt different, talking to her. Their texts beforehand had been brief and mostly about school, but at least they were comfortable. Sirius hadn't even known she liked him. Now it was pulling teeth.
He breathed, straightened his posture, and turned his phone back on.
(12:31 PM) lol
just kidding
Oh Christ.
(12:36 PM) Sorry, had to do something
(12:36 PM) no prob
come over now? :D
Sirius baulked.
(12:36 PM) Now? Do yuo ened to ask your parents?
(12:37 PM) i dont live with my parents
(12:37 PM) Oh
(12:37 PM) it's just my uncle and me
i asked him now and he says it's fine :)
(12:37 PM) You're sure I wont bother him?
(12:38 PM) im sure u will be more bothered by *him* lol
He paused, realizing that he hadn't thought of that, although it could easily end up being the case. He'd never met an uncle he liked.
If Sirius had to deal with some gregarious middle-aged prick acting like they were friends as well as with Jenny's affections, he might just find the strength in himself to cut his losses and run.
He thought for a second, bit his lip, then typed back.
(12:38 PM) I wont be bothered
(12:38 PM) i hope not
he'll just give u a rude stare bcs he thinks every boy i bring home is a
deviant -.-
Sirius's stomach sank. If this was a man who thought the sort of boys that hung out with Jenny Lupin were 'deviants', then Sirius would get slugged in the face on entry.
He resigned himself to that and shot back a response.
(12:39 PM) Charming
He'd also resigned himself to the fact that he was going to have to actually go today. And that his last text to Prongs ('HELP') was still pending a response. And that his two options for transportation were, one: prostrating himself and begging his father for the keys to the flawlessly preserved, hundred-year-old Duesenberg padlocked in the garage and awaiting true love's first kiss; or, two: Regulus's bike.
He had stood up, shivering and hopping from foot to foot, and wrangled a pair of trousers up his legs. A shock of thunder rumbled the manor.
He checked his phone before he put on his gloves. Jenny had texted.
(12:39 PM) i really think you'll like him!
or, if not, ill totally tell him to stay out of our way. id hate for him to make u
uncomfortable
genuinely
One glove was in his teeth and he tugged the other on.
(12:39 PM) Ill manage thanks
Leaving now, send address?
A green map popped up. Sirius looked at it and groaned out loud. She wasn't a long ways away, but if he wanted to make it there in less than an hour, he'd have to cut through a footpath that ran alongside the river. With the weather, he'd get mud and shit all over his shoes. And Regulus's bike.
The personal costs of this charade were adding up. Sirius would usually consider the best course of action to be telling her exactly what he thought and letting her tough it out, but he simultaneously liked her too much and wasn't close enough with her for that—Prongs had called it 'a hidden and entirely untapped reserve of empathy'.
He ran his eyes over the map once more, grumbling, then shot off some goodbye message before he shoved his phone in his pocket.
It'll be over soon, he promised himself as he left his room and started into the hallway.
His hip buzzed with Jenny's response.
Soon. Soon. Soon.
Unfortunately, Jenny's house came much sooner than anything else.
Against all logic, Sirius's bike ride to Jenny's had been the smoothest bike ride in all of recent memory.
Sirius was uncoordinated, easy to bruise, and he had no respect for bikes, but for some reason, today they had worked hand-in-hand like a fucking church choir—Sirius had clung to the handlebars, not peddling, trying to elongate the trip, but the handlebars had clung right back and he'd flown along the road viciously, wind whipping his face and flipping his stomach—he'd gone so fast that the hood of his raincoat had been stripped clean off of his head. Since he was too terrified to release his death grip on the handlebars, it had stayed flailing in the rain behind him and Sirius had gotten soaked.
He'd also gotten there in five minutes.
It was a nice, lower-end neighbourhood that he didn't have much time to admire, but he could see Jenny having a quaint, uneventful childhood in it.
The storm had grown stronger and uglier while Sirius was biking, and it was all he could do to throw his bike on Jenny's flooded lawn and run up to the front porch. The rain was slicing diagonally down and the oak trees in front of Jenny's house bent and groaned, barely resisting the howling gales.
Sirius charged up the steps and rapped on the door—a pathetic noise in the middle of what must've been a fucking cyclone—and bent his head away from the storm, gritting his teeth. The rain was less of a problem under the patio roof, but his jacket and pants still buffeted ferociously in the wind.
By that point, he wasn't even thinking about Jenny. He just regretted coming outside and wanted to get out of the storm and his wet clothes. His face was freezing. There was rainwater running down his chest. For all he cared Jenny could've been buck naked and lubed up on the other side of the door and he still would've been banging on it, shouting to be let in.
Soon, there was some clamour inside the house—someone yelling, loud footsteps—and then a beat of silence. The door opened.
Sirius struggled inside first chance. He kicked off his shoes right away, and his socks squelched the second he put them off, so he ripped those off, too. The entry hall was tiny, but it was warm and cosy and the heating was better than dipping into a steaming bath. He felt like every part of him was clammy and wet.
"Fucking storm," Sirius griped breathlessly, shuffling around to face the hideous floral-papered wall. His hair was dripping on the floor, and his elbow brushed Jenny's stomach as he turned. She didn't say anything, but he heard her shuffle back. "Sorry," he muttered, sinking down onto his haunches.
He paused for a moment, not knowing where to tuck his shoes in the wooden shoe box (just Jenny's Converse, black school trainers, and a pair of large loafers took up the entire thing), so he shoved them into the corner next to the splintering door frame. His coat got plopped unceremoniously on top of the shoebox.
Sirius wrinkled his nose a bit. Not that he judged people for not hiring swarms of help to tidy their homes, but there was so much dirt and dust around the threshold that it looked like it hadn't been touched in centuries.
A particularly strong gust of wind heaved through the open door and Sirius shut his eyes to it, wobbling slightly. "Oi, the door!"
The door slammed shut and just a couple more raindrops escaped inside.
"Sorry," someone said.
Oh.
That wasn't Jenny's voice.
The room went very silent, although the storm continued to rumble outside.
Sirius started to look up over his shoulder, praying that it'd actually been very quiet and imperceptible every time he had said 'fuck', and then he actually saw Jenny's uncle and all of his thoughts froze and sort of melted into puddles.
He hadn't even come close to imagining him.
He was young. He was tall, very tall. Even as Sirius hurriedly stood up, the man had to tilt his face down at him.
The warm, orange light of the sconces embedded in either side of the hallway only lit half of the man's face and left the rest in shadow so he looked sharp and wary. He didn't smile, and Sirius would've grinned at him anyway to break the awkward silence, but for some reason, it wasn't awkward. It didn't feel like he was being disapproved of by an adult: it felt like he was being looked at, inspected and consumed, even though he couldn't see the man's eyes.
They kept a safe distance from each other. The man was pressed against the other side of the hallway and his hands hung at his hips.
Then he frowned.
Sirius watched him with his breath halted in his throat.
He blinked and swallowed. "Um–"
"Sirius!"
They both turned to see Jenny standing at the brightly lit end of the hallway, and the heaviness in the little room immediately fizzled and broke.
Thunder grumbled outside.
Sirius turned away from the man.
"Hey," he greeted Jenny, walking to meet in the middle of the hallway, where it got brighter and the air less stale. They stopped right in front of each other and sort of looked one another up and down.
Sirius's sweater hadn't taken the brunt of the rain, but it was still sopping wet and the neckline of his jumper hung around below his collarbones—Jenny was perfectly dry and a little fluffy, like a dryer sheet after a cycle. She beamed.
Sirius noticed, a little surprised, that she was wearing makeup. Some right red lipstick and some cakey beige on her cheeks.
"You're soaked," Jenny noted. He could not imagine he looked very appealing right then, but she'd started blushing faintly. "Do you want a different sweater?"
"Sure," he said awkwardly. "Thanks."
He didn't meet Jenny's eyes as she took him by the elbow (her hand was clammy through his sleeve) and started chatting with reserved excitement about the movie she'd chosen. She didn't acknowledge her uncle, who Sirius peeked back at—he stood very still, leaning against the wall into the shadow and his head tilted thoughtfully.
He averted his eyes when Sirius met them.
"Oh," Jenny said quietly, stopping at the end of the hallway. "You met my uncle, this is Remus," she said. "Remus, this is Sirius."
"Hi," said Sirius. Remus nodded.
She straightened her back and curved her hips in a way that Sirius realized dimly was probably meant to mean Please take this opportunity to look at my ass, but he was preoccupied staring at the ground and trying not to flush, thinking that that was probably the most awful first meeting he'd ever had with a girl's parent. Or – whatever.
"You'll be upstairs, right?" Jenny asked, very leadingly.
There was a short pause. Then Remus, far away, said softly, "Yeah."
His voice was deep and smooth and it carried well in the little hall.
Jenny's hand slid off of Sirius's arm and her voice got softer. "Call me if anything?" Sirius ducked his head.
"I think I'll be fine."
"Okay. Thanks."
That was it. It was the last time Sirius heard Remus's voice that day (he didn't know why it seemed remarkable later, the last time he heard it, even though it was the first as well), and the second time he touched him (the first was at the front door and Sirius had grazed his stomach). Remus had walked to the staircase to leave them alone with each other—footsteps creaking loudly, rhythmically.
His knuckles had brushed barely against the small of Sirius's back as he reached for the bannister. Sirius jerked up straight.
It was just an accident. Remus disappeared up the stairs and the date went on.
Jenny got him a new sweater, which was dark green and a bit oversized, although it smelled freshly washed. While they microwaved popcorn, Sirius rested his hip against the kitchen counter and made conversation. But it turned out that 'conversation', to girls, sounded a lot like flirting (which made a lot of sense in retrospect actually). Jenny got so red-faced and embarrassed when Sirius touched her shoulder in a fit of laughter that she had to excuse herself to the toilet.
The movie started, and it was French, and it was fucking boring. He tried to make jokes about it being boring but he made so many that they became boring to think of, and he didn't think Jenny loved them.
Sirius had never felt so awkward and uncomfortable in his entire life as he had been in those two and a half hours, in which he watched Jenny's hand creep shyly into the space between them. He didn't take it and tried really hard not to look at it at all. He genuinely found it easier to be interested in cinema.
Jenny was unbearably perfect the entire date. She leaned into Sirius and threw her head back when she laughed at his jokes. When she had something to say about the cleverness of the film, she sounded so excited and impassioned that it was very easy and fun to listen to her, even if Sirius really disliked the movie, himself.
Even her sickening perfume faded into the sweetness that was so addictive that Sirius honestly wanted to jump on her and shove his face in her neck—although that could be attributed to his suddenly violently raging hormones—and she'd moved to sit on the floor halfway through the movie, "just because" , which not only gave him the best view of her tits but also gave her a pretence for flashing her big brown doe eyes up at him every time she had something snarky to say. The press of her arm against her calf was hot.
It would've worked on anyone. He just wanted to tell her that, give her a pat on the back. Full marks. If it was James who'd walked into this house and saw Jenny Lupin at the end of the hallway in that tiny skirt, he would've sprinted straight past her fit uncle and they'd already be ripping each other apart like wolves, Lily Evans be damned.
It was over quickly. Sirius left straight after. Jenny didn't invite him to stay for dinner—when she looked nervous like she might, Sirius blurted out a bunch of bullshit about having coursework and chores to do. Remus didn't come downstairs to send him off. He wasn't sure why he even thought he would.
It was over, completely over, and Sirius hadn't gotten a single horrified look from Jenny, the rain had pittered off into a dark foggy chill, and she'd let him go on the porch with just a tiny, blushing smile and not a single kiss anywhere on her face.
When she shut the door, Sirius actually threw his hands up and praised god.
Regulus's bike had tumbled two houses down and gotten caught on the bottom half of someone's mailbox (the top half of the mailbox was another two houses down) but it seemed to be working fine. One of the pedals kind of screamed as it spun, but Sirius could see past that.
Then, as he was riding just in front of Jenny's house (looking firmly away), he started swerving, fell off of it onto his face, and he remembered why he fucking hated bikes so much. Because he couldn't ride them.
And he lay there for a long time, just sort of staring at the stars.
When he got up and dusted himself off, Jenny's uncle was watching him through the open doorway.
He was sipping something from a mug and watching Sirius move over the rim of it.
Sirius didn't look at him, he just stumbled onto the bike with his teeth grit and rolled up the sleeves of his sweater.
There was blood gushing from a gash on his knee and he could feel it soaking into his sock. All he was thinking was don't say anything, don't fucking say anything to me.
He found his balance and shot a glance at Remus. Sirius couldn't tell where his eyes were and that made him squirm.
"Bye," Sirius called nonchalantly. "I had a good time."
Remus nodded. "Y'alright?"
"I'm fantastic, thanks."
He rode off without another word.
Sirius looked down at the handlebars, flipping the bike's wet gearshift. He wondered if Remus disapproved of him.
But he didn't feel like a deviant when Remus was looking at him. He just felt hot and nervous.
As he was pedalling, he thought about that moment in front of the stairs, earlier in the night, when Remus had touched his back and he'd frozen.
Soon he started to recall it a bit differently, though. Instead of a brief, innocent brush, it was the unharried press of a thumb against the bottom knob of his spine. While Jenny had smiled sweetly at him, asking if he was ready for the movie, the knuckles slipped from Sirius's spine into long fingers that curled around his waist. They pulled him back and jerked his hips into place so he looked up the narrow stairway, shadows creeping round into the landing...
Soon he turned a corner onto a main street and shlopped through the heavy puddles. The weather was still freezing—it was starting to sprinkle gently.
Sirius stopped on the side of the road to pull his hood up.
The rubbery windbreaker hood slid out of his fingers, which were pale and shaking and being struck by raindrops. Sirius swore when it finally got on but he was shaking too badly to grab the drawstrings.
"Come on," he goaded under his breath. His face was still hot.
He swore and gave up. He just looked down at his hands, breathing hard, spots dancing in front of his eyes.
His heart was racing.
A/N Whats up yall little hoes, I didn't think that this one was as good as the first chapter. I'm wondering how different itd look if i rewrote it completely because i feel like my style has changed a lot from when i first started on uncle moony. Probably worse. Probably a little less horny in some of these parts here. I just wrote like this sort of miguel ohara ass remus, whos kind of doglike and quieter than most people and weird, and I wanted him so bad lol. Hey anyways good chapter guys, good team effort, hope you liked it