nerakrose: drawing of balfour from havemercy (sirius is imagining remus naked)
nerakrose ([personal profile] nerakrose) wrote in [community profile] small_gifts2017-11-20 03:24 pm
Entry tags:

fic: Two Truths for coffeeincosmos

Title: Two Truths
Author/Artist: [personal profile] nerakrose
Recipient: [personal profile] coffeeincosmos
Rating: G
Contents or warnings (highlight to view): *none*, also: fluff, background Hooch/Sprout, hints at pre-romance Harry/Draco
Word count: ~2,2k
Summary: Sirius is Remus' date to the Yule Ball.
Notes: AU in which Remus stayed on as teacher after PoA, and Sirius' name was cleared during the summer. Happy holidays, [personal profile] coffeeincosmos! I hope you enjoy this fluffy little thing.

Two Truths

"Your collar looks fine."

Sirius glanced at Remus through the mirror. "Just fine?"

"I could tell you it's perfect, but that would be a lie." Remus tried to suppress his anxiety about the evening. They hadn't done anything public as a couple, and going to the Yule Ball together was...well, there was no knowing how it'd turn out. Sirius had only had his charges dropped this summer, and had kept a low profile since then. The Wizarding world at large was mercurial; they might've forgotten already, or they might not.

Anyway. Sirius looked perfect, which was a special talent of his; he had always had an uncanny ability to roll out of bed and look put together, even if all he was wearing was a pair of boxers and a single sock.

Of course a big part of that was in the eye of the beholder, and when the beholder was just as smitten as he'd been twenty years ago...it didn't matter one whit what Sirius was actually wearing or that he was sporting a few strands of grey: he always looked perfect.

"Tell me a lie," Sirius said, and fixed his collar with a spell.

"Two lies and a truth," Remus said and came up to stand behind him. "Harry knows exactly who his date is. I'm not wearing underwear under these robes. There'll be a Muggle band."

Sirius considered the options. "You're not wearing underwear."

"Correct." Remus smirked. "I was holding out for a Muggle band, but Dumbledore would not be swayed."

"Alas." Sirius grinned back. He turned and offered Remus his arm. "Shall we go?"

~*~


It was amazing what six months and a Death Tournament had done for Sirius' reputation. It appeared that nobody could be bothered to remember he'd once been a wanted criminal, so nobody batted an eyelash when he showed up at Remus' side—almost nobody, that was; a certain greasy-haired asswaffle had sneered as they'd walked past, but that was to be expected. Some people were just beyond all hope and salvation.

Some other people were just as stubbornly fixated on old grudges.

"Don't," Remus said, mildly, and low enough that only Sirius heard.

"I'm not," Sirius protested. "I'm not doing anything at all."

"Hmm," said Remus, and steered them towards their seats.

Sirius, bless him, knew exactly how to interpret that hmm, so he followed Remus obediently, and sat, and had a drink. He'd likely seize his opportunity later, but Remus decided to ignore that.

"Where's Harry?"

"Questioning his life choices, I'll imagine," Remus said. "Ah, there he is."

The champions entered the hall with McGonagall, walking straight up to the large round judges table. Sirius was sitting on his hands, likely suppressing his desire to wave and call out to Harry. Good. The poor boy was probably having a hard enough time already without his godfather embarrassing him in front of everyone.

Not to mention, they hadn't actually told Harry. As far as Remus knew, Harry was blissfully unaware that Sirius had a habit of parking his broom outside Remus' quarters in the castle, so to speak, or that Remus was just as likely to spend his nights at Sirius' new cottage in Hogsmeade.

"What if I shout quietly," Sirius mused aloud.

"Absolutely not," Remus told him. He watched Harry, who had a constipated look on his face like he'd rather be anywhere else than right there, at the centre of everybody's attention. "Do you think we should tell him?"

Sirius did not reply, for he was socialising already; he was talking to the person sitting on his other side, another teacher—Sprout—and was making pleasant small talk.

Remus joined in. Sirius had learned that Sprout had divorced her husband only the previous day in order to attend the Yule Ball with Hooch, whom Remus knew Sirius would recognise from their own Hogwarts days.

"Delighted!" Sirius said, shaking her hand profusely. "Congratulations to the two of you on being recently queer and all, most excellent. I've had a hiatus myself, terrible business, that, but all's well that ends well, I should say—Remus, what is it?"

"Not recently queer," Remus pointed out, giving him an indulgent smile. Attitudes had changed a lot during the years Sirius had been in Azkaban, and he loved how much delight and pride Sirius took in being able to belong to the community.

Hooch raised her glass to Remus, and Pomona smiled into her own.

"Oh! Well, what does it matter? I will congratulate anyone I like." Sirius raised his glass. "Cheers to everyone at this table of the queerly persuasion."

That was just the four of them, it turned out. These tables seated a dozen, and none of their other table companions were much inclined to toast with Sirius. Remus couldn't quite discern why, though given their wary looks they had longer memories than the students did.

And the evening had started off so lovely. Remus shuddered to think what would happen if he was found out; it was bad enough that he was socialising with a not-actually-a-murderer, worse that he was dating him, being a werewolf would surely bring on the pitchfork wielding hordes.

"It's the hair, isn't it? I'm much better looking in real life than on those blasted old wanted posters. They got my nose all wrong. And my teeth! Though to be fair, Azkaban doesn't have great dental care." Sirius flashed them a grin.

Remus smiled politely.

Nobody said anything, and Remus resigned himself to bland dinner companions and awkward conversations. Aside from the ladies sitting to their right, of course.

Dinner passed pleasantly, however, between the four of them, and if displeased noises came from the other guests at the table, then Sirius appeared to valiantly resist the temptation to transfigure their desserts into tadpoles.

Remus had no such compunctions, and surreptitiously transfigured both the tableware into jelly and the desserts atop it into porcelain.

"I am in love," Sirius whispered into his ear. "Just stating that for the record."

"Of course," said Remus, and swapped his plate of half-eaten chocolate pudding for the remains of Sirius' lemon fromage.

Around the table, the other guests were having problems digesting their porcelain desserts. Hooch and Sprout, being exempted from Remus' little trick, did a good job of pretending nothing was amiss: "Goodness me, I didn't realise hard candy desserts were on the menu! That does look incredibly tasty, dear—I'm quite happy with my strawberry tart, thank you—"

Sirius gobbled down Remus' chocolate pudding, and Remus resolved to take him for a walk in the rose garden that'd been constructed outside for the occasion. Perhaps they'd find a nice bush to admire. Up close, of course. Sirius seemed to be of a similar mind.

"Dance first," Remus said in low tones, folding his napkin.

This turned Sirius' attention to the dance floor. "I thought we taught Harry better than that," he whispered to Remus.

Remus was trying not to let his horror and amusement show on his face. He took a moment to suppress his laughter. "Let's put him out of his misery?"

"Why, my sweet, I never thought you'd ask." Sirius stood up and offered Remus his hand. "May I have the first dance?"

"And the last." Remus took Sirius' hand, and then—instead of following Sirius' lead—twirled them onto the dance floor with a flourish, at the end of which he dipped Sirius briefly, before reeling him back in.

Sirius grinned. They were the least coordinated pair of dancers Remus knew (in hindsight, they probably hadn't been the best teachers for the job where Harry was concerned—whoops), but they'd spent many an evening dancing on the living room floor with an old record playing in the background (more often than not playing ABBA records), and had turned dancing into a game.

They took turns taking the lead in a silent back and forth contest for it, slipping, sliding, whirling, folding, creating their own rhythm. They narrowly missed other couples and purposefully bumped into Snape, who was taking McGonagall for a courteous spin.

If Sirius took the opportunity to send a non-verbal itching spell his way, Remus did not comment on it.

"Drink?" Remus asked, when the third dance ended.

"Delighted," Sirius replied. He had a right to be, he was currently in the lead with 536 points to Remus' 532.

They discovered that Harry had not continued dancing after the first dance; rather, he and Ron seemed to be both ignoring their dates and staring at other people, while scowling.

Specific other people, that was.

"Is that my dearly beloved cousin my godson is glaring at?" Sirius sipped his punch. "I must say, if he's trying to murder him with the power of thought, he needs some more practice. It's not going well for him."

"Are you volunteering to tutor?" Remus was standing close enough for their shoulders to touch.

"Heavens, no. This is your area of expertise." Sirius smirked behind his glass. "However, I might just purchase your services in the area."

Remus looked at him over the rim of his own glass, letting his amusement show. "Nepotism, Mr Black?"

"In this relationship? Of course." Sirius leaned in closer. "What will it be, Professor Lupin?"

There were titters around them. Remus couldn't detect what was being said, but he could feel the nervous energy, and by the looks of it, so did Sirius. Maybe it was time to disappear from public view for a bit, and let the students have their fun in peace.

"Roses," Remus said, and gulped down the remains of his punch.

Sirius emptied his glass as well.

The grounds and the recently constructed rose garden were not yet overrun by ambitious teenagers. Remus wove a heating charm around them to stave off the chill, and with Sirius hanging off his arm took them on a languorous stroll.

It was a lovely night out, and quiet, bar the occasional giggles and scrambles from a bush here and there; it appeared some of the teenagers had gotten an early start on the amorous activities. Remus let them be.

Sirius discovered a love seat at the end of a trail. They sat. "How are you doing?"

"Me?" Remus asked, surprised.

"Don't think I don't know you've been stressing about the Ball for the past few weeks." Sirius clasped their hands together. "When you've not been stressing about Harry being in a fucking Death Tournament, or trying to keep me from stressing about Harry being in a fucking Death Tournament…"

Remus exhaled. This wasn't ground he wanted to tread right now. "Tell me a lie."

Sirius remained silent, his hand warm on Remus'. "Two lies and a truth," he said, after a while. "Hagrid sold my bike. Snape is an upstanding citizen. I love you."

"You love me," Remus said, suddenly feeling hoarse.

"Yes." Sirius turned to look at Remus. "And you have been stressing."

"Yes. I have. But it's insignificant in the grand scheme of things—"

"It's not the seventies anymore, it's 1993—'94? No, '93—anyway, it's a new era, is my point, and it's fine."

It was dark, but Remus could still see the sparkle in Sirius' eyes. "We should tell him," Remus said. "Tomorrow?"

Sirius kissed him. It wasn't unexpected as such, but Remus was surprised enough that he didn't immediately respond. In the past there'd been a lot of sneaking about, and in the past six months Remus had been slowly warming up to the idea that they didn't have to sneak about. He kissed Sirius back, finally letting go of that last little ball of anxiety.

"Oh! Uh, sorry—oh! Hi."

This was Harry. Remus blinked at him, aware that not only had the boy caught him in flagrante delicto, but that he'd been caught with Sirius. "Hello, Harry," he said. "Are you enjoying the festivities so far?"

Sirius made a noise like a barely suppressed snicker.

Harry stared at the two of them, wide eyed, then his eyes flickered to the side. Remus followed his line of sight and saw that Harry had noticed Draco Malfoy, whose white-blond hair was like a beacon in the dark, lingering by a rose bush a short distance away. The boy looked like he was trying not to be noticed, half-hiding behind the bush and obviously following Harry. When Harry looked back at Remus and Sirius, a slight blush had appeared on his cheeks.

"Yeah it's great," Harry said. "I'll, uh, see you guys later." He scrambled off, presumably back the way he'd come.

As soon as Harry was out of earshot, Sirius let out a great guffaw of laughter. "That's him told, I reckon!"

Remus smoothed down the front of his robes, inhaling slowly. "Yes, I reckon."

Sirius grabbed Remus' hands to still them. "Let's continue what we started? I haven't kissed you enough for the day, and with you looking all handsome and flustered like that—"

"Oh, do shut up." Remus didn't wait for Sirius to obey his command and instead shut him up with a kiss, and then another, and then another.

fin.

ruinsplume: (Default)

[personal profile] ruinsplume 2017-12-04 04:53 pm (UTC)(link)
This was lovely! I adored R/S's banter and the truth/lie confessions. The background couples were delightful too. I really liked how Harry and Draco seemed so young here, because they were. Nice job characterizing them in such a brief appearance. And then everyone catches each other in the rose garden! <3 Great read! (Also, good work on the reclassification of the Triwizard tournament as the Death Tournament.)
museinabsentia: (Default)

[personal profile] museinabsentia 2017-12-04 05:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh what a sweet fic! I love a good Sirius has his name cleared fic, because it still leaves the possibility of all the angst of the war while simultaneously giving them a chance to actually be happy. And this one was brilliant. Funny in moments, touchingly poignant in moments.

I mean,"Death Tournament" was sort of brilliantly apt, and this:
then Sirius appeared to valiantly resist the temptation to transfigure their desserts into tadpoles.

Remus had no such compunctions, and surreptitiously transfigured both the tableware into jelly and the desserts atop it into porcelain.

That was perfect! Sirius gaining some restraint, Remus simply not caring and having none, proving why he was a Marauder in the first place. And what a clever prank to play!

I love that technically the war is still going on, and things are dark and grim all over the wizarding world, but there isn't a hint of it here. That they get to find a peaceful, joyous moment in the middle of it all. It's such a nice change, that maybe they could be happy. They deserve to be happy.

Wonderful job!
jencala: Wolfstar (Default)

[personal profile] jencala 2017-12-04 05:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh I loved this! I love the banter and the truth/lie bit. Perfect!
brighty18: (Default)

[personal profile] brighty18 2017-12-04 07:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, wow! That was so much fun! It was witty and charming and the banter was outstanding. It was also the perfect blend of sweetness and humor.

Speaking of sweetness, I very much loved this bit: Anyway. Sirius looked perfect, which was a special talent of his; he had always had an uncanny ability to roll out of bed and look put together, even if all he was wearing was a pair of boxers and a single sock.

And, as to humor, the truth/lie confessions and dessert-based pranks were perfect. Of love how in some ways they were very much grown-up Maruaders but yet remained adults. Well done!
shaggydogstail: (we were all idiots)

[personal profile] shaggydogstail 2017-12-04 07:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Aw, that was ever so cute. I particularly loved Remus still being up for playing the odd little prank at the dinner table.
human_veil: (Default)

[personal profile] human_veil 2017-12-04 08:01 pm (UTC)(link)
This was just adorable! I loved their banter, and this line — he had always had an uncanny ability to roll out of bed and look put together, even if all he was wearing was a pair of boxers and a single sock. — had me smiling. It’s just so Sirius.

Lovely work!
finalsoul: (Default)

[personal profile] finalsoul 2017-12-04 09:11 pm (UTC)(link)
!!!!!! Ohhh my gosh this was absolutely lovely ❤❤❤ I loved.every single bit of reading this magnificent fic! You were able to capture their love so perfectly within the story and each tender moment they had together melted my heart, i was so so fond in this line in particular "he had always had an uncanny ability to roll out of bed and look put together, even if all he was wearing was a pair of boxers and a single sock." Also i loved loved the way you incorporated Harry into the fic as well ♡♡
a couple of days ago i watched hp tgof and this fic has resurrected me from the dead 100% thank you for this!!
Edited 2017-12-04 21:12 (UTC)

[personal profile] rj31 2017-12-04 10:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Brilliant! Very cheeky and funny and ‘greasy-haired asswaffle’ - I loved it! Thank you for sharing :)
necessarian: (Default)

[personal profile] necessarian 2017-12-04 11:57 pm (UTC)(link)
i love this! the canon divergence you've worked into this scenario is so satisfying, least of all that remus is still teaching at hogwarts. wonderful! and gosh it's so sweet to see sirius happy and that there are even a few people who support him, balanced against the bitter. harry catching them snogging and then glancing over at draco... very cute. could he be more transparent? :P
alafaye: (Default)

[personal profile] alafaye 2017-12-05 01:16 am (UTC)(link)
abyss_valkyrie: made by <user name=narnialover7> (Default)

[personal profile] abyss_valkyrie 2017-12-05 02:21 am (UTC)(link)
Eeeee!!!Established relationship done nicely!!Really liked the atmosphere you were able to describe with the teachers and the canon setting. Hooch and Sprout too, what a surprise!And Snape dancing with McG was just really funny!The background information about everyone added to this fic nicely!And oh, Remus!!Transfiguring the dessert and the hard candy bit just made me laugh too hard! The way Harry found out about them, haha!And well, they found out about Harry too, I suppose!And of course, what a cute ending!I had to love the two lies and a truth idea you used here!!
shoebox_addict: (Default)

[personal profile] shoebox_addict 2017-12-05 03:39 am (UTC)(link)
God, what a delight! I love the little detail of Remus and Sirius treating dancing like a game, with points and everything. And the tiny bit of Harry/Draco is appreciated as well. ;)
epithalamium: (Default)

[personal profile] epithalamium 2017-12-05 08:34 am (UTC)(link)
Congratulations to the two of you on being recently queer and all, most excellent. I've had a hiatus myself, terrible business, that

Ahaha these boys have such excellent banter and I love how comfortable they are together even after the hiatus from queerness. ;D I'm defo a sucker for established relationship and this didn't disappoint! I also love the little H/D cameo! (Poor Draco, what a nice little family gathering this was.)
wild_flame: (Default)

[personal profile] wild_flame 2017-12-05 07:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Lovely and cheeky! Thanks for sharing!
chasingbluefish: (Default)

[personal profile] chasingbluefish 2017-12-06 12:08 am (UTC)(link)
SO GOOD!

I love every part of this.

I've always loved the idea of r/s going to the Yule ball together and this was freaking brilliant and hilarious and sweet and EVERYTHING.
luminousgloom: (Default)

[personal profile] luminousgloom 2017-12-07 05:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Aaaah perfect small gift – sweet and funny and heart warming, that leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy. Really enjoyed how your Sirius and Remus are around each other, and of course the lies/truths... Loved it!
huldrejenta: (Default)

[personal profile] huldrejenta 2017-12-08 01:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh this was incredibly sweet! The two lies and one truth was wonderful, and this entire thing flows so well. I adored the background pairings as well, and the palpable and obvious love between Remus and Sirius. Well written and super lovely <3
Edited 2017-12-08 13:30 (UTC)

[personal profile] coffeeincosmos 2017-12-08 06:38 pm (UTC)(link)
First of all, I’m sorry I only got to read this now, this week has been so exhausting I couldn't even focus on fanfic in the evenings.
Second of all, I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FICS FOR YEARS AND IT’S PERFECT.

"Where's Harry?" – "Questioning his life choices, I'll imagine."
I love Remus so much here. It’s so good to see the best of PoA!Remus except with less angst and even more banter because he got Sirius back. Also, Remus telling Sirius what to do and Sirius actually listening (sometimes) will always be one of my favourite things ever.

As will Remus being the one who’s doing the mischief (or letting Sirius do it without scolding him for it), THANKS, I feel like people so often forget about or ignore this side of him and I’m so glad you included it here. Also, A+ prank, and A+ of Hooch and Sprout playing along. Incidentally, Hooch/Sprout is something I never knew I needed but somehow it fits in perfectly. Just, cheers to everyone at that table of the queerly persuasion, I’d happily join them any time.

I love the balance of not the 70s anymore and a realistic it’s still the early 90s, where not everyone will be great about seeing them together and Remus will of course be stressed out and anxious about showing up with Sirius as his date for the ball, it feels so natural.

There are so many small details I absolutely adore - turning dancing into a game! (I kind of want to know how the game works but I’m also kind of afraid to ask, lmao). The ABBA records! Sirius commenting on Harry watching Draco! The fucking Death Tournament! Their kiss(es)! Just every bit of interaction between Remus and Sirius because yes, this is them, this is perfect. Also, I love how they use the “two lies and a truth” and how it helps to calm them down a bit each time.

Oh, and Harry, who’s of course walking right into them, because other people reaction to this Yule Ball date is half of what makes it so great. Especially when the person who walks into their kiss is probably just into the middle of figuring out that kissing other guys is very much an option for them, as well.

I probably forgot to mention half of the things I wanted to, but seriously, thank you so much for this! <3
tpants: (Default)

[personal profile] tpants 2017-12-12 11:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Hahaha two lies and truth is possibly the best way of communicating things to each other. They're such dorks. I love it.