Fic: Oversleeping for Bruni/Kasche
Dec. 8th, 2008 11:05 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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small_giftsTitle: Oversleeping
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fullmoon_dreams
Written for: Bruni/kasche
Rating: PG13
Prompt: Oversleeping, slightly based on the song.
Summary: Oversleeping can be a bad thing or a good…it depends on how you spend the rest of the day.
Any other notes, warnings, etc.: A bit of bad language and non-magical AU.
Beta acknowledgement:werewolfsfan
Merry Christmas Bruni/Kasche, I hope you like this story as much as I adore your fantastic pictures of Remus and Sirius.
Oversleeping
Remus Lupin had overslept, again. He glared at the clock and realised he had less than thirty minutes to get to the train.
“Damn it,” he muttered as he struggled into his trousers and scanned the floor for his missing socks.
His tie was still undone, and thoughts of breakfast were no more than a wistful idea, as he picked up the newspaper and ran out of the door.
He made it with barely a minute to spare. Dropping into his usual seat, he breathed a sigh of relief.
“You’re cutting it a bit fine today,” Sirius said as he passed him a plastic cup of overpriced and not particularly pleasant coffee.
“Thanks,” Remus said as he took a sip.
“Overslept?”
“Yeah. I’ve got to get a new alarm clock. Damn thing keeps resetting on me.”
“Thought it might have been late nights with some lucky girl. It’s the second time this week, isn’t it?”
Remus nodded. “I’m lucky the paperboy is noisy when he delivers, otherwise I’d probably still be in bed right now.”
“You get any breakfast?”
“Didn’t have time.”
“Didn’t think so.” Sirius reached into his briefcase and pulled out a small paper bag. “Here you go. Wouldn’t want you to starve.”
Remus took the bag cautiously and peered inside. “Warm croissants,” he said with a smile.
“When you weren’t at the café, I figured I’d pick something up for you.”
“Thanks.”
“So, you got the crossword there?”
Remus took a bite of his croissant and nodded.
It was a daily routine that had begun nearly a year ago on a very similar morning. The train had left the station, travelled all of half a mile and promptly broken down. It wasn’t the first time and every regular passenger knew it wouldn’t be the last. Normally, Remus would start the crossword on the train and then finish it at lunchtime; tabloid crosswords were never that difficult or thought provoking. On that particular morning however, he had been stuck on the train for so long that he had nearly completed the whole thing. There was just one clue where the answer was evading him…at least until the black-haired stranger sitting next to him had plucked his pen from his hand and asked ‘may I?’
After that morning they had almost always met up at the café just around the corner from the station, found seats together on the train and had worked on the crossword clues together. Only holidays and the occasional rail strike ever interfered with their routine.
It hadn’t been long before Remus had found himself looking forward to the morning journeys to work far more than he should. They talked about anything and everything…except the one subject that Remus was especially curious about.
Sirius had told him about his time at university and the job he had managed to obtain immediately on graduation. It was surprising what options were available to a bright and talented young man when he had the backing of a prestigious name and a lot of money. Ambitious and charismatic, it was clear that he was going places.
Remus had felt a little uncomfortable speaking about his own life at first. University had been out of the question and night school was still wishful thinking, at least until he saved enough money. In the meantime, he was working at an auction house in the city; it was boring work but the pay wasn’t too bad. To his delight, Sirius had shown a genuine interest in his work and in him.
Remus sometimes wondered how he had ever made it through the arduous train journey without the engaging company of Sirius Black.
“Four down is desire,” Sirius said, pointing to the page. “A Streetcar Named Desire.”
Remus nodded and added the answer to the puzzle. He had known that one, but had been reluctant to write it in, especially considering where his errant thoughts were wandering to.
The train was crowded and the seats weren’t the most spacious, which meant that Remus was pressed close up alongside Sirius, and desire was at the forefront of his mind.
“You’re not concentrating this morning,” Sirius commented after he had provided the answers for another two clues. “Something on your mind?”
“No,” Remus lied. “Just the after-effects of rushing for the train. It always throws me out of synch for the rest of the day.”
Sirius seemed to accept his answer and they turned back to the crossword. “Did I tell you I’d got an interview for a promotion?” he said a few minutes later.
“Already?” Remus replied. “They must be really impressed with you.”
“That or I bribed them,” Sirius said with a wink. “It’s a real opportunity. Interview’s tomorrow morning.”
“Well, good luck for it. I’m sure you’ll do great.”
“You think so?”
Remus feigned a casual shrug. “I’d hire you.”
Sirius grinned at him. “It’s more responsibility though.”
“You don’t like responsibility?”
“Not if I can avoid it. It’ll mean moving to a different branch as well.”
Remus felt a stinging disappointment in his gut as he realised that if Sirius succeeded in getting the promotion he would probably never see him again.
“It’ll be less travelling though. There’ll be no more relying on the trains and since it’s not city centre I’ll be able to ride in without worrying about where to park.”
Remus nodded dismally. Of course he would want to drive in to work if he could. Sirius didn’t get the train because he couldn’t afford to run a car, or in his case a motorbike. He didn’t have to catch an early train so that he had enough time to walk across to the other side of the city, instead of scrimping together the money for a taxi.
“Sounds like a great opportunity,” Remus said with a forced smile.
“You don’t sound so sure about it,” Sirius replied. “You sure you’re okay?”
“I said I was!” Remus snapped.
“O-kay,” Sirius drawled. “You know, if you think I’m doing the wrong thing by taking the interview, just say so.”
Remus turned back to the crossword with a frown. “It’s your life, I’m sure you know what you’re doing.”
“Thought you’d be happy for me,” Sirius muttered irritably.
Remus was instantly contrite. It wasn’t Sirius’s fault that he fancied him. “I am, really,” he assured him, trying to sound like he meant it.
“You don’t sound like you are,” Sirius told him as they pulled into the station and gathered their things together and followed the rest of the passengers out onto the platform.
“See you tomorrow then?” Remus said as they went their separate ways.
Instead of replying with his usual jaunty ‘of course’, Sirius turned away with a mumbled ‘I guess’. Remus sighed as he began the long walk across the city, naturally it started to rain.
-o-xXx-o-
By the end of the day Remus was feeling thoroughly guilty about the way he had spoken to Sirius on the train. He was well aware of the fact that the only reason he was upset about Sirius’s job opportunity was because he would miss seeing him, talking to him, sitting beside him and enjoying his company.
It wasn’t like they were friends, Remus told himself repeatedly throughout the day. They only saw each other in the mornings on the way to work. They never socialised in the evenings or even travelled home on the same train. To Sirius, Remus was sure he was nothing more than someone to talk to during what would normally be a boring and tedious journey.
He was determined to make his way to the café early the next morning. He hoped that Sirius would be there in plenty of time for him to apologise and buy him breakfast.
Unfortunately for Remus, despite his good intentions, he overslept once again. He stared at the clock that was telling him – in glowing red figures – that he was never going to make the train. It was due to pull out of the station in less than two minutes. He wasn’t going to be able to meet Sirius, wouldn’t be able to apologise to him, and the money he had intended to spend on Sirius’s breakfast would have to go towards the cost of a taxi once the later train reached its destination.
Remus made his way miserably to the station, collected his ticket, and sank down onto one of the seats on the platform to wait for the train to arrive.
He didn’t even notice that someone was sitting down next to him until a familiar voice jolted him out of his misery. “Overslept again, huh?”
Remus turned to Sirius who had once again bought a coffee for him. He mumbled a thank you, telling Sirius that he didn’t have to keep buying him something every time he was late for the train.
“I wanted to,” Sirius told him.
“How come you missed the train?” Remus asked. “Overslept yourself?”
“I never oversleep,” Sirius told him with a grin. “No, I wanted to talk to you. When you didn’t show I thought maybe you were avoiding me.”
Remus shook his head. “No, I wanted to see you today.” He ducked his head and flushed, hoping that Sirius would think it was caused by the hot beverage. “I wanted to apologise for yesterday.”
Sirius waved away his apology. “Did I ever tell you about James?” he asked.
Remus frowned at the sudden change of subject and shook his head.
“We were at university together. Good bloke. You’ve probably seen him on the train. Messy hair, glasses, normally sucking the face off the redhead with the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun ring tone.”
Remus nodded, vaguely recalling who it was that Sirius was referring to.
“We work at rival firms now, but we still meet up for lunch every day,” Sirius continued. “He and the redhead – Lily – have just got engaged. They’re having a party the weekend after next.”
Remus sipped at the coffee as he wondered where Sirius was going with his rambling.
“James can be pretty oblivious when he’s with Lily. But apparently he managed to drag his tongue away from the poor girl’s tonsils long enough to notice us arguing yesterday morning.”
“We weren’t really arguing,” Remus interrupted.
“He said, and I quote, ‘you looked like you were having a lovers’ spat’.”
Remus felt the colour draining from his face. “He did?”
“Yeah. I tore a strip off him and told him he was being a git. We had our own fight right in front of the lunchtime crowd.”
“Sorry. You’re good now though, aren’t you?”
Sirius nodded. “Yeah, me and James never fight for long. We had a few pints after work; it’s all forgotten.”
“Good,” Remus told him. His guilt at the sharp words he’d said had more than doubled with the knowledge that he had caused a fight between two old friends.
“He was right though,” Sirius said, looking out towards the empty train tracks as he spoke.
“About what?”
“About what it looked like.”
Remus didn’t know what to say to that.
“You want to go get some breakfast?” Sirius asked.
“We’ve only got five minutes before the train arrives, and what about your interview?”
“Cancelled it yesterday afternoon.”
“What?”
“I cancelled it,” Sirius repeated. “Told my boss that there was too much going on in my personal life at the moment, and that I thought I couldn’t give the job the full commitment it needs. The usual stuff. He told me I was very responsible.” Sirius snorted with humour at this last. “I’ve got the day off today. Any chance you can play truant?”
Remus shot a look towards the payphone. He’d never deliberately skived off of work for the day, but there was a first time for everything. “I’ll be back in a minute,” he said.
“Where you going?”
“The payphone,” Remus replied, pointing to the phone in question.
“You can’t call in sick from a payphone,” Sirius told him with a laugh. “If you start to run out of money they’ll know right away you’re not at home. Here.” He rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a mobile phone. “You can use this.”
Remus took the mobile from him and dialled the auction house. A few minutes later and his supervisor was making him promise to look after himself and take as much time off as he needed. He passed the phone back to Sirius with a guilty smile.
“You’ve never pulled a sickie before?” Sirius asked with a grin.
“I think you might be a bad influence,” Remus replied.
Sirius laughed and they made their way out of the station and towards the café where Sirius ordered two full English fry-ups.
“I’ll get them,” Remus insisted. “Call it an apology for my being a bit of a git yesterday.”
Sirius looked like he wanted to argue, but at Remus’s firm glare he clearly thought better of it. Instead he changed the subject and they chatted casually as they waited for the food to arrive. They didn’t have to wait for long and as soon as their plates were on the table they began to sort out the food, Sirius taking Remus’s tomatoes while Remus took Sirius’s unwanted bacon.
“You realise that this is the sort of thing couples do?” Sirius commented quietly between mouthfuls.
“Is it?”
“Yeah.” Sirius looked around the café, and upon seeing that no one was in earshot, turned back to Remus. “I am…er…that way inclined, if you know what I mean?”
Remus felt his heartbeat speed up and he nearly choked on his forkful of mushrooms. Once he had recovered he nodded to Sirius. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”
“And you?” Sirius asked, just as Remus had taken a second mouthful, thus prompting a second coughing fit.
Remus glared at Sirius, who was making no effort to conceal his amusement. Instead of answering him directly he speared a sausage with his fork, dipped it into the tomato ketchup and took it into his mouth, sucking it meaningfully. He didn’t take his eyes from Sirius and was pleased to see that his reaction to his blatant teasing was not one of complete disinterest.
“I’ll take that as a yes, shall I?” Sirius finally choked out. Remus grinned back at him and nudged his foot with his own. Sirius nudged back and returned his grin.
They finished the meal in easy silence before heading back out into the cold.
“So, what do you want to do on your unexpected day off?” Sirius asked.
Remus shrugged. “First, I’d like to dump my bag back at home, if you don’t mind?”
“Sure,” Sirius agreed. “Lead the way.”
“Er…”
“What?”
“I was going to just quickly run back and then meet you somewhere.”
“You don’t want me to see where you live?”
“No…I mean, no, it’s not that. It’s just I wasn’t expecting to have visitors today…the place is a bit of a mess.”
“You should see the state of my place,” Sirius told him with a barking laugh. “I’ll give you time to hide anything incriminating if you like.”
Remus knew there would be no arguing with him and so retraced his steps back home with Sirius walking alongside him.
“This is it?” Sirius asked as Remus searched his pockets for the key.
“No,” Remus replied with a smirk. “I’m looking for my lock-pick, I’m really a cat-burglar.”
Finally, he found the key and let them in.
“Nice place,” Sirius commented with a smile as Remus kicked a pair of shoes out of the way and hurriedly removed a dirty shirt from where it was lying over the back of the sofa.
“Take a seat,” Remus offered. “I’ll only be a minute.”
He didn’t wait to see if Sirius took his advice. He hurried into the bedroom, gathering dirty clothes along the way. He hoped there was enough room in the laundry hamper.
When he emerged from the bathroom he found that Sirius was looking at him from the doorway to the bedroom.
“All sorted?” Sirius asked as he leaned casually against the doorframe.
Remus nodded and walked towards him, wondering how close he would get before Sirius stepped out of his way. When he was practically stepping on his toes, it was clear that the other man was not going to be moving out of the way at all. Instead, he was looking at Remus with an expression that was almost daring him to make a move.
Remus wasn’t normally one for dares, but in this case he was more than willing to rise to the occasion and he pressed his lips to Sirius’s.
He only had a moment to wonder at what he was doing. Then Sirius was kissing him back with eager enthusiasm.
“Damn,” Remus gasped as they pulled apart.
Sirius couldn’t seem to summon up any words at all. He grinned down at Remus as he struggled to catch his breath. “I think I need to sit down,” he finally said, eyeing up the bed in hopeful anticipation.
Remus laughed and tugged him over towards the bed. “I think I’ve decided what I’d like to do on my day off,” he whispered into Sirius’s ear.
-o-xXx-o-
Remus woke on Monday morning feeling warm and ever so slightly trapped. The reason for the latter became apparent when he tried to move and found himself unable to do so.
“Sirius?” he said, nudging the other man in the shoulder. “Your phone’s ringing.”
“Let it ring,” Sirius murmured, increasing his grip around Remus and nuzzling his neck.
Remus tried not to giggle at the tickling sensation and nudged Sirius again. “Come on, Monday morning awaits. We’ve got to get up for work.”
“It can’t be Monday already,” Sirius insisted. “That would mean I’ve been here all weekend.”
“You have.” Remus struggled out of Sirius’s embrace and reached down to the floor for his jacket, searching for the phone. “Here.”
Sirius grumbled but flipped open the phone. “James, what’s up?”
Remus turned towards the chest of drawers and pulled out a clean shirt.
“Oh no you don’t!” Sirius suddenly said, pulling Remus back onto the bed with a laugh. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” he added into the phone.
Sirius pulled Remus close so that he could hear James shouting at the other end of the phone.
“I’ve been calling you for ages,” James was saying. “You’re going to miss the train.”
“It’s not that late,” Sirius said, mouthing ‘what time is it?’ to Remus immediately after.
Remus turned to the alarm clock and saw that once again it had failed him. “Shit!” he swore when he saw that it was time for the train to pull out.
“Don’t worry about it,” Sirius said. “Just call in sick again.”
Remus was hesitant, but Sirius was running his free hand along his thigh and it was making it remarkably difficult for him to think about anything else.
“Want to go to James and Lily’s engagement party next weekend?” Sirius asked, assuring James that they would both be there before Remus had even processed the question.
They chatted for a few minutes more and then Sirius declared his intention of calling his office, pleading illness.
“You know, if we hurry, and skip breakfast, we can probably catch the next train,” Remus suggested.
“I don’t care,” Sirius replied. “Let’s pretend that it’s Sunday.”
Remus smiled as he crawled back under the covers. There was no question about it – Sirius Black was going to be a very bad influence on him indeed.
Author:
fullmoon_dreams Written for: Bruni/
kasche Rating: PG13
Prompt: Oversleeping, slightly based on the song.
Summary: Oversleeping can be a bad thing or a good…it depends on how you spend the rest of the day.
Any other notes, warnings, etc.: A bit of bad language and non-magical AU.
Beta acknowledgement:
werewolfsfan Merry Christmas Bruni/Kasche, I hope you like this story as much as I adore your fantastic pictures of Remus and Sirius.
Oversleeping
Remus Lupin had overslept, again. He glared at the clock and realised he had less than thirty minutes to get to the train.
“Damn it,” he muttered as he struggled into his trousers and scanned the floor for his missing socks.
His tie was still undone, and thoughts of breakfast were no more than a wistful idea, as he picked up the newspaper and ran out of the door.
He made it with barely a minute to spare. Dropping into his usual seat, he breathed a sigh of relief.
“You’re cutting it a bit fine today,” Sirius said as he passed him a plastic cup of overpriced and not particularly pleasant coffee.
“Thanks,” Remus said as he took a sip.
“Overslept?”
“Yeah. I’ve got to get a new alarm clock. Damn thing keeps resetting on me.”
“Thought it might have been late nights with some lucky girl. It’s the second time this week, isn’t it?”
Remus nodded. “I’m lucky the paperboy is noisy when he delivers, otherwise I’d probably still be in bed right now.”
“You get any breakfast?”
“Didn’t have time.”
“Didn’t think so.” Sirius reached into his briefcase and pulled out a small paper bag. “Here you go. Wouldn’t want you to starve.”
Remus took the bag cautiously and peered inside. “Warm croissants,” he said with a smile.
“When you weren’t at the café, I figured I’d pick something up for you.”
“Thanks.”
“So, you got the crossword there?”
Remus took a bite of his croissant and nodded.
It was a daily routine that had begun nearly a year ago on a very similar morning. The train had left the station, travelled all of half a mile and promptly broken down. It wasn’t the first time and every regular passenger knew it wouldn’t be the last. Normally, Remus would start the crossword on the train and then finish it at lunchtime; tabloid crosswords were never that difficult or thought provoking. On that particular morning however, he had been stuck on the train for so long that he had nearly completed the whole thing. There was just one clue where the answer was evading him…at least until the black-haired stranger sitting next to him had plucked his pen from his hand and asked ‘may I?’
After that morning they had almost always met up at the café just around the corner from the station, found seats together on the train and had worked on the crossword clues together. Only holidays and the occasional rail strike ever interfered with their routine.
It hadn’t been long before Remus had found himself looking forward to the morning journeys to work far more than he should. They talked about anything and everything…except the one subject that Remus was especially curious about.
Sirius had told him about his time at university and the job he had managed to obtain immediately on graduation. It was surprising what options were available to a bright and talented young man when he had the backing of a prestigious name and a lot of money. Ambitious and charismatic, it was clear that he was going places.
Remus had felt a little uncomfortable speaking about his own life at first. University had been out of the question and night school was still wishful thinking, at least until he saved enough money. In the meantime, he was working at an auction house in the city; it was boring work but the pay wasn’t too bad. To his delight, Sirius had shown a genuine interest in his work and in him.
Remus sometimes wondered how he had ever made it through the arduous train journey without the engaging company of Sirius Black.
“Four down is desire,” Sirius said, pointing to the page. “A Streetcar Named Desire.”
Remus nodded and added the answer to the puzzle. He had known that one, but had been reluctant to write it in, especially considering where his errant thoughts were wandering to.
The train was crowded and the seats weren’t the most spacious, which meant that Remus was pressed close up alongside Sirius, and desire was at the forefront of his mind.
“You’re not concentrating this morning,” Sirius commented after he had provided the answers for another two clues. “Something on your mind?”
“No,” Remus lied. “Just the after-effects of rushing for the train. It always throws me out of synch for the rest of the day.”
Sirius seemed to accept his answer and they turned back to the crossword. “Did I tell you I’d got an interview for a promotion?” he said a few minutes later.
“Already?” Remus replied. “They must be really impressed with you.”
“That or I bribed them,” Sirius said with a wink. “It’s a real opportunity. Interview’s tomorrow morning.”
“Well, good luck for it. I’m sure you’ll do great.”
“You think so?”
Remus feigned a casual shrug. “I’d hire you.”
Sirius grinned at him. “It’s more responsibility though.”
“You don’t like responsibility?”
“Not if I can avoid it. It’ll mean moving to a different branch as well.”
Remus felt a stinging disappointment in his gut as he realised that if Sirius succeeded in getting the promotion he would probably never see him again.
“It’ll be less travelling though. There’ll be no more relying on the trains and since it’s not city centre I’ll be able to ride in without worrying about where to park.”
Remus nodded dismally. Of course he would want to drive in to work if he could. Sirius didn’t get the train because he couldn’t afford to run a car, or in his case a motorbike. He didn’t have to catch an early train so that he had enough time to walk across to the other side of the city, instead of scrimping together the money for a taxi.
“Sounds like a great opportunity,” Remus said with a forced smile.
“You don’t sound so sure about it,” Sirius replied. “You sure you’re okay?”
“I said I was!” Remus snapped.
“O-kay,” Sirius drawled. “You know, if you think I’m doing the wrong thing by taking the interview, just say so.”
Remus turned back to the crossword with a frown. “It’s your life, I’m sure you know what you’re doing.”
“Thought you’d be happy for me,” Sirius muttered irritably.
Remus was instantly contrite. It wasn’t Sirius’s fault that he fancied him. “I am, really,” he assured him, trying to sound like he meant it.
“You don’t sound like you are,” Sirius told him as they pulled into the station and gathered their things together and followed the rest of the passengers out onto the platform.
“See you tomorrow then?” Remus said as they went their separate ways.
Instead of replying with his usual jaunty ‘of course’, Sirius turned away with a mumbled ‘I guess’. Remus sighed as he began the long walk across the city, naturally it started to rain.
-o-xXx-o-
By the end of the day Remus was feeling thoroughly guilty about the way he had spoken to Sirius on the train. He was well aware of the fact that the only reason he was upset about Sirius’s job opportunity was because he would miss seeing him, talking to him, sitting beside him and enjoying his company.
It wasn’t like they were friends, Remus told himself repeatedly throughout the day. They only saw each other in the mornings on the way to work. They never socialised in the evenings or even travelled home on the same train. To Sirius, Remus was sure he was nothing more than someone to talk to during what would normally be a boring and tedious journey.
He was determined to make his way to the café early the next morning. He hoped that Sirius would be there in plenty of time for him to apologise and buy him breakfast.
Unfortunately for Remus, despite his good intentions, he overslept once again. He stared at the clock that was telling him – in glowing red figures – that he was never going to make the train. It was due to pull out of the station in less than two minutes. He wasn’t going to be able to meet Sirius, wouldn’t be able to apologise to him, and the money he had intended to spend on Sirius’s breakfast would have to go towards the cost of a taxi once the later train reached its destination.
Remus made his way miserably to the station, collected his ticket, and sank down onto one of the seats on the platform to wait for the train to arrive.
He didn’t even notice that someone was sitting down next to him until a familiar voice jolted him out of his misery. “Overslept again, huh?”
Remus turned to Sirius who had once again bought a coffee for him. He mumbled a thank you, telling Sirius that he didn’t have to keep buying him something every time he was late for the train.
“I wanted to,” Sirius told him.
“How come you missed the train?” Remus asked. “Overslept yourself?”
“I never oversleep,” Sirius told him with a grin. “No, I wanted to talk to you. When you didn’t show I thought maybe you were avoiding me.”
Remus shook his head. “No, I wanted to see you today.” He ducked his head and flushed, hoping that Sirius would think it was caused by the hot beverage. “I wanted to apologise for yesterday.”
Sirius waved away his apology. “Did I ever tell you about James?” he asked.
Remus frowned at the sudden change of subject and shook his head.
“We were at university together. Good bloke. You’ve probably seen him on the train. Messy hair, glasses, normally sucking the face off the redhead with the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun ring tone.”
Remus nodded, vaguely recalling who it was that Sirius was referring to.
“We work at rival firms now, but we still meet up for lunch every day,” Sirius continued. “He and the redhead – Lily – have just got engaged. They’re having a party the weekend after next.”
Remus sipped at the coffee as he wondered where Sirius was going with his rambling.
“James can be pretty oblivious when he’s with Lily. But apparently he managed to drag his tongue away from the poor girl’s tonsils long enough to notice us arguing yesterday morning.”
“We weren’t really arguing,” Remus interrupted.
“He said, and I quote, ‘you looked like you were having a lovers’ spat’.”
Remus felt the colour draining from his face. “He did?”
“Yeah. I tore a strip off him and told him he was being a git. We had our own fight right in front of the lunchtime crowd.”
“Sorry. You’re good now though, aren’t you?”
Sirius nodded. “Yeah, me and James never fight for long. We had a few pints after work; it’s all forgotten.”
“Good,” Remus told him. His guilt at the sharp words he’d said had more than doubled with the knowledge that he had caused a fight between two old friends.
“He was right though,” Sirius said, looking out towards the empty train tracks as he spoke.
“About what?”
“About what it looked like.”
Remus didn’t know what to say to that.
“You want to go get some breakfast?” Sirius asked.
“We’ve only got five minutes before the train arrives, and what about your interview?”
“Cancelled it yesterday afternoon.”
“What?”
“I cancelled it,” Sirius repeated. “Told my boss that there was too much going on in my personal life at the moment, and that I thought I couldn’t give the job the full commitment it needs. The usual stuff. He told me I was very responsible.” Sirius snorted with humour at this last. “I’ve got the day off today. Any chance you can play truant?”
Remus shot a look towards the payphone. He’d never deliberately skived off of work for the day, but there was a first time for everything. “I’ll be back in a minute,” he said.
“Where you going?”
“The payphone,” Remus replied, pointing to the phone in question.
“You can’t call in sick from a payphone,” Sirius told him with a laugh. “If you start to run out of money they’ll know right away you’re not at home. Here.” He rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a mobile phone. “You can use this.”
Remus took the mobile from him and dialled the auction house. A few minutes later and his supervisor was making him promise to look after himself and take as much time off as he needed. He passed the phone back to Sirius with a guilty smile.
“You’ve never pulled a sickie before?” Sirius asked with a grin.
“I think you might be a bad influence,” Remus replied.
Sirius laughed and they made their way out of the station and towards the café where Sirius ordered two full English fry-ups.
“I’ll get them,” Remus insisted. “Call it an apology for my being a bit of a git yesterday.”
Sirius looked like he wanted to argue, but at Remus’s firm glare he clearly thought better of it. Instead he changed the subject and they chatted casually as they waited for the food to arrive. They didn’t have to wait for long and as soon as their plates were on the table they began to sort out the food, Sirius taking Remus’s tomatoes while Remus took Sirius’s unwanted bacon.
“You realise that this is the sort of thing couples do?” Sirius commented quietly between mouthfuls.
“Is it?”
“Yeah.” Sirius looked around the café, and upon seeing that no one was in earshot, turned back to Remus. “I am…er…that way inclined, if you know what I mean?”
Remus felt his heartbeat speed up and he nearly choked on his forkful of mushrooms. Once he had recovered he nodded to Sirius. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”
“And you?” Sirius asked, just as Remus had taken a second mouthful, thus prompting a second coughing fit.
Remus glared at Sirius, who was making no effort to conceal his amusement. Instead of answering him directly he speared a sausage with his fork, dipped it into the tomato ketchup and took it into his mouth, sucking it meaningfully. He didn’t take his eyes from Sirius and was pleased to see that his reaction to his blatant teasing was not one of complete disinterest.
“I’ll take that as a yes, shall I?” Sirius finally choked out. Remus grinned back at him and nudged his foot with his own. Sirius nudged back and returned his grin.
They finished the meal in easy silence before heading back out into the cold.
“So, what do you want to do on your unexpected day off?” Sirius asked.
Remus shrugged. “First, I’d like to dump my bag back at home, if you don’t mind?”
“Sure,” Sirius agreed. “Lead the way.”
“Er…”
“What?”
“I was going to just quickly run back and then meet you somewhere.”
“You don’t want me to see where you live?”
“No…I mean, no, it’s not that. It’s just I wasn’t expecting to have visitors today…the place is a bit of a mess.”
“You should see the state of my place,” Sirius told him with a barking laugh. “I’ll give you time to hide anything incriminating if you like.”
Remus knew there would be no arguing with him and so retraced his steps back home with Sirius walking alongside him.
“This is it?” Sirius asked as Remus searched his pockets for the key.
“No,” Remus replied with a smirk. “I’m looking for my lock-pick, I’m really a cat-burglar.”
Finally, he found the key and let them in.
“Nice place,” Sirius commented with a smile as Remus kicked a pair of shoes out of the way and hurriedly removed a dirty shirt from where it was lying over the back of the sofa.
“Take a seat,” Remus offered. “I’ll only be a minute.”
He didn’t wait to see if Sirius took his advice. He hurried into the bedroom, gathering dirty clothes along the way. He hoped there was enough room in the laundry hamper.
When he emerged from the bathroom he found that Sirius was looking at him from the doorway to the bedroom.
“All sorted?” Sirius asked as he leaned casually against the doorframe.
Remus nodded and walked towards him, wondering how close he would get before Sirius stepped out of his way. When he was practically stepping on his toes, it was clear that the other man was not going to be moving out of the way at all. Instead, he was looking at Remus with an expression that was almost daring him to make a move.
Remus wasn’t normally one for dares, but in this case he was more than willing to rise to the occasion and he pressed his lips to Sirius’s.
He only had a moment to wonder at what he was doing. Then Sirius was kissing him back with eager enthusiasm.
“Damn,” Remus gasped as they pulled apart.
Sirius couldn’t seem to summon up any words at all. He grinned down at Remus as he struggled to catch his breath. “I think I need to sit down,” he finally said, eyeing up the bed in hopeful anticipation.
Remus laughed and tugged him over towards the bed. “I think I’ve decided what I’d like to do on my day off,” he whispered into Sirius’s ear.
-o-xXx-o-
Remus woke on Monday morning feeling warm and ever so slightly trapped. The reason for the latter became apparent when he tried to move and found himself unable to do so.
“Sirius?” he said, nudging the other man in the shoulder. “Your phone’s ringing.”
“Let it ring,” Sirius murmured, increasing his grip around Remus and nuzzling his neck.
Remus tried not to giggle at the tickling sensation and nudged Sirius again. “Come on, Monday morning awaits. We’ve got to get up for work.”
“It can’t be Monday already,” Sirius insisted. “That would mean I’ve been here all weekend.”
“You have.” Remus struggled out of Sirius’s embrace and reached down to the floor for his jacket, searching for the phone. “Here.”
Sirius grumbled but flipped open the phone. “James, what’s up?”
Remus turned towards the chest of drawers and pulled out a clean shirt.
“Oh no you don’t!” Sirius suddenly said, pulling Remus back onto the bed with a laugh. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” he added into the phone.
Sirius pulled Remus close so that he could hear James shouting at the other end of the phone.
“I’ve been calling you for ages,” James was saying. “You’re going to miss the train.”
“It’s not that late,” Sirius said, mouthing ‘what time is it?’ to Remus immediately after.
Remus turned to the alarm clock and saw that once again it had failed him. “Shit!” he swore when he saw that it was time for the train to pull out.
“Don’t worry about it,” Sirius said. “Just call in sick again.”
Remus was hesitant, but Sirius was running his free hand along his thigh and it was making it remarkably difficult for him to think about anything else.
“Want to go to James and Lily’s engagement party next weekend?” Sirius asked, assuring James that they would both be there before Remus had even processed the question.
They chatted for a few minutes more and then Sirius declared his intention of calling his office, pleading illness.
“You know, if we hurry, and skip breakfast, we can probably catch the next train,” Remus suggested.
“I don’t care,” Sirius replied. “Let’s pretend that it’s Sunday.”
Remus smiled as he crawled back under the covers. There was no question about it – Sirius Black was going to be a very bad influence on him indeed.
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Date: 2008-12-18 08:36 am (UTC)This is wonderful! Sirius cancelling the interview just to stay with Remus... <3 And James saying they had a lovers spat. And Sirius pulling Remus back when he reached for a shirt! X) Ohhh, they are so adorable. I'm absolutely beaming.
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Date: 2008-12-18 08:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-18 08:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-18 09:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-18 02:08 pm (UTC)This made me laugh:
“Oh no you don’t!” Sirius suddenly said, pulling Remus back onto the bed with a laugh. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” he added into the phone.
I really enjoyed reading this!
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Date: 2008-12-18 02:17 pm (UTC)this is the best description of james and lily i've ever come across of. ;p
anyway, lovely work! i love the sedate pace of this, and the lack of angst -- the easiness of everything and the smooth way they get together works so well.
and remus's answer to sirius's "and you?" -- you go girlfriend! ;]
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Date: 2008-12-18 03:19 pm (UTC)Why is it that Remus and trains seem to go so well together? Loved the setting, loved the AU.
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Date: 2008-12-18 09:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-18 09:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-19 12:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-19 02:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-19 02:50 am (UTC)Wonderful!
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Date: 2008-12-19 05:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-19 12:48 pm (UTC)I'm glad you enjoyed it. I had a sneaky suspicion the sausage would be popular. LOL
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Date: 2008-12-19 12:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-19 12:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-19 12:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-19 12:51 pm (UTC)Regarding the sausage, I may not do much by way of smut, but I can usually sneak some blatant innuendo into my fics. ;-)
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Date: 2008-12-19 12:55 pm (UTC)I'm glad you liked the description of James and Lily. I'm not quite sure where it came from, it just popped into my head and seemed to fit.
As for Remus's reply, well, as I said above, I don't do smut very often since I am pretty bad at it, but I can usually sneak some innuendo into my fics when it's called for. And I do like a teasing Remus. ;-)
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Date: 2008-12-19 12:56 pm (UTC)Not sure why everyone puts Remus on the trains...though I know it is something that is done quite a bit...he just seems to be suited to them.
I'm glad you liked it and thanks for commenting.
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Date: 2008-12-19 12:58 pm (UTC)I don't read complete AU's very often either, and have never written a non-magical AU fic for this fandom either. I'm relieved you thought they were still in character, which was my biggest concern when writing this - because magic, of course, is such a huge part of their characters.
Glad you liked it.
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Date: 2008-12-19 01:00 pm (UTC)I think that they couldn't fail to be friends if their paths crossed. I like to think that this particular Sirius had been watching Remus for a while, and just jumped at the excuse to speak to him.
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Date: 2008-12-19 01:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-19 01:01 pm (UTC)As I commented above, I had a sneaky suspicion that Remus teasing Sirius with the sausage would be popular.
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Date: 2008-12-19 01:05 pm (UTC)I have never been one for non-magic AU either. Only read a couple and they were historical ones. Never written non-magic AU before now at all. But I was trying to include as many of Kasche's likes as I could and I enjoyed the challenge of trying to keep them in character without the magic. It was the one thing that I wasn't quite sure I had managed, so I am glad that it does seem like them. I may even try to do a few more non-magic fics in the future.