chapter two
May 27
He wakes up to the sound of sewing machines sending shock waves through the flat. He doesn’t need to look at his clock to know how insanely early it is. He grabs the extra pillow on his bed and attempts to suffocate either the sound or himself. It doesn’t work of course. How they are able to function at what seems like six in the morning Remus doesn’t understand, but he was too awake now to go back to sleep, so he slides out of bed begrudgingly.
Remus’ room is small and cluttered. But not the bad kind of clutter, the clutter that’s organized clearly in his brain. There are books and journals stacked orderly near his unmade bed, and walls covered in posters spread evenly by the inch. He’s only ever seen his closet door closed the first day he’d moved in, and it’s been vomiting out articles of clothing ever since. He stares at his bed for a good minute before he ultimately decides not to make it.
When he walks into the living room, he finds it overtaken by what looks like an entire arts and crafts store. Lily and Mary were sitting on the floor surrounded by fabric and pins. They each have a large cup of coffee next to them and are seemingly unaware of his presence due to the deplorable sound of their machines.
“Hello!” He yells, drawling out the letters to catch their attention.
The girls look up simultaneously and Remus is startled by their appearance. They have streaks of dried black makeup under their eyes and their hair is a nest of messy knots, their eye bags unnervingly noticeable from where he is standing.
“Woah what happened to you guys” he says taken aback.
“Last minute assignment.” Mary answers and takes a large swig of coffee. She scrunches up her face and places the cup back down. “Ok this isn’t doing anything for me anymore, Remus get me an Adderall.”
Mary is Lily’s university friend, and she’s slowly starting to creep into his life as well. She’s been coming over more often lately, waiting to move into her new flat since her current one houses the most obnoxious roommate, and Mary just couldn’t handle it anymore. If I have to listen to that man belt out Maroon 5 songs at two in the morning, I think I’m going to have to stick a knife in my ear she’d said to them.
So she set up her work bench in their already crammed living room, which made Remus have to remind Lily that she can’t just give people a copy of their keys to move their things into their flat. But having Mary around is a new change, and Remus has to admit that he doesn’t really hate it. It’s always been just him and Lily, and Mary crashed into them like a boulder rolling downhill, with her bubbly personality and all.
“How long have you guys been awake?” Remus questions after noticing the crushed cans of red bulls on the floor next to the half empty coffee pot. He walks over to the couch and sits on the edge of the arm rest, bending down from where he’s seated and picking up one of the empty paper cups and pouring himself a cup of coffee from the day old pot. He gags at the cold liquid that slides down his throat, and he wonders if the girls are just immune to the nasty taste at this point.
“Well, Mary came here around one last night, so the whole time basically” Lily replies, her voice hysterically high.
“Right well maybe you guys need to eat something that’s a little less likely to give you a heart attack.”
“Ooh Remus are you going to make us breakfast!” says Mary excitedly.
“Someone’s gonna have to.”
“And thank god it’s you Loopy.” She raises her cup to him and takes a large swig out of it, and cringes once again before returning back to her machine.
So he goes to the kitchen to make them breakfast, and he hopes it has enough nutrients to make up for the obvious lack of it in their bodies. An avocado and egg sandwich for Lily and scrambled eggs and berries for Mary. He’s memorized their breakfast meals since he’s usually the one making it for them. He’s jobless and not in school at the moment, what else could he possibly be busy with?
*
It’s one pm now and Remus is sitting on a lamp post eating a hot dog. After tidying up after them and throwing away their garbage, Remus snuck out of the window of his room wearing his suit. Hoping Mary and any other human wandering around the building hadn’t seen him do that.
The street he’s on is in the middle of a residential area and it’s almost completely empty this time of day, so he risks sliding his mask over his nose so he’s able to eat comfortably. He has a book spread open on his lap. White nights. Lily gave it to him highlighted with note covered margins, and he gave her Mrs. Dalloway.
He and Lily have been swapping books since they were twelve years old. English class with Ms. Ringwald his first week of school. She was reading the secret garden, and he was reading treasure island. He could see her watching him and tapping her book from the corner of his eyes, which made it extremely difficult to focus on his own, and honestly, creeped him out a little. He kept side eyeing her until she eventually walked up to him with her little orange pigtails and patchwork denim overalls, and asked if she could borrow his book after he finished reading it. No introductions or formalities. Just straight forward like she’d always been. Remus agreed of course, only after she agreed to let him borrow her book too. So they shook on it, because that’s how deals were made in movies and Remus and Lily were too young to know that sometimes that was also how friendships were made.
His radar hadn’t given out any messages that he thinks required his help, so for the past hour, he’d been sitting and reading on this uncomfortable lamppost, like a bird perched on a telephone line, highlighting things Lily ignored and adding some of his own notations to the margins.
When things like indecent exposures and vandalism are radioed in, Remus usually ignores them, he’s not keen on dropping everything to stop an old pervert from showing his dong.
One of the advantages so far of not having any commitments this summer was his ability to go out as Spider-Man any time during the day. during the rest of the year, he usually reserves it for time after classes or before work—which he quit as soon as he applied for the internship. So he’s been waking up earlier every day and swinging around for a few hours, just wasting time and helping whoever needs it in between checking his email.
He takes his phone out, once again, and swipes to the mail app and refreshes his email, a pattern his fingers have memorized. He unconsciously does it anytime he opens his phone now, briefly glancing at the senders in his inbox before swiping out of the app.
But before he’s able to get disappointed again, Remus sees an address in his inbox he’d been hoping to see for weeks now. An email from Starcorp. His eyes go wide.
He doesn’t click on the email yet. His fingers hover over the screen and he anxiously taps them in the air. Rejection is not an emotion Remus likes to welcome, even in situations smaller than this. How is he going to get through the summer knowing he got rejected by the company he’s idolized since he learned what a periodic table was?
He can’t do it. If he just leaves the email unread it wouldn’t affect him right? Ignorance is bliss and being blissful is better than being rejected, Remus decides.
But his thumb manages to overpower his decision and it clicks on the email. Remus has both eyes shut at this point, scared to open them, but slowly he sets one eyelid free, and he looks down at his phone.
On behalf of Starcorp Industries, we are pleased to inform you that you have been selected for an educational internship program conducted by our company..
And Remus stops reading there for a minute just so he’s able to comprehend it all. He thinks maybe he forgot how to read, so he looks back down at his phone and rereads the same sentence he saw a second ago to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. So it’s real. Its tangible and he’s touching the screen and moving it around to make sure that it’s still there. He double checks the address then finally convinces himself that it is in fact, a genuine email. He lifts his head up, eyes almost bulging out of their sockets, and stares through his mask for a good second, losing himself in the shock of it all.
He looks back down to finish reading the email which goes on to tell him some more information about the internship, like the days he’ll be attending and some of the projects he’ll be working on (he also makes sure not to skip over the salary). His heart feels like it’s about to burst, and in an effort to let some of that energy out he yells out a few raspy whoops into the empty street that echo right back to him.
Three months of waiting and living off his savings finally feel worth it, and so the next thing he thinks of doing is calling the first person he wants to tell.
The phone rings twice before she picks up.
“Remus honey hello!” The soft voice of his aunt floats through the speaker and Remus visibly relaxes.
“Aunt Poppy, how are you?” he beams.
“Lovely now that I’m talking to you, how are you darling? how’s your summer?”
“Everything’s great, I just got accepted into the Starcorp internship.” he tells her, and a jolt of pride rushes up his spine.
Poppy had been keeping up with Remus’ internship status almost as much as he had been, always calling and asking him about it and throwing a few swears at the slow pace the admissions office was going at.
Even though she was now living a few hours away from him, talking to her makes him feel like she’s sitting right next to him on this lamp post, in her floral dresses and her double hair buns holding a batch of freshly baked goods. He could almost smell the loaves of bread if he focuses long enough.
“Oh! oh love that’s wonderful!” she says excitedly. “a little later and I would’ve been at the Starcorp offices myself sending those emails.” her Welsh accent sounding thicker as she continues.
“Me and you both Poppy” he smiles, and he feels something tug at his heart, he really does miss her. She starts telling him about her day and the new baking class she’s taking before Remus hears the static of his earpiece start to wiz.
“Remus are you there” Lily’s voice is serious coming from his earpiece.
“Hey Aunt Poppy, I have to go I’ll call you later” Remus says quickly into the phone and ends the call before Poppy has the chance to ask him why.
His finger goes up to his ear.
“What’s going on.”
“Silent alarm went off at Liberty Bank, I don’t know the details yet but there could be more than one robber. I don’t know if they’ve taken any hostages but there are around twenty-four people inside the bank. The police are already there, and they have it blocked so your only entrance point is through the dome.”
“Alright try to find out exactly how many people there are in the building. I can be there in around four minutes.” Remus pulls his mask back down over his face and flings himself towards the nearest building and lifts himself up with his webs. He’s flying through the residential area and out onto the main street. His body pumping with adrenaline and his arms welcome a familiar ache as he swings through the city. Already his brain is working a mile a minute trying to figure out a way to get into the building.
Bank robberies aren’t new to him. This is the fifth one this year he’d stopped and his second one at Liberty. He’s sure the cops are on the lookout for him just as much as they are for the robbers, which doesn’t make sense really since he’s only trying to help them. But Remus has come to realize that the cops care more about their reputation than about getting out of situations with the least amount of casualties, so he tends to avoid them for the most part.
While he swings, he skims through his memories, and the images of what happened last time he was at Liberty come back to him perfectly preserved, like a flash bomb going off in his brain. He sees them as clearly as he did the day it happened. The number of workers inside, the times they rotate shifts, and, best of all, the two glass panels that had the beginnings of a crack on the south side of the dome. One flick and it was sure to give out.
He's a swing away from the bank and he sees a crowd gathered around the buildings perimeter. He lets go of the web he was holding on to and lands quietly on top of the glass dome.
“Lily I’m here”
“Ok, from what I’ve heard, there are twenty-six hostages and three hostage takers. The police have been trying to negotiate but they haven’t been responding.”
“Got it”
“And Remus,” she hesitates, “Be calm and be present.”
“I know, don’t worry.” he assures her.
What happened the first time he blacked out would never happen again, he needed to make sure of that.
So he takes a deep breath in and exhales.
Three hostage takers who all surely have guns.
He crawls towards the cracked window and takes his glass cutter out. Kicking it in would be far more efficient yes, but having glass shards drop down over the bank like acid rain wouldn’t be the best way to make a silent entrance. He carefully makes a hole just large enough to fit his body through and sets the fragments to the side.
He slowly lowers his body into the hole and crawls across the concave ceiling, body hanging upside down and gripping the glass. He scans the area inside. Three men, just like Lily said. Two of them carrying guns and wearing ski masks, walking around the hostages like vultures. Hostages who were all tied down to the floor with duct tape over their mouths and hands, squirming and crying. The third one Remus can’t see, but he can feel. Heartbeat pumping and sweat dripping, walking underground towards the vaults in the basement. The bank is bare and covered in blinding white wallpaper with high ceilings and minimal furniture so any misstep would cause an echo. There's a cuckoo clock, which Remus feels is out of place, hanging on the wall over the tellers desk. He can hear its gears turning and can tell exactly what time it is. One forty.
The logical thing to do would be to get rid of the guns first. To play on an even field. Three against one is fair considering his inhuman powers, and he doesn’t think the cops were going to interfere anytime soon. Their rifles are aimed up at the ceiling, which means clear and easy access to the muzzles. This is child’s play really.
He extends his arms and aims both of his wrists towards the guns and sends a thick glob of webbing straight into the muzzles, blocking them both. The force of the shot sends the two men wobbling back, and by the time they regain their balance, Remus is already steady on the granite floor in front of them.
“Good afternoon gentlemen, it’s a bit hot out to be wearing ski masks don’t you think? But I guess I’m not one to talk.”
He grabs the guns with his webs and flings them both out of their hands and sticks them to the ceiling, far enough away to where no one can reach them.
“Alright, now, you can walk out of here with your pride still intact, or I can make you wish the cops got to you first.”
Remus glares at them, waiting for an answer, and he gets it when the robber with the green shirt swings his fist at him. Remus dodges the pathetic attempt at an attack and grabs his arm and twists it behind his back. He slides his foot underneath the man’s and trips him so that he’s on his knees. He shoots a couple strings of webs to tie the man’s hands and legs together so that he’s immobile.
He looks up at the second lumberjack of a man and Remus points to his partner on the floor.
“You wanna go next?” he asks, and the man shakes his head and raises both hands in surrender, nervous and twitchy. Smart choice. He ties the man with his webs the same way he did to the other. He grabs both men by their collars and drags them towards the front doors and throws them both out so the cops can deal with them.
“You’re welcome!” Remus shouts through the door and walks back to the hostages. They’re all pushed up against the wall, not scared anymore but still uncomfortable.
“Alright everyone, the police are gonna be here any second to get you out” he says to them hurriedly before he rushes off to the stairs. There's no time to remove the duct tape from each of them individually. He still has the third robber to take care of.
He can still sense him. basement level. His steady heartbeat. The mechanics of his gun. A map forms in his head detailing his precise location.
Its dark when he reaches the basement. The corridor is long and cold and only leads to one room. He walks down the hallway on the pads of his toes, trying not to make a single sound. He can feel the man’s presence all over the floor, it’s just a matter of reaching him now.
And just like that, a switch flips on inside him. The hairs on his body spike up like a bucket of ice has just been poured down his back. His eyes go wide, and his pupils dilate and constrict at an uncomfortable speed, trying to focus on something his brain was begging him to figure out. He turns his body on instinct and is met with the muzzle of a gun. He has no time to react before the man pulls the trigger and the bullet comes zooming out.
His world starts to move slowly, allowing time for his brain to register the situation. It feels like a year until he hears the next tick come from the cuckoo clock. The blast coming out of the muzzle was still forming, so he looks at the man. A scar on his left cheek, a tattered red beanie on his head. His finger is on the trigger in an unshaking manner, but Remus could see the beads of sweat pooling on his forehead, he could see the scrunch in the middle of his eyebrows. He’s terrified, even with the false security of the gun, and when Remus finally moves, it's only after he registers that the bullet is actually moving towards his heart.
He dodges it, only barely since it grazes his right arm. His back slams against the wall from the force of him suddenly backing away, and blood comes gushing out of his shoulder, smearing the wall. It was too close, and Remus knew it. He grips his shoulder and winces at the blood that pools around his hand. He curses under the mask. He was hit.
A challenge.
He watches as the man raises his gun to aim again, but Remus is ready for this one. He leaps across the wall, dodging each bullet until the ceiling and walls were covered in holes. The sound of the gun echoes across the narrow hallway and his ears start to ring. Remus’ senses became too heightened. The adrenaline shooting through his veins makes him hyper aware of the trajectory of each bullet before it even leaves the gun, and it makes him even more aware of every grunt the gunman makes when he misses him. He gives him no time to aim properly before he leaps to the other parts of the hallway. The darkness of the corridor makes for an unconventional shooting range, which for Remus is an advantage.
Remus hadn’t noticed he’d reached the end of the hallway until he hears the silence coming from the man’s gun, which makes him smiles. The barrel is empty.
“Tough luck” Remus grumbles and jumps down in front of the man and yanks the gun out of his hand before he has the chance to reload it. The man resorts to throwing punches at Remus. He has to laugh at how ridiculous he looks. Reasonably though, Remus isn’t in the mood to receive another injury today, so he grabs the man’s arm and sends a jab to his stomach, sending him wobbling backwards.
“Fuck you, you spider freak!” the man spits as he regains his balance and charges towards Remus. Original.
He pulls a knife out of his back pocket and aims for his throat. Remus dodges the knife and redirects the man’s arm towards the ceiling. He holds his wrist, veins pulsating around his finger, and squeezes until the man’s stubby fingers go white and numb. He drops the knife and Remus secures his arm for a few more seconds before giving him one final blow to the chest, not so forceful so he doesn’t put any more pressure on his wound, yet the man still tumbles to the floor and passes out.
He lets out a sigh of relief.
“Lily” he says into his earpiece. His breath is labored and his face is scrunched up now that his body was busy fighting off the wound instead of the gunman. The gash on his shoulder was bleeding and leaking into his suit making it pretty uncomfortable to move.
“Remus!” she replies a second later. “Everything go okay?”
“Yeah everything went fine, thanks again. Are you home?”
“I’m on my way to campus right now so I’ll see you tonight, be safe and try not to do anything else that’s dangerous today please?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll see you at home.”
Perfect. He chooses to avoid telling her about the wound. She won’t be expecting him home, so he could stay out and heal his arm before she gets back. Bullet wounds usually heal faster when the bullet isn’t actually in the skin, so an hour at most would probably be enough. He thinks bleeding over their flats carpet would be a dead giveaway.
It’s part of the job really. This wasn't his first gunshot wound and it probably wouldn't be hist last. There's a challenge there when someone gets a hit over him. He doesn’t get phased by punches or kicks anymore, but he welcomes the icy feeling that washes over him anytime he gets sliced by a knife or hit by a bullet he failed to dodge. Shivers take over his body when his immune system begins to heal him, and he deserves it, even if it’s temporary pain, because by nightfall those wounds are always healed, and what’s left is the ball of guilt the forms itself around his throat.
Remus drags the limp body and leans it against the wall. He makes sure to tighten his arms and legs together with a few strands of webs. Securing him to the ground so there would be no way for him to escape.
Once Remus sneaks out of the bank, crawling along the ceiling and avoiding any interaction with the police, he decides he needs to find a place to rest for a bit since swinging does no good for his healing. Luckily, the Asad Tower is nearby, and so he doesn’t need to swing for too long before he reaches it.
He tumbles into the roof when he arrives, back first, wincing as his arm hits the ground. There's gotta be a better way to land up here. His whole body aches, and he grunts as he pulls himself up to the wall so he could place his body against it to let his back rest. Finally some quiet.
“You’re bleeding”
“Fuck!” Remus jumps at the voice and looks up at where it came from. The man from last night, Sirius, standing near the railing staring at him with a look in his eyes that’s a mix between worry and alarm. He’s dressed like he’s about to go ballroom dancing, all preppy and dark, which doesn’t fit the image he saw of him yesterday. This can’t become a habit.
“It’s nothing” Remus mumbles.
“Here, let me help” Sirius says and bends down to Remus’ level.
“I’m fine” he says firmly and winces. A couple more hours and it would be gone. Like it never happened. Not even a scar. His other hand is firmly gripping the wound, trying to apply as much pressure on it as he can.
“The maintenance man is a nut; he’ll kill you if you bleed out over the floor.” Sirius says and ignores Remus.
He knows Filch now too?
He takes his blazer off, which was black and tweed and looks like it cost more than his rent, and he watches as he tears out some of the silk lining. Remus cringes at that, but he continues watching the way his fingers form the fabric into a crude tourniquet.
He motions for Remus to loosen the grip on his arm and then brings the fabric under the wound and wraps it twice around the area, double knotting it so that its tightly secured. He’s careful not to touch Remus with his fingers, only hovering around the wound. Remus notices Sirius flinch as he tightens the knots, his left shoulder shrinking into his body.
“Um thanks” Remus mumbles when Sirius finishes, and his body visibly relaxes at the welcomed pressure. Sirius gets up and walks back over to the railing, cigarette already in his mouth and it gives Remus a sense of déjà vu.
There’s suddenly an uncomfortable silence, both of them being unprepared for company. Remus was looking forward to just sitting here alone. Letting his body heal and taking in a little bit of sun. Maybe even taking off his mask to breath better, and didn’t Sirius come here yesterday just to test out his invention? Why is he back? It would be more experimental if he tested out his device on other buildings too, because otherwise it just wouldn’t be useful now would it.
But what would he know? The only time Remus ever built something of his own was when he got a mechanical train set on his ninth birthday. He had more fun fixing the structures together than actually playing with it. Doing and undoing the tracks, finding new ways the pieces could fit together and attaching lights inside the carriages. It didn’t take long after to know what he’d wanted to do for the rest of his life.
“You’re here again.” Remus says.
“Smoke break”
“I’m sure there are places more suitable than this roof.”
“Yeah that’s true, there are places more suitable than this roof, which is why you’re in a hospital right now, right?” He looks at him challengingly.
“You’re one to talk.” He retaliates and Sirius gives him a look of confusion. “Your shoulder?”
“That’s different.” Sirius huffs.
“I’m sure it is.”
Remus turns himself away from Sirius and Sirius turns his face opposite of Remus’. They go back to ignoring each other, both equally annoyed with the others presence. It’s hard to sulk when someone is hogging your roof.
The silence is truly deafening. He can hear his heart pounding angrily against his chest. He can hear Sirius tapping his fingers violently on the railing. He can even hear the blood gushing out of his wound.
The waves of irritation radiating off of them could set the whole roof on fire. They’re both annoyed with the other but neither want to be the first to leave, too stubborn to give in. Remus can feel Sirius stealing quick glances at him from the back of his head and Remus is itching to do the same. To stare him down, to make him uncomfortable enough to want to never come back here. He was okay with it last night when he assumed it was a one-time thing, well, he was okay with it after he saw his device, but still, that doesn’t mean he wants to see him here every day. There are other roofs in New York city, he’s sure he could sell that jacket of his to rent out a couple hundred.
“What’s with you, you were all friendly with me last night. You’re being selfish” Sirius says.
“I’m not selfish there’s just- “Remus waves his free hand in the air, “other places you could’ve gone too.”
“Well too bad, I don’t see your name on the building.”
“Yeah well usually people are more considerate, which is something I’m sure you weren’t taught to be.”
“You don’t get to make assumptions about my life.” He snaps and rubs his shoulder forcefully. A glint of hurt in his eyes.
Remus is not totally unaware of himself. He knows he’s being unreasonable, but when your whole life is broadcast to the world every day, having a place where you can be alone is the only refuge, away from speculations and smear campaigns, and that caps being unreasonable.
Fine. Remus can share. He can, really. He clenches on his teeth and tries to find bits of generosity to give out to him. He shifts his body a little towards Sirius, adopting a more welcoming posture.
“You can’t tell anyone I come here” he murmurs.
“I wouldn’t want anyone knowing I do either.”
Remus scoffs at that. Really, he’s trying his best, but out of all the things he could say.
“Sure you don’t”
“I don’t” Sirius reiterates.
“I know people like you, you’re just waiting for me to slip up so you can run to the press about it.”
“My interests here have nothing to do with your suit, trust me, I don’t think you’re as great as people say you are.” Sirius says firmly, glaring at Remus. “And I can assure you, you’ve never met anyone like me.”
Remus glares back at him. His brain was screaming. Risk risk risk. The fear of letting someone new in his space. Someone like Sirius.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Okay I'll stop acting like a dick.”
“Perfect” Sirius smiles. He walks away from the railing and plops down in front of him. Criss crossing his legs and smiling curiously. Remus tries to remind himself that Sirius can’t figure out his identity just by being close to him, and he hopes he can’t tell by smell either.
Sirius stares at him for a few seconds before scrunching his face in objection and shaking his head.
“Sorry but I’m not gonna call you Spider-Man. It’s too cartoonish.”
“You can thank the public for that name.”
“So what can I call you if not your real name.” he asks.
“I don’t know. You can come up with something and let me know.”
Remus wonders why he’s answering like he’s going to have more conversations with him later on.
“What do you do when you’re not” Sirius waves his hand around Remus’ body “this.”
Remus flips through the files in his brain, trying to find a fact that would appease Sirius. Something small and meaningless. Something that a lot of people do.
“I listen to music.”
“Oh yeah? What kind?”
“All kinds”
“What was the last song you listened to.”
“I’m not sure.”
“Think.”
Sirius seems like the type of person who gets comfortable really quickly, and Remus can tell from the way he scoots closer to him, knees almost brushing his. This is getting too close for his comfort. Sweat pools behind his knees, and he would try to back away if he wasn't already glued to the wall.
He tries to remember the songs he listened to on his way to the lamp post this morning (because swinging in silence is just boring sometimes).
“Real love. I think”
“The Beatles?” He asks and Remus nods. “I thought it’d be a safety hazard letting geriatrics fly over the city.”
“Hey, some songs are just timeless” he shoves his knee against Sirius’ in retaliation “what was the last song you listened to then?”
He grins.
“Ashes to ashes”
“Now that’s ironic” Remus scoffs.
“Okay, okay. What I’ve learned so far is that you’re a bit stingy, which I’m still ticked off about.”
“Mhm, pressing information, I bet the media is dying to hear about it.” Remus says and Sirius rolls his eyes. “And who the hell says ticked off?”
“You like old people music, and you’re probably a masochist.” Sirius ignores him and continues the list, looking at the wrap around his arm.
“That would mean so are you.” He lifts a brow challengingly.
“So am I.” Sirius smiles, again. It seems like he’s always smiling. Even with that bruise still covering his face and that shoulder that’s making him sweat, and Remus doesn’t understand why just yet, but he finds himself overlooking the bruises because of his smile, like a distraction, which Remus thinks maybe was the point.
Sirius uncrosses his legs and sits up on his knees. He bends over to look at his shoulder and Remus straightens his back at his touch. He carefully unwraps the blood soaked cloth to examine the wound.
Which wasn’t even a wound anymore because it was healed and scarless, just covered in splotches of blood. The regenerated skin makes it look like the blood wasn't even his. He could almost pretend that everything that happened today was just a scenario he imagined.
Sirius was staring at the woundless skin like a child at a circus. Wide eyed and in awe of the unnatural phenomenon he’s witnessing.
“See I told you.” Remus reaffirms “nothing to worry about.”
Remus tries to suppress the anxiety he feels at Sirius seeing his skin. He feels almost naked, that one small square inch of skin making him feel agonizingly exposed. Remus knows how diverse New York City is, he knows that if he put Sirius in a room full of a hundred people he wouldn’t be able to point him out, yet there’s still something gnawing at him and begging him to cover up, to grab any piece of fabric and hide himself.
He chooses to ignore the insane voice in his head telling him that Sirius has figured out his name and address and is currently sending military tanks and bombs to his flat using some kind of mind controlled communication device.
He quickly stands up, wobbling a little before righting himself. It’s time for him to leave, he’s already been seen enough today. He needs to get cleaned up. Getting home bloodied after Lily wouldn’t help his story. He also stinks of grime and sweat and its getting sticky in his suit, which is all the more overwhelming. It needs an extra good wash today and some help from Lily’s mending skills.
“You should get that shoulder checked out” Remus says, pointing at Sirius’ arm and making every effort to cover up his freak out.
“Don’t tell me what to do with my arm when you can heal yours like some kind of freaky medical experiment, like a fucking vampire.” Sirius says stumped. He was still on the ground, unmoving from shock.
“Oh so the healing is what throws you off, not the wall climbing?”
“Hey, the erotic things you do to buildings are none of my business.” He shrugs and looks up at Remus.
Remus rolls his eyes from under his mask. He wishes Sirius could see him do that. He gets up onto the parapet and looks down at him. Legs now extended across the floor and arms steadying him behind his back.
“I’m gonna go.”
“Goodbye Edward Cullen” he fakes an innocent smile, clearly happy with his comparison.
“No.” Remus groans. He covers his face with his hand and drops from the building before he hears anymore. Mimicking his fall from last night.
“I’m gonna make it stick!” He hears Sirius shout from above him. He can’t’ see his face, but he can picture a smug smile plastered all over it.