Chapter 11
Sirius and Remus met with all their friends for lunch. They then got a coffee with Emmeline while she was on break and hung out with her for a bit (both Remus and Emmie couldn’t get the day off work today, which Sirius thinks is extremely unfair).
Now, Remus was leading Sirius of campus, Sirius struggling to keep up with his long strides.
“Moony, slow down. My legs aren’t as big as yours,” Sirius pants. “Where are we going anyways?” He asks as Remus matches Sirius’ pace.
“It’s a surprise.”
“Ugh, you know I’m impatient. Just tell me. Please,” he begs.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be there soon.”
“Where?”
Remus covers Sirius's mouth with his hand. “Stop talking. You'll know when we get there.”
Sirius's cheeks begin to flush at the authoritative tone in Remus' voice. He can’t do anything but stare at the man before him. He’s just so perfect.
“Good boy,” Remus smirks at Sirius’ obedience.
Oh, fuck. Sirius is just about ready to shag Remus right there, in the middle of the street.
“Let’s go,” Remus says as he links his hand with Sirius’ and starts walking again.
A twenty-minute walk later (fuck being there soon), through some almost bare trees, leaves crunching beneath their feet, and up a hill, they finally arrived. Sirius looked around at the scene before them in awe. They made it to the top of the hill, which overlooked a small town.
“It’s beautiful,” remarks Sirius.
“Just you wait,” Remus replies before placing a gentle kiss to Sirius’ lips. The kiss becomes more passionate, until Remus pushes Sirius up against a tree. With a devilish smirk, Remus drops to his knees and unzips Sirius’ jeans.
“I didn’t know you were this rebellious, Moony. I mean, public sex?” Sirius teases.
“You want me to stop?”
“No.”
After, they sit and watch the sun set over horizon, with stunning pinks and oranges blending into a watercolour painting across the sky. Remus was right, the view only got more beautiful. And there is no one Sirius would rather be with right now than with the man currently holding him.
“Remus,” Sirius whispers.
“Yeah?”
“I know we said this was no strings attached, but I think I'm starting to fall for you,” he admits.
“Come on, let’s go. We don’t want to be late for your party,” Remus replies as he abruptly stands up.
Why did he just tell him that? Stupid.
***
There is nothing Sirius wants more right now than to get drunk. Fucking smashed. He needs to forget about the disaster of him telling Remus that he is falling for him. And that is exactly what Sirius does. But not just because of the embarrassment of that situation, but because he is about to see his little brother again. Properly, this time. Planned rather than accidentally running into him and having a slight (very, very slight) breakdown.
Tonight was supposed to be the start of something new, something amazing. But everything seems to be going wrong. He can’t stop thinking about Remus, and the fact that he is actually here, with Sirius, pretending he didn’t run away after his confession, is certainly not helping. But Regulus isn’t here yet. It is possible that he could be running late, or is lost, or something. Anything. But 40 minutes late? The most plausible explanation is that he doesn’t want to come. He doesn’t want to reconnect, and Sirius read the entire situation wrong.
Sirius is talking with James when Remus approaches. “Sweetheart, your brother’s here.”
“Amazing!” he grins, pretending he is not worried at all about seeing his brother again. Their future relationship will depend on how tonight goes, and Sirius really doesn’t want to lose his brother. Again. “Want to meet my brother, James?”
James nods, and they make their way to the bar.
“Regulus,” Sirius says when he locates him, “fashionably late, as always.”
“Hello, brother,” Regulus says, “happy birthday.”
Sirius doesn’t know what to do. They haven’t really seen each other in years, and it’s getting awkward. Regulus reaches out and the two brothers shake hands. Shake hands? They're brothers for crying out loud, they should hug or something. But it’s far too soon for that, especially since Reg is not one for physical contact. Sirius should consider himself lucky he got a handshake.
“You remember Remus, right?” Sirius says, nodding to his right.
“Yeah, your boyfriend.”
“He’s not- oh, nevermind. And this is my best friend, James.” Sirius puts an arm around his friend’s shoulder.
“Nice to meet you, James.” Regulus extends his hand.
“Let’s go catch up,” Sirius says, leading the four of them back to the VIP section.
They laugh and drink for hours. Sirius gets to know his brother – a lot has changed in the years they’ve been apart. For the first time in their life, Sirius gets to know who his little brother is without their parents around. This is the best birthday ever!