He was a Skater Boy

Sirius was pacing through his room, frantically trying to add the last touch to his costume. He was already going to be late but if Sirius didn’t do one thing half-arsed it was outfits. For now he was wearing sheer glittery fairy wings and had stars braided into his hair, but there was something missing. Finally he found it discarded under a heap of clothes – a dark green corset, matching the colour of the wings. He hastily put it on, almost fainting at the way the air was forcefully ripped out of his lungs as he laced it up.

“You okay there, mate?” came from the other side of the door. The noise Sirius had made seemed to have worried James.

“Yes, all’s well.” Sirius said while wheezing and pulled open the door. “Now, how do I look?”

James smirked and let his eyes roam over Sirius’ whole being. “Lupin is one lucky man.”

Sirius grinned and rolled his eyes a fraction. “I should hope so.” Sirius said and turned around on his heels after pressing a quick kiss to James’ cheek. “See you in a few hours!”

“Or tomorrow morning!” James called after him as Sirius raced out of their dorm.

***

Sirius was aware that being late to parties was nothing out of the ordinary. Sure, he would have liked to be there before the majority of the guests arrived to spend some more calm time with Remus, but overall he didn’t mind arriving late too much. A dramatic entrance was something that pleased him very much indeed.
The only problem with him being late that day was Marlene. And she was one hell of a problem.

The second he arrived at the tube station they had agreed to meet at, still trying to catch his breath after running, she started hitting him. “How” Punch. “Are” Punch. “You” Punch. “Always” Punch. “Fucking” Punch. “Late?” Punch.

Sirius tried to push her off him but to his misery Marlene was stronger than him. “Damn, Marls, have you been working out?”

“Shut up! Shut all the way up, Sirius. I have waited for you for thirty minutes. Thirty minutes!! At this dirty tube station!! In this!!!” She indicated to the outfit she was wearing. Her tight black dress with a glittery net and black boots looked absolutely fantastic so Sirius didn’t understand at first what the problem was. Maybe she had gotten a few inappropriate stares or whistles, but Marlene had never had a problem to give back as good as she got and that included catcalling. Then, however, Sirius noticed the giant plastic horse’s head that was wedged under Marlene’s elbow and suddenly he couldn’t stop laughing.

“This isn’t funny, Sirius!” Marlene cried outraged but then she was also cracking up. “Okay maybe it’s a little funny. But I’m still mad at you for wasting my time, tosser.”

Sirius held his arms up apologetically. “I’m sorry, babes. I’ll make it up to you.”

“You better.” Marlene said and linked her arm with his so they could finally enter a train.

Sirius found them a pair of seats and pulled the girl down next to him. “And by the way, you look perfect.” Marlene winked at him.

***

They arrived twenty minutes later in Hackney in front of a thin brick stone house. There was loud music droning out of the open windows and green, pink and blue nights were flickering around inside. Some graffiti was sprayed on the wall which said “Lord, what fools these mortals be!”. Feeling entirely in his element, Sirius sauntered into the party and was fascinated by the pure creativity of the costumes everyone was wearing. He dimly remembered Remus telling him that Pandora had friends in many artist circles and felt excited to talk with each and every guest.

Marlene also seemed taken aback by the costumes as well as the pompous decorations of leaves, fairy lights, flowers and candles. It really felt like they were entering the forest of Shakespeare’s play. They walked past a long table filled to the brim with cakes and fruits and cocktails that almost looked fake.

Suddenly Marlene pulled him into a corner of the room just as Sirius was trying to test his theory by poking a pear. He looked up and was suddenly face to face with Dorcas. She was wearing a floor-length dress out of wood and leaves and her dark hair was twirled into two horns sitting majestically on her head. Sirius looked over to Marlene and saw her predictably drooling.

“Hey guys,” Dorcas smirked. “You look great.” Her eyes were fixed on Marlene.

“Yes, good job. Bless thee, Bottom! Bless thee! Thou art translated. Right on theme.” A white-haired girl next to Dorcas said and put her hands in a praying gesture. While everyone else looked great in their costumes, this girl did not look like she was even wearing a costume. She appeared entirely like a real fairy, normal clothes would seem like a costume on her. A pink gown was lining her body and a colourful flower crown adorned her wavy hair like a halo.

“This is my friend Pandora.” Dorcas introduced them to the girl. “Dora, these are Marlene and Sirius. Remus’ friends and well mine too.” She winked at Marlene at that.
Pandora actually bowed and called out, “I must go seek some dewdrops here, And hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear.” Then she walked away and had already disappeared by the time Sirius turned around to look after her.

“She’s magnificent.” Sirius could only mumble.

Dorcas smiled gently at him. “Isn’t she just?”

“Is that her real hair colour?” Marlene asked while contemplating her own hair of which she had a strand pulled between her fingers.

Dorcas took Marlene’s hand and released the hair clenched in it. “Nobody knows. But I like yours better.” The girls smiled at each other and Sirius felt a warm feeling spread in his stomach. It seemed like his best friend had finally found the partner she deserved.

He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn’t notice someone approaching behind him and jumped when there was suddenly an arm curling around his shoulders. His fright quickly turned into pleasure when he realised who was hugging him from behind. “Remus!” He shouted and was too happy to be embarrassed by his enthusiasm. Not that he was every shy to show his joy but it did mess a little with his whole mysterious act.

It didn’t matter either way, however, because Remus looked every bit as pleased as Sirius to see the other boy. “Hi Sirius, you look… Well you look…” Remus’ eyes were running around Sirius’ body and then Sirius’ face and he seemed actually lost for words. Sirius revelled in the attention but also enjoyed the time to do his own roaming. Remus was wearing a white dress shirt that was unbuttoned with a tank top underneath. A pair of antlers sat securely on his head and Sirius had never seen something so hot. “Stunning.” Sirius breathed at the same time as Remus said, “Out-worldly.”

Sirius took Remus’ hand and pulled him close to his side. “Thanks for the invite.”

“Thank you for coming.” Remus said into his ear and Sirius felt goosebumps form on his skin. “You’re the best thing at this party.”

Sirius felt like he had a million things to say to Remus but at that moment all he wanted was to dance with him. “C’mon!” He said and pulled Remus after him. The other boy spared a glance at Marlene and Dorcas but quickly decided that he would say his hello later as the two girls seemed entirely in their own world and in each other’s arms.

Sirius had gotten them into a room where techno music was booming between the walls and he moved gracefully to the beat whereas Remus looked a little stiff. He didn’t seem to mind, however, very happy to just watch Sirius. After the song ended, it changed into ballroom music. “Pandora must be responsible for the playlist.”, Sirius reckoned.

Remus smirked at that and nodded. “She’s got a taste for the unexpected.” With that he pulled Sirius close and started dancing with him. He was a bit clumsy but he seemed to know his steps and it was all so adorable that Sirius didn’t have the strength to tell him that he had had ballroom dancing lessons as a child and could take over leading. Instead, he lead himself be turned in time with Remus’ movements and simply admired his concentrated face. The song was slow and Sirius snuggled close in Remus’ arms, something that his dance teacher would have chastised him for as he wasn’t standing fully erect with his arms in the correct angle anymore, but Sirius was more content than he could ever remember being so he just pushed that thought out of his head.

As the music changed to some pop song, Remus released him and called over the music, “Want a smoke?” Sirius nodded and took Remus’ hand which pulled him through several rooms before coming to a stop in front of a balcony. He opened the door and indicated with his arm for Sirius to go ahead. “After you.”

“What a gentleman.” Sirius giggled and Remus cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Naturally. You look like a princess so that’s the treatment you deserve.”

Sirius snorted, “I was actually going for more of a fairy look. Wasn’t that obvious?” He pointed to the wings on his back.

Remus rolled his eyes at him playfully, “You think there’s no kingdoms in the fairy world?” He had started rolling a cigarette and Sirius couldn’t take his eyes off his long fingers.

“I should sure hope that there’s no more patriarchal and classist systems in something so magical like the fairy world.” Sirius said and accepted his cigarette with a smirk.

Remus started on his own and in that moment the moon came out between two large trees and illuminated Remus’s frame fully. Sirius’s jaw literally dropped open at the beauty of the man in front of him. It seemed like the moonlight was caressing him, like all it existed for was to shine on Remus. The man was oblivious to his celestial connection and simply kept talking. “See this is how I know that I’ve read more fantasy books than you. Actually, I guessed that before by the amount I’ve read but c’mon, Sirius, not even one?”

Sirius tried to focus back on their dialogue but at that moment Remus looked up at him with big eyes and all his effort disappeared. He only managed a weak, “Nerd.” But he didn’t need to say more because Remus had picked up on the sudden tension that filled the air. He let his hand which was holding his cigarette to his mouth fall down and reached with the other for Sirius’ shoulder. Sirius was pulled close until their faces were only an inch apart. Remus’ lashes looked even longer from here and his eyes were a lake Sirius was falling into. He put his own hand up to Remus’ face and stroked a finger along his jaw. The desperate noise Remus made at that gesture turned Sirius’ legs into jelly so he was glad that Remus was already holding him up with one arm. As Remus’ other arm reached for his head and twisted itself into his long black locks, Sirius gaze lowered to Remus’ lips.

They were a faint pink and a little chapped but Sirius had never seen something so enticing. He let his finger wander from Remus’ jaw to his lips and softly grazed over them. That seemed to do it for Remus because he opened his mouth and breathed more than said, “Can I kiss you?”

He barely finished because Sirius had started nodding by the time he had uttered the first word. And then the world stopped as Remus’ lips crashed into his own. Sirius’ whole body was on fire and he had never tasted something this perfect. The way Remus’ mouth moved made Sirius see stars and he matched his pace with ease. He was made for kissing Remus, everything in his life seemed to have led to this moment where they were finally connected. Nothing mattered when Remus’ tongue entered his mouth and the kiss got even more intense. His stomach was doing summersaults and arousal as well as a feeling that came with intimacy swarmed his whole body up to his fingertips. They were buried in Remus’ hair, pulling at it so hard that Sirius felt bad for the pain he must be causing but it was as if touching Remus was his lifeline and he had to grab onto it as hard as he could. Remus didn’t seem to mind on bit by the way his own hands were grasping and framing Sirius’ face. He was pressing it closer to his until their noses touched and everything was messy but oh, so perfect too.

Remus slowly pulled them apart and Sirius wanted him close again immediately but suddenly realised how badly he needed to catch his breath. “That was… Oh, it was…” Sirius stammered and his hands were still in Remus’ hair.

“Yea.” Remus only nodded and pulled Sirius’ head to his chest.

They were standing there hugging for several minutes, just glad to be in each other’s spaces and to breath in the other’s scent. “Remus?” Sirius finally asked.

“Yes?”

Sirius could feel Remus’ heart beating underneath his head. It matched his own almost perfectly and they were both going concerningly fast. “I’ve never felt anything like this before.” Sirius wasn’t usually brave when it came to sharing his feelings or emotions but there was something so pure about this moment, so wonderfully soft and genuine, that he couldn’t help but be honest. Because there was no chance that he could feel like this when it wasn’t reciprocated.

“Me neither, Sirius.” Remus’ warm voice was soothing and he started to stroke Sirius’ head.

“I feel like I should be scared by the intensity of this. Normally I would have run ages ago.”

Remus tutted lovingly, “Don’t run. You know now that I have you I’ll keep you.”

Sirius felt like screaming of pure delight. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good.” Remus said and then they were both quiet as if saying something would have broken the precious moment between them. They were in over their heads but ready to jump head-first anyways.

After rocking to the soft tune of a seventies song coming out from the windows, they slowly peeled apart again. Wordlessly, Remus took Sirius’ hand and heart and they walked back inside where the party was still in full swing. Sirius felt like he was walking into another universe, their moment on the balcony a whole world of its own.

They joined Marlene and Dorcas and with nothing but love in his body Sirius danced the night away with his friends. They had shots and played Midsummer themed party games whose complexity nobody but Pandora understood who kept singing, “I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,”. They played them happily anyways and somehow Sirius won to his own surprise. He was heaved up Remus’ shoulders and they ran around the house to the cheer of all the guests. It all felt like a fever dream, “A midsummer night’s dream.” Marlene joked when he voiced this thought to her but her glowing eyes showed that she agreed.

The night ended with Sirius and Remus saying goodbye to Marlene and Dorcas who were sleeping over at Pandora’s. The pair stumbled into the tube and pressed their legs together as they sat in their seats. Remus was humming some song that sounded like ‘Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy’ and Sirius felt on cloud seven as his head was laying on Remus’ shoulder and their hands were interlinked.

At five in the morning they arrived at Sirius’ dorm. Too tired to do anything else Sirius just stripped his wings and Remus’ antlers and Remus helped him out of his corset. They fell into the bed and Remus pulled Sirius immediately into his side where he fit like a puzzle piece. Sirius was asleep within a few minutes, deeply cuddled between Remus’ legs and arms. He dreamt of fairies and elves and forest spirits. Remus was by his side in every dream.