1981
“Staying back in your memory
Are the movies in the past”
Harry opened his mouth to offer an appropriate reply to the tragic turn of events, but at that very moment, his ring tone blared through the room “Oh. I'm so sorry, Mr. Black!”
Sirius waved him off “Let's take a break so you can accept that call, yes? We still have much ground to cover.”
It answered the question of whether that was the end of the story or not. Harry had doubted it. There still seemed so much to be told based on the paintings alone.
“That sounds good. Can I, uh, go to the bathroom?”
“Sure. It's right down the hallway, on your right”
“Thank you so much!” after making a little bow, Harry slipped out into the hallway and was not surprised in the slightest to see Draco's name on his phone screen. Of course, that jerk would’ve called him in the middle of, what could have been, the most important job of his career “What?” he snapped into the phone.
“Fucker. How's the interview going?”
“You could have asked me that through a text. Or just wait like a normal fucking person”
“And you could have just put your phone on silent like a fucking normal person” Draco shot back, not even mildly apologetic “Since you picked up, you were free anyway. So, how is it going?”
“It's fine. Interesting. Black has a lot tell...”
“Yeah. I figured”
That made Harry felt guilty all of a sudden. Yes, Draco had been following Sirius's career ever since he was a little child, being downright obsessed with everything related to Sirius Black, and yes, maybe Harry had only recently started paying attention, but so what? It was not his fault Sirius specifically requested him to do the interview. Draco couldn't be mad about this. That was not how things worked.
“I... I have to go” he said, which was a lie.
“Yeah, okay” there was a small pause before Draco murmured “Good luck. See you at home”
Harry went to the bathroom with his stomach in knots, washing his face several times in the hope that it would’ve cleared his thoughts for the rest of the interview.
Back in Sirius's office, there was a petite redhead who eyed him not too politely and then asked “Want something to drink?”
“Uh, sure. A coffee?”
“Be right up” she said with a wink and then left.
Harry turned back to Sirius “Okay, I'm ready”
“Mmh, where were we?”
“You went to college”
“Ah, that's right. Those four years of my life were both educational and memorable, and even though I didn't see it back then, I very much needed them to grow after leaving my home. I started a friendship with one of the most important people in my life who helped and guided me through the mist”
James Potter.
Also known as Sirius’ almost brother-in-law, Regulus Black’s fiancée.
“I met my future friends and business partners. I lowered my father into the ground. I put my mind into something and discovered it's not something I wanted, after all. I experienced things that others might call failing, but in hindsight, it was always a lesson. Except for that one thing...” Sirius stopped for a moment, folding his hands together “Throughout the four years, I couldn't stop thinking about the boy from my backyard. Not for one day. I don't dwell on my mistakes. They're essential for survival in this world, but Remus... Remus was the one person I failed. Coming back to Islington was hard for that precise reason. I had been back for several occasions but not for longer than two weeks. When I returned there after graduation, it wasn't even by my own will. I was dragged there because my father was dead, and someone had to take over the family’s company, so they decided it should’ve been me. I was good. That's why my father wanted me there even though he told me I was weak my entire life. So, it was my first day at the company. They assigned a woman named Minerva to assist with my introduction...”
1981
Sirius's favorite part about the first meeting at his father's multinational clothing company was leaving the conference room once it ended. He had made no mistakes, he had no problems handling the multiple old men hammering away at him because they only see him as a bratty child that was going to steal their precious CEO position someday soon. However, that didn't mean it was not wasted time he could have used to do something less bothersome. And something that made his skin itch less.
“Lucious is who you should get on your side to- are you even listening?”
Sirius waved a hand “Of course, Minnie~ I'm very interested in what you have to say. Please. Tell me more!”
“Sarcasm. That's sarcasm, right?”
“Ding. Ding. Ding. A point for you”
Minerva pushed up her green hat, shaking her head like a disappointed mother, though Sirius was pretty sure she could’ve been also his grandma at that point “You should take this more seriously, Sirius. You're going to be the boss someday, but for now, you're my subordinate, and I'm going to do everything necessary to make you fit in”
“How reassuring. What would I do without you?” they headed out of the five-star building, straight into the heart of Islington. Sirius had to admit that his grand-dad had picked up a good spot to set up the Black Company. Everything necessary was close by. That would’ve been useful in the future.
“That meeting was way too long” Sirius said, stretching his arms “I need a nap”
“It would have been shorter if you hadn't arrived twenty minutes late”
“Minnie, I told you! My motorbike had some problems. That's not my fault!”
“Well, then I suggest you fix it as soon as possible.”
Sirius made a face. Vehicles were not really his thing. His parents used to take care of it. His parents or Remus...
Remus.
Sirius closed his eyes and let out a breath “Minnie, do you know any decent mechanics?”
“There's a really good one downtown. They're fast and cheap, too. Here, let me write down the address” Minerva got out the notebook she religiously carried around to note down every thought and plan she had, which was both amusing and slightly disturbing.
Sirius took the offered note of paper and tucked it away in the pockets of his leather jacket. Money was not the problem, but if he got his motorbike back as soon as possible to avoid hearing more of Minerva's threats, that would have been great.
“Thanks. I'm off then-”
“Don't be late again! And think about what I told you!”
Sirius just lifted his hand and gave her a two-fingered salute as he walked to his motorbike. No more of her loud and incredibly persistent chatter. That was quite enough for the first day.
The auto shop was a fifteen-minute drive away, a cozy-looking garage with an attached office located in the factory worker neighborhood. Sirius left his motorbike in the parking lot and then entered the small building, taking a look around when a young man came up behind the desk, tall, blondish hair kind of messy. His tag said ‘Grant’.
“Hello” he nodded at Sirius “What can I do for you?”
“My motorbike” Sirius said, pointing outside “Something's wrong with it” he described the situation from earlier that day. How the smell of something burning had made Sirius vividly imagine going up in flames in the middle of the road for several minutes.
Grant scratched his jaw “I see. We'll definitely check it out, so please leave your contact info. I'm off now, but my colleague will be right up and explain everything that happens next, yeah?”
“Sure”
Grant and his stupid hair made something ache deep within Sirius, so he was glad he wouldn't have to look at his face for the next hour. After filling out a few forms, Grant pointed him through the door “My colleague's right there. You won't miss him” he handed him a piece of paper “Give him this, will ya?”
Sirius nodded and then went through the door.
There was an old truck in the workspace, and music blaring from a radio on one of the chairs. The colleague must have been the person currently under the car, judging by the feet sticking out.
“Hello?”
“Be right up” the man called, and something about the voice unnerved Sirius, making him frown. A few seconds later, the man rolled out from underneath the car, and...
“Remus?”
It was not a question. It was a breath, a whisper, a loud prayer that Sirius hadn’t succumbed to hallucinations and this was real. Remus was real. He was right here, three feet away, wearing a garage smock and staring back at him.
Sirius couldn't help it, a garbled laugh escaped him, and he walked forward, reaching out with one hand before he remembered Remus's no touching rules, and he let it hover there “Remus” he said again.
Finally, his old friend blinked, snapping back into his body. His brows scrunch together “Sirius, w-what are you doing here?”
“My motorbike is broken. But- what are you doing here?” he asked “I was looking for you. I tried to find you, I called a hundred people and begged them for something, anything at all, but it felt like you just... vanished. Where were you?”
“I... it's a long story”
“Well, I have time”
“Um” Remus brought up a hand to scratch the nape of his neck, then span around and finally, back again, blinking at Sirius “This is... weird. I didn't expect to see you again. Do you live here? Did you graduate?”
“Yes, and yes, but none of that's important. I want to know what happened-”
“Yeah, okay, just- gimme a moment, 'kay?” Remus gently took the paper out of Sirius's hands and skimmed it “I have to work for another two hours, but maybe after that...?”
“Yes. Lunch?”
“Sure”
“Okay” Remus said, letting out a breath and even showing him a flash of his smile - god, and what a smile it was “Let me see what's up with your motorbike, and then you can meet me here again. Sound good?”
“Sounds perfect” Sirius said, and he was not lying. Tearing his eyes from Remus, whole, alive, and beautiful, was one of the hardest things he had ever had to do, but he had no other choice. He slowly left, but his gaze kept returning to the boy from his backyard, except five years have passed, and everything's different but still the same.
Sirius knew a little about slowing down time, but by the nonexistent God above, the two hours he spent mindlessly walking around the neighborhood were the two longest of his life. By the time, he was watching Remus shrug on a washed-out denim jacket, he bled with the desire to slice open his skin and create new stars, new constellations.
Not that he was going to do that.
Remus looked flustered as he came up to him, but there was also a new grace in the way he walked, no more hunched back or slumped shoulders. He looked sure of himself in a way that the past him never used to be.
“I know a diner round around the corner. They're good”
“Okay” Sirius said. He was pretty sure he wouldn't have gotten more than one bite in, but as long as he got to have that time with Remus, he was perfectly fine with it.
The door of the garage reception opened, making both of them turn around, and Sirius found himself surprised for the second time that day. The woman that just came in was unmistakeably no one other than Nymphadora. She pauses on the doorstep when she spotted Sirius, realizing who exactly he was before she let out a “Oh. I didn't know you had, uh, visit, Remus”
“I didn't know either” Remus said with a shrug “It's fine”
“Right” she said with another glance at Sirius as she walked over to Remus and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I guess you don't want to grab lunch then?”
Sirius glanced away and tuned out the conversation that was happening four feet away. There were very few things that could make him uncomfortable, being left out of something was one of them, and Nymphadora's careful silence towards him was louder than any words she might’ve said. Sirius didn't mind, of course; he wouldn't have told her “Hello” either. But. He was the odd man out here. Whatever had happened in the last years of Remus's life, Nymphadora was clearly part of it. Sirius was not.
Remus appeared in his field of vision then and offered an easy grin “Ready?”
“Let's go”
So the variables in his head since he had first spotted Remus in the garage had changed. Nymphadora was still in the picture, and Sirius was not sure what the kiss on the cheek meant, but whatever it was, he didn't like it. He couldn't come to terms with a person that willingly had let Remus get abused for her sake and had done nothing to stop it.
“So” Remus said, breaking the chain of thoughts running through his head “How are you?”
Sirius figured he could’ve indulged him before he started his questioning at the diner where he wouldn't have been able to run away or punch him that easily “I graduated a few weeks ago. Found an apartment for myself. I have a job”
“Studied arts?”
“Oh, no. I had to change my major after a year when my father died”
Remus glanced at him at that, giving him an apologetic “I'm sorry, Sirius”
Sirius knew Remus, most of all, was no stranger to loss, and somehow that made those words feel less empty than the dozen ‘sorry’’s he had received at the funeral. However, that didn't change the fact that Sirius was not sorry. He would’ve been lying if he had said he missed his old man. He thought he had it figured out by cutting away everything that made him feel weak, but he had gotten it wrong. In the end, his father only found happiness at the bottom of a scotch glass, and eventually drowned in it.
He and Reg got drunk that night, and then, the next morning, he had found his brother crying, because yes, Regulus hated their parents like he did, but, unlike Sirius, he also loved them, for some kind of Stockholm syndrome.
He cried non-stop for days, and Sirius really couldn’t get himself to understand him.
James could. James did that instead. That was when he found out they were together, and Reg had begged him to not tell their mother, because he didn’t want to lose his family all at once.
But now they were fine, yeah, they were okay.
“It's fine”
“The job you found then-”
“-is his company, yes”
They arrived at the diner before Remus could ask the question he so clearly wanted to. An man with slicked-back hair greeted them with a nod when they entered, Remus must have been a regular, Sirius noted, and Remus leaded them to a free table next to the window, leaving them alone.
“Do you need a minute to check the menu?”
Sirius skimmed the choice and shook his head “I'll take the dish of the day”
A few moments later, the same man appeared with a notepad “Hey, kid. The usual?”
“Yes, Frank, and for my friend, the pork buns, please”
“Be right up”
Sirius arched a brow “I assume you've been in Islington the entire time then”
“Yeah, I... thought about leaving a couple of times, but it's harder than it sounds”
“Are you going to tell me what happened, Remus?” Sirius finally said “Or are you going to keep stalling?”
Remus rolled his eyes “I'm not stalling, Pads. After what I did to Riddle they pressed charges against me, but since Dora still had some injuries that proved he was a violent bastard, my sentence was reduced to a couple of months and anti-aggression therapy and all that shit. I got out once I turned eighteen and found Dora and Evan and the other kids with the help of a woman I met at the juvenile detention center, Poppy. She, sorta, helped me get back on my feet, find work, a place to live, a few useful contacts” he took a look out of the window “It's been good, actually”
That was all fine and well, but it didn't answer the one big question, the biggest one Sirius has “You didn't even think about contacting me?” it was selfish, he knew it was, but Sirius had never pretended to be anything else.
The surprise in Remus's eyes was unexpected “You moved”
“And I tried finding you for months before I did” Sirius said “I called the centers, the foster homes, the police stations, but it was like you never even existed”
“Oh. Yeah, it's, uh-” Remus stumbled over his words for a moment, glancing up and down “-it's hard finding anyone in the system. Most of them don't even look at us by our names, but by numbers, you know. I wouldn't have been able to find shit if not for Poppy and her connections”
At that moment, Frank appeared with two plates and drinks, and Sirius couldn't help but notice that Remus had only ordered a humble bowl of ramen despite the fact that he always ate thrice the amount of food as him.
He pushed past the ugly feeling of bitterness inside him and gave Remus a wide smile. So maybe they were not on the same page at all those years ago. Maybe what Sirius called a best friend was for Remus, just a lonely boy trapped in a mansion, and also conveniently the son of the people who were paying him. Obviously, he wouldn't have bothered finding him. Sirius was good at holding grudges, but as always seemed to be the case with Remus, his rules and morals were thrown out of the window, and he was willing to look past them and show that there was more to him than what Remus had seen back then. They could’ve became friends. They could’ve built something.
“So you and Nymphadora then, huh?” he asked as Remus dig into his food.
“Yeah...”
“You don't sound very enthusiastic”
“It's complicated”
Sirius couldn't help but remember the kiss in the bathroom and how his lips tingled all day from it afterwards. How many times had he laid awake thinking of that day instead of seeing all those lights in his skin?
“It’s not. You're just making it be” Sirius jokingly punched the table “Either you're in a relationship with her, or not. It's easy”
“People and their relationships are more complex than that, Padfoot”
“Okay, Moony doesn't want to talk about it, I see. How is your job then? I knew you were good at fixing things, but I must say, I did not know the whole mechanic thing would’ve looked so good on you”
It was both the truth and a small test. The old Remus would have blushed furiously and told him to shut up, but the new one... he tilted his head, quirking a brow “Yeah? It's fine. I like it. Especially when I get good customers, you know”
Sirius's smile sharpened.
“-by the way, your motorbike” Remus blurted out “I didn't even tell you what's wrong with your motorbike”
“Ah, yes. That...”
The truth was the thing could have exploded for all he cared. What mattered sat right across from him, launching into a lengthy explanation of whatever was wrong with the car. Transmission bla, bla, bla something. Sirius was too busy admiring his face and the freckles on his skin to listen to the details.
“-so it might take more than a few days 'cos we gotta order the parts”
“So I have to come around more often?” Sirius asked “How unfortunate”
“No, it means you just get it back later” Remus corrected, but there was a grin fighting its way to the surface.
“But me and my car are deeply connected. I'm sure she'll heal faster if I visit her twice a day!”
“Oh, yeah? What's her name?”
“Louve”
“Louve?”
“Yes, it means wolf in French”
“You speak French now?”
“Always have, Moony, Reg too, our mother is French”
“You still got the jacket” he pointed to the leather jacket he still wore, after all those years, that didn’t go too well with the elegant suit under it
“That’s one of the few things my parents let me choose to wear”
“So what else did happen in university? Did you... meet anyone?”
“There was someone” Sirius told him, keeping it deliberately vague “But it didn't last for long. Didn't work out”
“Was it... James?” once again, it feels like a test, but this time it's Remus testing the waters, and Sirius happily obliges him, throwing out a shrug.
“No, God, no, Reg would’ve killed me, fuck no. He and I remained friends. He still lives in London”
“Mh”
Sirius nodded at the plate of unfinished pork buns “You want that? I'm full”
“You sure?”
“I wouldn't be offering it to you if I wasn't, Moony”
Remus's eyes remained narrowed, but he did slide the plate over “I can't say I'm a fan of this nickname”
“But it suits you so well”
They bickered, and they talked, and they laughed, but eventually, Remus informed him that he had to go because he had work in half an hour, which was weird because he had just gotten off from work. Then again, money must have been tight, so Sirius insisted on paying for lunch. Of course, Remus refused to accept a single cent, slapping down enough crinkled bills on the counter before telling him goodbye.
Sirius watched him leave. Maybe his motorbike breaking had been a good thing, after all, because it was undeniable at that point that Sirius had missed Remus; he had missed him like crazy. And this time, he wouldn't have let him go that easily again.
Like all things in life, getting Remus back into his world required a strategy. Sirius thought annoying him until he gave in would have been efficient enough, except that Minerva hounded him every step of the way at work, demanding Sirius to look over those papers and calculate those numbers, and when he went on his legal break, the woman actually had the audacity to harass him with the product information there!
And then there was his mother, who called his apartment as soon as he got home. He should’ve came over for tea and talk, she said. The Malfoys would’ve joined them, so it was their job to show themselves as strong, she said. And Reg would’ve been there. Sirius loved his brother as much as his brain could love anyone, but he absolutely did not want to hear any more questions about the Company and his cousin Narcissa asking why he wasn’t married yet, as she had been for a couple of years.
For what he had heard from Reg, who was a lot closer to their cousins, Narcissa quite hated Lucious, but the alternative was solitude, so she had given in.
He found it so, so unnecessary to get married at such a young age, he wasn’t even 21, damn it!
Narcissa might have been scared of loneliness. Sirius was not, thank you very much.
Since Minerva even went as far as giving him homework, which was not difficult to solve in the slightest, but sadly, time expensive, Sirius didn't get to pay Remus another visit.
He did the following day, though. Once he left the building, he took the subway to the south instead of the north. Sirius only realized that Remus might not have been even at work when he approached the garage, but now that he was here, it would’ve been silly to turn around.
So he went in.
No one was at the reception, so Sirius peeked into the workroom and… ding. There were two tall guys talking to each other, though he had only eyes for one.
He announced his arrival by banging the door open, making the two of them spin around.
“Sirius?”
“Remus. Hello”
“What are you doing here?”
“Hey, isn't that the guy who brought the bike here?”
“Yes, that is me” Sirius tilted his head “You didn't tell your co-workers about me, Moony? I'm hurt”
Remus let out a small laugh.
Grant glanced between the two of them, a curious frown in his eyes “Hey, you two know each other?”
“Yeah” Remus provided “We were friends a few years ago before he went away for college, but that's not the point. Really. What are you doing here?”
“I told you. Louve will fix herself faster when I'm around” when Remus only stared back blankly, Sirius offered “And I wanted to ask if you want to grab lunch”
“Oh” Remus said “I, uh, don't have time right now. We're busy”
Grant threw a towel over his shoulder, smirking “Such a good boy, our Remus. Always doing his job”
“Shut up” Remus muttered in return, though the tone in his voice could have only been described as endearing.
To make it even worse, Grant bumped his hip into Remus's side, the gesture feeling familiar and practiced, and most of all, it made it obvious that Grant cared enough to respect Remus's boundaries, which meant they were close, maybe even more than co-workers “We could probably do without him, but I'd get bored so you can't have him. Sorry”
Sirius scowled and decided to ignore him, looking at Remus instead “So, you don't have time?”
“No, sorry”
“That's fine. It was just a spontaneous afterthought. I actually came to ask you something else” he said and gave Grant a pointed look until the man got the message and busied himself with something else. Satisfied, Sirius returned his attention back to the task that mattered “My mom is having a small party at the house, and I would like you to come”
“As your...?”
“As my friend, obviously” Sirius finished “She will be happy to see you” No she wouldn’t have been, but Reg was taking James, so he also could bring a plus one, couldn’t he?
“You think she remembers me?”
“Oh she sure does” it was neither a lie nor a truth. Sirius had begged his mother to help him look for Remus back when he had disappeared, but once he moved away, he stopped talking about it. It was too painful, too much of a reminder that he had failed Remus, so he stayed quiet. And he hadn't been in a conversation long enough with his mother yet to see if his mother still remembered the garden boy from several years ago.
Remus's expression remained skeptical “You talk a lot of shit as always, but fine. Sure. Why not. Do I have to wear fancy clothes?”
“I mean, you probably shouldn't come in a garage smock that has oil stains all over it” Sirius ghosted one finger over one of the spots on Remus's pants “But other than that, feel free to wear whatever”
“Got it. When?”
“Friday. Two days from now on. Eight o'clock” Sirius remembered the state of his motorbike then and cringed. “I would pick you up, but my bike-”
Remus's face splat into a shit-eating smirk. Sirius didn't trust it, but the danger of it made it only more fun. “Don't worry. I got something for that”
“Good. Should I come here or?”
“I'll pick you up”
“Then it's a date”
It was not, but Sirius could’ve pretended it to be.