lies and trust
Sitting on the other side of the table, was Sirius’ father. A man he hadn’t seen in years, not after he ran away from the Noble house of the Black. He hadn’t wanted to see any of them anymore, only his little brother, Regulus, who wasn’t allowed to speak or see Sirius.
“How did you find me, father?” He was grinning, as he spoke. He tried to hide his nervousness the best he could, but it was hard, and Orion could probably sense his fears.
“You’re an embarrassment to the family.” It was a statement, and Sirius rolled his eyes. It wasn’t something he hadn’t heard before.
Sirius smirked, he wasn’t too afraid not to be sarcastic. He was just glad his mother wasn’t here, that wouldn’t have been pretty. “I’ve missed you so much, and our talkative hours.”
Before he ran away, he spent most of his time reading old boring books, and hiding away in his room or in the kitchens with the servants. It was also there he started drawing, since one of the maids teached him how to draw flowers and all sorts of wonders.
“You’ve openly started a shop, a tattoo place? You come from a rich bloodline, the bloodline of the Blacks, and this is what you’re choosing to spend your years on? You must be humoring me, son.” He straightened his shirt, and stared directly into Sirius’ gray eyes; they matched, much to Sirius’ unhappiness. “You have to join the family business, it’s an order from your father.”
Sirius snorted, “I’m off age, you can’t tell me what to do anymore. Besides, I’ve got my own business now, it’s a lot more fun than whatever you old folks run around doing.”
“This is no joke! Sirius Orion Black, I’m demanding of you. You’re the next in line for our business, don’t you understand that?”
“Oh please. Dad, I’m too gay to do that,” his father’s gaze changed and he looked odd, “why can’t Regulus do it?”
“He’s in boarding school.” His father sighed, “You’re a disappointment to the family, Sirius. If you don’t close the shop and join the business, I’ll have my men close it for you.”
And with that, he left Sirius’ flat.
How dared he walk into his house, and threaten him?
Sirius wasn’t stupid. He knew his father could actually close his freaking shop. It was a lot more than just closing the shop, it would mean extortion, and threatening his colleagues' families and going after their money. If he tried fighting against his father, it would hurt him and everything else badly.
(10:07) Sent to: Siriusly good Tattoos&Piercings group chat!
MEETING AT THE SHOP, NOW!
—
“What?”
They were all staring at Sirius like he was crazy, as if he was stupid.
He had been considering his father’s words, and he knew what that man was capable of. He didn’t want his father’s men to hurt his colleagues, his reputation or the shop. It was all too important for him, and he knew he wasn’t strong enough to fight against his father’s power. He simply just had to give up, even though that was actually the last thing he wanted to do.
All the piercers and tattoo artists were there, sitting in the small room they had for meetings. He knew he had to talk this through with them, he couldn’t just lie, but he also couldn’t tell them what exactly was going on. Opening a shop like the one he owns had been his forever dream, and now that he finally had it, he didn’t want to lose it. But he knew he had to, he couldn’t risk anything happening to his friends, his chosen family.
He’d brought the shop a few years back, and at first, he was scared. He had no one to work with him, but people were willing to, since they knew his name.
Marlene shook her head a few times, “have you gone mad?”
“Yeah, what’s up with this? This shop is your everything, you’d kill for it.” James stated, wanting to get it into Sirius’ head what exactly he was doing and choosing to do.
“And what about us? We’ve got rent to pay, we can’t just afford to lose our jobs out of the blue.” Lily was mad, they all were. “And what about our regular customers, what do you want to do with them?”
They started getting louder and louder.
“I’m more curious as to why, out of a sudden, you’re closing the shop and firing us.” Frank seemed suspicious. “You’re Sirius Black, money is no problem for you, and rent is easy too. You’ve got no reason to close it, like James is saying, this shop means everything to you.”
Remus was looking at Sirius. He looked hurt, he looked tired and as if he was giving up.
“Everybody, shut up.” Remus practically yelled. “Who’s threatening you? Who is blackmailing you to shut it down? We know you, Pads, you don’t just decide randomly to close the shop down, you would have spoken with us before deciding to do so.”
“Yeah?” Sirius bit his lip, “maybe you just don’t know me, Moony.”
Benjy stood up. “Okay hey, let’s not have this drama between the two of you right now.”
Sirius’ attention shifted to Benjy. “Yeah? Well what have you, Fenwick,got to say in any of this, you fucking idiot. You knew-”
“I’m not a fucking idiot, like you, twat.”
“Stop!” James yelled, he was standing on a chair, getting everyone’s attention. “Let’s all just take a moment, I think that’s what we need right now. Dorcas, Lily, Marls, you three take a look on if we have anyone against our shop, see what you can find.” They nodded, and left the room. “Benjy, just.. go anywhere nowhere near Sirius?” Benjy snorted, but left the room too. “Remus, have a talk with him. We’ll leave.”
Everyone left the room, leaving Remus and Sirius to be alone.
They were both quiet, neither of them knowing what to say.
“Sirius…”
“What? Remus, I poured my heart to you, I have for months. And this, this is how you treat me and give me back?” Sirius sassed, not caring for his words anymore. “Remus.. I’m in fucking love with you, get that into your stupid head for Merlin’s bloody sake! You know damn well it’s been obvious, and-” his voice broke, “Fuck you, fuck you for making me feel. I don’t want to feel again, it’s scary.. You know how it is, you always know. That’s why you’re so perfect, and I just want you, I only want you.. always have.”
Remus smiled sadly. “Sirius, I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t give me that shit right now. It’s over, Remus.” Sirius moved around a bit, unsettling. He sniffled between words. “I’m moving away, gonna take over Orion’s business and work with Regulus again.”
“Oh, so that’s what it’s about.”
Sirius looked at him with glassy eyes. It just hit him. He was going back. He was going back to the abuse, back to the days where he’d spend most of his time hiding in his room. The Sirius black had been too afraid to do anything for years, although he knew it’d been wrong what his parents were doing. And he was scared again, too afraid of what would happen once he entered the house of his parents’. And how would they treat him? Would they treat him like dirt, force him to hide himself forever again? And what could he do against it, against them? Nothing. He would be going back to hell.
“Remus..” He sighed heavenly, and dropped his head. He felt his throat closing up, almost as if he couldn’t breathe. “Remus, I can’t. I can’t go back, please..”
Remus wiped some of Sirius’ tears away, even though they didn’t stop streaming down his cheeks. He hugged him tightly, pulled him closer to his body and wrapped his arms around him. “I won’t let them take you, you’re safe with me.”
Sirius was sobbing. Here, in front of Remus. He was gasping for air, and the scene seemed unbearable for Remus.
“I’m scared.” Whispered Sirius. “They have control over Regulus, what if..”
Remus raised his eyebrow. “Yeah?”
“What if they’ve hurt him?” Sirius remembered the night he had run away, all the emotions he had felt. When he said his last goodbyes to Regulus, the poor boy had practically begged him not to leave, and Sirius had wanted to stay for Regulus, but he knew he couldn’t, he knew he definitely didn’t belong at Grimmauld Place like Regulus. He wasn’t like Sirius, he never had been, he wanted to follow his parents’ rules and to be good. Even though he never liked their behavior, he wanted to stay for them and to follow their business. “Regulus is weaker than I am, Moons, and what if they’ve scared him for good? Right now he’s in boarding school, but as soon as he’s done he’ll be their little puppet again. Remus, I won’t be their fucking puppet again!”
“Make a case against your father, how about that?” Remus suggested, and the idea was good. That way they couldn’t get the shop taken away from their reach, it’d be impossible.
Sirius broke the hug, and made that facial expression he always did while he thought.
“That’s..” He grabbed Remus’ face and kissed him, “that’s a wonderful idea! You’re a genius!”
“Thanks..” Remus’ cheeks were pink, “we’ll just have to make sure it goes through, if not, then we’ll have to think of other options.”
Sirius nodded.
(12:08) Sent to: prongsy
dude we might have a solution
(12:08) From: prongsy
That’d be great! Are you two alright also?
(12:08) Sent to: prongsy
idk
Sirius sighed, once or twice. “I really like you, Re. And, uh.. I’m sorry, my flirting’s been a tint overwhelming and annoying for you, I completely get that. I’ve just had it hard, figuring out my feelings.”
“I’ve been crushing on you for years, mate.” Remus chimed happily.
“Then don’t go around fucking someone else!” Sirius scolded, giving Remus a weird sort of expression he couldn’t quite read. “Mate, I love you, and I don’t want some idiot to ruin this.”
“I’m sorry.” Remus didn’t want to argue back, he knew what he had done had been wrong. It wasn’t fair at all. “I guess.. I really thought you were bullshitting me, and so I thought if I tried things out with Benjy, my feelings for you would vanish, would disappear.” He knew he could be honest around Sirius, although it was scary. Remus took Sirius’ hand in his, “I’m scared too, Sirius. I don’t know if you’ve realized this, but gaining to trust someone is so difficult. And I was told I couldn’t trust you.. People have said to me, you go around fucking around with people’s hearts and mess with their feelings. I didn’t want it to happen to me, I thought I was protecting myself. I didn’t realize.. I was only hurting us both.”
“That was how I used to be. Do you know how many people want me? I’ve grown to be really famous around here, apparently. But I don’t care rat’s arse about that, now I only care about you.” Sirius smiled, but his eyes were giving off some sort of distress. “I tried to distract myself by having as many dates I could possibly get, because I thought so too, my feelings would go away. But they never did, Remus, and they never will.”
Remus grabbed Sirius’ tie, and pulled him in for a kiss. Their bodies were pressed together against the desk, as they breathed heavily into a soothing kiss. Sirius cupped Remus’ face with his hands, while Remus let himself tug onto Sirius’ soft hair.
—
A few days after they had made the case, and sent it off, Remus was alone in the shop. It was around closing time, and he was just cleaning up after his last customer of the day.
The door opened, and the bell rang.
“Sorry, we’re closing in fifteen minutes. That’s not enough time for me to do a piercing or a tattoo.” Remus called out from the office, but he hurriedly walked into the main center of the shop.
A man, a little bit shorter than himself, was standing in the doorway. He had black curls, and his skin was cold white, and he reminded Remus of a male snow white. Some of his features were like Sirius’, which confused Remus rather a bit. He was wearing all black clothing, and his leather gloves looked expensive. He certainly didn’t look like he belonged at a tattoo and piercing shop, and Remus wondered what the guy would want from them.
“Hey there, can I help you with anything?” Remus wondered out loud, carefully smiling.
The guy, who seemed to probably be a few years younger than Remus, studied the shop. His eyes wandered around, until they landed on Remus’ figure. “Ah, hello. You aren’t the owner of this shop, are you?”
“I’m not,” Remus smiled. “Sirius, our owner, he’s off today.”
“Sirius Black, so I’ve heard.” The guy took a long look at Remus, and it almost made him feel insecure. Did he look odd? “Where is he? He’s certainly not out of town, is he?”
“I’m sorry, who are you?”
“Oh forgive me, where’s my manners?” He provoked sarcastically and rolled his eyes. “I’m Regulus-”
“..Black.” Remus finished, sounding almost horrified.
Regulus smirked. “You know my name. Brother Sirius has probably talked about me, he misses me, am I correct?”
It was so odd!
“You should leave.” Remus opened the door for him.
“Don’t you think that’s a bit rude?” Regulus walked outside, almost dancing as a ballerina the way he formally walked. “Tell my brother I wanted to chat, and that he’s got no way of winning this case he’s trying to build. It’s pathetic.” He spitted the P-sound.
Remus slammed the door in his face.
—
(22:05) From: Moony:)
Regulus was just here 15 minutes ago
(22:05) Sent to: Moony:)
Regulus as in Sirius’ younger brother?
(22:06) From: Moony:)
Yes! James, what do we do?
(22:07) Sent to: Moony:)
No idea!! This is huge, should we tell Sirius?
(22:08) From: Moony:)
Yeah, but don’t you think it’ll just stress Sirius a bit more?
(22:08) Sent to: Moony:)
Maybe. But I think we should tell him
(22:09) From: Moony:)
Okay, you tell him
(22:10) Sent to: Moony:)
No way! You were the one with him, I didn’t know what happened or what he said. This one is on you
(22:11) From: Moony:)
I hate you
(22:12) Sent to: Moony:)
Are you gonna do it?
(22:12) From: Moony:)
Yes
—
The next day, the shop was busy. Everyone was on shift, helping as much as they could. James was helping Sirius build a case, and with the amount of customers they had been getting, they were going to keep the shop alive and raise enough money to make the case even stronger, if that was what they needed to do.
Remus was chatting with Marlene, while tidying up a bit after two customers had left.
“So Remmy, how’s it going with you and Sirius?” Marlene was curious, they all were. They all wanted to know what had been going on, and if they had done more than just talking that day after the meeting. “We’re all dying to know, you’ve gotta tell me the details.”
Remus rolled his eyes. Marlene was being dramatic, like always. “There’s not really anything going on?”
Marlene gave Remus a weird look. “That’s a lie.”
“Okay, okay!” He was splashing water all over some chairs. “Fine. We shared a passionate kiss, and he kissed me when I offered the idea. Other than that, nothing.”
She was batting her eyelashes at him. “How romantic. I remember when Sirius and I made out.”
Remus also remembered. It had been last year, a month after the party, and Remus had still been trying to recover from the night’s events. But Marlene and Sirius trying to be a couple out of a sudden hadn’t helped at all.
He gritted his teeth. “That was a lovely time.”
“Jealous?” She smirked.
“Oh you know I didn’t like you back then, I wanted Sirius for myself.” Marlene wasn't looking at Remus anymore, it was almost as if she were looking at someone behind Remus. “I remember I talked with Frank about it, Frank! I think everyone at the shop knew how much I disliked you guys’ ‘thing’, and everyone knew how deeply in love with Sirius I was.. still am, and Lily even tried to set me up with her friend from college. It was an embarrassing time.”
“Remus..”
“And I was always staring daggers at you, while I was giving heart eyes to Sirius.”
“Okay-”
“Fuck, Marls.. I love that boy. What if he doesn’t share the same feelings? What if he’s gonna grow tired of me, and find someone else?” Remus didn’t always let his anxiety win, but when it did, it never stopped and his thoughts were spinning like a spiral. “I want to give Sirius the world, he deserves it!”
“What if you’re my world?” Sirius.
Remus turned around, and Sirius was standing behind him. He was smirking, and he was looking good today. Remus slapped himself mentally. Had he really just embarrassed himself in front of Sirius? Yeah.
“Uh.”
“Go out with me tonight, love.” Sirius smirked.
Finally. “Yes!” Remus was excited.
“Awe, you two love birds.” Marlene commented, and faked a gag sound.
—
It was a week after the case had been sent.
Sirius was dealing with some work related things, and answering a few emails. He had been too caught up with his father suddenly showing up out of nowhere, and the conflicts between him and Remus. But he finally had time to give the shop the extra love, and he really had missed working again.
There was knocking on his door, and it was Benjy who walked in.
They hadn’t really talked since the party. Sirius had tried to avoid him the best he could, mainly also because he didn’t want more drama at the shop. He knew Benjy still had an eye for Remus, and they were still talking and being good friends, and since Remus and Sirius weren’t official, he wasn’t too sure of where he stood with his feelings about Benjy, yet.
Sirius didn’t look up from his computer. “What can I do for you?”
“I hope I’m not interrupting, but I wanted to talk with you.” Sirius shook his head, and Benjy took that as an opportunity to completely walk into his office. “I haven’t gotten a chance to talk with you, to show what I’m capable of. I printed out some of my designs, if you could just take a look at them?”
“Benjy, you’re already hired, so what do you need me to do with these?” Sirius was obviously getting annoyed with his presence, and even rolled his eyes once or twice. “Do you want me to give you a grade? A+, now leave me alone.”
Benjy was quiet. “Look.. I know you’re not happy about my relationship- friendship with Remus, but we really like each other.”
“Yeah, you liked him so much you almost had your hand down his trousers at my party.”
Benjy tried not to crack a smile. “Okay. I know you guys tell each other everything, and that’s why I’m nervous to see the day Regulus Black is coming through the door-”
“Excuse me?”
Benjy raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean? Clearly, you’ve spoken to Regulus.”
Sirius was angry now. “And why the hell would I do that?”
“Because he- wait, Remus haven’t told you.” Benjy looked nervous now.
“The fuck? Tell me!”
“Regulus came a few days ago, when Remus was closing the shop. He came asking for you, wanted to talk and said some things about.. Yeah.” Benjy was quietly speaking, almost whispering the words coming out of this mouth. “Remus told me he was going to tell you, don’t be mad at me.”
(15:12) Sent to: the man i wanna marry
my office. N-O-W!
Sirius pointed to the door, and Benjy basically sprinted out the door.
It didn’t take long for Remus before he was standing in Sirius’ office, locking the door while grinning widely.
“Do you need help with anything under the table, boss?” Remus winked, and licked his lips.
Sirius ignored it. He was furious. “Why am I the last person on earth to know my oh so dear brother has set his feet in this shop? And you, the man I trust the most, haven’t told me. And why did I have to know about this from Fenwick?”
Remus’ eyes widened.
“-and why didn’t you tell me?” Sirius wanted to know, he had the right to. His family, the one he’d escaped from and never wanted to ever see again, had shown up in his apartment and his freaking shop! “I deserve to know this, Lupin,” Remus flinched, “I thought we had no secrets from each other? I thought we told each other things, and that we shared everything with each other, hm? Care to explain yourself?”
Remus hadn’t meant for Sirius to become angry with him. “I’m really sorry, I am. I wanted to keep it a secret for a little while, because I thought you’d be really upset, and I didn’t know how to tell you. I talked about it with James, and he understood.”
“But Regulus isn’t James’ brother, is he? No.”
“Listen to me, please.” Remus cupped Sirius’ face with his hands. “I love you, so bloody much. And I want a relationship with you, and-”
Sirius interrupted. “What did Regulus say?”
Remus thought quickly. “He wanted to know stuff about the shop, but he didn’t ask, the only question he did ask was where you were, nothing more.”
“This is.. shit, this means he’s been brought home from boarding school! They’re using him to make me go back there and-”
“Sirius, stop. You’ll stay right here, we need you here.”
“My father is going to threaten me, Remus. He’s going to fucking want money from me, and he’ll get the police involved. I’ve done.. stuff, and he knows that, he can get me in jail and that’ll ruin the shop’s reputation.” Sirius was sweating now, he untied his tie and practically jumped down in his chair. “He’s gonna go after you guys’ families and want money from them too. Or, he’s just gonna buy my shop. He’s richer than I am, he’s powerful.”
Shit.
“What the hell have you done that can get you in prison?”
Sirius stared at him with cold eyes. “I’ve killed someone in a fight.”
Remus choked. He stumbled backwards. “You’ve- what?”
“I’m joking, buddy.” Sirius grinned, Remus hit him. “I’ve hacked a system of a shop, one of my dad’s shops, because I wanted out of my family.. And I found some files and my dad can put the files under my name, which is bad since.. Since it’s a list of people they’ve done criminal stuff with, and I don’t even know the stuff, but I know it’s fucking wanted criminals.”
“Wouldn’t your dad be stupid to do that?”
“Actually really smart, unless I can prove it’s his, and I don’t know how to do that.” Sirius took a deep breath. “I need to close the shop.”
They were fucked. Sirius needed to go back, he had to. Either that or he had to escape the country to make fast business, with his old lawyer that had tried to put his dad in jail.
“I’m gonna call my dad’s old lawyer.”
And he called her.
And called her once more.
And called her once again.
And she didn’t pick up.
And so he tried calling again, but failed, again.
—
“So.. How is he?” James popped the question.
Remus was eating dinner at Lily and James’ flat. They were expecting, and they were going to throw a gender reveal party a few months away.
“He’s.. Uh, distant? It’s been a few days, and he’s still trying every day to call his old lawyer. He’s not giving up.” Remus sighed. Sirius didn’t get enough sleep, he was trying to stay in his best mood and not let anyone see his fears. Everyone else tried to keep their days normal, and act as if they weren’t scared Orion would step inside any day and close the shop. “He’s afraid.”
“Have you given him any comfort? After all, you’re the guy he’s in love with. Maybe he just needs to have his mind on something else.” Lily winked. “You know.. treat him.”
Remus thought about it. It wasn’t a bad idea, surprising Sirius with a treat and hosting a romantic dinner. Perhaps he could buy flowers, and chocolates?
Remus smiled. “Lily, it’s a fantastic idea.”
—
(18:07) Sent to: the best boss ever
Be at my apartment in five minutes.
(18:07) From: the best boss ever
what??
(18:07) From: the best boss ever
re i’m pretty busy at the moment
(18:08) Sent to: the best boss ever
Please? <3
—
The whole living room in Remus’ flat was covered in candles, rose petals and the smell of a home cooked meal was everywhere. It was romantic, and he was proud of himself.
Exactly seven minutes after Remus had texted Sirius, he showed up.
“Hey, what’s the rush?” Sirius’ hair was in a messy bun, and he was wearing one of his old t-shirts. He looked good.
Remus showed him everything.
“I made lasagna, your favorite!” Remus was excited. “I thought we could share a date, just the two of us. I know you’re stressed, but I wanted to do something. Also because our last date was three weeks ago, and I miss us. I want us to happen, therefore here I am! I really hope you like it, because I’m not the best cook..”
Sirius nodded. “Alright.”
They sat down to eat, and Remus had even picked out a film from the store. It was a romcom, about two gay best friends falling in love. Cheesy, but it seemed right.
Remus was laying on Sirius’ chest. He loved it.
About twenty minutes into the film, Sirius’ phone started ringing.
Sirius basically jumped when he saw who was calling, and Remus fell flat down onto the sofa.
“Holy fucking shit, oh my-” Sirius smiled. He made signs to Remus telling him to ‘shut up’. “Hello, Miranda! Yes, yes, yes, this is Sirius Black.”
After fifteen minutes, Sirius got back.
“I’m going to Italy.” He took his plate, and walked into the kitchen. Remus rushed after him, and gave him a questioning look. “Miranda lives there now, and works there. I’ve booked a meeting with her, and she wants to help us. This is perfect, she’s an old friend of mine, and I get to save my shop.”
Remus smiled. He was happy for Sirius. “That’s amazing, Pads. How long will you be gone for?”
“Not long.” Sirius was washing the plates, “Maybe two or three months? Depending on how big the case is.”
Two or three months?
“Pads, that’s a long time. Are you sure about this?” Remus didn’t want him to be gone for that long, he needed him. “I can tag along, if you want me to?”
He shook his head. “Remus, I don’t want you involved in any trouble.”
Remus sighed. “When are you leaving?”
“Tonight.”
Remus’ eyes widened. “Tonight?”
“I’ll be back before you know it, love.” Sirius kissed his lips. “I need to go home and pack if I wanna catch my flight, alright? You’re in charge of the shop now.” He handed his key to the shop, and the only key they had for the offices.
Sirius rushed out of the door after having said his goodbyes.