Model For Me

Remus was taking his time, reading Between the Acts by Virginia Woolf, since it was Friday evening, and he exceptionally didn't have any work. Well, maybe he would have some, but he didn't expect that his few hours at the library would be cancelled. So he did his homework earlier and other tasks he did in advance. And this way, he had a free time, he was alone in his and Lily's place, and he had peace and tranquillity he missed in recent days. So he made chamomile tea, which was almost finished by now, and he sat down comfortably to benefit from his free time, with a book in his hand. He just wanted to enjoy his quiet evening, so he did so. It was half an hour later that he got up and went to the kitchen to see a phone lying on the counter. It wasn't his phone, though, it was Lily's. 

And Remus had a real dilemma what to do. Because, well, she was a big girl and could manage without her phone. But he didn't know if someone would drive her home, and if something happened, only Sirius had his phone number. Would Sirius be there when something happened? It should be alright, since there would be many people, but they would be intoxicated, there was no way, they wouldn't be. So for his own peace of mind and with a long, long sigh, he took Lily's car keys and decided to ask in JSMD if someone knew where they went. He googled if the building was open and saw that the closing time on Friday was ten p.m. so he had time.

He also messaged Sirius. If he didn't answer, Remus would ask in JSMD.

If no one knew where the get-together was, he would just come back home, but he will feel better if he checks at least.

The drive was pleasant. Remus always liked to drive when it was dark outside. It had its own mood. It gave him peace of mind.

More space to park was also beneficial.

Seeing there was no message on his phone, after Remus got out of the car, he went straight to the building entrance. Next to the door, someone passed him and typically, Remus would ignore the person, but this time, for a brief moment, he thought he saw Sirius.

So he turned around and this stranger saw the movement. At Remus looking was someone younger than Sirius. Though it was true, their hair had the same black colour and generally looked the same except the length, and their faces had similar shape with sharp facial features, still, Remus wouldn't say they looked the same. Eyes had dissimilar shapes, lips looked completely different and noses, though alike, had mismatched sizes. What was the most contrasting feature, however, was their… aura. Sure, they both had an air of casual elegance around themselves, but Sirius was more… vibrant. Dynamic.

Remus definitely should pay less attention to Sirius. 

"I see you wondering, so, yes, I am Sirius' brother," said the boy. He looked a bit annoyed, and Remus understood him a little. But mostly, he just seemed tired.

"Yeah… You have similar-"

"Eyes, yes," interrupted Sirius' brother.

"Hair," said Remus at the same time. He felt amused, but tried no to show a smile, seeing how incredulous seemed the other boy. Well, it wasn't unexpected. What could he think? How similar their hair could be? They were both black, weren't they? "It may sound weird, I know. You have black hair, but it's like the most black hairs I've ever seen. And at this moment I wonder if you use the same shampoo, and probably hair conditioner, because your hairs have even the same shine. I can't really explain it, though."

Sirius' brother looked at Remus with a blank face. And then his lips quirked. "You must have really paid attention to my brother's hair."

"You have quite exquisite hair, yes."

"I don't remember you. You started working here recently?" he asked.

"Oh, no," answered Remus. "I'm friends with one of the seasonal models and she left her phone. Hoped to return it to her, but she went on some get-together and I had in plans to ask around where they went."

Eventually he could wait for Sirius' reply, but better not to say too much. 

"I am convinced they went to Three Broomsticks around the corner. They always go there."

"Oh, thank you. That's actually quite helpful. Are you going there, too?"

The boy laughed shortly. "No way. I want to rest now, seeing this herd will only give me a headache. And I even work at later hours, so I don't have to meet with Sirius. We are alright, I guess, but seeing each other too much, never do us any good. Better to stay away from each other."

"That sounds like a brotherhood full of lovely quarrels," commented Remus.

"You have no idea. But maybe you will," said Sirius' brother and not giving time for response he added. "Well, I have to get going. Goodbye, Remus."

Then, not waiting, he pivoted on his feet and went his way.

"Goodbye," said Remus more to himself, because he had no idea how Sirius brother knew his name.

***

Lily was sitting with Pandora, Marlene, Dorcas and Mary in Three Broomsticks, waiting for James and Sirius to come. Girls told Lily that often on these meeting was Emmeline, who did make-up or Andromeda, the hairdresser. She also learnt about Bilius, who was the life of the party and used to down an entire bottle of alcohol before he ran on the dance floor. He went a bit loopy, though, and stopped coming. To the get-togethers and for work, too. So they were in a girls squad, and it went fast from getting to know each other to gossiping a little about their work and then to talk about absent ones.

"So Sirius is basically a dog," Dorcas said, sipping her drink. They ordered drinks and some food earlier, deciding the boys could do this later.

"And what a dog, a puppy really. And James is like his guardian," added Marlene.

"They are really loyal to each other," sighed Pandora.

"They live in symbiosis," said Mary with a full grin. 

"I noticed every time I met one, the other was near," laughed Lily. "Though I thought they worked together or something. Actually, I don't even know what James was doing there, now I think of it."

"Oh, our wonderful James is taking care of performing miracles on marketing side. Mostly talking to some rich men about sponsoring, but he is responsible for the whole marketing team." After Mary finished the sentence, she took some crisps. "Now that I think of it, these guys even searching for sponsors do together."

"I saw the other day, that Sirius and James have their offices next to each other," Lily admitted.

"Oh, yeah. They can't be apart from each other for too long," laughed Marlene. Other girls had smiles on their faces, like there was something more to this. A story.

"Really," Lily started to get interested.

"It's physical for them," stated Dorcas, and Pandora nodded with solemness. "The farther they are from each other, the stronger their soulmate tingles sting."

"It's actually not typical for their rooms to be on the same floor, not saying next to each other. Since they are on completely different teams," informed Pandora. Lily noted that Pandora furrowed brows, but the other girls were amused. "First, they worked on different floors."

"I believe someone should study them, really," interrupted Dorcas with a laugh.

"Yeah, they started to work in a more efficient way once their rooms got closer," said Marlene this time. She still seemed entertained, but at the same time, she had a look of awe on her face. Like she still couldn't believe what she was saying. "It was shocking to most of us. Truly. I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me they have switches somewhere, and they switch automatically when one of them gets too far from the other."

"It's almost scientifically proven they are two parts of one soul or something," Dorcas joked. "We are researching it recently. You can join if you are interested."

Lily laughed. "Join what?" She heard a voice and turned around. James and Sirius were approaching their table with lifted eyebrows. James kept his eyes on Lily, and she blushed automatically, though she scolded herself in mind. Because why did she blush? It was just a look. She got a lot of them in her life.

Then the boys sat themselves, Sirius managed to sit himself next to Lily, and James sat across from her.

"The research on Sirius' puppiness," smirked Dorcas. "You are not invited, though. Too subjective."

Sirius snorted. "It's better to be a dog than a sable."

"I wouldn't know, since I am neither of them," said Dorcas.

"I would rather say Dorcas is more like… a raven, maybe?" said Marlene.

After that, a chorus of voices answered.

"A bear."

"German Shepherd."

"A dolphin."

"A dolphin?" gasped Dorcas. "A dolphin, really? Who said that?"

But instead of answering, the table erupted in laughter.

"I can't believe you founded offence in a dolphin," laughed James.

"Actually, dolphins are pretty scary," said Marlene. "They are dangerous and not everyone know this, but they are rapists."

"What, really?" asked James surprised. "I will never believe in nature."

"But you would believe in Lily, right?" asked Sirius with a smirk. They all laughed again, but Mary whined.

"Not jokes about someone's name, please. Especially not Sirius. Do you know how many weeks it took me to stop saying 'seriously'? I'm getting tense, when someone is telling the word, even if Sirius is not near, at this point."

"Yeah," laughed Lily. "Recently I was sitting with Remus and almost said 'seriously'. We both knew then, that our life will get only more complicated."

And Lily didn't miss out the way Sirius perked up with mention of her friend. She smiled.

"You're lucky to be prepared in this case," admitted Marlene. "No one will treat you leniently in here."

"Oh, about treating leniently. How it actually happened, you believed Dorcas we had a meeting?" And Lily thought it was something interesting to ask, so she hanged on Mary's question.

"Because I thought we really had a meeting. She had it all planned. It started a few days earlier. Dorcas mentioned she has a meeting with you during our chatting, so it was less suspicious when five days later she asked me if I could go instead of her. She even made this squeal of happiness when I agreed, and then told me she will message you about the change of plans right away."

"It was such a nice prank…" sighed Dorcas.

"I would suspect her after hearing her squeal. I can't even imagine it," furrowed his eyebrows, Sirius and Dorcas rolled her eyes.

"I'm starting to believe you are the only nice one, Pandora," Marlene shook her head. "I swear, all the others Regulus recommended ended up being dorks, pranking idiots or both."

"Evan is really nice," commented Pandora.

"It's sweet you haven't included Barty, nor me, in the nice thing." Dorcas shook her head.

Lili looked at James and saw him grinning. "Regulus knew you are our kind." Then a crisp landed on his face. Everyone looked at Marlene.

"Sod off, James," she said. "You should have defended me, not my torturer."

"Yeah, Marlene," smirked Dorcas. "A little bit of pranking can't hurt."

"You didn't know Lily," Mary caught her attention. "But James was quite a troublemaker in school."

And Lily could see this. This amused glint in his eyes, when they commented on pranking and even the way he sat could mean something. He was ready and observant. For Lily, they were perfect traits for pranking. And it kind of suited him, with the way he seemed optimistic and always joyful, ready to put his hand around someone shoulder. Like he was everyone's pal, who was likely to make jokes, build an easy atmosphere or prank someone, but in the way no one would be hurt. Lily couldn't really imagine this smiling boy to harm anyone, not intentionally.

"You went to the same school?" she asked.

"Not we all," answered Dorcas. "But even those who didn't, heard legends of James Potter and Sirius Black."

After these words was a moment of silent and Lily realized she never heard of Sirius Black, though… She looked at Sirius, who was glaring at Dorcas. She grimaced like she knew she wasn't supposed to say that. Lily guessed they didn't want to talk about Sirius changing his surname to Potter, so she decided to change the topic. She understood it could be a sensitive matter.

"And from what I understood, Pandora was going to a different one, and guys named Evan and Barty, is that right?"

"Oh, and me," said Dorcas, seemingly eager no to be under Sirius' look. "We went to school with Regulus."

"And who are they?"

"Regulus is my brother," answered Sirius with a scoff. "A nasty one. After we started to work together, he literally told me he will take different hours, so he doesn't have to see me. So you probably won't see him in a JSMD building."

"I love seeing them bickering, though," sighed Mary. Dorcas grinned.

"No, you don't," commented Marlene and looked at Lily. "They are escaping the room, the moment they notice Regulus and Sirius are in the five meters radius from each other."

"It's actually not that bad," added James. "They love each other." Sirius rolled his eyes. "They would die for each other, but doing so, both of them would speak like they feel only hatred."

"Lost cause, both of them," sighed Marlene.

"Are you both photographers?" asked Lily.

"No, Regulus is…" Sirius started speaking and then stilled.

"Lily," everyone looked at the newcomer. Remus approached their table and was glancing towards everyone at the table. "I'm sorry to interrupt you," he said, and then he waved the phone. And Lily knew then why he came, because it was her phone. "Lily, I just wanted to give you your phone. You left it."

"Shit, thank you!" Lily got up and took the phone. "You are wonderful, as always, Wolf Boy."

"No problem, Flower Girl," Remus smiled. "Then I will get going, have fun, everyone."

After his words, a few voices came at the same time, but the loudest was Dorcas. "Wolf Boy? We want Wolf Boy to stay!"

"Yes, Remus, why won't you stay?" asked James. Lily looked at Sirius, who was focusing on Remus with puppy eyes. Mary saw it, too, and they exchanged smiles.

"Oh, I don’t want to spoil the fun, now."

"Nooo, Remus," whined Marlene. "Stay with us, the more, the merrier!"

"Stay, we want to know more about Lily's friend," added Mary. "The more you know about someone's acquaintances, the more you know about the person, right?"

Lily saw Remus considering his options. She looked at Sirius, and he looked like he wanted to tell something, but was holding back. Lily just now realized he should be busy, but seeing he found time to come to them, he must have had some time to spare.

"Remus, since you are here, already, why won't you stay?" she asked and stood up. She made a room between her and Sirius, so Remus could sit, and after a few seconds of hesitating he did so.

"I have work in the morning, so I will leave in a bit," he said, and the table erupted with cheers. He smiled. "And, I see, there are a few of you. If someone will also leave early, I can give a lift?"

"I'm not going to drink, so I can drive everyone, but it would be helpful, since I have a five-seats car." James smiled to Remus.

"Recently we were sitting on each other laps, so it would be great but no pressure," added Marlene. No one commented on the legality of it.

"I thought of leaving early, too, Remus. I would be grateful," said Pandora, and it made sense. She probably had work from the morning hours, or so Lily assumed.

"No problem."

"And I will leave with you two, it's more efficient, this way," added Lily. And this way everyone had a seat for themselves.

Chatting returned among their weird mixture of friends and strangers, though, Lily had an afterthought, no one really seemed like a stranger among them. They ordered drinks, more food, and the night continued.

***

Sirius sat straight and tense at the start, feeling how Remus was next to him. He tried to relax, since Remus noticed the way he sat.

"Are you all right, Sirius?" he asked softly.

And, truly, he had a nice voice. If Sirius wasn't acting like an awkward teenager, he could talk Remus up, just to hear him talking more.

Sirius really acted like an awkward teenager, though, so he muttered "fine" and that was all. And kept silence then, too focused on Remus' presence. At one point, he got a weird look from Marlene. He couldn't care less, unfortunately. He stayed silent until Dorcas smirked at one point.

"You know Remus, you kind of seem like Sirius' brother's type. Do you have someone?"

"What? No!" called Sirius.

"This 'no' is for me being your brother's type or for me having someone?" asked Remus, looking at Sirius.

He felt himself blushing. "No. I mean, no, I meant nothing. What am I even saying?"

Remus laughed. "It's fine, I was joking." And then he turned to Dorcas. "And answer is right. I have no one, right now. Romantically speaking. And I guess, to the first question, the answer is also a 'no'. I met Sirius' brother, and he didn't look really interested in me."

Sirius perked at this. "You met my little brother?"

"Yeah, we talked for a few minutes. You look alike."

And though, everyone went back to their previous conversation, which they stopped, Sirius got invested.

"Oh, don't let his angel looks fool you. We are similar in less way than it seems at first."

"Yeah, I noticed," said Remus, and Sirius didn't even know why he blushed after. It probably was the way Remus looked at Sirius. Entirely focused on him. Paying attention. And with the way Sirius acted, he was sure, Remus could tell differences between him and his brother. Regulus wasn't so awkward in the first place. In these few minutes Regulus probably told to Remus more words, than Sirius in their entire acquaintance.

"You must think I'm really exasperating," groaned Sirius and covered his face with hands.

"What?" asked Remus, and he sounded sincerely surprised, so Sirius uncovered his face and looked at him from the side. "Where did it come from?"

"Well, what else could you think of me at this point?"

Remus laughed. "You are completely adorable for example, you know?"

And Sirius, once again, blushed furiously. He couldn't fathom how Remus had the ability to say things that made Sirius' heart flutter, in this, offhanded, by-the-way way. He was so… So Remus. Sirius really, really dreamed of taking a photo of him.

"And we didn't really have many chances to talk, did we?" asked Remus.

"Would you want some more, then?" Sirius spoke up, trying to calm his heart.

"Sure," Remus shrugged and seemed completely opposite to Sirius. He didn't seem on the verge of fainting, at all. "I will message you, though I don't really have much of a spare time, I must admit."

"That's… That's alright. We could just… Chill out, right? Doing whatever we need to, just together?"

"Yeah," Remus smiled at him. And then Lily tugged at his sleeve.

"I think we should head off."

Remus looked at his phone and, seeing the hour, nodded. Sirius felt a bit disappointed.

"Pandora?" Remus asked.

"Are we leaving Wolf Boy?" she asked and started grabbing her things. She had red cheeks, probably from alcohol, and smile wasn't leaving her face. "Wolf Boy," she giggled and looked at Lily. "And a Flower Girl." Next she focused on Sirius. "And a Star Boy!" she exclaimed. Everyone laughed.

"Star boy?" asked Remus, looking at Sirius. Marlene tried to gather Pandora's things for her, because she was now asking why isn't she a Gift Girl, and Mary tried to tell her she was truly precious, and they could call her their gift if she wanted. Pandora beamed at her.

"Yes…" said Sirius. "Sirius is actually the name of a star."

"A star?" repeated Remus and exceptionally looked fazed. "Like the star we have in the sky?" he then asked like he knew the answer, but still wanted to hear confirmation.

"Is that so hard to believe?"

"No, actually…" Remus started and Sirius was absolutely shocked when saw a bit of pink on his cheeks. "It actually suits you."

And Sirius didn’t have time to respond, because Marlene took Remus hand and placed it on Pandora's arm. She pushed them saying "go, go, go, get her to the car, and be careful".

Lily stood next to him with a smile. "She is quite different when drunk."

"Yes, she is," admitted Sirius. "Though she kept her essence just fine."

"Truth," Lily laughed and then looked at him. "You know Sirius, I like you. If you ever needed some advice on Remus, don't hold back and tell me. Good luck."

He nodded and saw her following their friends outside.

James nudged him. "Pretty obvious you must be, huh?"

Sirius only glared at him.

***

When Sirius and James finally arrived to their place, James went straight to the bathroom, while Sirius took out his phone.

He almost jumped, seeing there was a message from Remus.

"Shit," he muttered and wanted to click on it instantly, but then just before his eyes, a message from Regulus came. He furrowed his brows.

Inferior Star: Quiet pretty is that Remus of yours. Perfect for one of the Blacks.

"James!" shouted Sirius and not waiting went to the bathroom. James rarely locked the doors, so he wasn't surprised when they opened without effort. James was brushing his teeth and when saw his friend, yelled something, but because his mouth was full of toothpaste foam, he couldn't say one word fluently and it more sounded like he was choking.

"Look!" said Sirius loudly, not caring, and showed his phone to James. His friend rinsed his mouth and looked at his friend instead of the phone. "Look!" Sirius repeated, and James shook his head, before looking at the screen.

He read the message and burst out laughing.

"I wanted to be pissed off, because, really, you should learn to knock, but it's brilliant."

"You should lock your door," countered Sirius, but was dissatisfied with his friend's reaction. "But why are you laughing? You should be put out, like me, right? Or even more, shouldn't be jealous, or something. Weren't you both a thing?"

James smiled at Sirius. "Must I remind you that we are not a thing anymore? Besides, why this comment should annoy me? I know Regulus, and it's definitely an attempt to provoke you. A successful one, I must admit." James wiped his hands and sighed. "And I know Remus isn't Regulus' type."

"Oh? So you know my brother's type so well?"

James grinned. "Just look at me. Do I look like Remus?"

Sirius looked in disbelief at his friend. Then he left the bathroom, slammed the door and yelled. "Better not make this amorous eyes to Lily, I will tell on you!" and heard laugh. "I'm surrounded by enemies, siriusly," he muttered to himself.

He fell on the couch and took out his phone again.

Pretty Boy: I'm sorry to disturb you, but Lily left her phone and I don't know anyone else's number. Can you share the address of where you are?

Sirius sighed and answered.

Sirius: You are never disturbing me, Wolf Boy.

Then he deleted the "Wolf Boy" part, and replaced it with "Remus", but then wrote "Pretty Boy" instead, though in the end deleted it and stayed with the name. He sent the message and took a pillow to cover his face with it and screamed.

Sirius felt someone lifting the pillow and saw James smiling at him.

"Why the yelling?"

"Why writing a message is so hard?" Sirius asked and James lifted his brows.

"Since when do you have a problem with messaging someone?" And then. "Oh," he smiled.

"Yeah…" muttered Sirius.

"Oh, Pads," James patted him on the arm. "It's late, we should go sleep. You want to cuddle with me tonight?"

And Sirius just walked to James' room and throw himself on the bed. James followed just behind.