Remus preferred to shower at night. There was less rush and less competition for bathroom space. His roommate, Peter, took forever in the morning so he never had time to shower then anyway, and this allowed him to take his time and enjoy the feeling of the hot water running over his tired muscles. He needed it, as it had been a long Monday, which wasn’t promising for the rest of his week.
Remus also enjoyed singing in the shower. He didn’t think he had the best voice, but he enjoyed it anyway. He had that one song from Grease stuck in his head, the duet one. His roommate had been watching Grease in the living room and he couldn’t help but sing that song that night as he rinsed the shampoo out of his hair.
“Summer lovin', had me a blast
Summer lovin', happened so fast
I met a girl crazy for me
Met a boy cute as can be
Summer days driftin' away
To uh, oh those summer nights-“
Remus paused as he was cut off by muffled singing through the wall.
“Oh well, oh well, oh well oh, uh
Tell me more, tell me more
Did you get very far?”
The man’s singing stopped, clearly waiting for Remus to sing the next line. After another moment, he did.
“Tell me more, tell me more
Like does he have a car?”
“Doo doo, uh huh, doo doo, uh huh, doo doo, uh huh, doo doo doo, doo doo” they sang together, as Remus started chuckling.
“She swam by me, she got a cramp,” the man continued the song.
“He ran by me, got my suit damp,” Remus sang playfully.
“I saved her life, she nearly drowned.”
“He showed off splashing around.”
“Summer sun, something's begun
But uh, oh those summer nights,” they sang this part together again.
“Oh well, oh well, oh well oh, uh,” the man on the other side of the wall stopped again, waiting for Remus, but he couldn’t remember the words.
After about a minute there was a knocking on the wall followed by the man saying, “Are you alright over there?”
“Yeah, I just can’t remember how the rest of the song goes,” Remus said, almost shouting. He wasn’t sure how loud he needed to be to be heard on the other side of the wall.
“That’s alright, love. Same time tomorrow?”
Remus didn’t say anything for a second, but eventually responded, “Sure.”
What did he mean same time tomorrow? To perform another impromptu duet? Though he supposed it wasn’t impromptu if they were planning it. Remus shrugged, turning off the shower head and wrapping himself in a towel.
He didn’t think much about the shower duet the following day, but he still made sure to take his shower at about the same time as the night before. It was silent for several minutes, which left Remus a little disappointed.
Remus was about to turn the shower off, when he heard what sounded like speakers blaring Elton John from the other side of the wall.
“Don’t go breaking my heart,” the man on the other side of the wall shout-sang
“I couldn’t if I tried,” Remus returned, laughing.
“Oh honey if I get restless,”
“Baby you’re not that kind.”
They sang the rest of “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” together, laughing through it.
When they finished, Remus was sure his cheeks were flushed red from both his exuberant performance and his laughter.
“Well done, darling, you sound amazing,” the man said from the other side of the wall.
“Quit flattering me,” Remus teased back.
“I mean it,” he said, and he sounded sincere, “You pick the song tomorrow.”
“Okay, but you’re singing the girl part this time.”
Remus heard him laugh, and it was such a beautiful sound. It was like a melody all on its own.
“Deal. Until tomorrow, my dear.”
Remus smiled at the term of endearment. He kind of liked when this guy called him those things, where he would normally find it off putting. This man’s voice made them sound sweet and genuine.
The next night, Remus wasn’t sure how to begin. He figured the man on the other side of the wall could hear his shower running, but Remus had no way of knowing if he was there. It had gotten to be about the same time as the two nights before, so Remus knocked on the wall.
“I’m here, love. What song have you got for us?” the man from the other side of the wall said.
“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”
“Nice choice,” the man was silent for a moment, then Remus heard his speaker playing the song.
Remus sang the first line, and the man on the other side of the wall continued it, just like they had done the previous two nights, leaving Remus with a lasting smile for the rest of the night. They continued their little ritual for the rest of the week, singing “A Whole New World” and “Time of My Life.”
After their duet on Friday, the man on the other side of the wall said, “Hey, are you free tomorrow night?”
Remus didn’t say anything for a second. He was free, but did he want to go out with a stranger? Then he thought about the giddy smile on his face when the man called him “love” and said, “Yeah, what time?”
“How’s eight for you?”
“Perfect,” Remus said, giddy smile returning to his face.
“Then I’ll be at your door tomorrow at eight,” the man said, and then he was gone.
Remus couldn’t stop smiling as he left the bathroom. He passed Peter on the way to his bedroom and stopped when he said, “About time.”
“What?”
“I said it’s about time. It’s only been a whole week of you two serenading each other.”
“Shut up,” Remus said, unable to stop the laugh that broke up the words. He could feel the blush on his face. He hadn’t realized that Peter was listening to them this whole time.
The next night Remus couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he got ready for the date. He changed his shirt three times before Peter told him to stop worrying and that his green jumper would be fine.
Remus ran his fingers through his hair for the fifth time, trying to get it styled just right, when there was a knock at the door. He ran out to the living room as he heard Peter’s footsteps heading for the door. Peter beat him there, opening the door with a confused look that quickly turned to sheepish, as he clearly remembered in that moment that Remus had a date.
“You don’t look quite like I was expecting,” the man said, before quickly continuing, “not that there’s anything wrong with how you look, just that-“
“No I’m not- I mean I’m just- my roommate is who you want,” Peter blurted out, scurrying away from the door, patting Remus on the shoulder on his way past.
“Hey,” Remus said, feeling very awkward at that point. He looked up at the man and was caught off guard by how handsome he was. He had long dark hair and piercing grey eyes.
“Hey,” the man said with a charming smile, “no offense to your friend or anything but you’re even cuter than I thought you’d be.”
“Could say the same thing to you,” Remus said as he felt a blush spread across his cheeks.
“I’m Sirius,” the man said, holding his hand out.
“Remus,” he said, shaking his hand.
“That’s a beautiful name.”
“You’re such a charmer,” Remus said with a small chuckle.
Sirius smiled at his laugh.
“I’m not sure if you’ve got anything in mind for tonight, but I know a place we can go if you’re up for it,” Sirius said after a moment.
“Sure, where?”
“It’s a surprise,” Sirius said with a wink.
“Okay, lead the way,” Remus said, ignoring the little voice that told him to be wary of a stranger taking him to an unknown location. Something about Sirius made Remus trust him, made him feel safe with him.
Sirius held his arm out for Remus to take, and they made their way out of the building. They walked about ten blocks before they came to a bar.
“This is the surprise, huh?” Remus said teasingly.
“Just wait, love” Sirius said, holding the door open.
Remus walked in, looked around, and immediately started laughing. He turned back to Sirius with a smile.
“Karaoke?”
“I figured this would be most appropriate for us,” Sirius said with his charming smile.
“Oh, I fully agree,” Remus said, “but I’m gonna need a drink before I get up there.”
Sirius laughed, “Okay, you go wait at the bar, I’ll get us in the queue.”
Remus sat at the bar and ordered something brightly colored that would get him tipsy fast. It was one thing to sing in his shower to a faceless stranger but another entirely to sing in front of an entire bar full of people.
Sirius sat on a stool next to him, and they listened to the other bar-goers sing until it was their turn.
“Wait, what song are we singing?” Remus asked as they made their way to the stage, only then realizing he didn’t know what song Sirius had picked.
“‘You’re the One That I Want,’ from Grease,” Sirius said with a grin.
“How fitting,” Remus said with a chuckle, “Do I have to be Sandy again?”
“You can be Danny this time,” Sirius said with a wink.
The music started and Remus didn’t feel nearly as nervous as he did when they first arrived at the bar. They started singing, and they weren’t bad, but it didn’t sound as good as their shower duets. Before Remus realized, they had finished the song, and the crowd applauded like they did for everyone. Remus didn’t mind performing as much as he thought he would. Somehow, singing in front of a crowded bar with Sirius wasn’t so bad.
They made their way back to their place at the bar, laughing to each other the whole way.
“That was great. You were brilliant, love,” Sirius said.
“Are you kidding? You carried that,” Remus said, giddy with the adrenaline from performing.
They ordered some drinks and bar food, and they chatted, getting to know each other. Remus really liked this man. He was sweet, and the way he talked about his godson made Remus feel all soft inside. Sirius also really listened when Remus talked about his own interests, which was a nice change from the men that Remus was used to going out with. They sat there until the bar closed, which came around way sooner than Remus thought it would. Though, when he checked the time he supposed it had gotten pretty late.
“I suppose we should head back, huh,” Sirius said, standing up from his bar stool, “Don’t want to keep you out too late.”
“Yeah, I guess. My roommate will start to worry.”
They strolled back to their building, fingers softly brushing one another until they ended up interlocked. They walked in comfortable silence as they approached their building. Remus felt a little disappointed as they climbed the stairs to their floor. He wasn't ready for the date to be over.
Sirius walked him to his door and said, “I had a really nice time tonight, Remus.”
“Yeah, me too. We should do it again,” he said, fiddling with his keys.
“Definitely,” Sirius said.
He leaned in and they shared a soft kiss.
“Good night, Remus,” Sirius said with a sweet smile, before turning back toward his own door.
“Good night."
They shared another soft smile before both heading into their flats.