Chapter Text
Remus
Sadly, Remus didn’t get to see Sirius before Mary pulled him over to the dining hall door to stand behind the podium, checking in the banquet guests and showing them to their assigned seats. According to Remus’s roster, there were estimated to be close to 700 guests in attendance this evening. Thankfully, all of the tables had numbers on stems attached to the centerpieces, so directing guests wasn’t too difficult. He just had to go around and pluck the stems out before the award ceremony began, which is what the all black attire came in handy for. He could move about the room like a shadow and hardly anyone noticed him.
Outside the hotel was a velvet blue carpet that matched the Networks logo colors. All the actors and producers and writers of their shows got to pose for pictures together, all of which he’d be able to view online before the end of the night. This caused a slow trickle of people to be seated, so at the very least, Remus wasn’t overwhelmed.
Just as he was crossing the previous guests name off the list, indicating that they had been seated, someone approached his podium.
“Sirius Black.”
Remus looked up, and he had to blink several times to keep his eyes from popping out of his head.
Sirius stood in front of him wearing a fishnet style lace top with skintight long sleeves that billowed out at the wrist. Woven into the lace was a beautiful moon and star pattern that reminded Remus of the astronomy tower from The Witching Hour. Over the lace top was a tight, black corset with silver loops and buckles that showed off Sirius’s thin, but firm, frame. His trousers were a midnight black with delicate, shining silver accented stripes along the outer seam, and on his feet were Sebastian’s signature cap toe ankle boots, but in black.
As Remus raked his eyes down Sirius’s body, he was met with a smirk and a tutt of his tongue once his eyes made their way back up. Sirius’s beautiful, crystal eyes were lined in black, and a pearlescent dust of shimmer highlighted all his prominent features. The color reminded Remus of a moonstone. Sirius’s hair was half done up, pulled away from his face to bring attention to all his sparkling features.
Remus swallowed hard, wishing he had a glass of water. He wanted to tell Sirius that he looked beautiful, amazing, drop dead gorgeous. He wanted to compare him to a Rembrandt or a Delacroix, and give him a long, wordy poem of a response that didn’t even touch the kind of beauty he had managed to reach. But when he opened his mouth, all that came out was-
“Wow.”
“I knew you would stun him speechless.”
Remus could hear Marlene, but he couldn’t peel his eyes away from Sirius to look where her voice had come from. Then he felt a sharp pinch on the back of his arm, jolting him back to reality. In reality he couldn’t grab Sirius’s hand and pull him away to the nearest utility closet. In reality, he was at work, and he had hundreds of guests he had to seat.
Remus blinked, Marlene came into focus dressed in an all-black floor length gown with silver accents. He’d seen her wear it before to some party a few years ago, and it conveniently complimented Sirius’s ensemble. Her arm was also threaded through Sirius’s, and they looked like they were attending the banquet together.
“What’s going on?” Remus asked. His heart had begun to race a lot faster than he was comfortable with.
“Marlene styled me, so I asked her to be my date tonight,” Sirius explained. Remus swallowed and held his breath o calm himself down.
“See? I told you he’d get all weird and jealous. Literally the first person I ever told that I’m a lesbian and he’s still jealous,” Marlene replied with a broad, sparkling smile with freshly whitened teeth.
“Oh, shut up,” Remus grumbled, looking down at his list. “You’re at table 13. Go be a beautiful couple over there, I have to keep working.”
Marlene groaned. “Remuuus.”
Sirius peered over his shoulder at the next people approaching the podium. He stepped behind the podium, slipping his finger into Remus’s front left belt loop, giving it a small tug.
Cupping his hand in front of Remus’s ear, he pushed up on his toes and whispered, “Marlene may have dressed me now, but you’re the one that gets to undress me later.”
Sirius’s warm breath brushed against the shell of his ear before he gently flicked Remus’s earlobe with his tongue. Now he was anxious for an entirely different reason.
“Stop breaking him, the night is young,” Marlene said, then turned to smile at the couple of network executives that waited behind her. “We have to go.”
Sirius blew Remus a kiss as he and Marlene turned to enter the ballroom and headed over to their table. Remus stared after them for a second, then took a deep breath and turned to the next guests.
——
Sirius
Marlene was having a wonderful time talking with Oliver at their table. Sirius knew they were all going to be seated together, he just hated it when he had to deal with all of them being seated together.
From the second Regulus saw his outfit on the blue carpet he was furious. Not only had Sirius not worn the suit he’d provided (granted he didn’t tell him why because he did not want to give Regulus a reason to fire another assistant), but Sirius had upstaged him, and that wasn’t allowed.
The cameras flashed, and everyone hollered about his corset and his makeup. With Marlene on his arm, eating up the gathered audience, James and Regulus were old news for the 6 minute walk between the car, the carpet, and getting inside the hotel. Even Narcissa gave him a swift nod of approval upon entering the dining hall. He wasn’t nervous about what the Network execs were going to say, more and more people had practically confirmed that Sebastian was going to be killed off during the midseason finale. It was the whisper of the room that tipped him off. Like they knew he would pull a stunt like this, when he was supposed to remain in character and let James take the lead, as always.
Sirius didn’t mind standing out this time, especially with Marlene leading the way. This was another thing she seemed to be good at. Maybe he should ask if she wanted to manage his social media as well, or at least if she had tips for him. He knew damn well he’d broken every rule that Narcissa and his Network had told him to stick by, and he’d gotten away with it. All thanks to Marlene.
“You look ridiculous, by the way,” Regulus hissed in his ear as he took his seat at the table.
“I look fabulous, actually,” Sirius replied, putting his arm around the back of Marlene’s chair. “It’s not my fault you’re jealous.”
Regulus sputtered out a scoff, hardly able to comprehend what he was hearing. “Oh, you’re so cancelled,” he growled, crossing his arms over his chest and doing something very close to a pouting scowl.
“I think you look fantastic, man! Good for you!” James said, clapping him on the shoulder with a large, rough hand. He placed a drink down in front of Regulus and took his seat next to Sirius. Always having to be together, him and I.
The crew of them, along with Marlene, ate and chatted during the speeches from the network execs about viewership and new things on the horizon. A new western style show was in the works that one of the girls who played a mermaid in The Witching Hour was supposed to cross over to. Sirius smiled politely as he listened, but his eyes kept scanning the room. When they finally landed on a tall shadow of a person he grinned, wanting nothing more than to get up and help him collect all the dishes in the room and bring them to Barty in the back.
Remus worked quickly, loading up a silent, black push cart with all the dirty dishes he could fit. Before leaving to go back to the kitchen, he caught Sirius watching him and he winked before gliding the cart out of the room through the double doors.
The evening dragged on, going slower than any other type of banquet or ceremony that he could ever remember. Marlene helped, mostly occupying the curiosities of the rest of the group. Clearly, she was in her element. She bumped his leg under the table and nodded toward the exit.
“Excuse yourself to the rest room,” she whispered at him. “I’m fine here, these people love me!”
“But I don’t—
“Gosh for a wizard you’re really bad at code,” she scoffed quietly. “Remus. Use the restroom in the kitchen I don’t care if you actually have to go. I’ll man the fort.” She winked at him and he smiled, finally grasping what it was she meant.
He told James that he was going to use the facilities, because he felt obligated to tell someone at the table his lie.
“But what if they call your name, you might win something!” James whispered back excitedly. Pity a fool.
“If I win something while I’m gone, go accept it in my honor,” Sirius replied with his sarcastic smile that he usually saves for when he’s playing Sebastian.
“I won’t do you dirty, I’m on it,” James replied with a nod, obviously having taken him seriously. Pity again, old friend.
Sirius shifted to the wall of the room, making his way over to the kitchen door, slipping through as unnoticed as a man in lace and a corset could go. He expected the entire kitchen to be bustling and going insane and people telling him to get out of their way, but dinner had already ended, and all that was left was dessert, which Sirius knew had already been prepared.
Instead, the kitchen was loud with laughter, and a group of eight people crowded around the prep table near the back of the room. Everyone was leaning over it, trying to hide their hand of cards. Sirius spotted Remus amongst the group, and smiled wide as he watched him from across the kitchen.
“What the fuck did you think was gonna happen, Ev? Best ya got is a pair of twos!” Barty said as the group of them all groaned.
Lily laughed maniacally, pulling a stack of money toward herself, happy as can be. “Thank you all for your kind donation to my master’s degree!”
“You’re a cheater! I can’t prove it, but I know it!” A girl with long braids, Dorcas he remembered. She was wearing tan shorts and a green polo shirt, she laughed with a scowl. Her clothes didn’t match the others.
“Now, now Dorcas, you were invited to this game. All of us are cheaters here, it’s only right you know that,” Remus added and the group of them laughed again.
Watching them all together in their card game put an ache in Sirius’s chest. Sometimes if he thought about it too much, he actually missed James and the games they used to play and pranks they pulled. The things they’d get up to before Regulus joined the cast and it seemed that James didn’t have much time for friendships anymore. Sirius heard Oliver tell Remus that he didn’t have any friends, and Oliver was right. Other than business relationships, there were no friends from his childhood that texted him, or anyone that kept in touch with him outside of shooting seasons of The Witching Hour. Regulus was probably the only one that actually texted him, even if it was just to make sure he got the memo about something.
Remus looked up from his hand of cards, as if the universe were alerting him to Sirius’s presence in the room. They locked eyes and the playful smile turning up Remus’s lips only grew.
“There he is, my good luck charm,” Remus said. He stood up from where he was leaning on his elbows over the table and waved Sirius over.
“My, my, it looks like the real party’s happening back here,” Sirius said as he crossed the room.
“Here, blow on these cards,” Remus said, holding them out to Sirius.
“Remus, I think that’s only for if you’re playing a dice game,” Sirius replied, but Remus kept waving the cards at him.
“Doesn’t matter,” Remus said. “I just wanted to see your mouth make that delicious soft ‘o’ shape.”
Sirius’s cheeks warmed with blush as he indulged in Remus’s request. Remus grinned, then kissed him in front of everyone. Barty and Evan cheered. Remus’s mouth tasted like vodka and orange juice. Ah, that would explain the courage.
“Get a room!” Someone called across the table.
Remus pulled back from the kiss enough that Sirius could see the comment came from Peter, who was also dressed out of place.
“Fuck off Pete, jealous bastard,” Remus laughed and flipped him off with his card-free hand.
Sirius looked around the group and realized that they were all familiar faces. Evan, Barty, Lily, and Mary were obvious, they worked there. Remus’s floor mates Dorcas and Peter were there, must have come from work, and Pandora, who was dressed as Lily, possibly helping out for the event, and Remus, looking more handsome than he had any right while working an event that Sirius was supposed to be attending.
“Well this looks fun. Makes me wish I wasn’t stuck out there,” Sirius sighed. “I can’t leave Marlene out there by herself for too long. I just wanted to pop back and say hi.”
“Hiiiii!” Pandora said in a sing song voice. “Oh my gosh, you look to die for Sirius. Truly, that outfit!”
“Thank you! Marlene styled me! I’ve asked her to style me for the rest of my career if she’s up for it.”
“Wait, really?” Remus asked and Sirius nodded.
“Of course, she’s wonderful at it, and I’d love to provide her a constant reason to go shopping for me, so I don’t have to.” Sirius laughed at the overly fond look melting into Remus’s eyes as he stared at him.
“Ugh, you guys make me feel sooo single,” Lily groaned.
“You won’t be single if you go on a date with me,” Pandora said, sounding like this wasn’t the first time.
“I can’t date you, you’re Evan’s sister, and Evan is Evan,” Lily laughed, quickly covering her mouth.
“Wait, what is that supposed to mean!” Evan scoffed.
Sirius turned from the group of bickering, leaning into Remus’s side as he whispered, “Can we go out for a quick smoke before I go back to the ceremony?”
“Anything for you,” Remus replied, kissing his cheek and taking his hand. “Dorcas, if you win this round, you can take whatever’s in my pile, but if Barty wins you owe me a five.”
“Deal,” Dorcas laughed, and Remus turned to head outside with Sirius.
“Do please check my ad space while you’re there. I think you’ll like what you see,” Pandora called after them.
Sirius and Remus walked hand in hand down the alley to the end. He wasn’t sure what they were going to find when they got there. Pandora didn’t seem too worried about Remus getting angry, and they were just playing cards so perhaps they came to an agreement while Sirius was at his banquet table.
“Oh fuck,” Remus said when they got to the end of the alley, gazing up where the billboard was, unlit cigarette dangling from his lips.
“What?” Sirius said and turned, looking up.
His lips parted as he stared up at the ad for his cologne, but it was no longer the image of him and Remus. It was now one of the photos of him completely shirtless with an edit of him rising out of a cauldron, a purple potion dripping down his chest, a cheeky smirk on his lips and a caption that read, “A little taste of Black Magic.” The word Enchanted written in a fancy script on the outside of the cauldron.
“Well if they weren’t going to kill me off before, they’re definitely going to do it now,” Sirius muttered, staring up at the giant half naked version of himself.
“My boyfriend is a giant sex God,” Remus said, then burst out laughing. “Not that that’s news to me.” He grinned at Sirius and lit the cigarette between his lips.
“Does nobody seek my approval for these business decisions anymore?” Sirius asked.
“I approved it.”
They turned around and Narcissa was standing there in her black dress, strutting over to them. She held out her hand for a cigarette.
“Network called me this morning. Sebastian is getting the axe, officially. Called Pandora right after. I figured, fuck it. You’re better than them,” Narcissa said.
“I just…I just didn’t think I’d go full Miley so fast,” Sirius said, turning back to stare up at the billboard in disbelief. “Feels like I’ve packed up my innocence for good.”
“What innocence?” Remus scoffed a laugh. “Sebastian is yearning to be bent over one of those classroom—
“Remus!” Sirius gasped, but he couldn’t hide how delighted he was. “Sebastian is freshly seventeen!”
“Oh, does it really matter when you’re twenty-five!”
“You would make one naughty professor if—
Narcissa tutted her tongue at them, cutting him off. “This is the guy that’s tagging along? Really, Sirius?”
“In his defense, he’s not normally like this. Though I am enjoying the commentary,” Sirius grinned. “He’s had a couple screw drivers.”
“Four, actually. Two couples if we’re being exact.” Remus’s face glowed in the setting sun and Sirius knew he had to get him inside before he embarrassed himself.
“Tomorrow morning, 11am sharp, alright? I changed your flight ever so slightly so that you can sleep in and spend time with whomever you’d like before you have to say goodbye,” Narcissa said, eyeing him firmly. “I am staying on the fourth floor, room 1405, if you need me for any reason prior. If I do not see you in that lobby at 11 so help me God—
“I’ll be there,” Sirius said. “Promise.”
Narcissa nodded at the two of the before briskly walking away. Sirius turned back to Remus who seemed to have dropped all previous humor from his face. Sirius threaded his arms through Remus’s, squeezing him tight around the waist.
“What happened?” Sirius asked softly.
Remus looked down at him, pressing their foreheads together as he closed his eyes.
“I forgot you’re leaving for a week,” Remus muttered. “I thought we had more time.”
“I’m just settling things back at my apartment before we head out to the set for filming. Besides, you have to finish your last week at the hotel nice and strong. Marlene said she’ll keep you warm for me while I’m gone.” Sirius placed a firm kiss to Remus’s pouting lips.
“I don’t want you to go,” Remus murmured, the buried his face in the crook of Sirius’s neck.
“It’s only for a week, love,” Sirius said, squeezing him back together. “We’ll talk every single day. You won’t even notice I’m gone, time will just zip right by.”
“Doubt it.” Remus grumbled.
Sirius placed a trail of fluttering kisses across the crown of Remus’s head, then tugged him back toward the kitchen door.
“Come on, let’s go get this stupid banquet over with, then you can help me out of this corset,” Sirius whispered, his lips brushing the shell of Remus’s ear.
“Alright,” Remus answered with a growing smile, Sirius’s morning departure having seemingly been forgotten for the time being.
When Sirius got back to his seat, unsurprising to him, James did not have to accept an award on his behalf. James, however, had just as much, if not more to drink than Remus, and was quite sloshed, and Regulus seemed to be quite enamored by it all. Taking small quick sips from his glass of red wine, smiling lovingly at James as James talked to Marlene about Rugby. Apparently she used to play in a rec league back in school, and he used to play for his school before he took on theater acting, giving him a Troy Bolton Esq decision he had to make between sports and theater. Sirius knew that James was going to pick Rugby if he didn’t get the role on The Witching Hour, and when he did, that was his sign that acting was his calling.
Too bad your show is about to go to fanfare hell and you’ll probably never work again once it’s over. Or worse, you’ll be type-cast as a heart throb until your face betrays you with age.
Sirius sighed, taking a sip of his glass of water, not wanting to drink knowing Remus had had enough for the two of them.
Remus, Sirius sighed to himself. Imagining thinking about Remus was making his face look delusionally identical to Regulus looking at James. But he couldn’t help it. This was the first time in a while he was genuinely excited for the next phase of his life. Possibly the first time since he’d left home.
Sirius always loved stepped into the unknown.
——
Remus
Remus woke with a splitting headache the next morning in a hotel room that was becoming all too familiar. He had a vague memory of Sirius being told he had to leave at 11am sharp. Through sleep groggy eyes he scanned the near empty room, all of Sirius’s belongings, clothes, beverage bottles, laptop, charging cables, everything was gone. A sharp pain pierced his chest as he scrubbed at his eyes so he could read the clock on the nightstand. He left without saying goodbye.
10:38am. Maybe if he moved quick he could still catch him in the lobby before he left. But why hadn’t he woken him up? Why hadn’t Sirius shook him or slapped him until he woke up? Honestly, he could have grabbed my cock and that certainly would have woken me—
The bathroom door clicked open and Sirius walked out in tight black jeans and an old Black Veil Brides t-shirt. The hem along the bottom was ripped off to make it ever so slightly shorter in the best way, and there was a hole on the chest that looked like a cigarette had burned through the fabric.
Instant relief flooded through Remus’s entire body as he crawled out of bed and wrapped himself around Sirius, who seemed to be caught by surprise.
“I thought you’d left without saying goodbye,” Remus confessed into Sirius’s hair.
“I’d rather kill myself than not speak to you before I leave, Remus,” Sirius replied with a laugh, wrapping his arms around Remus’s middle. “I just wanted you to get as much sleep as you can.”
“I stand firm in my stance of not wanting you to leave,” Remus murmured.
“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t want to leave either. But, if I leave just this once, maybe it will put us in a place where we never have to be apart again,” Sirius replied, sounding hopeful.
“I’m going to hold you to that,” Remus said, pulling back just enough to look down at his smiling face.
He wasn’t wearing any makeup, and his hair was pulled back into a small, tight bun at the nape of his neck. He gazed up at him with those crystal blue eyes and Remus couldn’t help but feel he’d fallen into some alternate universe where he’d won the lottery.
After getting dressed, he sullenly followed Sirius down to the lobby of the hotel at 10:55. He didn’t want to test Narcissa’s 11am strict leaving time. To be honest, he was a little bit afraid of her, but she seemed to have Sirius’s best interest in mind, and for that he trusted her.
In the elevator he grabbed Sirius’s hand and said, “This has been the best week of my life.” He cupped Sirius’s face between his hands and kissed him hard and fierce, desperate to make it last just a little bit longer. Sirius pulled away a bit breathless, looking up at him with a bit of a lustful glaze to his eye. “I don’t even think I’m the same person I was before I met you.”
“This was my best week too Remus, and I’m going to be clutching it in my hands with a death grip until I see you again,” Sirius replied.
The elevator door dinged and slid open. Narcissa stood there, eyebrows raised, checking her watch. “Cutting it close, Siri,” she said. “We gotta go.”
Sirius went to leave the elevator, but Remus squeezed his hand and tugged him back for one last kiss.
“I love you,” Remus said. He smoothed his hand along Sirius’s hair, eyes scanning his face, trying to memorize every curve, every freckle.
“I love you, too.” Sirius took a quick, sharp bite of Remus’s knuckle, only making him grin.
Then Remus watched as Sirius left the elevator and walked over to Narcissa. He gave one last glance over his shoulder at Remus before the elevator door shut.
——
One week later
Nervous. Remus was so nervous he thought he might throw up right there on the sidewalk. Last night was wonderful. Dorcas, Evan, and Peter all threw him a going-away party on their floor and invited Lily, Pandora, Barty, Mary, and Marlene. After Remus’s initial shock of Marlene actually showing up to the apartment building (against her preference of places she likes to hang out) they all had a wonderful time playing card games, smoking joints, and watching most of season two of The Witching Hour, much to Remus’s protest on that one. They all teased him about Sebastian and how Sirius was whisking him away to go live in some magical school in Scotland and that he was going to forget all about them.
He would never forget about them, though. They were his best friends in the whole world.
Packing up his small amount of things was a lot more emotional than he’d expected it to be. He’d spent the last few years of his life in that room, and now it was going to belong to Barty. Good for Evan, possibly bad for Pete and Dorcas, but at least they knew him, and seemed fine with it in front of Remus. And just as he suspected, their landlord didn’t care as long as he got his rent money.
A black car pulled up in front of him at the curb, and he held his breath as he heard the window begin to roll down. Looking at him from the window frame was a boy with a large pair of sunglasses on and a grin a mile wide.
“Hey there gorgeous,” Sirius said. “Come here often?” But I guess his quippy one liners couldn’t hold him back any longer because he threw the door open and launched himself at Remus, rough enough that he dropped one of the two bags he’d been holding.
“I missed you too,” Remus said, enveloping him in his arms. “Now kiss me before I eat you alive.”
“Oh how I always thought I’d make a good snack,” Sirius replied, pushing up on his toes and fusing their mouths together with a feral, untamable kiss.
Remus didn’t care who saw now. He thought that without this kiss he might just drop dead right there on the street. It was his lifeline that he’d desperately been holding on to for the past seven days. Hope.
“Hey,” Remus said as he pulled away from the kiss. “Do we have to leave right away? Could we stay for one more hour? There’s one last place I want to take you.”
“I think we can swing an hour,” Sirius replied. Remus could feel Sirius’s thumbs skate across his lower back beneath the hem of his shirt. “I want to see anything you want to show me.”
“I think you’re really going to like it,” Remus said. “Could your driver take us there? It’s only a few blocks away.”
“Yeah, of course.” Sirius pushed up for one more kiss, placing his hands on either side of Remus’s face before slipping them around his neck. His mouth was soft and warm and tasted of cinnamon. Then he pulled back, blush creeping into his cheeks. “Sorry, I just can’t get enough of that. We better go before I get worse.” He bit Remus on the chin, then grabbed his hand and his other bag and helped him load his things into the trunk of the car before they took off.
“How are you so sure that I’m going to like where you’re taking me?” Sirius teased with a sly little smirk to his lips.
“I just do,” Remus replied, then leaned forward to speak with the driver. “Hey, could you take us to Hope’s on Gaston Street?” The driver nodded and the car pulled away from the curb.
“Hope’s?” Sirius hummed, and Remus knew he probably thought it sounded familiar. “What kind of shoppe is this exactly.”
“You’ll see,” Remus replied.
When they pulled up to the building Sirius practically pressed his face to the window. A gasp left his parted lips as his eyes landed on the shabby green awning and curving script of the words Hope’s Patisserie in the window.
“The eclair!” Sirius clutched his chest with both of his hands. “Oh my goodness, Remus the eclair!”
“You didn’t think I’d forgotten, did you?” Remus laughed as Sirius practically crawled over him to get out of the car.
Hand in hand they walked to the shop. Remus held his breath as Sirius pushed open the door, that chime ringing throughout the shop to alert their entrance. An older woman raised a hand from behind the display case where she was restocking chocolate tarts and cream horns. She was wearing a green apron that matched the awning over a deep maroon dress. Her hair, a sandy blonde that had started to grey at the temples, was tied up with various clips and pins, and her warm, welcoming smile slipped into a soft coo as her eyes landed on Remus.
“Hello Mum,” Remus said, and Sirius jerked his head up to look at him in disbelief.
“Remmy, oh my gosh it’s so good to see you!” She squealed. She scurried out from behind the counter and shuffled her way across the room, grabbing him into a tight hug. “My goodness, it’s been ages!”
Sirius stepped away slightly to gaze at the pastry case and display counter. Remus smiled at his Mum. He knew exactly which eclair Sirius was talking about when he first mentioned it two weeks ago. They were Remus’s favorite eclairs as well, for several more reasons beyond the fact that they were absolutely delicious.
“I know, it’s been a while. Sorry, things just got really busy with work,” Remus mumbled against her shoulder as he bent down to hug her back properly.
“Whatever the reason, I’m just delighted to see you as always,” she said, squeezing him a little bit tighter. “How are things? You gettin along alright?”
“More than alright, actually. Mum, I’m leaving, the city I mean. I’m moving in, well more like moving around I guess, with someone that means a lot to me, and before we left I wanted you to meet him,” Remus said, all in one breath.
“Oh,” she said in surprise. She swiveled her head around to find Sirius still staring longingly at the eclairs inside the pastry case.
This is new grounds for the both of them, him and his mother. He’d never brought a boy with him for her to meet before, and he hadn’t seen her in months, only able to sneak over to the shop on certain days when there was little to no chance for him to run into his father. He didn’t know what would happen if he ever saw his father again, and he wasn’t willing to find out. Today was a 50/50 risk that he was willing to take though. The thought of not seeing her before he left ate away at him in a way that took form in a gelatinous blob of guilt in his stomach. Besides all that, he wanted Sirius to have everything he wanted, and this he knew he could provide.
“Sorry, hello,” Sirius said, drawing his attention away from the pastries. “Very big fan, of both your eclairs and your son. My name is Sirius.”
“Oh,” she said for the second time. Remus was starting to wonder if this was a mistake. If he should have just came here by himself yesterday to get the eclair. “Well that’s a very lovely name, Sirius. Glad I can finally put a name to the face.”
“What?” Remus asked, unsure of what she meant. Had she met him before?
“Your big poster by the hotel!” she replied excitedly.
“You saw the billboard?” Remus said, trying not to choke on air desperately shoving against the walls of his lungs. Expand damn you, expand!
“Yes, dear. Like I’m not going to notice a giant photograph of my own child,” she laughed, looking at Sirius and patting his arm, like Remus was the one who was being ridiculous. Sirius grinned at her, but he was such a good actor Remus couldn’t figure out what he was thinking or if he was being genuine.
“And you’re not…angry with me?” Remus asked, all this feeling brand new.
“Why would I be angry with you, Remmy? You looked so lovely up there, and the way this young man was looking at you?” She placed both of her hands over her heart, a gesture much like the one Sirius had made outside. “Literally melted me into a puddle.”
Remus stared at his mother like she was an alien. Sure, she never outwardly did anything to hurt him, she’s never said she didn’t accept him, or his sexuality. He just assumed, because of his father, that if she ever found out that he was happy with another man, that she would reject him too. So he never brought anyone around his mum, never mentioned anything about being gay, never talked about his private life outside of casual conversation about his job and his health. Then again, she’d never asked either.
“Mum, I…,” he started, but didn’t know where his throat was going to carry his words. “And you’re…okay with this?”
“Okay with what? Him?” She pointed at Sirius, then gave him a very lovely look of recognition. “Oh! I know where I know your face from now!”
“You’ve seen my television show?” Sirius asked with a laugh. “Like mother like son then, eh?”
Remus swallowed and chewed on his lower lip.
“What? No, not a show, you were in that yogurt commercial a few years back. Oh, I loved that strawberry cheesecake flavored one, they really should bring that back.” She smiled at him and Sirius lit up like a damned Christmas tree.
“You’ve seen my commercial? And you remember me from it?” Sirius’s mouth hung open and his eyes were bright with excitement.
“Of course, dear! Your hair was much shorter then, bit shaggier, right?”
“Yeah!”
“I could never forget those eyes,” she said, smiling at him as she shuffled back behind the counter. “One of the most beautiful crystal blue I’ve ever seen on a young man.”
“Oh my gosh, Remus I love her,” Sirius said, eyes drifting back down to the eclairs in the case. “Mrs. Remus’s Mum, may I please have two eclairs. I came here forever ago and had an eclair, and it was the BEST eclair I’ve ever had in all my life.”
“Well thank you dear, that’s so sweet of you to say! Better give you three, Remmy can eat two right quick. Only takes him four bites,” she said, turning to grab a box from under the counter.
“I bet he can,” Sirius replied quietly, glancing over at Remus with the biggest grin in his lips, biting the air at him.
Remus watched as his mother packaged up three eclairs, winking at him as she folded down the corners of the box and slid it across the counter over to Sirius. Sirius didn’t even wait before he reopened the lid and devoured one of the fluffy pastry treats. A moan practically flitted its way past his lips, and when he dug his wallet out of his pocket, Remus’s mother held up a hand to stop him.
“Not on my way watch. Promise me you’ll take good care of my son, and we’re even,” she said.
“Thank you, and I will,” Sirius replied after a final swallow. He reached for Remus’s hand, and after a moment of hesitation, Remus grabbed his hand back and he squeezed.
“Yeah, thank you Mum,” Remus muttered. “I’m going to miss you, but I’ll…we’ll be sure to come by when we come back for a visit.”
“I’d like that very much,” she said.
She walked around to the front of the counter and gave Sirius a big hug and a kiss on the top of his head. For a second Remus thought he might cry, but he took another bite of another eclair instead. Then she wrapped her arms around Remus, squeezing him tightly to her chest.
“Thank you for making the time to come see me before you left, Remmy,” she whispered in his ear.
“Of course, Mum,” he muttered back.
“I know things haven’t been…ideal. And I understand why you don’t come around. I know we have our own things to work through, but don’t you dare for one second think I don’t love you just because you’re gay, alright hun?” She pulled back, placing her hands on either side of his face.
He had a whirlwind of questions for another time. Mostly about how she could stay with his father after what he’d done. How she could love a man like that when she clearly deserved better, but he held his tongue. Those questions were not for right now. He didn’t want to sour this moment for himself. A moment he’d been so afraid of, for good reason, but is glad hasn’t gone south like he’d been worried about.
“I love you,” he said to her softly.
“I love you too, hun,” she replied, smiling up at him, giving him one more tight hug before her eyes glanced at the clock. He knew what that meant, but didn’t say anything. Another time. “Alright alright, you two boys better get going.”
“It was lovely to meet you,” Sirius said with his bright, perfect smile.
“You as well dear, take good care. Remus, let me know when you get to where you’re going. I’d love to hear all about it,” she said.
“I will,” he smiled back at her.
Sirius and Remus left the pastry shop, hand in hand, and the box of now one and a half eclairs under Sirius’s arm. They slid into the black car that had been waiting for them. Next stop was the airport. Remus had never been on a plane before.
“Why didn’t you tell me on that first day that it was your mother’s bake shop that the eclair was from?” Sirius asked, already removing the half eaten pastry from the box, then sliding the other one over to Remus.
Remus smiled down at the chocolate glaze on the top, remembering how when he was little his Mum showed him how to dip them.
“Some things are better left for the experience.”
Remus squeezed Sirius’s hand then lifted his eclair from the box, and took a bite.
Tastes like a dream.