Work Text:
Don’t let it be said that Remus Lupin couldn’t have fun. Because he could, in fact. He spent seven long years doing loads of things he never thought he would with his mates at school. Even managed to scrape a decent amount of A-Levels at the end of things. Sent to a very posh, very expensive public boarding school—one of the few kids on Scholarship and he’d been certain his dorm-mates would spend all seven years taking the piss, but instead they wrapped him up in a friendship he would treasure for the rest of his life.
They’d been out of school for exactly one year and two months. August was half-gone now, and they’d just seen James and Lily into their marriage, which also meant that Sirius was looking for his own flat now that it wasn’t proper for him to be shacking up with his married mates.
And Remus was still at home with his parents as he decided what the fuck he was actually going to do about University. And because Sirius was on his own—no real family to speak of besides the Potters—though Hope Lupin was very fond indeed of Remus’ eccentric and enthusiastic friend—he was often over at Remus’ bothering him until Remus dragged himself from his bed and banged round London doing whatever mad thing Sirius had in mind.
Except it had been four days since Remus had seen him, and Remus was having a lie-in after spending nearly an entire night going over literature for some potential courses he was interested in taking. He’d heard back from King’s, and would likely be going ahead with his degree there.
He never thought to ask James or Sirius what they were getting up to once their gap year was over—as James should now be well on his way to the sunny Bahamas with the lovely Lily for their Honeymoon.
And that found Remus lying in bed, with one eye open and glaring at a Sirius black who was stood over him, poking him in the shoulder.
“Oy. Moony! It’s just gone noon. Why are you still asleep?”
“Because I’m fucking tired, Sirius,” Remus mumbled, and attempted to bury his face back into his pillow when the duvet was unceremoniously ripped away, and a wash of cold air hit his naked back.
“Pants. You’re sleeping in pants?”
Remus peered one, angry amber eye at his soon-to-be former mate. “I sleep in pants because this is my own bedroom where normally I don’t have former dorm-mates ripping my duvet off. Besides, I thought you liked my arse.”
“Rather nice, it is.” Sirius punctuated the statement by slapping him directly on his left buttock, making Remus yelp. “Now get the fuck up. What were you doing all night, anyway? If you fucking say reading for your lectures that haven’t even happened, I swear on Judas’ immortal soul I will pile all of your books out on the street and light them up like it’s fucking bonfire night. Do you hear me?”
Remus grumbled, reaching for his dressing gown which was laid on the side of his desk, and shrugged one arm into it. “I was reading for future lectures, and if you touch my books, Padfoot, no one will ever find your body. And I don’t think anyone will miss you.”
“James will,” Sirius said with a haughty sniff.
“He won’t. Not after I tell him what you did to his sock drawer on the last week of school.”
Sirius’ eyes widened as Remus swung his legs over the bed and wrapped the dressing gown around him properly. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Wouldn’t I?” Remus challenged.
Sirius grabbed him by the shoulders and stuck his nose right into the edge of Remus’ ear. “I’m bored,” he whispered. “James and Lily are on their honeymoon and I can’t take being in the city knowing James is in another country pining away for me.”
“My arse, he’s pining,” Remus said. He shoved Sirius away, and along with him the ages old crush he’d had on his friend because after all these years, Sirius had never indicated he was interested in more than flirting—which he did with everyone. Constantly. And Remus was tired of being in a state of heartache for this beautiful man. “He’s busy getting shagged on the beach for an entire fortnight. He’s not thinking about you at all.”
“You wound me,” Sirius cried as Remus went for the door and out to the kitchen for tea.
Flicking on the kettle, he rummaged through the cabinets and groaned when he saw there were only two bags of Yorkshire left. Their state of funds wasn’t any better than it had been in school. Worse, perhaps, because he was now home all the time and with his condition, it was difficult to keep a job as he was constantly forced to take weeks and months off. But his mother never complained, and he could never bring himself to mention it.
After a moment, Sirius bound into the kitchen and draped one arm round Remus’ shoulders. “Well I’ve got a surprise for you, mate. One that’s going to send you straight to your knees.” He gave a wicked grin as he palmed his own crotch, and Remus blushed, looking away.
“This had better be good, Sirius. Because you know I don’t like being woken up.”
Sirius let Remus go to mind his tea as he leant against the kitchen table, his arms crossed tight over his chest. His grey, narrowed eyes were bright with excitement, and Remus noticed a lock of hair had fallen out of his tie. He had to fight back the urge to reach over and brush it back round Sirius’ ear.
“I’ve got us an adventure.”
Remus felt his cheeks pink. “A what?”
“Adventure, you boring old bowl of salted porridge. As you refused to come on any of ours this summer—breaking Pete’s heart might I remind you—I’ve got us a PaddyMoon.”
Remus snorted, rolling his eyes toward Sirius. “And what the fuck is a PaddyMoon?”
“An adventure just for us, you foul-mouthed little shit.” Sirius spread his arms, grinning. “Tickets to America.”
Remus felt his entire body freeze, his hand stilled over his cup of tea with the bag steeping in the hot water. “What do you mean tickets to America?”
“I mean just that. Las Vegas.”
Remus blinked. “Er. Why?”
“Because it’s going to be fucking fun, you miserable shithead. I’m bored and I’ve never been and I’ve heard that Las Vegas is the best place you can go on holiday. There’s gambling and incredible shows and you can get sex any time you want it.”
Remus felt his entire body go hot, and he shook his head. “I can’t afford—”
“Listen, my uncle left me this money for good reason…”
“To bloody pay for a flat and food so you don’t starve during University,” Remus interjected.
“Yes well, I’ve already bought the tickets and I even talked your mum into digging out your passport so you’re fucking going. Whether you like it or not. And honestly you should be snogging my face off and saying thank you, or at least giving me a blow job for it.”
Remus choked on his swallow of tea, and he swiped his hand across his mouth. “Sirius…”
“I won’t hear it. We leave tomorrow and you’re to pack your bloody cases and be ready by six.”
“In the morning?” Remus asked, wide-eyed.
“Yes. So maybe invest in coffee, my delicate moonbeam. And when we come back, you’ll be a proper grown up with some proper gap year adventures to take you into those first swotty lectures which is sure to dry you up like an old sea star left on the beach.” Sirius reached out and gave Remus’ cheek a gentle slap.
Gulping his tea, trying to chase away the wobbly feeling in his belly that he’d be going on holiday with Sirius and only Sirius—no James, no Lily, no Peter to break up the tension or the attention lavished upon him, Remus took a breath. “I’m not sure going so far away from home is such a good idea, you know. With everything I’ve got.”
Sirius blinked at him, his expression dry. “You’ve been doing very well on your medications and don’t tell me you haven’t because I’ve asked your mum. And I’ve seen you daily and there will be no excuses Remus Mary and Joseph Lupin.”
Remus was running out of words, and instead was just staring at him and Sirius could tell he was winning this argument.
“They have a water slide, Moony,” he said just as Remus took another drink of his tea. He reached across the table for a bit of stale toast Hope had left out, and shoved the plate at Remus. “It goes through a shark tank.”
Remus nibbled on a corner. “Hoping you’ll get eaten, then? Because if you misbehave I know exactly where to drop the body.”
Sirius grinned, his teeth poking out over his bottom lip. “It’s going to be brilliant, you know. And James and Lily will be so jealous when they get back, they’ll hardly be able to stand looking at us.”
With that, Sirius pulled Remus over by his arm and planted a hot kiss to the underside of his jaw, right near the ear. Something he’d always done because he was Sirius Black, and something Remus had never told his friend was unbearable because it just made his feelings so much worse.
So Remus did what he usually did, swiping the kiss away with the back of his hand and shoving Sirius off. “Go out and get cigarettes, you obnoxious fuck. And then you’re helping me pack.”
***
“I’m texting James,” Sirius said as they were sat in chairs waiting to be called for boarding. Sirius was leant against Remus’ shoulder, his eyes bleary and red. Sirius had invited himself to stay at Remus’ which meant curling up in bed with him and neither of them got much sleep at all.
Sirius was sat at his laptop most of the night looking up things to do and buying tickets to far too many shows so they’d have them at the ready.
“We’re going to be stuffed proper, you know. With food and drink and we might strike it big, you know. Come back richer than James.”
Remus rolled his eyes as James was the sole heir to his father’s ridiculous fortune of hair care products. It was something Sirius always found hilarious indeed. “Hair care. You ought to be the pouf here, mate. Not doddery old Moony with his cardigans and chastity belts.”
“Fuck off.” And then James would throw an arm round Remus’ shoulders and hold him tight and protective, giving his cheek a kiss. “Though I will say if I did ever decide to become a pouf—say if Lily left me or died tragically, I would definitely marry you, Moony. You’re quite beautiful.”
“He is,” Sirius would say. “I could write endless sonnets to those amber eyes.”
And the attention was all lovely, really, except it made him feel both loved and shattered on the inside. They’d eventually get pissed and a few times Remus did snog James who would assure him the next day he meant every word and would never mind Remus’ tongue in his mouth.
They were all rather in love with each other in the most bizarre ways. And Remus needed that in his life.
Though perhaps not this trip.
They were called onto the plane, and Sirius graciously gave Remus the window seat, though Remus eventually was convinced it was so Sirius could lean over him any time he felt like it to peer out at the tops of the clouds as they crossed the ocean.
The flight was dreadfully long, and three hours in Sirius was snoring away and Remus was reading and fighting off the waves of panic because he did not enjoy planes at all. When they landed in New York, they were dragged through customs, neither of them searched and Remus was convinced it was Sirius’ ridiculously good looking smile, though Sirius insisted that Remus was just too adorable to be considered a threat.
Either way, they made it to their second gate and the second flight to Nevada which was shorter, and somehow more exciting.
“Bloody hell I can’t believe we’ve made it,” Sirius crowed as they marched through the airport. “Come on, we can get our cases and find a taxi to take us. I’ve got us the most brilliant hotel. Called the Venetian, and it’s all sort of Ancient Rome and all that rubbish. Something I thought you, my sweet hobnob, would appreciate.”
Remus rolled his eyes as they went to the baggage carousel. “It’s not proper Ancient Roman, Sirius. This is Las Vegas. It’s all showy and ridiculous. It’s not meant to be proper.”
“So stop acting like you’ve got your old Prefect Badge on, you fucking wanker.” Sirius grabbed his hand, twisting their fingers together as he lunged for the first case which dropped out of the chute. The second wasn’t far behind, and before long they were stood outside where a long line of yellow taxis were waiting.
“Judas’ fucking cock and balls,” Sirius groused. “It’s hotter than the bloody sun!”
“Did you not even bother to check what the weather would be like?” Remus admonished. He was pulling his jumper off, not caring who saw the scarring along his arms anymore.
“It’s bloody August, I didn’t really think it would be like this.”
Remus glowered at his friend who stepped toward the kerb and managed to secure a taxi. They stuffed their cases in with them, and before long were speeding toward the Strip. It was, in a way, surreal. Like a foreign planet. The city was both massive and tiny all at the same time. The traffic heading toward the major hotels was near total gridlock, creeping along at a snail’s pace. Pedestrians were walking faster than they were, but neither Sirius nor Remus seemed to mind much.
It was all so alien and fantastic. Everyone was dressed for the weather, loose clothes, shorts, hats. The sun was beating down almost vicious in a way, and Remus was sure they’d be turned to ash long before their return flight home.
It took nearly an hour to get to the front of the Venetian, but soon enough Remus was unloading the cases as Sirius paid for the taxi ride with the money he’d turned into American dollars, complaining all the while about, “How the bloody fuck do they tell their notes apart, eh? I mean look at this, Moony!”
Remus just smiled and shook his head, then dragged Sirius by the hand to the check-in desk where they were given keys to their room, and pointed toward the lifts.
The hotel itself was rather fantastic. Bright and shining, covered in marble and painted to look like the Sistine Chapel a bit. And there was a casino and a bloody man-made river with literal gondolas taking people on a path through the hotel, toward the outside where there were shops and restaurants.
Remus well and truly felt very far from home.
But eventually they were in their quiet suite, Sirius of course having spared no expense though he probably ought to have done so. But they were un-packing and Sirius was putting on a less sweaty shirt with a massive logo of Billy Idol on the front, and a pair of jeans he’d paid for to look torn and ripped to shreds.
Remus, for his part, tried to be as casual as he could. He had on jeans—though not as fantastically tattered as Sirius’ were, and a form-fitted black shirt James had given him for his birthday when he said, “They can’t all be jumpers, Moony. And this makes you look fit.”
And Remus, as he glanced over out of the corner of his eye, very much pretended like he did not notice Sirius giving him a rather longer look than normal. No. He didn’t notice at all.
“What first, Moons? Shall we walk? Gamble? Eat? I know I’d like to be well and properly pissed before the sun goes down. I don’t think I fancy going back out in the heat though.”
“Well I can agree with that one,” Remus said. He was feeling a bit better now that he’d changed, but his nerves were shattered from the long ride, and from Sirius draping himself all over at any chance he got. He’d be worse when pissed, and Remus could already see him digging into the minibar in the corner of the room.
“Alright, one bottle each, then we go do…something.” He gave a lazy wave of his hand, then bent over at the waist, coming back up with two tiny, green bottles of scotch.
“Sirius, I’m not sure we should…”
But it was no use because Sirius was already cracking the top and waggling his eyebrows at Remus in the way which left Remus no other option but to agree. It was the eyebrow waggle of a hundred detentions and letters home because the glint in Sirius’ eyes did something to Remus’ insides and the only way to get rid of it was to agree.
He hated himself a bit for it, he really did. Especially as the burning liquid poured down his throat, and the heady feeling of liquor mixed with jet lag started to take over.
***
For the most part, Sirius behaved himself. He had far too many notes on him, and he was constantly shoving them into machines, pushing the shiny buttons and laughing with glee when the machine made funny pinging noises. He lost more than he spent, and they drank more.
They stopped by a massive buffet of food and gorged themselves on crab and later a chocolate fountain with heaps of fresh fruit. They were feeling silly and wonderful as they braved the outdoors, though it was still hot even with the sun down.
“D’you see that?” Sirius asked, grabbing Remus’ arm and pointing to a well-lit sign. “A hundred degrees it says. Hundred. We’d be dead if it was a hundred!”
“That’s er…Fahrenheit, Sirius. How Americans tell the temperature.”
“Barmy,” Sirius said, and oh it was right up against Remus’ ear. Bugger. “They’re all a bit barmy, aren’t they.”
“Well if they are,” Remus said with a nod, clutching hard at the hand holding him round the waist, “you’d fit right in.”
“So mean to me.” Sirius’ voice dropped to a whisper. “Always so mean to me.”
“Am I?” Remus found himself smiling in his drunken haze. “And here I thought I was entirely too nice.”
Sirius huffed, then shoved his nose into Remus’ neck, snuffling along the skin. “Some things about you are entirely too nice, Moony. Your skin. The smell of you. Your eyes. These fucking curls.” Sirius ran his fingers into Remus’ mop of hair, dragging them along his scalp and Remus felt himself give an involuntary moan.
“Sirius,” he breathed.
There was a hand on his face suddenly, hot fingers drawing down his already flushed skin, and a word in his ear. “Re.”
“Gnnn.” Remus turned his face away. “We should keep walking.”
Sirius was stood there, quiet, still holding tight to Remus’ waist like he wasn’t sure where to go or what to say. Then his eyes brightened and he gripped harder and they began to walk again.
“We should drink more,” Sirius said. “More and more and more.”
So they did.
***
It was no surprise, after these long years of knowing Sirius Black, when Remus found himself waking up tangled in his limbs in one of the hotel beds. If Remus had a quid for every time he woke up with Sirius in his, or him in Sirius’—especially when he was poorly and nothing could make him feel better except those thin arms and quiet breath—he’d be a very wealthy man.
The pounding in his head made the wake-up far less pleasant, however. And he peered one eye at the window, hating the sun, and everything about life and whatever made him feel this fucking dreadful. Because no human should ever have to feel this miserable.
“Re?” came a muffled question. Sirius’ voice was barely above a whisper.
“Fuck. I’m dying.”
“Jus’ hungover,” Sirius mumbled against the pillow. “Left you something for it. Water. Pills. Things. Good things. Make bad thing stop.”
Remus peered at the nightstand and indeed saw a bottle of some sort of pain killer and a fresh, unopened bottle of water. Remus bypassed the instructions to take four, gulping half the water down on one go. Everything was the worst and the last thing he remembered was walking into some casino called the Golden Nugget. They ordered drinks, and at some point Sirius had been shouting about sharks. Then everything went black.
It wasn’t the first time he’d been colossally pissed or stupid with Sirius Black, so Remus decided he’d not give it another thought and instead close his eyes against the agony that was the world, until it passed.
Which it did, sometime near lunch when Sirius was prodding him awake with the smell of food. “I’ve ordered in. You need to get up and eat.”
Remus peered one eye up, then felt the bone-deep hunger gnawing at his stomach, and was more than pleased to see two sandwiches and a massive plate of chips perched on a tray at the end of the bed.
Sirius was grinning, pushing the food toward him. “Told you I loved you lately?” Remus asked as he grabbed a sandwiched and stuffed a massive bite between his teeth.
Sirius grinned. “Not enough, Remus. And you know how fragile I am.”
“Well I do,” Remus said through a mouthful of chicken. “Loads.”
“Good.”
They ate in relative silence, then Remus looked over at Sirius who had been shooting him curious glances. “You remember, don’t you,” Remus accused. “Did you get me pissed on purpose? Do you remember the whole night?”
Sirius snorted. “Nah. Only a bit after the shark tank.”
Remus blinked. “The shark—oh hell. The water slide?”
Sirius threw his head back. “You tried to feed them, but there was no opening. It was really brilliant.”
“Where the fuck did we get anything to swim in?”
“They had a shop there,” Sirius said, waving an impatient hand. “It was quite good though. We had drinks and food after that.”
“Any idea how we got back here?” Remus asked.
“Er. I think we met a few American lads somewhere on the way back. Just bits and pieces of memory though,” Sirius said. He looked confused, then shook his head. “Ah well, that was the point wasn’t it?”
“Black out drunk?” Remus admonished. “Hardly. I’d like to take it a bit easier tonight.”
“No fun at all, Moony,” Sirius said, but he was smiling a secret smile which made Remus decidedly nervous.
“Did we snog?”
Sirius rolled his eyes. “We always snog, Moonbeam.”
“Yes but…”
“Are you asking if you declared your undying love for my strapping god of a man?” Sirius asked, waggling his brows.
Remus felt something dip low in his stomach. “Er…”
Sirius’ look changed, his expression falling a bit. “Look, Re…it’s not like I take you seriously. No pun intended. We’ve done it loads of times.”
Remus let out a breath. “Right. I just…it’s a bit weird, not being able to remember.”
Sirius reached across the bed and squeezed his wrist. “Nothing’s changed. It’s all fine. Solemnly swear.”
Remus blinked, then nodded. “Yeah. Alright. Easy night tonight though, yeah?”
“If that’s what you want.”
It was. And they went back to food and Remus tried to ignore the shift between them.
***
They stayed in for most of the day, though Sirius insisted on several gondola rides, along with visiting all the shops where he spent far too much on stuff to bring home. “James and Lily are going to be upset,” Sirius said with a nod as he tipped all their purchases on the bed no one had slept on. “So upset.”
Remus lifted a brow. “Er. Right. Because…”
“Because I’ve spoilt them terribly with all these amazing American souvenirs and they’re going to come back with what? Moony? Sand? Shells? Shell necklaces?”
Remus snorted. “Yes, I’m sure their entire beach-side honeymoon will have been a complete wash once they’ve learnt you and I went and got pissed and full on American booze and food, and brought them back stuffed…” Remus reached for the nearest thing, which turned out to be a stuffed teddy bear. “Bears.”
Sirius pulled a face. “Rude. You’re the rudest boy, Moony.”
“And yet you love me. Funny, that.”
Sirius gave him a sudden, solemn look, and Remus felt his stomach drop somewhere to his knees. “Yes well…it’s your curse, I suppose. How are you feeling though?”
Remus shrugged. “Same. We’ve not been in the heat a lot so I’m doing okay.”
“Remembered your medication, have you?”
Remus gave him a bemused frown because Sirius Black never reminded Remus to take his meds. That had always been James’ job—though Remus was rarely forgetful as having a Lupus flare could very well land him in hospital. “Yes, mum.”
Sirius shoved a V at him and then reached out and grabbed his arm. “Alright well, let’s go and get a drink. One only, mind. I’ll be a good puppy tonight.”
“I’d pay to see that,” Remus said, but he was smiling as Sirius dragged him toward the door. As they were leaving, Remus’ eye caught a strange, black envelope sat on their little table, but he was yanked out before he had time to wonder.
As they headed down to one of the many bars in the hotel, hand in Sirius’, they heard a shout from across the room. “Dude! It’s them!”
Remus and Sirius both turned to see three men striding over toward them with wide grins. They were all quite young, University age at least, and grinning.
“Dude, we thought maybe you died or something.”
Sirius gave Remus a confused look. “Er. Quite alive, it seems. Do we know you?”
“Awww man they don’t even remember,” said the shorter one with darker hair. The three of them snickered before he said, “You were wasted.”
“Which explains why I wanted to die when I woke,” Remus said with a nod.
“Fuckin’ British dudes know how to drink,” the taller one with light hair said, and high-fived the third.
“Yes well…I take it we spent time with you last night?” Sirius ventured.
“Damn right. You two are hilarious. That shark tank thing was a work of art.”
Remus blushed hard. “Lovely,” he muttered.
“Looks like you’re a star attraction, Moony.” Sirius grinned at them. “Well lads, we’re not looking for a repeat, but how does a drink sound.”
“Hells yeah.”
As they made it to the hotel bar, they were reintroduced to Brendon, Michael, and Anthony who reminded Sirius and Remus they’d come from California for Michael—the blonder one’s—stag weekend. They’d been travelling round the Strip and they saw Remus attempt to get into a fight with one of the sharks near the shark tank and decided they should all be good friends.
“Is that how we got back to our room?” Remus wondered. “You lot?”
“Nah. This one here practically carried you after the whole ceremony,” Michael said, clapping Sirius on the arm. “Gotta say, not so afraid of my own vows now.”
Remus blinked. “Sorry. Your what?”
“Well they were a work of art,” Michael said with a shrug.
“Hold on,” Remus said, and glanced at Sirius who looked just as confused. “What vows?”
“The wedding ones. You were blabbering on about having always known what you were going to say,” Michael went on. “You took him by the face and he actually cried a little bit.” Michael snorted, giving a very surprised looking Sirius an elbow to the side. “It was cute. I mean, I’m not gay or anything but, it was inspirational.”
Remus was blinking very fast, a strange buzzing in his ears, and he shook his head, trying to clear it. “Sorry. Sorry what are you saying? Vows? I’m completely confused.”
Michael scoffed, then reached into his pocket for his mobile. Swiping his finger across the screen, he tapped it a few times, then held it out. There, in front of both Sirius and Remus, was a photo that could not be misinterpreted. They were stood in front of a chapel bearing the words, All Night Weddings. Sirius had Remus by the waist, Remus holding Sirius by the face, and they were kissing.
“Er,” Sirius said.
“Married?” Remus all-but whispered.
Michael gave them a confused frown. “You were both going on and on about how you belonged together. How you’d been in love for years. Since sixth something or other.”
Remus felt his head spin, and he found himself slipping from the barstool. “I er. I have to…if you’ll excuse me I just…” Then he was gone. Hurrying faster than he knew he was capable of toward the main lobby and the lifts. Just as the doors opened, he flung himself inside and mashed the button to his floor.
It took all of a minute and forty-five seconds before he was bursting back into the room, and he went right for that little black folder on the table.
Certification of Marriage.
“Oh fuck. Oh. No. No. Fuck,” Remus said, his breath coming in heaving gasps. Not Sirius. He could not have done this with Sirius. Of all sodding people. Of all people he’d been madly in love with for years and clearly had no chance with. And he married him. How could Sirius have let this happen, even pissed? How could he let it get this far?
Of all the people in the world Remus wanted to be with, he was going to have to divorce the love of his life. All because Sirius dragged him to Las Vegas and got him pissed.
“Fuck me.” He coughed, then felt for a second he might be sick.
Then the door burst open and Sirius stormed in. “You ran off.”
Remus blinked at him. “Did you know?”
“Know what? That we got pissed and fucking stupid and went and got married?” Sirius drew his hand back through his hair, letting out a frustrated laugh. “Moony, I know I can be a bit of an idiot sometimes but don’t you think I would tell you if I bloody knew we got married?”
Remus’ cheeks went pink. “I don’t…I can’t believe this happened.”
Sirius stared at him for a second. “I didn’t realise I was that bad.”
“It’s not…fucking hell Sirius, can this not be about your ego for five seconds? Do you realise what we’ve done? What we need to do?” Remus threw the folder at him, and watched as he caught it, the grey eyes going wide as he read over the pages inside. “I…this shouldn’t have happened. Especially with you.”
At that, Sirius looked up like he’d been slapped. “Right.”
“Of all fucking people,” Remus went on.
Sirius took a step back, tucked the folder under his arm, then turned on his heel and marched out. The door slammed, the noise echoing through the room.
Remus waited, stood there for a long time expecting Sirius to come back after he’d calmed down. Only he didn’t. He didn’t at all.
And he didn’t answer when Remus tried his mobile. Not when he rang him, not a text. Nothing.
Three hours later Remus ventured on his own round the casino and the shops and nothing. Sirius was gone.
In a near panic, Remus went back to the room because at the very least he’d just wait it out until Sirius calmed down and returned, but he had the worst feeling in his gut.
Taking out his mobile, he sent a futile text to James.
I hope your honeymooning is lovely. Pads and I apparently god sodding married after we got pissed. Now he’s missing and I have no idea where he is. I’m alone in the states. Just so you know, you may not have a best friend to come home to.
He hit send, assuming James wouldn’t get it until they were back on English soil, but he felt better having done so. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was near to midnight and his body was starting to shut down. The stress was overwhelming him, and he had no other choice but to climb under the blankets, turn off the light, and was driven to sleep by the thought that maybe, just maybe, Sirius had left him there on his own for the rest of the trip.
***
Remus woke hours later with the sun, and a Sirius Black standing over the bed staring down at him. For a moment, relief overwhelmed his anger and frustration. But only for a moment.
Sitting up, Remus glowered at the other man. “You left me.”
“I figured it out,” Sirius said, ignoring what Remus was saying.
“…alone. In this hotel. I thought you’d bloody gone back to London!”
Sirius stopped, giving Remus a withering glare. “You made it very plain you don’t really like me all that much, acting like marriage to me would be the worst thing that ever happened to you. How I misinterpreted all that…well…never mind. But you honestly think I would leave you here on your own, Moony?”
Remus gulped and then let out a long breath. “I was worried.”
“James texted,” Sirius said, his tone dry. “I was busy trying to sort out what we needed to do. Apparently two British blokes cannot get legally married here in Nevada. The one at the chapel there told me he’d given us the certificate just to shut us up.”
Remus blinked. Then blinked again. “So we’re not…”
“No.”
“And we don’t need to…”
“Nope. We’re unmarried as we ever were, Re.”
Licking his lips, Remus wasn’t sure if the sick feeling in his gut was because he wasn’t married to Sirius, or because he was disappointed about it. And then he bloody hated himself for being in love with this insufferable…
“Am I really so bad?”
Remus shifted over as Sirius lowered himself to the edge of the bed. “What?”
“I mean, we’ve been friends for ages. For a while I thought you might…you know, fancy me a bit?” Sirius shrugged. “Course you never really responded to me when I was trying to chat you up, but you’re also very Moony so it’s hard to tell about you sometimes. But would it have been the worst thing, Re? To be married to me?”
There was too much coming at him at once, and before he’d had a drop of tea at all. His breath was shaking. “Sirius, being married to you would possibly be the best thing in my life, but not because we were pissed and on some mad holiday. Fuck.” He scrubbed at his face, and figured in for a penny, because Sirius was very nearly asking him and he might as well out with it. “I’ve fancied you since we were bloody fifteen. And every day it’s worse and the very last thing I wanted in the world was to be accidentally married to you. Because the one person I never thought I’d have to split from would be you.”
Sirius was uncharacteristically still. “I. Er. Oh.”
Remus let out a slightly deranged laugh and shook his head. “So there. It’s all out now. And…well I suppose we won’t have to worry about it anymore because we’re not married. And I understand if you can’t forget about what I’ve said and maybe we should just…umffff.”
He was cut off by warm lips on his, by hands holding his face, and a snog which was happening whilst he was absolutely and one hundred percent not pissed. Which was a first.
When Sirius pulled away, Remus was a bit breathless and confused. “You er. We just…”
“Snogged?” Sirius offered. He was kneeling on the bed now, Remus moving back against the headboard with Sirius crawling toward him, hands on his thighs, face so close to Remus’ that he could feel Sirius’ breath across his cheeks. “Moony. My Moony. If I’d known that even for a second you would actually like it if I snogged your face off…”
Remus let out another laugh. “How could you not have noticed?” He drew a shaking hand down his face before it found purchase on Sirius’ shoulder, and he squeezed it. “Years, Sirius. And you…you never said anything!”
“I got a shitty flat near your mum’s so I could come round all summer. Begged you to come to India with me and James. I got into sodding King’s for you so we could share fucking lectures so I didn’t have to be away from you, Remus. How much more plain could I be?”
Remus gulped, then instead of answering, took Sirius by the face and let his lips do the work. They weren’t married, no. And he didn’t want to be really. Not yet, maybe not ever. But if he could have these possessive arms which were now curling round his waist, and this mouth on his, and oh…oh this feeling in his chest that was wobbly and warm and just full of Sirius, he’d be just fine. Oh. He would be absolutely fine.
Epilogue
“You fucking slag. You absolute and complete tart,” James crowed. He was lounging on Remus’ sofa, staring at the pair of them who were cuddling on the floor with their backs to Hope’s favourite armchair. “You took him there to seduce him, didn’t you?”
“James,” Lily admonished, but her eyes were twinkling. “Did you though? I mean, I wouldn’t put it past you…”
“Oy! My intentions were honourable, if you must know,” Sirius declared. He carded his fingers up through Remus’ curls and held him tight. “Moony’s the one who came out with all the I love yous and it’s been years. I just happened to take advantage of it.”
“Not to mention you’ve been pining for him nearly as long,” James said with a nod. “Let me tell you, Remus, if you had any idea how often I had to listen to his whinging in the dorm room whilst you and Pete were studying…” He shook his head. “If I’d known for a second, I’d have locked you in a supply cupboard somewhere and got you two thick idiots to figure it out much faster.”
Remus was blushing as Sirius snuggled between his legs, ear to his heart, eyes drifting closed. “Well, at least we figured it out eventually.”
James was grinning fondly, his hand twinned with his wife’s. Their bands were glinting in the soft glow of the table lamp, and Remus couldn’t help but wonder if that could be him and Sirius someday. But for now, with Sirius between his arms, pressed to his chest, it was enough.