Work Text:
25th of August:
Remus was going down the stairs at the Potter’s house, fighting off the sleep still clinging to his body, when he abruptly froze. In his sluggish state, he thought he saw Sirius dancing. Dancing to sensual music.
He blankly stared, unable to process what his eyes were seeing in front of him. Ten agonizing seconds of his mind trying to conjure up a single thought later, Sirius flicked his hair and, mid-turn, saw him.
“Oi, sleeping princess! Come join us!” That Sirius grin took him out of the trance.
“What in Merlin’s name are you doing?” He said over the loud music, once he reached the bottom of the stairs. James was at his side, also mimicking the poses from the screen, but he didn’t have eyes for that when Padfoot was there moving like rent was due, which later, a more down to earth Remus would recall didn’t even make sense.
“We’re trying James’ new just dance!” Sirius screamed, breathing heavily from the exercise. Although he tried to hide it, it was definitely taking a toll if the drops of sweat rolling beautifully from his face was anything to go by. “Fleamont brought it over from town, so we decided to give it a go while we were waiting for you!”
“Just… dance?” Just then, the song ended, and the screen showed each boy’s score. Remus was ignored, which he greatly appreciated because he was starting to feel like the two teenagers exercising in the midst of summer weren’t the only cause to the living room’s high temperature.
“Come on, not again! What do you mean I lost?” Sirius sighed dramatically, like he was being singularly punished by the universe.
“Maybe you would win if you didn’t get distracted talking to Moony.” James said, without even a hint of exhaustion from the training, unlike Sirius who was still catching breaths between words, but was too stubborn to admit it.
“You’re impossible. Moony, would you please accept this dance?” Sirius announced, from a deep bow. “Maybe then I would have a chance at winning someone who isn’t perfect at everything they do.”
“I’d love to, but, uh, I can’t exactly move my hips like you.” As soon as Remus blurted those words, he regretted them, refusing to believe he actually voiced his thoughts aloud.
“Going for the disabled one, how noble of you.” A sarcastic James taunted behind him.
“Oh, buggers! I forgot the full moon was two nights ago! We can dance to an easy song if you’d like. I’m sure I saw one with a chair while we were scrolling through the options earlier, you could just do the moves without getting up. I promise it’ll still be fun!”
“Uh-huh, for my condition, right, that’s exactly what I meant, yep.” Remus gladly accepted the controller James was offering him, sat on the sofa and promptly shut up, afraid of what nonsense would come out of his mouth next. Meanwhile, Sirius, oblivious to all of his internal turmoil, found the song he wanted and put it on.
The first notes of Rich girl filled the air and immediately Remus knew he was screwed. The song was a poor disguise of a lap dance, each movement more preposterous than before. Sirius also wasn’t helping because, not one to turn down a challenge, he put his whole body and soul to the performance. Remus had his eyes fixed on the TV screen the whole time, his arm movements becoming systematic from the tension on his shoulders.
After the more treacherous four minutes of his life, the screen faded to black. Then, and only then, did Remus allow himself a sneak peek, only to come face to face with a dishevelled looking Black, colour painting his cheekbones from the effort, and mouth slightly parted. That was the moment Remus decided he needed to leave the room lest he combust.
He abruptly rose up. “I’m going to get some breakfast.” As soon as he was able to get some fresh air, he felt better, but he was still able to hear the conversation left behind.
“Wait, don’t you want to see the scores?”
“No need, everybody knows you lost again.”
“What? But he was seated, how?”
“Guess you’re just bad at it, mate.”
Remus wanted to disagree.
***
17th of September:
“Moony!” Sirius whined, storming into their dorm, promptly interrupting Remus’ study time. “I need your help.”
“Whatever you did, I’m not taking you out of any mess. That’s entirely your fault.” He deadpanned, not even bothering to look up from the various books sprawled on the floor. Sirius took his quill, ruining whatever he was attempting to write. Remus looked up now, very much annoyed.
“You can bitch about that later. Right now, I need you to convince Evans to talk to me.”
He surrendered to his fate. “Whatever for?”
“Okay, so, you know how Lily’s always complaining about my outdated music taste?”
“Rightfully so.”
“Hey, David Bowie was a revolution to the industry, and you know it.” He accompanied the statement with an accusatory finger in the air.
“My apologies, please continue.” He said, knowing that Sirius would explain a ten-second story in five minutes.
“Well, today I told her to give me some recommendations, if she was that sure that her taste was better than mine. She said that she just found out my celebrity lookalike and was currently obsessed with his music, but she won’t tell me who it is.”
“And why are you asking me?”
“Because, somehow, you’ve earned the girls’ respect.”
“I just listen to them.”
“Whatever.” Sirius waited for an answer, making an overly dramatic and unrealistic attempt at puppy eyes.
“Fine, I’ll try. But I can’t promise you anything.”
“Thanks, Moony, you know you’re the best!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
When Remus found out Lily was referring to Conan Gray, the young boys searched him online, and Sirius practically jumped from his bed at the sight of the images. He was joyous to find that Conan looked like a rock star, and shoved his phone in the taller boy’s face until he also agreed that this particular singer was hot.
Sirius claimed that the resemblance was clinical, which only fueled more his curiosity. Remus should have stopped him right then, since this was the start of a long obsession that would come back to haunt them both. But even he knew that no one could stop Sirius once something was stuck in his head.
***
23rd of September:
A few days later Remus opened their dorm’s door, only to find Sirius on the floor, crying. He had come in a hurry to retrieve some material he needed for the next class, but instead he came face to face with an image that he never wanted to see. Sirius was sprawled on his bed’s feet with his phone on the ground, knees to his chest, ugly tears rolling down his cheeks. Remus had never felt so out of place.
“Fuck. I’m sorry.” He said, averting his gaze.
“Wait.” A broken voice slurred when he started to leave. “Don’t go.” The second time, Remus recognized it as Sirius’ voice.
“Do you, umm, want me to go get James?” He nervously asked. Sirius shook his head in the silence that followed.
“Could…” Sirius cleaned his runny nose with his already stained sleeve. His scrunched eyebrows seemed to indicate there was a fight going on behind those eyes. Finally, he decided to finish the sentence with a determined look, or as determined as a face can be with mascara marks on your cheeks. “Could you hold me through it? Please?” Remus had no idea what he was talking about, but he wasn’t strong enough to deny him whatever he wanted. So he closed the door, made sure no one else would disturb them with a flick of his wand, and sat next to him.
Sirius flipped the phone, clicked the play button, and dropped his head on Remus’ shoulder. It was then made evidently clear why he had found his best friend crying on a random Tuesday afternoon.
My father never talked a lot/He just took a walk around the block/'Til all his anger took a hold of him/And then he'd hit
Sirius started sobbing. Remus politely looked away.
I say they're just the ones who gave me life/But I truly am my parents' child
Remus had a knot in his stomach which grew with every word coming out of the phone’s speaker. He felt uneasy, not knowing how much truth was hidden behind those lines. He knew that life at the Black’s manor wasn’t easy for his friend, but he didn’t know all the details. That was for James, Sirius’ best friend, to know, not him.
God, I have my father's eyes/But my sister's when I cry/I can run, but I can't hide/From my family line
That particular line struck Sirius hard, his crying increasing in volume. Silently, Remus squeezed his hand, trying to communicate either some comfort or his expanding thoughts of killing Walburga Black, whatever he could to appease the boy’s pain.
And wonder what I did to deserve this/How could you hurt a little kid?/I can't forget, I can't forgive you/'Cause now I'm scared that everyone I love will leave me
Sirius started violently shaking and Remus couldn’t take it anymore. He fully embraced him, not caring for the consequences. If he was trusted enough to see his friend in this state, then he should offer as much help as he could. That seemed to do the trick, for Sirius completely buried his head on his friend’s shoulder, holding him in return tightly, almost painfully so.
Oh, all that I did to try to undo it/All of my pain and all your excuses/I was a kid but I wasn't clueless
His cries almost drowned out the tenor singing in the background, but Remus was able to distinguish the song playing over twice before Sirius calmed down and spoke again.
“Don’t you dare tell this to anyone or my reputation will be ruined.” He said, disentangling his head from the mess that was now Remus’ sweater but still not letting go.
“Wasn’t going to.”
“Cheers.”
He tried to put on the most gentle smile he had ever given anyone. If he had to do the impossible to see this beautiful, bright boy smile again, he would die trying. “Besides, I can’t let the others know that you’ve recruited me to become one of his fans. But I have to admit, he’s a genius at writing lyrics.” Through the cracks, Sirius showed even the slightest hint of a grin, and the world rearranged itself again. “Do you have any other songs you wanna show me?”
That day, Remus skipped the rest of his classes.
***
31st of October:
Before the next Halloween, there was a rumour going around that a lot of students, especially muggle born, were going to dress up to protest Hogwarts not having an exception to the dress code for said festivity. Like most teachers, everyone assumed it was started by the marauders, and simply decided to accept whatever fate came their way. What most people didn’t know was what costume Sirius had chosen for the day. That’s why Remus was so shocked when he came out of the bathroom after a morning shower to find Sirius in a checkered skirt.
His legs were uncovered up until mid-thighs, and he was sure that it was even shorter sat down. Not only did it outline his waist, but the navy sweater vest with nothing underneath also highlighted his light skinned arms and collar bones. Remus might as well have fainted from the sight.
He was chatting away with James, who didn’t look the least bit put off by the boy in front of him. It was only when he saw the electric guitar on his back, the one Andromeda gifted him, that Remus guessed who he was dressed up as.
“Mate, don’t you think your obsession has gone a little too far?” He asked, approaching the couple, acting as if it didn’t affect him.
“Apparently not, as you clearly recognized me to be Conan Gray. Frankly, I can’t believe I never cosplayed him when Lily first introduced his music to me. I think I did a pretty good job at replicating the reference–”
“Wait, is that my sweater? You stole one of my sweaters and cut it for your stupid costume?” He said, with increasing volume.
“Uuuhm, I think I hear Mary calling me, I’ll see you in first period, bye!” And just like that, he had left the tower.
“I didn’t know it was yours” James apologized, “I would have dissuaded him from taking off the sleeves if I knew.”
“I don’t wear it that often. But thanks, Prongs. What are you supposed to be?”
“Dumbledore.” He said from under the ridiculous white mop covering half his face. “And you?”
“A student who’s fed up with his friends.”
The rest of the Halloween was spent between students trying to decipher everyone else’s costumes and the few ones who just wanted to continue with their day as normal as possible. But, surprising no one, the talk of the hour was Sirius’ choice. McGonagall was the first one to have to deal with him. She forbid him from carrying around the guitar on his back, but made no further comment, so the rest of the teachers had to get the students' attention really hard, since everyone was only interested in gossiping about how hot Black was today.
Because the truth was that no one else from Sirius Black could rock that look and keep his dignity intact. Half of the appeal was how proudly he wore it, despite knowing that plenty of boys were ridiculed for dressing girly.
A smug Sirius gave blinks and flying kisses shamelessly on the corridors, glad to have his fans’ attention, which only seemed to fuel them. A multitude of giggling girls passed both boys, murmuring to the other one how she swore that Sirius had looked at them funny.
Remus had to endure all of it, since they shared the same subjects that day. He hated every second of it and was half mad by the time they sat down at the great hall to eat lunch. If looks could kill, half the school would be dead, but he could do nothing more to stop the torture.
“Guys, did you see it? Dumbledore winked at me! I think he recognized my costume.” James sat next to him, oblivious to his friend’s suffering. “What’s up with mister grumpy pants over there?”
“I think he would enjoy today a lot more if he did like the rest of us and decided to let loose. You’re betraying the marauders’ code of honor, you know?”
“Which is?”
“To cause as much chaos and spread as much joy as possible!” Sirius declared, jumping up to make his point, which in turn discovered part of his midriff. Remus could’ve just died then. He was sure that the floating grinning pumpkins were mocking him.
Even when his head collided with the table in a loud bang, the other two boys continued talking. “Padfoot’s right. This isn’t half as fun if it’s not all of us. Even Wormtail joined in.”
“Although I have to admit that mouse costume doesn’t do him any favours.”
“Where is he, by the way?”
“Got detention.”
“Right, well, I’m going to the library for the rest of the day. You can fill me in on what I missed tomorrow.”
“Maybe next year he can dress up as a book.” Sirius said, which Remus ignored. That afternoon, his homework looked a lot more like a rock star in a skirt than it should.
***
11th of February:
“Come on!” Sirius said, pulling Remus’ sleeve. “We’re going to be late.” Remus chuckled as the two boys passed through the painting leading to the Gryffindor tower. “What’s so funny? We’re late and you’re laughing?”
“You look like a kid on Christmas. And you know we don’t have to watch this music video at the time it comes out.”
“We don’t have to. But it’ll be more fun if we do. Besides, you’re the only one who I could convince to hang out with, everyone else has their afternoon full. No one appreciates me anymore.”
“I’m sure they’d all make an exception when you tell them the reason why.”
Sirius almost tripped on the stairs from how fast he turned to face him. “Oi, put some respect on Conan’s name, or I’ll ditch you and watch it alone.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll shut up.” He raised his hands in a mock gesture of surrender.
“You better.” He replied, that grin, so his, already spreading on his face. Remus answered with a playful nudge before they entered their dorm.
Moments later they were on Sirius’ bed, close to each other so they could both see the screen. The countdown started and the first seconds of This song started to play.
“The second guy looks a lot like you.” Sirius whispered moments later.
It was made evident, not long after, that there was tension between the not-Sirius and the not-Remus in the screen. The tension was palpable both on the video and now on their dorm too.
In an instant where the music stopped, punctuated by the almost reverent silence that they adopted to watch the video, the two boys inside the phone kissed. Not with a peck, but a long and deep kiss. Remus didn’t look at Sirius but he could feel that they both had the same reaction.
When the song ended, they finally looked at each other. After a long moment that seemed to stretch forever, Remus talked first.
“Wow, what a great song.”
“Yeah, I also liked it a lot.”
“It's so cool that he feels comfortable enough to show that part of him.”
“Because it would be so awkward for 2 guys like us to kiss, right?”
When Remus didn’t respond, Sirius looked up to see the taller boy with a new determination on his face. “Right?” He repeated, hesitating.
Remus took Sirius’ cheek and approached their faces very slowly, so Sirius could end this if he didn’t want it. Thankfully, he didn’t. When their lips met, every worry was erased from his mind.