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Chapter Text

Remus POV

A knock on the office door snapped Remus out of his reverie and he sighed, running a scarred hand through his hair, yanking at the tangles catching on his fingers. Pushing back from the desk he stood to open the door; “sorry, I was done changing a while ago, I was caught up in the books.”

Gesturing for his business partner to enter their shared office space, he sank back into his desk chair with a world-weary sigh, his head aching from the jumble of numbers laid out on his desk.

“Do you see what I was talking about?” Lily asked, meandering to her own desk, directly across from his, and sinking into the plush leather; “Mr Collins reckons we can afford another full-time bartender and I think that now is the time to finally try serving food in the evenings.”

“Right, but can we afford that as well?” Remus asked, glancing up to see Lily staring at him with a raised eyebrow; “I know that the profit margins are strong and we are well-established, but a chef is going to be what, another forty grand a year? Plus the cost of getting the kitchen back up to scratch and materials…”

“Okay,” Lily started, taking out a notebook and pen and quickly making some notes he couldn’t see, “so what if I take on the cost of the chef for the first 3 months; we’ve been saying we’ll get the kitchen up and going for the last two years anyways - at most that’ll cost ten-fifteen grand maybe? We’ll need to get a couple of inspections done, we’ll have to buy a new fridge and range but the fryer, the countertops and the pot wash area are all clean and usable… If we’re not profitable in six months then we scrap it, but I don’t think the initial costs should smother the idea.”

Lips twitching, Remus knew he was caught, the whole reason that their business was so successful in the first place was Lily’s intuition. After meeting at university and becoming fast friends, they had discovered a mutual interest in BDSM and shared dismay over a lack of safe kink clubs in Britain. Studying business, they were both well-positioned to be one of the first; the only problem was a lack of funds. So they had graduated, moved to Manchester and worked their arses off to save for the deposit on a business loan, originally leasing the space that was now, ten years on, owned by the duo. Atelier was both of their pride and joy, and while their parents were not so sure on the focus of their club, they were certainly proud of their success.

Thanks to Lily’s ability to see the chess board ten steps ahead, they had a profitable business that let them both live more than comfortably; the memory of living on beans on toast in their bedsit far away.

“You’re that confident?”

“That, and I’m fucking sick of getting Thai from across the road for tea every night,” they both laughed at the shared sentiment, and Lily’s smile turned shark-like; “so you’re in?”

“Six months,” Remus stated, even though he knew if his partner had it her way he would be eating his words.

“Besides, if we have a functioning kitchen then we can open for lunch and market it to the members as a perk…” Lily trailed off, eyes glinting as she spoke of their most profitable business development. They had shared a similar negotiation seven years ago, when the club began turning a healthier-then-expected profit and Atelier’s reputation became known in the North as the go-to kink club. Remus’ idea to renovate and open up the top two floors to fee-paying members to be able to spend the night was one that came to him after a conversation with a particularly effusive guest; and it had led to an expansion of the business so successful neither of them could really believe it.

Now, Atelier had 12 guest rooms, eight of them currently assigned to customers who paid an eye-watering annual fee and underwent strict background checks for the privilege. It wasn’t advertised, more of an invitation-only basis which made Remus’ working class blood tingle in his veins; it was less about the exclusivity and more about safety, by making the high-level memberships invitation only they could keep track of guests’ conduct and ensure no one was playing in an unsafe manner under their roof. Of course, another two of their guest rooms belonged to Lily and Remus, both for when they found a playmate and when they worked too late, were too tired to make the trip across the city.

“So what, we give the members free food?”

“We could do free canapes, maybe sides come complimentary…” Lily bargained, and Remus was once again impressed by her.

“You’ve been planning this for a while, huh?” he asked, voice tinged with mirth.

She smirked at him, pushing up from behind the desk and moving around the room to lean over his; “you know me, Re, when I want something I’m already a step ahead.”

With that, she span on a heel and moved towards the door at a leisurely pace, and he watched as her hips swung back and forth like a pendulum with practiced ease in her ‘business-domme’ attire. That usually consisted of a corset and a pencil skirt of some variety, and today’s choice of bright purple silk and a pleated skirt with lace suspenders and patent Louboutin stiletto’s made her a straight boy’s walking, talking wet dream.

“That doesn’t work on me and you know it, L.”

“But you’ll still set up an advert for a bartender and a chef vacancy online though, right?” she threw over her shoulder, and he sighed even as he agreed, the smile she only ever really got to see gracing his face.

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“I’ve set us up on Indeed with two vacancies as commanded, Your Majesty…” Remus spoke lowly in Lily’s ear as he passed by her next to the stage, making his way to the bar.

She smiled sweetly back at him, winking but not ceasing her conversation with one of their regulars. Remus hummed along to the slow bass of the music pulsing through the club as he crossed the room, waving once or twice and smiling at familiar faces but never stopping.

Reaching the bar, he waived off the bartender that made to prioritise him over the other waiting customers. He preferred to wait, especially knowing that not everyone in the room recognised him as the owner; where Lily went for ‘business-domme’ most days, Remus liked to keep it simple. Today he’d chosen to wear what his friend’s lovingly referred to as his ‘lazy professor’ attire – black slacks, grey button-up rolled up his forearms and a chequered sweater vest. It tended to disarm those who didn’t know his true nature as a Dom, and he enjoyed watching perceptions of him shift and change based on first appearances.

As he surveyed the main floor, he took in the full booths and the handful of occupied tables – not bad for a Thursday night. Recently renovated, Atelier was outfitted with a slick mahogany bar, the countertop facing the entrance and curving with the building, giving the bartenders a good vantage point to keep an eye on the clientele on quieter nights where there were less members of staff on duty. On the far side of the room several booths of varying sizes were built into the space, each one outfitted with oxblood leather benches and gauzy black lace curtains which gave the illusion of privacy. One remained empty, Lily and Remus’ favoured vantage point for watching the demonstrations which tickled their fancy; more tables filled the empty space in front of the stage, all accompanied by matching armchairs.

“Didn’t expect to see you tonight…” a low, familiar voice intoned; and Remus smirked in the low light as he turned to greet his companion.

“In my own club?” his voice had taken on the low, gravely tone that he’d come to associate with his Dom persona.

“Well, sometimes you hide upstairs all night and then I miss your company,” the boy flirted, clearly dressed to impress in his leather pants and plain white shirt; his red hair was pushed back from his face, his patented grin firmly in place as his gaze roamed over Remus’.

“Fabian…” Remus warned, hand coming up to grasp the other man’s wrist before it could find a place on his bare forearm.

“What?” he whined, shifting closer from his spot leant against the bar; “wasn’t I good for you last time?”

“You were,” he agreed, tipping his head in thanks as one of the bartender’s slid his usual drink across the surface to him, dropping the wrist in his grasp to bring the glass to his lips; “but I told you then and I’ll remind you now that I don’t do relationships Fabian, we agreed that it would be a one-time thing and I intend to stick to that.”

“Oh…” he pouted, eyes widening in the dim light, “and there’s no chance that you’d want a repeat show?”

“Afraid not, love. You’re welcome in the club, but that’s where it ends.”

Shifting, he stood to his full height and made his way to he and Lily’s booth, settling back with his drink just as the lights dropped and the shibari demonstration began.

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Leafing through the pile of candidates still to be seen, Lily sighed and let her head fall back into the cushioned backrest of their private alcove. They had always conducted interviews on the main floor, before the club opened for the evenings - it made the practical, drinks-making part of interviews flow easier.

“I staggered them on purpose so that we’d have time to talk between people, I didn’t count on two no-shows in a row…” Remus spoke apologetically, his body falling sideways to rest his head against Lily’s – for once – clothed shoulder. Her interview attire was much more business than it was BDSM club, but she still had her signature pair of killer heels on; and he opened his mouth to comment on them just as two bodies fell through the lobby door into the club.

Swearing softly, the smaller of the pair dusted himself off as he clambered back to his feet, tucking escaped wisps of hair behind his ear before he reached down to pull his companion up also.

“We’re so sorry we’re late!” the taller man exclaimed, rushing towards the booth, where Remus was rising to his feet and Lily had merely raised an unimpressed eyebrow; “our car broke down, you see, and then we couldn’t find a contact number for this place. Oh god, its so unprofessional-“

“You’re Sirius Black?” Lily cut the man off, eyes sweeping his broad figure appreciatively even as her expression remained stoic; if it weren’t for the length of time he’d known her he never would’ve clocked it.

The man fish mouthed for a few seconds uselessly before the one next to him took pity and stepped forward; “that would be me.”

He spoke softly, a blush adorning his cheeks as he took in his prospective employers; he was shorter than Remus by at least five inches, his head coming up to Remus’ chin. Sirius’ hair, pulled into an artfully messy bun, was shiny and looked thick, tendrils brushing his cheeks as he spoke. Reaching out his hand, Remus gave it a firm shake, graciously ignoring the clammy feel of his palm against another. He gave a small smile which widened when the younger man blushed deeper, used to this reaction after ten years working as a Dom in the industry; where he used to be unsure of his own level of attractiveness, now he embraced others’ reactions and used them to bolster his confidence.

“These things happen,” Remus spoke confidently, gesturing for the pair to join them at their table; “you’re here to interview for the bartender position?”

“He is,” the other man interrupted, just as Sirius opened his mouth to confirm his question; “I’m James Potter, here for the Chef position.”

“Ah,” Remus spoke, turning to look at Lily, silent conversations happening between them – ‘you’re still going to interview them?’ she asked silently, Remus rolling his eyes at her intolerance ‘why don’t you take the cheffy one to the kitchen and give him a go at whipping up something and see how it goes, I’ll see this one's bar skills’ he returned, his jaw pulsing at her raised eyebrow; “so, James,” Remus continued, ignoring the pressure from Lily’s stiletto on his toes, “if you’d follow Lily here into the kitchen she’ll be conducting your interview and after there’ll be a bit of a skills assessment?”

Agreeing, James rose quickly from his seat and shot a quick smile at his partner before following Lily into the kitchen, his broad frame dwarfing her as they passed through the bar. Sirius followed the other man with his gaze and a small smile before snapping his eyes back to Remus, blushing prettily at his distraction.

“I’m Remus Lupin,” he introduced himself; “Lily and I own Atelier together, we opened the club just over ten years ago. I’m going to give you a quick overview of what we would expect your job role to cover before I ask a few questions and then there will be a small practical assessment if that all sounds good with you?”

“Yes, that’s uh, yes…” the smaller man trailed off, cheeks pink and lips between his teeth.

“So for starters, the bar is completely dry here,” he gave a short laugh as Sirius’ forehead creased into a confused frown; “we’re a BDSM club, I’m uncertain if you were aware of that when you applied for the role?”

“Uh, yes I was…” Sirius blushed again, and Remus had to supress a small smile at the sight, this boy was a picture of innocence.

“Okay great, so in order for all the play that happens within our club to be safe, sane and consensual – something we pride ourselves on – we do not serve alcohol or allow intoxicated persons on the premises. We serve a range of zero-alcohol spirits, beers and wines as well as soft drinks. Do you have cocktail making experience?” Remus asked distractedly, fishing Sirius’ CV out of the pile of candidates to run his eyes over it briefly, humming when he sees an affirmative answer on the page; “that’s great, we do have a small cocktail menu but we’d love to expand it, we like to give some creative freedom to our bartenders to create new staple cocktails to trial around the club. Our guests seems to enjoy the chance to try new things, it goes great with the clubs, ah, purpose – to be able experience new things in a safe space. Most of the time there would be front of house staff on shift with you so you wouldn’t need to do much clearing of tables apart from clearing down at the end of the night. There’s also a dumbwaiter to send drinks to the guest suites upstairs, and there is always an attendant on shift for monitoring upstairs; on quieter nights there’s a chance that you’d be alone behind the bar while another member of staff took their breaks and vice versa, but generally we operate with three bartenders on shift for the lion’s share of opening times. You’ve worked as a bartender before at two different venues?”

“Yes – for three years at my SU, part time along with my studies,” Sirius began, and Remus noticed he wasn’t making direct eye contact but instead staring at his forehead; it wasn’t uncommon for people to fixate on his facial scars, but he was also aware it was a common technique for those uncomfortable meeting eyes to avoid insulting others during conversation; “a bit of a different, uh, clientele I guess? But I enjoyed the work, and then once I graduated I moved to The Botanist, and that was a lot of cocktails for the last nine months.”

Nodding Remus made a note on his spare sheet of paper, looking up to meet the other man’s eyes; “does the ‘clientele’ bother you? Our guests come here to escape the outside world and we don’t tolerate our staff making people feel uncomfortable.”

“No, no it doesn’t at all,” Sirius jumped forward in his seat, hands now resting on the table and twisting together nervously; “it’s new to me but I don’t judge people as long as they aren’t hurting anyone,” at the quirk of Remus’ eyebrow his cheeks pinked again; “unless they uh, wanted that…”

Amused but satisfied, Remus continued on, asking their standard interview questions until it came to the practical part of the interview, standing, he flipped his notebook shut and gestured for Sirius to follow him. Leaning against the bar top, he waved his hand to indicate Sirius should continue behind the bar; “if you could make me a Bramble, an Old Fashioned and then something of your own? If you can’t find anything just ask, there should be ice on the back bar next to the shakers – the fridges are just down to your left with garnishes inside.”

“Should I just, uh?” Sirius asked, glancing around the bar to familiarise himself and taking note of the various non-alcoholic spirits along the back of the bar, the cocktail paraphernalia under the counter in front of him.

“By all means,” Remus said, settling into silence, watching as Sirius carefully began first making the Old Fashioned, finishing it with a flourish of a twist; Remus hummed satisfactorily as he tried the drink, hiding his smile behind his hand as the noise caused the younger man to miss the glass he was aiming to scoop ice into.

When all three drinks were placed in front of him in a neat row, all on perfectly square napkins, Remus smiled and asked Sirius to describe his own cocktail to him.

“This is, uh, actually a cocktail I created for James – he hates the taste of alcohol and I found that a lot of the girls at the Union bar echoed that sentiment. It has a gin base, Cointreau and vanilla simple syrup and is shaken over ice and finished with a spritz of lemonade, served in a short glass. If you guys had a herb garden I would’ve added a sprig of rosemary to enhance the botanicals in the gin, but it functions well as-is.”

Intrigued, Remus raised the glass to his lips, humming contentedly as the flavour spread across his palate; “that’s really lovely, and I can see what you mean about the rosemary, it would balance the sweetness a little, yes?”

Nodding confidently for the first time in the 25-minute conversation, Sirius grinned broadly at Remus’ enjoyment; “that’s what I love about creating your own drinks, especially the more detail you know about a person and their palate you can really tailor drinks to individuals.”

“I’m impressed, Sirius. Let’s take these through so Lily can try them, if you’ll grab a glass?”

Joining him behind the bar, Remus moved swiftly past Sirius, placing a gentle hand on the small of his back to ease the tight space. Leading him into the kitchen he watched amusedly as James faltered in the middle of Lily’s interrogation to meet Remus’ eyes before he resumed his answer; “how’s it going in here?” he asked as he approached the stainless steel pass, leaning back against the wall he propped one foot against the wall, eyes roaming in a calculating manner over Lily’s body, meeting her eyes in an inquisitive smile.

“You’re just in time!” James exclaimed, radiating sunshine as he served several dishes onto the pass. They’d created an almost MasterChef-like secret box challenge, wherein they’d been to the market that morning and purchased a range of ingredients to see what the prospective chef’s could come up with. Gesturing the pair forward, he handed them each a bundle of cutlery before he began explaining the dishes; “so this is the bread that was already here but I’ve done a crispy chicken skin butter to accompany it – the salty-fat flavour really brings out the moreishness of the sourdough. Is moreishness a word? Um, anyways… Then this is a pumpkin-amaretti risotto with crispy pancetta and honey roasted parsnips… it’s a little more dinner service than it is canape but I just love in-season squash so much, its one of the easiest things to do considering the time constraints; I could also turn the risotto into seasonal arancini if you were looking for a canape only offering.”

Remus moaned around his spoon of risotto, stifling a laugh when it made Sirius flush a deeper shade of pink and stumble over his feet, watching as James tried to smother his amusement into his shoulder. Lily hummed appreciatively, nodding as she agreed with James’ comments on flavour profiles; “we’d want the incoming chef to work with us to create the new menus, is that something you have experience in?”

“I am, yes, my last restaurant I was involved in the development of a new menu although I wasn’t the lead, and I develop our menu for dinner every week.” James added cheekily at the end, glancing to the side and smiling wide at their other prospective employee.

“Excellent. Are these your cocktails Mr Black?” Lily asked, lifting one from where it had been set down on the centre island, trying it with a grimace; “I’ve never been able to handle an Old Fashioned, I’m afraid, that’s more Remus’ drink.”

“Well, you can’t expect everyone to have the same tastes,” Sirius agreed hesitantly, “if you’re a sweet drink sort of a person then you may prefer the one at the other end, it’s a cocktail of my own creation with gin, Cointreau and vanilla simple syrup.”

Trying it, Lily gave a small smile to Sirius and nodded; “that’s more my speed, I must confess. Very nice.”

“Great, well I think that’s all we needed,” Remus spoke, pushing off from the wall to stand to his full height, somewhat dwarfing both Lily and Sirius, although Lily’s 5’2 height was helped by the added 5 inches of red-bottomed heel; “we have a couple more people to see but we should be in touch by Friday at the latest.”

“That’s great, thank you so much for seeing us still, and again we’re so sorry for our tardiness; it really isn’t like us at all.” Sirius was very gracious in his thanking them, and an image of him on his knees slipped unbidden into Remus’ mind.

Smile dropping, Remus gestured them out of the kitchen and from behind the bar, bringing up the rear as James and Sirius both shook Lily’s hand.

“Oh!” Sirius suddenly exclaimed, spinning on his heel to face Remus, “I actually had a question, the job advert had £17 an hour listed for the bartender position?”

“Yes, that’s what all our bartender’s start out on; because we have some private member’s there can be a lack of tips from time to time.” Lily answered before Remus could open his mouth, and he brought a hand to her spine in thanks so as not to interrupt her.

“Really? That’s incredible, uh, I guess we look forward to hearing you then…” Sirius responded, smiling wide and tilting his head to have some sort of silent conversation with James.

“Because that’s what we pay our staff?” Remus asked, amused and hoping for a final chance to fluster the man, his smile widened when the other man began to stutter, fingers twisting once again in front of his body.

“No, no – I, uh, that’s not what I-“

“Don’t worry about him,” Lily smiled, nudging Remus with her elbow, “he likes to wind people up, see how much they can take.”

And isn’t that the truth, Remus thinks with a dirty twitch of his lips.

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Sirius POV

Sirius sighed, pulling up Indeed for the fourth time that week and starting a new job search; “I need a job Jamie, my bank account is barely alive and I still need to pay you back for the rent this month.”

“Ooof, tell me about it mate. Since Cord’s closed last month I’ve been haemorrhaging cash and I’m pretty sure that my car is gonna need to go in for a service soon… What a shitshow.”

Slumping back on his best friend’s bed, he scrolled aimlessly through the listings before stopping at a vacancy he hadn’t seen before.

“Hey J?” Sirius asked, chewing on his lip like he always did when he tried to concentrate; “have you ever seen a club called Atelier in town? Address says Bloom Street?”

James choked on his sip of water, sitting up as he coughed out the liquid; “went the wrong way, sorry. Atelier is a kink club in the gay village… they looking for bar staff?”

“Looks like… and a chef too,” Sirius responded, skim reading the role description before sending his CV to the listed email before he could second guess himself. A kink club wasn’t a place he’d ever venture inside of his own accord, he was too shy to ever attempt such a thing… but James probably had; “is it, uh, like a skanky place?”

“No they have a really good rep actually, I’ve been a couple of times to see some of the demos they do…” James looked up from the screen with a wicked smirk plastered to his face; “you might like it there Siri, could finally pop that cherry of yours… get a nice man to show you the ropes, hm?”

Flushing bright red at the double entendre, Sirius shoved at James until they broke into a tickle fight, laughing and kicking at each other until Sirius pleaded to be let go; “it’s not fair to trap me…” he whined, pleading with puppy dog eyes as he snuggled into James’ armpit, “you’re so much bigger than I am!”

“You say that like it’s hard to be taller than you, it’s not my fault you stopped growing when we were fifteen!” James teased, hauling Sirius up until they were face to face on the pillows and wrapping him up in his arms.

Since they’d met at age thirteen, thrown together into a boarding school dormitory at Eton, they’d grown to be best friends and shared everything with one another. Coming from an uptight, intolerant family Sirius had functioned like a robot for the first few weeks of school; that was until he realised that school could become a safe place for him, a home away from his abusive mother and apathetic father. James’ upbringing could not have been further from his – raised in a loving household where he was his parents’ pride and joy meant he was an emotionally developed, fully functioning teen. If anything, the boy he’d met nine years ago was a little too sure of himself… he’d managed to bring Sirius out of his shell, though.

The summer after he’d turned sixteen his mother beat him so badly that their housekeeper, Ms. Morrell, had had to drag him off the drawing room floor and sneak him out the front door with £100 in cash and directions to the nearest tube. Their house being situated in central London was an advantage, and he’d taken the train from Sloane Square and made it to a hospital, and after he'd been fixed up he had managed to convince a nurse to take him the the Potter's.

The boy’s family had taken him under their wing straight away and welcomed him into their home; he had figured that he would have to drop out of school, but his parents had paid his fees silently – a move the Potter’s had decided was for appearances sake, to make sure the other wealthy families didn’t cotton on to their eldest son no longer being a part of their family.

They’d finished school with good grades, and when Sirius was accepted into the University of Manchester to read Gender Studies and James had broken the news that he wanted to go to culinary school and apprentice to be a chef instead (things that Sirius had already guessed, really); the pair moved out of their dorm and into a tiny flat where they each (finally!) had their own bedrooms and only had to share a bathroom.

Which led them to now, where they had both finished school and had been floating on mediocre jobs that happened to come to an end within the same three week period; while they could ask James’ parents for help they had decided that they wanted to do everything they could to keep themselves afloat before they asked for handouts.

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“Come on, come on! Jamie if we’re late because you’re fixing your fucking hair I will kill you!” Sirius whined at the front door, suit clean and ironed, his hair up in an artful chignon that he thought made him look professional and – most importantly – employable.

“Chill, we still have 45 minutes Siri…” James trailed off as he came around the corner, tying his tie with practice that came from years of public school attendance.

When they finally made it to the street, Sirius rounded James’ 2007 Fiesta – his pride and joy – and hopping inside, drumming his fingers on the dash as his friend turned his keys in the ignition twice, thrice before swearing loudly.

“Sooooo we may have a problem,” James spoke sheepishly, turning to look at Sirius with a worried frown creasing his forehead; “you look up Atelier’s phone number and I’ll call the AA, okay?”

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“How do you think that went?” James asked as they made it out of Atelier’s front door, sidestepping a fast-paced businessman as they turned left, heading towards the tram stop the next street over.

“It was good,” Sirius mumbled, blushing as they strolled, much more calm than their arrival had been; “they seemed really nice as bosses? And Mr Lupin was nice in the interview, intimidating but not really like he was trying to be, if you get me?”

“Oh I bet you thought he was nice…” James teased him, nudging him with a pointy elbow; “you think I didn’t notice how much he looked like your favourite Mr Garfield? And those scars make his face look really interesting, in a rugged and handsome sort of a way.”

“Shut up,” Sirius whined, unbuttoning his suit jacket as they walked and tucking his hands into his pockets so they could fist themselves together without James noticing; “he looked like a fucking teacher, but a teacher I would maybe want to get on my knees for. Do you think he does the whole, uh, BSDM thing?”

“BDSM, babe, and yes; of course the owner of a kink club is into kink,” he laughed, pulling Sirius’ timid frame into his for a quick, on-the-move hug; “I can’t believe I just heard you say that, holy fuck, they’re gonna corrupt you in there. Did you see Lily? Oh my god, I’ve seen her in there before when I’ve been for demo nights, but I didn’t realise she was an owner. Jesus, the dreams I’ve had about her fucking stilettos alone…”

As his eyes took on that glassy quality which meant he was most definitely having an nsfw daydream about his prospective boss, Sirius shoved him bodily around the corner, all too used to the way James’ mind distracted him from the simplest things. Like walking.

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“Jamie?” Sirius asked tentatively as the front door opened and closed again, “did you get a phone call while you were out?”

Grinning wide, James lifted his head from his phone screen and acknowledged Sirius; “I did; you’re looking at the new Head Chef for Atelier as of tomorrow morning…”

Sirius jumped up from the couch, pausing his show as he raced to hug his best friend; “Oh I’m so happy for you Jamie… But you need to be happy for me too…”

“Is that right?” James asked with a knowing smile, leading Sirius into their kitchenette area to grab a glass of water for the two of them.

With a cheeky grin, Sirius nodded fast before exclaiming, “I got the bartending position too!”

Leaning back against the counter, James congratulated him before smirking; “mum and dad are gonna be so happy for us; you know she’s been secretly plotting to get us both gigs at the golf club like we’re seventeen again.”

Shaking his head, Sirius let out a short laugh. He’d spent a good half an hour immediately after Ms Evans’ call smiling at a blank wall in disbelief – a job that paid well, in an environment that seemed accepting and like the management actually cared about their staff; it was more than he’d allowed himself to hope for.

And it was happening fast. They’d interviewed less than a week ago, and tomorrow he would be  working a Saturday night shift on the bar of Manchester’s premiere kink club; god only knows how he was supposed to control his blush through the night, what with Remus Lupin – the world’s hottest boss – and all the things he’d seen online about other kink clubs.

He may be ‘pure as snow’, but his internet history really, really was not.

Chapter Text

Sirius POV

The club looked different in the dark, the red brick building fairly unassuming for a business in the Gay Village; only the large backlit ‘Atelier’ above the entrance let you know there was a functioning establishment inside, a smaller door to the right proclaiming itself to be ‘Members Only’.

There was also a scarily large man and a deceptively small woman standing outside the door wrapped up in black jackets with fluorescent strips, neon bands around their arms proclaiming them to be security. It was somewhat intimidating, approaching them and sidestepping the black rope to enter his new place of work. He’d always struggled with his anxiety, especially when he didn’t know what to expect of something – this was almost a perfect storm; a new place with new people, a whole new environment to learn his place in.

The only saving grace? Remus Lupin. When he pushed through the double doors into the lobby that functioned as a cloakroom, his new boss - or one of them, at least, was stood chatting to the cloakroom attendant animatedly; not quite smiling but certainly not frowning.

“Ah, Mr Lupin, hi…” Sirius raised his arm in an awkward wave as he moved closer to the half-wall that Remus was leaning against; “reporting for duty, Sir!”

His attempt at humour fell flat as the blonde in the booth merely smothered her smirk into her flannel sleeve; Remus’ eyebrow raising as he turned to face the younger man.

“Good to see you again, Sirius – and it’s Remus, please;” Remus said placidly, eyes raking up and down Sirius’ body as the other man stood awkwardly waiting for instruction, “although a word of advice, if I may – don’t call the customers Sir tonight or some of them may get the wrong idea, if you catch my drift?”

Sirius felt his face flush bright red as the meaning of Remus’ words made it through the smokescreen of his hot boss’ attention; “right, um, yes of course… Stupid.”

“Not stupid,” Remus said kindly, walking towards the second set of double doors that Sirius knew led through to the club, gesturing for Sirius to follow him; “you’re new to the environment and we like to avoid any sort of drama behind the bar. I’ll speak to you later, Ivy.”

Directing the last part of his speech behind him, he nodded for Sirius to cross through in front of him as he held the door open. Though the club was not set to open for another two hours there was already a low, sensual bass throbbing through the ground floor, but the house lights were up, casting everything in a bright white light.

“Thank you anyways,” Sirius mumbled as he rounded the bar; “I take it there’s a staff room where I can pop my rucksack?”

Remus nodded, following him round and gesturing him through to the kitchen; “I’ll take you to set your things down, yes. Did Lily tell you to wear that?”

“Uh, not specifically, she just suggested black;” Sirius looked down at his clothing choice – a pair of black jeans, black leather walking boots and a plain black t-shirt with his trusty leather jacket on top– before glancing back up at Remus; “is it alright?”

“Yes, yes,” the taller man waved a hand noncommittally as he led him past the pass, by a wrought iron spiral staircase and through a door marked up as the staff room; “it’s not a problem, we prefer bartenders and front of house to be dressed in black just in case of spills – we do keep a stock of plain black button ups in case anyone is in need but if you’re more comfortable in your t-shirt then that’s not a problem. Obviously just make sure it’s clean and dry before every shift;” Remus took a seat at one of the small café tables, giving Sirius a minute to take in the space.

As far as staff rooms went it was fairly pleasant; a couple of circular tables sat against one wall, each with two dining chairs accompanying it, and in the corner was a large sofa and coffee table – clearly well loved based on the imprints in the fabric.

“If you want to pick a cubby – they aren’t assigned, just grab one that’s free when you come in, there’s CCTV in the kitchen monitoring the door but we’ve never had any problems with stealing or anything like that.”

Sirius nodded, folding his leather jacket and placing it carefully in the cubby with his rucksack then wiping his clammy palms against his denim-clad thighs; he noticed with some interest that the action brought Remus’ attention to his legs, his eyes narrowing ever so as he surveyed him once again.

“So we normally give new staff the full tour and then let them get situated behind the bar if that sounds good to you?” Remus asked, standing from his chair quickly and brushing past Sirius in a bid to get to the exit.

Sirius nodded again, following him closely as Remus began to rattle off information about the club; “some of this I may have covered in the interview before, and some of this you may have heard from your, uh, partner? James?”

“Oh,” Sirius let out a short laugh, shaking his head, “James is my adoptive brother, his family took me in when I was a teenager.”

“Ah, very good; well, as I say you may have heard some of this before. Atelier is owned and operated by Lily and myself, there is no invisible money man or anyone you need to be aware of – we directly manage all member’s of staff apart from when the kitchen opens, then James will act as an intermediary since we aren’t that well-versed on the cooking side of things. So if Lily or myself asks you to make something happen then do your best or come back to us if you need help or it can’t be done,” he paused to push through the door which brought them back out into the bar; “occasionally a customer may try to get free drinks with ‘I’m a friend of the owner’ or something similar, I’m sure you’ve been in that situation before.”

“More times than I have liked,” Sirius mumbled, quirking his lips when Remus glanced back over his shoulder at him.

“We have a system in place so that while there are a few of our friends who drink free when they’re here they all have club cards, which look like this;” Remus fished behind one of the tills for a moment before emerging with an emerald green credit card, a small silver ‘A’ in the centre, “in that case they should just order their drinks normally and instead of a payment card they’ll hand one of these over – it just helps us keep track of who is drinking what and stock levels, you get the gist?”

“Absolutely,” Sirius confirmed, trying to edge his way in front of the till system to get a look at what he would be dealing with; “will I be till trained later on?”

“Yes, sorry – once Crane is here he’ll train you up on the system. That’s the other thing, when we get up to our office, we’ll get you a nametag. We had some initial issues when we opened the club with staff being harassed online, so now we use nicknames for staff. Caradoc – he’s one of the bartender’s you’ll be working with tonight – his is Crane; all the member’s rooms upstairs are avian themed and we liked how it sounded so we’ve migrated towards birds over the years. Ah, bad pun not intended.”

Every so often Remus checked in with Sirius to make sure he was taking all the information in, and Sirius had to work hard not to be distracted by Remus’ sexy professor chic – his big floppy curls and his oversized white button up, the beige chinos and dark red sweater vest –  just how was he so attractive?

Working very efficiently, Remus led Sirius out from behind the bar and onto the main club floor where he’d had his original interview, showing him the individual booths and the small LED ‘assistance’ buttons attached to every table. The space oozed sex, and Sirius could tell that serious money had been spent to make the club look as sophisticated as it did, rather than sleazy.

“Some nights we have demonstrations of various BDSM techniques and practices; there is one tonight in fact – that’s what the stage is for,” Remus pointed out the risen platform against the opposite wall, where the central tables and chairs were facing; “you don’t need to be involved with them in any way – its only relevant that you’re prepared for an increase in guests on nights where demonstrations take place.”

“Got it,” Sirius nodded, weaving slowly through the table maze to step up onto the stage; “are the demonstrations always, um, sexual?”

“No,” Remus said decisively before humming, moving closer to Sirius; “in fact most of the time they are not explicit, sometimes those taking part are aroused or the crowd becomes aroused while they watch and listen – but this isn’t a live sex show, Sirius. Additionally, unless it’s explicitly stated by Lily or myself you should call security on anyone who is acting inappropriately – I’m sure you’ve worked in places with kids getting off in corners; we don’t bother so much with couples grinding together or getting a little hot and heavy in booths but if anyone were to start masturbating in full view of the stage, for example; you should grab someone to come eject them.”

“Right, I didn’t mean to imply – uh,” Sirius backtracked, hoping he hadn’t insulted his new boss within the first fifteen minutes of his first shift; “sorry.”

“That’s alright, I know you’re just trying to figure out what to expect,” Remus began to walk towards a closed door to the side of the stage, “shall we?”

Opening the door, Remus led Sirius through into what was clearly the staff entrance to the cloakroom and another staircase, this one much wider. “You’ll have noticed that that door was key fob entrance?”

At Sirius’ nod, Remus continued, starting up the stairs after pointing out the cloakroom; “while our office is up here, it is also where our VIP member’s rooms are – all member’s have their own access fobs which let them through that door, into their rooms and the private entrance door,”

“What is the private entrance door for?” Sirius asked, interrupting Remus quietly as they came to a stop in the first floor hallway.

“Ah, well we aren’t always open and VIP members pay for a 365 day service; so there is the private street entrance which brings you out here,” Remus pointed down to his right, where Sirius could see the top of another staircase, then gestured to a closed door behind Sirius; “there is always a member of staff on duty to monitor the rooms, which are all fitted with panic buttons as well as a mobile ordering systems for drinks and anything they might need. The attendant shifts tend to be 7 til 7, so switchover won’t have happened yet, although I’m sure Pete will come and introduce himself when he gets in.”

Again, Sirius nodded, feeling a little like a fish out of water as he absorbed all of the information; “but this isn’t really anything to do with me?”

“No, no – the attendants are all dedicated staff who are familiar with BDSM dynamics and trained in first aid, they sign separate contracts to make sure that the VIP members can feel safe and secure in their private rooms; we just like to make sure that all members of staff are aware of how the business as a whole works. We don’t like anyone to doubt anything nefarious is happening upstairs.”

Remus directed a smirk his way as he spoke the word ‘nefarious’, and Sirius found himself replaying the way the man’s lips wrapped around every syllable he spoke. It was strange, to have gone so long without feeling this way. He’d found people attractive before, sure; and all of those people had been men – but he’d not ever been hit in the gut with attraction, made to feel the way Remus made him feel. It was a little bit scary, really; it was like Remus was made of magic, his entire being built to entice Sirius, finally coax him out into the land of the sex-having people. Such a shame that it had to be his boss, and that in all likelihood Sirius was the antithesis of everything Remus found attractive; maybe that would be for the best, that his developing infatuation would remain one—sided. The fastest way out of a job is screwing your boss.

“Got it.”

Glancing to his left, Sirius took in the oak double doors that sat back from the landing a couple of feet, a small brass plate on one door panel naming the room ‘Eagle’s Atelier’. Following his gaze, Remus remarked; “my private suite, Lily’s is just across from the office.”

“Oh… so you both have, uh, rooms?” Sirius asked, cheeks pink at the thought of all the people Remus must have done things with and to beyond that door. The things he would likely never get to do behind that door.

“Yes, there are twelve suites spread across the second and third floors; one of which is mine and one of which belongs to Lily. Of the others eight are currently held by members with a further two free.”

“How do you, uh, get one? Can you rent them?” Sirius asked, following Remus away from his suite and around the corner to another door which was simply marked as ‘Office’ but held a pin entry system.

“No,” Remus said as he entered the door pin and gestured for Sirius to follow him inside; “in order to become a member you have to meet a strict set of requirements, the least of which is that both Lily and I are comfortable with the way they conduct themselves in the BDSM community and that they pass a DBS check. Are you interested?” his tone became teasing as he asked Sirius his interest, moving across the room to settle into the high-backed brown leather desk chair.

When they younger man’s only response was to splutter, Remus laughed and waived him off; “that’s alright love, I’m just teasing. Why don’t you have a seat while I grab your contract and the spare name badges.”

Sirius took to the small sofa that was pressed up against the wall, gazing around as he listened o Remus shuffle papers; the room was nice but windowless, clearly central to the building. His heart thumped harder at the term of affection, although he knew that it was likely a term of habit, learned from living in the North all this time. Painted in a soft grey-blue, the back wall behind their face-to-face desk setup was covered with an inbuilt bookshelf that was fit to burst. The kind of shelves that were filled by someone who really loved books rather than the aesthetic - there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the organisation; some clothbound books, some bright new paperbacks and some large ring binders with various topics scrawled onto them with black marker pen.

After reading through and signing his contract, Remus allowed him to look through all the pre-made nametags, all of them a heavy steel with the names of various birds on; "we'll get you set up wit ha staff ID to clock in and out with sometime this week, for the moment I'll just check you in manually from up here."

“Okay. Does it need to be an ‘S’ bird?” Sirius asked quietly, rifling through the bag, smiling at the only ‘S’ he’d found so far; “only I don’t think that ‘Shag’ really sends the message I’m aiming for.”

Remus let out a low chuckle, shaking his head as he took the bad from Sirius and upturned it onto his previously well-organised desk; “how about this one?” Remus asked, handing over a nametag which read ‘Sparrowhawk’; “fairly attractive birds, from what I remember.”

Sirius blushed, carefully taking the proffered tag from Remus without touching him; “does it suit me?”

“Oh, undoubtedly…” Remus mumbled as he turned to gather up the 30 or so spare tags from the desk, causing Sirius to bite his lip to contain his grin in reaction.

“Thank you,” he whispered, pinning the tag onto his shirt and smoothing it back down; “is there more to tour or do I need to head back down to the bar?”

The tell man checked his watch, and Sirius’ eyebrows shot up as he took in the ostentatious accessory; “I’ll show you upstairs and then we’ll head back down, Caradoc should be in by now.”

“I’ll let you lead the way, then?”

----------

Having been dropped off at the bar and left in Caradoc – Crane’s – capable hands, Sirius was now familiar with the back bar, stock room and had sliced approximately 57 lemons and limes; now there was just five minutes until the club was ‘officially’ open, however there was already a couple seated in one of the booths.

“So the VIPs can just come through whenever?” Sirius asked, having to get on his tiptoes to speak into the tall brunette’s ear.

“Nah, just if they are coming in and it's this close to opening they can come down from their suites,” Caradoc answered him, echoing Sirius’ and dipping down to be heard over the thrum of music; “they can’t just decide we’re open though, I think their fobs let them through the internal doors about half an hour before we open so there is definitely someone on the floor to look after them.”

Nodding, he turned and once again ran through all of the bottles on the back bar and made sure there were plenty glasses to start. He was nervous, but at least he was comfortable behind the bar and if he was going to be tripped up by anything tonight it wouldn’t be his service.

Spinning on one foot he was taken aback by a man entering through the lobby, their first proper customer of the evening; he was dressed smartly, an open collared shirt with suit trousers. That wasn’t what had thrown Sirius though, it was the woman in lingerie who settled onto her knees the second she was in the club. And then the gentleman clipped a leash onto her necklace?

He chanced a look to the left to see Caradoc smiling brightly at him, clearly finding Sirius’ shock funny; “I know it’s your first night but please tell me you’ve at least been in a club like this before?”

Unable to answer, Sirius simply shook his head, lips parted and a flush decorating his cheeks, barely visible in the low light.

“Just don’t stare and don’t laugh at the customers and you’ll be fine, okay? Puppies don’t come to the bar usually so you don’t need to worry about interaction etiquette. I’ll serve him and then we’ll stick to the plan.”

The plan had been for Caradoc to operate as the service bartender for the evening, only fulfilling table orders until it picked up and the third bartender came in later on, with Sirius serving everyone who came to the bar.

As the club livened up, Sirius made small talk with a few customers, the majority of which were dressed in what he would term ‘business casual’ dress, with an occasional corset or two. He saw Remus roaming the floor, making conversation with a couple of people but mostly watching; Sirius couldn’t help wondering if he did that every night or if he was trying to surreptitiously keep an eye on him.

At eight o’clock on the dot James walked through the door, looking suave in his favourite pulling outfit – black jeans so washed out they’d faded to grey and a dark green Henley with little thumbholes - apparently they 'made his muscles pop'. He settled into one of the free barstools in front of Sirius, smiling brightly at his best friend; “how’s it going Sparrowhawk?”

Grinning in response, Sirius took a quiet moment to lean against the bar top and settle his face in his hands; “I’m doing good baby, how you doing?”

James’ laugh in response made the flirt worth it, but he stood up straight when he glimpsed Lily over the other man’s shoulder. Turning to see what had made Sirius react so strongly, James nearly choked his tongue as he took in the sight that was Ms Lily Evans. Shaking his head, the smaller man laughed; since their interviews he’d have to put up with James waxing lyrical on one Lily Evans. From her perfect head down to her perfect toes, James was infatuated.

Tonight she was sporting a sapphire blue velvet corset and white cigarette pants, her silhouette backlit by the lobby lighting; and like this, Sirius could understand James’ attraction to her. She merely nodded at the pair before her attention was stolen away by Remus, and she followed him around the corner towards the stage.

Introducing Caradoc to James as ‘Crane’, Sirius wandered onto the floor to collect glasses and was immediately distracted by the sight of Remus, setting up some sort of bench-table-thing on the stage. Surely he wasn’t tonight’s demonstration?

Heading back to the bar with a tray full of empties, he leant into Caradoc’s space to ask quietly if Remus was always responsible for the set up of demos, flushing when he was told that the demonstrator was responsible for their own set up.

“So he’s the one, um, performing?”

“It’s more like teaching, to be honest,” Caradoc looked up from the drinks he was making; “he’s good at it. You want to take your break while he’s on?”

Cheeks pink, Sirius chewed on his lip as he thought about the offer; “would that be okay?”

“Sure, we do it all the time,” Caradoc agreed, sending the drinks orders for his tables out with one of the waitresses; “once Avocet is in you can take yours, should be about the right time.”

“Thanks.” Sirius was quickly distracted by drinks orders, custom picking up as it got closer to what he’d termed in his head to be ‘showtime’.

‘Avocet’ turned out to be a person around Sirius’ age whose actual name was Andy, with long blond hair braided down their back and a black button up shirt, showing half of their tattooed chest off. Objectively they were attractive, but still not a shadow on Remus.

“Get lost, Sparrowhawk,” Caradoc smirked at him, nodding towards the main stage; “if you want to grab a drink it’s no problem, you have 45 minutes.”

He made it out from behind the bar, drink in hand, right as the stage lights came up; and if Remus was hot when he was just existing, then up on the stage and moving with purpose he was downright ethereal. Somehow the bright yellow of the lights coloured his hair a beautiful honeyed brown, and he’d shed his sweater vest leaving him dressed solely in a oversized white button up tucked into his slacks. It was maybe a little insane, but Sirius swore he could see Remus’ muscles through the shirt, and even the images in his mind made his mouth water a little more.

At least, until the second person stepped up onto the stage. She was petite, especially next to Remus, and barefoot in only a white vest top and a red schoolgirl skirt. Tacky. Her olive skin glowed under the light and her black hair was styled in perfect waves.

As Remus cleared his throat, it became clear he was wearing a microphone, and that Sirius was stood directly in front of one of the speakers; “welcome to Atelier, everyone,” Sirius shivered; with Remus in front of him and his growling timbre feeding out from behind, it was like the other man was wrapped around him. It occurred to him then that this maybe wasn’t the best idea, but as he began to back up Remus’ eyes flickered across the crowd and gold met silver; “thank you for joining Eve and myself this evening for our impact play demonstration…”

Sirius zoned out, focussed only on the shape of Remus’ lips and their locked eyes.

He was in deep, deep shit.

----------

Remus POV

“Welcome to Atelier, everyone,” Remus began, eyes floating across the crowd – behind the stage lights he could only really pick out the people who were stood in bright spots under the wall sconces. That was when he came across their newest hire, staring right at him with an enthralled expression on his face, his full lips ever-so-slightly parted. Gold eyes met silver, and then Remus was locked in place. Clearing his throat, he continued; “thank you so much for joining Eve and myself this evening for our impact play demonstration. Tonight, we will be discussing light impact play and the importance of aftercare. Eve has agreed to be somewhat of a guinea pig this evening as a newcomer to spanking, so we will be indulging her and then following up with some cuddles. Afterwards, Lily and Delilah will be taking to the stage with a similar session using some more heavy-handed instruments, if you’ll pardon the pun.”

Letting a small smile through at the accompanying laughs, he gestured to his play partner to take position on the spanking bench he had assembled before rounding the stage and settled a warm palm on Eve’s back. Smoothing a hand over her back, he directed his speech towards the crowd; “as always, consent is vital for a safe and enjoyable experience. Eve and I have negotiated our limits and set safewords for this scene prior to this demo, however you should always make sure to check-in with your partner before you begin and throughout, even if you already in an established relationship.”

He could see Sirius in the back, and he found himself unconsciously speaking directly to him, trying to educate the younger man on proper BDSM etiquette.

“To begin with, you might like to warm your partner up with some gentle hits, to increase circulation in the area,” he flipped up Eve’s skirt, covering his mic before he did so to lean down and whisper his next move into her ear; “obviously you may choose to conduct yourself in whatever state of dress you feel is appropriate, for tonight Eve has decided she would like to be spanked in her underwear.”

From his vantage point, Sirius seemed to be squirming, his back pressed against the wall; it brought a smirk to Remus’ lips. Keeping his touch as light as possible, he caressed the warm skin under his fingers, rubbing firm circles into the meat of his partners buttocks before drawing back to give her three warming slaps. Eve’s hips bucked gently against the touch, and he heard a few sharp inhales around the room. He liked to imagine one of them was Sirius’.

----------

“Praise can be very important to both Submissive and Dominant partners, and it is important to support each other both during scenes and immediately following them. Remember that safewords are not just for Subs, and that as a Dominant if you feel uncomfortable or overwhelmed you are well within your rights to use your safewords or take a step back from a scene if and when you need.”

He'd just finished rubbing soothing cream into Eve’s backside, and was helping her to sit carefully on her abused flesh; “even if you are using spanking as punishment you should always honour a safeword – the main basis of BDSM relationships, as I’m sure you all know, is trust. Abusing that trust, or completely disregarding it even, is extremely dangerous.”

Climbing up onto the bench beside her, Remus opened his arms and let Eve climb into them however she felt comfortable, which turned out to be wrapping herself around him like a koala. Chuckling lowly, Remus held her tight as he continued to speak to their audience; “as you can see, I usually let my subs direct the aftercare portion of a scene, giving them what they need. While Eve is new to impact play she is experienced on the scene and knows what she prefers from a Dom in the aftermath, whereas with a new or inexperienced partner you may wish to direct aftercare – however you must make sure that they are comfortable and relaxed. Listen to each other, and make sure that as a Dom your partners care is also helping with any negative feelings you may experience after a scene. It is common, especially following impact play, for Dom’s to feel guilty for indulging themselves in fantasy, or to feel somewhat like they have abused their partners. It is important for Submissive’s to reciprocate aftercare, whether that be taking care of your Dom in kind or letting them take care of you. As always, we emphasize the importance of communication.”

Remus paused, stroking his hand down his partner’s back as Lily indicated from the side of the stage that time was nearly up, ‘are you ready?’ he whispered in Eve’s ear. At her nod, he dropped one hand to her thigh and stood, supporting her weight; “thank you very much for spending some time with us this evening, we hope you’ve enjoyed our demonstration.”

Making his way down the steps of the stage with Eve attached to his front, he met Sirius’ eyes one last time and winked, enjoying his tell-tale flush, before continuing to the aftercare room at the side of the stage.

----------

“The new boy is cute,” Eve teased when they were back in the recovery room; “you gonna take him for a spin?”

Remus sighed, unable to hide from the woman curled up in his lap like a kitten; “no.”

“Oh come on, he’s totally your type…”

“And he also works here, and his flatmate is going to be our new chef, and he’s never played in our world. I have a suspicion he's never played in any world.”

“I thought you liked them innocent?”

She was cowed ever so slightly by his raised eyebrow, but it didn’t stop her from pouting at him. He decided to deflect. Their scene hadn’t been heavy, not really, but since it was Eve’s first time being spanked Remus’ job as a Dom was even more vital; “how are you feeling?”

“Good,” she wiggled a little and winced minutely, “a little sore maybe, but I enjoyed it.”

“You took it so well, poppet,” Remus praised her; “do you want to go upstairs for a snuggle? Or we can go get you a drink?”

Her eyes lit up at that option, and Remus regretted giving it to her immediately; “let’s go see him, I bet he’ll be all lovestruck and cute.”

Groaning, Remus allowed her to slowly move off his lap and watched her check her makeup and re-tie her boots before following her out of the room. The sharp thwack of Lily’s cane indicated that she was well into her demonstration, and Remus smirked at the sight of one James Potter occupying the spot Sirius was in 30 minutes beforehand.

----------

“Can I get you anything?” Sirius asked him quietly, leaning over the bar and into his space.

“I’ll have an old fashioned please,” Remus returned, distractedly rubbing his palm down Eve’s back as he took in the flush on Sirius’ cheeks and his blown-out pupils; “Eve, poppet? What would you like?”

At the use of the pet name Sirius shrunk back, something like disappointment flashing momentarily through his eyes and Remus tried his hardest to ignore the manic grin Eve directed at him.

“Behave,” he swatted her hip lightly, chuckling both at Eve’s pout and Sirius’ sharp gasp.

“I'd like something sweet, Sparrowhawk…” she teased, dropping her forearms to the bar and leaning low over it to expose the top of her chest, “something sweet, tall and with a little bit of a kick, hm?”

When she punctuated her order with a glance in his direction, Remus gave her a warning tap on the wrist, reminding her that she’d consented to play with him this evening. While he may not be the strictest of Doms, he didn’t tolerate the level of sass currently directed at him, especially in public.

“Play nice or I’ll not let you come.”

While Remus’ tone was soft, his words were a threat she knew he would follow through on, well within the bounds of their pre-negotiated terms. A glass tipped over on the stainless steel counter, Sirius swearing softly under his breath and fumbling to wipe the mess up; “sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“That’s alright, no harm no foul.” Remus reassured him, turning his back to the bar, pretending he didn’t notice the effect he had had on the third party in their conversation.

Eve leaned into his side, squirming up under his arm – honestly, it wasn’t the most professional he’d ever acted, but his co-owner was whipping one of their patrons on the stage so he was hardly breaking any precedent. When Eve pressed up as high as she could, he gave in and leant down so she could whisper in his ear; “you’re sure you won’t have him? I bet he’d break so beautifully…”

Shaking his head, Remus didn’t grace her comment with a response, instead tugging her neck back to bite softly at the juncture of her throat, holding it for a second and releasing.

“Behave.”

She was right, though. He could break Sirius so beautifully, and god he wanted to.

----------

“We need to talk about it,” Lily breezed through their office door at 8AM the next day; “we have to talk about it before either of us fucks this.”

“Huh?” Remus groaned, still rubbing sleep from his eyes and trying to will caffeine into his bloodstream; “I didn’t realise you stayed here last night.”

Sinking into the seat across from him, Lily let her head fall into her hands before pushing her hair roughly back from her face; “D needed a little more aftercare than I though she would, she was in deep.”

“She okay?”

Humming, Lily nodded, “nothing a nice long soak and some cuddles couldn’t fix.”

“Good. Now, what do we need to talk about?”

“Potter and Black. I’ve seen you looking at him, and heaven knows that the universe could see him making moon-eyes at you…” she fixed him with a look; “we need ground rules if we’re gonna fuck the staff.”

Spluttering, Remus placed his mug heavily on his notebook and stared at her incredulously; “I have no plans to fuck the staff!”

“Right, well neither do I but you know how much I like it when they worship at my feet. James is like a big fucking golden retriever, he’s so eager to impress me and he’s so hot, Jesus Christ. Smart, too. The things he can pull out of thin air, honestly. I messaged him to ask about a canape menu and he sent back fifteen options and a list of the best local vendors for organic produce. I mean, half of his suggestions were vegan and sounded good? What the fuck is that?”

Laughing under his breath, Remus wiggled his mouse to wake his desktop; “so what you’re saying is that you’re going to fuck our new Chef because he's competent and you want me to let you?”

“Ugh!” Lily kicked at him with her slipper-clad feet; “you want to fuck Black as well! It’s only a matter of time before the poor boy gets on his knees and begs you to defile him…”

The image she presented of Sirius came unbidden into his mind: Sirius on his knees between Remus’ legs, begging so nicely for his mouth to be used, and it made Remus zone out slightly until thirty seconds later an air horn directly in his ear made him swear and jump, clutching at his chest; “fuck!”

“We need rules for fucking them!”

“How about: don’t fuck them. That was my plan of action.” Remus suggested, lips quirking at Lily’s slightly manic expression.

She clenched her hands into fists, breathing for a moment before she spoke, as dramatic as ever; “I am going to fuck him.”

“So what, you want him to sign a consent waiver beforehand to make sure he can’t sue you for sexual harassment or wrongful termination if shit hits the fan?”

Remus was joking, but Lily clearly was not.

“Perfect! I’ll ring Alice and get her to write us up something to put on their files!”

“You know I was kidding, right?” Remus asked, eyes wide in disbelief as Lily began texting frantically; “we can’t make them sign a fucking love contract just because you want to fuck the chef!”

Lily merely raised an eyebrow, echoing Remus’ patented ‘I’ll get what I want from you or else’ look; “if you’re not gonna defile the new boy then it doesn’t matter so much, does it Re?”

If he were to guess, he’d say this was exactly what she was aiming for, and like a mouse he had fallen into her trap perfectly.

Chapter Text

Remus POV

“So this is the menu I’ve drafted for you two to finesse however you like, and we can make any tweaks or changes to the dishes you’d like today.” James spoke confidently, handing two identical sheets of paper over the counter to Lily and Remus, adding final flourishes to the plates of tiny dishes he’d been working on.

Lily hummed, taking in the options with a sidelong glance at Remus, clearly waiting for him to find some sort of punchline in the menu she and James had been working on all week.

Eyes skating across the page, it was all as he expected until he got to the ‘finger sandwich’ options; “breaded cod goujons?” he barked out a laugh, knocking a shoulder into Lily, “you’ve put fish finger sandwiches on our ‘extra fancy’ canape menu?”

James had lit up at his laugh, his eyes flickering back and forth between he and Lily; “well Lily here said it was your favourite, and I thought if there was one way to get you on Team Food then it would be to have fish finger sandwiches available from six ‘til eleven 5 nights a week.”

Humming, Remus narrowed his eyes at his business partner; “you’re playing dirty.”

Lily laughed, shaking her head and cursing at him fondly; “fuck off Re, you know this is gonna be good for us…”

“Mmhmm. Come on then,” he held a hand out to James, gesturing for him to hand over a plate; “give me my blackmail sandwich. With Ketchup.”

“Ketchup? Heathen.” James scowled, handing over a red bottle with a very cheffy sigh, crossing his arms as he waited for the verdict. He didn’t have to wait long, however, as Remus let out a loud moan as he bit into the sandwich, clutching it close to his chest.

“That’s fucking insane,” Remus spoke, licking his lips before going in for a second mouthful; “have you tried this?” he asked Lily incredulously.

“No Re, that is what a tasting session is for, you dimwit!”

“Hey!”

“O-kay,” James interrupted their bickering awkwardly; “so I’m gonna give you everything one at a time and if you just let me know honestly, and then I have some more ready to go as the staff get in so I have a wide range of opinions. Good?”

“Gimme, come on…” Remus came close to whining, he’d had to smell James’ cooking for the last ninety minutes and it was safe to say he was hungry.

----------

“So, did you like it all Lily?” Remus was officially not in this conversation then, not that he minded. James was clearly trying his hardest to flirt professionally, and Remus had spent the last three dishes trying not to laugh at James’ unsubtle advances.

“Apart from that mushroom puree crouton crap, yes,” she answered harshly, completely decimating James’ bright smile; “honestly I don’t know what would possess you to ever serve that to someone, let alone your superiors.”

“Oh- oh, I-“ James spluttered, and Remus span on his heel, pretending to check his phone; “I guess I could try it again or we could just get rid of it, maybe add another refresher option?”

“No.”

Remus was used to this, Lily’s Domme persona peeking through when she was doing business, but he had a feeling that this slip was intentional, testing James to see how he reacted to her. They’d received the ‘love contracts’ back from their lawyer yesterday, drawn up to protect their business from their slutty tendencies; and now Lily was pressing James’ boundaries to see exactly how much he could stand.

“Would you not like something els-?”

“No,” she cut him off, “what I want is for you to get rid of any trace of that idea from the face of the earth, understood?”

“Yes Ma’am,” he answered, and just as Remus slipped his phone back into his pocket and turned to the pair, James mumbled under his breath; “stop being mean or I swear to god I will fall in love with you, Evans.”

Choking on a laugh, Remus surveyed the scene: Lily, stood from her stool, arms braced on the counter, lips pillarbox red and breasts pushed forward in whatever magically constricting dress she’d slipped into that morning. James, shoulders tense and head down, moving empty plates to the sink with a tell-tale flush on the back of his neck, doing his best to keep his crotch pressed into the cabinets.

“Happy, Lily?” he asked, keen to get as far away from her predatory eyes as quickly as possible.

“Yes,” she flashed a grin at him, eyes only briefly leaving the Chef’s muscular frame; “will you take the menu and work your magic?”

Taking the piece of paper she proffered to him, now covered in their scribbles with tweaks and notes on presentation, he bowed out of the kitchen with a quick wink; “since you asked so nicely.”

----------

Atelier Eats

Short Rib Arancini

Tomato ragu with braised Short Rib of Beef encased in creamy risotto, breaded and deep fried. Served with parmesan shavings.

Pumpkin & Sage Arancini (v)

Roasted pumpkin and sage encased in a creamy vegetarian risotto, breaded and deep fried. Served with crispy sage and vegetarian parmesan shavings.

Chicken Tikka Skewers

Chicken breast pieces marinated in Indian spices and natural yogurt, grilled and served with mango chutney, lime pickle and raita.

Soy Tikka Skewers (ve)

Soy bites marinated in Indian spices and soy-based yogurt, grilled and served with mango chutney, lime pickle and vegan raita.

Caprese Skewers (v)

Buffalo Bocconcini skewered with cherry tomatoes and fresh basil, served with a balsamic glaze.

Pumpkin Panna Cotta (v)

Creamy pumpkin custard served on a vegetarian parmesan crisp with pumpkin seeds.

Finger Sandwiches

Choose from:

Falafel & Hummus (ve)

Cucumber & Cream Cheese (v)

Cheddar & Caramelised Onion Chutney (v)

Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato

Vegan Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado & Tomato (ve)

Breaded Cod Goujons with Tartare Sauce

Coronation Chicken

----------

He didn’t see either Lily or James for the rest of the day, and he pondered that as he stretched out the stiffness in his muscles from sitting in front of the computer for hours. He’d only dipped out of the office a couple of times; just to check that the staff were happy and to deal with a problem one of their regular customers created. Now it was nearly closing time and more than anything Remus wanted his bath and his bed.

Switching the monitor off, he headed down the stairs and out into the club, taking in the last couple of stragglers and nodding at the staff who acknowledged him. Thursday nights were always fairly quiet, so they tended to close around 11:30. The only pain was that someone, either he or Lily, needed to stick around and wait for the takings so they could be secured in the office safe. Normally, they would trust the closing bartender with the job, but as it was Sirius and he had only worked three shifts so far, they were doing the job themselves.

Knocking gently on the bar top, Sirius’ head popped up from behind the surface; “Remus!”

“Sirius,” Remus acknowledged, trying to ignore how adorable the boy looked, his long hair tied up in some sort of artful bun-braid thing, a wide smile on his face and eyes sparkling in the low light; “do you have something for me?”

Sirius blinked slowly, dazed for a second; “I have, uh, I can do you an old fashioned before we clean down? I’m sorry, nothings come through saying that you wan-“

“Sirius. I meant the takings, love,” Remus interrupted him, stopping his minor panic mid-thought; “we normally switch to card payments only for the last thirty minutes of service. Did no-one tell you that?”

“This is my first close alone, I guess ‘Doc must’ve forgotten that bit, sorry.”

Remus tried to ignore the strange twinge in his chest that came from Sirius giving one of their other members of staff a nickname, barrelling straight through it; “that’s no problem. Normally you cash up thirty minutes-ish before we’re due to close, seal it in a cashbag – there should be one tucked behind the system? And then we’ll eventually get you a pin for the office if you end up closing a lot, if not either Lily or myself will come and fetch it to put away in the safe. Has everything else gone okay tonight?”

“Yeah, apart from that guy you and Pete had to kick out, it’s been pretty chilled.”

“Good, that’s good,” Remus skirted behind the bar to press go through the process of closing down the cash till; “did Crane show you how to cash up or did he forget that too?” Remus asked carefully, trying to inject some humour into his tone, a little annoyed that one of their best workers forgot something so vital.

“I used to cash up at my old work so I can do that, he didn’t show me the particulars though,” Sirius spoke softly, standing just to the right of Remus so he could see the buttons he was pressing on the screen; “would you show me?”

Remus merely hummed, reaching out to hook a hand around the smaller boy’s hip and pull him closer to the screen, so that he was directly in front of it with Remus able to see the screen even with Sirius between him and the system.

Shifting ever-so-slightly closer so that he could reach around Sirius to indicate the correct things to type and press, he inhaled as the other boy’s body leant into his. Momentarily distracted by the smell of his hair, like eucalyptus and spearmint, Remus took another lungful of air in, only opening his eyes again when he felt rather than heard Sirius hum in question.

Talking him gently through the process of shutting the till down, he didn’t notice until glasses were pushed across the surface to their right that he’d been rubbing slow circles into Sirius’ hip over the fabric of his t-shirt. Clearing his throat softly, he dropped his hands and stepped backwards, reaching for a tag for the cashbag; “so once you’re happy, you need to seal the bag and tag it with one of these,” he held up the small white plastic tag, “and then if you want to follow me I’ll show you how we catalogue the safe entries, sound good?”

“Yes, uh, yeah…” Sirius murmured, pink high on his cheeks and both hands clenched tightly around the takings, “not that different to my last place, really. If you want to take the lead?”

----------

“Do you need a lift home?” Remus asked as he locked the lobby doors behind he and Sirius, the last of the staff to be heading out, nodding to the security guard for the evening.

“Uh, that would be great actually, James messaged me earlier to say he was going to be out all night.”

“So he’s the one that drives then?” Remus asked as he used a palm on Sirius’ lower back to direct him around the side of the building to where he and Lily parked, raising an amused eyebrow when he saw Lily’s car and another he didn’t recognise parked either side of his.

“Yeah,” Sirius paused, looking confused for a second, “that’s his car there.”

“Ah,” Remus let out a low chuckle as he gestured for the boy to get into the passenger side of his Jeep; “well the blue one is Lily’s so I can give you three guesses as to where James is.”

“Oh,” Sirius turned his face away from Remus to stare at James’ Fiesta, chewing his lip in thought; “you really think they’re-?”

Grinning widely, Remus turned his head to meet Sirius’ questioning look; “does that surprise you?”

“I guess not, I just didn’t think you guys would, um,” he broke off, hands twisting around the strap of his rucksack nervously.

“Play with the staff?” Remus asked, a sharp smile taking over from the previous grin of amusement, raising one eyebrow as he navigated the empty streets.

“If that’s the way you want to put it, sure;” Sirius let out a small laugh, “I’m just out near Fallowfield, if that’s okay.”

“Sure,” Remus turned his indicator on, slipping into the next lane over to allow for the new directions; “you know you’re welcome to play in the club too on your nights off? There’s a discount on drinks and soon-to-be food for staff.”

“With you?” Sirius blurted, and Remus felt his eyes on the side of his face, turning to easily meet the boy’s incredulous stare.

“With anyone you’d like to play with. You watched my demonstration on Saturday, right?” he asked gently, giving Sirius the chance to deny it if he wanted.

“Yes,” the boy whispered, looking down at his hands now.

“Did you enjoy it?” he gently encouraged Sirius.

“I think so…”

“Well, I remember you said at your interview you’d never been into a kink club before. If you’d like to explore that side of yourself, Atelier is a safe place. You’ve seen first hand how we treat customers, and we would never use any knowledge of your personal life against you at work,” Remus probed him gently, choosing to not look at Sirius, keeping the conversation light and careful; “don’t feel as though you have to, you have nothing to prove to anyone and just because you work in the BDSM world does not mean you need to play there too. I just wanted to let you know that you were free to explore, and Lily or I can introduce you to some excellent playmates if you’d like.”

“So not you?” Sirius asked, a slight tremor in his voice, “I haven’t ever… Not with anyone.”

“That’s okay, love. You don’t need to explain yourself to me.”

He could’ve guessed that Sirius was a virgin based on his reactions in and around the club, but the confirmation of such was a little dizzying. How had the boy managed to remain untouched for so long?

“You don’t think it’s weird?”

“No.”

“But you wouldn’t want to play with me?” Sirius asked, whispering into the silence, staring into the darkness that was occasionally interrupted by the bright light of the city.

“Wouldn’t isn’t the right word, Sirius.”

“But Lily can play with James?”

“I get the feeling that James is a little more into the scene, no?” Remus asked, finally sparing Sirius a sideways glance as he took the final turn onto the boy’s street; “I tell you what, you have Saturday off, yes?”

“Mmmhmmm,” the boy hummed, a tiny frown line dissecting his brow.

“Use it to do a little bit of research into BDSM, make a list of what you think you might like, anything that catches your fancy. And look into dynamics, the different sort of Dominant and Submissive roles people have. None of that Fifty Shades of Grey shit, but there are some good reddit threads about realistic BDSM practice, some tumblr blogs and kink websites.” He paused as he pulled up where Sirius directed him; “Bring that to me on Saturday and we’ll see if we’re compatible. If we are, and you still want to play then we can talk about it more, okay?”

“And if we’re not?” Sirius asked.

“Then I’ll introduce you to someone that can give you the things you want safely. Does that sound good?”

“Yes.”

“Good,” Remus swallowed, reaching for a slip of paper in the centre console and scribbling his number on it and then pressing the button to unlock the car from the inside, “if you have any questions about anything you find, feel free to text me. Don’t expect a response before 9AM,” He joked;  “you did good work tonight, Sirius. We’re glad to have you on our team, this doesn’t affect that.”

His words seemed to brighten the smaller boy up, who merely smiled at Remus and then hopped down from the Wrangler onto the pavement, rushing over to a worn door and slipping through it quickly.

“You wouldn’t want to play with me?” Remus imitated Sirius’ slightly higher voice as he drove off, dropping one hand to rub at his half-hard cock through his trousers; “Jesus fuck kid, what are you made of, kryptonite?”

----------

Sirius POV

Falling through his front door, Sirius flicked the lights on absentmindedly. His brain was racing trying to process everything that Remus had said to him. That he’d said to Remus. Oh God. ‘You wouldn’t want to play with me?’, could he have sounded any more like a child? Groaning, he dropped face first onto the sofa and allowed himself 30 seconds to wallow before he forced himself back up and into the shower.

While he was towelling off, it occurred to him that Remus had told him to make a list but never said he would reciprocate. Like he was just trying to get out of it, pawn him off to someone else so he wasn’t Remus’ problem anymore.

You should send me a list too.

Sorry?

So I know you aren’t just going to fob me off on one of your friends.

This is Sirius, btw.

Black.

I figured as much.

Okay, I’ll make you a list. But I wouldn’t just ‘fob you off’ Sirius.

The most important part of BDSM is that you and your partner are playing safely and in a consensual manner, and if we didn’t have the same tastes then it could lead to a dangerous situation, particularly for you.

Biting his lip as he laid in bed, damp hair soaking into his pillow; he tried to think through just exactly what that could mean. A dangerous situation?

How do you mean?

Say we decided to play together without any parameters, you as the submissive, and didn’t like a scene I suggested. Can you honestly tell me that you would use a safeword or tell me to stop? That you wouldn’t bottle up your distaste for an activity to try to please or impress me?

It could send you into a panic attack, cause you serious mental or physical harm.

That’s why it’s important you explore the world yourself, and by making a solid list we can create a starting point for you.

So you really meant it

When you said you’d find someone else?

Yes.

That’s not to say your list won’t change, God knows mine did from when I was 18 to when I was 24, let alone from 18 to now.

Yeah?

Well for one, I started out as a Sub.

Shut up

Did you actually?

I can’t see that

A story for another time.

Get some sleep, love.

Sirius tried, he really did, but he couldn’t stop thinking about that moment earlier on when Remus was pressed up against his back. Okay, so maybe he did the pressing, but it wasn’t like Remus had stepped back! And the way he’d left his massive palm resting on Sirius’ hip, warm and heavy as he smoothed rough circles into his hip, he’d struggled to resist giving in to his arousal.

Now in the comfort of his bedroom, he allowed himself to sink into a fantasy world where Remus gave soft-spoken instructions into his ear on something a little less savoury than how to close down a till. Maybe Remus would behind him in the shower, tell him exactly how to stroke his cock and call him his good boy. Just the thought of those words coming from Remus’ lips had him chubbing up against his thigh, and he whined softly, rolling over to rut into the soft, worn cotton of his sheets.

A fistful of sheets and a wide, gasping mouth followed son after, the knowledge that James’ was out allowing him to continue uninhibited; moaning Remus’ name loudly, he ground down harder, resisting the urge to reach down and tug at his sensitive dick. As he got closer and closer to the edge, his body gaining a thin sheen of sweat, he leaked more and more pre-come into the sheets, a small wet spot helping with the slick slide of his hips.

He found himself begging, as if Remus were in the room with him, begging to come, to be Remus’ good boy, for Remus to please please touch him.

With a shout, Sirius came hard and messy across the bedding.

Fuck.

----------

He woke to a jumper hitting his face.

“Huh?” he mumbled, pressing his face further into his pillow.

“Why are you in my bed, Siri?” James questioned him, lifting the duvet and sliding in quick before he let the heat out.

“There was an incident.” Sirius spoke quietly, refusing to open his eyes just yet.

“An incident?” James spoke disbelievingly, poking at Sirius’ sides with chilly fingers; “what sort of incident requires you to sleep in my bed? Did you spill something?”

When the smaller boy didn’t respond and merely went pink in the cheeks, James let out a short breath of laughter; “did you spunk all over your sheets?”

“Shut up,” Sirius whined, shoving him carefully, “’sides, not like you were here is it?”

James tugged him in close, threading his fingers through his brothers hair and beginning the arduous task of detangling Sirius’ armpit-length tresses; “I was getting fucked to within an inch of my life by one Miss Lily Evans.”

“I know,” Sirius mumbled into his neck, wrinkling his nose at the lingering smell of perfume; “Remus gave me a lift home and saw your car parked up next to Lily’s. He was fairly certain that’s what was going on.”

“Oh,” James said, slightly disappointed he hadn’t been allowed to tell his best friend; “well, I had to sign this thing that basically said I wasn’t gonna sue her for sexual harassment or wrongful termination if shit hits the fan, but it was so worth it. Jesus, I think I believe in Jesus now.”

Sirius gave in to the idea of a lie-in, scrunching his eyes tight before opening them wide, blinking in the bright sunlight; “yes, I’m very happy that you had fun with your dream woman. Wait, you had to sign something?”

“Yeah!” James nodded excessively, way too wake for whatever-the-fuck time it was in the morning; “we talked about it and she said if I was interested in her dominating me for a scene then I’d have to sign this waiver, and if we agree it won’t happen again I’ll have to sign something else? Weird but I was obviously gonna sign it, have you seen Lily? Fuck. Absolutely incredible woman. I think she broke my brain.”

“Maybe that’s why,” Sirius began, cutting himself off fast, but not fast enough that James didn’t notice.

“Why what?” he asked, pulling out of their cuddle to grasp Sirius’ face in his hands; “did something happen? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Jamie;” Sirius sighed, resigning himself to telling James, pretending he wouldn’t have already blabbed if he’d been here last night; “when Remus was giving me a lift home he told me I was welcome to use the club as a ‘safe place to experiment’ and I asked if he meant I could experiment with him and he turned me down.”

“Really?” the other boy asked, mouth open in disbelief; “he turned you down?”

“Um, I guess not exactly?” Sirius parsed the question, “I told hm that I hadn’t… you know, before and he said that if I want him to play with me then I need to do some research and make a list of what I like so he can see if we’d be compatible or whatever…”

James pulled his brother back into a tight cuddle, not even protesting when Sirius grasped the sensitive skin at the base of his neck in between his teeth and began to nibble on it gently; “that’s a very responsible thing for him to do, Siri,” James jumped when Sirius nipped a little harder in retaliation; “ah! Don’t get me, you little shit! I’m telling the truth, he’s clearly experienced in kink and wants to make sure you have a good time. That means it’s important your needs are met.”

“Said he’d give me to somebody else,” Sirius mumbled with a pout on his lips; “if he didn’t want me.”

“I will give you twenty quid right now if that’s what he actually said,” James laughed, “and then I will go punch him on the nose. But I would put money on him saying that if you didn’t match he’d find you a Dom he trusted to take care of you.”

Sirius shoved James in the ribs hard enough to make him flail on the edge of the bed; “don’t take his side!”

Shaking his head, James stood and started to undress, throwing yesterday’s clothes in the hamper; “it’s the right thing to do, and I know his demo may have been fairly tame but he could be looking for a full time Master/Slave dynamic or be into watersports or something.”

Clearly having seen the confused frown on Sirius’ face, James waved him off with an ‘I’ll let you discover that one on your own’. Standing, Sirius traipsed passed James’ naked frame and gave him a sharp spank on his arse, seeing the red stripes already there just a second too late. When the other man fell forward into the sheets, groaning, Sirius garbled an apology and ran, distracting himself by shoving his sheets into the wash and fishing a new set out of him wardrobe to make his bed back up.

----------

His shift that night was torture, although he had managed to get a couple of hours of ‘research’ in before getting ready for work.

He’d wound up on various reddit threads, some more graphic than others, and he’d had to come away from more than one because it was heading in a direction he knew would not ever spark joy in him. Remus had texted him at just as he was getting changed into his work clothes with a link to a printable sheet accompanied by a message that simply said ‘try this’. It was a double-sided page with various activities and kinks on it, each with a 1-5 desire rating next to it, and just reading through some of the items made Sirius’ belly twist with arousal.

Sirius had another problem, in that Remus had been on the floor three times in the last two hours and he couldn’t stop himself from looking for the tall man. Both Caradoc and Andy were shooting him teasing grins every time they saw his searching eyes, so he was doing his best to keep his head down.

That created this new problem.

The customer Sirius had kindly nicknamed ‘Sweaty Steve’ had a tight grasp on his wrist and whisky on his breath, and he was not shy about telling Sirius exactly what he’d like to do to him. Or, more accurately, what he’d like Sirius to do to him.

Twisting his wrist, the man had only held on tighter, and Sirius tried to repress his panic as he searched the bar for anyone who might be able to help him, but most of the people inside were occupied by the rope demonstration that was taking place, and Caradoc was on his break, with Andy ferrying drinks upstairs to VIP suites.

At the moment that ‘Sweaty Steve’ grabbed his face in a clammy hand, forcing him further over the bar top, Remus rounded the corner, his expression instantly dropping from one of benign happiness to intense fury.

As he stormed towards them, a tear escaped the corner of Sirius’ eye, and he watched as Remus tore the other man off him and forced him outside. Left alone, he dropped to his knees behind the bar, breathing fast and hard as his vision blurred, a rough sob making its way up out of his chest.

It was a long time before he felt a gentle hand on the small of his back, rubbing familiar small circles into his skin.

“Breathe for me, love. You can do it,” Remus spoke firmly into his ear, “nice and deep, that’s it.”

Heart slowing, Sirius managed to draw in deeper breaths and felt the shudders racing through his body; “I, I didn’t know,“ he managed to speak before another sob wrenched itself out of his gut.

“Shh love,” Remus smoothed the hair that had fallen out of his bun back from his face; “I’ve got you, you’re safe.”

Those words unlocked something in Sirius, who merely nodded and reached for Remus. He squeaked when he felt arms wrap securely around him and air underneath his bum, trying to look up but having his head pushed back into the juncture of Remus’ neck.

“It’s alright Sirius,” Remus kept up a constant stream of words as he walked; “you’re doing such a good job love, just keep breathing for me. I’m going to get us out of the bar, okay?”

As they moved, Sirius felt his body jerk up and down, as if he was moving up. Oh, he thought, he’s taking me upstairs. Oh. This was not good. The thought that he was being taken up to the office made his panic return, had he fucked up by letting that guy touch him? Was he going to be fired for having a panic attack in front of customers?

He hadn’t noticed that he’d been set down on something soft, Remus’ hand back on the base of his spine and rubbing those infuriatingly calming circles again. Keeping his head tucked into the other man’s neck, he drew in deep shuddering breaths before he began to apologise; “I’m sorry, it won’t, won’t happen again, promise! I promise, Remus, he just scared me, reminded me of, of them!”

“Hey, hey love, you’re alright,” Remus soothed him, holding him tighter as he shook; “you’re not in trouble Sirius, we just needed to get you out of the bar. You’re alright, keep breathing for me.”

It could have been minutes later, it could have been an hour, but when Sirius pulled back, breathing steady and heart rate slowed back to normal, Remus cupped his face in his big hands and watched him carefully.

“How are you feeling?” he asked gently.

“Um, a bit tired and gross, really,” Sirius whispered; “he wasn’t nice.”

“No, I didn’t think he was.” Remus hummed thoughtfully; “Would you like to have a shower, love? Don’t worry about your shift, Caradoc and Andy have it covered downstairs.”

Finally, Sirius took notice of where he was. The dark green walls, rattan furniture and the soft, comfortable bed they were perched on the edge of; toeing at the pale grey rug Sirius stared through the glass doors in front of him into the bathroom; “would you mind if I did have a shower? This is your room, right?”

Remus nodded, standing from the bed and running a hand through his wild hair; “come on then, I’ll show you how the shower works and find you some trackies you can throw on, does that sound good?”

“Mmmhmmm,” Sirius hummed, following Remus into the green-tiled bathroom, unable to stop an awe-filled expression taking over his face; “this is just for you?”

“Yes,” Remus huffed a laugh out of his nose; “you like it? I designed it myself when we were doing the remodel. Bet you can’t guess my favourite colour,” he joked, letting Sirius take in the space. It was impressive, tiled all over in bottle-green subway tiles and finished with brushed stainless steel taps and showers; “do you ever use both showers at the same time?”

Quirking an eyebrow, Remus fixed him with a stare as if waiting for him to catch on to a joke. Slowly, it came to Sirius; “oh, right.”

“The bath though,” Remus continued, pointing out the ginormous charcoal tub to their right; “that’s all for me. I know if looks insane, but it fits me from my head to my toes.”

“Is it stone?” Sirius asked, taking in the texture of the bath.

“Something like that. Right, come here,” Remus held a hand out for him, tugging him close enough that he could see which lever to twist but still be away from the spray; “so it’s this one for water and this one on the left for temperature, okay? I have it set pretty hot so watch out for that. Towels on the rail, give me a shout if you need anything. I mean it, I’ll be just outside.”

Remus was being gentle with him, the kind of gentle he’d seen him be immediately after he’d spanked his poppet.

“Thank you.”

Before Remus had turned to leave he’d already tugged his shirt over his head, shaking his hair out of its scrunchie turning the shower on. As he watched Remus’ retreat he popped the button on his jeans, kicking his boots off to get them over his feet and toeing off his socks. Right as he stepped under the spray and Remus disappeared from view his breathing started to ratchet up, his eyes clenched shut under the warm spray. In an effort to smother the feeling of hands on him he turned the heat right up, gasping and jerking out of the way when the hot water scalded his skin; “Remus?”

“Yes love?” came the answer from the bedroom, Remus poking his head around the corner with a pair of tracksuit bottoms in his hands; “are you alright?”

Sirius was sure he made a sight, curled against the tiles as he shivered at the difference in temperature. Remus dropped the trousers and swiftly made his way over to the shower, running a hand underneath to test the temperature before wincing and turning it down. He held out his hand to Sirius, who just stared at it for a second, confused; “do you need some help?”

“I, I kept feeling his hands on me…” Sirius whispered, and Remus stepped through the stream of water, uncaring about his clothes getting wet. When Sirius didn’t flinch away he offered his hand again; “do you want me to help you?”

“Would you?” Sirius asked, looking up at the other man with wide, wet eyes, lurching forward when Remus opened his arms.

“Do you want me to call James for you when we get out?” Remus asked carefully, reaching for the shower gel on the shelf next to him, working it into a flannel and releasing Sirius so he could see what he was doing.

“He’s gone down to see mum and dad,” Sirius whispered, letting Remus rub the suds into his skin, watching with wide eyes as he took care around the tender hand-shaped mark on his wrist; “he’ll just panic if he hears about it now.”

“Okay, that’s alright,” Remus reassured him, slowly working the flannel over his skin until he had to crouch. As he washed over his ankles, moving up his calves it occurred to Sirius that in any other situation having Remus on his knees in front of him while he was naked would’ve driven him wild with arousal. Tonight, his cock didn’t even twitch.

Remus didn’t pretend it wasn’t there, but he skirted carefully around his groin, instructing Sirius to spin and face the wall before continuing on getting him clean. When he rose from his crouch, he tugged Sirius back into his frame, reminiscent of the night before, and Sirius broke once more, a shuddering sob making its way through his frame.

“You’re alright love, I’ve got you,” Remus hummed, slowly rocking them from side to side under the warm spray of the shower; “shall we do your hair?”

Nodding, Sirius straightened up and let Remus rub the suds into his scalp, following up with conditioner soon after. When he was instructed to shut his eyes and flinched, Remus took both of his hands and placed them on his own hips, squeezing them gently; “we’re gonna do your face love,” he reassured Sirius while he spread the cleanser between his palms and rubbed it over his face, “I’m right here and I’ll keep talking. You’re safe. It’s alright.”

When he could re-open his eyes, Sirius sighed in relief and barrelled forward into Remus, holding onto him tightly.

“Shall we get out?” Remus asked him, reciprocating the hug tightly.

He felt a bit broken, dripping onto a bathmat and standing still as someone else dried him off, barely reacting to the gentle treatment.

“Is this aftercare?” he asked quietly, it had occurred to him that Remus was very well practiced at taking care of him.

“Yes and no,” Remus answered, “you heard me say the other night that aftercare can be different for everyone?”

“You did. And you let poppet do what she wanted because she was experienced.” he said the word like it was poison.

“I let Eve direct her own aftercare,” Remus agreed, lip quirking at Sirius’ distaste for his former partner; “because she was experienced enough to know what she’d need and the scene was not particularly heavy, yes.” He paused, encouraging Sirius to step one foot at a time into the bottoms he’d laid out; “If it was a heavier scene or she was a newcomer to BDSM I would have directed it. Similarly with trauma it’s important to give victims opportunities to make their own decisions, but sometimes people respond better to firm guidance. A little bit of a different premise but the same purpose: calming someone down in a safe and secure environment.”

“Thank you for caring for me,” Sirius said quietly; “not really what I imagined when I thought about being in your room for the first time.”

Remus let out a little laugh as he stood wrapping an arm around Sirius and encouraging him back into main room; “me either, love.”

“So you’ve imagined it?” Sirius asked hopefully, craning his head back to look at the Dom.

“Cheeky,” Remus chastised him; “up in the bed, now.”

Sirius pouted, but was excited to be allowed back onto Remus’ bed; “will you do my hair?”

Remus smiled properly now, picking up the microfibre towel and brush he’d left there and settling on the edge of the bed; “come here then,” Remus directed him, gesturing to the space on the floor between his knees.

It had been a relaxing ten minutes, Remus steadily brushing out the knots from his roots down to the scraggly ends of his hair; then meticulously braiding it backwards into a French plait. When the end of the plait was gently tugged, Sirius tipped his head back until it was resting on Remus’ thigh.

“Can I ask about what you said earlier?” Remus asked carefully, setting the hairbrush down on the bedside table.

“What about?”

“You said that he reminded you of ‘them’,” Remus enquired; “you don’t have any scars like I do, though.”

Letting a bitter laugh free, Sirius let his head drop forward again; “they were too smart for that. My birth parents, they used to beat me. Family traditions, and all that.”

“Oh love, I’m so sorry,” Remus breathed, pressing a kiss into his hair.

“Not your fault,” Sirius shrugged; “when I was sixteen they dislocated my shoulder and broke my humerus because I refused to marry my cousin. Not so funny, huh?” he tagged on the pun at Remus’ sharp inhale, twisting to see his expression.

“But you got away?”

“I managed to run away to James’, cos' even though we met at boarding school I’d been to his house a couple of times and knew their address. After I’d been to A&E a nurse took pity on me and dropped me off there. And here we are now;” he did a bad imitation of jazz hands.

“I’m so glad you did,” Remus confessed, sighing deeply.

“Me too,” Sirius whispered, the silence between them growing stagnant.

“Do you want to stay here tonight or for me to take you home?” he asked gently.

“I don’t want to be alone,” Sirius whispered carefully; “would you stay here with me?”

Remus looked like he was considering it for a moment before he agreed; “no funny business though.”

“I promise,” Sirius smiled, “I’ll be good.”

He tried to ignore the little ripple his own words sent through him, hoping it wasn’t noticeable to Remus, who sent him a secret little smile as he helped him stand and get back onto the bed; except there was a little wet patch now from where Remus had been perched.

“I’m just going to get changed out of these clothes, okay?”

Sirius nodded, curling up like a cat under the covers and watching through half-lidded eyes as Remus stripped down and threw his wet clothes onto the bathroom floor with a wet thwap; “does ‘no funny business’ mean I’m not allowed to look?”

Turning from where he was searching through one of three wardrobes, Remus smirked over his shoulder at him; “I think that would be a little unfair considering I hopped in the shower with you, wouldn’t it?”

Sirius hummed, eyes skating over Remus’ body; the silver slashes of scars that split the tanned skin up, the generous curve of his arse and his thick thighs. When he turned, Sirius gaze transferred from firm muscle to gorgeous cock; even soft, Remus’ shaft was thick and nestled in a neat thatch of hair that continued all the way up his chest, spreading out into a smattering of dark brown curls. Sirius’ mouth was watering.

“Do you like what you see, love?” Remus asked teasingly, laughing a little at the pout that adorned Sirius’ face when he tugged a pair of boxer-briefs up over his hips.

Humming, Sirius sat up as Remus turned off the big light and got closer to the bed; “do you shave it to look like that?”

“My chest hair?” he asked gently, “I don’t, no. It just grew in that way.”

“Oh,” Sirius sighed, “it looks really soft…”

“Come on then,” Remus climbed into the bed, holding his arm up for Sirius to cuddle into him, letting him rub his cheek into his chest hair until he could feel the other boy’s smile against his skin; “verdict?”

“Soft and comfy,” Sirius mumbled, “will I get a nickname?”

“Oh, you’ll have to wait and see.” Remus teased him, smoothing a hand over Sirius’ head and pulling him in tighter. When a mouth attached to his chest, just above his nipple, Remus jerked in surprise; “I thought you were gonna be good?”

“Oh,” Sirius released the skin, “sorry, it’s a comfort response, I think. Jamie is always covered in hickies from our cuddles.”

“In that case,” Remus hummed, tucking Sirius’ head back into his skin, watching as the boy hesitantly latched onto him again; “you can carry on. Get some sleep, and I’ll be here if you need me.”

Letting his body relax completely, Sirius drifted off to sleep in the arms of the man he’d dreamt of the night before.

Chapter Text

Sirius POV

Usually, Sirius woke slowly, taking the time to map out his surroundings with his body before he deigned to open an eye. That morning, however, coming to with soft skin under his hands, a leg pressed between his and his face hidden in someone’s neck, he woke up pretty fucking quick.

He froze, breathing in the scent of Remus Lupin and committing it to memory, just in case he wasn’t given the chance to do this again. It was then that he realised he’d been rolling his morning wood into Remus’ hip, slow and steady; he’d clearly been hard for a while, the soft fabric of the tracksuit bottoms he’d been leant tacky with precome as they shifted ever-so-slightly over the head of his cock.

Remus’ hand was wrapped firmly around the back of his neck, the other man’s breath deep and even as he held Sirius to him. He looked so handsome asleep, his face slack and near-persistent frown smoothed out; the big scar that dissected his tan skin was silvery in the morning light that filtered through gauzy curtains, and Sirius had to hold himself back from running fingers over it.

Without moving, he let his gaze roam over Remus’ exposed torso, pride swelling inside at the small hickeys that decorated his chest. Hips twitching forward once more, he muffled a groan into the other man’s bare skin, sucking some of it between his teeth as he fought with every ounce of his self-control to stop himself from rutting up against Remus. He isn’t awake, he told himself, he can’t say yes.

It was then that he noticed Remus starting to shift, coming awake with a low groan. Releasing the skin between his teeth, Sirius wondered just how he’d look to Remus, cheeks flush with arousal and lips shiny with saliva.

“Good morning,” he mumbled, pressing his face back to Remus’ chest, “did you sleep well?”

Remus hummed, pulling Sirius closer to him for a second and smearing his face into the spit-wet spot on Remus’ chest. He probably deserved that.

“Morning cuddlebug,” his voice was low and gravelly, and the tone combined with the nickname made Sirius’ hip twitch forward again, the movement outside of his control. It pressed his hard cock up against Remus once more, and the man let out a breathy laugh into Sirius’ hair; “oh, it’s like that, is it?”

“M’sorry,” he mumbled, feeling his face heat in embarrassment, “woke up like this, hasn’t gone down yet…”

Remus’ frame shook with quiet laughter, holding Sirius close to him as if to reassure the boy; “to be twenty-three again, hm? You don’t need to apologise, love.”

Sirius nipped at Remus’ chest in retaliation, feeling a little better about the situation but fighting a pout that he’d been relegated back to ‘love’; “no.”

“No?” Remus asked confusedly, releasing Sirius and sitting up with a heavy exhale to stretch, “what are we saying no to first thing in the morning?”

“’M your cuddlebug, you can’t take it back now,” Sirius picked at a thread in the sheets, stomach flipping as he waited for Remus’ response; “you call everyone ‘love’.”

Remus sighed again, lifting Sirius’ chin with a careful hand; “Sirius, you aren’t just anyone. I can promise you that, but,” he paused seeing the boys dejected face, “but last night doesn’t mean that I’m discarding everything we talked about on Thursday. We still need to make sure we’re compatible if you want to play.”

“And what if I just want you?” Sirius mumbled, refusing to meet Remus’ eyes.

“I don’t- Sirius, Atelier isn’t my life, I would never claim it to be. I’m interested in a relationship beyond the realms of just sex. Kink is, however, a key part of my sexual relationships,” he took a deep breath before continuing; “and if you aren’t interested in pursuing the same sort of relationship that I am then it would be pointless for both of us.”

Sirius’ face remained downtrodden, and he took a chance in pressing a small kiss to the inside of Remus’ wrist as his hand held his chin in place; “it’s only ever been you.”

Remus was silent for a minute, long enough to make Sirius start looking for an escape route; “can you explain what you mean?”

“When Jamie and I were at school I knew that it was boys I liked because of the way he saw girls and boys. I didn’t find any of the girls from town pretty, they didn’t make me feel anything. But really, while I found some of the boys attractive they never made me, uh,” Sirius paused in his ramble, seeing Remus’ encouraging nod before he continued; “never made my belly go all tight and twisty or made my mouth water the way you do. I did a little bit of research yesterday, like you told me.”

“That’s good, Sirius.” Remus released his chin, finally, and let him look elsewhere; except now he dropped his hand to rest on Sirius’ knee, pressing warmth through the fabric.

“Some of it,” he took a deep breath, “some of it made me scared, but some of it made me feel hot and desperate to try. I just mean that I’m not interested in trying it with a random person you trust. If we aren’t compatible that’s okay, I wouldn’t want either of us to be unhappy. But the person doing things to me, when I imagine them, that person is you. That’s what gets me hard, that you’re doing those things to me, not that they’re being done.”

Remus nodded like he understood exactly what Sirius meant, then stood from the bed and walked towards the wardrobe, picking through clothing without saying anything to him. It made Sirius’ nervous; was Remus going to deny him point blank?

“So here’s what we’re going to do then,” Remus spoke in a very matter-of-fact way; “you are going to stay in here and I’ll bring you a hard copy of that list for you to fill out and an iPad for any more research you need to do. And I’ll go to my office and fill my own copy in, then come back and entertain myself, answer any questions you have. Does that sound good?”

Sirius nodded, chewing on his lower lip; “and then we’ll look at them together?”

“Yes, Sirius, we’ll go through them and move forward together.”

“Okay,” he affirmed, sitting with his legs crossed in the middle of Remus’ big bed, “thank you.”

----------

He’d spent the better part of an hour looking like some sort of conspiracy theorist, surrounded by the research he’d done and his list of forbidden pleasures, when Remus came back through his door.

“How’s it going?” he asked carefully, choosing to sit on the sofa instead of joining Sirius on the bed.

“Good, I think.” Sirius mumbled, barely looking up, lest he get distracted; “some of the porn that comes up is scary though.”

“Yeah,” Remus’ voice was tainted with amusement; “they really skip from tame into hardcore with little in between. I’d avoid it if I were you.”

Sirius hummed in acknowledgement, assigning a score the to the last item on the list; “I think I’m finished.”

Looking up, he watched as Remus stood and withdrew his own list from his back pocket – the other man had taken the time to dress in a fresh set of Professor Lupin clothes: an outfit that had made Sirius sigh wistfully as he dressed, reminiscent of a young Indiana Jones.

“I wanna see yours,” Sirius prompted when Remus held his hand out for Sirius’ sheet.

“You still don’t trust me to be honest?” Remus sighed, exchanging their sheets like some sort of hostage negotiation, raising an eyebrow when Sirius hugged Remus’ list to his chest.

Sirius shook his head, clutching the paper close; “it’s not that, I just feel very, ah, exposed?”

“That’s fair enough, I didn’t think of that,” Remus agreed, sitting cross-legged opposite Sirius.

Sirius stared with wide eyes down at Remus’ filled out sheet of paper, trying to slow his brain down enough to actually take in the information.

----------

Remus’ List –

Role: Dominant

Experience level: Advanced

Pain Tolerance 1-10: 6

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual

Physical/Mental Limits: Beating, Extreme Degradation, Consensual Non-Consent, Chastity Devices, Genital & Water Torture, Scat, Knife Play, Extreme/Longlasting Restraints

Sex:                                                    Experience Level Y/N:              Desire Rating 1-5

Kissing:                                                          Y                                                    5

Massage:                                                        Y                                                    5

External Genital Stimulation:                          Y                                                    5

Fingering:                                                      Y                                                    4

Fisting:                                                           Y                                                    2

Vaginal Toys:                                                 Y                                                    4

Anal Toys:                                                     Y                                                    4

Vaginal Sex:                                                  Y                                                    5

Anal Sex:                                                       Y                                                    5

Oral Sex:                                                       Y                                                    5

Threesome:                                                   Y                                                    3

Bondage:

          Full  Body:                                                                            

Restraint 0-1 hours:                                      Y                                                   4

Restraint 1-3 hours:                                      Y                                                   3

Full Day Restraints:                                        Y                                                    1

Leather Restraints:                                         Y                                                   3

Metal Restraints:                                            Y                                                   3

Rope:                                                            Y                                                    2

Shibari:                                                         Y                                                    3

Suspension:                                                   Y                                                   3

Genital Bondage:                                           Y                                                    1

Mummification:                                              N                                                   1

Containment:                                                 Y                                                   1

Predicament Bondage:                                    Y                                                   1

Gags:                                                             Y                                                   3

Sensory Deprivation:                                      Y                                                   3

Chastity Devices:                                            Y                                                   1

S&M:

Spanking:                                                      Y                                                   5

Face Slapping:                                               Y                                                   4

Biting:                                                           Y                                                   3

Nipple Torture:                                              Y                                                   2

Genital Torture:                                             Y                                                   1

Watersports:                                                  Y                                                   3

Scat Play:                                                       N                                                   1

Punching/Beating:                                          Y                                                   1

Bruising:                                                        Y                                                   3

Scratching:                                                     Y                                                   2

Hair Pulling:                                                   Y                                                   4

Choking – Arterial:                                         Y                                                   4

Breath Play:                                                    Y                                                   2

Water Torture:                                                Y                                                   1

Smothering:                                                   Y                                                    1

Fire play:                                                       N                                                    1

Bastinado:                                                     N                                                    1

Knife Play:                                                     Y                                                    1

Blood Play:                                                    Y                                                    1

Electric Play:                                                  Y                                                    1

Ice/Cold Play:                                                Y                                                    4

Hot Wax Play:                                                Y                                                    4

Tickling:                                                        Y                                                    2  

Wrestling:                                                      N                                                    1

Humiliation:                                                                                                           

Private:                                                          Y                                                     3

Public:                                                           Y                                                      1

Dilation:                                                                                                                 

Vaginal:                                                        N                                                      1

Anal:                                                            N                                                      1

Verbal Abuse:                                               Y                                                      2

Branding:                                                     N                                                      1

Scarification:                                                Y                                                      1 

Tattooing:                                                    N                                                      1

Enemas:                                                        Y                                                      2

Gagging:                                                       Y                                                      2

Gagging during Oral Sex:                              Y                                                      4

Punishment:                                                  Y                                                      4 

Power Play:

Begging:                                                        Y                                                      4 

Orders:                                                          Y                                                      3

Behaviour Restriction:                                   Y                                                       3

Speech Restriction:                                       Y                                                       3

Eye Contact Restriction:                                Y                                                       3

Bathroom Control:                                        Y                                                       2

Forced Behaviours:                                                                                                  

Exercise:                                                       Y                                                        1

Masturbation:                                               Y                                                        2

Orgasms:                                                     Y                                                        2

Nudity:                                                         Y                                                        1

Orgasm Control/Denial:                               Y                                                        4

Dirty Talk:                                                   Y                                                        5

Praise:                                                         Y                                                        5 

Public Play:                                                  Y                                                        1 

Discreet Public Play:                                     Y                                                        3 

Clothing Chosen:                                         Y                                                        1

Food Chosen:                                               Y                                                        1

Resistance:                                                  N                                                        1

Genital Worship:                                          Y                                                        4

Foot Worship:                                              N                                                        1

Symbolic Jewellery:                                      Y                                                        4

Serving as Furniture:                                   N                                                        1

Serving as Art:                                            N                                                        1

Serving as Ashtray:                                     N                                                        1

Serving as Toilet:                                                                                                     

Urine:                                                         N                                                         1

Faeces:                                                       N                                                         1

Lecturing:                                                   Y                                                          3

----------

Sirius List -

Role: Submissive

Experience level: Virgin

Pain Tolerance 1-10: 5

Sexual Orientation: Gay(?)

Physical/Mental Limits: Beating and Verbal Abuse

Sex:                                                     Experience Level Y/N:              Desire Rating 1-5

Kissing:                                                             Y                                                  5

Massage:                                                          N                                                  4

External Genital Stimulation:                          Y                                                   5 

Fingering:                                                         N                                                  4

Fisting:                                                             N                                                  1

Vaginal Toys:                                                                                                           

Anal Toys:                                                         N                                                  3

Vaginal Sex:                                                                                                              

Anal Sex:                                                           N                                                  5

Oral Sex:                                                           N                                                  5

Threesome:                                                       N                                                  2

Bondage:

Full Body:                                                                                                                 

Restraint 0-1 hours:                                          N                                                  4  

Restraint 1-3 hours:                                          N                                                  2

Full Day Restraints:                                            N                                                  1

Leather Restraints:                                             N                                                  3 

Metal Restraints:                                                N                                                  2

Rope:                                                                 N                                                  2

Shibari:                                                              N                                                  3

Suspension:                                                       N                                                  2

Genital Bondage:                                               N                                                  1

Mummification:                                                 N                                                  1

Containment:                                                     Y                                                  1

Predicament Bondage:                                       N                                                  1

Gags:                                                                 N                                                 1

Sensory Deprivation:                                          N                                                  1

Chastity Devices:                                               N                                                   1

S&M:

Spanking:                                                          N                                                   4

Face Slapping:                                                   N                                                   4

Biting:                                                               Y                                                    5

Nipple Torture:                                                  N                                                   1

Genital Torture:                                                 N                                                   1

Watersports:                                                      N                                                  4

Scat Play:                                                           N                                                   0

Punching/Beating:                                              Y                                                   0

Bruising:                                                            N                                                  4

Scratching:                                                        N                                                  3

Hair Pulling:                                                      N                                                   5 

Choking – Arterial:                                            N                                                   3

Breath Play:                                                       N                                                   3

Water Torture:                                                   N                                                   1

Smothering:                                                      N                                                    1

Fire play:                                                           N                                                    1

Bastinado:                                                         N                                                    1

Knife Play:                                                         N                                                    1

Blood Play:                                                        N                                                     1

Electric Play:                                                      N                                                    1

Ice/Cold Play:                                                    N                                                     3

Hot Wax Play:                                                    N                                                     4

Tickling:                                                            N                                                     3

Wrestling:                                                          N                                                     2

Humiliation:                                                                                                                

Private:                                                              N                                                     4

Public:                                                               N                                                      1

Dilation:                                                                                                                       

Vaginal:                                                                                                                        

Anal:                                                                 N                                                      1

Verbal Abuse:                                                   N                                                       0

Branding:                                                          N                                                       1

Scarification:                                                     N                                                       1

Tattooing:                                                         Y                                                       4

Enemas:                                                            N                                                       2

Gagging:                                                           N                                                       3

Gagging during Oral Sex:                                  N                                                       4

Punishment:                                                      N                                                       4

Power Play:

Begging:                                                            N                                                       4

Orders:                                                              N                                                       4

Behaviour Restriction:                                        N                                                       2

Speech Restriction:                                            N                                                       4

Eye Contact Restriction:                                     N                                                       2

Bathroom Control:                                             N                                                       3

Forced Behaviours:                                                                                                        

Exercise:                                                            N                                                      1

Masturbation:                                                    N                                                       2

Orgasms:                                                           N                                                       2

Nudity:                                                              N                                                        2

Orgasm Control/Denial:                                     N                                                       4

Dirty Talk:                                                         N                                                        5

Praise:                                                               N                                                        5

Public Play:                                                        N                                                        1

Discreet Public Play:                                           N                                                        3

Clothing Chosen:                                               N                                                        3

Food Chosen:                                                    N                                                         3

Resistance:                                                        N                                                         1

Genital Worship:                                                N                                                         4

Foot Worship:                                                    N                                                         1

Symbolic Jewellery:                                            N                                                         3

Serving as Furniture:                                         N                                                          1

Serving as Art:                                                   N                                                         1

Serving as Ashtray:                                            N                                                         1

Serving as Toilet:                                                                                                              

Urine:                                                                N                                                          3

  Faeces:                                                              N                                                          1  

Lecturing:                                                          N                                                          4

----------

God, Remus had done so many of the things on the list.

Most of the ones he’d termed as too scary to even consider sexually Remus had tried but given 1s to; although some of the others he’d marked low that Sirius had marked high. That made him roll his lips together nervously.

“You could’ve gone with ‘beginner’ rather than virgin,” Remus snorted, looking up at Sirius over the paper; “can I have mine back now?”

Pouting, Sirius handed the sheet back, watching as Remus smoothed it out and laid it on the bed next to Sirius’; “so what now?”

“Now we look at them together,” Remus patted the spot next to him, and Sirius crawled over the bed so that they were side-by-side; “and I might ask you some questions, okay?”

Sirius nodded, scooting as close as he thought he could get away with.  

“Sex-wise we seem to be on the same page,” Remus commented with a tinge of amusement, “have you left all the vaginal activities blank?”

Sirius hummed, “well I don’t have one, so…”

“Okay,” he laughed, “you get turned on by tattooing?”

“No?” Sirius responded confusedly.

“So why have you listed it as a 4?”

“Oh,” Sirius pouted; “I really like the look of them…”

“Okay,” Remus smiled before asking with some interest, “you’ve tried containment before?”

“Yup, not a fan of that one,” Sirius replied in a flat tone; “I used to get the cupboard a lot before I left home. Always felt like I was in Miss Trunchbull’s office, minus the spikes.”

“You wouldn’t want to consider it in a sexual manner?” Remus asked carefully, and Sirius’ eyes flickered to the score on Remus’ sheet.

“You don’t either!” Sirius accused.

“I know that,” Remus soothed him with a hand on his shoulder; “I’m trying to parse out how you interpreted the 1-5 scoring system.”

Sighing with relief, Sirius snuggled into Remus shoulder; “well the ones marked 5 are the ones that made my belly go all twisty the way you make me feel,” he tried to contain his blush and probably failed; “3s are things I think could be interesting but don’t inspire any sense of urgency in me, and 1s are things I really don’t like the sound of.”

Humming, Remus flipped the paper over; “and the ones you put 0 next to?” he asked with a grin.

“Those are the things I put as limits at the top, you can probably guess about the beating and verbal abuse… the ‘scat’ thing just, ugh.” Sirius gave a shiver he didn’t really need to fake.

Remus was quiet for a minute before he pointed to something else on his list; “can you explain the difference between scat play and watersports?”

Face fire-engine red, Sirius squirmed on the spot and played with a thread on Remus’ trousers; “no?”

“Okay, that’s alright,” the older man reassured him; “did it just feel different when you were considering them?”

“Mmmhmm,” Sirius hummed, staring resolutely at the paper.

“Shall I explain how I interpreted the 1-5 scoring system?” Remus asked gently, continuing at Sirius’ jerky nod; “so as far as things I’ve tried, if they have a 2 next to them then I don’t particularly enjoy them but I would consider doing them for a partner. Anything with a 1 next to it I consider to be a hard limit, and I wouldn’t go near it with any partner, regardless of who they may be to me. Acts given a 3 are things I have tried and maybe enjoyed but wouldn’t rush back to, a 4 would be something I would look to include in my play regularly but maybe for specific scenes or special occasions. Anything with a 5 I have enjoyed immensely and would include perhaps not every time I have sex but certainly more often than not. You understand that some things on this list are easier to include regularly than others?”

“Like praise and wax play?” Sirius asked, tilting his head so that his chin was propped on Remus shoulder, staring up at the side profile of his face.

“Exactly,” Remus gave him a small smile; “did you read up on Dominant and Submissive roles like I asked?”

Sirius sighed, frowning softly until Remus’ thumb smoothed the line on his forehead over; “I did but I don’t think I fit into just one.”

“That’s not surprising, bug,” Remus assured him; “most people don’t.”

“Oh,” Sirius’ heart calmed a little at that, trying to smother a smile into Remus’ shoulder at the return of his pet name; “there were lots of different types but I think maybe I’m a mix of service and little boy?”

Humming, Remus stroked a hand over Sirius’ now-messy braid; “I would probably agree with that, although you might uncover more about yourself the deeper into playing you get or as you grow in confidence.”

“I don’t think I’m a switch,” Sirius spoke quickly, blurting the information into the empty mass of pillows and sheets before them; “what sort of Dom are you?”

Letting out a laugh, Remus rubbed his free hand over his face; “that’s the thousand-pound question, isn’t it? If I had to say then I would guess that I could be characterised as a Classic Dominant because of how varied my play and partners have been. From what I’ve discovered of myself through my long-term relationships I expect you would term me as somewhat of a service top, perhaps in some ways a ‘daddy’ – I like to look after my partner, wrap them in cotton wool.”

“That sounds nice,” Sirius whispered, rubbing his cheek into Remus’ shirt; “gentle.”

Remus pressed a kiss to Sirius’ hair, “it does, hm?”

His happiness was interrupted quite quickly, however, when he focussed on the black and whites of their scores side-by-side; “do you think I’m weird?”

“Now why would you ask me that, bug?” Remus grasped one of Sirius’ hands in his, tugging at each of his fingers in turn.

“Some of the things I want to try,” Sirius whispered, trailing off as his chest tightened; “Jamie made a joke about some of the things on the list that I thought might be fun when I was looking them up.”

Remus sighed, dropping Sirius’ hand and standing from the bed. Panicking, Sirius knelt high on his knees and reached out for one of Remus’ shoulders. When Remus didn’t flinch back from his touch, he settled into a kneeling position and stared at the other man inquisitively.

“Often people make jokes without considering other people’s opinions, and maybe James thought that what he was joking about was outside the realm of things you might like,” Remus started in a quiet voice, “but that doesn’t make you weird. The fact that these things are on this list means that at least a few thousand people with access to the internet like to do them, and the whole point of trying things is to see if you like them. As long as the people engaging in a behaviour are safe and happy, there is nothing wrong with it. If you wanted to be restrained and waterboarded because you thought it would get you off, that wouldn’t change my opinion of you.”

With a small smile on his face, Sirius reached for Remus with grabby hands; “you’re very reassuring.”

Humming, Remus tugged the smaller boy closer and wrapped him up in a tight hug, one hand playing with the tail of his plait; “good. This is about you discovering what you like.”

“And?” Sirius whispered carefully.

“And what?”

“Do we match enough for you to play with me?”

“Bug,” Remus began warningly, exhaling sharply through his nose when Sirius playfully nipped at his neck, causing him to push the other boy backwards onto the bed.

“I did everything you asked!” Sirius exclaimed, a little sad and frustrated, “I did what you said and was honest and I just, just think that you should be honest with me too!”

----------

Remus POV

“You’re right,” Remus sighed, trying to refrain from reaching back out and grabbing the boy with tears clinging to his lashes; “you’ve been so good, doing everything I asked.”

And oh, that was interesting, the way Sirius squirmed when he praised him. He really meant that 5, huh?

“We match, and we are clearly attracted to one another,” Remus allowed.

“We are?” Sirius questioned; his whole body having snapped to attention at Remus’ declaration.

“Yes, bug. I get the ‘twisties’ for you too.”

“Yay,” Sirius did what Remus thought was supposed to be a little happy dance, bouncing ever so slightly on his knees and wiggling his hips from side-to-side.

“But we need to talk about work,” Remus continued; “this is a little complicated because I’m both the owner of the club and your direct supervisor. You need to trust that I won’t use any relationship we have against you, and that I won’t bring any of frustration from work into our scenes.”

Sirius nodded, rolling his lips between his teeth; “the contract thing that Jamie signed?”

“Exactly,” Remus sighed, “if you sign it then you’re saying that you enter into this freely and I haven’t coerced you, and you couldn’t sue us for sexual harassment or for wrongful termination if we had to let you go.”

“Okay,” Sirius nodded, “what about if we stopped playing together?”

“We’d sign another piece of paper that had the date our personal relationship was terminated, that would then go on file so if something else happened we’d both be protected, legally.”

“Like if you stalked me or something?”

Remus merely hummed; “additionally, you need to understand that there are several people that I’ve played with, like Eve,” he rose an eyebrow; “who come into the club. You can’t be rude to them when you’re behind the bar.”

“Would you be with them at the same time you’re with me?” Sirius blurted, and Remus had to repress a fond smile.

“No bug,” Remus said quietly, “I think you’d be an exception to a rule of mine.”

“What do you mean?”

“Generally, I only play with subs once, unless they’re very experienced and unlikely to form attachments.”

“Oh,” Sirius said softly, “but you’d want me- more?”

Watching him closely as a flush climbed up his bare chest and onto his neck, Remus responded; “I would. Exclusive access to one Sirius Black.”

“So I’d be yours?” Sirius whispered, shifting in place.

“In a manner of speaking, yes. I’d expect that you would only be with me for as long as we were in the same boat, and I’d only be with you,” Remus grinned as Sirius’ eyes lit up; “do you like that idea, bug?”

Nodding fast, Sirius knee walked to the edge of the bed and played with the untucked hem of Remus’ shirt; “I’ve never had anything everyone else wants before…”

“I highly doubt that,” Remus laughed, tugging on the hem of the other boy’s borrowed tracksuit bottoms; “the rich boy who went to private school?”

“But all the other boys there were also pretty rich,” Sirius argued; “besides, around here you’re the main prize…”

“Is that right?” Remus teased him, “I think James and Lily might argue that with you.”

“Uh-uh,” Sirius whispered, lifting his arms to wrap around Remus and attaching his mouth to Remus’ collarbone, sucking gently at the skin.

Letting Sirius bite at him, all Remus could think was that this was his life for the foreseeable future. He tried to suppress the grin at that idea, but with the smaller boy’s face tucked into his neck, he saw no harm in letting it loose. Holding him back just as tightly, he slipped the hair tie free and began to work the plait out of Sirius’ hair: now dry, it fell in gentle waves, and Sirius’ gentle moan at the sensation of fingers against his scalp reverberated in Remus’ chest.

“You’re gonna leave me covered in hickeys, hm?”

“If you let me,” Sirius snickered, “I love it. Will you give me some too?”

“You want me to mark you?” Remus asked, tone gravelly, the idea of bruising up Sirius making the possessive side of his brain sing.

Sirius hummed, licking over the mark he’d just made; “make me yours. Maybe it’ll keep the creeps from hitting on me…”

The joke fell flat between them, and Remus pulled away with his fist tight in Sirius’ dark tresses, forcing him to withdraw also. The action made the smaller boy moan, and Remus smirked as he connected the information to what he already knew of Sirius.

“It might, which is fucked up,” Remus told him; “you shouldn’t need to have a partner for someone to take a hint. But if you want me to leave hickeys all over you then I certainly won’t say no.”

“Yay, yay, yay,” Sirius wiggled his way forward again until he was centimetres in front of Remus’ face; “what about kissing? Will you kiss me now?”

Suppressing his smile at how adorable Sirius was, happy and flushed and so fucking kissable, Remus lifted his hand from Sirius’ hip to cup his cheek, smoothing his thumb over his full lower lip. Humming, he drew the boy closer to him and pressed a soft kiss to his lips, holding him gently to his body; “kiss you like that?”

“Mhmm,” Sirius hummed, “and maybe like this?”

Sirius let their lips brush once more, flicking his tongue out to trace Remus’ bottom lip and waiting for his permission to deepen the kiss. Arousal shot down Remus’ spine at the thought that Sirius was already deferring to him, waiting for his guidance; he hummed a little and then opened his mouth, letting Sirius’ tentatively explore before he took over, controlling the pace of their kiss.

When he pulled back Sirius let out a broken moan and pouted up at him, a tiny trail of saliva connecting their mouths; “more?”

“Not yet,” Remus wiped a thumb across his mouth and softly kissed his forehead; “don’t pout at me, bug. I was thinking we could maybe take a bath together before I take you home, does that sound good?”

Sirius’ eyes went wide with something like awe and desire, and he nodded quickly, leaning forward to brush a sweet kiss to Remus’ cheek; “please?”

----------

The water was cloudy with bath salts and smelled sweetly of orange, steam curling in front of their faces. Remus’ body was lax, tugging gently at the hairs escaping Sirius’ bun and humming ‘Here Comes the Sun’ under his breath; Sirius’ back was pressed to his front, and he turned his head every so often to press a kiss to whatever part of Remus’ body he could reach.

“You’re so sweet, aren’t you love?” Remus cooed at him, laughing softly at the frown that marred his face; “am I only allowed to call you my cuddlebug from now on?”

Sirius’ nose wrinkled, and he moved awkwardly until he was sat straddling Remus’ lap, apparently not at all worried about pressing his erection into Remus’ stomach; “it makes me feel special, when you call me something different to everyone else.”

“You are special to me,” Remus sighed, tugging him forward until his head rested on his clammy collarbone, stroking the bare skin of his shoulder softly; “I’m excited to see where this might go. You’re so sweet and innocent, I want to be careful with you; you deserve to be treasured, Sirius.”

“What do you mean?” Sirius asked quietly, unmoving from his spot on Remus’ chest.

“I mean that we’re not in any rush. We still need to sign the contract,” he sighed, thinking of how Lily would mock him when he would inevitably have to ask for a copy of the ‘love contract’ she had drawn up; “but we’re not going to jump straight into bed once we do.”

“No?” Sirius asked, and even without looking Remus could hear the cheeky grin on his face.

“Behave,” Remus admonished him; “I mean that I don’t see a point in taking this from zero to a hundred immediately. I’d like to get to know you and see how we move forward naturally.”

“So you still don’t want to play with me?” Sirius whispered dejectedly.

Remus snorted, rocking his hips just a little so Sirius could feel his half-hard cock against his arse; “believe me, bug, I definitely want to play with you.”

Sirius gasped, rolling his hips and making the water splash until Remus stilled him; “are you getting hard?”

Remus quirked an eyebrow, watching Sirius’ flushed face and trailing his eyes down his body. Rubbing a careful thumb over Sirius’ nipple, he pinched it lightly; “should I not be? With a beautiful little bug on top of me, hm?”

Squirming, Sirius leaned down to kiss him, letting their breaths meld into one long exchange. Remus took the kiss as permission to touch Sirius all over, rubbing his palms along the boys’ sides and tickling him lightly, diffusing the growing tension as he giggled and fell to rest his head on Remus’ chest again. Laid between his legs, he looked small and innocent, and it sent Remus’ heart racing. Making the choice to ignore his erection, Remus stared up at the ceiling and let the soft steam lull him back into a sedate state.

“Can I ask about your scars?” Sirius whispered into the quiet, tracing imaginary shapes into Remus’ chest.

“I told you that I started out as a Sub, yes?” Remus asked him, continuing when he got an affirming hum; “well, when I met Lily I was in a relationship with a man called Fenrir. My first year of uni, in fresher’s week, he had cornered me in a club and convinced me to go home with him. I’d never experienced such an outright proposal before,” Remus sighed, flinching a little when Sirius threaded their fingers together; “and I was flattered enough that I went along with him. We were together for the next three years, and to cut a long story short he wasn’t careful with boundaries or consent. I’d read about BDSM before, back in the olden days where you couldn’t as easily google anything and end up with a world of opinions and advice,” he tickled Sirius again, trying to bring some brevity into the situation.

“Because you’re so old, right…” Sirius teased him, squealing when Remus pinched his side in retaliation.

“Watch it, bug.” Remus chastised him, but really he was glad for the comedic relief; “He introduced me to kink, but without explaining about limits or safewords. I wasn’t happy with him for a long time, but when I tried to leave he did a lot of different things to me, things that I didn’t enjoy or consent to. One of those things was using knives to mark me, and he had me convinced no one else would love me, that I deserved the way he treated me. Lily and I were on the same course, but it was a big cohort, and he made sure that I was isolated; until one day in the library she came over and started making conversation about an assignment. She was the smartest one on our course obviously, but it wasn’t until years later I found out that she’d seen him openly abusing me in a club and decided to try and help me. When I managed to leave him she gave me a place to stay, helped me with reporting him to the police.”

“I’m sorry, Re…” Sirius pressed a gentle kiss to his sternum; “but you ended up as a Dom?”

“I did,” Remus agreed; “it took a lot of therapy to be comfortable in the community again, but the interest in BDSM never left me. Especially once I started working with a sex-positive therapist that encouraged me to explore in a safe manner, which normally meant that Lily and I played together with another partner.”

“Really?” Sirius asked with a disbelieving tone.

“Mhmm,” Remus tugged gently at his bun; “I came to realise that while he had pigeon-holed me into thinking I was a submissive person, I enjoyed dominance much more. Remember how I told you last night that victims sometimes need a controlled environment to help them?”

“Uh-huh,”

“Well, by having Lily there I began to trust myself more, and really came to appreciate what the scene could do to aid my recovery. It took a long time, but there is a reason we’re so safety conscious here, and why our demonstrations emphasize what you should expect from both a Dom and a Sub as a beginner all the way up to advanced dynamics.”

“You’ve been through so much,” Sirius pressed a kiss to his knuckles, watching him with adoring eyes.

Remus hummed, sinking lower into the water so that just his head and neck were above the milky warmth; “well that would make sense, wouldn’t it? Since I’m so much older than you, bug…”

“I like it,” Sirius reassured him, mouth pressed to his collarbone; “a man of the world.”

“Is that so?” Remus asked, watching as another hickey temporarily marred his slick skin.

He wasn’t graced with a response, Sirius instead doubling down and biting gently. A choked off groan made its way out of Remus’ throat, his flagging cock fattening up again at the stimulation. Sirius’ eyes widened at the tell-tale sign of Remus’ arousal, and he released the skin between his teeth to surge up and kiss the older man, slick skin sliding against slick skin until their cocks were pressed between their stomachs.

“Re,” Sirius breathed into his mouth, “please will you touch me?”

“Mmm,” Remus breathed into his mouth, “touch you how, bug?”

“My cock,” Sirius panted into their kiss, lips meeting messily until Remus’ hand in his hair wrenched his head back, a moan breaking free from his windpipe; “please will you touch my cock?”

Even knowing that he would agree, watching the beautiful boy panting against his chest, Remus decided to take his teasing just a little further; “do you think you’ve been good enough for me to touch you there, bug?”

Sirius moaned louder, body shivering in the water, and he was now working his hips against Remus’ belly. He was so beautiful, Remus thought, unabashed in his hunt for release.

“Your good boy,” Sirius panted, choking out breaths as Remus bit at his neck, sucking a mark over his pulse, “promise, I promise…”

Humming thoughtfully, Remus pretended to consider the options while Sirius watched him with blown-out pupils; “I think you’ll get yourself off just like this. Rubbing your cock into my belly, no?”

Sirius panted, shaking as the friction worked him closer and closer to the edge.

“I think all it will take is me pulling your hair like this,” he punctuated his words with a strong, slow tug at the nape of his neck; “for me to bite you just here,” Remus licked and bit just below his ear, listening to the shuddery moan that came from just above him; “and for me to tell you that I want you to be a good boy and come for me. I know you can do it, bug.”

“Re, Re, Re…” Sirius whined, falling forward into Remus as his orgasm pulsed through him, shuddering as his muscles tightened and released.

“Good boy,” Remus held him close, stroking through his hair and gently rubbing a palm up and down his back, “you were so good for me, bug.”

“Fuck,” Sirius moaned brokenly, a little laugh breaking free from his throat as he panted, coming down from such an intense orgasm; “how was that so good?”

Remus laughed with him, brandishing everywhere he could reach with kisses; his brow, cheeks, lips and shoulder; “I’m proud of you. It takes a lot to hand yourself over like that, you did so well.”

He looked innocent still, Remus realised, sat in the milky water with a secret little smile and pink cheeks. Pretty as a picture, only for Remus’ consumption. The Gods had chosen to bless him, truly.

“Thank you,” Sirius whispered, blinking slowly through the steam, “can I get you off?”

Remus eyes him consideringly, trying to figure out if the boy was in the right headspace to reciprocate; “what did you have in mind, love?”

“My hand?” Sirius suggested, reaching down to encircle Remus’ cock, stroking it lightly as he watched Remus’ face.

“I would love that,” Remus agreed, kissing Sirius gently; “only if you want to. Don’t feel as though you must, bug.”

“I want to,” Sirius whispered, getting his knees under him carefully and sitting up, tightening his grip and beginning to work up and down carefully; “tell me if I’m doing it wrong?”

Remus let out a little laugh, grasping Sirius’ face in one hand, the other under the water, holding his hip tightly; “you won’t do it wrong, love. Just like when you’re touching yourself, okay?”

“Okay,” Sirius chewed at his lip, releasing it when Remus pushed his thumb into his mouth. Suckling at the appendage, his eyes lit up when Remus groaned in response, swirling his tongue around it.

“There you go, bug,” Remus moaned; “rub your hand over the top, ah,” he panted, “just like that, so good for me, fuck,”

“Want to see you come, Re,” Sirius garbled out around his fingers, “had a dream with you in it, looked so good.”

Remus felt his hand clench on Sirius’ hip, tight enough that he wouldn’t be surprised if there was a bruise tomorrow morning, and his hips began to shift under the water, bouncing Sirius up and down gently. The visual that provided was enough to send him over the edge, head falling back and a slow groan escaping his lips; Sirius’ encouraging words fading to background noise as blood rushed through his ears.

Panting, Remus came back to earth with his boy in his laps, hugging his head to his chest; he laughed softly, running his hands from Sirius’ thighs all the way up to his shoulders and back down again; “was that what you wanted?”

“So hot,” Sirius reassured him, leaning back to kiss him passionately, his mouth tasting vaguely of orange-tinged bathwater; “wanna do it again.”

“Give me a minute, bug,” Remus laughed, feeling his heart rate slowly return to its resting pace; “you did a really good job of that.”

Sirius’ expression was bright and adoring, and Remus felt simultaneously like the luckiest man on the planet and like he’d stolen his virtue.

“Can’t wait for you to teach me more,” he murmured, leaning in for more kisses; “you’ve created a monster, Re. Better watch out…”

Remus laughed, tipping them both forward to pull the plug out; “oh no, whatever will I do?”

Sirius giggled, and instead of responding he ducked in for a passionate kiss that migrated to Remus’ neck, making it hard for him to concentrate on anything but the boy in his arms.

“Suffer.”

----------

“Where do we go from here?” Sirius asked him as they stopped at a red light just around the corner from the club. From Atelier to Sirius and James’ flat was only a twenty minute drive, then a further thirty on the opposite direction to get to Remus’.

“Hmm?” Remus enquired, turning the radio down to background noise and directing some of his attention to the person beside him.

“Are we dating now?” Sirius asked quietly, “are you going to pretend in work like we aren’t playing, or dating, or whatever we are? Can Jamie know?”

Remus shifted gear and then held his hand out for Sirius’, placing it down on the shift and covering it with his own; “you can absolutely tell James, and it’s not a problem for people in work to know. I won’t be treating you any differently when you are on shift or giving you any special opportunities, although it’s likely if you needed to be disciplined then Lily would take care of it and I would act as a witness rather than your supervisor.”

“Okay,” Sirius breathed, “so you don’t care if Caradoc figures out that we’re together from the way I stare at you, or if I tell the customers I belong to you when they try to hit on me?”

Remus’ hand tightened briefly at the mention of customers flirting with Sirius, although he knew it wouldn’t be reciprocated; “no, bug, I wouldn’t mind that at all. Although if they’re creeping you out then just jump straight to calling security to get them ejected, you don’t need to try and use me to get rid.”

“And if I want to brag?”

“Then brag away,” Remus grinned; “if you would like to consider us to be dating then I have no problem with that. I’m entering into this with the expectation that we’ll get to know each other and it may eventually become a relationship.”

“Thank you,”

“What for, bug?” Remus questioned him gently, confused at the gratitude he was receiving.

“Well,” Sirius began; “I didn’t know what this was and it really helps me that you’re giving such clear parameters about what we are and what we could become.”

“Bug,” Remus lifted their joined hands to gently kiss his fingers, “this is the bare minimum, I need you to know that. I’m not doing anything particularly deserving of your adoration.”

Sirius a little hum that seemed to disagree with Remus’ sentiments, so he gave a playful nip to the inside of his wrist that made the boy squirm. Glancing sidelong at him, Remus clarified; “I’ll text you later on to check in, and you’re welcome to call or text me whenever, okay? I have a bit of work to do from last night that I need to get done this weekend,”

“Sorry about that…”

“Don’t apologise,” Remus said firmly, “what happened last night was not your fault and I very much enjoyed everything we did today.”

“So did I,” Sirius smiled softly, Remus catching his reflection in the window and returning the gesture.

Pulling up outside his building, Remus felt a little pit in his stomach at letting the boy go for an unspecified amount of time; “right then, I’ll speak to you later, okay?”

“Mmhmm,” Sirius agreed, leaning forward to wrap his arms around Remus and burying his face in his neck; “’l miss you,”

“I’ll miss you too, bug. Be good.” Remus reaffirmed, running a hand over his hair and then fisting it gently, pulling Sirius back in order to kiss him soft and slow. With a final nip to his lips, Remus pulled back and unlocked the door, watching carefully until Sirius was in his building and safe once more.

Chapter Text

Remus POV

[19:43] Hi love

[19:44] Just wanted to check in

[19:46] ☹

[19:50] Ah

[19:50] Let me try that again

[19:51] Hi Bug

[19:51] Just wanted to check in

[19:52] Hi hi hi

[19:53] How are you feeling?

[19:54] I’m good

[19:55] Just finished talking to Jamie

[19:56] That’s good

[19:57] Is he excited to get the kitchen running on Tuesday?

[20:04] He is

[20:04] Mum and dad made him make all the menu items since they ‘don’t want to intrude on our professional lives’

[20:05] That’s so cute

[20:06] Do they know that you’re working in a BDSM club?

[20:07] Uh

[20:07] Well they haven’t said but Effie likes a google

[20:08] Be surprised if she didn’t

[20:10] Do you think they mind that sort of thing?

[20:12] Probs not

[20:12] The talk we got when we were 16 suggests strongly that they were fairly wild youngsters

[20:13] I’m still mortified thinking about it now

[20:15] Oh dear

[20:16] Have you finished your work for the night?

[20:28] I have, I was just making some tea

[20:30] Ooooh

[20:31] What’re you having???

[20:43] It was just some pasta carbonara

[20:44] Quick and easy

[20:48] That’s ice

[20:48] *nice

[20:50] Would you mind if I gave you a ring?

[20:53] Go for it!

*incoming call*

“Hi Re,” Sirius answered the phone, voice eager, and it brought a smile to Remus’ tired face.

“Hi bug,”

“You don’t like texting?”

“I do,” Remus responded, rubbing his fingers roughly over the bridge of his nose and staring at the black screen of his TV; “but I’ve spent all afternoon staring at my computer in the office, wanted to give my eyes a rest and speak to you instead.”

“Oh,” Sirius whispered through the line, and for a moment it sounded like he’d dropped the phone; “how did your work go?”

“Good, thank you. Got everything I didn’t do last night sorted out so Lily can’t get arsey with me.”

“Can you get in trouble when you’re the boss?”

His question made a short laugh escape Remus, and he was desperate to know what Sirius’ room looked like so he could picture the boy exactly as he was now.

“You can when you’re not the only boss, I know that for sure. How are you feeling about what we did earlier, bug?”

“Mmm, good.” Sirius hummed.

“No regrets?”

“No,” he could practically hear the pout; “do you have regrets?”

“No, bug. No regrets from me.”

“Good. Do you want to play 21 questions?”

“We can, let me just go lie down,” Remus pushed from the sofa and exhaled softly, undoing his shirt as he walked to his room; “get comfy and then we can play.”

“What are you wearing?”

Laughing, Remus stripped the shirt off and started in on his trousers; “is that your first question?”

“I wanna know what sort of ‘jamas you have,” Sirius said softly, “for my mental picture…”

“Hmmm,” Remus hummed as he fished a clean pair of boxers out of his drawers; “normally I sleep in some shorts. No shirt though usually.”

“Too toasty?”

“Mmmhmm,” Remus agreed; “my turn?”

“Yep.”

“What is your favourite thing to do?” he asked, matching his tone to Sirius’ soft one.

“Jamie lets me help him cook sometimes, teaches me all the fancy French techniques he knows, I like that. I like to paint,”

“You do?” Remus enquired, imagining Sirius sat on the floor in a mess of canvases and oil paints, messy and bright and beautiful.

“Yeah, nothing particularly good. Just helps me get out of my head. How old are you?”

“I’ll be thirty-five in March.”

“Really?”

“That surprises you?” Remus questioned, trying to erase the hint of self-doubt he felt talking to a man nearly twelve years younger than he was.

“Only because Atelier has been open so long, right?”

“It has, it’ll be ten years in August,” Remus sighed, mind floating back to when he and Lily were young and juggling second and third jobs to manage a deposit for the building, panicking about licenses and work orders; “it probably wouldn’t have happened so soon if Lily hadn’t been working so hard behind the scenes.”

“You too,” Sirius returned, “I’ve seen how you work, Re. You put so much of yourself into the club, it’s okay to be proud of it. To take credit for it.”

“Thank you, bug. I am,” Remus smiled at the ceiling, clicking the phone to speaker and letting it rest on his chest; “sometimes it’s easier to give Lily the credit though,”

“She is a powerhouse.”

Pausing for a moment to come up with a question, Remus hummed; “do you have a favourite colour?”

“Blood red. I used to have these oxblood Doc Martens, they were so lovely. Had to leave them behind when I left,” Sirius sighed heavily; “same to you?”

“Green. My flat is all different shades, although you probably could’ve guessed that from my rooms at the club, hm?”

“Just a little. Can I go again?”

“Sure.”

“When you gave me the tour on my first day, I pictured the rooms as loads of little dungeons,” he paused when Remus laughed lowly; “but yours just seems like a normal bedroom.”

“Is there a question in there?”

“Well,” a moment of silence dripped through the call like treacle, “do you not to the whole chains and ropes and crosses thing?”

“Crosses?” Remus snorted, “what crosses?”

“Oh,” Sirius let out a self-deprecating laugh, and Remus could almost see his blush in his brain; “well in some of the uh, videos, that I found. People were tied to crosses?”

“Ah,” Remus finally knew what he meant, the image of a St. Andrew’s Cross flying unbidden to his mind, and he gently shook himself out of bad memories with a deep breath; “no. Personally I don’t use crosses, they were part of a bad experience.”

“’M sorry.”

“Don’t be, bug,” Remus tried to lighten the conversation, “you can ask me anything, just know I won’t always be able to answer straight away. But I do have lots of other things you might like, why do you think I have three wardrobes in my room?”

“A-hah!” Sirius crowed; “knew you had to have a secret stash!”

“Yes,” Remus agreed, his tone belying his wit; “because the kinky sex club that I own needs to have hidden sex toys in case anyone ever gets into my room. Whatever would I do? My reputation would be ruined!”

Sirius cackled, the sound so joyous it made Remus feel warm all over; “then why are they all hidden?”

“Because I also use my room just to stay the night if I’m late at the club, or if I need to look after someone,” Remus’ tone was a little haughty, and he realised just in time to pull it back; “imagine if, after I helped you the other night, you’d opened your eyes and been in some windowless leather torture chamber with whips lining the walls? Not the best for recovery, is it?”

“I guess not,” Sirius agreed; “so you just tidy everything up?”

“Some things, the reusable ones;” Remus tried to keep his tone matter-of-fact, though he could see where Sirius was going, “a lot of things you can’t keep hold of.”

“Why not? Aren’t sex toys cleanable?”

Letting out a little laugh, Remus shook his head even though he knew Sirius couldn’t see him; “bug, would you want a dildo that’s been inside someone else to go inside you?”

“Ew,” Sirius whined, making Remus laugh harder; “that’s grim.”

“It is.” Remus agreed; “so while most of the time I don’t play with toys like that for one-time partners, I certainly don’t hang them back up afterwards.”

 “I see now why you’re the expert,” Sirius mumbled.

“I think some of the VIPs that use their rooms exclusively for play have a more dungeon-esque theme. What would your dream job be?” Remus asked.

“I did gender studies at uni,” Sirius began; “and there was this module that focussed on sexual violence and unreported crimes. It’s just the tip of the iceberg, really; especially for people who’ve come into the country illegally so feel they can’t go to the police or rely on their abusers to survive. I’d really like to work in a place that supports victims and gives them the agency to make decisions for how they want to move forward. Helping them with housing and getting jobs, that sort of thing.”

“That sounds amazing, bug;” Remus let out a long breath, “what the hell are you doing making cocktails for me then?”

“Ha. I volunteer on my days off but you need experience in non-profits to be able to get a full time job really. Maybe one day.”

“Definitely one day.”

“Where did you go to uni?” Sirius asked, clearly trying to move the conversation on.

“Sheffield.”

“Oooh, Hallam or Uni of?”

“Uni of. Have to live a bit far out of the city for Uni of though, the Hallam students got the better deal.”

“Huh.”

“My go?” he paused and waiting for a hum to go ahead; “do you have a favourite song?”

“That’s hard,” Sirius answered so quietly that Remus had to strain to hear; “just one?”

“What’s your favourite right now?” he asked instead; “when you go to turn your music on, what song do you choose first?”

“Uh, I really like ‘Don’t Blame Me’ by Taylor Swift; it has some good shower moments.”

“See, you said that like I should know what a ‘shower moment’ is,” Remus grinned, adding Taylor Swift to the list of things that made Sirius sound this happy and free; “what I’m imagining is a wet, scraggly version of you dancing around and slipping on wet tiles.”

“Hey!”

“Am I wrong?” Remus laughed, wishing that Sirius was here in his bed so that he could hold him, maybe tease him a little – at least get a re-enactment of his best ‘shower moment’.

“I just mean that point where the music does something amazing and you can’t help but react,” Sirius explains; “and because you’re all alone in your shower you can do anything that feels right. No one is watching.”

“That sounds lovely, bug.”

“Mmmhmm,” Sirius agreed; “do you have a song that you love?”

“My favourite is probably Killer Queen,” Remus confessed, “or Golden by Harry Styles.”

“I don’t think I’ve heard that first one,” Sirius said softly; “who is it by?”

“Queen,” he deadpanned.

“You don’t need to be angry I don’t know your old man music, Re!”

“Don’t laugh at me,” Remus exclaimed through his pout, “Queen is a classic!”

“Sure, sure… I think I only know the main one.”

“The main one? Do you mean Bohemian Rhapsody?” he asked with a laugh.

“’I saw a little silhuetto of a man’,” Sirius imitated, “that one?”

“That’s it. We’ll have to fix that, won’t we?”

“If you listen with me?”

“Mmmm,” Remus hummed, “some of my favourite afternoons are just me sitting in my little library with my record player, Queen songs in the background.”

Sirius let out a low sigh, the sound just barely reaching Remus; “what are we going to do with you, honestly. Do you not just have a Spotify?”

“Blasphemy!” Remus teased, “I will not stand for this. You’re going to have to come round and we will read books and listen to my records and you will like it.”

“I don’t doubt it,” the manic grin on Remus’ face was replaced with a soft smile at the tenderness in Sirius’ tone; “I like most things when I do them with people I like.”

“Sweet little bug,” Remus sighed; “I think we’ll have to put our game on hold, I need sleep.”

“Okay,” Sirius mumbled; “can I ask one last question?”

“Go ahead,”

“What do you like to be called when you’re playing?”

The tentative question put Remus on the back foot, and he sat up in his bed to think through his answer; “I find that dictating a title never feels quite right, so if you want to try out a few then you can. I’m more than happy with Remus, though.”

“So not Sir?” Sirius asked tentatively.

“Why don’t you make another list, hm? We can go through it and you can try a couple every day until you find one you like. Or, you can just come up with a nickname for me. Lily likes Mistress, I know that, but she’s a very different kind of Domme.”

“Yeah, I picked up that vibe from Jamie…” Sirius trailed off, and Remus could only imagine what James had told Sirius.

“Remember that this is about us, Sirius;” Remus spoke seriously, “it doesn’t matter that Lily likes to be called Mistress, or that people at the club might use Sir or Captain – don’t laugh, I’ve heard all sorts! We’ll find a comfortable title, and there’s no rush. Remus is my name and I like the way it sounds in your mouth.”

“Mmmmf!” Sirius sounded like he’d rolled into a pillow, which made Remus let out a little laugh.

“I’m going to let you go now, bug. Sleep time.”

“Okay,” he murmured; “g’night Re.”

“Goodnight cuddlebug,” Remus pressed the end call button, a sleepy smile fixed to his face.

----------

Their office was all white oak desks and shelves, perfunctory metal filing cabinets either side of Remus and Lily’s desks for easy access. On the large whiteboard behind Lily’s head was a fairly horrendous caricature of Remus with a speech bubble over his head which read ‘you’re always right, Lily’. She’d drawn it before he’d arrived that Tuesday morning; his message, which had been sent first thing in the hopes she’d process it before her brain had absorbed her first dose of caffeine, had been left on read. The ‘love contract’, to which Alice had given an absurdly long professional title, was sat in pride of place on the centre of his desk; exhaling through his nose as he walked across the floor, he decided to suck it up.

“Thank you,” he said sincerely, making the effort to meet her eyes.

“You’re not getting off that easy, Mr. ‘I have no plans to fuck the staff’,” she raised an impeccably filled in eyebrow at him, and he was thankful for his years of experience dealing with her or he’d have crumbled there and then.

“Yes, I’m a hypocrite, and we’ve ended up robbing the same cradle. What do you want from me,” he sighed, “if he’s anything like Sirius is, I don’t blame you at all.”

The redhead let out a sharp laugh, her pointy black nail tapping carefully at the keyboard in front of her; “the boy knows how to take a hit, that’s for sure.”

Remus couldn’t hold back his sympathetic wince, having seen one-too-many a time Lily’s mastery with a cane or whip.

“It’s like he’s made of kryptonite, I couldn’t take it,” he dropped his head into his hands, the rest of his sentence coming out muffled and strange; “he looked at me with those fucking eyes and said ‘you wouldn’t want to play with me?’. What am I supposed to do with that?”

When his exclamation was met with silence, he looked up to find Lily staring at him, straight-faced but her green eyes alight with humour; “aw, the hot young virgin wants you so much, what a nightmare!”

“Fuck off,” he laughed, grabbing a pen and filling in the bits of the paperwork he could without Sirius; “he’s just so…”

Lily groaned out a laugh, not taking her eyes from the computer monitor for a second; “I will shoot you if I have to hear you turn into a simp over him.”

“A what?” Remus asked, frown marring his scarred face.

“Oh, it’s what James calls it when Sirius stares at you. All the kids are saying it, ‘simp’,” Lily explained, a little twinkle in her eyes that told him he wouldn’t like the next move she made; “get with the program, old man.”

“Oh, I’m the old man?” he teased, “you just used the phrase ‘all the kids are saying it’ completely unironically.”

“Oh, but I pulled it off.”

“Did you, though?”

She simply held her middle finger up to him, and he accepted his victory gracefully just as a knock sounded on the door. Spinning his chair and standing, he opened the door to find Sirius with his fist aloft, ready to knock again.

“Hi bug,” Remus murmured, leaning in to brush a kiss across the smaller boy’s brow, “come in.”

“Hi,” he grinned, following him into the room.

“You wanna sit in my chair?” Remus directed him to sit down, pulling the paper and pen a couple of inches closer and leaning over Sirius’ shoulder; “have a read through of this and then if you’re happy sign at the bottom, next to your name.”

“Okay,” Sirius leant back into his warmth, pressing a quick kiss on Remus’ forearm and them biting it gently, startling just a little when Lily cleared her throat. He looked up, likely having forgotten there was just a couple of monitors between them; “sorry.”

Huffing softly, Remus withdrew his arm and stood up straight against the wall, watching as Sirius chewed his lip while he read. Such a lovely little thing. He’d come dressed ready for work, looking like a rocker in his leather jacket, hair tied back in a knot that let little pieces fly loose around his face. He’d slept with his fair share of people, both men and women, and seen all kinds of bodies, but he still couldn’t believe the beautiful pale expanse of skin that Sirius occupied so freely. His mind flashed back to that night last week, where he’d taken care of Sirius when he’d been truly in need; the memory of kneeling before him in the shower, Sirius’ wide eyes trained on him so trustingly. There was a point in his life where that sort of trust had terrified him, when Greyback has erased any belief that you should rely on someone for anything and had left the BDSM community tarnished in his mind.

Now though, he saw it as a blessing. He trusted implicitly in both his ability as a Dom and the people around him to guide Sirius in the right direction without tainting him, to let him make informed decisions. Was that fucked up? He felt a little like he was talking about a science experiment, even though it wasn’t what this was. Not to him. Not to Sirius either, he didn’t think.

“I’m done, Re,” Sirius’ voice flashed him out of his thoughts, blinking back to the here and now to see Sirius smiling up at him; “you need to sign, now.”

Stepping forward, Remus scrawled his signature on the sheet and handed it over to Lily; “you wanna file this, since I did yours?”

“Mhmm,” she hummed, taking the paper and immediately feeding it into the scanner to her right; “now will you two get lost, if you keep making moon-eyes at each other like that I’ll throw up.”

Remus opened his mouth to tell Lily exactly where she could go when Sirius’ hand clenched tightly on his wrist; “that’s what I’ll call you!”

“Moon-eyes?” Lily asked, snorting in derision at him, and Remus gave her a warning look.

“No!” he exclaimed, turning back to Remus with wide, happy eyes and a bright smile; “’m gonna call you Moony! Cos you’re my moon, right? And Sirius is a star, that’s what I’m named after; so I’ll be the star to your moon!”

Tugging Sirius out of his chair, he held his face gently between his hands and smiled at him softly; “that’s really cute, bug.”

“So cute, bug.” Lily added in a sarcastic tone, holding he hands up in surrender when Remus shot her a look over Sirius’ shoulder.

When he gave his attention back to Sirius, he saw the smaller man’s expression falter, and Remus tugged him quickly out of the office; “I’ll be back to talk to you in a couple of minutes.”

Rounding the corner, he scanned his access fob on the door to his room as fast as he could, pulling Sirius through the door behind him.

“You don’t like it?” Sirius asked, looking a little dejected as Remus pulled him closer.

“Look at me,” Remus probed him gently; “you remember what I said on Saturday night?”

“It’s for us,” the boy whispered, moving to wrap his arms around Remus; “and it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks of it.”

“Good boy,” Remus kissed Sirius’ head, his hair smelling subtly of his eucalyptus shampoo. Laughing softly as a shiver ran through Sirius’ body, Remus continued; “why don’t we try out you calling me Moony when you feel like it, hm?”

“You don’t mind?” Sirius spoke into his neck, and Remus laid a heavy hand on the back of his neck.

“Bug,” Remus sighed, “I quite like it, actually.”

Sirius’ body did a little wiggle against his; “yay, yay, yay!”

“Always three ‘yay’s, isn’t it?”

“Well three is the perfect number to get your point across,” Sirius laughed; “no, no, no. And yes, yes, yes.”

“And my personal favourite,” Remus let his tone drop until his voice was gravelly and his chest rumbled; “Re, Re, Re…”

Sirius bit into him in retribution, the sharp pain forcing a gasp from Remus’ lips, and his grip tightened reflexively on Sirius’ neck, pulling him harder into his body.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” the raven-haired boy murmured against his skin, licking over the new mark in apology, then he pulled back from Remus’ grip and looked up at him with a lascivious smirk; “now, I have exactly twelve minutes before I need to be downstairs to start opening the bar. Will you please kiss me for at least ten of them? It’s been days…”

Sighing like it was a hardship, Remus cupped his cheek and brought their faces closer, backing hem towards the sofa; “if I must.”

Without breaking their kiss, Remus settled onto the velvet sofa and pulled Sirius until he was straddling him, directing their kiss with gentle nudges and steady hands. The boy melted atop him, moaning softly and letting himself be touched, pulling back to gasp for breath and holding tightly to Remus as he sucked kisses into the underside of his jaw.

Only Lily’s knock to the door broke them apart, a pointed throat-clearing and an announcement that Sirius had five minutes until he had to be downstairs. Groaning, Remus released Sirius and let his hands fall back to the boy’s hips, stroking his thumbs in tight circles along the soft skin hidden by his t-shirt.

“Thank you,” he yelled back, chuckling at Sirius’ whine. In a much softer tone he said; “you look a little like you were mauled by a very small bear, bug. Sorry about that.”

“You think I mind?” Sirius hummed, “my Moony gave me lots of marks because I’m his.”

“He did, and you are.” Remus agreed, pecking his lips one, two, three times before patting his hip softly; “you should head downstairs before we get distracted again.”

Sirius pouted but dismounted Remus, holding a hand out for him as he stood; “one more for good luck?”

Remus tugged him close, smoothing both of his hands over Sirius’ head, caging him in against the opposite wall with his forearms; “one more.”

----------

Not four hours later, Remus was roaming the floor and smiling congenially at regulars when Sirius made eye contact with him from behind the bar. Smiling at him inquisitively, he straightened up when the boy came out from behind the top and walked towards him.

“Bug,” he spoke warningly when Sirius leant up to speak in his ear.

“There’s a guy at the bar who says he’s friends with Lily, but he doesn’t have a card. Looks hella creepy,” Sirius spoke quickly, glancing over his shoulder to see said ‘friend’; “I thought I should come find one of you.”

“Good job,” Remus nodded, patting Sirius’ hip gently; “if you head back over and I’ll go find Lily, hm?”

Sirius nodded and departed straight away, only the longing look over his shoulder betraying their relationship.

When he reappeared fifteen minutes later from the busy kitchen, Lily in tow, Remus realised his mistake. He may have had a haircut, but Severus Snape was still Severus Snape. Greasy, creepy and an all-out arsehole.

Oily as always, Severus pushed a hand through his hair and fixed his patented sneer onto Remus; “is she here or not?”

Intending to stay put, giving Lily the option to run, he moved aside as she pushed him into the counter.

“Severus.” 

It was incredible really, what Lily Evans could do to a man, whether they were deserving of her presence or not. Severus straightened immediately, drumming fingertips falling still as he devoured her frame – Remus, for one, was glad that her outfit choice that evening had been a fairly modest coffee-coloured satin dress that draped flatteringly across her figure. Better that he didn’t get to see her in one of her more exposing outfits.

“Lily, you look lovely,” the man spoke, barely glancing his eyes across the rest of the bar; “shame about the locale, though. I’d hoped you’d move on to better things. More appropriate things for a lady.”

“Funny, isn’t it,” Lily began, her tone as cold as ice; “since I hoped you’d fuck off back to Rotherham and stay there.”

She was visibly seething, and though he knew she wouldn’t appreciate it, Remus laid a comforting hand over hers, squeezing it to reassure her that he was there.

“You’re not slumming it with him, are you?” Severus looked appalled; “he’s been with other men, Lily. Sodomy. He’s probably infected with all sorts of filth.”

Smothering a laugh into his collar, he caught Sirius’ eye as he glanced around the bar, ensuring that the arse wasn’t making more of a scene than they wanted. Sirius was staring at him worriedly, the bar relatively quiet considering Severus’ bad attitude was accompanied by an equally bad odour. Trying to communicate solely with his eyebrows, Remus aimed to let the boy know they weren’t okay, but in no immediate danger, eventually giving up and mouthing the word ‘security’ until he picked up the phone.

He'd missed what had been said between Lily and Severus, but he didn’t miss the whoosh of air or the sharp slap she delivered to his cheek. Just as she shook her hand out, Severus reared back looking for all the world like he may physically retaliate, and Remus stepped smoothly in front of her. Hi-vis clad security barrelled through the door behind Severus, not speaking apart from to grin toothily at Remus and ask ‘this one?’. At his nod, Severus was lifted bodily from his seat and removed quietly from the venue, and Remus span to see Lily disappear through the door back to the kitchen.

Sirius stepped up close to him, glancing back at the room; “are you okay?”

“Mhmm,” Remus hummed, tugging him closer for just a moment and pressing a heavy kiss to his hair; “I’m going to go check on Lily, okay bug?”

At his nod, he stepped back and went after his best friend, not at all surprised to find her doing a shot of tequila in their office.

----------

Sirius POV

“So he’s the one who gave you those hickeys, huh Sparrowhawk?” Dorcas asked him teasingly, and Sirius felt himself blush and then returned a fierce curse back at her.

“Fuck off, Dottie,” he grinned at her; her ‘character’ the Dotterel had been shortened nicely to Dottie, a name which made her lips twitch like she tried to hate it but couldn’t.

“No, no,” she veered off to serve a customer, coming back to him once she’d taken his payment; “it’s nice. You spent the last week looking at him like a little puppy, according to Crane.”

As it was his turn, Sirius took her use of Caradoc’s name to mean there was someone waiting, spinning and meeting their eyes with a bright smile; “what can I get for you tonight?”

“Oh I think I’ll take a double of the Laphroaig 25 and your number, sweets.” The man spoke confidently, looking over his shoulder at his group of friends.

“One Laphroaig coming up,” Sirius chose to gloss right over the flirt, although Remus had said he could tell people it still felt a little new to be telling the world that they were doing whatever they were doing; “anything for your friends, mate?”

The man waited until he’d turned back with a clear tumbler of whiskey to order another thing, and then another, and another before finally he gave in with his flirting, and then let out a low whistle when Sirius twisted his head to reply to something Dorcas had asked him; “look at this boys, someone’s got a jealous owner, hm?”

When he reached out to touch the bruises marring Sirius’ neck, he snapped a hand forward and grabbed his wrist tightly.

“Did you not ever hear about the concept of ‘look but don’t touch’?” Sirius asked, ice in his voice.

“Hey Fab,” he shouted over his shoulder, wrist still held firmly by Sirius; “look at this. Just like when he’d had a go on you, wasn’t it?”

One of the friends who’d been lingering at the back approached the bar, eyes quickly scanning over Sirius and stopping on his throat, a grimace twisting across his features; “yeah. Possessive bastard until he gets his fill, isn’t he?”

It took a second for Sirius to realise he was being spoken to, dropping his hands quickly and trying to move away from the pair until a sympathetic voice stopped him; “didn’t believe he only did one nighters? We all fall for it, love. Most of us aren’t stupid enough to work here though, have to say that seems particularly stupid, doesn’t it boys?”

His words were rewarding with a barrage of laughter, and Sirius flushed down to his toes and span on a heel to find Dorcas inches away from him, her face a blank canvas; “you only have ten minutes left, then you can head home. Chin up, yeah?”

He gave a sharp nod and escaped to the back to restock, breathing deep and clear as he waited for 11 o’clock so he could finally go home and wallow in his own bed.

Did Remus do this with all the people he wanted to sleep with? He’d seemed so genuine but now Sirius was questioning everything that had happened between them. Hours spent on the phone because they couldn’t see each other for the last 3 days, talking about everything from Sirius’ favourite cocktail to Remus’ family history. It didn’t make sense.

----------

“Siri come on,” James yelled, “shower’s free!”

Sighing, Sirius stripped the shirt over his head and wandered out into the living room; bypassing James’ attempt for conversation he went straight into the bathroom, luxuriating in hot water they would officially be able to afford come next Friday.

“Can we talk about it?” James’ voice made Sirius jump, slipping and catching himself on the rainbow printed shower curtain.

“Fucking hell, James!” Sirius yelled, “you nearly killed me, Christ.”

“Sorry. Needed you trapped,” James chuckled; “what’s going on? You were happy as fucking Larry before we went into work, you got seventy-two new hickeys from Remus and then it’s home time and you don’t even want to go say bye?”

Mulling over the merits of telling James, Sirius finally sighed and opened the curtain enough to speak face to face; “I’ll talk if you go make us some hot chocs?”

“Deal.”

----------

“So a jealous little fuckwit told you he doesn’t do long term and you believed him over Remus?”

“Don’t say it like that,” Sirius sighed, his head in James’ lap; “I know that Remus was upfront about normally only playing with Subs once and he said I was different, but what if that’s the line he uses on everyone?”

James tugged at his damp hair, forcing him to meet his eyes; “as your brother, I am telling you now that you should believe Remus over this other guy. Have you spoken to him?”

“Not yet,” Sirius mumbled, face flushing in displeasure when James raised an eyebrow at him; “wanted to wallow for a little while.”

“Idiot.” James tutted fondly, tugging him up to sit and ply him with what was now lukewarm chocolate; “he’s been so careful with you this far. Why would he bother to do all this when, let’s be honest, you’d have got on your knees for him at the interview. If he was that much of an arse he’d have fucked you on Friday or Saturday, not snogged you in a bath and brought you home.”

“You think?” Sirius asked, “I really want to believe he’s good,” he added with a whisper; “my heart has already decided he is…”

“I know, Siri. Can see it in your face,” James teased him; “now go call your man and tell him what happened.”

Sighing, Sirius let himself be pushed up and away from the sofa and into his bedroom. He didn’t call Remus though, not yet. What he needed was to spend a little bit of time deliberating; he’d already begun to fall for Remus, although he recognised it probably wasn’t being reciprocated yet. Yet.

What had Remus said to him on Saturday? ‘We’ll get to know each other and it may eventually become a relationship’. God, he needed to reel himself in. He couldn’t stand it if he gave his heart away just for it to be stomped all over.

The things Remus had teased festered in his mind, the small 'if I have to's and the single word 'suffer'. At the time they'd seemed soft and indulgent, but Fabian had framed them as ugly things. Things that Remus put up with to get inside his pants.

He fell asleep like that, pondering the idea that his Moony might not be all that he seemed.

----------

He woke up to a feeling of eyes on him, blinking away sleep and stretching slowly. Letting out his favourite kind of yawn, seal-like and hilarious, he jerked when the laughed he heard wasn’t James’ but Remus’.

Opening his eyes, he blearily stared at Remus’ form leant in his open doorway; “well you didn’t yawn like that when we slept together, I would’ve remembered that.”

Burying his face in his sheets, Sirius finally managed to get his knees under him and let his sheets fall away; “s’for Jamie. Makes him laugh…”

He was sure he made for an excellent picture, loose shorts riding up, tangled hair and sleepy eyes. Even now, when he was trying to convince himself he was mad at Remus, he couldn’t help looking at him like he was the world. So much for the pep talk on not falling in love with him. Who wouldn’t love him?

“Want to tell me what’s going on, bug?” Remus asked kindly, not entering into Sirius’ room until the boy gestured him forward; “can I sit?”

“You can,” Sirius nodded at him bed; “how come you’re here?”

“Well, a little birdie told me that Fabian said some pretty rude things to you last night,” Remus paused for a moment, raising an eyebrow at Sirius; “and you never came to say goodbye or messaged me goodnight.”

“’m sorry,” Sirius gulped; “he was talking shit and I let him get in my head…”

“Let me guess,” Remus sighed, reaching a tentative hand out to stroke Sirius’ bare knee; “it was something about how I only do one-night deals with Subs?”

“Mhmmm,” Sirius threaded their fingers together; “and that I was an idiot for letting you fuck me and working for you.”

Remus let out a short laugh and watched him with a raised eyebrow; “well that can’t be true, can it bug? I haven’t fucked you yet.”

Sometimes when he blushed he didn’t know about it, so used to the colour erupting on his cheeks it didn’t register. This time however, he felt his cheeks heat and the colour spread, unable to help the small laugh that escaped him.

“That’s true,” Sirius sighed; “but my brain just…”

“I know, bug,” Remus shifted closer to him, kicking his shoes off; “sometimes things people say can fester, can’t they?”

“Yeah,” Sirius tugged him closer until he had his shirt in his hands and then fell backwards, so that Remus was settled on top of him, his body between Sirius’ legs; “you promise you won’t dump me the second I let you fuck me?”

“Oh, you’re so pretty when you blush,” Remus ran his thumb across Sirius’ cheekbone; “I promise. Besides, I’m gonna need to fuck you a few times to get the full effect, aren't I? Teach you how to take my cock like a pro…”

The grin on his face waylaid his intentions, and Sirius laughed lightly, tugging on Remus’ hair until he gave in and kissed the boy underneath him. His masterful tongue pressed into Sirius’ mouth, and he froze as he realised he hadn’t yet brushed his teeth. Remus pulled back immediately, his eyes searching Sirius’ face; “you alright? I was joking, bug…”

Slapping his hand over his mouth, Sirius let out a garbled; “haven’t brushed my teeth yet!”

“Really?” Remus laughed, dropping from his elbows to let his bodyweight fall on top of Sirius before he groaned and rolled off him; “go on then, go, go…”

“I’ll come right back,” Sirius promised, running off to brush his teeth and skidding back into the bedroom to find Remus with an arm behind his head, propped up on Sirius’ pillows and reading his favourite book, the one that never left his bedside table with the amount of times he read and re-read it. He looked like a fucking model, completely comfortable in Sirius’ space.

Clearing his throat to alert Remus to his presence, he joked; “a little invasive, isn’t it? Reading a man’s books?”

Humming, Remus dropped the book off to the side, spine broken and falling flat to the sheets; “I needed to know what book made you go absolutely feral. The things that poor paperback has been through…”

Climbing back up onto the sheets, Sirius mirrored the position Remus had been in not five minutes before, “’s my favourite…” he trailed off, pushing his face into the soft cotton of Remus’ t-shirt and luxuriating in the feeling of his warm skin underneath.

“I can tell,” Remus threaded his fingers through his hair and began detangling it gently; “it’s a little bit saucy, isn’t it?”

Groaning, Sirius whispered, “of course you’d open it to that chapter.”

“Mmm,” Remus agreed, his whole chest vibrating under Sirius; “now come up here, I was promised kissing, bug,”

Trying on his best smouldering look, Sirius pushed himself up until their mouths were aligned, licking into Remus’ mouth and across his teeth before he was suddenly rolled, Remus on top of him once again. The taste of his spearmint toothpaste overwhelmed any other taste of his Moony’s mouth, and he was just happy that he could be certain he didn’t have bad breath.

Humming, he pushed one hand into Remus’ fluffy mane and tugged on it gently, liking the noises the move drew from his partner. Remus let his hands roam across Sirius’ bare torso, thumbing one of his nipples until it pebbled, then pinching it to make him groan; breathing harshly into the older man’s mouth, Sirius felt his belly go taught with arousal, his cock slowly filling under the constant weight of Remus’ frame and the slow rocking their kissing created.

Lifting his legs, he wrapped them tightly around Remus’ waist, one hand drifting to push under his t-shirt and stroking gently over the muscles in his back, tracing them and committing the shape to memory.

When Remus moaned, a quiet ‘fuck’ escaping his lips, Sirius gave in to the temptation to hitch his hips higher and moved his mouth across his jaw to nip playfully at his ear and down his throat.

“So good for me, bug,” Remus panted, directing Sirius’ mouth back to his lips.

They stayed like that, kissing slowly and breathing praise into each other’s mouth until a low whistle came from Sirius’ open bedroom door; “jeez guys, I go out for a run and let your old man in and this is the welcome home I get?”

Without opening his mouth, Sirius withdrew the pillow from under his head and threw it at James, mildly appeased by the soft thunk it made and James’ retreating laughter.

“Mmm,” Remus pulled back; “we should stop before we go too far,”

Sirius whined, letting his legs drop down to the rumpled quilt; “why?”

“Because we still need to talk about what happened last night, and you’re very good at distracting me.”

“You seem fairly happy in your distraction…” Sirius trailed off, running the tip of his finger from Remus’ lips and down the centre of his chest and to the very telling bulge tenting his jogging bottoms.

“Be good, bug,” Remus warned him, tapping him on the nose with his finger and following it up with a light kiss; “I need to make sure you understand that while Fabian was telling the truth in that I’m only with Subs once, I’m very up front with them and they agree to that before we go anywhere near a scene. If that was my intention with you, you would know about it.”

“I do,” Sirius confirmed, “even in the back of my mind last night I was thinking that you wouldn’t do that to me. Jamie told me too,”

“Good.” Remus affirmed, leaning down and kissing him more firmly now; “what do you want to do today?”

“This?” Sirius asked with a hopeful grin, his erection pressing insistently in between them; “could kiss you forever…”

“Ah-ah,” James shouted from the kitchen; “I’m making waffles!”

“Ugh,” Sirius groaned, pulling Remus to flop down on top of him; “what if we eat the waffles and then you and me can sit in my nook and read together until I have to go into work?”

“That sounds lovely, bug.”

“Yeah?” he mumbled, searching for another press of lips to his, making a happy little noise when Remus indulged him.

“Yeah. And later on, when James leaves us alone maybe I’ll give you a reward for being such a good boy for me.” Remus laughed when Sirius’ eyes fell shut, a low groan escaping him and his hips twitching skywards.

As his cock blurted more precome, he settled into the comfortable embrace that Remus gave so easily. This lovely man full of warm and guiding light, just for him.

Chapter Text

Sirius POV

Three sharp knocks on the front door announced Remus’ presence, and Sirius gave himself a final check over in the mirror, taking in the ‘artfully tousled’ hair that had taken him 3 years and a million tries to perfect and the vintage band tee he’d found just yesterday.

He looked hot. Well, he hoped he looked hot.

Screw it.

Walking out to the front door with his overnight bag, he couldn’t help the little skip of excitement he did, and when he opened the door he could feel his face begin to ache with the grin stretching his lips wide.

“Hi Re-“ he broke off, mouth dropping open at the sight in front of him; “how can you dress like a grandpa and still be this hot?”

Remus let out a huffed laugh through his nostrils, “watch it, bug.”

The warning made Sirius’ heart rate spike, and he couldn’t help pulling his lip between his teeth and chewing on it as he surveyed Remus’ body; his chocolate brown corduroys and lace-up brogues, the plain white t-shirt and moss green button up. It shouldn’t work so well. Nor should it be as attractive as it was.

“What will you do if I don’t?” Sirius asked quietly, moving closer to Remus, needing so desperately to touch now that he was allowed; “would you punish me?”

Setting his big hands on Sirius’ hips, Remus quirked an eyebrow and tugged the boy in until their fronts were pressed together; “is this your way of asking for it?”

While the words rang true, he wasn’t ready to admit that Remus was reading him like a book; instead, he ducked forward until he could hide his face in Remus’ neck and inhaled deeply, letting the older man’s comforting scent wash over him.

He felt Remus’ straight-backed posture relax a little as he held Sirius’ close, kissing his hair and humming; “not ready to admit that one yet, hm?”

He pulled back, cheeks pink and smile softened and cleared his throat; “ready to go?”

“Come on then, bug. A night away with your Moony,” he reached for Sirius’ hand and his heart sang just a little; “are you excited to see my flat?”

“Mhmm,” Sirius hummed, “although based on your description it isn’t that different from Atelier is it?”

“Well,” Remus began, “I guess the colour palette is very much the same but it’s much less hotel-ish, more lived in.”

Sirius smiled brightly when the man glanced down at him, replying; “then I’m really excited to see it, I bet it’s all comfy and warm and Moony…”

Exiting his building they approached Remus’ bright yellow Jeep together, dropping the man’s hand to climb up into the passenger seat and tossing his bag into the back. When Remus rounded the vehicle, he broached the topic which had been on his mind since he’d first had a lift home; “why is your car so yellow?”

“You don’t like it?” Remus laughed, “it was my dream car when I was in uni and my early twenties, and when I finally had the money to get it a couple of years ago I saw that you could get it in this colour – it’s called ‘Hella Yella’; and I just fell in love with it. Lily doesn’t think it’s very me, but…”

“I think it’s you,” Sirius affirmed; “maybe not straight away, but it’s everything you are. Big and happy and unapologetically Remus. I love it.”

A grin pulled at Remus’ face, and he used the advantage of mid-afternoon traffic to lean across and kiss Sirius soundly; “you’re really leaning into using my name as an adjective, aren’t you? Thank you, bug.”

“How far is it to yours?”

“About twenty-five minutes,” Remus glanced over at him, “do you want to pick some music?”

Grinning evilly, Sirius reached for the touchscreen panel and began flicking through radio stations until he settled on a grime channel with bass that thrummed through the speakers.

“Is this the kind of music you like?” Remus visibly winced as the volume ratcheted up.

Taking pity on him, Sirius flicked onto the next channel, turning it down to a gentle background noise; “no, I just wanted to make your face do that.”

“I told you to watch your attitude bug, it might come back to bite you.”

He had to pretend to stare out of the window for two whole songs before his cheeks cooled and he could look at Remus again.

----------

“Do you want to pick a book while I pop your bag in my room?”

“Sure,” Sirius said distractedly; Remus had been right – the main living space of his flat, while much bigger than his room at Atelier, followed the same calming green colour scheme with dark wood floors and massive sliding doors which seemed to lead out onto a patio. The library he’d been directed to however, was a rich royal blue with inbuilt shelving lining two walls and a contrasting rug. The central space was dominated by a plush white sofa that seemed simultaneously like a perfect place to spend time reading with a partner - feet tangled together in the centre, discussing plotlines well into the night with reading lights – and the biggest spill hazard in the whole place.

Perusing the shelves, he finally settled on ‘Little Gold’ when Remus re-entered the room with his arms held behind his back; “I’m gonna start this one,” he proclaimed.

“That’s a great choice,” Remus stepped closer to him; “I got you something,” he started, “but I don’t know if you’ll-“

“What did you get me?” Sirius interrupted him; “and also, why did you get me something?”

“I liked the idea of us listening to something together,” Remus pulled two vinyl records from behind his back; “and my guy had these displayed behind the till. I don’t know if you like everything she does but Henry said that these two are quite calming, good for-“

“You got me Taylor Swift records?” Sirius said in awe; running a finger along the sleeve of one.

“Well, you said that you liked that song for your ‘shower moments’ last week;” Remus was the one to blush a little this time, “and if I thought if I’m going to subject you to the dulcet tones of one Freddie Mercury then I could give Ms. Swift a go…”

“Moony…” Sirius breathed, leaning up to kiss Remus gently, “I love them. They’re some of my favourite albums, especially for winding down. There is a problem though,”

Remus’ relieved grin turned to a slightly sad frown, “what is it?”

“There is not a chance in hell I’m going to let us read while we listen to these. They’re too deep,” Sirius pushed his hair back from his face and glanced around for a turntable; “where is your record player?”

“The living room,” Remus gestured over his shoulder; laughing when Sirius immediately took his hand and led him through the sliding panel and back to the main space.

Sitting down on the sofa with a big harrumph, Sirius gestured to Remus; “okay, so we have to listen Folklore first, alright?”

“Okay bug,” Remus agreed, setting the vinyl up and joining Sirius on the sofa; seeming to listen intently to the opening notes.

“Lie down?” Sirius whispered, gazing at Remus from where he was curled up in the corner of the sofa, humming happily when the other man quickly followed his instructions. Climbing over him, Sirius settled his head on his chest and closed his eyes, the familiar lyrics washing over him in comforting waves. When Remus’ arm rested heavily between his shoulder blades, he snuggled deeper into his chest and lifted one hand to thread his fingers’ into his Moony’s hair.

----------

“Did you like it?” he asked nervously, worrying the inside of his cheek as Remus sat up and stretched, the record now spinning soundlessly on the player.

“I did,” Remus said quietly, “the one about failing in the middle really got me.”

“Which?”

“Uh,” Remus paused for a moment, looking over the track list with a critical eye; “this one, I think? ‘This is me trying’; it felt very personal.”

Standing, Sirius pressed his face into Remus’ back and wrapped him in a tight embrace; “it made me cry, the first time I heard it.”

“I can understand why,” he murmured, tugging on Sirius until they were face to face; “and I know what Henry meant, now. Very calming and emotive indeed.”

“Mhmmm,” Sirius hummed; “I’m glad I got to see you hear it for the first time.”

----------

“Do you want any more, bug?” Remus offered, the board of cheese, crackers and meats between them beginning to look a little ransacked.

“I’m good,” Sirius said quietly, standing and helping Remus shift their dishes back into the kitchen; “do you have a plan for us for tonight?”

Running the tap, Remus began rinsing plates as he answered; “I do. First we’re gonna have a couple of different conversations,”

That made Sirius startle a little from where he was putting the food into the fridge; “bad conversations?” he asked with a worried tone.

“No, bug,” Remus assured him, drying his hands on a tea towel and pressing himself into Sirius’ back; “but we haven’t talked about some specifics that I think we should. Okay?”

“Okay,” Sirius breathed in relief, “but everything is alright?”

“So alright,” Remus reassured him; “nothing is changing, I just want to us to understand each other a bit more, and I want to make sure we’re being safe.”

“I’m clean!” Sirius exclaimed, the word safe taking him directly to a world of STI’s and awkward talks with Effie and Fleamont.

Muffling a laugh into his hair, Remus nodded; “I’d assumed as much, but thank you for reassuring me. If you’d like a copy of my most recent test results they’re just in the drawer over there,” he nodded at the sideboard behind the dining table.

“That’s okay,” Sirius sighed in relief; “I trust you.”

Framing his face with his hands, Remus leant down and kissing him gently confessed; “it makes me so happy when you tell me that.”

Sirius smiled, happy and free; and followed Remus when he lead him back to the sofa.

“So, the first thing I think we need to talk about is safewords,” Remus began; “personally I’m a fan of using traffic lights, especially since you’re new to the scene,” he paused and Sirius nodded at him to continue; “but if you tell me to stop I will stop immediately. Sometimes, in more intense scenes people say stop but they don’t always mean it, so for now, if you tell me to stop then we’ll stop, but in the future that may become a moment where instead we pause and check in with each other. How does that sound?”

“Good,” Sirius mumbled, playing with the sleeves of his borrowed cardigan; “how do the traffic lights work?”

“Good question,” Remus praised him, and though it made Sirius happy he was a little sad he had sat down so far away from him, “green is good, and an indication that you’re happy with how a scene is progressing. I will check in with you periodically but you can also use it as a verbal cue to let me know you’re really happy with something in particular, okay?”

At Sirius’ ‘yes’ he continued; “an ‘orange light’ would tell me that you’re maybe feeling overwhelmed or a little uncomfortable, or that you want to slow the pace of what we’re doing down. Again, I’ll check in every so often but if you need something to change, you say that word and we’ll reassess what we’re doing, maybe take a couple of minutes to cool down before we continue. A ‘red’ would be stopping immediately, and personally I will end a scene at a red light;” Remus watched him carefully; “that means that we would go straight into aftercare, whatever that meant for the two of us, and once we were both calm and comfortable we would discuss what happened to make us use that word.”

“Us?” Sirius asked, a little confused at the plural.

“Dom’s can use safewords too,” Remus explained, “sometimes scenes can become overwhelming, or a partner’s reaction can make you think you’ve crossed a line and induce panic. I’ve needed to use them before if I’ve been surprised in a scene, and especially when I was recovering and playing with Lily certain activities caused me to react badly.”

“Okay,”

“There is absolutely no shame in using a word, bug. I’d prefer that you used them rather than pushing yourself too hard to try and impress me or prove a point,” he waited for Sirius’ slow nod before he continued; “I’ve said before that this is about us, especially now while we’re learning each other. I don’t want you to think that because I’m more experienced I expect you to be able to withstand high levels of pain; I like to play but I want to play with you. Do you understand that?”

Sirius was filled with gratitude that Remus had taken the time to say all of this to him, to assuage the worries he’d had when he’d imagined playing with his Moony; “thank you.”

“Do you need a cuddle, bug?” he asked gently, tugging Sirius to his chest when he nodded with teary eyes; “you see why it was important we had this conversation?”

“Yeah,” he murmured, leaning up for a kiss and mewling when Remus took the chance to massage the back of his neck gently; “you make me feel so treasured.”

“I’m glad,” Remus released him, and Sirius pouted a little but allowed him to move backwards; “the next conversation is about our triggers. I’ve told you a little bit about my history, and I’m fairly good at managing my own triggers at this point; the only thing I would ask is that if there’s something you want to try, you bring it up to me in a situation like this and that you don’t ask for it in the middle of sex or a scene, does that make sense?”

“I get that,” Sirius agreed, “and you want to know my triggers?”

“Some of them you might not know until they’re on top of you,” Remus said; “and that’s perfectly okay. That is exactly why we have safewords in place, and I encourage you to use them. But there are others that you might already know.”

“Some,” Sirius agreed, “I think any sort of verbal abuse would send me into a bad space, but I like the idea of you talking down to me a little bit?”

“Okay,” Remus nodded, “so you want to try a little bit of humiliation at some point but you don’t want me to call you mean names?”

“Yeah,” Sirius blushed, staring at his knees; “are we gonna do all this tonight?”

“No.” Remus said immediately, making Sirius look up at him in surprise; “This is so I can ascertain danger zones, if you will; before any scene we do we’ll have a conversation about what we’re going to do, so you can decide if you’re in the right headspace, okay?”

“Every time we sleep together?” Sirius asked in disbelief.

“Just if we’re playing,” Remus clarified; “if we’re engaging in spur-of-the-moment or what you might hear being called ‘vanilla’ sex then we won’t have a sit down, but you can always use your safewords at any time in those situations. Like in the bathtub, remember?”

“I remember,” Sirius’ pulse jumped at remembering, as it was the last time Remus had touched him sexually, despite his teasing.

“Good,” Remus smiled, “is there anything else you think could be a trigger for you?”

“I think that as long as you don’t leave me alone when I’m tied up or blindfolded or something I’ll be okay. I know,” he gulped; “that first night at the club I had a panic attack when he grabbed me, but that was because I didn’t know him and he was scaring me. I trust you, so I think it’ll maybe just be trial and error as to anything else spooking me…”

“That’s good,” Remus nodded, looking for all the world like he was in a lesson, absorbing everything he could; “if that changes at all then you let me know, and I’ll add whatever it is to the list.”

“I promise.”

“I trust you too, bug. Just make sure you trust whatever you’re feeling,” he held his hand out for Sirius’, holding it between his; “now this is a little bit awkward, but I don’t know how much you already know and it’s important you’re informed and prepared.”

Sirius felt his brow furrow but nodded for Remus to continue anyways; “anal sex is not something you can just jump into whenever the need strikes. It can take a bit of preparation to make sure that you’re clean and-“

Sirius cut him off quickly, feeling himself turn tomato red; “oh God! I know, I know this!”

“Okay,” Remus gave a little laugh at Sirius’ embarrassment; “but do you need me to show you how to-“

“No! No I do not!” he exclaimed; “I asked Jamie about it for precisely this reason, I don’t wanna talk about cleaning my arse out with my Moony!”

Remus tugged his hand away from his face, lifting his chin and smiling softly at him; “if you’re sure,”

“I am so sure,” Sirius said confidently; “and this is the last time I want to talk about it.”

“Alright bug,” Remus laughed; “come here. I’m glad Jamie helped you,” he let Sirius hide his hot face in his neck; “although I will say that sometimes things can go wrong on that front, and if they do it’s bound to be a little bit embarrassing but I’ll never make you feel bad about it. If you decide you want to have a go at topping then I would expect the same from you, yes?”

“Yes,” Sirius let out, knowing he should’ve expected Remus to be this practical and make sure he knew exactly what went into a functioning sexual relationship; “has that happened to you a lot?”

“Once or twice,” Remus murmured; “a hazard of the practice, I’m afraid.”

Merely humming, Sirius pressed a kiss to his neck and then took in a deep breath for courage, whispering; “I did it for you earlier…”

“Cleaning?” he clarified; “Just in case, hm?” Remus asked with a teasing voice.

“Just in case.”

Pressing a kiss to his head, Remus tugged him until they were pressed together chest-to-chest; “well, if you ever need it then there is a new kit under the sink in my bathroom, and the same in my bathroom at the club.”

When Sirius let a quiet ‘okay’ slip through his lips, Remus patted his hip gently and said; “do you want to hear what I have planned for tonight?”

That perked Sirius right back up, like a dog who’d just heard the word ‘walk’, and immediately sat up straight to look at the older man with eager eyes.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Remus laughed; “I thought that I’d get you laid out on my bed on and show you the new flogger I got… It’s your favourite colour.”

He’d whispered the last part like it was a secret, but it made Sirius so excited to think Remus had taken in everything he’d shared previously. First the Taylor Swift vinyl’s, a detail he’d shared so flippantly and never expected to be used elsewhere, and now incorporating his favourite colour into a sex toy and making it feel much more personal to him. The man was a dream, so careful and considerate and everything that Sirius wanted.

“Please,” the plea escaped his lips before he could hold it back; “please will you,”

“Mmm,” Remus smiled, “and then I thought I might see how you do on my fingers, play with your hole a little…”

Cock twitching in the tight confines of his jeans, Sirius had to silence the moan growing in his throat at even the thought of what his Moony was going to do with him.

“I can see you like that idea,” he continued, “is there anything else you want to try tonight?”

“What about you?”

“What about me?” Remus returned his question.

“Want you to enjoy it too,” Sirius licked his lips, “wanna get you off…”

Remus hummed, kissing him gently; “you don’t think watching you go all pink and shivery, see your body all laid out for me… You don’t think that will get me off?”

“It might,” Sirius whispered, “but I want to play with you too,”

“So sweet…”

“You’re,” he swallowed heavily; “you aren’t going to fuck me?”

“Not tonight, bug.”

“Why?” he whined, “I want it…”

Remus kissed him gently, clearly trying to suppress a smile at his pleading tone; “I can tell. We’re going to work up to it, but that doesn’t mean we won’t do the in between things. There’s a traditional perception that sex is only penetrative, and I want to show you how to enjoy your body and mine in other ways, do you get that?”

“I trust you to show me,” Sirius tried, hiding his petulant frown even though he understood exactly what Remus was trying to communicate.

“Plus,” Remus said carefully; “when I finally do fuck you it’ll be so good, bug. I bet you’ll take my cock so well, and I want you to be able to ask for what you want and to know your body well enough to be able to give it to you.”

“Mmmf,” he muffled his initial reaction into Remus’ shirt, whining; “want it now.”

He felt more than he heard Remus’ shaky inhale, and he couldn’t tell if it was a laugh or a groan; “I know, bug. Trust me, okay?”

“Will you at least let me taste you?”

“Fuck,” he laughed a little at Remus’ moan; “you really want to?”

“So much…”

----------

Entering Remus’ bedroom felt a little like he’d just uncovered another part of the man, instead of the green colour scheme which seemed to dominate the flat, this room was painted in muted shades of blue and a lovely, patterned wallpaper hung behind his sturdy oak four-poster. All the furniture was simple but expensive looking, and so Remus it made him feel lighter. He was being trusted with all of this man, even if he didn’t know everything about him yet; and more than that, he loved everything he discovered about him so far.

“Okay, clothes off bug.”

Sirius raised an eyebrow at him, feeling a little silly since Remus had already seen him naked a couple of times; “you too?”

“Me too,” Remus confirmed, hands moving to strip off his shirt; “but you need to be much more naked for what I’ve got planned.”

Sirius watched with a watering mouth as Remus’ chest was revealed to him; silvery scars and fluffy brown chest hair, deceptively strong arms and the little pouch of his stomach; just remembering that night last week where he got to touch and bite at the older man, it had his cock fattening up in anticipation.

When the fabric hit the floor, Remus stepped closer to him until his hands were at the hem of Sirius’ shirt, and he gently prompted him; “bug? Can I take it off you?”

“You’re so hot,” Sirius whined, tongue flickering out to wet his lips; “can have anything you want…”

Laughing, Remus tugged the fabric up over his head and tossed it away from them, empty hands framing Sirius’ face for a slow, exploring kiss. Moaning, Sirius pressed himself forward until Remus’ elbows were at an insane angle and so his grip shifted, threading fingers into Sirius’ long tresses and holding him close. Humming, Remus let one hand drift down to palm at his arse, giving Sirius’ permission to grind his rapidly hardening cock into his thigh, forcing a moan to break free from his throat.

Releasing him, panting, Remus asked; “are you going to be a good boy for me tonight, bug?”

“Please,” Sirius let his head fall forward until it rested on the other man’s shoulder, “’ll be so good.”

“Glad to hear it,” he said with an amused tone, and Christ, how was he so unaffected? Sirius thought, just as the next instruction cut through his musings; “jeans off and on the bed then please.”

When Remus put some distance between them, he let his hands fall to the button fastening on his trousers and dropped them to the floor quickly, kicking his socks off as well. Shooting a questioning look to the man he pushed his boxers off his hips as well, nearly falling over when he tried to flick the fabric up into the air and catch them. A snicker escaped him as he balanced himself with a hand on Remus’ soft sheets, and he looked up to find Remus watching him, one hand rubbing firmly over the bulge in his corduroy trousers; “does this turn you on?”

“On your front, head up at the top of the bed please,” Remus requested without answering Sirius’ cheeky question, just an amused quirk of his lips belying the fact he’d heard. Feeling a little awkward, Sirius climbed up on his hands and knees until he was in the centre of the bed and then laid down on his stomach like he would if he was getting a massage.

“Like this?” he asked quietly, turning his face so he could see Remus’.

“Just like that, bug,” Remus hummed, stepping backwards with his eyes fixed to Sirius’ body; spinning once he reached a set of drawers and quickly extracting something from them; “this is what we’re gonna use tonight.”

Remus came back to him quickly, perching on the edge of the bed and running a gentle hand over Sirius shoulder blade, letting his fingers trail down over his arm until he had his fingers in his grasp, guiding him to hold the flogger in a loose grip. It was beautiful, long leather tails that were a rich dark red and a heavy black handle, the rubber ribbed for grip – that’s what he assumed it was for, at least. He couldn’t help but lean forward and press his face into the leather, inhaling once, twice and letting the scent invade his lungs; his tongue gently wetting material as he took a strand into his mouth, exploring carefully. Silver eyes’ drifted up to meet Remus’ gentle gaze, a soft smile on his face as he watched Sirius explore, prompting him to sit up a little and release the tassel; “sorry…”

“No, bug,” Remus reassured him with a gentle kiss to his forehead, keeping his mouth pressed to the skin as he spoke; “you can explore however you like, these are yours as well.”

“I like it,” Sirius whispered the words like a secret; “’m so excited.”

“Good,” Remus sighed in something like relief; “do you want me to use it on you a little, give you a taste for it?”

“Please,” he whispered, feeling like a broken record, pleading for his Moony to do something, anything.

Standing again, Remus tested the weight of the flogger in his hand and gave his forearm a couple of testing hits, and it looked like he adjusted his grip until he was happy; “okay bug, I want you to rest your head on your hands,” Remus explained, nodding encouragingly when Sirius’ checked his new position with him; “just like that, good job. I’m not going to restrain you, but sometimes if you can see something coming towards you then you’ll reach out and try to stop it. Does that make sense?”

“Yes, Moony,” Sirius affirmed, shutting his eyes and relaxing on the sheets even as his cock pressed insistently into his abdomen.

“What colour are you?”

“Green,”

“Good boy,” Remus said adoringly just as the leather tails began to drift over the sole of one foot, tickling him and making his toes curl up.

As they trailed higher, Sirius found himself shivering, imagining a multitude of goosebumps appearing in Remus’ wake. When the fabric reached his arse, they disappeared for a moment before a myriad of sharp nips covered the skin, a gasp escaping him at the sensation. Repeating the action once, twice, the skin on his backside stung just a little, each hit a little harder than the last.

“Colour, bug?” Remus asked sharply, and it occurred to Sirius through the ringing in his ears that he’d maybe asked more than once.

“’M green, green, I promise…” Sirius groaned, his hips pushing back, searching for that sensation again.

A gentle hand appeared in his hair, stroking softly through the strands and then trailing across the exposed skin of his back, “did that feel good?”

“So good,” Sirius moaned, rutting his cock into the cotton below him; “more?”

“You can have more,” Remus said nonchalantly, the bed springing back up as he stood once more.

A series of sharp hits rained down across his thighs and bottom, and a choked groan left his lips as some of the places Remus had hit him with the flogger before were targeted once more. Soon, teasing touches returned as the material was trained up over his shoulder blades and down the centre of his back, the leather making its way across smooth skin and dipping into the valley of his backside.

Biting on his knuckle, the need to have something in his mouth overwhelming, Sirius could no longer hold back the choked whimpers and moans he’d tried to repress.

“That’s a good boy,” Remus praised him, landing six sharp hits to his back; “knew you’d love this, your skin has gone so pink, bug. Just like your cheeks when you get flustered for me, hm?”

“Moony,” Sirius whimpered, working his hips harder into the bed, the urge to come getting stronger as Remus’ work picked up the pace, alternating between teasing strokes and heavy hits that landed with a sharp ‘thwap’; “please, Moony…”

“Do you want more?” Remus asked, and Sirius could hear the grin on the bastard’s face; “tell me, bug…”

“Yes, please more,” Sirius gasped, an idea escaping his lips before it had formed in his head; “can I roll over?”

Remus hummed in consideration, and Sirius could imagine the picture he made, skin flushed and voice breaking with want, hips humping into the bed like a teenage boy; “go on then.”

He was surprised when his moves were sluggish, and he struggled to roll over like he normally would. Opening his eyes, he saw Remus’ amused little grin as he watched him, and then a hand on his hip helping him to settle back in the sheets.

And god, Remus looked incredible like this, a sheen of sweat covering his torso, the flogger in a loose grip by his side and fluffy hair flopping over his eyes; “Re, Re,” he whined; “you- so good,”

“That’s good, bug,” Remus’ grin softened into a lovely look that Sirius liked to imagine was just for him, and he couldn’t resist making grabby hands for the man until he pressed a hand either side of his head and lowered himself down to kiss him ruthlessly, his tongue dominating his mouth and making his cock jump against his stomach. When he pulled back, he ran his eyes over Sirius’ body, and he felt like he could actually feel the heat in his gaze over his body; “look at that,” Remus murmured; “your cock is leaking all over, getting you so messy…”

Whimpering, Sirius tried to resist making a grab for the appendage and stroking it for a little relief; “‘s for you…”

“Spread your legs,” Remus directed him, climbing up onto the bed with him and settling between his thighs; “we’re all so sensitive here,” he ran the flogger up the insides of Sirius’ thighs, watching the boy watch him with wide eyes, laughing just a little when he shivered violently.

The flogger coming down with a flick of his wrist, he let the tails lick pain on the thin skin there and then repeated the move again on the opposite side, moving higher and higher each time until the leather was catching his balls with each hit. Whimpering, Sirius tried to flinch away from the toy; “colour?” the words were sharp, the flogger momentarily still in Remus’ grasp as Sirius stared at him with watery eyes.

It took him a moment to understand, mouth gaping up at the man; “good, I’m good, green!”

“Okay,” Remus murmured, and then with a hard swoop he aimed the flogger and let it fall directly over his cock and balls, the leather coming away glistening with Sirius’ precome; repeating the action when Sirius cried out, a tear dripping from one eye and falling down into his hair.

“How’s that, hm?” Remus asked, considering Sirius’ vibrating body carefully; “do you want it harder, bug?”

“Fuck,” Sirius gasped, his cock now a dark red at the tip, a pool of clear fluid on his belly; “like that, again…”

Remus repeated his hit twice more, and then dropped the flogger to the side. He stayed put between his spread thighs, now running his hands down the sensitised skin and making soothing ‘shh’ noises. Sirius watched him with his lip drawn between his teeth, chewing hungrily on the flesh as he yearned for Remus to do something, anything so he could get some relief.

He still wasn’t prepared for Remus reaching out and sweeping some of the fluid off his belly with a confident finger, bringing the liquid to the head of Sirius’ cock and rubbing it into the flesh; “so wet for me, aren’t you bug?”

“Re,” Sirius whined, his hips pumping the air uselessly; “please touch me…”

A wicked grin overtook his face then, and he watched as the man dropped his hands completely – instead he brought them to the button of his own trousers, unbuttoning them and lowering the fly. He didn’t have any fucking underwear on. Sirius groaned, dropping his head back to the pillow and squeezed his eyes tight for the count of three, trying to calm himself before he looked back at the man. Only, when he did Remus was watching him intensely, stroking his cock slow and steady, a little bead of precome at the tip being smoothed away by a skilled palm and used for lubrication.

How he made that look so good, Sirius didn’t know. What he did know was that he would kill anyone that tried to get between him and Remus in this moment: the sight of Remus Lupin, cheeks flushed and mouth wide open, breathing heavily as his cock disappeared into his fist with every twist of the man’s wrist was something he would treasure forever. It was also about to send him over the edge, just by watching.

He was just so- so. He didn’t even know, but he understood a little bit now why ‘Fabian’ had been jealous that Sirius got to keep him. This fucking man, he was everything. Sirius’ moon and his sun and just- just everything. He’d give him the world.

When he reached for his cock, his hand was batted away faster than he thought Remus capable of at this moment, like he was expecting Sirius to try and touch himself.

“No, bug.”

“Please…”

Remus hummed, leaning over him to reach for something out of the bedside table; “are you going to let me play with your little hole now?”

“Yes,” Sirius moaned, arching his neck for a kiss when Remus glanced down at him and smiling into it when his wish was granted; “want you to…”

“Good boy,” Remus praised him, uncapping a bottle of lube and squeezing some out onto his index and middle fingers, bringing them down to Sirius’ puckered hole and laving over it gently, getting him used to being touched; “do you do this to yourself?”

“Re,” Sirius twisted his head, a little embarrassed at the question; “only a couple of times,” Remus eased a finger in gently, and Sirius felt himself stretch a little around the intrusion, pressing back into it experimentally and being rewarded with a gentle smile.

“Did you like it?”

“Angles,” Sirius gasped as Remus twisted another finger into him; “couldn’t-“

Remus leant forward to kiss him, licking into his mouth as he rubbed his fingers gently inside him; “couldn’t find your prostate?”

Shaking his head slowly, his mouth dropped open in a gasp as Remus found it for him, grinning wickedly when his whole body jerked and a long moan escaped his mouth.

“There we go, bug… Moony found it for you, hm?”

“Yes, yes,” Sirius gasped, working his hips in time to Remus’ thrusts; “there, Moony, right there…”

One hand pressing into the covers next to Sirius’ head, Remus nosed gently at his cheek until he twisted to kiss him, his fingers maintaining continuous pressure against that spot inside him until he was shuddering. He felt like he was coming apart in the best way, his cock jumping up and blood rushing through his ears; the pleasure so intense that he couldn’t even kiss anymore, just panting into Remus’ mouth as his golden eyes watched him, full of desire.

“Are you going to come for me, bug?” Remus teased, increasing the pressure until Sirius was moaning, thrashing with the pleasure that felt white-hot in his gut.

“Unh,” he moaned, hands grasping Remus’ shoulders tightly, fingernails digging into the flesh in a bid to hold onto some semblance of control; “green, so green, Re please-“ he broke off, tears falling freely from his eyes as the pleasure crested and broke, his cock shooting thick ropes of come up over both of their chests, a few splatters hitting Sirius’ chin from the force of his orgasm, the fingers inside him slowing and then carefully retreating.

“Oh,” Remus breathed, wiping his lube-slick fingers on the covers and gently wiping the come from Sirius’ chin, sucking it into his mouth; “you’re so beautiful, bug…”

Sirius’ surged up for a kiss, his emotions going haywire as he struggled to regain control of his breathing. It felt a little bit like he’d just had an essential part of his world handed to him, Remus’ entire being a revelation he’d just been waiting for.

“Moony,” he sobbed a little, crushing the man to his body as he cried; “that was so good…”

Remus held him gently, scooping the boy to his chest and sitting up on his knees so that Sirius was koala-ed to his front, the man then spinning and settling against the headboard. Deftly ignoring the rapidly drying come painting their chests, Remus murmured soft words into his hair and stroked gentle hands down his spine.

He couldn’t help it, sucking on the skin of Remus’ neck until he left a sizeable mark, the man groaning and clearly trying to conceal the shift of his hips, his cock still rock hard under Sirius; “I’m so proud of you, bug. You did brilliantly,” Remus pressed kisses into his hair and to his shoulder, any part of Sirius he could reach; “thank you for letting me see you like that.”

Once his heart rate had calmed and he felt more himself, he shifted a little uncomfortably in Remus’ arms, the zipper of his fly pressing into his thigh; “can I suck you now?”

Remus’ head dropped back to the cushioned headboard, groaning around his laugh; “yeah bug, if you want to you can suck me.”

“Yay,” Sirius mumbled, leaning forward to press another kiss to Remus’ lips and continuing across his jaw and down his neck; pausing to shuffle backwards, he tugged at Remus’ trousers until the older man lifted his hips and allowed Sirius to tug them off, throwing them behind him. When he turned back to look at Remus, he finally got the full effect of Remus’ body on display just for him, without the cover of milky bathwater or the knowledge that Remus wasn’t for him. Now, the man was all his and laid out like a meal, his long legs splayed, thick thighs covered in a fine dusting of hair that matched his torso, hard cock nestled in thick pubic hair and drooling just a little into the curve of his hip.

Licking his lips, Sirius crawled back up the bed and continued where he laid off, suckling marks into the soft skin over his chest and down past his navel, dipping his tongue inside and shooting Remus a cheeky look.

Remus’ fingers scratched at his scalp, winding long hair around his hand and tugging until Sirius felt the pressure somewhere in his gut, moaning and pressing his face into the man’ groin, tongue flickering out to catch the head of his cock and tasting the salty precome.

“You’ll tell me if I do it wrong?” Sirius asked shyly, unable to take his eyes away from Moony’s cock long enough to meet Remus’ eyes.

“You won’t,” Remus reassured him; “just watch your teeth.”

“Mmmkay,” Sirius hummed, nuzzling his face into the dark hair in front of him, nosing at Remus’ balls and taking one into his mouth, laving the soft skin with his tongue until he heard a groan and was rewarded with a sharp tug.

Moving up, he flickered his tongue over the vein that traced up the side of his pink cock until he reached the tip, taking it into his mouth and sucking gently. Eyes flickering up to meet Remus’, he was momentarily stunned by the heat in Remus’ gaze, directed entirely at him; “just like that,” the man groaned, his hips twitching up.

With his tongue, he pressed his cockhead into his soft palate and laved the underneath softly. Mewling, Sirius swallowed around him and pushed further onto him, wrapping his hand around what wouldn’t fit in his mouth.

Remus’ mouth was fixed open, lips pink and wet as he panted, moaned and groaned watching Sirius suckle devotedly at his cock; “oh bug, that feels amazing…”

Pulling off, Sirius continued to stroke at him and opened his mouth to ask a shy question when Remus groaned loudly, hips jerking as he came; “shit,” he moaned, and Sirius felt the hot splatters of his come hitting his cheek, painting his forehead with beads of creamy fluid, ducking to catch the last of him on his tongue.

“Sorry, bug,” Remus panted, chest heaving in pleasure as Sirius palmed his balls just how he would to himself; “I didn’t mean to do that,”

Sirius smiled, releasing his cock and kneeling up to kiss Remus tentatively, unsure whether the man would allow him to with his face covered in come; “I liked it,” he mumbled, mewling when Remus’ thumb scooped some up and fed it into his mouth; “you taste so good.”

The older man cleaning Sirius up made him feel a little emotional again, the care he was being shown surprising him yet again. Suckling at come-covered fingers eagerly, he moaned as his cock twitched in an attempt to come back to life.

“Was that what you were hoping for, bug?” Remus asked, a little smile on his face as Sirius snuggled, clean-faced, into his chest.

“Maybe a little bit,” Sirius murmured, biting at Remus’ chest.

----------

Remus POV

Getting them to the bathroom was a little bit of a chore, but he found that to be the case most of the time; Sirius was no different, although Remus found he cared more about his comfort than he did for other Subs.

“Come on, bug,” Remus guided him under the stream of water, rubbing a palm over the small of his back and reaching for a flannel and shower gel; “need to get you clean, don’t we?”

“Mmmmf,” Sirius said intelligently, mouthing at Remus’ bicep, and Remus smiled indulgently down at him.

It was like a rapture had taken place, when Sirius had pulled off his cock and opened his mouth – he couldn’t hold back, so on edge from watching the beautiful boy shake and whimper, coming so powerfully he’d ended up with ejaculate on his chin and all over both of them. The way Sirius had taken in his body, not just glancing over his scars but finding them attractive, running his fingers over them reverently, mouthing at them and leaving marks where Greyback had. Sirius was making him his. And he fucking loved it.

Tugging the ends of his hair, guiding his head under the water, Remus carefully washed and conditioned him, stepping back to put some music on the speaker system when Sirius’ eyes were clearer.

He hadn’t heard it before, but the way Sirius perked up hearing the opening notes of ‘Don’t Blame Me’ made him love it already.

“I want to see your ‘shower moment’, bug.”

“Moony,” Sirius whined, shaking his head.

Stepping back under the spray, Remus laughed, hands on Sirius’ hips; “I’m gonna hop under that shower,” Remus gestured behind him, to where the matching showerhead faced Sirius’; “and you’re gonna show me, yes?”

Sirius’ hips had started to move like he wanted to dance, and Remus knew he’d won. Stepping back until he met the cool tile and polished chrome of the wall, he twisted the knob with familiarity until he was being drenched by warm water; never taking his eyes from Sirius. Watching him watching him, a sweet little smile plastered across his face.

Said ‘shower moment’ was relatively tame until the music reached a crescendo, where Sirius opened his arms like he was about to dive off a cliff, mouthing the words to the song with practised ease and then falling to a crouch as the bass dropped. As the music came to its end, Sirius approached Remus, taking over the job of cleaning his come from his matted chest hair and said so quietly he nearly missed it; “makes me think of you,”

“Does it?” he hummed, shutting his eyes as Sirius reached up with a handful of shampoo.

“Mmmhmm,” he agreed, “especially that bit at the end, when I came it was like I’d never felt anything like that before. I could be addicted to you so easily; sometimes I just want to burrow inside you and stay there forever.”

As if he’d realised what he’d just confessed, Sirius shoved his face into Remus’ neck, withdrawing moments later, spluttering soapy bubbles and making a face so amusing Remus doubled over with the force of his laughter.

“Oh dear, bug,” he laughed; “you didn’t plan that so well did you?”

“No,” Sirius pouted, “was so embarrassing. At least tell me you felt sort of like that?”

Watching him, Remus lifted his chin and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips; “you mean when I came like a teenager because I could see your little tongue next to my cock? Yes bug, from the moment you asked me if I wanted to play with you,” he sighed, wrapping him up, soapy and wet and earnest to a fault, “you had me wrapped around your little finger.”

“Yay,” Sirius mumbled, creeping up onto his tiptoes like Remus wouldn’t notice, suckling his earlobe into his mouth, “that means we get to keep doing that…”

Humming happily, Remus nuzzled their faces together and kissed him gentle, reverently.

“Bed?”

“Bed.”

----------

It was still early, dark outside on account of the season but the clock on his wall hadn’t even made it to ten o’clock yet; so Sirius fetched the book he’d picked earlier in the day and Remus grabbed one of the many novels he was currently on with, and they sat and read, stark naked under his quilt in companionable silence.

Eventually, Sirius began to shift, clearly bored, and Remus lowered his book a smidge to see an eager boy, kneeling by his side with his book discarded on the bedside table. Without opening his mouth; Remus raised an eyebrow at him and asked what he wanted; “can I just…” Sirius asked tentatively, causing Remus to set his book down.

“Can you what, Sirius?”

“Um,” he gulped, coming closer to the older man until his knees were pressed against Remus’ thigh; “I wanted to know if I could just, y’know, while you’re reading…”

“Come here, bug,” Remus opened one arm and encouraged him to curl up under it; “what do you want?”

“Wanted to explore you a little bit,” the boy whispered, running a finger over the line of muscle in his thigh; “I promise I won’t distract you…”

“Oh, but you distract me by existing,” Remus hummed, patting Sirius firmly on the hip and leaving a heavy kiss on his brow; “you can, though. Go ahead.”

“Thank you,” Sirius mumbled, shifting out of his grip and moving down the bed.

Picking his book back up, Remus picked up where he had let off until there was gentle pressure on his thighs, hands guiding him to spread his legs. When he glanced up again, Sirius was propped up with his head on his elbows, pressing reverent kisses to the inside of Remus’ thighs, occasionally dipping in to create a mark.

As he got closer to Remus’ soft cock, his progress was slower and slower, and then he tongued gently at Remus’ foreskin and brought him into his warm, wet mouth.

“Is that what you were wanting?” Remus asked gently, carding a hand through his damp hair and watching as Sirius relaxed to a point of near-sleep; “just needed something in your mouth?”

Sirius barely made a noise, just tongued at Remus’ cock and opened his eyes to stare up at him.

“Alright love,” Remus acquiesced, lifting his book with one hand and beginning to read; “be a good boy and keep your Moony’s cock warm, hm?”

That brought a low moan from Sirius, and it sent Remus’ thoughts spiralling, the words on the page no longer mattering as he created scenarios to appease this part of Sirius' brain, imagining bringing him into the office and sitting him on his cock while he did his work, having him under the desk with his cock in his mouth. Like a dog with a bone, he joked. His little puppy, keeping his cock warm and safe until he was ready use it.

It could have been minutes later, but it could’ve been an hour too, when Remus came back into the room; Sirius’ mouth was still on his cock, his tongue still gently playing with his foreskin. Only now, the mattress was gently moving, so he dropping the book from his grip silently, watching as Sirius’ suckled at him, eyes closed and hips working his own cock into the bed.

“Such a good little bug,” Remus mused, “keeping Moony’s cock warm and safe and getting off so quietly, aren’t you?”

A broken whine escaped Sirius’ lips, and when he looked, really looked, Remus could see that his crotch was damp with the boy’s spit and pink with the increased blood flow, even if he wasn’t hard. And he wouldn’t be, not for a few more hours, at least. He wasn’t twenty three.

“It’s alright, Sirius,” Remus reassured him, fixing him with a gentle stare as his hips began to work the sheets harder and faster; “why don’t you come up here, hm? You’ve done such a good job,” he praised.

Sirius shook his head minutely, closing his eyes again as his hips began to jerk erratically, muffling a moan into Remus’ groin as he came into the sheets.

“Oh bug,” Remus spoke with false sympathy; “did you like that a little bit too much?”

Sirius was blushing, head to toe, and nodded as his breath came harshly through his nostrils, pulling off of Remus when the man gave a harsh tug to his hair.

He could hardly believe it, how beautiful the boy was, innocent in his desires but bold enough to push, to ask for what he wanted.

----------

Waking to an octopus curled around him, still sleeping soundly with little gruffly noises escaping him at every exhale, Remus watched the sun rise over his balcony with a happy heart and vague outline of what he wanted to do with his Monday. Almost all of it involved Sirius.

----------

It had been amusing at first, watching Sirius move around his flat, exploring like he had a right to know every story that decorated the walls. By lunchtime it had gotten a little bit tiring – not Sirius, just his unarticulated requests for punishment. He didn’t have a reputation for brat taming, but it seemed he was maybe going to have to get used to it.

“Bug,” he warned, watching Sirius sit on top of his dining table, a feat for which he had been reprimanded at least three times this morning; “you either get down or you’re getting a spanking, your choice.”

Sirius quirked an eyebrow, a cocky smile that Remus hated painted across his face; deciding his fate for him then and there.

“Okay,” Remus stood, slapping his hands on his thighs and jerking his head in a gesture for the boy to follow him; “here’s what we’re going to do,” he stopped outside the door to the spare room, not wanting Sirius to associate his bedroom with punishment. Facing Sirius, he grasped the boy with a hand behind his neck and pulled him until they were flush; “you’re going to get fifteen spanks for being rude, and a further five for ignoring your warnings. Do you understand me?”

Sirius nodded, eager eyes betraying that this was what he was hoping for all along; “okay, Moony.”

“When we walk through this door, you are telling me that you give me a green light to punish you. Unless the word ‘red’ comes out of your mouth, you will get your twenty spanks. Are we understood?”

“Yes, Moony,” Sirius said, a little quieter this time as he processed what he had been told.

Dropping his grip on the boy, he turned and opened the door, walking through without any further words to Sirius. He was interested to see how this turned out, for Sirius to learn the difference between spanking to arouse someone and behaviour correction; to see just how hard he liked to be hit.

He heard the deep breath Sirius let out when he walked into what was, for all accounts, a regular guest bedroom. Sitting heavily on the edge of the bed, Remus patted his lap and watched Sirius make tentative steps towards him, finally coming to a stop directly in front of his spread legs.

“Pants down then, bug.”

“Oh, I-“ Sirius stammered,

“No. Pants down.”

He’d been told before that he was quite scary when he slipped into ‘punishment mode’; he knew now that that was true, seeing Sirius’ face drop and him bring his lip between his teeth for a nervous second.

“If you wanted a spanking for fun, Sirius, then all you had to do was ask for it. I,” he paused for thought, analysing his boy’s expression; “I don’t think you’ll enjoy this. If you need to use your safeword, use it.”

“O-okay, Moony.”

Sirius pulled his trousers down, sheepish as he bent uncomfortably over Remus’ lap; shivering as Remus held him down firmly.

They’d barely made it through five hits when the first sob ratcheted its way out of his chest, and it was just around ten that Sirius began apologising in a long mumbling string, Remus thanking him for the apologies and continuing each time. At the sixteenth hit, Sirius began to wail the word no, sending Remus’ heart racing and the urge to finish early kicked in, taking a breath, he raised his arm to continue when a quiet ‘red’ reached his ears.

Kicking into aftercare mode, Remus smoothed a hand over Sirius’ red backside and pulled his pants back up, urging him to stand and then bringing him to straddle his lap, cuddling him close and muttering reassuring words as he sobbed into his shirt.

“Good boy,” Remus praised him, rubbing soothing circles into over his t shirt; “you did so well bug, we’re all done now.”

“’M sorry,” Sirius whimpered, making fists in the material of Remus’ shirt and holding tight; “couldn’t take it anymore…”

“Oh you did so well, bug,” Remus assured him; “I’m so proud of you for using your safeword. My good boy, aren’t you?”

“Am I?” Sirius pulled back, voice wobbling.

“Yes.” Remus said fiercely, taking Sirius’ cheek in his hand and making him meet his eyes; “you did exactly as I asked and took your punishment so well. It’s all forgotten now, bug. You need to be more mindful in future of other people’s property, but I won’t hold what you did over you. I’m proud of you, cuddlebug.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that. You misbehaved, you were punished, you won’t do it again.” He smiled at Sirius’ violent head shake, agreeing with his final statement; “Beginning, middle, end. I’ll hear nothing more of it, now it’s time for me to look after you.”

They had a long way to go: for Sirius to understand exactly how much  power he held in their dynamic, to learn how to ask for what he wants, how to navigate each other’s space respectfully. The biggest one would be playing safely, but Remus was confident that they could do it together. Not for the first time, he entertained the possibility that he and Sirius could do some real good for each other.

Chapter Text

Remus POV

When Sirius’ breathing was noticeably calmer and his shuddering frame stilled he began to plan the rest of their day, aftercare to suit the intensity of the punishment, reassuring his bug that his actions wouldn’t be held against him.

His boy was light, and he was stronger than he looked, so it took very little effort to stand with Sirius still attached to his front, leaving the room where he’d punished him and walking them across the flat. His bathroom was chockful of soothing creams and bath products, but he was hesitant to sit Sirius down on the counter, worried about the impact on his aching bottom.

“Can I set you down?”

“Mmm, why?”

“We’re gonna put some cream on your bottom,” Remus said gently, thumbs rubbing back and forth soothingly where they grasped his thighs; “to stop you from getting sore.”

“Do we have to?” Sirius whined, holding onto Remus tighter, “don’t wanna let you go yet,”

Remus shushed him, hoisting him a little higher on his front and dropping a kiss to the dark, downy hair along his temple; “only for a couple of minutes, bug. Then we’re gonna wrap up in a blanket and watch TV together until lunch, does that sound good?”

“Yeah,” Sirius said quietly, sighing and nuzzling into the crook of Remus’ neck.

“That’s my good little bug,” Remus praised him; “drop your legs for me,”

Sirius did as he asked, leaving his arms up over Remus’ shoulders but standing on his own. While it was inconvenient, it was the preferable option to keep Sirius as close as possible, so he walked them towards the cabinetry slow and steady, making little steps so Sirius could edge backwards with him.

When he’d grabbed the right cream, he maneuvered the boy so he was staring at their reflection, although Remus thought by the distant look in his eyes that he wasn’t really seeing what was in front of him.

“Are you with me, lovebug?” Remus asked him gently, tugging him up until his back was pressed to his chest.

“Hmm?” the new nickname snapped Sirius out of his reverie, his silver eyes meeting gold in the mirror, a soft smile taking the place of Remus’ inquisitive look.

After he’d left Greyback and been discharged from the hospital it had taken a long time for him to be comfortable seeing his reflection again, to see the scars that his ex had cleaved across his face and not hyperventilate. Over fourteen years later, he was comfortable enough to see them and feel them under his fingertips, to understand that some people held a morbid fascination for what had caused them and that others thought they made him more attractive.

Occasionally he stumbled across someone who didn’t seem to care either way; he didn’t know for sure which camp Sirius fell into, but he hoped that it wasn’t the first. He’d been burned by that before, had told the blanket story which covered an abusive ex and managing to escape with Lily’s help; and then when he’d gone into deeper detail and told the story behind each scar, they had slowly but surely lost interest in him. Of course, there’s no way to know for sure that they had just wanted the juicy details of each scar, but out of four serious relationships in the years in between then and now, three had ended within a month of his story being told in its full, unadulterated horror.

Sirius liked them; he knew that much. The way he stroked over the silvered skin when he was holding Remus close, pressed kisses into their smooth surface and laid hickies across them with extra care, as if he could erase Fenrir’s touch. But he had never pressed for more details, he’d accepted that they were part of Remus so easily, just another detail.

“I think you’re the one zoning out now, Moonman…” Sirius whispered, pressing back into him so that his weight was resting on Remus, bringing him back into the room.

“Sorry,” Remus hummed, fluttering another gentle kiss along his brow; “I was thinking.”

“Cream?”

“Yes,” Remus confirmed, one hand grasping Sirius’ hip and the other placing the cream down next to them; “in here or on the bed?”

“Does it make a difference?”

“Not really,” Remus swayed them gently, trying his hardest to focus on Sirius and what he needed in that moment; “if we do it in here then I’ll just pull your trousers down and rub it into your skin. On the bed I’d probably undress you-“

Sirius interrupted him, voice soft but tinged with longing; “bed.”

Laughing Remus stepped away from Sirius, taking his hand and pulling him through to the bedroom; “pop the cream on the bed for me?”

“Yes, Moony,” Sirius mumbled, dropping the tub onto the bed and looking up to him for more directions.

He couldn’t help himself; not with Sirius staring up at him, eyes so trusting and warm. This kind of non-sexual submission was so precious to Remus, and he just had to kiss the boy. Dragging his body until it was flush with his own, he let his hands drift up under the soft cotton of his top and sweep across the soft skin of his stomach. When Sirius shivered he increased his pressure, smoothing his thumbs over the solid press of hipbone and up, up into the dip of his waist and the gentle tickle of chest hair.

“My sweet little bug,” Remus mumbled, pulling back and stripping Sirius’ shirt over his head and dropping to his knees; “can I take these off?”

“Uhuh,” Sirius agreed, hand on Remus’ head to steady himself as he lifted one foot and then the other to disentangle his bottoms from his ankles.

Dropping a sweet kiss to the smaller boy’s kneecap, Remus stood once more and directed Sirius to lie prostrate on the clean sheets, his little socked feet hanging over the edge and contrasting brightly with the plain white linen.

He stripped down to his boxers, not wanting to make the scene sexual but knowing how important skin-to-skin contact was in aftercare: though they had both begun the punishment clothed, now that Sirius was in a submissive headspace and naked, Remus wanted to level the playing field between them.

As he knelt next to Sirius’ relaxed body, he ran a gentling hand along his flank and surveyed the still-pink skin of his glutes; “this is a little bit of aloe vera lotion,” he explained as he rubbed the cream gently into his skin; “it should cool you down a little and stop you from getting sore, okay?”

“Smells nice,” Sirius murmured. He’d wrapped a hand around Remus’ calf, stroking the exposed skin gently; “is this what it’s always like?”

Remus hummed thoughtfully, letting the last of the cream absorb into his hands; “aftercare?”

“And scenes,” Sirius clarified; “I feel so special,”

“That’s exactly how I want you to feel, bug,” Remus laid down next to him and encouraged Sirius to roll onto his side so they were spooned together; “that’s why we talked so much before we really did anything heavy, so I could understand how to look after you best. Some people don’t like to feel like this,” he breathed carefully, “and some Doms avoid making their Subs feel like this afterwards to keep them coming back for more.”

“That doesn’t make sense though?” Sirius said quietly, twisting so he was flat on his back, Remus’ hand travelling from his hip to his belly; “why would making them feel bad make someone stay? Or come back for more?”

“Well,” Remus began; “sometimes if you don’t receive proper aftercare you can go into a bad sort of headspace – sometimes it’s referred to as ‘subdrop’, where you’re very emotional and can feel depressed. Often, it’s when Doms aren’t paying proper attention to their Subs or don’t care enough to look after them properly, but Doms can drop too. Sometimes it happens no matter what; but the main point is that you feel like the only thing that will make you feel better is your Dom giving you attention or another scene. It fades, but if you’re in an abusive relationship and around your Dom all the time it can be like a rollercoaster of ups and downs with very little middle ground.”

“I’m sorry,” Sirius whispered, and Remus realised he’d unloaded a lot of information of his boy when he was still in a vulnerable place.

“Sorry snugglebug,” Remus kissed Sirius sweetly, just the once, and pulled back a little to see his eyes flutter open; “that wasn’t supposed to be so heavy. I’m glad that you’re safe and happy here with me.”

Sirius curled up closer, and Remus closed his eyes and held him in his arms, savouring the moment. Until Sirius broke the silence moments later; “I like snugglebug…”

“I thought you might,” Remus stroked the soft skin of his stomach; “any bug variation is just for you. My special bug boy.”

“Yours.”

----------

“Good sandwich?” Sirius asked, a sweet little smile on his face as he watched Remus bite into his construction, at the affirming hum, the smile stretched wider across his face; “s’ the only thing I’m good at making. Jamie does the rest of it,”

“The only thing that you’re good at making?”

“Mhmm,” Sirius swallowed his bite; “I tried to make risotto for Effie once on her birthday and it came out like flavourless rice glue. Never again,” he shuddered dramatically, making Remus laugh a little around the bread.

“It’s great.”

“Yay, yay, yay,” the boy squirmed happily in his seat; “my Moony likes my sandwich…”

“He does,” Remus watched him, “and your Moony really likes the sandwich maker too, thank you for making them for us. Looking after me so well, aren’t you?”

Sirius dropped his sandwich back onto his plate and stood quickly, throwing Remus off until he pushed Remus’ plate out of the way to straddle his lap and slung his arms over Remus’ broad shoulders. Looking at the blush on Sirius’ cheeks and the shy smile on his face, Remus thought he had either said a little too much or just enough to make Sirius feel good; “was that too much bug?”

Sirius didn’t answer him, just wormed his way closer into Remus’ chest and tucked his face into his neck, humming as gentle fingers tangled into his hair and held him close. From what he knew of Sirius’ childhood he guessed that he wasn’t used to being told so openly that he was appreciated, maybe now by his surrogate family, but Remus wanted that to change so badly. This boy deserved everything, and he wanted to give it to him.

Wrapping him up in his arms, he smothered the boy with a multitude of noisy kisses, aiming to make him laugh. When he felt Sirius begin to shake and little exhalations on the bare skin of his neck, he tipped them forward on the sofa so that Sirius had to hold him tighter to avoid falling on the floor.

“Moony,” Sirius half-laughed half-whined; “noooooo!”

“Sorry bug,” Remus pulled them back up straight, kissing Sirius properly before the boy had an opportunity to hide again.

Settling into the couch cushions, Remus licked the taste of their lunch from his mouth and then allowed Sirius to direct their kiss, the boy moaning into their kiss. When his hips began to roll down onto Remus’ he encouraged the movement, letting his half-hard cock rut up into his bug’s arse. When Sirius broke the kiss with spit-slick lips, panting heavily in the warm space between their bodies; the boy asked quietly, “can we?”

Remus let the silence stretch on, watching Sirius bite at his lips, his blown-out pupils tracking over the older man’s face; “what do you want?”

“I-uh, anything?” Sirius seemed surprised to be asked, pondering the question for a moment.

“Do you want to try a scene, or do you want to get off?”

Giving Sirius two options to choose between seemed to work best, rather than open-ended questions which threw him off; “a scene, please…”

“Okay. Do you know what sort of scene?”

Remus stroked a gentle hand along Sirius’ thigh, shifting them so their cocks were no longer pressed up against each other, giving them room to think.

“No,” Sirius bit his lip, “maybe some toys?”

“We can do that,” Remus tapped his hip in an indication to stand, leading him through to his bedroom once he’d risen to join him. Showing him the large chest of drawers which contained what he kept at home for playing; “how about a plug?”

Sirius stared at the well-organised contents of the drawer with wide eyes, and Remus huffed a little laugh and tugged him closer, picking up a smaller plug with multiple vibration settings; “what about this one?”

“Inside me?” Sirius asked quietly, a faint pink colour taking up his cheeks at Remus’ ‘yes bug’; “something else too?”

“If you’d like,” Remus acquiesced, “one of the things you wanted to try was wax play, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Sirius nodded, pressing his face to Remus’ chest.

“Well, we could pop this plug inside you, and could do a little bit of experimenting with that,” Sirius seemed excited by the idea, but it was a reserved sort of excitement that the older man had come to associate with the boy being unsure of something; “what about that doesn’t sound good to you, Sirius?”

“It sounds good,” Sirius mumbled, “but what if I don’t like it?”

“Then we stop,” Remus said simply; “we’ll stop and see where you want the scene to go instead.”

“Okay,” Sirius let out a shuddering breath; “will you figure out the rest?”

“’Course I will,” Remus dropped a kiss to his head and spoke again; “why don’t you go get cleaned up and I’ll set everything up?”

Sirius’ only response was an embarrassed little ‘meep’ followed by a fast walk to the bathroom, the door sliding shut as soon as he was inside.

“Don’t touch your cock while you’re in there, bug.” Remus called through the door, letting out a short laugh at the clatter of bottles in response.

----------

“Oh, good boy,” Remus praised Sirius as he shuddered through the first few droplets of hot wax hitting the smooth skin of his back; “how does that feel?”

“Green, it’s good,” Sirius whimpered, pushing his head harder into the other man’s hand, encouraging the gentle petting.

As slowly as he could, Remus moved to turn the plug on, not wanting to alert Sirius to its hidden ability – he was fairly certain that the boy hadn’t clocked that when Remus had selected it. Depressing the button would push the plug ever-so-slightly deeper into Sirius’ hole, and it gave a slight squelch of lube as the low hum of vibration filled the room.

Sirius’ moan was muffled by skin, and Remus lifted his focus from the boy’s backside to see him biting at the skin of his wrist; “oh dear,” Remus cooed, “do you need something in your mouth?”

The pouty nod he received brought a gentle smile to his face, and he tipped the lit candle over his back and let a trail of hot wax escape just to hear the noises his partner would make. Sirius didn’t disappoint, a gasping moan escaping him just as Remus flattened his middle and ring fingers and fed them to the boy; “if you need to safeword I want you to hit me, is that clear?”

Sirius nodded, meeting his eyes for a moment before letting them drift shut, suckling gently at the soft skin of Remus’ fingers and tracing the shape of his fingernails with his tongue. His back was streaked with drying wax, the bright blue droplets becoming opaque as they cooled on Sirius’ skin; “you look so lovely, Sirius. Striped in blue, letting me have my way with you…”

Tipping the candle once more, he let the wax spell out his initials, temporarily marking Sirius as his, and he knew when he peeled it off later the letters would be replicated in pink. As the boy beneath him shook, his hips making slow circles as if Remus wouldn’t notice, Remus set the candle down, flame extinguished, and turned the vibrator up another level.

Sirius’ mouth dropped open around his fingers, a continuous plea falling from his lips. Withdrawing his hand, Remus dried it on the sheets and used it to push his hair back from his face; “are you ready?”

“Please,” the boy moaned, “yes, yes, I’m ready…”

Remus didn’t think he was, but nevertheless he started to peel at the cool wax, first small dots and then the longer strips, “do you like it?” he asked nonchalantly.

“Re,” Sirius groaned, “’s good,”

“Good,” Remus finished peeling the last of the wax off his skin, the scraps discarded onto a towel for exactly that purpose; he took a moment to trace the letter RJL with a fingertip before he said; “roll over for me please.”

Doing just that, Sirius convulsed halfway as the plug pressed into his prostate, whining as he shuddered through the pleasure. Helping him to get settled, Remus rubbed a firm thumb over one pebbled nipple, leaning down to take the other into his mouth and biting gently before continuing a path up his chest, over his throat and to his swollen mouth.

“Hi, babybug,” Remus whispered when he pulled back, “how are you feeling?”

“’m good,” Sirius slurred, reaching up to pull Remus back down to him by the back of his neck. Indulging him for a few minutes, he laid on his side next to the boy and took control of their kiss, laving his mouth gently.

“Bug,” Remus pulled back, trailing a hand down Sirius’ chest and down his leaking cock, keeping his touch light and teasing until it reached the plug; gently fucking it into him, adding and removing pressure at will and carefully watching his reaction. An idea of what he wanted to do next had formed while Sirius had been getting cleaned up; “legs up for me…”

Dutifully, Sirius pulled his legs up so that Remus could shift to being between them, letting Remus manoeuvre him however he’d like. When his legs were pressed tightly together, Remus let his crossed ankles rest over one shoulder and pushed forwards until Sirius was folded in half, reaching for the lube; “is that comfortable?”

“As long as you-ah” he broke off as their positions shifted; “as long as you’re on top of me anything is comfortable,”

“My good boy,” Remus pressed little kisses along his cheekbones; “what I want to do now,” he slicked his cock; “is fuck you.”

“What?” Sirius choked out, eyes wide as he stared at Remus; “I thought we weren’t going to do that yet?”

“Not fuck you in the way you’re thinking, bug,” Remus reassured him, settling his cock just above Sirius’ swollen sac; “just like this…”

At his words, he pushed forward into the tight grip of Sirius’ thighs until his thighs met the boys arse cheeks, shunting the plug further inside. Watching Sirius’ reaction, he drew back once more and adjusted his grip before thrusting in again, and again, and again; “Moony, god…”

“I know, it’s good isn’t it?”

Increasing his pace, he felt below his balls for the plug and turned it up once last time, only this time the vibrations reverberated through Remus’ body as well, the stimulation making him swear roughly, fucking in faster and harder as Sirius made little ‘ah, ah’ noises, spurring him on.

“I’m gonna come,” Sirius moaned, hitching his hips in time to Remus’ thrusts, the muscles in his thighs shaking from keeping them pressed so tightly together; “if you keep… I’m gonna come, can I? Can I come? Please, Moony, please…”

“Oh good boy,” Remus moaned, feeling his balls draw up as he watched Sirius writhe in pleasure; “my good boy, you can come, come for me… I want you to come, bug. Cover you in come, won’t we? You look so perfect right now, whining and moaning and begging for permission; you can come. I want you to come, bug.”

At his final word, Sirius cried out and came beautifully, back arched and eyes clenched shut as milky liquid splattered his chest. It didn’t take much for Remus to fall over the edge after he’d watched Sirius fall apart, and he thrusted in once, twice and stilled, hips making minute thrusts to work him through his orgasm.

When he was done, he collapsed forward, allowing Sirius’ thighs to fall open and settle onto the body beneath him, smearing their come messily.

They kissed slowly, indulgently as they came down from their highs, and Remus savoured every moment of it. When he finally pulled back, Sirius was hard again, his cock twitching pathetically against his stomach, the tip flushed purple and leaking a steady stream; “oh, look at you…” he breathed.

“Sorry,” Sirius whimpered against his lips, whining when Remus wrapped a strong hand around his cock; “you’re too good,”

“Is that right?” Remus smirked at him before ducking down, taking the leaking appendage between his lips and hollowing out his cheeks, eyes fixed on Sirius’ face.

“Oh god,” Sirius breathed, settling a heavy hand in the man’s hair, gripping it tightly; “Moony it’s too much, too much…”

Releasing his cock, Remus pulled back just a little to ask; “what’s your colour, babybug?”

“Green, I promise it’s green!” Sirius exclaimed, hips thrusting up as Remus took him back in.

Bobbing his head steadily, Remus let the job fuzz his mind, focussing only on Sirius. It wasn’t often that he let himself be overwhelmed while he was dominating, but Sirius’ running commentary and the weight of the hand in his hair helped comfort him. When the boy beneath him began shallowly thrusting upwards, Remus remembered the plug and twisted it harshly upwards so that his prostate could feel the full force of the vibrations, and Sirius came apart quickly, blurting salty come down Remus’ throat.

----------

“I hope you’ve had fun,” Remus said as he pulled up outside Sirius and James’ flat; the boy to his left looking adorable in one of his jumpers, the pale grey marl drowning him and his pouty little face.

“I did,” Sirius said, his hand on the door release but looking like he wanted to do anything else rather than leave Remus’ company; “you have to go?”

“I have plans with Lily tonight, bug. I’m sorry,” Remus leant over to kiss him gently; “but you can text me whenever, and I’ll message you when I get in and we can call and say goodnight if you’d like?”

“Please,” Sirius mumbled, burrowing into Remus neck to bite him before pulling back, pecking him quickly and opening the door; “’m sure Jamie will be in and we can do something together…”

“Good boy,” Remus praised him, “if you need anything at all just let me know. And I’ll see you at the club tomorrow, yeah?”

“Mmmhmm,” Sirius nodded, “I’m on the late shift so I won’t be in until eight though,”

“I’ll see you then,” Remus confirmed, jumping as a car behind him beeped impatiently; “off you go, bug.”

“Bye,”

----------

Sirius POV

Closing the door to their flat behind him, Sirius was put out to find it pitch black and cold. Jamie was supposed to be here.

[16:41] Where are you?

[16:58] With Lily

[17:01] Oh

[17:01] You’ll be home soon then?

By that logic James should be home soon enough, since Re was meeting Lily to go out with their old university friends at half past six. That was okay then, he only really needed to entertain himself for a little while before reinforcements arrived.

[17:13] Nah I’m going to stay over

[17:14] Unless you need me? Thought you were at Remus’?

Huh.

[17:15] Is Lily taking James tonight?

And more importantly, why can James go when Sirius can’t. He was pouting, he could feel it, even with no one here to see it.

When his phone finally pinged, he wanted to see the message so bad he fumbled his passcode three times before it eventually unlocked.

[17:27] Sorry bug

[17:28] I was just doing my hair

[17:28] I’d be surprised if he was, as far as I know it’s just Lily and I with a few of our friends from Sheffield.

[17:29] Oh okay

[17:31] Hang on for one second

[17:34] Lily isn’t bringing anyone

[17:35] Thanks for checking

[17:36] Is everything alright, bug?

[17:38] Jamie isn’t here and when I texted to ask he said he was staying over at Lily’s : (

[17:40] Ah

[17:41] That’s a little bit awkward then, isn’t it?

[17:41] Will you be alright alone?

[17:42] I will

[17:43] Now I wanna know why he’s telling porkies

[17:45] Don’t let yourself get too wound up over it, alright?

[17:46] And message me if you need anything, but I need to get going, my taxi is going to be here in a minute or two

[17:50] I hope you have fun

[17:51] I’ll talk to you later, cuddlebug.

So he wasn’t going out with Remus and Lily. So where was he?

Curiouser and curiouser.

[17:53] No it’s fine

[17:54] Re had plans tonight so I’ve come home

[17:55] Oh nice

[17:56] Plans with Lily.

[18:00] Fuck

[18:01] I’ll see you tomorrow and we can talk, okay?

[18:02] Where are you, James?

[18:05] Just at a friend’s house, alright? Nothing dodgy, I swear. Lily and I aren’t together like you and Remus are. We’re both seeing other people.

[18:12] But I thought you really liked Lily?

[18:14] I do, Siri

[18:14] But that doesn’t always translate to a relationship the way it has with you. No shade or anything, its just a different dynamic.

[18:16] Okay Jamie

[18:17] Be safe and I’ll see you tomorrow?

[18:20] Love you

[18:21] See you tomorrow. Definitely.

[18:22] Love you too

----------

Except that he doesn’t see him tomorrow, because James texts him to say he’s going straight to work, and now Sirius feels an awful lot like he’s being avoided.

Tramping into Atelier at quarter to eight that evening, he’s in a bad mood that he doesn’t think a four hour shift is going to improve. The club is already busy, and the staff behind the bar are not his favourite; whichever one of them is going to be going home early, it won’t make much difference to him.

Sirius can only hope that the night passes quickly and without event.

James is busy in the kitchen, calling out tickets to the two staff members he is in charge of, orders tacked up on the pass at an alarming volume; so Sirius merely passes by them to get to the staff room and stows his belonging before grabbing an apron and clocking in.

----------

Three hours into his shift, he finally get a chance to have his break, spilling out into the back alley for some fresh air to find Remus with a lit cigarette in his mouth. Surprise must colour his face, because when the man glances up and sees Sirius he pockets his phone and lifts his free arm in greeting; and when he presses his face into his Moony’s chest he can smell Remus and the bitter twinge of tobacco smoke.

He'd known Remus smoked, and over the twenty-four hours he’d spent in Remus’ flat he had accompanied him more than once out onto his balcony for a cigarette. For some reason it surprised him, seeing Remus smoking in the back alley like the pot washer’s did; but even so, getting to see his Moony while he was at work was nice.

“Hi bug,” Remus dropped the cigarette and crushed it under his heel, tugging Sirius until they were pressed tightly together; “good shift?”

“’s not so bad,” he murmured, leaning up onto his tiptoes for a kiss; “get to see you, and it’s going quick…”

“That’s good,” Remus tipped his head forward until it pressed against Sirius’, “sorry you aren’t on with your favourites.”

“Meh,” Sirius sighed out; “it’s work, isn’t it? I like Caradoc and Andy and Dorcas but if they’re not on shift I’m not gonna be heartbroken. Besides, today is a short one.”

“It is,” Remus kissed him softly, infusing his mouth with the taste of cigarettes; “how long is your break?”

“Just twenty,” Sirius breathed, reattaching his mouth with Remus’; “are you doing anything right now?”

At Remus’ headshake, he breathed slowly out and looked down at the tarmac, finding it clear enough to be acceptable; dropping to his knees, he ignoring the older man’s warning tone and unbuckled his belt.

He was soft right now, but it only took a few experimental tugs at Remus' cock before it began to fatten up, and he sucked it into his mouth with a jolt of lust shooting through him, feeling his own cock begin to harden in the tight confines f his jeans.

“Are you sure?” Remus smoothed a hand over his head, fucking into his mouth even as he questioned him.

Sirius merely hummed, tracing veins and varying the pressure of his mouth as he watched Remus’ breath come heavier; he withdrew, wanking Remus steadily and instructing; “light another cigarette.”

Remus smirked at him, waiting until his mouth was back on his cock to lift his hips away from the wall behind him, pressing deeper as he extracted another smoke and lit it; “you look so good with my cock in your mouth, Sirius.”

He moaned around the hardness, gagging gently when Remus thrust forward again; “is this what you needed to make your day better? Your Moony’s cock down your throat?”

Sirius nodded just enough that Remus felt it, and then hummed while he worked the head of his cock against the roof of his mouth.

“Oh bug,” he sighed, and Sirius glanced up to see him taking a drag, head back against the wall. For all the world, he looked indifferent to what was happening to him apart from the slight quickening of his breathing and his shallow thrusts forward, and the sight made Sirius’ cock throb in his trousers; “such a good boy, just like that…”

If someone were to ocme out the door right now, they wouldn't even know anything was amiss until they rounder the big bins and saw Sirius of his knees, Remus looked that apathetic to what he was doing. God, it made his cock ache. Releasing himself from the tight denim was a little trickier with just one hand, but eventually it sprung free and he was able to fuck into his own fist, and while it was a little dry it was still so good.

Remus tsked above him, and when Sirius looked up the man was checking his watch; “five minutes left, bug. You best hurry up.”

Doubling down on his efforts, Sirius moved faster and slurped harder, working his fist in tandem until Remus began to fall apart above him, eventually coming down his throat with a low groan.

“Come here,” Remus urged him to move closer, and he pressed his face into Remus’ hip as he whined and moaned, so close to the edge; “what do you need, bug? Tell me,”

“Hit me,” Sirius gasped, moving backward and staring up at Remus adoringly. He didn’t know where that had come from, and he would ponder later on why he wanted that, and the devastation he felt when Remus declined.

“No, bug. Not now,” Remus said decisively, leaning down to kiss him messily, coaxing; “you can come like this, I know you can. For your Moony, come just for me.”

He was right, and Sirius came, gasping into Remus with minutes to spare, his come splashed on the dark floor of the alleyway.

Tucking himself away, he stood and nuzzled into the older man’s chest; “m’sorry, I know I’m supposed to ask when we’re not already in something.”

“You’re okay bug,” Remus reassured him, “I’ve got you, but you’re right. Not in the middle of a scene, and I’m not going to leave any marks like that on you when we’re at work.”

Sirius nodded, kissing Remus once, twice and then stepping backwards, smoothing hands down over his torso; “do I look okay?”

“Yeah, bug. Your lips are a little bit swollen but that’s alright,” Remus took another drag of his cigarette; “that was lovely, if a little unexpected.”

“Just wanted you,” Sirius shrugged, taking slow backwards steps to the side door; “thank you for letting me. I’ll see you later?”

“Sure, bug. Later.”

He didn’t know why, but Remus had an amused tilt to his lips as he watched him walk away. God, he looked so good. Biting his lip, he span and re-entered the building, feeling like the last hour of his shift would be much easier to take than the first three had been.

Chapter Text

Sirius POV

Today was the day, tonight was the night. His palms were clammy resting on his bare thighs, worrying his lips between his teeth; Remus had kindly found a rubbery mat for him to kneel on in the hard stone of his bathtub and he stared at it steadfastly as the older man wandered about the bathtub, preparing for their scene.

“How are you feeling, bug?”

“A little nervous,” Sirius said, lifting his head to watch as Remus leant against the cabinetry; his chest bare, wiry hair and silvery scars on display. An afternoon with Remus had quickly become one of his favourite things, the pattern of reading or listening to an album together and then negotiating scenes; it brought a happiness to his being he hadn’t ever experienced with anyone else. The man ruffled his already messy hair and smiled softly at him as Sirius asked for the third time; “are you sure you want to do this?”

“I am,” Remus tapped two fingers on the sink and lifted a glass of water to his lips; “you seem worried you’ll like this, normally it’s the opposite.”

Sirius frowned as he contemplated Remus’ words, knowing they held some truth; “I guess so…”

“Because you think you shouldn’t?”

“It’s like you can see inside my brain,” Sirius whined, dropping his head forward until it could rest on the cool marble of the bath’s rim; “it feels like something I should be ashamed of. Like, like it isn’t normal to want you to-“

Feeling his cheeks turn fiery, he rolled his forehead over the smooth surface and breathed out a deep sigh before he sat up straight again. Remus’ eyes were fixed on him, free of judgement; “we’ve talked about this before, when we started this. Are you worried about what James would think?”

“A little bit, I guess,” Sirius mumbled; “when I was upset that you might not want me, that we might not be compatible… He said that it was a good thing that you were so disciplined because you might be looking for a slave or be into this sort of thing.”

“Okay,” Remus sighed, “but you know you aren’t the only person that likes this, don’t you?”

“But,” Sirius barely opened his mouth before Remus raised a sharp eyebrow at him.

“But nothing, bug. You want to try this because it gets you hard when you think about it. You want to try this because you are in the midst of learning what you do and don’t like. He’s your brother, yes. But what we do is between us, and if you want him to know about anything we do you’re free to tell him, but I won’t be spilling any of your secrets.”

“I-Thank you,” Sirius held a hand out for Remus, reeling him in until he could press gentle kisses across his knuckles, up his bare arm until his face was within reach; “I want to do this.”

“How do you want to do it?”

The question was a little redundant, seeing as Sirius was already naked and kneeling in a bath, but he appreciated that Remus was letting him run the show. The man had dropped to his knees on the bathmat, mirroring Sirius’ position, and met his eyes resolutely.

“With you naked too?” he began in a whisper, closing his eyes as he recited the image he’d created for himself; “and then I want- on my chest first? And then my neck, over my cock. Not in my mouth. Would you keep hold of me?”

“Show me,” Remus murmured, encouraging his eyes to flutter open with his thumb, tracing over the thin skin there; “do you want to be held or do you want to be held still?”

“Held still.”

Sirius reached for his hand and led it to his scalp, letting Remus tangle his long fingers through the locks and gasping as he pulled sharply, his head jerking backwards and throat exposed. He couldn’t help but moan when he bit at the taut skin, leaving the imprints of sharp incisors behind.

“We can do that,” Remus reassured him, always reassuring him; “what about after?”

“After?”

“Mhmm,” Remus hummed, kissing him sweet and slow while he held him in place; “do you want to get straight in the shower? Or do you want the plug putting in, you could draw out the experience and play for a little while?”

“The plug?” the smaller man squeaked, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head; “no, I don’t think so. If I like it, then if I’m allowed… Could I come?”

“Absolutely,” Remus kissed him again; “can I get off as well or do you want me to wait?”

That took him off guard; he hadn’t realised that maybe Remus would get off from showering him in- “you think you will?” he asked disbelievingly, watching as the man exhaled a sharp laugh through his nose.

“I will,” Remus nodded, unabashed in his statement, not even ducking his head at his confession; “I’ve done this before and enjoyed it. I don’t doubt that I will with you. If you don’t like it, it’s not a problem, but don’t think that this is only going to please you.”

“Okay,” Sirius gulped, “then maybe you can get yourself off watching me?”

And oh, the idea of that brought his cock to life, thickening just a little and pulsing with heat as he imagined himself dripping wet and knelt before Remus, thoroughly owned by him. Imagined the man stroking his cock, Sirius matching his pace, until he was coated in come. Messy and wet and happy.

“Watching you, watching me, watching you?” Remus quirked a lip, “sure, bug.”

“Please, that,” Sirius sighed happily as the hand in his hair massaged his scalp, goosebumps rising to his skin as he fantasized; “and then we can shower together. Messy and then clean, together.”

Remus hummed a note that Sirius had learned meant ‘yes, absolutely’, and then shifted in their embrace. Standing, the man looked at him for a long moment and said; “are you ready?”

One deep breath later, and Sirius was sure; “yes.”

At that, Remus began to shed the rest of his clothes, one mismatched sock and then the other, followed quickly by his corduroys and then he was blessedly naked. He’d clearly been speaking the truth, because his cock was a little fat already, heavy and flushed between his thick thighs; it never failed to make his mouth water and drop open just a tad.

Taking it in hand, he stepped closer to Sirius and stroked once, twice, then held it aloft. He gulped, closing his eyes and taking a deep, fortifying breath and letting it go, this is what you’ve wanted since you knew it was a thing that existed, he told himself. Remus will take care of you. Remus always takes care of you.

When he opened his eyes and whimpered the word ‘please’, a steady stream erupted from the tip of Remus’ cock, hitting his chest and running in rivulets down his body. As he gasped, Sirius realised that this was both nothing and everything like he had hoped, and he tilted his head back as much as the older man would allow so that Remus could wet his throat also.

Hand drifting from his thigh up to his cock, he grasped it loosely and began to stroke himself, using Remus’ piss as lubrication. When the sensation of warm fluid hitting his body ceased, he looked up to see his Moony mirroring him, wanking slowly with his lip grasped between his teeth, rubbing his palm over the head of his cock. Sirius catalogued his body, watching as the muscles in his thighs trembled just a little from the pleasure, seeing small beads of precome appear and disappear, smoothed along the shaft which was rapidly darkening.

“Do you want more, bug?”

His voice was husky, too. The way it lowered when he was turned on, rasping and brilliant and it was like Sirius had a Pavlovian response, working his cock harder in response and groaning; “more,”

“Good boy,” Remus slowed his pace, returning his grip to the base of his cock and directing it at his crotch, chuckling lowly when Sirius shivered at the sensation of the clear liquid hitting his sensitive genitals; “does that feel good? Having your Moony coat you in his piss, marking you up as his?”

“Yours,” Sirius gasped, hips jerking as he raised up from his position to be closer to Remus, getting closer and closer by the second to exploding; “all yours. So good, Moony.”

“Ahhh,” the steady stream turned to a staccato rhythm as Remus’ bladder began to run dry, the man’s eyes half-shut as he basked in pleasure; “you look so good, bug. Taking everything I have, aren’t you? Such a good little bug, just for me…”

Sirius knew he was being egged on, that Remus could see just how close to the edge he was. Even so, he let it happen, let the image of Remus wanking in front of him and the residual pleasure of what they had just done together push him to the precipice, come spurting up over his chest, washed away by the final few trickles from Remus’ cock.

“Oh, look at you…” Remus breathed, and Sirius watched as he fucked his fist and moaned loudly, the picture of debauchery; “so pretty, wet and messy little thing…”

“Moony, Moony, Moony,” Sirius babbled, edging closer in the tub until Remus’ cock was nearly in his mouth; “want you to come on me. On my face again, please? Please will you?”

Not once taking his eyes from him, Remus let loose a shout and began to come, his fist tightening in Sirius’ dark tresses and shooting his load over Sirius’ face; striping him from temple to chest. He felt well and truly marked, and leant forward to catch the last escaping droplets in his mouth, tasting the faintest tang of urine with it; swallowing, he leant back and smiled up at the man who held his heart in his hands.

When fingers released their tight grip on his scalp, instead smoothing over the skin of his cheek, Sirius smiled and peppered Remus’ forearm with kisses.

“Thank you,” he mumbled, suckling at the come-covered thumb the man pressed into his mouth; “turns out I am absolutely into that.”

Remus let out a little laugh, hands dropping to Sirius’ armpits and pulling him to stand carefully and helping step out of the slippery tub, not at all worried about Sirius’ sticky-wet skin pressing against his. No, instead he held him close and cuddled him gently, kissing every inch of dry skin he could find before he set about shepherding them behind the glass partition that housed his shower.

With warm water washing over him, Sirius shivered in Remus’ arms; the memory the sensation induced and the feeling of Remus wrapped so closely around him blissful. He sank further into the candyfloss-like sensation in his head, following his Moony’s instructions as soon as they were given.

“Snugglebug,” Remus murmured, “can you look at me for a moment please?”

Sirius tipped his head back onto Remus’ shoulder and blinked sleepily at him, humming as a gentle hand carded through his wet hair, rubbing a thumb over the hinge of his jaw.

“Moony?” he asked, eyes falling shut as soon as Remus’ met his.

“Aren’t you my good little bug,” the man cooed; “you’ve gone under for me. You don’t need to worry, I’ve got you.”

Sirius didn’t really understand what was being said to him, but he understood Remus’ soft and loving tone; the gentle press of hands to skin as the man crouched down and washed him, much like he had that first night they shared together.

Lifting one foot and then the other, he giggled as Remus tickled the bottoms of his feet and steadied himself on the man’s head. He pressed forward into the little kisses Remus covered his torso with when he rose, his chin soapy with the remnants of the shower gel he’d massaged into Sirius’ skin.

When the man’s soap-slick hand encircled his throat, he released a quiet moan of encouragement and leant into it, pouting a tad when the hand disappeared with a quiet chuckle. Butting his head into Remus’ collarbone, he nuzzled forward and bit into the muscle of the man’s chest, worrying it gently with his teeth and then pulling back to survey his work, seeing the purple mark blooming in tanned skin and grinning up at the man he’d marked as his own.

“Biteybug, biteybug, does whatever a biteybug does,” Remus sang into his ear, tickling his sides and then turning the water off and wrapping him in a fluffy towel; “I’m so proud of you, Sirius. You did so well for me, I’m so pleased with you. My best boy.”

Those words made him so happy. Remus was proud of him. He’d done well.

He was floaty and happy and Remus was there, keeping him safe and warm and being proud of him.

----------

“Good morning,” Remus said quietly, edging closer into Sirius’ careful hands as they swept across his chest; “look at you, up before the sun.”

Sirius merely hummed, refusing to open his eyes just yet. On account of their rather early night he’d woken obscenely early, entertaining himself by rutting his hard cock into Remus’ thigh and twisting wiry hair between his fingers. That was, at least, until Remus came awake.

“How are you feeling this morning?” Remus coaxed, and he begrudgingly opened his eyes to squint at the man in the dim light of the digital clock.

“’M good,” Sirius mumbled, allowing Remus to turn in his grip but pouting when the thigh sat between his own was removed, all friction to his aching cock disappearing, the boy whining at the loss; “come back…”

Remus rolled on top of him, bracing his weight on his forearms and gazing down at Sirius, his look both adoring and arousing. In moments like this, Remus was an idol that he worshipped, adorning him with soft kisses and gentle touches. Everything was soft and sweet and a thousand miles away from what a person might expect of this man; weathered and scarred – to many he would seem broken, but Sirius knew. He was not humpty dumpty, Remus had put himself back together, learnt and grown and was now a man worthy of Sirius’ worship. A man who deserved good things. A man who exuded such energy and grace that Sirius felt grateful to even be in his orbit.

Opening his mouth to allow Remus’ tongue access, he ran kind hands over the skin of his back, half convinced that he knew every inch of this man, had already mapped his skin to an extent that he could direct a more skilled man than he to recreate it in paint, in charcoal, on a canvas for the world to marvel at. Kissing was most certainly a practice he thought he’d improved in since he and Remus had embarked upon their relationship, and it was a practice he’d come to treasure. This closeness, this pleasure was different to everything else they had done together. Even without expectation, the intimacy that kissing Remus in the small hours of the morning brought forth was to be treasured.

“I could do this forever,” Sirius whispered when Remus pulled back, the man settling on his side playing half-heartedly with the ends of Sirius’ long locks; “you make me so happy. I know it’s only been a month since we started this, but I feel like I could spend a lifetime with you and never be bored, or tired of you…”

“Sweet bug,” Remus whispered, pressing a kiss to Sirius forehead; “you make me happy too. I didn’t tell you before, how much I wanted you. How I hoped we’d be compatible. Even when I was trying so hard to resist you for my own sense of self-preservation, I knew it would be pointless. Wild and brutally beautiful, full of nervous energy and dying to please someone, anyone. I feel lucky that you want an old man like me, that you see me so clearly.”

“You’re all I want,” Sirius pulled him closer, burrowing into his throat and kissing along the tender column of skin; “and you’re so good. For me, and to everyone around you.”

“I fear that you put me on a pedestal,” Remus murmured; “I’m just like you, bug. I get angry and I get scared and I get sad.”

Sirius thought for a moment, digesting Remus’ words and concluding; “maybe I do, but I don’t think it’s unfounded. I’ve seen evil, true evil. What my family have done, what my family believe – it’s horrifying. They have wealth and power and they choose to wield it as a weapon, to hurt those that do not follow the same ways as them.”

“Bug,” Remus interrupted him; “just because they are bad, it doesn’t mean that I’m good.”

“I know,” Sirius agreed, but twisted to meet Remus’ eyes, wanting to truly convey how he saw the older man; “I know that it doesn’t make you good. But it’s clear from your lifestyle and your successful business that you have maybe a fraction of the wealth they have, yet you share in none of their ideals – even when you’re asked to hurt people, you do it with kindness. You take care even when it is not deserved, and you have worked harder than anyone I know to be good. Truly, you value people, and not what they can do for you.”

“Perhaps,” Remus sounded a little overwhelmed, and the look on his face was as though he’d been struck, even as he spoke quietly to Sirius; “but you owe yourself the same pedestal. Not only did you escape them, but you grew up in that environment, it would’ve been so easy to follow them. From what you’ve told me, I know you to be brave, and kind, and gentle – especially where they are not. You could have tried to burn the world down, force them to suffer and basked in their pain, but you didn’t.”

“It’s enough to be free,” Sirius watched carefully, opening his mouth once his thoughts were all lined up and organised in his head; “besides, I cared too much about Reggie to ruin them.”

“Reggie?”

“My little brother,” Sirius let a little laugh free at the confused look on the man’s face; “he went to Harrow and then Eton, like me. But he fell into the sort of friends my family would’ve preferred for me to have, rather than Jamie. I took hits for him for years, protected him as much as I could. But in the end, he was just like them; quieter, maybe. But my final straw, the night I left – they wanted me to marry Narcissa and I refused, told them that it wasn’t that I had found a suitable wife elsewhere, no, it was that I enjoyed the company of men instead. They didn’t take it well. Neither did Reggie, and I couldn’t take it any longer, I couldn’t continue ruining myself for the sake of someone already lost.”

“I’m so sorry,” Remus breathed, covering him with kisses; “do you know if he’s still with them?”

“I don’t know anything about them, apart from my father’s death. And only because that made the news,”

“It did?”

“Money talks, Moony…”

“Clearly,” Remus pulled him closer to resume their kisses, the severity of their conversation fading away into nothingness as they savoured each other.

He didn’t notice that the sun had begun to rise until the room was tinged with shades of pink, the shadow from Remus’ eyelashes changing direction, his hair turning from simple brown to a myriad of shades that captured Sirius’ attention enough to distract from their kiss.

“It’s so beautiful,” he spoke, eyes fixed on the orange of the rising sun; “I can see why you don’t have blinds in here,”

“Hmm,” Remus dropped his face into Sirius’ neck, mouthing at the hickeys already there; “a nuisance in summer though, the room becomes an oven and I end up awake earlier than I’d like to be.”

Sirius held the man close, passing one hand over Remus’ downy curls and twisting them between gentle fingers; “that may be annoying. But look at that.”

“Beautiful,” Remus mumbled, never lifting his head to take in the view; “absolutely beautiful.”

“You’re not even looking,” Sirius whined, twisting until he disrupted Remus enough for the man to sit back on his haunches and gaze at Sirius reproachfully.

“I don’t need to look, bug. The sunrise is beautiful, the boy in my bed is beautiful. Oh, what a beautiful morning…”

“Come back here,” Sirius asked, stretching leisurely and tensing his stomach so the little muscle he did have was displayed; “and give me a good morning treat?”

“You can ask me nicer than that…” Remus smirked at him, eyes roaming over gloriously bare skin; “come on, babybug, ask nicely and I’ll give you what you want.”

“Please, Remus,” Sirius fluttered his eyelids and reached out for the man; “please come back down here and look after me. I’ll be your good boy, I promise.”

Remus shook his head, a small smile on his face and heat in his eyes; “my good boy, hm?”

With that, he leant down and kissed Sirius passionately, lust flaring up in Sirius’ groin and making him moan and squirm beneath the man. Held still, he fought for the dominance of their embrace and failed, but laughed while he tried. This tryst was not serious, there was no need to be stoic or composed. Here, in Remus’ bed Sirius could be wholly himself, and could act however he liked as long as Remus let him.

----------

“Would you like to go on a date with me?” Sirius asked nervously, buttering his toast while Remus stirred brown sugar into his porridge.

Remus set the wooden spoon down on the counter, turning to face Sirius with a pensive look on his face; “I guess we haven’t really done that, have we?”

“If you don’t want to-“

“I’d love to,” Remus cut him off, wrapping him up in careful arms and holding him close; “what would you like to do?”

“I dunno,” Sirius blushed, bashful all of a sudden.

“You expect me to believe you’ve never imagined yourself on a date, that you haven’t dreamed up this exact scenario?”

“Well,” Sirius laughed when Remus tickled his sides and tried to loose himself from his grasp; “I always wanted to do it properly, even though I was rebelling. We could go to a fancy restaurant and drink posh wine, even though I hate it, and then I could pretend like I’m not going to put out and we can laugh about it when I inevitably do.”

“That does sound lovely,” Remus smiled softly at him; “how about we go out next Sunday?”

“Okay,” Sirius smiled up at him and gnawed on the corner of his toast; “where?”

“I’ll work out the details, okay?”

Doing a little happy dance forward into Remus’ arms, Sirius voiced his agreement and cemented their plans.

----------

“Come on then,” Sirius said, voice like lead; “tell me all about your mystery woman.”

“Erm,” James blushed, caught out in the open of their living room after a week of fanciful avoidance; “it’s a guy, actually…”

“Oh,” Sirius’ mouth popped open in surprise – James has had a couple of trysts with men before, but never anything serious. And he’d certainly never tried to hide it; “alright then, tell me about your mystery man.”

“I can’t,” James said, a pained look on his face; “not yet, at least. It’s not worth mentioning if it doesn’t go well, and he’d rather keep it under the radar for now.”

And that was just… Well, to be honest it was odd. James was a wear-your-heart-on-your-sleeve type of bloke, and he had been since they were young boys in a dormitory whispering about crushes under the guise of darkness. He’d never once turned down a chance to gush about a potential suitor, let alone someone he was seeing seriously enough to stay overnight multiple times with. Unless – “do I know them?”

The silence was telling enough.

“That’s a yes then,” Sirius said to the stoic man sat across from his perch on the coffee table; “Eton? Uni?”

“Eton.” James cleared his throat; “you’d know him if you saw him. But you wouldn’t necessarily approve.”

“Says who? You?” Sirius gaped at him, a few names he wouldn’t ‘approve of’ springing to mind; “Jamie, we aren’t the same people that we once were, we’ve matured. God knows that I cringe thinking of the things we said or did at school, I promise I won’t judge whoever it is.”

“I just,” James gulped, “not yet, okay? It’s new and it’s different to you and Remus, and Lily and I are still spending time together. It’s complicated.”

“Lily knows?” Sirius checked; “you’re not fucking over our boss or anything, right?”

 “God no, she knows! It’s just play between us, she is a hell of a Domme – straight out of my fantasies, but she isn’t interested in a relationship and I was happy that she was up front with me about that. It’s strictly play, and my other partner is aware of the dynamic.”

“Alright,” Sirius acquiesced; “you’re being safe? And they’re treating you right?”

“It started out rocky, but yes. He’s very nice, in his own way.”

Sirius snickered at the faraway look in his brother’s eyes; “you did always like them mean,”

“So mean,” the other boy breathed, and Sirius stood, still laughing and left James to his fantasy.

----------

Remus POV

He drifted in and out of his daydreams, shaking his head to clear it from the memory on Sirius on his knees for him, Sirius laid out in his bed, Sirius giggling around a mouthful of toast that very morning.

“Earth to Remus?” Lily snapped her fingers in front of his face, jolting him out of his stupor; “your sandwich is going cold.”

“Oh,” Remus picked up the chunky construction with two hands and scanned the spreadsheet before him as he ate; “this looks good,” he commented around a mouthful.

“Would you like to try that again without your fish fingers in your mouth?”

“This looks good,” he took a heavy swallow from his can of pop; “two weeks of food and it’s coming to a point that it could be independently profitable. The member’s offers have certainly gotten a fair amount of abuse. Jenny’s had more than their fair share of arancini, hm?”

“Jesus, they could float an island on the amount of rice they’ve eaten. Still, it’s good publicity,” she glanced up from her computer screen; “sparks the interest of paying customers, and they don’t need too know they get it free, do they?”

“I guess not. I’m impressed,” Remus sighed, leaning back in his chair and kicking his feet up; “James is doing a good job.”

“That he is,” Lily agreed with him, matching his relaxed posture with a raised eyebrow; “so’s your boy.”

“Hmm,” Remus agreed, “good with the customers and his hands.”

“Oh, I had a much more visual confirmation of that than I expected just last week,” she smirked at him, and Remus sat forward at her suggestive tone; “so did Pete, poor sod.”

“What?” he asked carefully.

“Well you see, Remus, poor Pete caught the moment you came down your boy’s throat in the alley on CCTV,” she laughed at the immediate fire he knew had overtaken his face; “and since you went home for the evening shortly afterwards, it was me he brought it to. Couldn’t tell it was you at first, not until I pointed it out to him.”

“Ah,” he cleared his throat; “you see-“

“I really don’t want to know the ins and outs,” she mused, “I’ve already seen the muted version.”

“Listen-“

“The whole point of us having rooms is that we can debauch our guests in private.”

“I know that, but-“

“Remus, the boy was on his break!”

“Exactly!” he exclaimed, pushing back from the desk and pacing next to it; “it wasn’t planned, Lils! I was having a cig and he just appeared and-“

“Oh trust me, the look on your face told me it wasn’t planned. I just think that we shouldn’t fuck the staff while they’re actually on the clock.”

Remus sighed, knowing there was no way out of it; “look, you’re right. But it wasn’t planned and he clearly didn’t know there was a camera out there. I’d forgotten about it myself. Can we agree not to mention it to him, please? He’d be mortified and he’s just starting to be confident in asking for the things he wants.”

“I can see that,” Lily muttered sarcastically, and Remus couldn’t stop the sharp look that he shot her, brewing with overprotectiveness for his boy.

“He’s mine, Lily,” he warned her; “I won’t have you making him feel bad for circumstances outside of his control.”

“I wouldn’t,” she said, her voice softer now her amusement had begun to pass; “it’s barely worth mentioning to him, is it? And I think he’s good for you. You love having someone to take care of, I bet you go all daddy-dom, don’t you? Did you coach him through his first time? Was it good?”

“Fuck off,” he shot back at her good-naturedly, closing his eyes tightly as her expression transformed into something like victory.

“You still haven’t shagged him? It’s been a month, Re!”

“Right, well-“ Remus broke off as she cackled and clapped like a demented sea lion; “fuck off! He’s learning the ropes, and exploring and it’s all very good.”

“A month!”

“Oh alright, Evans, you can get fucked! It’s none of your business, and we both know that sex doesn’t just boil down to penetration.”

She watched him over her cup of tea, sipping calmly; “you really like him, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Remus sighed, collapsing back into his chair; “I really like him, and his stupidly attractive everything.”

“Tick all your boxes?”

“Most of them,” he confirmed, thinking back to the time where he worried they wouldn’t be compatible at all; “he’s so good and eager to please.”

She hummed, directing her attention back to her computer; “I can tell.”

“Again: fuck off,” he smiled while he said the words, this time, knowing it was his turn to taunt her; “anyways, what about you and James, hm? Sirius said that he thought he was seeing someone else.”

“He is,” she confirmed; “you know how I am.”

He did, which was the only reason he felt it safe to bring up – she wasn’t much for monogamy, or relationships at all, really; “do you know who it is he’s seeing?”

“Some kid from the year below them at school, apparently. I told him as long as he’s using condoms I don’t much care about where else he sticks his dick, only to come to me if he had any problems with our sort.”

Remus contemplated asking for details on the mystery man Sirius wanted to know more about, but he knew it wasn’t his place, nor Lily’s to divulge James’ secrets; “as long as you’re happy.”

“Oh, I am.”

At Lily’s satisfied grin he gave a light laugh and rose from his seat; “I’ll be on the floor if you need me.”

“Oh please,” she called at his retreating back; “we both know that you’re going to pester your boy at the bar.”

Chapter Text

James POV

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to take it much longer,” he sighed, watching the barest hint of annoyance travel across Regulus’ face; “I told you that we’d be caught in a lie; I just think he’d be okay with it if we sat him down and told him that we were-“

“The last time I saw my brother I called him a fag and told him I hoped he rotted in hell for sodomising himself. I can’t just show up and say ‘oh hi, remember me, I’m letting James shove his cock up my arse now’!”

He tried, he really did, but he couldn’t hold in his little laugh at the boy’s exclamation. Always a dramatic one, their Reggie.

“But-“

“No buts!”

“Reg,” James tugged him so he was between his spread legs, stroking gentle thumbs over the sharp cheekbones and thumbing the shadows under his eyes; “you left them too. You realised the same thing Sirius did – a little bit later than him, sure, but you did. You’re a good person, and whatever we are, or turn out to be; he’ll come around.”

Regulus pressed a kiss to that hand cupping his cheek and mumbled; “how are you so sure of yourself?”

“You’re the only thing he considered staying for,” he pulled the smaller man to his chest, pressing against the others neck until Regulus submitted and lay it in the crook of his; “he’ll be dramatic at first, but after that, hours or days or weeks after – he’ll be so happy to have you. Who wouldn’t be?”

“Sap,” James hummed at the teasing tone, glad for it as he was not used to Regulus being so raw, emotionally.

It had been six weeks since James had – quite literally – run into Regulus while he was at the market assessing seasonal produce for Atelier, and he’d nearly fallen over at the sight of the thin boy smiling hesitantly at him. He looked different to how he had at school, that haughty assurance gone - although it had been fast to return, let him tell you. 

Since then, he’d seen the dodgy little flat Regulus called home and cooked him several nutritious meals there; he’d been given explanation after explanation on how Reg had managed to escape from under the Black family thumb, how he’d found himself in Manchester after the final year of his degree.

He’d found as many things to like about Regulus as he had found in Sirius. It was complicated, their situation; but Regulus and Lily were both aware of the circumstances and for now at least, happy with them.

When he was younger, his mother had warned him of how fast Potter’s fell in love, how wearing your heart on your sleeve often left you vulnerable to injury. And still, he could see it happening in front of his very eyes, feel the way his pulse jumped when Regulus awarded him with a rare smile. When he gasped and writhed beneath him, moaning his name. After they’d come together in his bed, sweaty and sated and exchanging teasing words and sweet kisses.

That version of Regulus, the Regulus that only he is allowed to see, he was two-thirds of the way there already.

He’d assumed it would be Lily, with her vibrant red hair and beautiful freckled skin; that attitude that brought him willingly to his knees. That first night, when she’d asked him what he liked and then led him up the stairs to her room in the club; it was like an epiphany.  Nothing could’ve prepared him for the way she negotiated and renegotiated a scene, how she’d broken him open and pieced him back together for fun and then the next day seemed so casual about it.

In his mind, he’d idolised Lily Evans, after months of seeing her in Atelier before he was her employee – he had an image of what she would be like, and in reality it was everything and nothing like it.

He couldn’t blame her, when she’d explained to him that romantic relationships were just not something she’d ever had any interest in. She was happy to tie him up and hit him just the way he liked, to ride his cock until she’d had her fill and then send him on his way the next day. More than happy for him to see others, romantically and physically, so long as he was safe and didn’t put her in danger.

She was mean. So was Regulus. Just the right sort of mean for James.

But Regulus, with his dark hair, sharp bones and sharper personality – he blew James away.

Which was why he’d agreed at first to hide this tryst from Sirius, before he knew it was really going somewhere; and now he was trapped between his best friend in the world and his best friend’s brother. Acting suspicious – something he’d never gotten away with for long. They’d been caught out once already, and he knew that now Sirius had some of the information he’d be searching for more every second he could spare to it. Thanks to Remus, that was less time than normal and James’ could not be more thankful for his occupation.

It was important that Regulus was ready to tell him before he knew, but by god did he hope that would be sooner rather than later.

“Would you like to come over to mine this weekend?” he asked carefully, eager to get the smell of damp out of his nose and be in a familiar kitchen to cook for Reg, to show him their flat and demonstrate just how well he could do taking care of someone, and then let Regulus take him apart.

The boy frowned at him, forehead creasing and lips twisting; “you want me to come to the place where you live with my brother?”

“Hear me out,” James licked his lips and met Regulus’ eyes bravely; “he and Remus have this big date planned on Sunday, and they always go to Remus’ – I can’t really blame him, from what I’ve heard the man has a massive-“

“James!” Regulus cut him off with a laugh,

“-flat! I was going to say flat. Jeez, Reg!”

Regulus tilted his head from side to side and leaned in for a bruising kiss, then quietly said; “I’ll consider it.”

“Thank you, love,” James hummed and went back for more, sucking at Regulus’ full lower lip until hands were making indents in his thighs and Regulus was pulling back to reprimand him for his greed.

Chapter Text

Remus POV

“Look at you, my little cuddlebug,” Remus had lost his breath initially at Sirius, done up all fancy for their first official date. It was the only time since his interview that the boy had actually worn trousers rather than denim and a simple white button up that he’d clearly taken the time to iron. Even so, it clung to his torso and the dark hair on his chest, drawing Remus’ eyes in a slow slide down his figure; “you look gorgeous.”

“Thanks, Re,” Sirius mumbled, his signature blush adorning his cheeks. Stepping towards him, he pulled the door to his flat shut behind him; “you look nice too. I’m excited for tonight.”

“Are you?” he asked teasingly.

Sirius drew him to a stop in the corridor, tugging at his hand and twining their fingers together, and Remus stared down at him in what he imagined was adoration personified. This boy had quite literally fallen through his door and now he was here, blinking owlishly and begging wordlessly for kisses – Remus was more than happy to oblige.

When their kiss eventually broke, Sirius pressed up against the wall and Remus panting harshly in the crook of his neck, a slender thigh pressing into the younger boy’s groin, the awkward tension was broken.

“I am,” Sirius affirmed, and it took a moment for Remus to place his words. When he did, he straightened up and began to tug his boy towards the staircase, eager to get him to the car.

“Do you not have an overnight bag?”

“I wanted to stop by after and grab it,” Sirius glanced up at him; “is that okay?”

“Of course it is, it’ll be on our way to my flat anyways.”

----------

It was honestly hard to look anywhere but at his boy, but for posterity’s sake he was trying really hard, glancing at the gold accents and the rich blue velvet curtain in the restaurant he’d chosen. This particular venue was a favourite, one he’d always bring his mum too when she came to visit him; styled like a 1970s den of lavish luxury, it made Remus feel wealthy. Maybe not the exact vibe he should be sending out for a first date, but Sirius knew him, and he knew that his boy liked nice things. He knew that Sirius deserved nice things.

The reaction he’d gotten when they’d pulled up to the valet was fairly standard for the boy – an excited grin and happy little wiggle. He wanted his bug to have everything, wanted to prove that he knew how to take care of him outside of the bedroom as well as in.

Sirius had taken the role of lead chatterbox since they’d arrived, his nervous energy translating into stumbling over his words and flushing whenever Remus teased him about it. While he’d ordered drinks and then their meals, his boy had picked back up on their game of twenty questions; “what’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?” Sirius asked him with a cheeky grin affixed to his face, and Remus had to hold back his smile at the sweet boy.

“Honeybug,” Remus drawled, shaking his head and taking a long sip of his one allotted glass of wine; “I guess that it would have to be that time I killed those people.”

“What?” Sirius choked on his cocktail, and Remus could only hold in a laugh for so long. The boy looked at him in betrayal, the slightest grin tilting his lips.

“I’m sorry,” Remus cackled; “it was too easy. To answer your question, the first partner I had after Greyback – they asked me on a date and I went because I felt obligated to, and then I slept with them because I felt obligated to, and then I abandoned them in the middle of the night when my brain got too loud and I nearly had a breakdown in their bathroom. I felt awful, I blocked them on everything and never saw them again.”

“I mean, in the grand scheme of things-“

“It was a shit thing to do to someone, Sirius.”

“But still,” Sirius said, lowering his volume when the couple seated a few tables down eyed him; “there are worse things to have done. And I like that you think emotionally scarring a one night stand is the worst of your plights.”

Remus sighed, rubbing the hand that wasn’t holding Sirius’ over his face; “I mean, I did some bad things to get away from Fenrir-“

“They don’t count.”

Sirius’ tone was the harshest he’d ever heard it, and it made Remus’ belly burble with happiness over how protective his boy was.

“Okay, bug. How about you, hm? Worst thing you’ve ever done?”

“Leaving my brother in that hellhole,” Sirius said, not even pausing to think of his answer before the words tumbled out of his mouth; “I should’ve fought harder for him, when-“

“I thought you said he was like them, in the end?” Remus interrupted his tirade, sitting back to allow the waiter to place their dishes in front of them.

“He certainly seemed it,” Sirius paused to take the first bite of what was the poshest burger Remus had ever seen – it had lobster and a ‘tomato confit’ [he knew that was just a fancy way to say ketchup, but he had absolutely fallen for it]; “but maybe if I had tried harder to intervene I could’ve stopped-“

“You couldn’t have tried harder, the way you tell it. At some point you have to protect yourself,” Remus watched him carefully, seeing how his upbeat attitude had turned melancholy; “besides, he may have made it out. You never know, he could be out there, just like you. Shall I change the subject, hm?"

At Sirius' nod he continued; "there’s a shibari display on Thursday at the club, and a little birdie told me you have the night off. Would you like for us to go?”

Sirius smiled soft and slow, agreeing, then tried to fit his mouth around the ridiculously sized bread bun.

“It’s a plan then,” Remus confirmed, “now. I don’t know about you, but I’m really feeling this pianist, hm?”

----------

“Moony?”

“Hm?” Remus had been distracted by Sirius’ fingers, stroking the soft skin of his knuckles and occasionally pressing kisses to his digits, so much so that he’d entirely missed Sirius’ question and/or statement; “sorry, bug. What did you ask?”

“If you wanted to share dessert?”

“What did you have in mind?”

“You know exactly what I have in mind, Moony,” Sirius pursed his lips for a kiss and continued when Remus indulged him; “I want the flight.”

Remus smiled softly at the excited look on his boys’ face, so thrilled at the prospect of a platter with every dessert that they offered; “my little bug needs so much sugar? Is your old man boring you?”

His teasing had more than the desired effect, Sirius raising from his side of the booth and coming around to sit on Remus’ lap, threading fingers into his artfully coiffed hair and kissing him hungrily. The heavy velvet curtain around their table gave them privacy and he couldn’t resist – not now, probably not ever; and so they kissed and kissed until he had his mouth pressed to the younger boy’s throat, Sirius shivering and chest heaving with tiny moans at Remus’ ministrations.

Only the soft clearing of a waiter’s throat snapped him out of it, and when he pulled back the young lady who had been attending them for the evening was staring at one of the framed paintings on the wall opposite, very carefully not looking at the couple. It was a little embarrassing, a man halfway to forty being caught kissing his lover in public. Still, he couldn’t quite bring himself to regret it when he saw Sirius’ pleased smile and his little pink cheeks.

“Are you all finished?”

“Thank you, yes.” Remus confirmed while Sirius burrowed his head into Remus throat, the older man’s hand winding it’s way into his dark hair to hold him still; “would you be able to order us the dessert flight as well?”

He felt his cheeks flush when his voice broke just a tad, Sirius’ sharp teeth sinking into his pulse point causing the change in pitch. He tightened the fist in the boys hair and

“Certainly, sir. Coffee, also? Would you like the drapes closing?”

That was a question that deepened the colour in his cheeks furiously; “no. No thank you,”

When she nodded and left, Remus sat back into the plush seating, Sirius tilting with him, and he exhaled an embarrassed laugh; “I feel like I did when my mum caught me kissing my first girlfriend.”

Sirius sat up to stare at him with a cheeky little grin and he felt his gaze turn fond, the mischief he’d come to associate with the boy lighting his face up.

“What else have you been caught doing?”

Well now he was at a crossroads, whether to tell Sirius what they had been caught doing. He wasn’t sure how he would respond; he only knew that if it were him, he would want to know.

“Bug,” he started, and he knew his tone had sparked Sirius’ interest from the way he sat up straighter; “I need to tell you something.”

“Something bad?”

“I think that depends on your outlook,” he licked his lips; “and I want you to know that if you’re angry with me then that’s okay.”

Sirius looked a little sad now, eyes wide and lips flat, not a smile in sight; “Moony, what- what’s going on?”

“Last week, in the alley – I had forgotten that there was a camera pointed at the back door.”

“When I- when we-“ he didn’t know how to decipher the boy’s expression, but he was still sat in his lap so it wasn’t the worst case scenario; “you didn’t know?”

“Lily and I don’t monitor CCTV, it’s all controlled and watched by whoever is monitoring the rooms upstairs since they’re on 24/7. We only really see tapes when something happens and we need to review it. Since we opened the club we haven’t moved any of the cameras on the ground floor and I honestly didn’t remember that there was one aimed at where we were stood. I’m sorry, bug.”

“So who’s seen it?” Sirius was chewing at his lip, and when their waitress placed the sharing platter in front of the couple he didn’t seem as interested as he had been before.

“Pete was on duty and he brought it to Lily, he didn’t recognise us, or he would’ve just erased it and mentioned it to me privately.”

Sirius nodded and slipped sideways so that he was on the bench next to Remus and snuggled under his arm; “how do you feel about it?”

“It’s not the greatest moment of my life but I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. I’m more worried about how you feel. I put a lot of emphasis on consent and playing safely, bug; I failed in protecting you and I want to make sure that every experience you have is as positive as possible.”

“You didn’t fail,” Sirius mumbled, lifting a macaron to Remus’ lips, filling his mouth before he continued; “I’m not thrilled that they’ve seen us like that but I’m going to guess hat you don’t see much of me, right?”

“Right,” Remus confirmed, wiping his fingers across his lips; “Lily gave me the tape and it’s just your back and then us kissing after.”

“Okay,” Sirius let out a shuddering breath, “so it’s not exposing and it was my idea, so we can just move past it. I don’t want to linger on it, not really. I’m happy with us, Moony. We’re together, right?”

“Yes, bug. Me and you.”

“Would you feel comfortable putting a label on it?”

Remus watched as he nervously scooped some of the crème brulee onto his spoon with a shaking hand, and let him feed the custard into his mouth before he took hold of his hand; “what’s making you so nervous?”

Sirius gulped and then took a sip of Remus’ water, twining their fingers together and holding tight; “I want you to be my boyfriend or partner or lover, whatever you'd want to call it… I want you to want me too.”

“And that makes you nervous?”

“That you might not want me?” his boy let out a wet little laugh and Remus pressed his face into his hair, leaving a rough kiss on his head; “it terrifies me.”

“I want you so much that I feel like I’m obsessed with you,” he couldn’t resist letting a little laugh out at the disbelieving look in Sirius’ eyes; “and I don’t know everything about you yet, but I do know that the way your family treated you made you feel unwanted. They’re wrong, bug. For me, right now, you are everything I want and I don’t see that changing for a long time.”

“So you would want to be my boyfriend?” his boy asked with a little smile fixed on his lips.

“Yeah, bug,” Remus kissed his chocolatey lips once, and then couldn’t resist dipping in for a second; “I want to be your boyfriend, or partner, or lover. Whatever you’d like to call it is good with me.”

“Yay, yay, yay…” Sirius was in his lap again now, and Remus could not be happier about it.

----------

“We’ll be really quick, I promise,” Sirius tugged him along the corridor, stopping in front of his door and fumbled in his pocket for the keys; “but I maybe did lie about having already packed a bag…”

“My naughty little bug!” Remus wrapped himself around Sirius, tugging the boy so his back was pressed completely against Remus’ front, giving him the ability to suckle at his neck, making him drop his keys twice before they finally made it into the lock.

“Re,” Sirius sighed happily as he swung the door open, Remus releasing him just in time for them to both freeze at the sight of James knelt in the centre of the room stark naked, a lithe man with dark hair standing over him, his back to them.

Sirius froze at the same time James came to life, lunging for the blanket on the back of the sofa and wrapping it around him. Politely, Remus averted his eyes as he stepped far enough through the door to close it; bringing him flush to Sirius’ body once more.

“Sorry Jam,” Sirius laughed as he led Remus past the couple and towards his bedroom, both of their eyes fixed on the ceiling. It wasn’t until they’d made it through Sirius’ bedroom door that the boy stuck his head back through the opening to scold his best friend playfully when his mouth opened and closed a couple of times, Remus standing confused in the doorway at Sirius’ expression.

“What the actual fuck is this?” the boy said angrily, gesturing at the two men, James looking embarrassed and his companion flushing from cheek to chest; “are you kidding?”

“Listen, Sirius-“ James was cut off before he could even begin to explain, all the while Remus was stood looking between the three young men; clearly he was the only one not in the know.

“This is incest!” Sirius exclaimed, ratcheting Remus’ confusion up another notch.

“No it’s not! We’re not related,” James’ retort was accompanied by a guilty glance to his partner, and at that moment it struck Remus just how similar Sirius and this young man looked.

Lily said he was in the year below them at school. They all know each other. Could this be the little brother he abandoned?

Sirius was frustrated, he could tell from his body language and his tone, but Remus still couldn’t help watching his boy throw a tantrum with a little smile on his face. He was just so damned cute; “oh and that makes it okay I suppose?”

“Well it makes it not incest!”

“Bug-“

“No Re,” Sirius held up a hand to stop him, and Remus tried to stop it but he couldn’t help the quirk of his eyebrow, the Dom inside him sitting up straight; “the guy he’s been fucking around with is my little brother? Which also,” the boy swung his attention back to the couple trying to carefully shuffle into James’ bedroom; “when the fuck did you get out, Reg? Last time I saw you, you were yelling homophobic slurs at me and telling me to leave, now you’re a raging queer sucking my best friend’s dick and you didn’t even call me?”

Oh. Oh no, he knew what that wobble in his boy’s voice meant.

‘Reg’ opened his mouth to speak just as Remus did, his soft ‘babybug’ reaching Sirius just as a tear dripped from his eye; he couldn’t help himself, wrapping protectively around Sirius and corralling him to their front door.

“C’mon, let’s go to mine and give everyone time to cool off, okay?” he murmured, leading Sirius back to the front door, catching James’ sorry look over the top of his head.

“I’m sorry, Siri…” James whispered as they moved past him, and Sirius stopped dead in the centre of the living room and without lifting his head said; “I love you, Jamie. But I’m angry about this, and I think you can understand why. We- tomorrow? We’ll talk tomorrow. Reggie?”

“Yes?”

“I’m glad you got out, but I don’t know why you didn’t call me. And I don’t know when you grew the balls to fuck my best friend behind my back and not even care how I’d feel about it.”

“Sirius!” James’ tone was warning, and that made his boy’s head shoot up, disbelief colouring his features.

“You’re seriously going to defend him? Act like you didn’t know this was fucked?”

“I-no.” James sighed, collapsing onto the sofa and watching sadly as Remus led Sirius from their flat.

----------

Sirius POV

He felt so betrayed. James was his. Okay, maybe not his, but for as long as they had been best friends and brothers in all but blood he’d been on his side in all things Black. And now, after he’d caught James and Reg in the middle of a scene in their kitchen/diner, it was clear James’ priorities had shifted.

The thing was, he knew that was fair, that James was allowed to grow and change. He just hadn’t ever imagined that the growing and changing would include Regulus and his penis.

“Are you alright, bug?” Remus’ voice was soft and careful, one hand on the steering wheel and the other on Sirius’ thigh.

“No,” he mumbled, chewing on his lip and playing with his boyfriend’s fingers; “I feel betrayed, and I feel stupid for feeling betrayed. I know Jamie isn’t my action man or anything,”

Remus let out a little laugh at that, bringing Sirius’ fingers up to his mouth for an indulgent press of his lips; “you can feel however you want to right now, I’m not gonna judge you.”

“I just feel like he shouldn’t have kept it a secret, if he’d just told me- if he and Reggie had come to me to say- and why didn’t Reggie ever get in touch?”

Sirius pouted, staring moodily out the car window while Remus pulled them into the garage; “come on, bug. Let’s get upstairs.”

He let Remus usher him into the lift, through his front door and across to his bedroom without protest, and then he perched on the sink while he watched Remus run the circular tub full of bubbly warm water.

“I’m sorry I ruined date night,” he spoke hesitantly, accepting a hug when it was offered and then dutifully stripping when Remus began to; “I was just so shocked; it never even crossed my mind that the guy from school he’d been seeing would be my little brother…”

Remus nodded, and Sirius watched as more and more of his beautiful body appeared, strong thighs and delicate ankles, his thick cock soft as it laid heavily against his balls. The man stepped up into the tub, holding his arms open for Sirius and shuffling back so there was space between his legs; “You did not ruin our night. And I think that’s fair, I don’t think there’s a world where that would be your first thought. They weren’t especially close then, were they?”

“Not at all,” Sirius snuggled into his soapy chest, nuzzling his head into the crook of his neck and indulging in the slightly scratchy feeling of his nine o’clock shadow against his temple; “I always thought Reggie hated James. Hated both of us.”

Remus hummed, stroking his hands down his sides and kissing his forehead gently; “how come he got away with ‘Reggie’ and you got Sirius, hm?”

“Family traditions. We’re named after stars or constellations – I’m Sirius, he’s Regulus, Reggie for short.”

“That makes so much more sense,” Remus laughed a little, jostling them both; “it always makes me laugh when that sort of thing happens. I went to school with a girl who was called Tracy and her brother was called Oax.”

“What?” Sirius giggled, turning to look at his Moony with a grin on his face; “how did that happen?”

“I don’t know, I was too scared to ask. Only a couple of years between them as well, not like a twenty year gap where the popular names have changed.”

“And you were in school so it was such a long time ago…” Sirius teased, his bad mood slowly rising from the pits up into a happier state; “did you ever get to meet a real life t-rex when you were little?”

“Oh you’re feeling cheeky now, hm?”

His breath hitched, remembering the last time he’d been in this bath, and the time before when they’d spent a lovely night soaking together. God, just the thought of a repeat performance of soapy, luxurious sex made his belly twist in arousal.

“Re…”

“Bug…” Remus countered, helping Sirius situate himself in his lap, hands firm on his hips; “did you want something?”

With Sirius on his lap, his Moony had sunk down in the water until his head was resting back against the marble and his knees were pressing up against his back, giving him something to lean on. Giving a slow roll of his hips, he leant down to kiss Remus and indulged himself, grasping at his boyfriend’s fluffy hair and kissing him deep and messy.

When Remus responded with a groan and took control of the kiss, Sirius let his body go lax, sprawled on top of the larger man and allowing him to manipulate his body any which way he liked.

“Re,” Sirius moaned, panting harshly when his lips were no longer occupied; “will you fuck me? Please, please, please?”

“Babybug,” Remus started, and from his tone Sirius knew the answer already; “not tonight I won’t, no.”

“Why?” he whined, pressing his face into Remus collarbone and biting harshly at his skin in punishment, only easing when the man said a quiet ‘ouch’.

“Because you’re sad, you’ve had a couple of drinks, and we haven’t talked about it yet.”

“I thought,” Sirius sat up to stare into his eyes, frown on his face; “that we didn’t need to talk about everything we did if it wasn’t a scene?”

“We don’t, but this is one of the things we do need to discuss. For one, I don’t know what you’re expecting in that situation. And second, I don’t want you to regret your first time. A lot has happened tonight.”

“So my boyfriend won’t fuck me?”

“Not tonight he won’t,” his tone was steadfast, certain; and it made Sirius pout just as much as it turned him on.

“Moony…”

“Don’t ‘Moony’ me, cuddlebug; I’m protecting you from yourself right now. As your boyfriend and your Dom I’m telling you no. Soon, but not tonight.”

His brain latched onto that word. Soon, soon, soon.

“Soon?”

Remus huffed a laugh and tugged him back down into a hug, getting fluffy bubbles into his mouth that he had to spit out; “soon. We can talk about it tomorrow, but maybe next weekend we can work on that.”

“Can I tell you a secret?”

“Hm?”

“You’re my favourite, Moony.”

“I’m your favourite Moony? I thought I was the only one!”

“Ugh!” Sirius groaned a laugh, shaking his head; “the dad jokes, really?”

“If you’re gonna call me old, then I’m gonna go for it.”

“You’d be such a DILF, oh my god…”

“You think so?”

“You’re hot now,” Sirius licked his lips; “I bet you’d be even hotter with a cute baby on your hip.”

“You want me barefoot with a baby?”

“Maybe someday…”

“Is that something you want?” Remus’ bubbly fingers trailed over his exposed shoulder, sending shivers through his body.

“Kids?”

At Remus’ hum, he sighed happily and said; “I think so? It terrifies me, the idea of being responsible for a baby, but it’s also so exciting, you know? Especially if I could give a kid like me a better life.”

“That’s so lovely bug, you’re so lovely. I think I’d like kids too, although I’d agree that it’s terrifying. I am getting old though, if I’m going to do that I would like to get that ball rolling in the next few years,” Sirius smiled, imagining him and Remus with a tiny baby, or a toddler or a teenager maybe. Someone who needed them, who made them work to be better versions of themselves; “that’s a little bit ahead of us though, isn’t it? We’ve only known each other two months, only been together six weeks.”

“Is it? That far ahead of us?”

“I don’t know exactly what you would envision a healthy timeline to be,” Remus shifted, sitting up a little straighter – as much as one could in a bathtub; “I would expect a couple of months for dating, and then anywhere from six to eighteen months before you move in together.”

“And marriage?”

This conversation was going to give him a heart attack. He knew it would, his pulse was off the charts; he didn’t know if Remus was talking specifically about their relationship but the fact that it was even mapped in his mind gave him hope that a man who was famous around his club for not doing relationships had this much of a plan already.

“If marriage was on the table, then I guess maybe anywhere from a year on. It depends how much time you’re spending with each other, if you’re living together already that could speed it up… If you’re not then it’d be longer. At least for me. Is marriage something you would want?”

Sirius hummed, using his toes to turn the hot tap back on and top up the temperature of their bath; “I used to think that it was just a piece of paper that complicates everything, when I was a teenager I mean; but I think if you were really sure about your partner then… I’d love to belong to someone. Officially, you know?”

“I do. Have you ever thought about a collar?”

Sirius spluttered, sending the water rocking dangerously close to the bath’s rim; “like a dog?”

“Mmm, a little puppy just for me… No, bug; it’s a thing in the BDSM community. When you decide that you’re fully committed to a relationship with your partner you get collared. I’ve been to a couple of collaring ceremonies for friends, sort of like a wedding but not legally binding.”

“For anyone in the community? Not just the puppies?”

“Yeah, bug. Everyone. Even naughty little bugs like you…”

Naughty little bugs like him. Oh, just imagine if Remus gave him a collar.

“Wait- Do you mean like an actual collar?”

“Sometimes,” Remus made a ‘so-so’ face; “it’s normally that the Dom either picks out a collar based on what their Sub likes or they might get a ‘day’ collar and a ‘play’ collar that’s more literal. So you might have a silver necklace that stays on all the time which is your day collar and is appropriate for work, formal events outside of the community… And then a heavy collar – they tend to look like dog collars but most people put a lot of money into them, like engagement rings. Custom made, sustainable materials, personalised.”

“Have you ever?”

“Greyback gave me a cheap one, a couple of months in. In hindsight, he used it as a tool to control me, and he used the traditional lock that he held the only key to. He refused to take it off and it began to rot on my skin because it wasn’t waterproof and I had to wear it in the shower. It felt less like a choice and more like I was enslaved to him.”

“My strong Moony,” Sirius left a trail of kisses over his chest and up his throat, so close to him it felt like he could crawl underneath his skin; “I’m so sorry. Every time you tell me more about him I just get more and more amazed by how strong you are to have recovered from him. To still be here.”

“Thank you,” Remus shuddered as he breathed out, deep and heavy as his arms wrapped vice-like around him; “I would love to collar someone. Like with all things, my experiences have made me more considerate towards my Subs. I like to think that if I did have a collared Sub they wouldn't want it taken off, but I know for certain that I would if it was asked of me. I'd never want to trap someone like that.”

Humming, Sirius shifted so he could run his fingers through Remus’ soft hair, now slightly wet and tangled at the base of his neck; “do you want to head to bed, Moons?”

“We can,” he exhaled softly, reeling him in for a desperate kiss – at least, it felt desperate to him, like more than anything Remus needed his kiss, and God was that a powerful feeling; “and when we wake up tomorrow we can have more serious conversations and maybe go and see James and Regulus?”

“If we have to…” Sirius groaned, his head falling forward with a whine-laugh as he got to his knees in the tub, preparing to stand.

Chapter Text

Sirius POV

Waking Remus up with a blow job was something he had been planning to do for some time: first, he’d gotten permission from his Moony to surprise him with such a thing. Then he’d tried to discern a way to wake up before Remus without alerting him of the plan.

Therefore, waking up the next day to find Remus still snoring softly and curled around his back presented the perfect opportunity. After he had managed to manoeuvre the much larger man onto his back, his legs naturally splaying, he settled between them and took a moment to trace his eyes over bare skin. Rubbing a gentle thumb over the purpled marks he’d left in the days before, he tongued at Remus’ soft cock and suckled it into his mouth; he was familiar with the pleasure-filled haze that accompanied having something in his mouth – specifically having Remus in his mouth.

A few minutes of stimulating Remus with his tongue and gently massaging his balls with a free hand had the appendage fattening up in his mouth, taking up more and more space and causing him to think more carefully about how he was using his mouth. Pushing his forearms under Remus’ thighs and wrapping them up over the man’s hips he doubled down, taking the thick cock as far into his throat as he could, saliva dripping out of the corners of his mouth and slicking the way. When the man’s hips began to hitch upwards, his tongue picking up the salty tang of precome, Sirius finally let his moans loose, working his cock down into the tangle of sheets down the end of the bed.

“Mmm,” Remus groaned, slowly coming awake; “bug?”

Pulling back, he began stroking his cock and instead let his mind drift, sucking gently at the man’s sac and humming as long fingers would through his dark tresses, wild from going to bed damp and unstyled. As Remus’ grip tightened and directed him back towards his throbbing shaft, Sirius panted against the damp skin and murmured a ‘good morning’.

“Certainly is,” Remus agreed, his abdomen tensing as he sat up to watch the show Sirius was putting on for him; “did you wake up needing something in your mouth, hm? What a good boy you are, so quiet for me…”

The praise sent sparks to Sirius’ groin, hips grinding in slow circles as he traced the vein which was pulsing steadily along the underside of his cock with his tongue, strumming at his frenulum until a soft swear from above him drew his attention. Resorting back to basic methods so that he could watch his Moony fall apart with wide eyes, he tuned back into Remus’ constant stream of dirty talk; “you look so pretty with my cock in your mouth, bug. Wish you could see yourself, fuck… God, I’m the luckiest, aren’t I? My favourite boy, always so eager to please me, waking me up so nicely.”

With a deep breath, Sirius let his head drop until his nose was pressed into the neat hairs at the base of Remus’ cock, the smell so purely Remus; a mix of his soap and sweat and so much that it brought him closer to the edge.

And Sirius belonged to him; their conversation last night of collars and marriage and forever. God, just imagining a world where Remus had him collared, using him solely because he wanted to? It was a future he could really envision being part of.

Remus’ breath whooshed out of him as Sirius’ throat tightened around the sensitive head of his cock; “christ, Sirius… Fuck, you’re so good at that, you’re gonna make me come. Come up here, honeybug,” the man pulled at his hair until he was only connected to his shaft by a messy string of spit; “come here, I want to kiss you…”

“You were so close,” Sirius’ voice was hoarse as he clambered up Remus’ body to sit astride him, unable to stop himself from rutting down into his stomach as they kissed; “wanted you to come…”

“Oh, but I wanted to kiss you. And we both know,” Remus bit at his lips, moving down the side of his throat as he encouraged the movement of his hips; “that I’m in charge here.”

“Ahh,” Sirius moaned as Remus nipped his pulse; “but I’m a good boy…”

“You’re my good boy,” Remus confirmed; “but that means you do as I ask sometimes bug, you don’t always get your way.”

Oh lord, he was so hot when he was bossy, and it made him whimper as he got closer and closer to the brink of orgasm, his hard cock blurting precome onto Remus’ abdomen; “does that mean I can’t come yet? ‘M so close, Re…”

“Hmmm,” Remus teased, shifting them so he could wrap a spit-slick palm around both of them and stroke in time to the rhythm of their hips, laughing when Sirius cried out and dropped his head to rest on his collarbone. Feeling a heavy kiss on his head, he sighed in relief when his Moony said; “I think you’ve earned it. Come when you need to.”

It never got old, falling apart in Remus’ arms, but it also hadn’t yet stopped being new; he still found himself gasping, shuddering as he came. With one hand in his hair holding his head to his chest, the other stroking his cock quick and fast he cried out as he orgasmed, his come caught by Remus and used to bring the other man off.

“Fuck, fuck you look so pretty when you come,” Remus babbled as he stripped his cock harshly, Sirius staring at him with wide eyes, panting as the pleasure radiating through his body turned to the pain of overstimulation; “so good for me, Christ…”

Thankfully, Remus followed him shortly afterwards and so the too-much-please pleasure-pain ceased, and Sirius snuggled down into Remus’ come-covered chest and lapped gently at the salty fluid.

“Good wake-up call?”

“Fuck,” Remus breathed, stroking Sirius’ sweaty brow with gentle fingers; “you know it was.”

----------

After a luxuriously long morning shower, in which Sirius stared his boyfriend down as he stretched himself with two fingers and Remus followed through on his promise to plug him up for a day, the pair were a picture of kinky-yet-domestic bliss.

“Do you feel ready to speak to James?” Remus asked as they made coffee side-by-side.

“No,” Sirius leant into his side; “I just don’t get it. Why wouldn’t he just tell me?”

“I think you need to talk to him so that he can explain it to you,” the older man reasoned; “the two of you have been friends for so long, and based on last night he knew he was in the wrong.”

“I guess,” he sighed, “will you come with?”

“Sure cuddlebug,” Remus screwed the tops onto their travel mugs and pulled Sirius into his chest for their twenty-seventh hug of the day; “are you sure you’re happy to wear this,” he tapped two fingers on the base of the silicone plug, laughing a little when it made the smaller boy shudder and mewl; “to go and see him?”

“Yeah,” he breathed, “it’s a nice little distraction.”

“Okay then if you’re sure, are you ready to go? Get it out of the way?”

“Okay…”

----------

He’d spent the drive across the city shifting carefully in his seat, the plug in his arse pressing against his prostate and doing just enough to keep his cock at half-mast in the loose sweats he’d had to borrow from Remus. As they got closer and closer to his flat, Sirius got more stressed, nibbling at his fingernails and bouncing one knee to try and distract himself from the messy conversations awaiting him.

“You’ll be alright,” Remus reassured him for the third time in the last twenty minutes; “I’m here with you and James and Regulus both owe you a conversation in the least. You don’t have to forgive them right away either, not if you don’t feel ready to.”

“I know,” he gulped as Remus indicated to turn left down his street; “I just really hate confrontation.”

“Oh I know,” the older man’s tone had dropped into the soft, soothing voice that he recognised from the aftercare portion of their scenes; “but it’s alright if you get upset, bug. I’ll be here for you, and once it’s done you can put it behind you.”

----------

The walk up to the flat was a new experience, foreign objects shifting inside him and knowing looks from Remus setting his face aflame. With keys jangling in the lock, Sirius took a surprised step back when the door was jerked open by someone who was not him. Nor was it James.

Mouth falling open, he took in the excited smile of one Euphemia Potter, who held her arms open for a hug that he sank into with a grateful sigh of happy surprise; “I didn’t know you were coming!”

“Neither did I,” James’ fake-happy tone filled the air around them, and Sirius let a little laugh loose when he saw his wide eyes and nervous hands curled around a mug that would undoubtedly be filled with his dad’s special brew tea; “I thought maybe you’d forgotten your keys and when I answered the door it was to these two.”

“Where’s dad?” Sirius asked, glancing around their living space.

“Oh you know how he is on long trips, Sirius darling,”

“The bathroom,” the three of them said simultaneously, Effie’s head whipping back to the door to watch Sirius lean back into Remus’ lanky frame, the man poised like a model in the doorway and letting a low laugh free.

“And who is this, hm?” Effie asked as the bathroom door swung wide open, Fleamont stepping out wiping wet hands on his trouser legs and a grin breaking across his face when he spied Sirius.

“Come give me a hug then, my boy!”

Sirius did, gladly, finding comfort in his pseudo-parents hugs like he had since the day they’d met. They hadn’t changed, Fleamont Potter smelling of turpentine and dust with calloused hands mottled with paint, Effie smelling like chai tea and hairspray. To him, that was what home smelt like, though he was suspicious that nowadays their would be a little of Remus’ wood-and-spice-and-lavender mixed in there too.

“Good to see you,” Sirius said as he tugged Remus far enough inside that they could shut the door; “this is Remus. My boyfriend.”

James had a small smile on his face at the words, but it was quickly cowed by the look Sirius shot at him; but Effie quickly distracted him by doting on Remus and yanking the man down to her five foot tall eye level, the way his back bent to accommodate almost comical.

“It’s lovely to meet you dear, we’ve heard so much about you from James and Sirius both.”

“Ah, good things I hope?” Remus said nervously, his words garbled from the way the small woman tugged at his cheeks.

“Of course,” Fleamont interjected, stepping forward to shake his hand and release him from his wife’s clutches; “Jamie says you take care of our boy very well.”

Oh god, he was almost certainly blushing now, the implications of that too much when there was silicone spearing him wide open at Remus’ direction.

“I do my best,” Remus said humbly, stepping back and wrapping one large palm around Sirius’ hip, pulling the boy into him and pressing a gentle kiss to his hair.

“How do we feel about lunch then chaps?” Fleamont asked, clapping his hands together and rubbing them like an evil villain in a chunky knit jumper; “your mother and I thought you could show us the sights and we’d treat you to a nice meal. You too, of course, Remus.”

Remus glanced at Sirius as if to check he was welcome to join them before he accepted the invitation, gracious as always. It was cute, the way the man was working to endear his adoptive parents to him; clearing Effie’s cup away and bringing her an extra biscuit, helping Fleamont with his collar when it was stuck up… He was being a gentleman.

“I’m just gonna get changed,” Sirius spoke up, watching the group interact and deeming it safe enough to leave Remus alone with them; “forgot to take anything with me to Re’s last night.”

“Just like our Sirius,” Effie tutted, and Sirius turned to hide his blush at what his parent’s might infer ‘staying the night’ could entail; “so forgetful sometimes, especially when he’s excited, aren’t you darling?”

“Mum,” he whined as he left the room, panicking when soft footfalls followed him until he heard Remus excusing himself. When the door shut behind the pair, Remus opened his arms and Sirius fell gladly into them; “m’sorry Moons, didn’t realise they’d be here. You don’t have to come to lunch if you don’t want to, we can make up an excuse about the club?”

“I want to be here,” Remus reassured him, lips pressed against his head, “though this has thrown a bit of a spanner in the works, hasn’t it? Certainly as far as you and James and Regulus talking things out is concerned.”

“It’ll be okay,” Sirius said pensively, popping up onto his tiptoes for a kiss before he stepped out of their hug and started to strip without flourish; “just need game faces for lunch and then tonight I can talk to him.”

“Alright bug,” Remus agreed with him, watching with heavy eyes as more and more of Sirius’ lithe body was revealed; “do you want your plug out? We didn’t plan for this scene to involve your parents, I know that’s a bit different for you.”

“Please?”

“Of course,” Remus came up behind him and put pressure on his lower back, helping him to bend low over his mattress; “we can always continue later on, or another day,” he eased the plug out, setting it on Sirius’ dirty laundry so the lube didn’t stain his sheets; “love the way your hole looks all stretched out for me, Sirius. Such a good boy for me, wet and gaping.”

Sirius bit back a moan at his words, trying to prevent himself from getting hard knowing that his family were waiting for him just on the other side of the door. Instead, a broken gasping sound escaped his lips, muffled into the sheets.

Remus held him in place while he looked, and he felt a pout cross his lips when the heat of the man’s body against one hip disappeared, only a heavy palm remaining, holding him wide open. He choked on his breath when wet warmth swept over his hole, what he realised was Remus tongue dipping into him a few times before the man hummed, the noise reverberating in shock waves through Sirius, and stood back upright.

“What,” Sirius reached for his Moony, “did you just-?”

“Did I just… what, bug?”

“You put your tongue in my bum?” Sirius shout-whispered, disbelieving at Remus’ smug grin and quirked eyebrow; “is that a thing?”

“Mhmmm,” Remus hummed, tugging his naked body into his and grasping his arse cheeks in his hands; “it is a thing… A thing I quite enjoy. Did you like it?”

Nodding shyly, he rutted his slowly fattening cock up against Remus’ leg, the dry rub just this side of pleasurable; “could we do that later?”

Remus quiet groan made his pulse jump, “of course we can, of course… Could have you sit on my face, hm? Work your little hole back on my tongue until you’re sloppy and wet, just for me,” two of his fingers crept closer to Sirius’ hole, pushing deep with the aid of the lube left behind by the plug, curling them just so for his boy’s knees to buckle; “if you’re a good boy today then I’ll come over later on with some dinner and you can have my fingers and then my tongue, okay? But only if you’re good. You need to behave with Jamie and your parents and then later on you’ll be mature when you talk to your brother and him. And then you’ll get a treat.”

“What am I supposed to do now?” he asked in disbelief, gesturing at his hard cock, standing straight up against his abdomen as Remus’ fingers worked slowly inside him, no longer pressing against his prostate.

“Oh dear,” Remus tutted, withdrawing his fingers and grabbing the dirty laundry to clean them off; “I guess you’ll have to think bad thoughts. I’ll wait for you outside,” the man took a step towards his bedroom door, hand on the handle when he said; “oh and Sirius? Don’t even think about touching yourself. You’re mine.”

“But Re,” he whined, cutting himself off when Remus slipped out of his door with a cheerful wave and greeted his family once more.

----------

“So you two met at your new job?” Euphemia asked, gesturing between them with a piece of carrot speared on her fork.

“That’s right, Mama,” Sirius swallowed his food before he answered, shooting a gentle smile at Remus and then elaborating; “Re and his best friend Lily own Atelier and we met at James and my interviews.”

Euphemia’s face turned a tad icy, as much as the warmest woman in the world’s expression could display contempt; “you didn’t say he was your boss, Sirius beta,”

“Ah, um,” Remus began; “I was initially hesitant to–“

“Re and I-“ Sirius spoke at the same time as him, the older man taking his empty hand in his, rubbing a gentle thumb over soft skin and bone.

“You don’t think it’s inappropriate to be fraternising with your staff?”

“There’s a contract!” Sirius blurted immediately turning pink when Euphemia and a silent-until-now Fleamont raised their eyebrows and gave him an unimpressed stare.

“A contract? Are you telling us,” Fleamont said in a low voice; “are you telling your mother and I that you are contractually obligated to sleep with him?”

“No!” Remus yelped, shooting a death glare at James as he hid a grin behind his hand, clearly enjoying the lunchtime entertainment; “no, what Sirius means is that there is a separate contract to his employment terms which protects both him and the business – a sort of declaration that we are engaging in consensual behaviours. It was drawn up by our lawyers and in no way places any requirement for Sirius to sleep with me.”

Euphemia and Fleamont looked at each other, communicating in a way that Sirius was familiar with – it used to be to decide how to punish James and Sirius when they’d been a little too mischievous. It sent a shiver of dread through him, and he held his breath when Effie nodded and turned back to face the silent pair; “you will send your copy of this relationship agreement to your father and his lawyers will look it over. I take it you’re open to amendments?”

“Of course, Mrs. Potter,” Remus agreed immediately, “if you’d like I can put you in touch with Alice, she handles all legal concerns for Lily and I. I also would just, uh, like to reassure you that because of our relationship I have no power over him in the business,” he paused at the raise of Sirius’ father’s eyebrow, taking  a sip of his water before continuing; “in the beginning I was his direct supervisor, as I am to all of the staff onsite; but when we grew closer and eventually entered into our relationship I agreed that Lily would be in charge of all disciplinary matters relating to Sirius and she handles any and all issues that he might have. I have no control over him at work, and any concerns I did have I would have to take to her to be dealt with.”

“Hmph,” Fleamont nodded decisively and dug right back into his steak, although his wife was still studying him intently.

The silence was awkward enough that Sirius picked up his fork and began eating again, contemplating the details that Remus and just revealed to his parents in a n effort to endear them to him. Just as he began to swallow his bite of chicken, Euphemia spoke once more; “and it’s a sex club that you own, is that right?”

Coughing, backslapping, being fed a drink of water while tears streamed from his eyes, he shot a dark look at his brother who was cackling, head thrown back; looking to his left, he saw Remus’ concern and the underlying stress of the meal, only indicated by the slightest sheen of sweat at his temples.

“We’re a BDSM club which offers guests the chance to play in a safe space without fear of judgement.” Remus said quietly, which considering the surrounding clientele was probably a good idea.

When Sirius was calm he dropped his hand to Remus’ knee and said; “it’s not seedy, Mama. They do classes on Japanese ropework and how to treat people properly. It’s actually really awesome, how hard Remus and Lily have worked to create such a sanctuary.”

“Thank you, love,” Remus pressed a kiss to the side of Sirius’ forehead, the action making the smaller boy hum and lean into his soft gesture; “Sirius is right, we work with couples and individuals to develop safe practices and bring in consultants when necessary. We’re constantly training and looking to improve our business and we have very strict rules. The entire building has a no-alcohol policy and 24 hour on-site security and medics.”

“You’re open 24/7?” Effie asked interestedly, and Sirius tried to ignore the ‘get out of this one’ look that James shot him.

“Ah, no,” Remus spoke, “we have a small number of guests that we invite to be part of a VIP scheme that allows them to keep a suite upstairs. They’re highly regulated and we require an extensive background check before they’re even considered.”

“So you have security for your VIP guests?” Fleamont asked, now appearing more interested than scrutinising.

“To protect our liability, it’s a requirement of our insurance, but also for them and their guests – sometimes someone has an unrelated medical emergency and they have to hit the panic button, other times things go too far and they need help.”

Sirius’ father hummed, wiping his mouth after placing his knife and fork together in the centre of his clean plate; “that’s very interesting. Is that modelled on something you and your partner saw elsewhere?”

Sirius pouted minutely when Fleamont called Lily Remus’ ‘partner’ before it smoothed back out, remembering that Remus was his. Locked in and official.

“Probably, I’m sure we’re not the first to undertake it. Staff who work in the security room require rigorous training and we make sure they’re well-versed in the world of BDSM before they’re allowed to work unsupervised – we like to pride ourselves on our staff’s professionalism and it’s important that in those sort of emergent situations nobody feels judged, you know?”

“I do, I do,” Fleamont nodded; “good lad.”

At the affirmation, some of the tension holding Sirius’ back straight left his body, and he relaxed a little into his seat, sipping at his drink with one hand in his boyfriend’s lap.

----------

“So?” Sirius asked Euphemia as they followed their crowd out of the restaurant; “do you approve.”

“He’s lovely, Sirius beta,” she reassured him; “but you’re still going to send your father that contract, yes? We need to make sure you’re not being compromised by a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

“Like Remus would ever hurt me,” Sirius scoffed under his breath, making sure that his remark was quiet enough that the man in question wouldn’t hear him.

“Not unless you asked him nicely, yes?”

“Mama!” Sirius exclaimed, flushing bright red as she laughed at him, pulling him closer with an arm around his waist, her greying hair pressing into his temple comfortingly.

“Oh please, you think your father and I haven’t-“

“Lalalalala,” Sirius sang loudly, placing his hands over his ears as he ran away from her smirk and plastered himself to Remus’ back, the man making a low ‘oof’ noise as he was hit with a human cannonball, yelling over his shoulder; “I never want you to finish that sentence, ever!”

----------

Remus POV

They’d waved Mr and Mrs Potter off a little after two o’clock, the pair headed further north for the weekend, a little bit of an escape from the city. Having officially given Sirius their tentative approval, Euphemia had left them with a salacious remark about her plans for the weekend, Remus unable to suppress his low chuckle at Sirius and James’ disgust at the thought of their parents doing exactly what the two of them liked to do with their significant others.

“Come on, bug, did you think they weren’t having sex?” Remus asked with a smile; seeing the two brothers get on, united by their horror, it made him happy.

“I hoped not! I don’t want to think about it!”

“Me either!” James chimed in, locking their flat door behind him as Regulus re-entered the building, the temperature in the living space dropping back to somewhere near icy as the couple sat on the sofa, Remus pulling up a chair from the dining table and Sirius standing up, glaring at them.

“Does anyone want tea?” Remus asked, hands rubbing his thighs as he tried to parse whether he should leave of stay.

Three sets of eyes snapped to him from where they were all avoiding each other, Sirius breaking the silence with a quiet; “yes please, Moony.”

With agreement from all parties, Remus set about making the drinks, feeling out of sorts in this flat where he was so much older, like a school teacher resolving an argument. He was glad when he heard James begin speaking from behind him.

“So… where do you want to start, Siri?”

“At the beginning. When? And where?” Sirius’ voice was flat and thick, and Remus just knew that if he turned and pulled his boy into his arms he would break, the feeling of betrayal too strong for him.

“We-“

“No, I wanna hear it from Reg.”

“Oh, uh,” Regulus started, only to be interrupted by Sirius again.

“Let’s start with you leaving, when did that happen?”

The whistle of the kettle distracted him and prevented the first part of the story from reaching his ears as he bustled around the kitchen with teabags and a carton of milk, making each cup to the requested specifications before taking them one-by-one over to the coffee table, handing the final mug to Sirius with a kiss to the side of his head before settling in to hear what the boys had to say.

“and then that summer between Eton and when I was supposed to be going to Oxford, it got a lot worse. I downloaded twitter to keep up with the election and was interning with Father, and I started interacting with people outside of, well, outside of who they’d chosen for me to be friends with. It helped me to realise the spew they’d being filing our heads with was exactly that. I started reading outside of the family library, researching political agendas and-”

“And just like that, you were queer and ready to leave?” Sirius scoffed, flicking his eyes to Remus in what the older man thought he was hoping to be a derisive dismissal. When his expression was not reciprocated, Sirius pouted and waved a hand, gesturing for Regulus to continue speaking.

“Of course not, by that point Barty and I had been fooling around for a little while at school, I was quite comfortable with,” he just railroaded through Sirius’ outburst at the revelation; “with my sexuality, I’m a bisexual man, and assumed that I could marry whoever they picked for me and hope for the best, do the whole baby thing and carry on the Black family bloodline.”

“Mmhmm,” Sirius hummed, dropping into a crouch and then settling cross-legged on the opposite side of the coffee table to Regulus and James; “who did they pick for you to marry?”

“Flora.”

Sirius barked out a laugh that confused Remus until he was suddenly included in the conversation, his boy directing his next statement Remus’ way; “Flora is our second cousin. Like father like son, hey Reg?”

“Safe to say I was not best pleased,” Regulus’ face twisted, the man taking a sip of his tea and relaxing back into the soft cushion before he opened his mouth to continue, although this time it was Remus who cut him off.

“I’m sorry, they wanted you to marry your cousin?”

“Best way to keep it in the family, Re,” Sirius shrugged; “historically, a lot of Black’s have married their cousins, our parents were cousins, and occasionally a suitable wealthy, reputable member of the upper echelons of society are brought in to stop the inbreeding from having any more effect than keeping the money concentrated and our noses straight.”

“That’s, that’s so-“

“Grim, we know. Before I left they were talking about marrying me off to Narcissa, but she fell in love with a Malfoy, thankfully. Awful people, but at least I got out of marrying the wretch.”

He felt like he’d been sucker punched, Sirius hadn’t told him much about him family beyond the circumstances of his leaving, and the revelations were so shocking he needed to have his hands on his boy.

“Come here, bug,” Remus said softly, Sirius shooting him a questioning look and then rising to his feet; when he was settled in his lap, sat sideways – suitable for present company and the story to continue – Regulus began talking again.

“Yes, so Flora and I were to be married, but I managed to convince father that it would be better for me to finish my degree before that happened, after all Flora had only just turned sixteen and so she wasn’t ready to be married yet. What was three more years?”

Sirius blew out a heavy breath, and Remus pressed a kiss to his temple and tried to keep his touches soft, comforting; “good plan, although I can’t believe they went for it.”

“Well you see, Sirius, I tended to behave, so they never suspected anything beyond my intentions to devote myself completely to my studies,” he placed his cup heavily on the table and sighed; “so I suffered out the summer and went off to university. When I got there, I changed colleges and switched my course so I wasn’t with anyone I’d been friends with at Eton, and Barty had gone to Edinburgh so we could still talk. I got a job outside the city at a hotel, worked as a receptionist as much as I could and saved up, and in my final year I changed my name by deed poll and rented a flat in Manchester with an unconnected bank account. I went home for Easter, feigned food poisoning to get out of the Malfoy’s gala and packed up everything I wanted, and then I left. They didn’t notice until after graduation that my room was empty, and when I didn’t come home they started blowing up my phone. I told them I was going, and I went. Not very dramatic, truth be told.”

“What did they tell people?” Sirius breathed, staring dazedly at his brother as Remus played with his fingers, working them out of the tight fists he’d clenched them into; “they can’t have just let you go, just like that.”

“Well I was already in Manchester, I’d bought a new phone, I had a place to live. They didn’t have anything to hold over me. I threw the phone they paid for in a random bin in the train station, and that was that. I’m probably working as a missionary or something to ‘humble myself’; you know how they are.”

“And then you ran into James?”

“We did,” James said, quieting quickly Sirius shot the boy a glare; “sorry, Siri,”

Regulus grasped his hand with his own, pulling it into his lap and threading their fingers together, the action making Sirius frown and turn to hide his face in Remus’ neck. Smoothing his hair back, Remus began to whisper words he hoped were encouraging; “come on, cuddlebug, just hear them out and then we can go home. You don’t have to forgive them straight away, you know that. I’ve got you.”

“It’s my fault we didn’t tell you, Sirius. James was so excited to tell you that I had left,” Regulus’ tone seemed to encourage Sirius to look back at them, although his face was set like stone; “but I wasn’t sure you’d react well considering how we parted, and so I thought it was best to see if James and I’s dalliance was anything substantial enough to-”

“Really?” Sirius voice was small, hurt in a way that Remus hadn’t ever heard it before, and for that, he was grateful; “the relationship you could have with your brother relied solely on whether you wanted to keep fucking his best friend? I mean that little to you?”

“No, no that’s not what I meant to say, Sirius…” Regulus rubbed rough hands over his face, sighing deeply as he seemed to parse his thoughts; “I meant that short of me running into you the same way I’d run into James, there was no clean way for us to reconnect that didn’t include you feeling bruised about James’ involvement. I wanted to be sure that James thought it was worth this,” his hands were shaking, and Remus felt sorry for him, the man on the receiving end of a death glare trying to piece words together to appease two parties.

“He didn’t think you’d react well at all,” James interrupted him; “despite me telling him that you would be more pleased than anything else that he had escaped, he was still worried. I knew that me lying would just make it worse but I wanted to respect him, Siri. I thought that even if you were upset we could get through it, but Reggie was more fragile.”

At the words, Regulus scowled at him; “I am not fragile, dickhead. But he’s right, I thought that your relationship would be able to recover, although the way you found out clearly wasn’t what we intended to happen.”

“Clearly,” Sirius scoffed, pushing up from Remus’ lap to pace again; “it still doesn’t stop me from feeling betrayed. You couldn’t have brought him round and engineered me walking in on something a little more PG rated? Did I really have to find you on your knees, Jamie?”

“You don’t need to shame him, Sirius-“

“Oh fuck off, Reggie, that’s not what I’m fucking doing. One look at this,” he gestured between himself and Remus; “and you can tell that I’m the one getting on my knees here!”

Regulus flinched at that image, and Sirius laughed meanly; “yeah, not the nicest of images to be surprised with, your brother on his knees for someone, is it? Now imagine walking in and finding not only that, but for the person he’s kneeling for to be the little brother you thought you’d abandoned to a family of homophobes and racists!”

“Jesus, Sirius, we’re sorry about that, you know we are,” James sighed; “I didn’t expect for you to come back home, and if I had I never would’ve brought him over.”

“That’s worse,” Sirius exclaimed, “you were hoping to keep this a secret for another, what, another month?”

He was working himself up, tears of betrayal and anger in his eyes; “bug, I think-“

“No!” Sirius shouted at him, “I just can’t get past the fact that you were conspiring against me! We’re all adults here,” he sighed, taking the two steps to cross the distance between him and Remus and whispering a quiet ‘sorry, Moony’ before turning to face them again; “you could’ve brought him around and let us talk this out before you let me know that you intended to date each other. At any point in the last, what, the last six weeks?”

“Seven.”

“Seven weeks,” Sirius shook his head; “and at any point you could’ve sat me down and told me that you were free and here and your own person. We could have gone to brothers counselling, or whatever!”

Regulus let out a little laugh, the sound making Sirius pause and then almost explode with rage; “and why is that funny? We clearly fucking need it, Regulus!”

“Because that’s what I do, Sirius,” the younger man explained; “I switched to psychology and counselling. I have a little office that I work from, and I specialise in family trauma.”

Sirius smiled, a small, proud thing, and then he seemed to get angrier; “well then surely that’s worse! You should’ve seen how this would be re-traumatising for me!”

“But there are two sides!”

“Oh and yours is more important?”

“To me, yes!” Regulus shouted, standing from his place in the sofa so the brothers were locked in, eye to eye; “I considered all the scenarios in my head, and I wanted to wait until James and I had a strong enough relationship that we would be able to support each other when you imploded like this!”

Sirius’ face crumpled, the boy recoiling into Remus’ arms as a silent tear rolled down his cheek, a thick breath sucked in and held, shakily released and followed by the words; “I am not the bad guy here. You did this, knowing what it would look like in the end, and willing or not, James was with you.”

“Sirius, please just-“

“No, Jamie. I’m going to pack a bag and go stay with Re for a little while,” Sirius glanced up at him and he nodded, already mentally planning all the aftercare they’d need to get through this, the healthy ways to help Sirius work through his anger; “I said it last night and I’ll say it again: I love you both, so much, and I’m really, really glad that you didn’t marry Flora and you escaped to find out who you really are. I’m proud of you for doing it all by yourself Reg, I really am. But I’m angry, and sad, and I feel like two really important people didn’t care enough about how their actions would affect me, so I’m going to go. Will you give me your phone number please, Reg?”

“Of course, yeah- you can,” Regulus fumbled for his phone, rattling off a number that Sirius inputted and then nodded at the pair, clearly satisfied with whatever chore list was in his head.

“We’re going to go, and I’ll see you at work Jamie. Regulus, I’ll call you and we can maybe have lunch or a coffee at some point and talk this out, but right now I’m too angry to do this.”

“I love you, Siri,” James said sadly, staring with wide eyes at his pseudo-brother.

“I love you too.” Sirius said quietly, walking away from the pair into his bedroom.

He packed a bag in record time, reappearing in front of Remus and proclaiming ‘ready’. With that, they left.

Chapter Text

Remus POV

“Let me take your coat, Sirius,” Remus said quietly as they walked through his – now their, for the meantime – front door.

“’S fine,” Sirius mumbled, dropping his black leather jacket over the back of a dining chair; “I just want to do nothing, if you don’t mind?”

Remus looked around his half-lit flat, trying to decide the best course of action for a petulant and rightfully upset Sirius. His eyes caught on the record player, and he contemplated the choice for a moment before his mouth opened once more; “why don’t we listen to some music together, bug?”

“Like the first time?”

“If you’d like,” Remus wrapped himself around Sirius’ back, the boy peering out of the glass wall and down onto the city, the November sunset casting dark shadows in the late afternoon; “or we could try something new…”

“One of your old ones?” Sirius asked, a small smile on his reflection’s face, egging Remus on.

“You’ve had a difficult day, but don’t forget yourself, Sirius,” Remus teased him, nipping at his neck with sharp teeth and feeling the boy squirm in his arms.

“I have a better plan,” Sirius said suddenly, after a few minutes of quiet thought; “why don’t we discuss what you promised?”

He knew exactly what Sirius was speaking of, but he wanted to hear him say it – that old adage; ‘if you can’t say it, you should not be doing it’; “and what exactly did I promise you, Sirius?”

“You, my Moony, promised me that you would fuck me,” Sirius said, pressing Remus back, back, back to the sofa until he crumpled onto it with a laugh; “but only when we’d discussed it. So let’s discuss it. I would like for you to fuck me, what are your terms?”

“Bug,” Remus laughed out, hands on Sirius’ hips to stabilise him where he was being straddled; “this is not a negotiation. I want to fuck you, too. I just need us to talk it through: what you expect, how you would like to be fucked, if you would like to be on your front, on your back, riding me…”

Shivers ran through the boy on top of him, Sirius melting from his defensive posture into a much more relaxed one; hands on Remus’ shoulders and a tiny smile on his lips; “then let’s begin. I want you to fuck me on my back, and then on my front. I want to cry.”

“You want to cry?”

“Why are you laughing?”

“I’m sorry bug,” Remus apologised when his shoulders had ceased their shaking; “I’m not laughing at you, I just don’t understand why you want to cry?”

“IwatchedsomepornwherehecriedwhenhewasfuckedanditwasreallyhotandsothatswhatIwant-“

“Slow that down and tell me again,” Remus took his cheeks between two big palms, holding their eye contact as Sirius gulped once and tried again.

“Last week, I was, uh, alone? And I was looking at some, y’know,” his boy was blushing, and Remus just knew whatever he was about to hear was going to be brilliant.

“You were watching porn?” he prompted, kissing the tip of Sirius’ nose when he nodded in response; “okay, and you liked whatever it was you were watching?”

“Yes. Yes. They were having sex and, and it was getting to the end, you know, and it was so good that he was, like, crying? Good tears. I just want-“ Sirius was clearly getting frustrated at his inability to articulate what he wanted, and so Remus took charge.

“Alright bug, that’s alright,” he soothed him, tugging him down to bury his head in Remus’ neck, exactly where he liked to be during conversations like these; “let me see if I understand, okay? So you want us to have sex, starting with you on your back, so that we can watch each other I presume?”

“Yeah,”

“Okay, good, that’s good, bug,” Remus soothed him with a kiss pressed to the dark, downy hair at his boy’s temple; “and then, once you’re used to the sensation, you want me to turn you over onto your front, and take you from behind?”

“Yes,” Sirius confirmed, squirming a little where Remus held him still; “and maybe when that’s happening you could pull my hair, and, and hold me down? Maybe when we’re close,” his cheeks were rapidly darkening, Remus could feel the skin heating against the underside of his chin, and he failed to suppress a fond smile at the pretty picture he knew Sirius was making; “you could, like, pull me up?”

“Pull you up?” Remus questioned, not quite sure what Sirius was talking about; “how do you mean, bug?”

“Uh, well, sort of like-“ he performed a confusingly complicated gesture with his hands that left Remus even more confused, and in the end he suggested they find the video Sirius was referencing and watch it together.

“Do people do that?” Sirius asked, sitting up in his lap to chew at his lip nervously.

“All the time,” Remus reassured him; “if you’re in the mood for it, why don’t we go and get cleaned up, get you unpacked, and take a shower maybe? And then we could get in bed and watch it together on my big screen.”

“Yeah?”

“Are you sure that that’s a yes?”

“I just don’t want you to laugh at me for what I like…” Sirius mumbled, picking at the skin of his fingernails and refusing to meet Remus’ eyes.

“I won’t, cuddlebug, I won’t,” Remus reassured him, sitting up straight and taking his face in his hands, placing several light kisses on his lips; “I wasn’t laughing at you earlier, I promise, I just wasn’t expecting for you to ask me to make you cry. Are you forgetting that I’ve already seen your checklist? Unless there’s something you’ve left off there, then I can predict fairly well what we’ll be viewing.”

“I didn’t leave anything out,” Sirius confirmed, and Remus smiled up at his pink face and then tugged him in for a much more involved kiss, their tongues tangling, Sirius’ hips rocking before too long, and Remus had to guide him backwards with a firm grasp on his long hair.

“That’s good, bug, you’re my good boy,” Remus praised him, tucking his head under his chest for a long few minutes before he tapped his hip lightly, urging him to stand up.

Sirius POV

They’d been in the shower for some time, engaging in soap-slick kisses and pressing the entirety of their bodies together when Remus’ hand reached for the bottle of posh shower gel he insisted was moisturising and good for the environment or something, however every time he talked about it, he was naked. And that mean that Sirius was, well, distracted.

“Arms around my neck, bug,” Remus directed him, pulling him with his free hand so that Sirius arms were wrapped around his neck, his face pressed to Remus’ collarbone, slick and glistening in the light. Honestly, it was just asking to be bitten.

“Ah,” Remus winced a little as Sirius’ teeth dug in unexpectedly, the hand on his hip clenching in what he perceived to be warning.

Pulling back, Sirius blinked wide, owlish eyes up at him and mumbled a sorry that Remus quickly waived, directing his mouth back to pinkened flesh with a quiet affirmation that he could bite if that was what he needed.

Seconds later, he understood exactly why Remus wanted his arms up and out of the way when the man’s fingers, soapy and probing, pushed against his hole. The hole that he hadn’t-

“Re,” he gasped, trying to squirm out of the man’s arms.

“It’s alright, bug,” Remus held him tightly, one arm banded around his waist in a firm hold; “just let me, let Moony take care of you,”

“But, but I haven’t-“

“I know,” the older man hummed as his fingers rubbed around the slick opening, trying his hardest to get his boy to relax; “I just want to take care of you, that’s all, you don’t need to be embarrassed, just let me do this for you,”

“What if, if-“

“Shhh, shh,” Remus blew out a deep breath against his ear, finally pushing two of his fingers deep inside Sirius and moving them steadily in and out; “you don’t need to worry, darling, I’ve got you,”

And well, ‘darling’, Sirius thought, he’d never heard Remus call anyone darling before.

“I like that,” Sirius said quietly, barely heard over the rush of the water pattering down over their shoulders.

“You like this?” Remus asked, twisting his fingers so that they brushed Sirius’ prostate, the boy’s knees buckling before he caught himself, standing up straight and slapping Remus’ shoulder half-heartedly in chastisement.

“No, Moony,” Sirius laughed, “I like you calling me darling…”

“Oh, is that right?” Remus asked, kissing along his boy’s soapy hairline while his fingers worked dutifully; “another acceptable name to add to our list, then?”

“As long as-“ he inhaled sharply when Remus’ long fingers brushed that spot inside him again.

“As long as I call no one else ‘darling’, yes bug, I know the terms.”

“Good.” Sirius harrumphed, leaning his head back and kissing his boyfriend soundly.

----------

“Let’s see what we’ve got lined up then,” Remus rubbed his hands together as he knee-walked naked up the bed, remote in hand; “I think you’ll be able to just do the cast thing to get it up there,” the man waved behind him at the large flatscreen mounted on the wall opposite the bed.

“’The cast thing’” Sirius mocked him, glad for the moment of brevity as he connected the television to his phone and immediately blushed at the loud moaning that popped up as an advert played through the speakers.

Remus’ laughter broke the tension, the man pulling him close as he settled against the pillow mountain Sirius had constructed; “it’s not subtle, is it?”

Shaking his head, Sirius quietened as the video began, quickly moving to change the quality to HD. He couldn’t help the way his cock fattened up as the familiar plot played out, an older man directing someone around his age onto his knees, taking the time to fuck his face and then return the favour, watching as he suckled at swollen nipples and rolled heavy testicles across his tongue. It was hypnotising, and when he glanced down he saw Remus’ cock half-hard as well; it was reassuring, seeing that he wasn’t the only one aroused by the scene.

“This part?” Remus asked quietly, watching as the young man rode his partner and glancing down at Sirius intermittently, humming when he shook his head in denial.

“This bit,” Sirius said as the scene changed, and now he was sat back on his knees the wrong way around on an armchair; “when he-“ he inhaled sharply as the image that had been replaying on his brain happened right before their eyes; “like that…”

His cock blurted a little drop of precome at the image, the smaller of the two suddenly impaled roughly on a thick cock, fucked into from behind and held there by a meaty arm wrapped up under his armpit and over his chest, a heavy hand around his throat. He couldn’t hold the little moan in when the smaller man’s eyes rolled back in his head, broken groans escaping his mouth. And then the tears began, the videographer capturing his face as his eyes shone, watering and breaking free down his cheeks when his prostate was stimulated continuously.

Remus was silent, and Sirius tore his eyes away from the screen to see the man smiling softly down at him, and that- well it was nice, but it wasn’t quite the reaction he’d expected.

“What?” he asked self-consciously, closing the page on his phone and inadvertently turning the screen off.

“Come here,” Remus patted his lap, assisting Sirius in straddling him so that his cock was pressed up against his behind; “that was really good, bug,” he said finally, clarifying at Sirius’ confused look; “I mean that that’s realistic porn, Sirius, made with actual gay men who are enjoying themselves. We can definitely do something like that.”

“I did good?” Sirius asked tentatively, watching Remus’ face carefully.

“You’re always good, darling,” he teased; “but yes, that’s a good choice and I’m very impressed.”

“What do you mean ‘actual gay men’?” he asked halfheartedly, “why would the men in gay porn not be gay?”

“A lot of the big production companies don’t use men who enjoy anal sex, which you can sometimes tell – they won’t be hard, or stay hard, especially if they are bottoming. But I figure that if you need to earn some cash then bottoming probably pays well, I know from conversations I’ve had that many straight men see it as a job and so they just do what gets them through. Nothing to be ashamed of, but for people like you,” he tickled at Sirius side and seemed to delight in his squirming; “it can be misleading. But that was actual, genuine, gay porn. You could see how much they wanted each other, how they both enjoyed it.”

Sirius leant down to kiss him, grinding his hips down into Remus until the man took control, flipping them over and taking charge of the kiss. Moments like this, Sirius cherished the man that Remus was, the time he had taken to learn exactly what he liked.

“Do you remember what we talked about this morning?” Remus asked with a wicked grin, beginning to kiss down his pale throat and over the protruding collarbone; “yes,” he confirmed when Sirius stammered; “will you let me?”

“You can,” Sirius confirmed, rolling over when Remus sat back on his heels and getting his knees underneath him. Pushing back, presenting himself he hid his face in the sheets, grateful that Remus had taken so long in the shower using his fingers so he was not self-conscious in the slightest about letting his tongue-

He jolted forward at the first flat, wet lick that took him by surprise, shivering at cool air was blown over his spit-slick entrance; “such a pretty little hole,” Remus complimented him, gentle thumbs circling the dimples at the bottom of his back, a sharp slap ringing out followed by a white-hot sting that made Sirius whine, biting soft white cotton to contain the noise.

“Moony, please,” he moaned, “more,”

At his words, Remus pressed his face tightly to Sirius’ arse, licking, sucking, nibbling at his sensitive skin and humming. His day-old stubble scratched just right, added just enough contrast to hold Sirius back from the overwhelming pleasure.

He wasn’t expecting Moony’s tongue to suddenly become rigid, the digit changing its path from licking over his hole to pressing inside, gently spearing him open. The sensation was wholly new, and it had him reaching back to tangle his fingers through Remus’ hair, hips frozen in place as he tried to keep the sensation exactly as it was.

When Remus pulled back for breath, pressing his mouth to the curve of Sirius’ arse, he worked first one and then two fingers inside him, corkscrewing them until the younger boy shuddered and moaned, begging for ‘more’.

“What sort of ‘more’, darling?” Remus asked, his voice low and raspy, he sounded so used it made his belly twist.

“Tonight?” Sirius gasped, rolling onto his side and lifting one leg so that Remus could continue his ministrations; “want it, please, please Re,” he begged, watching Remus’ face carefully for any sign he’d get his way.

When long fingers withdrew from his body, he sighed, disappointed, and prepared his long rambling please for his boyfriend to please, please put his cock inside him.

And then, Remus rolled him so that he was completely on his back, bracing himself over the smaller body and rolling his hips down so their cocks were pressed together; “are you sure, bug? We can wait if you-“

“If you don’t fuck me soon I’m gonna do it myself!” Sirius exclaimed, although he wouldn’t of predicted the raised eyebrow or Remus murmuring ‘oh bug, I would pay to see that’ as he leant into kiss him.

He sat back onto his knees, pushing Sirius’ legs up and back, directing Sirius until he had a solid grip under both of his thighs, spread wide for Remus to survey; “do you want me to wear a condom?”

“Uh, no?”

“Are you sure?”

“I think so. We’re both clean, right?”

“We are,” Remus nodded, smoothing a hand up and down the underside of one of his thighs, “but it’s not just about that, it can be quite messy. And it can be unpleasant sometimes, to have come inside you.”

The idea of Remus’ come painting his insides, marking him as his was too tempting, it felt right, to allow Remus something so special. Just for him.

“But if I want you to-?” he asked quietly.

“Then you’ll hear no objections from me, bug.”

“Please, then, I want you to come inside me, Moony,” his voice had gone low and breathy without his permission, betraying just how much he wanted this.

At that, he leant over them to grab for lube, slicking his cock and watching Sirius’ face carefully as he pressed it against his pulsating rim.

“This might sting a little bit, bug, alright? Just breath through it for me,” Remus directed him, pushing the head through slick muscle and pausing at the gasp Sirius released; “just like that,” Remus leant down to kiss him; “that’s my good boy, so good for me, just breathe, just like that,”

The panted praise continued until he bottomed out, hips pressed to pale skin as the boy below him winced, Sirius’ breath evening out as he relaxed into the sensation.

“That’s, yeah, that feels good,” Sirius said quietly, testing how it felt to flex his hips, clenching down and releasing, rocking steadily under Remus’ intense gaze; “can you try moving?”

“Okay, bug, remember to breathe,” Remus said as he slowly withdrew and fucked back inside, eyes fixed on Sirius’ face, smiling when he released a little moan; “does that feel good?”

“Yeah,” Sirius nodded, hitching his legs higher and rocking back into Remus’ thrusts; “keep going Moony, please,”

“Alright, I’ve got you,”

Remus began to thrust steadily, and the burn that Sirius had started with transformed to a gentle awareness of where he was split open, feeling Remus’ hips searching for that spot inside him that would sending him flying high; “feels good, Re, feels so good-ah!”

He’d found it. With his reaction, Remus zeroed in on his prostate and was stroking past it with every thrust, sparks zapping up Sirius’ spine as he moved with the sensation; releasing his legs, they dropped to clench around Remus’ waist, feet digging into the meat of his arse.

Sirius’ hands now free, he reached for Remus’ shoulders, pulling his body down so that their lips could meet, an intense kiss that ended with Sirius’ loud moan, Remus suckling marks along the edge of his jaw and down his neck.

“So good for me,” Remus said the words over and over as his slow, steady thrusts worked Sirius over; “you’re such a good boy for me, Sirius.”

“Re, Re,” Sirius panted, eyes screwed shut as he held his lover close; “’s it good?”

“Yeah, bug,” Remus laughed a little, a low, dirty chuckle that made Sirius clench down on his thick cock; “it’s so good, darling,”

And that new pet name was just- “fuck,” he moaned, as a particularly hard thrust caught him off guard.

“Can we flip, please Moony, like, like the video?” he begged for the change, wanting to feel what he felt in the video, needing to know if it was different.

“Okay, babybug,” Remus soothed him, withdrawing and helping him to flip over onto his stomach. Lifting himself up onto his elbows, he pressed his arse back into Remus’ hands, gasping at the feel of the older man’s wet cock slapping heavily against his hole once, twice, before he pushed it back inside; “there you go, bug, how’s that?”

“Good,” Sirius moaned, dropping his face to the mattress, moaning as Remus’ thrusts shunted him up the bed. Scrabbling at the sheets, his hands clenching into white cotton as he pushed back into the sensation; “feels so good.”

“That’s good, darling, so good,” Remus panted his praise, the constant stream making Sirius feel light and floaty, his ears ringing at the sensation; “you’re taking it so well, Sirius. Such a good boy for me. Do you want it harder, bug?”

At the question, the man thrust with punishingly hard strokes, each one slamming up against Sirius’ prostate, making his legs shake, giving out and collapsing him to the bed. A firm hand pressed him further into the soft foam, Sirius turning his head to gasp out grabled words of praise, his cock leaking steadily into the sheets, the younger boy nearly vibrating with the friction of the bedding agaisnt the head of his cock. Remus eventually followed him down, his body blanketing Sirius’ and continuing the thrusts while one arm secured itself underneath the younger boy’s body.

“Yes,” he moaned; “just like that, just like that, please don’t stop,”

Remus nipped at his neck, lips travelling up to his earlobe and sucking it into his mouth, Sirius could feel his grin in the shape of plush lips pressed to his skin, the only warning a cocky ‘are you ready?’ before he was suddenly sat up straight, his body resting on Remus’ spread legs as the man fucked roughly into him. One large palm encompassing his throat, gentle pressure reminding him exactly who he belonged, how Remus owned him, mind, body and soul. 

“Fuck, Moony,” Sirius swore, his head falling back to rest on Remus’ shoulder, one arm wrapping around the man’s neck, the other grasping at his cock only for it to be batted away. With a broken sob, Sirius began to plead; “please, Moony, please, it’s too good, need to come, I need it, I need it,”

“Oh, good boy,” Remus praised him, wrapping his free hand around his cock and relieving him with strong, jerking movements that matched his hips, the tears Sirius had so badly wanted when he’d dreamed of this scenario bubbling to the surface; “my perfect, perfect boy,” and oh, God, that was exactly what Sirius needed.

“’M gonna come, Moony, Moony, Moony,” he babbled as his rocketed out of the stratosphere, his calf muscles cramping as the force of his orgasm overwhelmed him. He was floating somewhere out in space, vaguely aware of the extra stimulation his body was receiving; “want it, Re, want your come, gonna, gonna fill me up, please,”

The skin-slapping sensation that accompanied the pleasure he was feeling got more intense: wild, bruising thrusts into him losing their rhythm and then coming to a jerky halt, wet warmth seeping through him as Remus’ tight grip on his neck loosened somewhat, easing him back down onto the sheets. Cooling come smeared unpleasantly along his torso, but he struggled to care and his partner plastered kisses over his shoulders, withdrawing his cock slowly and soothing him with gentle humming noises.

Soft lips travelled down his spine, lingering in places where he felt teeth bite into flesh, humming at the feeling of marks being left behind. Solid hands on his hips, he groaned as he was moved onto his back, the man of his dreams appearing above him like a mirage; “Moony,” he smiled, a wide, dopey thing that made Remus’ expression turn fond and adoring.

“Hi there, cuddlebug,” he murmured, leaning closer to press kisses across his face and down his chest, Sirius giggling at the ticklish sensation; “how are you feeling?”

“Good,” he responded, shifting slightly and grimacing; “sticky…”

“I did warn you,” Remus smiled; “come is messy, especially when it’s leaking out of you.”

Sirius wiggled and thought about it for a second, eventually coming to the conclusion of; “I like it.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. All marked up, Property of Remus Lupin.”

Remus laughed, a light, tinkling thing that made his bones sing chorus of ‘Remus is happy, Remus is happy’; “you are mine, aren’t you… A little bug just for me.”

“Just for you,” Sirius affirmed, “always for you, Moons,”

His heart beginning to calm, Sirius tugged the man above him down, down, until he was plastered to his front, using all the energy he could to wrap his legs up and over his hips and hold him there.

“You did so good for me, Sirius. I’m so, so proud of you.”

Remus was proud of him.

“It was good for you?”

“The best I’ve had, Sirius.”

The best he’d had.

He was the best his Moony had ever had.

What a rush.

----------

Sirius licked dry lips as the water bottle was pulled away from him, curled up under Remus’ arm in soft and warm blankets; “hi, Re…” he whispered, the last of the cotton wool feeling fading from his brain.

“Hi cuddlebug,” Remus stroked messy hair away from his face; “how’re you feeling?”

“More awake,” he confessed, twisting his neck to see his Moony’s expression; “did you mean it?”

“Did I mean what?” Remus countered, eyes flicking across his face.

“That I was the best you’ve had?”

“That, right there, sex with you,” Remus clarified, “was the best I have ever had, yes.”

Oh.

That hadn’t been a sex-induced hallucination, then.

His mind was running a thousand miles a minute, a strange dichotomy from where he had been moments before, entirely thoughtless apart from the expression on Remus’ face and whether he was being good for him, doing what Remus wanted.

“Best I’ve ever had, too,” he joked, smiling at the way Remus’ face lit up; “it was so good.”

“Yeah?” Remus checked pulling him closer, “was it a good cry?”

“It felt it,” he said, “but it was all good, so,” he shrugged, “what do I know?”

Remus grinned at him, dipping his head to flutter kisses across his lips, noses nuzzling together as they relaxed into the mattress.

“Hey,” Sirius started, “do you want to have a bath?”

Chapter Text

Sirius POV

Powerful finger dug into the sole of his foot, Sirius gasping quietly as Remus’ thumb sent a jolt of heat to his groin. When he met his Moony’s eyes, there was a smirk plastered to his lips and Remus repeated the action once, twice, until Sirius’ mouth was open and the flush painted across his cheeks wasn’t only because of the heat of the water.

“Re,” Sirius groaned, trying to pull his foot back to his body and failing, his pout falling into laughter as Remus wiggled suggestive eyebrows at him.

“You don’t like that?” Remus asked, laughing as he resumed his fingers’ gentle path.

“Thought you said you couldn’t get it up again that quick,” Sirius countered, yelping when he was attacked by wiggling fingers, tickling fingers causing him to twist in the water; “mercy!” Sirius yelped, looking like a drowned rat with his hair wet and plastered to his face. He’d rolled onto his belly to try and avoid the older man’s teasing, and his arms shook to hold him up, the task too much after a night of over-exerting himself.

Luckily, Remus shifted to pull him around the tub, awkward movements that ending with the both of them soggy but laughing, Sirius sat cross-legged between Remus’ thighs, the water lapping at his nipples.

“For someone that just got what they wanted, you’re being very cheeky…” Remus teased him, leaning his head back on the rim of the tub and allowing Sirius to thread their fingers together; “no regrets yet, bug?”

“No regrets ever, Moony,” Sirius said quietly, pressing light kisses on each of Remus’ knuckles before dropping their joined hands beneath the water once more; “I knew as long as it was you it would be perfect. Can’t wait for you to fuck me again, and again, and again…”

Remus chuckled, but didn’t say much more, and it made Sirius nervous; “you don’t regret it either, right?”

The water moved with a great ‘wump’ as Remus sat up quickly, bringing their joined hands up to hold them over is heart as he shook his head at the younger boy.

“No, darling, I don’t,” he reassured him, “I was just replaying what we did in my mind, trying to figure out if there was anything we needed to discuss, that’s all. You don’t need to worry about that, Sirius. I could never regret you.”

“Good,” Sirius breathed, wide eyes darting across Remus’ scarred face, memorising the silvery lines and the quiet flaws that made Remus so mesmerising to him; “that’s good, Re… because I, I think that I-“

“Shhh,” Remus quieted him with a gentle finger over his lips; “not yet. Don’t say that yet.”

“Why?” he whispered into the sudden silence, clenching his eyes shut as the tidal wave of rejection crashed over him; “I do, I think that I-“

“Just hang on a second, bug, okay?” Remus asked him, an index finger under his chin tilting his head up, watery silver meeting earnest gold; “I’m going to say a few things that you might not like, but that are important. This first one is something I want you to know: I like you so, so much, and you are very precious to me. Okay?”

“Okay.” Sirius mumbled, his voice betraying his sad, confused demeanour.

“The second is that sex, particularly intense sex, can create a false euphoria, feelings of love and devotion that aren’t otherwise present,” Remus seemed to be searching for something his expression; “do you remember we talked about aftercare? I’m trying to protect you now, darling, by stopping you from saying something you might regret tomorrow, or next week.”

Sirius pouted, a thousand thoughts racing through his head as he tried to parse his Moony’s logic; “so you don’t want me to say it now and have to take it back?”

“Exactly,” Remus confirmed, “and I know that you might think you wouldn’t regret it, but I want to protect you. So, for tonight, let’s not, but if you still feel that way in the morning, if you know that that’s the truth, I won’t stop you from telling me.”

He guessed that was a bit better, that he could say so in the morning and it would mean more, maybe, because Remus would know it was the truth.

What had he said? ‘I think that I’… maybe he should wait until he could say it for sure. Remus deserved that, the certainty that his partner loved him, not a wibbly-wobbly boy who couldn’t tell if he did or not.

“Okay,” Sirius agreed, and Remus smiled at him gratefully, releasing his chin but leaning forward to meet his lips for a slow kiss that put to rest all of the scenarios the younger man had created when Remus had asked him to stop; “but still no regrets, and you still want me?”

“No regrets. I want you more than I want almost anything in the world, Sirius.”

“Good. That’s good.”

Lulled into silence, Sirius watched as water dripped from the older man’s forearm in rivulets, clear beads of moisture making their way along tanned skin and thick muscle, displaying the strength he’d used just forty-five minutes before to pull Sirius back up to his chest while he-

He needed to stop, before he was hard in the bath with his Moony, needy and greedy and wet.

Thankfully, Remus interrupted his thoughts with the question of; “did you enjoy it when I was eating your little hole, bug?”

Nope, never mind, he was definitely going to get hard again if Remus was going to run through him losing his virginity minute by minute.

“Uh, yeah,” he licked his lips, the plush skin suddenly dry; “it was, was good, but I still like feeling full more…”

“Full?” Remus teased him, “full of what, hm? My fingers, my cock…”

“Both,” Sirius laughed, a small, happy noise as he considered the options; “your cock was a bit big at first,” he slapped Remus’ chest at the teasing hum he released, watching the small smile on the man’s face transform into a wide, cocky thing he wasn’t that familiar with; “shut up! Once I got used to it, though, it was so good. Rubbed me all the right ways, especially when, when,” he swallowed heavily, shifting from where he was sat to flop forward into Remus’ chest, mouth landing on his pectoral.

“When what, darling? I need to know so I can do it again…” he coaxed, and Sirius rubbed his cheek against soft, wiry hair.

“When you were going hard? Like you were trying to fuck me right through the mattress, it was so good,” it was like a dam had burst, words tumbling out of him before he could realise the truths he was spilling; “and your hand around my throat, god, that was so good, Moony… It felt like you owned me, like I could put all of my worries away and you’d handle everything.”

“That’s good, bug, that’s great, thank you for telling me that,” Remus praised him, letting him latch onto his chest and kissing the top of his head when he bit slowly into muscle, his tongue laving at the flesh to really leave a mark, dark and owning; “I enjoyed all of that too, that moment when you gave in to the pleasure was so beautiful. Watching you fall apart is like my own, personal brand of heroin.”

He could hardly stop the tiny ‘meep’ that escaped his at his boyfriend’s words, absorbing them as gospel before he said; “I really liked how cocky you were, condescending, almost…”

“Hm?”

“You said ‘are you ready’ right before you pulled me up, and, and when it felt good you were so blasé,” Sirius trailed off as he relived the scene, grinding his hips down against Remus’ thigh in response to the heat flooding his groin.

“Would you like that again, then? For me to be cocky and condescending to you?”

“Yes,” Sirius rolled his lips together, knowing Remus was watching his face, tracking his expressions, “but only about sex, not in everyday life, I don’t think I’d like that.”

“I don’t think I would either,” Remus affirmed.

----------

His temporary living situation with his boyfriend was going well, he’d go into the ‘office’ right as Sirius needed to be at work, and if he needed to be there earlier he’d do all he could to swing back around and give Sirius a lift. The tram routes to his flat weren’t the most convenient, Remus living in an upmarket part of the city where most of the residents had cars, unlike James and Sirius’ place.

Today, it had worked to their advantage, Sirius working the early shift that had ended up starting two hours earlier than usual so he could help Caradoc with the stocktake. They’d become regular shift partners, inside jokes developing over the last twelve weeks, an ease of working with each other behind the bar that meant they rarely had to waste any drinks or smashed any glasses. They were a great team.

Apart from the fact that Caradoc not only knew about his relationship with Remus – everyone did, at this point: despite his initial promise that it wouldn’t change their interactions at work, there was only one reason for the smile that graced Remus’ face and the hours he spent hovering by a quiet bar, wrapped around his lover as he cashed up. He teased him for it mercilessly, digs made about Remus’ dom persona, the gaggle of fans following him, how he was the one who had been able to tie the ‘perpetual bachelor’ down.

So far there hadn’t been any complaints about the lack of professionalism, but he hoped that the other employees he wasn’t as close with could see he didn’t gain any favouritism in regard to his work. Sirius still worked graveyard shifts, still had to clean up spilt drinks and clean down the grim machines at the end of the night.

As his friend, though, Caradoc liked to take advantage of his affinity for blushing when Remus was mentioned, and he’d become aware of his virginal status not too long ago. It had come about after he’d been questioned on Remus’ size, teasing words about how much of him fit inside Sirius leading to the revelation.

And so, the casual question in the stockroom on Wednesday afternoon, a simple ‘have you fucked him yet?’, one which was usually rebuffed with an eyeroll causing splutters instead making Caradoc freeze and spin to face him.

“Doc,” Sirius said warningly, a smile creeping across his face as his friend raised his eyebrows, the universal ‘really’ passing silently between them.

“Have you? Was it good? Oh, I bet it was good, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, yes,” Sirius answered his questions sequentially, noting down the cases of non-alcoholic spirits he was counting and moving down the line without meeting the other man’s eyes; “it was brilliant, obviously.”

“Mmm, mmm, mmm,” he exclaimed, “oh I’m so excited for you, this is brilliant!”

“I’m happy,” Sirius said quietly, shy eyes checking the door was still sealed shut before he continued; “I nearly told him I loved him but he stopped me, blamed it on endorphins and shit…”

“Ah, a wise man,” Caradoc nodded knowingly, laughing at Sirius’ pout; “listen, okay? He’s right, the post-sex euphoria makes you feel like you’re in love, especially the first time. If you still feel it, tell him. If you don’t, no harm, no foul.”

“I guess so,” Sirius frowned, “but I still think that I am.”

“That’s great then,” he was clapped on the back and shunted forward, Caradoc laughing and steadying him, apologising quietly; “so come on then, details… Was it just the once? Rough? Slow and sweet? Spontaneous or planned?”

“I’m not telling you all that,” he exclaimed, beginning to climb the stairs out of the room and up to the bar to start opening up; “that’s private.”

-----------

Remus’ ‘poppet’ had arrived six hours into Sirius’ eight hour shift, and had been greeted at the door by his very enthusiastic boyfriend. They’d both spoken to him when they came to order before retreating to Remus and Lily’s booth, but that was ninety minutes ago, and he’d just been given the all clear to leave early.

As he stripped his black apron from around his waist and chucked it in the dirty washing bin, Remus’ regular order was requested by one of the floor servers. Making the drinks, he waved her away from the bar and opted to deliver them himself.

When he got to the booth, drinks in hand, the curtains had been drawn, obscuring them from sight but not sound. Even with guilt in the pit of his stomach, his insecurities prompted him to pause outside the heavy fabric and listen in to the conversation.

“So it’s going well?” he heard Eve ask, and he held his breath for the response.

“So, so well,” came the response; “you were right, he does break beautifully. I wasn’t sure how he would do in scenes at first, he has a lot of history,”

“Don’t we all?” she interjected, and for the first time Sirius was quietly grateful for her.

“I see your point, but yeah, it’s going great,” it was going great, Sirius did a little happy wiggle in his head; “I stopped him right before he was going to confess his love for me last week,”

And that – well, fair enough, he had, but it felt a little raw for Remus to say it so openly.

“Are you there yet?”

Okay, this was not how he wanted to find out the answer to that question, no matter how much he wanted to know his boyfriend’s response. Instead, he used one elbow to lift the curtain and peer inside, grinning at their familiar faces and placing drinks down on the table between them.

“Hi,” he said quietly, sliding into the bench next to Remus when the man lifted his arm in invitation, snuggling underneath it and waving at Eve; “I got off early so I thought I would bring you your drinks…”

“Thank you, bug,” Remus pressed a kiss to his brow and raising an eyebrow at him; “are you joining us?”

“Uh,” he paused, looking at the pair of them, “unless you’re having a private conversation, I know you had the curtains closed, I can go wait for you upstairs if you’d rather?”

“We’d appreciate that, if you don’t mind?” Eve said quietly, smiling at him when he plastered his customer service grin over his disappointment.

Remus bent his head so that his mouth was pressed to Sirius’ skin, a shiver running through him at the slight graze of his tongue against the shell of his ear; “why don’t you go up to my room,” he pressed the gold key to his palm and closed Sirius’ fingers around it; “get yourself cleaned up and then wait on the bed for me like a good boy. I’ll be up when I’ve finished my drink, alright?”

“Yeah, yes, I can do that,” Sirius blurted, his voice too loud for privacy, Remus’ companion hiding her smile in the rim of her glass at his outburst, lowering his tone, he asked; “will you be long?”

Remus didn’t respond, instead sitting up straight, taking his tumbler in long fingers and taking a nonchalant sip; Sirius got the picture, bid Eve a quiet goodbye and walked on autopilot through the club, up the internal staircase and into Remus’ suite.

----------

He’d only just hopped into the shower after his enema, his hair piled up on his head in a messy bun, when he heard the door to the suite click open; “Re?” he yelled, turning to face the door to the bathroom only to jump in surprise when he found his boyfriend leaning against the wall and watching him.

“Hi, gorgeous boy,” Remus said, a smile painted across his lips; “I’m going to go set some things up and I want you to come out when you’re all dry, okay, bug?”

“Okay, Moons,” Sirius agreed, turning back to face the wall and thanking the gods that the man hadn’t arrived five minutes earlier when he’d been squatted over the toilet.

After a quick wash, he scrubbed his skin dry as fast as he could with the soft towels on the radiator and felt the relief of his long shift washed away from his skin. Padding back into the bedroom, he whistled as he saw his boyfriend leant over the side of the bed, his scarred, tan thighs taught with his hamstrings protruding through.

He wanted to bite them.

He always wanted to bite, and his Moony looked so tasty.

Remus stood at the noise and twisted to look at him over his shoulder, dropping whatever he’d been holding and reaching out to him.

“Hi, lovebug, come here,” he walked to the older man, a deep, shaky breath flowing into his chest as he surveyed the items Remus had laid out.

“Are we gonna use all of this?”

“We are,” Remus confirmed, tucking him under his arm and kissing the top of his head; “is there anything here you have any questions about?”

Sirius catalogued each item; the rope, the butt plug, the flogger, the paddle with little hearts in and the whip that looked like one he’d used as a child riding horses. A couple of pieces stood out to him, but only one he was unsure of; “what’s this?”

Remus picked up the purple circle and pushed two of his fingers through it, stretching it wide he said; “this is a cock ring. It’s to stop you coming.”

“Oh,” he breathed, recalling the conversation they’d had two nights ago, feet intertwined as they read their books and listened to a ‘classic vinyl’. Sirius had snapped his book shut and confessed wanting to try something new, and they had together decided that orgasm control was a good next step. Edging, as Remus had called it.

“Mmmhmm,” Remus hummed, laying it in the palm of Sirius’ hand; “has anything changed since we discussed this? Anything you don’t want?”

Sirius shook his head, eyes fixed on the small ring resting lightly on his palm.

“Sirius,” Remus’ sharp tone jolted him out of his thoughts, and he snapped his neck back to look questioningly at the other man; “words, darling. We’re in a scene, that means words for consent and colours when I ask.”

“Sorry, Moony,” he mumbled, flushing at his misstep even when he knew Remus wouldn’t think anything of chastising him; “’m green, promise. Can I ask to add something, though?”

“What would you like to add?”

It didn’t escape his notice tat Remus hadn’t said he could yet, but he still smiled brightly at the man as he requested that a vibrator be added to the pile of goodies, something extra to tease him with.

“We can do that,” Remus hummed, taking the ring from his hand and kissing Sirius sweetly, one last kiss before he became the cocky, condescending dominant Sirius had requested for this scene.

“Moony,” Sirius breathed when he was released; “take your shirt off for me, please?”

“On the bed, head on the pillows and arms above your head,” it was a tone that brokered no room for negotiation, but as he moved he saw the man begin to undo the buttons on his shirt, shrugging the material off and onto a chair.

He tried to relax as much as he could, nervous excitement racing through his veins, his cock fattening up with sheer anticipation. Remus began to unspool the dark green rope he’d laid out, only a couple of metres in length; it was just enough to wrap around his wrists and secure him to the headboard.

The rough fibres were a new sensation as they brushed against him forearms, coiled around his wrists, Remus straddling his chest as he began to restrain him; “how does that feel, bug? Tug for me,” he did as directed, watching his Moony’s face rather than trying to see the rope, tugging at the restraints he watched a small smile grace Remus’ face; “that’s good. Now, if my cock is in your mouth and you need to safeword, shake your head from side to side, is that clear?”

“Yes, Moons,”

“Good. If you need out of these ropes but not the scene, you just need to say, okay? Yellow and I’ll cut the rope, no questions asked.”

“Not red?”

“If you need to, darling, of course use red, but you’re a very tactile little bug and I anticipate that as you get more wound up you’ll want to touch me,”

“I don’t want to fail-“

“It’s not a test,” Remus scooted to his side, bracing himself on his forearm and brushing loose hair back from Sirius’ forehead; “I’m not trying to test you to see how much you can take. That’s not fun for me, Sirius. So if you get to a point where you want your hands in my hair, my shoulder in your mouth,” he cocked an eyebrow at the younger boy, anticipating soft smile that slid onto his face at the image; “then you let me know, and we’ll finish this with your hands, your mouth, whatever else, touching me.”

“I’m ready,” Sirius said, a long exhale and excited shiver working through his body. Testing the amount of give in the rope, he realised that Remus had tied him to one central point but his wrists were separate, the rope cuff tight enough to hold him but not digging into his skin; “you’re so good to me, Moony…”

“Mmmhmm,” Remus hummed, walking around the end of the bed with his eyes fixed on Sirius. He was so handsome, in just his corduroy trousers and his cocky grin; “you won’t be saying that later, darling. Not when you’re begging me to come…”

One knee on the bed, Remus leant over him and stroked his hair gently, although his expression portrayed anything but kindness; “I think maybe you’ll cry again tonight, bug, by the time I wedge my cock inside your tight little hole, you’ll be crying, pleading with your Moony to let you come.”

“Please,” Sirius breathed, because that was exactly what he was hoping for, for his Moony to wind him up so tight he was begging to be broken, crying for the chance to be fucked; “I want it, Moony, I do, I do,”

“You’ll have to be a good boy for me then,” Remus warned him, flicking his pointed nipple with harsh fingers and smiling at Sirius’ hiss.

With that, the man leant back and grabbed the familiar flogger, and with slow, teasing drags raised goosebumps on Sirius’ skin; “does that feel good, bug?”

A bitten lip and a shaky nod were the only response Sirius had, trying to keep his anticipatory panting quiet for now, until Remus’ swung the flogger with an easy flick of his wrist and struck the centre of his chest with the tassels.

“I asked you a question, Sirius,”

“You did, you did, I do, I like it,” he babbled.

“Good boy,” he cooed down at him, rewarding the younger boy with another strike, tassels catching on sensitive nipples and sending jolts of pleasure to his cock.

He carried on until Sirius was whining, his poor cock leaking beads of clear fluid onto his abdomen, catching in the smattering of dark hair there. Pink skin glowed under the low lights, hips jolting upwards, trying their best to hump the air.

“Kiss?” Sirius asked, quiet and needy, watching Remus’ hair catch the light and glow golden like a halo, pouting when Remus met his eyes and shook his head like he was disappointed.

“Needy little bug,” Remus snarked, gazing down at him impassively, “no kisses for you just yet, but I do have something else for you…”

The only betrayal that his partner was even somewhat affected by their interactions was the slight bulge in his trousers, he was the picture of the phrase ‘calm and collected’, especially when compared to Sirius’ wound-up state.

“Present?” Sirius asked hopefully, wide eyes looking up at Remus, the man hovering to his left, holding something just out of his line of sight.

“Oh, I don’t think you’d call it that,” Remus tutted and then grasped Sirius’ cock in one hand, the other producing the small purple ring, working it down the shaft even as Sirius tried to resist him. Pausing, Remus checked in; “colour, bug?”

Sirius let his body fall still, pouting at the ceiling even as the word ‘green’ fell from his lips; “ah,” Remus mused; “you just decided to be a little bratty tonight then?”

“’M not a brat,” he mumbled, wincing as the ring snapped into place beneath his balls; “I’m your good boy…”

“Well that still needs to be seen,” Remus hummed, pressing a kiss to his forehead before he hauled Sirius over onto his stomach.

Sirius barely had a chance to get his knees beneath him before Remus’ hands disappeared from his body, and he was left alone, propped up on his elbows and knees, staring at the headboard.

He gasped as the paddle came down harshly on his arse, once, twice, pressing his face into the pillow he whimpered at the white-hot flash of pain; “moony,” he cried, hearing the man behind him chuckle and the echo of arousal that pulsed through him at the sound.

“That’s a warning, Sirius,” Remus told him, thwacking him with the paddle lightly; “although I do love the way your little peach of a bum looks with my marks tainting it…”

“More,” he whined, pushing his bum back towards the man, gasping when a dry finger brushed against his hole; “please give me more,”

He trusted that Remus knew exactly what he wanted, that the ‘more’ he was asking for wouldn’t be as rough as a punishment, just enough to tip him into that happy, cloudy place where all he thought of was Remus, where there was no embarrassment or shame, just Sirius and his Moony and pleasure.

“Since you asked so nicely, darling,” Remus allowed, landing more and more hits across his thighs and arse, varying the pressure and placement so that he couldn’t anticipate where they would land.

He panted harshly when the spankings stopped, whining miserably at the electric throbbing of his cock, the ring making him ache as his arousal built. A slick finger probing at him eased his worries  little bit, and he rocked back into the easy glide with a quiet groan, automatically reaching for Remus and feeling the ache reverberate through his shoulder blades as the rope counteracted his movement.

“Oh dear, bug,” Remus soothed him with a hand on his hip, sinking a second finger inside him and crooking them; “did you forget the rules? No touching Moony right now.”

“I know, I’m sorry, just feels so good,”

“That’s okay, darling,” Remus hummed, withdrawing his fingers and replacing them with a slick, smooth plug that sat right against him prostate, making him shiver; “it’s about to feel even better. But if you get close, you need to tell me, okay?”

“Promise, I promise, I promise,” he babbled, tensing as the plug began to vibrate in pulses, his knees falling out from under him as the pleasure became overwhelming.

With strong jerks, Remus righted Sirius and flipped him so that he was once again on his back, the man ran a teasing finger along Sirius’ purpling cock, the head flushed a colour so dark it was nearing blue.

Happy to be able to see his Moony again, Sirius blinked silver eyes at him and let his panting moans loose, babbling nonsensical words up at the man who stroked his hair and cooed down at him.

“Does that feel good, darling?” Remus questioned him, “I know, I know it’s a lot, but that’s what my little bug needs, isn’t it? He needs to be teased like this so he can go all floaty and lovely, my pliable little lovebug,”

“Ahhh,” Sirius moaned as the plugs settings changed the vibrations growing stronger. He could feel his cock twitching violently, what he imagined to be an immense amount of precome smearing on his skin; “Moony, Moony I’m close,” he warned, eyes clenched shut as his thighs began to shake, his orgasm rapidly approaching.

The vibrations ceased abruptly, Remus’ face appearing directly above him and rewarding him with a chaste kiss; “good boy, that’s my good boy,”

Good boy. Good boy. Good boy.

That was all he focussed on as his breathing slowed, his heart rate steadying as he was eased back from the edge; “what’s your colour, Sirius?”

“Green, I’m green,”

“Good boy,” he praised, “can you take a little bit more?”

“For you, I can for you,”

Remus smiled at him, a soft thing that wasn’t befitting of the situation but made his heart flutter, and laid a final peck to his forehead before he disappeared from his view once more. He was comforted by a warm hand smoothing across his chest, tweaking at his nipples.

Straining to lift his head, he saw Remus lift the bullet vibrator consideringly and click through various speeds, checking the setting on his own skin before he brought it to Sirius’. The low hum that filled the room was familiar to him now, the sensation of the cool metal on his nipple not so; but he held as still as he could while the older man teased his sensitive flesh.

Overwhelmed by sensation, his hips began to rock, pressing the still-silent plug into his prostate before fucking his cock up into the air, the wet head brushing against Remus’ wrist as the man teased him. As the vibrator trailed lower, making its way through the coarse hair on his chest and the valley of his hips, he began to shake, his breath becoming sharper as all of his energy focussed on his Moony’s ministrations.

He shouted when he made contact with his cock, running the bullet teasingly along his veins, circling his tip and pressing into his frenulum without mercy; “look at that,” Remus breathed; “you’re so wet for me, bug, dripping like a little pussy just for me,”

The teasing didn’t quite hit the right spot, and a frown creased his forehead.

A pussy? He didn’t have a pussy.

Just as he opened his mouth to use his yellow, Remus face reappeared above his, and it was just then that he noticed the dreadfully beautiful vibrations had ceased; “I’m sorry cuddlebug, I love your cock, darling. Perfect cock on my perfect boy.”

That was more like it.

“Colour?”

“Uh, green,” he mumbled.

“Are you sure, bug?”

“Yes, yes, I’m green,” Sirius said more firmly, happy with Remus awareness of his mental state.

At his decisive statement, the hum of the bullet returned and trailed slowly from his calf up the inside of his leg. His Moony’s face stayed put above his, though, the man dipping down to shower him with kisses, murmuring praise in his gravelly voice that sent shivers down the younger boy’s spine.

By the time the vibrator was pressed to the tip of his cock, Remus’ tongue was in his mouth, Sirius moaning as the pleasure built and built to an almost unbearable level. Turning his head away from his partner, he panted heavily and whined that he was close again, so close.

“Good boy,” Remus dropped the vibrator, and this time he climbed off of the bed completely, tickling the bottom of Sirius’ foot just to see him squirm, laugh and then moan as the plug inside him shifted.

He picked up the final item on the bed and met Sirius’ eyes consideringly, waving the whip through the air.

Remus seemed to watch him there for a few moments, and he was sure he made quite the image, his drooling cock and flushed cheeks; “just this one last thing, and then I’ll fuck you, alright?”

“And I can come?”

The man laughed meanly, shaking his head and catching the end of the whip on his bony kneecap; “no, darling, I didn’t say that.”

He moaned at the admission, the power in Remus’ voice turning him on, the idea of being used like a fucktoy too much for his sex-addled brain to compute.

“Please,” he whined, shuddering when it earned him another sharp tap with the leather.

He teased, to begin with, trailing soft leather over the pads of his feet, around the sharp bones of his ankles, his knees, and then avoiding his cock. Every time he begged, the teasing began again, trailing over extraneous limbs and never quite reaching where Sirius needed, his cock and balls aching with the need to release.

Biting his lips together, Sirius sighed with relief when the whip circled his wet cockhead, tapping against it until Remus tutted, lifting the braided leather up to Sirius’ mouth and forcing it between his lips.

“Such a messy boy, aren’t you?”

“For you,” he tried to say around the foreign object in his mouth, the words clearly translating from the quirked eyebrow on his Moony’s face.

“All for me, bug, isn’t it?”

He withdrew the whip from Sirius’ mouth for him to answer, laughing meanly at the few seconds it took for an answer to formulate.

“Oh dear, are you feeling all floaty?”

He nodded dumbly, eyes fixed on Remus as the man moved things on the bed around.

“That’s alright, darling, I’ll take care of you.”

Moony would take care of him.

“Open wide for me, bug,”

It was only then that Sirius noticed that Remus had moved, and was now straddling his chest. He’d also opened his fly and was slowly fisting is cock, watching Sirius blink in comprehension and wet his lips before he let them fall loose.

“Good,” Remus praised him; “that’s a good boy. Do you remember what you need to do if you want out?”

He shook his head from side to side, making an interesting noise when Remus praised him again. It was a sort of happy murmur that he’d never heard before, but it made his Moony smile indulgently down at him; “alright, I’m going to use your mouth for a little while, darling,”

Lips spit-slick and wide, he tongued half-heartedly at the crown of his thick shaft as it entered his mouth, the man thrusting shallowly as Sirius grew accustomed to the sensation, the familiar, salty taste of precome across his tongue.

Just as he settled in, gently suckling at Remus’ cock, eyes shut as he enjoyed himself, he jolted; that fucking plug had been turned on again.

He moaned in complaint, staring up at Remus’ smug expression, the man threading his fingers through Sirius’ hair and lifting himself to a higher vantage point, fucking down more aggressively into his boy’s mouth.

All Sirius could think was that he’d been made to be used like this by his Moony, the feeling so perfect, even as the frustration of his denied orgasms grew, he was okay, because Remus had him.

Before long, his hips were fucking the air, feet flat on the bed as his hips worked in time to the pulses of the plug and Remus’ hips.

“Fuck,” Remus groaned, sitting back abruptly and grasping at the base of his cock. He was breathing heavily, a string of spit between his cock and Sirius’ lips, the taste of him lingering on his tongue.

When the man climbed off him, Sirius whined, “no, no, come back Moony, please,”

“Shhh,” the man soothed him, kicking off the last of his clothes and rejoining Sirius on the bed, this time between his spread thighs; “I’m here, I’ve got you,”

“Please will you fuck me, please,” he begged; “I’ve been a good boy, please Re,”

He was shushed once more and the vibrations inside him got stronger, making him writhe in his place, the sheets beneath him now damp with his sweat; “you’ve been such a good boy for me, just one more time, darling, one more and then I’ll fuck you, I promise,”

One more.

He could do one more.

Groaning as Remus played with the base of the plug, he let his head fall back to the mattress and the sensation take over his body, pleasure and pain mixing as the evening’s frustration built. It was quick, the climb to the top of this mountain, and before long he was thrashing in Remus’ grasp, the solitary hand on his hip barely enough to fix him in place on the bed.

“Are you close, Sirius?”

He could barely respond past a groan, shuddering and whining out a “yeah,”; he sighed in relief when the plug quieted and was pulled gently from his clenching hole.

It seemed like no time had passed before the blunt head of Moony’s cock probed his entrance, slick and thick and exactly what he needed.

And then the pressure on around his balls disappeared, the ring gone, and he was largely unaware of everything except the constant stream of ‘Moony’ falling from his lips and the harsh slap of his boyfriend’s pelvis into his.

It felt like his ears had popped, muffled sounds reaching his brain and registering as Remus’ voice. It didn’t matter, he could see Remus’ face, he could tell that he was happy with him, fucking him strong and steady like a metronome, even as he tightened like a vice over his shaft.

He was going to come.

“Moony,” he tried to warn, “happening, ‘s happening, I’m gonna come, need you to stop, stop or I’m gonna-“

It was too late, and he was coming; white-hot pleasure racing through his brain, hands clenching rope so tightly he thought it may burn him. It was so much, the feeling overwhelming his senses.

Vaguely, he knew that his pleasure would have an effect on Remus, the hard punishing thrusts he was delighted with before becoming more brutal before coming to an erratic stop. The flood of warm liquid inside him, gentle kisses across his cheeks, quiet words he didn’t register as warm fingers rubbed his now-free wrists.

He wasn’t aware of much until a warm cloth was wiping between his cheeks, across his abdomen. The ache in his shoulders was a gentle thing, like a good session at the gym, the sort of pain that he treasured; that reminded him Remus had been there. That he had used him for exactly what he wanted.

Reminded him who he belonged to.

----------

Remus POV

So beautiful, his boy.

To think they’d only known each other for a few months, only been together for eight weeks, and yet…

And yet, he was so close to love it felt inevitable; although he supposed Lily could’ve told him that from day one.

Wound up in Sirius’ personality, tangled in the unmistakeable happiness his boy brought him.

Like now, as he finally fucked him after he’d tied him up and teased him mercilessly, and the only thing to do was to let him come, reward him for being so good.

“Moony,” Sirius warned him, “happening, ‘s happening, I’m gonna come, need you to stop, stop or I’m gonna-“

He could see it in the boy’s eyes, the glassy look that came over him as he sank into subspace, and he knew it would be a long climb back out. With his whimpered words and an arching back, he shot come so far it splattered the rope tying his wrists and across Sirius’ own face.

His boy was a vision, pushing him closer to the ledge he’d been resisting for close to two hours now; with harsh thrusts, he groaned his way to an orgasm that caused his legs to shake, the breath to rush from his lungs.

Sirius shuddered beneath him, non-verbal as he mouthed at the air looking for something to bite. He worked quickly after he’d caught his breath, pulling out gently and using his shears to cut the rope, massaging the blood back into his boy’s arms and then wrapping Sirius up in his. He rolled him onto his side, tucking a dark-haired head beneath his chin, offering himself up for the sharp teeth and soft tongue that dug into his collarbone harshly.

He hissed through his teeth at the familiar ache he’d come to welcome from dating Sirius, having him in his bed.

They stayed like that, the younger man wrapped in Remus’ arms, for so long the lube on his cock became tacky; leaving him so unpleasantly sticky that the rough drag of skin on oversensitive skin was too much.

“Can you open your eyes for me, bug?” he prompted him gently, praising him when he managed that small feat; “that’s brilliant, darling, my beautiful good boy,” he covered his face in fluttering kisses, slowly and steadily getting to his feet; “Moony is going to grab some towels and some water, alright?”

Sirius whined, panicking and grabbing his wrist tightly when Remus’ skin left his; eyes wide and searching.

“It’s alright, Sirius bug, I’m staying with you, I just need to go and grab a couple of things your silly Moony forgot,” he soothed, chaste kisses meeting a clammy forehead; “can you count for me, darling? Count to thirty and I’ll be back, I promise…”

He didn’t speak, but his lips moved around the word ‘one’ and his grip on Remus slackened, so the man took his chance and walked quickly to the bathroom, running cool water into a glass, turned the water warm and soaked three flannels to take back to bed, all the while counting in his head.

He made it back right as he hit twenty-nine, placing the items on the bedside table and climbing back onto the soft mattress, delighting in the smile that overwhelmed Sirius’ pale face.

“Hi again, bug,” he grinned, taking a flannel and cleaning come gently, first from his face, then his chest and finally his cock. Then, with the second flannel, he cleaned his puffy hole, gentle in his ministrations even as his own cock jolted at the visual of his come leaking from his boy’s body, the confirmation of his ownership so powerful; “that was so good, I’m so proud of you…”

As he cleaned his cock, one hand rubbing circles to the centre of Sirius’ chest, he hummed gently, watching the boy curl into the heat of his palm like a plant searched for sunlight. Finally, he took a sip of the water and then manoeuvred his bug into a sitting position, propped with his back against Remus’ chest, downy hair tickling his collarbone as glassy eyes stared wondrously up at him and Sirius exhaled a quiet ‘Moons’.

----------

Their plans to watch the Thursday night Shibari demonstration worked out, the couple settling into Remus’ private booth as the stage lights came on, and the older man smirked at the sight of Sirius shifting in his seat, the plug in his ass pressing further in against the padded leather bench.

“Feeling alright, bug?” he asked smugly, tugging at the loose tendrils of hair that fell over the collar of his dark green Henley.

“I’m fine,” Sirius returned his expression, the boy having grown more confident recently in the things they did, what he wanted; “now shush, Moons, I want to watch this properly.”

He let a little chuckle loose, shaking his head and bringing his glass to his lips as he rested his arm over Sirius’ shoulder and made himself comfortable. Dominic, the man conducting the seminar, had just begun to explain about the different types of rope that could be used for shibari, the complexities of suspension and necessary skills for leading a shibari scene. His sub, Francesca, was knelt at his feet, dressed in a skin-coloured leotard that clung to her curves and gave the illusion of nudity.

He was interested in the demonstration, but he already knew most of what was being said. It gave him to freedom to instead watch Sirius, to catalogue every reaction that the boy had to the materials used, the things the other Dom described.

It got really interesting when the man tied off a chest harness, intricate work highlighted by white rope against dark skin. Sirius was squirming, pressing a firm hand to the bulge in his jeans, a gentle rocking motion of his hips creating what Remus imagined to be teasing friction against his prostate.

“Stop, darling,” he murmured into Sirius’ ear, the boy jumping as he realised he’d been caught; “you look so fucking needy right now.”

“It looks so good,” the boy reasoned; “look at her expression, she looks like she’s in heaven…”

Francesca did in fact look blissed out, the same expression on her face as the one he saw on Sirius’ after a heavy scene. She went under easier than his boy did, although it was maybe in the way she gave in that it swept over her so easily; “she looks like you do when you’re wedged full of my cock, bug,”

Sirius whimpered as a length of rope was wrapped between her spread thighs, pressed tightly against her cleft, so much so Remus expected at the end of the scene there would be a damp spot in her leotard.

“Need it, need it, need it,” Sirius turned wide eyes up to him, pleading for some relief in response to his wound-up state; “please, Moony,”

He considered it, looking around the club, seeing every face staring in the opposite direction, focussed on the demonstration up on the stage. If he could just make it a little darker, he supposed no one would notice…

[21:14] Remus: Lils, do me a favour?

[21:14] Remus: Turn the house lights down as low as you can and don’t ask me why?

[21:19] Lily: Hahahahaha

[21:20] Lily: Do you plan to keep any of the rules we made, Mr. Hypocrite?

He didn’t deign to respond to her message, but sighed in relief when the lights around the room dropped, only the guiding lights on the floor illuminating the space other than the stage. He turned his phone upside down on the table, and smirked at Sirius, his attention laser-focussed on Dominic’s ministrations.

Unbuckling his belt, he quietly and carefully tugged his fly down and extracted his cock, jerking it slowly as it fattened in his hand and then reaching for his wallet and the single-use sachet of lube he kept there. His boy still hadn’t noticed, the poor thing, and Remus had to bite back a laugh at the surprised noise he made when Remus’ palm flattened over his clothed cock.

“Up, bug,” Remus commanded him, helping him to stand and carefully lean over the table, bracing himself on the wood as Remus undid his skinny jeans and peeled them just low enough that his arse was bare.

“What are you doing?” Sirius was gaping at him, neck twisted to gaze down at the older man as he played with the flared base of the plug, fucking it in and out of the boy a few times and then slowly withdrawing it, Sirius smothering his moan with a quickly placed knuckle in his mouth.

Leaning back against the booth, Remus held his cock in one hand and Sirius’ hip in the other, guiding the boy to sit carefully on his lap, impaling him as he went.

A quiet groan was muffled, bitten back as much as Sirius could, and he immediately tried to lift his hips again, strong hands holding him still.

As Sirius whined a quiet protest, Remus held fast and said quietly into the boy’s ear; “ah-ah, bug, you said you needed it, and this is what you’re getting for being so good for me. You’ll keep your Moony’s cock warm until the demonstration is over. Is that clear?”

A babbled ‘yes’ was the confirmation he was seeking, but he still checked in for a colour, not happy until he was certain Sirius was on board. After all, this wasn’t something he’d explicitly stated he wanted to try.

“That’s good, good boy,” he murmured, teasing kisses pressed to the long column of his throat as Sirius went back to watching the show, squirming and clenching every so often when a particular sight took his fancy.

After about 45 minutes of his cock being held hostage inside his boy, he knew that the demo would be ending soon, Dominic beginning to wrap up the session, finally suspending his sub from the frame he'd been working around for the last 90 minutes. He needed to make a decision.

Gentle thrusts shunted Sirius up, the boy quickly getting the picture and planting his knees either side of Remus’ thighs and working himself down onto the thick shaft. He could tell it wasn’t hitting anything especially good for Sirius - the boy had a tell when that happened, the incoherent string of words and shudder in his frame not yet present.

But that was okay, this wasn't for him.

His slick, clenching hole, Sirius working himself harder onto his cock and holding himself there, grinding slow and steady, eventually it would be enough for him.

He fucked up harder and faster, hands so tight on thin hips that they’d be sure to bruise, and he bit into a clothed shoulder to hide the sounds he made as he came deep inside the boy. Holding fast, he dropped back to he bench and stopped his boy from moving, reaching for the plug and readying it, finally releasing Sirius just to tut when the boy tried to reach for his cock.

“No, bug,” he faux-scolded him; “that was for me. You’re going to learn a lesson in patience.”

Pulling out, he quickly re-inserted the plug and patted his rump, pulling jeans up over bare skin and fastening them. As Sirius flopped sideways onto his seat and Remus tucked himself away, he chuckled at the weak ‘I fucking hate you’ the boy let slip.

“That’s not what you normally say after I’ve fucked you bug, is it?”

“Well normally after you’ve fucked me, I can’t actually speak, can I?”

He tried so hard to withhold his cackle as the lights came up, the audience applauding as shears cut Francesca free and she was cuddled into her Dom’s chest, but he just couldn’t. Choked breaths were swallowed by the noisy room, Remus’ grin pressed into his boy’s forehead.

Chapter Text

Remus POV

“You’ve been so good for me,” he cooed in Sirius’ ear, the boy shuddering at the praise, tilting his head back in silent askance, wide eyes pleading for just one more kiss; “soon, bug, we’ll go upstairs soon. I just need to cash up for Dottie;”

“But,” the boy began to whine, sucking his lower lip between white teeth as he glanced at the now empty club; “I could go upstairs and wait for you, like last time?”

A low chuckle escaped him before he could stop it, gazing at the glazed state of his partner’s face, his needy boy clinging on to whatever part of Remus he’d been allowed; tell-tale signs he was teetering on the edge of subspace and had been for some time. It wouldn’t take much at all to send him down, and he wasn’t going to leave him alone, not like this.

“No, lovebug, not tonight,” he smoothed one thumb over the high of his cheekbone, soft orange light casting shadows over his aristocratic features; “because if you go upstairs and touch your pretty little cock without me, if you try to fuck yourself when I’ve told you not to… Well, I don’t think you want another punishment, do you darling?”

A rapid headshake and panicked eyes prompted the older man to pull Sirius closer, shushing him softly as he stroked a large palm up and down his shirt-clad back; “that’s alright, bug, we’re just going to wait here a few more minutes and then we’ll go upstairs… She’s nearly finished.”

“’ll be good,” Sirius promised before biting gently at Remus’ throat, the man humming encouragingly, cupping the back of his head and signalling to Dorcas that he’d be over in just a minute, rolling his eyes at the teasing eyebrow wiggle she returned.

“Always a good boy for me,” he agreed, “we’re going to go over to the bar, and then then it’ll just be a couple of minutes, is that okay? What’s your colour, bug?”

Sirius released the flesh between his teeth with a wet smack, easing back with the gentle tug of Remus’ hand in his hair and staring up at him with reproach as he mumbled the word ‘green’.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, ‘m green,” he affirmed, clasping Remus’ hand between his two tightly and following dutifully as the older man moved towards the bar; “soon, though?”

“Really soon, darling,” he waved at Dorcas as she left, and heard the door locks being engaged by the security guard posted outside. Well used to Remus and Lily staying over by now, security tended to lock up without consulting them on their evening plans; “can you sit here for a little bit while your Moony counts the tills? And then we’re done.”

“In front of you,” Sirius said seriously, releasing Remus to grasp tightly at a barstool equidistant between the two tills, Remus humming and dropping a kiss to the top of his head, walking behind the counter.

“Right here, bug,” Remus, trying to keep up a constant stream of chatter to distract his boy while he moved around, bringing both till drawers to sit on the bar top in front of Sirius; “what do you want to do tonight?”

“I want you to fuck me,” Sirius said petulantly, eyes wide and imploring, fixed on Remus for the man to catch as he glanced up over his wire-framed glasses; “but nicely, this time.”

Nicely.

He’d show him ‘nicely’.

“Alright, Sirius. Soon, I promise.”

----------

The door closed softly behind them, and then he had Sirius pressed against the wall, shuddering moans in his ear as he bit at the taught tendons in his neck. His boy was whining, a high, fragile noise that he didn’t think he even knew he was making; “oh, darling,” Remus cooed, faux sympathy in his tone as he drew back; “is that good?”

A choked sob broke loose as he pressed one of his thighs between Sirius’, gentle friction against a painfully hard cock.

He watched with hands braced against the wall, the smug smirk on his face that Sirius had said got him off firmly in place. Before him, he watched the boy crumble, devolving into a particular madness that only came from being wound up and held there for too long. He was falling under quickly, hips rolling in the cramped space between them, nails digging into the supple flesh of Remus’ biceps.

“Moony,” Sirius begged, “can we, can we go to bed? Please?”

His boy, God, he was so, so pretty.

Pulling him away from the wall and into his chest, he indulged himself with several more kisses before he set to lifting the boy so that his legs wrapped around his waist, reflexes directing Sirius’ arms around his neck. The move made Sirius gasp before he reattached himself to Remus’ neck; teeth sharp and tongue slick as he seated them on the bed.

One cuddlebug in his lap, he allowed him to leave his marks before a gentle hand in his hair encouraged lips to meet Remus’ once more. Their kisses were languid, Sirius pliant in his arms; the boy happy now that he was getting what he wanted. His head fell back, the height advantage Sirius had on him when he was in his lap exposed the pale column of his throat to the older man, Remus licking over his Adam’s apple and biting gently at his windpipe, encouraging a claiming mark to bloom in the centre of his throat.

His cock ached with arousal – the problem with delayed gratification being that he had been worked up all evening as well. Of course, he’d come inside Sirius and plugged him back up, but in a way that was worse, introducing him to his friends with the knowledge his boy was stoppered up, owned completely by Remus. He’d been on edge watching as Sirius dealt with his own arousal, cheeks a radiant pink, squirming ever-so-slightly when conversation wasn’t engaging enough to distract him.

He was just the perfect combination of cute and hot, especially when he looked so much like he needed Remus. When he was marked up as his. He’d never thought that he’d become so obsessed with his marks being on someone else, that after Fenrir broke him, he would be comfortable with having so much influence over someone so suggestible. But here he was, getting off on leaving marks on his boy, on fucking him in public, advertising to the community he and his best friends helped to create that Sirius belonged to him.

A slow roll of his hips, a needy whine, and he was done. That was enough to push Remus past the point of no return. He needed to get inside his boy, wedge himself in deep until they were both shaking apart and groaning in pleasure. Rolling them over, Remus stood and began to strip, first his shirt while he toed off his brogues, all the while watching his boy wrestle with his own clothing.

“Speed it up, bug,” he teased, “I want to see your pretty cock…”

Sirius groaned and Remus laughed, unbuckling his belt and kicking his trousers away, palming his erection through his underwear and then tugging the material down lithe, scarred thighs.

Cock in hand, he fisted it slowly as the younger boy’s body was revealed to him; his pale chest, the smattering of hair which trailed from below his belly button underneath his jeans. Biceps corded with muscle flexed as he tried to remove his trousers in one swift move, stomach muscles tightening as he moved into a crunch before groaning and flopping back down. His beautifully thick, milky thighs that held several imprints of Remus’ teeth, his fingertips; at several points over the last few months, he had wished for the summer so he could dress him in tiny little shorts. Wishing for June so that he could parade Sirius through the streets of Manchester, proclaim his love for him boldly. He could imagine it now, his boy in tiny, multicoloured shorts with a pride flag wrapped around his shoulders, Remus’ hands taken by Sirius and Lily, James attached to his other side. Maybe Regulus would be there with them too.

Dropping his hands, Remus gave in to the temptation and finished taking the tight denim off his calves, chucking the bundle to the side he moved to straddle Sirius on the bed. Letting his cock fall heavily onto the boy’s abdomen with a smack, he leant in to kiss him again, hands braced either side of his head, surrounded by a messy halo of dark hair.

Sirius was pinned, not that he wanted to move, but as his soft fingertips ghosted over Remus’ sides, he moaned into the man’s mouth, his cock blurting precome against the underside of the older man’s erection.

“Oh dear, darling,” he said quietly, watching Sirius watch him; “is it time for me to fuck you now?”

“Please,” Sirius begged, “I’ve been so good, Moony! So, so good…”

“You have, haven’t you? My best boy.”

The art of the dismount was something he’d long since mastered, and he gracefully knelt by Sirius’ side as he encouraged the boy first onto his front and then up on his knees, so that he was presenting himself.

“Good boy,” he praised him, wide palms smoothing over his hips; “I’m going to take your plug out now, alright? But I want you to keep my come inside you, bug, so once it’s out you need to stay nice and tight, just for Moony.”

His instructions were acknowledged with a slow nod and a ‘just for Moony’ that was muffled by bedsheets. Drizzling a tiny bit more coconut oil down onto the base of the plug to ease the withdrawal, he fucked it into the boy a couple of times and then began to pull it out very slowly. As his hole clenched around nothingness, he cooed soothing words and turned to drop the plug on the tissue he’d laid out.

“That’s good, good boy,” Remus praised him; “do you want my fingers or my cock, bug? Do you think you can take it?”

“I can, I can,” Sirius pushed his hips back, meeting Remus’ and causing his pulsing cock to catch on the pink rim; “your cock, please Moony,”

“Alright bug,” he stared down at Sirius’ form, his hands clenched in white sheets as his little pink hole clenched in anticipation, a tiny bead of his come resting at the surface. He couldn’t muffle the groan in his chest, a low, rumbling thing that spoke louder than words could, just how much he wanted Sirius; “deep breath for me, just relax, Moony will fuck you full again.”

As he pressed inside, he heard Sirius’ breath whoosh like it had been punched out of him, and he paused as he bottomed out; “are you alright, bug? Just breathe through it, darling, I’ve got you.”

When the boy began to buck back into him, he slowly retreated and fucked back inside. Gentle, quiet movements that fit the bill of ‘nicely’ rather well – at least, he thought so. The feeling of Sirius wrapped around him was incredible, he still wasn’t used to it, not the heat that came with going bare or the unrestrained, rhythmic clenching of his hole.

“Harder, harder please,” Sirius moaned, reaching back with one hand to grasp at Remus’ thigh, trying with all his might to pull the man into him harder; “need it, Moons,”

“Oh, but you wanted to be fucked nicely, didn’t you darling?”

He laughed a little at his boy’s whine, keeping up the steady pace he’d built, brushing kisses along his spine as he worked him over. With a deep breath, he grinned to himself and wrapped one arm under his torso, twisting pebbled nipples as he sought a secure hold; and then he sat back, bringing Sirius with him.

It didn’t really get old, not with the way his bug nearly shouted with delight. A week since he’d taken his virginity, and Remus had fucked him twice more in between then and now… every time, this move had nearly broken his boy.

Even with Sirius hanging onto his neck, messy kisses pressed to the underside of his jaw as he held them upright, he kept his pace steady and soft. The new angle hit his boy’s prostate, and he knew from the gasping moans and the clenching of his hole around his fat cock that it was good, but he wanted to draw this out, let Sirius really enjoy what he’d waited so long for.

“Is that better? Better when Moony’s holding you?”

Both of his arms wrapped around Sirius’ chest, he could feel the boy’s cock slowly bouncing against his wrist in time to his thrusts; “yes, yes, but- but harder, please, Moony, need it, need you,”

Those words were like a drug, sending him into a frenzy. Sirius needed him.

“Alright, bug, I’ve got you,” he groaned the words into the crook of his neck, biting down hard on tendons as he pumped his hips with more force, the move causing him to press Sirius down into the bed once more. Following him down, he braced himself on his forearms and hovered above the writhing boy.

Finding the right angle was an art that eventually became instinct – with Sirius, he knew he was close when he shivered, and knew he’d hit it when he screamed. The moment the boy’s voice rang out loudly, he hammered his hips down in a punishing pace, resisting the temptation to come now, trying his hardest to hold off until his boy was sated as well.

A barrage of ‘moony’ interspersed with broken moans filled his ears, accompanied by the wet slap of skin and his own quiet groaning. They were so close, the both of them, and so he wedged one hand beneath his boy’s body, grasping at his cock with loose fingers, and began to stroke him in time to the pace of his hips.

“You’re so good for me bug, I’m so proud of how well you can take my cock. A little pro, aren’t you? Your wet hole just sucks me right back in, darling, knows exactly what it needs to do to keep me coming back.”

Sirius came with a smothered shout, face pressed into cotton, warm come coating his hand and the vice-like grip his hole became. Remus responded with a bite to his shoulder, licking over flesh and sinking his teeth in deep, leaving a bruise that would hurt come morning. Finally, he allowed himself to get lost in his own pleasure, holding Sirius’ body still beneath him and losing his rhythm completely as his climax rushed over him.

Panting, he stared down at the boy’s lax form, and from his vantage point he could see half of a lazy smile on Sirius’ face. His boy was blissed out, so he took the opportunity to withdraw his cock and watched his come drool out of the hole, sloppy with slick and come, wholly marked by Remus. With the used plug, he scooped what had escaped up and pressed it back inside, pressure that made Sirius’ brow scrunch in discomfort and then sigh happily when that pressure turned to the happy, full sensation he enjoyed.

“You did so well for me, lovebug,” he stroked damp hair away from his brow and shifted, plastering himself to the boy’s back, lying down with him in soiled sheets; “I’m so proud of you. So well behaved all night, letting your Moony fuck you downstairs, staying quiet even when I know you wanted to shout.”

“Not nice,” the boy mumbled, making his heart skip a beat.

“What wasn’t nice, darling? Did you need to use your safeword?”

Oh, God… Did he miss it? Was there a moment where he safeworded out and he didn’t hear and now he’d- what, he’d hurt his boy without even noticing?

“Moony’s not nice, making me wait so long,” Sirius mumbled, pushing at Remus’ shoulder until he settled on his back, Sirius climbing up on top of him with bleary eyes, settling like a frog atop his torso and burying his nose in the hollow of his throat.

“I’m sorry, bug,” he sighed, relief swirling through him that it was just the delayed gratification that the boy was referring to, not a missed safeword; “it’s good though, isn’t it? How powerful your orgasms are after you’ve been made to wait…”

“Not as nice as when you make me come over and over and over. Prefer that,”

Remus chuckled, he could hear the pout in his voice; wrapped his arms around the boy and shifted them until his head was resting on pillows. One hand settling on his hip, the other at the base of the plug, he resigned himself to a very messy clean-up in the morning, his boy already snuffling sleepily and suckling at his collarbone.

“Alright, my love,” he agreed; “next time we’ll tie you up and see how much you can take, how about that?”

The only response he received was a disinterested ‘mmmf’ which he took to mean ‘go away, I’m sleeping’; with a chuckle, he reached for the light, dimming the room and beginning to count sheep.

----------

Three weeks ago, he’d given Sirius permission to use his body while he was asleep. The familiar slick heat surrounding his cock as he woke up was good but opening his eyes to see his boy lazily rocking in his lap, lower lip tightly held between his teeth was incredible.

“Good morning, bug,” he rasped, watching the boy’s eyes shoot open and fix on him.

“Re,” he breathed, leaning down to kiss him, clearly no longer bothered about morning breath; “needed you,”

“Is that right?” sleep-warm hands grasped his hips, fingers sinking into the bruises he’d left over the last seven days; “you look good sat on my cock, bug, like a prince on his throne.”

The compliment made Sirius flush a darker shade of pink and he began to lift himself off of Remus’ shaft, moaning at the ministrations before sinking back down, settling heavily on sharp hipbones.

His cock throbbing, Remus met every thrust with punishing force, shunting Sirius and making him moan out louder, a string of ‘Re, Re, Re’ falling from his lips. The tell-tale tightening in his belly told him Sirius had been awake for quite some time, fucking himself gently so he didn’t disturb his Moony.

“My needy little boy,” Remus cooed; “how long have you been fucking yourself, hm? Pulling your plug out and slicking me up, sinking down so quietly.”

“You-ah!” Sirius broke off his words as Remus took over, the boy holding himself still with his hands pinning Remus to the mattress as the man thrust ruthlessly into him; “you said I could, you did, you did Moony,”

“I know, bug, I did, that’s alright, you’re not in trouble,” he slowed his pace to reassure him; “I love it when you take what you need, my confident little lovebug.”

“Good, good, ‘m your good boy,”

“That’s right,” his thrust came harder, faster as Sirius began to whine, dropping down to lay on top of Remus, their chests pressed together as his head lolled to the side; “my good boy, getting himself all slick and ready first thing so his Moony doesn’t need to do any work, does he? You’re so generous, darling, thank you,” breath was rushing out of his lungs, his heart threatening to beat right out of his chest as he kept Sirius plastered to his skin. They were both close, he felt, and he worked harder, eking them towards indescribable pleasure.

“I love it when you’re like this, my little bug, so pliant and fuckable, just for me,” he was almost unaware of the words escaping him, for some reason unable to stop the constant stream of babble that escaped him when he was close to the edge. It had never happened before, not with anyone but Sirius; “fuck,” he groaned as the younger boy’s hole tightened around him, pulsing as he came with a shout; “good boy, that’s a good boy, stay just like that for me…”

Above him, Sirius was whimpering through his climax, and he could feel the boy’s saliva smearing messily along his collarbone as he mouthed at bare skin. As his pleasure subsided, his teeth found purchase in a bruise he’d already worried enough it ached beautifully at the slightest pressure.

The intoxicating mix of pleasure and pain sent him off the deep end, groaning lowly as he came deep inside his boy, staccato thrusts eventually slowing to a stop. Panting harshly, he stroked over Sirius’ hair and listened to the boy’s quiet humming, the sound vibrating in his chest.

“My Moony loves me like this,” he was murmuring to himself, seemingly unaware that Remus was listening; “just like this. You need to stay like this,”

And that- well, that wasn’t great, for his words to be misconstrued like that. An easy fix, though.

“Hi, cuddlebug,” he said directly into the boy’s ear, scratching his fingers across Sirius’ sensitive scalp and chuckling at his shudder; “there you are… You were so good for me, Sirius. Shall we go get cleaned up, darling?”

He appeared to think about the suggestion, mouthing at the large scar which bisected his chest while his fuzzy brain parsed the words.

“Bath?” he asked, hopeful eyes fixed on Remus’ face; “with you?”

Smiling softly at him, Remus agreed.

----------

Once they were in the bath, Sirius lounging comfortably against his chest, Remus felt it was safe to broach the subject; “how are you feeling, Sirius?”

“Good,” he answered, sounding much more alert than he had a few minutes ago; the change of scenery and the conversation Remus had been encouraging helping to bring him back up; “mostly normal, I think.”

“Great. That’s great. I wanted to talk to you about-“

“Oh, fuck,” Sirius interrupted him, sitting up so fast that water sloshed over the sides of the tub; “it was too much, wasn’t it? You meant that I could suck your dick if I wanted to, didn’t you? I’m so sorry, Moons, I didn’t mean to-“

“Sirius,” Remus interrupted his interruption; “listen to me. I gave you blanket permission to use my body however you see fit while I am asleep. If that changes, I will let you know. I have no problem using a safeword if I wake up and I’m not in the mood for sex.”

His boy took a visibly deep breath with his eyes closed, exhaled and then sank back against his chest once more; “I didn’t fuck up, then?”

“No, honeybug, you didn’t fuck up. If anything, I did.”

“What?” Sirius asked, surprised as he processed Remus’ words; “how?”

Taking a deep breath, Remus sighed and began to thread his fingers through the wet tangle of his boy’s hair; “you’ll have noticed by now that I tend to babble right before I come?”

“Uh, sometimes?”

“Right, so, that’s never happened with anyone but you.”

His confession seemed to startle a laugh out of the boy, who twisted to look over his shoulder at Remus; “really?”

“Uh-huh,” he affirmed; “believe it or not, before you, I had a reputation for being a stoic, silent sort of a dom. I wasn’t that vocal in bed at all, it was something that Greyback trained out of me.”

Sirius made an indecipherable murmur, shifting unsteadily in the bathwater until he was seated in Remus’ lap, arms around his neck as he stared into his eyes; “I’m sorry, Moons,”

“That’s alright, Sirius, I just want to give you some context.”

“Context given.” Sirius nodded at him, adorable in his solemnity.

Remus hummed and drew him in for a soft, sweet kiss that he pulled back from quickly, pressing kisses across the boy’s face to make him giggle, aware that he was at the tail-end of his submissive headspace.

“So…” he drew the word out, brushing their noses together as Sirius laughed more; “so I wanted to talk about what I said and how you interpreted my words.”

“Uh,” the younger boy said intelligibly; “okay? What did you say?”

“I think it was something along the lines of how much I enjoy you being pliant and fuckable.”

A ‘pffft’ of air rushed over his face as Sirius dissolved into more laughter, the boy apologising as he picked himself up from Remus’ chest; “I’m sorry, I’m sorry – you just sounded so funny when you said it, your tone was so ridiculously flat.”

Smiling gently, Remus tried to refocus him; “that’s alright, darling, I’m just worried about how you interpreted the words; I heard you talking to yourself when you were coming down. You were telling yourself over and over that you ‘needed to stay like this’ in order for me to love you. It’s important that you know you’re wrong. I love you regardless.”

The boy gaped at him for one, two, three seconds before he began to sputter, eyes flickering across his face in question before he finally spoke; “you love me? Like, you’re in love with me?”

“I do. I am. I love you just as you are, bug. My lovely, weird little bitey boy. All mine.”

He watched as something like epiphanous wonder crossed Sirius’ face, the boy bringing one hand up to his mouth and chewing on his knuckles. He hoped it was out of overwhelming joy, or else this was going a little differently to how he’d imagined.

“Bug, darling, don’t bite yourself, you’re okay,” he reassured Sirius as he tugged fingers with the imprints of his incisors out from between his lips; “you don’t need to say it back, I just wanted to-“

“I do, I do, of course I do,” Sirius babbled suddenly, his silver-grey eyes meeting Remus’ amber; “I love you, I’m in love with you, how could I not be?”

“You make me so happy,” Remus whispered, his thumb smoothing over the harsh marks Sirius had left on his own skin; “it’s important to me that you know that.”

Sirius squeezed his eyes shut, breathing heavily as he nodded, tipping forward to tuck his head under Remus’ chin. He was trembling just a little bit, and Remus pulled him impossibly closer, the warm water moving out of their way until they were so close it was like they were melding into one another.

“Moony,” Sirius breathed; “I love you.”

“I love you too, Sirius,” Remus responded, stroking gentle hands over water-slick skin. It was rather apt, he thought, that this moment would happen in the very spot their relationship had truly begun.

Chapter Text

Sirius POV

It still overwhelmed him, three days on, when Remus ended their phone calls with a quiet ‘I love you’. Or when he sent him off to work with a quiet affirmation of his feelings. When he stroked his hair back from his face after fucking him to within an inch of his life; sweet, murmured nothings falling from his plush lips, telling him over and over again that he was loved by the one person he wanted the most in this world.

That was knowledge he held close to himself as he left the conference room, flying high on the feeling of potential success.

He’d done it. He’d applied for a job he really wanted and not only had he been given an interview, he felt it had gone well. The interviewer had gone to Manchester for university as well, and had been enthused by his go-to anecdote about the three weeks he spent working with a Women’s Aid charity in The Hague. He had answered their questions in the recognised format; Situation, Task, Action, Result. That’s what they taught at the university careers centre at least.

Everything went just as it should, and he tried to quash the hope growing in his stomach as he walked towards the café. As he passed through the park, his phone rang, and he answered it with a grin on his face.

“Hi, my Moonbeam,”

“How did it go, bug?” Remus asked, his tone upbeat to match Sirius’ own.

“Good, I think,” he tried not to get too excited; “they were really lovely and smiled and nodded at all my answers, but I don’t want to get my hopes up.”

Remus hummed; “probably smart, my love, although I’m sure there’s no need to be so cautious. Who wouldn’t want my brilliant boy, hm?”

And there he went, bright pink in the middle of the street, trying with all his might to contain a gargantuan grin; “Re,” he breathed; “I’ve been through this before, you think it goes well, you get excited, and then it all comes crashing down you end up devastated.”

“Oh cuddlebug, it makes me sad to think about you being sad,”

“’m sorry,” Sirius sighed as the coffee shop he was headed to came into view; “don’t want you sad…”

“No, no my love, it’s alright,” Remus reassured him; “and besides, if you don’t get it then it wasn’t meant to be, was it?”

Silently, Sirius agreed, although it didn’t stop the little burble of hope that welled inside him; “I guess not. I’m at the café, Moons, so I’ll ring you when I’m on my way home, okay?”

“Alright, darling… you call me if you need me to come pick you up, alright?”

“I promise I will,” Sirius said, a small frown creasing his brow as he spied his brother through the window; “I love you.”

“I love you too, bug.”

The affirmation gave him a little rush of joy before he had to work himself up to speak to Regulus, hoping that this conversation would go better than it had the last two times.

The bell above the door jingled as he entered, and Regulus raised his arm in the air, waving at him as though he hadn’t picked a shop with only three tables. With a sharp nod, he first went to the counter, ordering the most complicated drink he could think of in an effort to kill time only to be told he could go and sit while it was made.

Dejectedly, he trooped towards the table his brother had saved for them and settled into the seat. Thanking God that at least the armchairs were comfy, he greeted Regulus in his best attempt at congeniality; “hiya. Reggie, you okay?”

Humming around his forkful of cake, he nodded and Sirius exhaled roughly, rubbing the flat of his palm over his jaw as he tried to figure out how to start. Thankfully, Regulus got there first.

“I’m good, yeah… I’m, uh, glad you called. I really didn’t want us to fall out of touch again.”

“Me either,” Sirius agreed with him, trying desperately to keep himself from screaming ‘this is all your fault’ at him; “no matter what, Reggie, my biggest regret is having to leave you there.”

“It was your time to go. I realise that now,” he sighed, thanking this waitress as she placed his drink on the table; “and I figured it out eventually, right? It was clearly meant to be.”

“I guess so,” Sirius agreed with him, finally meeting his eyes and smiling a small, timid thing that barely lifted his face; “I still can’t believe we’re both alive and out from under their thumbs.”

“Shit,” Regulus breathed, laughing and shaking his head; “do you know what I would’ve given to have seen their faces when I told them I was going.”

“Uh-huh, except for the fact that if you had, you’d probably be dead right now,” Sirius laughed bitterly; “instead, we’re here, sitting awkwardly in a café, queer as the day is long.”

Biting his lip to contain the proud smile at his own proclamation, he watched as little shudders of his brother’s shoulders became larger and larger until a delicate chuckle wired it’s way out of Regulus’ chest.

“How is Remus?” Regulus asked as their laughter died down, James said you’re still staying at his?”

“I am, yeah, he’s really good,” he nodded; “and I like staying with him, but I do miss James.”

“I have to confess something,” Regulus bit his lip, considering something before he spoke again; “I’ve actually met Remus before, a couple of times, and seen him in Atelier. Not enough that he should remember me or anything, just, I’m aware of who he is. He has a good reputation.”

Sirius watched him careful, one major thought springing into his mind; “fuck, you haven’t shagged him have you? That would be-“

“No, no,” Regulus interrupted his spiralling, throwing a balled-up napkin directly at his face; “think it through, idiot. We’re both Doms.”

Oh.

Oh, yeah.

Thank fuck for that.

“Phew,” he sighed in relief, laughing and taking a sip of his coffee to test the temperature and then going back for a larger mouthful; “that’s good. Good. But you knew of him, then?”

“I’d seen a couple of his demos, the last couple of years I’ve dipped in and out the clubs. Evidently, not since you and Jay began working there, or I would’ve come and said hi.”

“Would you have?” Sirius considered him, tilting his head to one side and fiddling with the napkin in his hand; “I’m not trying to start anything, I just… you didn’t come and say hi when you and Jamie got together.”

“I’ll give you that,” Regulus agreed, “but that was because I had too much time to think about how it would go down, I think. If I’d walked into the club and you were behind the bar, I would just say hi. You’re my brother, and there’s security there. I doubt you’d have got away with throwing too many punches before they pulled you off me.”

“Fuck off,” he laughs, “shall we just, um, not talk about that anymore? I don’t want to hold onto it. I was angry for a while, but now I’m more grateful to have you back. I missed you.”

“You too,” Regulus smiles softly; “James, as well. He gets this sad look in his eyes when he starts telling me a story and realises you aren’t there to reminisce.”

“I’ll- I’m going to talk to him soon,” Sirius promises, “I just want to be sure I’m not angry anymore, and then we can go back to being Siri and Jamie, y’know? He knows I’ll forgive him. And if he doesn’t smack him and tell him he’s my brother, and I will speak to him in five to seven business days.”

“Can I quote you on that?” Regulus asks cheekily, and Sirius shakes his head with a laugh, agreeing.

Feeling his phone ring in his pocket, his heart leaps and he excuses himself, stepping out onto the street to answer.

“Hello?”

“Good afternoon, I’m looking to speak to Mr. Black?”

“Speaking.”

Oh God, Oh God, Oh God.

“Ah, well I just wanted to call and thank you for coming in today, Mr. Black. We appreciate your time but we have decided to go another way, we just felt that your interests would be better suited to another position, rather than this one, within our organisation.”

“Ah, um, okay, well, thanks for calling to let me know, and for the opportunity…”

“Of course, and I really hope that you won’t hesitate to apply for a position with us in the future, you have a very impressive resume. I’m sorry it didn’t go your way this time.”

Fuck.

He wished she weren’t so nice.

This would be so much easier if he could picture her as Mr. Burns, rubbing her hands together and laughing evilly.

“Have a nice day,” he says instead, her response falling on deaf ears as he clicks the end call button on his screen.

Taking a deep, steadying breath he fights back the pinpricks of tears in his eyes, jamming his fingers into the sockets to try with all his might to keep them away. A soft touch on his shoulder has him jumping in surprise, Regulus’ face coming into view, his face obstructed by greenish spots swimming through Sirius’ vision.

“Are you alright?” Regulus asks him, trying to lead him back into the shop; “come and sit down, Siri…”

He concentrates on his breathing, following Regulus’ instructions until he ends up back in his seat, his head buried in his hands with silent tears dripping down his cheeks.

It was stupid, so stupid, to be this upset. But he really thought this was the one. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. He has his Moony, he has money coming in, he has James, and Regulus, and Fleamont, and Effie. He has a family that love him.

It just really felt like the one. And God, wasn’t that embarrassing? One thirty-minute interview and he was already planning out his new career, the route he’d take to get to his new place of work.

It hurt. He desperately wished he was back in Remus’ flat, somewhere he could curl up and sob the pain out of his system, be taken care of, maybe go under just to escape the racing pace of his thoughts, the screech of notgoodenoughnevergoodenoughnotgoodenoughnevergoodenough that felt like it was never going to stop.

Distantly, he felt his phone being taken from him, his thumb pressed to the home button and then disappearing again. He couldn’t bring himself to care, he knew it was Regulus touching him, that it’d be okay.

Concentrating on his breathing, he didn’t notice how much time had gone by before a quiet ‘hi, bug’ in his ear jolted him out of his dismay. Dropping his hands from his face, he stared into Remus’ amber eyes in shock; “Re?”

“Regulus called me, darling, he said something had happened but he didn’t know what?”

“Didn’t get the job,” he mumbled, pitching forward until his face was buried in Remus’ shoulder and he was safe; “’m such an idiot,”

“Oh, my bug,” Remus sighed and held him tightly, rubbing gentle circles into his back through the white button-up; “it’s alright my love, do you remember what we said? It’s not meant to be, that’s all. There’ll be something else around the corner for you, I just know it, my smart, beautiful boy. You’ll be okay, I promise.”

He just wanted to go down, to sink into the cotton wool-soft space Remus had built for him and stay there, to hide away from this until it didn’t hurt so much; “can we go home, Re? I’m sorry, Reg…”

“Hey, no,” a voice came from his right, “don’t worry about it Siri, you just let me know when you’re feeling up to talking again and we can sort something out.”

Pulling back from Remus with a sniffle, he looked up at his brother and nodded; “will you tell Jamie I say hi?”

“Of course I will,” Regulus’ features softened, “I hope you feel better soon, Sirius. I’m sorry about the job.”

Oh, fuck. Just thinking about it made him want to cry again, and he smiled a watery smile as Regulus left and then dissolved into a puddle of tears, Remus shushing him softly and pulling him to his feet.

He was vaguely aware of being lifted into the passenger seat of Remus’ Jeep, and then the constant stream of soothing babble that accompanied his Moony’s hand being sandwiched hard between his.

And then, they were home. He barely registered the parking garage, or the lift, until suddenly they were in Remus’ flat and he could let his sobs free.

“Oh, my love, it’s alright, you’re alright,” Remus tried to soothe him; “just try to breathe, babybug, I’ve got you,”

He gasped, the pain from trying to hold back his tears causing an ache in his throat, and realised that he was making some sort of a broken wheezing sound with every inhale; “Moony,” he tightened his arms around Remus’ waist; “need you, need you to fuck me,”

“What?” Remus asked, forcing him to sit on the edge of the sofa; “I need you to look at me, Sirius,”

He stared balefully up at his boyfriend, reaching out to tuck his fingers under his brown leather belt and tug him forward, tears rolling down his cheeks as he blinked them away; “please?” he mumbled, trying with all his might to convince Remus to fuck him so he could go down like he needed.

“No, my love,” Remus pushed his hands away and squatted in front of him, his amber eyes searching his face, wary; “can you tell me why you want me to fuck you?”

“Stop hurting,” he whispered; “want to go down so I don’t have to think about it.”

Remus stared at him for a moment, and then asked; “you want me to fuck you because you’re sad?”

“And because I like it when you fuck me,” he offered.

“Sirius,” Remus laughed, shaking his head; “I’m not going to fuck you into subspace because you’re sad.”

Well, that wasn’t nice. All he wanted was for his boyfriend to fuck him hard enough that his brain stopped working.

“But, but I need it! Moony you have to, please, please-“

“Shh, shh, my love,” Remus pressed his lips to his forehead and held them there for a moment, before pulling back and cupping Sirius’ face; “I’m not going to have sex with you while you’re this upset. It doesn’t feel right. If you need to be put into subspace, then we can put you down another way.”

“We can?” he asked hopefully, trying to take deep breaths in and out and avoid thinking about how devastated he truly was; “how, Moony? Need it now,”

“Alright, my love,” Remus held his hands out to him and pulled him up from the sofa, the pair trekking into their bedroom; “you’re going to kneel for me, and your head will go all fuzzy, does that sound okay?”

“Okay,” he murmured, dutifully following Remus to the big, cuddly armchair they often sat in to watch the sunset. He sank to his knees while Remus got himself settled, shuffling forward until his knees hit into the baseboard and he could nuzzled the seam of Remus’ trousers.

“No, cuddlebug, you’re not kneeling for me like that,” Remus pushed his face away from his crotch, and Sirius made a displeased noise into the corduroy.

“I need it,” he insisted, using his hands to unbuckle Remus’ belt; “not like that, Moony, just, you remember that night? Just want you in my mouth, please,”

Remus seemed to consider his plea for a moment before nodding, and with sigh tugging his soft cock free from his trousers. Licking his lips, Sirius threaded his arms under Remus’ thighs, settling his head onto one of the older man’s legs. When a gentle hand tugged him forward, he opened his mouth and closed his mouth around Remus’ shaft, closing his eyes and trying to focus on the sensation.

Above him, Remus began to read out loud from the book he was in the middle of;

“Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault. Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope. They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty. There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly wri…”

He tuned out as his head became fuzzier, and the relief he felt as Remus’ protective cloak closed around him was palpable; it didn’t hurt anymore. Not his heart, or his stomach, or his throat. It all faded away, and all he could think about was his Moony.

Remus, who loved him. Remus, who cared so much that he dropped everything to come and pick him up from the coffee shop. Remus, who wouldn’t ever compromise their relationship, even when Sirius begged him to. Remus, who let Sirius kneel with his cock in his mouth just so he could stop feeling.

Remus, who loved him.

----------

Remus POV

He read out loud, his book held aloft in one hand, the other resting firmly on Sirius’ head. With careful fingers, he turned the page and continued reading; his eyes flicking down to Sirius every few lines, eventually relaxing enough to only glance down at him every time he turned a page.

Soft, wet warmth enveloped his cock, the boy’s gentle tongue pressing him up into his soft palate. It was so easy to get caught up in him, to sit for thirty seconds just watching Sirius before he realised he’d stopped talking and quickly picked back up where he’d left off.

Finishing his chapter, he closed the book and set it on the chair’s arm, sighing as he fixed his eyes on his boy.

He looked much calmer, and a wave of relief washed over him that he’d allowed Sirius to do this. He had been steadfastly against it, not wanting to get their wires crossed between sex and comfort – certainly not when the only reason Sirius had wanted him was to put him into subspace; but this gamble seemed to have paid off.

When they had met, Sirius had been so naïve it was necessary for him to make most of the decisions. Beyond general ideas for scenes and ensuring his consent, Remus had engineered the rest of their sexual activities. As awful for Sirius as the day turned out to be, it had helped open Remus’ eyes to how intuitive his boy was, knowing exactly what he needed to calm himself down.

After an hour of letting Sirius suckle at his cock, he began to shift in the chair uncomfortably. With a careful tug to the boy’s hair, he sat Sirius back so that he was instead mouthing at his knee, his wide eyes looking betrayed when they popped open.

“Hello, my love, how are you feeling?”

“Better,” Sirius whispered, clearing his throat as he rocked backwards, falling onto his bottom; “a little bit stiff from the kneeling, but better,” he watched as Sirius stretched his legs out wide, reaching for his toes and then up to the ceiling. He sank to his knees between the boy’s spread legs; “do you want me to get you some water, bug?”

“Yeah,” he nodded; “but I want to come with you, please?”

He could do that. 

“Of course, darling,” he pushed himself up to stand and held his hands out for the boy to grab; “why don’t you think about what you’d like for dinner? Hm? And maybe you could tell me about how your chats with Regulus went?”

“It was good,” Sirius mumbled, practically glued to his back as they walked out of the bedroom and into the living space. It took next to no effort to boost the boy up onto the island, filling a glass from the tap and then standing between Sirius’ legs, holding the straw up to his lips; “he actually knew you already. Said he’d been to the club a few times since he’d moved up here. That you had a good reputation as a Dom.”

“He did look kind of familiar,” Remus hummed; “I thought it was just because of how similar you two look.”

Sirius shook his head, taking a long draw from the straw and then pulling away, prompting Remus to set the glass to the side; “nope, you’ve probably just seen him around a few times. What are the chances that we’d all end up here, hm?”

“I don’t know,” Remus mused; “but I’m so glad that we did, my love,”

Sirius smiled at him, tugged him in for a hug that lasted so long he thought maybe his boy had fallen asleep. Lifting his head, he dug his nose into Sirius’ hair and treasured the fresh eucalyptus scent of his shampoo; “I have an idea, bug, why don’t we both change into something more comfortable and order some Chinese. Does that sound good?”

The boy merely hummed, nodding gently into his shoulder. Lazily, they changed out of their business clothes – Remus’ everyday dress for the club, Sirius’ especially fancy suit trousers and the button-up that he’d donned for his interview.

With the takeaway ordered, they relaxed into the sofa, Sirius lazing against Remus’ chest, eyes fixed on the television. He’d opted for light-hearted comedy that they could chat through, hoping that is Sirius felt better he might like to talk. For the moment, he was happy enough that Sirius was back to smiling and not crying.

“Can we talk, Moons?” Sirius asked quietly, not looking away from the screen.

“Of course we can, my love,”

“I think I should forgive Jamie,” the boy murmured, Remus smoothing one hand over the soft hair on his head and humming thoughtfully.

“Can I ask what’s holding you back? You knew when you were going to forgive your brother, you’d made the decision and that was that,” Remus smile down at Sirius as he rubbed the tip of his nose against the soft cotton of the older man’s t-shirt; “you don’t feel the same way about this?”

“I guess in some ways this feels more important. Because the relationship between me and Reg was already broken, you know? He didn’t owe me anything, so while it wasn’t nice… It had been a long time since I felt he was my brother. But James…”

“You’ve been brothers for a long time,”

“Not only that, but he also knows everything about me, I don’t keep secrets from him, not ones this big,” the boy took a deep breath; “it hurt so much that he put their relationship, as new as it was, above ours. His parents took me in and taught me how to be a good person, and we’re family in every way that matters. I know that it was never my business, but even when they laid it all out, their excuses didn’t help me to make sense of it. This all could’ve gone so differently.”

“But,” Remus prompted him,

“But it’s been a few weeks, and I miss him. I miss going home to his lovely little treats, and I miss messing about with him. And I miss mum and dad, I’ve been avoiding them because of our fight. I want to feel like I’m back at home again.”

He opened his mouth to speak when Sirius scrambled up to kneel between his bent legs, eyes wide and fixed imploringly on Remus’ face; “that’s not to say I don’t love you, Re, or staying here with you! I just don’t think we’re at a moving-in place yet, are we? I know that we maybe could, if you-“

“Shh, bug,” Remus quieted him; “I know. It’s alright, I’m not offended. When your lease is up, we can talk about it again, or if James and Regulus go in that direction… I certainly wouldn’t say no to having you back.”

Sirius sighed in something like relief, sinking back down to rest his ear against Remus’ chest, his heart pumping steadily as he held the boy close.

“’M glad. On Sunday then, you could help me take my things back round?”

“Sure, bug. Although if I may, shall we tell them beforehand that we’ll be there? I’d rather not see them in the throes again if we don’t have to.”

A shiver raced through the boy, making him chuckle; “I will text them both, twice, spaced at least six hours apart. No way do I need to see that again. Ugh.”

Chapter Text

Remus POV

He liked to begin with the wrists, especially for suspension. Thick, forest green rope wrapped around the fragile bones of Sirius’ wrists, secured with a double column tie. It bound his forearms, a new tie every three inches until the rope reached the pale skin of his shoulders. They had practiced this a couple of times in the last few days, the way the length of rope flowed from an arm bind to a chest harness. It had to be built carefully to support his respiratory system while he was suspended, and so he’d consulted his friends for their expertise, worked the pattern in his head until he was confident enough to put the scene into practice.

The cream sofa that usually dominated the small library in his home had been moved out earlier that day, he and Dominic working together to build the necessary scaffolding for a stable suspension scene. In its place now was a large black wrought iron frame, ratchet straps connected in the centre of the structure by a steel ring, carabiners waiting to be put to use. He’d held off from showing Sirius until the scene itself, wanting the full impact of the low lights and the gentle, calming classical music he’d picked.

His boy was already half-hard, his arousal telling as Remus wrapped the rope twice around his ribs, passing over his shoulder blades and making sure to leave breathing space. Securing the first section of the harness with a tie, he continued up over one shoulder, running the ends through the existing wrap and then back around to the front, twisting them securely and repeating the movement on the opposite side of his body.

Half of the seduction of shibari was the anticipation that built with the creation of the rope structure. His cock rubbed uncomfortably against the placket of his trousers as he knelt to thread a new length of rope between Sirius’ legs, beginning the creation of a basket which would allow him to spread his boy wide open while supporting his mass. An intricate dance began in the crease of his thighs, working its way around until the rope met itself in an open weave over the cleft of his arse.

After forty-five minutes of weaving and tying, Remus had finished and was satisfied with the job he’d done. Sirius had been so well-behaved, quietly waiting for his moment with his eyes almost closed. When he felt the tug of the ropes tightening and the clink of the carabiners being connected, he smiled slowly and opened his eyes; “are we done?” he asked, prompting a low chuckle to escape Remus.

“We’re just getting started, bug,” he said quietly as he threaded the rope through the steel ring until it was taut and began a hangman’s knot.

Complete, he stepped back to survey his work and the boy now laid on his back on the soft rug, goosebumps lining his skin as he waited, his hips securely fastened to the apparatus. His forearms were held aloft by the connecting rope, Sirius’ upper arms parallel to his body in a hope to reduce the ache and strain later.

“Okay honeybug, you’re going to hear the motors running and then you’ll start to lift up. How are you feeling?”

“I’m green,” the boy licked his lips; “is this going to hurt?”

Remus knelt next to his prone form, one palm cupping the boy’s cheek, his thumb caressing soft skin; “no, my love, do you remember how we talked about what the different knots did? They should distribute the pressure of the rope so no part of you feels too much weight. If it doesn’t feel right, I want you to say so. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Moony,” he confirmed, pressing his lips to the heel of Remus’ palm and sighing happily when Remus returned the gesture with a kiss to his forehead; “I’m green though, I promise.”

“That’s great,” Remus stood back and reached for the remote, pressing the button to begin the tightening of the ratchet straps, gradually lifting Sirius from the floor until he was suspended three feet from the ground.

The thing about borrowing kit from friends who were much more invested in BDSM practices like shibari was that they had often spent a fair amount of money on equipment they used regularly. Since Remus rarely practiced suspension, he had no reason to invest in thousands of pounds of specialist scaffolding which came with an electric lifting motor. It was, however, handy that Dom was willing to let him borrow his for the weekend.

“Does that feel alright, darling?”

“Yes, Moony,” Sirius hummed as one of Remus’ hands threaded through his dark tresses; “it’s not uncomfortable, it’s okay,”

“Alright then,” he began to strip his clothing, beginning with his shirt and finally kicking his trousers off and folding them carefully, leaving Sirius waiting, the tension in the air thick.

Sirius’ cock was erect, sitting proudly against a coil of rope which crossed low on his abdomen, the head a dusky pink; he ran a teasing finger along the underside of the shaft just to hear his boy whine.

He had one thing that he really wanted to do; after that, he was open to suggestions. Still, he liked to start slow, wind Sirius up until he was begging to be fucked properly.

He pressed a gentle kiss to the sole of one foot, and then the other, grasping his heel lightly in his palm. Spreading the boy’s legs, he trailed light kisses over his shin, up and over his knee, continuing northwards until Sirius was whining just a little in anticipation, convinced Remus was going to suck his cock. A sigh left the boy when he retreated, identical ministrations over his other leg which transformed into biting kisses, Remus’ control slipping just a little when he realised his bruises from the previous week were almost completely faded.

With a hard suck to the very top of his thigh, digging his teeth into the thin skin to hear Sirius’ broken moans, he dropped to his knees. He used the momentum of the rope to pull his boy towards him, slotting thick thighs over his shoulders and burying his nose in the downy hair which covered his balls, humming gently.

All he could smell was the soap they both used and a tinge of something he didn’t know how to describe other than Sirius; something he loved. The basket weave he’d used purposefully split so that he’d have access to his boy’s hole without having to strain, and so he only had to tilt his chin to lick across the tight scrunch of his hole. The angle he’d chosen allowed him to hold the boy to his face, working his tongue skilfully inside Sirius as the muscle relaxed.

Slowly fisting his own cock, Remus groaned in response to the begging coming from above him. Immobilised as he was, Sirius’ hips could hardly rock, but he could feel the testing flex of his buttocks and hamstrings as he cried out.

“Moony,” he called, “inside me, please, please,”

Pulling back, Remus licked his lips and pressed them back to his inner thigh, mumbling soothing words in response. He enjoyed this so much - when Sirius began to break down quickly. It was like he was suffering without something inside him. Like he’d do anything for something more.

“Even just, just your fingers,” Sirius whined; “I feel so empty without you inside me, Moons,”

With the snap of a cap, his fingers were slick and ready; “it’s alright, darling, I’ve got you,” he probed gently at his rim, sinking first one and then two fingers inside of him and crooking them roughly.

“Fuck,” Sirius cried, his body tensing as Remus glanced by his prostate; “yes, yes! Thank you,”

Such a lovely, polite boy.

With his hole occupied, Remus licked over his testicles and suckled them gently, working his fingers in tandem. Slowly, he began to rise, still his fingers and taking the head of Sirius’ erection into his mouth, expertly tonguing at the sensitive slit and then taking the shaft deep into his throat.

“Oh, oh my god, Re,” Sirius moaned, his voice breaking over Remus’ name as Remus hummed around his cock in response.

Pulling back, panting, Remus raised a teasing eyebrow at the boy and began to fuck his fingers steadily in and out of his slick hole.

“Is that better now, bug? Now that you have something fucking you?”

Sirius merely groaned in response, his head falling backwards and exposing the pale length of his throat, prompting Remus to spank his cock harshly, demanding: “I asked you a question, Sirius,”

“Ah!” Sirius exclaimed, his tone sharper than it had been previously; “it’s good, it’s good Moony, I promise,”

His breathing was sharp, his rim clenched tightly around Remus’ intrusion, prompting a colour check; “bug, darling? What’s your colour?”

“Maybe-“ he whined as Remus pulled his fingers free; “maybe yellow?”

“Alright, my love,” Remus stroked his hand over Sirius’ hip as he moved from between his spread legs to Sirius’ side, kneeling next to his head to stroke his hair back and press a gentle kiss to his forehead; “can you tell me what you didn’t like?”

“Bad hurt,” Sirius pushed his head into Remus’ hand; “didn’t- no.”

“When I hit your cock?” he clarified,

“Yeah,” his boy confirmed, a happy murmur escaping him at Remus’ gentle facial expression and the fluttered kisses across his brow; “just- not my cock,”

“Good boy,” Remus praised him; “I’m so proud of you for letting me know. That was perfect, bug. Do you want to keep going or do you want to come down?”

And he was proud, this was the first time Sirius had used a colour other than green since he’d taunted Remus into punishing him at the very beginning of their relationship.

“Keep-keep going? Just - no more spanking, please?” Sirius asked tentatively,

“Of course, of course we can do that,” Remus breathed, manoeuvring the pair until he could lick into Sirius’ mouth gently, kissing him until the boy was whimpering against his lips; “how about if Moony fucks you now, hm? Would you like that? For your Moony to wedge his cock inside your tight little hole, fuck you nice and hard?”

“Yes,” the boy smiled, his eyes falling shut as Remus scratched gentle fingers over his scalp; “that’s- yes, please,”

With a rumbling laugh, Remus pressed a final kiss to his boy’s lips and then stood, fisting his cock back to life as he resituated himself between Sirius’ spread legs. Sirius’ erection had flagged also, so with a slick hand he slowly stroked him until the boy was whining again, a little blurt of precome falling onto the rope and darkening the fibres.

Testing fingers probed at his hole, Remus finding he was still stretched out but giving the boy a few of his digits first to be sure. And then he was pressing inside, sliding into slick warmth that grasped tightly at his shaft.

The happy murmur which escaped Sirius at the sensation made the man coo, gentle fingers playing with the boy’s pebbled nipples as he waited for him to adjust to the intrusion. He watched as Sirius forgot himself, trying to reach for him a jolting as the rope held strong.

“You’re alright, bug,” Remus reassured him, beginning to pull back and then thrusting sharply forwards, “I’m here, you look so good, such a perfect little boy for me,”

Hands strong on the soft flesh of his hips, fingers pressing into thick twines of rope, Remus set a punishing pace, using the way his boy rocked in the harness to his advantage. The pleasure felt white-hot as it rocketed from his cock up his spine, his eyes fixed on Sirius’ face as the boy moaned at the stimulation, his erection brushing the rough fibres.

It took strength to let go of the rope, to slow his pace enough to grab for the legs wrapped around his waist and bring them up over his shoulders, but he managed it.

Picking up the speed of his thrusts once more, he angled his hips searchingly until Sirius’ whole body jolted, and Remus could feel the muscle in his calf tremble against his cheek. Turning his head, he kissed the soft skin reverently, letting out a choked moan when Sirius began to clench down on his shaft rhythmically. Amber eyes shooting up to meet the boy’s silver, he caught the tail end of Sirius’ smug grin fading into pleasure.

“Oh, it’s like that, is it?”

“Is it not-” Sirius broke off into a moan; “-s it not good, Moons?”

With a low chuckle, Remus stopped what he was doing completely, and rested his hands against the scaffolding above his head. Looking imperiously down at the boy, he quirked an eyebrow and said; “would you like to do it yourself, darling?”

He ignored the way Sirius’ rim held fast around his cock at the question, choosing instead to see what the boy would do next.

“C’mon, Re, please, please,”

“Please what, bug?” Remus tutted; “was I not doing a good enough job?”

“You were, you were,” Sirius insisted, scrunching his eyes shut as he tried to subtly roll grind down on Remus’ cock.

“Just not good enough?” Remus asked, baiting him; “I guess you’ll have to do it yourself then, won’t you,”

“Moony,” the boy whined, shifting his hips, “need you,”

“You can do it, bug,”

He watched with thinly veiled amusement as Sirius used the leverage of his feet propped on Remus’ collarbones to fuck himself on the older man’s cock. His vantage point was excellent, watching his thick shaft split the boy open, his abdomen taut as he worked himself into a panting, writhing mess.

“There you are, look at you,” Remus praised him; “you look so perfect, bug, splitting yourself open,”

“Moony,” Sirius began, his tone full of need; “need you to do it, please, ‘s not the same,”

Wickedly, Remus shook his head and grasped tighter to the railing above his head, resisting the temptation of taking over again with everything he had; “but I thought you wanted to do it?”

“No,” Sirius sobbed, “just wanted to see if, if,”

“If what, my love?”

“If it’d break you like you break me,”

Fuck.

Groaning, Remus quickly moved his hands to the boy’s hips and began to thrust with earnest, hips slapping into Sirius’ as the younger boy moaned a litany of ‘thank you’s into the air.

“You do, bug,” he panted; “I love you so much, you do, you take me apart like no one else can,”

It was true, although it fell on deaf ears as he grasped Sirius’ cock and stripped it quickly, running his thumb over the dark tip and into the slit, bringing him to the edge with the speed and power of a freight train. He could feel his own climax approaching fast, his thighs tensing as his knees tried to give in, biting his lip hard as Sirius yelled, come shooting over Remus’ fingers and across his torso.

After that, it didn’t take long before he was grabbing onto the scaffolding for support, holding Sirius’ body against him as his come pulsed into the younger boy’s body.

His chest heaving, he focussed entirely on Sirius as he withdrew. Sticky cock softening, he reached for the remote he’d propped on one of the bookcases, pulling the crash mat which accompanied the apparatus underneath Sirius to cushion him as he was deposited back on the floor.

The boy was making happy little murmurs as Remus rushed around, grabbing shears and bottles of water and Sirius’ favourite chocolate just in case. Beginning with the rope which attached his arms to the steel ring, Remus loosened it until his arms were resting against his chest once more.

Once he was detached from the structure, Remus lifted the mechanism again so that he could lean over Sirius without hitting his head. Straddling Sirius, he began the lengthy process of unknotting and unthreading the restraints, dropping kisses to each new section of skin he uncovered, delighting in the noises he drew from his boy.

When he’d finally unwrapped his arms, he massaged them gently, working to keep the aches from flooding through Sirius’ veins before he left them rest above his head.

“You’re being so good for me, my love,” he praised Sirius, “my perfect, perfect boy,”

“Re,” Sirius breathed, his words trailing off as he opened and closed his mouth a few times, a gesture Remus had learned meant Sirius needed something in his mouth when he was under.

With a quiet hum, Remus fed two of his fingers into Sirius’ mouth and used his other hand to begin working on unpicking the basket wrapped around his hips. It was more difficult, but in some ways easier, because he had more space to work with, and he could direct all his attention to the job with Sirius happily pacified.

He kept up his steady stream of chatter, eventually humming tunes under his breath as he ran out of things to say. He was most of the way through his third song – Faith by George Michael – when Sirius turned his head to the side so that his fingers smeared saliva across his cheek.

“Hi bug,” Remus murmured, dropping the rope in his right hand to give all of his attention to his boy; “how are you doing?”

“Water?” Sirius asked, attempting to sit up and failing until Remus helped him, bringing the boy up and slotting behind him so that he was cushioning his torso.

Feeding him the water sip-by-sip, he asked; “are you feeling alright, my love?”

“Mmmhmm,” Sirius hummed, closing his eyes and leaning into Remus’ gentle hands, shaking his head when the man tried to tip the rim of the bottle to his mouth again; “I’m good for now,”

“Good, that’s good,” Remus kissed the top of his head, trying subtly to spit the hairs which had landed in his mouth back out; “give me a couple more minutes and I’ll have your harness finished and off.”

“Need me up?”

“No bug,” Remus held him still, starting to work on the rope from his new vantage point, quickly loosening the final knots so that the rope would fall away to the floor; “you stay where you are, I can untie you from here.”

As he leant over the boy, he left little kisses along the line of his shoulder, across his collarbones, nipping at the skin and delighting in Sirius’ small hums and happy sighs. When he was onto the last knot, he felt sharp teeth graze the shell of his ear and chuckled quietly; “all done, cuddlebug,”

“Yay,” his boy murmured, wiggling around until he had his knees underneath him and his arms around Remus’ neck; “can we bed?”

“We can go to bed,” Remus affirmed, gathering Sirius in his arms and standing carefully, trying with all his might to keep his old man ‘oof’ inside at the strain. Halfway across the living room, he felt a drip on his bare thigh and shifted his hand to cover his boy’s hole, Sirius’ confused hum reaching his ears; “it’s alright, darling, you’re just dripping a little bit,”

At his words, Sirius made an embarrassed little ‘meep’ and dug his head into the older man’s neck, biting gently at the skin; “oh my god,”

Laughing, Remus pushed the door to their room – what was soon to be just his again – and laid him back on the bed; “it’s fine, bug, give me a moment,”

When his words were accepted without protest, he walked backward to the bathroom, emerging a couple of minutes later with a couple of warm, wet flannels. Sirius was exactly where he’d left him, laid flat on the bed with his feet pressed to the rug.

“Legs up, bug,” he commanded, already with one hand under Sirius’ thigh, lifting his leg until he was perched like a frog who had been flipped upside down on the sheets; “can you hold them for me?”

Blushing, Sirius moved his hands to hold beneath his knees, his eyes fixed to the ceiling as he bit his lips together.

“Look at me,” Remus said quietly, his free hand smoothing along the boy’s thigh; “that’s good, thank you bug. Listen to me, alright, I love taking care of you, so much. These little moments, I don’t want you to be embarrassed, my love, you don’t need to be. I’m not going to use it against you, I just want to look after you. That includes cleaning you up after a scene, and looking after you when you’re upset or in need.”

Sirius nodded, his lips still trapped, and blinked tearily in response. Remus made small shushing noises, gently wiping over his soft cock, his balls, following the trail of drying come up his creamy thigh until he was grazing over his puffy, fucked-out hole.

“All done,” he said quietly, gathering the washcloths and throwing them in a ball back through to the bathroom, hearing them land with a wet thump. Climbing onto the bed, he gathered Sirius into his arms and allowed the boy to resume his earlier position, his face pressed into Remus neck as the man spoke soothing words into his ear.

“It’s so much,” Sirius whispered a few minutes later; “I’m not used to it, still, even when I think I am.”

He sometimes forgot where Sirius came from, and what a miracle it was that his boy was as sweet as he was. And then moments like this came along, and the responsibility that rested on his shoulders felt simultaneously heavy – the pressure to not fail Sirius – and like a privilege, to experience moments of revelation with him. All the new discoveries that Sirius was making, both about himself and the world, they contributed to the creation of Remus’ favourite human being.

“I know, darling, I do,” Remus mused; “but it’s okay, I know you’re still learning to trust me with these things.”

“I trust you,” the boy insisted, pushing against his chest to sit up; “of course I trust you,”

“I know, I do, I meant that you’re so used to looking after yourself that with these little moments, when you’re exposed and vulnerable, you struggle to trust me then, in that moment,”

“I guess that makes sense,” Sirius hummed; “but I love you so much, Moony, you need to know that,”

“I do, I do bug, it’s alright,” Remus shushed him; “in my mind they’re separate things, because we’re still learning about each other. Especially after scenes, you came up before I was able to clean you up. Normally I’ve already got you in the bath or wiped you down by the time you become more aware. Because of the time it took to unwrap you,”

He paused at Sirius’ little laugh, looking at him quizzically and smiling when the boy murmurs ‘like a present’ into his chest. With a kiss to his head, he continues; “just like a present, bug. But like I say, normally when I’m cleaning you up like that, you’re in your head, and so I can just talk to you while I clean you up and as long as you can see me, you’re happy,”

“Think I prefer being in my head,” Sirius mumbled, pressing his lips over Remus’ heart; “next time lets do the cleaning up before the unwrapping.”

Remus laughed, rolling them until Sirius was beneath him and kissing him slowly, indulgently; “it’s my job to clean up what I put there, bug. What if you topped, hm? Filled me up with your come so I was all messy, dripping everywhere, you’d need to clean it up, wouldn’t you?”

“Fuck,” the expletive was whispered so quietly he almost missed it, the shape of Sirius’ lips intoxicating.

“Is that a yes?”

With a blush on his face, Sirius nodded in response; “you’d let me?”

“If you want to, of course you can, bug,”

“Please,” he asked; “maybe not yet, but at some point I want to try everything,” he blushed harder, and then amended his statement; “everything that sounds good,”

With a laugh, Remus agreed and began to kick at the covers until they were within reach, tugging them up and over their tangled limbs; “sleep, babybug, we can talk about it again in the morning,”

----------

“So he’s moving out?”

Remus blinked harshly against the bright blue light beaming from his screen, he’d been in the office for the whole afternoon collating the member’s invoices to send out for the end of the month.

“Temporarily, hopefully,” Remus said in answer to Lily’s question; “but yeah, we packed all his clothes and the bits and pieces he’d snuck back into their flat for this morning, and then I’m driving him over tomorrow.”

“Does James know?”

“Oh, he’s going to,” Remus whistled, “Sirius didn’t want to make that mistake twice. I think the plan is to message him tonight and then give a three hour and a thirty-minute warning tomorrow,”

They both shared in a laugh, flashbacks through Remus’ mind to the last time they’d entered Sirius and James’ place unannounced. Yeah, he would send his boy a reminder text as well.

“Are you excited?”

“For him to be gone?” Remus clarified, continuing at her nod; “not particularly. He could stay and I would be happy, but I think it’s too soon for us to be moving in permanently, this was a good test run though.”

Lily merely hummed, eyes fixed on her monitor; “and he’s still young, you know? He likes living with James, and he can still come and stay over a few nights a week, or I can go to him.”

“Oh, of course,” he waved her hand at him dismissively; “that’s not what I was thinking, I just didn’t know if you’d gone all mushy and wanted him to stay since you’re officially ‘in love’ now,”

“Fuck you,” he cursed half-heartedly at her; “sure, I might be a little bit lonely without him tucked up next to me,” he raised his middle finger at her fake gag; “but he’s needier than I am, so it’ll be fine.”

“Mmmhmm, anyways, what are your plans for Christmas?”

“Uh, go home and see the parents, I guess, endure another awkward family meal where people mention our ‘nice little business’ and skirt around the fact it’s a BDSM club. Apart from that… wine, cheese, and sex hopefully.”

“Cheese,” Lily moaned jokingly, the pair jerking in surprise at the heavy knock on the office door. Standing to answer the door, she said; “I know what you mean though, I will undoubtedly have to see the Walrus my sister is married to on Boxing Day and listen to him rant about perverts and turn that particularly fetching shade of vermillion.”

“Ha,” he broke off as the door was pushed open by James, who marched towards him urgently; “uh, you alright, James?”

“Is it true?”

“That depends entirely on what ‘it’ is,” Lily chimed in from where she was leant against the open doorjamb; “and whether we actually know anything about it,”

“Shush,” James said insistently before freezing and turning to face the woman whose face was now stoic, a single eyebrow raised; “uh- I mean, please be quiet Mistress Lily?”

The lady in question burst into laughter, as did Remus; “fuck off, Potter,” she said through gasping breaths; “I haven’t even scened with you for about a month.”

“Right, well, uh-“ James stumbled over his words, turning back to Remus, his face sobering entirely; “I wanted to know if Siri is really coming home tomorrow?”

Smiling softly, Remus nodded, James responding with a great ‘whoop’.

“Fuck yeah!” he exclaimed, high fiving a reluctant Lily, calling thanks over his shoulder as he made his way bay to the stairs which led directly to the kitchen.

“I’d say he’s excited,” Lily deadpanned, Remus pulling a ‘no shit sherlock’ face in response.

----------

“Re?” Sirius called as Remus walked through the door, the boy emerging from behind the fridge door,

“Yeah, bug,” Remus smiled softly at him, hanging his coat of the stand next to the door; “how was your last day at Moony’s?”

“S’good,” Sirius walked towards him, popping up onto his toes to kiss Remus sweetly; “would’ve been better with you here, but…”

“I know, I’m sorry darling,” Remus held him tightly, “but the last Saturday of the month, I have to put together the invoices for members. Plus, I’m home early, aren’t I? 4:30 on the dot, and I saw Jamie. He’s really excited to see you tomorrow,”

“He is?” Sirius asked hopefully, following Remus through to their bedroom and watching as he stripped off his workwear; “I didn’t get much of a response beyond a thumbs up,”

“I think your text arrived right in the middle of their prep, but he fair raced upstairs to check in whether it was true or not,” Remus reassured him, dropping his shirt into the dirty laundry basket and toeing his socks off.

“That’s good, good,” Sirius agreed, his eyes fixed on the older man’s bare chest; “means we can be made up in time for Christmas,”

“Do the Potter’s celebrate?” he asked distractedly,

“Mmhmm,” Sirius licked his lips, “yeah, once we started at Harrow I think they decided to celebrate it so Jamie didn’t feel left out. There weren’t that many minorities and I guess they didn’t want him to be picked on for it, or whatever. By the time I moved in they were really putting a lot of effort into their decorations and everything, although their Christmas dinner is a bit non-traditional. Dad really loves Christmas lights, and Mum loves the tree. They used to wait until we got home from Eton, and then we’d spend the afternoon doing the house up, and we’d have hot chocolate in front of the fire.”

“Is it like where you were before?” he tried to avoid calling Sirius’ birth family home ‘home’, he knew it had been nothing like a home should’ve been.

“No. Thank god, really, since Grimmauld was decorated by a company that followed Christmas trends,” he pulled a face that Remus echoed; “and had to look picture perfect, so we couldn’t touch anything or really enjoy it. And the season was full of parties that meant we had to stay upstairs when we were home from school. Christmas Eve and Day there was always someone there, a politician or a big businessman that they were trying to show off to, so we had to behave or we’d get in trouble. That was the first big punishment I got, actually,”

Remus sat on the bed, tugging Sirius to stand between his legs and holding his hands gently; “I’m so sorry, my love, if you want to talk about it I’m here, and I’m always willing to listen.”

“They just, they told Reggie off for asking when dinner would be served, but he was only little, it was unfair to make him wait so late. So I, I started complaining louder than him, and they ended up taking us upstairs. Reggie got locked up there, but I got my dad’s belt as well. Not the best memories associated with Christmas. All the way up until I moved in with Jamie, really.”

And holy shit, he understood why Regulus not following him hurt so much. He’d been throwing himself over grenade after grenade for years, and still his little brother had thrown it in his face. At least no he had a proper support system, he was back on track and they were reunited.

“My strong bug, hm? So, so strong,” Remus hummed, pulling Sirius closer until the boy was seated on his lap, his cheek pressed to Remus’; “I love you so much, cuddlebug, I’m so proud of you,”

“Moons,” Sirius whispered, pressing his face into Remus’ hair as tears escaped him; “love you too,”

“I’m sorry, my love, I didn’t want tonight to be sad,” Remus rubbed his back gently, bouncing his knee a little bit, attempting to soothe his boy.

“It’s not sad,” Sirius mumbled, “how can it be sad when it brought me to you? Without them being so awful, I never would’ve been so eager to fight against what they stood for, and Jamie and I wouldn’t have been such good friends. I never would have left, I never would have moved out of London. I would never have met you.”

“You have me,” Remus held him, tipping back onto the bed so that Sirius was cuddled up close to his chest; “and you have James, and now you have Regulus again, don’t you? And Euphemia and Fleamont, who, by the way, got back to me this afternoon. His lawyers are happy with the contract, so I am officially out of his bad books.”

“That’s good,” Sirius yawned; “knew you weren’t a big bad wolf, my lovely soft Moony,”

“Only for you, bug, don’t go spreading that around the club,” he joked; “I have a reputation to uphold.”

----------

Sirius POV

Hi Jamie

Siri!

Hi!

This is your 3 hour warning

I will be home in 3 hours

Please be clothed

And please do not have my brother’s genitals anywhere near any of your orifices

I will do my best to never let you either rof those things happen in front of you again

I promise

Also I’m so so so glad you’re coming home

Me too

I’ve missed you

And our nighttime cuddle sessions

YES

We can watch movies together and snuggle

Excellent

I would like to make a Siri + Jamie appointment for tonight

And we can marathon Twilight

I’m going to get the stuff for brownies

I’m so excited

*GIF of ‘dude, we’re getting the band back together’*

----------

“Honey, I’m home,” Sirius yelled as he twisted the key in the lock, the door being wrenched open by an excited James. Opening his arms wide, he allowed his brother to pull him into a tight hug, spinning them in as he cheered excitedly.

“Missed you, Siri,” James mumbled, Sirius returning the sentiment and rubbing their cheeks together affectionately,

“Remus,” James greeted his boyfriend when he’d put the smaller boy back down, “thank you for looking after him,”

“It’s my pleasure,” Remus spoke congenially; “you’re both always welcome at my flat, of course,”

“But me especially, right?” he butted in, grinning teasingly up at the older man,

“You especially, cuddlebug,”

He went to his Moony, standing up on tiptoes to kiss him sweetly, only pulling back when James’ cleared his throat.

“I’ll go get the rest of your bags, bug,” Remus stepped backwards, “and then I’ll pop back up to say goodbye,”

Well, that was a bit sad. He was getting his Jamie back but losing the 24-hour all-access pass he had to Remus.

When his figure had disappeared down the hallway, James slung an arm around his neck and pulled him close; “he’ll still be here all the time, Siri, you don’t need to be sad. He doesn’t live too far away from us, and you’ll see him in work.”

“I know, I’m just gonna miss him,”

“There’s only a few months left on the lease,” James suggested; “come February you could move in with him,”

“What about you?”

“I have it on good authority that another Black might be looking for a roommate with slightly different terms,” James smiled cheekily at Sirius, wiggling his eyebrows until the smaller boy shoved him in the shoulder.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s good, I don’t want you to be alone,”

Wiping his eyes, he turned just as Remus came through the door, laden with bags that he dropped immediately seeing Sirius’ emotional state.

“Hello, my love,” Remus took his face in his hands and he clenched his eyes shut tightly as the older man surveyed him; “what’s all this about, hm? You’re alright, bug,”

“Just sad, going to miss you,”

“No, bug, you won’t get the chance to, will you? I’ll see you tomorrow for our date, and at work, and you can always ring me if you need me. Do you remember how excited you were last night? You couldn’t wait to be back here with James…”

He was right, he and Jamie were back together, and it wasn’t like he was moving across the country, it was only half an hour to Remus’ flat. And phones existed. They would be fine.

“You’re right, you’re totally right, I’ll be okay,”

“Good boy,” Remus pressed Sirius’ face to his chest and hugged him tightly, “in a few days you won’t even remember feeling like this, darling. Jamie has you, and so do I.”

“I love you,” Sirius mumbled, feeling his cheeks flush as he remembered James was in the room.

“I love you too, Sirius,” Remus lifted his chin for a slow kiss that deepened steadily, feeling inevitable in the way that the changing of the tides was.

As if he could pour his love into their connected lips, Sirius leant his full weight against his Moony’s body and groaned when the man took it without protest, walking them backwards until Sirius’ back slammed into the wall. A warm palm encompassed his throat, tilting his head back so that rough kisses could be sucked into his jaw, his mouth falling open as he gasped at the stimulation.

“Oh, for fucks sake!” James exclaimed as he rounded the corner from Sirius’ room, having taken the initiative to drop his brother’s bags in his bedroom while the couple said their goodbyes; “please don’t shag my brother in our living room, people get in trouble for that sort of thing around here.”

“Do they?” Remus asked, a smug smirk on his face as he turned away from the smaller, panting boy.

----------

As the opening credits to Twilight ran, Sirius and James were snuggled under their favourite movie night blanket, feet tucked together as they threw popcorn into each other’s mouths.

“Come on then, spill… did you finally fuck him?”

“Oh my god,” Sirius’ head fell back onto the armrest; “yes, but only like, a week and a bit ago? It was so good, Christ. The man deserves a medal for the things he can do.”

“I’m glad,” James’ face portrayed his amusement quite clearly; “and the rest of it’s good? I heard you drop the L word.”

“Yeah, I nearly told him after the first time he fucked me, but I’m so glad I waited. We said it together… I think it might be something that lasts. And Dad gave Re his approval, sealed with a litigious email and all.”

“That’s good,” his brother poked him in the side with cold toes; “did I tell you that Reg and I are exclusive?”

His lips falling open in surprise, a half-eaten kernel of popcorn dropped into his lap; “no you did not, and you know you didn’t! That’s exciting!”

“Yeah?” James asked wearily, eyes flickering between the TV and Sirius; “because I know that-“

“Shut up, shut up! We’re past it, I’m happy for you guys! Lily knows?” he checked,

“Of course Lily knows, God, what do you take me for? She’s happy for us,”

Sirius smiled at him, sinking further down in his seat as Bella was being awkwardly shown around her father’ house; “so am I, Jamie. You both deserve good things,”

----------

Hello bug

How are you feeling?

I’m good

Jamie and I just finished New Moon

Gonna save the rest for Tuesday night

And you had fun?

Yeah

Didn’t miss you too much

That’s good my love

I don’t like it when you’re sad

My bed is gonna be lonely though

You can call me when you’re all washed up if you’d like

And we can talk until you fall asleep

Okay

I love you Moony

I love you too Cuddlebug

Chapter Text

Sirius POV

“You researched this place, right Siri?” James asked sceptically, glancing around the messy alleyway and toeing at a long-dead rat before yelping as realised exactly what it was he was nudging; “ugh!”

“Of course I did,” he rolled his eyes, laughing at his brother’s reaction while thanking God it wasn’t his bright white trainer that had touched the poor dead animal’s body; “the reviews all said the same thing – nasty outside, crazy good inside!”

“If it’s nasty you’re not letting them touch you,”

“Duh, Jamie,” Sirius scoffed, rolling his eyes as he began the short walk through the door; “I want a tattoo, not an infection,”

Through the entrance, the parlour looked exactly how google had shown it – clean work surfaces, bright green walls with flash drawings pinned to them, a couple of comfy looking sofas and three chairs, two of which were occupied by what looked to be twin sisters. Rolling his lips nervously, he glanced around the space and flinched away from the awkward eye contact he made with one of them.

“You have an appointment, mate?” the only free artist called from across the room, Sirius jolting at the unexpected noise,

“Uh, yeah, yeah, it’s Sirius, Sirius Black,” he walked towards them, smiling nervously; “I hope it’s alright I brought my brother?” he gestured at James, who smiled congenially and leant his hip against the arm of the sofa.

“Sure, sure,” they bustled about, grabbing bits and pieces before coming back to them, “I’m Kayleigh, I’ll just grab your stencil really quickly and I’ll be back.”

Nodding, Sirius watched them walk away and then return, a couple of pieces of paper in their hand; “so is this still the design you want?”

Taking one of the proffered stencils, he looked over the small pride symbol, the 2 by 1.5 inch flag bright on the tracing paper; “yeah, yeah I think so. Jamie?”

“Have you asked him?” James said instead, glancing at the stencil and shrugging, “does he like tattoos?”

“Uh,” Sirius blanked, he hadn’t ever thought that Remus might not like tattoos, although he couldn’t imagine the man ever finding anything offensive in a rainbow flag on his hip. No, Remus wasn’t like that; “no, but he’s gonna like it. I mean, it’s on me, so…”

“Yeah, yeah, he likes everything about you, I know,”

Smothering a laugh, Kayleigh raised an eyebrow and spoke; “I drew up a couple of different sizes for you, I know on the phone you said black outline but I thought that it looked really cool as singular lines, but we can add black if you’d like, like this one.”

Looking between the two stencils, Sirius chewed on his lip as he considered the options – on one hand, the black outline is what he’d been imagining, but on the other the version that was solid colour without the black surround looked sleeker, and he could imagine it on his skin much more.

“I think this one?” he held up his choice, looking to his brother and seeing him agree with his choice; “it’ll look good, right?”

“I think so,” Kayleigh enthused; “if you want to come over, we’ll get you shaved and ready to go,”

He gulped, glancing around; “do I just, uh,” he mimed undoing his trousers, feeling his cheeks burn at the unfamiliar situation.

Kayleigh laughed, in the midst of wrapping the chair in cling film, and nodded him forward; “I think if you just undo your fly we should be able to get at it okay,”

“Okay,” he turned to glare at a laughing James, whose thumbs were tapping quickly at his phone screen; “don’t you dare be telling my brother about this, you little shit,” he hissed as he unbuttoned his jeans and pushed them and his pants down a couple of inches.

“I thought he was your brother?” Kayleigh chimed in, looking between the pair confusedly,

“It’s a long story,” Sirius sighed, holding his shirt up as they approached him with a cheap disposable razor and a spray bottle; “I left home, moved in with James, we both moved up here and then nearly seven years later he started dating my estranged brother,”

They winced in what appeared to be sympathy as they dragged the razor across the flat of his hip, “ah, so…”

“So, then he decided to keep it a secret from me, like an idiot, and we ended up all falling out before we fell back together,”

“And the other brother?”

“He’s good, we’re not-so-estranged from each other anymore,” Sirius tried to supress a laugh at the ticklish sensation of light fingers positioning the stencil.

“Stand straight,” Kayleigh ordered, Sirius pulling his shoulders back and resisting the urge to watch what they were doing. As their gloved hand smoothed over the now-bare skin, they spoke once more; “alright love, what do you think, are you happy with that placement?”

In the mirror, he admired the cut of his hip that was exposed, the bright lines of colour going against the flow of pale skin. He liked it, the stark brightness and the message it delivered. It showed just how far he had come, to be proud and strong in his own right, even though he didn’t have to be.

“What do you think, Jamie? Is it straight?”

A smirk on his face, James appeared over his shoulder in the reflection, a quip at the ready; “does it matter, Siri? You’re not,”

He span quickly, little smacks whacking James’ torso and arms as he retaliated; “you are a menace to society,”

“And you love me,” James sing-songed as he jumped out of Sirius’ reach,

“Right, up on the table please Sirius,”

Nervously, he boosted himself up onto the chair that had been laid flat, settling on his back with a heavy exhale; “will it take long?”

“Only a few minutes really, it will take me longer to change the needles between colours,”

With a breath of relief, he nodded and reached out for James’ hand, mumbling a ‘yes’ when Kayleigh checked if he was ready. At the low hum of the machine, he tried to calm his nerves, picturing what it would look like finished.

“I’m going to start at the top where the skin is thinnest, and from there it should get easier, alright?”

“Alright,” he breathed, eyes focussed on James face as the needle began to scratch at his skin.

“S’it bad?” James asked when his eyes screwed shut,

“Uh, no, no it’s alright,”

As the pain raced through him, he realised it was hitting the same part of his brain that Remus usually did. Which mean that he was-

“Shit,” he murmured, feeling his cheeks burn as he released James’ hand and brought both of his hands up to clench in his hair,

“We doing okay up there?”

“Uh-huh,” he agreed quickly; “it’s good,”

James snickered, his voice a conspiratorial whisper as he teased; “nice bruise on your hip there Siri, doesn’t Remus have such big hands?”

“Oh my god,” he groaned, covering his face in embarrassment as heat pooled low in his belly; “shut up, Jamie!”

Quieter, James asked; “so do you mean ‘it’s good’ like oh, this pain isn’t too bad, or do you mean ‘it’s good’ like I’m gonna need to drop you off at Atelier instead of home?”

“If I say the second one will you laugh?”

“Undoubtedly,” James deadpanned, and Sirius popped one eye open to see James peering at Kayleigh’s progress with a wide smile on his face; “that’s only one line done, Siri. Five more to go,”

“Can I have my phone?”

Laughing, James handed over his phone and went back to watching Kayleigh work. Biting his lips shut, Sirius unlocked his phone to see a text from Remus not ten minutes ago.

Hi Cuddlebug

How is your day going

I may have done something

That I am now very turned on because of

Oh dear

Need you

Where are you?

Said action is ongoing

When its finished can I come by so you can fuck me?

Please

Please

Please

Such a needy little bug

I’m just finishing up with Lily and then I was planning on heading home

Will you stay

Jamie will drop me off

Don’t even need to do anything Moons

Can just sit and let me fuck myself on your cock

I’ll be so good for you

Hm

I guess I could

Yeah?

I don’t see why not

You know how much I like having my hands on you darling

And I’m never going to turn down an offer to fuck my needy little bug

Well

You might not be allowed to touch

But

Why can’t I touch?

Sirius?

Uh

Well

I may be getting a tattoo

Oh dear

Do we need to adjust your list then?

I didn’t think it would feel so good

It’s like when you bite me

But different

Scratchy-but-good

My lovely little bug. If you can get here within the hour I’ll fuck you. If you can’t, then…

I will see you soon

They’re just finishing now

Kayleigh cleared their throat, thankfully not saying anything about the growing bulge in his jeans as they wiped him over one last time. James was not so merciful.

“Is this the first time someone’s gotten a boner in your chair?”

“Uh,” they floundered for a second, snapping off their gloves and laughing into their elbow; “no. It is the first time I haven’t been creeped out by it. The resolute staring at the ceiling rather than down my shirt made it clear it was not supposed to be aimed at me,”

James hooted a laugh that made Sirius want to shrink, by now the whole shop aware that he had unfortunately enjoyed getting his tattoo just a little bit more than was normal. Smacking him in the arm, he turned his attention back to the artist and listened carefully as they explained the aftercare instructions.

“Alright, so I’m going to put what we call a second skin over this. It’s like a clear plaster that will protect the surface. The idea is that because there’s something covering the wound – because that’s what it is, a wound – it will heal faster. Leave it on for five or six days, and don’t worry about the fluid that will collect underneath, don’t try to drain it out or anything like that. I’ve rounded the edges so they will be less likely to lift, but don’t freak out if it does lift a little bit,”

Nodding, Sirius tried to remember everything they said, glancing sideways to see James was staring at his phone screen instead; “you can shower, do everything pretty much as normal, although you should not sunbathe under any circumstances.”

“It’s November?”

“Right, but some people use sunbeds; clearly not you though, good boy,”

“I’d be careful calling him that right now,”

“Would you fuck off already,” Sirius exclaimed, blushing, he then turned and apologised to Kayleigh.

“When you take the bandage off, I’d do it in the shower – it comes off easier, just let the water get beneath the adhesive and it will come away. If you have any residue left on your skin after, you’re going to want to massage it with some coconut oil and it will come away.”

“Coconut oil?”

“Yes,” they confirmed; “get yourself a jar – it doesn’t need to be fancy, but it needs to be specifically for your tattoo. You can’t have used it to cook, or as lube, or anything that could compromise the sterility. When you’re touching it, make sure your hands are clean and to keep it nice and moisturised as well.”

“But while the plaster is on I can touch it?”

They smiled at him as he buttoned up his jeans, sitting up on the bed and then pushing himself to stand; “you can touch it, as can anyone else you would like to touch it.”

The smirk on Kayleigh’s face told him all he needed to know, that Remus could press him thumb into the fresh ink while he fucked him.

And he had a whole 50 minutes to get to the club so that Remus would.

----------

He barrelled through the front door of Atelier, his middle finger raised over his shoulder and James’ laughter echoing across the pavement. He had been ribbed the whole way over about his reaction to the pain, although he knew if positions were reversed James would probably react the same. He was, after all, more of a masochist than Sirius was.

He had three minutes before the deal ran out, they’d hit every traffic light between Showman’s Ink and Atelier, the fifteen-minute ride becoming forty-five. Now was not the time to slow down.

Bounding up the external entryway stairs, he punched the code into the key reader that worked as a staff override and pushed through the door. Checking his phone hurriedly, he breathed a sigh of relief as the screen showed 14:59.

“Look who made it,” Remus’ voice rang clear in the corridor, and when he looked back up, Remus was standing in the open door to his room, pale grey jogging bottoms slung low on his hips, his chest bare and his arms braced on the gloss white architrave; “I was beginning to think you didn’t need my cock as much as you said you did, bug,”

Licking his lips, he basked in the glory of Remus’ shirtless form, the tanned, scarred expanse of skin, lean muscle shifting as he tensed. The lines of his hips, the darkening trail of hair that still hid the imprints of his teeth; the memories that accompanied the bruises which littered his torso. Eyes dropping to the bulge exaggerated by the thin material, he whined just a little bit when the shaft he was so familiar with twitched under his attention. God, what he’d give to be choking on his cock right that second.

“I do, I do Moony,” he breathed, taking a step forward so that the door closed behind him, and then another so he was wholly stood in the corridor, meeting his Moony’s eyes.

“I’m sure you do,” a voice came from his left, and he jolted at the surprise of a third party, the door having opened silently; “however I have already been to the Remus-and-Sirius-get-it-on viewing party once before, so if you could take this to your room, please?”

With a low chuckle, Remus stepped forward and extended a hand to Sirius, all the while directing his speech at Pete; “you’re right, sorry about that mate. We will go to our room and be good,”

Taking Remus’ hand, Sirius walked past the man stood on the threshold of the monitoring room, smiling apologetically at him as his cheeks burned a fierce red. He choked on his breath as Pete muttered a very quiet, “I sincerely doubt that,” in response to Remus’ words.

When the door shut behind them, Remus lead him to the sofa and sat down, “no, no bug, you stay stood up. I want you to strip for me, please,”

Suddenly self-conscious, he chewed at his lips and tangled his fingers tighter with Remus’ when the older man made to pull away; “you don’t mind that I got one, right? You’ll still…”

“I’ll still… what, bug? Hm? What’s got you all worried?”

Tilting his head back, he blinked at the ceiling and took a deep breath; “I’m worried you won’t want me because I got a tattoo,”

“Did you get something awful? A white power tattoo, a baby being mauled by a bear? Did you get ‘Property of James Potter’ on your arse?”

“No,” he laughed, dropping Remus’ hands to lift the hem of his t-shirt, “you promise you still love me?”

Remus had an amused smile painted across his lips, but he nodded and reaffirmed; “yes, bug, I promise I still love you even though you’ve got a tattoo.”

Dragging the fabric over his head, he waited with baited breath as his Moony surveyed the skin he’d revealed. When warm air ghosted over sensitive skin, he bit the bullet and looked down, seeing Remus’ thumb hovering over the fresh ink.

“Can I touch it, bug?”

“Mmmhmmm, over the plaster thing you can,”

Steady pressure over the centre of the flag, an ache that spread like a hot rush, reigniting the desperate want that had flagged just minutes before.

“It’s lovely, darling,” Remus mused, undoing the button of his jeans for him and tugging the zipper down slowly; “my proud little bug,”

Kicking off the skin-tight denim, he fisted Remus’ shaggy hair as the older man pressed a gentle kiss to his hip, continuing the ministrations across to the other side. As Remus sat back, he hooked big palms behind Sirius’ thighs and pulled him to straddle his clothed lap; “so you like it?”

“I do,” Remus agreed, now looking up at him, “what made you get it?”

“Been wanting one for a while,” Sirius shrugged; “and then with Reggie back, and you helping me to explore myself… It symbolizes growth, and freedom, and, and, me being able to be myself,”

As he gazed down at warm amber eyes, Sirius saw his own feelings reflected. Unadulterated love and desire was pouring from Remus in waves as the man nuzzled his nose into Sirius’ pecs, suckling pale flesh between his teeth and beginning a slow, teasing bite.

A gently exhaled moan, pulling at his Moony’s hair accidentally, and then there was cool air brushing against where the older man’s mouth once was. Whining, he tried to drag Remus’ head closer to him; but he held fast, watching Sirius with raspberry-red lips and messy hair.

“Do you still want me to fuck you, darling?”

“I really, really do,” Sirius murmured, “want you to let me ride you, and have you press your thumb into my new tattoo to make it hurt so good,” he shivered as Remus did just that; “and I want you to make my bruises bigger, and deeper, and I want new hickies, want to be covered in them, owned by you,”

Head falling forward into Sirius’ shoulder, he felt the groan that left his boyfriend reverberate in his ribcage; “do you want a collar of my bruises, my love?”

Oh.

“Please, Moony,” he begged, “then I can show them off, prove that I’m yours,”

All he really wanted was for there to be no doubt in anyone’s mind that he belonged to Remus, that he existed in moments like these not for his own pleasure, but for Remus’.

“Such a lovely boy,” Remus praised him, tilting his own head back so that Sirius could meet his lips in a slow, sweet kiss; “asking for what you need,”

“Say you will,” he begged; “please say you will,”

Sitting back against the sofa, Remus watched him writhe in his lap for just a moment until he spoke once more; “I will, my darling, but I need you to let me up first.”

He could do that.

Clumsily standing, he disappeared into Remus’ bathroom and reappeared a few minutes later, a blush on his cheeks. Remus was waiting for him, of course he was. Laid in the middle of the bed with his head tilted back on a feather down pillow, body bare against cotton sheets.

“Hi Moons,” he mumbled as he got to the edge of the bed, smiling as he watched the man’s head angle towards him and a soft smile overtake his face.

Remus was slowly stroking his cock, just enough to keep himself hard while Sirius got himself cleaned up; “hi bug,” reaching out to him, Sirius clambered up onto the bed and waited until he was invited to jump his Moony; “climb on, you’re alright,”

Pleased at his invitation, he manoeuvred himself so that he was straddling his hips. Feeling bold, he batted at Remus’ loose grip and took him in hand, ignoring his Moony’s protests as he lifted himself, positioned the older man’s cock at his slick hole and sank down.

He hadn’t quite stretched himself enough, and so the burn as he sank down was more than usual; “Sirius,” Remus chastised him through the clear pleasure he was experiencing; “that was naughty, bug,”

“Wanted it,” he panted; “I stretched after,” he promised, his blush strengthening in embarrassment.

“Oh darling,” Remus cooed at him, “it’s been months but you still go all pink when you talk about cleaning yourself up for me,”

“S’embarrassing,” he mumbled, ducking down to nuzzle into Remus’ shoulder so that he didn’t have to look at him as he rocked his hips slowly.

“No it’s not, my love,” Remus pressed a kiss to the soft hair above his temple and circled his hips as much as the weight of Sirius on top of him would allow; “what would be a little embarrassing is the consequences of not cleaning,”

“Ew,” he whined, pushing himself back to a sitting position and making a ‘squick’ face at the suggestion; “no more talking, Moony,”

Covering Remus’ mouth with one hand, he started to lift himself up, moving in a testing pattern until he found his prostate and began to bounce with earnest. His fingers slipping into Remus’ mouth, he moaned when the man suckled on them; eyes shooting open to see the delicious way his Moony smirked around his fingers.

“Fuck,” he moaned; “do the thing, do the thing, want you to touch it,”

Raising an eyebrow, Remus stared him down until he relented and removed his fingers from his mouth; “there we go, darling,”

“Moony please,” he sobbed as he worked himself down harder, not quite able to get the power and speed into his thrusts that his partner often did; “make it hurt, want you to make it hurt,”

“My poor little love,” Remus hummed as he rubbed his thumb in a teasing circle over the fresh ink; “so desperate for cock that you couldn’t play nicely with your Moony,”

As his thumb dug into thin skin, the blunt scrape of his nail over the dressing, he shuddered; “needed you, Re, please don’t punish me, please,”

“You beg so nicely,” Remus hummed, watching him from his reclined position, pulling his knees up so that Sirius could use them for leverage; “do you want to give in, my love?”

“Mmmf,” he murmured unintelligibly, “s’tiring,”

“Oh I know it is, bug,” the teasing continued, Remus lifting himself up on his elbows to suckle at the hard point of Sirius’ nipple, alternating between the two as Sirius held his head to his chest; “how about this, my love, if you can keep this up, if you can make us both come riding my cock like this, then Moony won’t punish you for being so naughty. Does that sound good?”

“Deal,” he panted; “I can do it,”

With a renewed vigour, he lifted his hips and tried to fuck himself down in some semblance of a rhythm, concerned entirely with what would get his partner off. As he felt tracking amber eyes slide over him, the heated gaze he was used to from Remus, he panted harshly.

Clenching hands dugs more bruises into his fragile skin, Remus’ head tilting back until it was stopped by the headboard with a low thump that got lost to the sound of their intimacy. It took all that he had to remember how to clench his hole rhythmically around his partner’s shaft, rocking himself back and forth as he watched the older man come undone.

“Re, Re,” he moaned,

“Such a good boy,” Remus responded, his hips beginning to flex of their own accord; “you’re going to make me come, darling,”

Fuck.

“Oh god, please, please Moony,” he begged; “want you to come inside me, fill me up, ‘s all I want, please, please,”

With a broken ‘fuck’, Remus’ came apart beneath him, the look on his face and the hard final shove of his hips enough to send Sirius careening over the edge and into his orgasm. Feeling warm come flooding into him, he whined and shifted at the now-familiar sensation.

“Such a good bug,” Remus murmured, holding him tightly to his chest, nuzzling at the crown of his head; “you did such a good job for me, my love,”

Sighing happily, Sirius nosed at the chestnut-brown hair that covered his Moony’s chest, lapping up his come quietly. Laughing at the way Remus’ hand fisted in his hair in response, he carried on cleaning Remus’ torso until it was come free and he could settle completely.

“My favourite Moony,” he mumbled, trailing gentle kisses across his chest until he reached Remus’ collarbone, biting at the thin skin until he had a chunk between his teeth that he could worry carefully.

“My favourite boy,” Remus returned; “I love your new tattoo, bug. And I love you… so so much,”

“Love you too,” he mumbled as he fought the need for sleep; “’m glad you like it,”

----------

“You two are so cringey-cute,” Regulus snarked at them, a smile affixed firmly to his sharp features. From his position next to James, across from them at the table of James and Sirius’ favourite greasy café, he had what Sirius’ imagined to be an excellent view of he and his Moony enjoying breakfast together; “it would make me ill if I weren’t so happy for you.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be a psychologist or some shit?”

“Yeah, but I’m not being one right now,” he stuck his obscenely pink – from the cranberry juice he was drinking, Sirius suspected – tongue out at them before munching on a slice of fried bread as he terrorised his older brother; “right now I’m just a guy having breakfast with my boyfriend, my brother and my brother’s, uh, boyfriend? Partner?”

“Boyfriend is fine,” Remus said, one hand firmly on Sirius’ thigh as he picked through his full English with just a fork.

“Yeah, boyfriend is good,” Sirius said dazedly, watching with heart-eyes as the man shovelled beans into his mouth; “my lovely Moons,”

Coughing around his mouthful, James cleared his throat and then spoke; “Jesus, Siri, I don’t know how you’re still so thirsty,”

With a happy sigh, Sirius returned to his food, choosing to ignore the two irritating men he had the pleasure of calling brother. And just, ugh, he really needed to figure out a new way to say that.

“I mean look at us, you wouldn’t even know we were together,” James said, elbowing Regulus and smiling; “we’d make great spies,”

“You tripped over air and walked into a lamppost on our way here, Potter,” Regulus snorted; “I’m not sure that ‘covert’ is really in your repertoire. Also, you’re way too attractive to blend in.”

While they were all laughing at his brother’s comeback, Sirius used the distraction to pinch the last hash brown from his Moony’s plate.

Just one more inch and he’d have made it, it would be on his plate and he could play ‘finders keepers’.

His mouth was watering at the crispy shell of potato, the dreams of greasy-happy-tasty hash browns in his mouth crashing and burning when a scarred hand wrapped firmly around his wrist, making him jolt in surprise and his fingers sink ever-so-much into the potatoey goodness.

“And just what do you think you’re doing, my love?”

Slowly lifting his head, he met Remus’ amber eyes with trepidation, trying his best to adopt an innocent expression; “claiming what’s rightfully mine?”

“Oh, is that right?”

The raised eyebrow Remus directed at him sent a shiver through his body, his belly tightening at the heat in his boyfriend’s eyes; “mmmhmmm,” he hummed; “I’m your good boy,”

“And that means you can steal my food?”

“Good boys,” he licked his lips, trying to gather enough moisture in his mouth to speak; “good boys get the things they ask for, right?”

“But you didn’t ask, my love,” Remus reasoned, a smirk on his face as he lowered himself to speak directly into Sirius’ ear; “and so you’re not being very well-behaved right now, are you?”

A shuddering inhale as warm breath sent shivers down his spine, and he opened his mouth to respond when-

“Yeah, we’re still here,” Regulus’ sharp voice interrupted him; “so if you could refrain from threatening to spank him, or whip him, or give him a time out, whatever your preferred method of punishing my brother is, thanks.”

Sitting up straight and breaking off a piece of his coveted hash brown, Remus brought it to his lips and chewed slowly, swallowing and then saying; “oh, I’m sorry, was it difficult for you to have to hear something like that? Must be traumatic, huh?”

From where his face was buried in Remus’ shoulder, pressed to slightly scratchy twill, Sirius’ frame shook with laughter. Every so often Remus did this, made a comment with absolutely no intonation about how they’d discovered that James and Reggie were together.

“God, I love you,” he murmured into the fabric, smiling when Remus whispered the sentiment against the top of his head, a quick press of his lips following. He straightened up, making sure to meet Regulus’ eyes before he said; “and anyways, I never get punished. Like I said, I’m a good boy.”

Groaning, Regulus shoved back his chair and headed towards the bathroom, throwing a ‘disgusting’ over his shoulder as he went.

James smiled at him, shaking his head as he used his final piece of fried bread to clear his plate completely, smearing runny egg yolk over cheap white ceramic then ducking forward to catch as much of it in his mouth as he could. As his brother tilted his head back and hummed happily at his mouthful, Sirius covered his mouth with his free hand to hide his smile.

“That’s a bit much, Jamie, I already know what you look like on your knees, I don’t need to see you with a mouthful,”

He cackled as the dark-skinned man choked, leaning for a napkin as he coughed and spluttered. Remus had an amused smirk on his face, eyes flicking between the pair as they bantered back and forth.

When he reached out, Remus’ large palm was warm and comforting against his, his thumbs already running circles over the back of his hand as he verbally abused his oldest friend.

This was what it was supposed to be like. He could get used to this.

----------

Remus POV

“Thanks for doing this, mate,” Remus said, leaning back against the island in his kitchen as he watched James move around, familiarising himself with the space; “do you want a drink or anything?”

“Beer?”

“Course,” he turned to the drinks fridge, fishing out a can of Foster’s and placing it in the younger man’s outstretched hand; “I prefer the cheaper lagers, hope that’s okay,”

James shrugged as he turned back to the chopping board, setting up some sort of organisation system with lots of little bowls; “figured you’d be an IPA man, but I guess new money means you like the basics, huh?”

“In some regard,” he mused; “it’s what my Da used to drink, so it carries some nostalgia with it.”

It was true, the sense of nostalgia that accompanied suffering through a can of what used to be his father’s favourite drink mean that it was the only type of beer he kept in the flat, since he preferred whiskies anyways.

He supressed a smirk at the momentary panic that crossed James’ face at the mention of his late father, and then waved him away when it looked like he was about to apologise.

“That’s nice,” James replied awkwardly, “so, uh, confit duck, huh?”

Nodding, Remus confirmed; “he said it was his favourite, but I have no clue where to start,”

“It is, and it’s a bit complicated but not too bad in terms of techniques. We’re going to do confit duck, and then potato dauphinois, roasted veg and some asparagus to freshen it up.”

“He likes all of that?” Remus checked, knowing that his boy could be a little bit picky about foods from time to time.

“Uh huh,” James nodded, taking a whole duck from his bag of ingredients; “I learned how to make this three years ago, and since then it has been his birthday dish of choice every year.”

Remus frowned a little, remembering the sad event that had been his bug’s birthday this year. How he’d struggled to maintain his composure when he spoke to his family, pretending like he and James were doing everything as normal. Instead, they’d spent the evening curled up on the sofa while Remus held him through the pain of his betrayal.

“He did have duck, actually,” he agreed, hoping that James wouldn’t linger too long on the sadness; “but it was from the Chinese, so just crispy duck and pancakes.”

James hummed, and then set his knife down and sighed; “I never meant to hurt him, you know that, right?”

“I do,”

“I was just trying my best to do as Regulus asked, but I should’ve known it would have gone to shit,”

Remus clapped his hand on the younger man’s shoulder, aiming for a comforting rub; “I love Sirius,” he started; “you hurt him a lot, the two of you, but I can’t say that if it was a reverse situation, and Sirius had asked me to keep our relationship a secret I would’ve told him no. The Black brothers are nearly irresistible, James. You did what you thought was right, and you can trust me when I say that he’s moved past it. He’s happy for you two.”

“I missed his fucking birthday,” James said quietly; “we promised each other years ago that we’d spend our birthdays together,”

“I know you did,” Remus tried to cajole him; “but he wasn’t alone, and he still spoke to your parents. You could have a late celebration, the two of you? Or we could do a big fancy dinner, if you liked?”

“You’d be alright with that?”

Huffing out a laugh, Remus said; “James, the two of you are a package deal, I am well aware of that. What’s more, I like you. You’re a good guy, and your heart has always been in the right place, even when you’ve not made the best choices.”

“Alright,”

“Alright?”

“Alright.”

“Good, because I plan to be around until Sirius tells me he doesn’t want me to be, so…”

“Plus, there’s the whole thing where you’re the man who pays my salary, so…”

“Fuck off,” Remus laughed; “I’m trying to be a good guy here,”

“You are a good guy, Remus,” James said soberly; “and for what it’s worth, I don’t see Sirius ever telling you he doesn’t want you,”

That made him smile as he stood at James’ shoulder, watching him carefully prepare everything, the pair swapping places when the chef decided it was time for Remus to get his hands dirty.

----------

Dropping his keys in to the bowl, he let Sirius through the door behind him and then shut it tightly, sliding the deadbolt into place and sighing happily. The whole front room smelled incredible, an afternoon of hard work culminating in a hearty home-cooked meal for the two of them. Having left James to add the final touches while he went to fetch his bug, he wasn’t quite sure how the meal would be presented, but he was certain James would’ve pulled it off.

“Surprise,” he said quietly as he walked towards Sirius, pecking him on the lips, taking his coat and hanging it on the coat rack. When he returned, he stood behind his boy, who was frozen at the head of the table and smoothed his hands over jersey-clad shoulders; “I thought we could have dinner properly, so I had Jamie teach me how to make your favourite…”

James had clearly just left, the dish of dauphinoise burbling happily on the dining table, the piping hot dish resting on a cork heat mat. Beside it sat a covered pot he assumed held the duck and the roasted vegetables, and he knew from the text he’d gotten he just needed to press go on the microwave to steam the asparagus.

Wih pink cheeks, Sirius asked; “you learned how to make confit duck for me?”

“Of course for you, cuddlebug, you’re my everything,” pressing a kiss to his temple he stepped away, pretending he didn’t see the little happy dance his boy did at the words.

Pulling out a seat for Sirius, he nudged his boy forward until he was at a comfortable distance from the table and asked; “drink, my love?”

“Please,” Sirius croaked, licking his lips,

“Coming right up,” he set to opening the bottle of wine, dipping around the island to press start. The cork came free with a gentle sound that made Sirius laugh, the joy making him look so young and carefree, and he poured a small sip into Sirius’ glass and let him test it as if he were really a sommelier, waiting for an approving nod before he poured more.

“That’s really nice wine,” Sirius said as the older man set the plated asparagus on the table and began to serve them each a portion; “I mean, that’s like a Selfridges £300 bottle of wine,”

“A little more than that,” he shrugged, not wanting to admit the splurge he’d made on the case of wine; “like I said, I want tonight to be special.”

“You don’t need to spend your money for us to have special moments,” Sirius shook his head, carefully spearing a little piece of each part of his dinner then popping it in his mouth, humming happily; “being with you is so special, Re, I couldn’t care about the money, not without you,”

“No, but that makes it all the nicer when I treat you, Sirius,” he insisted, eating with only his fork so he could reach out for the younger boy’s hand; “you deserve nice things.”

“You’re the nice thing I deserve,” Sirius murmured, running his thumb over the whorls of Remus’ knuckles; “I love you,”

“I love you too,” he took a deep breath, setting his fork down; “I want to talk to you about something,”

He watched as his bug’s face shuttered, insecurity flashing through his eyes as he heard Remus’ words; “something good?”

“I hope so,” he started; “my mum is coming up just before Christmas, and I was hoping that I could introduce you to her. She doesn’t know much about you, but she knows that we’re serious,” his lips quirked at Sirius’ reaction to the word; “and has been asking for an introduction.”

“You think she’ll like me?”

Humming, Remus brought their joined hands to his lips and pressed a careful kiss to the back of his hand; “of course she will, darling, what’s not to like?”

“I’m younger than you,” Sirius said carefully, his grip tightening on Remus’; “quite a bit younger,”

“She won’t mind that, bug, not when we’ve only been together a few months,”

At the slight frown that creased Sirius’ brow, he elaborated; “you’re twenty-four, which, yeah, is younger than me by a bit, but we met when you were twenty-three and an adult who was employed. You’re not an eighteen-year-old that I met three years before and like, groomed to be my boyfriend. We’re both adults, and that’s all she’ll care about. That, and that we’re happy.”

“You’re sure?”

“Very sure,” he pushed back from the table and stood, crossing around to kneel next to his boy; “if you don’t want to meet her you don’t have to, my love. There’s no pressure whatsoever, we can do this at your pace-”

“Has anyone else ever met your mum?” Sirius interrupted him, silver eyes blinking owlishly down at him,

“Greyback did, just the once in the beginning,” he sighed, “since then, no. There hasn’t been anyone that’s stuck around long enough for me to want to,” he smiled softly at Sirius’ encouraging nod; “plus, you’re the only person I’ve felt so strongly about… ever, so it feels right that you meet her,”

“Okay,” Sirius mumbled, hands framing Remus’ face as he leant down to kiss him; “now come on, back in your seat so we can finish my duck while it’s still hot,”

He complied dutifully, standing and ignoring the disturbing creak his knees made, the two of them chatting quietly between bites of succulent duck and creamy potatoes.