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They had discussed –and even argued– about it several times in the past. Sometimes in a light way, sometimes with screams and tears in between, always in privacy, but that didn’t mean their friends hadn’t heard both of them venting about the matter.
Eventually, Sirius had settled and understood that Remus just had a different love language when it came to pet names, and it was alright, really.
Except it wasn’t.
“Please!! You have far more pet names for Lily than for me! Even Regulus has more pet names than I do in your book!!” – Sirius moaned and fretted, not really in a bad mood or wanting to pick up a fight; he just felt a bit wounded, as if he was not as deserving of Remus’ love as they were.
“C’mon Pads, you know that’s not true…”
“It is though, you call Lily Lils, Lilypad, Red Fury, Carrot-Top… you even called her Wendy once, when she was with braids, and she loved it!” – Remus lowered the knife that he was using to dice the vegetables. He was expecting to have a calm home-made dinner with Sirius, but it seemed that it’d have to wait a bit longer.
“Yes, but it’s different, I use those to tease her, not as –“
“And you call Regulus Reg, Reggie, Redge, Art… YOU CALL HIM BLOODY ART AND I’M STUCK WITH PADS!!” – there it was, the hurt. Remus didn’t like the sound of hurt in Sirius’ voice at all, but it was very clear this was affecting him. It seemed he was just teasing, pretending to be mad about it, but the small intonation was clear: he was asking for something, and so many years with that wicked family of his had gotten rid of any straightforward attempt of doing so. Remus had learned to read him by now, and it pained to realize he was hurting the person he loved the most with such a small, easy to give thing.
“Sirius… I….”
“See? You only ever call me Pads, Padfoot or Sirius. So that’s only two pet names and my actual name. You don’t love me anymore” – Sirius stuck his tongue out at him, and Remus felt yet another pang in his chest. The hurt was still there.
“Alright. First… come here” – he didn’t wait for Sirius to walk to his side, instead, he moved around the island in their kitchen and pulled Sirius in by his hips. He pecked his lips three times – four, for good measurement – before speaking again.
“I love you, more than anyone. I love your name, and I love the sound of it: Sirius. Sirius Orion Black… I know you dislike some parts of it, but to me you sound like the best poem anyone ever wrote. I love your name and I love to say it”
Sirius let himself be kissed, he even blushed at the statement, but he still felt like he needed to set his point clear. “I won’t allow you to call me my full name, ever. It’s awful”
“And I respect that, that’s why I call you Sirius”
“BUT EVERYBODY CALLS ME SIRIUS!!”
Sirius sighed and got out of his embrace. It was dangerous to try and argue while in Remus’ arms, he’d end up giving in, and the whole point would be lost in lovely, pleasurable, delightful touches…
Bloody concentrate, Black.
“I know you love me Moony, I do, fuck… And I love you and your name. I feel what you said even for the muggle middle name you have. It’s beautiful…. But, but – I don’t go around calling you Johnnie, do I?”
“Nor do I call you Ori, Sirius, that’d be weird”
“I KNOW!” – Sirius sighed in frustration, turning around a couple of times with his hands running nervously through his hair. “Sorry. I’m sorry, it’s just … I don’t know, I…”
“I’ll be better, I promise. I’ll…. I’ll try my best, I know it’d make you happy”
Sirius looked at Remus in the eye and ran to kiss him as if he had been abroad for a year. For all sacred and unsacred things, the way Moony could read him was astonishing even to him. He loved that man.
And now that it was settled, at least partially…
“Do you want to, maybe, indulge in some lovely, pleasurable, delightful touches?”
Remus couldn’t deny him, he pulled Sirius in once again, and kissed the little grin he had on with all the love he felt for him. Dinner be damned.
~~~~
The following days were still the same, no pet names, but Remus was sweet to him –he always was, to be honest, even when he just called him Sirius. They were comfortable, domestic… not really much to overthink about. In fact, Sirius was dozing off on the sofa when Remus came in, cozy jumper on a hand and with one of Sirius’ tees on. He looked adorable.
“Hey, love, fancy going to Diagon with me? I need some books from Flourish and Blotts, and then I may stop at Borgin. We could go to Honeydukes after; buy our stock for the month instead of asking for it to be owled… Sirius? Are you alright?”
Sirius had abruptly sat up and was looking at him wide eyed.
“You look as if Peeves had come into our home. Is there something wrong?”
“Tell me again what you just told me”
“You look as if Peeves had come in?” – Remus looked at him, puzzled, but still smiled and repeated.
“No, the other thing”
“Oh, right. I’d like to stop at Honeydukes today, if you come with me to Diagon, that is. Fancy coming with me?”
“No, you absolute gorgeous moron, the other thing”
Remus laughed at that and approached Sirius to kiss his cheek. “I need to stop at Burgin, and go to Flourish and Blotts, do you want to go on that lame date with me? I promise to buy inflatable cotton candy for you and all”
“NO! You know what I mean…”
“I don’t Pads, promise… but I really need to go, will you side along?”
Sirius sighed and dragged his feet after Remus all the way to their doorstep, where he stopped him by grabbing his wrist.
“Fine… I’ll let it be, but go for another jumper, I want the one that you’re holding”
Remus smiled, giving Sirius the jumper, and went for another for himself. Sirius genuinely thought he had dreamed what he heard. He had been close to fall asleep anyways.
~~~
“In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you. That man was head over hills for Lizzie and he never called her anything other than Ms. Bennet. She still loved him, they got married, they were happy and it is to this day the best love story in history, I– ”
“Shut up Regulus Arcturus, you’re supposed to be on my side with this! And I love Moony, and we ARE happy, I just– just be on my side!!”
“Well, he bribed me with an enchanted Dominican totem he got at Borgin the other day, so I’m sorry, my loyalties were bought”
“Oh. Was that for you?!” – Sirius remembered buying it with Remus when they went to Diagon a little over a month ago. What a lovely date had that one been. He loved going on impromptu dates.
Still, looking back at the totem, Sirius reaffirmed how exotic it was, and given its style, he would’ve never guessed it was for Regulus.
Regulus, in turn, seemed to have read his mind. “It’s for protection, but it’s also quite funny. If someone unwelcome steps a foot in here, it haunts them until they leave. It worked wonders on Bella just yesterday, even burnt some strands of her locks as she left”
“You had Bellatrix sitting with you here and you dare to have me in the same space you had HER?!”
“Brother dearest…” –Regulus looked at him, unsurprised by how childish Sirius was, and yet falling into their old ways of teasing each other with no second thought– “as I said, Sebastian haunts unwelcome people. I just told you he haunted her. She came over demanding for the Black’s blessing and financing for her wedding, even telling me to open the vault so she could choose jewelry. I, obviously, denied her rather unpolite request and asked Sebastian to help me, which he did wonderfully, right, Sebastian?”.
The totem seemed to dance in its place, and Sirius rolled his eyes. Of course, Regulus would be one to befriend a strange magical object… creature? Whatever that was, and even name it.
“If it comforts you, she did curse me, as always, probably tried to crucio me at some point, so I’m still on your side, she still hates me. After seeing she couldn’t beat me, she retorted to setting my living room on fire, which is the reason I called you, to begin with…”
“You mean you didn’t call to have a good chat and gossip with your brother? You wound me”
Sirius popped another biscuit in his mouth before waving his wand around as if nothing, and the burnt living room was restored.
Regulus gaped at him, forgetting all about composure and mannerisms. “How the hell?! I tried everything and you just had to –”
“You didn’t try Sirius Black, darling” – Sirius winked at Regulus, who quite literally gagged.
“Ew. No. I’m the Head of the Blacks, but not that much of a Black. I’d very much rather hear you rant about Remus and his lack of pet names again than having you repeat that shit”
“Wonderful, come along then!” –Sirius went to the newly repaired living room and plopped himself on a sofa. Regulus followed right behind, secretly amused by this whole ordeal, and mumbled under his breath a soft "you're impossible" as he took the biscuits with him.
Sirius called his attention as soon as he sat down. “Actually listen to me this time, alright? I call him Moony, Moons, Moonbeam, Moonlight, Moonshot, Moonchild, Moonshine… Wolf, on special occasions, love, my love… I’ve even used French with him!”
“Please don’t tell me you called him petit pois”
Sirius wrinkled his nose immediately. “Never. No, I hate that one. I called him mon chou though, and lapin. He thought that one was wolf, ha”
“And he calls you…”
“Pads”
“And…”
“Padfoot”
“And…”
“Nothing, no pet names, he calls me Sirius, and that’s it. You see my point?! My life is miserable Reg, my boyfriend doesn’t love me”
Regulus shut up then, actually thinking. Maybe Sirius was right. Not about Lupin not loving him, that was ridiculous, but the lack of pet names was… interesting. He could see the point now. Still, it was hilarious.
“Why don’t you show him romance books or something?”
“You told me that the greatest love story in history doesn’t have pet names. I won’t risk it”
"Fair enough"
After that, and before the biscuits ran out, both Blacks started planning something out. More like… Sirius started scheming, and Regulus quietly listened. The plan itself was easy: Sirius would be overly affectious, full on physical with Remus in the upcoming days; he’d show him how nice it was to be called little things, and give him pet name vocabulary, in case that was the problem. Then, Regulus would invite him over for something –he’d set his living room on fire himself, if needed, Sirius made him promise– and he’d make something up to test Remus. He’d pretend to be the one actually looking for pet name advice or something, and Remus would have to prove his knowledge.
It was a fool-proof plan. Sirius returned home giddy, anxious for the upcoming days already.
~~~~
A week later, Sirius had already gotten used to call Remus some pet name every two sentences, and even though Remus had noted the change in the beginning, only a day went by before he also got used to it.
“Moonlight?”
“Yes, Padfoot?” – still, no pet names were said by him. Sirius was no close to giving up though.
“I think I will start a new business, love, what do you think?”
Remus barely lifted his gaze from the parchments and books that surrounded him. He was doing research for an Alchemist who thought he lived in Romania, and so he worked from home – something really comfortable for Sirius, if not for Remus himself. He didn’t reply.
“Moons? I’m talking to you”
“Sorry, just a second Pads”
Sirius sighed and laid on the floor, a few steps away from Remus. He got comfortable enough and tested if he could see Remus from there –which he could. Perfect. Remus looked good when working, and watching his hands made Sirius remember his dream once more. Sweet.
He had been daydreaming for a little while already, when Remus finally addressed him.
“Alright, tell me now, Sirius. You are thinking about starting a business, right?” – he got up and grabbed a cushion before extending it to Sirius, who immediately hugged instead of putting it under his head.
“Right. So, you know we’re so rich we could not work a day and still live good lives, right?
“You are wealthy rich, yes, I know”
“Silence, I won’t discuss the matter any further, darling, we are rich and as I said, we could just not work if we wanted to. But… I love music, you love music… and not doing anything can get boring, so what about opening a music shop?”
Remus smiled as he grabbed other books and a muggle notebook where he kept notes. “First question: where?”
“Maybe next to the Leaky Cauldron, we could have both muggle and wix clientele there”
“I keep on hearing we, but you don’t play any instruments, and neither do I, so I don’t know I’d be of much help…”
Sirius turned only his head to look at him. “We’re wix my love, there’s nothing a bit of magic can’t fix, so? What do you think?”
“Sirius you know wix music is shit because of that reason. Music and literal magic don’t mix well for some reason”
“But we wouldn’t make music. We’d sell instruments and records, and music stuff! We know a lot about it, we can blast our favourite records, and if someone ever asks us to play an instrument we’re selling, a little bit of magic could fix it hun, it’s not much of a hassle… I think it’s a great idea”
Remus thought about it for a second. It could be a lot of work, but it didn’t sound bad at all. Maybe he could even have a studio there to do some work while Sirius used his sweet words to sell something…
“I think it’s possible. Actually possible… but let me ask my second question: what made you think of this just now?”
Sirius smiled and dropped his head back to the floor – he had been looking at Remus as he thought. “Honest? Your hands. I dreamt of them playing the bass… and then you were the drummer, and then at some point you were the sexy guitar player, and then the vocalist… you pointed at me and told me I should sell records with you”
It sounded ridiculous; Remus couldn’t help but laugh. “I was a one-man band then?”
“More like you were at five places all at once, weird, but very welcome”
“You dreamed of five boyfriends. Kinky”
Sirius finally got up, taking the playful tone in Remus’ voice as a queue of ‘I’m done with work now’. He approached, sat right on Remus’ lap and brushed his hair back before kissing his forehead, then his nose, and then his lips. “I can be kinky, alright. What would you like me to do for you, Sir?”
Remus held his hips so he was more stable and tilted his head back to ask for yet another kiss. “You know I’m not a ‘Sir’ type of man Pads…”
The kiss arrived soon enough, but they got carried away quickly, so much that the next time he spoke, Sirius had Remus’ lips nibbling at his neck.
He pretended to think –to have clear thoughts while at Remus’ mercy, really– and then, with a mixture of lust and mischief, he whispered – “no sir… alright so… daddy?”
“Nope” – the tosser sucked on his skin. Sirius barely held a pant.
“Wha- what about Master?”
“We tried once, no…” – he was pulling at Sirius’ hips now. It was an open invitation to grind down and–
Sirius’ thoughts went actually clear for a second.
Sirius did grind down, but he also kissed Remus, focusing a lot on sucking and biting his bottom lip –that was a clear sign of dominance, thank you. Once he got his share, he looked at Remus in the eye.
“Oh, I know what to use… Mon amour “
Remus’ reaction was immediate. His pupils dilated and he shifted in his seat. His hands faltered while on Sirius hips, and then he held him closer. Touché.
« Mon chéri » - Sirius was in charge now, and he knew that. He kissed Remus, but made his way to his neck, purposely fixing on following a scar he particularly liked because of this specific reason: it led to one of Remus’ favourite spots.
« Ma puce… » - he took his time kissing, nibbling and sucking on that spot. Remus even gifted him a groan, which only made him continue until he left a mark there.
A single kiss on the rosy bite made Remus shiver. Sirius smiled. He loved having this effect even after years of being together.
« Beau… t’es beau, mon amour... tellement beau»
“Sirius… Bedroom”
« Mon bel étalon… mon roi » - Sirius also wanted to go to the bedroom, but what fun was it if he didn’t tease a bit more?
« Mon chou »
“Sirius…please…”
Remus had his eyes closed; he was holding onto Sirius as if he could leave him at any moment, but still let him do as he pleased. Even if Sirius wanted to leave him aroused, he would let him; he didn’t get to hear Sirius’ French as often as he’d like.
« Mon gosse… »
Lost. Remus was lost already.
« Mon loup… »
~~~
It was late. Or well, early, who cared… Remus ran his fingers down Sirius’ spine leisurely, as if that action could lure his self to sleep.
There was something he really enjoyed about just being able to look at Sirius without needing to hide away as he had done in the past. He never got sick of it.
“I love you”
“Mhn…” – his lover was so clearly fighting sleep and losing the battle… adorable, considering the man was loudly making demands a little earlier.
He counted the moles on his back, marveling at how the skin looked in contrast to his hair; if there was something that drove him insane was how Sirius’ front was covered in tattoos, and how his back stayed as clean and pale as the first time he had seen it. It was beautiful… though Remus wouldn’t mind marking his way of love bites down that spine once and once again, those spots looked amazing there…
Sirius hummed, already asleep, and seemed to lean against his touch, as if he was Padfoot, demanding for some more scratches. Remus gladly complied.
After enough time to feel sleepy himself, he whispered a little something, loud enough to be heard. “Good night pup, thanks for today, it was lovely”
He kissed Sirius’ shoulder right after, and he closed his eyes.
One…
Two…
Three full seconds passed before Sirus’ eyes shot wide open.
He turned around, not caring if the dragged the duvet away from Remus, and even propped himself up on an elbow to have a better look.
“What did you say?”
He was wide awake. No more sleepiness, and he had to admit that looking at Remus sleeping naked helped him further in staying awake.
But no reply from Remus.
“Moons, I know you’re awake, tell me again love, what did you say?”
Remus turned his head and hid his face in the pillow, mumbling something Sirius didn’t quite catch.
“Stop pretending, you were awake a second ago… you… you called me pup”
“Rem… you called me pup”
“Moon!”
Remus finally opened his eyes, blinking more than usual, and yawned –that one yawn was not at all pretended, though. “Sirius? What… what time is it?”
“Doesn’t matter, you called me pup!”
“What? You dreamed I called you pup?”
“No! Moony I heard you, you were caressing my back, so nice, and then… pup. You called me pup. I heard you”
“I’m starting to think you get your kinks from your dreams… We fell asleep hours ago… ”
“What?!?! No way, I –”
Remus pulled Sirius in and hugged his waist.
“Come sleep? You may dream about puppy play again if you do… I bet dream me will enjoy it…”
“It wasn’t that! It was cute! And I heard you Moonbeam, I swear you called me pup”
“Mmh… I heard I did, you woke me up to tell me…” – another yawn. That one seemed to work.
Sirius huffed and laid back down. He covered them again and shifted until Remus hugged him and pulled him close again. A few kisses to the spots he had on his skin now made him give up and snuggle against Remus.
That git... Sirius was sure he had heard right, no way a dream was that clear.
~~~
A couple of days later, a pompous invitation arrived. Regulus Arcturus Black, Head of the Noble and Most Ancient Maison des Black –what an ostentatious little shit– was inviting them to a formal event at his house. Such elegant meeting, allegedly, that they were required to wear robes.
Robes.
Sirius was not happy about it. This wasn’t his plan at all.
“You just don’t get it Moonlight, I will look like a posh little boy pretending to look pretty”
“You are a posh pretty guy though, no need to pretend; the only lie I see there is the little boy part” – Remus thought it was quite funny. When they started dating, Sirius was very careful with his theatrics, wanting to portray himself as a very mature, serious young man; allegedly because he wanted to show Remus he was different –better, somehow– in a relationship. In time, he realized how much Remus liked him being himself, so he came back to his usual playful and dramatic ways, indulging in fretting and being an absolutely dramatic bursting star. Remus wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I will look like a hippogriff banger!”
“Never heard of those” – Remus tried to hold back his laughter while Sirius looked at his wardrobe in search for something that didn’t inconvenience him as much.
“I haven’t worn proper robes since we graduated!”
“And you looked stunning that day”
“Stop trying to convince me, you look elegant in robes, a proper gentleman. I look like a prick”
“Oh, honey I’m not trying anything. You look pretty in robes, that’s it. Besides, if it helps you, Regulus also looks like a prick in them, all pure bloods do... But only you make it work"
This time, Sirius turned around instantly and looked at Remus in the eye. “What?”
“You make robes look better; Regulus also looks like a prick in them, you both were raised together after all, some things never change fully, but you look stunning”
“No. Remus I’m starting to believe you’re doing this on purpose”
Remus tilted his head and frowned for a second. “I do what? Tell you I find you beautiful? Well I’m sorry a bloke cannot admire his partner anymore…”
“NO! I mean – yes, of course, do go on” –Sirius smiled and even posed for him for a second, which made both of them giggle. Then, Sirius got stern again and pointed a finger at him.
“Stop it. I was talking about you going hors sujet!”
“What?”
“Hors sujet, you try to distract me every time you call me something cute and I end up forgetting!”
Oh, how sweet it was to hear his French.
“Sirius I literally told you I like admiring and complimenting you, I just called you beautiful!”
“Yes, but it’s – it’s not the same. You called me honey just now”
“Sweet as honey? Not really, you’re feisty. Now, tasty as honey? Definitely” – he winked, to add something to his already obvious statement, and even licked his lips, which had the exact effect he was aiming for: Sirius looked back at him, gaping, before regaining composure.
“MOONY YOU DOG, I WON’T FALL FOR THAT”
“Won’t you?”
“Uhm, probably. Only if you call me that again”
“What, beautiful? … Feisty?... Tasty?”
“NO!! Fuck, you’re impossible to deal with. You won’t get a taste tonight. Forget it. I will find my best robes. My SILVER robes –in colour of course, I’m not an actual prick– and you will be punished for this nonsense. You will have a taste of your own medicine, Remus John Lupin. That I promise!!”
He stomped right out of the room, probably to go to the attic and look for his old clothes. As he went out, Remus smiled at the place he was previously at.
“Alright my star, whatever suits you…”
Sirius didn’t hear that one, and Remus laughed as he heard Sirius stomping upstairs, looking for the best robes he had. He couldn’t wait to see him all dolled up, looking like an actual star.
~~~
“Regulus, a word” – when they finally got to Regulus’ house, which was awfully packed with people, Sirius felt his own eye twitch.
He wasn’t expecting to find so many wix there, and sure, he was properly dressed and looked every bit of a Black, but still, he would’ve appreciated some heads up. Half these people were morons, and the other half liked to lick the bollocks of the first half for some reason. Only exception was Remus, but he was his partner so he didn’t count.
Fortunately, Regulus didn’t question when he asked to talk in private, and soon enough, they were in a secluded room where nobody would be able to hear them.
“How may I come to your aid, brother dearest?”
“Cut the act, will you? I thought you would have Remus over to execute our plan!! What the hell is this?!”
Regulus smiled and dropped his overly posh stance immediately. “I will, but I thought that if I was going to give in to your antics, I would do it in a way that is a little more… classy, and I know you will enjoy it”
“You’re a little shit, you know that? Having me wear robes already tells me otherwise”
Regulus stuck his tongue out and smiled. “It’s a ball Sirius. Well… kind of. These people are here because they paid for us to teach them how to ball dance. Money will go to werewolf safehouses and research on lycanthropy. Remus knows, but we know you wouldn’t have shown up in robes so… we tricked you”
“HE KNOWS?!”
“He knows what the people are here for. He doesn’t know it’s a trap to test his pet name vocabulary”
“Oh… I actually like that, didn’t know you still had it in you”
“Figured. I assumed the Head of the House, I didn’t have Orion possess me, moron. As ridiculous as this is, if it makes you happy, I’ll help”
“Because you love me??” –Sirius hugged Regulus by the neck and cooed at him, which made Regulus blush and push him away before he started saying more nonsense.
“No, because I want you to stay with him as much as possible, that way you stay far away from me”
“Adorable, I’d do the same for you Reggie”
“Shut up, just… just go back to Remus and have some fun before we start. You and I will lead and be led in today’s class… He knows how to, right?” – Regulus hadn’t thought about that possibility, and Remus had said nothing. Shit.
Before he overthought though, Sirius pushed his chest out, proud of the answer. “Of course he knows how to. I taught him for Yule Ball in fifth year, when do you think we started dating?”
“Disgusting. But alright, that will do. He will be my partner, you go look for someone while I test his knowledge of disgusting ways to call you. Just… just help me out and I will help you out, alright?”
Sirius complained a bit more before agreeing, mainly because he could perfectly do this without robes –and also because it had been long since he last ball danced with Remus– but still, he fit the job perfectly. Every witch wanted to dance with him, and in complete honesty, it made Remus both proud and stressed out.
It’s not that he was jealous, not really, it’s just that the witches –and wizards, if he judged some stares correctly– looked at Sirius with too much lust; they ogled too much, and that was his to ogle at, not theirs.
Regulus explained both basic and more advanced moves with the aid of Remus, while Sirius helped those who didn’t get them easily, and the practice went smoothly like that. After half an hour, Remus already knew Regulus’ style and was ready for a proper dance, as the rest of the class seemed to be.
Sirius invited one of the witches to be his partner, and soon, music started. The witch blushed furiously, but smiled up at Sirius and stepped a bit too close to him, caressing his shoulder and looking a bit too into it. The hand on his shoulder made Remus insane, that has his favourite shoulder, the one he was to caress, not some random witch at a ball dance class.
Alright, he was a bit jealous. Possessive, more than jealous. It was because of the moon, probably. Blame the silver robes.
“Alright, let’s dance a piece this way, then”
Regulus took Remus' hand without asking, and they started dancing to the music. Remus followed easily, but he was watching Sirius dance. Every chance he got to look at him felt delightful. He was too elegant, too in his element, it drove Remus further in love to see him looking so ethereal and so talented. That was his partner, in much more than a simple dance, it felt surrealistic.
“What does he look like?” – Regulus asked, knowingly, and he answered without drifting his eyes away.
“Like an angel”
“Ew.”
“I love him Regulus, what were you expecting”
“Touché. You should call him angel then, bet he’d faint”
“Of shock maybe, yes. Little devil suits him more”
“I’d call him little shit if it was me…”
“Careful Little Black, that sounded too Black from you…”
“Actually disgusting. Big no”
Remus laughed, continuing to dance and be led by Regulus. Sirius was leading too, a couple of meters away, and so Remus could imagine it was him he was dancing with. Maybe he’d ask for a dance once this was over.
As if his mind was read, Regulus called his attention to ask –“will you ask your angel for a dance after this?”
“No. I will ask my lover for a dance after this”
It was odd, how easy the pet names came to Remus when Sirius was not around. It made Regulus wonder…
“How is your relationship?”
“Is this the talk, Art? I promise my intentions with your brother are entirely impure but totally honest”
“DISGUSTING!”
“I know”
They twirled and moved around the room, still dancing, and Remus thought it was over, but suddenly, after a particularly nice twirl, Regulus started leading him back to the place they were previously at. Lovely move, he should learn it to use it on Sirius.
“So? How is it?”
“Mh? Us?” –a slight nod– “it’s like a dream. We are very physical, but we talk… a lot. We enjoy each other’s presence… It’s weird, how well it works. We argue, we fight sometimes, but we always fix it. It’s… boring, really, but it’s so beautiful…” – he looked back at Regulus as the music finally ended and they came to a stop. “It’s disgusting, I know”
Regulus frowned and shook his head “No, no… I actually think it sound nice, very nice…”
“Thanks”
After class ended, Regulus still thought. Remus seemed to be very disgustingly in love with his brother, maybe he could just… ask, in his name, that’d probably be easier. And so he tried to approach Remus, to just tell him to call his dramatic brother more sweet things, but Remus seemed to be too concentrated in asking Sirius for a dance, which of course Sirius accepted.
Morons, absolute morons. Idiotic morons, even. Perfect for each other.
~~~
When Remus finally took Sirius home, they were both exhausted. Regulus had left them in the ballroom to dance as much as they wanted, and so they did. It was like an anniversary celebration, but improvised. They had both loved it.
“I danced my feet away, even more than in that Yule Ball…”
“You liked it though?”
“Adored it, thanks Moonbeam” – a soft kiss was placed on Remus’ lips, and he gladly returned it. It should be a rule: every kiss you receive must be returned. He would live by that rule… not that he didn’t already.
“Thanks to you baby, I adored it. You look stunning in robes, so very pretty, and posh, and all dolled up… I think I fell in love again.”
He waited patiently this time, but only a second was needed to get his reaction.
“Remus Jhon Lupin!!” – Sirius smiled up at him, eyes shining in excitement. All tiredness seemed to have banished from him.
Remus did not react to his full name being called though, he just kissed Sirius once more before tilting his head and looking at him. He needed to assess if that had been welcome or not.
“What- what- what did you call me? Call me that again. Now”
“What do you mean? Pretty?”
“No, no, the other thing you just said”
“Posh?”
“NO. Moons, I mean it, do it again”
“Stunning, pretty in robes, looking like a doll… I said nothing else, I think… But if it helps, you look prettier in pajamas, too, and naked, please let me help with that”
“MOONY!”
“What? Can’t a man enjoy his lover? I haven’t called you anything baby, I promise, now come over here”
“THERE IT IS AGAIN”
“What? Sirius You’re starting to scare me, I’ll write to Minnie asking about Peeve’s whereabouts tomorrow”
“No!! Moony… Moon, love… YOU CALLED ME BABY!”
Remus smiled, waiting for the information to sink in Sirius’ mind. He couldn’t continue teasing him; Regulus’ smooth intervention today had been lovely, but not subtle at all, and he didn’t want this to become an actual reason for arguments. Plus, the glint in Sirius’ eye every time he called him something was just too cute and impossible to resist, enough teasing was the only option.
“Of course I did. But if you don’t like it, I can always call you lover…”
“No, no, no –”
“You don’t like it? Alright then, honey?”
“What are you doing?!”
“Sirius, baby…” – Remus was smiling now, and it was clear Sirius had no idea how to react. Nice surprise, he hoped.
“REMUS, STOP IT”
“Alright, alright. Sorry. You want to go back to just Sirius and Pads?”
“DON’T YOU DARE” – Remus laughed. He thought as much. It had taken some time, but to be fair, he didn’t know Sirius would react this way. If he had known he would’ve actually started sooner. He just assumed Sirius didn't like pet names, but he had been clearly wrong.
“So… I’m guessing you like those?”
“You’re guessing fucking right, please kiss me”
“Gladly”
~~~
Two weeks after, Sirius was back at Regulus', this time with clothes he actually liked, although, he had to admit, silver robes had led to a fun night. It was okay for once in a while.
“So? Did it work out?”–Regulus asked, wary, not sure if Sirius would start yet another monologue about the matter.
They were sharing tea time again, Regulus had asked Kreacher to make the same biscuits, and the elf gladly repeated the recipe; he probably considered it one of their favourites now.
“Huh? Oh yes, the owner settled for the amount and the property is ours. I already ordered records from across the UK and we shall start selling to wix next week. For the muggle side of the store to be open to public, we will need to put a façade though, there used to be no store there, so Rem says a month of renewals should look convincing” – Sirius ate three biscuits in one go, and he finished the statement with his mouth full. “He’z woh'kin’ fo’ inztrumentz too, we wee' star’ with only ztringz an’ zee mo’ wayter”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Sirius swallowed before speaking again. “Sorry. Remus is working on instruments too; we’ll start selling only strings and then diversify , see to more later; Remus dreams on having a drum set on display”
“Whatever your little store has to do with Remus calling you moonbeam?”
“OH!! Oh right. Sorry… Sorry, I had forgotten... Ahm... Mission accomplished” – Sirius smiled and continued to eat his biscuits as if nothing. As if he hadn’t spent hours fretting over the subject last time they saw each other like this.
“No, no, wait. Did it work?... Really?”
Regulus was not surprised Remus had started calling Sirius terms of endearment; after their talk, that was to be expected, what actually surprised him was that the ridiculous plan had worked.
“Of course it did! It was brilliant! He called me baby that same night and I melted. I’m not moonbeam though, he is moonbeam. I’m baby, lover and darling, so far…”
“Those are awfully basic…”
Sirius blushed then; he tried to look away, to hide his blush, but Regulus saw it, and of course he would ask. He needed to know.
“What else??”
“No, it’s …”
“Sirius, I hosted a ball for this, what does he call you??”
“You told me it was for werewolf safe-houses!“
“Which are a good cause to ask him to come to a ball with you, in robes… not the point though. Sirius, spill the tea… what does he call you?”
Sirius looked away before speaking.
“Mon étoile”
He nearly whispered the words, as if saying them louder would scratch them. They still sounded foreign when he said them out loud, but the way Remus pronounced them was too perfect, and it was so perfect, so theirs…
“His star?! That’s so –”
“Please don’t be mean”
Regulus shut up immediately. Never had Sirius looked this vulnerable before, at least not in regards to a trivial subject, which made him think it wasn’t trivial at all for him. “I love it, it might be cliché but I absolutely adore it, don’t be mean”
“I think it’s beautiful” –Regulus smiled, being actually serious this time. Sirius returned the gesture.
“Really?”
“Really. It suits you two, I might gag when I hear it, but nothing to do with the words, just the two of you being you”
“I… Thanks Reggie”
“Stop calling me that or I’ll tell him you hate mon étoile and that you prefer petit pois though”
“You have a deal Regulus” – Sirius solemnly stuck his hand out. He clearly despised the little chickpea one. Regulus cackled, but shook Sirius’ hand nonetheless.
They talked some more before Sirius had to go. He thanked Regulus and stole some more biscuits before leaving to Stardust, which was already connected to the flu network.
They had picked the name one day when Remus called him that: stardust. It was a nice name, but Sirius didn’t like to be called it. It sounded like he had died, somehow, or like he had been too shagged, and there was no such thing with Moony.
Still, they had both liked it so much that they agreed to call their store that, and here they were.
When he arrived, Remus was already waiting for him at the other side.
“Good evening mon étoile, did you have fun?”
Sirius smiled wide and nodded before approaching Remus to hug him and to kiss him the way he liked.
“I did. Did you have fun here?”
“I did. Everything’s turning out nicely, it seems you had a great idea”
“I know, my ideas are always good Moony”
“I know, love…” – yet another kiss. Sweet.
“I like when you have ideas too, the idea to tease me was fun… and now that I have my pet names you can… I mean, only if you want to, you can–”
Remus looked at him, curious, but with a smile on. “You want me to tease you?”
Sirius nodded, eagerly. “It is fun, not knowing when you will repeat a pet name. I liked it, even though I thought I was going mental”
Remus laughed but nodded.
“Alright, I will, just promise to tell me when you like something, and if you ever like something more than petit étoile…”
“Not a chance, but?”
“If you ever find something you like more, tell me, I like the glint in your eye” Sirius nodded and kissed Remus once more after that.
They worked some more in the store, and when it was past midnight, they both agreed to go home already.
“Right, let’s go home Starburst, I crave our bed”
“What was that?”
“I crave our bed?”
“No, the other thingy, what was that?”
“Oh, I bought Starburst candy, I was thinking about them, want to try?”
Sirius tilted his head and was squinting at Remus when a yawn made his mind leave the idea, no way Remus would tease him starting now.
“Sure, you always choose nice muggle candy… now, can we go?”
“Sure thing, love”
Remus smiled, he really liked this sort of agreement. He was going to have much fun with it, and Sirius would still feel like he loved him to bits (and he’d have his pet names to confirm).
His étoile was happy, and so was he.