Modern No-Magic Wolfstar AU

Chapter 17

Sitting on the couch, bouncing his knee nervously, Sirius listened as James got the door. He heard the familiar voice and felt his heart quicken.

The front door hadn't even closed before Remus paced into the room, not even looking around at the new surroundings. "Sirius,"

Sirius stood up. "Remus, hi," he tucked his hair behind his ear, not understanding why he was so nervous.

"Are you okay?" Remus' worried green eyes searched Sirius' face. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around Sirius until his fears were no more; instead, he shoved his hands into his pockets, standing on the other side of the couch.

James made his way into the living room, leaning against the wall a few metres away.

Sirius nodded. "I'm fine. Really," he added when Remus' shoulders remained tense. He reached up to touch Remus, wishing that he wasn't so distressed, wishing that his eyebrows weren't so furrowed, but stopped. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw James.

Looking between the two, with a sigh James realised that he was intruding. He sniffed, holding his nose in the air, and turned around. "My fiancée will care about me," he muttered, snatching the house keys off the bench. "If you guys need me - which I doubt you will - I'll be at Lily's," he said bitterly. "Don't worry about me, though. You two take your time. I don't care at all. S'not like this is my house or anything." the front door closed, leaving Remus and Sirius alone.

"Tell me everything that happened," Remus said, taking a seat on the couch. He looked Sirius in the eyes firmly, making him gulp. "Don't leave anything out, this time." softening his gaze, he took Sirius' hand and held it, squeezing it gently.

Taking a deep breath, Sirius nodded, squeezing his hand back. "Okay,"

-----

"Right here?" Remus gently touched Sirius' cheekbone, eyebrows slightly furrowed as he examined it.

Sirius winced slightly. "Yeah,"

"That..." Clenching his teeth, Remus took his hand back and pressed it into a fist against his thigh. "She can't do that," he seethed. "She had no right to- to-" at Sirius' tender hand, Remus relaxed his fist and took a deep breath. "Does it still hurt?"

"No," Sirius shook his head, unable to look away from Remus' eyes. "It's fine. Honestly, it stopped hurting ages ago."

"Did you put ice on it?"

"Remus," Sirius said patiently. He leaned forward. "I'm fine."

"Where are you going to go from here?" Remus continued, hands fisted in his tousled curls. "Stay at James' house? What about when he gets married? He and Lily are getting a place together, you know,"

"I'll stay here until I find a cheap enough place," Sirius explained. "Then I'll be living there, not bothering their newlywed lovemaking or whatever married couples do,"

"Okay," Remus nodded, finding the answer satisfactory. "Okay. But you can stay at my house whenever you want. We can manage around my dad,"

"Thank you for the offer, Remus," Sirius smiled. "I'll let you know if I ever need to crash at your place. But don't go bending over backwards for me, okay? You have your own problems you need to look after,"

"You're more important than my problems, Sirius," Remus' eyebrow twitched as he leaned forwards. "You know that, right?"

Mouth dry, Sirius swallowed. He knew his cheeks were turning pink.

"I'd drop everything if it meant I could help you," Remus said intently, gripping Sirius' hand.

Sirius had no words. He found himself staring at the other boy's lips.

Remus shook his head, smiling. "Come here, idiot," he said before pulling at Sirius shirt and kissing him.

A hand on Remus' waist, Sirius tried to control his thumping heart. "I missed you," he whispered, planting kisses along Remus' face.

"I'm always going to be here for you, Sirius. As long as you tell me when you're hurting, I can always try to help you,"

"I promise,"