red [complete]

2.1

Remus doesn't hear hide nor hair from Sirius for over two years after Regulus' funeral. It doesn't really surprise him.

At least Sirius posts semi-regularly on his Instagram story so Remus can worry less about him doing something dramatic like throwing himself off a bridge.

Then one day, he bumps into him at the grocery store.

"Sirius? Holy crap?"

Sirius turns from his place of picking out a microwave rice packet. "Oh, hey- Remus!"

"I didn't know you were back in town." Remus shifts his basket uncomfortably between his hands.

"Yeah-" Sirius seems a little out of breath and unsure of how to proceed.

When Remus notices that Sirius taking a moment to check him out, Remus does the same. And damn Sirius looks good. A lot less dark and empty than the last time Remus saw him.

"Umm- you wanna grab a bite?" Sirius offers as he scratches the back of his neck.

Remus grins, "yeah. I'd like that."

Sirius places the microwave rice back on the shelf, "that was gonna be my dinner."

"Oh, delightful." Remus teases.

Sirius turns to make his way down the aisle towards the check out. "Oh, is The Lumberyard still open? I could use a good burger."

Remus hesitates for only a second to thank whatever lucky stars brought a super fit and super intriguing Sirius Black back into his life.

***

"No, no," Remus chuckles and pours himself another glass of wine, then he tops Sirius' off. "I want the long story, I've- we've got time." They just finished dinner and were winding down at the restaurant with their second bottle of wine. So far it's been small talk- the formalities and what Sirius is doing back in Pennsylvania (a banquet for his dad's company, and no Sirius is not looking forward to it).

"Yeah," Sirius smiles back. "I guess we do have a bit of time."

"So.."

"Well.. after everything with my brother, I just needed a minute to myself. I spent so long trying to hold it together for him, for my parents, for myself even. So ugh, I rented an Air B&B in the wilderness in Maine and took two weeks to just grieve." He takes a big drink of wine before starting suddenly again, "no, um first I adopted two dogs!"

"What?"

"Yeah, yeah." Sirius leans back on his chair and scratches at the bit of scruff on his face. "There's a kill shelter in Philly and they had two older dogs on the block so the day after the funeral, I went and got them. Took them with me to the house in Maine- Dwight and Jim. After The Office, of course."

"Of course." Remus feels himself blush as he teases Sirius.

Sirius chuckles and continues his story, "after my stay was up, I wasn't ready to leave yet so I bought a fucking RV from some guy on Craigslist. Drove it to Seattle which is where I hooked up with an old friend from high school. He'd started a nonprofit out there- Brews for Beds. It's all about selling overpriced coffee and beer to rich people and paying for hospital stays for kids and adults with terminal illnesses."

"Wow, Sirius. That's amazing."

"I still feel quite unqualified for my job, but it's going well, so I'm happy. Dwight, Jim and I have settled in to Seattle quite nicely."

"Good." Remus admires him from across the table. "That's so good."

"Yeah.. tell me about you. What have you gotten up to?"

"Ohh, jeeze. Nothing really. I graduated with my Bachelors of Nursing last year.. and.. yeah. I'm still at St. Joe's, but I'm in the OR now. Handing surgeons instruments and such."

"Cool! Any particular reason you chose that?"

"Don't get me wrong," Remus polishes off their wine, "I love patient care, but watching someone be taken apart and put back together is other worldly. And the hours are a little more predictable so that's been nice to have an actual life."

"That sounds intimidating, but interesting. So now you have a life, what do you do with it?"

"Umm, I'm still close with my mom and dad and cousins so we hang out quite a bit. I.. oh! I volunteer at the blood center and LGBTQ center sometimes. But other than that, my work friends and I sometimes hang out, but nothing too wild."

"No special someone?" He watches Remus blush and shake his head no. "Hmm, you're a catch, why not?"

"Not really looking, I guess. You?"

"I'm not looking right now, either." Sirius looks across the table very intently. "Wanna skip dessert?"

Remus can only nod as he begins to think about Sirius even more. Sirius kissing him, Sirius in his bed, Sirius beneath him.

The restaurant is busy, even for a Friday night, so Remus and Sirius find themselves waiting 10 more minutes for the bill, which Sirius insists on footing.

Before they even make it to their cars, their lips find each other. And then find ears and throats while Remus is pushed against his car. The anticipation has been built- for years and now all either of them can think of is making their way back to Sirius' hotel room and all the things they can do once they get there.