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Sing Along Forever	By : JBankai89 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Remus/Sirius Views: 3825 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter, I gain nothing from this but a way to pass the time.

Chapter List
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Chapter 5 – The Dirty Glass

Murphy, Murphy, darling dear
I long for you now night and day
Your pain was my pleasure, your sorrow my joy
I feel now I've lost you to health and good cheer
The Dirty Glass – Dropkick Murphys

A month later, Remus was still stuck in a state of shock that he was dating someone like Sirius Black.

It had little to do with Remus's own self-esteem issues, and more to do that he never really saw himself dating a musician. He'd always pictured himself with another book nerd, and as such his surprise that it seemed to be going so well was a little alarming. Most unfortunately, despite Remus's desire to go further with Sirius, one thing or another was always on hand to interrupt them: Moony mistaking their snogging for playing, and burrowing himself between the pair, once again forgetting that he was not, in fact, a lap dog. If it was at Sirius's place, they'd be lucky if they had thirty seconds to themselves, as the moment the door to Sirius's chaotic bedroom shut, there would be a little fist knocking on the door, followed by Sirius's godson asking what they were doing. It was maddening.

Friday afternoon after his classes, Remus was sitting on a park bench outside the Language Arts building waiting for Sirius to pick him up. His nose was buried in a battered copy of Moby Dick, and out of the corner of his eye he spotted Gilderoy hitting on one of their classmates. The fact that he was intentionally in Remus's line of vision struck him as rather funny, especially considering this would be the first time his ex would catch sight of his gorgeous new boyfriend.

As if on cue Sirius's motorbike roared up to the kerb, and Remus couldn't help but grin at the thunderstruck look on his ex's face when he stood and stowed the book in his satchel, and stepped up to Sirius to catch his lips in a kiss. Sirius's arm immediately wrapped around his waist, drawing the kiss out a little longer than was probably necessary.

“Hey baby,” he purred against Remus's mouth, and he felt himself flush a little at the pet name. “Ready for curry night with a pack of Potters? Oh...and Severus,” he wrinkled his nose a little, and Remus pressed his lips into a thin line in an effort to keep his distaste for Sirius's attitude towards Lily's friend to himself. He rather liked Severus's wit and snark, though it was clear that Sirius, James, and Severus had some kind of history. He wasn't exactly keen to get in the middle of a family feud, and thus far he'd managed to keep his opinions of Sirius's attitude to himself.

“I'm ready. Do you guys have plenty of milk handy for when James kills all my tastebuds?”

“I told him to tone down on the spice this time, I promise,” Sirius replied with a short laugh. Somehow, Remus doubted that that would make a difference. “'Sides, it's good for you. Makes you sweat and gets all the toxins out.”

“My tastebuds for getting toxins out of my system doesn't seem like a fair trade,” Remus replied sarcastically, and Sirius barked a laugh. Remus stepped back a little from the embrace as Sirius fished out a helmet for him, which he accepted gladly. Remus could feel Gilderoy's gaze burning into him, but he seemed too shocked to actually walk over to them and drop a scathing ableist remark. He pulled on the helmet, accepted Sirius's help onto the back of the bike, and they took off with a roar from the engine.

Sirius lived with James, Lily, and their tiny terror known as Harry in a rented house in Chiswick. With their combined incomes on top of Sirius's considerable inheritance they could afford it easily, and aside from playing in a band and attending Gen Ed university night classes, Sirius was more or less Harry's live-in babysitter. The house was nice, and there was enough space for the four of them to live comfortably without feeling like they were constantly on top of each other.

Pulling up to the little redbrick house now, it had begun to feel like an extension of home. Sirius had barely kicked down the stand for the bike in the garage before a little bespectacled boy burst from the side door and barrelled into Sirius's legs, hard enough that Sirius let out a little, 'oof!' of surprise.

“Uncle Sirius, Uncle Sirius, you're back! Hi Remus! How come Moony didn't come too?” Sirius laughed to the excited boy's barrage of exclamations and questions, and hoisted him up on his shoulders, while Harry kept himself balanced by holding onto Sirius's hair.

“Hi Harry,” Remus replied with a short laugh, “Moony wouldn't fit on the back of Sirius's motorbike. I promise I'll bring him next time.”

Harry bounced on Sirius's shoulders excitedly at the prospect, causing Remus to laugh a little. Like Sirius, Harry was completely besotted with his dog.

“James, we're here!” Sirius called the moment they'd stepped inside, setting Harry down so he could tear off down the hallway towards his bedroom.

“I heard!” James called back, stepping out of the kitchen in a stained, white apron that read Kiss the cook on it. He was holding a Chinese aubergine in one hand, and a wickedly sharp knife in the other. “Hey Remus, good to see you!”

“Hi,” Remus replied with a faint smile, toeing off his shoes at the door and hanging up his bag before he followed Sirius further inside. Though Sirius had kept his word and hadn't 'outed' his amputee status to anyone, James and Lily had figured it out anyway, and Harry had become convinced that Remus was actually a pirate. Had it come from anyone but an overactive child, Remus would have been mildly offended, but it was difficult to not laugh when Harry would ask if he knew Captain Hook or Blackbeard, or beg Remus to play pirates with him.

“I hope you're hungry, I've got rice, naan, and aubergine curry. And I made it a little more bland at Sirius's request to spare your boring Welsh tastebuds,” he said, shaking his head a little as though the mere idea of leaving out some of the heat was sacrilegious.

“It's appreciated,” Remus replied with a short laugh.

“You want a beer?” James asked, stepping back into the kitchen, while Remus and Sirius followed. “Or...Lily's making some ridiculous froofy drink with mango juice and vodka...”

“Beer's fine,” Remus said, and Sirius stepped further into the kitchen to pull one from the fridge, pop the cap, and hand it back to him. He nodded his thanks and eyed Sirius quizzically. “You're not drinking?”

“I have to drive you home later, don't want to chance it,” he said, draping an arm over Remus's shoulders as a mischievous grin stretched across his face, “Unless you want to sleep over, then I could drink and we could—”

“Uh-uh,” Lily said as she appeared at the opposite side of the kitchen where a second door was located, a large glass jug in one hand, and a frosted bottle of Absolut in the other. “Your room is right next to Harry's Sirius, I don't want you two to traumatize him just yet.”

“Yet?” Remus asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It's only a matter of time before he walks in on something, I just want to wait until he's a little bit older before we have to explain about the birds and the bees, or why his uncle is making all sorts of weird grunting noises in the middle of the night,” she said, setting down the jug and unscrewing the cap before upending the vodka into the jug, and headed for the fridge where she pulled out a carton of mango juice and returned to her so-called froofy drink.

“I do not grunt,” Sirius said over Remus's laughter. “As with all things, my sexual exploits are elegant as fu—stuff,” he amended not a moment too soon as Harry toddled into the kitchen, something in his hands badly wrapped in brown paper. Both James and Lily had snorted derisively at the same time, while Harry appeared ignorant to their conversation as he stepped back over to Remus.

“Mummy said it was your birthday last Wednesday,” Harry said, and Remus chuckled a little.

“Yes, it was, I turned twenty-six,” he replied, and Harry's eyes went wide.

“That's old!” He exclaimed, while Sirius roared with laughter next to him. He spun quickly to look at his mother, “Mummy, will I ever be as old as Remus?”

“One day you will,” she said in a tight voice, clearly trying to keep from laughing, though James and Sirius had no such qualms, and laughed their heads off.

“Oh.” He turned back to Remus. “I got this for you. Mummy helped me pick it out,” he said, and pressed the little package into Remus's hands.

“Thank you Harry,” he said with a chuckle, and unwrapped the little gift to find...a Pirate Pez dispenser. He looked up, and Harry's wide eyes were gleaming with nervous hope, and Remus merely chuckled and crouched down to give the little boy a hug. “It's perfect, thank you Harry.”

Thrilled that his gift was a success, he ran over to his mother and tugged on the edge of her jumper.

“Mummy!” he said in a carrying whisper, “Remus liked his present!”

“I saw,” she said with a small giggle, “see? You had no reason to be worried. Now, go wash up. Your Uncle Sev should be here soon, and dinner is almost ready.” Both Sirius and James grunted at the mention of Severus, and Lily glared at each of them in turn, all but daring them to make some snide remark. Neither man was brave enough to say anything that might incite Lily's wrath, and with a slightly strained laugh, Sirius steered Remus back into the hall.

“C'mon, we can sit for a little bit until dinner,” Sirius said, that hopeful glint in his eye. Remus chuckled; it didn't take a genius to work out that by sit Sirius meant snog.

He wasn't complaining however, and Remus allowed Sirius to steer him down the hall and to his bedroom.

When Sirius had claimed to be a packrat, Remus had assumed that he'd been exaggerating. This was not the case.

Sirius's futon was stuffed into a modestly sized bedroom, but the space looked much smaller than it actually was thanks in large part to the ridiculous amount of stuff crammed into the space.

Shelves upon shelves of CDs, cassettes, and vinyl, an enormous desk with a MacBook hooked up to a MIDI machine—which Remus had mistook for an electronic piano when he'd first seen it—electric and acoustic guitars, stacks of sheet music on almost every surface, thick photo albums that Sirius had shown him once, only to find no photographs, but instead ticket stubs from easily over one hundred different concerts, some with guitar picks stuck in next to them. The free wall space had been taken up by flyers and setlists of concerts he'd been to, and a number of drumsticks he'd caught at concerts and had properly framed.

It was cramped and cluttered, but it never felt messy to Remus. Sirius had been highly self-conscious of the state of the room when Remus had first visited, but he soon relaxed when he saw that Remus hadn't been put off by it.

Remus set down his beer on a coaster Sirius kept on his desk, and almost immediately Sirius closed the distance between them. Remus threw his arms over Sirius's shoulders and parted his lips, letting out a soft groan as they tasted each other.

Sirius coaxed him over to the futon, and they fell into a half-sitting tangle of limbs.

“You taste much better than curry,” Remus murmured softly, smiling when Sirius chuckled.

“I dunno, James makes damn good curry,” he replied, sneaking a hand under the front of Remus's jumper to tug lightly at the sparse hairs on his abdomen. Remus chuckled a little at the comment, his stomach sucking in at the tickling sensation. Sirius claimed his mouth again, and Remus's eyelids fluttered shut.

Remus would have been content to hide away in Sirius's room and snog, but at that same moment the door burst open with a bang and Harry came tearing into the room.

“Uncle Sirius, Remus! Mummy said...” He stopped short when he caught sight of them, and he cocked his head to the side in confusion. “Why were you two kissing?”

Remus and Sirius exchanged a look, then both looked back to Harry at the same time.

“Er, well Harry...Remus and I are boyfriends. Sort of like your mummy and daddy. So we like to show each other how much we love each other by kissing sometimes,” Sirius said, and Remus pressed his lips together in an effort to keep from laughing at the way Harry wrinkled his nose.

“I don't think I want to kiss boys or girls,” he said.

“Thank God for that,” Lily said as she leant into the room and smiled at the couple. “C'mon, Sev is here and dinner's ready.”

As with the last curry night Remus had attended, Harry did most of the talking.

He sat in his booster seat between his father and Severus, both older men not looking thrilled at the seating arrangements, with Lily at the head of the table and Remus and Sirius across from them. Hell would have frozen over before James and Severus willingly sat near to each other, but Harry had wanted to sit with both his father and his Uncle Sev, and as with everyone else, precious few people could say 'no' to Harry. He chattered away excitedly between the two men, completely indifferent to the tense atmosphere between them.

“Uncle Sev, Uncle Sev!” Harry said, tugging on the sleeve of the black turtleneck he wore.

“What is it Harry?” He turned slightly to peer at Harry through a curtain of lank hair.

“I saw Remus and Uncle Sirius kissing!”

Remus choked on a chunk of spicy aubergine, and Sirius clapped Remus on the back hard with one hand, while he buried his red face in the opposite one.

“Fascinating,” he said, casting a quick glance to the pair, while Harry still looked proud of his statement and curious at the same time.

“Do you ever kiss anybody Uncle Sev? Uncle Sirius said that people who love each other kiss all the time. You love my mummy, do you ever kiss her?”

It was Lily's turn to go rather red while James inhaled most of his beer foam through his nose, and Severus's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline.

“It's true that I love your mother, but as a friend. Friends don't normally kiss in the way you're thinking. And no, I find myself disinclined to engage in such activities,” Severus finished, turning back to his meal, though if Remus wasn't mistaken, he was sure he saw a glimmer of amusement in his eye.

“How come?” Harry cocked his head to the side, and James mumbled something inaudible, though Remus guessed it was a jibe aimed at Severus, as not three seconds later he saw Lily jerk in her seat and James winced, giving Remus the impression that she kicked him under the table.

“My brain is wired differently than other people's, and I find myself uninterested in personal relationships like the ones your parents or your...other Uncle...has.”

“Wired differently is putting it lightly,” Sirius muttered under his breath, and Remus elbowed him in an effort to shut him up.

“Oh,” Harry said as he looked down at his dinner thoughtfully. “I want to be like that too,” Harry said firmly, looking back up to Severus, his eyes blazing with childlike determination, “kissing is icky.”

If Remus wasn't mistaken, he saw the ghost of a smile grace the dour man's face.

After dinner and a round of sweet chai masala for everyone (made with rooibos for Harry), Lily scooped up the yawning tot and he bid everyone a sleepy good night. The group migrated to the sitting room, and Remus eased into Sirius's welcoming embrace while the four men waited for Lily to return.

The sitting room was very similar in style to Remus's, though along with the towering bookshelves stacked with books and movies there were a number of Lily's paintings framed up on the walls, most still-life of portraits of Harry. An awkward silence fell in Lily's absence, and Remus shifted uncomfortably as he watched the silent, suspicious glares both Sirius and James shot at Severus.

“Er—how has work been, Severus?” Remus asked, “Any more students spill sulphuric acid on their bollocks?”

“Just the one. I had my A-Level classroom purged of any more dunderheaded students who fancy themselves proper chemists,” he said, and chanced a glance at the hall that led to the bedrooms. It was clear to Remus that he was anxious for Lily to return. At least Sirius and James were being civil—or, at least quiet, for the moment. “The headmaster wasn't pleased, but I'll not put up with any silliness in my class.”

“No, I can't imagine you would,” Remus replied with a small smile, shifting uncomfortably as Sirius had taken to trailing his hand down Remus's spine and sneaking it under his jumper. He tried to elbow Sirius subtly to get him to stop, but he feigned ignorance to Remus's hint.

Thankfully, Lily appeared not long after they'd once more descended into silence, and there was a collective sigh of relief when she returned, acting as a buffer between her husband and her best friend.

“He go down all right?” James asked as she swept past Severus and squeezed his shoulder, then sat at James's side.

“Out like a light,” she replied with a soft smile. “He wasn't even awake enough to watch me check his closet and turn on his nightlight before he was asleep. To much excitement, I expect.”

“Yes I can imagine walking in on a depraved homosexual mating ritual must be fairly traumatic,” Severus replied dryly, and Remus bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing while Sirius glared at him and Lily swatted his shoulder.

“Oh, stop it Sev,” Lily said with laughter in her voice, “it's not their fault that Harry never remembers to knock first before barging in.”

“At least they were only kissing,” James said, smirking slightly, “knowing Sirius it could've been much worse. I can't imagine how we'd explain to him why his uncle was handcuffed and with a man brandishing a bull whip and—”

“That was one time James,” Sirius cut across him hotly, his face colouring while Severus and Remus both looked on with amused smiles. “You're like a dog with a bone.”

“So?”

“So it's my bone, just drop it,” Sirius said, withdrawing his hand from the back of Remus's jumper and crossing his arms across his chest.

“As much fun as it is watching Black sulk like an overgrown toddler,” Severus said, ignoring Sirius's, 'Oi!' of indignation, “I should get going, I have to finish my lesson plans for tomorrow.”

“Oh, all right,” Lily said, sounding a little disappointed, “I'll walk you out.”

Severus stood and Lily followed, pausing long enough to nod towards Remus before the pair swept down the hall, their low, murmured voices fading away.

“Thank God,” James said softly enough so that Lily wouldn't catch it, and Sirius murmured his agreement.

“I'll never understand why Lily is friends with that git,” Sirius grumbled, and James's jaw tensed as though he was clenching his teeth.

Remus kept quiet as he watched the pair. Their animosity towards Severus always made him uneasy, but he had no idea how to address it without feeling like he was overstepping his bounds. He'd been seeing Sirius for barely a month and a half, after all, and he wasn't sure if it was his place to chastise the pair for their behaviour. That didn't stop him from feeling uneasy whenever they got started, however.

“Wasn't she childhood friends with him or something?” Sirius asked, and James nodded tightly. Remus saw jealousy in the man's eye, but Remus doubted it was founded. If Remus understood his statement to Harry over dinner correctly, the man was asexual, and thus James really had nothing to worry about. He chewed on the inside of his cheek, his eyes darting between the two. Sirius pulled Remus a little closer, but the tense conversation had made him deeply uncomfortable.

Remus stood up slowly, his movements a little sluggish from sitting so stiffly, and Sirius's eyes widened a little.

“Where're you going?” He asked.

“Relax,” Remus replied with a faint smile, “nature calls.”

Sirius nodded and slouched back against the sofa, but still looked a little troubled as Remus walked quietly down the hall and to the loo. He closed and locked the door, and sat down on the closed toilet lid and withdrew his mobile.

Remus unlocked it and selected Alice's name, but faltered as he chewed on the inside of his cheek as he stared at the blank text message, trying to decide what to say.

When is it appropriate to call out your boyfriend when he's being an arse?

Remus hit send, and it took Alice less than a minute to respond.

Context?

Remus paused again, glanced at the bathroom door, then back to the phone.

I'm at Sirius's for dinner with his friends. James, his wife Lily, their son Harry, and Lily's close friend Severus. Severus is kind of...difficult to describe. He's really serious and sort of has this dry sarcasm that almost no one seems to get. There's some kind of history between him and Sirius and James, but I don't know the whole story. All evening Sirius and James have been sort of...well, they've been enormous twats towards Severus, and it made things pretty awkward. I just don't know if it's my place to say anything to Sirius, we haven't been seeing each other that long.

Remus hesitated for a moment, then sent the response. At the same moment, a knock sounded from the other side of the door.

“Remus? You all right in there?” Sirius called, his voice sounding worried.

“Fine,” Remus called back, “I'll be out in a minute.”

Remus listened to the soft shuffle of Sirius's footsteps fading away, just as his phone buzzed again.

I know you're not the confrontational type, so maybe phrase it less like, 'stop being an arse,' and more like 'your attitude towards Lily's friend makes me uncomfortable.' I have a feeling Sirius might respond better to that than something that's too in-your-face, you know? I hope that helps.

Remus smiled at the text, and responded with a quick, Thanks, before he flushed the toilet, ran the faucet to make it sound like he'd actually gone, and headed back into the sitting room with Alice's words in mind.

Remus settled down next to Sirius, who automatically wrapped an arm around his waist and offered him a gentle squeeze. Remus did not miss how much less tense the atmosphere seemed to him, and he eased into comfortable conversation with the others.

At the end of the evening, Remus hadn't an opportunity to speak to Sirius privately, and he felt even more bothered by it as he settled behind Sirius on his bike and he took off for Remus's home. Remus pressed his head against the centre of Sirius's back and heaved a sigh as he thought everything over. If Sirius noticed his mood, he didn't comment on it.

Remus invited Sirius in so he could see Moony, who immediately jumped up to lick his face excitedly.

“Okay,” Sirius said as he laughed and pushed the dog down halfheartedly, “okay Moony knock it off!”

Remus intervened and pulled the dog down, but Moony stayed put at Sirius's side, ears pricked as he waited to get more attention from his new best friend.

“Did you have a good time tonight?” Sirius asked as he wrapped an arm around Remus's waist and pulled him into a casual embrace.

“All of my taste buds are more or less in tact, so I'd call that a success,” Remus replied, smiling faintly up at Sirius. “I'd have a better time if you tried to get along with Severus though.”

The words had the effect Remus expected, and Sirius's amiable expression immediately soured.

“He—” Sirius began, but Remus cut across him.

“—He's Lily's best friend. It's obvious that Harry adores him as much as he adores you, and if you and James keep up this sour puss routine someone is going to end up hurt.” Remus paused, and took several deep breaths to keep himself calm. This definitely wasn't the way he'd wanted to phrase it, but now that he'd started, he felt like he couldn't stop. “Sirius, I don't want to get in the middle of your family feud, I just—whatever happened between you three, it's in the past. I just feel like you have more to gain by being at least civil with him instead of being an arse.”

Remus fell silent and chewed the inside of his cheek out of nervousness, but the warmth between them had very suddenly disappeared. Sirius stepped back, his eyes cold and hard.

“I never thought you'd choose someone like Snivellus over me. He shouldn't be friends with Lily, she's too good for him!” Sirius snapped, and Remus sputtered at the implication.

“I'm not picking anyone over you Sirius, and it's not your nor James's decision who Lily is friends with. I'm just saying that maybe you should try extending the proverbial olive branch instead of—” he cut himself off and shook his head when he saw that his words weren't sinking in. “Forget it. Goodnight Sirius.”

Sirius gave him one last look, somewhere between hurt and anger, and he stalked out of the duplex without looking back.

Next to him, Moony began to whine.
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Sing Along Forever