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Up until last month, Remus’ neighbour had been a sweet old lady with whom he would make small talk as they passed each other in the hallway, and who would bake him a cake every week because he ‘was looking too skinny’. She had already been living there when Remus had moved into the building, and he had been happy to have her as a neighbour. She had been sweet, caring. Quiet.
But last month she had moved in with her daughter, and only days later someone else had moved into her flat. Remus had hoped that he wouldn’t even notice whoever had moved in there, but only a day after the man had moved in, Remus had already most definitely noticed the difference.
The man had come home on his motorcycle, the noise enough to wake Remus up. But if that wasn’t enough, he had then come into the building, singing loudly, obviously not giving a damn about the fact that it was almost midnight already.
Remus had tried his best to ignore the stranger’s behaviour, and he had given him the benefit of the doubt, because maybe this stranger just needed time to settle in and adapt to his surroundings.
It’s now been a month though, and when once again, the man can be heard singing in the stairway, something inside of Remus snaps.
He grabs his dressing gown and puts it on over his pyjamas, before storming out of his flat, just in time to catch his neighbour going into his flat.
“Excuse me?”
“Oh, hi there.” His neighbour smiles. “Can I help you?”
“Do you know what time it is?”
“Let me check for you,” the man says, before taking his phone out of pocket. “It’s… eleven-fifteen. We haven’t met yet, have we? I’m…”
“It’s almost midnight, mister…”
“Black.” The stranger says, a polite smile on his face as he reaches out his hand. “Sirius Black.”
“Mister Black,” Remus continues, ignoring Sirius’ hand entirely. “There are people trying to sleep here. Every night you wake the entire building up with that damned motorcycle of yours, and your… singing. This is not how we do things around here.”
“You don’t sing?” Sirius grins, but when he realises that his neighbour is not a good mood, he sighs. “Sorry… I didn’t catch your name.”
“Remus Lupin.”
“Sorry, Remus. I’ll try not to sing,” Sirius says, but there is still something playful in his eyes, and Remus doesn’t feel like he is being taken seriously.
“People are trying to sleep, you know? You can’t go around, waking up the entire building, just because…”
“It’s just you who’s complaining though, isn’t it?” Sirius asks, raising an eyebrow, teasing him, but it only makes Remus grow more frustrated, and Sirius can obviously tell, because he flashes an apologetic smile. “Sorry. How about you come in for a drink. Let me make it up to you.”
“I do not want a drink, mister Black. I was trying to sleep, until you woke me up. Again. Just shut up when you’re in the stairway, will you?”
“My apologies.” Sirius smiles. “We’ll save that drink for another time, then.”
Remus opens his mouth to tell him to stick his drink where the sun doesn’t shine, but it’s too late, and he is too tired to argue. So he turns, and he goes back into his flat. But when he goes back to bed, he can’t get to sleep, the meeting with Sirius still playing on his mind.
When Remus gets back from work the next day, there is a vase with flowers standing in front of his door. He picks it up, assuming the flowers were delivered to the wrong address, but when he checks the card, he feels last night’s frustration, and more than that, the exhaustion building up inside of him.
It was nice meeting you. Let’s get together for drinks soon. X Sirius (number 12)
Remus does not want to meet up for drinks, and he definitely does not want this kiss at the end of the card. He almost leaves the flowers by his door, as a ‘fuck you’ to Sirius, but then he decides not to let them go to waste, and he brings them in anyway. He does throw out the card though, because what the hell was this guy thinking? Were these flowers supposed to make up for a month of disturbed sleep? Is the invitation for drinks, this empty gesture, supposed to make him forget about him being a complete and utter….
There is a knock on the door, and Remus sets the flowers down, before going to the door. But when he opens it, and he finds Sirius standing there, he sighs, wishing he would have simply ignored the knocking.
“Did you get the flowers?”
“Take them with you,” Remus says, and he goes to pick them back up. “I don’t want them.”
“You don’t like them? Or you’re allergic?”
“I don’t want your flowers, mister Black. I want to be able to sleep, without being woken up by your noise every night.”
“I was only trying to apologise,” Sirius says, looking a little lost as he stands there with the vase in his hands. “I didn’t realise I was being a nuisance to anyone.”
“Well, now you know,” Remus says, already closing the door on him. “Good day, mister Black.”
“So that’s no to drinks, then?” Sirius asks, but Remus shuts the door in his face, ignoring him.
As soon as the door is closed, he sits down on the couch and he buries his face in his hands, hoping that this will be the end of it.
The noise from Sirius’ motorcycle had still woken Remus up, but there had been no more singing, and no more flowers. Remus had tried his best to get used to the new situation, because he did not want to go and complain to Sirius again, not after what had happened last time. He was now trying to avoid him, not wanting to be invited over for drinks again.
But when he comes home from work, he finds a bottle of wine and two glasses waiting for him by his door. Even though it’s been a week of silence from his next-door neighbour, he doesn’t have to check the card hanging from the bottle’s neck to know who it’s from.
He picks the bottle and the glasses up, and he knocks on Sirius’ door, ready to tell him to leave him alone. But when Sirius opens the door, wearing nothing more than a towel, he feels the blush creeping up on him. He catches himself checking him out, and although he knows why he came here, what he was going to tell him, not a word comes out.
“You got the wine, then?” Sirius grins, hooking his thumbs into the towel, dragging it down a little. Remus notices it, and he quickly looks back up. “Want to come in?”
“I ehm…”
“I won’t bite,” Sirius laughs, before adding, “unless you ask me to.”
Remus can feel his cheeks growing hotter, and he quickly hands Sirius the wine. He knows he should leave him and go back to his own flat, but somehow he finds himself following Sirius into his flat.
“I’ll go put something on, and I’ll open this,” Sirius says, before nudging his head into the direction of the living room. “You sit down, maybe put on some music.”
Remus looks through the records, and although he finds all the music he loves, and he would love to play every single one of these records right now, he decides against it. Instead, he sits down, feeling more than just a little uncomfortable as he quietly waits for Sirius to join him.
“I’m glad we can finally have that drink,” Sirius says as he comes into the room, two glasses of wine in his hands. “Get to know each other…”
There is something about the way he says it, that makes Remus feel like he, dare he say it, is flirting with him? It makes him blush again, and Sirius seems to notice, because he gets a knowing smile on his face, before he takes a sip of wine.
“So, Remus Lupin… have I been forgiven yet?”
“Oh, ehm…”
“Or do you still think I’m the worst thing that has ever happened to this town?”
“I did not say that,” Remus quickly says, but when he realises that his neighbour is just teasing him, he can’t help but smile. “I’m sorry about… well…”
“The warm welcome?”
“I’m not usually like that,” Remus says. “But I was tired, and when I got woken up, once again… I’m sorry I took my frustration out on you.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Sirius grins. “You’re forgiven.”
Remus had been ready to go back to his own flat after he had finished his glass of wine, but Sirius had offered him another, and before they knew it, the bottle was empty, and they were telling each other all about themselves, about how they had ended up here in town. By the end of the night, Remus had almost forgotten about how he had felt about Sirius when they had first met. It had almost felt like he was just having a night in with a friend, maybe even more than a friend, what with all the flirting Sirius was doing.
“I really should go,” Remus laughs, when he checks the clock and sees that it’s after midnight already. He wants to get up, but before he can, Sirius has leaned in to kiss him. It takes him by surprise, but Remus kisses him back anyway.
“You could stay here,” Sirius suggests, as he gently caresses the back of Remus’ neck, before kissing him again.
“I can’t. I have to get up early for work,” Remus says, wanting nothing more than to stay here and spend the rest of the night talking to Sirius, kissing him… who knows what else. But he has had enough sleepless nights, and he knows he needs his rest. Last time he didn’t, he nearly bit his, he now has to admit, very nice and very hot neighbour’s head off.
“You can sleep here.” Sirius shrugs. “I promise I won’t sing, or…”
“Just to sleep?”
“Just to sleep.” Sirius smiles, before giving Remus another kiss. “I promise.”
“Wake up, sunshine.”
Remus can’t help but smile at Sirius whispering in his ear, obviously teasing him again.
“What time is it?” he asks as he opens his eyes, Sirius kissing him before he checks his phone for the time.
“We can still have breakfast before you have to go to work. How did you sleep?”
“Like a baby,” Remus yawns, only to find Sirius staring at him with a grin on his face. “What?”
“Maybe you should stay here more often, then.”
“Maybe I didn’t have someone riding around like a madman, on that piece of…”
“Excuse me?” Sirius laughs, but Remus can tell that he isn’t offended. “Well… I’m glad you have decided to forgive me anyway.”
“Have I?” Remus teases, the smile on Sirius’ face growing bigger.
“Really?” he laughs, before rolling on top of him and pinning him down on the bed. He leans in, and he begins to kiss Remus’ neck, placing a trail of soft and gentle kisses up to his ear. “I guess I’ll just have to find another way to make it up to you, then,” he whispers, making Remus blush, as he begins to kiss his neck again.
“What about breakfast?” Remus laughs, but when Sirius brings their mouths together, every other thought leaves his mind.
“We either have time for breakfast,” Sirius says as he sits up, his hands gently caressing Remus’ chest, making him blush even more. “Or for this. Your choice.”
“What if choose breakfast?” Remus teases, but they both know that they won’t be leaving this bed any time soon.
“Do you?” Sirius grins. “Tell me, and I’ll just…,” he says, his hands now teasingly sliding up and down Remus’s arms, giving him chills all over.
“Just shut up and kiss me.”