Fic: Summer Skin
Title: Summer Skin
Author: escribo
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word Count: 1746
Summary: First bike, first kiss, first making up.
It was late July, and the sun beat down hot on Sirius' bare head as he sat on the faded steps outside the Lupin's house. Remus' mum had left him there nearly an hour ago with a glass of milk and some biscuits, both long gone, and a promise that Remus would be back soon. Remus had a job, delivering groceries for tips, his mum had said, and Sirius was slightly put out that Remus hadn't said so himself, not that Remus had any obligation to--nor, it seemed, any inclination, not after what had happened last term.
Sirius scowled at the thought, hating to remember the look both Remus and James had treated him to when they'd found out what he'd done and why, not that he'd given much of an explanation. James had forgiven him after only a day or two, and they'd fallen back into the easy camaraderie they'd had since first year, but Remus had been different, as he always was. He'd said he'd forgiven Sirius but there were no more midnight confessions between them, no more pranks or days spent adventuring through the castle and forest. Remus had turned inward, firmly shutting Sirius out, his smile more enigmatic than the Mona Lisa's when James (and it was always and only James) could tease one out of him.
The truth was, Sirius missed Remus, missed everything about him, about the way they'd been (or nearly so) before. Nothing had happened, nothing like what he'd wanted--nothing like what James talked about on his too few dates with girls who didn't actively dislike him, but the months following Christmas break had been filled with what passed as flirting between marauders more bent on destruction than declarations. Every hour he had spent alone in detention with Remus had been precious to him, only he hadn't noticed until Remus stopped getting detention altogether and Sirius began serving an endless round for nearly killing Severus Snape.
Sirius stood, meaning to leave, thinking it had been a mistake to come at all, but then there was Remus, coasting down the dirt road on his way home from the job Sirius hadn't even known he'd had. Sirius had a wild urge to wave madly, so glad to see him--happier than he'd been in ages but he was afraid that Remus wouldn't wave back. He was relieved, suddenly, that James had sent him on his own, even as he felt a heat rise in his cheeks that had nothing to do with the temperature.
"What are you doing here?" Remus called out when he was close enough. His voice sounded guarded--cautious.
Sirius winced at the sound of it, and shrugged, not sure how to answer that. He'd already said sorry, and it sounded too twee to say I missed you or I need you to like me again. "I wanted to see you."
"Why?"
"No reason."
"Did James come?"
"No." Sirius jammed his hands into his pockets and rounded his shoulders, staring at the toes of his shoes until Remus was close enough that Sirius could see the toe of his worn All-Stars, too.
"You came by yourself?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"I told you why. I needed to see you."
"Need and want are two different things."
Sirius dared to look up then. Remus wasn't smiling but there was something in his eyes that made Sirius feel a bit giddy--a little hopeful. "Need," he said, and bit his lip. "Can I stay?"
Remus nodded once, hard and sharp, and they both looked away, but Sirius felt his hands shake and clenched them into fists. He wanted to jump up and down like a boy on his birthday but settled for turning calmly to walk at Remus' side.
"Your mum said you had a job."
"Delivering groceries. It's not much."
"Is that why you have the whatsit?" Sirius asked, gesturing to the bike Remus was walking between them. He technically knew what it was but knew that Remus thought it was funny when he pretended not to know Muggle things. At least he used to think it was funny. Sirius flashed him a worried look.
Remus turned, his eyes going bright and curious as he looked back. "A whatsit?"
"This." Sirius patted the seat of the bike.
"It's a bicycle, Sirius. You've seen a bike before."
"No, actually." Sirius circled Remus once, pressing his tub into the rubber tires and ringing the bell. "Well, not up close. I didn't know how it worked. You just push the--" Sirius imitated the motion of pedaling with his hands.
"Pedals."
"Pedal thingies."
"Just pedals. I can't believe you lived in London your entire life and never saw a bicycle before. You've having me on."
"I'm not," Sirius said, still fascinated by the bicycle but looking up when Remus didn't say anything. "I'm really not. Playing on the streets was for common Muggle children."
"Makes sense." Remus nodded once, swinging his leg over the bike before he pushed off, pedaling in a slow, wide circle around Sirius. "I'm common."
"No, you're not. I didn't say that. I meant my mum--"
"Oh." Remus stopped, putting one foot on the ground and leaning on the handlebars. He was frowning, worrying his lower lips between his teeth, and Sirius tweaked his ear to make him stop, something he used to do all the time. He was comforted when Remus didn't bat his hand away.
"I don't think you're common," Sirius said again. He gripped the handlebars and stepped so that the front tire was between his legs and Remus couldn't ride away.
Remus stared at him for a long time, his fringe falling into his eyes. "All right," he said after a while, though the familiar hesitancy had crept back into the edges of his voice.
"I don't."
"What do you think of me then because your mum isn't far off, is she? I am poor. I'm a half--"
"Don't say it. Not that word. There's no shame in it, being poor and--"
"Muggle," Remus said, but Sirius knew that wasn't the insult he had planned to say.
"Yes. And besides, I don't think you're common."
"So, what am I, if not common?"
Sirius moved his sweaty hands to cover Remus' where they rested on the handlebars and felt his stomach go wobbly. He almost didn't answer but then he decided he didn't care if Remus thought he sounded like a bird. "I think you're extraordinary," he said in a rush, thrusting his chin out as if daring Remus to say anything back.
"Because I can talk us out of detentions most of the time?"
Sirius shook his head once, twice, then nodded. "But not just."
There was an almost smile playing around Remus' lips, and Sirius wanted to kiss it.
"Because I placed higher than you in Defense?" Remus asked, and now the uncertainty was gone.
"Barely. Just by one point."
"Still higher. Is it because--"
It was the almost smile that did it, and quick, before he could lose his nerve, Sirius darted in to press his lips against Remus' in what could hardly be called a kiss. It lasted for less time than it took for Sirius to think of doing it, and when he jerked back, casting a quick glance to the door to the Lupin's house, he half-expected Remus to pull away or knock him off his feet. When neither happened, Sirius took it as a good sign and dared to look at Remus again. His cheeks were rosy, making the spray of freckles across his nose stand out, and his mouth open in a round "O" of surprise, but that wore off fast. The smile was back, the scar on his lip giving it a rakish quality that Sirius hadn't realized he'd missed maybe most of all. He leaned in a second time, pausing just long enough to watch Remus' eyes flutter shut and his head tilt slightly. This, Sirius thought, deserved to be called a kiss--their first--and he was just on the tail end of wishing it didn't have to stop when it did.
Sirius took two quick steps back, touching his fingers to his lips, before he shuffled forward again. "Can I try it?"
"You just did," Remus said, sounding breathless, but also like he'd let Sirius do it again, so he darted forward, kissing him again--hard and fast, before stepping back and laughing out loud.
"The bike!" Sirius said, a little too loud. Remus laughed, too, and Sirius saw the curtains twitch in the Lupin's front room. He wondered how long it'd been since Remus' mum had heard that sound, too.
Remus looked over his shoulder at the house, waving when the door opened and his mum came to stand on the porch, retrieving Sirius' glass and empty plate. She stood watching them, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand.
Remus slid his leg over the seat and steadied it for Sirius. "It's not like riding a broomstick. It doesn't fly."
"I did notice," Sirius said as he got on.
"You have to be careful."
"I will be." Sirius pushed down on the pedal (thingie) and the bicycle moved forward, tilting to one side then the other, as Sirius pedaled again.
Remus ran alongside him, holding onto both the handlebars and the back of the seat. "And keep your balance."
"That much is like a broomstick." Another push of the pedals and Remus let go, watching as Sirius took off like as if he'd been born to ride. Sirius raced up and down the lane, making big circle in the dusty garden. After a while, Sirius circled Remus, careful not to roll over his toes, and noticed that Remus' mum had gone inside. "I bet we could charm it."
"To do what?"
"Fly."
"Buy your own bike and charm it to fly. I like it to stay on the ground."
"You always did hate to fly."
"If I was meant to fly, I'd have wings."
"I know a spell."
"Don't even think about it," Remus said but he was still smiling.
Sirius took another loop around Remus before he stopped and pulled Remus into the circle of his arms. He started to ask if they were all right now, but then decided he didn't need to. He glanced again at the door, hoping Remus' mum wouldn't look out, not just now when he really wanted to kiss her son again. Instead, Remus kissed him. It was almost like flying, Sirius thought, but even better.
Author: escribo
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word Count: 1746
Summary: First bike, first kiss, first making up.
It was late July, and the sun beat down hot on Sirius' bare head as he sat on the faded steps outside the Lupin's house. Remus' mum had left him there nearly an hour ago with a glass of milk and some biscuits, both long gone, and a promise that Remus would be back soon. Remus had a job, delivering groceries for tips, his mum had said, and Sirius was slightly put out that Remus hadn't said so himself, not that Remus had any obligation to--nor, it seemed, any inclination, not after what had happened last term.
Sirius scowled at the thought, hating to remember the look both Remus and James had treated him to when they'd found out what he'd done and why, not that he'd given much of an explanation. James had forgiven him after only a day or two, and they'd fallen back into the easy camaraderie they'd had since first year, but Remus had been different, as he always was. He'd said he'd forgiven Sirius but there were no more midnight confessions between them, no more pranks or days spent adventuring through the castle and forest. Remus had turned inward, firmly shutting Sirius out, his smile more enigmatic than the Mona Lisa's when James (and it was always and only James) could tease one out of him.
The truth was, Sirius missed Remus, missed everything about him, about the way they'd been (or nearly so) before. Nothing had happened, nothing like what he'd wanted--nothing like what James talked about on his too few dates with girls who didn't actively dislike him, but the months following Christmas break had been filled with what passed as flirting between marauders more bent on destruction than declarations. Every hour he had spent alone in detention with Remus had been precious to him, only he hadn't noticed until Remus stopped getting detention altogether and Sirius began serving an endless round for nearly killing Severus Snape.
Sirius stood, meaning to leave, thinking it had been a mistake to come at all, but then there was Remus, coasting down the dirt road on his way home from the job Sirius hadn't even known he'd had. Sirius had a wild urge to wave madly, so glad to see him--happier than he'd been in ages but he was afraid that Remus wouldn't wave back. He was relieved, suddenly, that James had sent him on his own, even as he felt a heat rise in his cheeks that had nothing to do with the temperature.
"What are you doing here?" Remus called out when he was close enough. His voice sounded guarded--cautious.
Sirius winced at the sound of it, and shrugged, not sure how to answer that. He'd already said sorry, and it sounded too twee to say I missed you or I need you to like me again. "I wanted to see you."
"Why?"
"No reason."
"Did James come?"
"No." Sirius jammed his hands into his pockets and rounded his shoulders, staring at the toes of his shoes until Remus was close enough that Sirius could see the toe of his worn All-Stars, too.
"You came by yourself?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"I told you why. I needed to see you."
"Need and want are two different things."
Sirius dared to look up then. Remus wasn't smiling but there was something in his eyes that made Sirius feel a bit giddy--a little hopeful. "Need," he said, and bit his lip. "Can I stay?"
Remus nodded once, hard and sharp, and they both looked away, but Sirius felt his hands shake and clenched them into fists. He wanted to jump up and down like a boy on his birthday but settled for turning calmly to walk at Remus' side.
"Your mum said you had a job."
"Delivering groceries. It's not much."
"Is that why you have the whatsit?" Sirius asked, gesturing to the bike Remus was walking between them. He technically knew what it was but knew that Remus thought it was funny when he pretended not to know Muggle things. At least he used to think it was funny. Sirius flashed him a worried look.
Remus turned, his eyes going bright and curious as he looked back. "A whatsit?"
"This." Sirius patted the seat of the bike.
"It's a bicycle, Sirius. You've seen a bike before."
"No, actually." Sirius circled Remus once, pressing his tub into the rubber tires and ringing the bell. "Well, not up close. I didn't know how it worked. You just push the--" Sirius imitated the motion of pedaling with his hands.
"Pedals."
"Pedal thingies."
"Just pedals. I can't believe you lived in London your entire life and never saw a bicycle before. You've having me on."
"I'm not," Sirius said, still fascinated by the bicycle but looking up when Remus didn't say anything. "I'm really not. Playing on the streets was for common Muggle children."
"Makes sense." Remus nodded once, swinging his leg over the bike before he pushed off, pedaling in a slow, wide circle around Sirius. "I'm common."
"No, you're not. I didn't say that. I meant my mum--"
"Oh." Remus stopped, putting one foot on the ground and leaning on the handlebars. He was frowning, worrying his lower lips between his teeth, and Sirius tweaked his ear to make him stop, something he used to do all the time. He was comforted when Remus didn't bat his hand away.
"I don't think you're common," Sirius said again. He gripped the handlebars and stepped so that the front tire was between his legs and Remus couldn't ride away.
Remus stared at him for a long time, his fringe falling into his eyes. "All right," he said after a while, though the familiar hesitancy had crept back into the edges of his voice.
"I don't."
"What do you think of me then because your mum isn't far off, is she? I am poor. I'm a half--"
"Don't say it. Not that word. There's no shame in it, being poor and--"
"Muggle," Remus said, but Sirius knew that wasn't the insult he had planned to say.
"Yes. And besides, I don't think you're common."
"So, what am I, if not common?"
Sirius moved his sweaty hands to cover Remus' where they rested on the handlebars and felt his stomach go wobbly. He almost didn't answer but then he decided he didn't care if Remus thought he sounded like a bird. "I think you're extraordinary," he said in a rush, thrusting his chin out as if daring Remus to say anything back.
"Because I can talk us out of detentions most of the time?"
Sirius shook his head once, twice, then nodded. "But not just."
There was an almost smile playing around Remus' lips, and Sirius wanted to kiss it.
"Because I placed higher than you in Defense?" Remus asked, and now the uncertainty was gone.
"Barely. Just by one point."
"Still higher. Is it because--"
It was the almost smile that did it, and quick, before he could lose his nerve, Sirius darted in to press his lips against Remus' in what could hardly be called a kiss. It lasted for less time than it took for Sirius to think of doing it, and when he jerked back, casting a quick glance to the door to the Lupin's house, he half-expected Remus to pull away or knock him off his feet. When neither happened, Sirius took it as a good sign and dared to look at Remus again. His cheeks were rosy, making the spray of freckles across his nose stand out, and his mouth open in a round "O" of surprise, but that wore off fast. The smile was back, the scar on his lip giving it a rakish quality that Sirius hadn't realized he'd missed maybe most of all. He leaned in a second time, pausing just long enough to watch Remus' eyes flutter shut and his head tilt slightly. This, Sirius thought, deserved to be called a kiss--their first--and he was just on the tail end of wishing it didn't have to stop when it did.
Sirius took two quick steps back, touching his fingers to his lips, before he shuffled forward again. "Can I try it?"
"You just did," Remus said, sounding breathless, but also like he'd let Sirius do it again, so he darted forward, kissing him again--hard and fast, before stepping back and laughing out loud.
"The bike!" Sirius said, a little too loud. Remus laughed, too, and Sirius saw the curtains twitch in the Lupin's front room. He wondered how long it'd been since Remus' mum had heard that sound, too.
Remus looked over his shoulder at the house, waving when the door opened and his mum came to stand on the porch, retrieving Sirius' glass and empty plate. She stood watching them, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand.
Remus slid his leg over the seat and steadied it for Sirius. "It's not like riding a broomstick. It doesn't fly."
"I did notice," Sirius said as he got on.
"You have to be careful."
"I will be." Sirius pushed down on the pedal (thingie) and the bicycle moved forward, tilting to one side then the other, as Sirius pedaled again.
Remus ran alongside him, holding onto both the handlebars and the back of the seat. "And keep your balance."
"That much is like a broomstick." Another push of the pedals and Remus let go, watching as Sirius took off like as if he'd been born to ride. Sirius raced up and down the lane, making big circle in the dusty garden. After a while, Sirius circled Remus, careful not to roll over his toes, and noticed that Remus' mum had gone inside. "I bet we could charm it."
"To do what?"
"Fly."
"Buy your own bike and charm it to fly. I like it to stay on the ground."
"You always did hate to fly."
"If I was meant to fly, I'd have wings."
"I know a spell."
"Don't even think about it," Remus said but he was still smiling.
Sirius took another loop around Remus before he stopped and pulled Remus into the circle of his arms. He started to ask if they were all right now, but then decided he didn't need to. He glanced again at the door, hoping Remus' mum wouldn't look out, not just now when he really wanted to kiss her son again. Instead, Remus kissed him. It was almost like flying, Sirius thought, but even better.