All My Cards are Here - Marauders+Wolfstar+Jily

Chapter 5: the power of twitter

Songs in this chapter:
The One That Got Away - Katy Perry

TW for needles and piercings

The song was being mastered and would be released Friday, which meant that for the rest of the week, Remus had to go back to working at the bar at the worst hours. It was so strange to go from business meetings and big contracts to being yelled by drunks and slowly deafening himself with the sound of whatever crap band was playing that night.

On top of all this, Sirius had started texting him at all hours of the night. Remus suspected it was because James was asleep and Sirius knew he worked late. And Remus got the feeling that James had told Sirius to stop complaining to him about Mary, which meant that Remus got minute-by-minute updates of their tumultuous relationship.

8:04pm - i have to apologize to mary tonight, if i dont text back, assume im dead

8:17pm - shes actually in a good mood tonight, crisis averted

8:37pm - spoke too soon

9:12pm - can i come over later tonight if this all goes south

9:14pm - moonyyy

9:15pm - i really like the nickname i think itll stick

9:21pm - plss say yes

Remus was absolutely not supposed to be on his phone at work but it can be hard to ignore when it wouldn't stop buzzing for a literal hour. Making sure his manager wasn't looking, Remus snuck out his phone and sent back a quick text.

9:25pm - I get off at ten.

9:25pm - is that a yes??

9:26pm - Yes. Now, stop texting me. I've got to work.

When Remus went back to his flat, he found Sirius waiting on the stairs. Of course, he was waiting like some kind of lost puppy.

"You're lucky I got off early," Remus said to him as he opened the door to his apartment.

"This is early?" Sirius asked. He was looking around Remus' tiny studio apartment, taking in the cluttered surroundings and trying his best not to show judgment on his face.

Remus threw his coat on a pile of books and collapsed onto the bed in the center of the room. "Yes. Usually, I get off around 2 or 3." Remus watched as Sirius tried to figure out where to sit. The kitchen stools were piled high with miscellaneous crap and the floor was covered in books. He really needed more space but London rent was high and he refused to get a roommate despite Oliver's repeated offers. "Just sit on the bed, Sirius. I don't bite."

Sirius nodded and sat down carefully on the edge of the mattress. He was sitting with a perfect posture that Remus had no doubt was drilled into him since he was a child. "You like to read?" Sirius asked politely as if it wasn't obvious by almost every free surface being covered in old books.

"Yeah," Remus said. "We couldn't afford a telly when I was a kid so my mum would buy me all these books from secondhand stores." Remus picked up whatever was closest and tossed it to Sirius, "Read one if you want."

Remus watched as Sirius examined the cover. It was some fantasy novel that Remus was obsessed with when he was younger. "My mother never let us read anything but the classics," Sirius said. He opened the book and started flipping through the first few chapters.

"Sounds like a delightful woman, your mother."

Sirius let out a small laugh, "Yeah, she was a real ball of fun."