E N C H A N T E D

I'll see you around, Sirius Black

Kissing Sirius Black was like entering an entirely different dimension. Remus forgot where he was, what he was supposed to be doing, and who he was supposed to be worrying about. Sirius pressed his lips against Remus' with such certainty that Remus didn't even have the chance to worry. And the seconds between kisses were dizzying, like that moment only made sense when Sirius' lips covered his own.

Remus sat in his van and watched Sirius pull out of the parking lot; his fingers were instinctively resting on his lips as he remembered exactly how it felt when Sirius' lips were there instead. He grinned like kid with a crush. This date with Sirius was everything Remus had let himself hope for. Sure, Remus had been out before with people he wanted to date, and people he didn't, but none of them were like Sirius. Sirius made Remus feel young again. And sure, Remus was only 23, but he never felt his own age, he never had the chance to be young and carefree or date with low stakes. Until now, he spent almost every date worrying about what his partner would think of his occupation or his family or his past. Not with Sirius, never with Sirius.

It puzzled him as he drove home. Sirius really was not different than the men he'd seen in the past, but something about him felt different. Sirius was just so certain, and he never once made Remus feel like the expectations were greater than the moment they were sharing. Hell, Remus was sure that if he voiced the concerns he had in other relationships to Sirius, Sirius would just smile at him and tell him to take a breath, that they would figure it all out in due time.

His heart fluttered as he recalled Sirius' easy reassurance and how in tune Sirius had been with what Remus wanted. Remus thought he'd maybe scared him away when he was startled as Sirius tried to guide him into the cafe, but apparently, he hadn't. He appreciated Sirius' approach to the reassurance; how he regrouped and first placed his hand between Remus' shoulder blades, then as the date progressed, he let his hand travel down to the small of Remus' back- right where Remus wanted it.

Remus liked those little acts of control that Sirus took- the physical guidance, ordering Remus' drink, dragging Remus' hand into his lap as they drove. Someday maybe, Remus would tell Sirius that and let Sirius take control everywhere else; that made Remus shudder in anticipation. It might just be wishful thinking, but Remus had a seed of hope burning in his heart that this was going to be more than anything he'd ever experienced. The fact that Sirius wanted to see him again- asking not if he could but when he could was promising.

It was going to be hard for Remus to not gravitate toward Sirius at the club. He knew he was going to want Sirius' physical reassurances and his verbal affirmations and his intimate attention, and that he could in no way have that. James would have Sirius' hide and Remus would probably lose his job. But it was worth it, and Sirius was a grown-up, completely capable of assessing the risks he faced.

The biggest hesitation Remus had was rooted in the fact that he didn't know Sirius' intentions. Preston said that Sirius wanted to settle down with a family, but that was no guarantee that he wanted that with Remus or that he wanted to be thrust into Remus' family. Maybe Sirius wouldn't like the idea of taking on kids that didn't belong to him or maybe Sirius was just humoring himself now until he found that person to settle down with.

Only time would tell.

When Remus pulled up to his house, there was an unfortunate familiar figure perched on the curb. He pulled into the driveway, killed the ignition, and made his way over to her.

"Hi mom," he said as he approached hesitantly.

Hope was sitting on the curb in tattered clothing. She clung tightly to herself and rocked back and forth where he was seated. Her gaze narrowed on Remus as he approached.

Remus knew immediately what was happening. For years now, his mother had been flirting with addiction, and this was classic withdrawal for her.

"Re-Remus?"