"Hey," Sirius shrugs his jacket off and gives his hair a rough shake. "Sorry I'm late. I was waiting for Regulus, but he cancelled last minute."

"That's okay," Remus says as they walk into the kitchen. "He didn't come?"

"James said he'll bring him along after lunch," Sirius sits down on his usual seat. "James is coming? What about the shop?"

"Closing early, I think. His father will take over from next week," Sirius pulls a face at Mavis, who's staring at him from under the table. Remus sighs, not knowing what to say. He places two mugs of tea on the table and takes a seat opposite Sirius.

"Hey," Sirius taps Remus' hand. "You do know that we're helping because we want to, right?"

"Yeah," Remus says quietly. "So cheer up," Sirius laughs. "We're gonna have so much fun."

"Sirius?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you really think... That this will help?" Remus stares at his hands. The faint scars stare back defiantly. Sometimes, Remus wants to scrub at them until he bleeds.

"I'm positive. We can even advertise Milk of Remus at the front. I bet that'll attract hundreds."

Remus lets out a small laugh. He raises his head to look at Sirius, and that's when he sees it. Two faint purple patches on his throat. Remus can't help frowning.

"What is it?" Sirius asks him. "I... you... are you okay?" Remus wonders what sort of animal could've done that. "I'm great, thanks... Remus, come on. You look like you just saw Dumbledore's underwear. What's wrong?"

"Your... your neck..."

Sirius quickly raises his hand to his throat, feeling his skin with his fingers. "Shit," he hisses when he presses down too hard on a bruise. "Are they visible?"

"What happened?" Remus asks, worried. "Oh you know-" a devilish grin appears on Sirius' lips. "Wait. You don't know, do you? They're love bites," he laughs.

"Oh."

Remus says softly. He remembers what Sirius said about staying over at other people's places, and almost shudders.

What was he thinking, all this time?

"You alright? Do you want me to cover them up?" Sirius asks him. "Hold on, I'll be right back."

When Sirius comes back, Remus can no longer see the love bites. "Come on," Sirius pulls him out of his seat, "We've got things to do."

***

Sirius is staring up at Remus' ceiling, lying on his couch with his legs dangling from the edge while Remus carefully pours his freshly-brewed Digestif into small glass bottles. He almost knocks one over when a ringing sound cuts through the tranquil silence.

"What's that?" Sirius shoots up.

"I dare say it's your phone," Remus raises an eyebrow. "Oh, right," Sirius laughs, reaching for his jacket. He fishes in its pocket and pulls his phone out. Remus is a little surprised that it's rose gold.

"Ah, how do I..." Sirius manages not to drop his phone trying to answer the call. "Hello?" He speaks once he succeeds. "Oh, okay... Yeah, we're here... Shut up, you perv," Sirius scoffs before hanging up.

"James is coming here to get my bike. Doesn't want to go all the way to Grimmauld Place, I guess." Sirius shrugs. "You live in Grimmauld Place?" Remus asks, eyes wide. He's always thought that Sirius didn't live with his parents. "No, I don't. Regulus stays there sometimes. He mostly lives with me, but... you know. Parents, and all that." Sirius shrugs.

"Oh," Remus says softly. "When did you leave home?"

"I was sixteen when I ran away," Sirius laughs. Remus' heart clenches a little. "Went to James' in the middle of the night. It was right before the start of sixth year... his parents had quite a shock, as you might imagine."

"I'm sorry..." Remus bites his lip. "It's fine," Sirius smiles at him. "My parents are just shit... To me, at least."

"Why did you run away?" Remus asks, stopping his work to look at Sirius. "Oh you know," Sirius shrugs, "Same old purist bullshit... Mudbloods need to be kept away, they're taking over, they should be regulated more strictly... things of the sort."

"Oh," Remus says softly. He doesn't want to know just how bad it must've been if Sirius actually ran away from his home.

"Yeah," Sirius comes to sit next to him. "My parents... they were so purebred they didn't even let us have jam."

Several moments pass in silence.

And then Remus gets it. He can't help the snort of very elegant laughter that pushes itself out of him. He covers his mouth, trying to stop, but he can't. He feels terrible laughing about it but... It's so funny.

"You're terrible," he shoves Sirius, almost pushing him out of the chair. "I know," Sirius grins at him. "And you're adorable."

Remus stops laughing. His heart feels like it's put on at least three kilos and is now on the verge of bursting. Only Sirius Black can go from talking about his traumatic childhood to making mildly flirtatious remarks in a matter of minutes.

And then Remus remembers the love bites.

"Thanks," he says stiffly. Sirius goes to say something else, but a knock on the door interrupts them. Sirius takes his keys out of his pocket and walks to the door.

"Hello, Re!" James pops his head in to wave at Remus, "Hope I'm not interrupting anything." He laughs. Sirius shoves him out. "You drive carefully," he warns. "Yes, your highness," James mocks him, running away before Sirius can grab him. Shaking his head, Sirius shuts the door.

"Don't mind him," he smiles at Remus. "He's just a big fucking idiot."