"I don't know why everyone's so upset," Remus sighs, crossing his legs. "We all knew very well that this is what would happen. Didn't we?"

Remus is sitting on his bed, with Lily Evans sitting on Sirius', looking at him sadly. He's spent a little under a fortnight at Sirius' house, and finally, the Ministry has closed the case regarding the attack on his house.

No suspects charged.

No suspects even identified.

"That doesn't make it any more acceptable, Re," Lily shakes her head. "You deserve so much better than this."

But does he?

"It's okay. I just need to find a new job and... a place to live. I might move back in with my parents." Remus leans his head back against the wall. How his life has changed so drastically in just a few weeks is so overwhelming to him. He feels Lily place a hand on his knee, and immediately thinks of Sirius. It doesn't help.

"I have a feeling Sirius wouldn't really like that," Lily smiles teasingly. Remus huffs in response. Lily puts her chin in her hands and leans a little forward, her eyes sparkling. "So, how are things with him?" She asks.

Remus wishes he could share her excitement.

"I..." he pauses, biting his lip. "I'm not entirely sure." He watches her face fall.

"What does that mean?"

"I really don't know, Lily," Remus mumbles, looking at his hands. "He's just so confusing."

"Confusing?" Lily frowns, but then pushes out a smile. "Sounds like Sirius," she says.

"I know, but I'm just... so lost," Remus shrugs.

"What happened, Remus?" Lily asks, and he can feel the concern in her voice. He shrugs again. "It's more about what doesn't happen," he says.

"Now you're confusing me, too, Re," Lily comes to sit beside him. "Why don't we start over? Maybe I can help."

"I don't think you can," Remus points out, "He's just so... I don't even know. He keeps sending me mixed signals, I guess."

Lily waits for Remus to elaborate, and so he does.

"Sometimes he holds my hand, and I swear he flirts with me every passing minute... But then he just shuts me out when I try to... God, I don't even know." Remus covers his face with his hands. He feels Lily wrap an arm around his shoulder, and leans into her side. She smells nice. It's her perfume that she's always worn, even at Hogwarts.

"Remus, can I tell you something?" Lily asks, her words deliberate and careful. Remus raises his head. "Of course you can," he smiles at her. "We're best friends. Since when do you have to ask?"

Lily smiles at him, but it's forced. "It isn't about me," she replies, "And I really don't want you taking this the wrong way, okay?"

Remus nods, his throat suddenly dry. He can tell where this is going.

"Look, I... Sirius is one of my closest friends. He's so wonderful and I love him so, so much, but..."

"But what?" Remus asks.

"But he's... not exactly known for being very..."

Remus only worries more as Lily struggles to find her words.

"Committed," Lily finally says. Remus frowns. He thinks of their first -and only- kiss, the subtle touches they've shared more than a few times, and then how he'd seen Sirius and Auguste together.

Auguste had said that they were just friends. With benefits. So what if it's the same with Remus? What marks the difference between him and Auguste?

"Are you okay?" Lily asks, squeezing his shoulder. Remus gives her a small smile. "Yeah," he breathes, "Yeah, I'm okay. And you're right, of course. As always."

"You're not mad at me?"

"What? Lily, no... I'm not mad at you at all. I'm just... hearing it from you is... weird."

"I'm sorry," Lily bites her lip. "I just want you to be careful. Sirius is a great guy, but sometimes he can get really caught up in himself. I don't want you to get hurt, Re. Especially not because of him. I love the both of you guys so much, and I'd hate to see either of you upset."

Remus shakes his head, leaning his head on Lily's shoulder again. "You don't have to explain, Lily. Relax. I know you'd never want anything bad for me."

"Good," Lily laughs, pressing her head on his and practically squeezing the air out of his lungs. It makes him also laugh. She bends her head to press a little kiss on his cheek. "You deserve the world, Remus. Don't forget that."

***

Dinner that night is a little hectic, and it's the first time they all have dinner together at the table during Remus' stay at Sirius' place. It was a bit of a surprise when Remus learnt that Sirius and Regulus don't sit down to eat st the same time, but it made sense, given that Regulus has a tendency to wake up at noon and go to bed at God knows when in the morning.

His whole schedule is behind Sirius and Remus' by a several hours.

It also comes as a bit of a shock when Remus realises that he very rarely gets to see Sirius actually sit down and have a meal. He's always either eaten before Remus, or isn't hungry, or goes out on his bike and comes back with takeaway for Remus, having already eaten outside. The most Remus usually sees is him eating a biscuit.

Not that Remus can blame him. Biscuits are a gift from the heavens. At least, most of them are.

But tonight, it's a special occasion. The Potters are staying for dinner, and Regulus is practically radiating happiness as he sits next to Lily. It's adorable to watch. James, his heart 'shattered to pieces', tries to find solace in Sirius and Remus. But it's only Remus that can help him out.

Perhaps it's this sudden change of routine, with the most arduous task of gracing the others with his divine presence, but Sirius is quiet, picking at his food with his fork.

It's an odd experience, everyone's happy but something is wrong, like they're all worrying under their smiling faces. Maybe it's what happened with the so-called investigation of Remus' case. Or it could just as possibly be that Remus can't really feel complete when Sirius is anything less than brimming with joy.

When James turns to Regulus to say something, Remus leans over to give Sirius a small pat on his knee. "You okay?" He asks quietly, making Sirius' head snap up.

"I'm okay," comes the reply, barely above a whisper. "I just don't like this fish... But don't tell Reg I said that."

Remus feels touched that he would hide his distaste for his little brother, given that it was Regulus who cooked it, but then Sirius clarifies.

"He'll kill me and feed me to the fish if he finds out," he grins, making Remus choke on his water.

"Okay," he manages to say, "I won't tell him. Stop picking at it and just leave it, why don't you? Have something else instead."

"Ugh, no," Sirius protests. "That fish has really killed my appetite. I'll just make myself a cup of tea later."

Remus nods, giving him a smile. He wants to say something else, but he doesn't really know what, so he goes back to eating in silence.