@wolfstarmicrofic April 24, word count 1000
Sirius was tired of all the attention. Did he crave it? Yes. He’d continue to crave it until his dying breath, but there were some times when he just wanted to be left alone. Right now, for example.
He could hear the sound of cameras clicking behind him. Why wouldn’t they just fuck off? He hurried onto the next street and walked past a few busy shops. Sure, he could hide in them, but there was bound to be someone who recognised him, and then he’d be back at square one.
“There he is!” One of the paparazzi yelled, waving the rest towards him.
“Damn it!” he growled and took off running. He spotted a van with its back doors open. He had a split second to make a decision. He put on a burst of speed and disappeared behind the van, hopping into the back and pulling one of the doors shut. He heard the thundering of the paparazzi’s feet as they ran past his hiding place. He was about to sneak back out when a shadow blocked the light.
“We’re going home now, right, Dad?” And the door slammed shut. Sirius was trapped.
The journey ‘home’ was not a pleasant one for Sirius. Whoever was driving was very brake happy. He had nothing to hold onto and so spent the next quarter of an hour sliding around the van’s floor.
The van finally came to a stop, and the engine was turned off.
“HELP!!!” he shouted, banging on the side of the van.
“What the hell is that?” an older man asked.
“No idea,” the first one said. Sirius heard a bit of scuffling, and then light flooded the back of the van. “Er, what the fuck are you doing?”
“Sorry, Dad,” Remus said sheepishly. “But Sirius Black is in the back of our van.”
Remus’s father came into view, his eyes wide in disbelief.
“The man whose face is plastered all over your bedroom walls?” he asked.
“DAD!” Remus groaned in embarrassment.
“Hi,” Sirius said, hoping he wasn’t about to be murdered by crazy people. “Erm, sorry about all this. I was running away from a load of paparazzi, and I hid in your van. Remus, here shut the door before I could get out,” he said sheepishly, chuckling nervously.
“You’ll be needing a lift back into the city then,” Remus’s father sighed, turning and walking towards the little house behind the van. “We’re having dinner first, and then Remus can drive you back. You’re welcome to join us if you like.”
“Oh, er, thanks. Yeah, thanks very much,” Sirius was a bit wary about going into a strange house, but needs must, and the pair didn’t seem so bad.
He sat beside Remus as his mum piled his plate high with shepherd’s pie. Sirius had eaten at a lot of fancy restaurants, but somehow this was the best meal he’d ever eaten. The Lupins laughed and joked. Remus and Lyall’s humour was a little dry, and he had to get used to it, but Hope was an absolute joy and found that he and she got on very easily.
“Oh, look at the time,” Hope gasped as Remus helped her clear away the pudding bowls. Hope had made an apple crumble that rivalled the best chefs in the country and homemade custard that was to die for. “Sirius, sweetie, you are more than welcome to stay the night if you’re too tired to go home.”
Her familiarity felt so odd to him. She treated him like an old friend and not a celebrity intruding on their evening. He still wasn’t sure if this was all a ruse so they could steal his kidneys, but he found himself saying yes.
“That would be brilliant, thank you, Hope.”
“You’ll have to bunk with Remus, but I’m sure you’ll feel right at home.”
Remus’s room was smaller than his wardrobe at home. Sirius looked dubiously at Remus’s bed and the blow-up mattress on the floor, even more so.
“You can take the bed, I don’t mind the air mattress,” Remus told him, handing him a pair of much too big pyjamas for him to change into.
“Thanks,” Sirius said, plastering on a smile and heading to the minute bathroom. He was sure the Lupins were wondering what was going on as he kept catching the sink and the wall behind him as he got undressed and into his pyjamas. He used the loo and brushed his teeth with the new toothbrush Hope had provided him, and went back to Remus’s room.
He got into the rickety bed and lay on his back, looking up at the ceiling where his own face looked back.
“Everything okay?” Remus asked as he came back in.
“Yeah, sorry, just not used to seeing my own face looking back at me from the ceiling.”
“No, no, it’s fine. I’ll, er, sleep on my side.” Sirius rolled over and came face to face with a wall of his face. “GAH!!!” He cried out again.
“Sorry,” Remus cringed. “I decorated when I was a teenager and haven’t done anything with it since.”
“No, it’s fine, don’t worry. But, could you turn off the light, please?”
Once the room was in darkness, it was much more bearable.
“Night,” Remus said into the darkness.
The next morning, Remus and Lyall took Sirius home, and strangely enough, he was sad to see them go.
“Thanks for everything and letting me sleep in your bed.”
“Any time,” Remus said enthusiastically, his cheeks reddening when he realised how that could be taken. Sirius leaned in, Lyall was back in the van by this point, and whispered.
“I might take you up on that offer.” He winked at Remus and waved them off before walking back into his luxury flat and feeling lonely. Perhaps he’d take Remus up on his offer sooner than he thought he would.
