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Remus stood in front of the small building, trying to find the willpower to open the door.
He knew he couldn’t go home until he did this. He’d booked the damn class, spent the money, reserved his spot. But still, he stood there in the misty frost, questioning all of the life choices that had brought him to that point.
It didn’t help that the entire storefront had terrifying words painted on the windows. Words like ‘Unlock your creativity!’ and ‘Paint your heart out!’ Words that made Remus want to run screaming in the other direction.
He understood Lily’s intentions. From a logical point of view, he got it. She wanted him to get out of the house, to express his feelings somehow, to maybe meet someone. But she’d conveniently forgotten that Remus had no creativity to unlock and, judging from the people over sixty and the obvious couples trailing through the door, he was more likely to meet someone in prison than here.
But still. His best friend’s green eyes had lit up with such excitement and hope when she’d handed him the little gift certificate, printed from their rickety old printer, for Christmas. So he didn’t have it in his heart to tell her how much he was dreading this.
He’d left that afternoon with a promise to Lily that he would bring back something worth hanging in their flat’s small sitting room, a foreboding feeling in his gut. At the time, Lily had done a great job of talking a tiny bit of confidence into him. But the fifteen-minute drive had sapped that away, just leaving him staring at the door with dread.
Promising himself that he would find a way to curse Lily for ever signing him up for this bloody class, Remus took a deep breath and reminded himself that he was twenty-five, not five. He couldn’t throw a temper tantrum in the lot forever. So he walked through the door.
As he entered the studio, he was accosted by a burst of warmth and the strong scent of acrylic paint. Tables set with two to six canvas stations, all tilted slightly at an angle from each other, were set around the room. All of these were within view of what was obviously the teacher’s station: a slightly-raised stage area with a canvas facing the others. Wrinkling his nose and looking around, Remus gazed past giggling newlyweds and gaggles of old ladies finding their seats to search for an empty spot.
Immediately, he regretted waiting in the cold for so long.
There was only one seat left. And not only was it right in front of the teacher’s area where Remus couldn’t hide, it was at a table for two, the canvases facing at a ninety-degree angle. And the other spot was taken by the most beautiful man Remus had ever seen.
He had two minutes to gape. Two minutes to stare at waterfalls of black hair and intricate tattoos twisting over pale skin. To appreciate the way the man’s jeans hugged his arse and the way his shirt sleeves were pulled up to reveal muscular forearms. But before he could stare for longer, the teacher called the class to order. So, slightly dazed, he headed to the empty space, trying to decide if this was amazing luck or a horrible turn of events.
“Hi,” the man whispered as Remus tripped over his chair leg and grabbed the back to save himself, completely shocked by the beautiful tone of his voice. “Do you need me to move? Are you–”
“No, I’m alone,” Remus mumbled, blushing a bit and righting himself.
The man beamed. “Brilliant.”
Oh, it was brilliant.
“...so if you have all of the things I described,” the teacher, an older woman with light brown shoulder-length hair, said while sending Remus and the pretty man a glare, “the first thing we’ll do is write our names on the back of the canvas, to make sure we don’t mix up our masterpieces.”
Remus let out a snort and murmured softly to himself, “If someone mixes up their masterpiece with mine, I feel bad for them.”
He was only a bit embarrassed when the man next to him chuckled lightly and winked, making him shiver.
Remus held in a returning laugh, instead grabbing a nearby pencil and scrawling his name on the back of his empty canvas.
“Rufus?” the pretty man asked, craning his neck to stare at his writing and then back up to him.
Blushing again, Remus shook his head, turning the canvas back around on the easel. “Remus,” he said, sighing. “Though if you can’t even read my name when I write it, that means my painting is definitely doomed.
The man chuckled. “I’m Sirius. Like the star. And I bet when we’re done, she’ll have a worse reaction to mine than yours,” he said, jerking his head to the teacher and whispering under his breath, another smile forming on his lips.
Goosebumps erupted on Remus’s skin as he took in the stunning smile. “Deal,” he grinned, relaxing a bit.
He fumbled his way through the first few steps easily enough. It was pretty much impossible to mess up covering a canvas with half black paint and half white paint.
Or, he thought. Until he looked over and saw Sirius sticking his tongue out, wrinkling his forehead and narrowing his eyebrows in concentration. A small splatter of black paint was splotched across his cheek, and Remus was struck by how endearing he looked.
Shaking himself from that conclusion, he peeked around to see Sirius’s work, only to find–
“Gray?” the teacher, who had introduced herself as Allie, asked.
Remus stifled a laugh, gazing at the gray swirl in the middle of Sirius’s canvas, where he had evidently mixed his black and white.
“It’s…a snowstorm?” Sirius asked, voice lilting with suppressed laughter, blinking innocent eyes at her.
It was Remus who burst out laughing instead, doubling over behind his canvas and stuffing a fist in his mouth to try to save himself. But he didn’t miss the wink Sirius sent his way.
“Well,” Allie huffed, rolling her eyes in annoyance, “at least your husband seems to have the hang of it. Even if you don’t fix it, you’ll leave with one painting to hang in the sitting room, eh?”
And she walked off, leaving a now very sober Remus glancing at Sirius out of the corner of his eye.
They painted in silence for the next fifteen minutes, Remus studiously doing his best to follow Allie’s instructions while Sirius somehow got more paint on his face. It was distracting, really. The way the little flecks decorated his skin, making him look even more enticing.
After a while, though, Remus couldn’t handle the thoughts careening through his own brain, and decided to power through the awkwardness.
“I can correct her, you know,” he whispered when Allie moved off and around the room to check all of their progress. He couldn’t imagine why the woman would think he could land someone like Sirius, but he had a feeling someone who looked like that wasn’t single, and probably didn’t want anyone thinking he was dating someone else.
“Nah,” Sirius immediately broke into an easy smile, wiping an errant strand of hair off his face and leaving a streak of white on his chin. “I have nobody waiting for me at home. Plus, we don’t want to burst her bubble too much, do we?”
Remus laughed a bit. All of Allie’s cheerful comments had been about how wonderful it was to see so many couples spending the afternoon together, and she’d eyed them several times. “She seems extra excited to have gays here,” he whispered in faux-shock, before realizing what he said. “Not that you are–I mean not to assume–”
“Remus, the last time I slept with a girl, I was eighteen and trying to deny some deeply internalized homophobia,” Sirius laughed, swiping at his canvas in large arcing motions. Remus really wondered what he was doing, since they were just meant to have their black and white background and some trees. “Trust me, I much prefer men.”
The casual reveal of his sexuality made Remus both chuckle and blush with happiness. Though he quickly realized that being gay didn’t mean Sirius was interested in dating anyone right now, especially him. “And are you–?” he started to ask, but he was interrupted by the looming presence of Allie, who had stopped to look at Sirius’s painting.
Remus took in her expression and almost started cackling again. She seemed to be contemplating quitting her job, her mouth in a small ‘o’ as her eyes roved over whatever Sirius was still painting. (Remus had decided not to look over anymore to save his own nerves). Seeming to decide the man was a lost cause, she moved on to Remus, pointing out a small spot where he might add another tree.
But as she made to get back on the small stage, she turned, a thoughtful expression on her face. “You know…I know another gay. He works here on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Do you know him?” And then she smiled, like it was a truly genius question.
Remus almost opened his mouth to respond to the ridiculous question, but Sirius got there first, throwing his arm around Remus and making his whole body erupt with goosebumps. “Maybe?” he asked, pretending to be thoughtful. “Does he go to Big Bear Bertie’s Gay Bar and Subaru dealership on Wednesday nights? That’s when we go meet with all the other gays and talk about nail polish and heteronormativity,” Sirius responded, his voice so deadpan and level that Allie didn’t sense an ounce of sarcasm.
“I’ll ask him,” she smiled, fluttering her eyelashes.
Remus waited for Allie to move to another table before bursting into silent laughter and pulling back from Sirius’s arm. “S-Subaru Dealership?” he gasped, covering his mouth.
“My friend Marlene would kill me if I didn’t include lesbian representation,” Sirius shrugged, laughing.
He just continued to chuckle. “She really thought she did something with ‘I know a gay,’ huh?”
Sirius nodded, eyes sparkling. “Well, now she knows three. She’s very progressive.”
He chuckled and took a longer time than he should have to refocus on Allie as she modeled the next steps. Sirius’s laugh was echoing pleasantly in his ears, and he wasn’t upset about it.
Allie showed back up at their table only a few minutes later, choosing to head to them first after giving the next set of directions. “You know, neither of you look gay,” she said, acting like it was a giant compliment, again fluttering her eyelashes at Sirius.
Remus sighed. Who was this lady? “Well–” he began to say, trying to formulate a patient and educational response.
But Sirius interrupted. “I didn’t think so either. But once I had his cock in my mouth, I was a goner, you know?” he asked, winking at an astounded-looking Allie.
Allie seemed to need a few moments to get herself together, as she walked away with only a few sputtering words and red cheeks. Remus took the time to collect himself a well, the shock keeping him from completely losing his mind.
“S-sorry,” Sirius laughed. “I’ll let up, if you want.”
But Remus was too busy being entertained by Sirius’s contagious laughter, distracted by the paint now decorating the top of his stunning upper lip. He wasn’t at all thinking of the idea of having his cock between those pretty lips. “Nah, it’s fine,” he said, trying to stay calm.
But Sirius’s comment, it seemed, was not enough to deter Allie from befriending them. It was as if she had something to prove.
“You know,” she said directly to Remus the next time she stopped, choosing to not even look at Sirius’s work (he was currently using his white paint again dipping it in with some yellow, while the directions had been to add details to their snowman), “my sister recently cut her hair short.”
Remus paused in drawing a small carrot nose. “Oh?” he asked politely, raising his eyebrows.
“Yes,” Allie said with a meaningful voice, like she was in on some big secret. “Perhaps I should buy her one of those strange flags all of you insist on wearing.”
He almost asked her to show him a picture, just for his own entertainment, wondering if she even knew what the pride flag looked like, but Sirius spoke first. “Ah, yes!” he exclaimed, beaming. “Remember when you fucked me into our mattress while only wearing one of those ‘round your shoulders, darling? God, I couldn’t walk for hours.” He batted his eyelashes at Remus adoringly while Allie made a strange sputtering noise and shuffled off.
Remus, too, was shocked. Or, perhaps, he was too caught up picturing the exact scenario Sirius had described. He hadn’t purchased a pride flag in some time, but he had a feeling Lily had one lying around. He could make a few calls…
“Sorry, she’s just too much. The fact that she keeps coming back , no matter what I say!” Sirius laughed, flicking his paintbrush and accidentally hitting himself in the face. “Her face was priceless, though.”
“No, I’d enjoy it,” Remus murmured in a dazed voice, still half-wrapped up in his fantasy.
It was only when Sirius gave him a surprised smirk that he cleared his throat and corrected himself. “I mean..I enjoyed it! Seeing her face, that is,” he stuttered, biting his lip and blushing. “You can marry me anytime. I mean…pretend we’re married,” he winced, wanting to sink into the floor.
“Of course,” Sirius grinned, looking like he was having the time of his life.
From there, Sirius just got worse, though. Or…better? Remus was of two minds. Because every time Allie walked around and made a comment, Sirius was already there, retorting with something suggestive, gripping Remus’s shoulder or waist or, one lovely time, his belt. But that, along with the paint that seemed to just highlight his beautiful features, made it nearly-impossible for Remus to pay attention as the class was guided through how to add on their little cartoon raccoons that were supposed to be creating the snowman. He was too keyed up, too attuned to Sirius’s body, the way his hands moved as he painted whatever he was painting. His desire to throw his paintbrush aside and just shove Sirius against the nearby wall was growing at an astounding level.
And even though he knew Sirius was just joking, he started joining in too. Because he figured, he was here to have fun, and he certainly wasn’t finding enjoyment in the painting. But the man next to him was making him smile and laugh and shiver. So why not play along?
So by the time they were working on the tiny noses and little whiskers of the woodland animals, Remus was three glasses of wine in (Sirius’s treat) and happily adding on comments of his own. After Allie proudly told them that one time she’d seen two men holding hands in the parking lot and she’d thought ‘the man one’ was ‘actually pretty good-looking’ while ‘the girl man seemed nice,’ Remus piped up. “Dear, I forget. Is it my turn to be the girl today? Or yours?”
And, giggling obnoxiously, Sirius twirled his hair in a paint-covered hand, staining the curl he held, and answered loudly, “Love, you were the girl yesterday. We have a system, remember? We switch.”
At the mention of switching, Remus blushed a deep shade of red, his mind veering directly toward the gutter, trying to focus on his painting as Sirius chuckled.
“You like the idea of that, then?” Sirius mumbled teasingly as Allie again walked away, frowning.
“Fucking a girl? No,” Remus smirked, trying to hide the way his cock twitched.
“No, Remus. Switching,” Sirius said with a lewd grin, biting his lip teasingly.
It took him a few moments to collect himself. “I…I’m not picky,” he mumbled.
But at this particular moment he was becoming more and more desperate to fuck Sirius into oblivion.
-
Their game of teasing came to a head when they were given the final direction. They were to flick white paint-water on the canvas to mimic a snowstorm. And if it hadn’t been clear that Allie hadn’t learned her lesson about Remus and Sirius’s mischievous natures before, that instruction made it pretty obvious. Because it took only a few minutes for Sirius and Remus both to turn the whole thing into a disaster.
Remus started by actually trying. He followed Allie’s instructions, mixing a few drops of water at a time with the white paint on his palette until it became watery, then used his thumb to spread the bristles of the brush away from the canvas, allowing them to fling forward slowly, spattering the black night sky.
But after only a few seconds, he felt the spray of liquid on his face and looked up to see Sirius blinking innocently at him.
“You didn’t,” he gasped, already reaching for his brush.
“Remus, I’d never ,” Sirius gasped in an offended voice, all while grinning maniacally. “We’ve been married for years, I think you know me well enough to know–”
But he was cut off as Remus looked toward Allie, who was caught up with a couple in the back, and then firmly flicked his brush at Sirius like a magic wand.
The other man’s face as a long splatter of white crossed over the bridge of his nose was both adorable and completely dumbfounded.
“Oh, you’re dead , now,” Sirius murmured, eyeing Remus with such intensity that suddenly the tone shifted and it felt like the air between them was crackling. One of his hands moved to brush Remus’s and Remus felt like he was going to faint. He needed to kiss Sirius more than he needed air. “I’m going to–”
But as Sirius reached over to grab another brush, a string of curses flew from his mouth and his eyes widened dramatically.
He’d knocked over the large cup of water.
“Ah, shit!” Sirius whined, looking more shocked than anything else. “That’s fucking cold.”
Chuckling, Remus reached forward and scooped up the scattered brushes, the mood decidedly gone. “Go to the bathroom and clean up. I’ll fix things here.”
Nodding and looking slightly embarrassed, Sirius stepped away toward the little one-person bathroom in the back, sleeves dripping as he went.
Allie chose this moment to show up, of course. “Accident?” she asked in a completely unsurprised voice, tilting her head to the side in faux sympathy.
“Yeah,” Remus nodded, feeling like a bubble had burst. The class was over. Sirius would clean up and they would go home. This was just for fun, a pretend thing to piss off Allie. The end.
But Allie just frowned. “Shouldn’t you go help him clean up? You’re married, after all.”
Remus almost snapped at her. Told her to mind her business or that they were faking. But he just shrugged and stood to follow Sirius, thinking maybe he could get his number or something. Perhaps they could at least be friends.
But as he knocked at the door of the little bathroom, calling the man’s name and feeling more foolish by the second, he was shocked to hear a voice call, “Come in!”
That shock was nothing, however, compared to the shock he felt when he opened the door to find a very shirtless Sirius inside.
He stood there for only a moment, eyes tracing over tattoo-cover skin, taking in the various symbols and pictures covering his abdomen, wanting to memorize every delicious inch. But Sirius only allowed him that moment before looking up and whispering, “Close the door, it’s cold.”
Gasping, heart sinking, Remus backed out, thinking he’d misheard before.
“Nah, Remus. Come in and close the door,” Sirius chuckled, eyes bright.
Numbly obeying, Remus did exactly that, locking the door because it felt prudent – he didn’t want anyone to walk in and get the wrong idea – and then turned to Sirius, who was eyeing him with a strange expression.
And there it was. As his self-consciousness and doubt melted away, that strange buzzing intensity began filling the air. Neither of them looked away from the other, they both just stared, pupils dilating, hearts racing, no words spoken.
Eventually, Sirius broke. “I don’t have a pride flag or a mattress, but–” he started, voice hoarse.
Immediately understanding where this was going, Remus surged forward, claiming his lips with his own.
Sirius tasted of wine and paint and sunshine, his mouth moving perfectly with Remus’s as their tongues connected, like they were meant to be doing this. Together, they maneuvered so Sirius was pressed against the wall, gasps falling from his mouth as Remus allowed the simmering want that had been bubbling in his stomach for hours to take over, licking and biting over the perfect column of skin that was Sirius’s neck.
“You’re ridiculous,” he mumbled, “so bloody fit and ridiculous. Did you get any paint on the damn canvas? Or were you too busy making your face look even prettier?”
But Sirius didn’t reply. He just gasped at the contact, shivering a bit, moaning, “ Fuck !” loud and long, as Remus bit into the place his neck connected with his collarbone, keening and shivering. “As if I’m the only one, mister I-have-super-fucking-sexy-hands-that-I-paint-with. Gods, I’ve wanted those hands on me for hours.”
Flushed and emboldened with the knowledge that Sirius wanted this too, Remus quickly moved to the button of Sirius’s pants, glancing up to check his still-enraptured expression and see a quick nod before popping open the clasp and zipping down the flies.
Both of them hissed when Remus cupped Sirius through his boxers, lightly tightening his grasp.
And he felt Sirius change beneath his teasing touches. As he traced fingertips over the clothed bulge, moving his head down to suck at a pierced nipple, he felt the other man melt under his ministrations. The fiery, mischievous Sirius that had teased him and toyed with Allie was now giving way to a much needier Sirius. And oh, Remus liked this Sirius more than he could describe.
“If you don’t touch me now, I swear to God,” Sirius whimpered, sweat beading on his upper lip. His hips kept canting slightly, searching for friction Remus wasn’t giving him.
But Remus just grinned, enjoying the little bit of power he’d been given. “What are you gonna do, baby? Get on your knees for me? I think I remember you mentioning enjoying having my cock in your mouth. Shall we check to see if that’s true?”
It was a gamble. He couldn’t know for sure how much Sirius liked talk like that. But judging from the wanton moan that immediately fell from the shorter man’s lips, Sirius seemed to like it very much.
“Next time, love,” Remus chuckled, having to physically stop Sirius from actually falling to his knees on the bathroom floor. “I have something else in mind for right now.”
Taking in Sirius’s wrecked appearance, Remus didn’t even look down as he pulled out his own aching cock, pumping it a few times before leaning forward and claiming Sirius’s lips with his own.
He almost got lost in the kiss. Sirius’s kisses were so commanding, so needy, so absolute, that he wanted to drown in them. But the throbbing at the base of his prick brought him back to reality and, hurriedly licking his palm a few times, Remus gathered both his own cock and Sirius’s into his palm, giving them an experimental tug.
Both of them groaned in tandem, the feeling of their pricks pressed together in Remus’s grasp making pleasure ricochet up from the base of his spine and flow over his chest, leaving sparks on his skin.
The way Sirius immediately curled into him, hips rocking shamelessly, needy moans and whimpers echoing through the bathroom, made Remus realize he wasn’t going to last very long. Sirius seemed to be just as affected as he was, and the knowledge of that made his orgasm approach at lightning-speed.
They rocked together, both of them pushing into Remus’s fist, bodies melding and heat rising in the small room. And as they did, Remus was overcome with the desire not only to come and make Sirius come, but to completely consume the other man. Ruin him for everyone else. God, he was so far gone even after only a few hours.
“Sirius, I–” he gasped, already feeling his toes curling and something coiling deep within him like a spring.
“Remus.”
It was his name falling from those perfect lips like a prayer that did it. He hurtled over the edge, painting Sirius’s sculpted chest with his release, hissing Sirius’s name the moment he felt the other man follow after him into his own bliss.
And when they both calmed a bit, they still held each other, neither willing to let go.
Remus was thankful for Sirius’s ability to be brave enough to speak first.
“When you said ‘next time,’” he murmured, pulling back to reveal stunningly flushed skin, kiss-bitten lips, sex-messed hair, and teary eyes. His beauty almost knocked Remus breathless.
“I meant next time,” Remus repeated, nodding. “Like…after a date, maybe?”
And those stunning eyes sparkled as Sirius broke into a beaming smile. “Oh, thank God. I would’ve consumed my weight in ice cream if you’d’ve walked away after that,” he grinned.
Chuckling, Remus moved, ignoring the sticky sensation of pulling away from Sirius, and began to wet paper towels to clean both of them up. Dabbing lightly as Sirius’s perfect waist, he mumbled, “So…why’d you come to this class anyway? It doesn’t seem like a regular thing for you.”
Chuckling, Sirius began to do the same, fiddling with Remus’s pants to wipe at a stain there. “What gave it away? No, er…my friend James gave me a certificate. Told me it would do me good to get out.”
Sirius was still chuckling, seemingly at his friend’s gesture, but Remus had frozen. “Does James have a girlfriend?” he asked, blinking rapidly.
The other man looked up at him. “Why, are you going to go for him next? Because I promise, I’m better looking.” He said it with a grin, but there was a bit of real anxiety there.
“I’m not– no I just,” Remus sighed, trying to clear his head. “My best friend, Lily, gave me a certificate as well. Told me I had to go to this particular class.”
Sirius froze as well, gaping. “No fucking way…”
“We’re never going to live this down,” Remus laughed as he continued cleaning up.
-
Ten minutes later, when Remus and Sirius exited the bathroom to find a nearly-empty classroom, they exchanged guilty glances before walking toward Allie.
“Erm…all clean,” Sirius mumbled, grinning softly.
Allie, it seemed, had lost her affinity for queer culture, though. “Yes, well. You two can take your paintings and go. And maybe pick a different activity for your next….tryst.”
Laughing hysterically and tripping out into the cold air, Remus exchanged phone numbers with Sirius and finally looked over at the painting he’d been hiding all evening.
“Sirius, what the fuck?” he gasped.
It was actually gorgeous. Allie's attitude made all the more sense, now. She was obviously upset that Sirius had talent far beyond that of anyone else in the room, even those that worked there. She was also probably mad because Sirius hadn’t painted a snowman. He’d painted..
“A moon?” Remus asked softly, holding the canvas back and gazing at it reverently.
“Yeah. Dunno, I saw your eyes, and I just…wanted to paint a moon,” Sirius shrugged, looking a bit shy. “Do you like it?”
All Remus could do was pull him into a kiss.
Six months later, Sirius’s painting was the first thing they both put up in the flat they got together.