Muggle-Mingling

Muggle-Mingling

Remus watched Sirius heap sugar on his porridge. How Sirius could stomach essentially sugar with a bit of porridge added was a mystery to Remus. Fascinating! Well, Sirius was fascinating.

"So, what's this thing you want to go to again, Rem?"

"Bonfire Night, it's a Muggle holiday. You know, fireworks, bonfires ... Guy Fawkes Night."

"Guy who?"

"Fawkes. Honestly, Padfoot, how can you not know these things!" Remus stood up, one hand on his hip, the other extended in a grand gesture.

"Remember, remember the Fifth of November,

The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,

I can think of no reason

Why the Gunpowder Treason

Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent

To blow up the King and Parli'ment."

"Ooookay ..." Sirius looked sceptically at his boyfriend, who only huffed, flopped back down in his seat and proceeded to explain the specifics of Guy Fawkes Night to Sirius.

"And where exactly is this again?" Sirius questioned.

"All over the country. But I have something special in mind for us, and spare your breath, I'm not going to tell you where. I said it was going to be a surprise!"

Sirius grumbled, but knew well enough that there was no point in enquiring further. He'd have to wait, even if he didn't like it. He was looking forward to their Muggle excursion, though; his mother would have a fit if she knew he'd be mingling with 'filth'. Sirius smirked.

~~*~~

Remus had warned Sirius to dress warmly. With two jumpers under his robes, Sirius was beginning to sweat as Remus bustled around the kitchen, throwing the strangest things into a huge wicker basket.

"What's with the vegetables, Remus? Afraid we won't be back here for Sunday dinner?"

"Oh, shut up! You'll find out soon enough. Pass me the cutlery, please."

Sirius looked down at the table, where knives, forks, table- and teaspoons were lined up neatly. How very Remus, he thought and dumped them in the basket.

"Sirius! You're squashing the - Oh, never mind, let's go."

"Squashing the what?"

"Not telling. Patience, Pads! Now, come here, I'll Side-Along us there."

Basket dangling off one arm, Remus circled his other arm around Sirius's waist. As Remus turned on the spot and Apparated them to their destination, they were pressed tightly against each other

~~*~~<

Sirius's eyes were squeezed shut with his head resting on Remus's shoulder when he realised it wasn't the Apparition that was glueing him to Remus's body. He looked up and gave Remus a quick kiss before taking in his surroundings.

They had landed on a sloping field, grass dried and yellow-brown. In the distance stood a majestic old cathedral, surrounded by trees and a small town, by the looks of it.

"Wow. Where are we?" Sirius was impressed. There was something special about this spot, even with the overcast sky. He could well imagine how stunning the sight would be on a fine day.

"Welcome to Durham, love!" Remus announced, pride colouring his words. "I grew up close to here, in Chester-le-Street."

Remus had always been secretive about his childhood, family and holidays at home during their years at Hogwarts. After a while, the boys had known not to push Remus, who clearly wanted to forget about it all when he was at Hogwarts and with his friends. Sirius was all the more surprised that Remus had taken him here now, at a time when they were building a life of their own, away from family and other nuisances. Sirius wasn't quite sure what to make of it. He opted for his usual undiplomatic reply.

"Don't tell me I'll meet your parents today!"

Remus frowned momentarily before he answered. "No, don't worry. My dad died when I was twelve; I haven't seen my mum since we moved to London. But let's drop that now." Remus crossed his arms over his chest and stared hard at Durham Cathedral, as if it was the landmark's fault their conversation had taken this unpleasant turn.

Sirius stepped up to Remus and draped his arm over his shoulder. "Look, Remus, I'm sorry. You know I'm an idiot sometimes." Remus snorted in disgust. "Okay, I am an idiot. Shall we just try and have a good time, forget about this?" Remus nodded. "So, what's the plan then?" Sirius questioned quietly. "I saw you pack cucumbers, carrots and other veggies of interesting shapes." He winked suggestively at Remus.

Remus snorted, bad memories instantly forgotten. "You're hopeless, you know that? I prepared something for us. Come see. We'll go down to the firestation for the festivities tonight. And if we get away in time, we might still catch some of the fireworks from here before we go home." Remus was walking up the slope while he ran his plan past Sirius, who was trying to keep up with his boyfriend.

They reached a dip in the slope, surrounded by trees. Sirius saw their old tartan picnic blanket and a couple of cushions neatly laid out. Candles were floating in mid-air.

Sirius grinned. "Excellent!" When he stepped closer he realised that a warming bubble enclosed the area. "Brilliant, mate! I was worried about freezing my arse off tonight!"

He noticed a crate of beer to the left of the blanket and bent down to fetch one. It was chilled. "Remus, most brilliant of boyfriends. Have I told lately you how much I love you!" Sirius sighed in satisfaction.

Remus merely rolled his eyes. "Thought the beer would do the trick," and he grinned at Sirius. "We've still got a couple of hours before we need to go. Are you hungry?"

Sirius crawled closer to Remus. "For you, yes," he murmered, before pushing Remus onto his back and settling down on top of him, arms on either side of Remus's head supporting his weight. He gazed down at Remus's face for a couple of seconds before his mouth pressed down on Remus's and they engaged in a fierce, desperate kiss.

~~*~~

Remus lay on his side, head resting on Sirius's belly, while he idly played with the hairs on Sirius's chest. Sirius sighed contentedly.Their reverie was broken by a couple of loud blasts, almost like gunshots. Sirius jumped up, looking around wildly for his wand - and his clothes. Remus calmly picked himself back up from where he had been unceremoniously dumped and pointed over to the cathedral.

"Look, the fireworks have started. Guess we missed our Muggle-mingling opportunity, didn't we?"

Sirius settling back down on the picnic blanket. "Bloody hell, nearly gave me a heart attack, those gun blasts did!" He looked at Remus. "I wouldn't have missed this afternoon for all the world, not even for some Muggle-mingling."

The two of them watched the fireworks, lounging on the blanket with a couple of beers. After a while, Sirius began to laugh, first quietly to himself then more loudly.

"What?" Remus asked.

"Nothing!" Sirius gasped between fits of laughter. "I was just thinking - You did put up some Concealment Charms, right?"

"'Course I did," Remus huffed indignantly.

"Good. Can you imagine what the poor innocent Muggles would think if they saw the two of us here, having a picnic in November ... completely starkers!" Sirius doubled over with laughter.

Remus couldn't hide his own grin as he thought to himself how very different this day had turned out - so much better than his original plans actually. When Sirius calmed enough to pay attention again, Remus leant over and whispered, "Let's camp here tonight."

"Yeah, let's." Sirius smiled. "And I know exactly what we'll do!" Before Remus knew what was happening, Sirius straddled him. "I love your Muggle excursions, Moony. And I love you."

"Love you too, Pads." Remus pushed himself up and claimed Sirius's mouth with a kiss full of love, trust and promises.

~~*The End*~~