roartonrisen | Homeplot #1

Homeplot #1

"Kieren! Wake up or you won't have time to eat your breakfast!" There's a pause, a long one, then a huff. "You know what I mean!" His mum's voice has always been present in his dreams, but it's never been that loud or stringent before. He burrows a little further into Sirius' warmth, reaching for one of his pillows to curl into when he inhales deeply and smells...that's weird. It smells like the pastels and paints he'd adorned his room with back in Roarton.

Blinking awake blearily, he glances around them to try and figure out what's going on, not sure why he's dreaming so vividly when he reaches out to find the clock and smacks his elbow on the nightstand beside his too-small bed. The bed he and Sirius have is nearly twice this size, which means that he's not dreaming, not given the sheer, sudden pain he's in from that contact.

"Shit," he hisses, staring down and finding Sirius right beside him. Frantically, Kieren pats himself down and presses a thumb to his neck, but there's nothing to be worried about. There's a pulse there, strong and steady, which means that somehow he's home and alive, but with Sirius here. Does that happen? Is this normal?

Leaning over, he rubs at Sirius' shoulder to try and get him to wake up. "Sirius," he whispers. "Hey, Sirius, wake up," he urges, hearing Jem down the hall complaining about having to be up for her therapy appointment.

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Kieren hops around as he works to get on socks and boots, ending up sitting on the edge of the bed as he laces them up, bent over and glancing at Sirius while he does, trying to calm his mind and thinking about Simon is absolutely not going to help, because he's a living and breathing reminder of all the people that he hates.

Sick to his stomach, he reaches out to grab onto Sirius' hand, squeezing it to calm himself down. "One disaster at a time, yeah? Parents first," is what he says, seeing as this alone is probably going to be a bit of a stress-induced nightmare that he's not sure he's ready for. "But yeah, yeah, I think he's bound to be here, in the bungalow," he agrees.

In all honesty, Sirius isn't certain this counts as a disaster, really. After all, he's seen his fair share of those and this circumstance is more curious than anything.

But, for Kieren, it's clearly a bit devastating. Or, at the very least, daunting.

Forcing his face into a smile, Sirius gives Kieren's hand a squeeze, attempting for as comforting as possible. "Parents first," he agrees, ignoring the anxiety prickling beneath his skin at the notion of Simon likely lurking behind some corner or another. "I hope there's enough milk for the tea."

Kieren stands in the door probably longer than he ought to, thinking of the last disastrous time that he'd brought someone home and he prays that this can't possibly be as bad as that. Gary's not going to be there (he'd better not be there) and he can do this. Turning to look at Sirius, he holds out a hand. "Maybe just wait there for a moment?" he says. "Let me sort of ease my parents and Jem into the fact that you're gonna be joining us."

He's already wary about this, the last thing he needs is them suspecting them of the things that they actually are doing.

Breathing out, he thinks that no one's going to be asking any questions about boys when they realize he's human again, but just in case, he wants to prepare this so that he's got a bit of a plan.

It's a strange thing, feeling as relieved as he does disappointed, as Kieren asks him to stay back. It's not that Kieren is ashamed of him, he knows. And Kieren's family already knows of his sexuality so it's not that either. But they've not met Sirius, have no way of knowing he isn't simply some bloke Kieren picked up at the nearest pub the night before.

They don't know he's a wizard.

"I could just be Padfoot," he suggests as Kieren steps out the door. "Though I suppose that would have worked better had your sister not already seen me."

At that, Kieren gives Sirius a surprised look, reaching out to wrap his fingers around Sirius' wrist. "You're not trodding downstairs at my heels as a dog," he says, firm on that much. He's going to do this and he's going to do it without flinching or lying, it just means that he's got to be brave for a little.

That, and answers a lot of questions with 'I don't know', because he can't imagine that anything he says will help. Breathing in sharply, he keeps gesturing for Sirius to follow, taking the steps loudly to warn the family that he's coming down.

"There you are, Kieren, you..." His mother trails off, shaky hand over her mouth. She looks like she's about to cry and it takes all of Kieren's strength not to fall apart. Still, he walks straight into her arms, letting her hug him because he needs the touch just as desperately, embracing her as he feels his Dad join in, a hand to the beck of his neck.

"You're warm, Kier!"

"Yeah," Kieren agrees shakily. "Yeah, I am."

"I told you he was," Jem mutters, clearly annoyed at not having being listened to. She's sitting at the table, but her attention is still on Sirius. With his parents' attention on him, she takes that to mean she can pick at the issue. "Who're you?" she demands, dragging his parents' attention just slightly away from the shock of Kieren being human again.

It's obvious that Kieren's more than a little nervous about this whole thing and Sirius can't say he blames him at all. It has less to do with having a strange boy in his bed and far more to do with the fact that he's suddenly fully human again, no longer undead or whatever it is he'd been before. He's back to breathing and bleeding and eating and simply being alive. It won't take long to notice, he's sure. Even now, Sirius remembers too well the layers of gunk Kieren would slather onto his skin to make himself appear normal, the contacts he'd wear and the way he'd try to cover up.

He still tries to cover up a bit, but Sirius has learned that's simply Kieren's terrible fashion sense and not really a factor of being partially dead.

So he follows quietly, linking his fingers with Kieren's until they've made it downstairs and then slipping away a bit when his mother approaches. She both is and isn't how Sirius had imagined, looking far more like James's mother than his own as she immediately wraps her arms around her son.

It's a strangely intimate moment and Sirius averts his eyes only to find Kieren's sister staring daggers at him.

He falters only a moment before pasting on a wide, warm smile and giving slight bow. "Sirius Black," he tells her with complete honesty and as much charm as he can muster. "And you must me Jem. Your brother's told me a lot about you. All good things, of course. Overwhelmingly so."

Jem's attention flickers back to Kieren in disbelief, then to Sirius. "Your name is Sirius? What, were your parents some sort of hippie folk?" she says, inching a little closer as she takes the time to really evaluate the boy that her brother's brought home, allegedly, since Kieren supposes one moment he'd been upstairs, the next, there's a boy. "Hasn't told me anything about you."

"That's because things got weird," Kieren interrupts, prying himself from his parents hold to come to Sirius' rescue, wanting to make sure this stops before things get even more interrogative. "It's the same as why I'm alive. I mean, I can't explain it," he rushes to clarify, not wanting to get sent to the centre so they can poke and prod at him. "Only, a little while into this place I got brought to, I wound up human. I met Sirius there," he shares, with a fond smile. "He's my boyfriend."

"What's gone wrong with Simon, then?" his Mum asks, clearly a touch worried. "Does he know?"

"Not yet," Kieren says, a touch unsure about how that will go, "but he will. I don't know how to explain it, I just know that I haven't been here for nearly two years. That I haven't seen you lot in years." It's emotional enough, but truthfully, Kieren's stomach growls at the perfect moment, causing him to sheepishly admit, "and I think I'm starving for a homecooked meal."

"Say no more," Sue says, whisking off to the kitchen. "Sirius, do you eat?"

He doesn't bother hiding a flicker of a smirk at Jem's retort. Though he hadn't grown up thinking his name all that unusual, he's had similar reactions in Darrow. And there's a fiestiness in her Sirius can recognize from all the times Kieren's spoken of her; he's delighted to find her living up to the tales.

Before he can respond with a quip of his own, the conversation's derailed and he keeps quiet in favour of letting Kieren try to explain their rather odd predicament.

Though, in truth, they're taking the news a bit better than he'd assumed.

"Oh, yes, madam," he says as Kieren's mother quickly rushes out of the room. "As much as I can get my hands on, really. But there's no need to go out of your way for me. Can't imagine you were expecting another mouth to feed this morning." Except-- he looks to Kieren again, eyebrow arched and lips twitched into another teasing grin. "Or was Simon a common presence here?"

Sue's brows lift as she gives Kieren an approving look that he's not entirely sure that he likes the look of, wondering why his new boyfriend eating is apparently that noteworthy, but apparently that's a great difference as far as his parents are concerned. His Mum, at least. His Dad's still got a hand near Kieren's neck, like he can't believe he's warm again, and is staring at Sirius a touch warily.

Maybe he's not so sure about him, given that it's on the heels of Simon, as far as they're concerned. He lets himself be fussed over for a while, because it's sort of the opposite of being dead, isn't it? It's finally a good thing and his parents can be happy.

"He'd only come around a few times," Kieren replies, trying not to let the awkwardness seep further into the conversation, because it is awkward and he's going to end up having to go visit at some point. Settling into one of the chairs, his stomach growls and he realises how desperate he is for his Mum's cooking. He nods to the chair beside him for Sirius to take, trying to figure out how to do this.

Breathing in, better to just dive in.

"I'm sure you all have loads of questions about how I can be here and be alive," he says. "The last thing I remember was Amy's funeral, but after that, after I excused myself to the washroom, I was in a weird city, in America? I think? I know this all sounds mad, but that's where I met Sirius," he says, looking to Sirius for help in explaining the city part of this.

The look on Kieren's mother's face is one of instant approval and it takes Sirius a moment to figure out exactly why. Because, while Kieren's talked about Simon a time or two, Sirius has really tried very hard to not think about him as much as possible. But he'd been undead just as Kieren had been.

And, as such, he hadn't been able to eat. Of course.

Unsure whether to feel smug about instantly winning at least some bit of her approval or disappointed that it's got nothing at all to do with his charm, he can only offer a smile as he takes a seat next to Kieren. There's an undeniable awkwardness in the air and he finally lets out a breath when Kieren starts in on an explanation, jumping in when Kieren shoots him a quick look.

"I arrived a bit later myself," he says, wary to reveal too much to a family of Muggles. "Same sort of deal, really. I was in one place in one moment and then suddenly in the middle of the street in this strange American town. It sounds complete bollocks, I realize," he says with another sort of awkward laugh. "Honestly, I won't blame you if decide to not believe a word of it, but I swear it's the truth. To be honest with you, I don't know how we got here. By all accounts, there's no leaving where we were. Not by choice, at least."

Kieren leans forward to put helpings of food onto his plate, aware that all three of his family are staring at him, seeing as this is new behaviour for him, or at least, it's the sort of behaviour that they haven't seen in a while. He tries not to feel self-conscious, trying to keep his attention on Sirius as he speaks, immensely grateful that while not a Northerner, Sirius isn't an American either, which might have been truly awkward.

"Still not sure how we're back, or how I'm human," Kieren feels compelled to add.

"Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth, please," Sue pleads, reaching out to grab hold of Kieren's hand, his Dad beaming away at him. Even Jem looks fairly happy to see him. "You're here, that's all that matters, no matter what company you've brought 'round with you. You're here. You're warm. Kieren, I can feel your heart beating," she says, words hitching mildly.

"Mum," he pleads softly. "Please don't make me cry in front of my boyfriend."

"Sorry, I'm sorry!" she says, but she's tearing up and so's his Dad, which is embarrassing for everyone. Jem rolls her eyes fondly, but she doesn't look much better. Kieren gives Sirius an apologetic look, wanting to tell him that it's not usually like this, but it's a bit hard when it makes it look like his family's a soppy mess always when really, it's just extenuating circumstances.

Sirius's brow furrows as he tries not to read into whatever 'no matter what company you've brought' might imply, but he's swiftly distracted by Kieren once again and how clearly relieved his entire family is at seeing him alive once more. And, while Sirius may not entirely understand what they've gone through, he does think he gets soem of it. After all, he'd known Kieren in the throes of his affliction, remembers well how he'd felt with no heartbeat or breath, how he couldn't eat anything but sheeps brains and even that...

And he remembers the car crash, of course. Though he knows better than to mention that.

"Quite alright," he says only a very slightly forced smile as he starts dishing up his own food. "It's a nice reaction, honestly. My own mother wouldn't be nearly so happy to ever see me alive again. And Kieren's..." He quiets for a moment, shooting Kieren a quick look before smiling once more at his parents. "Well, he's spoken of you all often. I know he's missed you."

Kieren feels a touch hunched in on himself, mainly because he still can't believe that any of this is as real as he wants it to be, that there's this aching sadness in the pit of his stomach that's warning him not to think too much that it's permanent because it can't be, not when there's no good reason for Sirius to be here. Staring at him for a long moment, he kicks himself for not testing out whether Sirius even had access to his magic here or whether that's gone.

"Can we all please eat?" Kieren protests, gesturing to the food, now feeling guilty because there's probably not enough. "I'm going to have to head out soon," he admits, glancing to Sirius to look at him while he speaks, "Should probably go talk to Simon before word gets around."

His family all exchange a look right in front of them, but no one says anything on the topic, instead choosing to focus their energies on Sirius instead. "Where do you live, then?" Sue asks. "You sound much posher than anything we've ever run up against."

Still trying to suppress a bit of a nervous smile, Sirius nods and picks up his fork. Even with two extra mouths to feed, it's enough food as far as he's concerned and he wastes no time digging into his eggs. It isn't often he gets home-made food, given that he's often far too lazy to cook it himself and there's no one else about to cook it for him apart from Kieren, who's often too busy with school for that sort of thing. The smell of it all is alluring enough as it is, but he lets out a pleased hum as he takes his first bite.

It dies off a bit at the mention of Simon, however, and he only arches an eyebrow in response. And he doesn't miss the way Kieren's family all exchange a look as well.

"Mmm," he says in response to Kieren's mother, hurriedly finishing his bite and wiping at his mouth with his napkin. "Oh dear, I don't sound too posh, do I?" he says with a wink. "But I've been in around London mostly. The north end. Until Darrow, that is. Strangely, that feels a bit more like home now these days than anywhere else."

Kieren tries to ignore Sirius' look when Simon gets brought up, mainly because he doesn't really want to get into any of this right now, not with his family right here and everything going so well. He resolutely tells himself that he's not going to worry about that, pleased when his Mum ends up being a bit forward and shifts the topic.

"This Darrow, is it a decent place?" Sue asks, like she's off guard and just trying to play along.

"It's not so bad," Kieren jumps in, compelled to make sure this isn't so bad. "I mean, we get money for living there, sort of like a stipend. I'm going to art school," he says, glancing from his parents to Jem and then back, heart beating wildly. "I finally get to do what I've wanted to for ages."

"That's amazing, Kier," his dad says, clapping him on the shoulder. "Maybe when you're done with school, you'll come back to us, just like this? Won't you?"

Kieren glances to Sirius worriedly, not entirely sure how this works, because he doesn't want to abandon his family for anything in the world, not after doing it once, but on the other hand, he also doesn't want to do that to Sirius. How could he? To someone he loves?

It's a bit of a touchy subject, Sirius knows that much without even so much as looking at Kieren. It's touchy because he's not certain if they're stuck here now, in Roarton, or if this is some trick of Darrow and they'll end up back there in mere moments.

Or if, perhaps, Sirius will be ripped from Kieren entirely and find himself suddenly cowering beneath a Dementor in the heart of Azkaban.

"It seems he and I aren't entirely masters of our own destinies in that regard, though I'm certain Kieren would be happy to come back if given the choice." It's only once the words are past his lips that he realizes the truth in them and a heavy weight settles in his chest. Would Sirius himself be able to hack it in a town like this, small and ordinary and Muggle. It's not so different from Darrow, perhaps, but it seems a great deal smaller, what little of it he's heard from Kieren and now seen for himself.

Swallowing, he forces himself to continue though the weight doesn't ease any. "Perhaps he could work as an art teacher or get himself a little studio. Do you have that sort of thing here?"

Kieren turns to look at Sirius when he speaks about being happy to come back, because the problem is that Sirius is right. He would like to come back, but he also doesn't want to do it at the expense of Sirius and his relationship, because they've been together for a long time, they live together, he loves him.

He really loves him. "Stop," is all he says, hushed as he reaches out to squeeze Sirius' hand to try and get him to stop talking about his future in Roarton. Despite the progress he's made on the food, he suddenly feels his appetite is slowly draining away from him. "Mum, I think maybe I want to go back and lie down," he says. "Today's been a bit much."

Sue looks worried, but she clearly doesn't want to argue. "Whatever you feel is best, Kier. Just, don't run away too soon," she pleads, looking a touch desperate.

It's hardly the first time Sirius has felt he's done something wrong with Kieren and he feels an immediate press of guilt at the quiet admonishment in Kieren's tone. He clamps his mouth shut and glances down at his food, but despite the unease, the weight of Kieren's hand over his own is calming.

He glances over briefly, curious and worried all at once, before looking back to Kieren's mother. "Is it alright with you if I stay for awhile?" he asks, utterly polite and cautious. "With Kieren, that is. Upstairs."

A year or so ago, he'd not have bothered to ask. Sirius has long advocated for doing just as he desires with no need for approval of any authority. It's all a bit different now, however. He'd never really anticipated meeting Kieren's parents, but now that he has, he finds he wants very much to make a good impression. At least convince them he's a better choice than Simon.

Both of his parents look wary about saying yes, but Kieren knows they're likely equally just as worried about saying no, seeing as that might imply that they somehow don't trust him and after all the PDS business in town, he knows they've been bending over backwards trying not to repeat history.

"Of course," Steve says, his voice still strained, but Kieren is already on his feet and tugging Sirius gently to come with him, smiling fondly at his parents and a little sadly as his gaze lingers on each of them, ending with Jem. When he's got well-clear of the table, he gives Sirius a worried look, scratching his cheek almost obsessively.

"I should maybe get changed," he admits, "head out into town."

Go and see if everything is the same is what he means, but he suspects Sirius also hears the, So I can go see if Simon is still here part of it.

Kieren's hand is warm around his, comforting, as he's tugged away from the table and out of the room. The feeling doesn't last long however as, once they're out of hearing range, Kieren shifts his plans.

"I thought you wanted to lie down," he says because he knows what it is Kieren actually wants in that moment. Or, rather. Whom he wants to see.

It shouldn't bother him, of course. He and Kieren have been together well over a year now, have been living together for months. Sirius doesn't doubt that Kieren loves him and wants to be with him, but well. There's something to be said for past loves, isn't there? Being back home, out of Darrow... that could change some things as well.

Swallowing, he shoves down the unease once again and nods. "Right, of course. I can stay here, keep your parents company." He forces on a smile, aiming for supportive and every bit what a good boyfriend should be. "Let them interrogate me for a bit. Never gone through that before - could be fun."

"I just didn't want to sit there lying to my parents about having any kind of control of whether I stay and who stays with me," he counters, breathing a little nervously as he reaches for his jacket and eyeing the hallway to see if anyone is watching.

"You should come, in a bit," he insists, because he'll want Sirius there. "Maybe just give me ten minutes? Fifteen? But then, you should definitely come over to the bungalow," he insists, because he's going to want proof that he really did move on, no matter how hard it might have been.

"Also, you shouldn't have to sit around here with my parents the whole time," he adds. "They'll probably just end up making you watch DVDs."

He watches as Kieren shrugs into his jacket, anxiety growing tighter in his belly all the while. It's ridiculous, he knows. Kieren's hardly going to leave him now when he's gone through the trouble of introducing Sirius to his parents. Surely.

"Oh, I do like a good Muggle film," he counters, still forcing himself to ignore the sinking in his stomach and keep the mood a bit light. For all his efforts though, his lips still falter into a frown a moment later. "How will I find you? I know this town isn't very big, but I haven't a clue where to start. Will you have your mobile on?"

"It's a little bungalow, I haven't got a mobile here," he says, feeling awkward and out of touch with technology for admitting it, but it's sort of true. After all, he'd never needed one before. "My Mum or Dad could show you, if you wanted to spend more time with them," he offers, thinking that it wouldn't be bad for Sirius to spend more time with them.

"I want to have you there. I want you to see he's not so bad, but also for him to see I've got someone new," Kieren says, aiming to be clear.

It's not as though Sirius will at all mind spending a bit more time with Kieren's parents. He doesn't know them very well outside of what little Kieren's shared and what he's seen yet this morning, but they seem quite welcoming. Certainly moreso than his own, that much is certain.

And he is a bit curious as to what dirt Jem might have on Kieren, he'll admit.

Kieren's assurance does manage to make him relax just a bit, though not entirely. "So this isn't a one-last fling then," he says with a hint of a grin, his voice just teasing enough as to show he doesn't mean it sincerely. Not really.

Kieren tips his head to the side to level Sirius with a dubious glare, seeing as that's the last thing that's going to happen here, but he also feels like that doesn't even deserve a comment made about it. "Just come over in thirty minutes," is what he says, feeling like that ought to capture his long-suffering annoyance.

He leans in to press a kiss to the corner of Sirius' lips, wishing that it weren't so bittersweet to be home and know that it can't possibly be permanent, but he'll have to enjoy it while he's here, is all.

There isn't even a hint of amusement in the glare Kieren throws his way, but that alone does well to assuage any tiny fear he might have had regarding their reunion.

"Thirty minutes then," he says, smiling faintly into the light kiss Kieren presses to his lips. His tease this time is more in an effort to help Kieren relax than himself, and he says, "That's more than enough time to fall in love with your sister and run away with her," as he gives Kieren's hand a tiny squeeze. "I'll be sure to stop by on the way out, however."

"Good," is what Kieren says, snorting a little because if anyone falls in love with Jem that quick, he will suspect that magic is involved because he adores her, but she's the consummate little sister in his head, even if she's his big sister now, technically, thanks to the whole time apart and him being stuck in time.

At least, before. He's not sure he can catch up, though. "I'll see you soon."

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Homeplot #1

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