Remus wished he had been listening to his mum when he'd agreed to do the laundry. Instead, he was too busy defeating Sirius at chess, a rare feat. Remus suspected it was due to the fact that they were using a Muggle chess set instead of his Wizarding one where the black Queen (and sometimes the knights) flirted with Sirius and gave him strategic advice. He kept his suspicions to himself, however, and grinned when he won the game.

Now he was sorting through the damp white laundry and wishing he had refused when his mum had asked. He picked through the laundry, trying to find his own things to put on the line. It seemed like a great invasion of privacy to handle Sirius' laundry even when Sirius was standing a few feet away hanging up one of his mother's night-gowns (which was mortifying enough in and of itself).

Remus hung up the last of the white pillowcases and then wove through the lines and lines of billowing white sheets to find a free spot to hang the rest of the laundry. He could think of a billion better things to do be doing with the last day of Sirius' stay at his house. Tomorrow Sirius would floo to James' and Remus most likely wouldn't see him until they were back at Hogwarts.

It was times like this when he wished his parents didn't own a Bed & Breakfast. It was times like this when he wished it was raining so that his mum would give in and ask Remus' father to cast a drying charm instead of asking Remus to go outside and hang Sirius' underwear to dry. Oh God. Remus realised he was touching Sirius' underwear. They were remarkably similar to his own white y-fronts, and why shouldn't they be? Remus scolded himself. What was he expecting, black lace panties? A strange rush of blood to his groin at that thought. He hung up Sirius' underwear quickly, trying not to handle them too much or smell them or do anything else with them that might imply that he wanted to handle Sirius or his pants or any combination thereof.

There was silence in the backyard except for the faint chirping of birds. Remus finished hanging up the last white shirt and looked around for Sirius. There was no sign of him. Remus set down the laundry basket and wove through the long sheets, ducking and twisting between the gaps. He caught a glimpse of dark hair before it was gone. He pushed a sheet aside and poked his head past it in time to see Sirius duck into the next row of laundry.

Ah, so that's how it's going to be, Remus thought to himself. Padfoot always did like a game of tag. Smiling to himself, he stepped carefully across to the next row of laundry, pausing before jumping through the sheets. No Sirius. He turned around in a circle before continuing to the next row of laundry (night-gowns and all manner of personal things that he didn't want to think about). This time he caught a glimpse of Sirius' shoe as he doubled back past Remus.

Remus was about to follow him back when he paused. He knew that he could chase Sirius around the laundry for hours without Sirius getting bored. If he stood still however, Sirius would get bored and come to him. Problem solved.

He stood with his eyes closed, hands down at his sides, trying to listen for Sirius' footsteps or breathing or any hint that would give him away. The hint came in the form of two hands coming around to squeeze his waist. It would be fair to say that the scream that came out of Remus' mouth was distinctly girlish. Sirius chuckled, his mouth near Remus' ear.

"Got you," he murmured and Remus felt a chill run through his body despite the hot summer sun.

"Yeah, you do."

Remus was just about to turn around, to wiggle out of Sirius' grip when he felt something wet on his neck. He froze, his heart beating wildly in his chest. Sirius must have taken Remus' lack of response as permission because he continued, slow wet kisses leaving a trail from Remus' neck to his jaw. Remus turned his head towards Sirius' and groaned softly when their mouths met. One of Sirius' hands drifted up from his waist and settled on Remus' chest over his heart.

It wasn't the first time Remus had been kissed, but it was the first time that he had felt his whole body come to life, like every nerve ending was on fire. Sirius' tongue felt amazing against his own and the sounds he made completely undid any control Remus may have possessed. Remus almost whined when Sirius pushed him away gently but urgently.

"Your mum's home," he whispered, his hands still on Remus.

Remus swore under his breath and pulled away reluctantly.

"That was amazing," Sirius said, a blush coming to his cheeks. Remus smiled in reply.

"Oh, there you boys are!" Mrs. Lupin exclaimed as she came into view past the laundry.

"Just finished," Remus said brightly as he slowly moved away from Sirius.

"Well, there's lemonade inside when you're ready," she said, beaming, and turned to go back into the house.

Remus made to follow when Sirius grabbed his hand. "We still have one more night," he murmured, almost inaudibly. Remus swallowed and wondered how he was going to explain to his mum why he and Sirius had to go to bed at six o'clock.