Requiem

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Sirius Black, millionaire playboy and novelist, has cruised through life overindulged and unchallenged. Enter Remus Lupin, a detective who investigates a series of murders straight out of Sirius's books. He found his muse. Sparks fly and people. RLSS.

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Main Relationship Focus: Remus Lupin/Sirius Black
Genres: Action & Adventure, Angst, Drama, Mystery, Romance and Suspense
Rating: M for violence, gore, sex and language
Length: Epic
Warning: Slash.
Disclaimers: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros, Bloomsbury. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: Non-Magic. Inspired by the TV series Castle – it's so damn good, go watch it!
Beta: Beta-ed

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I: Black, Sirius Black

Remus Lupin grimaced inwardly as he took in the glitz of the ballroom, glancing at a beautiful blonde hanging off the pudgy arm of a portly middle-aged man passing by. Her body-fitting sequined dress hung low, which exposed her chest more than he would care for. She giggled mindlessly, her strong perfume reaching Remus's sensitive nose while her companion blatantly groped her, causing Remus to remember exactly why he hated this, all the facades and lies underneath the fake smiles and make-up.

He was currently crashing the city's Annual Ball, where everyone who was known, and everyone who had the money and wanted to be known attended without fail. Beauty and money were shamelessly displayed; smiles, glitter and jewels glinted in the warm lighting while hollow laughs bounced off the walls. Remus scanned the crowd and found his man, having been warned that he would be the only man in the ballroom with two women on his arms and still be surrounded by fawning admirers.

He strode towards the figure, attracting some stares with his tuxedo-less state. Remus cleared his throat and spoke up with just the right amount of regret in his voice, "Mister Black?"

Startling blue-grey eyes beneath perfect black brows turned to face him. Remus felt his eyes widen slightly and his breath catch in his throat as he took in the perfect visage of Sirius Black. The man was a vision in a black Armani suit, its sharp clean lines merely serving to emphasize the Adonis's tall, sculpted physique. His proud handsome features had the strong angles and the chiselled planes of the classical Roman ideal of the perfect male form, which served its usual purpose: even Remus could not stop staring. A dark eyebrow quirked as the man replied with a smooth baritone, jolting Remus back into reality.

"What if I am?"

The smaller man cleared his throat again. He reached into his jacket to retrieve the well-recognized golden police badge. The women surrounding him gasped and stared. The other man just looked amused.

"I'm Detective Remus Lupin. I am sorry to have disturbed your evening but we need to ask you a few questions about a murder that took place tonight."

-

All attraction that Remus had ever held for the face alone went out of the window the moment the man walked into the police station and opened his mouth. The guy was an egotistical loudmouth who had too much time on his hands and too much curiosity within him for him to leave Remus in peace. Women, both arrestor and arrested, cooed over the author, and it only managed to make the other man even more insufferable. Remus had never before wanted a questioning to be over so soon as he took in the toned forearms of a man who seemed to work out quite regularly. Remus usually liked to crack the questioning slowly so that he could see everything he need, but…

He had a feeling that he didn't really want to know what exactly went on in the head of Sirius Black. Frankly, it scared him a little.

Right now, Remus found himself sitting across the other man in a room with a folder of pictures in front of them on the table. The man before him was nothing he'd expected from one of his favourite authors. Not that he was ever going to tell the man that. Neither talked for a while until the door swung opened to reveal an attractive, long-legged brunette with piercing grey eyes and a no-nonsense vibe. Remus thanked God for small mercies, if there was anyone who could silence someone like the bastard before him, it would be Lauren Wolfe. The woman was a machine, someone Remus was proud to have as an occasional partner.

"Mister Black, you've got quite a rap sheet for a best-selling author. Disorderly misconduct, resisting arrest, stealing a police car…"

The man threw her a charming grin, "Boys will be boys."

Lauren ignored the smile and continued, "Not just that, you were naked at the time."

"It was summer."

The female detective narrowed her eyes at the cheeky reply, "And every time, the charges were dropped."

"What can I say?" The nauseating shit-eating grin was back on the handsome face, "the Mayor is a fan and if it makes you feel any better, I'd be happy to let you spank me."

Lauren's grey eyes were now mere slits and Remus decided to cap the impending avalanche. He opened the folder of pictures, took one out and pushed it towards the blue-grey eyed man. Sirius Black raised an eyebrow, as he took in the pretty picture of a smiling young woman in her early twenties.

"Jenna McCartney, daughter of real-estate mogul Gerard McCartney."

Sirius smiled, "She's cute."

"She's dead." Lauren's icy voice cut through but Remus ploughed on.

"Have you ever met her? At a book signing? At a party? Charity event?" He asked calmly, as per routine. Lauren settled for a cool glare.

"I might have but if you're asking if she's in my little black book, then I'm sorry, I can't help you there."

"What about this man? Alexander Kensington." Remus pushed another picture of a handsome blonde young man smartly dressed in a tuxedo.

"Son of conglomerate Alan Kensington."

The writer took another look and shook his head, "Nope."

"Alright, how about her? Astoria Greengrass, daughter of socialite Arielle Greengrass."

Sirius wolf-whistled as he took in the stunning young woman in the picture. "Hot."

"Dead." Lauren glared and then Sirius continued.

"Nope, can't say that I've met her. Hell, I'd remember her if I did. So what does these murders have to do with me?"

Remus cleared his throat before revealing the remaining contents of the folder. There were three separate photographs, each detailing a different crime scene.

"Jenna was found murdered in her apartment about two hours ago, Alexander was found dead in his office a week ago while Astoria was reported murdered in a yacht two and a half weeks ago. These are pictures of the crime scenes. Mister Black, do you find anything familiar about these pictures?"

The first picture showed Jenna arranged with her limbs hanging out in a bathtub filled with red rose petals while her eyes were covered with white carnations; beside the bathtub was a glass half-filled with red wine and a bowl of ripe strawberries and cherries. The second had Alexander face down, back messily bloody and smack in the middle of what could only be identified as a ritual circle, outlined with white chalk and candles placed strategically at five points of the outer circle, equally distanced. Finally, the last picture was an eerily beautiful capture of Astoria, dressed in a simple long white gown, hanging from a white silk noose tied to the vintage fan in a bare room. Beneath her was a scattering of white roses and lilies. It was best, albeit morbidly, described as hauntingly beautiful.

The man scanned the pictures, "I haven't got a clue…" Sirius took another look and then brightened. "These are scenes from my books. That's one from the Scarlet, while this one's from The Last Oracle and this – "

Remus interrupted, "Yes, right out of Snow White. There's a copycat murderer out there."

A mischievous glint entered the dark-haired man's eyes as he held Remus's gaze, "Well, looks like I have a fan."

"Yeah," Lauren's scathing voice cut through once more, "a really deranged fan."

"Oh," Sirius smirked, "Detective Lupin doesn't look deranged to me."

Remus blushed slightly, cheeks pinking adorably. Lauren cleared her throat this time, "Mister Black, do you have letter from fans? Any disturbing ones?

"Oh, every piece of fan mail is disturbing. It's an occupational hazard."

"Well, would it be possible for us to have a look at these letters because sometimes in cases like this, we find that – "

Sirius cut her off, "the killer attempts to contact the subject of his or her obsession."

Lauren stared while Sirius chuckled, "I'm pretty well-verse in psychopathic methodologies," before leaning forward. He gently took hold of the woman's hand, and quipped, without skipping a beat, " and do you know that you have gorgeous eyes?"

Lauren raised an eyebrow, retracting her hand, breaking the connection with a cold, "So I wouldn't take it that you'd have any objection to us going through your mail."

Remus quirked a corner of his lips while pretending to tidy the tabletop of pictures as Sirius replied flirtatiously. "Oh, knock yourself out."

Lauren gathered her notes and quickly left the room without letting Sirius have another chance of speaking. Remus was about to do the same but before he left, he was stopped by the author's question.

"Can I have copies of those?"

Remus frowned, "Copies?"

"I have this poker game, it's mostly with other writers. You know other bestsellers, Patterson, Rollins. You have no idea how jealous it would make them."

"Jealous?" Remus asked incredulously, Sirius shrugged.

"That I have a copy cat?" Remus stared and the writer gushed, "Oh my god, in my world, that's the red badge of honour. It's even better than the Nobel Prize, well, in a sense. It seems way cooler than one anyways."

The detective snapped, amber eyes flashing as he leaned in quickly to whisper. "People are dead, Mister Black. I don't think this is appropriate."

Sirius gulped and replied in a similar timbre, "I'm not asking for the bodies. Just the pictures. I'll even throw in a whole entire collection of my books signed if you do it for me."

Remus smiled warmly but his voice booked no argument, "I think we're done here."

Without another word, the detective vacated the room swiftly, leaving the handsome writer smirking by the table. Coral eyes flashed with interest.

Oh yes, he had struck material gold with this.

He'd have another bestseller yet.

-

A wisp of cigarette smoke travelled across the photograph as a calloused finger traced the lines of Remus's jaw in the picture. The room was dimly lit and sparsely decorated except for an odd wall, which had a large map of the city and was surrounded entirely with photographs.

Entirely with photographs of Remus, captured at different angles and each and every without his knowledge.

A simple gold band on the fourth finger glinted in poor lighting at the index finger continued tracing Remus's face.

"Soon," an ominously gravelly voice broke the eerie silence of the room, "It'll be soon."

"I'm coming for you, Remus."

-

Somehow, Remus walked out of the room having a bad, bad feeling. He walked back to sit at his cubicle and stared at the picture of a beautiful woman with a warm smile and light brown hair not unlike his own, and sparkling amber eyes. She was dressed in a summery light blue frock and a white cardigan. Her smile seemed to transcend even the pages as warmth emanated from the picture, and her clasped hands before her chest only helped to bring attention to the simple gold band on her right hand. Remus narrowed his eyes, hand reaching out to trace the photograph.

"Remus."

Lauren's voice pierced through the self-induced fog, he blinked and looked up. "Hey, Lauren. How can I help you?"

The fellow detective smiled ruefully, "I want you to go home, you've been at work for 24 hours already. I don't want you collapsing on me on this case."

Remus returned to his neat pile of paperwork without another work, Lauren sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Remus, please. Go back and rest."

Half an hour later, Remus found himself nursing a glass of whiskey on the rocks. The Leaky Cauldron had been a regular fixture in his high school and college years, where he had bartended to make ends meet and got his first taste of the real world. The bar, despite its dodgy appearance, was a place where everyone, no matter who you were, could sit down properly and have a good drink to wind down. Hooligans and cops co-existed, their statuses and responsibilities in the world outside of the room momentarily forgotten.

"Hello there."

A silky baritone caused Remus to look upwards and into the face of Sirius Black. The other man slid elegantly into the chair opposite him. Remus noticed that the crisp white shirt that the handsome man was wearing was unbuttoned halfway, revealing a smooth expanse of chiselled chest. He made quite a delicious picture with his sleeves rolled up to his mid-arms. The man, too, was having the same drink.

"It takes a real man to appreciate a decent whiskey on the rocks. It says a lot about a man's character. So what are you, a law-enforcer, doing in here?"

Remus took a small sip of the alcoholic drink, savouring the unique taste before calmly replying.

"Mister Black, there's no reason for us to be meeting after office hours. Our Q and A session is over."

"Your eyes match the drink. I like that."

Blue-grey eyes smouldered and Remus felt a shiver run up his spine. He took another sip to calm himself down. "As a matter of fact, more than half the men here are law-enforcers, retired or not."

Sirius smiled, taking a slow sip of his drink too, eyes never leaving the detective. Remus chose to ignore the other man, but he was finding it quite hard. There was just something about Sirius Black that commanded attention, something that made Remus want to stare at the beautiful man all night long.

Both men did not exchange words until Remus finished the last drink of amber. Slipping on his coat, the detective stood up and gave the other man a polite nod.

"It was nice meeting you, Mister Black but I am not sure whether I'd like to meet you again."

"You're not sure? Pity. Cause I am," he said with a wink. Remus paused. The brown-haired man felt his mouth hang open, unsure of what he was going to say. Amber eyes gazed into blue-grey for a lingering second. Several words bubbled to Remus' lips. But they remained unsaid as he snapped his jaw shut, and he sighed. Then he was gone, turning his back on the black-haired man who was left staring at him, the palpable tension in the air hanging with something that he couldn't quite place nor describe.

-

The next day at precisely seven fifty-nine, fifty-nine seconds in the morning, Remus stepped into the police station with a steaming paper cup of Starbucks's mocha, plus an extra shot of chocolate. He picked up the day's papers and sipped his beverage with a slow indulgence. With every expectation for the day to be just like any other, Remus walked towards his cubicle and into something he wished he'd never seen: Sirius Black sitting on his chair with his feet propped on the table.

Something that felt suspiciously like fear bubbled beneath the man's usual calm exterior.

"Hey there."

Remus's eyes widened in a gaze that could have best been described as a blank stare. The raven-haired man uncrossed and crossed his legs.

"Looks like we meet again."

Once again, Remus had a bad, bad feeling about the whole thing. He didn't think, not even for one short second, that the smirking man before him who was sitting in his chair would be good for his mental health. Lord knew that he already has enough issues to deal with.

But Remus couldn't shake the gut instinct that Sirius Black was here to stay.

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OKAY, SO - This is my new fic, co-authored by the amazing Ethereally - who is a real-life best friend :D :D :D - and she's going to be keeping me on track, so hopefully we'll get this done.

SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT~ I've been MIA for so long but it really can't be helped, University is INTENSELY CRAZY. I thought high school was intense but I was wrong -sobs- Anyways, enjoy the read and, oh! I've changed my pen name (AGAIN), thought something scathing would match my current feelings XD

LOVE,
Lex.