GREED THAT SICKENS. (Woflstarbuckswater)
Chapter One:
Remus knows that whatever deities rule this planet have developed a very specific interest in taking things from him.
The thing about taking though is that you need to be given something first, yeah? The first ever thing Remus is given is his place in the world. Among all species, he was born a werewolf. Known for their abundant numbers and focus on family and bonds. Lone wolves were rare as they were odd. Every wolf had someone. Had a pack. Remus had heard pack bonds were so deep you could feel your pack members' emotions even before they knew it themselves. Imagine. Which is all he could do because a few decades before he was born, most of his kind were killed in petty, manipulated territorial battles, and now they were as scarce as they were hunted.
Despite all that, Remus was still born into a small but loving family. One that didn't have much, but at least they had each other- oh, they're dead? His parents tragically died when he was young? Welp, you can't win 'em all or any of 'em apparently.
At the very least, Remus had his smarts and determination. A fierce spirit passed on from generations of long-departed wolves. A priceless gift from his bloodline. Just the right kind of traits to make his life as miserable as possible in all the homes he'd been passed around in. Who liked a stubborn know-it-all kid? Not a lot of people Remus could tell you that.
That all sounds rather lonely, doesn't it? Hey, how about we give him a best friend? A soul mate, his other half- wait, no, let's have her transfer from his school and then never attend any schools close to him, possibly forever? Okay, got it.
God, this is all so funny, but contain your laughter, everyone, because we're getting to the best part. Remus is quite the determined individual. Some may call him plain stubborn, but wording doesn't matter. What does matters is that Remus didn't particularly give a shit what cards the gods dealt him because he knew what kind of life he wanted and he was going to get that life whether they willed him to or not.
Remus learns how to hide himself, Remus learns to read, Remus applies for scholarships, Remus works petty little jobs until he has enough to be reunited with his best friend, Remus gets another job, Remus goes to uni, Remus graduates top of his class and now Remus starts his masters and buys his very first apartment in a nice non-discrimatory neighbourhood. Remus takes regardless of what they want to give to him. Unfortunately, the gods can't do too long without a bit of amusement.
Remus isn't home when his apartment catches fire.
He'd slept off at the library, studying till it closed as usual. Shaken awake a quarter to eleven by the strict but kind Fae librarian named Mrs Finnegan, who liked Remus well enough after so many late nights studying. He spent more time in the library than he did in his own home. A home he was kindly asked to return to. In her words, some proper rest would do him good before he hits the lecture halls again. He'd thanked her and offered to help put things away. Thanks to the fact that Remus was built like a brown-haired street lamp, he had no issues reaching the higher shelves. She'd shrugged him off, saying the assistant had already got to it. "Goodnight, Mrs Finnegan."
"Goodnight, Remus. Get some rest." Remus smiled at her rather mischievously. "No promises." She'd sighed at him despite the smile tugging at her lips. "Get you arse out of here ya git." Remus had laughed. It was a good laugh. A warm one. He wishes he treasured it more. A laugh that made sense in a life he understood. He wishes he could hold that moment of peace and mundane to his chest. Alas, confusion and destruction await him.
The bus ride home had been a normal affair. He got a seat to himself and spent the ride listening to his favourite David Bowie playlist. His hearing was good enough that he didn't have to pay active attention to his immediate surroundings. As he drew close to his stop, he began to hear worried whispers from his fellow busmates. He paused Ziggy Stardust to see what was going on-Oh. Shit. In an instant, he was out of his seat. There was no way. There was no fucking way that was coming from where he thought it was. Shit shit shit. He didn't know when he'd started begging the bus driver to move as fast as he could. Please. People around him had looked at him in pity. No one else but him got off at his stop.
He was out of the door before it was fully open. His book bag was slamming against his leg with each aggressive step he'd taken. Remus knew he was moving at an inhuman speed, but he didn't care if he was seen. All his energy is being put into getting home. Praying that his apartment was fine and some other random building was getting burned. That may have been cruel, but he didn't care right now. The moments of leaving the bus and getting to his building are a blur.
The next this he knew was that he was standing in front of his building. The funniest thing is that only the top floors were being consumed by flames. The floors below seemed untouched. To think Remus took an apartment at the top so he could get his steps in. At least his mad dash there counted for something.
For a moment, he just stood there. He didn't mourn what he lost because it didn't feel real. People were gathered outside, coughing, crying and screaming, but Remus was silent because this wasn't real. But of course it was.
Nobody died. The first person's place that caught fire didn't have the batteries replaced in their smoke detector, but they'd smelled the smoke and run out. A neighbour had seen them fleeing, learnt why and then proceeded to get everyone out of their homes. Three floors were gone by the time the firefighters had arrived. Remus's bag felt heavy on his shoulder. These were all his worldly possessions now. For a while, Remus just doesn't know what to do with himself. People start talking of hopelessness and not knowing what to do now. A lot of them are crying.
My flat is gone. He says the phrase to himself a handful of times before turning around to walk back to the road. He brings out his phone on the way there calling his insurance provider to inform them of his situation. He'll call the landlord tomorrow because he's certain they're swamped right now, plus he needs to sleep. He checks the time and sees it wasn't quite one in the morning, meaning there was a chance he could still get a bus, which he does. He isn't listening to Bowie on the ride over.
He knocks on Lily's apartment door at an ungodly hour and hopes this is one of those nights when she can't sleep and is staring at a glass of algae until the sun creeps up. Luck seems to be on his side now for whatever reason because she does open up for him. "I swear to god I don't care why you-" She grumbles, opening her door, her expression grumpy and confused. He doesn't say anything and just allows her to stare at him. Her worry was growing with each passing second. "Remus-"
"Flat burnt down." He casually interjects. "I just want to stay over till things are sorted-" Lily Evans has her arms around him before he can finish his sentence. The thing about Lily is that she knows him. Remus isn't the most open person about a lot of things, and that very much includes his feelings, but Liliy usually just knows. Part of Remus thinks that it's because she's a Banshee and can just sense tragedy of any kind. Remus is sometimes a tragic person. Maybe that's why they get along. He hugs her back but doesn't cry or complain like he wants to, but he allows himself to be comforted regardless. They stay there in each other's arms till the slight tremble in Remus calms. She silently leads him in and doesn't ask questions or even distract him. She just leads him to her bed and lies down with him. Lily may not be as tall as Remus, but she was very much firm muscle and mass, making cuddling with her quite nice. She strokes his hair to sleep, and Remus holds the pain of an unstarted sob in his throat. It wasn't really about the apartment because he'd get his money back from insurance in no time. It was that it hadn't been up to a month. Not a month off from something shitty happening to him. Part of him feels exhausted. When could he stop picking himself back up? When will good things just stay? His thoughts don't bother him for much longer, with some guidance from Lily's gentle pets, he falls into a luckily dreamless sleep.
The next day, Remus had to fight to convince Liliy that he had to go to class. He had his computer with the books he needed, and He had a decent amount of spare clothes at hers to look like he hadn't just lost all of his. He was fine. Well, he wasn't, but he'd be more fine with the sweet pressure of academic excellence weighing down on him like comfortingly grounding shackles. He dutifully attends all his classes, allowing his thoughts to be drowned away by Greek mythos and philosophical conversation. He was ahead on most of his assignments and reading, but he took note of a few courses he may have neglected for too long. The day is blissful, and everyone is normal with him. He keeps his private life mostly private, so no one knows where he lives, but he does catch conversations about his building burning down in one of his classes. "You hear about that place that caught fire?" Remus's hand briefly halts in its quest to catch the professor's words. He pushes it to continue but he does start worrying his tongue between his teeth. "Yeah, wonder what caused it?"
"Isn't it obvious? It's probably one of those dirty demis. You know they allow them to live there."
"Y'think it's an elemental?"
"Worse, could be a desperate vampire, maybe a vengeful ghost or maybe it was a mad wolf." Remus sharply bites down on his tongue but doesn't react to the stabbing pain. The injury would be gone before the class ended. His mind was racing, but he did everything to keep his breathing level. The worst thing about all this was that if Remus were most other species, he wouldn't even have heard the conversation. The fact that he was a wolf was far from common knowledge. He got away looking human on a good day, but he was legally registered as a dog shifter. People thought he just had a bit of a great dane in him, and the size of him argued the same. His scars sometimes made some folks weary, but he made up some rubbish about rough housing with some pups when he was younger, and the lie apparently was convincing enough, mostly because it wasn't entirely untrue. The only people who knew the truth were the first orphanage Remus was in and Lily. He was far enough from his first orphanage that it hardly mattered. Suffice to say that the rest of his day did not carry the peace of distraction that the beginning of it initially had. Even when classes were over and he was free to go to the library and drown himself in books and ink, he just...didn't. He beelined his way back to Lily's because she had fags and he was desprate for a smoke.
The evening till the next day is covered in a smoky haze. Liliy didn't have to threaten Remus to take the day off. He busied himself smoking and re-reading the books she had on her shelf. He was alone most of the day because she had work, but that hardly mattered. Remus was fine by himself. In truth, he quite treasured quiet moments. By evening, they both chose to talk about what he was going to do with himself.
"Has your insurance said anything?" They were sitting on the living room floor while slurping on takeout. The couch was right behind them, but neither of them cared. "Mm, said it'll take a few days." He pours some more hot sauce into his noodles. "Alright, then you need clothes and- wait, where are you gonna stay? Aren't most of the other buildings full? Either that or way too expensive?" She pokes his thigh with her toe and nods to the hot sauce. "Right you are, Miss Lilygan." He passes her the bottle. "Just have to look for another non-demiest place." Lily smiles at him sadly. Most non-humans were treated like shit. It was a bit better in London than in most other places. At least here, people really wouldn't physically attack you, but places still felt tense, which was funny because humans accounted for the whole whopping two percent of the population. She scoots closer to him and bumps his arm with her elbow. "Something will come up." At that exact moment, Remus's phone pings. They both freeze and lock eyes. No bloody way. They glance at his phone, then back at each other before bursting out laughing at the absurdity of the thought they both just had. Lilly hides her snorting behind her hand. "God, imagine if it is though." Remus shakes his head and unlocks his phone. What were the odds? What he sees causes him to pause. He slowly hands his phone to Lily who has a fiery brow raised at his reaction. "Remus, what is- BLOODY HELL." She gapes at him as he stares unbelieving at the space in front of him. What were the fucking odds? She repeatedly hits his shoulder in pure excitement. "Say yes, say yes, say yes, say yes." Her excitement is an infectious thing because Remus finds himself with a small grin. "Lilyford, calm down. There'll be three other people and I'm a..." He leaves the end of his statement open-ended for her to complete. "Werewolf." She groans. "But it's the fancy building." He chuckles at her reaction. "Yes, it's the fancy building." He just received an email from his landlord that they had temporary accommodations up for residents, but places had to be shared, which hardly mattered because the place was huge. The problem was that Remus was a wolf and it was a little unsafe sharing a room with people when he turned into a big bugger of a dog once a month. Lily hums in thought. "You could always pop by mine when it's about time." Remus looks at her sharply. "Liliy-" She glares at him, cutting him off. "Absolutely not. None of this 'I don't want to be a burden' bs. We're family. You're staying at mine and that's that. " His heart squeezes in his chest. He didn't deserve Lily Evans, and he says as much when he leans into her shoulder.
She chuckles when he mutters this. "Come off it. You cleaned my entire apartment the second you woke up yesterday. Even made breakfast and dinner. Didn't think I even had any of that in the fridge." He giggles and sits up. "You didn't, you lazy tosser. I did the shopping."
She pinches Remus's side. "Who are you calling lazy? I am a very busy lady. A working-class woman. Not all of us amassed enough wealth to kick back and enjoy our masters." Remus raises a brow. "I don't think enjoy and master should be in the same sentence."
She uses her chopsticks to gesture at him. "For any other person, maybe, but you're a big ole swot." Truly, Remus, couldn't lie and say he was enjoying the hell out of his masters. There was much to learn. So much to be good at. He already had a few papers published, and that alone wasn't nearly enough. He rolls his eyes. "The Lily, 'I spend my free time geeking over sea anemones', Evans is not calling me a swot."
Lily worked as a Marine Biologist at a local sea life preservation center. She loved her job to bits, and Remus was so very happy she got to do something that excited her that much. Her cheeks colour until they nearly match her hair. "God you're such a twat." Remus laughs at her. Felling very fond of his best friend. "Why are you bestfriends with a twat?" Lily's face scrunches up as she stands and looks at him with faux anger. Looking like a temperamental god about to release their anger on an ignorant mortal. Instead, she just hisses. "Pity." Remus collapses into absolute stitches.
Remus is packed up and ready to leave by morning. He didn't have much in the way of belongings. Part of him thinks that he perhaps should approach this with a little more caution. This could be yet another thing that was being set up to blow up in his face but let us again state that Remus was fucking sttuborn and didn't really give a shit if things happened again. He'd keep getting back up regardless. He hugs Lily goodbye, and they promise to text and call. She leaves her invite back open just in case his soon-to-be roommates were creeps and he mentally declines, feeling bad enough that he already threw her off her axis for the past two days with worry.
It feels somewhat comforting taking his route back to his place. It had only been three days, but in Remus's mind, it might as well have been ages. There's a quicker stop to the new side of his neighbourhood that he should have been headed to, but instead, he gets off at his former stop. There was something unreal about the way fire just took. Consumed. He couldn't even think of going to poke around his place because there was no way to get up there anymore. He thinks about the time he spent there. Mostly reading, smoking, drinking coffee, sleeping and hanging out with Lily. It was like a very short-lived dream. He takes in a breath to steel his shoulders and turns away to walk off, not glancing back once. If Remus wasn't so stubborn, he would have been gaping open mouthed at his new building the moment he stepped in. He had only ever seen it from the outside, but now he knew it was leagues above just being fancy. His former apartment had been nice, but Remus could practically smell the wealth in the gorgeously lit hallways.
"Excuse me." A voice calls out, and Remus's head snaps down to the left to see a man dressed in what Remus assumes to be a uniform. He's smiling brightly, albeit nervously, at Remus. Remus, in turn, chooses not to approach him. "Um, I'm sorry, can I see your ID? I'm checking for the new residents." He says quickly because Remus has been told he has very intense eyes, so he can't blame the man. Remus puts on an easy smile for his sake before taking out some form of identification so the poor man wouldn't collapse in on himself. The employee in question briefly freezes while his skin tints slightly blue. He quickly looks away from Remus busying himself with the tablet on his lap. Was my smile off?
The man hastily scans through a tablet, presumably searching to see if Remus was supposed to be here. Remus finds himself silently inspecting him. He had a tank of liquid on his back and two tubes leading directly to his neck. The tank is being supported by the man's wheelchair. Seeing as he was entirely fish from the waist down. "All clear." He hands Remus back his card as well as another card with a shaky smile and darting eyes, as if looking directly at Remus hurt. "Apartment twenty-one on the sixth floor. Welcome to the building, Mr Lupin." This pulls a quiet laugh out of Remus. "Just Remus is fine, and you are?" The man's face is practically cobalt, but he manages to nod. "W-well then welcome, Remus." He clears his throat, which causes his tank to bubble slightly. "I'm Oliver." Remus smiles once more and straightens up. "Nice meeting you, Oliver." He looks towards the elevators. "I'll be on my way, but see you around?"
"Of course!" Oliver chimes a little too eagerly before shrinking back. "I mean, sure. Cool." Remus walks to the lift without further conversation. He pushes the button for the sixth floor and twirls the maroon key card that was placed in his hand. Was he going to regret this? Just down below him, Oliver had called another employee over and was frantically pointing to Remus in the elevator with wild, excited gestures, which the fellow employee mirrored with equal excitement. Remus saw none of this.
He arrives on a floor that's now his. The floor is plushly carpeted with a similar maroon shade to the key card, as though it were all themed that way. The place was peaceful looking and sterile of activity, apart from very muffled noises coming from-
"My flat." Remus's lips press flat as he squints at his door. Right out the gate, there seemed to be a red flag being waved here. He sighs and approaches it with determination. He doesn't care if they were a bunch of idiots. He's handled idiots before. If the deities wanted to give him an apartment full of troublemakers in exchange for this much luxury then he was willing to trade. He would face it.
He decides to knock regardless of whether or not he could just walk in, seeing how they were people most definitely already inside. A shiny golden 21 on the door reflects his deceptively cool-headed expression as though mocking his bravado. There is a little noise and some shouts from within, probably a small argument about who should open up. At last, the door swings open with a reckless confidence, seeing as how the person on the other side hadn't even bothered to ask him who he was. Maybe Oliver informed- The door fully slides open, and the sight of the person before him makes him wonder how much the gods are going to take for allowing him to meet with what he immediately knows is their most prized creation.
The door slams back closed nearly immediately.
