niki alex

Hey there! I made a few constructional edits to the Affairs series as it's posted on A03:

> This Thing Between Us (the original one-shot) has been renamed to Affairs.

-> The Haven Hotel (the second installment has been renamed to This Thing Between Us.

The one-shot that was The Haven Hotel, now acts as Chapter 1 of the long-fic (hence the rebranding).

I tried to make this as seamless and uncomplicated as possible. I'm posting this here to help limit any panicking when someone goes and sees the fics 'missing' They aren't missing! Just renamed :

Sirius doesn't look at him. "I haven't decided, yet."

-----

"Will I be seeing you tonight?" James asks.

"Hm." James says. "Severus has been asking about Remus."

A pause. Slowly, Sirius turns to look at James, who is smiling.

"Asking who?" Sirius asks.

James shrugs. "Me. Lily. I suppose he'd have asked you too, if he wasn't so afraid of you."

"What does he want with Remus?"

"Have you met Remus?"

When Sirius doesn't reply, James sighs. "It's no secret that you don't do long-term relationships," James says. "And given your previous track record of three sessions max before you let someone go, Severus is probably biding his time until you inevitably lose interest in Remus as well." 

"Tell him 'no'," Sirius says.

James laughs. "What?"

"Tell Severus 'no'. Hell, tell it to both of them. They won't be good for each other."

"Sirius, you understand that I don't actually have any reason to turn them away from each other if they're both interested? Severus is a member of this club and has been thoroughly vetted, same as everyone else. None of his partners have ever issued complaints." 

"You don't even like him!"

"Unfortunately for us both, we don't turn people away solely because of... personal dislike." 

So! To answer your questions, we see Hope in the veryyy last chapter of the fic like it's barely even a chapter, actually. It's the epilogue lol. I still haven't made up my mind yet about whether or not she comes to visit them in London, or they go to visit her on the farm, but either way, the visit takes place sometime in July in the fic's timeline!

Coincidentally (since you brought up Remus' birthday), we actually don't see Remus' birthday in the fic. We were supposed to, though. Most of what happens in Chapter 12/The Art Show was originally meant to take place on Remus' birthday. The original timeline for the events of the fic post-Masquerade, spanned about three weeks. I ended up condensing it to like three days instead (the party happens on Saturday and everything is resolved by Tuesday 😅).

Idk, I just felt like dragging the angst out for three entire weeks felt like overkill. They've both been silently pining for each other for months at this point and they are both already aware of their feelings for each other. I also really didn't want them to break up or split up or anything of that sort, and I really didn't see a way to have them remain together post-Masquerade without there being some sort of break-up and I especially hated the fact that the break up most likely would've needed to be instigated by Remus. Once TTBU is fully complete, I will tell you guys what I originally had planned for the ending. But to summarise, the reason I changed that original ending is that I didn't want any of the storylines to like.... confirm Sirius' abandonment issues by making Remus leave him. No matter how justified the reason for Remus leaving would be or even despite it being a temporary break, it's still kind of saying 'the only way for Sirius to get over his abandonment issues is to be alone'. And I hated that lol. So.... yeah! I condensed the timeline, because as much as I love making them suffer and yearn, I also really wanna get to the 'after' where they are happy and (openly) in love <3

I feel like I just went off on a whole tangent LMAO I can't even remember what I was originally talking about 😭. Remus' birthday. lol. we don't see Remus' birthday in the fic, anymore! Chapter 13 starts when they are on their vacation and the vacation takes place around April, so we basically skip the entire month of March. The vacation is Remus' main birthday gift, but he has school, so they needed to wait until the end of the semester 😅

As for question #2, I do remember that snippet! For anyone who doesn't know what this is about lol, here is the snippet in question (or at least, the original version of it, which is what I think I shared lol 😅)

---start of snippet---

He gasps when Sirius' hand curves against his ass, “Do you have any fucking idea how sinful you looked in that tux?”

“You bought it,” Remus reminds him, and he wonders if it is the two glasses of wine he’s had that is making him so daring. The stinging slap against his ass is not unexpected, but the lubed fingers spreading his cheeks and pressing against his entrance are, and Remus bites down on his lower lip perhaps a bit too harshly in his effort to reign in his reaction. 

“And it was one of the best decisions I've ever made,” Sirius acknowledges, entering him with two fingers at once while his free hand moves to Remus’ front, brushing against the padlock on the cage before sweeping upwards to the pendant on the chain. Sirius tugs it with barely any force, just a subtle reminder of its presence, and Remus moans.

“But I spent the entire night thinking about all the ways I wanted to get you out of it, and all the things I wanted to do to you once I did.” 

---end of snippet---

Here's the thing though lol. There are so many versions of this fic that were written between 2022 when the first one-shot was posted, and 2026. Like sooo many versions. Like, there's one version where Sirius and Remus meet at the club and Snape is one of the Doms that's interested in Remus before he and Sirius start seeing other other.

And y'all don't currently know anything about the guy Sirius was with before Evan in TTBU, but there's another version of the story in my notes-app where James was actually that guy. There's another version where James and Regulus are married and Regulus (who has a good relationship with Sirius in this version) literally storms Sirius' house one day because Sirius has been ignoring all of his calls and that's how Regulus meets Remus lol (I actually will end up posting this scene to ao3 as a deleted AU, I just haven't made the time to do that lol)

So here's a fun little behind-the-scenes look at my writing process for this fic in particular lol: what tends to happen is that I will occasionally dissect some of these scenes that had been written for another version of the fic, and rework it to fit into the official version that is currently being published. This is especially true for the sex scenes, and this is why I haven't posted the deleted smut scene from The Masquerade! Whenever smut in particular gets deleted, I go back in and pull it apart, and rework it into different parts of the fic. 

So, actually, the scene you're talking about (the snippet I posted above) was originally written as a direct continuation of the Affairs one-shot. That fic ended up being scrapped, but a large portion of it had already been written, so the sex scene got dissected and reworked to fit into The Haven Hotel. That entire section where Sirius has Remus on the bed after the sub-drop/cock-warming scene? That is pulled almost directly from the scrapped fic.

But that was only one half of the scrapped sex scene. The other half actually ended up being used in Exposed & The Masquerade. And BEFORE it was used in Exposed & The Masquerade, it was used in a deleted chapter of TTBU where Sirius and Remus attend a charity event at Sirius' office and Sirius has Remus wear a chastity cage before taking him up to his office at the end of the night 🤭. That chapter was originally meant to be the final chapter of TTBU, but it got deleted when I decided to write to the sequel because I don't want Remus in Sirius' office before the Sequel lol. So, most recently, the smut scene got reworked again to fit into the party at the club! 

This was all a very long-winded way of me saying that the snippet you're talking about has been through sooooo many versions of this fic, that I have started to lose count. If I could, I absolutely would share with you the full scene that the snippet is from (I really would lol, you deserve it!) but the truth is that you've already read it. It's been picked apart and dissected and reworked and now exists in The Haven Hotel, Exposed, and it actually is in The Masquerade as well, during their scene in the storage closet 😅.

At this point, one of the only things that has not been used from that original scrapped post-Affairs fic, is this little snippet. It just keeps getting passed around and I have yet to find its final location 😭

So, that's the answer lol. All I can say is that I also really love this specific piece of dialogue and so I will keep trying to find ways to include it into the fic. It might happen during their vacation or it might not, I really don't know at this point. But it will happen 😅

---

Q: what is Sirius’ favourite thing to do for a scene and also what is Remus’?

love this question btw! it's really difficult to pick favourites because i think they both have several things they really enjoy, especially within the very broad category of 'during a scene', you know? like, if you ask me what their favourite sex positions are i can easily answer that (doggy style for remus and for sirius he enjoys anything where he can see remus' face. missionary gets a bad rep but if it's done right ofc it can be very intense and intimate and it's coincidentally the perfect position for sirius to whisper absolute filth in remus' ear so. yeah 🤭. i also think he likes having remus ride him lol)

as for more 'intense/kinky' things, remus' favourites would be anything involving bondage but especially bondage where he’s fully immobilized. i think this is said quite a few times in the fic but i'm really thinking about during Spiral where Sirius ties him down and Remus realises how secured he is and he moans like he's in heaven lol. he likes the vulnerability of knowing he can't get away even if he tries to! i think he really enjoys things like shibari and suspension, but those would also slightly intimidate him because i can see it being super easy for him to sink into subspace when he's fully tied up in ropes and suspended from the ceiling. he'd be floating away within minutes lol. while we're here i will say that on the flip side, i don't know if he'd like things like total sensory deprivation. i think that being gagged + blindfolded + restrained like he was in Domination was a lot for him. I had originally wanted to have him wear earplugs as well but idk, i think he prefers to be aware of his surroundings and grounded in some real way and total deprivation would just be overwhelming. easily the fastest way to get him 'in the mood' and put him into that submissive mindset would be to just manhandle him a bit and call him names lmao like sirius pulls his hair and tells him he's a whore who was made for taking cock and he's on the brink of orgasm immediately. he's a very simple guy :)

As for Sirius' favourite things to do... I really can't pin down a specific thing he enjoys in-scene because i do think his tastes are the most flexible here BUT if we were to be a bit more general, I think Sirius' favourite aspects of being a Dom are the areas where his control extends outside of the playroom. So things like controlling what Remus wears and how he does his hair and whether or not he's shaved ✨down there✨ and even the fact that he can wake Remus up to fuck in the middle of the night lol. I don't think any of these things are things that Remus himself was seeking out or even things that he'd necessarily prioritise in a relationship with someone besides Sirius. Which isn't to say Remus doesn't enjoy it because he does, but these are all largely Sirius' kinks. 

Q: Has Sirius ever experienced domdrop? 

I actually hadn't thought about this one until you sent this question in because I don't think it will happen in this series (at least not to sirius 🤐) but, never say never lol, especially now that the idea is planted in my head) but my answer is yes, it has happened in the past. I'm thinking that when he was first starting out it might've taken him a while to wrap his head around the whole 'i want to cause people pain & discomfort' thing especially in connection to the relationship he has with his parents. while i don't think orion and walburga were really physically abusive in this fic, they were definitely neglectful and emotionally abusive and veryyyy controlling and domineering, and sirius really didn't want to be anything like them :)

also i think he would've experienced Dom drop quite often (for other reasons) while in a relationship with a certain someone buttttt that's veering too closely to spoiler territory :)

Q: Remus is starting to get more confident when he’s around Sirius but is that transferring to his real life as well? Do his friends notice a difference in him? 

Yes, absolutely! However the person that brings this up directly to Remus (in the fic) is actually his mom, when you guys meet her! But yes he has changed quite a bit in the way that he carries himself and the level of confidence he has and it's actually quite a shame we don't have any scenes of him prior to meeting Sirius or even a lot of scenes from very early on in their relationship but I plan to rectify this issue when Sequel comes out because he does have a physical, mental, and emotional ✨glow up✨ in between both fics (there's a little bit of a time jump), and I'm really excited for that part of it. Like. I pretty much have a clear idea of what the first chapter of Sequel looks like and I was thinking about Remus specifically today and I was just like 🤤🥵😍 yaknow? 

Q: I fear that I’m gonna need more info on the Sirius/James/Lily scenes? Cause I love that for James but I can’t imagine Sirius and Lily being in a scene together 🫣

Ha! That's perfectly valid though. I didn't really think about the specifics of what these scenes would've entailed but I envisioned it as like... James in the centre of whatever Lily and Sirius are doing.  I don't actually know if Sirius and Lily would've directly had sex or engaged in sexual activities together (actually, I doubt they did) BUT I definitely think they would've used James together/at the same time. If you know what I mean 🤭. I also think Sirius would've just done other things with/to James while Lily directed him. This was them putting on a show for HER, yaknow? But the dynamics between Sirius and Lily in-scene are just two Dom's working on the same sub. They don't need to directly engage each other sexually to do that. 

Also, as an aside, Sirius says in the fic that James is straight and I do think that's true in the sense that he has a preference, maybe? But idk if James would call himself straight. Ultimately he just really likes sex and especially loves pleasing Lily. and I don't think he ever felt the need to interrogate those feelings any further than that LOL :)

Q: Sirius says he doesn’t share but does that only stand when he’s got a long term sub like Remus or Evan? 

I'm gonna be so honest, I think this is only a rule with Remus. Like I don't think Sirius has ever cared about sharing his submissive's before so long as he was involved and in control of the situation. ESPECIALLY not Evan like they were having threesomes left and right lmao. even his relationship/s before Evan- I think they definitely played with other people at times and he did not care. But yeah. I think that the 'I don't share' rule is specifically in place for Remus and I think this is especially hilarious because when Sirius told Lily that the non-exclusivity clause was 'a last minute decision', he was telling the truth. He didn't plan to do that and he probably regretted it the minute he did it, but he convinced himself it was necessary because Trauma. I think he would genuinely be sick at the thought of someone else putting their hands on Remus like literally just the idea of someone else seeing Remus in subspace ooooh he'd be homicidal. So you can understand why he is currently so tormented, lol.

Q: If Sirius could get away with it, would he never tell Remus about what happened with Evan? 

I think he plans to push his vow of silence to the very edge of its limits tbh! But, ultimately, I think he would eventually tell Remus all about Evan, about his family, and all the other stuff. The thing with Sirius is that, he craves true and deep emotional intimacy just as much as he is terrified of it. He is desperately longing for someone to see him and break down his walls (or at least, give him a reason to want to break them down himself) and to love him despite his deeply rooted fears that he doesn't deserve to be loved. And I think that on some level, he knows that opening himself up to vulnerability is the only way he's going to achieve this. I think that every time he's been hurt in the past, he's added on some time to how long it takes him to get to the point of allowing himself to be vulnerable with someone. But he will always find himself back at that place where he wants to give all of himself up. And so yes he would always eventually, inevitably, tell Remus everything.

Q: Would either of them like doing a public scene or is that a hard limit? 

Can I say that I don't know? I honestly don't know lol. I guess my question is 'how public?' and 'exactly what are they doing?'. Because, technically, their little stunt at the club was them playing in public. Granted, it was very dark and everyone's attention was diverted, but they were very much in public. All someone needed to do was look in their direction. Lily literally does see them, lol (Remus does find out about this but not anytime soon). 

And my next consideration is that Sirius HAS done public scenes before, so this would really only be new to Remus. If we're talking fully fucking for an audience.... I think Sirius would be open to it but Remus would probably say no. On the flip side (since we were talking about threesomes earlier) I actually think Remus would be open to incorporating other people into their scenes if it's someone he knows well, like James and Lily for example. But Sirius would probably be the one who says no to that for the aforementioned jealousy issues lol. But this is looking at the versions of the characters in the fic currently. I do think that both of them would naturally change their opinions on the matter later on 😅

Q: hopefully this isn’t a spoilery question because we don’t get their pov’s but what were James and Lily’s first impressions of Remus? 

Not a spoiler! I actually don't think we directly see James or Lily again for the rest of the fic tbh (I'm sorry! But they are much more present in the Sequel). As for their first impressions of Remus: they liked him lol. There really isn't much to go off of here because of the specific circumstance under which they met him so I think they'd both definitely want to fast-track a more informal meeting with him lol. But, based on what they saw at the club, they do like him. I think they both naturally feel very protective of him given how new he is to BDSM and the fact that guiding people who are new to the lifestyle is part of their job, which is why they're both very quick to act when they realise what Sirius had done with the contract. 

Their relationship to Remus is actually really interesting in that regard, now that I'm thinking about it. Because Sirius is James and Lily's best friend and basically their family. But Remus is like... their ✨responsibility✨ in a way, and occasionally that does require them to intervene, like Lily does in Spiral. I think from the outside looking in at the club, it was very clear just how obsessed and devoted Remus is to Sirius and they both were probably taken aback by that. Like obviously they knew Sirius was head over heels but to then see that reflected back by Remus would've had them being like.... yeah this guy is IT. Like, finally Sirius has found The One.

*

*

Remus is walking across his uni campus on Monday afternoon when he gets a call from a number he doesn’t recognise. 

“Hello?” he answers, pressing the phone to his ear.

The voice that replies is immediately recognisable, even before he introduces himself. “Remus! It’s me— James. Can you talk?”

“Um… yeah,” Remus says, looking around. “Give me a minute.” It’s not a very busy time of the day and so it’s easy for Remus to find a secluded corner. He runs over, leaning against the wall of the old building as he indicates that James can continue speaking.

“Is everything okay?” he asks, and then he panics. “Is Sirius—”

“Sirius is fine,” James says quickly. “I’m calling on behalf of the club. Your number was on the form you filled out last week— or, rather, the form Sirius filled out for you... I wonder if he realised I’d recognise his handwriting.”

Remus replies with what is probably an awkward laugh. He’s still not entirely certain what the reason for this call is. “So is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s great. Say, I know it’s last minute, but would you be able to come see me at the club tomorrow? I’d like to run through the particulars of your membership with you. I know Sirius would’ve gone over some of it already, but this is just standard procedure stuff.”

“Oh,” Remus says. He’s been half-expecting this call ever since James mentioned it at the party last week, and the prospect of returning to the club so soon is both daunting and exciting. “Well then, yeah. Is it okay if it’s in the morning, though? I have class from 2pm.”

“That’s actually perfect. How’s 9am?”

“I can do that.”

“Great! I’ll see you then.”

-----

The club is empty when Remus gets there. James swipes him in, and when he notices Remus looking around, he explains, “we're not open yet. At this hour, it’s usually just Lily, myself, and some of the staff.”

James leads him into what Remus can only assume is his office. The room is actually a bit larger than Lily’s, and much less decorated with kink gear. Remus doesn’t comment on either of these things. He starts to sit in one of the armchairs angled towards the desk but James stops him and instead ushers him over to a brown leather couch in the corner. 

“Tea?” James asks, motioning to the coffee table where he’s already set everything up. Remus nods, appreciative.

“Help yourself,” James encourages him, sitting beside him.

Remus is already much more at ease than he’d expected to be. It’s almost a little strange now to see James fully clothed, in soft grey trousers and short sleeved button up. Remus watches him as he stirs a concerning amount of sugar into his tea and with his other hand, idly pushes his glasses further up his nose. 

“I know Sirius explained most of the membership process,” James says. “Like I said yesterday, this part is just a formality for Lily and I to get to know you better.”

“Shouldn’t Lily be here then?” Remus asks.

James smiles. “No. Not at this stage anyway. How it works is that I vet the submissives, and Lily handles the Doms.”

“So I’m being vetted?”

“You’re already a member, really,” James says, raising his brow as he sits back on the couch. “This is… a conversation. There are no wrong answers.”

“Right.”

“Your membership isn’t contingent on Sirius—”

“He’s the one paying for it.”

James falters, just for a couple seconds, and Remus almost feels guilty.

“That’s true,” James admits slowly. “But, well, even if things don’t work out between you and Sirius, we have no intention of kicking you out.”

Remus can’t imagine a world in which he chooses to stay here if he and Sirius end their relationship, but he doesn’t say that.

“So as I was saying, your membership isn’t contingent on him. You’re free to come here with or without Sirius. In fact, I hope you eventually will. I hope you make friends here, and start to think of this place as yours instead of just his.” James pauses for a few seconds, as if to let the words sink in. He waits until Remus nods in acknowledgement, his throat suddenly too dry to muster up a verbal response. He sips his tea.

“Let’s start at the beginning then,” James says. “You said you discovered BDSM through reading?”

-----

It is not, much to Remus’ relief, a stressful conversation, despite being incredibly invasive at times. Just as James had assured him, the entire thing is over and done with in perhaps thirty minutes, and it does feel more like a conversation than an interrogation.

James is good at talking and evidently also good at listening, nodding along attentively and asking follow-up questions when needed. He asks Remus what books, specifically, he'd read, and then about his experience practicing BDSM prior to Sirius. James is visibly relieved —though he tries to hide it— when Remus explains that his experience had been limited and not nearly as structured but ultimately pleasant— nothing tragic or traumatic to speak of.

When James asks him about what it feels like to submit —why he does it, what he gets from it, is it something he’ll pursue for himself even if Sirius isn’t in the picture— Remus expects to be far more reluctant with his responses, but James is easy to talk to. Perhaps it is the fact that he is one of Sirius’ best friends, or the fact that he is also a submissive and therefore understands exactly what Remus feels in that regard. James listens to him talk without interruption, smiling throughout.

“And how have things been between you and Sirius?” James asks. 

The question catches Remus off guard. “What do you mean?”

“I mean. Are you happy? Are you satisfied? Are your needs as a submissive being met?”

“Oh.” Remus almost laughs. “Yes. He’s— he’s perfect.”

James raises a brow.

Remus bites down on his bottom lip and looks away. “He’s everything I’ve ever wanted,” he elaborates.

“So there’s nothing you’d change?” James asks.

Immediately, Remus thinks about the contract and the always growing list of questions that have been burning a hole in his chest ever since he first read it. Now, he is almost certain that Evan has something to do with it, but Evan is yet another list of questions he doesn’t have answers to. All day yesterday, Remus had been turning over the sparse details he had managed to force out of Sirius and trying to work up the courage to ask for more.

“No,” he says quietly. “I don’t think I’d change anything.”

James nods slowly. “For what it’s worth, we do periodic check-ins with all members involved in long-term dynamics. It’s nothing invasive— we just want to make sure everyone’s comfortable. Beyond that, however, relationships are largely left up to the people in them. We’re not interested in micromanaging anyone’s personal life.” 

“Okay,” Remus says. “I’m fine with that.”