Chapter Text
Remus wakes with a jerk, a streak of sunlight streaming through a gap in the curtains. At first he doesn’t realise where he is, back in Berlin his confused brain tells him, but the décor doesn’t look as he remembers it, and Ben’s hot body pressed against his back feels different. There’s an initial surge of panic but then there’s a shift behind him, a groan, and Sirius’ sleepy voice rumbles against the back of his neck.
“You okay?”
Everything clicks into place then, last night comes flooding back to him and he feels his body flush with the memories. He swallows thickly, feeling Sirius firm body pressed along his back, suddenly very aware of how naked they are. He can feel Sirius’ soft dick along the curve of his arse, his breath tickling the nape of Remus’ neck.
“Yeah,” he replies, his voice gravelly with sleep and he clears his throat. “Yeah, I’m good.”
Sirius makes a low noise against the back of his head, his hips shifting a little but his movements and slow and heavy with sleep. Remus can feel the brush of his lips against skin and that simple touch sends something hot sizzle through him.
“Should’ve thought you’d want to sleep in now that the kids aren’t here and we finally can.”
Sirius’ voice is soft, a little teasing, and Remus lets out a low chuckle.
“Force of habit, I think,” he murmurs.
Sirius hums a little, shifting back slightly so that Remus has enough space to move around. He rolls over onto his other side, facing Sirius instead. The other man looks younger like this, early in the morning, the lines in his face soft and eyes a little hazy from sleep. He’s smiling though, and the sight of it makes Remus’ chest tighten with something he can’t quite put his finger on.
“Hi.”
“Hi,” Remus replies, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. “You’re still here.”
“It’s my house,” Sirius replies, sounding a little amused before his brows pull together, the beginning of a frown, “It’s…is that okay? Or d’you want me to–?”
He makes a move as if to pull away but Remus reaches out to tug him close again, pressing the palm of his hand against Sirius’ back to prevent him from moving further.
“It’s okay,” he assures him, and he thinks he might be blushing a little but he doesn’t care. “I’m glad you’re here.”
For some reason it’s easy to say it when they’re like this, pressed together underneath the duvet, sleep still a presence between them. It doesn’t feel quite as fragile, whatever it is that they have. He doesn’t feel as if it’s going to break anything between them if he admits it and before he can change his mind he pushes on.
“I’m glad you asked me out.”
Sirius watches him in silence, eyes searching over his face for a moment before he relaxes, a small smile flittering over his face again and the expression makes his eyes light up.
“Me too,” he mumbles, ducking his head, as if he’s a little embarrassed and it’s an endearing look on him. “I’m glad you said yes. I’m glad you agreed to…this,” he makes a vague little gesture between them and then he flushes, stumbling over the words. “I mean, not this, I mean, er, London and going away, I mean this was nice too, but it wasn’t–“
“Sirius,” Remus interrupts, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice. “I know what you meant. I’m glad too.”
“Good,” Sirius mutters, an embarrassed sort of tug over his face and Remus tries to keep his face straight. “It wasn’t…too much? I don’t know. I don’t want to pressure you into anything, and I know inviting you here, and staying the night and…it’s not exactly a normal first date.”
“I don’t care,” murmurs Remus firmly, “It was perfect.”
Sirius slackens slightly again, leaning in to brush their lips together but Remus shifts back, keeping the distance between them.
“Morning breath,” he protests, but Sirius only chuckles in reply.
“I don’t care,” he repeats Remus’ words back at him before closing the distance between them, kissing him firmly.
Remus returns it without thinking, his body making the decision for him, his own mind shutting down as he lets his eyes drift close, focusing on the feeling of Sirius’ lips against his own, his tongue pushing against him and he opens up. There’s a soft moan stuck somewhere between them and Remus doesn’t know if it comes from him or from Sirius.
Remus feels that same heat spread through him again, pulling at something in his gut, and he shifts closer before he can stop himself. Sirius purrs softly against him, his leg shifts to press between Remus’, grinding up against him slightly. Remus shifts down at the same time, unable to stop himself from grinding a little and he can feel his cock twitch with interest at the pressure. Remus doesn’t pull back until he has to in order to breathe, their foreheads still pressed together.
“This feels good,” Sirius breathes after a moment of silence. “It just feels…it’s different.”
Remus feels his stomach do a little flip and he nods, unable to speak for a moment as he swallows past the lump in his throat.
“Yeah,” he exhales, his heart doing a little stutter in his chest. “I know.”
“I know what you said before,” Sirius hedges, his eyes flitting over Remus’ face before he pushes on. “About how you don’t want to put Teddy through what happened with Ben again, and I just…I just need you to know that– that I get that. I get that Teddy is your first priority, Harry will always be mine. That’s just how it is. But. Whatever this is…whatever this can be…I want to find out.”
Remus can feel Sirius words wash over him, wrap around him like a soft blanket, and he wants to believe it. It feels comforting that Sirius has Harry, to know that he will always put Harry before anyone else. It makes him feel as if they’re on the same page, as if they’re walking into whatever this is together, like equals. He hasn’t felt that before, not even with Ben. Ben had been great with Teddy, at least in the beginning, but he hadn’t understood. He had never understood what it meant to be so fully responsible for another human being but Sirius did.
“Remus?” Sirius voice is more like a quiver, worry written across his face, his brows pulled together.
Remus smiles softly, reaching up to brush some hair from his face before running the pad of his thumb over his forehead, smoothing out the lines there.
“I don’t know what this is either, but I do know that these past few weeks…I’ve been happy. I know this was our first date, real date, but it feels like…I don’t know. Just all the time we’ve spent together, with the kids and all…it doesn’t feel like a first date,” he hesitates, meeting Sirius’ gaze and he allows himself to be lost in the storm there for a moment, always changing, glinting silver at him. “Let’s just…see what happens.”
“Yeah,” Sirius breathes, a hint of a smile ghosting over his face before he leans in again, claiming Remus’ mouth in a kiss.
Remus responds eagerly, that same heat flaring in his chest again. They press together, and Remus can’t stop his hands from wandering slightly. He trails his fingers down Sirius’ side, stopping at his hip, rubbing lightly against the skin there. Sirius shifts closer, and Remus can feel him starting to grow hard against him, his own cock responding as if on cue. They grind against each other lightly, Remus hand sneaking in between them, wrapping his hand around both of them at the same time.
He gives a slow tug, savouring the way Sirius’ breath stutters against his lips, a low whine stuck in his throat. Remus grins against him, squeezing lightly before he starts moving, sliding his hand down their shafts and then back up, flicking his thumb against the head of Sirius’ cock. He picks up the pace slightly, pulling at them both, and he feels heat trickle down his spine to collect in his groin.
They’re panting against each other now, sweat breaking out all over Remus’ body, the soft little noises that Sirius is making against him is enough to send another wave of arousal crash through him. His hips shift forwards, pushing into his own hand, against Sirius’ erection, and the other man whines softly against him.
It’s strangely intimate, like this, so close together. It’s like they’re breathing the same air, Sirius’ breaths nothing but soft puffs against Remus’ face. He can’t stop himself from smiling slightly as they push against each other, grinding, like teenager, and the whole thing makes Remus skin blaze with heat.
It doesn’t take either of them very long, breaths stuttering, and Remus keeps his eyes on Sirius even as the other man closes his eyes, losing himself in the sensation. He can’t look away, mesmerised by the look on Sirius’ face, how he bites down on his bottom lip, how his face scrunches together as he tries to hold off the impending orgasm. Remus shifts his hand down, then back up, using the precum they’re both leaking to make the tugs slicker.
Remus keeps his eyes open for as long as he can, he doesn’t want to miss a single twitch of Sirius’ brows, or the tug around his mouth. He feels Sirius pulsating against him, hot and heavy in his hand as he speeds up the strokes, and then suddenly he comes and Remus feels himself being pulled over the edge together with him. He comes with a low groan, their cum coating both their cocks and Remus’ hand as he strokes them both through their orgasms.
He drops back against the bed, his breathing laboured as he slowly releases them both, moving to wipe his hand on the sheets when Sirius stops him. He doesn’t look away from Remus’ eyes as he closes his fingers around his wrist, guiding Remus’ hand to his lips. He sticks his tongue out, running his tongue over the stickiness there before he parts his lips, sucking two of Remus’ fingers into his mouth.
Remus watches him, and he can feel his jaw go slack at the sight, Sirius’ sucking at his fingers with the same thoroughness and dedication as if it was his cock and if he hadn’t just come he would’ve grown hard again just from the sight. He lets out a low groan as Sirius pulls off his fingers with a slow pop, a sly sort of grin on his face, and Remus shakes his head.
“You’re going to kill me.”
“Nah,” Sirius grins, ducking forward to kiss him deeply and Remus’ can taste the cum on his tongue. “I might torture you a bit but I won’t kill you.”
He flashes him another smirk before he pulls away, rolling out of bed and standing up, tall and muscular body fully on display as he stretches languidly. Remus can’t look away and, he realises with a little jolt, he doesn’t have to, now. He can look all he wants, and he does, until Sirius raises an amused eyebrow at him, holding his hand out.
“C’mon, shower and then breakfast.”
Remus drags his gaze over Sirius’ body one last time before he lets Sirius pull him out of bed, following him to the bathroom. The shower takes slightly longer than planned, any thought of getting it over with quickly drops from Remus’ head with the same speed that Sirius drops to his knees once they’re both in the tub and Remus isn’t sure how much cleaner they get but the room gets drenched and he does know he hasn’t come again his quickly since he was in his twenties.
They have breakfast in the downstairs kitchen, coffee and toast, before deciding it’s time to go back home. They arrive just before lunch, finding his mother and the boys busy playing in the sitting room, most of Teddy’s toys scattered around them.
“Pa’foot!” Harry shrieks excitedly as he spots Sirius, abandoning the cars they had been playing with to dash across the floor and throw himself into Sirius’ arms.
Sirius spins him around before setting him back down, ruffling the boy’s hair.
“Hey sprog, everything alright?”
Harry nods enthusiastically as Remus finds himself with an armful of his own son, Teddy clinging to him.
“Hey kid,” he says softly, kissing his curls. “Had a good time with Nan and Harry?”
“We made a cake,” the kid says proudly.
“Did you now?” murmurs Remus as he throws his mother a glance, catching her watching them with a small smile.
“I hope you were good for Mrs Lupin, Hazza,” says Sirius, looking down at Harry who gives a serious nod.
“It’s Hope,” his mother interjects, an exasperated sort of note to her voice but she’s still smiling. “And of course they were, we’ve had loads of fun.”
“We watched a movie and we builded a pillow castle and we made a cake and we played with the cars and then we went to the swings and I jumped really high on the trampoline and–“
Harry rattles off, barely remembering to breathe, and Sirius interrupts him with a laugh, “Sounds like you’ve been busy. What d’you say we head home and you can tell me all about it?”
“But I want to stay,” Harry complains, looking longingly at the toys spread out over the floor.
“I know, sprog, but it’s time. C’mon, let’s get your things together.”
“No,” Harry shakes his head, bottom lip pushing into a pout and Sirius gives a low sigh. “I dunno where my things are.”
“I think you do, Harry,” interjects Hope with a small smile. “We put them all in your bag in Teddy’s room, didn’t we?”
Harry hesitates a moment, his gaze flickering between Hope, Sirius and then over to Teddy and Remus for a brief second.“I don’t remember,” he mutters sullenly after a while.
“Then I think you should go and get it,” she encourages him and even though Harry looks like he’s about to protest but he doesn’t, in the end, instead he merely gives a reluctant nod.
“Okay,” he mutters, glaring grumpily at the floor.
Remus can tell that his mother is trying not to smile as he she looks around at the four of them.
“I’m sure you’ve got it from here, I think I’ll go home.”
“You can stay for lunch if you want,” Remus offers, giving her cheek a light kiss. “It’s the least I can offer.”
“No need, cariad,” she murmurs, patting his arm with a smile. “I think I’ll just go home and sit in silence for a bit.”
Sirius laughs at that, wrapping her up in a big hug, kissing her cheek noisily and Remus swears his mother blushes.
“You have definitely earned that, Mrs Lu– I mean, Hope.”
“Don’t be silly,” she smiles widely, eyes glittering as she looks first at Sirius and then moving her gaze to Remus. “I’m just happy you managed to convince my boy to take some time off. He deserves a night with proper sleep.”
“Of course,” Sirius grins, shifting his own silvery gaze onto Remus as well, a little sharpness to his smirk. “We all know how important it is to sleep.”
“Alright,” Remus says loudly, clearing his throat. “C’mon Teddy, say goodbye to Nan.”
Teddy and Harry both say their goodbyes dutifully before Hope leaves, promising she will see them all again soon. Once they’re alone Sirius manages to convince Harry to go get his bag from Teddy’s room and they’re almost out the door when Harry stops, crossing his arms over his chest in a defiant sort of gesture. Sirius halts, looking down at the boy with a puzzled frown.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t want to go home.”
“But you’ll see Teddy again tomorrow at school, won’t you?”
Harry shakes his head, a dramatic sort of sigh pulling from him.
“But that’s a really long time.”
“C’mon sprog,” Sirius coaxes, shifting Harry’s backpack up on his shoulder. “We need to home and get ready for school tomorrow.”
“Noo–o,” Harry whines, arms still folded stubbornly over his chest as he remains rooted just inside the door.
“Harry,” Sirius sighs, and Remus can hear the slight frustration wrapped around the words. “Come on, let’s go.”
“But I don’t want to,” Harry whines and Remus recognises the tone, it’s the same Teddy has whenever he’s overly tired, their sleepover clearly having taken its toll.
“I don’t want Harry to go home,” Teddy chirps up, tugging at Remus’ arm. “Maybe they can stay, daddy.”
Remus glances at Sirius and he doesn’t want them to go either, he really doesn’t, but he knows that it’s the sensible thing to do. He combs his fingers through his son’s curls.
“But Harry’s been here since yesterday, he and Padfoot needs to go home and get ready for school tomorrow, just like you and me.”
“Just a liiiiiittle bit longer?” Teddy asks hopefully, turning his eyes to Sirius. “Please?”
“Yes, please Padfoot,” Harry echoes and Sirius sends Remus a helpless glance but he merely shrugs in return, trying his best not to smile as both boys starts a chorus of pleasepleaseplease.
“Maybe just for lunch?” Remus suggests, the corner of his mouth twitching and Sirius lets out a low laugh, rolling his eyes but there’s amusement and fondness there too as he looks down at the boys.
“Alright,” he sighs dramatically. “Lunch. But then we’re leaving, Haz.”
The boys cheer loudly, as if they hadn’t just spent the past 24 hours together, and Remus can’t help but laugh at their obvious joy. He watches on as Sirius drops Harry’s bag back on the floor, lowering himself onto his knees as he gathers both boys up into a hug and making them shriek with it.
“Bloody menaces, the both of you,” he grumbles fondly, laughing as Harry quips back at him.
“You’re a mecan– menace, Padfoot!”
Sirius gasps dramatically, tickling Harry’s side before he squirms free and Sirius makes a move as if to chaser after him but Harry bounces out of reach, tugging Teddy along with him, both boys watching Sirius cautiously, eyes shining and cheeks flushed, gasping for breath between their giggles.
“Alright, that’s it,” Sirius says with mock-sternness, standing up slowly, both boys keeping their eyes on him, warily, bouncing a little on their feet. “I’ll teach both of you a lesson.”
“Nooo,” Harry shrieks happily, “Come Teddy!”He grabs the other boy’s hand and pulls him along, making for the sitting room. Remus shakes his head as he watches them run off before turning to Sirius, one eyebrow raised. The other man grins at him, giving a little shrug before calling out.
“You can run but I will catch you.”
They can both hear the boys’ delighted laughter from somewhere further into the cottage, then Teddy’s voice as he calls back.
“Nu-uh, we’re hiding!”
Remus rolls his eyes, fondness tugging at him as he takes in Sirius’ happy face.
“I agree with Harry, you are a menace,” he mutters, but then Sirius nudges against him as he heads towards the sitting room, stopping to brush their lips together quickly and it sends a little thrill through Remus’ body.
“You like it,” Sirius grins against his lips, his touch lingering slightly, and Remus can’t find it in him to disagree.
“Padfoot!” Harry’s impatient voice carries through the house. “Come and try to find us!”
Sirius leans in to give Remus another quick kiss before he pulls back with a wink.
“Oh, no, wherever could they be,” he calls out dramatically, drawing a deep and exaggerated sigh as he stalks down the hallway.
Remus watches him go, shaking his head as he hears more delighted laughter from sitting room.
“I guess I’ll just make lunch then,” he mumbles to no-one, unable not to grin to himself as he hears Sirius chase the boys through the cottage as he makes his way into the kitchen.
~*~*~
“What are you doing, Padfoot?”
Harry’s voice pulls him out of his thoughts and he blinks at his reflection in the mirror, fingers tangled into his hair.
“Er,” he says, letting his hand drop as he turns to face Harry, smiling. “Nothing, sprog.”
Harry watches him, gaze narrowed, “What’s you doing with your hair?”
“Nothing,” replies Sirius hurriedly, because he doesn’t know how to explain to a five year old that he was trying to mess up his hair just right. “You done tidying your room?”
“Yes,” Harry nods twisting the plastic T-rex he’s got in his hand, a Christmas gift from Regulus. “And I put all my presents out so that we can play with them when Teddy gets here.”
“Hm, great,” mumbles Sirius, thinking about the pile of gifts that Harry had received over the Holidays and feeling a little tug of guilt. The boy was spoiled rotten, Sirius knew it, but he didn’t seem to be able to stop himself and neither was his brother or Marlene, which the amount of Christmas presents had shown. “Want to help me in the kitchen then?”
“No,” Harry says easily, trailing his T-rex against the wall lightly. “But I can tell you a story.”
“Alright then,” Sirius chuckles as he steers the kid into the kitchen, “You tell me a story while I get dinner started.”
Harry gives a satisfied little nod before climbing one of the chairs by the table, settling in and starting a long and rather complicated story about the dinosaur adventures that he and Teddy had acted out the last time they had played together, and Sirius hums along in the right places while letting his thoughts drift.
Remus and Teddy were coming over for dinner and Sirius felt nervous. Not about seeing them, Remus, really, but about what they had decided to do tonight. It had been a few months since their trip to London and first real date, Christmas and New Years had come and gone. Sirius and Harry had spent almost two whole weeks in London with Regulus, celebrating the holidays with him, Marlene and some other old friends.
He and Remus had decided to take it slow, and in the months leading up the holiday they had, but with how much time Harry and Teddy spent together they still saw each other almost every day. Hope had been an angel, offering to look after the boys more often than not, and Sirius almost felt guilty with how much they had taken her up on that. They had been out to dinner or sneaked off when the kids were in school to get some alone time together. Sirius had even sent Harry to Reg’s for a weekend, much to the delight of both brother and child, and Remus had left Teddy with Hope so that they could spend a whole weekend holed up in Sirius’ house doing nothing but spend time together, get to know each other even more.
Everything was going better than Sirius had dared to dream and he felt happier than he had in a very long time. He couldn’t get enough of spending time with Remus, finding the other man endlessly fascinating and they never did seem to run out of things to talk about. He also felt a sort of comfort in having someone to talk to when it came to Harry. He had always had Regulus and Marlene, of course, but neither of them had kids of their own and it just wasn’t the same.
But Remus understood him. Understood the strains of being a single father and offered to take both kids for a few hours when Sirius was desperate for a break to focus on his paintings. He returned the favour of course, and he had grown very fond of Teddy over the past few months. He wasn’t quite as outgoing as Harry but Sirius had noticed that once he felt comfortable enough with them he came out of his shell and both he and Harry were perfectly capable of wreaking havoc, especially together.
So things had been moving forward, but they still hadn’t made anything official. He was pretty sure that Hope suspected, or even knew, and by the way Marls kept asking questions about “his Remus” and Reg kept offering to babysit, he was pretty sure that they knew too. Sirius hadn’t confirmed either way, had dodged their curious questions, focusing on sorting through his own feelings.
Sirius felt sure now, surer than he had ever felt before, and even though he knew there were no guarantees he was ready for the next step. He and Remus had been out to dinner a couple of nights before (Hope babysitting the boys like the angel she was) and they had both agreed that they had reached the point where they wanted to tell Harry and Teddy. They spent so much time together anyway that Sirius wasn’t sure they would be able to hide it much longer. Most of all, Sirius didn’t want to hide it. He was happy and he wasn’t ashamed of it. They had both agreed that the boys deserved to find out first, and that was what they were going to do tonight.
“Padfoot!” Harry’s voice is impatient and Sirius jerks from his spiralling brain, staring down at his hands that are busy chopping vegetables. “Listen!”
“Sorry, sprog,” Sirius apologises, half-turning to look at the boy who was giving him an accusing glare. “I’m listening.”
“You weren’t,” complains Harry with a pout, “you never listen.”
“I do too,” Sirius protests, ignoring the tug of guilt somewhere in his chest. “I know you were talking about the dinosaur park you and Teddy are going to build and that your new T-rex is the most dangerous dinosaur you’ve got.”
Harry’s gaze narrows suspiciously as he glares at him but then he relents, giving a prim little nod.
“Okay,” he concedes. “Teddy says that the Velico- Vile- Vi- Velociraptor is the most dangerous one but I think it’s the T-rex.”
“Right,” Sirius says, racking his brains for whatever dinosaur fact he could remember but drawing a blank, which was ironic considering that Harry and Teddy were obsessed with dinosaurs at the moment. “I think they both sound really dangerous.”
“I’m not scared,” Harry states, puffing out his chest slightly and Sirius busies himself with the vegetables again to hide his smile.
“Of course you’re not.”
“Teddy’s not scared either,” Harry says, his head jerking up at the sound of the door bell. “They’re here!”
“You go open then,” Sirius smiles a little at how eagerly Harry rushes into the hallway.
He can hear their voices filtering through and he feels something warm spread through him at the sound of Remus’ voice mingling with Harry’s and Teddy’s. He can hear the kids rushing upstairs and moments later there’s the sound of Remus clearing his throat. When Sirius turns around, Remus is leaning against the doorway, watching him. There’s a small smile playing over his face, his gaze thrillingly focused as he pushes off the wall, crossing the floor to where Sirius is standing.
Sirius can feel his own heart thudding in his chest, a flutter in his belly as Remus leans in, pressing his lips against Sirius’ in a firm kiss that makes Sirius knees go weak. He lets Remus push him back against the counter, their tongues sliding together and Sirius flushes at the needy noise that slips from him when Remus pulls away.
“Hi,” he says, hoarsely, a little spark in his chest as Remus returns the smile.
“Hi,” he returns, grinning, his hand coming to rest on Sirius’ hip. “You alright?”
“Better now,” Sirius murmurs, getting caught in Remus’ hazel eyes for a moment before he shakes himself slightly.
Remus watches him, amusement glittering in his eyes as if he knows what Sirius is thinking. Remus’ grin is definitely a little smug as he pulls out a bottle that he’s held behind his back.
“I brought wine.”
“Great,” Sirius smiles, “I’ll get some glasses.”
“No need,” Remus shrugs, “I know where they are.”
He sets the bottle down on the counter before walking over to the cupboard where Sirius keeps the wine glasses, easily taking two out before opening the bottle. Sirius watches him, his heart doing a little stutter at seeing Remus move so comfortably around his kitchen. He leans against the counter as he watches him pour them both a glass each, and Sirius accepts one of them as it’s offered.
“So…are you ready?” Sirius asks, his head slightly tilted as he studies Remus closely, the other man sipping from his glass before setting it down on the counter.
“To tell them?” He pauses, then continues as Sirius nods. “Yeah, Teddy will be fine.”
Sirius chews on his bottom lip, exhaling. “Yeah, Harry too. I think. I mean, I hope so. Anyway, he loves you and Teddy, I don’t know why I’m so nervous.”
Remus smiles softly, watching Sirius quietly for a moment before reaching out, his fingers tracing lightly down Sirius’ side and Sirius can feel his skin prickle at the touch. He drops his gaze to Remus’ hand, watching it move, pressing into the light touch.
“I’ve never introduced anyone to Harry before, not like this,” he mumbles, embarrassment tugging at him but he relaxes slightly as Remus wraps an arm over his shoulders to pull him into a half-hug.
“You’ll be fine,” he presses his lips softly to the side of Sirius’ head. “Harry just wants you to be happy. And if you are…”
He trails off, a little quiver over the words that makes something warm bloom in Sirius chest and he twists in Remus’ arms, watching him fondly.
“I am,” he says firmly, nudging him lightly. “Now you can set the table and then get the boys, dinner is almost done.”
“Bossy,” Remus grins, pressing another kiss to Sirius temple, sending a little shiver through him, before he pulls away.
Dinner goes out without a hitch, both kids in a good mood once they had been allowed a dinosaur each at the table and Sirius feels himself relax slightly. It feels like any other time the four of them has had dinner together, something that has happened rather frequently over the past few months. The boys need to be reminded to eat every now and then, but they do manage to get quite a lot of food in them between their chatting. They finish in record time though, eager to get back and play, but when Harry asks if they can be excused Sirius shakes his head.
“Not yet, Haz. We want to talk to you about something first.”
“About pudding?” Teddy asks hopefully, pushing his own empty plate away.
“Well, no, but we’ll have ice cream later,” promises Sirius, glancing at Remus for a second before he leans forward slightly, looking between the two boys. “You know that we have spent a lot of time together lately, all four of us, yes?”
Both boys nods hesitantly, Harry fiddling with his T-rex. “We went to the zoo,” he says, nodding, glancing at Teddy. “And we’ve been to the park and we’ve played football and we went to the place with the cows and the pigs and the horses.”
“The farm,” Remus smiles fondly, his hand sneaking over into Sirius’ lap, giving his thigh a gentle squeeze. “And Sirius and I have been doing some things alone, too.”
“You visited Uncle Reg,” says Harry, his gaze flittering from Remus to Sirius for a moment, a slight frown over his face.
“And we went to the place with the rocks,” Teddy pipes up, not wanting to be left out, “the really, really big rocks on a hill.”
“Yeah,” Sirius chuckles, “We did. And you know, your dad and I,” he glances at Remus again, “We like spending time together a lot.”
“Like me and Teddy,” Harry says solemnly and Teddy nods his agreement with a serious sort of expression.
“We’re best friends,” he adds helpfully, and Remus hides a laugh behind a light cough.
“Yeah, and Sirius and I, we like each other very much too, and we want to continue spending a lot of time together.”
“Without us?” Teddy asks worriedly and Remus shakes his head firmly, somehow managing to both boys in the eyes at the same time.
“Of course not. We both love you very, very much and we want to keep doing things together, all of us.”
“I like the zoo,” Harry states firmly. “And the snakes, Padfoot, when can we go back?”
“I don’t know, Haz,” Sirius says, a nervous sort of flutter in his chest and he’s starting to have doubts whether or not this had been such a good idea after all. He simply can’t find the right words to explain what it is that he wants to say, especially not to two five-year-olds. He gives Remus a helpless look and he’s fairly sure he’s not imagining the way the other man’s lips are twitching in silent amusement before he takes pity on Sirius.
“Okay,” he says softly, pushing his own empty plate out of the way as he looks across the table at the boys. “You know how you two like spending time together all the time because you’re best friends?”
Both boys nod firmly, faces serious as they watch Remus carefully.
“Me and Sirius likes that too. We like that you are best friend and like playing together, and we like– er– playing together too.”
Sirius barely resists the urge to groan but the boys nod in understanding so he doesn’t interrupt as Remus continues.
“And sometimes, when grown-ups are very good friends, they might want to do things like hold hands or kiss each other, because doing that makes them happy. And I like doing all of those things with Sirius. It makes me very happy, and it makes Sirius very happy, and we’re very happy, together.”
He falls silent and the boys don’t say anything for a while, Sirius studying Harry worriedly, unsure what he’s to expect. It had been the two of them, alone against the world, for such a long time that he’s not sure how the boy would react. In the end Harry shifts a little in his seat, looking over at Teddy who looks back at him, some sort of quiet communication going on between them that Sirius can’t decipher but then Harry turns back to him with a serious sort of expression and Sirius meets his gaze, forcing himself to relax and face whatever it is that Harry has to say about it all.
“Can we still have ice cream, though?” Harry asks worriedly and Teddy shifts around in his seat, squirming until he’s up on both knees on the chair.
“I really want ice cream for pudding,” Teddy emphasises, watching his dad expectantly, and Sirius can’t help but bark out a laugh, feeling a burst of affection in his chest as he watches the two boys.
“Yeah,” he nods as he stands, walking around the table to kiss the top of Harry head as he ruffles Teddy’s hair. “Of course you can still have ice cream. If you go into the sitting room and choose a movie we’ll clean up in here and then we’ll bring the ice cream.”
“Yes!” Harry grins victoriously as he squirms down from his chair, Teddy following suite, and they both scamper out of the room, loudly discussing what movie they want to see.
He turns to Remus as the boys are gone, giving a sort of sheepish shrug, stacking the boys’ empty plates as Remus does the same with theirs.
“Maybe we overdid this a bit,” he admits, amusement tugging at him, and Remus laughs.
“You think? I thought that went brilliantly.”
Sirius snorts as he starts to load the dishwasher, accepting whatever Remus clears off the table.
“They had no idea what we were talking about.”
“Maybe not,” Remus concedes with a small grin, “but at least now we’ve told them. They’ll figure it out eventually, and we’ll just have to take any questions when they crop up. At least now we don’t have to hide anything.”
“Will you tell your mum?” Sirius asks carefully, closing the dishwasher as he turns around to look at Remus who is refilling their glasses.
“I think she already knows,” Remus says with a fond sort of smile, “I think she probably knew before us…before me, anyway.”
“Probably,” agrees Sirius, drumming his fingers against the counter a little restlessly. “D’you– d’you think she’ll mind?”
“Mind?” Remus looks at him, snorting softly, a grin tugging at his mouth. “She loves you. I think she’d probably have a go at you herself if she was any younger.”
Sirius laughs at that, grinning as he reaches out to hook his fingers into the belt loops of Remus’ trousers, tugging him close.
“Hm, good to know, in case I’d get bored.”
“Ew,” Remus scrunches up his face, making Sirius bark out another laugh. “That’s a mental image I really don’t need.”
“Better make sure I don’t get bored then,” Sirius teases, pulling Remus flush against him, kissing him softly before letting him go. “Now get the ice cream ready before I trade you in for an, er, older model.”
“Gross,” Remus huffs indignantly and Sirius chuckles, leaning in to kiss him again quickly.
“Don’t worry, babe. Your mum is great but unfortunately for her I’m hopelessly gone for her son. And even if I wasn’t, I don’t swing that way.”
Remus watches him for a moment before cracking up, shaking his head firmly.
“You really need to stop talking about my Mam like that.”
Sirius merely smirks, making a zipping motion over his lips as he turns back to the table as Remus tends to the ice cream.
“Ready?” Sirius asks as he’s wiped down the table, turning to Remus who nods, handing him two bowls and taking the other two for himself.
“Let’s go watch a movie with our boys,” he says, brushing their lips together lightly before heading into the sitting room.
Sirius can hear the cheers from the boys as Remus joins them with the ice cream and he feels a soft swell in his chest as he follows.
His boys.