The last thing that Remus Lupin wanted to do was return to his dirty, messy flat at the end of the day. It was Valentines day, but perhaps more important to Remus it was two days after the moon. It had been a bad one, too, and nothing that his friends had told him about the evening made any sense as to why it would be. It had been bad, but not bad enough that he didn’t still drag himself to work and suffer through nine hours of labor.
His body hurt. It leaned heavily against the cane as he fished through is pocket for the keys to his flat. He sighed, his eyes closed as he leaned against the door and took a moment to breathe. He could imagine what his flat would look like once he opened the door and turned the lights on. There would be a week’s worth of dishes piled in the sink, the ones nearest the bottom beginning to smell; his laundry would be unfolded and piled in hampers; there was dust constantly collecting around the house and random bits of trash everywhere. Remus hated his dirty little apartment, but he just didn’t have the energy to clean. Remus didn’t even have the energy to cook tonight. He’d picked up a sad looking premade sandwich at the Sainsbury’s on his way home, Remus hadn’t even had the energy to walk the store to find anything even remotely more appetizing than leicester and red onion or egg salad.
A part of Remus was happy that Sirius had to work tonight. Sure, Remus would be alone for Valentines Day, but he could be miserable alone, which came with a certain amount of its own comforts. There was still half a pint of double chocolate ice cream in the fridge, three pain potions and a value pack of ibuprofen, as well as a few fingers of gin at home if the previous two methods didn’t work. High pain days were hard, Remus felt guilty for being a grump and nobody else was able to do much if the pain meds didn’t work, which they rarely worked well enough to make him pleasant on the worst of days.
Remus didn’t really care about Valentines Day. He’d never really dated anybody. Him and Sirius had only been official for six months or so. Sure, they’d lived together for a while, they’d had plenty of moments over their years of knowing each other, but Remus hadn’t heard the words my boyfriend come out of anybody’s mouth until it came out of Sirius’s late last July. The thought never ceased to put a smile on his face. Remus didn’t consider himself much of a romantic man, though. He’d thought that Sirius’s proposed Valentines date idea of going from store to store and stocking up on discounted chocolate the morning after before getting some lunch and spending the rest of Saturday afternoon in bed watching shit telly. Remus didn’t care that Sirius had to work tonight. He did care that the flat was a mess and there was very little he would be able to do about it.
Stupid Remus. He knew when the moon was coming every month, he knew how much it could take out of him. He knew to manage his energy, make plans days before to keep things clean, and yet every few months Remus was just utterly unable to follow through with his plans. The flat was going to stink, and Remus was too tired to remember what spell would fix that tonight.
The clattering of his flat keys against the metal front door was louder than Remus enjoyed. He winced, but turned the lock and undid the deadbolt, then the doorknob. The flat was relatively dark. The glow of the television in the small living room at the end of the hall in front of him was the first thing he noticed. The second being that the flat didn’t smell bad. There was no whiff of garbage, no stale reminders of the boxes and plates and crumbs he hadn’t yet thrown away, no soggy rotting smells reminding him of soaking dishes days and days old. The flat smelled….nice.
Remus leaned against the wall as he toed off his shoes. He braced himself for the lights as he switched them on. His eyes were closed as he flipped the switch, Remus counted to three before opening his eyes and allowing himself to adjust to the light.
The first thing Remus Lupin noticed when he opened his eyes was that there was no mess. The floors had been swept, mopped even, with how shiny they looked. The trash wasn’t overflowing, his sink wasn’t filled with dishes. There was a candle sitting on the kitchen table, lit and smelling like vanilla. When Remus turned towards the living room, he was met with the wild smile of his boyfriend. Remus did a double take, making sure the man in front of him was actually Sirius. Dressed in a black button down with the top three buttons undone and tight, tight jeans that Remus knew stretched well while also making Sirius’s bum look….really good. His hair was down, he was freshly showered, and that signature Sirius Black smile was plastered along his face.
“Moony!” The other called out with more enthusiasm than Remus could fathom mustering. He did manage a smile, though. No matter how tired and slow he felt, Sirius could usually manage a smile from him. “Happy Valentines Day!”
Remus chuckled. He pushed himself a few steps forward, but Sirius was quicker than he was in making his way over to the other. Sirius’s arms wrapped around Remus before he managed more than three or four steps. Remus allowed himself to sag against the other. Sirius was warm, Sirius was strong. Remus could always fall against him and know he was safe.
“Happy Valentines Day.” Remus replied, pulling away from the embrace to look Sirius over. Remus must have made it back before Sirius had to leave for the night. “You look good. You’re going to get so many tips tonight.”
Sirius chuckled and shook his head. “Nah. Not unless you plan on tipping me.”
“What?” Remus asked. He didn’t understand what the other was saying. “I adore you, Sirius, really. But I’m not going out tonight.”
“Of course you’re not.” Sirius replied, his arm wrapping around the small of Remus’s back and leading him to the living room where he could get Remus settled against the plush sofa. “You need to sit down. You look like crap.”
“Thanks.” Remus huffed, always so pleased to hear how unattractive he was.
“How much pain are you in?” Sirius asked, curling up next to the other, his eyes focused intensely on Remus.
Remus sighed, his eyes half lidded as he settled into the comfort of finally being able to sit down. “The usual amount.”
Sirius pursed his lips. He pushed some of Remus’s hair back, checking for fever and reaction time, going through an informal checklist of symptoms he knew to look for from the other.
“You’re miserable.”
Remus snorted. “You’re worrying unnecessarily.”
“You’re my boyfriend.” Sirius countered. “Worry is a necessity when my boyfriend is hurting.”
He was sweet. Sirius didn’t show how gentle he could be to many people, but he’d never been afraid to be gentle with Remus. Remus reached his hand out towards the other, his fingers intertwining with Sirius’s and giving his hand a squeeze.
“I’ll be fine. You’ve got to get to work. And did you get any sleep today?”
“No I don’t and yes I did. Probably about as much as you got last night.”
“I took two pain potions and knocked out for like, six hours.” Remus reminded the other. While Sirius spent an increasing amount of time at Remus’s, he still didn’t technically live with the other. He had keys, he was welcome, and many nights when Sirius was finished at the bar he tended at, Sirius found comfort in slipping into Remus’s bed and getting a few hours of cuddles before Remus had to get up for work.
“Did you clean the entire flat by yourself?” Remus asked, his face twitching into a smile as Sirius’s did, his fingers running up and down Remus’s arm.
“I did. Looks good, doesn’t it?”
Remus nodded. He really wasn’t expecting it. Sirius didn’t officially live here, though he spent more time at this flat than he did his own lately. Remus held no expectations for him to keep up around the house, let alone cleaning the whole flat.
“I didn’t know you were capable of such a feat” Remus teased.
Sirius rolled his eyes, but he didn’t take offense. He cuddled into Remus instead. “Aaaand, I took tonight off, too.”
“I thought you weren’t able to” Remus asked. They’d had a whole conversation about it. Too many other people had called out, they’d be too short staffed otherwise. Remus looked down at Sirius, his curiosity rising as deep chuckles emerged from Sirius’s chest.
“I lied.”
Sirius’s voice was quiet, it was quick, the smile on his face told Remus that he was proud of himself.
“You what?”
“I asked for tonight off the moment I realized that Valentines Day was two days after the moon.” Sirius admitted.
Remus chuckled, mostly because he was surprised. “When did you realize that?”
“Like…….four or five months ago?”
Remus’s jaw fell open, his eyebrows raised. Sirius had been plotting this for that long. “Why did you tell me you had to work?”
“I wanted to surprise you!” Sirius defended. His disposition deflated slightly only a moment later. “I….hadn’t realized it might have been a bad idea until I saw how reactive Moony was the other day.”
Remus frowned.
“I don’t know how much he knows about you, but when you’re upset Moony tends to be more volatile. I….I was wondering if he was mad because you were disappointed.”
“Oh…” Remus hadn’t even thought about it. Had he been disappointed? He hadn’t really thought so, their plan was perfectly logical. Perhaps he was a bit sad that his first Valentine’s Day in a real relationship wasn’t going to be spent together, but they were going to spend the whole day after together eating chocolate, that had seemed better. Perhaps part of him was upset. Regardless, the way that Sirius seemed to worry about that warmed Remus.
“I’m sorry Moony was moody.” Remus replied, unsure of what to say.
Sirius shook his head and pushed Remus’s hair back again. “Don’t be sorry. Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Merlin, could Sirius be romantic. Remus couldn’t help the heat that rose to his cheeks as Sirius took care of him. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Sirius smiled back up at Remus, leaning against him only for another moment before getting up. Sirius was an endless ball of energy, it seemed at times. He was never completely able to stand still.
“Alright, so. What can I get you?” Sirius asked.
“What?” Remus asked, chuckling in confusion at Sirius’s offer.
“Where do you want to start? Drinks? Snacks? Do you need a pain potion or some tablets first? Maybe a foot rub?”
Remus was dumbfounded. He was confused, but he was wooed. “You really had this whole night planned out, didn’t you?”
Sirius nodded eagerly. Remus blushed.
“Are you going to be mad if I ask to go put my pajamas on?” Remus asked.
“Not at all, Moons. I dressed up for you tonight. You know I find you sexy in every iteration.”
“You flirt.” Remus teased. “I’m going to change, then. Do you want your gift tonight, then since we seem to be celebrating?”
“Aww, you got me something?” Sirius responded.
“Don’t act surprised. It’s not as nice as this, though. I do apologize.”
Sirius held his hand out to the other, helping him stand up and holding Remus hostage in his arms until he managed at least a half dozen kisses along the other’s face and lips. “Go get comfortable, sexy. I’ll set the mood in here.”
When Remus returned, clad in his softest sweatpants and a worn Weird Sister’s t-shirt, Sirius had set up the living room to an entire scene. There was a charcuterie board set up in the shape of a heart, a smaller plate off to the side with chocolate covered strawberries. Music was playing softly in the background, Sirius was in the kitchen making drinks. Remus wondered how long Sirius had been planning this for.
“You’re making me feel bad, Pads. This is too much.”
Sirius shook his head, still full of life as he poured a sweet red syrup over the two glasses prepared for them. Remus watched as the syrup fell through the drink, turning into little hearts as it fell and settled into the bottom.
“It’s our first Valentine’s Day. I wanted to make it special.”
“It’s…...yeah, you’re right.” Remus sighed.
“And, it’s a good excuse to spoil you.”
Remus blushed.
“You’ve done too much.” Remus argued.
Sirius hummed, grabbing their drinks and moving around the counter, holding one up to Remus and prompting him to take a sip. “I haven’t done enough.” Sirius replied.
The drink was pleasant. Fruity, light, bubbly. One sip left Remus feeling slightly better, though nothing would entirely take away the ache from his bones.
“It’s good.” Remus replied, nodding back towards the living room where they could get settled on the sofa. “Did you come up with that yourself?”
Sirius followed Remus happily, nodding along. “I did. Worked on it all week.”
Remus chuckled. “It’s not a love potion, is it?” He joked.
“I’m offended. Do you think you need one?” Sirius asked.
“No” Remus replied, settling in the sofa with a resound sigh. “It’s effervescent, though. Light, bubbly. Not to mention visually beautiful.”
Sirius settled next to him, setting their drinks down on the coffee table along with their other treats.
“Sort of like you.” Remus added, feeling warmer as he watched Sirius blush. God, he loved when he could manage to do that.
“Happy Valentine’s Day.” Sirius replied, masking the I love you he really wanted to declare, but hadn’t quite gained the courage to say just yet. Remus felt it too.
The evening was calm, but it was decadent. Sirius had spared no expense in his details, he made sure he had all of Remus’s favorite things. He was patient and calm and kind with the other. He insisted on feeding Remus, practically crawling into his lap by the time he managed to feed a strawberry to the other. The two of them were perfectly happy to be cuddled into the other’s sides for the evening. Remus was thankful that he didn’t have to do much more than rest, and Sirius was thankful that Remus stayed still and allowed Sirius to pamper the other. Sirius adored the record Remus had gotten for him, but not nearly as much as he loved the jumper of Remus’s gifted to Sirius, officially making it his and no longer something he had to steal at every opportunity.
With drinks flowing and good food on hand, the two of them didn’t need anything else but each other. A night being spoiled was much better than a night miserable alone, and Sirius would do anything to make sure Remus was rested. They didn’t leave the sofa all night, but they didn’t need to. The two of them spent the night tangled in each other, encompassed by their mutual enthrallment; fueled by soft touches, warm looks, gentle heartbeats, and the feeling of the other’s lips against ready flesh, the two of them didn’t need words to express how they felt.
Happy Valentine’s Day meant more than Happy Valentine’s Day to the two of them, it also meant I love you, and never before had those three words felt so good.