“Officer Lupin.” Remus’s walkie crackled and he unconsciously lowered the device he was using to clock traffic from the highway median. “We have a citizen calling in for a wellness report, are you able to take the call?”
“Of course.” He set the device down and started the car.
“Sending the location to your computer now.” There was a pop-up on the screen and he clicked it. 10 minutes away, not far, especially if he flipped on his lights for part of the drive to clear the main intersections. “Caller said that he's a friend of the guy he's asking about but he's been acting off lately and now won't open the door or respond to texts or calls. Claims a history of suicide attempts and wants someone to go check on him.” Oh. Wellness checks usually meant a quick visit to some old or ill family members house but a possible suicide… He flipped on his lights and peeled out of the highway median.
“Show me in route and have a team of paramedics standing by. If you have any more information send it to my inbox.”
“10-4. Sending now.”
- - -
Remus pulled into a community of apartment flats and quickly turned off his lights, no sense in disturbing everyone if there wasn't traffic. Finding the flat was pretty easy and he radioed dispatch before leaving the car.
“Dispatch show me at location and responding.”
“10-4 officer, good luck.” Clipping the radio onto his vest he stepped out of the car and walked towards the door. Out of the corner of his eye he saw an old lady peering at him from across the street but he ignored her. Making it to the door he knocked loudly.
“City Police. Exit the residence or I have permission to come inside.” Silence, go figure. He knocked again. “Police, open now or I'll kick in the door.” There wasn't an answer and he frowned, but took a step back from the door and with a solid kick next to the door handle it flew open with a loud bang. He hurried inside, quickly clearing the empty living room and kitchen before moving into the hallway. What appeared to be the bedroom light was on and the door was slightly cracked. Pushing it open the rest of the way he saw a man on the bed.
He was laying back on a few pillows, playing on his phone, and looked up in mild surprise. “I'm going to admit I didn't think you'd actually kick down the door.”
“Are you Sirius?” The man smirked and a bit of mischief twinkled in his strikingly silver eyes.
“I'm always serious, especially when it comes to kicking down doors.” Ignoring his snark Remus glanced around the room, it was plain and simple, bed, dresser, mirror, and bed stands… one of which had a small stack of envelopes and two bottles, one that appeared to be a prescribed painkiller and the other a sleep medication.
“Have you taken anything I should be aware of?” He shrugged slightly and set his phone aside.
“If you're talking about the medication then yes, I did take quite a bit.” Reaching for his radio he spoke quickly but calmly.
“Dispatch, send in the team of EMTs, I have a mid 20s male currently experiencing the beginnings of an opioid and sleep medication overdose. Door is open and the victim is in the bedroom through the hallway.” There was just a moment of silence before they responded.
“10-4, team is in route, eta 3 minutes.” Sirius just let out a long sigh and brushed a few strands of his shoulder length black hair out of his face.
“You shouldn't bother them, I'm not worth it. Besides, I meant to take enough that people couldn't bring me back even if they tried.”
“You are worth it. Everyone on this earth is worth the time they spend here.” Sirius gave him a look.
“Hitler. Jeffrey Dahmer.” He conceded the point.
“Most people are worth the time they spend on this earth, including you.” Sirius chuckled lightly but didn't respond.
- - -
Remus checked the phone number three times before he hit the call button. It only rang twice before it was picked up.
“James Potter, how can I help you?” The man on the other side sounded incredibly drained, not surprising. Remus glanced into the hospital room where Sirius seemed to be having an argument with the nurse trying to administer his IV. He'd been calm when Remus got there but the moment the EMT team had attempted to help him he’d entirely lost his shit. Remus had ended up having to pin him down while the nurses and doctors worked as they didn’t want to sedate him and add more medication to the nearly deadly mix. His ribs still hurt from where Sirius had attempted to knee his way to freedom. He hadn’t realized he’d gotten distracted until James spoke again. “Hello?”
“Hi Mr. Potter, sorry it’s a bit chaotic here, this is Officer Remus Lupin. I’m calling about-” James cut him off, voice frantic and worried.
“Is this about Sirius? Is he okay?” There was a quiet yelp from the other end of the line.
“What about Sirius? What’s going on? Put it on speaker goddammit!”
“Yes, Sirius is okay. He’s in hospital care right now if you want to come see him and I can explain more of what happened.” There was a quiet and just barely unintelligible argument on the other end of the phone before someone else spoke.
“Tell him that if he ever fucking does that again I will murder him in his sleep.”
“I’ll let him know.” Attempting to lighten the mood he managed a chuckle. “Though admitting plans of murder to the police isn’t typically the best idea.” The second voice laughed lightly. The phone was passed back and James spoke again.
“We’ll be there in a few, thank you for calling.”
- - -
With how large of a city Remus lived in he didn’t typically run into very many people he met on calls, though many of them later ended up in jail so that might be a factor. If he did run into them typically he didn’t realize who they were until later or they didn’t recognize him. Now he wasn’t so lucky. It had been two weeks since he’d gotten the wellness check call for Sirius and here he was, hiding behind a store display like a child trying not to get caught while him and James argued about cereal in the next aisle over.
He wasn’t surprised that he’d recognized him by the sound of his voice alone. He’d been replaying every moment that he’d been with Sirius in his head over and over for the past weeks. Honestly it was an obsession, an incredibly unhealthy one at that. He was jolted out of his thoughts when a delighted voice spoke a bit behind him.
“Lupin!” He jumped and spun, seeing James grinning at him and Sirius, who looked utterly mortified, hiding behind him.
“Oh, um, hi.” He mentally smacked himself as James’s smile faltered slightly.
“I’m James, I don't know if you remember me but-”
“Yeah, I remember you people just… people just typically don’t want me to recognize them in public. Ya’know, private business and all that.” He nodded several times.
“That makes sense, how have you been?” Abruptly Sirius cut him off, face turning pink with embarrassment when they both looked at him.
“I have to go get… things. I’m going.” Cheeks a brilliant shade of red he practically ran off. James frowned at him for a moment before turning back to Remus.
“Do you have a pen?” Hesitating for a moment he pulled out a sharpie from one of his pockets.
“Does a marker work?” James nodded and quickly took it, uncapping it before he snatched Remus’s wrist. Quickly scrawling a phone number on the back of his hand he grinned. Remus took the marker back with a confused look on his face. “What’s that for?”
“It’s Sirius’s number, text him.” He hesitated, glancing between James and the number, face turning a light shade of pink. “Listen, if I have to hear him complain one more time about how he got the most adorable police officer to respond to his call and didn’t even get to ask for his number one more time I will throw myself off a building.” He blushed harder.
“What if I’m not single?”
“Well, are you single?” There was a momentary silence.
“Yeah.” James clapped once, grinning.
“Well then there you go. I’ll prepare to be attacked by a very embarrassed Sirius in the next 24 to 48 hours.” He paused. “Also I need to find that very embarrassed Sirius before I get murdered for losing him. Have a good day Lupin!” And just like that he hurried off, leaving Remus standing there, staring at the number on his hand.
- - -
Hi
Hi?
Who’s this?
Remus Lupin
I hope you don’t mind me texting
James gave me your number at the store earlier
…
I’m going to fucking murder him
Perhaps stating your intention to a police officer beforehand isn’t the best idea
Just a thought
Valid point
Sorry about James
He loves embarrassing me
Its his thing
So you weren't sad that you didn't get my number?
Because I'm the “most adorable police officer”?
…
I'll be right back I need to go murder James
Remus laughed and put the phone down on the counter, turning his attention back to the dinner he was cooking. It was several minutes later before it buzzed again.
Alright
He's been dealt with
You're a cop
Where should I hide the body?
In a lake
Perfect
They'll never suspect a thing
What are you up to?
Cooking dinner
Well kind of cooking
It’s box mac n cheese
Funn
How about you?
Dragging James's body to the nearest lake
You know this
- - -
“Soo…” Peter dragged out the word in a sing-song voice as he sat next to Remus, passing him a can of beer he just got from the bartender moments before. “Who are you texting?” He turned several shades of pink.
“No one! I mean it's someone but they're not important. No one important.” He sounded less than convincing and Peter raised an eyebrow.
“Remus, you're a terrible liar.” They had a silent stare off before Remus’s phone, which was now face down on the bartop, buzzed and he blushed brighter and picked it up to respond.
“It's just someone I've been talking to.”
“Oh?” He bit his lip as he responded and Peter peeked over his shoulder. “His name is Sirius? Seriously?” He slammed his phone face down and groaned.
“Yes, his name is Sirius.”
“Mmm, and what are you two talking about?”
“Peterrr.”
“Fine, fine. I'll leave you alone.” They sat in silence for a whole two minutes while Remus drank and Peter watched him intently. “So where'd you two meet?” He groaned again and Peter pouted.
“Come on, just one last teeny tiny question. I just want to know.” They had some short glare off before Remus relented.
“I met him on a call.” Peter's face immediately darkened.
“On a call? Like he's dangerous?” Remus was horrified.
“No, no nothing like that.” He seemed entirely unconvinced.
“Remus you can't just fix everyone and you being there doesn't make them not dangerous. I know how you feel about people being charged without the circumstances being considered but-”
“It wasn't like that. The call wasn't like that.” Despite his protests Peter looked less than thrilled. “I promise it…” He glanced around and lowered his voice. “It was a wellness check, okay? His friend called it in because he was concerned about him. He's not dangerous. I promise.” Peter frowned, considering it for a long moment.
“If he hurts you-”
“Then you'll go after him with a gun and several large knives, I know, I know. He won't though.” He hummed for a moment.
“I need to change my default threat.”
“Why? That one's so fun!”
- - -
Hey
Are you busy
Not really
Just got off work a bit ago
Why?
Nothing really
Just a question
Are you sure?
That doesn't sound like a question you ask for no reason
I just wondered if you had time to chat
Wanted to talk to someone
Is everything alright?
Are you okay?
Yeah
I'm fine
Are you sure?
…
No
Not really
I don't know
Maybe
Where are you?
At home?
Home
Yeah
Why?
Because I'm coming over
I'll be there in 15
- - -
It was pouring buckets and Remus nearly got hit twice as he headed to Sirius’s house, a place he had accidentally memorized. He had to run from his car to the door where he hid under the small awning while he knocked. The door opened almost instantly and he was dragged inside.
“Are you mental? You're going to get drenched. It's pouring out there!” Remus just grinned.
“Good thing you opened the door then.” Sirius rolled his eyes.
“You’re lucky I did.” Remus moved out of the way so Sirius could shut the door behind him. He seemed slightly sluggish and down however and Remus frowned, remembering why he came over in the first place.
“Is everything alright?” There was a long pause where he stared at Remus before he sighed.
“Come on in all the way, take your shoes off please.” Toeing his shoes off quickly he followed Sirius into the living room which was significantly more cluttered than before but not to the point where it was messy. Sirius settled on the couch and Remus sat next to him, examining him with concern.
“What's going on? Are you okay?” Sirius tugged on a strand of hair that had fallen in his face, frown evident on his face as he considered.
“I'm fine. I think. I… I don't know. Like I should be okay. But I don't feel okay and I don't know why. And I didn't want to say anything to you at all, it's not fair to you just because I'm fucked up you shouldn't be stuck dealing with that and-”
“Hey, I don't mind at all. That's why I became a cop after all, to help people. So if you need help then I want to help you.” Sirius laughed slightly.
“God you're sweet. I just… I don't want to tell Reggie or James because I just finally got some breathing room, they wouldn't let me out of their sight for like three weeks. Don't get me wrong I love them to death but I can't be so restricted like that. It drives me absolutely crazy. I can't breathe.” Sirius was talking faster as he continued like he needed to get too many words out and he didn’t have enough time. Remus just nodded slowly.
“And you feel like if you say anything about you not feeling right then they’re going to want to hover over you again?” Sirius nodded nervously. “That makes sense. I don’t think they mean to overwhelm you, they’re just worried and-”
“If you tell me they just want to make sure I’m okay I will rip your throat out.” Remus couldn’t help laughing. When he was at the hospital getting that speech he’d reacted much the same way, with much bravado and apparent anger.
“Okay, okay, I’m just saying they’re going to be a bit overprotective for a while.” Sirius sighed and made a small frustrated movement with his hands.
“I’m not fragile. It’s not like I’m made of glass and the second they look away I’m going to shatter. It was just a bad day, I’m fine now.” Remus just frowned slightly.
“And you might know that, but can you imagine if Reggie tried to kill himself? Or James? You know how scary that is? To care about someone so much and to realize you almost lost that? Life and death isn’t something most people treat lightly and to know that you do is terrifying.” There was a long moment of silence.
“I… I guess yeah.”
- - -
Thanks for today
I really needed that
Of course
Anytime you need to talk
I’m here
You really need to stop being so adorably sweet
:(
Don't you give me that
:(
- - -
Remus was just finishing his paperwork from a routine traffic stop when his phone buzzed. He frowned, signed the paper and filed it, and then checked his phone. It was a text from Sirius and he grinned, opening it excitedly like a giddy teen.
Are you at work?
Yeah
:(
Why?
Do you need dinner after?
I was going to cook
You know dinner
Remus hesitated, near a dozen thoughts running through his mind before he finally settled on one and sent his next text.
Is this your way of asking me on a dinner date?
He practically slammed his phone face down on the passenger seat, his cheeks burning. He attempted to focus on dispatch's constant chatter to see if there was anything that needed attention but with the anxiety that increased with every passing minute he couldn't concentrate. Then almost five minutes later his phone buzzed. Staring at it he forced himself to take a deep breath before picking it up.
If you want it to be
Holy shit did he ever want it to be and he practically squealed in excitement at the prospect.
I do
See you after your shift then?
Absolutely
- - -
“Thanks for dinner again.” Sirius just waved a dismissive hand from his position lounging on one end of the couch.
“You needed to eat, I was cooking, it just made sense. You know, two birds with one stone.” Despite his dismissive response his cheeks were a beautiful shade of pink. It was late, Remus had work in the morning, but sitting across from Sirius he couldn't bring himself to stand.
“Maybe I can repay the favor sometime.” Sirius looked surprised and for a moment he panicked, wondering if he'd said the wrong thing before he grinned.
“I'd like that.” He sat up and scooted closer to Remus, their knees practically touching. “Though maybe not specifically cooking dinner. I heard cops are terrible cooks.” Remus made a little offended noise that seemed to amuse Sirius more.
“Just because we eat out all the time and don't have time to cook doesn’t mean we can’t.”
“Mm…” Sirius leaned closer, eyes glancing down to his lips and Remus felt his cheeks turning red. “So can you cook?” It took him several moments to formulate an answer with Sirius watching him. Those damn silver eyes and that damn face, he had no right being so pretty.
“I… No.” He must have sounded more defeated than he intended because Sirius laughed, amusement dancing in his eyes. Remus couldn’t stop himself, he leaned over and pressed a kiss against Sirius’s lips. It was only for an instant before he pulled away but Sirius looked at him in such utter shock he almost apologized before he was dragged into another kiss by the collar of his shirt.
He pulled Sirius closer with a hand waist as the other cupped the back of his neck. Sirius let out a little whimpering noise and Remus was positive he’d ascended to heaven. To his shock Sirius swung a leg over his waist without breaking the kiss so he was sitting on Remus’s lap. He pulled away for a second to breathe and Sirius chased his lips with an unhappy whine. Chuckling he kissed him again, allowing both hands to rest on his hips.
Slipping his hands up Sirius’s shirt as they kissed he brushed against his stomach and Sirius flinched, pulling away with a pained noise. Remus gave him a worried once over, brows furrowing in both confusion and concern. Sirius had a panicked look on his face which only concerned Remus further. Lifting his shirt slightly he saw a dozen assorted slices running across his stomach, deep enough to be painful but shallow enough not to be of huge medical concern and looking several days old. He sighed.
“Sirius.” Looking back up he saw that tears had started making their way down Sirius’s face. “Hey, hey it’s okay.” He just shook his head and pressed his face into Remus’s shoulder.
“Please, you can’t tell anyone. I can’t be treated like glass again, I can’t deal with that another time. I need to be able to do things without feeling like I can’t breathe because someone’s constantly watching me.” Remus bit his lip and Sirius panicked, breath catching. “Please, I can’t do that! I’m sorry, I’m trying please just don’t-”
“Hey, deep breath, it’s okay. Can you take a deep breath for me please?” He looked up at Remus with tears in his eyes but took a shaky breath. “There you go, keep breathing. They’re not trying to treat you like glass, they’re… they're just trying not to lose you. But… but if you really don’t want me to then I won’t tell them.” Letting out a relieved sob Sirius settled on his chest.
“Thank you.” Remus just wrapped his arms around him.
“It gets better, I promise.”
- - -
“Hey Lupin!” He glanced across the parking lot to where Marlene, a fellow officer, was waving to him from her car. He quickly excused himself from his conversation, which was a relief, the woman had called him over with a “legal question” then proceeded to hit on him, and headed over. “You coming to lunch with me and Jefferson? We were planning on going to that one taco place.” He winced, hesitant to respond.
“I uh, I was actually planning on going to Sirius’s house for lunch…” Instead of being upset she smirked.
“Aww, going to see your boyfriend.” His face turned red and she smirked before reaching for her walkie. “Jefferson, go to channel 3.” There was a moment before it crackled.
“10-4. What’s going on?” She grinned.
“Lupin’s not joining us for lunch, he’s going to eat with his boyfriend.” There was silence.
“Traitor.”
“Guys come on, really? Can we not be adults about this?” She shrugged.
“Hey, we just call it how we see it.” He groaned.
“I'm not living this down am I?” Considering Marlene reached for her walkie again.
“Jefferson, is he going to live this down?” There was a moment of static.
“No.”
- - -
“Are you not going to watch the movie baby?” Sirius nuzzled into his neck, much like a sleepy puppy and Remus had to laugh. “It was your idea to do movie night in the first place, I just suggested dinner.” He hummed sleepily.
“Forgot they make me tired.” Remus laughed again.
“How do movies make you tired? And how do you forget that?” Sirius didn’t respond and Remus just let him rest on top of him, pulling a blanket over them. It was quiet aside from the movie playing on the tv, now mostly forgotten, for a long while. Then quite suddenly Sirius was crying.
“Hey, hey what’s wrong?” Sirius mumbled something unintelligible into his chest. “I can’t understand you baby, can you say it again?” He shifted slightly and repeated it.
“I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for?” He was shaking now, tears streaming down his cheeks.
“I was so upset and I had medication and I took some and I couldn’t stop and-” Remus moved quickly, sitting them both up and turning to face Sirius, concern evident but voice remaining scarily calm.
“What did you take?” He cried harder and just shook his head. “Sirius, I need to know what you took.”
“Sleeping pills.”
“How many?” Sirius didn’t answer. “How many did you take?”
“I… A dozen maybe. I don’t know. I’m sorry I didn’t mean to.” Remus took a deep breath, a dozen sleeping pills at least 2 hours ago. He’d likely be okay, sleeping pills on their own typically weren’t horribly dangerous and without a high amount of them even less so. He’d be out for a while though.
“It’s okay, you don’t need to apologize. You’re going to get more sleepy and that’s okay, you can go to sleep, you’re going to be okay. I’ll be here when you wake up and then we can talk about it.” Sirius looked so scared and somehow that was worse than his uncaring attitude the first time even when Remus knew he’d be okay.
“I don’t want to die, I promise I just… I didn’t mean to start taking them, they were just there, and I was so angry and-”
“Sirius.”
“And I just started and I tried not to but I couldn’t stop-”
“Sirius.” He stopped and stared at Remus.
“I believe you. I’m not upset, you’re not in trouble. Why don’t I bring you to the bedroom and we can cuddle up there. I’ll call in a personal day for tomorrow and we’ll talk about this after you sleep the meds off.” Sirius looked at him for a moment.
“Okay.” Remus let out a little sigh and gently scooped him up, carrying him down the hall and to bed. Once he was settled he hesitated for a moment, pulling out his phone to send a quick text. Then he joined Sirius in bed.
“See, it's that easy, I don’t have anything to do tomorrow and I can be here while you sleep it off.” Sirius cuddled up next to him and Remus pulled him into his chest.
“Thank you.”
- - -
Sirius woke up in the early afternoon, seeming groggy but otherwise okay. Remus let him wake up for a little bit and eat before broaching the subject.
“We need to talk about last night.” Sirius looked crestfallen but sat down with him all the same. “I want to say a few things first, is that okay?” Sirius nodded. “First, I’m not upset with you, I want to make that clear. You don’t need to apologize and you’re not in trouble. Second, I know you don’t like when people are constantly watching you or treating you special but you need to understand that it’s very scary to almost lose you like that. So, I’m not going to tell James or Reggie or stay with you so you’re constantly being watched.” He brightened, hope flickering across his face. “But, you do need to promise me that if you ever feel like doing something like that or you have done something like that, you tell me right away. Can you promise?” He nodded.
“I promise.”
- - -
Save me
What's wrong?
Reggie wants to take me to lunch
Hey
That's my job
How dare he
You should tell him that
I would
But
You should go
It's good for you to get out
It'll be fun
And he's worried about you
You're so mean
No kisses for a week
WHAT
NO
You're supposed to be on my side
That's your job
To side with me
I LOVE YOU
IM SORRY
It's too late now
You can't apologize now
TAKE IT BACK
I WANT KISSES
Nope
You should have thought about that
Before you betrayed me
- - -
“You should be paying attention to the road.” Remus gave Sirius a confused look and he rolled his eyes from the passenger seat. “The road, you’re driving and you’re also staring at me.” He sighed.
“But you’re pretty and the road is boring. I stare at it all day at work.” Despite his complaint he did return his full attention to the road, not that it was very busy. Most people had gone home by now so driving home from the restaurant they’d gone to was mostly muscle memory. He settled for placing a hand on Sirius’s thigh while he drove. They drove in mostly silence after that but when he glanced over at Sirius he saw that his cheeks were a bright red and he couldn’t help but grin.
They’d just passed the last median turn about on the highway when police lights flicked on behind them and he grumbled. “Come on, seriously?” Pulling over he put the car in park as the police car stopped behind them.
“What’d you do?” Remus shrugged.
“Who knows. It’s fine though, just routine traffic stop, unless you’re secretly a wanted criminal and you just haven’t told me, in that case we’re fucked.”
“About that…” Sirius tried to bite back a smirk and Remus had to laugh. The officer hopped out of the car behind them with a flashlight and walked up, shining the light right in Remus’s face, temporarily blinding him.
“Licence and registration.”
“Fuck you Marlene!” She laughed and flicked the flashlight off, looking very proud of herself.
“And just as I suspected, you’ve got your boyfriend in the car, this is adorable.” Remus groaned and rubbed his forehead.
“Sirius, meet Marlene, she’s the annoying one I told you about. Marlene, meet Sirius.” She grinned and Sirius gave her a little wave from the passenger seat.
“I figured Lupin would never just introduce us so I decided to stop you guys when I recognised the car.”
“Yeah that fits what I’ve heard about you, it's nice to meet you.” Giving Sirius a scandalized look Remus shook his head.
“Don’t encourage her! If you encourage her she’ll keep doing it!”
- - -
“James wants you to come over for a ‘family sunday dinner.’” Remus hummed softly, not taking his eyes off the road but adjusting the phone’s volume to hear him better.
“Well good morning to you too.”
“Yeah yeah, good morning, but he wants you to come to dinner.” There was a pause. “I think it’s just because if you come then I’ll be more likely to go.” He shrugged, then realized that Sirius couldn’t see him over the phone.
“Probably. Sounds logical at least.” Sirius let out a long sigh.
“Well… I’m not super super opposed. If you wanted to go I could suck it up and socialize for a bit.” Remus had to laugh.
“Heartwarming words to your best friend and brother. I’m sure they’d be thrilled to hear them.”
“Best friend, brother, and nephew.”
‘“You have a nephew?” Sirius hummed.
“Yeah, forgot to mention that I guess, Harry, he’s two and just about the cutest thing.” Remus considered for a minute.
“Well I think it’d be fun to meet James and Reggie again and you can go see Harry if we go.” A pause.
“I suppose. This Sunday? You’re off right?”
“Yeah, this Sunday sounds fine.” Sirius made a small huff of annoyance.
“Fine, I’ll text James. Drive safe please.”
- - -
“Do we have to go?” Sirius was curled on the passenger seat and looking up at Remus with those pleading eyes.
“Yes, we told them we’d go, so we’re going. It’ll be fun.” Sirius continued to pout.
“I don’t believe you.” Remus just sighed softly and returned his attention to driving. It was only a few more minutes until he pulled into the apartment complex where James and Regulus lived. Sirius sat up and tugged at a loose bit of hair that had fallen into his face. “I don’t wanna, it’s going to be awful.”
“Baby, it’s not going to be awful, just take a couple deep breaths. Can you do that?” While he parked Sirius took several deep breaths. “Bit better?” Sirius shrugged.
“Maybe.” He squeezed Sirius’s hand once before he opened his door.
“Come on, it’s just a couple hours, you’ve got this.” Sirius nodded and hopped out of the car, reluctantly following him to the door. Remus didn’t even get a chance to knock before it swung open, a very excited James grinning at them.
“I saw you pull in, come on in. Reg’s still cooking but dinner will be done in a few minutes.” He ushered them in and both quickly toed their shoes off. Sirius glanced into the apartment.
“Is Harry around?”
“In his room playing before dinner, he doesn’t know you’re coming so if you hurry you can surprise him before he comes out to eat.” Sirius practically bolted down the hall and James laughed.
“Figured, doesn’t want a thing to do with me, I’ve just been his friend for 13 years, he wants the kid. Come on, they’ll come out for dinner in a minute.” Remus followed James to the dining room and the attached kitchen where Regulus was busy with food. Excited shrieking came from down the hall and Remus had to grin.
“Well it sounds like he found the kid. It’s good to see you again James by the way.” He just nodded.
“Likewise.” James went to help with food but before he could Regulus stopped him with a gentle hand on his chest.
“Love, you’re sweet and I know you have the very best intentions but if you try to touch my cooking I will, unfortunately, have to kill you.” He gave James a quick kiss before turning to Remus with a smile. “Hi, make yourself at home, dinner will be done in a few minutes.” Remus returned the smile.
“I see the familial resemblance.” Regulus laughed before turning back to the food. Then Sirius reappeared, a small toddler on his hip.
“Dad! Dad! Uncle Padfoots here!” The kid was practically vibrating in excitement and the group laughed.
“I see that buddy, he brought a friend too.” James pointed at Remus who waved.
“Hi! My name’s Remus.” Harry tilted his head inquisitively and studied him for a moment.
“Are you Uncle Padfoot’s boyfriend?” Sirius laughed.
“He is.” Harry’s face immediately brightened and he squirmed until Sirius put him down so he could run over and hug Remus’s legs tightly. When he crouched down to be on Harry’s level he motioned for Remus to come closer like he wanted to tell him a secret. Harry glanced around at the rest of the group to make sure they couldn’t hear in a very serious manner before whispering to Remus.
“Thank you for making him happy again, I don’t like it when he’s sad.” Remus just grinned and ruffled his hair.
“Of course buddy, I’m glad I got to.” With that Harry gave him a crooked grin and ran into the kitchen. Remus straightened and smiled after him.
“What’d he say?” Sirius looked curiously at him and he hesitated for a moment.
“You know, usually I’m against abducting children but I might have to take Harry home with me.”
- - -
“So was that as horrible as you promised me it’d be?” Sirius grumbled and shifted from his position nearly on top of Remus’s chest so he was laying next to him in bed and could see Remus.
“Maybe it wasn’t quite as awful.” Remus raised an eyebrow. “Okay, okay, I had a good time. But only because Harry was there.” Laughing lightly Remus tucked a strand of hair behind Sirius’s ear.
“Only because of Harry?” He nodded seriously.
“Only Harry, honestly the rest of you lot are overrated.” Remus pouted.
“Well if I’m overrated then I should probably go home shouldn’t I?” He went to sit up but Sirius was immediately on top of him, stopping him from moving.
“Okay, okay, you’re not overrated. I’m sorry, I take it back.” Considering for a moment Remus gave him a grin.
“Well my feelings are very hurt by the fact that you think I’m overrated and I think I need a kiss to fix them.” Sirius just laughed and pressed a kiss to Remus’s lips.
“Better?” He frowned.
“No, you should probably give me some more to see if it works then.” Sirius’s laugh was abruptly cut off by Remus pulling him down into a kiss. Sirius fought off a grin and they stayed there for several moments, exchanging kisses until something seemed to occur to Sirius.
“Remus?” He hummed against Sirius’s neck in response. “What did Harry tell you? You never said.” Remus pulled away a bit and considered the question for a moment.
“He said… he said that he doesn’t like when you're sad and thanked me for making you happy again.” Sirius was silent for a while.
“Oh.” There was another pause. “That’s really sweet.” Remus hummed in agreement. “I didn’t realize… I didn’t realize he noticed.”
“You know kids are smarter than we give them credit for.” Sirius nodded and settled comfortably on his chest and they laid in silence for several minutes.
“Well now the kid beat me to it.” Remus, who was nearly asleep, made a confused face.
“Beat you to what?” Sirius propped himself up slightly.
“Thanking you.” Waved a hand dismissively Remus chuckled.
“You thank me all the time, you don’t need to thank me more.” Sirius frowned.
“Well still. Thank you.” He pressed a quick kiss to Remus’s lips. “For making me happy.” Remus hummed and returned the kiss. After a moment a smirk appeared on his face.
“I still like Harry’s thank you more.”
“Fuck you.” They both laughed and settled into a comfortable silence. Sirius nuzzled into his neck sleepily, and Remus smiled happily.
“Sirius?” He didn’t even bother looking up at Remus and just hummed a question into his neck. “You’re welcome.”