Remus
I heard the man next to me on his rocking chair wince in what seemed like pain. I looked over and saw him asleep with my son in his arms. His face however was scrunched up like he was fighting off something, of course he was in pain. I picked up Teddy and carried him out to his room before I returned and lifted the man out of the chair. He was light and definitely hurt.
“Oh Black, what happened to you?” I set him on the bed and I swore I heard a few muscles pop. As he moved in bed readjusting I caught glimpses of scars on his arms and legs, Crucio scars. I felt sick knowing the King had very similar scars.
He turned and let out a pained breath before his body slumped fully into the bed. I sighed and sat in a chair in the corner of the room, far too sore and tired myself to move much more. I watched him for a bit, wondering who this man was and what in the everloving hell happened to him.
Eventually, I did get up and wandered back to my room. After changing, I threw myself onto the bed and let out a grateful groan as all my joints and muscles finally relaxed after the full moon.
——
I woke up to the smell of bacon and something sweet. I shoved my face further into my blankets before I shot up, very confused by the origin of the smell. In front of me, with a sheepish smile, was Black and he was holding a tray with an assortment of breakfast items, including orange juice.
“Good morning, your grace.” He bowed before he set the tray on my nightstand. He was still in his clothes from the day before and the longer I watched him the more I realized they were also far too large for him. “I made breakfast.”
“Oh, Black, you didn’t need to make me breakfast. Thank you though.” I sat up and pulled the tray onto my lap where I looked at the spread. “This looks great.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll have Teddy dressed and up for the day shortly. I’ll make sure he’s fed too. That way you can work.” He folded his hands behind his back, rocking on his feet. He looked like a child scared of doing something wrong.
“I have servants, you know. So you don’t have to work to live here, Sirius. Come sit with me?” I moved a bit over in my bed and gave him room to sit next to me. He looked at the spot and then the door before he slowly moved closer.
“Can I call you Remus?” He sounded so scared and it tugged my heart. He sounded so unloved, I wanted to fix that. I tugged his sleeve and pulled him the rest of the way onto my bed. He looked up at me and I realized I knew nothing of this strange little man.
“You can call me anything you want. Can I ask, can I push a little into your mind? Tell me about yourself? I know only that you’re the King's brother. Tell me about you, and I’ll do the same. I think you could use a friend in this world.” I offered once he relaxed into the pillows.
“My name is Sirius Orion Black. I was the heir to the Black kingdom but I was disowned and kicked out when I was sixteen becauseI was caught sneaking out of a ball with a girl. I was helping her meet with a secret lover. When my brother, the King, got married to the King Consort, they demanded I come back as the heir. Turns out they don’t care about an heir when he turns out to be defective.” He hugged his knees to his chest.
“My father kind of got stuck with a defective heir. I was born a healthy boy, my mother died very young in childbirth. Same as your cousin, massive complications. I got my affliction as a young boy, and I can never lose it or be healed, so he dealt with it. When I turned too old, in his opinion, to stay unwed and heirless, he decided I needed a wife.” I empathized.
“Both sides of the same cloth, I guess. You got Teddy out of it though, so that’s good. You have a lovely home, your son is adorable, and you’ve made it this far in life. You got a good hand after all the troubles.” He eyed the food on my plate and once I got done cutting the French toast I raised a piece of bacon to him which he hesitantly took.
“How about today we go out into the town, get you a lot of new clothes, and pick up a few things you can use to make your room yours, things of that sort? You need a fresh start, I can help, as a friend.” I shuffled some of my food to the side of my plate so he could have some. “I want you to have a friend.”
“You seem like the kind of man who doesn’t need more friends.” He took a small piece of toast. I laughed at his comment before I found myself relaxing next to him. It was hard for me to find myself at ease with someone so new, but with him it felt like breathing.
“Oh yeah, I have loads.” I joked. “But I can always use more, and I’m sure my friends would agree we’d love to have you join us. Besides, maybe you and your brother can get caught up. I grew up with the king’s consort, which is why my issue is legal to have now, because he is my friend. Your brother is a great man for him; he brought out his logical side. You would really like hanging out with all of them.”
“You want me, a man without a name or title, to hang out with the kings? Maybe you’re as crazy as me Remus.” He took another piece of toast, his body also relaxing.
“It’s okay, Sirius. If we are both crazy, Teddy is going to be batshit. I mean it though, all of it. I would like to be your friend and get to know you. Especially because you will be living here.” I finished my portion of the breakfast.
“Thank you for the offer, Remus. I will consider it.” He smiled. We fell into a calm silence before the sound of my son crying brought us back out. “I’ll get him, you have work as a Duke I would assume. Go get ready for your day, I’ll make sure Teddy is all taken care of for his papa.”