Nothing New

Sirius went out to party after that. No more house parties. He was always careful to be quiet when he came home, lest he risk the wrath of the hottie next door, or ‘Angry Daddy’ as his friends had named him. He hadn’t seen him since, but the day after the party, he’d left a note and a bar of chocolate as an apology and given him his phone number in case he was ever too loud again.

Angry Daddy had messaged him exactly once to thank him for the chocolate. When Sirius replied to ask if they were feeling ok after not sleeping well, he had been left on read.

After spending four hours in a club dancing with various men who were clearly thrilled to be dancing with Sirius Black, he was tired. Two of them had tried to kiss him, and one almost got a good feel of his crotch before Sirius pushed him away. They never liked being told no, Sirius had found. It was like they thought that he was public property so he owed it to them, somehow. He loved making music, or he used to, anyway, but the stuff that went along with it really sucked sometimes.

It wasn’t until he’d crept along the hallway to his door that he realised that he didn’t have his key. He swore under his breath. He walked to the lift vestibule and called Reg. It went straight to voicemail. He tried again. Still straight to voicemail. He fired off two texts.

Uncle Padfoot

Don’t suppose you’re still awake? I locked myself out!
Please be awake!
I’m gonna keep trying Reg, but please call me when you’re awake!

Twat

You know how I’m your favourite brother?
I’m locked out of my flat.
Any chance you can bring me my spare key?
Please.
I refuse to believe you’re sleeping, you’re nocturnal!
Reg!!!!
Reginald!

He could sit in the hallway outside his door, but the January night was well and truly living up to the hype and it was bloody cold, and his leather jacket, while very aesthetically pleasing, wasn’t exactly the pinnacle of warmth. He had one option, and he knew he really shouldn’t. He opened the thread of two messages. He wasn’t going to do this, surely?

Sirius. No. 6. Arsehole.

heyyyyyyy 😊😊
Don’t suppose you’re still awake?
I may have locked myself out. 🥴

It didn’t look like he was going to reply. Of course he’d be asleep. He had a kid, he had to seize any opportunity to sleep probably. Sirius didn’t know how it worked as kids got older. His kid looked a bit older than Harry, perhaps. But it was probably the same.

Just as he was about to accept his chilly fate, he heard the door next to his unlock. The man poked his head into the hallway and looked around until he spotted Sirius sitting on the floor. Sirius thought the man nearly smiled.

“Alright?” He asked quietly. “Need a locksmith?”

“Nah, my brothers both have spare keys, but they’re both asleep because they’re responsible adults.” Sirius paused, “Not that you’re not, but—”

The man waved his hand, “It’s cold out here.” Sirius nodded, trying not to shiver, either from the cold or from the man’s gaze. “Want to wait in here until one of them wakes up?”

“Would you mind? I have no idea how long they’ll be. It could be… hours.” Sirius got to his feet slowly and took in his neighbour. He’d opted for a soft looking navy jumper with purple pyjama bottoms this time, and red socks with little pink hearts on them. “I’ll be fine out here, it’s fine. Sorry.”

“For fucks sake. It’s freezing, would you just come in?” He said, opening the door wider so Sirius could squeeze past him. “Be quiet though. My kid’s asleep and if you wake him up I might have to murder you.” He suddenly realised how that would sound coming from a complete stranger. “I’m not going to— to murder you. Just… shh.”

Sirius mimed zipping his mouth shut as he followed the man, whose name he still did not know, into his flat. It was cosier than Sirius’. More lived in. Presumably because it had been more lived in. He looked at the pictures on the walls. Mostly the man and his son, with a few other people. A few with the two of them and a woman, who he assumed could be the kid’s mum. Sirius got the feeling that she didn’t live in the flat with them, but he wasn’t about to ask.

He followed him into the living room and smiled when he saw how homey it was. He really needed to decorate more. The man gestured to the sofa and Sirius sat down.

“Would you like a drink?” He asked quietly. “I was just making tea.”

Sirius was still fairly tipsy. Maybe tea would help. “Yeah, I’d love a cuppa please.”

“Milk? Sugar?”

“Yes, and two, please.” He kicked his shoes off, realising that maybe he should have done that by the door, and tucked his legs under him and got comfy. He checked his phone. Nothing. He still had 42% battery somehow, so at least his phone wouldn’t die.

Uncle Padfoot

I’m sitting in my neighbour’s living room.
Yes. THAT neighbour.
So if I’m never heard from again, he’s suspect number 1.
His kid is suspect number 2!
He’s actually making me tea rn
I don’t know his name James
Also he’s cute af
Pls send help
Pls wake up

“Here.” The man set the tea in front of him before sitting in the plush armchair opposite him, crossing his legs like he was a child. “Any news?”

“No.” Sirius frowned, “Thank you, for letting me wait here. I really appreciate it.”

“Not a problem. I was a bit rude the first time we met. I don’t make a habit of telling people to shut the fuck up when I meet them, generally.”

“We woke up your son. I think it was justified. I’m sorry about that, by the way. I really didn’t think anyone would hear.” He picked up the steaming mug and held it on his knee. “You never told me your name.”

“Oh.” The man said, as if trying to think whether he had or not. “It’s Remus.”

“Remus?” Sirius smiled. “Do you—”

“Only child, before you ask.”

“Ah, you get that a lot.” He nodded, “It’s fine, people think I’m called serious, or that I’m telling them that I’m serious. Did you give your son an easier name?”

“Edward.” Remus smiled for the first time. “We call him Teddy.”

“Oh, that’s cute!” Sirius felt a weird warmth blossom in his chest and willed it to go away. He didn’t miss the we, though. “Remus and Teddy. Suits you, weirdly. Is it just the two of you, here?”

Remus nodded, “Yeah, just me and Ted. I won’t bore you with the ins and outs of my divorce, don’t worry.”

“Ah. Sorry to bring it up.” Sirius sipped his tea. It was perfect. “This tea is perfect.” Not a great job of changing the subject. “So, Have you lived here long?”

“Almost five years now.” Remus’ face was unreadable. Sirius realised this had been his marital home, conflicting feelings would be normal. “Debated moving once, but I love it here.”

“That bodes well.” It suddenly occurred to Sirius that Remus was treating him like a normal human being. They were just having a conversation. He wasn’t being fawned over, or gushed at or looked at like he was a piece of meat. Remus didn’t know who he was.

“So, is it just you next door?” Remus asked.

“Yeah. Messy breakup. New start.” He mumbled. “It’s nice here. I like it much better than where I was before.”

“Good.” Remus said, sipping his tea. “The couple that lived there before you were… different.”

“Different?” Sirius was intrigued.

“Well now I’ve made myself sound like a gossipy bitch.” Sirius laughed, then covered his mouth, looking towards where he knew the bedrooms were. “If you wake him up, you can deal with his cranky arse.”

“Sorry.” Sirius pulled an awkward face. “I just stayed at my mates’ house for a couple of months and their son is 20 months. I should be used to being quiet.”

“And yet…”
“And yet.” Sirius agreed. “So, the couple that lived here before me.”

“Ugh. Fine. Well one of them was a cricketer, he was alright actually, but his husband was a full on conspiracy theorist. Moon landing, JFK, HIV, COVID, vaccines, 5G, almond milk. It was terrifying honestly. Then it swung into full on bigotry. I used to listen to the hallway before I left the flat towards the end because if he was anywhere near, he’d jump out and talk at you, even if you said you have somewhere to be. Even if Teddy was with me, like, no offence, mate. Well, no, full offence, but I don’t need my kid listening to your bullshit. He’s only two and a half but he’s a fucking sponge, y’know.”

“You’re a lot nicer when you’re not shouting at me from the hallway.” Sirius’ cheeks flushed, he hadn’t meant to say that out loud. “Sorry, I mean—”

“You’re a lot more tolerable when you’re only slightly drunk and not keeping me and my kid awake.” Remus shrugged.

“Wait, why aren’t you asleep?” Sirius realised that it must be almost three am now.

“Insomnia. Chronic pain shit.”

“Ah, I’m sorry.” Sirius nodded, “That sucks.”

“It really does,” Remus laughed, “Thank you for not… I don’t know, asking me if I’d tried yoga or chamomile tea.”

“My only recommendation probably wouldn't work for you and I know better than to share it unsolicited.”

“Weed?” Sirius nodded feeling suddenly quite called out and a little vulnerable that Remus had read him so easily, “That’s how I got through my twenties, pretty much. I could get a prescription now if I wanted it, but I’ve tried a few times since Teddy was born and it just made me really anxious.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Sirius said, “I thought my friends had it hard with Harry, but theres two of them! I can’t imagine being responsible for a whole other person alone.”

Remus suspected that was a compliment, so he just nodded, “I didn’t have a lot of say in the matter, but equally, I wouldn’t change anything now. He’s amazing. He’s so clever. He’s been learning to count recently. I swear yesterday he was just an angry little potato, and now he’s an actual person.”

Remus gushing about his son had no business being as hot as it was. Sirius was mad at himself for even thinking it. Plus the man was clearly straight. Wife and kid. Well, ex-wife and kid. Also, Sirius wasn’t about to be a stepdad. That was definitely not on the agenda. Fuck, why was he thinking about being the kid’s stepdad? He’d seen Teddy once, for fucks sake. Not to mention, whenever he got back into writing, his career wasn’t exactly compatible with domestic bliss. And oh, now he was spiralling, thinking about co-parenting a child he couldn’t pick out in a lineup with a man who… was still talking to him. Fuck. He hadn’t been listening. Remus was going to think he was rude and—

“Sirius?” Remus said softly.

“Huh?”

“You alright? You zoned out for a minute.” He looked a little concerned.

Sirius shook his head vigorously To snap himself out of it. “Yeah, sorry, I’m fine. Got lost in my head for a moment. What were you saying?”

Remus tilted his head slightly, clearly not convinced he was ok. “I was just talking about Ted. Doesn’t matter. You sure you’re alright?”

Sirius nodded, “Yeah, it happens sometimes.”

Remus still didn’t look convinced. “What do you do for work?”

“Oh, uh, I… write songs.” It wasn’t technically a lie. “Having a bit of a break at the moment.”

“Break up influencing you too much?” Remus chuckled. “When I was divorcing my ex, I had to stop writing for a bit because everything got too dark, and I don’t tend to write dark stuff. Makes me spiral.”

“You write?”

“Oh, yeah. Romance novels.” Remus shrugged. Explicit, gay, romance novels would be the full truth, but he didn’t know Sirius that well yet, he could be a raging homophobe for all Remus knew.

“Anything I might have read?” He asked.

“Oh, probably not. They’re fairly niche.”

Sirius swore that Remus was blushing and he was captivated. “You enjoy it?”

“Most of the time. Sometimes it’s frustrating, but it lets me have as much time for Teddy as I need.” He smiled, “What about you? You like writing songs?”

Sirius did like writing songs, it was everything else that went along with it that was so disenchanting at the moment. “Yeah, always have. Since I was tiny. My mother, absolute nightmare that she is, decided that I’d start piano lessons when I was two.” Remus thought about someone trying to teach Teddy piano and grimaced, “Exactly. But once I got away from all the flashy classical stuff and writing my own music, I loved it. Of course, I wasn’t allowed to do that when my parents were home.”

“No? That doesn’t sound healthy.”

“Oh, Remus. You have no idea.” He laughed humourlessly. “I left when I was sixteen and my mate James’ parents all but adopted me, they’re my true parents. James is one of the brothers I mentioned who has a key and a reasonable sleep schedule, despite having a fucking baby. That’s all a long depressing story, though.”

“Wow, sorry about your parents.” Remus said quietly. “So you still play piano? Should I invest in noise cancelling headphones?”

“I’m getting a bunch of soundproofing installed next week. I meant to text you about that and tell you, shit sorry. On Thursday. It’ll probably be loud for a few hours, but after that you probably couldn’t hear if I was getting murdered.” Sirius paused, “Maybe I should reconsider.”

“Oh.” Remus was smiling at him, “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I like playing piano when I can’t sleep. Or guitar. Lucky for you, I’ve never taken up the drums.” Remus laughed, “I like living here and I don’t want to piss off my neighbours any more than I already have.”

“Well, I appreciate it. Thank you.” Remus put down his mug, “Have you written any hits? Anything I’d have heard?”

Well the obvious answer and objective truth was yes. Before becoming an artist in his own right, he’d written for a lot of big artists. So he decided to omit his own songs, and focus on the others. “I wrote Dear John for Emmeline, uh, Follow Me Home for MarlyMc…”

“Damn.” Remus’ eyes were wide, “I have heard them. You’re good! I’m honestly useless at following new music. I still listen to all the emo bands from when we were teenagers. And Taylor Swift.”

“You’re a Swiftie?” Sirius laughed, forgetting they were supposed to be quiet.

“I’m not a huge fan of her as a person, but I love her music.” He shrugged, then froze as a small voice came from the other side of the flat.

“Daddy!”

“Oh fuck.” He frowned.

“I’m so sorry,” Sirius winced, “I forgot.”

Remus sighed, but still looked a little annoyed. “It’s fine. Excuse me.”
As he left the room, Sirius picked up his phone and sighed, relieved.

Reginald the First

Of course you’re locked out.
Do you still need the key?
Sirius?
I hope you’re sleeping rather than dead.

Twat

Sorry! I’m at my neighbour’s flat keeping warm and lost track of time
I do need my key
Can you bring it? Sorry, I know it’s ridiculous o clock

Reginald the FirstBarty says you owe us one and I’m inclined to agree.
Be there in about half an hour

Twat

I def owe you one.
Thank you
Love you both

Remus came back into the room with Teddy on his hip.

“Teddy, this is Sirius, he lives next door.” Teddy looked at him suspiciously before turning his head back into his dad’s neck. “Sirius, this is Teddy, my kid.”

“Hi Teddy, it’s nice to meet you. Your dad told me so much about you.” Remus raised an eyebrow, “Well, a little bit about you. I just moved in next door and I’ve woken you up twice now. I’m really sorry.”

Teddy lifted his head again, still looking suspicious. “See-ryus? Thats a weird name.”

“Teddy, that’s rude.” Remus looked at him. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine. It is a weird name, to be fair. My brother is called Regulus Arcturus.”

“You’re kidding?” Sirius shook his head, “Wow, that’s… something. If I wrote a character with that name, people would say it was unrealistic.”

“Speaking of Reg. He’s on his way over, so I’ll be out of your hair soon.” He smiled, “Thank you, again.”

“Other than you waking up Teddy again, you’re welcome.” He looked at Sirius’ worried face. “I’m joking. You’re fine. It would have been shit to walk out of my front door tomorrow morning and find you frozen to death.”

Sirius relaxed, “Yeah that would be pretty shit, you’re right.”

“You played music too loud.” Teddy frowned.

“I did!” Sirius said, “And it woke you up, didn’t it?” Teddy nodded, “I’m sorry. I’m getting some special things stuck on my wall so that when I play music you won’t be able to hear it.”

“Can I see?” Remus rolled his eyes at his son.

“I don’t think they’ll be very fun to look at, but of course. When it’s done, you and your dad can come over, ok?”

“Ok.” Teddy smiled at him, and he melted a little bit. “Daddy, can I have toast?”

“It’s not time to get up yet, Teddy bach.” He shifted him on his hip, “We’re going to get you some water and then you’re going to sleep some more.”

“I’m not tired.” Teddy rubbed his eyes.

“Ok, then you can play quietly in your room until it’s time to get up, ok?” Teddy frowned, then nodded. “Alright, let’s get you some water then.”

Remus disappeared into the kitchen and he could hear him talking to Teddy in a soft voice, but not what he was saying. His accent was captivating, Sirius suspected it was Welsh, but it wasn’t very strong, maybe from living in England for so long. Sirius wanted to take him to Wales to see it blossom again. What the fuck was that thought? He really needed to sleep. He willed Reg to hurry up.

Twat

Please tell me you’re close
My neighbour is hot
But he’s holding his kid
And I’m a mess

Reginald the First

We’re parking, chill the fuck out.
You’re such a fucking mess
Can’t wait to meet him in a minute

Twat

That is absolutely not happening.
I’ll meet you by the lift.
Reg
REG

He poked his head into the kitchen and repressed a gasp. Everything was pink. It looked like a kitchen would look at Trixie Motel in Palm Springs, and Sirius was obsessed.

“I like pink.” Remus said at the look on his face.

“I can see that. It’s beautiful!”
Remus seemed to be expecting Sirius to make fun of him, he paused. “Thank you”

“My brother’s here, so I’m going to go. Thanks again for—” He was cut off by a knock at the door. “I’m so sorry. At least Teddy’s already awake.” He looked to the door. “I’m just going to apologise in advance for my brother and his boyfriend. They can be a lot.”

Remus couldn’t tell his this was Sirius being homophobic or not, so he just nodded as Sirius headed to the door. “You’re welcome.” He followed him, Teddy still on his hip, almost asleep.

Sirius opened the door and Remus was surprised to see a man who looked very similar to Sirius, but with shorter hair and darker eyes, and a man with short dark curls and wild green eyes and snakebite piercings, in 2024. “I said I’d meet you by the lifts.” Sirius grumbled.

“Oh, sorry. I left my phone in the car.” Sirius’ brother, Regulus, said with a sly smile. “He looked past Sirius to where Remus stood with Teddy and nodded, approvingly almost. “Hello. I’m Reg, Sirius’ brother. Sorry he’s been a pain in the arse.”

“You don’t need to apologise for me, you prick!” Sirius frowned, “Sorry Remus, we’ll go now. Thank you again.”

“Hi Reg, I’m Remus and this is Teddy. Your brother’s loud, but not a pain in the arse.”

“Not yet,” Barty said under his breath with a grin, and Sirius fought the urge to smack him.

“This is Barty. He’s an asshole.” Sirius said through gritted teeth.

“Feeling’s mutual, darling.” Barty said. “Hi, Remus and Teddy!”

Remus was very amused at how this had played out. Sirius had been, well, serious about the two of them being a lot. “Hi. Do you want to say hi, Ted?” Ted shook his head against Remus’ shoulder. “I should get him back to bed.”

“Yes, sorry!” Sirius said. “We’ll go. Thank you, Remus. Truly.” His eyes lingered on Remus’ for a moment.

“No problem, Sirius.” He smiled. “See you soon.”

“See you. Bye Teddy!” Teddy waved a pudgy hand in his direction, not lifting his head. Sirius smiled as he closed the door behind him.

Regulus handed him the key and he let them into his flat.

“He’s cute!” Reg said. “Teddy’s mum in the picture?”

“Divorced.” Sirius said. “Also, he doesn’t seem to know who I am.”

“Bet you love that,” Barty said. “What does he do?”

“What is this a job interview?” Sirius said, “He writes romance novels.”

“Oh my god.” Reg laughed, “Well this is a Hallmark movie waiting to happen.”