London Boy

The next time he saw Remus, Sirius was a mess. Lily and James had gone up to Edinburgh for the weekend for some educator’s event and Sirius had volunteered to look after Harry. It wasn’t a chore. He adored Harry. He was about to turn eight and had lots of opinions about everything. He was the best parts of his mum and dad, and Sirius doted on him. Spoiled him, really. So when Harry said that he wanted to go ice skating for the first time, Sirius said ‘Of course’.

When Harry was inevitably awful at ice skating, like Bambi on ice, Sirius had some regrets. When Harry fell and he heard an almighty crunch, he had a lot of regrets. Harry just looked at him for a moment, and then he let out a terrifying sob.

Sirius dashed towards Harry and looked at his arm. His hand flopped sadly. Yeah, that was a broken wrist. He took off his scarf and made a makeshift sling, apologising every time he had to touch Harry’s arm.

“Do you think you can walk, or shall I carry you?” Sirius asked once he’d lifted Harry to his feet slowly.

Harry’s lip trembled, he didn’t want to ask to be carried, but his arm hurt so much that he couldn’t think. He just nodded, and Sirius gently scooped onto his hip, avoiding his arm making contact with anything, and took him to take his skates off.

A member of the ice rink staff rushed towards them with a tiny first aid kit. “Is he alright? Should I call an ambulance?” She was panting, clearly having run from wherever they kept the first aid supplies.

Sirius looked at the scarf tied around Harry, to remove it and use a proper sling would cause him more pain, and not have much, if any, benefit. “No, it’s ok. I’m first aid trained. Could you just watch him while I grab our shoes?” She nodded, and Sirius unlaced his skates and then Harry’s, before taking them back to the counter and getting their shoes back. He slipped Harry’s shoes on his feet before lacing up his Doc Martens. “Right, let’s get you to the hospital, spud.”

He put on a brave face for Harry, who was whimpering in the back of his car, but inside Sirius was screaming. Why had he thought taking Harry to an ice rink was a good idea? What was he supposed to tell Lily and James? His knuckles were white as he turned into the hospital car park.

“Hi, my nephew fell at the ice rink and his wrist looks broken.” He said to Caradoc, who nodded. He gave Harry’s information, he was listed as a guardian and had been for years, and before they could sit back down, a familiar voice called Harry’s name.

Harry clung to Sirius with his good arm, “Come on spud, let’s get you fixed up.”

“London boy! You’re back!” Remus grinned before looking down at Harry. Sirius was rendered speechless. “And you must be Harry,” He crouched down to Harry’s level. “My name’s Remus, I hear you had a tumble on the ice?”

Harry nodded and sniffled slightly, “My arm hurts.”

“Harry, it’s ok, this is Remus, he glued my arm together last month when I cut it open.” Harry looked up at him, still not convinced anything was ok.

“This is a very fancy sling you’ve got.” Remus smiled, admiring the soft navy scarf looped around Harry, “Let’s get you looked at and then you’ll need an X-ray. Do you know what an X-Ray is?”

“Where they take a photo of your bones!” Harry said confidently.

“Are you sure you’re only seven?” He made a point of checking the chart. “You’re very clever. You’re not in medical school are you?”

“I’m almost eight, actually!”

“Right, you are. Come on, follow me.”

He stood up and led them to the same room that Sirius had been in the last time. He pulled out a step stool and helped Harry onto the bed.

“You’re going to touch my arm, aren’t you?” Harry said, eyes welling up.

“Yes, I am, Harry. It looks broken to me, so I’ll be super quick, I promise. I just need to check your details and make sure you’re not allergic to anything and then I’ll do a tiny examination, give you something to help with the pain, and then we’ll get you off to X-ray, alright?” Remus smiled apologetically at Harry, “You’re being so brave, pwt.”

He moved to the computer and ran through Harry’s details quickly, confirming how the injury happened and that he hadn’t hit his head.

“You didn’t mention that you have a kid.” He said quietly. “He’s sharp!”

Sirius spluttered, “He’s not mine! Jesus! I’m not responsible enough to have a kid. Take this visit to A&E as proof. He’s my godson, nephew, both, I guess. He’s a good kid. But, ah, no. No kids for me, thanks.”

Remus nodded tightly, “Right. Sorry to have assumed.”

“No, it’s fine. I love him like he’s mine. I'm just not dad material.” He looked over at Harry. “Think your parents will let me babysit you again, spud?”

“Yeah, at least I didn’t hit my head this time.” He pulled back the hair that hung over his forehead and revealed a pink scar shaped almost like a lightning bolt.

“Iesu Mawredd!” Remus exclaimed, “What did you do, Harry?”

“Padfoot took me to an indoor playground and I head-butted the slide.” Remus mouthed Padfoot, confused, looking at Sirius who pointed to himself.

“You weren’t supposed to throw yourself down it headfirst! They had to take all the balls out of the ball pit and hose them down.” Sirius groaned, “That wasn’t my fault.”

“And this was?” Said Remus, opening the medicine cabinet.

“Well, unless you count being unable to say no to the little bugger, then no?” He realised he was shaking.

“Are you alright?” Remus looked at him concerned. “Have you called his parents yet?”

Sirius froze. He’d intended to do it while they were waiting to be triaged, but then they’d been seen right away.

“Have a sit down here and give them a call. I’m going to pop a cannula in Harry’s arm and give him some morphine. If it is a broken wrist, which let’s be real, it is, he’ll need surgery to set it and a cast, and he’ll definitely be in overnight. If there’s anything else they want to know, give me a shout. I’m happy to talk to them.”

“Thank you.” Sirius sat down and pulled out his phone as Remus went back to Harry. He was so good with him, Sirius thought. He remembered the ring around his neck, but why was a man being kind to Harry so damn attractive. He shook himself out of it and dialled James’ number.

“What did you do now, Sirius?” James said when he picked up.

“Well…” He took a deep breath. “I took Harry ice skating.”

Silence on the other end of the line, then, “You sound upset. Are you alright? Is Harry alright?”

“He’s ok. You don’t need to panic, but... he fell on the ice, and it looks like he’s broken his wrist. We’re at the hospital now. He’s in the best hands.” His eyes involuntarily snapped to Remus’ hands, preparing the syringe of morphine. “He's going to be fine. I’m so sorry.”

“Oh shit!” James sounded panicked, “Let me get Lils. One sec.” He heard James explain the situation to her and put the phone on speaker.

“Sirius?”

“I’m here.” He said quietly.

“What’s happening?” Lily asked shakily. “Is he ok?”

“He’s alright. He’s currently lying on a hospital bed, about to get some painkillers before we head up to X-ray. Same nurse that patched my arm up last month, actually.”

“Oh really?” James said, “Are you sure you didn’t plan this?” Fucking James. So maybe he’d had a little rant about how cute Remus was once he got home. Still.

“Yes, mate I absolutely tripped your kid just to put him in the hospital.” He rolled his eyes, “Get a grip, Prongs.”

“Are you ok, Sirius?” Lily asked.

“I’m fine, just can’t believe he ended up hurt on my watch again,” he bit his lip.

“None of that, he loves spending time with you. He’s a kid, they bounce.” Lily tried to chuckle but it was fairly hollow.

“Yeah, yeah of course.” Sirius was kicking himself for making it about himself. “He’s as clumsy as his dad.”

“Tell me about it! Can I speak to him?” Lily asked.

“If I put you on speaker, you need to behave,” Sirius warned, not missing the way Remus’ eyebrow quirked at this.

“You want to speak to mum and dad?” Sirius crossed the room and put the call on speakerphone.

“I fell!” Harry cried. “My arm hurts!”

“So much for reassuring them he’s ok,” Sirius mumbled.

“Normal reaction, don’t worry.” Remus smiled up at him. “Painkillers should kick in very soon.”

“You’re in the best place, Harry. They’re going to take really good care of you. We’ll be home as soon as we can, I promise.” James said. “In the meantime, Padfoot’s got you. You’re going to be fine.”

“Ok.” Harry sniffed, “Can I have ice cream?”

“Not right now, spud. You might need surgery, and you need an empty tummy for that. But as soon as you’re allowed, of course, you can have ice cream.”

“Why do we leave him with you, really?” Lily laughed.

“Because we both need babysitting, obviously,” Sirius said. “Call me if you need me, I’ll have my phone on me.”

“Alright. Lily’s looking at flights now, we’ll let you know when we have a plan. Thanks for letting us know, and for being there for him.”

“You got it. Love you both.”

“Love you too, Pads.”, “Love you, Sirius.” James and Lily chorused as they hung up.

“You’ll probably feel a bit funny as the painkillers kick in, Harry.” Remus said, “If you feel itchy, or you suddenly feel sick or bad in any way, you give me a shout, ok?” Harry nodded, “Good lad. Now, I’m sorry about this but I need to examine your wrist.”

“You want me to hold your hand, so you can squeeze if it hurts too much? Transfer some of the pain over to me.” Sirius crouched next to the bed and took Harry’s good hand. “You’ll be alright, don’t worry. Remus will be quick.”

Sirius had to hold back tears as Remus examined Harry’s wrist. True to his word, he was quick, but Harry’s screams of pain went right through him. Remus was reassuring Harry softly, and Sirius’ brain was addled. Maybe this was a sign of getting old, one of those biological clock things, where he suddenly saw men who were good with kids and his brain was like ‘Let's have a baby’. Or not, maybe it was just because he knew he couldn’t have Remus. That was probably it.

When Remus was done, he confirmed that it was indeed broken, and then he left them for a few minutes to call the radiology department.

“You’re being so brave, Harry.” Sirius perched himself on the edge of the bed. “Has the medicine kicked in yet?”

Harry’s eyes were slightly glassy, so Sirius guessed that it was getting there. “Yeah, I think so, maybe.” He mumbled, “It hurts less, I think.”

“That’s good.” He said, “Is there anything I can do for you? I’ll pop home later and grab some stuff because we’ll need to stay overnight. What do you want from home?”

“My switch!” Harry said immediately. Of course. “Comfy pyjamas, Hedwig.” Hedwig was a stuffed owl that Sirius had bought Harry when he was born. He still slept with it every night. Even though the once white fur was now a murky grey.

“Alright, spud. You got it.”

Remus rushed back into the room, “They’re ready for you up in X-Ray now. I told them how brave you were and they insisted that you jump the queue. Right. Let’s get you in a wheelchair, Harry.”

“It’s my arm that’s broken, not my legs!” He said indignantly.

“That’s true, but your body is currently so confused because of all the pain that it’s processing, and that’s going to tire you out ever so quickly, so we’ll wheel you about so you don’t fall asleep right in the middle of the corridor.”

“I would never!”

“Harry, get in the chair!” Sirius laughed as he lifted Harry from the bed and plopped him into the waiting chair. “Can I push him?”

“Be my guest. But maybe try not to injure him on this excursion.” Remus said with a smirk.

Remus walked with them up to X-ray, making sure that they were being seen to before heading back down to A&E.

“He was nice,” Harry said groggily.

“Yeah, he was, wasn’t he?” Sirius muttered.

🌙✨🌙✨🌙

To everyone’s delight, Remus met them out of X-ray and took them to the children’s ward. He got Harry set up on a bed and made sure there was a chair for Sirius.

“I’ll let them know that you’ll need a fold-away bed for tonight when I go past the nurses’ station.” He smiled, “Doctor should be along soon and hopefully he’ll get him in surgery as soon as he can.”

“Thank you, Remus. His parents managed to book a flight last minute so they should be back this evening, but I’ll stay if not.”

“You’re welcome, London Boy.” Remus winked at him and turned back to Harry. “I have to get back to A&E, Harry. It was good to meet you. Make sure you keep Sirius in line while you’re here, ok? I don’t need to be glueing up any more of his injuries.”

Harry nodded, his eyes closing, “Thanks… Moony.”

“Moony?” Remus turned to Sirius, who shrugged.

“No idea.”

“Alright then, hope everything goes well.”

“Thanks.” Sirius grinned at him, “See you, Moony.”

Remus rolled his eyes and laughed as he left the ward. When he got back down to A&E Dorcas was waiting for him so they could clock out together.

“Do I need to ask where you’ve been?” She asked.

“I was practising good patient care, thank you.” He pulled the scrub top over his head and threw it in the laundry basket. “He’s a nice guy, that’s all.”

“Hmm, I’m sure.” She pursed her lips.

“Dor, he’s hot, but I don’t want to date. I’m not ready. I thought I was, but, I’m not.” He sighed as he grabbed his backpack. “My parents didn’t take it well. I know, I know. They just want me to be happy. They remember how happy I was before and think that finding someone else will bring that part of me back.”

“Oh Re. I’m sorry, Blodyn.” Dorcas shook her braids out of the plait. “I didn’t know that’s where you were at. I take it back.”

“It’s fine. It is what it is. I’m sure I’ll be ready someday, but while Ted’s so young, I want to focus on him.” He smiled sadly.

“Teddy with his mam-gu on Saturday?”

“Yeah, she keeps asking me to stay for lunch and I just can’t. Again, I know they mean well, but her face is all over that house. It’s lovely for Teddy to see, but it makes me feel like I need to claw my way out of my skin. I don’t know.” He shrugged, “Why do you ask?”

“Me and Marls are going to drag brunch if you fancy it?”

Remus almost automatically said no, but the alternative was driving back to his empty house and probably being miserable on his own for a few hours. “That actually sounds really good.”

“I’ll text you the details when I get home. Marlene will be chuffed, she said she feels like she hasn’t seen you in ages.”

“Can’t wait, del. Thank you.” He gave her a quick hug before rushing out of the door. He was already late to pick up Teddy from his parents’ house.

🌙✨🌙✨🌙

Sirius was back at the hospital within a month, with a burn covering the back of his left hand.

“London Boy!” He grinned as Remus called him through, “Do we need to get you one of those stamp cards like you get in the Costa?”

“Moony! How do I get my Frequent Flyer’s bonus?” Sirius laughed, “I may have taken off a glove and forgotten about it until I caught my hand on the siding of a barn that had just been on fire.”

“Oh, shit.” Remus looked down at his hand, “Well that looks sore. Can you move your fingers?”

“Yes, but it hurts like a bitch.” Sirius grimaced.

“You’re going to hate me, but it needs cleaning, and it’s going to hurt, del.”

Sirius made a mental note to look up ‘del’ as soon as he was out of there. “After how good you were with Harry, I don’t think I could ever hate you.”

Remus smiled, “How is he doing? Gone stir crazy yet?”

“He’s annoyed that the school won’t let him go outside at playtime, but other than that, he’s good. His cast should come off in a couple of weeks.”

“Lovely!” He said, “Oh, Sirius, your tattoo!”

Sirius frowned, “I imagine that isn’t going to be as easy to fix as my other one?”

“I think it’s probably gone for good, sorry.” Remus patted him on the shoulder and a blaze of… something, shot down Sirius’ spine. “The skin is… well, for want of a better word, it’s fucked, love.”

Sirius laughed, “Is that how you offer all diagnoses?”

“Only to my favourite patients who I know won't report me.” He winked and Sirius hoped Remus didn’t need to take his blood pressure because he was sure that it was through the roof now. “Alright. It’s time. I really am sorry. Maybe Harry will take you for ice cream when it’s done.”

“You’re a right shit, you know that?” Sirius winced as Remus started to clean the burn, quickly gritting his teeth so he wouldn’t scream.

“You’re doing so well, del. Keep breathing, that’s it.” Remus said after a short while. “We’re almost done, I promise.” When he was done cleaning it and Sirius felt like he could breathe again, he gently wrapped a gauze bandage around his hand, holding a soft pad in place over the burn. “You’ll need to come back here every other day for about two weeks so we can change the dressing. If it’s more convenient, your GP can arrange for it to be done there.”

“No,” Sirius said quickly, “I’ll come here. It’s on my way to work anyway. I imagine I’m back on light duties?”

“Oh, you’re a fast learner!” Remus teased, “I’ll get you your doctor’s note. Would you like a sticker as well?”

🌙✨🌙✨🌙

“You hurt your hand!” Harry yelled after answering the door, “We’re twins!”

“Yep!” Sirius ruffled Harry’s already messy hair, “I wanted us to match.”

“What did you do?” Harry stared at his hand warily as Sirius shut the door behind them.

“Touched some hot metal without my glove on, it was pretty gnarly. I’m going to need a new tattoo, because my old one is,” Don’t say fucked, do not say fucked, he willed himself. “uh, crispy.”

“Disgusting!” Harry pulled a face. “I’ll draw you a new one when it’s all better!”

“I’d love that, thanks spud.” He looked past him, “Where are they?”

“In the garden. Mum found some fly spit on her rosemary or something. I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Can we play football?”

“We have two limbs out of commission between us. No, we can’t.” Sirius chuckled as his godson groaned, “Hey, only another couple of weeks, you’re more than halfway now.”

“Did you see the nice nurse again?” Harry asked as they walked through the kitchen to the back door.

“I did! He cleaned my hand and bandaged it up for me. He asked how you were.” Sirius grabbed a beer from the fridge as they passed it.

“He was nice. I liked him.” Harry nodded solemnly. “You should marry him.”

Sirius coughed, “What?”

“Mum says you have shit taste in men.” Harry said, “And the nurse is nice, and you seemed like friends. So, you should marry him.”

“I don’t think so.” Sirius opened the back door. “Also, don’t say shit!”

“But—”

“Oi, what’s this you’ve been saying about me having shit taste in men?” Sirius called across the garden.

Lily stood up from where she’d been crouching next to her herbs with a grin on her face. “You deny it?”

“Not necessarily, but Harry seems to think I need to marry the hot nurse.”

“The hot nurse?” Harry cackled, sounding just like his mum. “You fancy him!”

Sirius made eye contact with James, begging him to intervene. “Maybe don’t marry him, but you could see if he wants to go for a drink.”

The four of them settled on the patio, around the table. “I’m pretty sure he’s married. He wears a ring on a chain round his neck.”

“Could be his mum’s ring or something.” Lily shrugged. “Does he flirt with you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” Sirius tried to think back to their encounters. “Though I imagine he’s not the type of person to flirt brazenly while he’s at work. He speaks Welsh to his work bestie because most of his bosses don’t speak it.”

“All the more reason to see him out of work!” James said.

“Yeah, but how do I even ask that?” Sirius set his beer on the table. “Hey, remember when you glued my arm together and cleaned burnt shit out of my hand? Fancy a date?”

“Sounds good to me,” Lily said.

“You married James. Your opinion holds no weight here.” Sirius laughed as James gasped dramatically. “Maybe I’ll gauge the situation if I see him again, but I don’t know. Maybe he’s too nice.”

Lily groaned, “Not this again. You deserve someone nice, you arsehole.”