You Made It All Alright
Sirius did know what he meant. “Tarte tatin.” he said, beaming. “Does that mean this went well then, do I get a second chance?”
Remus felt the stab of fear that this would end with him, broken and bleeding in the dust, picking up the shards of his heart, but he pushed it aside. He wanted Sirius. “Aye. I expect a proper wooing, like. I won’t lie, I was quite heart broken when you called it off. Funnily enough, it wasn’t quite casual for me either, and I won’t go through that again, I can’t. My heart has taken enough beatings, so you better be in this properly.”
Sirius nodded soberly. “I know. I am sorry for hurting you. More sorry than you know. And I’ll prove myself. I promise. I want- I want to take it slow, do this properly. I’ll warn you now, Harry will always come first for me, and right now Reg is a close second, but you’re third, okay? And Remus, dating someone with a child isn’t easy. We’ll have to work around his routine. There are many times I have to drop everything for him, and he’s a traumatised kid. He takes a lot of work.”
“Aye, so am I.” Remus responded. He hesitated, then reached across the table and presented his hand to Sirius, palm side up. Sirius gently lay his hand in Remus’, and Remus gave into the urge to rub his thumb back and forth across the smooth skin on the back of Sirius’ hand. “I ken your situation, Sirius. I am a twenty five year old who works in a pub. I have no responsibilities, no dependents. I can work around your schedule, it's okay.” Sirius smiled at him gratefully across the table, and Remus’ grip tightened. “Did you ken that you are the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen? I’ve wanted to tell you that since you first kissed me, but like you said, it wasn’t verra casual, was it? But I can tell you now. You are beautiful, Sirius.”
Remus delighted in the way Sirius blushed, and was rendered speechless for a few moments in which this thing between them glowed, bold and bright and new. They ate dessert and discussed their days. Sirius confesses to how nervous he was in the lead up to his confession, and how he had asked Molly to teach him the tarte tatin recipe. Remus tells Sirius about how, by the end, all his co-workers were encouraging him to hear Sirius out. They smile at each other over the table and gaze openly, now they’re allowed to, now their feelings are out in the open. When they finish, Sirius insists on doing the washing up even though Remus offered to because Sirius cooked, and Remus fiddles with the speaker, and Dreams fills the space.
Oh, my life is changing every day, in every single way. And oh, my dreams, it's never quite as it seems. Never quite as it seems.
Sirius flicks soap suds at Remus and Remus laughs, free and full bodied. He can’t remember the last time he felt this light. The song changes, and Sirius, standing at the sink, taps his feet to the beat and sings under his breath. Soon enough, the dishes are done, and Remus has used the time to just stare at Sirius; his elegant side profile, the way his lips curve over the words as he mouths along, the way his hips shift as he half-dances. When everything is hung up on the rack, Remus grabs two glasses and one of the bottles of red and takes them to the living room.
“Right. I think we should lay some ground rules, if that's alright with you.” he says, handing Sirius a glass of wine and tucking his legs up onto the sofa. One of Sirius’ hands immediately rests on his knee, the warmth from it suffusing Remus’ whole body.
“Okay.” Sirius nods, taking a sip. “I want this to be- exclusive. I’m happy without a label, but I’d quite like to tell the mums at school you’re my boyfriend. You caused quite a stir, you know. All the single ones were asking after you.” Sirius grins lasciviously.
“Fuck off, really?” Remus is disbelieving. “Well, you can tell them I’m not interested, because unfortunately I am the exclusive boyfriend of some pretty-faced fucker.” Sirius’ responding grin could have lit up the whole world.
“And with Harry- I can’t really ask Molly for any more childcare, and I don’t trust Reg alone with him yet, so if you don’t mind, if you could come round to ours? I want you to come for dinner, whenever you’re free next week. Meet Reg properly. And you’re always welcome to stay the night at mine, if you don’t mind waking up at seven? But I likely won’t be able to spend much time away from him for the foreseeable- and I don’t really want to. I miss my little boy, you know?”
“That’s fine with me. And you’re welcome by the pub anytime, you know.”
“I’m too scared of Mary, to be honest. The look she gave me last time I came in- I thought she was going to punch me!”
Remus snorted into his glass. “They’re good friends. The best I’ve had- I want you to meet them properly too, when you have the time. I think maybe a dinner party? Here? I can’t cook anything like what you just did for me, but I can do an alright pasta.”
“That sounds lovely. Please, I would love to meet them all properly. I um, as much as I hate to, I should be getting home. I meant it when I said I want to take this slow. I don’t want to fall into bed together immediately, if that's okay? I want to prove my commitment to this, and as silly as it sounds I do believe that starts with maintaining a healthy level of space. Tomorrow is Saturday, and I was going to make pancakes. Reg sleeps until noon but Harry’ll be up at seven. If you wanted, you could come over at eight? For breakfast?” Sirius looked nervous, and as much as Remus desperately wants to curl up next to him all night, he knows Sirius is right. The thought makes him remember that Remus now knows so much about Sirius, but there are still things - big things - that Remus hasn’t told the other man yet. It’s not the right time, though, so he nods and agrees to breakfast before walking Sirius to the front door.
“Goodnight, Remus.” Sirius says softly, standing awkwardly in front of Remus and Remus remembers how sweet and hesitant he had been before, lacking the confidence to initiate first contact if he wasn’t entirely smashed. Remus slips his hand around Sirius’ waist and pulls him in close. “Goodnight, Sirius.” he leans in, slow enough for Sirius to stop him, and when no protest comes he gently covers Sirius’ lips with his own. It is a slow and soft kiss, full of promise and feeling. Remus pulls back and kisses Sirius’ forehead, before watching him walk over to his own house. Remus goes to bed with a stupid smile on his face, and falls asleep with his fingertips grazing his lips, like he can feel the lingering, spectral echo of Sirius’ kiss.