Chapter 7
Sirius awoke to Remus still being asleep, which was a rare occurrence so he slipped out of bed and Remus’ room and was about to go into the living room when he remembered Sev was sleeping on the sofa, so he texted James “are you decent?”
And when he received an affirmative he slipped into Lily’s room.
“Hey. Rems asleep and no offence Evans but I don’t wanna hang w sev so… you guys are stuck with me. Hope i didnt interrupt your morning sex” Sirius said, climbing into the bed beside James.
“Morning cuddles, how nice” James said, wrapping his arms around Sirius while Lily looked on, confused and amused.
“Sorry sweetheart, me and Pads are a package deal” James said, giving Sirius a wet kiss on the cheek.
Lily chuckled and climbed out of bed- her pyjamas were pink with a unicorn on the t shirt and Sirius didn’t think he had seen anything cuter. She grabbed her dressing gown and said “I’ll make tea and bring it back here”
She left the room on silent feet and James sighed and turned to Sirius.
“I love her, you know? I’m going to marry her, I swear to god”
“Prongs. I love you, but it hasn't even been three months. Just enjoy the now instead of planning for the future”
“I’m doing both. She is my now and my future”
“God, you pathetic sap” Sirius said, laughing when James pouted and rolled over so his back was to Sirius.
--
Once Sev awoke, Sirius escaped to hide back in Remus’ room, seeking the warmth of the sleeping body. Remus grumbled something and rolled over, draping an arm over Sirius before going straight back to sleep. Sirius basked in feeling so at home next to Remus like this, like he could do it forever.
After fifteen minutes, Remus awoke properly, and shuffled about until he was eye level with Sirius, who had been laying on his chest.
“Hey, I know it's still early November but I assume you go to the Potter’s for christmas? Our family usually leaves on the 27 so I wanted to know if you wanted to come up and stay in Bris for a bit on the 28? It’s ages away so don’t worry about saying yes now -or ever, if you don’t want to meet my parents yet- but i wanted to ask” he said.
Sirius’ heart squeezed. Remus wanted him to meet his parents already? It was too much for his gnarled little heart to bear.
“I’d love to, Rem” Sirius said, grinning like a fool at the prospect, even though it was nearly two months away. “And you have to meet mum and dad. They’ll love you”
“I’d love to meet the people that made James.” Remus said, laughter in his eyes. Sirius just had to kiss him, so he did.
--
Sev’s leaving that Sunday also marked the end of the October half term, which ran into the first week of November. Then, Remus was back at school and gearing up for end of autumn term reports, and so was busy often.
Sirius used this time to pick up extra shifts where he could, now he had more people to buy presents for, and he was mindful of preserving his inheritance now Regulus was back in his life, though he knew the Potter’s would finance Reg more than they should. He loved them for it.
James was spending more and more time with Lily, and Sirius had previously thought it would be hard for him to accept when James met his life partner, but Sirius loved Lily so much he could only feel ecstatic for the two of them. It was made easier by the fact that Lily readily accepted how close James and Sirius were, and took them as a package deal. And he had Remus. Having Remus made everything easier, from waking up in the morning to going to sleep at night.
--
He was half way through his day when Darla popped her head ‘round the door.
“Sirius, my love. There’s a gorgy redhead here for you?”
“Send her in, Darling” he replied, wiping his station down.
“Hey love” came a voice behind him.
“Evans! Oh my god, what are you doing here?” Sirius asked, taken aback but happy to see James’ girlfriend in his studio.
“To get my ears pierced, obviously. I’ve been talked into seconds by Marlene”
“Of course, my love. Come and sit here. What jewellery would you like? Gold, silver, titanium?” and Sirius launched into his little spiel about his methods and the jewellery available and aftercare and the like.
Lily decided on heart shaped 18ct gold studs, and took them like a champ, barely wincing.
“You look gorgeous. James will combust on the spot” Sirius said as he wiped antiseptic carefully around the new piercings, winking at her.
“Wait, before you leave” Sirius said as Lily stood and picked up her satchel.
“Darla! Get in here!” he yelled out his door, and waited for his manager to appear. She was mixed race, with rich golden-brown skin and loved pin-up fashion, always wearing tight high-waisted trousers and victory rolls to work.
“Darla, meet the incomparable Lily Evans. James’ girlfriend” he said when Darla came in.
Darla cooed over Lily, and invited her, James and Remus to the parlour’s monthly drinks do in a few days time; an invitation Lily enthusiastically accepted. The party was usually attended by the workers; Sirius, Darla and the tattooists, their spouses, and their regular customers. James often came too, as he basically held the place of a spouse in Sirius’ life.
After Lily left, Darla and Sirius gossiped about their friends and their Christmas plans until the next customer arrived. Sirius sometimes forgot how much he loved what he did, but days like this reminded him of how lucky he was.
--
The drinks do was a success. Remus charmed everyone, and stayed glued to Sirius’ side the entire time, with an arm around his waist or a steadying palm against the small of his back.
James didn't drink too much, as he was wont to do, probably trying to impress Lily. Darla almost succeeded in talking James into getting a belly button piercing, but he chickened out when he discovered how long it would take to heal.
Lily had worn her hair up to show off her new piercings, and Sirius felt a little like a proud mum, as he always did when his regular and favourite customers came to the monthly get-together.
Unlike the average, run-of-the-mill piercer, Sirius was also a specialist in more hard-core body modification, like dermal implants. It made him a lot of his money, as he was the best person this side of London for piercings like that, and many of his regulars were super into their body modifications, which Sirius loved.
He loved the concept of body decoration; of making oneself pretty on a skin-deep level, rather than just through clothes and makeup and hair styles. One of his favourite customers, coincidentally also one of his co-workers, a small girl called Liv who did photo-realistic tattooing and cartoon characters and the like, was showing off all his work.
She wore a low-cut crop top and low-waisted jeans, showing the implants in her back dimples, her belly button piercing, the implant in her clavicle, as well as nipple piercings, double nostril piercings and seven studs per ear.
All the jewellery matched; small, even sized golden studs that glinted in her rich brown skin.
“Sirius! Is this him?” She said, running over to him and Remus so enthusiastically she spilled her drink a little when she spotted them. She then spent half an hour gushing to Remus about Sirius, showing off all the work he had done for her. Sirius was a blushing mess by the end, not just from the praise but also from the genuine interest that Remus took in Sirius’ work and art, which no one had ever done before. It made him feel seen, and rather than feeling overly exposed he just felt warm.
By the end of the night, he was pleasantly buzzed off white wine, and the four of them made a detour to a local indian restaurant before returning to James’ and Sirius’, where they ate on the floor with Grand Designs on, and James and Sirius made overly judgy comments about the interior design of the barn-turned nouveau-victorian loft. It was one of the best nights Sirius had had in a while.
--
After that, the time flies by, and before he knows it, Sirius is packing and wrapping and preparing to journey to the Potters with James, and from there to Bristol to spend two days and one night with the Lupins, before returning home with Remus in tow in time for new years.
He desperately tries not to think about seeing Regulus again, but it occupies almost all his waking thoughts. Effie had been sending near-daily updates, and Sirius knew that he definitely hadn't gotten worse, and was perhaps on the road to getting better, but this would be his first christmas since getting disowned, and it would dredge up a lot of negative and bittersweet feelings.
In between bouts of stressing about Regulus, Sirius stresses about meeting Remus’ family. Remus assured him that his mum would love him, but that his dad was the typical emotionally distant father, and whilst Remus had no clear confirmation, Remus suspected Lyall Sr was not as accepting of Remus dating men as he tried to appear to be.
Sirius worried for Remus on this count too. He didn't want his presence to draw a rift between the two men, and after having lost his family, he would hate for something similar to happen to Remus.
He was having trouble sleeping, and most nights ended up crawling in with James like he had when they were a decade younger. James readily accepted this, and started staying up reading until Sirius slipped in, in case Sirius wanted to talk.
Sirius didn't know what he had done to deserve such kindness.
Eventually, the twenty-third was upon them, and Sirius and James found themselves at the train station too early to be fully cognisant, surrounded by bags of gifts and booze and fancy biscuits and the fancy clothes that Monty insisted on for christmas day proper.
By the time the sun was up, they were well into the countryside, and Sirius felt sick at the prospect of seeing Regulus. James plied him with mince pies to keep his mind off it, but it didn't work well enough.
Sirius was both pleased and disappointed in equal measure when Regulus wasnt with Monty to meet them at the station, and the winding country drive made his stomach knot itself up. Effie welcomed them home with her special brand of warm, affectionate enthusiasm, meaning lots of cheek kisses and pinching and hugs as they staggered in the hall under the weight of their bags.
Once they were relieved of their burden, Effie whispered “he’s upstairs” into Sirius’ ear and sent him up with a sharp, motherly slap to the arse to get him moving. Chuckling, and so, so glad to be home, Sirius made his way to his old room, and knocked. He didn't wait for a response before slipping in. He saw Reg on the bed reading a book Sirius had never heard of.
“Merry Christmas Reggie” Sirius said. He was surprised when Reg stood up and pulled Sirius into a tight hug.
“I missed you.” Reg said, dropping back onto the bed. He twisted his hands into the sheets nervously before looking up sheepishly through his lashes.
“I see why you love it here so much. Effie is… nothing like mum” he said quietly. Sirius went to sit beside him.
“It's so warm here, Sirius. I see how much we were deprived of, now. Effie brings me hot chocolate in the mornings, sometimes, and she kisses me on the cheek. Monty talks to me like an equal”
His voice was soft and quiet and Sirius’ heart broke all over again for the two boys they had been, raised in cold cruelty, never knowing such kindness and love was even possible until too late.
“Mum and dad are the best,” Sirius agreed, nudging Reg with his elbow. “Now, are you up for going downstairs? James is here”
Reg took a deep breath. “Yeah, I know. I think I latched onto him because he was the first person apart from you to be nice to me like that. He always seemed so genuinely excited to see me, even when I knew he was really just doing glorified babysitting. It got all twisted up in my mind.”
“That’s okay. These things happen when you go through trauma. Now come on, there’s breakfast waiting.” Sirius said, standing and extending a hand to his brother.
--
Christmas was, as always, a wonderful family affair. The Potter’s always did the traditional turkey and all the trimmings on the twenty fourth, and ate Indian food on the twenty fifth, combining the two cultures effortlessly. Sirius always helped with the naan and paratha, and he was partial to eating almost the whole pot of prawn balti.
Effie had a friend who made christmas cake each year, which came after dinner, and then presents.
Pleasantly stuffed, the five of them wandered into the spacious living room, and sat around a fire as they distributed presents.
Sirius felt more than a little emotional to see Regulus receive his own presents from family friends of the Potters; Effie had clearly told everyone about her second adoptive son.
Sirius had a decent haul- a cookery book and a new jumper from James, a book about subcultures and the punk scene from Regulus, and as always from the Potters, several bottles of homemade mulled cider, new pyjamas and some new kitchen utensils, that suspiciously matched the book given to him from James.
James received his own cider and pyjamas (his and Sirius’ always matched, every year) from his parents, but got an apple pencil for his digital art rather than the kitchen equipment that Sirius had been gifted.
Regulus got his own set of pyjamas (and no, Sirius had not teared up a little when Reg had opened it) and a stack of books.
He and Remus had agreed to do presents when they saw each other. Sirius had gotten him a thick knitted jumper that cost an eye watering amount, and had then commissioned a friend to embroider the phases of the moon around each wrist cuff, as a tribute to the nickname ‘Moony’ that he had learned about from Lyall jr. he desperately hoped Remus would like it, and would not find it mawkishly sentimental.
He went to bed sated and happy that night. He and Remus had sent each other pictures of their respective christmas dinners, and now the main event was over and Sirius knew Regulus was as well as he could be, Sirius began to think obsessively about meeting the Lupins.
He was well enough distracted on boxing day by the arrival of Lily, who had come to meet the parents. Effie and Monty loved her, inviting her into the fold immediately. Sirius noted that she held her own with them remarkably well. Effie was somewhat protective of her children (as she definitely saw herself as having three now), and Sirius had worried that her protective side would come out in a negative way with Lily’s arrival, but no such thing happened, and it all went swimmingly.
They all went for a long, bracing countryside hike on the twenty seventh, followed by a hearty pub lunch and Sirius spent the whole time thinking about how lucky he was to have the Potters, and how much of a lovely time he was having. His old age was making him sentimental, he decided, no matter that he was not yet twenty six.
--
The twenty eighth dawned, and Sirius was a mess of nerves on the train to Bristol. He checked and double checked that he had everyone’s gifts; Remus’ jumper, a bottle of fancy irish whiskey for Lyall Sr, a new video game for Lyall Jr that Remus had assured him his brother would like, and a gardening set for Hope, who apparently loved her garden more than she did her sons.
He was greeted by Remus at the station, and the sight of his boyfriend after a week of cold turkey was so comforting that it washed all his worries away for a few tantalising minutes. They returned in full force when faced with the front door of the Lupins’ house, though.
The door was a friendly shade of blue, and the front garden well kept and tended to. A young looking woman with the same hair as Remus, just longer, opened the door. She was dressed in dark blue jeans and a broderie anglaise blouse, and she looked exactly like the type of mum Sirius had wished he had before he met Effie.
The house was quaint, full of baby pictures and family photos and art and knicknacks. Sirius could feel the love the house held for the family that occupied it. He was led into an open plan living room that looked out onto a gorgeous back garden, where he was faced with Remus’ dad. He was a tall, imposing man, and it was clear where Remus got his height and deep voice from.
Lyall shook Sirius’ hand a tad too firmly, and greeted him with a gruff voice. Light, slow footsteps on the stairs indicated the arrival of Lyall the younger, and soon they were all sitting on the sofas, a tray of tea and biscuits on the coffee table between them. Sirius distributed his presents, which were received better than he could have hoped for. Lyall the younger tried to play his game straight away, and was bouncing with excitement.
He earned himself a hug from Hope and a gruff nod and “good taste, lad” from Remus’ dad, and a warm smile and tight squeeze of the knee from Remus.
“Look mum, it's got moons on it” Remus said, amusement in his eyes. Hope cooed over the embroidery, before hugging Sirius again for the attention to detail and Remus’ childhood.
In return, from the Lupins collective, he was gifted a very expensive box of chocolates, and he recognised the brand from his childhood, which spoke to the price and quality.
Afterwards, he and Remus went to put all his stuff in Remus’ room, which still had many astrology posters, and a black and white star print bed spread. The minute the door closed behind them, Remus swept Sirius into a kiss, making Sirius drop his duffel bag and backpack on the floor.
“I adore the jumper, thank you” Remus said. He then went to his little desk and picked up a small wrapped package on it. Inside was a little book on the history of piercings in different cultures and their cultural and historical significance, and a little envelope. He loved the book, and placed it on the bedside table for him to start later that night.
The envelope contained two tickets to see Dr Faustus at the Sam Wanamaker theatre.
“It's the most beautiful place I've ever been, it's inside the Globe, all wooden and lit solely by candlelight. And I saw a worn copy of Dr Faustus on your shelf so I assumed you liked it?” Remus explained, looking unusually nervous.
“Rem, I love it. It’s such a thoughtful gift, I can’t wait to go.” Sirius said, pressing a gentle kiss to Remus’ cheek.
Remus blushed a faint pink, and it suddenly hit Sirius that maybe, just maybe he loved Remus. Like, properly loved him. He’d never loved any of his exes, but then again, none of his exes had ever made him feel the way Remus feels. More to the point, love had always been a source of fear for Sirius, but instead of feeling terrified he feels exhilarated, excited, totally, and unequivocally happy.
He also knows it's too early for love. Far too early, so he takes his love and he tucks it away in his heart, for a later date.