Forrests and Babysitters
July 2nd, 1995
Remus woke up sore, like always, but no cuts, bruises or scrapes to be found. He was in a forest in Scotland, far away from any humans, he made sure of it. He felt some tender hands wrap a blanket around his shoulders, Sirius giving him a quick kiss on the head while doing so.
Remus smiles, looking up the most gorgeous man on the entire planet, and this god of a man was his, his husband. “Alright love?” Sirius asked, staring with the same piercing blue that Remus spent hours staring at, that he still gets lost in every time he sees them. Remus nodded, too tired to start speaking.
“I'll get your clothes, don't move” Sirius instructed. He was always fussy about Remus’s well being, but it was always amplified after a full moon. Remus did as told, too tired to argue. Ten years they have been together and Remus still thought he was the luckiest man on the planet. Not many people could love a werewolf, not many would care for a monster.
Remus got dressed slowly and the two men laid in the forest together. They didn’t make out, they didn’t shag, they just laid together hand in hand. Remus enjoyed the simplicity of it, the feeling that the love they shared was enough. This had been their routine for a few years now, the wolf and padfoot would play together, then Sirius and Remus would lay together until Remus was well enough to apparate.
“James is pulling all the stops out for Harry’s party this year” Sirius said, breaking the silence.
“Didn't expect anything less” Remus replied, he is well aware of how spoiled Harry is.
“Think Lily will throw a fit if he gets another broom?, there's a new nimbus out”
“Probably” Remus mused, “Ready to go home? might think better after a kip”
That was all Sirius needed to whisk up his much taller partner and apparate the pair to their cottage. It was quaint, but very homey. Flowers were planted up front and there was a nice yard in the back for lounging around. There were only two bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen and sitting area, but the two didn’t need much anyway. Sirius carefully guided Remus to their shared bedroom and placed him on their bed. Remus gave his husband a kiss before passing out.
When Remus woke up Sirius was sleeping next to him peacefully. Remus studied him ,as he did every morning. Sirius was so peaceful when he was sleeping and so beautiful, he really was the most gorgeous man on earth. Being careful to not wake up the man next to him, Remus got out of bed and headed into the kitchen to find a bite. There was an owl waiting for him on the table, so breakfast could wait for a little while. Renmus opened up the note and was ecstatic to see Lily’s perfect cursive.
Remus,
Do not give Harry another broom, James almost bought out the whole of quality quidditch supplies, he does not need a broom on top of everything! This sport will be the death of me, and he’s only five for goodness sake! Hope your night went well, all things considering. Harry is excited to see you tonight! Thank you for watching him, I know you would rather be resting but no one else is available, and tonight is important to me. I owe you one! I’m serious about that broom too! I am not afraid to curse Sirius if needed
Best Wishes,
Lily
Remus smiled down at the note,Sirius will be disappointed by this news.
Remus’s stomach growled, distracting him from his thoughts. He got up to make some food. He decided on bacon and fried eggs, pretending it's actually breakfast time and not midafternoon. Sirius woke up just as breakfast was being finished, and quickly told Remus to sit down, taking over the kitchen.
Remus wolfed down the food, he was always starving the morning after. Sirius was the same, though he ate like a starving man anyway. Once they were finished Remus leaned onto Sirius’s shoulder.
“Lily wrote a letter, said Harry doesn't need another broom”
“How mad do ya think she’ll be if I get him one anyway”
“Threatened to curse you mate”
“Bugger, just have to get him something better”
Remus could see the disappointment in his eyes and it broke his heart a little. Sirius loved spoiling Harry, he made sure Harry was loved in a way that he never was. Sirius wanted a kid, Remus knew this, but he never brought it up. They both knew that it wouldn’t be possible.
“What time is Harry coming here?” Sirius asked. “Five I think”, Remus rubbed his temples, he had a bad headache. Sirius stared at him and furrowed his brow, “Why don’t you go back to bed, I'll take care of the dishes and talk to James about Harry.”
“I'm fine really it's just-” He was cut off by a wave of pain. Shit that hurts. He was given an ‘i told you so’ look by Sirius. Remus was weak, he had a hard time saying no to Sirius, he was just too lovely, plus more sleep sounds heavenly, so he relented. He let his partner bring him to their bed, again, and fell asleep to Sirius stroking his hair.
***
“UNCLE MOONY UNCLE MOONY”, Harry’s voice echoed throughout the entire house as he stepped out of the fireplace.”Shh Haz, uncle moony is sleeping, he's not feeling well”, Sirius told the young boy, a little more harsh than he intended to sound. Harry looked down, and Sirius felt a wave of guilt rush through him. “You’re ok Haz, let's just keep the noise down” Harry nodded and went to his room, clutching his black dog stuffed animal. James bought it as a joke, but Harry loves it and takes it everywhere. This amused Sirius to no end. Clearly it means he’s Harry’s favorite.
“Sorry Sirius, he just got a new book and wanted to tell Remus” Lily said, stepping out of the fireplace. “Er, rough night then?” Sirius shook his head, “no he’s fine no scrapes or anything, it's just the transformations ya know? It really takes a toll” He knew he sounded sad while saying it. It hurt him to see the love of his life in pain every month. His heart broke every time he witnessed Remus cry out in agony as the wolf took over, it even hurt when the wolf started to get frantic and whine as the moon faded.
“Send him my love yeah?” Lily asked, handing over Harry’s overnight bag. “Course, have fun with your sister,” Sirius responded. Lily bit her lip, “Godric knows why she agreed to see me this time.”
“Well when you see her make sure to mention that you left him with his godfather and his werewolf husband.” Lily laughed, brightening up the house with the noise. Harry returned from his room, just in time to see his mother off. “Kiss me goodbye Harry?” Harry hugged and kissed Lily goodbye and she stepped back into the fireplace. Harry tugged on Sirius's sleeve and looked up, “Why is uncle Moony sick?”
Harry didn’t know that Remus was a werewolf, they were afraid he would accidentally let it slip. James, Lily, Sirius, and Remus all decided it would be best to tell him once he left for Hogwarts. It wasn’t too hard keeping the secret, Harry just never came over during a full moon.
“Uncle Moony gets tired sometimes, and bad headaches. The only thing that helps is sleep so we need to be quiet and not wake him up,” Sirius explained. Harry nodded his head. “Hey Haz, there is some ice cream in the freezer.” That perked him up, and the two walked to the kitchen, hand in hand. Sirius scooped out the vanilla ice cream and dumped hundreds and thousands on both of their scoops because you are never too old for hundreds and thousands.
“Yummy!” Harry said once Sirius handed him the bowl. The two ate their ice cream outside in their tiny backyard. The sun was hot but neither boy seemed to mind, happily devouring their treat. “Excited for your birthday Haz?” Sirius asked once they were settled into the deck chairs.
“Yes! My friends from school are coming and dad said we can have a whole table for dessert and mom said we can have it outside and everyone’s going to be there”
Harry looked like he was going to explode from excitement. Sirius never had birthday parties until he went to Hogwarts, and he tended to live vicariously through his godson. He looked down at the little bit as he explained every detail of his party.
Once the ice cream was gone, the pair headed inside. Sirius started on the dishes from earlier when he heard movement in the bedroom. Harry was reading one of his books so Sirius slipped away.
Inside was one Remus Lupin curled up in bed, eyes still peacefully closed. He turned around but was stopped by a quiet whisper, “Sirius”
“Sorry I didn't mean to wake you,”
“You didn’t” Remus was smiling. “Come here” Sirius immediately walked over the the bed and wrapped his arms around his husband.
“Hungry? I was just about to order food”
“Always hungry, Harry here?”
“Yep got here an hour ago, wanted to see you, and Lily sends her love”
“I'll just take a quick shower and then I'll come out for dinner okay” Remus told him.“Whatever you need love” Sirius said, helping Remus out of bed.
“Uncle Padfoot?” Harry called from the living room. Sirius smiled, “I'll order food and tell Harry that you’re up, he's been dying to talk to you, think he got a new book” Remus nodded and closed the bathroom door behind him.
“Here Harry”, Sirius called from the room. “Uncle Moony is up, he’ll be out in a few minutes”
Harry was very excited and hugged Remus as soon as he exited their bedroom. Remus winced but never said anything as Harry clung to him. He had a new book about dogs and Remus listened quietly but attentively to every detail of every one of Harry’s stories, offering the occasional gasp or aw.
Remus and Sirius took turns playing chess with Harry for the rest of the night(Lily had started to teach him). After 3 bedtime stories Harry finally fell asleep. Remus and Sirius went to bed shortly after, both still exhausted from the previous night. Remus wrapped his arms against Sirius, causing tension to leave his body. Sirius just felt at home with Remus, nothing else mattered but their love.
“Alright Moony?”
“Alright padfoot”
And the two drifted off to sleep.