Beginnings
Sirius took a deep breath. Traditionally he would've been waiting outside Remus's dad's door, but that wasn't possible now. Hope was very nice to him, to everyone really, but there was so much hanging on this visit that he was almost shaking with nerves. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and knocked.
"Come in," Her voice called through the door. He did as she bid, walking in and hovering in the doorway.
"Sirius, honey, come sit down! What do you need?"
Sitting in a chair next to her desk, he tried to think of how to phrase it.
"Mrs. Lupin," He started.
"Hope," she corrected him, smiling.
"Hope," he said. "I, er, well… Mrs. Lupin- Hope- I love Remus. I don't think I'll ever love anyone else the way I love him. You know we've been living together since we left Hogwarts, and the hospital gave me a raise a few months ago so I've been saving. And I know, what with the war and all, you might think I'm rushing into it, but I'm not. What I want to say is, well, I want your blessing. To ask him to marry me."
She looked at him for a moment with a searching gaze before asking:
"You're absolutely sure?"
He looked at her earnestly. "I've never been more of anything in my life. I've wanted this since we were twelve." Hope smiled at him, a warm and motherly smile, and squeezed his shoulder.
"Well then, I give you my blessing. I couldn't ask for a better son."
Love and gratitude blossomed in his chest like never before. "Thank you," he said, hugging her. She chuckled and hugged him back.
"You're welcome. Now go put my poor son out of his misery and propose to him." Sirius grinned and headed to the door. A goodbye was halfway out of his mouth before she spoke again. "Do you have a ring?"
"I bought one.. I wish I could've given him something a bit more special, but family heirlooms don't really fit that criteria for me," he replied, scratching his neck.
"Nonsense." Hope stood up, grabbed his hand, and led him to her bedroom. Sirius tried to ask what she was doing, but she shushed him. After a few minutes of closet-and-drawer-rifling, she handed him a small, ornate ring box. He opened it carefully and peeked inside. Two wedding bands sat, one on top of the other, on a velvet cushion. The top one was carved in great detail, trees and stars and animals and flowers living in gold. The bottom was just as majestic, but filled instead with rolling waves and thunder and squid molded from silver. A thin, smaller ring of woven gold lay beneath them.
"I couldn't," he said, pulling his eyes away. "Really, it'd be too much."
"Nonsense." She repeated. "It's special. They were my great-granda's, and then his son, and then my da's, and then mine and Lyall's. Now they're my son's. I wouldn't have it any other way."
He closed the box and hugged her again.
"Thank you," he said.
The little box was tucked in his pocket as he walked into their flat, locking the door behind him. He hummed as he entered the kitchen, finding Remus leaning on the counter, waiting for the kettle.
"Hullo love," he said, pecking him on the lips before grabbing a bowl from the cabinet above him.
"Hi," Remus replied. Taking advantage of Sirius’s position, he wrapped his arms around his waist and kissed his neck. "What's got you in such a good mood?"
"Mm.. went to visit your mum. She said hullo and she loves you," he replied before taking Remus’s lips from his neck and to his mouth. Sirius pulled him closer and deepened the kiss.
"Why'd you go see her?" Remus asked when they broke apart.
"I had a few questions," Sirius replied, pouring leftover soup in his bowl.
Remus 'hmm'ed as the kettle whistled and added the hot water and a tea bag to his cup. They sat together in the living room, Remus sitting next to the arm of the couch reading and Sirius next to him, feet tucked under his legs.
"Whatddyou say we go on a date tomorrow?" Sirius asked, breaking the silence.
"Sure," Remus looked up from his book, surprised. Sirius smiled and snuggled next to him, his soup left on the table and head on his shoulder.
The next morning Sirius woke up earlier than Remus. If it hadn't been planned, it wouldn't've been possible. He crawled out of bed carefully, loath to leave Remus’s warmth but with things to do. He tiptoed across the house grabbing this, that, and the other, and then out the door, apparating as soon as he thought he was far enough away so as to not wake Remus up.
When Remus did wake up, Sirius was laying next to him, playing with his hair. Seeing his wakefulness, he kissed him on the nose.
"I believe someone agreed to a date," he smiled. Remus rolled over, grumbling about the time and to give him just a little longer. "Sorry Moonshine, I'm afraid that's out of the question. Extravagance takes building, and I can't quite do that with you asleep, can I? Your tea is on the nightstand and you have scones on the coffee table. If you're not up and devouring them by the time I've showered, I may just have to tackle you."
Remus rolled over, grinning sleepily. "That a threat or a promise?" Sirius smirked. "Both," he said, kissing him once more before jumping off the bed and going over to their dresser. He dug through the drawers, messy as ever, until he found what he was looking for: a simple white button-up and tan trousers.
"So it's a semi-formal dance? We'll be the only well-dressed ones there; twelve year-olds just don't know how to do it," Remus joked from behind him. Sirius stuck his tongue out at him and disappeared into the bathroom.
By the time he was out, Remus was indeed on his second scone, scanning the Daily Prophet. "Any news?" He asked as he walked in.
"Today's actually quite quiet. We might just have an uneventful weekend for once," Remus said, putting the paper down and leaning back.
"Don't count on it," Sirius said, grinning.
Their date took most of the day with several parts, including a sailboat, brunch, a random turtle, Shakespeare, a hot air balloon, and other things of varying romance. The final piece took place on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Lying on a blanket, wine on either side of them, Remus in his arms, Sirius gathered up every ounce of courage he possessed. It didn't seem like he had that much. He sat up, pulling Remus with him. "Care for a spin?" Remus hummed his agreement and they waltzed, spinning and dipping and turning. A few years ago Remus would've tripped over his feet every few seconds, but they had done a lot of dancing recently.
"Hey Rem?" Sirius said softly. "You know that thing you do where you know what I'm saying before I get all the words out so you just start talking and stuff? I love it, I really do, but can you promise me something?"
"Anything," he murmured.
"Can you let me get through this before answering?" He asked, letting go of him and dropping to one knee. Remis couldn't've spoken even if he had known what to say. Sirius pulled the woven ring from his pocket and held it out.
"Remus John Lupin, I have loved you since the moment I saw you. And each time I saw you after that train ride, whether it was you coming back from another room or from summer or from a mission, I loved you more. I always will. You are my joy, my heart, and my soul. Without you I'd be nothing; a shell of a human being. Not even a Dementor' Kiss could have the same effect, though it might be close. I know that it wouldn't be official, or legal, but I really couldn't care less. Will you marry me, love?"
Remus was crying, and maybe Sirius was too but he couldn't tell. He nodded vigorously, still incapable of speech, and Sirius slid the ring onto his finger. Remus flung himself onto Sirius, knocking him over and kissing him soundly. If they did anything else, well, it's really none of our business.
They slept in, the morning a warm, fuzzy haze of perfection. A wakeup call came in the form of Lily, knocking loudly on the door. Remus got up and let her in, throwing on a pair of sweatpants and a jumper first. She was due to pop with the baby any day now, and when Remus let them in he offered them both hellos.
"Morning Rem," she said, kissing cheek. "I swear, once this is over I'm never doing it again." Remus chuckled and sat down on the couch with her.
"How's James?" He asked.
"Devilish as usual," she replied. "He's been awfully giddy about something lately, but he won't tell me what."
"I might know something," He grinned wider and scratched his cheek innocently with his left hand.
"Ohmygod!Remus!" She squealed, grabbing his hand. Sirius came out into the living room, pajama pants on, thankfully. He must've heard Lily.
"You did this?!" She exclaimed, holding his hand up at Sirius.
"Well I sure as hell hope so," he smirked. "You didn't get proposed to by anyone else, now Moony, did you?" He asked in mock concern.
"Oh, shut up," Remus said. Lily and Remus started talking about wedding plans, Sirius yawning in the armchair. Remus wanted to do it somewhere in a field, but Lily pointed out that the woods would match the ring, and the two had their first kiss in the forbidden forest. Sirius said he didn't care either way; they could get married in a dumpster for all he cared- as long as it was happening. There was a nice clearing in the woods a few miles away from Godric's Hollow, they could do it there. They talked for a few hours before Lily remembered why she had come in the first place (to get a few cups of sugar) and then she left.
"I'm gonna go to Mum's. Want to come?" Remus said after a while.
"Sure," Sirius bounced up to and they apparated together. The small house was a very pleasant sight, vines creeping up the brick, a small garden smushed up against it. It was the third place that had ever felt like home to Sirius; right after the Potter Estate and Hogwarts. Sirius jogged forward to knock on and open the door for Remus, bowing as Rem walked in. Remus chuckled and called out into the house: "Mum! You home?"
"Coming," she said, appearing in the stairway. "Oh, honey!" She said, grabbing his hand. "It's beautiful."
He smiled and kissed her forehead. "It is," he agreed.
Sirius sat down at the dining table.
"So, when's the wedding?" She asked. Remus looked around at Sirius. "Well we haven't exactly talked about it… I don't want to rush him or anything," he said.
"Would two weeks be too short notice?" Sirius asked from behind him. Remus beamed. "Can Aunt Diane get out here that fast?" He asked Hope.
"Of course! We need to get out invitations! Wait here," She let go of his hands and ran upstairs. Sirius walked up behind Remus and hugged him, kissing behind his ear.
"I'm not rushing into this, you know. If I had to wait a thousand for you I would."
"I love you," Remus said.
"I love you more."
"I was waiting for the day I'd get to use these!" Hope said, bringing a box of stationary down and setting it on the table. Now Sirius, how's your penmanship?"
"It's okay," he said.
"Imagine Uncle Ted's, and then multiply it by like, fourty," Remus said. She gave him a blank slip of paper and a pen.
"Show me," she said. He thought for a moment and then wrote:
𝓑𝓲𝓻𝓭 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓑𝓮𝓪𝓻 𝓗𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓕𝓲𝓼𝓱,
𝓰𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓶𝔂 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓯𝓸𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓼𝓽 𝔀𝓲𝓼𝓱.
"Alright, you're on content. Remus, you do the envelopes, I'll write up a list of people. Euphemia already talked to me about invitations on her side, so I'll put them on there too. Obviously you kids can figure out friends yourselves."
The sun went down on them writing and laughing and planning. In fact, the next two weeks went on in such a manner, a great blur of happiness.
Two days before the wedding, Remus had gone out to see the family that had flown out for him. Sirius still didn't quite get the whole airplane deal, but that's not all too relevant. St. Mungos had needed him to work extra hours, so he was supposed to meet up with them in about half an hour. And boy was he going to put that half hour to use.
Remus had filled him over the past weeks of what his extended (muggle) family had been told: he had gone to boarding school in France, and what they thought: that he was stupid and that Hope was covering up for him. Sirius had also gathered scraps of information over the years: that Hope's sisters had always been trying to one up each other, but both looked down on her, that their husband's were successful and practically bought their daughter' husbands. He had seen pictures and heard stories, and he was ready to go show them up big time. Of course Remus had no idea.. He put on a crisp muggle suit he had bought from some shop in London, brushed his hair out even more than usual (and that way saying something), and brushed his teeth vigorously. Monty had given him a pair of shined dress shoes that he put on carefully. He took one last look in the mirror, smiled, and walked outside. Wand in one hand, the other on his motorbike, twisted his left foot and apparted. Seconds later he stood in front of the cottage. He left his bike in the driveway where it had landed and walked through the door. Remus was standing with his back to him, and didn't seem to hear the door. Perfect. He came up quietly behind him and wrapped his arms around Remus's waist. Remus turned his head in surprise and Sirius pecked him on the lips. "Sorry honey, Mr. Dearborn took a little longer to die than we thought he would. He did have a tumor, but it wasn't actually cancerous, John messed up the labs," Sirius shook his head in dismay. "I swear, once we're all settled I'm firing him." Remus chuckled.
"You do that," he said. "Sirius, this is my Aunt Alice and Uncle Mark, and Aunt Beth and Uncle Robert, my Mum's siblings."
"Je suis Sirius, madame et monsieur, c'est un plaisir," He smiled and held his hand out, never leaving Remus's side. They just stared at him.
"Fair, fair," Sirius chuckled. "I'm oft speechless around him as well. Took me six years to work up the courage to tell him I liked him. Probably would have been longer if he hadn't started going out with Hailee Durwright." He wrinkled his nose in disgust. The door opened and in bustled another woman, taller than the other two, with no makeup on and her brown hair slung over her shoulders.
"Remus, honey! I'm sorry I'm so late, the cab driver was being plain rude." She came up right in front of Remus and batted Sirius away to hug him. "Oh, darling, look how much you've grown. It's been much too long since I've seen you." She held Remus out at arms length, holding his shoulders, and looked at him. "This marriage business isn't keeping you from your studies, is it? Not that it isn't important, but I'll not have you wasting all those brains," she said sternly.
"No, Aunt Diane, I promise. Working hard as ever," Remus laughed. Diane smiled. "Good. Now, do introduce me," Diane turned to Sirius, still smiling but with a shrewd look in her eyes. Sirius liked her.
"Sirius Black at your service, mademoiselle," Sirius took her hand and kissed it.
"Diane Marygold at yours," Diane answered. She pulled a chair up from the table and looked him over. "So Sirius, what do you do for work?"
"Head of my department at the Hospital, ma'am."
"Good. None of that ma'am business, mind you. How much do they pay you over there?"
"About fifty thousand pounds a year," he said, winking at Remus. He had done his research.
"God almighty. What do you plan to do with all that?" She asked.
"Well," Sirius said. "However much Re wants will go into the wedding, I want that to be perfect for him. Beyond that, I want to get us a small house closer to that college he's going to work at, but I reckon we'll keep the flat- real estate up in inner London won't be getting lower in the next few years. As long as we're comfortable after that, the money could go in the garden for all I care."
She nodded. "You love him?"
"Speak of him over my grave and watch as his name brings me back to life," he replied.
"Good," she said. "And you love him?" She asked Remus.
"More than anything else. I can't exactly top Aramaic poetry, but I do."
She nodded again and stood up. "Very good. I'll be back, I've got a sister in law to say hello to." And she left. They stood in silence for a moment, and then Remus suggested going into the living room. They agreed, and Remus started up a game of cards. The rest of the night was pleasant, beside a few snide remarks. Towards dinner time Beth looked over to where Remus and Sirius were sitting together and asked:
"You are awful young to be getting married. You want to be careful- suppose you regret it later on?" The question was very obviously aimed at Sirius, and he did answer it- but not exactly how she might've wanted. "Regret it? I hope more than anything he doesn't. One of my greatest fears, I'll admit. If he does though, I'll let him go his way. As long as he's happy, I can live with whatever comes." She pursed her lips and was quiet for a moment before asking:
"And if you regret it, dear? You're no older than he is."
Sirius actually laughed. "Well, if you believed my diary, we've been married since we were eleven. If I don't regret it yet, I siriusly doubt I will."
Beth 'hm'ed and excused herself to get a drink. Dinner passed in much the same fashion, cruel remarks being given by the sisters only to be met by praise of Remus from Sirius and glares from Diane.
They spent the next day together at the flat, the last one before they were married.