Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.
Written for Quidditch League, Harpies Practice Round.
Beater 2 ; Write about a husband and husband/wife.
Optional Prompts - 1. Madness / 8. Distracting
Word Count - 2147
Beta'd by Liza and Raybe
AN - I take a few liberties with canon here, and let's just forget that Tonks happened, kay :)
Forever (I'm Yours)
The wedding was a quiet affair, with only four people in attendance aside from themselves. James, Lily and Wormtail were there, simply because the grooms didn't think they could marry without their best friends, and Marlene, who was there to bind them together.
Sirius had sulked for days when he realised that they couldn't have a big, fancy wedding, but had quieted quickly enough when Remus reminded him that they'd have forever to have a big wedding. At the moment, the important thing was them and their love for one another, not cake and swans and whatever else Sirius had been imagining.
Lying together in bed that night, wrapped up in each other, the sweat still cooling on their bare skin, Sirius had quietly admitted that their day had been perfect.
…
At first, it was domestic perfection, though someone would question that 'perfection.'
...
"Are you still sulking?" Remus asked, watching his husband sitting slumped on the sofa, his leather jacket still wrapped around him.
"Lily said we're not allowed to take Harry out on the bike anymore," Sirius replied, scowling. "James just firecalled. He's in the doghouse again."
"When isn't he?"
"Prongslet loves the bike, Moony," Sirius added, pouting. "It always helps him sleep when he's teething and he's adorable when he tries to catch the stars."
"You know Lily only worries about him being safe," Remus replied reasonably, stepping forward to run a hand through Sirius' messy hair. "And I know you'd never hurt him, but Lily is still a relatively new mum. Her protective instincts will likely still be in overdrive, you know?"
Sirius nodded, pulling Remus onto the sofa so he was resting between Sirius' legs.
"Probably not a good time to take the 'My First Broom' round then?"
Remus laughed, pressing a kiss to Sirius' lips. "Probably not, no."
…
"What did you do?" Remus asked, blinking at the sight in front of him.
"Erm. Well. You see…"
Shaking his head, Remus interrupted, "I don't think I want to know. Go and take a shower, please. I don't want… glitter… all over the house."
"But Moony, James -"
"Go. You can tell me who's to blame when you're clean."
"Moony... Come shower with me?"
Remus snorted. "If you think I want to be covered in glitter, think again."
Sirius frowned for a moment, before he pounced forward, wrapping his arms around Remus so he couldn't escape and shaking his head so a cloud of red glitter ended up all over Remus.
Not to mention the floor, the wall, the table and the corner of the couch.
Remus sighed. "Was that necessary?"
"Now you need to shower too," Sirius replied with a smirk.
"You're a magnificent prat, Sirius Black."
"Sirius Black-Lupin."
"Hmm. You're cleaning the glitter up if you want to keep it that way. Shower. Go."
…
Remus woke slowly, warm in the cocoon of blankets he was wrapped in. He blinked his eyes open, only to sit up quickly, staring around the bedroom.
Banners, streamers and balloons had taken over the room in a riot of colour that made him want to find the nearest pair of sunglasses.
"Sirius?" he called out, smirking to himself when he heard muffled cursing from down the hall, followed by a reply of, "Stay there. Don't move."
Within minutes, Sirius was in the room with a tray in his hands and a large smile on his face.
"What's with the…" Remus paused, his arm waving around to encompass the colourful additions to the room. "New decor?"
Sirius grinned. "Happy Birthday, Moony. I made you breakfast."
Remus returned the smile, his heart melting as he accepted the tray, complete with orange juice, burnt toast, and what appeared to be an attempt at scrambled eggs.
"I love you," Remus murmured, pulling Sirius forward for a kiss. "But it's my birthday next week, baby. Not today."
…
Perfection couldn't last forever, and with a war happening outside of their bubble, it didn't take long for their bubble to burst.
...
Remus gripped Sirius' hand tightly in his own, the two of them staring up at the starry sky. They were sitting on the roof of their house, one of their favourite evening spots, especially when the night was clear.
"If there's a life after death, you'll be there with me, right?" Sirius whispered. "I don't want to imagine any kind of life without you."
Letting his grip on Sirius' hand loosen, Remus shook him off only to wrap his arms around the slightly smaller torso of his husband.
"If there's any kind of justice, there will never be a way of life that doesn't keep us side by side."
Sirius nodded. "I have… a bad feeling."
"Maybe it's because it's Halloween?" Remus suggested, rubbing a hand down Sirius' arm.
Frowning, Sirius shook his head. "I'm not sure. I'm going to go and check on Lily and James, okay? Maybe meet up with Peter, as well."
"Do you want me to come with you?"
"It's okay, you stay here. You're still recovering from the full moon. I'll be back in about an hour, okay?"
Remus pressed a kiss to Sirius' lips. "Okay. Stay safe, I love you."
"I love you too."
…
Three days later, and Remus sat on the roof alone, looking up at the moon.
Sirius sat in a cell in Azkaban, looking at the same moon and hoping that Remus could forgive him.
…
Twelve years passed, and yet Remus wore his wedding ring like a talisman of hope. He kept it disillusioned, but the weight of it on his finger brought him comfort.
…
Being back at Hogwarts reminded Remus of better days, of days when Sirius and James and Peter had been his whole life and the four of them were inseparable. Of course, he and Sirius had remained that way until… until they hadn't.
Still, with Harry walking around looking like a mini-James, and the familiar laughter of students living the best years of their lives filling the air, it was almost like being home for Remus.
Almost, but not quite.
He threw himself into the job, distracting himself as much as he could. He ignored the barbs from Snape's forked tongue, and he taught the students to best of his ability.
All the while, trying not to dwell on the Daily Prophet's almost weekly reminders that Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban and was on the run.
They said that Sirius had escaped to come after Harry.
Remus refused to believe that. He knew his husband, and while he didn't know precisely what happened twelve years ago, he knew that Sirius was no Death Eater and he loved Harry as one would love their own child.
Remus refused to believe that Sirius had succumbed to the madness of Azkaban.
Every night, his dreams were filled with images of times they'd spent together, though they often turned to the nightmare of his current reality; the crippling loneliness as he climbed into bed alone every night.
He waited and he waited and he waited.
Sirius would find him. He had to.
…
As Sirius spoke, his voice unrecognisable after twelve years, Remus kept his eyes on the expressive hands of his husband.
The ring glinted occasionally in the dim light.
He saw the pain in Sirius' eyes when he looked at Remus' own hands only to see there was no ring present. He wanted nothing more than to remove the disillusionment charm, to show Sirius that he was still wholly his, but with a confused and hurt Harry in the middle of learning the painful truth of his parents' deaths, he knew it wasn't the right time.
When Sirius spoke of forgiveness, Remus immediately gave it, knowing that it wasn't necessary. He also knew that he'd have to ask for some forgiveness of his own.
He'd just have to hope there would be time later.
…
"I wondered how long it would take you to get here," Sirius commented quietly. He was sitting in the living room of the home they'd shared before… before.
"It's dangerous for you to be here," Remus replied, his voice just as soft. He leaned his trunk up against the wall before walking fully into the room.
Sirius had helped himself to the bathroom in the time it had taken Remus to get home from Hogwarts and he looked all the better for it.
Almost like the man Remus had married was still there, buried under the muck of twelve years in prison.
"You're not wearing your ring."
"Wrong," Remus replied. He waved his right hand over his left, lifting the charm. "I've never taken it off."
"Yet you hide it. Are you ashamed to be married to me?"
"Of course I'm not," Remus snapped. "I tried to fight for you, to get you a trial if nothing else, but you know the stance on werewolves. Do you really think that you being married to a werewolf would've helped your case any?"
"It's registered at the Ministry," Sirius replied flatly. "They could've found out, had they bothered to do their research."
Remus sighed. "Is this really what you want to do the first time we're alone together in over twelve years? You really want to argue semantics, right now?"
Sirius stood up, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides.
"What I want, Remus, is to know if the man I married still loves me."
He lifted a hand, resting it against Sirius' cheek. Remus smiled slightly. "You make that sound as if I have a choice. Me loving you was never an option, Sirius. It's part of who I am."
…
Remus ducked into the cave. The dog's ears pricked up and their eyes met. Remus rolled his eyes when Padfoot's tongue lolled out of his mouth to the side, his eyes twinkling with happiness.
"We need to talk about your life choices," Remus murmured dryly.
The dog morphed into human form, and Sirius immediately stood to wrap his arms around Remus. "I need to be close to Harry, you know that. And besides, the Ministry are still sniffing around you, thinking that I'm close by."
Remus sighed, resting his face against Sirius' neck. "I suppose. Still, you're a wizard, are you not? You could clean yourself up a bit, you tramp."
Sirius laughed, the feeling making Remus smile.
"You could always play nursemaid and clean me up," Sirius joked, nuzzling Remus' hair with his face.
"Or I could play vet and give Padfoot a flea bath."
"I miss you, Moony," Sirius whispered after a moment.
"I miss you too. I'll come by again in a few days, okay? Try and clean up a little bit, and I'll fetch some supplies with me to sort your hair out."
Sirius kissed Remus' softly. "I love you. More today than yesterday."
"But not as much as tomorrow," Remus finished. "I love you too."
…
Remus had seen Sirius fall through the veil with his own eyes. The evidence was indisputable. And yet, he denied it, because in his heart, and in his soul, Sirius was still there with him. Remus could feel him in every breath he took, with every step he made.
While the body of Sirius Black had disappeared into the unknown when he fell into the veil, his soul was still tethered to the earth with Remus', waiting for his love to join him.
…
"You took your time."
Remus blinked as he sat up, staring at Sirius. He was the Sirius that Remus remembered from before everything went wrong. The one that got birthdays wrong and sulked because Lily wouldn't let him take Harry out on his motorbike.
The one that Remus first fell in love with.
"I died?"
Sirius nodded solemnly. "You did. Dolohov, the bastard."
Remus shook his head, holding his hand out to Sirius. "It's okay."
Sirius gripped his hand, pulling Remus to his feet. Remus looked down at his prone body. "Are we ghosts?"
"Nah," Sirius replied, looking around them. "Spirits, but not quite as corporeal as ghosts. This is… well. It's a bit confusing. But this is our forever. We live as we lived when we were alive, you know? Dead but…"
Remus grinned. "So we finally get our forever?"
Sirius' smile widened to match Remus'. "Yeah. Yeah, we do. We finally get our forever. Come on, James and Lily are waiting, they want to see you."
"What about… that?" Remus asked, pointing at the body he'd vacated.
"There's a bit of a transition period, but soon, it'll be like the Hogwarts we knew when we were kids. Only, you know, we can look in on the world from time to time. Lily and James are watching Harry now. I only stopped because I wanted to be here with you."
Remus nodded, allowing Sirius to pull him along.
They had eternity, after all.
Also Written for;
Hogwarts Assignment 9 - Mythology, task 1 - Write about a shapeshifter/animagus.
Disney - Hakuna Matata - An inseparable pair
Shannon's Showcase - Belarus - Title; Forever / Word; Magnificent
Book Club - Eddie - Birthday / Nightmare / Forgiveness.
Days Of The Month - Visit Your Relatives Day - Write about a familial reunion
Ami's Audio - 14. Life after death
Showtime - 11. Dreaming of someone
Geek Pride, Stand 4 - Photos; Image / Evidence / Meet
Debate Club - Fanon - "What did you do?"
Cooking Corner - Honey - "We need to talk about your life choices."
Scavenger Hunt - 16. Sirius Black / Motorbike / Leather Jacket