Warnings: Slash, Mpreg

Pairings: SS/HP and SB/RL

Genres: Romance, Drama, Angst

Summary: Sequel to 'Life, Love and Everything in Between.' Back from their Holiday, Harry and Severus decide its time to tell Sirius and Remus about their relationship and Sirius is not happy. Harry decides he wants more from their relationship, but can Severus provide what he needs?

Chapter Ten: Getting to Know You

"That's it, just bang your head on the table; damage what's left of your brain cells."

Harry stopped hitting his head on the wooden surface and glared his best glare at Severus. Completely unfazed, the other man smirked and sat down opposite.

"What's wrong with you now?" Severus asked, bored.

"As if you care," Harry muttered scathingly.

Severus bit the inside of his cheek to prevent another smirk and busied himself with the morning the paper. He knew that mood all too well and it wouldn't be long before Harry gave up the charade and spoke what was on his mind.

As he was waiting for that moment to come, he took the time to scan the first few pages of the paper he'd just picked up. The news of Harry's pregnancy was still making headlines, although it had now been bumped to page 4. Page 5 was full of letters members of the public had sent in, expressing their opinions on their hero carrying a child and speculating who the other father might be. To his horror, someone had suggested that it could be Ronald Weasley; Severus shuddered at the very thought of Harry being in bed with that obnoxious twit.

He turned to page 6 and was just scanning an article about the Order of the Phoenix when, across from him, Harry cleared his throat. Severus took that as a sign to fold away the paper and he did so, looking expectantly at Harry.

"I miss Sirius," Harry said glumly.

Severus' features suddenly hardened. "Oh."

"I know I shouldn't be thinking about him after what he did, but I can't help it," he continued. "I really miss him. I just always thought I'd have him in my life, no matter what. I guess I'm sort of having trouble getting on with things…knowing he isn't there…or that he doesn't even care…"

Severus' good mood disappeared so fast, he couldn't remember what it was like to be happy. Had he been so caught up in everything else that he'd failed to see that Harry was growing miserable? Instead of trying to find houses and worrying about visiting his mother, he should have paid Harry more attention.

Personally, he didn't see what there was to miss about Sirius Black; now that he'd been declared a free man, he was as vain as anything. And his sarcastic comments and miserable tempers weren't exactly things to miss either. But then again, Severus wasn't Harry and therefore did not see what good there was (if any) in Black.

He knew the man had become something of a father figure for Harry over the last few years and, despite Harry's complaints of over-protectiveness, they did seem to get along well with each other. And if Harry had become somewhat attached to Black's presence, then it was understandable that Harry would feel incomplete without him.

But after everything Black had said, it was also understandable that Harry should never want to talk to him again.

Severus studied Harry across from him, knowing that he should say something to comfort the poor lad, but all he could think of were cutting remarks about the godfather in question.

He decided to force his words.

"I'm sure he will come to his senses eventually."

Harry snorted. "Will he hell! He hates me."

"He doesn't hate you," he made himself say. "He's just having trouble accepting the idea of us being together."

"If he cared, he would have accepted it by now."

Severus couldn't argue with that. But he needed to be comforting right now. "Give him time," he said.

"He's had enough time!" Harry said loudly. "I just can't understand why he's still being like this. This is all because of some stupid school rivalry! He's 39 years old for crying out loud!"

"Why don't you try talking to him again?" Severus suggested.

"I don't want to talk to him," Harry said angrily. "I don't ever want to see him again."

"But you said –"

"Forget what I just said!" Harry pushed his chair back and stood up. "I'm going over to Ron's. I'll see you later."

Severus sat at the table and watched Harry storm out of the kitchen. He hadn't a clue what had just happened, but he knew there was only one way to fix it. He hated Sirius Black with a passion, but the love he felt for Harry was much stronger, and it was for this reason that Severus was prepared to venture in to London and pay the evil godfather a visit.

By the time Lupin had shown him in to the living room, Severus was having second thoughts. The plan had been to just confront Black in a firm, unimposing way; he wasn't going to raise his voice, he wasn't going to draw his wand…he was just simply going to drill some sense into the man. But when he'd entered the room and had seen Black (looking as shaggy as ever), his temper had started to boil all over again. There he was, sat by the window, wallowing in what could only be described as some self-imposed depression, ever the melodramatic.

This annoyed him for two reasons. Firstly, Harry was the only one allowed to be melodramatic – it suited him! But secondly, and most importantly - hadn't it occurred to Black that Harry was the injured party in all of this?

It had been two weeks since Harry and Sirius had argued and Severus had assumed that Harry had been getting along fine without him. But the more time went by, the more Harry would feel his absence; it was probably for the best if it was sorted out now rather than later.

Severus cleared his throat in an effort to draw Black's attention. Behind him, Lupin hovered cautiously by the door, not daring to leave the two of them alone.

Slowly, Black looked up.

"I wish to discuss Harry with you," Severus said calmly.

Sirius snorted disdainfully. "You wish to discuss Harry? You're a bastard, you know that?"

Here we go again with the insults, Severus thought tiredly. The sooner this was over, the sooner he could leave.

"Look, Black," he said, annoyed. "I don't like you and you don't like me – I think we've established that already. But do you have to be such a prick to the people who do like you?"

Something flashed in Black's eyes and he jumped up from his chair.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" he said viciously. "Coming in here, acting like the good little Samaritan. Nobody's buying it, Snape!"

"Well someone has to be the responsible adult here," he retorted, "And clearly you're not up to the job!"

"Harry was entrusted to me! I care for him!"

"You haven't spoken to him in over a fortnight! What kind of impression do you think that gives?"

Severus must have hit a sore spot, for Black shook his head and laughed dryly, unable to answer.

Over by the door, Lupin began to fidget with his hands nervously and Severus couldn't help but wonder what sort of strain Black's mood had put on their relationship. As much as he hated them, there was no denying they were good together – one made up for what the other lacked; Black was the confident, headstrong one, and Lupin was the sensitive voice of reason. But Black wasn't the type of person to let something drop and Severus could tell just by glancing at Lupin that he had suffered as well.

"How is Harry?" Lupin asked, noticing Severus' stare.

"He misses you both," he told him simply. "But he's strong so he doesn't let it show. At least, he didn't until this morning." He turned back to Black. "He just wants a family. Why can't you be there for him?"

"He's with you. The sooner he realises you're no good, the sooner we can all just get back to normal."

This time, it was Severus' turn to laugh. "You really need to start facing facts," he said. "Harry is pregnant and yet the closest thing he has to a father is some madman who doesn't even want to be involved! Can't you see what this is doing to him?"

"Harry is free to come back whenever he wants!" he shouted. "If you knew what was best for him Snape, you'd let him go!"

"And if you knew what was best for him, you'd accept the fact that he and I are in love and would be supportive!" he yelled. "This stress isn't good for the baby. Do you really want him to lose another one?"

"Oh, and whose fault was it that he lost the first one!?" Sirius stormed. "You were the one who slept with him! You were the one who built his hopes up and dashed them the moment things got too much for you! You broke his heart Snape – I'm just making sure you don't do it again!"

Well. That certainly was a slap in the face – and Black seemed to know it, for he crossed his arms and smirked at Severus. Severus sneered.

"Do you really think Harry would be with me if he held something against me?" he forced out. "That baby was as much mine as it was his. So don't you dare stand there, acting all high and mighty, like you give a fuck! Because if you did care, we wouldn't be having this conversation. If you did care, you wouldn't give a shit who the other father was! If you did care, who would grow up and you would act like the father he needs!"

Sensing he was truly in danger of drawing his wand and cursing Black into the next century, he turned on his heel and stormed from the room and out of the house, making sure to slam the door behind him with all his strength.

Severus didn't head straight home, preferring to take a detour round Diagon Alley in attempt to calm himself down. He was fuming to the point where he just wanted to crush everything in his path. People scattered out of his way as he marched angrily down the twisting, cobble paths and he could feel his magic teetering on the edge, waiting to be unleashed.

He couldn't remember why he'd thought talking to Black would be a good idea when it was clear the man was just full of utter shit. He didn't care about Harry at all – he just wanted things to go his way! And when they didn't, he pulled one hell of a sulk.

A shop window caught Severus' eye and he paused his thoughts and looked up. Borgin and Burkes. His feet an automatically led him to Knockturn Alley. He scowled and continued down the dingy street before throwing himself onto a bench.

He was beginning to wonder whether Harry was worth being with if it meant he had to enter into such a psychotic extended family. Of course, he knew the answer to that immediately but that didn't mean he had to like it.

Sirius Black he absolutely detested, and he wasn't that fond of Lupin either – the man was a pushover, entirely too weak for Severus' liking. And then there was that whole Weasley clan to consider. Arthur, the one obsessed with muggles; Molly, who seemed to think Harry was a five year old in need of constant care; Bill, the one stupid enough to marry that Delacour girl; Charlie, the 'show-off' with the Dragons; Percy, who was probably the most pompous prat he'd ever laid eyes on (and he'd met James Potter so that was saying something!). And then came the evil twins, followed by Harry Potter's sidekick, and 'Little Miss Damsel-in-Distress.' And then, of course, there was the Granger girl, who seemed to be an un-shy version of Lupin.

Who would have thought that Severus would ever be associated with such people?

A soft gust of wind reached him where he sat and he looked down at his watch. He supposed he'd better head home. Harry may have left the Weasley's early and if so he would be wondering where Severus had gotten to. With a sigh, he thought of home and apparated with a 'pop'.

He let himself in and headed off towards the kitchen, intent on starting dinner. When he saw who was sat at his table though, all thought of food was forgotten.

"Severus, you're home," Harry smiled in greeting.

"Yeah, Severus," Black said with a grin, "What took you so long?"

Severus gritted his teeth together. His first thought was to shout and order the man out of his house; he was absolutely unwelcome here and had no right sitting in that chair at that table. But before he could react, it slowly began to dawn on him what Sirius Black in his house might mean.

Harry was smiling. He was in the same room as Black and he was smiling.

Could it be that Black had actually taken notice of what Severus had had to say?

"What's going on here?" he asked Harry.

"We've made up!" he beamed.

Severus' mouth tightened and his eyes turned to Black. "Really?" he said.

"Yep," said Harry brightly, clearing not noticing anything. "He just stopped by and we started talking and now everything's alright again. It's great isn't it?"

"Fantastic."

After Black had left, all Harry could talk about was his godfather. He was just so pleased that he'd seen the error of his ways and had come round. He told Severus of all the nice things Black had said and how he'd promised to never leave him in future. Severus had wanted to tell Harry about the little visit he'd paid him that morning but had decided it was best if Harry believed his godfather hadn't needed a push and had come round on his own merits. Severus knew Black had purposefully avoided telling Harry about his visit – this way, if Severus ever said a bad word against him, Harry would leap to his defence. It had been a clever move on Black's part, but he was sadly mistaken if he thought he was going to come between them. For now though, Severus was just relieved it was all over.

"How old were you when you lost your virginity?"

Severus, who had been noting down the next days shopping list, lowered his quill. "Why?" he asked, looking at Harry.

"I was just wondering," said Harry, rolling over in bed. "You know when I lost mine; it's only fair that I know when you lost yours."

"What wonderful reasoning you have there, Mr Potter."

"I'm serious, I wanna know," he said. "I'm interested."

With a heavy sigh, Severus pushed the parchment and quill away from him. "I was 21 if you must know."

"Who was it with?" asked Harry.

"No one you would have heard of," he told him.

"Oh." Then; "Was it good?"

Severus looked at Harry in bewilderment for wanting to know such a thing. "It was ok, yeah," he said with a shrug. "Why the interest?"

"I dunno," he said, staring up at the ceiling. "People always say you remember your first time. I was just wondering if you remembered yours."

Severus grunted. "Of course I remember my first time. I'm not senile you know."

"I didn't mean like that!" Harry went on. "I meant remember it in a fond sort of way." Harry paused before he spoke again. He turned his head to face Severus and he smiled. "I remember my first time fondly. Not the events that came after it," he added, "But the actual sex and everything that led up to it. It was nice."

Cheekily, he poked Severus in the arm. "Wasn't yours nice?" he prodded.

"It was…normal," he settled for.

"Normal? Severus, you don't have to worry about hurting my feelings," he assured him. "It happened long before we did."

Severus considered Harry. "Fine. It was nice."

"Who'd you say it was with again?"

"I didn't say."

Harry looked at his lover expectantly and, if it had been anyone else but Harry, Severus wouldn't have given in.

He rolled his eyes and turned onto his side.

"It was with my girlfriend," he told him. "Well, I say girlfriend. She was more of a friend who I met up with every now and then."

"Sounds like a hooker," Harry joked.

"She was a hooker," said Severus.

"Oh."

Severus laughed at the look on Harry's face.

"She was my friend before she was a hooker," he explained. "We'd meet up, have a few drinks, and sleep together. Free of charge," he added.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

Severus shrugged. "I realised I was gay," he said. "She's now living abroad and I'm here with you."

Harry fell quiet as he thought over what Severus had said, who took Harry's silence as a chance to cuddle up to him. Pulling the younger man to him, so that his back was pressed warmly against Severus' chest, he draped an arm around the smaller form and tangled his legs with Harry's.

"Wow," Harry said wonderingly.

"What?" Severus murmured, kissing the back of Harry's neck.

"You've slept with a woman." He twisted his head to look at Severus. "What's it like?"

"What's what like?"

"Sleeping with a woman," he said.

Severus groaned in frustration and looked around for the right word to describe it.

"Easy," he settled on.

"Easy?"

"Yeah. Women are sort of…self-lubricating."

"Eww! That's disgusting!"

Severus laughed again at Harry's expression. It amazed him sometimes how sweetly naïve his young lover could be.

Sensing Harry would start to ask about the mechanics of the female body, Severus decided the best form of action was to distract the young man. The arm that was already draped over Harry began to wander its way down the toned body, pausing here and there to stroke the sensitive areas. When he reached Harry's stomach, he brushed his fingers gently over the hairs he found and Harry hissed.

"Hmm," Severus groaned, "I much prefer men."

"I'm glad you do," Harry moaned.

The next day was the day they had agreed to go and visit Severus' mother and Harry had never seen Severus looking as nervous as he did now. Harry had spent the best part of the morning trying to convince him that he'd be all right but nothing had gotten through. By the time they had left the house, Severus had taken to picking at his robe sleeves.

"Severus, relax," he said for the fifth time, as they made their way down the cobbled street. "You're just going to make it worse for yourself if you keep worrying like that."

"I haven't seen here in 21 years, Harry!" he snapped. "What if she's disappointed in me?"

"Disappointment in you is not possible," he said firmly. "Now come on, we don't want to be late."

"I don't see why you have to bring her flowers anyway," Severus muttered. "It's not like it's going to make anything any easier."

"Just stop complaining and walk faster," said Harry.

Harry was determined to make a good impression on Mrs. Snape and had insisted that they stop by Diagon Alley to by her some nice flowers. He'd heard from Hermione that that was what Ron had done when he'd met her parents over the summer and they had been delighted at such a polite gesture. Hopefully, Mrs. Snape would be to.

As he walked down the street, Severus in tow, he was offered congratulations from the people who had heard of his pregnancy and he thanked them for their kind words. Predictably, some of them asked after the other father, their eyes straying to Severus for the shortest of moments, but Harry just smiled and shook his head, not telling.

By the time he'd reached the flower shop, he'd received so much advice from mothers with young children that he didn't know what to do with it all. He felt touched by the care with which they had spoken and even Severus seemed to have forgotten he was supposed to be nervous.

"I can't wait until I start showing," Harry said, browsing through the various bunches of flowers outside the shop. "I'll feel like I'm properly pregnant then, you know? It's so exciting, isn't it?"

"Whatever you say Harry," he muttered. "Can you just hurry up and pick some flowers already? I hate that everyone's staring at you."

Harry looked up from the spotted purple and pink flowers he had been examining and glanced around the street. Several of the near by shoppers were watching Harry out of the corners of their eyes and one witch had even pulled out a camera to take pictures.

"They're all looking at you like you're some sort of celebrity," Severus complained under his breath.

"I am a celebrity," Harry reminded him. Then an idea struck him. He glanced once more around the street then looked cheekily at Severus.

"Well why don't we give them something to look at?" he smiled

Severus turned back to Harry. "Are suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

"Maybe," he grinned, "But that depends on what you're thinking."

Judging by the look that crossed Severus' face, they were thinking along the same lines.

"Harry, no!" he said. "It's a stupid, stupid idea. We can't!"

"I don't see why not," Harry pressed on. "It's not something to be ashamed of."

"No," he agreed, "But it is something for everyone to talk about!"

"So? We have just as much right as everyone else does to walk down the street together. I don't care what they think." He stopped and, biting his lip, he looked again at the people dotted about the sunny street. He took a deep breath and faced Severus. "Kiss me."

"Harry –"

"Kiss me," he said again, strongly. His eyes connected with Severus' and he smiled once more. "I love you."

Severus shook his head in amazement and laughed softly to himself. Then, growing serious, he took a step towards Harry, brought a hand up to his neck, and pressed his lips firmly to his. He pulled away just far enough to gaze into Harry's eyes and Harry felt excitement flood through him as he saw the passion erupt in Severus' dark eyes. They had just kissed in public!

"Can we do that again?" breathed Harry.

Severus smirked and bent his head. Their lips touched and at first it was slow and sweet and Harry was happily convinced it could last forever. He could feel Severus growing hard against his hip and he moaned into his mouth, instantly giving in and allowing that exquisite tongue to dominate him. Severus weaved his fingers through Harry's hair and he pulled him closer, kissing eagerly, never wanting the feeling to end.

Ironic, that the most intimate kissed they'd shared was the one witnessed by dozens of people.

A/N: I just had to pay my little brother to let me on my computer, in my room. He smells.