Quidditch League - Round 11 - Wigtown Wanderers - SEEKER: Rogue - Write about a character who uses trickery/tricks to reach their goals/for a specific reason.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: Mythology Task 12 - Prompt: Write about people working together to achieve something
Thanks to Dash and Ari for betaing :)
And live with me forever now
Sirius looks down at the soggy vegetables that are sitting on the side of Teddy's plate and he frowns and lets out a small sigh. He glances back up, his gaze falling on the small boy who is currently pounding his fists against the plastic tray of the highchair.
"Look, kid," he starts, though Teddy doesn't respond much to the words. "We can't keep doing this. You and I, we've gotta get along because I'm going to marry your dad one day, and he's not going to want to marry a man who can't convince you to eat your dinner."
There's still no answer.
"You're a pretty cool kid, despite the dribbling and the constant stickiness. We could be cool. Best friends. I could be the best step-dad ever. But we're not going to get there if you don't eat this."
He lifts the fork hopefully but Teddy pushes it away, snapping his lips shut and glaring at the broccoli.
Sirius is losing the will to live. Remus has finally trusted him to babysit; he has an appointment at the Ministry and Tonks is still on holiday with her girlfriend. But he can't even get Teddy to eat one bite of these vegetables.
Parents and step-parents have to be responsible. Sirius has to achieve this to prove that he is stepfather material. That he is worthy to marry Remus and they can raise Teddy together—well, on the weeks where it's Remus' turn to look after him. This is key to winning Remus' heart all over again, but Sirius can wait. He's used to waiting. He's learnt to be patient, because if anything, he's come to realise that him and Remus will always find their way back to each other. And this time, Sirius will make sure nothing gets between them again.
"Kid, we've talked about this," Sirius says. "Just eat a couple of bites. Just a little bit. I'll tell your dad that you finished all of it, then we both win!"
Teddy doesn't respond to this either, and Sirius considers his options. There aren't really all that many. It's hard when kids are small and don't quite understand bargains, and can't talk much to discuss these things. Teddy isn't going to be swayed by his words, so he's got to think of something else.
"Look at this super cool airplane!" Sirius suddenly says. He's sure that he's seen Remus do this before, and that Remus has managed to get Teddy to eat this way before. He lifts the fork and starts to move it around, making airplane sounds.
He's dedicated to it. He makes the best sounds for the plane, he gives it guns, and makes it almost crash a few times. He can see by the look on Teddy's face that Teddy is invested in this, and he feels a little smug that his airplane is a lot better than Remus'. Something to brag about later, of course.
Finally, Teddy is staring at the fork, mouth agape as he does. Sirius takes his chance and brings the fork to Teddy's mouth, but the kid is too fast—his lips snap shut again, and he glares at Sirius with all the ferocity a toddler could possess.
Sirius stares at the small boy. He simply cannot seem to fool this child. How does Remus do this so effortlessly?
He's got to up his attempts to trick him. It's the only way. So he sits back and considers his options.
After a few seconds of contemplation, he looks at the plate once more. "Teddy, what is the funniest colour you can make your hair?" he asks. Teddy considers the question, his gaze darting around the room searching for something to copy. While he's distracted, Sirius quickly uses the knife to push some mash on top of the broccoli to hide it.
"How about some potato?" Sirius asks. "Open wide."
And that doesn't work either, because Teddy is too smart for a two-year-old, and Teddy is giving him the same unimpressed look that he's so used to getting from Remus. Sirius ends up dropping the fork and runs his hand through his dark curls as he tries to figure out just how to do this.
Well, if this child is like Remus, then he can probably be bribed in the same way that Remus can.
"Hey, Teddy, do you want some chocolate?"
And now he has Teddy's attention, and he can start bargaining for Teddy to eat his vegetables.
Teddy will eat the veggies, which will make Remus happy.
Teddy will be rewarded with a chocolate, which will make Teddy happy.
Remus will be happy with Sirius, which will make Sirius happy.
There is no bad side that Sirius can see. He goes over to the tin of chocolates and returns with two.
"Eat the vegetables and you get these," Sirius says. He lifts the fork again, and this time Teddy opens his mouth.
Sirius lounges on the sofa, arms behind his head. He's pleased with himself as he tells Remus that Teddy ate all of his vegetables. Teddy is in bed right now, and Remus is suitably impressed at Sirius' clearly great parenting skills. Sirius' plan is working.
He likes the domesticity with Remus. Remus moved into Sirius' house after his divorce, talking nonsense about finding his own place soon, but Sirius made sure to make this house perfect for both him and Teddy. After the second month, Remus stopped mentioning looking for a place, and it's an unspoken agreement between the both of them that Remus is never leaving. Sirius knows Remus well enough to know he's in agreement.
"We should have a reward," Remus decides, going to the tin of chocolates, and Sirius laughs softly because of course Remus has included himself in that. It's so adorable of him. "Fudge for you?" Remus asks.
Sirius nods. "Or a strawberry one." He knows he'll get a fudge because Remus likes to hoard the strawberry chocolates like a dragon hoards gold.
"I think I'll have an orange one," Remus decides. He sifts through them, his fingers moving the chocolates around as he searches. "There are no orange ones in here," he mutters. "Did you have them earlier?"
Sirius shakes his head. "Oh, I gave them to Teddy," he explains. "We had a deal. He eats his vegetables and gets the chocolates."
Remus pauses, before turning his head. "You bribed my son with chocolate?" he checks. He sounds a little shocked, but Sirius knows that it must be because Remus didn't think of it first.
Sirius nods. "Of course. He wouldn't touch them until I realised that he's a Lupin and there's one way to bribe a Lupin."
Remus blinks at him for a few long seconds, following it up by laughing softly. "As much as I appreciate your initiative, maybe I should teach you how to handle that situation without bribery via chocolate."
Sirius deflates a little at this. "So, I didn't do good?" How will he win Remus' heart if he can't even look after Teddy properly? How will he bond with the kid if he can't give him chocolate? He already loves Teddy, but he wants Teddy to start seeing him like a third parent—and maybe he's not so patient after all, because he wants this family now.
"You tried," Remus replies. "And I appreciate that. Parenting isn't something that comes easily; everyone has to learn how to do these things."
"So… you'd trust me to look after Teddy again?" Sirius checks, because this matters.
"There's no one I trust more than I trust you," Remus assures him. "I know my son is safe with you. But next time, let's avoid the chocolate bribes."
Sirius nods. Remus trusts him more than anyone, and that means a lot. He'll figure this whole parenting thing out soon enough. He'll read more books, talk to more people and he'll be the best step-dad in the world.
"Do you think I'll be a good step-dad?" Sirius asks, because Remus' opinion matters more than anything. It's just a musing, and he doesn't realise what he's said until Remus stares at him.
Silence follows. The words are out there now and Remus now knows Sirius' intentions, and Sirius has to hope that Remus doesn't pull away. Sirius will of course wait for him to be ready if he does pull away, but they could be so good together. They always have been.
Remus pauses. "You want to be his step-dad?" he asks. "We haven't really talked about… about where we stand with each other this time around, but you've thought about that?"
Sirius nods his head. "I just assumed we'd fall back into what we had. It was pretty perfect, and you know how I feel. That'll never change. I'm still hopelessly in love with you, I'm sure you've worked that one out already."
"I know," Remus confesses. "But I didn't know if having a son would change that. I didn't know if that was something you wanted to be involved in. I could've asked Harry or Molly to look after Teddy today. I think I asked you in hopes that…" There's a shy smile on his lips, and Sirius realises that this was a test.
Not a test to see if he did a good job or not. A test to see if Sirius wanted this as his future.
"I've always wanted to be a dad," Sirius murmurs. "We talked about it when we were younger—adopting one day, I mean—but this is better. A mini-Remus. How could I not want this to be my family? Even if you had fifty kids, I'd be here. Any child of yours can't be anything but perfect."
Remus' smile widens. "You make it sound so simple, when I've spent so long over-thinking this and panicking over the thought that I was the only one who felt this way. Of course I want to be with you again."
"Great," Sirius murmurs. "So it's official, right? We're together, and this time nothing will stop us."
"It's official," Remus confirms. "But we've got a lot to talk about if we're really doing this."
"We could talk," Sirius agrees. "Or perhaps we take those chocolates to the bedroom and celebrate, and talk tomorrow?"
Remus raises his eyebrows as Sirius walks over to the box. His eyes follow the box as Sirius picks it up, and Sirius smirks. He knows Remus too well. "Are you still trying to use chocolates as a bribe?" Remus questions with a poorly-hidden smile.
Sirius nods. "Most definitely," he admits. "Is it working?"
"It is." Remus laughs softly. "When has it not?"
Sirius walks over and leans in for a soft kiss. "Why mess with something that works?" he asks. "I'll be doing it forever."
"Forever sounds good," Remus murmurs. "I can work with forever."
They walk to the bedroom, hand in hand. Forever with Remus—it's what Sirius has always wanted.
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