A/N: Hey y'all! This was written for Hogwarts and the HPFC Tournament. :)

Floristry Task 6: Write about someone beginning a new, exciting chapter in their life

Word Count: 2916

WARNINGS: Language, mentioned character death, mentioned gang-life, some post-apocalyptic angst

Note: No magic here. Post-apocalypse. Post because… well. The dark times always pass, don't they? Hang in there, my loves. And if you need someone to talk to while we're in quarantine, shoot me a PM.

So many thanks to Gen for betaing! She turned this mess into something readable. XD

Enjoy!

What Remus missed most about the old days was the sunlight.

He knew he was lucky that he had the opportunity to raise his son in the underground compound. But there were things that Teddy would never know, because he'd simply never get to experience them.

Rain, sunshine, snow… as well as travelling to other cities, because there were no roads anymore. No beaches, no trees.

Well, live ones, anyway. And the incandescent lights didn't quite live up to the sun. But Remus was making the best of it, because that's what you did when you had a child to raise all on your own. You stood, you smiled, and you didn't complain.

It was easier said than done.

Remus glanced down at the words on his wrist. They'd dulled in color since Dora had died, but he still liked to read them sometimes. Oh bugger, I thought you were the bloke who stood up my friend—I'm so sorry.

He smiled to himself as he traced the words with his fingertips. He'd met Dora on the underground when she'd purposefully sent him sprawling after mistaking him for someone else. He still remembered that day, her face as red as her hair, scrambling to help him gather up his papers as her friend Charlie howled behind her.

She'd offered to take him out for an apology coffee, and things escalated from there.

Remus looked over at Teddy, who was sleeping in his cot on the other side of the bedroom. The baby was perfectly happy, completely unaware that his father was caught up in the past. Remus bit his lip and wondered what would happen if he finally allowed himself to move on.

But a glance at the clock revealed that he was late for his shift at the cafe. Cursing himself for getting lost in what-ifs again, Remus scrambled to get dressed, not bothering with a shower, and woke Teddy up.

He was out of the door in fifteen minutes with Teddy strapped to his chest, the baby bag grasped firmly in his hand. Another five minutes, and he was at the cafe.

He burst through the doors, his amber eyes wide. "Sorry I'm late, Molly," he gasped once he caught sight of the cafe's owner. "I—"

The red-headed woman just waved her hand. "No worries, dear. It's been a slow morning so far. You just catch your breath." She smiled kindly at him, her brown eyes crinkling at the corners.

Remus allowed a small smile onto his face, relieved. Molly Weasley really was a lifesaver; as a mother of seven children, she had no trouble allowing Remus to bring Teddy along to work. Sometimes he dropped the little boy off with her and her young boys in the flat above the shop, but Remus spent much of his day just holding the baby, too.

He clocked in and took his place at the till. For the first few hours, it was like any other day.

And then the long-haired man with a haughty expression sauntered in. "Hello," he greeted coolly. "I'll do a large coffee, no cream, no sugar."

Remus barely hid his snort. "As black as your soul, then?" he asked with a small twist of his lips, the joke coming out before he could hold it in.

The man—who certainly seemed like a force to be reckoned with, with his leather jacket and cool attitude—seemed stunned. Embarrassed, Remus cleared his throat and said, "Coming right up."

From where he'd been sleeping against Remus' chest in the carrier, Teddy began to stir. His chubby fists flailed against Remus' arms, so the tawny-haired man reached to to place a comforting hand on his son's head. His sleeve slid down as he did so, revealing black marking beneath his grey soulmark.

Remus startled and, without thinking, pulled his sleeve down further.

Hello. I'll do a large coffee, no cream, no sugar.

"Oh, fuck," Remus breathed; the new words must have appeared while he was running out the door. Then, realizing what he'd said, he flushed darkly and looked guiltily up at the man who, against all odds, must be his second soulmate. "My words—"

"Yeah, you—you said mine, too." So that was why he'd seemed so startled. The man raised a brow and cleared his throat. "When's your next break?"

"Ten minutes." Remus' voice was hoarse, his heart was pounding—this was not how his day was supposed to go. But then again… maybe this was his chance.

The man nodded. "Right. We'll talk then—I'll be in the back. Oh." He stuck out an awkward hand. "Regulus Black."

Remus sucked in a breath, suddenly very aware of the fact that he'd skipped a shower that morning. "Remus Lupin."

Regulus nodded at him, then went to wait for his order at a nearby table. Remus punched in the order with shaking hands and did his best to shush Teddy, who was starting to whine with hunger. Remus swallowed thickly.

The ten minutes seemed to be over in no time. He quickly made Teddy's formula, then hurried over to see if Regulus had stayed to talk. He had.

Regulus looked up as he approached. His grey eyes swept over Remus carefully, landing on Teddy. He furrowed his brow. "Didn't want to wait?"

Remus didn't have to ask what he meant. He flashed his arm in Regulus' direction. "You're not my first."

Regulus leaned forwards with interest. "Two soulmates? I didn't know that was possible."

"Neither did I," Remus admitted. "Not until ten minutes ago, at least." He sat down before Regulus could respond, spurred into action by Teddy's fussing. He eased the nipple of the bottle into the baby's mouth and smiled softly as Teddy made a noise of satisfaction.

"You're good with him." Regulus crossed his arms over his chest. "Very good with him."

Remus snorted. "Teddy and I have our ups and downs, but thank you." He eyed the other man critically. Regulus looked to be a year or so younger than he was, and there was no doubt that he was handsome—but Remus was past the time where he could pursue someone based on pure desire. He needed more of a foundation for dating now, with Teddy involved. But first, he had to make sure that he and Regulus were on the same page.

"Why did you want to talk to me?" he asked quietly. "It was either because you want to pursue this connection between us or because you don't—which is it?"

Regulus' eyes were still on the baby. "I…" He cleared his throat. "Which do you want?"

"I asked you first." Remus refused to be a factor in Regulus' decision making. He didn't want a half-there soulmate, he wanted a partner.

The revelation knocked the breath out of him, though he did his best not to let it show. He wanted someone he could share Teddy with, someone who would gladly help raise the boy… someone he could love freely.

But that was a lot to ask of Regulus at the moment, so Remus turned his attention back to the younger man and waited for his response. Teddy finished his bottle then, and Remus decided he wasn't going to be shy about taking care of the baby then and there, because Regulus might as well know now that he was devoted to his son; Teddy was part of the package. Regulus cleared his throat as Remus raised the baby to burp him, awkwardly sliding his gaze away. Remus felt like he had his answer, then.

"You see, Remus…"

"Oi! Reg!"

Regulus stiffened. Remus turned around to look at the door to see a man who looked remarkably like Regulus bounding over. Regulus groaned into his hands and shot Remus an apologetic look; his uptight, holier-than-thou demeanor was finally crumbling.

"Sirius," he hissed. "You aren't supposed to be here."

Remus checked his watch, eager not to be caught between the two—and he knew Regulus' answer, anyway. "I need to get back to work, Regulus," he murmured. "It was nice meeting you."

Remus slipped out of his chair and hurried back to the counter before the grey-eyed man could respond. He didn't expect to see Regulus again, but to his surprise, the other man visited him up at the counter after speaking with the man Remus assumed must be his brother.

"Remus." Regulus nodded politely. "I just wanted to say that I'd like to pursue this, if it's something you still want."

Surprised, it took Remus a moment to respond. He smiled gently at the younger man. "I would," he confirmed.

Regulus looked relieved. "That's great. I'll… stop by tomorrow?"

"Sure." Remus nodded. "That would be fine."

They confirmed a time, and Remus tried to muster up some real excitement as Regulus headed out the door. But the truth was… he just didn't feel that spark that he'd felt when he'd first met Dora. Finding your soulmate was supposed to be exhilarating, but this just wasn't.

Maybe, he thought, he was holding Regulus to too high a standard. He couldn't expect another Dora, after all.

He placed a hand on Teddy's back. "We'll figure it out, kid," he murmured.

He only hoped that it was true.

The next day, his sort-of date with Regulus went okay. There weren't any fireworks, but Regulus was polite, listened intently, and only seemed mildly uncomfortable when Remus had to tend to Teddy, which was a lot.

In other words, it could have been better.

The bell above the door sounded, ripping Remus from his thoughts. He smiled quickly at the new customer, and for a second thought Regulus had returned. But no—the wide grin and mischievous gleam in the eye revealed that this was Sirius.

Remus smiled in recognition, giving the taller man a nod.

Sirius beamed back. "Hello," he said. "I'll do a large coffee, no cream, no sugar."

Remus almost laughed; it was the same order Regulus had given him. He debated teasing Sirius in the same way he had Regulus, but something told him that Sirius would appreciate it more than his brother would have. "As black as your soul, then?"

Sirius looked startled for a moment before barking out a laugh. "The opposite, actually. That's my brother's order, I'm having a latte, thanks."

Remus grinned to himself as he rang up the order. He did feel a twinge of guilt, though, guessing why Regulus hadn't come into the cafe. "Is he all right? The date was…"

He lacked the right words, but Sirius guessed his meaning. "He'll be fine. He just… he wants a soulmate, I think."

Huffing out a laugh, Remus glanced up at Sirius. "Who can blame him?"

Sirius' grey eyes didn't leave Remus' for a long time. "Yeah," he said at last, and there was a sort of sadness in his voice that Remus didn't understand. "Who can blame him?"

It was only after he'd left the shop that Remus realized that Sirius, too, had spoken his words.

"They're my words, too, Reg," Sirius stressed. "All I'm saying is that… I dunno, how can you be sure that—"

"No, Sirius." They were in Sirius' flat, and Regulus wanted to strangle his brother. It was just his luck that he and Sirius shared the same soulwords as each other—and just his luck that they'd greeted Remus the same way. "I found him first."

"That's not how this works," Sirius protested. "What if—what if that's my soulmate you're trying to make fall in love with you? You don't like kids, Regulus; he has a baby. You don't like men who don't care about their appearance or reputation, and he's working at a coffee shop smelling like sour milk and coffee!"

It was true; those things made Regulus wince on the inside. "The baby is the one vomiting on him all day," he said weakly. "I could… offer to help pay for a sitter—"

"You'd rather separate the bloke from his son than admit that he might not be the one for you?" Sirius ran a hand through his hair tiredly. "I expected more from you, Reg. When you said you were done with them… I thought you meant it."

Regulus could feel his hands balling into fists. "It's none of your business who I hang out with. You joined, too."

"And then I left," Sirius replied coldly. He stuck out his left forearm where the Dark Mark tattoo had been converted into a skull with flowers around it. It was like a garden was growing out of it—like life was blossoming from death. It screamed Sirius, who had somehow managed to escape his past mistakes without consequence.

It wasn't so easy for Regulus to leave Riddle, and the skull and snake on his own forearm were reminders of that.

"That's what this is about, isn't it?" Regulus asked softly. "You like him, and because I'm not fully out of their grasp yet, you don't think I'm good enough for him."

There wasn't any response from Sirius for several long minutes. Regulus bit his lip and looked away. On some level, he knew Sirius was right; he was in love with the idea of being in love, not with Remus. There just wasn't anything to hold them together, except for the supposed soulmate connection. But not even that was real.

He was holding on to a dream, nothing more. Both brothers were desperate for the love they never received growing up, but the difference between Sirius and Regulus was that Sirius could have it.

"If you drag him into all that shit, Regulus," Sirius whispered, "he's not going to be able to get out. He has a kid. You know… you know what Riddle does."

Regulus did know, and shame washed over him like a wave. Sirius was right; Remus didn't know about the Death Eaters yet, but Regulus couldn't hide that forever. And once you were in… it was near impossible to get out.

Unless, of course, you were Sirius Black. Regulus felt bitterness rise up in him and unsuccessfully tried to bite down the jealousy. Sirius Black got everything he wanted.

And he and Sirius both knew that he couldn't really leave—not when Riddle afforded him all that control, that power. So he made a decision.

"Take him, then," he rasped at his brother. His nails dug into his palms. "Take him, take everything. Just… don't stay here, because he's coming, Sirius. And I won't stop him."

The silence was deafening. Sirius' face gave away nothing, but after several moments, he dropped Regulus' gaze. "This is goodbye, then."

Regulus nodded curtly. "It is."

Remus wasn't surprised when Regulus came up to him the next day and told him that things weren't going to work out.

"I think…" Regulus bit his lip. "I think you're my brother's soulmate. Not mine."

Remus nodded slowly; he'd suspected the same. Still, there was a pain in Regulus' eyes that he hated to see. "You're a good man, Regulus," he said softly.

Guilt flooded Regulus' features, and he looked away quickly. "Sirius is waiting outside," he told Remus gruffly. "Go to him."

Remus raised a brow, but he did as Regulus asked once his break came up. Sirius was indeed outside, pacing nervously. Remus placed a hand on Teddy's back; something was wrong. "Sirius?"

The other man turned. "Remus." He hesitated. "Regulus spoke with you?"

"Yes." Remus fiddled with the strap of the baby carrier. "Does this mean you're interested?"

"Of course I am," Sirius exclaimed, looking surprised. "It's just that—I need to go somewhere… permanently. I wanted to know if you'd come."

Remus took a startled step back. "Where?"

Sirius pointed up. "Out."

Remus' heart was beating faster. "It's just ruins up there. That's what they're saying."

Sirius' expression was grim. "They're lying. I have contacts up there—my friends, the Potters. They'll help us, but I have to go today, due to an unexpected development… will you and your son come, too?"

It was mad that he was even considering this, but… he was suffocating down here. Barely surviving. He looked down at his sleeping son and realized that he didn't want this for Teddy. He wanted his son to see everything life could give, and the compound wasn't it.

But could he trust Sirius?

Sirius was getting really fidgety, now. He grabbed Remus' hand, and there it was—the spark that had been missing with Regulus. "Please, Remus." His voice was hoarse. "I can't stand the thought of you down here. And maybe you don't trust me yet, but… but I can't leave without knowing I tried."

Remus looked up at the steel ceiling. There was a world out there. And despite everything, he believed that it was still a good one. Maybe it was time to trust the universe again… after all, it had given him Dora, who had given him his son. Maybe Sirius could give him the world.

He couldn't deny his feelings. It was time to put his faith in someone else. He'd trust the universe one last time.

He squeezed Sirius' hand tightly. "Okay."

The very next morning, Remus felt sunshine. He squinted and lifted a hand to shield Teddy's sensitive eyes from the light, but the warmth against his skin still brought tears to his eyes.

Sirius had been right. The world was ready for them again.

The black-haired man turned and extended a hand to fully pull Remus out of the tunnel that led to the surface.

Wordlessly, Remus took it.