Chapter 47

"I don't know, I wanted to do something special for his birthday," Sirius told Lily over the phone. It was now November and Sirius was starting to panic as James's birthday drew near.

"Well, why don't you…I don't know what you can do. You can leave Matt and Ana with us if you want. I'm not going anywhere, as pregnancy sucks."

Sirius chuckled, "You don't have to tell me twice." He heard Lily laugh through the phone. "Anyways, I was thinking about apparating somewhere and going to a lake and having a picnic or something. I know it's all romantic and crap, but I want his 20 birthday to be special."

Lily sighed. "Well, I think that sounds nice. And his birthday is on the 16th right?"

"Yeah," responded Sirius glancing at a calendar on the wall. It was only a few days away. "I think I will do that. Hey, I'm a genius."

Lily laughed. "Just you keep on believing that," she chuckled.

"Ha-ha cute," he mumbled and then hung up after saying goodbye. He had to plan for his husband's excellent birthday.

planning

Lily knocked on the door and Sirius opened it quickly. She had come to pick up Ana and Matt. They had agreed that it would be best if they weren't with their parents as they wanted to apparate and the kids couldn't, obviously.

"Thanks, Lily," muttered Sirius as he handed her the sleeping baby and half asleep toddler.

"Don't mention it," she murmured and kissed him on the cheek before leaving. Sirius watched her leave and then closed the door. James was going to be confused when he woke up and the children weren't there. Oh well.

Sirius went to the kitchen and began packing a basket with food. "Hmm, what kind of sandwich? I know, tuna! I love tuna!"

"What's the occasion?" a voice behind him asked. Sirius turned around and saw James smiling at him. Sirius moved forward and gave him a tight hug. James kissed him on the forehead and looked around.

"It's your birthday, you silly," he teased. James smiled at that.

"Ah, yes. Where are the kids?"

"Lily is watching over them today," explained Sirius, moving back to finish packing everything. James watched him with a small smile on his face. Sirius was very good at getting back to his normal size and was once again slender. He turned around to smile at James and winked seductively.

"Come on, we should get going," urged Sirius, closing the basket and then walking over to James and grabbing his arm. "We'll be apparating, so if you would so kindly hold on to my arm so one of us won't get lost, then we'll be on our way."

James chuckled slightly and grabbed onto Sirius's arm. They apparated away and the next thing James saw was a lake surrounded by trees and mountains. "Oh shit, where are we?" he asked, gazing around.

Sirius glanced at him as he walked away. "I actually have no idea. It looked pretty and I was like hey, I wanna go there and I'm sure James will like it." He shrugged. "Do you?"

James smiled and gave Sirius a tight hug. "Of course I do. It's absolutely magnificent!"

Sirius beamed and led the way to a nice little patch of grass that was perfect to sit on and admire the surroundings. He set up the blanket and basket and lay down on his back, closing his eyes. James looked at him and then went over to him.

"Whatcha doing?" he asked, looking down onto Sirius's face.

Sirius opened one eye and looked at him. "I'm resting. That's what I brought you here for: resting." James rolled his eyes and then moved to sit on his chest. Once he felt the weight on his chest, Sirius opened both eyes and glared at him. "What was that for?"

James didn't answer, just moved forward and pressed his lips against Sirius's. Sirius's eyes widened at first but then he relaxed and returned the kiss. James suddenly burst out into laughter, pulling away from his husband. Sirius looked at him with raised eyebrows. "I'm sorry," apologized James between gasps for breath. "I was just thinking how funny it would be if I suddenly laughed, and then I did laugh and now I feel bad."

Sirius laughed as well, and pulled James back down on top of him. James kissed him again and began running his hands under Sirius's shirt against his body. Sirius squirmed slightly and pulled away. "Your hands are cold," he whined. James laughed and kissed him.

"Sorry," laughed James, pulling back and then going over to the picnic basket. "I'm hungry."

"And that's why I brought food," mumbled Sirius shaking his head slightly. He knew that James would immediately get distracted by his hunger. James pulled out the sandwiches and handed one to Sirius along with a soda.

"There you go. Now we've both got food and Mountain Dew, we can eat, admire the beauty around us and each other."

Sirius laughed and sat down next to James, snuggling up into his side. They sat in silence for a few moments, munching on their lunches and then James said, "I'm gonna teach you how to swim."

Sirius sat up straight and looked at James wildly. He had had some bad childhood experiences when it came to swimming. His parents seemed to use everything they could against him and had decided that they should ruin the experience of swimming as well. "What? No, that's a bad idea. I don't like swimming. I don't want to swim. I think I'll stay on dry land. Swimming is as good as suicide. Why would I want to commit suicide?"

James rolled his eyes and stood up, pulling Sirius up with him and abandoning his lunch. He led Sirius by the wrist to the edge of the water, Sirius protesting the entire way. "Alright, Padfoot, strip!" he demanded, stopping at the edge of the water and taking off his own shirt.

Sirius raised his eyebrows but complied anyways, all the while grumbling and complaining about the injustice of it all. James waited impatiently and when Sirius's shirt was off, he grabbed him by the arm again and led him into the water.

"James," he whined, "the water's freezing!"

"It's November, what did you expect?"

"I wasn't planning on swimming, James."

James laughed and led him deeper and deeper into the water. Sirius was starting to panic, but James held him tight. "Alright, the first thing you should master is floating on your back," James said as they got out to waist deep. Sirius's teeth were chattering because of the cold. James laughed when he saw that and kissed him on the cheek. "Now, get on your back."

Sirius pushed himself up so that he was lying on his back. James supported him for a little bit before taking his hands away. Sirius was breathing shallowly, trying to ignore his fears. James watched for a moment and then grabbed Sirius by the wrist. He jerked and looked around wildly. "Excellent, first step, mastered. Next we're gonna try the doggie paddle."

Sirius smiled at that one. "I can do that!"

"As a human."

Sirius's smile vanished. "I'm not so good at that."

"I didn't think so. Now let's get working!"

"Slave driver," muttered Sirius, and got splashed in the face by James.

A.N. I'm tired and bored and confused and lazy and crazy. All of the above. Anyways. Happy day!