Now, Sakai Michiba presents:

The Home He Never Had

Part 16 of the Smitten series


The Lupin family and Sirius used a Ministry-loaned car to drive back to their home in the countryside, and Sirius found himself being very, very careful not to touch Remus at all in front of his parents. The drive was a long one, however, and soon enough Sirius found himself with a lapful of Remus's head, and he stroked his boyfriend's hair while he slept. Flora Lupin looked back to smile at them. "Remus never can stay awake in the car for long, poor dear. The vibrations lull him right off to sleep." She reached back and rested her hand on Sirius's wrist. "Thank you, Sirius Black. It's obvious he has found a good friend in you," she whispered, and she blushed a little. "He never had friends as a little boy. He's very shy."

Sirius fought back the urge to laugh at the notion of his Remus being shy, and he gently scratched his lover's scalp. "Remus has tons of friends at school. He's not shy or anything…" he said in Remus's defence, but he liked the fact that Flora was concerned about her son. His mother had never cared that much.

Remus shifted in his sleep a little and murmured Sirius's name in a tiny, muffled voice. Flora gave Sirius a smile and touched her son's shoulder before she nodded. "Well, I rest easily knowing he has at least one very good one. If he didn't have anyone but you, I would be happy." She watched them for another moment before she turned back around in her seat.

Sirius watched her for a moment before he smiled a little to himself and stroked Remus's ear with the pad of his finger. He felt Remus shift again, and in a moment the sleeper rolled onto his back and looked up at Sirius through blurry eyes. "We there yet?" he asked groggily, and Sirius shook his head a little, wanting nothing more than to lean down and kiss Remus right on his dry lips. He considered it for a moment, but Flora kept glancing at them in the rearview, and he did not want to risk it.

"We should be home in about ten minutes, Remmie," she said quietly, and she leaned over onto John's shoulder.

Remus yawned and sat up, stretching his arms a little before he leaned onto Sirius's shoulder, closing his eyes but not sleeping. Sirius felt himself blushing, and he moved his arm to wrap about the other's shoulder, letting him get comfortable. "You're gonna love my house, Sirius," Remus said quietly, and he grinned up at him. "It's not as big as yours, I'm sure, but Mum's got good taste and she's a really great cook."

Sirius beamed down at him, only being perhaps seven inches away from his lips, but he calmed himself and nodded. "Yeah, I bet I will. I hated my parents' big house; it was useless. There were rooms with nothing in them because there was just nothing to put there." He made a face and then laughed.

Within fifteen minutes, they had pulled up to a little house set on at least twelve acres of nothing but green grass and a huge stretch of woods behind that was fenced in. Remus grinned as the car stopped, and he hopped out, hurrying around to the back of the car and pushing the trunk up, taking in a deep breath of the country air. A few moments later, Sirius joined him, and he grinned at Remus, taking the time that they were hidden behind the lifted trunk to kiss him lightly on the lips. Remus beamed at him after, and together they hauled out their trunks. "It's nice here," Sirius said quietly, and when they had emptied the trunk, they closed the trunk together.

They dragged their trunks up into the house and up the stairs to Remus's bedroom. Sirius loved it; the bed was a bit larger than their beds at school, with plenty of room for the both of them, though he suspected it had been magically altered for them. The room was filled with books and art, and there was a desk on which there were several old sketches. "Are these yours?" Sirius asked as he went to the desk and looked at them, smirking at how silly some of them were. He saw himself in one of them, and he noticed that Remus had seemed to take extra care in drawing him, neglecting James and Peter and himself. "They are. You great pouf. I do look this much better than James and Peter for sure, but not you."

Remus hurried up and snagged the drawing from him, giving him a look. "Don't peek at my things, you sod! I should kick your a—ahaha…You can't always…get your way like this…" Sirius had seized him around the waist and buried his tongue in his ear, humming gently as he felt that Remus was just as ready for this alone time as he was.

"I can," Sirius whispered, and he wrapped his arms tight around his middle, moving to kiss him fiercely on the lips. He thought he was going to be lost there in Remus's room, kissing him like this, and he wondered if he would ever come out before there was a knock on the door. They leapt apart and tried to make themselves presentable before John came in, smiling at them. "Sirius, Remus, come downstairs and help your mother with dinner, won't you? I have to go to the Ministry for a bit."

The both of them nodded together and scampered downstairs. Sirius loved the house; it was filled with light and the floors shone cleanly. It made him think of those old American homes his mother had always fancied, with their white walls and casually elegant furniture. He walked into the kitchen and smiled at the glossy oak table and the pretty white plates on it. "You're home is perfect, Mrs. Lupin," Sirius said quietly, and he stepped up beside her, helping her chop carrots.

She smiled at him and nodded. "I like to think so, Mister Black," she said quietly, and she bumped her hip with Remus's. "Did you boys get settled in?"

"Yes, Mum. After dinner, we're going to turn in early. Travel's made me exhausted," Remus said, and he smiled at Sirius as he chopped celery. Flora nodded and moved to add the chopped vegetables she had finished to the large stew pot, and she stood back a little, smiling as Sirius and Remus moved closer to one another and gave one another unmistakable looks. She hoped Remus would tell her himself what was going on.