Now, Sakai Michiba presents:
The Proposal
Part 39 of the Smitten series
It was late November of 1978, and Remus Lupin was elbows-deep in dishwater. Sirius was out in the snow doing God-knew-what and had been gone for quite a while when an owl tapped at the window. Remus withdrew his hands from the water and dried them before letting the bird in, a load of snow blowing in along with him. Sputtering, Remus took the letter from the bird's leg and closed the window. "You can stay here and warm your beak; you should not fly in this weather," he claimed to the bird, which hooted quietly and fuzzed up near the fire.
Sitting on the hearth by the bird, he opened the letter and read over the flowing script. His eyes widened as he recognized it as Dumbledore's, and he sighed when he realized just what the letter was asking him to do. "The Order of the Phoenix?" he muttered, and he ran his fingers through his hair.
Sirius finally burst through the door, and Remus did not recognize him for a moment. "You look like a damned snowman!" he laughed, and he got up to walk over and brush the snow off of his frozen lover. Sirius just chattered his teeth, his lips blue, and he shook snow all over the floor. "Come on in by the fire, love…"
Remus brought Sirius to the hearth and took his hands as they sat warmly together. "Where did you go?" Remus asked, his eyes widening as Sirius drew from his pocket a tiny little parcel with a ribbon about it. "Sirius, what's this?"
When Sirius was thawed enough to speak, he shuddered and grinned at Remus. "Gotchu present," he said with a light giggle, and the firelight lent some color to his cheeks as Remus untied the ribbon. When the tiny little box was opened and Remus found a white gold ring with a small, tasteful diamond set in it, Sirius grinned at the flabbergasted look on his lover's face and leaned in to kiss him. "Told you I wanted to marry you at the wedding, so I figured, you know, if you're my fiancé, you need a ring to show for it."
Remus looked up at him and laughed before he threw himself against him and melded their lips together. The owl gave an indignant hoot and fluttered closer to the fire as Remus pushed Sirius onto his back on the hearth and proceeded to warm him up in a much different way.
His tongue slid out to trace the bow of Sirius's cool lips before he sucked his lower lip between both of his own and suckled heat back to it, feeling that warmth flood into him as cold hands ran over his back and arse. "You prat. You spend too much money on me, Sirius Black!" Remus whispered in an almost harsh tone that told of tears hiding behind his eyes.
Sirius snorted and pressed his tongue into Remus's mouth, taking the ring and pushing it onto Remus's left ring finger. Their fingers spread and clutched together, and under the watchful eye of the owl, Remus and Sirius heated one another up with no need for the fire.
Later, when they were lying naked and tired on the couch, the owl hopped over and nipped Remus's finger sharply, holding the letter in his talons. "Oh, Sirius, look." He reached down and took the letter, reading it aloud to him before he lay his head on his shoulder. "I figure if we're not part of the solution, we're part of the problem. That's what people say, right? I'll bet he asked James and Peter, too. Let's do it, please?" he asked quietly, his hand rubbing over Sirius's naked shoulder.
Sirius sighed and closed his eyes before he nodded. "Yeah. Voldemort's…Well, you know. He's killing anyone who doesn't agree with him, and you're a half-blood. I gotta protect you," he breathed sleepily, and he tugged Remus onto his chest. "Dumbledore won't lead us wrong…"
Remus moved off of Sirius and retrieved a pen from the table. He scrawled a reply to Dumbledore, saying they would be happy to join, and the owl took off into the blizzard again. Instead of going back to Sirius, he disappeared in one of the back bedrooms for a few moments, and when Sirius came to find him, he blushed and leaned up to kiss his cheek.
"I don't have any money to speak of so I can't buy you a ring, Sirius, but I um…I have this." He presented Sirius with the most valuable thing he had ever owned—his grandfather's wedding band. It was silver with gold cords running over the surface, and when he placed it on Sirius's finger, it resized itself. "It's my heirloom. I want you to have it," he giggled, and he grinned as Sirius tugged him close to kiss him.
"Thank you, pet. Thank you so much…" He pulled back to look at the thick, masculine ring, and he grinned. "Even if we never get married, we'll be ready if we can be…"
