A/n: Here's another chapter! I hope you enjoy! Thank you all for your reviews. I'm sorry that it took me so long to update. I've gotten so caught up in other things, I just forgot, until I looked at the date I last updated, and realized that it's been over a year! OMG! I appreciate all of your reviews, every single one, since I don't get that many. (The highest one is Sirius and Remus – Marauders Era.) Anyway, thank you very much! I'll update, I promise! Enjoy the chapter! I hope it's not too long. ;)
Chapter 3
In the morning, both men woke up slowly, not wanting to greet the day, and instead, wanting to bask in the night before. However, eventually, they had to. Remus stretched, trying not to hit Sirius, whose arms were still around him. He slowly turned, and smiled at his bedmate who was already awake, smiling at him. "Good morning," Remus said pleasantly.
"Good morning, indeed." Sirius said, his smile widening. "Now this I could get used to."
"What?" Remus asked, his smile widening as well, moving closer to Sirius.
"Waking up to your beautiful face," Sirius said, running a hand through Remus' hair. "This I could definitely get used to."
A small blush crossed Remus' face. He put his arms around Sirius, and snuggled even closer to him, just wanting to bask in the moment, and enjoying the feel of Sirius' bare skin, and his well-defined muscles. After a few moments, he sighed. "Are you hungry, Sirius?" He asked.
"Mm-hm." Sirius said.
"Alright, then, let's get dressed and then go downstairs, and I'll cook you something to eat."
"Alright." Sirius said. He reluctantly let go of his lover – or who he thought of as his lover – got dressed, and went downstairs with Remus, who had gotten dressed as well. Sirius sat down in a chair at the kitchen table, while Remus began to make breakfast. Sirius just kept watching him as he glanced back every now and then to look at Sirius, and then went back to making breakfast.
Sirius began to get bored. He folded his hands on his stomach, and sighed, waiting for Remus to finish. When Remus was finished, he set a plate on in front of Sirius, and then one on the other side of the table. Neither one of them really knew what to say, so they just ate in peace, and then Remus began to clean up. Just as he finished, Sirius came up behind him, and put his arms around him. Remus just sighed, and leaned back, put his arms on Sirius'. Sirius pulled Remus closer to him, and Remus leaned back into him.
"I love you, you know that right?" Sirius asked Remus sweetly, his mouth close to his ear.
"I do now." Remus said, a smile on his face.
Sirius smiled. "Good." They just stood there like that for a while before Sirius turned Remus around his arms, and gave him a passionate kiss that lingered on Remus' lips afterwards. "Can I stay forever?" Sirius asked.
Remus tilted his head up, and looked Sirius in the eyes. "You want to move in with me?" He asked.
Sirius nodded. "Yes, I do."
Remus looked around. "Sirius, I… you…"
"Remus," Sirius said, holding a finger up, "I'll keep my flat rented so that I can go there during the full moons. I just meant for every other day."
Remus smiled. "I… would love that."
Sirius smiled as well. "Good." Remus threw his arms around Sirius' neck, and Sirius put his arms around Remus' back and held him close. They just stood there, embracing each other, before Remus stepped back. Sirius smiled at him. "Some people might think that we're moving a bit fast," Remus said. "I mean, we haven't been together 24 hours yet, and you're already moving in with me."
Sirius laughed softly. "Well… we've been in love for much longer…" He pointed out.
Remus also gave a soft laugh. "Yes, we're just making up for lost time."
"Right." Sirius said, nodding. They both had to laugh at that. Honestly, it was somewhat funny, but they were both confident that this was the right thing to do – the only thing to do.
"Besides," Remus said, "you've never been known for taking it slow."
Sirius chuckled. "Yes." He said. "And I promise that I won't go any faster than you want to." He gave another lingering kiss. Remus just smiled. They proceeded to move Sirius' things out of his flat, and making him a place in Remus' drawers. Afterwards, it was nearing lunchtime, and then they went over to Lily and James', as they had said before that they would be over for lunch.
They walked through the backdoor of Lily and James' house together, and Lily smiled at them, a curious expression on her face. "Did you…" She started to ask them, and they both smiled.
Sirius put his arm around Remus. "I went over to his house yesterday, poured my heart out, and begged for his forgiveness." Sirius said, looking down at Remus. "He agreed, and so graciously allowed me to spend the night." Sirius' smiled widened, and he looked around. "Where's James?"
"Upstairs with Harry," Lily replied.
"Speaking of James," Sirius said, "I'd better go… explain things to him." He sighed, and looked back down at Remus. "I'll be back." He gave him a short kiss on the lips, and left, passing through the open entrance on the other side near the right wall, turning, and walking up the flight of stairs that went to the second story of Lily and James' houses were the bedrooms resided.
Remus sat down in a chair at the table that was located in the center of the room. His face was glowing as he smiled at Lily, thinking about what happened yesterday. Lily could obviously tell. She stopped what she was doing, letting her spells carry on, and leaned on the table, facing Remus, a small smile on her face. "So, what happened?" She asked him. "You know I want to know the details."
Remus smirked at her, and recalled the events that happened after Sirius arrived yesterday, including the events that transpired earlier that day, before they arrived at Lily and James' house. "Lily, I… I can't even begin to describe how I feel, I…" He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.
Lily gave her friend a calm, but stern look. "Are you sure it's wise to move so quickly? I mean, he's already moving in with you… Don't you think you're going a bit… fast?"
"We're making up for lost time." Lily raised an eyebrow. "Lily, I don't know… It just feels like the right thing to do." She sighed, and shook her head, letting the matter rest. "I almost didn't believe him. I was… am… so afraid of being hurt, but he seemed so sincere, I… I had a feeling he wasn't lying to me or fooling around."
"Sirius can be a git sometimes, but he didn't mean to hurt you. He's just… well, Sirius." Lily told him. "You can't blame him for not seeing it. Most guys wouldn't."
Remus nodded. "Yeah, you're right, but… He'd hurt me already, and I was so afraid that this would pass. I guess I still am partially afraid that in a couple of weeks that all of this will be gone, and he'll be through with me…" A sad expression crossed Remus' face.
"I don't think that's the case." Lily said, and looked up, seeing James and Sirius standing in the doorway of the kitchen…
Sirius walked up the stairs, and went into Harry's room. There was his best mate, leaning over Harry's crib, smiling and laughing at his little boy, as Harry smiled and laughed at his dad. Sirius smiled at father and son. "Very sweet and touching, Prongs," Sirius told him, leaning in the doorway.
James looked up. "Ah, Sirius, glad you're here."
Sirius walked over, and the two men shared a manly hug. Sirius looked down at Harry, and tickled him. "Don't think I've forgotten you, little man," Sirius said to his godson.
"Remus downstairs?" James asked.
Sirius nodded, bracing himself for what he was about to tell James. I hope he takes it well…"Speaking of Remus…" Sirius said. He sighed. "Look, there's something that I need to tell you."
James' expression turned serious. "Everything's alright, is it?" He asked, hoping that something was not wrong.
Sirius smiled. "No, everything's fine, better than ever even, I think…"
James raised an eyebrow. "What is it, then?" As they got Harry ready, and went downstairs, Sirius explained everything. James kept asking him if he was pulling his leg, to which Sirius replied that this one thing he would not joke about. James couldn't believe it… Sirius and Remus… This was not what he had expected Sirius to tell him. As they walked into the kitchen, James said, "So you two are, er…"
"A couple, as in romantically, yes, Prongs, as I've already explained to you." Sirius told him, and then looked at Lily and Remus. He'd heard the last bit of their conversation. "I hope you two weren't talking about what I think you were talking about." He sat down next to Remus, and smiled at him. "You know I would never hurt you."
Remus nodded. "I know, but… You'll have to give me time to get used this. You're not exactly the commitment type." Remus looked at James over Sirius' shoulder. He kept staring at them, and Remus sensed that all this made him a little uncomfortable. He looked back at Sirius. "You'd better lay off the charm, Sirius, I think it makes James uncomfortable."
Sirius glanced back at James, and sighed. He leaned back in his chair. "You're right, as usual, love," Sirius told him, "but I still wouldn't hurt you, despite what's happened in the past."
"To be honest," Lily said, "I thought you two would go on torturing yourselves forever. I mean… the both of you can so hardheaded sometimes, but at least Remus realized his own feelings, although for the life of him he couldn't figure out why you were hurting him, Sirius. You, on the other hand, Sirius, I thought would go on denying it for the rest of your life, as thick-headed as you are." She sighed. "You two are hopeless."
They stared at her. Sirius sighed. "Of course, you saw it all along, didn't you?" He asked her.
"I had suspicions, but not at first, no, but once Remus told me how he felt about you, which was right after you kissed him in the library that day – hush, James, you can ask questions later – I quickly figured out how you felt about him, but you didn't see it." Lily smiled at the two of them as she shook her head. "Like I said, you two are hopeless."
"Why didn't you say anything if you thought you knew how Sirius felt about me?" Remus asked her, as she watched her cooking spells.
"Would you have believed me?" She asked him.
He thought about it momentarily. "No, I would have told you were mental."
She gave him a patient smile. "Exactly," she told him. "I knew you would never believe me, so I just kept it to myself, hoping that Sirius would eventually figure it out for himself, the git."
"I'm sitting right here." Sirius said.
Lily just shook her head, and James could stand it no longer. He looked at Sirius. "You kissed Remus in the library?"
Sirius looked at him. "I didn't tell you that, did I? Remember that day in the library when Remus and I were paired up for that potions assignment? Well, he and I were in the library, and I got the urge to kiss him, so, I did. He didn't appreciate it very much."
"I thought you were just messing around. I was in love with you, so, no I didn't appreciate it." Remus said, getting in his two cents on the subject, as the muggle saying went. "I also didn't appreciate it when we were hiding from… Professor Morano, I think it was… in our 6th year, and you put your arms around me, and at the lake that one time, a few months back, when you pulled me up against yourself."
"That explains why you two are acting so weird when we left the library that day, and why Moony was whispering, and you were shushing him, Padfoot…" James said, partially to himself. Remus and Sirius nodded.
"Just out of curiosity, Sirius, what did you think all those times when you did those things, and all that shameless flirting with Remus?" Lily asked. "Oh, and you'd better thank Remus for forgiving you for being such a git."
"Honestly, I thought I was going out of mind. I felt this… unexplainable passion when I kissed him and when I touched him that I couldn't explain. I think part of me didn't want to see it, because I'm Sirius Black, the ladies man, you know." Sirius explained. "I mean, I guess I thought – actually, I'm pretty sure I thought – that I could not be attracted to another man, even though I was, and I just… didn't see it, so, obviously, I must be mental." He shook his head, then turned to his love, looking deep into his eyes. "Thank you, by the way."
Remus smiled, a slight blush crossing his face. "Don't mention it, Sirius." He said, his voice soft.
James cleared his throat, breaking the two men out of their moment. He looked at Sirius. "So, you are, er…" He said, struggling to find the right word.
"Gay?" Sirius shook his head. "I don't think so. I'm pretty sure I'm bisexual. I just figured this all out yesterday, so I'm not quite sure. I still find women attractive, at least I think I do… To be honest, I'm a little confused when it comes to that, but I think I'm bisexual."
"I am gay, though, James." Remus said, answering James' question before he could ask. "I figured that not too long after I realized how I felt about Sirius. Women are nice and all, but I just don't like them in that way, if you know what I mean, never have."
"You're pretty good at hiding it," James told him.
"Not really much to hide, to be honest. I'm not one of those girly girly guys or anything, you know," Remus explained, "and I learned how to hide my feelings for Sirius really early. After all, I thought he was only interested in chicks, not me, so I thought I had to."
"When did all this start?" James asked. He had so many questions. This was just… so unusual, and so unexpected. He was having trouble wrap his mind around it. "I mean, I know you two got together yesterday, but I mean…" He stopped, trying to figure how to voice what he was trying to ask.
Remus held up a hand. "I think I get what you're asking, James. I think I first started liking him…" He thought about it. "Well, to be honest, when I first saw him. I know I was only eleven, but…"
Sirius nodded. "I agree with Remus, that makes sense." Sirius said. "I felt… drawn to him that day for some unexplainable reason, and I couldn't explain why." Sirius sighed. "I know it doesn't make sense, I mean, I was only twelve at the time, but…"
James shook his head. "No, actually, that does make sense. You two were staring at each other when I walked in. I thought it was kind of weird, but I didn't say anything." James said, to which Sirius and Remus nodded, small smiles on their face, as Lily set down lunch on the table. James sat down at the table, and set Harry in his highchair. Everyone ate their meals, and then James and Lily struggled to feed Harry his baby food.
Afterwards, they adjourned to the living room. Remus and Sirius sat down close to each other on the couch, as Lily and James put Harry in his playpen, struggling to get Harry to lay down for his afternoon nap. No matter what he did, the little boy refused to go to sleep. He seemed too excited that Sirius and Remus were over, and didn't want to take a nap. James groaned, and looked at his best mate. "Sirius, can you please sing him to sleep?"
Sirius sighed. "James, I can't sing him to sleep all the time! I'm not here all the time! Didn't you two say it wasn't good for him to get too used to me singing him to sleep?" He asked. "I sing to him enough as it is!"
"Come on, Sirius, it's not all the time." James pleaded. "Just this once."
"Once? I sing to him every time I'm over here!"
Lily looked at Sirius. "He does fall asleep easier when you sing to him, Sirius. He's too excited because you're over, and your voice is the only thing that actually gets him down when you're around. We don't have this much trouble when you're not around." Lily told him. "I usually do when you're not around, and I'm all right, but you…" She smiled. "You have the most gorgeous voice. I love to hear you sing."
Sirius sighed. "Hand him here." James grabbed Harry, walked over to the couch, and gave him to Sirius, before standing back near his wife. Sirius began rocking him, and then they heard his singing voice float across the room as he sang Harry his favorite lullaby, an old muggle one Lily had taught him that Harry loved. Sirius had a beautiful, rich baritone voice, and Harry quickly succumbed to the beautiful melody of Sirius' voice, and fell asleep. Muttering a thank you, Lily grabbed her son, and whisked him off upstairs to his crib.
"Thanks a bunch mate. Whenever you're here, he never wants to sleep." James said.
"No problem." Sirius smirked at James. "Do you need me to sing you to sleep, too, so you can take a nappy-poo?" Sirius teased.
James gave Sirius an ungrateful smirk. "No thanks. I'm fine, really."
"Where's Peter, by the way, I thought he was going to show up sometime today?" Remus asked. "I noticed he never showed up."
"He flooed us earlier that he had somewhere to be – something for his mom or something like that – and said he'd be by later." He looked between the two. "If he shows up while you guys are still here, you two need to… explain things to him. If not… I guess Lily and I can, but I don't think he'll believe us." As it happened, he did show up, and things were explained to him, although he did not like it. It made him severely uncomfortable, and he left shortly after, saying he had another errand to run for his mother.
As James went to get Harry up from his nap, Sirius put a comforting hand around Remus' shoulder. Lily was in the kitchen, seeing what they had for dinner tonight, as it seemed Remus and Sirius were staying a little while longer. "Don't worry, he'll get used to it." Sirius whispered, so that Lily wouldn't hear. "It'll just take some time for him to get used to, like James."
Remus nodded. "I know, I know, but, I guess it just bothers me that some people care so much. I mean, James seems pretty okay with it, but it seemed to really bother Peter." Remus sighed.
Sirius kissed Remus on the side of his cheek. "Some people are like that, and I have a feeling that's something that we're going to have to get used to." After dinner, they talked some more, and Sirius played with Harry a little, before Lily asked Sirius to sing Harry to sleep for the night before he left. Sirius sighed, but obliged. Going upstairs, he set his godson in his crib, and sang the little boy into a peaceful slumber.
Remus was leaning in the doorway when Sirius went to leave. "You're so good with him, and you do have a beautiful voice. I love hearing you sing."
Sirius walked over to Remus, and put his arms around him. "Remind me to sing for you, then, and I will." He gave him a kiss, before they walked downstairs, excused themselves from James and Lily's presence, and went back to Remus' house. Sirius convinced Remus that it was time to go to bed, even though it was still rather early. When he and Remus got to Remus' bedroom, they changed into their nightclothes, and Sirius caught Remus from behind, and put his arms around him, holding him close this body.
Remus gasped in surprise at feeling Sirius' strong arms pulling him up against his love's body, feeling Sirius' well-built muscles up against the cloth on Remus' back. He gave another gasp as he felt Sirius' lips on his neck, as Remus leaned his head the side, giving Sirius a little more room. Remus moaned, and Sirius turned him around his arms, so that they were facing each other, and captured his lips in his own. Remus put his arms around Sirius' neck, and the two of them backed up, until they fell onto Remus' bed.
The two scooted up, until Remus' head was lying on the pillows, and Sirius continued his attentions to Remus' lips. Remus never imagined that this could feel so… good. Sirius was so passionate. Remus didn't know what to do besides follow Sirius' lead. He gasped as Sirius snaked his hand underneath Remus' shirt. If this felt this good, how would it feel if he and Sirius actually made love to each other? Remus wasn't sure, but as Sirius pushed himself up against his body, and he felt Sirius' arousal, he wasn't sure he cared. Snogging with Sirius was just fine for Remus, just fine.
Sirius snaked his hand around Remus' body, feeling his love's muscles, and the many scars that adorned his flesh. He snakes his hand in between their bodies, and down between his loves' hips, and Remus arched his back, forcing them to break their kiss, as he moaned. Sirius rubbed his lover's arousal, caressing it, before they both became spent, and laid down, their breathing heavy. They just shared a kiss, before Remus laid his head on Sirius' chest, and they both drifted off to sleep, thinking that if paradise existed, then this must be it.