Remus stumbled into his childhood home in Surrey, closing the door behind him. He had not-so-gracefully resigned from his teaching post just a few weeks prior, and had since gone back to his own place in York. Of course, what he had found was a house in utter disrepair with a newspaper with his face tacked to the front door, a headline reading:

WEREWOLF AT HOGWARTS?

With that, he decided it was probably time to move. Unfortunately, with his face plastered across newspapers all over Wizarding Britain, it wasn't the time to go apartment hunting. So, it was time to low with Lyall Lupin until things managed to pass and he could find somewhere a bit more permanent.

"Papa?" He called out. "Je suis ici," He added, setting down his sole trunk, looking around the living room. He had expected his father to be there when he arrived, as he had owled.

"Where is this man," He muttered under his breath, walking past his mother's old dusty piano and into the kitchen. Everything appeared normal. Tea kettle on the stove, newspapers strewn about…only Remus noticed a pet bowl on the ground, filled with water. He narrowed his eyes. Had his father picked up yet another stray cat? He hoped not, as animals didn't exactly like Remus, especially the feline variety—the past three cats the Lupin family had vanished within a few weeks. It seemed only the ones that turned human ever seemed to have any sort of affinity towards him.

"Dad, where are you?" Remus called out, this time in English. Maybe in his old age, he's forgotten his native tongue, Remus mused. Just then, he heard footsteps from upstairs, and then a familiar voice shouted:

"J'arrive! I'm coming!"

Lyall Lupin, tall and gangly like Remus, bounded down the stairs.

"Oh Remus, I'm so sorry to hear about the job," Lyall began, wrapping his arms around his son. "It's entirely unfair," he added, clearly referencing Remus' untimely departure from Hogwarts. Remus smiled softly.

"It's okay—really. I taught Harry and quite a few others some useful bits of magic, and now I have savings—it's what I expected. At least no one was hurt," He added darkly, removing himself from his father's embrace. There was still the matter of the water bowls.

"Dad…did you get a cat?"

"Un chat?" Lyall repeated, then shook his head. "No, of course not—cats hate you. I've merely been fostering a dog these past few weeks," He said with a smile. "You do like dogs, do you not?"

Remus shrugged. "Depends on the dog. Still, you can't just go picking up stray animals," Remus insisted. "Who is helping you take care of this thing?" He asked.

"Oh, but Remus, this is a very special dog," Lyall told his son very seriously. "Feeds itself, bathes itself, walks itself—I think he's out in the yard—let me get him, you make yourself at home." Lyall exited through the kitchen into the backyard, and Remus took a seat at the kitchen table, twiddling his thumbs. Just then, he heard a sort of noise coming through the cellar door. Odd, Remus remarked, But perhaps just another stray?

Eventually, Lyall came back in, leaving the door open behind him. A large black dog barreled through into the Lupin kitchen, and Remus stood up instantly, eyes wide. The dog pounced on Remus, causing the werewolf to fall to the floor as Lyall chuckled. The large dog licked Remus incessantly.

"Surprise!" Lyall called out. "An old friend!"

Before long, the dog began to turn into a man—and not just any man. This dog was Padfoot: otherwise known as Sirius Black.

"Pads, get off," Remus said, pushing away Sirius and sitting upright. He glared at both Sirius and his father.

"This is not funny," Remus insisted, brushing himself off. "Padfoot, you've got to be—"

"Crazy?" Sirius quipped. "Well, I suppose I am. About bloody time you show up—moon's tomorrow. This one won't be easy, either—months of that new potion and you might have forgotten what's it like."

"I have not forgotten," Remus said coolly, getting to his feet as Sirius did the same. "You can't be here—or have you forgotten that you're on the run?" Remus asked rhetorically, and then pursed his lips. "Come to think of it, where on earth have you been keeping that Hippogriff?"

"The cellar!" Lyall cheered. "Don't worry, we'll move him before tomorrow. Speaking of which," Lyall added, smirking. "I should go feed him, leave you two alone for a bit—"

"—Dad," Remus interrupted, voice strained. "You don't have to—"

The door to the cellar shut. Remus turned to Sirius, whose eyes met his own sharply. There was something unspoken between the two. That first night they saw each other after so many years, in the shack, there had been far too much going on to really look at each other. There had been sheer joy, sure, and then a heartfelt reunion marred by the traitor and the full moon that ensued. No, it wasn't how either of the men had intended of reuniting. However, one look at either Marauder could tell anyone who knew them before that these were not the same men: not really.

Gone was the nearly permanent playful smirk from Sirius' face. His grey eyes no longer danced, and Remus felt like her was looking at two cold rocks. Werewolf as he was, Remus had suffered his fair amount during the years. Without his friends to help him, his transformations were once again the things of nightmares, and it showed. Both men had seen better days and resembled shells of the boys James Potter would have remembered. They wondered what else was a shell of its former self.

"It's been the perfect hiding place, the cellar I mean," Sirius started somewhat awkwardly. In the silence that ensued after Lyall left, both Remus and Sirius realized they hadn't been left alone together in nearly thirteen years. Remus just nodded, unsure of hat to say. Sirius rolled his eyes at the gesture.

"I mean, for you, and I can even help tomorrow—like old times. That is…" Sirius drifted off. "If you'll have me? I know we didn't get much time to talk—"

"Of course I'll have you," Remus said nonchalantly, breaking his silence. "I'll need all the help I can get. Although, I must say…" Remus began, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. "I have something I must do." Sirius looked confused, and the werewolf stepped up to him.

"Oh?" He asked. Remus placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, looking aay for a moment before forcing out a bit of a smile.

"Sirius Black," He began, "I must break up with you. Long distance has just not been working out, and you've let yourself go," Remus chuckled. Sirius let out a dry laugh.

"Merlin, Moony—how rude. You've got a point, though—it's bad news when I can fit into your clothes," The floppy-haired man teased. When he had first arrived, Lyall had cleaned him up, cut his hair a bit, and loaned him some of Remus' things. They were from school and would have once not fit, but emaciated as he was, they suited Sirius perfectly. "We never broke up, earlier?" He asked. Remus shook his head.

"Didn't find the time—I was undercover, you were being whisked off to Azkaban…timing didn't seem right."

"And the timing now?' Sirius asked. "No trying to make it work?" He joked with his long-time beau. Remus rolled his eyes.

"We both need to figure out what to do with our lives, now that we've got them," Remus said somewhat seriously. "And don't you think you'll be living here long term—foster dog, my arse. I thought my father was serious for a minute. Look," Remus said, grabbing Sirius' hand. "I'll always love you. We'll always be something more than friends. But we might just need to leave the romance behind—after all, you've got a godson to be a role model for. You can't go sleeping around with werewolves—"

"Just one werewolf, Sirius interjected. "And of course, you're right—I spent so many years forgetting who I am…I need a friend to remind me." Remus smiled.

"And you have one," Remus assured. "And you are a great friend to me—coming here, risking your life just to help me—it's more than I could ask of anyone."

"Which is why you didn't ask," Sirius chuckled. "Besides, I'm not just here for you—I haven't seen Lyall in years. It was his idea to lay out a dog bowl and make you think he got a dog. He's cleverer than I think we ever gave him credit for."

Remus laughed. "Maybe than you ever gave him credit for—I've known his strengths for—" Remus was cut off when Sirius pecked him on the lips. Remus stared blankly ahead, then turned to his friend. "Sirius, what—"

"A goodbye kiss," He insisted. "I know, I know…just friends. But Remus, you can't leave a man—"

Remus wrapped his arm around Sirius' head, pulling him into a kiss—a real one, passionate. The floppy-haired man leaned in, hearing a chuckle—one that he assumed came from Remus.

"You boys…"

Remus pulled away from the kiss, cheeks turning red. Lyall had snuck up from the cellar. Sirius laughed and rubbed the werewolf's head.

"One last kiss—your son broke up with me," He fake pouted. Remus rolled his eyes, and Lyall closed the door to the cellar, eyes twinkling.

"Remus…tsk tsk," He said, shaking his head. "You can't lead people on."

"Lead people," Remus scoffed. "I do no such thing—"

"—yes, you do," Sirius insisted. "But it was my fault, Mr. Lupin. I stirred the pot. We're going to be 'just friends' now," he stated. Lyall looked on approvingly.

"A mature choice—but I must ask that you keep things light, no awkward pauses. We are all eating tonight and I won't stand for eating in silence...Not like that other time."

Sirius laughed, and Remus chuckled. They had once fought right before Sirius was due to come for a sleepover. Remus' mother Hope had been absolutely furious when the boys wouldn't say a word to each other, nor to anyone else—and she had made a rather tasty spread of food she wanted compliments on, which Sirius had always stepped up to give. He remembered her passing, as the boys were still young then. That wasn't a person you forgot in Azkaban.

"Lyall," Sirius began, remembering that he was no longer fifteen and cold in fact call his friend's father by his first name. "Your son has broken up with me…how many times Remus?"

"At least five," Remus said softly. "Once before fifth year, one during, again before sixth year, once after we graduated and…" Remus pursed his lips. "I guess now? Does that sound correct?"

"You tried to break up with me while you were undercover, but we won't count that," Sirius insisted. "It was always the same," Sirius began, clearing his throat. "'Sirius, you deserve someone better. Sirius, you ought to be more selfish. Sirius, you don't want me…' this might be the only one I can actually see as reasonable—"

"—Point is," Remus interjected, "Not awkward." Lyall rolled his eyes. It sounded like his son, alright.

This would, inevitably, be the last time the two boys broke up. Sirius would leave in a few days and traipse around the country. Remus would start putting his life back together. Both realized it would be the last time at different moments: Sirius knew when Remus visited him at his Aunt and Uncle Tonks'. His little cousin, Nymphadora, was there, and Sirius saw her look at Remus like he had seen no other do. Upon closer inspection, he saw Remus averting his gaze as much as possible—a sure sign of his feelings. Sirius couldn't be jealous, even if he had a right to be.

Tonks was perfect for his old pal, and he would spend his remaining years trying to prove it.