August, 1994

The newspaper headlines were grim but that only pulled Remus into deeper concentration as he read about the death eater appearance at the World Cup, making notes here and there on a sheaf of parchment to record his observations and theories on the current events. A scratch on the backdoor made Remus jump, smudging ink across part of his paper. The scratching grew more persistent, causing Remus to investigate the noise.

A playful yip from outside the door told Remus everything he needed to know. "Padfoot," he exclaimed, wrenching the door open. A large, black dog capered inside as if it were a regular guest.

Once the door was shut, the dog transformed back into its human form. Sirius stretched out as luxuriously and grinned lazily at Remus. "Thought I'd stop by on my way to Hogwarts," Sirius explained as if this were a common trip for him to make.

"What happened to hiding out somewhere tropical?" Remus asked, still in shock over his friend's appearance. Before Sirius could answer, he worked out the only thing that could pull Sirius out of safety. "Is Harry in danger?"

"I'm… not quite sure yet. He wrote to me about his scar and a dream about Voldemort less than a week back and then that mess at the World Cup…" his voice trailed off as he looked around the small house.

"I was just reading about that," Remus told him. "How did you know where I-"

"Live?" Sirius finished for him. "Dumbledore," he said, as if that were all the explanation needed. "I've been in contact with him and he thought I might want to know where you lived these days. "

"Thoughtful of him," Remus agreed quietly.

Silence fell between them, filling the small space. It had been so many years since they last spoke at length and longer since they had been in close confidence. When Sirius decided to detour to see Remus, he imagined seeing the Remus he had loved, whose heart had not yet been broken by careless actions and spiteful words. Seeing the older and careworn man in front of him, only reminded Sirius how much damage he had done. Though, the damage had not been entirely single-sided. Remus had spent the months since learning of Sirius' innocence wading through a complex series of guilt, regret, and longing for not questioning Sirius' assumed betrayal.

"I thought we could talk… catch up, really," Sirius offered to break the quiet.

Remus nodded, saying, "That sounds nice. I'll put some tea on."

The sound of a chair being dragged back and then pulled in told Remus that Sirius took a seat at the table. He wasn't quite ready to face a conversation with him yet, at least not one about them. Once he had two hot cups of tea, one with sugar, one with cream, Remus returned to the table and sat opposite of Sirius.

"Thank you," Sirius said, accepting the sugared tea. "I can't remember the last cup of tea I had," he commented after enjoying his first sip.

"I can't begin to imagine what you were deprived of in Azkaban," came Remus' stony voice.

Sirius recognized the tone immediately as self-loathing, which was akin to a default setting for Remus. "Don't…" he said softly. "That hell is behind me and I want to look at what's in front of me."

The meaning laced in Sirius' reply almost made Remus choke on his tea. Not feeling quite ready to discuss their relationship, Remus feigned misunderstanding. "Being Harry's godfather is quite the responsibility."

Not missing a beat, Sirius said, "It is quite the responsibility – one that I'm glad to finally be able to uphold." He let a comfortable silence fall between adding, "but that's not all I have in front of me."

Remus gulped and cast about for another duty to mention. "Of course you'll want to find Peter."

Sirius set his tea down and reached across the table, rubbing his thumb across the back of Remus' slightly trembling hand. "There's that but there's also you."

There was no dodging his meaning at this point. Conflicting emotions ran through Remus at feeling Sirius' touch and seeing the telling look in his grey eyes. "I… I can't, Sirius." When Sirius did not respond, Remus continued, "I can't go back to what we had or pretend that the last 13 years didn't happen. I'm not the same person you knew."

To Remus' shock, Sirius smiled. "I don't want what we had – I want us to build something new. That is, if you want."

With a surge of honesty, Remus tried his best to be articulate while his mind was teaming with pros and cons of Sirius' proposition. "I loved you for years after you left," he said evenly, not wanting to get choked up out of the gate. "Now that you're back I don't know what to feel or think for that matter." Before continuing, Remus held Sirius' hand, remembering a time when the action had been so commonplace between them. "I dreamt of this happening but I can't revisit those youthful hopes without knowing if we're still friends."

This was a blow for Sirius but he would not be deterred. "Of course, friends first. I just don't want to miss my window."

"You won't have to worry about that – no one is lining up to date a werewolf who can barely hold down respectable employment," Remus laughed.

"Hasn't there been anyone?" Sirius asked, wondering if Remus had been just as lonely as he was since their relationship ended.

"I've dated," Remus conceded. "But it's not a common occurrence."

Sirius squeezed Remus' hand before letting go. "Friends it is – and not the dodgy type either."

Remus raised an eyebrow at Sirius, " I was never the dodgy type."

Letting out a bark-like laugh, Sirius agreed. He was pleased that if he couldn't have his lover back that he was at least getting back his best friend. There would be time to see where their relationship would go from there.

A/N:

So… yay! It's over. I thought giving this story an epilogue would help diffuse the feels from the third act and still leave people with a sting of sad. Thank you so much for reading! I've love your reaction to the story as a whole or this part of it. -Rose