Hi readers! First of all, let me just say one big, final THANK YOU! You have all been so amazing, and I have had so much fun sharing in this experience with you. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing and (hopefully) enjoying-It means more than I can say! Second of all, let me say that although it's the end of the story, it's not the end for our boys! If you've read my other Remus/Sirius stories, you know that I typically have less-than-happy endings, but since this is an AU, I FINALLY gave Remus and Sirius the happy ending they deserve. I was strongly considering a tragic ending, but thankfully one of my friends convinced me otherwise. Thank goodness for that. Finally, this is certainly not the end of my relationship with all of you! If you enjoyed this story, check out my others, and make sure to read my upcoming stories as well. If you hated this story and you're reading this, well, that's it for me and you, and thanks for sticking with it to read this far. Anyway, it's been real, y'all. Hope to hear from you soon. Enjoy this final chapter!

Now everybody asks me why I'm smilin' out from ear to ear,
(They say love hurts)
But I know
(It's gonna take the real work)
Nothing's perfect but it's worth it
After fighting through my tears,
And finally you put me first.

Baby it's you,
You're the one I love
You're the one I need
You're the only one I see
Come on baby, it's you
You're the one that gives your all
You're the one I can always call
When I need you make everything stop.
Finally, you put my love on top.

-Beyoncé

Chapter 20: Epilogue: Love On Top

Three Months, Two Weeks, and Five Days Later

"I'm tired of going through all these boxes, Remus."

"That's only the third one!"

"Yeah, well, that's three too many."

Remus laughed and shook his head. "Would you rather move back into my tiny studio apartment?"

"That's looking pretty good right about now."

With a smile, Remus walked over to where his fiancé was standing across the room and twisted him around so that he could put his arms around his waist and look at him. "This is worth it and you know it," Remus said as he leaned in and brushed his nose against Sirius's. Sirius glanced around at the beautiful house that he had fallen in love with over four months ago and smiled. "We get to see the stars every night," Remus was whispering into Sirius's ear. Sirius shivered and nuzzled his face into Remus's neck, causing Remus to shiver as well and whimper a bit. Remus pushed Sirius away and stepped out of his man's embrace. "Look, if we can get through half of these today, I will make it worth your while tonight." Remus smiled and turned to walk away, and before he could get totally out of arm's length, Sirius reached out and gave Remus a swift slap on the ass.

"I'm holding you to that," he said.

Remus just shook his head with a smile and went back to unpacking. "I just don't want to still be unpacking after the wedding," Remus said after he got back to his original spot. They had decided to have a fall wedding because they did not want to wait too long before they could be married. "Plus, you've got Regulus's first hearing in a month and you've still got so much to do."

Sirius merely sighed. He knew Remus was right. He always was.

After Sirius had quit his job at Black and Associates, James had quickly followed suit, and the two men had opened up a small law firm just outside the city where they would specialize in family law and criminal defense. The first case they decided to take was Regulus's after Sirius's younger brother had finally realized that his father did not have his best interests at heart. There had certainly been strain in the family since Sirius's separation from Priscilla, but Sirius couldn't say that he minded too much. With his life right where he wanted it to be, he couldn't find anything these days to complain about (other than unpacking). Things between him and Priscilla were even getting a bit better. They were still on very shaky ground, but they were slowly and steadily making their way towards a future friendship. A month ago, Sirius had run into Priscilla coming out of her favorite coffee shop. They had not spoken in over two months.

"Sirius!" Priscilla said in surprise when she ran right into him. She hadn't been paying attention as she'd come quickly out of the coffee shop. She looked up at him, and he smiled down at her as he released her arms from his grasp.

"Hey, Pris."

After that, there were several moments of awkward silence where neither really knew what to say. Sirius wanted to reach out and touch her—he wanted to place a comforting hand on her shoulder and tell her that he missed her and he wanted to be her friend again, but he restrained himself. He knew she wouldn't take kindly to any physical contact from him.

Priscilla cleared her throat nervously and stepped around him. "Well, I'll see you around, Sirius," she said without looking at him. He watched her go and then turned to go in the coffee shop when he heard her calling his name. He turned back and saw her walking back swiftly towards him. When she finally approached him, she had a look on her face like she hadn't thought through what she would say when she got back to him. After a few seconds, she said:

"Are you happy?"

It was a genuine inquiry with absolutely no malice. He nodded.

"Very."

She nodded. "I'm glad." She turned, but Sirius spoke up.

"I never meant to hurt you, Pris," he said quietly. Despite the tone of his voice, Priscilla had heard him loud and clear. She stopped, but kept her back to him.

"I know," she said right before she continued on her way.

No, it wasn't sunshine and rainbows between the two of them, but it could have been much, much worse. All Sirius hoped was that Priscilla would be able to find the same happiness that he had found with Remus. Perhaps she was on her way. A week ago, Sirius had heard through the grapevine that Priscilla had just begun seeing a man she'd met at one of her friend's parties—he was a young divorcée with a daughter, and apparently he was looking to expand his family from what Sirius had heard. He hoped the best for the two of them.

Sirius sighed.

"You know, I could really use some motivation…" he said to Remus with a mischievous smile on his face. Remus looked up and over at him.

"What kind of motivation?" Remus said as he began to walk slowly back over to Sirius.

Sirius faked a look of deep thought. "Oh… I don't know… Maybe something that will just give me some… encouragement to get this stuff done." Remus continued to walk closer and now Sirius began to make his way toward Remus so they would meet halfway. "Maybe a little taste of what's in store for me tonight if I'm a good boy."

When they were within arms' length of each other, Remus reached forward and grabbed a fistful of Sirius's shirt so that he could yank Sirius against him. Sirius gasped and smiled right before he put his lips against Remus's. Sirius wrapped his arms around Remus's neck, and Remus wrapped his arms around Sirius's waist tightly. Sirius opened his mouth only slightly, and Remus responded by using his lips to open Sirius's mouth further so that he could slide his tongue in easily. Sirius smiled against Remus's mouth. He loved when Remus took control of their kisses. As their tongues glided smoothly along each other, Remus slid his hands down to cup Sirius's ass. Sirius hummed his approval, but his hum turned into a moan when their groins touched each other through their clothing, and Sirius could feel Remus's hardening length against his own, which was hardening in response.

Remus pushed his body against Sirius and walked the two of them back against a nearby wall. When Sirius's back hit the wall, he felt a further jolt of excitement, and the kiss became more forceful. It was like they had always known each other's mouths as the kiss became more eager and wanting. Tongues battles, lips sucked, teeth clanked, and it felt so right. Their legs were intertwined when Remus reached one hand up and brought it in between him and Sirius. Sirius broke his mouth away from Remus's and sucked in a large breath when he felt Remus cup him over his pants. Remus began to massage Sirius's cock through his pants as Sirius panted and gasped for air. Remus moved his mouth down to Sirius's neck and began to nibble and suck as Sirius's hands slid into Remus's hair and he gripped the light brown locks in his hands. When Remus blew a soft breath right beneath Sirius's ear and dipped his hand inside of Sirius's pants so he could touch Sirius's flesh, Sirius moaned loudly.

Sirius was completely hard now, and he continued to moan and grip Remus's hair tighter as Remus stroked him and used his tongue and lips on Sirius's neck to drive him crazy. Remus brought his mouth up and kissed Sirius's chin. He then trailed kisses along Sirius's jaw line until he reached Sirius's ear. He nibbled on Sirius's earlobe and then whispered in his ear.

"I have something for you."

"Yeah," Sirius breathed. "Give it to me."

Remus laughed. "No, you horny teenager…" Remus pulled his hand out of Sirius's pants and took a step back, causing Sirius to groan in disappointment. "I have a gift for you." Remus reached around into one of the nearby boxes and pulled out an envelope. Sirius's eyes fluttered open, and he looked at Remus. Both men were incredibly flushed and disheveled, but Sirius took a few calming breaths before he reached forward and took the envelope that Remus was holding out for him. "I was going to wait, but I'm no good at waiting to give gifts."

Sirius opened the envelope and when he pulled out its contents, he grinned broadly. His eyes nearly welled up with tears, but he held them back, thinking that he'd become much too emotional since he'd been with Remus. "You remembered."

"Of course I did," Remus said, smiling back.

Sirius looked at the tickets for The Lion King that Remus had given him. Then he gasped. "Remus! Oh my god, I've never been this close before. Third row behind the pit?" Sirius looked up at Remus with wide eyes and then pulled his future husband into an enormous hug. "God, I fucking love you," he said into Remus's ear. Remus held him tighter and smiled. He loved making Sirius happy.

When he pulled away, Sirius had a small smirk on his face. "I can't wait to tell James," he said. "He'll be so excited that he and I will get to sit so close."

Remus rolled his eyes and gave Sirius a playful shove in the shoulder. "Yeah right," he said as he turned to walk back to what he had been doing before he and Sirius had gotten hot and heavy. "James wouldn't be caught dead on Broadway." Then, Remus grunted with surprise and then smiled when Sirius came up behind him and wrapped his arms around him tightly.

"You're right," Sirius said right before he kissed Remus lightly on the back of his neck. "Thank you so much, baby. Now I can finally make you lose your Broadway virginity." Remus laughed, and Sirius turned Remus around in his arms. "Now," Sirius said as he leaned in and gave Remus one of the light kisses that Remus had always loved. "Let's get back to where we left off." Remus laughed again and shook his head as he pushed Sirius away.

"Back to work," Remus said. "That was just a preview. If we get half of this done, like I said, you'll be rewarded with more where that came from."

Sirius sighed and turned away. "Tease," he said over his shoulder.

"Love you."

"Sirius…"

Sirius looked up from his desk and smiled at Remus who was standing nervously in his doorway. Sirius thought it was so cute that Remus always hated to interrupt him when he was working, although Sirius constantly told him that he welcomed the interruption of his gorgeous fiancé.

"Come in, baby," Sirius said with a smiled and a small shake of his head.

Remus walked in and sat down on Sirius's brown leather couch. He was holding his cell phone in his hands like it was something precious. He broke into a smile.

"What are you grinning about?" Sirius asked him.

"I just got off the phone with Lily," he said.

"Oh? How is she?" Sirius said conversationally. He noticed how scrupulous Remus was being.

"Oh, fine. Her and James are coming over for dinner tonight."

"Please tell me you're going to cook," Sirius said. Remus shook his head.

"They're going to bring take-out."

"Marvelous," Sirius said as he leaned back in his chair. There was a moment of silence before Remus spoke again.

"Lily's pregnant."

Sirius nearly fell backwards in his chair. Remus snickered to himself as Sirius struggled to regain his balance.

"WHAT?"

"She just told me," Remus said excitedly. "She found out two days ago, and she and James have been celebrating by… uh…"

"Fucking each other silly?"

Remus looked up at Sirius with a disgusted look on his face. "Romantic, Sirius." Sirius shrugged and smiled. "Well, now they want to come celebrate with us." Sirius raised an eyebrow. "With dinner," Remus said with an eye roll.

Sirius shook his head with an incredulous but very happy look on his face and immediately picked up his office phone. After a few seconds of waiting, Sirius said,

"James, you slimey little bastard! Why didn't you tell me you were with child?" Remus watched with amusement as Sirius talked to James. "Some people say 'with child'," Sirius was saying after a brief pause. There was a long pause while James spoke. Then, "Well, congratulations man. That's fucking great. So, are you going to make an honest woman out of her or what?" Remus could hear James exploding with laughter on the other end. There was another long pause, and Remus tried to hear what James was saying. Sirius mouthed "Soon!" to Remus, and Remus smiled happily. Lily probably wouldn't want to get married while she was pregnant. "How tacky!" Remus could imagine her saying. Then, the smile slipped off Sirius's face a little as he listened to James. Then he smiled. "Of course I will, James. I can't wait to be that baby's godfather and teach him how to be a real man… or woman…" Remus watched as Sirius blushed, no doubt from something lewd James had just said. "Okay, okay," Sirius said. "I'll see you tonight. Bring the glowing mother-to-be and some good food."

Three Weeks Later

"Now it's time for the first dance of our new married couple."

Remus looked up and took Sirius's offered hand with an enormous smile, and felt lighter than air as Sirius led him to the dance floor. Remus remembered when he and Sirius shared their first kiss; he remembered when they had first made love; he remembered when Sirius told him he loved him, and he remembered when Sirius proposed. At the time of each of those moments, Remus had thought, "this is the greatest moment of my life." He had been wrong about all those other times, though. Saying his vows to Sirius in front of their closest friends and family (although Sirius's parents were absent), being pronounced as husbands by the power vested from the state of New York—even that paled to being held in Sirius's arms as they shared their first dance as newlyweds. Remus never even knew he was capable of being this happy. On the dance floor, he didn't see anything—he didn't feel anything—except Sirius and all the love he had for him. It was truly the greatest moment of his life. Although, Remus wasn't going to give it that label just yet because with Sirius, every day had the potential to be one of life's greatest moments.

His life was perfect. He was happy and married, and the man that had mentally and sometimes physically abused him was no longer in his life. Although Remus had hoped a potential friendship with Severus was likely, he knew now that it would only bring complication and despair into his life. After he had nearly destroyed Sirius and Remus's relationship, and Remus had refused to speak to him as a result, Severus had slipped back into his old habits. Remus had never realized that so much of Severus's wellness had depended on him because when they had been together, Remus had always blamed himself for Severus's self-destruction, despite always knowing that it was not his fault. When he had heard of Severus's relapse, he knew that for both of their sakes, they could not be around each other anymore, ever again. It was and had always been cataclysmic for both of them.

A little over a month ago, Severus had reentered a rehabilitation facility to treat his alcohol and drug abuse. While in rehab, Severus had written Remus a lengthy letter full of apologies and promises for change. At first, Remus had written a lengthy response, detailing all of the problems in their relationship since the day they had met until now and how cancerous it was for both of them. He had gone into great detail about how they could only ever cause each other heartache, but after careful consideration he wrote short letter in response:

Severus,

I forgive you. For everything.

I will always love you, and you will always hold a place in my heart; however, I think it would be best if we stayed out of each other's lives for good. It has only caused pain for both of us. I will never forget you. I wish you the best.

Love,

Remus

It was something Remus should have done a long time ago, but better late than never, he supposed. Now, the only thing he cared to focus on was his new life with Sirius. And as he thought about how happy he was, he held Sirius tighter.

Although it wasn't a traditional slow dance song, Sirius and Remus had chosen "Spectacular Views" as the song for their first dance. The song had such special meaning to them although the wedding guests thought it was a little strange for the couple's first dance.

Sirius didn't care. The only thing he could possibly care about was how incredibly perfect his life was. It was such a strange feeling—Sirius didn't know that life could feel like this. Up until several months ago, he had had no idea what it felt like to be this happy, and it was all because of the man he was holding in his arms. Sirius pulled his head back so he could look at Remus. "I love you so much," he said to him. "I never knew what real love felt like until I met you."

"Don't make me cry again," Remus said, although he looked like he was about to do just that. "Your vows practically turned me into a blubbering idiot. Who knew you had such a way with words?"

"I'm a lawyer, Rem," Sirius said with a smile right before he leaned in to kiss his husband.

Off to the side of the dance floor where the guests were watching the new couple dance, Lily and James stood together, with Lily's arm around James's waist, and his around her shoulders . She was ten weeks along in her pregnancy, but much to her delight, Lily was still able to fit into the dress she had bought for the wedding months earlier. Although Lily didn't know if her happiness could even compare to the elated couple several feet in front of her, she felt it was pretty damn close.

"God, they're so fucking cute."

Lily whipped her head up at James who had just spoken the sentence more to himself than anyone else. She had a huge smile on her face and one eyebrow raised.

"What?" James said, not at all embarrassed that he'd said it. "Just look at them." Lily looked out and watched as the couple leaned in to kiss each other. It was true. They were so adorable.

"You're really happy for him, aren't you?" Lily said, looking up at James.

"Like you wouldn't believe," James said with a smile. He was still looking at Remus and Sirius.

"I love you, you know," Lily said. James finally looked down at her and smiled. "We've got a really great life, don't we?" James kissed the top of her head and they both looked out at their best friends.

"We sure do."

Six Months, One Week, and Three Days Later

"You should see Lily," James said as he and Sirius worked in their conference room at the small office space they had purchased to start their new firm. It was modest, but it was comfortable and they both loved it. The next week would be the last day of testimony before the defense would rest its case and the jury would begin deliberations on Regulus's charges. Both James and Sirius were incredibly confident about the outcome after many damaging memos from the top echelons of Riddle Insurance had come out, incriminating them for framing Regulus. Orion Black had been furious. Sirius, James, and Regulus, however, had been elated. Regulus had even thanked Sirius and hugged him after the day the defense had presented that evidence, much to Sirius's shock and delight. Although they were confident, Sirius and James had still been working around the clock just to avoid any error. Sirius looked up from his work when James broke the silence. "She's fucking enormous—ready to pop any second."

Sirius laughed. "You're going to be a great husband," he said. "Please tell me you haven't said any of this around her."

"Of course not," James said with mock affront. "I would never!" Sirius shook his head.

"So, when are you popping the question?"

"The day we bring the baby home from the hospital," James said. "I have it all planned out."

"James, that's great! Why didn't you say—"

"Sirius!"

James and Sirius both jumped and whipped their heads around to face Remus, who had just come barreling into the conference room.

"Sorry!" Remus said loudly. "Kimberley let me in," Remus said, referring to the assistant James and Sirius had hired. Sirius smiled, and James laughed at how frantic Remus looked. "We got it, Sirius."

"Got what—" James started, but he was cut off when Sirius jumped from his chair.

"Are you talking about what I think you're talking about?" Sirius said quickly and excitedly as he walked around the table to Remus. Remus nodded.

"The social worker just called. The adoption went through… Sirius, we'll meet our daughter in two weeks."

Remus's eyes were full of tears as he spoke, and Sirius's own eyes welled up as he released a shout of joy and pulled Remus into a tight embrace. They cried and hugged each other, and as soon as they began to kiss each other, James cleared his throat.

"Looks like we're all going to be daddies," he said with a smile as he put both of his arms around the embracing couple and pulled them into a group hug. Remus and Sirius laughed, and as the three of them settled down and began to talk excitedly about their futures, they all wondered how they had gotten so lucky. Sirius was the one to voice how they were all feeling, causing all of them to roar with laughter.

"If this is a dream, no one better ever fucking pinch me."