The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition Season 10 Semi-finals Round 10: Nothing Beats a Classic

A/N: Royalty!AU; Muggle AU (non-magical at least); iPhones but people prefer candles to torches
CW: Not completely straight (that would be impossible) up homophobia, but homophobia nonetheless; mild language

WORD COUNT: 2318

CHASER 3: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Write a Royalty!AU

OPTIONAL PROMPTS:
[emotion] trepidation
[dialogue] "Why me?" "Because you're so much more fun to tease than anyone else."
[time of day] 8:45 PM

Thanks to Autumn for beta-ing!

Remus Lupin has surprising talents in gardening and flower arranging. Change my mind.

timeless (this love is forever)

I love him. I always have.

*~xxx~*

Sirius stared out of his bedroom window, cupping his cheeks with his hands, and breathed in the crisp, autumn air. The chill announced the close arrival of Winter. A gentle breeze blew Sirius' hair, and the moon illuminated his sharp jawline.

It was moments like this — these delicate, beautiful moments — that he really loved being a prince. Moments when all the arguing and tears were forgotten. Moments when his family didn't nag in the back of his mind as he watched the stars. Moments like this when he could focus on the love that filled his heart.

A low whistle coming from the grounds captured Sirius' attention. He tore his eyes away from the glistening stars and looked down. Below, working in the castle's grounds, was Remus Lupin, the gardener, who was the most beautiful man alive in Sirius' eyes. Sirius' face lit up as he caught his gaze.

Remus, holding a rose from the bush he was pruning in his right hand, waved at Sirius. He winked as he pointed to the rose and blew a kiss to Sirius' window.

This act of love was not something that Sirius was completely used to yet, and it showed.

As he pretended to fiddle with the velvet curtain, Sirius hid the deep blush that had spread over his face. Whilst doing so, he spotted some dirt on his left hand, which he promptly brushed off. But spotting this created a great anxiety about what he was wearing. Sirius had just thrown on his clothes without a second thought that evening and had truly forgotten about appealing to Remus.

Sirius smoothed down his trousers, which had gotten a little creased from when he had been writing a few more stanzas of poetry earlier. He turned around and scanned his large room for the floor-length mirror, which was propped up against his four poster bed. Sirius gave himself a quick once over, running his eyes up and down his reflection. He undid a few buttons on his flowing, white blouse and lightly tousled his hair until he was happy with his appearance.

Plastering what he thought was a seductive look on his face, Sirius looked back at Remus collecting more flowers from and around the many rose bushes scattered around the east garden. Sirius watched Remus' hands flutter over the stems, in awe of his lover's abilities. He cupped his cheeks again and leant his elbows on the window sill, still admiring Remus as he gathered roses, forget-me-nots, and poppies from one of the grander flowerbeds.

Remus pulled a loose thread out from his jumper to tie around the stems to create an adorable bouquet. He smiled as he noticed Sirius watching him and motioned for him to come down to join him in the garden.

Sirius grinned back and nodded, closing his window and blowing a small kiss to Remus. He practically ran across his room, but froze as he reached the door. Sirius placed his ear against it and paused for a moment or two before deeming it safe enough to leave.

Especially now, Sirius really had to keep his love affair with Remus a secret. He didn't want his family to ruin it for the both of them. If they were caught, Remus would lose the one job that was keeping his mother alive, and Sirius… Well, he wasn't exactly planning on continuing the family legacy of keeping the crown in the first place, but he knew for a fact that his home was not a safe one for people like him. People like them always had to ruin it for the people like him. So no one could find out. No one at all.

Sirius creaked down the winding staircase, stopping every few steps to listen if anyone was following him. Maybe he was just paranoid, but the anxiety was still logical. After all, he had caught Regulus hanging around his room quite a lot over the past few weeks.

He eventually reached the bottom of the stairs with a satisfying thud. By the time he had crossed the expansive dining room and kitchen to reach the other side of the castle, Remus was already standing by the back door, his hand hovering over the handle.

"Hey," Sirius whispered, his breath short from both sprinting, and Remus' beauty.

Remus smiled and gently opened the door. He gestured for Sirius to follow him, and they wordlessly ambled across the grounds. Sirius brushed his hand against Remus', and their fingers intertwined.

After they had crossed several fields, Remus came to a halt and nodded at a small building before him. "Here."

At first, Sirius thought it was some kind of shed, but soon realised that it was where Remus slept. He felt a twinge of anger that Remus was forced to sleep where the tools should be kept, when the rest of the family had grand beds and even grander rooms.

Remus gently pulled his hand from Sirius' and pushed open the door, which creaked and wobbled under his touch. "Let me just grab something," he whispered. "Back in a sec!"

Sirius smiled weakly. "Okay, babe."

His back pocket vibrated and he pulled out his phone absentmindedly. Sirius' eyes glazed over his lockscreen, his mind focused on other things, and he barely even noticed the time, which was past eight thirty, everyone's strict curfew.

"Where are you? Rendezvousing with Lupin again? Don't let anyone catch you. The servants have already been asked to check everyone is in bed with the lights out. If you're late, no one will cover for you this time."

Sirius' hands became slippery with sweat. He checked the sender and his heart skipped a beat.

Regulus.

He was right. Regulus had been watching him; his anxiety was logical.

Sirius worked up the courage to tap a quick response denying his brother's accusations. His finger glided over the send button as Remus emerged from the shed.

"What is it?" he asked, searching Sirius' scared face. He motioned to Sirius' phone, which lay limp in his hand. "Can I see?"

Sirius nodded and passed it to Remus.

Remus' mouth formed an 'o' as he took in Regulus' words.

"We aren't safe," Sirius whispered, taking back his phone. "He knows. They know."

Remus put his arm around Sirius and shook his head. "We're going to be just fine."

Sirius nodded, trying to believe it. If only he was able to stop worrying for just a minute, maybe his life would be better.

"Take these." Remus smiled as he handed Sirius the bunch of flowers that he had picked earlier. "There's a vase inside, if you need one."

The grin reappeared on Sirius' face as he thanked Remus profusely for the flowers. He gave them back to Remus for safekeeping. When Remus reappeared from behind the door, he continued to waffle about how it was so sweet of him.

Remus waved his hand, shushing Sirius. "I love you, Sirius, it's nothing to me."

Sirius' jaw dropped. "You… Love me?"

"I love you. I always have."

"Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my G—" Sirius' frantic blubbering was stopped by the feeling of Remus' lips on his own.

"I love you," Sirius whispered as Remus broke away from the kiss. "If that wasn't obvious."

Remus wrapped his arms around Sirius' waist and pulled him closer. "I've loved you since I first saw you. I only need to close my eyes to see it all again. You were standing by your window, and I was in the garden."

Sirius closed his eyes and smiled, imagining the scenario for himself.

"You were wearing that turquoise blouse of yours. Oh, how I love that blouse." Remus smiled at the memory.

One of Sirius' eyes opened. "Really?" he questioned. "Regulus always says that my blouses make me look too feminine or lower class."

Remus sighed. "Regulus can fuck himself. You, my love, always look perfect."

"Mhm…" Sirius must have been satisfied with that answer, as he closed his eye and snuggled closer to Remus, who continued telling the story.

A few minutes later, Remus was interrupted by Sirius having a coughing fit. After an effort to match his breathing to Remus', Sirius ran out of air.

Upon hearing this, Remus laughed uncontrollably into Sirius' hair and mumbled something about Sirius being an idiot. Sirius protested against the idea, until Remus finished by declaring Sirius as his idiot, which made Sirius promptly shut up and grin into Remus' cardigan.

Remus murmured, "I always knew that you were the one."

Sirius looked up at Remus. "Why me?" he asked, cocking his head.

"Because you're so much more fun to tease than anyone else," Remus laughed. This time, Sirius joined in.

*~xxx~*

To Sirius, it was magic how light and free he felt around Remus. Here he was, laying on the daisy-encrusted grass with his lover. His stomach fluttered at knowing that the man next to him loved him.

"Remus?" he whispered, shifting his head so that he could see Remus. "Look." He pointed at the glistening lights that peaked past the castle.

"Woah…" Remus breathed out.

It was strange. Years and years of working here; years and years of seeing those same lights, and they had never seemed as beautiful as they were right then. Remus couldn't stop himself from thinking that it was magical, how the lights danced and glittered in the distance. It was captivating.

"Oh, look," Sirius exclaimed. "There's some moving closer to us!"

He didn't need to look to know what the lights were. "Sirius, baby, we have to hide."

Sirius watched Remus clamber to his feet and put out the burning candle. "Why?"

"The light… It's a flame from a candle, and Regulus is holding the matches," he hissed, pulling Sirius to his feet. "We have to get back to mine. You can hide there," he added after a lengthy pause.

Sirius nodded quickly and glanced at his phone screen. Shit. It was eight fifty. They were so dead if anyone caught them. Their curfew was a Big Deal, which meant that punishments were certain. Especially in December, when it was so dark out that Sirius could barely see Remus, who was right in front of him. All he could make out was a figure covered in a veil of black. He stretched out his arm and placed it on the figure's shoulder. "Rem, we have to go."

A candle appeared from behind the figure's back, which illuminated his face. "Not Lupin."

"Regulus." Sirius' voice was cold. "I should have known."

Regulus stiffened at Sirius' icy tone. "I– I just wanted to say that…" His voice was weaker and more apologetic than Sirius had expected. "That they're looking for you. I wanted to… Help. You're already in trouble, and I just thought that maybe…"

"Oh." Sirius was so stunned that he stumbled backwards. "That's very kind of you, Regulus."

"I just thought…" Regulus trailed off as he spotted Remus. He turned to address Remus, practically ignoring Sirius. He put on a casual, friendly tone with Remus. "How's that friend of yours, Lupin? The chef?"

Remus pointed at Regulus and mouthed some words to Sirius that he didn't quite make out, but they seemed to be along the lines of 'What the fuck?'

"James? He's okay," he answered sceptically. "Why do you care so much?" the words shot out of his mouth before he had the chance to think about them properly.

A blush crept over Regulus' cheeks. "Oh, um, I, err…" he squeaked out. He cleared his throat. "I don't think that's a… Necessary question."

Sirius shot a smirk at Remus. "It sounds like someone has a little crush," he teased his brother. "It seems mutual, at least. James can't keep his eyes off you."

"Well, at least I can keep it in my pants!" Regulus shot back, waving his hands around wildly.

Remus interjected, stopping Sirius from fighting back, "I think they heard us."

Sure enough, the castle's back door was open wide, and lit candles and torches lit up the faces of servants, Walburga, and Orion.

Sirius and Regulus exchanged horrified glances. "We have to hide," Regulus whispered. His face was white, and his hands were shaking. It wasn't just Sirius who was scared of them finding out, apparently.

Remus led them to his living quarters. Once they had got in and Remus had gently locked the door behind them, they all sighed from relief. It was then that Sirius realised that he had been holding his breath.

Sirius turned to Remus. "When we're older, you won't have to work here anymore, and we will live together in the cutest cottage in Wales. They'll tell stories of us, the happy neighbours who gave out flowers and hand-sewn clothes. Our spirits will be around forever in the form of story tales. We'll be timeless. This love will be forever, and no one will ever forget how I look at you, or how the stars always shined brighter when we were around. You'll be the moon, and I'll be the stars, and we will always be together."

Remus grinned lazily. He invited Sirius to lay down on the bed with him. "Tell me more about the future."

"We'll always be in love, of course. It's ridiculous to think otherwise. And once Regulus has his shit together—"

"Oi!" Regulus whisper-shouted, tossing his shoe at them from where he was sitting on the floor.

"—and gets with James, he'll always visit us. We'll be free. All four of us. Free from the bounds of royalty. It'll just be us, no one else watching our every move. No more hiding and pretending. Just us."

Remus squeezed Sirius' hand. "I'd like that," he whispered, ignoring the tears that had formed in his eyes. "I'd like that very much."

*~xxx~*

I love him. I always have, and I always will.