Title: Commitment Issues

Rating: R

Contains: random fluff

Summary: Things get a little real after school and Remus has to learn to deal. AU. Established threesome: R/S/J.

Author's notes: I decided to give Remus two of his favorite things for his birthday - Sirius and James! Happy Birthday, Moony! (I posted this hastily written fic on LJ on his actual birthday, but I thought Id archive it here too.) This is a totally random AU, with an unexplained absence of Lily. (If you really need Lily's absence explained then try this: Rita Skeeter's first big break was an expose of Lord Voldemort after she sussed out he had a Muggle father. The resulting smear campaign set back his plans indefinitely. With less pressure to toe the pureblood line, Snape managed to stay good friends with Lily, and after Hogwarts they opened a highly lucrative Potions business together.)

"You didn't have to clean up on my account."

Sirius whipped his head around and lunged through the weeks old clutter of take away cartons and still half-unpacked boxes to tackle the wryly smiling Remus to the less than pristine rug covering the floorboards of their sitting room.

"You're home!"

Remus' response was lost in a whooshing breath as Sirius latched on with the strength of a limpet on a wet rock and squeezed as though his life depended on it. He smothered Remus with kisses, finally planting a gentler one on his mouth, moaning happily as Remus responded with equal tenderness. It soon turned more raw, though, and Sirius tugged impatiently at Remus' shirt, yanking and grunting until Remus obliged him by lifting his arms and helping Sirius to wriggle him out of it.

Remus had Sirius' shirt shoved up under his armpits, too, but Sirius couldn't be arsed to move away far enough to get it off. He focused on getting Remus off instead. Their bare chests grazed against each other as Sirius tangled their legs together and began to grind against Remus with fast and furious abandon.

Remus had just begun to get that almost agonized expression he always got right when he was on the edge, and Sirius was watching his face avidly, anxious not to miss a second of it, when James barged in.

"Moony!"

Sirius literally growled as James pried him off and threw himself on top of Remus with a happy cry. He scowled, watching Remus laugh as James rolled them over and over in exuberant display. "Missed you, Moony!"

When James began to snog Remus enthusiastically, Sirius couldn't contain himself any longer. "Oi, I was there first, tosser! Wait your turn!"

James raised his head to smirk at him. "Finders keepers, Pads. And I'm definitely keeping him."

His head bent over Remus and the bastard must have bitten one of his famously sensitive nipples because Remus hissed and writhed like a proper little tart. Sirius' jeans grew even tighter up front, and he threw himself forward, wrestling himself a spot next to James, so that they were both half-lying over Remus, pinning him to the floor.

"You can bloody well share, at least!"

It might have turned into all out war, if Remus hadn't spoken up.

"Kiss each other." His voice was low and husky and sent chills down both their spines. Sirius looked at James, knowing what the sight of it did to Remus, and they leaned in to kiss, messy and open mouthed, just the way they knew Remus liked it.

Remus' hips twitched involuntarily against them and he groaned, watching them under heavy lids. "The thought of you together was the only thing that kept me going while I was gone." James and Sirius pulled apart, lips wet and shiny, and stared down at Remus. "Did you take good care of each other?"

"Yeah, Moony." Sirius' eyes glittered, and he trailed his fingers down the trail of hair from Remus' navel, dipping below the waistband of his jeans. "Just like you wanted."

"Want us to show you?" James leaned into to tongue the plane of Remus' collarbone, sliding it to the hollow of his throat and licking the tender skin there.

Remus groaned again. "Yeah, show me. Show me what you did."

James smiled against Remus' throat as his fingers popped open his flies, and Sirius tugged his jeans and pants over his hips with one sharp pull.

Afterward, still lying in a half-naked heap on the rug and passing a fag back and forth, they traded sated, smoky kisses. Sirius was tucked close on one side of Remus, cupping his hand over the sharp curve of Remus' hip, while James brushed his knuckles against the roughness of Remus' jaw.

"Must be five o'clock," James teased.

"Sirius is the one whose beard grows while you watch," Remus protested.

"Prongs is just jealous, Moony. What with having skin smooth as a baby's arse and all."

They laughed as James made indignant noises, and Remus sucked the last drag from the cigarette and vanished it with an impressive bit of gratuitous wandless magic that made Sirius smile.

A contented silence settled over them, until Remus stirred, his chest rising as he took a great breath. "I'm sorry," he finally said. "For leaving."

"Moony-" Sirius began, Remus placed his fingers to Sirius' lips and shook his head.

"I just had to-to figure things out." His eyebrows furrowed as he bit his lip, and both Sirius and James had to fight the urge to wipe the traces of his anxiety away. "I was an idiot. I'm sorry. You've been so..."

This time it was James who put his fingers to Remus' lips. "We love you." It had always been James who could say it for all of them.

"I know." Remus swallowed thickly, but he smiled. "I know, and I won't ever leave again. Well, unless you toss me out, that is."

"Not even if you keep eating those Muggle crisps in bed." Sirius dropped a soft kiss on Remus' bare shoulder.

James followed suit on the other side. "It's not the same without you, Moony."

"Well...just...thanks for giving me space and not...hating me for it."

Sirius had to bite his lip, avoiding James' eyes, as he remembered how James had cast the full body bind on him when Remus walked out. And when he'd finally released him, oh, he'd given full vent to his opinion of the runner Remus was doing. If Remus had come back within the first couple of days, his reception might have gone a lot differently.

Eventually, his anger and worry and fear that Remus would never come back at all led to a fistfight with James and black eyes for the both of them. He'd finally, grudgingly, accepted that James was right. Remus was full of insecurities, with an overly developed sense of responsibility and misplaced pride that made him excruciatingly sensitive to being a burden to them, to putting them in danger and stigmatizing them in the eyes of the world. And he couldn't quite accept that his friends, despite what they'd been to him over the years, could possibly love him and need him the way Sirius knew deep down that Remus loved and needed the both of them.

"He's a lot like you," James had said, trying to soothe him. "He's got to sort through things on his own. In his own way. Just give him a bit. He always comes to us in the end."

James had been right, as usual. Though, Sirius felt a flare of remembered anger and he bit Remus' shoulder this time, with a little more force than a love bite warranted. Remus didn't flinch, though, just met Sirius' eyes with a look both understanding and sorrowful. "Sirius..."

His words cut Remus off. "You belong with us, Moony. We need you, stupid sod. Don't ever do that again."

Remus nodded wordlessly, and Sirius kissed him with fierce intent, wanting to brand his claim as deep as he could.

"I'm sorry," Remus whispered when Sirius finally pulled away.

"You were a bit of a twat, Moony," James answered. "But we forgive you." He leaned in for his own kiss. "Truth is, we're a bit hopeless without you."

"Yeah, I can see that." Remus wrinkled his nose. "Is it really that difficult to cast a cleaning spell or two?"

"Oi, you're the one responsible for the sentient cheese incident. Never heard Prongs scream so loud."

Sirius and Remus snickered.

"That thing had teeth, I swear!"

Grinning, Sirius threw an arm and leg across the both of them. "No worries. We'll protect you from the evil dairy products, Prongs."

"And we'll protect Moony from the hairy tub monsters when your girly locks clog up the drain. Honestly, it's a wonder you're not bald yet."

Defensively, Sirius ran his fingers through his hair as Remus shuddered. "I'm not going bald! My hair is as thick as ever. It is, isn't it, Moony?"

Remus laughed. "It's gorgeous, just like the rest of you, and you know it." He cast a stern look at James. "How many times have I told you not to tease Padfoot about his looks, Prongs? You know how sensitive he is."

James snorted. "Vain as a peacock, more like."

Sirius tussled with them, playing up his mock-indignation and drunk on the happy relief of having both his lovers beside him, exactly where they should be. They did belong together, and he'd never let anyone convince them differently.