December 31, 1999

Natalie stared at Remus intently from the floor. Remus was sitting on the sofa, trying to ignore her and just focus on the telly. Sirius sat next to him but not close enough to give anything away. Remus didn't know when he was going to tell his parents but he just knew he wasn't ready yet.

He had practiced the moment a thousand different ways in his head. He knew Natalie didn't like being the sole bearer of his big secret but he really needed her to be patient just a little while longer.

"How's it going, lads?" Remus's father said as he came and sat down next to Remus.

"Oh, uh… fine," Remus said with an awkward grin at his father.

Remus didn't know what was holding him back. His mother came and sat below his father, laying against one of his legs. After all these years there was still so much love and affection between them. It made his heart want to burst.

Remus looked over at Sirius. Sirius gave him a small nervous smile and slid his hand ever so slightly closer to Remus's. Remus looked down at Natalie who looked like she was going to actually explode if something didn't happen.

"Gay," Remus said suddenly.

"What's that?" his mother asked from the floor, not seeming to have heard him.

"Gay. I'm gay. Sirius and I… we're gay. Both of us. Uh… together. He's-he's my boyfriend," Remus said, the words spilling from his mouth haphazardly.

Remus could see Sirius squirming next to him and Natalie was grinning. His father was still watching the telly. His mother looked up at him and smiled.

"I'm glad you're finally telling us, dear," his mother said.

"Yes, we sort of thought something was up but we didn't want to throw around any accusations," his dad said then patted him on the shoulder as if he had just received an award or something.

"Oh," Remus said, unsure of what he was supposed to do now.

Remus's mum then stood up from the floor and went over and wrapped her arms around Remus, embracing him tightly.

"We'll always love you, no matter what," his mum said.

Remus felt tears filling his eyes.

'Thank you," Remus said.

She then hugged Sirius too.

"Congratulations, Sirius. Remus is a hell of a bloke," his mum said.

"Cheers," Sirius said.

And then she sat back down at his father's legs. Remus wondered what he had done to give the game away. He considered asking but worried he wouldn't like the answer. He supposed it didn't matter. He had made the reveal and found the acceptance that he and Sirius so desperately desired.

Remus slid his hand onto Sirius's and squeezed. He looked at Sirius's face and watched as tears streamed down his face. This meant so much to Sirius and Remus was very happy to give to him. Sirius slid next to Remus, leaning his shoulder against his. Remus relaxed and decided to enjoy some telly with his family and his boyfriend. Normal stuff, the way it should be.

Lily sat in James's lap watching the telly as the clock counted down to midnight. She wondered if this really would be the end of the world, like so many were predicting. Either Y2K or perhaps even God were going to destroy them all. Just the other day she had read in the paper that Y2K might cause a nuclear war.

She was glad to be with James, if it was the end. Not that she was eager to die. She was so young. There was far too much of life she had never experienced. She wanted to travel. She wanted to have a successful career. She wanted to get married someday and start a family.

That last item surprised Lily. She had never really thought about those things before. She tried not to imagine James as the one she would marry but she couldn't help it. She found she liked the thought a great deal.

Bloody hell, Evans, she thought. She wasn't even sixteen. She'd only had one steady boyfriend for barely half a year. She really shouldn't be getting ahead of herself.

Even still she sunk into James and let him wrap arms around her waist. She clutched her hands against his and he pressed the side of his face against the side of her head. She was fairly certain he was smelling her hair. Her shampoo smelled like raspberries and James had told her how much he loved it.

James's parents were laughing about something in the sitting room. James had asked if it would all right if he and Lily sit alone in the den tonight. This was their first New Years together and he told Lily he wanted it just be them.

Lily wondered how things were with Remus and Sirius. She had a fleeting thought of calling Remus but she had promised James to not make any phone calls tonight, though he had not actually asked her to promise that himself.

James seemed so peaceful tonight. It was nice to be able to relax in his arms. She felt so close to him right now. Closer than she had ever felt to anyone.

"Happy new year!" everyone in Remus's flat called out.

Remus turned to Sirius and pressed his lips into his firmly. Sirius then pulled away and kissed Sirius on his cheek. Remus looked over and his sister was clapping in excitement. Remus then got up and gave his sister a hug.

"Happy new year, Nat," Remus said.

"Happy new year," she echoed.

Remus then repeated this with his mother and father while Nat hugged Sirius. Remus was filled with joy and giddiness, though the latter feeling was at least partially the eggnog. It was the year two-thousand and Remus felt like his life was truly beginning.

James and Lily had been snogging for nearly ten straight minutes. Lily didn't think they had ever even bothered to say happy new year. Lily just wanted him so desperately. She was on his lap, facing him, their chests together with her arms around him tightly and their mouths locked together. Lily felt so alive and she wanted this moment to last forever.

At some point they became too tired to snog. James's parents were already in bed, having not actually stayed up until midnight. Lily was supposed to sleep on the sofa but James pulled her upstairs to his bedroom.

"Stay with me up here tonight," James said and kissed Lily.

"Of course, I will," Lily said and began to remove her trousers.

James also removed his trousers and his tee-shirt then slid into bed.

"Will you just lay with me… can we just… hold each other?" James asked.

Lily smiled and nodded. She couldn't imagine anywhere she'd rather be or anything else that she'd rather be doing. She slid into bed, her back facing him and pressed her body against his firmly. James draped an arm on her bare thigh.

She felt so warm, tired and full of love. James kissed the side of her neck and she made a happy sound of approval.

"Love you," Lily said.

She wasn't sure if James said it back but she thought she heard something before she drifted away to sleep.

December 1, 2000

Sirius awoke to the sound of dishes being washed. He groaned and stretched. In his mind he associated the sound with Mr. Reacher, who had always taken care of everything around the house.

Sirius sat up from the sofa and hobbled to the loo. Once he was out he went to the kitchen, hoping to get some water.

"Would you like some tea?" Sylvia Lupin asked.

"Yes, I would. Cheers," Sirius said.

Remus's mum wiped off her hands and quickly served Sirius some tea which he took over to the dining table. A few moments later, Sylvia joined him.

"So, how did your parents react?" she asked.

Sirius sighed.

"They don't know. If they find out they'll take me away," Sirius said.

Sylvia frowned and set her cup down.

"That's terrible. I don't understand how it could matter. What does it matter who love? We're all just people. Everyone wants to be happy and be loved," she said.

"Some people don't feel that way. They think… they think it's a sin," Sirius said.

Sylvia grumbled and said what sounded like curses under her breath.

"Do you love my son?" Sylvia said.

"Absolutely," Sirius said.

"And it's obvious that he loves you," she said and Sirius felt his heart skip a beat.

"Yes," Sirius said, amazed at the sudden burst of confidence.

"Then that's all that matters," she said.

Sirius smiled but quickly frowned.

"But I don't know what to do about my parents. I just feel like someday the other shoe will drop and I won't be able to hide who I am anymore," Sirius said.

"When it does I promise you that Remus's father and I will do whatever we can to help you. You make our son happy and we would do anything to protect him," Sylvia said and reached over and put a hand on Sirius's.

Sirius felt hot tears stream down his cheeks and for the first time he realised that this was what having a mother must feel like.