Title: Remus Lupin's Guide to Successful Courting

Disclaimer: Brilliant Art Work Credits: the band. deviant art art /Sirius - and - Remus- 43455824; Definitions are taken from www. Dictionary. Com

Warnings: Sillyness, odd references, inappropriate behaviour

Rating: M

Chapter Thirteen: [truhst]

There was something very innocent about the way Remus Lupin slept. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that it was the only time Remus was quiet. It might have only a little to do with the way Remus's light brown hair fell haphazardly across the pillow and the way his lithe limbs curved and tucked elegantly around Sirius's body. Not that Sirius was watching; because watching the rhythmic rise and fall of Remus's chest would just be silly. That would make Sirius emotional in ways that were not classically Black; Blacks delved into whirlwinds of anger, not breezes of poetry. And while his mind adamantly insisted on romanticism, Sirius refused to believe that the fingers he was now running down the smooth expanse of Remus's bare back composed any kind of sonnets in their wake.

Because they didn't.

Sirius's fingers were just exploring, admiring the spaces between each of Remus's ribs and the gentle dip of his back just before the swell of his arse. He was admiring Remus's bone structure, from a completely medical point of view, of course.

'Good morning,' Sirius smiled as Remus's eyes fluttered open. 'Sleep all right?'

Remus blinked and from the blurriness of his pupils, Sirius could tell that his mind hadn't cleared to its usual sharp self yet. Soft amber eyes stared upwards; a glance towards the open sky, Sirius realised, for Remus to be assured that he was still free. A soft curve of full pink lips as sunlight bathed his face and Sirius knew it was his mind playing tricks, but he could not help but feel as if the heavens had decided to shine brighter just for Remus. The other man's pale skin seemed to glow. Sirius wondered if such thoughts were a byproduct of falling in love.

It was nauseating.

And then Remus rubbed his eyes with his fists and fluttered his eyelashes; and Sirius had a hard time keeping his heart from exploding out of his chest. He honestly could not fathom when he had started finding Remus endearingly attractive rather than an annoying git. Sirius continued to stare even as Remus turned towards him; Sirius's hand that had been admiring the Remus's body slid to wrap around the man's waist tenderly.

'The amount of space you occupy is disproportional to your body size.'

Remus was still an annoying git.

'I am also unable to move.'

Sirius huffed, his irritation only making him hold Remus tighter. 'You will be able to move when I allow you to move.'

Remus tilted his head. 'You are oppressing me.'

'I am,' Sirius confirmed haughtily, still wondering why he had thought Remus was adorable only moments ago. The man was utterly infuriating and an absolute mood kill. 'I am oppressing you and forcing you to stay in bed with me for a little longer so that I can bloody cuddle with you as I please!'

'But this is abuse,' Remus pointed out, unhelpfully.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. 'Cuddling is abuse?' It was abuse. It was abuse to his male ego to even say the word 'cuddling' twice; forget actually admitting to doing it.

Remus shook his head, fringe falling into his eyes. 'Oppression is abuse. The women's guide Mrs. Poppins subscribes to advises strongly against it. It also advises to exfoliate twice a week for smooth and healthy skin. It is very reliable.' He smiled brightly at Sirius, completely oblivious to Sirius's growing exasperation. 'Mrs. Poppins likes the beauty column best and always tries them out. Last month, she covered my face in banana and yoghurt – it was very sticky.'

It turned out, Remus's glowing skin was not at all a byproduct of Sirius's love for him. 'Moony…Remus, for how long has Mrs. Poppins taken care of you – eight years, maybe?' When Remus nodded, Sirius swore under his breath. 'In eight years, she has managed to strip you of every last drop of testosterone in your body and your dignity along with it.' He pushed Remus's hair out of his curious amber eyes. 'Don't you want to do man-things once in a while?'

'I like to open doors,' Remus replied. 'Mrs. Poppins said a true man opens doors for women.'

That familiar urge to hit his head against something solid surged through Sirius once again. 'Well, yes, but, what I meant was things like opening jars, walking around your house in your underpants, taking a leak in the sink, fixing broken bulbs or bookshelves, maybe growing some stubble on that baby smooth, face-masked skin of yours.' He nudged Remus's chin with his fist lightly. 'I've said this before, Remus: I understand that Mrs. Poppins takes care of you and has done so for many years. I also understand that she does the things she does because she loves you and wants the best for you; but she is smothering you. If there is something you want to do, then do it. If your heart want something badly, even if at times it seems illogical, go for it. If you want freedom, start with the small things.' Sirius breathed about to rant a little more when the bedside clock caught his eye.

6.54 AM.

He needed to get ready for work.

Sighing, Sirius sat up and pressed a light kiss to the tip of Remus's nose. He used his toe to hoist up his trousers from the floor before pulling them on. There was a suspicious white stain on the knee that Sirius tried to avoid looking at as he got off the bed with one last look at Remus. 'Look, I'll leave you to think about it while I shower, all right? Knowing you, it will probably take some time to sink in, so if you could help Harry get ready for school, that would be great.' He smiled and slipped his discarded shirt over his head. It was the first time Sirius felt like staying in bed instead of going to work, but he did not voice such desires. There was no need for Remus to get ahead of himself and certainly no need to inform him of things that made Sirius's cheeks turn bright red. So he fixed his hair, smoothed his shirt, and nonchalantly walked out of the room.

A part of Sirius's mind; the part that he had pushed to the back as he grew older; the part that liked to pull pranks and trip people when they walked knew what was coming. Sirius did not pass medical school and raise a child on his own by being stupid. Of course he knew what was coming, but the adult part of him disregarded it and underestimated Remus's rather literal personality. And it was the adult part of his brain that contributed to his shock when he walked down the stairs and into the kitchen to find two of his very favourite boys dressed in nothing but an undershirt and their underpants. In Sirius's defense, he had expected Remus to pay a little more regard to Sirius's speech about freedom rather than his one liner on how men walked around the house in their knickers.

Typical.

To Sirius's credit, he seemed almost impassive compared to the spluttering fit that Mrs. Poppins seemed to be having. 'Master Remus and Master Harry, you will march yourselves upstairs this very minute and put some decent clothes on! I command it!'

Remus did not budge and continued to eat his pancakes, pouring a large serving of chocolate syrup on top. 'Mrs. Poppins, I am denouncing you oppression over my testosterone,' he replied calmly and Sirius could tell by the way Mrs. Poppins turned her head to glare at him, that she knew these were words quoted out of Sirius's mouth and not Remus's. Clearly, Remus did not share the same sinking feeling of dread as he continued, 'I am simply being a man.'

Mrs. Poppins looked close to having a heart attack.

'I have loosened the caps of all your jars for your convenience, but could not find any bulbs to fix. They seem in working condition for now.' Remus smiled sweetly and Sirius wondered if the man was really as oblivious as he made himself out to be. Sometimes, Sirius thought that Remus did these things on purpose; just be a mischievous twat. 'The bathroom sink, though, might require your immediate attention.'

'I missed,' Harry plugged in helpfully, still mid-chew, and displaying an unattractive mouthful of sticky pancakes.

It was a ploy, Sirius knew. His Godson and Remus had joined forces to make Sirius look so horribly bad and irresponsible in front of others to a point that it would simply suffice to have the earth swallow him whole. In Mrs. Poppins eyes, Sirius now looked like the Godfather who never taught his Godson to not talk with his mouthful. Sirius also looked like the kind of person who encouraged peeing in the sink, which Sirius did not. Sirius had come from a well-bred family of Blacks and the only time he had condoned taking a leak outside the toilet was just before he had run away from home, wherein he had taken a piss over his mother's Three Million Pound self-portrait just to spite her. Much had changed since then. Sirius was a responsible parent, a well-respected member of society, and a good friend. Then why was it that Mrs. Poppins accusatory glares were directed towards him alone? Why was it so easy to assume that Sirius had asked these two daft idiots to eat breakfast in only their underwear? Clearly, this was all Remus's doing.

Sirius refused to take responsibility for any of this. 'Harry, come, we need to get you ready for school.' He looked towards Remus as he waited for Harry to take his hand. 'Remus, will you be free at six?' Little fingers closed around his larger ones, and Sirius could not help but notice a lovely wet stain on the front of Harry's underpants. Spiffing. 'Mrs. Weasley has volunteered to take care of Harry until eight, so we should have enough time together.'

'Master Black, this is the most inappropriate time to be asking Master Remus out on a date!' Mrs. Poppins scolded shrilly, her hands going to her hips.

'You're asking me on a date?' Remus asked, his eyes lighting up and fingers tightening around his fork.

'I am not asking him on a date!' Sirius all but screamed, his face going red. 'There's a treatment I want to try…well, not a treatment…just something that might help,' he mumbled the last part, shuffling his feet awkwardly much like Harry did. Ah, Sirius suddenly realised exactly where Harry got his habits from.

'Master Black, if I may say so,' Mrs. Poppins raged on, spittle of indignation flying from her lips. 'But your definition of help is very far from what is considered normal.' Her hand swept over Remus, clearly indicating his lack of proper attire and the rather obscene way his boxers had ridden up to the crease of his very pretty pale thighs. Perhaps Mrs. Poppins was not showing the latter; perhaps it was only Sirius's eye that caught it. 'If this experiment involves any nudity, burning or destruction of premises, or any form of bodily harm, then I shall immediately decline on behalf of Master Remus.'

'But I want to go on a date with Sirius,' Remus protested, turning towards Mrs. Poppins and widening his eyes in a way that Sirius knew all too well to be a product of time spent with Harry.

Sirius rubbed his forehead tiredly. Why was the simplest thing such a colossal effort with Remus Lupin, he wondered.

'Master Remus, with the utmost respect, but I feel that years of celibacy has left Master Black with nothing but fluff and frustration for brains. I would advise against going on this date.'

'Padfoot,' Harry jumped and pulled at Sirius's trousers, getting sticky syrupy handprints all over him. 'can I also go on your date?'

'This isn't a date!' Sirius growled, his nostrils flaring. 'Never mind what it is!' He picked up his Godson by the waist, making sure to keep the child's sticky hands as far away from his coat as possible. 'Harry, you may not come. Neither can you, Mrs. Poppins.' He commanded when Mrs. Poppins opened her mouth to obviously mouth him off a bit more. 'Remus, you will meet me at the clinic at six and we'll take it from there.' Saying his piece, he stormed off towards the front door, to make a grand exit (stomping his feet for effect), before realising he still had a semi-naked child tucked under his arm and storming back in without a single glance towards the kitchen.

Remus stared at the door in front of him apprehensively.

Trick [trik]: a crafty or underhanded device, maneuver, stratagem, or the like, intended to deceive or cheat.

Sirius had deceived him. He had promised Remus that they would spend a day together and experiment. Sirius knew Remus's weaknesses. Sirius knew Remus was afraid of doors; he knew that Remus did not like going into the Shrieking Shack. Yet, he had addled Remus with the mind boggling feelings that always came when they held hands, and dragged Remus here to face a solid wooden door. The shrieking shack had no doors, except at the main entrance. In his early years of rehabilitation, Remus had either broken all the doors that had once existed or compelled Dumbledore to have them remove after his uncontrolled violent outbursts. Remus did not like doors; and this one was ugly. It was ugly and blank. It had a manual key hole; not the kind that would ever let you go if it decided to trap you in the confines of a room that had no sky.

Betrayed [bih-trey]: to reveal or disclose in violation of confidence.

'Moony, you trust me, don't you?'

Remus turned towards Sirius to find grey eyes staring intently back at him.

Trust [truhst]: a person on one relies on.

Remus nodded, though a little hesitantly

'Then trust me not to hurt you.' His grip tightened on Remus's hand and slowly, almost carefully, he led Remus inside the bedroom. His eyes never left Remus's, even as he slotted a door stopper between the door frame and floor to keep them in still open space.

The room in the Shrieking Shack was nothing like Remus's back home. It had no extravagant furniture, no customised glass roofs, and certainly none of the precise and imaginative art work that Remus poured his heart into on the walls of his home. It was a room that held almost painful memories of frustration and helplessness. A room that had been left bare, with nothing but a bed in the corner that had been kept for the days during his sessions with Dumbledore when the physical and mental strain of healing would knock him out. It was an ugly room.

'I remember when you were trying to reconcile with Harry, you told him that you were scared of being left alone,' Sirius started, sitting down on the floor with his legs crossed and urging Remus to do the same. 'It really got me thinking and I started putting some of the puzzle pieces together when I read your files. You didn't have episodes this severe when your dad was alive, did you?'

Remus shook his head. Sirius's thumb was massaging into his palm.

Comfort [kuhm-fert]: to soothe, console, or reassure.

'But you still had them.'

'Yes,' Remus answered truthfully. He fidgeted uncomfortably, casting a nervous glance towards the door as if expecting it to close suddenly and lock them here. He wanted to leave. He wanted to go home. Why had Sirius brought him here? Remus did not understand, he did not like it here; it made him feel edgy and agitated. He wanted to go out.

'Moony,' Sirius shook Remus a little to gain back his attention. 'Listen to me, I need you to understand the cause of your anxiety in order to at least try and overcome it. Moony,' He grabbed Remus by the chin, forcing Remus to look straight at him. Remus did not realise he had been looking anywhere else. 'What you are afraid of is not this door or this room; it is that if it closes, no one will ever come for you and you will be left alone. That's not right,' Sirius shook his head, correcting himself, 'what you're afraid of is that your father will never come for you. And it's worse now than when you were younger because you know your father is dead; that he cannot come for you even if he wanted.'

Remus wanted to look away but Sirius was still holding him still by the chin.

It was uncomfortable.

The truth was uncomfortable.

Sometimes Remus pretended that the truth was something else so he would feel comfortable again.

Denial [dih-nahy-uhl]: refusal to recognize or acknowledge.

'Oi, I told you not to make that face in front of me,' Sirius chided gently. Remus wished he could correct it, but he did not understand what face he was making. 'Look, there is nothing wrong with feeling what you feel right now. This isn't your fault,' he explained gently, thumbs that were digging into Remus's jaw now running across it. 'It's associative behaviour; it's normal. It's how Harry turns to me when he's hungry or how he turns to you when he wants a new toy. He associates each of us with certain behaviour because his psych interconnects end results with the people around him. Do you understand?'

Remus shook his head.

Harry did not turn into a monster like Remus did. Harry was different.

Sirius sighed. 'For most of your life, your father was the only person you knew. He was your provider; he gave you food, water, affection – everything you needed both as a child and as a human being. But he only gave them to you when he opened your bedroom door. You associated survival with that bedroom door.' He bit his lip, as if struggling to explain things better to Remus. 'I went through all your files, every single session you had with your psychiatrist and Dumbledore, but it just didn't make sense. Well, it did, but it just didn't. And then I remembered that one time I saw your father.'

Remus's eyes widened. 'You met my father?'

Sirius nodded. 'A long time ago; he had come to my school for a lecture. He was very highly regarded in the medical world, you know. Some of this research papers are still considered breakthroughs in cardiology and surgery to date.'

Proud [proud]:feeling pleasure or satisfaction over something regarded as highly honorable.

'But the one thing that struck me from that day was how much of a hurry he was in. Everyone kept telling me how elusive he was and how difficult it was to even get a hold of him. And he rushed through the presentation, checked his watch restlessly every five minutes, and when it was time to leave, he ran. He did not stop to speak to our Dean or any of the students; he ran.'

'To me?' Remus asked, his chest hurting. He rubbed the left side of his chest to quell the pain but it did not leave, only climbed up to his throat and made it difficult to swallow.

'To you,' Sirius confirmed. 'I have a feeling he knew…about your problem, I mean. Or at least predicted it because on the day he…' Sirius hesitated, '…passed away, he set you free. I kept thinking of the irony; a heart surgeon dying of a heart attack, especially since he knew he was having problems. He could have called for emergency that time, but calling the hospital would mean he would be in the hospital for days, maybe a month. It would also mean leaving you trapped inside that room for as long as he was in the hospital…' He smiled almost sadly. 'You were right the entire time; he gave his life to open that door for you.'

It hurt. It hurt very much. The pain had spread to Remus's teeth and his joints, making his knuckles curl into tight fists, where his nails dug into the palms of his hands. Suddenly, Remus wanted to see his father very much. It never hurt when his father was here. Even when Remus had the slightest of wounds, John Lupin would tend to it carefully and whisper magic words under his breath that would make the pain go away. Remus missed his father.

'We're going to try and dissociate the two,' Sirius continued softly. His hands slipped away from Remus's face and fell to his lap. 'I don't know if I can get rid of it given how long this has been going on for, but I can at least try to re-route it.' He smiled and Remus watched apprehensively as Sirius got up and walked towards the door. He had left Remus still sitting on floor. 'I need you to trust me, Moony. I need you trust me inherently for this to work. If you stay afraid forever, you will only build higher walls to trap yourself.' Sirius's hands and feet shuffled almost nervously and Remus found it hard to read Sirius's body movements. A dread was slowly filling his gut but he did not understand why. 'Moony, I need you to trust me to always be there for you.' Remus's eyes flitted from the door to Sirius to around the room, trying to remember if there had been a window in here. He was suddenly feeling very caged. 'If you're ever in trouble or if you ever find yourself trapped, I need you to believe that I will always come to get you no matter what.'

Remus's eyes followed Sirius's left foot as it moved towards the stopper, the toe of his shoes slowly pulling it out from underneath the door. He watched as the door moved on its own in an ominous arch, a resounding click as it slotted shut. He watched as Sirius pulled out a key from his pocket and turned it effortlessly. Remus only vaguely remembered getting up and running towards the door in a last desperate attempt to escape. He remembered a soft apology whispered into his ears as a strong pair of arms held him back: 'I'm sorry, Moony'.

Then, everything went black.

Trapped [trapd]: to ensnare by trickery.

'Fuck…'

Remus opened his eyes only to find that they were already open. He was laid flat on the floor, his back sore for reasons he couldn't quite comprehend at this point. He pushed himself up with both hands, vision swimming from disorientation. He blinked rapidly, trying to dislodge some of the blurriness that was clinging to his eyelashes. A groan slipped from his mouth and when it echoed in a voice that was definitely not his own, Remus found his vision clearing from shock. Sirius was sat in front of him, his back leaning against the open door. He was nursing a large wound on his arm, his breath coming out in harsh pants. As soon as he noticed Remus was up, he hid his arm away from view and shot a pained smile.

'How are you feeling?' Sirius asked, quickly getting up and making his way towards Remus. 'You shouldn't be hurt anywhere, but I was afraid you might make your bad hand worse.' He helped Remus stand up, fussing over the cast on his left hand. He was avoiding looking at Remus's eyes, even though Remus tried very hard to look. Sirius even kept his face bent low so that his hair shielded his face in a way Remus did not like at all. 'You must be exhausted, too,' Sirius muttered, now brushing imaginary dust off of Remus's clothes. 'I was a little hard on you, but we will definitely made progress. Even if just by a few seconds, there will definitely be a gradual delay in panic towards the end. Do you remember anything?'

Remus tried to look under Sirius's hair, moving his head side to side in effort when Sirius seemed to keep turning away.

Avoidance [uh-void-ns]: the act of avoiding or keeping away from.

'I don't remember anything,' Remus replied, feeling rather upset at being partially ignored.

Sirius hummed, 'I suppose the intervals between each aren't long enough to gain full conscious. But at least you didn't get hurt…'

Remus finally caught sight of Sirius's right eye through the part of his hair and found himself reeling in surprise. Involuntarily, his good hand moved up to touch Sirius's face, fingers curling in apprehension when Sirius pulled back as if in fright. 'Your eye…' Remus started slowly, still trying fit the pieces of the puzzle together with things he could remember. 'Did I hurt you?' He asked tentatively, afraid of the answer. The pain in his chest was back again, worse than before. He looked down at his hand, his stomach churning unpleasantly when he noticed split skin on his knuckles.

'Don't be ridiculous,' Sirius laughed but it did not sound like his normal laughter. It sounded fake. 'You hit like a little girl; you couldn't hurt a fly with moves like that.' Again, that unattractive laugh. Remus did not like it at all. 'Hey, don't look so upset. You didn't hurt me, I promise. Look,' Sirius lifted his head, pushing his hair behind his ears and revealing a fresh purpling bruise near his left eye and a deep scratch where neck met shoulder. 'I knew what I was getting myself into from the very start and I should have been a bit better prepared. Next time…'

Dangerous [deyn-jer-uhs, deynj-ruhs]: able or likely to cause physical injury.

'I do not want a next time,' Remus interrupted abruptly. He was surprised by the own tone of his voice which sounded harsh even to his ears. 'I do not want a next time. I will not go if you ask. I will refuse because I do not want to hurt you.' He felt angry. Remus had never felt angry before. He had read much about it and it had sounded quite horrible; an expression of extreme displeasure. He felt an irrational urge to push Sirius, to scream, even though Remus never ever did things such as this. He wanted to hit Sirius; yet, that did not make sense because he did not want Sirius hurt. He felt afraid also; afraid that he was out of control and Sirius would be hurt again. He felt terrified of even the thought of Sirius being hurt. It was so irrational and so out of place that Remus found he could no longer categorise everything he was feeling.

Overwhelmed [oh-ver-hwelm, -welm]: to overpower or overcome in mind and feeling.

'Remus, Moony,' Sirius's hands scrabbled to hold Remus still by the shoulders, 'I can do this. I can help, I know I can. These are just scrapes; I'll be more careful next time, I promise.' He kissed Remus on the lips, chaste and swift. 'I can do this but I need you to believe in me.' Remus could not find himself to express any belief when he was staring at Sirius's bloodied hand. 'I can help you,' he pleaded again to Remus, his hands moving from Remus's shoulder to his neck, then tangling his fingers into the back of Remus's hair. 'I can do this,' Sirius repeated, stepping closer so that their faces were only millimeters apart. His breath was shaky against Remus's skin. 'Trust me…'

Faith [feyth]:confidence or trust in a person.

'Well, what do you think?'

'I'm hungry!' Harry complained. 'Why couldn't we have eaten at that restaurant, Padfoot?'

'We only went there to book seats, Harry,' Sirius replied exasperatedly.

'Are they seats for a movie? Let's go watch! I'm bored!' Ron complained.

Sirius turned to the two boys standing beside him and frowned. 'Do you want that ice cream or not?' he asked, arms crossing over his chest in a way he knew exuded parental superiority.

Harry and Ron nodded eagerly.

'Then concentrate!' Sirius commanded, pointing towards the display. 'Which one do you like?'

Obediently, both Harry and Ron pressed their faces against the glass. Two pairs of large green and brown eyes stared at the impressive collection that the shop had to offer with as much thought and interest that Sirius paid to women. In short: none at all. Though, Sirius had to admit they were trying very hard; discussing amongst themselves, pointing haphazardly to a few, and nodding as if in full understanding of the situation. The shop keeper was already giving the three of them dirty looks as the children's hands left dirty handprints all over his pristine glass.

'Scabbers says he likes the red one,' Ron Weasley finally declared to Sirius, petting his pet rat in his pocket. The little rat poked his head out, sniffing curiously before Ron pushed it in under the shop keeper's stern glare. Sirius hated rats.

'Not everything has to match your hair, Weasley,' Sirius grimaced, trying not to look directly at Ron who was dressed in a bright orange t-shirt and red shorts. Sirius would not be surprised if the boy hadn't already caused epileptic seizures on their way here.

'I like the one with the butterflies!' Harry piped up. He looked past Sirius at the shopkeeper. 'Don't you have any with cars?'

Sirius groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. He really needed to get more friends his age.

'Harry, do you think Hermione would like this?' Ron asked nervously, his feet shuffling around. 'She likes shiny things, doesn't she? She always wears things like this to school. It makes her look pretty.'

Sirius did not even bother looking. In fact, he was starting to give up. He should have known from the very beginning that he was hopeless at thoughtful gestures and relationships. He should have just stuck to what he did best: being an utter arsehole. Sirius could already hear the shop keeper losing patience with them, huffing and muttering under his breath.

'Why would you give it to Hermione?' Harry asked, scratching his bum despite Sirius having taught him not to do so in public. Please don't sniff, Sirius pleaded but to no avail. Harry sniffed…twice.

'Maybe she will play with me then?' Ron replied hopefully. 'She only ever likes playing with you,' he went on sadly. 'Maybe she will sleep next to me during naptime as well!' He did not notice Sirius raise an eyebrow or mutter, too young for third base, under his breath. 'Mister!' Ron waved at the rather disgruntled shopkeeper. 'Hey, Mister, how much is this?'

'For you, Sir,' The shop keeper sneered, wiping spittle from where Ron and Harry had drooled a little bit, 'it will be only two thousand pounds.'

It was only then that Sirius truly noticed exactly what Ron seemed so keen over. Rather than worrying over the decision, it seemed it had come to him not so quickly in the form of a five year old's rather unrequited love. The apocalypse might be coming, he decided, for a Weasley to actually display such good taste. An imitation of his Godson, he also pressed his hands against the display, looking closely at what would never be Hermione's gift. It really was rather stunning and thankfully, did not have any butterflies or cars on it. In fact, Sirius would almost call it perfect.

'How about I give you two pounds instead?' Ron bargained intelligently.

Afterwards, when Sirius had bought the boys their ice cream, he decided to stop by the cemetery. There was only one beside the church, where rows of white tombstones stood, all engraved with messages that would never be read by the people who it had been meant for. Sirius did not like graveyards; even ones as beautiful as this one where the grass was a bright green and rosebushes and marigolds surrounded the perimeter. It reminded him of James and Lily who he had not visited since they had moved out of London.

'Padfoot, where are we?' Harry asked, licking ice cream off of his elbow. Already, both boys had managed to stain the front of their shirts with drips of chocolate.

'This is where Moony's dad lives,' Sirius explained with a kind smile.

'Moony said his dad lives in the sky,' Harry argued wisely.

'He does,' Sirius agreed, not wanting to damage Harry's beliefs. 'But sometimes, when you want to talk to him or anyone else who lives in the sky, you come here.' He patted Harry on the head, tucking the boy's unruly black hair behind his ears. 'They come down here sometimes just to listen to us and let us know that they're always here for us.'

Harry nodded, though Sirius was sure he hadn't really understood. He was too young, Sirius knew; too young to understand death or the loss it brought about. And while Sirius had not once lied about Harry's true parents, Harry simply did not understand beyond the fact that Sirius was his dad.

'Why don't you and Ron go pick some flowers for Moony over there, while I speak to Moony's dad?' Sirius suggested, once he spotted John Lupin's tombstone. 'Don't go too far; stay where I can see you, okay?' He watched both children go, leaving a trail of melted ice cream behind. Once he was sure they were not going to run off anywhere, he kneeled down on the grass and turned towards John Lupin. 'You were a cunt,' he started. 'yet, he comes here every week and leaves you flowers.' Sirius picked at the dried flowers that lay on the ground in front of John's epitaph. 'But then he's also a clingy bastard.' He laughed to himself. 'Nothing justifies what you did, but I think you already knew that, didn't you? You knew that from the very beginning, but you only did something about it at the very end. What an arsehole you were – leaving other people to clean your mess; leaving your son's life to chance…'

Sirius breathed in deeply and closed his eyes, listening to Harry and Ron's childish laughter as they played together. 'You were a cunt,' Sirius repeated much less harshly this time, 'but you were also a good man.' He smiled, a hand reaching out to touch John Lupin's tombstone as one would squeeze another's shoulder for reassurance. 'Thank you for what you did. Thank you for saving him.' Sirius got up, dusting the dirt and grass off his knees. 'It's my turn now.'

'Fuck,' Sirius panted, the heat of his own breath scorching the flesh of his lips. He buried his face into Remus's neck, pressing his lips to pale, pale skin. His hands moved slowly across Remus's body, savouring each dip and sensuous curve. They were lying face to face, noses touching and bodies so close that Sirius wasn't quite sure where he began and where Remus ended. The clothes on his body chaffed painfully against his overtly sensitive skin, but he had been too desperate to bother taking them off. So, so desperate that he had backed Remus up to the wall the minute they'd put Harry to bed and kissed Remus with everything he had. They had not parted once all the way to the bedroom.

'Ah,' Sirius moaned as Remus put just the right amount of pressure on his cock, pulling upwards at the same time. One of Sirius's hands ran up and down Remus's thigh, encouraging him to move faster, while the other tangled itself in Remus's light brown hair, pulling their lips closer to brush the lightest of touches. 'I'm…' he breathed into Remus's mouth, eyes shutting tightly from the sharp bursts of pleasure that coursed through him.

How, he wondered, as his hips arched and moved in tandem with Remus's hand, did Remus know exactly how to drive him wild? How was it that he knew every single one of Sirius's sensitive spots and how to touch it in just the right way? The deep molten gold eyes that stared back at him so fiercely – did they really belong to the Remus he knew?

'Almost…' Sirius whispered, his tongue darting out to lick a broad stripe across Remus's jaw. He whimpered as Remus's hand sped up, thumb brushing over the tip and then running down the vein on the underside of his cock.

Suddenly, Sirius felt the bed dip behind him and heard the soft rustle of curtains being pulled open, before an added weight joined them on the bed. It took his lust addled mind exactly two minutes before he realised that the added weight was actually a person, and that the person was none other than Harry James Potter. It took Sirius's brain another two seconds to realise that his fly was very much open and his cock was in a situation that no cock should be in the presence of a child. A loud yelp tore out of his throat as his hands scrabbled to push Remus away, pull his fly painfully back up (thanking the heavens that he had been too horny to remove any clothes), will his erection down, and appear casually sleepy rather than painfully aroused all at the same time. It was difficult if not impossible. 'Harry,' he croaked out, turning his head to look at his Godson but keeping his lower body firmly turned the other way. 'Why aren't you in bed?'

'I had a bad dream,' Harry whimpered, sidling closer to Sirius. 'Can I stay with you and Moony?'

Sirius looked at Remus, who had sat up to peer down at both of them. Sirius noticed that Remus's "problem" was not quite as big as his own, and was quickly getting back to normal. 'Dreams are not real,' he told Harry; Sirius figured it was meant to be a kind of reassurance but was not a very good one. 'They are only a manifestation of your thought and worries.'

Harry blinked, understandably lost. 'But it was scary, Moony.' His eyes shone with unshed tears. 'There was a lady screaming very loudly. And lots of green light. I was falling and falling, like that time on the stool. I was really scared!'

Sirius felt his whole body stiffen and his feet turn cold. 'I-' he swallowed, suddenly feeling very thirsty. His tongue felt papery against the roof of his mouth, struggling to even form words that he clearly wanted to say. 'Do you remember anything else?' he asked, feeling a sudden relieved sigh bubble forth when Harry shook his head. 'It was just a dream,' he reassured, not meeting Remus's gaze even though he could clearly see the frown of confusion on other man's face. He bundled up Harry into his arms, close to his chest, and tucked the covers in tightly. Sirius tried to control the shake of his hands as he stroked Harry's hair soothingly. 'It will be all right. I'm here.' He kissed Harry's forehead tenderly. 'Go to sleep.'

Harry did not protest, probably glad for the comfort Sirius was offering. His mind was put to ease in seconds under Sirius's gentle touch. The dream and his worries slipped away from his mind entirely like water; a perk that came with his young age and innocence. Within second, he had snuggled deep into Sirius's shoulder, soft snores permeating the silent air. Sirius did not have the benefit of a sound sleep or peace of mind. His mind was weighed down by the gravity of Harry's words and he tried his best not to fidget restlessly in fear of waking his Godson. For the first time since they met, Sirius wished Remus would talk rather than keep silent. Yet, for all his wishing, Remus said nothing; and at some point, Sirius was sure Remus had fallen asleep just like Harry. But moments later, when he turned to look at the other man, he saw bright amber eyes staring back at him. Unmoving, unflinching – Remus's gaze pierced into his very soul. It made Sirius uncomfortable.

'It wasn't a dream…' Sirius whispered, when he found that he could not take the intensity of Remus's stare anymore and looked away. 'What Harry saw…it was a memory…something he really shouldn't be able to remember and I was honestly hoping he wouldn't.' He played with Harry's unruly, black hair, curling it within his fingers. 'Not for my sake, but for him; because it would be difficult for him if he remembered something so…' Sirius trailed off, unable to find a milder synonym for "traumatic".

Remus still did not speak and Sirius wondered why. Why; a man so awkward and chatty would not say anything when Sirius needed him to the most? Why was Remus silent when Sirius needed him to change the topic by saying something utterly ridiculous that it would have Sirius exasperated and only somehow controlling a bubble of laughter from escaping. Why was Remus quiet when Sirius needed someone to chase away and help forget his fears.

'Harry's parents died in a car accident,' Sirius continued. 'They'd bought the car second hand from a very shady dealer. I hated it the moment they bought it, so did James's parents. The Potters are old money; James could have had any bloody car he wanted, but he wanted to walk the honest path and buy something with his very first pay. God, what an idiot…' Sirius swallowed, holding Harry tighter against him. 'The brakes were faulty. It was a red light, there were pedestrians walking. He did the only thing he could think of, which was to swerve and crash his car into the traffic light.' He let out a shaky breath. 'James died upon collision. Lily was injured but she would have survived if…' Sirius sniffed. '…if the lights hadn't collapsed. That was the green light Harry saw and probably all he could see after Lily had shielded him. He was the only one that survive, not unscathed.' Sirius traced the lightning bolt shaped scar hidden behind Harry's fringe. The skin was raised there and while Harry barely cared for it now, Sirius remembered the wails of pain that echoed within the confines of his small apartment for days after the accident.

Sirius bit into the inside of his cheek, replacing one pain with the other. He had never spoken about the accident to anyone before; he had never really had anyone to share his sorrows with until now. The Potters back then had already been distraught over the loss of their son; so Sirius had kept up a façade of strength and taken responsibility for everything. 'If…if we manage to control your episodes…' he started, feeling his voice break against his will. Why did his throat feel so tight when his chest felt so light? 'If we can control your fears even a little bit…I want us to visit James and Lily together. I want you to meet them…'

Again, Sirius was met with only silence from Remus. Sirius did not understand why, but suddenly he was frightened to look back. Terrified because he realised that he was more vulnerable that he had ever been his entire life. If he turned now, Remus would see Sirius at his weakest. Remus would see Sirius's tears and his crumpled shoulders. Sirius did not believe in being weak; he has always been the support system and the strength for every important person in his life. 'Say something…' he pleaded, when he felt he could not take it anymore. 'Please…'

Thin, wiry arms wrapped around Sirius's torso, aligning themselves perfectly on top of Harry's smaller arms. Sirius felt a soft kiss press into the back of his neck and Remus's whisper of reassurance into his ear, 'It will be all right. I'm here.' A secure warmth pressed against Sirius's back. 'Go to sleep.'

Remus was emulating copying how Sirius had comforted Harry earlier; yet there was earnestness in his touch and tenderness in his voice. Despite it being his own words repeated back to him, Sirius felt comforted by them. Sirius only let his eyes fall shut in slumber, when he realised that the flutter of Remus's eyelashes against the nape of his neck meant that the other man was staying true to his word and keeping awake just for Sirius. To protect him and be there for him. It was silly and so, so like Remus to take words such as 'I'm here' so seriously. Silly and yet so perfectly honest that Sirius felt an old forgotten emotion bubbling within him after many, many years: trust.

Sirius panted, one hand placed over his rapidly beating heart.

'Ten seconds,' Remus whispered, looking at Sirius with wide, almost surprised eyes. He was sat on the floor at Sirius's feet, his body limp and curving into itself. The door was bumping against the wall in slow staccato beats from the force of Sirius having flung it open a little while back. The key had rattled and fallen from its lock and onto the floor from the force. 'Ten seconds.'

'How did you know?' Sirius breathed shakily, sliding against the wall to rest his back as he sat down. He wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand.

'I remember.'

Sirius's eyes widened. 'You remember? Everything after the door closed?'

Remus shook his head. 'I only remember you counting down. Your voice; I remember hearing it only but I could not…' A shaky hand ran through light brown hair, and Sirius noted the deep indents in Remus's palm where blunt nails had dug in from fear. '…I could not stop. Something was in my mind…clouding my thoughts. I couldn't see you, even though I wanted to…' Remus finished, resting his head against his bent knees.

Sirius swallowed. 'Progress,' he assured. His bent knees stretched open to brush his feet against Remus's. 'That's huge progress, Moony. Do you know what this means?' When Remus shook his head, Sirius explained further, a slow forming bubble of pride rising in his chest. 'This means you retained enough conscious to delay your reaction time by ten seconds. Even if for a little while, you were able to hold back your fear.' Sirius laughed in relief; he was honestly starting to give up after two weeks of the same routine with no results. Sirius was not a psychiatrist; nor a professional in patient behaviour or phobia. It made it even more painful to watch Remus's face transform into something unrecognisable and know that he was the cause for it. 'This is brilliant actually!'

Remus looked down at their touching feet. He did not seem as thrilled as Sirius.

'What's wrong? Aren't you happy?'

Remus shook his head. 'No.'

Sirius crawled closer so that they were sitting face to face, knees touching. 'Why not?'

'It takes one hour and ten minutes to travel to London, which is sixty seven point five eight kilometers away from Lewes. Ten seconds will only get me point one four one kilometers.' He looked at Sirius, his eyes looking genuinely worried. 'Assuming that the train will stop at every ten second interval for me, it will take us approximately six hours and forty five minutes to get to London. I cannot meet James and Lily under conditions produced by a ten second progress.'

Sirius blinked, flabbergasted, before he burst out laughing. 'I need you to tutor Harry in Mathematics when he's older.' An unattractive snort escaped Sirius's lips from laughing too hard. 'Remus,' he started, putting his hands on each of Remus's shoulders. 'If you are smart enough to figure all this out, then you must have realised that there are many other ways to get to London other than by train or aeroplane. I could rent that bike again, couldn't I?' Remus blinked as he came to the realisation that Sirius was very much right. 'You didn't have any problems with that, did you?' When Remus shook his head, Sirius chuckled. 'But you're right; let's keep meeting them as your motivation to do well. I won't take you until we've mastered this.'

Remus nodded slowly. 'I will work hard,' he reassured, eyes a shade of fierce brown.

Sirius kissed Remus's forehead sweetly. 'I know you will.' A kiss on the tip of Remus's nose. 'And when the time comes, both Harry and I will hold your hand.' Sirius held both of Remus's hands in his as he leaned into Remus's lips.

He kissed the other man slowly, taking his time to explore the warm caverns of Remus's mouth. They barely got any privacy with Harry and Mrs. Poppins busy bodying around the house. It did not help that Remus's bedroom did not have a door and was open to anyone walking in; Sirius had been suffering from severe performance issues ever since Harry had decided to climb into bed with them mid coital. His paranoid mind could not help but conjure imaginary sounds of footfalls. If he were to be completely truthful with himself, a large part of the reason he was going through with this exercise with Remus was so he could install a door to their bedroom and finally fuck Remus in peace. Sorry, Jamie-boy. It seemed that Sirius's former insatiable self had returned in far more force than earlier expected.

'Let's just check on Harry before we go home, okay?' Sirius breathed into Remus's mouth after they'd parted. 'Just for a little while; he's never stayed away from me before,' he went on between drawn out kisses to Remus's face and lips. Hot breath fanned against Sirius's face with each kiss; Sirius loved these moments when the only words out of Remus's tongue were unintelligible moans. 'Especially not overnight; he might be scared.' He pulled Remus into his lap, wrapping both arms around him tightly and pulling him in so that they were chest to chest. 'Once that's done, we have the whole house to ourselves.' He smiled lasciviously, licking a stripe up Remus's neck.

'What use will be the whole house to us?' Remus asked, ever logical, even when his erection was pressing against Sirius's hip.

'Oh, I'll make sure it will be of full use,' Sirius assured, before pulling him in for another kiss.

An hour later, after Sirius had given Remus a thorough prelude of what he had planned for the night, they found themselves on the front step of Molly Weasley's house. The house was old and worn in, falling apart in many areas. There were bicycles lying in disarray on the front lawn, a broken swing, a Ford Anglia that had been taken apart for a project and then forgotten about, and a kiddy pool that had lost all its wind. There were also various knickknacks in odd corners of the house that were all clearly a result of Arthur Weasley, Molly's husband's obsession for trinkets and gadgetry. Sirius would have never permitted such disarray in his own house; he had had many experiences in the ER where Harry had swallowed coins, paper clips, and on one occasion, a toy car. His paternal instincts fired up as he eyed the front yard mess with apprehension. He hoped Harry was past the age of swallowing random objects.

'Evening, Sirius,' Molly greeted with a curt nod, as she opened the door for them.

A year had already passed since Sirius had refused Molly's offers of a sleepover for the children. A year since Sirius had vocalised his thoughts and frankly told Molly that he did not feel safe with Harry out of his sight for more than a few hours wherein she had mistook it as him belittling her parental skills. She was as cold as ever to him, her anger not forgotten, even though Sirius had (begrudgingly) agreed to it today in order to get some personal time with Remus. However, her eyes immediately lit up when she caught sight of Remus, who was standing behind Sirius and watching their exchange curiously.

'Well, who is this strapping young man?' Molly asked, her face splitting into a smile as she moved aside to let them in.

'This is Harry's mum, mummy!' Ginny Weasley squeaked from behind her mother. Sirius would have hardly noticed her if not for her signature shock of ginger hair. She was only a year younger than Harry, but ridiculously small and spindly. She hid constantly behind her mother's skirt; the only daughter amongst six very rambunctious sons and therefore always out of place. It did not help that she was shy and very quiet most days, and also extremely jumpy whenever someone came near her or tried to talk to her, especially Harry. Sirius reckoned she had a bit of a crush on Harry, which was such a pity because Harry saw her as nothing but 'an icky girl; ew, gross, Padfoot!'

'My name is Remus Lupin. Nice to meet you, ma'am,' Remus introduced himself politely, shaking Molly's hand first and then little Ginny's, who blushed brightly at the contact. Sirius wondered where all of Remus's manners had gone when he had met Sirius; their first meeting had not involved any pleasantries whatsoever. Sirius had received a marriage proposal in place of a handshake.

'Remus Lupin?' Molly asked more to herself than either of them.

Sirius could almost see the cogs in her head turning as she registered the familiarity of the name. Of course she knew who Remus was; anyone who had stayed here long enough knew perfectly well who Remus Lupin was. Her eyes widened, signaling recognition and she stared at Remus with eyes that held a mixture of shock and pity. Her eyes darted towards Sirius in question and then to their entwined hands. Sirius could not remember when he'd taken Remus's hand, but did not bother to take it back. His protective nature only made him hold Remus's hand tighter, glaring at Molly Weasley challengingly should she dare say something insensitive. Remus, on the other hand, seemed rather unconcerned.

'Nice to meet you, too, love,' Molly whispered kindly, finally snapping out of her shock under Sirius's piercing glare. 'Why don't you come in? We're just sitting the children down for dinner. The tables are already set in the backyard and Bill and Charlie are at the Greene's, so there's plenty of room for the two of you.'

'No,' Sirius said the same time Remus said, 'yes'.

Sirius scowled at Remus who offered as an explanation, 'I have never been invited to dinner before.'

'I've invited you to dinner tonight,' Sirius growled under his breath, wondering if Remus was really that daft or just plain insensitive. Sirius had wanted to spend the day; just the two of them. It was the sole reason he had broken his paranoia about letting Harry out of his sight for a single second. It was the reason why he had let Harry stay at the Weasley's because if Molly had managed to keep six children alive all these years, she must be doing something right. Though Sirius did have some doubts about the twin's mental health. Last time, Sirius had had to string them by their ankles over the balcony and threaten to drop them if they ever tried to turn his hair pink again.

'Nonsense! You will have dinner with us!' Molly's face broke into a wide smile and Sirius could almost see her over indulgent mothering instincts kick in. She nearly pushed them inside, moving to close the door behind them, when Sirius held her by the wrist. 'Keep it unlocked until we reach the backyard,' he instructed her, even as his eyes checked the room – every window and door – to make sure it provided enough space. He was glad she did not question him, and Sirius vaguely wondered why he seemed a lot more worried about Remus's problems that Remus himself. 'Let the windows stay open as well.' He dug his hands into his pockets, cursing under his breath. 'I'll be using your phone.'

'May I use your phone,' Molly Weasley corrected, looking at Sirius threateningly.

'Sirius does not have a phone, Mrs. Weasley, but you may use mine if you ever choose to visit,' Remus offered kindly, making Sirius snort a little too loud to be considered polite. 'If it is to the school, I would assume it's urgent. They threaten to suspend children; it is quite horrible.'

Sirius broke into a fit of coughs in an attempt to control his laughter. To her credit, Molly Weasley seemed to take Remus's naivety quite well and led him outside to the backyard. Sirius joined them ten minutes later after having cancelling his reservation at the restaurant. He didn't even know why he had bothered; Remus had zero sense of romance. Had Sirius known that Remus would be pleased with Molly's pot roast for dinner and her screaming kids as background music, he would have come here sooner. Sirius shrugged to himself, deciding that at least now he would have a bit more money to put into Harry's college fund. Also, Remus could no longer complain that Sirius had not asked him on a date yet.

'Your melons are very nice, Mrs. Weasley,' Sirius found himself coming to an abrupt halt as he walked in on what was clearly an inappropriate conversation. He saw the twins, Fred and George Weasley, promptly burst out laughing causing poor Molly to turn a bright shade of fuchsia. 'I have tried to get my melons to grow bigger as well, but they have remained disappointingly small,' Remus continued completely oblivious.

'Your melons are fine,' Sirius assured, joining the dinner table between Harry and Remus. 'I like them small anyway.' He smirked as another bout of laughter passed through the table, further confusing poor Remus. Sirius was not lying; from what he had sampled of Remus's melons, he was a little more than content with both their size and taste. In fact, they looked quite appealing right now as the heat of the summer made Remus's sweat damp white oxford cling to his body in all the right places. Sirius tried not to let his eyes wander and focused instead on the lovely smell of pot roast wafting from the centre of the table.

'Why don't we talk about something else?' Arthur Weasley exclaimed, his voice squeaking towards the end. He was steadily turning quite red, probably at Sirius's bad attempt at dirty table talk. 'What do you do, Remus?'

Remus frowned. 'I am sitting,' he replied in an almost condescending tone. 'Your wife has kindly invited me to dinner. I have heard many good things about her cooking from Harry.'

'You are such a charmer, Remus Lupin,' Molly Weasley tittered, serving a large helping of roast and potatoes onto Remus's plate before anyone else even got close to the food. Sirius was salivating so hard that he would soon need a dam to keep it in check. 'Arthur meant to ask what you do professionally; for a living, I mean.'

'I paint.'

'Oh, that is the best news I've had in weeks!' Molly exclaimed, piling on the potatoes even more. Sirius stared at it hungrily, wishing she would let go of the serving spoon already. 'I've been nagging behind Arthur for days now but he's such a procrastinator. As you can see, the back of our house is an absolute mess. We only just had the pipes fixed but they've already done their damage to the walls.' She smiled cheerfully, seating herself between her husband and Remus. 'Maybe if you aren't too busy, you could stop by the house? Not for free of course; how much would you charge normally?'

Remus blinked. 'St. Joseph's paid me eighty thousand pounds.'

Molly Weasley looked like someone had just pronounced her death sentence while Arthur tried to dislodge the potato that had somehow lodged itself in his throat.

Sirius snorted, clarifying to save Molly from having a potential heart attack, 'Remus painted the mural in St. Joseph's.' He watched as both Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's eyes widened with realisation. 'He does book covers and art exhibition contributions as well, if you're interested.' An odd sort of pride swelled in his chest and he tried to hide it with an extra helping of vegetables. Sirius hated broccoli but because of Remus, he now had four pieces of monstrous broccoli lying on his plate. He could only survey them with disdain. 'Hand that to me.' Sirius pulled Remus's plate towards him, unable to take any more of Molly and Arthur's stares, or the twins constant snickering (they were definitely up to something). He distracted himself with cutting Remus's meat into small manageable pieces before sliding the plate back over. He nodded at Remus's mumbled thank you.

From beside Remus, Molly and Ginny Weasley giggled. Mr. Weasley snorted, and Harry and Ron, not wanting to be left out, also joined in.

'What?' Sirius growled, when their giggling only grew louder.

'Nothing,' Mrs. Weasley replied, before bursting out into peals of laughter.

Sirius found himself turning bright red in agitation. He did not remember ever meeting anyone with such a chronic case of giggling and Sirius had been to a fair few parties back in the day. Parties that, more often than not, had involved some form of illegal substance. 'Sirius, why are they laughing?' Remus voiced out Sirius's thoughts aloud.

'Hell should I know!' Sirius shot back grouchily, though he knew perfectly well why they were laughing. He noticed Remus too, stared warily at the twins who were now occasionally ducking underneath the table as if up to something. They were also oddly quiet compared to the other times Sirius had met them. It was definitely not paranoia then, Sirius assured himself, if even a man as obtuse as Remus Lupin found the twins suspicious. Just in case, Sirius crossed his legs, hiding the family jewels (the only jewels Sirius was rather grateful for having inherited, bless his arsehole of a father)

'It's cute,' Molly managed to say between chuckles. 'Very romantic…'

'His hand is broken!' Sirius shot back in his defense, his hands pointing exaggeratedly towards Remus's cast.

This only made everyone laugh harder and Remus look like someone had asked him to recite the first forty two digits of Pi. Though, Sirius reckoned Remus would probably be able to answer the digits of Pi seamlessly. Remus probably understood Pi better than the current conversation also.

'It's lovely to see you like this, Sirius,' Molly finally said after things had calmed down a bit and Sirius's face finally stopped feeling like an inferno. 'You're usually very…' she waved her hand as she searched for the right word, 'hostile towards anyone other than Harry.' Sirius hardly thought being practical could be called hostile. If he did not need to be nice to other people, he did not have to. 'Thank you, Remus, for breaking the impenetrable walls of Black. More mash, Arthur?'

'Moony does not break walls; he only paints them!' Harry pointed out chirpily, earning a nod from Ron.

'Mum, Moony lets Harry paint the walls,' Ron whined, 'why can't I also?'

'If you can find someone who pays you eighty thousand pounds for it, I'll let you scribble on every single wall in this house, Ron,' Molly chastised strictly, 'but until then, you will be grounded if I so much as see a crayon in your hands. It is enough that I'm allowing you to keep that horrible rat your brother got you! Am I understood?' She only piped down her glare when Ron looked away disagreeably, grumbling under his breath about how his pet wasn't even allowed to eat with them. She turned her sweet smile back towards them. 'Sirius, you never told me how you got that bruise on your face, though I imagine it was well deserved.'

Sirius felt Remus stiffen beside him. Damn Molly and her intrusive questions; Sirius had barely managed to rid Remus of the guilt of hurting him with every session they went through. Luckily, his Godson always had a smart mouthed answer, 'Sirius was battling Death Eaters, Mrs. Weasley!' Harry offered as an explanation. 'They're bad men who wear white masks and have skulls on their arms!' It was the story Sirius had told Harry, shamelessly borrowing the characters off of Remus's most recent book.

'Are Death Eaters real, mummy?' Little Ginny Weasley asked in a small voice. Sirius had almost forgotten she was there. The poor tot looked terrified.

'They're real,' Remus answered before anyone else could. 'But good people fight against them and should never be afraid. If you stay afraid forever, you only build higher walls to trap yourself,' he recited back Sirius's words of wisdom.

Molly was clearly impressed. 'Such wise words,' she fluttered, her eyes almost teary. She turned towards Sirius, asking the most sincere and blunt question he had ever heard out of her mouth (and he had heard many), 'oh, Sirius, how did a wanker like you manage to find such a sweet, sweet man?' She said it in such a dreamy state of mind that she barely noticed Arthur Weasley covering both Harry and Ron's ears at the "w" word.

'Right,' Sirius slammed his hands against the table as he stood up abruptly, 'if you're done, Moony, we should probably be leaving.' He made a show of looking at the watch but was really glaring murderously at Molly Weasley. 'I think we've made sure Harry is marginally safe, though that would be subject to question. We should- is Ginny all right? She looks-'

Everything after that happened so quickly that Sirius was barely able to finish his sentence. He had only just noticed little Ginny Weasley's unusually pale and frightened face. The cause had been a rather large, but obviously plastic spider that sat atop her lap. But it had not been her who had caused the ruckus, but Ronald Weasley who had noticed the spider after Sirius (quite brilliantly) pointed it out, decided to scream like a fat lady at an opera, and climb on top of the table whilst kicking haphazardly. Platters of food flew everywhere, some clattering to the ground at their feet. It was when everyone stood up to avoid staining their trousers did they realise that they shoe laces had all been tied to the person's next to them, causing all of them to over balance and fall into one large semi-circular heap. Seconds later, there was a sound of a missile going off – one, two, three, four – and Sirius only had to look up to realise that the Weasley twins had set off a nice range of coloured fireworks. The kind that didn't have much of a spark but made up for it by showering everyone in its path with coloured dust and glitter. Sirius understood glitter. He had been covered in glitter before in much worse states of dress than he currently was in. The glitter was not the reason why Sirius screamed so shrilly that he could put Ginny Weasley to shame. It was that damn rat!

Sirius hated rats!

It was running up his leg; Sirius could feel every step of its disgusting furry little legs as he struggled to get up, his hands slipping and sliding beneath him. It sniffed at his crotch and Sirius had never felt so violated his entire life. 'Argh,' Sirius half screamed of relief as Molly Weasley saved him from further sexual abuse by whacking it out of the way with a balled up apron. Sirius dropped back on the ground in relief, his hair mussed up in front of his eyes as he let it fall to the side. He could see poor Arthur Weasley struggling to disentangle Ron and Ginny crying in a corner, frightened by the commotion. He could see two identical pairs of running feet, followed by mischievous laughter. Beside him, lay two very familiar, abandoned pair of shoes. Sirius looked to his lower right, sure enough spotting Remus and Harry taking refuge under the table as they watched the sky with large smiles on their faces. Both were covered in gold glitter, their eyes reflecting the short bursts of light from each firework set off. How typical of the two of them to crawl to safety while Sirius lay flat on his back, getting molested by rats. Sirius looked to his left to survey the damage.

'Fred! George! The two of you, out right now!' Molly Weasley yelled, her face purpling. The balled up apron in her hands snapped open like a whip and then recoiled back into her hands. Sirius had never thought he would consider a cooking apron a deadly weapon until today. Inwardly, he shuddered.

And then he noticed it.

Lying innocently on the floor, unnoticed and untouched.

Sirius's eyes widened and his hands frantically searched his front and back pockets. Empty. He looked back at it disbelievingly, before his brain caught up with the implication of empty pockets and set his reflexes to work. He rolled over to his side and up on his knees, crawling towards it while dodging Molly Weasley's block heels threatening to trample on his hands. His right hand stretched outwards, fingers brushing the surface. Sirius almost had it, before the twins decided to run right into it and kick it with their stupid, stupid feet. Their giggling resounded like an ominous echo in Sirius's ears as he watched it fly up in a perfectly circular arc, past Arthur's head and right in front of Scabbers who had been cowering in the corner thus far in fear of Molly Weasley's wrath.

'NO!' Sirius screamed, already knowing it was too late as Scabbers approached it, sniffed, decided in his tiny little brain that it was food and swallowed. Something in Sirius's brain exploded at that very moment; he was sure of it.

Fuck.

'Is Scabbers going to die, mummy?'

'I bloody well hope so,' Sirius grouched, arms crossed in front of his chest. For once, Molly Weasley did not chastise him for being an insensitive arsehole. Probably because she hated that rat as much as Sirius did and only let Ron keep it to keep him busy long enough to have some quiet in the house. The little red light indicating an operation in progress flickered; the rat had been rushed to ICU after Sirius had grabbed it by its little neck and tried to strangle it, causing it to choke. In Sirius's defense, the rat was choking anyway because it had decided to swallow what was clearly not food.

'Scabbers won't die, will he, mummy? Will he?' Ron cried again.

'He won't die, Ron,' one of the twins muttered reassuringly. Sirius could not tell which one it was; he doubted even Molly could. They were sitting as far as possible from Sirius, who in his anger, had tripped them four times, caused them to walk into doors seven times, electrocuted them with his bare fingers every time they even tried to come close, and had also managed to give them lovely chocolate stains on the bum of their trousers. Sirius Black might be an old bastard, but pranks and vengeance to him was like riding a bicycle. He never forgot and he never forgave. The twins hadn't even experienced the tip of the ice berg. Poor Arthur was too kind to them and that was exactly the reason why he was stuck at home cleaning up after them and taking care of Ginny.

It also did not help that Harry had chosen this very exact time to have jealousy issues. For some reason, Ron had decided that Remus would be the right person to turn to for comfort in his grief. He had not once sought his mother, probably because of her less than favourable attitude towards the rat. The twins had been the cause of the entire ruckus and Sirius was about as mothering as a tarantula that sometimes ate their own young. Remus, also not the epitome of parenthood was holding Ron not dissimilar to a potato sack, with an arm around the child's waist leaving hands and feet to dangle, as Ron bawled on. Harry, it seemed, could not tolerate Remus holding anybody else and had decided to dangle from Remus's right leg, while glaring crossly at Ron. Harry had wanted to dangle from Remus's other arm but Sirius had stopped him, after explaining for fifteen minutes that casts were not tree branches. Sirius had also offered his own arm but Harry had adamantly informed Sirius that Ron was stupid and Ron would never take away Remus.

'He will not die, Ronald,' Remus also reassured, patting Ron's head awkwardly with the same hand that was trying to hold him up. Sirius could see Harry's envy shooting through the roof by the way his face purpled. 'There have been very few recorded incidents of rats dying by swallowing unknown objects. Statistically, he is more likely to die from fire, poison, or installation of fake body parts.'

Sirius raised an eyebrow. 'Fake body parts?'

Remus nodded. 'Like a silver arm.'

'A rat with a silver arm?' Sirius asked slowly, trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

'In the next book, there will be a rat with a silver arm,' Remus replied mysteriously and then said no more. Remus had been writing furiously these past few weeks; Mrs. Poppins had claimed that Remus had finally found his muse while pointedly looking at Sirius. She also advised Sirius to remember that Remus wrote books for an impressionably younger crowd and to keep his muse-ness to a strictly PG level.

Well, she did not have to worry about his explicit muse-ness tonight, by the look of things.

Sirius sighed heavily and rubbed his face roughly with both hands.

'What did Scabbers swallow, Padfoot?' Harry mumbled between a mouthful of his finger. He was sucking on it viciously now as he always did when he was agitated. Clearly, the jealousy was not boding well with Harry.

'My bank account,' Sirius answered back grumpily. He could not help his sour mood. Things had not been going right all evening, from the minute Remus had agreed to dinner at the Weasley's. Sirius could have been in bed right about now; either sleeping peacefully or having sex with Remus, depending on his stamina. Yet, it was already midnight and he was doing none of those things. He was standing in the waiting room, outside the Veterinary ICU as a rat got operated on. He was also still covered in glitter and green and blue dust. Sirius did not think this night could get any worse.

'Scabbers is alive.'

Sirius could not have been more wrong.

All the Weasleys hurried towards the doctor, Ron wiggling out of Remus's grasp and finally giving Harry's raging jealousy some peace. 'Can we see him, Doctor?' Ron asked, sniffling and wiping his nose on his hand. He leaned into one of his twin brothers who, finally in a sorry show for affection, put an arm around his shoulders. 'I want to see Scabbers.'

'One by one, then,' the doctor agreed with a smile. 'Why don't the boys go first?' He waited until Molly said yes to only Ron and Fred, before asking the nurse to take them inside. 'Oh, sorry, I nearly forgot.' The doctor fiddled in his pockets before holding up his prize with an 'aha!' He handed it over to Molly with an exaggerated wave of hand. 'It seems Scabbers had swallowed something very precious to you, Mrs. Weasley. I would be more careful next time with such things. Rats are wily little things.'

Sirius felt his face flame with embarrassment.

Molly frowned. 'This isn't mine.'

'It's ours!' Harry called out, abandoning Remus's leg and running towards Molly with an outstretched hand. 'We bought it together the other day, didn't we, Padfoot? When you gave us ice cream and then we visited Moony's daddy and played with flowers!' He stomped his feet petulantly when the poor, puzzled doctor did not hand it over to Harry immediately. 'Padfoot said it matched Moony's eyes. See?'

Sirius hid his face in his hands, feeling his ears blow steam as his Godson, determined to embarrass the life out of him, held up the ring for all to see. It did match Remus's eyes; a perfect amber stone set on a band of platinum. And when it caught the light in just the right way, it glowed gold, like Remus's eyes did in the heights of his orgasm when they were in bed together.

'Oh my,' Molly exclaimed, unable to keep a cheeky smile from creeping into her face.

'Here you go, Moony,' Harry ran back to Moony and slid the ring perfectly into his fourth finger, after realising that it would not fit in any of the others. It looked as perfect as Sirius had envisioned it. 'Happy Birthday, even though it's not your birthday…' Harry trailed off towards the end, a little bit confused. 'Padfoot,' he asked, drawing out the end of Sirius's name in a curious twang, 'why are we giving Moony a gift if it's not his birthday?'

Sirius ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath, trying to avoid the knowing glances from Molly Weasley and the Doctor. He really did not want to do it this way, but it was now or never. He looked up, right into Remus's eyes, grinned weakly, and said the words he never thought he would say: 'Don't suppose you'd like to marry me, eh?'

Once upon a time, there lived an Amber prince who lived in a lonely castle.

Once upon a time, there lived Black prince who lived with a lonely heart.

Their once upon a times had soon passed, as they lived happily together forever after.

THE END

So yes, let me know if you guys want an epilogue to go with this.

So this is actually two chapters long and initially, I'd considered dividing it into two. But I realised that the theme "trust" was a continuous pattern and I didn't want to break the flow of the read. So yes, I know it's not a perfect ending but I never intended it to be. Remus, while maturing a lot over the chapters, will perhaps never be fully past his trauma. And I wanted to keep it that way. The same with Sirius who still continues to battle with James and Lily's deaths and how to handle certain issues with Harry. I hope all of you liked this story and please feel free to leave feedback with what you thought about it.

On a side note, I'd like to mention that I've re-written the ending for With You In Nowhere. It's still a happy ending but for a long time, I was really dissatisfied by it. So please feel free to drop a line or two with your thoughts and if you liked the old version better or if you liked this one better.

Will stop rambling now. Thank you all for reading and until next time: CHEERS!

Polly: So, I've finally updated and hope you liked the final chapter! It's true how you put it though, that a lot of people saw Remus as a textbook case or something to be pitied. And the reason why Remus did not want Sirius to know everything was because he wanted to be normal. Thanks so much for reviewing!

Rowena: Thank you. As you can see, Sirius still has a hard time admitting his feelings but that's just Sirius and his stubbornness. I hope you liked the final chapter and that it only made your day sweeter.

Rekushi: Lol. Well, apparently in this chapter, Sirius could not wait to get it back. Lamer joke. ;) Hope you liked this chapter and thanks for reviewing!

Rggi: Thank you! Your worship has finally brought upon this update. Sorry, bad joke. But here's hoping you enjoyed the update nonetheless.