Puppy Love Forever

[amuly]

Title: Puppy Love Forever
Pairing: Sirius/Remus
Word Count: 3,272
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Sirius promises to love Remus forever, and means it. For myprettycabinet  , who found a fic for me I thought long gone!
Warnings: angst
A/N: Oh my gosh this is soooo overdue. I apologize profusely!! Stuff got in the way, between RL and fics that needed-to-be-done before this one...sorry! But here you go! This is actually probably one of the better things I've written recently, so hopefully the long wait was worth it :P

 

 

Remus smiled as he watched James and Lily dance effortlessly around the room. He leaned over, nudging his foot-sore companion. “You think they'll stop long enough for us to send them off?”

Sirius started, apparently having been dozing off on Remus' shoulder. “They'd better soon. Another hour of this and I'll barely have the energy for a post-wedding shag.”

Remus hummed, only half-paying attention as Sirius nuzzled back up against his arm and shut his eyes. “It's kind of weird, isn't it?”

From his shoulder, Sirius grunted. “What? That Evans gave in?”

Absently, Remus reached a hand up to stroke at Sirius' hair. “No. Well, yes. But I was thinking about how they only got together in seventh year, and now they're getting married. We were together long before that.”

Sirius lifted himself off of Remus' shoulder and blinked blearily at him. “Third year,” he mumbled. His eyes lost some of their glazed look as he focused on Remus. “Why d'you mention it? D'you wanna get married?”

Remus shook his head. “No. We can't, anyway. Just thinking,” he mused.

He should have known never to give voice to his thoughts. For the rest of the night, Sirius had a curious look on his face: a third angry, a third sappy, and a third scheming. Soon enough Sirius' odd mood was forced from his mind as they stumbled into their flat after James and Lily's send-off; Sirius' teeth scrapping at his throat and hips grinding into his serving better than an Obliviate.

**

A week after the wedding, Remus was kicking at their flat door, load of groceries in hand. “Just a minute!”

Remus growled and kicked at the door again. “Sirius! I've got an armful of groceries: come on!”

“One minute!”

Remus huffed, leaning against the door and glancing around the hallway. They lived in a muggle apartment block, which meant no magic outside the flat. Normally it wasn't problematic, but right now a good Wingardium Leviosa or Alohomora would go a long way. As it was, Remus had to wait outside the flat, leaning on the door and listening to Sirius scrambling around inside.

A good two minutes later Sirius' footsteps approached on the other side of the door, and Remus heaved himself up, adjusting the groceries in his arms. The door swung open to reveal a singed Sirius, eyebrows mostly burnt off and chunks of hair snarled and smoking.

Remus had been planning on shoving the pile of groceries into Sirius' arms in reprimand for making him wait, but now all he could do was stare. “What...?”

Obviously deflecting, Sirius scooped two of the bags from his arms and rushed off to the kitchen. “I'll make dinner! Some pasta or...something!”

Remus slowly made his way into the flat, eyes narrowed. Sirius was obviously up to something. Planning something. Something that included fires or explosions. Merlin save them all.

He craned his neck, looking into the far corners of their flat. Sirius must have done a good job cleaning things up, because everything seemed the same as he had left it. There was their stack of records in the corner that looked rifled through, but that just meant Sirius was listening to music – nothing strange there. Remus leaned around their bedroom doorframe, peering in. Nothing different in there: unmade bed, sheets tangled from an early-morning love-making session. Remus wrinkled his nose as he noticed the still-visible wet spot on his side of the bed. It was probably time to change the sheets, as it was. Still, nothing out of the ordinary in there.

Heading into the kitchen at last, Remus watched as Sirius dumped a box of pasta into a pot of boiling water, then went back to putting away groceries. There was a covered pan on the other burner, in which an assortment of vegetables were sizzling.

Sirius turned around, grinning as he caught sight of Remus staring at him. “Making a stir-fry,” he said, pointing over his shoulder. “Hope you don't mind? Broccoli, onions, peppers, and asparagus? I figured you wouldn't want meat right now, right? I could throw some cold-cuts in, if you wanted?”

Slowly Remus shook his head, making his way over to the stove and peering down at the foods, lifting the lid on the pan and sniffing curiously at the vegetables. “No, you're right: no meat right now.” Satisfied that the food wasn't the target of Sirius' suspicious behavior, he turned toward the man in question. Who pulled him into a kiss, effectively wiping the suspicious behavior from Remus' mind. After all, whatever Sirius was up to would be revealed eventually.

**

Remus was exhausted. The war was growing more fearsome every day, and some days it felt like the whole world had gone mad. Death Eater attacks on muggles, giants down from the foothills, werewolves in city centers...he shook his head ruefully. As if that wasn't where he was right now: center of London.

When he entered their flat, Remus instantly knew something was different. Sirius should have been home, for one. But all the lights were off. Wand out and gaze sharp, Remus examined the flat from the doorway, eyes flickering carefully over every surface. His original assessment had to be amended: not all the lights were off. There seemed to be a soft, flickering light coming from under their bedroom door. Candlelight, then.

Remus almost put his wand away, suspecting some romantic gesture on Sirius' part. Still, Moody's refrain of “Constant vigilance!” was ingrained into his mind, so he kept his wand out as he crossed the flat and pushed open their door.

As soon as he saw what was inside, Remus tucked away his wand, smiling softly. Sirius was nestled into their special sheets – silk and black – sleeping. Around their bedroom were bunches of floating candles, rose petals strewn on the ground and bed, and – as Remus edged further into the room his eyes softened and mouth curved upward – a box of the finest imported chocolates money could buy.

Shucking out of his work robes quickly, Remus decided to sneak a quick shower while Sirius was still sleeping. He wanted to wash away the grime and death of the day, so he could properly enjoy all the effort Sirius had obviously gone through.

As the water fell onto him, the sound muted by a silencing charm, Remus wracked his brain for the reason for Sirius' outpouring of affectionate effort. Not that the man needed a reason; he had a tendency to get capricious notions into his head and follow them through to their maddening, illogical conclusion. Still, it wasn't any anniversary Remus could think of: not their first kiss, not their first shag, not their first real date (they had done things a bit out-of-order), not the animagus transformation, not even – Merlin forbid – the anniversary of the infamous Prank.

Slipping into his nicer dressing-gown – a silk, ostentatious thing gifted to him by Sirius last Christmas – Remus removed the silencing charm from their bathroom and stepped back out into their bedroom.

Silencing charm or no, Sirius had somehow sensed that Remus was home. He was awake, and sitting up on the bed, practically bursting with contained excitement. Remus spared a moment to grin at the twenty-year-old man sitting naked on their bed, as excited as a five-year-old on Christmas morning, before crossing the distance and settling onto the bed with Sirius. “Hey,” he murmured, pressing a light kiss to Sirius' lips.

Sirius hummed back, pulling Remus into a kiss that promised more to come. Just when Remus was about to slip out of his robe, Sirius pulled back, that wicked glint returning to his eyes. “I've got a surprise for you.”

Indicating the room with a raised eyebrow, Remus pursed his lips. “This isn't it? And what's all this for, anyway?”

Silencing Remus with a dramatic wave of his hand, Sirius leaned over to their bedside table and curled long fingers around his wand. With one last, nervous glancing to Remus, he waved the wand and muttered a complicated spell Remus didn't fully recognize.

Fireworks lit up their tiny bedroom, dazzling Remus with color and variety. They weren't hot, which was a blessed relief in such small quarters, and the volume even seemed scaled down to appropriate levels. Shapes began to appear in the dramatic display: a silver wolf swimming around a full moon, a great black dog joining him in his laps. The sparks created smokey scenes of libraries and Quidditch pitches, forests and towers. Reaching out blindly, Remus took Sirius' hand in his and squeezed as his eyes remained trained on the display.

Finally, the last series of fireworks lit up the room, spelling out “I love you, Remus Lupin. Marry me?”

As they faded and Remus slowly regained his eyesight, he turned to Sirius. “What-?”

Sirius was holding a ring sheepishly between thumb and forefinger, presenting it rather shyly to Remus. “Would you? Remus?”

Choking down a lump which felt suspiciously like the start of some serious tears, Remus blinked the residual spots from his eyes. “But...we can't. We're both men, Sirius. And don't even think about some gender-swap spell, because moreover, I'm a werewolf. The reasons we can't marry are two-fold.”

Sirius shrugged one shoulder, still holding the ring out in front of him. “I know we can't. I thought maybe there'd be a way around the laws, but there isn't. But, still: it's not fair! Lily and James get to pledge to spend their lives together, and like you said, we've been together loads longer than they have! We should...” he ducked his head, letting the hand holding the ring drop to the bedsheets as he plucked at them. “I just thought you'd want to know. I'll be with you forever. Even if it's not official.”

The lump in Remus' throat – which was most definitely tears, he couldn't deny it now – grew, until he was clutching Sirius close and crying into his hair. Sirius' warm hand was on his back, rubbing soft, soothing lines up and down until Remus regained control of his voice. “Yes, yes,” he whispered. “I'll be with you forever, Sirius.”

He pulled back, only to be drawn into a fierce kiss. As he tumbled backwards, allowing Sirius to crawl on top of him, Remus felt something cool and metal slip onto his finger. He opened his eyes and peered down, watching as Sirius carefully pushed the ring into place, then surveyed his handiwork. For the first time Remus noticed its silver color, and flinched instinctively before realizing that he was unharmed. Sirius noticed the movement, smiling up at him. “White gold,” he explained. “It's more expensive than yellow gold, and I thought it'd be nice...” he shrugged. “Oh, and,” he leaned in, lips ghosting against Remus' cheek, “after, you might want to read the engraving inside.”

Later that night, as Sirius snored quietly next to him, Remus took off the ring and cast a faint lumos spell with his wand. Inside were the words “M&P Puppy love forever”. Remus sighed, casting nox and setting his wand back on their bedside table. He curled around Sirius, throwing his left arm over him and feeling around until he found Sirius' matching hand. His finger pads played over the matching ring there, until he twined their fingers together and fell asleep.

**

The day that Sirius was sentenced to Azkaban, Remus packed up his life.

He couldn't afford the flat anymore: not without Sirius' inheritance. And with everyone he knew dead or in prison, there was no one to borrow money from. So he was moving back to his family's farm in Wales.

He had one box labeled “P”. In it went Sirius' records, books, and clothes. Whatever couldn't fit into the box he binned, to be given away at a fete or something. He didn't care – he just needed it out of sight. Gone.

Halfway through his packing, just as he was sealing up the last box of dishes, an owl pecked at his window. He sighed, easing creaking joints up and opening the window, snatching the letter away. It was from the Ministry.

Remus Lupin,

Prisoner Sirius Black only had one personal effect on him at the time of his capture besides his wand. He suggested it make its way back to you.

Department of Magical Law Enforcement

Bartemius Crouch

With wet eyes, Remus tilted the envelope until a thick band of white gold fell into his outstretched palm.

A gasp tore its way out of Remus, and he collapsed onto the living room floor. He curled up, clutching the ring in his fist as sobs wrenched their way out of him, shaking his body.

An hour later, he was slipping his own ring off, trying not to look at the white line that marked where the ring had once encircled his skin. He tossed both into Sirius' box, not bothering to watch where they landed. He had things to pack.

**

Remus could hear footsteps in the attic, stomping around and causing the old house to creak up a storm. With a sigh, he leveraged himself out of bed, glancing around for a clock. Four am. He glanced up at the ceiling. With Sirius' warmth absent from his side, he knew who was up there. The only question was whether or not he should make the effort to go check on him, or just leave him to his explorations and go back to sleep.

Concern for Sirius won out – when did it not? – and Remus found himself pulling on an old pair of trousers and starting out of his room. He checked the hallway for other early-morning wanderers, but saw no one. Harry and his friends were staying over, along with half of the Weasley clan. Although Sirius didn't seem to mind everyone knowing that they shared a bed, Remus was a bit more hesitant. After all, there was always a chance he could return to teach at Hogwarts in a few years, and he would really rather the parents have only one reason to hate him.

The trapdoor that led to the attic was open, and ladder extended. Remus grasped hold of the old wood – protected against centuries of rot by ancient magic – and started up.

He found Sirius in a musty old corner, sitting next to an open cardboard box. As he drew closer, Remus saw a faded “P” inscribed on one side of it. He winced, thinking of all those doubts and arguments and tears years ago.

Without a word Remus settled down next to Sirius, ignoring the dust invading his nose and eyes. Sirius was sitting in an overlong nightshirt, palm out as he cradled something in it. Craning his neck, Remus caught a glimpse of yellowed metal bands, and he sighed. He rested his head against Sirius' shoulder, waiting for the other man to speak.

“They tarnished.”

“Gold doesn't tarnish.” Remus muttered. “White gold looks white because of rhodium plating. The plating wore off, so now you're just seeing the gold part.” Without looking up Remus could feel Sirius' head turn to look down at him. “Don't ask me where I learned it: I couldn't tell you.”

“Did you ever read mine?”

Remus lifted his head, frowning at Sirius. “I read mine. Was yours different?”

Sirius nodded, passing one of the rings over. Remus noticed he didn't need to check the engraving to know which was which.

In the faint light of the attic's old lighting spells, Remus had to turn the ring this way and that until he caught the light just right on the inside. “M&P. Always love him.” He sighed, looking over at Sirius. “You should have put that in mine. Maybe then we could have avoided this whole mess.”

Sirius shrugged one shoulder, bitten-off nails playing with the ring still nestled in his palm. “Things go wrong.” He wasn't looking at Remus, but Remus could tell the moment his mood shifted. It was like the entire room was holding its breath. “Do you-” he stopped, fingers still picking picking picking at the ring. Remus wanted to put his hand over Sirius', make him stop, but he had learned over the past year to leave Sirius his twitches. The outlet they offered seemed to help, in their own little way. “Would these rings be...okay? Still? I mean, do you still...”

Without another word Remus reached out and took hold of Sirius' left hand. He waited until Sirius chanced a glance up, then held his gaze. “I said I'd always love you, and I meant it.” Sirius' nervousness seemed to ease, and he held still as Remus tried to slip the ring back onto his finger. He glanced down, frowning as the ring refused to slide past the first knuckle. “Oh, for Merlin's sake...”

Sirius laughed: a barking noise that was still strange to Remus' ears. He glanced around him, searching for his wand. Once he found it he nudged at Remus' fingers, indicating he should hold out the ring. With a quick tap the ring expanded just a smidgeon, and Remus was able to slide it onto Sirius' finger.

“If I had that much trouble with your skinny hands, I can't even imagine how poorly mine fits...” Remus grumbled. Sirius teasingly slipped the ring onto Remus' pinkie, where it fit – but only just. Sirius repeated the careful enlargement charm and slid the ring onto Remus' finger. Remus rolled the ring experimentally on his finger, adjusting to the weight that had been so familiar to him for two years of his life.

Sirius' fingers slipped into his, and Remus smiled as they pressed their rings together. “I always loved you, too.” Sirius whispered. “Even in Azkaban. Hell, even before I knew it was Peter. Even when I thought it was you, I thought...there was a reason. That Voldermort promised you a cure, and you were just..confused. And scared.” Sirius brought Remus' hand to his lips and pressed tiny kisses to his knuckles. “I would never have gone after you like I did with Peter.”

Remus' lips twisted wryly, and he shook his head. “The war was bigger than us. This war is bigger than us. You can't throw it all away-”

But Sirius was shaking his head, a mad glint in his eyes. “Don't care. What's the point of winning the war if I've lost you all over again?”

Remus could tell Sirius was sinking into one of his moods, so he tugged at his hand, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “Come on: I'll make us breakfast. Bacon and eggs?”

Sirius stood up with him, sending Remus a look that said he knew what Remus was doing. But then he smiled tentatively, hand still clutching Remus'. “And sausage?”

Remus rubbed his thumb over Sirius' wedding band significantly. “Alright. But if you keep eating like this we'll have to expand it again. And the price of gold has increased quite a bit since 1979.” Sirius snickered, following Remus down from the attic. As they closed up the ladder and trapdoor together and then headed down the stairs, Remus rubbed his thumb alongside the ring. The solid weight felt like coming home again.

 

Comments

[mommyconk.livejournal.com]

This is so sweet. I am so glad myprettycabinet found that fic for you.The burned off eyebrows and fireworks were great.

[amuly.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Glad you liked Sirius' romantic antics ^.^