Chapter Text
The first time Sirius Black saw Remus Lupin, Sirius promptly dropped the handful of coins he trying to give back to a customer. Sirius felt like he was blessed by the heavens as the man walked by with his cane. He was exactly Sirius' type—nerdy and lovely. His hair was curly and tousled looking like he was just slightly overdue for a haircut. He had golden rimmed glasses that had slightly slipped down his nose, reminding Sirius of James and his never ending battle to keep them in place. The man had a hoop earring in one ear and Sirius had the insane urge to lick it. He was wearing a brown knit sweater, even though it was a tad too warm for it with tan trousers, slightly wrinkled. His body looked soft, round, inviting, and he had a lovely plump ass that Sirius tried to tear his eyes away from, which he did when the customer cleared her throat.
"Oh, sorry ma'am. I'm a bit clumsy today," Sirius apologized as he gathered up the coins.
She followed his gaze when it flicked back up and smiled when she saw the man.
"He's a bit strange, but very sweet."
"Oh? I haven't seen him around," Sirius said, trying to go for a casual tone even though he was sure that he failed.
"He tends to stay home a lot during the summer and winter," she commented, as she accepted her bag of goods from Sirius. "I've never seen him at the market though. Must be on an errand for Hope."
Sirius tamped down the disappointment that rose in his chest, knowing there was no basis. But the adorable man must have a wife, a family of his own. Sirius wasn't particularly interested in dating overall since Caradoc anyway, so he was surprised at the emotion.
"Ah, must be," Sirius said, unsure what else to say.
"Well, have a nice day!" the woman said, giving a little wave.
Sirius suspected his nice day would involve thinking about that lovely man, but he supposed there were much worse places for his mind to fixate.
The second time Sirius saw Remus Lupin was the next Saturday, the very day that he met Hope. He was once again distracted when he noticed the other man was sitting on a bench a little ways down the way.
He quickly snapped his attention to the woman who had walked up. She perused all of his baked goods grabbing a couple of pieces of cake and then finally settled on a strawberry jam. She had on a large sunhat, a flowery long dress, and almost comically large sunglasses that she pushed on top of her head when she stood in front of Sirius.
"Well hello there, aren't you just a darling. I heard from Marge that your cake was divine, and I had to drag Remus out, poor lamb has been shut in the house all week, and he needed some fresh air," she waved in the general direction of the man whose name was apparently Remus. It fit him, an unusual name for a unique person.
"I'm Hope," she said, offering her hand to shake after they exchanged money and he passed over her bag.
It hit Sirius at that moment that this was Hope. He could also rejoice that he hasn't been thinking an embarrassing amount over the week over a married man, which he admittedly had felt guilty about. Because Hope was his mum, not partner.
"It's good to meet you, she continued and Sirius smiled. She had a thick accent, and Sirius loved hearing the way her letters formed and came out almost musically.
He couldn't help but wonder what such an accent might sound like with a deeper voice, but before he could imagine much, he remembered that he should offer his name in return. "Sirius Black."
"You live over on the Hudson's old land, right? I haven't been by there in ages, but I could pop by one day and bring you some bread."
"I didn't meet the Hudson's, only their realtor, but I am loving it there. I wouldn't want to inconvenience you though that is a kind offer."
She waved a hand, giving him a big smile. "Nonsense, I will have plenty. My starter is nearly ready and I'll have more than I know what to do with."
"I'll have to give you a trade then."
"Well, I can't turn that down, everything looks delicious."
"I hope you'll think that they taste as good as they look, then."
She grabbed the bag, and gave him a parting smile. "I have no doubts."
The third time Sirius saw Remus Lupin was the first time he got to speak to the man.
He decided to take Padfoot and go on a walk. He hadn't seen Betty in quite a few days, and he couldn't help but be a little worried. What if she was hurt? The first time he'd seen her she had been trapped on her back after all. He was mostly aimlessly wandering, unsure of where she might go when she left his property, and he cursed himself because he'd never seen her actually leave to follow and just make sure.
The sky was turning dark with storm clouds and Sirius had almost decided to give up, he had Padfoot to think about in the weather after all. He frowned at the sky and checked his phone to see that they were calling for storms for the sixth day in a row. It was then that he heard a voice.
"Well, silly girl, quit rolling around like that. We need to get you up and to the barn."
Sirius heard a grunt and some faint noises, and knew that the man with the hot accent was talking to a sheep. He sped up a bit, following the rustling, wondering if it might be his sheep. Or well, he guesses that he was technically a co-pet-parent.
Shepherd?
Sirius didn't know, he just hoped to round the corner and see Betty.
"Oof, I swear you've gotten heavier. Give me a sec, sweetheart, and we'll try again," the voice said, gently.
Sirius felt his heart melting at the fond tone, and the use of an endearment. That same heart skipped a beat whenever he rounded the corner, following the noises and came face to face with Remus awkwardly sprawled on the ground, cane off to the side, arms under a fluffy black sheep who was once again stuck on her back.
"Hi, can I help?" Sirius approached the man, trying to speak softly, trying not to scare the other man.
He failed because Remus jumped and whipped his head around.
"Hey. Hello. Uh—hi. Yes. My sheep seems to have gotten a little stuck and I, well…" Remus said, gesturing vaguely from his hip, down his leg, and then waving over at the battered cane. His cheeks turned an adorable rosy color, and he stuttered a tiny bit.
Sirius tried to ignore the "my sheep" comment, because he knew that he thought of Betty the same way.
"Ah yes, that's our girl. Betty was like this the first time I met her." Sirius placed his hands under her, beside Remus. They briefly brushed and Sirius wanted to grab it right back once contact was lost. Remus was so warm.
"Betty? What do you mean…" Remus grunted with the effort as they both helped to right Betty to her feet. She nuzzled each of their hands in turn and went over to gently headbutt Padfoot. "What do you mean, our girl?"
"Oh right. Betty, our little black sheep," Sirius shot the other man a grin.
"Our… sheep?" Remus was a little glassy eyed, staring intently at Sirius, face still pink.
"Well, didn't you ever wonder where she went the other part of the time?"
"Actually, yes. I followed her to your property one day and she was happily playing with that beautiful boy," Remus said, pointing at Padfoot, a fond smile on his face.
"Ah. Smarter than me, I see. I always wondered, but never actually did. I just worried since its been a bit."
"The weather has been bad, and I worried. I kept the gate around the barn locked because I didn't want her to get out. She managed anyways, and I found her like this. I don't usually like to keep her penned in, and I know that she's happy with you too…"
"No, I'm glad she was safe," Sirius reassured, when he noticed that Remus seemed nervous.
"The storms are supposed to finally stop tomorrow, so she should be fine, unless you have somewhere secure for the night?" Remus asked.
"There is a place for shelter, but no fences. So you're the best co-parenting choice for today."
"Co-parent? Right. I…" Remus fished for a way to end the sentence, and Sirius bit back a smile. The way the other man was flustered was so cute. Sirius hoped that it might be because of attraction, not solely because Remus was shy.
Luckily for Remus, the first fat drop of rain, and faint roll of thunder sounded from a distance, urging him into action. He pushed slowly onto his knees, and was bracing himself on the ground still by the time Sirius was on his feet.
"Can I offer a hand?" Sirius asked, hesitantly. "I know you can do it yourself, don't get me wrong. But I'm a proper gentleman," Sirius teased with a wink.
"I'm a bit heavy." Remus' voice was low and ashamed.
"I think we can manage." Sirius didn't say any more, just went over, took Remus by both hands and gently pulled, letting Remus maneuver the best way for his body, offering support as he could.
"Thanks."
"Of course. I should be getting back, but I will hopefully see you soon?" Sirius said, hopefully. He patted his leg and Padfoot trotted over to stand beside him.
The rain chose that moment to pick up, along with the wind, and Sirius couldn't stop a shiver.
"Nonsense, come on up to the house. I can make us some tea, and when there is a break in the weather, I'll drive you home," Remus said.
"We don't want to be any trouble."
Remus just smiled, turning towards the house, giving Betty a pat to get her moving. She seemed happy enough to follow, so Sirius followed suit. Remus checked the barn for feed for Betty and the chickens, their water levels and then secured the gate before beckoning for Sirius to follow him. Sirius had trailed him in silence, which was comfortable. Sirius had gotten used to a degree of quiet living in the countryside, but often when he was around other people, he liked to take the opportunity to talk.
They shed their rain jackets and boots on the porch, Remus grabbing a towel for Sirius to dry Padfoot off the best he could. They were all damp, but nothing too bad, they had just avoided the deluge that had just started, rain pinging off the tin roof of the barn, audible even from the distance. Remus held the door open, ushering Sirius in, then giving Padfoot a small pat on his head as he followed. Remus busied himself for a few minutes, humming under his breath as he got a warm blanket for Padfoot to curl up on, washed his hands and put the kettle on.
"What do you take?" Remus asked, gathering a few biscuits and a bit of fruit onto a plate.
"Oh, just a splash of milk. Thanks."
Remus nodded, setting the plate down, grabbing some sugar and a little pitcher of milk. "I'm Remus by the way," he said abruptly, standing halfway between the kettle and the table. "I just realized I didn't introduce myself. And I know what you call… our sheep." He stumbled over the 'our' and Sirius wanted to break out into a huge grin.
"Your mum mentioned, I met her at the market. She's lovely," Sirius grabbed a few grapes and looked around, as if mentioning Hope might make her appear.
"She really is the best," Remus agreed. He must have noticed Sirius scanning the house because he continued on to say. "She's out for the night. She thinks that she's subtle but I'm pretty sure that she's seeing Poppy and Minerva. It's gotta be hard though to be a new person in an established relationship, and I don't really know that she's ever been with women. We talk a lot about pretty much everything else, but I suppose she may be afraid that it might upset me because moving on from my Tad. Which, I mean, of course I miss him, but I want her to be happy."
It was the most that Sirius had heard him speak and he watched him fondly, wishing that he could sit and listen for hours.
"Uhh. I probably shouldn't have said all of that. I'm not really used to talking to people, and the animals don't give up secrets." Remus fiddled with the napkin, shredding it into little pieces, his face pink.
"Don't worry, my lips are sealed."
"Thank you. You probably don't want to hear about the love life of the elderly ladies of the town anyways." Remus chuckled and took a long sip of tea, avoiding Sirius' eyes.
"Actually, I love it. Effie keeps me up to date with her mahjong circle, and I've never even met most of them."
"Effie?"
"Yeah, that's my best friend James' mum. More of a mother to me than mine has ever been. You should meet her some day. And Hope, I'll bet they would be instant friends."
"Hope has never met a stranger, that's for sure," Remus agreed, finally letting the pieces of the napkin fall to the table. "I'm guessing they aren't very local, since I have never heard of them?"
Sirius detailed Godric's Hollow, and glossed over how they've always welcomed him in and given him a safe place to go, and Remus listened attentively as they both finished their tea and the snacks.
"By the way, how long has Betty been coming here? I noticed you only have the cow and the chickens out there."
"A few months, I would say. I asked around but no one claimed her. The barn is finally getting use again. We used to keep sheep, a couple of cows and a horse, but we had to sell them once it got harder for me and Mum to handle them. The chickens, Patsy the cow, making cheese and selling the eggs are more than enough for us now. She's not too much trouble though, since it's just the one."
Sirius debated what to say, not wanting to ask too many questions and it was clear that Hope was getting older and Remus was disabled in some manner. "Was it hard to downsize?" He finally settled on asking.
"It was really more of a relief. We got a good chunk of money and then less work managing them and trying to get stable help. I can write a bit more as well."
"Oh? What do you write?"
"It's silly really, just something to pass time. I do some free lance editing sometimes as well, so that gives a different perspective to it."
"I'm sure it's not silly," Sirius said.
Remus just shrugged, but a tiny blush colored his face as he continued shredding the napkin.
With that, silence fell. Remus switched from the napkin and switched to fiddling with his thumbnail for a few minutes before he broke it. "I hate to do this, but it's the night I usually clean the tanks, and I need to be up early. You can pick out a book or turn on the telly?"
"Tanks?"
"Yeah, I keep fish and turtles. Wanna see?"
"I would love to." Sirius carried their dishes to the sink and followed Remus out of the kitchen. He watched fondly as Remus pointed out the different species he kept, and explained what he was doing. Sirius knew nothing about fish really, and had no clue what he would ever do with this knowledge, but he was having a great time watching Remus' face light up as he talked. When they weren't otherwise occupied, Remus talked with his hands, gesturing in wide sweeps, occasionally dropping things, or bumping his elbow into tables. What was fascinating though, once he was working with the tanks, he was so focused and precise, and the duality made Sirius smile and more intrigued by the man.
He was sad when Remus was finally done and grabbed the keys to take Sirius back home about an hour later. He didn't know that he had been missing the physical presence of other people quite so much. He talked all of the time on the phone, and to the animals—which according to Remus, was very common.
However, Sirius vowed to try to spend more time with Remus, and he spent the time before bed to look up prices to make a visit to Godric's Hollow, and try to work through the logistics of how he could make that work between his garden and the farmer's market, but he knew that there had to be ways to make it work.