Archive of Our Own

Everything needed to be perfect, but there was so much to be done. So, he left Sirius sleeping peacefully on the bed and got to work. He started with tidying up the living room, which lived in a practically constant state of chaos, filled with books he'd abandoned, drawing supplies Sirius had never put away, and more mugs than was normal. They'd initially had an organisation method in tidying up the space, but it had all gone forgotten after a few years in the house when they no longer cared for anything more than comfort.

When he was done with the living room, he headed toward the kitchen, determined to make himself a cup of tea while he tidied up there. That was what he was doing when Sirius finally wandered into the kitchen, half-awake, yawning and running a hand through his hair to rejuvenate it after enduring a night of uncomfortable ruffling. Wordlessly, Remus handed him a mug of freshly brewed coffee, accepting the thankful kiss he received with a soft smile, and watched as his husband finally became aware of his surroundings.

"Morning," Sirius mumbled, when he was significantly more awake and reaching to open the fridge and prepare breakfast. "Anything, in particular, you'd like?"

"Whatever suits your fancy, love," Remus replied, smiling softly while Sirius hummed to himself in thought and gathered the ingredients he needed to make his famous omelet.

It was only when he was halfway through making breakfast that it seemed to hit Sirius what exactly was happening that day and he paused suddenly, eyes widening. He turned to face Remus with a scared expression on his face. "It's today..."

"It's today..." Remus replied, amusedly watching as Sirius frantically came to terms with the realization.

"Well, shit."

“Sweetheart, where did you put my soft green sweater?”

Before Sirius could reply and alert Remus of the doorbell he'd probably missed while in the shower, Remus waltzed casually into the room, sporting his favorite pair of light brown corduroy pants and nothing else, gently toweling off his curls. The moment he noticed the stern-looking woman standing next to his husband, his hand paused mid-air, the towel reaching to contain the dampness of his hair, and a warm red hue settled firmly on his cheeks and upper chest. Sirius unconsciously snorted at the look of utter mortification on Remus' face and tried to pass it off as a cough when Remus threw a glaring look his way.

"Umm...sorry, I'll be right back," he stammered and practically sprinted out of the room.

Sirius just grinned and yelled, "It's in the first drawer."  He knew perfectly well just how much Remus was craving the usual swear words he would've thrown his husband's way if only they were in the house by themselves. But, stumped by the presence of the woman currently standing next to Sirius and exploring the hall as carefully as she possibly could, no sound came from his direction. Sirius turned to the woman that was about to determine their future with a grin fixed firmly on his face. "Shall we move to the living room then?"

"Lead the way," Ms. Bones said, seeming slightly amused herself despite the stern exterior she had adopted. In the bright, airy living room, Sirius led her to the most comfortable of the two armchairs, and only after getting her a glass of water did he settle on the couch across from her with plenty of space for Remus to join him.

"I hope the address was easy to find, I know Google Maps sometimes gets it wrong..." Sirius said, idly looking for conversation starters with a nervousness that was highly unlike him. And, after all, Remus was the one who's good at the whole being polite thing, not him.

"It was easy enough," she replied, shooting him a small smile as she surveyed the room with rapt attention. Sirius was more than able to attest that the living room had never looked this spotless and new, not even when they had just moved in and all the furniture was actually new. "A bit of a drive from London, but close enough to not be bothersome."

"I'm glad."

"Shall we begin? Or would you rather we wait for Mr. Lupin?" she asked after a lull in conversation that hung over the two of them for a second.

"Oh, Remus is very quick at getting ready, he'll be back in a second. It's me you have to worry about," he said jokingly, pointing to the dark eyeliner delicately placed around his eyes. "But we can definitely begin."

"Okay then," she said, smiling slightly as she dug inside her briefcase for a clipboard, a couple of sheets of paper, and a pen. Sirius felt his palms begin to sweat and he wiped them on his black jeans in an attempt to stop the clammy feel from overtaking his sense. "Tell me about yourself."

"Okay...um...well my name is Sirius Lupin, but my last name used to be Black, and I'm 30 in November. I studied Fine Arts at Goldsmiths and I work from home, mainly painting...I don't know what else...oh! And I'm the liability of the relationship!"

"You are not a liability," Remus chastised as he walked into the room, indeed wearing the soft green sweater that complimented his hazel eyes perfectly. There was a soft look in his eyes as he regarded his husband before it melted away to the more professional, steady gaze he was used to using outside of his home. "Hello, again Ms. Bones. Sorry for earlier," he said, reaching over the coffee table to shake the woman's hand steadily.

"It’s no worry at all,” she replied with a small smile that Remus mirrored.

“Oh but Moony, I am totally the liability and you are totally the responsible one. Look, every couple has one person that is a liability and another responsible person to balance them out,” Sirius pointed out, happy to notice that the social worker was quietly observing the two of them with a pleasant smile on her face. “I mean, James is a total liability and Lily is incredibly responsible and they’ve been together for a whole decade. And don’t even get me started on how much of a liability Marlene is in relation to Dorcas...”

“I mean...you do have a point...” Remus eventually conceded.

“Sorry, who are all those people?”

“Oh,” Remus said, surprised as if he’d even forgotten that she was there with them. “Those are our friends. Lily and James would be godparents for us if we manage to go through this...”

“Oh really? Do you think you could give me their contact info? It’s recommended for me to contact any people close to you...friends or family...” Ms. Bones jumped in.

“Oh, yes, of course,” Remus said and proceeded to rat off the phone numbers he'd memorised and the people that mattered most to them.

“Any parents?” she asked after they’d both given her the numbers of all of their friends and Regulus as well.

Remus and Sirius shared a meaningful look. “You don’t want to meet my parents,” Sirius said lowly.

“Only mine,” Remus jumped in, laying a comforting hand on Sirius’ knee. “And they’re very supportive and excited about this, have promised to spoil our child rotten and everything.”

“That’s sweet of them,” she said and then wrote down the phone number that Remus told her. When she looked up, there was a look of careful curiosity on her face. “Do you think you could elaborate on why exactly I would not want to meet your parents, Mr. Lupin?”

Sirius sighed immediately, reaching to clutch Remus’ hand in his. “Well, I haven’t seen them in more than a decade, for one, and the last time I saw them was when they disinherited me, so I doubt they’d have anything positive to say about me. And even before that...our relationship was far from positive.”

“How so?”

Another sigh, indicative of painful memories. “Well, my mother is a drunk that got angry every time my father cheated on her, which happened basically weekly and then took it out on me and my brother. She hated me because I was too mischievous and too confident and too smug and, in the end, too gay. So when I got tired of being her punchbag, I ran away.”

“That is absolutely deplorable, I'm so sorry. Where did you go?” she asked, her attention rapt with the emotion that the story naturally evoked. It was as if she’d forgotten her role. Most probably, she had.

“James. His parents took me in, showered me with love, were thousands of times better parents in the two years I lived with them than the sixteen years I spent in that house,” Sirius explained, perking up at the mention of Effie and Monty, the people he considered his parents first and foremost.

"Will they be involved?"

"They passed away, a few years ago, a car crash..." he sighed. Remus squeezed his hand gently.

"Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss," she said genuinely and Sirius nodded as a way of thanks. "I understand that your childhood has been a very difficult one, how do you think that has shaped who you are today?"

Sirius mused for a second, gathering his thoughts. "It definitely gave me an inclination for bad habits, especially in taking care of myself. I was drinking excessively for much of my college years, would've continued after too if Rem hadn't dragged me to an AA meeting," he began, turning to lock gaze with the honey eyes he loves so much. The man that had stood beside him at every single struggle and every single relapse for so many years. "I was drinking to avoid thinking about my memories, but really it just made everything worse cause she tainted my life even more. But, now I've been sober for 9 years, my mental health is the best it's ever been, I go to therapy once a week, which I have been doing for nearly that whole time, and...yeah, everything is a lot better than it ever was before."

"And you two were together throughout all of this?" she asked, once Sirius stopped speaking, still staring into Remus' eyes.

"Yes, we've been together since our final year of secondary school and best friends for almost 20 years now," Remus said smiling gently at his husband, feeling immense pride at how far he'd come since the battles he'd had to fight.

"That is incredible! How has it been?"

"There have been hard moments, of course, especially around our college years when we were both obnoxious and impulsive, but mostly it's been beyond anything I could have ever asked for. He's impossibly easy to love."

Sirius felt his cheeks warm at Remus' words, failing to see how hearing the exact same sentiment he'd been hearing for so long still brought this reaction out on him. "You're impossibly easy to love..." he murmured affectionately, watching as that pleasant warm hue of red, rose on Remus' cheeks. He cleared his throat and turned back to the social worker, wanting to express a little more of the overwhelming gratitude he had felt for so many years. "There were moments almost a decade ago that I now feel almost certain I would not have been able to survive without him there, helping me up. I will be incredibly grateful for it until the end of time."

"It's certainly made us more resilient, both as individuals and together. Our relationship has already withstood so much, yet I still positively giddy with love whenever he's within eyesight," Remus confessed.

"Love you," Sirius mouthed, silently.

"Love you too," Remus mouthed back.

"I think it's really commendable, what you've both managed to build with each other here..." Ms. Bones said, a warm smile on her lips as she regarded them. She had been used to seeing a lot of couples on a daily basis, but few of them were nearly as clearly in love as the two men sitting across from her, leaning against each other as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “Now if you don't mind, I'd like to move on to you Remus, if I may call you Remus..."

Remus nodded and stood up a little straighter. "Of course. Call me Remus, no problem. What would you like to know?"

"Tell me about yourself."

"Well, I'm a secondary school teacher, have been teaching literature for the past five years in the local sixth form college. I studied English and Creative Writing at Goldsmiths...I don't know, there's not much else."

"Not much else?! Moony, why do you always sell yourself so short?" Sirius butted in, leaving no space for Remus to start talking before he turned to the social worker and started going on his own tangent about his husband's brilliance. "He's the most brilliant writer! He just finished his first novel and he has an agent. He's started working on edits and everything and most of the time I don't understand half the words that leave his mouth but that's alright because at least he makes them sound good."

"I...Padfoot seriously?" Remus said, a flushed look to his face at the compliments, never one to know how to accept without giving back.

"I'm always Sirius..."

The stink-eye from Remus. A brilliantly loud bark laugh.

"I imagine that's a common joke," Ms. Bone said, thoroughly amused with observing the two men before her.

"Has been since we were eleven. It's sincerely not fun anymore and it hasn't been for years..." Remus replied, throwing a pointed glare at Sirius.

"Well, I am partial to the belief that one needs to be reminded of the most brilliant joke in the human existence every once in a while..."

"Of course you are," Remus muttered, with a slightly perceptible roll of his eyes and a smile on his face.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Sirius asked, indignant. Remus only shrugged, looking smug with a smirk playing at his lips.

"Anyway," Ms. Bones jumped in, clearly wanting to approach certain points that keep on getting lost in the familiarity of their natural banter. "Could you tell me about your childhood, Remus?"

"Oh, it was very quiet. I always got on well with my parents, my mom especially. We have lots in common and would always bake together whenever we had time. They're really both wonderful people that have always been accepting of me from the very beginning. I was a shy kid, though, hardly talked to anyone unless I was forced to. At eight, I asked to be homeschooled and my parents struggled to say no to me, so my mom took over after that for primary school. I got a scholarship for Hogwarts Academy for secondary school where I met Sirius and most of our friends and the rest is history."

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you get your scars?" she asked, her hand poised over the notebook in her arms.

"Car accident, when I was seven. I wasn't wearing a seatbelt and when we crashed, I was thrown forward at the exact trajectory of the windshield pieces of glass as they shattered. It was really a miracle that I didn't get any shards into my eyes..." he said, the words tumbling naturally out of him, the memories too old and vague to hurt. Still, the nearly imperceptible squeeze of his hand by Sirius sent his heart into overdrive.

"Oh my, that is horrible!" Ms. Bones exclaimed a look of pure pity and distraught on her face.

Remus shrugged, unconcerned. "It's been a long time. And sure, it's made me a little more prone to headaches and joint aches, but I'm otherwise perfectly healthy now..."

"That's great to hear," she said, genuinely. Then, as if a switch was turned on, she looked down upon her notes with a somber expression on her face as she surveyed the possible questions she has. "I'd like to move on to some more practical questions if that is alright with the two of you..."

"Right, yes, of course," Sirius said, feeling the bouncing of his knee happen imperceptibly. Remus placed a little more strength against his thigh and it slowed down.

"How is your job security? And can you provide for a child financially?"

The two of them shared a look and after a second of silent conversation, Remus turned back to her with a comfortable professional voice. "My job is pretty secure. I've been working in the school for five years and I don't plan to leave anytime soon. I've done my master's and I don't want to do a Ph.D., so school is not something to consider. As Sirius said, I am trying to get published, so hopefully that will be a viable career for me too and yeah, that's it for me."

"Well, I'm a lot more flimsy," Sirius jumped in once Remus was done with his usual charming smile and a shrug. "I just work by myself in my studio. Whenever I've made something I like, I reach out to my manager and she helps me sell or set up galleries and stuff like that," he explained, wanting to avoid going into too much detail when information like that always bothered him. "As for financial security, we are more than stable."

"How so? I don't mean any offense, but a teacher and artist's salaries are hardly stable in today's day and age..."

Sirius smiles. "No offense at all. I had an uncle, he was also gay, took me under his wing when I was young and very confused. He helped me a lot when dealing with my parents. He...um...passed away, a few years back, and left me everything. Well, it was a very much substantial amount, to say the least..."

"It's enough money to ensure our grandkids are taken care of..." Remus explained, a sad smile on his face. Sirius' eyes were especially sad when he thought about Alphard and how much the man truly had always done anything he could to help him.

"My condolences," Ms. Bones said and they both thanked her quietly. "I have one more question, why exactly do you want to adopt?"

"Well, I've always wanted children," Remus began, knowing that he was infinitely more fit to answer the question than his husband. "My family was always so warm and loving, and the idea that I may be able to pass that unconditional love on to another human being has always filled me with unbelievable joy. When growing up, one of the things that made me the wariest about my sexuality was the possibility that I may never have that chance, so from the moment I learned what adoption is, it's been the most certain goal of my life."

There was a moment of quiet after Remus spoke. When Remus met his eyes and nodded slightly, Sirius took in a shaky breath and started to speak. "Well, I wasn't like that. At a young age, having children was the last thing I wanted, especially when I considered how horrible my childhood was. But as I grew up, and especially when I lived with James' parents and when James made me godfather to his son, Harry, I started to see what it meant to live in a truly loving home. Ever since I've wanted nothing more than to pass that on to a child that needs it."

Ms. Bones nodded, contemplative as she wrote that all down. "Good, I believe that is all, on that front. If you could show me around to assess the house that would be very useful.”

“Yeah of course,” Remus said, getting to his feet eagerly with Sirius following along at a much slower pace.

The next few hours were spent showing her around the house. They both had put their entire hearts and souls into making a home that embodied their personalities in every nook and cranny of the space. From the beginning, they had always wanted it to be their space, not just another beautiful house.

In the living room, Remus proudly gushed over Sirius’ paintings, intermixed with other artworks they've loved, while the man of the hour stood awkwardly to the side and blushed at the praise. In the kitchen, Remus showed off all of the baking trays and equipment he’d accumulated over the years, while Sirius recommended her his favorite cookbooks. In the studio, Sirius turned over and spent at least fifteen minutes explaining all of his painting supplies, while Remus stood silently in awe in front of the just-finished painting slowing drying on the nearest easel.

Upstairs, their bedroom was beautifully cozy as always, the bed meticulously made and the light blue duvet a perfect compliment of the beautiful seaside painting hung on top of their bed. Remus remembered how Sirius had dragged an easel along to their road trip across Europe, just so he could paint the French seaside on the sand. Everything in this room, and a lot of the house, was completely down to Sirius and his eye for color, which Remus envied and gawked at simultaneously. He knew that if he had never met Sirius, his house and bedroom today would not have looked even a quarter as beautiful. And that didn't even scratch a slimmer of the surface on how horrible his life would have been without Sirius.

In his office, which looked more like a library than anything else, Remus recommended his favorite books and Ms. Bones (who had now insisted they call her Amelia) wrote them all down. Sirius just quietly observed the two of them, his gaze trained on Remus and the sparkle in his eyes when he mentioned a book that meant something to him. Then, finally, they made it to the emptiest room in the house. It was a bright, airy room, with large windows on two of the walls. The walls were all painted in a very pale shade of yellow, nearing white really, complimenting perfectly the dark hardwood floors of the entire house. Other than a white dresser, a white desk, and a white bed frame, all wooden, there was not much else taking up the space.

Sirius cleared his throat, reaching for Remus' hand in an attempt to calm his nerves. "We wanted to leave it as empty as possible so that whoever we adopt can create their own space, in whatever way they'd like it to be..."

"That's a wonderful idea," Amelia said, writing a few things down on her clipboard. "You have no clue how many homes I've visited where the child's room is already fully decorated and stuffed with things. I've learned it's best to allow a child some liberty in making up their room how they wish to. If not anything else, they will feel more comfortable in it faster."

“That’s how we thought about it,” Remus said, smiling down at Sirius tenderly.

“Well, I don’t believe there is anything more I need to discuss with the two of you, we’ll let you know if a match has been made...”

The two men shared a look. “Did we...um...did we do okay?” Sirius asked, uncharacteristically shy.

Amelia looked up and regarded the two of them. There was a contemplative look on her face, until finally, after a few silently tense moments, she sighed and a smile tugged at the edges of her lips. "I'm not technically supposed to tell you that...but, I think I'm going to make an exception for once," she said, her eyes sparkling. Remus and Sirius shared a nervous look full of cautious optimism. "You guys did amazingly. I sincerely am not lying when I'm saying that I will recommend you with flying colours..."

Immediately, wide smiles broke out on their faces and Sirius spluttered a laugh at the pure impossibility of it all. Remus did not look too far off, a dazed surprise in his eyes.

"I...I don't know what to say," Remus eventually managed to express after a few seconds of opening and shutting his mouth without the ability to make any noise. "Thank you, so much!"

"I didn't do anything," she said, smiling warmly at the two of them. "This is all you two."

TWO MONTHS LATER

"Shit, shit, shit, shit!" Remus yelled, hands shaking as he reached for his phone. "SIRIUS!"

"WHAT?!"

"IT'S AMELIA!"

"OH, FUCK!" Sirius screamed back. There was a thumping sound and then a yell of pain, unmistakably his husband stabbing his toe against some sort of furniture as he sprinted out of the studio and into the living room. If he was less nervous, Remus would laugh at Sirius hopping into the room. Instead, he brought a finger to his lips and forced him to be quiet.

Amelia's voice was warm and welcoming. The whole phone call lasted barely a minute and for that entire time, Sirius was sat on the couch, cradling his pained toe while he waited anxiously for Remus to finish talking. Finally, when the phone call was done, he watched impatiently as Remus settled the phone on the coffee table and sat back with a puzzling look on his face. He gestured with his hands, clearly waiting to be clued in, but when that didn't seem to work, he simply yelled, "Well?!"

Then, on cue, a smile broke out on Remus' face and a giddy laugh bubbled out of him. "We're getting a child!"

"What?!" Sirius asked, breathlessly, feeling his throat close up with tears as a smile tore across his face.

Remus nodded, turning his body fully to reach for his husband's hands and clutch them as tightly as possible. There were tears of pure, unadulterated joy streaming down his face. "We're going to be parents!"

"I'm going to be a dad..." Sirius said, the realization so breathless and quiet that Remus barely heard it. For so, so long, Sirius had refused himself to hope for this, scared that it would end up not coming true and he would be devastated. But he was wrong, thankfully, and this was definitely happening and he was absolutely shocked by the realization.

Remus nodded again, frantically, as he reached up to brush Sirius' tears away with his thumb and then do the same to his own wet cheeks. "You are. We both are. We're going to be dads."

"Oh, my god!" Sirius yelled and reached up in the space between them to wrap his arms around Remus' shoulders in a soul-crushing hug. There was an excitement thrumming underneath his skin, which threatened to overwhelm him but he could only focus on the all-consuming lump in his throat and the pure joy he felt inside. "I didn't think it would actually happen..."

"Me neither..." Remus confessed, burying his face in the thin, silky strands of raven hair that have escaped from the messy bun at the nape of Sirius' throat. He could get lost in that familiar space of deodorant mixed with paint and misty cologne for hours and days and years. But that was not the time. "But it's actually happening...finally."

"Did she tell you any details? Who? When? Whatever really...?" Sirius asked, pulling away from the familiarity of the embrace to look straight into Remus' mesmerising gaze intently.

"She said it's a boy and his name is Edward..." Remus said, watching as the expected mischievous glint appeared in his husband's silver eyes.

"Edward, huh? Now all we need is a dog to name Bella and we're set..." he teased and, as expected, Remus shot him the driest look he'd ever seen.

"Oh, har, har," Remus mocked, rolling his eyes, but there was a fondness within the gaze that completely contrasted his tone. "We are not naming anyone after Twilight."

"But Moonyyyy..." Sirius whined playfully, pouting over-dramatically.

"Not happening, Pads," Remus said, a small tilt to his eyebrow. Sirius loved when he raised his eyebrow like that. It always tugged along the small scar that ran through it and it was the sexiest move in his eyes.

He sighed, dejected. "Fine. But only because I'm too excited to be disappointed right now," he said, a smile tugging at his lips as he remembered the revelation the phone call brought along. The smile on Remus' face was practically a mirrored image of his own.

"Mmhm. She said she'll bring him tomorrow to get us acquainted and so we can sign the papers. He can move in as soon as Monday!" Remus said excitedly, remembering all of the details he hadn't been able to fill Sirius in with already.

"Tomorrow?! Seriously?! Oh my god, there's so much to do!" Sirius exclaimed, jumping off the sofa to frantically reach the coffee table and straighten out the constant messy space that existed on the surface.

"Pads! Hey, hey, Sirius!" Remus said, reaching to tug at Sirius' hand before he went too far. "Sit down, we have time for all of that."

"Yes, yes, of course, you're right," Sirius replied as he sat down, feeling as if he was in a dazed state.

"And besides, this is a four-year-old boy we're talking about. I believe he'll be more scared off by the cleanliest house he's ever seen than a bit of a mess..." Remus pointed out, reaching out to cup Sirius' cheek and bring him close to him.

Sirius nodded in understanding. "You're right. Of course, you're right, as always," Sirius chuckled, burying his hand in Remus' soft curls with a sigh. "I'm nervous."

"I know. I am too. It's all so positively nerve-wracking," he replied, smiling as he pressed a soft kiss to the top of Sirius' temple. "But we're going to be dads, and it won't be easy, not at all, but it will be so worth it..."

Sirius nodded again, a glassy sort of look overcoming his eyes. "What would I do without you?" he murmured, nosing his way into Remus' neck to leave feather-light kisses on the skin there. Remus chuckled at that, smiling down at the man he loved with all of his heart and tugging a hand through his silky locks to get him to look up and meet his eyes.

"I don't know...and I sure as hell don't want you to find out," he murmured, then leaned down to press a long deep kiss on his lips. Sirius smiled widely and kissed him back, slowly, softly.

The smile was still on his lips when he pulled away a few seconds later, only to whisper, "Good thing I never will, then."

"Mhm, the best..."

THE NEXT MORNING

Sirius did not sleep well that night. Next to him, Remus had been out cold since ten minutes after his head hit the pillow at midnight. But instead, Sirius twisted and turned and slept fitfully throughout the entire night, dozing off for an hour or half of that at a time. By the time he got up at 6 am, three hours before his usual morning clock, he had probably slept a total of three to four hours. Of course, the first order of the day had been to down half his body mass in coffee.

When Remus waltzed into the kitchen at 8 am, like he did almost every morning now that the summer holidays had begun and he didn't have to go into the school every day, Sirius was huddled over his fourth or fifth cup of coffee, his knee bouncing anxiously up and down. "Morning," he said softly, and Sirius jumped, clearly suddenly catapulted back to Earth after being lost in his own world.

"Hi," he said, running his hand through his hair and pushing it off to one side while he turned to meet Remus' eye and accept the comforting forehead kiss his husband gave him.

Remus headed straight to the kettle, flicking it on with the press of a button, knowing that there was enough water leftover from his nightly tea the night before. "Did you sleep well?" Remus asked when he had gotten out his favorite mug (a gift from James for his birthday that read 'don't touch moony's tea or else...') and the breakfast tea he consumed every morning without fail.

"Good," Sirius said, then immediately backtracked at the sight of Remus' raised eyebrow. "Oh, who am I kidding? Shit, I slept like shit."

"Why didn't you wake me?" Remus asked, moving away from the kitchen counter to sit across from him and grab his hand in his.

"You just looked so peaceful," Sirius sighed, eyes trained on the dark liquid contained in his mug. "I didn't want to bother you..."

"I wouldn't have cared, you know that. I'd always rather you waking me up in the middle of the night than you not getting any sleep."

A sheepish feeling washed over Sirius, knowing the complete truth in Remus' statement. He knew that Remus would not mind being woken up, but still it was hard to bring himself to bother him, despite how many times he asked to be bothered. "I know."

"We have three more hours to go. Think you can take a nap?" Remus asked, a look of concern crossing his face.

Sirius immediately shook his head. "Nope, no, no way, I've had five coffees, my brain is not shutting down anytime soon."

"Hmm," Remus hummed but said nothing. His reproachful look was enough for Sirius to grin, blow him a kiss, and wink. As expected Remus rolled his eyes. With his fresh mug of tea in hand, he reached for the plate of scrambled eggs and bacon waiting for him on the table. It didn't look to be too cold just yet, but he always had his food steaming hot, so he popped it into the microwave for a few seconds before he finally sat down across from Sirius to dig into the plate.

"Nervous?" he asked and Sirius nodded immediately.

"So fucking nervous. What if he doesn't like us?"

"He's a four-year-old kid Pads, I find it hard to believe he won't like you..." Remus said, voice soft, yet somehow still teasing.

“Oh, shut up, let me worry,” Sirius retorted, narrowing his eyes menacingly. “I think it’s highly reasonable to worry about whether the child we’re about to adopt likes us...”

“I’m only teasing and you know it. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about the exact same thing.”

“Good,” Sirius huffed, feeling vindicated. Remus snorted

The rest of their morning was taken up by tidying, much like when it was Amelia they were expecting. Remus, methodical as always, vacuumed and dusted the entire bottom floor of the house, while Sirius tackled their room and specifically their closet (which was more his closet than anything else with the number of clothes he owned).  At some point, when the nervous, anxious energy became too overwhelming, he fled to the studio and frantically worked in front of a blank canvas with a wide array of colours that rose and fell and contrasted against each other. He was so engrossed in it all, that the sound of the doorbell almost went unnoticed until Remus called for him.

Suddenly, his nerves were back, multiplied by the thousand as he took in a long steadying breath as his therapist had been teaching him for so many years. With his heart rate more normal, he checked that his clothes were just appropriately paint splattered and the door to the studio was shut safely before he joined his husband by the door. Remus was clearly waiting for him, arm outstretched to reach for the handle and he gave Sirius a gentle, comforting smile before he opened the door.

There, on their porch, stood the familiar sight of the stern and tall Amelia Bones, a small smile on her face as she took in the sight of the two disheveled men. Their eyes very quickly abandoned her and turned down to the small figure latched onto her right hand as if it was the anchor that kept him from being whisked away into the stormy ocean. He had tawny, lightly curly hair and large curious brown eyes that seemed to burn intense holes into both of the men standing in front of him. Remus and Sirius felt immediately captivated by this small, young human being in front of them.

"Good morning Sirius, Remus," Amelia said, a dazzling, comforting smile on her face.

"Morning," Remus said, an exhale that expelled all of the nervous energy that tumbled around inside of him. He turned to the boy on the ground, lowering himself slightly to be closer to his eye level with a warm, soft smile and beautifully soft eyes. "Hello, you must be Edward..."

The little boy shook his head and Remus cocked his head to the side, while he tried to figure out what was wrong. "It's Teddy," he said finally, in a small tiny voice.

"Well, then, Teddy, it's wonderful to meet you. My name is Remus and this right here is Sirius," he said, standing up to take Sirius' hand in his. His fingers were trembling, but there was a wide smile on his face.

"Hi," Teddy said, fascinated eyes roaming over them. Remus could only wonder how the two of them looked to the eyes of a small child. Tall, lanky, scarred Remus, next to the shorter, toned, long-haired Sirius in intricate, colourful eyeliner. He snuck a glance towards Sirius and saw him attempt to dry his eyes in the sneakiest way possible when really, he was fooling absolutely no one. Well, maybe he was fooling Teddy. "You're tall," he added, facing Remus, voice cute and small and urging a splutter of a laugh out of Sirius, as he lowered himself to the ground next to Remus, while he smiled indulgently.

"Isn't he? I've always called him a giant," Sirius said, voice taking the tone of a conspirational whisper as if he was sharing the most reverent, surprising piece of information.

"Wow!" Teddy said, eyes widening in awe. "Is he really a giant?"

"Why don't you come in and find out?" Sirius asked, eyes twinkling as he offered his hand to Teddy. The little boy looked up for a small moment, content to accept the nod that Amelia gave him as to consent, and then took Sirius' hand with a wide, beaming smile. Sirius could hardly help the way his heart fluttered and caught as he rose to his feet and guided the little boy, his little boy, inside the house. When his eyes met Remus', he met the enamoured facial expression that he was sure was currently present on his own face as well. This was their son.

MONDAY MORNING

After how well the meeting went on Saturday, with Teddy seeming to have the time of his life the entire time he was in the house, Sirius and Remus were, for the first time since they began this whole process, not in the least nervous about meeting with their social worker. Today was the day; at noon, they would officially, finally become parents.

This time, Sirius' lack of sleep was due to excitement, not nervousness. So, instead of sleeping, he spent much of the night and early morning in his studio, sketching out an image that had been stuck in his mind ever since Saturday afternoon. When Teddy and Amelia were leaving, he'd almost been out the door when he'd turned around, grabbed Remus by the legs, and hugged him tightly. Then, before Remus could school his surprised expression and hug him back, Teddy had moved on to latching on to Sirius, equally as suddenly in a way that brought a smile to his lips and a lump to his throat. He was determined to capture that exact moment and how it made him feel so that he could frame it and place it somewhere around the house.

Entranced as he was in his work, he didn't hear Remus approach and enter, standing behind him and watching his every move with sleep-heavy eyes while Sirius slaved away to replicate the most beautifully emotional moment of his life. He had been concentrating on the surprised look on Remus' face, just when he felt a large, warm hand cup his shoulder and jerk him out of his trance.

"Love, what are you doing? It's three in the morning..." Remus asked, voice scratchy with sleep. Sirius sighed, leaning back against the solid weight behind him, his love.

"Couldn't fall asleep," he admitted grudgingly, shrugging. "And this idea has been eating at me, I just had to sketch it."

Finally, Remus' eyes fell onto the canvas in front of Sirius and his face softened, registering what exactly the moment he was replicating was. "It's beautiful, love. But you need sleep. Come on," he replied, voice warm and coaxing as he removed Sirius' pencil from his hand, and grasped his fingers to lead him out of the room. Sirius tried to protest, but Remus rebutted him firmly, shushing him as he led them both up the stairs and inside their room. There, with slow, careful movements, he unbuttoned the jacket Sirius had worn over his pyjamas (also known as his boxers) and placed it over the nearest chair before he led him toward the bed. Acknowledging his loss, Sirius simply sighed and got underneath the covers, burrowing close to Remus when he joined him in the warm bed.

"Next time..." Remus whispered, while he wrapped his arm around Sirius and held him as close to his body as he could, in the way that always cradled him to gentle sleep.

"...to just wake you up, I know," Sirius murmured, laying his head on Remus' chest and tangling their legs together as he wrapped his arm around his torso. "I love you. Thank you."

"Love you too," Remus said, voice slurred with exhaustion. They were both asleep within the next minute.

At noon, practically on the dot, the doorbell rings and they open the door to come face to face with a near-identical picture as two days earlier, only this time, the little boy holding tight onto Amelia's hand was beaming at them both, practically vibrating on the balls of his feet as he bounced in excitement. The fact that he seemed so excited to see the two of them brought identical smiles onto their faces, more than appreciative of the fact that the happiness they felt was shared with the little boy that they had felt to be their own the moment they locked eyes on Saturday morning.

"Hi, Remus! Hi, Sirius!" he said, the moment the door was open, tearing away from Amelia to throw himself at them both, hugging Sirius' legs, just as tight as he did the first time. This time, however, Sirius had the chance to wrap his arms around him and smile down, feeling his love for this little boy rise tenfold. Remus, watching this interaction with a wide smile on his face, reached toward Teddy's head to ruffle his hair affectionately in a way that made the little boy shake his head and huff while he tightened his grip on Sirius.

"Hi Teddy," Sirius said, his voice breaking off at the end when his emotions overran him. "We're so happy to see you!"

"Me too! Ms. Amelia said that I can stay with you!" he said, breaking away from Sirius to attack Remus with a hug, this one being a normal hug as Remus lowered himself to his knees. "Can I really?!" he asked, his voice breathless with excitement.

"Of course you can! It's all we want!" Remus said as he hugged him close to his chest.

"Yey!" Teddy said, breaking away from Remus to smile at them both. And suddenly, everything they'd had to go through to get to this moment was fully worth it, because it brought them Teddy, their son.

"I'll leave you three to get settled," Amelia said, smiling as she surveyed the new family with satisfied eyes, knowing they'd be happy all together. "Here," she added, passing the small suitcase she'd been holding in her left hand to Sirius.

"Thank you," Sirius said, reaching to shake her hand steadily, eyes shining. "For everything."

"Of course," she replied. Then with a final goodbye to all three of them, she descended down the porch steps, got in her car, and drove off, leaving behind the new family to acquaint themselves with each other and their lives.

"Come, Teddy, let's show you your room," Remus said, offering his hand to the little boy and smiling even wider when there wasn't a single moment of hesitation in his eyes before he grabbed it. Sirius offered his own hand, and they entered their home chained together, as a family.