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A few days ago, Sirius had thought meeting Reg for the first time in years was what made him anxious, but now he had to admit to himself that he was more anxious about meeting Remus for the first time. He knew it made no sense as Remus seemed a pretty nice guy over text, but he was still so jittery James kept shooting him strange looks and Harry kept climbing onto his lap and poking his face to draw his attention away. Which only kind of worked.
Thing is, he hadn’t dated since before leaving Hogwarts, and hook-ups and one night stands never interested him, which left him feeling quite inadequate. He liked Remus, but he was afraid he’d mess it up before anything could even start.
Even if Remus seemed like a really nice person – which Sirius based upon the text he’d received on Monday, asking him about the weekend in a joking way, though Sirius could sense Remus was genuinely worried and curious beneath that layer of humour –, so had many others at the beginning, only to reveal their true colours after Sirius had refused to hook up with them on the first date.
That’s how he ended up walking to the Leaky Cauldron on Wednesday with James and Harry, who claimed that they needed some Quidditch supplies, though Sirius suspected they just wanted to make sure he would actually show up for brunch with Remus. Well, that, and Harry wanted some of Fortescue’s ice cream.
They decided to walk as the Leaky Cauldron was pretty close to James and Lily’s flat and Lily had told them to tire Harry out before she had left for a patient meet-up. Still, by the time they reached the street of the inn, Harry had worn James down enough that he picked the kid up after Sirius had refused the first five times.
‘It’d stop your fidgeting, you know,’ James remarked, setting Harry on his arm comfortably.
‘Yes, and would also ruin my shirt.’ He tugged at the neck of said clothing item self-consciously, undoing the top button, then re-doing it again.
‘Would you stop that?’ James begged, shaking his head. ‘It’ll be alright.’
‘You can’t know that. What if he realizes it’s all a mistake and leaves even before we get to the teahouse?’ He put his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket to hide their shaking.
‘Then he wasn’t worth your time.’ James fluffed up Harry’s hair and pushed his own glasses up his nose. ‘Look up, isn’t that your guy?’
Sirius turned properly towards the Leaky Cauldron so quickly James was afraid he gave himself whiplash. ‘Shoot, that is him. I’m not late, am I?’
‘Nah, we’re five minutes early,’ James tried to calm him, checking his wristwatch.
*
Remus was early, not just a little bit, but almost half an hour early.
He had forgotten to switch off his 6am alarm from the day before, and even after lying around in bed for a while, he was already up before 7, sitting in his armchair at the window and reading some chick-lit he’d stolen from his Ma. His mind kept wandering, but he still finished it by 9, along with his morning tea and breakfast, then started getting ready.
He took his time choosing a shirt and, after a bit of consideration, rolled up the sleeves. Sirius had already seen some of his scars, and he could just keep his sweater on if he felt uncomfortable at the teahouse. He tried to tame his hair but soon gave up after his curls bounced back to their original state for the third time. He glared at them in the mirror for a moment before he started a hunt for his favourite sweater.
It was barely past 10 when he put on his Pride Docs, and even though he knew he had an hour to make a 20-minute walk, he couldn’t stay in his flat any longer. He took random turns and walked around for as long as he could, passing the Leaky Cauldron about five times before he got tired and stopped in front of the shop, pulling out his phone to read some poems while he waited.
It was about five to eleven when he looked up from the screen and spotted two guys walking towards him. He immediately recognized Sirius, then shifted his gaze to the other guy, only to now realize that he was carrying a toddler, namely the same kid Remus had already seen a picture of and knew was Sirius’ godson. As the unknown man shared most of his features, his dark skin, messy hair, and toothy grin, with the boy, Remus guessed he must be Sirius’ friend Prongs.
He put his phone away and turned towards the little team.
Sirius seemed to have received a small nudge (or a not-so-small one based on how he stumbled) from Prongs, who stayed a few paces back when they reached Remus. Sirius glared at his friend, but then turned towards Remus with an unsure smile.
‘Hi,’ Sirius greeted, then put on a cocky smile before he went on, ‘So, do I look as good in real life as I did in the pictures?’
Remus snorted out a laugh. ‘Dear god, I completely forgot about that.’ He buried his face in his hands as he tried to stifle the laughter.
‘Come on, Remus, that was a sirius question!’
That threw Remus into another laughing fit. ‘I- I’m sorry, did you just turn your name into a pun?’
‘…Maybe?’
‘He does it all the time!’ Prongs shouted from a few steps away with a wide grin.
‘Ugh, ignore him, he’s an idiot.’ Sirius shook his head, his hair flying around him. ‘So, I haven’t heard an answer yet.’
‘I have a feeling you already know the answer and I really don’t need to tell you,’ Remus snarked. Sirius pouted up at him. ‘Alright, fine, yes. But that’s the only time you’ll be hearing that from me,’ he promised with a grin.
‘Unfair.’ Sirius stuck out his tongue. ‘Anyway, for your information, you’re a lot taller than I imagined.’
Remus raised an eyebrow at him. ‘Are you sure you’re not the one who’s too short?’
‘First of all, rude. Secondly, at least you won’t bitch at me for towering over you whenever I wear high heels or platforms like Jamie does,’ he joked, pointing at Prongs with a thumb. ‘Speaking of,’ he shifted to look at Prongs, ‘aren’t you supposed to be taking the Prongslet to Fortescue’s?’
‘As soon as you introduced us,’ Prongs grinned, stepping closer.
Sirius sighed, then shot Remus an apologetic smile. ‘He really won’t leave until he gets what he wants. Remus, this is my best mate James and his kid, and my godson, Harry.’
James offered his hand, and Remus shook it, then James tried to get Harry to say hello.
‘Come on, Harry, say hi to Remus. Oh, no, stop pulling my hair. Pads, your godkid is being annoying, do something about him.’
Sirius shook his head but reached for Harry’s hands and gently forced them down from James’ hair. ‘Be good, Prongslet, and I’ll let you walk Padfoot tomorrow, okay?’
That seemed to get a reaction and Harry started chanting Padfoot’s name.
‘Aren’t you working?’ James asked with a confused expression.
‘I’m still off this whole week, as I’ve told you about a hundred times already.’ Sirius looked over to Remus and rolled his eyes at James. ‘Now, can you please finally disappear to Diagon Alley?’
‘Alright, alright, we’ll let you get on with brunch.’
‘Bye-bye,’ Harry waved at them as James grinned over his head and started walking towards the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron.
‘Don’t forget Lily wants you over for dinner,’ James called from the door before he and Harry disappeared inside.
Both Sirius and Remus stared at the door for a moment longer before they looked at each other and broke out in laughter as soon as their eyes met.
‘Wait, Lily?’ Remus asked after they had calmed down.
‘That’s Red, Prongs’ wife. She’s the healer I mentioned over text.’
It finally clicked for Remus, and he almost broke down laughing again. ‘Her last name doesn’t happen to be Evans, does it?’
Sirius’ brows shot up in surprise. ‘How did you know?’
Remus chuckled and pulled out his phone, going to his conversation with Lily on Messenger, and showed it to Sirius. ‘She’s my healer. Actually, I promised I’d check in with her after I met you, so let me just quickly send her a text and then we can go.’
Sirius nodded, grinning, and Remus typed ‘No need to worry, just ask your husband if you want to know more’ before he switched off his phone.
‘That was mean,’ Sirius remarked. ‘I love it.’
‘Of course you would.’ Remus smirked down at him. ‘Lead the way.’
*
They walked to the teahouse chatting quietly. To both their surprise, it didn’t feel awkward at all – it felt as if they’d known each other for who knew how long. They bickered back and forth until Sirius stopped in front of a bright red door. Remus quickly learned the little hole-in-the-wall shop was first discovered by Sirius’ friends Marlene and Dorcas soon after they had graduated Hogwarts.
Stepping in, Remus’s eyes immediately went to the shelves full of books running along the walls that apparently worked as a leave one, take one book exchange. He followed Sirius upstairs to the little gallery where they made themselves comfortable at a small, round table right at the colonnade. Looking down, there was the counter and the many boxes full of tea on the shelf behind it, a soft-looking sofa and two armchairs around a coffee table, and cupboards full of mugs, teapots, tin boxes, and other tea accessories.
The waitress soon came upstairs to take their order, and they talked over toasts and pots of tea, then hot chocolate and cake.
Sirius recounted Sunday in more detail than he had over text on Monday, Remus told Sirius how he ended up as Lily’s patient, then they spoke about both their childhoods – Remus growing up in Wales with his Ma, and Sirius attending Hogwarts with James and Peter. They joked about Remus’ uni classes and the customers that frequented the mechanic shop.
They were careful to steer away from Sirius’ family and Remus becoming a werewolf; instead, Sirius told Remus about some of the pranks he had pulled at Hogwarts with his friends, and in return, Remus talked about being home-schooled for most of his life.
It was nearing three in the afternoon when Remus checked his watch to see how much longer he had before his class.
Sirius frowned at him. ‘You’re not late, are you?’
‘Oh, no, I’ve still got an hour to get there, and if I apparate, I only need to get going about ten minutes beforehand. I just have to get my bag from my flat.’ Remus smiled at him reassuringly. ‘I was thinking maybe we could walk around a bit before I gotta go?’
Sirius’ eyes lit up. ‘Sounds great! Let me just get the bill and we can go.’
Before Remus could object, Sirius grabbed his leather jacket and disappeared downstairs. Remus licked the remains of his hot chocolate off his spoon, then put his wallet and phone back in his pocket and followed Sirius, who was waiting for him at the counter, grinning.
‘Shall we?’
They left the teahouse and were confronted with strong gusts of wind. Sirius zipped up his jacket and buried his hands in his pockets, but then Remus cast a quick warming charm on both of them, and Sirius looked up at him gratefully, mouthing a silent ‘thanks’.
Remus shrugged with a half-smile. ‘You could have let me pay for my part.’
‘Nonsense, I was the one to ask you out. You can pay next time.’
Remus raised an eyebrow and bumped into Sirius. ‘Next time?’ he teased.
‘I mean- If you want?’ Sirius tried to act nonchalantly, but a slight blush crept onto his cheeks.
Remus couldn’t help but chuckle at him. ‘Do you really think I’d have stayed this long if I didn’t like you?’
Sirius looked away. ‘It’s happened before.’
‘Sirius,’ Remus started, sighing, ‘we’ve already established that a big chunk of our society are arseholes, but that’s them. I’m still here because I like you, end of story.’
Sirius smiled at him shily, but then a frown took over his face and he stopped in the middle of the pavement. Remus also stopped and turned around, his eyebrows furrowed in concern.
‘Everything alright?’
‘Um, it’s just… I guess there’s something I should put out there before we decide anything?’ He worried his bottom lip between his teeth. ‘I do like you and I’d like to do this again.’
Remus nodded encouragingly. ‘Yeah, me too. ’T was nice.’
‘Yes, it was.’ He took a deep breath. ‘I’m demisexual, and I’m not really comfortable with-’ he waved around, not knowing how to express himself. ‘You know. I know many people jump into it as soon as they can, but it’s not a priority for me, which has caused misunderstandings before.’
‘There’s no one correct script everyone has to follow,’ Remus said. He raised his hands. ‘Is it okay if I touch you?’
‘Er, yeah, I usually do okay with touch.’
Remus smiled and squeezed Sirius’ shoulders. ‘That’s what dating is for, though, right? To get to know each other, to figure out if it works or not, to work out what we’re comfortable with. It doesn’t have to be sexual from the very beginning.’
Sirius beamed up at him, which Remus returned. ‘Thank you.’
‘Really, that’s basic decency. No need to thank me.’ He squeezed Sirius’ shoulders one last time, then dropped his hands. ‘And I understand, even if it’s not the same for me. I’ve had people walk out on me when they realized the scars don’t stop on my forearms but litter all over my body.’
‘That’s awful.’ Sirius frowned, staring at Remus’ sweater right where it hid his bitemark. ‘I think those scars suit you, and they tell the story of your bravery. But I guess we both know people are strange and have pretty idiotic dealbreakers.’
Remus let out a surprised laugh. ‘I still think you’re a bit crazy, but I like your crazy.’
Sirius chuckled and linked his arm with Remus’. ‘C’mon, I’ve still got you for half an hour before uni takes you away.’
*
From then on, they spent as much time together as they could manage.
Remus sometimes hung out at the mechanic shop when Sirius was working and he was free, and Sirius waited for him whenever he had an evening class and they grabbed dinner together. Remus was properly introduced to James, then to Sirius’ other friends at a large gathering at Lily and James’ cottage in the countryside.
Sirius convinced him to join them for lunch at the Potters’ one Saturday, where he met Effie and Monty, as well as Reg, who seemed awkward at first in the unfamiliar situation, but they and Remus quickly hit it off. After that day, Sirius and Remus often visited them at the bookshop, where Reg, though begrudgingly, introduced Sirius to their boss.
Sirius wore Remus down enough to let him join Remus on the next full moon, and every full moon afterwards. Remus took advantage of his enthusiasm and got him to finally register in return. That first night, Remus learned he had been right and Sirius as a dog was indeed only slightly smaller than him as a wolf.
Exam period rolled around, and Remus was a tired mess for most of it, relying on Sirius and Lily way too much for his liking, but then he had passed everything on the first try and with flying colours, and summer break started.
Remus left London for a few days right at the beginning of it, spending them in Wales with his Ma, and Sirius came around on the last day to meet her. The next day, Sirius dragged Remus over to Andy’s, and halfway through lunch, Dora had already adopted Remus.
*
A few days later, Sirius was having breakfast with Lily, Marlene, and Dorcas. Remus had started working at the bookshop with Reg in addition to his job at a café on campus, which he was planning to drop once the next semester started and keep the bookshop as it paid better and offered more flexible hours; James was in his office, catching up on paperwork, and their other friends were also busy being adults to have late breakfast with them on a workday.
Sirius had lost track of the conversation, something about Marlene’s family, and was playing with his chicken salad when Lily kicked his ankle. It didn’t really hurt, not through his thick Docs, but the unexpectedness woke him from his daydream with a jump.
‘Where are you, pretty boy?’ Marlene asked him, snickering behind her hand.
‘My bet is in the bookshop, with a certain brunet,’ Lily answered for him, and they broke down laughing.
‘Merlin, Siri, you have it bad,’ Marlene added, exchanging a smirk with Dorcas and ignoring Sirius’ protest over the nickname.
‘Really, though, what is up with you two?’ Lily pressed on, abandoning her toast. ‘I can see you both are much happier than a couple months back, but most of the time I couldn’t tell if you’re just close friends, or dating.’
Sirius looked down at his salad and pushed a few pieces of lettuce around the plate. That was the question, wasn’t it?
Sure, they had agreed to take things slow, but it was starting to get too slow for Sirius’ liking. And really, they’d already done the meeting the friends and the meeting the family, and they spent a lot of time together, and cuddled whenever they were at either of their flats. But they still hadn’t moved beyond hugs and handholding, and Sirius was starting to get a bit frustrated.
Now, don’t get him wrong, he found it endearing that Remus still asked him sometimes if he was okay with being touched, and he loved hanging out with him, but all that didn’t feel enough anymore.
‘Are you okay? I shouldn’t have asked, should I?’ Lily’s voice brought him back to the present, and he finally lifted his gaze from his soggy salad.
‘What? Sorry, I spaced out a bit.’ He chuckled nervously, thinking back to Lily’s original question. He dropped his fork and rubbed his face. ‘It’s just- I asked Remus to take things slow, and it’s great, but I kinda don’t want to take things slow anymore? I don’t- It doesn’t make sense, does it?’
‘Have you told him?’ Dorcas asked, her expression serious. They reached out and intertwined her fingers with Marlene’s. ‘He’s probably waiting for you to take the next move.’
Sirius groaned. ‘I know! But I don’t know what I’m doing, and I’m afraid to mess up.’
‘Yup, gay disaster,’ Marlene whispered, making the others giggle, then continued in a normal voice, ‘Really, the guy’s first impression of you was you begging Reg to meet you. Short of becoming Orion number two, you won’t mess this up.’
‘Really, how did any of us ever believe you and Marlene would date each other? You’re both disaster gays,’ Dorcas added.
‘Hey, it worked, so don’t be mean!’ Marlene protested, hugging her girlfriend.
‘Yes, Marls, you’re a genius, but can we get back to Siri?’ Lily interjected. ‘His disaster still needs to be solved.’
Marlene rolled her eyes, then leaned over the table to Sirius. ‘Talk. To. Him.’ She settled back in her seat and looked at Lily smugly. ‘There, disaster solved.’
‘You didn’t take your own advice,’ Sirius pointed out, but picked up his fork to finish his salad. ‘Instead orchestrated some really stupid plot that only worked because Peter and Mary are observant and called our bullshit before Dorcas could find new friends.’
‘Yeah, but I was sixteen! We’re twenty-four now, we’re supposed to be more responsible and adult.’
Both Dorcas and Lily snorted at that, not even trying to cover it up.
‘Anyway,’ Lily went on, ‘I also think that would be the best course of action.’
Sirius nibbled on the inside of his mouth. ‘But what if he’s changed his mind now that he knows me?’
‘I’m sure he hasn’t,’ Lily assured him. ‘Even I haven’t met his mum, and he’s been my patient for years, for Merlin’s sake.’
Sirius exhaled slowly. ‘Okay, fine, I’ll try the grown-up approach and talk to him.’
Lily smiled at him, while Marlene mumbled to Dorcas, ‘That was a lot easier than I expected.’
*
A few hours later, Sirius was approaching the bookshop Remus was working at that day. As he entered, he immediately saw that Reg and their boss were at the other shop on Diagon Alley, and only a Muggle employee was at the till. That was nothing out of the ordinary, as Remus tended to stay in the back, restock, and deal with customers that really should have gone to the shop on Diagon Alley, not the one in the middle of Muggle London.
Sirius waved at the Muggle employee, then followed the quiet voices into the labyrinth of the bookshelves. He found Remus helping a girl with really short hair. As he approached, they both turned towards him, Remus’ eyes lighting up, and Sirius now recognized the girl.
‘Hi, Moony,’ he greeted with a smile, then nodded at the girl. ‘Fortescue.’
‘It’s actually Longbottom now,’ she reminded him, raising her hand to show off her wedding band. ‘Didn’t expect to run into you here, Black.’
Sirius hummed. ‘Longbottom. Ravenclaw, same year as you, right? Jamie mentioned they sometimes meet on missions.’
‘Yes.’
‘Alice just told me that she’s starting an art course at my university in September,’ Remus interjected, picking up a few books and handing them over to Alice.
Sirius raised an eyebrow at her. ‘Art? I thought you did Auror training.’
Alice shrugged. ‘Frank and I figured it would be better if one of us had a more predictable job now that we have Neville, and I finally have the time to start college.’
‘Right, you have a kid around Harry’s age. Maybe you could come over sometime, I’m sure Harry would love the company. And Remus seems to like you already,’ he added, stepping closer and linking his arm with Remus’.
‘I’m sure Neville would, too.’ She smiled up at Sirius, then checked the books Remus had handed her. ‘Hm, I think something’s still missing, let me check the list.’
While she pulled out her phone and opened a document, Sirius leaned into Remus’ side. ‘How much longer before you’re off?’
Remus glanced at his wristwatch. ‘We close in about twenty minutes, and luckily I’m not on closing duty, so about twenty-five minutes before I can leave.’
‘Okay. I’ll go and poke around the fantasy section until then.’ He squeezed Remus’ hand. ‘Nice to see you, Alice.’
She looked up from the screen with a smile. ‘You too. Don’t be a stranger.’
Sirius laughed a bit. ‘I’m sure we’ll soon meet again. Have fun with those.’ He gestured at the books, then left with a wave of his hand.
He walked over to the other side of the shop and pulled out random books to leaf through. He found a nice picture book he bought for Harry right before the till got closed up, then settled down in a beanbag in the kids’ section to wait for Remus to get his bag.
‘It’s just now occurring to me; shouldn’t you be still at work? You slacked off in the morning, too, to meet Lily, Marls and Dorcas,’ came Remus’ voice from above him, and he looked up from the picture book with a grin.
‘I have a lot of overtime, and my boss prefers that I slack off, otherwise he’d have to pay me extra.’ He let Remus pull him up from the beanbag and handed him the picture book.
‘What am I supposed to do with this?’ Remus asked with an amused smile.
‘I don’t have a bag, and I’m afraid I’d drop it in a puddle.’
Remus rolled his eyes but put the book in his backpack nonetheless. ‘It hasn’t rained in days.’
Sirius just hummed in answer, then grabbed Remus’ hand and pulled him out of the shop. Remus yelled back a goodbye to his co-worker before he closed the door, making sure the sign was flipped to ‘closed’.
‘So, what are you planning?’ he asked Sirius once they were a few blocks away from the shop. ‘Why did you ambush me at work?’
‘Maybe I just missed you?’ Sirius gave him a mischievous smile.
Remus chuckled. ‘You’re so full of shite.’
‘I could leave and just go home to tinker on Elvendork if you’d rather.’
‘Oh, stop pouting.’ Remus tugged on Sirius’ hand to pull him into his side. ‘I’m not letting you go now that you’re here.’
Sirius hid a smile in Remus’ sweater-clad shoulder.
‘So, what’s the plan?’ Remus repeated, turning a corner.
Sirius shrugged. ‘Dunno. Wanna cook, or should we get take-out?’
Remus thought for a moment. ‘Cook? But then we’ll need to go grocery shopping first.’
‘Good with me.’
Remus led them to the small grocery shop a few blocks away from his flat where they quickly figured out what they wanted to cook and bought the necessary ingredients, as well as some basic items Remus had run out of.
Back at Remus’ flat, they danced around each other in the kitchen as they made a large toad-in-the-hole with sausage and Sirius cut up random vegetables for a salad Remus deemed unnecessary, but Sirius knew he’d end up consuming more than his fair share of it.
Once the dish was in the oven and the table was set, Remus’ curious gaze fell on Sirius, who was leaning against the counter and sipping on a glass of water. Remus stepped in front of him and gently took the glass from him, putting it down on the counter. Sirius looked up and cocked an eyebrow in question.
‘So, are you gonna finally tell me what’s going on?’
‘Why don’t you believe that I simply missed you?’ Sirius insisted with an amused smile, but Remus could see the nervousness he almost succeeded covering.
‘Sirius,’ Remus emphasised pointedly, and Sirius sighed. ‘Hey, whatever it is, it’s gonna be okay. Is it again you family? Because if it is, you know I don’t care, just like you never made an issue out of me being a werewolf.’
‘Yeah, but that’s not something you asked for,’ Sirius mumbled half-heartedly.
‘You didn’t ask to be born into the Black family,’ Remus pointed out. ‘And you even chose to leave them behind. So, is it them again?’
Sirius shook his head. ‘No, but nice monologue.’ He smirked up at Remus, who snorted in return.
‘Oh fuck off.’
They laughed at that, grinning at each other, before Sirius’ smile dropped and he loudly inhaled.
‘I’ve been told by our friends that I should take the adult approach and talk, so I guess that’s what’s gonna happen.’
He glanced up and offered Remus a small smile. Remus watched him with worry etched on his features and gestured for him to continue.
‘Okay, so, remember I asked you not to move beyond– I mean, ugh, not to do anything sexual right away?’
Remus nodded, then his eyes widened in horror. ‘Merlin, did I do something that made uncomfortable? I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to, you should’ve–’
‘Remus!’ Sirius interrupted before Remus could work himself into panic. ‘Stop being so sweet for two minutes and listen to me, please.’
Remus averted his gaze and mumbled a quiet, ‘Sorry.’
‘There’s nothing you have to apologize for,’ Sirius reassured him. ‘I mean it. You didn’t do anything wrong, actually, that’s what I’m kinda getting at, I guess?’
‘Oh?’
‘Yeah, I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love the handholding and the hugs and cuddling, but it’s– I want more? If that’s– If that’s what you want,’ he finished meekly.
‘Oh.’ Remus’s eyes returned to Sirius. ‘I really like you, and I don’t want to do anything you’re not ready for.’
‘And I appreciate that, but I’m telling you right now that I am ready for more,’ Sirius repeated, his tone getting more and more exasperated.
Remus’s gaze flickered down to Sirius’ pouting lips for a moment before he snapped it back to Sirius’ eyes. ‘Pads, that–’ he started, but Sirius cut him off.
‘Oh for fuck’s sake, just kiss me already!’
‘Sirius, are you–’
‘Yes, I’m sure,’ Sirius snapped a bit impatiently.
He reached up and tugged on Remus’ shoulder until Remus leaned down and their lips met for the first time. Sirius’ hands sneaked up and into Remus’ curls, and Remus wrapped his arms tightly around Sirius’ waist.
‘So fuckin’ sure,’ Sirius mumbled, grinning ear to ear, once they pulled back a bit.
Remus rested his forehead against Sirius’ and giggled quietly, his breath hot against Sirius’ skin. ‘Do I want to ask why now?’
‘What do you mean why now?’
‘You realize all those times I asked whether you were okay with touch was to give you an opportunity to tell me you were good to take the next step, right? With how clingy you can get, I’m not really worried about touch, you know.’
‘Oh.’ Sirius leaned back and gave Remus a confused look. ‘But then why did you start to panic just now?’
Remus shook his head with an embarrassed chuckle. ‘I thought you had caught on and wanted me to stop.’
Sirius huffed in amusement, then leaned up to peck Remus on the lips. ‘Never.’
Remus’ arms tightened around Sirius as he kept him right there, Sirius’ fingers still in Remus’ hair, sharing kisses and giggling at each other without a care in the world, only breaking their embrace when the oven’s timer went off.