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Remus was sitting on the couch reading when his boyfriend Sirius flops down beside him and squirms onto his lap blocking his view of his book. “Moony. Moony. I just had a really great idea.” He says.
“What is it?” Remus asks, putting the bookmarker in his book and setting it down.
“You know how we like to watch the birds in the summer?” Sirius asks.
“Yes.” Remus replies.
“I saw online about turning part of your yard into a winter home for wildlife. Like a little habitat. We should do that, so we can watch the animals in the winter too.” Sirius says.
“That sounds like a good idea to me. We will go to the hardware store tomorrow to get supplies.” Remus says.
“I can't wait. It is going to be so much fun watching all the animals this winter.” Sirius says.
“Yeah it will be Padfoot. Can you move now so that I can read my book?” Remus asks.
“But, I want cuddles.” Sirius says, nuzzling into Remus' neck.
“We can cuddle later. How about for now I play with your hair while I read?” Remus says.
“Ok, I like the sound of that.” Sirius says. He moves off of Remus' lap and lays down beside him with his head in Remus' lap.
Remus goes back to reading his book. While running his fingers through Sirius' hair. Sirius sighs and shifts closer to Remus burying his face in Remus' jumper. Eventually Remus hears Sirius' breathing even out as he falls asleep.
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The next morning Remus wakes up when the alarm goes off. He feels Sirius' arm wrapped around his waist and he can feel him right against his back. Remus turns to face Sirius and kisses him lightly.
“Time to wake up Padfoot. We have a lot of work to do today to get our yard ready.” He says.
Sirius groans. “I don't want to get up yet, Moony.” He says.
“You might not want to, but if you want to turn our yard into a winter home for the wildlife you need to get up. We have to get supplies at the hardware store. Then we have to come home and get the yard ready, and then we have to put together all the stuff we get at the hardware store.” Remus says.
“Just a couple more minutes. Please.” Sirius says.
“Ok, you can sleep for a little bit longer while I do some research and make a list of everything we have to do and get.” Remus says. He gives Sirius a little kiss before getting out of bed.
Remus gets dressed for the day and goes out into the living room. He gets his laptop out and starts researching everything they need to do and get to make their yard ready for the winter wildlife. Remus makes a list of everything they need to do and get. He finishes his research and shuts down his laptop and puts it away.
After Remus finishes his research he goes into the kitchen to make breakfast. Remus starts the coffee maker and then he starts preparing everything else for breakfast. Waffles with toppings and bacon for breakfast. That way it will be filling and give them energy for the day.
The first thing Remus does is get the fruit out of the fridge and cut it up. Then he puts it back in the fridge. He pulls out the milk and eggs for the waffle as well as the bacon. Remus turns the oven on to the lowest temperature to keep the food warm. Then he mixes up the batter for the waffles and warms up the waffle maker. While the waffle maker is warming up Remus starts cooking the bacon. Once the waffle maker is warm enough he starts making them. He puts the waffles and bacon in the oven as he finishes them to keep them warm.
Remus is still cooking bacon when he feels a pair of arms wrap around his waist and Sirius hooking his chin over his shoulder. Sirius kisses the side of his neck and asks, “What smells so good Moony?”
“I'm making waffles and bacon for breakfast.” Remus says, leaning his head against Sirius' head.
“Do you need help with anything?” Sirius asks.
“If you want you can get the fruit and whipped cream out of the fridge, and pour the coffee.” Remus says.
Sirius kisses Remus' neck again and gives his waist a squeeze. “Ok. I will also set the table for us.” He says.
While Remus finishes cooking the bacon, Sirius gets the topping out of the fridge. Then he sets the table and pours them each a cup of coffee. Once the bacon is finished Remus carries the tray with the bacon and waffles over to the table and sets it down. They both put food on their plates and dig in.
“I did some research on your idea for the winter wildlife habitat. I made a list of everything we need to do and the supplies we need to get to do it. I was thinking we could go to the hardware store after breakfast to get everything we need.” Remus says.
After they finish eating breakfast they put away the leftovers and load the dishwasher. Then they finish getting ready to leave. Remus grabs his list as Sirius grabs the keys to the truck. Then they head out the door.
The drive to the hardware store isn't really long. They ask a worker about a heated birdbath. Thankfully the store has some and the worker shows them where they are. They also grab some more birdhouses and bird feeders. Some of the bird feeders they got were squirrel proof ones. Now the last thing they need is the wood for the roosting boxes. They get all the wood they need and then they check out and pay for their purchases.
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When they get home they go into their backyard. They start their project by cleaning up all the leaves and twigs from the trees, and pile it all in the back corner of their yard against the fence. That way small wildlife like chipmunks and squirrels can burrow into it for warmth. After they are done with that they get the birdhouses, bird feeders, and the bird bath so that they can get them put up.
Remus and Sirius put together their new bird houses and then get them put up. Then they fill their new bird feeders as well as their old ones and hang them up. Sirius opens up the new bird bath and reads over the instructions on it, and then Remus and him get it put together and put up. They fill the bird bath with water.
Sirius checks the time and sees that it is getting close to lunch time, so they decide to take a break to eat lunch and figure they will start on the roosting boxes later.
Neither of them feel like cooking so they decide to call and order take out. They decide to get Chinese food from their favorite place. Remus pulls out his phone to place the order. He orders fried rice, egg rolls, pot stickers, general tso chicken, sweet and sour chicken, and orange chicken.
When the food comes they sit down in the kitchen to eat lunch. “I am having a lot of fun with this. I can't wait to see what animals come to our yard when we are done.” Sirius says.
“I can't wait either. Even if it is just birds. I love watching them with you.” Remus says, grabbing Sirius' hand and tangling their fingers together.
They finish eating and then go outside to get to work on the roosting boxes. If things go according to plan they should be able to finish building the roosting boxes today. Though they will probably have to wait until tomorrow to paint them since it will be too cool once they are done.
After they finish the roosting boxes and set them to the side, so that they can paint them the following day. Then they go inside to relax on the couch.
Remus sits down on the couch and Sirius flops down beside him and leans into him.“Moony I want to cuddle while we relax and watch tv.” Sirius says.
“Come here.” Remus says, opening his arms for Sirius.
Sirius snuggles into Remus' side. He wraps his arms around Remus' waist and lays his head on Remus' shoulder. “This is nice.” Sirius says.
Remus runs his fingers through Sirius' hair. “Yes, it is. What do you want to watch?” He says.
Sirius thinks about it for a bit. “Let's watch Supernatural.” He says.
Remus grabs the remote and goes to their streaming services. Then he finds Supernatural and clicks to continue where they left off. They sat cuddling on the couch watching tv and relaxing.
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They didn't need to wake up as early the following morning, because they didn't have a lot left to do. All they had to do was paint the roosting boxes and get them set up. When the alarm goes off this morning Sirius is more willing to get out of bed. They get dressed and have a quick breakfast. Now they just have to wait for it to warm up enough outside to paint the roosting boxes they made.
A couple of hours later it is warm enough to paint. They go outside and paint the first coat on the outside of the roosting boxes. Then once they are dried they can paint the second layer.
“I can't wait to have this all finished so the wildlife can enjoy their new environment. Sirius says.
“I know. It will be interesting to see what all different kinds of wildlife we get.” Remus says.
Once the roosting boxes are dry, they paint the second coat on them. They close up the paint and take the brushes to wash while they let the roosting boxes dry. Once they are dry they can place them, and then their backyard will be done.
Later after the roosting boxes are dry they place them. Now their backyard is finally ready for winter. All the wildlife will be able to be warm and comfortable this winter, and hopefully they will be able to enjoy watching them.
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~ A Month Later ~
Remus and Sirius are sitting on their loveseat watching out their picture window into the backyard. There is snow on the ground and they are watching to see if they can spot any animals. So far they have seen a couple birds at the bird feeders eating.
“Look Moony.” Sirius says, pointing to a cardinal that is currently sitting on the one bird feeder eating.
“It's so beautiful.” Remus says.
They continue watching as another cardinal joins the first one. Remus lays his head on Sirius' shoulder as they watch the birds. Sirius then lays his head against Remus'.
“I'm glad we did this.” Sirius says.
“So am I.” Remus says.
The two of them spend the rest of the evening watching the birds coming to eat. Some of the birds even go to the birdbath for a bit. They also see a couple squirrels running around looking for some food. Both of them are so glad they made a small winter habitat in their backyard. That way they can enjoy watching the wildlife all year long.