Chapter Text
It’s still early when Remus wakes to the feeling of a heavy arm draped over his waist and warm breath being softly huffed against the back of his neck, reveling in the silence of their flat and the still grey light creeping in from around the edges of the curtains, sitting up enough to steal a glance at the clock and wondering if it would be worth it to try to catch a little more sleep when he feels Sirius stir behind him.
He rolls over instead, tangling their legs together beneath the covers as Sirius slits his eyes open and smiles sleepily at him, the arm around his waist pulling him in until they’re pressed together fully, sighing as Sirius presses their lips together in a tender kiss. “Good morning. I didn’t mean to wake you, it’s early yet. You can go back to sleep.”
“I could, but then I’d miss out on getting to this,” Sirius murmurs, kissing him again, shifting around so that he can shove his other arm beneath Remus’ neck, fingers tangling gently in his hair. “Teddy still asleep?”
“I think so, yeah.” Remus pulls back enough to look at the little orb that sits on their bedside table, charmed by Lily and possibly the most useful gift they’ve ever received, letting out a breath as the weak blue light it is emitting pulses softly, meaning that she’s fast asleep. “I guess she’s letting us sleep in this morning.”
“Small mercies,” Sirius says, making him snort, giving him a smile so fond that it sends warmth swirling all the way down to his toes when Remus settles his head into the curve of his arm again. “Do you want to sleep a little more, maybe take an uninterrupted shower while I start breakfast, or would you like to lay here and snog me for a while?”
“The last option, always,” he breathes out, rolling forward so that he can press their mouths together, sucking in a gasp through his nose when he’s able to feel the outline of his morning erection against his hip and Sirius’ tongue brushes against the seam of his lips.
It never takes long for things to become heated between them, desire spilling through his veins as Sirius rocks their hips together, but neither of them are in a rush this morning and move slowly, licking into each other’s mouths while a gentle hand traces up and down the length of Remus’ spine, pulling him a little closer every time Sirius lets out a breathy groan. Remus thinks he could spend an entire day just like this, Sirius’ lips pressed against his own and the heady smell of his arousal and love filling his nose, and is at the top of his to-do of things he wants to do once they finally feel comfortable letting their daughter stay somewhere overnight for something that isn’t essential.
“I want you,” he murmurs, shuddering as Sirius’ teeth scrape over his lower lip, panting lightly when Sirius pulls back to look at him with a questioning look. Remus takes a moment to think about what he wants—knowing that’s what Sirius is waiting for—thinking about all the options while glancing over his shoulder at the little orb before he crushes their mouths together again. “I want your knot.”
“Don’t have to ask me twice, Moons,” Sirius replies, hands sneaking beneath the hem of Remus’ shirt to lovingly trail over the soft skin of his lower stomach that has never quite gone back to how it looked pre-pregnancy before he starts working it up, ducking down to press a wet kiss to the center of his chest the moment it’s been pulled overhead and tossed to the side.
Remus moans quietly as Sirius nibbles at his collarbone, reaching out to run his hands down his chest until he gets to the waistband of his sleep trousers, fisting his hands in the fabric as Sirius’ lips trail upward, pressing softly against the mating bite just behind his ear. He feels like he can’t catch his breath as Sirius mouths at it, cock throbbing and slick soaking into his pants, letting out an almost wounded noise as Sirius’ tongue traces along the edges of the scar. It’s still fresh enough that each brush against it sends waves of pleasure spilling through Remus’ body, back arching off the bed when Sirius’ teeth bite down, light enough that he can barely feel it but with enough pressure that it makes his eyes roll back into his head. When he finally pulls away, lips shiny and pulled up into a smug smirk, Remus just huffs and starts impatiently shoving Sirius’ trousers down, leaning forward to give him a taste of his own medicine by nipping at the scar on the side of Sirius’ throat.
“Fuck, love,” Sirius grunts, tipping his head to the side to give him more room as he kisses around it, reaching down to help Remus as he shoves his trousers down before kicking them off. “You too, take your pants off-”
Remus is rolled over onto his back once his pants have been tugged down and tossed to the side, Sirius kissing him deeply before he starts mouthing his way down his chest, lips brushing over his stomach with a softness that makes the back of his eyes burn before grey eyes meet his and Sirius licks a broad stripe up the underside of his cock, fingers sliding through the slick that coats the inside of his thighs. When Sirius’ mouth moves lower he moans and spreads his legs, letting out a breathless noise as his hips are lifted from the bed, Sirius kissing the crease of his thigh before he buries his face between his arsecheeks, dragging the flat of his tongue over Remus’ hole before pressing the tip of it inside of him.
He’s more than thankful for the one-way silencing charm that they’ve permanently cast over their bedroom as Sirius drags increasingly loud whines out of him with his mouth and fingers, stretching him open around their girth despite the fact that he’s more than ready for his cock, taking Remus’ into his mouth and bobbing his head until he worries that he’s going to come before Sirius can even get inside of him. He kicks his heel against the curve of his back until Sirius pulls off with a quiet laugh, grinning unrepentantly up at him as his fingers keep twisting in and out of Remus’ arse, finally pulling them free as he sits up on his knees, making a rumbling noise deep in his chest as he wraps his fingers around himself, stroking loosely as he spreads the wetness around.
“How do you want me?”
“Like this,” Remus murmurs, letting his legs fall open wider, craning up to catch Sirius’ mouth in a heated kiss when he leans down over his body, able to taste himself on his lips.
Sirius braces one hand against the mattress next to Remus’ head, one hand still craned between them as he lines himself up, both of them letting out a stuttered breath as he rubs the head of his cock against his hole before slowly pressing inside. The kiss turns equal parts tender and all consuming as Sirius sinks into him in one smooth stroke, hand coming up to cup his cheek, pausing for just a moment when his hips meet Remus’ arse before he drags them back and rolls them forward again. It’s simultaneously too much and not enough—the way it is every time they have sex, especially after mating, regardless of how they’re doing it—the rhythm of Sirius’ thrusts turning faster when Remus lets out a needy whine and wraps both legs around his hips.
“So good for me,” Sirius whispers against his lips, the wet sound of his cock sinking into him over and over again and their skin slapping together filling the room, licking into his mouth as Remus’ back arches off the bed. “Always so good for me, love.”
“You’re always so good for me,” he whispers in return, smiling when he can feel the way Sirius’ cock throbs inside of him at the words, skin already swelling along the base. “Such a good alpha.”
It’s something he’d probably never say outside of the bedroom, their designations having very little to do with any other aspect of their relationship, but Remus has learned that he very much enjoys it in bed when it’s with someone he loves and trusts, having Sirius croon in his ear about what a good omega he’s being as he fucks him senseless, and he still doesn’t think he’s fully recovered from the time he murmured good alpha while sinking into Sirius, watching in amazement as he’d knotted the air while spilling all over his chest and stomach.
Sirius’ thrusts somehow increase in tempo despite the already fast pace, letting out a throaty noise as he works a hand between Remus’ lower back and the bed, lifting his hips slightly and angling them as he pounds into him. The next time he thrusts in it makes sparks burst behind Remus’ eyes, the two of them panting into each other’s mouths as they both hurtle towards the edge, kissing almost frantically between each gasped breath. Sirius’ knot has grown so large that it stretches him wide each time it moves in and out of his body, sending Remus’ pleasure spiraling higher and higher as it just keeps growing, clawing at Sirius’ back while his rim is stretched to the limit until it finally presses into him and can’t be pulled out again.
He lets out an airless wail against Sirius’ lip as he tips over the edge, spilling between their stomachs and arse clenching down around his knot, which feels so good that it makes Remus’ vision white out from sheer pleasure. Sirius doesn’t pull away as he keeps rolling his hips forward in little aborted thrusts, warmth spreading inside of him, nor does he stop kissing him as he works them both through their orgasms, lips sliding lovingly against his. Sirius finally stills, settling his weight in the cradle of Remus’ thighs while whispering soft praise, both of them shuddering as aftershocks roll through him, arse clenching rhythmically around his knot.
“I love you, Moons,” Sirius whispers, dragging his lips across Remus’ cheek, nosing at his scent gland before he presses a kiss there.
“I love you,” he whispers in return, pawing clumsily at Sirius’ shoulder until he finally lays down on top of him, tucking his face into the crook of his neck while Sirius buries his face in his hair. They remain that way for a few minutes, slowly catching their breath and coming down, Sirius pressing soft kisses along Remus’ hairline until there’s a warble from down the hall and the sound of something hitting the floor, the orb flashing yellow when Remus turns to glance at it. “I think someone has decided that we’ve slept in long enough.”
“She’s going to have to wait a minute,” Sirius says with a laugh, grinding his knot into him in a way that has Remus gasping, smiling down at him before brushing their lips together. “When my knot goes down I’ll get her up and start breakfast while you shower.”
“Okay,” he murmurs, wrapping both arms around Sirius’ shoulders, angling his chin up so that he can kiss him again.
“There’s our girl,” Remus says as he pads into the kitchen, wet hair curling around his ears and dripping down the back of his neck, scooping Teddy up out of her high chair while she shrieks and claps her hands together. “Happy birthday, sweetheart.”
Teddy is still a bit too young to know what a birthday is, let alone that it’s her birthday, but that didn’t stop them from going overboard anyway, Sirius especially excited to celebrate her big day. She gives him a gummy grin in return, showing off the few little white teeth that have poked through after weeks of miserably teething, waving her hands around and smacking him in the nose before she babbles a string of unintelligible sounds, followed by, “dada!”
“Is that right?” Remus asks, nodding as if she’s said something particularly noteworthy, biting down on his bottom lip when he catches Sirius watching them with an impossibly tender expression on his face. “Did daddy feed you breakfast?”
“She’s had two servings of eggs already,” Sirius responds, adding another scoop of scrambled eggs to her plate, Teddy thrashing around in his arms until Remus deposits her into her chair again, shoving an entire fistful of them into her mouth. “Your breakfast is on the counter, love. Do you want to eat before I go shower?”
“No, I’ve got her, you go ahead,” he answers, closing his eyes when Sirius wraps a hand around the back of his neck and brings him in for a kiss that lingers, the two of them only pulling apart when Teddy tosses her spoon at the floor.
“You’re supposed to eat with that, not use it as a projectile, though your dad will be thrilled if you end up sporty like he is. He keeps talking about you being a Quidditch star one day,” Remus says as he scoops the spoon up off the ground, dumping it in the sink while grabbing a clean one, settling down with his breakfast in his chair beside Teddy’s and smiling when she immediately chucks it away from her again. “If he bought you a broom for your birthday I’m going to be so cross with him.”
Rather than eating he just props his chin in his hand, watching Teddy as she shoves her fingers into the puddle of brown sauce that Sirius had ambitiously put on her plate and smears it across her face, feeling amazed at how much she’s grown in the last year. He can hardly wrap his mind around the fact that the little, screaming bundle that grew inside his body is now large enough to eat and sit up on her own, or that she knows two whole words now—dada and no, both of which get a fair amount of use—or that if he were to place her on the floor she would scoot out of sight to get into trouble faster than he could blink.
There’s a chapter in one of the baby books that he returns to often, titled Nature versus Nurture, re-reading it whenever he starts to wonder what traits she picked up from him and her biological father, and which ones she’s going to learn being raised by himself and Sirius. He almost forgets sometimes that Sirius didn’t help in the conception of Teddy, especially when she looks so much like him with her dark hair and pale skin and patrician features—though her brown eyes and freckles are all Remus—but that has to do more with the fact that he used to pick a very particular type of person up from the clubs while trying not to let himself think about how much they reminded him of his best friend. He maybe thinks about it too hard at times, his brain getting away from him as he pictures what she’ll be like as she grows up, but he knows that she’ll be loved no matter what, even if she develops traits that didn’t come from either of them.
“You have a big day ahead of you,” he says when Teddy throws a bit of chewed up banana onto his plate, flicking it away with the tip of his finger before he bites into a slice of toast, smiling when Teddy immediately makes grabby hands at it. “Starting with a bath, birthday girl. I’m not sure why we even bothered giving you one last night, that was silly of us, wasn’t it? Don’t you have silly daddies?”
Teddy grins and babbles at him, holding her hands out towards him until Remus finally caves, like he always does, and gives her the crust of his toast to gnaw on.
“Hang on, sweetheart,” Sirius says, leaning over to catch Teddy beneath the arms before she can scoot right past them as she chases Harry around the Potter’s back garden, plopping her in his lap as he fixes where one of her pigtails has come loose.
Remus smiles as he watches him carefully scrape her hair back into place, fixing it with one of the tiny pink bobbles Sirius wears around his wrist now, leaning over to kiss and rub his chin against the top of their daughter's head before he leans back on his hands, taking a look around. James is standing by the barbecue with his tad, probably burning the sausages to bits, too busy telling some story that Lyall seems vaguely amused by, the hand with the tongs gesturing wildly. Harry has gotten sidetracked from his bubblewand by tormenting Pete, who made the monumentally stupid decision to wear light grey trousers to a children’s birthday party, a sticky handprint already standing out starkly against his knee. His mam is seated with Lily at the little bistro table on the patio, the two of them somehow having become fast friends when Remus wasn’t paying attention, along with a few people from Sirius’ work and couples with children they met at Teddy’s baby socialization class scattered around the garden, heart feeling full enough to burst while he looks at them all.
“Oh, hello,” he says when Teddy tumbles into his lap, lifting her up into his arms so that he can blow a raspberry against her tummy where her shirt has ridden up, chuckling when she shrieks out a laugh and thrashes in his arms, setting her back on her feet. He keeps hold of her hands as she takes a few halting, wobbly steps before she pitches forward, landing on her hands and knees, scooting away faster than he ever thought babies were capable of crawling. “And just like that, she’s gone again.”
“At least we know she’s going to sleep well tonight,” Sirius murmurs, wrapping an arm around Remus’ shoulder, pulling him against his side while pressing a kiss to his temple.
“Knowing our luck she’s going to be up at the crack of dawn. I can’t believe she even let us sleep in today,” he says, huffing out a laugh when Sirius ducks forward and waggles his eyebrows salaciously, elbowing him gently in the side before resting his head on his shoulder. “I think she’s having fun, though.”
Sirius makes a noise of affirmation beneath his breath, the two of them watching as Teddy joins the other babies in pulling clumps of grass out of the ground by their roots, sitting in contented silence. When Remus spots one of Sirius’ coworkers heading towards them he sighs and straightens up, pasting a smile on his face, feeling vaguely annoyed when she chooses to tower over where they’re seated on a blanket instead of joining them or waiting for them to stand. She’s a nice enough woman, even if she’s a far more conservative alpha than Sirius or even his tad is, and Remus gives her a friendly nod before leaning to the side so that he can peer around her legs to check on Teddy, only half listening to their conversation.
“Will you be having more children?” she asks, eyes flicking between the two of them, Remus pulling his lower lip into his mouth as he turns to meet Sirius’ eye.
“It’s not something we’ve really talked about,” Sirius answers, which isn’t entirely the truth, Remus willing his cheeks not to heat as he remembers the way Sirius had spilled inside of him that morning. He’s still a few weeks out from his heat, which means the risk of pregnancy is low, but far from being zero. They hadn’t cast any protection charms, and haven’t for a while, but that doesn’t mean that they’re actively trying. They still haven’t decided if they’re going to use them during his heat or not. “Maybe one day, but we’re happy with our family the way it is right now.”
“Cariad, I’m stealing Teddy for a moment,” Hope calls across the yard as she crosses to where Teddy is, bending over to coo at her before she scoops her up into her arms, carrying her into the house with a grinning Lily right on her heels.
“Should I go see what they’re up to?” he asks after Sirius’ coworker has taken her leave, starting to rise until Sirius tightens his arm around him, turning to look at him with an arched brow. “Do you know something I don’t?”
“I’m sure they’re fine, Moons,” Sirius says, ducking forward to press their lips together, kissing him so thoroughly that he forgets what they were talking about or where they’re at for a brief moment, pulling back when one of the children screams. “Lily probably bought her another dress or something, you know how much fun she’s been having getting to buy clothes for a girl.”
“Like you don’t buy her too many clothes as it is,” he responds, thinking of the overstuffed wardrobe at home in Teddy’s room that’s filled with clothes that she’ll probably only fit into for a few more weeks, nonetheless relaxing against Sirius’ side again.
He’s just begun to wonder what’s taking so long with lunch when there’s a little tingle at the edge of his awareness, Teddy’s scent catching his attention as he opens his eyes, smiling when he sees her crawling towards them through the grass. He sits up and leans forward to pick her up, smiling when she leans forward to mouth at his nose, opening his mouth to speak to her when he notices everyone else clustered together on the patio staring at them. He turns to Sirius, who looks strangely nervous, something brushing against his hand when he adjusts his hold on Teddy.
There’s a note pinned to the front of her dress, Moony scrawled across the front of it in Sirius’ handwriting, and Remus stares at it for a long moment before he gently pulls it free with trembling fingers. Sirius is stiff as a board against his side, scent excited yet strangely anxious, and Remus wishes he knew what expression was on his face but he can’t bring himself to look at him, rubbing his thumb against the seam of the paper before he flips it open, a surprised laugh spilling out of his mouth when he reads the words written there.
Will you marry me?
“We’re already married, Pads,” he murmurs, finally turning towards Sirius, who looks mildly terrified despite the fact that his lips are turned up at the corners.
“I told you that I wanted to do it right one day,” Sirius says, reaching over to take his hand, thumb rubbing against the gold band around Remus’ ring finger. “I’m yours, love, and I want to have a real ceremony, where you don’t smell so miserable that I’ll want to punch something the entire time, and we get to exchange real vows about how much we care about each other and are going to take care of each other, instead that dry, ‘thou will obey thine alpha’ shit we had to sit through the first time. We don’t have to do it officially, the ministry doesn’t need to be involved this time, but… Will you marry me?”
“Of course I will,” Remus whispers, feeling like his heart might beat right out of his chest as a beaming grin stretches across Sirius’ face, James whooping loudly as Remus leans in to press their mouths together. A cheer goes up amongst their friends and family, Sirius’ hand covering his against Teddy’s back when she wobbles on his lap, and Remus pulls back just enough to see his face, giving Sirius a smile so wide that it hurts his cheeks. “I love you.”
“I love you,” Sirius says, wrapping a hand around the nape of his neck, the two of them sitting with their foreheads pressed together until Teddy lets out a shriek and tries to pitch herself off his lap again. “I guess we should feed this one some lunch before she starts to riot, huh?”
“We should probably do cake and presents soon too, it’s almost naptime.” Remus leans back as Sirius stands, reaching down to pluck Teddy out of his arms, propping her against his hip before he holds his hand out towards Remus, effortlessly pulling him up off the ground.
They keep their hands tangled together as they make their way over to the patio, lunch spread out down the middle of the magically expanded table they’ll all be eating at, Harry already kneeling on his chair so that he can help himself to the food. There’s another small table tucked against the house, with the teddy bear themed cake Sirius had ordered from a Muggle shop with Teddy’s presents piled beside it, Remus’ eyes narrowing when he spots a suspiciously broom-shaped parcel resting on top. Sirius just gives him a shit eating grin when he turns to glare at him, bouncing Teddy on his hip, leaning down to steal a kiss before he carries her over to the head of the table, depositing her into the high chair.
Remus stands there as he watches everyone move around, claiming seats and shuffling children around, smiling when his mam bustles over to help serve Teddy even though Sirius is already making her a plate, dropping kisses all over her face until she squeals. His tad grips his shoulder as he passes, Remus smiling as he watches him find a chair, rubbing his thumb against the wedding band around his finger until Sirius steps up behind him, hooking his chin over his shoulder and wrapping his arms around his waist.
“Alright, love?”
“Yeah, just happy,” he answers, tipping his head to the side to rest against Sirius’ when he presses a soft kiss against Remus’ mating gland, breathing in a mouthful of his scent while his mind travels back to the day he took that pregnancy test, thinking about how scared and stressed he felt, and how the only person he wanted in that moment was Sirius. “I’m just so happy.”
“Me too,” Sirius murmurs, kissing the corner of his mouth before he releases him with a huff, walking over to stop Teddy from pelting everyone around her with peas.
Remus takes another moment to watch them, thinking about how unbelievably lucky he is and how much he loves the little family they’ve made, and all of the people who love them, feeling unbearably sappy as he crosses the patio and takes his seat next to Teddy, a plate already prepared and waiting for him on the table. He reaches out to run a hand over her hair, pushing all the wispy little black hairs that have escaped from her pigtails off her face, meeting Sirius’ eyes with a smile before he finally picks up his fork, tuning in to whatever story Lily is telling about Harry’s third birthday party, everyone laughing at some joke that he’s missed.
He’s too busy thinking about the future, the stories he’ll be able to tell about Teddy and any other children that they might have at some point down the line, knowing that Sirius will be right by his side for all of them.