"I was pretty sure of the same. I just wasn't sure how open to the idea you'd be. So...research." Remus shrugged one shoulder, the idea of him doing research on anything he found important wasn't likely to be a revelation to either of them. "I want to read the histories for more reasons than that, though. Your family is such a large part of who you are; I want to know them as well. Although, you might need to convince the books themselves I'm free to read them. That's what I was staring at behind the glass when James and I had differing definitions for the word 'look'."
Turning his hand over under Regulus' he laced their fingers together in a gesture that had come to represent the connection between them in his subconscious mind. "I only meant I don't know how many years. I've gotten us this far, but I know there are things that I don't know...yet, factors that will add to or subtract from the time it takes. I'm a dreamer, but not so much I don't understand the true size of an endeavour like this. I have faith in us, however, faith enough we can pull this off that I'm willing to put it out here now because I want to do this together, plan our future. I have every intention of spending the rest of my life spoiling you and making you happy. If you can't believe in the plan, believe in me.
"Maybe Sirius just needs to believe his brother has a little faith in him too. He's spent so long pushing away from family, I think he's unsure of how to make things work now that he really wants to have the family you both deserved. I also think he's never learned how to ask for help because he's never expected to get it. But, he needs it."
Taking another deep breath because he knew he had to be the strong one to see this through, despite how scared the idea of failing made him, Remus nodded. "Sit here," he said quietly, tugging gently on Regulus' hand and motioning for him to sit astride Remus' legs so they could face each other more comfortably, look at each other directly for this conversation.
"All right," he said, taking both Regulus' hands in his. "First of all, if we're talking in this context, it would be three years before we could have a child. I want to do this to make you happy and give you both the traditions and a future that will make you happy, but I want this for us. Our children. They can be raised in the Black Family traditions. So far I haven't heard anything in how you want to raise a family that I strongly disagree with. But, our children.
"Second, while I understand the war makes it hard to plan practically for survival, I'm going to be optimistic for the moment and assume we're both going to survive it and live well into our hundred and fifties. In which case, you would only be twenty-two in three years, which is still young in the context of starting a family." He grinned. "I, of course, will be an old man of thirty-two.
"Third, if six months is all you can comfortably give me at this moment, I'm okay with that. So long as it's six months for us, not six months waiting in dread for the axe to fall and a marriage announcement to arrive. Give me six months that are truly ours, not a temporary grab at what might have been. Six months from today is the eleventh of October. On that day, we can reassess where we are and decide if this is a viable option or if we start looking up the word for a male mistress. And if we decide it's viable enough to give it a shot, you don't have to promise me years, even then. We'll give it another six months and reassess again next Spring.
"I know I'm asking you for a giant leap of faith. But, I wouldn't do it if I didn't truly believe more strongly in our future than I've ever believed in anything in my entire life. Will you give us this chance to try?"