Title: Come Home, Regulus Black
Author: elfflame
Characters: Remus/Regulus
Rating: Rish
Warnings: Shmoop?
Kinks chosen: Personal ads
Word Count: 3272
Summary: After the war is over, Remus places an ad in hopes that an old friend will see it.
Author's notes: For my sweet Kit, who gifted me with this bunny. I seem to be caught on this idea, and just couldn’t resist. The smut is minimal, but it is there. I hope folks enjoy.

All is forgiven, Star Prince. Please come home. Romulus

The Ad had been running for almost a year before Remus heard so much as a word. He’d run it in both the London Times and the New York Times. Between the two papers, and the long run of the Ad, he was certain he had to hear something eventually. No matter where Regulus had finally settled into hiding.

While he waited, he busied himself with raising his son and trying to find a place for them both in this new world. He got a job from Minerva helping with certain tasks for the school that she no longer had time to deal with herself, though he refused a position at the school itself. People knew who he was, true, but that didn’t change the fact that he was still a danger to the students if something should go wrong, even with the Wolfsbane Potion.

Teddy spent the days surrounding the full moon with his grandmother Andromeda, or with his Godfather and his friends. Harry was still a bit awkward around the boy, but as he grew up, he took to the role more and more. Sometimes Remus was reminded so much of his lost friends in watching Harry that it made his heart clench. But he was glad to see that Harry seemed happy at last.

But as time moved on with no response to the Ad, Remus had begun to lose hope. Perhaps Regulus did not want to come home. Perhaps he had found himself a new life wherever he was. Maybe it would be better if Remus just left him alone?

And then there had been a letter.

Remus,

I don’t know if you will get this. I saw the Ad, but I have to know for certain this is not a trick. I won’t tell you where I am, only that I waited until I was back in England before sending this response.

If you did not place an Ad to me, please respond to this as quickly as you can. Thank you.

R.

Just seeing Regulus’s handwriting again after so long made Remus’s heart beat faster. He responded quickly.

Regulus,

I did post an Ad. I’m glad you saw it. It’s all over. I don’t know if you’ve seen any of the news, but Harry did it. The war is over. Perhaps you could come visit, and I could tell you what happened?

Remus

The return letter took long enough to arrive that Remus knew Regulus had had to debate with himself about it.

Remus,

I stayed away from anything, for fear of recognizing names.

You still at that little flat?

Regulus

Remus wrote back immediately.

Regulus,

I have a cottage now. On the outskirts of Bath. I’ve enclosed Apparation instructions. When should I expect you?

Remus

He sent it off, then quickly wrote a note to Harry asking him if he could take Teddy for the night. He wasn’t planning on keeping him from Regulus, but it would be one thing to tell him he had a son. Quite another to present him without having known about him first.

The note appeared just before Harry did, stating that he would come by that night.

“Not to worry, Remus. Ginny and I can handle him overnight,” Harry said when Remus mentioned visiting with a friend. “It’s about time you had a date. Tonks has almost been gone a year now…”

“Harry, it’s not like that.” Except that he hoped it did. If he was lucky enough that Regulus had not found someone else and settled down with them. It had been twenty years, after all.

Harry smiled knowingly. “You don’t have to explain, Remus. Just…enjoy yourself, okay?” He hefted the diaper bag over his shoulder, then lifted Teddy, who grabbed at his glasses. “Ah…those aren’t for you, Teddy…” He chuckled and pulled the glasses gently from the boy’s grip, then set them back on his face and tweaked Teddy’s nose with a grin.

Remus smiled as Teddy giggled. “Well, sounds like he’s in good hands. Thank you, Harry.”

Harry nodded and smiled at him. “Not a problem, Remus. We’ll see you tomorrow.” And with that, Harry and Teddy were gone.

Remus spent the next hour cleaning up, tucking all Teddy’s toys into his bedroom, then giving the place a once-over for any stray things out of place. Then he distracted himself by making stew. Chopping was really a very calming activity when one couldn’t stop thinking about the possible ways a reunion could go wrong.

By the time there was a tap on the door, Remus could feign calmness, even though he could still feel the butterflies in his stomach. He opened the door with a smile, but the sight of the man on the other side hit him like a physical blow. He looked so much like Sirius. Enough to make that ache of loss flare high. Enough to make him doubt for a moment. “Regulus?”

Regulus nodded slowly, looking uncertain. “Is that really you, Remus? You look…”

Remus smiled ruefully. “Old?” He stepped aside so that Regulus could enter.

“Not…well…you’re much grayer. But…I was going to say that you look great.”

“Flattery isn’t necessary, Regulus. I know what I look like. I see it every day.”

“Allow others to have a different opinion, Remus? I’ve found one never looks as bad as one sees oneself. Unless you’re a narcissist.” He smiled. “It’s good to see you.”

Remus laughed. “You have no clue how good it is to see you. I had worried…you wouldn’t answer.”

“Didn’t have enough to occupy yourself, then?”

“More like missed you.” Their fling had been brief, but Remus had never forgotten, and he had been the sole person to know Regulus’s true fate when he had disappeared. He’d had no confirmation that Regulus had made it out of England, but he had hoped. So to see him standing here, after all the losses he’d had in the past three decades was like a healing balm.

“I’m sure Sirius kept you busy enough,” Regulus said softly. Even though he tried to keep his tone even, Remus could hear the hurt.

“Regulus…” He turned away. What could he say? Regulus didn’t know the history there. Not since he’d left England. Not if he really hadn’t read the papers. “That was a mistake. He was…my best friend. But I should have stood up to him.”

“‘Was?’ Are you not friends any longer?”

Remus closed his eyes, looking down. “Have you eaten? This would be best discussed over supper.”

“No. It smells good.”

Remus smiled sadly at Regulus, then led the way into the kitchen. “Just stew. But I do my best.”

“I’m sure it will be just fine. Why don’t I get the plates?”

Remus nodded, pointing out the dishes and silverware to Regulus, then pulled out bread and took that and the stew to the table, then got them some wine. “Nothing fancy, but enough to take the edge off, at least.”

“Like I said, I’m sure it will be fine,” Regulus assured him again.

The settled and served themselves, then ate quietly for a bit before Regulus apparently couldn’t handle it any longer. “You said the war is over? What happened?”

Remus met his eyes. “Yes. Harry did it.”

“Harry?”

“Oh! I’m sorry. I forgot. James and Lily’s son. He managed to find the last of Riddle’s horcruxes, and then Riddle destroyed himself.”

“All of them? There were more?” Regulus sighed and looked away. “Potter and his wife must have exploded in pride,” he said, and Remus could hear the bitterness in his tone. It was obvious Regulus had thought himself a hero for finding one, but he’d there had been no way he could have known that there were more.

“James and Lily died, Regulus. Trying to save Harry from Voldemort.”

That caught Regulus by surprise, and he met Remus’s eyes once more. “What? God…”

Remus nodded. “He was barely a year old.”

“Fuck. I bet Sirius lost his mind over that. He and James…”

“Yeah. Chased after the one who’d been responsible for telling Voldemort. And ended up in Azkaban for the man’s murder.”

“Sirius? Kill someone? That’s…”

“Insane? Worse…we all thought he’d been responsible. I lost all my friends in one night. Almost came to find you. Seriously debated it, to be honest.”

Regulus gaped at him. “You mean Sirius has been in there ever since? You let them leave him there?”

“I thought he’d killed James and Lily by what he’d done, then Peter after. For all I knew, I was next, Regulus.” After all, Sirius had at one time proven that he was able to hurt Remus—badly. “But he’s not there any longer. Escaped a few years ago. Turned out Peter had been the one to betray them. Believe me, I hated myself when I realized.”

“So…then you aren’t together because he hasn’t forgiven you? Or is it because you can’t forgive yourself?”

Regulus always had been too astute. Even when missing some facts. Including the most important one. Remus didn’t want to say it. Every time he even thought it, it hurt. And to tell his brother—that would be far worse. But he had to. “He’s gone, Regulus.”

“Gone? You mean…out of the country?” Regulus was frowning, and Remus had a feeling he was desperately avoiding the alternate meaning.

“No.” Remus reached across the table to hold Regulus’s hand, but the other man pulled way, a look of hurt on his face.

“Then say what you mean.”

“He…” Remus looked away, then closed his eyes, seeing Sirius fall through the veil once more in his mind’s eye, Harry’s harsh cries ringing in his ears. “He was killed trying to save Harry from a group of Death Eaters.”

“Who?” Regulus sounded harder than Remus had ever heard him before.

Remus met his eyes. “It doesn’t matter. They died in the final battle, Regulus.”

“Tell me. We may not always have gotten on, but I have a right to know who killed my brother.”

Remus sighed. “Bellatrix.”

Regulus pushed away from the table and walked to the window looking out into the garden. After what felt like an age, he spoke. “So I’m the backup, then?”

“Regulus…no…” Remus got to his feet, then moved to his side. “I meant it. If Sirius was here, it would change nothing. I’ve spent years regretting the day he found out. I’m not even sure why you trusted me with the knowledge that you were alive…”

“Aren’t you?” Regulus turned to him. “You don’t know why? Why I realized I could never be one of them? Why I had to leave to get away from them? Do you know what I hoped for that day?”

Remus shook his head slightly. “Tell me?”

“I wanted you to offer to come with me. I’d hoped…” Regulus sighed. “But you wanted to stay. To be with him.” Regulus looked out the window again. “And now that he’s gone, I’m good enough again?”

“No. It wasn’t like that at all, Regulus. I had commitments.”

“Yeah. Him.”

“No. The Order. Sirius and I didn’t last through sixth year.”

“Then why…?”

“I was going to wait until you finished school. I’d hoped…maybe the war would be over by then. Instead…” Remus looked down, the loss overwhelming for a moment.

“Instead, I ‘died,’ and then you lost everyone else in a single blow?” Regulus asked softly.

Remus nodded, unable to meet his eyes. “I was a fool. Forgive me?”

Regulus didn’t bother to answer in words. His hand curled around the back of Remus’s neck and pulled him close, then brushed his lips against Remus’s. Remus returned the kiss, cupping his cheek and deepening the kiss, his free hand pulling Regulus closer.

“I’ve missed you, Regulus.”

“I’ve missed you, too. Does this mean…we’re trying again?”

“Not that we got much of a chance before…but I’d like to. There’s more I should tell you, though…”

“After we get reacquainted. I’ve been dreaming of this for two decades…” Regulus kissed him again, then smiled softly. “Where’s your room?”

Remus blinked at him, then smiled back and took his hand. He led the way to his own room, glad that he’d closed Teddy’s room. Would Regulus really want a single father who was a werewolf for a lover? He turned to look at him, and into those grey eyes. “Are you sure? I could…”

Regulus kissed him again, then reached past him to open the bedroom door. “Shush. I want you. Right now, nothing else matters.”

As much as Remus hadn’t expected to get this far tonight, deep down, he had hoped for it. He smiled, then pushed the door open and led Regulus inside. “I want you, too.” He closed the door behind them, then kissed Regulus, tugging at his shirt. “Have since that first day in the library. So innocent, and yet…even then, I could never push away the need to kiss you…”

“And yet you fought so hard,” Regulus said, grinning and shaking his head. “Did you think I was going to bite?” He tugged Remus’s jumper over his head, then kissed him again.

But the words had been a dose of cold water. “No. But I might have,” he said seriously.

Regulus snickered and rolled his eyes. “Oooh, who knew? Remus Lupin has a kinky side.”

“No,” Remus said, catching Regulus’s hands before he could start on his trousers. “Well…maybe. But that wasn’t my worry.” He tugged Regulus to the bed, then pushed him to sit down and settled next to him. “I was more worried—”

“That I would figure out you were a werewolf?” Regulus asked softly, his face calm and understanding.

Remus’s mind reeled. “You knew?”

“Well…not that night. But…I watched you with them after that. All the time. I watched your health rise and fall with the moon. It wasn’t that hard to figure out, Remus.” He squeezed Remus’s hands. “I didn’t care. I still wanted you.”

Remus didn’t know why he was so surprised that Regulus had figured it out. Sirius had been the one of his friends who had figured it out first, too. “Why? I’m a monster, Reg—”

“If you say that about the man I love again, I’ll have to tie you to the bed and show you just what I think of you,” Regulus said, his voice steely as his eyes were warm. “Now stop it. No more excuses. You’re here. I’m here. We want each other. There’s nothing more between us. Nothing and no one to keep us apart.”

Remus bit off a protest about Teddy. If Regulus truly wanted him, knowing he had a son wouldn’t change that, either. “No. No one.” He smiled, then kissed him again. This time, he didn’t try to stop Regulus as the man removed the rest of their clothes, and once they were naked, he pushed him onto his back on the bed, smiling down at him. “I’ve dreamed of this for so long…”

Regulus’s eyes were shining at him as he looked up at him. “Me, too.”

Quickly shifting to reach for the jar of lube in his bedside table, Remus settled at Regulus’s side. There were butterflies in his stomach again. He hadn’t been with another man since before Sirius’s death, and he couldn’t help but worry that he would do this wrong. “I…”

“Shush. Let me,” Regulus told him, taking the lube. “Maybe we should keep things simple this time.” He kissed Remus again, then rolled on top of him.

Remus set his hand in the small of Regulus’s back, returning the kiss. He wasn’t about to argue. Maybe he didn’t feel quite as nervous as he had the first time, but he wasn’t far from it, either.

Regulus nipped down his neck, his hips grinding down against Remus’s, pulling a groan from him, and Remus swore he could feel Regulus grin against his neck? “Like that?” he asked in a husky voice Remus remembered more from his dreams than from their brief fling.

“Yes,” he breathed, groaning again when Regulus repeated the action.

“Me, too.” Regulus kissed him again, and Remus heard him fumble to open the jar. “But this will feel even better…” And then Regulus’s fingers were around them both, slick and cool, and touching him in a way he hadn’t been touched in years. It felt perfect.

“Don’t stop.”

“Not ever,” Regulus breathed before kissing him again, moving his hand around them both and driving Remus mad. “Never letting you go again,” he whispered. “Mine now.”

“Yes…Regulus…” Remus kissed him deeper, then rolled them over, thrusting faster into his hand. “My Regulus.” The words were almost impossible to believe, but Regulus was here, now, and this was all Remus wanted. The two of them starting in this new world—together.

Regulus’s eyes grew wide at that. “Ohgod…Remus…yes…” His head went back, and his eyes closed in pleasure. “Love you…” And then he was shuddering and crying out under him, his hand tightening around them in his climax.

Remus kissed him deeply through his climax, then thrust hard into the slick ring of his fingers, moaning as his own climax crashed over him, his brain shutting off for those few moments of pleasure.

When he came to, he found himself on his back, Regulus curled against his side, tracing over the scars on his chest. “So many,” he said softly. “You’re so strong, Remus. If it had been me…”

“Shush,” Remus told him. “You were plenty brave when you tried to take down Voldemort single-handed.”

“Didn’t work,” Regulus said sourly.

“It did. In the end, it did.” Remus raised his chin to meet his eyes. “And without you…I wouldn’t be here.” There had been a moment in the final battle, when he’d seen Tonks fall, where he’d considered just letting go. But then there had been the vision of his son, and with him, Regulus. “It’s because of you that I wanted to survive, Regulus. Because I knew you were still out there somewhere. The thought kept me alive.”

“I did?” Regulus asked, And Remus could see a glimpse of the young man he had fallen in love with in his insecurity.

“Yes. You. And my son.”

Regulus’s eyes widened almost comically. “Son? When?”

“He was born last year. Shortly before the final battle.”

“His mother?”

“Died in the battle. Your cousin. Nymphadora Tonks.”

“Andromeda’s daughter?”

“Yes.”

“Wasn’t she…odd somehow?”

“Metamorphmagus. Unless you mean something else?”

Regulus shook his head. “No. I thought I remembered mother…mentioning it.” Remus could imagine how the woman had likely referred to it. “And your son…is he…like her?”

“We think Teddy inherited some of her ability, yes.”

“Is he here?” Regulus asked slowly.

“He’s with his godfather. Harry.”

Regulus nodded, then went quiet. Remus’s nerves returned. What if Regulus didn’t want to deal with this little snag?

When Regulus spoke, Remus knew he should never have worried. “I understand if you don’t want me to meet him yet. He’s just lost his mother…”

“You want to meet him?” Remus asked, pleased.

“Of course I do. Remus…if I could…I’d shout to the world that we’re together.” He paused. “We are, aren’t we?”

“Oh, yes.” Remus kissed him deeply. “Stay and meet him tomorrow? And Harry, too. I imagine he’d enjoy meeting you.”

“Yes. I imagine we would have an interesting conversation about Horcruxes.”

“And your brother. Sirius was his godfather.” Remus smiled at him. Tomorrow would be interesting and awkward, but he knew now, it would be worth it. And that with Regulus there, everything would be just fine.