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Tweak says, "Henry Mancini, man!"

The Gaggle (whoholdsthekey) wrote in hogwarts_dawn,
@ 2021-03-11 14:26:00

Entry tags:

character: remus lupin, character: sirius black, unused: teddy lupin

RP: Teddy's Arrival
Who: Teddy, Sirius, & Remus
When: Late afternoon
Where: Outside of the kitchens - then Gryffindor Tower
What: Teddy arrives and gets unusual news.

The day had been long. Teddy had woken up long before the sun was up and headed into work. There were doughs to prep for later in the day, things to bake, employees to instruct, and so on. First, they'd prepared things for the breakfast goers - donuts, muffins, croissants, and so on. After the first few hours, those were gone and fresh loaves of bread for the lunches and dinners of their customers were out, along with a string of cupcakes, full cakes, pies, bonbons, macarons, macaroons - the list never ended and they were practically sold out of everything by the end of the day. Business was good.

But business was also tiring.

So when Teddy got back to his flat, he was sweaty, exhausted, and ready to crash. At least he'd had the time to take a shower. He'd been in the middle of brushing his teeth when there was a knocking at his front door. It'd been two steps through his apartment when he stumbled, dizziness striking him and... This was a very familiar area. He was all too familiar with the lower levels of Hogwarts. But he couldn't even say anything because he had a mouth full of foamed-up toothpaste. It would be ill manners to just... spit on the floor but he didn't have much of a choice.

So maybe he spit the toothpaste out as subtly as he could and then fished his wand out of the pockets of his pyjama pants (oh god he was only in pyjama pants!!!) and scourgified the spot clean. That didn't at all get rid of the toothpaste around his mouth or whatever but he was loathed to do that again. Wand and toothbrush in one hand, he was running towards the stairs up out of the basement. His hair was turning a bright, noticeably yellow color - not even blonde - and he just caught a glimpse of feet passing above. "Pardon me!" he called out, which just caused another drip of toothpaste. He probably looked rabid. This was such a nightmare.

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slowburn_alpha
2021-03-14 12:16 am UTC (link)

Remus had frowned a bit at the way Teddy seemed to shut down for a moment. But, rather than say something and possibly step on toes, he smiled softly and stood up with a nod. "Three hot chocolates and assorted snacks coming right up."

Following Sirius out to the corridor, he couldn't help a glance back over his shoulder at Teddy as the portrait hole closed behind them. Once it had, he slumped against the wall with a tired snort. "Brilliantly, huh?" Teddy wasn't the only one nervous. At least Teddy had known Remus existed for years. Remus only found out about his future self's family a matter of weeks ago and now he was faced with a grown man who looked to be about the same age as Remus himself, calling him 'Dad' and looking at him with wide-eyed acceptance.

He could do this. A little chocolate. A little midnight snacking. A lot of listening. It wouldn't be much different from nights spent in school keeping Pads company when he was feeling in need of companionship, right? Remus could have his existential freak-out...well, never. That would be just fine with him. Whatever sort of relationship he and Teddy ended up settling into in the future, he could deal with this.

Shaking his head, Remus nodded and pushed up from the wall. "I'll be fine. Nothing a little chocolate won't fix. Shall we?"

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_withoutacause
2021-03-14 12:30 am UTC (link)

"Let's." Sirius linked arms with Remus as the walked down the hall.

"You know, it's okay to not be fine. That was a lot, all at once, and I didn't help by trying to force it. Do you know what he did, the minute he knew who I was? He just hugged me, like we'd been friends for a hundred years. Just like that. And then he told me who he was, and we hugged more, and I forget that not everything can be solved with physical affection. I'm sorry I pushed it. He just, he's adorable, and I already love him, and he seemed so nervous about your approval. He thought you might not like him cause he's not a werewolf. Anyway, if you need time to process or do your Remus thing know you can talk to me, okay? And I won't push you two again. I'll let ylu figure it put yourselves."

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slowburn_alpha
2021-03-14 07:51 pm UTC (link)

"It's okay. I'm not mad at you, Pads." Remus thought he understood, a bit, the vested interest Sirius had in seeing his friends' children settled and happy with their parents. He'd seen how his friend had been with baby Harry and wasn't surprised Sirius had taken to Remus' own son with such enthusiasm.

Patting the arm twined with his he sighed softly. "It's just...a lot to take in," he admitted. "I didn't even know he existed until a couple weeks ago. I was wrapping my head around it in theory. But, now he's a flesh and blood human being, calling me 'Dad', and looking at me the way Harry looks at James, only more openly. And, I am no kind of father figure. I can tell him about myself, my parents, but I'm not the man I would have been in ten years, fifteen years. I don't know that man or what he would have wanted his son to know about him. I can't tell him about loving his mother or feeling a connection when he was born...And he reminds me of Tad, and Mam. And...wait. What do you mean he thought I wouldn't like him because he wasn't a werewolf? That's..." Remus shook his head. "That's the last thing I would want for him, to be born with this curse? To suffer like I did as a child? Did he really say that?"

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_withoutacause
2021-03-14 08:00 pm UTC (link)

Sirius nodded, squeezing Remus' arm.

"He did. And I told him exactly that. I said if I knew you at all then I knew you would never, ever want him to hurt the way you do. I don't know why he'd even have that thought, but there's no way future you was disappointed either. Absolutely none."

He stuffed his free hand in his pocket.

"My parents are pieces of shit, but at least I know them. I can definitively say what they're disappointed in me for, and how they feel about me. It's it's own kind of Hell, not knowing. Hearing stories about heros and things. I mean, it must be, right? So I think it's a lot for you both. He just got here, and I saw the way he just kind of, shut some things down. Inside. I've seen that from you too. So I think you're both going to need time, and work, to figure this all out. I'm safe, really, because while he knew who I was it wasn't like he'd spent his whole life fantasizing about what it would be like to meet me. So, I can be your puppy buffer, if you need one. Or if he needs one. I just really want you to be happy Moony, whatever that looks like." He leaned over so their shoulders pressed together as they walked. "Him too. I like him. He feels like a Marauder, doesn't he?"

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slowburn_alpha
2021-03-14 11:44 pm UTC (link)

Disentangling his arm from Sirius', Remus slung it companionably over Sirius' shoulders. "He does feel like a Marauder," he agreed. "I don't know what his mother was like, but he reminds me of you in some ways."

It was clear, hearing the way Sirius talked, that his friend did know him, knew him in ways Remus had forgotten others could see over the last few years. Honestly, he didn't think anyone but Sirius and the others would know him well enough to see when he shut down like Teddy just had. Squeezing his friend's shoulders, he tipped his head to the side to touch Sirius'. "I don't know if a puppy buffer is needed. But, I can't think of a better one," he declared softly. "I want to see you happy, too, Pads. No point in living a second life if you're not going to be any happier than you were, right?"

Biting his lip, he wondered if he should ask, but decided that, of anyone, he was possibly the one who could. "What about you? And Regulus. I know your parents treated you terribly. But, that wasn't your brother's fault. You two could have a chance like Teddy and I are getting."

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_withoutacause
2021-03-15 12:18 am UTC (link)

Sirius leaned into Remus' touch, drinking in every second of it. It was rare that Remus initiated, and Sirius breathed it in like air.

"We're okay actually. Shockingly. Me and Reg. We've talked a few times now, and he only hexes me when I call him Reggie so I think that's real progress." He almost didn't continue, but they were in a sharing mood and he knew Moony would understand.

"I think they hurt him. Not the way they hurt me, but, still. I always thought I was protecting him. By drawing their attention. By staying away. But I didn't. I just left him there. I thought he was safe there, and he wasn't, and I left him behind." It didn't matter that Regulus almost certainly wouldn't have gone with him that night. It didn't matter that he would not have survived going back. "I left him there. And they hurt him. And then they killed him. And I still don't even know why."

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slowburn_alpha
2021-03-15 12:42 am UTC (link)

"Maybe you should stop calling him that." Remus gave a puff of quiet laughter. "Then he wouldn't have to hex you."

He squeezed Sirius a bit tighter as his tone of voice changed. Sirius didn't talk about what happened at home often and Remus was pretty sure, when he did, it was mostly to James. That he was talking now indicated to Remus his friend wasn't as all right with even distant family like Teddy showing up as he wanted to sound. And...well, Remus knew Sirius wasn't wrong after his talk with Regulus in Hogsmeade. "Pads, you can't hold yourself to blame for what your parents did. You were a child, same as Regulus was. You did the best you knew how and if you'd stayed...you might never have come out alive. It wasn't an easy situation and you had to do what you needed to survive. But, the only way to know how he feels about it, to know the whys of what happened after, is to talk to him and listen," he added, a light tease to keep them from spiralling into dark thoughts. "Don't argue, just listen. Like you would if it was me."

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_withoutacause
2021-03-15 02:00 am UTC (link)

Sirius took a short, sharp little breath, then scrubbed furiously at his eyes. This wasn't about him right now. It was about Remus, and Teddy, and hot chocolate and pillow forts. Still, his right hand unconsciously strayed to his chest, right above his heart, where the word his mother carved into his skin began. The only scar he was ashamed of. The only one he'd never let anyone see. Not James, not Remus, not anyone. The reason he kept an undershirt on even during sex.

"You're right. I think maybe we'll get there. Eventually. Baby steps, right?"

He turned and pulled Remus into a tight, desperate hug for one long moment, and then let go with a larger than life smile.

"Right! Hot choclate! We can't leave the Teddy Bear waiting!"

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slowburn_alpha
2021-03-15 02:43 am UTC (link)

Remus didn't comment on the instinctive motion of Sirius' hand. One day, his friend would explain it to him. Until then, Remus could sense a boundary Sirius was ready for him to cross. Instead, he just held on tightly and tried to convey with his return hug all the worries and care he carried in Sirius' name. "Yes, baby steps. As long as they take you forward. You both deserve to find yourselves as brothers again," he said quietly.

Though not fooled by the bright smile, Remus let Sirius get away with it this time...primarily because there was Teddy to get back to. "Hot chocolate and pillow forts, yes." Chuckling, he nudged Sirius down the corridor. They would have this conversation again. Both conversations, likely, since neither seemed inclined to let the other neglect the family they had here. But, for tonight, they could focus on getting Teddy settled and deal with their own issues at a later time. "The kitchen awaits."

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