Chapter Text
“Why won’t you tell us?”
“You are abysmal at keeping secrets,” Regulus said plainly.
Sirius whined and stomped his foot. He had a sudden memory of every time Regulus did the exact same thing and was sure he didn’t look half as adorable.
“Now, that is unfair,” Remus said.
“Thank you, Moony!”
“I can keep a secret. Your appa, on the other hand—”
“Remus! You’re meant to be on my side.”
“Didn’t we agree to always take Reg’s side?”
Sirius pouted. “Yes, but you could at least pretend to stand beside me through this troublesome time.”
“I haven’t even opened the envelope yet,” Kingsley said with amusement.
“You’re still going to know before both of us.”
“I’ll know a whole sixty seconds longer.”
“Sixty seconds is a lifetime,” Remus said mulishly. “I really think you should at least let me know.”
“No, marriage is about equality,” Regulus said. “If one of you can’t know, then neither of you can.”
“Spoken like a true lawyer,” Anita said with a giggle.
Regulus smiled. “I’m still not changing career paths, Auntie.”
“You break my heart.”
“Aren’t I good enough?” Dorcas said, grinning wryly.
Anita swooped in to peck her daughter’s cheek. “My golden girl, of course you are!”
“Huh, I call her that too,” Marlene said, wiggling her eyebrows.
Everyone laughed while Dorcas swiped at her girlfriend in embarrassment.
“Okay, okay, everything’s ready,” James said as he ambled over carrying a white box. Drifting behind him was Evan who was holding an identical box. Bringing up the rear with a face like thunder was Barty who had yet to say a single word to anyone.
“Everything’s ready?” Regulus confirmed. At James’ nod, he turned to Kingsley who reached out for the boxes.
“I’ll handle it,” Kingsley said. “Get into position.”
The rest of the guests scattered although Sirius dragged his feet, trying desperately to catch a glimpse at Kingsley who had moved behind the gauzy, white sheet he saw Monty and Lily hanging up earlier.
Everyone in the garden was dressed in white, a strategically chosen theme for the baby gender reveal they were throwing for Regulus and James. Although none of them really cared about the baby’s gender, Regulus was adamant that he wanted to know so they could start thinking of names properly as, in his opinion, there was no point planning for both outcomes when he could cut his work in half.
Naturally, Sirius turned it into a party to celebrate his baby boy.
As a huddle formed, Sirius ended up slotting himself between Mary and Effie while Remus draped an arm over him, using his height to peer over Sirius’ head with no trouble.
Just in time, too, as Kingsley made his way over with the kitschy, white trolley Elise found and Sirius decorated for the day. The two cake boxes were impossible to distinguish as Kingsley rolled to a stop by the table. Guests whispered before abruptly shushing, angling their phones and cameras as Kingsley picked up the box on the left and placed it directly in front of James and Regulus who stood behind a table draped in white cloth with a bright blue and pink banner behind them. After opening the cake box, Kingsley stepped back out of frame as their audience leaned in eagerly.
“Would you like to do the honours?” James offered the cake cutter to Regulus.
With light fingers, Regulus raised the cutter for everyone to see and carved through the cake, sectioning a perfectly triangular slice. Immediately, they saw the bright blue frosting filling the centre and a roar rolled over the garden.
“A boy!” Regulus gasped just as James picked him up and brought him into a kiss.
“It’s a boy,” James said brightly.
“A grandson,” Mary said as she nudged Sirius.
“Grandson…” Effie said, sniffling. “Monty, we have a grandson.”
Sirius fell backwards into Remus who squeezed him tightly from behind. “Our baby boy is having a baby boy.”
“I think I’m going to cry,” Remus sniffled.
“I’m already there.”
“Wait a moment,” Kingsley said. “You have another cake to cut.”
The crowd fell silent.
Confusion washed over them. What did Kingsley mean? They already did the cake cutting part. Baby Potter was a boy.
“Another cake?” Regulus repeated. His tearful face morphed into shock. “Two…”
“You revealed the first baby’s gender,” Kingsley said patiently. “You’ve still got one more to go.”
“Two babies?” James said.
Nobody said a word. Sirius wasn’t sure his heart was still beating.
James’ dark eyes went wide. “Twins?”
“Twins,” Kingsley confirmed with a smile.
A sob wracked through James’ chest and Regulus handed the cutter over. With how badly James’ hand was shaking, it took both of them working together to cut into the second cake and Sirius was overcome with awe when the pink frosting spilled out over the sponge.
“Twins,” Regulus said with a sob.
“A boy and a girl,” James said.
“One of each.”
“Twins!” Monty shouted.
“I’m going to be sick,” Lily said, sniffling. “This is so sweet.”
“Twin Potters,” Dorcas said. “Heaven help us.”
“Two babies,” Regulus said distantly. “Twice the work.”
“Twice the fun!” James cheered.
“I’m going to pass out.”
Stunned, Sirius said. “Well, I guess you won’t be able to avoid thinking of names for both possibilities.”
A muffled wail was his only response.
As the days pressed on, Sirius wasn’t surprised to see the exhaustion catching up on Regulus. Carrying a baby was hard enough but twins were a different thing entirely. Especially twin Potters. Why were all Potters so bloody big? His son had been a preemie and it showed. James’ massive babies were going to be the end of him.
“Alright, out with it,” Regulus said sharply as he fell into one of the big, cushy armchairs Sirius bought to accommodate a much smaller Regulus when he wanted space.
“Huh?” Barty asked.
Regulus rolled his eyes. “You’ve been miserable since my gender reveal last month. What crawled into your bed and died to make you this bitchy?”
Barty scowled and kicked his feet up on the coffee table. “Nothing.”
“Put your feet down,” Regulus snapped before Sirius could. Sirius raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment, instead choosing to stay hidden behind the door. Regulus’ mood had been a little more unpredictable since reaching his second trimester but none of them could hold it against him.
Seriously, carrying two babies was no joke.
“Christ, alright,” Barty said with a huff. “You’ve already developed that dad voice.”
“I’ve spent my entire life reminding you to act like a morally respectable human being. I’ve had plenty of practice.”
“You’re not pulling your punches today, are you?” Barty murmured.
“Barty, I’m not stupid. I can tell when you’re annoyed at me. This is just like when you threw a tantrum over me befriending James, then you ignored me for a week when you found out we were dating, then you threw another strop when we got engaged, and when we moved in together—”
“I get it, I get it.”
“And I get you,” Regulus said tiredly. “You think I’m going to abandon you, which is absurd. If I wanted to be rid of you I would just have you murdered. You know too many of my secrets.”
Sirius smiled to himself and wasn’t surprised when he heard Barty laugh softly.
“So, I should think you know better by now. We had a good chat when I got married and I feel like we actually made progress. You didn’t get grumpy when you found out I was pregnant but suddenly at the baby shower it was like a switch flipped. What happened?”
Barty sighed. “You’re having a baby. Two, actually.”
“Really?” Regulus said dryly. “With how my spine is being battered I couldn’t tell.” Something shifted along the coffee table. “Did it suddenly become real? Had it not sunk in until then? If so, I believe Kingsley felt the same. He kept crying about how I’d grown up so much as if he didn’t dance with me at my wedding.”
“No, it’s not that…” Although Sirius and Barty weren’t the best of friends, he liked to think he knew the best quite well. If he concentrated, he almost thought Barty sounded embarrassed. “You haven’t…”
“Spit it out.”
“You haven’t named the godfather of your babies yet.”
Dead silence.
Then—
“Ow!”
“Are you serious?” Regulus hissed. There was another dull smacking sound and Sirius peeked around the corner to see Barty shielding himself from another frighteningly well-aimed coaster being flung at his face. “I’m going to strangle you with my bare hands when I can finally stand upright again.”
“You haven’t asked anyone yet! I kept waiting for you to ask me but you haven’t, then Evan said maybe you’d ask him, or even Kingsley—”
“I should ask a three-legged weasel instead!”
Another coaster caught Barty right on the cheekbone and he hissed. Sirius actually felt a little bad for him. “You’re vicious. I’m weirdly into that.” And suddenly all concern vanished.
“I haven’t asked anyone for a reason!”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t think I have to!” Regulus snapped. “You immature, pig-headed muppet, obviously I want you to be their godfather.”
Barty slowly peeked out from behind the arm he raised to protect himself. “Both of them?”
“They’re a package deal. Why would I give them different godparents?”
“Me and…”
“Dorcas, obviously.”
“What about Evan?”
“As much as I love him, he’s not my best friend. Even if I could only choose one person, I would choose you.”
Barty went to smile, then he sniffed. “What about Potter?”
“When he carries two ginormous babies then he gets a say.”
Sirius nodded to himself. They had this exact conversation over the naming of the babies. Regulus would take James’ input but ultimately the decision was his. Thankfully, James was just thrilled to be having children with the love of his life.
“So, I’m a godfather?” Barty asked with a fragile sort of hope.
Regulus huffed. “Obviously.”
“Do I even get a choice?”
“After the fuss you’ve made?”
“Fair enough.” Barty rose, grinning. “I’m a godfather!”
“Against my better judgement.”
Barty laughed.
Sirius stepped away from the door as they began chatting in earnest. He couldn’t wait to tell Remus about this. Bullying Barty was one of his favourite pastimes.
Two weeks before Regulus’ scheduled caesarean, Remus broached the idea of finally fulfilling a last wish of someone very special to them both.
“I can tell neither of you wrapped this,” Regulus said, inspecting the box in his hands.
James peered curiously at the poorly wrapped box. “Why is there so much tape?”
“To accommodate for far too much paper.” There was a strange note to Regulus’ voice. “Mamgu always wrapped my gifts like this. I used to think it was hilarious.”
“Especially when you were tiny,” Remus said fondly. “She always said it was to make your job easier. There were always big chunks of at least three sheets of paper sticking out of one side.”
“Which it did. Tiny baby hands struggled to unwrap our gifts,” Sirius said. “But not hers.”
Regulus’ eyes went misty but none of them commented on it. These days he would cry at the drop of a hat, then work himself into a blistering rage only to end up in fits of laughter while demanding someone get him some Yorkshire puddings and a boat of gravy. Of all the meaningful, flavourful dishes their family shared from a variety of cultures all across the globe, somehow it was Yorkshire puddings that became Regulus’ fiercest craving. Sirius blamed Barty for introducing him to them.
“So, who is this from?” Regulus asked.
“Actually, you were right to think of Mamgu,” Sirius said.
A slight creaking sound came as Regulus’ fingers dug into the box. “Mamgu left this for me?”
“To be opened only if you had children, she was very specific.”
“She didn’t want you to feel pressured either way, so she made sure only we knew about it and that we would only give it to you when the baby, or in your case, babies, were well on their way,” Remus said.
Regulus stared at the box in awe. Hope left almost all of her jewellery to Regulus along with several craft projects, including incomplete ones, and over a dozen pairs of shoes since they were the same size. Many of her best dresses had been given to Mary or Elise but a few were kept for sentimentality by all of them. Remus still had her favourite sundress while Regulus had several of her blouses and coats. Sirius kept her favourite scarf. Sometimes he swore he could still smell her honey perfume on the woven strands.
“She already left me so much…” Regulus bit his lip unsurely. “This is the last thing she’s ever going to give me.”
“Open it,” James said softly, one arm wrapped around his waist.
Regulus set the box down with the reverence of someone handling a priceless, fragile artefact. Grasping Remus’ knee, Sirius didn’t take his eyes off Regulus for a second as he began unwrapping the gift, not even to blink. The dark green paper fell away to reveal a simple cardboard box with an image of a toaster on the side.
Regulus gave a soft laugh as he picked at the tape holding the cardboard together. “She always kept every box.”
“To be reused when needed,” Remus said, and it was almost like Hope was still with them.
“What is it?” James asked eagerly.
“We actually don’t know,” Sirius said. “She never told us, she just wanted us to fulfil this wish for her if she couldn’t be here to do so herself.”
The cardboard flaps finally gave way and a soft smile warmed his face as Regulus removed two similar blankets from the box. Handing the light teal blanket to James, Regulus unfolded the pale pink one and began inspecting the stitching.
“She must have crocheted this herself,” Regulus said thickly. “The detail is incredible.”
“Did she stitch these?” James pointed at the intricately weaved ridges and patterns. “How long must this have taken?”
“For the average crocheter, at least two to three months. For her, around a month each.”
“May I see it?” Remus asked, sounding a little hoarse.
James passed along the teal blanket and Sirius sniffled when it was laid across their laps. These blankets could be used for years to come, and would be. A lasting gift from Hope, not something like booties or a hat which would be outgrown. A blanket which could last for generations if cared for correctly.
They would know.
“She made you one when you were only a baby,” Remus said wetly.
Regulus’ eyes widened. “What?”
“You still have it,” Sirius said. “The sage green blanket with the chick stitched onto the corner.”
“That’s from Mamgu?” Regulus gasped.
“We have that blanket in our cupboard. He always curls up with it during the winter,” James said fondly.
Sirius wiped his eyes. “He did as a kid. We made sure to take good care of it over the years.”
“We will too.” James squeezed Regulus’ hands atop the pink blanket. “She must have known we were having multiples.”
“I think she just wanted to be prepared for either scenario.” Remus smiled. “Very much like her grandson.”
Regulus caressed the carefully crafted blanket. “She would be over the moon to have twins in the family.”
“She always said they were good luck,” Remus said. “Her mother was a twin.”
“I remember her telling me.”
James smiled. “Well, she was a smart woman.”
“She was,” Sirius agreed.
The day Regulus turned thirty-eight weeks and one day along was the day of his caesarean. In the lead up to this date, they half-expected the babies to come early but they should have expected children of Regulus’ to defy expectations.
Gathered in Sirius and Remus’ living room the morning of Regulus’ surgery was most of their family, all eager to send them off. Predictably, Sirius and Remus, as well as Effie and Monty, went with them. Barty was supposed to stay behind but refused at the last moment and sat on Regulus’ other side in the back of Sirius’ car as he drove them to the hospital. Remus wasn’t pleased to have been shunted but one flinty glare from Regulus quelled any potential arguments.
The actual surgery itself took far longer than Sirius expected. Prior to the announcement that Regulus was having twins, Sirius didn’t know what a caesarean entailed. Several hours of research later, Sirius and Remus were suitably horrified that such a surgery was considered normal and commonplace. Birth in general was far more horrifying than Sirius could have anticipated and more than once over the past several months he had awoken from dreadful nightmares which haunted him even in his waking hours.
When the doctor finally told them Regulus could have visitors, Sirius was the first on his feet. Thanks to both of their families’ heavy wallets, Regulus was in a beautiful private room, large enough to accommodate all of them.
As soon as he stepped through the door, his eyes found his baby.
Propped up on a mountain of cushy pillows with a blanket draped over his body was a pale Regulus. Deep smudges marked the skin beneath his eyes and Sirius quickly rushed over to his side to stroke his cheek. The skin was lightly flushed with heat and a tad sticky with sweat but when Regulus leaned into the touch with red-rimmed eyes, all his worries faded away.
“Hi, baby,” Sirius said.
On the other side of the bed, James made way for Remus who had began nudging him with his elbow. Laughing, James moved away to hug his parents and show off the babies.
Part of Sirius wanted to look over and see his grandchildren but in that moment nothing in the world could have been more important than his son.
“Bumblebee,” Remus said in relief as he pressed a kiss to his forehead. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay. Tired, a little achy…” Stretching his neck, Regulus curled into the pillows. “I’ve been ordered not to do any heavy lifting or strenuous activity for at least a month.”
“The midwife said two,” James said firmly.
“She said one or two months.” Regulus rolled his eyes. “She’s concerned because of how enormous James’ babies are. Apparently they took quite a toll.”
“But you’re okay?” Monty asked.
“I’m fine.”
Effie laughed. “You would say that if your head was hanging off.”
“I feel a little sick but nothing too bad,” Regulus said with a huff. “Barty?”
Barty hadn’t moved from the end of the bed, his eyes darting from baby to baby, then Regulus, then back again. “I can’t believe it. You’re actually a dad now.”
“Are you going to be ‘Dad’?” Monty asked. “I can’t remember if you ever said.”
James shrugged. “We haven’t really thought about it. We were more concerned with naming them.”
“Tell us everything,” Effie demanded. “How big are they? I’d guess at least seven pounds each.”
“Baby A is seven pounds and three ounces, Baby B is seven pounds and one ounce.” Regulus nuzzled into Sirius’ hand. “Baby A is the boy, Baby B is the girl.”
“Our boy came first,” James said. He hadn’t once stopped smiling. “Both of them were positioned well. Both gave a good scream when they were born but have since been eerily silent.”
“Just like Regulus,” Sirius said fondly.
“He could spend days without making a sound,” Remus said.
“Even at this age?” Barty asked.
“Especially then. He had less to say.”
With one hand buried in his damp curls, Sirius kept his focus on Regulus. His poor baby must have been exhausted. Carrying two large babies for thirty-eight weeks must have been a terrible burden but he endured it with his usual focused calm.
“Do you need anything?” Sirius asked quietly as Remus pecked Regulus’ cheek one last time before going to meet the babies with the Potters.
Barty took Remus’ place on the edge of the bed and dabbed Regulus’ forehead with a napkin. “You’re sweating like a pig.”
“Pigs don’t sweat,” Regulus said, then he yawned loudly.
“See? He’s fine,” Barty said. “So long as he can correct me with that same superior tone—”
“I’ll revoke your godfather card.”
“And I’ll burn your house down.”
Sirius huffed. “We should let you get some rest.”
“Go and meet your grandchildren,” Regulus urged.
“Are you sure you’re feeling alright?”
“I’m going to push you off this bed in a minute.”
“Okay, okay.” Sirius smoothed down his hair and dropped a kiss on his forehead. “I’ll send James over.”
“You’ll have trouble. He’s hardly been able to stay away from them,” Regulus said fondly.
“I think he can make an exception for you.”
As expected, James was eager to take Sirius’ place at Regulus’ side and immediately began fawning over him. Tying up his hair, offering him a cup of water, straightening his blankets. All while Barty made snide comments and Regulus laughed and huffed and laughed again.
“Sirius,” Remus whispered. “Look.”
Finally, Sirius allowed himself to tear his eyes off his son. The baby beds were a distantly familiar sight and for a split second he was confused to see two rather than one. He almost thought he was back in Regulus’ nursery with his too tiny baby curled into the centre of his crib.
A sob thickened in the back of his throat as he gazed at the twin faces of his grandchildren, impossible to tell apart. Both of them had the same brown skin they inherited from James and their dark, densely curly hair was the same as his too. Sirius leaned closer and suddenly the second baby’s eyes snapped open, a split second later, the first baby peeled his eyes open to stare at them.
The breath left his lungs.
“Regulus’ eyes,” Remus said softly.
“They’re so beautiful,” Sirius whispered.
“Our grandbabies.”
Sirius sniffled into his handkerchief like the old man he was becoming. “I can’t believe Regulus was smaller than this. They’re tiny.”
“Would you like to hold them?” James offered.
Sirius looked at Regulus who had briefly closed his eyes. A gentle nudge from Barty woke him and Regulus yawned again, nodding.
“Hold them, Appa.”
“Who wants to hold the other one?” James asked as he carefully climbed off the bed and moved to the baby’s cots.
“I would,” Effie said quietly. “If that’s okay.”
“Of course it is,” Regulus said sleepily. His head lolled to the side to rest on Barty’s shoulder but his eyes remained open.
Sirius went back to looking at his grandchildren and felt a swoop in his chest as his granddaughter was laid in his arms for the first time. When James turned around to hand his son to his mother, Sirius saw Remus already taking pictures with tears streaming down his cheeks.
The baby pressed against his chest made a soft noise before settling. It was strange how, despite all the years that had passed, Sirius was still able to slip into the routine of carrying a baby. One hand to support her head and his forearm laid gently across her back, the other hand settled underneath her bottom to secure her.
“What are their names?” Monty asked quietly.
“Mama is holding Archer James Potter. Named for the constellation Sagittarius without being too cliche and repeating names which have been seen in every generation of Blacks,” James said.
“Sagittarius?” Remus frowned. “Aren’t they Geminis since it’s the last week of May?”
“He’s named in honour of my favourite Sagittarius,” Regulus said quietly.
Barty’s foot slipped off the bed. “Me?”
“Who else?”
Barty began blinking rapidly. “You awful little prick, you could have warned me.”
“I figured you would appreciate the surprise.”
Monty sniffled. “Archer is a beautiful name.”
“Strong, respectable, just like his parents.” Effie smiled down at her grandson. “What about your little girl?”
“We thought long and hard about it,” James said. “We wanted both of their names to mean something. To honour those close to us.”
“Appa,” Regulus said quietly. “You’re holding Seren Hope Potter.”
“Seren Hope…” Remus breathed. “Seren is Welsh for star, which matches the celestial theme.”
“The perfect blend of Black and Lupin.”
“And Hope?” Remus asked wetly.
Regulus smiled tremulously. “It’s only right we carry on Mamgu’s name.”
Remus tutted and pressed a kiss to Regulus’ cheek. “She would be honoured.”
“Thank you, Dad.”
Sirius watched them over his granddaughter’s head.
If he could have told his teenage self that life would end up this beautiful…
Well, he wouldn’t have believed it. Even earlier that day, seeing his living room filled with members of his family, extended as it was, had been hard to wrap his head around.
A tiny fist nudged into him and he swallowed thickly. “Moony, come and take her. I want a picture of you holding her.”
“Wait, Remus, take Archer,” Effie urged. “We’ll all get pictures and a cuddle.”
“And then Regulus needs to rest,” James said gently but firmly. They all glanced at where Regulus was half-asleep on Barty’s shoulder before nodding.
Several minutes and a million photographs later, they gave their goodbyes and left the room.
To his shock, Barty was the first to burst into tears once they made it to the lift. Much more predictably, Sirius and Monty followed right behind him.
“Appa, I can’t do this,” Regulus said as he rose from the rocking chair in the corner of the twin’s nursery. “I can’t make them stop.” In his arms was a squalling Seren who had proven herself to be as fierce as the woman she was named for. “I can’t make her stop!”
Sirius froze in the doorway. If there had been a sheet of frosted glass between them, he could almost make himself believe he was looking into his own past. How many times did Sirius end up the exact same way? Panicked and exhausted while rocking a tearful, sick baby while resisting the urge to rip his own hair out.
The only difference was the presence of James across the room who was rocking a whimpering Archer who was much more like Regulus in temperament. Sirius wasn’t sure whether Seren’s personality was divine intervention from Hope, inherited from James (who according to Effie and Monty had been a terribly fussy and loud baby), or if it was somehow Sirius’ fault. Every Black had been a nightmare as an infant with Regulus being the only exception.
Well, Regulus and Archer.
“Give her here,” Remus said as he carefully passed Sirius and scooped Seren from Regulus’ arms.
Immediately, Regulus’ tense shoulders dropped in relief. “Thank you, Daddy.”
“Why don’t you two go to bed?” Sirius stole Archer and pressed him safely into his chest. “Let your dads handle it.”
“Are you sure?” James said. Poor bastard was half asleep already.
“Go to bed,” Remus said. “We’ve got experience.”
Regulus took James’ hand. “You won’t hear any complaints from me. I haven’t slept in almost two days.”
“You should have called us sooner.”
“We have to get used to it.”
“No, you don’t,” Sirius said. “You have the two of us, plus Effie and Monty, and Barty and Dorcas. Not to mention Evan, Elise, Kingsley, Lily, Mary, even Peter, although I wouldn’t trust him with the babies—”
“Nobody would.”
“Thank you,” James said, his smile strained but genuine. “We’re going to try and sleep.”
“Thank you for coming.”
“Ridiculous boy,” Sirius said. “I’m perpetually unemployed. What else would we be doing on a Tuesday night?”
“Watching game shows and getting all the answers wrong.”
“My own son,” Sirius said, feigning hurt.
Archer shifted in his arms, and suddenly Sirius was aware that Seren’s wailing had completely stopped.
“You two are magicians,” James said enviously.
Expression full of adoration, Remus rocked a snoozing Seren. “They pick up on your emotions.”
Sirius nodded. “Something we learned early on. If we were upset, Reg was upset.”
“Of course I’m upset. I’m exhausted,” Regulus said unhappily.
“And that’s why you have us. Now, go to bed before I forcibly tuck you in.”
“Ugh.” Regulus scowled. “Still act like I’m five.”
“Forever our baby bumblebee,” Remus sang, still gently rocking Seren.
James and Regulus left after some more envious staring. Sirius settled himself in one of the rocking chairs, already anticipating a long night.
As tough as it had been for Sirius and Remus, they only had one, very easy baby. James and Regulus were juggling two, one of which was much noisier whom ended up keeping her brother awake, resulting in two unhappy babies. Taking the reins for a night wasn’t exactly a difficult decision to make, not if it meant his baby got a good night’s rest.
“Hard to believe they’re only a week old,” Remus said quietly.
“Reg was half this size at their age.”
“More like a fraction.”
Remus continued swaying with Seren in his arms. “I love how much they remind me of him.”
“Me too. I think that’s the best part.”
“They’ll grow their own personalities soon enough.”
“So long as they don’t start to resemble their rancid godfather I’m okay with that.”
Remus laughed softly. “You’ll be on your death bed and still cursing his name.”
“Until death do us part.”
“I love that song.”
“He’s not in love with her anymore,” Sirius sang.
Archer sneezed.
Seren startled.
The wailing began again.
“Not Madonna fans,” Remus said.
“Are we sure they’re Regulus’ kids? He loves all the divas.”
“Your doing.”
“Your mother’s doing,” Sirius countered. “I don’t think she ever listened to a song made past the nineties.”
“She liked Beyoncé.”
“Everyone likes Beyoncé.”
“Slow down!”
Sirius laid his hands on his knees as he struggled to keep up with his two-year-old grandchildren. Archer rocketed to a stop, a guilty look on his face, but Seren squealed in excitement, flying across the grass with her arms outstretched.
“Catch me, Baba!”
Barty swooped her up and tossed her over his shoulder. “Got you, little brat!”
“Seren, come and get your lunch,” Regulus shouted across the garden.
From beside him, James called. “You too, Archie!”
Sirius huffed as Barty set a fussing Seren down so she could run to her parents. Toddlers were a nightmare, see if he ever offered to pay ‘it’ with them again. How had he forgotten how exhausting running was?
“I can barely keep up anymore,” Sirius said as he sat by Remus at the picnic table. “I swear we never used to get this tired.”
“We were in our twenties,” Remus said. “Everything was easier back then. I don’t think my shoulders have stopped hurting since I turned fifty.”
“We’re only fifty-one.”
“Basically a senior citizen.”
“You’ve both been exactly that for about ten years,” Barty said as he passed them with Archer.
“Seeing your face ruins my day,” Sirius said.
Archer gasped and turned around. “Mean!”
Sirius threw his hands up as the kid stormed off. He had all of Regulus’ self-righteousness.
“Leave the birthday boy alone,” Lily said as she sat opposite them with Mary.
“Twin Geminis.” Mary snickered. “The jokes write themselves.”
“At least they’re not both boys. I fear Regulus would have called them Castor and Pollux,” Remus said.
“He has better taste than that,” Sirius said firmly. “Look at how well he named these two.”
“Think they’ll have more?” Kingsley asked, dumping a loaded paper plate on the bench and sitting down to eat.
“I bloody hope not.”
Lily threw her head back and laughed. “I remember a similar conversation where you two swore blind you’d never have another kid.”
“Which we didn’t.”
Remus grimaced as he sipped his lemonade. “They already had a two-for-one deal. I think they’re happy as is.”
“Fine by me,” Mary said. “Means I get to spoil those two even more.”
“Which one is your favourite?” Peter asked around the rim of his plastic cup. His foot slipped in a patch of mud and he almost took a tumble. “Ow!”
“Deserved,” Remus said. “We don’t have favourites.”
“Everyone says that but it’s never true,” Mary said. “Do you know how many times I’ve seen examples of favouritism at work? The parents don’t even try to hide it sometimes.”
“That’s just abuse. Or neglect. Or both.”
“We don’t have favourites,” Sirius said firmly.
Kingsley snickered around a mouthful of rice.
“What?”
“They don’t have favourites ‘cause their number one spot is taken,” Kingsley said pointedly.
Sirius sniffed. “There’s nothing wrong with loving your son.”
“There’s loving your son and then there’s hiring a bodyguard for him as a toddler.”
“I didn’t see you complaining.”
“With the amount you paid me? Do you think I’m insane?” Kingsley laughed. “I retired twenty years early and I’m not even five percent through my savings
“Did we really pay you that much?” Remus murmured.
“Considering you also covered all my travel expenses and you constantly gave me random bonuses and gifts…yes.”
“I’m so pissed I didn’t milk being a nurse,” Mary grumbled. “I could have been hired as a round-the-clock nurse for Regulus and retired by the time I was thirty.”
Sirius sniffed. “I’d have been all too happy to hire you.”
“He wanted to,” Remus said. “Mam and I convinced him it was unfair with how much you love your job.”
Mary jokingly hit the table. “You arse!”
“No swearing, please,” Regulus said, rushing past them with Seren on his hip. “All of you get up off your lazy backsides. We’re cutting the cake.”
Lily grumbled. “He used to be so sweet. Always called me ‘Auntie Lily’ and said I had the prettiest hair in the world.”
“Wait, he said I had the prettiest hair,” Mary said.
“No, he always said that to me,” Sirius said mulishly.
The three of them exchanged frosty looks.
“Regulus!”
“Sometimes I think about how different my life could have been.”
Sirius glanced at the sun chair beside him. Content as a cat lounging in the sun, Regulus was sprawled with his face tilted up.
“In what way?” Sirius asked.
Regulus gazed out to where the rest of their family was crowded by the water’s edge. A rippling wave washed across the beach and twin squeals of delight reached them from where they were avoiding the water in favour of sunbathing. Remus laughed as James took a tumble into the damp sand only to almost faceplant the surf himself. The twins were screaming in excitement, laughing at their papa’s misfortune while racing to see who could locate the most shells.
“I think about my biological parents a lot more than you might think,” Regulus said softly. The expression on his face must have been alarming as Regulus immediately followed his first statement with, “In an abstract way. A questioning way.”
“Questioning?”
“What they would have been like. What my life would have looked like had I been raised by them. Whether they would have been good parents. How messed up I would have turned out to be. Whether…” Regulus averted his gaze. “Whether the two of us would have even had a relationship at all in that reality.”
“Why on Earth would you think about something like that?”
He tried to calm his frantically racing heart as Regulus’ expression turned pensive.
“I suppose because it doesn’t really matter,” Regulus said after a beat. “I don’t care what my life would have been like in whatever dreadful upside-down, inside out world that version of me lived in. My reality is nothing like that.”
“What is your reality?”
“A loving, slightly overbearing appa and a caring, somewhat insecure dad. Two people I love and respect above all others.” Regulus faced the sun again. “What-ifs are harmless when I know my actual life is as close to perfect as it gets.”
“Only close to?”
“Mamgu would be here in a perfect world.”
Eyes stinging, Sirius sniffed. “You’re better than I ever could have imagined you being.”
“So are you.”
Sirius shared a warm smile with his son. Moments like these were what made it all worth it. The love of his life was playing with their grandchildren while he sat beside his beloved son whose own eyes kept flicking to James, another cherished member of his family.
Family was a strange word. It used to be synonymous with fear and resentment. Now, it meant everything to him. Mostly because there was one person he thought of above all others when he considered the term family, but also because his family, his true family, was bigger and brighter than any star in any constellation in any galaxy.
“Let’s raise a toast,” James said as the afternoon faded into evening and the six of them gathered around the barbecue Remus had been manning for them.
Maybe Sirius shouldn’t have found his husband’s ability to be self-sufficient so sexy but watching a gorgeous, rugged man like Remus manually light a fire and roast meat on the spit was enough to make him sweat. Suddenly, he greatly regretted never going camping with Remus when they were younger. Sure, Regulus would have utterly despised it, and Sirius would have loathed not being able to shower, but maybe they could have tried it out for an afternoon just to watch Remus rub two sticks together to spark a flame.
“A toast?” Remus asked.
Sirius tore his eyes away from the shadows cast over his husband’s face to his giddy grandchildren who were curled on either side of Regulus, playfully fighting with each other for his attention as he showed them how to weave bracelets from string.
“To better days,” James said. “Kids will be starting school soon. Reg has his own practice. I’m about to publish my fourth book.”
“What about us?”
Remembering his thoughts from earlier, Sirius raised his own bottle of lemonade. “Retirement, Moony. We’ll take a trip together. Maybe go camping.”
“You would beg to go home after three hours in a tent.”
“I can last longer than three hours.”
“Inappropriate,” Regulus said in the same gentle tone he was using to instruct his children. Luckily the kids were so consumed in their task of making a bracelet that they didn’t even look up. “And Dad’s right.”
“You’re all so awful to me. Here I am trying to share in James’ toast and you’re all making fun of me.”
“To better days!” James cheered.
Sirius looked up at the blanket of stars above them and recalled his earlier thoughts about family. With the bitter taste of irony on his tongue, he mused about his birth family, named for the stars while failing to shine, yet the family he made for himself blazed like a scorching comet.
Serendipitously, a bloom of bright light flashed across the sky.
“To better and brighter days,” Sirius said quietly.
“I like that,” Regulus said.
Remus smiled at them across the fire. “To better and brighter days.”
“The brightest!” James tapped his bottle of lemonade against theirs and Regulus huffed when some sloshed onto his knee. “Oops, sorry, love.”
“Papa!” Seren complained.
“So clumsy,” Archer said with a sniff. “Appa, get him!”
James gasped. “Betrayed by my own flesh and blood.”
Regulus shot to his feet. “Says the one who spilled lemonade all over me.”
“It’ll dry!”
“These shorts are new!”
James squeaked and darted across the mounds of sand. The kids jumped up eagerly as Regulus chased after him. Sirius shuffled along the bench to sit beside Remus as their grandchildren ran off to follow their parents.
Resting his head on Remus’ shoulder, he smiled fondly.
“This is our life, Moony.”
Remus wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “It’s a pretty good one.”
“The best.”
“The brightest.”
Sirius suppressed a laugh as Regulus pounced on James and slammed him into the sand. The kids roared in amusement and James pretended to struggle as Regulus prodded at him.
“We did a good job, didn’t we?”
Sirius hummed. “Yeah.”
“Think we could have done any better?”
“No.” Sirius nuzzled into his side. “Do you?”
“Probably not. He’s already as perfect as it gets.”
“This is our happily ever after, Moony.”
“One we’ve earned, I think.”
“We’re so sappy now.”
“We’ve always been sappy.”
“We’re old now,” Sirius said. “The kids start school in a few weeks. They’ll be grown up soon enough.”
“Remember how we cried over Reg’s first day?”
“Yeah, think they’ll be like us?”
“Absolutely. James will be in floods of tears. Regulus will pretend not to be affected but he’ll cry the whole way home…”
A heartbreaking thought occurred to him. “We might not be here for all of it.”
“No, maybe not,” Remus said quietly. “But it’ll be enough. They’ll manage.”
“Do you think so?”
“We did.”
“My parents—”
“Without Mam, I mean.”
Sirius went silent for a moment. All these years later and Hope’s loss was still a source of anguish.
“Somehow Regulus has an even stronger support network than we did,” Remus said. “He’ll get through it.”
Sirius sniffled and wiped his eyes. “Is this a side effect of getting old?”
“Being morbid during happy moments?”
“Yeah.”
“Could be.”
Sirius huffed. “Great.”
“I hope I die first.”
“Piss off, I’m older, I go first.”
“I don’t think we get to choose.”
“We really are morbid,” Sirius said, appalled. “I sound like my bloody grandfather. He used to spend dinners chatting about his late wife and how he couldn’t wait to be with her again.”
“At dinner?”
“Yeah.”
Remus sighed. “Definitely a side effect of getting old, then.”
“Fifty-three isn’t that old.”
“Eh…”
“I’m sick of you already. Can’t you cancel your early retirement?”
“No clue but even if I could I wouldn’t. I’m quite looking forward to spending the rest of my life lazing about with you.”
“I’ll teach you my ways.”
“We’ll go camping.”
Sirius sorely regretted his words from earlier but all protests faded away when he spotted Remus’ teasing grin. They were older now. Their faces lined with marks and wrinkles which hadn’t been there thirty years prior but everything was still the same between them.
“I love you.”
“I love you too, Sirius. There’s no one else I’d ever have chosen.”
“And there’s no one else I’d want to raise a son with me.”
They shared a gentle kiss just in time for Regulus to arrive with Seren in his arms. A step behind them were James and Archer who were still giggling at something as they dropped onto the bench.
“Finished playing?”
“I’m getting old,” James said with a huff.
Remus and Sirius shared an amused look. These two didn’t know what old was.
“What were you two talking about?” Regulus asked.
“Camping plans,” Sirius said.
Regulus wasn’t fooled for a second but he only rolled his eyes. “If you say so. Dad, is the food ready?”
“I’ll have a plate ready for you in just a moment, bumblebee,” Remus said as he went to go and check on the barbecue.
“Are you really going camping, Tadcu?” Archer asked as he dashed after Remus.
“Can we come?” Seren begged.
Sirius leaned back on the bench and watched them in the warm light of the setting sun. Remus was fielding questions from their overly enthusiastic grandchildren while James and Regulus curled up together by the fire, playing with each other’s fingers and flirting with just as much affection as they had when they were teenagers.
And Sirius smiled.
To better and brighter days, indeed.