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Remus Lupin lives a perfectly normal life, thank you very much. He wakes at 6 am, he puts on the kettle and showers, he puts on his completely regular clothes and makes two cups of tea. He brings one to his sleeping husband and the two sit in bed and talk about their plans for the day, Remus will then go get his things prepared for the day, if needed grade a paper or two. That’s when it’s usually time to go to his very regular job as a school teacher for the public school that’s a 45 minute drive away, that’s what you get for wanting to live semi secluded apparently, he’ll grab his lunch because regular people haven’t got the money to buy food everyday for lunch. Then he’ll kiss his husband goodbye and go to work, he’ll sit in the classroom going over his lesson plan for first period along with anything else that can’t wait till his first free period, it’s 30 minutes before his student’s start gushing in, just one name on all of their lips.
“Stacy, did you see the new video Padfoot posted yesterday? He says the new song will be out just next week! I’m so excited i barely slept last night” a ginger girl named Rebecca practically shouts over the classroom the second she enters, and the classroom chatter is renewed about one Sirius Black, his newest video or his music, some talking about just how gorgeous his hair is, Remus can’t help but smile out at them all,if only they knew.
You see, there’s one thing about Remus Lupin’s life that’s not so ordinary after all. He’s married to the Musician turned Youtube sensation Sirius Black, also known as Padfoot, the two met when they were just 11 years old, before anyone was a famous rockstar and internet sensation or a homeroom/English teacher in the suburbs on the outskirts of London.
“Alright alright, that’s quite enough chatter out of you lot-” Remus clapped, getting everyone to simmer down, Remus started taking attendance, noting down who was and wasn’t present or would be a little delayed due to a doctor's appointment.
“Right now that that’s taken care of, does the student council have anything to add before we begin? No alright then, hopefully you’ve all finished your presentations on Modern day figures and how they’ve changed or is changing society either for the better or worse” Remus asked and was met with a chorus of affirmation, a groan or two in the mix which caused a round of quiet giggling.
Class went on as usual, of course 3 separate people did presentations on his husband, albeit they didn’t know Sirius was his husband so they weren’t exactly at fault. All in all it was all going perfectly well until his phone buzzed on the table, mentally slapping his wrist for having forgotten to put it away as he so often scolded his students for not doing and just as he went to drop it in his top drawer, Stacy- the current presenter, currently in the middle of her presentation on why Sirius Black/Padfoot has changed the way fans can interact with their favourite artists and in turn how their music is viewed and perceived- called out loud enough for the whole room to hear,
“Wait mr. Lupin is that you with Padfoot?!”
And of course this caused a great ruckus in the classroom, almost everyone demanding to know what the hell Stacy was on about. Remus reluctantly had to admit that yes his lockscreen was a selfie of himself and Sirius, which caused an even louder uproar on how the hell that happened, sweat was prickling at his neck and palms trying to assemble a feasible lie that was quick and believable but not so big that it’d warner even more questions when Stuart, gods bless his soul called out “I didn’t know you were a fan of Padfoot i thought you were all classical music on LP’s” to which of course everyone laughed at, even Remus himself but he wasn’t fooled, the entire class was on the edges of their seats, eagerly awaiting his response.
“Yes a fan, i am a fan… Of Sirius Black'' Remus had to mentally curse himself, it truly was a wonder they’d kept the relationship a secret for all these years with how dreadful he was at lying,
“So where’d you meet him? Was it in London? OH MY GOD WAS IT HERE?” Isabella added, right yes, for once in his life a perfectly sound lie came to him in the blink of an eye.
“No i am sorry to say it was not here, it was however in london, remember about four months back he did that small-ish concert in Bush Hall? Well one of my mates got me tickets as well as a backstage pass where i got a picture” Remus explained, hoping no one noticed the drop of sweat going down his temple or how he dried his palms on his legs under the table. It wasn’t a complete lie, he had been at the concert at Bush Hall, and he’d been backstage. The Picture just wasn’t taken then and he’d spend the entire concert watching from the side stage, and obviously the ticket wasn’t a gift from anyone, Remus had never needed a ticket there was an unspoken agreement that unless it was extremely far away or late on a school night Remus would be at every show. Not that he’d ever admit it to Sirius but it really was more for him than it was to show support, but really who could blame him. There was just something about seeing his husband under the bright lights dripping in sweat, wearing tight jeans and a tank top of some kind showing off his arms and sides, and their decorations of tattoos.
The class was calling out different variations on what you were there for that? You got backstage man I am so jealous. I wish i could meet him, which is when Remus decided it was enough and put on his teacher's voice to tell everyone to quiet down so Stacy could finish her presentation in peace.
When the bell rang indicating his first free period, which wasn’t really a free, it was really just a break from teaching to prepare for more teaching or grading. In truth the second the bell rang he wanted to be like the students all rushing for their next class, he too was eager to leave. The second he plopped down on his squeaky chair in the teachers office he fished out his phone, pausing for a moment when the screen lit up to show the very picture that caused all that commotion. It truly wasn’t much, it’d been a cold morning and Sirius had cancelled his meeting with his manager for a lie in, they spent hours in bed just talking, going through more cups of tea than a normal person should probably drink in one sitting. They made breakfast at 2pm, the kitchen was a mess of pancake batter and eggs and bacon. It felt like one of those moments you’d see in a cheesy romcom and scowl at because no one actually does those things. Sirius had been flipping pancakes (quite badly at that) when Remus had come up behind him wrapped his arms around Sirius waist and being the head taller that Remus was he placed his on top of that of his husbands. A dollop of batter found itself smeared on Remus' cheek immediately followed by the gorgeous bark of laughter that belonged to Sirius, in the time it took for Remus to wipe his cheek Sirius had pulled out his phone. They’d taken multiple pictures as Sirius had practically made it his goal to fill his entire gallery with embarrassing pictures of Remus. One picture however wasn’t embarrassing, unless you listened to James that is, he practically gagged every time he saw either of their phones. Sirius sadly couldn’t have a picture with Remus on the lockscreen after a near miss with the press but they had matching homescreens, Sirius had their first dance but Remus preferred his own. It was when they were cutting the cake, Sirius had smeared cake on his face (Remus was noticing a pattern) Remus had never seen himself as happy as he looking in the photo and next to him was his, at this point newly wed husband was staring at Remus with the most love sick, gag worthy, heart eye expression any person had ever made, and it filled Remus with love and all the mushy feelings whenever he saw it.
[Moony] I absolutely, whole heartedly despise you, with every fibre of my being.
[Padfoot] Well hello to you too, oh light of my life
[Padfoot] What can i do ya for?
[Moony] My class was chaos today, they saw my lock screen with a picture of us and I was interrogated by a group of 14 year olds! AND i had to sit through 4, FOUR presentations on how Padfoot is the greatest musician/public figure the UK has seen since David Bowie.
[Padfoot] and it’s not even 12 yet, imagine what will happen by the time you get off
[Moony] You are a despicable man.
[Padfoot] Excuse me, i am YOUR despicable man. Tell your students i love them <3
Remus threw his phone back in his pocket and rubbed his face, why was Sirius like this, no the more important question was, when did Remus become a masochist because he must be, to be enjoying this. He let out what must have sounded like a strangled cat of a sigh from the looks his coworkers were shooting him. He feared for not only the rest of his day but also his sanity, he’s gonna be grey by the time he’s 30.
There must be some sort of God out there because the rest of his day was fairly normal and uneventful. He had to attempt to make a group of twelve year olds care about reading anything that wasn’t on a phone screen which was… an experience to say the very least. And he was praying for the final bell, which could not come quick enough.
The drive home was always a dangerous affair, not in the sense that driving was dangerous and you could die at any moment (well maybe that too) but in the sense that Remus had just spent hours upon hours with teenagers and the 45 minute drive should be a welcome break, time to wind down and prepare for a quiet night with his beloved husband, however in Remus case it was 45 minutes of ‘oh dear gods please let the house be standing when i get home’
Thankfully pulling into the driveway, there was still a house. The second he pushed open the door he was met with loud music and Sirius singing along even louder, Remus for all his worth couldn’t help but smile, It became apparent that Sirius hadn’t heard the door open when he came dancing by, singing along to ABBA.
“MOONY! What are you? You’re - You’re home” Sirius exclaimed
“Well yes, i usually am at four thirty pm” Remus replied hanging his coat up and toeing out of his shoes, when Sirius wrapped his arms around Remus neck and got up on the tips of his toes to give him a welcome home kiss. It all felt perfectly domestic, well apart from Dancing Queen blaring from the living room. The night was spent cooking shockingly good spaghetti carbonara and an encore of Knowing Me Knowing You.
“So do you think i can do it?” Sirius asked, pushing the pasta around, he was looking straight down at the plate, purposefully ignoring Remus' curious stare.
“Do what?” Remus asked, taking a bite of the spaghetti,
“The video” Sirius said, still not looking up to meet Remus' eyes.
“The vide- you mean The video you’re really ready for that?” Remus asked wide eyed, the video was something they’d talked about on and off again ever since Sirius blew up. After a week of convincing and talking him up Sirius finally gathered the courage to film it but still not post it.
“I think so i mean, i want to- i have to do it, i’m so sick of having to lie to them. The only reason we have this house and you’d be working two jobs as i played on the street for next to nothing, i hate hiding something so big from them” Sirius sighed. Remus knew this, it was what Sirius said every time he was on the verge of filming or posting.
“I know pads, you can do it whenever you want, I am not and will not pressure you to do or post anything you’re not ready for” Remus reached forward, taking Sirius' hand making him look up.
“I’m gonna do it, i’ll really do it this time i mean it” Sirius said, and for the first time in many months Remus wholeheartedly believed he would because for the first time Sirius didn’t look scared or anxious, it was pure determination in his eyes.
“Well then i should probably call in sick tomorrow” Remus joked, making his husband laugh, which after all these years still gave Remus butterflies.
In hindsight that should not have been a joke, from the time they woke it was absolute chaos, news outlets and journalists were having a field day and Twitter seemed to have broken. Remus and Sirius had promised to stay offline till they got home and could go through and see what people were saying together. Which of course meant they both spent the morning in absolute suspense, Remus ended up sitting in bed with Sirius longer than he usually would talking him off the metaphorical ledge and before either of them realised Remus was late for work and Sirius was about to be for a meeting with his manager.
Despite his slight lateness Remus refused to drive past the speed limit, he’d rather not risk getting pulled over and becoming the kind of late that would hold actual ramifications for his class. Thankfully that didn’t happen, unfortunately the classroom was full when he got in, one glance at the clock on the wall told him they’d only been waiting at best five to ten minutes. They barely even noticed the door open all too caught up in personal conversations.
“So so sorry I'm late, it was a very hectic morning won’t happen again” Most the classroom chatter died out now that they’d noticed their teacher had arrived, except for, of course, Stacy, Rebecca and Stuart. Now that everyone else had quieted down it was easy to hear they were talking about Sirius's new video.
“Would you please quiet down in the back, i’m sorry to pull you away from what i imagine to be a riveting conversation but we really-”
“Mr. Lupin did you see Padfoot's video last night?” Interrupted Rebecca, Remus knew it was coming but he had no true response because yes he’d seen the video, he’d seen the four videos that came before but were never posted. Same with every song, he’d been there from when it was a hum to when it became a stable on every radio station for over a month. He’d edited half the video that just went up after Sirius was freaking out and couldn't look at it anymore. Remus had been there back when Sirius would only sing in the shower or when he thought no one could hear him, he’d been the first person Sirius told his idea of starting a Youtube channel to better connect with his fans. Remus had been there for all of it, but no one knew, which is what they decided. Remus liked his privacy, he liked going to the shops without being surrounded and he liked not having the whole world think they were entitled to his private life, But what he liked less was seeing his husband be hit on by other people and be named England most eligible bachelor third year in a row when they’d just celebrated their fifth year wedding anniversary. Not that Remus was jealous or overprotective but it’d be nice if women would stop mailing their undergarments along with explicit letters to his very, very homosexual husband.
“Yes miss Reynolds I did see the video but that is not what this class is about. So if you’d please keep it down and pull out your textbooks as i get started on attendance” is what Remus settled on, as he went to get his things ready and the students the same, the muttering started up.
I can’t believe Padfoot is gay
Ugh why are all the hot guys gay
It’s probably just some publicity stunt there’s no way he’s actually gay
D’you think he’s seeing someone?
“I think my ears must be playing tricks on me because i still hear chatter and you guys wouldn't dare when i just asked you not to” Remus said with his voice laced with humor
“Must be an age thing, sir” a student with a mop of blonde hair and glasses covering half his face said, the classroom snickered.
“Well I have heard that age twenty seven is when the obligatory auditory hallucinations start” Remus replied with a smirk, and promptly began taking attendance.
It was a slow day as everyone was mainly just doing their reading, a few asked questions but other than that Remus was left to his own work, of course it was hard to concentrate when a group of fourteen year olds decided today was the day no one could sit still, maybe it was the imposing weekend or the mess that had been the first twenty minutes of class Remus wasn’t sure,one thing he was however sure of was that in the madness of his morning he’d left his lunch just sitting on it’s shelf in the fridge. There wasn’t time to drive forty five minutes both ways just for leftover lasagna, which left him very few options. There were the shops that his students frequented for their daily lunches of off brand store biscuits and iced tea or the petrol stations selection of stale and semi soggy sandwiches.
Well there was one other option but that wasn’t happening, so Remus resigned himself to a fate of a less than satisfactory lunch. Five minutes later he was about to either pull all his hair from it’s roots or cut off the legs of all his students to stop them from tapping their feet.
“Alright i think everyone could use a break, yes? You’ve got ten minutes and i don’t wanna see a single person still sitting in their chair, you run around or something but the lot of you better be back in exactly ten minutes do you hear me” Remus barely managed to get any response before everyone was up and out and Remus was sat in a classroom that suddenly felt all too quiet and empty but in that emptiness gave him room for the first time since he arrived to breathe out.
[Moony] I assigned everyone reading but i still heard them talking about the video, are you ok?
[Padfoot] yea i think so. Pam is having an absolute field day with this she isn’t telling me anything i told her not to but she says it’s not as bad as it could be, do i wanna know what your class is saying?
[Moony] Mostly it’s just disbelief that you came out, not in a bad way i think they’re just surprised. I am so incredibly proud of you even if you made me forget my lunch, now i have to eat those awful petrol station sandwiches so we’re getting good take out tonight, we deserve it.
[Padfoot] I love you Remus
[Moony] I love you too pads
And just like that his alarm rang and he had one minute before the students would have to be back, Remus leaned back in his hair and closed his eyes. And then,
“No no I’m telling you I'm sure, my uncle saw Padfoot out in London with this really tall and buff guy, he says he looked like some gym trainer and that’s why he came out because he’s dating some guy” Stacy explained, loudly gesturing with her arms as she explained. Remus bit back a laugh, imagining Sirius with some big hunk out in london, for how much he talked and shared online it was incredible how little people knew. Sirius was very unfortunate in that his type was tall lanky book nerds who needed their mouth washed out with soap, he truly was an unfortunate man.
“Ugh i’ve never wanted to be a big strong man so bad in my lifee” Rebecca moaned and the two others laughed and sat down surrounded by the gathering glassmates.
“Everyone back?” Remus got a nod from the classroom “All right let’s get back to it then” Remus got back to the normal routine of teaching, he could go on some spiel on how standing in front of all those doting faces just waiting to be bestowed his vast knowledge on writers like Roberts Louis Stevenson or H.P Lovecraft filled him with a sense of purpose and joy, but that would be bullshit. Remus did still love his job, it just wasn’t what it was made out to be in movies, Remus was no John Keating, though he did share the sentiment. Remus stood in front of twenty seven fourteen year olds all counting the minutes on the clock before he’d stop talking about how influential the Greeks truly were and how they dictated how everyone tells stories today, even Hollywood. Except his adoring students' faces weren’t exactly thrilled to be here and they didn’t all care but some did and that was all Remus could ask for and hope that he changed them for the better.
They started growing more impatient yet again and one look at the clock told him lunch was in fifteen minutes. Yelling and screaming came from the hall and for a split second Remus felt his stomach drop and sweat prickle down his nape, before he remembered that this wasn’t America, it was probably just some teenagers causing a ruckus and went back to teaching, he managed one more sentence before the door to his classroom was flung open and every student went through an assortment of emotions before Remus turned his head,
“I’m sorry can i hel- Sirius what are you?” Remus for once in his life didn’t think and just blurted out but thankfully everyone was too caught up with the way too gorgeous for his own good man stood in the doorway, and he really was. The hallway was covered with windows which gave Sirius an ethereal backlight as he leaned against the doorframe, black skinny jeans which fit him way better than they should and a grey t-shirt tucked in, the iconic leather jacket draped over his shoulder the only thing that didn’t fit the mysterious bad boy i just woke up like this look was the shit eating grin on his face and a bright yellow plastic bag in his hand. Remus was so stunned he didn’t notice the yelling, the screaming and the all but fainting going on in his classroom.
“What are you-what is he doing here”
“What’s happening?!”
“Oh my god oh my god oh my god”
And every variation on what the fuck that a fourteen year old in shock could come up with.
Sirius had the blatant audacity to just saunter over to Remus like nothing was up, place a kiss on his cheek and the bag on his desk.
“Sirius what… What are you doing? What is this? I don’t” Remus stared at his husband flabbergasted, who just smiled that damned smile in return, either the classroom stopped yelling or Remus tuned them out as he so often did with his surroundings when their eyes met.
“Can’t a man just bring his husband some lunch without being questioned?” Sirius asked with a quirk in his voice, he tilted his head in the ever familiar dog like manner and widened his grin making Remus skip a beat in the way that people said wouldn’t happen after marriage, but Sirius did always have a thing for going beyond people’s expectations.
“Did he- did he say husband ” one quiet voice broke the silence which brought Remus attention from the stark grey ones to the sea trained straight on them. An arm wrapped around Remus' waist and a head, well attempted to place on his shoulder but due to the height difference pressed on his upper arm.
“What? Don’t believe I could've snatched a fox like this one” Sirius joked squeezing Remus’ waist harder in affirmation. The class became an uproar, more yelling and questions all soaked in disbelief.
“Lupin are you, is he- what is going on” Stuart asked, Remus could only respond with a sigh, he looked to Sirius in question. He knew that Sirius had already willingly exposed them but it felt wrong to say anything without his consent, which he got with a nod and a smile.
“Yes i am married to Sirius, which I’m currently regretting” Sirius laughed “Anyway that’s t for now go eat your lunch or something i don’t, Sirius a moment?” Remus asked in a voice he recognized to be his teacher's voice, and probably out of instinct more than anything some of the class ooed and Remus dragged him out, Sirius just managed to grab the offensively yellow bag as he was dragged by his wrist. Out in the hall it was thankfully pretty empty but the few students there stopped in their tracks with mouths wide, Remus didn’t give Sirius time to stop and say hello. He pulled him into the teacher’s lounge, a few teachers were eating their lunches and of course because nothing interesting ever happened they promptly forgot everything about their meals and had their eyes glued to the intruding pair, Remus pulled Sirius to his desk in the corner hoping for some sort of privacy.
“What the hell were you thinking pads?! These are teenagers they won’t keep quiet not about this” Remus had a hand on either side of Sirius’ face, forcing him to look up, not that it ever took much to make Sirius look at him.
“I came out, I didn't read what anyone said and I don't care. I came out i did that and i realized i don’t care what they think about it, you’re my husband and i’m sick of having to hide that, you were here first and i-” It was probably a bit rude to interrupt Sirius emotional speech on how he was freeing himself of the burdens of hiding but Remus had been waiting for an opportunity to kiss him senseless ever since he called Remus his husband in front of a bunch of fourteen year olds, so now that they were (mostly) away from the prying eyes that’s just what he did. It was something far from new, by this point it was nothing if not regular but it would never be anything less than sensational. No matter how many times Sirius lips found his, Remus with his arms tight around Sirius waist who stood on the tips of his toes with his arms around Remus neck, maybe a little later than what was appropriate seeing as they weren’t in private they pulled apart. Sirius with his hands behind Remus neck didn’t let him back away, he kept him a breath away as they had their foreheads pressed together, Sirius let out a pleased hum that was doing things to Remus which definitely weren’t appropriate for public.
“Sirius”
“Hm?”
“We’re in public”
“Don’t care”
“Sirius, we’re at my place of work”
With a displeased sigh Sirius and Remus detangled, he shot a look over to his coworkers who all looked away quickly as if their eyes hadn’t been as glued to them as they were to each other. Remus quickly dragged his eyes back to Sirius as if they could be anywhere else, He kept searching his face for any sign of regret but found none.
“You know this is it right. You can’t take this back after today, are you okay with that?” Remus asked, Sirius kept his gaze so steadily the world could’ve burnt around them and Remus wouldn’t have noticed unless the orange and red reflected in the grey.
“The only time i’ve been more sure was the day i said I do”
Remus couldn’t think of a response that wasn’t either an action that would warrant an arrest for public indecency or just proposing again so instead he set his eyes on a more manageable topic of conversation,
“So what did you bring me?” Remus asked nodding over towards the yellow bag on his desk without letting go of Sirius whose calf muscles must be pulling in overtime seeing as he was still standing on his tippy toes.
“Oh right, Sushi from that place you love down by the river” Sirius answered, Remus gave him a quick peck, careful as to not get carried away again.
“Thank you” Remus said although both knew he wasn’t just talking about the sushi
“Anything for you” Sirius replied, definitely not talking about the sushi.
If Remus thought the morning after Sirius coming out video was chaos, then the week following the news that Sirius “Padfoot” Black, most eligible bachelor and hottest straight man in all of the Uk with a voice that turned heads and a body that stopped traffic, was longtime married to his high school sweetheart who not only was a male but also a meeky school teacher. Apparently one of the few teachers present in the teachers lounge had taken photos during their talk. It was definitely weird seeing himself on the front page of many tabloids and all over Twitter but the pictures themselves weren’t bad and Remus had most definitely saved both the first time he saw them. The first was of their kiss, Remus had his arms so wrapped around Sirius his hands were by the opposite arms elbow and Sirius looked like he should’ve been in pain from he bending into Remus, one of his hands was clutching Remus hair like it was a life line which surprised Remus as he’d been far to focused on Sirius lips to have even noticed where his hands had been. The other picture was what followed the first, the same pose but their foreheads were pressed and their eyes still closed, the image screamed of love and content, Remus felt the need to look away and he was the one in the picture. It was nothing compared to the memory of the morning following the world knowing of their relationship. Sirius had rolled over in bed with the worst case of bedhead he’d ever seen but he looked at Remus with so much love and worry as he asked if he was ok because now his privacy had been taken away but when Sirius looked at him like that Remus would do it over again in a heartbeat.
[Prongs] It’s been 2 months, i still can’t go online without seeing the two of you sucking face, I will be suing for emotional distress.
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