A/N (a big one): Okay, so there are some things we wanted to bring up before moving on.

Firstly: No, there will be no puppy love. Remus and Sirius will not, in fact, get each other. We feel that, in the context, this is a good thing. We apologize if you have found our summary/labels to be misleading, but to our defence we shall say that what we said was that Sirius and Remus would be two of the main characters, that it was a romance story, and that there would be slash. This is not, in fact, equivalent with promising that they will become a couple.

And yes, we could’ve simply said that in the very first author’s note, but that would somewhat have spoiled the point of the story, don’t you think? We were aiming for some suspense.

True, we could have tagged Peter and Nymphadora as the main characters, as someone suggested, because they are as much protagonists as Remus and Sirius, but be honest, people, how many would read a story like that? Also, we wanted to keep Richard’s identity secret until it was revealed. Again, we were protecting the suspense.

And lastly, we sort of wanted Remus/Sirius-shippers to read this story, because if we had labelled it as Remus/Nymphadora, we feel we would have been preaching to the choir. (And here is the point we were trying to make, as a bonus: If you have a lovely wife and a family, it is not OBVIOUS that you let all that go just because your old lover returns from the grave. It might happen, yes, but it doesn’t have to, as some of the more zealous shippers seem to think. And please to notice that one of us IS a Remus/Sirius-shipper, so we are NOT bashing the pairing and we would appreciate if you do not flame us.)

Secondly, is the randomized hatred towards Nymphadora based on anything else than that she stands in the way of the puppies? Because we really tried to make her a nice, sympathetic person, and now a lot of people are telling us that she’s a whiny bitch. Where did we go wrong?! /wail

And thirdly, we appreciate that everyone has their own opinion on the matter, but we happen to rather firmly believe that even convicted criminals can return to society and live productive lives (see examples such as self-castrating paedophiles, murderers who have served their time and deeply regretful Nazis that reformed during or after the Holocaust). We do not say that the victims of such criminals should ever have to forgive what they did, because they damn well shouldn’t, but that doesn’t mean that anyone can ever be said to deserve eternal condemnation, eagles pecking out their livers, etc, because eternity is a very long and probably very lonely time, friends. So you might not ever forgive Peter for what he did, but repeatedly telling us so will not change the fact that we think Dora has every right to care for him, and that he, as he is truly regretful in our fic, has every right to a happy, peaceful life. We’re not trying to change anyone’s opinion here.

So, to all the jilted people out there, we are first and foremost writing this for our own sake. It was, if you need to know, meant to be a simple story about Remus, Sirius and Dora, but now we’re having so much fun with it that you can expect to see rather a lot of both theirs and their children’s further adventures. Krauss out.

Oh, and we’re really sorry if we’re being whiny bitches here, we just wanted to settle these points once and for all, and since a lot of our reviewers (especially the nasty ones) are anonymous, this is the only way for us. We DO love our readers, we adore you for saying nice things about us, and we really have no problem with concrit. But the thing about concrit, see, is that it has to be constructive. Just saying.

Chapter ten

In love and war

This was right at the end of the War, as Remus and Dora finally returned home after all the confusion following the last battle. There would be celebrating, later, but right now what everyone wanted to do was to spend time with their families and forget that there ever had been a war.

Dora’s mother had been there to greet them, pale still with the grief at the loss of her husband, but nonetheless smiling when they told her that yes, it was finally over. And for a while, mother and daughter stood in silence and held each other, before Andromeda looked up and gestured imperiously at Remus, indicating that he’d damn well join the hug or face the consequences. From a woman who’d earlier had flinched away if he as much as tried to shake her hand, it was a grand gesture of goodwill, and Remus, still numb from the night’s emotional strain, nonetheless had it in him to feel very grateful.

Then they’d gone to say hello to Teddy, who was sleeping soundly and didn’t stir even with two parents hugging his small frame and crying against his tuft of purple hair.

Finally, they’d retreated to the guest bedroom, to kiss and hold each other, and thus tell each other that they were both alive and planning to stay that way. Perhaps it wasn’t a very suitable way of celebrating their victory, but in any case it was their way and they were rather happy with it.

It was during the act of lovemaking that Remus suddenly noticed that Nymphadora’s face had changed slightly, and for a moment he couldn’t quite figure out why, seeing as his mind was quite busy with other stuff. But then he recognised her, her, the actual face of his wife, the face she only seemed to revert to when she was completely at peace with herself, when she was completely and utterly happy…

This was a rather nice thought. A bit too nice, as a matter of fact.

There was a short silence following his sudden, ragged intake of breath, and Remus looked rather embarrassed. “Oh god, I’m so sorry, Dora…” he mumbled.

“Hey, is this the face of a woman who minds?” Dora said pointing at her flushed features. “However… would you mind terribly getting a little creative with the rest of your body? Because…um…I want you.”

Chuckling quietly and bending close so that he could kiss her jawline, her neck, and further down still, Remus replied that yes, this could probably be arranged.

And this was now, and Remus was currently very glad that Grace was a very heavy sleeper, because as he pinned Dora against the wall and managed to charm the door shut at the fourth attempt, interruptions was not something he felt he could really handle with the appropriate amount of fatherly love and patience.

Dora was well aware that there was a bed in the room, and that it’d probably be more comfortable being on it. However, she was also acutely aware of the fact that Remus’ hands were tearing at her clothes with almost frantic urgency, and that they probably wouldn’t get that far.

She tried to return the favour, but he pushed her hands away and placed them against the wall with a firmness that clearly stated that she’d keep them there if she knew what was good for her. A part of her wanted to disobey, hoping that she’d be punished, but Remus was worshipping her with his hands and his lips. In between kisses he whispered her name like a prayer, and the power of that, his need for her, made her relent to his wishes and stand still, shuddering under his touch.

All that was in Remus’ mind – all that could possibly fit there, because the thought was so huge – was that Dora was back with him, back where she belonged. And he knew that he couldn’t handle it if she ever disappeared again, that if his life was ever to become that empty again something would break and he would go mad.

His body was just as full of her presence as his mind; he could feel her every movement, hear her every moan, and as her clothes fell away and she stood there, as beautiful as the day he had married her, he couldn’t for the life of him remember what kind of madness it was that had compelled him to do anything to drive her away. She was perfect; she was his, and no matter what she did… as long as she stayed with him, he wouldn’t mind. He wanted to speak, to tell her, but found that he couldn’t, and so he simply grabbed her around the waist and dragged her to their bed, heaving her onto the sheets with a silent determination that made her laugh. The laughter lingered on her face when he reached down and touched her, caressed her, just for the pleasure of seeing her throw her head back and gasp. But just touching wasn’t enough now; this night, this one night, he simply needed to feel her, all of her, as close to him as was possible. Every last inch of her that he could touch, could cling to, was important; every inch of her that he could make sure was real, and not some shadow of his imagination to make up for what he almost had lost.

She gasped a bit in surprise as he got on top of her, and then she chuckled quietly, her eyes shining at him in fierce joy. “Eager aren’t w- oh!” She closed her eyes, grimacing slightly, and for a moment he was scared that he might’ve hurt her, but the way she then moved against him definitely took away that fear. He whispered her name once again as an answer, falling into rhythm with her, matching her breaths and her movements with his own. With the ease of years of practice he read her, and as he felt himself approach climax with every movement, he could also feel her following him.

And the very moment she didn’t quite manage to stifle her ecstatic cry and he felt her contract around him, he saw her face change, he saw her letting go, and when he released the hold of himself and threw his mouth open in a silent cry he was finally home again.

Sirius drank the last of his tea and put the cup back on the table, leaning back. As he had explained the whole scenario between him and Remus he had been belatedly amazed by the fact that he’d managed to actually say the right thing. Probably because talking about himself trying to convince Remus to stay with Dora felt like making up a story rather than recounting what had actually happened.

He could read nothing in Severus’ face to indicate that the other man disbelieved him, but that was on the other hand because he could read absolutely nothing at all there. The other man was carefully hiding his opinion of the whole matter by a studied blank expression.

“The thing is,” Sirius said slowly, “that… well, I really wanted to… to break them up. I knew I couldn’t, because it’d be wrong, but somehow I still wanted to. Not much, but still.” He shrugged, turning his gaze away, because something about Severus’ gaze right now made it impossible to meet. Or maybe he was just feeling guilty, he didn’t know.

“But now?” he continued after an awkward pause, shaking his head. “Now I don’t want to. It’s just… I don’t think that that is what I really want anymore. Even if I’m still in love with him – and I’m not sure I am – it is still not something I want. I’ve always known that it would make Dora and the children unhappy if we got back together, and whenever I was really honest with myself I knew that it would make Remus unhappy as well. But it is as if I just realised that because of this, I would be unhappy too.” He smiled a bit wryly, pulling a hand through his hair. “You must think I’m an idiot to have figured that out just now. Oh, and please don’t answer that, I know that you’ve always thought I was an idiot and that it comes as no surprise, thank you.” He still couldn’t meet Severus’ gaze, and he was beginning to feel distinctly uncomfortable with the other man’s silence, yet there was one more thing he felt he ought to say. “I just… think that... that maybe I want something else, now.” He fell silent, wondering if he’d said too much.

Severus pursed his lips, his blank expression changing into one of thoughtful consideration. “To my great surprise I find that the only thing I can say is that you most likely did the right thing.”

Sirius grinned, relieved that the situation hadn’t turned into something awkward. “Yes, I actually did. It really sucked while I was doing it, but it feels better now. If I knew it was that easy to just let go, I think I would’ve done it a long time ago, as strange as that sounds.”

Severus snorted with that almost-but-not-quite smile that Sirius thought must be unique to Severus. “Oh, I don’t think it sounds all that strange at all.”

It took some time for Sirius to absorb the meaning of what Severus had just said, because even though it wasn’t very complicated, having Severus smiling at him inexplicably made it so. He shifted a bit in his seat, embarrassed with himself and hoping that he at least wasn’t blushing like a schoolgirl, while he tried to come up with a good answer. “Well, yes, I suppose it doesn’t. Well, not to you at any rate. I suppose, if anyone understands, it is you.” He quickly shut his mouth once he realised what had come out of it, and cursed silently over the fact that it suddenly was so very hard to remain aloof and not-really-friendly.

Severus regarded Sirius with growing suspicion. He’d thought that something rather odd might have been developing, however reluctant he had been to admit it, between them for quite some time, and it wasn’t all buddy-buddy manly friendship. Some of it was... something rather different.

He shifted a little in his seat, uncomfortable in the knowledge that sometimes you can’t just sit around and wait for things to happen. Sometimes you have to make them.

“Well... I suppose I’m glad I can be of service.” He fixed Sirius with a firm gaze. He wasn’t going to blush and look away like some lovesick teenager. “You said you think you want something else now. Do you have any inclination of what that might be?”

Sirius started slightly, caught off guard by the question, so much that he answered without thinking. “Yes,” he said, and then could have swallowed his tongue. But there was no going back now. “Yes, I think I have an idea,” he repeated, and then, without being able to help it, he lingered with his eyes on Severus for half a second before looking away, vowing to kick himself hard later.

Severus swallowed nervously, hoping fervently that Sirius missed that particular detail, and then fired off another almost-smile. “And... and would it be preposterous of me to inquire as to what that idea is?”

Sirius smiled back, and it felt good so he wasn’t going to regret that. “Why, of course it is. Why should I... what’s the phrasing? Submit my recent discomforts to your perverse attentions?” His smile widened, and he tried to make all the kind and affectionate things he rather wanted to say show in that smile. His mind, meanwhile, was frantically scrambling through their recent conversation, trying to figure out what Severus was after. Could it be that he...? But Sirius had absolutely no evidence that Severus had ever been attracted to or even interested in another man in that way, while he certainly had enough evidence that the other man had been deeply interested in women... or, well, at least one woman. So probably not. But maybe...

And for the very first time during all the years they’d spent having tea and awkward conversations, Severus allowed the corners of his mouth to stretch into a real smile. “Touché, I stand corrected. You are under no obligation to tell me anything of course.” He drew a steadying breath. For Christ’s sake, man, you’re almost fifty years old! “I was just... well, I... I must admit that I was hoping to maybe have a part to play in whatever plans you have for the future.” There, he’d said it.

Sirius simply gaped. He tried to speak several times, but every time he only managed small spluttering noises before once more falling into stunned silence. He was almost positive that Severus had just confirmed something that he had thought to be almost certainly impossible. Almost positive. After all, it could be a huge misunderstanding and he would look like an absolute idiot and... and you didn’t say that you, inverted comma, wanted to play a part in someone’s plans for the future, inverted comma, if you were only referring to continuing to have tea together. Nonetheless...

“I... really hope that you mean what I think you meant, because otherwise I’ll look a right fool for doing this.” And on a sudden whim and most definitely fuelled by sheer madness, he leant forward and planted a tentative kiss on Severus’ cheek, feeling more like a teenager than a grown man for doing it but not daring to do more.

Severus cleared his throat, more than a little embarrassed by the tingling in his cheek. He had no idea what to do; he’d never been in a situation like this. Maybe just admitting it was the best thing to do. You couldn’t very well be in a relationship with someone if you weren’t prepared to admit to insecurities. “I have to confess now that I have no idea how to... do this, I suppose. I haven’t... fallen in love since I was a child. I am in fact completely at your mercy,” he said with another smile.

Sirius had almost bitten through his lip when Severus had said ‘love’, and it took him some time to find his articulation skills once more. “Well, I’m not exactly an expert, considering the cock-up I made of my last relationship, although that wasn’t entirely my fault,” he smiled self-consciously. “But then again, a lot of it was my fault. But I suppose we’ll have to improvise a bit. Because... you know, even though I haven’t really got the faintest idea how to do this either, at least not like a grown-up, sensible person... well, I still want to do this. And I’m sorry for not getting it earlier.” As it occurred to him just how dim he’d been, he cleared his throat in embarrassment and lifted his cup to drink some more of the tea that he knew he’d finished already. Almost as if by accident – well, not really – his hand closed on Severus’.

With a content sigh Severus sat back and closed his eyes, perfectly happy, for now, with just sitting like that for a while.

A/N: See, slash! We told you! And we're certainly not writing these two darlings out of the story. Really.

Also, yes, it was a short-ass chapter compared to what we usually write, but we really didn’t want to add anything to this.