It takes two | Sirius Black

37.

Twelve years Later

Remus shuffles from one end of the room to the other, he looks at himself in the mirror and groans at the reflection staring back at him. He was getting older and he felt it in every step he took. He clutches his walking stick in his hand, he hated using it in public because people treated him like an invalid.

"Are you ready, Remus?" Tate calls from downstairs, "Do you need help?"

"Piss off!" He grumbles, making his way to the stairs.

Tate, his beautiful,wonderful husband,Tate, is standing at the bottom of the stairs, staring up at him with his infectious smile.  Remus rolls his eyes, his own smile betraying him as he makes his way steadily down the stairs. Tate takes his breath away, standing there in his black suit. He has the sleeves of his jacket rolled up, showing his tattoos- one of Remus' favourite things about his man.

Remus had always known he would marry Tate one day. Tate was his person. They were both content in their small home, in the middle of rural London. It was a shit hole. They had junk everywhere, stacks of magazines and books, records and knickknacks. It resembled a junk yard but it was theres.

Tate had managed to get himself a small job to support them, he delivered groceries from the corner stall to people who were vulnerable or couldn't be bothered leaving their homes. He was a hit with the elderly women, who would ogle him and insist if they were a few years younger. Not knowing that Tate was very much gay.

It was true though. Tate was one of the most gorgeous people in the world with his dark tattooed skin and chiselled jaw. Remus had to pinch himself sometimes that this man was his husband.

"You ready for this?" Tate asks him, taking his hand in his.

"The real question is are you ready Tate? You must feel like a right old fucker today."

Tate rolls his eyes, "I'm not the one with the walking stick babe."

"But you are the one with grey hairs."

"What?" Tate panics dropping Remus' hand and looking at himself in the mirror in the hall, he checks his hair thoroughly and rolls his eyes, "Hilarious that, Lupin."

"Obviously you're not going to see them when you have freshly box dyed hair." Remus remarks, "You got dye all over the bathroom again."

"Remus! Don't you be exposing my secrets like that!"

Remus smirks to himself, Tate takes his hand and they apparate together. They land on their feet, Remus staggers slightly but Tate has hold of him. His knee and hip had just gotten worse as the years passed, he didn't always need his stick but the full moon was a week ago so it was causing him more trouble than normal.

The couple make their way to the edge of the forest. It's like muscle memory as they walk through the trees, they notice a string of fairy lights up ahead and they know they have the right place.

Rafe greets them, shaking their hands and smiling at them. He's older, he's greying but embraces the change unlike Tate. He's in his mid 40s now but still looks like a model. They haven't seen Rafe since their own wedding four years ago, but he still looks the same. He nods towards a young woman. She comes bouncing over, her hair flowing behind her in plaits.

"Hi Remus! Hi Tate!"

"Hello Daisy." Remus nods.

It's crazy to Remus that this is the same girl who used to bite everything as a toddler. She's grown into a polite and intelligent young lady, Rafe raising her on his own in his flat in London. She was a real credit to him. He hates himself for once thinking so badly of Rafe, he was probably one of the few decent people left in the world.