On his first day of University, Remus Lupin's eyes blinked awake seconds before his alarm was to sound. He lay staring at the ceiling for a moment before reaching beneath his pillow for his wand and cutting off the alarm before it could go off with a flick of his wrist.

Sunshine was pouring in the windows, a light breeze ruffling the curtain, and Remus took a deep breath and smelled breakfast. He smiled, and looked to his left, where Sirius lay asleep, face down in his billowing pillows, his hair in a tangled mess all around the cavity where his face was hidden. Remus smiled, then leaned over, kissed the back of Sirius's ear and murmured, "Love you, Padfoot." 

"Mmmphm," came the murmur from within the depths of down and cotton. 

Remus shook his head, smiling at his sleepy boyfriend -- no, husband, he corrected himself. It was so like Sirius not to wake up, whatever racket he'd made the night before about being up first thing in the morning to see his Moonpie off to school. Well, Remus thought, so much for that plan. 

Carefully, Remus rolled out of bed, now determined not to disturb Sirius from his sleep, and got dressed in the corner of the room by the closet, biting his wand between his teeth as he hopped to pull up his trousers. He tucked in his shirt nicely and pulled on a new tweed vest, carefully wrapping a bow tie about his collar and knotting it just-so in the mirror before donning his brown jacket and happily rubbing the leather elbow pads on each side, proud of the nice suit he'd managed to save galleons for. He looked at himself in the mirror that usually only Sirius used, and he took a deep breath.

Ned would be proud, he thought, staring at himself in the mirror.

He reached up with his fingers and tried at making his hair rest a different way across his forehead, but it just fell back into place the moment he lowered his hands. Then he straightened the bow of his tie and turned, reaching for his briefcase, shiny and new, and he ran his thumb over his name.

Professor R. J. Lupin.

Remus smiled. Not yet, he thought, but someday. 

With that, he glanced once more at Sirius's sleeping form, rolled his eyes, whispered, "Bloody dog..." and snuck out the door into the hallway, carrying his loafers and pulling the door closed with the utmost of silence. He kicked his shoes on as he walked down the hall and into the kitchen.

There at the stove was James, an apron tied around his waist that Remus happened to know actually belonged to Lily (and thank goodness because the filly thing looked most out of place around James's torso). He laughed as James used his wand to flip over a messy looking omelette in the pan, with an exaggerated flourish - which most likely explained the egg's imperfections.

"Mo-ooRRRRNING," James sing-songed, backing up to catch the egg with the pan and nearly missing. He grinned, proud of himself when the egg didn't end up on the floor, then put the pan back on the stove and waved his arm at the table, "Sit, sit, you're the guest of honor this morning."

Remus laughed, "Why thank you, kind sir."

"You're quite welcome, good professor," James replied, bowing in a way that was something he'd clearly seen Sirius do. "Might I interest you in a spot of orange juice, per chance? Freshly squeezed with some of the vast, vast, vast amounts of oranges that Sirius bought home from Costa Rica?"

"We still have those things? Merlin's beard, I thought we were out at last."

"I found another whole case," James shook his head, "And he put some sort of preservation spell on them so we can't say they've spoilt. He'll know better. We're rather stuck with them."

"I'll take some of the juice, if only to assist in the depletion of the orange crop," Remus said. "The world's most likely short on oranges this year because of us."

"Most likely, yes," James nodded. He poured Remus a large glass of the juice, then turned about and waved his wand so that the omelette flew up out of the pan and onto a platter, which he placed in front of Remus. "And, for the finishing touch..." From the oven came three slices of bacon. "Tada!"

"James Potter, sharing bacon! My gods, I must really be honored today."

"It isn't every day that the most brilliant professor in the wizarding world has his first day at uni," James replied. Then he paused. "Where's Padfoot?"

"Snoring," Remus said around a mouthful of omelette, "Loud enough to wake the dead." He hesitated the moment the words were out of his mouth, hoping it wouldn't offend James, or bring up any unwelcomed thoughts. He looked up at his friend apologetically, "Sorry," he murmured.

But James waved it off. "What a lazy arse he is - hang on." He bound out of the room.

Remus took a sip of the orange juice.

"BLOODY HELL YOU COULD KILL A MAN WITH THOSE HORNS YOU BLOODY TWAT!"

Remus lowered the glass of juice, resisting the urge to laugh, just smirking down at his breakfast.

A moment later, Sirius and James returned to the kitchen, Sirius dropping immediately into a chair, his hair as wild as it'd looked on the pillow, except sticking up every which way around his head like a black cloud of insanity. Remus smiled, "Morning," he said solemnly.

"Morning," Sirius muttered in barely coherent grunts.

"Bacon?" Remus asked. Then, with a smirk, "Orange juice?"

"Bloody fuck me with the orange juice already, why the fuck did I bring home so many of those blasted oranges?" his face collapsed into the crook of his arm. 

"Here have an omelette. And the ruddy juice, seeing as you got us into this." James pushed a plate and a glass toward Sirius.

Sirius murmured something under all his hair.

Peter suddenly appeared in the door way. "Do I smell omelettes?"

"You certainly do, Pete," James called, and he waved to one of the chairs at the table, which Peter gleefully ran toward and climbed into. James came and sat down in the fourth chair, dropping a platter before Peter and one before himself. Peter, who had not been at the flat long enough to be sick of orange juice yet, eagerly poured his own glass, sipping happily.

"Well," said James, biting into his omelette. "Are you excited Remus?"

"Terribly. Also quite sick with nerves."

"You'll do brilliantly."

"Why thank you," Remus said, then glanced at the swirling mass of hair that was Sirius. "If only my husband could cheer me on like you are, Prongs, perhaps my day would be excellent."

Sirius gave a thumbs-up without lifting his head.

Peter lowered his cup, "You'll be so great, Remus, really you will. You're going to be the best professor that any school ever had - any school, any where - truly." He nodded eagerly.

"Thank you Peter." Remus smiled. Then he glanced at his watch and hurriedly wiped his mouth, "But that will only come true if I'm not late." He stood up and tossed his napkin onto his plate. "I'll see you lot later."

"Good luck!" James called.

"Indeed!" cried Peter.

Sirius muttered something.

Remus turned and left the room, carrying his case out to the living room toward the floo. He opened the jar and took out a handful, replacing it on the mantel. He was just about to chuck it in and announce his destination when hands grasped his shoulders firmly and he was spun about to face Sirius, who had come pelting out of the kitchen. Sirius pressed his mouth ot Remus's - hard and passionately, his hands on Remus's cheeks - and he ran his tongue between Remus's lips, so that their tongues touched gently as Sirius's lips pressed against Remus's in a fierce kiss.

When they broke apart, Remus looked surprised and slightly disheveled. He looked at Sirius with a bit of surprise. Sirius grinned. "Had to make sure you had something to think about all day incase any of those uni boys are terribly handsome, didn't I?" he said.

"I doubt very much whether there's anyone on this earth as handsome as you are, my love," Remus replied simply and he kissed Sirius's cheek, then tossed the floo powder into the fireplace and stepped through, shouting his destination as he went.

Sirius stood there until the green flames had died way to the black sooty half burned log that lay in the hearth. He turned and went back to the kitchen.

James and Peter were talking about Peter's uni and when he would be leaving to attend, as his uni expected him to live on the grounds the way Hogwarts did. They were deep into their conversation so Sirius simply grabbed his omelette and went off back to the bedroom where the sheets were still warm - although the blankets had been torn clear off the bed by a rampaging stag moments ago. He pulled them back up and curled himself into a cocoon, reaching out to get bites of his eggs, but otherwise hidden away from the world, the way he rather preferred to stay. 

At least until he had to be to work at the degnoming company in just a couple of hours, that is. 

Degnoming was a bit of a mindless task, which Sirius both liked and hated about his job. He liked it because there was clear set perimeters for what was expected of him everyday, and it was all scheduled so he would know where he was headed and what sort of degnoming work he'd be expected to do at each location. He hated it because it left a lot of time for thinking, and, above all things, Sirius Black hated overthinking things. It always, always led to disaster. The more he thought, the more his inner voice began to sound like her - like Achyllis. 

The garden he was degnoming that afternoon was an especially large and overtly infested one. The gnomes that lived there had clearly been in residence for some time for they were very, very stubborn about leaving. One of them even squeaked several gnomish words that sounded to Sirius as though he might be threatening to report Sirius to the landlord - as though that wasn't precisely who had hired the degnoming company to come and get rid of the little pests.

"Insolent potatoes!" Sirius shouted, kicking the one doing the threatening clear across a low line of shrubs that marked the edge of the property. "Off you boot!" The gnome shook his fist at Sirius, even as he flew through the air. 

Sirius sighed and took a break halfway through the process of ridding the garden of it's inhabitants to eat his lunch. He sat on an overturned bucket, glaring at the gnomes that were already attempting to come back in through the hedge work, aiming his wand, and sending blasting spells by their feet, which sent them scampering back into the brush.

Suddenly through the side garden gate came Bilius Weasley. "Well bloody hell if it isn't Sirius Black. I heard you were working for the company, but I hadn't actually laid eyes on you yet, how've you been?"

Sirius put his sandwich down on his knee and grinned, "Bil! What a sore sight you are." He smirked as Bilius came over and stood before him, armed with the same degnoming gear Sirius was - something that resembled a muggle vacuum cleaner strapped to their backs with a long handle that could be shoved into the gnome holes and suck the little bastards out if needed. They would come up from the hole, their bums suctioned to the hose, and the degnoming agent would have to shake them off so they went flying off in the direction the gnomes were being evacuated in. "I've been -- Well, it's been quite a busy summer, we'll say that at least." He held up his hand revealing the ring on his finger. "Remus and I tied the knot."

"Christ, that's brilliant!" Bilius said, clapping as he bent to look at the ring, he grinned, "Congratulations, mate. Glad to hear it. How about Evans and Potter? They hitched yet?"

"Not yet, but they are engaged, if you heard?"

"Nah I didn't hear, but everybody knew it was going to happen, didn't we? Even way back when." He smirked. Then his face turned less jovial. "I - I heard about Charlus Potter. I'm sorry, mate. How is Mrs. P and James holding up? And you for that matter?"

Sirius frowned. This was one of the topics he'd been trying not to think on much. "We're doing... alright. Better than we were. But of course it's a - a long process." 

"Yes of course. I remember when Derek --and then Alex and Chrissy and -- well, everyone, really." Bilius looked down at his trainers. He looked up at Sirius. "I totally understand, mate. Sometimes I don't reckon you ever really get over it, you just learn how to keep on with living while it sort of hangs on in the background over you."

Sirius nodded slowly. 

There was some squeaking from the gnome holes and both Sirius and Bilius turned to look to see a couple of gnomes trying to drag what looked like little bits of poorly constructed furnityre from the hole. "Blimey, they've been here a while, haven't they?"

"Appears so," Sirius nodded.

Bilius reached for the wand of his equipment and started toward the holes, "Poor little buggers. Think they'd go and find a park or somewhere they won't get evicted from, 'ey? Oi, go off to St. James, there's loads of gardens there you can live in, mates!"

Sirius laughed, and was suddenly quite thankful that Bill had showed up. It was nice, he thought, to be around someone who understands you.