"Lupin Had Pulled Out A Book And Was Reading. Sirius Stared Around At The Students Milling Over The Grass,

"Lupin had pulled out a book and was reading. Sirius stared around at the students milling over the grass, looking rather haughty and bored, but very handsomely so."

The Patchwork of Us

My darlings, this story is now finally complete and what started as a crazy NaNo project turned into this. I had no idea this silly little Muggle AU about Wolfstar being forced to co-parent Teddy against their wills would turn into such a massive story, but it's truly been a fun journey.

Thank you to everyone who has been following this story from the start and who have been encouraging me with kudos and comments. You are the best and I appreciate you all so much!

Title: The Patchwork of Us Pairing: Sirius/Remus Rating: E WC: 77.3k Tags: Muggle AU, Slow burn, Enemies to Lovers Warnings: Referenced child abuse, PTSD, panic attacks Summary: Remus had never wanted to be a father, and when Tonks told him she was pregnant he walked away. Sirius didn't have a child of his own, but he considered Teddy to be his son in all but blood and when Tonks fell ill, he never hesitated to open his home to them to help her with the boy. When Tonks passes away, Remus is faced with a choice: step up and be a father or stay out of Teddy’s life.

However, reappearing in Teddy's life is not easy. Sirius has trouble forgiving Remus for walking out on Teddy, and Remus thinks Sirius is a stuck-up, posh, know-it-all who believes he is better than everyone else. Now they’re supposed to co-parent a child while also navigating their own complicated feelings about the situation, and each other.

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Teaser below the cut:

Remus turned his collar up against the wind as he stepped out of the station and onto Church Road. Arriving at Richmond Station always made him a bit disoriented, there were always too many people bustling around and he had to push his way through the crowd and towards the opposite entrance to where everyone else was going.

There was a vicious wind today, a damp sort of coldness in the air and heavy grey skies as if it could start raining any moment (which it probably could, this was London in October after all). It was early, too early, and Remus shivered as he set off at a brisk pace, clutching a once-hot cup of coffee in his hand. He fiddled around against the wind a little before he managed to light a cigarette, his nerves settling slightly at the first drag.

He walked the now-familiar route towards his destination, a nervous sort of flutter in his chest. He wondered how long those nerves were going to be there for, if he would ever just get used to this. It didn’t feel like he ever would.

Too soon he turned onto the right street, unable not to pull a face at the sight of the giant houses lining the streets as he flicked away his cigarette butt. He felt misplaced in his too-thin jacket and cheap clothes. Not that anything he wore was ever dirty or torn, but in this neighbourhood he was simply wrong .

Everything about him was wrong; the fact that his boots were worn down, his coat second-hand, the scarf around his neck hand-knitted, his hair too long and not in a stylish way but more a haven’t-been-to-the-barber-in-a-while way. His limp was wrong. At least it was a good day and he had chosen to leave his cane at home, despite the walk, just because he hated how awkward people got around him when he used it.

He made his way up the driveway to the correct house, his fingers brushing over the giant door knocker in the shape of a dog, which looked more like a wolf, before he used it to knock.

It took unusually long before the door swung open, and to Remus' surprise he found himself standing face to face with none other than Sirius Black. Usually, the other man kept out of the way in the mornings, but apparently not this time.

Sirius somehow didn’t seem out of place in this posh street, even though Remus thought he should with his long hair and tattoos and his motorbike. He didn’t though, Sirius Black looked as if he was born to live on a street like this, in a house like this, and Remus figured he probably was.

“We’re running a bit late,” he grouched, barely even acknowledging Remus with a look before he turned around to make his way further into the house. “You better come in.”

Remus hovered a little awkwardly in the doorway before he did as he was told, pulling the heavy door closed behind him as he followed Sirius inside.

If Remus felt out of place on the street outside, it was nothing compared to how he felt inside Sirius’ house. It was massive, ridiculously large considering it was only two people living there. Remus knew nothing about art or decorating but he had a feeling most of the stuff on the walls, and the furniture, were expensive.

Sirius led him through the initial hallway, further along into the large kitchen at the back of the house. Even though Remus disliked almost everything else about this house, he did love the kitchen. It was light and airy, modern, and the wall facing the back garden was almost completely made out of glass with doors that easily slid open during the summer.

Remus would love to cook in here one day, all the appliances were state of the art and the surfaces shiny and spacious. It was a far cry from his own tiny kitchen in his tiny flat. Remus had picked up cooking a couple of years ago, and he frequently dreamed about moving to something bigger, somewhere he could really test his wings.

“Here,” Sirius said, shoving a mug into Remus’ hands as soon as he entered the kitchen. “You better sit down and wait.”

Remus did as he was told, ignoring the way the palms of his hands burnt as he breathed across the hot liquid. Milk but no honey, Remus noted as he took a sip from the tea. He could feel Sirius watching him from where he was leaning casually against the kitchen counter, his arms folded across his chest, and it took Remus everything not to squirm underneath his gaze.

The silence was heavy around them, and Remus felt an urge to do something about it. To speak, even though he had no idea what he was supposed to say. He swallowed thickly, distracting himself by drinking the scalding liquid too quickly, and he was grateful as Sirius pushed off the counter with a sigh.

He strode back into the hallway, and Remus could hear him as he leaned against the banister of the staircase leading upstairs.

“Edward, don’t make me come up there! Remus is here, you need to go, or you’ll be late.”

“I’m coming ,” sounded an annoyed voice from upstairs. “I can’t find my bag.”

“It’s already down here,” Sirius replied and Remus thought he heard a little strain in his voice. “I’m counting to ten.”

Sirius returned to the kitchen, his eyes snagging on Remus for a moment but he didn’t say anything, and moments later there was the thundering noise of footsteps on the stairs before Teddy appeared in the doorway. He was dressed in his school uniform, smart white shirt and dark trousers together with his blazer and tie, both dark blue with light blue stripes.

The boy’s hair was the same sandy shade as Remus’ had been at that age, his chin and nose a little pointy, eyes a dark brown. Remus never quite got used to seeing hints of himself as a boy peeking through as he looked at Teddy. He stood quickly to distract himself.

“I’m here ,” Teddy said, a sullen look on his face. “Headmistress McGonagall said she’d give me detention if I was late for assembly one more time this week.”

“You better hurry up then if you’re going to have time for your breakfast,” Sirius replied, unphased, as he handed him his bag. “Remember, I’m picking you up and then we’re going to Harry’s tonight for dinner.”

Teddy accepted the bag with a sulk, “Whatever.”

“Attitude,” Sirius warned, a sharp eyebrow raised as he held onto the bag until the boy flicked his gaze up to Sirius’ face, and Remus could see something passing between them before Teddy’s shoulders slumped.

“Sorry,” he muttered, allowing Sirius to pull him into a hug, and Remus saw his arms sneaking around Sirius’ waist.

“That’s alright,” Sirius promised him, gently nudging him to stand straight, brushing an affectionate hand through his hair. “Love you, sprog.”

“Love you too,” Teddy muttered, and Remus felt something needle in his chest, something he didn’t have the words for as the boy turned around to look at him. “We need to hurry.”

“Right,” Remus said, a little awkwardly as he set down his mostly empty mug. “Let’s go then.”

Teddy disappeared into the hallway without another word and Remus cleared his throat, glancing down at the mug.

“Thanks,” he said, then added, “for the tea.”

“Sure,” Sirius said, following Remus as he went after Teddy. “You probably should hurry; McGonagall isn’t joking when she threatens with detention and Teddy really needs to get some food into him before school.”

Remus bristled at the tone, the same tone Sirius always used when he talked to Remus about Teddy. As if Remus couldn’t figure out that an eight-year-old needed to eat breakfast in the morning. Remus wanted to tell him that, wanted to give a scathing comment about exactly how he felt about Sirius’ superior attitude, but he swallowed what was on the tip of his tongue.

“Right,” he said instead as he adjusted the scarf around his neck. “Better be off then.”

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