#lumosinlove ocs

[lumosinlove]

Idk about parched per say, but I’m very thirsty for some snuggly smushy LeLo art after these last two chapters

Snuggly smushy you say?

[floralflorence]

copious amounts of makeup sex anyone???? (almost accidentally put that as break up sex for a minute there 😭😭) almost done with this chapter...it's going to end up being a long one I think

[whataboutmyfries]

O'Knutzy does: fictional kisses

Just another masterlist to keep track of the fictional kisses that oknutzy has done so far because I love them and I miss writing them too much :') PS: this is going to be much the same idea as the fictional kisses wolfstar edition! although the wonderful characters in this one are the oc's of our beloved @lumosinlove! all the prompts have been taken from this here prompt list!

SMALL DETAILS FOR FICTIONAL KISSES

whispering ''kiss me'' to your lover

wrapping your arms around your lover's neck

kisses that travel from your lover's nose to their lips

breaking the kiss but instantly pressing your lips back together

intertwining your fingers

kisses that start out gentle but grows more passionate

forehead against forehead

running your fingers through your lover's hair

unbuttoning your lover's shirt, pressed against the wall

surprise kisses, in which your lover weren't prepared for it but responds immediately

a kiss in which, ''we're late for work but let's be later''

kisses shared under a waterfall

pulling your lover closer by the waistband

kissing under the stars

messy kisses, destroying furniture trying to reach the bed

a kiss that isn't meant to happen but it does anyway

sliding your hands down your lover's chest

grabbing your lover by the collar

''if we get caught kissing we're dead but let's risk it''

hand kisses

exploring each other's lips

smiling in-between kisses

now-or-never kisses

caressing your lover's cheek

good night kisses

''i was supposed to take a shower alone but sure, jump right in''

brushing your lips together, lingering for a moment

an accidental kiss between two exes

kisses in which, you've already said goodbye but can't help stealing another one

this might be our last kiss ever so let's make it last

kitchen counter make-outs

jumping into your lover's arms

soft kisses while cuddling in bed

i missed you kisses

a kiss that leave you breathless

stopping a kiss when it gets too heated

a kiss on the cheek turns into a kiss on the lips

trailing kisses from your lover's lips to their neck

''everything is going to be okay'' kisses

kisses that start of passionate but grows more delicate

pulling away from a kiss to look at each other, then smiling as you dive in for another kiss

wrapping your legs around your lover's body as they lift you

a goodbye kiss, but neither of you can quite let go

''we shouldn't do this'' but they do so, anyway

a swirling reunion kiss

''i've had a terrible day at work so just kiss me''

a kiss that lasts longer than it should

tending to your lover's wound, placing a kiss on top of their head, grateful they're still alive

spinning your lover into a kiss on the dance floor

kisses in which, i can't believe this is real, but i love you so much

[floralflorence]

Cubs snowed in at O'Darwins: Finn's fucking around w Alex and turns to see Logan and Leo cuddled up on the floor watching them.

[fruitcoops]

So I was just watching Matty Healy’s “celebrity school run” interview from BCC Radio One, and my mind jumped right to imagining Sirius with a couple awestruck hockey kids in the back of his truck, navigating questions as he drives them around (maybe to hockey practice instead of school??)! Congrats on finishing finals!! <3

Fic O'Ween Day 9: Sugar Rush! Cap credit to @lumosinlove and fest credit to @noots-fic-fests <3 Cutie patootie start to the weekend!

“Ask him!”

“I don’t wanna ask. You do it.”

“Everything alright back there?”

A small boy in a blue shirt dropped an elbow into the side of his, equally small yet significantly blonder, companion. “How does the internet work?” the blond boy blurted.

In the front seat, Sirius Black frowned at the road. “Quoi?”

“I told you it was a dumb question!” a redheaded little girl whispered across the seat.

“The internet,” the blond boy repeated, twisting the pocket of his cargo shorts into a nub in his fist. “How’s it work?”

“Uh…”

“My mom said the government tells you on your first adult birthday,” the dark-haired boy informed him as he leaned forward onto the console. “So you’ve gotta know, ‘cause you’re totally an adult.”

“Your mother is right, Ethan,” Sirius agreed. His eyes darted to the small camera stuck on the car’s dashboard. “That’s—yes, you’ll have to wait until you’re eighteen to find out. I can’t tell you. It would be illegal.”

Ethan rolled his eyes. “But you’re Canadian, so American laws don’t apply to you.”

“It’s international.” Suburban homes rolled past outside, surrounded by fresh spring foliage. “The UN decided on that rule.”

“Aw, man.”

“Are you really getting married?” the redheaded girl piped up.

“Yes.”

“When?”

“Summer.”

“But when?”

“Summer,” Sirius repeated with a laugh.

“What day?” She poked her head between the front seats as well, bumping shoulders with Ethan. “Can we come?”

“Definitely not. Both of you, sit back, you’re going to get hurt.” Sirius glanced into the rearview mirror as he turned onto another narrow street. “Look at Jacob. He’s doing it right.”

Jacob preened, shooting each of his companions a Cheshire grin. “Lydia said you’re getting married to your boyfriend. Is that true?”

“Fiance, but yes.” Sirius reached back to shoo Lydia and Ethan back into their seats, one hand on the wheel. “Why do you know so much about my wedding? Aren’t you supposed to ask me hockey questions?”

“We have time. School doesn’t start for an hour.” Lydia folded her hands in her lap and squinted to look out at the road. “Also, my sister plays hockey and she was telling me that her team was telling her that you're gonna be the first married hockey player ever.”

“That’s…that’s not true.”

“Of course it is.”

“There are so many married hockey players!” Sirius laughed.

“Oh yeah?” Jacob challenged. “Who?”

“James Potter, Pascal Dumais, Sergei Ivanov, Adam Fox, Mika Zibanejad, Brad Marchand—I think most NHL players are married, actually.”

“Is the Earth actually round, or is the government lying?” Ethan asked, picking at the back of Sirius’ seat.

Sirius pressed his lips together for a moment. “Ah,” he began, coughing through a laugh. “Nope, it’s definitely round. People have known that for a long time.”

“My uncle says the government lies a lot.”

“Well, my uncle works for the government,” Jacob scoffed.

“Well—”

“Why is the Earth round?” Lydia butted in. “I think you’re lying. If it was round, everything in Australia would be upside down.”

“Oh god,” Sirius muttered. “Okay, new rule: no flat Earth discussions in the car.”

“Cause you’re lying?”

“Cause Galileo is spinning in his grave.”

“Isn’t that the bird from the movie with the girl and the volcano and the lizard and Russell Crowe and that one lady?”

Jacob gasped and turned to her. “My mom loves Russell Crowe! Y’know, Mr. Sirius Black, you kinda look like Russell Crowe.”

“No, he doesn’t.”

“He kinda does,” Ethan admitted.

“Nuh-uh.”

“Yuh-huh.”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Yuh-huh.”

“Nuh—”

“Okay,” Sirius announced as he paused at a stoplight with a thousand-yard stare. “We’re not doing any ‘nuh-uh’s until you are safely at school. Do you act like this when your parents are driving?”

All three children stared at him from the backseat. For a singular second, their fidgeting paused. “Like what?” Lydia asked, clearly bewildered. “The lady with the camera told us to ask you questions.”

Sirius seemed to process that for a beat. His fingertips drummed on the steering wheel while they waited for the light to change. “I’m starting to realize I don’t spend enough time with kids to know how you’re supposed to act.”

“Isn’t your brother a million years younger than you?”

“Six years.”

Lydia gave him a skeptical look over her glasses. “I’m only eight, so that’s basically forever.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“How come clouds have different shapes?” Ethan asked. “Is it because birds fly through them and turn them all thin after they’re fluffy?”

“No, the wind does that.”

“Why?”

“It’s the wind, it doesn’t have reasons.”

“How do you know.”

“Because I’m an adult. Hey, look, a pigeon.”

All three children lunged toward the window, straining at their seatbelts and booster seats. Sirius glanced at the dashcam with a small, pleased smile and made a smooth left turn onto Main Street. “Where is it?” Jacob asked eagerly. “Was it big? What color was it? I don’t see it.”

“Oh, I think it was in the parking lot back there,” Sirius said casually. “Keep an eye out, see if there are more.”

“I’m never allowed to ask adults this many questions,” Lydia gushed, swinging her feet above the floor of the car. “Do you pay taxes?”

“Yes.”

“How do they work?”

“Good question. I have no idea.”

Ethan, apparently tired of pigeon-spotting, sat up straight and began peeling a sticker off the side of his booster. “Do you speak French?”

“Ouais.”

“Can you say something in French?”

“Ouais,” Sirius repeated with a grin.

“Please?”

“I just did.”

“Way,” Ethan mimicked. “Ha! That sounds like a duck. Wah-wah-wah-wah—”

“Yellow punch buggy.”

A flurry of movement and stifled ‘ow’s followed on swift wings; Sirius winced, but didn’t seem particularly regretful. “So,” he tried again. “What do you guys like to do at school?”

“Have lunch.”

“Read.”

“Recess.”

He nodded with a light laugh. “You know what, that’s fair.”

Jacob cocked his head to the side. “Did you like school?”

“I loved school.”

“What was your favorite subject?”

“Math.” A simultaneous false gag from three different mouths made him jump slightly, glancing over his shoulder. “Jesus—”

“I hate math,” Lydia declared. “We started multiplication and it makes my head hurt.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

Ethan’s nose wrinkled. “I like math, but it’s definitely not my favorite. Hey, do you have tattoos?”

“No.”

“Can we see them?”

Sirius’ brow knit. “I just told you I don’t have any.”

“You’re a hockey player, you gotta have tattoos. Thomas Walker has them, Cole Reyes has them, James Potter has them…”

“James doesn’t have tattoos,” Sirius snorted. “Where are you getting your information?”

“My brother. He knows everything.”

“How old is he?”

“Eleven.”

Sirius nodded slowly, biting the inside of his cheek. “A wise age.”

“How many teeth are you missing?”

“None, dude,” Jacob interrupted. “Didn’t you see earlier? He has perfect teeth. Hey, Mr. Sirius Black, did you have braces?”

“No.”

“Your teeth just grew like that?”

“Mhmm.”

“I just lost a tooth last week.”

Sirius stopped at the corner, looking over his shoulder at them. “Oh, really? Your first?”

“Nah, my fifth,” Jacob answered, as jaded as a third-grader could get. “It’s boring now. I got a quarter for it, though. My sister wanted to tie it to a doorknob, but my dad didn’t let her.”

Lydia nodded solemnly. “My cousin lost her first tooth when a piñata hit her.”

“I lost mine while I was eating a tuna sandwich,” Ethan added. “Then it was a blood sandwich. It was crazy.”

“Gross,” Lydia said with great approval.

Apparently satisfied with the direction the conversation had gone, the car remained near-silent for almost fifteen seconds. They headed past several gas stations (and their pigeon-filled parking lots) before stopping once again at a red light.

Ethan let out a loud gasp. “Tim Hortons!”

Sirius turned as if on instinct, craning his neck, before he seemed to realize the danger of the situation. Lydia slapped at the back of the driver’s seat with an excited hand, bouncing in her booster. “We gotta go, we gotta go, we gotta go.”

To his credit, Sirius spared a half-second to consider it. “Absolutely not.”

To his demise, Sirius spared a half-second to consider it. They fell on him like miniature wolves to a downed caribou.

“Please,” Ethan begged. “Please, please, their hot cocoa is so good, you don’t understand.”

“I’m Canadian, I understand better than you do.”

“Then we have to go!”

“There is no world where I get three kids on a Tim Horton’s sugar rush before school.” He shook his head and began turning off Main Street. “Not in this lifetime. Your teachers would hunt me for sport.”

“You’re Canadian! You’re—you’re Queb—” Ethan made a frustrated noise and turned to Jacob. “What’s the word for Quebec people?”

“…Canadians…?”

“Quebecois,” Sirius informed him. His eyes widened slightly. “Wow, is that the first question you’ve asked that I can actually answer?”

“You’re Quebecois,” Ethan continued, stumbling over each syllable. He made it there in the end, but not before everyone else in the car made a pained face. “That means you have to take us to Tim Horton’s.”

“No.”

Lydia’s eyes were fever-bright in the backseat, as if she had knocked back a handful of jellybeans and Red Bull. “Timmy’s, Timmy’s, Timmy’s…”

“Please, no.”

Jacob and Ethan brightened immediately, because of course they did. Sirius watched the road in mournful disbelief, like he was driving into his personal hell with no exit ramp in sight. “TIMMY’S, TIMMY’S, TIMMY’S—”

“I’ve never having children.”

“TIMMY’S, TIMMY’S, TIMMY’S, TIMMY’S—”

The shouting came to an abrupt halt. Sirius parked the car under the shade of a large oak tree and waited for several seconds, until all three kids started to exchange wary looks. The silence dragged on. Polyester and cotton rustled.

Sirius rested his elbow on the console and turned to the backseat, one eyebrow raised. “Are we done?”

“Are you gonna turn this car around?” Jacob whispered in quiet horror.

“Non. I have a deal for you, though.” Instant curiosity overcame their concern. Sirius held three fingers up. “One: don’t kick the back of my seat. Two: don’t yell in my car, it’s very distracting. Three: Count five pigeons by the time we get to school. I will ask your parents if I can bring you Timbits—”

Gasps of delight filled the car.

“—if you promise to do all three of those things.”

Jacob tucked his hands under his legs, all but vibrating with anticipation. “Can you get cinnamon ones?”

“Can you find five pigeons?”

“Of course I can,” he whispered.

Sirius nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Do you make a million bajillion dollars?” Lydia asked.

“Non. But I do have money for Timbits for nice kids who ask cool questions.”

Ethan’s mouth fell open. “We’re nice kids who ask cool questions!”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Sirius gave a teasing hum. “I don’t know. Think you can prove it in the next five minutes?”

“What kind of dog do you have?” Lydia asked without hesitation.

“Oh, that is a good question.” The car rumbled to life, and they pulled onto the road without issue. “I don’t know. She’s black, and she has pointy ears.”

“How long do you want to play hockey?”

“Oof. A while. Maybe ten more years? We’ll see.”

Ethan finished peeling the sticker off his booster seat and reached over Lydia to stick it on Jacob’s. “Is being an adult fun?”

“Yes.”

“Is it hard?”

“Yes.”

“If you could get in a time machine and be eight again, would you do it?”

“No.”

Jacob frowned. “How come?”

“Because I like being able to make my own dinner, I would miss my friends, and I wouldn’t be able to get Tim Horton’s whenever I want to.”

Lydia started to kick the back of his seat in boredom, but quickly tucked her foot behind her other leg. “If you were eight and went to our school, do you think we would be friends?”

Sirius smiled, moving slowly past a wire fence. “Sure.”

“Can you say more French stuff?”

“Comme quoi?”

“Um—can you say ‘hello’?”

“Bonjour.”

Jacob chewed on his lower lip. “Can you say…this school is super cool?”

“Cette école est très cool.”

“Is ‘cool’ the same in both?”

“Ouais.”

“Okay, stop, stop, you gotta do English now,” Ethan said hurriedly, waving his hands. “I don’t speak French.”

“That’s okay, you can learn,” Sirius laughed. They rolled to a stop in a mostly-empty section of the parking lot; he waved to someone outside, and the children quickly followed suit. He propped his arm on the console again and raised his eyebrows. “I think your parents are ready to have you back. Any last questions?”

“Do you like books?”

“What’s your favorite color?”

“What kind of Timbits do you like?’

“Have you been playing hockey since before we were born?”

“How does electricity work?”

“Do you kiss your boyfriend? Oh, yeah, how do cars work?”

“How come the sky changes colors but the ocean doesn’t?”

Sirius didn’t miss a beat. “Yes, blue, all of them, yes, I think it’s something with electrons and metal? Yes, engines and combustion, and because the sky and the ocean are made of different things.”

“Okay,” Jacob said with a decisive nod. “Cool! Thanks!”

“Thank you, this was lots of fun.” Sirius unbuckled his seat belt and stepped out of the car, then came around and opened the backseat door for them. They spilled out in a pile, each meeting his gentle fist-bump with incredible enthusiasm that only grew when he feigned injury at the strength of their hands. Their booster seats came free with little finagling. “Alright, go see your parents. I can carry these.”

“Wait!” Lydia yelped, turning on her heel halfway through a step. “What about the Timbits?”

“Nobody kicked my seat or yelled,” Sirius mused, gathering the boosters in his arms. “Pigeons?”

“Two on the sidewalk, one in the parking lot, and two at the Gas ‘n Sip,” Jacob announced.

“Then they’ll be here when you get out of school,” he promised. They shook on it, tiny hands dwarfed by his palm, before they were off at a sprint once more. “Be safe! Don’t trip on the concrete!”

[itsaash]

unsatisfyingly satisfying part 2: shivers

Set sometime in the future when our beloved Coops are married and on vacation in Banff :))) prompt and cover art credit to @noots-fic-fests, character credit of Coops to @lumosinlove And shout out to @girlwithcurls96 for helping me and reassuring me about this whole story, and who is the type of friend when you say, "what kind of tattoos should this character have?" comes through with the perfect pinterest board of style inspo to create the OCs of my dreams

“You got the camera baby?” Remus called as he shut the trunk of the white rental car.

“Ouais, et j'ai les collations là.” 

Remus smiled as he translated in his head. Being in Banff National Park, or Parc national Banff as Sirius exclusively called it, with signs and boards and everything in French as well as English, had set Sirius into a firmly French state of mind. Remus was absolutely not complaining, the melodic sounds scratched his brain just right, even if he couldn’t replicate them. He just beeped the car, pocketed the keys, patted his pocket to feel his phone, and caught up to Sirius and took his hand as they walked across the parking lot. 

It was early in the morning, the gondola would be just starting up. They planned their visits to touristy places for the least busy time of day. A good half hour had been spent signing autographs at the Calgary airport when they arrived a few days ago. Canadians knew their hockey players, especially ones who would certainly be on the next Canadian Olympic hockey team. Neither of them minded , per se, but also if they could blend in, well they’d rather prefer that option. 

Typical outdoorsy MEC outfits like every other tourist were their outfits, with a pretty generic blue ball cap for Sirius, and Remus had chosen a fashionable flat brim hat after Sirius had gone silent and staring when Remus had tried it on in the store.  While any claim they had to disguise was low, their main hope was that most of the people who rode a gondola on a Thursday morning wouldn’t also be hockey fans. Banff had been great so far, busy streets of tourists to blend into while eating elephant ears, a hike yesterday to lakes the most fucking amazing color of turquoise where everyone nodded their head and said hello as they passed on the trail, and today they were heading up the gondola. It was a warm July day and Remus knew heat would start to gather soon, but it felt so fresh here in the mountains, always a breeze, really it was nearly idyllic. Even here, in a busy parking lot, dozens of cars already and pavement for hundreds of meters, it still somehow felt rustic. That was the influence of the towering rough mountains he supposed. They were everywhere here, he had never been in the mountains like this. He squeezed Sirius’ hand as they walked, his head turning to take it all in. 

“The view doesn’t get old, eh,” Sirius laughed as he took in Remus’ wide eyes. 

“Literally never. There’s just mountains everywhere .”

“And here we go, up another one,” Sirius said. 

“Can’t wait,” Remus said, squeezing Sirius’ hand with excitement again, taking in the grey of Sirius’ eyes and comparing it to the grey of the mountains. The mountains were undeniably majestic, but that blue grey gaze was still his overall first place favourite.

Remus scanned the tickets on his phone for the agent with the usual “bonjour, hello” passed between them and joined the small line of people waiting to board the gondolas. They wound through the roped off area, back and forth across the loading area as the line moved, reading the information placards as they went. Remus challenged himself to read the French versions and asked Sirius for help with some words, just to hear him say them, to see Sirius’ eyes smile when he heard Remus say the words back as best he could. They passed the time in the line quickly like this, passing words in French back and forth to each other quietly, almost like bubbles of love being traded between them, like emotional kisses, like whatever the sounds are that are in my mouth, they always mean I love you. 

Remus vaguely knew from the corners of his attention that the people who worked for the Park were working with the line, fitting groups together into gondolas in the most space efficient way, calling for single riders to come join groups of 3, putting two couples together, keeping kids with their parents. There was a large family ahead of them and Sirius and Remus had been half-hearing conversations about snacks and who would sit by who and where’s my water bottle and dad, what if we see a bear ?? So when the attendant called, ‘next group of two? Un groupe de deux?’ looks travelled down the family and passed like dominos to Sirius and Remus. 

“On est deux,” Sirius said, knowing everyone who worked for the Park spoke at least some French, and he was loving using it at every opportunity.

“Allez, on y va,” the attendant said, waving them over. Sirius and Remus kept their hands clasped as they snuck past the big family, Remus murmured an, “ope, sorry,” as they made their way to the front of the line. They boarded the open gondola, sitting down on one side together as the doors slid closed and the gondola started moving.

Remus was just starting to look out the floor to ceiling window, seeing the expanse of nature below them, all around them once they were past the loading area of the building, when he heard,

“Sirius Black?? ”

Oh shit. They were on a gondola with a fan. Well, hopefully a fan, god, imagine if it was someone who wanted to lecture them for the whole 8 minute ride. Sirius would give them his stony cold game face, and inevitably the person would back down, but it would be so awkward.

But Sirius hadn’t said anything. He was just staring, mouth slightly open. Time passed in frozen silence, enough time that Remus darted his eyes back and forth, from Sirius’ frozen form, to the two girls sitting across from them. One had a ball cap on with a dark ponytail floating out the back of it and her tank top showed clearly well developed biceps and deltoids, hiking shorts and shoes. She  was nearly as slack jawed as Sirius. The other girl was much more fashionable, in pants that were somehow loose but still fitted, and a cropped shirt (sports bra? what did Remus know about women’s fashion), clean white runners, long curly blond hair pulled into a messy half bun. It was still Banff and hiking appropriate except everything about her outfit and hair seemed to be on purpose in a way that none of the rest of them could claim. She seemed to be trying to read the situation as much as Remus was, and after long seconds she was the one to break the silence. 

“Rebecca? You know him?” 

The other girl, Rebecca? Almost literally shook herself out of her surprise and laughed, a smile coming over her face. 

“Oh my god, what are the fucking chances? Yeah, well, I mean, Sirius and I, well, yeah, we’ve met.”

Remus felt his eyebrows raise at her faltering tone and he looked to Sirius who didn’t seem ready to say words of any language yet. So Remus spoke first. 

“Oh, well hello. I’m Remus. It’s nice to meet you,” and he put his hand out to Rebecca to shake. She smiled more, her eyes taking him in and she took his hand. 

“Hi Remus, I’m Rebecca. Nice to meet you. This is my girlfriend Claire,” she said, gesturing at the well dressed girl. “We’re just touring the area, on vacation, I guess you must be too. It is the offseason I guess? I can’t believe we’re on the same gondola as you, what even is this.”

Remus felt himself relax, girlfriend, ok so they weren’t in for an 8 minute lecture. That was something at least. He turned to Claire and shook her hand too. His eyes travelled up and down her tattooed arms, all thin lines and curling shapes. He especially noticed a beautiful one of a star surrounded by a circle on the inside of her elbow, but the whole thing was made of flowers and vines in light colours.

“Nice to meet you too Claire. Are y’all hockey fans then?” he asked, glancing repeatedly at Sirius, who was still seemingly frozen. He pressed his palm against Sirius’ thigh, hoping to ground him with touch. Feeling more than a little bit like he needed that too.

Claire laughed, a high, bright sound. 

“No, I can’t say I am. Is that how you know him, sweetheart?” Claire asked her girlfriend. 

“I, um, well yeah, kind of. We met at a media weekend where they were doing stories on a bunch of athletes for a magazine,” Rebecca explained, her gaze bounced between Sirius, Remus, her girlfriend, back to Sirius.

Remus nodded. Well that made sense. What didn’t make sense was that Sirius hadn’t said a single fucking word. He turned toward him, angling his body towards his husband so he could mouth as much as say, ‘ça va, baby?’ 

Sirius started bobbing his head. Remus saw him take two purposeful breaths, close his eyes for a long moment, and then open them again with his media smile on.

“Désolé, sorry, sorry Rebeccca. You just surprised me,” he took off his hat, ran his hands through his hair and replaced the hat. “Wow, yeah, it’s good to see you. Like you said, what are the chances?” 

“What media thing was it that you did?” Remus asked lightly, hoping to soften whatever the fuck this atmosphere was. 

“That one in New York that Pots and I went to? During your third season with the team, I think?” Sirius said. He looked deep into Remus’ eyes and took and squeezed his hand. Remus didn’t know why Sirius needed comfort, but he clearly did. So he scooted as close to Sirius as he could on the bench, held his hand, and tried to send comfort like osmosis. It seemed Sirius may have received the offering because he seemed to relax a degree or two. 

“Rebecca was on the olympic rugby team that got a medal at that olympics a few years ago,” Sirius supplied, gesturing to her. “Or maybe you still play?”

“Yeah, I do actually!” she replied. “I’m not a starter anymore, but I still have one more Olympics in me. The team has been doing so awesome, it’s been such an sweet ride.”

“Oh wow, that's amazing!” Remus said, meaning it, and hoping to take the conversation in safer territory. “Are you on a break from training right now? Being a tourist for a bit?”

“Yeah! It’s so beautiful out here. And it’s nice to have time to take in the sights. We travel for matches all the time, but it’s never very long in one place. We played a match near here last season, and it was so beautiful I knew I needed to bring Claire back here.” She smiled at her girlfriend and took her hand. 

“So you’re a hockey player?” Claire asked Sirius. He smiled a small smile and nodded, maybe started to say more while gripping Remus’ hand, but Claire continued, “that’s nice, but you two obviously slept together, right?” she said, gesturing between Rebecca and Sirius.

Rebecca just laughed, Sirius’ mouth dropped open, and Remus startled like he’d been shocked.

“That’s what this weird vibe is?!” he asked Sirius, half laughing, half horrified. “Oh my god, well, I get it now.”

Sirius dropped his head into both his hands, shaking his head, and then his shoulders were shaking, until his whole body was quivering with laughter. 

“Mon dieu, sorry, Rebecca… Re, I’m sorry.” Laughter bubbled out of him.  “I don’t know why I locked up, I got thrown back in time there for a minute, in my head. I’m ok now, sorry. Rebecca, it really is good to see you, I just was so surprised.”

Remus just shook his head. He’d be pretty shocked in the same situation too. The air already felt clearer, Sirius’ laughter had dissipated most of the awkwardness. 

“So you’re bi too then?” Rebecca asked. “Or pan maybe? I saw you two in the news of course, oh god I didn’t mean to bring that up, I just mean, obviously you’re married now! Congratulations,” she seemed to force herself to stop talking and Remus laughed. 

“Yeah, we got married last summer, it was amazing.”

Sirius smiled at him, the smile they always had when they thought about the lake house and their friends and family and the perfect haze of happy memories that surrounded that day. Sirius took a deep breath and turned to Rebecca.

“Yeah! But, um, no. Uh, I’m actually gay. That’s probably why I froze up there for a minute. But if you’re queer too that makes me feel a lot better, I think I panicked for a second that there would be flirting? Sorry, sorry.” he said, looking back and forth between both Rebecca and Claire.

Claire laughed, “Oh there could still be flirting, I’m afraid. You’re just her type in guys. I’m gay too, but my sweetheart here had a later in life bi awakening, much to my benefit.” She got closer and closer to Rebecca’s neck as she said this, and ended with a soft kiss to her jaw. Rebecca smiled a soft smile at her girlfriend, but then turned to Sirius, more serious. 

“Wow, so, um, that night must have been hard for you then? I feel like I should apologise. I think I kissed you first that night.”

Sirius shrugged his shoulders like his shirt was too tight, and Remus studied his reaction, taking his hand in both of his now, and drew circles in Sirius’ palm with his thumb. Sirius rubbed the back of his head with his other hand before answering. 

“No, please don’t apologise. You couldn’t know, I didn’t know. Well I knew, but I didn’t know . It’s not like you were the only girl I was with. I thought I just had to meet the right girl. And actually you helped with that, because you were so amazing. Beautiful, and fun to be around, and athletic and funny. And it was still… fine.” Rebecca laughed and faked hitting her heart with her fist like a stab. “No, I don’t mean it was bad! It was fine! Shit I keep saying fine… it was…” Sirius trailed off, looking to Remus, clearly now developing an aversion to the word fine. 

“Sirius, Sirius, it’s ok. I get it. The comphet comes for us all, doesn’t it?” Rebecca said. She started off half laughing, but her voice was full of authenticity by the end of her sentence. 

Remus kept running his thumb over Sirius’ palm in soothing circles, and Claire lifted her arm up to trace the edge of the window, and then put it around Rebecca’s shoulders, hugging her close. 

In the moment of silence that followed, the gondola slowly swung to stop. They all looked around, looking down at the magnificent view really for the first time since they got on the thing. 

“Huh, they must be stopping it to help someone on or off, I guess,” Remus said. A shiver had come over him as they swung to a stop, but it passed. The others nodded in acknowledgment as they swayed gently. 

“You were my last,” Sirius said into the silence. “My last time with … with a woman.” Remus raised his eyebrows at Sirius. “Well, I kissed other girls after that, only in public, but I knew after that night with you that I wanted to be with guys. Even if I didn’t let myself actually do that for a long time yet, at least I knew.” He paused. “Sorry,” he said again.

Rebecca laughed. “Honestly Black, it really is ok, stop apologising. I’m a little surprised, for sure, because for me it was really good. Like, really good. Like I-never-found-a-guy-as-good-again good, despite giving it an honest try. Had to fully just move onto women, good. So I might be questioning my perception of reality a little bit over here, but you don’t have anything to apologise for.” 

Remus was processing, hardly believing the turn this gondola ride had taken, but had to smile at that.

“He is pretty good, isn’t he?” Remus said, gazing up at Sirius with mischief in his eyes. “From our very first time, he knew what he was doing. Fuckin knocked my socks off,” Remus laughed. Rebecca joined him and Sirius buried his head in his hands again.

“Right?! His hands –”

“God, tell me about it. And his back?”

“Divine,” Rebecca sighed, tone half teasing and half serious. “And just his size, you know, when he’s on top, fully covering you?”

Remus faked a swoon, back of his hand to his forehead. “It’s amazing. Might be my favourite place in the world to be.” Sirius sat up and smacked Remus’ shoulder. “Re! Stop it,” he laughed.

“Did you get to experience his mouth?” Remus asked, leaning forwards to Rebecca. “Or how his eyes get so intense it’s like they glow?”

“Remus!”

Rebecca sighed dramatically. “I didn’t experience his mouth unfortunately. And I think he must be the only man in history to have turned down a blow job! It was mostly hands and some lovely dirty talk and … well, you know.”

“Oh the French dirty talk,'' Remus fawned, fanning himself with his hand, smiling evilly at Sirius. “It’s so hot.”

Rebecca faked a dramatic gasp. “Is this why you wanted me on my hands and knees??” she asked, gesturing dramatically to Remus. “So you could pretend I was him!?” The words might be accusatory, but the tone was pure glee. “Did you know him then?” she asked Remus. 

Sirius moaned into his hands and ground out what might have sounded like kill me now. 

“I just knew him as the hockey obsessed, tough as nails, never an emotion to be seen hockey captain back then. And I saw him make out with multiple girls at bars after that, so he clearly wasn’t ready for me yet back then,” Remus teased. 

Claire and Rebecca both nodded. “We all have to make our journeys of self discovery in our own time, don’t we,” Claire said. 

“That we do,” Remus said, letting the last of his laughter bubble out of him. They all took in a minute of happy silence, admiring the view. Even Sirius cautiously poked an eye out of the safety of his hands and looked past Remus to see towering snow capped mountains which they were almost eye level with up this high, this ground was really quite far away. Deep green trees transitioned into bright green grass in places, the buildings of the town looked like dots from here, and the fluffy white clouds seemed much closer than he had ever experienced before. 

The peace of the mountains seemed to sweep into the softly swinging gondola and Rebecca turned back to Sirius, still snuggled into Claire’s side. 

“I am sorry though, that society or whatever made you think you had to sleep with me. I’m sorry if I played a part in that,” she said. 

Sirius wasn’t frozen like the snow tipped mountains now, he tried to let his words flow like the breeze instead.

“I appreciate that, Rebecca, I do. But I could’ve said no, and I knew that. I went upstairs with you because I thought I should want to, but I was so deep in the shoulds, that in a roundabout way I did want to. And I’m honestly so glad you thought it was good, that’s like all I cared about.” “I never would’ve known you weren’t into it Sirius, really, it was good.” Sirius rolled his head on his neck, looking sheepish but happy. 

“It’s not that I didn’t think it was good. It did feel good, you’re amazing. I just was also really busy, in my mind. My thoughts were just going in bad circles with pressure and doing the right thing and what you might tell your friends and what I’d tell my teammates … so of course it was harder for me to just enjoy it. But like I said, you were the last time I did that, so I’m also really thankful for that, and for you. If you couldn’t be the right one, I knew there was no point in trying anymore.” He switched his gaze to Remus and his grin turned dopey, “until this one told me he was gay, and that I’d be worth it.”

Remus squeezed his hand. “You are worth it. Every day.” 

“If I may,” Claire said, “it sounds to me like you’re both right. You’re right, my love, to feel a bit weird about learning the guy you slept with doesn’t actually like sleeping with women. But it’s also ok that you still enjoyed it, because you’re always allowed to have your own version of a situation, based solely on your own experience of it. And he was actively trying to have you enjoy it, for different reasons than you thought. There’s no way you could have known his every inner thought.” Rebecca smiled and rested her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder. 

“And you Sirius,” she continued, “it could be interpreted as misleading to have gone upstairs with her, but Rebecca and I, as women who love women, know the strength and seeping nature of comphet, as I’m sure you do too, as a man in a traditional masculine field. It gets into your bones and bosses you around and ties your thoughts up in knots. I’m really glad you freed yourself from expectations to let yourself live. I can tell the two of you are really good together,” she smiled. 

Remus nodded his head along with her and kept drawing calming circles with his thumb around Sirius’ palm. 

“Merci, Claire,” Sirius smiled, “and for what it’s worth, Rebecca, I’m sorry for putting you in that situation.”

“Forgiven, Sirius Black. And thank you for ruining me for other men, so that I could find this goddess,” she leaned up to kiss Claire on the lips, deep and sensual. Sirius thought that looked like a really great idea, and leaned in to Remus. 

“Ça va bien, baby?” Remus repeated, their lips close, breathing each other in and out. He had been pressed up against Sirius’ side this whole conversation, clutching his hand. And now they blocked out the mountains, the uncomfortable seat, the shining sun, and only focused in on each other. 

“Oui. Je vais bien. Etonné. But … also good. Glad to have you, like always.”

“I’ll never be anywhere else, mon mari,” Remus murmured as he leaned in to kiss Sirius. Lost in their kiss, they didn’t notice that Rebecca and Claire were watching them with soft smiles on their faces, Rebecca’s head still against Claire’s shoulder. Claire twirled her hand around and then threaded her fingers through Rebecca’s ponytail, smiling. 

The gondola started moving again, startling Sirius and Remus apart with a smile. They squeezed each other’s hands with a shiver, they both had goosebumps from a brief chill. They all rode the last few minutes how they all had thought their whole ride would go. They pointed out the tallest trees, saw shapes in the clouds, basked in the chance to be so high up and see the world from such a different perspective. Funny how that makes a difference for so many things. 

They all saw the loading area approach, and stayed quiet while they slowed to a stop and the doors opened. They filed out into the visitors center. When they rounded the corner and were away from most other people, Rebecca folded herself into Sirius for a hug, squeezing him, her cheek pressed into his chest. He rested the side of his head against her and held her for a long moment. 

“Despite the shock, it really was good to see you, Sirius. And super good to get to clear the air with you about our night together. I, selfishly, hope you don’t regret it, but it’s ok if you do. I’m still happy to know you. Maybe you can actually text me back now that there’s no big secret swirling over you, eh?” she swatted him in the stomach at the last, and he dodged with an oof and a laugh. 

“Rebecca, honestly, I’m really glad to have run into you like this. Sorry if I was weird. I don’t regret it, how can I, when it was a stop on the path to me finding my husband?”

Rebecca turned and gave Remus a hug too. “Sorry for having your husband before you,” she teased. Remus huffed a laugh, and hugged her back. 

“Good to meet you Rebecca. I’ll forgive you, I suppose .” he joked. “Since I’m the one he’s going home with, I can’t complain.”

“Nope, you have absolutely nothing to complain about, I would know,” Rebecca teased as she took Claire’s hand again. “And I have this goddess now anyways. Bye, guys, take care!” she said as they started to turn away down the boardwalk.

“Enjoy your vacation!” Claire said with a wave, and Remus and Sirius waved as well, standing with their arms around each other’s backs. When they were a good way down the boardwalk Sirius turned and collapsed into Remus’ arms. They stood there amidst the beauty of the mountains. Tourists walked past and around them, taking pictures. They stood long enough for clouds to form and reform shapes, until Sirius could huff out a laugh. “What the actual fuck are the chances.”

“Of you stepping into a 6 foot square enclosed space with the last woman you had sex with? Really, really, really low I’d imagine. Even if we changed the odds to include all the women in general who have seen you naked, the number still has to be…” Remus trailed off as Sirius stood up and pushed him away, grumbling and laughing. 

“Stop teasing me, mon loup, this was traumatising ,” Sirius pouted. 

“Oh baby, I know, I know, come here,” Remus laughed, and gathered Sirius in tight for one more hug. “Let’s look around? And then we can walk down? So we don’t accidentally get trapped with the next least likely person in the fucking world? I can’t quite imagine who that could be at this point, but we’re probably safer on a hiking trail.”

“Let’s get trapped with your college boyfriend, and I’ll make comments about your mouth, tabarnak , that was embarrassing,” Sirius laughed under his breath as he turned to take in the view. 

“I was trying to cut the tension!”

“I’ll cut your tension,” Sirius muttered back.

“Can’t wait, baby,” Remus said with a suggestive eyebrow waggle. Sirius rolled his eyes, and then they did enjoy the view, thoroughly. And they took the hiking trail back down the mountain. 

[moonybeam3]

And if I said this was Leo Knut then what?

[floralflorence]

I feel like Logan would do this with Finn. Like... you've been in love with me for years and we're happily in a relationship and you're calling me... bro? Leo would do it if he wanted to be a little shit and piss Logan off :)

James: Bro-

Regulus: No, no, hold up, rewind.

James: ...

Regulus: My tongue was down your throat just a second ago, and now you're calling me bro??

[brandileigh2003]

Wolfstar wip recs! Works in progress are such a big part of fandom, and I need to be better about reading and recommending them. I'm open to suggestions as well!

***If you're reading any, also give the author love if you at all can, I'm trying to be better about that too***

My current ones I can find in notes:

•The Ups and Downs of Inevitability by depressed_and_nauseous: Hogwarts au (no background relationship rn)

•maybe time running out is a gift by @messrsrarchives mcd, Remus with cancer decision to stop treatment (background jily)

•catch me on the way down by raggedypond mcd fic, reg is dying and Sirius has to make end of life decisions, meets Remus at hospital

•Black's Anatomy by @grasslesss greys anatomy au

•beautiful boy (beautiful boy au) and we grew up in spite of it (Remus has a twin at Hogwarts divergent mcd) by peachyybabe @lavenderhaze

•Tender is the touch (of someone that you love too much) by @purplefiction-ao3 remus is waiting for heart transplant (background jily)

•Would That I by third_crow Hogwarts soulmate au (background jegulus)

•Underneath It All by @kaymardsa texting au (background jily)

•Without You by beautywolfstar @daffodilsonaprettystring Titanic au (background jegulus)

•Let Me Believe (Ever After) by @brigidfaye ever after: a Cinderella story au (jegulily)

•Modern Day Moses by krabapple @severedreamerfox post 1st war divergent mpreg (background jily)

•Tic Tic Boom by @fictionboysarebetter Remus with tourettes at Hogwarts (background jily)

•The Standard Book Of Spells series by imparfait @je-suis-imparfait adorable wolfstar, hurt/comfort, no voldy au (the most recent is complete but series is wip and one of my faves) (background jily)

•While I breathe, I hope by @marigold-hills divergent post Hogwarts, remus expelled after prank

•One More to Love by @krethes @theresthesnitch a/b/o Wolfstarbucks

•Give Me A Sign by @theresthesnitch magical soulmate au, Remus is deaf (background jily)

•Blinded Fate by FatedEcho star wars au (background jily)

•amicus curiae by femme_de_lettres @femme--de--lettres law school au fantastic disability rep (background jegulus)

•Parenthood For Dummies by Middleofamoment wolfstar raising teddy and adopting OC (part of series) (background jily)

•The Point of Vanishing by @greenibis (59k) fabulous look at the boys at Hogwarts. (background jily)

•Coparenting With Benefits by @m00neroni (38k wip 6/22 chapters) a/b/o mpreg fwb (background jily)

•As the Worm Moon Dies by @rollercoasterwords different magical system very au

•on another ocean by @colgatebluemintygel (133k WIP ) modern au, vacation, pining and oblivious idiots in love. (background jily)

•Vaincre by @lumosinlove sweater weather sequel (hockey) (background jily)

•Four To The End by @dovahtobi long fic of Hogwarts. This is year 4 (96k, 19/? ch.)

•Language Lessons: B-Sides by MsAlexWP @languagelessonswolfstar (background jily)

•disintegration by moonymoment @mayescapade vampire Sirius and Hunter remus

•wip or maybe abandoned but good: Of Leaves and Stars (modern magical texting, trans remus and genderfluid sirius)

•Of Initials and Postscripts same authors and status (Hogwarts era, remus is homeschooled and sirius is his penpal) both by irrationalmoony & LadyAmina

•hide your fires by bizarrestars @starsworth (reg/Kingsley main, plenty of black family dynamics, harry and wolfstar)

---And these are what's coming on wip tbr/recs from my lovely friends

•marginalia by @spindrifters magical au

• of his bones by MesserMoon

•A Love Like the Movies by Acewitch @acewitch-writes

•How To Jeopardise Your Friendship With Remus Lupin by @amberlink

New addition

•Brave Face by zoe_millin_writes @zoemillinwrites WIP multiple pov but Sirius is primary. It's so good

[cat-crowned-8]

bc y'all def asked, here's my top fic recs

marauders edition

(organized from shortest to longest)

forget-me-not - rxgulus

my summary: James gets hit with an amnesia spell, and basically only remembers his boyfriend regulus. regulus is not in fact his boyfriend.

wordcount: 13,325

james is WHIPPED, basically all fluff, very cutesy

a bee for the honey - rxgulus

my summary: James finds out regulus is a honey badger animagus and brings him little gifts of honey and sweets

wordcount: 20,670

my summary is hesitant bc I haven't read in a while, planning on doing so soon so I'll be back to change it if anything is different. I know I thought it was rlly cute tho. James is a simp

The Barista, the Burglar, and the Sofa - orphan_account

my summary: struggling barista Remus comes home to find sirius (a stranger) in his flat, who continues to break in to furnish his home

wordcount: 21,344

sirius basically sugar daddies his way into remus' life

nothing happens (series) - jaywalkers

my summary: childhood friends James ang reg form a very codependent and minorly toxic friendship that will begin to cross boundaries

wordcount (so far): 43,795

i'm actually obsessed with these characterizations, James is kind of a douche sometimes but their devotion to each other! anticipating the next installment

the coffee shop au - third_crow

my summary: sirius w Harry come into remus' coffee house and they both continue to pine endlessly

wordcount: 54,626

haven't read in like a year but I remember absolutely adoring it

Operation Walburga's Arbitrary No Kissing Ever Rule - courfee

my summary: 10 things I hate about you inspired, sirius asks James to "fake" date regulus so Sirius and remus can get around a curse walburga placed on them. reg was unaware any of it was fake

wordcount: 91,325

literally just reread, quite frankly think that the angst could've been drawn out more, James frustrated me a lot but he's trying

whatever our souls are made of - damagecontrol, solmussa

my summary: hanahaki disease, a no Voldemort au, reg comes VERY close to death

wordcount: 157,821

THIS ONE IF YOU ARE GOING TO READ ANY OF THESE LET IT BE THIS ONE. I absolutely adore this, and its probably my favorite hanahaki fic of all time. its literally the reason I'm making this post, people need to talk about it more

The Long Game - lackadaisical_lizard

my summary: in high school, jock James and artsy regulus work on a project together and bond

wordcount: 250,008

literally THE muggle high school au, James becomes regulus' muse its adorable

Kill Your Darlings - MesserMoon

my summary: regulus follows sirius to play hockey and they heal (yes it's jegulus), features deaf remus

wordcount: 303,706

this was my first true introduction to rosekiller, and its what made me fall in love with them. the wolfstar was so sweet, but honestly I remember rosekiller the most from it

Sweater Weather (+ sequel) - lumosinlove

my summary: PT Remus and NHL captain Sirius fall in love, has a whole cast of OC's that are super cute

wordcount: 423,079

one of the first non-magical wolfstars I ever read, the ensemble really add so much to it

[siriuslylu]

I just finished reading Sweater Weather by @lumosinlove and I can’t encourage you enough to go read it if you haven’t, I went through every emotion possible and I feel like crying out of happiness for my boys 😭😭😭 Haz OC’s are everything, I need to protect Logan, Leo and Finn with my life, I’m dying to read the second part omg.

Haz, your brain is fantastic, thank you for gifting us this, keep on writing your magic, I left 284959492 kudos in my head, may your pillows always be cold and fluffy.

[atlasdoe]

favourite fic, or top five, of all time?

HELLO!!!!

i won't lie i do not read as much fics as i would like to but here are some of my faves. i also apologise that none of these are really unpopular and i'm probably not saying anything new

The Marauders Series by Pengiwen (HGMartinwrites on ao3)

this fic is literally my favourite ever. It's a super long cannon compliant fic with literally everything you would want in a marauders era fic (except for mary unfortunately) the main ships are jily and wolfstar with background fralice and marmalade (emmeline/marlene) and has a pov for practically everyone. i can make post and posts about this fic and all the brilliant things it includes but i don't want to take up too much of your time and think the fic is brilliant going into it blind. it gets better and better as it goes along

Disintegration by moonymoment

this fic is utter perfection. it's a wolfstar vampire x vampire hunter fic with a shit ton of lore, and brilliant dynamics between the characters. this fic is what made me fall in love with remus and dorcas being best friends so much andddd it has regulus/james/lily/mary and i fucking adore them. ALSO THE LORE!!!!!! THE PLOT!!!!!!

Sweater Weather by lumosinlove

the ultimate comfort fic and the only fic that i read fanfiction of. this is a wolfstar hockey au with a lot of ocs. i've never really been a big fan of ocs in fics having such a big part but i am in love with all of them here so much that i read fics that people have written about the ocs. wolfstar is just so sweet in this fic and although i know nothing about hockey reading this actually makes me feel like i could hold a conversation with a hockey fan

The Sinner's Feast by Dearamleo

SPEAKING OF SWEET WOLFSTAR!!!! this is a wolfstar fic where remus is a single dad and doctor and sirius is the vice president of a gang. I am suchhhhh a sucker for single dad remus and teddy is so fucking adorable in this fic, i love their little family so much it hurts. this fic also fed me plenty in protective sirius

Of Memories and Milk Thievery by moonymoment

another one by moonymoment but who's surprised? any fic with sirius and remus raising teddy is an automatic 5 stars from me. in this fic remus and sirius are divorced and co parenting teddy. wolfstar are soooo petty towards each other in this fic it's brilliant

THANK YOU SM FOR THE ASK!!!

[floralflorence]

GUYS GUYS LOOK I PROMISED THEYD BE FINE

[mymoonss]

daily rant <3

the unhealthy obsession i have with @lumosinlove ocs is crazy LIKE how do i tell someone “hey so yk harry potter godfather sirius. well he’s in love with professor lupin but instead of magic they play for the nhl.. and basically they are in love. my favs tho are these 3 weirdos that go by “the cubs” and GUESS WHAT they are in love too <3” so yeah… i love o’knutzy but no one knows who they are 😭😭😭 (don’t even get me started on coops, jily, and LITERALLY any other ship in the sweather weather universe)

[onespiderfrommars]

wolfstar fic reccs 👀?

oh i have wolfstar fic recs.

regrettably i am chronically terrible at bookmarking fics so a lot of my favorites have been lost to time :/ but here are my favorite must-reads for the fandom! (and if anyone wants more recs i will get better with bookmarking i SWEAR)

all of these are on ao3 btw!! fics below the cut ;)

all my cards are here by haey1 - the order that i listed all these fics is completely random except for this one. this one is at the top for a reason. band au, remus is the new bassist. silly marauders antics, healthy dose of angst, drama, treachery????? it has everything (also side note jily is fucking adorable in this one)

text talk by merlywhirls - this one is number two for a reason. amcah will always be my favorite wolfstar fic but this one is the DEFINITION of a comfort fic. texting au, sirius accidentally texts remus who's in the hospital, so many antics and shenanigans bro. it does get angsty at times fs but its so cute yall. ALSO FRANK AND ALICE CONTENT UGH

staying strangers by 3amandcounting - this one is SO SILLY it's another one of those texting fics but it's genuinely such a fun read. also it has desi james potter which is my personal favorite marauders headcanon (!!)

like real people do by third_crow - LOVE me a good coffeeshop au, this one isn't all sunshine and rainbows but it's still super cute, also baby harry !!! unfortunately lily and james are in fact dead :/ but i love this sm

that's the art of getting by by sarewolf - oh GUYS this one is such a must read i swear to god, its a wolfstar (first remus, then sirius too) raises harry fic and it literally has everything. it'll rip you to pieces and fix you again and i had such a great (and terrible) time reading it

sweater weather by lumosinlove - HOCKEY AUUUUUU guys i dont know anything about hockey but this fic had me wanting to play. it has black brothers angst, gryffindor/slytherin rivalry, good ocs, physical trainer!remus and captain!sirius, its literally perfection.

beneath a big blue sky by eyra - guys. farmer remus. i dont think i need to say any more.

the horcrux hunt by lostmy_keys - this one is very regulus-centric but wolfstar is the main ship! its got some peak platonic moonwater, but it's also got some great wolfstar content. i was so invested in this one as it was coming out omg

pair of tossers with a cat by moonymoment - i am a moonymoment ENTHUSIAST and this fic is no exception, this one's just a bit of silly wolfstar, remus takes in a stray cat and sirius has beef with it. so cute, 10/10 would recommend

of memories and milk thievery by moonymoment - another moonymoment fav, remus and sirius are teddy's divorced fathers. so much silly beefing. theyre so petty and its fucking funny as shit but then randomly gets deep??? the marauders fandom cant stay away from angst for 2 secs but all in all such a funny fic i had such a silly time with it

[fruitcoops]

Way Down on the River

O’Knutzy Week Day 2 ( @oknutzyweek2023 ) : Bucket Hat (B1) + Advice (D1) with Leo’s grandmother <3 O’Knutzy belong to @lumosinlove, but I made up Apolline!

Sweet tea on a summer evening, and Leo is happy. Finn can see it from a room away. He hums along to the radio filtering in from the backyard, bass-boosted by the joy of his family. Logan is almost certainly charming Wyatt at the barbecue.

But Leo is happy without any of that. Condensation buds along his fingertips; he balances two fresh glasses of tea in one hand and reaches for the screen door with a childlike sort of excitement. The ice cubes ring almost as soft as his greeting through the fine mesh.

Finn lowers his voice and ducks his head. “So should I call her ‘MeeMaw’, or…?”

“We aren’t really about the ‘MeeMaw’ life here,” Eloise laughs beside him.

Outside, the porch swing creaks gently as Leo sits with a smile and a sigh Finn can hear through the door. Mismatched glasses clink on mosaic tiles.

Dusk looks good on him. Contentment looks even better. He loves it when Leo is happy.

“I really don’t think I can just call her Apolline,” Finn murmurs. The silhouette to Leo’s left waves a hand through the air; more laughter siphons after it. “I mean—I know she asked me to, but it feels wrong.”

Eloise’s smile crinkles her nose. “You are too sweet sometimes, Finn O’Hara. The kids call her Granmѐ. Everyone else goes with Mama Lee.”

Finn nods slowly. He’s been lucky enough to call Leo his for over a year now, but he can’t fathom a world in which he calls his boyfriend’s beloved grandmother by her first name. His mother would be horrified. He would be horrified. His ancestors would rise up and smack him for the sheer disrespect.

“Mama Lee.” It’s not so bad. Eloise looks pleased, at least. Finn tilts his head from side to side, weighing the sound. The porch lights cast Leo and his grandmother in a neverending sunset on their shared seat.

Outside, Leo says something that sends them both into peals of giggling. Eloise huffs under her breath and sets a dry plate aside. Her eyes are bright and warm when she glances at him. “I hope you know you’re not getting him back.”

“Not a problem,” Finn laughs.

“It’s a wonder we ever got him home from sleepovers. Though—” She pauses and cranes her neck to look out the door. “—between the two of us, I think my mother is about ready to adopt you boys at the first opportunity.”

And you must be Finn. Light brown skin and dark eyes and smile lines that told of a life well-lived and well-loved. A peacock-blue shawl of cloudlike softness, a carpet bag bulging at the clasp with gifts and food. Call me Apolline, honey. A voice like summer thunder on a lazy river. Magnolia and citrus perfume. I hear you like cards?

“You think so?”

Eloise shakes her head, grinning. “You were hers the second you knew how to play gin rummy.”

Finn sends a silent prayer of thanks up to his own grandmother for training him with ‘Wheel of Fortune’ and cookies. “I was not prepared.”

“Nobody ever is.” Eloise nudges him with her elbow and casts a significant look out the door. “She counts cards, you know. Like she’s in Vegas. Swear to God I’ve seen her with aces up her sleeves.”

--

A sharp burst of laughter fills the house before someone—his mother, he thinks—hurriedly shushes it. “That’s your boy, mm?” Granmѐ gives an approving nod. “I like his voice.”

Leo buries his smile in the rim of his glass. “Me, too.”

“You said he reads out loud?”

“Sometimes.”

She nods again, settles deeper into the cushions, and tucks her shawl close with a long exhale.

“He should work at the library. Kids want a voice like that.”

“He wanted to be a teacher if hockey didn’t work.”

Granmѐ’s pleased hum echoes in his memory, a threadline mapping a hundred honeyed afternoons. The breeze cools them both; he slides his feet beneath the folded lap blanket, but keeps his tea close. She made it. It’s rich and sweet the way he has never managed to replicate. It sticks to his teeth, his throat, his heart, and shoos the drenched heat of summer off like a naughty cat from the yard. If he closes his eyes, he can taste the sun inside it.

“He likes you.”

She says it with the surety of someone who simply knows these things. Leo catches a drip of tea that threatens to slide off his glass. “He does.”

“Cher, he likes you something fierce.” She spares him a sly glance before looking back to the street, where the sun has long since set over the roof of their neighbors’ house. One slippered foot extends to give them a push off the ottoman—the hinges whine, but rock them nonetheless. He has fallen asleep out here with her so, so many times. Granmѐ clucks her tongue. “Your other one, too. Your français.”

“Logan,” Leo supplies.

She waves him off with a tch that makes him grin. “I know.”

“Ouais, Granmѐ.”

Her clever eyes dart over him, up and down. Her mouth is set firm but he can feel her amusement like a cradling wind. “I know,” she repeats. Leo could listen to the syrupy slide of her French forever. “The love life of my grandbaby is up here somewhere.”

Up here somewhere. As if she isn’t the sharpest person in the room at any given moment. “Ouais, Granmѐ.”

She hums a playful warning, but smiles when he sets his glass aside and scoots closer to her. “There is a difference,” she notes without preface.

“Hmm?”

“The liking.” She casts her shawl aside with a flick of the wrist; her touch is gentle as she takes the bucket hat from his head and brushes his hair out of his eyes. He has his father’s height, but he knows he’s his mother’s son in her eyes. “And the loving.”

She watches him. Just…watches. Her hand lingers by his face, warm fingers drifting butterfly-soft over his skin. Summer has painted her with the deep brown freckles that stipple his memory—the marks he would trace with grasping hands in childhood Augusts, and the ones she would map on his own nose and cheeks with a fingertip to show they were just the same. They spent ages in the grass like that, across from each other on a gingham blanket as old as his mother, a namesake and her mirror.

“They love me,” he says softly. It’s part promise, part reassurance. He’s not sure who needs it more right now.

The wrinkles by her eyes deepen with contentment. “They do.”

“I love them.”

“You love so much, boo.”

“But them—I really do.” She needs to know this. He needs her to know this. She had known everything, like always, even before he told her. And he told her before anyone else.

Granmѐ, I don’t think I like girls like I’m supposed to.

Is that what you’re so wound up in? She hadn’t even looked up from her puzzle. Mmhmm. Come find my corner piece.

Crickets and frogs fill the silence, growing bold in the hastening night. The windchime twinkles at the corner of the porch. Leo has never met anyone who sounds the way his grandmother does. She has the whole depth of the river in her voice. Spanish moss pours off her words. He can see the breadth of the bayou in her searching eyes. “Give your heart to the people that deserve it, Leo.”

He is five years old and falling asleep against her in the rocking chair, and she is humming to jazz records with a hand on his back, and he is safer there than anywhere in the world.

His voice shakes when it slips out. “Do they deserve it?”

“How could I tell you a thing like that, hmm?”

But she’s smiling. And Finn laughs again inside and the smile stays, wide like his own. Leo sags with the relief. She doesn’t hesitate to pull him into a hug that seals up the hairline cracks of homesickness with golden honey. He twists a tassel of her shawl between his fingertips and allows himself to pretend the world is as simple as it was when they’d lay out under the spilled-milk stars and she’d bundle him in peacock blue to chase away the chill.

His next breath comes out wet. “They deserve it.”

“I think they’re going to work very hard to make sure they keep deserving it.”

“I love you.”

Her hand is so strong when she passes it down the back of his head. He feels her answer in the pressure and the slowness, as if she doesn’t want to pull away. But she does, and still, their arms touch when they take their tea back. Leo rests the side of his head on her shoulder and wonders if he should feel silly about it.

“Mama’s worried about you living by yourself out there,” he says once one song bleeds into the next in the backyard. It’s not even midnight. They’ll have time for the party later.

His grandmother scoffs. “Do I look like I need help?”

“Non.”

“Then you tell her I’m just fine.”

“I will.”

“And tell your daddy, too. Man thinks the bayou is dangerous, like he didn’t live there for years.”

“Ouais, Granmѐ.” The vowels drag out like a good stretch on sore muscles.

She gives a harumph that makes them both snort—Leo barely glances up when there’s a knock on the doorframe. “Bonjour. Do you need anything?”

He smothers a laugh at the crispness of Logan’s accent against their own. “Non, I think we’re okay—”

“Ah-ah,” his grandmother interrupts. Her fingernails tap lightly on the side of her glass. “More tea, if you’re asking.”

“Bien sûr, madame.”

Leo catches Logan’s eye as he bends and gives him a look of disbelief, mouthing madame? with a healthy amount of incredulity. The consequences come swiftly; the loving hand running through his hair bestows a firm swat upon the side of his head.

“Apolline,” Granmѐ corrects in a voice at odds to the smarting skin above Leo’s ear. He rubs at it and pointedly ignores Logan’s bitten-back grin.

“I’ll be back in a moment, madame.”

Logan’s gone with a smile and a wink that makes her bark a laugh. “He’s a good boy.”

“See?” Leo tilts his head towards the inside of the house. “Deserves me.”

“I don’t think your rouge will call me by my name, either.”

Leo shakes his head and sits up with a stretch that makes his wrists pop. “Told you they were raised right.”

“We raised you too well to even look twice at the rude ones,” she sniffs. Her haughtiness lasts only until their eyes meet, and then the joy breaks free. The porch swing sways in the night breeze; they laugh at the stars with tea-sweetness on their lips and thick cornbread warming their bellies. Yes, Leo thinks, they raised him too well to accept anything less than this.