Written for:

Hogwarts Forum:

Marauder's Map - Hairdresser!AU / Remus Lupin

Fantastic Beasts - Place 65 - North Korea: Hairdresser / Creature 42 - Will-o'-the-Wisp: (word) light

Fortnightly: Princess Lessons - 18: (trait) Kind

Fortnightly: Around The Board - 13 - Room of Requirement - Write about someone having their needs met

Pinata - Medium: Fluff

Writing Club:

Character Appreciation - 22: Long hair *Bonus if using Sirius*

Disney Challenge - Song 2 - Shiny: Changing appearance

Lizzy's Loft - 1 - Markiplier - Dyed hair

Book Club - Khalil: (Dialogue) - "Good ol' [name]. Always looking for the best in people." (object) hairbrush, (plot point) trying to get out of a bad situation

Showtime - 4 - Protecting

Amber's Attic - 1: Heathers - Write about faking something *5 bonus points*

Count Your Buttons - Character 1 - Sirius Black

Lyric - 8: Don't try to change me in anyway

AAA - 13 - (genre) Hurt/Comfort

Emy's Emporium - 12: Character Remus Lupin

Angel's Arcade - 11 - (emotion) Happy, (Trait) Long hair, (word) Expert

Lo's Lowdown - Quote 3 - "We don't live in a word that's fair. We live in this one."

Bex's Basement - 16 - Spiderman - Write about someone adorable

Film Festival - 6 - "I've had a really long day."

Seasonal:

Days of the Year - 19th October - Write about someone making a big change to their life

Autumn - (word) drift

Colour - Dark Purple

Air Element - (object) coat

Audrey's Dessert Challenge - Premade - Cake 2: Write about wanting more of something

Characters (traits) - Hard-working

Star Chart - (word) beauty

Writing Month

Word count: 4,697

Assignments:

Assignment 8 - Divination Task 3 - Write about someone being soothed by a cup of tea

Literal Sparks

WolfStar

Contains: Omegaverse and Mpreg

Sirius sung along with the radio as he swept the floor of the shop. He found that singing along helped time go a little faster as he dealt with the mess that was left behind. Usually he had an assistant in the shop to sweep up and keep the place tidy, but his assistant had deserted him with no notice, having found 'a better job'.

Sirius had nothing against people moving on to other jobs, he only had an issue when someone didn't work their notice or even tell him properly. Amanda had left a message on the shop voicemail at seven am when no-one would be in.

So Sirius and Regulus had to try and keep the place clean themselves whilst also popping a sign up in the window. Unfortunately Regulus had plans after work, meaning Sirius was left to clean up. He had arranged a couple of interviews for the next evening, but the people who had come in hadn't seemed promising at all. First impressions mattered a lot to Sirius and if someone couldn't say 'please', 'thank you' or even offer a smile or a friendly look, then they weren't right to sit at the reception desk to greet people coming in.

He was singing so loud, he missed the sound of the bell above the door. It wasn't until he caught sight of someone through the mirror, that he realised he wasn't alone. He immediately spun around, his eyes widening and the broom falling to the floor.

A man stood at the reception desk, a hint of a smile on his lips. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I did call out but I don't think you heard me and I didn't want to approach you and make you jump."

The shock only lasted a moment. It quickly gave way and Sirius let his gaze linger on the man. It wasn't often that someone new stopped in - they had a lot of regular customers - and Sirius would have remembered someone this adorable. He approached the counter, discreetly breathing in. Omega.

"Can I help you?" he asked, his voice deepening slightly.

The stranger nodded. "Yes. I need my hair dyed and cut and… different. I wasn't sure you'd be open, but when I asked around, I was told to come here and ask for Sirius."

Sirius glanced at the clock. It was almost six and this would take over an hour, but he couldn't turn this Omega away. Suddenly going home and catching up on his shows didn't seem so important. He'd much rather spend an hour with this beautiful Omega. His gaze moved to the man's neck, but his coat covered it.

"I'm Sirius. I was planning on closing soon," Sirius began. "You're welcome to stay and I'll do your hair first, but it's just me here. If you're uncomfortable with that, my brother is an Omega and here during the day. I'm sure I can slip you in somewhere tomorrow." Sirius knew that some Omegas were wary about being alone with Alphas and he didn't want this Omega to be uncomfortable around him at all.

The customer hesitated. "I'm not uncomfortable staying," he said. "But I don't want to put you out. I've had a really long day though."

"No problem at all. We'll do the dye first and then cut." He gestured to his preferred chair. "Sit down there. I'll just finish sweeping and I'll be right with you. You've come to the right place, I'm the expert when it comes to hair."

He watched the Omega walk around the desk and take a seat, before returning to his job, making quicker work of the hair, before pulling all the hair from the hairbrush on his station, making a mental note to clean it properly the next morning. He knew he could do this job after the dye was in, but he'd rather sit and chat with the Omega instead.

"So," he said, approaching the chair, a cape in his hands. "What can I do for you..."

The man sighed, reaching up and pulling his hat off, revealing dark brown, almost black hair. "My name's Remus. I need this fixed."

Sirius tried not to pull a face at the hair colour. It was too severe for the Omega and didn't suit him. "Is this your natural colour?"

Remus shook his head, the smile sliding from his face. There was a look on his face that Sirius hated and he moved around the chair so he was face to face with Remus. "You look like you need someone to talk to," he offered softly.

"My ex wasn't a fan of blonds," Remus admitted, pulling out a photo of himself. "One of the many changes I made for him yet I still wasn't good enough." He shrugged his shoulders as though he didn't care, but Sirius could see that Remus was very upset. Anger surged through him at any Alpha that caused this upset to Remus and a wave of protectiveness washed over him. "I thought he was worth it. Good ol' Remus. Always looking for the best in people." His voice took on a mocking tone. "It's not fair."

"Any Alpha that tried to change you is a fool," he said firmly. Remus showed him the picture, where he had dark blond hair. "It's not fair, but that's life unfortunately. Sometimes the good people get screwed over."

"This is my natural colour. I know it'll be hard to do over this, but could you… I mean, it doesn't need to be exact, just as close as possible."

Sirius reached for the photo. He had never been into blonds before himself, but suddenly blond hair was his favourite.

"I'll bleach your hair and then dye it this colour," he insisted. "But let's have some tea first. You look like you need it."

"Tea would be perfect," Remus agreed softly. "Thank you."

Sirius could tell that the 'thank you' wasn't just because of the tea offer. It was appreciation for how kind Sirius was being and Sirius' heart ached for the Omega that thanked people for being nice. What had his life been like before walking into that shop?

...oOo...

Sirius set the cup down in front of Remus, before setting his down next to it. He pulled a nearby chair over and dropped down into it.

Remus reached out from underneath the dark purple cape for the cup. His eyes closed as he breathed in the smell of tea. "I haven't had tea in so long. My ex used to always order for us and get coffees."

"You don't strike me as a coffee person," Sirius said.

"I hate coffee," Remus confirmed. "But some Alphas…" he trailed off. "Not all of course, but some are quite old fashioned."

Sirius nodded. Those Alphas gave ones like him a bad name. The ones that treated the Omegas like property. They changed their Omegas to suit them, rather than doing what was best for their mate. The ones that ordered for their Omegas, not taking their lover's likes into account.

Sirius would never ask Remus to change his hair colour. Sirius would be happy to spend his life making Remus cups of tea.

"Some are," Sirius finally agreed. "Not all of us are like that. I hope your experiences… I'm sorry for what you've been through."

"It's okay - it's not your job to apologise for someone else," Remus insisted, before taking a sip of the burning hot drink and setting it back down. "He kept pushing and things just got worse. He crossed every line but then I found out I..." He glanced over at the waiting area and Sirius followed his gaze, noticing the suitcase for the first time. "The moment he left me alone, I got out of there - caught the first train at the station, scared that he'd somehow turn up if I hung around. I didn't have enough for lots of trains, tickets aren't cheap at short notice after all, and here I am."

Sirius stared at the cases for a long time. "You're going to a hotel?"

Remus nodded. "I'll go to the housing department of whatever the local council is tomorrow. They might have a hostel or something to put me up in." Though he tried to look like it didn't matter, Sirius caught the tremor in his voice.

There was no way he'd allow Remus to go into a hostel.

"Let me get some biscuits," he murmured softly, before standing up and walking to the staff room.

...oOo...

Sirius slipped his phone back into his pocket as he walked over to Remus. "My brother has a spare room," he said, sitting down again. "He's an Omega and he's happy to let you stay there."

Remus began to shake his head. "I can't impose," he insisted.

"A hostel isn't safe," Sirius replied. "If it was Regulus running, I'd hope that someone would do the same for him. I've already asked and he's good with it. He lives alone and no Alphas ever go there. We have an agreement - I stop bothering him about his love life and I stop threatening to murder James, and he doesn't have Alphas - specifically James - over."

"James is his Alpha?"

Sirius nodded. "James is my best friend. One day I'll get used to them falling in love - that day will be when they get married. I guess I'm a little old fashioned like that: I want to know if something happens to me, my brother will be… protected. Not that Omegas need protecting - I expect him to look after James too. Mummy - James' mum of course - always said that if you've met 'the one' then marriage before children and stuff."

Remus frowned slightly.

"I'm not saying that in a judgemental way," Sirius hastened to add.

"No, I didn't think that - my ex he… he didn't want marriage," Remus confided.

"Well, anyone who wouldn't want to marry you is a fool," Sirius muttered. "If I had a beautiful Omega who cared for me, I'd marry him in a heartbeat. I'd be thrilled to be a father."

Remus' hand moved to his stomach and he turned to look back at the suitcase. Sirius stared at where his hand rested.

"You left because you're pregnant," he guessed, causing Remus to nod.

"I can't stay with your brother. I can't impose like that."

Sirius considered whether it was insane to propose to Remus - to offer to raise that baby with him. He managed to stop himself asking the most insane and right question. He was conflicted. Everything was telling him to protect Remus, to marry him. To not let him walk out of there without a mating bite, but Sirius pushed the surge of emotions and thoughts down.

"It's a good thing you walked in here then, because now I'm here to help you. Don't look at me like that - I want to help you."

Remus took a deep breath and shivered. "I think I'm too weak to turn that offer down again."

"You're not weak. You were strong enough to leave a controlling ex," Sirius insisted softly. "And you've turned up to somewhere where you have nowhere. But that's not it - you have me, and you'll have the support system that comes with my friendship. My brother, his Alpha, James' family."

Remus took another deep breath and Sirius knew Remus was taking in his scent. He hoped that it had as much effect on Remus as Remus' scent and presence had on him.

Instinctively, Remus reached out and grabbed Sirius' hand. Sirius reached out his other hand, placing it on top of Remus'. He could tell that Remus was on some sort of blocker that disguised the scent of pregnant Omega, which would also alter Remus' sense of smell a little… but everything else there indicated that Remus mattered. Maybe they were even soulmates, but Sirius wasn't going to entertain that thought right now.

"Fate brought you here," he whispered. "The first train, someone recommending me by name and I have a 'help wanted' sign up in the window and an Omega brother with a spare room. You were meant to arrive here. You can start work the day after tomorrow as you'll need time to settle into Regulus' flat."

Remus stared at him with perfect amber eyes and something changed in them as though he could see the internal struggle Sirius faced. "I've just come out of a—"

"—I know," Sirius interrupted, not wanting to hear words of rejection fall from Remus' lips. "Right now, I'm offering friendship - I have no intention to be a rebound." He pulled his hands away and stood up. "I'm not helping you to get something in return, I promise you that. Now, let's go and wash your hair. I can't dye it because of the pregnancy, but we can cut it and keep it short until the colour is out."

...oOo...

"You're smitten," Regulus muttered, as Remus got into his car. He followed Sirius to the boot where Sirius put the suitcase. "Completely head over heels."

"He might be my soulmate," Sirius said desperately. "I don't know how to handle this, Regulus. He's perfect. From the moment I laid eyes on him… he's…" the word pregnant was on the tip of his tongue but Sirius resisted, not wanting to share Remus' secret. "James' family helped us. Now we pay it forward and help Remus."

Regulus smiled slowly. "Fine, but because you're my brother and he seems quite nice for a guy you've just met and offered to live with me."

"Oh, and I offered him a job." Sirius closed the boot and grinned at his brother. "See you later." Before Regulus could respond, Sirius had strode past the car, taken a moment to wave at Remus through the window before headed back to the shop. There were benefits of living above his work.

There were downsides too, he realised, as he locked the doors behind him and headed upstairs to the one bedroom flat. It wasn't big enough for him and Remus and the baby that he already knew he'd raise at Remus' side. His future child. His future family.

...oOo...

"Are you sure you should be here today," Sirius said, opening the front door for Remus as Remus tapped on the front door fifteen minutes early.

Remus nodded. "Regulus dropped me - he had a few errands to run before he comes in."

"Yeah, he's got nothing booked for about an hour," Sirius said, closing the door behind Remus and rushing to pull out the chair at the reception desk. "Your replacement will arrive later."

"And I'll show her what needs doing so she's clued in for tomorrow," Remus insisted.

"I was going to show her so you could stay home and relax. Your appointment is tomorrow." His hand brushed Remus' stomach. "The little one will be here tomorrow."

Sirius made to pull his hand away but Remus' came up to cover it. "Is it still okay if I stay at yours tonight? I mean, if you still want to come with me tomorrow. You don't have to - my mum is arriving tonight from Wales and—"

"And what did she say about finding out you're pregnant?"

Remus smiled. "She's thrilled. She said I sound happy, and that since I'm living in London now, it's clear I've found a nice new Alpha and she can't wait to meet… my Alpha. I can't tell her this baby is /his/."

Sirius swallowed. "You know I'm happy for you to claim it's mine," he said. "And of course you can stay at mine. I've changed the bedding for you, I've… I've stocked up on chocolate and teabags."

Remus grinned. "Speaking of tea…" he began to stand, but Sirius shook his head. "If you're here, you're confined to the chair. You need to rest. I'll make you a cup of tea." He let go of Remus' stomach and rushed to the kitchen to get the tea and a packet of chocolate biscuits.

...oOo...

"Remus, are you awake?" Sirius whispered loudly.

Remus let out a sleepy moan.

"Good. I need to get something out of the drawer but didn't want to scare you if you woke up and someone's in here." He walked to the chest of drawers, pulling the second one open.

"Too much talking. Come and cuddle me," Remus muttered.

Sirius froze, the pyjama bottoms halfway out of the drawer. "What?"

"It's cold. Come here and… and cuddle me."

Sirius knew it was a lie. He glanced towards the bed, seeing the outline of Remus, but hesitated. What if Remus was half asleep and didn't realise he was talking to Sirius. But… it was very warm in the house. Sirius had made sure it was warm enough for Remus' fussy standards - Remus liked being toasty warm. There was no way Remus could be cold.

"Remus—"

"Sirius, get in this bed," Remus muttered, sitting up. "Do I need to issue a formal invitation on fancy paper with gold or silver curly writing?"

Sirius grinned. "One moment." He pulled off his jeans quickly and pulled the pyjama bottoms on, before rushing to the bed. His foot caught on the discarded jeans as he raced, causing him to stumble.

He righted himself and picked the jeans up, realising that leaving them on the floor could cause Remus to fall over them in the morning - the last thing he wanted - and slipped into the vacant side of the bed.

Immediately Remus' body was against his, seeking additional warmth and a minute later, Remus was snoring lightly against his shoulder.

Sirius wrapped his arms tightly around the Omega. He had been ready for almost eight months to be with Remus, taking it one day at a time. That day was the first time he had been able to share a bed with Remus or just wrap his arms around Remus and breath in his scent.

He debated whether to stay awake and savour what was happening, or to go asleep because it was a big day the next day.

After a few minutes, he allowed himself to drift off. He didn't want to be tired the next day - he didn't want to let Remus down when Remus needed him to be strong. Tomorrow he'd talk Remus into moving in with him - for them to raise this baby together.

...oOo...

"She was flirting with you," Remus said grumpily as Sirius pushed the wheelchair through the hospital.

"She was not," Sirius replied, wanting to laugh. During the last month, Remus had sulked a few times, convinced that people were flirting with Sirius. Maybe some had been, but Sirius had only been polite and friendly in return. He only had eyes for one person after all. Sirius took it all as a good sign. If Remus was sulking because he was jealous, it meant that he was possibly interested in Sirius.

"She was," Remus muttered under his breath.

Sirius just grinned as he pushed the wheelchair towards the maternity wing of the hospital. "Is your mum going to be here?"

Remus nodded, still sulking slightly.

"Great. I can't wait to meet her," Sirius said. He took a deep breath. "Can I be there with you during?"

"During?"

"I know it's selfish of me to ask. Your mum is going to be here after all and you probably want her in there with you holding your hand, but I… I'd like to be in there too. If you want me to, that is. I want to be there for you - both you and the baby."

A long silence followed the statement and Sirius forced himself to stay quiet. He wanted to tell Remus that he didn't mean it, or somehow withdraw his statement, but didn't allow himself to do so.

"You're both allowed in," Remus finally said, clearly distracted from the sulking. "I'd like you to be there with me. I'm… I'm scared, Sirius. What do I do with a baby?"

"What do /we/ do?" Sirius corrected him softly. "Maybe it's not the right time to ask, but come and live with me. I'm not saying you can't do this alone. I'm just telling you that you don't have to. Remember the first time we met… in the shop?"

"I remember," Remus answered, offering nothing more on the subject of living together. Sirius had to remind himself that it wasn't a refusal. If Remus was against it, he'd have said no already. It meant maybe, or it meant yes.

He hoped it was a yes.

They headed over to the assigned room that Sirius had booked, not wanting Remus to be forced to share with other people, and Sirius froze in the doorway, his eyes on a woman sitting on the chair, reading a book.

She glanced up, her eyes widening as she saw the pair of them. "Remus, my darling." Immediately she was up from her seat and in Remus' arms. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired, nervous," he replied. "Mum, this… this is Sirius. Sirius, this is my mum, Hope."

"Sirius, yes. I've heard so much about you. My son never stops mentioning your name," Hope said. "I'm glad he's so happy now. That last Alpha…" her smile faded. "But now he has you."

"He does," Sirius confirmed, before Remus could say anything. "And don't you worry, Mrs L, anything he needs day or night, I'll get for him."

She beamed at him. "Come in, let's get settled before the Doctor turns back up. Remus, dear, you had better get changed."

Remus nodded his head, looking very pale as he stood up from the chair and made his way to the bed. "I'll bring this chair back downstairs," he said, offering Remus some privacy to change.

...oOo...

The first wail was like music to his ears. Sirius didn't care that this baby didn't have his blood, all he cared about was that it was Remus' son. "What does he look like?" Remus demanded, pulling his hand from Sirius'. "Go and look!"

Sirius hesitated, not wanting to leave Remus, even if it was just to cross the room, but a tiny sob drew him over to where the baby was being cleaned.

"You have a son," the nurse told him and Sirius didn't bother to correct her, because he had every intention of being a father to the tiny little tomato looking baby that was kicking and wiggling as the nurse carefully dried him.

"Can I…" he said, as the blanket arrived for baby to be wrapped in.

The small bundle was placed into his arms and Sirius felt a surge of love as he stared down at the crying infant.

"Well?" Remus demanded tiredly.

"He's perfect," Sirius said. "Just like you." He slowly walked back over to Remus, sitting down next to the bed so Remus could see the baby. "Do you have a name?"

"I like the name Teddy," Remus confessed.

"Maybe that could be short for something?"

"You have an Uncle Edward," Hope offered. "Ed and Ted sound alike…"

"Edward Lupin," Sirius murmured. "Teddy Lupin. Sounds perfect."

Remus smiled at him. "We can work this out later. I just.. I'm exhausted."

Sirius nodded. "Go asleep, love. We'll take care of Teddy until you wake up."

...oOo...

"He's so light," Sirius murmured, taking Teddy back from Hope's arms so he could have another cuddle. "So perfect."

Hope smiled warmly at him. "I was worried, you know."

"You were? About what?" Sirius asked.

"Some Alphas struggle to accept another Alpha's child, but you're acting like a new father. I can see the way you look at Teddy - it's the same way every parent looks at their child."

Sirius hesitated, debating whether to admit the truth, but after considering it, he realised that Hope knew more than she had previously let on.

"The only thing that stops him from being mine is blood," Sirius answered. "And growing up, I learnt that blood isn't what makes a family. I was raised by my best friend's family because my parents despised my very existence. It was people who didn't share my blood that treated me like a son. All that matters is whether Remus sees me as Teddy's father, because I feel like he's mine."

"My son is crazy for you," Hope assured him. "I've been watching you both. He doesn't correct anyone when they assume you both are together, or correct anyone who think you're the father. He allows them to believe that you're a wonderful little family. I know my son better than anyone and he's smitten and it's obvious to anyone with eyes or ears that you're just as smitten. So whatever you've got planned, make your move because Remus has always been scared to put himself out there."

Sirius glanced at Remus, who quickly closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.

"You're right. I'm going to tell your son how I feel," Sirius said, his eyes fixed on Remus who he now knew was awake.

"Then I'll go and get some tea for all of us," Hope said, standing up. "Remus, darling. I've seen you feign sleep enough times to know when you're pretending."

"James and Regulus are going to stop by in a bit," Sirius said, as the door closed behind her. He turned back to Remus whose eyes were open now and a guilty smile appeared on his lips.

"Typical of my mum," he said.

"Your mum is lovely. She told me to call her Mum," Sirius replied. He cleared his throat, lifting Teddy into the little cot on wheels. "Remus, I think we should live together."

Remus watched Sirius silently and Sirius shook his head. That wouldn't do - there was no feelings confession. Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box.

"I know it's not even been a year, but I've been in love with you since the moment I laid eyes on you and every day has been harder than the last because I've loved you more with each passing day. Remus, I want to have a future with you, with Teddy. I want us to be a family. Not because I want to help - but because I love you and I already love him and I want to wake up with you every morning like this morning, and fall asleep with you in my arms every night. I want us to get a house together and just be together and be married and stuff."

Remus' lips curved into a smile. "I've been waiting for you to say all this for months," he admitted. "I love you too, Sirius. I think I did from the moment we met, I just needed time to get over… seeing you and Teddy…" he trailed off, his eyes on the ring box as it opened. "Are you proposing to me?" he demanded.

Sirius nodded. "I bought this ring two weeks after you walked into the hairdressers. I was just waiting for you to be ready to be with me. I was on the verge of proposing the day I did your hair."

"Yes," Remus almost shouted, reaching out and grabbing Sirius' wrist, pulling him closer. "But aren't you getting ahead of yourself? You haven't even kissed me yet."

"But we have slept together," Sirius said, wiggling his eyebrows seductively. "So, that's a yes to… what? Living together? Me being Teddy's father? Marriage?"

"All of it," Remus confirmed. "Teddy Lupin-Black. It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

"It sounds perfect for our little tomato," Sirius assured him. "Edward Remus Lupin-Black."

Remus grinned and Sirius realised that he didn't have to restrain himself from kissing Remus. He quickly moved closer, his lips stopping inches from Remus.

Before he could ask Remus if he was sure about this, Remus had closed the distance between their lips, his hand slipping around Sirius to pull him closer. Sirius' hands landed on the bed, stopping himself from falling on Remus as their lips slowly moved against each others.

Sirius would swear, years later that there were literal sparks flying where their lips connected. Sparks that had never faded.

I hope you enjoyed it :)