Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Challenges listed at the bottom.

Word Count - 3615

Written for Liza for GGE. I'm so sorry this is so late, but I hope you enjoy it :D

A Pin In A Map

Sirius slumped down in the booth, ignoring the way Marlene huffed and rolled her eyes at him. Peter was watching him, likely waiting for his dramatic outburst. It was a pattern, but Sirius was just too tired to follow it.

"Mar, there's gotta be more to life, right?"

"You know my opinion on this," she replied, taking a sip of her wine. "Be a man and do something for once in your life."

Sirius pouted. "Why did you have to make it personal?"

She huffed again, though this time her amusement was evident. "Sirius, we have this very conversation, albeit often with more flailing and dramatics, every week. Most of the time, we have it more than once a week. You can't just expect to find a new life when you're not even looking for one."

"It's not that easy! My mother—"

"Is a goddamn shrew, and you'd be better off without letting her dictate what you can and can't do."

"You… are not wrong. I guess I just… don't know what to do. Even if I left… where would I go?"

"Can't you just… enjoy the journey?" Marlene offered with a small smile. "Forget about the destination for a while and just enjoy the ride."

…

Remus sighed, rubbing his thumb over the worsening rust patch on the old tractor. It was way past time for it to be replaced, but it was just one more burden for Remus to bear.

When his parents had passed, leaving him their small farm, he'd sworn that he'd do them proud. He'd keep the farm going, make it into something more than what it was.

Of course, it was much easier to say than to actually do. Especially when he couldn't afford to employ someone to lend a hand.

Shaking his head to himself, Remus stepped into the rundown cottage he called home and sat down heavily at the kitchen table. Usually, he liked to keep a nice tidy home, but he'd been horribly busy for the past few weeks, and so instead of a clear table, it was filled with his many accounting books.

Trying to balance them had been about as easy as riding a unicycle through mud wearing a blindfold.

Read: Not easy at all.

He was in trouble and he knew it.

Selling the farm to the developers that were in town was looking more and more like his only option and though it hurt his heart, he was beginning to lose hope of finding another way through.

He glanced at the chocolate cake Lily had dropped off earlier that morning and sighed.

Not even chocolate could fix this mess.

…

Sirius watched the fields through the window of the train. He'd never seen so much green in his life, though growing up in the built up city of London, that probably wasn't much of a surprise.

His stomach was still squirming slightly, the nerves of just up and leaving not quite gone. It was scary to know that even if his trip didn't bring him happiness, he couldn't just go home.

After the argument he'd had with his mother, he was fairly sure that he wouldn't ever be allowed to step back into the home he'd spent the first twenty years of his life.

Marlene had actually cackled when he'd told her of the argument with his mother, professing herself proud of him for actually standing up to the old hag.

Sirius agreed, but still… it was scary.

Especially since to find his first destination, Marlene had simply stuck a pin into a map with her eyes closed and made him promise to visit that place first.

The train slowed as it pulled into the small station, and Sirius hefted his rucksack onto his back. He wasn't sure what the little village of Godric's Hollow could offer him, but he was going to find out.

…

"We've got an out-of-towner staying at the hotel," Lily said, leaning her hip against the marble top of Remus' kitchen.

"Oh?" he asked, distracted as he straightened one of the paperwork piles the two of them had made.

"Uh huh. He and James are getting on like a house on fire. He seems nice though. Mischievous, bit of a troublemaker if I had to guess, but nice."

Remus nodded. "How long have you got him for?"

Lily shrugged. "No idea. He's from London, said he's on an epic journey to find something more. Can't say I blame him, London is awful."

"You love London," Remus replied flatly.

"To visit," Lily protested. "I certainly wouldn't want to live there! The crime rate alone is terrifying."

Remus snorted. "You've lived in little villages your whole life, of course a city crime rate is terrifying."

"Well, anyway. You should come up for dinner later. I think you'd like him."

"Stop trying to set me up—"

"I'm doing nothing of the sort!" Lily denied with a cheeky smile. "I just… he's nice. You could use a bit of nice, Remus. You deserve nice. He's called Sirius."

"Serious?"

"I asked the same thing, but no. Sirius. Weird name, right?"

"He's named after the dog star," Remus replied wryly, a smirk twisting his lips. "You sure he's the kinda boy I should be meeting?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "I'll see you at six. Don't be late."

…

"You're late."

"Oh, come on Lils, by like… three minutes."

Sirius turned slightly, intrigued by the owner of that voice. It was a nice voice, slightly rough and throaty, but still smooth. Odd. But nice.

Lily entered the dining room of the small hotel, with a man in tow, a wide grin on her face.

"Sirius, this is Remus. Remus, Sirius."

Sirius held his hand out, and the man took it. He had calluses on his hands, clearly he was a hard worker. He had a strong grip too, but not too strong.

Just right.

Jesus, he was starting to feel like Goldilocks.

"Nice to meet you," Sirius said, as their hands fell away from one another.

"You too," Remus replied, a small smile tilting his lips up.

"I, uh, am just going to go and see how James is doing in the kitchen," Lily said, leaving the room.

Sirius raised his eyebrows after her and then looked at Remus. "Ever feel like you're being set up?"

"With Lily? Only every day."

Sirius snorted and the two of them took seats at the only set table in the dining room. It was the off season, so there were no other guests at the hotel at the moment.

"What do you do, Remus?" Sirius asked, before the silence could get awkward.

He was usually so confident when talking to attractive people, but there was something about Remus that made him feel a little like an errant school boy, or perhaps just a little giddy.

"I'm a farmer," Remus replied softly. "I have a farm just down the road, actually. It's… something. You?"

"Ah," Sirius blushed slightly, ducking his head. "I'm… not really anything at the moment? I'll be the first to admit that I was born with a silver spoon firmly in my mouth, but I guess that's just not for me."

"Oh? What do you want to do then?"

Sirius shrugged. "I'm not sure yet. I figure it'll be fun to find out."

Remus smiled slightly. "I'm sure it will. Are you planning to stay in Godric's Hollow for long?"

"I don't know," Sirius admitted. "It depends if I find something here to keep me here."

…

Sirius was very nice indeed, Lily hadn't been lying about that. The conversation flowed around the table so easily, it was like Sirius had been there forever, rather than only a few days.

Unfortunately, Remus had to beg off early, since he had an early start. Not only did he have to do the work around the farm, but he had to ring the developers about a meeting. He was dreading even speaking to them.

The last thing he wanted was to actually sell the land but…

"I gotta go," he said, smiling apologetically when James groaned theatrically. "Sorry mate, you know the farm is a lot of work by myself."

James nodded. "I know. I could come up in the morning, lend a hand for a few hours?"

Remus shook his head. "Nah, I know you've got a lot going on here with the markets coming up. I'll be fine."

"Sirius could help?" Lily suggested. "You were saying earlier that you wanted to start looking into different trades to see if anything struck you."

Sirius nodded. "Sure, I'm down."

"Have you ever even been to a farm?" James asked, grinning widely.

Shaking his head, Sirius returned the grin. "Sometimes you've gotta run before you can walk."

"You don't have too, don't let Lily make you feel like you do," Remus said softly, offering Sirius an out. While he did think that Sirius was lovely—and he certainly wouldn't mind spending more time with him—he knew that farming wasn't a chosen career for many.

"No, I really don't mind," Sirius said, smiling. "I'm not great at being bored. In fact, I'm a bit of a danger when I'm bored, so… I'm at your disposal."

"Oh. Well, uh. Thanks. I'll see you in the morning?"

Sirius nodded, a charming smile on his face. "Bright and early."

…

The road was muddy and Sirius silently bemoaned his suede loafers. He really didn't have the footwear for farming.

When he finally arrived, Remus took one look at him and snorted, before an actual laugh escaped him.

"Come on inside, I'll get you some clothes that didn't cost at least a month's rent for most people."

Sirius snorted—Remus had no idea how much these shoes cost, clearly—and nodded, following him into a slightly ramshackle cottage. It was… oddly charming, and Sirius looked around with interest. It wasn't often he got to see homes that weren't stately manor houses or luxury penthouses.

You just didn't get cottages in the middle of London. At least, not the part he was from.

Remus gave him jeans that were slightly too short, but slightly too big in the waist, a checkered shirt that was almost too stereotypical for words, and a pair of wellies that, thankfully, fit perfectly.

"There are coats in the hallway too," Remus said, pointing to the door leading further into the cottage. "You'll probably need it, at least until you work up a sweat."

Sirius nodded, denying the urge to say something inappropriate, and smiled as Remus left the little kitchen. He changed quickly, sighing at the already drying mud on his shoes. That was going to be a bitch to clean.

Five minutes later, trussed up in work gear and a warm coat, Sirius rejoined Remus outside.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Just stay with me and I'll point things out as I'm doing them?" Remus offered.

"I can do that," Sirius agreed.

…

"I feel like a puppy, trailing around after you," Sirius said, a few hours later, wiping sweat from his brow.

"Well, you were named after the dog star," Remus quipped, washing his hands under the water pipe. "But thank you for today. You made my life a lot easier."

"Do you want to call up to the pub and get lunch?" Sirius offered.

Remus noticed that he looked hopeful, and wondered if perhaps he wasn't the only one gripped by attraction. Unfortunately, Remus still had a call to make, and he was pretty sure it was going to leave him in a foul mood.

"I still have a few things to do," he hedged. The last thing he needed was his talking to the developers to get back to Lily and James. Not yet. Not until he had details at least. "So, maybe raincheck?"

Sirius hesitated. "Anything I can help with?"

Remus shook his head. "Just a few calls to make."

"Oh. Uh. I can wait?"

"You don't… you know what, it's fine. I can do them tomorrow. I'm starving, so uh. We should get lunch."

Sirius brightened immediately, and Remus couldn't regret his decision. One more day wasn't going to hurt anything.

…

Godric's Hollow was charming.

Sirius was slowly falling in love with the sleepy little village.

Of course, much of the charm wasn't really anything to do with the village at all. Rather, Sirius found himself entirely charmed by Remus Lupin.

In the two weeks Sirius had been staying at the hotel, he'd spent almost all of his days with Remus, helping him on the farm, letting him show Sirius around the little town, and even a few sneaky dates—although admittedly he wasn't sure if Remus even knew they were dates.

Regardless, Sirius dressed himself for the day (in farming clothes that he'd bought himself rather than Remus' that didn't quite fit him), and left the hotel with a cheerful 'See you later' to James and Lily.

Lily kept giving him a secretive smile, and while he wasn't entirely versed in 'woman', Sirius thought that it was her tactic approval of Sirius wooing her friend.

He hoped it was, anyway.

He liked Remus a lot, but he also liked his hosts, and the pub landlady, and the other people he'd met.

While he hadn't expected the pin in the map to bring him any luck, he was definitely beginning to consider Godric's Hollow as a place he could call home.

…

"You didn't have to come down today," Remus said, looking over the fields. "The fog is horrendous and it's only going to get worse. There's no way will you get back up to the village."

Sirius grimaced at the fog and then shrugged. "Room for one more in your cottage? Just until it clears up?"

"Of course. Come on, we've done as much as can be done today, I'll get the kettle on."

Remus led the way inside, gesturing for Sirius to take a seat as he filled the kettle. He'd been intending to call the developers, but then, it was getting easier and easier to shrug the call off to a tomorrow that never arrived, so he supposed it wasn't much of a shock that for another day, he wouldn't get it done.

They settled in, soon leaving the kitchen for the comfort of the living room as heavy fog rolled over the countryside. Remus changed into comfortable clothes and provided Sirius with some, laughing when he saw the way she slimmer man had to hold onto the stretched elasticated waist whenever he got up.

They talked quietly, with the television on in the background, and Remus couldn't remember having been so content for so long. Despite having his friends, Remus lived a rather lonely life, and it was amazing what company could do for the cottage.

What often felt rundown and drab to Remus now felt warm and homely.

They cooked together, Sirius stealing a 'Kiss the Cook' apron from Remus and draping it around himself. It had been a gag gift from James, but Sirius seemed to appreciate it anyway.

"What made you come to Godric's Hollow?" Remus asked, after they'd finished eating and were settled back in the living room.

"Marlene, my friend, she stuck a pin in a map and I went and bought a train ticket," Sirius replied, smiling impishly. Remus waited, and Sirius sobered slightly. "I think… it was never so much about the destination, you know? It was about breaking free from my family and the monotony of the life I was living."

"Must be nice to never have to worry about money though," Remus asked.

"I guess. I mean, I still don't have to. My Uncle Alphard left me an inheritance when he died that my parents couldn't cut me off from so. It's more… another year over and I was still just… doing nothing with my life, you know?"

Remus nodded quietly.

"What about you?" Sirius asked. "I know that this was your parent's farm. You didn't want to do something else?"

"I guess I never really thought too much about it. I'm going to have to soon though."

When Sirius frowned, Remus sighed.

"Please don't tell James and Lily yet. I, uh. I'm going to speak to the land developers that are interested in the surrounding land here. They put a letter through the door, asking me to consider selling them the farm. I just… it's too much work for one person, you know? And I'm not making enough money back on it for it to be worth it. I don't want to sell the farm but I don't have much choice at this point."

Sirius frowned. "That… I'm sorry, Remus. Um. Why can I not tell James and Lily? Why haven't you told them?"

"They'll worry," Remus replied simply. "And they'll want to help but I won't let them. They do so much for me already, and I know they're trying for a baby, and they're busy as it is. I won't burden them with this."

"What about… what about if I helped out? No, hear me out," Sirius begged, when Remus opened his mouth to reject the offer immediately. "I can't keep living in a hotel room, right? But… I like it here. I like helping you on the farm, and I like James and Lily, and Frank Longbottom said that when summer comes, he'll be looking for some labouring help too. So, you could let me rent your spare room."

Remus twisted his lips thoughtfully. It was a solution of sorts, he supposed. And it would be nice to have someone around again, especially if that someone was Sirius.

"I, uh. I'd like that. Thank you."

Sirius shook his head. "No. Thank you."

…

Sirius moved into the spare room on a Wednesday. By the following Wednesday, he'd slept in there exactly twice.

"We really need to stop sleeping on the sofa," Remus groaned. "I'm getting too old for it."

Sirius snorted. "You're not old. The sofa is old."

"That sofa is older than both of us, show some respect."

Laughing now, Sirius shook his head. "Maybe it's time to put it out for retirement, huh? Come on, Remus, let's go do some furniture shopping. It'll be fun."

Remus tensed slightly, and Sirius barely managed to hold back a sigh. He just wanted to help out, and if he was living there too, then surely it was fine to buy things for the house? He just needed to show Remus that it wasn't charity.

"Hey," he murmured, reaching out for Remus' hand. "I'm not trying to push things on you, and if you want me to stop then I will. I just… you deserve nice things, Remus, and the money is there. It's… I didn't do anything to earn it, you know? It's just there, waiting to be spent."

"And what if you need it sometime in the future?" Remus asked, though he didn't pull his hand away. "What if you decide that Godric's Hollow isn't for you after all?"

Sirius doubted that Remus understood the level of fucks Sirius didn't give about money, and he also knew that Remus had no understanding of just how much an inheritance he'd been left, but he shook his head and squeezed Remus' hand.

"I can't see that happening."

"No?"

"No. I like it here. And, well, you're here. So… I guess, I'm here."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

…

Remus woke up slowly, warm and comfortable and certainly unwilling to move even though he knew he had too.

Beside him, Sirius groaned and tugged him closer, pressing his face into the hollow of Remus' shoulder.

"You're not actually going to make me get out of bed are you?" he whined. "It's freezing."

Remus snorted and pressed a kiss to Sirius' cheek. "We need to feed the lambs. This is your fault, you chose to buy them."

"You can't have a farm without animals, Remus," Sirius said, for the umpteenth time. "That's just not a thing."

"Actually—"

"Nope. It's too early to argue about this. Coffee please."

Remus grumbled but tried to get up, only to be held in bed by Sirius. "You have to let me up if you want coffee."

"Kisses then coffee," Sirius replied. "No kisses, no getting up. Think of the baby lambs, Remus. You're starving them by denying me kisses."

"You're a moron."

"Your moron?"

Remus nodded and pressed a chaste kiss to Sirius lips. "Yes. My moron. Get your ass out of bed, I'll get the coffee on."

…

Sirius watched Remus leave the room and smiled to himself as he got up. He washed and dressed quickly before following Remus' path downstairs.

The new sofa sat proudly in the living room, but he passed it by. It was comfier than Remus' old one by a mile, but they didn't sleep on it often these days.

Curling up together in the bed they shared was much better.

Remus was waiting for him in the kitchen, coffee just poured. He gave Sirius a mug, and smiled at him.

Sirius leaned into him for a moment and sighed.

Godric's Hollow couldn't be more different from London if it tried, and Sirius wondered how he'd ever lasted so long in the city when this life was out there waiting for him.

"Come on, let's go and feed your lambs."

"They're only my lambs when they need feeding," Sirius replied. "When they're being cute and jumping about and headbutting your hand, they're our lambs. How is this fair?"

Remus' laughter echoed slightly in the kitchen as he stepped out into the fresh morning air.

Yeah, Sirius thought. This is definitely the life.

Written for:

Disney - S5. Someone 'breaking free' of something.

Angel's Archive - 7. Remus Lupin

Bex's Basement - 12. "Be a man and do something for once in your life." / "Why did you have to make it personal?"

Marvel - 14. Sometimes you gotta run before you can walk."

Lyric Alley - 3. Another year over.

Funfair North - Christmas Market - A Watch: "You're late." / Sirius Black

Funfair East - Snow Art - Blue: Confident / Orange: Heavy Fog / Purple: Dramatic

Funfair South - Fill A Christmas Stocking - 31. Doll - Farm!AU

Galleon - Farm!AU

Sticker - Newt's Suitcase, 4. Phoenix - Someone starting over.

365. 298. Rust