A/N: My fellow Swifties :)
Srry for the late update! But anyways, lots and lots of fluff are in the way, prepare yourselves. More Remus and Hope bonding </3
"Rise and shine, birthday boy." I groggily mumbled, the day of Remus' thirty-seventh birthday. I slung an arm over his chest, eyes still closed, expecting to feel the warm sensation of his bare chest, only for my arm to hit the mattress with an audible thud.
Furrowing my eyebrows, I peeled one eye open and glanced to his side of the bed where it lay empty, his pillow and the mattress all wrinkled and the blanket was almost thrown on the floor.
"R-Rem?" I sleepily called, inspecting the room.
He wasn't there.
He must be in the nursery.
Without a second thought, I quickly rushed to the second room, as I made my way, I heard soft laughter and babbles coming from the nursery.
Opening the door slowly, I couldn't help but smile. Remus sat on the rocking chair, with Hope safely cuddled in his arms whilst he rocked the chair back and forth in a slow rhythm.
"You know what?" Remus said, gazing down at her. "Today is Daddy's birthday."
Hope gurgled loudly, making both of us smile.
"Mummy's still asleep, so can I ask you something? 'Cause she might get mad at Daddy," he said, his voice now quiet as he gazed down upon her with love and adoration. "When you get older, be sure to be as naughty as you can get, so Mummy will send you to bed every time. And you know what's the best part? I'll give you lots and lots of chocolate."
His fingers slowly traveled toward her nose before booping it playfully and he giggled like a small child.
"Do I have to be the strict parent?" I sighed gently, crossing my arms with a slight grin and leaning against the doorframe. He looked over his shoulder whilst Hope did the very same, I laughed at the shared and identical expressions on their faces.
"Go back to sleep, love. I'm terribly sorry if I woke you." he apologized with a wince.
"It's fine. It's six o'clock in the morning anyway, breakfast?" I whispered with a small smile and waved my hand dismissively, walking towards the two.
"Yes, please." he said with a tired laugh.
Hope babbled as she saw me, her arms reaching out for me and I quickly obliged, pulling her into my chest as I smoothed out the strands of sandy brown hair she had.
"Did you greet Daddy happy birthday? Later, we're gonna give him the best party ever."
"Oh, please don't tell me you've thrown another fancy party. You know how much I hate parties." Remus ran a hand through his hair.
"Of course not, my darling husband."
"Hmm, I swear if you're playing a joke with me –" he crossed his arms but I interrupted his rants with a quick kiss on his lips and he stopped right away, cheeks blushing red.
"Remus John Lupin, I would never," I stared in a feigned, shocked voice. "Now, would the birthday boy behave himself and make us breakfast while I go and feed his little girl?"
"Yes ma'am." he chuckled, scratching the back of his head and sprinted out of the room. I grabbed onto Hope's finger as I sat ourselves down on the chair.
About a good half an hour later after eating breakfast, Remus returned to the nursery to play with Hope like he always did while I fixed her crib. She was laying on his lap, his legs that were tilted up supported her head and back, and his hands tickled her belly and played with her.
"Look, darling! She's smiling!" he exclaimed with delight, pointing at her with a wide smile.
I stopped folding the baby blanket that I was holding as my attention now focused on the two of them.
"That's wonderful, sweetheart." I answered bluntly.
"Look for yourself, come on." he whispered with utter excitement. I sighed and stopped what I was doing, and sat next to them on the floor.
And indeed, for the first time, Hope was smiling.
She waved her hands in the air, as though she were trying to say something important to me, and Remus and I grabbed one of them, which she held tightly.
"She's trying to tell Daddy that it's time for him to celebrate his birthday downstairs." I said, running my fingertips through his arm. Once we all got ready for the day, we proceeded downstairs for lunch.
"In three years, I'll be a middle-aged man." Remus groaned in exasperation, fixing the messy curls of his air with a small frown, as I carried Hope in my arms.
"Remus, I've said this a million times but, you'll always look handsome and sexy to me even when you grow old." I sighed, shaking my head.
He looked at me, with blushing cheeks and attempted to cover it but failed.
He opened the kitchen's doorknob slowly, expecting to be greeted with 'Happy Birthdays' and guests waiting by the table. But his face dropped when he finally opened.
"Oh?"
"Surprise." I nudged his shoulder with a smirk. The table only had two platters of food and a small, round chocolate cake by the middle. No guests, just the three of us.
"I-I... you shouldn't have..." he blushed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head, and sat on the main chair.
"Well, I know very much you want a small celebration, and it's your birthday, you get whatever you want for a day."
Flicking my wand and muttering 'Wingardium Leviosa" under my breath, the cake floated almost immediately. "Alright, Hope, we've been practicing all week, let's sing Daddy happy birthday." She simply cooed whilst I sang to a pink-faced Remus. He paused for a few moments before finally blowing out his candles.
"I love you." he said, kissing my cheek and reaching his hands for Hope, whom I passed to him hastily. He raised her high into the air before he pecked her nose tip.
"Happy one-month little girl."
It was as if Hope understood his statement when she placed her tiny hands on his cheeks and latched her mouth onto the tip of his nose, like she was kissing him, causing both of us to laugh softly.
"And I love you too, sweetheart." he smoothed her rosy cheek with the pad of his thumb with a smile.
We spent the entire night in bed, Remus slightly hovering above Hope and holding onto her little hands as he talked with her.
"Alright sweetheart, who do love more? Mummy or Daddy?" he whispered in excitement, his smile never wavering.
Hope let out a small 'ooh', which he took as the latter. "Oh, you love Daddy. How about Mummy? You don't love Mummy?"
She answered again, and he burst into laughter, I simply raised my eyebrows and faked offense by placing my hand over my heart.
"Oh! Why? You just need her for milk, right?"
Hope's smile appeared once more, her arms and legs raising, and slightly kicked Remus.
"Seriously, Rem... she's just a month old and you're already brainwashing her." I groaned with a smirk, propping my head on my hand.
He chuckled. "Ok, let's do it again, Hope... you're Daddy's girl but you love Mummy right?"
He patiently waited for a response, Hope just looking up at him with wonder, her smile still visible. She babbled a second time, and we both took that as a 'yes'.
Remus collapsed to the baby's side and looked at me with glowing eyes. "Let's do something, shall we?" I smiled, instinctively understanding what he meant.
We leaned closer to Hope and pressed our lips on each of her cheeks at the same time, making her smile widely again and she unknowingly blushed a shade of pink.
"Don't you look happy?" I giggled to the baby.
A bright grin stretched across my face, the little girl's attention now focused on me as she grabbed my finger and her other hand played with the locks of my hair.
I kissed her forehead and mumbled whilst I ran my fingertips across her arm. "I know you may be closer to Daddy, but, always remember that I love you so much as I love him." Her hand moved from my hair up to my cheek before placing it on my lips, which I kissed gently and caused her to smile again.
"Is Hope asleep?" I sleepily inquired, Remus walking back into the room after he put Hope back to bed a few hours later.
"Yes, let's get some. We've had a long day." he slipped under the blankets and pulled me closer to him so we were cuddled in each other's arms.
"Before this day ends," I said with a sigh, he tilted his head to face me. "I wanna say Happy Birthday again to the man who makes my heart beat faster, makes me smile, makes the sun shine during the rainy days of my life. And most importantly, happy birthday again to the man of my dreams, my husband, and the father of my daughter."
His lips curled up with a smile, cupping my cheek and kissing me.
"I love you, darling, you made this the best birthday ever. My first birthday as a dad."
I let his lips capture mine, our tongues dancing together, sending sparks flying through my body in passion and tenderness. I felt his fingers attempting to remove my shirt, his slight whimpers and moans signaling me that he was desperate for it, and I wouldn't ruin his day.
I encouraged him with a nod, permitting him before he tugged it off as well as my shorts, making me blush a furious red. His body arched forward, one hand directing me to his lap and the other running through my hair.
Biting my lower lip, I pushed him back down and began undoing the buttons of his pajamas, allowing my lips to meet the scars of his upper body and moved down, before pulling his pants down and returning up. Our lips continued their movements, letting our passion rise and let each of us stroke the other.
I expected him to give in so easily with all that bliss, but that changed when our intense make-out session ended.
"Oh, you didn't want –" I breathed, tucking my hair behind me.
"I just wanted to feel you, I think we should wait a bit more for the real thing until Hope's a bit older." he chuckled, wiping the sweat off my scarlet face.
"I understand," exhaled, letting my clothed chest collapse on his warm and bare one in exhaustion and feeling the sleepiness take over me. "I love you Rem... so much."
He kissed the top of my head and whispered.
"I love you more. I'll love you and Hope until the day my heart stops beating."
A/N: Hey everyone! Srry for the late update again, I have a fever rn so I can't move and update that much. For now, imma rest.
See you in the next chapter!
- jxlvpin