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FIC: What I Did on My Summer Vacation
Title: What I Did on My Summer Vacation by Teddy Theodore Lupin
Author: geri_chan
Rating: PG
Pairing: Snape/Lupin,
Word count: ~3,140
Challenge: What We did on Our Summer Vacation
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Author's note: Post-DH AU: Tonks died; Severus, Remus, and Sirius survived.
Summary: Teddy wants to go to the beach during summer vacation, but Severus is less than enthusiastic about the idea.
***
What I Did on My Summer Vacation byTeddy Theodore Lupin
Everybody calls me Teddy, but Papa Severus says I should use my real name on "official documents," though Daddy says he isn't sure that a school report really counts as one. And Papa told him, "Oh, shut up, Lupin," which I know isn't very nice, but he isn't really being mean. It's kind of his way of showing that he likes Daddy. Auntie Hermione says it's because Papa has "trouble expressing his feelings." (Papa says Auntie Hermione is a little know-it-all, but I know he actually likes her, too.)
Anyway, I'm supposed to be talking about my vacation, so this summer I went to the beach with Daddy and Papa...
***
"I was thinking that it would be fun to take a little trip somewhere this summer," Remus suggested.
"Well...I suppose so," Severus replied cautiously. "Depending on your definition of 'fun' and 'somewhere,' that is.
"Aren't I always fun to be with?" Remus asked with a grin.
"You're a barrel of laughs, Lupin," Severus replied, rolling his eyes, and Teddy giggled.
Smiling at his son, Remus asked, "Is there anything special you'd like to do this summer, Teddy?"
"I wanna go to the beach!" Teddy declared without even pausing to think.
"The beach?" Severus asked, with same tone of distaste that one might use for "the dungeons of Azkaban?"
"The beach!" Remus exclaimed with more enthusiasm. "I think that's a splendid idea!"
"Splendid indeed--providing that you enjoy sunburn, and getting sand in unmentionable places," Severus replied sourly. "What put the idea of going to the beach in your head, Teddy?"
"Vicky was bragging that she gets to visit her grandparents' summer home in France, and how great it is that it's right on the beach and she can go swimming anytime she wants," Teddy explained.
"Oh Merlin, are we trying to keep up with the Delacours now?" Severus asked sourly, rolling his eyes.
"We don't have to go to France," Remus pointed out reasonably. "There are beaches here in Britain, after all."
"I just want to go the beach," Teddy agreed quickly before Severus could raise more objections. "It doesn't have to be in France."
Severus heaved a much-put-upon sigh and said, "If you want to go swimming, can't you just swim in the lake at Hogwarts?"
"But you said that the giant squid eats people," Teddy said plaintively, with his best puppy-dog-eyes look.
Unmoved, Severus retorted, "That's never stopped you from swimming in the lake before, scamp," and Teddy grinned at him impishly.
"Severus!" Remus exclaimed reproachfully. "Did you really tell him that the giant squid eats people?"
"Well, it's theoretically possible," Severus defended himself. "Just because it's never eaten anyone--that we know of, anyway--doesn't mean that it couldn't." He paused and added, "Actually, there are a few people that I wish it had eaten..."
"I've been to the lake before, but I've never been to the beach!" Teddy said, trying to steer the conversation back on track. "Please, can we go, Papa? Please?"
"Stop it with the puppy dog look already," Severus grumbled. "It lacks dignity. I blame that on you, Remus--you're a bad example for impressionable young minds." Remus just grinned unrepentantly in response. Severus gave him an exasperated look and continued, "As for never having been to the beach...just because you have never done something does not necessarily mean that it should be done. What is so special about the beach, other than the fact that Victoire is going there?"
"It just sounds cool!" Teddy replied enthusiastically. "Besides swimming, I also want to build sandcastles and look for seashells--you can't do that at the lake!"
"I suppose not," Severus said with a sigh of resignation.
"Then we can go to the beach?" Teddy asked hopefully.
"Your father can take you to the beach, since he seems to like the idea," Severus replied. "I shall stay at home, safely away from the sun and sand."
"Aww, but it won't be any fun without you, Papa!" Teddy protested. "I want us all to go together."
Severus looked torn--pleased that his son wanted him to go along, while still finding the idea of a day at the beach distasteful. Sensing that he was wavering, Remus coaxed, "Come on, Severus--it won't kill you to get out of your laboratory and have a little fun once in awhile."
"We have different ideas of 'fun,' Remus," Severus said haughtily. "Personally, I find brewing potions to be a very rewarding experience."
"Of course you do," Remus said soothingly. "I didn't mean to imply otherwise. But there are different kinds of 'fun' and who knows--maybe it might do you good to shake up your routine a bit. Why not take some time off, and maybe that will give you a fresh perspective when you go back to your potions research?"
"My perspective is just fine!" Severus snapped huffily. Teddy began to look anxious, which caused Severus to look guilty, and he said in a milder though still gruff voice, "Sorry. It's just that I really don't care much for the beach or swimming in general."
"Why not?" Remus asked gently.
"Well...I'm so pale that I burn easily," Severus replied. "I'd turn red and blistered in no time!"
"I'm sure that an expert Potions Master like you can easily brew up a sunscreen potion," Remus said. "If not, there are plenty of Muggle products that work well, or so I'm told."
"Of course I could brew one if I wanted to!" Severus snapped, his pride offended. "And it would be much more effective than anything a Muggle could come up with!"
"Problem solved, then," Remus said cheerfully, and Severus looked chagrined as he realized that he'd just ruined his own excuse.
"Er...well..." he temporized, obviously trying to come up with another excuse. "As I said, there is the problem of sand getting into unwanted places..."
"Actually, Sirius taught me a great sand-repelling spell," Remus interjected. "He learned it while he was hiding out on a tropical island after his escape from Azkaban."
"Great, then we can all go to the beach, right?" Teddy said happily. When Severus scowled, he added more uncertainly, "Uh...right?"
"Severus," Remus said gently, "is there some other, more personal reason why you don't want to go to the beach?"
Severus sighed heavily and finally admitted, somewhat sheepishly, "Well...the truth is...I don't know how to swim."
"But...we all swam at the lake while we were at Hogwarts, didn't we?" Remus asked, his brow creasing as he frowned slightly, searching his memory. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't recall ever seeing Severus swim in the lake when they were students. Even now as adults, when they took Teddy to the lake, Severus would always watch from the shore, cautioning Teddy to stay in the shallows, although Remus would sometimes join his son for a quick dip.
His face flushed with humiliation, Severus muttered, "My family was so poor that I wore my regular clothes until they were practically falling apart. My mum managed to scrape together enough money to buy me one new school robe every year, but there was nothing left over for luxuries, not even a pair of swim trunks. And even if I had a proper swimsuit, why would I want to expose myself to be mocked by your friends for my white skin and skinny limbs and knobby knees?"
And then it was Remus's turn to flush as he remembered the time that James and Sirius had hexed Severus, turning him upside-down to expose his underpants, worn and gray with age and repeated washings. After Lily had stalked off, they had continued to torment him, making fun, as he'd said, of his knobby knees and too-pale skin ("like the belly of a dead fish"). Thank Merlin, Remus had managed to persuade James not to follow through on his threat to strip Severus of his underwear as well, although the memory of those protests now sounded feeble and half-hearted to the adult Remus: "Aw, come on, James, you've had your fun. Let's go before we get into trouble...again." They had sounded feeble to James, too, who had only given up when Remus had said in desperation, "Do you really want to see Snape naked?" James, Sirius, and Peter had laughed, agreeing that no one wanted that horrible image stuck in their brain, but Severus had glared at Remus murderously, naturally assuming that Remus had been mocking him rather than trying to save him.
"I'm sorry, Severus," Remus whispered.
Teddy looked back and forth between his Daddy and his Papa, seeing that they were distressed, but confused as to the reason why. "Maybe we shouldn't go to the beach after all?" he asked hesitantly, his lower lip quivering.
Severus took a deep breath, and as he slowly exhaled, the flush faded from his face, as did the look of resentment and embarrassment. "It was a long time ago," he said apologetically to Remus.
"Some things are hard to forget," Remus replied, still looking concerned.
"Yes, but many things have changed since then--for the better, mostly," Severus said, smiling reassuring at Remus and Teddy, who both relaxed. "I suppose it is time to let go of past grudges."
"Does that mean we can go to the beach?" Teddy asked hopefully.
"Yes, cub, it does," Severus said with a sigh of long-suffering resignation, but he reached out to ruffle Teddy's blue hair fondly.
"Yay!" Teddy exclaimed exuberantly. "I"m gonna go owl Vicky and tell her the news!"
He ran off to write his letter, and Remus turned to Severus and asked, "Are you sure you're all right with this, Severus? I know that you don't want to disappoint Teddy, but if it bothers you that much..."
"I've endured Cruciatus Curses and near-death by snakebite," Severus replied with a wry smile. "I suppose that a little sand and sunburn isn't much compared to that."
Remus smiled in relief and said, "If you want to learn how to swim, I'll be glad to teach you." He added hastily, "But if you don't, I'm sure that Teddy will be happy just to have you there--you can help him build sandcastles on the beach."
"I can hardly wait," Severus said sourly, but with a hint of humor and affection underlying his words.
"And...if you're uncomfortable with having other people around, we could go to the island where Sirius took refuge," Remus offered. "He showed me the location once, saying it would be a nice vacation spot. Of course we were too busy with the war to take vacations, and I forgot about it until now. It might be nice to have a holiday at a private tropical retreat, don't you think?"
"Perhaps the beach won't be so bad after all," Severus agreed with a smile.
***
So about a week later, they headed to the tropical island via a Portkey that Sirius had helped to prepare. The intervening years, along with a mutual fondness for Teddy, had softened the animosity between Severus and Sirius to an almost affectionate bickering--though of course, neither would ever admit to having any affection for the other. So when Remus had asked for his help, Sirius had complied with a bit of token grumbling and an only slightly sarcastic, "Is this a belated honeymoon?"
"It's not much of a romantic honeymoon with a young child in tow," Remus had laughed. It was true, but he felt no regret about bringing Teddy along--nothing made him happier than being able to spend time with his son and his beloved mate, and he knew that Severus felt the same, despite all his gruff snark.
So now they were on the island where Sirius had once taken shelter, in a lovely little cove that showed no signs of having had any human visitors since Sirius had left, although there were a few brightly colored tropical birds in some nearby trees. The sand felt pleasantly warm and dry beneath Remus's bare feet, and the water was a beautiful crystal-clear blue.
Teddy waited impatiently while his parents laid out some beach towels on the sand, and set up a large umbrella to provide some shade. "Can we please go swimming now?" he begged, literally bouncing on his feet with repressed excitement.
"Yes, go ahead and stop kicking sand all over the place," Severus said gruffly, making a shooing motion with one hand. "Just make sure to stay within sight and close to shore."
"Yes, Papa!" Teddy said and dashed down to where the waves gently lapped at the shore, and began splashing happily in the water.
"I'll go with him and make sure he doesn't get carried away," Remus said. "Will you be all right by yourself, Severus?" He smiled at his lover, who was slathered from head to toe with home-brewed sunscreen, and further protected from the sun by a wide-brimmed straw hat, dark glasses, and a tent-like green and white striped poncho that covered up the Slytherin-green swim trunks that Remus had bought him--which was rather a pity, in Remus's opinion.
"I'll be fine," Severus replied, settling down beneath the shade of the umbrella. "I brought along some potions journals to read. And some cold iced drinks to help stave off sunstroke." He patted the enchanted picnic basket that contained their lunch and drinks. "Run along and have fun with the cub."
"All right," Remus agreed, and went into the water to play with Teddy. A good while later, after Teddy was finally tired out from swimming and splashing around, they came back to shore and had lunch with Severus.
"How are you feeling?" Remus asked.
Severus cautiously reached out and touched the tip of his beaky nose, one of the few parts of his body actually exposed to the sunlight. "No sunburn so far," he confirmed. "And the sand seems to be staying on the beach where it belongs."
"See, a day at the beach isn't so bad after all," Remus gently teased.
Looking at Teddy's happy face, Severus agreed with a smile, "Not as bad as I feared,"
After lunch, Teddy played on the shore, a bit more sedately, and Severus deigned to help him build a sandcastle modeled after Hogwarts, helped along with a touch of magic for the finer details, although they built the main structure by hand. Of course, their sand-Hogwarts was a bit fanciful, since the real castle didn't have seashells decorating its walls.
Eventually, after lunch had been digested and Teddy got bored with building sandcastles, he wanted to go swimming again. "Do you want come with us this time, Papa?" he asked.
"Well..." Severus said, hesitating.
"It's fine if you don't want to," Remus said, carefully maintaining a casual tone of voice, knowing that Severus would balk if he felt pressured. "But we're all alone, and there's no one here to watch, if that's what's put you off before." He grinned and added, "I'm not a professional swimming instructor, but I'm sure I could manage to teach you the dog paddle."
"Ha ha, very funny, Lupin," Severus said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Teddy, on the other hand, found it hysterical and burst into laughter.
"Dog paddle! That's funny 'cause we're werewolves and werewolves are--"
"Canines, yes, I understand the wordplay, child," Severus interrupted. He gave Remus an accusing glare, saying, "He's obviously inherited your somewhat dubious sense of humor."
"Like father, like son," Remus said proudly.
"Yeah!" Teddy agreed with equal pride.
Severus sighed and shook his head. "Fine, teach me how to swim--it can't be any worse than sitting here listening to your dreadful jokes."
"They're not dreadful, they're funny!" Teddy said loyally, but didn't argue any further because he was pleased that his Papa had finally agree to swim with them.
Severus reluctantly shed hat, poncho, and glasses, then blushed as Remus gazed at his exposed body admiringly. "Those trunks do suit you," he purred.
"You're the only one who would think so," Severus replied tartly, but secretly he felt pleased.
"I'm the only one whose opinion matters, at least regarding that," Remus said firmly.
"True enough," Severus conceded with a laugh, and since one was around to see, he leaned over to kiss Remus.
"Hey, are you guys gonna get all mushy or are we gonna swim?" Teddy protested, and both Remus and Severus burst into laughter.
"Getting mushy will have to wait for later, I guess," Severus chuckled, and headed into the water with Remus and Teddy. He found that all his earlier reservations about learning to swim had evaporated, and he actually had fun learning to float (with the help of one of Teddy's inflatable beach toys, shaped like a sea serpent). Once he was able to float, they worked on kicking, and by the end of the day, he was able to paddle around with Teddy unassisted, if a bit awkwardly.
"See, I told you that I could teach you how to dog paddle!" Remus said with a grin.
"Maybe we should call it a 'wolf paddle' instead," Teddy chimed in, and he and Remus simultaneously cracked up at the joke.
"Like father, like son," Severus sighed, which only caused the pair to laugh even harder.
By the time they were ready to leave at sunset, Teddy was exhausted from his day at the beach, and had to be carried piggyback-style by Remus because he was too tired to stand up on his own.
"I had fun," he said sleepily, yawning as his head lolled forward on his father's shoulder. "Can we come back here again sometime?"
"Yes, we'll come back again," Severus replied before Remus had a chance to. "I hate to admit it, but...I had fun, too."
"I'm glad, Severus," Remus said, smiling tenderly as he leaned over to kiss his lover. By now, Teddy had fallen fast asleep and had no objections to them "getting mushy," so his fathers kissed for quite some time as the setting sun cast a warm red-orange glow over them.
***
I went swimming with Daddy, and Papa helped me build a sandcastle that looked like Hogwarts! Also, Daddy taught Papa how to swim, and Papa had lots of fun at the beach too, even though he didn't want to go at first. We went back lots of times during the summer, and Papa even got a nice tan that Daddy says makes him look very handsome. (Papa says that Daddy needs glasses, but he sounded happy.) They got a little mushy sometimes--okay, very mushy--but I don't really mind, because I'm happy that they love each other (and me).
I can't wait to go back again next summer!
Author: geri_chan
Rating: PG
Pairing: Snape/Lupin,
Word count: ~3,140
Challenge: What We did on Our Summer Vacation
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Author's note: Post-DH AU: Tonks died; Severus, Remus, and Sirius survived.
Summary: Teddy wants to go to the beach during summer vacation, but Severus is less than enthusiastic about the idea.
***
What I Did on My Summer Vacation by
Everybody calls me Teddy, but Papa Severus says I should use my real name on "official documents," though Daddy says he isn't sure that a school report really counts as one. And Papa told him, "Oh, shut up, Lupin," which I know isn't very nice, but he isn't really being mean. It's kind of his way of showing that he likes Daddy. Auntie Hermione says it's because Papa has "trouble expressing his feelings." (Papa says Auntie Hermione is a little know-it-all, but I know he actually likes her, too.)
Anyway, I'm supposed to be talking about my vacation, so this summer I went to the beach with Daddy and Papa...
***
"I was thinking that it would be fun to take a little trip somewhere this summer," Remus suggested.
"Well...I suppose so," Severus replied cautiously. "Depending on your definition of 'fun' and 'somewhere,' that is.
"Aren't I always fun to be with?" Remus asked with a grin.
"You're a barrel of laughs, Lupin," Severus replied, rolling his eyes, and Teddy giggled.
Smiling at his son, Remus asked, "Is there anything special you'd like to do this summer, Teddy?"
"I wanna go to the beach!" Teddy declared without even pausing to think.
"The beach?" Severus asked, with same tone of distaste that one might use for "the dungeons of Azkaban?"
"The beach!" Remus exclaimed with more enthusiasm. "I think that's a splendid idea!"
"Splendid indeed--providing that you enjoy sunburn, and getting sand in unmentionable places," Severus replied sourly. "What put the idea of going to the beach in your head, Teddy?"
"Vicky was bragging that she gets to visit her grandparents' summer home in France, and how great it is that it's right on the beach and she can go swimming anytime she wants," Teddy explained.
"Oh Merlin, are we trying to keep up with the Delacours now?" Severus asked sourly, rolling his eyes.
"We don't have to go to France," Remus pointed out reasonably. "There are beaches here in Britain, after all."
"I just want to go the beach," Teddy agreed quickly before Severus could raise more objections. "It doesn't have to be in France."
Severus heaved a much-put-upon sigh and said, "If you want to go swimming, can't you just swim in the lake at Hogwarts?"
"But you said that the giant squid eats people," Teddy said plaintively, with his best puppy-dog-eyes look.
Unmoved, Severus retorted, "That's never stopped you from swimming in the lake before, scamp," and Teddy grinned at him impishly.
"Severus!" Remus exclaimed reproachfully. "Did you really tell him that the giant squid eats people?"
"Well, it's theoretically possible," Severus defended himself. "Just because it's never eaten anyone--that we know of, anyway--doesn't mean that it couldn't." He paused and added, "Actually, there are a few people that I wish it had eaten..."
"I've been to the lake before, but I've never been to the beach!" Teddy said, trying to steer the conversation back on track. "Please, can we go, Papa? Please?"
"Stop it with the puppy dog look already," Severus grumbled. "It lacks dignity. I blame that on you, Remus--you're a bad example for impressionable young minds." Remus just grinned unrepentantly in response. Severus gave him an exasperated look and continued, "As for never having been to the beach...just because you have never done something does not necessarily mean that it should be done. What is so special about the beach, other than the fact that Victoire is going there?"
"It just sounds cool!" Teddy replied enthusiastically. "Besides swimming, I also want to build sandcastles and look for seashells--you can't do that at the lake!"
"I suppose not," Severus said with a sigh of resignation.
"Then we can go to the beach?" Teddy asked hopefully.
"Your father can take you to the beach, since he seems to like the idea," Severus replied. "I shall stay at home, safely away from the sun and sand."
"Aww, but it won't be any fun without you, Papa!" Teddy protested. "I want us all to go together."
Severus looked torn--pleased that his son wanted him to go along, while still finding the idea of a day at the beach distasteful. Sensing that he was wavering, Remus coaxed, "Come on, Severus--it won't kill you to get out of your laboratory and have a little fun once in awhile."
"We have different ideas of 'fun,' Remus," Severus said haughtily. "Personally, I find brewing potions to be a very rewarding experience."
"Of course you do," Remus said soothingly. "I didn't mean to imply otherwise. But there are different kinds of 'fun' and who knows--maybe it might do you good to shake up your routine a bit. Why not take some time off, and maybe that will give you a fresh perspective when you go back to your potions research?"
"My perspective is just fine!" Severus snapped huffily. Teddy began to look anxious, which caused Severus to look guilty, and he said in a milder though still gruff voice, "Sorry. It's just that I really don't care much for the beach or swimming in general."
"Why not?" Remus asked gently.
"Well...I'm so pale that I burn easily," Severus replied. "I'd turn red and blistered in no time!"
"I'm sure that an expert Potions Master like you can easily brew up a sunscreen potion," Remus said. "If not, there are plenty of Muggle products that work well, or so I'm told."
"Of course I could brew one if I wanted to!" Severus snapped, his pride offended. "And it would be much more effective than anything a Muggle could come up with!"
"Problem solved, then," Remus said cheerfully, and Severus looked chagrined as he realized that he'd just ruined his own excuse.
"Er...well..." he temporized, obviously trying to come up with another excuse. "As I said, there is the problem of sand getting into unwanted places..."
"Actually, Sirius taught me a great sand-repelling spell," Remus interjected. "He learned it while he was hiding out on a tropical island after his escape from Azkaban."
"Great, then we can all go to the beach, right?" Teddy said happily. When Severus scowled, he added more uncertainly, "Uh...right?"
"Severus," Remus said gently, "is there some other, more personal reason why you don't want to go to the beach?"
Severus sighed heavily and finally admitted, somewhat sheepishly, "Well...the truth is...I don't know how to swim."
"But...we all swam at the lake while we were at Hogwarts, didn't we?" Remus asked, his brow creasing as he frowned slightly, searching his memory. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't recall ever seeing Severus swim in the lake when they were students. Even now as adults, when they took Teddy to the lake, Severus would always watch from the shore, cautioning Teddy to stay in the shallows, although Remus would sometimes join his son for a quick dip.
His face flushed with humiliation, Severus muttered, "My family was so poor that I wore my regular clothes until they were practically falling apart. My mum managed to scrape together enough money to buy me one new school robe every year, but there was nothing left over for luxuries, not even a pair of swim trunks. And even if I had a proper swimsuit, why would I want to expose myself to be mocked by your friends for my white skin and skinny limbs and knobby knees?"
And then it was Remus's turn to flush as he remembered the time that James and Sirius had hexed Severus, turning him upside-down to expose his underpants, worn and gray with age and repeated washings. After Lily had stalked off, they had continued to torment him, making fun, as he'd said, of his knobby knees and too-pale skin ("like the belly of a dead fish"). Thank Merlin, Remus had managed to persuade James not to follow through on his threat to strip Severus of his underwear as well, although the memory of those protests now sounded feeble and half-hearted to the adult Remus: "Aw, come on, James, you've had your fun. Let's go before we get into trouble...again." They had sounded feeble to James, too, who had only given up when Remus had said in desperation, "Do you really want to see Snape naked?" James, Sirius, and Peter had laughed, agreeing that no one wanted that horrible image stuck in their brain, but Severus had glared at Remus murderously, naturally assuming that Remus had been mocking him rather than trying to save him.
"I'm sorry, Severus," Remus whispered.
Teddy looked back and forth between his Daddy and his Papa, seeing that they were distressed, but confused as to the reason why. "Maybe we shouldn't go to the beach after all?" he asked hesitantly, his lower lip quivering.
Severus took a deep breath, and as he slowly exhaled, the flush faded from his face, as did the look of resentment and embarrassment. "It was a long time ago," he said apologetically to Remus.
"Some things are hard to forget," Remus replied, still looking concerned.
"Yes, but many things have changed since then--for the better, mostly," Severus said, smiling reassuring at Remus and Teddy, who both relaxed. "I suppose it is time to let go of past grudges."
"Does that mean we can go to the beach?" Teddy asked hopefully.
"Yes, cub, it does," Severus said with a sigh of long-suffering resignation, but he reached out to ruffle Teddy's blue hair fondly.
"Yay!" Teddy exclaimed exuberantly. "I"m gonna go owl Vicky and tell her the news!"
He ran off to write his letter, and Remus turned to Severus and asked, "Are you sure you're all right with this, Severus? I know that you don't want to disappoint Teddy, but if it bothers you that much..."
"I've endured Cruciatus Curses and near-death by snakebite," Severus replied with a wry smile. "I suppose that a little sand and sunburn isn't much compared to that."
Remus smiled in relief and said, "If you want to learn how to swim, I'll be glad to teach you." He added hastily, "But if you don't, I'm sure that Teddy will be happy just to have you there--you can help him build sandcastles on the beach."
"I can hardly wait," Severus said sourly, but with a hint of humor and affection underlying his words.
"And...if you're uncomfortable with having other people around, we could go to the island where Sirius took refuge," Remus offered. "He showed me the location once, saying it would be a nice vacation spot. Of course we were too busy with the war to take vacations, and I forgot about it until now. It might be nice to have a holiday at a private tropical retreat, don't you think?"
"Perhaps the beach won't be so bad after all," Severus agreed with a smile.
***
So about a week later, they headed to the tropical island via a Portkey that Sirius had helped to prepare. The intervening years, along with a mutual fondness for Teddy, had softened the animosity between Severus and Sirius to an almost affectionate bickering--though of course, neither would ever admit to having any affection for the other. So when Remus had asked for his help, Sirius had complied with a bit of token grumbling and an only slightly sarcastic, "Is this a belated honeymoon?"
"It's not much of a romantic honeymoon with a young child in tow," Remus had laughed. It was true, but he felt no regret about bringing Teddy along--nothing made him happier than being able to spend time with his son and his beloved mate, and he knew that Severus felt the same, despite all his gruff snark.
So now they were on the island where Sirius had once taken shelter, in a lovely little cove that showed no signs of having had any human visitors since Sirius had left, although there were a few brightly colored tropical birds in some nearby trees. The sand felt pleasantly warm and dry beneath Remus's bare feet, and the water was a beautiful crystal-clear blue.
Teddy waited impatiently while his parents laid out some beach towels on the sand, and set up a large umbrella to provide some shade. "Can we please go swimming now?" he begged, literally bouncing on his feet with repressed excitement.
"Yes, go ahead and stop kicking sand all over the place," Severus said gruffly, making a shooing motion with one hand. "Just make sure to stay within sight and close to shore."
"Yes, Papa!" Teddy said and dashed down to where the waves gently lapped at the shore, and began splashing happily in the water.
"I'll go with him and make sure he doesn't get carried away," Remus said. "Will you be all right by yourself, Severus?" He smiled at his lover, who was slathered from head to toe with home-brewed sunscreen, and further protected from the sun by a wide-brimmed straw hat, dark glasses, and a tent-like green and white striped poncho that covered up the Slytherin-green swim trunks that Remus had bought him--which was rather a pity, in Remus's opinion.
"I'll be fine," Severus replied, settling down beneath the shade of the umbrella. "I brought along some potions journals to read. And some cold iced drinks to help stave off sunstroke." He patted the enchanted picnic basket that contained their lunch and drinks. "Run along and have fun with the cub."
"All right," Remus agreed, and went into the water to play with Teddy. A good while later, after Teddy was finally tired out from swimming and splashing around, they came back to shore and had lunch with Severus.
"How are you feeling?" Remus asked.
Severus cautiously reached out and touched the tip of his beaky nose, one of the few parts of his body actually exposed to the sunlight. "No sunburn so far," he confirmed. "And the sand seems to be staying on the beach where it belongs."
"See, a day at the beach isn't so bad after all," Remus gently teased.
Looking at Teddy's happy face, Severus agreed with a smile, "Not as bad as I feared,"
After lunch, Teddy played on the shore, a bit more sedately, and Severus deigned to help him build a sandcastle modeled after Hogwarts, helped along with a touch of magic for the finer details, although they built the main structure by hand. Of course, their sand-Hogwarts was a bit fanciful, since the real castle didn't have seashells decorating its walls.
Eventually, after lunch had been digested and Teddy got bored with building sandcastles, he wanted to go swimming again. "Do you want come with us this time, Papa?" he asked.
"Well..." Severus said, hesitating.
"It's fine if you don't want to," Remus said, carefully maintaining a casual tone of voice, knowing that Severus would balk if he felt pressured. "But we're all alone, and there's no one here to watch, if that's what's put you off before." He grinned and added, "I'm not a professional swimming instructor, but I'm sure I could manage to teach you the dog paddle."
"Ha ha, very funny, Lupin," Severus said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Teddy, on the other hand, found it hysterical and burst into laughter.
"Dog paddle! That's funny 'cause we're werewolves and werewolves are--"
"Canines, yes, I understand the wordplay, child," Severus interrupted. He gave Remus an accusing glare, saying, "He's obviously inherited your somewhat dubious sense of humor."
"Like father, like son," Remus said proudly.
"Yeah!" Teddy agreed with equal pride.
Severus sighed and shook his head. "Fine, teach me how to swim--it can't be any worse than sitting here listening to your dreadful jokes."
"They're not dreadful, they're funny!" Teddy said loyally, but didn't argue any further because he was pleased that his Papa had finally agree to swim with them.
Severus reluctantly shed hat, poncho, and glasses, then blushed as Remus gazed at his exposed body admiringly. "Those trunks do suit you," he purred.
"You're the only one who would think so," Severus replied tartly, but secretly he felt pleased.
"I'm the only one whose opinion matters, at least regarding that," Remus said firmly.
"True enough," Severus conceded with a laugh, and since one was around to see, he leaned over to kiss Remus.
"Hey, are you guys gonna get all mushy or are we gonna swim?" Teddy protested, and both Remus and Severus burst into laughter.
"Getting mushy will have to wait for later, I guess," Severus chuckled, and headed into the water with Remus and Teddy. He found that all his earlier reservations about learning to swim had evaporated, and he actually had fun learning to float (with the help of one of Teddy's inflatable beach toys, shaped like a sea serpent). Once he was able to float, they worked on kicking, and by the end of the day, he was able to paddle around with Teddy unassisted, if a bit awkwardly.
"See, I told you that I could teach you how to dog paddle!" Remus said with a grin.
"Maybe we should call it a 'wolf paddle' instead," Teddy chimed in, and he and Remus simultaneously cracked up at the joke.
"Like father, like son," Severus sighed, which only caused the pair to laugh even harder.
By the time they were ready to leave at sunset, Teddy was exhausted from his day at the beach, and had to be carried piggyback-style by Remus because he was too tired to stand up on his own.
"I had fun," he said sleepily, yawning as his head lolled forward on his father's shoulder. "Can we come back here again sometime?"
"Yes, we'll come back again," Severus replied before Remus had a chance to. "I hate to admit it, but...I had fun, too."
"I'm glad, Severus," Remus said, smiling tenderly as he leaned over to kiss his lover. By now, Teddy had fallen fast asleep and had no objections to them "getting mushy," so his fathers kissed for quite some time as the setting sun cast a warm red-orange glow over them.
***
I went swimming with Daddy, and Papa helped me build a sandcastle that looked like Hogwarts! Also, Daddy taught Papa how to swim, and Papa had lots of fun at the beach too, even though he didn't want to go at first. We went back lots of times during the summer, and Papa even got a nice tan that Daddy says makes him look very handsome. (Papa says that Daddy needs glasses, but he sounded happy.) They got a little mushy sometimes--okay, very mushy--but I don't really mind, because I'm happy that they love each other (and me).
I can't wait to go back again next summer!