the_debt_of_time

"Well, yes and no. She didn't physically kill you, but she is the one who caused you
to fall into the veil."
"And Mia brought me back?"
"Hermione brought you back, yes," Remus corrected him again.
Sirius snarled at him. "Don't talk to me like I'm stupid, Remus. I know who she is."
It was starting to feel like their first real conversation after the incident in the
Shrieking Shack following his breakout from Azkaban: Sirius asking questions, demanding
answers, and Remus constantly setting him straight on the proper use of names.
"No, we both know there's a difference," Remus insisted. His eyes, while normally
a soft green colour in human form, briefly flashed specks of gold—the wolf coming to the
forefront as it did during stressful and emotional peaks.
Sirius caught the change immediately and inclined his head until Remus's eyes
softened once more. "How have you been handling it?"
"Not... well." Remus shook his head. "It was hard enough dealing with the ghosts
of my past before you... left, but between losing you, the war, and... other
inconveniences, I sometimes have difficulties even on days when the moon isn't closing in
on me."
Sirius nodded sympathetically. The extra grey hair was starting to make sense.
"Tonks has been very understanding, all things considered," Remus added quietly.
Catching the tone, Sirius glanced down at Remus's modest wedding band and
smirked, glad for something to break the uncomfortable tension in the room.
"You married my cousin? I knew you were stupidly in love with her, but I didn't think you'd
ever take the leap, Moony. You're old enough to be her father, you know."
Remus rolled his eyes dramatically. "If that isn't the cauldron calling the kettle
black."
Sirius grinned. "I'm always Black."
Letting out a sigh of relief, Remus clapped Sirius on the shoulder. "It's good to have
you back, Padfoot. If you're well enough to make terrible name puns, then the world has
somehow righted itself."
"Drink up, love," Tonks said as she walked in with two cups in hand, passing one
over to Sirius and the other to her husband who smiled up at her with grateful, adoring