Motivation: I just read some truly horrendous Sirius/Remus fics (not here!) and decided I could do better.
Teaser: It's so hard to get any privacy at a boarding school, especially if one's keeping a secret
Sirius and James sat in the library, researching for a History of Magic paper. They flipped through a particularly interesting volume about magic amongst the ancient Greeks, and they could not help chuckling over some of the pictures.
"Oi, look at this carving!" James whispered, pointing at some Olympic wrestlers, "These two blokes look like they should be finding a private room somewhere, not doing their business in front of an audience."
As had been wont to happen since the pair met in their first year, James' comments rendered Sirius speechless with (attemptedly quiet) laughter. Encouraged, James continued.
"D'you suppose anyone in the audience ever got a hard-on from watching? How embarrassing...and I don't reckon a toga would hide it very well." The pair broke out in renewed giggling, causing the librarian to shush them. As they calmed themselves, Sirius had a very sobering thought. Perhaps now was a good time...
"Y'know, Prongs, funny you should mention that sort of thing..." he began, still managing to sound casual.
"Why so?" James asked easily, smiling a relaxed smile and still flushed from the chuckling fits. Looking into the bright brown eyes of his friend, so at ease and accepting, Sirius...choked.
"Er, nothing. Forgot what I was going to say," he answered lamely.
"Ah. Fair enough, Pads. Now, 'bout these Olympic games the Muggles adore so much..."
"Sorry, was held up at the library," Sirius said, panting from the exertion of running from there to his dorm. Remus smiled indulgently and reached out to affectionately straighten his mussed locks.
"Look at you...all flushed and tousled. And you haven't even been alone with me for a minute," he said with a wicked grin. Padfoot called his grin and raised him a suggestive eyebrow-quirk. Unable to resist, Remus leaned in to kiss him.
"Almost told Prongs today," Sirius interjected after the kiss. Remus blinked.
"Oh? Why'd you stop?"
"...Choked."
"...Yeah, me too. Every time. Just not easy to tell your best mates that you like boys, is it?"
"Can't say it is, Remy, but you're certainly worth it." Moony smiled at that. Sometime around the end of fifth year, he had admitted to himself that the close friendship he shared with Sirius Black had developed a...tension to it. A sexual undertone he neither knew how to bring up in conversation nor felt sure was mutual. By halfway through sixth year, as it was now, the pair had finally linked up and felt blissfully happy about it. However, it had been several weeks, and neither had figured out a good way to share the good news.
"Good to know you value my...affections," Remus responded, drawing closer. Padfoot slipped his arms around his boyfriend.
"I value every part of you, you know," he commented, casually leaning in for another kiss. This one lingered, deepened, and consumed the attention of the boys, Remus delighting in the feel of trailing fingertips along his back, Sirius revelling in the weight of a slender, handsome young man leaning into his embrace. They wandered over to Remus' bed, and things progressed as they often do with young love. Soon, both were shirtless and snuggled together, hands wandering.
And then, the unexpected happened.
"Ruddy touchy teacher...kicked out for forgetting my notebook...not like it's my twentieth time..." James was keeping up a running grumble about his misfortune, right up until he opened the door of his dormitory and spotted his friends sharing a bed. Shirtless. Sitting awful close.
Oh dear.
"P-P-Pads??" he finally managed. "Moony??" Upon hearing the door open, the couple could only gawp at James in horror, but the sound of his voice snapped them out of it. They scrambled up and off of each other, pulling on their shirts. Remus slipped out of bed, hitting the floor with a whump. It might have been comical any other day.
"Listen, we...It's..." Remus managed.
"It-I-we-him-I - Not what you - well, not, um," Sirius sputtered.
"What the bloody hell?!" James not-quite-yelled, still looking quite confused.
Sirius made himself take a deep breath. "Now listen, I'm sorry you...had to..."
"Tea!" Remus chimed. Padfoot and Prongs redirected their gawping at him.
"We need tea," he clarified, nodding as if he had just solved a great dilemma.
"Well...that could be nice?" Sirius said uncertainly.
"Of course it could be. Sirius, fetch some water." At that point, Moony pulled a kettle, a few cups, and some tea from his trunk while James silently went to sit on his own bed. His eyes followed Remus, but it was clear from his vacant expression that his mind ruminated on other things. Perhaps hints that he had noticed - too-affectionate gazes, friendly touches held too long - but had not put any thought into. It had seemed an absurd idea, two of his best male friends snogging behind closed doors. Until now, that is.
A boiling charm later, the trio each had a cup of tea, and the couple stood in front of James. Still sitting, the young man took a slow sip of the brew and let his eyes travel between the two other boys.
"Well," he stated.
"Yes," Remus answered. "We've been looking for a way to tell you, Sirius and I, but it's hard to find a good time for that sort of thing."
"Aha. Well, I find this method of discovery much more stimulating. I hadn't filled my quota of heart attacks for the week, but now I'm well off."
Sirius ventured a weak smile and replied, "Well, to be fair, you scared us pretty thoroughly yourself."
"I just...has this been going on long? I know you haven't always been interested in boys; you've both dated girls at least a little...not that I can claim to know how much you enjoyed it or how far you went exactly...but...I mean, are you just experimenting, or what?" Prongs rambled frankly, unable to hold back his curiosity.
After a pause, Sirius gave a response that made Remus' heart skip a beat: "Well, girls are fun and all, and I guess other boys could be, too, but what I like is Remuses." James blinked.
"Well...that about answers it, doesn't it? It'll take some getting used to the idea, though. And I'm kind of ticked you didn't tell me about it."
"That's fair," Remus admitted, slipping an arm around Sirius' waist. James suffered an involuntary eye twitch.
"Er...and nothing personal, but until I do grow accustomed, could you...just act like you've been? I mean, like, no excessive...touching?" he asked delicately. The couple didn't even think to be offended, merely happy that they weren't being dissowned by their buddy. Sirius even cracked a grin. A wicked sort of grin that James recognized.
"What...d'you mean like this stuff?" he asked, placing an arm around Remus' shoulders and pulling him closer.
"Well, that's not too bad...but that sort of stuff, yeah. No offense, just-"
"Makes you uncomfortable, I get it," Sirius finished easily, "Tha's okay." He then proceeded to let his hand drift down and pinch Remus in the posterior. The young werewolf jumped in surprise, and James' eyes widened.
"Hey now-"
"What?" Sirius asked blithely, impish grin widening. He then proceeded to lean over and kiss Remus on the cheek...then on the cheek again...working his way towards the jawline and neck...
"Ugh!" James shouted, leaping up and running for the door. "You blokes are evil!" he yelled back as he left and closed the door. Sirius just burst out laughing. He had caught James' grin as he ran from the room, and he was sure of it now: everything would be alright.
Remus? Remus just rolled his eyes and tried to look serious - and failed at suppressing a grin of his own.