Birthday, or the Lack of a Title
Chapter One: A Superfluous Argument
By Romula
Rating: G
Warning: Slash. Remus/Sirius, Sirius/Remus, whatever.
Author's Notes: Took long enough, didn't it? WIP, to be completed sometime this year. Words that are surrounded by asterisks are *stressed*. Paragraphs encased by slashes (//) are flashbacks.
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"Remus! Remus, get out of bed! Come on, it's time, it's time!"
There was an exceedingly loud noise coming from somewhere to the left of Remus Lupin's bed. And whoever was making it was going to die a slow and painful death, when Remus awakened enough to exact this punishment upon the person who so rudely invaded his dreams.
"Remus!" In all fairness, the voice was not exactly yelling, just whispering very loudly. But how was Remus expected to differentiate between the two in his stupor?
"You've been sleeping for hours, you have to get up now, come on, wake up!"
The noise was no longer coming from beside him, instead, the offender had moved on top of the bed, where he was further intruding on Remus' slumber by jumping up and down. This was not to be tolerated.
"Sirius! Get off my bed this instant! You're going to ruin my sheets - look, you've got your shoes on!"
Sirius Black stopped jumping long enough to gaze at his friend bemusedly.
"I thought you'd never get up."
"Yes, well, it's hard to sleep when you've got a sixteen-year-old boy bouncing on your bed, isn't it?"
"I wouldn't know, it's never happened to me before," said Sirius, grinning wickedly.
"Well, if you don't stop right now, you're going to find out what it feels like to have a fifteen-year-old boy strangle you to death."
Remus' tone was somewhat less than jubilant, and Sirius thought he best comply. Flushed and breathless, he flopped down next to Remus, and stared at the canopy, trying to ignore the stare of death still emanating from his friend's eyes.
"I'm sorry, Remus, but I've never turned sixteen before. It's a big day."
"I know. But it's not even light out yet, Sirius, couldn't you have at least waited until after dawn to proclaim your exuberance over the all important sixteenth birthday to the world?"
He sounded less vexed this time, and Sirius risked eye-contact. Remus was trying not to laugh, and doing an admirable job, considering that Sirius had started making funny faces at him.
"Go away, Sirius, I was trying to sleep."
"Aw, but Remus, you don't need any beauty sleep. Besides, what am I supposed to do for *three whole hours* by myself?"
"You should have thought of that before you woke me up this early in the morning."
"I was thinking of that, that's why I woke you up."
Remus had no response to this statement. So he did the only thing he could: he pushed Sirius off the bed, drew the covers over his head, and tried to ignore his best friend.
Unfortunately, Sirius' indignant yelps had woken up James Potter and Peter Pettigrew, who shared their dormitory room. And, like Sirius usually was, they were both late risers, and were not happy about being awoken in the pre-dawn hours. Remus was made aware of this fact by several pillows hurtling at his head from the vicinity of the other boys' beds.
"It wasn't me! It was Sirius! I was trying to get him to go back to sleep!"
"Ha! You're the one who pushed me off the bed!"
"You woke me up! And then wouldn't leave! What was I supposed to do?"
"There was no need to get physical -"
"Physical?! You were bloody jumping on the bed -"
"If you had just woken up, like I wanted you to -"
"So now I'm supposed to do everything just because *you want* me to?"
"Yes!"
"Go to *sleep*, Sirius!"
"Make me!"
"Why can't you ever just be normal, for once?"
"Me?! Me normal? Oh, that's rich coming from you! You've always got your nose buried in some book, studying for exams, and you have the nerve -"
James and Peter looked at each other, muttered silencing charms, and promptly returned to sleep. It just wouldn't have been a normal week without Sirius and Remus having a knock-down, blow-out fight, and this looked like a promising beginning. However, it was still too early for either of them to enjoy it. ____________________________________________
Breakfast passed as usual in the great hall, the minor exception being that Sirius and Remus still refused to talk to each other. Immediately they arrived at the table, they appointed James as moderator, and were now communicating through him. Peter had wisely chosen to come down late, and so was spared the task of trying to negotiate peace between the other Marauders.
"James."
A petite redhead approached the table, and James looked a bit too relieved, earning him glares from Sirius and Remus.
"Hey Lily. What's up?"
"I was wondering if you could come to the library with me, I'm having a horrible time with this homework McGonagall gave us, and since you're so good at transfiguration -"
"Yes!" James said, perhaps a bit too quickly. "Oh, I, er, I mean, sure, why not? I was just finishing here anyway."
Peter made a slight whimpering noise at the prospect of being left alone with Remus and Sirius. James took pity on him.
"And Peter can come too, I know he was having trouble too, right Peter?"
Ignoring the odd look Lily was giving him, he grabbed her and Peter's arms and hurried them away from the table before anyone could object. An uncomfortable silence ensued.
"So." Remus stared at his toast.
"So." Sirius stared at his orange juice.
"Igottahaftagostufftodoseeyalater," Remus mumbled, suddenly jumping up from the table, leaving behind his half-finished breakfast and a confused, disappointed, and angry Sirius. ____________________________________________
Sixteen should be, one supposes, just another number in the grand scheme of things. But for some unknown reason, it has always been one of the most looked-forward-to birthdays. It's a milestone, a 'congratulations for surviving childhood.' It marks a new level of maturity and responsibility, and thus should be celebrated in as raucous and irresponsible a manner as is possible. Perfect for such a legendary prankster as Sirius Black.
Sirius was not enjoying his sixteenth birthday at all. And it was all Remus' fault.
// He had woken up at what he would usually call an ungodly hour that morning, unable to sleep due to the adrenaline, he thought. After all, it wasn't everyday that a boy turned sixteen, and he intended to make the most of it. But what was he supposed to do until everyone else woke up? James wouldn't hesitate to beat him over the head with a broom if Sirius woke him up so early, and he wouldn't even consider spending several hours alone with Peter. . . so what was he to do?
"siriusmmmnoplezsirusmm"
Sirius turned his head towards the sound of his name. Dark though it was, he could see the moonlight reflected off honey coloured locks, creating a nimbus around the head the dreaming boy. Of course. He would wake up Remus, who, naturally, would be delighted at the prospect of spending a few hours alone with Sirius on his birthday. Remus was an early riser, so he probably wouldn't mind waking up just a bit earlier than usual, for such a dear friend as Sirius was. Right?
Slipping out of his covers, Sirius padded silently across the room to the other boy's bed. And his breath caught in his throat.
He had never before seen an angel, yet surely that was what had stolen into Remus' bed in the night. The moonlight, the very thing which Remus so abhorred during his waking hours, transforming him not into a monster, but a seraphim, making his pale skin paler, softening his features, smoothing the lines of worry that had always looked so anachronistic on such a young face. He was not by any means beautiful. He transcended beauty. Sirius could not but stare, forced into a realisation that he had long avoided.
He was in love with Remus Lupin.
Madly, crazily, completely in love with Remus Lupin. With his best friend. Who had helped him pull off hundreds of pranks. Who helped him with his divination homework. Whom he helped with his potions homework. A boy possessed of an almost unnatural calm, a quiet grace in his every action. A boy so certain in every word that occasionally having a conversation with Remus was like having a conversation with an encyclopedia. A werewolf. A boy tormented by the fact that for three nights out of every twenty-eight, he became a Dark creature, wanting nothing more than to hurt, destroy, kill. A boy who, thanks to his friends efforts, was no longer alone on those nights. A boy Sirius loved.
There was only one thing for Sirius to do.
"Remus!"
And now Remus refused to speak to him. Sirius hated being sixteen. // ____________________________________________
Remus Lupin was confused. Possibly more confused that Sirius, but he had no way of knowing that. He was mad at Sirius, as well, mostly because Sirius had dragged him away from his dreams that morning. . . and such pleasant dreams they were, involving Sirius and much nicer methods of waking him up. . . but he wasn't going to think about that. He was mad, and he wasn't going to let whatever feelings he had about the other boy interfere with his sulking. It was just like Sirius, to intrude not only on his dreams, but his solitude, as well.
But how could he not think about the boy who had so effortlessly stolen his heart? A glance in his direction from Sirius made his stomach twist into knots. A casual touch made his knees weak. He had no power to resist Sirius' "lost puppy dog" eyes. Of course, neither did half the other people in school, but Remus felt that as Sirius' best friend, he should have been granted some immunity by the powers that be. It didn't help that Sirius knew this, and often took full advantage of the fact.
Remus wasn't sure exactly when it was that he had fallen in love with Sirius Black, but he could no longer remember a time when he didn't feel the way he did. It was as though he had always loved him, from the moment they met, and for every day after. He had become a necessity, as important to Remus' survival as food and oxygen. And now Sirius refused to speak to him.
Chapter One: A Superfluous Argument
By Romula
Rating: G
Warning: Slash. Remus/Sirius, Sirius/Remus, whatever.
Author's Notes: Took long enough, didn't it? WIP, to be completed sometime this year. Words that are surrounded by asterisks are *stressed*. Paragraphs encased by slashes (//) are flashbacks.
____________________________________________
"Remus! Remus, get out of bed! Come on, it's time, it's time!"
There was an exceedingly loud noise coming from somewhere to the left of Remus Lupin's bed. And whoever was making it was going to die a slow and painful death, when Remus awakened enough to exact this punishment upon the person who so rudely invaded his dreams.
"Remus!" In all fairness, the voice was not exactly yelling, just whispering very loudly. But how was Remus expected to differentiate between the two in his stupor?
"You've been sleeping for hours, you have to get up now, come on, wake up!"
The noise was no longer coming from beside him, instead, the offender had moved on top of the bed, where he was further intruding on Remus' slumber by jumping up and down. This was not to be tolerated.
"Sirius! Get off my bed this instant! You're going to ruin my sheets - look, you've got your shoes on!"
Sirius Black stopped jumping long enough to gaze at his friend bemusedly.
"I thought you'd never get up."
"Yes, well, it's hard to sleep when you've got a sixteen-year-old boy bouncing on your bed, isn't it?"
"I wouldn't know, it's never happened to me before," said Sirius, grinning wickedly.
"Well, if you don't stop right now, you're going to find out what it feels like to have a fifteen-year-old boy strangle you to death."
Remus' tone was somewhat less than jubilant, and Sirius thought he best comply. Flushed and breathless, he flopped down next to Remus, and stared at the canopy, trying to ignore the stare of death still emanating from his friend's eyes.
"I'm sorry, Remus, but I've never turned sixteen before. It's a big day."
"I know. But it's not even light out yet, Sirius, couldn't you have at least waited until after dawn to proclaim your exuberance over the all important sixteenth birthday to the world?"
He sounded less vexed this time, and Sirius risked eye-contact. Remus was trying not to laugh, and doing an admirable job, considering that Sirius had started making funny faces at him.
"Go away, Sirius, I was trying to sleep."
"Aw, but Remus, you don't need any beauty sleep. Besides, what am I supposed to do for *three whole hours* by myself?"
"You should have thought of that before you woke me up this early in the morning."
"I was thinking of that, that's why I woke you up."
Remus had no response to this statement. So he did the only thing he could: he pushed Sirius off the bed, drew the covers over his head, and tried to ignore his best friend.
Unfortunately, Sirius' indignant yelps had woken up James Potter and Peter Pettigrew, who shared their dormitory room. And, like Sirius usually was, they were both late risers, and were not happy about being awoken in the pre-dawn hours. Remus was made aware of this fact by several pillows hurtling at his head from the vicinity of the other boys' beds.
"It wasn't me! It was Sirius! I was trying to get him to go back to sleep!"
"Ha! You're the one who pushed me off the bed!"
"You woke me up! And then wouldn't leave! What was I supposed to do?"
"There was no need to get physical -"
"Physical?! You were bloody jumping on the bed -"
"If you had just woken up, like I wanted you to -"
"So now I'm supposed to do everything just because *you want* me to?"
"Yes!"
"Go to *sleep*, Sirius!"
"Make me!"
"Why can't you ever just be normal, for once?"
"Me?! Me normal? Oh, that's rich coming from you! You've always got your nose buried in some book, studying for exams, and you have the nerve -"
James and Peter looked at each other, muttered silencing charms, and promptly returned to sleep. It just wouldn't have been a normal week without Sirius and Remus having a knock-down, blow-out fight, and this looked like a promising beginning. However, it was still too early for either of them to enjoy it. ____________________________________________
Breakfast passed as usual in the great hall, the minor exception being that Sirius and Remus still refused to talk to each other. Immediately they arrived at the table, they appointed James as moderator, and were now communicating through him. Peter had wisely chosen to come down late, and so was spared the task of trying to negotiate peace between the other Marauders.
"James."
A petite redhead approached the table, and James looked a bit too relieved, earning him glares from Sirius and Remus.
"Hey Lily. What's up?"
"I was wondering if you could come to the library with me, I'm having a horrible time with this homework McGonagall gave us, and since you're so good at transfiguration -"
"Yes!" James said, perhaps a bit too quickly. "Oh, I, er, I mean, sure, why not? I was just finishing here anyway."
Peter made a slight whimpering noise at the prospect of being left alone with Remus and Sirius. James took pity on him.
"And Peter can come too, I know he was having trouble too, right Peter?"
Ignoring the odd look Lily was giving him, he grabbed her and Peter's arms and hurried them away from the table before anyone could object. An uncomfortable silence ensued.
"So." Remus stared at his toast.
"So." Sirius stared at his orange juice.
"Igottahaftagostufftodoseeyalater," Remus mumbled, suddenly jumping up from the table, leaving behind his half-finished breakfast and a confused, disappointed, and angry Sirius. ____________________________________________
Sixteen should be, one supposes, just another number in the grand scheme of things. But for some unknown reason, it has always been one of the most looked-forward-to birthdays. It's a milestone, a 'congratulations for surviving childhood.' It marks a new level of maturity and responsibility, and thus should be celebrated in as raucous and irresponsible a manner as is possible. Perfect for such a legendary prankster as Sirius Black.
Sirius was not enjoying his sixteenth birthday at all. And it was all Remus' fault.
// He had woken up at what he would usually call an ungodly hour that morning, unable to sleep due to the adrenaline, he thought. After all, it wasn't everyday that a boy turned sixteen, and he intended to make the most of it. But what was he supposed to do until everyone else woke up? James wouldn't hesitate to beat him over the head with a broom if Sirius woke him up so early, and he wouldn't even consider spending several hours alone with Peter. . . so what was he to do?
"siriusmmmnoplezsirusmm"
Sirius turned his head towards the sound of his name. Dark though it was, he could see the moonlight reflected off honey coloured locks, creating a nimbus around the head the dreaming boy. Of course. He would wake up Remus, who, naturally, would be delighted at the prospect of spending a few hours alone with Sirius on his birthday. Remus was an early riser, so he probably wouldn't mind waking up just a bit earlier than usual, for such a dear friend as Sirius was. Right?
Slipping out of his covers, Sirius padded silently across the room to the other boy's bed. And his breath caught in his throat.
He had never before seen an angel, yet surely that was what had stolen into Remus' bed in the night. The moonlight, the very thing which Remus so abhorred during his waking hours, transforming him not into a monster, but a seraphim, making his pale skin paler, softening his features, smoothing the lines of worry that had always looked so anachronistic on such a young face. He was not by any means beautiful. He transcended beauty. Sirius could not but stare, forced into a realisation that he had long avoided.
He was in love with Remus Lupin.
Madly, crazily, completely in love with Remus Lupin. With his best friend. Who had helped him pull off hundreds of pranks. Who helped him with his divination homework. Whom he helped with his potions homework. A boy possessed of an almost unnatural calm, a quiet grace in his every action. A boy so certain in every word that occasionally having a conversation with Remus was like having a conversation with an encyclopedia. A werewolf. A boy tormented by the fact that for three nights out of every twenty-eight, he became a Dark creature, wanting nothing more than to hurt, destroy, kill. A boy who, thanks to his friends efforts, was no longer alone on those nights. A boy Sirius loved.
There was only one thing for Sirius to do.
"Remus!"
And now Remus refused to speak to him. Sirius hated being sixteen. // ____________________________________________
Remus Lupin was confused. Possibly more confused that Sirius, but he had no way of knowing that. He was mad at Sirius, as well, mostly because Sirius had dragged him away from his dreams that morning. . . and such pleasant dreams they were, involving Sirius and much nicer methods of waking him up. . . but he wasn't going to think about that. He was mad, and he wasn't going to let whatever feelings he had about the other boy interfere with his sulking. It was just like Sirius, to intrude not only on his dreams, but his solitude, as well.
But how could he not think about the boy who had so effortlessly stolen his heart? A glance in his direction from Sirius made his stomach twist into knots. A casual touch made his knees weak. He had no power to resist Sirius' "lost puppy dog" eyes. Of course, neither did half the other people in school, but Remus felt that as Sirius' best friend, he should have been granted some immunity by the powers that be. It didn't help that Sirius knew this, and often took full advantage of the fact.
Remus wasn't sure exactly when it was that he had fallen in love with Sirius Black, but he could no longer remember a time when he didn't feel the way he did. It was as though he had always loved him, from the moment they met, and for every day after. He had become a necessity, as important to Remus' survival as food and oxygen. And now Sirius refused to speak to him.