Title: Zebra Strips
Genre: Romance/Friendship
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I no own
Note: Unbeta'd! Beware of errors! Marauders Time. Also: Yaoi ahead.
Summary: Oneshot. Drabbles. Remus/Sirius – Falling in love was always messy.
I
Wake Up – TheArcade Fire
They were running as fast as they could, trying to catch the Hogwarts Express before it left them behind. They could see the smoke already start to puff out from the front engine, and they carted their belongings in a hurried frenzy. Nervous laughter escaped their lips.
If they missed that train then they'd miss the beginning of their fifth year, and that just wouldn't bode well for either of them.
"Why did I convince you to let me show you around a muggle station?" The smaller, amber eyed, teenager asked, trying to make his voice sound angry as they managed to catch the train before it left. He let the conductor take his things and took his suitcase which held his robes away from the others.
The other teenager, a boy whom obviously just hit a rather large growth spurt and had decided that it was a good summer to start working out, just laughed. It was a sharp, barking, sound that made other students pop their heads out of their compartment windows. The tall young man just grinned easily, copying his companion.
"Because I was curious! Muggles are awful curious creatures, Moony." He smiled charmingly, gray eyes sparkling with mirth at the near miss of their ride. He was sure that if they really had missed the train, Remus would've definitely killed him.
The shorter boy, Remus, turned and frowned at the taller boy. "Sirius, we could've missed the train. I would've killed you had we missed it." He glared up through pretty amber colored eyes. That only confirmed what Sirius already knew.
"No you wouldn't have, you love me too much," Sirius answered easily. They both then stared at each other awkwardly after his statement was made.
For a moment, and only a moment, something shifted between them, it was as if their entire relationship had just been tilted on an axis. And then James opened their compartment door and the moment was ruined, but it wasn't lost on either boy, nor was it forgotten.
II
Trapped in a Box— No Doubt
Remus felt as if he were suffocating, crouching low in the closet underneath a staircase to hide from Filch by himself would've been fine. But because he was with Sirius, it was too crowded, too warm, and too stuffy.
Sirius's hot breath kept touching the back of his neck, making goose bumps appear up and down his arms, and Remus knew that his face was beginning to flush.
They waited until they were sure that both Filch and Mrs. Norris were out of sight and hearing range before slowly exiting the cramped closet together.
"How does it feel to finally be out of the closet?" Sirius joked as the two of them hurriedly made their way back to theGriffindorTower.
Remus merely rolled his eyes in response, but his heart was beating a mile a minute.
III
Paper Planes- M.I.A
Peter had managed to bring something called marijuana into Hogwarts after winter break, his claimed that he had pilfered it from his squib cousin, and asked if the others would like to try.
"What do you do with it?" Asked James. "It looks a bit like parsley."
"That's because you have to roll it up, give me a bit of parchment," Peter said, extending his hand as James handed him the parchment. The four of them were sitting in a circle in the middle of their room.
Sirius watched with curiosity as Peter put some of the marijuana on to the parchment and began to roll it up, licking it closed.
"This is called a blunt." Peter stated.
"Now what?" Sirius asked.
"You smoke it," Remus answered with a sigh, "Pete, you really shouldn't have this in school. If we get caught we can all get into very big trouble. Perhaps even expelled."
The mention of expulsion is what really gained James and Sirius' interest.
"Really? Then we must try it," James grinned wickedly, hazel eyes gleaming with mischief.
An hour later found three out of the four Marauders laughing their arses off about nothing. Remus sat there, with what was left of their blunt dangling from his parted lips, smoking leisurely.
"I'm starved." James suddenly announced, patting his stomach with a look of confusion on his face, "Let's say we go down to the kitchens."
"I'll go with you; we'll bring food back up here." Peter said, standing up on wobbly feet.
"That's a bloody brilliant idea!" James grinned, reaching for his invisibility cloak and the Marauders Map.
"Be careful you two. And please, try not to get caught." Remus sighed, bemused. He was rather bored and ready to go to sleep soon. It was a Thursday night and they had classes in the morning.
As soon as James and Peter were gone, Sirius turned his steely gray eyes to Remus, "You know Moony; I think you're rather sexy."
Remus rolled his eyes, "Padfoot, you're high." He got up and went into the bathroom that the four of them shared in order to get ready for bed. Once the door closed and locked behind him, Remus allowed himself to show his annoyance. Sexy, he snorted. If only Sirius hadn't said that while intoxicated, then it might've meant something.
IV
Perfect Situation - Weezer
Remus glared at Sirius from across the courtyard, the animagus didn't even notice the others heated gaze. Sirius was talking it up with a pretty girl from Ravenclaw, she was very pretty indeed. So of course it was natural for Sirius to want to talk to her, get to know her a bit, snog her and maybe even more.
"Maybe if you keep staring at him like that, he'll combust." Lily's voice brought the werewolf out of his anger-filled thoughts. "One can only hope he does, and then maybe he'll wake up and see what's in front of him."
Amber eyes looked into emerald ones, "I don't think it's that simple Lily." Remus stated slowly.
The redhead shrugged, "I, for one, think that lighting Sirius Black on fire would be brilliant."
"You're also one who nearly despises him," Remus smirked and shook his head, "it's only natural for him to talk to that girl, or any girl, he is a skirt chaser...birds would be much more interesting than wolves."
Lily frowned and watched as Remus got up from his spot next to her and left the courtyard. She noticed how Sirius watched as well.
V
Somebody to Love – Queen
Sirius Black always went after vibrant, beautiful, busty, birds. It was the exact opposite of what he wanted. More than once he caught himself being attracted to mousy, quiet, bookish type of girls. More precisely, he'd catch himself being attracted to quiet, bookish, werewolves.
Whenever he allowed himself his favorite pastime (which included watching said werewolves every move), Sirius found that he enjoyed himself more watching after Remus then being with any bird. Remus was smarter, kinder, and better looking than any of the girls in Hogwarts combined.
This thought alone is what really worried the animagus, because the more he studied his friend, the more he realized that he liked Remus much more than a friend should. It was these emotions that scared poor Sirius shitless. So he continued what he was doing, going on with his life as if he wasn't deeply in love with one of his closest mates. He came to this realization sometime during fifth year, and at that point in time decided that it was best to chase after skirts then try to go after the one that he truly wanted. It was painful, yes, but it kept their friendship safe.
VI
Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk – Rufus Wainwright
TheAstronomyTowerwas always the best place to go when one wanted to look at the night sky. And the sky was always it's brightest during the winter. Thus was why Sirius was sprawled across a thin cloak on the rooftop of the tower, a cigarette securely held between the fingers of the hand that was dangling dangerously over the edge of the roof.
"If you're not careful when you stand then you'll certainly fall to your death," The sudden voice made Sirius jump and quickly turn his head.
Remus stood there near the door, an amused look on his face and a thermos in his hands, "You've been staring at Orion's belt for the last twenty minutes."
"Is that how long you've been watching me?" Sirius asked, taking a lazy drag from his cigarette.
Remus merely shrugged and sat down near Sirius' head, "Would you like some?" He offered, gesturing to the thermos.
"Fire whisky?"
"Hot chocolate."
Sirius rolled his eyes dramatically but sat up and took the heated drink that was offered to him, tilting his head back and exposing his throat to the wolf as he drank. When done, he licked the remaining drops of the liquid off of his mouth and grinned at Remus (who's face had gone suspiciously red, though whether it was from the cold or something else was unknown), "You and your chocolate Rem, it did warm me rather well, but next time bring some fire whisky."
Remus shook his head and remained silent, staring up at the constellation of Sirius. Thinking that the stars were probably easier to reach than the actual person who was sitting not a foot away.
VII
Waltz (Better Than Fine) – Fiona Apple
Pumpkin juice slid down Remus's throat easily, the cold liquid making his heated body cool down. The Halloween Ball was traditional, but he didn't know why he was dragged along. He didn't make a face when he realized that someone had spiked the juice, because the liquor in the juice made it taste better (if that were possible). He wasn't sure just how James had managed to do it, but he did a brilliant job of it.
Speaking of James, he noticed his messy haired friend dancing with Lily, both smiling and laughing like the youths that they were. For the night the war that was going on outside of the school walls was momentarily forgotten. The students were able to just be children, with no real worries in the world.
Peter was dancing as well, with some girl from Hufflepuff. Sometimes Remus wonders if Peter should've been put into that house instead, he fit in so well with them.
Sirius was parading around with his date for the evening. It made Remus's heart ache and his head hurt.
He was a masochist. So Remus drank more spiked pumpkin juice, leaving the ball early with some boy from Ravenclaw. Unaware of Sirius's gaze on him the entire time.
VIII
Nancy Boy - Placebo
They had graduated a few months ago, Remus lived in his own flat inLondon. It was cheap, but it was his. He worked in a muggle library and enjoyed the simple, somewhat normal, life.
At least, it would be normal had there not been a wizarding war going on. Had he not been part of some miniscule resistance known as The Order of thePhoenix. However, Remus Lupin was indeed part of such a group. But it just so happened that tonight was his night off from his life.
Although it was dangerous to walk around at night inLondonthese days, Remus still happily made his way to the only gay club that he knew of that was close enough to apparate to without causing a commotion or scene.
He was only down the street from the club when he ran into the man that had been plaguing his every thought since fourth year, Sirius Black.
They made small talk, because it was necessary for two old friends to talk after not seeing, or hearing, from each other in months.
When Remus was finally able to disentangle himself from Sirius's amazing gray eyes, he began to trek once again. The conversation with Sirius made him ache with want and desire, and he immediately decided that he would go home with someone that night. He needed to.
The young man he picked up had dark hair and light blue eyes, he wasn't quite as handsome as the man Remus was in love with, but he was good enough for the werewolf to spend the night with.
IX
Like Dreamers Do – The Beatles
Sirius hated it, how he was never able to see his friends due to Order business or Auror training. Moody was killing him with both, but he refused to take any breaks.
Once entering his flat inLondon, he immediately fell down onto the couch, his entire life was upside-down for a few moments. But that's how it felt half of the time these days.
Toeing off his boots, and shrugging off his leather jacket while remaining in that same lying down position was a task, but he managed and let everything fall to the floor. His wand laid out on the small coffee table before him. Sirius missed Hogwarts desperately, sure the world was exciting, but the war was making living near impossible.
He missed the safety and security of the school, although he'd never admit it. He missed the old days of sharing a dorm and being a true Marauder with James, Peter and Remus.
But most of all, he missed Remus. The memory of sharp, amber, eyes were the last thing he saw as he close his own eyes, breathing getting shallow. If he paid attention closely, he'd notice how his memories were letting him smell the scent of old books and chocolate, easing him into sleep.
X
Welcome Home – Coheed andCambria
It had been months since they've all last seen each other, and now Lily and James were getting married. It wasn't a shock to the other Marauders, or anyone who knew about them, it was only a matter of time before James landed Lily. And with the war going on, they supposed that now was better than never.
This was the first time in what felt like an eternity since the four Marauders had been together in the same room. There was no bachelor party. Instead the four of them spent the night at James tiny two bedrooms, one bathroom, flat; drinking fire whisky and talking about everything they could. The world had changed the four of them a tad bit. Peter was more nervous and fidgety than usual, James was a bit more subdued with his cockiness, Remus seemed almost jaded, and Sirius was (no pun intended) serious.
When it was time to retire for the night, Sirius immediately demanded sharing the guest room with Remus since it was known fact that when Peter drank he snored as bad as a giant did.
The two young men changed into their sleepwear with their backs to each other, occasionally peeking over their shoulders and sneaking a glance at the other.
When they were finished they managed to transfigure the small bed into a king sized one and charmed it to stay that way throughout the night. Saying their goodnights, they went to sleep peacefully, only to wake up spooned against each other. Yet, even though both were perfectly aware that the position they were in was highly inappropriate for two best male friends, they didn't care. Because, for the first time in a long time, things felt right between the two of them and that was all that really mattered.
FIN
MoonLLotus: This is my first HP fic ever. I've been dying to write a Remus/Sirius fic, so I just put my musical device on shuffle and wrote a drabble for each song. It's a fun challenge. Anyways, please review, flames are more than welcome.
Originally Posted: 9/22/09
Revamped: 4/18/12