A/N:

Many thanks to all who read through this.

And a special thank you to Liza, without whom I would never have considered writing one of the pairings alluded to.

Team: Montrose Magpies

Position: Beater 2

Prompt: (Dialogue) "You never tell a girl you like her, it makes you look like an idiot."

Additional Prompts: (Word) Bounce, (Dialogue) "On you marks, get set… drink!"

Word Count: 2004

Secrets Kept and Secrets Revealed

"Sirius, have you ever liked someone so much that you can't stop thinking about them?" James asked, glancing up from his homework and looking at his best friend. "So much that all you want to do is walk up to them and say, 'Hey look, I fancy the pants off you—wanna go out sometime?'"

Sirius peered up from his own book and gave James a look that said: 'Are you out of your mind?'

"You never tell a girl you like her, it makes you look like an idiot!" Sirius exclaimed. "It's rule numero uno in the 'How to be a Man handbook!' Did you learn nothing from your three year infatuation with Evans?"

James shook his head, remembering clear as day how much of a fool he had made of himself chasing after a girl in an effort to fit in and be 'normal'.

"Who said anything about it being a girl?" James asked.

Sirius leant back in his chair and raised his eyebrows, slightly startled at the newest revelation about his best friend.

"Okay fine, you never tell a guy you like him, it'll make you look like an even bigger idiot. Why do you think I haven't told Remus that he's the most gorgeous, sexy beast I have ever laid my eyes on? So, who is the mystery man that has you as besotted as a girl?" Sirius asked, waggling his eyebrows, eager to find out James' secret crush, followed quickly by why he hadn't heard about it sooner.

James' eyes darted around. He couldn't tell Sirius; he was the last person he wanted to reveal the identity of his crush to. He couldn't even begin to imagine the look that would creep onto his face if he said: "Hey mate, listen I've got the hots for your brother."

Sensing that James was not ready to reveal all, Sirius came up with an idea.

"Fine, I'll make it easier for you. If you can beat me in a drinking contest you can keep your secret. But if I beat you, you have to tell me everything: who he is, how long you've liked him, and how badly you want to—"

"Don't even go there," James said, cutting Sirius off from saying something crude.

"Fine," Sirius said. "Do we have a deal though?"

James thought about it for a moment. Sure, whenever they had their drinking contests, he usually emerged the victor, but he knew how much Sirius wanted this piece of information and he would be going all out to triumph. This meant he would have to bring his 'A game' if he was going to win, something that he was more than capable of.

"We have a deal, but if—no when—I win, you have to tell Remus how you feel about him," James said, accepting the challenge, as Sirius nodded his head in agreement to his terms. "Usual rules, I presume?"

"Of course," Sirius said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Prepared to lose, Potter?"

"In your dreams, Black," James retorted, placing his books into his bag. "Last one back to the common room has to pay for the drinks."

Sirius glared at his best friend as James picked his bag up and dashed towards the Gryffindor Common Room, leaving him behind with a stack full of books and parchment to put away before he could leave.

He flicked his wand and allowed his belongings to pack themselves away and then followed in James' wake to the common room, taking every shortcut he knew.

By the time he got to the boy's dormitory, James was already sat on his bed, holding his invisibility cloak and the map.

"Cheat," he said, sticking his tongue out as he threw his bag onto the bed.

"I disagree, I'd say I'm more an opportunist," James laughed. "Ready to go?"

"Absolutely," Sirius answered, leading the way out of the door and into the common room where Remus and Peter were sat doing homework by the fire.

"Where are you two going?" Peter asked, briefly looking up from his essay

"Nowhere," James answered, discreetly pushing his invisibility cloak into his pocket.

"Really?" Remus asked, raising his eyebrows at his two best friends.

Sirius threw James look that said: 'Sorry mate. I can't go hiding things from the love of my life,' before blurting out, "We're going to The Hog's Head. You can come along if you want; James is about to get his arse kicked in our traditional drinking contest."

"Yes!" Peter cried out immediately, placing his quill down before his face fell into a frown. "But I can't. I have a Transfiguration essay due tomorrow, and McGonagall told me if I hand in another piece of homework late, I'll have a week's worth of detention."

"Oh come on, Wormy," Sirius said, slapping Peter on the back. "Blow it off and give McGonagall some excuse on Monday. So what if you get detention? It's not like it'll be the first time, and it most certainly won't be the last. But this—this will be the first time ever that James Potter loses a drinking contest… it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. It's not to be missed."

"Wish I could, mate, but it's my mum…" Peter sighed, "She will go nuts if I get another detention before Christmas."

"Fine, be boring. What about you, Remus?" Sirius asked. "Fancy watching me kick James' butt?"

"Nah, I think I'll hang back and give Peter a hand," Remus answered. "You two go on ahead and have fun. Just try not to make a lot of noise when you get back. Remember what happened last time you had one of your 'epic drinking contests'? You woke up the entire house and got a month's detention."

"Good times," James laughed.

"Aww, come on, Remus," Sirius begged, pouting at the responsible Gryffindor. "Please, for me."

James stifled a laugh at the sight of Sirius' very blatant flirtatious begging. He looked almost half-way to adorable and if someone else hadn't already claimed his heart, James could see himself being attracted to Sirius.

He also didn't miss Remus' longing glance at Sirius before flitting his gaze back to Peter as he attempted to decide between the two.

"Rem, if you want to go, then go," Peter said, realising that his friend was having a hard time deciding. "Besides, I think I can manage to write an essay on Animagi and their transformations all by myself."

"Okay, as long as you're sure, Peter," Remus answered, shoving his books into his bag.

"Yes, now go and watch these two idiots make even bigger fools out of themselves," Peter laughed. "And then you can help them stagger back to Hogwarts, if they can still walk."

Remus opened his mouth once again, wanting to check that Peter was really okay with him going after noticing how forced his laugh seemed.

"Moony, he's sure," Sirius said. "Now take your bag up to the dormitory and get your fine arse back down here quickly so we can get going."

"Yes, sir," Remus said, mock saluting Sirius before picking up his bag and jogging up the stairs towards the boy's dormitory.

~o~o~o~

Less than half an hour later, the trio of boys stumbled into The Hog's Head. Upon their rather noisy arrival, the bartender, who was wiping down the bar, glanced up and offered the boys a small, knowing smile.

"Usual?" he asked.

"You know it, Ab," Sirius answered jovially. "James here has a secret he doesn't want to share, so I'm going to whoop his arse to drag it out of him."

"What Sirius means is he thinks he can beat me," James laughed. "It seems he is suffering from a severe case of amnesia after last time."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sirius said. "The way I remember it is that you got lucky and if a certain somebody hadn't distracted me, I'd have won."

Sirius looked directly at Remus who threw his hands into the air. "I did no such thing. I was just sitting there, watching you two get wasted."

"Yeah, but then you left," Sirius muttered, recalling how he had stared longingly after Remus as he walked out of The Hog's Head.

"What was that?" Remus asked.

"Nothing," Sirius said quickly. "Line them up, Ab, I'm feeling lucky today."

Aberforth smiled at the trio of boys and suppressed a chuckle as he grabbed the glasses and placed them on the bar, filling each one with a different beverage.

"Okay, boys," Remus said. "I want a nice clean contest. As always, first one to finish all the drinks and place the last glass onto the bar wins. And remember, one hand must stay behind your back at all times. Are you ready?"

"Yes," Sirius and James chimed in unison, moving to stand in front of their respective glasses and eyeing each other.

"On you marks, get set… drink!" Remus said.

Their hands were virtual blurs as they lifted the glasses and drank the alcohol, moving along the bar at a rapid pace.

Remus was more than confident in his belief that this was shaping up to be one of the quickest they had ever gone. Whatever the prize was at the end of the tunnel must be worth a lot to each of them.

He narrowed his eyes as they approached the last glass and watched as Sirius slammed the glass down a fraction of a second before James.

"Winner!" Sirius cried loudly. "How does it feel to lose, James?"

"Shut up, Sirius," James grumbled, stumbling away from his friends, feeling absolutely mortified that he had lost.

"Hey, James, come on remember our deal?" Sirius called, catching up to him as he sat down in one of the booths.

James glared at Sirius, and through gritted teeth he said, "Yes."

"So, come on, tell me," Sirius badgered, "who is the mystery man you like?"

Remus sensed the look of unease on James' face as he realised exactly how high the stakes were. James had been trying to protect the identity of his crush—Regulus.

"It's—" James started.

"Hey, Sirius," Remus called, cutting James off. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Yeah, sure," Sirius answered, giving James a look that said: 'Don't think you're getting out of telling me that easily.'

He jumped up from the booth and walked over to Remus. "What is so important that you had to drag me away from James, just when he was about to spill his guts?"

"This," Remus said, reaching out and pulling Sirius in for a searing kiss.

Sirius groaned and pulled Remus closer to him, enjoying the closeness, momentarily forgetting about his deal with James.

James' jaw dropped as he watched his two best friends engage in a heated make-out session in the middle of the almost deserted pub. It only made his longing for that kind of happiness grow.

When they broke apart, James mouthed a quick 'thank you' to his friend, who mouthed 'you owe me' in return, before the new couple joined him back in the booth. Remus had a sheepish smile on his face, whilst Sirius had an unmistakable bounce in his step and was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"So, shall I buy a round of drinks to celebrate?" James asked, hoping that Sirius would be so blissfully happy that he wouldn't bring up their deal again.

"Sure," Remus answered for the pair of them.

"Oh, and James," Sirius called as he headed towards the bar. "I haven't forgotten about the little piece of information you owe me, but I'll let you keep your secret for one more night. Tonight is all about me and Moony."

James nodded his head, thankful he had a little longer to find a way to protect his secret from his best friend. However he had a feeling that it would not be that easy, especially now that James would have nothing to hold over Sirius.