A/N - This is just a little plot bunny that hopped up on me when I was bored. Hope you like it ! :)
Remus Lupin sighed, and paused reflectively as he stepped back to admire the line of newly-polished trophies.
Looking back on it, there was no way the prank could have ended well.
Turning Mrs Norris' coat a pleasing mixture of Gryffindor red and gold would have been very satisfying at the time, but in hindsight, exacerbating the tabby cat's feelings of unadulterated loathing might have jeopardized future pranks. As it was, the Marauders - or more precisely, Remus and Sirius - hadn't even had the satisfaction of seeing Mrs Norris' new style, as they had been caught quite literally redhanded after Sirius tried and failed to perform the charm.
And now they were stuck in the Trophy Room, polishing line after line after line of mouldering old trophies. Not even allowed the use of a wand.
Remus' train of thoughts was interrupted by a series of loud crashes, and an 'ouch'. He turned irritably, still determined to be annoyed at Sirius. After all, the whole farce was absolutely Sirius' fault.
Sirius had managed to pull several rows of trophies on top of him, and was sitting in the midst of them, surrounded by a billowing cloud of dust. Noticing Remus' glare, he grinned winningly, but in that position it only succeeded in looking pathetic.
Remus sighed, feeling the last traces of irritation fade away. Sometimes he hated the way he could never stay annoyed at Sirius. He stepped over to where Sirius sprawled and began to help him clear the debris.
Sirius' pathetic expression at once turned to happiness, and Remus could almost see Padfoot's ears perk up and his tail begin to wag. He began chatting brightly, obviously sensing that his Remus wasn't mad anymore.
"I'm sorry, Remmy! It's only temporary, remember? It'll be gone by the day after tomorrow!"
"Yeah, and in the meantime I have to go around school with Gryffindor-themed hands."
"But it's good that you're showing support for your house!"
Remus harrumphed, and stretched up to reinstate one of the higher-placed trophies, only to find that he couldn't reach.
"Here," Sirius said, gently removing Remus' hand from the stem of the trophy to curve his own about it instead.
As he did so, something caught Remus' eye. "Hey, are you OK? Your hand, it's bleeding!"
"Huh? Oh, you're right..." Sirius said, prodding it absently. "I guess it's quite hard to see, what with all the red."
That set Remus off. He burst out laughing, and Sirius quickly joined him. Even though the prank had failed, it was hard not to see the funny side of the situation.
When their laughter had subsided, the two Marauders lay side by side on the floor, not quite ready to start cleaning again.
Remus looked up thoughtfully. The dust motes from the trophies were still scattered through the air, and the sunlight streamed in through a small window to light them up like a thousand fireflies.
"It's strange... Even though dust is just tiny particles of dirt and debris, it can look like that."
"Moony..." Sirius said warningly. "I know what you're thinking, and it's not true."
Remus smiled. It always amazed him the way Sirius could practically read his thoughts. Most of them; luckily, Sirius wasn't very observant about things pertaining to himself, otherwise, considering some of the things Remus thought about his friend, they probably wouldn't be so close.
"How do you know what I'm thinking?"
"You have that face you always get when you're thinking about your werewolfiness."
"The term is lycanthropy, Sirius." Remus replied lightly.
Sirius sat up, pouting slightly. The sunlight formed a halo round his tousled head. "I'm serious!"
"You're always Sirius." Remus saw Sirius fold his arms and huff, and realised the other boy wasn't giving up. "Sorry. Go on, what was I thinking?"
"You were thinking that it's unfair how even though dust is worthless, it can still look like that, when you are stuck being unremarkable. But you're not, Moony!"
"Not which?"
"Either!" Sirius said stubbornly.
"Thanks, Sirius. But I'm afraid most people don't share that opinion," He sighed.
"Then they're stupid. Remus, I..."
Remus looked up in surprise. Sirius looked almost... Unsure of himself? That was an expression he had never seen on his arrogant friend.
"What is it?"
Sirius' face settled into a look of resolution.
Then he leaned forward and sofly pressed his lips to Remus'.
It was the briefest touch, the brush of a butterfly's wings. Remus would have hardly realised it had happened if it not for Sirius' expression of uncertainty that was quickly morphing into panic.
"Remmy? Remmy, I'm sorry! Um, let's just rewind a little bit. It never happened, yeah?"
Once he had overcome his surprise, a slow smile crept across Remus' face. "Are you propositioning me, Sirius?"
"Um, I wouldn't put it quite like that..." Sirius blushed. "But, I suppose so, yeah."
Remus stood abruptly, and held out a hand to help Sirius up too.
"Took you long enough. Well, I suppose I shall have to accept."
Sirius growled slightly and yanked Remus towards him.
As to what happened next... Let's just say that from that point on, Professor McGonagall wouldn't be able to look at the two Marauders in quite the same way as she had done.