TITLE: Promise
AUTHOR: Minttown1/Amber.
RATING: PG.
SPOILERS: None.
PAIRING: Remus Lupin / Sirius Black
SUMMARY: A bit of fluff and a revealing conversation.
ARCHIVAL: Just ask.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. I profit in no way.
NOTES: Response to a challenge on the remusxsirius livejournal community. The requirement: "Write a short, one-shot for this sentence: 'So tell me, dear Padfoot, how do you feel about whipped cream?'"


~*~


"So tell me, dear Padfoot, how do you feel about whipped cream?"

Sirius, broken from his trance and now choking on the food in question, glared across the table. "Excuse me?"

Remus smiled. "The expression on your face suggests that you really quite enjoy it." He paused, then continued, "Unless, of course, you were thinking about something else just then."

"I --" Sirius stopped himself, his handsome face turning an unusual shade of pink. "Shut up, Moony."

James looked up from the letter he was penning to Lily Evans, frowning. "Are you two fighting again?"

"No," Remus replied. "I was merely inquiring into our good friend's apparent affection for a certain dairy-based desert garnish."

"Knock it off," Sirius growled without meeting either boy's eyes.

"Leave him alone, Moony," James said. "He was probably just thinking about some girl." He winked and returned to his letter, satisfied with his peace-keeping efforts. After a few moments, he signed it with a flourish, grinning at his companions. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to woo a certain special, albeit stubborn, someone."

Sirius grunted a response and continued to stare sickly at his plate. Remus waited until James had disappeared down the aisle of the Great Hall, then cleared his throat. "So, Sirius, who's the lucky girl this week?"

"No one. I mean, there is no girl. I was just thinking about a dream."

"A dream? Want to test it against our Divination book, see what it says?"

"This dream didn't exactly leave room for interpretation, Moony," Sirius said, standing and gathering his books.

"Oh." Remus smiled. "Still, that brings us back to my original question: Who's the girl?"

"She --" Sirius stopped, unsure how to continue and unable to think of a lie. "She wasn't," he said finally.

"She wasn't what?"

"A girl."

"Oh," Remus said again.

"I don't want to have this conversation right now," Sirius insisted and started to walk away. He backtracked after only a few steps, though. "And do you know why I don't?"

"Why?" Remus asked, at a loss for a more intelligent response, although a number of reasons seemed quite obvious.

"Because the last time we did, you made me feel stupid. 'I want this, too, but this isn't the right time.' I've used that line on girls, Remus. It wasn't very original."

"It wasn't a line." Sirius snorted and turned away, but Remus grabbed his arm from across the table. "I can't do this right now, not with our educations on the line, not with hundreds of nosy teenagers sharing our home, and especially not with our two best friends sleeping in our bedroom."

"You don't have to explain yourself to me," Sirius insisted, trying to pull away. "I don't expect --"

"Shut up." Remus glanced around, nervous about being overheard now that the room was emptying. "If you still want me in a year, if you even really want me now, tell me then, when we finish school. I'll still be here."

"You mean it? Once we're out of here, we can --"

"Yes! Now go," Remus murmured, reluctantly releasing Sirius's arm.

Sirius left the Great Hall, turning in the doorway to flash Remus a smile, an expression that held something of gratitude. As he ran onto the grounds a few moments later, the cool autumn air surrounding him, he decided that this final year at Hogwarts might have some promise after all.