"Remus?" The soft inquiry made Lupin look up from the book he was hunched over, his brown hair flopping over his eyes for a second before he brushed it away. He saw that Lily had stopped studying her scroll and was instead gazing out toward the other end of the quad, where the loud and rather obnoxious laughter of James and Sirius could be heard. He glanced in the direction and couldn't help but let a small smile tug at the corner of his mouth at the sight of the two men casting charms onto leaves and hurling them at each other as a sort of 'leaf war'. The behavior reminded him of first years, and he had to scold himself when he thought that his friends were any older than that. Even though they were nearly eighteen, they'd always be first years at heart.
Turning his attention back to Lily, he raised his eyebrows and anticipated a question, seeing her drag her green eyes away from the boys and onto his face. A smile also played on her lips and he could see the affection in her eyes for a certain glass-bearing man-child. Straightening his back, he ignored the slight ache from his spine and carefully set his book aside on the bench he was sitting on.
"How come you've never made any…" Lily paused here, allowing her eyes to flicker away from Lupin's face for a brief moment as she searched for the right word. "…Advances. On me." There was a playful curiosity in her voice that he immediately picked up on, and his consciousness couldn't help but force him to quickly glance back in the direction of Sirius. He didn't even have time to mentally scold himself before Lily had processed the slight movement. He face lit up in delight and she leaned in a bit closer.
"So you do have feelings for Sirius?" The sudden question nearly made Remus jump back as though he'd been burned, but he managed to keep his composure and instead just spluttered helplessly. Lily took this opportunity to giggle quietly, promptly setting her work aside.
"I never said that," he finally managed to scoff, but he knew that there really wasn't any point.
"You have feelings for Sirius Black?" She asked again, her grin turning mischievous. The words sounded rather strange when they were said out loud.
"No!" he fumbled, straightening his back even more. "I mean I don't know." At her slight head tilt and excited narrowing of her eyes, he sighed in defeat. "Maybe…?" he offered meekly.
"Remus Lupin," she said coyly, pursing her lips at him. "I didn't know you had a taste in men." Lupin felt the awkward embarrassment settle in and he averted her gaze completely.
"I said I don't know," he mumbled timidly, fear and doubt overshadowing his embarrassment briefly. He felt warm and slender fingers wrap around his own hand and he opened it slightly to let her grasp it gently.
"I'm sorry, that was mean of me," she admitted softly, her tone taking on one of understanding and subtle guilt.
"No, it's fine, I just…" he broke off his sentence with a frustrated sigh, pulling his hand away from hers and rising from his seat. He took a couple of steps, casting another look at his two best friends who were still involved in an intense game of stupid. He heard the rustling of Lily's robes as she rose as well, and felt her hand on his arm.
"It doesn't matter what you feel, don't worry too much about it," she said with a kind smile. "It was wrong of me to pry. But don't let anyone tell you how to feel." With a gentleness that only Lily Evans was capable of, she allowed her smile to widen just slightly. "And don't worry; nothing from this conversation will be spoken of." He couldn't help but let her calm infect him and he cupped her face with his hands.
"Oh sweet Lily, if only it could be as simple as loving you," he said dramatically with an affectionate smile, pulling her into a light hug as she giggled. He spun her around carefully once, eliciting a slight squeal before depositing her gently on the ground.
"You trying to make moves on my girl, Lupin?" James teased as he approached them, immediately snatching Lily up with an arm around her waist. She gasped and looked up at him brightly, catching his grin.
"Only to make sure that you're paying attention," Remus responded warmheartedly, resuming his position with his books on the bench. James pressed a quick kiss to Lily's forehead before setting her loose, keeping her hand in his until she twirled away from him.
"You call me if he bothers you, Miss," he said formally, bowing with a wink in her direction.
"I will call for your assistance immediately my Lord," she played along with a mock innocence, curtsying before also resuming her place on the bench.
"James you have to come see this!" Sirius called from across the courtyard, and James dashed away, silence covering the air for a fraction of a second before the pair burst into loud laughter once more. Lupin couldn't help but look after them, a fond smile on his lips. Maybe one day he'd figure out what he felt, but until then he was happy knowing that it really didn't matter as long as his friends remained by his side.