Update 6/13/12: Hey, guys! I've been going on an editing kick these past few days, fixing up any errors I find in my oneshots, so I just wanted to let you know that I've fixed the few grammatical and spelling errors in this story as well. I want to do everything I can to make these stories as perfect as possible! Thanks for reading!
A/N: Today I've just been going through my story binder, looking for things I haven't posted yet. Well, I found this one, and I figured I'd post it, and see what kind of response I got. Personally, I love this story. It makes me smile whenever I read it. So, I hope you like it, too. If you do, leave me a review, because I love hearing my readers' thoughts and advice. Reviews make me smile. Thanks, guys! R&R!
Disclaimer: If I didn't own it yesterday, I don't think I can own it today. I wouldn't mind owning James or Sirius… Haha. Enjoy! :)
Brotherhood
"Prongs, would you still be my best friend if I turned out…you know, gay?" Sirius asked James, muttering the word in such a tone that one would think it was just the most despicable, horrendous thing imaginable.
He was standing if front of the full-size mirror stuck to the door of the wardrobe, examining himself carefully. Sirius ran his hand through his hair roughly, making it look like he had just stepped off his broom.
James did not even bother looking up from his copy of Which Broomstick to answer his best mate's serious question. "No. That would be weird," he answered honestly. From across the room, Remus looked ready to chastise James for his tactless response, but James was too busy fawning over the newest version of his Silver Arrow.
Sirius breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. I would be worried if your answer was 'yes'," he said.
"Me too!" Peter piped up from where he sat on his bed, paying rapt attention to the boys' comical exchange.
Sirius and James rolled their eyes but didn't say anything. After a few moment of silence, Sirius decided that it was much too quiet.
"Moony, do you think these trousers make my arse look big?" he asked, twisting his head around to get a better look at his backside.
"Of course not, Padfoot," Remus replied kindly after taking a fleeting glance at Sirius's reflection.
"But you didn't even look!"
Remus sighed, and put down his book. "Look, Sirius, if you really want to know " he began, but was quickly interrupted by a few soft taps on the door, and the sound of a magazine landing on the floor.
"Lily!" Sirius cried, wrenching the door out of his way. Before she could get a word out in greeting or set foot in the unusually clean room, Sirius had demanded, "Does my arse look fat or flat? Be honest with me Evans!"
James groaned and got off his bed to come rescue his girlfriend. "Damn it, Padfoot. Would you get you fat arse out of her face?"
"I guess that answers your question, Sirius," Lily replied, smirking at him.
"My arse is not fat!" he protested shrilly, covering his ears childishly with his large hands. "Hmph! I'm leaving!" He stomped dramatically out of the room, tossing his hair over his shoulder.
"Say 'hello' to Mary for me, please!" Lily called after him, quietly sniggering along with James. He leaned in to kiss her a little more enthusiastically that was commonly accepted as a public display of affection and Peter and Remus promptly left the room. They shut the door loudly, shutting out the sound Lily's giggling and James's whispers.
"So it's getting pretty serious between you and Lilyflower, eh?" Sirius asked later that night, after Lily had left (much to James's displeasure), and Sirius had returned from a "study session" in his favorite broom cupboard with Mary Macdonald.
Remus and Peter still hadn't returned from the kitchens.
"Yeah, it is. And I think she's happy about it, too," James replied soberly, but he couldn't keep the silly grin he always wore after Lily's visits off his face. He sighed and looked his best mate in the eye. "I think I'm going to ask her to marry me after graduation, Pads."
Sirius swallowed, and straightened up. "Wow. Really, Prongs? That's… That's pretty fast, don't you think? It's only been, what? Two months?"
James sighed again, and flopped over on his stomach. "Yeah, I know. But I love her, Padfoot, and I can't bear to lose her. It's taken me so long to get to this point, it would - it would kill me to have to give her up after all this time, and after all that I've gone through to get here, you know?"
Sirius nodded, and gulped again. "You've always said you loved her, but I just thought that it was some sort of phase. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, though. You're dangerous when you put you're mind to something." He gave a weak chuckle, and smiled when James patted him on the shoulder.
"How 'bout you and Mary? How's that going?" James asked, anxious to defer the conversation from his relationship with Lily to something else. But being teenage boys, there wasn't much else to talk about except girls.
"I dunno, Prongs. It's different with her. She's not like any of those other girls," Sirius said, smiling slightly. "She and I have so much in common, and we love the same things. And she's not just some girl that's all figure and no brains. You've seen her in DADA. She's bloody amazing."
James nodded and clapped him on the back. "I know how you feeling, mate. I know how you feel…"
"Prongs," Sirius began hesitantly, after a moment or two. "I'm scared."
At first, James appeared surprised, and then his eyes softened, and he nodded. "I know, man. I'm scared, too. Hell, I'm terrified, but you know what? We've got each other and I've got your back just like you've got mine. God, that sounded corny and feminine, but it's true."
Sirius chuckled, and punched James in the arm. "All that time you're spending with Lils is turning you into a girl. You're nails aren't painted pink, are they?"
"Oh, shut up, you bastard!" James replied, shoving Sirius. "You're just jealous of my sexiness!"
"Prongs?" Sirius asked again.
"Hmm?"
Sirius bit his lip nervously. "You know that I love you, right? You're like a brother a to me."
James grinned and pulled his best friend into a very brief man hug, before quickly releasing him. "Yeah, I know. I love you, too, man."
"So does this mean I can be the best man at you and Lily's wedding?" he teased.
"Best man, godfather of our first child…what ever you want," James promised, grinning at him.
"Okay, but you have to promise me something."
James's brow furrowed. "What's that?"
"You have to name your first son Harry."
James laughed loudly, throwing his head back. "Deal."
Sirius raised an invisible glass of Firewhiskey, and James followed suit.
"To friendship," James announced, but Sirius should his head.
"No, he disagreed, "to family." And they pounded their fists with their imaginary drinks in them together.
Because that's what they were. They weren't just a group of rampant, brilliant teenage boys. They were all part of something much better: a brotherhood.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this! Review, please, and I will love you forever!
