Remus gnawed at his lower lip, glancing anxiously at the clock for about the tenth time in as many minutes, his heart beating erratically as he remembered the distant expression and vague answers Sirius had given him that morning. He tucked his feet up underneath him, pulling the already stretched hem of his faded red jumper over his knees and gripping the sleeves in his sweaty hands. His breath caught in his throat at the faint sound of a footstep outside the door, but it passed on and entered the flat a little down the hallway. Looking at the clock again, Remus cursed his paranoia, telling himself that Sirius was probably just working late again, he's been doing that quite a lot recently, but surely there can't be that much overtime to be done in just one week, he's hardly ever home and when he is, he's often too tired to talk about anything he's been doing and when you ask him what's wrong he just goes all blank and avoids answering and oh my goodness what if-

His thoughts were interrupted by the warm, lemony canine scent that signalled Sirius' return and Remus was at the door and pulling it open even as he reached the top step at the end of the hallway. Sirius looked up briefly and as their eyes met, the same emotionless, empty gaze met Remus as it had done so many times these past few days. He tried to swallow but found, to his amazement, a painful lump in his throat that choked him and brought tears to his eyes. Desperately holding them back, he stepped inside the flat and Sirius edged past him, determinedly looking down and not even returning the weak 'Hello' that Remus offered. Clutching the loose sides of his jumper close around his body, Remus swung the door shut with a soft click and blinked back the haze in front of his eyes, steadying himself on the door frame.

"We need to talk."

Remus jumped slightly, thinking he had spoken out loud without meaning to, then, turning, realised that it was Sirius who had spoken and was standing, lost, in the middle of the living room, his jacket held absently at his side.

"I've got to tell you something important-"

"Wait. Firstly, I need to say something. We've been really great. Haven't we? I mean, I know it was weird at first, but these past few months, it's been fun…well, not just fun, obviously, but…well, you know what I mean. It's like…I don't know-"

"I know what you're saying." Remus breathed a sigh of relief then noticed that, instead of the smile he was expecting, Sirius' expression was solemn and faint tears showed in the corners of his eyes.

"I know what you're saying," this almost in a whisper. "But first, you've got to know. Because it was coming between us I'm sure and you were just too scared to bring it up and I'm really sorry, I should have tried more but…it was weird, like you said, and then we were having so much fun it didn't seem to matter and-"

"What? Sirius what are you talking about? How could you think it didn't matter?"

Sirius stopped, stunned, his jaw hanging open in disbelief at the closest to harsh tones that he had ever heard from the gentle man in front of him. "I didn't realise it meant so much to you. If you had just told me-"

"Sirius, please tell me what the hell you're talking about, because I'm fairly sure we are not on the same wavelength here."

"James."

"What! I really don't understand now, what about James?"

Sirius paused, running the last few minutes through his head again and trying to see them from Remus' point of view. Then he went back over the past few days and a slow realisation crept into his mind. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and a started to laugh, soft and low.

"Sirius?"

"I told them." At Remus' look of perplexity, Sirius waved a hand vaguely, indicating the world in general. "Lily, James, all of them. I told them. About us."

Remus sank into a chair, burying his face in his hands, relieved laughter bringing tears, fast and strong.

"I thought you were breaking up with me," he managed to choke out between the sobs, and Sirius dropped to his knees in front of the chair, placing his hands on Remus' shoulders and planting a soft kiss on his forehead.

"Why the hell would I want to do that?" They kissed again, deeper, lingering, tears mingling on their cheeks, tasting damp and salty in their mouths. Remus pulled away slightly, his breath hot on Sirius' face as he whispered, "What did you think I was talking about?"

Sirius laughed again, resting his forehead on Remus' shoulder and kissing the small dip at the base of his throat. "I thought you wanted to break up with me. Because I never…wooed you properly."

Remus pulled Sirius closer to him, their chests rising unevenly against each other, his thighs pushed onto Sirius' hips.

"Never." He pressed his lips gently on Sirius' cheek, trailing kisses down his throat, nuzzling in the smooth place just where his neck meets his shoulders, then back to Sirius' mouth, warm and inviting. Sirius pushed himself closer in, twisting Remus' thick hair in his hands and feeling their frantic heartbeats merging into one as the world misted over and they lost themselves in each other.