Just for detail purposes, this is taking place during Christmas break in the Marauder's fifth year. This is also purely PWP and not meant for anything other than a quick outlet for my overabundance of love for Sirius and Remus. Enjoy~

Remus was trying to concentrate. Trying very hard and, frankly, he was doing a brilliant job of it. Now if only the open Transfiguration book in his lap were the thing he was concentrating on. However, there were far more interesting things to look at in the Gryffindor common room that evening. Yes, it seemed even Remus Lupin could find something more interesting than schoolwork on occasion. For example, he was currently transfixed on another student sitting far too close and smelling far too nice. But this was not just any student. Oh, no. This was Sirius Black.

And, in his defense, Remus wasn't just concentrating on Sirius. He was concentrating on everything about Sirius. The way Sirius' hair fell just past his shoulders in the back and barely grazed his chin in the front; the way Sirius' hand clenched the quill it was writing with, as if it were highly unused to holding such a foreign object for so long; the way Sirius' brow furrowed every few seconds as his eyes darted between parchment and text book. Remus especially focused on how much he wished those eyes would look at him, then the realization that if they did, he would be caught staring. But that was a fair price to pay and, after all, he was staring.

"This is rubbish," Sirius finally declared after several more moments of heavy thinking and blissful ignorance of his admirer. "What's McGonagall thinking, assigning all this work over Christmas break?"

"She always does," Remus reminded, quickly breaking his trance to look back at the ignored book in his lap. Turning a frog into a teapot never seemed so dull.

"She needs a new MO," Sirius groaned, letting his book drop to the table in front of him. He flounced back onto the couch he had been perched on the edge of, watching Remus for a few seconds, wondering how he could possibly be so invested in his schoolwork when they were supposed to be on vacation.

A light grin tugged at Remus' lips and he pushed his own book away. "We still have another week until classes start back up."

This caused Sirius to raise an elegant eyebrow far above its normal resting place. "Are you, Remus Lupin, suggesting that we shirk our schoolwork and instead lay about like a couple of lazy bums?"

Remus made a small noise in the back of his throat and cast an apologetic look to his Transfiguration book. When it made no move to console him or show forgiveness, he looked back at Sirius. "I didn't say 'shirk'. I would never say that."

"It seemed like something you'd say," Sirius informed him with a shrug. "So, since we're not-shirking our schoolwork, what's on the agenda?"

"There's no agenda." Why would there be an agenda? It wasn't as if Remus were secretly scheming in the back of his mind to get on Sirius' good side by suggesting they shirk- alright, so maybe he would use that word- their homework only to lure him somewhere secluded so he could explore this newfound interest thoroughly and then perhaps see just how adept he was at those Memory Charms they'd been learning.

"So then what?" Sirius asked, looking a cross between confused and bored. "We're just going to sit here?"

"Good job, Remus," he thought with a mental sigh. "Now you've not only disrespected the sanctity of homework, but you've also managed to bore Sirius. Bloody brilliant. What's next? Telling Madam Pompfrey you'd rather just stick the full moon out in the dorm and see how it goes?" He gave an awkward pause as his thoughts transitioned back to Sirius and studied the crackling fireplace as a distraction. "Of course not. We could always..." Always what? He couldn't suggest anything too unlike himself, a.k.a. anything Sirius would find entertaining, but if he made a notion to go to the library or something equally Remus-ish, Sirius would probably hex him into oblivion.

"Hey, let's go to the Shrieking Shack."

Remus almost jumped when the suggestion came so effortlessly from his friend's lips. He thought a moment too long on those lips before processing what they were saying. The Shrieking Shack. It was perfect, though Sirius couldn't possibly know that, and it begged the question, "Why?"

Sirius rolled his eyes, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Don't you remember? We left a few bottles of firewhiskey there from when James sneaked them in for my birthday. It is Christmas Eve, after all. We should celebrate, since we haven't got anyone else to do it with."

Honestly, Remus hadn't remembered. He had agreed, after quite a bit of badgering from both James and Sirius, to try a bit of the wretched stuff and it kicked him promptly in the ass. Whatever blood ran through his veins that turned him into a soulless, scavenging beast once a month certainly didn't have a taste for alcohol because if there was one thing Remus Lupin was, he was a lightweight.

Sirius apparently saw his hesitation because he flashed Remus a charming grin and clapped him on the back. "No worries, mate, I'll make sure you don't go streaking through the grounds like you tried to last time."

"Str-streaking?" Remus sputtered, staring wide-eyed at Sirius. Had he really...? Then, his look of disbelief turned into a scowl as Sirius began roaring with laughter. "Hilarious."

Sirius let out another snort and pushed himself into a standing position. "I'll go grab the map!" And before Remus had any sort of chance to object, he was gone up the stairs to their dormitory.

"Not like we would have gotten caught, anyway. There's about five other people in the castle over break."

"Yes, but three of those five would just love to catch a student doing something wrong and ruin the rest of their vacation with some form of punishment."

Sirius scowled a bit as he clambered into the cramped passageway under the Whomping Willow. "Dumbledore wouldn't allow it. He loves Christmas too much to let anyone serve detention on their break."

"You're awful sure of yourself." Though, Remus was pretty sure Sirius was right. Dumbledore had a soft spot for a number of his students and at least three of the Marauders were on that fortunate list.

He followed Sirius through the tiny passageway, which had grown exponentially smaller throughout the years, and into the creaky building Remus had once hated with all of his being. The Shrieking Shack, along with the Whomping Willow, had been a sign of his abnormality as much as the full moon itself. They served as constant reminders that he would never be able to live a normal life and that he had already experienced horrors most children should never have to.

But then Sirius, James, and Peter had found him out. He figured them as good as gone when they finally confronted him about it, but they had surprised him with loyalty he'd never known. They had not only remained his friends, but worked every day for the next three years to make sure he never had to go through those unbearable transformations alone. Since then, everything related to those times seemed a little less imposing and a bit more tolerable. They had turned the wolf from what he was into who he was.

"Here it is," Sirius announced, raising a few, dusty bottles from a corner of the shabby room where Remus both started and ended his monthly ventures. "Here." He shoved one of the bottles into the werewolf's hands and made his way to the tattered bed, plopping on it with a clumsy grace only he could manage. He uncorked his own bottle and tipped the burning liquid down his throat, wrinkling his nose a bit at the initial sensation.

"I still don't understand what the fascination is with this," Remus said, sitting next to Sirius. He was still very aware of how close the other was, but Sirius seemed blissfully unaware as he took another swig from his bottle.

"It relaxes you," Sirius explained with a grin, hooking an arm around Remus' shoulders. "And no offense, Moony, but you need to chill every once in a while."

Remus let out a soft, strained laugh. He couldn't deny it; even if he'd never been bitten, he would probably still be far more serious than any other boy his age. Perhaps as an act of conceding to Sirius' logic- which may have shown a major flaw in his own- or perhaps because he thought letting loose just this once might not bring as much harm as he always thought it would, Remus popped open the bottle in his hand and tipped the mouth back against his lips. A shudder ran through him as the strong taste filled every sense he possessed and an impossibly warm feeling crept through his entire body.

"Good show," Sirius praised, grinning and clapping the other boy on the back before hitting his bottle again. "See? Better already, isn't it?"

Remus wasn't sure about better, but he was certainly warmer. Another, small swig brought way to a feeling of slight contentment and a third ran ideas through his head. Like even if he did tell Sirius he'd been watching him far too closely for the past week, everything would still be alright. The feelings probably wouldn't be requited- Remus wasn't drunk, yet, and certainly wasn't foolish enough to believe it- but Sirius was one of his best mates. If he didn't shun him for being a werewolf, there was no way he would shun him for being a poof.

A fourth drink, at which time he actually lost track of what Sirius was doing along with ninety percent of the room, made him wonder even more. Maybe Sirius would return the feelings. Sure, he was a total womanizer, but that could all just be a cover, right? And of any of his friends, he pegged Sirius as the more experimental type. Besides, fancying another guy would certainly piss his parents off and Sirius definitely loved to piss his parents off.

It was the firewhiskey, Remus had no doubt, but he felt the utmost courage when he scanned the hazy room to look for Sirius. Much to his surprise, the other boy hadn't moved. Now, how to go about this? Just kiss him? That might be too much. But he wasn't sure he could form an intelligent phrase to say just what he wanted. Hell, at this point, he wasn't even sure he could form an unintelligent phrase. This was certainly an unforseen obstacle.

He watched closely as Sirius sighed lightly and knew by the expression on his friend's face that the buzz was setting in around his head. The other three Marauders knew this was the point when Sirius was most willing to do absolutely anything- a fact they had exploited on more than one occasion- and took a deep breath before diving in.

"Sirius."

"Hmm?"

Alright, brilliant. He had his attention. What was next? 'Nice weather today, yeah? By the way, I want to shag your brains out.' Probably not the most subtle approach. A simple 'I fancy you' might work, but it still seemed to lack all tact; not that he was showing much in the first place. Then, the words spilled from his lips before he even realized they'd formed in his mind.

"I want to kiss you."

At first, he was positive Sirius hadn't heard him. Maybe he hadn't said it at all? He wasn't sure, at first, but then Sirius turned slowly to stare at him. He wasn't looking at him, no, he was staring. Remus swallowed nervously, but didn't jump to revoke the words as he perhaps should have done. After all, it was out there on the table now, right? No sense in trying to cover it up.

Sirius remained quiet for a few, long moments. Remus wanted to kiss him. This was Remus in front of him, right? Shaggy hair, small frame, that perpetual air of caution he seemed to carry with him everywhere, though it had seemingly been thrown to the wind in the face of firewhiskey. Yes, this was most definitely probably Remus. Well, one way to find out.

"Moony?"

"Yes?"

Definitely Remus. There was a hesitation in his voice, though, that didn't normally belong there. Why was he nervous? Oh, right. Kissing. All in all, it didn't seem a bad idea. Kissing was nice. Even though Remus was probably really unexperienced. Sirius liked that some times; made him feel more in control. He took another drink from his bottle, which had been drained way too easily, and cast the empty glass aside. So Remus wanted to kiss him. For the life of him, though he was sure his judgment was clouded by the alcohol, he couldn't find a reason not to.

"Sure."

"Sure?"

"Yup."

Remus didn't answer right away. He'd agreed, hadn't he? Sirius had just agreed to kissing. Setting his own bottle down, though it wasn't quite empty, Remus turned to Sirius, a bit unsure of how to proceed. Did he just...do it? He wasn't familiar with these sorts of situations, but the alcohol burning in his mind told him to just go ahead with it. Having no better advisor, which should have raised a red flag then and there, Remus pressed forward and found Sirius' lips with his own. Or, at least it would have been Sirius' lips if they had dropped a few inches on his face. As it were, Remus found himself perched awkwardly on the bed, both hands pressed firmly against the mattress to keep him steady as he leaned in, kissing Sirius' chin.

He heard the other boy issue a light snort and felt a warmth in his face that had nothing to do with the firewhiskey. He was about to withdraw in all of his failure, but Sirius' hands came up to either side of his face and guided him to the proper destination.

And then there it was. He was kissing Sirius Black. It was, for all intensive purposes, just as perfect as he'd imagined it. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he knew that the firewhiskey was playing a brilliant game with his hormones and logic, but that didn't seem to matter right now. All that he could think about was how Sirius seemed very good at this and how he was positive that tongue rubbing against his lower lip was not his imagination.

It was decent, Sirius decided. Remus was painfully inexperienced, but all in all, it wasn't bad and he saw no reason to stop. His tongue found its way effortlessly into the other boy's mouth and his hands dropped from Remus' face to his hips, coaxing him in closer. Remus obeyed as if he knew what he were getting into, and Sirius' delayed train of thought saw this as a sign to go further, as it did with everyone else he'd ever been with.

Soon, he forgot that it was Remus he was kissing and the lack of breasts and presence of other, certain body parts didn't seem to deter him much. All he knew was whoever he was laying down on the bed wasn't struggling at all and his hands were far too eager to undress the body underneath him. He heard his name being whispered, but the voice was too weak and breathy to identify. It didn't matter much- they obviously wanted him and he was just horny and tipsy enough not to care.

Layer after layer of clothing was shed and finally Sirius' hands were free to explore every inch of this new body. His fingers ran down the boy's- because it certainly wasn't a female- sides and traced patterns along his hips. Then they found more sensitive areas of the foreign flesh; nails grazed along thighs and the pads of his fingers rubbed softly along the erection he found. It was an unfamiliar sensation, but the encouraging moans and restless squirming were welcome enough signs that he was to continue.

Remus was in bliss. Pure bliss. He was vaguely aware of where this was leading, but his dulled train of thought couldn't fathom why it was such a bad thing. This was what he wanted, wasn't it? He wanted Sirius and certainly he had him now. Moreover, it was clear that Sirius wanted him. Why else would be be so intent on shagging him? And seeing as how Remus' mind was far from in control right now, Remus' body urged him on without hesitation. It responded to all the little touches, some of which Remus didn't even notice in his haze, and it folded to Sirius' ministrations exactly as it should have.

Then, the bliss was gone and the din cleared from his head just long enough for him to realize that every soft touch and every light kiss had been leading up to unimaginable agony. At first he had thought he was transforming; his back burned and his body seized up with the pain of something unnatural and violent encompassing every sense he had. He let out a loud yelp and his eyes flew open, muscles tensing painfully around the intrusion into his body.

Sirius wasn't quite used to such a strong reaction, but it wasn't unheard of. He waited as patiently as he could, kissed the other boy again a few times, and smirked to himself as the body below him melted against his once more. And everything was typical again. Hands gripping every part of his body, escalated moaning as he found those perfect spots to tease and rub, and the pleasant, warm sensation that started in his stomach and spread out through his entire body.

Sirius heard his name being called again and found it impossible to keep control. He gripped the hips of the body below him and gave a single, violent shudder as he released. The combination firewhiskey and satisfaction from a rather stimulating climax dropped the Gryffindor onto the mattress next to his temporary lover. The bed gave a slight shudder and he tried to remember exactly where they were. It seemed a bit drafty and he couldn't remember exactly what common room shook like it were perched on the branches of a tree. It didn't matter, he decided, as he felt the other body curl against his. He noticed vaguely how nicely it fit in his arms before surrendering all coherent thought in the interest of an alcohol- and sex-induced sleep.

Remus was positive the night before had been a full moon. His head was screaming, his back ached, and he was tangled, naked and sweating, in the musty covers of the bed in the Shrieking Shack. He tried to remember what day of the week it was, but couldn't place the last time he had class or what those classes were.

Then, he remembered it was Christmas break and every memory came flooding back and hit him like a landslide. There was no full moon over Christmas break this year- it had plagued him the week before- and that meant he was naked and bleeding in the Shrieking Shack for a different reason. Then he recalled a drunken haze and telling Sirius he wanted to kiss him. Sirius must have been drunk, too, because he agreed to a quick snog and much, much more.

As quickly as Remus had sat up upon this realization, he collapsed back down onto the bed, ignoring the protesting jolt it gave. His eyes remained closed and he knew by the stillness of the Shack that he was alone. Sirius had obviously woken up earlier, realized what had happened, and made his exit. That didn't bode well. It meant he didn't mean to do what he did last night, which meant he regretted it. Remus suddenly felt entirely too sick and weak and gladly fell back into the welcoming pull of sleep.

It was nearly midday when Sirius heard the portrait of the common room swing open. He had, after a few hours of serious mental anguish, left the Shrieking Shack, raced back to the castle, showered very thoroughly, attempted his Transfiguration assignment a few times, gave it up as a bad case every singe turn, and finally contented himself with lounging on the sofa nearest the fireplace, his head filled with thoughts of the previous night.

He welcomed the distraction of another person- they were especially scarce this holiday- until he realized that other person was Remus. While Sirius had cleaned himself up and had a spot to eat, Remus had not. He looked like death warmed over and a guilty voice in the back of Sirius' head told him that was entirely his fault. He thought to make a dash for the dormitory, but Remus would only find him there eventually. Not to mention they'd already made eye contact and running at this point would have been obvious and cowardly. Sirius was not a coward.

Remus didn't move from his position very close to the portrait hole, frozen to the spot as soon as their eyes met, and Sirius took it upon himself to initiate the conversation.

"Uh. Happy Christmas." Oh, just brilliant. Sirius had never been accused of being the wealthiest in common sense, but that made even him wince with the lameness. He could tell by Remus' expression that he wasn't impressed and heaved a rather stressed sigh. "Moony, bloody hell. I didn't mean... last night..." another sigh, "I'm sorry."

He was sorry? Remus frowned a bit and dared to step closer, trying to work out the kink in his leg as he did. Did Sirius think he'd taken advantage? Of course he did. Remus saw a very easy escape here- he could pretend to be violated and wary of Sirius for a while, then ultimately forgive him. But that left a bad taste in his mouth as soon as he thought of it. Sirius hadn't been in the wrong; if anything, Remus had taken advantage of him, as ridiculous as it sounded. Taking a deep breath, he once again dove in to a situation both unfamiliar and uncomfortable.

"I'm not."

"You're...not?" Sirius' expression wasn't one of shock but more of confusion. "Why would you be? I'm the one that-"

"I meant," Remus interjected, taking another step forward, "I'm not sorry it happened. I... I wanted it to." So perhaps that was a bit of an exaggeration, but it was closer to the truth than saying what Sirius obviously expected him to.

This time, Sirius looked perfectly flabbergasted. "You...what? You wanted..."

Remus felt his gut twisting and suddenly those fears of Sirius judging him, which had been so easily ignored last night, were smacking him right in the face. Still, there was no going back now. "I... I fancy you, Sirius."

The words hung in the air like dead weight and Sirius tried his best to process them with any meaning other than the obvious one. Unfortunately, Remus had been pretty blunt about it and so there it was. Honestly, he wasn't sure how to take the news. Sure, he always prided himself on being the heartthrob of Gryffindor- hell, of Hogwarts itself- but he'd, somehow, never been approached by a guy before, let alone one of his closest friends.

The anxiety on Remus' face was clear, though, and Sirius remembered it from a few years back when he, James, and Peter had all told Remus they'd found him out for being a werewolf. Sirius felt the strange urge to laugh at his friend's fear, just as he had then, but kept it in better check this time around. He slowly raised himself from the couch and closed the distance between them.

"You're certainly the first bloke to say that," he admitted with a light grin. He wasn't sure teasing was exactly the way to go about this, but he knew no other method to cope with tense situations.

Relief flooded Remus' face, though he couldn't quite copy Sirius' expression. "I didn't think-"

"It doesn't matter," Sirius told him, raising a hand to brush his fingers through the dirty blonde hair. "It doesn't bother me, you know. Just a bit of a turn." Remus nodded, but said nothing, and Sirius felt the idiotic urge to continue. "I think I only fancy girls."

This time, Remus let out a sort of pained laugh. "I figured as much."

Somehow, that didn't make Sirius feel any better. He pulled Remus closer and wrapped his arms around the smaller frame, feeling both awkward and comfortable at the same time. The indecision he felt against actually taking up some sort of relationship with another boy was second only to the undeniable feeling of contentment at having Remus folded against him. And as he stood there, Sirius thought, not for the first time, how nicely Remus' body fit into his arms.

Oh, this could certainly be continued. Almost begging to be, actually, but it'll be stopped here. I'll let your imaginations carry out whatever happens next; I'm sure you've got plenty of ideas.