Time to Dance

The tall man stood in the middle of the kitchen, bright lights revealing every inch of dust and dirt that had collected on the tile and unused counter space. James had stopped listening to Lily babble on about life when she started relating their marriage to the grease stains on the dishes. Through in his own pale reflection he watched the couple still out on the patio, although they looked miles away.

A small sigh escaped his pink chapped lips as he watched them sway to the music wafting through the yard. Remus was wrapped in Sirius's arms; golden eyes casting up to watching the man holding him. His black hair was falling in all directions with that one strand that always fell across his face- much like his own hair. Sirius's smooth features were bath in the dim light glowing from the white Christmas lights used to light the patio in May.

Sirius broke his warm embrace to spin Remus around, a flicker of childhood in his eyes as loose tawny locks fell across his face as he laughed. His lips curled upwards into a smile as Remus rested his head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, which fell in synch with the music and identical to his own.

Long lanky fingers with callused hands intertwined with Remus's smooth long ones. Sirius had once told him that Remus could have been a piano player. He also insisted that James needed to be taught how to kiss someone the right way in the same breath as piano players. Remus rested his chin on the other man's shoulder. From inside James noticed a content in their eyes that only few people had for each other, he hoped it was not unlike the one he shared with Lily when she wasn't going on about grease stains. Around the dancing couple, the night was a bitter cold black reminding them of the winter that had missed them.

Pink lips placed a light kiss on Remus's forehead, leaning down a bit as he swept some of his hair away, nuzzling his noise in his neck for as he whispered secrets into the skin and scars kept there.

Remus titled his head back, hair brushing back over his shoulders leaving his neck exposed as he let out a chuckle. Sirius took the opportunity to trail kisses down his neck. This simple act of submission was not entirely lost on James. Prongs had run with the two of them enough to understand some of the nuances and then quickly regret ever having put the pieces together. Sirius rose placing one final kiss on his check and Remus returned the gesture by swatting his arm as to remind him that both Lily and James were just inside. Sirius didn't appear to care about any on lookers has he spun Remus, dipping him back on the final chord of the song.

When had he learned to dance? James knew him as a terrible dancer. More of out spite toward whatever formal upbringing his family forced upon him before he could escape to Hogwarts than ability.

There was an odd sort of grace to the pair tonight. Sirius pulled Remus back up to his cheek, arms snaking his way around his figure. Here they were safe from the cold and the shadows beyond the patio in a world quickly souring by the self-proclaimed Dark Lord. They didn't have to be members of the Order who put their lives on the line almost daily fighting for a better tomorrow. They could just be.

Remus leaned forward, hands brushing against Sirius's cheeks, burning under his cold touch and kissed him to thank him for the dance. His eyes shot wide for a moment, surprised by his initiative. James chuckled to himself, oh what Sirius would do to him if he knew that he was watching the two of them.

James often wondered how they did it – kissing someone practically the same height and of the same build. He liked how he was a good half a foot taller than Lily. He enjoyed that she was curves and soft in all the right places compared to his lines and solidness. And maybe it still made him a bit uncomfortable at times, but who was he to judge? His choice to love and marry a muggleborn was just as dangerous to some.

The lovers stood in each other's arms a mix of artificial light and soft blue moonlight (it was waning) cast no shadows over them. Lost in the moment their foreheads touched, resting, they shared a smile as to hold onto a secret held by only the two of them.

"James, have you been listening to a thing I just– oh." Lily stopped speaking as she caught sight of the two outside on her patio. Wiping her hands dry on the back of jeans, she walked over to James. A warm smile on her face as she remembered being that much in love, on some days she was still that much in love, but it was a different sort of love for her and James now. She swept a strand of hair behind her ear and her wedding band sparkled in the light.

She punched him in the shoulder. "Why can't we ever do that? Do you have a single romantic bone in your body? Honestly, I mean, we didn't even dance like that since our– Hey! What are you doing?"

James just smiled and held her close. "We're dancing."