Remus was quiet, though that wasn't quite so unusual for the shy marauder. He was just quieter than normal James supposed.
The werewolf sat in his regular seat beside Peter and across from James and Sirius as he looked resolutely at his food, picking at it desolately in lieu of actually eating it.
"Something wrong Moony?" James asked, a bit surprised that he was the one questioning his friend in the first place. Although he was the perceived 'leader' of the marauders, and he indeed cared very much about his friends, when it came to Remus, Sirius was always the first to talk to him, as it had been with the discovery of his lycanthropy.
Admittedly, however, Sirius appeared to be a bit busy; his attention and his mouth were firmly attached to Marlene Davies, a Gryffindor girl in their year.
Remus looked up, seemingly startled as he offered a tired shrug "'m fine." He mumbled. "Just a lot on my mind I guess."
"Like what?"
Remus shrugged again, offering a sly smile as he murmured, "I guess it's almost that time of the month."
James chuckled but couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something else wrong with his friend as he went back to his breakfast.
-x-x-x-
"I think something's wrong with Remus." James murmured to Sirius on their way to Charms.
"What do you mean, is he sick?" Sirius asked, looking up briefly from the essay that he was furiously trying to complete.
"I don't think so, but he seems . . . off. Maybe you should talk to him."
"Alright, I'll see what I can do." Sirius said, his brow furrowing briefly in concern before turning back to his work.
"So you'll talk to him after class then?" James pressed further, intent on making sure that his occasionally absentminded friend did as he said.
"Yeah, sure, I was going to meet him in the library to study anyways." Sirius murmured, nose scrunching in disgust at the dreaded word.
"Alright, good." James smiled, confidant that if anyone could talk to Remus it was Sirius.
-x-x-x-
Sirius cringed as he walked through the doors of the library, feeling his skin crawl at being surrounded by so many books.
Ignoring his discomfort he bravely ventured forward, looking for a familiar head of tawny hair between the high shelves.
"Sirius."
He looked up at hearing his name, brow furrowing in confusion as he realized it hadn't been Remus that had called him. Really, just how many people did he talk to that went to the library? As he turned around he made a mental note to have a stern talk with his friends about their priorities.
Turning around he was only partially surprised to see Marlene smiling mischievously at him. Honestly, no matter how often he tried he couldn't seem to get the bloody bird to leave him alone.
"Hey, Marlene." He said, offering a small smile while attempting to not make it so obvious that he was searching for someone else.
"Hey, Peter said I could find you here."
Pete. Sirius frowned, making a mental not to talk to him later. "Er, right, was there something you needed?"
Marlene smirked, running a hand in what others might consider a seductive manner down his chest as she purred, "Other than you, nothing really. Now how about we go somewhere and finish what we started at breakfast this morning."
"Well, as great as that sounds I promised Remus I'd meet him here, sorry."
Marlene scowled, sultry look darkening. "Remus? Really Sirius, it seems that whenever we're together you're always blathering on about him. I'm your girlfriend."
That statement alone was enough to have Sirius doubled over with laughter, but for her sake and not getting kicked out by Madame Pince, he settled for a mocking eyebrow raise instead.
"Girlfriend, eh? I'm sorry but I can't seem to ever recall asking you, and I think it takes both people to decide on that. Not to mention that the last time I checked, even when we were 'together', you hadn't seemed to give up your endeavors of sleeping your way through Ravenclaw."
"Oh please." She huffed. "As if you've been monogamous."
This time Sirius actually did laugh. "Well I'm not the one that's claimed to be in a relationship this whole time. As far as I was aware this was entirely casual."
"Here's the thing." Marlene snapped, all traces of the flirty, teasing girl that she normally was vanished. "I'm tired of being called a slut, regardless of whether the title's been earned in some people's minds or not, and you're easily the most attractive boy in our year. If I could make it look like you settled down for me than I'd clean my reputation up for my parents' sakes and still be the envy of every girl in Hogwarts, not to mention you'd still be getting some of the best sex of your life. It's a win win situation."
"Right, except for the part where I settle down with you of all people and the whole 'best sex of my life' comment. If anything it was extraordinarily ordinary."
"Perhaps because, unless I was mistaken and I'm not, you weren't that into it."
Sirius shrugged "Maybe I wasn't. Your point?"
"My point," Marlene purred, a malicious glint dancing in her eyes, "is that I think I know why. You're a poof, aren't you? And if I had to wager a guess I'd put my money on that it has something to do with your little friend Remus, doesn't it?"
Sirius hesitated, not long but just long enough to show Marlene what she already knew was right.
"Just as I thought." She said smugly before Sirius had a chance to deny it. "So, here's how it's going to work, you're going to leave with me and agree to be my boyfriend, or I tell the whole school. And who do you think they'll believe when it comes to my word against yours, especially with your history and how close the two of you are?"
Whatever response Sirius was poised to give froze in his throat as he took a second to consider what she'd said.
Marlene smirked, "The choice is yours. So, either follow me and we can get out of here, or stay here with Lupin and see what the school makes of it all. I know your parents would be ever so eager to hear how you're doing."
And with that she strode out the library, leaving Sirius to scowl at her back for a brief moment before resignedly walking after her, not noticing the pair of gold eyes following his exit.
-x-x-x-
Sirius slouched into the common room, altogether appearance looking thoroughly ruffled as he plopped carelessly down beside James on one of the couches.
"So, did you talk to him?" James grinned, mistaking Sirius' disheveled appearance to be Remus' doing. He may not have been the brightest bloke out there but even he could put two and two together and come up with four, with a little help from Lily of course, but that was beside the point . . .
"Talk to who?" Sirius muttered irritably, rubbing furiously at his mouth to remove the taste of Marlene's disgusting lip gloss.
"Remus of course." James said, looking at his fellow Marauder as if he were slow. "Last time I spoke to you, you said you were meeting him in the library so I assume he had something to do with this." He said, motioning to his friend's clothing.
"I wish." Sirius muttered, not even bothering with denial, figuring that if James hadn't figured it out already Evans was sure to tell him sooner or later. Damn bird was too perceptive for her own good. "It was that bloody bint Marlene."
"Marlene, what?" James asked, genuinely surprised. "I thought you couldn't stand her and were going to end things after breakfast this morning."
"Yeah well, things didn't exactly go to plan." Sirius muttered, running a tired hand down his face before grabbing agitatedly at his hair, his brow furrowing as he remembered something. "Fuck, I totally ditched Remus!"
As if summoned Remus came shuffling through the Portrait Hole, books from earlier held securely under his arm.
"Remus!" Sirius said, earning a few stares from those closest people but ignoring them as he bounded over to the smaller teen.
"Hello Sirius." Remus said, offering a small smile that was just a tad strained.
"Moony, look, I'm so sorry about earlier, I know we were supposed to meet and I didn't mean to stand you up like that I just . . . erm, well I just . . ."
"It's okay Padfoot." Remus murmured, not quite managing to meet his friend's eyes, "It looks like Marlene and you were rather busy . . . I get it, besides you never liked studying much anyways, I can't imagine that the choice was a hard one." He said, offering a small chuckle. "I'm kind of tired actually, I think I'll just head on up to the room and turn in early, I'll see you later."
A small flash of panic flared up in the animagus as he watched Remus head up the stairs to the dormitory, feeling as, if anything, he'd only made the situation worse.
"Well, I'd say you did a fine job fucking up just about . . . well, everything." James quipped, patting Sirius on the back. "I hate to say it mate, but you've really stepped in it this time."
"You think I don't know that?" Sirius groaned, rubbing a hand down his face as he looked forlornly at the stairs. "What am I gonna do Prongs?"
"Well, I'd say the best thing would be to call it quits with Marlene and talk to him."
"Like I said, it's not that easy." Sirius muttered, "But I'm sure as hell going to fix it." He said before stalking out of the room, "Oh, and I need you and Pete to clear out for the night." He threw carelessly over his shoulder before the portrait slammed behind him.
-x-x-x-
"Remus?" Sirius called as he stepped cautiously through the door of their room. "Moony?"
Sirius frowned when he received no reply, frown deepening when he noticed the curtains tightly drawn around Remus' bed.
He winced, it had been at least two hours since he'd spoken to Remus in the common room, and the fact that he was still upset hurt Sirius as he realized that he was the cause.
"Remus." Sirius called once more, tugging on his friend's bed curtains only to find them spelled shut. "Dammit." Sirius muttered under his breath, pulling out his wand and uttering the counter charm before pulling them open.
Guilt filled Sirius as he looked down at Remus, curled into a tight ball with his back facing him.
"Moony." Sirius said, toeing off his shoes before sitting crossed legged on the end of the bed. "I know you're awake, I still have a bit of Padfoot's senses."
Remus huffed a sigh before rolling over to face his friend, tired eyes blinking open to stare blankly at Sirius.
"What is it Padfoot?"
"I wanted to apologize-"
"You already said you were sorry and I told you its fine, now can I please go back to sleep?"
"No, I . . . I have something I need to tell you."
"Unless it's that the Common Room's on fire I'm sure it can wait." Remus murmured tiredly.
Sirius huffed, climbing out of the bed before roughly gripping Remus' ankle and dragging him to the edge of the bed, wincing as he tumbled off the edge with a thump.
"Dammit Sirius! Really?" Remus shouted, glaring at the brunette,
"I'm sorry but it's important. It's about Marlene."
"Look Sirius, you're my best mate but I really don't want to hear about the latest place you've shagged her or your explanation of why you chose her over me. I get it, alright?"
"What do you mean chose her over you?" Sirius asked quickly, staring at Remus levelly as the normally composed teen blushed fiercely.
"I meant when you ditched studying with me to spend time with her, obviously, or did you forget?"
"You see Moony, I don't think you meant it like that. I think you meant that I chose to have a relationship with her instead of you, which is ridiculous by the way, and the only reason you would mean it like that is because you fancy me."
"That's-"
"I may not be as smart as you or James but I'm not stupid Remus."
"I never said-"
"And" Sirius continued, ignoring him, "I know that you've fancied me for a while. I know that you look at me whenever you think I'm not looking because I'm looking at you too. And I know that you blush the most whenever I'm around, and that even though you help Prongs and Wormtail you always try to help me with my work or are more willing to go along with a most likely stupid idea if I suggest it."
Remus opened and closed his mouth, searching for something to say as a blush graced his features.
"There's that blush I'm talking about." Sirius smirked, stepping up and running a thumb lightly across his cheeks.
"What are you trying to do Padfoot?" Remus said, taking a step back. "Are you just trying to embarrass me or something, because today really isn't the day."
"I'm trying to tell you that I know that you fancy me and I fancy you back Moony! The whole thing with Marlene, it's really fucked up but I've never liked her. She made me ditch you today because she threatened to tell you but I don't care anymore. I fancy you Remus, and I thought you should know."
The two stood in silence for a while, neither quite sure what to say after the confession as they let the silence hang between them.
"Erm, I think this is where you give a confirmation that you fancy me back so I know I wasn't just jumping to wild explanations and rambling like an idiot." Sirius said, looking at Remus carefully.
"You always ramble like an idiot Pads" Remus said bluntly, expression shrewd as he squinted up at his friend as if he were looking for something specific.
"Well, way to tell me gently." Sirius mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck and grimacing at the quickly escalating awkwardness.
"I'm sorry, I'm just, surprised." Remus said, blinking in genuine confusion. "It's just, I'm not sure if this is just some colossal joke with you and James or . . ."
"A joke." Sirius murmured, looking at Remus and suddenly sympathizing with his friend's confusion. It wasn't as though he had been particularly straightforward in his affections. . . "Fuck Moony, I know I've been a right arsehole about all of this but I wouldn't joke about something like this, not with you."
Sirius watched closely as Remus inwardly deliberated. In his head this had always played out differently. Whenever he imagined it Remus would jump into his arms the minute he confessed his feelings. This far into his fantasies he'd have already had Remus on his back and moaning beneath him.
"Well" Sirius murmured after a few minutes had passed, "Please, say something?"
"What do you want me to say Pads?" Remus sighed, "You can't imagine how long I've waited to hear that, but, you're my best friend . . . And let's be realistic, you've never had a relationship that's lasted longer than a week. I don't want to be just some gay fling for you that's over in a week. I don't want to ruin our friendship."
"Remus, I swear, as corny as it sounds, you're different. You're my most important person. I'll do my best to never hurt you, just give me a chance." The last part was whispered, a pleading note taking over his voice. "I know that once when it counted I broke your trust. But I've done my best to regain it, please just let me prove to you that I deserve it."
Remus took a deep breath, standing and walking over to where Sirius had eventually taken a seat on James' bed after his frustrated pacing. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean it to sound like I didn't trust you. Of course I trust you Pads, I'm just scared."
Sirius looked at him out of the corner of his eye for a few moments before he nodded in correspondence with his internal decision. Startling Remus somewhat he quickly tugged the Marauder into his lap earning himself a wide-eyed stare of consternation.
"Well" he murmured, "if you trust me, trust me with your heart, I promise I won't break it."
Any reply Remus would have given was cut off as Sirius' surprisingly soft lips descended on his. The kiss was soft and sweet, worlds away from what Remus would have expected it to be and better then he'd ever imagined.
"That was . . ." Remus began after they pulled away.
"Amazing I know" Sirius smirked, regaining some of his cocky attitude.
"I was going to say lacking finesse on your part but think what you will." Remus grinned, earning a raised eyebrow from his friend.
"I've never had any complaints before."
"Well you've never been met with standards as high as mine."
"Oh really now?" Sirius chuckled, laying back and forcing Remus back as well, stopping a sudden collision by placing his hands on his chest. Sirius grinned at Remus' breathless and indignant expression, noting how Remus' hands unconsciously roamed the broad expanse of his chest.
"Well" he continued, "I guess I'll just have to try a little harder."
"You most certainly will." Remus grinned, feeling those familiar butterflies awaken in his stomach again as he leaned down for a brief kiss.
Sirius couldn't help his smile for the rest of the day, and he feared it'd soon become a permanent fixture on his face as long as he was with Remus. The teachers all thought he was up to something and James teased him about going soft but he didn't care. They had both waited years for this, and now that'd he'd finally gotten Remus, he'd be damned if he ever let him go.
AN: I know I haven't written in a while, especially with this couple but I hope this was okay! Let me know what you think!
Reviews are Love! =D