A/N: Well, here it is. Just some random Sirius/Remus fluff that I wrote at 2am yesterday when I couldn't fall asleep. Written in Remus's POV, it's his birthday and someone (I wonder who) starts sending him anonymous birthday gifts. It's kinda pointless really, but it was fun to write. If you don't like slash, then don't read it.
Disclaimer: everything belongs to the brilliant JKR. Except for Your Song, which is the product of the genius of Elton John. And the attempt at a plot, which is mine.
Happy birthday to me. The clock on my bedside table read 6:30am. Considering that I'd been born around 4:30 in the morning seventeen years ago, I had been another year older for approximately two hours already. What a bizarre sensation.
I sighed, stretched, and clambered out of my warm bed. Normally I took quick showers, but this morning I could afford to indulge myself in a long one. I was making my way to the bathroom I shared with my dorm mates when a noise at the window distracted me. An owl, pecking repeatedly at the glass. I frowned, considerably confused, but redirected my current course and went to let the owl inside.
Now that was quite strange. Not only did the bird hold a note addressed to me, but it carried a bouquet of roses in its talons. One thought ran through my mind as I removed the flowers from the owl's clutches and allowed it to fly away: what the hell was going on?
The note didn't explain anything that I wanted to know. In fact, it only served to make things a great deal more puzzling.
Dear Remus,
Happy birthday! I recalled you once saying that roses were your favorite flower, so I took the liberty of sending you some, as a token of my affection. Don't fret, the rest of the present if coming later. Enjoy!
An Admirer
I frowned yet again. An admirer? Who on earth would admire me? The letter had been written all in capitals, and it was clear that a lot of effort had been put into making the handwriting indistinguishable. Their identity was obviously meant to be kept a secret from me. And then there was the matter of the "rest" of the present. What kind of surprise was in store for me?
I proceeded with my original plan of showering, hoping that some hot water might assist me in discerning what the nature or purpose of my birthday present was. I left the shower feeling no more enlightened than I had before.
By the time I got out, James and Peter were already up and going.
"Hey Prongs?" I called, while in the process of packing my school bag.
"Moony?"
"Have you any idea who could have sent me a bouquet of roses for my birthday?"
James glanced up at me, a small smirk on his face. "Oh, is that where those came from? No, I haven't the foggiest. Quite a nice bunch of flowers though, I must say."
I scowled at him. That boy could no more lie than he could announce that he didn't love Lily Evans. But if he was that unwilling to tell me, I doubted I would be able to get it out of him. I tried a different tactic instead.
"What about you Wormtail? Do you know anything?"
"Nope, not a clue," Peter shook his head violently, avoiding my eyes all the while. He was also visibly lying, meaning that whoever my admirer was, they had already gotten to him and made him agree to stay quiet. Something was definitely up.
I was so preoccupied by the recent turn of events that I didn't notice the absence of one Sirius Black until I sat in my Arithmancy class later that morning. He had been at breakfast that morning, of course; Sirius never missed an opportunity for food. But where had he been before that? It was a well known fact that Sirius was not and by no means had ever been a morning person.
I caught up with him just before lunch; I had to chase him down the hallway when he seemed not to hear me calling him.
"Padfoot!"
"Oh hey Moony! What's going on?"
"I've been calling you since we passed McGonagall's classroom; didn't you hear me at all?"
He appeared to deliberate before answering me. "Nope, I can't say that I did. Sorry Moons. Why did you want me, anyway?"
"Where were you this morning?"
"Hmm?" He looked confused for a moment, but then his eyes widened in understanding. I must confess, it was rather adorable. "Oh, that. I had to mail a letter before I forgot about it."
It was a completely wretched excuse, because Sirius getting up that early to mail a letter was physically impossible. I pressed him for more details, but to no avail.
"It wasn't anything important, really," he told me nonchalantly. "Don't worry about it Moony."
Yeah, right. "You know I'll figure it out sooner or later, Pads," I threatened.
"Of course you will, Moony, of course you will," he said cryptically. I glared and went ahead to lunch without waiting for him.
When I got to the lunch hall, I strode over to the spot where I usually sat with the rest of the Marauders. And then I stopped dead in my tracks.
Placed in my seat, in between James and Peter, was a beautiful box of chocolates. Real nice ones too, and I know my chocolates. It's a werewolf thing.
James heard me coming, and grinned widely up at me. "Hey Pete, he's here. We can stop guarding them now."
My jaw nearly dropped. "What?" I gasped. They both ignored me.
"Come on Moony, open them!" Peter begged. "I want one of those raspberry crèmes."
I rolled my eyes, but picked up the box anyway. By now most of the people around us were watching me, and I had to resist the urge to scold them severely for not minding their own business. There was another note on the chocolates, in the same nondescript scrawl.
Dear Remus,
I see you've gotten my second gift of the day. Knowing how you can't live without good chocolate, it seems only my duty to present you with the best I can find. The caramels are exquisite, if you want to know. Before you get excited, this isn't the last you'll see of me. Now I suggest you remind the Gryffindor table that staring is rude.
An Admirer
At that last comment, I couldn't help but look up. Whoever this person was, they were correct. Nearly the entire table was watching me curiously; I suppose getting surprise chocolates from an unknown aficionado was not a normal occurrence.
"You do know that staring is considered rude in most societies," I addressed the table snappishly. Immediately there was a scuffle to look in some other direction and continue eating. I shook my head and sat down, but not before sharing with Peter one of the raspberry crèmes he so desperately wanted.
Throughout the rest of the day, I watched for any sign of the rest of my gift. Soon it was sunset, and nothing had yet presented itself. I got steadily more nervous as the evening progressed, wondering what kind of surprise would be next. Apparently my admirer was not opposed to doing something that would draw attention, and knowing that fact made me worry even more. I had never been one to appreciate a lot of attention.
I sat in the Common Room with James and Peter, studying for tomorrow's classes. Again, Sirius was no where to be found. I wondered about it, but only in passing; I had much bigger issues on my mind. I returned to questioning the two friends in my company, since they seemed to be in cahoots with my admirer. But they were no more cooperative than they had been earlier, and after about an hour of pointless, one-sided conversation, I gave up.
"Alright fine, keep your secrets," I griped, standing up. "I'm done with my homework anyway; I'll just go up to the dorm and you can stay here by yourselves."
James eyes lit up fleetingly, but a second later it was gone. "Have fun!" he called after me significantly. If he was trying to give me some sort of hint, I wasn't getting it.
I opened the door to our dorm, expecting to find it empty. Instead, the breath immediately fled from my lungs.
The room was decorated with streamers hanging from the ceiling, candles were lit all around the room, and a familiar black-haired boy was lounging on one of the beds.
"Sirius?"
He turned around, grinning wickedly, and to my complete and utter shock he began to sing.
"It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside. I'm not one of those who can easily hide. Don't have much money but, boy if I did I'd buy a big house where we both could live."
I was unable to do anything but stare at the beautiful boy in front of me. Had he gone completely mad? He continued, oblivious to my confusion.
"If I was a sculptor, but then again no, or a man who makes potions in a traveling show. I know it's not much, but it's the best I can do. My gift is my song, and this one's for you."
When he stood and walked towards me, my voice suddenly returned.
"Sirius what on earth are you doing?"
"Isn't it obvious?" he laughed. He took one of my hands in his, wrapped one of his arms around my waist, and he began to dance with me. "I'm singing to you, Remus" he murmured softly in my ear. I'm certain that I was red as a tomato. Sirius carried on with his song, whether or not he noticed my change in color.
"And you can tell everybody: this is your song. It may be quite simple but now that it's done. I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind, that I put down in words how wonderful life is, while you're in the world."
His voice was oddly comforting, in a way. I'd heard him sing before, of course. He was very outgoing, and since I shared a dorm with him it wasn't possible for me to miss his antics. But this time it felt different; more intimate, perhaps. He was, after all, singing only to me.
It felt like a dream, wonderful and sure to end. I didn't want it to. There was no way that Sirius could be my admirer. This couldn't be real. And yet I couldn't help but hope.
"Sirius, why are you doing this?" I asked.
"I sat on the roof, and I kicked off the moss. Well a few of the verses, well they've got me quite cross. But the sun's been quite kind while I wrote this song. It's for people like you that keep it turned on."
He spun me around with the hand that held mine, and then spun me back, wrapping his arms around me.
"Are you going to answer me?" I whispered, incapable of speaking any louder.
"Yes," he nodded. I could feel his breath on my neck, and it wasn't doing anything to help my clarity of thought. He sang the chorus again, quietly, romantically. "And you can tell everybody: this is your song. It may be quite simple but now that it's done. I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind, that I put down in words how wonderful life is, while you're in the world."
I was going to explode if I had to wait any longer. It was amazing, the effect his voice at my ear and his arms around my chest could have on me. I struggled to turn around, still encompassed in his arms, and I looked him in the eyes.
"Sirius, if you don't tell me what you're trying to say, I think I shall go completely insane."
He smiled, and his eyes glowed in the dim light of the candles. "I love you, Remus."
My eyes were as wide as saucers. "Wait, what?"
"I'm in love with you," he said, and I noticed a faint blush on his cheeks. "I always have been. I can't hide it any longer, even though I'm afraid that you don't feel the same. I just… there's nothing else I can say to explain myself. I love you."
I looked at him in silence, and then before he could say anything else I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him soundly. He seemed shocked at first; it took him a moment to respond to me. But respond he did, pulling me closer to him than I thought possible and slowly trailing a hand down my spine. My back arched, and I'm certain that I must have moaned with desire.
Unfortunately we had to come up for air eventually. And once Sirius's lips were no longer attached to mine, rational thought started to return.
"I'm taking that as an acceptance of my feelings," Sirius panted, a humorous glint in his eye. "Maybe even a sign that you return them?"
"Of course I do," I told him, breathing heavily. "But perhaps we should stop soon? I'm not exactly keen on our lovely roommates walking in on this."
Sirius smirked proudly. "Oh no, I don't think they'll be coming up here for a while."
He waited patiently, still holding me against his chest, while I added up the facts in my mind. "Wait a minute. They're in on it?"
"Absolutely," he said simply. "I couldn't have possibly done it without their help. They did the things I couldn't be seen doing; for example, you couldn't see me put chocolates at the Gryffindor table. How obvious would that have been? And you're quite right; it wouldn't do for them to walk in on us right now. So I felt it necessary to warn them."
"So they know that you're up here snogging me senseless?"
"They aren't sure what exactly we're doing, but they do know not to disturb us," he said, his grey eyes mischievous.
"Well, if that's the case," I said thoughtfully. "I suppose there's no real reason for us to stop our current activities."
"I was hoping you'd feel that way," Sirius admitted, laughing as he placed his lips on mine once more.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! If you point out any errors, grammatical or plot-wise, I'll fix them as quick as is humanly possible. And remember children: leaving a review can make anyone's day.
