a/n; Slightly AU, in that Remus/Tonks are never together.

Even if he wouldn't admit it, Remus had loved Sirius Black from the moment they met. Years later, he may deny believing in love at first sight, but it was just an act. He definitely believed.

He could still remember the way that he'd felt sitting on the train for the first time. He was happy enough just to be there - this journey felt like a dream come true to many kids, and to him, it practically was. Smiling softly, he touched the books in the seat beside him. They weren't brand new, but they were in fine form, and new to him. The only one with any significant wear was Hogwarts, A History. His parents had bought it for him for Christmas when he was seven, after he begged for it for months.

He pulled it from the stack and settled more deeply in his seat, more than happy to read the entire journey to school. Only a couple chapters in, the door to his compartment slid open. Remus didn't even notice until he heard someone's voice.

"Sorry, chap, but mind if we sit here with you? Some misguided girls tossed us from our carriage and everyone else has already told us not to bother them."

Remus looked up and felt his breath catch briefly. The boy that stood in the doorway grinned at him, everything about him exuding confidence. He didn't seem rude or conceited (although Remus would discover later that that was how a lot of people took him at first), but he was most certainly self-assured. And he was handsome. His hair was black, glossy and thick and just long enough he had to brush it out of his eyes a couple times. The angle of his cheekbones, the slant of his grey eyes, boldly stated aristocrat. And yet - even though he sat without waiting for an answer - Remus didn't think he seemed like many of the well-off people he knew.

There were two other boys with him, neither as striking but both seeming nice enough. One had dark, messy hair and round glasses and the other, Remus thought, rather resembled a rodent with his pink cheeks and darting eyes.

"Remus Lupin." He stuck his hand out toward Sirius, nervous because he felt even more insignificant with this perfect boy in front of him, but he'd always been taught to be polite.

"Sirius Black." They shook hands and then Sirius settled back in the seat, his expression suddenly darker. "But I'm not like the rest of the family."

Remus just shrugged - in his head he was wondering what he should really be expecting, but he thought it was also fair to give everyone a chance.

"I'm James Potter," the boy with the glasses said after another moment and he sat as he introduced the last boy. "And that's Peter...Pettigrew, I think it was."

The blonde boy nodded. "It's a name you'll learn to remember."

"So...were you literally tossed out? I figured girls would be too nice for that." Remus slipped his bookmark into his book and gently placed the beloved literature back on top of the stack beside him. He felt nervous in an entirely new, but not unpleasant, way. If he wanted to absorb as much of this experience as possible, he couldn't spend the trip reading after all.

He was nervous, as his hand lingered on the doorknob of number twelve, Grimmauld Place. To linger too long would not be wise, but he knew that Sirius was somewhere on the other side of the wood and he didn't know if he could stand to see him, to hear him. And yet his heart ached to see the man he'd loved even when he hated him, because he didn't know how many times he would have that opportunity.

They'd had a row last time they saw each other, just a week ago. Dumbledore had asked Remus to visit werewolves beyond England, and Sirius was angry about having to stay behind. Both had yelled until their voices were hoarse, and it'd cost them too many days together.

Via letter, they'd made up, but they hadn't seen each other's faces since.

Finally, Remus pushed open the door. He made it into the kitchen, where he found Sirius leaning back in a chair.

"Come to say goodbye, then, Moony?" He twirled the glass of firewhiskey around in his hand.

Remus moved closer to him and took the glass, setting it on the table with a dull thud. He leaned closer. "No, Padfoot. I've come to stick to tradition and take you along for an adventure."

And when their lips met, it was with a wholly renewed sort of happiness.

"Do you remember that suit you wore to the wedding?"

Sirius grinned then, straightening up a bit. "Oh do I. I was proud of that suit."

It was one of the most hideous things that Remus had ever seen, yet Sirius managed to make it look good. The entire suit was made of gold and sparkled, and there was no way anyone could look around a room and avoid being distracted by it. Naturally, it was what Sirius chose to wear. James was astonished.

"Padfoot, mate. This is my wedding. Lily is the bride." He'd looked Sirius up and down, serious for once. "You. This suit. You're taking the spotlight away from my bride."

Sirius had only shrugged.

Remus patted James on the shoulder. "I told him as much this morning all he could say was, "James will be cool with it." So, I told him it was his funeral."

"We could use something like that now, couldn't we?" Sirius leaned back against Remus, reaching over and taking a familiar scarred hand into his own. It was slightly cool out in the New York morning, not quite dawn but not quite night either, and they'd left their jackets at the flat they had for the week.

Deep down, they both felt a chilling dread, and it was that more than the weather that made them wish for more than their thin jumpers. Voldemort was back, and their own minister wasn't listening to Dumbledore. The people outside of Europe were under less immediate threats but the headmaster had thought it prudent to warn them, and it was Remus he sent to the United States. He'd insisted on bringing Sirius, in the end, saying he wouldn't go unless it was the two of them.

In New York, nobody knew he was a werewolf. Most people were ignorant of the misconceptions about Sirius, but he was acting the part of Remus's dog like everyone had agreed. At night, they took advantage of the freedom darkness and anonymity provided and wandered Central Park.

They made an interesting pair, the well-bred rogue and the sophisticated werewolf.

"Sirius -" Remus hesitated. Even to his ears, his voice was full of so many emotions it almost seemed like it was impossible to name them all. There was hope but there was also sadness, faith and also heartbreak. "Siri -"

This time, it was Sirius that made him hesitate, his fingers ghosting over the slope of his scarred jaw. They leaned closer and as the first pale colors of the day began to streak across the sky, Remus thought that he'd never felt so helpless.

a/n2; This was written for round one of finals for Quidditch League. My literary devices/techniques were foreshadowing and juxtaposition. I am the last player in our chain.

My additional prompts were:
- 10 (object); sparkly suit
- 13 (word); tradition
- 15 (word); dawn