"What next?"
It was late evening, and Sirius and Remus were alone in the common room plowing through their homework. James was at quidditch practice; it was the week before Gryffindor played Slytherin, so training sessions had doubled in both amount and intensity. Peter was already in bed, too exhausted to study.
Remus pushed his Transfiguration essay away with a sigh. "I don't know. I chose last time; it's your turn."
"Okay… Care of Magical Creatures?" suggested Sirius casually.
"Ah, the dragon essay." Remus grabbed his copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. "Compare and contrast the different pure breeds of dragons, correct?"
"Yeah." Sirius busied his hands with shuffling his homework about, looking for a fresh piece of parchment. "I'll start with the Chinese Fireball… you want to do the Swedish Short-Snout?" He fumbled with his book, dropped it, and picked it up again.
Remus seemed not to notice. "Good as any." He opened his book and flipped through the pages.
Sirius looked down at the page, staring at the word "Fireball" and wondering if someone had snuck flobberworms into his dinner, as his stomach was sure acting like it. After a moment he chanced at glance at Remus, who was likewise staring fixedly at his book, but in disbelief. Sirius continued to watch him, waiting for a reaction. Finally, after ten whole seconds, he couldn't stand it—the virtue of patience had never been his strong point.
"Well?"
Remus looked up at him, golden eyes unreadable in the flickering firelight.
"You vandalized my book," he accused, scandalized. Sirius's mouth fell open.
"Is that all you have to say?" he spluttered indignantly.
Remus looked thoughtful. "No… I think I have one more thing to say."
"And what's that?" huffed Sirius, irked.
"This." Remus leaned across the table and pressed his lips to Sirius's in a chaste kiss. When he drew back, Sirius smiled with smoky silver eyes.
"I think I like that answer."
Remus smiled as well; Sirius reached out to him and he climbed into his lap.
"So," said Remus, slipping his arms around Sirius's neck as Sirius's arms wrapped around his waist, "is this why you took Care of Magical Creatures?"
"Oh… I thought it might come in handy." Sirius nipped Remus's nose playfully.
"But we haven't covered this area in class…" murmured Remus, fingering a lock of ebony.
"Well then… we'll just have to do a bit of research…" Sirius whispered, tracing the shell of Remus's ear with his lips, "…and some… experimentation…."
Laughing softy, Remus kissed him again, fuller and sweeter than before, as Sirius's hands roamed over his back and pulled him closer. Their tongues met, tentatively at first, then exploring uncharted territory as they basked in the flavor of bliss. And they glowed inside, warm and full, as they wordlessly pledged undying love for each other.
Lying open on the table, on top of the forgotten piles of homework, was Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, open to the page on the Swedish Short-Snout. And in the margin beside the entry a short message was inscribed in an elegantly messy scrawl, signed with a tiny, sketched paw print.
I love you, Moony
