WARNING: This story contains SLASH!
Note: This story has been revised and lengthened, as I decided that instead of adding a new chapter I'd just fix and add to this one. I hope you enjoy it, and please review!
A long sigh was the only sound that was heard from the attic of Grimmauld Place. He could hear sounds of the New Year's Eve celebration going on downstairs, yet Remus Lupin sat alone staring out the attic's grimy window. He knew that things could never go back to the way they were before the war. Sirius wasn't coming back. This was the first New Year's he'd even had time to consider that this was the first one he hadn't spent with Sirius, except for while Sirius was in Azkaban. He let some tears slip down his cheeks as he remembered another New Year's Eve a long time ago.
It was the New Year's Eve of their seventh year, and Sirius and Remus had been a couple since Christmas two years ago. He had been thinking about when they would tell James that they were together when Sirius snuck up behind him and wrapped his arms around the smaller boy. "What'cha thinking about, Remmy?"
Remus turned around in Sirius arms to give him a soft kiss before replying, "I was thinking about when we'd tell James."
The dorm was silent while Sirius thought of a response. "I figured we'd tell him tonight. What do you think, Moony?" Remus nodded his agreement as Sirius leaned down and began to kiss Remus's neck, intending to leave a mark. Remus let out a moan that covered the sound of the door opening.
When they heard the gasp and cry of, "Sirius! Remus!" They broke apart of face a shocked and slightly green James.
"James, it's not what you think. I swear." Sirius didn't notice Remus's hurt look or the tear that trailed down his cheek.
"You don't need to explain." As Sirius began to look relaxed he continued. "I know exactly what you were doing. And I think you two are disgusting! I don't know how I even slept in the same dorm with you two. A couple of poufs in the Gryffindor boy's dorm, ugh, I hope you two aren't still here when everyone else comes to bed."
Remus and Sirius shared a look, and Sirius noticed the tears streaming down Remus's cheeks. "I can't believe you care more about what James thinks than about our relationship!" Remus left the room and headed out of the common room in tears hoping to find a quiet place where Sirius couldn't find him.
"Oh, Merlin." Sirius realized he was royally screwed when Remus ran out of the room. Luckily, Sirius knew where Remus would go.
Remus barely looked up when Sirius plopped next to him in the only other chair in Remus's favorite corner of the library. "Remmy…" Sirius looked at him pleadingly, knowing that Remus couldn't see it. "I'm sorry, Rem. I just… Prongs is my best friend, you know. It… It hurts to think that he would hate us just because we're together."
Remus looked at Sirius nodding before reaching out and entangling their fingers. "I know. It just hurt to think that you value our relationship so little."
"Rem, I love our relationship. I love you." Sirius pulled Remus over onto his lap and both fell into slightly troubled sleep.
They were woken up when McGonagall said, "Boys, you can't bunk in the library." It turned out that Madam Pince had gotten McGonagall because of finding Remus and Sirius asleep in her library. "Go back to your dorm."
Sirius sleepily muttered, "We can't. James said that if we came back… Well it wouldn't be pretty." Then he looked at Remus and sighed before he shook Remus's shoulder. "Remmy, honey, wake up." Remus opened his eyes sleepily and mumbled something unintelligible.
"Well… It's four in the morning. How about you two go sleep in the hospital wing for the rest of the night? I'm sure Dumbledore will start on getting this sorted out first thing in the morning.
They nodded sleepily and Sirius stood up just holding Remus in his arms so that the boy could go back to sleep cuddled against the larger boy's chest. Madam Pince gave them a sympathetic look as they left the library in the company of McGonagall.
They knew that nothing would be the same from now on. But at least they had each other. And together was enough for them.
Remus knew he'd never forget that night and the feeling that nothing could be the same between the Marauders again. He still couldn't believe how stupid James had been and how he'd honestly meant the words he'd spoken at that time.
But thinking about that made him think about what ended up reuniting the friendship between Sirius and James, making them closer than ever before along with several weeks where James was overly cautious with what he said around them, not wanting to make the same mistake of saying something bigoted and stupid around them again.
Remus was currently visiting Sirius in the hospital wing, as Sirius had gotten in a horrible fight after some Slytherins decided to target them, or more accurately, him, with a bad combination of hexes. Sirius had noticed what they were about to do and had immediately jumped into fighting all of them, which was quite a bad decision on his part.
Sirius was still asleep, just as he had been the whole time Remus had been in the hospital wing. Remus had transfigured one of the infirmary chairs into something more comfortable so he could sit beside Sirius' bed to be there when he woke up. Madam Pomfrey had eventually given up on the argument of making him leave and come back when Sirius was awake, as she didn't want to wake Sirius up before his body had recovered.
Remus found himself pushing Sirius' hair back from his face and taking the other boy's hand in his before letting his eyes slip closed, unintentionally falling asleep, not realizing someone else had come to see Sirius until he was roughly shaken awake.
Remus sleepily opened his eyes and squinted for a second before he realized it was James standing in front of him. "J-James… what… what are you doing here?" Remus had a nervous look about him that wasn't completely undeserved.
"Why'd he do it?" James jerked his head towards Sirius, ignoring their conjoined hands for the moment.
"Oh, uhm… He swore they were all about to curse me." Remus nervously watched James, hoping that he wouldn't react badly. He hadn't really seen James except in classes, as Sirius and Remus had discovered the Room of Requirement and had gotten permission to bunk there from the headmaster.
"Actually, they were about to curse me."
"Oh…" Remus was about to say something more but James cut him off.
"Where have you two been sleeping, now?" James looked honestly curious about this, and Remus reckoned it was because they didn't show up on the map.
"The Room of Requirement has found itself our home for the time being." At James blank look he added, "It's also known as the Come and Go Room."
James still looked confused, though he did manage a soft, "Oh."
It then became apparent to Remus that Sirius was waking up, meaning the potions Madam Pomfrey had given him had done their job. Still his first words to him were, "Are you okay? How are you feeling?"
Sirius laughed at that, not minding that it hurt him slightly. "I'm fine, Moony." He smiled reassuringly and reached over to pull Remus onto the bed, kissing him fondly. "I should ask how you are. You look like you've been scared to death."
Remus laughed at that, settling into Sirius' embrace comfortably. "I was worried about you."
It was then that Sirius noticed James. "What do you want then? Come to tell us we're disgusting again?"
"No, I… Came to apologize." It seemed these words were hard for James to say, but he did manage them. "And I wanted to thank you… Those Slytherins were after me, not Moony."
"Either way, I would've done the same."
"I know. That's why I'm sorry. No matter what you two do in your personal time, you're still my friends. I was wondering if… you could forgive me?" James had such a hopeful look that Sirius couldn't help but mess with him.
"How about no?" James looked crushed and Sirius managed to keep a straight face for about ten second before busting out laughing and getting a whap from Remus and a fierce, "That's not nice, Siri!"
Once he had regained his breath Sirius said what he really meant. "I'm only joking, mate. Of course I forgive you. There's nothing more to forgive than your normal git self."
After that things were okay with the Marauders and soon better than ever, though no one noticed Peter slowly distancing himself from the group.
After Sirius was put into Azkaban, Remus was too in shock to even think that Sirius should have a trial or that he might be innocent.
Once Sirius broke free Remus wondered what motive he had besides killing Harry. After Harry told him about spotting Pettigrew on the map Remus began to figure out what happened and blamed himself for Sirius' long years in Azkaban that were undeserved.
Yet once everything was going right and they had a chance to make up their lost time together, Sirius had to fall through the veil. Remus knew all this was not helping his depression so he decided he'd better rejoin the party downstairs. Before he left the attic he whispered two words, "Goodbye, Padfoot."