A Joker does what he Pleases

Sirius was running through the Forbidden Forest, because once again he'd screwed up. But this time, he wasn't sure if he could put it right. He was chasing after Remus, praying that he would find him before something bad happened, hoping that he would listen.

"Moony!" He slowed to a standstill, listening intently to try and hear if his friend (he hoped they were still friends) replied. There was only silence before he heard a twig crack. He ran in the direction of the noise, halting again when it turned out to be a rabbit. "Remus, please!"

"Fuck off."

Sirius whirled round, to see his best friend standing behind him, wand clenched in his hand.

"Moony. I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"Why would you – how could you – what the HELL?" Remus was shouting by the end, his wand hand trembling as his knuckles turned white.

"I'm sorry." Sirius stretched out his hands in a gesture of peace but when he took a step forward, Remus raised his wand, stopping Sirius in his tracks.

"What possessed you to do something like that?" Remus' voice was quiet again, but there was no mistaking the fury in it. "If you wanted to know my secrets, all you had to do was ask."

Sirius didn't really remember why he thought he would be funny to put Veritaserum in Remus' firewhiskey. He'd persuaded Peter to steal it from Slughorn on a whim, and then he could just hear the bottle calling to him, begging to be used. It was after a few drinks that they weren't really meant to have in the dormitory; James had distracted Remus while Sirius had added the required three drops to his drink.

"So. Dorcas, yes or no?" James had asked slyly.

"No." Remus had been surprisingly emphatic. "Not in a million years."

Sirius had laughed. "Alice?"

Remus had raised an eyebrow. "Do you not know me at all no? No. A thousand times no."

"Really?" Sirius had leaned closer, surprised. "I thought she'd be right up your street. Geeky, slightly cute, glasses."

"No. Never." Remus pulled a face as though the thought actually pained him.

"So who?" James had asked. "Who in the entire school is good enough for our Moony, werewolf and geek extraordinaire?"

"Sirius."

There was silence, as three boys stared in shock and the other blushed so red he looked like a tomato. Remus had scrambled off the bed, shoving his shoes on and, grabbing James' invisibility cloak, had run out of the room. An awkward silence had persisted for a couple of minutes before Sirius had followed him. Which brought him to this confrontation.

"I'm s-sorry," he stammered. "We were drinking, and it seemed like a good idea. Remus, I'm am so so-"

"Sorry, yes I heard." Remus turned away, before turning back to face him. "Was it worth it? Did you all laugh yourselves stupid? Did you revel in my humiliation?"

"No! No, Moony, it wasn't like that," Sirius pleaded. "You have to believe me."

Remus shrugged. "Send me your heart in a box, and maybe I'll believe you. Maybe, when you've humiliated yourself, maybe then. Maybe when you realise how much it hurts, maybe then, I can believe that you're sorry."

Sirius hung his head. "I like you too."

"I'm sorry, what?" Remus' tone was disbelieving.

"I said" Sirius repeated, "that I like you too." Now that his friend's wand was lowered, he took another step forward and another. "I like you a lot, but I'm not gay. I'm not. I still like girls; it's just…I like you more."

"Really?" The hope in his voice warmed Sirius heart, and he smiled.

"Of course." He closed the gap between them and gently kissed Remus. "And I'm sorry. I really am."

A startled smile spread across the werewolf's face. " I guess I believe you."

"So can we leave now, before something comes and eats us?" Sirius asked hopefully.

Remus laughed. "Fine. Though I'm much scarier than anything in here."

Sirius nodded. "I know. I thought you were going to rip my head off a few minutes ago."

"I meant at full moon."

"Oh…yeah, then too."

Fin.

An: I've never written slash before, though my friend assures me that it's canon. Inspired by the assertion that Sirius wasn't gay, he was monohomosexual, and an old note that I wrote. Hope you enjoyed.