Author's Note: Now that Remus has finally become a real part of my fan fic You Only Live Twice (can be found on my profile), I started thinking about his complex character some more while working on the next chapter (which at this time is still not ready to be posted, sorry!).

I realized I have never done a real one-shot about him when he was younger. Or more specifically, about him and Brice and how they got together. It's a bit cheesy at times, but I think it works anyway, so heh. I may do another one about them in the future, which focuses on their end in Everlasting that came way too soon.

Dedication: This is a songbased one-shot for every My Everlasting Love (can also be found on my profile)-reader who ever asked me to write a Remus/Brice-based shot. This has been looooooong overdue, I know, but I hope you will enjoy it nevertheless.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

As always, love to hear your thoughts!

-Mara

Kiss From A Rose – Remus/OC one-shot

"I'm cool with it."

There used to be a graying tower alone on the sea

You became the light on the dark side of me

Love remained a drug that's the high and not the pill

Remus still remembered it like it was yesterday, the conversation he had with her the day after she found out he was a werewolf. It had been on the top of the Astronomy Tower on the night they were patrolling for James and Lily. For weeks he had been gathering the courage to finally share his secret with the girl he fancied for months, when he was accidentally outed in front of her and Lily by Mary, and Remus was forced to tell them the truth. But he never got the chance to fully explain why he had kept it a secret from her for so long, which is why he had gratefully accepted James's offer to take over his patrolling duties for that day and invited Brice McDonald to come along. She accepted.

They talked about general school things for the most part and passed several corridors and bay windows with not a single notable thing happening – unless you counted Peeves swearing and making obscure hand gestures to a painting of Gondoline Oliphant, who continued working on her sketch of a group of trolls undisturbed – before Remus finally dared to ask how she felt about the real reason for his regular absences.

But did you know

That when it snows

My eyes become large and

The light that you shine can be seen

"I'm cool with it."

Remus looked at her sideways, studying her calm face. "Really? We haven't discussed it any further since Mary blurted it out in front of you and today I started thinking-"

"Don't. I already tsaid so last night. Nothing's changed. You're still the same Remus I have known for seven years. Well," she added with a wicked grin, "with the exception of a couple of nights a month."

Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the gray

Ooh, the more I get of you, the stranger it feels, yeah

And now that your rose is in bloom

A light hits the gloom on the gray

He hesitated, still unsure how to interpret her more than reasonable response. "But with your mum and what happened to your aunt..."

Brice shrugged. "My aunt could be a true hag at times and I never liked her much to tell you the truth. But either way, my mother has no business in judging who I decide to hang out with. It's about what I think, don't you agree?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Well, that's how I see it and I meant what I said. In fact, I think it makes you all the more interesting as a person."

Remus blinked. "Wha- really?"

She casually shook her shoulder-length hair over her shoulders and laughed, the sudden melodious sound sending pleasuring shivers up his spine. "Yes, really!" she replied while lightly bumping her shoulder against his before becoming more serious as they reached the top of the stairs of the Astronomy Tower. "So how did it happen?"

There is so much a man can tell you,

So much he can say.

You remain, my power, my pleasure, my pain, baby

To me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny.

Won't you tell me is that healthy, baby?

Remus could not answer her immediately and slowly headed to the small balcony overlooking the lake. It was a cold, but wind-still and bright night, the stars seemed to be blinking down on him in an encouraging manner. He ran a hand through his hair and breathed out slowly, watching his own condensed breath evaporate in the cool air. Noticing Brice had followed and was now standing next to him, he forced himself to look at her when he opened up to her: "I was a young boy. My parents used to tell me it was an accident, but this Summer my father admitted that Fenrir Greyback attacked his son as a retaliation for offending him. It was a mere case of payback and my dad has blamed himself for it ever since, but there's nothing that could lift the curse. Once a werewolf, always a werewolf..."

"I have never heard about Fenrir Greyback."

"And here's hoping you never will again. According to my parents, he is possibly the most savage werewolf alive today. Apparently he takes pleasure in contaminating as many children as possible."

Brice looked sincerely dismayed. "But that's awful! Why hasn't anyone sent him to Azkaban to rot away with other malicious creeps?"

It was Remus's turn to shrug. "He's one of You-Know-Who's closest allies and is nowhere to be found. Not that the Ministry is looking for him that desperately anyway. They've been having other pressing matters on their minds for a long time, I suppose."

"Hmm." After a tense moment of silence, Brice carefully placed a hand on his arm. "I'm so sorry you got caught up in all of this," she whispered.

The light touch of her fingers on the sleeve of his robes felt good, consoling in a way that easily surpassed the effect of a sympathetic or uplifting pat on the shoulder from James, Sirius or Peter. And tonight he was not even feeling that depressed to begin with. Now that his dark secret was out in the open and all of his Gryffindor classmates, including the girls, knew about it, he no longer had to worry about any of them catching him or figuring it out on their own. And Brice's response had been so heartwarming that he was now slamming himself in the face for not confiding in with her sooner. And yet, he still found it difficult to look at her. Really look her in the eye and show how he truly felt.

Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the gray

Ooh, the more I get of you, the stranger it feels, yeah

And now that your rose is in bloom

A light hits the gloom on the gray

He took a deep breath, turned towards her and prepared himself to compliment her about her beautiful amber eyes, blonde hair or something else he had seen Sirius do countless times to charm a girl. "Why are you so great?" he blurted out instead.

She lifted her eyebrows in surprise. "Great at... at what?"

"Everything! You've always been incredibly nice to me, and you're witty, sweet, pretty..."

Now she was tilting her head to the side. "You think I'm good-looking?" she asked teasingly.

"Oh come off it," he muttered while fighting the blush creeping up slowly from his neck. "You must know you are gorgeous."

She chuckled. "I cannot complain."

He joined in, shaking his head ruefully. "You know, these past few weeks Mary did prompt me repeatedly to tell the truth. I wanted to believe her, I did, but did not see how a revelation like that would not mess things up between us. But she kept swearing nothing was going to change."

"Mary was right. But then again, she and Lily both have known for ages how I feel about you."

I've been kissed by a rose on the gray

I've been kissed by a rose on the gray

And if I should fall along the way

I've been kissed by a rose on the gray

There was a sudden spark of hope near his heart. Could she possibly mean...? Remus hesitated once again. Compared to Sirius and James (Peter was another story), he was quite inexperienced with dealing with possible love interests. Girls had expressed their feelings for him on occasion, but besides sharing the odd kiss on a ball or Hogsmeade weekend, he had never let any of them get too close. For obvious reasons, the luxury to experience falling in love was impossible for someone in his position. Until now. He cursed himself for failing to interpret what Brice had said, but reluctant to push things and end up with the opposite result, he sighed. "Feel? Right. As in...?"

Brice stared at him with an open mouth for what seemed like ages before bursting out in laughter, and for a moment all hope Remus had on finally getting to know her romantically dissolved in thin air. Just for the briefest of moments, because then she said: "Oh Remus, do you really need me to spell it out? I've had feelings for you since... I don't know! Longer than Lily realizing she loved James anyway, I reckon, and-"

Not wanting to waste another second, Remus cut her off by kissing her gently on the mouth. When he pulled back, he noticed her eyes were still closed, but the smile on her lips was increasing by the second. "Did your mother never teach you that it's quite rude to interrupt people when they are speaking?"

She had finally opened her eyes while saying this in a teasing manner and for the first time ever, Remus felt that he was no longer afraid to look straight in those amber pools of warmth and compassion. He grinned. "It was just that I had this feeling you would go on for ever and ever."

"Well, I do like to talk."

"I know that. I used to sit next to you in Charms classes. You never stop talking once you're on a roll."

There is so much a man can tell you

So much he can say

You remain, my power, my pleasure, my pain

To me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny, yeah

Now won't you tell me is that healthy, baby

She arched an eyebrow at him and replied darkly: "You try sharing a dormitory with Lily and Mary. It's hard to get in between those two at times."

Remus laughed, picturing a busily chatting Lily and Mary with Brice in the middle, trying to break in to their conversation. He was about to tell her he could relate to that, when-

"-Or when I'm nervous," she added before admitting quietly, "you make me nervous. In a good way, but still..."

On one hand Remus was relieved to hear that he seemed to have the same effect on her as she was having on him, but on the other he wanted nothing more than to make her feel completely relaxed when they were together. He gently cupped her face, leaned in closer and whispered: "Then I suppose we should just stop making each other nervous from now on."

But did you know

That when it snows

My eyes become large and

The light that you shine can be seen

Their second kiss was longer, and more intimate. Remus was not sure whether it was because he had said there was no real reason for them to be nervous around each other anymore, but for his part, he was feeling more and more relaxed. He was relieved that Brice now knew all his darkest secrets, and he was feeling like the luckiest man alive that despite everything, she still wanted nothing more than to be with him.

As they were descending the stairs of the Astronomy Tower to head back to the Gryffindor Common Room, he reached for her hand, their fingers interlacing almost instantly. "We'd better mentally prepare ourselves for a certain amount of wolf-whistles and naughty comments when we get back," he said, silently enjoying the pleasant warmth of her hand touching his own.

"Hmm. You really suspect your friends would be so... childish?"

"Last year when I had returned from a night out with Jeanie Featherton from Hufflepuff, James had written a special song and serenated it in front of the entire Gryffindor student body."

"Are you serious?"

"Well, I'm sure Sirius had something to do with it too, but-"

"No, I mean... I do remember that now! It was quite funny at the time, I admit, but would they still do something so... childish?"

Remus stared at her with a fake startled impression on his face. "Have you met my friends?"

Brice snorted so loudly that the four Queens in the large painting on the wall of their corridor all screamed and hid behind their table pieces. "Yeah sure... But they're in seventh year now, Remus. James is Head Boy for Merlin's sake! And there's always Lily and Mary. They knew I was going to patrol with you tonight and what might happen between us."

"So you think..."

"Neither of them would allow their boyfriends making fun of you like that again."

He awkwardly cleared his throat. "Honestly Brice, not to crush their feelings, but if either Mary or Lily thinks they can control Sirius and James, they are sadly mistaken. Peter maybe, but those two..."

Brice nodded seriously. "Oh, I realize that, but never underestimate the power of us girls. All I'm saying is that if James and Sirius were trying to pull something, it would not please Lily and Mary, to say the least."

He shot her a puzzled look. "You mean you girls have discussed the possibility of it happened again tonight?"

She shrugged. "I can still remember the miserable look on your face last time and I'm not particularly fancying the same embarrassing fate, that's all. But before you lose utter trust in your friends forever, according to Mary and Lily, nothing like that has come up today. Nothing. Your friends just seem happy for us that we would finally take that next step."

"Happy?"

"Yeah," Brice replied as they took a left turn into the elongated corridor leading to the Gryffindor Common Room. "Or," she added as an afterthought, "relieved, as Mary said Sirius put it. He told her the only thing James, Peter and he had been contemplating over the past weeks was to spike your pumpkin juice with a love potion so 'you would finally put a move on and close the deal already'. That last bit was a direct quote from your honourable friend Sirius Black, I might emphasize."

Remus scratched his chin, looking astonished. "Well, have I ever..."

Brice narrowed her eyes at him and grinned. "It doesn't seem like you're currently tripping on a dose of Love-Loving-Love draft from Zonko's, though."

They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady and he wrapped his arms around her waist. "No potion could ever make me fall in love with you more than I already am now."

Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the gray

Ooh, the more I get of you, the stranger it feels, yeah

And now that your rose is in bloom

A light hits the gloom on the gray

They shared another long kiss and Remus once again experienced that deliriously happy feeling coming over him and he enjoyed every minute of it. As far as he was concerned, he would have locked lips with Brice forever, but the Fat Lady seemed to have different plans. She loudly cleared her throat. "That's quite enough, you two. Break it off."

They did so reluctantly. "Password?" the Fat Lady inquired immediately.

"Pomegranate," Remus replied whilte keeping his gaze fixed on Brice, whose eyes were sparkling as cheerfully as he had ever seen them.

As the doorway to the Common Room opened in front of them and Remus was about to enter, she tugged on his hand. "Wait!" she whispered urgently. "What are we going to tell them?"

He gently pulled her through the portrait of the Fat Lady, already spotting their friends in their usual spot near the fireplace. Lily and James were curled up on the couch, reading what seemed to be a Muggle book together. Peter looked bored while throwing bits of scrap parchment into the fire, which on the other hand seemed to fascinate Mary's cat Coco tremendously. Mary herself was watching them with an amused look on her face, sitting on the carpet with her back against Sirius's knees, who was slumped lazily in the biggest armchair while occasionally flicking his wand at the the fire to make it light up even more. They had not seen them yet, and Brice once again tugged on his hand. He could now detect a slight apprehension in her eyes. He was touched by the first spark of insecurity in her personality, and sent her a reassuring smile in return. She bit her lip. "But what if-?"

Instantly knowing she was referring to his friends and if they had set up a prank for them anyway, he shook her head. "If they have made a promise about not doing such a thing, they are going to keep their word, no matter what. And even in the unlikely case they will not, I could not care less. We're together now, and I want the whole world to know about it."

Now that your rose is in bloom

A light hits the gloom on the gray

-*-The End-*-

A/N Song from the title: Kiss From a Rose by Seal.