Chapter 2: Morning Aftermath
Breakfast passed in silence. James felt something was different. Not right. Peter, obviously oblivious, didn't even blink before starting to shove food down his throat. Remus was silent and focused as usual, though his slightly shaking hands gave him away. Sirius was laughing, talking and fooling around, but it seemed forced, artificial.
As soon as they left the Great Hall, James grabbed Sirius' sleeve and dragged him into an empty classroom.
"What's up with you and Moony?" the bespectacled boy demanded.
"Nothing."
But James knew better. Sirius was like a brother to him and he could see how tense he was , like he was afraid of something.
"Listen, Remus is my friend. And after what I saw yesterday, I don't want to see him hurt. Especially not by someone who he considers his best friend."
"I'm not going to hurt him. And now excuse me, I'm going to be late for class" Sirius growled and stormed out of the classroom.
James sighed heavily. He didn't like not knowing what was going on among his friends.
As the classes dragged on, the day was getting more and more uncomfortable. First there was History of Magic. James was bored out of his mind. Sirius gave him only monosyllabic answers, Remus was busy taking notes and he couldn't reach Peter, who was sitting to the left of Remus who sat next to Sirius with James at the end of that chain, without attracting Binns' attention. Potions was even worse. Not only Peter was, as usual, useless, but Remus almost blew up their cauldron three times by adding wrong ingredients. But as he usually wasn't very good with Potions, no one seemed to notice his unusual unawareness of his surroundings. Transfiguration was a disaster. It was enough said that James got detention for a next month, but still didn't manage to get any response from either Sirius or Remus.
The only reaction he got from them was when during lunch Sirius accidentally brushed his shoulder against Moony's when he reached for the pumpkin juice. As he did so, both of them jumped as if they were severely burnt, knocking over a carafe with juice, spilling it all over themselves.
"Shit!" swore Remus, startling the other Marauders who stared at him in shock. Remus never swore.
The werewolf blushed deeply and mumbled an apology, then dashed off to the Gryffindor Tower. Shortly after that, Sirius excused himself and followed the younger boy.
He found Remus in the dormitory, sitting on the edge of his bed. The boy didn't seem to notice that Sirius was in the room, at least until the Animagus took a hesitant step towards him. Golden eyes turned to the newcomer as their owner asked:
"Did you mean it?"
The black haired boy stared back at him. Did he? He didn't know himself, so could he answer that? Remus apparently took his silence for an answer and rose from his bed, meaning to leave the room. When he reached for the doorknob, he felt a hand closing on his shoulder and he was pulled into tight embrace.
What the hell am I doing? thought Sirius, but let his body act on its own.
"Moony," he heard his own voice. "Please, don't leave."
"Why shouldn't I?"
"I... I did mean it. Please..."
Remus turned around, a disbelieving look on his face. This was Sirius Black talking. The boy who snogged his first girlfriend (who was a pretty fourth year) when he was barely twelve. The boy who never stayed with one girl longer than three days. The boy who never looked at other boys the way Remus did. He looked away.
"Let me go Sirius," he whispered.
"No."
The werewolf looked at the other boy again, this time surprised. He had never heard Sirius speak with such persistence. He was about to ask Sirius once more to let him go, when soft lips gently touched his own. Remus stood rigid, feeling electric jolts rushing through his body. A hand sneaked around his neck, while the other one lay on the small of his back, pulling him closer to the dark haired boy. Slowly, Remus closed his eyes, giving in to the feeling. He moaned, as Sirius's nipped at his bottom lip. The other boy used it to slip his tongue into the werewolf's mouth.
How long the moment lasted wasn't important to either one of them, but both were sure that had years passed until they had to part for breath.
"Sirius, don't break my heart more than it already is..."
"But Moony..."
"Do you think I can't see it?" Remus's laughter was hollow, his eyes shining way more than normally. "Each week you get yourself a new girlfriend. And even in that short time you manage to cheat on them. I might care about you, but I will not be a passing fancy of the great Sirius Black."
Using all of his supernatural strength, Remus yanked his arm away from Sirius' grip. The other boy, unprepared for such a thing toppled to the ground. By then, all he could do was stare at the werewolf's leaving form. However, he didn't miss a glint of tears flowing down the other boy's face. Sirius lay down on the floor, a thought of déjà vu passing through his mind.
"Fuck!" he swore loudly, hiding his face in the crook of his elbow.
A/N: again, please notice the pretty little button below that says 'review this story/chapter'. it almost screams to be clicked on...
