B is for Bra

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There was a bra on the floor. It was pink, and shiny and silky. Its round cups lay face up like small, unapproachable mountains amid whirls of strap and fabric. It was not a large bra, but it was also not abnormally small. The bra was average, almost nondescript. No one was quite sure why it was there, or whose it was even...but there it was, nonetheless. The bra was a source of curiosity for but a mere moment or two, the subject of a few lines of idle conversation between four abnormally curious young men, and then the short attention-spanned boys moved on. Well…most of them did anyways.

The bra bothered Remus. He wasn't quite sure why…but it did. The bra, he supposed, was evidence of the fact that of all of the marauders, he was the only one not getting laid. He had of course heard the stories of James and Sirius, heard countless tales of their inspiringly shameless escapades. He had even heard Peter's short, choppy stories of shy, awkward moments in broom cupboards. Yes. James and Sirius, and even Peter, were having sex. Indecent amounts of it (as even once was to be considered for Peter simply because he was well, Peter). And Remus Lupin was not.

He supposed it wasn't his friends fault. They were, after all, hormonal teenage boys. Sex was a natural desire of all young men (or so he had read), and it was hardly fair to blame those lucky enough to have it. The problem was…Sirius had a habit of having a lot more of it than Remus deemed a "natural amount of desire for a boy his age." It seemed at least three times a week that Sirius returned to the room the four boys shared, out of breath and eyes glowing with the remnants of lust and desire, his skin and hair shining and smelling of sweat and sex (Remus only knew this particular scent because it was much the same as the one that wafted through the room when Sirius' escapades were apparently not enough and he was forced to resort to his own hand). Each time he came to the room after one of these episodes, he looked and smelled the same. Always the smell, always the shining eyes, and worst of all, always the frustratingly stupid grin that refused to disappear for at least three hours. It was nauseating. Almost.

Perhaps if it had not been Sirius, Remus would not have minded. James, he could live with. James was well…James. The quidditch star, the lady's man, the golden boy of the professors, destined to be Head Boy if only he would get his head out of his arse, Peter would be tolerable, if only for the reason that it might keep him away and shut him up for a few days a week (not that that was going to happen. Remus could dream). But no…it was Sirius. Sirius the noble, arrogant, aristocratic god. The trouble making temptation that was the source of Remus' darkest and dirtiest of secrets (yes, even worse than that one. It was that bad). You see…Remus Lupin was in love with Sirius Black. Remus Lupin, the professor's pet, the orderly young man who was found most commonly in the library and had a rather unusual affection for chocolate. The fact remained, however, that Sirius Black was quite obviously, in layman's terms, a whore. Remus Lupin was in love with a whore…and didn't realize it. Which brings us back to the bra.

Remus was quite sure by this point that this bra belonged to someone that Sirius had slept with. He was certain of this fact for a variety of reasons. First, James was currently smashingly, devastatingly, head of heals in love with Lily Evans. Which meant of course, that James was not currently having sex, as he refused to so much as imagine sex with anyone but his darling Lily during such phases. This of course led Remus to the conclusion that this bra was not the result of the work of a certain James Potter, who would at this point in time never have a hope of getting laid. The next reason was that Peter was currently residing in the hospital wing (it was an accident, really.) As Peter had been in the hospital wing for far longer than this particular bra had been on the floor, Remus was forced to conclude that there was no possible (or logical) way that he could have been responsible for it being there. No…this bra was indeed the result of the work of one Sirius Black. The whore.

"WHATCHA UP TO REMUS?!"

Remus shot a hand out to catch himself, turning his head slowly to stare at the eager, grinning face framed by dark curls that was inches from his own. He tilted his head slightly and raised his eyebrow gently.

"What does it look like I'm doing Sirius? I'm relaxing in the solitude-" At this, he shot the curly headed boy a look. "of this room. I was just considering opening a book…a thought that is slowly beginning to slip away now that you are here."

Sirius pouted and crossed his arms, jutting his bottom lip out in a way that Remus couldn't help but find adorable (no! He wasn't staring! Fine…maybe he was…). "Well sniff sniff snoot to you too Mr. I Read For Fun Because I'm Better Than Sirius Is. It looked to me like you were staring at that bra and thinking of doing something rather horrible to whoever was once inside it. Horrible…or dirty. Honestly mate, I can't tell the difference sometimes." He grinned innocently and shrugged a robed shoulder.

Rolling his eyes softly, Remus shook his head and marveled at the unusually accurate observations of his friend. He had indeed been thinking of what he would like to do (in a perfect world) to the dirty flower who had stolen his Sirius' virtue (even if she were only one among many, he imagined). "I wasn't staring at the bra Sirius…I, unlike you, are not fixated to the concept of sex and only that. I was merely contemplating my own…lack of redeeming attractive physical attributes…that have led to this unfortunately singular, sexless existence I am in."

Apparently Remus had said too much…it might have helped that his explanation of the murderous/lust-filled expression that Sirius had walked in was even more perplexing than the reasoning that Sirius had come up with. No matter the reason, Sirius was staring at him blankly. Remus shifted uncomfortably and licked his suddenly very dry lips.

"Lack…of…redeeming attractive physical attributes?" Sirius tilted his head to the side slowly, narrowing his gaze into one that made Remus feel suddenly very much like a horse on an auction block. "Are you trying to tell me that you think your unattractive? Or even…dare I say…ugly?"

"The evidence does point that way, yes. In case you have not noticed, even Peter has been found attractive or something by someone…as he's told us more than once." Remus leveled a serious look at his friend and shrugged dismally.

"It is a dark day in hell when I admit that you are less attractive than Peter Remus John Lupin." Sirius was staring at Remus darkly, his eyes narrowed more and his jaw set firmly. "I happen to think you're beautiful, as far beautiful as chaps can go. Problem is…you're simply too beautiful for the whorish broods around here."

Remus frowned deeply at this statement and shook his head. "And you're not? Your reasoning is horrible Sirius. If I were too beautiful for the girls here, then so are you. I mean… you're much better loo-"

"STOP." Sirius held up his hand and glared at Remus. "If you plan on listing reasons why I'm more beautiful than you are, simply shut up. Because I've heard about my looks too often…and it's boring. In case you haven't noticed in our six years living together, I don't exactly have the most focused attention span." Sirius grinned impishly for a moment before continuing on. "I happen to find you to be the most beautiful person I have ever had the opportunity to come across. And I will list the reasons why."

Remus wasn't prepared for what he heard. As Sirius listed his attributes (both physical and otherwise, much to his embarrassment), he found himself blushing a deeper and deeper hue of red. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Sirius paused and took a long breath before turning to stare at Remus fully.

"AND LASTLY! I like…the way you blush when I list what I like about you." Sirius' eyes traveled over Remus slowly, drinking in the blush that spread from the tips of his ears over his rosy cheeks. He opened his mouth again and said smartly, "And…I think I am going to kiss you now."

He did just that. Sirius reached up, grabbed Remus lightly by the back of the neck, and pulled his forward for his first, and most glorious kiss. It seemed to go on forever…Remus was filled with visions of rather cliché little rockets going off in his mind as the two boy's lips mingled, tongues darted out experimentally, tasting. Somewhere in between the beginning and the end, Remus' hands ended up resting on Sirius' broad back, holding him firmly and pulling him closer. Sirius' hand slid up into Remus tawny hair, tugging softly as his tongue twisted and wrestled with Remus' in an enticing dance. A few moments later (eternities in Remus' mind) the two boys came up gasping for breath. Their eyes locked…amber met soft steely grey. It was in this moment that Remus decided he was madly, irrevocably in love with Sirius Black.

The bra lay forgotten. The two boys were in their own world, staring into each other's eyes, their arms still around each other.

BANG!

Eyes widening, Remus sprang away from Sirius and blushed madly, looking up to stare at a bright eyed young witch with flaming red hair. Lily Evans flashed him a dazzling, politely embarrassed smile and bit her lip. "I…er…forgot something in here…I hope I didn't…interrupt anything?" Flushing delicately, she leaned down and scooped up the pink bra swiftly, tucking it into her robes in a flash and darting away.

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AN: Dedicated to the one I love on our anniversary. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it 3