Sirius was hoping that everyone would be asleep if he returned to the boys dorms late enough, but when he opened the door James was waiting there to mug him.
"Hehloh, Padfoot!"
Sirius squeezed past him without addressing him, and James followed. "You're impossible, Sirius. You'll have to talk to me eventually."
"Maybe about a month after you drop it."
James's voice was exasperated, almost scolding. "Sirius, please don't pretend you wouldn't like to talk about this for hours."
"James, I really-"
"Please don't pretend you wouldn't like to discuss it very, very explicitly."
"James-"
"Relive every delicious second-"
"SHUTUP!" Sirius bit his tongue as he heard a few people shift in their beds, their sleep disturbed. He lowered his voice to a forceful hiss. "Let me make this clear, James." He swallowed his discomfort and leaned closer. "I. Do. Not. Want. To. Talk about it."
"You don't have to be so catty, Sirius."
Sirius pulled back, sitting down on his bed and facing away from James. "Is that supposed to be funny? You're really losing your touch."
"Don't avoid me, come on. Let's have a talk." James went around to the other side of the bed to face Sirius.
"How many times do I have to tell you, I don't want to talk!"
James made a mock pout. "You were more than happy to talk to Moony about it." Sirius's eyes flitted up, widening in surprise. James grinned. "No, he didn't tell me. I've just been following you around all day."
"Git."
"So you'll talk to him, but not to me?"
"He's not the one who'd like to molest me, is he?"
"Bullshit, Sirius." James's eyes were suddenly dark. "You know very well that was consensual, and I don't like you crying wolf to Remus about it."
"Listen, I'm getting really tired of all these animal puns." Sirius said hurriedly, standing and pushing James aside. "I'm going to bed."
"Suit yourself, Sirius, but don't forget- we're going tomorrow night to set up in the shrieking shack. Full moon in two days." Sirius froze, hearing James chuckle in the sudden darkness as there was a yell up the stairs of 'lights out'.
THE FOLLOWING DAY
"Remus! Slow down." Remus was snapped out of his reverie, the hallway around him coming into focus, students filtering into their classrooms at the end of passing time, turning the rush into a slow crawl. He turned to see James. "I called you about ten times, mate." They hadn't spoken since the incident, and he didn't know what to say to him. So, how was screwing our best friend? He bit his tongue, hard.
"Sorry. What's up, James?"
"Nothing, except…..you know." Remus feigned confusion, but James only looked amused. "You don't have to play dumb with me. I know you know what happened."
Remus averted his gaze, swallowing. "Did Peter rat me out?"
"What?"
"Uh. Nothing." He quickly changed the subject. "Listen, are you two going to get past this? That's all I care about at this point." He lied. "You're so Impulsive, James. You don't think before you do things."
"You're overreacting, Just like Padfoot. Honestly- Hey."James suddenly squinted, leaning towards him. "Are you alright, Moony? You don't look so great."
Remus couldn't explain nor hide the look he was giving James; his blood was boiling, a feeling he wasn't used to. "Yeah, fine. It's just the cycle starting."
"Despite popular belief, I'm not an idiot. What's going on?"
"I said it's nothing, James."
"Oh…no way. You must be kidding me." James suddenly pulled back, a slow, surprised grin spreading across his face. "You're JEALOUS!"
Remus choked. "What? Don't be stupid!"
"Don't lie to me. It's alright if you want to shag Sirius just as much as I do."
Remus thought he might have a heart attack. "What're you-"
"Jeez, relax. It's okay to have a crush. Just don't muscle in on my territory. I'm sure it'll go away."
He couldn't explain the sudden frustration, that lick of rage that filled his stomach, burning in his throat. It came out in an irritated snap. "Ugh! I can't stand you, James! Don't come tonight, I don't want to be around you!" He turned on his heel and marched away, fuming, only catching James smile slip away as he disappeared down the hall.
