Title: Friends with Benefits
Rating: T
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Remus/Sirius
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.
Word Count: 366
Summary: Muggle AU! Remus thought it would be enough.
Notes:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: Remus Lupin - Gold - Write about Remus Lupin.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: February Event - Teamwork Exercise - Prompts Used - (title) Friends With Benefits, (lyric) "I count your eyelashes secretly. With every one, I whisper 'I love you'." - REM

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: Gringotts - Prompts Used - Pairing: Sirius/Remus / Word Set: (word) Sacrifice, (word) Starlight, (word) Electrify, (word) Bite / Alive: Free / Neutral: Naive / Weather: Drizzle / Saw: Eyed / Tree: Juniper Tree / Figure of Speech: On Cloud Nine / Adjective: Enraptured / Adjective: Magnetic / Adjective: Murky / Adjective: Smooth / Adjective: Terrified / Adjective: Young / Noun: Friction / Said: Breathed

200 characters in 200 days challenge: 47. Remus Lupin

Remus stood outside. The juniper tree mostly protected him from the light drizzle. The starlight was hidden by the murky sky, but he still eyed it, trying to see the stars.

He should be happy right now. He had everything he wanted in his young life. He was so naive to believe it would be enough for him.

When he first met Sirius Black, he had been enraptured by the man. There was something about him, so smooth and magnetic.

He had to continuously bite down on the urge to tell Sirius about his more than platonic feelings. Whenever they accidentally touched, it electrified him. At the same time, he was terrified he would sacrifice his friendship with the other boy if he was to confess, especially since he didn't know if his feelings were one-sided.

So, he stifled his feelings, bottled them up. And then one day, his dream came true. Sirius kissed him. He was on cloud nine, and he thought everything would be the way it was supposed to be. He was free to be honest about his feelings and would suffer no negative repercussions.

Then came the dreaded conversation

"I have the perfect idea. A way to release stress with no strings attached. We can be friends with benefits. Imagine it," Sirius huskily breathed, gently pulling on a strand of Remus's brown hair.

And Remus did. He imagined being allowed to kiss and touch Sirius but never confess his love. He imagined having to give Sirius up when the other boy found someone he actually had feelings for. Like a fool, though, he said yes to being friends with benefits. He would savor any length of time he had with Sirius and hope it was enough.

And now almost six months later, there was friction between the two of them.

Remus secretly counted every one of Sirius's eyelashes, and ached to say 'I love you' with each one, but he knew that wasn't allowed. It wasn't part of the deal.

His heart was on the verge of being broken, and Sirius didn't even realize it. Remus wasn't sure how long he would be able to do friends with benefits until he cracked.