Ah, the longest part, and I really had to butcher it to make it rated R for FF.net. *grumbles* Remember, the REAL version can be found at the Remus/Sirius Fuh-Q-Fest, as well as can many other stories. One more part after this one, folks.

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Day Six

"Oi! Get up, you lazy gits!"

Remus heard a groan in front of him, and he opened his eyes, only to shut them the very next instant. "Merlin, shut the curtains, will you? It's too early for it to be so bright."

"Early?" It was Peter's voice, and it sounded amused. "It's two in the afternoon, sleepy head. You've already missed lunch."

Remus growled softly. Was it really so late in the day? Why couldn't he just rest for a few moments longer?

"Come on, Moony, wake up," Sirius said, and Remus forced his eyes open to see his friend lying in front on him, a small smile stretching his lips. The door clicked softly as Peter left the room. "Peter's right. We need to get up. There's all that homework, and that essay for Wauldin that we have to finish, and you've got a Prefect's meeting tonight."

"Wauldin can go bugger himself," Remus replied grumpily, but he pushed himself up to a sitting position. Sirius was still lying down sideways. "If I have to get up, so do you."

Sirius blew out a breath of air, and sat up as well. The t-shirt that he had worn the day before was wrinkled, and his hair was completely disheveled. The dark strands were flat on one side, and sticking up on the other. Remus grinned, reaching up with his right hand to smooth down the ruffled side.

"I need a shower," he said brightly, suddenly wide-awake. Sirius' hair was soft and warm. Sirius closed his eyes, leaning slightly towards his hand.

Get a grip, Remus. Boys don't touch other boys' hair without looking strange. With a pang of regret, he pulled his hand away and moved to stand. When he got to his feet, he stretched, curling his spine backwards and he bent his neck back, feeling the satisfying 'pop'. He turned to Sirius.

"When you do that, you almost look like a cat," Sirius told him quietly, his eyes wide.

"Do I?"

A nod. "Definitely. Cats do that thing when they wake up, where they stretch on all fours and curve their back like you just did."

"So I should get down on all fours?" Remus said it before he thought about it, and inwardly winced as he saw Sirius' eyes go even wider and his mouth drop open a little. "Uh, that didn't sound like I meant it to-"

"S'alright." Remus thought that Sirius' cheeks might have turned a little pink, but it was probably just the light. Then again, the only light in the room was the orange one coming from the sconces on the walls.

Sirius got up and led the way to the bathroom. When they got there, he turned around suddenly, almost making Remus run into his chest.

"Hey," he said. "Why don't you ever use the Prefects' bathroom?"

Remus wasn't even sure that he knew himself, but he thought that maybe his unconscious self might have had a thought. "I suppose it's because I didn't want to go in there by myself. I know where it is of course, and I've been there a few times, but it's too much of an open space for me."

"Could we go check it out? I always wanted to go see it. I heard it has a bath, with these bubbles that shoot out of the faucet."

As much as he thought it was probably a bad idea, Remus shrugged and asked, "how about we go there after my meeting tonight?"

"Really? Excellent!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I need a break!" Sirius pushed the Charms textbook away from him with a groan, sitting back in his chair. Sometime during the day, he had taken a piece of parchment and attempted to write using his left hand. It had been wildly unsuccessful, looking worse than if Remus had written with his right hand, the words crooked and uneven on the paper. He had given up when Remus had told him that it looked like a child had written it.

Remus sat back, sighing. He was in the middle of his Transfiguration essay. They had worked out a system-Remus would write while Sirius would research the next homework assignment that was to be finished. It was never-ending. The N.E.W.T.S. were coming up, and Remus was trying to diligently cram everything into his head at once, while still managing to ignore the thoughts his mind kept turning towards.

Of Sirius.

"Let's go for a walk," Sirius said then, looking pleadingly at him. Remus sighed, but agreed-they had not taken a break all day, and it was close to dinnertime. Pushing his things into his bag, Remus set the stuff beside the table and stood, stretching. The crick that had settled in his neck sometime after the Potions essay was finished ached in protest.

James and Peter decided to join them, and the four of them had just walked outside when something hit Peter on the side of the head. It had snowed the night before, and the grounds were covered with the soft whiteness, only marred by the spots where other students had trod, and where Lily Evans had gathered a multitude of snow with her friend Gwynne. Lily laughed at them.

"I knew you guys would be out here before long," she said between gasps. Gwynne was grinning also, a snowball held in her own hands. Without warning, she took aim, pelting Sirius in the chest.

Staring down at where the patch of white splattered across the front of his blue jumper, Sirius smirked, and then took a chunk of snow and lobbed it at the two girls. It fell halfway short, not being packed down, and the two girls' laughter drifted across the grounds.

"Come on, help me," Sirius said, his eyes lighting up as he dragged Remus backwards to set up 'camp' a few feet away. James began piling snow in front of them, making a sort of fort, and Peter was busy packing snow into tight balls that would serve as their ammunition.

Remus couldn't help but grin at the following fight that ensued. Lily and Gwynne kept pelting snowballs at them, hitting one of the boys almost every single time, while the boys were distracted with their own laughter, and kept missing.

"Let's try some strategy," Peter suggested, and they agreed for Peter to go at the girls from the left side, behind an old beech tree, while Remus and Sirius would swing around to the right. While distracting the females from either side, James would go up the middle and charge.

Remus was feeling light-headed and giddy. He hadn't had this much fun since...well, he couldn't even think of the last time. He wasn't thinking of homework, or N.E.W.T.S., or even Sirius. He was focusing instead on what the girls were doing, who were taunting James, at the moment acting like he was about to moon them. Remus helped Sirius gather a bundle of packed-down snowballs into his jumper, which he held into a makeshift basket in front of him. He was glad of the fact that he had put on several layers before he went out.

When the two boys were loaded up on ammunition, they crept stealthily over to the right, Remus holding his shirt up with both hands. It had started snowing again during the strategy-planning, but they were happy about this, for it hid them, or at least as well as white snow could hide two boys wearing blue jumpers and beige trousers.

Remus almost jumped, so strongly was he concentrating on what the girls were doing, when he felt a hot breath on his ear. "Let's both get them at the same time," Sirius whispered with a grin, his eyes sparkling with mischief as Remus turned to look at him. White pieces of the snow caught in Sirius' dark hair, and a lone speck was perched on the lashes of his left eye. His cheeks, Remus noted, were pink from the cold, as well as his nose.

"Hmm, yeah," Remus agreed to whatever it was that Sirius had said as he stared. Sirius grinned at him for a second, his eyes flicking downwards. Remus felt a fluttering in his stomach. Did he just look at my lips?

But one moment later, and Sirius was reaching for a snowball, looking off to where Lily and Gwynne had turned on Peter, who was yelling a battle cry and flinging snowballs at them at lightning speed. Remus felt a tug on his wrist as Sirius surged forward, his left arm cocked back.

"Die!" Sirius shouted and Remus laughed, rushing forward with Sirius almost to where the girls were ducking Peter's snowballs, and dropped his load of their own ammunition. He picked a snowball up in each hand and lobbed them both at Lily.

And then James was whooping and running towards the fight, snowballs flying from his hands. One hit Gwynne on the neck; the other hit Sirius on the arm.

Throwing more snowballs at the girls, Remus felt his giddiness return. He pelted Lily on the back, and he managed to catch Gwynne's backside just as she was blocking one of Peter's.

"Oi, we've got 'em surrounded," Sirius beamed at Remus. "That was a good one, Moony!"

But then, suddenly, the tides were turned. The girls were miraculously hitting Peter, James, and Remus and Sirius almost all at once. "Retreat!" James shouted, and Peter ran off with a yelp, a handful of snow having been shoved down the back of his heavy shirt by Lily. James was covering his head with his arms, and it sounded suspiciously like laughter, Remus thought, coming from under those arms.

Sirius was dragging him backwards, and Remus had taken a step to run away from the girls when he got hit in the face with snow, making him stumble over a small hole that his heel got caught in. He went down onto his arse, feeling Sirius being dragged down with him.

Remus felt Sirius actually fall on top of him.

Sirius.

On top of him.

Remus shuddered and opened his eyes, willing himself not to react to the closeness. Sirius was gazing down onto his face, his dark hair falling forwards.

"Hey," Sirius said shortly, and Remus let out a breath of air, feeling somehow relieved. He wasn't sure of what he thought Sirius was going to say, but he was glad that it didn't happen right there, in front of the others.

Whatever 'it' was going to be.

"Hi," he answered, Sirius' smile infecting his own lips. He grinned up at the other boy.

"Oh. I never noticed," Sirius said, his eyes widening, but the smile not leaving his face. "You have a dimple in your right cheek. Pity we weren't attached on the other side."

Remus wrinkled his nose. "I wish I didn't. It makes me look like a little boy."

"But you don't look like one when you wrinkle your nose like that," Sirius replied sarcastically, his left hand coming up to slowly reach over and touch the dimple. "Really, it's nice. I like it."

Remus stilled at the pressure of the hand on his cheek. "Hmm," he said noncommittally, forcing himself to look into the other boy's eyes. His stomach flipped and churned pleasantly at the look Sirius was giving him. Almost as if...

"Get a room!" Remus turned his head, and James was standing only a few feet away, his hands on his hips and a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Peter was next to him, smirking, and Lily and Gwynne were each combing their fingers through their own hair, Lily watching them with slightly raised eyebrows.

"You two done?" She looked as if she were fighting down a smile. "It's almost dinnertime."

Remus was suddenly pulled up to a standing position, and Sirius was flinging a handful of snow at James. Laughter didn't subside until they were all in the Great Hall, the heat from the castle warming them from the outside as cups of hot chocolate were thawing them from the inside. Remus sipped his silently, his thoughts swirling around in his head.

When had he become attracted to Sirius? He had a suspicion that it was before the Potions accident had happened, though he wouldn't have been able to pinpoint the exact moment. He remembered the time that his three friends had confronted him back in Second Year about his condition, and he inwardly grinned at the memory of Sirius' face as he solemnly declared that Remus would only have to leave Hogwarts if he 'refused to allow the four of them to remain friends.' And then, it was only a few months later when Sirius, by himself, had told Remus of the idea to become Animagi, his eyes lit up with excitement at the challenge. Was it then that Remus had fallen for the other boy? When he realized that there was someone who not only cared about him despite the truth of what he was, but also wanted to lessen the anguish? A part of Remus had always dreaded the change each month, not because of the pain, but because of what he could potentially do. What if he got out? What if he bit someone? What if he killed, or worse, made someone to be like him? His three friends wanted to extinguish that fear, and it had come through the mouth of the one boy that Remus now wanted as more than a friend.

Back then, Sirius had been scrawny and a little short. He had always looked younger than the rest of them, even Peter, because his eyes had been a little big for his face, and his hair had always been tousled. Sometime during their school years, though, Sirius had filled out from playing Quidditch. He had grown to be taller than James and Peter, and he had started tidying his hair to where it was still messy, but stylishly so. He had become, as Remus had overheard girls all over the school saying, one of the most handsome boys in the entire school.

So why hadn't Remus realized it? He knew that it wasn't popular in the Wizarding world to run around telling people that you were attracted to people of your same sex. It was frowned upon by some, and just completely horrifying to others. Remus couldn't think of one person in Hogwarts that was openly gay.

People were people, no matter who they were attracted to. Remus knew that HE had no business judging people. After all, isn't that what everyone had done to the idea of the werewolves they studied in Defense Against the Dark Arts class? Assumed that they were monsters, even in their human forms? That they had extraordinary powers that made them more dangerous than normal people?

No, Remus didn't have anything against gay people. He never had. He just didn't want people to have another thing to judge him on. He had never wanted to call unwanted attention to himself, as he knew he would have done if he had ever openly gone after another boy.

But also, he had never been attracted to another boy. It never occurred to him that he could be. He had liked Naylia, and a few other girls before her, but he had never set his sights on another boy because he had not looked.

And now, peeking at Sirius beside him through his hair, Remus felt relieved. He had discovered a truth about himself that made him want to shout it from the rooftops. He realized that if he was attracted to boys as well as girls, then he just doubled his chances of finding someone that would accept him for who AND what he was.

Sirius looked over at him then, and smiled with his lips closed while he chewed, almost as if he could read Remus' thoughts.

Sirius accepts me for who and what I am. The problem was, did Sirius feel the same way about, well, boys? Was Remus just being delusional into thinking that Sirius could possibly be attracted to him? There was that one morning, when Sirius had whispered his name as he came in bed, but was that just wishful thinking? Did Remus just imagine it all? Was this just a way for his mind to tell him something that his heart had never done?

Remus thought. There's only one way to find out. His thoughts turned towards the memory of Sirius wanting a tour of the Prefects' bathroom.

The problem now would be finding the courage to go through with trying to obtain what his heart, mind, and body desired.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"-turns patrolling the fourth floor Ancient Runes corridor tonight. Don't hesitate to give any student out of bed a detention." James pushed his glasses up his nose, and looked up. "Any questions about the schedule for tonight?"

"Yeah," Sirius said loudly, and then yawned while James rolled his eyes. "When are we supposed to sleep?"

"It's not my fault that you got yourself attached to a Prefect," James sniffed. "Remus has duties, and you'll just have to suffer through it. After all the assignments he's had to write out for you, I think you can afford to do this one little thing for him."

Remus, who was trying to ignore the stares coming from all of the other Prefects, nodded. "It's alright, James. We'll be up for my shift tonight."

"Why are we having to do this, again?" Sirius asked testily. "I mean, what's going on in the fourth floor Ancient Runes corridor?"

"I told you, I don't know." James sighed and put down the page of announcements that he had been holding. Lily reached over and took his hand, smiling gently at him.

"As James said, we'll be taking the first watch," she told the Prefects. "Holly and Sean, you two are the next hour." A pair of Hufflepuff Fifth Years nodded from the couch they were sitting on. "Tim and Nancy, you guys are third." Two Slytherin Sixth Years nodded. "Remus, since you're already equipped with a second person, you guys will be fourth." She hid a smile quite unsuccessfully behind her hand. "The rest of you...everyone remember the order? I'll give all of you the list. Relieve the pair before you when you are ready to start your watch, okay?" She handed out slips of paper that told the order. "And remember, don't go snooping around the Ancient Runes classroom. It's supposed to be secret. Dumbledore specifically told James and I to not even ask him, because he'd go sockless for a whole year before he told anyone what was going on."

"Right. Anyone got anything else to report?" James waited only a second before saying, "Meeting adjourned!"

Remus listened to Sirius rant about the unexpected patrolling duties that night all the way back to the Gryffindor common room. He wondered, like everyone else probably did, what was so secretive that it required all-hours surveillance of the corridor on the fourth floor, but he knew that it was his job to carry out his duties without question. Which was one of the reasons why Sirius would have made a terrible Prefect.

"-bloody Head Boy badge is bigger than his actual head," Sirius was saying as they stepped through the portrait hole. "Stupid git thinks he can just boss me around now, as though I'll jump to his command without a care in the world. As if I don't have better plans for tonight!"

"What other plans DID you have for tonight?" Remus asked while raising his eyebrows, amused, knowing very well that Sirius had none.

Sirius huffed without looking back at him as they climbed the stairs to their dormitory. "Like sleeping, of course!" He stopped right outside of their door and turned to face Remus. "And taking a tour of the Prefects' bathroom for another, remember? You said you'd show me."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot," Remus lied. He had not pushed the thought out of his mind ever since dinner. "We'll go now." Turning back around, he led the way down the stairs and back out of the portrait hole, causing the Fat Lady to huff exasperatingly.

How am I going to do this? Am I just going to wait until he gets undressed, and then jump him? Am I going to strip in front of him and then tell him that I fancy him? Is he even planning to take a bath, or did he just want to see it? Remus' feet seemed to know where to go, for his mind was too preoccupied thinking about the upcoming situation. He realized that Sirius had never said that he actually wanted them to take a bath. They found themselves on the fifth floor, passing by the statue of Boris the Bewildered. At the fourth door down, Remus stopped, leaned in, and whispered the password, "mint bubbles," to the door. It opened with a small creak, and he pulled Sirius inside.

"Wow!" Sirius stared in awe around the large room, his mouth hanging open. Remus found himself unable to take his eyes away from the other boy's face, for Sirius' eyes were wide in shock and admiration as he looked at the chandelier, and the painting of the mermaid-who was absent, as Remus noticed when he glanced at it quickly-and especially at the giant, gaping hole that was the bathtub. It was big enough to double as a swimming pool, but tonight, Remus certainly did not want cold water gushing out of the taps. He grinned at Sirius, who smiled back at him, and led the way to the nearest tap, which was encrusted with an emerald in the golden handle.

"Want to test it out?" H was nervous as he asked, careful to tone down the anxiousness in his voice even as he ran his fingers over the green jewel. There was silence for a moment, and Remus suddenly realized that he was afraid of Sirius' reaction.

"I didn't just want a walking tour of the best bathroom in the castle, Moony," came the response. Remus grinned down at his own hand as Sirius added, "Especially now that I've seen the tub."

Remus felt heat rising in his face. Nervous, he turned the tap that he was holding, and piles of green foam gushed out as holes surrounding the bottom of the pool-sized tub spurted out steaming water. Sirius was reaching over to turn on the next tap, and watermelon-sized bubbles soared out.

"Come on, I want to see some of the rest!" Sirius was already dragging Remus around to the other taps, turning some on briefly and then turning them off again. They left others running. The tub was filling quickly with green and blue foam, and bubbles of every size, and jets of water were bouncing along the surface. When it was full, the taps all turned themselves off automatically, and silence filled the air as the two boys stood, eyeing the steaming, foamy water.

"Well," Sirius said, his voice echoing off of the white marble walls, "I expect we better undress." He took out his wand and cast an Engorgement charm on Remus' sleeves.

Remus pulled his shirt off, pulling his wand out of his trouser pocket to cast the same charm on Sirius' sleeves. They undressed quietly, and Remus snuck a peek at Sirius, only to find Sirius watching him.

"Ready?" With a grin, not waiting for an answer, Sirius dragged him over to the edge of the tub, and forced Remus in at the same time he jumped.

Sputtering, Remus came back up to the surface. They had jumped in at the deeper end where their feet didn't touch the bottom, and the foam was making it hard to see, for it rose higher than their heads. Pulling Sirius along, Remus swam to the shallow end. When he felt his feet touch the bottom, he led the way over to the comfortable underwater benches that lined one side. He sank down onto the bench, the foam coming up to his neck, but the water only rising halfway up his chest.

Sirius let out a relaxed sigh as he sat down next to him. "Ah, I've been wanting a nice, hot bubble bath for AGES," he said. "How come you never come up here, again? I'd be here every day if I was a Prefect."

Remus blew a high mound of blue foam away from his face. "The regular bathrooms are a lot more convenient."

He turned his head to find Sirius' head right next to his, green and blue foam perched on top of it. He laughed, and Sirius furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"

Remus shrugged and lifted his right hand to bat the foam off of the dark hair. "It's all over you," he said.

"It's all over you, too," Sirius replied with a smile. Remus wiped foam out of his own hair, and then put his hand back into the warm water. He sat back, the wall of the tub a lot more comfortable than what he would have thought.

"So tomorrow will be the last day you have to put up with me being stuck to you." Remus looked over again to find Sirius frowning a little, looking at him. "You won't have to do my homework anymore."

"I don't mind so much," Remus told him.

Sirius snorted. "Come on. Like that essay for Wauldin-you had to do twice as much as everyone else, and I didn't have to do a thing. And you having to take notes for me in Muggle Studies, and you having to share a bed with me, having to be woken up with my, er, early-morning habit..."

"I really don't mind," Remus said firmly. He steeled himself, finding a fragment of his Gryffindor courage as he looked into Sirius' eyes, and said, "I've had a lot of fun this week with you."

"Really? I haven't been annoying?"

Remus smiled. "Not at all."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, still looking at each other, and then Sirius said, "Do you think we'll unMeld at the same moment as the accident last week?"

Frowning, Remus thought. Wauldin had said...around a week. "I'm not sure if it'll be the exact moment. It might be a little over or under. Why?"

"Well, that detention tomorrow night," Sirius started, but Remus interrupted with a loud groan.

"That ruddy prat," he spat. "I didn't even SAY anything to him, and he still found an excuse to punish me. I mean, what did I ever do to him?"

Sirius didn't answer. Instead, he finished what he was going to say. "I'll still come with you even if the Melding potion has worn off. After all, he did say that I was supposed to."

"You don't have to-" Remus started to say.

"Of course I do. And I want to."

Remus lowered his gaze to the water, feeling a smile creeping on his face. "Thanks."

"Hey, you want to share that liquorice wand you bought me?"

Shrugging, Remus nodded. He actually wanted to do something that involved Sirius sucking on another thing besides sweets, but he couldn't say THAT out loud, so when he felt Sirius start to stand, he followed him.

"I put it in my trouser pocket this morning," Sirius explained as he climbed out of the tub, his arse flexing right in front of Remus' face. "I figured I'd eat it sometime today. Thanks again, by the way, for buying it for me." He turned back, looking down at Remus, who was still standing in the tub. "You coming?"

Shaking himself out of his momentary trance, forcing the naughty thought that sprang into his mind at that last question, Remus nodded. "Yeah, sorry, mate." He climbed out of the tub himself, padding over to where they had shed their clothes, their wet footsteps slapping against the hard floor. Water trailed behind them, as well as some foam. Remus waited as Sirius bent down, and he couldn't help but let his thoughts swirling madly. I'm not looking, I'm not looking, I'm...looking...damn it, Remus, stop... Sirius was still fishing around in his trousers for the liquorice wand. He finally seized it, and stood back up to face Remus, holding it up.

Remus found out that his eyes refused to stay focused on a safe area. Against his better judgment, his gaze locked in on Sirius' crotch like a magnet.

Swallowing, Remus willed himself to look away, but he quickly realized that he couldn't. He was trapped, a slave to his inner desires. Oh, Merlin.

"Ahem," Sirius cleared his throat lightly, and Remus made himself look at the other boy's face, feeling his cheeks, still flushed from the warmth of the tub, heating further.

"Well, let's get back in, then," Remus said quickly, his voice higher than normal, ignoring Sirius' inquisitive look and leading the way back around to the shallow end where they had been sitting. He practically jumped in his haste to get back under the water, causing Sirius to stumble behind him, knocking them both into the tub.

"Bloody hell," Sirius grumbled, but as Remus forced the foam out of his eyes, he could see that the other boy was smiling.

Making his way back over to the bench, Remus settled down, noting that some of the foam had subsided. He closed his eyes and felt Sirius sit down next to him.

Something that felt suspiciously like fingers secured firmly to his thigh just then. His eyes popped open, and he inhaled sharply, for the fingers were very, very close to his crotch.

"Are those-" he stopped, clearing his throat, because his voice had reached an unnaturally high pitch again. "Er, are those your fingers?"

This might be the moment that he had been waiting for. Perhaps, just perhaps, Sirius was going to tell him that there was an attraction there, and that the fingers were there on purpose. Surely, Remus couldn't have just been dreaming when he had heard Sirius' voice that said his name that one morning...

But Sirius just looked panic-stricken, and the fingers disappeared in a heartbeat. "Sorry! I thought that was the seat."

The silence that crept over them was uncomfortable, and Remus could almost feel the tension restricting his breathing. He tried for those long seconds to gather his courage. Now was the perfect time to tell Sirius how he felt, for after they unMelded, they would probably never be alone together again. Sirius was best friends with James, and Peter was rarely absent from where ever the other three seemed to be. So just then was the one chance that he had to clue Sirius in on the fact that he had developed a completely unexpected, mind-blowing crush.

Taking a deep breath, still trying to piece together what he might say, Remus decided to just blurt it out. "I have something to-"

"Remus, I think that I-"

They both stopped, laughing a little, and Remus quickly gathered his wits about him and said, "You first."

"Well," Sirius licked his lips, the sweat on his forehead glistening from the heat of the water. "I wanted to tell you who the other two people were. You know, that I shagged."

Out of all the things that Sirius could have said, this was nothing that Remus would have guessed. With his heart in his throat, Remus tried to gulp it down, not able to speak. He didn't want to hear about girls that Sirius had been with. Not here, not now, not while Remus was on the verge of just discovering his own feelings about Sirius. But he wanted to be a good friend above all else, so instead of stopping Sirius from saying what he was going to say, Remus nodded.

"Daniel Watkins and Terrence Carmichael."

Oh.

"It was last year when I slept with both of them. You know, Daniel's that Ravenclaw in our year, and Terrence is that Sixth Year Gryffindor." Sirius paused to lift his left hand and run his fingers through his hair. "I realized that I fancied blokes after I shagged Robyn. It was so uncomfortable with her, and I noticed the next day that she was sort of...well, boy-like. I mean, wasn't she? She was flat-chested, and she didn't wear makeup, and her hair was short. And also, I was starting to understand that I was paying close attention to boys. In the showers after Quidditch practice, my eyes wandered. I thought that maybe it was normal, you know, to be curious about other boys. But none of the others ever looked. And then-" Sirius stopped and looked into Remus' eyes.

Remus was completely transfixed. The steam had matted down the dark strands of Sirius' hair, making it stick to the pink, flushed cheeks and furrowed brow. A drop of sweat dripped down from the end of Sirius' nose, and the upper lip, darkened with stubble from the absence of the daily shave, was soaked. Remus wanted to reach out with his tongue and lick it, all of it, but he couldn't. He realized quite suddenly that he was afraid to take that step. Sirius had opened the one closed door that Remus thought was in the way, and it turned out that there was one other door. That one, though, Sirius could never leave open. It was up to Remus to decide when to break through his fear of being an 'outcast' and being 'different.'

"You don't hate me, do you?" Sirius asked then, almost in a whisper.

"No." How could he? How could he possibly hate the most wonderful friend, the most handsome and energetic and clever and excellent person that he had ever known?

Sirius only waited a second more, studying the blank face in front of him, before holding his hand up. Clutched in his fist, soggy from the water and the steam, was the limp liquorice wand. He moved it, and Remus found it being shoved into his mouth.

Biting automatically, Remus felt the sweetness coat his tongue. He chewed slowly, sitting back, wanting to watch Sirius eat his own piece but not able to do so. What was he so afraid of? Sirius had just told him that there was a chance. So why was he being such a ruddy coward about it all?

"I'm getting pruny," Sirius said then, and Remus felt his heart sink into his stomach. Yes, Sirius wanted to get out of the tub. Sirius wanted to leave. He wanted to get out of the one situation that would guarantee that they were alone together, naked, while still being stuck together like they were. Was this the last time it was going to happen? Did they really need another shower the next morning? Would they be separated by tomorrow night?

Remus pulled himself up away from Sirius, still sucking on his piece of the liquorice wand, and climbed partially out of the tub without looking at the other boy. It would do no good to ogle when Sirius clearly wanted to get out of there.

A tug at his wrist stopped him. He turned back to see Sirius standing in the water, watching him. "Where are you going?"

"I..." Remus was confused. "I thought you wanted to go."

"I never said that. I just was commenting." Sirius held up his hand. His fingertips were wrinkled from the water. "See?" He frowned. "But if you want to leave-"

"No!" Remus slid back into the tub, realizing that his tone had been harsh. He softened it. "No, I just thought that you meant that you were finished."

Sirius sighed and smiled at him, and Remus felt his heart jump back into his throat. "I could stay in here all day," he said, leaning back onto the bench. Remus sat, also.

They were silent again. Remus wondered if he could say what he had wanted to say earlier. And then, Sirius asked, "What were you going to say before, when we spoke at the same time?"

This is it. This is the moment where I tell him that I fancy him. Remus gathered up what little courage he had, opened his mouth, planned the order of the words in his mind, and blurted out what he had been wanting to say for hours.

"Nothing."

Prat! Idiot! Stupid git! Remus winced as Sirius shrugged and turned, facing forwards.

What am I so afraid of? Damn it!

"What do you think is going on in that classroom?" Sirius said.

"I'm not sure."

"Do you think it's a surprise of some sort for the school? Or maybe Dumbledore has a secret treasure or weapon or something in there. Or it could be a fascinating new creature! What if it's-"

"Why would he keep something like that in the Ancient Runes classroom, though?"

Sirius thought silently for a minute. "I suppose you're right. It must be something minor, but still secret. I wonder what it could be?" He grinned over at Remus. "You think we could sneak in there during our watch and take a peek?"

"Absolutely not," Remus admonished. He gave Sirius a scolding look as the other boy whined pitifully. "It's Dumbledore's business. He trusts us to not go snooping around."

"But Moony-"

"No." Remus tried to fight down his smile as Sirius whined some more, giving him a puppy-dog look.

"You take all the fun out of life, Remus," Sirius said, but he was grinning. Remus flicked some water at him, and Sirius roared, and suddenly, Remus found himself under the water.

He broke the surface, mirth bubbling in his stomach, and he blindly reached around for Sirius, foam covering his eyes. Bark-like laughter came from his left, and he hauled in his arm, attempting to dunk the other boy. He felt his left arm being forcibly curved around his front, and Sirius' right arm was sliding up around his neck to settle on his right hip. Reaching up to wipe at the foam on his face, Remus opened his eyes to find their attached arms in front of his stomach, Sirius' wrist bent awkwardly. A warm body was standing directly behind him.

"I've got you," Sirius said quietly, his breath short, air puffing against Remus' ear.

Because of the weird way Sirius' wrist was bent, Remus was completely covered on all sides by arms and the body at his back. He stood still, closing his eyes. If this was all he would be able to get out of his new affection for his friend, then so be it. If he was too cowardly to admit anything other than friendship, then innocent touches like this would have to fuel the fantasies he knew that he would have, probably for the rest of the school year.

And then Sirius moved, and he felt something poking at his arse.

Suddenly, he was dunked down again, Sirius' arm coming up from his right side, and he stood once more, blinking the foam and water from his eyes, the other boy facing away from him, head down.

"Sorry. I didn't mean..." Sirius trailed off, still not looking at him, and it seemed as though he was trembling just a little.

Now! Say it now! "What are you sorry about?"

"I didn't mean to fall for you, Remus."

"I...what? What did you say?" Remus could feel all of his courage returning. He could do this. He had to take the next step. Sirius had completely blown all of the doors open with this latest confession, and he would be damned if he allowed them to close again. "You...you like me?"

"Yes." Sirius turned around to face him. The foam had almost completely dissolved, leaving a dripping, sweaty boy standing with water coming up to his navel.

"You don't have to be sorry," Remus whispered, his throat too tight to be any louder. He took a step closer, and forced himself to smile a little. "After all, you just made it a little easier for me to say what I wanted to say earlier."

Sirius was silent, studying his face, his eyes, his hair, even his neck. Remus closed his eyes and breathed, and he could swear that he still felt Sirius' eyes on him. He could feel himself getting hard. That searing gaze on him, trailing down his torso...

"What did you want to say earlier?" Sirius prompted. Remus opened his eyes to find that Sirius had inched even closer to him. They were now standing about a foot apart from each other.

"I..." Remus cleared his throat. Why was this so hard? "I think...I mean...I want...I..."

Sirius interrupted him. Not by words, but by leaning in, and soft lips against his own, and oh, it was perfect. Remus kissed back eagerly, his right hand coming up to scrape his thumb across Sirius' stubbly cheek.

"That?" Sirius asked, pulling away. Remus let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

He wanted to kiss Sirius again. So he did.

This time it was harder, more passionate, and Remus opened his mouth to lick at Sirius' bottom lip. He nipped at it gently, and then moved to the upper lip, running his tongue across it in one swipe. Sirius groaned and pressed closer to him just as he opened his own mouth, and their tongues were touching, their chests pressed together.

Remus moved his left hand carefully to where it could settle around Sirius' waist. His right hand moved up to the boy's hair, curling his fingers around the dark strands as he pressed in closer, caressing his tongue against the other, running it across the back of the upper set of Sirius' teeth.

The heat and the steam was making his mind hazy, but Remus still heard the creak of the door when it happened just as he felt Sirius' left hand grazing lightly down his back. Pulling away with a suppressed groan, he turned to look at the door.

"Oh, it's you," Severus Snape said with a sneer, looking as if he contemplated pulling out his wand. "Didn't know I'd be interrupting your little love fest."

"Sod off, Snivellus," Sirius said scathingly. "You don't belong here-this is a bathroom. You know, with a bathtub. That's what this big thing full of water is." He paused. "And YOU'RE not a Prefect! You aren't allowed in here, anyway, you greasy git."

"And I must have missed the announcement," Snape said smoothly, raising his eyebrows, "that must have granted YOU that particular honour, Black."

"Come on," Remus said quietly to Sirius, swallowing down the lump in his throat. He succeeded in tugging the other boy over to the edge of the tub, and climbed out, ignoring Snape, but facing away from him as he waited for Sirius to get out.

"See something you like, Snivellus?" Sirius asked, and Remus looked over his shoulder with a frown, finding Snape still watching them. Or, rather, him. "He has a nice arse, doesn't he? You'd like to come over here and squeeze it, wouldn't you?"

If the steam and the water had not made Remus' face as hot as it already was, it would have heated just then. Instead, he used that rise of embarrassment to forcibly pull Sirius up out of the water, lead the way to the corner with the pile of heated towels, and wrap one securely around his waist, making sure Sirius was doing the same.

"I don't go for used goods," Snape taunted from the other side of the tub. Remus tried to ignore him. Please, Sirius, let's just get out of here. Please.

But Sirius had turned around to face Snape, towel also wrapped around his waist, another draped over his neck. "Remus is as unused as you are, although for a different reason. Yours being that no one would be willing to touch you with a ten-foot pole!" He pulled the towel that was around his neck up to his hair, and began to rub at the dark strands with it vigorously while leading the way over to where they had shed their clothes earlier.

"And Lupin's reason is...because he's taken?" Snape said as Remus pulled his shirt on, not caring about the fact that his hair was still dripping wet. "I'm sure inquiring minds would like to know."

"If that inquiring mind is yours-" Sirius started with a hint of anger, but he was cut off.

"Don't be ridiculous! I wouldn't touch HIM with a ten-foot pole!" Snape turned away from them jerkily and turned the handle that would drain the tub. "Pity these handles aren't silver, eh, Lupin?" He walked over to the nearest tap and touched it, watching it as it sprayed bubbling bits of white foam in the space that had just been emptied. He snarled. "Besides, I don't go after beasts, Black."

Remus had to use all of his strength to keep Sirius from hurling across the room. He wasn't as strong as his friend, especially when it came to a Sirius that was full of anger, but he managed to succeed. "Come on, let's go. Ignore him! He's just trying to get us in trouble."

He managed to get a still-snarling Sirius into his clothes, and he pulled the other boy to the door. Sirius was still huffing madly.

"Let's go," Remus repeated. The door shut behind them, and Remus glanced down at his watch. "It's almost time for us to patrol."

They walked in a tense silence up to the fifth floor. Remus kept thinking that maybe, when they got to be alone together during their watch, they might be able to...well, maybe snog some more. Not that he relished the idea of completely disregarding his duties as Prefect...

But when they rounded the corner to the corridor that housed the Ancient Runes classroom, they found it empty. Remus glanced at the list from the meeting.

"Tim Zabini and Nancy Davies should still be around here somewhere," he told Sirius quietly. The corridor was only lighted by the torches hanging in racks on the walls, spaced far apart. It cast dim shadows across the stone.

Walking further along, they discovered where the two Prefects were. Remus found himself grinning at the two of them, wondering if they had somehow read his mind as to what HE wanted to be doing.

"Tut, tut! Shame on you two!" Sirius said then, putting his left hand on his hip and glaring at the Slytherins, who sprang apart at the sound of his voice. "Snogging like a couple of Sixth Years-"

"We ARE Sixth Years," exclaimed Tim, but Sirius continued as if he had not heard.

"-be an example for the swotty little First and Second years, and here you are, throwing Dumbledore's trust out the window." Remus felt his smile disappear. Sirius didn't want to indulge in the same activity? The other boy continued to scold, "-can't believe that you two are Prefects. What if a student had been out of bed? What if one snuck into the Ancient Runes classroom? What if there was some mad creature being held in there, and they gobbled the student right up? Where would your little Prefect sense of honour be then, hmm?"

"Come on, Tim. Let's get out of here," Nancy said as they walked away scowling and glaring. Remus turned to Sirius.

"That was a little harsh, don't you think?" He couldn't help but feel a pang of hurt at the way Sirius had been averse to the act of kissing. Was Sirius having second thoughts?

But as soon as the two Slytherins rounded the corner, Sirius pushed Remus into the wall, and their lips were once again pressed together.

Remus thought it was incredible, the way he loved this, despite the fact that the cold hard stone was unyielding against his back and his knees were beginning to weaken, threatening to spill his body to the floor. He wrapped his right arm around Sirius' waist and pulled the other boy in closer, responding to the close quarters.

"Hello?" A voice nearby made Remus pull away from Sirius reluctantly, causing a small groan to issue from the throat of the dark haired boy.

"Who is it?" He called out softly, and Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost, appeared from around the corner.

"Hello!" Nick repeated with a broad smile. Remus fought the ridiculous urge to throw something at the ghost. "I'm supposed to help you two patrol tonight, since they want a post at either end of the corridor, and you two can't separate, of course."

"Sure we can," Sirius grumbled sarcastically. "We've just spent this week PRETENDING like we were Melded together."

But their duty was set. Not only were they prevented from spending their time together exploring each other's mouths, but they couldn't even sneak a peek into the Ancient Runes classroom, which Remus WAS curious about, despite what he had told Sirius. They placed themselves at one end of the corridor, and they could just make out the glowing white form of Nearly Headless Nick at the other end.

"So when did you decide that you...you know," Sirius motioned back and forth between them during the patrol. "I figured out that I fancied you last year, when I was shagging Daniel and wishing he was thinner and had lighter hair."

"And so you just automatically assumed that you had a crush on me?" Remus raised his eyebrows. "There had to be something besides that."

Sirius smiled rather sheepishly. "Well, there was the fact that I was extremely jealous of Naylia, even though James and I never cottoned on to the fact that you were shagging her." He paused for a moment, and then his grin widened. "Oh, and one time, in Transfiguration, I got hard from watching you suck on a Sugar Quill."

Remus stumbled. "You did?" The thought of Sirius sitting in class, watching him, hiding an erection with his robes...

"That was after Daniel and Terrence, of course. I realized that I wanted you, so I laid off of other blokes after I confronted my feelings. I didn't think I had a chance in hell with you." Sirius turned. "I really thought you wouldn't like boys. That you wouldn't like ME. After that day in the shower last week, when you said you were straight-I had never been so miserable in my entire life, I don't think."

"I expect I was trying to fool myself," Remus found himself whispering, staring into Sirius' eyes, which were flickering from the fire in the nearby torch. "I didn't want to be even more different from other people, so I convinced myself that I didn't feel anything for you other than friendship." He smiled a little. "In Muggle Studies, with you sucking on that licorice wand, I couldn't think after that. All of my blood was somewhere else."

Sirius winked. "That was deliberate, you know. It was worth getting in trouble, to see you all flustered like that."

Remus laughed quietly. He stepped closer, resisting the urge to grab the other boy and press his mouth to the soft lips in front of him, but he needed to feel the closeness. He got just close enough to stand with his head buried in Sirius' shoulder, his eyes closed, and he felt a wave of relief run through him. How could I have so much luck?

"You two okay over there?" Nick called out, and Sirius mumbled obscenities under his breath as they pulled apart and resumed walking.

It was a good thing, though, that they did. Remus saw a movement out of the corner of his eye, and he turned to see a ripple of something black against the shadows of the nearest adjoining corridor. He touched Sirius' shoulder with his right hand and pointed.

"Oi!" Remus winced as Sirius shouted and dragged them over to where they found someone standing just around the corner of the adjoining corridor, black robes pulled tight around them, their mouth set in a frown. It was not, as Remus expected, a curious First or Second Year.

It was Peter.

"What are you doing?" Remus hissed at their friend. Peter sighed and closed his eyes, drooping his head.

Remus waited, and thankfully, Sirius didn't say anything. Finally, Peter looked up. "What they're preparing in the Ancient Runes classroom is for the N.E.W.T.S. Er...someone told me about it. I guess I wanted to see for myself what it was going to be." He ran his fingers through his thin blond hair and looked up at Remus. "I'm sorry, Moony. I didn't know they'd have you on duty. I guess I'll just go back up to bed, eh?"

Somehow, Remus was surprised at the explanation. Peter usually did his work, whether it was copying it from one of his friends or doing it on his own. But seeing Peter standing there in the dark, one hand in the pocket of his robes, the other in his hair...he got a little angry. Certainly, Remus indulged in a little cheating himself now and then, like he had with the Aging potions essay, but he would never stoop so low for something as important as the N.E.W.T.S.

"You know, Peter, you're not stupid. You could actually study for them, you know?" He felt Sirius squeeze his wrist, but he ignored it. "Some people just have to work harder at some things. You think I take the easy way out? You think it's a walk in the park to let myself agree to run around with you three every month, putting other people, including yourselves, in mortal danger? You think I wouldn't rather just stay in the Shack and not risk it? It's not easy, Peter, to allow myself to be talked over by you and James and Sirius, here. It's not easy to stop myself from running to Dumbledore and confessing and absolving myself of the guilt I feel at betraying his trust."

He felt the anger drain out of him at the look on Peter's face. Sirius squeezed his wrist again.

"Remus...I'm sorry, mate. You're right, of course." Peter reached a hand out to clutch at Remus' shoulder. "And thank you for saying I'm not stupid. I guess I WAS just trying to take the easy way out. Don't know what came over me."

"Yeah, well," Sirius said quietly, and Remus looked over to see a small smile playing at the corner of the dark-haired boy's mouth, "I'll just let you copy me for the Ancient Runes homework, Wormtail. That way you won't have to resort to cheating at this sort of level."

Remus snorted, not angry anymore. "Go on to bed, Peter. We'll be up in a little while-our shift is almost over." He paused. "Is that all that we're guarding? Something for the end of the year?"

Peter nodded, and Sirius let out a soft groan. "And I thought it would be something brilliant! A stupid N.E.W.T.S.-related thing...ugh!"

Smiling, Peter patted Remus' shoulder and nodded at Sirius. He then backed off quietly, heading back to their dormitory.

"You really consider it hard to roam free with all of us every month?" Sirius asked him as they went back to patrolling.

Nodding, Remus sighed, pushing the always-present weight of guilt back down out of his chest. "I just really hate fooling Dumbledore."

"Can anyone really ever fool him, though?" Remus turned to look at Sirius, confused. Sirius continued. "I mean, remember that time when he knew about that Bones bloke selling O.W.L.S. exam papers to the Fifth Years two years ago? He seems to figure everything out, Remus. I bet he knows about us, but lets us go because he thinks the three of us are enough to stop you if you get out of hand."

Remus felt the weight in his chest lift slightly. "You really think so?"

"I'd bet a hundred galleons on it."

And Remus could only smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The shift ended when the elated feeling of happiness had settled down in Remus' chest, and Seventh Year Slytherins, Evan Rosier and Narcissa Black, came and got them, sneering as they passed. Feeling sleepy, Remus walked with Sirius silently up to the Gryffindor tower, climbing into the portrait hole to find the common room deserted. Just as he was making his way over to the boys' staircase, Sirius pulled on his wrist. Remus turned around.

An arm snaked around the right side of his waist, a hand settled at the lower part of his back, and Remus felt warmth spread through him as Sirius pushed hot, wet lips to his own. Standing in the middle of the common room, sure to be caught any minute by a restless student, Remus wanted to drag Sirius down to the rug in front of the fireplace and continue what had been started in the Prefects' bathroom. As he felt his lower lip being stroked with a slick tongue, he could feel pressure from Sirius' left hand, and it sent prickles of electricity through him as the hand lifted the bottom hem of his jumper and touched his bare skin.

"I knew it!" The voice came from above them, and they jumped apart and looked up to see James standing on the small balcony on the second floor of the boys' side, goggling down at them, his eyes overlarge behind his glasses. "You two..."

Remus felt a horrible sense of dread. Here it was. The point where he would be completely marked as being 'different' and 'weird.' Sirius might not have been embarrassed, but Remus felt as though James were about to brand him and mark him for all of the school to see how abnormal he was. Not only was he a werewolf, but he also fancied boys. A particular boy who happened to be the object of almost every girl's affection. He wondered if Sirius would just blow this off, pretend like it wasn't what it looked like. He wondered if this would scare the other boy into pulling away from him emotionally. It didn't matter what passed between them this very evening. Sirius wouldn't let himself be branded as abnormal, would he? And Remus was scared. Scared of being branded that way himself. But yet, the realization of his feelings for Sirius, and the admission of the returned feelings, made him happier tonight than perhaps any other moment in his entire hard life. Sirius accepted him for who he was, and found him desirable despite the terrible truth. Remus felt as if James were about to tear his whole world apart. Sirius would pull away, he knew it, and he would never find another to fill that spot that the dark-haired boy had so quickly filled up in his very soul.

"Jealous, Prongs? Lily's no Remus, after all. Pity you have to miss out."

Remus' rampant thoughts halted.

"When you can pick your jaw up off the floor," Sirius continued solemnly, looking up at their gawking friend, "can you please go back to bed so we can finish snogging here?"

"You...you..." James was stuttering, and his eyes were practically popping out from shock, but he seemed to piece himself together quickly. "I'm just shocked that you haven't told me. Ever since you told me about Daniel and that other bloke-"

"James knew?" Remus interrupted, looking at Sirius, faking a hurt look. He actually wasn't surprised. After all, Sirius and James were best friends first.

"Of course I did!" James grinned. "He couldn't tell the one that he fancied about it, especially since he thought that you were straight. He was afraid. Friendship first, right?"

"Sorry, Remus. I DID tell James about it." Sirius glared up at their friend, who was now hanging dangerously over the railing of the balcony.

Remus waved the apology away, feeling himself smile. "I'm not mad." He looked up at James. "So you don't oppose?"

James snorted. "I know that Sirius says that 'Lily's no Remus'," he garbled his voice at that last bit to attempt to sound somewhat like Sirius, "but I rather prefer Lily's lack of what you've got, Moony, if you get my drift. So why would I oppose?"

"I don't mean to ask if you're jealous..." But Remus trailed off as he noticed, his heart pounding, that James was smiling benignly down at them, now. He approves.

"Why don't we continue this conversation in the morning?" Sirius asked, and Remus looked to see Sirius staring up at James with a curious expression on his face. "We'll be right up, James."

James nodded. "I won't hold my breath. I'll see you two tomorrow at breakfast." And with a wink at Remus, and no other words, James disappeared back into the dormitory.

"Where were we?" Sirius leaned in and placed his lips against Remus' cheek.

Remus' heart was still racing at the acceptance of the fact that James, one of their two best friends, didn't have a problem with them being together. He felt happiness spread through him, and he found the urge to hug Sirius seize him. He deflected the next incoming kiss and buried his nose into the other boy's neck, squeezing tightly around Sirius' waist.

"You're honestly shocked about James being happy for us?" Sirius murmured, his breath stirring Remus' hair.

"I didn't know what to think," Remus replied truthfully. "I didn't know he knew about you already." He pulled back slightly to see a frown on Sirius' face. "Don't worry, I'm really not mad about you telling him and not telling me. And I'm assuming you didn't tell Peter?"

"Nor did I tell Lily," Sirius said. "It wasn't that I didn't trust you guys, you know? I just didn't want to make a big deal out of it before I sorted out my own feelings."

Remus' heart sank slightly. "What if Peter and Lily don't agree with it? What if they hate us? What if it gets out, and the rest of the school hates us?"

"Peter isn't the type to be judgmental about something like that, and neither is Lily. As for the rest of the school; they can all go and sod off."

"You really think they'll be okay with it?"

Sirius sighed and raised his left hand, touching Remus' cheek with soft fingertips. "Let's not worry about that now, okay? We'll deal with it as it comes. For right now, let's just worry about us, and how much time we'll be able to spend with each other around lessons and practice and homework and studying."

Remus smiled, realizing that if Sirius was so calm about it, then he could be, too. "I'll try to relax." He closed his eyes, tilting his head towards Sirius' hand, which now stroked his cheek.

Turning his head, Remus kissed the bottom edge of Sirius' palm. Sirius moved that hand to the back of Remus' neck, and gentle pressure coaxed the both of them to move in close.

The heat from the dying fire in the fireplace was making Remus sweat, but he didn't care. He opened his mouth and stroked his tongue along Sirius', swallowing the moan that tore out of the dark-haired boy's throat. He pressed in close enough for their chests to press against one another, and he felt Sirius' left hand return to his lower back, clutching at the back of his jumper.

"Couch," Sirius muttered, and Remus tried not to let his lips leave the other boy's as they made their way over to the piece of furniture. Remus fell forward onto Sirius, who had laid down, all the while fighting to continue kissing.

Remus felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise as Sirius moved to kiss his jaw softly, slowly making his way over to Remus' ear even as his left hand pulled at the neckline of Remus' jumper. Remus shuddered as a tongue traced along the shell of his ear, flicking inside, and then teeth were clenching at his earlobe. It felt so good, and so hot, and Remus wanted to tear off his clothes immediately. But then Sirius was nipping at his neck, and it sent tendrils of euphoria throughout his body, making him tilt his head further to allow more. Lips reached his collarbone, smoothing a wet trail along the ridge with a tongue, and a gasp escaped Remus as Sirius dipped the tongue into the hollow between the bones. Who ever knew how excited one could get with just kissing at the neck? Why had Naylia not been able to make him feel this way?

And then Sirius was back at his mouth, and Remus clutched the fabric at Sirius' hip as he felt Sirius do the same, the fingers clenching hard enough to bruise. Sirius grunted below him as hips pressed together, and Remus almost bit Sirius' lip as a jolt of desire shot through him from his growing erection, the thin fabric of the trousers that he had on not hiding it in the slightest.

He pushed his hips down again into Sirius', feeling bold and light-headed at the inarticulate sounds of pleasure that poured quietly from the other boy. That feeling of fevered desire rushed through him once more, and he continued to jerk his hips down, first tentatively, and then firmly. Sirius was meeting him, thrust for thrust, and waves of ecstasy unfurled within him as he buried his nose against Sirius' neck, licking at the salty taste of sweat that he found there. Sirius groaned beneath him, and Remus could vaguely feel a hand touching the skin beneath the hem of his jumper, on his right side, and then fingers dipping into the waistband of his trousers.

Remus settled one of his legs between Sirius' and pressed closer and harder. He felt powerful, the moans coming from the warm body beneath his stroking his ego as he rubbed himself harder against Sirius' upper thigh, the friction from the fabric of his boxer shorts and the muscular leg deliciously sending him closer to the edge. His left arm was bent uncomfortably between their chests, but he barely registered the ache. He pressed his mouth again to the other boy's, snaking his tongue in as he brought his right hand up to clutch at the shaggy black strands of hair in front of him. The pleasure mounted higher and higher as he thrusted faster and harder into Sirius' thigh.

It felt like only moments had passed, and they probably had, but as Remus felt Sirius' hand clench at one cheek of his arse, he lost control of his body. He thrust a few more times and gasped into Sirius' mouth, his body shuddered as he came, hard, and he felt Sirius seize up under him, letting out a small "ah!" as Remus released in a earth-shattering explosion of ecstasy.

Panting afterwards, Remus felt mildly embarrassed. He brought his head up to find Sirius smiling up at him, sweat beaded at his hairline and upper lip.

"That was incredible," the black-haired boy murmured, and Remus' heart, still pounding, soared. What do I have to be embarrassed about?

The roaring sound that had only moments before been in his ears settled down, and he relaxed, basking in the warm feelings that rushed through him. Laying his head on Sirius' clothed chest, he thought he could hear the other boy's heart beating just as fast as his own.

"I think we should get to bed," Remus said quietly, not really wanting to get up, but knowing that they shouldn't lay there for long, or else they risked falling asleep and being woken up by some early-rising First or Second Year.

"I can't move," came the mumbled reply. Remus grinned and hauled himself up, dragging the other boy with him. The front of both of their trousers were dark.

Sirius pointed at Remus. "I think you wet yourself." He grinned.

Remus snorted. "I'm not the only one."

Shrugging, Sirius touched Remus' cheek with his left hand, running his fingers along the scratchiness of the stubble. Remus sighed, reaching up to cover Sirius' hand with his own.

"I'm glad that this happened," he whispered. Sirius smiled, nodding slowly. Remus continued, "I don't know how I didn't realize sooner, what I felt for you. How could I have been so bloody blind?"

"It doesn't matter now, Remus. What matters now is the fact that we both know, and we can act on our feelings. I'm not afraid of what others think, and I know that you are, a little, but remember...I'm right here. I'm not going to turn you away, or pretend that this hasn't happened."

Remus wondered if the fire had suddenly started up again, or a window was left open, somehow letting in warm night air despite the fact that it was still winter, because he felt his cheeks flush hotly at Sirius' words.

"Let's go to bed," the dark-haired boy said, and he tugged an unreluctant Remus up the stairs.