Disclaimer: Surprise, surprise, I don't own the characters. I bet you couldn't have worked that out on your own. O.o

For Setteh. Because she's great.


Firewhisky

Remus realises last night was a mistake when he wakes up to an empty bed. The sheets around him are warm with his own body heat, but there is no dent in the mattress to show that another body lay beside him earlier that morning. He had hoped though…

For a brief second, Remus wonders if it had all been a dream. The laughter, the taste of firewhisky sliding down their throats as they brushed against each other, intoxicated with more than just alcohol. No he thinks. No, not even I could dream that vividly.

The werewolf rolls out of bed with aching limbs and pads naked across the floor. He isn't afraid that someone will walk in on him – it's Christmas and there are only two people left in the fifth year boys' dormitory. No Peter here, no…

The door opens and Remus looks up inquiringly. The boy standing there averts his eyes from the werewolf's nakedness, and Remus finds himself chuckling almost provocatively.

"You weren't so shy last night."

He remembers the heedless nipping and gasping, slippery hands as they pulled their bodies together, and he smiles in memory. Remus glances at the dark-haired boy who seems embarrassed – and he feels a pang of bitterness.

"Last night was a mistake."

"Isn't it always?" Remus asks, unable to keep his voice still.

"Remus, it shouldn't be this way."

"Why not?" he asks, moving closer to the boy.

The boy shakes his head and looks down. "I love Lily. I won't throw that away for a mistake Remus. I'm sorry."

And Remus watches James Potter walk away from him, and he finds he cannot say the words 'I love you.'