Disclaimer: Characters belong to JKR.
A loud, clamorous melody floated above the pitter-patter of a running shower, the sounds soaring out of the bathroom.
"Sirius, shut up! I'm getting a head ache!" Remus called from his place on the large bed. He sat leaning against the headboard, his nose pressed in a book, but he had given up trying to read a long time ago.
"I'm serious, Padfoot! SHUT UP!"
In response, Sirius sang louder, lifting his voice into an obnoxiously high tone for his baritone voice.
"BERK!" Remus yelled.
The sound of laughter punctuated the tune. Remus couldn't help but chuckle as well. Sighing, he closed the book and turned over on the bed to inspect the pictures on his bedside table. At least ten frames stood on the cherry wood table, housing a motley assortment of photos. There were pictures of his parents, of course, but most of the photos consisted of the Marauders, sometimes with the addition of Lily. The photos had been taken during or right after Hogwarts, before Voldemort's reign had torn them all apart.
Remus smiled as his eyes rested on his favorite picture, a photo taken at the Marauders' graduation. Summer was budding and the Hogwarts grounds oozed an orgy of bright colors. James and Lily stood holding hands and laughing, sometimes waving up at him. Sirius grasped James's shoulder with one hand in a brotherly fashion. His other arm was entwined around Remus's waist. Remus watched his picture self. He could see the paleness in his complexion; the full moon had encroached upon him a mere two days before graduation. Still, picture-Remus laughed along with the others, clearly full of merriment. Every once in a while, Sirius would lean over and place a soft kiss on his cheek. Peter was altogether missing from the picture. Perhaps he had taken it. Remus couldn't recall the details precisely. All he cared about was watching Sirius.
"I remember that picture," said Sirius's voice behind him, making him jump. Remus turned to find a wet and dripping Sirius standing beside the bed with nothing except a towel wrapped around his waist.
Remus stared. He knew Sirius had lost a lot of weight in Azkaban, but he hadn't realized just how much. He could see the bulges where healthy muscles had once lived. Still, after washing away a decade's accumulation of filth, a glimmer of Sirius's good looks was starting to shine through. His hair was no longer matted but fell softly into his eyes. The candlelight played on his tanned skin. He had shaved his beard, making him look years younger.
The sight of his friend's naked torso made Remus flush. He turned back to the photos to hide his reddening face.
"I can't believe you kept those pictures," said Sirius, drying off his hair with another towel.
"Why?"
"I would have thought you would've destroyed any pictures of me." Sirius's voice was not accusatory, but rather sad.
Remus was taken aback. "I—I couldn't. I admit I did put them away for a few years. But that was more because I couldn't look at James and Lily than because of you. There was always some part of me that refused to believe you were a traitor."
The bed creaked under Sirius's weight as he sat down next to his friend, encircling his arm around Remus's waist. Remus, suppressing a shudder, leaned against the warm body of his once lover.
"How long will you be staying?" Remus asked quietly.
"How long can I stay? I don't want to mooch off of you."
Remus snorted. "You've never cared about that before."
"Yes, but we were—it was—different—then."
Remus sighed at his friend's refusal to use the word lovers. "Do you remember why we broke up?"
Sirius was silent for a moment, apparently contemplating his answer. "Well, the first time it was because I—in a moment of supreme idiocy—decided to play that little joke on Snivelly. The second time, I'm not quite sure. Some fight. I've forgotten what started it or what it was about, but I remember that we had our most heated arguments during that time….Whatever it was, I'm sorry."
"Me too." Remus breathed in his friend's scent, closing his eyes. "You can stay as long as you want."
"Mmm…then can I move in?"
Remus laughed, resting his head against the warm flesh of Sirius's shoulder.
"Dumbledore told me to stay here for a week or so. He reckons it's dangerous to stay longer," said Sirius. "Is that okay, Remus?"
"Uh-huh."
The two of them sat together in a pregnant silence, lost in their own nostalgic reveries.
After what felt like an hour, Sirius broke the silence. "So, do I get something to wear or am I donning my birthday suit permanently tonight?" He looked pointedly down at the towel that hid his shame.
"Oh! Right. Sorry about that, Padfoot." Remus broke away from their embrace and walked over to the large armoire. He could feel Sirius's eyes on his back as he rummaged through the stacks of clothes looking for a decently large pair of pajamas. Sirius was quite a bit taller than him. Spotting some, he pulled out a red plaid pair of pajama pants and a matching shirt. He threw the clothes to Sirius, who caught them swiftly.
"These were always big for me," said Remus.
Sirius examined the pants closely. He looked up with a smile. "That's because these pajamas are mine, you idiot. I can't believe you still have them."
"Yours? Are you sure?"
"I lost these nearly fifteen years ago. They were my favorite pair, too."
"How do you remember something like that?"
Sirius got up and walked toward him, stopping a mere foot away. "Because, Moony." Sirius took a step forward, and Remus involuntarily inched back. "Because it was—our first time." Remus could feel the blush crawling up his neck. Sirius again moved toward him, and Remus stepped back with a dull thud onto the wall. "Do you wear these?"
"Uh…sometimes."
Sirius placed his hand on the wall next to his friend's head and leant towards him. They could feel each other's breath on their faces. "Do you remember, Moony?"
"I—er—I—" Remus knew he was blushing profusely now. Sirius smirked and closed the gap between them.
"It was my birthday, and you suggested a sleep over. You told me you had a present for me at your place. I didn't even begin to suspect what you had in mind."
The memory made Remus blush harder.
"I guess I should've known when I found out James and Peter weren't staying over as well." Sirius's smirk widened. He was so close now that their noses were almost touching. Remus's heart was pounding a jungle rhythm into his ribcage.
Sirius leaned in.
TBC…
I know. It's a horrible place to leave off. I couldn't resist! You know, this scene was much longer than I thought it would be...
This chapter's also twice as long as the others. Two people mentioned that they didn't particularly like the length of the short chapters, so from now on I'll make my chapters longer. Well, okay. This is still a bit short. The next one will be much longer...hopefully.
darkheartpoet: Thanks! I don't do humor very well in writing, so I'm glad you thought it was funny. Thanks for the fav, too.
wolf: Yes, I'll definitely do longer chapters now. What do you think of the length of this chapter? Enough or longer?
crescomellonnin: They are cute together, aren't they? These two are my favorite non-canon couple in the HP series. There's nothing in canon to support this relationship, but there's nothing there to explicitly deny it either.
MinervaEvenstar: Thanks for adding this to your favorite stories list. I really appreciate it.
Smorefan: Glad you liked it. I was afraid that I was skipping too many details, but if you understood it, then I guess it was okay. Thanks.
elvenwolf123321: Thanks! Cute was what I was going for.
Crimson-Ranger: Hehe. Thanks for adding me to your favorites list.
Hannio: Will do. Thanks!
Atticus21: What about this chapter length? Good or should I go longer? And the author's note was a one-time thing. I don't even know why I put it in there in the first place. Stupid decision by me.
kiki1290: You're welcome. And thanks for reviewing the story again. It makes me happy to see reviewers coming back to read the next chapters as I update them. Oh, and thanks for adding me to your favs.
Miss Anonymous hp: Thank you so very much! A C2 addition would be awesome. I'll definitely keep it PG-13, so you don't have to worry about that. I can't bring myself to write R when it's barely legal for me to even read it. And don't worry. The guilt trip from Remus is coming, though I can't promise it soon. I have the fic planned out for the next chapter and a half so far, and it looks like Sirius will be the first one to wallow in guilt. ;) Thanks for the fav, too.
Kilikapele: Thanks! Glad you liked it.
A heartfelt thanks to all the reviewers! I've never gotten this many reviews in this short a time before. Thanks so much.