DISCLAIMER: The characters, as always, are not mine. The storyline isn't mine either, because this was kind of a commission fic.
WARNING: Yes, this happens to be slash.
The Things We Do For Bacon0000
It was one of those days when you wake up and just know something is going to go wrong. James knew, from the moment he opened his curtains and saw that Sirius had been at work with the traditional Friday morning prank (wizarding pictures of himself plastered around the room, winking, preening and smirking), that something was going to happen that day.
He groaned and threw himself back down on his pillow, trying to make the feeling go away. He didn't have the energy to deal with it, having been up late studying with his friend. He had almost managed to obliterate the foreboding feeling by thinking of one Lily Evans, when he felt a shadow fall over his bed. He looked up to see said indefatigable friend hovering over him with a sympathetic smile.
"Come on, James." Remus said gently, putting his hand on James' shoulder. "If you don't get up soon, Sirius will have devoured all the bacon and you'll have to pilfer from the Slytherin table." He made a face to show his distaste and James unwillingly pushed himself out of bed, the thought of bacon galvanising him into action.
He stood, stretched and padded blearily towards the showers. His shower was quick and perfunctionary and he emerged 5 minutes later clean, cold, wet and awake. He barely glanced at Remus, who was placidly sitting on his bed searching through his spell book for a counter to the spell Sirius had used to affix the posters of himself to every available space. Apparently Remus had already tried and discovered them stuck fast.
James was somewhat surprised to find that there was no horrid consequence for trying and failing to do away with the incongruous photos. Usually someone suffered dreadfully if they failed to remove the prank first time. But then, he reflected, Sirius would have known that it was going to be Remus who abolished the eyesore, and Sirius had always avoided injuring the other boy.
James shrugged the matter away and followed Remus down to breakfast, his thoughts already focussed feverishly on the allure of the bacon he was certain he could smell wafting up the stairway.
0000
James, he discovered, had gotten out of bed too late and Sirius had devoured two whole plates of bacon; the amount limited to the Gryffindor table. James' heart plummeted as he realised that he was going to have to make Remus' prediction come true and steal from the Slytherin table.
He glowered mutinously at Sirius as he stood up and begged the company of a supporter on his dangerous mission. Three blank, reluctant faces stared back at him until one finally gave and Remus stood up. He carefully placed his spoon inside his porridge (which was in no danger of being stolen because A) It was available in excess and B) nobody but Remus actually liked it) and added his glare to James'.
"I'll come with you, James." He said and frowned pointedly at Sirius. "But if they attack us, it's your fault!"
He toffed Sirius over the head to indicate whose fault it really was and started off, James following anxiously.
One might think that if the Gryffindor boys were out of bacon and were on better terms with Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, that maybe they would be a better choice. But Hufflepuff shared their bacon out evenly and never had any left. The Ravenclaws had come up with the notion of disguising the bacon as something else when a bacon starved James came looking, so no matter how hard he tried or how much his senses were telling him there was bacon at the Ravenclaw table, he could not find it.
So that only left Slytherin, who guarded their bacon fiercely, aware of James' weakness and shamelessly exploiting it.
Perhaps here it should be explained that James was more than obsessed with bacon. It was his lifeline. It was to James like coffee is to some people. If he didn't have bacon in the morning, he was simply unbearable. But Sirius didn't care about that. Every morning he fought to finish the Gryffindor supply so that he could calmly watch James' antics at finding some.
So that was why James and Remus were frantically and calmly heading towards the forbidden territory. The Slytherin table. They made quite a contrast, the pair of them. James frazzled and almost incomprehensible, muttering about bacon thieves and malicious friends, Remus calm and articulate, soothing James that there was no conspiracy to steal his bacon.
Because of this, it was Remus who did the talking.
"Excuse me." He said politely. "Do you mind if we have a rasher or two of your bacon?"
The entire Slytherin table in earshot suddenly stiffened and turned slowly in their chairs to face the intruders.
"Yes, we do mind." A voice said and Remus groaned inwardly, recognizing the smooth, haughty tones. "Give us one reason why we should share our crispy, warm Slytherin bacon."
Lucius Malfoy held up said bowl of bacon, giving them a sultry look and elegantly presenting his prize to the Gryffindors.
"Just smell that lovely fried scent." He husked. "Hear the sizzle of fat on flesh …"
Remus ignored James' muted whine and the sudden tug on his robes and smiled genially.
"We will gladly swap anything from our table." He offered.
"Hmm." Lucius smirked, considering this with a suspicious look. "Anything from your table …"
His pale blue eyes travelled over towards the Gryffindor table, his gaze sweeping the full length of the said item of furniture. A wicked look crept onto his face as he sought a suitable swap, his sight alighting on a desirable exchange.
"Anything from your table, Lupin?" He demanded and Remus nodded cautiously, fearing a trick.
"Anything." He repeated, his mind reeling as he attempted to think what restrictions he should place on the proposition. He wouldn't put it past the blond Slytherin to demand the whole amount of breakfast on the Gryffindor table for the one plate of bacon. And he thought that James would probably grant it, the moment Lucius specified his price.
"Evans." Lucius stated abruptly, a smirk gracing his lips. "A date with Lily Evans for this plate of bacon."
Remus winced as he felt James tense at his back.
"Why you …" James muttered, starting forward. He was hindered by Remus' firmly restraining arms.
"No, thank you." Remus said to the Slytherins, a smile planted on his face, although what he really wanted to do was let James go. "We'll be fine. Thanks anyway!"
He bodily pushed James out of range of the laughing Slytherins, and had almost escaped from their taunts when he was alerted by a clang of crockery and he instinctively swung around.
He barely had time to blink before he was confronted by three rashes of bacon and a silver bowl rushing towards him. His reflexes kicked into action and he ducked to the side, narrowly avoiding the silver bowl, which would have rendered him inactive. He could not, however, miss the greasy strips of bacon hurtling towards him and he took the blow straight to the side of his face.
He winced as he felt it slide off his face and down to his robes. Then a sickening feeling overwhelmed him and he bolted for the exit before he could throw up in the middle of the great hall. He took off out of the school, his footsteps pounding first on cement and then on snow as his feet removed him from the firepath of any pursuing Slytherins.
He finally reached the safety of the Forbidden Forest and slumped against a tree, his heart beating furiously. He wiped a hand over his forehead, panting as he tried to settle his stomach. Nausea was coming in waves, trying to force him to his knees. In an attempt to combat this, he took deep, calming breaths and rested the base of his head against the trunk of the tree.
Remus did not like bacon.
In fact, he did not like meat altogether, but he possessed a particular aversion to bacon.
Just the thought of it being consumed turned his stomach, and actually coming into contact with it made him shudder. He would avert his eyes whenever James devoured the offensive substance and he left the table when Sirius joined in.
He wasn't entirely sure why he couldn't stomach the thought of meat, but he thought it was probably his human reaction to the impulses he had when in wolf form. Like, it was the balance to the imbalance of being a killer.
Or something.
He shrugged a little and stood up straighter as his head began to clear. He was about to start making his way back to the castle when he heard footsteps crunching up behind him. He spun around, expecting to see the sneers of Slytherins, but instead found himself facing James, who was wearing a rather sheepish expression.
"Sorry, Remus." James said, glancing to the ground. "I forgot you don't like bacon. I shouldn't have asked you to come with me."
"It's okay, James." Remus said, frowning. "I wouldn't have come if I couldn't have handled it. I just wasn't expecting it to be thrown at me like that."
"Yeah." James said, scuffing one foot. "Sorry."
"It's fine!" Remus laughed and cuffed him on the shoulder. "You idiot. You don't do the meek, apologetic thing very well."
James grinned.
"Sorry about that."
"Apologise again and I hex you." Remus warned and they laughed. "I was just about to head back to the castle, you coming?"
James nodded.
"Yeah."
They started back towards the school, walking in unison with the breeze blowing around them. They had just reached the lake when they saw a number of figures heading towards them and they both instantly reached for their wands.
A murder of Slytherins was approaching with that seemed deadly intention, glares planted on their faces, evident even from the distance they were at.
"James." Remus said in a conversational tone out of the side of his mouth. "There's nothing you're not telling me, is there? Like the manner in which you left the Slytherins?"
"Oh." James replied. "I might have hexed a few of them. I can't really remember, there was so much bacon everywhere."
"Yep, thought so." Remus sighed and prepared to meet the attack.
"Oi!" The apparent leader of the Slytherins cried. "You two!"
"Glad you can count." Remus told him coolly and made as though to keep walking as they reached one another. He was pulled roughly back, however, by one of the furious Slytherins. "Sorry, did you want to talk to me?"
"I want to do more than talk!" The abrasive leader shouted.
Remus pretended to think.
"No, I'm afraid I don't have time. See, I've got Transfiguration in a few minutes, Charms after that, Defense after lunch and then Potions. So I hope you won't be too upset if I slot you in some time next millennium?"
A red glaze swept over the Slytherin's face and Remus felt just a tiny bit apprehensive.
"You'll slot me in next week?" The apoplectic boy mimicked in a high, warbly voice. "I'm not going to wait for you to find time for me!"
The murder of Slytherins advanced menacingly and Remus' hand tightened on his wand. He felt James do the same beside him and took some measure of comfort in the knowledge of James' brute power backing him.
"I'm going to talk to you whenever I like, crossbreed!" The Slytherin spat the word ferociously and Remus almost lost control of both his mounting temper and James' simmering fury.
"My name is Lupin, if you don't mind." He retorted coolly. "And I need to go to class. If you don't move, I am going to jinx you something chronic."
"Is that a threat, Lupin?" The Slytherin antagonist demanded.
"No." James growled before Remus could stop him. "It's a challenge."
Instantly, the Slytherins whose tempers were at boiling point advanced and Remus had no more time to be nervous or scared or think of sarcastic comments. A true wizarding duel was taking place and Remus was thrilled to find his reflexes came to life; the Duelling Club late nights finally paying off.
The adrenaline coursed through him and he felt his muscles react to the threat. There were streams of light flying wildly around him, and a constant stream of spell was spewing forth from his wand. Jinxes and hexes he didn't even know he knew were being brought forward in his memory, and forever after he would try and recount the spells he used and draw a blank.
He spared a glance to the side to check on James' welfare and was rewarded with the sight of James frankly kicking some Slytherin arse. His face was drawn in concentration as he battled against the raging onslaught of Slytherins. Slytherins with no thought in their mind of anything but revenge for the perceived slight of their leader, no less. If Remus hadn't been so busy trying to keep his organs in perfect working order, he would have marvelled at the fact that James seemed a perfect work of art.
His sleek, Chaser muscles rippled beneath his robes as he ducked the curses flying lethally towards his head, and his arm was a blur of motion as he deflected and shot his own attack at his opposition. His normally hazel eyes were a clear green and intense with both the thrill of the fight and the anger at the attack. His glasses were knocked slightly askew, but that didn't seem to bother the determined Gryffindor, whose untidy black hair was thrown back from his face with the force of the spells aimed at his head.
It was actually this observation of James that led to the accident.
Remus had lapsed into one of his infamous 'micro-slips' and literally forgotten where he was. To forget where one was during a wizarding duel was not a particularly smart idea, and Remus discovered this soon enough when he suddenly found himself lying on his back in the snow.
His suddenly hazy gaze was swimming before him and he managed to regain his consciousness long enough to register James' flushed and concerned face hovering above his before he fell into darkness and knew no more.
0000
Sirius had actually planned to spend the day studying. He had retrieved all his various spellbooks from the most inconsequential corners of the school, and had gathered them all together in one place. He had gotten out his quill, filled his inkwell and told everyone to leave him alone. He had told all of his teachers he was sick and forged an explanation from Madame Pomfrey as to his illness and had sat down to work.
Then he had realised he had skipped elevenses (one of the most important snacks of the day) to spend time finding his books and thus was extraordinarily hungry. Rationalising that he couldn't very well study if he was thinking about how hungry he was, he stacked his books once again and strode out of the library, feeling like an intruder in the musty atmosphere that Remus so relished.
He ate his brunch in silence, his mind really truly worrying over the nuances of Transfiguration spells, and he started back towards the library, feeling refreshed and determined.
Then he had come face to face with the most horrifying sight in the world.
His best friend James was heading towards him with gashes down his face, his glasses misty and askew, with a limp form in his arms. It took Sirius a moment to recognise the body James was carrying, and then the bottom had dropped out of his world.
He let out a cry of pure shock and sprinted towards the boys, his study and Transfiguration obliterated by the desperately dire situation in front of him.
Remus was lying inert in James arms, his face pale and his blond hair spilling over his forehead in disarray.
A rock settled in Sirius' stomach as he sped down the hallway, his eyes searching desperately for any signs of life in his friend's face.
"James!" He shouted as he reached the bespectacled boy. "What the fuck happened here?"
"Sirius -." James began, but Sirius cut him off in his panic.
"Did you do this to him? I'll fucking kill you if you did!" He roared, his temper surfacing over logical reasoning.
"Sirius!" James barked. "It was the Slytherins! They attacked us after breakfast."
This explanation didn't calm Sirius' panic or his temper, but it did get James off the hook.
"So why the fuck are we standing here?" He demanded, scooping the limp Remus from James' shaking arms. "He needs to go to the Hospital wing!"
"I know that, you idiot!" James snapped, his frayed temper making him irritable. "I was on my way there until you accosted me!"
Sirius cast James a glare and swept up the corridor, his heart beating three times its' normal speed as his fevered mind danced over the situation.
Fuck, Moony was hurt. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Moony, hurt. Hurt and maybe dying.
His mind spared no thought for mundane hindrances such as classes or, indeed, doors to the infirmary. Instead, he burst through the wooden barriers and startled Madame Pomfrey from her rounds.
"What on earth -." She began in shock and annoyance and then a concerned look settled over her clear features and set briskly to work. "Put him over there, Sirius." She directed the familiar youth, who obeyed her commands like an automaton.
She bent over the injured blond boy, her brow puckered in concentration as she checked him over both magically and physically. She shook her head after her examination and stood up, wiping her hands on her apron.
"Shoo, boys." She told the two panting boys firmly, James having arrived a few seconds after Sirius.
"I'm not leaving." Sirius negated, crossing his arms and planting himself down on the floor.
Madame Pomfrey gave him a stern look.
"I'm afraid you are, young man. Mr Lupin is not, at present, going to be aware of whether you are here or not. He needs rest and medical attention right now, neither of which you are capable of giving him." Her gaze flickered to the exhausted James, who was leaning against the hospital wall. "You, however …" She said, her eyes taking in his damage. "May stay a short time while I fix those abrasions."
Her body language, tone and set eyes told Sirius that there was no chance he was staying parked on the hospital floor. He growled in frustration and stood up angrily.
"Fine." He spat. "But I will be back in ten minutes with the Headmaster."
"Fine." Madame Pomfrey shot back. "I need someone to fetch him anyway."
"I'm here, Poppy." A new voice said, as a fifth presence entered the room.
All conscious members swung around to see the tall, elderly headmaster striding purposefully into the room.
Sirius jumped and moved hastily towards the wizard, as though somehow getting there first would help his case.
"Good morning, Mister Black." Albus Dumbledore said politely, tipping his tall hat.
"Sir!" Sirius gasped. "Remus is hurt!"
"I am aware of that, Sirius." Dumbledore said, patting the distraught boy on the shoulder. "Let me into the room and I'll have a look at him."
The calm manner in which he handled the situation and the fact that he hadn't yet forced Sirius to leave, caused Sirius to back away and watch quietly as the Headmaster gently observed the unconscious boy.
A few moments later, Dumbledore straightened up from being hunched over the boy and gave Madame Pomfrey a puzzled look, before switching his attention back to Sirius.
"It's nothing more than a simple mixture of too many jinxes." He said to the boy genially. "He's just overloaded, that's all. He'll be back on his feet in no time."
A feeling of relief swept over Sirius' face and he sagged down on the wall, the adrenaline suddenly flowing out of him.
"You're sure, sir?" He questioned weakly.
"Quite." Dumbledore told him, smiling. "Now off with you. I think you can have the rest of the day excused from classes as a result of the massive amount of stress you have experienced today."
"Thank you, sir." Sirius whispered and gave one last look to the limp boy on the bed before he left the room, scuffing his feet.
"As for you." Dumbledore said, glancing at James. "A few healing spells and a day of bed rest should be enough for you, don't you think?"
James cast an anxious look at Remus and nodded.
"Sure." He said and waited for Madame Pomfrey to bustle over towards him with her wand and a few chocolate frogs she kept for situations such as these. "Eat." She said, pushing the sweets into his hands and casting her wand over his face.
As James slumped from the room, all the energy gone out of him, he barely registered Dumbledore's voice speaking to Madame Pomfrey.
"Well, I'm quite bamboozled." He said. "I don't know what's up with the lad. Don't you have any idea?"
0000
The dorm was as deadly quiet as James had wearily anticipated, the silent monotony broken only by the pacing figure wearing holes in the carpet. James sighed as he closed the door, wincing as the latch clicked into place, alerting Sirius to his presence and blowing his cover.
"How is he?" Sirius demanded instantly, whirling around as he noticed James' presence.
"Same as you saw him." James replied and didn't mention what he had almost heard.
"Merlin, James! What the fuck happened?" Sirius strode forward a step, his grey eyes glowing.
"We were attacked by Slytherins." James began.
"Why the fuck didn't you protect him?" Sirius cut in, an accusing glare on his face.
James bristled involuntarily. He knew Sirius was anxious and scared. He knew that anger and blaming people was his natural way of dealing with things. But he was exhausted, worried and sore and he wasn't much thinking of Sirius and his sensitivities.
"Remus can protect himself!" He said to Sirius, whose face opened into sheer disbelief.
"Are you avoiding responsibility for that, Potter?" Sirius hissed.
James shook his head.
"No. It was my bacon that started this. What I am denying that it is apparently up to me to protect Remus, who in fact needs no looking after."
"Needs no looking after?" Sirius repeated in furious shock. "The boy has never even hexed Snape with us. He doesn't know how to protect himself! He wouldn't have a clue what to do in a duel. You should have kept him safe!"
He poked James painfully in the chest as he said 'you' and did not quail from James' enraged glare. James knocked Sirius' arm roughly away and stepped forward.
"I have no such responsibility to anyone." He spat. "I choose to do all I can because you are my friends, not my charges. Remus knows exactly what to do in a duel, and believe me, he is more than good at it. He knows spells I've never heard."
This comment, far from appeasing Sirius, enraged him even further.
"Did you corrupt him, James Potter? Remus should not know any dark spells! He is the wholesome one of us all!"
"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Sirius!" James cried, throwing his hands up in frustration and pushing Sirius away. "Make up your fucking mind! Either Remus is innocent and needs looking after, or he is innocent and shouldn't be!"
A livid look swept across Sirius' face, and a tic developed in his temple. James was alarmed to find that his friend's face had actually turned an interesting shade of purple.
"Don't you tell me how to care for Moony!" Sirius thundered. "I will fucking look after him the way I fucking want to! Got that, Potter!"
Sirius regained his proximity to James and challenged him fully in the eye, their faces almost touching and their panting bodies pressed flush on one another.
The sheer impertinence of Sirius' accusations caught that centre in James that he usually sought to keep hidden, that core of fire in his temper that needed little to set it off. He growled as he leapt forward and pushed them both to the ground, pinning Sirius underneath him.
"Don't fucking speak to me like that, Sirius Black!" James roared.
"And who's going to stop me?" Sirius taunted back. "You?"
"Yes, me!" James retorted, and would have said more, but Sirius flipped him over so he was now the one rendered helpless underneath Sirius' bulk.
They had play fought like this many times before, but this was different. This was violent and intense and both of them knew that things could be said in that moment that could not be taken back. Grey eyes bored into green, battling for dominance of both the upper hand physically and the right of concern over Remus.
Their desperate grappling continued for a while longer, smashing into the furniture in the room and yelling insults at each other, some of them unforgivable.
"Your fucking family obviously got it right when they disowned you!"
"Well, you'd fucking know, wouldn't you? Your life is so fucking perfect!"
"Merlin, you fit into that pure breed mould perfectly, don't you, Black?"
"What's up, jealous?"
The heated and violent battle continued between the two boys, giving each other bruises and scrapes, until it finally came to direct blows and they struck out at one another. James' fist connected sharply with the side of Sirius' jaw and he winced at the blow, until Sirius let loose with one of his left hooks and James saw stars. He was hit so hard he had to swallow his pride and stumble away, leaning against the wall to regain his breath and his head.
He looked up resentfully at Sirius through his fringe as he did so. Sirius was standing in the centre of the room, his wariness, distrustfulness and fury mirrored in his stance. James carefully tapped his fingers to the bleeding cut on his eyebrow and glared at the boy.
"Why the fuck do you care so much anyway?" He asked wearily, his anger still writhing in his words, but dropped to a lesser intensity. He didn't really expect an answer from the infuriated boy in front of him, and was surprised when he received one.
Sirius was still breathing heavily with the force of his emotions and their tussle on the dorm floor.
"Because I fucking love him." Sirius said heavily and dropped his eyes, his shoulders slumping with defeat.
James' eyes widened with this admission and the whole situation made a lot more sense. He was about to say something to comfort his friend (he hoped), when another voice intruded.
"Sirius?" A gentle, confused voice broke in.
Two heads snapped up towards the door and were presented with the sight of Remus Lupin, freshly returned from the hospital wing and Peter Pettigrew accompanying him.
"Remus?" Sirius exclaimed.
"James?" Peter cried.
"Peter?" James demanded.
"James?" Remus asked.
"Peter?" Sirius challenged.
"Remus?" James shouted.
"Sirius?" Peter questioned.
"What is going on here?" Remus demanded, striding into the room.
Sirius gave a terrified look at Remus, James and the room, before he fled the dorm. Nobody said a word for a moment, before James looked at Remus.
"Go after him, mate. I'm not letting you back until you do."
Remus gave him a muted look and then turned tail and fled after Sirius, his footsteps echoing on the stairs.
Peter looked at James. James looked at Peter.
Peter looked at the floor. James looked at the wall.
Peter looked at his bed. James looked at the showers.
Without a word being spoken, the two somewhat shocked friends crossed paths on their way to their separate destinations and silence reigned again in the dorm.
0000
Somewhere down below them, Sirius was marching terribly fast across the Hogwarts grounds. He was busy cursing himself with everything imaginable, unknowing of the presence following swiftly behind him until he heard his name being called desperately.
"Sirius!" He thought he had imagined it the first time. "Sirius!" The second could have been just a cry in the wind. "Sirius Black! Will you slow down and talk to me, you git?" The third time was most definitely not his imagination.
He spun around and winced inwardly at the same time as his stomach jumped (which was an interesting feeling, really), at the sight of his friend running towards him.
"You shouldn't be running after being out cold like that." He admonished somewhat nervously.
"Nonsense." Remus told him as he reached him. "And if you hadn't been walking like Death himself was on your heels, I wouldn't have to have run."
"Er … right." Sirius said and stood uncomfortably with his hands in his pockets.
"Let's go and … sit down, shall we?" Remus suggested, and Sirius wondered if he detected a note of uncertainty in the other boy's voice or if that was his imagination.
They stopped their silent trek across the grounds just outside the lake that marred the perfect, pristine landscape. It was there that Remus turned to Sirius and sat them down in the cold wet snow.
"I heard something very interesting just as I walked in." He said, his amber eyes boring into Sirius'.
"Yes?" Sirius inquired, his voice breaking slightly in his anxiousness.
Remus' eyes swept Sirius' face.
"Do you have any idea what that might be?" He asked genially.
Sirius shook his head.
"What a shame." Remus sighed.
Sirius thought that might have been the end of it, but Remus shuffled himself closer to his friend and pressed a hand to his cheek.
"This is a nasty cut you have here." He said, gentle fingers carefully running over the bleeding wound in his cheekbone.
Sirius nodded mutely, his eyes fixed on Remus' face, unable to string any words together.
"I'd hate to think you contracted it on my account." He continued, moving even closer to examine the wound.
"Ngah." Sirius said intelligently and tried to pull away, but Remus' firm hand held him still.
"Stay still." He whispered, his voice low.
Sirius could not contain the chills that ran through his body at the sound of that sexy Irish voice so close to his ear and sounding so seductive. Remus' voice was like quicksilver, smooth and consistent, with no gravely bumps like his own. To listen was like listening to a choral melody, played by the rhapsody angels above.
"I've got something to tell you." Remus told him, the Irish brogue growing even more pronounced and Sirius closed his eyes, his breathing hitching as the warm breath ghosted over his cheek and ear. If only he could stay like this forever, he would be in heaven.
Remus leant a millimetre closer and Sirius could feel his heart beat against his arm. Some part of his mind, a fuzzy, far away part, told him that he should really move away, because if he didn't, this couldn't be explained later.
"I heard what you said." The statement caused Sirius' eyes to snap open and his body stiffened in response.
"Y-you heard what I said?" He stuttered with an effort.
He felt Remus nod.
"Yes. And I agree completely."
Sirius could have died when he felt warm, wet lips press to his temple and he looked up in surprise to see Remus' face hovering above his own.
"Love you, Padfoot." He murmured.
Sirius gazed at him in amazement for a moment before his instincts kicked in and he pulled Remus close to him and kissed him.
Sirius felt his eyes widen before they flickered closed and he wrapped his arm round the other boy's waist and jerked him forward and off balanced against him. He wasn't sure how long it went on for but he was pretty sure that he was in heaven.
The kiss ended slowly and the boys stared at each other for a moment, nervousness apparent in their features. Then they were in each other's arms with their faces buried in each other's necks, laughing uncontrollably.
"You really do have a ruddy great cut on your face." Remus said, frankly affectionately.
"Yes." Sirius agreed. "But now it's your ruddy great problem. So fix it."
Remus laughed and stood up, hauling Sirius to his feet.
"Not a hope. Unless you're willing to explain to Madame Pomfrey where it's come from, you're stuck with it. I haven't mastered healing just yet. Soon, though." He promised, brushing fringe from Sirius' forehead. "Besides, I like you looking a bit beaten up. It's the dishevelled look and all."
Sirius grinned and they took off towards the castle.
0000
Their hands were linked when they walked into the dorm room, forgetting entirely about their other friends who inhabited the same dormitory and almost froze in shock when James and Peter looked up from their chess game.
They blushed furiously as they registered the communal flicking of eyes down to their hands and then back up to their faces, pretending they hadn't seen what they had seen.
"Er, James." Sirius began sheepishly, noting the clotting cut above his eyebrow. "Sorry about the … er …" He indicated the cut with his head and coughed uncomfortably.
James' hand tapped gently at the red skin around his wound.
"This old thing?" He asked. "Oh, don't worry about it. Lily says she likes a few cuts on a man. Makes him look tough." He paused. "Or something."
"Er … yeah. And sorry about the … er …" He gestured, trying to encompass his words and their heated grapple on the floor.
James looked up through his fringe in irritation.
"Look, forget it mate, it's over." He indicated his chess game. "It's my move and I'm actually going to win this one." He nodded to their still joined hands. "About bloody time, you two, by the way."
Sirius and Remus glanced at each other, then back at James and back at each other before they shrugged and settled down to watch the final humiliation of Peter.
And that was the end of that.
AUTHOR'S NOTEWell, there we go. This story has taken me FOREVER to write because school kept getting in the way, so I apologise to Hannah, who I wrote the story for. The entire storyline is hers, so thank her for whatever you think of it.
And thanks Hannah for all your help with everything, it means a lot.
Love all of you always!
LizzY