Confessions of Love

I.

They stumbled through the portrait hole, laughing so hard they were staggering like drunkards and clutching stitches in their sides.

"Did you see—the look—on his face?" gasped Sirius, grabbing Remus's shoulder for support. This was not very wise, as Remus was barely standing himself, and with Sirius's added weight he collapsed onto the back of an armchair.

"Whoops—sorry, Moony—" Sirius righted himself with difficulty. Remus pushed himself off the chair, caught Sirius's eye, and another fit of laughter overtook them.

"He'll retain the essence of Stinkpellet for months to come," said Remus in a mock serious tone, when the laughter subsided. "Men and women alike shall flee his putrid stench… like Lily Evans from Prongs with mistletoe on Christmas…"

They were laughing so hard they could hardly see. It was a good thing the common room was empty—most of the castle was still at dinner, but they had bolted from the dining hall to hide their laughter after their latest prank had been detonated.

Sirius staggered sideways and attempted to flop onto a couch, but he missed and landed with a fwump on the floor. This simply furthered their amusement, and Remus, grinning, took Sirius's hands to pull him off the floor. However, when overcome with laughter, down is a good deal easier than up, and so instead of Sirius going up Remus went down, right on top of Sirius.

"'Ello, mate," grinned Sirius, as Remus attempted to disentangle himself from Sirius. He soon gave up, though, and so he contented himself with resting his chin on his hands, which were flat on Sirius's chest, until the laughter faded.

When at last they were calm enough to look each other in the eyes without giggling, Remus made another attempt to get up. He made it about half way, and then Sirius shifted very deliberately, causing him to lose his balance and fall down again.

"Sirius!"

"Going somewhere?" asked Sirius mischievously. Remus propped himself up on his elbows, which were now resting on either side of Sirius's head.

"Apparently not," replied Remus dryly.

"Oh, good." Sirius grinned, grey eyes laughing. "I'd hate to think you were abandoning me."

"Sirius!" Remus shifted and flushed when he realized he was straddling Sirius's hips. "Do you know what this looks like? What if someone came in?"

"Oh, I know exactly what this looks like." His eyes were glittering now.

"Sirius—you—you—" stammered Remus, his face glowing like the setting sun.

"Me what?" The roguish grin he knew so well was back in place. "Me… gorgeous? Me hunky? Me sexy?"

Remus laughed. "Yes, yes, all of those. As well as you conniving, you narcissistic, you egotistical…"

"You flatter me, beautiful." Sirius batted his long eyelashes.

"…you tease," concluded Remus, glaring in half-amusement, half-exasperation into flirtatious eyes.

"Who says I'm teasing?" asked Sirius, and Remus froze. He tried to read those grey eyes, still holding a playful gleam, but it was a veil concealing something beneath. He got the distinct feeling that Sirius was testing the ice before stepping out onto it, and the playfulness was a safety net to fall back on if it broke.

Remus wanted to see what would happen if he forced Sirius out onto the ice, but he had no idea what to say to do so. But he couldn't just sit there waiting for someone to walk in on them. So, before the thought had even completely materialized in his mind, he did the only natural thing to do when straddling the one you love and your faces are mere inches apart.

You get rid of the inches.

And oh, his lips were so warm and soft, so delightful pressed against his own, sweetness like he had never tasted—

His brain caught up with his body and he jumped off as if shocked with a live wire. Sirius gazed up at him with dazed eyes, looking utterly pole-axed; he felt his cheeks enflame and he retreated a couple of steps.

"I'm sorry—I didn't mean to—I just—you were—I—I'm sorry!"

And before Sirius could even blink, he bolted out the portrait hole and was gone.

II.

Remus sat in the library alone, forcing his fraying mind to focus on his Transfiguration essay. It was exceedingly difficult to continue writing coherently when his mind continued to inject thoughts like you really screwed up this time, and he'll never speak to you again, despite his efforts to apply it to the theory of transfiguring two-dimensional drawings into three-dimensional objects.

The essay seemed to drag on forever, but when at last he finished he shut his book with a snap and put his face in his hands.

What have I done? he moaned inwardly in despair, Whatever possessed me to kiss him?

I'll tell you what possessed you, said another little voice. He did, acting so damn flirtatious and sexy.

He sighed. Yes, but it's my fault for acting on it.

He had it coming, the little voice insisted. Besides, you enjoyed it.

Yes, but now I won't even have him as a friend.

The little voice was silent, and Remus seized the moment to yank his Potions homework toward him.

Hours later, when Madam Pince had kicked him out of the library at closing time, he could put off going to Griffindor Tower no longer. Reluctantly he trekked up the passageways, taking as long as possible, and dreading what would happen when he got there.

"Cave Canem," he said to the Fat Lady, and she swung open to admit him. He clambered inside, glancing automatically to the Marauders' favorite spot by the fire, and the first thing he noticed was Sirius, conspicuous by his absence. James and Peter were there as per usual, and looked up as he approached.

"Hey, Moony," greeted James. "Where you been?"

"Library," Remus replied. His eyes flickered to Sirius's vacant chair, and he asked casually, "Where's Padfoot?"

James shrugged. "Dunno. Haven't seen him. Have you, Wormtail?" He looked over at Peter, who shook his head. Turning back to Remus, he continued, "Well, he should be up soon. It's almost curfew."

Remus nodded. "Alright, well, I'm going to head up. I'm exhausted. Good night."

"G'night," the other two answered, and Remus headed up the stairs to the dormitory. Hopefully he could pretend to be sleeping by the time Sirius came up. He opened the door and closed it behind him.

The moment the door clicked shut, however, a pair of arms snaked around his waist in the darkness, and he stiffened in alarm.

"Finally… I thought you'd never come up," a smooth voice murmured into his ear, and he relaxed, allowing the warmth of Sirius's breath flutter along his cheek as Sirius drew him back against his chest. After a moment he turned, looking up at Sirius in confusion.

"Sirius…?"

His response was a pair of lips pressing gently but insistently against his own. He inhaled sharply, eyes wide in surprise; Sirius cupped his cheek with one hand and pulled him closer with the other. Then he surrendered to the kiss, melting like hot butter into Sirius's arms.

A sultry tongue probed his lips, requesting entrance, and his mouth blossomed open readily. Sirius slipped inside, relishing the sweet molten bliss of Remus's mouth and exploring uncharted territory. Remus moaned softly as Sirius ravished him, dizzy with shivery pleasure, and he felt his knees buckle as Sirius stroked his tongue with his own.

When the necessity for air could no longer be ignored, they parted reluctantly, but remained entwined. Their eyes met; Remus's a warm, shivery gold; Sirius's a hot, liquid silver.

"I love you," they whispered simultaneously, and then smiled.

Their lips embraced once more, and there was no more need for words.