Title: Best Bet
Author: Zully Quirke Rating: PG
Part: 2/5
Pairing: Sirius/Remus
Author's Notes: My muse strikes again! A second part it is, plus a few more I'm plotting out. Right now I'm thinking there's likely to be five in total. Who knows? By the time I'm finished they might all total to the size of a regular fic! You know you've gotten lazy when you can't even do a one-shot without breaking it down. XD

It was a fairly typical day for Remus Lupin, sitting at the breakfast table scribbling furiously over a roll of parchment while Sirius and James chucked various breakfast items at each other and Lily tried her best to look invisible.

Remus honestly had no idea what she saw in James. Not to knock his friend, of course -- he was overall a very nice person and unendingly sweet when he wanted to be. But--

As if to illustrate his point, Sirius roared in laughter when a quiche landed with a warm splat on James's cheek before slowly sliding down to land on the table. Sirius wasn't laughing long, though, as it proved rather difficult to do with a face full of scrambled eggs.

Remus reached forward to peel a bit of egg from the very stunned Sirius's face as Lily bit at the insides of her cheeks and offered James a napkin for the splattered bits of cheese and bacon from his quiche encounter earlier.

"Why do you two always do this?" Remus asked, having given up on peeling away the egg and settled for wiping it off unceremoniously with Sirius's napkin. "Can't you just eat your food like normal people?"

Sirius grinned as his tongue darted out for a bit of egg. "We are eating! We're just doing it creatively," He insisted as James grinned and did the same.

"That's right! They should thank us, really – we're saving those poor house elves from having to wash more dishes, after all. You should be more considerate, Remus. Honestly."

Sighing and shaking his head, he rolled his eyes heavenward and looked pitifully over at Lily. The two sane ones of the group.

"I don't know either," Lily said as she and Remus gathered their things and left James and Sirius to clean themselves up. "I swear, sometimes I wonder if it's worth putting up with." She added with a hint of good humor.

Remus laughed. "Well, at least there is the fact that you're rather fond of James," He grinned, nudging a now blushing Lily in the side. She hadn't told him yet, of course, but Remus could tell it was only a matter of time before the two gravitated towards each other. They had that pull about them.

"Oh, and you're not at all fond of Sirius, is that it?" She accused, poking Remus in the side. "Admit it! You fancy Sirius just as much as I do James."

His jaw dropped. "I do i not /i ! Lily Evans, where on earth did THAT come from?"

Lily blinked at him in genuine surprise. "You mean you don't-- oh, Remus, you're too precious for words," She laughed, pulling him in for a headlock and noogie.

After a bit of struggling Remus pulled himself from Lily and made a show of straightening his impossibly shaggy hair while attempting to maintain his own composure. That had come out of absolutely nowhere, he thought to himself. Just because he and Sirius were mates he fancied him, was that it?

"I do not," He said smoothly, "Fancy Sirius Black."

She snorted indelicately. "Like hell you don't. Remember everything you pointed out that I did around James? Unconsciously straightened my hair, always sat by him at meals or while studying, paired up with him at Hogsmeade…?"

Remus frowned and coughed. "That.. doesn't mean anything! Friends do the same sorts of things all the time." He insisted stubbornly.

"Oh, right," Lily said, looking thoughtfully upward. "I forgot. The rules and logic of life and love apply to everyone but Remus Lupin. When someone else does something that's a clear indicator of finding them attractive, they fancy them. If Remus does the same things, they are not in fact indicators of attraction but rather of I friendship /I . Silly me."

Remus could think of no reply to this. He stood there, hugging his texts to his chest and suddenly found the stones cobbling the hallway quite interesting.

Shaking her head, Lily tucked her books back under her arm. "Whatever you say, Remus. Whatever you say." She headed down the hall towards her own class, turning to wink at him from over her shoulder. "Just promise to invite me to the wedding?"