Cosmetic
A/N: I've already mustered a chapter on A Silver Locket this afternoon, so I'm trying to do this as well.
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"But first, I want to see whether eyeliner suits you too." Sirius had a demonic glint in his eye as he said that, which didn't exactly fill Remus with confidence.
He started to back away. "Oh no you don't."
"Moony…" The familiar hint of a whine appeared in Sirius's voice. "You'd look so pretty… you said you liked it on me…"
"You and I are very different," Remus replied, carefully making sure he didn't get blocked off from the door.
"How so?" Sirius was advancing slowly, undeterred. Decisive action was now needed.
"Do you really want to know?"
"Yeah, tell me."
The gap between them was getting a little too small. It was now or never. "I can run faster than you can," Remus said quickly, and ran out of the door.
Sirius was stalled for a moment by surprise, but rapidly recovered and dashed out after him. "You can run, Moony, but I'll catch you!"
"Not if I can help it!" Remus yelled over his shoulder as he jumped through the portrait hole and hit the floor sprinting. No way was Sirius going to get him to wear eyeliner without a fight. Besides, this was fun.
Five minutes later, they were halfway across the school, and Sirius still hadn't caught up. It was getting close to curfew, but neither of them noticed or particularly cared. On his way out, Sirius had picked up the map (as well as an eyeliner pencil), and he was expert at hiding. Remus could always just give the excuse of being a prefect. So all was well.
They were nearing the Great Hall when Remus stepped off a staircase just before it moved, leaving Sirius stranded at the bottom. Watching the look of consternation on the boy's face, Remus started laughing. Then he walked forward and leaned on the rail, looking back down the empty space where the stairs had been.
Sadly, while he stood happily surveying the architecture, Sirius had found an alternative way up to the landing. Subsequently, Remus was just beginning to wonder where Sirius was when he was suddenly seized from behind and jumped about a foot in the air.
Sirius grinned. "You might be able to run faster than me, Remmie, but I'll always catch you in the end."
Remus twisted round to face him with a look of defeat. "Damn."
"I win," Sirius said happily. "And you know what that means." Picking up his wand, he threw a quick 'Petrificus partis' at Remus and pulled the eyeliner out of his pocket. "I would say keep still, but you don't really have much choice."
He was right; the spell had left Remus unable to move most of his body. His mouth, though, was relatively unaffected, and he didn't pass up the chance to protest. "Pads, you're not doing this."
"Yes I am."
"Get off me."
"No."
"If you don't stop now I'll…"
"Ooh, punishment," Sirius said with a flash of the demonic smile again, and Remus gave up.
For a moment, there was silence as Sirius worked away with the pencil. Then he stopped and smiled more broadly. "I told you you'd look good."
Remus sighed. "Okay, you win. Now take it off."
Sirius shook his head resolutely. "Not until you've seen it. There'd be no point if I took it off now."
"Alright, fine." Remus tried to move before realising the spell was still in place. "At least un-petrify me."
"Oh yeah, sorry." Sheepishly, Sirius cast the counter-charm and reached out his hand. "Let's go."
Remus took the offered hand but let go when they got within a hundred metres of Gryffindor Tower. He saw the hint of sadness that flitted across Sirius's face when he did it, and he understood. Maybe secrecy was another thing they'd have to talk about.
He kept his head down as they crossed the common room, and went over to the mirror as soon as they entered the dorm. Against his will, he had to admit that he liked the effect.
"It looks so good on you," Sirius remarked, resting his chin on top of Remus's head as he stood behind the smaller boy. "It really brings out the colour of your eyes." He smiled as they made eye contact in the mirror. "I don't get how there can be so many different colours in one place, you know. I mean, look." He extended his finger to point at Remus's eyes in the reflective surface. "You've got green, brown, grey, and that bit even looks like blue."
Remus laughed. "I thought dogs were supposed to be colour-blind."
"Yeah, and stags are supposed to be noble, but look at Prongs," Sirius answered.
"Always with the smart reply," Remus said, turning round with a smile and looking up at Sirius. "Did I ever tell you how nice your eyes are?"
"No, I don't believe you did." Sirius slid his arms around Remus's waist. "Why don't you have a go now?"
"Okay, I will." Remus watched his eyes for a few seconds before he spoke. "They're so dark."
Sirius cut in. "You know, that's not actually all that good."
Remus swatted him on the arm. "Shhh. Let me finish. They're really dark, but when you laugh they go all bright. And when you're happy they go twinkly just… there." He reached up to point to the corner of one of Sirius's eyes. "They're the nicest blue I've ever seen."
"Okay." Sirius smiled at him. "That was good." He was just leaning in to kiss Remus when the door swung open and hit the wall with a thud. They quickly sprang apart and tried to look innocent.
"Hey guys." It was James, with Peter just behind him. "Where did you disappear to earlier?"
Remus grinned as he sat down on his bed. "Sirius was trying to put eyeliner on me, so I ran."
James nodded appreciatively. "Smart move, Moony." Frowning, he walked over and looked closely at Remus. "Looks like he got you, though."
"Yeah, he did." Remus shot a fake glare at Sirius. "I'll get him for that." He stifled a laugh at the raised-eyebrow look Sirius gave him in response to that statement.
"Uh-oh, better watch my back…" Sirius walked over to his trunk and put the eyeliner pencil away. "I take it the party's pretty much over, then?"
"Yeah," James said, sitting down. "It got a bit boring after Evans disappeared off upstairs, anyway, with that cat…" He suddenly did a minor double-take as he looked over at Sirius. "I thought the cat scratched your face; how come I can't see it?"
"I glamoured it for him," Remus answered for Sirius, picking up his pyjamas and going into the bathroom.
He was about to close the door when Sirius hit it at great velocity, with the words: "Moony, wait! You didn't tell me how long it lasts!"
Remus poked his head around the door and rolled his eyes at James and Peter. "I'm guessing you guys don't want to hear the finer points of Sirius's obsession with his skin looking perfect?"
They both shook their heads with conviction. Remus half-smiled. "Looks like I'm stuck with it myself, then." He shut the door behind himself as he went back into the bathroom to find Sirius leaning against the basin. Reading the look on the animagus' face, he turned back to lock the door and cast a silencing spell on the room.
Sirius grinned at him. "What do you think of my excuse?"
"Flawless," Remus smiled back, stepping forward into Sirius's arms. "It's wonderfully convincing, and it gets rid of both of them for indefinite time."
"That was my plan," Sirius said, holding him close. "I hate how James keeps coming in at awkward moments."
"They don't have to be awkward," Remus said softly, deciding to broach the subject. "Well not as awkward, anyway."
Sirius moved back slightly to look him in the eye. "You mean we could tell them?"
Remus shrugged. "I guess. I mean, I've heard about other students being gay, and not getting lynched. Hogwarts is pretty good when it comes to that kind of thing." Thinking about it, he quickly added: "Not that I mean we should tell everyone about it just yet. But maybe James and Peter should know soon."
"I guess you're right," Sirius said thoughtfully. "Remus, do you think I have a bizarre sense of humour?"
Remus raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I think you ask random questions sometimes. How is this relevant?"
"Answer the question."
"Yes, I do think you have a bizarre sense of humour, but most of the time it's actually quite funny – well, so long as it's legal. Why?"
Sirius shuffled for a second or two, wondering whether to make the suggestion. "Do you think we could just let them work it out for themselves?"
Remus considered it briefly. "That does have potential. Perhaps we should leave them clues of some sort?"
"I hadn't thought of that," Sirius said. "But I like it." He paused, biting his lip. "Do you think they'll be okay with it?"
"I don't know. I hope so." Remus frowned momentarily. "Surely we can find out?"
"How?"
"Oh, you know, mention people that are out, see how they react to it."
Sirius smiled, moving closer again. "You're a very smart young man, you know that?"
"I think you may have told me once or twice. Mostly when you want my help with homework, but yes, I believe you've mentioned it."
Sirius laughed, and nearly got poked in the eye as Remus pointed to it. "There's the twinkle."
"Really?"
"Yep. It looks really cute."
"Why thank you," Sirius smiled, tightening his arms around Remus's waist. "Flattery, as they say, will get you anywhere."
Remus smirked and stretched up to whisper in his ear. "No need. I'm already where I want to be." With that, he slipped an arm around Sirius's neck and pulled him into a kiss. For once it was Sirius who was pinned, and of his own volition at that. Remus planned to make the most of that.
The sensation of cold enamel at his back barely reached Sirius's brain; his concentration was devoted to the boy in front of him. His senses filled with the scent of warmth and chocolate that announced Remus, the sensation of silky hair brushing his forehead, and the taste of Butterbeer and pure happiness. He didn't think he'd ever stop feeling lucky.
When they drew apart at last, Sirius reached up to brush Remus's hair out of his eyes. "This is getting long."
"Not as much as yours," Remus murmured, smiling. "There are girls that want hair like yours."
"Tough, they're not having it."
Remus laughed softly, leaning back in to kiss Sirius on the tip of his nose. "I like it where it is," he agreed, before kissing him again. This time it was his turn to be in control, and he opted to use it, nibbling on Sirius's lower lip before trailing kisses down his jaw to his neck. There he bit down gently, leaving his mark.
At length, he moved back and watched Sirius's face. Slowly, the closed eyes fluttered open, and blue locked with hazel. The twinkle was still there. As Remus stepped back, Sirius wordlessly turned to the mirror and looked closely at the mark on his neck. Then he turned back to Remus, smiling. "We may have to glamour this as well."
Remus was about to reply when there was a thud and yell from the dorm: "Are you two done discussing Sirius's skin yet?"
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A/N: I tried to put in some slash. I'm not so good at it… which is a shame as I'm planning a lemon for this fic later. Who wants a lemon?
Note: I'm now branching out into fanart! It will be appearing on my new LiveJournal soon. The link is in my profile. If anyone wants to see it, review or PM or something so I know whether it's worth putting it on there or not.