They were all sitting around the low coffee table in the Common Room, backs resting on the sides of the couches. Sirius couldn't help but smile, looking around at the group of his four oldest friends, plus one new red-headed addition, and think how much he adored them, and how stark of a contrast they were to what would inevitably be waiting for him when he got off the train tomorrow afternoon.
The hearth had been long since abandoned as the sweet caress of Spring began to warm up the castle. Students bustled in and out of the Common Room, scuttling about looking for lost socks, or hurrying to return textbooks they'd left underneath a pile of clothes upstairs. Surprising everyone, their little group of five all felt calm and relaxed enough to enjoy themselves for a little while, having all sorted themselves out earlier than usual at the careful instruction of Lily.
Exploding Snap was the poison of the hour. Lily had won twice already, Peter thrice, and Remus had swept them all clean the other seven times. James, having lost twelve rounds consecutively, and getting sick of having to shake the soot from his hair, was beginning to pout. Lily would ruffle his hair playfully, and Sirius, an equal loser, laughed himself silly every time the pile exploded in his face. Sirius didn't mind losing so much, as long as he got to see the cute little triumphant smirk on Remus' face every time.
As the game evolved, Exploding Snap slowly became Wizard Skittles, which James was all too pleased about, as he was able to smash the others by simply using sheer brute force to demolish the pins. Remus caught Lily sneaking little adoring glances at James every time he celebrated in delight, but she would attempt to throw Remus a look of false innocence each time he caught her eye. Peter, of course, was as oblivious as ever, and Sirius only had eyes for Remus' clumsy little throws of the skittles, which always failed to knock any pins over.
The sunlight began to fade, and their little group found their way back to the couches, which faced the empty hearth. They still chattered away about nothing in particular, as wonderful friends often do. Each of them settled into the positions they always occupied; Peter lounging on the floor with his back to the hearth, Sirius draped backwards over the carpeted armchair, always with something to occupy his hands, Remus at the foot of that chair, and James and Lily together, but still apart, on the couch. As the year had worn on, Remus noticed the gap Lily and James placed between them as they sat down became smaller and smaller, and he was the first to notice that the space was practically non-existent tonight.
Always watching Remus, and following his gaze, Sirius began to notice the small glances Remus would flick towards James and Lily on the adjacent couch tonight, wondering what was so fascinating about the two morons sitting adjacent to him.
Contrary to popular opinion, and indeed contrary to the boys' usual behaviour, inebriation was not on the agenda tonight. Not when they would all be headed home tomorrow, and Sirius needed a clear head to face his family, and Lily and Remus needed clear heads to fulfil their final duties as prefects tomorrow, and James didn't want to be caught off guard and accidentally profess his ever-growing feelings to the beautiful red-head to his right (and maybe Lily's reason for not drinking was much the same). Peter certainly wasn't prepared to be the only one drinking, so he stashed the bottle back in his trunk and looked forward to consuming it later, perhaps with the pretty witch that lived down the road from him.
At regular intervals throughout the night, Sirius would again look over to Lily and James, finding nothing to be out of the ordinary; just the two making moon-eyes at each other. But, at about a quarter to ten, a slight movement on the seat of the couch caught his attention. James' finger had twitched so it was minutely closer to Lily's hand. Now that was interesting.
Peter had begun to grow tired, and now lay sprawled out on the red and gold woven rug that had seen many a nap over its years on the floor of the Gryffindor Common Room. Sirius, however, was more awake than ever. It was like attempting to catch a criminal in action, and he began to notice that James only shuffled his hand towards Lily when he thought no one was looking. Before long, Sirius caught Lily doing it too. The cheek of these two!
James and Lily, on the other hand, were none the wiser of Sirius' investigative sleuthing. Sirius didn't think they even realised they were doing it. He was loath to admit it, but the all-too-rare magnetic attraction of those two lovesick fools had been apparent since the very first day they met as eleven-year-olds on the train. Although James had waxed poetic about his pre-pubescent love for Lily in the dorms many a time, Sirius wasn't sure if James realised he was experiencing that magic happen now, finally, after so many years. He could see the adoration in their eyes, and one could hardly ignore the electricity between them, almost sending sparks out of their fingers.
As much as Sirius was loath to admit this too, he knew his best friend, his brother, had found his match. Sirius remembered a couple of years ago, when he read a muggle romance novel, to annoy his parents of course. The author went on and on and on about this idea of twin flames. Sirius didn't get it at first, but over the past six months he had been accidentally observing Lily and James' originally tentative friendship blossom into something more. As opposite as the two were, they were so alike in inherent values and beliefs, and they challenged each other in the best ways. Nevertheless, all this sexual tension was driving Sirius up the wall.
After scarcely forty minutes, the two were practically holding hands. Sirius couldn't very well see how they were going to get away with denying their feelings much longer! It felt as though he was sitting on a secret. And Sirius did not like sitting on a secret, at least not one that would be beneficial to both involved parties should it happen to be out in the open.
Remus could sense Sirius' growing agitation, smiling to himself at Sirius' impatience, especially when Remus had known for months that something had been going on between the two, and hadn't said a word. Of course, Remus had realised long before anyone else, way back when Lily had begun biting her nails every time she attended a quidditch match. She thought no-one had noticed, but Remus was much too observant, and she was much too obvious. Remus simply placed a hand on Sirius' increasingly fidgety one, temporarily calming him, but the indignant look remained in Sirius' eye, pleading "Why can't I say something?".
By now Peter was out cold, and James and Lily were starting to get there themselves. When she thought Sirius and Remus were engaged in their own private conversation, Lily slowly shut her eyes and rested her head on James' shoulder. James' eyes initially widened in surprise, but he soon relaxed his shoulder and place his head atop hers once he felt the utter warmth and comfort she brought him with that simple contact.
Of course, Remus clocked on to their little lovey-dovey shenanigans right away, only having to nudge Sirius' knee before he knew it too. "A-ha!" Sirius thought. "Finally!". Remus and Sirius grinned at each other, all too happy for their dear friends, knowing that James and Lily would only have to wake up the next morning draped over each other for them to realise they had been caught in the act.
