I took too long to do this, sorry, but I was in a floundery spot with it for a few days. Disclaimer: I didn't make up these characters, and I don't own them, but they were too cool to resist. I mean, c'mon. The Adventures of Sickly Werewolf Boy and his Unusually Handsome Partner in Crime? I couldn't make this stuff up, folks.

The shepherd's pie that Remus had just put on his plate looked slightly unappetizing as he poked at it with his fork. He had just come back from his date with Lena Banks, which went fine, though his mind had been rather preoccupied with the person who just sat down next to him.

"So?" Sirius grinned in an irresistibly puppyish way. "Spill!" Remus took that to mean they were to act as though nothing odd had happened between them that afternoon.

Remus allowed a small smile. "It went fine. Nothing catastrophic happened… or anything of interest, really."

"Don't be stupid. We want details, mate." James, who sat down on the other side of him, looked equally curious. "C'mon, Padfoot always gives us a full run-down."

"Well... I can't say it was all that romantic. We spent nearly the entire tea talking about politics and classes." He stabbed at his food idly. "She's quite intelligent."

Sirius sighed deeply. "You're so boring. Tell me you talked about Quidditch or something."

"She didn't seem particularly keen on letting me in on any Ravenclaw tactics, if that's what you're wondering."

James seemed to have lost some interest after that statement, but he and Sirius kept prodding Remus steadily for information.

"…no, I can't say her hair was what you would call a 'turn-on,' Padfoot..."

"Pity. D'you fancy her?"

Remus sighed and twirled his fork on his plate. "Oh, I suppose not… she's got a rather strong presence, and I do think she's clever, but…" He thought he read something like relief in Sirius's expression, but it was quickly replaced by a concerned frown.

"Do you plan on eating that?"

"What?" He glanced down and realized that he had played with his food the entire time without bothering to find out what it tasted like. "It's gone cold by now, I suppose I haven't much of an appetite for it."

Sirius looked up at him, worry painted clearly all over his face. "You're going to starve, mate."

"No, it's fine. I'm not really hungry." Remus stood up and yawned. "I'm heading back to the common room, if you're done with your interrogation."

Sirius nearly tripped over his feet as he quickly stood up. "I'll come with you, then!" He looked oddly cheerful, Remus noticed him give James a look that he couldn't decipher.

"You wouldn't happen to mind telling me why you didn't eat breakfast or dinner today, would you?" Sirius hissed angrily as they walked side by side.

Remus gave a tired sigh. "My eating habits have never been what you would call healthy, Padfoot, surely you've noticed…" Why was it that he had to explain himself, all of a sudden?

Sirius stopped dead and looked at him, his eyes darting quickly across Remus's face. "There are a lot of things about you I haven't noticed until just today."

Something vaguely resembling anger welled in Remus's chest. So I've got to snog you if I can expect any kind of attention from you? He would have loved to shout that at Sirius and storm off, but a voice in his head calmly reminded him that he barely deserved a friend like Sirius in the first place. He compromised by chewing on his lip.

"Quit that, will you? Your mouth is mauled as it is."

"Er – sorry…" Remus smiled weakly. "You're turning into my mother, Padfoot."

"Don't you dare turn into mine." Sirius grinned, but quickly changed the subject. "So, what's this about your eating habits?" He started to walk towards the portrait hole again.

"Oh, that." He frowned, trying to think of the absolute best way to word himself. "I suppose I have a tendency to forget to eat if I'm preoccupied. Nearly drove my parents insane when I was younger, but I don't think it took much to worry them." He gave a nonchalant shrug, "I haven't died yet."

Sirius sighed and shook his head. "Honestly, you're going to be the first of us to go… What've you been preoccupied about?" he asked airily.

Remus raised his eyebrows. "Surely you'd have an idea?" He didn't particularly want to talk about his feelings, considering he wasn't sure what they were at the moment.

Despite Sirius's tendency to be a touch thick, he seemed to take the hint, and didn't speak again until they reached the portrait hole. As they walked, Sirius managed to get a few strides ahead of Remus because his legs were a bit longer. Remus didn't mind, as he had a chance to study Sirius's lithe and exceedingly handsome frame from behind. He had yet to find a way to abate the constant contemplation of what had happened that morning, and neither of his dueling consciences showed any signs of letting up. "Listen to your instincts," his kinder side would say, only to be rebutted with "just like that instinct that makes you want to bite into people?" by the side that was somewhat more self-loathing. Remus sighed inaudibly. He had always looked up to Sirius, sure, but… He watched as Sirius brushed his hair back with all the grace of a model. Was it really a crush? Did he want to kiss Sirius? Did he want more than that? He twisted his hands together convulsively – he wasn't even entirely sure what "more" entailed.

Sirius stopped suddenly in the hallway as though he had caught a scent. Remus, catching up with him quickly, stood silently next to him. As he had suspected, a greasy, lank-haired boy stood opposite them, whipping his wand out. He didn't have a chance, though – Sirius had already shouted "impedimenta," which knocked him onto his back before he could say anything.

"I reckon that's just what I needed. Shall I lay my cloak on him so you can step over him, milady?" Sirius grinned and leaned closer to Remus, turning his attention away from Snape, who was struggling against the jinx to get up.

Remus sighed wearily. "Honestly, Padfoot…"

"What? You know he'd hex my head off if I gave the nasty scum a chance." Sirius made a move to wrap his arm around Remus's waist, but he became aware of that Snape had gotten hold of his wand a second too late. Before either of them could react, Remus felt something hot slash across his chest. He stumbled back a few feet, hearing Sirius shout all manner of swears and jinxes after Snape, who was scrambling away in the opposite direction. "You all right, mate?" He turned to Remus again, looking concerned.

"I think so..." Remus knew he was wincing a little as he clutched the gash across his torso, but it didn't feel all that deep.

Sirius sighed. "You always say that, Moony, let me see." He pushed Remus's hand out of the way and surveyed the damage. "You and your bloody martyr attitude! Come on; let's go to the hospital wing…"

Madam Pomfrey crossed her arms when she saw the two of them at her door. "You and the rest of Potter's band make up half of the injuries in this place – nearly all of them if you count the ones that are your fault!" She eyed Remus with annoyance. "The one person who doesn't heal properly, for goodness sake… Come in, then, what is it this time?"

Sirius nudged Remus forward as Madam Pomfrey turned away from them to get out a foul-smelling potion that always seemed to help at least a little. "He was attacked by Snive—er, Severus Snape!"

"Oh? Well, come here, Lupin. Let me see…" Remus felt pale as he opened the front of his robes and the shirt underneath, exposing a clean, deep slash that was bleeding openly. Madam Pomfrey tutted, "Good gracious… Isn't Snape in your year? I should hope he's not learning jinxes like that from teachers!"

Sirius nodded, still looking angry. "Remus was just standing there! Bloody cheater…"

Madam Pomfrey handed Remus the ointment and a small rag, then pointed to the most private-looking bed in the wing. "Even if you get that to where it's not bleeding, it's going to open every time you make to get up. There are some pajamas on the bed already."

Remus sighed. Didn't he have enough on his mind without having to be hexed in the hallway so often? He let Sirius give him a kiss on the cheek, but hinted that he'd like to undress alone. Once semi-comfortably in bed, he went at his gash with the rag. He was used to the stinging, and dabbed in an irritated sort of way at his wound.

"I think you may be doing more harm than good there, mate…" Sirius was standing with the curtains parted, looking apprehensive. Remus bit his lip in embarrassment – Sirius had seen the scars on his chest before, of course, but they were still a point of shame that he would have rather kept to himself when possible. "Honestly, you're not trying to hurt yourself, are you?" Remus grew more sheepish still. "Here… give me that…"

Sirius dabbed gently at Remus's chest in silence for a while, his overt tenderness seeming almost alarmingly out of character to Remus. He asked quietly, "to what do I owe this consideration, Padfoot?"

Sirius grunted. "It was my fault."

"Oh, don't worry about that. Snape's just a loose cannon." Remus was privately relieved – Sirius had an occasional sense of remorse, with or without any romantic implications. He watched his companion closely for a few minutes, surreptitiously grinning when Sirius flipped his black hair out of his eyes in a vain way. He tried not to concentrate on yet another scuffle in his mind, which was about where one drew the line between admiration and attraction. Still, as Sirius's hair fell with determination back into his eyes, Remus considered himself lucky to have such a fanciable friend.

Remus had just leaned back and closed his eyes when Sirius said, "I reckon it's closed up now."

"Yes, I suppose it has… thanks, Padfoot." He sat up carefully and bit his lip with irritation. Surely, it wasn't quite normal to be left with a certain wanting for Sirius's touch?

Sirius flipped his hair out of his eyes again and gave him a sideways glance. "Something bothering you?"

"Not really." Sharing his feelings had never been Remus's strong point.

"I'll take that as a 'yes, but I don't feel like telling you because I'm Moony, and I'm a secretive little runt.'" Sirius stuck out his tongue.

Remus rolled his eyes, feigning exasperation. "That's precisely what was running through my head."

"Well, in that case, I could give you my top-dollar advice," Sirius grinned devilishly. "If there's anything that cheers me up, it's a good snogging."

"Because that last snog absolutely cleared my head, Padfoot!"

Sirius looked thoughtful. "Yeah, well, you weren't quite prepared for that one. Grave error on my part, I'm afraid."

Remus just snorted.

"Oh, come on, Moony… it was fun the last time, wasn't it?" Sirius's puppy eyes were zeroed in on Remus's set face.

"You and your damn eyes! Fine, come here…"

Cliffhanger ahoy! Sort of… you know what's going to happen; at least you think so, but the tension! It's killing you! It's driving you to… review! My shoutout today goes to Vigeon for reading my stuff despite parental shielding techniques.