A/N Apologies, dear readers! (ducks flying tomatoes)
I know that this chapter is a.) really short and b.) really crappy, but I did my best. I'm sorry if it's not up to expectations.
There's not much humour here, though it will live again in the epilogue. From there, we'll see if I should do a sequel, but I'd take a break first.
Sorry for holding you up here! Onto the fic!
"Draco?"
Draco felt something catch in his throat as bright emerald-green eyes stared up at him. Breathe, Draco, breathe, he coached himself silently. C'mon, you've been doing it all your life, it's not that hard…
"H-hey," he stammered. Since when do I stammer?
"Hey. Um…look…I don't know what happened, and I'm really confused, but maybe you could get off of me now…"
Draco felt something snag his heart, but he pushed it away. "Whatever," he said, lifting himself off of the couch. He moved over to a chair beside the sofa and surveyed the emerald-eyed boy as he slowly sat up. He wore a loose pair of black pants and …and no shirt. Oh my…
Draco shook those thoughts from his head. They wouldn't do him any good, now would they?
"Um…" said Harry, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "You wouldn't happen to know where my glasses are, would you?"
"Yeah. Se- Snape gave me your robes and things from the…incident. They're up in my trunk, I'll go get them…"
He left the room hurriedly, worrying about Harry's reaction, completely oblivious to the joyous, longing stare from a pair of certain emerald eyes.
Remus stirred slightly, cuddling up against the soft yet firm warm thing along side him. The thing chuckled, vibrating gently.
"Rather comfortable, aren't we?" said a vaguely familiar voice warmly.
"Mmm…"
"I keep forgetting that you're not the most articulate morning person."
"Mm."
Another chuckle. "I can't say that I mind waking up like this, actually. I haven't seen you this relaxed in a long time, Re."
"Mm."
"Ever think about expanding your vocabulary?"
"No."
"It speaks!" teased the familiar voice.
Remus stuck out his tongue, meeting with the warm thing. It shivered. "Okay, no more teasing. Really…look at me, Re."
Remus looked up and comprehension (and a growing sense of horror) overtook the morning daze.
He leapt out of the bed, stumbling over nothing, turning rapidly to face Sirius. "U-um, Siri, I didn't know…sorry, I…um…you…"
Sirius chuckled, sitting up, blankets pooling around his waist, revealing the waistband of a black pair of pants. His tanned, toned chest, fleshed out since Azkaban, shone in a patch of golden sunlight.
"Stumbling out of bed and over words. What is it with you in the mornings?"
He stood and stepped towards a positively terrified Remus.
"What's wrong, Rem? What are you afraid of?"
"Of what I want," whispered the horrified Remus before grabbing a robe a fleeing the scene.
Harry took the round glasses offered to him by Draco with a nod of thanks. He gave a sigh of relief as everything came into focus as the lenses slid over his eyes.
"Now," he said, turning to Draco, "I…um…have something to say."
Draco held up a hand. "So do I, I finally got the guts to say it, interrupt me and I'll sic Pansy on you."
He had a certain satisfaction in seeing Harry pale.
"Look. I didn't mean for what happened to happen, but it did. And what happened was me falling in love with you. Well," he went on, going faster, "I think it's love, but I don't really know, y'know? I mean, there's love, and then there's infatuation, and then there's just like, or a crush, but I don't know. I mean, we're what, sixteen? How are we supposed to know who we love? But," he said, taking a deep breath, "I think I do. Love you, I mean."
There was silence in the room for a moment, Draco staring resolutely at the stone floor as though it was the most interesting thing in the world, and Harry staring at Draco with softened eyes.
There was a soft noise of feet on tile and a pair of tanned feet came into Draco's vision. He glanced up and his eyes snapped onto Harry's and refused to let go.
"I'm confused too, you idiot. Hell, I was a cat. But…I've felt strongly about this…for a very long time. And maybe it wasn't fair, because I knew a little telepathy, that after the initial kitten-mother bonding, I used some mind-games to strengthen it into something more…but I couldn't have done it if you hadn't wanted it somehow. I know that much.
"I've liked you for a long time. A really, really, long time. But I was afraid, too afraid to stick myself out and get shot down. Plus my entire house is a nest of homophobes, save a few. But this was like a blessing to me, and I had to use it, because others wouldn't hold me responsible for my actions. So…basically, Draco…I think I do, too. Love you, I mean," he teased lightly, his hand on Draco's shoulder.
They didn't...talk...much after that.
Sirius trotted up yet another winding set of stairs. He hadn't been able to find (or Summon, for that matter) the Marauder's Map, so he was forced to search the old-fashioned way.
He literally searched from top to bottom, starting with the dungeons. No room was overlooked (though he did recall smirking at a certain scene involving a certain Slytherin and a certain Gryffindor in a certain common room). Next was the main floor. Not in the Great Hall, or the Entrance Hall, or the broom closets. Nothing on the third through eighteenth floor.
His feet hurt.
Finally, he had narrowed it down: the Forbidden Forest, or the Astronomy Tower.
Remus's favorite spot in the entire castle.
In retrospect, it seemed really stupid not to have checked there first.
And so he clambered up the steep twisting staircase, ending in a solid oaken door which he swung open silently.
The sun was now almost completely over the treetops of the Forbidden forest, long dark shadows streaming across the green grass of the grounds. The lake glimmered a strange mixture of green, blue, and silver, with a dark shape in it which Sirius was fairly sure was the Giant Squid.
Clouds were tinged pink, red, and a strange indigo, the morning sky a clear cerulean. It shone down brightly upon the lone figure sitting on the outer edge of the wall as he had when Sirius had first seen him here when they were both only thirteen.
He was barely touched by time in that moment, Sirius thought. Yes, a little taller, yes, a little more silver glimmering in caramel-colored hair, but what did that matter?
He surveyed him silently for a moment.
His profile was tall and straight, proud and strong. Sirius smiled. His skin appeared to glow in the sunlight, his hair radiant, wind-ruffled. He felt something catch in his throat as he went and stood beside him.
"I'm afraid you're going to fall, y'know," he said quietly, echoing the ghost of his thirteen-year-old self.
"I know," replied Remus, thirteen for yet another moment.
"Will you get down?"
"No."
Funny how history always repeated itself. Funny.
Sirius sighed then, as he always had. "For me?"
And Remus veered from the past echoes. "Not this time, Siri. Not this time."
"Re…Moony…Rem…Remus!" Sirius snapped finally. "Look at me!"
He bit his lip as Remus turned his face.
He had been crying at thirteen, too.
He touched the stream of silver liquid gently. "Rem, why'd you run?"
Remus swatted away his hand impatiently. "Because I'm doing it again."
"Doing what?"
"Wanting something I can't have!" he snapped. "And I can never have it because it's so damn unattainable! Especially to me. Because we're friends, and because I'm so different, and because of what I am, and because of my looks…my god, I'm hopeless! And I've wanted it for so long, but there were too many complications, and I'm just tired of dancing around the issue! Sirius, 'it' is you!"
Sirius felt something freeze.
"It's always been you Sirius, and I have no hope, because I'm aging and a monster and you're horribly, painfully straight, alright? Are you satisfied now?"
Sirius took his hand and looked straight into honeysuckle eyes.
"Whoever said I was straight?
A/N No, this is not the last chapter! I repeat: THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER! There will be an epilogue, and I've already written it and will post it sometime tomorrow or Monday, depending on my schedual. Thank you all for being so patient with me!