"Remus, we need to talk," Sirius said as he approached the other Marauders, who were chatting around fire in the common room.

"What's there to talk about?" snarled Remus, who had tensed up when Sirius approached.

"Look, I don't want to lose one of my best friends, but I don't want to lose her, either," said Sirius quietly.

"I guess that's a choice you'll just have to make then, isn't it?" said Remus in a voice heavy with sarcasm.

James butt in; "Remus, will you just go talk to him?" he cajoled.

"It would get Sirius off your back," put in Peter.

Remus' eyes darted back and forth between the two boys who had just spoken. "Fine," he said eventually. "Where do you want to talk, Sirius?"

"Our dorm. It should still be empty at this time of night."

Remus turned on his heel and stomped his way over to the staircase. He looked back at Sirius. "Well, come on then." Sirius obeyed. Once inside the dorm, they both started talking at once.

"I don't think—" said Remus.

"Why are you—" said Sirius. "Go ahead," he told Remus in a resigned tone.

"I don't think your relationship with her is healthy."

"And why not?" Sirius said, frowning and stepping toward Remus in a confrontational manner.

"She's using you," replied Remus. Sirius snorted derisively to this. "Think about it," continued Remus. "You're a young, handsome bloke, and she's…well…old, to be quite frank about it."

"Does that make me just some gigolo?" said Sirius in a dangerously low tone. Sirius was opening and closing his fists tensely, and they were mere inches apart. Remus was silent in response, and just when it seemed inevitable that the argument would come to blows, Remus did something which would forever change their relationship.

[cliffy?]

Remus grasped Sirius' face between his palms and kissed him full on the lips. Sirius was too shocked to resist. Remus backed off, but stayed with his hands on Sirius' cheeks until Sirius savagely pulled away.

"Freak," spat Sirius.

"Sirius…" Remus said pleadingly.

"Get away from me, you abomination of nature."

Remus was cut to the bone. "Sirius…" he said again, tears welling up in his eyes.

Sirius saw the tears, and felt badly that he'd hurt his friend so badly. He hadn't meant his homophobic words, but he had been angry enough at Remus that he was willing to do whatever would hurt the werewolf the most. Still, he didn't regret his words…yet.

"Fine," said Remus with a scowl through his tears. "If that's the way you feel about my choices, then bugger you." His voice was cracking from emotion.

"Fine. You apparently despise my choices, as well, so I think this friendship is officially over."

"Then leave."

"I think I will." With that, Sirius stormed down the staircase and back into the common room.

"How'd it go?" James asked as Sirius entered, cutting off one of Peter's dull stories.

"How do you think it went?" Sirius said testily.

"Well, er…I'm guessing badly."

"That bloody bastard had the nerve to kiss me!"

"On the lips?" asked James, though he thought he already knew the answer.

"Where do you bloody well think? On the pe—"

James cut him off. "Okay, okay," he said, spreading his fingers palms down and patting the air in a "calm down" gesture. "I don't think Remus would appreciate you yelling that for the whole common room to hear," he continued in a conspiratorial tone. Peter looked on wide-eyed.

"I don't care what people think about that fruitcake!" Sirius said, still yelling. "Remus likes men! Remus likes men!" he yelled, even louder this time. It was clear that everyone in the room had indeed heard, as there was much whispering and giggling going on. "There. Now that pansy will have to cope with the whole school knowing his bloody 'secret.'"

James was staring at Sirius as though he no longer recognized his friend. "Remus will never forgive you for that."

"Like I give a damn."

"I will never forgive you for that," James revised. "Why is it that you can accept that Remus is a-- that Remus is unusual in other ways," James corrected, noticing that almost everyone in the common room was staring, "but you can't accept this?"

"Maybe because he apparently can't accept my choice in romantic partners, so why should I accept his choice? He has no control over his...changes, but he does have control over whom he likes!"

"Sirius, that's ridiculous!" replied James.

"Yeah!" Peter chimed in, finally deciding to take an active role in the conversation.

"No it--"

"Don't you even remember that discussion--" James interrupted.

"I'm not finished!" bellowed Sirius.

"Too bad!" James yelled. "You will listen to--"

"No, I won't! Goodbye, Marauders." Sirius turned on his heel and stormed up to the dorm.

Once inside, Sirius flung himself on his bed and drew the curtains shut. Still seething, he attempted to slow his breathing. He did remember the discussion James had mentioned. They had been lazing around the dorm one Saturday, playing twenty questions. (check if this is before or after soap scene/ if soap scene explains 20 Q's) Remus had asked, casually, but with a tremor in his voice, what they thought about men who liked other men.

Sirius remembered responding, truthfully, that he thought people should be able to make their own choice when it came down to it. Remus had said something about whether Sirius thought it was really a choice or not. Sirius recalled hearing a keen edge in Remus' voice, and at the time wondering what that was about. Now he knew. Remus liked him, romantically speaking. Sirius sighed, staring up at the gold-trimmed red canopy of his bed.

His response to Remus' second question had been that no one would deliberately choose such a difficult way of life. He still believed that. But by pushing Remus away; by pretending to be a bigoted arsehole, Sirius didn't have to acknowledge how hurt he was that Remus didn't approve of him and Minerva. James seemed to accept Sirius' love of the older woman. Peter hadn't yet expressed an opinion, (dbl chk) but Peter was always on another planet anyway.

Hell, even Lily, who Sirius thought of as a sort of peripheral Marauder, had been very kind about Sirius being involved with a teacher. Which, Sirius surmised with a wry chuckle, may or may not have had anything to do with the fact that Lily had had a crush on their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in third year. She couldn't exactly call the kettle black. "So to speak," Sirius muttered aloud with a small smile at the pun on his last name. He heaved another sigh. All this musing had only made him more confused, but at least he was slightly calmer now.