Not Just a Game

(Pride of Portree loses their first match of the season. But it's not really about the Quidditch match, really. Buzzword was "proud/pride" and genre/cliché was hurt/comfort.)

" – but then Tolbert lost his grip on the Quaffle and Coleman scored again and by then it was just all bloody over, even if Everett caught the Snitch, there was no way they were going to win!" Sirius slumped his face back to the pillow, where it had been when Remus had found him a good seven minutes worth of whiny match recap earlier. "There was no way I was going to win. Oh, Moony, whatever is going to become of me?"

Remus shifted and frowned in the doorframe. "So let me get this straight, Sirius – you want me to feel sorry for you?"

"Well it's bloody awful, isn't it?"

"Sorry for you losing a wager that you made on a Merlin-forsaken Quidditch game?"

"But it was so much gold, Moony!"

Remus crossed over to the bed and sat next to Sirius, who looked so laughably distraught that he almost couldn't stay mad at him. Almost.

"Pride hasn't lost a match this seasonnnn, Moonyyyy," Sirius whined even more melodramatically.

"Sirius, didn't Mad-Eye specifically advise you against making this wager?"

"What does bloody Mad-Eye know?"

There was a sting of anger up underneath Sirius's words that Remus was becoming upsettingly familiar with, and he bit his lip, and tried to reconsider. Sure, Sirius was being ridiculous about the whole thing. Sirius had also been stuck in this house for ages, and was grasping at any little straws of entertainment he could find. This wasn't, really, about the Quidditch match, or the money, or anything so simple as that.

Remus sighed, and lay a hand on Sirius's shoulder, half-heartedly. "Suppose I'll buy you a drink then."

Sirius sat up and pulled a face at him. "Moony, since when are you buying me anything?"

"I'm not just doing it for you, you know," Remus said, though it was as far from the truth as possible, and the color in his cheeks likely showed it. "I just couldn't possibly endure your bloody whining. I've got papers to translate."