How to Tie a Tie
Theme #13: Hair Ribbons

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"Padfoot," Remus said lightly and chuckled. "Your tie is crooked."

Sirius looked down at the offensive tie, scowling deeply at the crooked thing. He fingered the red and gold banded tie and his scowl deepened.

"You know I hate these things," he groused, fiddling with it. "I hate the entire uniform, frankly."

"Yes, I know. If the world went your way, we'd all be naked," Remus joked, setting down his book bag and moving forward towards the taller boy. "Let me help."

Sirius watched skeptically as Remus stepped closer than strictly necessary and touched the tie, slowly untying Sirius' messy and incorrect job.

Remus worked diligently, crossing the tie and looping it under the shorter end. Sirius watched, awed at how quickly Remus tied the tie. He stepped back when he was done, and Sirius missed the brief whispers of Remus' soft fingertips against his neck.

"There," Remus said triumphantly, looking quite pleased with himself. He dusted his hands free of invisible dust. "Much better. You look quite presentable now, Padfoot."

Sirius turned around and inspected himself on the little mirror James had purchased last year. He tugged at the tie until it loosened a bit. Over his reflection's shoulder, Sirius saw Remus frown thoughtfully. Once the tie was loosened to his liking, Sirius turned back around and grinned cheekily at his friend.

"Thanks, Moony," Sirius said happily before turning his attentions back to the mirror. "Heaven forbid I look like a slob."

Remus, being the smart boy that he was, easily detected the sarcasm in his friend's voice. He arched his eyebrows upwards, giving his friend a forgiving look. He sighed, adjusted his own tie and slipped on his cloak. He jerked his head towards the stairway, visible through the open door to their dormitory.

"Class will start soon. Let's go?" he asked, gesturing.

"Okay—opps," Sirius said from the mirror.

Remus' eyes narrowed. "What did you do?"

"Tie came undone," Sirius admitted, but despite the apologetic tone of his voice, Remus could clearly see the pure delight in his eyes, the terribly hidden amount of guilty pleasure.

Rolling his eyes, Remus stepped back over towards Sirius and yanked on his tie, choking the boy for a moment. Frowning, he began redoing Sirius' tie, making sure to do it looser for him, since he was going to act like a stupid girl and be fussy about his clothing. He yanked jerkily on the tie again and Sirius laughed above him.

"There," Remus said again, stepping back and admiring his handy work. "Now let's get to class."

Sirius turned back to the mirror, tugged on it again until it was loose enough, before turning around and smiling at Remus. The said boy rolled his eyes and grabbed Sirius' book bag. He tossed it towards Sirius with a barely concealed snort.

"Come on, let's go," he said again, tugging on Sirius' sleeve as the boy loitered about, admiring his reflection.

He watched Sirius touch the tie before sighing. He shook his head, grabbed the book bag and followed after Remus. "Coming."

They walked down the stairs to the common room in a companionable silence. As they were crossing the threshold towards the portrait hole, Sirius spoke again:

"Where did you learn how to tie a tie, anyway?"

"Hair ribbons," Remus said easily, his cheeks turning a hue pinker.

"Hair ribbons!" Sirius exclaimed cheerily before breaking out into a grin. "Do tell."

"I used to practice on my stuffed bear at home," Remus said defensively, something in his tone daring Sirius to make fun of him and his dress-up days with his teddy bears. Sirius muffled a snort and patted his shorter friend on the back.

"Of course you did, everyone does that," Sirius said with a particularly large chortle.

Remus glared. "Shut up. That's the last time I tie your tie for you."

"But it's come undone again," Sirius admitted, and displayed his unraveled tie for Remus' inspection.

Remus growled, but couldn't shake off the look of soft affection on his face as he stepped up to Sirius and redid his tie for him. His fingers brushed over Sirius' neck and Sirius watched him silently, his lips quirked up into one of his devilish smiles, only softened for Remus.

Remus finished, leaving the knot of the tie hanging low away from Sirius' collar. "There, is that loose enough?"

"Perfect," Sirius confessed, his eyes glowing. "Thanks, Moony."

Remus breathed in slowly and nodded his head. "Let's get to class."