You Are the Moon
Theme #12: Ice Skating

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Remus, Sirius mused to himself, was exactly like the moon. He knew of Remus' supreme dislike and fear of the moon, so he never voiced this opinion out loud. If he told Remus he was exactly like the large globe in the sky, Remus would be insulted and think Sirius was crazy. Sometimes Sirius thought he was crazy, too.

"Where did Prongs go?" Sirius grumbled, lying on his back on his bed. From his vantage point, he could see Remus rearranging things in his trunk, collecting his small, pathetic heap of clothing in one corner, his knick-knacks in another, and his extra school supplies in the center.

Remus glanced up when Sirius spoke. He gave him a withered look before saying, "For the fifth time, he went ice skating with Lily."

"Ice skating, huh?" Sirius asked, as if he hadn't heard this information five times already. He brushed his black bangs from his eyes and continued to survey Remus. "Where?"

Remus' look was still as dry as his voice, "I told you. The northern end of the lake froze over, so everybody's going down to ice skate. Except for you."

"And you," Sirius countered logically. "You find it far more fascinating to reorganize your socks."

"Ha ha," Remus said sarcastically. He straightened himself up and slammed his trunk shut. "For your information, I'm done 'reorganizing my socks' as you put it. At least I'm doing something productive. What's your excuse?"

"I hate skating," Sirius said and then sat up, his black bangs falling into his eyes again. He draped his legs over the side of his messy bed.

"Hm," Remus hummed, not sounding the least bit interested in Sirius' likes and dislikes.

The boy moved across the room, heading towards his own four-poster bed. He rearranged his pillows and pulled on the covers until the wrinkles were smoothed out. All the while Sirius watched him like a hawk. Remus glanced at him from time to time. Finally, when he looked like he was about to leave the room, Sirius threw out his hand and caught the hem of one of Remus' billowing sleeves.

"Hullo," Remus said, though there was an air of question in his voice as he turned around to give Sirius a curious look. "Do you need something?"

Night was falling outside and Sirius could already see the half-full moon rising against the setting sun, defiantly. His eyes traced the colors splashing across the sky. It was probably really cold.

He turned his attention back towards Remus when the boy seemed like he was about to pull away. He smiled cheekily up at the boy as his fingers skated across pale skin, wrapping around deft fingers and drawing the boy close.

Remus didn't protest it. He moved up to Sirius, standing between his knees and looking down at the boy curiously. A thumb stroked inquisitively over scarred skin.

The standing boy was smiling. "Yes?"

"You're lovely, you know that?" Sirius said lightly. His thumb still swept tantalizingly slow over Remus' skin.

The said boy tilted his head to the side. "Boys aren't lovely, Padfoot."

"Well, you are," Sirius protested, reaching out his other hand and grabbing Remus' other hand. "You know why I hate skating, right?" he asked suddenly. "Remus?"

"Of course I do," Remus asked, amusement in his voice from the sudden changing of subject. His hands felt natural against Sirius' own. "You fell through the ice when you were young."

"I didn't fall," Sirius protested.

"I know," Remus said gently, always sounding like he spoke with the utmost care, choosing his words with difficult precision. "Regulus shoved you, and you didn't know how to swim, especially in freezing ice water."

"Yeah," Sirius agreed, his fingertips padding across Remus' hands, committing the scarred appendages to his memory, though the feeling and curves of his entire body were confided perfectly to his memory, having scanned and traced the features countless times. He worried his lower lip. "There's probably a metaphor in there."

"Probably," Remus agreed and said nothing more.

They stood in silence for a short moment.

"Would you have pulled me out?" Sirius asked.

Remus' eyes were warmed, his smile crinkling the sides of his eyes. "Always."

They breathed in the silence.

It was getting darker out still. Remus spoke, sounding regretful, "They'll be back soon."

"Yeah," Sirius said again, staring up at Remus' face, and seeing only beauty there. The molten gold eyes met his slate grey.

Remus' smile softened and he leaned down and their lips met, like many times before. It was soft and chaste, as was everything Remus did. Sirius pressed forward but Remus pulled back, the smile still on his lips as he tightened his hold on Sirius' hands.

His cheeks were pink and his eyes glowed. He was lovely. He wished that Remus would see it for himself and not just think Sirius was being sweet when he insisted that Remus was pretty.

Sirius stood up and released his hold on Remus' hand. Remus regarded him thoughtfully as Sirius lifted his hands and cupped his cheeks, pulling the boy's face upwards to meet his own. They kissed again in the darkness, the moon casting a shadow through the window. Moonbeams stretched across the hardwood floor.

You are the moon, Sirius thought, that skates across the sky.

He wished that Remus could see his beauty. But the moon could only see its reflection in rippling waters of the ocean and lakes. His impression was skewed, and Sirius wished he could still the world so Remus could see himself truly, and not just a scattered reflection in a fragmented surface.

Sirius pulled away, regretting the distance between Remus' lips. Silently, Remus' hands covered the ones covering his cheeks and he seemed to positively glow. He beamed up at Sirius, his eyes soft like the morning sun.

The taller boy licked his lips and rested his forehead against Remus'. The boy's eyes fell shut at the contact, and his scarred fingers skated across his smooth skin, up his arms, over his shoulders, and around his neck. He drew him close, and Sirius greeted the movement.

"I wouldn't let you fall in," Remus said at last, his eyes still shut and his lips still curved into a contented smile. Sirius hummed in confusion. Remus explained, "I wouldn't let you fall in the water. I'd skate with you and keep you safe."

Sirius chuckled. "You're lovely."

"I'm not," Remus defended.

Remus was the moon. Sirius was the stars that kept the moon company. And together, they created the night sky.