Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

AN: Woah, this one got away from me. I wasn't intened the date to go this way, but sometimes the characters have a mind of t heir own.

WARNING! LEMON AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER.

In the days that followed James watched Sirius. They had agreed that The Date would take place on Friday, three days after the bathroom incident. The situation between the Marauders hadn't been so tense since their first year when they first formed the bond. They had all had to share everything about themselves because of the bond; they were used to it by now. They expected it, it felt normal, and even natural (if embarrassing at times). It had been years since they had been so aware of their lack of privacy, so aware and tense because of the bond.

It wasn't that they hadn't all been in the situation Sirius was in, more or less. Because they had been. Whenever one of them dated someone, or in James' case got married, the bond made them share everything about the relationship with each other. Every date, every meaningful conversation, every kinky thought, basically anything and everything about the relationship. It was always embarrassing, to have to tell the others and to have to listen. But after eighteen years of living with the bond even that, the most embarrassing aspect of the bond, had become normal.

But it was different this time. Because this wasn't just some girl that they had to listen to Sirius talk about. Or even some guy. This time it was James himself. And wasn't that just the most screwed up situation ever? It wasn't often that you had to listen to your best mate talk about how much he loved you, or how much he wanted you, or why he wanted you. Not only that, but Remus and Peter had to be told as well, it was humiliating for all four of them.

The past few days had been even worse. Because Sirius really did want a date with James, a real date. The idea had been startling to James. He had known that Sirius was in love with him, and that Sirius wanted to… be with him that way. He'd had to listen to Sirius talk about it enough, and had seen the proof of it himself in the bathroom that day. But somehow, even with all of that, James hadn't realized that Sirius wanted a relationship. Oh, James wasn't an idiot. He knew that Sirius wanted a relationship with him, but somehow he hadn't equated that to dates, and partnership, and all the things that he had once wanted with Lily.

When the bond had forced them to tell Remus and Peter about the events in the bathroom, and the plan to go on a date, it had led to yet another long and in depth discussion. They had had countless in depth conversations about the situation over the last month, and still it was never quite enough to satisfy the bond on this particular topic. This had been a particularly hard one though, perhaps the hardest James had ever had. Sirius had been forced to tell them, to talk about dating James.

"I know it's not possible. I'm not- I mean, I know James is straight." Sirius had said, not meeting their eyes. "I know that you could never feel that way about me Prongs. That it will, or would, feel wrong to you."

James had just stared at Sirius as he spoke; he felt ill talking about it. For himself and for Sirius. "But I can't help but want it. A real date with you, and not a pretend one. And we all know that that is really what this is…."

"Padfoot…"

Sirius had just shaken his head sadly. "I know James. I know." And he must have, because the bond hadn't forced James to say anything. Which was just as well, because James wasn't sure he even knew what he was feeling. Remus and Peter had been doing their best, to support both Sirius and James. It was hard on them too; all of them feeling terrible for the position each of them were in.

The night before The Date, it deserved capital letters for the weight and significance it held for James and Sirius, James had asked Sirius what he should wear. It had been a strange feeling, that role reversal. Usually it was the other way around, a girl asking James that very question. James had never felt so awkward in his life.

The morning of The Date James was so nervous that he very nearly threw up. It wasn't often that he was this nervous, his first Quidditch match and the custody trial for Harry being two of the only examples that sprang to his mind. He took his time getting ready, Remus was already at Lily's for the day to tutor Harry and Peter was at work. Sirius had gone back to his place the night before, and when James had asked Sirius had said that it was because he wanted to be able to pick him up for the date.

Sirius had been so awkward when he'd said it, that James had realized just how badly Sirius wanted this date to go well. James knew Sirius knew that nothing would become of this, but Sirius was only human. Sirius hoped that it could go well. James wasn't sure what to think about that. But he loved Sirius, like a brother, and would do anything for him. He was going to do his absolute best to ensure that The Date went well for Sirius.

When Sirius stepped through the floo James couldn't help but notice that Sirius was wearing a shirt that he had bought for him for Christmas. James watched as Sirius ran a shaky hand through his hair before meeting his eyes.

"Hey." Sirius said, obviously aiming for a normal tone of voice but landing somewhere in between bloody fucking awkward and what the fuck have I gotten myself into?

"Hey" James replied and bloody fucking awkward it was then. Silence filled the room, neither of them being able to look at the other. Unbidden, the image of his first date with Lily came to James' mind. He'd have died if it was this awkward to begin with; it wasn't the ideal start to a first date. James mentally shook himself; he could do this for Sirius.

"You look good James." Sirius said, before turning away.

"I – uh" James said awkwardly. "You look good today Lily" James said nervously, hoping to make her happy. Hoping that it was the right thing to say. "Thanks."

Lily blushed. "You look good too James." James was relieved; he'd spent nearly an hour trying to figure out what to wear. James remembered his first date with Lily, how nervous he'd been. How badly he'd wanted the date to go well, how much he'd wanted to impress her. How happy he'd been whenever she said something positive during the date. He could see those same feelings, those same hopes, in Sirius despite Sirius' better judgment. His friend was trying so hard, but he was only human and it was hard not to let yourself hope.

James reached out a hand and tugged at Sirius' shirt a little. "It looks good on you." He could do this, give Sirius this one date. At least he could try. He still felt nervous, and it felt wrong. He shoved the feelings down. This was for Sirius.

Sirius was staring at James, looking between the spot where James had touched him and James' face. His mouth felt dry, and his stomach swooped. He knew what James was doing; he could see how uncomfortable James was. He could see what it had cost James to say that, to do that. He knew he was a fool for allowing himself to hope, and tomorrow he'd go back to reality. But today, he couldn't help but want to let himself have this.

"I bought tickets to the Puddlemore game this afternoon, and then I thought – I thought we could go for dinner." Sirius averted his eyes and scratched the back of his neck nervously. "I made a reservation at that Italian place you like." Sirius glanced at James out of the corner of his eye. James was staring at him as if he had never seen him before, Sirius blushed faintly. "Of course if you'd rather go somewhere else—"

"No," James said, "No, that's fine. Good even. I—yeah." James turned back to look at Sirius. "Should we go then?" He gestured towards the Floo.

"I was thinking that we could Apparate." Sirius muttered, looking anywhere but at James. "Together."

James swallowed, uncomfortable. He remembered the first time that he and Lily had apparated together when they had first started dating. Lily had pressed herself against James, her hands going around his waist. He knew that Sirius wasn't expecting James to do that, but he knew Sirius was hopeful. Not for that exactly, but for the date to be a proper date. To be able to treat James the way he would on a real date. James could feel the bond pull at him.

"Alright." James stepped up to Sirius, close enough to feel Sirius' breathing increase but not quite close enough to touch. Sirius stared at James, and James could see him swallow. The bond pulled again, so James reached out and put his hands on Sirius' hips. He swallowed against the feeling of wrongwrongwrong that rose up in him. "This okay?" He asked just to fill the silence.

Sirius nodded, and swallowed. James could see the hope and the happiness Sirius felt as James placed his hands on Sirius' hips, and he could also see Sirius trying his best not to hope. He could see Sirius' internal struggle, wanting to let himself have this one night and also not wanting to hurt James or make him uncomfortable. Again James thought back to his first date with Lily, this situation was different of course but Sirius was only human and despite his best intentions James knew Sirius was feeling those same things. James pushed down his own feelings yet again, and did his best to act confidant and not like he was freaking the fuck out. He thought about what he would want if he were in Sirius' position, about what he would want if this were him and some girl.

With his hands still on Sirius' hips he stepped marginally closer, so that their bodies were just barely touching. He could do this, he would do this. Sirius deserved it, and James would just do what he would want his date to do for him. As long as he focused on that, and not on how out of place and uncomfortable he felt, he would be able to do this. Looking Sirius directly in his eyes he said, "You can touch me you know. Tonight is yours; you don't need to worry about me. Act how you want to act, and touch me if you want to."

Sirius groaned. "Fuck Prongs, you're not making this easy." But Sirius reached out and put his hands on James' arms. He left them there for a moment before slowly running them down James' arms before letting go. Sirius locked eyes with James again, and they burned with that familiar you dared me attitude. Sirius reached his hands up and lightly ran his knuckles along James' jawbone, trailing them lower and lower, down James throat, pausing for a moment to run his fingers along the lines of muscle on James' chest before continuing further south. James swallowed, resisting the urge to squirm uncomfortably as Sirius' hand ghosted along the waistband of James' jeans before settling on his hips. Sirius pressed their bodies firmly together and apparated them away.

Sirius had apparated them just outside of the stadium for the Puddlemore game. James let go of Sirius as soon as they finished apparating, but didn't step away. James noticed that Sirius let his hands linger on his hips for a few more moments before slowly releasing him and stepping away. James wasn't sure what to say, normally he had no trouble talking with Sirius and they always had a good time. But this wasn't like every other time they had done stuff together. This was a date, and James still wasn't sure how to act.

Sirius elbowed James, "You're still allowed to be yourself you know." James just stared at Sirius, unsure. He wanted to give Sirius the experience he wanted, a proper date despite how he himself felt. Treating Sirius the way he normally would, acting the way he normally did would defeat the purpose. Sirius sighed slightly, "I'm not asking you to be someone else James, you told me to act how I wanted –to do what I wanted without worrying. You need to do the same. I know you better then I know myself, and I'm in love with you so you don't need to pretend to be something else. Just be yourself, okay?"

With that said they made their way to their seats, and Sirius started to make conversation about Puddlemore's chances. Slowly James started to relax, they had been to numerous Quidditch games together and this wasn't any different really. They fell into easy conversation, and started joking around the way they always did. It felt normal, and James was glad to be rid of the awkwardness even if it was only for a short time.

Puddlemore was leading 240-170, and the Puddlemore keeper had just made a particularly good save when James felt Sirius put his hand on James' thigh. Sirius didn't look at him as he did it, and for a moment James felt incredibly awkward and entirely too aware of the decidedly intimate touch. But Sirius kept talking, and James forced himself to relax. This wasn't so bad, he could do this for Sirius. They stayed like that for the rest of the game, and other then Sirius hand on his thigh it was almost a normal afternoon.

When the game ended (Puddlemore won) James and Sirius stood, Sirius motioned for James to leave the box first and James was reminded again of his first few dates with Lily. Holding doors open for her, and just generally trying to be a gentleman. Sirius followed James out, and as they walked towards the apparition point Sirius placed his hand on the small of James' back. James swallowed thickly, acutely aware of the heat from Sirius' hand radiating onto him.

As they stepped up onto the platform Sirius stepped closer to James and once again placed his hands on James' waist before looking James in the eye. James could read the challenge in those eyes, the bold brashness that was so very Sirius. Sirius was getting more confidant, gaining his footing and starting to act like himself again after weeks of walking on eggshells and living in a constant state of embarrassment. James knew that Sirius was only capable of acting embarrassed and well not meek but something like it, for so long. Sirius had tried to protect James from the bond by denying himself for fourteen years, and in the weeks since everything had come out he'd been trying still. But James knew that Sirius could only manage that for so long, and looking into Sirius' eyes James' could see that Sirius was having trouble forcing himself to not do everything he wanted.

Sirius' eyes seemed to say I dare you in the way they always did when they were teenagers. His eyes said I dare you the same way they had the night of The Prank, I dare you to leave me. His eyes said I dare you the same way they did when he found out that Regulus had died, I dare you to make me care. His eyes said I dare you the same way they did whenever Sirius had fought with Lily, I dare you to come between us. His eyes said I dare you the same way they did when the two of them had been briefly caught by death eaters during the war, I dare you to hurt me. Sirius' eyes seemed to say I dare you to make me stop wanting you, I dare you not to let me hope, I dare you not to let me want, I dare you to protect yourself because I don't know how much longer I can.

James could only hope that his own eyes said you've protected me from the bond for fourteen years, but I can take care of myself. I know what I'm doing. Focus on yourself and let me help you. And with that they apparated to the restaurant.

The dinner went well. They had arrived at James' favorite muggle Italian restaurant just in time for Sirius' reservation. Sirius had kept his hand on the small of James' back as they were led to their table. Sirius had ordered them both wine, and had poured James' for him. Maybe that was normal, James couldn't remember. But he was hyper-aware of everything Sirius said and did. When Sirius stretched his legs out so that they touched James' he had looked away for a brief second to calm himself down. He knew Sirius could see his discomfort, but every time James let Sirius make some small gesture like that he could feel the pain of the bond lessen ever so slightly, and he knew Sirius could sense that too. He knew that Sirius hated making James uncomfortable, but he also hated having James in pain. Sirius was forcing himself to ignore James' discomfort so that they could appease the bond. Overall it had been a fairly good day, uncomfortable at times but better then James had expected. When the bill came Sirius paid for it, and then apparated them back to just outside Potter Manor.

Standing on the landing by the front doors to Potter Manor Sirius and James stared at each other. James watched as Sirius shifted from foot to foot for a moment. "Thank you Prongs, for today." James just nodded. Sirius lingered for a moment before turning to walk away. James closed his eyes as the bond pulled at him incessantly.

James grabbed Sirius' arm and spun him back around. "Sirius." Sirius looked at James, both hopeful and unsure, and trying not to be. James didn't know what to say, but he knew what the bond wanted him to do, what Sirius was hoping for against his will and better judgment. James stepped closer Sirius, for a moment he was unsure how too this with a man. Which was silly, because how different could it be really? In the end he pulled Sirius to him the way he would have if he were a woman and pressed their lips together.

Sirius' head was exploding. He'd hoped that James would let him kiss him, but hadn't dared suggest it or make a move. He understood that James wasn't attracted to him, and didn't want to force James to do something even more uncomfortable for him then going on a date. He could feel the unease radiating off of James as they stood there, James' hands fisting Sirius' shirt and holding their bodies close together as he pressed their lips together. It only lasted a few moments before James pulled away. As he did Sirius couldn't help but stare a little, and watched as James blushed slightly, embarrassed.

Merlin but Sirius wanted to really make James blush, to see how far down it would travel. To find out if James would be aggressive or passive in bed, if he'd moan loudly and scream Sirius' name or if he'd bite his lip and try to keep the noise in. Of course now that he'd thought it he felt the bond immediately pull him to tell James, and wasn't this just fucked up as hell? He could see James' face twitch as he felt the pull of the bond; they all knew what it felt like when the bond was pulling one of them to tell each other something.

"Merlin James." Sirius breathed, trying hard not to groan. "I want you so fucking bad." But it wasn't enough, the bond wanted him to share more. Sirius shook his head, as if to rid himself of the pull that was getting stronger now. He hated the face that he had to do this to James, how awkward it was for James.

But James seemed to know what Sirius was thinking because he said "It's okay Padfoot, we all know what the bond is like. You need to talk, I've been there, I understand."

Sirius nodded shakily. "Prongs." He shook his head. "You have no idea. I've been trying so hard not to let myself want you but I can't help it. I can't control myself. I hate having to tell you how I have to toss off every day like some randy teenager because you do something completely normal and platonic and innocent that turns me on. I hate having to tell you how I wake up hard every night because I dream about you, about you going down on me, about fucking you, about going down on you. I want to make you blush, I want to make you scream my name." Sirius breathed heavily. "I should go."

James reached out again and put his hand on Sirius' arm. "Pads, why don't you come inside?" Sirius felt a jolt of electricity go straight to his groin at those words.

"James, I… normally there's only one reason I go back to a guy's place after a date."

"I know."

"You can't know or you wouldn't be offering!"

"I need this Sirius! The bond, it's too much. It fucking hurts, I need you to make it stop."

"The date…"

"Helped, but wasn't enough." James closed his eyes in pain, "Please Siri."

"James, I can't. I can't stand the thought of hurting you."

"You have to, or eventually I'll die. Please Sirius, this can't continue. The pull has never been this strong for me before."

Sirius could feel the bond pulling at him now. It was pulling at James to help Sirius by having sex with him, and now it was pulling at Sirius to help James by letting himself have sex with James. This was Sirius' worst nightmare, the very reason he'd lived in denial for so long. But despite all that Sirius was still turned on, and he hated himself for it.

Slowly Sirius nodded, and together they made their way into the manor. Once inside they stood their awkwardly. Sirius couldn't bring himself to touch James, knowing that James wouldn't get any pleasure out of it. It felt like forever that they stood there, but couldn't have been more than a few minutes. James finally made the first move, he pressed himself against Sirius and kissed him. But instead of a simple press of lips on lips James kissed Sirius aggressively.

Sirius groaned into the kiss and that was all James needed to move his tongue into Sirius' mouth. Sirius knew James had been with a lot of women, knew he had lots of experience. But he'd never imagined that a kiss could be that good. Abruptly James broke off. "I'm going to apologize now if I'm total rubbish at this Siri. I have no fucking idea what I'm doing, and I'm nervous as hell." Sirius knew the bond had made James tell him that. He was still too dazed to speak though.

He could feel James' hand on him, running further and further south and was reminded of those moments in the bathroom days before when James had palmed Sirius cock. He was completely hard, and jerked abruptly when he felt James' hands undoing his trousers. In one swift movement James had pulled Sirius' trousers and boxers down, while simultaneously falling to his knees in from of Sirius. Sirius' eyes widened, suddenly realizing what James was intending to do.

"James, no. You don't have to-oh!" Sirius' hips jerked helplessly as James took the head of Sirius' cock into his mouth. "James!" Sirius groaned loudly, his hips jerking out of his control as he felt James' hot wet mouth against his cock. He watched helplessly, harder then he'd ever been in his entire life, as James did his best to take the entirety of Sirius' length into his mouth. James had clearly been paying attention to Sirius' fantasies because although it was obvious he'd never done this before it was also clear that he was doing his best to copy the things that he'd heard Sirius say he wanted.

James gaged as Sirius hit the back of his throat, and Sirius moaned again. "Fuck!" Sirius tried his best to stop his hips from jerking. But when James, still gagging, started to suck Sirius knew it was a lost cause. "James!" Sirius groaned again. "So good, fuck. Your mouth is so hot, so tight. I can't stand it." Sirius moaned, and then moaned again, his hips pumping of their own accord. "Love knowing you've never done this before." He could see James' face reddening, "James!" He seemed to lose all control over his body. "You look so good, on your knees. Wanted this for so long."

James continued to gag uncontrollably as he did his best to suck on Sirius' length as he bobbed his head up and down. Sirius started to pump sporadically, and his moaning got louder. Finally with a cry of "James!" Sirius came down James' throat. James, having no experience, was completely unprepared and chocked as hot spurts poured down his throat. Sirius's hips slowly stuttered to a halt and James brought his mouth away from Sirius' cock with a wet pop.

James stood up slowly and took in the sight of his best friend. Sirius' pants and boxers were around his ankles, his cock glistened, and Sirius' head was still thrown back and his body was flushed. James looked away uncomfortably, and dimly noted that the bod was nowhere near as painful as it had been, although the pull was still there –just a lot more manageable. Slowly Sirius came back to himself, and finally seemed to process what had just happened.

"James" Sirius breathed in abject horror. "You, I—"

"It's—" James had meant to say fine but the word stuck in his throat. He watched as Sirius hastily started pulled up his trousers. "Don't." The word flew out of James' mouth, unbidden.

Sirius froze, his trousers around his knees. He stared at James. "What?" He watched as James flushed scarlet.

"I- Fuck. Fuck." James' breathing was labored and he was staring at Sirius, his eyes trailing up and down. It was then that Sirius realized what was going on. He glanced at James' crotch. Oh. Oh! "Pads." James sounded alarmed and aroused at the same time. Sirius met James' eyes. "I didn't mean to say that." Sirius could see that James was panicking a little.

"James…" Sirius wasn't sure what to say. He stared at the prominent bulge in James pants, and unintentionally licked his lips. James spun around, facing away from Sirius. Where had that come from? Why had he said that? Why was he...

James had never been interested in men, it had never even occurred to him. Even after finding out that Sirius was in love with him he hadn't considered it. During their date he hadn't considered it. He couldn't figure out why he was having this reaction now. He felt like a teenager having an identity crisis. He felt Sirius' hand on his arm, and turned to look at him.

"James, you don't need to be ashamed." And it wasn't until Sirius said it that James realized that that was why he was freaking the fuck out. "This" Sirius gestured vaguely at James' hips "doesn't necessarily mean anything. You just gave me a blowjob, and I was rather, ah, vocal." Sirius flushed. "Sometimes you can't help the way you react."

James was still breathing heavily, and heat was pooling in his gut. His trousers felt very restrictive. "You were pretty vocal yeah." James cock got harder at the thought, remembering some of the things Sirius had said. James had never been with anyone so, so loud before. "I've never… with anyone so…." He felt like a child, too embarrassed to actually say it out loud. He was twenty nine years old, he shouldn't be this awkward. But this was Sirius, and that changed everything.

"Oh." Sirius said, his face unreadable. He stared at James. "I'm not usually, but you're different. I feel stronger about you, I couldn't control myself." James was still hard, Sirius noted. Sirius thought about what James had said. "You've never been with anyone that vocal?"

James shook his head, "You'd have known if I had. The bond would have made me tell you."

Sirius tilted his head. "So when I said that you were hot, on your knees for me…. No one has ever talked like that with you?"

"You know what it was like with Lily for me; we had sex on a schedule for fuck's sake."

"I can't imagine that, if it were me I doubt I'd have been able to stop myself."

"I" James stared at Sirius, his pupils blown wide and the bond pulled him to say what he was thinking. "I like the thought of that."

Sirius could feel his cock jolt at the words. He stared at his best friend. James had only given him that blowjob because of the bond. Because he'd have died eventually if he hadn't. And now James was flushed, his breathing labored, and his cock hard. Sirius had wanted to see James in this state for so long, he was having trouble controlling himself. But to hear James say that, to realize that the reason James was turned on was because of Sirius himself, brought warmth throughout Sirius' body. But Sirius could see that James was on the verge of having a complete breakdown. James didn't have a problem with anyone being gay, but James was straight. Had always been straight. So to be suddenly turned on by a man, and not just any man but your best friend –someone that James was closer to then imaginable due to the bond- was jarring, and scary. Like everything you knew was being ripped away.

Sirius was familiar with the feeling. He also knew that it didn't necessarily mean anything, that it could be a one off. It happened. James needed time to think by himself before he had to talk the situation to death as the bond was already pulling them to do. Sirius needed to ease the panic he could see in James' eyes. "It okay James. We don't need to do this right now. Go to bed, take a while to think. we can talk later." James breathed a sigh of relief, and turned to go upstairs.

Well there we go! I was defintely NOT intending for anything more then a kiss to happen between Sirius and James, but they had a mind of their own. Leave me a review and let me know what you think!

Next chapter we move back into the real plotline of the story and catch up with the other characters.