Happy Good Friday!
"You've been back for a month now, M'Moony. I think its about time you started wearing muggle clothes again, don't you?" Sirius smiled, reaching into his trunk and pulling out an assortment of trousers and tops. "Ok, so you'll be needing tops, and lots of them. We're the same size, so just take any that you want - oh dear, is that a mesh top? that was a mistake - and I'll find some jeans for you to wear."
The pair sat in front of Sirius' trunk, the contents of which were slowly engulfing the dorm floor as Sirius threw more and more items out onto the heathen rug. "Sirius..." Remus stated worriedly, lifting up a few of the crumpled shirts experimentally, attempting to smooth the crushed garments. "Are you sure about this? I mean, these are your clothes..."
"Yes, and? We share everything else, Moonipops, I don't see why we can't share a wardrobe to an extent. Now these, these are classics." Sirius stated, holding up a pair of crotchless leather chaps. "Would you like them Moons? They'd probably look better on you than on me, to be honest."
"I'll be fine thanks." Remus retorted drily, huffing in annoyance and whipping his wand out, magically folding the crumpled garments. "I don't suppose you've got any cardigans?" Remus tried hopefully, looking at his handiwork with satisfaction.
"God no! Cardigans are for grandads, Moonsy, and I won't have you wearing them for a good few years now. Look, you normally throw those cardigans over band tees, yes? So take some of the band tees, yes, they can be worn without a cardigan, don't give me that look. Ok, and these jumpers, you can take any of those if you want. Now, jeans. Which pair would you prefer?"
"That pair is covered in flowers, Sirius." Remus stated, pointing at the paler pair of jeans skeptically.
Squinting, Sirius found the source of Remus' amusement. A group of stitched marks adorned the top corner of the jeans, fanning out across the top of the leg. "They're not flowers! They're... celtic symbols."
"Whatever you say, Pads." Remus smiled, taking the other pair of jeans off his friend. "You can keep the flower power jeans, I'm not going hippy for you." He smiled, grabbing one of the plain striped t shirts and popping into the bathroom. Emerging, Sirius smiled oddly.
Remus didn't look normal wearing Sirius' clothes. They fitted him, for a start, unlike his old 'I'll grow into them' numbers. There was no frays or rips in the pieces, which normally adorned the boy's clothing, and the tightness of the top seemed to make Remus stand different, taller. It was like looking at an alternative Remus, one that was much more relaxed and outgoing.
Remus if he hadn't been bitten. Sirius mused, smiling encouragingly at his friend. "Looks good. The ladies of Hogwarts won't know what's hit them."
"Oh that's good. Because it was really my wardrobe that was holding me back before in that department Pads." Remus smiled, reaching over to cuff his friend round the head. Sirius laughed as Remus picked up a jumper, throwing it on over the tight top. He proceeded to do what could only be described as a 'snuggle' into the large jumper, letting the large fabric engulf him momentarily.
"Only you, Remus, would manage to pick up the only jumper in my entire collection that is anything other than skintight." Sirius laughed, reaching over to hand Remus another, smaller jumper. "It was a gift from Mrs Pettigrew, I didn't have the heart to tell her I wasn't an XXL."
Remus smiled, shrugging out of the oversized jumper and his t-shirt in order to transfer to the tight jumper. Sirius watched with a grin, reaching forward to glance his fingers over a particularly large scar just below Remus' left ribcage. "That one's new." He stated, looking up at the face of his friend. Remus raised a calm eyebrow, pulling the new jumper over his head.
"I got it at the beginning of summer." He smiled, tugging at the hem of the shirt to ensure all skin was efficiently covered. "It wasn't very deep, but kept re-opening, unfortunately. Pomfrey said its not infected or anything, so I'm not going to worry about another scar. Another one to add to the millions more, eh?"
"Don't let it be the straw that broke the camel's back now, moons. It doesn't look bad at all - it looks a bit like a feather. We went on a joyful family trip to the theatre over the summer, and there was this quote in it - don't look at me like that Moony, I do pay attention to some things - from Man Of La Mancha? Its this muggle musical, it wasn't very good, but there was one quote, and gods moony, it made me think of you. 'one man, scorned and covered with scars, still strove with his last ounce of courage — to reach the unreachable star.'"
"Thank you Sirius, that's a lovely quote." Remus smiled encouragingly, reaching over to pat Sirius on the knee.
Sirius returned the smile, looking up at the standing boy from his place on the floor. "Now, its a gorgeous Saturday afternoon. May I propose an afternoon of procrastinating followed by a night in Hogsemade?"
"You may propose it, but I shall have to decline your invitation, I'm afraid. I'm tutoring tonight." Sirius moaned as Remus stated this, lying back to roll on the floor dramatically.
"Oh god, let me guess, some innocent looking Ravenclaw has asked for your help. Remus, can you help me with my charms homework please? I'm so sorry, I just don't understand this bit. Remus, is there any chance we can start those transfiguration revision sessions this week instead, only I don't understand what we did yesterday. Hey, Remus, wanna go fuck?" Sirius mocked, tilting his head and rolling strands of hair between his fingers, before sticking his tongue out at the teen now hovering above him.
"I can assure you that none of the Ravenclaws have ever said 'Hey Remus, want to go fuck." Remus replied monotonously, bending down to hover just over his friend's face.
"Well that's a shame darling. They don't know what they're missing out on." Sirius winked cheekily, unsurprised when a hand flew down to bat his face half heartedly. "Help me up. If I can't spend the night tormenting you, you can be damn sure that I'm going to be with you every second this afternoon!" Sirius bounced, grabbing Remus' hand and dragging him down to the common room.
"Oh, Joy."
"Why hello darling." Sirius purred, sliding down alongside the lithe boy beside him. A head full of garish blond hair and large brown eyes greeted Sirius, who released his offputtingly charming smile at the poor unsuspecting teen. "Has anyone ever told you what absolutely smashing eyes you have?" He grinned, long toned fingers threading through the teen's smaller hand.
"I-well-thank you." The unidentified boy stuttered, smiling nervously as he tapped his other hand on his thigh.
"They remind me of pools of chocolate, deep and rich. I would so willingly drown myself in your caramel oceans if you gave me a chance." Sirius recited, maintaining eye contact with the teenager alongside him, running a hand through the hair in front of him. Bringing the hand back to this entranced boy's face, Sirius leant forward intimately, bringing his lips towards the boy's ear. "What say we find somewhere a-"
"Padfoot, Moony's coming." James stated loudly across the empty common room, not looking up from his divination book. Sirius jumped up and threw his poor prey off the sofa, looking around wildly. The flummoxed boy scowled at the marauder's callous behaviour, and immediately stood up and retreated to his dormitory with a huff.
"Hey, I don't see my Moony." Sirius glared, arms crossing across his chest indignantly as he spun to notice the absence of the boy he had, moments before, been romancing. "Dammit, he got away. All that hard work, wasted." Sirius huffed in annoyance. "Prrrrooongsss, why did you lie to mee?" He whined, going over to sit on the table opposite his friend.
"Because Moony may have been coming, and then that would have been bad. He's been back for over a month now, you've kissed about a fifth of the male population over 15, and yet not a word to one of your best friends." James replied, brow furrowing, reaching over for his empty tea cup. "I think I've got a nail and a pair of pincers. Symbolic of losing a tooth. Fair enough."
"But he's not coming, so it wouldn't have been bad." Sirius retorted, reaching for the teacup and squinting. "Looks more like an apple and a knife to me, mate."
"But maybe next time he will be coming." James countered, flipping through his divination book, and reading the appropriate passage. "Long life or gain by commerce, plus a sign of danger. That doesn't combine at all, Pads."
"But maybe next time he wont." Sirius replied, holding the cup at arms length and tilting his head back. "Ok. It is a sheep and a carrot."
"What I'm saying, you pin brained mongrel, is that you should tell Moony that you swing both ways before you have any more encounters of the male kind." James huffed, throwing the pages of the book to the left with annoyance. "Sheep shows success, carrot... Oh. I don't have a definition of the tea meaning of carrot."
"But I don't waaant to tell Moony." Sirius moaned, lying dramatically along the table with a heavy sigh. "Carrot is phallic, you eat carrots. Therefore I believe that these tea leaves symbolise an internal desire for successful Fellatio."
"Well then don't have any more homosexual relations." James announced. Sighing in frustration, he looked at his friend once more.
"Where's the fun in that?" Sirius asked with a smile. Sitting back up, he sighed once again, crumpling his body so that his shoulders sagged. "I'll go and tell him now. Where is he?"
"Dorms." James stated, smiling lightly. "Its only 7.30, so neither me nor Wormtail will be up there for a while - you're free to take your time."
"Great." Sirius replied sarcastically, placing the teacup on the table and lumbering up to the shared dormitory. "If he turns out to be a massive homophobe, I will kill you Prongs, followed by Lily, followed by maybe Wormtail if I can find him."
"Mmkay, as long as I can have my wicked way with Lily first, I'm fine with that." James called after his friend, picking up the discarded teacup. Staring into it momentarily, he sighed dramatically and picked up his quill. The tea leaves formed the shape of a carrot and a sheep. The carrot can be seen as a phallic representation...
"Remus?" Sirius called as he entered the dormitory, looking towards the lycan bed. Indeed, Remus Lupin sat on the bed reading quite calmly. Sirius considered screaming or throwing some knives or attacking Remus in some way to make the boy look as un-calm as he felt.
"Sirius." Remus smiled, reaching for a bookmark to mark his place, putting the book softly on his bedside table. "How can I help you?" The lycanthrope asked, watching as the Black teen took refuge on the empty bed next to his own.
"Can we talk?" Sirius squeaked in a voice entirely unlike his own. He coughed slightly, before repeating himself in a much more masculine, manly voice.
"Of course." Remus smiled, swinging his legs off the bed so that they faced each other entirely across the gulf between the beds.
"Right. Well then, I guess I better start then. Straight to the point I suppose, keep this nice and direct." Sirius took a deep breath, unsure of how to phrase what he meant. I'm gay. I'm a bit camp. I'm bisexual. I like kissing men. "I'm sexually open."
"Tell me something I don't know." Remus smiled, raising an eyebrow at the vague explanation offered.
Sirius blanched, realising this wasn't going to be as simple as he had hoped. "No, no. Not sexually open like *that*...Well, ok, like that too. But I'm also sexually open in that I have no restrictions."
"Sirius, I really don't want to know what kinky things you've been getting up to in the bedroom, thank you." Remus stated, scrunching up his nose in an exaggerated gesture.
"NO! I didn't mean that I have no restrictions in the boudoir, although once again I suppose that is applicable... No, I have no restrictions when it comes to who, or what, is in my bed."
"My god, Sirius, are you trying to tell me you have sex with inanimate objects? Because you told me that was just a one time occuren-"
"What happened between me and that lampshade is never to be mentioned! And no, I don't do that crap anymore." Sirius took a deep breath in, attempting to compose himself. "Well, maybe occasionally, but that's irrelevant. What I'm trying to say is that I occasionally bat for the other team."
"Who, hufflepuff?" Remus replied, lips quirking up as he watched his flustered friend attempt to explain himself.
"No, no, I'm not talking about Quidditch, I'm speaking metaphorically. Come on, Moons, you read all those smart people books, surely you can understand a good metaphor!" Sirius exclaimed, sweaty palms running over his face.
"Well yes, but I'd prefer it if you just said whatever the hell it is you're trying to tell me about your well publicised sex life in plain terms." Remus stated, mouth still upturned slightly at the corners.
"Fine. Here it goes." Sirius breathed deeply, trying to release the nerves he felt tingling along his arms and legs. "I'm a bit bent. A partial fruit loop, if you will. I occasionally enjoy the old meat and two veg if presented adequately." Remus looked bemused at this declaration, so Sirius felt it important to compress the information into a more delectable bite. "I, Sirius Black, occasionally engage in romantic activities of the gay variety."
"I assume by 'gay', you mean homosexual as opposed to happy?" Remus asked lightly, drumming his fingers against his knee repetitively. Sirius gulped before bopping a single nod, breath held as he waited upon his friend's answer. Remus smiled beamingly, climbing out of his chair to kneel in front of his friend. Sirius felt hands rest lightly on his shoulders, but couldn't pull his eyes away from the beaming golden orbs in front of him. "There's no reason to look so bloody petrified, Pads. Its hardly a surprise that you're sexually ambivalent. I'm fine with it, honestly. Sides, I worked that out five minutes ago, its just fun to watch you squirm."
Sirius' eyes shone brightly as Remus finished his declaration of acceptance, reaching forward to ruffle the mop of ash in front of him. Scant seconds passed before Remus fell to the floor with a loud 'oomph', squashed for the seemingly thousandth time under the weight of his overexcited friend.
"No one makes me squirm and gets away with it!" Sirius laughed, trying to pin the lycan under him. "Don't think I haven't seen you eyeing my arse when no one's looking."
"In your dreams, Pads." Remus laughed, rolling the pair over to rest above Sirius for a moment. "You know my eyes are dedicated to the delectable arse of one James Potter." He smiled, before Sirius gained the momentum once more.
"Yes yes, we all know about you and James' bromance." Sirius laughed above the boy, pressing himself down upon the werewolf, ignoring the pang of excitement that shot up his spine at the contact. "Surely you're looking for more than that ugly horse by now though?" Sirius laughed, squeaking as Remus rolled the pair over once more, effectively pinning the animagus to the floor.
"You really shouldn't challenge a werewolf to a strength competition" Remus laughed, pinning Sirius' wrists above his head, as he had done a thousand times before.
"Am-are you- uncomfortable?" Sirius stuttered, heat rising as he realised the lycan was straddling him, arousing something that was entirely inappropriate. "I mean-well-I'm gay-" He wriggled lightly, only stilling as he watched his friend press lower, aligning their bodies entirely.
"Am I making you nervous?" Remus asked softly, eyebrow raising at his friend's unusual behaviour. "If you don't want me to be all touchy feely any mo-"
"No!" Sirius hissed immediately, attempting to control his breathing. "No. Canine intimacy, and all that. I just thought, maybe, because, you know. I am not entirely straight. Little bit bent. Slightly homosexual. I thought maybe-"
"Its fine. Really. Nothing has to change." Remus smiled, finally climbing off his friend's torso. Sirius climbed up immediately, thanking the God of all things right and pure that his pajama pants were very, very loose.
"Where you going?" Sirius asked casually, sauntering over to his bed at an impressive sauntering speed. He drew the curtains, sighing as he covered the tent in his trousers with a hand.
"Library, I'm tutoring some fourth years." Remus replied, staring at the drawn curtains around Sirius' bed with mild confusion. If his werewolf senses were right.... well. He decided that Sirius would not want him to know what exploits were happening inside the velvet curtains, and so decided it was time to bid farewell to his ... ahem... 'occupied'... friend. "Bye." He muttered, speeding out the door.
Sirius peeked his head out of the curtains carefully, ensuring that there was no one else in the general vicinity. Once satisfied with the emptiness of the dorm, he lay back tensely, eyeing his trousers in annoyance.
"Now. Listen. Captain Kirk. I know you're feeling terribly underused during this sexual dry spell, but that is no reason to go perving after poor Mr Moony. Mr Moony would, no doubt, be very terrified if he had known what you were making me think whilst he was straddling me in what was an entirely non-sexual manner. Yes, I know as well as you do that he is a very pretty boy. But there are lots of other pretty boys that have much less importance and much more 'fuckem and chuckem' potential. There will be no more of this getting excited about Remus, you hear me?" The tent in his pants remained tall, seemingly unrelenting despite Sirius' rant. Sirius sighed dejectedly, resting his hands on his hips. "I suppose you knew no better, so I shall forgive you and relieve you this time. Not again, mind. And no making me think about Remus when we do this! Or this sexual dry spell will turn into a sexual drought." He muttered, reaching forward to fulfil the needs of a teenage boy.
As he lay back into the sheets 20 minutes later, he huffed in frustration, glaring at his underwear with anger. "Bloody penis and its bloody Moony fetish."
10/04/09 - Happy Easter! I've got another few chapters written, but I'm going to try and let them accumulate and just publish each chapter on fridays/saturdays - I'm not going to have time to write during May, so it will be useful to have a back catalogue that I can just upload as and when I have time :)
'one man, scorned and covered with scars, still strove with his last ounce of courage — to reach the unreachable star.' Is possibly the perfect quote for Remus and Sirius. I was watching the musical the other day, and was just like, wow.
17 reviewers - you're all amazing. All of you. I'm re-reading your reviews right now, and they make me ubersmileyface =)
to answer some questions that came out in the reviews;
TeddyBear 8P - When will there be more? Every weekend I'll put up a new chapter. If I don't, feel free to yell at me!
VampiressBlack - Will James question Sirius on his suspicions? Oh, you'll just have to wait and seee ;)
Minerva Evenstar - I wonder how Remus feels? ahh, all shall be revealed shortly...mwahaha (cool username by the way =))
Moony's Daughter - When are they going to get together? Soon, hopefully! There is puppy love in the next few chapters, fear not!
On another note, I've just watched this show called 'Maury' (some of you probably know it, its a bit like Jerry Springer or Jeremy Kyle, that sort of thing) for the first time, and when I turned onto the channel, the first thing I heard was "I love whippy cream, it makes sex soo much better!". Best. Line. EVER.
I don't know why today's author's note is so long. I guess I'm just a tad bored. This chapter is dedicated to TeddyBear8P by the way, for being my most consistent reviewer! (honorable mentions go to VampiressBlack, Lady annikaa, emuroo and .girl. for joint second) and, aw hell, the rest of you too :) thank you for reading my (as of yet unfinished) story!
Song Of the day - Scar Tissue, Red Hot Chilli Peppers.
Over and out.
