Content Warning: Kissing/Making out. Also, I do NOT condone underage drinking/smoking in any way, shape or form.
"I don't see what you're so stressed out for," James leaned against one of Remus' bed posts, watching the werewolf with an amused smile. "You know Padfoot could care less about his birthday. Not since his mum sent him a howler in second year telling him what a disappointing day it is for her."
Remus made a face at that last part, remembering the way Sirius had gone pasty white and tried to play it off like it hadn't bothered him afterward. He sighed and continued to rummage through his belongings for any extra galleons and sickles he could find. "I know, Prongs. But this is different. He's my boyfriend, I should do something nice for his sixteenth."
"So give him a morning snog and move on with your day," James snickered as Remus rolled his eyes. James stopped laughing and perched himself on the edge of the mattress. "Seriously though, don't make yourself crazy. Sirius loves you, you don't need to do anything huge for him. I've already nicked some firewhiskey. He'll probably just want to get drunk and cause trouble 'round the castle all night."
Peter nodded fairly, sitting across from them on his own bed. "That sounds like a Padfoot Party to me."
Remus snorted, shaking his head. They were probably right. Sirius would be thrilled with the idea of spending his birthday utterly drunk and sneaking about. Remus knew that Sirius wouldn't care about getting some silly gift for his birthday, but to Remus, it was much more complicated than that. Sirius had done so much for him and continued to do so every day. Remus wanted to do something to show Sirius that he loved him just as much, even if he wasn't nearly as good at making it known on a daily basis. "It's different," he said again, digging into the pockets of a pair of jeans he had pulled from under his bed and fishing out two bronze knuts and a Drooble's best-blowing gum wrapper. He tossed the knuts into the pathetic pile of coins on his bed. "You two aren't in relationships. You don't get it."
James shrugged. "I guess that's a fair point… but this is Sirius we're talking about. You two have been friends forever."
Remus paused and raised an eyebrow. "Right… and now we're… y'know… more than friends…" Much more, he added mentally.
James scoffed and waved him off. "That doesn't mean you suddenly need to spoil the man, Moony. He's got you, hasn't he? I'm pretty sure that's all he really wants, honestly. Believe me, I had to deal with his silly pining and moping about for at least two years. There's nothing you could give him to make him happier than he is now."
Remus smiled and rubbed the back of his neck as he felt his cheeks heat up. "I guess you're right…"
"I am right," James insisted. "So stop playing niffler for knuts and sickles in your sock drawer, take Pads to a broom closet and snog his brains out. And voila! You won't have to worry again until next year."
Remus reluctantly complied, scooping the coins off his bed and storing them in an empty Bertie Botts box. James was right and he knew it. But that didn't quite change Remus' mind about what he wanted to do. Nothing would, his mind was made. He just needed the money.
—-
Lily had been more helpful than James and Peter, not so surprisingly. He had vented his frustrations out to her late one night while they were on their rounds.
"Well of course you'd want to do something nice for him!" She said incredulously. "My sympathies go to whoever Potter ends up marrying if he doesn't understand that things change when you're a couple," she shook her head. "You know Black better than I do obviously… did you have an idea of what-"
"Oh, I know exactly what I want to get him. It's just a matter of scraping the money together," he suddenly held up a finger to pause the conversation as he pulled his wand from his robes and tapped it on the door of a closet. "Alohomora," there was a soft click as the door unlocked and the muffled sound of panicked whispering. He opened the door and sighed. "Five points from Hufflepuff, O'Donnell. And from Ravenclaw as well, Beckles," the two third years, Blake O'Donnell and Samantha Beckles, shuffled out, disheveled and embarrassed. They both offered mumbled apologies to the prefects and started to run off when Remus caught a familiar scent and he made a face. "Wait."
Both younger students paused and turned around, looking incredibly guilty. Remus smirked and held out his palm. "Hand it over, O'Donnell."
Blake bit his lip and shrugged. "Er… I don't-"
Remus laughed and raised an eyebrow. "I can smell it from here and the closet's all smoky. Honestly, you'd at least think to do this sort of thing by the greenhouses like everyone else… just give it here, you're lucky I don't take more points or tell your head of house."
The younger boy groaned and reached into his back pockets, placing the small box in Remus' hand.
"Right then," Remus smiled pleasantly. "Off to bed, both of you. And remember, greenhouses next time."
Lily watched, bemused as the other students ran off and Remus pocketed whatever it was he had confiscated.
"Is that-!" She gasped.
Remus nodded, hardly paying her any attention. "Yeah. Seriously, what kind of idiot smokes in a closet? They deserve to have it taken away for sheer stupidity…" he rolled his eyes.
Lily was completely bewildered, her eyes going wide with shock and just a little bit of curiosity. "I wonder where they would have gotten it from."
Remus gave her a deadpan look. "We're in a school, Lily. We're a bunch of teenagers. There's bound to be someone selling it."
As soon as the words left his own mouth, it clicked.
—-
The following morning at breakfast Remus excused himself from between James and Sirius who were arguing, both practically leaning over him, about the previous year's Quidditch World Cup. He stood, brushing off some crumbs that had flown from his boyfriend's mouth as he shouted at his best friend about Bulgaria's beaters' superior flying, and strode casually over to the Hufflepuff table.
When he caught O'Donnell's eye, the younger boy flushed a deep red and looked down at his plate.
Remus snorted, amused by the reaction. "Relax. I just had a question for you," he nodded to the doors of the Hall. "Step out with me for a sec?"
Blake looked at him questioningly, but he stood and followed the older boy out into the corridor.
"What do you want, Lupin?" The Hufflepuff asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets and not meeting Remus' eyes.
Remus held out the box he had taken from Blake the night before. "Where'd you get this?"
Blake's eyes widened and he shook his head. "Whoa, no way. I'm no snitch, mate."
Remus pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. "That's not what I meant. Look, just tell me and I'll give it back."
Blake frowned and furrowed his brow. "Wait… really?"
Remus nodded and Blake looked around for a moment. "Er… Slytherin bloke. Parkinson," he opened his hand expectantly. Remus grinned and tossed him the box.
"It's trash, by the way," he told the younger boy as he spun around to leave. "I can get you better and probably charge you less."
Slowly, O'Donnell turned back to him, staring in disbelief. "You? But you're a Prefect…"
Remus smiled and shrugged with an air of apathy. "Hey, if you don't want to take me up on the offer, that's fine. Keep getting robbed by that snot, Parkinson. I'm sure he's just a pleasure to deal with."
Blake grimaced and nodded, mulling over the facts. "Fair point. Yeah, alright, Lupin. Deal."
—-
Sirius was sure he was still dreaming as he felt warm, soft lips moving down his neck and chest. He smiled sleepily and squirmed, keeping his eyes closed as Remus kissed his stomach.
"Mmm… Moony…" he bit back a small laugh when the werewolf did it again.
He heard Remus chuckle softly and felt his weight shift back up his body so he could kiss his forehead. "Happy Birthday, Padfoot."
Sirius grinned, peeking one eye open to see his boyfriend hovering over him with a sly smile. "Certainly better than the birthday wake-up call I usually get from Prongs."
Remus nodded. "I know," he ran a hand over Sirius' chest. "But, well… you know how Marauders are about tradition."
Sirius blinked. "What-"
In a fluid movement, Remus rolled off of him and the curtains of his bed were flung open, revealing a devilishly grinning James Potter, and before Sirius could even register what was happening, he was shot with a stream of freezing cold water from James' wand.
Sirius yelped and flailed, tumbling out of his bed and falling flat on the floor in a cold, sopping wet heap.
James, Peter, and Remus were all howling with laughter as Sirius hauled himself up, growling and pushing his thick curtain of now-soaked hair out of his face.
"This is getting old, you know," he shivered angrily, wrapping his arms around his bare chest.
James sighed in self-admiration and nodded. "Ah, so it is, Padfoot. And so are you."
"Very funny," Sirius grumbled. He shot Remus a dirty look. "And you! That was low, Lupin!"
Remus shrugged innocently, still snickering to himself. "Sorry, Pads. I couldn't help it. It was actually Peter's idea."
"And what a brilliant addition to the plan it was," James said tearfully, still grinning as he patted a proud-looking Peter on the back.
"Sorry, Padfoot," Peter said once he managed to stop laughing. "Happy Birthday.'
"Yeah, yeah…" Sirius huffed before shaking his hair out and spraying the other three boys with little droplets of freezing water. "I'm taking a hot shower," he grabbed his towel and trudged into the bathroom grumpily.
He was far less cranky when he emerged quite sometime later with only a towel around his waist and steam still wafting off his now toasty warm skin. Remus and James had used a drying spell on his sheets and offered their sincere apologies.
"Tradition's tradition," Sirius said dismissively. "But I'll get you both back. Especially you," he pointed to his boyfriend, shaking his head. "That was just dirty. I'm almost hurt, Moons."
Remus mock pouted. "Aw, I'm sorry, babe."
"You should be," Sirius sulked, though he quickly dropped the act when Remus grabbed him by his waist and pulled him in for a kiss. "You'll make it up to me, won't you?" He said, wiggling his eyebrows. Remus laughed and nodded.
"I'm sure something can be arranged. It is your birthday after all."
Peter returned from the kitchen with the Traditional Marauder Birthday Breakfast that they had all come to expect every year. An arrangement of sweets, cakes, tarts, and puddings which they would spread out on the bed of whoever's birthday when Sirius claimed he didn't want to risk getting another nasty howler from his parents about what a horrible day in the history of the Black Family his birthday was. From then on, they would have their own private breakfast on all of their birthdays.
They spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon lazing about the dorm and plotting out the pranks they wanted to get done before Christmas break. At dinner, Sirius' birthday cheer dwindled. He barely picked at his food, pushing it around on his plate and anxiously glancing up at where the owls normally came through, and over towards the Slytherin table where neither Regulus nor Bellatrix had made any sign of acknowledgment to him. His knee bounced restlessly under the table and he ran his hand through his hair and pulled at the ends.
Remus, Peter, and James all exchanged looks. Peter cleared his throat.
"So, Padfoot… after dinner, we were thinking of sneaking you out for a bit, eh?"
Sirius nodded silently, leg still jittering rapidly and fist still full of hair. Remus sighed and pulled a black hair tie off his own wrist, where he had recently started to keep them for the other boy. "What did I tell you about pulling, Sirius?" He shook his head. "You're shedding, you know," he stood up and gathered Sirius' hair at the nape of his neck and secured it with the elastic band, then he sat back down and placed his hand on his leg. "You're okay, Padfoot."
James shoved his plate away. "Know what? I'm stuffed. Anyone else?"
"Yeah. Besides, we've got other plans," Peter nodded as he and James both stood. Sirius' eyes were glued to the Slytherin table, specifically at the back of Regulus' head. Remus bit his lip, gently squeezing Sirius' leg. "C'mon Pads."
After a few seconds of staring hard at Regulus, as if he thought by some brotherly form of mind reading, he may turn around and notice him, Sirius sighed and stood up.
"Where are we going?" He asked, sounding miserable.
James slung an arm over his shoulder and grinned. "Can't tell you. But we've got Firewhiskey."
—-
Less than an hour later, the four of them were sitting on the floor of the Shrieking Shack passing around said bottle of Firewhiskey.
"Look, it's really not a big deal," Sirius said, forcing a smile and swirling the liquid around in his hand. "The Blacks don't really make much of a fuss for birthdays anyway," he took another swig from the bottle and passed it to James who looked appalled.
"So they never threw you a party or anything? That's a bummer, mate."
Sirius snorted. "Oh, I never said that. They just weren't what one would usually expect for a child, you know? They were more like extravagant dinners with food I couldn't pronounce and Aunts and Uncles I was terrified of, telling me over and over to sit up straight and present myself the way The Heir should…" he rolled his eyes. "You know, pureblood crap," then he laughed. "You know what, I don't think I was even at my eleventh birthday. I was grounded for sticking a wad of Drooble's in Bellatrix's hair."
Remus shook his head, his eyes focused on the cigarette he was rolling in his lap and trying not to let his anger at Sirius' family distract him. "Well, that's just ridiculous, Padfoot," he licked the paper and handed it off to his boyfriend to spark it. "Birthday boy gets first go."
Sirius mumbled a thank you and grabbed his lighter from his pocket, placing the thing between his lips.
"Well, what about presents?" Peter asked, making a face from the taste of the Firewhiskey, which he had yet to become accustomed to. "With all that money your family's got, you must have at least gotten a decent load."
Smoke blew out from Sirius' nose as he shook his head and coughed a little. "Nah. Nothing a kid would want anyway. Family heirlooms I can't touch until I turn of age, probably bloody cursed anyway, and donations made in my name to pureblood elitist groups," he passed the cigarette to James.
Remus stood up and crossed the room silently while Peter handed Sirius the bottle of Firewhiskey. "Honestly though," Sirius held up the bottle. "This is all I'd want for my birthday. Cheers!" He smirked and finished off what was left just in time for Remus to rejoin the circle holding a large box wrapped in red and gold paper. Sirius nearly choked.
"What the bloody hell is that?" He asked, eyes wide and wiping his chin.
Remus laughed softly and nudged the box closer to him. "It's your birthday present, idiot."
Sirius looked to James and Peter who both remained completely expressionless.
"Are you going to open it or what?" James asked, exhaling a puff of smoke and grinning at him. He could feel Remus' slightly anxious eyes on him as he pulled off the wrapping, unsure of exactly why his heart was pounding so hard. It wasn't like his friends had never gotten him anything for his birthday before. When he opened the white box his breath caught and he stared, wide-eyed and open-mouthed in shock.
"I…" he swallowed past the lump in his throat and shook his head. "Moony… you really didn't have to… how did you even afford…" he looked up to meet the soft, loving gaze of the other boy.
Remus smiled. "You wanted it, didn't you?"
"Well, yeah," Sirius said, still in disbelief. "But-"
"But nothing," Remus insisted firmly, a smirk now playing at his lips. "Put it on."
Letting the excitement take over him, Sirius grinned and let his hands run over the leather jacket that lay in the box. He was unable to stop the overjoyed noise that slipped from his mouth as he pulled it out and slid it on.
"Don't think he likes it much, Moony," James laughed.
"Yeah, seems disappointed to me," Peter chimed, but Sirius paid neither of them any attention, smiling so much it nearly hurt as he pulled Remus in for a kiss and muttered 'Thank you' against his lips several times.
"You can give him a proper thank you later, Padfoot," James finally interrupted as the couple's affection began to get more enthusiastic. Sirius waved James off, continuing to kiss Remus' mouth despite the werewolf's laughing and the hand on his chest trying to push him off.
"Alright, Sirius," Remus chuckled as he managed to dislodge his boyfriend from his lap. "You're welcome, alright? It's… it's no big deal."
"It is a huge deal, Moony," Sirius insisted, hugging the soft leather tightly around himself. "But James is right, there's time to thank you later. Right now it's time to celebrate. Who's got the cigarette?"
"It's finished," Peter sighed, flicking the burnt-out butt across the circle lazily. "Got any more, Moony?"
Remus bit his lip, cheeks turning pink as he accepted the bottle that James was passing him. "Er…" he laughed nervously. "That's actually all I had left."
"I thought you said your dad had given you enough for your transformations til Christmas…" James said, half disappointed, half concerned.
Remus nodded. "Yeah… he did…" the corner of his mouth twitched up coyly.
There was a long silence that rang through the group as the other three stared at him.
"And?" James asked expectantly.
"Did you… is that how you-"
"I'm not confirming or denying anything."
"Merlin, you did, didn't you!" Sirius gaped at him. Sirius grabbed him by the front of his shirt and kissed him hard on the mouth, grinning from ear to ear when he finally released his boyfriend. "Remus John Lupin, I have never been more attracted to you."
"What's he going on about?" James inquired. He was so oblivious sometimes. Though Peter wasn't much better, Sirius thought, as he saw the other two with confused expressions plastered across their faces.
"Never mind you," Sirius responded, gazing at Remus in utter adoration. "Anyhow, we'll need to up our games, Prongs. What do you think, flood the dungeons tomorrow?"
James, who was still confused, nodded in agreement anyways. "Uh, sure? Myrtle owes me a favor…"
—-
It was late when the Marauders finally returned to the dorm room. James and Peter had said their final birthday wishes to Sirius and bid both him and Remus goodnight.
"You can't wear it to sleep, you know," Remus teased as Sirius laid out across his bed wearing just his boxers, t-shirt, and the jacket.
Sirius grinned and stretched happily. "I just don't wanna take it off," but he sighed and got up, slipping the jacket off and hanging it up carefully. He climbed back into bed and closed the curtains, joining Remus under the covers. "Seriously, Remus… you really didn't have to do something like that for me."
Remus shrugged. "It made you happy, didn't it?"
Sirius rolled his eyes. "You make me happy, idiot," his hand found Remus' hip and pulled him closer so they were laying maybe an inch apart. "But thank you… again."
"You're welcome… again," Remus smiled at him. He reached up and brushed Sirius' fringe from his eyes before tilting his head back slightly and catching his lips in a soft kiss.
It didn't take long at all for the kiss to deepen. Sirius' hands began to roam over his body, up and down his sides and back, and chest. Remus shifted onto his back pulling the other boy on top of him.
Their breathing got heavier and Sirius broke from the kiss to sit up and pull his shirt off over his head, tossing it aside as he felt Remus' hands move over his chest. He bent down again, nuzzling into Remus' neck, leaving a trail of kisses. "I love you, Moony."
"I love you too, Padfoot," he gasped as Sirius' teeth grazed the spot where his neck met his shoulder.
Once they were both shirtless, Sirius started kissing his way down Remus' chest and back up again. As their lips met once again, Remus' hand rested on Sirius' hip. Their kiss was hungry, teeth clicked and hands roamed up each other's backs and chests.
Sirius murmured 'thank yous' and 'I love yous' against Remus' lips. Remus smiled into the kiss, wondering just how he managed to land the most perfect guy,
"Happy Birthday, Padfoot," Remus said once again as they broke the kiss for good.
