(A/N): Hey Guys! So... It's uh... It's been a while, huh? A full year, in fact, since I last updated. Uh... Sorry about that. Stuff has gone on, and down, and around, and you guys don't care about that, so I'll just say this. I have been working on this story on and off since I last updated, I've had writers block since then as well, and I'm on antidepressants now so my motivation isn't quite as sapped as before, so hopefully I don't go into another slouch any time soon.
Anyway, on with the story.
Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.
Remus
For a few days after Leo and Brooke's fight, he spent more time than usual hanging out with us in the boys dormitory, with Lily and Elaine, too.
Speaking of which, Elaine, the other Marauders boys and myself were lounging around in the middle of the floor playing a spirited game of exploding snap- away from the pillows of course, we didn't want a repeat of last time, after all- while Lily and Leo were up on his bed almost out of sight.
I could hear the fact that they were whispering to each other but given that I didn't possess Leo's supernaturally uncanny ability to eavesdrop, I had no idea what they were saying.
Apparently things were getting worse between Lily and Severus, and last I had seen, she and Leo had been spooning- something that hadn't exactly pleased Elaine, but she wasn't about to say anything on the matter.
Having been distracted, I jumped as a card blew up under my nose, and was once more sidetracked as Lily darted past me, ignoring Sirius' chortling.
"Wha-?" Where is she going?" James protested as she pushed her way out the door, and Leo army crawled to the end of the bed.
"To get supplies." He said rather vaguely, and I furrowed my eyebrows, deciding not to comment.
It couldn't have been more than ten minutes before Lily returned, hefting an ice blue beauty bag and two tubs of... Oh, chocolate ice cream.
"Say, Lily-" She cut me off with a shake of her head.
"Ask Leo to share." She said, tossing him one of the tubs, and Elaine was immediately sitting beside him on the bed.
"Leo-" She cut herself off as Leo handed her the ice cream, and I turned my attention back to Lily as she leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek in thanks.
"Isn't that your makeup bag?" I asked, simply for need of something to say, and Lily shook her head as she moved towards Leo.
"My nail polish, actually." She replied, before focusing her attention of Leo. "Come on, sit up, I can't do this while you're laying down." Immediately, we all rose to attention, spinning to look at Leo, who was taking her instructions very seriously.
"Uh... What's going on?" Sirius asked, looking warily excited by the prospect of what was possibly about to happen.
"Leo's letting me paint him up like the precious porcelain doll that he is." Lily said, and I won't lie, I think all of our faces lit up.
"Can we help?" Peter squeaked, his hand shooting up as if he were answering a question in transfiguration.
"No!" Lily snapped, sounding outraged, and us four boys sobered rather abruptly. "Sorry, but you have no experience with cosmetics, and neither does Elaine." Elaine tried to pout, but couldn't help smiling as Leo squeezed her hand in his.
"And you're really going to let her do this?" She asked him, and Leo shrugged, flashing Lily a reassuring smile the entire time.
"Of course! I'm on best friend duty, I'll do anything to make her happy." Lily seemed extremely touched by this for half a second before setting her bag on the bed and backing Leo into a metaphorical corner against the head of his bed.
"Give me your hand." Lily commanded, and Leo obeyed without delay, placing his much bigger hand in her outstretched smaller one. "You have really nice nails." She commented idly as she gripped Leo's hand and turned it.
"Thanks." He murmured, and I thought at first it was because he didn't know how to react, but what he said next made me think otherwise. "Manicures were pretty much mandatory living with my mother, and Mia enjoys making me maintain a certain standard of... beauty." There were a few seconds of semi-awkward silence before Lily broke it by unzipping her bag.
"And yet she doesn't force you to comb your hair in the morning." She said, shaking her head like she didn't understand Mia's very being.
"I don't think Merlin himself could make Leo comb his hair on a regular basis." James remarked, and Sirius smirked, which was never a good sign.
"I bet Laney could." Elaine's cheeks flushed at the notion even as she scowled, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Sirius-" Her protest was cut off by Leo speaking up.
"I don't like combing my hair myself, but if someone else would do it for me, I don't know if I'd ever do anything else." Elaine looked slightly surprised by this development, but then seemed to consider it.
Given our encounters with Leo's particular fondness for anything pertaining to his hair, maybe this wasn't so much a surprise as just something we may not have previously thought about.
"Huh... Maybe I should grab a comb then." Elaine thought out loud, and Leo's eyes widened, then narrowed again.
"That might not be a smart idea right at this very minute." He kept his eyes on Elaine, as if trying to tell her something without words, and Elaine nodded slowly.
"Leo, which do you prefer, 'Blue Jasmine," Lily held up a small bottle of pale blue nail polish. "Or, 'Vant To Bite My Neck'?" All of us froze, but Lily, thankfully, didn't seem to notice.
"Uh... Excuse me?" Leo stuttered out, and Lily shook another bottle of polish, this time dark blue, in his face.
"The nail polish! It's called, 'Vant To Bite My Neck'!" Leo stared at her for a second, and Elaine took pity on him, reaching over to grab a third bottle from Lily's bag.
"What about this one?" She suggested, holding up an electric blue color, and Leo looked on warily.
"What's it called?" He inquired reluctantly, and Elaine turned the bottle around so she could see the label.
"Uh... It's called, uh... 'I need a RefreshMint.'" Her eyebrows furrowed at the very end, like she was questioning the sanity of the people who named the stupid nail polish in the first place.
"... Okay, whatever." Leo acquiesced, taking the bottle from Elaine and handing it to Lily, even though she was most certainly capable of doing it herself.
"Hand out, palm flat on the bed." Lily instructed as she cracked open the bottle of nail polish somewhat menacingly, and Leo did as she said, but not before wincing first.
"You've been ravaged by a werewolf and waved it off as nothing, but the thought of getting your nail painted makes you wet your pants?" I mused, and Lily rolled her eyes, tongue clenched between her teeth.
"He'd better not, I'm sitting way too close o him to get out of the danger zone in time." She teased, and Leo shook his head.
"I was acting up on the tension of the moment." He murmured, and Elaine and I shared a look that said we though otherwise.
"Of course you were, Sweetie." Lily intoned, clearly humoring him, but Leo seemed to miss that fact.
"See? Lily knows me really well, and she understands my penchant for going with the flow of the room." Lily tilted her head, leveling Elaine with a deadly flat look that had her needing to cover her mouth in order to stifle her snickering.
"Just to try and stay still, Leo." Lily stated as she began painting, and I climbed up onto the bed, hoping to help Elaine distract Leo so he didn't ruin Lily paint job.
"Try not to punch any walls for at least a week Leo, I think Lily might kill you if you mess up her work prematurely." I thought about it, and I knew that if Leo was going to punch a wall, he probably wasn't going to consider the fate of his nail polish beforehand.
"I'll do my best." Leo said dryly, and I watched as Elaine's hand sneaked towards his side.
He knew she was there, I knew that he could see her using that 'blood sense' he had told us about, but he let her do what she wanted, even when she started lightly pinching at his ribs.
"Remus," He started by saying, his tone deadly serious.
"Yes Leo?" I asked, curious to see where he was going with this, already amused by the situation as Lily moved onto Leo's second hand.
"I think I'm being attacked by the Pinch Bug." I couldn't help barking out a laugh before covering my mouth.
"Well-" I said, cutting off with a chuckle. "At least it isn't the Tickle Monster." I winked at Elaine over Leo's shoulder, which was only possible because she was up on her knees and Leo was slouching quite heavily (something he rarely did).
"Uh oh!" Elaine exclaimed, beaming as she showed Leo her fingers, poised at the ready. "I think someone just joined the party!" As she moved forwards, Leo wiggled away, looking vaguely panicked, and when she tried again, Lily held up a hand to stop her.
"Can this wait three nails? You're really messing with my rhythm." Elaine's face dropped as soon as Lily went back to painting Leo's nails, and I watched as Leo noticed, and as his face followed suit.
"Rhythm, Shmythm." He murmured, leaning over (while keeping his hands perfectly still, I might add) and kissing her on the tip of the nose.
Her reaction was to wrinkle it up, and I could see the blush form on her cheeks at a world record pace. Then, almost as if it were a last resort, she stuck her tongue out at him.
"No." He teased, barely hiding a smile. "Naughty Damsel, No. Bad girl." He scolded playfully, and if he had his hands free, I bet he would have patted her on the head at that moment.
"But how else am I supposed to do this?" She said, just before leaning over and licking his face.
"Uh..." All at once, we turned to find Brooke standing in the doorway, looking a bit perplexed. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything." She said, sounding sincere, and Lily shook her head.
"Not at all, I just finished." She stated, screwing the lid back on the nail polish, and Leo took a brief second to examine his nails, mostly as a distraction I think.
"Thanks, Lil." He said, making his way to the edge of the bed, carefully not using his hands, lest he screw up the perfect blue sheen.
"Err, can I talk to you? Uh... in the bathroom?" She seemed a bit displease at the location their little chat would be taking place, and Leo looked back at us for a second, as if asking permission, but he made the decision without our input.
"Sure. You'll have to open the door though, my nails are wet."
(A/N): So, what did you think?
I originally wrote this chapter a few months ago, and it was Lily doing Leo's makeup, but I rewrote it like this because the last version was all just the procedure of Lily doing Leo's makeup.
Please review, check out my other stories and/or check out my tumblr (handsuponelasttime).
So, until recently (this addition made on 6/2/23), I didn't know that I had referenced Leo getting his nails painted before it actually happens in this chapter.
In chapter 50, after Elaine suggests they have a sleepover, Remus says, 'No offence Elaine, but I'm kind of hoping to sleep, not get my nails done." and after Elaine snaps at him, Leo says, '"I wouldn't say no to getting my nails painted."' Remus then says, '"Of course you wouldn't. They'd be bright blue, like your eyes."'
In chapter 52, Lily asks Leo, Remus and Elaine if they're okay after she and the others walk in on them acting weird in the Room of Requirement. Leo says, '"Of course we are Lils, why wouldn't we be? Were you expecting to walk in us painting each other's nails? Because that's not happening, ever again."'