Forever Young

Whether he wanted it or not, Remus was going to have to show up to the Halloween Gala in a wolf costume. Oh the irony.

It wasn't his idea, clearly.

The fatal decision had been made a week prior, when the four Marauders were sitting in their dorm, brainstorming about costumes. Sirius and Remus had decided that the party was going to be their first public appearance as a couple, and Remus was happy it was finally happening.

But the costume... It was James who pitched the idea and Sirius... Damn him.

Remus stared at his reflection in the mirror, half horrified, half impressed.

He had a mask that covered half his face, fake ears, metal claws, and pants as an only element of clothing. Yep, he was going shirtless. Remus took one second to regret his decision and marched out of the bathroom.

The first person his eyes landed on was Sirius. Anybody who guessed that his boyfriend was going as Red Riding Hood can pat themselves on the back, because that was exactly what James had suggested last week. Sirius had thought it was a great idea, Remus had thought it was terrible, so naturally that's what they went with.

For Sirius, that's what Remus told himself.

Padfoot stood in front of him, fully costumed, and Moony had to admit it was attractive. Of course, Sirius Black looked attractive in anything and everything, you could ask anyone to confirm it.

Right now, he was wearing a man-corset on top of a breezy white blouse, some trousers, and a long red cape completed with a hood that could shade the majority of his face. Sirius had even found a straw basket and some jams from the kitchens.

When he saw Remus, Sirius beamed and walked up to him.

"Mon loup." Pads said, placing a kiss on Remus' cheek.

Remus felt his annoyance at the ironic costume fade away. He couldn't stay mad a Sirius, and this was supposed to be a fun night, so he shouldn't worry that much about what he looked like.

He turned, looking at James, who had a white and gold roman toga and a head band with sparkling metal rods, making his face look like either an angel or an ancient roman statue.

"Do I look like the sun?" Prongs asked, worried.

"Yeah mate." Sirius said, adjusting his corset, which Remus thought looked unbearably uncomfortable.

"Regulus said I needed to look like a sun. Apparently he's going as Icarus. No clue who that is."

Remus almost chocked, trying to cover it up with an awkward cough. That didn't work, and James immediately walked over and grabbed his shoulders.

"Is that a bad thing? What does it mean?" He asked, his eyes a little wider than usual.

Remus realized with a start that James was anxious to make a public appearance with Regulus.

"Regulus said to trust him, said that it was a good costume." James was starting to hyperventilate.

Remus glanced at Sirius, who didn't seem to know who Icarus was either.

"Uh, well, Icarus was a character in Roman mythology, uh, a muggle religion many centuries ago. He was a dude stuck in a magic labyrinth, and him and his uh, uncle I think, used metal wings to escape. According to some interpretations, Icarus fell in love with the sun after being trapped far from it for so long so uh, yeah."

James released his grip on Remus' shoulders, sagging in relief.

"Okay, okay, that's good."

Remus didn't have the courage to tell James that in most telling of that myth, Icarus flew too close to the sun, making his wings melt, and he plummeted to his death. Was that the double-message the youngest Black brother was trying to send? That this relationship could be his end?

Remus shook that thought off. Certainly not.

"How do you know these things Moony?" Sirius asked, sitting on his bed, tying up the laces of his boots.

"Dunno, I read books I guess."

Sirius smirked and walked up to him, lacing their arms together.

"Ready to scandalize the world, mon loup?"

Remus' lips curved in a smile.

"Always."

-----

They walked down to the common room, where a bunch of costumed couples and friend groups were headed to the great hall, with varying level of fake blood.

Remus and Sirius got a few strange looks, but nothing outrageous.

Marlene caught up to them halfway to the main event, dressed as a deer, with antler, makeup and a fitting corset over a too-short dress. Or maybe it was just Remus who was a little prude. He then remembered he himself was bare-chest, and couldn't criticize people for their nudity, since he was barely clothed.

They met their Slytherin friends right before entering the great hall.

Regulus was also wearing a roman toga, with elegantly crafted silver and gold wings. anybody else would've looked awkward in that costume, but Remus thought Regulus looked regal, like an angel from the heavens.

Barty Crouch Jr had newly dyed green hair tips, and was dressed as what Remus only could assume was a David Bowie costume, with a red, black, and blue lightning bolt painted on his face and a green suit, to match his hair, Remus guessed.

Dorcas Meadowes was dressed in camouflage cargo pants, a black hoodie, and had a hunting gun strapped to her back. She joined Marlene, giving her a small peck on the lips. Remus thought it was a good couple costume: deer and hunter.

Pandora Rosier, Evan's twin was dressed as a garden fairy, with gleaming wings and a sweeping pale pink dress. She had an ethereal sort of beauty.

But the most ridiculous costume off all was Evan Rosier. Remus should've expected it. It wasn't fancy like his twin's or elaborate like Regulus'. It was low budget, and probably took five minutes to make. Rosier was wearing a rainbow flag wrapped around his intimate part, and nothing else. He also had a rainbow smear on both cheeks.

He was smiling proudly, one arm around Barty. Remus was happy for the pair, who had finally realized that they were both very gay for each other.

The group only needed Lily and Mary to be complete, but they decided to go inside the party anyway.

Inside, the air was already stuffy and food and drinks were offered at will.

The huge clock on the wall read 8:56 pm, so they had around five minutes before the official dance would start. Remus glanced at James, who was holding Regulus' hand, the two in their own little world.

All around them, people muttered and shot cross looks at the whole group. Three new gay couples in one night, Remus almost pitied their feelings. Almost. On the other hand, he enjoyed that every time he kissed Sirius or Sirius kissed him they seemed to have a heart attack.

"Ça va, mon loup?" Padfoot said a few minutes later. They had separated, Remus went to greet Lily and Mary (Lily dressed as a tooth fairy and Mary as a dentist, which Remus thought was quite clever) and Sirius had gotten his first butterbeer of the night.

"Yeah, I'm good." He replied. He wasn't fluent in french, but he could get the basics.

Finally the clock struck 9:00 and everyone lined the walls. The buffet table disappeared and any decoration that could get in the way was pushed to the side. It was time for the dance.