Remus waved his parents goodbye as he stepped onto Platform 9 3/4. Even after 4 years of seeing the Hogwarts Express and the crowds of witches and wizards bidding their children goodbye it still took his breath away. He only got to stare for a moment before he heard his name being called.
"Moony! Oi Moony!" He looked over and saw James shoving his way through the crowd, a huge grin on his face. Behind him Peter trailed in his wake, also grinning and waving. Remus ran over.
"James! Peter! Good to see you guys!" He glanced around. "Where's Sirius?" James rolled his eyes.
"He's being fawned over by some 4th years. It's ridiculous, it does not look that good." Remus gave him a quizzical look. "Come on I'll show you." He turned and headed back the way he came. Peter smiled at him.
"Nice to see you again Remus." He nodded and headed after James weaving through the crowd. It only took a minute to reach Sirius and as Remus saw him his jaw dropped.
In addition to his usual black skinny jeans, cropped tank top, and jewlery, his arms and exposed torso sported several tattoos. There were in fact several girls "oo"ing and "ah"ing over him and Sirius seemed content with the ogling. Remus glared at the girls which of course did nothing but they didn't need to be all over him like that. James walked over and tapped Sirius's shoulder and he glanced up.
Sirius's face lit up when he saw Remus and he slipped easily out of the gaggle of girls and made his way over to Remus which was incredibly satisfying for unknown reasons.
"Moony!" Sirius clapped him on the shoulder and his cheeks heated. "It's good to see you again, can I get your bags? We already called dibs on a compartment." Remus stared for a moment while the words processed.
"Yeah, yeah sure. Uh... good to see you too." He grinned.
"Excellent. We're all here so let's just get on." He threw a glance over his shoulder to the girls that were still staring at him. "Get away from them." He grabbed Remus's bag and headed towards the train. Peter followed but James hung back for a minute.
"Hey, mate, pick your jaw up off the floor and stop staring. It's just ink." Remus nodded but didn't take his eyes off Sirius as they got on the train.
- - -
It took 2 hours for everyone to catch up, even with the frequent letters they all sent during the summer. Remus was pretty sure he spent the entirety of those hours staring at Sirius and stuttering answers to questions. Finally as the discussion mostly trickled off he grabbed a book and hid behind it, face burning.
He wasn't exactly sure what was going on with him. Sure he always liked Sirius as a friend but he was pretty sure this was not that. He hid for half an hour before anyone spoke again.
"So." Sirius tipped the book away from his face. He realized that while he had been hiding Peter had fallen asleep and James had left, probably to go torment Lily. "What's going on with you?" He laughed nervously.
"Same old, same old. You know?" He shook his head.
"No, that's not what I meant. And you know that. You're... nervous." Remus set the book beside him.
"No I'm not." Sirius raised an eyebrow.
"Oh really? I saw the look you gave me on the platform." He traced one of the tattoos on his upper arm. "Seems the girls weren't the only ones who liked my tattoos."
"I- I don't know what you're talking about?" Sirius leaned back in his seat.
"You know, I wasn't really worried about my mother's reaction when I got these. I don't care what she thinks. But you know who I did want to like them?" Remus made a slightly pouty face.
"Girls?" Sirius laughed, a sound he didn't know he'd missed.
"No Moony, you. I wanted you to like them."
"Oh." He hesitated. "Why me?" Sirius sighed.
"Sometimes you can be so dense." Sirius twirled a piece of hair between his fingers, a nervous habit of his. "I like you." He blinked.
"I like you too? We're friends?" Sirius groaned.
"No I like like you."
"Oh." His face flamed. "Like... like like? Like..."
"Yes, I am romantically interested in you."
"Oh." Sirius was studying his face. He tried to think of a response but was having a bit of difficulty stringing a coherent sentence together.
"You don't have to like me back. We can just be friends. I just thought I'd tell you." He watched out the window. Remus wasn't sure how to feel. The whole day had been a roller-coaster of emotions. Saying goodbye to his parents was always hard but then he got to see his best friends again. But now apparently he was gay and his really hot friend liked him.
"Sirius-"
"No it's fine."
"No, listen to me. I think... I think I like you too? I just... I haven't ever liked someone before but I think... it's just a lot to take in." Sirius looked over. "But it's not that I don't like you. I just don't know... I don't know what to do." He hesitated before switching seats to sit next to Sirius.
"To be perfectly honest... I don't either." He tousled his already messy hair. "I didn't think I'd tell you. But the moment I saw you on the platform it was like I fell for you all over again."
"Why me though? You could have your pick of pretty much anyone. Why me?" There was a pause.
"You were one of the first people to show me real affection. You're sweet. You're adorably cute." Sirius reached out and brushed a stray bit of hair out of Remus's face. "You... fixed me. And... you're perfect." He felt his face burn.
"I didn't fix you. You did that yourself." Sirius smiled.
"You're just proving my point. You're cute."
"And you're extremely hot." Remus clapped a hand over his mouth. Sirius just laughed.
"I've been being told that all morning but it means a lot more coming from you." He pulled his hand away. "Can I kiss you?"
"What?"
"Can I kiss you?" Remus stared for a moment before nodding. Sirius leaned in and pressed his lips gently against his. Remus just about died then and there. It was so much better than he'd ever imagined any kiss could be.
Sirius's hand fell to his waist and his other hand cupped his cheek. Remus grabbed his shoulders and pulled him closer. They could have stayed like that forever but the noise of the compartment door sliding open and a yelp cut through the haze of delirious happiness. As they pulled apart James stood in the doorway covering his eyes.
"What the actual fuck?"