“I won’t be able to live with myself if Pete actually beats me,” Remus heard Sirius sigh. “Imagine me being beaten by Wormtail in a snogging competition! It might be the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“Just ask someone,” Remus said unsympathetically without looking up from his history text. “It’s not as if you don’t have a line of willing participants.”
Remus couldn’t be bothered with what Mary had deemed “The Great Snogging Race.” So, considering that Remus refused to participate and James would only accept a kiss if it came from Lily (which wasn’t going to be happening anytime soon, it seemed), Sirius appeared to be a shoe-in compared to Peter.
“Oh, I love your confidence in me, Moony,” Remus could hear the cocky grin in Sirius’ voice without having to look up to see it.
“I’m sure anyone would be willing to help you win,” Remus said distractedly, writing a note in the margins of the page he was on.
“Is that so, Moony?” Remus, trying to focus on studying and steadfastly not looking at Sirius, didn’t see him stalking towards his bed. “Anyone?”
“Of course,” Remus answered just before Sirius’ hand covered the page Remus had been reading, making him look up as Sirius closed the book and laid it aside.
“What are you doing?” Remus asked, looking up at Sirius, something he wasn’t used to, as he normally towered over all of the marauders.
“Pay attention to me,” Sirius smiled. Before Remus had a chance to roll his eyes, or mention what a very Padfoot-thing that was to say, Sirius continued. “You said anyone would be willing to help me.”
Remus rose a brow. “Yes, and? You don’t believe me?” Remus scoffed. Everyone knew how desperate the masses were for one Sirius Black.
“Show me,” Sirius cocked his head to the side.
Remus’ brows furrowed and he swallowed. “Show you?”
“You said anyone,” Sirius repeated softly. “Show me.” Remus’ eyes fell to Sirius’ lips and he licked out at his own. He felt heat crawling up his neck as he caught himself.
Before Remus could even think of a response, Sirius bent down and pressed his lips to his. For as startled as Remus was by this turn of events, he kissed back hungrily for the thing he had dreamed of for so long.
Sirius tasted like smoke and tea. Velvety and sumptuous. Remus opened his mouth for him and curled his hands around the back of his neck, bringing him closer.
Sirius let himself go easily. Remus tasted like cigarettes and chocolate and Sirius couldn’t help but smile into the kiss as he leveled himself with Remus.
Sirius pulled away first, settling finally onto Remus’ bed beside him, but hardly separating. Remus’ hand fell to his shoulder.
Remus let out a shaky breath, the reality of what just happened fully settling around him. This could ruin them. This could ruin everything. This could ruin the marauders.
“Moony,” Sirius whispered to him, foreheads nearly touching. “Don’t lie to me.”
“Lie to you?” Remus could hardly breathe.
“Don’t tell me I’m wrong,” he spoke softly, shaking his head in the slightest. “The way you look at me. The way you touch me. Don’t tell me I’m wrong.”
Remus really couldn’t breathe. He certainly couldn’t move. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Sirius let his head rest against Remus’. “Pretending you don’t know is just as bad as lying, Moony. The glances, the touches. Don’t pretend you don’t know. It’ll kill me.”
Remus’ hand fell across Sirius’ shirt and he took it into his fist, like an anchor.
“I like you, Moony,” Sirius whispered when Remus didn’t say anything, and Remus took in a life-affirming breath. “Tell me I’m not crazy, please.”
Remus finally looked into Sirius’ eyes. The desperation in them forced Remus’ mouth open. “You’re not crazy, Pads. God, of course I like you.” He shook his head and their foreheads rocked against each other.
“Oh, thank Merlin,” Sirius laughed in obvious relief and his body shook beneath Remus’ hands. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you’d turned me away.”
Remus gripped onto him harder, smiling so big it hurt. “You know me, Sirius. When have I ever been able to say no to you?”
Sirius kissed him again and they sank against the bed together. Remus held onto Sirius by his hair, certainly not planning on letting him go anywhere now.
Sirius pulled back to look down at Remus, at the way his curls fell across the Gryffindor bedding. The way the sun streaked across his face from their highest point in the tower, highlighting every caramel curl, every scar that made him Moony.
“You could say no to me, you know?” Sirius hesitated. “I don’t want you to just…go along with anything that you don’t—”
“You’re an idiot, Pads,” Remus interrupted, voice bright.
“What?”
“You were so confident a moment ago,” Remus smiled. “About how I look at you. About how I touch you,” he ran a finger along the plush of Sirius’ bottom lip and watched it drop open for him, like an unspoken command. “I’ve liked you far longer than I’m sure you know. Maybe even since I first met you.”
Sirius’ head fell into Remus’ neck, but not before Remus saw the smile that lit up Sirius’ face. “Merlin, me too.”
Remus laughed and wrapped his arms around Sirius where he lay on top of him. Sirius just lay in Remus’ neck and Remus just let himself enjoy it.
“Congratulations, by the way,” Sirius muffled into his neck.
“Congratulations?” Remus asked as Sirius leaned up to look at him. “For what?”
“It seems we’ve tied in the snogging race. You went from not participating at all, to winning,” Sirius shrugged with a smug smile. “So, I could accept my thank you gift sometime today, but anytime this week works just as well for me, if it does for you.”
Remus laughed and rolled Sirius over to hover above him and Sirius gripped at his hips with a small gasp. “What sort of gift would you like?” He asked against his lips just before he worked Sirius’ mouth open and Sirius whined, not unlike Padfoot, Remus thought. He felt Sirius’ hand skirting low on his back and beneath his sweater, and Remus shifted his knee between Sirius’ thighs to press against him.
“Ah,” their lips detached as Sirius’ head fell back as he pushed up into Remus harder. Sirius gripped at the fabric of Remus’ clothes as he brought their mouths together again, and Remus muffled a moan into Sirius’ mouth when he brushed against his thigh.
For something so heated, so desperate, it was so soft. Sirius was not lacking experience—far from it—but, Merlin, he’d never been to bed with anyone where he was so far gone as he was now. There was no absence of desire, but it was so different from any other fling he’d ever had.
It didn’t feel like work. He wasn’t resolved towards some end goal. It was just him and his Moony. And it was so, so perfect.
Until James walked in.
“Moon— OH!” There was a clatter as James dropped whatever book he’d been holding and covered his eyes. It was actually quite polite of him, like James always was. At least, that’s what Remus would have thought if his heart hadn’t burst into his throat.
“Sorry, sorry!” James shouted as he fumbled to try and blindly close the door, which was caught on the book he’d dropped in the doorway. Remus scrambled to get off of Sirius as James’ foot finally found the book and he kicked it further into the room so he could finally slam the door shut, while still calling out, “I didn’t know you’d brought a girl up here, Moony! I’m sorry!”
It was the exact moment that James got the door closed that Remus finally tumbled off of Sirius and onto the hard stone floor beside his bed.
Sirius sat up and Remus dropped his head into his hands. He could feel the heat consuming his face in his embarrassment.
“Moony!” James called through the door and Remus dropped his hands just enough to look up at Sirius in disbelief that James was going to try to continue a conversation right now. “Wait, I thought you weren’t playing the game!” James laughed. “Oh, Merlin, this means you’ve won!”
Sirius and Remus could hear James practically falling down the stairs in his haste to the common room to declare, “The Casanova of Gryffindor tower wins!”
The silence that was left in the room was deafening before Sirius burst out laughing.
Remus turned to him, face sour. “This is funny to you, is it?”
Sirius nodded in his laughter, holding his stomach. “Did you see James’ face?” More laughter. “I’ve never seen him so startled! He didn’t even realize it was me, he hid so fast!”
“Sirius!” Remus tried to interrupt him, but Sirius kept laughing, even as he made an attempt to face Remus. “This means,” Remus continued through Sirius’ laughter, “that they’ll be expecting a girl up here!”
“And so?” Sirius shrugged, calming down. “There won’t be one. So what?”
“So,” Remus emphasized, “They’ll be waiting down there in the common room for some girl to come down, or James or Peter will have to come up here eventually and it will be just the two of us.”
“And they’ll realize that we actually tied in the competition,” Sirius’ voice was soft again, smiling down at him.
“You’re…” Remus hesitated, a bit surprised. “You’re okay with people knowing?”
Sirius swung his legs off of the bed and sank down onto the floor with him, leaning back against the bed. “I’ve never been ashamed of you, Moony.” He shook his head. “I’ve just never said anything about how I felt because I didn’t want to overstep or ruin anything.” Sirius sighed, smiled again. “I always thought I was a bit obvious though.”
Remus smiled, his heart full of Sirius. “No, that was me.” Remus tucked his legs up and rested his chin on his knee. “I’ve been gone for you for a long time. I’ve never said anything because…” he took a deep breath. “I’m already so different from everyone else.” He traced a scar on his hand and Sirius watched the movement. “Liking blokes on top of that,” he laughed weakly, “it seemed like too much to let out into the world.”
“You’re not too much, Moony,” Sirius took his hand and moved closer to hold it better. “You’re just my Moony. And I can’t get enough of you. You’re not too much, ever.”
He leaned forward and Remus met his lips. It was soft and slow and sweet, and Remus was desperate for things to stay this way, just like this.
“We can keep it a secret, if you like,” Sirius said as he pulled away. “Whatever you want. I just don’t want to give you more secrets. Don’t make it difficult because of me. I don’t care if people know I’m in love with you.”
Remus’ heart jumped. “In love with me?”
Sirius’ face went a bit pink and he smiled. Getting embarrassed was not a Sirius Black trait.
“In love with you,” he repeated with finality, staring intently back at Remus.
Ah, that Gryffindor bravery.