Remus fiddled with the tail of his robes as he shook his leg under the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. Next to him, James patted Peter on the back.
"So Wormtail, asked anyone to the ball yet?"
Peter straightened his back as James' hand met the itchy cotton of his sweater. "Oh uh, I dunno yet, how about you?"
James smirked, leaning back to see past the huddle of maroon robes to catch a glimpse of Lily Pott- Lily Evans. "I may have someone in mind."
Across from Peter, Sirius followed James' gaze to the pale redhead who was waving her hands animatedly as she giggled and talked with the students around her, who all seemed to be mesmerized by her every word and gesture. Lily's rich laughter rebounded off the vast walls of the hall, softening James' otherwise smugly confident expression.
"She'll never go for you, mate," Sirius turned back to James.
"And what makes you say that?" James reluctantly shifted his gaze back to Sirius.
"Well for starters, she hates you," Remus pointed out.
"Passionately dislikes me," James corrected him.
Remus scoffed, and rolled his eyes, meeting Sirius's gaze as they both scoffed in amusement at their friend's stubbornness.
"I was actually thinking of asking Marlene McKinnon," Peter shifted the conversation back to him.
"Marlene?" James furrowed his brow, "figured she'd go with Dorcas."
"Yeah, sorry Wormtail, she's as gay as they come," Sirius chewed, considering his last words, "second to me, of course."
Remus chuckled and Sirius winked at him, coaxing out a playful rosiness to flush his cheeks.
Peter blushed and slouched back down over his plate, "I'll find someone else then, I guess."
"Don't worry, there's still plenty of time," James patted his shoulder before moving his attention back to Lily.
Back in the Gryffindor common room, Remus slumped against the edge of the coffee-brown sofa, his legs resting on Sirius's lap. Remus twirled the string that bound the parchment of his book around his finger. He stared at the letters in front of him, but they all blurred together as Sirius's warmth bled through his corduroy trousers, completely hypnotizing and almost blinding him all at once. Sirius laid his head on the back of the couch, letting his dark waves sway along the fabric. He had his eyes closed, but fiddled with Remus' shoelace as he relaxed into the inviting cushions of the sofa.
James burst into the room, shattering the quiet peace of the room and snapping both Remus and Sirius out of their trance. Peter followed behind him, shyly passing through the door and clutching a stack of books close to his chest. James whooped and spun in the air with a jump. His grin was brighter and more welcoming than the fire that crackled in the cobblestone fireplace.
"Woo!"
Sirius opened his eyes and jumped as Remus snapped his book closed and tucked his legs back onto his side of the couch.
"Merlin, what happened?" Sirius didn't hesitate to match James' radiant smile before even knowing its reason. For all he knew, James could have just gotten away with murder and Sirius would still smile along with him.
"Evans said yes," James' expression was smug as he lifted his chin up towards Remus and Sirius, clearly proud of himself.
"No way," Remus smiled.
"Yes way, tell 'em, Wormtail."
Peter took a few steps forward, "she did, saw it myself," he smiled.
"You're joking," Sirius furrowed his brow, still grinning.
"What potion did you slip her, Prongs?" Remus joked.
Sirius laughed, "or was it a charm, perhaps?"
"None actually, I just asked," James was still out of breath, "didn't even have to hex her."
Sirius chuckled and ran up to James. He jumped into his arms like a dog running to its owner. "Congratulations, mate," he patted James' back.
Remus nodded his approval with a smile, "now let's just see if she can survive an evening with you."
"Guess we'll find out," James' smile hadn't faded in the slightest as he tossed himself over the arm of the sofa, sighing contently. His head landed on Remus's lap and he gazed at the ceiling, undoubtedly thinking about Lily Evans.
Sirius shook his head, still grinning as he walked over and sat on the arm of the couch, dangling one leg over the edge and tucking the other one to his chest. Peter shuffled over to sit on the floor and considered the stack of books in his lap. He settled on a deep green one with faded gold letters that read 'Herbology: Year 5.'
The Marauders relaxed in one another's company. James continued to stare up at the ceiling, planning his outfit for the ball, figuring out how he could coordinate his own robes with Lily's, carefully considering every word he would speak to her, and going over the steps of the one dance he had learned as a kid, though he was sure he would need to refresh his memory. Peter sat cross-legged on the shaggy rug, leaning against the base of the sofa, flicking the corner of a page in his herbology textbook as he read and reread the paragraphs. Remus continued to stare at the page he had reread at least a dozen times, still unable to focus as he could feel Sirius' eyes fixed on him. Remus shuffled in his place, trying his best not to return the gaze.
Sirius thought for sure that he was being subtle. But god, was Remus pretty. From every wave and curl of his golden hair to every scar that painted his face, the boy was beautiful. And he couldn't help but stare. Sirius hadn't given the faintest thought to who he would ask to the ball. He didn't need to consider it, he knew who he wanted to ask and he refused to go with anyone else. He was simply too stubborn. Ever since the Yule Ball had been announced, he could barely speak to Remus. Every "hello" and "how's it going" so desperately wanted to transform into a "will you go to the ball with me." But, disregarding Sirius's very convincing speculations, Remus had never shown any interest in anyone other than a girl (besides Sirius, but the both of them were beyond oblivious).
"Pads!" James hissed, dragging Sirius back down to reality.
"Huh?"
James flicked his head toward the door, where a blushing fourth year stood, nervously brushing her hands through her hair. Sirius turned to her.
"Could I um, could I speak with you, Sirius?" She asked, just above a whisper.
"For sure, what's up?"
"Privately, dimwit," James kicked Sirius off the arm of the couch, laughing as he did.
"Oh yeah, right," Sirius followed the girl out of the room.
Just as the tail of Sirius' robe disappeared with a swish behind the door, James sat up.
"So Moony," he turned to face Remus.
"Hm?"
"You gonna ask him or what?"
"What?"
"Jesus fucking christ, are you going to ask Sirius to the ball?"
Remus furrowed his brow, pretending not to know where James could have gotten the idea, but he blushed anyway. "Why would I do that?"
"Oh I don't know, maybe because you're clearly in love with the boy," James rolled his eyes.
"No I'm not I-"
"And he feels the same," James smirked.
Remus's cheeks were a vibrant red and a grin tugged at the edge of his mouth as he looked back down at his book. "You're wrong."
"Oh please," James glared at Remus knowingly.
Remus looked back at him, "well first of all, I'm not, you know, I'm not-" Remus blushed even harder and reached back to scratch the back of his neck.
"Right, of course," James nodded sarcastically. He looked around the room for just a moment, a mischievous glint sinking into his blue eyes.
"What?" Remus sat up.
James smirked and leaned in to kiss Remus, just a peck, but Remus' face still flushed pink and he gaped at James, unable to speak. Peter gawked up at the two.
James wiped his lips, still smirking, "you're not what? Can you repeat that?"
Remus sputtered, his eyes still wide. It took a few moments to compose himself, "you expect that to work?"
"Worked on Sirius," James winked smugly.
"Alright maybe," Remus couldn't match James' confident expression.
"Maybe what?" James inclined his head.
"Maybe I like him a little." Remus'-- unsurprising-- words drew an elated grin onto James' face.
"Two for two," James laughed and laid a hand on Peter's shoulder, "you're next," he winked. Peter giggled nervously and brought his book closer to his face.
Sirius backed into the room, waving at the girl, "see ya."
He slumped back down onto the arm of the sofa with an exhausted sigh.
"What'd she say?" Remus asked.
"Asked me to the ball," he had his hands over his face.
"And you said?" Peter asked.
"Well," Sirius sat up, "I just said I was gonna ask someone else, didn't tell her I was ya know," he flicked his wrist and laughed at himself.
Remus spoke before he even had a chance to laugh, "are you going to ask someone?"
Sirius cocked his head to the side, and smirked a little, letting it melt into a nervous giggle, "haven't thought much about it yet," he lied. Remus sank back into the arm of the couch.
"Well," James said too loudly. "I'm off to bed," he tugged the collar of Peter's shirt as he got up to leave, "coming, Wormtail?"
"I uh..." Peter considered the book resting in his lap. James cleared his throat. "Oh yeah, coming," Peter rushed out of the room alongside his friend.
Sirius let out a sigh as he slid over the arm of the couch, eventually relaxing into the soothing cushions beside Remus. "You alright, Pads?" Remus' hand twitched as he watched a strand of Sirius' hair fall across his face.
"Yeah, just not really looking to the ball I guess, I dunno."
"Me neither," Remus hummed.
Sirius turned onto his stomach, propping himself up on his elbows and resting his chin in his hands. "You asked anyone yet?" His tone was very casual, but his thoughts pounded in his head.
Remus paused, locking eyes with Sirius and letting his gaze linger for a little too long, "oh uh, no, not yet," he didn't look away, "don't know if I'm gonna."
Sirius rubbed his face to hide his relieved grin, "oh come on, you don't want to go alone, do you?"
"Barely want to go at all," Remus, truthfully, answered.
"It won't be all that bad, we get to watch James make an absolute fool of himself in front of Lily," Sirius offered.
Remus giggled, "ah right, now I definitely have to go."
They both giggled, locking eyes again.
A thick silence stuck in the air before Sirius cleared his throat, "we could uh," he cringed, regretting the flicker of bravery that had briefly shone itself within him, "we could go together," he stumbled over the words, already committed to them.
Remus froze, unsure if it was a proper invitation. "I-"
"You know, neither of us want to go, it might make the night a bit more bearable, you know," Sirius hated himself for the next words to leave his mouth, "as friends."
The timid gust of hope that had just for a moment welled in Remus' chest left him and he sunk deeper into the sofa, embarrassed for having thought for even a second that Sirius Black, the most radiant, mesmerizing person he'd ever had the pleasure of knowing, would be asking him to the ball. "Sounds great," he offered a weak smile. At least Sirius wasn't going with anyone else.
The next few days, every hallway, common room, and courtyard buzzed with excitement. Blushing students roamed the halls, nervously eyeing their dates. Whispers and giggles flooded through every corridor as the Yule Ball drew nearer. Peter had ended up asking the girl Sirius had turned down to the ball and Sirius spent the majority of his days rejecting endless invitations from nervous witches. Whenever Sirius was approached, Remus's stomach would twist into a knot and his head would burn and thud in anticipation, but he couldn't fight back the smile that overtook his face every time Sirius would say 'sorry, I've already asked someone.' Even if they were just going "as friends."
The night of the ball, James trembled in front of the bathroom mirror, brushing his hair in hundreds of different ways before ruffling it completely, out of frustration. Sirius laughed at his expense and, as much as he would have loved to sit back and watch the madness continue to unfold, he walked up behind James and gave him a few tips. "You're trying too hard, just go like this," Sirius messed with James' hair for a few moments before stepping back and squinting to examine his work. "Perfect."
James straightened his tie, still eyeing his hair anxiously. "But what if she doesn't like it?" He lifted a hand to adjust his curls again, but Sirius smacked it away.
"Hey, if she could overlook your..." he paused, "well, you," he smirked, "then she surely won't mind how you style your bloody hair."
James side-eyed him, "thanks, mate." He took a deep breath and stepped back into the room. "Ready, lads?" He opened the door and the others followed behind him.
Remus patted down his robes, "oh shit, I forgot something, I'll meet you down there," he turned back to the door.
"You sure?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah yeah, go on, I'll just be a minute, Prongs'll probably need help down the stairs anyway." Remus studied James' distracted expression as he pretended to listen.
Back in the room, Remus dug through his drawers. Beneath a few fuzzy sweaters and maroon hoodies, he found a quaint arrangement of flowers that he had sewn to a thin black band. He picked up the corsage, smiled down at it nervously, and gently slipped it into his pocket before rushing down the hall.
At the top of the stairs of the ballroom, Remus scanned the room. The excited echoed conversations of every witch and wizard rung through the hall, every greeting and sentence blurring together into indistinctive chatter that pounded in Remus' ears. The large groups and relentless noise were more than daunting to him as he looked down on the hundreds of students, unsure if he could take even a step closer to all the chaos. Then in a single moment, the ringing voices and blaring laughter faded to white noise, buzzing in the back of his head very subtly when he found Sirius. He nearly tripped down the stairs as he walked; the entire ballroom-- every twinkling light, every flickering candle, every carefully organized arrangement of flowers-- all blurred away, and all he could see was the icy shine of Sirius' eyes as he smiled.
Sirius met Remus at the bottom of the stairs and could utter nothing but a few nervous giggles.
"Hey," he finally spoke.
"Hi," Remus' voice was breathy and weak.
"Shall we?" Sirius didn't have the confidence to offer his hand, but he tossed his head to where the other students had gathered.
Remus nodded, following him into the room.
After the first few formal, traditional dances-- which Remus and Sirius had watched from a table alongside the rest of the Marauders, including Lily (none of them were too keen on waltzing)-- the students gathered back onto the dance floor with their dates. James and Lily finally decided to join the fun and Peter eventually brought himself to invite his own date to dance as well.
And then there were two.
Remus and Sirius watched for a while, chatting and enjoying one another's company. Eventually they stood to see if they could find themselves a place amongst the sea of students swaying and twirling in front of them.
A student rushed by, brushing against Sirius' back and shoving him into Remus. Remus was pushed against a cool marble pillar and Sirius stretched his arm out to catch himself on the pillar, finding his face just a couple inches from Remus'. Sirius giggled breathily, "sorry about that." But he didn't move.
Remus straightened his back, which only drew his face closer to Sirius. "No worries," he smiled, not sure what he was saying.
For a few moments, they stood completely still, lost in one another's gaze and forgetting, though they hadn't cared to remember, that they had attended the dance "as friends."
Sirius sighed, his breath gently brushing against Remus' skin and pushing a strand of hair away from his face.
Remus opened his mouth to speak, "Sirius I-" He slipped his hand into his pocket, wrapping his hand around the corsage.
Sirius was yanked away by an eager fifth year who dragged him onto the dance floor. Remus took a moment to readjust to the ballroom, remembering that other people did in fact exist. He shook his head and went back to his table. Sirius gazed back longingly at Remus before smiling at the girl who had invited-- or more accurately, forced-- him to dance.
Remus let his thoughts wander for a minute, enjoying the gentle sway of the music as it dwindled out before the next song. When he noticed Sirius bend down to whisper in the girl's ear, his chest ached. Not the kind of anxious ache that he'd feel before a test, not even the dreadful burn that he'd feel before a full moon, but the stinging of reality. Sirius's words from the prior week, 'as friends,' rang through his mind as he was reminded that whatever fantasy he had built in his head was just that; a fantasy.
Remus felt the gentle brush of a petal of the corsage against his finger in his right pocket. He wrapped his hand around the arrangement and squeezed it, unwilling to look at it again. He then hurried out of the room.
After Sirius whispered to the fourth year, "I should get back to my date," his heart sank watching Remus walk away. He rushed after him.
Sirius found Remus sitting at the corner of the bottom step of the massive staircase in the foyer just outside the ballroom. He approached Remus with his hands in his pockets, "sorry, I really didn't feel like dancing with her but she sorta pulled me away so," he shrugged sympathetically.
"Oh no worries, you should have stayed, it is a dance after all," Remus smiled weakly.
"Guess so."
Sirius' words echoed through the empty foyer before he settled down next to Remus with a sigh. "Thanks for coming with me," Sirius rested an unsure hand on Remus' knee.
Remus paused, unsure how to react, and before he knew it, his hand was placed over Sirius'. Sirius adjusted his fingers slightly just so that he could brush the top of Remus' hand gently with his thumb. They spent a few minutes just looking at each other.
"I um, I made you something," Remus finally said, moving his free hand into his pocket. Sirius furrowed his brow but smiled.
Remus took out the corsage but cringed when he remembered that he had squeezed it, "sorry, it's not perfect," he blushed.
Sirius gaped at it, his already sparkling eyes shining even more with tears that welled in them. "Moony, y-you made this for me?"
Remus looked away shyly, "y-yeah."
"Oh my god I love it," he let Remus wrap the band around his wrist.
Remus tried to straighten the bent petals, "it's a little crumpled."
Sirius rested a hand on top of Remus', "crumpled flowers are my favorite." They both giggled and beamed at one another.
A small flower fell loose from the bundle. Sirius picked it up and grinned at it before leaning forward and tucking it behind Remus' ear amongst a bunch of golden curls. He let his hand linger on Remus' cheek, eventually sliding it down to the nape of Remus' neck, where it rested. "You're so pretty, Re."
Remus let his head drop to lean against Sirius, their foreheads pressing against one another. "Look who's talking," he whispered.
Each smiled just as brightly as the other, like a reflection. "Hey Sirius?" Remus' voice carried softly just over to Sirius' lips.
"Yes, Moony?"
"Is this a date?"
"Merlin, I hope so," Sirius' grin widened as he felt Remus lean more heavily into him.
"Hey Sirius?"
"Yes?"
"Can I kiss you now?"
Sirius paused for a moment, but only so that he could smile before pulling Remus into a long awaited kiss.
When they parted, their foreheads were still leaning against one another. Sirius left his hand on Remus' shoulder, stroking his neck lovingly and Remus played with the ever-chaotic waves of Sirius' hair as they smiled at one another.
"Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to do that?" Sirius' voice was breathy and mesmerized.
Remus giggled, "I think I do."