SquidgeWorld Archive

It was late afternoon and Sirius was tired of watching Remus study. James had left their dormitory an hour ago looking for Lily and Peter followed not a minute later saying he wanted some fresh air, though Sirius was sure he'd probably just go after James to watch his hero in action.

So here he was. Lying in his bed bored out of his mind, stuck with a guy whose only focus were his books and parchments and with absolutely nothing better to do. Sirius cleared his throat loudly a few times and made some other random sounds to get Remus' attention, but only received a careless reprimand in return.

"Keep quiet, Sirius. I'm trying to study."

"Sorry."

He sighed and waited for a few more eternal seconds before finally blurting out a question. "Remus... how did you discover you are gay?"

That was a cheap trick and he knew it. His homosexuality was still a bit of a delicate issue for Remus. But Sirius was a Black, he was used to getting what he wanted and, right now, he wanted someone to talk to.

He blinked innocently as Remus gave him a side-glance, silently telling him he wasn't fooling anyone.

"It was pretty obvious when I started getting hard every time I looked at you."

That was definitely a much bolder answer than Sirius expected, but he recovered quickly enough from the shock and decided he wouldn't let Remus get the better of him on this.

"Really? Why didn't you tell me? I might have done something about that." He said trying to sound seductive, but Remus only snorted and shook his head.

"Stop, Siri. You know I can go further than you on this game." He turned back and looked at Sirius with serene eyes.

"Oh yeah? Why is that?" Sirius Black didn't lose games. He was a winner and the sooner Remus learnt that the better.

"Because I wouldn't mind... kissing you, for example, just to embarrass you."

"And... and what makes you think I would mind that?" He insisted stubbornly.

"You're not gay. Straight men usually get uncomfortable kissing other men."

Remus sounded infuriatingly like he was talking to a small child, patiently explaining the facts of life for Sirius.

"Well, maybe I'm not straight. Maybe I'm just a very discreet gay."

"No, you're not."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Sirius, gay men aren't attracted to women. You obviously are."

"Really? You're sure of that, right? So name one girl I'm attracted to." Sirius challenged, thinking he was very smart in hiding his affairs. Remus couldn't possibly know whom he dated.

"Okay. How about Nancy Prickles? Or Gwen Harting? Or Flora Kalet, Priscilla Taylor, Dory Porter, Andrea McDavies, Sam Lavints, Brigit Rag-"

"How... Where did you hear those names? Who told you?" Sirius interrupted Remus furiously. Whoever had been telling on him would pay dearly.

"Nobody told me, Sirius. I saw you with them. You might think nobody goes to the library after dinner or maybe that you can't be seen behind the back shelves on the left, but you're wrong."

Sirius was quiet for a minute. Remus had just told him he wasn't as smart as he assumed. That was one hell of a revelation for him and he needed time to swallow it down.

"I only make out with them. Never went further, you know?" He confessed distractedly.

"Really? You're a virgin? I didn't know that."

"Yeah... Can we please change the subject?" He said, coming out of his short reverie.

"Okay. Will you keep quiet now, so I can study?"

"No. I'm bored, I want to do something."

"Sirius-"

"Hey, do you want to see it what I bought for you for Christmas? It's something really special."

"It's too soon for that, Siri."

"I don't care, I want to give your present now." Sirius said already taking a box from under his bed and shoving it on Remus' lap. "Go on, open it."

Remus accepted the box and frowned at the air holes on the top of it, but Sirius was too excited to notice his reluctance. The werewolf slowly pulled at the blue ribbon, ripped the purplish top cover, lowered his head to look inside and... received a rough slurp on the nose.

"Holy Merlin! Sirius, what is this?" Remus covered his face with one hand and gave Sirius such a startled expression, the boy couldn't hold back a loud laugh.

"It's a baby alligator!" Sirius announced and waited for a bout of happiness from his friend.

"What? An alligator? You're not serious." That wasn't really the expected response, but Sirius simply assumed Remus was finding his present a little too good to be true.

"No, Moony, it's true. I got you a pet alligator. Aren't you happy?"

"Happy? Are you out of your mind? Sirius, alligators eat people! Why the hell did you get me one of those?"

"No, no, he's still a baby. He eats bugs and stuff. And if you take good care of him, he'll grow to like you." Sirius explained himself and was quite sure that would be enough to quell Remus' reluctance in accepting the gift. But his friend only stared at him for a full minute and finally shook his head sighing deeply.

"Bloody hell, Sirius, you're a menace to yourself and all those around you." Remus said quietly before fixing Sirius with a grave gaze. "Take this thing back where it came from."

"But, Remus, he's perfect for you." Was Remus actually refusing the present? No, no, he obviously hadn't grasped the level of wonderfulness contained on that gift.

"Really? Why? Because when I change into the wolf we'll both be killing machines and we'll have lots to talk about."

"Well, I hadn't considered that. It's another positive point... But that's not what I meant. You see, I did a lot of research and I know animals usually don't like you, but I found like a list of creatures that actually enjoy living with werewolves."

"And among the list you just picked the alligator."

"No, I chose it because it was the smallest animal."

"The alligator was the smallest? Great. Look Sirius, this was a really nice gesture, but I don't want a pet. Please, take it back."

"Remus-"

"We're not growing an alligator in our dormitory, Sirius. End of story." Remus pushed the box into Sirius hands and turned decisively back to his desk.

Poor Sirius just stood there for a few seconds before allowing his hurt to come out as anger.

"Well, fine! It was a stupid idea anyway. You probably can't even afford to buy him food." He said throwing the box back under his bed and stalking out of the room.

~ § ~

He hadn't really planned on where to go after leaving the Gryffindor tower, but as it usually happened when Sirius was upset, his instincts took him to a big statue near the entrance to the Slytherin common room, behind which he hid to throw hexes on the passers-by.

That kind of activity always improved his mood, but not today. Watching another second-year running away with his pants on fire, Sirius sat back and heaved a frustrated sigh. He wasn't in the least surprised when James arrived to join him in his hideout, but he did get somewhat uncomfortable by the solemn look on his friend's face.

"How long have you been here?"

"About an hour."

"Shit, you must have gotten half the Slytherin house by now." James chuckled before growing somber again. "Remus told me you two had a fight."

"Yeah. It was all my fault. Wanted to make Remus happy... Obviously a mistake." He answered bitterly.

"Come on, mate, it's not like that. You... you gave him an alligator!"

"Yep, one of the few animals that can actually live in peace with the werewolf. You know, on the list I found, there wasn't the word `humans'. Meaning we probably shouldn't be friends with him."

"What the hell is the matter with you? You gave him a fucking alligator and he just told you to take it back. He was pretty easygoing if you ask me. I'd want to kick your arse if you had given me a present that could eat me. Why are you being so damned dramatic about all this? He was so cool with you. You have no right to be mad at him."

"Just so you know, I spent the last two months first on books and then on exotic pet shops, trying to find the perfect present for him. And then he just scorned at it, like it was nothing. I have all the right to be angry!"

"Don't be so stupid, man! Where would Remus keep the gator? Under his bed? And what about Peter and I? Did you think of talking to us before deciding we'd have a new resident in OUR bedroom? And what about Prof. Dumbledore? Did you ask for his permission to bring that thing into the castle? I know you don't care much about that, but do you actually believe Remus would want to have an illegal alligator? When are you going to stop being such a dense and selfish moron and start considering what your wonderful present means for the rest of us?"

James was clearly losing his patience with Sirius, but he still didn't speak in anger, that just wasn't his style. Not that it made much difference, for his passionate friend got mad at him just the same.

"I'm going for a walk." Sirius said, getting up and leaving before James could stop him.

~ § ~

Sirius wondered alone through the corridors of the castle for what felt like forever. He wanted to stay angry at his friends and fell sorry for himself, but he wasn't that stupid and, no matter how much he tried to avoid it, James' words started to sink in and defeat his stubborn side.

With a sudden wave of shame for his actions, Sirius turned and ran back to the Gryffindor tower. He needed to apologize to Remus right away. He rushed up through the fat lady painting and arrived at the common room to find Remus sitting with Lily by the fireplace.

"Remus?" He approached the pair with his best subdued demeanor. "May I talk to you in private?"

"No, I don't think so." Remus answered coldly.

"Hmm... please." He turned big gray eyes at his friend and saw the initially impassive look changing into annoyance. "I just want to tell you something. It won't be long, promise."

"Fine." Remus finally gave in and stood up. "Excuse me, Lily."

They quickly reached their bedroom and Remus turned to Sirius with his arms folded, looking positively unfriendly.

"Well?"

"I... I wanted to apologize." He saw Remus rolling his eyes, but felt the tension in the room lessen somewhat. "I didn't mean what I said, Moony. I was cruel and I'm very sorry for that."

Remus didn't answer right away. He sat down heavily on the bed and rubbed at his eyes before looking at Sirius again.

"I understand why you said that. And I'm sorry I refused your present. Not that I want it now, but... maybe I should have tried to find a more diplomatic way of telling you."

"Oh, come on. You were super, extra, hellishly diplomatic... and I acted like a baby." Sirius sat beside Remus, recognizing he was forgiven, but still felling pretty bad about himself.

"But why? You're not usually like that. You're `tough guy' Sirius Black. Why was this present so special for you? Did you become attached to the baby gator or something?"

"No, it's just... I'm not sure. I went through so much trouble to get you that present and I wished so much you'd like it..."

"An alligator?"

"I know. It didn't seem so stupid at the time. I wasn't thinking straight I guess. I just wanted to make you happy."

"Well, I am happy to have a friend who does all that for me, Sirius." Remus rubbed Sirius' back soothingly and tried to lighten up the moods. "But I don't even want to know what you bought for James."

He received a short chuckle in reply, but no more than that. "I got him the Chudley Cannons official t-shirt."

"Oh... I'm sure he'll love it. And what about Peter?"

"Peter? I haven't thought of anything for him yet. It's hard to buy him presents. Did you buy anything?"

"Yep. I got a book for James, a book for Peter, a book for Lily and... You'll have to guess what I got for you."

This time Remus received Sirius' captivating laughter in return and his heart warmed with the sound.

"Oh, that's a tough one."

They chuckled together for a second then suddenly Sirius fixed Remus with an unusual stare.

"You know, it's very cool when you act all funny like that. You should do it more often."

"Nah, that would ruin my rep." Remus smiled a little before adding. "And you know I can't get too much attention to myself. It's best if I don't try to make too many friends."

"Well, it's their loss. I think you're the best friend one can have. I mean, I have a lot of fun with James, pulling pranks and stuff... but it's different with you. I like to spend time with you, even when we're doing nothing. I like it when you're just there, I like the way you always offer us this silent support that feels so strong..."

Sirius was obviously speaking his mind then. His head was lowered, his eyes slightly unfocused and his words... definitely not the ones Remus would expect to hear from him. Sirius hesitated as if trying to sort out his feelings and suddenly looked up at Remus' eyes.

"I... I don't know what I fell. I guess I just like... you." He said blushing strongly.

Remus was deeply touched by Sirius simple confession, but before he could say anything, his confused friend jumped up from the bed and fled the bedroom without looking back. He hesitated for only a second, but it was too long. When Remus finally opened the door to go after Sirius he saw the teenager rushing through the fat lady painting and realized he wouldn't be able to catch him.

~ § ~

Sirius ran back to the dungeons, looking for a target and almost panicked to see the corridor was deserted. But the sudden appearance of Severus Snape was like a gift from heaven. Taking his wand, Sirius didn't even give time for the other student to react. He yelled a curse and watched with a lighter heart as a dense fur started growing all over the poor boy.

Once Snape looked like a proper gorilla, Sirius felt satisfied and turned to leave that place before someone decided to make justice on him. But his luck couldn't last forever and Sirius ran straight into Prof. Grumb, the head of Slytherin house.

"Oh... G-good evening, Prof. Grumb. What a pleasure to see you." He said trying to smile.

"I can't say the same, Mr. Black. It seems like every time I see you, you're up to no good. I'm beginning to think it would be best if I never saw you at all."

"Well, I'll take care of that right now, sir." Sirius tried to contour the taller man, but was immediately caught by his upper arm.

"You may take care of that after your detention, Mr. Black."

Sirius was quietly dragged into Prof. Grumb's office and lowered on a large chair by the desk. The teacher then placed a frighteningly long piece of parchment in front of Sirius and gave him a feather.

"You will now write an essay, Mr. Black, about how you could use your talents in productive manners around the school rather than applying them to your inane pranks." Grumb's voice was always well cadenced and soft, pretty much representing the man's collected nature. As much as Sirius would like to hate him, Grumb was one of the few Slytherins that actually deserved respect and... alright, maybe even some admiration.

"It's sad, Mr. Black, that a student with your potential should be reduced to these shameful detention sessions so often. You could do so much more."

"A student with my potential?" Sirius snorted gruffly. "And why do you see so much potential, professor? Because I'm a Black?"

Grumb didn't seem perturbed by Sirius's manners. He silently shook his head and looked straight into the boy's eyes.

"Not at all. Unlike most of my fellow Slytherins, I don't believe in bloodlines to define my students. In fact, your brother Regulus is surprisingly inept for a child who grew up in a purely wizarding environment. No, I don't think you have potential because you're a Black. I look at you and I see power. The power to become a great wizard." The man spoke gravely and gave Sirius a few seconds to digest what he'd said before continuing. "I also realize that little trick on Mr. Snape is far from your usual antics. I understand you're either sneaky or excessively flamboyant. But I had never seen you act so... plainly."

"I guess I was just upset." Sirius heard himself confessing without even thinking about it. "I've been weird all day. Actually, I've been weird for a while now."

"Weird?" The professor repeated and the word sounded strangely foreign coming from his mouth, like he'd never said it before.

"Yeah. I've been antsy and I... I snapped at my friend and... And I bought an alligator-"

"You bought an alligator?! Mr. Black, even for the funniest prank you can come up with, that's a tad over the line."

"No, it's not for a prank. It's a... present."

"A present? That's a rather unique present." Grumb said quietly.

"You mean stupid, right? He totally hated it." Sirius replied dejectedly.

"I find that hard to believe, Mr. Black."

"What? That someone would hate getting a gator for Christmas?"

"That your friend wouldn't appreciate a gift you chose specifically for him."

"Yeah, he said something along those lines too."

"I see. So you've talked about it, settled the issue between you two?" Sirius nodded and Grumb frowned at him. "Then why, Mr. Black, does Mr. Snape look like an ape right now?"

"He always looked like an ape- I mean... I'm sorry for that, sir."

"I don't want an apology, Mr. Black. I asked why you did it."

"I just... I needed to see. I wanted to see if there'd be anything different. `Cause..." Sirius struggled to explain himself, trying to find something that made sense in the midst of all the confusion, embarrassment and fear he was drowned in. He looked up at the teacher's eyes and suddenly the man's cold but steady gaze filled him with an unusual confidence. Before he knew it, Sirius blurted out what was in his mind. "I said some odd things to Remus and I got scared `cause I thought `Shit, I'm becoming a fucking queer!', so I ran away and then I found Snape and I thought that if I could hex him like before that would mean I was still a `man', so I did it and now I know I'm really not gay, but I still can't figure out why I said what I said to Remus... sir."

Grumb seemed thoughtful for a few seconds then he unexpectedly placed a hand on Sirius' shoulder. "Alright, I don't want to scare you or make you even more confused but the fact that you could hex someone doesn't mean you're not gay. In fact I believe those are completely unrelated things. Second, I can assure you, you're not a `fucking queer', but I can't tell if you're a homosexual or not."

Sirius blushed deeply, but didn't dare interrupt his teacher.

"Lastly, you must have gone through a lot of trouble to find an alligator and bring it into the castle unseen, and I'm guessing you instinctively said... `odd things' to your friend when you felt comfortable enough to do that. So the only suggestion I can give you is that instead of letting prejudices and dogmas run your life, you consider what you truly want and go after it. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Then you can think about it while you write your essay."

Sirius groaned loudly at the sudden reminder of his punishment. He was so sure he'd have gotten away by now.

"How long does it have to be, sir?"

"I'll let you know when you're done."

~ § ~

After a few more complains and a threat to spend the whole night in detention, Sirius finally started working on his essay. It didn't seem hard, all he had to do was write down good things he could do around the school. Piece of cake!

Starting with the obvious, since Sirius was such a great student he could help his peers with their homework... and charge for it, obviously. He could also spread joy around the school with his wonderful and completely harmless pranks. What else? ... Using his `seduction talents', Sirius could also help the girls of the school to discover the great pleasures of life. But, no, that wasn't something he'd really want to do, at least not with any of the girls he'd ever dated. He could teach them to make out, but he'd only go all the way with someone really special. When he found that someone, then he might use his... What did Grumb call it? Oh yes, his potential. He'd use all his potential; he'd start with some aphrodisiac potions, then use some spells like the silencing one and maybe the levitating too, he'd also use his transfiguration skills to turn their clothes into butterflies and watch them flying off his lover's body. Then he'd let his mouth get to work. First sucking his lover's lips till they were deep red and then his tongue would slip inside, travel around smooth teeth and slide over and under his lover's tongue. In the mean time, his arms would have snaked around the slim naked body before him and would be pressing them close. So close he wouldn't be able to tell which speeding heart was his own, as their chests heaved together and their heartbeats mangled into a joined sound of lust. One of his hands might travel down then and start caressing tout buttocks and maybe even a warm crevice. By then his most cherished "potential" would be hard against his lover's belly and he hoped Remus' would be pressing against his own-

"Well that's definitely not what I'd expect to read. Mr. Black." Sirius heard the teacher from behind his right shoulder and frowned.

So he hadn't written anything yet, but the man could wait till he was done with his fantasy before he started complaining.

"I'll get right to it, sir-" Sirius looked down at the parchment to find there wasn't much space left for him to write on.

"Holy fucking Merlin." His eyes passed by a rather inappropriate description of Remus' behind and Sirius blushed more than he'd ever blushed in his entire life.

"My thoughts exactly, Mr. Black." Grumb circled the table and sat down across from Sirius but the mortified boy didn't look up. "You're free to go and you may take your essay with you."

Before the teacher even finished his sentence the revealing piece of parchment was already completely crumbled and being stuffed into Sirius' robes.

"Thank you, sir." He said rushing out of the office.

~ § ~

When Sirius reached the deserted corridors he realized it was already quite late, probably later than a student should be out. He began walking quickly and silently, intent on reaching the Gryffindor tower before Filch found him and he got into any more trouble.

His mind was full of ideas, thoughts of Remus and what they could possibly be together. Was professor Grumb right? And, more importantly, was Sirius actually falling in love with Remus?

He sighed softly, pressing the paper inside his robes. He'd never done that before, write something on instinct. It was scary, but he couldn't deny the words on that parchment had been in his mind for a while now.

Turning a corner, Sirius ran into something invisible and drew back hastily.

"Who- James." He breathed in relief as his friend came out from under the invisibility cloak.

"Where have you been? I've looked all over for you." James said using the cloak to cover both of them and starting to lead the way back to their common room.

"I was in detention."

"You too?"

"What do you mean?"

"Peter is in detention. Prof. Binns discovered he cheated on the last test."

"Are you kidding? That must have been the easiest test of the whole semester."

"Yeah, I know. And Moony is really mad. He said it's unacceptable that one of HIS friends would cheat instead of studying. Peter is so in for it." James snorted and gave Sirius a side glace. "And what did you do?"

"Nothing really."

"Come on, tell me, mate. You look weird. Did something happen to you?"

"Well... yeah." Sirius stopped short, turning to James but avoiding his somber eyes. "I kinda discovered something."

"What?"

"James, I... I think I'm gay."

"You `discovered' you're gay?" James chuckled in his teasing way. "You must be the stupidest man on earth."

"Come on, this is serious!"

"Sorry. So how did you `discover' that?"

"It's worse than you think, okay?" Sirius answered gravely. "I'm in love."

James had to put both hands over his mouth to keep the laughter inside then and Sirius almost punched him for that.

"You're in love." James repeated after getting himself back under control. "So who's the lucky guy?"

"Remus." Sirius confessed expecting to be teased for the whole eternity for that, but instead James clapped his shoulder and looked surprisingly happy.

"Remus? That's great!"

"What do you mean `that's great'?"

"Well, he's gay too, you're both nice people, you get along with each other... It's perfect. Not that I want to form a trio of anything, but I guess I can be happy for you two."

"But, James, I... This is crazy, I don't know how to act." Sirius asked in almost panic. "I-I've never been gay before. What am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know. Shag Remus?"

"What?"

"Look, just don't over-think the situation, mate." James wrapped an arm around Sirius' shoulders and began guiding him to the Gryffindor tower again. "You like Remus, so just go and tell him that. Ask him on a date or something."

"Oh, but I don't think he'd want that. I gave him an alligator, I was all `sissyly' angry when he refused, then I started declaring myself to him without even knowing I was doing that and then I just ran away without finishing it. If he doesn't think I'm an idiot, then maybe he is."

"Nah, don't worry about that. He's known you're an idiot for years, but he cares about you anyway." James spoke as they arrived before the fat lady painting. "I'm going to keep Peter away for a while to give you guys some time. Now go in there and ask Remus to shove it up your arse." He instructed laughing.

"That's not funny!"

"Sorry."

~ § ~

Sirius took one last deep breath and passed through the painting. He arrived in the silent common room to find Remus sitting by the fireplace again, only this time he was alone and had an enormous book on his lap. The werewolf immediately looked up and smiled briefly at Sirius' approach.

"Finally. I thought you'd have gotten into trouble by now. And James was particularly worried you'd do something fun without him. He's out looking for you."

"I know. I ran into him outside."

"You did? Why didn't he come back then?" Remus asked closing the book and placing it on the table.

"I... He wanted to give us some time... you know, alone." Sirius came a little closer to his friend, but he still stayed further than he normally would and Remus frowned as if he'd noticed that.

"Really? Why is that?"

"H-he thought we needed to talk." The teenager stuttered nervously as he watched Remus getting up and coming to stand right in front of him.

"Talk about what? Anything to do with what you were telling me earlier today?" The werewolf asked softly, brushing a lock of hair from Sirius' forehead. The gesture was simple, but oddly enchanting and Sirius almost forgot to answer the question. He nodded silently looking straight into Remus eyes and waited with half contained breath.

"Yes? Something about you liking me?" Sirius nodded again and Remus grasped his hips leaning over, his face coming impossibly close to Sirius'. "But you ran away. Never gave me a chance to answer. Will you run again?"

"No." Sirius whispered the answer, feeling Remus' hot breath on his lips.

"No? So may I give you my answer now?"

Sirius tried to reply, but didn't have the time. Suddenly Remus' mouth closed over his and he felt his heart skipping a beat. Remus' arms on his back pushed him forward and a warm tongue licked his lips, looking for a way in.

He was used to being the aggressive one and Remus' sudden attack made him feel unusually vulnerable, but thrilled at the same time. Sirius opened his mouth tentatively and was promptly invaded. He moaned while Remus explored him thoroughly, licking and rubbing every inch of his mouth.

His breathing quickened and he thought he would melt against Remus' chest, but suddenly the embrace softened and Remus' tongue slowly left his mouth. It seemed like the kiss would end, but Remus didn't let go of him; he kept placing teasing little kisses on Sirius' mouth instead.

This odd game went on for a few seconds until Sirius finally figured what he was being invited to do. He carefully held Remus' nape and reached his tongue into the boy's mouth. He found no resistance and quickly began moving the same way Remus had done.

He lazily tasted Remus' palate and was just warming up to the exploration when he suddenly felt a sharp pain on the top of his tongue. He retreated it hastily and realized he'd been scratched by Remus' sharp canines.

"Your teeth are dangerous." He commented, making Remus grin broadly.

"Yes. We'll have to kiss a lot so you'll get used to them." The werewolf replied pulling Sirius onto the couch.

They sat down and snuggled together, immediately getting comfortable on each other's arms. Sirius rested his head on Remus chest and allowed the other boy to play with his hair, feeling sated even if they hadn't even had sex yet.

"So..." Remus said after a few moments. "How did discover you were gay?"

"I can't believe you're asking that-"

"Oh, let's call it poetic justice, shall we? Now answer the question."

"Okay. I noticed there was something different about me after I spent all day today getting embarrassed and running off on people."

"I don't think I get your point." Remus said after a moment of thought.

"Well, those are girly things to do."

He was dead serious but for some reason Remus burst out laughing anyway.

"What's so funny?"

"Sirius, listen to me `cause this is very important."

"Okay."

"Now that you realized you're gay and we're together, you really have to get rid of your prejudices."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, just because you're gay that doesn't mean you have to start acting more girly. You just have to be yourself. There's nothing really different about you."

"Yeah, I know. I even hexed Snivellus today just to make sure of that."

"What?" Remus' sweet tone immediately changed into a stern one.

"I... I mean..."

"Is that why you stayed out late today?"

"I was in detention." Sirius answered nodding.

"Oh Sirius, you know I don't like it when..." Remus' voice was tense and Sirius looked down at the carpet to avoid his new boyfriend's accusing gaze. "When you get caught."

"What?" Sirius jumped up surprised he wasn’t being scolded and saw Remus was actually smiling at him.

"Couldn't you be more careful?"

Sirius chuckled happily then impulsively wrapped his arms around Remus' neck and kissed him. "You're the best. I love you."

Once again Sirius had said something significant without even realizing it. Remus kissed him back but decided not to alert his boyfriend to what he'd said, it might scare the boy away again. Instead he got up from the couch bringing Sirius with him and walked over to their bedroom holding his hand.

He wondered briefly if Sirius would agree to sleep on his bed tonight, they had just shared their first kiss after all and he didn't want to rush anything. But Sirius seemed quite eager following him to the dormitory and he even darted into the room before Remus; that had to be a good sign.

The werewolf quickly closed the door and turned for another kiss, but he found no boyfriend waiting for him. Sirius had actually run over to his bed and was kneeling beside it checking the box with the baby alligator. It should be disconcerting to find out Sirius had been thinking about the animal at a time like this, but Remus found it surprisingly endearing.

"I think he's hungry. We have to feed him. Or maybe he's just cold." Sirius spoke as if he knew anything about alligators, but Remus didn't mind. He immediately picked a thick blouse from his trunk and handed it to Sirius.

"Here. Try this."

Sirius looked at the piece of garment and hesitated. "He'll destroy it."

"It's okay. I don't like this color anyway."

Remus kneeled down beside his boyfriend, observing the way he carefully placed the blouse around the small animal.

"What are we going to call him?" He asked quietly and Sirius turned to stare at him.

"You... you want to keep him?"

"He's the first present my silly boyfriend gave me, considering it's for Christmas."

Sirius smiled so brightly at him, Remus immediately knew he had made the right decision. It would be hell to convince Dumbledore to let them grow an alligator inside the school and it probably wouldn't be easy to make a suitable environment for the baby either, but the passionate kiss he received at that moment made it all worthy.

Remus hugged Sirius with one arm and tried to balance himself in that awkward position with the other. He didn't even notice his hand had ended up inside the box and that it's occupant didn't enjoy sharing space. He was completely enthralled by the kiss when suddenly sharp teeth closed around his thumb.

"Ouch!" Remus jumped and looked down at the baby with an angry frown. "Bad! Bad boy! You mustn't bite us. Bad... Bad Flatfoot!"

"What?! You're not gonna call him that, Remus!"

The End