Title: Technique

Author/pseudonym: Orithain & Rina

August 2003

Fandom: Harry Potter

Pairing: Remus/Sirius

Rating: NC-17 for graphic m/m sex

Status: New, complete

Series/Sequel: Probably will be one

Archive: Azkaban’s Lair and anywhere else that would like it :)

Feedback: Hell yes! :)

Disclaimers: All characters depicted here are the property of J. K. Rowling.

Summary: Sometimes subtlety doesn’t work

Disclaimers: All characters depicted here are the property of J. K. Rowling.

Technique

Orithain and Rina

"Moony, I’m bored."

Sirius Black leaned back in his chair in the Gryffindor common room and kicked his feet up onto the table, pushing the nearby pile of parchment perilously near the table’s edge. "Let’s go do something."

Spring had finally come to Hogwarts and with it, restlessness for many of the students, not in the least the seventh year Gryffindor males. James was out with Lily, and Peter was off on some new project he had discovered, leaving only Sirius and Remus in the common room - and studying was the last thing Sirius wanted to be doing on a day like today.

"Like what?" Remus asked warily, eyeing his friend. "There’s nothing to do and no one to do it with right now. And I really don’t want to lose any more points this week."

"I’m no one?" Sirius asked, looking hurt. "Fine friend you are!"

"You mean you want to do something just the two of us?" Remus said in surprise. "I thought you’d want to wait for James or Peter. What could we possibly do alone?"

Sirius bit back a bark of laughter and stared at the ceiling until he had his voice and expression under control. "Well, you could make sure I got in less mischief than I probably would alone..." he cajoled.

Remus eyed him oddly but let Sirius’ strange reaction pass without comment. "You mean you could get me into trouble I wouldn’t be in otherwise," he retorted. "I’ve learned my lesson, Sirius. I want details before I agree to anything."

"Oh, take the fun out of everything," Sirius sighed, moving his legs and letting his feet thump to the floor. "I dunno, we could go see if the Hufflepuff girls are skinny-dipping in the lake or get our brooms and go for a fly around the pitch, or... I don’t know!" He sounded somewhat exasperated. "What’s the fun in having everything planned out?"

"If we plan, we know what to bring... like our brooms if we’re going to go for that flight you mentioned, or food if we’re going to be out long. Unless you want to eat roots and berries?" Remus teased, finally grinning. "And it gives me longer to find ways to keep us out of trouble if I have an inkling of what you’re planning!"

"Prat," Sirius grumbled before giving in and smiling back at his friend. His eyes glinted with mischief then, and he leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. "So what would you pack if I said I wanted to go out in the Forbidden Forest and have a wank?" he asked innocently.

Remus’ jaw dropped, and it was a moment before he managed to reply, "Not a thing! Because that’s something you can definitely handle on your own!" He realized what he was saying a moment too late to keep it back, and he flushed scarlet. "You know what I mean!"

Sirius face turned red as he tried to hold in his laughter, but it got the best of him, and he lay his head down on the table, his shoulders shaking with peals of mirth. "Well, you never know, Moony," he finally gasped, lifting his head again and wiping tears from his eyes, "you might have a few pointers on technique."

Remus glared. "I’m perfectly content with my technique, thanks all the same," he snapped. He wasn’t about to tell his friend that his technique was probably the best in the world since that was the extent of his experience and probably always would be.

"It does sound as if you enjoy it," Sirius mused, grinning when Remus’ jaw dropped once again. "Oh, come on, Lupin. We’ve shared a dorm for nearly seven years; you’re going to tell me you’ve never overheard any of us? Merlin, I even could tell you who it was based on the sounds."

"You...I... NO!" Remus stuttered, certain he was blushing to the tips of his toes. "That’s private! I would never listen." He wondered wildly how they had gotten started on this conversation. "I thought you wanted to go do something," he said desperately.

Sirius shrugged and stood up, shaking his long black hair back out of his face. "All right, let’s go grab our brooms and a quaffle and have a game of catch or something."

He waited until Remus began packing his books and parchment away, then continued. "You’re telling me you’ve never noticed Peter squeaks and that James always mutters Lily’s name? You’re such a good boy, Prefect Lupin, not listening in on your mates. Good thing I’m not."

Remus dropped his books and... no, he couldn’t actually have squeaked! "Y-you listen?! Sirius!" And why were his trousers growing tight during this incredibly embarrassing conversation? "Don’t you need to change or something?" he said, clutching at straws.

Sirius bent to gather up Remus’ books, handing them over as he straightened. "Shall I do imitations for you?" he asked innocently. "Won’t do you, of course, because you know what you sound like, but the others..." He grinned and whimpered before giving a squeaky groan.

Remus’ eyes rounded. "You listen to me?" He almost dropped the books again, only managing to hang on to them by clutching them to his chest.

"I told you I listened to all of you, Moony." Sirius had the grace to look somewhat abashed in light of the horrified expression on Remus’ face. "I mean it’s not like you’re screaming out McGonagall’s name when - well - you know, at the critical time, right?"

"McGonagall! Sirius! That’s just..." Remus smacked at him with one of the books he was still holding, that image throwing him out of his stunned stupor. "It would ruddy well serve you right if I yelled out your name and gave Peter and James something to really talk about! McGonagall!" he repeated in utter disgust.

Laughing, but wincing as the corner of the book caught him in the chest, Sirius held up a hand to stop any more attacks. "I dunno, I might find it interesting," he said, still snickering at Remus’ expression. "Now come on and get rid of your books so I can knock you off your broom with the quaffle."

"You really are a nut," Remus sighed, shaking his head as he rose to his feet. "And we’ll see who knocks who off his broom!"

*

"Sore arse there, Moony?" Sirius asked conciliatorily as he hovered over Remus, who was prone on the ground. He leaned forward, lying full-length on his broom, and shook his hair back out of his face. "If it helps, you almost had that last one."

"I really, truly hate you," Remus observed conversationally from his position on his back, finally pushing his hair out of his eyes to peer up at his so-called friend. "You spelled yourself onto that broom, admit it. It’s just not natural," he grumbled as he sat up.

"Now would I do that?" Sirius looked highly affronted - if you discounted the way his eyes gleamed. "Pull me off, I dare you."

Eyes narrowing, Remus started to do just that, then one hand whipped around and he smacked Sirius across the back with the end of his broom. "Funny how you’re still on there," he observed.

"You didn’t pull me," Sirius retorted, shrugging. "I just happen to have excellent balance."

"Uh huh," Remus muttered, patently not convinced. "I think it’s time to get something to eat at any rate. Shall we gather up the makings of a picnic lunch?"

"Easier done than said." Sirius pulled his wand out of his jeans pocket and gave it an intricate wave. "Accio basket," he intoned, neatly catching the picnic basket that appeared in mid-air in front of him. "You were saying?"

"Did you remember to fill it with food?"

Sirius dropped the basket at Remus’ side and hopped down from his broom, letting it lower itself to the ground. "Look for yourself. Might even be some butterbeer if you’ve been a good little prefect."

"I am so going to dump it over your head," Remus threatened as he peered inside the basket. "Oh, good choices, Sirius. Let’s go find a good spot to enjoy it where no one will want to share," he added greedily, grinning up at his friend.

"Knew you wouldn’t want to waste good food. How about we head over to the other side of the lake, it should be quiet over there; if not, we can go into the forest a bit - not deep enough to get you in trouble," Sirius added with a wink.

Remus glared at him and muttered under his breath, remembering their embarrassing earlier conversation quite clearly. "You go into the forest, you’re doing it alone!" he grumbled.

That comment had Sirius laughing so hard he almost fell over. "Well, that’s usually how one does it, though I’m never adverse to some help," he sputtered.

"That’s not what I meant! You..." Nearly incoherent with embarrassment, Remus grabbed the basket and stalked off, grumbling under his breath all the way. What was Sirius’ problem today, forever bringing the conversation back to wanking?

"Remus... C’mon, Moony, I was only teasing," Sirius yelped, catching up both their brooms and trotting after the other boy. "Since when have I been one to pass up an opening like that?" he asked, scooting around Remus and gazing at him soulfully, blue eyes meeting annoyed-looking amber.

Remus tried to hold on to his annoyance, but it was impossible when Sirius was looking at him like that. "You’re unbelievable," he sighed. "And you can carry the bleeding basket after that." He looked around a bit blankly. "Any ideas where we should hole up?"

Casting a quick leviosa on the basket so it bobbed along after them, Sirius shrugged. "How about by that old oak over there?" he asked, pointing with his broom. "It’s sunny, but out of the way so your food won’t be in danger."

"Except from you," Remus retorted as he veered toward the tree. "Mmm, this was a good idea," he admitted as he sank down to the ground. "I needed to get out for a while. Been studying too much lately."

Sirius avoided saying ‘I told you so,’ but only by the slimmest of margins. Digging into the basket, he opened bottles of butterbeer for them both and leaned back against the tree trunk, taking a long swallow from his. "Don’t worry about your N.E.W.T.s," he murmured, closing his eyes. "You’ll do fine."

"Easy for you to say," Remus muttered as he slowly relaxed. He gulped down nearly half his butterbeer before lowering the bottle again, eyeing Sirius. "So what had you going stir crazy? I know it wasn’t too much studying. Why aren’t you off chasing whichever girl has caught your eye this week?"

"Didn’t feel like it," Sirius yawned, reaching into the basket and finding an apple, which he then bit into, licking the juice from his lips. "Just felt like spending some time with my mates, you know?"

"Well, that doesn’t make sense seeing as I’m the only one around," Remus pointed out, helping himself to a sandwich as he realized how hungry he was.

"Now you’re saying you aren’t my mate?" Sirius shook his head sadly. "You’re going to give me an inferiority complex here, Moony."

"You said ‘mates’. As in more than one." Remus shook his head in return. "Or am I supposed to believe that the incredible excitement of my company drove you?" he mocked laughingly.

"And why wouldn’t it?" Sirius took another bite of his apple, frowning slightly. He knew Moony had issues with himself, but to doubt that he, Sirius, wouldn’t want to spend time with him if James or Peter weren’t present?

"Pull the other one why don’t you?" Remus laughed. "If you needed help with an assignment, I could see it, but I’m not exactly Mr. Excitement." He shrugged, aware of and accepting his limitations.

Now Sirius’ forehead wrinkled as he scowled. "So are you saying I shouldn’t enjoy your company then?"

"Well, no," Remus said slowly, growing confused. "I mean you all seem to, but I really don’t know why. You’re all much more interesting than I am." He shrugged.

"Louder, perhaps, but not more interesting," Sirius answered. "As to why we like you, it’s because you’re you, Remus, the heart and conscience of the Marauders - even if we don’t heed you often." He grinned at the last and scooted over to sling an arm around Remus’ shoulders. "I can’t imagine us without you, nor do I want to."

Remus smiled shyly, ducking his head slightly, touched by the words though he had trouble believing them. "Easy to imagine, you’d be the ones always being called into the headmaster’s office," he mumbled, staring down at his feet.

"So you’re saying nothing would change?" Sirius asked in disbelief, tugging on Remus’ golden brown hair to get him to look up again.

Remus finally met Sirius’ eyes. "Well, you’d probably have lower scores on your tests without me to study with you beforehand," he allowed.

"Not funny, Moony. I do fine on tests. Studying help isn’t why we’re friends and you know it."

"Well, yes, I know that, but I honestly don’t have the slightest idea why you wanted to be my friends."

Sirius fought the urge to bang his head against the tree behind them. They hadn’t had to have this conversation in over a year; what had brought on Remus’ self-loathing this time?

"You bribed us, remember?" he teased.

"Ah yes, of course." Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius and reached into the basket again for a wedge of cheese. Breaking it in two, he offered the smaller piece to Sirius as he started nibbling at his own portion. "I really don’t understand though. Why would you want to endanger yourselves by spending time around a werewolf and... you know." He gestured with the cheese.

"The werewolf part’s easy: you’re a wimp, Remus. Prongs, Wormtail and I handle you easily." Sirius smiled, eating the cheese and washing it down with his remaining butterbeer. "As for the ‘you know’, no, I don’t. What are you talking about?"

"Becoming animagi! Against the rules," Remus hissed. "And I’m not a wimp!"

"Oooo, doing something against the rules!" Sirius shuddered in mock horror and huddled against Remus’ side. "Hold me, Moony, I’m scared!" He snickered when Remus tried to push him away but refused to budge. "And you aren’t a wimp, but you are a pushover." To emphasize this, he changed into his canine form and tumbled Remus to the ground.

Remus yelped and tried to fend the oversized, slobbering creature off him. "Stop that, you prat! Don’t you dare—oof!" The breath was knocked out of him when Padfoot sat on his middle.

Giving a toothy grin that plainly said ‘or what?’ Sirius leaned in and gave Remus a slobbery kiss on the face.

"Oh yuck! Padfoot!" Remus managed to heave him off and jumped to his feet, his back against the tree to keep the huge boarhound from knocking him over again. "That was just horrid! If that’s an example of your technique, no wonder none of the girls want you!"

Giving a bark that sounded like a laugh, Sirius reared back onto his hind legs and braced them on either side of Remus’ shoulders, panting in his face. Suddenly, he changed back to himself, grinning devilishly. "I could give you a real example of my technique, Moony," he offered, leaning in closer.

"Using what, one of the apples?" Remus scoffed.

"Nah, they don’t have a tongue."

"Well then, you can hardly demonstrate, can you, seeing as there’s no one else here."

"No one except you," Sirius said, looking at Remus as if he was addle-brained for discounting himself.

"Me?! Why would you want to kiss me?" Remus stared at Sirius, wondering if he had a fever of some kind.

Sirius fought the urge to bury his face in his hands and groan. "Well, you wanted to see my technique..."

"That was your idea. Besides, most people kiss people they’re attracted to, fool. Are you feeling all right, Sirius?"

"I think I’m getting a headache," Sirius muttered, flopping back to the ground and reaching for another butterbeer.

Remus sat back down as well, eyeing his friend. "You’re in a very odd mood today, Sirius."

"Spring fever," Sirius grunted, staring into his bottle moodily.

"I guess maybe we should have gone and spied on the Hufflepuffs after all. Though with the mood you’re in, I’d be afraid of what you might do. I mean really, if you were willing to kiss me, Merlin only knows what you might do faced with a pretty girl!"

Sirius just turned his head to stare incredulously at Remus, for once at a loss for words.

"What?" Remus was starting to feel defensive, though he had no idea why.

"Nothing, Moony," Sirius sighed. "Have another butterbeer."

Remus frowned as he reached into the basket. "You haven’t been in this sort of mood since Elsbeth Stirling turned you down flat in fifth year."

Sirius gave a non-committal grunt as an answer and sucked down the rest of his drink. "Going to jolly me out of my mood like you did then?"

"I think McGonagall would turn us both into cats and wait to see what would happen on the full moon if we got drunk at the school again! So unless you can come up with some other way, no."

Chuckling at the memory, Sirius let his sulk slide away like mist before the dawn. "Suppose I’ll just have to live with it then... and make my plans."

"That is the scariest thing you’ve said yet," Remus muttered. "Look, why don’t we play a round of wizard chess? It’s comfortable here."

"Sure. Accio us up a set and I’m up for it. You can even choose sides."

*

It was some time later when Remus glanced up and noticed how far the sun had advanced across the sky. "We should probably think about going in soon," he sighed, wishing they didn’t have to. It had been a pleasant afternoon, especially once Sirius had shaken his strange mood.

"You’re just saying that because you’re losing," Sirius chuckled, watching his knight advance on Remus’ castle and attack it. "Though it must be getting near supper time."

"Ha! As if you could beat me at wizard chess," Remus snorted. "I just thought you’d want to go in for supper, though we could just as easily snack on the remains of lunch."

"Might as well get back. Put a stasis charm on it and we can continue the game later - when we’ll see just who beats who."

"Dream on, Sirius," Remus taunted laughingly, casting the charm as he stood up. Stiff from the hours on the ground, he groaned and stretched, his shirt riding up as he arched backward.

Unable to resist, Sirius changed forms again and bounded over to Remus, pressing his cold, wet nose against the bare skin there.

Yelping, Remus fell on his arse as he jumped away, trying to protect his sensitive belly. "You!" He tossed an apple core at Sirius’ head.

Massive jaws chomped down on the core, then Sirius was human again, spitting out the crushed apple and seeds and making a face. "Ugh, remind me not to do that again, will you?"

Remus smirked at him. "Serves you ruddy well right! Sticking your cold nose in my belly!" He shivered again just thinking about it. "I repeat, your technique is terrible! Even I know better and I’ve never... well. Anyhow, time to head in," he said, abruptly changing the subject as he realized what he was about to say. Not that he didn’t think Sirius was aware of Remus’ lack of experience, but there was no need to spell it out.

Sirius eyed Remus appraisingly but decided to let the subject lie for the time being. There was time enough for that, and, after all, he did have a plan.

*

It had been almost a week since the picnic by the woods, and Sirius noticed that Remus had been quiet at night - very quiet, even for him. After heading up to bed early one evening, he closed his bed curtains and waited in the dark, hearing first Peter, then James come in, and finally Remus. He grinned, waiting to hear the creak of the loose board next to Lupin’s bed, and the soft rustles as he changed into his pajamas. It was almost show time.

Remus lay face down on his bed, biting the corner of his pillow as he told himself sternly that he was not going to whimper. Or make any other kind of noise. Ever since he’d discovered that Sirius listened at night, he hadn’t been able to relax enough to enjoy a good wank, and he was certain that he was getting harder every night. And now he was going to have to listen to the others. Fortunately the pillow muffled his groan.

Sliding his hand under the loose drawstring of his pajama bottoms, Sirius sighed loudly. He closed his eyes, and trailed his fingers over his cock, giving a small groan as he felt himself begin to harden.

NO! For a moment Remus was afraid he’d wailed it aloud. Now Sirius was going to add to the nightly show? He was going to die a messy and painful death right here in his bed when he exploded from sheer frustration. A tiny whimper forced its way between gritted teeth.

While not certain that he’d just heard Remus make a noise, Sirius persevered, not that it was a hardship. He sniggered silently at the pun, then wrapped his hand around himself and started stroking, his breathing deepening as he began to rock against the smooth grip of his own palm.

Remus pushed up onto his elbows and let his head hang down, glaring down his body at his erection. What are you getting all excited about? he demanded of it. "It’s not like you’re going to get any." To his horror he realized that the last words had been aloud. Just barely breathed, but spoken nevertheless. Oh please, let no one have heard, he begged fervently.

Sirius bit his lip to keep from responding to Remus’ barely heard whisper, but to make his friend aware that he was listening would have ruined everything. He heard James give a small snort and roll over and Peter whimper something before both fell silent again and he allowed himself to continue. "Mmmm...." The low-voiced sigh accompanied the light tease of his own fingers sliding over his testicles, tracing over them before moving back to his erection.

He couldn’t take it any longer, he couldn’t! Remus rolled to his back, one fist pressed to his mouth to muffle any sounds he might make, and he took his aching shaft in the other. He tried to be silent, but every breath was a muffled sob of pleasure as he touched himself.

The first low gasp was music to Sirius’ ears, and he whimpered as he sped up his strokes, rubbing his thumb over the head of his erection and pulling back his foreskin to spread the droplets of fluid over himself.

Remus never noticed that he was moving to the pace of Sirius’ whimpers, his fist moving faster as he squirmed on the bed. He turned his head to the side, biting the corner of the pillow as he took the muffling hand away to let it slide down between his legs and tease at his hole. His own cries were louder now, but he wasn’t aware of them any longer, nor could he have stopped.

Hearing Remus sounding that uninhibited tipped Sirius over the edge, and he came with a loud groan that turned into a whispered name as pleasure coursed through him and he felt liquid heat jet over his stomach and hand.

The sound of Sirius’ pleasure was too much for Remus, and he bit back a wail of pleasure as he came, vaguely aware that Sirius had said something but not really hearing what. All he was able to feel was the pleasure washing through him, a joy somehow increased by hearing Sirius.

Sirius shivered as another jolt of pleasure swept through him when he heard Remus come, and he shifted on the bed, groaning in what he hoped was a sleepy manner while he continued to stroke his slowly softening shaft.

Lying on his bed with his semen cooling and growing sticky on his belly, Remus wondered if he was going to survive to graduate. And he absolutely refused to think about the fact that he’d come harder than ever before in his life while listening to one of his best friends.

*

"Smile for the camera, boys," Sirius laughed, purposely knocking James’ hat down in his face as Mrs. Potter fluttered about the four of them to get her picture. Remus’ parents were there too, as were Peter’s. His own, thank Merlin, were nowhere to be seen, but that was fine with Sirius. If he never saw either of them again, or 12 Grimmauld Place, it would be too soon.

Laughing, Remus moved as the proud parents directed him, rolling his eyes at his friends as they banged together, trying to please all six of the adults simultaneously.

"Well, lads," he said when they had a moment as the parents conferred, "we’ve done it. We graduated." He cocked his head to one side as he eyed them. "It’s going to seem odd not having you lot around all the time. I’m glad we decided to take this trip together this summer."

"It’s going to seem odd having to be responsible," Sirius laughed. "And I’m glad Lily agreed to let James go with us. Once you set that date, it’s going to be all over for you, old man."

James merely smiled and looked over at where Lily was chatting with some of her friends. "We did."

Peter goggled up at him. "You did? When?"

"What? That’s bloody fantastic, mate!" Remus clasped his arm. "Congratulations! So when’s the big day?"

"May 14^th," James answered proudly with another look over at Lily. "And you’d all best be there."

"Wouldn’t miss it for the world," Sirius drawled, though he was feeling conflicted. James was the first of them to go, but Lily was like family, so it wasn’t so bad. How would he feel when Peter paired off permanently? Or Remus? He frowned, then shook off the expression when he saw a flicker of concern in James’ eyes. "That means the coming week’s going to be the Marauders’ last hurrah. The Wizarding world won’t know what hit them."

As Lily drew James aside for a moment and Peter was distracted by his parents, Remus moved closer to Sirius. "Are you all right?" he asked softly. "I know James has always been your best friend. You know this won’t change that, right?"

"Of course I know that," Sirius laughed. Three months of thrice-weekly ‘concerts’ hadn’t given Remus a clue, nor had what seemed a million dropped hints, and Sirius was beginning to wonder what it would take. "I’m just worried that once Lily starts popping out babies, they’re going to ask us to sit for them!"

Remus stared at him in horror. "No! I am not changing nappies, do you hear me, James Potter!" He glared over at his friends, who first stared blankly then started to laugh. "Would you care to join me in running away to America?" he said to Sirius.

Sirius pretended to swoon. "Oh, Moony, I thought you’d never ask!"

"Prat. It’ll serve you right when the kiddies are spitting up all over you. I’ll sit safely by my fireside and laugh at you."

"Ha! If you think I’m watching babies without help, you’re barmy." Sirius caught Remus in a headlock and knuckled his head, knocking his hat to the ground and mussing his hair.

"Hey!" Remus poked him in the ribs and got free when his ticklish friend jumped away, then yanked a handful of Sirius’ own dark hair. "Better get yourself a lady friend then, mate, if you expect to get help. That’s one of the benefits of dating."

Sirius yelped and raised a hand to rub at his sore scalp. "No thanks. You get a girl around babies and they start to think about wanting one of their own - with you - and I’m nowhere near ready for that. I’ll just enjoy James’ and Lily’s when the time comes, spoil them rotten and hand them back when they dirty their nappies. Besides, I’ve got three years of auror training ahead of me, who has time for that?"

"The girl or the nappies?" Remus wanted to know, chuckling. "Half the girls at Hogwarts would be happy to help you with either if you’d given them the slightest encouragement." He shook his head. It baffled him that Sirius could be so oblivious to all the girls—and some of the boys!--trying to get his attention.

"The nappies of course," Sirius laughed. "Though getting tied down by a girl isn’t for me either right now, I much prefer hanging about with my mates.

"Which takes care of the nappy problem very neatly since you need a girl to get to that point," Remus pointed out. His mother caught his attention, and he poked Sirius to turn to face her so she could take a picture of the two of them.

"See, I knew you’d learn something here at Hogwarts," Sirius laughed, waiting until Remus’ mother lifted the camera to catch Remus by the waist and plant a huge kiss on his cheek.

Remus blinked in surprise, then smiled and slung an arm around Sirius’ shoulders, never noticing his mother’s eyebrows go up and a knowing look briefly appear in her eyes.

"Sirius dear, why don’t you join us for dinner tonight? Remus’ father and I were planning to take him out to celebrate before you all leave on your trip tomorrow, and we’d enjoy your company," she invited.

Sirius glanced over at the others, but Peter seemed busy with his parents, and he couldn’t even see James and Lily between their soon to be in-laws. "I’d love to," he answered, still keeping an arm around Remus. "Care for me to tell you stories about the trouble your little boy got into while at school?"

Remus whirled around and clapped a hand over Sirius’ mouth. "Unless you want me to spell your mouth sealed, stop right there!"

Mrs. Lupin laughed. "I see they must be very good stories."

Sirius nodded, his eyes sparkling from behind Remus’ hand, then, in a fit of pure mischief, he licked Remus’ palm.

Remus gasped and yanked his hand away as if Sirius had suddenly turned burning hot. His eyes wide, he stared at his friend. Could that have meant...? No, he was the one with a fever if he thought Sirius Black could ever be interested in someone like him. Unfortunately, Remus was slowly coming to the realization that he was interested in Sirius, for all the good it did him. At least they were friends.

"Unfortunately, ma’am, all the really good stories are the ones you probably heard about from the headmaster," Sirius chuckled, canting his eyes to the side to see if Remus was going to wipe his hand off on his robes.

Not noticing Sirius’ eyes on him or his mother’s, Remus stared down at his hand, slowly curling his fingers closed. Finally registering the silence, he looked up to find himself the center of attention. "What? Did I miss something?"

"No, dear, I don’t think so," his mother replied, smiling faintly.

"Just me telling your mum and dad about how you had detention for a week because McGonagall found you spying in the girls’ lavs," Sirius said blandly.

"What?! I never did! Don’t listen to him, Mum!"

Laughing, Mrs. Lupin left them while she went over to join the other parents and to let her husband know of the addition to their dinner plans.

"Well, one of us got detention for that," Sirius said innocently.

"Funny how the positions got reversed!" Remus shook his head. "You are the utter limit, Sirius."

Sirius decided against following the topic of reversing positions right then. "But you love me anyway, Moony," he smiled, smacking the other boy on the cheek again, then giving Peter one as well when he walked back over to them.

"Oi! I need to show you blokes what I bought myself for graduation!" Sirius exclaimed.

"What was it?" Peter asked excitedly, practically dancing around them.

"Yes, what?" Remus hoped no one had noticed that he’d leaned slightly into Sirius’ friendly buss. "You didn’t tell us you’d got anything."

"It’s back at my flat. I’ll show the lot of you tonight." He looked at the others. "We are all sacking out at my place before we disapparate in the morning, right?"

They all nodded. "After our various dinners with parents," Remus added. "Mine have invited Sirius along, so we shouldn’t be too late getting back. Mum likes to get to bed early."

"Whereas we aren’t going to bed at all." Sirius grinned wickedly. "Along with my present for myself, I gathered the makings of a good time for all of us."

Peter actually gave a squeak of excitement at that.

Remus eyed him warily. "Do I even want to ask? Please say it’s not that horrid wine again." He actually shuddered remembering how sick he’d been the first time they’d tried cheap wine.

"Would I do that to you?" Sirius asked, looking aghast. "This time I’ve got..." He lowered his voice, beckoning the other two closer. "Firewhiskey."

Their eyes widened, and both young men looked impressed. "However did you manage to get that?" Remus wanted to know. "Goodness, I’ve never even tasted it."

Sirius looked over at Remus, locking eyes with him. "You know me, Moony; when I want something, I’m going to get it, no matter what."

"Well, you can share this!" Peter demanded.

"And I’ll brew up a morning after potion before we start drinking it," Remus chuckled. "And yes, Sirius, I know what you’re like when you set your sights on something. Merlin help whoever you finally decide you want."

"Oh, there’s no help for them," Sirius answered, giving a small smile. "None at all."

"Help for who?" James asked, joining the group and bringing Lily with him.

"You, now that you’re getting married," Sirius said before yelping when Lily smacked him on the arm.

"Sounds like you have someone in mind?" Remus said curiously, too intent on the conversation to allow James and Lily’s return to distract him. He didn’t see or at least didn’t understand the knowing expression on Peter’s face.

"Have for some time," Sirius answered easily. "Just don’t think they’ve gotten a clue as to it yet."

Peter went into a coughing fit, and Remus patted him worriedly on the back. "Are you all right, mate? That sounded nasty." When Peter could breathe again, Remus turned back to Sirius, resolutely ignoring the wistful envy in the pit of his stomach. "So who’s the lucky lady?"

"Did I say it was a lady?"

James snickered and Lily blinked in surprise before turning an assessing gaze on the boys.

Remus stared, aware of a rush of jealousy. "Well then." He cleared his throat. "I suppose it wouldn’t be right to tell us before you tell... him." He still wasn’t entirely certain that Sirius wasn’t pulling their legs, but anything was possible.

He saw his mother waving to him. "Looks like the parents are ready to go. You ready, Sirius, or shall I stall them a bit?"

"Oh, I’m ready all right." Sirius kissed Lily and whispered something in her ear, then winked at James and Peter. "See you lot at my place later. Try not to wreck it if you beat Moony and I there."

James and Peter glanced at each other and smirked, simply nodding.

Looking a bit confused, Remus looked from one to the other, then shrugged. "Come on then. I’m starved. We’ll see you lot later." He caught hold of Sirius’ hand to draw him over to his parents.

"You’re always starved," Sirius murmured. "I’m going to have to feed you up." As he said this, he drew his index finger over the palm of Remus’ hand.

Remus shivered, but he didn’t draw his hand away. He wanted to pretend, if only for a moment, that Sirius felt more for him than just a friend and that he wasn’t just teasing as he always did.

"So where exactly are we going for dinner?" Sirius asked, pulling his graduation hat from his head but keeping hold of Remus’ hand.

"Well, this is a special night," Mr. Lupin said, eyeing his wife oddly when she choked slightly, "so we thought we’d take you to London. You deserve it, graduating with the marks you did."

Sirius was slightly worried about the cost as he knew Remus’ parents were on a tight budget, but he didn’t want to offend them by objecting or offering to pay his own way. "If it’s for our marks, I’m the one who should be buying, considering I wouldn’t have gotten through potions without Remus here."

"Well, I’m glad to hear our lad was of some help to you, but I won’t hear of it. We’ve been putting some money aside for a while now, planning for this night."

"And we’re glad you could join us, Sirius," Mrs. Lupin put in, smiling fondly. "We know what good friends you and Remus are." She gave the words a faintly ironic twist, which neither her husband nor son noticed.

Sirius looked over sharply at the amber-eyed woman, who nodded slightly at him, and he swallowed hard but relaxed when she smiled. "I couldn’t ask for a better mate," he said, for once totally serious.

She smiled and let the subject drop, watching the boys.

"Likewise," Remus put in, hugging Sirius’ shoulders. "You’ve been a great friend to me too, you know."

"As if that’s such a chore," Sirius murmured.

Remus grinned at him. "Well, keeping you out of trouble certainly is."

Now Sirius pouted, his lower lip jutting out as he looked down at Remus. "But aren’t I worth it?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Yes, Sirius. Of course you are, Sirius. Can we go now, Mum, before he gets worse?"

The elder Lupins chuckled, motioning to the boys to start working their way through the thinning crowd to a clear area so they could all disapparate..

"See? He’s really trained very well, isn’t he?" Sirius asked no one in particular. "Someone’s going to be very lucky."

Mrs. Lupin eyed him at that, her eyebrows rising. "I wonder who," she murmured while her husband gave her an odd look.

"Very funny," Remus snorted. "You’ll be lucky if I don’t smother you in your sleep one night."

"Threatening me, Lupin?" Sirius gasped. "Give the boy a diploma and look what happens!"

*

"Thanks so much for the meal, Mr. and Mrs. Lupin," Sirius said, bussing Remus’ mother on the cheek and shaking his father’s hand. "Don’t worry, I won’t let Remus get into any trouble this week."

"Ha! The other way ‘round you mean!" Rolling his eyes, Remus swatted Sirius on the arm before hugging each of his parents in turn. "I’ll see you next week!" With a final kiss and smile, they were gone, and the two young men were on their own. "Back to your flat?" he asked. "I doubt the others will be there yet."

"Sure you trust me?" Sirius asked, pulling out his wand and preparing to apparate to his flat.

"Just try to get us there on your feet and not your arse this time." Remus smiled sweetly as he crossed his arms over his chest, his own wand in his hand

"Don’t worry, Moony, I won’t hurt my cute little ass," Sirius promised, performing the spell and apparating to his living room., stepping back as Remus joined him with a crack of displaced air.

"I’m going to get out of this getup, join me if you want, then we can get a fire going and wait for the others."

Remus nodded vigorously, already wrenching the hated tie off with one hand while shrugging out of his suit jacket. "Why we have to dress up in this nonsense I’ll never know. It’s horridly uncomfortable. Let me at my denims."

Sirius pulled off his own dress robes, tossing them negligently onto the floor of his bedroom, then did the same with his suit, stripping down to his underwear. "Think we should be rude and open that firewhiskey or wait for the others?" he asked, looking up at Remus, his eyes lingering over the other teen’s body.

"Bugger them," Remus said emphatically. "We’re here, and I say we deserve a drink after wearing those miserable things all day." Like Sirius, he stripped down to his boxers, then sighed blissfully. "Damn, I don’t want to put even my jeans on," he grumbled.

"So leave them off," Sirius shrugged, trying not to smile. "Nobody’s here but us, and Merlin knows we’ve seen you in your skivvies before. If you don’t want to feel bad, I’ll stay in mine too."

"True, there’s no dress code here." Remus dropped to the floor, his back against the sofa, and raised his eyebrows. "So where’s this apparently mythical firewhiskey?" If he had to look at Sirius half naked for long, he was going to need it.

Without warning, his mind flashed back to the sounds Sirius made at night, and he hastily raised a knee in front of him while he flushed.

"Pushy, Moony," Sirius laughed, sauntering past Remus to get the bottle from the kitchen. "Do we want to use glasses?"

"We’d just have to wash ‘em later if we did," Remus said logically. Besides, if they drank from the bottle, he could pretend he tasted Sirius too.

"Good point," Sirius called, walking back out into the living room carrying the bottle and a bag of crisps. Twisting the cap off, he handed it to Remus with a bow. "Congratulations, Moony. You did it."

"Congratulations, Sirius, we did it." Remus grinned at Sirius, saluted him with the bottle, and took a gulp... then gasped as his eyes teared up and his breath escaped him in an explosive whoosh. "That’s very... potent," he finally managed to gasp.

"Isn’t it though?" Sirius asked, taking the bottle and tossing back a huge gulp, shaking his head as the alcohol burned its way down his throat.

Remus stared up at the other man, eyes fixed on the flexing throat and lightly tanned chest, and he swallowed hard, glad his knee was still raised, shielding his lap. "Very nice," he rasped.

Sirius dropped to the floor beside Remus, resting one arm on the sofa behind the other man and handing over the bottle. "I meant what I said, you know, about how it’s going to be odd waking up every morning and not seeing you lot there."

He nodded. "I know exactly what you mean. We’ve been together for years, and now... I mean, I’m glad to have graduated, but in a way I don’t want things to change. I’m going to miss you." Remus smiled quickly. "I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep anymore without noise around me."

"Well, if it gets too quiet, I can always make you one of those muggle recordings so you can play it," Sirius offered. "Or you can camp out here if it gets to be too much."

"That would be nice. But actually..." Remus took a deep breath. "I’m going to be staying on at Hogwarts. I’ve accepted a position as a tutor. I don’t think I’ll stay long term, but I have no idea what I want to do with my life," he sighed.

"You are?" Sirius stared at Remus for a long moment, disbelieving. "I thought you’d, we’d..." He gathered his fragmented thoughts and smiled. "Congratulations! You’ll be a great one, I know it."

"You thought what? And actually, I’ve jumped the gun a bit. I haven’t actually told the family yet that I’ll take the position, but I can’t imagine what else I’d do." He shrugged.

Sirius shrugged helplessly before raising the bottle to his lips again. "I don’t know, I suppose I imagined you’d be nearby, that we all would be."

"Well, I’d like that, but I have to work for a living, Siri. I can’t just loll about. And... I really don’t have any other options."

Sirius was just about to suggest one when the bell jangled from the door, and then James’ and Peter’s voices could be heard demanding they open the door. "There are other options, Moony," He murmured, handing the bottle over and sliding his fingers through Remus’ hair as he stood.

His heart in his eyes, Remus looked up as Sirius turned toward the door. By the time the other two were in and they’d all sat back down, his mask was firmly in place, his emotions tucked neatly away again. "You’re lucky you got here. I was all in favor of drinking all the firewhisky and not leaving you any," he greeted.

"Then we would have made you conjure up more, and you know how bad you are at conjuration when you’re pissed," James laughed, shedding his outer layers of clothes there in the living room and collapsing on the sofa.

"Or we’d have hexed you good!" Peter added before heading to the loo.

"You show up late, you miss out," Sirius laughed, settling back on the floor by Remus and handing him the bottle to drink from then pass around.

Glad that he was getting the bottle after Sirius, Remus told himself that he could taste his friend as he took a gulp, then passed it on. He let himself lean slightly against Sirius as he chatted with James, nodding as he heard all about the dinner with Lily’s and James’ families.

The conversation turned to their years at Hogwarts and what the future would hold for them. One thing they all agreed, however, was that the Marauders would all be friends until their dying day - a day long in the future.

*

"James, your tux is clean, your robes are straight, and if you try to straighten that damn flower one more time, it’s going to fall off!" Sirius caught his friend by the shoulders and sat him down in a chair. "Now stay there or I’m going to cast a petrificus on you, understand?"

At James’ nod, Sirius went to look out into the hall outside the room they had been shunted into, breathing a sigh of relief when he spotted a familiar face. "Remus! Get over here, he’s going to drive me starkers!"

"You think I’m crazy enough to let myself be shut into a room with a nervous bridegroom?" Remus scoffed. "Send Peter in and we’ll go get a drink instead," he suggested.

"I’m the best man, I can’t leave," Sirius practically whined. "And his mum hexed all the liquor so none of us could get into it before the ceremony. Said she didn’t trust me for some odd reason."

"Fancy that," Remus snorted. "Here, try not to drink yourself into a stupor." He pulled a slim flash from his jacket pocket and offered it to Sirius. "You look almost as frazzled as I imagine James does."

"That’s because I’ve had to deal with him this last week while you’ve been off warping the minds of your students," Sirius responded, opening the flask and taking a long drink. "Brandy, Moony? I’m impressed." He grinned and handed it back over.

"You’ve been a bad influence on me, what can I say." Remus shrugged as he took a sip as well to keep Sirius company. "Tell you what, you survive the day and I’ll take you out afterward when you can drink yourself into a stupor," he offered. "And I’ll even make sure you make it home safely afterward." He smiled quickly. "That way I can doss on your couch."

Sirius’ smile slowly widened, and he clapped Remus on the shoulder. "You’re on, mate."

From the room behind him, James moaned. "I’m going to be ill, I know it."

"Just don’t do it on your robes, Prongs," Sirius called back over his shoulder, chuckling before looking back at Remus. "Sure you don’t want to come in here and help me with him?"

"Not if he’s going to be sick on me!" But Remus sighed and followed Sirius into the room. "Think of it this way, mate, this is the only way you can have Lily." Judging by the look he got, that hadn’t helped James any. He shook his head. "Fool. You love her, you want to be with her, now stop being an idiot." He handed James the flask, deciding he needed it just then. "Buck up, chum."

"I know, it’s just so big, you know?" James continued, hiding his face in his hands, his messy black hair falling over them to hide his features.

Sirius gave Remus a look that screamed ‘help me.’ "This from the bloke who spent the last three years at Hogwarts mooning over Lily Evans and writing her initials everywhere? This from the bloke who tied me for detentions? James Potter, I never knew you were a coward!"

"We could always go tell Lily he changed his mind," Remus said calmly, grinning at Sirius from behind James’ back.

"Whot? You wouldn’t dare!" James exclaimed, jumping to his feet to glare at the other two, who were laughing their heads off. "Prats," he grumbled, walking over to the mirror and trying to get his hair to fall in some semblance of order.

"That describes us pretty well," Sirius said, nodding at Remus. "Would have to be to get along with you."

"It’s a rare day when Sirius Black makes sense, but he has a point," Remus agreed, smirking at both his friends.

"Watch it there, Moony, or I’ll tell Penelope Whitkins you want to dance with her at the reception," Sirius threatened.

Remus stared at him with horror. "You wouldn’t! If you make me dance with her, I swear I’ll tell her you’re nursing an abiding crush on her but too nervous to make the first move!"

"If you two get into a tussle at my wedding, I’ll tell her you both are in love with each other!" James snorted, his back to them both as he worked on his hair.

Sirius blinked and managed a grin. "Well, that would get her off us."

Remus suddenly found the flower in his lapel absolutely fascinating as he twisted it about. "As if even she would believe Sirius would fall for me," he scoffed. "Here now, don’t waste your time, James. Lily probably wouldn’t recognize you if you managed to tame your hair."

Sirius gave Remus a hard look that turned into a slow smile. Oh really?

James gave up on his hair and turned to face his friends. "All right, that’s as good as it’s getting. Oh shite, there’s the music, that means we’ve got to go out."

"Do you want me to hold your hand, Prongs?" Sirius sighed.

"People might think you’re the bride then, Siri, pretty as you are," Remus teased, making sure he was out of reach.

"Naw, never catch me in white."

"No reason for you to be, either," James laughed.

"Bright scarlet maybe," Remus snickered. "Just as well though as I think Lily might claw your eyes out if you tried to marry James. Or turn you into a toad." He grinned.

"Chin up then, mates. We’d best get out there before the bride arrives at the altar alone."

Sirius took James by the arm and marched him toward the door. "Fine, fine, you go and find Peter just so we have someone else to help in case the groom faints, and I’ll get him to the altar."

Remus saluted laughingly and went in search of Peter, who was exactly where he was supposed to be, waiting at the front of the church for the groom. Joining him, Remus rolled his eyes. "I’ll be so glad when this is over with and James is past his nerves. He’s driving me to drink! I don’t know how Sirius has resisted the temptation to bespell him!"

"Maybe he has," Peter snickered. "Maybe he’ll dance down the aisle wearing a spring bonnet or something."

Laughing at the mental image, Remus shook his head. "I certainly hope not or Lily will do something dreadful to Sirius. I don’t think that’s what she has in mind for her wedding day."

"Probably not what he has in mind for tonight either," the shorter man said cryptically before nodding off to the side. "Here they come."

Once Sirius had gotten James out of the room, it was as if an electric charge had gone through him, and he almost ran to the front of the church with Sirius trailing after, trying not to laugh.

The three groomsmen met each other’s eyes, then immediately looked away to prevent themselves from howling with laughter. "Typical nervous bridegroom," Remus muttered, smiling. He suddenly realized he’d forgotten about Peter when he’d made plans with Sirius, and he wondered what they’d do. Perhaps Sirius had just assumed that Peter would join them? He frowned slightly, not wanting to share this time. He saw Sirius so infrequently of late.

The music swelled, and first the bridesmaids, then Lily walked up the aisle. "Don’t make me freeze you, Potter," Sirius mumbled under his breath when he felt the other man quivering with anticipation. When James didn’t even bother to answer, Sirius cut his eyes to Remus and tried not to snicker.

Remus met his glance with rolled eyes before turning his attention to Lily. He had to admit that she looked smashing, and the love in her eyes was clear as she looked at James. He was a lucky man. Unconsciously, Remus darted a wistful glance at Sirius.

Sirius, who had still been looking at Remus, caught the glance, and his smile changed to something more gentle before he looked back at the soon to be married couple, giving them his attention.

*

"C’mon, Moony, I’ve got m’bike, we can take it back to the flat," Sirius slurred, leaning against the shorter man’s side, his arm (as it had been most of the night) slung around his shoulders.

"Neither of us is in any shape to drive," Remus, not quite sober but nowhere near as drunk as Sirius seemed to be, retorted. "Let’s just apparate there. We can get your bike in the morning. Afternoon," he amended after a glance at his watch. He leaned into Sirius, not quite sure which of them was holding the other up and not really caring. It gave him an excuse to hang on to Sirius, and he was enjoying it.

Sirius snickered. "Sure we won’t splinch ourselves if we do that?"

"Ouch! Maybe not. Time for that lovely muggle invention known as a cab." Remus looked around as if expecting one to appear under his nose.

"No, no, no," Sirius said stubbornly. "We’re taking the motorbike. Never hit anything with it yet, have I? Or had a muggle see it."

"See it? You’re not planning to fly it back?"

"Well, of course I’m planning to fly it back!" Sirius looked at Remus as if he’d gone daft.

"Never mind splinching, I don’t want to be splatted!"

"I’d never let anything happen to you, Moony," Sirius promised soberly, turning his head to nuzzle Remus’ cheek.

Remus stilled before reminding himself that Sirius always touched people he liked and was less than sober. It didn’t mean a thing. "I’d have to come back and haunt you if you did," he managed to chuckle. He sighed mentally, knowing that he’d already lost the battle and they would be taking the bike back to Sirius’ flat.

"Nah, I don’t have a thing for ghosts." Lifting his head, Sirius nudged Remus forward, and they walked to the side of the building where his motorcycle was parked. He climbed aboard and started the engine, then looked back at Remus. "Well? Aren’t you getting on?"

The sigh was long and loud this time. "I don’t know why I always give in to you," Remus grumbled. "You’d think I’ve have learned my lesson by now." Of course, being able to sit pressed up tight against Sirius, arms around him, had nothing to do with it.

Sirius gave a bark-like laugh. "Think of how boring your life would be if it weren’t for me," he counseled, waiting until Remus was settled before gunning the throttle and causing the Triumph to soar into the night-darkened sky over London.

Remus inhaled sharply, and he pressed his face to Sirius’ back. "We’re probably going to be responsible for a rash of UFO sightings."

"Haven’t you ever heard of invisibility spells, Remus?"

"You trying to tell me you’re sober enough to cast one?"

"Sod off, prat," Sirius snorted. "There’s a permanent charm on the motorbike, just have to turn it on." He fumbled with the controls for a moment, resulting in a sudden lurch as the Triumph lost power. "There we go."

Remus yipped and buried his face again. "Just tell me when we’re there," he moaned. Give him a nice sturdy broom any day over this nonsense!

"We’ll be home soon," Sirius said consolingly. Home. What he wouldn’t give to have it be both their home.

"I hope you have more firewhiskey," Remus replied feelingly. He was going to need it. Though having Sirius under his hands was rather nice.

"Don’t I always?"

Remus laughed softly. "Who knew we’d become so fond of it? Still, it seems appropriate that we drink it after James’ wedding just as we did after graduation. We can toast the future."

"And all the nappies we’ll be changing once Lily starts popping out the little ones. Can you imagine it? James a father? Merlin, I can hardly think past what I’m having for breakfast every day!"

"Horrid thought." Remus shuddered. "But I think they’ll make good parents. They’re the right sort. I’ll be perfectly happy to be Uncle Remus."

"That’ll be us, Uncle Remus and Uncle Sirius, the dotty old blokes who live down the way." Sirius turned the motorcycle in a slow, descending circle, ending up at the end of his block and throttling down as he pulled in behind his flat. "There we are. Might want to pull off the robes before we get off though."

"Good point, seeing as you live in a muggle building." Remus was actually envious of his friend. Thanks to his curse, he didn’t dare try to live among muggles, afraid of what he might do during the full moon.

He began squirming behind Sirius to free the robes trapped under him, finally managing to drag them off and bundle them under his arm.

The feel of Remus rubbing up against his back like that made Sirius draw in a quick breath, and his trousers grew quite a bit tighter at the groin. "It’s quite interesting," he commented, taking off his own robe and bundling it under his arm, waiting for Remus to get off the motorcycle before following, checking to see if anyone was looking before deactivating the invisibility spell. "Can’t imagine how they live like they do, but it’s still interesting.

Slinging his arm around Remus again, Sirius led the other man up the back stairs to his flat, fumbling for the key even as he undid the wards on the door.

"I’m just glad we don’t have to live that way." Remus propped Sirius up till he’d managed to open the door, then they all but fell inside.

"Oh finally!" Just as after their graduation, Remus immediately began tugging his clothes off, sighing in blissful relief as he removed the binding garments.

Despite Sirius’ semi-good intentions, the sight of Remus blithely stripping down, combined with the drinks he’d had at the reception, did him in. "Moony," he rasped, and when Remus turned to look at him, Sirius caught the other man’s face in his hands, kissing him with a year’s worth of pent-up frustration.

Shocked to his very marrow, Remus stood still in Sirius’ grip, not responding at first. Then his body caught up to the moment, realizing that it was exactly where it had wanted to be for so very long, and he whimpered as his mouth opened to Sirius, his tongue hesitantly reaching out to touch Sirius’.

"Remus..." Sirius murmured before teasing the shorter man’s tongue into his mouth so that he could stroke and suckle on it. He slid his arms down from Lupin’s face to his ass, holding him into the kiss and aligning their groins so they could rock against each other.

Remus’ hands were full of Sirius’ hair, though he had no recollection of how they’d got there nor of clutching great fistfuls of the silky, dark strands. He could feel Sirius against him from head to toe, and he couldn’t stop whimpering and moaning... and he didn’t care. It felt good, so good, so much better than when he touched himself. He’d never imagined...

With a short, sharp cry, he came, then flushed scarlet with embarrassment at losing control so quickly.

"Moony?" Sirius asked, his voice rough and raspy. He pulled back a bit, still keeping his arms around Remus for fear he would bolt, then he felt the dampness soaking through his trousers and realized what had happened. And smiled. "Been a while, has it?"

The blush actually got darker, and Remus mumbled something to Sirius’ feet, the only part of the other man he would look at.

"What was that?" Sirius shifted a hand and tried to tilt Remus’ face upwards. "Come on, Remus, look at me."

"I said, ‘No, it hasn’t been a long time. It’s the first time!’" Remus practically yelled, goaded past endurance, then let go of Sirius’ hair, which he’d still been clutching, to hide his face in his hands.

Sirius blinked. Surely Remus couldn’t mean... Oh, hell. "Well then, I’d best make sure you enjoy the second time as much then, hadn’t I?"

"Oh please just let me die now," Remus groaned, completely embarrassed to the point that he wasn’t really hearing what Sirius was saying.

"Not going to happen." Realizing that Remus probably wasn’t even listening to him, Sirius decided action was the best course and caught Remus by the hands, gently drawing him back toward the bedroom.

It took Remus a while to register that they’d moved, but his head finally jerked up, and he stared around. "Siri? What?" He tried to pluck the damp fabric of his underwear away from himself only to discover that Sirius was in possession of his hands, and he peered at the other man in befuddlement.

"Come on, Remus," Sirius murmured, backing into his bedroom. "I’ve waited long enough, and, if I’m not mistaken, so have you." He leaned in and kissed Remus again, this time letting his tongue slide into his friend’s mouth and possess it.

Whatever Remus had been about to say was turned to a muffled mumble as Sirius kissed him. He had no idea why this was happening, but for the moment he didn’t care. For tonight he was going to have exactly what he wanted for once in his life. Moaning happily, Remus pressed closer, hands pulling free of Sirius’ grasp to slide around his shoulders.

"Bed," mumbled Sirius, pausing only to strip Remus of his damp boxers and himself of his own pair before walking Remus over to the large waterbed, grinning to himself as he doubted the other man had even heard of them let alone seen one.

That sounded like a fine idea to Remus, and he followed Sirius, sinking down to sit on the edge of the bed, then yelping when the frame dug into his thighs unexpectedly. He lost his balance and toppled over onto the undulating bed, where he stared up at Sirius. "Wha--?!"

Sirius grinned wickedly and hopped into the bed alongside Remus, making the mattress move even more. "It’s called a waterbed, Moony. Muggle invention and a damn fine one at that." At that point, he became distracted by the fact that Remus was finally naked in his bed. Deciding that explanations about the bed could wait until later, Sirius scooted closer so that he was lying half on and half next to Remus. "I want you, Remus," he murmured, stroking the golden brown hair back off the other man’s face and staring down into his darkened amber eyes. "Will you let me have you?"

Remus opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He settled for a frantic nod and tentatively reached out to touch Sirius, fingertips lightly brushing his chest. He wasn’t sure how it had happened, and he certainly wasn’t going to question it just then, but he was really here with Sirius. He started to smile.

Shivering lightly at the contact, Sirius smiled in return and kissed Remus again, this time stroking a hand along his friend’s side, his long fingers finding and tracing old scars and moving steadily lower.

Remus’ eyes widened. Was he going to...? He moaned harshly as for the first time in his life he felt a hand other than his own touch him. "Sirius!" he gasped, arching toward him and startled again as the bed moved under him.

"Shhh," Sirius murmured, nuzzling Remus’ neck, his fingers trailing over Remus’ shaft, learning its shape and feel. Oh he’d seen it before; after living together for seven years, three of them spent going to the Shrieking Shack once a month, how could he not have? But to finally be able to know the feel of it... Sirius sighed happily and licked Remus’ ear, his hips arching against the other man’s body.

No matter what Sirius wanted, there was no way he could be silent. Remus sighed and moaned and whimpered as he squirmed beneath his friend. His hands tentatively stroked Sirius’ back, then more confidently as Sirius made a pleased sound, tracing the ridges of his spine.

Sighing happily and pressing back into Remus’ touch, Sirius continued to stroke his shaft, letting his thumb glide over the tender skin at the crease of Remus’ thigh and torso. "Taste so good," he whispered before moving back to the other man’s neck, inching slowly downward, following the path his hand had taken.

Remus shivered, heavy-lidded amber eyes watching Sirius touch him. It was so much more than he’d ever imagined. He wasn’t sure that this wasn’t a dream, but if it was, he never wanted to wake up.

"Beautiful Moony. My beautiful Moony," Sirius murmured, unaware he was speaking aloud. He trailed his kisses down Remus’ shoulder to his collar bone, then lower still, first kissing, then licking at the tightening circle of his nipple.

Hearing the words though the haze of pleasure, Remus whimpered and tightened his grip on Sirius, holding him close. He gasped as his nipple hardened, his back arching at the indescribable pleasure, and he never noticed that his legs had spread to let Sirius settle more fully against him.

"Wanted you so long, so much," Sirius continued, loving the soft cries Remus was giving and the way his body was becoming soft and pliant.

Remus shifted restlessly, not able to believe the pretty words but enjoying them regardless. For tonight, he’d let himself pretend that they could be true, that someone like Sirius Black could actually want him that way. "Take me then," he moaned, hands moving over Sirius’ back but never daring to go below his waist.

Sirius lifted his head and looked down at Remus, licking his lips and kissing him before smiling slightly. "Good idea," he whispered, shifting to grab the tube of lubricant he kept in his nightstand drawer. Moving between Remus’ legs, he leaned in to suckle on his now firm erection, but instead of easing a finger into Remus’ body, he began to stretch himself, doubting that the other man would notice what he was doing.

Remus probably wouldn’t have noticed a marching band trooping through the room just then. All he could feel was Sirius sucking on him, and he cried out, the pleasure rocking him. He tangled his fingers in Sirius’ dark hair, holding him close even though the other man showed no signs of moving. "Sirius!" he whimpered.

Humming against Remus’ erection but careful not to make him come, Sirius continued paying homage to the boy he’d wanted for what felt like forever, all the while readying himself. Finally, when the words coming from Remus’ lips were an incoherent babble, he shifted to straddle Remus’ thighs, took hold of his erection and settled himself down on it, sucking in a deep breath at the sudden fullness.

Remus’ eyes, which had closed in ecstasy, shot open, and he yelled Sirius’ name as he felt the tight heat close around him. "You.. I... Siri! Ohmerlincan’tneverexpectedoooooohhhhh!" He wailed as he thrust up, unable to remain still.

Sirius would have given a prideful chuckle, but Remus’ sudden movement had his cock rubbing against Sirius’ prostate, and his own body reminded him it hadn’t come yet. "Yes, Moony, like that," he said in hoarse encouragement, beginning to rise and fall in time with Remus’ thrusts.

Unable to stop the stream of whimpers and cries that fell from his lips, Remus concentrated on keeping his eyes open, not wanting to miss a moment of this. He was going to remember it for years. Hesitantly, he reached out and touched Sirius’ erection for the first time, startled at how good it felt in his hand as he curled his fingers around it.

"Yes..." Sirius breathed, licking his lips as he felt Remus’ fingers glide over his cock, then close around it. "Like that, Moony. Feels so bloody good."

Remus began to pump his cock, trying to match the rhythm of their hips, but it was so hard with the unfamiliar pleasure shooting through him. He’d never even imagined this. In all his fantasies, Sirius had been the one to take him. He could hardly believe this was real. "Siri," he whimpered, suddenly pulling the other man’s head down and kissing him hungrily.

Suddenly overbalanced, Sirius almost toppled over but shot out a hand to catch himself, not wanting to curtail Remus’ first active participation in his seduction. As their tongues slid against each other, he tightened his ass down around Remus’ prick, wanting to feel everything his friend and now lover could give him.

Remus moaned into Sirius’ mouth, gasping as the sensations kept building. "Oh, can’t hold on," he gasped. "Gonna come..." He never wanted this to stop, but the pleasure was overwhelming him.

"Then we’ll do it together," Sirius gasped, sitting upright once again, his hand covering Remus’ as he urged the other man on, feeling his own orgasm gather at the base of his spine and, once he gave into the sensation of finally making love with Remus, overwhelming him.

Feeling Sirius clench down on him, Remus cried out, howling as loudly as ever he had as a wolf. His body tensed and thrust up hard, and he came, feeling the hot rush of fluid over his fingers at almost the same instant.

Riding Remus through both of their climaxes, Sirius swayed dizzily once the bone-shaking pleasure began to ebb and leaned forward, his dark hair falling to curtain both their faces as he brushed his lips over Remus’. "Thank you," he murmured, moving carefully to stretch himself out alongside of Remus, his arm securely around the shorter man’s waist.

Remus turned into him, burying his face against Sirius’ neck, not wanting to move yet. He wanted to pretend that Sirius was really his for a little longer. He clung tightly to his friend, inhaling the scent of him, of them, and he never noticed when he drifted into sleep.

"My Moony," Sirius murmured, kissing Remus’ temple as his eyes closed as well.

*

A tug on his hair woke Remus several hours later, and he opened his eyes to the bright sunlight streaming into the room, immediately shutting them again with a muffled groan. An instant later they shot open again as he remembered the events of the previous night, and his head whipped to the side, incidentally freeing his hair of the weight lying on it, to stare at Sirius. In bed. With him.

Remus knew that he had to get out of there before Sirius woke up if he wanted to salvage their friendship. He could only hope that if Sirius had been drunk enough to do that, he was also drunk enough to forget it. He rolled carefully toward the edge of the bed, trying not to disturb the other man.

Grumbling when the warmth next to him moved, Sirius flailed around, trying to pull it back, then opened his eyes, blinking blearily as he sat up and tried to get his mind working. "Remus? Where’re you going?" he asked before yawning. "Need to use the loo?"

He should have known he wouldn’t be that lucky. Remus froze and swallowed the lump in his throat. "Go back to sleep, Sirius," he murmured, not turning around. Maybe Sirius would fall asleep again and he could still make his escape.

"When you come back, sure." Sirius rolled to his back and pushed up onto his elbows, shaking his hair back out of his face as he studied Remus.

"I should be getting home," Remus mumbled, staring at his feet. "Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone, won’t mention this. I know you’d had a bit to drink..."

"And so had you." Sirius pushed himself over the edge of the waterbed and stood, walking to Remus’ side and placing a hand on his shoulder, feeling his heart sink when Remus flinched as if struck. "If that’s the only reason why you wanted to be with me, then I’m sorry. I wouldn’t have pushed if I thought you weren’t interested." But damnit, he wasn’t naive, Moony had been an active participant last night.

"Me?" Remus was startled enough to peer up at him through the curtain of his hair. "Don’t be daft. But I know I’m no prize." He smiled painfully. "I know I should have stopped you, but I wanted you so much..." The last words were murmured almost too softly to be heard.

"No prize? Moony, where the hell have you gotten that idea?" Sirius gently turned Remus to face him, brushing the golden brown hair back out of his face to try to gauge Remus’ expression. The second part of what his friend had said then registered, and Sirius stroked the back of his hand over Remus’ face, feeling his morning stubble as he did so. "I wanted you too, have for quite a while, still do in fact."

Remus shook his head stubbornly. "It’s kind of you to try to make me feel better, but I know what I am. A shy, bookish werewolf. Not exactly the latest teen heartthrob." He smiled wistfully. "Not like you."

"Remus, look at me." When the other man wouldn’t, Sirius let out a growl of frustration. "That may be what you see, but it isn’t what I see. What I see is the person I most want to be with."

"You deserve better than me," Remus said quietly, sadly. He wished with all his heart that it could be true, but he knew that he was too boring for Sirius. And he thought it would destroy him to have Sirius for a little while then lose him.

"Don’t you say that. Don’t you dare fucking say that." Now Sirius was angry, both at himself for waiting this long and at Remus for not believing himself worthy of love. "I’m Sirius Black, Hogwarts graduate, auror in training and unregistered animagus; I deserve the best - you."

"Oh Sirius!" Remus didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "You’re my friend and I love you, and I won’t let you do this just because you feel sorry for me or because you’re the first person I slept with."

"When have I ever felt sorry for you?" Sirius snapped, pushing closer, crowding Remus with his body, backing the other man toward the wall to keep him from bolting. "Name me one time when I’ve pitied you."

"I... Well, why else would you have..." He gestured wildly toward the bed. "You can have anyone you want!"

"And I want you. Have since our seventh year, why do you think I was going on about wanking all the time?" Sirius thought his voice was remarkably steady considering he might be on the verge of losing one of his best friends, the man he knew he loved as more than a friend.

About to continue in the same vein as his previous replies, Remus stopped with his mouth hanging open as that last comment finally registered. He stared at Sirius in total shock, opening and closing his mouth a few times though nothing came out. "Me?" he finally squeaked.

Sirius barely stopped himself from banging his head against the wall. "Yes, you, Remus Lupin. I certainly wasn’t as soused as you thought I was last night. I knew exactly what I was doing: seducing the man who’s been driving me wild for too long."

Remus rather abruptly sat down right where he was standing as his knees gave out under him. "B-b-but... why? How? Me?!?"

Dropping to his knees alongside Remus, Sirius reached out and took his hands, needing to touch Lupin in some manner. "Yes, you," he sighed. "Think about it, Moony. Think about it objectively. What would you have thought if I’d acted like I did with someone else?"

"Why..." Remus really did think about it, and his eyes rounded. "I’d have been teasing you about your new love," he breathed. "But... me!" He just couldn’t get past that, unable to think of himself as desirable.

"I would wait for you to come to bed at night, you know, before I had a wank. I suppose I was hoping that you’d be listening; just the thought of it got me hard."

Blushing scarlet, Remus mumbled, "I was. Got so’s I got hard the minute you came in the room. I came every night listening to you - couldn’t help myself."

Sirius broke into a wide smile hearing that. "Good, very good. And at graduation? If James and Peter hadn’t been over, I would have licked a lot more than your palm."

Remus shivered. "Thought about that. I had to wank off that night, even with everyone there, because I couldn’t stop thinking about it, imagining you licking me all over." He flushed again, still hardly able to believe this was real. Sirius Black was his lover. Astonishing. And bloody marvelous.

"Be glad to if that’s what you want," Sirius offered, sliding his hands up Remus’ arms to tangle in his hair.

"I... Iwantyouinme," Remus said in a rush, amber eyes darting up to meet Sirius’ before closing again in embarrassment.

Sirius waited patiently for Remus to look up at him again, then kissed him. "The bed would be better for that than the floor, I think," he husked, breathing the words into Remus’ mouth. "And speaking of beds, what do you think of this one? It’s called a waterbed."

"It’s... interesting." Remus smiled quickly. "I liked it. I like the way it moves with us." Greatly daring, he leaned forward and kissed Sirius, slowly licking and tasting his lips before his tongue darted inside his mouth, exploring him.

Sirius sighed and leaned into the kiss, actually pouting when Remus broke it off. "Do that again, Moony," he whispered.

*

"Thought you wanted to move to the bed," Remus teased, finally smiling. "That won’t happen unless we get up."

"I do, but I want you to kiss me again first, just so I can be sure I’m not dreaming."

"I think I’m the one who’s dreaming, but..." Remus moved closer, so he was all but sitting in Sirius’ lap, and he kissed Sirius, this time not tentatively but hungrily, his tongue sweeping inside and claiming the other man’s mouth.

"Merlin, wanted this for so long," Sirius groaned, wrapping his arms around Remus’ body and pulling him even closer. They finally broke apart, both breathing raggedly, and he managed a grin. "Now we’d better get to the bed."

"Now I don’t think my legs work," Remus retorted, leaning into Sirius and licking his neck.

"Well, Padfoot could always give you a ride," Sirius murmured, shivering as the cool air hit the wet trail left by Remus’ tongue. Had he known the other man would prove so sensual once he’d made up his mind that this was real, Sirius would have ‘taken advantage’ of him last year!

"Not quite the way I want to ride you," Remus laughed, raising his head. "Come on, if we don’t move now, we never will, and I don’t want bruises when we could be lying on that wicked bed of yours."

"While I have my wicked way with you?" Sirius asked, pushing up to his feet and bringing Remus with him.

"That’s what I’m hoping." This still seemed surreal to Remus, but Sirius had never lied to him, so he had to believe it was true.

"Come with me, Moony," Sirius murmured, catching Remus’ hands again and walking back toward his bed. "And we’ll be done with the waiting."

"I would have waited forever," Remus said quietly, looking up, his heart in his eyes. "You’re the only one I want, Siri."

"You’re the only one I love this way, Remus," Sirius answered solemnly, drawing Remus down onto the bed with him, their bodies once again moving to fit together perfectly.

"Show me." Remus stared up at him, arms around Sirius’ neck, amber eyes dark with lust... and love.

"Oh yes." Whispering the words, Sirius kissed Remus again, taking his time now and savoring each nuance of Remus’ reactions and his own. Once they broke apart, he sighed, giving Remus a heavy-eyed look, then began to make his way lower, kissing each bit of exposed flesh, each healed scar and remembered bruise he’d seen over the time they’d known each other.

Writhing against the gently yielding surface of the bed, Remus reached for Sirius, needing to touch him as well. Fingertips glided over taut muscles, and he licked his lips, panting as Sirius aroused him.

A small shudder raced over Sirius’ body when Remus caressed him, and he looked up, blue eyes meeting amber in a look that said more than his words ever could. He placed a reverent kiss over Remus’ heart, then one over his navel before reaching for the lubricant he’d discarded the night before.

"I need you to promise you’ll tell me if this hurts, Moony, all right?"

"It won’t." Seeing the expression on Sirius’ face, Remus sighed. "Fine, fine, I’ll tell you if it hurts more than it pleasures. Happy now?"

Sirius quirked a grin. "Actually, yes, I am." As he said that, he moved to kneel between Remus’ legs, taking a moment to admire the other man’s body and feeling a shaft of desire shoot through him.

Remus shifted impatiently. "Any time now." He’d waited so long for this, never believing he could actually have it, and now that he could, he didn’t want to wait a moment longer.

"Moony, shut up," Sirius laughed, leaning in to kiss the other man as he pressed a finger against the tight pucker of muscle between his legs and slowly pushed inside.

"Oooohhh." Remus remained utterly still, concentrating on the novel sensation of something inside him. Amber eyes flashed up to meet blue, and he smiled slowly, sensually. "More," he demanded.

Sirius was tempted to ask Remus if he was sure he was a virgin but knew that would just get him glared at, so he refrained. "More like this?" he asked, pressing his finger deeper and crooking it until he found the small bump of Remus’ prostate and rubbed it.

Remus cried out with the utter pleasure of it, his hand grasping Sirius’ wrist. "Oh my!" He started to ride Sirius’ finger, unable to remain still, and it felt just as good as the first touch.

"Easy, Moony," Sirius rasped, wondering if he was going to be able to keep from coming long enough to give the other man what he wanted. Pulling back despite Remus’ cries of disbelief, he added more lube and then another finger, wanting Remus fully stretched and ready before attempting to take him.

"Easy, he says," Remus muttered in disbelief. "Loon! Stop playing and do it already," he begged, writhing wantonly beneath his lover. His lover. Sirius Black was his, Remus Lupin’s, lover. He smiled incandescently. "Now!"

"And here I thought I was the pushy one." Unable to resist any longer, Sirius removed his fingers and lifted Remus’ hips, placing his cock at the entrance to Lupin’s body. Meeting the other man’s eyes, Sirius held Moony’s steady gaze as he pushed inside, leaning in to swallow Remus’ gasp with a kiss.

Remus again stilled as he waited for his body to grow accustomed to the invasion. It did hurt, but in a good way, the burning only adding to his pleasure. "You’re inside me," he breathed, staring up at Sirius.

"Feels like home," Sirius whispered, threading the fingers of one hand through Remus’ and beginning to move, taking it slow at first to give Remus time to grow accustomed to the new sensations.

"Oh yes." Remus clung to Sirius’ hand, his other gliding over Sirius’ back and down to his ass, cupping the flexing muscle as Sirius moved inside him. "I love you," he whispered, not able to hold the words back.

"Love you too, first like a friend, then a brother and now as my everything," Sirius panted, unable to help thrusting faster as he felt Remus’ hands on him.

Remus gave him another blinding smile, finally believing him. "Yes," he said simply as he met Sirius’ thrusts. His legs rose to wind around his lover’s waist, letting Sirius go deeper inside him, and he gasped, the bed adding a delicious rippling to their movements.

Sirius worked a hand between them, finding and circling Remus’ erection and stroking it, knowing the rhythm Remus liked from months of having listened to him wank. This was heaven, it was all he ever wanted, and while he knew he didn’t want it to end, he also recognized it would only get better.

A strangled cry escaped Remus, and he thrashed beneath Sirius, his body tightening. It all felt so good, and it was Sirius, and he couldn’t wait, couldn’t make it last longer, no matter how much he wanted to. He wailed Sirius’ name as he came, still moving, wanting to feel Sirius come inside him as well.

"Remus!" Sirius shouted as the spasms milked his erection, and he felt Remus’ orgasm wet his hand and both their bellies. It was the look of complete trust and love in the other man’s amber eyes that did him in, and with a whispered repetition of Remus’ name, Sirius came as well, moaning out his release and his pleasure.

One hand still gripping Sirius’, Remus raised it to his lips to press a tender kiss on it, the other arm going around Sirius’ waist to hold him close. "I’ve never been happier," he whispered.

"Well, there was that one time we flipped Snape upside down and held him in mid-air..." Sirius teased, before smiling down at Remus. "But that’s nothing compared to this. Stay with me, Moony. Here, I mean. I’m pretty sure we won’t kill each other if we live together."

"Live together?" Remus gaped at him. This was all going so fast. It seemed only minutes ago that he’d been certain of his unattractiveness and solitary fate—it was only minutes ago—and now Sirius wanted them to live together? He chewed his lip nervously. "Are you sure?"

"Well, you did turn me down the first time I asked..." Sirius began. "After graduation? Remember?"

Remus stared at him blankly. "You never did any such thing."

"I did too," Sirius protested. "I said you could camp out here if you missed us too much."

"That was supposed to be an invitation to move in with you? You prat!" Remus shook his head, laughing.

"And what would you have said if I’d said, ‘Moony, I’ve been wanking while thinking about you for the past three months; come and live with me, and we’ll shag ourselves silly’?"

"Um. Pretty much what I said this morning, along with an offer to find you a nice doctor," Remus admitted. "But no one would ever have interpreted what you did say as an invitation to move in!"

"Which is why I offered in plainer terms just now."

Oh. They were back to that. Remus swallowed hard. "Are... are you sure, Siri? Really sure?"

"If you don’t want to, just say so, Moony. It won’t make me feel any less for you. I know, I’m not the... easiest person to get on with by times."

"No, no, you don’t understand." Remus sighed. "I do want to, so much. But if you were to change your mind..." he trailed off unhappily, shrugging as much as possible with Sirius still lying on top of him.

Sirius’ face fell, and he closed his eyes. "You don’t trust me."

"Oh, Sirius! It’s not that. It’s just... look, I never thought this could happen, so I’m having a little trouble believing it, all right? And I love you so much that it scares me sometimes. I don’t want to lose you."

Sirius managed a smile at that. "I’m like the bad knut, remember? Always turning up, you’ll never rid yourself of me."

Remus took a deep breath. "Well, then, I suppose I’d best make it easy on both of us and just say yes."

"See? I know you were always the practical one of the group." Sirius beamed and leaned in to kiss Remus’ forehead, then his lips.

"You mean the one that never could say no to you," Remus retorted dryly even as their lips touched.

"So you mean if I had just said, ‘Moony, I want you,’ a year ago, we could be celebrating our anniversary instead of our first night together?"

"Um, well, it would have taken a bit more than that, but, well... yes." Remus shrugged. He had no illusions about his willpower when it came to Sirius.

"Well, fuck me with a bludger," Sirius muttered, shaking his head then shrugging. "Ah well, have you here now, that’s what matters." He beamed a smile down at Remus as he spoke, then rolled over, bringing the smaller man with him. "At least we won’t have a problem remembering James and Lily’s anniversary.

Remus burst into laughter. "And are you planning on telling them why?" He squirmed a little before settling, deciding that Sirius made a very comfortable bed.

"Do you care if I do?" Sirius asked, reaching for the comforter that had been knocked aside earlier and flipping it over them both.

"Are you joking? I want to shout it from the rooftops," Remus chuckled sleepily. "Bloody hell, what time is it? We haven’t had nearly enough sleep," he moaned.

"Dunno really, some prat woke me trying to run out on me and made me confess undying love to him," Sirius muttered, unable to keep from grinning. "That’s cheek for you."

"Oh, be quiet and go to sleep," Remus grumbled, jabbing half-heartedly at his ribs. He closed his eyes and smiled beatifically as he listened to Sirius’ heartbeat beneath his ear.

Sirius chuckled and lifted his head to place a kiss on Remus’ head. "Love you, Moony," he whispered, lying back and closing his eyes, amazed at how perfect his life was.

*

Remus woke up some time later, still sprawled across Sirius’ body. He eyed the other man, then rolled away, once again making for the door.

Sirius groaned and opened one eye. "I thought we’d worked this out?" he rasped. "Just where are you going?"

Remus started to laugh. "Well, I was going to the loo, and then I was going to surprise you with breakfast in bed, but since you’re so suspicious, you can ruddy well make mine!"

"By all means, carry on, carry on," Sirius said quickly before closing his eyes and pretending to snore loudly.

"Prat. If I didn’t love you..." Remus shook his head and continued on his way, grinning.

"But you do, so there!" Sirius called, curling back under the comforter and closing his eyes for real this time, certain of the knowledge that Remus would be there when he opened them again.

END