Chapter Text
criminal - @wolfstarmicrofic - word count: 397
"Sorry," Sirius muttered into the awkward silence, eyes cast downward into the depths of his mug as he sat at Remus's ancient table, the chair creaking under his meager weight. "Don't mean to put you out."
Remus, who had also been sitting awkwardly, gnawing at his lip and tapping his foot in obvious anxiety, looked over to Sirius in confusion. "What? Pa–Sirius, what the fuck're you talking about?"
He smiled wryly, trying not to let the fact that Remus had avoided his old nickname stab him in the heart. "You're harboring a criminal. Probably not ideal."
But now Remus leaned forward, closer than he'd been since the hug they'd shared a year ago. "I'm helping an innocent man. There's a difference."
"Not in the eyes of the law. Not right now."
"Well it's different in my eyes. To me. I'm not just going to let my- my-" But Remus cut himself off, looking flustered, as he grappled for words. "I'm not going to let you stay out there," he finished, nose wrinkled. "Not when I could do something."
But Sirius desperately wanted to hear the end of the sentence Remus had avoided. Smiling wryly, feeling like he had nothing to lose, he gazed over at the taller man. "Even after all these years, we still can't define what we are to each other, eh, Moons?"
He said it lightly, but he felt his heart hammering in his brittle ribs.
Remus's returning glare was piercing. "I'm not–we're–it's been so long, Sirius..." he murmured, expression tortured. "You've been through hell, the world is upside down, and–"
"Sure," he cut him off, a little flare of irritation igniting in his chest, "so shall we wait until the next time one of us gets through with over a decade in prison?"
Remus flinched, hissing as if in pain. "That's not what I mean."
"Oh? Then what do you mean? Because I mean that I've waited long enough. I'm done being scared. Where am I sleeping tonight, Remus?" Sirius challenged, absolutely terrified that he'd pushed too much, the adrenaline coursing through his veins.
Thankfully, though, the taller man's eyes filled with something akin to adoration as a small, resigned smile formed on his face. "If you thought you were sleeping anywhere other than my bed, Padfoot..." he began shaking his head fondly.
Sirius broke into a relieved grin. "That's what I thought."
mystery - @wolfstarmicrofic -word count: 392
"You know what I don't understand?" Harry asked as he ate his breakfast, his face scrunched into a look of deep concentration.
Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all looked over to him.
"All the stories I hear about my dad. People say he and Sirius were so close, right?" Harry continued, waking his spoonful of porridge a bit as he spoke.
Everyone nodded.
"Like they were best mates. Caused tons of trouble. Always in detention."
"Like Fred and George," Ron supplied, shaking his head in agreement.
"Exactly! But then why are Lupin and Sirius so close now?" Harry questioned, gesturing above his head, obviously referencing the two men who were still asleep upstairs.
Again, everyone exchanged glances before Ron spoke abruptly. "I mean, your dad's dead. They probably got closer because of that."
"Ron!" Hermione hissed in admonishment, eyebrows narrowed.
"S'true!" he defended himself, shrugging unapologetically.
Harry wasn't too upset. "No, that's fair. But...did you lot notice they share a bed?" he presented this fact like it only added to the mystery.
"Wait, really?" Ron asked, eyes wide. He tilted his head. "No offence, mate, but I'd never share a bed with you, you always kick in your sleep. But you know what? I swear I saw them holding hands the other day, too! Reckon they're just like...really close after all the shit they've been through?"
"Yeah, maybe they've bonded or something. Dealing together."
"Don't expect me to hold your hand, though. Love you, mate, but that's a bit-"
It was then that Ron and Harry both picked up on Hermione and Ginny's giggles.
"What?" Harry demanded, turning to the two girls. "What's so funny?"
"It's just," Ginny said between laughs, "you can't think of any other reason why two grown men would be sharing a bed and holding hands?"
"Well I dunno, do I? I'm not nosy, I just--"
"Oh come on, Ron!" Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "If one of them was a girl, what would you think?"
Ron and Harry looked at each other.
"Well, I'd say they were dating, but they're both...." Ron trailed off, face splitting into a look of dawning realization.
Harry was the first to speak. "You reckon they're dating?" he asked, voice hushed.
"Married, actually."
All four of them turned to see both Sirius and Lupin in the doorway, smirks on their faces.
Secret - @wolfstarmicrofic - word count: 429 - for an anon in my inbox who is craving wolfstar!
Sirius was pretty sure he was dreaming. Laying in his bed with Remus, head pillowed on the other boy’s chest, his own body still a bit breathless from the way he’d been snogging Remus only moments earlier. He felt giddy. He’d been wanting this for so long, had been denying his feelings for even longer. And really, he’d never imagined that Remus had wanted….
Well, needless to say, he was a bit terrified that he would wake up, disappointed and confused, any second now.
“We can keep it secret, if you want,” the taller boy rumbled from under him.
Ah. There it was.
Trying not to wince, Sirius digested the words. Of course, Remus wanted to keep this–them–a secret. He probably wanted to date girls or was too embarrassed for people to know he was bent. It made sense, it was a big deal, and–
“I know it’d be a lot for you.”
Now Sirius was confused. Ushing himself upward a little, he chanced a look into Remus’s eyes. Unsurprisingly, the other boy was avoiding his gaze. “For me?” he repeated, shaking his head a little.
Brown eyes flicked quickly in his direction, then back to the canopy of Sirius’s four-poster. “To…erm…be something. With me. I’d understand. If you can’t. It wouldn’t…ruin our friendship or anything. I wouldn’t be an arsehole about it.”
But now Sirius felt a little angry. There Remus was, as always, being so ridiculously self-sacrificing and self-deprecating, assuming there was no possible way Sirius would want him, when in reality, Sirius needed him. Adored him more than anyone. “Do you want this to be a secret?” he demanded, narrowing his eyes.
Finally, Remus looked at him for more than a split second, his eyes widening when he saw the determination emanating from Sirius’s entire being. “No,” he breathed, shaking his head.
Sirius felt himself break into a smile. “Oi!” he yelled loudly, loud enough to wake their sleeping dorm mates.
“Sirius, what the–?” Remus hissed, looking terrified, scrambling to press a hand to his lips to silence him, but Sirius just leaned forward to press a reassuring kiss to his lips before rearing back and yelling again.
“Oi! Prongs! Wormy!”
Peter’s tired voice answered first. “The fuck d’you want, Pads?” he grumbled.
“Just wanted you to know I’ve been snogging Moony in my bed! Thinking of asking him to be my boyfriend, actually!” he announced triumphantly, beaming as Remus turned bright-red.
“Brilliant,” James replied, his voice as tired as Peter’s. “About damn time. We’ll discuss more when the sun’s up, shall we?”
“Sounds lovely! Cheers!”
suspect - @wolfstarmicrofic - word count: 286
“Ah! Padfoot! Exactly the bloke we need!” James called to him the moment Sirius walked into the common room.
Confused, Sirius looked over to where his three friends were sitting, only to see Remus give him a secret jerk of his head, warning him to run while he still could. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem possible, as James was waving him over jovially.
“Need for what?” he asked hesitantly, walking over to sit with them.
“To figure out who our dear, sweet Moony is sneaking off to see at night! He’s purposely going to the Room of Requirement, you see, so we can’t figure it out!” James announced loudly, causing Remus to turn red.
Sirius fought to not blush as well. “I…really?” he asked, hoping desperately he didn’t sound terrified. “Ah…who d’you suspect?”
“I think it’s Lockheart,” Peter answered promptly, a grin on his face. “Our Remus could easily pull the most good-looking guy in our year, yeah?”
“Exactly!” James agreed. “Just fess up, Moons, we won’t tell! Good on you for getting such a looker, right?”
“I’m not–”
But something ugly and furious roared up inside Sirius’s chest, causing him to cut Remus off. “Oi, Lockheart isn’t the best-looking in the year!” he snapped, crossing his arms.
Everyone looked his way.
“He’s–I mean, he’s not bad! But I mean…me for instance,” Sirius stammered, face twisted in annoyance. “I’m much better, and I’m not a complete prat!”
James chuckled. “What, so you’re saying we should think it’s you that Remus is snogging in the Room of Requirement?” he asked, clearly thinking he was joking.
Sirius and Remus exchanged a glance.
“Er…”
“Well, I…”
“James! You’re also pretty!” Remus jumped in, blushing.
The following silence was very awkward.
lock - @wolfstarmicrofic - word count: 499
By the time Sirius has calmed himself enough to unlock the door to the broom closet he's hidden himself in, he's quite confident he's alone.
Of course, he's forgotten that Remus Lupin is just as much of a stubborn son of a bitch as he is.
"Moony, bloody hell!" he exclaims, nearly tripping over the taller boy, who's planted himself right outside of the door.
"Sirius. Hello," Remus says casually as he stands, like he often spends his evenings sitting on the third-corridor floor.
"I was just-"
"Hiding from me, yes," Remus says shrewdly.
He could deny it. Cite some fake prank or blame James, somehow. But the thing is, it's a lie, and an obvious one. Because Sirius wasn't exactly subtle when he'd lost his damn mind that morning, when he kissed Remus in front of the whole Common Room, and then ran away.
"Yeah," he says, scratching at the back of his neck. "So, um...what d'you think you'd believe? Rapid onset of genetic madness? Random hex? Spiked toothpaste?"
But Remus isn't laughing. He looks almost hurt, as Sirius tries to get around the awkwardness, his eyes sparkling with sadness.
His silence just makes Sirius talk more. "I just--" he spits out, then takes a deep breath to calm himself. "I think I'm going insane. I...wanted to kiss you, so I did. And I shouldn't have, because...that's weird, right? We're...friends. And two blokes. And friends. So we should pretend it never happened. Because I don’t want to...to ruin what we have." Fuck, his heart’s hammering so loudly, there’s no way Remus can’t hear it.
But the taller boy just looks back at him. "You wanted to kiss me?" he repeats.
"Yeah. Yeah, but-"
"It wasn’t a joke? Like...a prank or something?"
Fuck, that would have been a good excuse. Too late. "Erm. No. No, I wanted it, but-"
"Well, then I can't forget it, Sirius. I'm sorry."
The words tear SIrius in two. Make him want to fall to the floor and beg, or steal a time-turner from the Ministry and stop himself from his utter idiocy. But instead, he deflates. "Right. Okay," he murmurs, biting his lip so hard he tastes blood.
"I wanted to kiss you, too."
Now he's gone mad. "What?" he gasps, blinking rapidly at his best friend.
"Yeah, I-" Remus starts, shrugging.
But Sirius is suddenly full of energy. "Moony, what? You--how long? You fucking--Merlin's sake! You just hide this from me? C'mon, mate, that's big news! You're telling me we could have been snogging for, like weeks, and you decided to be all secretive about it?"
Remus's amused smile makes Sirius melt a little. "Well, you didn't tell me!"
"I’m not the sane one, here!" Sirius retorts, grinning. Somehow, they've stepped a lot closer together.
"Well. I guess I should go find someone who's not crazy, the-" Remus starts.
Sirius won't let him finish. Grabbing his tie, he pulls him down, connecting their lips. Absolutely not.
disappear - @wolfstarmicrofic - word count: 426
"You know you're allowed to blink, right?"
James's tone was teasing, but Remus still winced, wondering if he was being called out a little too much. Shifting just slightly, so as not to wake the sleeping boy on his lap, he glanced up at his friend. "What d'you mean?"
"Like...if you look away, he won't disappear."
Gritting his teeth and trying not to flush, Remus looked back to where Sirius had dozed off on top of him. "I've no idea what you're talking about," he whispered loftily.
"Right, mate. And I am best friends with Snape. We go for tea every Sunday and-" James cut himself off with a gag. "Yeah, can’t even get through that one as a joke. No, but Padfootiously. You're mad for him, yeah?"
Remus would have run if he could. "I-"
"You look at him all soft. Like you've had too many shots of firewhiskey or you've been hit on the head with a bat," the other boy said delicately. "S'sweet, mate. You know he looks at you the same?"
"You know lying to your friend's a shit thing to do?" Remus retorted, wanting to melt into the floor.
"A Gryffindor never lies," James replied boldly, having just lied his arse off to McGonagall for an hour about a dragon eating his homework. "But the point is, Moons, you should tell him. He's mad for you, too. And trust me, he'd rather die than leave that spot."
But Remus's nerves were fraying, the conversation leaving him anxious and on-edge, especially with the subject right there on top of him, snoring quietly. "Most love in the world, Prongs, but fuck off," he murmured.
James beamed, saluting him. "Aye, aye! But when you two finally get together, I reserve the right to say, 'I told you so!'"
He walked off jauntily, whistling to himself, leaving Remus to contemplate legal means of torture.
He was so caught up in his thoughts that he almost didn't hear it: Sirius's soft whisper as he shifted a little. "He's right, you know."
Remus's stomach dropped to his toes. "Pads?" he croaked, frozen.
"James. He's smart. You ought to listen to him," the shorter boy mumbled into Remus's chest. "I'm quite gone for you, Rem."
And then, so slowly Remus thought he might die, Sirius opened his eyes and shifted, so suddenly they were face-to-face.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
A beat.
"I FUCKING TOLD YOU SO!" James screamed from across the room, interrupting right before their lips brushed.
Sirius fell to the floor, cursing, as Remus jumped a mile.
fingerprint - @wolfstarmicrofic - word count: 354 - anon request for wolfstar first date!
“So…it’s nice out today.”
Remus can hear it, even as he says it. The strained tone of his voice, the ridiculousness of talking about the weather with his best friend of six years. But fuck, he’s so bloody nervous that he can’t even look into Sirius’s stunning gray eyes. Instead, he just focuses on the condensation on the outside of his glass of Butterbeer, on pressing a fingerprint to the sweaty surface.
Sirius, of course, isn’t having any of it.
“Moons, it’s raining,” he says with a chuckle, gesturing out the window of the pub.
Fuck.
“Good for…plants,” he mutters, grasping at straws and wishing he could melt into the furniture.
Sirius doesn’t grace that intelligent comment with a reply. Instead, he snorts. “Moony, you look like you’re going to shit yourself.”
And finally, this makes Remus look up, stunned, because what kind of date conversation is that? “Padfoot!” he exclaims, a reluctant smile forming on his lips.
The smile on Sirius’s face makes Remus want to do something crazy, like kiss him. “What?” he protests, beaming. “You do! Did you eat something bad for breakfast? See Snape’s face as we walked over here? What’s got you turning green?”
Remus can’t help but splutter a bit, knocked out of his self-conscious anxiety by Sirius’s antics. “I–I’m nervous, Sirius! We’re on a date, I–”
“So you forgot how to talk? Merlin, Moons, ‘it’s nice out today.’ How cliche can you be?” But Sirius is clearly teasing, his eyes sparkling with humor as he reaches forward and grabs for Remus’s hand, causing sparks to shoot up his arm and down his spine. “What if we talk like, I dunno, we actually know each other?”
It’s so stupid, how Sirius can calm Remus in seconds. He loves it. “We could try that,” he jokes back, biting back a smile.
“Splendid,” the shorter boy grins. “So I was thinking, after this, we can go to Zonkos, get some dungboms, then snog a bit, hm?”
“Sirius!”
“C’mon, Moony, tell me it’s a good plan!”
He grinned widely this time, even as he felt himself blush. “It’s a good plan.”
lethal - @wolfstarmicrofic - word count: 280
Minerva McGonagall took a deep, calming breath, willing herself to keep it together as she stared across her desk at her two favorite students. "Boys," she said sternly, "this is your fourth detention this week. Explain."
And, of course, James Potter and Sirius Black launched into a tirade of excuses that could have been fit for the stage.
She entertained it for a while, allowing herself the amusement of hearing their latest shenanigans, before holding up her hand. "Tell me about Defense Against the Dark Arts," she suggested. "That one seems...unlike you two. A detention for being disrespectful? I was under the impression that you both enjoyed that class."
"She was teaching about werewolves!" Potter jumped in quickly, eyes wide.
"Going on about how awful and vicious and bloodthirsty they were!" Black added, grimacing.
Ah. That made sense, then. She would have to do something about that. "So you...?"
"I said that the only time werewolves are lethal is when they don't get chocolate," Potter replied, grinning.
"Or when they don't kiss their boyfriends enough," Black jumped in, looking proud of his joke.
She couldn't help it. She had to snort at that one. "And did Mister Lupin find this funny or was he angry?" she asked, genuinely curious.
"Bit of both," Black beamed.
Potter chuckled. "I caught them snogging in the corridor after class, so he was definitely more happy than angry, I'll tell you that."
McGonagall rolled her eyes. "That is something I did not need to know, Mister Potter."
Still, she excused them from one of their detentions, and made a note to herself to talk with the Defense professor. Remus Lupin deserved to be happy.
guilt - @wolfstarmicrofic - word count: 252
"Can I just ask a question?"
Remus, who had been laying in bed feeling rather sorry for himself, turned and looked up when he heard Sirius's voice. "What?" he murmured, not making an effort to change his melancholy tone.
The shorter boy, who was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed, shot him a glare. "Can you just let me know about how long you're going to be walking 'round all mopey, looking at me like you're guilty for bloody murder or something? Because I'd really like to pencil the end date in on my calendar, so we're on the same page."
He spoke with such sarcasm, such unadulterated sass, that Remus let out a laugh of surprise. "What?" he demanded, unable to stop a small smile from appearing on his face.
"Moons. You barely snapped at me. Moony and Padfoot were playing. Merlin, it's like...the whole point of being an Animagus, to give you a...a pack! I'm not hurt, and I'm not mad!" Sirius insisted, throwing his hands into the air. "Not to be a prat, but...get over it, mate!"
Now Remus was grinning. "Oh, it's that easy, is it?" he asked, sitting up a little and crossing his arms.
"Yeah," the other boy replied, smirking. "Plus, we have other things to worry about."
"Like?"
"Like how good my arse looks in these pants. Look!" Sirius immediately turned, craning his neck to still smirk at Remus.
And yeah, Remus was sufficiently distracted, because...Sirius was very correct.
witness - @wolfstarmicrofic - word count: 513
“Sirius…what the fuck?”
Remus Lupin was good at many, many things. However, he prided himself at knowing far too much about Sirius Black. It came from years of obsessing over the other boy, of staring after him like a prat, wishing for something he’d thought he would never have. It was mortifying, yeah, to look back and remember how down bad he’d always been, but now that he was actually dating Sirius, Remus at least had the advantage of knowing his boyfriend better than almost anyone.
So he noticed right away when Sirius showed up to breakfast one morning with all new jewelry.
The shorter boy’s style was a signature thing–something that most people, not just Remus, had witnessed for years and could speak about. Layers of necklaces and rings, piercings in his ears and a wish for one in his bellybutton. But Remus knew that all of those pieces of metal had always been silver in color.
Which was why it was such a shock to see him wearing all gold today.
“What’s up, Moons?” Sirius asked innocently as he joined them for breakfast, eyes wide.
Truthfully, Remus wasn’t sure he liked it, but he wasn’t about to say that.
Thankfully, James Potter was not so tactful. “You look like a prat,” he said through a mouthful of toast. “All that gold shit. Why’d you change all your necklaces and stuff? Silver looks way better on you.”
Trust James to say what everyone else was thinking.
Sirius, turning a bit pink, just shot James a look. “Fuck you, Prongs, you look like a prat. I did it because of our Defense lesson on Friday. Didn’t you hear what the Professor said?”
“Since when d’you listen in class?” Peter asked, shocked, and Remus had to agree.
Sirius flipped him off. “Since we’re learning about werewolves,” he said in a murmur, looking around to make sure nobody overheard. “Don’t you guys think that’s a bit important?”
“Mmm. I’ve always wanted to meet one,” Remus said sarcastically, rolling his eyes and sipping his juice.
“I just mean–s’good to know, right? Practical,” the shorter boy shrugged. “And on Friday, the Professor mentioned silver can…y’know…irritate werewolves. So I…” he gestured to his body, to the new accessories.
Remus might have cried. “You…changed all of that for me?” he whispered, dumbfounded, wanting to pull Sirius into a kiss in the middle of the Great Hall.
Meanwhile, James snorted. “Sirius, our professor is shit! That’s probably not even true! Is it true, Moony?” he demanded, turning to Remus, who was too busy blushing and tearing up.
“Erm,” he swallowed. “It’s not, actually. But Sirius, the fact that you were willing to change–”
“Oh, thank Merlin!” Sirius exclaimed, pulling out his wand and moving to transfigure his accessories back. “I hate gold on me.”
Remus grinned even wider, completely enamored by the boy next to him. Leaning into Sirius’s side and murmuring into his ear, he said, “I love you so fucking much, Pads.”
“You’d better,” Sirius grinned, winking towards him. “I was willing to give up silver for you!”
map - @wolfstarmicrofic - slightly NSFW - word count: 217
“I thought Remus was supposed to be the smartest of us,” James said thickly as he shoved a handful of popcorn in his mouth and stared back at the Map spread between himself and Peter.
“Mmm. People get dumb when they’re in love,” the shorter boy said wisely, scarfing down popcorn as well.
“I wouldn’t know,” James shrugged, missing the look Peter gave him. “But look! I mean…they’re so fucking obvious!”
They watched as Remus and Sirius’s dots on the Map walked closely together and stopped at a broom closet, quickly going inside.
“Fine choice, lads, most spacious place on that floor,” James murmured approvingly, nodding his head. “Great wall to lean on, bit of mood lighting–”
“Bloody hell, look!” Peter gasped, pointing towards the dots.
The dots, which had started moving back and forth just slightly, over and over.
“I think they’re shagging!” he said, face pulled into a grimace. “Like–hard!”
“Holy fuck, eurgh!” James exclaimed, upending the popcorn bucket in shock. “Ew, ew, ew! Close the Map, quick, quick!”
Together, they rushed to fold up the parchment, both flushed bright red and cracking up.
It wasn’t until their laughing subsided that they looked at each other and realization hit:
“Merlin. They know we’re watching them,” James groaned, slapping a hand to his face.
“Those fuckers.”