Chapter Text
"James we have to think of a prank," Sirius whined causing James to whine.
They were all hanging out once again, Lily had made up an excuse after finding out James was there. Sirius tried to convince her to tell James but she wouldn't budge.
"Why are you thinking of a prank?" Peter asked the two boys who were now going over ideas.
"Snivellus is a jerk and therefore needs to be put in check," James explained as if it was obvious and Peter just nodded. They seemed to miss the slight change in facial expression that made him look angry.
It was a long list and every so often Remus would chime in telling them why a certain idea wouldn't work.
"Why don't you just do something simple?" Remus suggested.
"Like what Moony?" James asked full attention now on Remus.
"Just do something small like tacks on his seat or a fake snake in his bag just like a warning. Do something bigger if he keeps messing with you," Remus explained while both James and Sirius nodded.
"That makes sense." Sirius pulled out his phone and went to buy a bunch of tacks.
James went over which class they should do it eventually agreeing on a class that would be in the same hall as himself and Sirius so they could hear. Sirius bought a bag of a thousand tacks for ten dollars and they would be there the next day.
"We should ask Remus about pranks more often," Sirius said. "Where was he when we were in middle school?"
They all laughed at that and Remus smiled at Sirius fondly.
~~~
"Not too much," Sirius whispered as James stuck the tacks on Snape's chair. The whole time they would laugh quietly, not wanting to get caught.
It took half an hour just to get the seat covered and once they did they had to sneak out of the classroom. There wasn't anyone roaming the halls, their only problem was cameras. They would wait until the camera turned away to run in the other direction.
Hurry up
Remus texted Sirius, he was waiting outside of the school gate with his car so they could drive away. He had voiced his strong distaste of getting up at midnight to drive to university just for a prank. That of course didn't stop James and Sirius from dragging him along.
It didn't take long for the two boys to make it out of the school and into Remus's car.
"I dislike the both of you," Remus said once the doors were shut and he was putting the car into drive.
"Don't be dramatic Moony," James teased only making Remus roll his eyes and Sirius chuckle.
They were all tired. It was obvious by the yawning in the car along with the lack of talking. Remus dropped James off at his apartment and then started driving towards the Black's House.
It was a slightly longer drive, Remus decided to take his time, however, too soon was Sirius unbuckling his seat belt and reaching for the door handle. Both of them said goodnight to the other before Sirius stepped out. He shut the door but not more than a second later he opened it again and leaned towards Remus.
"Yes, Padfoot-"
Remus couldn't even get his question out before Sirius was kissing him. It was short and sweet but Remus savored every second of it. When Sirius pulled away his eyes stayed closed for a few seconds before fluttering open.
"Almost forgot," Sirius mumbled and Remus smiled brightly.
"That would've been tragic."
"Yes, it would've."
They said goodnight for real that time and after another peck, Sirius was walking towards the front door. Remus waited until he was safely inside before driving to his own apartment.
~~~
Sirius was in his history of art class when he heard a rather feminine shout from down the hall. While others in his class were looking at each other to try and figure out what was happening Sirius was trying to stifle his laughter behind his hand. Moments later his phone vibrated in his pocket and, while doing his best to hide it from his professor, he opened the message from James.
Prank Succesful. One more for the books.
He put his phone back down and focused back on the professor who went on and on about realism. Fun fact, Gustave Courbet led the art movement known as realism in France.
The class couldn't end sooner and as soon as the professor said "class dismissed" he was out of his seat. It would seem that James had a similar idea and the two boys ended up literally running into each other. As soon as they realized it was the other they broke out into laughter. Remus joined them both soon and shook his head with a chuckle.
"If he sees us it's not gonna be fun," Remus pointed out as every other student began filing out of their classes. The other two denied that and said that they'd be fine however when they saw Snape's friends enter the hallway. Then they saw the black-haired boy behind them.
They both tried to stop laughing as a now pissed off Snape made eye contact with them. They tried...and failed. Their laughter only made Snape more upset but to their surprise, he only walked the other direction to where they assumed was his next class.
"I don't trust that at all."
"You are absolutely right James. There is no way Snape wouldn't come say something to us," Sirius agreed and Remus nodded.
"Well, I guess we'll find out later," Remus said and with that, they parted ways to their next classes.
The whole day had gone by and none of the boys had been bothered by Snape or his posse besides the occasional glare.
Sirius took that as a win and decided to drop the idea that Snape would try and get back at him.
He did however immediately regret that decision as he felt himself get slammed against a brick wall. Sirius didn't need to open his eyes to know who it was.
"Ow," Sirius said simply and opened his eyes to look at Snape. Snape was of course joined by all his group of 'friends' who were either glaring or laughing at him.
"If I said I was sorry I'd be lying," Snape spat.
"How noble."
"You have some nerve, Black."
Sirius scoffed earning a push against his chest from Snape.
"Severus Snape, release Mister Black. Now."
Both boys looked to the left to see the Dean of the school who usually doesn't care about anything that happens if it doesn't benefit him. Albus Dumbledore.
Snape removed his arm from across Sirius's chest and stepped back. Dumbledore nodded once and walked off. When Dumbledore turned away the Faculty Leader was revealed to be behind him.
Minerva McGonagall the one who should probably be the Dean since she's the one who actually does anything.
"Mr. Black a word in my office please," McGonagall stated and turned to walk away as well. Her tone left no room for debate so Sirius walked after her quickly. Snape and his posse snickered as they both walked towards her office.
They passed Remus on the way who shot them both a confused expression and without waiting for Sirius to explain, McGonagall decided to explain herself.
"Mr. Black and I are simply going to have a conversation over a cup of tea, Mr. Lupin."
Remus seemed shocked that she had given such a simple explanation that didn't start with "Sirius was getting in trouble."
The walk to McGonagall's office was short and once they were both seated and had a cup of hot tea in front of them she spoke.
"Would you care to explain the situation that occurred this afternoon, Mr. Black?"
"Snivellus was being an asshole."
"Language Mr. Black."
"Sorry," Sirius said before continuing. "He was being rude to me and Remus."
"Remus and I," McGonagall corrected once more.
"He was being rude to Remus and I," Sirius said, exaggerating the 'I' making McGonagall almost smile. Almost.
"So you decided to put tacks on his chair because he was rude?"
Sirius nodded once.
She opened her mouth to say something but no words came out. That worried Sirius for a hot second. However when she simply passed a plate of cookies to him and said, "Have a biscuit, Mr. Black," His worries dissipated.
He grabbed the treat and sipped his tea as McGonagall went on to explain why he shouldn't try and solve his problems through childish pranks. Sirius nodded his head but of course, he wasn't going to listen.
She only kept him for a little while longer and once Sirius finished his cup of tea he left her office. As soon as he walked out of the small room he was bombarded with questions from James.
"Did you get in trouble?"
"What did she say?"
"Why did she talk to you?"
"James! It's all okay. She just gave me the whole don't solve your problems through childish ways talk. Plus I got a cup of tea and a biscuit out of it," Sirius explained.
"She gave you a biscuit?" James asked confused as to one why he got tea and two why he didn't get in trouble.
"Oh my god, you absolute typical American. A cookie she gave me a cookie."
"She gave you a cookie?!"
"I'm leaving," Sirius said with a roll of his eyes.
~~~
Lily was leaving her apartment building and walking to her car when she saw an all too familiar group of people walking by. More specifically the one person she didn't want to talk to, Snape.
Quickly, Lily pulled out her car keys and began to walk to her car. She was half inside the vehicle when she heard someone call out for her.
"Lily!"
She rolled her eyes as she heard Snape's voice.
"Leave me alone, Severus."
"Don't be like that," Snape said in a sickening tone. Lily snapped her head towards the boy who was now standing on the opposite side of her car.
"Don't be like that?! You have some nerve, Severus. You made fun of my family situation and then made fun of me for not living with my parents in high school." Lily was raising her voice at the boy in front of her who was just watching with a seemingly satisfied jerk. "You know what? No. I'm not doing this. This is exactly what you want. To get me to talk to you no matter what. Even if I'm angry."
"I never meant to hurt your feelings, Flower."
"Don't you dare call me anything other than Lily!" Lily looked towards Snape's friends who were laughing at the situation. Her eyes scanned over a familiar blonde boy who she thought was her friend. "Peter? Since when do you hang out with Snape?"
"Since I found out about your, situation."
Lily's blood chilled. "What situation?"
"Better hope I don't tell James," Peter said evilly. Lily immediately got in her car and locked the doors. Snape knocked on the window, laughing. She only started the car quickly and sped off just as fast.
As she drove she felt the tears run down her face as she silently cried. She wished she wasn't but it couldn't be avoided. Peter, one of her closest friends, would do something like this? She wouldn't believe it if she didn't witness it.
Lily was going to drive to tell the others but realized as she stopped at a red light what that meant. She would expose herself if she followed through with that plan. But if she didn't tell them then Peter would continue to be a two-faced friend.
It was then that the thought crossed her mind.
How did Peter find out?
She hadn't told anyone but Sirius, Remus, and Marlene. They wouldn't spread her secret like that. Lily knew that for a fact.
Whatever the case was she decided it would be better to think it over for a while. So instead of driving to her friends, she turned around to drive to where she originally planned to go which was to the grocery store. Putting the event off to the back of her mind as she drove. Stressing herself out wouldn't be good for her right now.
"He did what?!" Sirius whisper shouted into his phone.
"I know Sirius I'm just as shocked trust me. I'm currently in the store walking around for items while thinking about it," Lily explained further.
"Maybe it wasn't what it seemed?" Despite his words, he found it hard to believe.
"I doubt it, Sirius."
"I swear Lily I didn't tell him," Sirius promised. "Neither did Remus or Marlene."
"I know Sirius, I must've hidden it worse when I was around him. It's just he seemed so...innocent. I didn't think he would do this."
"Lily we have to tell the others about this. Not the pregnancy part but about Peter hanging around Snivellus."
Lily sighed at the rude name but didn't have it in her to care and correct him. "Yes, I think that's smart. You do that," Lily teased half-joking.
"I will Lily. You can't exactly tell James about it in person."
"Thank you, Sirius."
"Of course. Now get your food and go home, you need to rest."
"I will Sirius. Thanks again."
"It's not a problem. I'll call you later."
Then they hung up. Sirius leaned against the wall behind him and groaned. How was he supposed to walk to the kitchen and tell his friends about what Peter's done?
"Hey you," Remus said from the other end of the hallways. Sirius looked up from his hands and at Remus
"Hey," Sirius said, his mood instantly brightening.
"What are you doing?" Remus asked, coming closer to Sirius. When Remus was in front of Sirius, the shorter leaned his head against Remus's chest and sighed in contentment. Remus, though the situation was slightly amusing, brought his arms around Sirius.
"Why must everything be so stressful?" Sirius groaned.
"I don't know." Remus pulled away slightly so he could look at Sirius. "What's wrong?"
Sirius shook his head, "Don't wanna talk about it. Just want to stay here, with you."
"Okay, we don't have to talk about it." Remus pressed a kiss a gentle kiss to the top of Sirius's head. "Do you wanna go back to our friends?"
"Okay," Sirius mumbled and let Remus pull him back to the kitchen.
As they walked Remus told him about what James had been joking about before he came to find him. Sirius suggested that everyone could stay a little later and they have dinner but also talked about he couldn't cook well.
Regulus, James, and Marlene sat at the counter as the two walked in.
"Reg, are you any good at cooking?" Sirius asked as he walked in and pulled himself on the counter while Remus stood next to him.
"No."
"Why are you both bad at cooking?" Remus asked them while playing with a string that was hanging off the hole of Sirius's jeans. Sirius noticed his small action and cooed at the sight, his heart-melting.
"We had everything done for us as children, Moony," Sirius explained with a chuckle.
"Rich people I swear," Remus muttered with a roll of his eyes. The others laughed at the comment while Sirius gave him a small pout. "I'll cook and you can help, how about that?"
Sirius smiled wide at the suggestion and nodded eagerly. "Yes, I would love to help."
"I'll call Peter, he hasn't been around recently," Marlene said and pulled out her phone, sending a text to Peter. Sirius took a deep breath and tensed a little at the mention of the boy. Remus took notice but didn't say anything, not wanting to make a scene.
Remus patted Sirius's knee to get his attention. "Come help me cook, Pads. It'll take your mind off of whatever is bothering you," Remus whispered to him while holding his hand out to help Sirius off the counter. Sirius nodded, took Remus's hand, then jumped off the counter. They walked towards the refrigerator and spice cabinet to see what they could make. After a few minutes of thinking, Remus decided they could make a meal with chicken, vegetables, and mashed potatoes.
They were both at the counter furthest from where their friends were sitting when Remus tried to ask Sirius about what was upsetting him again. "Do you wanna talk about what's upsetting you?" Remus asked in a whisper as he seasoned each piece of chicken before placing it in a glass pan.
Sirius looked back towards his friends where they were talking amongst themselves. He sighed before turning back to where he was doing his best to help Remus. "Not really. I just want to ignore everything else in the world while you educate my incompetent self about cooking."
Remus rolled his eyes playfully at Sirius's attempt to change the subject but didn't question him any further. A few times Remus corrected what Sirius was doing while commenting about what he was doing. By the time they had seasoned and placed the chicken into the pans, it had been about ten minutes. Once the oven preheated, they passed the pans inside and set a timer for forty minutes.
Sirius leaned against the counter again and sighed.
"What are you doing?" Remus asked teasingly as he walked up to him.
"Waiting?"
"Nope, we have to make the mashed potatoes and the vegetables while we wait," Remus said and grabbed Sirius's hand once again the pulled him to the pantry. He pulled out a bag of potatoes then placed them in Sirius's hand. Sirius looked at the bag and then back up at Remus.
"What do I do now?"
Remus laughed before asking where the pots and pans were. Sirius pointed at a cabinet then Remus pulled out a big pot, he filled it with water before placing the pot on the stove. He gestured for Sirius to come to the stove and when he did, Remus took the bag from his arms.
"The stove isn't on?" Sirius questioned.
"That's because we have to peel the potatoes before placing them in the water. We don't want the water to boil before we place them in, now come on." Remus handed Sirius a small knife from the knife block. Sirius stared at the knife and potato in his hands, not moving. Remus was moving the knife quickly and in a matter of seconds, he was moving on to the next one.
Remus stole a glance at Sirius to ask how he was doing and couldn't help but laugh at his confused expression. Sirius rolled his eyes and scoffed before setting the two things down.
"No, come on," Remus said and grabbed his hand before he could walk away.
"You laughed at me," Sirius pointed out.
"I didn't laugh at you."
Sirius gave him an expression that said 'really?'
"Okay, maybe I was," Remus admitted.
Sirius threw his hands up and scoffed again.
"Come here, I'll show you how to do it," Remus told him. Sirius huffed but walked back towards the counter and picked up the knife. The taller came up behind him and gently grabbed his hands. Sirius looked back at Remus and his breath hitched slightly making Remus smirk knowingly. Without saying anything Remus guided his hands, showing him how to peel the skin away without taking away much potato.
Sirius wasn't paying attention to their hands instead he was looking at Remus. He was focused on the movements and his head rested on Sirius's shoulder.
"You're not paying attention," Remus whispered against Sirius's neck. Sirius quickly snapped his head forward and down. Watching as their hands were parallel and the position ensured that they wouldn't cut themselves.
After a few more minutes Remus pulled his hands away.
"But I can't- I don't know-"
"Just try," Remus whispered against his neck once more. He pressed a light kiss against his skin before pulling away again. Sirius hesitantly grabbed another potato and did the movements that Remus showed him. After a few tries, he figured it out and found a rhythm.
"There you go. See. You can do anything if you put your mind to it," Remus told him before grabbing his own knife once more.
After another few minutes, they finished peeling the potatoes. Remus praised Sirius once more before placing them all in the pot and turned the stove on medium.
"Are we done now?" Sirius whined.
"Now we can take a break. Once the water boils we drain the water then mash them up. Then wait another few minutes for the oven to go. Then we can eat."
"Ugh, I don't know how you do this every night," Sirius commented.
"I don't. Only sometimes, usually, I just eat takeout or microwave meals. I'm a poor college student."
They both laughed and rejoined their friends to talk for a little.
"You know I didn't think it was possible for anyone to teach Sirius to cook," Regulus said as they both came back.
"Ha Ha, Reg. You can't cook either so." Sirius stuck his tongue out at his little brother making all of them laugh.
After a few more minutes of talking and laughing, the water in the pot began to boil so Remus dismissed himself from the group for a few moments to pour the water out and put the now soft potatoes in a big bowl. Sirius joined him once more and looked over his shoulder. "Now what are you doing?"
"We have to mash them with some butter and milk. It makes them fluffier," Remus explained as he poured a cup of milk in the bowl along with two sticks of butter. Sirius watched as searched the drawers until he found what he was looking for which apparently was a hand masher. He came back to the bowl and started to mash everything together. Sirius watched in fascination as Remus continued to work, his facial expression showing his focus.
"You try." Remus handed the tool to Sirius who was hesitant but nevertheless started to do what he saw Remus doing. Once again Remus came up behind him and took his hands into his own then showed him how to do it. "See, not so hard."
"When did you learn all this?" Sirius asked quietly.
"My mother taught me. She used to cook with my dad and I would always watch. One day she brought me into the kitchen and showed me how to make this exact meal."
"Do you still cook with her?" Sirius asked as he now mashed the contents of the bowl by himself.
"I used to. She died a few years ago," Remus's voice was quieter now. If Sirius wasn't paying attention he wouldn't have heard him. Sirius turned in Remus's arms, abandoning the bowl.
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay, Padfoot. I've come to terms with it. Heart disease just runs in the family."
Sirius gave Remus a small smile. "Thank you for telling me."
Remus smiled back and gave him a gentle kiss. "Come on, we have to finish making dinner."
They finished the last two parts of the meal by the time the oven went off. Sirius turned to tell them dinner was done, everyone came to grab a plate and served themselves. Soon enough they were all sat at the table, telling jokes, and talking amongst themselves.
A few minutes later Peter walked into the kitchen. Marlene and James greeted him almost immediately.
"Hey, Sirius," Peter said cheerfully. Sirius got up forcefully so much so that his chair fell backward. Remus watched as he stomped towards Peter and as soon as he figured out what he was going to do, he practically flew across the room to grab Sirius's waist.
"Peter, how could you do that to-" Sirius felt Remus's arms around his waist pulling him out of the dining room and towards a hallway.
"Sirius, calm down."
"He has some nerve," Sirius growled as he fought against Remus's firm grip which actually shocked Sirius for a few seconds. Remus seemed really gentle if you didn't know him but he could be firm if he wanted to be.
"Sirius, I understand that you're upset. But you have to calm down."
"But I-"
"No. Just breathe, please."
Sirius looked from the end of the hallway to his boyfriend and back a few times before settling on looking at Remus.
"You can't cause a scene. Whatever you're upset about, just set it aside for now. Just get through the night, okay?" Remus reasoned as Sirius did some deep breathing.
"Fine," Sirius grumbled.
"Let's just collect ourselves out here for a few seconds," Remus told him and followed Sirius's breathing. Though not happy about it, Sirius forced himself to calm down.
After a few more minutes, Remus deemed Sirius calm enough to go back to dinner. As they walked Remus kept a hand at Sirius's lower back to guide him and keep him from attacking Peter. They both sat down at the table again with the rest of their friends. Conversation stopped for a few seconds as everyone turned towards Sirius but it continued a few seconds later. Peter, multiple times, tried to engage in conversation with Sirius to try and antagonize him. Each time Sirius would go to retaliate he would be silenced by Remus's hand on his leg.
~~~
A few hours later and a few glasses of firewhiskey later Sirius was having less trouble with resisting the desire to strangle Peter. Soon after all their friends had left while Regulus went upstairs to his room. Sirius stayed in the living room with Remus, downing glass after glass of whiskey. He wasn't keeping track of how many glasses he'd had but apparently, Remus was and after whatever number, Remus took his glass to the kitchen. Sirius pouted but didn't say anything.
"Come on, my star. It's time for you to sleep."
Remus gently took Sirius's hand into his then guided him down the hallway to his room. Sirius stumbled a few times as he walked but every time he did Remus would catch him. Eventually, Remus was able to help Sirius to bed where he immediately curled into the blankets. Remus went to the bathroom and grabbed the Advil bottle, he poured out two pills into his hands. He took the Advil pills and a water bottle on the nightstand closest to Sirius who looked like he was out cold.
Remus sighed, pushing hair out of Sirius's face before going to walk out of the room. Having thought Sirius was asleep caused Remus to jump slightly as he grabbed his wrist.
"Go to sleep Sirius," Remus whispered and kneeled in front of Sirius whose eyes were still closed.
"Stay with me," Sirius mumbled into his pillow. Remus almost melted then and there at the sight.
"Sirius I don't know if I should-"
"Please, I won't sleep well if you don't. I never do after I drink a lot," Sirius continued, cutting Remus off.
"Then why do you?"
"Makes me feel good at the time."
Remus didn't know how to respond. Instead, he stood up, took his jacket off, and went to the other side of the bed. He climbed under the blankets and not even a second later Sirius was curled into his side.
"That name you called me earlier...why did you call me it?" Sirius asked tiredly, barely awake.
"Because you're my wishing star, brightening my night that much more," Remus told him honestly.
"If I'm you're star then you're my moon."
"Don't you mean you're sun?" Remus asked laughing quietly.
"No, I mean moon."
"Why?"
"Because the sun is during the bright day. But at night it's nothing but darkness until you see the bright moon." Sirius looked up at Remus for a second. "You're the bright light in all of my darkness."
Remus looked down at Sirius to respond but the other was already asleep.