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The original plan had been to get into Hogsmeade right after breakfast. However, at this point they’d be lucky to make it there before sunset.
Remus sighed. Sirius was probably the only person on the planet capable of thwarting his own plans by spending too much time putting product in his hair to make it look exactly the way it did before he put product in it.
“Sirius, come on, it’s only Hogsmeade! There’s no need to dress up,” James all but whined.
“Or change in the first place,” Remus mumbled into his copy of Hogwarts: A History, too quiet for either of them to hear.
Sirius gave James one scathing look before occupying himself with the application of what appeared to be golden eyeliner. At least he had moved on to the makeup now.
“In case it slipped your notice, I have a reputation to maintain, Prongs.”
“And I have a girl to get. Now hurry up.”
An exasperated sigh left Sirius lips. “I would have been done hours ago, if you didn’t nag me all the time. Plus, you didn’t have a chance with Evans before, so why should today be any different?”
The sheer grace with which Sirius leapt aside to avoid James’ shoe hitting him in the back of his head was nothing short of impressive, Remus had to admit.
Three paragraphs about the goblins’ involvement in the building process of the astronomy tower later James changed his approach, attempting to compliment Sirius into leaving.
When this predictably fruitless endeavor failed, he finally gave up and resigned himself to what were most likely daydreams about his “Lilyflower” judging by the faraway smile that stretched over his features.
Turning a page, Remus sneaked a peak at Sirius.
The eyeliner, ridiculous as it may look on anyone else, suited him surprisingly well, giving his usually bold, edgy look something almost ethereal. Remus cringed at his brain for that particular idea, but could not find a better word to describe his friend’s aesthetic.
The band shirt Sirius wore was frayed on every seam. At this rate Remus was convinced it stayed in one piece by sheer force of Sirius’ defiance against common sense rubbing off on it alone, but he would be the last person to complain, if it happened to finally lose its will to live and just fell off.
But then his eyes dropped to Sirius’ jeans and he almost choked.
They were black and ripped from top to bottom, but most importantly they were tight. So tight in fact, that Remus lungs stopped cooperating with his brain for a moment.
A small cough brought his eyes back up to Sirius’ face in the mirror, who winked at him.
Remus felt his face grow incredibly hot, an undignified sound escaping him, which he was quick to cover up with a cough.
“Can you breathe?”
He wanted to take back the question the second it left his lips.
“Can you?” The suggestive brow wiggle that followed made Remus wish the ground beneath him would just open up and swallow him. Or Sirius cou-
He’s your friend, for Christ’s sake, Remus!
All but hiding behind his book, he wondered how James had still not figured out Sirius was gay. One could only drop so many hints and it wasn’t even like Sirius was subtle about it. One time James even saw Sirius and that Ravenclaw boy Raj on the map, spending over half an hour in a broom closet on fifth floor, with only the occasional foot twitch that should have told him everything.
Instead, Remus remembered, James’ assumption had been that Sirius had found someone else to scheme with, a thought he shared with Remus, showing him the map as proof. Remus had almost died on the spot in an effort not to laugh or let it show in any other way how ridiculously wrong he was.
For one, it wasn’t his place to out Sirius to anyone, especially not to James. But also, he hadn’t been sure how to feel about the relief that had flooded his mind at the confirmation of his long-time suspicion.
“So I’m the one that distracts you, huh?” James said, pulling Remus away from his memories momentarily.
Out of the corner of his eye Remus could see Sirius pointing the eyeliner at him threateningly. “Unlike you, deer, Remus-” He cursed himself for the involuntary excitement at hearing Sirius say his name “- doesn’t expect me to hurry up though, isn’t that right, Moony?”
He didn’t immediately react, contemplating pretending not to have listened.
James gasped indignantly when he eventually said “I guess”, but Remus was too busy not looking in Sirius’ direction to acknowledge him.
How had James not noticed he was incredibly gay for Sirius? Surely nobody could be that oblivious?
He was pretty certain Sirius knew, though. He had caught him staring a couple of times, today really was no exception, although Remus was usually better at covering up his intentions (he hoped).
But it didn’t really matter anyway, because, truth be told, Sirius was waaay out of his league. No way would he ever see Remus as anything but a friend.
Not that Remus minded. He was much more comfortable on the side lines, observing, than be the center of attention, and that’s exactly what Sirius represented. He’d rather keep the friendship than give it up for five short minutes of maybe there’s more followed by oh, it didn’t work and being friends just became impossible, because neither of us can deal with the awkwardness of this.
Lost in his musings and with his head buried once again in the book he had given up on reading long ago, he hadn’t noticed Sirius approach. Thus, Hogwarts: A History came closer to Sirius than ever before, when Remus all but pelted it at his head at the feeling of a hand grabbing his shoulder.
Dodging the book at the last moment, Sirius flopped down on the narrow bed next to Remus, flashing him his brightest smile. “What do you think, can I go out like this?” So apparently almost getting killed by a book he’d never read being rocket-launched in the general direction of his brain wasn’t even worth mentioning.
“Only if it’s with me.”
Please let him not have actually said this just now. Where was Remus’ brain-to-mouth communication when he needed it?
Without missing a beat Sirius replied, “It’s settled then,” grabbing Remus‘ hand deftly and all but dragging him up and towards the door.
As they passed James, Remus caught a glimpse of his face, which displayed the very same baffled expression he was sure he was wearing himself. What on earth just happened?
Shaking himself out of his stupor, James got moving too, hastily walking after them to catch up with Sirius’ surprisingly swift strides.
“Just to make this clear, you two are dating now?”
Impossible, Remus thought.
“If you’ll have me,” Sirius said, stopping abruptly halfway down the stairs to face Remus.
Remus froze. His breath caught once again at this glorious boy who had been his first friend at Hogwarts, or anywhere, really, and everything he wanted in that moment was for Sirius to never stop winking at him in that horribly flustering way of his, or make the worst puns – name-related or not – Sirius knew would make him smile every time without fail, try as he might to hide it. So his voice was quite steady, when he said to James, “We are.”
Taking the initiative himself this time, he leaned forward to give a beaming Sirius a slightly tentative kiss, pulling away after a moment or two only to be dragged back by his tie for another kiss. And one more for good luck. Beetroot but happy he was vaguely aware of James covering his eyes in mortification and mumbling something along the lines of “Not that I don’t support you, I do, but please stop, I need what little eyesight I got left,” followed shortly by “Also, why didn’t either of you tell me you rooted for the other team? Lift shirts not skirts? Ha-“
“We just did,” they replied in unison.
Remus found his grin matched by Sirius’, who with a mock bow offered him his arm, which Remus took (implying a curtsy first of course, because who was he to disregard the rules of courtship), and led him out of the castle without a backwards glance.