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“How was that?” Sirius asked, swiping his thumb across the corner of his lower lip. His grey eyes sparkled with expectant curiosity as he eagerly awaited a response.
James straightened his posture and looked up thoughtfully, placing one hand on his chin and leaning back on the other. They sat together on his bed, legs tangled over one another so they could sit as close as possible. “It was better, definitely. But maybe try not to bite so much this time, alright?”
Sirius nodded, leaning in for another kiss. He looked deeply at James with his piercing gaze for a moment, closing the space between them until they were so close that he could feel James’s breathing on his chin. Then, with hesitant gentleness, Sirius tucked his hair behind his ear before reaching out and taking James’s face in both hands and pulling him forward until their lips met.
Unfortunately for them both, what was meant to be one smooth motion was actually more of a clumsy smashing of faces together since both of them leaned in at the same time rather than one leaning towards the other. Their foreheads knocked together, noses bent awkwardly, and James accidentally bit Sirius on the lip.
“Ouch!” James exclaimed exasperatedly, frowning as he rubbed his forehead with his palms. “What in Merlin’s name was that, Padfoot?!”
Sirius, who had been pouting and poking at his lower lip as it started to get irritated and puffy around the teeth marks James left in it, sat up defensively at James’s accusatory tone. “Hey! It was my turn to practice initiating the kiss, Prongs! You weren’t supposed to lean in like that! It wasn’t my fault at all!”
“Oh, so you’re saying it was my fault, then?” countered James, both of their frustrations sharpened by the pain in their faces. “Listen, you git! I could kiss a hundred times better than you no matter what the circumstance! It’s not my fault that you’re clumsy as a drunken giant!”
“You could not!” Sirius hissed, looking appalled at even the thought. “And I’m notー”
There was no time to finish his sentence because all of a sudden James had pushed Sirius down against the mattress and was straddling his torso, hands firmly wrapped across his jaw and behind his neck. He planted a forceful kiss on Sirius’s reddened lips, the suction between their mouths so tight that when he pulled away it made a loud smacking noise. Sirius was dazed, eyes wide and face flushed red with a dizzying rush of mixed feelings. He almost said something, but James’s lips were on his again, this time a little gentler, a little more curious, and a little slower.
They stayed like this for a few moments ー or for several minutes, but who is to be sure when you’re lip-locked with your best friend ー but eventually the initial shock and residual anger faded from both of them and they were left with nothing but competitive fervor. They both desperately wanted bragging rights as being the better kisser between the two of them, and they were both willing to go the distance to prove it.
In one particularly deep kiss, Sirius reached up to run his hands along James’s sides, trailing up until his hands rested on his shoulders. Then in one swift movement he thrust James off of him and threw him to the side, causing James to grunt in surprise. Sirius pinned him to the bed by sitting on him before kissing him with plush lips and a bold tongue. He curled his fists into James’s unruly mane of hair as an involuntary hum escaped him, which only emboldened James into retaliating by taking things further.
James wrapped his arms around Sirius’s back and pulled him in close until their chests were pressed together, tilting his head to one side so their heated kisses could deepen. Adrenaline pounded in his heart and buzzed in his ears as their lips and tongues intertwined rather sloppily. He tugged at Sirius’s lower lip with his teeth, eliciting a soft whimper from him.
Every time he did something that sent a shudder down Sirius’s spine, Sirius was spurred into doing something even more passionate to best him. So together they spiraled into a fervent, eager, mildly frustrating snog until both of them were too out of breath to continue.
Panting, Sirius fell to the side of James and buried his face into one of countless feather-down silk pillows. He felt itchy and uncomfortable under his clothes from how warm the room had gotten all of a sudden. His hair clung to his face because of the sweat that had accumulated there, so he combed it back with his fingers. James’s breath was also shallow, and he kept sighing loudly as he waved the bottom of his sweater vest in and out to try and get some air flowing to his torso.
“Well, I think Lily will definitely like that,” Sirius said with a chuckle, sitting up to try and cool off.
James nodded from his spot sprawled out on his back and responded, “Remus will too.” They sat in silence together for a moment, both feeling a little shy once they had begun to process what had happened, until finally James added, “Although maybe not as a first kiss. Maybe save the tongue-in-his-throat thing for the second or third one.”
At that Sirius erupted into laughter, and James laughed along with him. That is, until their raucous amusement awoke Mr. and Mrs. Potter and Fleamont came storming in from the corridor to tell them both to be quiet and get some sleep at once. “And don’t sleep in your day clothes, James. They’re a nightmare to iron out once you’ve done that,” he said, before turning on his heels and closing the door behind him.
As soon as he left the room the two began giggling uncontrollably again, although this time a little more quietly. Once they were both a little calmer and were finally able to breathe, James changed into his nightwear and slipped into bed beside Sirius, placing a row of pillows between them as was customary to their nightly routine.
And although they were in bed at a somewhat decent hour, neither of the boys got any sleep that evening. Instead they spent all night and into the morning gushing about their respective crushes, teasing each other and encouraging each other and listening intently and offering advice. They had been practicing kissing techniques on each other for weeks, but finally it was time for the real thing. After this night’s impromptu bout of friendly competition, they both felt ready. Their nerves were gone.
Tomorrow, James was going to kiss Lily Evans.
Tomorrow, Sirius was going to kiss Remus Lupin.
And no matter what happened, it was going to be perfect.