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James and Peter had already left for Hogsmeade, which left Sirius standing alone outside of the Great Hall to wait for Remus. They were all supposed to walk together, but as always, Remus had overslept and missed breakfast. And since James and Peter both had dates waiting for them in the village, they weren’t keen on waiting to see if Remus would show up at their agreed time.
Not that Sirius could blame them. James had been asking Lily out for the better part of a year, and she’d finally agreed, only after Remus had talked him up on their Prefect’s rounds. He didn’t want to keep her waiting in case she changed her mind. As for Peter, this was his first date ever, so he was nervous. Sirius didn’t quite understand why seeing as Mary was easily the nicest girl in their year. But then again, Sirius hardly got nervous around girls. Or boys.
Except for one.
Sirius checked the watch that had been a seventeenth birthday present from the Potter’s for what had to be the fifth time since James and Peter left. One minute until eleven o’clock. He was just starting to think that maybe they’d been right in their assessment that Remus would be late when he glimpsed tawny hair running down the Grand Staircase. Sirius pushed himself off the wall on which he’d been leaning and smiled as Remus jogged over to him.
“Sorry! I know. I’m late,” Remus said, his voice coming out hoarse as he tried to catch his breath. His cheeks were flushed and his curly hair was even more disheveled than normal.
“You’re not late. You’re right on time,” Sirius said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans so he wouldn’t reach out to smooth Remus’ unruly hair.
Remus shoved his hands in his worn denim jacket and rocked back on his heels. “Where are the others?”
“Prongs and Wormy didn’t want to keep the girls waiting. They didn’t have the same faith in you as I did that you’d show up on time.”
“Glad to know you’re in my corner at least,” Remus deadpanned.
“Always am, Moons,” Sirius said with a small smile. “Do you want to go?”
Remus nodded, and they started walking toward the massive double doors that led out of the castle to the grounds. The walk to Hogsmeade was relatively quiet. Usually, Sirius hated silences, but this was an amicable silence. The sort of comfortable silence born out of being friends for so long that they didn’t need to fill every moment with words. He’d missed these silences. They’d had taken a while to get back to this after what he’d pulled in February. For so long after The Prank (as James had started to refer to it as), Sirius and Remus had tiptoed around each other. But lately, things have been back to normal.
Better than normal, actually. They were still tiptoeing around each other, but it wasn’t out of distrust. It was out of something that gave Sirius butterflies every time he so much as glanced at Remus. True, he’d been having those butterflies for the past year and a half, but now, it was almost like Remus was having them, too. At least, Sirius thought he was based on how he acted around him.
“So, what do you want to do?” Sirius asked once they’d made it to the border of the small Wizarding village.
“Can we stop a Madame Puddifoot’s for a pastry since I missed breakfast?”
“Sure.”
“Take-away, I promise. I know the amount of pink in that place makes you uneasy,” Remus teased.
Sirius didn’t say that he would go in and sit for the whole bloody day if that was what Remus wanted to do. Instead, he laughed. “It’s not just the pink, it’s the lace. It offends my delicate sensibilities.” He forced a shiver down his spine for dramatic effect, earning an eye roll and a shoulder bump from Remus.
“I’m not sure that having ‘delicate sensibilities’ goes with your whole ‘rebel’ attitude,” Remus said.
“Ah, see, that’s where you’re wrong, Moony, my love,” Sirius began. “Being a rebel is about not conforming to expectations. People don’t expect rebels to have delicate sensibilities, so, by having them, I’m subverting expectations.”
Remus stopped in front of the door to the tea shop and stared blankly at him. “That sounded absolutely barmy. I’ll be back.”
Sirius winked, then watched Remus disappear into the shop. He leaned against the shop’s front and watched as the light snow that had been falling came down in heavy flakes.
“It’s really starting to come down, isn’t it?” Remus asked as he came back out of the shop, holding two takeaway cups and a pastry bag. “I got you a hot chocolate.”
“With peppermint?” Sirius asked. He took the cup gratefully and held it between both hands, enjoying the warmth that spread through his fingers.
“Of course,” Remus replied.
“You’re amazing.”
He tore a piece off his croissant and tossed it into his mouth. “I know.”
After an exaggerated eye roll from Sirius, the two of them started ambling down the street. They sipped their hot chocolates, chatting about nothing and ducking into random shops to escape the increasingly heavy snowfall. By the time they were coming out of Zonko’s, but (this time with purchases of supplies for their next prank against Filch tucked into their pockets), it was snowing so hard that it was hard to see.
“Fuck, it’s cold,” Remus said, pulling his denim jacket tighter around him.
“And I can barely see a bloody thing.” Sirius jogged in place for a moment to stave off losing feeling in his toes, then linked an arm through Remus’. “Come on, let’s duck into the Three Broomsticks and try to wait this out.”
“Good idea,” Remus said through chattering teeth.
They rushed up the street as fast as they could without slipping and burst through the door, sighing in relief at the warmth that greeted them.
Sirius extracted his arm from Remus’ grasp and blew on his hands to bring feeling back to them. “Let’s go grab a table.”
Remus smiled and nodded, then followed Sirius’ lead as he wandered toward the back of the pub. “Oh, look, it’s Prongs and Lily,” he said as they weaved their way between tables. He tugged on Sirius’ sleeve to draw his attention to the couple sitting in a secluded booth near the fireplace. “Should we go say hi?”
Sirius stopped. “Nah, let’s leave them alone. I’m pretty sure Lily still isn’t the biggest fan of mine, and I don’t want to ruin their date.”
Remus laughed and continued to follow Sirius toward a small table tucked into the corner by the bar. “She’s warming up to you,” he protested, then thought for a moment before adding, “I think.”
Sirius laughed and slid into the booth side of the table. It appeared as though the chairs that belonged on the other side of it had been stolen for another table, which meant Remus had to slide in next to Sirius. Not that he minded.
“It’s crowded in here today,” he mused as he slid off his jacket.
“People must have had the same idea as us.” Remus glanced around the pub which was packed with people. “I’m a little surprised that you didn’t try to get a table we could spy on Prongs from though.”
Sirius shrugged. “I’m perfectly content just spending time with you. Besides, I’m sure Prongs is going to want to go over every little detail of his date regardless of whether or not we spied on him.”
“You have a point.”
Just then, Madame Rosmerta stopped by their table to take their orders. No matter how busy the pub was, she always greeted a table within minutes of them getting there. It was almost as if she had a sixth sense about it. They ordered their usual, Butterbeer and fish and chips for the both of them, then Madame Rosmerta hurried away to greet another table that had just arrived.
Sirius glanced over and noticed the Remus was still wearing his coat, and not only that, he was still shivering slightly. With a sigh, Sirius pulled his jacket out from behind him and draped it over Remus’ shoulders. “Honestly, Re, it’s December in Scotland, you should be wearing a thicker coat than a denim jacket. Even if you look quite fit in it.”
A pink blush crept onto Remus’ cheeks and Sirius wasn’t sure if it was because he was finally warming up or because of the compliment.
“It’s what I have other than my uniform cloak,” Remus muttered.
“Well, I know what I’m getting you for Christmas now,” Sirius said with a wink.
Remus smirked. “Waiting until the last moment again?”
He nudged Remus in the ribs, earning him a laugh.
Moments later, Madame Rosmerta came by with their order. Sirius thanked her with a compliment and wink, and they dug in, chatting and laughing between bites. After their second round of Butterbeer, they decided it might be time to chance going back out in the snow.
Remus slid out of the booth, then slid Sirius’ leather jacket from his shoulders to hand it back to him.
Sirius shook his head. “You wear it. You get cold easier than I do.”
“I will not let you walk around without a coat, Pads.”
“I’ll wear yours then.”
Remus gave him a narrowed look, but realized that Sirius would not take no for an answer. “Fine,” he said, shrugging out of the denim jacket so they could trade.
Sirius grinned and slipped on Remus’ jacket. The sleeves were a little short on him, but he’d be fine. He turned back to the table and dropped a handful of coins on the surface to cover their tab.
“You don’t have to get the whole tab,” Remus protested.
Sirius waved a dismissive hand. “You got hot chocolate earlier.”
“I’m not sure a hot chocolate and an entire lunch are comparable, but ok,” Remus said.
Sirius shook his head and smiled. “Just stop fussing and let me be nice, alright?” He smiled and adjusted the lapels on Remus’—well, his jacket.
It was big on Remus, but it suited him. It also did things to Sirius that made his stomach feel like he had about a dozen Cornish Pixies fluttering around in it. Remus looked up at him with a question in his eyes that made Sirius realize he’d been standing like that for a bit too long.
He quickly released his grip on the jacket. “Should we head back?”
Remus nodded, so Sirius led the way back to the door and outside into the snow. Even though they’d been in the Three Broomsticks for close to two hours, the snow hadn’t let up. It was probably the best call to head back to the castle where they could sit in front of the fire and be warm. But that didn’t mean Sirius wanted the day to be over. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Sirius began slowly walking in the castle’s direction, but was stopped by Remus’ hand on his elbow.
“Padfoot, wait—” Remus said.
Sirius turned and looked down. He expected Remus to move his hand once he’d gotten his attention, but it stayed.
“What is it, Moons?”
“It’s just—well, I’m not sure, and I really don’t want to be wrong in assuming—” Remus stuttered. He took a deep breath before continuing, “Is this a date?”
Sirius nearly felt his heart stop. “I really, really hope it is,” he breathed.
“Good. Me, too, because I quite fancy you, to be honest.”
Sirius’ face split into a grin. “I fancy you, as well,” he confessed. “I would also fancy kissing you, while we’re being honest.”
Remus smiled and slid his hand down Sirius’ arm to lace their fingers together. “Well, what are you waiting for then?”
Without a moment of hesitation, Sirius brought his free hand to cup Remus’ chin and leaned down to bring their lips together.