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Remus was acting snarky all morning. He mustn't have slept for more than four hours, since he was studying for their exams and he wanted to avoid any distractions, which would occur during the day. However, he didn't consider the option of not having coffee first thing in the morning and its absence on the breakfast table showed.
He groaned and massaged his temples, trying to tune down Sirius' loud laugh next to him. Peter chipped in with a witty comment not long after and Remus' face sank into his palms. Sirius barked out another laugh and Remus has had enough.
"Sirius do you ever shut up?!"
He was met with surprised looks from a few people around them, including Marlene and Dorcas, who were feeding each other pancakes and sharing the latest Hogwarts gossip with Mary.
Sirius' expression leveled quickly and he rolled his eyes. "Moony, I'm leading a perfectly normal conversation. Your physical condition is... unfortunate. But not my fault," He exclaimed and shoved a fork into his mouth. "Why do you even study that hard, anyway? We have lots of time before the exams," He continued while munching on his food.
Remus frowned at the sight of pieces of food inside Sirius' mouth and looked away, at James. "I don't want to study all of it last minute." He said. "And I know it's not your fault, but you could be a little more thoughtful."
"Oh, I'm sorry, your higness. Would you like me to fetch you a coffee all the way from Hogsmeade as well?" He mocked.
Remus didn't even look at him, continuing to press the tips of his fingers into his skull, but the comment had James and Peter laughing senseless.
They're all children, Remus thought.
He stabbed his piercing gaze into James, who quieted down immediately. His eyebrows raised a bit and he swallowed thickly. James and Remus just stared at each other for a moment, before James looked down at his plate and started pushing around a piece of bacon.
"You know, you're really intimidating, Rem."
Remus snorted and took a sip of his tea. "Good."
---
"What the fuck was that?!" James whispered to himself, while he was frantically striding from one end of the dorm room to the other that afternoon.
His mind was overflowed with the same memory of Remus' intense gaze, his own clenched gut and widening eyes and he couldn't seem to force it away.
James pressed his palms to the front of his face and sighed. His thoughts were all over the place as he tried to figure out the cause of his reaction.
He knew that Remus was objectively really pretty. He knew that he could speak a hundred words only with a single one of his expressions. He didn't, however, know, that it made his insides feel like jelly.
He sighed again and fell down onto his bed. "What the fuck was that..."
Suddenly the door opened and James' body shot up into a sitting position. "Remus!" He called out and stood up promptly.
Remus nodded in his direction and strode towards his desk, probably in search of some study materials.
James watched him, the same image of Remus' face as before in front of his eyes.
"Did you, by any chance, see my History notes somewhere around here?" Remus asked in a much lighter tone than the one he used that morning. Apparently he went for a long walk by himself right after their classes ended and it seemed to put him in a better mood.
"Erm... I don't think- don't think I have, no." James coughed a little and leaned on his bed railing in a way he hoped to look nonchalant.
He obviously failed, he realized, once his friend turned to look at him curiously. "What's wrong with you today?"
James laughed, but it was a little too tense and he cringed at his own behavior. "What- Nothing's wrong, Moony."
Remus took a few slow steps to stand in front of James. He studied his face from a too close of a distance for James' liking. James noticed his heart speeding up and his eyes moving to look somewhere behing Remus.
Fuck, fuck, fuck...
"You're so skittish." Remus murmured and James swore his legs were about to give up right then and there.
James laughed nervously and shrugged.
Suddenly a smirk appeared on Remus' face and James took a sharp breath in, staring at his mouth. He immediately wanted to bang his head against a wall and prayed that his action wasn't too obvious, but unfortunately, Remus' observing skills were above average.
"Oh?" He cocked his head to the side, a small smile still playing at his lips. And James was sure he knew.
His face reddened and he wasn't able to look away from Remus' face, while Remus' expression grew more and more amused. Did he use a fucking spell to be this mesmerizing?! James wondered.
It couldn't have lasted more than a few second, but even that short moment was utter torture for James.
Remus' eyes were piercing through him, taking him apart and studying every little piece closely. He felt so exposed, he felt the need to run away, yet he just continued standing in front of his best friend and waited. For what, he wasn't sure.
"I'm really sorry." He spat out and headed towards the door to free himself from the awkward situation.
"James," Remus grit through his teetch and caught James' sleeve. That made James stumble back right into his chest.
He quickly regained his own balance and stepped back.
"Sorry," Remus reached out a hand to help steady him.
He then continued staring at James' face for a moment, which made the boy almost run away again.
"You can talk to me about it. If you're... ever unsure. Or scared. I was really scared when I realized that..." He left the rest of the sentence unsaid.
James nodded, completely stunned.
"Thanks, Moons." He whispered.
"No worries," Remus let go of his hand and started moving towards the door. "I have to get back to studying, but let me know if you ever... need anything." He shot one last glance to James and winked, before exiting.
The other took a few paces back, until he could safely fall down onto his bed.
His mind was racing and he couldn't keep track of everything, that has just happened, so he simply stared at the ceiling.
"Bloody hell."