Work Text:
School bell rings, walk me home
Sidewalk chalk covered in snow
Lost my gloves, you give me one
"Wanna hang out?"
Yeah, sounds like fun
Remus hisses as he steps out of the school, the shrill of the school bell compounding with the sudden wetness filling his shoe. There had evidently been a snow storm over the last few hours, because his shoe is completely submerged.
“Fucking hell,” Remus sighs, thinking back to his mam telling him to wear boots this morning and his insistence that he didn’t need to. Now he watches the kids who did march along without missing a step, and he’s almost willing to admit he was wrong.
Almost.
He lifts his foot and puts the next one forward, gritting his teeth against the feeling of wet socks as he does. Some kids run by him, heading for the large castle-like buildings across the lawn, hoping to get to their dorms before the snow starts up again.
Remus tries to avoid thinking about that, and about how he still has a thirty minute walk home because his scholarship doesn’t include residence unless he meets a bunch of absurd grade and activity requirements.
Two months in and it’s all going rather swimmingly, if you ask him. He digs his hands into his jacket pockets as he treks on, the biting cold already turning them numb, and groans when he finds no gloves in them.
“Oi!” a voice calls as a figure comes jogging up beside him. “You’re Remus, right?”
“Er, yeah,” Remus responds as he recognizes the boy. Sirius Black, who’s in his English class (and is a posh kid from the heart of London) looks perfectly at ease. He’s got on chunky docs and a leather jacket, so he should be freezing, but of course, rich people don’t feel cold. Or something like that. Remus’ eyes snag on his leather gloves, looking enticingly warm.
“Where’ya headed?” Sirius presses. That’s another thing about Sirius. He does not accept anything less than enthusiastic revel for whatever scheme he’s shown up to pull you into.
“Home,” Remus says as he starts walking again. He doesn’t dislike Sirius per se, but he does feel incapable of matching his seemingly endless enthusiasm for life.
“Mind if I walk with you?“
“What?” That stops Remus in his tracks.
“If you’re walking home, is it alright if I walk with you?”
“But then you’ll have to walk back,” surely he hasn’t realized that, Remus thinks.
Sirius shrugs. “I don’t mind.”
“Alright then,” Remus acquiesces, because Sirius is being kind, and he doesn’t want to be combative.
Sirius gives him a winning smile as they start the walk together, out through the school gates (yes, gates) and right, past the huge open field.
“It’s a shame, isn’t it?” Sirius sighs, kicking at the snow.
Remus laughs (difficult, with his mouth going numb), thinking he’s referring to the storm. “Yeah, it-“
Sirius continues on, interrupting Remus. “They were so anatomically correct, too.”
Remus blinks, his brain connecting Sirius’ lament with the snow. Or more importantly, what was once underneath.
Pricks. Dozens of them, drawn by Sirius & James on the first day using a chalk they had themselves created, permanent enough that nothing had managed to remove them. Remus had been quietly impressed. Mother Nature, however, seemed to be having the last laugh.
“I don’t know. Too much girth on them, in my opinion.” Remus says, biting his lip to avoid smiling.
Sirius throws his head back as he laughs, and the brittle sunlight still seems to bathe his face. Odd. “Oh Remus, I knew there was more to you than being a ‘studious swot’.”
“What?! Who said I was?” Remus yells, incensed.
Sirius mumbles something that sounds a lot like ‘me, possibly’.
Remus frowns, walking faster in his annoyance.
“I am sorry!” Sirius yelps, also speeding up. “It’s just you didn’t talk to anyone for the first week of classes, and then suddenly became friends with Lily, who’s also a swot, don’t tell James I said that, and then-”
Remus sighs, holding his hand up to silence Sirius, because he seems genuinely sorry, in an almost pathetic way. “S’alright. Probably true anyways.”
Sirius’ mouth stays open, staring at Remus. “Your hands are cold,” he finally says.
Remus looks, seeing that the redness has started to look almost raw, which is slightly concerning, but he’s sure he’s survived worse. “It’s nothing,” Remus insists, forcing his also frozen foot forward.
Sirius frowns, before tugging one glove off of his own hand and holding it out. “There. That way you keep at least one hand, and look cool doing it.”
Remus rolls his eyes, but he’s in no state to say no. Settling for a half-hearted ‘But you need both your hands’ as he slides the glove on, he’s surprised to see that it fits perfectly, covering his hand and immediately bringing some warmth back to it.
“So…” Sirius begins, tilting his head towards Remus. “How long is this walk, usually?”
“About thirty minutes.”
“Thirty?!”
Remus shrugs, his cheeks turning red from embarrassment instead of the cold. Being surrounded by kids who have trust funds for their trust funds doesn’t instil much confidence in him.
“But there’s a bus that goes this way, isn’t there?”
“Yes. Have you ever seen it?”
That seems to give Sirius pause. He stares at the ground for the next minute, mind evidently working hard through his preconscious.
“No,” he finally says.
Remus gives him a tight smile. “That’s because it shows up, and I’m being generous here, ten percent of the time. I tried to use it for a week, and was late to class by at least an hour each time.”
Sirius’ frown deepens. “That’s shit.”
“Yeah,” Remus sighs. “What about you? Motorcade come to take you home during the holidays?”
He means for it to be a light joke, something to distract himself from the self pity, but Sirius doesn’t react. Doesn’t say anything for enough seconds (30, 31, 32) that Remus has compiled four self deprecating jokes he’s going to make to break the tension when Sirius finally smiles. “Nah. My brother and I are only worth a personal driver.”
Remus can’t hide the awkwardness in his laugh. His search for a new topic leads him to Sirius’ leather jacket, falling loosely around his frame. He’s seen at two three others, in varying tightness and colours, which begs the question: “How many leather jackets do you own, exactly?”
That seems to perk Sirius up, his grin lighting up his face as he thinks. “Seven.”
Laughing at Remus’ reaction, he continues, “I consider them to be a collection. Though, right now I only have six because James is convinced that leather is the fabric to Lily’s heart.”
Remus smiles absentmindedly, shaking his head. “Nah. She definitely prefers the footy uniform.”
That seems to take Sirius aback. “I didn’t realize she sees anything other than someone ripe for decapitation when she looks at him.”
Remus freezes, remembering that Lily Evans is supposed to hate James Potter, and only him and a few of her friends are privy to her growing partiality. “Er…how about we talk about your jackets and you never mention this to anyone ever again?”
Sirius gives him a coy smile. “Not sure. I’ve always wondered what Lily’s wrath looks like on someone other than James.”
“It’s death. Instantaneous, minimum pain. James is getting the drawn out treatment, which is uncomprehendingly awful.”
“And you know this after being here two months?”
“I know everything,” Remus says with a wink. He immediately regrets it, but Sirius’ laugh is nice. Baritone, like he could sway symphonies with it.
Their back and forth stays much the same until they finally stand in front of Remus’ new home- a quaint bungalow that belonged to his grandfather.
“Well…we’re here.”
“That we are,” Sirius nods, making no move to start heading back. Remus realizes he should probably invite him in.
“Um…”
“Wanna hang out?” Sirius blurts before Remus can get the thought out. He’s tapping his foot, a strange look on his face as he continues speaking in a rush. “I don’t mean to invite myself in, but it’s colder than I thought and-“
“Yeah,” Remus cuts in, “Sounds like fun,” reassuring Sirius with a smile. “I’m sure my mam’s going to love you.”
I’m already starting to, he doesn’t say out loud.
*
Video games, you pass me a note
Sleeping in tents
It's nice to have a friend
(Ooh)
“Cheater!” Remus screams. “You’re a liar and a cheater and will incur the wrath of Lily Evans if you ever step foot inside this house again!”
James blinks at him several times, turning to Sirius who is too busy cackling, falling from the couch as the Mario Kart race music continues playing on the TV. Okay, so Remus has never been the greatest at video games. But 11th? 11th place? He may as well go into hiding, living out the rest of his life as The Recluse Who Couldn’t Beat James Potter At A Single Round Of Mario Kart.
Speaking of, James has taken to laughing too, apparently feeling the danger of Remus’ threat gone as him and Sirius roll on the floor together, jumbles of Lily and She can’t kill you twice mate reaching Remus’ ears on the couch.
“I’ve gotta tell you Remus, I didn’t know you had such…passion in you.” James says with a grin.
Sirius smacks James on the arm, but he’s smiling too. “Truly a sight to behold. I think you should keep the console, honestly. Brings out the best in you.”
“Fuck off,” Remus mumbles, sinking into the couch and grabbing a few crisps from the table.
“I would, only that it’s my turn to play you. Perhaps we can leave the threats to my life out of it?”
“You say that as if it’s a guarantee you’ll win.”
“Well…” Sirius at least has the decency to look repentive.
“Oh it is so on.” Remus says, narrowing his eyes at Sirius while James whistles, heading for the kitchen.
“I’ll grab snacks for the funeral!”
Remus bites back a retort, focusing on decking out his car as much as possible. He’s playing as Shy Guy (his sixth character since starting) but every new option changes his metrics in headache inducing ways. He settles for a matching red set (because he truly has nothing to lose) and watches Sirius lock in Luigi (the better brother, apparently).
The countdown starts, and this time Remus actually pulls off the trick that gets his character a revving head start. It lasts all of 4 seconds before he watches Luigi zoom ahead. Small victories.
“So…” Sirius starts conversationally.
“Don’t you dare break my focus,” Remus warns, eyes glued to Shy Guy as he’s forklifted out of the abyss that Remus accidentally dropped him into.
“Being focused has yet to help you,” Sirius unnecessarily points out.
Remus ignores him, attempting a drift that veers him off course (again).
“That’s a pretty advanced move, maybe-“
“No.”
He hears Sirius sigh beside him, and a quick glance at the map outline shows him almost a full lap ahead of Remus. Remus then avoids looking at Sirius for a whole minute until he finally steals a glance. Sirius has his tongue out and to the side (His “focus face” as James calls it) and his eyes are bright, glued to the screen since he has the consoles buttons memorized. He looks…
“I’m back boys!” James’ voice snaps Remus out of his daze, and he sees Sirius put his controller down to grab a fist full of popcorn.
When Remus turns his attention back to the screen, he realizes that Sirius has already come in first place. He’s never playing this game again.
It’s thirty seconds later when he ends the round as well (his place will not be spoken of) and he sighs deeply, getting up from the couch to stretch. “I’m going to grab a drink,” he announces, so that James and Sirius can duke it out for the winner. As he steps past Sirius on the couch, they make eye contact, and Sirius presses a piece of paper into his hand with a wink. It makes Remus jump, but he keeps walking, holding off his curiosity until he’s in the kitchen to unfold it.
It reads:
“Remus,
I saw you and Lily in the stands at our game yesterday. Don’t worry- I won’t tell James- if you answer a question for me.
Do you think I look better in my leather jacket or footy uniform? ;)
⁃ S”
Remus chokes on his own spit, then tries his hardest to quiet his coughing so James or Sirius don’t come to check on him.
He knows Sirius has a, ahem, flirtatious reputation, but he didn’t realize it extended to friends as well. Plus, it’s not like he has a preference! It isn’t something he thinks about! Now his cheeks are annoyingly warm, so he grabs the first drink he sees and stalks back, shoving the paper into his pocket. It’s definitely a ploy by Sirius to distract him, so that Remus loses even more games.
Back in the living room, James is one spot ahead of Sirius in the game, and Remus nudges Sirius on the couch so that he can sit as well. It’s a tight fit, and their thighs press together, as they have the whole day. All very friendly and bro-ey, in Remus’ opinion.
And yet- “Leather jacket,” Remus whispers, his mouth betraying him.
Sirius’ eyes don’t leave the screen, but he smiles.
Remus doesn’t recover from the embarrassment an entire week, ignoring James and Sirius with excuses about homework and assignments.
It’s an agonizing bliss, so when he sees Sirius narrow his eyes at him Friday morning, his feelings are quite mixed.
He corners Remus that afternoon wearing a leather jacket, which is a ploy against Remus’ sanity, probably. “The schools hosting a camping trip next weekend.”
“So I’ve heard,” Remus responds, desperately hoping one of the girls walks around the corner. Preferably Lily, who knows what’s going on without actually knowing, as girls do.
“You’ll…be there.” Sirius manages to phrase it as both a demand and question. Remus is not impressed.
“Sleeping in tents in the middle of nowhere is not my thing, unfortunately.”
Sirius frowns. “James, Pete, and I are going.”
“Okay…” Remus guesses that poor Peter finally got out of the months long detention he’d gotten when he took the fall for the chalk incident. (Apparently, the three of them take turns taking blame for their various pranks. Remus doesn’t pretend to understand it.)
“Lily, Mary, Marlene, and Dorcas are going,” Sirius continues.
“Uh huh.”
Sirius frowns. “Do you see how there are four girls going, but only three guys?”
“There are, I presume, other students going. Your brother, for example?”
“Fifth years only,” Sirius says shortly.
He wasn’t getting out of this. Remus knew that. He didn’t actually hate the thought of camping. The trip was free; and only two nights; and save for being allergic to the earth itself, there was no excuse that Sirius was going to buy.
“Fine, I’ll go,” he finally sighs, because Sirius Black always gets his way, in the end.
He’s rewarded with a sharp smile. “Brilliant. I’ll see you there.”
Remus extensively contemplates the most efficient way to go missing.
None is efficient enough, he finds, as he walks up to the campsite with almost everyone in his year.
On his left, James takes an exaggerated breath in. “It’s just brilliant, isn’t it? The four of us, one with nature, back to our cavemen roots, hunting for every meal.”
“Fighting off beasts,” Sirius continues.
“And wooing the ladies!” They finish off in unison, and Remus and Peter are left to walk quickly on, pretending they aren’t associated with them.
“Hey boys! Don’t run off so soon, I’ve got our tent pairings right here!” James sing songs from behind.
“Pairings?” Remus’ confusion is mounting.
“Yeah, apparently our wise head of house thought that four boys to a tent would be disastrous- who knows why- so now it’s two. Remus, good sir, you are paired with Sirius.”
Sirius winks at him, heaving the camp gear higher over his shoulder as he walks up to Remus. “Shall we?”
Remus prays one last time for the universe to zap him straight to the afterlife, but when no reprieve arrives he nods, and they leave James and Peter to argue about who has to carry the tent parts.
“Have you ever put a tent up before?” Sirius asks Remus once they’ve secured a spot (right next to James and Peter, of course). He’s wearing a Queen shirt with some trousers, sans leather jacket, and Remus wonders how long it’ll be before that comes up in conversation.
“I haven’t, no,” he finally remembers to respond.
“Well you’re in perfect company, then. My Uncle Alph used to take us camping every summer. One whole week away from civilization, in bliss.”
Remus smiles at the look on Sirius’ face, like he’s remembering something magical.
Sirius shakes his head after a minute, looks over as James and Pete with narrowed eyes, then turns to Remus. “Roll up those sleeves Re. We are building a tent faster than anyone here if it’s the last thing we do.”
Lily and Alice beat them by ten seconds. When Remus finally crawls into the confined space, he can still hear the echos of Sirius and Lily screaming at each other, firing off insults as distraction in hopes of finishing their tents first. Even James had felt the need to step in and ‘calm things down’-though he quickly fled when he became the vitriol’s target. Professor Mcgonagall had simply sighed when she walked by.
Remus is staring at the ceiling when he hears the tent unzip, and Sirius also crawls in, clutching a package to his chest. Remus is wary, moving ever so slightly back lest it be of an explosive nature, but Sirius simply grins. “Couldn’t wait till tomorrow for the s’mores,” he says while dumping out a small pile of ingredients.
Remus grins too (it’s infectious, really) and he feels unsure as to how he went two weeks without hanging out with Sirius over something as silly as his preference for leather jackets. “You’re amazing. Even without the leather jacket,” he manages to joke.
Right now, he thinks that Sirius’ smile could blind the sun.
*
Light pink sky up on the roof
Sun sinks down, no curfew
Twenty questions, we tell the truth
You've been stressed out lately? Yeah, me too
Something gave you the nerve
To touch my hand
It's nice to have a friend
(Ooh)
“Fuck, we’re high up, eh?” Remus breaths, scooching back from the edge of the roof, trying not to look like he’s about to throw up.
Sirius laughs, laying on his back perfectly at ease as he stares at the sunset.
It’s beautiful today, shades of pink and orange that even Van Gogh might have struggled to capture.
Remus is very sure that the roof of the dorms is off limits. Since he never got the third year experience of sneaking up here though, after finding out that Remus had been granted a scholarship for the dorms in the new school year, Sirius had insisted they come up immediately.
James and Peter had gracefully bowed out. Now that they were old enough to be (mostly) curfew exempt students, James’ plan of climbing up to Lily’s dorm window under the cover of night could take place without interruption, and Peter was his wingman. Remus was even willing to admit that Lily was unlikely to toss James to his demise when he did show up, especially after she had accidentally voiced the thought of ‘what do you think his abs feel like?’ out loud during a study session when he had sauntered by.
She had procured vows of silence from all of them on the subject, but Remus took care to wink at her obnoxiously and frequently whenever James was present.
“Do you come up here often?” Remus presently asks into the night, afraid to turn his head.
Sirius is quiet for a few minutes. “Lily and I do. Usually after a bad letter from home.”
That shocks Remus into turning around, forgetting his fear of heights entirely. “You two…?”
Sirius cringes. “Oh gods no. She’s like my sister. Ironic, considering that it’s talking about our awful siblings that bonded us, but that’s life for you.”
Remus nods his understanding. “And James…?”
“Knows. Quite a fright for him when he first found out, but I think he handled it well.” Sirius’ smile at that memory is genuine, and Remus laughs.
“Wish I could’ve been there for that.”
They sit in silence for a few more minutes until Sirius claps his hands together, sitting up. “Okay. There’s two parts left to complete this initiation. First: we play twenty questions. Hey-“ Sirius tuts Remus for his groan, reminding him that this was a third year tradition, so some embarrassment was so be anticipated. “And then… drum roll please… roll the drums Remus… yes I’m aware that’s not the correct term… thank you… and then we sleep up here for the night!”
“We WHAT?” Remus stands up- actually stands!- on the roof, levelling a look of pure terror at Sirius, who is cackling.
“Your face- you should have seen- I-“ he delves back into laughter (Remus would classify it as schoolgirl giggling) and Remus huffs, maybe even stomps his foot, before sitting down again. Not funny.
“You were also joking about 20 questions?” He asks hopefully.
“What’s your favourite colour?” Is what he gets in response, when Sirius has finally collected himself.
Remus gasps, pretending to be deeply offended. “Well now you’ve stepped over the line.”
Sirius shakes his head, smiling. “Seriously though, what is it?”
“Green. What’s yours?”
“Orange.”
“Like Molly’s hair?”
“Ha. No. Not that orange. More uh- more like a sunset type of orange.”
Remus looks at Sirius’ eyes, sees the gray soaking up the sky’s light, tinging it slightly. He thinks he might agree with him.
Sirius shakes him out of his thoughts by saying: “Your turn. Ask away.”
Remus’ brain feels a bit foggy, so the best he can come up with is, “How have you been?”
That startles a laugh out of Sirius. “You can ask me anything you want, y’know?”
“Yeah. And that’s what I want to know.”
Sirius opens his mouth, closes it, cracks a few knuckles. “Stressed out, if I’m being honest. I get scared thinking about how our last year is coming up, how different it’ll all be afterwards.”
Remus is surprised at Sirius’ honesty, at how close it hits home for him. “Yeah. Me too.”
Sirius looks up at him. “Yeah?”
Remus nods. “But between you and me, I think we’re going to be alright.”
Sirius doesn’t say anything at first, but he does move closer, placing his hand over Remus’. It’s comforting, has a ‘we can take over the world’ undertone to it. “I think so too.”
It’s three hours later when James and Peter come looking for them, finding them sound asleep, hands still touching.
*
Church bells ring, carry me home
Rice on the ground looks like snow
Call my bluff, call you "babe"
Have my back, yeah, everyday
Feels like home, stay in bed
The whole weekend
It's nice to have a friend
(Ooh)
The bells of the church are loud, but nothing can drown out the words of one (1) James Fleamont Evans Potter.
“Presenting the groom and groom! Now Husband and husband! The two most wonderful men I know, they-” he’s next words are muffled as Lily kisses him fiercely, winking at Remus and Sirius when she pulls back and James remains in a daze.
“God she’s good at that. I should take notes.” Sirius’ voice has a little too much awe in it.
“You trying to shut up me up, Black?” Remus asks, amused.
“I would never, Lupin.”
It’s their wedding day. It is their actual, real life wedding day. Well, closer to the end of it, post ceremony and reception, but Remus still doesn’t feel sure it’s real. It’s barely a year after James and Lily’s, and people have become apt at telling them that there’s no need to rush and that they are still so young and inexperienced and so on. But as fresh 22 years old uni graduates, and with the embarrassing two years they spent with secret yet debilitating crushes on each other, nothing can feel soon enough.
After waving what is hopefully an appropriate amount to their crowd of loved ones and feeling oddly like a royal couple, Remus has another box of tissues delivered to his and James’ mums, and then him and Sirius take a step outside.
“Stop right there lovers!” Comes Lily’s sudden voice. “As per wedding tradition, one spouse must carry the other inside the home, and since you two are walking all the way, that must start now.”
Both Remus and Sirius start arguing immediately, because the walk is at least 30 minutes, but Lily won’t budge.
“Okay, well, arms open love,” Remus turns to Sirius.
“Me? Why me?! You’re taller.”
“By like two inches! Plus, you’re stronger, Mr. Athlete.”
“Football does not require upper body strength, it-“
“I’ll give you anything you want when we get back,” Remus counters, partially in desperation because Peter is in charge of the rice throwing (still not a tradition he understands) and the ground in front of them is starting to resemble a snow storm because Peter does not do things in halves.
He doesn’t need to see the look on Sirius’ face to know that he’s making a mistake, but he lets him pick him up bridal style anyways, and bites back a comment about how he isn’t even remotely struggling. ‘No upper body strength’ is apparently a very relative statement.
They start the walk home, Sirius coming up with lavisher and dirtier things that he’s going to get from Remus until Remus is almost half over his shoulder trying to get him to shut up.
“It’s a shame it’s not actually snowing,” Sirius muses, apparently done torturing Remus for the time being.
“I don’t know, that would’ve felt a little too rom-comey for my taste.”
“I happen to know that you love rom-coms,” Sirius responds with a raised eyebrow.
“I can’t believe that my own husband doesn’t actually know me,” Remus sighs, tipping his head back in dramatics. His favourite is definitely 27 Dresses.
Sirius doesn’t say anything, but five seconds later Remus feels himself tipping, and then he’s thrown over Sirius’ shoulder.
He yelps (in a very adult way) and starts spewing threats. “Sirius Black! Put me down right now or I’ll annul our marriage tomorrow!”
Sirius pretends to consider it, humming as he continues to walk until a loud car horn scares them both.
They turn to find James sticking his head out of the roof holding a microphone. “In order to complete the tradition correctly, you must hold your groom ‘bridal style’ the entire way!”
“What the fuck James?!” Sirius yells back, but he does bring Remus back down, so it’s a win in his book. “Are you following us?!”
James ducks back into the car, coming up a few seconds later to claim that Lily and him are simply chaperoning.
Sirius and Remus sigh simultaneously, not bothering to argue.
When Sirius leans down to kiss Remus, Remus, still feeling petty, wipes it off.
That’s predictably followed by Sirius kissing him all over his face, enough so that James pops back up to tell them to get a room, and Remus’ tenth “I’m sorry, babe!” puts an end to the barrage.
When they finally, finally, step into their home (The Evans Potters pulling in next door, Peter and his girlfriend in the house next to that), Sirius drops Remus onto their bed before collapsing on top of him.
“I didn’t even get a chance to recreate the glove trade,” Sirius sighs into his chest.
Remus shakes his head at that, but he can’t quite stop his smile, hiding it in Sirius’ hair. It feels silly to think it, but Sirius giving him his glove all those years ago felt like a first declaration of love. A promise that he’d always be there for Remus, as a friend and more.
“I love you,” Remus says, simply.
Sirius lifts his head, giving his response against Remus’ lips.
“So…” Remus begins after a while. “What are our weekend plans? It’s two whole days before our honeymoon flight.”
Sirius gives him a coy smile. “We..” he pauses, hands inching under the hem of Remus’ dress shirt. “are not getting out of bed.”
Remus smiles wide, tightening his arms around Sirius’ waist. “I can work with that.”
It’s nice, Remus thinks, having a best friend for a lover.
No one could ever know him better.
That’s all.