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The summer after Sirius turned sixteen was the summer he came out to his parents, and it was also the day he arrived at James Potter's house with a black eye, bruised jaw, and a backpack stuffed with some clothes and his phone. Sirius didn't have to say anything before he was being dragged in and being fussed over by all three Potters. No matter how much he appreciated it, he still wanted some alone time. James seemed to realize this, and he gave him some space for the time he showered and got dressed. The rest of the night was spent cuddled up watching films in the room Sirius used whenever he stayed over. It wasn't until two days of Sirius staying at the Potter household that Euphemia Potter finally asked Sirius to tell her about what happened. Between the waterfalls of tears and sniffles, Sirius explained. Whatever fear he might have had about the Potters kicking him out as well disappeared in the instant Euphemia was holding him tightly and kissing the top of his head.
The rest of the Potters' summer was spent, well, acting like a family. Sirius was disinherited halfway through, but he wasn't as upset as he thought he would be. Sure, it hurt that his parents, the people who gave birth to him, had decided he wasn't their son, but the Potters made up for it during the time Sirius lived with them. They took him to India and introduced him to a third of the family, and Sirius had never felt more a part of a family then he did then.
Because he spent the summer with the Potters, Sirius wasn't able to see Remus and Peter. They texted and had the occasional phone call, but not much else. So when the time came for them to meet at the train station, Sirius looked around in an effort to find his friends. His face lit up when he saw Remus all the way on the other side of the station and he quickly started waving. It wasn't until Remus started getting closer that Sirius' jaw dropped. "Fuck, Prongs, is that really Moony?"
In the course of the summer, Remus had grown to be quite taller than Sirius- he had to have a few inches on him- and his usual mop of hair had been cut shorter which allowed for his light brown curls to become much more prominent. Remus was dressed in jeans that showed long legs and a short-sleeved shirt which proved that his Moony had grown a bit of muscle. In short, Remus was hot. And when his mouth turned up in a grin at Sirius, he could have sworn his stomach was filled with a stampede.
It was in that moment Sirius was a goner.
The first few months of the school year, Sirius did his best to act normally around Remus. It became increasingly difficult when Remus decided he would start running on the school team of all things. /Running./ Could anything be hotter? The thing was, Remus was still Remus. He still read on the couch in the common room while the other three Marauders messed around or worked on a prank. Remus was still the voice of reason Sirius would go to for advice. There was just one thing he couldn't ask him. How the hell was Sirius supposed to react to crushing on his best mate?
So he did the next best thing: he pinned. Pinned after Moony and whined to James about him. "But, mate, just look at him. He's fit. He's funny. He's smart and clever. He gives the best cuddles!" And if James just nodded along and made noncommittal grunts, Sirius would never have noticed.
Sometime in November, Sirius was talking James about Remus once again while the subject of the talk was out running with the team. James had grown tired of hearing his best mate analyze everything Remus said or did around him when it was clear Sirius was missing the obvious.
"Oi!" James cut in when Sirius stopped to take a breath. Sirius sat up on his bed and glared.
"What? I listened to you go on and on about Lily for ages before y-"
"No! Shut up, mate. Listen, why don't you just go talk to Moony? I mean, Pads, you practically have hearts in your eyes when you look at him. You cheer for him loudest of anyone at his meets. You drop everything to fetch him tea or chocolate. Why not just ask him out?"
Sirius balked at the suggestion. "Have you gone completely mad?! I can't just tell Moony I fancy him! What if he doesn't fancy me back? What if it ruins our friendship? What if-" Sirius rambled, shaking his head and standing up off his bed to pace the floor.
Rolling his eyes, James stood up and stopped Sirius by placing his hands on his shoulders. "What the hell is going on with you? You're Sirius Black! Don't you have a reservoir of confidence? Buck up and take the chance!"
Sirius swallowed nervously, a hand coming up to ruffle the back of his hair, a habit he picked up from James. "I...I don't even know what I'd say..."
"Well, here's your chance. He should have just finished practice and'll be coming up. Stay here and wait for him, yeah? I'll be downstairs to give you time. Just relax. You'll do fine," James promised, giving him a smile and pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he winked, stepping past him and leaving the room.
Sirius sat back down on his bed, playing with the bottom of the braid. It wasn't long before Remus was twisting the doorknob of their dorm and stepping inside, and /oh ruddering fuck./ Remus was /shirtless/. Sirius couldn't help but stare, lips parted slightly.
"Like what you see?" Remus asked with a soft laugh, the slight rise of a blush hidden by the pinkness of his cheeks from running.
Sirius' blush, on the other hand, became incredibly prominent. "I-I, uh..." he began, blinking as he tried to regain his speech. However, much to his embarrassment, one of the only things he had never told his friends happened.
Sirius' friends knew he had grown up in a family descending from aristocrats with diplomatic and government ties. His parents' jobs left the two Black brothers with plenty of perks. Maids and butlers who waited on them hand and foot. Chefs who made them anything they wanted at any time of day. Money. Private tutors from a young age.
Sirius never questioned it. Never had a reason to wonder why his parents didn't spend time with him and his brother when they had nannies who took care of them. In fact, despite having tutors who taught him the usual maths and English courses, Sirius was secretly learning French from the nanny who spent entire weeks with them while his mother was on diplomatic meetings and his father was doing something or other in the government. By the time he was sent to boarding school, Sirius was as fluent in French as he was in English and Thai.
So, one moment he was thinking in English, and the next he was spewing out fluent French.
*"J-Je...qu'est-ce que je peux dire? Tu es...oh mon dieu, tu es tous ce que j'aime. Je t'aime, Moony. Je t'adore. Je pense que tu es la meilleure personne que je pouvais connaître. Je suis très chanceux. Tes yeux d'ambre et ton sourire allument mon jour chaque fois que tu me vois. Tes cheveux bouclé m'hypnotise. Tu es gentil et intelligent et loyale et beaucoup d'autre choses que je ne peux pas expliquer maintenant, mais je te veux embrasser et câliner et te donner la main dans les couloirs parle que je t'aime. Mon dieu, je t'aime, mon amour," Sirius finished, wringing his hands together and shuffling his feet as he waited for Remus to respond.
It wasn't until Remus just started at him with a mix of confusion and awe and said "Are you speaking French?" that Sirius finally realized his confession had been blurted out in the wrong language and his face turned an alarmingly bright shade of red.
**"Merde," he squeaked. He didn't think twice before running out past Remus and down the stairs.
Remus wasn't sure what to think. He caught a few words, he thought. Wasn't sure if he understood, but he turned to go find Sirius when the door opened and James stepped inside.
"Alright, so did things not go well? Because Pads was sort of freaking out before he talked to you," James began, leaning against the wall.
"James, I couldn't understand a word he said. Did you know he spoke French?"
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Later that evening found Sirius in an alcove of the school, knees tucked up to his chest as he muttered softly to himself in French about how much of an idiot he was. ***"C'est un indication. Le relation ne marche jamais."
"You know, as sexy as French is, I can't respond if you don't speak in English."
Sirius' head snapped up at the sound of the familiar voice. "Moony? Qu'est-ce q- erm, I mean, what are you doing here? I thought it was dinner?" he said, trying to act nonchalant.
Remus rolled his eyes and sat down on the spot left vacant by Sirius' feet. "Well, seeing as you ran away after your little language mix-up, I figured I should find you," he explained with a soft laugh.
Sirius looked down, lower lip being chewed on.
"Sirius," Remus began in a soft voice. "What to explain what happened back there?"
"I, um, what's there to explain? I speak French because I learned from nannies. 's nothing," he shrugged, turning his head away slightly.
"Yes, but I'd very much like to hear what you were saying," Remus responded, reaching over to gently tip Sirius' chin and make him face him. Met with silence, he continued. "I mean, James sort of hinted at it," he admitted.
"That twat," Sirius said immediately, eyes wide. "I...I don't...Remus, you don't have to-"
"How about you let me talk this time, eh? Give you a break. Make sure you talk to me in English so you can respond?" Remus suggested with a smirk, cocking an eyebrow at Sirius challengingly.
Sirius nodded.
"Right, well, I'll make this nice and short. Sirius, I fancy the pants off you, both literally and figuratively, and I'd very much like to go on a date with you this weekend should you not have a detention," Remus said with a smile, nudging Sirius with his shoulder.
"What? You want to...you want...with me?" Sirius gaped, his brain taking a bit longer to process the new information it was receiving.
"So is that a-" Remus' hesitant follow up was quickly covered by Sirius surging forward to press his lips directly onto Remus' and, oh goodness, Remus tasted like the chocolate he always ate and the warm tea he drank with just a little bit of honey.
****"Oui, Moony. J'aimerai sortir avec toi pour un rendez-vous," Sirius said with a grin when he pulled back.
"Bloody hell, keep talking French to me. It's hot," Remus winked, laughing at the rising blush on Sirius' still smiling face.
And if later that night Sirius lay under the covers with Remus and whispered his affection in French, well, Remus would be the only one to know the romantics of the language of love.