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Remus didn’t think he’d ever get used to the bright stage lights in his face. He’d never get used to the people screaming and singing along to songs that he’d written with his best friends. It was just some fun side project as they’d finished up uni. But now they’d have a hundred or so people at a show. They were by no means a large band but they had real life people who bought shirts and sang along and gave them little gifts after shows. And Remus felt like they’d made it, a dream he and Peter had been drunkenly dragged into. He couldn’t imagine life without it now.
Sweat ran down his face from the heat of the lights. He didn’t mind them too much though, they drowned out the rows of people which meant the lights actually made it less nerve wracking, at least for him. They had made it through a good chunk of the setlist, only a few songs left for the night and the energy of the room was electric. It was easily the best show they’d ever played. The song came to an end and Remus was thankful for a chance to down some water.
“Thank you guys! You’ve been so amazing tonight! Up next we have a song that is very important to us, actually the first song that we wrote back in our dorm room. This is called Solemnly Swear ,” James said into the microphone above his keyboard. Some people cheered and the familiar notes started out. It was at the point of the night where his fingers ached and he was thankful for the years of guitar practice that had built up the calluses on his fingertips. Even still Remus was thankful when he had a break in the song. He looked over at his friends playing as the keys fell away and the drum died down and Sirius took a step up for his solo. He hardly got anywhere before one of the strings snapped, shooting a look back at Peter who quickly stalled on drums as he realized Sirius had stopped for a moment, unsure why. Sirius didn’t let it phase him, rushing over to Remus who had joined in the stalling with basic chords. He couldn’t get away with the solo himself and James was off to grab extra strings. Remus didn’t understand what Sirius was doing behind him until his hands were grabbing for his guitar from around him.
Remus threw his head back in laughter and maybe a bit to hide the blush creeping onto his cheeks as he accepted his fate. Sirius quickly fumbled with the guitar, unable to see over his tall shoulders before he began playing again. Remus wiggled his arms out, a bit less trapped in the most absurd hug. He rested his hands on his head, unable to do anything but laugh quietly as Sirius played out the song on his guitar. The buzz of warm electricity around him as he felt Sirius pressed against him, arms wrapped around him. Remus didn’t think his heart had beat this quickly on stage since their first performance. The small crowd loved it. It was the most bizarre thing that had ever happened on stage with his friends which was saying something. Sirius continued to play completely blind, just using muscle memory and confidence even despite the awkward hold.
Remus, careful not to mess him up, slipped his phone from his pocket. He took a picture of Sirius pushed up against him, smiling over his shoulder. All the while Remus couldn’t help but laugh. It was the only thing he could do to not get incredibly flustered.
When the song came to an end, the cheers were so much louder than any they’d ever heard.
Sirius took the guitar strings from James and quickly got to work, all the while making comments into his own microphone. “Thank you for letting me borrow that, Moons.”
“That was quite a sight to see,” James added with a laugh. “Maybe a good reminder to Pads to actually change his strings before the show.”
“Probably not.”
The show continued on, the high from that never falling. The night was amazing. The crowd had never had so much energy.
The Marauders always worked their own merch table after the shows. It was a great chance to meet so many amazing fans. So James made their usual announcement that they’d be at the merch table after the show and the line quickly grew as people rushed over.
Tonight it was no secret that Remus and Sirius were the ones to meet as fans buzzed about what had happened on stage. There were always people fawning over Sirius and James after the shows. They were the leaders on and off the stage, with bigger presences. Remus had spent many nights trying not to sulk as he watched person after person flirt with Sirius and he'd watch as Sirius would casually flirt back with a smile.
“Hi,” a short giddy girl now at the front of the line said. She had a bag of merch hugged tightly against her chest. “Moony, I just wanted to say that Masters of Mischief is genuinely one of my favorite songs ever.”
Remus never knew what to do with these compliments especially when they were about the songs he himself had written. “Thank you. That’s so sweet.”
His arm was full of bracelets, most of which read Moony or The Marauders, a couple with song references or various pride flags. He’d never outwardly said anything about his own sexuality but Sirius wasn’t shy about pulling pride flags on stage or writing his own songs about romance and gender expression.
A couple fans had pulled out their phones once they’d gotten to the front of the line to quickly show off the videos they’d taken of Sirius playing Remus’ guitar. And Remus could feel his cheeks warm as he caught glimpses of the videos, reminders of how close they'd been to each other.
“Are you two dating?” A few people had asked to either be gently scolded by a friend who called it an inappropriate question or to be laughed off by Sirius or Remus.
God, Remus wished that he was dating Sirius. He had to consciously note not to let his eyes linger on his friend. Not with so many around at the very least.
Peter and James shared a look, a wordless conversation before they went back to signing a poster for someone.
It wasn’t too long before the line had disappeared and it was time to pack up the truck full of the instruments and sound equipment. Remus went to pull the truck to the side door and Sirius disappeared to the bathroom.
“That was really…” James said quietly.
“Gay,” Peter filled in for him with a small smile.
“Yeah. Do you think they’ve realized it yet?”
“That they like each other? It’s Remus and Sirius, what do you think?” Peter asked with a small laugh. The two of them had watched both friends pine for years. There were only so many subtle hints and nudges one could give someone and they’d passed that number long ago.
James nodded. “Yes,” he said, thinking of the two of them practically being one, no personal space between them. Remus’ face when Sirius had wrapped around him on stage and Sirius’ smile which had been obscured from the audience. But then he thought about how flirty Sirius would be if he’d have realized how insufferably flirtatious he’d be. He doubted he’d wait until they were alone. “No…” But maybe he would for Remus’ sake. James was lost beyond belief. “Maybe. I don’t know, Pete. The idiots should.”
“The idiots should what?” Sirius asked, coming back onto the stage.
“Play like that more often,” Peter answered quickly.
“It was fun,” he laughed, packing up his guitar. “Maybe it will become our thing.”
They packed the truck, James and Peter watching with wrapped attention for some difference between the two friends but couldn’t find anything.
“Where do you want to grab dinner?” Remus asked, hopping in the driver’s seat of the truck.
Sirius, from the passenger seat, began pulling up food places around them. They didn’t know the area and he plugged in a diner that was still open.
James opened his phone to find a text from Lily, a link to a TikTok. He clicked it to find a video from tonight of Remus and Sirius playing together with thousands of likes and hundreds of comments. James reposted it from The Marauders account. He was quick to show Peter beside him who looked at the numbers with wide eyes and they began looking through the comments.
I feel like I’m interrupting something
And they were band mates
“Oh my god they were band mates,” Peter whispered with a laugh to James.
I’d be asking what we were after that
“Wish they would,” James whispered, pointing to the comment.
They they got to the diner Remus and Sirius were quick out of the car. Everyone was starving. But James pulled Peter back for a second. “What if we were to do something? One last push.”
“Like that?” Peter asked.
James turned his phone around which had now pulled up the hotel reservation for the night with raised eyebrows.
“Do you think we can change it so late?”
“I can call.”
Peter thought about it for a moment before nodding with a mischievous grin. He went inside while James called the hotel to change the reservation. Maybe this was the last push they needed.