Author's Notes: Shameless fluff - hope you enjoy, recipient! It was quite fun to write. Beta love to lil sis A and friend AZ.
Remus Lupin is sitting in the Astronomy tower doing James Potter’s homework, pondering whether or not to speak to Lily about Snivellus and biting the end of his quill. He's convinced that if he keeps his mind occupied, he won't have to think about Sirius Black, girl magnet, class clown, sexy wonder beast.
It's the "sexy wonder beast" bit that bothers Remus most. Biting down harder on the end of the quill, he thinks of other things. He thinks back to the look on James' face earlier that evening and the awkwardness of their conversation.
"Are you sure?" James had said.
Remus had nodded and tried not tear the parchment out of James' hands. "Yes, yes I'm sure. Go frolic with Lily or snog Lily or-"
"I get it." James had held his hands up in protest. "But, really, Moony, you've got to get out a bit. Maybe you and Sirius should do something."
Remembering the mention of Sirius brings Remus back to the present. Frowning, He releases the quill and turns his attention to the sky, wishing he could soar away from the confusion that surround him.
"Wotcha, Remus," says Sirius, so close to Remus' ear that Remus jumps. "Lovely night for a bit of..." Seeing the parchment in Remus' hands, Sirius gestures towards it. "...parchment holding."
Remus tries to ignore the goosepimples sprouting along his arms and the increase of his heart rate. Yes, Sirius smells of boy and hair products and sex, but that does not mean Remus had to respond to these things. In fact, Remus decides, he will not react. Never mind that they've been shagging every night for two weeks or that he'd never looked at another boy, let alone Sirius, before Sirius kissed him and the world turned upside down.
No, Remus thinks. I am a rock. I will be strong.
Sirius' face twists up, brows furrowed, until he resembles a small, frightened monkey. "What I meant to say was, isn't it a nice night for the possession of flat, slippery paper-y whatsits." A dark curl falls in front of Sirius' glorious face, emphasizing his devilishly good looks. Remus straightens the homework assignment still in his lap.
"Oh, bullocks." Sirius collapses against the wall, his shoulder inches from Remus'. "I don't know how you manage this; it's driving me mad."
"I manage it," says Remus, "by ignoring it. And I thought we agreed you'd do the same."
With a huff, Sirius deflates. "Remind me why we're avoiding each other like the plague, Moony? It's slipped my mind."
Remus ignores him and scratches the quill across the parchment, indicating that, as expected, Venus is visible tonight. He wishes Sirius would leave him alone and go back to whatever it is that Sirius usually does at this time. It takes him a moment to remember that he is what Sirius usually does at this time, in a manner of speaking, anyway. Remus dots an 'i' with more emphasis than it merits and puts the quill in his mouth, pondering his next sentence. It isn't that he doesn't want Sirius; he does. His thirst for Sirius is so great that sometimes he wishes he could climb inside Sirius, shake Sirius' skin onto his bones and stare out at the world through Sirius' eyes.
Of course, these kinds of thoughts make him worry he might be a sociopath, but ever since James confessed to wearing Lily's underwear once, Remus' fantasy hasn't seemed quite so radical.
"The juxtaposition of Mars and Mercury," Remus says, glancing into the telescope, "indicates a premature orbit by Earth's moon."
"Where do I sign up?" says Sirius. He slides along the wall until his shoulder is pressed against Remus' and Remus has to remember what he's writing about. "Juxtapositions are my specialty."
"Go away," says Remus.
"I don't think so," says Sirius.
Remus bites the quill again, grimacing at the acidity of the ink in his mouth. He pulls the quill away from his mouth and sees that he's bitten the quill off.
"What did the quill do to you?" Sirius says before pointing up at the sky. "Did you see that?"
"They're called stars, Sirius. They've changed a bit since you used to scribble them on the walls at daycare."
"Look, Moony; there it is again." Sirius gestures towards the sky. "Did you see it?"
Remus sighs and follows Sirius' finger up to blackness of the sky. "Which one?"
"The one right there."
Against his better opinion, Remus moves closer to Sirius. Everything will be fine, Remus assures himself. Sirius leans his head until it rests against Remus' and Remus thinks that maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.
"I still don't see anything," says Remus. "Where is it?"
"There," says Sirius. "Just to right a bit. See?"
Remus turns his head in the direction that Sirius has indicated. "I don't see-"
Sirius' lips are harsh against his own, like sandpaper, the same as they were last night and the night before, and Remus wonders why he thought they might feel different. He feels Sirius put an arm around him, tangling their bodies together in a hopeless mess of boy parts.
Oh dear, thinks Remus as his body begins to respond to Sirius'.
"Wait," says Remus, but it comes out, "Merf."
"Merf," Sirius says back. "Mer mmm mef mmmm."
Remus tries to push Sirius away, but instead they tumble onto the floor of the tower. When Sirius runs his fingers through Remus' hair, Remus thinks desperately, I need a haircut. Must work on that, but it's hopeless. He can't ignore Sirius' mouth on his neck, Sirius' fingers braiding through his hair or the way Sirius' body is reacting to the awkward position. This last demands the most attention.
"Padfoot." Remus tries to sound serious, but the nips on his neck make his voice come out choked. "Pads, get a hold of yourself, man."
Sirius' ears perk. "Why? You hear someone? I'll curse them so fast-"
"No," says Remus. "What I mean is..."
Something is unfolding in Remus' stomach; something that he hasn't encountered before. Sirius runs a finger absently through Remus' hair and it occurs to Remus that he's never really looked into Sirius' eyes. Romance novels be damned, there is something utterly enchanting about them. They're hollow in the moonlight, the sockets collecting the darkness like a miser with his gold. In the shadows, Sirius looks a little frightening, but Remus remembers the way Sirius laughs and makes faces and is a general pushover, and suddenly Sirius isn't quite so alarming.
In what Sirius will later call an, "act of wanton lust," Remus chucks his common sense and returns Sirius's kisses, closing his eyes and pouring the passion he uses reserves for the written word into his best friend's mouth.