It Was Only A Kiss!

Chapter Twenty Four

‘Gods, are you two at it again?’

Sirius lifted his head off Remus’ chest and glared at James. It was their last evening at Hogwarts and the Marauders had spent the day saying goodbye to the castle that had become their home over the last seven years.

They had done a last run through the secret tunnels to Hogsmeade, a final trip to the Shrieking Shack and the Forbidden Forest, and said farewell to the house elves who had provided them with illicit food so willingly at all hours of the day and night. The day had culminated in their final prank at dinner - involving fireworks as Marauders entered the room (well after everyone else for effect), table centrepieces that spouted dirty limericks sporadically (mainly regarding the love lives of their peers and professors), immovable enchanted banners that rained confetti and announced that Gryffindor 'rules' and Slytherin ’sucks’, and exploding desserts at the end of the meal for the Slytherins.

They were supposed to be finishing their packing now, but James had gone off with Lily after dinner, Peter was snitching some final cakes from the kitchen for the trip home on the train, and Remus and Sirius had made an attempt to give Sirius’ bed a final hurrah, but instead, had collapsed exhausted onto the mattress. For the first time since they became lovers, sex was the farthest thing from their minds…but there was no way Sirius’ ego would let him reveal that to his friend.

‘I’m ready anytime, anywhere, anyhow,' he boasted, straining to lift his tired head off Remus' chest. 'Moony just has to crook that cute little eyebrow at me and…‘

‘Oh, shut up, Pads,' Remus muttered irritably. 'We aren’t doing anything to offend your delicate sensibilities, Prongs…‘

‘Not yet anyway…’ Sirius pushed and Remus glared at his boyfriend.

‘We don’t have the energy,' he revealed and Sirius huffed.

‘I have the stamina of an ox, Moony,' Sirius protested. 'Just because you’re quicker than a greyhound doesn‘t mean we all operate with such haste.’

Remus snorted and extracted himself from Sirius’ grip. Several shirts fell to the floor as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Clothes were strewn all over the room as the Marauders tried to pack for their final journey home on the Hogwart’s Express, finding that their belongings had somehow spread far and wide during the year. They were cutting things a bit fine - the train left first thing in the morning.

Remus’ feet caught in a jacket and he fell like a falling tree to the floor, crashing with a less than masculine screech. James burst out laughing and Sirius peered over the edge of the bed, chuckling once he saw Remus was alright. The werewolf glared at his boyfriend who smiled ingenuously at him. He untangled the jacket from his ankles and threw it at Sirius.

‘Until your trunk is packed properly, Mister Padfoot, your sex life is on hold,' he snapped, flushing with embarrassment at his graceless collapse.

Sirius’ eyes widened as he objected loudly, but Remus remained firm as he stood up.

‘I’m not cleaning seven years worth of crap out of your trunk when we get to your place,' he said, narrowing his eyes. 'I mean it, Padfoot.’

Sirius cocked his head and frowned. ‘Our place, Moony,' he said, an admonishment in his voice. 'When are you going to start calling it our place?’

Remus sighed at the reminder. He was thrilled to be moving in with Sirius, but was very conscious that it was Sirius’ funds that he was going to be living off - at least until he managed to find a job.

Even though the Blacks had been true to their word and cut Sirius’ access to his trust fund, his late Uncle Alphard’s bequest (with which he’d bought his flat nine months ago) was more than enough to keep the brunette comfortable for many years without him having to lift a finger. Sirius had joked about Remus being ‘a kept man’ and made many suggestions, each one increasingly lewd, about how he could earn his keep. But now, with only one more night until they became de factos, Remus was starting to worry in earnest about the unequal financing of their new life.

Sirius, somehow omniscient when it came to Remus’ thoughts, slid off the bed. With a quick look at James, who took the unspoken hint and buggered off to the bathroom, he moved to stand in front of Remus, crossing his arms over his chest.

‘How many times are we going to have to go through this, Remus?' he asked softly, but firmly. 'I. Love. You. What’s mine is yours - my money, my sexy body, my heart. All yours. Reject one and I’ll be devastated.’

‘I want to contribute…’ Remus objected, but Sirius interrupted.

‘You do,' he said gently. 'In a more valuable way than providing cash. You keep me sane, Moony. You remind me of who I really am. You keep me getting too far up myself and copping a flogging from James to bring me back down to earth. You love me and you’re one of a very select group of admirers of whom I‘m rather fond as well.’

‘That’s all very nice, but none of that puts food on the table,' Remus said, a ghost of a pout playing about his lips.

‘You pay when you can, Remus,' Sirius reminded him. 'It’s not your fault your opportunities are limited. Bloody Ministry and their stupid rules - you’re more fucking intelligent than most of the morons they’ve got working there…’

‘It’s the rules, Padfoot,' Remus reminded him despondently and Sirius snorted dismissively.

‘Yeah, well - they’re stupid rules,' he mumbled then he grasped the front of Remus’ shirt in his fists and pulled him close. ‘Please, Moony? Please stop worrying about it. I did nothing to earn this money except not be a complete prat to one of the only relatives I can stand. Uncle Alphard was queerer than the both of us put together…he’d love the idea that his nephew and his werewolf lover were living off his share of the Black wealth. He’s probably laughing his arse off as we speak. You want to honour a dead man’s memory, don’t you?’

Remus smiled reluctantly and Sirius grinned, sliding his arms around the other boy as he sensed the battle had been won. ‘Besides, if you don’t move in with me, I’ll have to move in with you and your dad to be with you,' he said with a smirk. 'While he’s been very good about finding out his only son is a bufftie, I doubt he’ll want to hear me screaming all night for you to ‘fuck me harder’. Remember how pale James and Pete were when they told us that we’d forgotten the Silencing Spell that time?’

That memory drew a laugh from the werewolf and he leaned into Sirius’ embrace. ‘Okay,' he capitulated. 'I’ll try to stop thinking about how you're the one paying the bills. If not for me then for my dad’s sake. 'Gay son' is tolerable in theory but I’m not sure he could handle the reality of what that meant.’

Sirius sniggered and Remus pushed him away playfully. ‘You win, Mister Padfoot,' he said with a shake of his head. 'Yet again. I promise I will try not to harp on about money if you start packing now.’

With a dramatic, drawn out sigh, Sirius nodded his agreement, leaning forward and aiming for Remus’ lips, but the other boy pulled back.

‘Nada, Padfoot,' he said, the corner of his lips turning up. 'Not until that trunk is a lot fuller.’

With a loud curse, Sirius spun around and scooped up some of the clothes on the floor, throwing them onto his bed. Grumbling under his breath about cruel boyfriends and mumbling, ‘wait until the next time I top, Lupin’, he sorted the garments, tossing anything that wasn’t his in the direction of the assumed owners’ bed. Remus chuckled and called out to a still hidden James that it was safe to come out now.

~*~

Later that night, Peter and James, full from Peter‘s pilfered snacks, sat chuckling at an unusually edgy Sirius as he stood in front of the mirror and fussed with his ebony locks. Remus, a little pale, also watching Sirius with an expression of growing irritation. Finally, he snapped.

‘For the love of Merlin, Sirius, it isn’t going to look any different no matter how much you fuss,' he said sharply. 'Can we just get this over with?’

Sirius gave his fringe one last flick and turned around with a sigh. ‘Alright, alright,' he muttered. 'I just…’

‘…you’re just stalling,' Remus said darkly. 'This was your idea, Padfoot. If you don’t want to come out…’

‘No. No, I do,' he insisted, walking over to where the obviously nervous werewolf sat and taking his hand.‘I do.’

Remus gave him a grim smile that made him look as though he’d swallowed something most unpleasant and stood up, turning to James and Peter who had been told of the couple‘s plan to reveal their relationship tonight to the other Gryffindor students.

‘You don’t have to come down with us,' he said, voice rough with nerves. 'They aren’t going to attack us.'

He hesitated then murmured, 'I hope,’ in an undertone.

James and Peter rose to their feet as one, James speaking for them both. ‘We’re coming,' he said firmly. 'We’re right with you. Marauders forever, brotherly solidarity and all that…’

Peter nodded and smirked mischievously. ‘And we want to see the looks on the girls faces when they realise Sirius fancies blokes.’

~*~

Hands joined, fingers threaded together, Sirius and Remus followed James and Peter down the stairs.

‘Are you sure about this, Padfoot?’ Remus murmured and Sirius stopped.

He turned around to look at Remus, whose scars stood out starkly against the pallor of his face, and his chest squeezed tight. He lifted his hand to Remus‘ cheek, thumb tracing the raised skin of a large scar before he kissed the abused flesh.

‘Babe, we don’t have to do this,' he said softly and Remus looked startled.

‘Did you just call me babe?’ he asked incredulously and Sirius flushed as he said nonchalantly, ‘Yeah, I did, honey bunch.’

Remus snorted with laughter and shook his head. ‘Oh, that is disgusting, Padfoot,' he said without malice as his own cheeks coloured.

‘Why are you smiling like that then?’ Sirius asked and Remus elbowed him.

‘Fairy.’

‘Princess.’

Remus chuckled then kissed Sirius on the cheek, murmuring, ‘I love you, you great poof,' against the smooth skin.

‘I love you too,' Sirius murmured then pulled back with a broad, happy smile, suddenly sure that declaring his love for Remus was the right decision.

Remus tilted his head. ‘Why are you grinning like the cat that got the cream?’ he asked.

Sirius smirked lasciviously. ‘Ah, that would be the puppy that got the bone, wouldn't it?' he said and Remus groaned.

‘Gods, you can make anything dirty, can’t you?’

‘I’m gifted,' Sirius said with a shrug. 'I’m also very sure about this. Are you?’

Remus hesitated before answering with a firm nod. ‘Yep.’

Sirius' smile widened and he squeezed the other boy's hand as he whispered, ‘Let’s do it then.’

They kissed quickly then trotted down the final few steps to the Gryffindor common room.

Usually, when the aptly nicknamed Sexy Sirius entered the room, girls sat up straighter, smiling broadly at him as they tried to draw his attention to them. Today was no different except that today, as the female members of Gryffindor House turned their predatory eyes to Sirius Black, they saw a most unusual sight.

Everyone was aware of how close the Marauders were, but no one had ever seen them holding hands before and the way Sirius was looking over at Remus Lupin right now wasn’t the way boys usually looked at boys, and they were smiling at each other, secret smiles like lovers exchange then…

‘Oh my God!

‘Sweet Merlin!’

‘No way!

Gasped exclamations filled the otherwise suddenly hushed room as Sirius Black kissed Remus Lupin in a way that indicated they weren’t just good mates and - holy shit - was that Black’s hand on Lupin’s arse?

It was, and Remus slapped the hand away as he pulled back from the demanding lips, glaring a little at the other boy for giving him the unexpected kiss.

‘Bloody hell!’

The loud curse from a shocked Fifth Year made the two boys look around nervously. They saw many different expressions on their housemates faces: horror from a few people, disgust from others, but surprise or amusement were the predominant expressions.

Sirius felt Remus’ hand tighten around his and the werewolf's face paled even further as the awkward silence wore on. James and Peter glanced at each other uneasily then James cleared his throat, drawing attention to himself.

‘Who won the lottery then?’he said loudly.

Several of the Sixth Years looked startled and stirred uncomfortably while James smirked.

‘Oh, come on,' he said lazily, leaning back against the cushions of the couch and looking supremely unconcerned. 'You think we didn’t know you were taking bets on which of us were shagging the other? Well, now you know. So, who gets the pot?’

There was a slight hesitation then three of the boys raised their hands and a ripple of laughter spread through the room. The tension broke and the chatter starting again - loud and excited.

Lily stood and gave James an approving kiss before hugging Remus then Sirius, crowing that she’d known it all along. The couple sat down with grateful smiles at James and were immediately accosted by several girls who cooed at how cute a couple they made - Kelly the notable exception, throwing Sirius a filthy look before stomping up the stairs to the girl‘s dorms in a huff.

A few of the Fourth Year boys screwed up their noses as they glared at Remus and Sirius, muttering loudly about disgusting arse-bandits until James stood up threateningly with his fists clenched. Even with only had a couple of hours left as Head Boy, he was still intimidating and the younger boys rapidly left the common room without further comment.

After ten minutes of listening to the girls fawn over Sirius and himself, Remus appeared vaguely ill at the attention and, as soon as was polite, he grabbed Peter and they went to hide in the corner with a chessboard between them.

Sirius chatted with James and Lily, lapping up the attention and telling increasingly outrageous (and completely untrue) stories about how he and Remus got together for his admirers, who eyed Remus enviously. They weren’t the only ones who couldn’t keep their eyes off the brown-haired boy; Sirius’ attention also kept returning to the werewolf.

He smiled fondly as the other boy grinned smugly at Peter and made a move with his bishop, sitting back with his arms crossed and a raised eyebrow. Sirius had seen Remus’ ‘I’ve got you right where I want you’ face in very different circumstances and his smile widened, wondering how soon he could excuse himself and drag his sexy wolf upstairs.

‘You really do care about him, don’t you?’ said a soft voice and Sirius glanced to his right at Lily, who’d managed to peel herself from James’ side to shift closer to Sirius.

‘Of course I do,' he said as if it should have been the most obvious thing in the world.

Lily bit her lip. ‘It’s just…you’re not very good with relationships…’ she said uneasily and Sirius frowned.

‘You people have such little faith in me,' he muttered, then looked straight into Lily's green eyes. 'Remus and I have always been close, Lily. The only thing that’s changed is that now we have the most incredible sex as well.’

The girl’s face turned as red as her hair and she appeared flustered. ‘I…I…just…you…oh!’

She rubbed her face irritably and Sirius chuckled, reaching across and patting her hand as he spoke in a low voice.

‘Lily, this isn’t an experiment,' he said seriously. 'This isn’t a casual thing for either of us. We’re going to live together, with all the commitment that comes along with that. I love him, Lil, and for some reason known only to him, he loves me too.’

Lily smiled broadly and hugged him hard. ‘Good,' she said vehemently. 'Because he deserves that. And, whether you believe it or not, Sirius Black, so do you.’

~*~

‘That went pretty well last night,' Sirius said as Remus sat down for his breakfast.

The werewolf reached for the toast and hummed,‘Mmm,' softly.

Sirius frowned at the non-committal noise and looked up from his breakfast. ‘What's wrong?’ he asked and Remus frowned.

‘I saw Regulus just before I came into breakfast,' he answered. 'Our news must have spread like wildfire.’

‘What did he do?’ Sirius asked, his voice rising sharply and Remus put a hand on his arm to warn him to calm down, hearing an audible sigh from several forlorn looking girls who’d been watching the couple intently.

The werewolf frowned in annoyance as he looked around and realised many female eyes from all the house tables were focused towards the newly outed couple - some jealous, some adoring, some judging, and all equally as irritating to Remus right now.

‘Do they think we’re going to shag right here?’ he snapped irritably and James, having watched the disappointed girls grumbling as Remus and Sirius disappeared up to the dorm last night, laughed.

‘I think that's exactly what they're hoping, Moony,' he chuckled. 'You and Padfoot should give them another show.’

Sirius ignored him and, frustrated, grabbed Remus’ arm to get his attention. ‘What did Regulus say to you?’ he demanded and James’ smile faded as Peter looked up from his bacon.

‘Regulus?' he said in alarm. 'Are you alright, Remus?’

Remus nodded, smiling at a concerned looking Peter before answering. ‘Nothing worth repeating,' he said calmly, buttering his toast. 'McGonagall came along before he got too vile. We might have to watch out for him on the train…he’s pretty angry that we came out on our own terms after your parents insisted he not tell anyone about us.’

Sirius scowled. ‘Retain the dignity of the Noble House of Black by pretending the queer son doesn’t exist. Prats,' he muttered, poking viciously at his porridge.

‘Yeah, well, he’s pissed off,' Remus said bluntly, reaching for the jam.

Sirius grabbed his wrist and said in a low growl, ‘I want to know what he said, Remus.’

The werewolf sighed and tried to make light of the venom Sirius‘ brother had spit at him. ‘That I infected you with ‘gay‘, that we were disgusting, that I was a dirty animal, that I should watch my back and sleep with one eye open…’

‘Remus!’

‘Look, it’s nothing I haven’t heard before about my condition, Padfoot,' he said, annoyed. 'And it’s nothing we won’t hear again from other intolerant pricks now we aren‘t hiding our relationship anymore. Just leave it alone and stay out of his way. He’s pretty unhappy about all of this.’

How unhappy Regulus was became apparent after breakfast as they made their way to the train from the horseless carriages that transported them to the station. Sirius, holding Remus' hand, stopped abruptly just before they reached the station, making Remus, who had kept walking, fling back against him like a rubber band.

‘Pads, what…?’ Remus asked in confusion, but another voice broke in.

‘What are you staring at, Princess?’

James and Peter turned towards the familiar, snide voice at the same time as Remus and saw Regulus and several other Slytherin Sixth Years moving briskly towards them. Peter and James quickly moved back to Remus and Sirius’ side, all four boys’ hands sliding into their pockets and curling around their wands.

‘You’re a fucking coward, Reg,' Sirius scowled, stepping forward to meet his brother head on. 'Can’t you face me on your own? You have to bring your little cronies? What were you going to do? Beat me up?’

Regulus sneered at him. ‘I might catch something if I touch you…’ he snapped and Sirius snorted.

‘You can’t catch gay, Regulus…’ he retorted. 'You really are a dumb fuck...'

‘Don’t you fucking talk to me like that!' yelled Regulus, his face turning purple with anger. 'You are a traitor! You chose that…faggot animal over your family…’

‘NO!' screamed Sirius, apoplectic with rage at the slight on Remus. 'They chose their reputation over me! Don’t you fucking dare take this out on Remus because you’re pissed off with me. If you want to hit me, then for once in your pissing, pathetic life, be a fucking man and do it!’

CRACK!

Sirius’ head snapped to the side as Regulus’ fist shot out and made direct contact with his jaw, making the older boy stumble as he let out an involuntary cry of pain.

Remus threw himself forward, but James grabbed him, holding him back and hissing, ‘No, he needs this. Leave them.’

Regulus’ possie looked nervous now the fight had escalated from the expected name calling and they shifted uneasily, looking to each other for guidance.

Peter frowned at them and waved his wand threateningly. 'Back off. Don‘t interfere and don't piss me off or you‘ll be living your lives as eunuchs.’

Their eyes widened and they did as they were told, stepping back as James and Peter pulled Remus out of the way of the brothers Black, who were now circling each other like gladiators.

Sirius growled, glaring at his brother. ‘No wands,' he snarled. 'You started this the Muggle way, brother, and we’ll finish it that way.’

Regulus' lip curled and he taunted, ‘Take your best shot, you fucking pansy.’

Sirius did, smashing his fist into Regulus’ nose, sending blood spraying across the grass below them. With a cry of outrage, Regulus threw himself at Sirius, who met him with clenched fists and boiling anger.

~*~

‘And I still say you should have cast a Confundment Charm on Hagrid so he forgot to stop us…’

‘Will you shut up, Sirius? You keep opening that cut up.’

Remus dabbed at the other boy’s lip as the train lurched away from the station, cleaning up the last of the blood before pointing his wand at him. ‘Hold still, you stupid bloody wanker,’ he muttered.

Sirius frowned, but did as Remus asked until he felt the familiar tingle of the Healing Spell then he opened his mouth. ‘I was defending our honour and you call me a wanker?’ he cried and Remus shook his head.

‘You weren't defending us; you were settling a score…that’s why I called you a wanker,' he said disapprovingly.

Sirius opened his mouth but, as James stepped back into the train carriage, Peter spoke up loudly.

‘Stop arguing, you two,' he snapped in annoyance. 'Honestly, I would have thought two blokes being together would mean less arguing not more.’

James sniggered and handed Sirius a charmed towel. ‘Here,' he said, smirking at Sirius' blackening eye. 'It’s cold. It’ll help with the bruising.’ His smile broadened. 'I just saw Regulus. You definitely won, Padfoot.'

Sirius smiled gratefully and threw himself at James, giving him a sloppy kiss on the cheek and hugging him hard before he allowed the bespectacled boy to push him off.

‘For Merlin’s sake, Pads! Are you trying to convert me?’ he complained, wiping spit off his cheek with the back of his hand.

‘I wouldn’t touch your arse with a ten foot pole, Mister Prongs,' Sirius snorted, shoving James playfully.

James pushed back and declared, ‘You’d be lucky to have my arse, Mister Padfoot, and I think you’re dreaming about the size of your pole.’

With a laugh, Sirius fell back in the seat next to Remus then, realising the werewolf was still irritated, gazed imploringly at the stony-faced boy who was softened by the pleading grey eyes.

‘Fine,' he mumbled, crossing his arms. 'You're forgiven for being an utter knob.’

Sirius grinned, then winced before putting the icy cloth on his face. His hand went to Remus knee, running upwards until he was squeezing his thigh. Remus tried to push him off but Sirius laughed, kissing him on the neck. Remus, flushing, elbowed him away, unable to completely hide his reluctant smile.

James shook his head despairingly as he and Peter watched Sirius’ antics. ‘Gods, must you keep molesting the poor boy, Padfoot?' he asked, wrinkling his nose. 'He’s going to rue the day he ever ingested whatever love potion it was that made him look twice at your ugly mug.’

Sirius smirked and threw himself back against the seat, hooking an arm around the werewolf’s neck and dragging him against his shoulder before saying, ‘You know that this is all your fault, Potter?’

James raised an eyebrow. ‘It’s my fault you took a look at Moony’s arse and decided you had to have it?’

Remus, trying to extricate himself from Sirius‘ embrace, looked up with a wicked smile. ‘Actually, it’s usually Sirius’ arse that gets had…’

‘Remus!’

Sirius glared at a laughing Remus then looked back at a queasy looking James, knowing the boy was trying to erase Remus‘ last comment from his memory.

‘Do you remember that Firewhiskey you pinched from your dad’s cabinet at the beginning of the year?‘ Sirius asked.

James’ forehead creased as he thought then nodded as the memory came back to him. His face reddened as he recalled how strange Sirius and Remus had been after that night and his oh-so-clever mind quickly put two and two together.

‘Oh, Humping Hippogriffs! You snogged that night, didn’t you?’ he said with a grimace and Sirius grinned happily.

‘Sure did,' he declared. 'If you hadn’t bought that Firewhiskey, none of this would have happened. Moony and I might never have realised we were as gay as picnic baskets.’

‘Shit,' James said, biting his lip. 'So it’s my fault Pete and I have to watch you two mooning over each other for the rest of our bloody lives?’

Sirius grinned, laying his head on Remus’ shoulder. ‘Yep. So next time you moan and groan about seeing us groping, remember…you’ve only got yourself to blame.’

He turned his head and saw the corner of Remus’ mouth quirk up and he shifted closer, kissing the other boy. Remus’ smile broadened and he turned his head to allow Sirius access to his lips. As their mouths joined, Peter flushed and turned to James with a glare.

‘Thanks a bloody lot, Prongs.’

fin.