Beginnings

It is a week until Sirius is due to go home for Christmas. It is snowing outside and he is glad he didn’t make the Quidditch team; James is out for a last practice before the holidays and Sirius had teased him all morning about it. Remus is still asleep and Peter is doing detention for Professor McGonagall.

“Remus,” Sirius says, prodding Remus in the face while he sleeps.

Remus stirs and swats Sirius’s hand away.

“Reeeeemus.”

“You sound like a mosquito,” he mutters into his pillow.

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeh.” Sirius moves in closer to Remus’s ear.

“Black!” Remus shouts and sits up in his bed. “Can’t I sleep in one day of the weekend!”

“No, obviously. Otherwise you would be in another house.” Sirius sits down heavily on the edge of Remus’s four-poster.

“If I were in another house, you would find out the password somehow and wake me any way, I’m sure.”

Sirius grins. “Yes.”

Remus lies back down on his side, turned away from Sirius. “Go away, I’m tired.”

“That’s not my fault.” He lies down next to Remus and puts an arm around him over the duvet. Their faces are inches apart and Sirius moves to kiss the other boy. Remus pulls the duvet up over his own mouth.

“Yes it is,” says Remus, voice muffled by the blanket. “Sometimes I wish I never taught you Muffliato.”

Sirius peels the duvet away from Remus’s face. “It comes in handy, though.”

“Too bad you can’t sneak into my bed quietly, however. Don’t you think they wondered why you were tripping over your trunk at three in the morning?”

“They probably wonder why you don’t stop drooling whenever you’re in my presence, too.”

“Fuck you, Black.”

Sirius kisses him quickly, before Remus has a chance to pull the duvet back over his lips. “Moony ...” he trails off. “Moony, you should come stay with me and James.”

“What?”

“For Christmas. I want to have Christmas with you.”

“I don’t think my parents will let me. After Christmas?”

“Your parents can come, too.”

“You probably shouldn’t be inviting people over to James’s,” Remus says quietly. He wants to spend Christmas at the Potters’. He would love to. On Christmas mornings over the past six years, he always felt horrible that he would rather be back at Hogwarts, instead of with his parents.

“Well I’ll get James to ask.”

“You mean you’ll force him.”

“Well, not violently.” Sirius draws himself closer to Remus; his pyjamas are thinning and he hasn’t had the chance to buy new ones. “It’s cold.”

“Very subtle, Sirius.”

“I know. Subtlety is my speciality.”

“Alright, then, get in.”

Sirius scrambles under the sheets and Remus yelps as Sirius’s cold feet touch his own.

“Sorry,” Sirius says. He puts a hand on Remus’s waist. “Should have let me in earlier.”

“Or maybe never at all; I’m going to develop frostbite on my toes.” Remus does not move away, however, he moves closer and pushes one of his legs in between Sirius’s. He kisses the other boy, running a hand through Sirius’s long hair.

Sirius grins through the kiss and his hand moves down into Remus’s trousers. Remus jumps as though he’s been shocked. “Merlin’s beard your hands are freezing!” he says.

“I’m sure they’ll warm up in a sec—”

The dormitory door bursts open and James enters, looking thoroughly disgruntled. He’s sopping wet and his brow is utterly furrowed.

“Fucking Alderton!” he yelled, tossing his broom onto his bed. “Tell him where he can stick his broom,” he added, muttering to himself, walking in circles around the room.

Sirius and Remus break away; Sirius quickly slips his hand out of Remus’s underwear. “Quidditch practice off, then?”

“Yes it’s bloody well off! I can’t see a thing with these idiotic glasses!” He pauses in his frantic walking. “What are you two doing?”

“It’s cold, James,” Sirius says as he rolls his eyes, before Remus can answer. Remus is horribly bad at telling lies. “And I’m sure you’ve booby-trapped my bed because of what I said this morning so I’ve decided it’s unsafe.”

“Right. Well, I haven’t. In case you hadn’t noticed, I was out in the bloody snow all damn morning.”

“I’d noticed,” Sirius mutters so only Remus can hear. “James, Remus is staying at your parents’ for Christmas.”

“Really?” James immediately loses his sour demeanour. “This will be great!” He squelches toward Remus’s bed. “You haven’t been on Padfoot’s motorcycle yet, have you?”

“I am not getting on that thing.”

“It’s great, Moony. You’ll love it,” Sirius says as he sits up in the bed. “Oh, and can his parents come over on Christmas day to spend time with their beloved offspring?”

“Who’s their beloved offspring?”

“Your wit astounds me,” Remus says.

“I know it does. Anyway, sure. I’ll write my parents and ask. You wanna get some lunch?”

“You should probably get changed first,” Remus says.

“Eh?”

“You look like a drowned rat.”

“First time I’ve seen you with your hair flat,” Sirius says. He jumps out of Remus’s bed and stands beside James and ruffles his sopping wet hair.

“Oy, get out of it.” James punches him playfully in the arm.

“Don’t worry, Evans can’t see.”

“Fuck you, Sirius.” James turns to Remus. “Moony, if you would be so kind as to accompany me to the great hall in twenty minutes for luncheon, I would be honoured,” he says grandly, takes a bow and struts out of the room.

Sirius launches himself onto Remus’s bed, causing the other boy to groan in pain. “You’re much heavier than you look, Sirius.”

He crawls on top of Remus and kisses him fiercely. Remus pulls Sirius’s face closer to his, surprised that Sirius is already so warm. They break apart and Sirius leans close to the other boy’s ear. “I love you,” he says, and before Remus can reply, he gets off the bed. “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” he says, “I haven’t finished torturing James about Evans.” He runs out the dormitory door.

Remus lies there, a little shocked. It’s the first time Sirius has told him that he loves him.

He smiles to himself as he gets dressed.