It Was Only A Kiss!

Chapter Thirteen

A month later

‘Bloody Hell!’

‘Happy Birthday, Moony!’

The chorus of voices made Remus look up from his soaked bed to see his room mates grinning down at him, each with now empty buckets in their hands.

‘You call this a happy birthday?' he spluttered, pushing his soaking wet brown hair out of his face. 'Woken up by buckets of cold fucking water being tossed on me?’

James was holding weakly onto the bedpost, crying with laughter, Sirius was sniggering behind his hand, and only a chortling Peter bothered to try and offer an explanation.

‘Well, we couldn’t find a hooker to celebrate your coming of age and Prongs refused to get down and dirty to help initiate you into adulthood. We ran out of ideas then so we fell back on an old stand by.’

Remus snarled as he wrung out his shirt. ‘You lot claim to be the greatest fucking pranksters of the modern age yet none of you could think of a more original way to wake me up...and who’s gonna clean up this mess?’

‘Give us a break, Moony,' Peter said with a snort of laughter as water streamed out of Remus' pyjama top. 'Zonko himself would have trouble thinking up something original at six in the morning.’

Remus groaned at the reminder of the early hour then climbed over a mound of wet bedclothes to stand up. He shook his head vigorously in a very canine-like way and sent a spray of water droplets over the still-chortling trio, who screeched and tried futilely to leap out of the way. Sirius and Peter slammed into each other in their haste and crashed to the ground in a tangled heap. Remus laughed at them then quickly moved to grab his soaked pyjama pants, which had started to slip over his hips. A pale butt cheek was exposed before he managed to catch them and drag them back up into place.

James burst into fresh waves of laughter as he watched Remus struggle with his pyjama bottoms and joined the others on the floor, his shaking knees unable to hold him up any longer. Peter bent over double giggling as Remus glared at them and held onto his sagging pants.

Sirius, however, sat up fast, his amusement fading at the sight of that rounded flesh he had been clutching at so desperately just last night. His face flushed as his groin twitched in reaction to the memory and he blinked a couple of times before he made himself look away, catching a grinning Peter staring at him all-knowingly. Sirius was surprised by the blonde boy’s obvious smugness, but recovered enough to stand up and throw a towel at Remus with a smile that hopefully didn‘t look too forced.

‘Get dry, Moony. You’ve got presents to open.’

The thought of the copious amounts of sweets the Marauders usually heaped on him cheered Remus up some, and, grumbling under his breath, he squelched his way to the bathroom to change. He had stripped and was drying off his damp skin when he heard the bathroom door open. Glancing up at the mirror, he saw Sirius behind him before he felt a pinch on his arse. He squeaked in surprise and leapt out of the way of Sirius' wandering hands, even as his body responded to the touch.

Sirius chuckled at his reaction. ‘I was busting to do that in there,' he teased. 'You have a nice butt, Moony.’

‘Shit, Padfoot!’ Remus growled, grabbing a towel and holding it to his groin.

Sirius watched in amusement as he hastily tried to wrap the terrycloth around himself without revealing his privates.

‘You seem to have forgotten that I’ve actually seen that thing in a much more impressive state, Moony,' he said, his voice laced with laughter.

‘You…I…shut up, Pads!'

Remus could feel himself flushing and Sirius’ throaty chuckle only served to redirect some of the blood that had been rushing to his face in a more southerly direction. He frowned and grabbed his underwear.

‘What do you want anyway? I refuse to allow you to molest me when there is some of Honeydukes finest waiting out there for me.’

Sirius laughed, still watching Remus' fumbling attempts to dress. ‘Good to see you’ve got your priorities sorted out, Moony.’

‘There’s no competition, Padfoot,' Remus said, finally getting his feet into the boxers. 'Chocolate is my one true love.’

He pulled his underwear up under his towel then untied the terry cloth, slinging it over a hook with a relieved sigh. Sirius had seen him naked before, but the dim lighting of their bower was very forgiving. The light in the bathroom was not so kind.

‘So...what couldn’t wait?’ he asked, raising his eyebrows questioningly.

Sirius’ smile faded and he looked a little uncertain as he jumped up onto the vanity, sliding his backside onto the cold stone bench.

‘I've got something for you and I...' He bit his lip. 'I’ve got the usual box of chocolates in the dorm - Merlin knows you’d bite my hand off if I forgot that - but I... I wanted to give you your proper present in private and...’

He sighed heavily then shrugged and pulled a rectangular shaped, wrapped gift from inside his shirt. ‘Here.’

Remus reached out for it cautiously and looked it over. 'It won't explode, Moony,' Sirius said. 'Although you might want to be careful of Prongs' gift.'

The corner of Remus' mouth twitched and he tugged on the ribbon, unwrapping the gift carefully and cursing his heart, which was beating so fast he thought it would break his ribs. He pulled off the wrap and his chest tightened almost painfully when he uncovered the leather encased book.

‘I still don’t get why it’s called the 'Three Musketeers' when there are four of them, but...’ Sirius shrugged, his face pink. ‘We ruined your copy during that pillow fight before the summer break and I’ve been trying to find it since. I had it bound and the title and your name embossed...'

He realised he was babbling and snapped his mouth shut. 'Anyway, I hope you like it.’

Remus stared down at the book, words refusing to come. The scent of luxurious leather reached his nostrils and his thumb traced the gold embossed words, ‘Property of Remus J. Lupin’ across the bottom of the back cover, the script matching that used to stamp the title of the book into the calfskin on the front. He’d never had such an extravagant gift given to him before and was a little overwhelmed by both Sirius’ thoughtfulness and his intense gut reaction to it.

Sirius bit his lip hard when Remus remained silent. ‘I...I got the wrong thing, didn’t I?’

Remus shook his head quickly as he looked up at the other boy, his breathing a little laboured.

‘No. No, it’s...perfect, but Sirius... this must have cost you a fortune.’

The Animagus flushed and he looked extraordinarily pleased with himself. He shrugged as he slid off the bench, dismissing Remus’concerns.

‘You might want to keep it somewhere safer this time - never know when a pillow fight might break out.’

He smiled then that uncertain expression flittered across his face again before he leaned over and pecked Remus on the cheek quickly.

The werewolf’s skin burned with awareness and his stomach flipped over as Sirius said softly,‘Happy Birthday, Remus.’

He left the bathroom quickly and Remus stared down at the leather-clad cover of the book in alarm. He knew this feeling.

Fast beating heart?

Check.

Rapid respiration?

Check.

Desire to smile stupidly and read ridiculously flowery poetry about love and rainbows?

Check.

Oh, bloody hell!

He hadn’t felt this since Third Year when James decided that Lily Evans would one day be his and a disappointed Remus had to resign himself to putting her on the forever unobtainable list. These were the symptoms of a fast growing crush and yet again, it seemed his heart was setting itself on someone completely and utterly out of its reach.

~*~*~

‘Have a good birthday, Remus?’

The werewolf looked up and smiled at Lily Evans as he nodded. ‘Yeah, it was great - apart from the wake up call.’

She giggled and sat down next to him on the couch where he‘d settled himself after his last class to read. ‘James told me about that. He thought it was hysterical. Do you think he’ll ever grow up?’

Remus put down his book carefully and grinned. ‘Probably not completely, but you’ve curtailed him since you gave in and agreed to date him.’

She looked smug and smirked before she picked up his book. ‘Three Musketeers'. I love this book.’ She ran her fingers over the leather and gold and smiled. ‘Remus, this is gorgeous. Where did you get it? Did your parents give it to you for your birthday?’

Remus felt his face heating up and cleared his throat.‘Er, no. Actually, Sirius gave it to me.’

‘Oh. I see,' Lily said, in a tone that implied that she really did see. She handed the book back to Remus and seemed to be thinking about her next words before she opened her mouth.‘He’s not usually so…generous with his gifts, is he? He gave James a packet of Liquorice Wands for his last birthday.’

Remus tried evasive tactics to distract her from her too-close-for-comfort observations. ‘I didn’t realise you paid so much attention to James before you started dating him. Was all that resistance just you playing hard-to-get?’

'I am hard to get,' she retorted, glaring at him to communicate that she knew exactly what he was trying to do and that it hadn't worked. ‘Sirius must have done something really bad to try and make it up to you with such an expensive gift...'

She paused then added softly,'...or he really likes you.’

Remus stood up, flustered by her pointed questioning. ‘He did something bad,' he told her, grabbing his bag of school books and clutching his book to his chest. 'He helped ruin my other copy so got me this. You know Sirius - doesn’t think about the cost of things much. People with money don’t.’

‘Mmm,' Lily murmured, not sounding convinced and Remus decided to beat a hasty retreat, mumbling a farewell and taking the stairs two at a time.

He burst through the door of his dorm, stomach churning with worry. Did Lily know what was going on? Had she seen something in his face that screamed ‘gay werewolf'? He dumped his bag and book on his bed then went to the bathroom, splashing water on his face with hands that trembled a little.

She doesn’t know. Lily doesn’t beat around the bush. If she thought she knew, she’d ask.

‘You okay, Moony?’

Remus looked up and smiled at Peter, who was frowning in concern from the doorway.‘Yeah, I'm fine, Pete. Too many sweets.’

Peter grinned and stood aside so Remus could move back into the dorm first.‘Well, I can take some of that load off your hands if you like…’

~*~*~

After dinner, Remus ignored the others' suggestions that he should nip off to the pub for an after-dinner Firewhiskey, or try to find some ‘ahem - company’ to celebrate his coming of age, and instead, curled up in bed to read. He remained there all evening as one by one the others came up to bed. He blocked out the sounds of their laughing and teasing and soon enough, Remus was reading to a chorus of light snores. It was nearly midnight and he had nearly reached the end of his book when his curtains parted softly and Sirius poked his dark head in and grinned.

‘Want some company?’ he whispered and Remus smiled, shifting on his bed to allow Sirius to slide under the covers next to him.

They’d fallen back into their routine after that night at the lake nearly a month earlier. Sirius would wait until the others fell asleep then sneak over to Remus' bed. At first, they'd talk for a little while then make out, ending the night in a sweating, groping wank that left both of them panting and sated.

But, more recently, they found themselves talking for longer, telling each other things they never thought they’d tell another living soul. Remus told Sirius about the night he was bitten, about the fight his parents put up to stop the Ministry putting him down like an animal, about the fears he held for his future. In return, Sirius confided in him about his parents and his love/hate relationship with them, his brother who he felt guilty for leaving behind when he ran away from home and who he feared was getting sucked into the battle that was building in the outside world, and his terror that he himself would turn out to be everything he despised in them all.

Those nights, there was no rutting, no wanking, no physical release, nothing more than a few kisses goodnight once they'd talked themselves out, but when Sirius tiptoed back to his bed, they were just as sated and content as they were on those other nights.

The only topic they never discussed was what they were doing together or their sexuality. Sirius once almost blurted out all his fears and growing doubts about his sexual orientation, his concerns that his friends would turn their backs on him if he was disowned and was no longer a powerful, wealthy Black, but bit his tongue at the last moment as he lost his famous Gryffindor courage.

Tonight, Sirius put his head on Remus’ shoulder and stopped him from closing the book.

‘No, finish it. Read it out loud to me.’

‘Too tired to read with me?’ Remus teased and Sirius grinned.

‘Too lazy.’

Remus chuckled, but did as he was bid, casting a Silencing spell then reading the final pages of the story, which Sirius had read the year before with his encouragement and enjoyed. When he finished, he looked over at Sirius, who’d been unusually quiet and caught the other boy watching him.

‘What?’ he asked self-consciously.

‘You’ve got nice lips.’

Remus smiled, feeling himself flush and thanking Merlin for the dim lighting. ‘So have you.’

‘Mmm,' Sirius murmured, burrowing his chin into the crook of Remus' neck. 'So why are we still talking if my lips are so nice?’

Remus shrugged nonchalantly and hid a smirk. ‘Well, I thought we could discuss the book. It was just fascinating...’

‘You talk too much, Moony,' Sirius complained, nudging the werewolf in the ribs. 'Do something more interesting with your mouth.’

‘Any suggestions?’ Remus asked and Sirius sniggered.

‘Many - all too filthy to actually say aloud. Why don't you start with a kiss and see what happens?’

Remus smiled and planted a chaste kiss on Sirius' lips. ‘Alright?’

‘Not nearly alright yet,' Sirius complained, grabbing hold of the front of Remus' shirt and pulling him closer.

Remus laughed and swiftly rolled on top of the brunette, pinning him to the bed and making him exclaim cheekily,‘Hey, this looks a lot like one of those suggestions I had...!’

Sirius’ words dried up as Remus leant down and kissed him, the soft lip lock quickly growing and deepening as heat took hold. Their clothes fell by the wayside and hands wandered over the exposed, heated skin. They had both been growing in confidence of late, their explorative touches guided by soft moans and gentle direction. Neither wanted to admit it aloud, but they found what they did together far more erotic than being with a member of the fairer sex, both startled that the roughened fingers, scratchy jaw and hard angles aroused more intense sensations than the softness of the girls they’d been with in the past.

For Remus at least, it was now impossible to deny that he preferred this to being with a girl and his mind was gradually coming to accept that girls were never going to be an option for him again. He was also starting to want to try new things, to touch and taste Sirius in different ways, but didn’t have a clue how to broach the subject with the other boy, who he was sure would react badly if he suggested going a bit further.

So perhaps I should try just doing it...

His lips trailed along the delicate chord of Sirius’ throat, loving the feel of the frantically fluttering pulse point under his tongue. Sirius groaned, tilting his head to the side to allow Remus full access then he let out a fast, sharp breath as Remus' roughened fingers tentatively rolled a nipple.

Remus looked up at the sound, wondering if the simple touch was too much, but hoping to all that was holy that Sirius would allow it.

‘Pads?’

‘Do it again,’Sirius ordered, his voice thick and hoarse.

Remus obliged him then, after garnering another long moan from Sirius’ lips, he bent his head and allowed his tongue to flick lightly over the tiny nub.

‘Oh, Merlin! Again!’

The breathy whisper came as a shiver shook Sirius and Remus smiled, pleased his first push for more intimacy had been eagerly accepted. He laved the coffee-coloured nipples with his tongue and Sirius pushed his chest towards him, offering himself up for Remus' mouth to devour. When the werewolf bit down gently on his nipple, Sirius growled and shifted his hand to pinch Remus’ sensitive buds.

The werewolf squawked at the unexpectedly sharp touch then moaned softly as Sirius ran the pad of his thumb over the nub to soothe it. Remus returned his mouth to Sirius’, catching sight of the other boy’s eyes, which were darkened with lust and need, and the desire he saw there made Remus just about lose his mind.

Fighting back the urge to snog the other boy senseless, Remus touched his lips lightly to Sirius’, brushing their mouths together teasingly until Sirius made a frustrated noise and lifted his head, impatiently claiming Remus' lips. They kissed - long, deep, aching kisses - and they rocked together as their laboured breathing filled the bubble they’d created around themselves. When his head was spinning and he could no longer deny his body’s need for oxygen, Remus pulled away from Sirius’ clinging lips, burying his face in the other boy’s neck and breathing in his musky, spicy scent.

Sirius’ hand ghosted over Remus’ arse and the werewolf moaned as the feather-light touch firmed around the curve of a buttock. Sirius squeezed lightly as he flexed his hips and ground their leaking erections together. Remus swore into Sirius' neck and pressed kisses along the brunette's throat. Sirius’ other hand stroked up and down Remus' back, lingering for several moments over the freshest scar then his lips grazed Remus ear.

‘You’re soft for a boy.’

Remus lifted his mouth off Sirius’ throat and looked at him in surprise. They rarely talked once they started this dance and usually then spoke only to direct the other... harder, faster, Oh Gods, moremoremore... But chit chat was unusual…

‘What?’

‘You’re soft for a boy,' Sirius repeated quietly. 'Your skin, I mean.’

‘Did you just insult me, Padfoot?’ Remus teased, skimming a finger along Sirius' collarbone and smiling when the other boy shivered.

‘Why would that be an insult?’ Sirius asked, tilting his head to give access to Remus' finger as it stroked over the curve of his neck.

‘Well, boys shouldn’t be described as soft,' Remus told him, pressing a kiss to the ridge of Sirius' clavicle. 'They should be muscular and hard and…’

‘Some bits of you are hard,' Sirius smirked then he rubbed his groin over Remus'. 'Very hard, in fact.’

Remus moaned softly and smiled. ‘Prat. You know what I mean. You’re soft too, you know.’

‘My skin’s rougher than yours,' Sirius argued, hands weaving into Remus' hair. 'I have manly calluses and the like.’

Remus grinned wickedly and pushed himself into a seated position between Sirius' legs. ‘Not everywhere.’

His hand crept between Sirius’ legs and lightly scraped over his inner thigh.‘You’re soft here.’

Sirius chuckled and arched off the bed, spreading his legs to encourage the caress. Remus diligently ran his fingers over the soft flesh, his wrist accidentally brushing Sirius’ straining erection. The brunette moaned loudly and Remus stared down at him, stunned all of sudden by how...beautiful the other boy was. With his hair all mussed, his eyes squeezed shut, face contorted with pleasure and his body twisted and muscles tensed because of what Remus was doing, how he was touching him, Sirius was simply gorgeous.

Remus ran his hands over Sirius’ tense thighs to cup his hips, feeling the other boy straining to push himself closer and his frustrated, pleading moans hanging in the air. It gave Remus a strange sense of power to know that he could make another person feel that good and he acted on impulse, bending over and kissing the tip of Sirius’ cock.

The other boy’s reaction was instantaneous and not at all subtle. His eyes flew open and he yelped, his body jerking off the bed.

‘What the…?!’

Fuck, I ruined it!

‘Sorry!’ Remus sat up fast, reaching over to grab his boxers, not brave enough to look at Sirius' no doubt horrified face. ‘I’m sorry. God, Sirius…I…I’m sorry.’

‘Moony...’

‘I’m so...’

Sirius nearly growled. ‘For Merlin's sake, don’t apologise again!' He put his hand on Remus' arm. 'Remus, please? Stop.’

The ardent plea stopped Remus and he sat slumped on the edge of the bed, hands coming up to press against his eyes.

‘Remus, look at me,' Sirius asked softly. 'Please?’

Summoning every ounce of courage he had left, Remus took his hands off his burning face and looked at Sirius who shocked him by kissing him, letting his lips linger for several seconds before pulling back.

‘S…Sirius…I...’

‘Did you want to do it?' Sirius asked abruptly. 'It wasn’t an accident? You didn’t mean to kiss my stomach and...slip?’

For a moment, Remus was tempted to say ‘yes, it was an accident that your penis fell into my mouth,' but he knew Sirius would never believe it.

‘I wanted to do it.’ His voice was low and miserable and Sirius chuckled.

‘Doesn’t sound like you wanted to do it.’

‘I did,' Remus said then looked up into Sirius' dark eyes. 'I do.’

Something flared bright and hot in those dark irises and Remus shivered as that heat captured him and spread throughout his body. Sirius stared intently at Remus then nodded and fell back onto the bed, striking a flamboyant, spreadeagled pose.

‘Well, if you're sure. Just watch your teeth; I don’t want your fangs sinking into anything sensitive.’

Remus stared at Sirius with a combination of disbelief and excitement, and Sirius smiled, holding out a hand to him.

'Come here, yeah?' he said, a little gruffly and Remus moved, sliding up his friend's body to kiss him hard and fast.

They snogged this time, hot and rough as their wandering hands renewed each others' arousal. Remus’ hand stroked both his own cock and Sirius’ as he pressed kisses all over his friend’s chest, his ribs, his stomach - every patch of skin he‘d been wanting to taste. When he reached Sirius' hip, he kissed the bony knob there then looked nervously up at the brunette who, to his surprise, was watching him intently.

‘Remus, you don’t have to…’Sirus began, but Remus interrupted.

‘I know. I want to.’

Tentatively, Remus pressed his mouth to the soft, slightly sticky head of Sirius' cock then pulled back and licked the transferred pre-come off his lips. It didn’t taste as bad as he thought it might and looked back up at a dark-eyed Sirius.

‘Is it disgusting?’

Remus was pleased to hear that Sirius’ voice was nowhere near as steady as it had been just a few seconds earlier and he shook his head.

‘Not too bad,' he answered tremulously. 'It's…salty.’

Sirius grunted and Remus once again focused on his task. His pink tongue flicked over Sirius‘ erection, circling the ridge of the soft glans and Sirius’ long moan spurred him on. Remus eased his mouth slowly over the tip of the now-throbbing shaft and pressed his tongue to the tip, wriggling it over the little leaking crevasse there.

‘Holy fucking Merlin!’

Smiling at Sirius’ loud and enthusiastic reaction, Remus sucked lightly and the Animagus’ hips jerked sharply, pushing more of his long cock into Remus’ mouth. Another groan made Remus do it again, harder this time, then he dragged his lips up the stiff shaft, keeping just the tip inside his mouth as he sucked this time and Sirius whined.

'Remus...Oh, Gods, Remus!'

Remus nearly came there and then; Sirius' desperate, pleading voice calling his name sending him right to the edge. He breathed in through his nose before he dove back down to eagerly suck more of Sirius length inside his mouth, not stopping until his gag reflex kicked in. He repeated this action a few times, swirling his tongue around the soft cockhead as Sirius’ hands twisted in his hair and guided his pace. He fisted the bottom half of Sirius’ hard column, shifting his hand in sync with his mouth’s movements.

Sirius’ raspy voice murmuring, ‘Fuckfuckfuck’ over and over let him know he was doing it right then, after one last hard suck, he heard Sirius whisper,‘Shit! Remus, I’m coming.’

Remus was still deciding what to do when thick fluid filled his mouth and, after choking initially, he bravely swallowed. Sirius convulsed under him, bucking and swearing violently then his body went limp, cock still pulsing in Remus' mouth. Remus let the softened member slide from between his lips, but stayed where he was, leaning his head against Sirius' hip. Sirius was still whimpering and ran his hands over Remus’ head as the aftershocks eased. When he stopped trembling, Remus moved away, but the Animagus opened his eyes, pinning him with his darkened orbs as his smooth, flawless chest rose and fell erratically.

‘Come here, Remus.’

Remus obeyed the shaky demand, crawling up the bed to lie down next to Sirius and immediately, he felt a calloused hand wrap around his throbbing, neglected cock. He gasped then moaned and, just a few expert strokes later, he was arching up and cursing his own blue streak as he came hot and hard all over Sirius' hand.

When he finally opened his eyes, Sirius was looming over him, his grey eyes searching Remus‘.

‘Did you really swallow?’

Remus groaned in embarrassment, but warily nodded, hoping that Sirius wouldn't screw up his nose in disgust. The ebony-haired boy hesitated then dipped his head to kiss Remus, his tongue snaking into the werewolf's mouth, sweeping around the soft recess and tasting his own essence there. He pulled back and gazed down at Remus breathlessly, wondrously.

‘I can taste me.’

Remus nodded, waiting for a reaction. Sirius’ face softened and he suddenly looked more vulnerable than Remus would have thought possible. A shaky hand brushed over Remus’ forehead, shifting light-brown strands away from his face gently. Remus raised his own arm, touching Sirius’ face lightly with the tips of his fingers and stroking them along the line of his jaw. The other boy smiled then leaned down to kiss Remus again, lips meeting softly, sweetly, before he pulled back, face more animated now as he teased:

‘Not bad, Moony. Not bad at all.’

TBC...