It Was Only A Kiss!

Chapter Seven

Over the following weeks, things remained a little awkward between the friends, but as there were no more incidents involving spit being swapped, both Remus and Sirius had started to relax around each other. They even managed to be alone in the dorm together a couple of times without one of them finding an imaginary excuse to bolt.

True, Remus had to leave the room for a few minutes when Sirius appeared in the dorm in just a towel, the brunette notoriously forgetful about taking clean clothes into the bathroom with him.
And Sirius did turn a strange colour when he bumped into Remus coming out of the bathroom late one night - sending them both tumbling to the floor in a tangle of bare limbs and mumbled apologies.
And it was difficult to explain away the fact that the usually affectionate duo were suddenly avoiding physical contact with each other but in general, James and Peter accepted that they’d had a slight misunderstanding about something neither Remus or Sirius could really even remember and that they’d apologised and, as an obliviously accurate Peter put it, ‘kissed and made up’.

Just over four weeks after that first drunken kiss, Remus was playing chess with Peter in their dorm room, trying to settle the restless wolf inside him. His transformation was the following night and his body had been aching relentlessly all day. He made his move quickly then rolled his shoulders to try and loosen them as Peter contemplated the board.

‘Hurting, Moony?’

Remus jumped a little when he heard the soft voice, turning to see Sirius watching him from his bed where he‘d been thumbing through the latest Quidditch Monthly. The brunette had been unusually quiet, and Remus had forgotten he was there.

‘I’m alright, Pads. Just a bit sore.’ He turned back to the board in time to see Peter’s queen smash his piece to smithereens.

He groaned as he looked up at Peter. ‘I guess that’s game over.’

He smiled and shook hands with a grinning Peter then stood up with a little moan. ‘I’m going to have a shower…try and work some of these kinks out.’

‘Always said you were a kinky bugger, Moony.’

Remus heard Sirius’ comment and his chuckle, and flipped him the bird before locking himself in the bathroom.

~*~*~

When he returned, the lazy atmosphere of the room had changed, becoming energised, with an underlying current of excitement. James had returned from his latest attempt to woo the lovely Miss Evans and was in the centre of Remus’ bed with Sirius and Peter almost bouncing next to him.

Remus frowned disapprovingly at his no longer perfectly made up bed. ‘Why do you always sit on my bed?’

All three boys looked over and grinned iridescently at him. Peter ignored the question, instead heralding an upcoming announcement.

‘James has news and gossip.’

Remus put his shower kit on his side table and sat down next to Peter, an expectant look on his face.

‘Prongs?’

‘Lily agreed to go out with me.’

Remus’ eyebrows shot up and his mouth fell open in shock. Sirius laughed at his dumbfounded expression.

‘Yeah, that was pretty much our reaction as well.’

Remus shook his head, sure his hearing was wonky. ‘She said yes?’

James looked affronted at his obvious disbelief. ‘Why does that come as such a big surprise?’

Remus was incredulous. ‘Perhaps because the most interest she’s ever shown in you as an actual person has been to enquire if you were raised by wolves?’

Sirius chuckled again and Remus’ heart did some kind of odd flip at the low, melodious sound. He frowned a little, wondering if he should go see Madam Pomfrey about his heart’s gymnastics as he was sure that wasn’t normal behaviour for a vital organ. He vaguely heard James telling them his first date plans and took a tremulous breath, trying to concentrate on his friend’s happiness.

As James spoke enthusiastically, Remus became more and more aware of Sirius' proximity. They weren't touching, but the side of Remus' body closest to the brunette was burning - as if Sirius were on fire and flames were licking at Remus' skin. He shifted, trying to fight the urge to look at Sirius but after just a minute, he gave in. His gaze slid side-ways and he was surprised when his eyes met Sirius’ grey orbs, which were staring disconcertingly right at him.

The brunette mouthed, ‘Are you okay?’ to which Remus nodded, finding it more difficult than it should have been to tear his eyes away from the other boy’s mouth.

‘…what do you think, Moony? You’re the romance expert.’

He blinked and looked back at James. ‘How am I the romance expert? I haven’t had a date in weeks.’

‘You read all those books and watch those movies…’

Remus sighed, still unsure of how watching the occasional romance film and reading Jane Austen made him an expert on love, but asked James to repeat the question.

~*~*~

Sirius watched Remus carefully as he advised James against charming a bunch of flowers to sing to Lily. The werewolf looked tired, more tired than usual, and Sirius knew that was because he hadn’t been sleeping well.

He had heard Remus tossing and turning in his bed until early morning before the other boy finally gave up on sleep and went down to the common room where Sirius found him reading or studying the next morning.

Normally, he would be oblivious to this wee small hour activity, but he had heard Remus' fitful attempts at snoozing the last few weeks because he too, was having difficulty getting to sleep. Sirius sighed inaudibly as James rhapsodised over Lily. He had been laying awake in his bed most nights, listening to Remus' bed covers rustling and thinking about Remus' mouth on his as his hand crept into his pyjama pants. Sirius frowned, wondering if he'd ever be able to do what he and Remus had agreed to do and forget those kisses had ever happened.

Not likely.

Not while he was still dreaming about what might have happened if Madam Pomfrey hadn’t interrupted them in the Shrieking Shack a month ago. He closed his eyes and swallowed, trying to lubricate his suddenly dry throat. Images that could have come straight from that porn film Peter had shown them last year flashed like lightening through his mind. Remus’ mouth on his, Remus touching his chest, Remus’ hands on his belt buckle...
The fantasies all ended the same way - in powerful waves of pleasure as he fought not to say his friend’s name at the moment of climax.

He didn’t dream about girls anymore - it was all about Remus.

I am so fucked up.

‘Padfoot?’

He looked up and blinked, flushing when he saw all three pairs of eyes on him. ‘Huh?’

James looked impatient, but repeated himself. ‘Did you hear what I said about Ken Lindsay and Jonathon Markham from Hufflepuff?’

Sirius shook his head and looked over at Remus for a clue as to what this new conversation was about and was surprised to see the frightened expression on his friend’s face. James grinned and bounced a little on the bed as he leaned forward.

‘I caught them at it in the boys loos after dinner.‘

Sirius looked bewildered for a moment, failing to understand the implications. ‘At what?’

James and Peter burst out laughing and it was left to a slightly sick looking Remus to answer quietly.

‘James said they were…snogging and…stuff.’

‘Stuff!’ Peter almost choked on his tongue as he laughed. ‘He said they had their hands down each other’s pants!’

Sirius’ eyes widened as he got it and Remus' expression made complete and terrifying sense.

‘Oh.’

It was more of a noise than an exclamation, a breath released as words failed him. Both the named Sixth Years had girlfriends - he was sure of it as he’d been in trouble a couple of months ago for hitting on one of them. So why the hell were they feeling each other up in the loos?

He waited until James and Peter had stopped cackling then asked tentatively, ‘Are they... gay then?’

‘No.’ James shook his head. ‘No, when they asked me not to tell anyone, they said they weren’t; just that they were doing each other a favour. They said they liked girls, but sometimes they wouldn‘t do stuff when they needed them to. Doesn’t make them poofs.’

Sirius saw Remus' forehead crease in thought, but the question came out of his own mouth.

‘But…they were…doing that to each other and they’re both…boys.’

‘Lots of boys do it apparently.’

This came from Peter and they all stared at him in shock. He looked a little nervous at the sudden attention as he stammered an elaboration.

‘It’s all in those sex books that they handed out in Fourth Year that you said you didn’t need, Padfoot. Sometimes people…experiment. With the same sex. Doesn’t make them poofs or anything. It’s just…’ He shrugged. ‘...fooling around. No big deal. You do it, sort out if you like it or not then decide which way you‘re going to swing.’

All three boys were still staring open-mouthed at him and he quickly added, ‘I’ve never done it.’

James giggled at Peter's defensive tone and even Remus lost his stunned mullet stare and grinned at Peter’s hasty addition.

Sirius managed a smirk. ‘No self respecting bloke would have you, mate.’

Peter poked his tongue out at Sirius and threw Remus’ pillow at him. James made a noise of amusement and stretched before vaulting energetically off the bed.

‘Well, Lily Evans is all woman so I won’t have to resort to shagging one of you to get off.’ He smacked Sirius lightly on the shoulder. ‘Sorry, Pads. You’ll have to keep buying your hand dinner.’

He grinned wickedly, his eyes shifting to Remus. ‘Or try and win Moony over with your charms. You two are already like an old couple; you may as well be shagging as well.’

Remus turned red and glared at James, standing up abruptly and startling Peter. The blonde stood as well, realising the gossip session was now over. Sirius seemed lost in his thoughts and Remus gave him a gentle shove to the shoulder to shift him off the bed.

‘If you lot don’t mind, I’d like to use my bed for something other than gossiping now.’

Peter chortled. ‘Ooooh, Pads, you are getting lucky, after all!’

Peter’s cat call was followed by a ‘Mphf!’ as he copped a pillow to the face. Sirius realised he might have thrown it a little harder than usual when the blonde bounced off the wall and landed on his arse on the floor.

‘Hey!’

Peter leapt to his feet and tossed the nearest object within reach at Sirius - his shoe. The dark-haired Animagus let out a war cry and leapt onto his bed to avoid the flying missile. Remus closed his curtains fast to avoid getting drawn into the inevitable wrestling match that would follow. He stripped to his boxers and lay down, yanking the bedclothes irritably to his chin as the battle raged beyond the hangings.

~*~*~

An hour later, after everything had gone quiet and all he could hear was James' deep breathing and the gentle rumbling rhythm of Peter’s snores, he was still thinking about Peter’s words.

“Sometimes people…experiment. With the same sex. Doesn’t make them poofs or anything.”

Didn’t it? Remus had thought that if you touched another guy like that it must mean that you were gay. Could he and Sirius really just have been fooling around? That what they did really didn’t make them gay?

A little voice in the back of his mind piped up, reminding him that whilst the kiss may have been just a kiss, the other things he’d been imagining doing with Sirius were not as innocuous. Those erotic fantasies that he jerked off to most nights probably didn’t fit in the same category as a little kiss or even a wank between friends like poor Ken and Jonathon got caught participating in. What he’d been dreaming of doing to Sirius, of having Sirius do to him, were beyond doing each other a favour surely?

His body had yet again reacted to the lewd thoughts of his friend and Remus sighed, trying for now to ignore the insistent throb of his cock and get some much-needed rest.

‘Moony? You awake?’

Remus' entire body went stiff along with his cock and heat crawled over his skin as he shivered from the sound of that low, husky whisper.

‘Yeah. I'm awake.’

His curtains parted and a shadowy figure slipped inside the cocoon the drapes created.

‘I can’t sleep.’

Sirius was whispering but his voice seemed loud in the darkness, the nearly full moon’s light not able to infiltrate the thick fabric of the curtains as they closed behind him.

Remus pushed himself up into a sitting position, folding his hands over his lap to try and hide the erection that hadn’t dissipated, but, in fact, had become even more turgid.

‘Neither can I. You shouldn’t be in here, Sirius.’

There was quiet then the sound of the other boys’ snuffling and snoring disappeared and light cut through the thick blackness surrounding them. Sirius sat on the edge of the bed, holding his lit wand aloft to study Remus’ face. The werewolf flinched, both from the sudden brightness and the piercing stare, then saw Sirius nod at whatever revelations he saw plastered all over Remus' face.

‘You’re thinking about it too. What Peter said.’

Remus couldn’t hide the confirmation that flickered across his features. Sirius sighed then murmured an incantation, making the light disappear. They were both silent as their eyes adjusted to the dark again then Remus felt Sirius move closer, his side pressed against Remus' legs now.

‘Remus…’

Sirius' voice was low and thick with need and Remus felt a bolt of lust shoot through his core. His voice was shaking with want and fear as he tried to dissaude the other boy in whatever he was planning.

‘Pads, you being here is a really bad idea.’

Quiet. Then…

‘Do you want to kiss me again, Moony?’

Remus swallowed hard and tried to slow his rapid breathing, sure he’d hyperventilate. His already hard cock stiffened even further and he wished Sirius would go so he could bring himself off.

‘Remus?’

Remus exhaled loudly. ‘Do you, Pads? Do you want to do it again?’

He heard the stilted, almost tortured breathing of the other boy then suddenly warm, Butterbeer scented air was wafting across his cheek.

‘Yes.’

In the dark, he felt lips brush over his chin then Sirius cursed softly and put a hand to Remus’ face, running his fingers over each feature, lingering on his lips. The light touch burned Remus’ skin and his eyes fluttered shut as the pad of Sirius’ thumb followed the curve of his bottom lip. A little moan escaped him and Sirius let out a sharp breath.

‘Remus, please? Do…do you…want to?’

Pleading was something he’d only heard once in Sirius’ voice - just after the Snape incident when he was asking for forgiveness - and the thought that Sirius wanted to kiss him so badly that he would resort to begging…

A shudder shook Remus and the words fell from his lips before he could stop them.

‘I want to.’

TBC...