DISCLAIMER: They aren't mine.

WARNING: Even though I don't write very frequently anymore, it's still slash. Just wishing about it won't work.

You Can't Ignore Me Anymore.

By

LizzY

Remus, Sirius decided, had gotten away with this long enough. For seven long years, he had stubbornly refused to pay any heed to what was going on around him. For seven long years, Sirius had waited for the day the boy would turn around and say to him, "Sirius, I think there is something going on between us." Preferably then he would say, "Can I kiss you," but Sirius wasn't fussy. Just an acknowledgement of the tension between them would be enough for him.

It had started out as a crush, as so many romances do, and Sirius had been happy to indulge in his fantasies. At eleven and twelve, it was okay to feel flustered whenever somebody you liked a lot was near you. At thirteen, it was beginning to get a little bit suspicious, but still, it was acceptable. At fourteen, it began to be called experimentation. At fifteen, it was getting a bit wearing. At sixteen, it was something to be hidden and thought about in private with drawn bed hangings. At seventeen, it was just ridiculous.

What seemed even more ridiculous to Sirius, though, was that Remus did not appear to have experienced any of this. He seemed to breeze through everything with the same calm, peaceful attitude that he affected at all times. He never seemed to feel the tantalising heat between them when they sat on the same couch. He never went pink in the cheeks when their hands touched. He never thought that technically they'd already kissed because they'd shared bottles of Butterbeer.

He certainly never closed his bed curtains for reasons other than sleep.

Sirius had, though, and he'd had enough. So today, it was time.

--

The common room was thankfully empty when Sirius went down. He knew Remus would be arriving soon from Arithmancy, and he wanted to be there when he did. He settled down on the couch, and tried to look appealing. People told him he was very handsome, but still, when he looked in the mirror he just saw the same face he'd seen for years. He'd watched the transformation from gangly first year to (apparently) suave seventh year and he had to admit, he wasn't ugly. But sex god? Perhaps the first years had a bit of an overactive imagination. It must come from suddenly finding out that magic existed after all.

Not long after Sirius settled himself down on the couch, the portrait hole dutifully opened and Remus stepped inside. Sirius couldn't suppress the same smile that always welled up inside him whenever he saw Remus and he felt warm with pleasure as Remus grinned back. He had a suspicion that in a few minutes Remus wasn't going to be smiling quite so much, but right then, it didn't matter.

"Hello, Remus." He said and stood up to take the other boy's heavy book bag. "Sit down here, I want to talk to you."

"Oh, Padfoot, I was just going to get a cup of hot chocolate and go to bed…" Remus said helplessly, but Sirius pretended not to hear him.

"This is important." Sirius said firmly and dragged him over to the couch. "I'm going to say something and you are going to listen to me."

"Apparently so." Remus sighed and leant against the armrest, pulling his legs up in front of him and surveying Sirius with a wary and suspicious look.

"I am going to say," Sirius continued. "That you can't ignore me any longer."

Remus blinked.

"What?"

"You can't ignore me any longer." Sirius repeated, enunciating carefully.

"I'm not ignoring you." Remus said in bewilderment, "You're my best friend. I don't think people come any closer to not ignoring someone."

"It is not my friendship you're avoiding." Sirius stated. "It's our situation."

"Our situation…?" Remus asked helplessly.

"Yes." Sirius said. "The fact that we are in love with each other."

Remus blinked.

"We're what?" he choked.

"I am in love with you." Sirius said. "I have been for … well I suppose I only fell in love with you this year, but I've liked you since I met you. And you have liked me for almost as long, I know it. Don't deny it."

"I…" Remus spluttered. "Are you ill?"

"Remus," Sirius said patiently, "You like me."

"Sirius …" Remus said in some consternation. "I don't think I do."

"You do." Sirius told him confidently, nodding. "Even if you don't want to admit it right now, I want you to acknowledge that there has been sexual tension between us since we realised we had hormones. I want you to tell me that you are aware that things between us have never been as platonic as they have been between us and James and Peter. I want you to know-."

"I know you're balmy." Remus stated, alarm growing inside him. He backed away from Sirius, who was leaning towards him with a determined look in his eyes. "I … I really didn't know you'd been dreaming all of this up for so long. I'm so sorry, Sirius, if I ever did anything that made you think I liked you like that. I didn't mean to. You're my best friend in the whole world, Sirius, but what you're suggesting is just … not true."

"Just admit it, Remus!" Sirius cried in frustration. He leapt forward and they tumbled off the couch, rolling as they fell. Sirius fought for the top and pinned Remus beneath him, Remus' wrists imprisoned in his hands behind his head.

Remus looked up at him with a nervous, bewildered and apologetic expression. His eyebrows were drawn together as they looked up at Sirius.

"Sirius, please." He pleaded. "Stop this, now. I don't like you. I'm so sorry if I've ever led you on, or given you any reason to …"

But he didn't get a chance to finish his sentence because Sirius resorted to the age old technique of getting someone to shut up. He kissed him. And Remus did shut up.

"Just because you can kiss well doesn't mean I like you." Remus said hurriedly when they broke apart. So Sirius kissed him again.

"And just because you feel really good lying on top of me does not mean I like you, either." He cut in. So Sirius kissed him again.

"And just because…"

"Remus," Sirius broke in. "For the smartest wizard I know, you're very slow on the uptake. If you don't want me to kiss you, stop arguing."

"But I-."

"Fine." Sirius shrugged and kissed him again.

"I can't win, can I?" Remus demanded eventually.

Sirius pretended to think.

"Nope." He leaned down and put his lips next to Remus' ear. "You can't ignore me anymore."

"I guess not." Remus agreed. "And I'm somewhat surprised I don't want to."

"I thought you'd say that." Sirius said cheerfully. "So I prepared an appropriate response for you."

"Oh yes?" Remus asked warily. "And what would that be?"

"Surprise! I love you."

"Oh." Remus said. "Okay."

Finite.

Author's Note

Ah, got this up finally. I had it written about a month ago but either fanfiction or my computer was hating me and wouldn't let me upload. So stop being so mad that I haven't written anything in ages, because technically I wanted to give you something earlier but I couldn't. I was actually thinking about writing a Christmas fic and remembered I should try this again in case something had been fixed and will you look at that. So I hope to give you a Christmas fic sometime soon as well.

If I don't manage it, though, I hope all of you have a very merrry christmas and a wonderful new year!

Forever,

LizzY