Author's Note: Written for The Slash Challenge by HarryPotterResidentEvilFanJnL on the HPFC forum. There will be a prequel to this story coming later for a different challenge.

The new moon is James's favorite time of the month. Sometimes he sneaks outside with Remus on that night – just the two of them, because Peter doesn't care and Sirius is moping over the Big-Nosed Git – and they sit at the edge of the lake and stare at the sky, which is full of stars, but nothing bigger than a pinprick.

"The only problem with the moon being new," says Remus, "is that it starts waxing after this."

James is sitting with his hands behind him, propping him up, and his legs stuck straight out until his bare toes almost touch the water. Remus, a few feet behind him, has his knees drawn up to his chest.

"Waxing?"

"Getting closer to full. Opposite of waning." Remus smiles tightly. "I know a lot of lunar terminology."

"I'll bet you do." James digs his toes into the earth. It's almost May – Merlin, OWLs are coming up far too quickly – and it rained yesterday, so it's soft and a little muddy. "Best in the class at Astronomy and everything."

"I'm never going to live that down, am I?"

"Nope." James tilts his head backward to grin at his friend. "At least you're not one of those ponces who actually pays attention in History of Magic."

"Lily pays attention in History of Magic," Remus points out.

"Yeah, but Lily's a girl, so it's okay."

Remus sighs and releases his knees to lean back on his hands, like James is doing. "Do you honestly want to go out with her? She's always hanging around Snape. And just because Sirius has got a crush doesn't mean Snape's not a git."

James makes a face. "Sirius is an idiot. At least my unlikely crush is actually attractive."

Remus laughs. It's an encouraging sound; he laughs like that so rarely. James lowers himself to the ground until he's lying flat and can watch Remus from upside down. Occasionally, when they're out here like this, he allows himself to forget about Lily and OWLs and Sirius being stupid, and he just thinks about nothing except the tiny lights of the stars and the way Remus's face has a healthy glow that never appears on any other night.

"Have you ever considered someone else?" Remus asks.

"No… not exactly." But Remus's eyes are scanning his face, and James starts to wonder.

When he reaches out a hand and slides it under Remus's, the other boy shifts until he's lying on the ground and rests his cheek against James's hair.

"Waxing moon starts tomorrow," James says.

"So make the best of tonight." The soft breath that accompanies the words brushes against James's neck with a warmth that makes him shiver. Remus toys with James's hand, intertwining their fingers and squeezing gently.

"Are you trying to seduce me?"

"That depends. Is it working?" Remus speaks in a whisper, but it seems to resonate through James's head. He sucks in a breath when Remus's lips touch the side of his jaw.

"Ah. I think so."

Remus laughs again, softly this time. "Then yes. Unless you'd prefer to be out here with Lily?"

He kisses James's jaw again, then makes his way backwards to James's ear, his tongue tracing around the earlobe.

"No," James gasps out. "No, not really."

"Good."

With that, Remus shifts until he's lying right next to James and grasps James's chin, tilting his head sideways to kiss him on the lips. James flounders for a moment before settling in and allowing Remus to take the lead. It's soft, and warmer than he expected, and quite a bit gentler as well, but then again, this is Remus who's kissing him, and he's always gentle.

By the time they break apart, James is breathing heavily. It takes him a moment to recover his voice. "Have you done this before?" he finally manages.

"Believe it or not – Regulus."

"Sirius's brother?" James is so shocked he actually sits up. "When? Why?"

Remus smiles wryly from his position on the ground. "Last term, and I wanted to practice, so I just grabbed him out of the library. He won't tell anyone about snogging a Gryffindor."

James gapes at him, and then a breathy laugh escapes him before he can stop it. "I think we've had a really bad influence on you, Moony."

"I'm not complaining."

Remus reaches up to take his shoulder, and James allows himself to be pulled back down and kissed thoroughly once more.