Advent: Lupin

Southern Winter Funfair - Write about cuddling by the fire

Northern Winter Funfair - Snowman - Mittens: Confessing true feelings

Eastern Winter Funfair - Christmas Eve Box - Red: Gryffindor Common Room

Seasonal -

Days of the Month - November 20th - "You're beautiful."

Autumn - (dialogue) "I'm scared." / "Of what?" / "You."

Colour - Maroon

Flowers - (word) nutritious

Elemental - (word) fly

Dessert - "You wish."

Characters/Other - (item) Ravenclaw scarf

Writing Club:

Character Appreciation - 12 - Object: Cup of tea

Disney Challenge - Song 1 - Write about someone accepting they're wrong about something

Crafty Corner - 6, Include biscuits in the fic

Showtime - 20. "Did you cheat on [name] a lot?"

Amber's Attic - Song 4: Write about taking something slow

Count Your Buttons - Object 2: Scarf, / Word 3: Freezing, / Dialogue 4: "Did you get everything you asked for?"

Em's Emporium - 5 "Just wait a little longer."

Liza's Loves - 4. Write about being jealous

Bex's Basement - 21 - Write angst with a happy ending

Film Festival - 15. (phrase) the friend zone

Jealousy

WolfStar

Sirius was sitting on the floor of the Common Room when Remus found him. It had been the first place he had looked, but Sirius hadn't been there an hour ago and Remus knew that his friend was avoiding him.

"Sirius?" he said, though he knew his friend would have heard him come in. Sirius was always very alert to those things, and there was always a slight draft from the portrait opening. Sirius was always sensitive to cold weather and noticed the tiniest of drafts.

Sirius continued to stare into the fire and Remus approached. "I've been looking for you," he said, though he was certain that Sirius was the one with the map and that he knew this fact. "I looked outside by that tree you love, I checked the kitchens… I've been all over the castle."

"I know," Sirius admitted. "I felt bad when I saw you walking around on the map so came here." He sounded hurt and Remus' heart ached at the sound. He moved closer, kicking off his shoes and leaving them next to the chair before dropping down next to Sirius. He leant back against the bottom of the maroon sofa.

"We need to talk," Remus said softly. "I don't like that we fought earlier."

"We didn't fight. I was a dick to you and I deserve for you to be mad at me. I don't deserve for you to follow me around the castle trying to fix things."

"I don't want to be mad at you. I spent too much of my time angry last year. I just need to know what happened. You don't like Adrian?"

"He's not good enough for you," Sirius said, crossing his arms.

"I broke up with him," Remus admitted. "I had a few doubts but… he wasn't so nice about you - the things he said. I couldn't be with someone who dislikes one of the most important people in my life. It was the final straw."

"I'm sorry," Sirius muttered.

Remus chuckled softly, the sound echoing around the empty room. "Are you? Or are you just being polite?"

"I'm sorry only because it makes you unhappy. Anything I do that causes you to be even the slightest bit unhappy makes me sorry for causing that." He pulled his legs up towards his chest, and wrapped his arms around them.

"I may not be mad at you, but I think I deserve an explanation," Remus requested. "I know you don't like explaining yourself, but it's not often I ask." He picked up the nearby flask. "What's this?"

"Tea. I knew you'd come back here and you'd never leave me sitting by myself. There's biscuits on the sofa too."

Remus leaned to his side, turning and grabbing the plate. He set it between them before turning the flask lid over into a makeshift cup. He poured some tea out and took a sip before offering it to Sirius.

Sirius took it and sipped the hot drink.

"You put me in the friend zone," he finally said.

"I… I did," Remus agreed, frowning. "Is that the problem?"

Sirius nodded slightly, his grey eyes fixed on the fire. He didn't offer anything else and Remus ran the words through his head trying to make sense of them.

"Sirius, I thought you wanted me to see you as just a friend," he finally said. "I told you last year that I… I was falling for you and you said you only liked girls. Isn't it good that I'm pushing away these feelings? It means that I won't do something stupid to affect our relationship."

"Do you not feel anything anymore?" Sirius asked, sounding more miserable than Remus had ever heard.

"That's irrelevant. You're with Marlene."

Sirius shook his head. "We haven't been together for a couple of months," he said. "She left me after finding out that I… I mean, I told her the truth about me, that I did something… that would destroy our relationship."

Remus stared into the flames, watching them dance for a long moment. "Did you cheat on her?" he finally asked.

Sirius didn't reply. He sat completely still and Remus wondered if there was something he was missing. Despite his reputation, the Marauders all knew that Sirius dated very few girls. Having struggled with intimacy so much that a single hug threw him off kilter, Sirius wasn't someone who could go from girl to girl. He liked to take time to get to know someone.

"Did you cheat on Marlene a lot?" Remus pushed.

Sirius shook his head. "I was cheating in my mind," he admitted. "But that's not it." He hesitated before turning to Remus. "I'm scared."

"Of what?" Remus asked.

Another moment of hesitation. "You. You're beautiful," he said, bringing his hand up to Remus' neck. "But you're wearing his scarf." He tugged it gently. "Can you…"

Remus was so confused, yet he unwound the scarf from his neck, tossing it on the sofa behind him. He realised that it didn't matter. Though he cared for Adrian, he hadn't been happy and their break-up had been inevitable.

No-one said a bad word about Sirius Black in front of Remus. They didn't know Sirius like Remus did. The real Sirius was a good person with a good heart and Remus wished more people would realise that.

"It was freezing outside or I would have given it back sooner," Remus explained. "Sirius, I'm confused. I've no idea what's going through your mind. Can you… can you just be clear, then we can work whatever out together. You know I'll always be here for you."

"I know," Sirius murmured. "Just wait a little longer."

"Do you mean days?" Remus checked. Sirius shook his head again. "It's almost midnight. Just… just wait."

"For?"

"It's coming up to midnight so we need to make our Christmas wishes," Sirius explained.

Silence followed and Remus reached for a chocolate biscuit, not wanting to leave Sirius by himself. He nibbled on it slowly, taking a second when that one was gone. He reached for a third, making sure to ignore the plain ones. After all, everyone knew that chocolate was nutritious. He was being healthy by eating them.

"It's time!" Sirius suddenly announced, reaching out and grabbing Remus' hand. "Make a wish."

Remus couldn't help but look at their joined hands. How many times had he wished for Sirius to love him back? Too many to count. Yet it was the only wish he could think of.

Sirius stared at him for a long moment before a smile appeared on his lips. "I think my wish… is happening."

"Did you… what did you… did you get everything you asked for?" Remus checked, noticing that Sirius hadn't let go of his hand.

"I wished for courage," Sirius admitted softly. "More specifically, I wished for the courage to tell you the truth."

"Truth? What truth?"

"That I'm in love with you," Sirius admitted softly. "That ever since you told me you loved me, it's been stuck in my head. I… I like girls, but… but I love you. I told Marlene I was in love with someone else and that… and that I can't see a future where I wasn't with this other person, and… please say something."

"This is why you were upset," Remus realised. "Because you love me and I was with someone else. You were jealous."

"So jealous. I wanted to kill him because he got to kiss you and I've been wanting to do that for months. James has had to calm me down a few times. I… I let the opportunity to be with you fly by, and..."

"James knows?"

"He said that I was too obvious and that I need to really think about how I feel and make sure I'm not mixing feelings up, because if I declared my love for you but then realised I didn't love you, I'd ruin our friendship and break your heart. Remus, I love you and I want to be with you."

"Is this real?" Remus whispered.

Sirius nodded. "I was going to tell you when the summer holiday was done. I was looking for you on the train to tell you, only to find out you were into someone else. I deserved it though - I broke your heart before when I didn't realise how I felt about you, and you unknowingly broke mine because you were with someone else." His courage seemed to slip. "But the question remains: do you still love me? Maybe you don't and I've wasted your time."

"You haven't wasted my time. I may have 'friend zoned' you, but that was only because I thought that there was no chance of you returning my feelings," Remus admitted. "I love you."

Sirius beamed at him. "I love you," he repeated.

"I love you too," Remus confirmed, the words feeling good as they fell from his lips. "I love you more than anything."

Sirius leaned in and Remus' heart pounded in his chest as their lips met. It was nothing like he expected. Remus always imagined that Sirius kissed recklessly and rough, the way he claimed to live life. But the touch of his lips was nervous, gentle, loving. It was even more perfect than Remus had imagined.

"I've never kissed a guy before," Sirius admitted, a blush on his cheeks. "Was it… okay?"

"It was the best kiss of my life," Remus replied truthfully. "But don't worry about everything. I'm not overly experienced. We can take things slow. We have all of the time in the world."

"We have forever," Sirius whispered, his arm wiggling between Remus and the sofa. Fingers gently pressed into Remus' side and he pulled Remus closer.

"Forever," Remus echoed. His new favourite word. "I love you, Sirius," he said once more, wanting to hear Sirius say it again.

Sirius chuckled. "I love you, Moony… Moonpie."

"Maybe I could have a cooler nickname?" Remus requested hopefully.

"You wish. You're going to be my Moonpie," Sirius insisted with a grin. Remus didn't argue. Moonpie was cheesy, but he was Sirius' Moonpie. Yes, he quite liked the sound of that.