Title: Best Bet
Author: Zully Quirke Rating: PG
Pairing: Sirius/Remus
Author's Notes: Just a bit of a flufflet that's been burrowing about in my brain lately. Absolutely shamelessly fluffy and slashy. Haven't decided if I'll add anymore flufflets to it; we'll see on whether or not my muse leaves me after this one. ;p

"Kiss me."

Remus nearly choked on his tea as he turned, spluttering and flushed. "W-what? What on earth are you talking about? Why?"

"To prove yourself right," Sirius said logically, pausing to examine a bit of dirt under his fingernail. "You said you don't fancy me, right?"

Remus gave him a slow, hesitant nod. "That's right."

Leaning forward, Sirius rested his elbows on the ends of his knees. "Then there shouldn't be a problem. You kiss me, you're right, I admit defeat and we move on."

There had to be something logically wrong with this, Remus thought desperately. There had to be some reason why what Sirius just said posed a problem. "Why do you care if I'm right or not?" He challenged. "It's not that big of a deal!"

"Because I fancy you," Sirius spoke without hesitation, as if he'd just stated something as obvious and casual as "My, the sky is blue today!" or "The dirt certainly does seem to be an average shade of brown this morning."

Remus was going to have to give up on his cup of tea he decided shakily, reaching up to dab at his chin once more. He could have sworn a bit had gone through his nose that time as well. "Yo-you.. but.. Sirius, you like girls!" He exclaimed incredulously. "I'm not a girl!"

Sirius was clearly fighting to keep from laughing too hard. "I'm glad you'd noticed that bit," Sirius told him solemnly, "I'd hate to have pointed it out to you and have caught you by surprise." He ducked when Remus scowled and chucked one of his textbooks at him. "Yes, I fancy girls," Sirius admitted, "But I also fancy you. A man can like both, you know."

This clearly unnerved Remus. He was of course aware that one could be attracted to both men and women. It didn't even surprise him that Sirius was -- he'd seen it coming, sort of. Sirius had no bias; he just liked people. He'd had more girlfriends in his six years at Hogwarts than most people did in a lifetime and flirted with both men and women often enough that no one batted an eye at it anymore. They'd all gotten used to him by now, but of course they always thought he'd been joking. Now, Remus knew better.

"But.. I.." Remus protested weakly before sighing and closing his book. Sirius was right; this was the best way to prove he didn't fancy his friend. He would kiss him, there would be nothing, then they could go back to studying for their Herbology exam as if nothing had happened.

Damn Sirius for appealing to Remus's logical side.

Ignoring the twinge of warning in his stomach, Remus scooted a bit closer to Sirius. "Alright," He said finally, squelching the pleasure that curled in his stomach as his brain finally processed the fact that Sirius Black fancied him. Sirius dated many people but rarely actually cared about any of them. "Alright, let's just-- get it over with," He mumbled embarassedly, blowing a bit of shaggy brown hair from his face.

He would never have admitted it, but this was Remus's first kiss. He'd never kissed anyone before, always told himself he was saving it for someone special. The reality of it was he didn't want to kiss someone he wasn't dating and couldn't date anyone who didn't know about his -- condition. Which, of course, complicated things slightly.

So when Sirius's eyelids fluttered shut and he cupped at either of Remus's cheeks, all Remus knew to do was close his eyes and let instinct guide him. Sirius's lips were warm, he noted, and not at all dry. He inhaled loudly when they both found a comfortable position for their lips, easing further into the kiss and not even aware that his own hands had inched forward to clasp at Sirius's waist.

He had no idea how long the kiss had gone on, only that when Sirius finally pulled away he was dizzy and found it a bit difficult to breathe. He had to blink a few times to pull his eyes back up; they seemed unnaturally heavy for some reason.

Sirius, Remus decided, was a very good kisser.

"So?" Sirius said slowly, licking a bit at his lower lip. "What's the verdict?"

Remus opened his mouth as if to speak but much to his suprrise absolutely no sound came out. He frowned and tried again, with much the same result.

Laughing a bit, Sirius leaned forward and placed a short and chaste kiss on Remus's forehead before standing up. "It's okay, you don't have to say anything now. Just tell me when you've made up your mind, okay?"

As Sirius walked out of the room, leaving a very dumbfounded Remus on the couch, James scowled and dug a small handful of coins from his pocket. "Fine, you win," James said sourly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Lily smirked. "Oh, James, it was obvious. Sirius was bound to make his move sooner or later, you know him. I don't know why you took the bet to begin with."

"Out of sheer hope," James said wistfully. "That at least one of my friends didn't fancy men. Who am I supposed to talk to about girls now? Though if you're right about Severus," James added with a shudder, "I'm going to have to gouge my eyes out."

Grinning, Lily clapped James on the back. "Want to head over to the Slytherin showers and find out?" He eyed her skeptically and Lily's grin broadened "I hear Lucius has a bum to die for."