howdy do :)

I've decided to post my comments at the end of the fic this time, so read on!

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It was a pleasant winter day at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, overcast and crisp. However, the weather was not the main focus of this day, as emotions were running high and adrenaline filled teens went about their business. It was not exam time, nor was there a Quidditch match on that day, although it was not a week day. No. Today was February the fourteenth. Today was Valentines Day. As much as the most deviously mischievous students Hogwarts had ever seen, wanted to pull a well planned prank on their fellow students today, their gang was one short. James Potter was, for the first time since they had known him, occupied this Valentines Day. With a girl. Although, really, it was too cold to be outside, all the quiet corners of the common room were occupied today by love struck couples, and so the remaining three marauders found themselves strolling the winter grounds.

"How can three good looking guys like us be alone on Valentines day?" Peter declared. "It's just not right!"

"What about that Bones girl you're so keen on, eh? What are you doing moping about here with us?" Sirius asked. Peter immediately blushed, his nerves reducing his answer to a few stuttered syllables to the effect that he had seen her walking off with some Hufflepuff boy.

"Bad luck there, mate." Remus consoled him.

"Well, what about you, Moony? Isn't there anyone in this entire school you fancy?"

Remus' cheeks pinked, not expecting to be dragged into the firing range of this conversation.

"Aha – so there is someone." Sirius needled him, causing the boy to turn a darker shade of pink and look away.

"I'm… I'm not really… I don't know…." He mumbled.

"You're not sure who you fancy?" asked Sirius with a gleam in his eye.

"Is it two girls, then? Tell us who they are and we can help you pick." Peter offered. When Remus didn't answer, he continued. "Oh, I see – there's more than enough Remus to go around, is there? Well, good luck to you. At least you'll have better luck than I do." He finished sulkily.

"That's not—I don't think…. I don't think love should be like that..." Remus replied in a quiet voice, his blush escalating to crimson. Sirius looked over at him curiously.

"I agree with Remus." He said suddenly, causing Remus to blush even more furiously. "I think that… that the person you love should be cherished, and, and if you really love them, then they'll be all you think about." He said in a rush, glancing nervously at the person who had initiated this outburst from him, glad neither of his friends could see his neck reddening under his scarf, although his ears were flaming.

"Well, suit yourselves." Said Peter airily, breaking the mounting intensity of the conversation that none of the boys expected to be having. They walked on in silence, the cold air quickly cooling any burning cheeks. Remus stole a quick glance at Sirius, who seemed to be lost in thought until he said

"Hey, Peter. Isn't that miss Bones over there?"

The other two boys turned to look, as a girl who ran crying towards the castle indeed turned out to be the Hufflepuff girl whom Peter fancied.

"Well," he said with a grin, "looks like my luck's turned around. I'm off to catch her on the rebound. Good luck with the rest of your day." And with that he was off, running in his awkward way towards the castle.

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"And then there were two."

Sirius drew his arms up behind his head, enjoying the steaming clouds he made when he breathed out. With Peter gone, the two Gryffindors fell into a companionable silence. Making their way to no where in particular they fell into step without realising it.

"So. This person you're in love with. Who is it?" Sirius broke the silence nonchalantly. He looked over at Remus who was, once again, turning very red.

"I… I'm not sure how I feel about them." He answered quietly, failing to meet Sirius' eyes. "But… even if… if I do. It doesn't matter. I… don't think they'd feel the same way."

"What?" Sirius looked genuinely appalled at this statement. "Why not? You're smart and charming and attractive and funny and… um…." He trailed off, aware of the blush that was now creeping up his neck. One look at Remus, who now had gone so red he resembled a tomato with tawny coloured hair, and he was unable to keep it from spreading up into his cheeks. There was a mutual silence between them, in which they both avoided eye contact while their flushed cheeks cooled. Then without a word, or signal from the other, the two friends started around the edge of the lake, as if they had meant to all along.

"Are you going to let them know?" Sirius finally broke the silence.

Remus was staring into the black depths of the lake.

"It's not up to you, you know."

Sirius flicked a twig into the lake.

"You can't decide for them." His eyes were almost as black as the lake into which the two boys were staring.

"I'm afraid." Remus started, his voice very quiet. "I'm afraid that if I do…I'll ruin our friendship. The- the one between that person and me, I mean." He added quickly.

Sirius' expression was impossible to decipher.

Remus couldn't remember having a more awkward conversation in his life.

"Don't… don't you like anyone then?" Remus asked the other boy, eager to get the focus off of himself.

Sirius looked away, although Remus could see that the tips of his ears were going red.

"I am actually surprised that James was the only one with a date this Valentines, considering the amount of girls who follow the two of you around."

Sick of the deep talks about love for the day, and not about to divulge any further feelings to the boy in front of him, Sirius chose to answer this statement by playfully telling his friend that he was untouchable and that any girl who wanted his heart would have to break through an icy shell to get there.

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They spent the rest of the afternoon thinking of pranks to play on the rest of the school and ways to get their mortal enemy, Snape, into trouble. Finally, with just enough time to dash up to Gryffindor common room before dinner, they burst into the entrance hall, almost collapsing with laughter. All in all, it had been a good afternoon.

"Did you see his face?" Sirius asked, laughing.

"I thought Snape's vein was going to pop all over his greasy hair!" Remus wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Not before that girl slapped him." Sirius grinned from the memory before he heard a familiar cry.

"Ahoy Marauders!" yelled James, slapping his black haired friend on the back and inadvertently catapulting him into Remus. There was a moment in which the two boys found themselves clutching each other for balance, but they very hastily disentangled themselves, both jumping backwards as if they had been jinxed.

Oblivious to the awkward glances and blushes between his two friends, James continued into a rambling summary of his day, finishing with the question

"So, what have you two been doing all day?"

But at this point Peter pointed out that if they didn't make it into the Great Hall soon, they would miss dinner – a fate worse than death.

After a quick dash up to their dormitories, in which the four boys had to dodge a number of loitering couples, Peter, Sirius, James and Remus strode into the Great Hall in their usual manner. That is, as if the world was their oyster. Before the empty platters in front of them filled up with food, the headmaster, Professor Albus Dumbledore, gave a few sentiments on the subject of the day, to which none of the four boys listened, all being thoroughly sick of the topic by this stage. Instead they began recounting the happenings of their day, before being drowned out by the chatter of the entire school as dinner began. James recounted his conquest of Lily with a grin on his face, although his cheeks pinked as his friends probed him for further details. Peter kept quiet about his endeavours with the Hufflepuff girl until his friends bullied him into revealing that things had gone dismally and the entire house might be off limits for him for a year or two. Sirius and Remus cheered him up with stories of their adventures that afternoon, almost making James choke on his dessert when they told him about their episode with Snape.

Finally, feeling very full, the four Marauders traipsed up to their common room to spend the evening playing chess and exploding snap.

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Sitting in front of the crackling fire, the four most mischievous Hogwarts students were playing a four way game of snap, using the spoils of their day as playing chips. All four boys had, in fact, received a fair share of chocolate from admirers that day. Most had been over the breakfast table, although James had returned to his dorm to find a heap of sweets on his bed. Sirius had even been given a red rose, spelled to last for weeks. Peter had received the least of the group, but they shared their spoils equally. By the end of the game, however, they were more or less back where they started. James and Sirius had won most often, their chocolate mounds threatening to fall over, Remus was coming in a close third, and Peter was possessively hoarding a small pile. They were on the verge of starting two games of chess when Lily Evans walked by, catching James' attention immediately. He got up with a wink and bid the boys a good night, taking his chocolate with him, presumably to bribe the fiery young lady.

"How about a round robin then?" Remus suggested.

The other two agreed, although Peter looked at his pile of chocolate a little despairingly. He moaned mournfully when Sirius called him to be first up, and practically kissed his sweets goodbye when the black haired boy announced that he would be playing Remus. Remus, modest though he was, had a reputation for being one of the best players in their year group.

"Ready, Peter?"

Peter gulped. "Sure." He smiled wanly.

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A game and a half later, Sirius was thoughtfully pondering his next move against his tawny haired opponent. The two boys were sitting on the floor next to the glowing fire, happily munching on Sirius' chocolate, which was piled in between them, next to the chessboard. Astonishingly, Peter had actually won his game of chess, along with all of the other boy's sweets. Seeing that things weren't going to get any better than that, he had split the scene quick smart, feigning yawns and muttering about the events of the day catching up with him. The rest of Gryffindor house seemed to share the same mentality, as the room was practically empty now, and the only sounds were a few quills scratching over the crackling of the fire.

Sirius finally placed his knight with a decisive thud.

Remus raised an eyebrow. Sirius had played a risky move.

"Why did you let him win?" Remus' opponent asked through a fringe of coal black hair.

"Who? Peter?" Remus smiled sheepishly "Well… he just seemed to want to hold onto his chocolate so much. And the look on his face when you told him he had to play me…" he laughed.

"You're too nice." Sirius admonished him, reaching for another chocolate from the already melting pile. Perhaps keeping them in front of the fire hadn't been the smartest thing to do. "Will you be that nice to me?"

Remus' only reply was to take Sirius' knight in one swift movement, with a smile that was not entirely innocent.

Sirius hung his head, handing Remus a golden heart chocolate in defeat and leant over the board once more, to consider his next move. He didn't look up as the few remaining students left the room. It was drawing close to midnight, after all. A quiet voice did manage to break through his concentration though.

"Hey Sirius, did… did you mean what you said before? A-about, um…. About me?

He nodded, his face betraying no emotion.

"Oh" was all Remus said as his bishop was taken.

The next few moves were played in silence as the boys quietly made their way through Sirius' pile of chocolate. Remus, intent on the game, was oblivious to the way Sirius was watching him.

"Hey Remus," Sirius broke the companionable silence, "The person that you're in love with… Is it, well, me?"

The chess piece that Remus had been holding went skidding across the board, sending chocolate and chess pieces everywhere (much to the chagrin of the chess pieces). Sirius held his breath. Remus was looking at him in a wordless stare and, for what felt like the thousandth time that day, blushing furiously. Both boys ignored the chess pieces that were now groaning and helping fallen comrades, trapped in a silent moment that seemed to stretch on forever. Remus felt frozen, unable and unwilling to move and let the consequences take effect. Seeing that he wasn't going to get an answer, Sirius quietly got up and headed towards to stairs. He had played a big gamble and he had lost.

"The person that you love…" he said quietly, without turning to face the other, "they're… they're very lucky."

Remus watched him silently leaving the room, wishing he could say something to the other boy to make him stay. But his heart seemed to be taking up all the room in his throat and he couldn't even manage a strangled reply.

Sirius reached the stairs unhindered, though his feet felt heavier than lead, and he didn't think he could bring himself to climb all the way up to the dormitory. Maybe just far enough up the spiral staircase so that he was out of sight of the other boy, then he could stop and bang his head against the wall.

He was doing just that when he felt a gentle tug at his robes. He turned to see Remus standing nervously on the stair below him. One look at the boy's face let him know that he had made a mistake.

"Um…" Remus was staring into his eyes earnestly, refusing to glance away, even though Sirius' own gaze seemed unbearable. "Y-you're the pers-mmmf."

Sirius didn't bother letting him finish, pressing their lips together in a heated and long overdue kiss that tasted deliciously of chocolate and warmth and went on for a very long time.

When they finally pulled away from each other, breathless and smiling uncertainly, it was Remus who broke the silence.

"Happy Valentines, Sirius." He said shyly.

"You know, it's not actually Valentines Day anymore." Sirius replied before returning to fondly kissing the object of his affections.

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the end!

This was, originally, my first Sirius x Remus fic, but I didn't write the ending until just now. I hope you liked my awkward and... awkward... Sirius and Remus.

I did actually write another ending (i got carried away half way through the fic and let my ideas run away with me). It occurs just afterour love bunnies return from torturing Snape. I've posted it in the next chapter.