Summary: Sirius teases Remus about dating and being too subtle, and a bet is born. Currently, Sirius is wondering if he can get Remus to date him instead of the subject of the bet. Little does he know…

Warnings: Two boys kissing. Each other. Yes, that is more of a promise than a warning.

Disclaimer: I have been thinking about legally changing my name to J.K. Rowling. But it hasn't happened yet.

Notes: Finally done with this – now I can focus on the next longish one: "The Worst Year Yet."

Thank you: Betas of Doom!

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Subtlety, Thy Name is Sirius Black

by Rekahneko

Chapter 10

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"Good morning, sleepy head." Sirius opened his eyes to a blurry vision of Remus, looking down at him with an amused expression. "Sunday brunch is almost over so you need to hurry up if you want to catch some waffles."

Sirius did his best to courteously thank his roommate for the wake up call, while explaining that he hadn't gotten as much sleep the night before as his body had needed. What came out of his mouth, though, was somewhere between a grunt and groan.

He had dreamt about Remus the previous night, and while it was a lovely dream, when he woke up in the middle of it, he hadn't been able to go back to sleep.

Sirius had finally decided that, no matter how much Remus liked the guy he was after, Sirius would be better for him. Even though he felt a tiny bit of guilt about the whole thing, he still decided to try and get Remus for himself rather than let him date the other fellow. Now, the only problem was trying to get his Gryffindor courage up to confront the situation.

"Moony?"

"Yeah, Padfoot?"

"Umm," Sirius was working on what exactly to say when James walked up.

"Hey guys, what's going on this morning?"

"Nothing," Sirius gave Remus a sideways glance.

"Sirius was just going to ask me a question, weren't you?"

Remus and James shared a grin while Sirius looked a bit confused. He searched his mind quickly for a question he could ask with both of them in the room.

"I was just going to ask about," he paused, hoping for inspiration, "umm, about the bet."

"Ah yes, our delightful bet. I think things are going fairly well, don't you, James?"

"I dunno, Remus," replied James with a small laugh. "We will see. And no, I won't tell you who it is, Pads."

Whining, Sirius made a face, thoroughly frustrated that James still wouldn't let him in on the secret.

"I'm sure he won't regret dating you though, Moony, assuming he finally asks."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Prongs. No one has had any complaints so far…"

Sirius felt his knees go weak as Remus shot him a flirtatious smile. It wasn't fair that this was happening! He should be the one on the other end of that smile all the time, not some moronic dunderhead who wouldn't appreciate it properly.

"Can't you just tell me a little more about him? Just one more clue?"

Remus thought for a moment. "I consider him a friend. It will be great to date a friend for once instead of going for someone like Christopher, just because of their looks."

"Ha! So it isn't Christopher!"

"You got me, Pads. No, it isn't." Remus smiled. "Come on, we really do need to get some brunch."

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"Hey, Moony. Maybe we should go upstairs and study. It is getting noisy down here."

Remus looked up at Sirius in surprise. Not only was he studying on a Sunday afternoon, but he wanted to get away from the distractions of the common room? Sirius lived for distractions. Obviously, there was something more going on here.

Alone, in the dorm room, just the two of us. I wonder if he will get around to asking that question he keeps trying to bring up, Remus thought. "Of course, Sirius. That sounds like a wonderful idea."

Sirius gleefully gathered his books together and practically bounced up the stairs, eager to be alone with Remus.

His roommate followed more placidly, appreciating the view ahead of him along the way.

Sirius threw his bag on the ground and threw himself on his bed. He grimaced at the book he pulled out to read. "I hate History of Magic."

Remus had methodically arranged himself in his own space, books and parchment in neat piles around him. "You realize you have your Charms book out, right?"

Sighing dramatically, "That too. Remind me again why we have to do homework? How about we play some Exploding Snap instead?"

"I thought we were coming up here to work, Padfoot."

Sirius grumbled but obediently opened his book and stared blankly at it for a while.

"Do you think I am good looking, Remus?" Sirius watched Remus out of the corner of his eye.

"Sure, Sirius. All the girls seem to enjoy looking at you."

Sirius huffed, frustrated, while Remus hid a smile.

After pretending to focus a bit longer on his textbook, Sirius, flopped over, facing Remus' bed.

"You shouldn't date him," Sirius suddenly spit out.

Remus blinked and slowly turned to face his friend. "I assume you are referring to the object of our bet."

When Sirius nodded, Remus put down his textbook and carefully asked, "Why not?"

"I just don't think this guy is good enough for you."

"Sirius, you don't even know who it is."

"Still. He won't be good enough," Sirius stated stubbornly, adding, "You shouldn't date him, whoever he is."

"Why do you feel so strongly about me dating someone when you don't even know who it could be? Padfoot, you are quite confusing. Don't you want me to have a boyfriend? Isn't that what you were teasing me about when we started this bet?"

"I was teasing you about not having a girlfriend, but yeah, you're right. I do want you to have a boyfriend."

Remus seemed like he had no idea where the conversation was heading. "So you want me to have a boyfriend, but you don't want me to date anyone?"

"Just not the person you are thinking of dating."

"So if I went back to Christopher…"

"No! Not him either. Definitely not him."

"Then whom should I date?" Remus peered at Sirius innocently, looking confused.

"Well, I know what you want in a guy since we have talked about it and everything. I mean, you should date someone who knows you well. And someone who is nice. And you said you needed someone funny, right?"

"True, I did say all of those things." Remus nodded gravely.

"So," Sirius paused, wondering why he was so nervous. "What about me?"

"What do you mean?" Remus had to smother another grin. He was not going to make this easier on Sirius, it was just too much fun.

"I mean date me instead of your mystery guy!"

"Date you? Are you sure?"

"Absolutely! Aren't I nice? And funny? I would even wake up early with you, just to watch the sunrise. Anyhow, those other guys are just not good enough."

"How do I know you aren't just saying this to win the bet, Sirius?" Remus looked at him suspiciously.

"I'm not, really!"

"Well, I don't know," Remus bit his lip, clearly unsure. "You have done some pretty tricky things before to try and win bets." Sirius had the grace to look guilty.

"Listen, I'll even forfeit the bet and everything. What will make you believe me, Remus?" Sirius sounded just a tiny bit desperate. He just couldn't let Remus date this other guy instead of him.

Remus thought for a moment. "If you tell James exactly why the bet is off, I suppose I would believe you."

Sirius nodded eagerly. He would be glad to drop the stupid bet in return for Remus' trust. And for a chance to kiss him, a little voice at the back of his mind added. Of course, telling his best friend that he wanted to date their roommate was a bit nerve wracking, now that he thought about it.

Leaning over the balcony just outside the door, Remus called down to the common room. "James, can you spare a moment and come up to the dorm?"

Too late to back out now, Sirius thought. He got up off the bed and paced back and forth as the other Marauder made his way upstairs.

James entered the dorm room, curiosity written all over his face. Literally. Lily had gotten angry at him earlier in the day for trying to steal her diary, and she had cursed him so that the word 'curiosity' was written on his forehead along with a few other words such as 'git' and 'wanker.' Remus noticed that her grammar was a bit off, but decided not to mention it. An angry Lily was a frightening Lily.

"Sirius has something to tell you. Go on, Sirius."

Sirius looked at Remus for a moment. "Well, I am forfeiting the bet, James." James raised his eyebrows and Remus waited for him to continue. This was harder than he thought it might be.

"Well, see, I decided that instead of Moony dating this bloke he has been after, that, well…" He looked at Remus pleadingly.

"Sirius…" Remus had his hands on his hips. He wasn't backing down; Sirius was going to have to tell James.

"Well, I just thought that Moony should date me instead."

Remus beamed widely and James laughed, not at all disturbed by the news, making Sirius feel much better.

What really made him feel better though, was Remus, who had pushed him against the wall and was currently kissing him senseless. All coherent thoughts fled in the wake of the overwhelming sensations Remus seemed to be pulling from him.

James cleared his throat. "You two know I am still in the room, right?" Shrugging, he wandered over to his trunk and began to rummage around when there was no response to his question.

Sirius didn't even notice, focused as he was on the feeling of Remus' lips, and tongue, and, oh gods, why hadn't they done this long ago?

Pulling away slightly, Remus wore a rarely seen Cheshire cat grin.

"Remus," Sirius breathed, dazed. "Wow." It had been an amazing kiss, and he liked to think he had participated in quite enough to have a good understanding of the subject.

James tossed a blue money pouch to Remus, who caught it easily. "There you go, Moony. Glad you finally got your man. Congratulations on winning the bet!"

Sirius looked back and forth between Remus and James, confused. Bet? Money? Suddenly, the pieces slipped into place and he gaped at Remus, finally realizing who the bet had targeted all this time. Remus smiled and pressed another kiss to the unresisting and slightly slack-jawed mouth in front of him.

"Was I subtle enough for you, Sirius?"

"But you… I'm… You never… Remus!" he said, finally.

"Yes Sirius?" Remus replied, leaning against Sirius, one hand toying with a strand of silky black hair.

"You tricked me!"

"Hmm," the werewolf replied absently, fingers trailing along the smooth neck.

"You had me thinking you were after someone else, the whole time!"

Remus smiled a bit and began playing with the top button of the boy's shirt, breath hot against Sirius' skin.

"Stop distracting me. I am trying to be mad at you," Sirius said, doing his best to sound at least a little annoyed rather than breathless.

"Really?" Remus whispered, lips dancing along the curve of Sirius' ear.

"Mad," agreed Sirius, eyes half closed in pleasure.

"Are you?" asked Remus, continuing to distract Sirius by letting his fingers slide up and down the smooth fabric of the shirt.

"Am I what?" Sirius replied, completely forgetting what they had been talking about.

"Nothing," Remus grinned. "You want me to demonstrate those locking and imperturbable spells now? I think I'd like some uninterrupted time with my new boyfriend."

"Do I need to take notes?"

Shooing a laughing James out of the room, Remus fired a few spells at the dormitory door. Still grinning, Remus pulled Sirius closer, ready to show him exactly why his mystery man wouldn't regret dating him.

This time, it was Sirius who pulled away first. "I'm glad it was me," he whispered.

"No one else could ever measure up to you, Sirius."

"Not even Christopher?"

"Especially not Christopher."

After that, there were no more words for quite a while.

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