Remus ran his fingers idly through his hair as he leaned over the book before him, knowing he had a long night ahead of him and trying to relax while he still had the chance. Now that it was the Halloween of their sixth year, it was already a well-ingrained tradition to go on a midnight pranking, specifically aimed at first year students, but it would still be a few hours before the others would be up to retrieve him to complete the task.

James and Sirius always assured him that it was all in good fun, an initiation of sorts to the new little witches and wizards of the school. Peter almost always responded with eager-to-please agreement, and though Remus had tried to protest their first few years he now looked at it as a sort of obligation. Besides, as Sirius would always note with a grin, the Marauders were a team of four, and Remus' quick wit and stubbornness was needed to balance the rest of them out.

They'd eaten their fill of the holiday feast down in the hall before parting ways, Remus up towards the Gryffindor tower, the other three out on the grounds. He'd been invited, almost dragged out by an overexcited James, but with a nearly full moon looming overhead the other Marauders had understood their werewolf friend's reluctance. Remus promised to participate in the prank, but midnight was still almost three hours away, giving him due time to curl up in bed with a book and rest before he'd venture outside with them.

Part of him was jealous that he couldn't be out there with them, where they were surely running around in animal form and exerting all the extra energy they had built up after too much candy and butterbeer. He busied himself with the letters on the pages, filled with some fantastical muggle story on witches and wizards that one of the younger muggle-born Gryffindor students had given him. Remus found the depiction of witches and their comically bubbling cauldrons and wizards with their wicked staffs only slightly amusing, but with only a few hours to waste he couldn't think of anything more worth his time.

Instead he lazily flipped pages, reaching over every so often towards a small saucer half filled with candies that he'd taken by the handful from the dining table. He picked up a small chocolate and slipped it into his mouth, the slightly bitter confection melting instantly over his tongue and satisfying his increasing craving for chocolate. The semisweet candy helped to ease the bitterness he felt for having to keep inside, and though his bed was comfortable and warm he still felt unsettled and restless.

He'd only been in the tower alone for a little over an hour when the door burst open. Remus wasn't startled, instead he looked up calmly to see Sirius standing there, hair wild and eyes bright. Remus smiled in greeting and Sirius smirked back in a fashion that was almost crazed, though Remus knew that it was because Sirius had only just changed back from his canine form.

Sirius came towards him in a rush of leaf-tangled hair and dirt-covered cloak, and Remus' senses were instantly assaulted with the smell of him. The deep, earthy musk of leaves and fur, the wildness of a late night run still clinging to his hair and clothes. Even the scent of the moon seemed to linger on him, stung in Remus' nostrils and made the hair at the base of his neck stand on end.

"Still reading, Moony? Should've come and joined us." Sirius said in a breathless laugh, rolling gracelessly on to the bed next to Remus. Remus was used to making himself act calmly, and even as Sirius' chilled body lined up with his own all he did was give a quirk of a smile, rolling on his side to face him and reaching up to pull a bright red leaf from Sirius' untamed hair.

"You know why." He answered dryly, and Sirius let out a small huff through his half-moon grin.

"Yeah...I know. But you should've seen it. Wormtail fell down a snake hole and got stuck. I had to dig him out, poor blighter was scared to death." Sirius said through a chuckle, and Remus couldn't help but laugh out himself. Peter's almost pathetic clumsiness was more often than not a great source of entertainment for them all, so much so that Peter almost took pride in it as his role in the group.

"They'll be up soon then? Thought we were waiting until eleven thirty to prepare..." Remus noted, one brow raising at the smirk that spread over Sirius' face.

"Well, we were coming in and James ran into Lilly. And Peter's decided to take a snack break, so..." Sirius leaned in and Remus felt his pulse quicken, though he didn't move away even as Sirius' lips roamed close to his jaw. "...I think we'll be alone. At the very least for an hour."

"Sirius." Remus said sharply, his teeth clenching as Sirius breathed purposefully against his skin. The cold was still on him, chilled on Sirius' lips and flushing the high points of his cheeks and nose. It made Remus shiver, and when he did Sirius put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him closer.

"Come on, Moony...It's been a while. I can't take it." Sirius said with a half-whine of familiar boyish impatience, hand wandering further down Remus' arm, fingertips pushing up his sleeve and brushing lightly against his wrist. Remus sighed out in something that Sirius took as compliance, leaning in to catch Remus' earlobe between his teeth.

"Sirius." Came in response, Remus' voice thick and unreadable. Sirius hummed out in question, feeling Remus' posture grow stiff and his head tilt slightly. Even the smallest action such as that pertained to his animal senses, the canine gesture of submission. Sirius took up the offer greedily, growing hard and overeager as he ran over Remus' scarred skin with his lips and tongue.

For the last month Remus had been such a prude, barely letting him in any closer than a brush of hands or thighs. And for every inch Remus would give him, Sirius would do his damndest to take a mile, hands already running back through Remus' hair as he bit lightly at his throat.

Remus would have liked to blame the moon for the way Sirius was making him feel then, for the way his skin was prickling with goosebumps and the fact that he'd offered himself up so vulnerably after only slight provocation. Even after their friendship had evolved into this physical, mutual, secretive pseudo-romance, Remus almost always made Sirius work for what he wanted, and normally it took much more insistence on Sirius' behalf before Remus would cave. Remus had his moments of weakness, as well, and to those Sirius was always happy to oblige, but even if he hadn't wanted it moments before he found himself shutting his eyes, gritting his teeth and arching into Sirius.

Sirius could barely handle it when Remus acted like this. Both animal and human parts of him surged with heat, a thrill of dominance making his bites slightly rougher and his hands grip tighter into Remus' fair hair. Remus made a soft sound low in his throat that Sirius was desperate to hear again, licking a hot stripe against the other's fluttering pulse and running his teeth over the shell of Remus' ear.

"Fuck, Remus..." Sirius cursed in under his breath as he gripped to Remus' shoulder, Remus' body feeling so warm in contrast to his own. He ran one cold hand under Remus' jumper, feeling him shiver and squirm as his fingertips ran a chilled path up his stomach. Sirius couldn't help but be overenthusiastic with Remus' willing response, and as his finger walked up Remus' ribs he dipped his head in to catch the other's mouth.

As he moved his lips brushed something sweet, though it wasn't quite what he expected. If anything he would have thought he'd taste chocolate, knowing Remus' sweet-tooth, but instead his tongue brushed a hard, flat surface tasting distinctly of butterscotch. When he opened his eyes to look he saw Remus staring defiantly up at him, nostrils flaring and face flushed. To his lips he found a round yellow lollypop, pressed there firmly as Remus gripped the holding stick.

"Rem-..?" Sirius began to ask, but only found the lollypop shoved into his mouth as Remus moved to sit up discontently. Sirius huffed a breath out through his nose as he sucked on the candy, still unsure of Remus' motive.

"Just...Just give me a moment." Remus stated, obviously short of breath and in much more of a ruffled state than he'd like to be. Sirius took the time to watch him, cheeks hollowing as he rolled the lolly over his tongue and as Remus hastily pushed both the book and tray of candies on the bedside table. When Remus finally looked back to Sirius he rolled his eyes slightly, watching as Sirius' tongue darted over the lollypop before he bit into it loudly.

"At least ione/i of us has the mind to think." Remus reminded, picking up his wand from besides the bed and, with a small jerk of his hand, the curtains around his four-post whisked shut. Sirius raised his eyebrow up high, swallowing down the remnants of the sticky confection and pulling the now clean stick out from his mouth.

"That's rather bold of you, Moony..." He noted through a widening grin, one that faltered when he suddenly found Remus hovering over him, their foreheads nearly touching and Remus' breath falling heavily against his mouth.

"...just do something before I change my mind." Remus said in a rush of words, words that made Sirius' blood run hot and his head numb. He had just enough sense left in him to wrap his arms around Remus' waist, pulling him in close and kissing him rough and deep.

Remus tensed at first, but very quickly fell into pace with Sirius' quick lips and tongue, giving in to his instincts and settling against Sirius chest to chest, hip to hip. When Sirius rolled his body up to meet his Remus let out a soft groan, feeling Sirius' grin through their kiss and his shirt quickly being lifted by deft hands. He pulled back enough to let the sweater pull over his head, and Sirius clumsily pushed it aside as he buried his face against Remus' neck, giving a gentle bite to the crescent shaped scar that curved like a pale moon over Remus' skin.

"Not there." Remus hissed out through his teeth, his body growing defenseless despite his protest—Sirius knew some of his weaknesses quite well and wasn't afraid to exploit them. Sirius kissed and sucked softly at his neck then and Remus couldn't do much more than growl low in his throat, which he was now baring shamelessly to Sirius' deliberate mouth.

"You know I hate it when you do that…" Remus remarked distantly as he tried to gain control over himself, to which Sirius pulled back from him and smiled.

"You do not. You just like it itoo/i much." Sirius corrected, and just as Remus made to retort he wedged a hand between their bodies, taking a firm grip between Remus' legs. He raised a cocky eyebrow as he traced the shape of Remus' now prominent erection through his trousers, watching as Remus' eyelids grew heavy and his breathing deep.

"You're…unfair." Was all Remus could say, obviously struggling to come up with a word to describe Sirius and seeming dissatisfied with the adjective he'd chosen. He found it incredibly difficult to be witty with the way Sirius started rubbing him through the material of his pants, and even harder still when Sirius latched on to his neck once more and pulled Remus on top of himself.

It had been quite some time since they'd last done anything like this, and Remus could already feel the familiar tension growing in his body, the muscles in his stomach growing tight and his hips jerking forward reflexively. With some difficulty he pulled away from Sirius, feeling fingertips lingering at the zipper of his trousers as he did. Now he could feel his blood pounding too hard and his body still further losing restraint, and it was even harder to regain when he saw the way Sirius was laying beneath him, hair splayed on the pillow, face flushed and eager, and cock straining against the seam of his pants.

Remus swallowed heavily, tried to say something but fell silent under Sirius' strangely patient gaze. He rationalized by instead moving down and bringing his mouth level with Sirius' hips, to which Sirius murmured out in encouragement and spread his legs slightly.

"Oh, please, Remus…" Sirius begged in a low voice that fell into a soft moan as Remus began to undo his trousers. Sirius adjusted himself against the pillows behind him, propped up on his elbows as he watched Remus drawing him out from his clothing. He could barely get over how wonderful it felt to have Remus' fingers against him, almost felt the impulse to tell Remus just so, but held himself back as Remus looked up at him over the length of his body and pressed a thumb to the head of his cock.

Sirius' head rocked back onto the pillows with a curse leaving his lips and relished in even the lightest pressure the other gave him, his hips rolling slightly in the vain search for more friction. His breath came out shakily when Remus took him in a tighter fist, finally stroking him over and granting him a far more fulfilling pleasure. As Sirius arched back into the pillows and let his eyes slip shut Remus couldn't help but look up at him in fascination, how Sirius' muscles would tense if he stroked him slow and tight, the way Sirius would squirm and growl if he brushed him over with the very tips of his fingers.

Every time they did this he couldn't help but feel astonished that it only took a single deft hand to keep the ever unruly Sirius Black under control, and there was something thrilling about manipulating Sirius to any state that he pleased. Remus leaned in closer, let a ghost of breath fall across Sirius' sensitive cock, and watched unsurprised as Sirius sucked in a deep breath at the promise of his warm lips so close to him. When he pulled back he heard Sirius slur out something unintelligent, and expected the hand to run back through his hair before Sirius had even lifted a finger.

Remus wondered to himself how long he could get away with teasing Sirius and often liked to test his boundaries, but tonight it seemed that Sirius would have none of it. Sirius curled his fingers tightly into the hair at the base of Remus' neck, tugging him towards himself, his cock throbbing hopefully against Remus' palm. When he gave one last little insistent pull Remus sighed and gave in, his lips parting as he let Sirius guide him closer.

At the first touch of a soft lip against him Sirius let up his hold just slightly, his chest rising and falling with uneven breaths as Remus' lower lip traced the ridge around the head of his cock. Remus tilted his head and closed his eyes as he took Sirius into his mouth, feeling his face heat as his tongue surged knowingly against the underside of Sirius' cock. Sirius clenched his fingers tightly into his hair once more and he knew Sirius was trying to hold back from taking control and thrusting into him, as he'd done their first few experimental times together. He could feel Sirius' muscles strain and looked up to see his face furrowed in tension, his lips parted with stilted breaths.

Remus shut his eyes again and focused his attention on the cock that now sat heavy over his tongue, hollowing his cheeks and taking Sirius in as far as he could handle. It didn't take much for Sirius to realize how embarrassingly close he was, even when they'd just begun. He would have liked to blame it on Remus, for the other holding out so long on him, even when it was really more his fault than anything. There was something about Remus when they did this that got to him, the prim-and-proper Remus who had his nose buried between his legs rather than in the pages of some book and made him feel like he could barely hold back.

Sirius took the chance to watch him when he could manage to keep his eyes open, and though his eyelids fluttered dangerously nothing was making his moans falter now, his vocalizations growing louder with each fluid bob of Remus' head. He could feel Remus' hands then, one circling the base of his cock tightly, the other gripping into his thigh, and Sirius couldn't help but let a string of obscenities leave his lips. He was so close to coming that it almost hurt, each wave of intense pleasure almost startling and brining him nearly to the brink.

"Shit, Remus, slow down..." Sirius tried to warn when he had enough breath to properly speak, barely seeing the look Remus gave him before the other's tongue worked him faster, harder. It was obvious Remus wasn't going to comply and Sirius could only arch back into the pillows as he felt his cock swell and his thighs grow tense. What he didn't expect to feel was Remus' fingers through his clothes, pressing accurately against the curve of his backside and bringing his body off harder than he knew how to handle. He felt his head spin as he groaned out, spilling past Remus' lips and letting his hips buck up from the mattress.

"Oh sweet fuck..." Sirius breathed out just as Remus pulled up, and Sirius couldn't help but stupidly grin when he watched Remus swallow. There was still a slightly off-put expression on Remus' face when he did, but Sirius still clearly remembered the first time he'd come in Remus' mouth, that and the disgruntled spitting that had followed. The boldness of Remus' explorative fingers had been rather new as well, and though he would have liked to make some smart-assed remark it seemed like the communication between his mind and his body had been severed, leaving him a panting, cursing mess.

For a moment Remus simply sat between Sirius' unevenly spread legs, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and watching as Sirius made a valiant attempt to recollect himself. He found that, in the moment, it had only seemed natural to do what he did, but sitting back gave him the time to process his actions without distraction, and pulling back from Sirius gave him the time to be embarrassed, that and it reminded him that he was still shirtless and uncomfortably hard. Remus still hadn't had the time to react fully before Sirius had indeed put himself together, at least enough to grab a hold of Remus and kiss him hard.

Remus' posture grew stiff when he was first pulled down into Sirius' greedy kiss, though the warmth of Sirius' clothed body against his half-naked one caused a slight delay between his feelings and his reaction. And Sirius took advantage of that, flipping their bodies over so that he was now pressing Remus into the bed, kissing him deep while enthusiastic hands ran down the length of Remus' bare chest. Remus' lips parted further when Sirius pressed thumbs against his nipples almost distractedly before he was fumbling with the binds of Remus' trousers.

Sirius took a moment to rub Remus teasingly, delighted in the fact that Remus was still so hard. He still had slight insecurities when it came to touching Remus, finding it difficult to decode what Remus wanted from him. Sometimes Remus would scowl and frown at him in disapproval at Sirius, or outright protest, though he'd just as soon turn around and bite Sirius' neck or jerk his hips forward needily. Even then he could feel Remus' lips slightly stiff through their kiss while his cock, in contrast, seemed to be straining to get free. Sirius was more than happy to oblige, cupping him first only to hear Remus growl and moan in impatience, before he was pulling down the zip and easing the other out from the confines.

Sirius brought his hand to his mouth to lick a hot stripe across his palm just before he first touched Remus, and his hand proved to be as blunt and forward as he was with everything else. Remus felt his cock surrounded by hot, slightly calloused fingers that started stroking him over in short, tight jerks, earning Sirius a strangled moan in turn.

Remus shut his eyes, finding it hard to keep together at the sight of Sirius touching him the way he was, of the way Sirius nuzzled in close to his hip and bit lightly at his thighs as he touched him with a half-grinning confidence. It was always much easier to shut his eyes because all the times he watched Sirius would always hold his eye-contact, as if he was looking for something from Remus. Even with his eyes shut he could feel Sirius' eyes on him, but not seeing him made it that much easier to relish in the sensations of it all, to lose himself in the feeling of Sirius' skin.

Remus fisted the blankets to either side of him when he felt Sirius' mouth begin to wander, making a slow trail of open kisses across his hip bones towards his cock. Remus could practically feel the smile on the other's lips as Sirius trailed across his abdomen, his breath hitching as Sirius lightly trailed his teeth close to his base. Sirius laughed under his own breath as Remus let himself be taken over, feeling a strong stab of affection at the way Remus' brow would furrow as he concentrated on the pleasure. At the same time he could never understand how Remus could remain so calm, though he had begun to find ways to make Remus lose it.

After a few more careful pumps over Remus' cock he let him go, watching as it swayed slightly before him. Sirius' eyes glanced up to Remus' face, watching as his look of pleasure shifted just marginally to frustration. A smirk tugged at Sirius' lips as he let out a hot, purposed breath against Remus' member, seeing the visible reaction of Remus' body conflict with his almost calm face. He watched the slight flare of nostrils, the clenching of his stomach, the way his cock seemed to grow harder under the attention. When he laughed again Remus finally did look at him, glaring down just as Sirius swallowed him down.

Remus wasn't ready for this, either, his breath held in as Sirius let his lips sink down around him. He wasn't ready for the heat of it, for the way Sirius lashed his tongue around him expertly and pinned his hips to the bed. Automatically his hips made to thrust but Sirius kept him still, bobbing his head up slowly until he only had the tip of Remus pressed against his lips.

Sirius looked up and knew he had him then, from the way Remus was tilting his head to the curling of his fingers into the blankets. Closing his eyes he swallowed him down once more, humming low in his throat and feeling Remus squirm in reaction. He persistently kept him held and Remus let out a groan that was a mix between pleasure and restlessness, his body straining towards a release that still didn't seem close enough. Remus tried desperately to relax, to lose his self-consciousness and let go, but Sirius seemed determined to keep him wound up, digging nails into his hips and trailing his tongue over every inch of Remus' cock that he could reach. When Remus let out another moan he let him go, his tongue lingering at the head of his cock almost teasingly.

"How close?" He asked in a way that could have been mocking, in a way that Remus would never let him get away with otherwise.

"Not enough." Remus quickly replied, opening his eyes to give a rather failing glare. Sirius raised a single brow in challenge before he was holding Remus' member steady and pressing the point of his tongue just at the tip, Remus' demeanor instantly changing as he collapsed bonelessly back into the pillow, his eyes clenching shut. Only when he felt satisfied that he'd put Remus back in his place and effectively got him back for making him finish too early did Sirius return to sucking his cock, this time with obvious, determined intent.

As much as Remus liked to tease Sirius himself he didn't much appreciate the favor returned, and it was only when Sirius began working him with a fervor that Remus could lose himself again. His muscles tensed but his inhibitions were gone, letting his body take over and his normally astute mind to lose priority. For now it was just feeling, and the less he thought about it the more the pleasure built up in him to the point where he could barely take it. Before he knew it he had hands fisted into Sirius' hair and everything was suddenly magnified, he could feel nothing Sirius' tongue and lips and hands. He rolled his head back and made one last long groan before he hit his peak, coming past Sirius' willing lips and feeling like there was nothing left of him when Sirius sucked him clean.

For a good moment Remus dazedly stared at the ceiling, barely aware that his eyes were even open until Sirius crawled up besides him. There was that familiar, dumb boy grin on his face again that Remus could never do anything but smile back to, laughing lightly and breathlessly for no good reason at all. Sirius laughed along with him, but when their laughter died down there was nothing to do but look at each other.

Normally eye contact for them was nothing unnatural, was actually something quintessential and comfortable among their group. But this time they both felt something different, something that neither would acknowledge, nor did they know how to recognize. Sirius reached up to brush a stray lock of hair from Remus' face, Remus let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, and as soon as it came the moment was gone. Sirius made a funny face and Remus laughed in only slight awkwardness and they were getting up, rearranging their clothing and cleaning up the mess they had made.

Sirius stood from the bed and stretched overdramatically as Remus pulled his sweater back on, feeling far too overheated but knowing that soon they'd be outside in the chilled autumn air. He thought they would still have a good bit of time left over, to lay back and relax, but in an act of strangely good timing Peter came through the tower door with a beaming grin on his face.

"You'll never guess what James got from one of the seventh years!" Peter started in an attempt to be hushed, though the excitement was obvious in his voice. Remus and Sirius both looked to him and then to each other, laughing a little out of nervousness more than anything. If Peter had come less than five minutes ago it would have been a different situation, and they found their friend's timing unnervingly funny.

"Well, I can't guess what he'd get from an upperclassman, but I can guess what he got from Lilly..." Sirius started with a slow, mischievous grin, and as if he knew he was being talked about James came through the open door. Sirius' suggestive comment seemed to be quite correct, if they could tell by the bright look in James' eyes or the ruffled state of his clothing.

"What was that?" James said through a smile, not having caught all of Sirius' quip but too happy in his own right to bother.

"What did you get?" Remus asked, seeing that Peter still hadn't made his announcement. James looked to Peter then and nodded his head, and as if on command Peter pulled out a half-empty bottle of firewhiskey. Sirius let out a whistle, taking the bottle from Peter and pulling the stopper to take a sniff.

"Nice job James, way to pull through." Sirius said with a hint of admiration. He then motioned to the rest of them, "Who's first? Should James do the honour for acquiring such a prize?"

"I'd be happy to." James obliged, taking the bottle from Sirius and taking a heavy swig. He pulled the bottle away fast and swallowed, grimacing slightly at the thick, hot aftertaste. James then gave the bottle to Peter, who drank his own down without much more than a slight watering to his eyes.

The whiskey came back to Sirius, who lifted the bottle up slightly. "Cheers, mates." He said with a grin before taking the bottle to his lips, taking a heavy draught and feeling the burn all the way down to his stomach. He released the bottle loudly from his lips, wiping at his mouth and gesturing for Remus to take the bottle next.

Remus reached out to take the bottle for himself, his fingertips lining up with Sirius' as he did. It was only the slightest of touches but it caught both of their attentions, their eyes meeting for only a second before Remus was taking the whiskey for himself. Sirius watched then, a grin on his lips as he watched Remus swallow it down, remembering where those lips had been not minutes before.

When Remus finished his drink they passed the bottle around only once more, quicker this time, before James stashed the bottle in his trunk to save for another day. The drink was enough to warm their bodies and lighten their spirits as they carefully drew out a few choice potions, their map, and James' cloak out from beneath James' bed, all the things they had prepared for their annual prank. Once they were all packed and ready, with wands in their pockets, it was nearly time to leave, and they could all feel the tension and thrill through them as they waited for the clock to strike.

"You ready, Moony?" Sirius asked almost softly then as James and Peter fit themselves under the cloak, Peter turning into his rat form and perching carefully on James' shoulder. Remus looked at him from the corner of his eye before glancing back to James and Peter just before they disappeared completely from site.

" 'course, Padfoot." He replied easily, though his eyes snapped back to Sirius when he felt a hand brush against his waist. Remus glared in threat at Sirius half-heartedly and only got a tease of a smirk in return.

"Boys, it's midnight." James piped up, and both Sirius and Remus could feel and hear him walking rather than see him. From under the cloak he thrust the map towards Remus, "Let's do it, and we better make it good. We only have one more year after this." Remus could hear both the eagerness and the nostalgia in James' voice as he took the map from him, drawing his wand from his pocket.

Just before he spoke he could feel it on him again, the same feeling of eyes that he'd felt when he'd been in the bed. He just barley glanced at Sirius then, saw that strange stare that made his face feel hot and his body remember what it felt like under that stare before, the feeling of Sirius against him.. Remus swallowed down and stood up straight, trying to clear his head. Sirius grinned at the hint of a smile that graced Remus' features just before Remus tapped his wand to the map.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."