Work Text:
March 1977
“Padfoot,” Peter began once they were in the tunnel and in their human forms again. “Why do you have your pillowcase?”
Sirius shrugged. “The smell is comforting. I thought it might help Moony calm down.”
“Human Moony or wolfy Moony?” Peter asked.
“Both, I guess.”
“Oh, um, right. Okay.” He said no more on the matter.
When they got to the Shack, what had been obvious all week was now unmistakable. It was going to be a bad full. The night wasn't terribly long, nor would the full moon stretch into a second night. It wasn't at the nearest point of orbit. None of the conditions that always caused a rough full were present. It was just a run-of-the-mill bad cycle. Sirius sighed through his nose.
"Hey Moons," he said softly as they came into the main room to find Remus sitting on the battered cot. "How is it so far?"
"Bad, Pads," Remus moaned, barely reaching out one hand toward him. Sirius knew what he meant and stepped closer, allowing Remus to grip him around the waist and press his face into Sirius's stomach.
Sirius petted his hair. "Brought you a pillowcase from the dorm." Remus smiled and snuggled closer. Sirius held the pillowcase close by so he could still smell them on it. James and Peter did their usual jobs of getting the room ready and letting the pups cuddle. Remus was already mostly prepped for moonrise, stripped down to boxers and an undershirt, but he would lock himself away soon because he hated anyone seeing him shift.
"Moonrise is soon," he whispered.
"Let's get you into the other room then." Remus whined low in his throat. "I can stay with you. I don't mind."
"I do."
"I know, Moons. But it's not as if seeing you change would change anything for me. You know that." Remus didn't respond, only moving to stand. "Alright, come on." Sirius helped him up and they walked down the hall with Remus's face pressed into Sirius's neck. Inside the only room on the ground floor with a working door, Sirius set his boyfriend on a nest of old blankets. "You okay to undress?" Remus nodded. Sirius closed the door behind him and leaned against the opposite wall.
James leaned beside him. "Bad month?" Sirius nodded and rubbed a hand across his face. "Maybe it's just stress, or maybe it doesn't mean anything at all." He knew Sirius worried that the fulls would just keep getting worse. "Besides, I heard one of Sluggy's old students is in trials for some potion that's supposed to help."
"Belby, yeah," Sirius mumbled. A cry rang out from the room. "It's not moonrise yet." He stepped forward and tapped on the door. "Moony, you okay?"
"Help, please," Remus whined. Merlin it must be a really bad moon if Remus was willing to be this outwardly needy. Sirius opened the door and strode in, tossing the pillowcase in his hand to James. "Can't get it off," Remus whined from where one shoulder was caught in his t-shirt.
"Oh babe," Sirius whispered. "I've got you." He slid his hands under the hem of the shirt and gently pulled it over Remus's head. "Need help with the pants?" Blush crawled up Remus's neck, but he nodded. His arms ached terribly this month, for no reason either of them could discern. Sirius held Remus around the waist and helped him lift up just enough to get the waistband past his hips, then slid them down his legs. Remus pulled his legs up to cover himself, not from Sirius but from the open door. Sirius folded the clothes carefully, as Remus usually did, but was interrupted by a spasm and cry.
"S-starting," Remus said through gritted teeth.
"In or out, Rem?" Remus clutched Sirius's arm almost painfully. "James, shut the door and transform," Sirius said with remarkable calm. "Okay, babe, stay with me for just a second." He stood and set the folded clothes on a high shelf. "Alright, I'm here, lay down. It'll be easier."
"Change," Remus warned.
"I will, don't worry." He let Remus grip him tightly until the bones in his arms started to shift. In seconds, Padfoot lay on the floor beside him instead, licking doggy kisses across Remus's face and neck. When the Wolf awoke, it was to Padfoot licking his snout. He licked back, tongue snaking in to lick at the dog's teeth. It took long minutes for the Wolf to get up, sore as he was, but when he did, Moony was raring to go.
He howled, trying to entice Padfoot to join in as he always did. And as always, it took no convincing. Padfoot pulled the door handle down with one paw and nosed the door open. He barked once at Moony, who was already nipping at his heels. Moony was usually even more frantic after moonrise during bad months, so Padfoot was prepared. He chuffed out a warning to Moony as the wolf tried to shove him through the door faster. Disliking this turn of events, Moony growled and shoved harder, trying to pin Padfoot. The dog whined, baring his neck. Moony licked his neck, with the barest scrape of teeth to reassert his dominance. This sorted, they both looked up to see Prongs standing in the doorway carrying Wormtail and the pillowcase in his antlers.
Padfoot braced one paw on the door frame, not daring to touch Prongs yet, and grabbed the pillowcase in his mouth. He pushed it toward Moony. The wolf sniffed it once, twice, and took it. He dropped it on the floor and nuzzled his whole face into it, rolling around on it like the big puppy he could often be. He whined at Padfoot to join him. Padfoot trotted over and dropped to the floor with the wolf, who pawed at the free edge of the pillowcase and looked beseechingly up at the dog. Padfoot nuzzled his face into the fabric, spread his scent around as Moony had. With this ritual complete, Moony stood, looking less frantic than he had been.
He nudged Padfoot around the room, testing their dynamic as he tended to do, and scented him each time they stopped. The door creaked and Moony snapped around, snarling.
So, not totally calm yet.
Padfoot whined and tried to nuzzle underneath Moony’s chin. Moony stilled and let this happen for a moment, then he bent his head to scent Padfoot again.
This was his mate, safe and comfortable, who had brought him the good smelling cloth. Good and safe.
Moony glanced up at Prongs and Wormtail standing in the doorway. He stalked across the room, Padfoot on his heels. Prongs bowed his head low and Wormtail, still riding in the antlers, did the same. After a slow sniff, these were pack, Moony pressed his cold nose to the bridge of Prongs’s snout and to the tip of Wormtail’s twitching nose. Feeling comfortable in the house, with all its occupants, and no other scents, Moony took off through the doorway. He was bursting with energy and his pack was right behind him.
Unfortunately, this energy led to Moony bouncing off a few walls and doorframes, but he was brought back to the nice, safe floor by Padfoot dragging in the pillowcase and whining gently at him. One particularly exuberant run down the hallway knocked Moony’s back legs slightly off course, sending his hip careening into Padfoot, who then smacked into the wall. At the bitten off whine of his mate, Moony skidded to a halt and flattened himself on the floor beside Padfoot. His mate would be upset that he’d hurt him, however unintentionally. Padfoot licked Moony’s muzzle and laid his head down on his paws.
Despite this clear show of forgiveness, Moony was distraught. He dashed from room to room, pushing past Prongs and Wormtail when they tried to redirect him, until he found the pillowcase. He dragged it back to where Padfoot lay and draped it over his shoulders. The dog yipped happily and tried to encourage Moony to lay down with him. After much whining and coaxing and checking around and rearranging the pillowcase, he did. Padfoot nuzzled his neck. Moony’s heart soared at the wonder that his mate wasn’t even upset, still content to love and submit.
Some time later, when Moony was more calm, Padfoot stood from the floor, took the pillowcase in his mouth and trotted out to the main room. Moony followed at a cautious distance, though he knew this house well. It had been a long time since he’d accidentally hurt Padfoot, not since they’d become mates, and he wasn’t sure what would happen. Padfoot climbed carefully onto the cot and lay down with his head on half of the pillowcase. One paw dug gently at the open space. He whined. Moony got the message and climbed up beside him.
They snuggled in, Moony calming significantly at the trust and calm pouring off his mate. Prongs settled down on the floor at the foot of the cot, Wormtail on his back. As the sounds of the shack quieted, Moony licked Padfoot’s muzzle, scented his neck once more, and fell asleep.
The sun rose earlier than it had the previous month, bathing the main room of the shack in cold, early morning light. Sirius, now human again, pulled one of the cot’s blankets up to cover Remus’s naked body. Remus groaned quietly as he snuggled in, pressing a cold, but dry, nose into whatever part of Sirius was nearest.
“Shh, sleep Moons,” Sirius whispered. He gently shifted Remus’s face until he was smelling the pillowcase beneath them, and slid from the cot. He collected Remus’s boxers and undershirt from the other room. When he returned to the main room, Peter was slumped on one of the dilapidated sofas and James sat against the wall nearest where he’d fallen asleep.
“How is he?” James whispered.
“Haven’t looked too close yet. Probably pretty bruised from that doorframe.”
James nodded. “And how are you? You hit the wall kinda hard.”
Sirius shrugged. “Not really. I let him think I was more hurt than I was because then he’d settle down. I’m just a little sore. Might see if Pomfrey can heal the bruise if one pops up. I’ll just say I fell out of bed or something.”
Remus shifted stiffly and blinked tired eyes at them. “I hurt you?” he asked, voice tiny and scared and very close to tears.
Sirius dropped to his knees beside the cot. “No, you knocked into me by accident is all, Rem. I hit the wall a little. I’m not hurt, I promise.” Remus chewed his lip. “You bounced yourself off every wall on this floor way harder than I did.” He shot James a glare over his shoulder. Peter watched all of this with a slightly bemused expression.
“You’re sure?” Remus asked.
“Yes. You were better than I expected last night, even if you were a little hyperactive.”
“Okay.”
“I brought your clothes, do you need help with them?” Sirius set the two folded undergarments on the cot. Remus flushed with embarrassment, but nodded.
“Really sore,” he murmured, by way of explanation.
Sirius smiled. “I wouldn’t mind, even if you just felt like having help, you know.” He kept his voice light and teasing, knowing making a big deal of it only made Remus feel worse.
"Way to make it gay, Padfoot," Peter joked.
Sirius rolled his eyes but kept his attention on Remus. “Which do you want first?”
“Shirt please, it’s freezing in here.” Remus's voice was still small and pained.
“Well, we can’t have that.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Would Messers Wormtail and Prongs ask the concierge to please adjust the central heating for Messer Moony,” he said in his silliest, plummiest voice. They laughed and Remus chuckled, which was the whole point. Slowly, Sirius helped him into his t-shirt. His arms were still stiff and bruises mottled both of his sides. “D’you think you’ve cracked any ribs this time?” Remus shook his head no. “Good, you went sideways into a doorframe and wouldn’t slow down long enough for us to make sure you hadn’t broken anything. We figured you must have been okay if you could keep running around like that.”
“Sorry about that,” Remus mumbled.
“Don’t be, I just want to check you over.”
“Madam Pomfrey will,” Remus said.
“Yeah, but you’ll be wanting us to spring you from the Hospital Wing before lunchtime, I bet,” James added. “So, best Padfoot knows what hurts while he can still see it.”
Remus rolled his eyes, but allowed the fussing. Sirius arranged the blanket just so, shuffling it this way and that to keep his dignity covered while he slid the boxers up his legs. Despite the fact that Sirius was pretty well used to seeing him naked now — between fulls and the last four months or so of sex — Remus wasn’t particularly comfortable being exposed like this.
“Okay, can you put an arm around my shoulders?” Sirius asked. The waistband of the boxers was as far as it would go for the moment. Slowly, Remus managed to loop one arm around Sirius’s upper back. “Hips up, ready?” Remus nodded. Sirius lifted him round the waist with one arm and used the other hand to pull the elastic past his hips. The arm around his shoulders was really for balance and weight, which was good because there was no way he could lift himself like that right now. Sirius set him gently back on the cot.
“Thank you,” Remus whispered.
“Anytime, Moons.” He brushed a hand across Remus’s side, out of view of the others. “You’ve got a big bruise on your hip though, with a nice clean line through it, from hitting that door.”
“Probably why it feels so swollen and awful.”
James rolled his eyes. “Yeah, Moony. Maybe mention swollen and awful when we’re looking for injuries, mate?”
Remus tried for a cheeky grin. “Oh, is that what Pads was doing? I just thought he was feeling me up.”
James burst out laughing and Sirius grinned. “I can multitask.”
Peter looked on with that same bemused expression. He’d clocked the odd change in their close friendship a few months back, but nothing had really seemed off about it. He’d cracked a few jokes, too, not unlike the one Remus had just made. They all had from time to time, even Sirius himself. But this one seemed like he wasn’t quite in on why it was extra funny. It was sort of funny, but Sirius’s teasing response wasn’t what he’d expected. Normally, Padfoot would splutter out some denial that would make them all laugh harder or he’d put on his silly, high-horse voice and insist he was being slandered whilst performing a noble service or something else ridiculous. Not this. Maybe he was just tired.
“Pomfrey’ll be coming soon,” James said. “We should go if we’re going.”
Sirius looked down at Remus on the cot. “Yeah, alright.”
A whine crawled out of Remus’s throat. “Padfoot.” The voice melted Sirius on the spot. He’d barely got half an inch off the cot and now he couldn’t be moved.
“I’ll stay, Moony. I can just hide in the other room until she takes you and I’ll meet you there.” Remus nodded quickly.
“We can just transform, or disillusion ourselves in the other room,” Peter said. “Don’t worry, Moons, we won’t leave until she’s here.”
James roused Peter from the sofa and they set about clearing away any trace that a dog, stag, and rat had joined the wolf for the night. Sirius stayed on the cot with Remus. It had been this way for years, honestly, so Peter didn’t even notice that they spoke more softly to one another than usual. It was just them. They were quiet and cuddly around the full, as always.
“Can I have my jumper?” Remus asked. “And socks?”
Sirius smiled at him with infinite softness. “I’ll help you get dressed, love, don’t worry.” He gathered Remus’s clothes from where they sat on the high shelf behind the cot and helped him into them. When this was done, he sat on the cot and curled his warm body around Remus, trying to soothe his aches with only his presence. Remus could make a good case for this as a therapeutic method if asked.
They hid in the spare room with the door pulled to and disillusionment charms cast until they heard Madam Pomfrey leave with Remus. They gave them a solid head start before following down the secret passage.
In the castle, Sirius scarfed his breakfast at James’s insistence, before taking a bowl of porridge and a cup of tea to the Hospital Wing for Remus. Madam Pomfrey greeted him when he came in, entirely used to his presence after the full moon.
“Good morning Mr. Black. Remus is in his usual bed,” she said. Sirius nodded his thanks. “And once he finishes his porridge, you may help him up to your dormitory. I believe he would be happier to recuperate there.”
“Thank you, Madam Pomfrey,” Sirius said.
“But he is to rest , Sirius. I know he’s not as injured as usual, but he’s very weak this month.”
“I know,” Sirius replied in a low voice. “He...I know.” Madam Pomfrey frowned gently at him and rested a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll go see him then. Thank you.” He slipped around the curtains that partitioned off Remus’s usual bed, perching on the side Remus curled slightly toward, the side opposite his horrible bruise. “Brought you breakfast. Sorry I’m late, James made me eat.”
“Good. You always skip after the full.”
Sirius smiled and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Pomfrey says I can take you upstairs once you’ve finished eating. So we can just spend a nice, lazy Sunday in bed, feeling sore for all the wrong reasons.” Remus chuckled, but took the bowl.
Half an hour later, the bowl and teacup were both empty and Sirius was helping Remus get ready to leave the Hospital Wing. He knelt beside the bed where Remus's feet hung over the edge, helping him into his shoes and tying the laces for him. James and Peter leaned around the curtains.
"Whoops," James said too loudly. "Didn't mean to interrupt your intimate moment." Peter laughed.
"Stop taking the piss, Prongs," Sirius grumbled. "Like I'd risk Pomfrey banning me." James chuckled.
"I'm not supposed to do anything strenuous," Remus explained, relishing the double entendre. "So Padfoot's…helping." He gestured at where Sirius was tying his shoes.
"It's not strenuous if Padfoot's the one on his knees," Peter said. "Of all of us, I never thought it'd be you, Pads." Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Instead of making blowjob jokes, why don't you go ask Pomfrey if Moony can leave," Sirius said.
Madam Pomfrey bustled back with Peter. "I trust you boys will help him up the stairs." Remus blanched. He wasn't sure he could get up that many flights.
"I thought I might carry him. Will he be okay if we charm him lighter?" Sirius asked.
"Yes, he should be fine. I would feel more comfortable if Mr. Potter casts the charm."
James nodded and she handed Remus a couple of potions to be taken later that night. Then smiled at them and headed off to attend to her other patients.
"Okay, I think I'm ready," Remus said. "Can we take the back stairs?"
"Course we can, Rem," Sirius said.
James cast the charm quickly. Remus felt weird, the lightness zinging through his limbs. Sirius scooped him up, an arm under his knees and one around his back, with Remus's sore, feather light arms around his shoulders.
"I got your potions, Moons," Peter said.
Remus nodded his thanks. He tucked his face into Sirius's neck and breathed in through his nose.
"We'll clear the way," James said, leading them out of the infirmary and toward the nearest back staircase.
"I've got the pillowcase in my pocket if you want it," Sirius murmured. Remus hummed in the negative. He inhaled against Sirius's neck again. "You scenting me?" Remus hummed in the affirmative. "Alright love."
Sirius climbed every back staircase toward the seventh floor behind James and Peter, skipping trick steps, trying his hardest not to jostle Remus in his arms. They clambered through the portrait hole and Sirius carried Remus up the stairs to the dorm. James performed the counter charm just before Sirius set Remus down on his bed. He immediately set to removing Remus's shoes.
"You gonna undress him too?" Peter asked. "You’re always trying to touch naked Moony, Pads. That's pretty gay."
"I'm getting pretty sick of your jokes, Wormy," Sirius grumbled, moving on to help Remus slide out of his stiff trousers. Remus gently petted his hair.
"I'm just saying," Peter said, putting his hands up as if to ward off Sirius's anger. "You don't want people thinking you're a shirt lifter, is all."
Sirius spun around, the trousers in his hand dropping to the floor in a heap. Remus grabbed his elbow to stop him striding across the room to give Peter a good thumping. His grip was weak, but it was Remus, so Sirius stayed put.
"It's just us in here," Sirius said sharply.
"You do it everywhere, all the time," Peter cut in.
"And what the fuck's the problem with a bloke liking blokes? Does it bother you, Peter?"
"Well...no, I guess. I don't want a bloke liking me though."
Sirius rolled his eyes so hard James worried they might get stuck there. "With that attitude, none ever will."
Peter shuffled from foot to foot. "Do you like blokes, Padfoot?" His memory cast back to the previous summer and a game of two truths and a lie in which Sirius had admitted to snogging a boy.
"Yeah, sometimes," Sirius shrugged. "Doesn't matter if I do."
"I guess not. You haven't gone out with anyone in months."
Sirius gritted his teeth.
"Siri, just leave it. I wanna sleep."
"Sorry Rem, I'll get your sweats, yeah?" Remus nodded. Sirius left his bed to go bustle around Remus's dresser and trunk, pulling out a pair of sweats and a soft long-sleeved shirt. James nudged Peter off toward his own bed, away from where Sirius and Remus were whispering as they carefully got changed into comfy clothes.
Sirius slid into bed beside Remus, arranging them until Remus rested against him with no pressure on the worst of his bruises. He ran his fingers through Remus's hair until he fell into a light doze. This was a fairly normal occurrence, so Peter made no comment until he and James came back from lunch with sandwiches for them. Remus still dozed against Sirius's chest, but Sirius was awake. He had one of Remus's muggle books open in one hand, and the other combed through Remus's hair.
Peter set the plate on the bedside table. "There's gonna be a quidditch friendly in an hour or so."
"That's nice," Sirius said.
"If you wanna come watch after you finish eating," Peter added.
"I don't think Moony will be up to it, but thanks, Pete."
"He doesn't have to come with you, if he's still tired. You can come, maybe talk to people. You haven't had a date in a while."
"I'm fine, Pete, thanks. I'd rather stay up here with Remus."
"Okay, but I mean, you're not gonna get any dates if you don't talk to anyone but Moony."
Remus, who they'd thought was still napping, snorted in laughter. Sirius smiled down at him.
"He does not need a date, Wormtail," Remus growled. "But you can go if you want, Pads. I don't mind staying up here." His voice was low and gravelly from sleep and his transformation.
"Nah," Sirius said. "You want your lunch?" Remus nodded and sat up with minimal help. They shared the plate on their laps. "You need something, Wormy?"
"No?" Peter said. "Something's just different recently, but I don't know what because you're the same as always, kind of. I guess…you're closer because Padfoot isn't dating anyone at all. Or did something happen when you all went to see his uncle last summer?"
"No, nothing happened when we went to see Uncle Al," Sirius said. "We're fine, Wormtail. You said it yourself, we're the same as always."
Peter considered them. "Yeah, I guess. We'll catch you guys later, then. Prongs is hoping Lily will come watch him play."
James grinned obligingly, shouldering his broomstick. Peter left the dorm first, and James followed, raising an eyebrow at them over his shoulder.
"I'm sick of his snide comments, Moons."
"I know. We should probably tell him, maybe he'll stop." Sirius shrugged.
"Eat your sandwich. I'll read you more of this."
"Can we switch to fiction, actually?"
"Sure, what d'you want?"
Remus hummed around his sandwich. "Jane Austen, please."
"How about Pride and Prejudice ? We haven't read that one yet."
Remus nodded. "I hope the main character is more likeable than Emma ."
Sirius hummed in agreement. "Knightly was good though. I liked him."
“You wanted to be the one to marry him,” Remus teased. Sirius laughed and didn’t disagree.
Their lunch plate cleared away, Sirius summoned the book they wanted from Remus's bedside table with a lazy flick of his wand. He leaned back against the headboard and let Remus get comfortable beside him.
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that…"
James and Peter returned before supper with, surprisingly enough, Lily in tow. She grinned at the sight of Sirius reading to a sore but happy Remus in bed.
"Oh, that's a great book," she said, seeing the cover. They both grinned back at her.
"We like Jane, she's the sweetest," Remus said.
Lily nodded. "The best friend and sister Lizzie could ask for. She's great. I always related to Lizzie, myself."
"Course you do, Red," Sirius teased. "Jamie finally wear you down?" he asked, gesturing at her presence in their room.
"Very funny, no. I came to see how Remus was feeling."
"Oh," Remus said, ears pinking a little. "Cheers, Lils. I'm just sore this month. I have some gross bruise Poppy couldn't fully heal." Lily nodded. "We should probably come down to eat. We've been up here since just after breakfast."
"Well, don't come down if you don't feel up to it," she said.
He shrugged. "I should put on some proper trousers, is all."
"Moony, no one will care and they'll just hurt your bruise. Leave the sweats on." Remus acquiesced and they all headed down to dinner together, Remus tying his own shoes before they left. Lily ate dinner with them, calling Alice Fawley and her boyfriend Frank, who was the year above them, to join their group as well. They discovered, somewhat randomly, that Frank's uncle had married one of Sirius's aunts or cousins or something, leading Sirius to list off the only 'good' Blacks on one hand, and ridiculously describe some of the others.
"Andromeda is fucking brilliant. I wish we could've seen her when we visited Alphard last summer," Sirius said.
"Alphard, there's a name I've heard Aunt Callidora rant about," Frank said. "Why did they disown him?"
"Oh, he wrote everyone out of his will except me when I left home last year. And he sends me a little money. I don't think living in muggle Soho with his half-blood boyfriend for half his life helped, to be honest."
"I'm suddenly really glad I've never had to meet the rest of your family," Frank said with a wince.
Remus nodded vigorously. "You should be. His parents are horrible."
Sirius shrugged. "It's fine. I've got James's parents now."
"And mine. Well, Mum at least," Remus said. Sirius smiled over at him. He hooked their ankles together under the table.
"Moony's mum is great. She sent me a really funny muggle birthday card this year, with homemade biscuits."
"That's adorable," Lily said. "You've already won over your mother-in-law." They laughed.
Peter snorted. "I bet that's exactly how she thinks of you Padfoot if she's ever seen you two together."
Lily tried not to roll her eyes. "Yeah, Peter, that's pretty much what she is."
"For fuck's sake," Sirius muttered under his breath. "Peter, Remus and I have been dating since October. Like everyone knows."
"Really?" Nods all round. "I've been teasing you about it for months. I was right!"
"You were taking the piss; you weren't right about anything," Sirius said.
"But I caught on," Peter said.
"You noticed slightly more than James," Lily said, "which is such a low bar, a pixie wouldn't fit under it."
"Hey," James protested. "That's true, but mean."
"Thank you, Prongs," Peter said.
"I meant mean to me," James said. Lily rolled her eyes, letting James see her smile a little. "You're on your own, Petey. You're the one who's been teasing Padfoot about being gay for his own damn boyfriend." They laughed, mostly at Peter's pouting this time.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Peter asked.
Sirius shrugged. Remus said, "At first we just didn't know how to tell any one. Lily figured it out on her own. Neither of you even noticed the next morning. We figured you'd get there soon. We never hid it, but it's not like we want to snog in front of our friends."
"Speak for yourself," Sirius teased.
"Always knew you were a bloody exhibitionist, Pads," James laughed.
"But you don't act like a couple," Peter said.
Remus raised a brow. "We're always cuddling in the common room."
"And they kiss each other on the forehead and cheek all the time," Lily added.
"And they almost always sleep in the same bed," James said.
"They always sneak off on their own," Frank added.
"And sit together in class," Alice said.
"Yeah, but they've always done that," Peter argued.
"That's because they're idiots who didn't realise they've been in love forever," Lily said. Sirius nodded, happy enough to be called an idiot. "I know nothing's really changed, but you live in the same bedroom. I still don't know how you didn't notice."
Peter made a point to take more notice of Sirius and Remus the rest of the night. And he could see how he missed it. There was nothing huge that revealed an obvious shift in their relationship. Until dinner, he'd actually been kind of proud of himself for noticing any difference at all, because it wasn't really about actions. They didn't cuddle more, or even more closely. They weren't more attentive. Remus wasn't really more possessive. But the tone of every one of those interactions was drastically different.
Peter watched the way Sirius shifted in Remus’s hold where they sat on the sofa, joining in on the game of exploding snap with James, Lily, Alice, and Frank. He wasn't trying to get comfortable, he was teasing. Remus tried to hold him still, laughing and murmuring something in Sirius’s ear when he couldn't. Sirius pinked slightly, but his smile didn't drop. Remus pressed a thoughtless kiss to the top of his head. And that was it, why he hadn't noticed.
They'd gone right from best friends who were like an old married couple to an actual couple who might as well be an old married couple. No honeymoon period in between. At least not one anyone else could see. They could be shagging like rabbits whenever they were properly alone, but Peter sure as hell didn't want to see that for proof.
Remus looked over at him, tilting his head in silent questioning. Peter nodded once, lips twitching slightly in a smile. This was fine, he supposed. Nothing was actually different, after all.