Work Text:
It was a quiet Friday afternoon in the Gryffindor common room. Quiet, maybe, was not the exact word to describe it, let’s just say that there was not much annoying noise. Which was strange per se, as the common room was never much silent, but adding the fact that all the four Marauders were there it looked even stranger. As they had had their O.W.L.s the year before, they knew to not throw away any free moment they had and tried to enjoy it in any way they could.
James and Peter were playing a game of Exploding Snaps, which clearly showed James as an all-time winner, and Peter getting grumpier and grumpier after every turn.
Remus was trying to enjoy a book on one of the couches in front of the fire, cozied up with crossed legs and a warm cup of tea on the coffee table by his side. Sirius, in the meanwhile, was pacing around the common room nervously, grumbling something under his breath but never saying anything properly. He sat on the opposite side of the couch to Remus upside down, with his head looking at the fire and almost touching the ground. The werewolf casted a side look to the boy at his side and while he continued to read his book he said “So, Pads, what’s bothering you?”
“I’m fucking bored”
“It’s not news, you know?” said James from his position on the floor, without even looking at his best friend.
“It’s not news, you know?” repeated Sirius with a mocking tone “Shut up, you shit” and flipped the middle finger and, even if James could not see him, he replied to him with his own middle finger, as if he knew what was happening behind his back.
Sirius rolled his eyes and looked to his left: Remus looked so peaceful, with the last rays of light shining on his face, coming from the window beside them, with a concentrated expression on his face while he was reading the book in his hands. Sirius thought that he could have not looked more beautiful than in that moment because Remus was always trying to conceal, to hide himself from the spotlight. Even when it came to ordinary things like Marauders pranking, even if he was the true mastermind behind the best of them, he never wanted much credit. He always shied away, but the moments he was too caught up in his own world were the ones Sirius cherished, because he could admire him and see him the way he thought his friend should always look: beautifully content.
But, of course, Remus did not know that was the way he thought about him. Sirius was too much of a chickenshit to admit his feelings to his friend, in fear of ruining the great friendship they had built for the past six years, and after the events of the prank, it had been hard for them to rekindle what they had and be really okay with each other, so he really could not risk it.
He was still deep in thought when he heard someone talking to him “- some music”
“Sorry, what?”
“I said” replied Remus, with a little smirk and an amused tone, while he still read his book “you could put one of my muggle records on, if you wanted to put on some music”
Sirius looked at his friend with an arched eyebrow, he never was too keen on lending his muggle stuff to his friends, as they mostly could not handle it for shit, but with disks he could work “Are you serious?”
“No, that’s you”
“Stupid fuck, I really meant it”
“Yes, sure, Pads, you know where they are in our dormitory, right?” said Remus, still concentrated on his book.
“Yes, of course”
“Then you go and choose some, at least it will occupy you for some time”
Sirius got up with an excited look on his face, ran to the stairs to the dormitory, but stopped abruptly, went back to their friends and left a kiss on Remus’s forehead without really thinking, shouted “Thank you, Moons!” and ran again to the stairs, leaving his friend confused and flustered, a little red around his ears and on his cheeks.
As he closed the door of the dormitory behind himself, Sirius threw himself on his bed and muffled a scream into his pillow. He was tempted to repeatedly smack his head on the frame of the bed, but thought it was better not to get himself a self-inflicted headache.
What the hell was he thinking going back just to place a kiss on his best friend’s forehead?! He could have sworn on anything that James was dying trying to restrain himself from laughing in that precise moment, that fucker, as he was the only one who officially knew about his feelings for Remus.
He took a deep breath and got up. He went around Remus’s bed and looked for the records that usually were put on a pile aside from everyything else. He found them and started looking through them, choosing to bring down some disks by his favourite muggle artists his friend had introduced him to. He had taken out Rebel Rebel and A Night at The Opera, but then another one came into his view and he had not seen it in so long, but remembered all the words to: it was the disk which had I Want To Hold Your Hand/I Saw Her Standing There on the two sides.
Satisfied with his choice, he took the three disks under his arm and went back down into the common room. As he approached his friends, he saw James now up from his former position whispering almost sneakily with Remus and Peter, who all stopped abruptly their conversation when they saw him arrive.
He pretended he had not seen a thing and his friends went back to their previous tasks.
Sirius sat on the couch beside Remus and asked him "Do you like my choices?"
But Remus only answered to him saying "Mh mh" and nodding his head lightly, but he had not even looked at the disks.
Sirius got up, took the record player and put it near the couch. If Remus would not pay attention to him, he would make him.
He put on David Bowie and Remus still did not give a single sign of acknowledgement. He even sang some verses and, still, no sign. He was getting even more annoyed. He thought about putting on Bohemian Rhapsody, but he did not want the entire population of the Gryffindor Tower to want him dead, so he decided against it. He then looked at the last record he had brought down from their dorm room and decided to put that on. Well, at least he knew that even if he put on a show, he would mean every word of it.
Oh yeah, I'll tell you something
I think you'll understand
When I'll say that something
I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand
Sirius had started to sing. It was one of his favourite songs from this particular band. People turned to look at him, dancing around and singing with his fist serving as a made-up microphone, and he saw Remus glancing around with a little smile on his lips while he rolled his eyes. He was going to break his façade. He was sure of it.
Oh please, say to me
You'll let me be your man
And please, say to me
You'll let me hold your hand
Now let me hold your hand
I want to hold your hand
He went around the couch trying to make the werewolf notice him, but nothing. He looked impassable. Still with his eyes on the book, Remus was secretly restraining himself from giving up. But he would never lose. Not with Sirius. And not for something as easy as this.
And when I touch you I feel happy inside
It's such a feeling that my love
I can't hide
I can't hide
I can't hide
Sirius voice almost trembled. Now he was dancing on the furniture, making a spectacle of himself. He was a showman. He had to put on the best show under any circumstance. So if Remus did not want to notice him at least the other Gryffindors would.
Yeah, you got that something
I think you'll understand
When I'll say that something
I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand
He then looked at James, who was still sitting on the floor and mouthed to him pull yourself together, dumb fuck which almost made him snort, but he knew he really meant he had to act for real if he wanted Remus to give him attention. He still did not understand why he was ignoring him. He jumped back down from a drawer he was on and went around the couch, throwing himself in Remus’s lap while still singing.
And when I touch you I feel happy inside
It's such a feeling that my love
I can't hide
I can't hide
I can't hide
Remus was startled to say the least by the presence on his lap. He had to ignore it, though. But Sirius was a persistent little shit. And that persistent little shit was singing with so emotion those verses he almost burst. Anyone casting a look to the young Black could see the love in his eyes, not hiding from anything or anyone in that precise moment. Remus instinctively looked up into Sirius’s eyes and saw everything he had looked for his entire, even if short, life. Sirius immediately looked away, embarrassed to have shown his deepest feelings to the person he was hiding them from, and only with a look. But he still had to continue his performance.
Yeah, you got that something
I think you'll understand
When I feel that something
I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand
When the song ended the entire common room erupted into cheers and whistling, applauding Sirius for the performance he had just put on. Still short of breath thanks to his running around while trying to sing, he saw that the entirety of the Gryffindor population had emptied the room, even James and Peter were nowhere to be found. He turned around and saw Remus with his eyes looking down at the pages of his book “I guess you won, Pads” he heard him say, with a mischievous note in his voice. Sirius turned red all of a sudden, he did not know why. He never turned red. He did not get embarrassed. It was not a thing for him.
So he crooked a “Guess I did” and turned around, ready to run away and never go back. He had almost gotten to the door when Remus called him “Pads?”. Sirius turned around and saw him still concentrated on his book “Yes, Rem?”
“By the way” Remus looked up slowly, a smirk forming on his lips “I want to hold your hand too”
Sirius was shocked. He could swear his jaw had fallen on the floor. But he saw the sincerity both in Remus’s voice and in his eyes and his heart burst out with happiness. His lips formed into the biggest and brightest smile as he run back to Remus’s position on the couch and threw himself at him, taking the other’s face in his hand, caressing his cheeks and bringing their foreheads together.
“You serious, Moons?”
“I’m letting this pun slide just to prove how serious I am about this, Pads”
They chuckled and Remus brought his hands, now free of the book, to Sirius’s hips. He tilted his head up and pressed their lips together, allowing themselves to enjoy their first kiss, soft and sweet, not perfect, but perfect for them.