#darlene?

“This is most irresponsible, you know.” A perturbed Lily Evans took a seat next to Marlene McKinnon in a circle full of Hell-bent sixth years.

“Shut it, Evans. You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t interested in playing.” Sirius Black winked in her direction, and she turned three shades redder before replying.

“Excuse me! I am a-“

“Prefect, we know.” He finished with raised eyebrows. “So are you going to play or give us all detention instead?”

Lily sputtered for a moment before crossing her legs and closing her mouth. It was the Friday before break, after all, and they’d just finished some very rigorous OWLs. It couldn’t hurt to unwind, just a little...

“Alright, let’s get started. James?” The group shifted their focus to Sirius’s right, but James Potter was a million miles away.

“James? Hello?” He snapped in front of his eyes, rigorously breaking him from his daydream about the girl across from him.

“What?” He asked, and Remus chuckled from Sirius’s left.

“Come on, James, quit thinking about Evans and get the firewhiskey.”

Lily blushed at the blatant remark, but James didn’t seem bothered a bit. “Oh yeah,” he commented, reaching behind him to grab the liquor.

“Did you get it, Pete?” He asked to his right, and Peter nodded shyly as he retrieved a small vial from his pocket.

“What is that?” Asked Marlene, and Lily squinted.

“Oh no, you boys did not. You- Marauders- did not steal veritaserum from Slughorn’s closet.”

No one bothered to answer the redhead as James dumped the entire vial into the liquor and began to swirl it around loosely.

“I’m with Evans on this one. Are you sure this is a good idea, Sirius?” Remus spoke concernedly, and Sirius answered in a fashion quite opposite from his attitude toward Lily.

“Of course, Rem. It’ll be fun. I promise, I won’t let anything bad happen to you.” His expression was soft, eyes forgiving. Remus smiled crookedly, and the entire room held silent as their eyes remained fixed.

“On that note, why don’t you take the first shot?” James winked at his best friend, who stole the bottle dramatically and tipped it back for several swallows.

Marlene whooped; Lily eyed her condescendingly. She smiled sheepishly with a shrug in return.

He passed the bottle to Remus, who shrugged himself before taking a shot. Sirius smiled affectionately in his direction.

The bottle made its way around the group, ending with a very nervous and lightweight Peter who refused to let his distaste for alcohol come between him and his friends. He plugged his nose while downing a shot, and James cackled at his misfortune.

Even Lily took a shot, inspired by her fellow prefect Remus Lupin’s rebelliousness. Marlene hooped for her as well, and Lily couldn’t help but laugh. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

“So what good is veritaserum if we don’t play truth or dare?” Frank Longbottom piped after the bottle made its way back around again.

“You have a point, my friend!” James agreed exuberantly, and Remus shuttered. He knew he shouldn’t have agreed to this. He’d had a secret he’d been harboring for far too long, and he feared that the tentacles of veritaserum might just be enough to drag it from the depths of his psyche. He gulped as Frank cheered, passing the bottle to Dorcas Meadows and wiping his lips with the back of his sleeve.

“Okay, James. Truth or dare.”

“I’m not a coward. Truth.” He leaned back suavely, crossing his arms with a challenging grin.

“If you had to sleep with someone in this room, who would it be?”

Peter spewed his shot; Sirius raised his brows, interested.

“Well, Longbottom, that turned kinky fast.” He laughed, and Frank shrugged with a helpless grin.

“You know I can’t help myself.”

“Who do you think, Longbottom?” James spat wryly, but Frank only eyed him facetiously.

“Oh, come on, the whole room knows.” Sirius stated, chin resting on his palm. “At least pick something interesting.”

“Lily Evans.” The words were rushed as James covered his mouth, but he was a bit too late. They’d already escaped his lips, due to the healthy dose of veritaserum they’d all ingested.

Lily blushed a shade redder than her own hair. James scratched the back of his neck nervously while throwing an apologetic glance in her direction.

“Okay, enough torturing James.” Remus spoke, accepting the bottle from Sirius for another shot.

“Okay, then, Remus. Truth or dare?” Longbottom eyed him challengingly, and Remus kicked himself for saying anything.

“No fair, you already had your turn.” Sirius spoke up, turning to McKinnon. “Truth or dare?”

Marlene turned a rosy pink before answering: “dare.”

“Okay, then. I dare you to kiss the person you have a crush on.”

She hesitated for a moment, but the truth serum was too much. Without further ado, she lifted herself up and crossed the circle to Dorcas, planting a solid kiss to her lips.

Lily’s mouth dropped, but Sirius bore a content smirk. He’d already known, the little instigator. Even he was shocked at the way Meadows reciprocated, grasping Marlene’s hair with both hands and tugging her closer. Apparently her crush was far from unrequited. Eventually, they parted, and McKinnon flashed them all a grin before crossing back to her seat. “Might as well own it.”

Dorcas Meadows was absolutely giddy across from them, and Lily felt her lips pull into a somewhat satisfied smile. Perhaps this game didn’t produce only bad consequences after all.

“Lily,” Dorcas spoke from across the group. “Truth or dare.”

Remus turned to the girl, thankful that it wasn’t his name being called. He watched rigidly as she answered.

“Truth.”

“Oooh, Evans, not backing down!” Sirius stated flippantly, a little more than tipsy.

Her green eyes pierced Meadows’s humorously. What would she possibly ask?

“Do you like James back? At all? Even a little bit?”

She rolled her eyes, but her lips were moving before she could formulate a response. “Yes. More than a little.”

Flabbergasted at herself, Lily covered her hands over her mouth and begged silently to be swallowed whole.

“Really!?” James’s face lit up like a thousand suns, like a child earning a candy bar. There was an innocence behind that face, an innate longing for the redhead. Something pure.

It was Lily’s turn to shrug apologetically.

“Sirius, pass the bottle. I need another shot after that.”

That was the night that Prefect Lily Evans got absolutely plastered in the Gryffindor common room. Remus chuckled to himself, happy to see the girl finally let go.

Dorcas and Marlene had trouble keeping their hands off of one another with every additional tip of the bottle. Lily eventually pushed Peter aside so that she could rest her head on James’s shoulder, who looked like he might die of ecstasy at any moment.

Sirius dared Frank to steal something from the Slytherin common room and bring it back within 10 minutes...alive. Longbottom returned on time, stumbling and waving a green and silver striped tie above his head.

“How the-“

“I’ve got friends in every house, you know,” he winked at the group smoothly. Lily snorted; Remus wiped tears from his eyes. The night was going surprisingly well.

“Remus,” Peter sputtered, slurring the “s” uncontrollably. “Truth or dare?”

He froze. So far all he’d been asked to do was admit how the hell he’d passed McGonnagal’s transfiguration exam, and his answer of “hard work and discipline” was hardly interesting. Hopefully Peter intended on keeping it that way.

“D-dare,” he stuttered, and prayed that the others would blame the alcohol.

“I dare you to kiss Longbottom.”

Remus hadn’t realized he was holding his breath, but a small sigh of relief escaped his lips. He didn’t particularly want to kiss Frank, but kissing him would be better than kissing Sir-

“No way, Remus doesn’t want to kiss him! That’s not even fair,” Sirius complained from beside him, and Lupin blinked a few times in comprehension.

“Dorcas and Marlene have been kissing all night,” Peter rebutted, and James shrugged at his best friend.

“Rules are rules, bro.”

“Fine.” Sirius crossed his arms and pouted. Why in the hell did Sirius care if Remus kissed Frank? Unless-

“Alright, Lupin, come on.” Longbottom wiggled his eyebrows seductively. “I promise I don’t bite.”

Remus gulped before crossing the circle, unable to get Sirius’s reaction to leave his mind. Slowly, he made his way to Frank. When he approached him, Longbottom had no intention of easing him into this. All at once, his arms were wrapped around Remus’s body in an embrace that both startled and confused him. Suddenly Longbottom’s lips were mashed against his, and he hadn’t even had a real chance for ready himself. They were cold and sloppy and not what Remus wanted, but all in all it wasn’t a disaster. Several cat calls rang across the group, and Sirius fumed accordingly. When Remus was released, he crawled back to his spot in a quite disheveled manner.

“Goddamnit, Longbottom, you didn’t have to grope him!” Sirius whined, and Frank cocked his head, interested.

“What do you care if I grope him, Black?”

Remus held his breath, watching the confrontation unfold before him. Why did he care?

“Sirius!” Before he could answer, Lily’s shrill voice pierced the tension. “Truth or dare?”

There was a moment of silence, Sirius debating whether he was going to hit Frank or answer the question. Remus continued with his mouth shut.

Sirius’s eyes narrowed, never leaving Frank as he answered. “Dare.”

“I dare you to kiss Remus.”

Lily wore a satisfied smile, as if even in her drunken state she just knew. But how?

Lupin’s heart pounded emphatically, and he was sure the entire room could hear it, too. He couldn’t see Sirius’s face, but he was just sure that it was one of disgust, or blatant anger. Because why in the world would Sirius want to kiss him? He was just sticking up for his friend, that was all. His friend.

But when Sirius turned his neck back to Remus, his face wasn’t contorted into anything bad at all. His eyes, they were almost pleading. His cheeks were flushed, like he was nervous. Scared, even.

“Only if he wants me to.” Black’s eyes met his own, and they held a reserved sort of hope. Like he actually did want to do this. Like he wanted this just as bad as Remus did. And that he, too, was afraid of screwing it all up.

“Rules are rules, Black-“ Longbottom recited from across the group, but Remus had already beat him with an answer: “I do.”

And then Sirius’s face drew closer, slowly. Remus noticed the bob of his throat as he swallowed, and the hesitant but soft approach he had always taken with him. His eyes were endless pools of everything he’d wanted for quite some time, and their focus to his own amber ones refused to falter.

Even drunk, Sirius Black was absolutely amazing. His pale face drew near, and Remus couldn’t breathe. Wouldn’t breathe. Was this actually happening? Or was it all the result of Lily’s impeccably timed dare?

“Remus,” Sirius whispered as their faces hovered mere inches apart, and for a moment it seemed that they were the only two left in the world. He could taste the word on his lips, drenched in the cinnamon of the firewhiskey. And yet, it was the most delicious thing in the world. He licked his lips, reveling in the scent of his breath. He felt a sharp inspiration from Sirius as he shuddered in response, and there was no denying this. This moment, it was too real.

When Sirius’s lips met Remus’s, it wasn’t the harsh, chilled kiss that he’d experienced only minutes before. It was soft and inviting, hesitant from nervousness. It was warm and invigorating, flames that traveled through Remus like wildfire. It was everything he’d ever imagined a kiss could be, and more. When his lips parted, Remus tilted his head accordingly. And suddenly Sirius’s tongue was grazing across his own. Remus felt his breath catch somewhere in his throat at the warm and tingling sensation that seemed to reverberate through his entire being. He’d wanted this for so long, kept this hidden for what felt like a lifetime.

Sirius’s fingertips cradled his cheek, pulling him deeper into their kiss. Reciprocating the want and desire that fueled Remus farther. Tugging him closer, grasping onto his best friend as if he too had been hiding this for quite some time.

It was beautiful. Remus couldn’t think; every fiber in his being was electrified by everything that was Sirius Black. The world remained bright as they- finally- separated to reveal a circle of silent observers, mouths dropped.

Their eyes remained fixed. A soft, tender smile tugged at Sirius’s lips as they exchanged a knowing expression.

“Wow.” The word belonged to an awestruck Lily Evans, breaking the silence with her own admiration.

“Remus didn’t kiss me like that,” Frank crossed his arms playfully, a smirk pulling at the side of his mouth.

“That’s because he doesn’t love you, Longbottom!” James blurted and covered his mouth immediately afterward. Beside him, Lily giggled and hiccuped at the mistake.

“You love me?” Sirius asked shyly, placing a hand on his temporal bone. Remus flushed, an uncontrollable rosy pink flooding his cheeks.

He settled for a nod, unable to speak under the circumstances.

“Oh my god, Remus, I love you, too!” And then Sirius was pulling him in for an encore. Marlene and Dorcas cat called; Lily tapped James on the shoulder with a frisky expression. She whispered something unknown in his ear, and James responded with lifted brows and disbelief. Whatever she said to him, it resulted in the first meet of their lips, there in the Gryffindor common room, surrounded by friends and good times.

Frank pouted, wondering why he didn’t have anyone to kiss. Peter sat with a quiet smile, appreciating the happiness his friends had shared.

In the middle of the circle was the empty firewhiskey bottle, a single drop of veritaserum remaining in the bottom. Remus noticed this in his peripheral vision and smiled around Sirius’s lips. All in all, the truth serum had been far from unlucky for him that night. It turns out a little drunken honesty was all it took to find his own happiness, and the same could be easily said for the rest of the group.

Me: *literally crying right now*

Rory: he's gonna get eaten by an alligator dude?

Rory; oh my god

Commence weeping

Rory: in my god

Rory: fuuuuck