#wolfstarmicrofic

“Four  beds, Padfoot! It says four beds!” James complained, reading off of the listing and rolling his eyes.

“Wait, really? I thought it said five!” Sirius exclaimed, leaning over James and looking at his phone screen suspiciously. 

“No, you idiot. Four. And next time we go on a group vacation, you will not be the one to book the cottage,” Lily reprimanded, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.

“Fine. James and I will share, and–”

“Absolutely not! We were already going to share before, that doesn’t solve the problem! And before you suggest it, we are not letting you join us, Sirius,” Lily snarked, grimacing.

He grinned. “You’re missing out!” But it was all a joke. “Fine, I’ll kip with someone else, yeah?

But Remus, Peter, and Mary were all studiously avoiding his gaze. Still, he pouted, eyes wide, until one of them broke. 

“Fine!” Remus sighed, throwing his arms in the air and giving Sirius a death glare. “But if you kick me in your sleep–”

“I won’t, Moony!” Sirius assured him, beaming. “Don’t you worry!”

Quickly, the friends brought their bags into the admittedly-nice cottage, selecting rooms and taking some time to unpack. As soon as the door to Sirius and Remus’s room closed, Sirius turned to Remus, sending him a huge grin. “Hey, Moony,” he said slowly, eyes full of amusement.

Already on the bed, Remus gave a huff of laughter. “You think they bought it?” he asked, lips turning up more as Sirius joined him, straddling his lap.

“Oh, yeah. You seemed right pissed. ‘Oh, Padfoot, I guess I’ll share a room with you for a whole week. If I have to shag you senseless I suppose I will!’ Bloody good actor you are.”

Sirius was gasping for air. He had not just done that. He couldn't have. The Black’s family madness must have gotten at him. Why else had he just kissed his best friend?

His head was feeling lighter by the second and he knew he just had to breathe. But why was that so difficult? His nails, buried in the palms of his hands, caused a pain that made the air a fraction thinner, easier to inhale.

Rough hands clasped around his. Sirius looked up. Even trough the wet haze in his eyes and his loose hair it was unmistakenly him.

Sirius flinched back, sitting almost inside the wall of the secret passageway he was hiding in. "Don't." He choked out hoarsely, "I don't know- I'm sorry…” His words were a choked up mess, and his hands were still trembling, his breathing still difficult.

Remus didn't really react to what he said. He also did not back away like Sirius had expected him to. No, he just came closer again. Crouching, despite his fucked up hip.

"Shhh, Siri" he shushed him softly. “It's alright. I'm not angry." He extended his hands, palms up. And Sirius really is just a pathetic, apparently very much in love, boy and reached out for Moony’s scarred hands.

Oh so softly Remus uncurled his fingers, carefully massaging the halfmoon shaped indents. And then, like Sirius’ feelings were a joke, he sweetly kissed them.

It was like a barrier inside his throat magically disappeared. The full doze of oxygen made his head feel floaty. "That's it. Very good, just breath." Remus was tracing circles with his thumbs, like he had done so many times before.

Just like that, Sirius was breathing normally again. Looking up at Remus, he felt his guilt crashing down again. "I'm so sorry Moony. I shouldn't have- I mean- I don't know why-"

"I kissed you back." Remus released one of his hands to cup Sirius’ cheek, "Didn't I?"

Sirius gulped. “Uhh, yeah?" Remus smiled, head closing in. "So that means?”

“That you like me too?" A blush painted his cheeks.

"Moony" Casually, the overuse of a new insider joke

"Moony?" A careful question calling him back to reality

"Moony..." The first thing he hears after a bad fullmoon

"Moony-" A silent plea, begging for forgiveness

"Moony?" A little confused, unsure at first as their lips touch for the first time.

"Moony!" A desperate moan, wanting- needing more.

"Moony" Whispered late at night into his ear with a loving smile

"Moony!" The joyful cry, full of hopes and dreams for their future

"Moony..." Whenever he has to leave for a mission

"Moony!" Whenever he comes back

"Moony" Suddenly colder

"Moony!" After thirteen years

"Moony?" Begging for forgiveness even when there's nothing to be forgiven

"Moony" Just like the good old times

It’s a thing Sirius does, apparently.

Has always done, presumably, though Remus only has data from the eight months they’ve shared the flat. He showers and then he just…exists, afterwards, drifting through the kitchen or the hallway or the sitting room with a towel around his hips and his hair dripping onto his shoulders, looking for his phone or the remote or something to eat or drink, completely unbothered. Like it doesn’t occur to him that this might be difficult for anyone.

Remus has gotten very good at looking at other things.

🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧

There’s a Tuesday where Sirius leans across him to reach the coffee, and Remus stares at the wall behind the kettle and tries to think of awful things for as long as it takes Sirius to find a mug and leave. He can’t very well risk getting a stiffy near his best friend!

Then there’s a Thursday where Remus is halfway through a chapter of a book, and Sirius wanders in to ask something about the gas bill, and Remus answers without looking up, which he’s proud of, and then ruins it by glancing over the moment Sirius turns to go.

Sirius catches him that time. He doesn’t say anything, just smirks, and goes back to his room.

Remus reads the same paragraph until the letters blur together, forming something completely unreadable.

🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧

It becomes a sort of game, though Remus would never call it that. He gets better at the looking-away. Sirius, he suspects, gets better at engineering reasons to be in whatever room Remus is in after he’s had a shower. It’s hard to prove, but Remus suspects Sirius might be doing it on purpose. He’s not going to bring it up, though. So he makes his tea and keeps his eyes on the mugs, keeps his eyes on his book, keeps his eyes on the middle distance while Sirius stands in the hallway going through the post, water still tracking down his spine, taking up more space than one person strictly needs to. Not just physically, but in Remus’s mind, too.

It’s fine.

It’s completely fine.

🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧

It’s a Sunday evening when it stops being fine.

Sirius has been to the gym. He showers; he emerges. He drops onto the other end of the sofa with the towel still on and picks up the remote, scrolling through channels with total serenity while Remus sits very still beside him and looks at his book. The words are shapes; the shapes mean nothing. There’s a drop of water moving down the side of Sirius’s neck, and Remus watches it without noticing, and then Sirius turns his head and catches him, and this time Remus doesn’t look away fast enough, and the smile starts at the corner of Sirius’s mouth—

Remus puts the book down.

He stands up, crosses the small, stupid distance between them, takes Sirius’s face in both hands, and kisses him. Sirius goes still for one second—and after one long, suspended second, makes a sound low in his throat and kisses back, his hands coming up to grip Remus’s shirt, pulling him closer down with a desperation. His mouth is warm, and his lips are soft, and he kisses the way he does everything, completely committed to the bit, like there’s nothing else in the world worth doing.

When they pull apart, Sirius is staring up at him with wide eyes. The infuriating smirk is finally gone, replaced with something much more meaningful.

Remus holds his gaze.

He can't believe he hadn't put two and two together sooner; the picking him up, the dozen yellow roses, the opening the car door, the shirt with cufflinks.

'What do you think, Moony? Preference for red or white? They've got a nice bottle of Barolo if you're thinking beef or lamb or-'

'Is this a date?' the words blurt from Remus' mouth before he can stop them and he waits, red-faced, as Sirius looks at him inscrutably and then cocks his head to the side with a crooked smile.

'Yah. Obviously.'

'Oh.'

'Is that not okay?' Sirius doesn't sound unsure, in fact it sounds like he knows full well that it is very okay so Remus tries to match his confidence.

'No, no. It's definitely okay. It's just-' he pauses, looking for the words. 'How was I supposed to know that?'

'Hmm? Oh!' Sirius looks up from the menu. 'I think I'm going to have the Beef Bourguignon by the way and I asked you out for dinner, you said yes, therefore a date.'

'But we go out for dinner all the time.' Remus points out and puts his own menu down on the table. 'And I'm going to have the seabass, with courgette fries.'

'Yum.' Sirius nods approvingly. 'And yeah, but this time when I asked I said will you have dinner with me? Not, do you want to have dinner with me?'

'And there's a difference?'

'Yes. So now we're on a date. And after we've eaten and we've gone for a little stroll I'm going to ask if you want to be my boyfriend.'

'Cool. I'll say yes. And then probably agree to come back to yours.'

'Moony, we live together.'

'I know. But I'll sleep in your room, not mine.'

Sirius smiles. 'Sounds good to me.'

June Pride Prompts

Happy Pride Month, everyone! This month, we're embracing every color of the rainbow 🌈

Grab your rainbow glitter and your fluffy pen, pick a prompt, get inspired, and write a microfic! And Don't forget to Keep it Mini! 

Check out our Rules and FAQ for more information. Still need last month’s prompts? You can find them here. Got an idea for a theme? Send us an ask!

💖💖Love from your Wolfstar obsessed mods.

@wolfstarmicrofic

Remus shoved people aside, not bothering to apologize as he moved past them.

He had to get to the Hospital Wing.

He was studying in the library when Peter approached him, silent as a mouse, wringing his hands as he did when nervous. 

The moment he heard that Sirius had landed himself in the Hospital Wing, he started running, leaving Peter behind in a flurry of paperwork as he abandoned his assignments. Hopefully, they would still be there when he returned for them. Sirius was more important.

All Peter had said was that he fell off his broomstick during Quidditch practice. He didn't mention how high he had fallen; worry churned in his stomach. 

Remus entered the Hospital Wing without bothering to knock; he knew this place like it was a second home, having spent so many days here after the full moon. Plus, Pomfrey must have known he would come. Sirius was his after all.

Still, he couldn’t help but wrinkle his nose at the ever-present smell of antiseptic and doctor's office. 

“Oh, Remus!” Madam Pomfrey exclaimed, relief washing over her as she moved through drawers filled with various medical equipment. “I knew you’d be here soon enough.”

“I came as quickly as I could,” Remus said, still a little out of breath from the exertion. “How is he?” He couldn't hide the worry on his face when he asked.

Pomfrey's expression softened as she noticed the boy's concern for the other. Ah, young love... she thought wistfully.

“He’ll survive,” she said, watching as Remus let out a sigh of relief. “However, he does have a concussion.” Remus gave her a look of bewilderment. “He’s lucky it wasn’t worse. He did fall from quite a height, after all. Right on his head, too.” 

He dreaded the answer, but he still had to ask, “How high…?”

“It was about 12, maybe 13 feet up,” Poppy answered. Seeing Remus grimace, she added, “Potter tried to catch him,” hoping to ease his worries. 

He appreciated her efforts to make him feel better, but they didn't have the desired impact as he kept replaying the image of Sirius landing on his head over and over in his mind. The thought hit, then it lingered: he could have lost him. He could have lost him. 

Recognizing that look, Pomfrey placed a steady hand on his shoulder, grounding him. “Do you want to see him?” she asked, already knowing his answer.

He didn’t need to think before replying, “Yes, please.” He had to see him. 

She moved towards what he assumed was the curtain that Sirius was behind. He followed her intently, like a puppy on her heels. Just before she pulled the curtain back, she told him, “He’s asleep, but he’s been asking for you.”

Something about her saying that caused his heart to warm and eased some of his worries. Just for a moment until she pulled back the curtain and he saw him. Sirius lay on the bed, his hair splayed out behind him as he slept. In this moment, he appeared smaller somehow. Frail. 

It broke his heart a little to see his boy, his broken beauty, lying here without a trace of himself. The mischievous sparkle in his eye as he planned pranks was gone, replaced by a resting eyelid. 

Normally, he would be the one in this bed, while Sirius stood here watching over him after a full moon. It felt odd to have the roles reversed. 

Taking Sirius's hand in his own, Remus held it there. One finger pressed against his pulse, while the other gently swept over his hand in a soothing motion. 

He didn’t like this. Sitting here, he now understood what it felt like to sit there, anxiously waiting for the other person to wake up on their own, just to avoid getting a lecture from Poppy. 

Sirius does this for me every time. Remus felt a lump in his throat as he gazed at the boy lying on the bed in front of him, overwhelmed by love. 

Sirius's eyes fluttered open as he squinted at the bright light above him. Remus was by his side before he even noticed he was there.

“Pads!” Remus exclaimed, relieved to finally see those eyes open again. “You’re awake!”

Sirius's voice was gravely sleepy when he spoke, confused. "Moony?" He was still waking up as he took in his surroundings. Gods above, his head hurt.

Looking into his eyes, Remus asked, “Yes, Pads?” He was ready to do anything Sirius could ask at this moment.

Even the effort of turning his head to look at him sent sharp waves of pain through his skull, making him wince. His grip on Remus's hand tightened, and Remus hummed in sympathy.

“Go get Madam Pomfrey. My head feels like it’s about to explode,” Sirius groaned.

Every year Remus had to watch as Sirius returned to school after a long summer of no contact, hair cut short and his entire personality shoved away in a box somewhere. It took him longer and longer to get out of the funk as he got older and the fights with his family got worse, the punishments harsher. He hated to see one of his best friends, especially someone as bright and loud as Sirius, forced to squeeze himself down to fit into what his family deemed appropriate for their reputation.

"Mum! Can you help me with this?" Remus calls down the hall, unable to look away from his reflection. He'd gotten most of it done, but he really didn't want to show up at the train station tomorrow with a rat tail. At least, not on accident. The sink was full of his shaggy curls, clumps of golden brown almost too much to look at.

"Oh! Remus, what are you doing love?" Hope doesn't sound upset, merely confused as she takes in the sight of her too-tall fourteen year old son, hunched over slightly with the electric clippers in one hand, a sheepish smile on his face.

"Well.. it's just that Sirius' family makes him cut his hair at the start of every year, and he hates it, so I thought I might commiserate?" Suddenly looking unsure, Remus looks over to his mother with wide eyes. "Oh, god, I hope it doesn't make it worse."

With a gentle smile, Hope plucks the clippers from his hand, pushing his shoulder to turn him forward. "I don't think he will mind, dear. That's a very sweet thing for you to do for your friend.."

Flushing, Remus stands as still as possible, letting his mother even up the patchy shave until his head and heart both feel lighter.

Shifting from foot to foot anxiously, Remus scans the crowd, trying to find his friends. He's early— as usual— and tugs at the knitted hat pulled low over his ears. It's not really cold but he wants to make sure that Sirius doesn't notice before he's ready to reveal the change. It takes a while, but eventually he sees the stiff posture of both Sirius and his brother. Just like every year, his mother herds them close with a nasty sneer on her face as she looks around— she doesn't stay long, just enough to give what she probably thinks is a convincing show of caring for her children.

As soon as Remus sees Sirius' shoulders relax, signaling that Walburga is long gone, he hastily hugs his parents goodbye and rushes across the station, panting a little as he hauls his trunk behind him.

"Sirius!"

Jumping a little, Sirius turns from where he had been talking to Regulus— who takes the distraction and slips off with his own group of friends— and Remus is glad to see his face break out into a smile despite the carefully groomed short hair. It's longer than Remus' still, but cut above his ears in a way that Remus knows the other boy hates.

Truth be told, Remus thinks Sirius looks fantastic no matter what hair style he's got, but he does still miss the long waves.

"Hey Moony.." Sirius says, voice a little subdued still. Before he can think about the action too much, Remus reaches out and ruffles Sirius' hair with one of his hands, a laugh bursting out of him at the affronted noise Sirius makes. "Hey!" He does his best to sound offended, but the grin pulling at his lips tells a different story.

"I have a surprise for you." Remus bites his lip, trying to control the giddy grin on his face. He feels like his fingertips are buzzing from the contact with Sirius' scalp and the anticipation of what he's about to do.

"What? What is it?" Sirius' eyes light up, scanning Remus for a hidden object. "More records?"

Remus shakes his head, taking a step back. "Nope. Look—" Unable to resist, he reaches up and pulls the knit cap off, revealing his buzz cut. Sirius gasps, eyes gone wide and mouth dropped open, frozen in his spot. Remus starts to deflate a bit the longer Sirius stays silent, the way his eyes are flicking back and forth between Remus' scalp and his eyes.

"Moons— your hair! What happened?" Sirius looks concerned, finally moving to try and look beyond Remus, like he's looking for whoever committed the crime of cutting his hair off.

"Um—" Remus suddenly feels awkward, unsure how to explain his reasoning. "I just wanted to try, I guess. I just.." He scrunches his nose, rocking slightly on his feet and avoiding eye contact. "I know you hate getting your hair cut every summer, so I thought maybe you'd feel better if I joined you? I don't know, it was stupid.."

Remus can no longer look at Sirius, hands nervously picking at his sleeves. Sirius is still quiet for a long moment.

"You cut your hair for me?" Sirius' voice is achingly soft, a little wobbly. "You daft idiot, I love your curls."

Remus can't help but let out a sharp laugh, surprised by the harsh language, his face heating and bright red ears on full display. He shrugs, fighting off a smile. "It's hair. It'll grow back."

Sirius lets out a long sigh and slowly reaches out, eyes catching Remus' and allowing the other boy plenty of time to pull away. He doesn't. Sirius lets his fingers slide over the short hairs, blunt fingernails scraping slightly on his scalp. His grin grows as he rubs the short cut a moment more before letting his hands drop.

"You look cool."

Remus flushes again. "Shut up, don't take the piss."

"I'm not! You look.. I don't know, like a punk or something. Like you'll kick my ass if I make the wrong move."

"Oh, no I'll kick your ass just because."

"Thanks, Moons. Means a lot."