Walking Is Fine As Well

FOR THE BINGO BOARD CHALLENGE: A4: Marauders Era

PAIRING: Wolfstar (Sirius Black x Remus Lupin)

Summary: Remus doesn't want to race with Sirius but how could he ever say no to his crush? The lake water was the last thing he wanted to get to know better.

A/N: A short one-shot and my first attempt to write Wolfstar. Reviews are always appreciated.

It was late autumn. The warm weeks of summer were long gone and the chilliness was dressing the trees in the blaze of colours. The evening sun tinged the sky with the gentle shades of red and purple and made Hogwarts bask in the glow of its graceful rays. The Black Lake hadn't yet frozen over even though the nights brought upon a freezing cold that frosted the grass and fallen leaves.

Sirius stopped walking and looked at Remus, smiling the engaging smile of his that made Remus' heart flutter in his chest. Remus hid his face on his scarf and let the rushing blood rouge his cheeks, blaming it on the cold air. It certainly wasn't his fault that Sirius looked handsome as ever. His long black was effectively messed by the wind and his worn-out leather jacket hung casually from his shoulders. It effectively letting the wind through but Sirius was too stubborn and refused to buy a new jacket, claiming he liked his old one too much.

"Hey, Remus?" he asked, his grin inevitable. "Wanna race?"

"No", was the muffled reply behind the thick woollen scarf. Remus stuffed his hands further into his pockets. He didn't want to race. He wanted to focus on how well Sirius' trousers fitted his bum. Remus shook his head, regretting the thought as Sirius stared at him in confusion. He just wanted to blatantly stare at his friend, his friend, and devour him with his eyes when the Animagus walked ahead of him. And use the images late at night when he knew Sirius was sleeping in the bed next to his. "No", Remus repeated more strictly.

"Just to the lake", Sirius prompted his werewolf friend.

"Sirius, please", Remus tried even though he very well knew Sirius wouldn't give up when he had made up his mind. "I don't feel like racing right now."

"But Remus", Sirius whined, pursing his lips. "It's cold. And I have energy. I wanna race."

Remus sighed. How could he say no when Sirius looked like a kicked puppy? "Fine", he murmured. Sirius grinned widely as if Christmas had come early that year. Remus couldn't help but smile as well. After all, he loved Sirius' smile. "But just to the lake."

"Just to the lake", Sirius agreed. "Ready?" he asked enthusiastically. Remus just nodded, hiding his smile behind the scarf.

"Steady?"

It wouldn't be a long way to the lake. It would hardly be counted as a race, Remus reminded himself. More like a healthy jogging session. He didn't like racing in particular. It reminded him of hunting and that was something he never wanted to think of. It just popped to his mind once in a while, reminding him of what he was.

"GO!"

Remus pushed the unwanted thought away and ran. Sirius had gotten a better start. Remus tried not to think; just to keep his mind in the task at hand. And that was racing. Not hunting. Never hunting. Remus knew Sirius was fast, faster than he was, but only when it came to long distances. Soon Remus threatened Sirius' lead; he wasn't so far behind anymore.

But what Remus hadn't foreseen was that Sirius would stop so abruptly. Remus instead couldn't stop. His legs didn't obey his request. And he fell.

The lake water was freezing. That was the first thing in Remus' mind when his head plunged under the surface after hearing Sirius' panicky scream. The water twisted around him, the cold finding its way through his skin and to his bones. He couldn't breathe. He needed to get up. The air wasn't any warmer when he managed to raise his head up from beneath the surface. Remus gasped for air before experiencing a terrible coughing fit while trying to get rid of the offensive liquid in his lungs.

"I'm so sorry Rem!" Sirius' voice was full of concern. "Let me help you—"

Deep breaths, deep breaths, Remus repeated silently and let Sirius help him up. His knees wobbled under his weight when he tried to stand up straight. Sirius was knee-deep in the freezing lake water, pulling Remus up. Remus coughed again. He was soaking wet, the clothes gluing to his body and making goose-bumps appear on his forearms where the skin met the chilling air.

"You okay?" Sirius asked, holding on to Remus' arm.

Remus nodded, ashamed to look at his friend. "Completely fine", he murmured uneasily and tried to pull his arm away from Sirius' grip. "Let me just—"

It was just the icing on the top when he tripped on a tree branch neither of them could have seen in the muddy water and ended up pulling Sirius under the lake's surface as well. Sirius coughed and wheezed. His long black hair stuck on his face and the water tricked down his flushed cheeks and chin. He blatantly stared at Remus, attempting to calm his breathing but ended up bursting into a fit of barking laughter.

"You sneaky—!" he exclaimed. "Did you plan this? Because if you did I—"

"I didn't do it on purpose!" Remus defended himself and let out a particularly loud sneeze. "See? As if I wanted to get sick!"

"Well you scared me, you know that!" Sirius laughed. "But really, falling to the lake like that", he said, a grin curling his lips upwards. "You have some bad reflexes, Moony."

Remus sneezed again. "Thank you for that vital piece of information, Padfoot", he said and smirked at Sirius. "It's not something I hadn't noticed already while sitting in the lake and freezing my arse off."

Sirius got up on his feet. "Fair point", he said, offering his hand and grinning widely. "Feel free to get up before we both get sick."

"I wouldn't even dream of it." Remus smiled and took the offered hand.

The air was colder than Remus remembered. He was soaked through and through, his nose running and hands shaking. Sirius huffed and stripped down the leather jacket of his, throwing it on Remus' shoulders.

"Better than that sweater of yours", he said, half-jokingly. Remus wrapped the jacket tighter around his lanky frame. It was too big for him, it was too big for even Sirius, but nevertheless it was warmer than his soaked clothes.

"Thanks", Remus muttered with an ashamed smile. "But weren't you cold?"

"Don't mention it." Sirius grinned and waved it off when Remus sneezed once more. "You seem to need it more than I do."

Remus wiped his nose on his sleeve. "I guess so."

"What about we sneak to the kitchens and to get some hot chocolate?" Sirius suggested, wrapping his arm around Remus' shoulders. Remus blushed because of the overly friendly touch. He knew Sirius didn't mean anything with it but he could always hope. Remus leaned to the touch, just a little, knowing it wouldn't hurt to be close to Sirius. Even if this once.

"I would like that", Remus said softly. Hot chocolate sounded good, better than good.

"So", Sirius started. "Should we race to the castle?"

"Sirius…" Remus sighed. "Could we just…?"

"No, it's okay." Sirius gave a small smile. "Walking is fine as well."