Remus was sitting quietly in the library, browsing through some of the books he had put on his desk for his project. Right before the holidays the teachers simply adored being able to pile assignment after assignment on their students. With his transformation only a few days ago, Remus was worn out.

He had just fallen asleep on a book rambling on about early magic when he felt someone smack him upside the head, tawny hair flying around his forehead.

"Wha – what do you need?" Remus asked groggily, reaching to push himself up from the book's pages. Sirius, James, and Peter were all crowded around him, smiling crookedly – a hint of crazy at the end of each of theirs grins. It was the mischievous part of their mouths that they loved to express with a tug of the lips. Remus had grown quite fond of it.

"Snivellus just fell for the biting teacups we put at his table. It was hilarious!"

"Mmhmm." Remus agreed sleepily, rubbing at his eyes, "Could you leave, now, please?"

"What?" Sirius teased, "did we interrupt your studying?"

"I don't stop something until I finish it."

James plopped down in the seat across from Remus'. "C'mon, mate. Liven up a bit."

Remus sent a death glare across the table to James. "James," he began slowly, "I'm tired. I have seven assignments due tomorrow, my transformation was two days ago, and my vision is blurry. Can I please sleep now?"

Frowning, James shook his head. "Why don't we go to the Hogsmeade visit tomorrow? You'll feel better after being around the fresh air and get some Christmas shopping done."

"No, no, thanks, but no thanks." The werewolf declined.

Sirius swung an arm around his tawny-haired friend. "Well, that's okay. I'm staying too, because I have some things I need to get done also. And besides, we couldn't just let Moony be alone in the dorm room all day, now could we?" Sirius asked, pinching Remus' cheeks playfully.

"Ow." Remus whined, and slumped down onto his elbows.

James shrugged. "All right. Well, Wormtail and I have some candy to eat, some Zonkos stores to raid, and some invisible shopping to do. Real cheap."

"You're stealing from the stores?!" Remus asked, his head shooting up.

"Eh. That's a harsh term. I would just say borrowing."

---

It was twelve o'clock at noon when everyone in the dormitory began to file out to go the Hogsmeade visit. Only him and Sirius were left in the dormitory, Sirius jumping over to his friend's bed and crawling up to him. Remus had fallen asleep again over his book. Sirius thought his friend looked adorable slumped against the headboard, eyes closed gently and his chest heaving with every peaceful breath he took.

"Are you two not coming?" Lily asked, gesturing to the two boys lying on Remus' bed. James was clinging onto Lily's arm goofily, poking his head through the door.

Sirius lifted his head from the bed sheets, shaking his head. "Nope, Lily. Remus is exhausted and I'm bored, so…"

"I thought you said you had an assignment to work on!" James piped in indignantly. Sirius smiled slyly.

"Yes, I did say that, didn't I?" Sirius laughed. "Well, I lied. I just think Moony could use some company."

Lily giggled. "All right then. Have fun."

"We will!" Sirius yelled after Lily and James as they walked down the stairs, and whipped his head around guiltily when he realized Remus was stirring from his shouting.

"What time issit?" he asked, groping for the clock on his nightstand. Sirius quickly covered Remus' hand with his own and led it back to the bed.

"Noon," he answered promptly, smiling sweetly, "had a nice rest?

Remus nodded, stretching. "Yeah. Still tired, though. I didn't get that much rest in the hospital wing the other day. I think Pomfrey was actually rather glad to get rid of me, because so many other people were coming in with the winter flu. I probably didn't take half of my potions that I normally do."

Sirius frowned. "Well, then she's not a very good nurse if she won't take care of a sick, wounded werewolf. How about next time I just take care of you…?"

Remus chuckled. "Nice try. I've seen your healing charms before."

After a few quiet moments of watching Remus fondly play with his bookmark and passing through the pages in his book, Sirius moved, leaning an arm under the bed and pulling out a bottle of firewhiskey.

"Aha!" he exclaimed. "I knew you still had this here under your bed."

Remus' eyes widened when he saw the shiny bottle Sirius was holding in his fingers.

"Give that back here!" he demanded, snatching the bottle away as the contents sloshed inside wildly, "bad dog! Didn't your mother ever teach you not to sort through other people's stuff?"

Sirius pouted, his eyes glinting with puppy dog sparkles. "I'm sorry, Moony. But now, can we please get drunk?"

The black-haired boy grasped for the bottle again, catching it out of Remus' surprised and unsuspecting loose grip. Hastily uncorking the top, he took a deep gulp from the warm liquid inside. When he looked up from his swallow, he saw Remus' crossed hips and pursed lips.

"C'mon, you know you still love me."

Sirius felt his heart give a small, fluttering jolt when Remus broke his stern pose and smiled, nodding.

"I do. Now pass over the bottle so I can have a swig."

Ahh… getting drunk. A reason to be completely unreasonable and stupid for once around Remus and actually let my hormones run wild. This could be fun.

Sirius smiled suggestively, draping his back over Remus' legs, sighing as he collapsed on the other boy's limbs. He lifted his head and glanced over at the werewolf, head tilted as he passed a page in his thick book. His back was propped up against the headboard, a small, tender smile on his lips so faint that someone only like Sirius who observed Remus all the time could notice.

Sirius offered the bottle to Remus, who politely declined. The other boy shrugged and swallowed again.

"Want some more?"

"Not yet."

"You're not already bored with my company, are you?" Sirius smiled teasingly, brushing his fingertips over Remus' knee.

Remus chuckled, shaking his head. "Of course not. It's nice to have you around, but there's only half of the bottle left."

Sirius inspected the contents of the bottle. "Doesn't mean we couldn't find other things to drink. The house elves have lots of butterbeer. Besides, you know you can't stop something until you finish it…"

"I suppose." Grinning, Remus took the bottle from him.

"If you ask me, drinking is something that's completely unfairly viewed at by–"

"I didn't ask you."

"Shut up," Sirius laughed. "Anyway, as I was saying, if you ask me, drinking has become almost a felony these days. I think that moments like this are perfection. Sitting around with a friend, getting drunk… the finer things in life!"

Remus nodded slightly in agreement, shutting his book and placing it by his nightstand.

"Thank god," Sirius said, sitting up slightly. "I was beginning to think we were never going to actually have fun with that book hanging around."

"Sirius, we're already having fun," Remus said with a smile.

"Well… that fun is wearing down. As a marauder we certainly can't let that happen for long!"

Remus laughed, giving Sirius a knowing smile. "You're insatiable."

"I know."

"And you're proud of it."

"I know." Sirius repeated. He crawled farther up on the bed, taking the bottle with him and handing it to Remus. "Drink." He ordered softly, hoping not to sound pushy or bossy.

Remus, however, obliged automatically and drank from the bottle. "Mmm," he said satisfyingly, "so warm."

"Are you still tired?" the black-haired boy inquired concernedly, and Remus nodded mutely. "Well, then come here." Beckoning Remus to move over, the werewolf shuffled closer and leant his forehead on Sirius' shoulder. Sighing silently to himself in pleasure, Sirius gently kissed the other boy on the top of the head and ruffled his hair afterwards.

"Mm," Remus murmured. "It'll be too cold. Get the sheets."

Sirius followed his friend's mumbled wishes and pulled the blanket out from underneath them. He gently put it on top of both of them, leaning down on the pillows and snaking his arm around Remus' waist. Their sides were pressed together as tightly as pickles in a jar, but Sirius didn't want to move away.

---

It was much later in the afternoon when Sirius woke up, his arm still wound around Remus' waist. Sighing contentedly, the black-haired boy nuzzled Remus' neck and inhaled his natural scent. Almost immediately at the contact, Remus started stirring and waking.

"Mmm… Sirius?" he murmured, getting up slowly. "Are they back yet?"

Sirius shook his head, tightening his grip on the other boy's waist. "No. It's only two. They'll still be running around in Hogsmeade."

"Well, that's good." Remus said, and snuggled farther into Sirius' warm body. "You have too much blanket." The werewolf complained, and tugged at the fabric. Sirius grunted, pouting.

"Hey! That's not fair!" he complained, and jerked the blanket back, leaving Remus with none.

Remus pulled hard on the sheet, taking Sirius along with it. Sirius contemplated just tossing the sheet off and pulling Remus underneath him. However, he went the simple route and drew Remus closer to him for warmth.

"C'mere. Body warmth is better than a blanket, eh?"

Remus' eyes flickered open for a moment, and he caught Sirius's grey eyes staring back at him. "Mmm, what?" he mumbled. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

"I… no," Sirius mumbled, closing his eyes. "Never mind. I dunno. Feeling warmer?"

"What?" Remus asked, slightly perplexed. "I thought we were sleeping."

"Hhm," Sirius mumbled, turning around. He felt something inside of him tingle pleasantly when Remus nestled himself around Sirius' frame.

---

It was three in the afternoon when Sirius woke up again, feeling refreshed and new. Remus was still clinging to his embrace, sighing sleepily and still deep in sleep.

Sirius checked his wristwatch and was surprised to see what time it was. Only a few more hours and the rest of the school would be back. Reaching for the bottle of firewhiskey, he took another swallow. Time to wake up the werewolf.

Remus found himself being pulled from his slumber by Sirius poking him repeatedly in the ribs. Writhing away from the ticklish movements, Remus squealed before opening his eyes.

"Sirius…" Remus trailed off, yawning. "What the hell are you doing?

"Just getting you to wake up," Sirius muttered.

"You could have just said,Remus, please get up, instead of poking me."

Sirius moved a little closer, letting Remus catch the strong scent of firewhiskey on his breath. He smiled, trying to let a little bit of drunken grin pass across. Sirius placed his fingers on Remus' neck, weaving them back toward the nape and tangling in disheveled hair.

Remus was frozen, as Sirius analyzed, and he tried to get him to calm down with a small chuckle.

"You okay, Moony?" he whispered, but instead of relaxing his friend, Remus tensed up even more from his husky tone.

Tentatively, Sirius moved closer and pressed his lips to the soft, delicate mouth of Remus'. Remus gasped against Sirius's gentle touch, wondering if for a moment if Sirius thought he was someone else – he could taste the scent of alcohol on his breath anyway. Sirius gripped Remus' shoulders, as if to keep the other boy from moving away.

"What are we doing?" Remus asked, shocked that his own voice was still so surprisingly steady.

"I'm kissing you." Sirius responded bluntly.

"But we're friends."

Sirius was expecting that argument. Sighing, he grinned against the other boy's lips. "Friends can kiss each other."

"But–"

"C'mon, Moony," Sirius said, a hint of annoyance at the end of his voice. "Don't tell me you don't want this as much as I do."

If Remus would push him off or deny everything Sirius was stating, then it wouldn't be hard to blame it on the firewhiskey. After all, the bottle was still right behind him, still halfway full and innocently glinting in the rays of sunlight shining through the thin dormitory windows.

"How much do you want this?" Remus asked carefully.

Sirius was surprised by the question, but smiled nonetheless. He laughed, beginning to unbutton Remus' shirt. "Can I show you?" he asked.

"All right then," Remus replied, moaning as he felt Sirius's hands caress his bare chest.

Sirius wasn't nervous anymore about his movements. From everything Remus had said, asked, and hinted the past few minutes, it was obvious that the other boy wanted this to happen and was aching to be shown exactly how much Sirius did care for him.

Leaning forward, Sirius whispered into Remus' ear: "I'm not drunk."

"Y-You're not?" Remus asked, his words stuttering to form themselves as Sirius kissed the hollow of his throat. "I see the firewhiskey right behind you."

"I do like firewhiskey." Sirius admitted, nodding approvingly as Remus tugged Sirius' button down shirt over his head. "But I love you."

Remus sat up in surprise. "I love you too." He confessed, his voice raspy.

The newfound confidence Remus suddenly found was extremely noticeable as he smirked, grabbing Sirius' loose tie and him forward. Pressing his lips against Sirius', Remus kissed him roughly, darting his tongue into his friend's mouth when they parted.

As Sirius wrapped his arms around Remus' body, pulling the two of them closer together, Remus gasped when their hips collided. Sirius let out a groan, pressing himself against Remus.

"The other's are going to be back soon." Sirius husked, gasping. "It's already three."

"How can you bring that up now?" Remus demanded, pulling the other boy closer again. This time, they toppled onto the bed, becoming entangled in the sheets and each other. Sirius moaned again as Remus ground his hips against Sirius' with need.

"I d-dunno," Sirius answered truthfully, "but you're the one always so c-concerned with public displays of affection."

"This isn't public. We're in the dormitory."

"P-Public dormitory." Sirius corrected, but nevertheless weaved a hand between their bodies and rubbed his palm against Remus' erection. The other man let out a slight whimper, bucking against Sirius's palm. Sirius smirked, dragging fingers down the length of Remus' back. Remus grabbed the back of Sirius's head, fisting his mop of black hair. Sirius gasped and hastily tugged on the waist of Remus' trousers, willing them to come off.

"D-Do you not remember how to take trousers, Padfoot?" Remus asked demandingly. "There's a button!"

"Right." Sirius said, not bothering to be embarrassed. He hastily unbuttoned the werewolf's pants and tugged them down. Remus arched his hips into the gentle touch and was infuriated when he felt nothing but air. Whining, he dug his fingernails into Sirius' skin.

"Sirius," he whimpered, pressing his nails farther into the skin on the other boy's elbow.

Sirius grabbed Remus' shoulders, pushing him until his back hit the headboard. He grabbed Remus' shoulders and boxers, pulling them down. Sirius quickly worked on his own trousers, pushing them down to the middles of his thighs. Sirius pushed himself forward, their hips colliding.

"Fuck." Remus gasped.

"I know." Sirius agreed, holding onto Remus' waist.

The tawny-haired boy threw his hips up the same time Sirius ground his downwards, both of biting their lips in pain and pleasure. The mixture of the two was unbearable, and Sirius hurried up his rocking in compliance to Remus digging his sharp fingernails into his shoulders.

Remus let out a breath of relief as he finished, laying limp on the mattress and falling onto the array of pillows. He fingered at Sirius' hair, sweaty at the hem and in clumsy disarray at the rest. Sirius collapsed on top of him a moment later, careful not to crush the werewolf as his hot breath ghosted over his ear and neck.

"Prongs and Peter are going to be back soon," he panted breathlessly, his eyes meeting with Remus' amber ones, "if you want, this can all just be something drunken and stupid that no one has to know about. Or," Sirius started in a small, hopeful voice, "we can actually turn this into something."

Remus smiled exhaustingly, his face weary from the recent activities. He slowly leant over, planting a sticky kiss on Sirius' parted lips. His hands brushed against his neck lightly, caressing his jaw line.

"I think I choose option two," he said with a smile, "are you sure you're not drunk?"

Sirius nodded, indignant, "I'm shocked, Moony!" he said histrionically, his voice acrimonious, "I would never take advantage of you like that. Especially when I've been drinking."

The werewolf nodded absently. Sirius slipped his hand down the sheets, entwining their fingers gingerly.

"I'm glad I didn't go to Hogsmeade," Remus admitted, beaming at Sirius. Sirius nodded.

"I'm glad too," he wrapped the blanket around them wordlessly, drawing Remus closer, "do… do you want to get some more rest?"

Remus nodded thankfully, tucking his head underneath Sirius' chin and nestling himself into the embrace.

---

Sirius awoke to the sound of enthusiastic yelling wafting up the stairs, conveniently announcing the return of the students. Sirius gave Remus a soft but nonetheless intense kiss, which woke Remus up sufficiently. Rubbing at his eyes, Remus sleepily picked himself up with an elbow.

"Are they back?" he mumbled groggily, his voice drowsy. Sirius rubbed soothingly at the other man's back.

"Yeah. Just now, apparently," Sirius shrugged, looking at Remus with concerned eyes, "do you want to get up or just stay here?"

Remus looked tentative. "I don't really want them to find out this way," he admitted, and Sirius nodded reassuringly. They got up from the bed, only sharing one more brief kiss before they trotted down the staircase to the common room.

"Hey guys!" James said cheerfully, waving a hand merrily. He held up a bag full of sweets with a crazed and toothy grin.

Peter bounded up next to him, cheeks bulging with chocolates. He attempted to swallow most of the snacks and greet his friends with a muffled 'hullo'. Sirius and Remus both waved, reaching the landing to the common room.

"What did you do?"

James shrugged off his coat, "The usual," he winked impishly, "candy, pranks, and some stalking. Lots of fun, if you know what I mean!"

Sirius nodded, putting his hands in his pockets.

Peter finally gulped down all of his food. "We got all of our Christmas shopping done!" he announced gratefully, "I got this really great–"

James shook the plump boy slightly, "Don't give away the broomstick, Pete!" he warned heatedly, readjusting his collar.

Sirius chuckled.

"But really now, mate," James began, "you missed a great visit!" he clapped Sirius on the back. Sirius shrugged.

"Yeah," he said carelessly, "sorry I missed it. Just spending some time with Moony here," he slung an arm casually around his tawny-haired friend, "but I just relaxed a bit. Worked on my homework and stuff."

"Homework, eh?" James raised an eyebrow in doubt, but shrugged it off anyway.

"What can I say?" Sirius said, "I don't stop something until I finish it." he walked towards the bag of sweets inquisitively, but not before turning around and giving Remus a discreet wink.