You Make Me Lovely

Gentle

Remus and Sirius walked aimlessly throughout the park leading up to the lake, their interlocked hands swinging between them. Remus stole a glance at Sirius, smiling when he saw the content look on his face. He thought about the events of the summer, particularly the events of the past two weeks. It was weird to think that, just two weeks ago, he had a girlfriend and was keeping his feelings about his best friend a secret. There was a part of him that felt bad about ending things with Clara. Because, while they were on good terms with each other, he knew that she really liked him.

And then there was Sirius, with his long hair, leather jackets, and charming personality. To any stranger, the two of them must have been quite an odd sight. Outwardly, he and Sirius could not be more different. Remus' laid back look and tendency to rock a cardigan was in stark contrast to Sirius' tattoos and leather. That's the problem with some people, Remus thought to himself. They see someone's physical appearance and make an immediate assumption of who they are.

Sirius seemed to know exactly where he was going, pulling Remus along with him until they reached a large tree. Sirius sat on the ground and Remus took the spot next to him, grabbing his hand as soon as he sat down. He glanced over at Sirius, noticing his glazed over eyes and the faraway look on his face. "Come here often?" Remus asked, trying to get his attention.

"I used to come here whenever things would get bad at home," Sirius said, eyes still locked on the lake. Remus saw a few tears run down his face, but the boy quickly wiped them away. "I would come here and just sit under this tree and pretend that everything was all right...at least for a little while." The tears were falling faster now and Sirius gave up on trying to wipe them away. "It was like my own little bubble where I knew my parents wouldn't come after me. Lord knows they would never go into a park, let along to look for me of all people."

After a few minutes of silence following Sirius' confession, he laughed, wiping the last of his tears. "I'm sorry," he sniffled, looking hesitantly at Remus. "Dates are supposed to be fun and happy and here I am...having a breakdown."

Remus put his arm around Sirius' shoulders, pulling the other boy close to him. "It's fine, Pads," he said reassuringly. "I'm just glad you opened up to me." Sirius shook his head.

"Dorcas would be horrified if she saw how this was going."

Remus laughed. "I'm sure she would just be happy we're here together." Sirius nodded as well. A few minutes of silenced passed before Remus decided to speak again. "Sirius?"

"Hmm," he hummed, waiting for Remus to continue speaking.

"How come you...um...brought me here if it reminds you of all the awful stuff your family did to you?" Sirius turned so that he and Remus were facing each other, and Remus was shocked to see him smiling slightly.

"Because I felt safe," he said simply. Remus rose an eyebrow, confused. "This place was sort of like a safe haven for me. I don't know...I just...I never had to pretend that things weren't as bad as they were. I never felt judged for being too weak or sensitive. I was safe."

"But, what does that have to do with me?" Remus asked, genuinely confused.

"I feel safe with you." Remus wanted to cry. That was one of the sweetest things anyone had ever said to him. He wrapped his arms around him, kissing him gently. When they finally pulled apart, Sirius was smiling. Remus couldn't help but smile back.

"I feel safe with you too."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Sirius was sitting on the grass with his back against the tree, drawing quickly. Every few minutes he would wince as the bark dug into his spine, but he wouldn't move. Remus wondered if he had even realized that it was dark out.

After sitting a talking for about an hour and a half, Sirius thought it would be a good idea to draw a picture because "I have to remember the best day of my life, Moony!" That was over an hour ago. Remus had no idea what Sirius was drawing and was starting to get impatient.

It was just past 9:30 when Sirius sighed, finally putting his pencils down. He quickly got up and marched over to where Remus was sitting. He motioned for Remus to get up, taking his hand as soon as he was and pulling him back towards where he was originally sitting. "Well?" Remus asked. "Do I get to see it?" Sirius handed him the paper, not saying a word. Remus looked at it, stunned. He and Sirius were sat against the tree. Sirius had his head on Remus' shoulder and they both had huge smiles on their faces, as though they were laughing.

"What do you think?" Sirius asked, nipping at Remus' ear.

"It's great," Remus said, crashing Sirius against the tree and kissing him. He let out a small whimper as the bark dug in to his back but he tried to hide it, not wanting to ruin the moment. Remus, however, heard it and immediately broke away, staring at him with concern.

"What was that?" Remus asked worriedly.

Sirius shook his head, muttering a quiet "nothing" before kissing him again. Remus was going to question him further, but decided to leave it be for the moment.

"How about we head back to my place?" Remus suggested. Sirius nodded and they broke apart once again, walking to Remus' apartment.

The walk, while only about 15 minutes, seemed infinitely long to Sirius. That's why, when they finally did make it to Remus' apartment, Sirius wasted no time in picking up here they had left off in the park. As soon as the two of them had made it to Remus' room they were kissing, Remus pulling Sirius on top of him on the bed. Within minutes they each had their shirt off and were making out.

A few hours later, Remus was laying in his bed, slowly running his fingers through Sirius' hair as the boy lay curled up against him, sleeping. Or, Remus thought he was sleeping. It had been over a half an hour since he had last said something and so Remus thought he had finally fallen asleep. He was just about to doze off himself when he heard Sirius' voice. "I really like you Rem," he whispered. Remus smiled and pulled the boy closer to him.

"I really like you too."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sirius walked into the house and was immediately greeted by an irritated James. He hadn't even made it 20 feet in when his friend started talking. "Where were you?" James asked, hands on his hips.

"What?'

"You never came home last night. Where were you?"

"I stayed with Moony," Sirius said, not understanding where this was going.

"And you couldn't call or text me so that I knew?" James said.

"Why does it matter?" Sirius yelled, getting angry.

"Because the last time you didn't let me know that you weren't coming home, I found you half dead in the park the next day!"

Sirius cringed, heart dropping into his stomach. He vividly remembered the day James was talking about and the situation surrounding it. "I'm sorry," he whispered, voice filled with so much emotion that it broke James' heart.

"Just...please let me know next time, okay?" Sirius nodded in response. "I was really worried."

"I know," Sirius muttered. "I'm sorry." James looked guiltily at his friend before deciding to change the top to something less depressing.

"So mum and dad asked if we wanted to come over in a little bit." Sirius nodded. "I figured it would be good for us to go see them. They miss you."

"You know, Prongs," Sirius chuckled. "I think your parents are starting to like me more than you."

James rolled his eyes. "Don't get too full of yourself, Pads," James said lightly. "It's obvious we're tied for favorite child." Sirius laughed loudly at that.

"You sure about that mate?"

"They see me all the time," James started. "Whereas, they haven't seen you in almost three weeks." Sirius shot a playful glare at his friend.

"Well then. We must get there immediately," he said, dramatically grabbing James' arm and dragging him out the door.