small_gifts | Fic: Fireworks for midnightblue88

Title: Fireworks
Author:

cindergal
Written for:

midnightblue88
Rating: PG13
Prompt: The two of them at James and Lily's wedding
Summary: James and Lily stood nearby, looking smug. A conspiracy. Definitely.
Any other notes, warnings, etc.: Many thanks to

mommanerd for the beta. Any mistakes (as well as invented spells) are my own. Though I've been writing fanfic for a long time, this is my first Remus/Sirius fic, so I hope you all enjoy it - especially

midnightblue88. Happy Holidays!

"Remus! Oh, Remus!" called a pleasant female voice. "A little help in here, dear?"

Remus finished fastening his cuff links as he made his way down the hall. He'd never worn a tuxedo before, but he'd decided he kind of liked it. There were an awful lot of parts to it, though.

"Do hurry, love. I think he's about to lose consciousness."

The bathroom mirror tended to be a bit melodramatic, but from the color of Sirius' face he thought this was probably a fair assessment of the situation. His flat mate was fighting a losing battle with the bow tie that was attempting, quite successfully, to strangle him.

"Spell gone a bit wrong, Padfoot?"

Sirius' reflection glared at him and he pointed frantically, and rather unnecessarily, to his neck with his wand. He was now a lovely shade of purple.

Fishing his own wand out of his pocket, Remus murmured a quick Finite Incantatem, while Sirius wrenched the tie from around his neck, taking in great gasping breaths as his color slowly returned to normal. The mirror also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks," he said when he was able to speak. He turned around and leaned back against the sink, holding the tie out to Remus. "Tried to adapt a spell for tying up packages. Needs a little work." He coughed and massaged his neck. "Guess I should have paid more attention to the lesson on non-verbal magic, too."

Remus tried not to laugh. "Mmm. Perhaps."

"And why can‘t we just wear our dress robes?" he grumbled. “At least they’ve never tried to kill me.”

"Because what the bride wants, the bride gets. I didn't hear you objecting at the time."

"I was too afraid. She gave us that...that look. You know."

Remus nodded. He knew that look. James was usually on the receiving end, but as the wedding day grew closer almost anyone in the vicinity was fair game. Lily could be terrifying.

"I think she's trying to make her family feel more comfortable about the whole thing. Her sister Petunia has been rather, well..."

"Rhymes with witch?" Sirius offered.

"Exactly."

"So are you going to help me out here or what? What spell did you use?"

"No spell. I did it by hand," Remus said. Some things were better the Muggle way.

"Ah, talented Moony hands," Sirius said with a smirk. "Use those hands on me, would you?"

Remus could feel the heat rising to his face, but ignored it and told himself to just focus on the tie. Which wasn't easy with Sirius just inches away. Remus wasn't sure when his friend - his straight friend, he kept reminding himself - had started having this effect on him, but the situation was becoming more than a bit awkward. Sirius didn't help, of course, what with the constant innuendo and those casually affectionate touches he was so fond of giving. All the time. Or maybe it just seemed that way because every touch set Remus' skin on fire.

"Remus? You alright, mate? Remus?"

"What!" Remus started, and realized that he was completely mucking up the tie. He swore softly, undid it and started over.

"You're looking a little...flushed," Sirius said.

He coughed. "It's a bit warm in here." Remus had finally recovered his senses and his fingers were moving more surely now.

"Mmm. So, how'd you'd even learn to do this?"

"My grandfather taught me. He was a Muggle. Wore a bow tie with his suit every Sunday, when he used to visit. He'd let me sit me on his lap and practice." Remus smiled. "He always had chocolate in his pocket, and if I got it right I'd get a piece."

"So it's an inherited condition, then," Sirius teased.

"I suppose it is. There. All set." He went to step back, needing some air. Sirius had other ideas, though. One hand gripped Remus' shoulder, holding him there, while the other pressed against his hip. His breath caught in his throat as Sirius' hand slid down, down, down until it was...inside his jacket pocket.

"Aha!" he said, holding up a large chocolate bar in triumph. "I knew it!"

"It's for James," Remus said, beginning to breath again. "I thought he might need it today."

Sirius frowned. "You think he'll be nervous? It's not like he hasn't been in love with Lily since, well, forever."

"True. But sometimes even good things can make a person nervous."

"Point." Sirius returned the chocolate to his pocket, but his hand remained, big and warm on Remus' shoulder. "And on second thought, tuxedos were a brilliant idea," he said, his voice going soft and low. “You look amazing." Standing up, he leaned in toward Remus, sniffing him like Padfoot often did, nose pressed against his neck. At least this time it wasn't cold and wet. Remus clenched his hands at his sides while Sirius nuzzled, undecided whether to push him away or pull him closer. “You smell amazing, too. Can I borrow your cologne?”

“I'm not wearing any cologne. Pillock.” He took a hold of Sirius by the shoulders, spun him around and backed him into the hall. “Now if you don't mind, it’s my turn in the bathroom. Get out of here, you overgrown puppy.”

He shut the door and fell back against it, grateful he had something solid behind him to hold him up. He could hear Sirius' laughter fade as he walked down the hall toward the front room.

“He’s right, you know,” said the mirror.

“What's that?”

“You look quite fetching in that tuxedo, dear.”

Remus smiled. “Thank you.”

“And that Sirius. He's a very good looking young man."

"I hadn't noticed."

The mirror ignored his sarcasm. "As a matter of fact, you two make rather a handsome couple. And you've fancied him for such a long time, now, Remus. Why don't you just...”

Remus pulled out his wand and pointed it at the mirror. "No offense," he said apologetically. "Silencio."

***

"Bringing that chocolate was a brilliant idea, mate!" Peter beamed at him. "I thought Prongs was going to faint dead away before he got a chance to say 'I do'."

"He did come over a bit peaked, didn't he?" In truth, James had been as pale as Lily's white gown.

"He has been under a lot of pressure lately. The war, the Order, the wedding..."

"The many shots of fire whiskey we bought him last night," Remus added.

Peter giggled. "Oh, right. There was that. But he's fine now."

Remus glanced across the large round table which held the wedding party. James sat laughing with Lily on one side of him and Sirius on the other. Remus smiled. James was more than fine, now.

"A toast!" Sirius said, standing up and raising his glass. Peter clinked his own glass with his butter knife, calling for quiet.

"First, I would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Evans and Mr. and Mrs. Potter for helping to make this celebration possible, and all of you for coming to share this wonderful day with James and Lily," he said to the small crowd that had been invited. "I'd also like to thank the beautiful bridesmaids and handsome groomsmen." He winked at Remus. "And I'm sure you'd all agree that we need to thank James and Lily for choosing the most fantastic best man, ever." Everyone laughed. He waited for the room to quiet, and when he spoke again his voice held a gravity usually reserved for his closest friends. "But most of all, I'd like to thank James and Lily for another reason. For giving all of us, in these difficult times, a reason to celebrate, to hope, and to believe in love." He held his glass high in the air and grinned. "To James and Lily!"

The crowd raised their glasses and echoed him. "To James and Lily!"

Remus raised his glass along with everyone else, but he had a bit of a hard time swallowing over the lump in his throat. He watched as Sirius dimmed the lights with a flick of his wand, pointing it next towards the high ceilings and murmuring "Aduro Caelum." Remus was unfamiliar with the spell, and was as amazed as everyone else when dozens of miniature fireworks exploded overhead, raining down multicolored sparks that turned into confetti before they floated down to the guest tables. Even Petunia Evans smiled.

***

"So that's it," Peter said, and handed him another glass of champagne. Several of them were lined up in front of him on the table, like little soldiers. "The end of an era. James is a married man."

Remus watched James and Lily glide across the dance floor to some Muggle music that Lily was fond of. "I suppose, but I don't see that much is going to change, really." Lily had been a part of their little group since before they left school, after all.

"Trust me," said Peter. "I've seen it before. Marriage changes things."

Remus stared down into his glass, watching the bubbles rise to the surface. "I wouldn't know. It's not like I'm going to be getting married."

Peter shrugged. "You may as well be. You do live with someone."

Remus took another sip of his drink. Somehow, his glass was nearly empty again. How did that happen? Then Pete's words finally sunk in. He felt his heart beat speed up. "What are you talking about? Sirius and I are just friends."

Peter smirked. "Is that why you've gone all red?"

"I...but..." Bugger.

"Don't worry, Moony. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who's noticed." Pete patted him on the back. "After all, the lot of you are far too wrapped up in yourselves to pay attention to anyone else," he added under his breath.

Remus decided to ignore the jibe. "Well, it doesn't matter because it's completely one sided."

"Oh really?" Peter raised an eyebrow and took another sip of his drink.

Remus' head was spinning, and not just from the champagne. "Pete, what are you on about? Sirius dates girls."

"He used to. When's the last time he had a girl over?"

Remus thought for a moment. "Well, there was that time...no that was back in...um, I can't remember."

"And haven't you noticed that he spends an unusually long time staring at the blokes in Quidditch Monthly? Or do you think he's just reading the articles?"

"Pete!"

Peter held his hands up. "Hey, I may be all wrong. It's not like he actually tells me anything. All I know is, the only time I see him is when you are out on a date. Then he comes over to my place acting all morose and drinks all my fire whiskey. So I get to hang out with a drunk, depressed Sirius. Loads of fun."

Remus was still trying to process this information when Peter stood up, downing the rest of his drink. "You know, I've had my eye on Delphinia McMullan for the longest time. I think I'll ask her to dance. Love is in the air, mate!" He squeezed Remus' shoulder. "See you later, and good luck with...whatever." He walked away, leaving Remus to stare after him, open-mouthed.

Could Peter be right? He couldn't be, could he? Remus returned his gaze to the dance floor. A new song had begun, and Pete was indeed dancing with Delphinia McMullan, a petite blonde who had been a year behind them, in Hufflepuff. Sirius was currently waltzing Minerva McGonagall around the dance floor. He was a wonderful dancer. Of course.

"A sickle for your thoughts," said a voice from behind him.

Remus turned to smile at her. "I'm afraid they aren't worth that much, Mrs. Potter."

"Yours Remus? I highly doubt that."

"Oh, it’s all too true. But I think I could still manage a dance. May I have the honor?" He offered her his arm.

"I'd love to!" She slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow and they joined the other couples out on the dance floor.

The music changed to something a bit slower, for which Remus was grateful. And while he was no Sirius, he managed not to step on her toes. Sirius himself was sitting this one out at one of the tables, having a rather lively conversation with James, complete with hand gestures and animated facial expressions.

"Are you alright, Remus?" Lily asked. "You seem a bit distracted."

"I'm sorry," he said, forcing himself to look down at her and smile. From the expression on her face, he wasn't fooling her at all.

"It's okay. Do you want to tell me about it?"

He couldn't help but look over at the table again, only to find Sirius was looking straight back. He smiled and raised his hand as if to wave, and Remus looked away in a panic.

"Remus?"

"I...don't worry about it, it's not important."

“Hmmm,” she said, looking thoughtful. “It must be love.”

"What!?"

Lily gave him a knowing look. "See, I was right. Nothing else could get you this flustered."

He shook his head. "Really, Lily. This is your wedding day. You shouldn't be worrying about me."

"But what better day for me to meddle in your love life? Didn't you know? We married people want the whole world to be in love." She stood up on tiptoe to whisper in his ear. "It's like a conspiracy."

If there was anyone he could confide in about this, it would be Lily. She'd known he was gay before she'd known he was a werewolf, and had been so wonderfully supportive about both. But he couldn't bother her with a silly thing like his pathetic excuse for a love life on a day like this.

He smiled. "I'll be fine. Really. Oh Merlin, I don't know what do."

"About who?"

He sighed in defeat. "Sirius."

Lily frowned. "Has he hurt you? Because I'd be happy to hex him into next week if he has."

"Oh no, no, nothing like that. He doesn't even know that I...I mean, I'm not even sure if he's..."

"Ah, I see." She patted his shoulder. "Look, Remus, I don't know all the details, but is it at all possible that you're thinking about this too much?"

"Well, yes. It's all I can seem to think about lately," he said miserably.

She smiled. "I mean, over-thinking. We're alike in that way, you and me. Not that thinking is bad, mind you. I mean, with James and Sirius around, someone has to." He laughed. "But sometimes when it's a matter of the heart, I think you should listen to your heart instead of your head. Because your head will tell you that this is a horrible idea and he's an obnoxious boy and that you must be under a spell or a curse to even consider such insanity."

Remus had to smile. Somehow he didn't think they were talking about him any more. "So you speak from experience. Any tips?"

"You have to be willing to take a risk. I never would have given James the time of day, otherwise. And really, you don't look very happy with the way things are now." The music changed again, something fast now, and he escorted her from the dance floor. "Well?" Lily asked.

"You're very convincing." He began to scan the crowd for Sirius.

She grinned. "How convincing?"

There he was, slipping through a pair of French doors that led outside. "I'll let you know," Remus said, and began to make his way through the crowd.

***

He found Sirius alone on the terrace, draped casually across the railing and looking for all the world like some Muggle movie star in those films his mum used to love. His tie was loose around his neck, his top few shirt buttons undone, and a champagne flute dangled from the fingers of one hand. When he heard the door open, he looked over and smiled shyly. It wasn't an expression Remus often saw on his face, and he was a bit taken aback.

"Moony. There you are." He raked his free hand through his hair, and it fell right back into its perfect disarray. He'd had it cut recently, but it was still long enough to curl over his collar.

"I've been looking for you," Remus said. His voice was shaking a little, but Sirius didn't seem to notice.

"Really?" The smile widened. "I thought you were avoiding me, actually."

Remus couldn't very well tell him that he had been. Time to change the subject. He took a step closer. "Your toast was brilliant."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. When did you come up with it?" The last Remus knew, Sirius had given up on writing a toast and was going to tell the top ten most embarrassing stories about James instead.

"It was off the cuff. Just kind of came to me."

"It was beautiful, what you said."

Sirius swallowed hard. "Thanks for saying so. Means a lot."

"It's the truth."

Sirius cleared his throat. "That fireworks spell, on the other hand, I've been working on for weeks. I didn't want to blow off the roof or burn the place down or something."

Remus grinned. How things had changed. Back in school, blowing off the roof would have been the whole point. "Weeks? How did I not notice this?"

He shrugged, trying to hide a rather pleased-with-himself smile. "I wanted you to be surprised, too. It's got a nifty little feature, in that you can adjust the firepower depending on the motion of your wand and how loudly you say the spell. You noticed I barely said it out loud?"

Remus had been steadily moving closer as they spoke, and the two of them were now toe to toe. "I noticed."

Sirius seemed a little nervous now that Remus was a breath away. "Moony?"

"Listen, Padfoot..."

"No, wait a minute. I'm sorry, but there's something I've got to say to you, and I need to do it before I lose my nerve. I mean, it's bad enough that James has already accused me of being a coward. Can you believe that Moony? Me, a coward. 'If you don't tell him, you're a disgrace to the Gryffindor name' he said. I couldn't let that go, could I? I mean it's not my fault you're so bloody oblivious."

"Oblivious?"

"Yes! I've been trying to tell you for weeks but you wouldn't take the hint. I was practically molesting you in the loo this morning and you completely ignored me. Threw me out bodily, as a matter of fact."

"Wait..."

"And then I figured maybe you could take a bloody hint. Maybe you just weren't interested. Trying to let me down easy. Ignore it and it'll go away. Which is so like you, you know. And I said to James that if that was the case then I should just leave it, never mind that I'm going insane. Because we're mates first, and I couldn't take it if we weren't. Moony, that's the one thing I couldn't take."

Remus was having a very hard time following the thread of this conversation, but Sirius seemed so upset that he had to try and reassure him. "Padfoot, I can't imagine anything that could cause me to stop being your friend."

Sirius studied his shoes. "That's what Prongs said. He said you'd already forgiven me for a lot worse things than falling in love with you."

Remus just stared for a moment. "What did you say?"

Sirius looked up, pushing his hair back out of his eyes. "I don't want to lose your friendship?"

"No, no, the other thing. The falling in love thing."

"Did I actually say that part out loud?"

"I'm afraid so." Remus reached down and took the glass from his fingers, setting it on a nearby table.

"What are you doing?" He looked terrified. Oddly, this gave Remus confidence.

"You're going to need that hand."

"I...oh."

And then Remus grabbed him by the shoulders, leaned in, and kissed him.

Panic set in after a few seconds. He wondered if they should be doing this here, if they should have waited, if they should have talked about it more. But then his heart told his head to shut the bloody hell up because Sirius was kissing him, so he concentrated very hard on feeling, not thinking, instead. Right now he was feeling Sirius' warm mouth opening against his, the slight stubble of his jaw against Remus' thumb as he traced the sharp angles of his face, the soft slide of hair through his fingers. Sirius made a desperate sound in the back of his throat, grabbed him by the lapels and pulled him closer. Feeling was the undeniable winner, Remus thought.

"Hey," he said softly, when they finally stopped to breathe. "You're wrinkling my jacket." Sirius still had it fisted in his hands.

He gave Remus an incredulous look. "I pour my heart out to you, you snog me senseless, and now you're worried about your sodding jacket?"

"But...it's rented."

Sirius dropped his hands. "Of all the..."

Remus laughed, drawing his wand and sweeping it in a wide arc over their heads. "Aduro Caelum!" he shouted, and a fantastic display of colorful pyrotechnics exploded across the night sky.

The spectacle he'd created caused all the wedding guests to come spilling out onto the terrace to watch, but Remus really didn't mind. They'd have lots of time later when they were home. Alone. James and Lily stood nearby, looking smug. A conspiracy. Definitely.

He put his hand on the back of Sirius' neck and felt him shiver. "See that?“ Remus asked, pointing to the sky. “That's how I feel about you. In case you were wondering."

Sirius reached up to brush some confetti out of his hair, and smiled. "Not anymore."