~Tongue-Tied~

It was so funny, Remus thought, that Sirius had for the past seven years been regarded by most as the coolest person at Hogwarts. The sweat beading his temples and the way he was nervously twisting his fingers together suggested that he was not the coolest person at Hogwarts, but was, in fact, the most terrified person at Hogwarts. Probably in Scotland. Probably in the world.

And the way he was babbling on, stumbling over his own words to get them out... he never usually said, "Um," this much. He was good at speaking. Hell, he was great. The speech he'd just delivered to the seventh years and their parents had been a particularly memorable one. Remus doubted that anybody else would ever liken a graduating class to Brian Slade -- "So bright and beautiful they almost make me want to die, you know?" he'd said about his classmates, and Peter had sniffed loudly. Then he'd added with a mischievous wink, "Although, of course, only a select few of us will ever get to perform sordid acts on Curt Wild's--"

He'd stopped then after a sharp glare from McGonagall.

He looked so good in his smart clothes, Remus thought as he listened to his boyfriend's rambling, awkward words. Of course, Sirius had objected to the graduation ceremony's dress code ("I'm not wearing fucking straight-legged trousers and flat-soled shoes under my robe! McGonagall can go to hell!! She can go to hell and burn if she thinks she can make me look like everyone else!"), but he looked good. The deep scarlet robe, hat and tie had been discarded somewhere, probably with his parents, who were chatting to the Lupins at the other side of the lawn; he was left wearing charcoal grey trousers and waistcoat, and a white shirt, the sleeves of which were rolled up to his elbows. The top few buttons were undone... Remus was having trouble keeping his attention off the inviting hollow at the base of Sirius's throat, which was just begging to be licked.

"...and, well, you know how much I love you. Um. And. Um. And. And this, you know, is... um..."

Remus smiled at his boyfriend and took a step forward so he could wrap his arms around his waist. Sirius's cheeks flamed and he managed a weak smile before continuing.

"I love you. I've already said that. Aw, hell, it doesn't matter how many times I say it, right? But anyway, you know I do, and we've been together for a good long time now and it's... um... great. And I love you. And it's just great, me and you, and... and you, everything. It's... um."

Maybe trailing kisses up Sirius's jawline would help to loosen his mouth a little bit? Well, it was worth a try. Remus let the fingers of his right hand pull Sirius's shirt out of the waistband of his trousers, desperately needing to touch as much skin as was possible in a public place. He put the other hand to Sirius's face, gently cupping one cheek as he kissed the other.

"Ohgod," Sirius murmured. "You're... um... not making this much easier."

"Sirius, I love you," Remus whispered against the hot flesh beneath his lips. "As long as you're not breaking up with me, you know you can tell me anything."

"Yeah. I... god. Can we go back to the dorm?"

Remus laughed quietly. "Whatever for?"

"What did we usually do in the dorm, hmm?"

"Sleep?"

"We rarely slept in there..."

"Ah. That."

The next kiss landed at the very corner of Sirius's mouth, and Sirius quickly turned his head so he could press his lips to his boyfriend's. The kiss was slow and deep and obviously a tad too sexy and intense, because long before they'd tasted enough of each other Dumbledore was touching them both gently on the shoulders and saying, "Boys, please... there is a time and a place and this is neither."

Now it was Remus's turn to blush. "Sorry, sir," he muttered. He and Sirius had been interrupted by teachers many a time, but it never stopped being embarrassing... He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, and smiled sheepishly.

"Not to worry, Mr Lupin. I was about to suggest that the time and place miight be in a minute, over in the rose garden..."

The boys glanced at each other, then Sirius burst out laughing. He held his hand out to the headmaster, and Dumbledore shook it.

"Thanks for everything, sir," Sirius said. He suddenly looked sombre. "Thank you so much. I'm really going to miss Hogwarts, you know."

"And Hogwarts will miss you too, Mr Black," Dumbledore said solemnly, then his eyes crinkled in a smile as he added, "Although I'm sure Mrs Norris will be glad to see the back of you."

"I never touched Mrs Norris!" Sirius objected, a little too loudly and innocently to be believeable.

Dumbledore just smiled, and leaned forward for a conspiratorial whisper. "I wouldn't blame you if you did."

A wink and a last smile, and he moved on for a last quick chat with some other students.
Remus and Sirius glanced at each other again.

"To the rose garden?" Remus suggested.

Sirius hesitated. "No," he said eventually. "If I don't say this now I'll never do it."
"You weren't getting very far anyway..."

"And you're still not helping!" Another pause, then he let out his breath in a heavy whoosh and said, keeping his voice low and slow, "James told me something earlier, and it made me think of you. He said he loves Lily so much that he stops living when she's not around, and merely exists, in the same way that stone statues exist. Like he's human-shaped, but he can't breathe or feel or anything unless she's there to do it all with him."

"Prongs said that?!"

"Yeah. He can get pretty deep and poetic when he's talking about his lovely fiancee."

"Prongs, poetic? Heh!! I can just see the Gryffindor Quidditch Star flouncing about and reciting Shakespe... fiancee what? What!?!"

Remus suddenly realised what Sirius had said, and his eyes and jaw opened wide. He turned around and began scanning the crowd for his friends. "When did this happen? Why did I not know about this?"

"I didn't know either. He just told me when we were leaving the stage. And technically, she's not his fiancee yet." He put his arm around Remus's shoulders and turned him until they were both looking at James and Lily. "Watch. I just hope he has the balls to do it."

Apparently James did have the balls to do it, because at that moment he dropped to his knee and produced a ring box from his waistcoat pocket. Lily's hand flew to her mouth, and the boys could see James's lips moving as he spoke to her.

"I... uh... think I'm going to cry," Remus admitted, as Lily nodded fervently, then pulled James to his feet and hugged him. James picked her up and spun her round and round in dizzying circles, and Lily's laughter rang out loud through the summer air.

Sirius pulled him closer. "Me too," he whispered throatily, and they both smiled, feeling rather stupid.

"I'm guessing that's not the only thing you wanted to tell me," Remus prompted.
"Uh, no." Sirius paused again and shuffled his feet anxiously, scuffing nis new shoes through the grass as he searched for the right words. "He told me, and I, um, just sort of... started thinking. About... stuff. Me and you. I mean, more about you than me. But about me too. Because... oh, fucking hell..." He broke off abruptly and began to run his hand through his hair, but he stopped that too when he remembered it was tied back in a neat ponytail instead of being loose around his neck and shoulders, as it usually was. "Look, Remus," he said desperately, "What I'm trying to say is... that... I love you."

"Sirius, will you calm down?!" Remus said. He smiled at Sirius, and gently kissed the tip of his nose. "I know you do. Why are you suddenly behaving like you're... asking me... to... go out with... you..." His voice slowed before stopping completely. "Sirius, are you trying to ask me to marry you?" he asked suddenly, trying as hard as he could to wipe the look of horror from his face until he realised that it was mirrored in his boyfriend's.

"What?! God, no! Are you crazy?!"

"Well, you're being so awkward, and you said that James talking to you made you want to say something to me, and I... argh. Got all panicky."

Sirius wrinkled up his nose. "All that pomposity and ceremony? No, thank you very much. I don't need a bit of paper to prove I love you, or you love me. Besides, we can't get married. It's Not Allowed."

"Better not let James and Lily hear us talking about marriage like this..."

"It's different for them. They're going to have seventeen million babies and a house in the country and a holiday cottage in St Jean-de-Monts. Getting married makes sense for them. It'll tie it all together. But Remus, it's not for us, is it? What are we going to have?"

"Disgustingly large amounts of sex?"

Sirius smiled, and began to pull Remus's tie loose. "Other than the obvious?"
"Well," Remus said slowly, suddenly feeling all warm and fuzzy as though he'd drunk an entire case of Butterbeer in one sitting, "We're going to have fun. Lots of that. And we'll have laughter, and wonderful times, and more than enough love to fill a whole library with the most gorgeous, sappy, sentimental poems. And... Sirius, stop undressing me."

The tie had been discarded on the floor, and Sirius was attacking the shirt buttons. He ignored Remus's feebly slapping hands. "Just the top ones, all right? What else are we going to have?"

"The best record-player in the world," Remus said happily. "Let's get a jukebox."

"Sounds good to me! And what else?"

"Well. We won't have seventeen million children or a marriage certificate, but there's nothing to say we can't still get our own house in the country, and our own holiday cottage in St Jean-de-Monts..."

And suddenly Remus was swept up in the biggest, most passionate kiss of his life. He closed his eyes tightly and relished the delicious taste of his lover's lips and the feel of hands clutching the back of his head and neck, holding him in a close, intimate embrace.

"I am so fucking glad you said it before I had to!" Sirius said breathlessly.

"Guh. Um. Blerglrm. Eh? Said... huh? What?"

Remus's eyes were still closed and he pouted his lips for another kiss. They were flushed and glistening, either from saliva or Sirius's lipgloss... very inviting, Sirius thought, but he fought the urge to ravish them again.

"We're both going to work in London for the Ministry, right?"

Remus nodded and frowned slightly, opening his eyes to half-glare at Sirius for breaking off the snog.

"Then..." Sirius got down on one knee and began to fumble through all his pockets.

Remus gaped down at him. "What in God's name are you doing?!"

Sirius grinned. "Proposing."

"What?!"

"Ah! Got it." Sirius proudly held something up in the air... it was metallic, and the sun glinted from the gold of its surface.

Remus covered his face with both hands. "Siriuuus! What are you doing?!" he moaned in horror.

Sirius ignored the question and beamed up at his boyfriend, squinting slightly in the sun. "Remus John Lupin, would you do me the great honour of being my flatmate? To dry when I wash, to Hoover when I polish, to cook when I shop?"

Remus tried to carry on glaring, but he was suddenly laughing too hard.

Sirius seemed to be really getting into it. "To hang the washing on the line if I iron?" he continued. "To clear the kitchen of rotting leftovers once a week, if I promise to make sure that all the dirty socks find their way to the laundry basket?"

Remus stroked some escaped bits of hair off Sirius's face. "Any other requirements?"

Sirius thought for a moment. "To fuck me into the mattress once a day, and twice on Sundays?" he said hopefully. "What do you say?"

"Stand up and kiss me until I've thought about it a bit," Remus whispered.
It was the quickest kiss of his life.

"Well?" Sirius asked, suddenly nervous again. "What do you think?"

Remus closed his hand over Sirius's, the one holding the key to the door of the flat. "I think you're a complete idiot for being so nervous about asking me."

"...Well? Is that a yes? Do you want to?"

Remus burst into giggles, and hid his face in Sirius's shoulder.

"What's so bloody funny? Remus, stop arsing about, I'm edgy enough anyway." Sirius grasped Remus's arms and pushed him away so he could look into his tearful, laughing eyes. "Do you want to?"

"I do!"

~END~