Exertion

"Remus! Hey, mate, get up, it's snowing outside and I'll be buggered if you don't come out and play!" Sirius poked Remus on the forehead with his index finger, taking pride in the exasperated groan that emitted from his friend's mouth.

"Sirius, it must be six in the bloody morning," said Remus as he rubbed his eyes groggily. "Go back to sleep."

"Remus! But I want to go out and play!" pleaded Sirius. Remus looked up at his friend, straining his eyes to see. The dormitory was dark, and the only source of illumination were a few slivers of light coming in through the blinds. The young werewolf sighed as his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he could Sirius's face clearly.

He could never refuse those eyes. They were pleading--absolutely pleading--for Remus to play in the snow.. What harm could it do? He'd get a little cold but he'd still have a lot of fun…right?

"Sirius, you manipulative little bastard," Remus growled playfully as he shoved the other boy off of his bed. Sirius landed with a graceful plop on the floor, sporting a sound of indignation.

"That was uncalled for! You must have injured the goods!" Sirius looked genuinely hurt for about a millisecond, Remus observed. "They're still growing, you know," Sirius added with a mischievous grin. "They're only fourteen years old."

"I'm not even going to comment," Remus said weakly. He stood up and stretched his body gingerly, stepping over Sirius (who was still laying on the floor, acting helpless and injured) and dragging his feet across the cold stone floor towards his trunk.

The lid lifted with a creak. Sirius crawled up next to him as Remus pulled out a pair of trousers and a sweater. James shifted in the bed behind him and across the room Peter gave a loud snore. Remus had a thought.

"Why didn't you wake them up?" Remus inquired. Still sitting, he pulled off his nightshirt and put on his sweater, being careful not to brush the scar spanning his back, and being careful not to let Sirius see it.

"Because you're easier to throw snowballs at," answered Sirius cheekily. Remus did nothing but roll his eyes in reply. He stood up and tried to pull his trousers on in the half-light. He struggled for a few moments, but triumphed in the end.

Sirius tossed him his cloak and they started off to play in the snow.

§…§…§…§

Remus stumbled forward, grimacing slightly as he felt the snow on his cloak melt through his clothes and numbing his skin. It was almost reassuring that he couldn't feel any pain on his back. The scar had been throbbing painfully for a week before and has only started then to get better. Not feeling anything there--not a pound, or a pleasant feeling, just nothing--made him feel comforted.

Remus pivoted in the snow and peered through the trees. Sirius was hiding there somewhere…somewhere.

Looking carefully Remus could see a set of footprints that were bigger than his own. Sirius's boots had left an imprint in the snow--that was one thing his friend had forgotten when he'd hidden, footprints.

Remus followed the footprints for a few yards until they led into a bush. As he neared the bush it rustled slightly. Hardly being able to restrain his grin, Remus leaped behind the bush and landed right next to Sirius Black.

The wind had been knocked out of him, but he regained it quickly enough. Sirius propped himself up on his elbows and began to tut. "Honestly, Lupin, you're losing your touch…"

"Blah," Remus snorted, leaning over on his side so he was facing his comrade. "I'm losing my touch? I followed your footprints, Black. And apparently I'm the one losing my touch."

Sirius shoved Remus on the shoulder. Remus was caught unprepared and, as his eyes widened, he rolled through an adjacent shrubbery and down a small hill. But not before clamping his fingers around Sirius's wrist.

At the bottom of the incline lay the two boys, gasping for breath, both trying not to laugh. Remus was laying in snow a few inches deep, Sirius laying on top of him. Somehow it ended up so that Sirius had his knee between both of Remus's legs, his hands digging into the snow next to Remus's shoulders so that his own weight didn't crush his friend.

As they calmed down from the fall, they began to realise how close to each other they were. Remus's breath caught as he saw the pink of Sirius's cheeks grow even pinker--later he would refuse to admit it, but Sirius blushing because of him was something he loved.

Remus pushed the thought away and replaced it with a new one. It was so cold and Sirius's cheeks were pink from exertion.

Yes. Exertion. Sirius laying right on top of him had absolutely nothing to do with it whatsoever.

A minute passed and Sirius made no move to stand up. Not a word was passed between the two boys. Remus wasn't really objecting. The silence wasn't so much of an awkward silence, really, it was more of a companionable silence. He was quite comfortable, and the feel of the other boy's body made him warm.

He noticed he was particularly warm in his pants.

Was he hallucinating things, or was Sirius's head getting closer?

Remus felt warm breath on his cold lips. He felt relief, but they were still cold. He found he didn't mind it all that much. He was perfectly content with the snow and the trees and the fact that Sirius Black was laying on top of him, just so with his knee between Remus's legs and their faces an inch apart.

He was caught off guard when warm lips suddenly captured his own.

Warmth filled every inch of his body. Remus didn't react for a moment; he just cherished the feeling of heat spreading slowly throughout his body. It was just like eating a piece of chocolate. The feeling makes you want more.

His brain hardly registered what was happened, but Remus kissed back anyway. It was everything his first kiss should have been, sweet, warm, slow.

A moment later they pulled apart.

Remus blushed.

Sirius blushed.

They weren't exertion blushes, either.

"Er. What exactly happened?" Remus asked, biting his lip. Sirius was still laying on top of him.

"I have no idea," Sirius said, bewildered. "But I do know that I liked it."

"So…so did I."

And thus ensued a day of outdoor snogging, which led to two stuffy noses and two teenage boys in love.