Will-o'-the-Wisp

Remus, as was his habit, woke up early the next morning. For a minute, he was groggy and disoriented, wondering why the sky outside looked like a Van Gogh painting...but then he realised that he was looking at a Van Gogh painting, or at least a copy of one. And then he remembered the fire, the Bible from the Dukakis family, the McGillicutty quilt, Rachel and Carmi's money...

He shook his head to clear it and looked at Sirius, who was still sleeping peacefully, one arm draped over Remus's waist. Remus wanted nothing more than to sink back into Sirius's arms, to snuggle up and get a few more winks in--this morning more than ordinarily--but as he usually did he restrained himself and got up. Usually he did it because he was afraid they'd both forget to wake up if he did; that morning it was because he wasn't one hundred percent certain Lily wouldn't come in to wake them up.

He loved Godric's Hollow, he decided as he sat down. It wasn't a wizarding community, but it was a little village, so there weren't any streetlights to obstruct his view of the heavens above. He could see every constellation with perfect clarity. Clasping his knees to his chest, he tilted his head back and located Sirius.

"Morning."

Remus jumped and half-turned. James stood behind him, grinning crookedly, holding two mugs in his hand. "Oh...morning, James. You scared me."

"Sorry about that." James sat down next to Remus and handed him one of the mugs. "I figured I'd find you out here...I remembered Sirius saying when we went camping that one time that you were an early riser."

"Are you?" Remus asked.

James grinned sheepishly. "Usually. The only reason I slept in on the trip was because I was just so exhausted."

Remus chuckled. "I wasn't accusing you of anything, James. I'm just making sure you aren't, you know, getting up early on my account or anything."

"No, I always do. I love it out here this time of day--there are like a million stars! It's almost like being back at Hogwarts." James shifted uncomfortably and half-glanced at Remus. "I...er...I want to apologise."

"For what?" Remus asked, surprised.

"Well...I wasn't thinking about the guest room being right next door...I guess you two got an earful last night."

Remus started laughing. "I was about to apologise for the same thing!"

James's hazel eyes widened. "You two were...oh, no." He started laughing as well. "You have got to be kidding me!"

"You didn't hear us?"

"No! You kidding? When we get going, I forget about everything but Lily. You mean to tell me you two didn't hear us?"

"Oh, we heard you all right," Remus chuckled. "I made the comment to Sirius that Lily probably wasn't used to other people being in the house at night, and he said that she wasn't the only one and..." Despite the fact that he was still laughing, a flush was starting to creep into his cheeks. "I can't believe I'm even talking about this."

"Embarrassed?" James teased.

"Well, a little," Remus admitted. "I'm just...you know me, James, I'm an incredibly private person."

"I know." James's chuckles subsided. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry or whatever, I just...you know, if Sirius at least had a girlfriend he'd give me all the juicy details anyway, whether I wanted 'em or not. I find it funny that the closest he's come was that first night, when he sort of admitted you'd been up in the dorms shagging."

Remus's face was so red it hurt. "Well...we weren't sure how comfortable you'd be with...you know, us."

"You guys are my best friends. It's not like I think you're...abnormal or unnatural or anything."

"Well, I know, but it's a little different when you're talking boy-boy as opposed to boy-girl." Remus looked down into the mug of tea James had given him. "Then there's Lily."

James frowned. "What's wrong with Lily?"

"Nothing exactly," Remus said quickly, realising how his statement had sounded. "It's just...she's deeply rooted in traditional values and morals, it's one of the few things she and Petunia agreed upon. Petunia largely hates Lily because Lily managed to get past her Bible-rooted dislike of magic. I managed to help her get over that one, but I don't think there's any way to get her over her homophobia."

"She wouldn't mind."

"She might pretend she doesn't, but she'd find ways of excluding us from her life--and, ultimately, yours and any children you may have." Remus sighed and sipped his tea. "In the long run, it's easier just to pretend around her."

James shook his head. "Okay, if you're positive."

"As you said earlier, only fools are positive."

"Are you sure?"

"No."

James laughed. After a second, Remus did too.