Take a Chance on Me

A/N: Thanks heaps to the darling goneoffthelump for the beta!

Take a Chance on Me

Sirius was not the most patient person on earth, that much was clear. He wouldn't be the prankster that he was, nor would he be in Gryffindor rather than Slytherin like the rest of his family, if he wasn't inclined to make rash decisions from time to time, not necessarily thinking too much about the consequences. How did Moony phrase it: More luck than brains. Also, if you asked anyone at Hogwarts to characterise Sirius, 'confident' would certainly make top of the list. And yet, there was one thing that made Sirius patient, made him consider his plans carefully and lose his Black confidence: Moony.

What was he going to do about Remus? He didn't know when and how it had happened, but he had begun to look at his friend Remus in a different way sometime last year. Now, being near Remus made him go all funny in the head, and he really, really had to concentrate to not make a complete idiot of himself. He usually just played the clown to cover up his confusion. So far it seemed to have worked. Not that that solved the problem, though. What was he going to do about Remus?

It was one of their usual evenings in the common room: Remus was working on an essay, James was trying to engage Evans in a conversation - as usual not very successfully - and Peter was reading, every once in a while chuckling at James's antics. Sirius was leaning back in his chair, arms folded behind his head, surveying the scene. Well, in all honesty, he was watching Moony, how he worried his lower lip when thinking about a particularly difficult point, how his hair stuck up in disarray, quite a match for James's, because he ran his fingers through it in exasperation when the right words weren't forthcoming. Sirius could have sworn that every so often, Remus glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes. He was set on shouting a "Like what you see?" at him next time he did so, but he didn't. Somehow, with Remus, his Gryffindor courage went into hiding.

He was actually fairly certain that Remus would not run away screaming when he found out that he, Sirius, was interested in him in that way.

Blame it on some residual influence of his pureblood upbringing, but being 'that way' filled Sirius with a sense of unease. His rational mind knew that his mum's pureblood shite was a load of bollocks, but his unconscious was not so easily convinced. He was sure that having an heir who was ... oh, to hell with it, who was gay would drive his fine pureblood parents ape shit.

Well, just that should be reason enough to pursue this route. Sirius let an evil grin ghost over his features, earning him a questioning look from James. No doubt he thought that Sirius had just come up with the next prank.

"Can I have a look at that essay, mate?" Sirius extended his hand towards Remus, who looked up in surprise but obliged nevertheless. Their hands touched and lingered longer than they should have. They looked each other in the eye, an almost invisible smile appearing on Sirius's face, while a blush began to creep up Remus's neck.

"Oi, love birds!" James shouted, making Remus drop the essay and Sirius recoil into his arm chair. Only then did they realise that James was looking in the opposite direction, where Megan and Andrew were snogging in a corner. Phew, that had been close.

Remus picked up the essay and handed it to Sirius. "Here, I have to do rounds this evening. See you later." He smiled at him before he turned and left.

He had waited long enough, Sirius decided then. There was nothing for it, he would have to do something about the Remus situation. Because, let's face it, if he was reading Remus correctly, there was no point in waiting; if he was mistaken, better know that sooner than later. No need to pine for someone who didn't appreciate the pining. Of course, he had made up his mind to talk to Remus before, several times, but somehow had never actually done it. What he needed was a plan. Remus wouldn't be back until pretty late. If he could somehow manage to be alone in the common room then ...

It was perfect. He had even managed to persuade James and Peter to go up to the dormitory, he had fetched some Butterbeer from the kitchens. Now he was waiting. He hated waiting. He glanced around for the umpteenth time to check if everything was indeed perfect, which was an incredibly stupid thing to do. He felt like such a pansy; he was nervous, excited, maybe even a little scared (of course he'd never admit that). What was the big deal anyway? Sirius sighed and started pacing the room again. His stomach felt a bit queasy; he somehow knew that this would be the night. The night of what, though, he had no idea.

He heard the portrait swing open and quickly jumped over to the couch and snatched up the Prophet, pretending he just happened to still be up while everyone else was in bed, pretending that this was not planned.

Remus climbed through the portrait hole and stopped to roll his shoulders to ease the tension, his eyes closed. When he opened them again, he realised that he was not alone.

"Oh, Padfoot, you are still up. Um, why are you reading the paper upside down?"

Sirius cursed silently, but he chose to ignore his blunder and handed Remus a Butterbeer.

"Here, mate, something to relax." He smiled and patted the spot next to him on the couch to urge Remus to sit down, who did just that and gratefully grabbed the beer.

"Thanks, just what I need. I tell you, rounds are so boring when no one is out after curfew." He sighed and let his head drop back on the backrest. They talked for a while, something they hadn't done very often since Remus had become a Prefect. Sirius realised how much he missed having Remus around, having Remus for himself.

Remus let his hand slide from his lap onto the couch, where it came to rest right next to Sirius's leg. Was this really just an accident? Sirius's leg tingled where he could feel Remus's touch. He shifted a bit to be able to look at Remus's face. He had pinned Remus's hand under his leg when he had moved and felt it wiggle free and coming to rest on his inner thigh. Oh ... No, not an accident. Sirius swallowed. What if he just ... he could just lean over and - Remus opened his eyes, a bit startled when he realised how close Sirius's face was. He smiled. Now, do it, Sirius urged himself. But then, before he knew what had happened, Remus had turned and leant in, kissing him full on the lips. Sirius's breath hitched, but before he could do anything, before he could kiss back, Remus withdrew, looked at him with wide eyes - and bolted. What the ...?

Sirius sat, stunned, his lips still tingling. What had just happened? His plan seemed to have worked. A bit differently than expected. Why on Earth was he now sitting on the couch all by himself? Everything had happened so fast and there hadn't been time for Sirius to actually do anything before the little coward had run away. Sirius cursed. This didn't make much sense, did it? Especially because he, Sirius Black, was sitting here rejected, feeling like an idiot. No way ...

He was already halfway up the stairs when he realised that a scene in their dormitory was probably not the best thing to happen. James would make sure he'd never hear the end of it!

He quietly went back down to come up with a better idea.

He couldn't just go up to bed and pretend nothing had happened, could he? Should he just wait down here until the morning? But then the whole house would witness the confrontation that would undoubtedly follow. Not an option. He had half a mind to go wandering around school then sneak up to the dorm when the other boys were at breakfast, but that would only postpone the inevitable. Bugger! The situation wouldn't be half bad if there wasn't that insistent voice in his head telling him that Remus might reject him after all. Just great, Black, fine mess you've created there.

He knew that Remus was not asleep, he'd be lying awake as well, trying to come up with a solution just like he was. Maybe if he went up quietly and got Remus to come down and talk to him? No, he wasn't going to beg, as much as he felt like it, but that was out of the question. Sirius Black begging for mercy! No, really! Even if it was Remus..

And so his thoughts went in circles while he paced the common room. He was angry, with himself as well as with Moony for avoiding him, still excited about the kiss while at the same time afraid that this had all been a huge misunderstanding. What a mess!

He slid down the wall, his forearms resting on his knees, hands dangling, and was looking up to the ceiling when he heard footsteps, quiet, tentative footsteps, coming down the stairs from the boys' dormitories. 'About time,' he thought, his heart fluttering in his chest. He felt like jumping up and meeting Remus on his way down - it had to be Remus, who else would be wandering around at this time of the night? - but that was out of the question. The little prick had let him wait for far too long, he'd let him stew a bit.

He got into position, knowing that Remus would first check the couch next to the fireplace.

He tried for an intimidating pose, arms folded across his chest, stern look firmly in place. His resolve crumbled as soon as he saw Remus, and he knew he looked a lot less scary as he tried to hide his smile, resulting in what must look like an odd sort of smirk. He tried to maintain his pose with a semi-threatening "I was wondering when you'd come back down", which made Remus whip around.

Sirius realised there was uncertainty - and fear? - in Remus's eyes. He immediately had a mental picture in his mind of Remus beating himself up for what he had done, which had most certainly not been Sirius's intention.

He could sense Remus wanting to say something, but he would have none of that, his kiss cutting Remus off before he could even form the first word.

He felt Remus leaning in and coaxing his lips open. Sirius obliged willingly, eager to feel Moony's tongue against his. Boy, this was even better than he had imagined.

Had it been worth all the fuss and the sleepless night? Of course it had. He was not sure now why he hadn't put his plan into action much earlier. Would have saved him a lot of hassle. Sirius had known all along that this would work out, or so he tried to convince himself. The Black confidence was back in full force. Being kissed by Remus made him forget his insecurities, just as looking into Remus's eyes, their foreheads touching as they caught their breath, made him forget his family and the troubles that sure lay ahead.

Bugger them! And what was he doing contemplating things that would happen when they did, no matter what? He had better things to do.

His worry must have shown for a second because Remus touched his cheek lightly and asked, somewhat anxiously, "Everything alright, Padfoot?"

"Hell, yeah!" came the immediate answer, followed by a kiss that left no room for doubts.