(no subject)
Title: Just You
Rating: PG
Words: ~960
Disclaimer: I’m in your Potterverse, playing with your characters …
Prompt: 6 (When love is in excess it brings a man no honor nor worthiness. - Euripides)
Previous Days: 1 | 2 (new!) | 3 | 4 | 5
Summary: When James’ persistence with Lily begins to pay off, Remus decides to take action.
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Stop making a fool of yourself.
This is what they’ve been telling Prongs for several years. You’re making a fool of yourself, Potter. Leave Evans alone. Get over it. There’s no honor is pining away after a woman who doesn’t want you. You won’t get a medal for Longest Case of Unrequited Love.
They tell him, and maybe he listens, but he doesn’t act on it. He continues to make a fool of himself over Evans at every chance he gets. He swears he’s making progress. Last time he asked her out, she actually sort-of smiled before saying no. Next time, he thinks, she’ll say yes.
Remus refuses to become like Prongs.
He is a practical person. Not a prude, not a weakling. Not the meek bookworm many believe him to be. But a practical boy who has grown up doing what must be done in order to get through life.
He isn’t sure he’s ready to make an utter fool of himself and say “Sirius, I quite fancy you.” Which, though alarmingly true, is just too much for him to process right now. It’s exactly the opposite of practical.
One night James comes back to the dormitory looking as if he’s been Stunned.
“What happened, mate?” Sirius asks, and the alarm in his voice echoes the expression on Peter’s face and the tight surge of worry in Remus’ chest.
James staggers over to his bed and sinks slowly onto the mattress, eyes wide behind his glasses, hands gesturing wildly in the air.
“Lily,” he says. “She said yes.”
“WHAT?” the other three chorus, and Sirius is across the room on James’ bed before Remus can close his book and lean forward to hear more.
“Was she, well, was she under duress?” Peter asks. “Did you hold her at wandpoint? Did someone give her a potion?”
“I - no, no,” says James. “Seemed - perfectly lucid. I asked her, would she like to go to Hogsmeade with me, this weekend, and maybe have a butterbeer - and - she smiled, and she said yes.”
“Prongs!” Sirius crows, clapping James on the back. “That’s bloody brilliant!”
James is nodding. Remus thinks he looks rather like a man possessed.
“Prongs, you’re in shock,” he says, grinning. “Better pull it together before this weekend, mate.”
James nods more. Slowly, an incredulous smile is spreading across his face. He looks happier than Remus has ever seen him.
“Looks like making a fool of myself paid off after all, lads,” he says at last, and Remus suddenly feels like he may throw up.
+++
They walk a dozen paces behind James and Lily: close enough to spy, not so close that Lily will get angry and end the date before it really begins.
It’s a beautiful day for a walk, all cool air and golden light and red leaves all over the ground. The smoke from chimneys in Hogsmeade perfumes the air.
“Our fallen comrade looks rather happy,” Sirius says, and he sounds a bit put out, but Remus knows that he’s actually quite happy for James. He couldn’t not be happy for James. He’ll whine about losing his best mate to a woman, yes. He’ll take the piss out of James mercilessly over it, yes. But he’ll be happy for James because they’re practically brothers, after all, and they can’t not be happy for each other when good things happen.
“Can’t believe she finally agreed to go with him,” Remus says honestly. He and Lily were prefects together, and she’s been a good friend to him - but she’s never given any indication she fancied James. She’s always turned up her nose at his antics, especially those involving Severus Snape.
“Even the smartest of us have weak moments, I suppose.” Sirius slings an arm around Remus’ shoulder, a casual gesture, familiar after so many years of friendship. They’ve always been a physical bunch. “So, Moony,” he says. To Remus, his voice sounds a little odd. “Prongs is off with Evans - Wormtail’s off with wossname the Hufflepuff - just us bachelors today, eh?”
“Julia,” Remus supplies. “Wossname the Hufflepuff is called Julia. She plays Seeker.”
“Right you are.”
“What will we do, two bachelors without our mates?” Remus asks, feeling buoyed and bolstered by the warm slant of the sun and the warm weight of Sirius’ arm on his shoulders. “Drink up all the butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks? Eat up all the chocolate in Honeydukes? Spy on this lot from under the cloak?” He motions ahead of them at James and Lily, who are walking rather closer together than last time he looked.
“For starters,” Sirius agrees. “Moony - was … is there anyone you wanted to go with? To Hogsmeade?”
You, thinks Remus, but he can’t say that, can’t make himself say it. He shrugs.
But he remembers James - shell-shocked, love-struck James - sitting on his bed the night Lily finally agreed to go on a date with him: looks like making a fool of myself paid off, after all.
There’s no honor in unrequited love, Lupin, he tells himself. Or unrequited … whatever this is. And there’s definitely no honor in being too scared to find out if it’s really unrequited.
“You,” he says.
Sirius stops walking, but he doesn’t move his arm, and Remus can feel Sirius looking at him.
“Just you,” Remus says, and he makes himself look, and what he sees startles and warms him.
Sirius is smiling. A shy, surprised, uncertain smile. Remus has never seen this smile before, but already he knows he’d like to see it again.
“Is that … all right?” he asks tentatively.
And the shy smile turns into Sirius’ real smile, his full-face-grin, as he squeezes Remus’ shoulders gently and nods once, decisively, and starts walking again.
“Definitely.”
+++
Rating: PG
Words: ~960
Disclaimer: I’m in your Potterverse, playing with your characters …
Prompt: 6 (When love is in excess it brings a man no honor nor worthiness. - Euripides)
Previous Days: 1 | 2 (new!) | 3 | 4 | 5
Summary: When James’ persistence with Lily begins to pay off, Remus decides to take action.
+++
Stop making a fool of yourself.
This is what they’ve been telling Prongs for several years. You’re making a fool of yourself, Potter. Leave Evans alone. Get over it. There’s no honor is pining away after a woman who doesn’t want you. You won’t get a medal for Longest Case of Unrequited Love.
They tell him, and maybe he listens, but he doesn’t act on it. He continues to make a fool of himself over Evans at every chance he gets. He swears he’s making progress. Last time he asked her out, she actually sort-of smiled before saying no. Next time, he thinks, she’ll say yes.
Remus refuses to become like Prongs.
He is a practical person. Not a prude, not a weakling. Not the meek bookworm many believe him to be. But a practical boy who has grown up doing what must be done in order to get through life.
He isn’t sure he’s ready to make an utter fool of himself and say “Sirius, I quite fancy you.” Which, though alarmingly true, is just too much for him to process right now. It’s exactly the opposite of practical.
One night James comes back to the dormitory looking as if he’s been Stunned.
“What happened, mate?” Sirius asks, and the alarm in his voice echoes the expression on Peter’s face and the tight surge of worry in Remus’ chest.
James staggers over to his bed and sinks slowly onto the mattress, eyes wide behind his glasses, hands gesturing wildly in the air.
“Lily,” he says. “She said yes.”
“WHAT?” the other three chorus, and Sirius is across the room on James’ bed before Remus can close his book and lean forward to hear more.
“Was she, well, was she under duress?” Peter asks. “Did you hold her at wandpoint? Did someone give her a potion?”
“I - no, no,” says James. “Seemed - perfectly lucid. I asked her, would she like to go to Hogsmeade with me, this weekend, and maybe have a butterbeer - and - she smiled, and she said yes.”
“Prongs!” Sirius crows, clapping James on the back. “That’s bloody brilliant!”
James is nodding. Remus thinks he looks rather like a man possessed.
“Prongs, you’re in shock,” he says, grinning. “Better pull it together before this weekend, mate.”
James nods more. Slowly, an incredulous smile is spreading across his face. He looks happier than Remus has ever seen him.
“Looks like making a fool of myself paid off after all, lads,” he says at last, and Remus suddenly feels like he may throw up.
+++
They walk a dozen paces behind James and Lily: close enough to spy, not so close that Lily will get angry and end the date before it really begins.
It’s a beautiful day for a walk, all cool air and golden light and red leaves all over the ground. The smoke from chimneys in Hogsmeade perfumes the air.
“Our fallen comrade looks rather happy,” Sirius says, and he sounds a bit put out, but Remus knows that he’s actually quite happy for James. He couldn’t not be happy for James. He’ll whine about losing his best mate to a woman, yes. He’ll take the piss out of James mercilessly over it, yes. But he’ll be happy for James because they’re practically brothers, after all, and they can’t not be happy for each other when good things happen.
“Can’t believe she finally agreed to go with him,” Remus says honestly. He and Lily were prefects together, and she’s been a good friend to him - but she’s never given any indication she fancied James. She’s always turned up her nose at his antics, especially those involving Severus Snape.
“Even the smartest of us have weak moments, I suppose.” Sirius slings an arm around Remus’ shoulder, a casual gesture, familiar after so many years of friendship. They’ve always been a physical bunch. “So, Moony,” he says. To Remus, his voice sounds a little odd. “Prongs is off with Evans - Wormtail’s off with wossname the Hufflepuff - just us bachelors today, eh?”
“Julia,” Remus supplies. “Wossname the Hufflepuff is called Julia. She plays Seeker.”
“Right you are.”
“What will we do, two bachelors without our mates?” Remus asks, feeling buoyed and bolstered by the warm slant of the sun and the warm weight of Sirius’ arm on his shoulders. “Drink up all the butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks? Eat up all the chocolate in Honeydukes? Spy on this lot from under the cloak?” He motions ahead of them at James and Lily, who are walking rather closer together than last time he looked.
“For starters,” Sirius agrees. “Moony - was … is there anyone you wanted to go with? To Hogsmeade?”
You, thinks Remus, but he can’t say that, can’t make himself say it. He shrugs.
But he remembers James - shell-shocked, love-struck James - sitting on his bed the night Lily finally agreed to go on a date with him: looks like making a fool of myself paid off, after all.
There’s no honor in unrequited love, Lupin, he tells himself. Or unrequited … whatever this is. And there’s definitely no honor in being too scared to find out if it’s really unrequited.
“You,” he says.
Sirius stops walking, but he doesn’t move his arm, and Remus can feel Sirius looking at him.
“Just you,” Remus says, and he makes himself look, and what he sees startles and warms him.
Sirius is smiling. A shy, surprised, uncertain smile. Remus has never seen this smile before, but already he knows he’d like to see it again.
“Is that … all right?” he asks tentatively.
And the shy smile turns into Sirius’ real smile, his full-face-grin, as he squeezes Remus’ shoulders gently and nods once, decisively, and starts walking again.
“Definitely.”
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