"Sirius?" The slow look up was deliberate, Remus knew. Hiding something. "It's late."

"Too late, do you think?"

"Ah, we're going for cryptic this evening, are we?" Remus walked over and grasped Sirius's hand, helping him to his feet. "Too late for what?"

Sirius held up the picture in his hand. Remus's breath caught at the sight of it. The picture was supposed to be of James and Lily kissing, but Peter had not been an expert photographer and had not realized that Remus and Sirius in the foreground would capture the camera's focus. The dramatic kiss was blurred but the burning look in Sirius's eyes was very clear. Figures moved in the background, but James and Lily never stopped and Sirius never looked away.

"Do you remember that night?"

"It was James and Lily's wedding, Sirius." Remus cleared his throat softly. "Not something I'm likely to forget."

"Do you remember us that night?"

"Too much champagne."

"Is that still your excuse for what happened?"

Remus sighed and eased Sirius's arm around his shoulder. "I never needed an excuse, Sirius. That was your venue."

"I never said it was too much champagne."

"No. You never did. However, when you woke the next morning…"

"Did we sleep, Moony?"

Remus sighed again and stopped walking. He let Sirius rest against the wall. The pose, were it not for his too-thin frame and haunted eyes, would have been an invitation; hips jutting out slightly, back arched. "No. Not really."

"How could I sleep with the prospect of you right there at my fingertips?" Sirius ran his thumb across his lower lip. "All those years of wanting…"

"It's late, Sirius. And you're drunk."

"On memories." He pushed off the wall and stood close to Remus, too close. "Drunk remembering the feel of you, the hardness of you inside me. I was staring at that picture, Moony, and it all came flooding back. You and me and that night. I didn't even remember it was gone and it came back."

"Memory is elusive, Sirius. Nothing is ever as we remember it."

"This was," Sirius insisted, his hands moving up to frame Remus's face. "This is."

He knew the kiss was coming but felt powerless to resist it, no matter how much wiser it was to do so. Sirius's lips were damp from his tongue, the pressure hesitant for all of his bravado. His hands slid back to tangle in Remus's short hair, his body pressing closer. Remus's hands fisted at his sides before sliding across Sirius's hips, his mouth opening and inviting Sirius's tongue inside.

The low groan filled the hallway and Sirius pushed, stumbling until the collided with the wall, Remus's body pressed against it, shifting just enough to avoid the gilt frame of some ancient ancestor's portrait. The feel of Sirius's tongue was intoxicating, like a heady wine he'd abstained from for too long. He drank him in, hands not content to stay on Sirius's hips. Instead they explored beneath the loose shirt, skimming over prominent ribs, along the worn leather belt cinched in a hole Sirius had made with a knife, even the magic to make it fit the wearer not able to compensate for his thinness.

Sirius gasped and broke the kiss, inhaling the musty air around them. He stared into Remus's eyes with a mixture of uncertainty and need, his hands stroking the scar that bisected Remus's face. "Moony," he whispered hungrily, leaning in to steal another kiss. Remus's hips rolled forward to meet his and Sirius groaned again.

"Excuse me, Prof…" Hermione stopped, her mouth open, her eyes wide. "Oh."

Sirius pulled back, his eyes just as wide as hers only with fear rather than surprise. Remus swallowed and straightened, acutely aware of his disheveled state and, as Hermione's eyes dropped, his erection. "Did you need something, Hermione?"

"No. I…er…" She blushed and turned, hurrying back down the corridor.

Sirius nodded and stepped back, moving down the hall. "Where are you going?"

He turned back and shrugged. "I assumed…"

"We were interrupted that night as well," Remus reminded him "As I recall, it didn't stop us in the slightest."

"Lily's sister looked horrified."

"Not as horrified as she would have been if she'd walked in a few moments later." Remus moved beside Sirius and began walking, falling into step without thought. "Do you remember that?"

Sirius moaned softly. "Oh, yes."

Remus stopped and opened the door to his room, stepping back to allow Sirius inside. "Would you like to prove how good your memory is?"

"There are blanks," Sirius said softly, sadly. He bent his head, slightly broken.

Remus stroked the black hair, remembering a time when it was lustrous and thick. He pressed a soft kiss to the curve of Sirius's shoulder. "I'll refresh your memory."

Sirius turned and smiled, a ghost of his former self in his eyes. "Will there be a quiz, Professor?"

Remus smiled, his mind on too much champagne. "Perhaps we'll see if you can do everything I teach you."

"You'll find I'm an excellent student."

"When the course suits you."

Sirius stroked Remus's cheek, his hand trembling. "This one's my life's study."