Prompt 8 - Arrow
@wolfstarmicrofic February 8, word count 688
“I told you not to open your stupid mouth!” Remus yelled at him as they tore through the forest.
“How was I supposed to know they’d take it the wrong way?!” Sirius squawked as he narrowly avoided the arrow aimed directly at the back of his head.
“Arrogant pureblood,” Remus darted sharply to the left and away from Sirius.
“Oi, Moony, don’t leave me!” Sirius chased after him and almost slipped down the steep bank. A hand shot out from below him and dragged him down and into the safety of a huge sycamore's unearthed roots.
He crouched close to Remus as Remus cast undetectable charms around them as the centaurs thundered overhead.
“They must have doubled back,” one said.
“Leave them, Feanor, they are not worth our time,” another answered.
“And do you believe such insolence should go unpunished, Lorin?” Feanor rebutted, stomping his hooves impatiently against the hard ground. Sirius pressed back into Remus as grains of soil trickled between the roots above him.
“They are young and foolish, Feanor; besides, I heard the wolf chastising his mate as they ran,” Lorin chuckled. “I feel nothing we can do to that young wizard will even be comparable to what the wolf has planned.”
“You may be correct,” Feanor conceded. “Let us return to the others and seek insight from the stars, they may let you know what path we should take.” The sound of hoofbeats faded away, and Sirius let out a shaky breath. He knew better than to rile up the centaurs, but that Feanor had rubbed him up the wrong way, and he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.
“Remus,” He said quietly. “Next time there are centaurs, cast a silencing charm on me, please.”
“With pleasure.” Remus let his head flop back against roots and earth.
They waited a while to make sure it was safe to move about the forest again. They headed back up to the castle and back up to their dormitory for hot showers and mugs of hot chocolate.
“What do you think he meant by ‘mate’?” Sirius asked. He’d found it an odd way to refer to him. They’d called Remus a wolf, which meant they knew what he was, so why had they referred to Sirius as his mate? Remus had turned bright red and was trying to hide it from Sirius.
“No idea,” Remus choked out, looking very uncomfortable. “Some weird centaur terminology. Head in the clouds, y’know.” Remus hurried ahead of him, leaving Sirius to ponder. Remus’s reaction had been just as odd as the centaur's words.
It was as he passed a couple who thought they were being sneaky, making out in an alcove that he was hit with understanding. The centaurs thought he and Remus were together, and Remus’s red face and sudden departure was because the centaurs had picked up on how Remus felt. Sirius broke into a run. He needed to find Remus now and ask him point-blank if that’s what it all meant, as he couldn’t let the spark of hope deep inside him reignite if the centaurs had got it wrong. Please don’t let them be wrong.
He caught up with Remus, and instead of asking him anything, he spun him around by his robes, stood on his tiptoes and kissed him. Remus’s lips were frozen beneath his, and he panicked, only for Remus to reach out and pull him into his body, kissing him back. The spark inside Sirius flared into life, filling his entire body with heat.
“Ten points from Gryffindor,” Professor McGonagall barked behind them, and they pulled apart, smiling shyly at each other. The second she was gone, Remus pulled him into a nearby broom cupboard and, using the spells he’d used in the forest, kept anyone from interrupting them before Sirius was pushed into the back of the cupboard. Remus kissed him again, more fervently this time. The centaurs were right. He vowed never to piss them off again. Well, apart from Feanor, perhaps. He stopped thinking about the centaurs when Remus’s knee pushed his legs apart and moved his own leg into the space.