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Remus John Lupin, prefect of Gryffindor Tower is two rounds into Truth or Strip. He knows exactly why he’s here, it’s because of that moronic boyfriend and his sinful smile. As James asks Dorcas what her body count is, Remus panics slightly. It’s been relatively tame questions so far - stuff like ‘if you could kill someone in this circle, who would it be?’ and ‘who’s your least favourite teacher?’. Remus locks eyes with Sirius, a mischievous swirl lingering in his grey irises, and he thinks that is about to change.
“Oi, Sirius, it’s your turn!” yells Marlene.
“Okay, okay, I have a question for our dearest Moony…” he says in a low, salacious, voice. The group quiets slightly, anticipation building in the air. Remus is rather notorious for never picking truth, also for his grandpa sweaters even during the summers. This game was built as an antonym to Remus Lupin, and everyone wants to know how this’ll turn out.
“Sirius…” Remus is entirely unsure what plot he is the unwitting victim of, but if Sirius Black and Games mean anything, it’s that Remus will have to make some interesting decisions.
“Remus… how many people have you deflowered?” here we go . The group breaks out in laughter, James is berating Sirius for something or other, saying something about no playing dirty, mate and that’s just unfair. Sirius knows the answer to this question and Remus knows Sirius knows and they both know Remus will never tell the current people in this room the answer.
So this how it’s gonna be? He asks with a raise of his eyebrow.
A slight nod and wink combo are sent in reply. He slowly bends his legs to take off his shoes and starts untying his laces. Lily shoots him a confused glance as he does so and Sirius smirks a little. He takes one shoe off and pauses. He thinks for a moment, finally arriving at one thought: fuck it . and starts shaking it on the ground.
“Sorry, I had a rock in my shoe.” Sirius is now the one to look at him bemusedly, chewing curiously on his toothpick.
Remus ties his shoes once more and sits up straight, meeting Sirius’ mercurial eyes.
“4” he says with confidence. The answer is met with a small little gasp and an onslaught of curiosity, and just as the others are getting ready to question him more, Remus yawns deeply. He knows this will haunt him. Up until know, his friends were under the impression he was a virgin, and now all of a sudden they discover not only is he NOT a virgin but he’s had multiple sexual partners?? Remus is positively screwed, but that’s fun for another day. He gives some half-assed excuse about fatigue and exits the game to go collapse on his bed - it was a very long Friday. He doesn’t sleep though, he simply thinks and stares and worries his hands. Was this the right choice?
—
Sirius climbs into Remus’s bed at about 1 am and pokes his sides until he ends up pinned against the pillows.
“Remus…” he whispers roughly as the boy above him works methodically down his body, nipping at his ribs and curling that devilish tongue around his nipples. Sirius arches up towards the canopy and breathes deeply.
“Remus…” Sirius tries again, “Remus, I had things to talk about.”
“Talk then,” Remus sends back, muffled slightly on sirius’ hip bone. He’s gonna leave marks, they both know it, and Remus basks in this knowledge for a moment. He kisses down to Sirius’s waistband and starts slowly lowering it, devouring each centimetre of new skin, biting and kissing and waiting for flowers to blossom underneath. As a groan is ripped from the back of Sirius’ throat, he thinks perhaps that conversation can be postponed. Remus silently thanks long-lasting silencing spells.
As they lay blissfully in the aftermath, Sirius tracing Remus’s scars, he remembers what he came for.
“Moony, I have a question.”
“Shoot,” moony responds, words slurred slightly with exhaustion and muffled in Sirius’s hair.
“The others are really curious now.”
“I know.”
“They’re not going to give up until they’ve uncovered it all.”
“I know.”
“Are you ready for them to know?”
Remus glances down to see concern in his lover’s eyes.
“Are you?”
“Yes,” Sirius answers without hesitation.
“Then why not? Could be fun.”
Sirius huffs a little laugh and leaves it at that.
—
The next morning’s breakfast is chaotic as the group immediately starts to interrogate Remus. James is leaning across the table to try and get in his face, Lily is staring at him calmly, and Marlene and Dorcas have taken up a strange song&dance that involves a foxtrot and the lyrics “Remus gets more action than us” and “the casanova of gryffindor tower sits before you.” Remus does his best to ignore it all, but midway through buttering his toast he gives up.
Clearing his through very loudly, he stands up.
“Ask me in a truth game and I might tell you. Leave me my breakfast though, please.”
—
This backfires on him spectacularly, as it is Saturday night and Remus has just given the Marauders & Co. a wonderful excuse to start festivities at eight pm and get absolutely smashed. By nine he’s being pulled into a game of truth or strip, dragged away from his comfy studies in the corner.
The first round is once more a rather bland affair, a warm up per say, and when he’s asked who in the circle he’d shag first, he decides he can pass on answering that until later. No one seems particularly disappointed though, and Remus suspects they have a game plan that involves hoodwinking him into a literal iteration of the saying ‘naked truth’. Little do they know .
He carefully sets his shoes aside as the game continues, Alice asks Marlene a similar question (who she’s most attracted to) (she has to takes her socks off), someone asks Peter how often he sneaks to the kitchen (once weekly for his own stores, but marauder’s business often calls for more frequency), and something happens with Lily asking James a question and really it’s quite tragic because James is not good at any games that involve stripping for one reason; because he gets excited and takes his shirt off before he’s even started, bloody jock. Remus isn’t entirely sure what happens there because suddenly it is his turn to ask a question, and he has a plan.
“Alright this question is for Sirius.” He says rather lowly, holding eye contact once more with the boy in question. If Remus didn’t know any better, he’d say he looked a little nervous. That alone has made him enjoy this game just a little bit more.
“Who gave you that hickey?” He asks, gesturing to a point on Sirius’s neck, just above his collarbone where the reddish purple signs of a bruise lay. Remus knows who did it. Sirius knows very well that Remus knows. Remus also knows that Sirius won’t say who did it - he wants to leave the truth-telling to Remus tonight. Remus is going to have fun with this. Sirius scrambles to find the one he didn’t manage to hide as the others realize that there is in fact a hickey on Sirius Black’s neck, visible through the ever-widening opening in his shirt.
“Pads, I haven’t seen you with a girl in months! Bloody hell, you have to tell!!” Squeals James. Marlene is equally passionate, and the others are… marginally more toned down.
“I’m sorry, Prongs, but this one shall stay a secret,” and he takes off the rest of his button down to reveal four more hickeys, trailing down his chest and dipping down below his pants. The crowd goes wild and Sirius and Remus share a moment of eye contact, in which Remus winks and Sirius smiles softly. The game moves on surprisingly quietly in a moment of respite as Alice and Lily both choose to question people who are not currently major sources of intrigue. Sirius and Remus both send a silent thanks to them.
The next questioner just so happens to be James Potter.
The circle quiets, the only noise the quiet ruffling of eyelashes as James darts his eyes between his two best friends. They finally settle on Remus.
“When did you lose your virginity?” he queries. Remus takes a deep breath and meets James’ eyes.
“Summer before fourth year.” James lets out a quiet bloody hell , as the others stare at him unbelievingly.
Marlene is next, and she too struggles to pick a path of enquiry. She comes to the same decision as James. They already know Padfoot is a rascal, Remus though…
Marlene narrows her eyes at him, studying his face carefully, “Have you ever been with a boy?”
Remus breaks out in a deep grin. Whatever Sirius started has turned out rather enjoyable.
“Yes, Marlene, I like dick,” he says confidently. He can see James choking on his own saliva just next to Marlene.
“Excellent, thank you for your honesty. That’s all.” She slouches down into the ground more with an air of relaxation, sending a knowing look back to Remus.
The rest of the round is rather quiet, as no one can think of an adequate question to pursue Sirius or Remus, and it quickly cycles back to Remus’ turn.
“Pads, I have a question for you.” Sirius looks up at him, eyes swirling with mischief.
“Sirius, this is very weighty. Do you understand?” Sirius chuckles quietly and nods. The others lean in close.
“Who took your virginity?” At this, Sirius lets out another huff of laughter. This is a difficult question because their friends know a story, but that story is not the truth. Remus can see in his eyes as he wavers - straight to boxers or out with the truth already? He reaches down and starts to undo his belt.
“Wait Sirius, we know the answer to this. Why don’t you just say it?” Queries James. Sirius' jaw tenses up slightly.
“Because you don’t.” He says under his breath, shaking his pants off his ankles. The new skin revealed bears a few more hickeys - up and down the inside of his thighs. Marlene gags viciously as Dorcas pats her on the back. Remus starts to wonder if Sirius doesn’t want to do this anymore.
Remus forces Sirius to meet his eyes, subtly starting a conversation
Are you okay? He tries to say silently.
Sirius’ response is loud and clear in the shine of his toothily smug smile, never been better.
Their conversation is quickly interrupted as James quickly clears his throat and stands above them all, arms spread, shoulders back, chin high.
“I have a proposal,” he announces.
“What is your proposal, potter?” Asks Lily.
“As I’m sure everyone in this circle has noted, there has been an interesting back and forth this round…”
“Prongs,” warns Sirius.”
“…and for whatever reason I know nothing about this. I, and am sure everyone else in this circle, is deeply intrigued. “
“James, spit it out, already,” Peter pipes in.
“I propose a two person Truth or Strip, a show down if you will (I wouldn’t, Remus mutters), between Sirius and Remus.”
At this, the long haired boy lets out a squawk of indignation “What fun is that for us?!?”
“It’s not about you!!” Yells James, deftly dodging a pillow aimed his way “It’s about the greater good Sirius! It’s about friendship! It’s about uncovering the truth!! What are the group's thoughts?”
Everyone seems to agree with James that apparently, Remus’s personal matters are more entertaining than others’. He makes eye contact with Sirius and they both breath deeply, setting their shoulders. Here we go .
“Okay, let’s start then.”
They sit criss cross, their knees touching, eye contact held throughout. The other’s are huddled around them, whispers sent betwixt themselves, anticipation hanging heavy in the air. James clears his throat, having seemingly decided that a referee is needed to start this, and he will be perfect for the job.
“Alright, boys, you know the rules. No lying. Sirius will start!”
And just like that the space is completely quiet.
“Remus, have you ever hooked up with a girl?” He would answer this question, but that’s kind of boring. So instead, he slowly removes his socks, holding eye contact, meanwhile revealing a second pair of socks below.
‘Oh, come on!! That’s cheating!” yells Dorcas.
“Hey, I’m breaking in my shoes! Leave me be!” Remus responds indignantly.
James butts in quickly “You are a strange, strange man, Remus Lupin, but I’ll allow it.”
“Excellent,” Remus says with a goofy grin. Sirius is laughing quietly to himself as their other friends fall apart.
‘Alright then…” he clears his throat, “Sirius, have you ever hooked up with a boy?”
Sirius raises an eyebrow at this, straight to the point are we?
“Yes.” Remus supposes he doesn’t want to get anymore naked.
“Remus, who took your virginity?”
“A muggle named Grant Chapman. Sirius, have you ever had sex in one of our beds?” He says, pointing to himself, James, Peter. Sirius takes off his long ignored socks and the other two boys cry out in a mixture of confusion and disgust. Remus thinks he hears Peter mutter that he will never sleep in his bed again. Oh, Peter, you have nothing to worry about there , he thinks to himself.
“Remus, have you ever had sex in one of our beds?” Sirius flips the question on him. This feels very much like a heated game of table tennis, the audience’s heads flipping back and forth at rapid speed, constant tension, constant confusion, waiting on the precipice for something to tip. Remus takes off his sweater and someone gasps. He knows that in his clean white t-shirt, there are a few things visible. The first being his scars, which at least three people in this circle have never seen. The second being a large, purple, hickey on his chest, dipping under his collar, and a bite mark in the crook of his neck. He’s also sure the reason his sweater was removed is a contributing factor. This brings out a few reactions of note: Peter hurriedly goes to get a drink, Lily meets his eyes and mutters an awed ‘holy shit’, Alice and Frank are laughing - almost tipping over, and James is staring at the ground, gnawing on his lip confusedly. Remus lets himself take joy in these hijinx for a moment before moving on.
“Padfoot, what is your most embarrassing sex-related injury?” Remus breaks throughout his question, having to wheeze out the end.
“Oh you dick!” Sirius wails as the others giggle quietly.
“You have to answer!”
“Ugh, you bloody bastard. Fine. It was three months ago, a week before winter hols, I fell out of a broom closet I was having relations in with my pants around my ankles, tripped over the rug and fell on my face and broke my nose,” the group breaks out in laughter and Remus smiles smugly, remembering the particular ridiculousness of it. James stares at Sirius confusedly, twisting his tie around his hand and unwrapping it over and over again. He was building up to something.
“Ask him, Prongs,” Remus says gently. He figures the build-up has been long enough.
“Wait, Sirius, I’m confused. You said you ran into a wall? Have you been seeing someone this entire time? But I haven’t seen you with anyone all year?” James unleashes his curiosity rapid fire, and the air is left still after it.
Sirius stares at him with thought, and turns to Remus. James brings his drink to his lips for a lack of anything better to do in the wait.
“Moony, why have I not been with anyone all year?” James pauses with his drink in his mouth, eyebrows pinched. This is all a bit suspicious. Why would Remus know this?
“Because you’re madly in love with me, of course.” Remus responds. James spits out his drink, soaking his shirt and getting Remus and Sirius slightly wet.
“WHAT??” Remus breaks out in laughter, looking at the boy he loves. “This is a joke, right? Peter! Do you hear this?” James squawks. “Wait, did MOONY take your virginity??”
“Oh, fucking hell” Sirius mutters, lunging forward and capturing his boyfriends lips with his own. Remus melts at the touch, meeting the forceful kiss with equal passion. This is home, for him, the taste of cigarettes and whiskey and those odd little mint toothpicks Sirius likes to chew on. As their friends yell and gawk in support and confusion, Remus wonders what he’d do without the wonderful boy who’s kissing him. They break apart laughing, the last part of the kiss was all teeth and smiles and noses knocking.
“ I love you ,” whispers Sirius.
“I love you more” whispers Remus.
“Never.”