Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine, setting isn't mind, nothing is mine. And I'm not earning any money off of this.

Summary: The potion is supposed to show you who you love; too bad Sirius doesn't understand that. At least Remus does. Remus/Sirius slash.

Horribly, Adorably, Siriusly Dense

Remus pulled open the curtains around his bed and collapsed onto the mattress with a groan. He stretched out his aching arms and legs, curled his toes and fingers, and then rested his back against the headboard. He fumbled with his shirt buttons for a moment before the top one finally surrendered. Then three more. Ahh. Already the tenseness in his body was releasing as the air seemed to grow cooler around the small bit of exposed chest.

His schoolbooks were lying on Sirius' bed, but Remus wouldn't get up to get them; just going near what belonged to the dog would send all the stress and worry flooding back, and he couldn't deal with that anymore. Besides, Sirius' blankets smelled like day-old biscuits.

On his stomach, Remus listened to water splatter against his window, and saw several blurry masses run in from outside. From his shared room in Hogwarts tower, he could make out the colored smudges that were students, but somewhere among them, he knew, was Sirius Black. Despite his dread, Remus smiled.

The door slammed open, and Lupin's previously upturned lips crashed back down into one of his deepest frowns. The new boy standing in front of him had a cloak draped along his shoulders, and dirty hair that had locked itself together in several places, so tight that even a brush would have been useless against it. Fortunately, the newcomer didn't need a brush, for his hair was back to its usual heart-melting waves with a perfected spell and a wink.

"Sirius!" Remus hastily tried to redo his own buttons, but dropped the task and helped Sirius remove his sopping robes. Underneath, Sirius' shirt was nearly transparent, sticking to him in all sorts of ways which were inappropriate for Remus to imagine, and when Padfoot stripped it off to wring out the water, a giant puddle formed on the floor.

"Thanks, Moony." Sirius stepped over the other boy, who had quickly crouched to clean up the mess, and sat on his bed. Remus wanted to point out that he was sitting on his textbook, but instead slid behind Sirius, who now felt warm hands on his back. "You don't have to worry about me."

"I'm not worried." Remus felt his hands tremble just as much as Sirius was shivering, still soaked save for his hair. "Why didn't you transform? It would have been easier to dry you. Here, I'll fetch towels."

"Don't bother." Sirius grabbed Remus' wrist when he tried to hop away, yanked him back, and shoved a small bottle in his face. "If I'd been a dog, I'd not been able to carry this."

"What is it?" Remus felt his voice crack when their chests touched, but it seemed that the feeling was quite one-sided. He crossed his eyes at the glass. "Another potion? You're not planning to blow up the dungeons again, are you? You know Snape's hair has never been the same since."

"No, no, this is better!" Sirius paused. "Well, I did really like making Sevvy all greasy, but this is love potion! Nicked it off Slughorn, and I came rushing back to show you."

"What good is love potion?" Remus let his leg dangle off the side of the bed as he turned to face the other boy. Sirius didn't know, did he? He didn't know about how Remus felt. Right? Already a pitfall had begun to develop in Remus' stomach. "Oh no."

"Well, we'll give it to all the pretty girls, and I bet one-hundred-and-two percent of them smell me in their potion."

"Sirius, that's impossible."

"Go on, have a whiff." In one smooth motion, Sirius uncorked the bottle and wafted it under Remus' nose. "What does it smell like? What do I smell like?"

"I smell...." Remus held in a cough. "Dog biscuits. Stale dog biscuits. And Honeyduke's new chocolate--the mint canary one--and feathers. I think that's the smell of feathers. It could be a pillow."

"My turn!" Sirius snatched the potion back, and as soon as Remus came out of his trance, he pieced together what he'd smelled. It was no shock, really, because he knew the scents would indicate the boy next to him; all that was left was to hear what Sirius said.

"Wood and pastries. I love pastries." Remus slumped. Sirius loved wood and pastries? That was all? Well, he thought bitterly, I could always dress as a tree and glaze myself with sugar, and then Padfoot might like me.

"Wait," Sirius continued, "Um. It's like fur. Not my fur. Gads, not Peter's fur. That would just be gross. It smells like fur and wood mixed together, so maybe it's a fox? Or a bear? Or a wolf? Maybe."

Remus felt his jaw slacken slightly, and he hurried to right himself. Wolf fur! Was it really wolf fur? What did this mean? Could Sirius--no, that would be impossible. That's what he always thought. It had been impossible, but what about now? Sirius? Sirius and wolves? No, Sirius and the wolf, it had to be. Well, what do I say? Remus thought. Do I say anything? I--

Sirius rose, shaking off Remus as he did so. "I'm going to go check the registry for all the animagi that can turn in to wolves. If I'm in love with one, I'd better at least get her name. Goodbye, Moony."

The door closed, and Remus was left kneeling on Sirius' dog-biscuit bed, his hair tumbling over wide eyes, his mouth still poised to speak. He'd been so close, so close! Maybe Sirius was just dense. Or maybe he couldn't accept the fact that he might've been in love with his best friend. Or maybe he wasn't in love with Remus. The Werewolf shook his head. No, Sirius had to be in love with him, he was sure of it.

"Sirius, you are horribly, adorably, seriously dense," Remus whispered, hugging his knees and turning back towards the window. The rain was letting up, and the drops now were more like slow, gentle music. Moments ago, he'd been smiling. Now he couldn't tear his eyes away from the brightening gloom, nor could he so much as quirk a lip. The whole room was bathed in shadows.

"Sirius, I am the wolf."