chapter two
It had been a total of 3 days since the night that changed the trajectory of Remus’ thoughts. He was plagued with it really, images of porcelain skin juxtaposed against deliciously tousled black hair snuck up on him at truly the most unfortunate times. At work, when pulling down the draft tap. At incessantly boring lectures that he would never in a million years stay longer after for, but was confined under the desk for a solid couple of minutes afterward. Even at his local spar when buying extra rolling papers. It was getting beyond a joke.
The problem was now staring at him on his laptop screen. Sprawled on the couch with the tv flickering absently in the background with whatever rubbish Remus turned it on to, Remus begrudgingly begun the task of editing the gig photos. Something he had been pushing off for days - some would say out of pure laziness, others would sympathise with the pathetic pang in his chest Remus would feel when looking at a certain figure.
The rattle of their flat’s rusty lock that definitely needed fixed now that they were coming up to winter was heard from Remus’ spot on the couch. Lily waltzed through the door with the swishing of shopping filled plastic bags following her steps. “Honey I’m hoooome!”
“In the living room!” Remus called back, quickly switching his laptops Lightroom display to a picture he took of the whole band instead of the wink. The wink that was waiting for him every time he closed his eyelids, and tormented him into every shameful shower wank since.
Lily dropped the packet of sensations crisps he begged for earlier on his head from her standing leverage, then indented the couch next to Remus from the sheer force she plopped herself down.
“Have I ever told you you’re my favourite ginger?” Remus batted his eyelids at the girl next to him while opening the packet with a hungry grin.
“Measly competition, what other gingers do you know?” Lily raised an eyebrow while she opened the packet of Doritos she bought for herself.
Remus waved her off, having come to the conclusion that no - he didn’t know any others.
Lily quickly brought her attention to the laptop on Remus’ knee instead. “Can I see?” She scurried over on the couch. “Mhmm.” Remus picked up the laptop and placed it in Lily’s lap instead, letting her scroll through the now edited photos herself.
She clicked through each photo, Remus focused on the crunching noises from Lily’s snack and disarrayed voices echoing from the tv. He’d gotten better at being more open with his work over the years, learning that in artistic passions you had to be proud of what you do. His heart still hammers in his ears whenever outside eyes look at his creations but not with Lily. The pair had grown so comfortable with each other over the years he never felt small when showing a vulnerable part of himself. It was freeing.
He noticed the munching had come to a pause and he turned his head to look at Lily. She was tapping through the photos in an exaggerated point of her finger with a shit eating grin plastered across her lips. “Really Remus?” She sniggered. Photo after photo filled the screen with the same subject, just from different angles and zoomed in at different places. The singer smirking to the crowd as he caught his breath, the singer mid verse with a concentrated eyebrow scrunch Remus had fantasised running his fingers across while - Hands, lots of hands.. the rings were aesthetically pleasing, thank you very much. Not just the owner of said veiny hands.
“What?” Remus shrugged with ploy nonchalantness.
“Oh you are so obvious.” She cackled.
“Just doing my job, don’t know what you’re on about?” Remus glanced up at the ceiling with a mocking innocent expression.
“Right.” She turned the laptop screen to face Remus again. It was on the wink photo. Lily looked to him with a tilt to her eyebrow. Remus bit his cheek into a shy smile and shrugged once again.
“I can literally feel the tension through the screen, do you know this guy?” Lily mused.
Remus shook his head despite the growing pit in his stomach at the fact that no, he didn’t even know his name. “Nah.”
“Well, they look great as always Rem.” She smiled warmly to her best friend as she passed him the laptop back. He scratched the back of his neck in a bashful manner and sent a genuine smile back, “Thanks, Lils.”
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“Aaand he makes it, with not a minute to spare!” A voice called from behind the bar in a mocking sports commentator tone as Remus barges into the dimly lit pub that was already starting to swarm with locals.
“Bus was..” He heaves. “Late.. again..” Remus had to practically sprint from the bus stop to his work, and his crying lungs were now paying the consequences.
“Yet you still kept your punctuality streak, I’m impressed Lupin.” Mary smiled from where she was pouring a pint for one of their locals, Benny.
“I try, I try.” Remus smirked back and rolled the sleeves up of his jumper to rest at his forearms and jumped into work, helping Mary with the ever-growing queue.
Every shift Remus found himself getting carried away in the flurry of chaos that was bartending. He had worked at his local since first year of university, Mary started alongside him which accustomed the pair to a flow of bouncing off each other and picking up each other’s slack when the other falls short momentarily. It was a full proof system - the way the pair danced around each other behind the bar, and made their shifts feel like second nature.
In his head these were two separate worlds, university and the confined space of The Three Broomsticks. Remus felt as though the bustle of drunken customers and non stop orders would often help take his mind off of the stress load of his course work, and he was able to forget about the drags of classical literature for hours at a time. It wasn’t as though he wasn’t a fan of his course, he’s been passionate about classics and all variations of history for as long as he can remember. His father would cement ancient bedtime stories into Remus’ head as a kid before he left, leading to dreams of Odysseus’ travels and family dinners when it was still the three of them.
After knowing the majority of locals for months, some years, the conversations flowed easily that Remus could practically just zone out and let the words fall off his tongue - the predetermined replies sat on the back of his teeth with every customer he recognised.
“Hows Marjorie? Ah, hope she feels better soon.”
Tequila pineapple for Linda,
“He’s still being a pain? I told you Arthur mate, just sack him!”
Remus slid the Guinness for Arthur across the counter.
“Remus!” Not a regular, but instantly recognisable.
Remus’ head shot up to where the voice came from and ran his hand through his sandy brown hair where it fell into his eyes.
“Marlene, hey!” He grinned at the blonde girl who was stood opposite him across the counter, perching over it slightly to hear him better over the music in the background.
Only, she wasn’t alone. A familiar dark haired man was stood next to her, watching Remus with curious eyeliner rimmed eyes. God he was devastatingly more beautiful up close.
Marlene gestured to her left, “Remus this is Sirius, lead singer of our band!”
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“To the future of the marauders!” Sirius chanted to the table, pint glass in hand.
“Cheers!” The group consisting of Sirius, Marlene, James, Peter and Dorcas exclaimed, clinking their glasses together with excitement.
“I can’t believe we actually got it, the record deal!” Peter sipped his glass with an unshakable grin taking over the entirety of his face.
James lovingly patted his friend on the shoulder from his seat next to him, “It was only a matter of time mate!” He was wearing a similar expression across his lips.
“I’m so proud of you guys!” Dorcas fawned over her friends and wrapped an arm around her girlfriends waist, pulling her in close and planting a kiss on Marlene’s cheek.
Marlene melted into it and tipped her head towards Dorcas, blush painting her cheeks a sweet rose. She grabbed Dorcas’ cheeks gently between her hand and pulled her face in, kissing her glossy lips. “I’m gonna grab another drink!” Marlene announced to the table and stood up from her spot on the bench.
“I’ll come with.” Sirius smiled to his friend and led the pair out from behind their table to the bar.
Marlene was animatedly gushing about their earlier meeting, how scary the receptionist was, how comfortable the plush red leather couches in the office were… how she thinks she needs to be pinched. “Seriously, I’m gonna faint!” She sent a threatening - ‘Don’t you dare say it’ - glance in his direction when he pursed his lips, brain racing with the old - but classic if he does say so himself - pun.
Sirius nodded along adding small comments when Marlene finally took breaths in between sentences. The pub was rather busy for a Tuesday evening, although Sirius supposed it would be the regular crowd shuffling in after a long day of work - the clocks hand just briefly passed 7 o’clock. After a quick couple of minutes shuffling between the sardined bodies crowding the bar, rambling to the bartenders about their mundane husband problems and issues of the day - they finally made it to the front of the queue.
Sirius’ right eardrum just about burst from the surprising volume of Marlene’s shrill voice.
“Remus!”
Sirius’ eyes shot up. He knew that name.
He caught the familiar man ruffle his perfectly messy curls out of his eye line. Sirius couldn’t restore the normal rhythm of his heart.
In truth, this feeling pissed Sirius off. It was unfamiliar uncharted territory within his heart and brain that he wasn’t used to, at all. The unwelcome squirm in his stomach made his brain go blank - since when the fuck did that happen? His mouth went dry as if every snarky flirtatious comment he had stored in there had died out, the ashes of his once Casanova personality coated his throat. All he could do was sit and watch in curiosity filled awe as he finally got the chance to see the centre fold of his thoughts for the past few days up close.
Sirius recalled laying eyes on Remus for the first time, in fact he recalled it so many times a day that it had just about burnt it’s way onto the back of Sirius’ eyelids. Standing there as though he didn’t have a clue in the world about how hot he was. How could someone look so effortlessly devastating? Tousled but perfect wavy hair that Sirius imagined falling between his pale fingertips. Sex Pistols shirt that stretched slightly over his broad shoulders but covered the rest of his frame, oh how Sirius wanted to drag that t-shirt off with his teeth and unveil what he was itching to see underneath.
Tall - so mouth-wateringly tall, even more so now Sirius had to slightly crane his neck up to see his face behind the bar. Were those fucking freckles? Sirius was done for, he had never been so sure of it. Especially with those glowing amber eyes that met Sirius’ once again, his fire eyed gaze was hypnotic and exuded a level of passion and intrigue Sirius almost physically melted into.
“Remus this is Sirius, lead singer of our band!”
“Pleasure.” Sirius smirked up at him, trying his best to regain all his years of flirtatious practice. None of it had ever been so crucial as this moment.
Remus leaned in slightly, elbows propped up on the bar and his mouth quirked up slightly. Sirius internally groaned. “Pleasure’s mine, what can I get both of you?”
Sirius observed as Remus attentively took note of Marlene’s order, nodding and quipping back at Marlene’s quick wit with a dangerous smile. Sirius wished he was in the right state of mind to pay attention to the words falling out of the mans mouth but he was so unbelievably preoccupied, thoughts racing of - ‘Is nodding supposed to be sexy?’ And ‘His fucking forearms.’
“And for you?”
Sirius tore his eyes away from the arms in front of him that had just passed Marlene her drink. He glanced up at Remus who was watching him closely,
“Just a vodka coke please.” Sirius forced out as casually as he could muster.
“I’ll meet you back at the table.” Marlene said from his side, to which he hummed in acknowledgement. She sent him a grin and wiggled her eyebrows. “Fuck off.” He grumbled with a half dopey smile. She reached onto her tip toes and ruffled his hair before sauntering off with an evil pep in her step. Sirius sighed quietly.
Remus was watching from the side of his eye with a half smirk as he filled the glass with ice. “Have you worked here long?” Sirius heard himself ask, not completely in control of his actions around this man.
Remus nodded, “About two years now.”
“Really? We come here often, I didn’t recognise you from here.” Sirius questioned.
Remus shrugged, “Must have just forgotten my face then.”
Sirius tilted his head slightly, “I highly doubt that would happen.”
Remus grinned a toothy smirk, showing the right side of his canines. “Oh, really?”
“Mhm..” Sirius grinned back, a devilish thing.
Remus dropped a straw into the drink and pushed it across the counter to Sirius. He leaned over the counter slightly while he pushed the drink, the spare scent of cigarettes battled against the mint toothpaste on his tongue as Remus spoke. “It’s on the house.” He nodded to the drink.
Sirius’ cheeky smile broke out into a victorious one. He gathered the drink in his hand and took a sip without straying away from Remus’ intense gaze for a second. “Do you always give free drinks to the sweet talkers?”
Remus wracked his gaze up and down Sirius’ body, landing on his lips for just a brief moment that if you weren’t looking - hoping for it, you would’ve missed it. He hummed as though in thought and tilted his head slightly. “Only the cute ones.”
He pushed himself off the bar and walked over to the next customer waiting to be served.
Sirius was transfixed.