Chapter 5
“Oh no. Oh shit, damn it! ” He moved his fingers aimlessly against the keyboard, rushing to save files before his computer ultimately shut off. It was a Monday, meaning the shop had no actual appointments, but Sirius rather liked going there to input last week's information. He anxiously twisted the hem of his skirt, trying to restart his computer to no avail. He groaned, stalking over to the receptionist's desk outside his office. James had taken the day off, he and Lily had to go to one of Petunia's exclusive brunches.
Sirius nervously picked up the phone, straightened his fishnets, and dialed the forbidden number. “Uh, hi? Yeah Pads and Prongs Tattoo Parlor, on Highview? Yes, that's the one. Sirius. That's great! Thank you so much!” Now, all he could do was wait.
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Sirius had never prayed before, but he was really starting to debate his choices. Calling that specific IT company had been a risky move, and Sirius soon realized that he could've just chosen another company, but it was the closest one. Sirius, wanting to finish his work as soon as possible, just dealt with the off chance that Remus would be assigned to this job.
4 minutes away. Sirius re-applied his lipstick.
2 minutes away. He re-tucked his band shirt.
1 minute away. This time he mainly panicked.
The bell jingled, signifying someone's arrival. Sirius pinned up his hair, mentally preparing himself for what was to come. The walk from his office to the lobby was unusually short, and with every step he took, he became more queasy. As he rounded the last corner, he lifted his head-
OH THANK GOOD GODS AND ALL ETERNAL BEINGS ABOVE.
Sirius rejoiced in his head, yet couldn't help but feel ever so slightly dismayed. A tall gangly teenager stood in the doorway, looking oddly similar to his client last Friday. “Hello, I’m Fred, and I’ll be helping you today. What seems to be the problem?” said Fred, sounding as if he was reading from a script, clearly bored.
“Hey mate, names Sirius. Could you take a look at my computer? It won't turn on.” Sirius calmly lead him over to his office, explaining the situation.
“Alright, I’ll take a look at it,” Fred said, beginning to check out the system. Sirius sat on his desk quietly, occasionally pulling out his phone to scroll through social media. “My brother swung by last week, I reckon he got another tattoo, according to my other brother it's pretty sweet,”
Sirius placed his phone beside him, looking up to see Fred hard at work. “Charlie? And Percy I suppose?”
“Yeah those are the ones,” Fred said, entirely distracted.
“Brilliant,” Sirius replied, clicking his nails on his desk. They fell into an uncomfortable silence, broken only by the occasional quiet curses from Fred. What really broke the quiet, was the chime of birds chirping, coming from the red head’s phone. Fred respectively ignored it, until minutes later there was another chime. Initially, Sirius thought nothing of it. That was, of course, until his ringer was chiming every few seconds. Fred rolled his eyes and motioned towards his cell, “Mind if I take this?” Sirius nodded nonchalantly as Fred dialed numbers into his device.
“Hello, Mum? What is it? I'm at wor-” Fred started before he was interrupted.
“FRED GIDEON WEASLEY YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE, TRADING JOBS WITH GEORGE LAST WEEK? NEARLY HALF THE COMPANY RECEIVED BAD COMPLAINTS BECAUSE OF THE TWO OF YOU, WAIT UNTIL YOUR FATHER HEARS ABOUT THIS, BE HOME THIS INSTANT. YOU TWO DON'T DESERVE YOUR JOBS AFTER PULLING A STUNT LIKE THAT!” Fred cringed, and if Sirius hadn't seen his screen, then he would've thought Fred was on speaker because of the intensity of her yells. Fred pulled the phone away from his ear, rubbing it gently, “I’m really sorry, mate. Mind if I call another employee to finish up? I’ll send them all the information,” He said hurriedly, trying to collect all his belongings.
Sirius didn't even hesitate to comply, he wouldn't want the Weasley to face any more than he was bound to have. “Yeah, whatever you need man,” Sirius said, following him out the door. Fred threw him a sheepish smile before dashing to his busted car. Sirius exhaled, before stalking back to his office. His own phone chimed, revealing a text.
“Next employee should be there in 5, sorry mate!”
-
Sirius didn't know if it was because of the biscuit he nicked from James last week, or because he put kool-aid powder in Marlene’s tequila, but someone out there really had it out for him. He took all thanks he previously gave to the gods away and gave a quick curse to his mother. Perhaps this was her way of payback for not being exactly like Regulus. Or, should he say, Regulus when mother dearest was alive. (Considering he's now dating a gay-rights activist and donates his time to queer youth charities. She would've been so enraged, delightful.) Sirius painfully faked a smile as a 6’4 man with golden curls walked swiftly towards the entrance.