First Meetings
Sirius didn’t know what it was that made him so mesmerized by that man. Maybe it was the way that his eyes were shining at the dim light. Or maybe the fact that faint small scars crossed his young face (the boy couldn’t possibly be much older than him). It could also have been the way his sandy blond curly hair looked so soft, making Sirius wonder what it would feel like between his fingers.
He didn’t have time to think about that, though, because just seconds after they made eye contact, he saw the man’s expression turn into one of complete terror.
“Your Highness! My deepest apologies!” he started rambling even before Sirius could open his mouth to say anything, “I was coming from the gardens and thought no one would be here at this hour so I got distracted and...”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Sirius told him in what he hoped was a soothing tone, showing him a small smile, “I wasn’t paying attention, either, to be honest. Really, don’t worry.”
“I apologize anyway, Your Highness.” The man bowed his head a little at that, but not before Sirius could catch a glimpse of a faint blush across his cheeks.
It was cute.
‘Wait, cute???’ Sirius scolded his own thoughts, a little confused. ‘Did I just think he was cute???’
His attention, however, was fortunately diverted from that topic as he caught the man shifting from one foot to the other, clearly nervous. Sirius sympathized with him immediately, so he tried to come up with something to say and lighten the mood. It wasn’t difficult at all, as in that moment he noticed what the boy was holding.
“Oh my God!,” he exclaimed, excitedly, “You’re reading Wuthering Heights?? I love this book! Tell me, isn’t Emily Brontë a genius?”
However, much to Sirius’ surprise, the boy looked kind of embarrassed.
“I wasn’t...uhh...I wasn’t exactly reading it.”
“I’m sorry?” Sirius asked, extremely confused.
At that point, the man in front of him looked even more uncomfortable. Sirius was starting to feel bad, but he really didn’t get what he was missing out.
“I...umm...,” he tried to formulate a sentence, cheeks throughly red as he looked down at his feet, “I was trying to.”
“What do you mean you were...Oh!,” comprehension finally dig into Sirius’ brain, and he immediately felt terrible. ‘The boy can’t read.’
“I am really sorry!,” Sirius quickly apologized, truly ashamed of his previous reaction, “I didn’t mean to be so rude.”
The man’s eyes widened and his mouth opened comically as if something out of that world had happened.
‘For him, it probably was,’ Sirius thought sadly, ‘I guess most royal members don’t treat other people very nicely.’
He didn’t give the other any time to answer, though, as he quickly asked for his name.
“My name is Remus, Your Highness. Remus Lupin.” He spoke in a quite careful voice, and Sirius hoped he didn’t think he was in trouble.
“Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Remus.” He greeted, wanting the boy to feel at ease around him. “Are you new working here? I’ve never seen you around before.”
“Oh, yes, Your Highness. I arrived earlier this morning, to start working at the kitchens,” Remus told him, seeming a bit more calm, which in turn also calmed Sirius. “The Queen hired more staff because of the Selection. A lot of women to please.” He continued, with a tentative smile on his face.
Sirius surprised even himself as he began laughing, a real, loud, contagious laugh. ‘The first one in a long time,’ he thought later.
Remus’ smiled a little at that, but he didn’t dare to say anything more. He was obviously still scared and unsure of how to act.
“Well, Remus, I think we must go to bed. Long days ahead of us, right?”
“Of course, Your Highness,” answered him quickly, “I am sorry I took too much of your time, sir. Excuse me.”
He bowed once more, more urgently this time, and turned to leave.
Sirius watched his retreating figure for a moment and, before he even realized what he was doing, called him back.
“Remus, wait!”
He saw Remus’ back tense as he stopped on his track and looked carefully at Sirius again.
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“I could teach you,” Sirius told him, suddenly feeling inexplicably shy, “You know, if you wanted.”
A small frown appeared on Remus’ face as he tried to understand what Sirius meant. “Teach me, sir?”
“To read.” He explained.
“Oh! Uhh...,” the man trailed off, a little unsure of what to say, “I don’t think that would be appropriate, Your Highness.”
“Why not? I’m offering you.” Sirius replied, trying to hide the fact that he was a little hurt.
“I’m just a servant, Your Highness. If anyone else saw it...” He didn’t finish his sentence, but he didn’t have to. Sirius knew exactly what the end would be.
If Sirius were caught being friends with a member of the staff, his parents would flip off. Of course, Sirius was close friends with James, but he was a guard and a Two, so they let it slide. But a servant...
Sirius knew he could handle his parents, but he also knew he had no control on what they would do to Remus. Remus surely knew that too.
Then, a crazy thought crossed Sirius’ mind and, once again, his mouth moved without his permission and threw the words out.
“You could come to my chambers.”
If Sirius thought Remus looked shocked before, that’s because he hadn’t seen his face after that moment. He looked speechless.
“I mean, not during the day of course. You could pass by tomorrow night, at this same time. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep early anyway.” He tried to amend the situation without looking like an idiot, which he thought he failed completely.
Just as he was about to retreat on his offer, embarrassed, Remus surprised him greatly.
“Alright,” he said, giving a small nod in Sirius’ direction. “Only if you’re sure, Your Highness.”
Sirius smiled, definitely relieved, before regaining his composure. “Great! I assume you know where my room is?”
“I do, yes, Your Highness.” Remus confirmed his suspicions, “All the staff knows.”
“Good, then, umm...I guess I’ll be going then.” Sirius trailed off, unsure of what to say next.
“Yes, of course, Your Highness.” Remus bowed for the third time since their meeting, “Have a good night.”
“You too, Remus.”
And with that, Sirius turned on his heels and made his way back to his bedroom, having already forgotten about his plans to walk around the palace.
He wasn’t sure why he had offered the man to teach him how to read and come to his private space. ‘I guess it’s the loneliness,’ he though, sighing as he laid down on his bed.
Sure, he had James, but a guard worked over night as well and he couldn’t use all of his free time to attend to Sirius’ lack of affection. And Regulus, as much as he loved him, was always busy helping their father.
However, Sirius still had the feeling that it also had some other reason, but he put that thought in the back of his mind as he drifted of to sleep.
~
While Remus walked back to the servant’s area, his brain struggled to process what had just happened.
‘Congratulations, Remus! Your first day here and you’re already bumping into the prince like an idiot and then accepting his invitation to his chambers.’ He thought angrily. ‘I must have gone mental.’
To his defense, though, the prince had caught him completely of guard. Remus already knew how handsome he was, of course, anyone with eyes could see that.
But in person... it was a whole new level of gorgeous. His long black hair fell in small waves on his shoulders, his skin looked incredibly smooth, and his body...Well, it was hard for a eighteen year old gay man to resist such beauty.
Although his looks definitely didn’t help,
that wasn’t the main reason why Remus was thrown out of balance. It was his kindness.
When Remus accepted the job, he was told by several people that the Queen and the King were not known for being particularly good with their employees. He knew that the best way to maintain his position in the palace without any trouble was to never get on their way.
That being said, Remus never expected to be treated so nicely by any member of that family. Surely, some part of him was still worried that was some kind of sick joke that would get him in big trouble later but, for some reason, he doubted that.
That’s why he suddenly found himself accepting the kind invitation, despite being a completely crazy one.
‘Oh, what have I done?’
Just as Remus reached his bedroom (it was a really small space with nothing more than a bed, a nightstand, a bathroom and a little balcony, but it was more than enough for him), he heard the sound of a door being opened, and looked to his right to find no one other than Lily staring at him.
“Hey, Remus, you alright?” she asked worriedly, face tired, “I woke up and heard some steps so I decided to come and check.”
“Hey, Lily,” he answered her with a tired but polite smile, “I am fine, really, thank you. Just couldn’t sleep, so I decided to take a quick walk.”
“Oh okay then,” she nodded understandably, though her eyes still had a glimpse of worry in them, “If you ever need anything, Remus, you know where to find me.”
“Thank you, Lily,” he spoke with gratitude, truly thankful for having already found someone who he could count on, even if they had just met, “I really appreciate it.”
She gave him a small smile before closing the door, leaving Remus to his thoughts again.
He still had them spiriling on his mind when he closed his eyes and fell into an uneasy sleep.