A/N - Thanks to Raybe for helping with the plot (and also for Moon Mates which I constantly borrow). :)

Thanks to the wonderful Harpies for betaing.

Written for:

Quidditch League. Holyhead Harpies - CHASER 1 - Round 3: Write about the Truth leading to a death OR write about a Dare saving someone's life.

Prompts: (Emotion) Scared, (Flavour) Cinnamon, (Colour) Midnight Black

Soulmate!AU Challenge - Names on arms.

From Stranger to Soulmate

This is a Non-Magic!AU

And a Soulmate!AU

Sirius cast a disapproving look around Diagon Alley Station. He watched the people pushing, bumping, and glaring at each other. He heard the rude mutterings pass their lips.

He decided that they were like animals. They were uncouth, undignified, and uncaring; Some even looked to be unwashed.

He wasn't sure if he could go through with this. Dare or no dare.

Sirius began to turn, ready to walk out of the station and admit defeat, but a voice inside of his head caused him to pause. He recalled James' words so clearly, it was almost as though James was standing there reciting them.

'Mate, you wouldn't have a clue how to get on a train by yourself… but if you say you can, I think you should prove it. Get the train. Actually, I dare you to. I dare you to only use public transport for a whole day. I bet you won't last a single journey.'

What had James called him? Oh. Yes. A posh twat. His fists clenched. As much as he loved James, he wasn't going to let James win. Sirius knew he could manage. No matter how scared he was about doing this, it was just one day. How hard could it be?

Sirius walked past some younger girls on their way to school and couldn't help but overhear their conversation.

"Did you see David, yeah? Well, he has my name but he was totally chatting up Sarah."

"David has your name? But he's like so gorgeous. I thought he had Michelle's name."

"No. She just told people that because she's jealous. I saw his arm. It totally says my name on it. He's mine and she can go and…"

Sirius shuddered as he tried to move away from the quickly. He told himself it was too late to turn back now. Thankfully he never acted like that over the name on his own arm. When he found Remus Lupin, whoever he was, he would act mature and sexy and impress him with ease. Sirius had no doubts in his ability to charm his soulmate, but first, he had to get this dare over and done with.

Sirius purchased his ticket from the counter, feeling quite proud of himself for managing. With his ticket clenched in his hand, he approached the barriers as he had seen others do. He pressed his ticket into the slot, took it from the top, and waited for the barriers to open.

Nothing happened.

He tried twice more before glancing around uncertainly, unsure what he was doing wrong. Maybe it was his ticket? Perhaps it was faulty? He glared at the offending ticket and then at the barrier that wasn't letting him through.

"Are you okay? Are you having trouble with your ticket?" a soft voice behind him asked. Sirius turned around to reply, but froze at the sight of the teen behind him, waiting patiently to walk through. Everyone else was sighing and heading to the next barrier, but this guy was fine with the hold-up.

"I… " Sirius sighed. "I've never caught a train before," he admitted. "Surely I'm doing this right?" He slipped the travel-card into the slot and took it from the top, showing the stranger his predicament.

"I see," he said, his eyes on the ticket. "Can I…?"

Sirius allowed the guy to take his ticket and watched as he turned it around before putting it in the machine.

Sirius smiled, chuckling slightly that he hadn't tried that himself. "Thanks," he said, grabbing his ticket. The barriers opened and let him through.

...oOo...

Sirius walked slowly to the train as he put his ticket away. As he looked into the carriages nervously, he noticed the guy who had helped him had just stepped into the one next to him.

Sirius hopped onto the same carriage through the next set of doors. It made sense to be in the same part of the train as the only helpful person on the London Underground. Plus, the guy was quite easy on the eyes. There was no better way to pass the train journey than to watch an adorable stranger. He leaned against one of the poles, observing the guy as he took out his book.

Sirius took a moment to look over the guy. His dark blond hair was falling into his eyes and his lips were curved up slightly at the corners as he flicked through his book to get to the right page. He was wearing the uniform for Hogsmeade High, but was wearing a cardigan instead of a blazer.

Sirius couldn't stop looking at the cardigan. It was hypnotising almost. He was so distracted, he barely noticed the beeping and the people rushing through the doors - not until they barged into him and he fell in the cardigan-clad-stranger's lap.

Sirius quickly got up and moved away, unable to say anything. He was making a terrible first impression, but the guy was smiling at him, his cheeks slightly red and Sirius decided he would count that as a win. He glanced around, noticing other students from Hogsmeade High wearing blazers.

He preferred the cardigan look. Or maybe the guy under the cardigan was what he preferred.

The guy turned his attention back to his book and Sirius looked at the occupied seats next to him. He moved closer, planning to take one of the seats should they open up.

As the train began to move, Sirius watched the other teen and wondered why he was so drawn to him. He wondered how much worse it'd be if they actually talked.

...oOo...

Four stations later, a few people got up and off the train. Sirius practically dived for the unoccupied seat facing Moony, as he had nicknamed him. It felt appropriate based on the copy of Moon Mates he was reading, which had a picture of the moon on the cover.

He had managed to catch Moony's eye several times and Moony blushed every time. Sirius counted each one as a win as the adorable smile that appeared showed that Moony was interested in him too.

He shifted uncomfortably in the seat and shrugged off his blazer, feeling the heat of the train and wondering why the train didn't have any sort of air conditioning. He shoved his sleeves up and frowned as he looked around, noticing how tiny the windows were. They wouldn't cool the train down at all!

There was a small bang and Sirius' head spun around, his eyes falling on the book on the floor. Both him and Moony reached forward at the same time, almost bumping heads as they leaned over. Moony pulled back as Sirius' fingers reached around the book.

"Here you go," Sirius murmured, handing the book over and offering his best smile. Moony smiled back and whispered a thanks, his gaze lingering on Sirius' arm. He looked pensive, but didn't say anything else. Sirius offered a wide smile, doing his best to look approachable. Maybe Moony would talk to him again before they reached Hogsmeade Station?

Moony clutched the book against him with one hand and reached into his satchel with the other, withdrawing a bag from the bakery. He glanced inside before taking out a smaller wrapper. The book was put away and the boy began to pick the cookie apart and pushed a piece into his mouth.

Sirius entertained a fantasy of how those lips would feel against his. Lost in his daydreams, he didn't realise Moony had stopped chewing. It took him a long moment to realise that Moony was struggling to open his bag, his hands shaking and his eyes wide and panicked.

Something was wrong.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Allergic," the boy croaked, opening his bag and looking through it desperately.

"Do you have an epipen?" Sirius asked, scared and sliding forward in his seat, his eyes on the bag.

"Not sure. Don't think so." Moony's hand flew to his throat and he began to panic even more.

Sirius grabbed his own bag. He opened it and pulled out his own epipen. He flicked open the cap and prepared it. "Get ready," he murmured, before jabbing it into Moony's outer thigh.

He heard the click of the pen and counted to ten before pulling it from his leg. "Better?"

There was a slight nod and Sirius rubbed the spot where the epipen had been inserted for a minute, knowing that it helped. He gave Moony a moment to collect himself before breaking the silence.

"What happened?" Sirius asked.

"My friend likes cinnamon cookies. I… I wasn't paying attention and took the wrong one from my bag. Usually I'd know by the smell…"

"Distracted were you? I'm so hot, it almost killed you." Sirius chuckled. "You need to get checked out at a hospital now. Come on, the train is pulling up to a station. I'll call us a cab."

"No, you don't have to," Moony said. Sirius ignored the weak protest and grabbed up both of their bags as the train came to a stop.

...oOo...

"Mum, I'm at Hogsmeade Hospital. It's an emergency. Send James!"

Sirius walked back over from the phone after leaving Mrs. Potter a message and sat down next to Moony. "You should give me your house number. I'll call your mum for you."

Moony smiled. "I'll wait until after the doctor sees me," he insisted. "If we tell her now, she'll worry herself and rush down here for nothing."

Sirius nodded his head. "Sure. But you should give me your number so I can call and make sure you're okay later… or tomorrow night… over dinner?"

Moony grinned at him. "Thanks for everything. You know, saving me. Coming with me. Staying with me."

"It's fine. All in a day's work," Sirius replied. "Think of me as your knight in shining armour."

Moony laughed. "Oh, I will think of you as that," he assured Sirius.

"So, is that a yes to dinner?" Sirius asked.

Moony began to nod, and opened his mouth to answer. He was cut off by a loud shout across the empty waiting room.

"Remus Lupin," a doctor called.

Sirius froze. He was in the middle of asking Moony out, and Remus Lupin was somewhere in the room. This was extremely awkward. He looked around in a blind panic, not sure what to do.

Moony stood up. "He's calling me," he said, guessing Sirius' panic.

"You… you're Remus." Sirius grabbed the school bags and they both followed the doctor. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, you didn't exactly tell me that you were Sirius," Remus replied softly. "I saw your arm when we were on the train. Let me see the doctor first and we'll talk about it after."

He headed into the bay with the doctor and Sirius waited outside impatiently. He had finally found his soulmate and now Remus was busy seeing the doctor. They were taking far too long. He paced angrily, glaring at the curtain every few seconds until the doctor finally pulled it back.

"You're free to go."

Remus smiled shyly at Sirius and Sirius grinned back, throwing an arm around his soulmate and leading him back to the A&E entrance of the hospital. "You should really carry an epipen with you at all times," Sirius insisted. "But I worked it out."

"Worked what out?" Remus asked.

"When you saw my name. I saw you staring. You even dropped your book!"

"I was shocked," Remus admitted. "I wasn't trying to read your arm. I just kind of glanced and… and I know what my own name looks like, even upside down. When I saw my name, I didn't know what to do. I didn't really want to say anything on a crowded train."

"I've been drawn to you since we met," Sirius murmured. "I was going to get off the train at the same time as you so I could talk to you."

Remus grinned at him. "I was considering doing the same thing. I was actually planning it when I accidentally ate Alice's cookie. I don't get why you have an epipen. Do you have allergies too?"

"I'm allergic to horses," Sirius explained. "But I go to a posh school and some students own horses or do early morning riding lessons. I actually found out when I first met James. He had a horse. He ended up selling it because that's what bros do. If your pet tries to kill your bro, you don't have that pet anymore." He rubbed at his arms nervously. "I know which students have horses and manage to avoid them. Headmaster Dumbledore made sure that all of those students were in a different class so I was less at risk. So… do we talk about our names?"

"We could," Remus replied. "Are you mad that I didn't speak up sooner?"

"Not at all." The pair continued to walk again. They headed out of the A&E doors and stood outside of the hospital.

"So… are we still on for dinner on Friday?" Remus asked nervously.

"Of course. You're my soulmate. Can I see your arm?"

Remus held his arm out and Sirius began to push his cardigan sleeve up. He opened the button on Remus' shirt-cuff and pushed that up too.

Sirius Black was written on Remus' arm in black.

"It's true. The names are in our hair colour," Remus murmured. "I noticed your black hair on the train before anything."

"Midnight black," Sirius insisted. "My name is written on your arm in midnight black."

Remus snorted. "Trust you to have a specific shade of black."

"Black sounds so boring - like my surname. So when Mrs. Potter got all the paint sample things, I went through until I found the exact shade of my hair. James has black hair too, but he's not lucky enough to have my shade."

Sirius traced his name slowly with his finger. "You know, James dared me to get the train today. He was acting like I was some posh brat or something. I was only on it to prove him wrong."

"I get the train every day," Remus replied.

"Yeah. I… I… I was thinking that earlier. That I should get the train more often. It's good to do because… of…"

"Because I'm on it?" Remus finished, hopefully.

"Yeah. Pretty much the only reason I'd want to get the train," Sirius admitted. "Do people always push and shove like that?"

"Yeah. You know, if you prefer driving, don't feel obligated—"

"It's not obligation," Sirius assured him quickly. "It's the idea that I get to see you every morning and that's a great thought. I usually hate going to school but I'm actually looking forward to it now because… because I'll get to spend time with you."

Remus beamed at him. "Did I thank you for saving me?"

"You did, but after seeing your arm, I think a thank you kiss is in order," Sirius replied, leaning closer.

"Yeah. You definitely deserve a kiss."

Sirius swooped in, allowing his lips to quickly find Remus' before his soulmate changed his mind. The kiss was soft, just a brush of lips, but before he could pull away, fingers found their way to the back of his neck.

Remus wasted no time in deepening the kiss, his hand on the back of Sirius' neck. Sirius dropped the bags to the floor by his feet and brought his hands up to thread through Remus' hair.

"Sirius Orion Black!"

Sirius pulled away quickly. "Mum!"

Mrs. Potter looked between him and Remus briefly. "I believe your exact words were: "Mum, I'm at Hogsmeade Hospital. It's an emergency. Send James.' Now please imagine my panic when I thought something had happened to you. I caught a taxi straight here. I told the taxi driver off because he was late, only to find you here, perfectly fine and kissing a boy you have yet to introduce me to!"

"Remus was hurt!" Sirius exclaimed. "The message—"

"The message didn't say who was hurt or how. I assumed the worst. Especially when you said to send James. Why was James not with you this morning? Did you not go to school in the taxi together?"

"James dared me to—"

"And Remus? Is this the Remus who's on your arm?" Dorea moved past Sirius and pulled Remus into a hug. "It's lovely to meet you," she said, before turning back to Sirius. "I hope you don't scare the poor boy as much as you scare me at times. Now, what were you explaining, dear?"

"James called me a posh twat. He said I wouldn't be able to do things like normal people. He dared me to travel to school on the train so I did. Remus was there and he ate a cookie and almost died. I had an epipen and we came here," Sirius explained.

"Well, James is in school and undoubtedly worried about you. I will call the school when I return. Remus, dear. Where do you live? Would you like us to drop you off home or perhaps you'd like to come over for lunch? You can use our phone to let your parents know where you are."

"That'd be lovely," Remus said. "I was waiting to call my mum because I didn't want to worry her. Lunch sounds wonderful, thank you, Mrs. Black."

"Dorea Potter. You can call me Dorea," she replied, warmly. She turned back to the waiting taxi. "Please take us back home." She got into the car and Sirius and Remus followed.

"Do you think the school will let James out?" Sirius mused. "I want him to meet my soulmate."

"That is not why I'm calling the school," Dorea told him. "I'm going to inform them that you won't be in for the rest of the day. You will of course return tomorrow."

"About that… Mum, I think I'll be catching the train from now on," Sirius insisted, his hand finding Remus'.

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