we are never ever getting back together

"Remus."

Remus ignored the voice and continued scrubbing the table. His hands were red and his back protested his hunched position, but he couldn't bring himself to look up at Gilderoy Lockhart. The git was probably flashing those unnaturally-white teeth at him, but if Remus didn't look, he wouldn't be swayed by Gilderoy's charm.

Gilderoy's charm was a dangerous thing. Remus had figured that out after only two dates with the man, and decided it wasn't worth pursuing any further relationship with him. However, for all his charm and inflated sense of self—another undesirable attribute—Gilderoy was also incredibly...dense. Remus had made it perfectly clear that he wasn't interested in going out with him again, yet the man continued to show up at the coffee shop where he worked to try and win him back.

"Remus, please."

If Remus didn't know better, he'd have said Gilderoy was begging.

"It's getting dark out," the blond continued. "I know you usually take the bus, but I thought I could drive you home after your shift instead."

Remus dunked the rag back into the container of warm, soapy water and contemplated the temporary joy of wringing it out over Gilderoy's perfectly coiffed hair.

"No, thank you, the bus is fine," he said politely, sidestepping the other man and moving on to the next table. He heard Gilderoy make a noise of frustration, and smiled to himself. Served him right for thinking he could just worm his way back into Remus' life with a grin and a bat of his eyelashes.

"Really?" Gilderoy's voice was full of scorn. "You would turn down a ride with me to take the bus? Have you no sense?"

Remus fought to keep his own voice steady as he scrubbed the wooden tabletop with more vigor than was strictly necessary. "I told you I wasn't interested in going out with you again, Gilderoy—"

"It's only a ride, Remus. Have I mentioned how beautiful my new car is? She's got leather interiors, and—"

"I don't care, Gilderoy," Remus ground out. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to finish cleaning up."

"But—"

"Excuse me, is there a problem here?"

Remus' head snapped towards the new addition to the conversation, and he had to work hard to keep his mouth from falling open. The man standing just left of Gilderoy, glaring at him with inexplicable menace, was an extremely handsome man that Remus had seen in the coffee shop on several occasions. Remus always managed to wiggle his way out of serving him, though, certain that he wouldn't be able to handle the man's piercing, grey-eyed stare up close. This man made Gilderoy look like a sack of potatoes—his hair was longer and softer-looking than Gilderoy's, his nose was more aristocratic and his cheekbones looked capable of cutting something.

"No," Gilderoy said haughtily. "There's no problem here, sir."

"Good." The stranger's lips curved up into a smile even as he continued to shoot daggers at Gilderoy. Remus was pleased to see his ex-boyfriend gulp and take a step back, clearly rattled. The man leaned towards Remus, hot breath tickling his ear as he murmured, "Hi, there. I'm Sirius, and I know a way to get this prat out of those adorable curls of yours. Just play along."

Remus could have said no. He could have sent the man—Sirius—away and continued to try and get rid of Gilderoy on his own. But he was curious to know what Sirius had in mind, so he made the choice to go along with whatever the other man was about to do.

"O—okay," he said, trying to inject some confidence into his reply.

"You strike me as someone who cares a lot about his looks, Gilderoy," Sirius said, turning back to Gilderoy.

Gilderoy practically preened at this sly dig, and Remus had to resist the urge to snort.

"Well, since you value your looks, I'm going to be nice and give you a little heads-up. If you bother my boyfriend"—Remus dropped his rag back into the container with a splash before schooling his features into a neutral expression—"again, I will personally mess up that face of yours."

Gilderoy took several more hasty steps back, eyes wide. Remus had never seen him lost for words before, and it was a glorious sight. Still, he held his breath. There was no way Gilderoy would believe that Sirius was interested in someone like him.

"You're—you're dating him?" Gilderoy asked at last, looking from Sirius to Remus and back again.

Remus nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"Damn right he is," Sirius said cheerfully. He snaked an arm around Remus' waist and pulled him close. "And let me tell you, he's not going anywhere, are you, Remus?"

"No—wouldn't dream of it," Remus mumbled, unable to look Gilderoy or Sirius in the eye. "We're...really happy together."

"Good for you." Gilderoy's smile had never looked so strained. "Well, I'll just be going, then, shall I?"

"Yeah, that'd be great," Sirius said.

Sirius kept his arm around Remus' waist as Gilderoy walked away. The usual spring in the blond's step was gone, and even his hair seemed to have deflated several inches. He looked so dejected that Remus almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

Remus awkwardly extracted himself from Sirius' hold before turning to face him.

"Thanks. For, you know, getting Gilderoy to leave me alone. I tried to be firm with him but he just wouldn't listen."

"I know." Sirius rubbed the back of his neck and flashed Remus a rueful look. "I've seen him bothering you a couple of times, but you always seemed to avoid me when I came in to order a drink, so I thought that you wouldn't appreciate my help."

"Oh." Remus felt his face go red again. "I suppose I was avoiding you, because...well, look at you. You look like that"—he gestured vaguely at Sirius' face—"and it's...a little intimidating."

Certain his face was going to catch fire now that he had made that admission, Remus shoved his hands into the pocket of his forest green apron and stared at the ground. A light chuckle from Sirius made him look up again, however.

"You're cute when you're embarrassed." Sirius tilted his head and gave Remus an appraising look. "We should get dinner some time."

Remus could have sworn his heart stuttered in his chest. It sounded like Sirius was asking him out, but that was preposterous. He, Remus, was just an ordinary bloke who worked in a coffee shop. There wasn't anything interesting about him—certainly nothing that would warrant the attention of someone as handsome as Sirius, anyway.

"I'm really busy with uni and work," Remus said, though it pained him to say the words. "But...next time you come in, your drink is on me. Thanks again."

He started to turn away, but Sirius' voice stopped him.

"Remus, wait." Remus turned back to find him rocking back and forth onto the balls of his feet. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable just now, asking you to dinner."

"You didn't." Remus cleared his throat and forced himself to meet Sirius' gaze. "I just figured you didn't mean it."

"What if I told you that I did? Mean it, that is." Sirius' eyes were full of hope, giving him the appearance of an eager puppy. That made the corners of Remus' mouth lift slightly.

"I confess that I don't understand why," he said, "but I'm not...disinterested in the idea."

"Yeah? You're not thinking about getting back together with Gilderoy?" Sirius' voice was teasing, but Remus didn't want him to entertain that idea for another second.

"No," he said emphatically. "We're done."

"Good," Sirius grinned. "So when's your next shift? I can come and hang out here in case Gilderoy comes back, and then we can do lunch or dinner afterwards."

"I'm working from 4 until closing the rest of the week," Remus told him.

Sirius nodded and promised that he would show up at 4 o'clock the next day.

As the other man exited the shop, Remus watched him with a dazed expression on his face, hardly able to believe his luck. He was going to dinner with the most handsome man he had ever laid eyes on, and Gilderoy was—hopefully—never going to harass him again. Things were looking up for him, and he couldn't be more glad.

WC: 1389