"This is the best pasty I've ever had in my life!" Sirius exclaimed, a moan escaping his mouth as he bit into Mrs Weasley's signature dish. Remus felt his cheeks heat up at the sound, his thoughts everything but pure.
"Molly does make a mean pasty" Remus commented while stretching his legs out on the park bench.
As promised, Remus had toured Sirius around the village. He showed him the tiny primary school that held only 100 or so pupils, as well as the old rundown leisure centre that was desperately in need of some government funding. Then he dragged him around the square and the highstreet, dropping off at Weasley Bakery for lunch.
Now the pair were lounging in the park, the rare sight of the Scottish sun poking through the clouds, heating the two up comfortably.
"I wonder how she has the time, with all those ginger kids running around" Sirius added before tugging at his hair and letting it run free around his back. Remus' eyes popped at the sight but he managed to maintain composure, refusing to let Sirius distract him further.
"Her and Arthur sure have been busy..." Remus grinned while wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, causing Sirius to bark his signature laugh, Remus felt as if he'd do anything just to make Sirius laugh.
"Lupin you dog! who'd guess that the sweet, book-loving baker could have such a dirty mind?" Sirius teased, his grin unwavering.
"Well, after experiencing a ferocious battle against a ginormous bookcase-"
'-and losing" Sirius added, laughing. "and losing, I've come to the conclusion that the quiet life no longer suits me, the books no longer satisfy me"
"Oh really?" Sirius asked, brow cocked and eyes gleaming.
"Really! the need for adventure is now tearing at my bones, I truly think I've become the ultimate bad boy!"
Sirius tutted and rolled his eyes, leaning back on the bench and lowering his sunglasses down, reminding Remus more and more of Danny Zuko from Grease with each passing second.
"The ultimate bad boy huh?" Sirius asked, glasses still covering his piercing gaze, but his voice was still as cocky as ever. "Yes, the ultimate bad boy" Remus teased, leaning forward and hovering over the man, taking the chance to steal glances at his leather-clad body.
"Okay, Mr bad boy, would you care to join me on a simple country bike ride?" Sirius said, immediately straightening and bringing his sunglasses down the bridge of his infuriatingly straight nose and peering over at Remus - who shrugged, not seeing how biking could in any way make him a bad boy.
"Yeah sure, why not?" he exclaimed, now unfairly cocky, standing up and looming over Sirius. "You really sure Moon baker?" he asked, still looking wickedly smug. Remus offered another shrug and a nod as Sirius hopped up, wiping his front free of pastry crumbs.
"Okay then! on our way to my motorbike!" Sirius gleamed, grabbing Remus's hand and dragging him away forcefully.
"Wha- No! I'm not going on that deathtrap!" Remus whined, too frantic to even think of the two hands being clasped together. Suddenly, Sirius stopped, causing the rampaging Remus to stumble a bit, falling into Sirius. The shorter man looked up at Remus and grinned, hands still clasped
"Come on then Mr bad boy Moony, you're not scared of a bike little bike are ya?" And before Remus could whinge any longer, the boy was dragging him off back to the direction of the Potters.
"Remmy, one order of your strongest coffee please!" Lily called as she walked into the shop, stopping for a moment to shrug her jacket off. She paused for a moment, listening to the strangely quiet shop, usually Remus had the radio on or muttering to himself, so the silence was immediately a red flag.
"Lupin? Are ya here?" Lily called, turning away and walking to the counter, almost missing the heaped pile of a broken shelf and books.
"What the fuck... REM!" Lily called as she looked at the rubble, her protective nature kicking in incase her friend was hurt, luckily before Lily went out on a rampage, she spotted a post with a note stuck onto the counter.
Hey Lils, not dead or incarcerated, just taken out Sirius for a tour of the town, sorry bout the bookshelf, will explain later. (there's coffee in the pot)
lots and lots of love, Rem.
Lily tutted at the note, rolling her eyes at her lovesick friend, she turned to see that there was in fact, coffee in the pot, so she happily hopped over the counter to pour it.
"Remus Lupin, you are one annoying cunt, but you do make a good pot of coffee" Lily muttered to herself, heating up the pot and pouring herself a mug.
"Talking to mugs now are we Evans?" James commented, making Lily turn around in surprise and almost drop her coffee.
"Potter! you wank I could have dropped this!" Lily scowled, walking over to the grinning boy draped over the counter.
"Ahh but alas, you didn't Evans, mugs everywhere are saved!" James smirked, only causing Lily's hatred to grow. "Black isn't here Potter, he and Rem are on a date"
"Date?!" James gasped.
"Well, maybe... I'm not sure, does this sound datey to you?" Lily ripped the note off of the counter to hand to James and he took it, almost shocked that Lily hadn't included a single insult in her sentence. "The bookshelf?" James inquired and Lily sighed and pointed behind James, who turned around in shock.
"Holy shit, what the hell happened?!" James shrieked, walking over to the pile.
"Beats me, god knows what those two were up to" Lily smirked, following James over to the rubble.
"Oh Lily, gross - that's my brother!" James said, pulling a disgusted face and shaking his head.
"That prick better fix it, we don't really have much spare cash for a new one" Lily sighed, crossing her arms and looking sadly down at the rubble.
James remained quiet, looking down at the pile and up at Lily as if he was weighing out the pros and cons of something. "I can fix it for you"
Lily dropped her arms, looking at the suddenly nervous-looking James.
"Huh?"
"I said I could fix it for you"
"Why?"
"Why not?"
Lily opened her mouth but closed it promptly, giving a slow nod of her head, feeling her cheeks heat up in an uncharacteristic way. "Good. I'll be back, I'll just go get my Da's toolbox" James smiled before leaving a very confused and blushing Lily Evans.
"I am not getting on that death mobile Black!" Remus said, crossing his arms in protest.
"Where's that bad boy I love so much gone to?" Sirius said, buckling the buckle of his helmet.
"He died. in a terrible motorbiking accident!" Remus whined, turning away from the bike and the boy sitting on it. "Shut up, it's perfectly safe you drama queen, look! I've even got a helmet for you"
"Oh great! So when I fall off and die at least I'll die wearing a helmet!"
Sirius scoffed and shook his head at the dramatic Remus. "Moons, just get on the fucking bike," Sirius said, and his tone changed to a deeper one, his cockney accent suddenly demanding.
Remus turned around and sighed, grabbing the helmet out of Sirius's hands and climbing on the bike. "Atta boy! okay clip that on and put your hands around my waist, nice and tight so you don't fall to your death!" Sirius said, laughing at Remus's skittishness.
"Death?!" Remus exclaimed, earning a chuckle from Sirius as he wrapped his arms around the man's waist, still hesitant.
"Remus, I said tightly, that's looser than my mum's fanny"
Remus scowled at Sirius's back, but before he could comment Sirius grabbed his arms and pulled him into his back. "Sirius!" Remus whined into the man's ear, his arms tightly wound on his waist.
"That's more like it, off we go!"
Without much warning Sirius started the bike, speeding off down the road, making let out a feminine scream as the bike took off. "Oh my god oh my god sweet Jesus, I cannae dae it SIRIUS you FUCKEN eejit, oh you absolute arse I swear-"
"You turn overly Scottish when petrified" Sirius laughed, raising his voice over the engine.
Remus was clinging tightly to Sirius, his head burrowed in his shoulder, eyes tightly shut, feeling the cold night air around him.
"I turn Scottish when my bloody life is threatened!" Remus whined, burrowing deeper in his neck, noting he smelt of expensive aftershave and authentic leather. Sirius laughed, speeding faster as he tore through the country, now out of the small village and into the old country roads.
"Rem, open your eyes" Sirius said, his tone suddenly soft.
" Never!"
"Trust me, open your eyes, you'll want to see this" Sirius said, making Remus's insides melt.
Remus thought it was crazy, but he did trust Sirius, even though he had only met him hours before, and now he was on the back of a dangerous vehicle. So he obeyed, slowly lifting his head and unscrewing his eyes, the soft light of sunset filling his senses.
Surrounding the two were the endless fields of cattle, the sheep passing by as simple blurs and the cows blending to look like black and white dots.
The orange glow of golden hour hit the Scottish hills perfectly, making everything appear as it was on fire, Remus breathed in a deep breath and decided that it was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen.
Lily decided that it wasn't the worst thing in the universe to have a sweaty James potter bent over in her shop. Surprisingly, it turned out that the wild-haired fool really could come in handy. The bookshelf was already half done and he had also fixed the creaky door into the kitchen.
She had to admit that caught herself multiple times checking the man out, admitting that his tight grey shirt and combat trousers really were a sight for sore eyes.
"Do you want a cup of tea?" Lily found herself asking, unable to be annoyed at the sight of James puffed out on the floor. "That'd be grand, thanks" James breathed out, popping his head around to flash Lily a smile, his teeth catching on his lip, making himself look stupidly attractive all of a sudden.
She nodded and turned away, maybe deliberately swaying her hips as she walked, a coy grin on her face, men were simple creatures, and she knew exactly what they wanted.
"Milk? Sugar?" She called after she had started the kettle, chucking in an off-brand tea bag and a teaspoon of sugar in her own cup. "Both please" James called back, making Lily shake her head at the boy's good manners that had no doubt been drilled into him by none other than Euphemia Potter.
Lily poured the tea, humming tunelessly as he calculated the pros and cons of shacking up with Effies son.
Pros
Excellent body
more than clearly interested
looks competent in bed
Cons
Effie will try and arrange a wedding
Commitment(?)
Puppy eye sadness
feelings
probably wants more than sex
Lily sighed as he stirred the tea, immediately calming herself down, she had determined that she wouldn't be shaking with Potter anytime soon, too complicated, she felt like she could really like the boy, and that had never worked out for her in the past.
Lily had only ever had one boyfriend, and Severus Snape wasn't exactly prince charming, a childhood friend who turned into a fascist Nazi. He had mentally abused Lily into thinking that even Remus hated her. Safe to say it wasn't the happiest of relationships.
She shook her head as if trying to get rid of the thoughts of Snape, she concluded that she couldn't do anything to Potter, she wasn't ready for it, so she walked over to the man, suddenly annoyed by the sweaty shirt and loose-fitting trousers.
"How long are you going to take Potter, some of us have lives after all" Lily let out gruffly, handing the man his cup reluctantly. James, who was rightly taken aback by Lily's rude tone, just stared at the girl.
"Well- I don't know, maybe an hour?"
"Well do you know? Is it an hour or maybe an hour?" She crossed her arms and raised a brow, doing everything in her power not to feel anything at the hurt filled look in James's eyes.
"What the fuck Evans? I'm the one doing you a favour! I don't know why you're being such a bitch all of a sudden!" James argued, putting the cup down on a shelf.
"I didn't ask you to do anything Potter! so I don't know why you've got your knickers all in a twist" Lily spat, seeing the big brown eyes of James fill with confusion.
"Me? what the hell Lily! I thought-"
"What did you think of Potter ? that you'd get to fuck me because I made you a cup of tea?"
James leaned back, shaking his head and grabbing his jacket from the floor.
"What, you're gonna leave the shelves half-finished?"
James pushed past Lily, bumping her shoulder and heading for the door.
"Mum's invited you and Remus for lunch tomorrow, if you don't come that'll break her heart. And I know you're not that much of a bitch." James said, before leaving the shop - his toolbox still on the floor.
Lily did feel a huge pang of guilt at seeing the darkened expressions of James, she wanted to grab him and tell him she was scared, she was scared of his big brown eyes and even bigger heart, and she was scared of being hurt by him.
But he left, closing the door gently and stalking off in the sunset, leaving Lily with a guilty conscience and a half-broken shelf.
Lily took one look at the rubble and the cold cup of tea she made, and she grabbed her coat and hurried out of the shop, deciding it was a perfect time for a walk.
Remus didn't even try to repress the smile that painted his face as he looked at the wonderfully windswept Sirius Black, his black hair tangle and his cheeks healthily rosy.
"Comin' in for a cuppa?" Remus asked, almost breathlessly.
"Only if you pair it with one of your so-called famous muffins.."
"Of course, I'm not that much of a monster"
Sirius chuckled and followed Remus into the café. Remus assumed that Lily would be inside, no doubt ready to scold Remus for breaking the shelf but to Remus's surprise, there was no Lily insight but instead, there was a half fixed bookshelf and two stone-cold cups of tea.
"What the-" Sirius started, looking at the bookshelf with suspicion.
"She must have had someone in here to fix the shelf"
Sirius bent down, inspecting the bolts of the lower shelf and spotting a heavy-looking toolbox on the floor.
"That's Dad's toolbox" Sirius stated, opening the box and lifting a screwdriver out.
"Wait, so Monty was here?" Remus asked and Sirius shook his head as he stood back up.
"Looks like Prongs decided to pay Evans a visit," he said suggestively.
"Oh god Sirius, she's probably murdered him, she's out now hiding the body" Remus joked but Sirius tutted but laughed as he walked over to the counter, hopping onto a stool.
"You owe me a muffin Lupin" Sirius huffed as Remus walked behind the counter, grabbing two mugs.
"Says who?"
"Says moi! I drove your ass around all evening, it's hard work being such a badass"
Remus scoffed and flicked on the kettle, after putting two tea bags in the mugs. "We've got... blueberry, chocolate chip or white chocolate chip" Remus called, peering into the tub of muffins.
"All three!"
Remus rolled his eyes but grabbed a plate and chucked all three flavours of muffin onto it.
"Yes! Moony you're my favourite, but don't tell James" Sirius said, grabbing the plate and biting into a muffin.
Remus chuckled and sat on the stool next to Sirius, waiting for the kettle to boil. He let himself look at Sirius, (who was blabbing with his mouth full about god knows what.)
"You're not listening, are you? Sirius deadpanned, looking Remus in the eyes and startling him slightly.
"Um-"
Sirius laughed and put down his muffin, turning his head away and leaning it on the man's shoulder.
"I had fun today with you Moon-baker" Sirius whispered, sending Remus's heart into a frenzy.
"Me too Pad-man" Remus laughed, pushing the padding of his leather jacket.
Sirius let out a giggle and Remus let his head rest atop of Sirius's, he felt his heart fill more and more with adoration for the Londoner. After a moment of comfortable silence, Sirius turned to look Remus in the eye, slowly bringing a hand to his cheek. Remus felt his breath fade as his hazel eyes met Sirius's grey ones, the feeling of the man's calloused hand grazing his stubbly cheek.
He found himself staring at Sirius's lips, the soft inviting nature of them drawing him in. He looked up to find Sirius doing the same, pulling in slightly to close the gap-
That was when Remus heard the jingle of the shop bell, and immediately the two men pulled apart.
"Hey Rem, I'm just here to drop off the freebies for Lil-" Dorcas Meadows called, stopping mid-sentence when her eyes fell on the two men, pulled apart and blushing like schoolboys.
"I'll just- leave this here-" Dorcas squeaked, dumping the plastic bag and scurrying out of the shop.
A pregnant pause started, but it was broken when hazel eyes met grey, and the two broke out in peals of laughter, laughing away any awkward tension.