Once again, Remus alarm blared. He really needed to change that to something that was a little nicer to wake up to than a continuous blaring, beeping noise. It served its purpose though, not once had it failed to wake Remus up and he was more than glad for that. Being late put him in a state of distress that almost nothing else did, well, you know, except for the random anxiety, but that wasn't something he could remedy with a louder alarm, or being prepared half and hour earlier.

Struggling somewhat to get his limbs out of the tangled mess of sheets and blankets, he contemplated what it would be like to not make his bed for once. A thought that was promptly followed by a shudder and a renewed effort to get up and make the bed. The rest of his room might not have been the most tidy thing ever, but he had decided that as long as he could walk around and find close to everything, then it was fine. But his bed, his bed was one thing that he just couldn't have be a mess, no, no, absolutely not. And in moments, it was made to perfection, his clothes picked up off the floor and he was on his way to a shower.

It was easy to fall back into his routine. It was easy to make sure that everything glided along as smoothly as possible. It was easy to just let his body take over and lead him through the motions of the morning. It was easy, it was easy to not think, to just let it go and follow. But what wasn't easy, was to remind himself that the ease — which it was — wasn't just him dissociating. He knew, he knew that it wasn't, and he knew that it made things easier when he was dissociating, but still, he found himself stopping and taking a minute to breathe. Just breathe. Just breathe. Just breathe. That was all he had to do, just for a moment, just breathe. "You're here," he whispered, running his hands across the counter.

"You're here," he whispered, feeling the knitted fabric of his jumper.

"You're here," he whispered, reaching out for the chair.

And he was okay. He was here and okay.

It only took minutes, but still, he wished that he didn't have to do it. It wasn't every morning, and for that, he was glad. But it was often, and he wished that it wasn't. It was okay though, it was okay, he told himself. It was just something he'd have to work on when he had the time. When things settled down, when he worked out how to balance the bakery a little more, when he worked out how to manage the pain a little better, then he could take the time and work out what he was going to do with this damned anxiety, but for now he'd just have to remember to breathe. Just remember to breathe. That was all, that was all.

And once again, he was out the door and walking to the bus stop in time to be there for ten to four. And once again, he knew that there was no chance of the bus getting there on time, but that was alright. It was all alright. It would be a quiet morning and he could get to work with no distractions, only the bakery and the lists of what to make. Maybe this time it would go a little smoother, and while he didn't have any massive orders like last time, there was always plenty to do.

The bus came and he walked on, exchanging his regular smile with the tea lady in front of him. She was holding her purple keep cup again and Remus wondered what she'd do if he asked what was in it. Probably look at him as if had gone insane. Truly though, if Remus ever did that, it couldn't be far from the truth. Little more than smiles were ever given from him on public transport. Other than "good morning" "thank you," "sorry" and the occasional "excuse me, sorry", he tried to limit his talking as much as possible. So yes, he probably had gone mad if he ever asked Tea Lady what was in her cup.

Ten steps away from the bakery and it didn't look as if anyone was in there, much to Remus's relief. Not that he didn't love having people open with him, but no one had planned to come in and he really didn't feel like dealing with another day like Tuesday in the same week. As he stepped to unlock the door, he was greeted with the most unexpected turn of events he possibly could have thought of. Well, maybe he wouldn't go so far as to say that, but it was fairly close.

There was no mess, but there were three parcels sitting at the door. But what was more concerning, and possibly less intriguing, was the fact that Sirius was standing there. Leaning ever so casually against the door, cigarette in hand, in all his glory, Sirius was standing in the doorway of the bakery. A few seconds of simply staring between the man and the parcels passed before Remus just shook his head and pushed past both things with a muttered sorry, and unlocked the door. Quickly he reached down to pick up the packages before holding the door open for Sirius, a sharp movement of the head making it known that he should come in. He was eyeing the cigarette in Sirius's hand, but whether it was because he wanted one of his own or for Sirius to put his out, he didn't quite know.

"Come for the food?" he asked, looking curiously at the rather bright, rather sparkly, very yellow feather boa that Sirius had wrapped around his neck.

"Only for you, Remus dearest," Sirius replied, smirking all the while.

"Still not found a place to stay?"

"Oh no, that's taken care of. Don't you worry your beanie clad head about that."

"What are you here for, then?" Remus asked, rolling his eyes at the man, really not sure if he should be as amused as he was. He barely knew anything about this man, and yet he seemed to be seeing and awful lot of him recently.

"Well, you seemed to be in a bit of a state yesterd—"

"Oh lord no, come on Sirius."

"Come on Sirius? Darling, just wait 'til I finish, alright?"
"Alright, sorry," he apologised, he was genuinely sorry, but if Sirius was turning up at the bakery at 4:30 in the morning just because Remus had been "in a state" yesterday, then this was going too far.

"Of course you're sorry. Anyway, Dorcas messaged me. She was wondering what my plans were for today, and if I still needed a job for a while or not."

"Did she now? And what how did you end up here then?"

"You seem like a smart lad, Remus."

"I'm always quick to decline that, so why don't you continue?" still far too amused, but now curious, he'd known that Sirius needed a job. He'd even considered asking him if he wanted to work at the bakery, but he didn't really look as if he were someone with a whole lot of experience on the baking side of things, or really, on the whole working side of things.

"I told her I had nothing planned, and no, not desperately at least. I've found a job at a local bookstore starting next week. I'm pretty sure they were just so desperate that they didn't care that I've pitifully never worked properly before. And so she asked if perhaps I could come here because you'd be all alone until about 8:00. To which I replied with, "of course!" Can't have you alone here for three and a half hours, can I?"

"Oh you definitely could have. I would not have minded one bit."

"Well, too bad."

"I can see that."

Rapidly this morning was going further and further down a path that Remus didn't know what to do with. At least when it was everyone else here early, making a mess, he knew them, but really he didn't know anything about Sirius. He didn't even know the other man's surname.

"Well, come on then. If you're going to stay, do you know how to bake?" Remus asked, eyebrows raised, hoping the answer was yes, fully expected a no.

"To some extent, yes," Sirius replied, absentmindedly playing with the ends of the boa.

"You do? Anything in particular?" Remus was a little shocked, Sirius couldn't have been much older than him and unless he was incredibly wrong, he didn't really look like someone who had been required to learn how to cook from a young age, maybe his parents were actually invested in teaching him the essentials to survive, but somehow, Remus had noticed that there were a lot of parents who didn't think to teach their children how to cook, let alone bake. And often, people wouldn't think of boys learning how, not when they had mothers around.

"French?"

"French? You know how to bake French pastries? Or French food?"

"Both, I suppose. Not as good as you, but I know enough that I'd be quick to learn," Sirius replied, seemingly certain in his ability to learn.
"Right, well, right —" Remus clasped and unclasped his hands a few times, momentarily unsure how to continue from there, " —well, that's great. You can definitely help then."

"I'm glad."

Still in shock, but glad nonetheless, Remus unlocked and opened the doors to the kitchen, turning on the lights as he walked inside. The benches were clean, as were all the utensils and trays. Everything ready for another morning of work, one that had admittedly been put behind a little by the arrival of Sirius, but really, nothing had changed. Everything was ready to go. There was batter that had been refrigerated and there was pastry in the freezer, ready to take out and thaw for them to bake the pastries fresh. It was a way of keeping the bakery that Remus had had to search for, and it had taken some time to work out how to make sure everything was baked fresh without them all being there all night every night. Luckily, they'd worked it out after countless meetings and now although they were still there early, they got some sleep at least.

"Don't you need more people working here?" Sirius asked, watching as Remus began bringing bowls and trays and all sorts of containers out of the fridges and freezers, followed by fruits, flours, eggs, and all sorts of other things.

"Not really. Sometimes I think it might be easier, but then again we all know how each person works and so there's little to no drama about who's doing what, or who needs what space and what days off," Remus replied, leaning back against the wall, smiling over at Sirius, who despite his certainty that he could learn, looked very out of place in all his leather and feathers.

"I suppose that makes sense. Do you bake everything fresh each day?"

"Pretty much. We prepare the batter, dough and pastry sheets beforehand, but everything is baked fresh. Leftover food is either taken home or we give it to homeless shelters. Sometimes we'll take it 'round the parks and the stations and give it out," Remus explained, taking off his many extra layers, the bakery got warm very quickly when the ovens were in use.

"That's pretty amazing. And you're here everyday from crazy hours to crazy hours?"

"No, not at all really. We close at 4:00, I generally get here at 4:30 in the morning. It's not even twelve hours. I've heard of people working eighteen hour days at their bakeries. I mean, I probably would, but I think James might murder me if I tried."

"Fuck, Remus, I'd help him."
"I'm sure he'd appreciate that," Remus replied, smiling at Sirius. James would be happy to know that someone else thought the same of such a long day. He'd mentioned it in passing to Dorcas, who'd said maybe once in awhile it could be alright, Peter had only laughed, Remus hadn't known quite how to respond to that.

Minutes passed in silence, Remus cutting and slicing fruit, chopping and dicing vegetables. When people thought of bakeries, they thought sweet, and for the most part they were right, but The Marauders, or rather everyone who worked there, but Peter, had decided that they needed savoury as well. So just on the other side of the counter, there was a smaller glass case, identical to the one on the other side in all but size, filled with savoury pastries, pies and sandwiches. It was a good decision for the most part, but Remus knew that Peter always smiled that little bit more when every fortnight, they checked the sales and saw that sweet sold better than savoury, even if only by a little.

"So, do you want help?" Sirius asked, sounding more hesitant than Remus had heard since Tuesday morning when he had snapped.

"I'm so sorry for just leaving you in silence. I didn't, um, forget you were there I just, uh, I just got caught up in the work I guess. Sorry, sorry."

"It's okay. Is there anything I can help with though?"

"Uh, yeah, sure. You'll need…" he drifted off, looking at Sirius's current attire, feather boa and all. "You'll need to take the boa off, and your jacket too, we've got aprons. Roll your sleeves up, wash your hands. You'll need to tie your hair back as well. There should be spare hair ties underneath the sink, Dorcas won't mind."

"You mean you don't want yellow feathers in everything? Don't worry, they're fake. Also, I'm not touching meat, just so you know."

"It could be a new special, you think? Meat? What meat would we have? Did you read the signs out the front? It's all vegetarian here, James has been vegetarian all his life with his parents being very religious Hindus. But I've been a vegetarian since I was a teenager, and Dorcas's girlfriend is vegan. So we offer a large amount of vegan and gluten free options as well."

"Oh, that's great! No, I didn't read any signs, not even the day I came in during actual hours. Nice to meet fellow vegetarians though."

"Well, you should learn something about the actual bakery then. Not from me though. I've got work to do. And you say you can bake French. Have you made croissants before?"

"Not from you? That's unfortunate."
"I'm sure," Remus replied dryly. "If you haven't made croissants, you can start on baking some muffins and cupcakes, but I thought you might like something a little more interesting.

"I've made croissants. Chocolate ones too," Sirius confirmed, grinning over at Remus as he washed his hands.

"Great. Well, you can make both then. You'll need about twenty of each, but you'll need to put them in the oven separately, because although there are four ovens, there's a lot to bake. The pastry here, next to me. This is Dorcas's bench, I think she'll mind the least if you mess it up a little."

"Alright. Sounds good."

The time passed in companionable silence, or at least for the most part. Every so often one of them would make a comment over something. Usually they'd laugh, though sometimes it prompted a conversation. That was how Remus found out that Sirius spoke French as well as baked it, and that he painted. He also found out that Sirius had a different laugh when he laughed at something he wasn't expecting to. He also seemed to be particularly adept at multitasking, talking fluently to Remus all the while he was rolling and folding croissants. In a similar way, Remus supposed Sirius now knew more about him. He knew that Remus had always wanted to learn another language, but instead settled with studying English lit, and that he sketched, rather than wrote, though perhaps he'd like to write as well. Nothing very important, nothing major was shared, but it was nice all the same.

"I knew you'd answer me when I offered you something boring instead," Remus said, once the last of the danishes and donuts were made, smirking slightly.

"I don't think that's fair. Look, I'm not making croissants now," Sirius protested, motioning toward the pies that he was currently filling.

"That's true, but I also see that you conveniently waited until I'd filled the muffin and cupcake tins. Though we won't put the muffins in yet, the cupcakes are practically done," Remus retorted, laughing a little.

"No, no, I was paying very careful attention so I wouldn't mess up the croissants," Sirius replied, but he was grinning now too.

"Uh huh, I'm sure, I'm sure."

"Be quiet, you."

—

It was almost 8:00 and Remus was surprisingly pleased with how everything had gone. Biscuits and bread were already out in the bakery. Pastries and cakes would come next, followed by the savoury stuff and then finally the cheesecakes that were luckily able to stay in the fridge for a day, because it meant that they were made by Dorcas rather than Remus, and while he was good with pastries, well, they'd all decided it was best to leave the cheesecakes up to her.

"Ready to bring your prized croissants out then?"

"Sure am."

"That was the least posh thing I've heard you say. But go on then, I'll follow with the cupcakes that you neglected."

"Hey!"

"Just get on with it," Remus laughed, shaking his head at the man who'd sure enough turned around to stick his tongue out at Remus and almost run into the door.

"Don't crush those croissants!"

"Yes, sir!" Was the all too sarcastic reply that followed.

It had been good, working with Sirius. He wasn't quite as delicate with the pastries as Remus would have liked, but he made a fair croissant and he could certainly fill pies and pasties. And he whipped up sandwiches neatly and quickly. Remus had almost taught him how to make Choux à la Crème, and that in itself was a surprise. Remus didn't often make them, but he tried to have a two different things rotating each week. So this week he'd had them for half and mixed berry scones for the other half, of course they regularly had scones, but more often they were plain rather than fruit filled. But even if you didn't add into account the Choux à la Crème, Sirius had still been helpful, and he'd still been nice to spend time with. He found himself almost wishing that Sirius had needed a job, as they walked in and out of the kitchen, setting everything up, making everything sit perfectly for the day to come.

"Thank you for helping, Sirius," Remus said once they'd both set everything out and Remus had opened the curtains. Everything ready for another day.

"No problem, Remus. It was fun," Sirius replied, grinning at Remus from his position leaning against the kitchen door.

"Really though, thank you. I don't know if Dorcas said anything about paying you? But you just worked basically an entire shift. So, if you hold on a minute, I can get you some money."

"Remus, it's all good, I don't need it. I honestly don't. I know you're going to protest, but you should know that my uncle recently left me some money, more than some, a large sum, one could even say. So it's fine. I just wanted a job so I could have a steady income of sorts. And I'm sure you've worked it out, I don't really like planning things, so I haven't worked out where I want to rent or buy or anything which is why I'm with my cousin at the moment."

"Sirius, it's not fair if you don't get paid, you just did a whole heap of work."

"You can't afford any more employees, can you?" Sirius asked, twisting his hands around his hair.

"Sirius," Remus warned. He hated the subject of money, he always had. His parents had struggled with it, which meant that Remus with all his illnesses and then them finding out just how not-straight he was, only made things more difficult.

"Keep your money, I'll take some food instead, alright? One of your famed danishes, Kingsley seems fond of them, we went to school together, he always seemed to be clever."

"He's in school to be a lawyer, so I'd assume so," Remus replied, his voice still more guarded than usual, he wasn't angry, but he wished that it could be an easier topic for him, and for the bakery. It didn't help that clearly Sirius had come from a well-off family, probably one like James's.

"Well, I'll take one of those when I leave, alright?"

"Fine. But you'll take two, or I'm paying you."

"Deal."

—

"Hello Remus! Sirius! Has anyone been in yet? I wouldn't be surprised, it's freezing out there, as in, actually freezing. It's zero degrees," Dorcas announced as she walked in, already stripping off her scarf and gloves, heading towards the kitchen.

"Hey Dorcas, I hope we do get some customers soon. We even had the help of Sirius today, which I've been told you were involved with?"
"Uh, yes, yes , I suppose I was a little involved."

"A little! You asked me!" Sirius exclaimed, looking accusingly at Dorcas, "she asked me," he repeated, looking towards Remus.

"Well, you were quick to jump to it, weren't you? But yes, I asked you, so no need to look at me as if I've betrayed you," Dorcas replied, eyebrows raised as she pushed open the kitchen doors.

Remus and Sirius only watched the kitchen door as she disappeared, not entirely certain on what to do.

"Dorcas! She did come in here, didn't she?"

"Marlene? Why are you here? Why didn't you come in with Dorcas?" Remus asked, looking between the blonde girl and the kitchen before putting his head in his hands which was met with a laugh from both Marlene and Sirius.

"She sped off without me, I think she was a little cold. But hello Remus, how are you?" she asked as she walked over and wrapped her arms around Remus, pulling him in for a tight hug.

"Oh, you must be Sirius, yes?"

"Indeed. And you are Dorcas's girlfriend."

"Indeed," she laughed, leaning over to hug Sirius as well.

"Why did you come in though?" Remus asked, curiosity still burning in his mind.

"Oh, didn't Dorcas tell you? We went out together this morning and so I decided I'd drop her off before going into work," she replied, looking fondly over at the kitchen, as if she could somehow see Dorcas through it.

"She did tell me, sorry I forgot. Do you want anything before you go?"

"I'll grab a muffin and then I'll find Dorcas before leaving, thanks Remus," she replied, fishing a handful of coins out of her coat pocket. "£2.30, right?"

"Yeah. Thanks," Remus replied, placing the muffin in a paper bag and holding it out to Marlene, accepting the money with a smile.

"No problem. Well, I'll just find Dorcas, then I'll be off. See you."
"Bye Marl."

"See you Marlene, it was good to meet you!" Sirius called out, grinning at the other girl's wave.

It wasn't long before customers started to flow in, in fact, Marlene hadn't even left before the first came. Soon enough, Remus had whisked Sirius back into the kitchen and was handling orders as quickly as he possibly could. Making coffees quick, but precise, attempting to imitate Peter's perfect skill. He was certain that he hadn't done it as well, but hopefully it would be up to some sort of standard at least. Pastries were being bought quickly, along with warm drinks. Some people stayed and sat at one of the tables, talking quietly with their partner or friend, some people left, smiles on their lips that didn't always meet their eyes, stuffing pastries into bags roughly enough that Remus winced, but clutching their morning coffee so carefully that Remus almost forgave them. Few children came in, those who did were in uniforms either looking bright and ready for the morning, backpacks larger than them, coats almost longer or they looked tired as if they'd do anything not to go, bags under their eyes, shoulders slumped forwards and a visible fidgeting that children never should have to deal with. Teenagers came in occasionally, some laughing loudly with friends, almost making Remus flinch away with their brash voices and careless gestures, who knew what they were thinking, a previously quiet bakery with a man at the counter who was both nervous and heavily scarred. Some of the teens that came in were fine though, they came with quieter groups of friends, or sometimes they came alone, they smiled and said thank you, some slipping the money on the counter with ease, others fumbling and shaking as they handed it over.

Mornings were a busy time and Remus never quite knew what to expect. Some mornings, things would be quiet and The Marauders would only get customers that were regulars, other mornings, mornings like this one, things were packed. There were so many people that Remus was in a giddy thrill with it all, or at least, he called it a thrill, hoping that it didn't turn to panic. He liked it when it was quiet and the atmosphere was there, when he could play music and he could pop into the kitchen every so often. Marlene had left now, but Dorcas was at the coffee machine and he was serving the pastries, or putting them in bags for people to take away. For these first few hours there wasn't enough time to even think about baking more.

—

It was getting later, perhaps about 1:30, late enough that things were calm, yet not late enough that everyone was rushing here after school, or before the school pickup. Lunch wasn't a particularly busy time, just busy enough that it was important to have everything stocked. A few people came for lunch, more came to buy things for the afternoon. Of course there were the occasional kids who probably skipped school and decided they wanted to come in, but then again, maybe they were allowed to. James never had been a good influence, so more often than not, it would be them that had skipped school just for food, or for something equally ridiculous. It was around this time when the most crying customers usually came in, Remus supposed that it was because things were quiet around here at the time, a bakery with nice music and good food, that sounded like a safe place, right?

James had arrive hours ago, and Sirius had left shortly after. Remus was in the kitchen now, preparing a set of pastries for an order that he'd give to Dorcas to take with her, since Marlene was able to pick her up and it was on their way anyway. James was out in the shop, probably accidentally flirting with all the customers, women and men alike, except no one but Remus and Dorcas knew that the only person he'd ever really wanted to flirt with was Lily. James probably would have been horrified if he knew what the other customers thought, what a few of them had come up to Remus to tell him about James. Remus had thought that possibly it would be better to keep that quiet. He could only imagine what it'd be like if Sirius did work there. He'd already seen at least five people watching him as he walked in from the kitchen to come to talk to Remus, Remus had of course, quickly answered his question before sending him back to the kitchen or out he door with a hurried, "sorry, sorry, I'm so, so sorry." To be honest, Remus didn't know why Sirius had stayed so long, he'd expected him to leave as soon as Dorcas arrived, or at least much before 11:00 which is when Sirius did leave. Remus still maintained his initial analysis, it was nice working with Sirius, it was really, really easy actually, and that was surprising. That was the reason that Remus couldn't seem to get the morning out of his head, it wasn't because Sirius had forgotten his yellow boa and Remus remembered in far too much detail exactly where it draped across his shoulders, no, it was definitely because them working together was smoother than Remus had anticipated. That was all.

—

"Hallo Remus, what are you doing this afternoon?" Lily asked as she waltzed into the shop, clearly looking for James.

"He's in the kitchen, cleaning up some spilt batter. Dorcas has already gone. I'm just cleaning up here because we just closed," he replied, bringing his hand up as a half wave, half salute as greeting, "Obviously," he added, realising that of course Lily knew what time they closed, she'd been dating James for the better part of the bakery being open. And it really was the best part because before she'd said yes, there'd been many tears on James's part about "maybe I've ruined my chances forever, Rem. What will I do then? What will I do then?" And Remus was rather glad that the two of them had sorted things out.

"Obviously. But what are you doing this afternoon, Rem?"

"Coursework, I would say. Hopefully I can do all the stuff that I'd normally do on the weekend today so I'm not in such a rush to get home on Saturday," he replied, smiling at the woman, she'd always been so kind, she really had.

"Your man's coming, isn't he? Tomorrow night?"

"My man?"
"Sirius?"

"Lily!"

"What?"

"He's not mine. Alright?" he managed to say, though his tone was a little harsher than he meant it to be, it was just a surprise, it was just a surprise, "Sorry. He's not my anything though. But yes, Sirius is coming."

"I'm glad, he'll be right fun to have, I'm sure."
"Oh, I'm sure he will be," Remus confirmed, half afraid of what havoc Sirius was going to bring and he was just glad that it wasn't going to be at his house.

"Mhm. Well, I think you should go home now, I'll help James with the rest, you look exhausted."

"I'm not ex—"

"Remus, it's all done in there. Ready to go? And take this, this feathery thing with you. I assume it's Sirius's?" James said from the doorway of the kitchen.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Yes, it's Sirius's, yes, I'll take it home. See you tomorrow, guys," he replied, taking the boa from James and waving a goodbye to the two of them. It was only a bus trip and some coursework to do before he could relax. That was alright. It had been an alright day. No, it had been a good day, the pain wasn't too bad, he'd managed not to take any painkillers. That was a start. It was all a start.