Archive of Our Own ^beta

“You know putting it off won’t change the outcome, right?” Remus pops the tab on a can of knock-off ginger ale and sticks a straw in it before handing it to Lily, who still looks paler than usual, where she sits on a stack of crates in the storeroom.

“For Christ’s sake, will you stop prying for once?” Lily snaps.

Marlene lets out a slow whistle, and Lily softens almost instantly, staring down at the floor. “Sorry, Rem. I just don’t want to deal with this right now. Can we please talk about literally anything else?”

“It’s ok, Lils. Yeah, we can drop it.” Remus pats her hand comfortingly.

“Right. We can talk about Remus’ date tonight instead.”

“Marlene!” Remus whirls around and throws his server book at her. She quickly steps to the side and flips her hair triumphantly as it hits the wall behind her.

“Remus, you have a date?” Lily exclaims, smacking him on the arm. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“We really should get back to work,” he says, ducking toward the door.

“Nice try. The diner is basically empty. We’re talking about this.” Marlene crosses her arm and steps in front of the door to block his path.

“Yes, please, Remus?” Lily pouts. “I need to live vicariously through you. So, who’s the lucky person?”

“It’s not a big deal. It’s just some stupid blind date my neighbor set me up on, but I’m not even sure I’m going—”

“Why wouldn’t you go?” Lily asks.

“I don’t even know why I agreed in the first place. I wasn’t thinking straight.” Remus blows out a frustrated sigh and starts fussing with the extra condiment bottles on a table in the corner. “There’s a reason I don’t date. Dating is unpredictable.”

“And what’s wrong with that?” Marlene asks, hopping up on a stack of crates next to Lily.

“I don’t do unpredictable. I stick to things that are real. Facts, figures, things I can expect. But feelings… they’re one big guessing game.”

“But half the fun is the uncertainty of it all,” Lily counters.

“Not for me!” Remus exclaims, whirling around to look at them. “I mean, this guy is a total stranger. I don’t even know what he looks like. All I know is that his name is Sirius, and that James thinks we would be a good fit. But I barely know James, so how can he be sure of that?”

“Well, that’s the point of a date—to get to know a person,” Marlene points out.

“But what if he talks too fast, or tries to get all in my personal space, or is one of those people that makes jokes with the server and calls them by their first name, or eats the cookie part of the Oreo before the cream—”

“Does anyone actually do that?” Marlene asks.

Lily frowns. “Remus, don’t you think you’re being just a little—”

“I’m not being defensive! I’m being cautious and moderating my expectations. What if he’s some sort of criminal or psychopath who’s escaped from a mental institution?”

“You’re spiraling, babe,” Marlene says bluntly.

Lily gives her a side look and presses on more gently. “What’s really going on? Because, while I can’t say for certain, I’m pretty sure your neighbor wouldn’t set you up with a criminal or mental clinic escapee. So, what is this really about?”

Remus sighs and leans against the table, shoving a hand through his tawny curls. “What if he sees me and he’s disappointed? What if I like him, but he doesn’t like me back? Or—God, even worse—what if I like him and he likes me back? What if it opens up this door that I can’t close, and I end up getting my heart broken? I don’t think I could handle that.”

“Rem…”

He shakes his head and straightens up, turning his attention back to the continent bottles. “It just doesn’t seem worth it.”

“It is, though.” Lily hops off the crates and crosses over to him, reaching up to place a hand on his shoulder. “It’s scary opening yourself up to someone like that, but it’s totally worth it when you find that one person who sets your heart in motion.”

“Lily’s right,” Marlene says. “All the bullshit is worth it in the end.”

“But how can either of you say that?” Remus shakes Lily’s hand off his shoulder and whirls around again, pointing at Lily. “You’re too afraid to take a freaking pregnancy test because that would mean you’re stuck in a toxic marriage to a man you hate—” She reels back, but he ignores it and turns to face Marlene—“And you’re having an affair with our boss that you can’t tell anyone about because she’s engaged—”

“Her fiance is gay. They’re just each other’s beards,” Marlene says, cutting him off.

“Still, you can’t tell anyone, and it’s killing you.” He heaves a frustrated sigh and shoves a hand through his hair again. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it to come out so harsh, but you’re both miserable, so how can you honestly sit there and tell me that relationships are worth it?”

A silence falls over the room until finally, Lily breaks it. “If I promise to face my fears and take the test, will you face yours and go on this date?”

Remus stares at her for a long moment. “Is this really that important to you?”

She gives him a sad but encouraging smile. “If someone as great as you can’t find someone, then what hope do the rest of us have?”

He sighs and looks at Marlene expectantly, but all she gives him is a shrug. “Alright. I’ll go.”

“Lily, can I get two slices of Where There’s a Whisk There’s a Way for table five?” Remus dumps a stack of dishes into the plastic tub under the counter and grabs a towel to dry his hands.

“And a third for table twelve,” Marlene adds as she slides past Remus to dump her dishes as well. The bell above the door dings, and she looks over her shoulder. “Jesus Christ, that is one pretty man.”

Remus shakes his head as he clips his newest orders to the order wheel. “Marls, it’s too early for sacrilege. Also, you’re taken.”

“Even Dorc wouldn’t fault me for saying that that is a fine human specimen that just walked in. Back me up, Lils.”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, sure,” Lily says distractedly before heading off to deliver the slices of pie.

“He can’t be that—” Remus turns around and catches a glimpse of raven black hair before stopping short.

All Remus can see is the back of the man’s head, but he already knows that that man is a fine human specimen, with his piercing silver eyes, gorgeous black hair that falls in waves to his shoulders, cheekbones that could cut glass, a jawline that rivals Henry Cavill’s, and arms that look like they were sculpted from marble. He knows because he had the exact same thought when Sirius walked into the restaurant for their date last night.

“Shit. Shit.” Before he can stop himself, Remus drops to a crouch behind the counter, earning a confused look from Marlene. “No, no, no. Why is he here? And why did he bring James?”

“Wait, Remus, do you know him?” Marlene asks.

“He may or may not be my date from last night,” Remus admits with a groan.

“I thought your date didn’t go well,” Marlene says.

“It didn’t.”

“Well, why is he here?”

“I don’t know!”

“Remus, what are you doing on the floor?” Lily asks as she returns to her spot behind the counter.

“Tall, dark, and handsome over at table two is last night’s dud date,” Marlene explains.

“Really?” Lily says, looking over in Sirius’ direction. “Glasses or man-bun?”

“Man-bun—and stop looking!” Remus hisses.

“He’s really cute,” Lily says before diverting her attention to Remus. “But I thought your date didn’t go well?”

Remus groans and buries his face in his knees.

“I already asked that,” Marlene stage-whispers.

“Alright, I know you didn’t want to talk about it, but what exactly didn’t go well?” Lily asks gently. “Because if he’s here, perhaps it wasn’t as bad as you think.”

“No, it was that bad,” he says with a sigh. “Actually, it was worse. I was already nervous because he made us reservations at this fancy restaurant downtown—like French in the name fancy—so I’m already out of my element. Then, he shows up—because I was twenty minutes early, like an insane person—looking like a freaking Greek god, and I lost all function.

“I’m not even exaggerating. I couldn’t form complete sentences, and I laughed way too loud at all of his jokes. But that’s not even the worst part. Not even fifteen minutes into our date, I somehow managed to spill not only mine but both of our wine glasses all over the table and him.”

“Oh, no, was he mad?” Lily asks.

“No! He totally laughed it off and excused himself to the bathroom to clean up, but I was mortified. All I could think was, ‘why a man this gorgeous with a smile like the sun and a laugh like butter sitting here dealing with this unless there was something deeply wrong with him?’ And I panicked.”

Marlene gasps. “So you left?”

“Remus, that’s so not like you,” Lily scolds.

“Lily’s right. You have to go talk to him.”

“But—”

“No ‘buts,’ Remus John,” Lily says sternly. “Did you stop to think that instead of having something ‘deeply wrong with him,’ he simply likes you?”

“I—Well—”

Without warning, Marlene grabs his elbow and hauls him to his feet. “Go talk to him. Besides, he’s in your section.”

Remus opens his mouth to protest, but Marlene gives him a shove. He trips on a stool, making enough of a commotion that it draws Sirius’ attention. They lock eyes, and Sirius flashes a crooked grin.

Remus takes a deep breath, then, with his server book in hand, does his best to look confident as he walks over to the table. “Hi, welcome to Horace’s Pie Shop. Can I get you any coffee to start?”

“Hey, Remus,” James says, smiling. “Coffee would be great—ouch!”

“And for you?” Remus asks without looking at Sirius.

“I didn’t come here for coffee,” Sirius says.

“Well, we also have tea, orange juice, soda—”

“I don’t want anything to drink.”

“Alright, well, I’ll give you a few minutes to look over a menu while I go get that coffee.” Remus turns to leave, but a hand on his elbow stops him.

“Remus, can we please talk?” Sirius asks, and something in his voice makes Remus finally look up. Sirius looks up at him with earnest eyes and carefully removes his hand.

“Please, can we just forget that last night happened?”

“I only want to apologize. I must have done something to make you want to leave. Maybe I came on too strong. It’s been known to happen.”

Remus gives him a confused. “What?”

“I wanted to impress you, but clearly I just made you uncomfortable, so I’m sor—”

“No,” Remus interrupts, gesturing with his hands, “go back to what you said about doing something to make me leave.”

Sirius furrows his brows. “Well, when I got back from the bathroom, you were gone, so I figured I’d done something to screw up our date.”

“Look, Sirius, I appreciate you coming here, but you didn’t do anything to make me uncomfortable. So you’re off the hook. Now, if you’ll excuse me—”

“Remus, wait. Then if it wasn’t something I did, why did you leave? I thought we were having a good time.”

Remus stops again and turns back around. “Were you on the same date I was? I spilled wine all over you.”

“Which I said wasn’t a big deal. I mean, we were both a little nervous. Things happen.”

“You were nervous?” Remus asks incredulously.

“Well, yeah. I was finally on a date with the cute neighbor I’d been asking Jamie to set me up with.” Sirius smiles softly.

“You asked James to set you up with me?” Remus asks dumbly.

“He didn’t tell you that?” Sirius asks with a laugh. “I sort of badgered him about it for weeks. I can be really stubborn.”

“But, why me?”

Sirius cocks his head. “I don’t understand the question.”

Remus lets out an exasperated sigh. “Sirius, I’m a broke diner waiter. I don’t have a car and spend an exorbitant amount of money to live in a studio apartment the size of a closet simply because it’s walking distance from the diner and the community college—which is necessary because of the whole not having a car thing. I eat ramen for dinner when I don’t work and get a comp meal because I can’t afford proper groceries. And I spend any free moment I have studying my ass off for a degree that’s taking way too long to complete because of the aforementioned poverty.

“I have absolutely nothing going for me. So why would someone like you want to go out with someone like me?”

“Nothing going for you?” Sirius parrots back. “If anything, all of that just proves why you’re a person I’d want to be with. You’re hard working because anyone who works full time and goes to school simultaneously has to be. You use words like ‘exorbitant’ and ‘aforementioned,’ which means you’re smart. You’re kind and generous—”

“You barely know me. You can’t possibly know that,” Remus says, crossing his arms.

Sirius stares at him for a moment, then smiles. “Do you know why Jamie even set us up on a date, to begin with?”

Remus shakes his head.

“I saw you one night while I was over at Jamie’s place for dinner,” Sirius says, still smiling. “You must have been on your way home from work because you still had your apron on and were carrying a takeout bag. Anyway, there was a person on the corner—they had to have been homeless. I was parking my car, but I watched you stop and talk with them for a few minutes before giving them the bag of food, which was clearly your dinner and means even more now that I know you likely had ramen instead of a delicious stack of chocolate chip pancakes. 

“I’d never seen someone act with such kindness to a stranger before. So when I noticed you lived in Jamie’s building, I practically begged him to find out who you were and introduce me. I needed to know this curly-haired man with a heart of gold.”

Remus stares at him for a moment, trying and failing to stifle a smile. “Chocolate chip pancakes?”

Sirius shrugs. “Wild guess. You seem like a chocolate guy.”

“I am,” he admits.

Sirius grins. “So, give me a chance? I really just want to get to know you better, because if I’m honest, I’m pretty sure I already fell half in love with you at that moment, and again when I saw you at dinner.”

“Which, I don’t understand,” Remus says, “because I was a complete and total mess.”

“A completely cute and totally blushy mess,” Sirius says with a hint of fondness.

“Which is kind of his kryptonite,” James adds, reminding Remus that he’s been there the whole time.

“Shut up,” Sirius snaps, but there’s no real venom in it.

“Am I wrong, though?”

Sirius stares at him for a moment, then smiles and turns his attention back to Remus. “No.”

Remus is about to open his mouth to respond when Lily comes up behind him and taps him on the shoulder. “Dorcas wants me to tell you to get back to work,” she says apologetically.

“Right, thanks, Lils.”

She smiles and walks off without giving the table a second glance.

Remus sighs, then smiles. “Alright.”

Sirius perks up. “So you’ll go out with me again?”

Remus nods. “But we’re calling it a do-over because last night was mortifying.”

“Not a chance,” Sirius says with a grin. “We’re calling it a second date because even with a lap full of red wine, that was the best first date I’ve ever been on, and nothing could replace it.”

“You’re absolutely insane,” Remus says, shaking his head.

“About you? Guilty.”

Remus feels his cheeks heat but is saved from having to say anything when Lily shouts for him. “I should go. Can I get you anything while you’re here, though?”

“I already got what I came for, but I wouldn’t say no to a slice of pumpkin pie.” He looks over at James. “And I think Jamie here would probably like to know what the deal with your friend is.”

James jumps and shakes his head as if to clear it. “What?”

Remus follows where James was staring a minute ago to see Lily checking out a customer. “Lily? Oh, she’s—” he frowns —“it’s complicated. I’ll get you that slice of pumpkin pie.”

“Pie?” James perks up. “Make that two, please.”

Remus nods. “You’ve got it.” With one last smile at Sirius, Remus goes to grab their pie and their check, which he tells them they can pay at the front when they’re done.

Since it’s close to noon, he gets lost in a lunch rush, so he takes close to forty-five minutes to get back to Sirius’ table.

“You’re still here.” Lily had told him that they had paid out their check, so he isn’t expecting Sirius to still be there when he gets to the table to clear it.

“We never set a time for tonight,” Sirius says.

“Tonight?” Remus asks.

“Too soon?”

“No! Just—” Remus shakes his head in disbelief, then smiles. “Tonight is perfect. I get off at five, and I guess you know where I live, so….”

“I’ll be in front of your building at six, then,” Sirius says. He stands and drops a few bills on the table to cover a tip. “I should let you get back to work. I’ve distracted you enough for one day.”

“I didn’t end up minding.”

Sirius grins. “I’ll see you at six.”

Remus nods, then smiles to himself as he watches Sirius turn to leave. He gets halfway to the door before Remus calls out, “Sirius, wait!”

Sirius stops and turns back just as Remus reaches him.

Acting on impulse, Remus lifts on his toes and presses a soft kiss to Sirius’ cheek. Remus grins, watching a faint blush creep up his neck. “I’ll see you tonight.”