Work Text:
Sirius stared down at his Starbucks cup with mild irritation, taking in the tidy scrawl of Sharpie denoting his beverage as belonging to “Serious.” Even though his actual name was on his lanyard, he supposed the tired looking barista didn’t make a habit of perusing his customers for identification when taking down names.
It was his first shift at the Hot Topic in the mall long enough to warrant him taking a break, and he’d thought a nice coffee (or rather, a flat white) from Starbucks would be rather refreshing. Honestly, he’d thought the sight of the cute barista was refreshing at first, until he’d received nothing but a blankly bored stare and a brusque “What can I get started for you,” in response to his enthusiastic greeting, but he supposed he couldn’t expect everything to be going well for him all day. Sirius had received numerous compliments on his outfit and piercings, and his manager Marlene had already declared him her favourite new hire. He decided not to let his name on a cup get him down.
-
The next day, Sirius found the same barista working during his break. There was a line this time, and Sirius took his time to examine the boy. He was young, probably the same age as Sirius, lanky and pale, with light brown hair that fell in short, loose curls around his face. Dark shadows lingered beneath his light eyes, hinting at late nights and early mornings, and a half-hearted smile hung heavy on his pale pink lips. The green apron hugged his slim frame, and he wore a black, long-sleeved shirt underneath it.
When it was Sirius’s turn, he turned on a brilliant smile. “Hey,” he said warmly.
“What can I get started for you?” the barista asked, his tone devoid of anything remotely resembling enthusiasm.
“Grande flat white, please,” said Sirius, his eyes finding the handwritten name tag on his chest reading “Remus” in unembellished script as he handed the boy his card.
“Name?”
Sirius grinned. “It’s Sirius, S-I-R-I–” The boy had already scribbled on the cup and set it down. “U-S,” he finished with a sigh, and stepped aside.
When he got his drink, again, it said “Serious.” With a huff, Sirius returned to work.
-
Sirius thought it was somewhat uncanny that he and Remus seemed to share the same work schedule, as the following day he found himself in the same line at the mall Starbucks, waiting for the boy to take his order and misspell his name again. Today, though, Remus was smiling, and his eyes were bright. Sirius was mildly taken aback when Remus greeted him with a, “Hey, how’re you doing today?”
“Good, hope you are,” he replied with a broad smile.
“What can I get started for you today?”
“Grande flat white, please.”
“And your name?” Remus grinned, cup and marker ready.
Sirius tried a different approach this time, deciding to start by spelling it out. “S-I-R-I-U-S,” he supplied hopefully, swiping his card to pay.
“Should be ready in just a minute,” Remus said, more cheerful than Sirius had ever heard him before, and the sound of his happy voice somehow infused his chest with warmth. When he got his drink, though, he felt a bolt of irritation flash through him, followed by a rush of amusement. It said “(Very) Serious.”
-
He wasn’t sure how, but thoughts of the cute barista infiltrated Sirius’s mind throughout the day, the evening, the night, and the next morning as he was getting dressed, when he put on tight black jeans, a form-fitting white tank top, and a loose black fishnet shirt over top. A swipe of eyeliner, some mousse to give his long black hair some volume, and he was done.
Blessed by unforeseen luck, there was no line at the Starbucks when Sirius took his break, and Remus was leaning against the counter, his gaze fixed intently on a book laying behind the register.
“Hey,” Sirius greeted as he walked up, “You guys look busy.”
Remus smiled slightly, looking up, and Sirius was left a little breathless at the depth of his forest green eyes. “It’s been a surprisingly relaxing day,” he replied, giving Sirius a moment to recover.
“Today’s been pretty slow over at Hot Topic, too.”
A small giggle escaped Remus, but before Sirius could ask what was funny, he asked brightly, “So, what can I get for you today? Grand flat white?”
His cheeks warmed as an involuntary grin swept across his face, pleased for some reason that Remus had remembered his drink order. “Yeah, thanks.”
An enigmatic glint appeared in Remus’s eyes. “And it’s Sirius? Like the star?”
Sirius nodded, trying to keep his breathing under control, painfully aware that the look he was giving Remus was akin to that of a preteen girl meeting her favourite boy band.
Remus’s answering smile was knowing, hovering at the edge of a smirk. “Should be ready in a minute.”
Today, the cup said, “Emo From Hot Topic.”
-
Determined both to get his name correctly on his Starbucks cup and not to make googly eyes at Remus the entire time, Sirius tried a different approach the next day. “Remus,” he said when he got to the front of the line, noticing the flicker of surprise behind the barista’s eyes at the use of his name, and it gave him a small thrill of satisfaction. “You know my drink, you know my name, can’t you please just write my name?”
Remus stared at him for a moment, nonplussed, and then started laughing, the sound sending little shocks of lightning through Sirius’s chest. “I’m surprised you know my name,” he said when his mirth had subsided.
“You’re wearing a nametag,” Sirius pointed out dryly.
“Yes, well, that doesn’t always mean anything.” Remus smiled. “Are you one of those hipsters who gets a Starbucks drink to post on their instagram? Is that why you need your name on it?”
“No… I just… want my name on it.” His voice was petulant, and Remus smirked, rang him up, took his money, and scribbled on his cup.
“Should be ready in just a minute.”
Sirius was somehow simultaneously outraged and objectively appreciative when he picked up the cup reading “Drama Queen.”
-
It went on for weeks, to the point where Sirius actually did start posting them on Instagram, because who wouldn’t appreciate Starbucks cups saying “Happy Goth Kid,” “Death Metal Superfan,” “Seereeus,” “Closet Brony,” “Serious With Two Eyes and a You,” and Sirius’s secret favourite, “Cute But Deadly,” which he’d received after muttering that he’d put a curse on Remus.
He was pleased to see that there was no line at the Starbucks this time, and he flounced over to Remus, who smiled a welcome at him. “What’re you doing after work today?” Sirius asked, after ordering.
Remus cocked his head to the side. “Probably studying.”
Sirius goggled at him. “It’s summer.”
“Yes, but if you don’t study during the summer, you forget it all by fall,” Remus replied reasonably. Sirius shook his head.
“No. I don’t care that you’re right. Just, no.”
Remus’s soft chuckle settled in Sirius’s chest with a pleasing warmth. “Sirius, I know that you and James get good grades without trying, but it’s not like that for the rest of us.”
The comment took a moment to register. “Wait, what? How do you know James?”
It said something about Remus’s character that his expression was patient, rather than resentful. “I’ve had classes with the two of you,” he said gently, and Sirius felt his face heat up. He did have a terrible tendency not to notice anyone in the class he wasn’t into if it wasn’t forced on him. “And pretty much the entire school knows about you and James.”
Sirius rubbed the back of his neck, feeling awkward. “Do they? Ah, well, James and I aren’t together anymore…” He blinked as Remus blanched.
“I, uh, I didn’t realize you were, er, together,” he mumbled, pink blossoming on his cheeks in a way that Sirius found quite distracting.
“I mean, we’re best friends– Sorry, I guess I misinterpreted what you said.” Sirius grinned sheepishly. “We’ve been best friends since we were kids, and we decided to try the boyfriends thing, but it didn’t work out.”
Remus laughed, a hint of nerves at the edges, as he picked up a coffee pot to pour himself a cup. “Yeah. I don’t think the school knows that. I just meant… I thought you were into girls?” The pink was beginning to darken into red.
“Oh, uh, yeah. Both.” He examined Remus as he sipped his coffee (black, Sirius noted, mildly impressed,) trying to decipher the emotions in his deep green eyes. “Well, the reason I asked in the first place… If you didn’t have any plans, I was wondering if you’d want to go on a date with me?”
Remus choked on his coffee, splashing half of it over his apron in surprise. “A date?” he spluttered, “with you?” Sirius nodded hesitantly, suddenly nervous. “I… Why?” But his tone wasn’t disgusted or offended; Remus sounded genuinely bewildered.
“You’re cute. I like talking to you.” Sirius shrugged and offered a roguish wink. “I’d like to see what you look like out of that apron.” He was delighted to see Remus turn a delightful shade of scarlet.
“I get off at 6:30… I might want to change clothes first, though.” He gestured at the coffee soaking into his clothes.
Sirius grinned. “I could grab you some clothes from Hot Topic,” he suggested. Remus snorted.
“It’s fine. I’ll just run home and change. I live in the apartments just down the road.”
“Meet me back here at 7? Or would you like me to pick you up?” Sirius leaned his elbows on the counter, looking up at Remus through his long lashes with a coy smile.
Remus’s hand twitched, as if wanting to reach out, but he folded his arms instead. “7 sounds good,” he said, still sounding a little perplexed, as though he hadn’t quite processed it yet. “I’ll see you at 7.”