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“Double shot caramel macchiato for Emmeline!” Remus called as he set the cold drink down on the counter. He’d been working for nine hours straight, but no one was scheduled to replace him for another hour, and he just wished he could go home already, to take his dog Snuffles for a walk. He’d been working since 6 a.m. and it had really worn him out, but he raised a curious eyebrow as he heard the bell over the coffee shop chime, three new faces walking in.
Remus stepped up behind the register, fumbling with the tie on his apron where no one could see because one face, in particular, had caught his eye and he almost felt like he couldn’t breathe. The man in question had to be in his early twenties, which was the same age as Remus, but that was where their similarities came to an end. Where Remus was lanky and awkwardly tall with a long nose and dirty blond hair that he never really knew what to do with, this other man was shorter, with long dark hair that he’d tied into a messy bun, and a sense of confidence about him that made Remus have to clear his throat as he approached the counter.
“Welcome to Moony’s. What would you like?” he asked with a smile, doing his best not to be intimidated by the small wolf tattoo that peeked out from underneath the collar of the other man’s black leather jacket or the multiple piercings that decorated his ears.
The shorter man licked his lips as he looked up at the menu, his friends chatting carelessly behind him. He returned his eyes to Remus and put on the most charming smile he’d ever seen.
“Remus, is it? I’m Sirius,” he said, his voice surprisingly low and sweet for someone who looked like they’d just ridden over on a Harley Davidson after a heavy metal concert. “Hmm, I’ll have a vanilla bean frappe . . . with extra rainbow sprinkles,” he said with a wink, his hands tucked in the pockets of his jacket as Remus, slightly surprised at the order, nodded and punched it into the register. Sirius was also a little surprised because he’d tried to order that drink all over London — it was his favorite — and nowhere ever said yes, so he smiled brightly at Remus, making him blush even more.
“Extra rainbow sprinkles?!” Remus heard from one of Sirius’ friends. “Dory, did you hear that? Sirius has gone soft. Probably sweet on the barista. Maybe we should start calling him Paddington instead of Padfoot,” she snickered to her girlfriend.
“Aw, Mar, stop having him on. It’s not his fault he’s a delicate wittle flower,” Dorcas cooed at Sirius teasingly, causing him to roll his eyes and blush darkly as he turned back to Remus.
“I—I mean, I’ll have a dark roast espresso,” Sirius corrected himself loud enough for Dorcas and Marlene to hear over their giggles. “I’m sorry about them,” he added softly as he paid. Remus nodded with a soft smile and took the rest of their orders before going off to make them, serving up Sirius’ first.
“Dark roast espresso for Sirius!” Remus called, smiling sweetly as Sirius, still embarrassed, came up to get his drink.
“Enjoy, Sirius,” Remus said with a wink as he handed it over and Sirius was glad he was wearing long sleeves so Remus couldn’t see the goosepimples that had popped up all across his arms. He might look a little nerdy, but Remus sure knew how to work a smile, and it made Sirius’ stomach do little flips as Marlene and Dorcas walked past to pick up their own drinks.
“You, too — er, I mean, thank you,” Sirius said awkwardly and cleared his throat as he stepped away, looking down at the warm cup in his hands. Remus had winked at him, and he knew quite well what that meant, not unfamiliar with getting the occasional phone number from people he met anywhere and everywhere. Sirius was just charming like that.
But, much to his disappointment, he didn’t see a number written on the side of his cup, just “Sirius: Dark Roast Esp.” and it made him sigh as he pressed the cup to his lips, figuring he might as well finish the bitter drink since he paid for it. To his surprise, though, the taste that met his lips was soft and sweet and very much vanilla with . . . were those sprinkles on his tongue?
Sirius couldn’t help but turn around and smile gratefully at Remus from across the room before Marlene and Dorcas rejoined him with their own black coffees. He couldn’t help that he liked sweet things every now and then, and it was doubly sweet because Remus had been nice enough to give him what he’d originally wanted without giving him away to his friends. He was so distracted by this stranger’s kindness that he bumped into an empty table as he walked towards the exit, very nearly spilling his drink.
“Ready to go?” Dorcas asked curiously to see if Sirius was okay, noticing he looked flustered. Sirius nodded, letting the girls lead the way out of the shop. He took one last look back at Remus and bit his lip, turning the cup around nervously in his hands as stepped outside, wishing he had some good reason to go back inside.
That reason came to him sooner than he expected, though. As he tilted the cup towards his mouth for another drink, Sirius noticed a number written out on one side of his cup sleeve with a little heart scrawled underneath it, which he’d unknowingly been covering with his hand earlier. He felt his heart do a flip and a wide grin spread across his face as he stopped in his tracks, less than a block away from Moony’s shop.
“Sirius? Y’alright? Marlene asked him with a raised eyebrow as she and Dorcas turned around to see why he’d stopped so suddenly.
“Er, you two go ahead and see the movie without me. I have to thank the barista for how good this coffee is,” he said lamely and turned to race back to the coffee shop.
Remus looked up as soon as he heard the bell over the door jingle again, somehow knowing that Sirius would return.
“Welcome back to Moony’s. Were you happy with your drink?” he asked with a knowing little smile on his face, the blush underneath his freckles making Sirius want to jump across the counter and wrap his arms around him.
“As a matter of fact, I am . . . Say, ya think Moony might like to join me for dinner sometime soon?” Sirius asked cheekily, looking up at Remus with a twinkle in his eye, the vanilla bean frappe still clenched tight in one hand.
“Why I think he’d be honored, Paddington,” Remus replied teasingly, making Sirius roll his eyes and smirked even wider. “In fact, it looks like my replacement just walked in. Give me five minutes to get cleaned up?” Remus asked with a grin.
“Take all the time you need, Moony. I’ll be right here waiting,” Sirius said sweetly as he rested his elbows on the counter staring longingly over the counter. He smiled, pleased with himself as Remus returned a couple of minutes later, an equally dopey look of excitement on the other man’s face.
“You know, I can’t believe you actually made this for me. I’ve been all over the city looking for a drink with rainbow sprinkles, and can you believe none of them have it? Marlene and Dorcas always make fun of me if I order something ‘silly,’ instead of espresso or a black coffee,” Sirius explained, sipping at his drink as they left the shop.
“Yeah? Funny you should mention that. We don’t actually have any drinks on the menu that call for rainbow sprinkles . . . they’re sort of just for me,” Remus admitted and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. “I kind of have a sugar addiction, so sometimes I’ll make myself a hot chocolate with extra whip and just pile the sprinkles on . . . so I don’t think they’re silly at all,” he added, his cheeks the most beautiful shade of pink Sirius had ever seen.
“Is that so? Just for you?” Sirius asked, smirking as he took another sip of his drink, giving himself a slight foam mustache that made Remus laugh.
“Maybe not just for me. I’m willing to share, as long as it’s with the right person,” Remus said sweetly, reaching a hand up to wipe a bit of the foam off Sirius’ lip with the pad of his thumb.
Remus had made Sirius blush more times today than probably everyone in his life combined, and he couldn’t understand what it was about this gorgeous, kind, nerdy man that made him so flustered. But he was perfect, and Sirius could practically feel the hearts growing in his eyes as he smiled up the other man adoringly.
“Well aren’t you sweet?” Sirius grinned, feeling very special indeed as he took Remus by the hand to lead him to a nearby record store, excited and hopeful that he’d be able to share sprinkles and music and kisses and much more with this wonderful man for a long time to come.