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For many people in the world, bookstores were a place of comfort and safety to those that sometimes felt overwhelmed and anxious about certain things around them. And Remus Lupin was one of these people, a man who would rather be found surrounded by shelves filled with leather backed volumes than in a raging party that both Sirius and James would try to drag him to.
Remus’ idea of a perfect Sunday was tucking himself away into the second hand bookstore in Diagon Alley, flicking through various novels about far off lands and incredible adventures that made him feel like a kid again; not a man trying to escape the world around him. For a couple hours a week, he could escape all that troubled him, could sit and drink hot chocolates and rest his tired bones, could be at ease and feel safe with his body perched on a comfortable sofa in front of an open fire. But the best thing about his Sunday’s, was seeing you throughout the day, and watching you move throughout the store as you worked, stacking shelves and organising the newest arrivals of novels.
He had grown close to you in a way that was new to him. In truth, he had hardly spoken more than a ‘hello’ and a ‘goodbye’ to you, too shy and awkward to make any real attempt at getting to know you, yet he did always like the feeling of warmth and affection that he got from you, a near total stranger that smiled a bright smile towards him every time you saw him. Remus knew there was absolutely no harm in getting to know you, to have the chance to hear you laugh at one of his clever jokes, to make another friend and have another person to talk to in his dwindling social circle. But he also knew, that he was never going to take that leap of faith until something unexpected happened. Good thing something unexpected was right around the corner.
It was a month after Hope Lupin’s passing when James and Sirius dragged their best friend to the bookstore, their arms slung over Remus’ shoulders as they marched him through the doorway with bright smiles on their faces. In a last ditch attempt to get their mourning companion to think about something other than his passed mother, the two Gryffindor boys decided that the bookstore was their final hope in cheering Remus up again. So when they pulled him reluctantly through the door way and into the small and warm store, they hoped that he would feel some sort of normal peace he normally did when he was here.
Except, much to their dismay, nothing was working during the hour the three men had been there. Remus could hardly concentrate on any book put in front of him, his hot chocolate tasted bitter and the fire was too hot. In all honesty, he just wanted to slunk back home, close his front door on the world and curl up in his bed, even though he knew the waves of grief would once again consume him. And both James and Sirius nearly did let him leave, sighing deeply and nodding their heads in defeat as Remus stood up and started to head to the door, telling them he just wanted to be left alone a little bit longer.
Remus stopped abruptly when the front door opened right before him, with you crashing into him as you stepped inside trying to escape the snow, bodies clashing together and nearly falling down in a jumbled heap of limbs. Without a second thought Remus was grabbing onto your waist gently to steady you as he towered over you with a blush blooming over his cheeks and his gaze drifting down to look at you with concern. You rested your hands on his chest to stop yourself falling over, trying to ignore the warm sensation of your hands touching his body, his breath fanning over your hair as you looked up at the young man with surprise, all the while Sirius and James stood there with their mouths hanging open and eyes wide, gaping like children seeing magic for the first time.
“Merlin, I’m…I’m so sorry Y/N, I should have watched where I was going, I nearly sent you down to the floor because I’m such oaf.” As soon as the shock had sunk in that you were in his arms and sharing the same space as him, Remus started to think of ways to try and save himself from this horribly awkward moment, yet you just smiled up to him, and even leaned into his touch a little more, much to the both of yours surprise.
“Remus, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it, I’m actually quite glad you were there to catch me. Wouldn’t want to go falling onto my face. Definitely not a good look.” You let out a light chuckle at his panicked face as you spoke but smiled more as he slowly but surely smiled back. Neither of you had moved away from each other, and nor did you want to, because to be honest, you were just as infatuated with him as he was with you.
In the two months that he had been missing from the small and quiet bookstore, you had realised over time that you had missed him, had even felt lonely in fact on the Sunday’s where no one visits but him. Soon, there was a tower of books that you had collected to show him, gathering dust while you waited for him to step back through the door way.
Suddenly, you were missing his warm and curious smiles, the one he always gave you whenever he caught your eye, and you yearned to hear his strong laugh that you could hear from the other side of the store. For you, Remus was someone who gave you an incredible feeling of security and solace in a time where the world of magic was destroying itself from the inside and war was raging around you. And after not seeing him for two months, you assumed you would never see him again, and inside you were mourning for the man that made you feel so secure and relaxed in his presence. But here he was again, holding onto your waist with warm hands that shook, trying not to let his sudden nerves shine through.
“I was wondering where you’ve been these last couple months, to be honest my Sunday’s got boring without you here keeping me company.” You didn’t mean to blurt those words out, nor did you mean to shock Remus in the spot where he stood, but your mouth moved faster than your brain, and soon you were standing there in front of him as he tried to understand your words.
“You missed me?” Remus swallowed nervously, hoping he hadn’t misunderstood you. “I mean, I missed coming in here to, and I’ve gotta say, I couldn’t stop thinking of all the books I still need to read.”
“Of course I missed you, Remus, and I can assure you, the books did to. You’re quite possibly the only person who reads most of the things in this shop. Although, I didn’t expect to find you here this morning, especially since it’s Friday.” You looked up at him, watching as he rubbed the back of his neck anxiously and turned your attention to his two friends with the flick of his head.
“Yes, well, my friends here decided that it was time for me to come back. They’ve made it clear that I need to cheer up, and they thought this was the place that would cheer me up the most.” Remus glanced over to James and Sirius, who were watching the both of you with slight apprehension, expecting their best friend to bail from nerves or something else to go wrong. You smiled at them, and offered them your hand as you introduced yourself to them.
“Well boys, have you had any luck cheering our friend up? Or do I need to take these desperate matters into my own hands?” The men laughed lightly, grinning at you as Remus looked fondly between you and his friends, and James nodded his head in response.
“Trust me, this is the happiest he’s looked in months, so I think we’re going to need some expert help if you have the time. Our next option was getting him drunk at the Leaky Cauldron.” You rolled your eyes fondly at James and shook your head in mock sorrow as you walked behind the counter, finally discarding your coat and hat.
“Good thing I have had some spare time lately, because I think I have just the thing to make you, Remus Lupin, feel a little bit better.” You leaned down behind the counter, shifting through various piles of books, sorting through boxes that were nearly stuffed to the brim until you let out a soft cry of triumph, standing up again with a blue book in your hand, one with leather bindings and deep gold markings on it. “Last time you were here, you told me about a book you had been looking for since you were a child, because your mother loved it and it reminded you of her. You said that as you grew up, you wanted to find it more and more because your mother was getting older and she was running out of time, and nearly every night during the summer she would tell you the about the Greek heroes she had learned about in school while you looked up at the constellations in the sky.”
It was slowly dawning on Remus what you were talking about, and suddenly he was wanting to sit down as you showed him an old copy of Homer’s “Odyssey”, a perfect treasure that he had looked for all his life.
“I found it in the back section that hardly anyone looks at. It was covered in dust and the cover was nearly destroyed but I had it repaired so I could give it to you when you came back. I thought…I thought it deserved to go to someone who needed it as much as it needed a good home, and you came to mind first, and your mother.”
Remus hugged you then, nearly crushing you into his body as he pushed his face into the crook of your neck and tried not to cry, tried to hold you without shaking from such sudden emotion that it had him feeling like he was spinning in circles, not able to stop. And even though you were confused and kind of struggling to breathe against the material of his soft and warm sweater, you let him hold you. You ran a hand through his bedraggled hair and whispered words of comfort as he sighed into you, and when he pulled away, you offered him such a warm smile he was nearly swept back into your arms.
“Sorry, Merlin, sorry, I just…didn’t expect that and I totally forgot about the book with everything going on. Godric, Y/N, you sure do know how to make someone feel a bit better again.” He smiled down at you with red eyes, clutching the book tight in his hands as he spoke.
“Hey, it’s okay Remus. I’m glad it made you feel better.” Quickly, you glanced over at Sirus and James who were no longer paying attention to your interactions, and then spoke again. “To be honest, ever since you stepped in here over a year ago, I’ve wanted to make you feel as happy as I could, that’s all I’ve ever wanted to do when I see you.” You uttered the words quietly, so quietly that Remus had to lean in to hear.
“Well, Y/N, I’ve got a secret of my own if you want to hear it.” He waited until you nodded with a shy smile covering your features. “I’ve wanted to kiss you since you first said hello to me and gave me my first hot chocolate.”
“Then now is your chance, kiss me now or forever regret it.” Remus chuckled, but then swooped in, pressing his lips to yours in a gentle and passionate kiss, hand coming up to rest against the back of your head as your fingers clutched the neck of his sweater, pulling him in closer so you wouldn’t miss a moment.
The two of you stood there, in the middle of the small book stores, worries forgotten about for the moment, bodies warm and safe, hearts beating together and worlds suddenly intertwined within each other as you kissed and kissed until your lips were swollen and he was pulling away for air, hardly moving more than an inch away.
“Merlin, why haven’t we done this sooner? I’m an absolute fool for putting this off for so long.” Laughing against his neck, you swept your hand through his hair and closed your eyes as he kissed quietly against your cheek, jaw and the hollow of your neck.
“Don’t think about it, Remus, sometimes unexpected things happen in small bookstores.” He smiled again and then kissed you quick, never wanting to stop feeling his lips against yours, and neither of you could stop smiling afterwards.
The both of you made it through the first war, beside each other the whole time, holding each other as his best friends were murdered, another sent off to prison and the last one revealed as a traitor that never deserved to called a friend. You barely came out with your sanity intact, but somehow, after all the grief, devastation, pain and horror, the two of you still had each other, still had the bookstore to hide away in, and for a small moment in time, you had peace among those shelves, wrapped in each other for comfort and security, promising to love and protect each other for life.