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The bell jingled above the door signaling someone had entered the shop causing Remus to sit up straighter on his stool behind the counter. When Remus looked up he saw a man, no younger than him, who carried himself with confidence. He looked at Remus with a half smile on his face and walked down the aisle that was filled with all types of roses. Remus mused to himself that the man must have been shopping for a special someone.
Looking back down at the magazine he was reading, Remus amused himself with faceless images of someone of his own that would give him flowers and sighed. He shook the image out of his head when the man finally came up to the counter with a handful of red roses.
“Would you like this to be made into a bouquet?” Remus made his voice the most professional he could.
“Yeah, that would be great. Can I get one of those silver ribbons to go on it?” The man seemed to be buzzing with nervous energy every time his eyes fell on the flowers.
“Of course.” Remus wrapped the ribbon around the bouquet with a nice little bow perfectly after having done this for so long.
“Excuse me. Is your name Remus? Remus Lupin?” The man spoke with a curious tilt in his voice. Remus looked at him with surprise on his face.
“Yes, I am. Do we know each other?” He questioned the young man politely.
“Actually, no. I’m James. You know my best friend though. Sirius Black?” Remus came to a sudden halt and just looked at the other boy in surprise.
“Oh, yes. How is he?” Remus knew he sounded stilted but he was so uncertain in the moment. He tried to keep himself together. He hadn’t heard anything from Sirius in years. There was a time when hearing his name would have brought a huge grin to his face but now all it did was cause a hollow ache in his chest. Taking a deep breath Remus looked James in the eye with a wry smile.
“I know we’ve never met but I recognized you from a picture. I wasn’t too sure if it was actually you.” James looked a little uncomfortable now that he knew he was right. After James looked at his phone he started to rush and gave the money for the bouquet to Remus. “It was great meeting you. Thanks for the roses. You have a nice shop here.”
“No problem. Thank you. It was nice to meet you too.” Remus smiled at James with uncertainty. James hastily walked out the door into the evening air leaving Remus to think about a past he would really like to forget.
Sirius Black. His best friend. The boy who made him fall in love and left town before he even got a chance to tell him. He walked out the door one night and never came back. That night is forever etched in his mind. Sirius had come over that evening from his family home with a grimace on his face. They spent the evening watching some stupid movie. Remus knew something had happened with his family and that was always a sore subject so he just tried his best to cheer him up. If he had known that was the last time he would have seen him he would have done so much different. That night Sirius looked at Remus differently. Or so he thought. He remembers the grin on Sirius’ face while he laid in Remus’ lap throwing popcorn at him. When the night ended he watched Sirius leave with the biggest smile on his face but then as he crossed the threshold he remembers Sirius looking back at him with sad eyes that didn’t seem to match his grin. Why didn’t he stop him right there?
That Monday at school was even more confusing because Sirius wasn’t even there. He saw his friends but never saw him. Soon he found out Sirius moved. It spread like wildfire through the school that Sirius had to be sent off to a boarding school. After this revelation Remus holed up in his room and didn’t leave his bed for days. He checked his phone constantly hoping that Sirius would have messaged him saying it was just a prank. Every time Remus tried texting or calling him it said the phone was disconnected and the messages wouldn’t go through. Why didn’t Sirius tell him? He thought they were best friends.
So Remus did what he did best. He bottled up every feeling he ever had for Sirius and pushed it deep down where he would never go again.
Coming out of his trance Remus noticed he had tears on his cheeks. He went to flip the sign to signal another day's end
Seeing James was obviously a fluke and there was no reason to dwell on the past. Walking toward the back to the door to his loft upstairs he ended his evening. He decided his bed looked good right about now.
A week later found Remus potting some pansies when the bell above the door rang. “Be with you in a moment.” Remus stood up wiping his hands on his apron and walked toward the front counter and stalled at the end of the aisle when he saw who stood before the counter.
“Remus?” Sirius fucking Black stood before him wearing a leather jacket and ripped skinny jeans that had holes in the knees. He had a tattoo peeking out the collar of his shirt that Remus couldn’t really make out. His hair was shoulder length and hung in waves framing his face. His eyes were a piercing grey. Remus couldn’t believe his luck lately. He didn’t know whether to cry or smile now that he had seen Sirius after so long. He still looked so beautiful. Then Remus remembered the pain and took a breath stiffening his posture. “What can I do for you?” He turned on his professional mode so quick and Sirius looked at him with a wince.
“I..James said he saw you working here. Thought I would pop in and say hi and I needed to pick up some flowers too.” Sirius explained slowly like he wasn’t really sure what was happening.
“Yes. I saw him about a week ago here getting roses. Do you know what flowers you want to get?” Remus asked him politely.
“Yeah, I need to get some tulips.” Sirius rubbed the back of his neck and shifted his weight from one side to the other.
“The tulips on the aisle 5. Do you need help finding a specific kind?” Sirius shook his head with a look on his face Remus couldn’t decipher and walked away to get the flowers.
Remus soon felt himself begin to panic knowing Sirius was here. What was even doing here? Who was he buying flowers for? Should he ask him how he is? The questions in his head wouldn’t stop. Hearing footsteps moving through the aisle he knew Sirius was coming toward him. Sirius came around the corner and Remus saw him clutching a handful of red, orange, yellow, and purple tulips. Remus thought about what each color meant and realized Sirius must be getting these for someone. It felt like his heart had fallen into his stomach.
“Would you like me to wrap those as a bouquet?” He asked Sirius with a soft smile trying to appear unbothered by the thought of someone other than him receiving these tulips. Sirius handed them over to him and their fingers brushed sending a tingle down his arm.
“So how have you been?” Remus decided this was a chance to catch up with the one person that he always loved. Even if he was with someone else Sirius was once his best friend and he couldn’t let him leave without a chance to speak to him.
“Pretty good. I just moved back to town. So you own this place now? Look at you, selling exotic flowers.” Sirius smiled at him with bright eyes that seemed to sparkle in the fluorescent light of the shop. “I do. I bought it a few years ago. It’s great to see you.”
Both he and Sirius jumped when a phone rang in the quiet of the shop. Sirius looked down at his phone and sighed. “Well, I got to get these flowers to James or he is going to go crazy.” Sirius laughed slightly but stared straight into Remus' eyes. “It was good seeing you after so long. I hope to do it again and catch up sometime.” Remus smiled widely but he was sure it didn’t reach his eyes. “Of course. That sounds fun.” Sirius turned around and walked out the door and Remus’ eyes filled with tears of sadness and frustration.
Walking over to the door after collecting himself, he turned the sign to closed while locking the door and left for his loft. Seeing Sirius had taken a lot out of him and it was even worse knowing Sirius had bought the flowers for James. It had been years but seeing Sirius stirred up these old feelings he had kept inside for so long.
“James, hurry up. Where is Regulus at?” Sirius yelled throughout the flat standing at the door ready to leave.
“Calm down, Sirius. We have plenty of time and he is going to meet up with us at the café.” James walked down the hallway toward the door where Sirius stood with his arm crossed. “Ready?” Sirius rolled his eyes at James’ question. “I have been ready for ages. Who knew you and my brother getting engaged would make you the slow one now between us.”
“Oh shut up. We both know the only reason you are ready to go is because Remus’ shop is right across from the cafe.” James picked at Sirius with a smirk. “That’s not true.” Sirius grumbled while walking down the sidewalk.
When they arrived Regulus was already there and he was smiling at James and Sirius. It made him so happy that his brother and his now fiancé were such great friends. He couldn’t imagine his life any other way. James hugged him while Sirius seemed to be looking across the street at the florist shop. “Is there a reason Sirius is longingly staring at a bunch of flowers?” Sirius turned away quickly with a blush on his cheeks.
“Remus owns that shop.” James whispered loudly in Regulus’ ear.
“Shut up, James.” Sirius punched James in the arm. “Okay, maybe you should just ask him out if you like him so much.” James rubbed his arm while Sirius gave him a pained look.
“We were best friends. He probably doesn’t even like me like that. That was so long ago. He probably thinks I abandoned him. After the way I left with no communication. She made me leave and I was unable to contact him.” Sirius sighed and looked over at the shop wondering what Remus was doing right now.
“Just tell him. I’m sure he would understand. Maybe this is your chance to do what you never had the guts to do when you were younger. Ask him out. I think he would say yes.” James patted his shoulder lightly.
“Do it, Sirius. You never know unless you try and if anything you could still stay friends.” Regulus was looking at him and squeezed James’ hand lightly. Sirius swallowed and took a deep breath. Rising from his chair he walked halfway toward the door while James and Regulus watched.
“Fine. When this turns out to be the opposite of what you think I will blame both of you.” Sirius turned and walked out the door.
Walking across the street he made his way to the florist shop door. He looked at his reflection in the door and took a breath to calm himself. You can do this, Sirius.
Hearing the bell ring Remus looked up at the door and saw Sirius walking in with a nervous smile. “Back for more flowers?” Sirius looked at him in stunned silence. Remus looked so soft and sweet in his sweater that matched the color of his eyes. It brought a smile to his face.
“I am.” Sirius smiled and looked around nervously. His eyes fell on some dainty sky blue flowers and he knew then he was ready. He grabbed a bundle of the flowers and walked up to Remus at the counter. “I’d like to purchase these.” Sirius tried to put some confidence in his voice. They just stared at each other. Remus didn’t even notice anything around him because he was stuck taking in Sirius. He had handed the bundle back to Sirius as delicately as he could trying not to ruin the petals.
“Have a great day, Sirius.” Remus saying his name caused his heart to speed up. “Remus?” Sirius asked with a slight shake to his voice.
“Yes?” Remus looked at Sirius and he thought he was 17 again. The look he gave him sent him back in time. “These are for you.” Sirius held them out to Remus with one hand. Remus looked at him in confusion. “What about James?” Remus blurted out. Sirius tilted his head. “James?”
“Yes. Your boyfriend. You just bought him flowers a week ago.” Sirius’ face showed recognition. “NOO! Oh no. He’s not my boyfriend. I was picking up flowers for him to give to Reg. You know? Regulus. My brother. They are together. Actually, they are engaged now.” Sirius was rambling now and didn’t notice Remus walking from out behind the counter until he was right in front of him.
Remus grabbed the flowers and examined them. “Forget me not's?” Sirius blushed. “I saw them and I thought of you. I have been clinging to a past love for so long. That love is you.”
Remus gently placed his hand on Sirius’ cheek and looked at him with what looked like tears in his eyes. “I’ve missed you so much.” Sirius put his hand over Remus’ and put his other hand on Remus’ waist and pulled him in. Sirius put his forehead against Remus’. “I have been waiting years to do this. Stop me now if you don’t want this.” Sirius whispered and Remus put his lips on Sirius’.
The two shared a long over due kiss until the bell at the door chimed making both men part. They were flushed and breathing heavily. When they looked to see who had interrupted it was Regulus and James smiling at them. “James, I said to leave Sirius alone.” Regulus was chastising him. “I just wanted to know if he said yes. Obviously, he did.” Sirius was grumbling under his breath but Remus was laughing.
“Yes to what exactly?” Remus questioned them with an arch of his brow. “Sirius, did you really just make out with the poor man and not even ask him out first. No shame.” James laughed loudly until Regulus pulled him away from the door making it swing shut behind them.
“Sorry. I was supposed to be asking you out but I got a little distracted.” Sirius bit his lip nervously.
“Sirius, I would love to go out with you.” Sirius smiled so widely but then with a yelp he was pulled back into Remus for another kiss that was much deeper and longer than the last.