Chapter Text
"Mate, we're out of cereal."
"You always have cereal. Try cooking some eggs."
"We don't have any more eggs, you egg eater."
"Then have a damn toast, for fuck's sake!"
"We don't have bread. In fact, there's nothing in the refrigerator or the cabinets. We need things to eat."
"Ugh," Sirius groaned. He threw his head back and dropped his legs from the table to the floor. "Let's see..." he said getting up and walking to where James Potter was, looking around different cabinets. "There's stuff! I see milk, cheese, there's celery and pineapple, pizza leftovers..."
"Yum," James replied sarcastically, rolling his bright hazel eyes. He took off his square glasses and massaged his eyelids. "I don't get it, we bought food a week ago and now it's all empty. Jesus."
Sirius continued to walk around the small, white kitchen. This was one of the biggest problems when you and your best friend were 21-years-old, ate like their life depended on it, were students at Uni, and were the epitome of laziness, lived in a small, affordable flat that had only two rooms, a living room, a kitchen and one, only one bathroom. The food never lasted more than a week. James Potter, who was tall, broad, had defined muscles, and had the most perfect brown skin was an athlete, so he always made sure he ate the necessary proteins, carbohydrates, vegetables. Sirius Black was short, didn't exercise, had very little muscle, and ate for the fun of it. Not to mention James's girlfriend Lily, who didn't live with them yet managed to find a way to have dinner, lunch, and breakfast with them.
So, in summary; three young adults, still at school, barely affording their rent thanks to their mediocre jobs. The food never, ever lasted more than a week. Even when most days of the weeks they ordered take-out, the food still ran out.
"Morning boys," a voice emerged from the kitchen, making Sirius and James jump. Lily Evans walked in and slumped in one of the chairs around the tiny table that the boys somehow managed to fit in, right between the refrigerator and the oven. "What's for breakfast?" she asked yawning, shaking her vivid red hair and making it fall into her round shoulders.
James walked over to her and kissed her sweetly. "Morning love. Unfortunately, there's nothing for breakfast."
"How do we manage to finish all of the food if we buy tons of it," Sirius complained. "Every week James comes home with at least ten bags of nothing but food and it just disappears."
Lily laughed. "I hate you two. Acting like the food ending is not your fault. James, love, you eat a hundred pounds of protein every day and every time I come around Sirius has a bowl of food in his arms."
"For your information, love," Sirius started. "We are in the middle of our growth, forgive us for eating too much."
"I went last time to Tesco, Pads. It's your turn," James stated. He was heating himself a tea and was eating the last pieces of cheese there were left. "It's not fair I go most of the time."
Sirius scoffed, "you do not! We agreed on one week each. And I still fall for your little tricks that make me go twice in a row." James snickered, sending a wink in his direction.
"Shove the wink up your arse. I'm not going anywhere," Sirius scorned, crossing his arms.
"Oh, what a baby," Lily muttered. James laughed and walked towards Sirius. He kneeled in front of him and grabbed his hands, intervening them with his own.
"Please, Sirius, love of my life, most gorgeous man on earth, I'm begging you to go shopping," he declared and kissed his knuckles loudly.
"Hell, how can I say no if you ask it like that, love," Sirius answered reluctantly. James stood up and whooped loudly, hugging his side and pressing smacking kisses all over his face.
"Oi, you two need a room?" Lily asked with a smile. She was used to the touchy affection between the two boys, but like every other person, it had taken some used to. James and Sirius. If you asked people to describe their relationship, people would usually say they're never seen apart. Others would say brothers, others who had no clue would even say lovers. And the truth was that all of those answers were right.
James and Sirius met when they were 11, and they had been dorm-mates in the same boarding school. Before starting school, Sirius had hated the idea of sharing a room with other boys for seven years straight, but that hatred went down the drain as soon as he met lovable and fun James Potter. They were like copies from each other; mischievous, rebels, immature and arrogant. What started as a best friend's love evolved into brotherly love, full of physical and emotional affection. Then they became hormonal teenagers, and neither of them had ever shared any affection with women. They decided to try kissing one night and thus began an even closer physical relationship. Hugging, cuddling, occasional kisses, but never again on the mouth. James had admitted it was good, but was very much into girls –well, one girl. Sirius on the other hand, went through a bit of a crisis, since he had actually enjoyed kissing his best mate, and soon realized he was not into girls at all.
Thankfully, James was one of the best people for Sirius, and nothing changed after he came out to him. Then they were 17, and Lily Evans had finally agreed to go out with James, even if Sirius knew Lily was more interested in James than she let on. They became a couple, and her eyes almost popped out of their sockets when she had walked in on Sirius and James snuggling on the couch, practically on top of each other. She got used to it because the three of them were very aware of the difference between their affection and romantic, pure love affection, which James only shared with Lily. The one that Sirius had never once experienced.
Sirius was a handsome man, everybody knew that. Even if James was the tallest and fittest of the two, Sirius was still very good at getting people to stare at him. His face was built perfectly, with a straight nose and high cheekbones, full pink lips, and grey eyes. And that was just his natural beauty. Sirius loved getting eyeliner on his lids, he decorated his ears with multiple rings and had one on his nose. His ink-black hair was long enough to reach his shoulders, and he styled it to make it look messy and elegant. His hands were practically made out of metal thanks to all the jewelry he wore his fingers. He got plenty of attention from handsome men who wanted a one-night stand or a quickie in a bar. Sirius would always gladly agree. But he hardly ever felt romantically interested in a guy. Just a couple of times with two men at school, who had been painfully straight.
"Oh, Lils, I think we do," Sirius answered cheekily. They separated, and Sirius made his way to the living room. His stomach was gurgling, but if he said he was hungry out loud then James would make him go to Tesco right at the very moment. He would just wait until 1:00 p.m. when his shift in the Three Broomsticks started and he could eat something there. He slumped on the couch with his cup of tea in hand.
"You can come to my parent's to have breakfast if you two want," Lily called from the kitchen. "You know they love you, Sirius. They'd make a whole buffet if they knew you were coming."
"Don't worry about me, Evans. I'll have something at the broomsticks," he turned their tiny TV on and played Netflix. He was half an episode of Please Like Me when James emerged from his room, already dressed alongside Lily, also dressed.
"We'll be going off then," James said. "We will see you at the Broomsticks at seven?" Sirius nodded a 'yeah'. "Oh and Sirius, please, go to fucking Tesco," he shouted across the flat, and then shut the door closed.
---
Sirius drove his motorcycle, which took him ten minutes or less to arrive at The Three Broomsticks. The smell of coffee and old books filled his nostrils as he made his way to the counter and into the employee's room. Sirius had always loved this tiny coffee shop, and it had been very usual for him and his friends to meet there and spend time together. It was usually filled with young adults like him and elder people. Most of the time it was people his age, and as Marlene loved to call it, the Hook-Up Broomsticks was the perfect place for him to have a barista-costumer love story. It hadn't happened, only a few flirting and number exchange, but never anything more.
Sirius grabbed one of the muffins that were on display and replaced it quickly. He went inside and finally ate. "Oi, you know you can't do that."
He looked up and stared at Marlene McKinnon, wearing her short blond hair in a tiny ponytail that looked about to collapse, hairs already all over her face. "Please spare me, James and I didn't have any breakfast today because we eat like we're going to hibernate. And now I have to go to Tesco because I let myself fall for his beautiful hazel eyes." Marlene started at him with amusement, and Sirius kept eating his muffin. Marlene shook her head and grabbed one of the aprons that were hanging from the wall and tossed it to him, slapping his face. "Oi!"
"Get your arse up, Dorcas still isn't here and there have been people coming and coming and coming and it never ends. Go on," she hurried. Sirius ate the last of the muffin and tied the apron around his waist, over his white see-through shirt and tight black jeans. He messed up his hair and went out. Marlene finished taking the order of a young woman and turned to Sirius.
"Oh for fuck's sake, we're in a coffee shop, not a strip club," she laughed, eyeing Sirius from head to toe.
“Honestly, you of all people can't say I look stupid, considering a certain someone," he wiggled his eyebrows at her and she rolled her eyes. "God, you're so red right now. Does she know you're gay at least?"
"No, I haven't told her. Though I thought it was pretty obvious with this," she pointed at her little flag pin on her apron. "And I know she's gay too, but she's just so pretty, and every time I try to flirt I end up making a fool of myself."
Sirius laughed, remembering how Marlene completely changed from the cool, confident girl to a babbling mess of words and blushes whenever she talked to Dorcas Meadowes, the other barista who shared the same shifts as them. She was pretty and cool. Sometimes all of the employees gathered at a pub to hang out, and Dorcas was a life at the party in those events. "I'd love to see you get all dumb around her again, it's hilarious," he snickered as he started to make a cold brew.
"Shut up. You act like you're so suave and natural around cute men but you're just as bad as me."
"Please, we're not on the same level. At least I can get a number and a date."
"Those don't count, you know what I mean," Marlene sing-sang. Sirius finished the drink and hand it over to the short woman, who took it gratefully. He turned to Marlene. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said.
Marlene scoffed, "you do, lovey. The bloke from a week ago. Sure, you're all okay with getting a guy's name if he's not your type. But as soon as he is your brain short-circuits."
The door opened and Dorcas walked in. Sirius smirked at Marlene. She was wearing a tight top tank and a long, loose skirt. Her hair was long and braided, and she always wore a startling red lipstick that highlights against her dark skin. Sirius could hear the alarms in Marlene's head. "Yikes," he murmured, amused.
"Hello loves," Dorcas waved and quickly got her apron. "I know, I'm late, I'm sorry Marls. I know I said it would be the last time but I lost track of time, again."
"Don't worry about it," Marlene said eagerly. Sirius both smirked and scowled. If it were him late Marlene would have given him a few punches.
"No, I do. I'm trying really hard to be on time. I won't fail next time, Marls."
Another customer walked in, and Dorcas quickly walked to the counter. "Wow, that was worse than I remember," Sirius told her, and she shot him a death look. "I'm definitely not like that." Marlene snapped out of her trance and looked at Sirius with a mischievous smirk.
"Hey, Dorcas," she called. She had just handed a brownie to the customer. They thanked her and left, while Dorcas made her way.
"Yes?"
"Do you remember the guy that came in a week ago that had Sirius as red as a fucking beet?"
"Of course," laughed Dorcas. "'Can- can I get your name?'" she said, doing a (very bad, if you asked Sirius) impression of a stammering, nervous Sirius. "'I mean, for the- the drink, not because I want to-to know your name.'"
Marlene snorted, and Sirius just scowled. Because they were right, but for his pride, he would never admit it. "'Not that I- I don't want to know your-your name, I'm not rude or anything.'" Marlene mocked, and both girls snorted and laughed. Sirius crossed his arms in a childish, petulant way.
"That's not what I sad at all," he defended, but his ears and neck felt hot.
"You may not remember, but it will happen again and I will laugh," Marlene teased. A bunch of customers appeared, and the three of them walked to their places. Marlene was wrong, Sirius remembered the guy very well. And she was right, the bitch. When it came to Sirius's type, he felt this fluttery feeling in his stomach and he turned into a teenage girl with a silly crush. The bloke had been tall, with dark, curly hair and a pair of round, thin glasses. His smile was so beautiful, and he had a smatter of freckles all over his buttoned nose. He had been obviously straight since Sirius had developed a great gaydar over the years. Not to mention all of the men Sirius had fancied had been.
Sirius just found men who were different from him very attractive and sexy. He was all black leather jackets, combat boots, motorcycles, piercings, and tattoos. He wanted people to think he was cool and loved the attention he got from it. The boys he liked were the type of men that were so effortlessly beautiful and didn't make a show out of it, unlike Sirius. The type of boys who were clueless to the millions of people drooling over them, and wore simple clothes that made them look so soft and gentle. He wanted to slap those guys and yell at them to stop being so gorgeous without their intention.
The bloke never appeared again, and Sirius was heartbroken, even though he saw him one day and that's it.
The day went as always. Taking orders, making coffee, talk with customers. This was his life when he wasn't at Uni.
It was 6:00 p.m. "Marls, Cas, I'm leaving," he said as he took his apron off and took a swing of water from his bottle. "James is going to meet me at seven and he made me go grocery shopping before."
"Boo, we were planning to go out," Dorcas pouted.
"Ah, sorry. You can go with Marlene though. Have a fun night out just the two of you," he said. Marlene's face was priceless, he wished he could take a picture of her. She was forcing a smile to hide the fear in her eyes.
"Oh, yeah. I'd love that," said Dorcas, blushing slightly and giggling. Sirius's gaydar shot to the roof. He said his goodbyes and excused himself. He straddled his bike and went off to the nearest Tesco.
James had sent him a list of supplies, which Sirius decided to ignore. His list was all healthy; a specific amount of vegetables, carbs, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and energy drinks. He added most of the items of James's list to the trolley but had the freedom to add a bunch of sugary, non-healthy food; cookies, chocolates, brownies, frozen pizza, ice cream. James was going to kill him.
James got up early in the morning for his jogs. He played football at Uni, for the Gryffindor Lions. He was really good, and he took his eating and exercising very seriously. Sirius often got quite jealous, because James was so determined and focused, while Sirius was the opposite.
He passed all of the aisles, looking around if anything looked good to add. Lily often liked to do some experimenting cooking, so Sirius bought her favourite spices and condiments, as well as kinds of pasta and bread. When he got everything, he made his way to pay, but something caught his eyes. Of course, you idiot, he told himself. He entered the aisle of cereals and grains. He inspected the cabinets, looking at the tons of different boxes of cereal. It was just Sirius's luck that the one he and James loved was on the top shelf, looking quite deep and not in his reach.
James was going to kill him if he didn't bring their favourite cereal, and Sirius cursed his short height. He did the only thing he could think of. He grabbed onto the railing of one of the cabinets and hoisted himself up, placing his boots on the first level. He stretched his arm and tried to reach. It was no use. He tried again, this time with more force on his legs. Sirius was now on his tiptoes and felt the box on his fingertips. He pushed the box from the base so it would fall, and that way Sirius could catch it. But of course, it blew on his face and the box fell backwards, putting it now 100% out of his reach.
"D'you need any help?"
Sirius immediately let go and flew to the ground, hoping he wouldn't get in trouble. "Oh no, I'm f-" his breath caught in his throat. Fuck. Light-brown hair, honey-green eyes, long nose, freckles all over his face, and, oh god, so fucking tall.
"I can get that for you, easy," the employee said with a friendly smile. Or, how Sirius saw it, the prettiest smile he'd ever seen in his life. "Or do you need anything else?" he asked again, a bit weirded out at Sirius staring at him like a damn idiot.
Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck.