Chapter Text
The world was rude and unforgiving. Light leaked through the blinds, forcing Remus to pull his duvet over his face to shield himself from the harsh reality of the midday sun. He might have been able to go back to sleep like this if it wasn't for the other nuisance in his life.
The shrill tone of his phone cut through him sending an intense feeling of rage through his body. It must have been the second—no, this was the third time that somebody had insisted on calling him and the unfortunate reality was how persistent this caller was. No amount of burying his head in his comforter and mountain of pillows would silence the sound. Even so, Remus had no intention of answering the phone. It could ring out for all he cared.
A creak of his bedroom door made Remus groan, curling in on himself. He should have known the consistent ringing would have woken Janus up—or at least, if he was already awake, pissed him off enough to invade Remus' sacred space.
He tried to stay as still as possible, slowing his breathing to try and pretend he was asleep. It probably wouldn't work, it never had before but it was worth a try. The last thing he wanted this morning—forget how it's clearly the afternoon—was one of Janus' lectures.
"Afternoon, Roman. Sadly, Remus died last night because there is no other possible reason as to why he'd leave you hanging for the past three hours."
Shit, now he was awake. Remus shot up out of bed, scrambling out from under his duvet and comforter that had chosen now to fuse with his skin in an effort to draw out his inevitable doom.
"Give me the fucking phone," Remus hissed, making grabby hands at Janus until his roommate handed it over. "Hey, Ro!"
Stumbling out of bed, Remus' next step was finding some clean clothes. Most of his wardrobe was strewn across his floor and it took a few sniffs to find the cleanest one before throwing it on with a pair of washed-out jeans. If he doused himself in deodorant, he'd be fine—there was no time for a shower, that'd have to wait.
"I was just about to call you!" Janus raised an eyebrow at his bald-faced lie, leaning against his door frame. "What's up, bro?"
Shit, shit, triple shit!
"How stupid do you think I am, Remus?" Roman's voice was not the most welcoming wake-up call and honestly, Remus was certain he could hear his brother's eyes roll so far back into his head that he'd be able to see his smooth-ass brain. "You forgot again, didn't you?"
Propping up the phone between his shoulder and his ear, Remus struggled with his jeans—not before flipping Janus off when the man grimaced at the sight of Remus' bare ass. If he didn't want to see it, he shouldn't be in his room in the first place!
"Of course I didn't forget, I was in the shower—" Remus resigned himself to the reality that his bank account would be subjected to the torture of buying apology pastries and coffee for Roman today. "I'll be five minutes, don't get your thong in a twist."
The disbelief in Roman's fake laughter made it clear how unimpressed he was, "You owe me lunch now, I hope you know. I could have just left instead of calling but there is a reason I'm the good twin."
"Yeah, yeah—wait, lunch?" Remus knew he'd slept in, sure, but he wasn't expecting it to be so late. "Uh sure, whatever. I'll see you soon."
He needed to make some serious changes to his sleep schedule, hanging up and checking the time. Pulling the least stained shirt he owned on and shoving his shoes on, Remus ran out the door.
That was until he realised he didn't have his keys, coming back up the stairs to see Janus holding them up at the front door.
"Have a good day," Janus said, that insufferable smirk on his face. Remus grumbled as he snatched his keys.
"Yeah, yeah, you prick!" Remus called out on his way back out to the apartment complex's car park.
God, he was going to be so late.
If you ever met the twins, you’d realise how different they were; Roman had a respectable job where he was outsourced to teach drama at the local high school, run their drama club after hours and that wasn’t even mentioning how often he was the lead actor at their town’s local theatre. Remus, on the other hand, worked graveyard shifts at the gas station ten minutes away from his apartment and tended to spend his free time getting high, working away on his commissions.
It’s probably why their schedules never aligned but Remus had promised he’d start showing up to weekly brunch. Glancing at the clock on his dashboard, he could only hope that Roman was in a good mood today—his brother could be a little melodramatic at times.
The drive down wasn’t so bad thankfully and it only took five minutes to find enough change in each of his pockets for the parking meter so he managed to reach the coffee shop in record time for someone who was a good hour and a half late. Remus could see Roman sitting in the shop through the large bay window, sitting at their usual spot and he gave a quick tap on the window as he passed.
A little jingle of the bell alerted the barista behind the counter who gave him a quick “Hey!” before going back to their job. Remus greeted them back before heading to the table where Roman was sitting, a big binder on the table in front of him with colourful tabs sticking out of the side. If he had to guess, Logan made the binder because there is no way that Roman could ever be that organised about anything. Who else would put together a whole folder with colour coordinated tabs for any purpose when the note app on your phone exists?
His footsteps gave him away, Roman sending him a death glare that had Remus halting in his tracks. There were a few seconds of tension that Remus was certain he was going to start sweating bullets until Roman couldn’t keep a straight face any longer, breaking out into this ridiculously big smile. When he stood up and hugged Remus, there was a part of him that was more terrified of this reaction than the one he was expecting.
“You finally made it!” Roman pulled back, punching Remus in the arm with gusto, “That’s for being late though, don’t ever do that again.”
“Nice to see you too, Roman,” Remus grumbled as he rubbed the soreness away. Taking a seat, he found he couldn’t help but observe the bounce in Roman’s steps and the way his eyes crinkled at the corners, a shine in his eyes. Roman had always been the optimist of their little family and it didn’t take much to get him excited but this was different somehow, Remus couldn’t place why either.
“You seem pretty happy, did someone slip cocaine into your coffee?” Remus said with his lopsided smirk, anything to clear the weird air. “Or did Logan finally indulge your teacher-schoolboy fantasies?”
“You can’t ruin my mood today, no matter how tardy you are or how crude and disgusting your jokes are!”
He wasn’t kidding; Roman had a grin from ear-to-ear looking akin to a cat who had caught the canary and had a delicious little meal for itself. In fact, he looked fit to burst with excitement.
“So are you going to tell me why or are we playing twenty questions because I have some pretty dirty ones I can think of—”
Roman shoved his hand into Remus’ face, giving Remus no chance to continue his little comedy routine and at first, it didn’t click until the sun hit the platinum band on Roman’s ring finger.
“It’s a ring?” Remus raised an eyebrow, pushing Roman’s hand away. So what? It’s just a ring, big deal.
“It’s not just any ring, you oaf!” Roman smacked his shoulder lightly, “It’s an engagement ring!”
It took even longer for the words to reach Remus before he was grabbing his twin’s hand to inspect the ring with wide eyes. There it was, the sheen of a platinum band showcasing a blue sapphire and bright red garnet—how fitting for Roman and Logan, their favourite colours and he even took into consideration that Roman was allergic to gold.
“Holy shit, Specs actually proposed—”
“He did!” Roman yelled, too excited to keep his voice down as he flailed his hands about.
“Give Logan my sincerest apologies for his mid-life crisis, is he signing a prenup? He should totally be signing a prenup—” Something thin and matte red smacked him in the face, “—Hey, don’t go throwing shit at my beautiful face!”
Remus looked down at the neat red envelope that landed on his hands, the golden calligraphy spelling out his name in beautiful cursive. It looked so professional, maybe it was a wedding invitation but that’s a bit stupid, Remus is right here so why couldn’t Roman just ask him now? This is so stupid, Roman has to make a big spectacle out of every little thing, doesn’t he?
“What’s this? Do I have a second birthday I’m unaware of?”
Roman rolled his eyes, “Open it before I change my mind!”
Peeling the envelope open carefully with the curve of his nail, he sees the card inside and opens it up. It’s no big deal, at least that’s what Remus tries to tell himself when he feels tears prick the corner of his eyes. He manages to hold himself together.
“So will you?” Roman leans forward, resting his chin on the back of his hand. “It feels only right for my brother to be my man of honour, my head groomsman—even if he is a prick.”
“I’ll pretend you didn’t call me a prick,” Remus can’t help but read the fine cursive over and over again, the news was already amazing to start with but this just topped the proverbial cake. “Of course I want to be your best man!”
“Okay, good because I have so much planned!” Roman was already shuffling his chair around the table to sit shoulder-to-shoulder before opening the large binder he’d brought with him. He goes through a million and one little ideas right off the bat, many of which Logan had already vetoed on the basis that Roman was being unrealistic about their budget—totally fair, Logan may have a good job but even that wasn’t enough to justify going all the way to Cyprus to have a huge wedding at the sight of Aphrodite’s Fountain.
The couple were so different, Janus had been certain they’d never work when they got together. Heck, he remembers how much they used to scream and argue with one another back in their college days but Remus knew better—it was all just pent up tension and heat, Remus had told him, they just had to bang and get it over with and god, he was so right seeing how happy Roman was now.
“How about we brainstorm over coffee and your favourite pastries, eh?” Remus said, standing up when he could finally get a word in edgeways. If he was going to listen to this romantic crap, he was going to need his caffeine boost—anything for Roman, it seems.
“You got all these ideas but have you picked out any vendors yet? Even called any of these businesses?” Remus asked him, taking a sip of his coffee as Roman rambled on and on about different venues or food. He knew waiting lists for weddings could be a pain in the ass too, best to get started early rather than wait until the last minute. “You don’t want to be so far down on a waiting list that everything turns into a stressful shitfest, you know?”
“It hasn’t even been a full week yet,” Roman laughed, the enthusiasm to get started was pretty evident despite his protest.
It reminded Remus of summer days in the back garden playing with the neighbourhood kids, pretending to be Prince Charming who would marry the princess and protecting her from the likes of Remus, the dragon even if it was just an off-coloured dinosaur onesie. It was funny, the way Roman had come out when they were no older than eleven, saying how he no longer wanted to be Prince Charming but how much he wanted to marry one and I guess, he found that in Logan. It had reignited a spark that was lost in the divorce of their parents all those years ago.
“You say that but I bet you’re ready to get started regardless,” Remus teased him.
“Okay, so maybe I’ve outlined a few businesses I’m planning to call this week, including a bakery and someone who can do the catering for us and Logan promised me we’d spend next weekend looking for suits to wear—oh, and I have to go meet the band at the end of the month!” Roman deflated a little, his excitement subsiding. “It’s a little overwhelming if I’m honest, I just want this wedding to be special you know?”
Remus hesitated before retreating his hovering hand back to the table’s surface, watching how his brother sank in his chair and the bright light in his eyes drained from him. Remus knew he was thinking about how perfect this had to be; if the wedding was a total disaster, it would set out a path for the rest of Logan and Roman’s life together.
It was stupid to think that way but Roman was surprisingly fragile, it was easy for him to lose himself in his own head.
“I can help you!” Remus exclaimed as he slammed his hands on the table, rattling their cups and plates. “I know I’m pretty irresponsible and shit but I know you, right? We’re brothers so I can help you make it perfect!”
He settled back down, reaching out to grab Roman’s hand and squeezing it, “I think it’s time I help you out with how much you’ve helped me.”
There was a prolonged silence as Roman stared back at him bewildered by his outburst and Remus can’t exactly blame him—it’s not as if he goes out of his way to help people on the regular. The expression melts away, softer and fragile like china and it makes Remus smile, lopsided and toothy.
After everything that had happened between the two of them—their parent’s divorce; the custody battle; Remus running away and showing back up years after being reported missing—it had taken them a long time to learn how to communicate again, the relationship had taken time to repair and it wasn’t the easiest thing either of them had to do. It’s why Remus, for what little he felt he was worth, was grateful that Roman stuck around in the end.
“Thank you, Remus.” Roman turned his hand over and squeezed back, headbutting his brother’s shoulder gently with an affectionate smile. He knew how much weight that thanks held.
“So, tell me what you need me to do!” Remus nudged his shoulder so Roman would sit upright and look at him. “I’m happy to do whatever, you know, except the honeymoon; Logan is hot as fuck, don’t get me wrong but he isn’t my type—I like them cute.”
He wiggles his eyebrows to get Roman to laugh, the two falling into hysterics until the barista comes over and tells them the other patrons are complaining about how loud they’re being. Roman apologies as Remus mocks the barista with cartoonish faces, earning him a slap to the chest which starts the cycle of laughter up again.
Once the barista leaves them alone and they manage to catch their breath, Roman flips through the binder a few times before smiling at Remus, “Alright, seeing as you’re so eager to help, how about you handle the florist?”
“Flowers? Sounds delicious, I’m in.”
Roman had already made a headstart on floral businesses he’d been looking into and seeing as how Remus had nothing else to do today of great importance, he went around town going to each one. It hadn’t been a successful mission.
Each place was booked up with waiting lists that went into the following year or the budget was ridiculously overpriced for a few flowers that would die in the days after the wedding—it wasn’t easy finding a reasonably priced florist that fit the standards Roman had and more so, one that was readily available to discuss a future wedding.
Remus was no quitter though—most of the time—and he was fired up, determined to find someone who could be the florist for the Prince-Dodson wedding (and yes, Remus was relieved to find out Logan was planning to take Roman’s surname and not the other way around!)
Lady luck was on his side though, a twist of fate in the great cosmic universe as a car accident piled up his usual route home. He wasn’t about to sit for hours in traffic when there was another florist to pester on the other side of the city so Remus took a detour behind the backstreets even if it did add another twenty minutes or more onto his journey.
That’s when he saw it, this little hole in the wall storefront he’d never seen before. It was probably the door that drew his attention at first—in a world full of white uPVC doors, this store had a lovely timber door painted the most eye-catching violet colour and a quaint chalk sign hanging on the front with flowers adorning the bay window.
Remus parked outside, going over to the big bay window to peer inside with his face pressed up against the glass. There was plenty of beautiful flowers and arrangements set up in the window and around the store from what he could see but there was no sign of life inside—
“Don’t you know it’s rude and gross to rub your face all over the damn window?”
Remus hadn’t been expecting anybody if he was honest so he’d been a little startled by the sudden appearance of a young man bundled up in a black hoodie, the hood pulled forward over his head and a carrier bag in his left hand. He looked about Remus’ age, maybe younger—he could be a student at the college, maybe he lives around here? Not important, Remus!—and had this scowl that only served to make him look like a grumpy kitten more so than any serious threat.
“Uh, I was just trying to look inside to see if it was open?” Remus laughed, standing up straight and fuck, this guy towered over him. He looked up at the storefront, “Though, I don’t know—who names their store Take it or Leaf it? That’s a bad pun even by my standards.”
The young man didn’t look too happy, a twitch in his brow, “The store closed an hour ago, dumbass. You’d know that if you looked at the sign.”
Oh, Remus thought as he glanced at the chalk sign on the door that clearly said it was past the closing hours for a Sunday. That made sense, he supposed.
“So it is,” Remus laughed regardless of his blunder. “I guess I’ll have to come back tomorrow.”
The stranger huffed a quiet “whatever, man” before walking past Remus with no intention of engaging him in conversation further. Remus didn’t know why but he felt the need to watch the guy walk away down the street.
“It’s still an awful name for a flower shop if you ask me!”