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Today was nothing special, well, it wasn’t supposed to be, really. It was just another day full of classes and homework and big books and too much caffeine. Well, what differed was how Remus chose to obtain his caffeine. He was getting rather bored of the shitty stuff served on campus, so he decided to venture out. A few streets away from campus was not that far, but spending real money rather than meal credits felt risky. 

There was also the whole other ordeal of how they would react to his deafness. At least the workers on campus knew him. 

As Remus walked into “Starry Night Café” (A big nerd definitely named this place), he was greeted by a warm atmosphere. Dark woodwork and squashy chairs covered the place. It was literally warm as well since there was a fire going towards the back. Of course, art resembling that of the famous painting for which this place was named decorated the ceiling. Remus felt a little toasty in his knit jumper, but he would choose this over being cold any day. 

Unfortunately, there was a bit of a line. This gave Remus more time to prepare, to catastrophize, and to dream. From the glimpses he caught from back here, the barista working the till was bloody gorgeous. His dark hair was tied in a loose bun atop his head and piercings lined his ears. His grey eyes shone in the morning light. Sirius, his name tag read. What an odd name. The note Remus wrote was succinct and to the point, yet he could still feel his hand tremble as he held it up for this gorgeous barista to take. 

The barista looked on confused. His mouth was suddenly moving, and Remus had to snap in to try and decipher what was coming out of it. 

Lip reading was not a reliable art, but Remus still tried. It looked like he was saying a normal sort of barista spiel? Did he not see the note that Remus was holding up to him? This was getting to be too much. His hand started to shake more and his eyes began to skitter. 

A barista with bright red hair soon noticed his predicament. She went up to the barista at the till, Sirius, and started whispering something into his ear after taking his note. 

“Hello, I apologize that I must order this way but I am deaf and do not speak. I would like a large extra hot london fog, please.” The note read.  

The redhead then went and got to work on a drink (maybe Remus’?) while the dark haired guy began to write a note on his own sticky note. Where he got it or why he had it was completely unknown to Remus. Maybe it was a common thing in the service industry?

“Hello! I’m so sorry about my ignorance of you!! I am blind and could not see you holding out the note! Apologies again!! Also that’ll be £4!” 

Remus took the note while handing the barista the money. Oh. Of course. This is how the universe would spite him, by giving him double the communication barrier with the bloody attractive guy! Once he saw what the note said, he was quick to pen out a response. Hopefully a coworker could read it for him just like the last one. He also wondered how a blind guy knew how to write so well? Maybe he wasn’t always blind? Maybe he learned through atypical means? He stuck his sticky note on the guy’s hand before going and waiting for his drink to be served. 

“You’re good, thank you!” His second note read. He watched Sirius get the redhead to read his note as she waited for a drink to heat up. Watching his face light up upon hearing what his note said was.. strange. Yeah. Was this relief maybe? Remus was unsure. 

The taste of his London Fog quickly took his mind away from all other thoughts. It was heavenly, and warmed his body as he walked back out into the London fog and headed to class. He would have to go back there again. Maybe he would see the pretty boy again, yes, Sirius. It felt illegal knowing his name, somehow. Hopefully things wouldn’t go too badly if he did. 

 -

“Oh Lily! My heart sighs! My heart cries! What am I ever to do? Will I ever see him again?” Sirius wailed once activity in the cafe reached a lull. 

“His face lit up as soon as he took a sip of his tea. I’m sure he’ll be back.”

“But will he be back for me? Oh Lily! Will he be back for me?” Sirius wailed. Lily had described to him how the deaf bloke from earlier looked three times and Sirius could not get him off of his mind. 

“I couldn’t pay attention to that due to my job but, you know you’re attractive Sirius-“

“But does he even swing that way?” Sirius had a hard time trying to make a guess of that based on people’s voices, let alone from a written note he couldn’t read.

“It wouldn’t surprise me.”

“But he’s deaf, and I’m, like this.” 

Enter James Potter at the perfect time. 

“Oi Sirius! What’s got you in the gutter?” James asked as he waltzed through the main entrance. 

“Oh Jamie, I met this bloke while working the till this morning, and, from what Lily described, he was so gorgeous! But he’s deaf, and I’m like this! Could it ever work out? What shall I ever do?” Normally, Sirius loved to add choreography to his dramatics, but behind the counter, surrounded by food and machines, he knew that was a terrible idea. 

James grabbed him square by the shoulders before he began his spiel.

“Sirius, darling, if you truly want to be with him, go for it. Barriers have never stopped you before! If anything, he might understand that sort of thing better than any of us could.” Sometimes Sirius hated James. The guy was just so optimistic and always managed to get his hopes up or make him feel better. Bastard. 

“Thanks, James,” Sirius responded as he wrapped his best friend into a hug. He could feel his friend smiling into his shoulder. 

“Any time! Now let me say goodbye to the light of my life before she leaves mine eyes!” James called as he walked away from Sirius, probably to tackle Lily into a big hug. She probably rolled her eyes but loved it all the same. 

James and Sirius spent the rest of the shift in woe of lost love. 

“Oh Sirius, shall I ever find my true love’s kiss?”

“I don’t know, Jamie, could this boy ever like me back?”

“What is love, an unanswered question!”

“When shall a period replace the question mark?!”

-

Remus procrastinated this as much as he could, though the effort to continue doing so was becoming great. That London Fog he had at Starry Night last week was to die for. The only one complaining was his wallet, and with how sad his caffeine intake has looked since that day, his wallet was going to be complaining some more. 

Today, there wasn’t much of a line since he was here at 2 p.m. instead of 9 a.m., but the gorgeous guy from the first day was nowhere in sight. Remus felt that this was probably for the best, but he could still feel the disappointed dip in his stomach. Today, a man with dark, messy hair and glasses was at the til while the red head from last time was doing drinks. Well, he’d have to just write his whole spiel again. 

Glasses guy seemed friendly, and now that Remus was closer, he could see that his name tag said James. For the second time now, he held out a carefully scrawled note in a shaky hand. 

James took the note, quickly read it, and then gave him a smile and a thumbs up before telling his coworker something, probably his order. After that James awkwardly pointed to the sign behind him with the menu. He clearly didn’t know what to do in this situation and Remus understood that, though he appreciated that the man was trying. He handed James the £4 before heading over to wait for his beloved London Fog.

The first sip was pure bliss. As Remus settled down at a table near both the fire place and the window, he basked in the warmth around him. As the weather kept becoming more miserable, this was exactly what he needed. He soon began to do homework as he sipped on his tea, and it felt as if it couldn’t get any better, well, maybe it could but, he wasn’t going to dwell on that. 

Eventually, his reading was interrupted by a note coming into his vision. He looked up to see the red head looking down at him before reading the note. 

“Hello! I noticed you’re reading Hamlet! Do you like Shakespeare?”  The note read. 

Remus’ eyes widened. Wow… so, she was gonna put in this effort to get to know him? He nodded before writing a response. 

“I’m a literature major, so I’ve constantly got my head buried in this stuff,” read his note. 

The girl then took a seat across from him at his little table and began scrawling another note. Did these people always have so much paper on their person?

“Hamlet has always been a good one. I’m particularly drawn to Ophelia and her story. Its tragedy strikes a chord with me, though I guess all of it is quite tragic.”

“Yeah. The existentialism and manipulation surrounding Hamlet’s story have always been the most fascinating to me, though his treatment of Ophelia was deplorable, you’re right. I should spend some more time analyzing that.”

The pair exchanged sticky notes until the redhead’s break ended. He learned her name was Lily and that her goal was to analyze female characters in literature from throughout time along with the discrimination and stereotypes that shaped their arcs. She learned that his name was Remus and that he was on a never ending quest for knowledge and to better understand stories. 

Remus spent a bit more time working in the cafe before returning to the comfort of his own home. Without the warm ambiance and a hot london fog, monster would have to suffice for the rest of his caffeine intake that day. Sure, maybe the stuff wasn’t that great for him, but it allowed him to stay on top of things and stay energized. 

As he finished up his assignment on Hamlet, Remus wished his apartment had more windows, or, maybe something else was missing…

-

There it was. That glorious sound of the door opening and closing, and footsteps. Sirius knew these footsteps. 

“Pads! You won’t believe it!” James exclaimed as he walked in the livingroom. He assumed Lily wasn’t too far behind. 

“James! What is it?”

“I think I met your boy!” James exclaimed as he sat down on the couch across from the chair where Sirius was perched. 

“My boy? Oh! Oh god of course he showed up when I wasn’t working! Bullocks!” Sirius’ heart would cry once again.

“He’s really cool too,” Lily chimed in. Sirius guessed that she was now next to James on the couch based on where her voice came from. 

“You talked to him?!” Sirius asked.

“Well, we exchanged notes and I learned that he’s a lit major like me! We talked a lot about Shakespeare and it was great!” Lily explained. Literature, something that could never hold Sirius’ attention… Hmm…

“I was in Shakespeare once. I was the gorgeous Romeo to a darling Juliet. Screw Juliet. I just want my Romeo!” Sirius wailed. 

“You want yourself?” James asked.

“Its an expression!” Sirius exclaimed. Sometimes his darling Jamie was just a tad dense, but of course he loved him anyways. Jamies came with many good qualities after all. 

“His name’s not Romeo,” Lily cut in. 

“Aaa you know his name! Please please tell me darling Lily!” 

“No thanks. You’ll have to figure that out yourself,” Lily called as she left the room, probably to go spend some time reading. 

Grr. 

“Chin up, Pads! I’m sure he’ll be swooning over your winning smile!” James called as he went into the kitchen, probably to make some dinner. 

‘Right. My winning smile, that I haven’t even seen in years,’ Sirius thought. He wondered if it still possessed the same qualities it did back then, bringing in many birds for his choosing. He’s not really dated much since the incident as he called it. Could his smile bring in blokes? Or even just one boy wearing a knit jumper who wrote him a polite note? It was futile. Sirius knew it was completely futile. He knew he shouldn’t try. What was the point? It would probably end in flames anyways. He wasn’t very good at dating in the first place. Or was that because he’d only dated girls he never actually had the hots for? Maybe. 

Eventually Sirius retreated to his own room to mope by himself. He didn’t need James or Lily worrying. They had enough on their plates with both classes and the shop. All he was doing was working and making music sometimes, like that would ever succeed. Well, it made him happy, so he was gonna try anyway. As he plugged in his bass and began to play, he realized that was probably the same attitude he was going to have when it came to Remus. Well, that would be a later problem rather than a now problem once he regrets wasting so much time. 

-

Remus could only hold off another few days before he was back at Starry Night. This was really going to start becoming a problem if he kept this up. Today it was the hot guy and Lily working. This time, she was at the til and he was doing drinks. Remus wondered how long it took him to learn his way around back there, though that was an experience he never would understand. 

Today, he kept his note brief. Lily already knew the situation so there wasn’t much of a point in making it any longer. 

“London Fog, please,” The note read. 

Lily smiled and waved to him, took the note, and then told her coworker his order. Said coworker seemed to perk up because of what she was saying, but he had no idea what that was since she was looking away from him. Soon enough, Remus had paid the four pounds and was waiting for his order. 

There seemed to be a pep in the boy’s step as he made Remus’ tea. Despite this, he seemed to be trying to control himself. Maybe he didn’t want to knock anything over. It was definitely interesting to watch the way he moved through the space, grazing his fingers over braille labels to make sure he was grabbing the right thing. Remus could tell Sirius knew his way around this space. He was glad the other boy had been able to find a job and that his employers realized he was capable. If only employers could see the same thing in Remus. Man, his life would be a lot easier if he wasn’t so damn tight on money. 

Eventually, Remus snapped out of his daze and realized there was a London Fog with a pink sticky note on it waiting for him at the counter. The boy smiled at him before returning to his work, and Remus was now Feeling Things. He tried his best to brush past this feeling, this sudden warmth that lit up his body, but he quickly realized the best way to distract himself was by giving his body a different warmth. 

His London Fog tasted slightly different from how Lily made it. It was a tad sweeter, and something about that matched with what he saw about this boy and completely swallowed him whole. 

Once he had sank into one of the many cushy chairs around the café, Remus took a second to read the new note. 

 “Here you go! :D” The note read. Something about it was so warm and gooey. He could not get used to this feeling. He would surely be left in the cold again. He did his best to keep that in mind as he saw Lily walk up to the table. 

“Hello, back again, I see?” read the note she placed in front of him. She sat across from him and seemed excited to see him again. How strange. 

“Your London Fog is leagues above anything my uni has to offer. Although my wallet suffers, I must persist.” Strange enough, Remus found himself happy to see her as well. 

He watched her laugh at what he wrote before she wrote another note. How strange, yet also delightful. He could feel the smatterings of some butterflies starting to creep around his stomach and did everything to suppress them. He couldn’t dare to ruin the moment. 

“Actually, if you want work, we’re hiring. A close friend of mine opened this place not too long ago and we need staff.”  The way she pushed this note to him seemed ginger. But also, why him? He did need a job, but did she actually want to hire him or was she just being nice?

“Thank you, though, that doesn’t seem very practical since I can’t take people’s orders.” 

Lily’s writing speed for her next note was lightning quick. Her brow was furrowed and there was a vigor to her movements that Remus didn’t know if he could ever match. 

“We made adjustments for Sirius so surely we can make adjustments for you! You seem really cool and I’d love to work with you and I will beg James if I have to!”  Oh wow. Well, he knew it would be idiotic if he didn’t take it. It wasn’t like he was getting a ton of job offers. 

“Ok, I’m in. I need the money and and that employee discount would be fantastic.” Remus almost added that he thought he would enjoy her company as well, but then chickened out at the last minute. 

Lily was smiling now and Remus was glowing and, could things really last? Was he really making a friend? 

“Sweet! I’ll talk to James about it asap! Anyways, how’s the Shakespeare class going?” 

The two of them then dissolved into a fervent discussion about the first act of A Midsummer Night’s dream along with the significance of Hippolyta as a mythical figure as well as the odd, yet minor role she has in this story. It felt like friendship. The beginning of a real friendship maybe? Remus didn’t want to get his hopes up now. If he didn’t get hired he might be too embarrassed to come back here. At the same time, the London Fogs were just too good to give up. He couldn’t do that to himself. 

Something about this place felt kind. There was a small flame of hope, not very big, he didn’t want to be completely let down, that maybe he would be able to make friends with his coworkers here, if he gets the job that is. They have all accommodated him so far, even Sirius, so maybe…

That night, Remus went home to his little flat and tried not to dream. 

-

Sirius was disappointed with how little progress he made today, but there was always another day. Usually, his silver tongue could easily get him by. He could make silly quips and lewd comments and bounce off of whatever bafoonery came out of other people’s mouths. With jumper boy, he barely even had a way to communicate with the guy. He needed someone to read the guy’s notes for him if he even wanted to know what they said. Maybe he would come up with something soon. This couch was a great place to think, after all.

“So James,” Lily said. Sirius knew there was probably a big fat smirk on Lily’s face right now. He could hear it in her voice. He wonders if it still looks the same as it did then. 

“Yes, my Lily flower?” 

“How would you feel about hiring Remus?” The way Lily said it, it sounded important, like they should know exactly who she was talking about. Sirius had no idea who she was talking about.

“Who?” James asked.

“Oh, just that boy that I’ve befriended that Sirius won’t shut up about.” Lily knew she dropped the bomb. Ahh, Remus! Sirius knew he would test how that felt on his tongue later. Once his brain registered more than just that name, he sprang to his feet in excitement.

“Oh please Jamie! Pretty please!” Sirius begged. 

“Well, yeah he seems nice enough. My main thing would be to ask you and make sure you were ok with it, Sirius, since well, yeah. Do you have a way to communicate with him?” James asked.

“Well, not a good one but, we can figure it out!”

“You two should probably do that before your first shift together.” 

“Probably. We’ll figure it out!” 

“Oh also, he’s told me he can’t do the till. Is that fine?” Lily asked.

“Everyone else can do either so I don’t think that will be an issue. You guys seem excited about this so I’m going to trust your intuition.” James answered. 

“So that’s a yes?” Lily asked.

“Yep!”

“Yes!” Lily exclaimed. 

“Marvelous!” was the exclamation that came out of Sirius’ mouth. He had to keep up his flare, after all. 

“By the way James, how’s the pizza looking?” Lily asked. 

“Oh shit!” Sirius heard James race back into the kitchen, though the smoky smell told Sirius all. 

James had burned their pizza while distracted with the discussions of Remus. 

“…Sorry guys.” James sounded so sheepish in this moment. Poor guy. Well, Sirius knew he could be the hero. 

“I’ll order take out, the good shit,” Sirius said. 

“Fine with me,” said Lily. 

“Thank you for saving us from my err, Sirius darling, the light of my life!” James proclaimed as he dashed back into the living room, kneeling in front of the couch and taking Sirius’ hands into his own. 

“I thought I was the light of your life.” Lily cut in.

“Shush.” 

“Anything for you, darling Jamie!” Sirius told him with equal fervor. 

The two of them ended up in a cuddle puddle on the couch while Sirius called a local Indian place, James' favorite. He'd always rave about how it was the closest thing he could get in London to his mother's food. Once he got off the call, he allowed his mind to wander and think Remus thoughts. 

Remus. Does he know how his name is pronounced? Was he born deaf? What does he like besides reading? How would it feel to run his hands through his hair? 

Many questions ran through Sirius’ mind, but soon enough, he would find some answers. 

-

Remus was not back for another two days! Sirius was impatient and eager. Why didn’t the guy come here on some sort of routine like all the other regulars?! Sirius just wanted to know when to expect him damnit! 

It was around 2 pm when he showed up again. James was taking his turn at the till while Sirius was doing drinks. Sirius could only guess what was happening based on James’ sudden silence while he was finishing up the previous customer’s drink. Was it his boy? Was it Remus?!

“Oi Pads, London Fog!”

“Is it for Remus?!” 

“Yeah, yeah.” 

“Cool!” 

As Sirius prepped Remus’s drink, his mind was buzzing. Did Remus know? Would he take the job? What was going to happen?! 

Only once Sirius set the drink (that had a note written on it) on the counter did James start talking to him. 

“Pads, I think you should tell him that he’s got the job if he wants it.”

“Me? Why?”

“Think about it. Two birds with one stone, right?” 

“Well, I guess you’re right but, I don’t want to make him uncomfortable…”

“I’ve seen the way he’s been eyeing you. I think you’ll be fine. 

“Oh. Well, ok.” And with that, Sirius left the area behind the counter to go talk to Remus. 

“Wait. Shit. James where is he?” Sirius asked. He could feel his voice getting kind of loud but he also didn’t really give a damn. 

“He’s by the fire in one of the big chairs.”

“Ok thanks!” 

Sirius wrote his note as he walked. He mostly knew his way around the cafe by now so he was pretty confident in his ability to do so. Once he sat down, he smiled in what he hoped was Remus’ direction, finished writing his note, and slid the note across the table. 

“Hello! Lily talked it over with James and I (he’s the one at the counter with the glasses if you didn’t know. He’s the one who technically owns this place) and he said he’d offer you a job! Yay! The thing with that though, is that he wants us to figure out a way to communicate before we start working together and figured we could do that right now! I hate to spring this on you right now (since, you can read this and I can’t) and if you need help coming up with ideas, just, tap me or something. 

Also let me introduce myself! I’m Sirius Black, my favorite color is red!” His note read. He ended up having to use two sticky notes since it was so long. 

For a few minutes, Sirius sat in silence, waiting.  He began wondering if he was even at the right table and if the boy had received his note. When he ran his hand along the table, though, he did not feel the note, so he assumed the boy had taken it? Or maybe it fell to the floor? Sirius was not going to stoop himself so low as to go digging for the note on the floor. Hopefully James would tell him if he was really at the wrong spot. 

Needless to say, Sirius was startled when he heard a voice. 

“Hello, I’m Remus Lupin. I’m using a text to voice program that I just found on my phone that I hope works? Do let me know if you hear this, and we could use a tactile alphabet if you prefer. I just thought that might be tedious and difficult to understand at first. A job does sound great, thank you.” 

A robot voice. As someone who was blind and relied on them for his day to day life, Sirius was very used to these. Having the only voice he heard for Remus be emotionless was not ideal, but they were blind and deaf! Who said anything would be ideal?

“I heard it! This works! I think we should learn that alphabet as well and see what works best. I have no idea what you have to do papers wise for the job, you’ll have to talk to James for the details, but you seem nice and I’m excited to work with you!”  

This time, Sirius received a response much more quickly, probably because Remus did not need to search for and obtain an app. 

“Ok cool. Also, when did you perceive anything about me?” Did Sirius want to tell him? Did he really? Oh whatever screw it. 

“Lily did read your notes to me that first time, you know, and described what you looked like after I asked. I’ve not always been blind and I often get curious about that sort of thing, though, I’m sure the Remus I’m imagining in my head is no match for real life Remus. She’s also talked a bit about you.” 

The response took a tad longer this time. Did Remus need time to process?

“Oh, ok. Well, we should get to work on learning that alphabet if we wanna try it out.”

Sirius than gave him a thumbs up and they got down to business. Remus would make each letter on Sirius’s hand before sending it through his text to speech app so Sirius knew which one it was. Then, Sirius would replicate that letter onto Remus’ hand. There were fumbles along the way along with laughs. Sirius heard Remus’ laugh for the first time and he thought that it might’ve been the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard. It sounded like the tinkling of a little bell on a warm spring day that a rabbit or something was chasing through the grass. Sirius wanted to hear that sound again and again. He wanted to capture it and put it into his pocket. 

“Apologies but I really must go. I have assignments due tomorrow to finish. Thanks for today. I’ll see you soon.” Sirius suddenly heard after they’d finished going over the letter M. Damn. Damn university. Sirius was far too cool for university. He wished that damn robot could better convey Remus’ tone. How was he feeling? 

“Of course! Its been fun! See you soon! Don’t forget to talk to James before you head out!” Sirius received no other response besides quickened footsteps away from him. Of course he had to follow and return to his job. 

“Alright Jamie its my turn at the til!” Sirius exclaimed once he was back behind the counter. 

“Alright, Bowie, go get ‘em.” Sirius took his place at the til once James moved, probably to go sort out stuff with Remus. Paper work shmaper work. For now, he would stay here and think about the tinkling of a little bell while he patiently waited til the day he would get to see what was inside the mind of Remus Lupin. 

-

Breathe in, Breathe out. Everything was going to be just fine. He had shitty instant coffee in his system. He wouldn’t be brain dead. He would get through this first day of training, he would be capable of making drinks, and no one was going to hate him. Right. Toootally. 

It was only after Remus walked into the café that these thoughts began to fade away. Lily gave him a wave from behind the counter and soon enough Sirius was waving to him as well. Lily opened the gate and let him behind the counter before she began writing him a note. 

“Hi Remus! I’m excited to work with you! In the scheme of things, making these drinks isn’t that hard, you just have to pay a bit of attention to what you’re doing and you’ll be fine. If my teaching style or ways of communication aren’t up to par, please let me know!”  Lily wrote. 

“Ok, thank you.” He responded. He hoped that wasn’t too little. He hoped that the small grin his face revealed how he was feeling when he was too scared to write it down. 

Soon enough, Sirius was holding out a note for him as well. Who knew he’d ever be this popular?

“Hiya Remus!! Have fun with Lily! Hopefully she won’t kill you!” Sirius wrote to him. Remus then opened the app he downloaded the other day and began typing out a response. 

“Thank you, though I’m sure she won’t.” He wrote before pressing the play button. Both Lily and Sirius jumped as soon as he pressed play. Was there something wrong with it? Did it glitch? 

Suddenly, Lily was telling Sirius something and they were talking and it was all very fast. Neither of them were facing him since they were really in each other’s faces and Remus had no idea what was going on, but soon enough, it was over and Lily was handing him a new note. 

“Don’t worry about that bastard. He loves poking fun,” She wrote. 

“No worries,” Remus responded. 

Soon enough, they had their first customer of the day. He assumed they were a regular considering how animated Sirius looked at this early hour. God, he looked so pretty today. His hair was half up in a bun, half down and it went a bit past his shoulders. It looked thick and had a wavy texture to it that was gorgeous. He wondered what Sirius wore outside of work. Unfortunately, Remus didn’t have much time to dwell on that since he had to learn his first drink. 

This first drink turned out to be a latte. Lily demonstrated the shot of expresso, the milk, and then the foamed milk on top, writing down that order for him on a note as well. 

It turned out many of the drinks had that same order. Remus kept these notes and added on the different amounts of each thing for each drink, differentiating a cappucino from a latte from a flat white. Then people would ask for extra expresso shots and Remus would begin overthinking the balance of each thing. 

“Chill out. Keep the amounts of the other things the same. Just add the extra shot.” Lily wrote to him once she noticed the rut he’d gotten stuck in.

As the day wore on, people began ordering things with a bit more.. flavor. There was less to mix up, but there were new ingredients and more elaborate drinks that Remus needed to keep straight. Pumps of vanilla and mochas and frappuccinos were his new opponent, though Remus was determined that he would win. 

“Oi Remus, you alright?” Sirius asked once things were finally lulling down after the lunch time rush. 

“I’ll be fine.” he typed into his program. 

“Alright, well, you’ll be done soon! Rest up! :D”  Sirius responded. 

“I’ll just down a monster and be fine, but thank you.” Remus responded. 

Sirius’s face was priceless. He swiveled around to face Remus. 

“A monster?!” He probably said. He then continued talking and Lily responded to him. Remus didn’t really bother watching it when he was busy with typing out his retort. 

“I have a caffeine addiction and I need to fund it.” It was a plain and simple thing, though, the cool girl and the hot guy who he now worked with were a great bonus. James seemed nice enough as well. 

“Fair enough.”

Before he walked out that day, Lily insisted on getting his number so she could text with him about midsummer nights as he continued to read it. She then added him into a group chat with her, James, and Sirius. Bastard. 

“To make scheduling easier,” Was the excuse she handed him as she walked out the door, though the mischievous grin on her face suggested otherwise. 

His phone blew up while he was trying to read, but it also felt like he now had the warmth of the cafe right in his pocket. Maybe Lily was onto something. 

He was quick to tell them that he didn’t mind that they were flooding his phone with their household stuff (since they all lived together). As long as he got to keep this warmth in his pocket…

The next morning, James and Sirius’ good morning texts helped him feel like he needed his morning tea just a bit less. 

-

Remus became a regular fixture in their lives very quickly. Although he wasn’t the most active in the group chat, they could still rouse a reaction out of him. He only worked a few shifts a week, but they usually all managed to see him. He usually came in a few times a week to get his London Fog and study as well. Sirius in particular spent the most time with him since he worked the most (they even finished learning that tactile alphabet!). Admittedly, having the only two working baristas there being blind and deaf has led to some interesting customer service moments, but they’ve managed. 

In fact, Sirius has been growing rather fond of Remus, for more reasons than him just being a cute boy. He’s noticed that Remus tends to try and spare people’s feelings. He’s quick to fix a drink to a customer’s liking and hesitant to get involved in a squabble. He’s also kind. He always has good words of encouragement when Sirius comes in feeling like shit, and he can also be quite funny, but he doesn’t seem to let that side of himself out that often. 

In fact, Sirius often has no idea what he’s feeling. Without visual or auditory cues (though sometimes tactile ones? Sirius is still learning to read those), Sirius often finds himself in the dark on this subject (haha. very funny.). Even so, he tries to make sure he has a London Fog waiting and ready for Remus’ arrival after his big tests and essays. At the same time, Remus can read him so well and always seems to know when he’s having a bad day (to be fair, Sirius is very much an open book and he knows it). 

There’s still so much to Remus that Sirius wants to know. He wants to hear about the things he’s passionate about, the things that make him happy (besides books and caffeine!), what makes him tick, his fears. With each passing day, Sirius finds himself longing for more of Remus Lupin.

So he decided to make a plan of action. Although he has evaded previous invites (from James, Lily, and himself), Sirius Black was going to get Remus Lupin to hang out with him or else be damned! 

It was monday, the worst day of the week for any student. Sirius and Remus were working the closing shift. Closing itself was approaching, and things were starting to slow down. Remus would be craving his next caffeine fix very soon. As he always did when he closed a shift, Remus debated whether to make himself another London Fog and burn that hole in his wallet. Sirius could hear him pacing back there, as he always did. 

It was time to put his plan into action.

“Hey Remus, how about you relax, I make you that London Fog, and then we get take out.” Sirius also knew that Remus had many classes today. How could someone so knackered refuse such an enticing offer? 

Still, Sirius had to be patient. Was Remus in contemplation? As the seconds ticked by, Sirius could feel himself growing more and more restless. He just wanted to hang out with his Remus! Was that so wrong? Did Remus find that so wrong?

“Alright. I wanna go home. We can order the take out for mine.”  Sirius could already feel himself bouncing on his toes as soon as he heard this declaration. 

“Yay!! You’re gonna have to tell me your address so I can get it for yours.” 

Remus spelled “Ok” into Sirius’ hand before Sirius began making the tea. The process was a steady rhythm that ended with Sirius putting in just a bit extra vanilla. He always seemed to do that for Remus. 

“Thank you. My address is 224 Burberry St. Apartment 537.” 

And thus, Sirius got on the phone, and their night to remember began.

-

Having Sirius in such proximity was Doing Things to Remus and he wasn’t sure if he liked it. 

“I think the easiest way to do it will be for you to just guide me back to yours. I’ll have to grab your arm for this, by the way,” Sirius wrote soon before they left the shop. Remus felt his body instantly stiffen before he relaxed again. As he thought about it, he realized this made the most sense logistically. He didn’t have a good way to tell Sirius directions while out and about. Finger spelling would take too long. Good god, this was definitely going to be… an experience. 

“Ok, grab on,” He spelled into his palm. 

And now Sirius Black and his godly cheek bones, artfully done hair, and killer piercings were so very close to him. He could feel the heightened speed of his heart rate. He could also feel his legs starting to speed up as he tried to escape this feeling. The thing with that was that Sirius is significantly shorter than him. When he saw the other man start to breathe heavily, he thought he’d better slow down. 

Really, what was he doing? Why were these people so eager to spend time with him? Why was he accepting their invite when sooner or later their warmth would be ripped away from him?!

Ahh right, Sirius promised good food, and he was so damn tired and it all sounded so nice… 

It was only once they made it back to his flat that Sirius began to shrink a little. 

“Hey Remus, I don’t want to knock over anything.. Could you lead me to your couch please?” He wrote. His handwriting looked smaller, and much more rushed. The little down turn of his lip made Remus think he would do anything for this man. 

Remus grabbed his hand and spelled “yes”  onto it with a firm grip before leading Sirius to his couch. He then realized he hadn’t thought much about how Sirius’ disability affected him outside the café. Inside the café, he was very capable and knew where everything was so there was never really an issue. There was a little rosebud in Remus’ chest that hoped maybe some day Sirius would know his flat like that. 

Remus made sure to crush that rosebud before it could even grow. 

Before either of them could dwell on anything, the doorbell rang (well, the lights went on and off. and maybe it also rang but Remus doesn’t know). Food! Glory!

Remus opened the door and took the food from the guy, but he was paying so much more attention to the food than the guy and he was so tired shit what was he saying?

A hand with a note and a wallet soon came into his vision. 

“20 pounds Remus! I’ve got it covered! Just take it out of my wallet we know I can’t see shit.” 

His saviour. Yes. Remus took out the 20 pounds and handed it to the man before he took his food and the man took his leave. He then put the food on his coffee table, and Sirius immediately began opening the bags. 

The smell of general tso’s filled the air, and Remus basked in it. 

“Thank you,” Remus typed into his app before he began to shove food down his throat. My lord was he hungry. 

“Ur welcome Remus!! <3 <3”

Sirius Black and his goddamn hearts and good food were going to be the death of him. 

Conversation only resumed once they finished shoving food down their faces. 

“Y’know, Remus, would you mind describing what your flat looks like to me? I know it might take a while but I don’t mind. I’m just, very curious about it.” 

“I don’t mind,” Remus spelled into Sirius’ hand before he began typing up a response. He tried to think about different details, but also the lay out, which he knew might be helpful for Sirius. He looked over and edited it carefully in his best attempt to be coherent. God, he really hoped he was coherent. 

“The couch we’re sitting on is to the left of the door. Its a deep blue, but not a dark blue. The coffee table in front of us is glass and has a few magazines my mum brought for guests, though I think you might be my first guest. I don’t have a tv. I never cared much for it. To our left I have a large, wooden bookshelf against the wall. This shelf is full of my favorite classic works. There is a big square window just beyond the shelf. There are two chairs across from us that are similar to the couch, except they are chairs. The kitchen is to the right of the door. Its simple, not particularly new or fancy. The appliances sort of wrap around the available wall space. The walls are just a beige color. They do tend to keep student accommodations plain.” Remus stopped there and let that play as he continued typing. He didn’t want Sirius waiting til the end of time. 

“If you keep going straight after entering through the door, you will end up in a hall way with one door on the left and two on the right. Through the door on the left is my bedroom. I have another giant book case in there with my more modern favorites. To the right is the bathroom through the first door and the guest room through the second. I’m not very creative with decorations. Everything is pretty plain.” Remus didn’t want to go into detail about his own bedroom. Something about it felt too private. He didn’t think people usually took their guests into their bedrooms. 

“Thank you, Remus. :)” Sirius wrote. 

“Of course,” Remus responded. “Is it hard for you to ask people stuff like that?” 

Sirius’ face scrunched up all funny as he heard the question. Still, he flipped out his pen and began writing his answer onto another pink sticky note. Did Sirius know they were pink? 

“Not James and Lily. I know they’ll do it for me in a heartbeat. I don’t tend to with people I’m not very familiar with, though I don’t spend that much time with people who aren’t James and Lily in the first place.” After this, Sirius had to move to a new note, but he handed this one to Remus. 

“And you Remus, I could feel a bit of unease when first asking you but, I also know that you sort of get it. I’m sure you understand how hard it is to ask for something like that, just to try and get the full picture of the situation, you know?” 

Remus thought back on all the times he had to ask people to write things down or to repeat what they said in so many mundane situations. It was exhausting. 

“Yeah. I get that. I have ask for people to repeat or write down their words all the time, but its still hard.” 

Sirius nodded as he wrote something else down. 

“I hope this isn’t too much to ask, but were you born deaf?” Oh screw it. Sure, he’d tell Sirius about himself, maybe he could get some information about him as well. He did wonder many things about Sirius. He wanted to explore the greater depths of him if he would let him. 

“Yeah. I’ve never known what hearing is like, so I don’t really know what I’m missing. Instead I got the experience of being deaf in state primary school.”

“It wasn’t good I take it?” 

Remus laughed and shook his head before typing his response. 

“Oh god no. Did you go to public school then?” 

Remus saw a moment of recognition in Sirius, like he had been spotted.

“Yeah. My parents, they’re old money. They did everything they could to mold me into their perfect son, but look where that got them, and me for that matter.” Sirius’ face was beautifully smug in that moment. He knew it got them a son with pretty hair and sick piercings. At the same time, there seemed to be a hint of wistfulness in his eyes.

“And where did that get you?”

Sirius looked thoughtful as he wrote his next note. Something about his features seemed pensive, though he did finish writing it and handed it off to Remus still. 

“It got me the fuck away from them living my best life with James and Lily, but also blind. They would sedate me to prevent me from acting out. Eventually the drugs took my vision. It was only with the help of James and my younger sister that I was able to get out.” 

Sedating your own kid?! Sirius’ parents were unbelievable…

“That’s really fucked up. I’m glad you got out of there.” A wistful look was on Sirius’ face. Something was eating away at his features, but what? Remus looked over the note again and realized that maybe it was the sister he didn’t name. 

“Me too.”  Sirius then began writing another note. The way he wrote was interesting. He was holding himself in a careful sort of way, yet making his words fly onto the sticky note. 

“Well, enough about me! Clearly I love to talk about myself, but what I really want to do is learn about you! What’s your favorite color? What is your favorite book and why? How are you feeling? I feel like I never have a good read on how you’re feeling and I feel bad about it, Remus.” Since Sirius couldn’t see…

“How do you usually figure out how someone is feeling?” 

Sirius’ eyes briefly widened before he had some sort of realization and began writing. 

“I listen to their voice. Volume, tone, pitch, all of those things can help indicate how a person is feeling. I guess, people are expressive in their speech sort of like how they are in their facial and body language?” 

Oh. Of course Sirius had no idea how he was feeling! He wasn’t very expressive in the first place either. The way he wrote tended to be flat as well. He doubted that a robot voice could express emotions when they were only given text and not the feelings behind it. Could he talk for? No. Absolutely not. Remus Lupin could not make himself try and talk again or else he was going to sob. 

“I’m sorry I won’t ever be able to give you that.” Remus felt so small in this moment. He pulled one of his legs up to his chest, squeezing it as hard as he could so that maybe, just maybe, he’d shrink a little. 

“Were you ever forced to speak?” 

Remus hesitated before answering, but in the end, he revealed all. Something about telling Sirius about all this felt like an exhale, a release. 

“Yeah. I had a speech therapist in primary school. I needed to speak if I wanted to make friends, but I don’t think the words ever came out right, if at all. Kids were mean and would make fun of my attempts. By secondary school I didn’t speak at all. My teachers didn’t like it but they dealt with it. I had an interpreter and she did her job.” 

“Oh Remus!” He watched Sirius say, or something of the like, before Sirius was grabbing his hand like it was a lifeline. It felt as if Sirius was trying to say something through this touch. All of this warmth was rushing through his body and seeped through his veins before it manifested in blissful tingles. 

Eventually, Sirius let go and began writing. 

“That’s horrible! I won’t make you speak, Remus. Ever. Okay? I want you to feel safe with me.” 

“But then how would I show you what I’m feeling? I know I’m not very expressive. I don’t like to talk about my feelings. I’m sorry.” 

“Remus don’t feel bad!! Sometimes, circumstances are a bitch, but we can work through it without discomfort. Just, give my hand a squeeze occasionally? Maybe?”

There was a passionate flame that set Sirius’ features ablaze. He held his hand and squeezed before writing another note. 

“You are not a burden, and neither am I!!!”

Something about this message made Remus want to cry and sink into the floor. He wanted to pursue other action, like, maybe writing a coherent response, but instead his gut response was some how wrapping his arms around Sirius and tried not to let his tears wet Sirius’ shirt. Sirius hugged back, and his grip was tight. Maybe they were both dealing with some emotions. 

Eventually, they settled down and let go, and Remus was finally coherent enough to respond.

“I’ll do that. Thank you, Sirius.” 

“Thank you, Remus. Thank you for opening up to me. I know its been an emotional night. Maybe next time we can stick to more lighthearted topics than our childhood trauma, yeah?” There was a gooey smile on Sirius’ face that made Remus’ heart soar. 

He decided to start now and give Sirius’ hand a squeeze before responding right in the palm of his hand. 

“Sounds good to me.” 

“Wait! You never told me your favorite color! What’s your favorite color??” Sirius asked. Remus had to think about this. He didn’t feel overly passionate about it, but he knew there were some hues he was quite fond of.

“I like blues and greens a lot.”

“Cool!!” 

They spent the rest of the night in a lull of sleepy conversations and soft touches before Sirius had to go home. 

“I’ll see you thursday, Remus!! :D”

“I apologize if this is rude, but are you good to get home by yourself?”

“Yep! I have my cane and can have gps play through my earbuds. Worst comes to worst I’ll nab an uber. Ta ta!” 

“See you Thursday, Sirius.” 

And with that Sirius Black was out the door and Remus Lupin was once again alone in his flat, which now felt rather cold. He really should be used to this by now, but the more time he spends at Starry Night, the harder it becomes to come home to this. 

-

From then on, the gang was able to coerce Remus into doing more things. Remus and Lily had their little hang outs with book discussions and lectures and Sirius and Remus had theirs with.. whatever came to mind, or, whatever Sirius was able to canoodle Remus into. Sometimes, James even managed to get Remus to the pub to have a pint after work. All three of them were working hard to learn bsl for him as well. For Sirius, the process was a bit more difficult, but he pushed through. 

These outings weren’t overly frequent. Remus was very busy, and the others had their own commitments as well. It seemed to Sirius as if Remus was still trying to avoid hanging out with them. It saddened him, but he could only wonder why. So far, time had done the trick, so Sirius hoped that time would continue to do its work on one R.J. Lupin. 

Today in particular, he was hoping to make some progress. It was a Saturday, so Remus didn’t have class, nor was he working for once. Remus often worked Saturdays since that was when he was free, but instead, James and Lily were closing. Sirius opened with James, but the afternoon, the part of the day when Remus was ok with being awake, was his for the taking. He just needed to send a single text and pray to the gods of the moon (which seemed to be Remus’ trademark from James and Lily’s tellings) that this would work. 

Sirius: Hello Remus!! We both have this afternoon off! Wahoo!! How would you feel about doing a little shopping? I have just the place in mind and you’re gonna love it!!

With this medium, Sirius really had to be patient. For one, Remus tended to not wake up early on weekends, but he was also pretty dreadful at replying in a timely manner in general. 

“Oh Prongsieee, when will the light of my life, the moon to my stars, ever reply to my text?” Sirius wailed as the two of them worked that morning. 

“Padfoot darling, you must give it time and patience. You know our Moony likes to take his time with his texts. Just give him his wiggle room, and surely his answer will come through!”

“But what if its because he hates mee?”

“Sirius, I think he’s smiled every time he sees you since the beginning. He’ll respond, and we know he’s free, so he will acquiesce!”

“Thank you, Jamie. I will hold your comforting words near and dear to my heart in this perilous time.” 

“Don’t worry about it, darling. God, nothing is catching my fancy. My classes are all so different and each of them bores me!”

“Go on.” 

James went on and further described his boredom with life while Sirius listened. Eventually Remus responded in affirmation and they got the plans sorted, so James and Sirius were able to wax poetic much more optimistically for the rest of their shift. 

“Goodbye Padfoot, I will miss you every second you are gone!” James proclaimed as Sirius walked out of Starry Night. 

“You too, Prongsie, but my time with Moony is coming!”

“Ask him out already!” Lily piped in.

“Shut up!” Sirius responded before the door was shut and he was on his way to his darling Remus. 

See, yes. Asking out Remus would be ideal, yes, but with how much effort had to be put in to make Remus spend time with him in the first place, Sirius couldn’t bear to upset the balance they had created, the friendship he had so lovingly labored for. The last thing he could do was squander that now. 

After what felt like millennia, Sirius and Remus managed to meet up at the address Sirius sent. He heard the sound of footsteps from the table he was sat at until he felt a familiar hand grabbing his own. 

“Hi,” Remus wrote into his palm. 

Sirius decided to respond in like by aggressively waving to his friend who could surely see him. He could feel a goofy smile on his face and by god he really hoped it didn’t just look like a big giant sign that said “I am really bloody gay for Remus Lupin,”  but there wasn’t much he could do about that, so he had to let it go. 

“Thank you. I’m in love with this place,” Remus spelled into his hand before giving it a squeeze. Yes, Sirius took Remus to Bartleby’s, a large secondhand bookshop nearby that also sold coffee and tea! He did so good! He really wondered what Remus’ face looked like right now, whether his (hazel!!) eyes were eyeing the tall shelves covered in books or eyeing the coffee stand, whether his lips were quirked into a smile. He wondered what the makeup was of a normal Remus smile. That hand squeeze, though, that glorious hand squeeze at least told him that Remus was very excited even if he couldn’t see it. Geez oh man he hardly ever reminisced about having sight anymore it was just, Remus bloody Lupin and his jumpers and his curly fuckin hair that have done things to him!

 Eventually, Sirius became coherent enough to respond. 

“Lily told me about it. I know you two have been busy attending lectures and things so I thought I’d better make you aware of it! Just lead me wherever and have fun, Remus!! :D” Sirius wrote on a sticky note before Remus was already dragging him somewhere. A left, a right, another left. If only Sirius could remember the layout of this place. Well, he wasn’t much of a reader so no wonder he didn’t, but it would’ve been nice to not be completely disoriented. 

That soon didn’t matter because Remus Lupin was talking his ear off and he was living for every second. 

“Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen. Five sisters. Mainly Jane and Elizabeth. Getting married to Bingley and Darcy respectively. Jane and Bingley together fast. Elizabeth and Darcy bumpy. Slow burn. Fixing mistakes. Very good.” Remus wrote about Pride and Prejudice. Since Remus was spelling into his hand, his explanations were a bit simplified, but Sirius understood! He was connecting the dots! They walked around the shop just like that for a while. Sirius could feel how Remus’ grip would tighten before he decided to nab a book or not. More often than not, Remus was giving into his desires, and Sirius thought that was very good. Remus deserves to spend money on things that make him happy! 

Soon enough, Remus was ready to check out. 

“Can you talk for me?” Remus wrote into his hand. 

“Yeah. Cash and tea?” Sirius asked. 

“Yep.” 

Sirius shot Remus a thumbs up, which he could only hope he saw, and the were on the way to the register. 

“Hello!” he heard the cash register lady exclaim. 

“Hello!” he responded with equal enthusiasm. He wondered about what this lady might’ve looked like and decided to try and guess based on her voice. He was thinking shoulder length red ringlet curls and blue eyes. 

“That’ll be twelve pounds,” said the lady as she finished scanning the books. Sirius made sure to write this value into Remus’ hand so that he could get it out of his wallet. 

“Thank you, have a good day!” the lady called as Remus was pulling him into a new direction. 

“Why so hasty?” Sirius asked. 

“Staring at me.” Remus answered. Oh, what a world it was to be ignorant of such arseholes! Sirius needed to punch these bastards for the both of them. Maybe he’d ask Remus to take him to one some time, but would he condone it? Ehh, Sirius wasn’t sure. 

Soon, they were in line for Remus’ tea, a very important part of their precedure, a part that Sirius had a plan for. 

“L fog?” Sirius asked. 

“Yes.” Remus answered. 

“Hello, may I take you order?” the barista asked once they got up to the register. 

“Hey there, could I get a London Fog with a bit extra vanilla?” Sirius asked. 

“Sure thing! That’ll be four pounds.” 

Sirius then got out his debit card and swiped it through the machine he found in front of him. Remus could not retaliate against this. Sirius Black was not going to be stopped today, damnit! 

“Why’d you pay?” Remus asked.

“My treat!” Sirius answered. 

“Thanks.” Something about this response, about the way Remus’ hand felt as he inscribed this message onto Sirius’, felt off to Sirius. Not everything felt quite right. Did he do something wrong? 

And then Remus got his fog and they were sitting at a table and Remus took his hand and began spelling. 

“Its how you make it! How?” Remus wrote. So he noticed! And he liked it! Aaa he’d succeeded!! 

“I told the lady my secret!”

“Which is?”

“A secret.” Remus Lupin was not getting his secret. He needed him to be coming back to him! Not gone with his London Fog recipe! 

“Damn.” There was a brief lull in conversation after that, Remus distracted with his drink and Sirius with his own thoughts. He soon decided to air said thoughts out. 

“Why choose to talk this way?” he asked. 

“Less stares,” Remus answered. Oh! So that’s why he randomly switched to tactile alphabet at that restaurant a few weeks back! Yet, when they were hanging out at Remus’ last weekend, Remus more readily used his app. Things were making sense now! As he thought about it, Sirius realized that hearing the robot voice was probably a bit jarring for the people around him. For Sirius, someone who constantly heard them so he could go about the task of using his phone, this was not so, but yes! He didn’t want Remus getting stares! 

“I’m sorry. Makes sense.” 

Remus gave his hand a squeeze in response before continuing to sip on his drink. 

When Remus talked to him using this method, Sirius also found himself replying in kind. It was easiest to just keep his hand linked with Remus’ and spell rather than let go to write (or sign if he felt he could) before Remus grabbed back on to reply, and what if Remus didn’t reply because he let go?! Really, Sirius also just really liked having an excuse to hold Remus’ hand. 

After a few more pleasant minutes sitting and chatting with the ever pleasant Remus, Sirius decided it was time to indulge himself. 

“Reeemus! Follow me and indulge me!” Sirius wrote on a note before getting up, getting out his cane, and making his way out of the book store. Damn it was cold…

Remus gave his hand a squeeze as they were making their way out to let Sirius know that he was in fact following him. After a bit of walking, they made it to Sirius’ favorite place in the world! Well, one of many favorites, but shush! 

Davidson’s Records. What a place!!

Bowie was playing from the speakers, and Sirius felt peace in his heart as he took Remus towards the best section, the most important section: the Queen section. The band has been a bit of an obsession of his for years now. He’d looked up to Freddie Mercury for as long as he knew the man existed and the music also tended to strike a chord. It was all so colorful, and Sirius could drown in it. Bowie was a close second, but Sirius was here on a mission today. 

He’d heard there was an original unused copy of one of the 70s Queen albums here today and He Needed To Have It. He felt around the bin of records that he knew contained Queen until he felt the hallmark of an unused record: the plastic wrapping. 

He swished his arms around his vicinity, cane still in hand, to try and find Remus with no luck, so he resorted to waving his arms really big in hopes that Remus would spot him and come over. Thankfully, he soon did, his Moony hadn’t abandoned him after all!

“Yes?” Remus spelled. 

“What does this say?” he asked. 

“Queen.”

“What else?”

“News of the World,” Remus spelled into his hand. He did so more slowly and carefully than usual. Good. He knew how important this was, but also yes! News of the World! That album really helped him through the situation with his vermin of a mother. The way Sheer Heart Attack totally and completely hits! Oh, he really hoped El was doing alright… He doubted it, but he could hope. 

Sirius snatched the record up and tucked it under his arm. 

“Perfect,” he responded. He had what he came for. “What do you think of this place?”

“Its cool. Makes me curious.”

“I have a large speaker! Come back to mine and indulge!” Sirius had told Remus of his love of music in the past, and Remus had described to him how he experienced it and his indifference. He wondered why he was so curious now, but he was going to go with it because Remus was going to know what Sheer Heart Attack felt like damnit!

“Ok.” 

And with that, Sirius went up to the register with his brand new prized possession before Remus was shoving some cash into his hand… wha?

“My treat,” Remus wrote. Well damn, ok. Sirius had no idea if the bills he received would pay for the record but if Remus wanted to do this for him, he would let him! 

They did. Pay for it that is. Sirius was surprised Remus shelled out that much for him. 

“Why?”  he asked when they were on the way back to his place. 

“You always get things for me. Wanted to get something for you.” Remus answered and just, Sirius could feel his heart expanding and oh god did he do this to Remus every single time?! Maybe. He doubted Remus felt the way he did, but, a man can dream! 

Once they made it back to his apartment, Sirius blissfully led Remus to his room. 

“My room!” He wrote once they were in there. 

“Where light switch?” Remus asked. 

Oh. Shit. Uhhhh…

“James! Lily! Whoever is home we need assistance!” Sirius called. He then heard foot steps, a brief silence, and then the flick of the switch and the shut of his door. Thank god, all was well. 

“I like your room,” Sirius soon felt being spelled out on his hand. Good. Perfect. The Remus Lupin stamp of approval! He didn't try too hard decorating it. It wasn't like he could see it, and he was the only one usually in here anyways, but it did hold the things he held near and dear to his heart, like his keyboard, his bass, and that funky chair that James and Lily voted against keeping in the living room. They were just lame. It wasn't like they could understand true style!

“I’m glad. Now speaker.” Sirius responded. He then connected his phone to his speaker and began playing “Sheer Heart Attack.” He knew it was a song that made him feel things and was in a register that Remus should more easily be able to feel, and he wanted him to experience this song that was such a big part of his teenage years. It was definitely a sacrifice to play the digital version when his brand new record was Right There, but Sirius Needed Remus to experience this. He danced about his room (carefully, he was experienced!) with vigor. He hoped he had the volume loud enough so Remus could feel the vibrations. 

“Do you feel it?” Sirius wrote on a sticky note for Remus. He had no idea where Remus’ hand was nor did he want to look for it in the midst of his splendor. 

“Yes,” he felt quickly scrawled onto his hand before he resumed dancing. As the song finished up, it felt as if he’d just exhaled his feelings. He let himself slump to the floor before asking,

“What’d you think?” on Remus’ hand. He had a brief wait before Remus responded, within which his brain felt like it was on fire because oh no what if he hated it?!

“Good.” Remus answered. 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” 

Sirius could feel his mouth bursting into a huge grin. He just felt so alive in this moment and he wanted to keep hold of this feeling and store it in the deep recesses of his heart. 

“I’m glad. More?” 

“More.” Remus confirmed. For a while longer, they blasted music together in Sirius’ bedroom.  Sirius would explain lyrical significance here and there, but mostly the two of them just experienced the music together. 

After Remus had to go home, Sirius felt the flames in his heart rising. Oh, what was he going to do with himself?!

-

Sirius: Reeeemusss

Remus: … yes?

Sirius: I wanna go shoppingggg come with meeee

Remus: Sure, just tell me where to meet you.

Sirius: Ok!! I’ll meet you near Starry Night! There’s stuff nearby!

*Remus Lupin Liked a Message*

God, Remus was so utterly and incredibly fucked. After seeing Sirius dance a few weeks ago, he was so completely and utterly screwed. All of that emotion, all of that, grace and poise and resistance! Sure, the music was good, but Remus thought that watching Sirius dance was by far superior. Everything about this boy, inside and out, was doing things to Remus.

No wonder he accepted that offer so quickly. Stupid.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Lily asked. Over the past few months, she picked up a lot of bsl. She still relied on finger spelling some times, but a lot of the time, her and Remus were able to have really smooth conversation. It was odd for Remus to actually be using it, let alone that people were learning it for him, but he tried to make the voice of appreciation in his brain louder than the one asking why anyone would ever do that for him. 

“Sirius and I are going shopping today,” Remus answered. 

“For clothes?”

“I think so, yeah.” 

Lily’s eyes widened before she said something, maybe “oh wow”? 

“He must really trust you.” It was only then that it registered for Remus. 

Sirius Black was trusting him to help him pick out clothes to buy. Oh right. Wow. In the scheme of things, the two of them have had to put a lot of trust into each other so that they could more smoothly navigate the world, so to Remus, this didn’t feel like that big of a step. 

Despite that, he still felt the pressure. 

“I think it goes both ways,” Remus responded once he finally got hold of himself. 

Now Lily was giving him this look, even waggling her eyebrows! Grr. Although people might not expect it, Lily Evans could definitely be a tease. 

Remus glared at her back, though there was no heat in the gesture. They didn’t have time to continue the conversation since a customer walked in. 

Sirius and James walked in together in a blaze of motion. They were clearly in the middle of a heated conversation, though they were soon distracted by the sight of their friends behind the counter. 

“Remus!” Sirius signed. He had that goofy smile on his face that made Remus’ heart melt.  Today he wore a white pirate looking blouse with a black corset over top of it, black skinny jeans, and doc martens with at least a three inch heel. Slung over his shoulders was a leather jacket. His hair was down today and oh god, why must Sirius be so bloody hot?!

Remus tried his best to subdue these feelings as he typed out a response in his phone. It would’ve been kinda awkward to reach for Sirius’ hand over the counter. 

“Hello, you look good.” 

At that, Sirius’ face some how brightened even more.

“Thank you! Ready to go?” he asked. 

“Yeah, give me a minute.” Remus responded. 

“Hello and so long, partner,” James told him as he came behind the counter. As he left the back and headed to the break room to grab his stuff, Remus gave James a salute and Lily a large wave. Once he was in the break room, he took off his black work shirt and put on a sweater in its stead. He needed it to get through this weather. He didn’t bother changing his pants and shoes. They were fine for this outing. He then grabbed his bag and put on his coat before reemerging to find a very eager Sirius. 

He squeezed Sirius’ hand, who then jumped, making Remus laugh. Sirius was practically vibrating as they walked out of the café, and it was really doing things to Remus’ heart. 

He followed Sirius down the street until he ducked into a vintage clothing store. The store was filled with so many pieces that had Remus practically drooling. 

He then saw Sirius reaching out for him and grabbed his hand. 

“What d’ya think?” Sirius asked. This time, Remus’ response was practically instant. 

“Amazing.” 

Sirius beamed.

“Perfect. I should be able to find good stuff then,” Sirius wrote. Then, they were both standing there for a second, and Remus wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. 

“Lead the way to good stuff!” Sirius wrote. 

Oh. Duh. Remus then kept hold of Sirius’ arm and began to explore the store in pursuit of good stuff. As he walked through, he saw all sorts of pieces in all sorts of colors: Orange corduroy coats, green bell bottom pants, blue berets, all of it was everywhere and Remus was slowly falling in love with the place. He doubted he could afford it, but at least it looked nice. As he looked around, he scoured for things that were not as colorful, things that Sirius would wear. Eventually, he came upon some black, leather pants that he thought would strike Sirius’ fancy and fit him. They were tight towards the top and had more of a flared leg towards the bottom and, lord, even just thinking about Sirius in these pants…

“Found leather pants, flared at bottom. What you think?” Remus spelled into Sirius’ hand. Sirius’ face was now in such a smirk, oh god, oh wow. What was Remus doing?

“Let me feel.” 

Remus handed Sirius the pants. Sirius felt them and nodded his head. 

“I’ll try ‘em on.” 

“Cool.” 

They found a few more things at this store, like some white go go boots, a black jean jacket, and a cool necklace with a crystal in it, before Sirius went to try everything on. 

Once Sirius came out of the changing room, oh lord, he was so bloody fucked. The pants, with the corset, and the blouse, which, at this moment, revealed some of Sirius’ chest… Oh my lord Remus Lupin was so bloody fucked and it was taking every single ounce of self restraint in his body not to absolutely smother this man right then and there.

Suddenly, Sirius was smirking, and oh my fuck bloody hell.

“You like it?” He asked. He was wagging his eyebrows in such a way that he was confident… Oh shit, did Remus have an audible reaction?! Did it sound weird?!

“Yeah,” Remus came over and wrote on his hand. He felt the heat rising in his face and now being in this proximity… this was gonna be a fight. 

“Good. I’m getting most of it.” Sirius answered before he went back into the changing room to change. Phew. Now Remus had a chance to breathe. Unfortunately, he didn’t think the image of Sirius Black in flared leather pants would ever leave his head. He closed his eyes and breathed. In and out, in and out, until he was being poked and opened his eyes to find Sirius poking him. 

“Ready?” Sirius asked. 

“Yeah.” Remus answered. They went to the register, Sirius bought his stuff, and they were out of there. 

“Follow me.” Sirius told Remus once they were outside. Remus did as he was instructed while doing his best not to shiver into his jacket. London was too damn cold. He didn’t know how Sirius was surviving in just his thin blouse and leather jacket. Eventually, they entered another store. This one was a charity shop, with price tags that Remus could more comfortably commit himself to. 

“Follow your heart!” Sirius scried onto Remus’ hand soon after they made it into the store. It seemed that Sirius didn’t realize where Remus’ heart would lead him. 

Yes. It led him (and Sirius by proxy) to knit jumpers. Remus looked through the rack carefully. Trying to find one where he was pleased with both the texture and the pattern was a difficult task. Soon, Sirius was holding up a sweater, gesturing for Remus to take it. 

Oh wow. Remus could see why once he took hold of it. It was so soft! The pattern wasn’t bad either. It was covered in zig zags in a variety of muted colors and Remus really liked it. He picked one more sweater, this one not nearly as soft but it was a gorgeous dark blue, before he was settled and instead attempted to follow Sirius’ heart. 

Damn. He had no idea where to look for stuff Sirius might like in this place. At the vintage store, it was displayed and easy to spot, but here, clothing was of all sorts of styles and Remus only really knew where to look for himself. 

“Looking for anything?” Remus asked Sirius. Sirius thought for a minute before answering. 

“Boots.” Sirius answered. Remus did remember Sirius putting those go go boots back, so it made sense. 

“Size?” 

“9.” Well, with how short Sirius was, Remus wasn’t surprised by this number. 

He gave Sirius’ hand a squeeze before taking him to the shoe section for his size. Sirius then took the opportunity to feel around it for something that caught his fancy. Remus himself looked around the area to see if anything looked like something Sirius would wear. Eventually, Sirius waved him over. 

“Color?” Sirius asked. Remus looked down at a pair of platform boots that would give Sirius several inches in height and had to laugh. 

“Black,” Remus answered. 

“Perfect. Bastard.”

“Ha. Short.” 

Sirius then stuck his tongue out at him before trying on the shoes. Remus had to admit that they looked really cool. The platforms were dramatic, much like Sirius, and the bat shaped buckles were a nice touch. 

Sirius was making that goddamn face again, that dumb stupid smirk that meant he knew he looked hot, and fuck! He was so hot! Maybe he’d just collapse right here. 

“Thoughts?” Sirius asked. That dumb stupid smirk was still on his goddamn face, and, breathe. Breathe. 

“Look nice,” Remus answered. Sirius then proceeded to do a little victory dance before taking off the shoes. Goddamnit. After that, they soon wrapped up their time in the thrift store and bought their items, and Sirius was able to assist Remus in this dire hour. He had to admit, it really was a lot easier to buy things when Sirius was there with him. It was like this weight was lifted off his chest. He didn’t have to worry about judgmental stares or lip reading, or- it just, felt better. 

“Anywhere else?” Remus asked once they left the store and were walking back towards Starry Night. 

“No. Thank you, Remus. You were a good help. It was nice to spend time with you, too,” Sirius signed. His signing wasn’t the neatest, and he had to finger spell a bit, but the message was still conveyed. 

“Thank you for inviting me and trusting me. Was lots of fun,” Remus responded on Sirius’ hand. 

“Of course!” Sirius wrote back fervently. The way Sirius was trusting him this way, with no hesitation, was daunting, but it did feel good. They didn’t talk much the rest of the walk back to Starry Night, though neither of them commented on the fact that their hands were still entwined anyways.

Once he made it back to his own apartment, Remus made his best attempt to wash all of his thoughts about Sirius down the drain. He was not shocked but disappointed when these attempts failed. He didn’t know what he was gonna do once he was alone again, as he surely would be soon enough. He wasn’t, he just wasn’t worth it. 

Maybe his future emotional stab wound would be worth it. 

-

It was only a momentous occasion that got Remus to hang out with the group of them. 

James: Oi! We’ll have officially been open for six months tomorrow! You all better be at the apartment saturday night at 6! Be there or be square! 

Sirius: Be there!! You better be there Remus!!

*Remus Lupin Liked a Message*

Oh finally! Remus was going to hang out with the lot of them! Sirius was so excited! Sure there was some logistics things that had to be dealt with, but it was gonna be good! So good! Sirius just hoped that maybe, James and Lily wouldn’t see how whipped he was and maybe not tease him relentlessly for it, especially in front of Remus. 

Sirius planned out his outfit very carefully that day. He made sure to wear the leather pants he bought with Remus that day, but what with?

Oh yes, the platforms! Those gorgeous, gorgeous platforms. He did not have to do much walking today. He would not fall on his face. Everything would be fine! 

Now for a top… Maybe that loose button up, yes, the white one. 

“Jamieee what color is my shirt?” Sirius asked once he was dressed, emerging from his room into the main living space where James was cooking. 

“Its black, darling.” 

“Shit.”

“You need the white one? Know where it is?”

“Yeah. I’ll find it. Thank you!”

“Of course, darling. Good luck!” 

With that, Sirius reentered his bedroom in search of that goddamn white dress shirt. It was in here somewhere, right? 

-

Why was he doing this?

It was always this push and pull between his mind and his heart. Remus knew, he knew! He knew that the only way making friends ever ended was in pain, back in his own chill. Yet, yet! He still kept letting himself grow closer. The roots of his heart were beginning to plant themselves in that little tea shop. James and Lily were such wonderful companions, and Sirius… oh Sirius! 

They were a match made in hell, yet he was the one who stole his heart! Surely this would end in pieces, yet he was so happy now that he was almost okay with it. 

As he threw on his sweater, he tried to console his head as he listened to his heart. Hopefully he could steady his breathing before he made it to their apartment. 

-

It was 6:00! Remus would be showing up soon! James, Lily, and Sirius were already gathered in the living room to begin the celebration. 

“So, do you think you two will be able to talk and sign at the same time? I don’t want to have Remus out of the loop,” Sirius asked. 

“I don’t know, but I want to try! For Remus!” James answered. 

“I’ve done it a bit for him at lectures we’ve attended so I think I’ll do alright,” said Lily. 

“Alright, well, if that doesn’t work, I’m sure we’ll still figure something out, yeah?” 

“Yeah!” said James. 

“Of course,” Lily answered. 

Soon after that, they all heard a fated knock on the door. Remus! Glory! It was his Remus! He needed to not jump up and down no matter how badly he wanted to because he was still not used to these platforms. James or Lily must’ve gotten the door because he could hear it opening and closing. He started to wave his arms big and wide. Remus!! He assumed James and Lily were also greeting Remus at this moment. He soon felt a very familiar hand in his own. 

“Hello.” Remus spelled. 

“Remus!!” Sirius responded. Soon, Remus let go of his hand and must’ve been doing something. 

“I figured I’d use this for today so everyone can understand me. Is that good with everyone?” Remus asked. Sirius knew that voice as soon as he heard it. Eee!!

Sirius nodded his head, and he assumed James and Lily did something similar. 

“Ok cool,” Remus responded. 

And then Sirius heard a beep! Food?

“That was pizza! Food time!” James exclaimed as he headed over to the oven. Maybe, after trial and error, James had finally properly made a pizza. They were going to find out. Sirius also noted that this wasn’t James’ usual sort of phrasing and he talked more slowly, which made sense. Signing and talking at the same time surely wasn’t easy. 

He soon smelled the sweet aroma of pizza. Pizza! And it smelled good! Did James Potter do them right?

“Here it is! Eat up!” James exclaimed as he put the pizza down on the coffee table. 

Sirius felt around the edge of the pizza until he could feel where James had cut it and started ripping. As soon as he bit into it, Sirius knew that James finally did them right. The crust was thick, and the cheese to sauce ratio was exquisite. What more could he want?

“Jamie! Its so good!” Sirius exclaimed between bites. 

“Thank you, Sirius! The process to get here has been arduous but I’m so glad I did it!”

“Good!” Sirius hoped this exchange didn’t make Remus uncomfortable. His mouth acted before his brain and, its not like you can sign while you’re eating. He hoped Remus was alright. He felt along his left for Remus’ hand (with his pizza in his right), and he soon found Remus’ free right hand. Maybe he was a lefty?

“Good?” He spelled into Remus’ hand. 

“Yeah.” Remus answered. Maybe he thought this was about the pizza instead of his emotions, but Sirius hoped his point got across.

“Good.” He wrote before he continued to eat his pizza. There really wasn’t much conversation as they ate, but that was good. It seemed that everyone was trying to wait til they could include Remus! Good! Good! 

"Why is it called Starry Night, anyways?” Remus asked as they were finishing up eating. 

“Lily loves Van Gogh, and Sirius has an ego,” James answered honestly. Ok, so, maybe Sirius did fight long and hard on this name because it did represent him well, but he could not stand for this slander. 

“Jamie, although you wound me, you are right,” Sirius answered in both sign and speech. 

“Jamie?” Remus asked. 

“Its Sirius’ nickname for him. Their thing,” Lily answered. “I think we should call him ‘Hairy’ for that mop of his.” 

“Lily, my love! This slander! It brings me woe! No matter what I do, my hair does this! Its unfixable!” James explained. 

“Try something else,” she answered. 

“I’ve tried everything!” James exclaimed. 

“Your hair looks curly. I might be able to help you,” said Remus. 

“Remus, our savior!” said Sirius. 

“Maybe. Maybe you can show me what you do some time?” James asked. His voice sounded so small. Sirius wondered if his signing that Remus saw portrayed the same thing. 

“Yeah,” Remus answered. 

“Thank you, Remus. My savior!” said James.

“This is so necessary thank you, Remus,” Lily said, which had James squawking at her. 

“Thank you Remus! We love you and he needs it!” said Sirius. 

Suddenly there were foot steps and the closing of their thick front door…

Remus. 

“James, Lily, what happened?! Why did he leave?! What?!” Sirius could feel the strings holding him together slowly falling apart. He could not see this coming (not funny). 

“Sirius, deep breathes,” said Lily, who was now by his side instructing him to breathe. In and out, fuck too fast. He started coughing. Again. In and out. In and out. 

Once he was composed (enough), James started talking. 

“I think he was a bit overwhelmed with the attention? I don’t completely know.”

“I think there was more to it. Something was happening with his face as we were thanking him,” Lily answered. 

“I have to find him,” Sirius proclaimed. 

“You probably should be the one to do it, Pads. Go get your man,” said James. That bastard. Sirius didn’t have time to deal with his teasing. He had to go find Remus, before it was too late. He went into his room, retrieved his keys and cane, and was out the door. He turned right, the way out of the building, and almost broke into a run (platform boots be damned), until he felt something against his cane that felt alive… Remus? 

“If you are not Remus say so now,” Sirius said before he sat himself on the floor next to who he thought had to be Remus. He searched with his hand until he found Remus’ own hand, yes, it was definitely Remus’ he knew this hand, and began to write. 

“What happened?” he asked. There was hesitation before Remus began to respond. Sirius could feel it in the tremor of Remus’ hand. 

“Got overwhelmed,” Remus supplied. His movements were slow and hesitant. Why? Why to everything?

“Why?” Sirius asked. Sirius noticed Remus was taking deep breathes, like he was gasping for air. 

“You were all thanking me all at once. You looked so appreciative. Of me. I hope I don’t sound dumb, but why?” Remus asked. The touch of his fingers was so feather light, oh Remus!

In that moment, it was about his willingness to assist with The Beast, as they’d dubbed James’ hair, but there were so many reasons, so many reasons! Too many reasons to spell onto Remus’ hand. That would take all day! He didn’t think his signing was advanced enough for this either, so Sirius began to write. He always kept sticky notes on him just in case. 

“Remus, I don’t intend to overwhelm you, you can stop reading if you have to, but I hope you finish reading this some day! I love you for so many reasons! You are so kind! You are always so considerate of others! I love listening to you! Although I struggle with reading, hearing your thoughts on books is so cool! I wish I’d gotten into that sort of analysis! I love your style! James and Lily tell me about your outfits all the time! I love sitting and listening to music with you! Its like the whole world disappears and only the two of us exist even though we experience music in very different ways! I love your apartment! I love feeling along your big book shelf and seeing what I find! Most of all, I think I love you, because, because you’re you, Remus, and, I think that’s all any of us could ask for. ILYYY <3<3<3” 

He felt shaky fingers take the note. For a minute, he waited for a response, any sort of response, before a hand was latching into his own and he felt tears beginning to land on his hand. 

Sirius Black wrapped Remus Lupin into the biggest, warmest, hug mankind has ever seen as Remus Lupin cried into his shoulder. If you think that this is statistically impossible because of Sirius’ short stature, shush. He could feel as Remus sucked air into his lungs, feel the shaking of his body, hear the sobs that he doubted Remus was even aware of. Sirius held him there, safe and warm, until the sobs died down and the tears stopped falling. Remus extracted himself carefully before beginning to write. 

“I’ve never, I never thought I could be loved like this.” Suddenly, all movement from Remus Lupin completely stopped, it was like there was a glitch in the system. “Wait. You love me?” 

Oh. Was that the word he used? Shit. Well, Sirius wasn’t going to lie about that if he wanted to claim 100% authenticity of his note.

Slowly, ever slowly, Sirius bobbed his head up and down. He wrote “yes” into Remus’ hand once he realized he was getting no response. 

“W- Right. Note.” Sirius nodded. Yes. That note. That short essay explaining all of the reasons he loved Remus, his entire heart, right there on a platter. Remus had to be reading it. He could feel Remus wedging more and more into his side as time went on. 

Eventually, Remus was just crashing into him and he felt his hand. 

“Got through most of it, not quite all,” Remus wrote. 

“Thats alright. We have time,” Sirius answered. 

Remus burrowed further into his side and Sirius still felt movement. Maybe he was typing. 

“I was trying so hard not to get attached. Everyone gives up eventually, but, you guys have been trying so hard, and, its given me hope that I’ve fought so hard to stamp down, and then there was today and you were all loving on me all at once and, yeah. You all, you guys really won’t give up on me?” Remus asked. 

“Yes! Yes!” Sirius found himself practically shouting before he wrote this same answer on Remus’ hand. 

“Yes. Most definitely yes. I’m sure James and Lily would say the same. They really like you! And I, well, you know…” Sirius wrote. He could feel Remus loosening before he felt the best words being written on his hand. 

“I love you too.” And then there was a hand on his cheek, and he was leaning in. The kiss was soft and sweet, gentle and chaste in a way. Sirius couldn’t stop smiling. The moment felt so tender, and Sirius didn’t want to leave it, but eventually, they pulled apart. 

“Better go tell James and Lily you’re alright, yeah?” Sirius asked. 

“Yeah.” 

And with that, they stood up and walked back into the flat hand in hand. 

“We sorted some things out,” Sirius told his friends, who were hopefully still in here. 

“Sorry about that. It won’t happen again,” Remus told them through his app. 

“Are you guys…” James asked. 

“Are we?” Sirius asked into Remus’ palm.

“Yes,” he felt on his hand. Remus’ movements were firm and meaningful. 

“Yes! We are!” Sirius shouted. 

“Oh thank god,” said Lily. 

“Shush! Let me have my moment!” said Sirius. They really did deserve their moment. 

“So, how do we feel about a movie?” James asked. 

“Ooo yes!” Sirius exclaimed. 

“Sounds good,” said Remus. 

Lily probably nodded her head or something, but what Sirius did know is that they were soon all settled on the couch watching (or listening to) Guardians of the Galaxy, and him and Remus were on top of each other. God, Sirius was so excited to be absolutely unbearable. 

“Get a room,” Lily told them. 

“Get a girlfriend!” Sirius shot back. 

“Shush,” Lily responded. 

They listened, and they all shushed, even James who was in love with this movie. Sirius could swear that James just really wants to be Chris Pratt. He was good with being Remus Lupin’s boyfriend, personally. He was so comfortable! He just hoped that Remus felt the same. Oh how glorious it felt to be in love! Especially with someone as amazing as Remus! Oh lord, he better not get too soppy now, they had a movie to watch!

-

The Sprite and the Moon 

A Poem by Remus Lupin for Sirius Black

Way over yonder, down by the bank

sits a little sprite, on a starry night

his gaze on the stars, a smile on his face

bright grey eyes, never off the pace

his dance is smooth and strong, always on the beat

his arms stretch out and reach, balanced with his feet

smiling up at me, blushed in the cheeks

For I am but the moon, far, far away

looking down to earth, gaze on the fae

although I may be big, to them I am small

a second of their day, a fly on the wall

but he looks up at me, like maybe I’m a flower

so down to earth I come, for the witching hour

And as I approach, he’s looking up at me

but only then I realize, that he no longer sees

he still finds me with his touch

soothes me with his words

I feel his voice hot on my throat

And I know that he loves me 

“I love you Moony!” I watch him shout

At work

At home

At the store

At the pub

I feel his warmth everywhere.

I can’t say it back, not with my voice. 

Here is my testament to you. 

I love you too. 

After receiving this poem (in braille!), Sirius held his lover tight and cried, muttering something into his chest and repeatedly thanking him with his hands.

Remus smiled.