Work Text:
December 28, 1978
“Woah, you look nice,” his co-worker commented, running her eyes up and down.
Remus shifted self-consciously. It wasn’t as though he was any nicer than usual, he just never looked overly nice for work.
“Uh, thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
“Sure thing, Lupin!”
Remus scampered out of the bakery, and nearly ran into Sirius, who was waiting impatiently outside.
“Wotcher, Moony.” Sirius grinned. “I brought you tea!”
He took Remus’s backpack from him, and handed over the large paper cup.
“Oh, uh, cheers, mate.”
The two walked in silence. The weather was pleasantly mild for this time of year.
“So, what are we doing this afternoon?”
“Well, we could get started on preparations for the New Years party you’re hosting.”
“We, Moony, we’re hosting, and that’s boring! Can’t we do that tomorrow?”
“I suppose we could, but—”
“Brilliant! Are you hungry?”
Remus eyed Sirius suspiciously out of the corner of his eye. “Yes, why?”
“Follow me!”
Sirius grabbed Remus’s hand and tugged him off towards the park.
Even though Remus had his thick mittens on, he could still feel the warmth of Sirius’s uncovered hand. He ducked his face further into his scarf to hide his blush.
“Prongs said there was an unbelievable chip stand over here.” Sirius stated. He had yet to let go of his hand, but Remus wasn’t going to say anything. “It’s not too cold out, so we can eat it in the park.”
Was it just Remus’s imagination, or was Sirius sort of blushing too? It may very well have been the cold.
“Sounds brilliant.”
*thirty minutes later*
“Padfoot.”
“I said I was sorry!”
“Just because it’s a date, doesn’t mean you get to talk to the muggles in the shop.”
“Well it’s your fault for not setting the ground rules before I picked you up today.”
Remus stole some chips to hide his smile. “So, this is a date.”
“Well obviously, I mean, it’s just like how we were before, except now we’re—uh—together, right?”
“I guess so… Don’t look at me! I have about as much experience in this shite as you do.”
“I mean, is this a date even if we don’t snog? We haven’t even snogged yet!”
“Er, I’d rather take things slow, if that’s alright.”
“Thank Merlin, I have no idea how to snog someone. Where are you supposed to put your hands?!”
“I’m sure you’d figure something out.”
Sirius clearly wanted to say more on the subject, but Remus shoved a large piece of fish into his mouth. He spent the next two minutes switching between chewing, fanning his mouth, and cursing at Remus with his mouth full.
“You’re going to pay for that,” Sirius threatened with a gleam in his eye that promised payback, but in a healthy, fun way.
Remus grinned, finishing off the last piece of his fish.
“Hey Moony, should we save this paper for our fireplace?”
Remus choked on his fish.
“Sweet Merlin, no! Look at the grease! It would be worse than the time you gave me the Daily Prophet to light on fire.”
“Excuse me for asking, I’m just trying to be useful.”
*ten minutes after that*
The park was fairly abandoned, it had rained earlier, so the snow was rather wet, and slush lined the path, but it wasn’t too unbearable.
“Pass me my bag, would you?”
Sirius did as he was asked, watching Remus with acute curiosity.
“Is that what I think it is?”
“I may have stolen this out of your room last night.”
Sirius laughed. “Are we playing fetch because I’m fetching?”
“Sod off! I thought it was a good idea… and yes, you are fetching, but that’s not why I brought it!”
“Give it a toss, would you?”
After a quick glance around to make sure there were no obvious bystanders, Remus threw the bright green tennis ball into the field.
Sirius dove into a nearby bush, and soon after, Snuffles burst out and ran through the snow.
The innocent game of fetch continued for about fifteen minutes.
Remus saw the mischievous gleam in Snuffles’s eye as he ran back to him without a ball in his mouth.
“Padfoot, I know what you’re—No, no! Don’t chase me, you wanker, chase the ball!” Remus would have put up more of a chase had he not been laughing so hard.
Snuffles leapt, and they both landed in a tangle of limbs, snow, and fur.
“Wotcher, Moony.” Sirius said breathlessly. His hair had come out of his ponytail, and fell around them like a curtain.
Remus looked up at Sirius, trying to catch his breath. It rather hard with the image that was presented before him.
“Did you at least make sure no muggles were watching?”
“Of course! I have a permanent Moony voice in the back of my mind that tell me when I’m about to do stupid things, you know that.”
Remus laughed. His back was starting to get wet from the snow. “Think you could let me up?”
“I suppose I could,” Sirius seemed to ponder. “Hey Moony?”
“Yes Padfoot?” Remus suppressed a shiver. Whether it was from the close proximity of his friend (boyfriend?) or the cold, he couldn’t be too sure.
“Can I kiss you?”
“You don’t have to ask me that,” Remus replied quietly. Maybe one day he could get through the topic without blushing, but today was not that day.
“Can we go back to the flat and take a nap on the sofa?”
“Now that sounds like a perfect date.”
“Ta, Moony.”