Chapter Text
The day started rather ordinarily for one Remus John Lupin, He had just finished his morning volunteer shift at the library, as he did every Monday, and he sat in his car messing with the radio stations, only half listening to whatever the radio host was saying. He was waiting for his friend to finish her shift at the hospital so he could drive her back to their shared flat, since her car had refused to start that morning. The fact that her car chose to break down on this particular Monday of all days can only be described as coincidence. That is, if you don’t believe in fate.
Remus checked his watch for the second time in one minute. It was 3:15; Lily was late again, although Remus couldn’t blame her. What with her being a doctor and all, her hours were often long and unpredictable, and he could hardly begrudge her a few minutes of tardiness when she was busy saving lives. His eyes wandered, watching the people on the street go about their lives, creating a story for each of them in his head, a game to keep from boredom.
An old woman holding a bouquet was on her way to visit her husband, who was in the hospital after being viciously attacked by their pet poodle. The man with crutches and a leg cast was going to trip, and then conveniently fall into the arms of an old flame, where their love would be rekindled. (What could he say, he was a hopeless romantic at heart). The young woman lugging a suitcase was on her way to travel the world; Soon she would be in Paris eating pastries at a cafe.
And then there was a young man decked out in an expensive looking black suit running out of the headquarters building of BlackCrystal, the multinational investment company across from the hospital. Odd, Remus thought to himself, but it would be fun to think up an explanation for that one. Remus leaned closer to get a better look and almost did a double take. Someone else was running out of the building after him. A security guard by the looks of it.
The man laughed as he ran from the guard, long black hair flowing behind him, clearly finding the situation very amusing, for some reason Remus did not understand. He was coming closer to Remus’s car now, a black briefcase in hand. Everything was happening so fast that Remus did not have time to process what was going on before the man opened the door to Remus’s car and jumped into the passenger seat.
“Drive!!” The man shouted, out of breath, buckling his seat belt hastily and slamming the car door behind him.
Remus did as he was told and started the car, speedily leaving the parking spot, just as the security guard reached them. Later, he would look back and wonder what possessed him to do this, but for now he wasn’t thinking anything, he brain sputtering as he attempted to process whatever the fuck was happening.
He watched from his peripherals as the man rolled down the window, sticking out his middle fingers at the guard who was still shouting profanities at him. As for Remus, he still had no idea what was happening, or why he had listened to this random stranger who had jumped in his car.
As they drove out of view of the security guard, the man rolled the window back up, still laughing.
“Hah! Oh man, that was great. I wish I could stick around to see their faces!” The man snorted, clearly enjoying himself. Remus didn’t know what to say, as he had never been in this situation before, so he just stayed silent.
“Where did you learn to drive like that Prongs?” The strange man went on, “That was bloody amazing! And here I thought you were always like a grandma behind the wheel,” He said, turning to look at Remus before frowning, brows furrowed. “Wait a minute, who the hell are you?!” He asked, as if he wasn’t the one who had run into Remus’s car. At this point, Remus’s confusion turned to indignation. Who did this guy think he was?
“Who the hell am I?! Who the hell are you?!” Remus snapped, turning to get a good look at the guy. He was young, not much older or younger than Remus, and had long silky black hair that fell down his shoulders. His eyes were a striking silver and his cheeks were flushed from running, contrasting with his fair complexion in a way that was quite visually pleasing. Although it was not the time for such observations, Remus couldn’t help but notice the man was beautiful, in a way that almost seemed unreal, angelic.
Remus’s harsh reply had only made the man’s grin grow bigger, and he held out his hand.
“Sirius, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Remus frowned at his extended hand.
“I’m driving,” he said.
“Oh, yeah, right.” The man-Sirius- put his hand down, and was quiet for a moment. “Why are you driving?” He asked quizzically. That was a good question, one that Remus did not have a good answer for.
“You told me to drive.” He muttered, feeling his cheeks grow hot.
“And so you just do it because a random stranger tells you to? I could be a murderer trying to get away from the scene of the crime! That would make you an accessory!” Remus thought for a moment.
“Well, are you a murderer?”
“No,” Sirius admitted.
“Ok then,” Remus said, hoping that settled it.
“What, are you just going to believe me when I tell you I’m not a murderer? I could be a pathological liar too! You could be my next victim! Really, do you have no concern for your safety?” Sirius chastised him. Remus thought this was somewhat ironic considering Sirius was the one jumping into a stranger's car, even more risky in Remus’s opinion.
“You’re assuming I’m not a murderer myself. You could be my next victim. You should be concerned about your own safety,“ Remus said coolly, but Sirius only laughed at this.
“There’s no way you’re a murderer,” he said. Remus couldn’t help but feel slightly offended by this.
“Why? Are you saying I don’t have what it takes?” He asked, frowning.
“Yes, that is what I’m saying. You look like either a grandpa or a librarian, not exactly psycho murderer material.” Sirius trailed his eyes over Remus, making his cheeks heat.
“I'm not a librarian, I just volunteer there is all,” Remus said before he could stop himself. This made Sirius’s face light up.
“Oh my god I was right, you are a librarian!”
“Did you even hear what I said? I’m not a librarian!” Remus didn’t know why he was so defensive all of a sudden, but Sirius threw his hands up as if in surrender.
“Ok, fine. Not a librarian. So what are you then?”
“Journalist,” again, it left his mouth without his brain giving permission.
“Really?” This seemed to interest Sirius, for reasons unbeknownst to Remus. “What type?”
“Investigative, when I can,” the truth was Remus had to take whatever assignments he could get. He was just scraping by financially, his career not having fully “taken off” yet, but he would never admit that to a total stranger, especially one like Sirius, who looked like he bathed in money.
Remus wasn’t really sure what to say to that. He was fairly sure all his few social skills had evaporated the second Sirius stepped into the car.
“You never told me your name,” Sirius prompted. Remus refused to fall for the bait.
“Not sure I should tell you, considering you may be a murderer,” Remus deadpanned. Sirius laughed at this.
“Fair enough, keep your secrets. I’ll just have to find a nickname for you then.” Sirius said, causing Remus to roll his eyes.
“Can I ask you something?” Remus’s curiosity had gotten the better of him.
“Shoot,” Sirius grinned, sprawling out on the car seat in a way that made Remus think that if he were a stranger looking in on the scene he would see two men who had known each other for years.
“What were you doing in BlackCrystal that had you being chased out?”
Remus only had a basic knowledge of BlackCrystal. He knew it was an investment and asset management company that had tens of trillions in asset management, and worked for some of the richest people in the world. Even what little he knew of the company wasn’t common knowledge. BlackCrystal did remarkably well staying out of scandals, only ever mentioned in the news as a form of advertisement.
“I was setting off stink bombs and paint bombs,” Sirius said, as casually as if he was stating what he’d had for breakfast. To be totally honest, Remus didn’t know what to say to that, so he just said:
“Okay,” causing Sirius to laugh.
“Can I ask you a question?” Sirius asked, echoing Remus’s words. Remus nodded. “Where are you taking us?”
That was a good question, one that Remus didn’t know the answer to. His face heated as he realized he had just been driving around in no particular direction, as if he were sleep walking. When he didn’t answer, Sirius added, “if this is some secret kidnapping plan, you don’t have to spoil the surprise,” He was smirking, clearly amused by Remus’s obvious embarrassment.
“You haven’t told me where to go, what was I supposed to do?” Remus said defensively.
Sirius didn’t say anything, seemingly distracted by something out the window.
“Actually, you can let me out here, this is perfect,” Sirius said, turning to face Remus. Remus looked out Sirius’s window, confused. There was nothing around but a storage unit rental.
“Are you sure?” Remus asked doubtfully.
“Yeah, this is great, actually.” Remus pulled over, letting Sirius hop out. “Thanks for the ride, Moony!” Sirius grinned, winking at Remus, and shutting the door, walking away before he could say anything in response.
“Moony?” Remus asked the now empty car in confusion, before looking down at the oversized sweater he was wearing that displayed the phases of the moon. Ahh. And then he noticed the button still pinned to his sweater. He must have forgotten to take it off after his volunteer shift at the library that morning. It read:
“Hello, my name is: Remus”.