Work Text:
Siruis
Marauders Inc. chat group
Mary (12:05): Guys, there’s a HUGE fruit platter in the break room
*photo attached*
Mary (12:05): If anyone knows a guy like this to set me up with, please do it TODAY!
Sirius was in the middle of editing a storyboard, but he stopped anyway and opened the picture, half-expecting to see a ridiculously hot delivery guy, and maybe he’ll take a quick break and flirt a little. Wouldn’t hurt Lupin to see he’d moved on.
Fuck. The photo showed Remus Lupin, standing there with that awkward smile of his behind a fruit platter the size of a football field, and Remus Lupin’s idiot boyfriend next to him, kissing his cheek. Fuck. He closed the pic immediately, grateful it was a temporary one; he didn’t want to be tempted to open it again just to analyze Remus Lupin’s micro-expressions. Ugh.
His phone buzzed again. Even though he knew opening the chat was a mistake, he did it anyway. He was a bit of a masochist, and he couldn’t do anything about it.
Prongs(12:08): Say thank you to Prewett for our daily dose of vitamin C!
Amelia(12:08): Gideon is the best! Remus, don’t you ever break up with him
Marlene(12:09): 🍑❤️
Mary(12:10): hahahahaha
Amelia(12:12): Ew, Marlene
Marlene(12:13): Bones, are you seriously judging me for liking peaches?
Sirius clenched his jaw and sent Lupin a private message
(12:13): Does he even know your favorite is chocolate?
He saw that the message was seen almost instantly. Sirius kept the chat open, waiting to see how Lupin would respond – but the screen stayed silent. He tossed his phone aside in frustration and stared at his monitor. In the cubicle next to him, Peter raised an eyebrow. Sirius slid his headphones down and said, “Sorry, Apple Music always throws in something you didn’t ask for after like seven songs.”
Peter nodded. “I hate when that happens.”
Sirius nodded back, forcing a smile. “Yeah, well…I’ve lost my momentum anyway. I’m heading down to Hagrid’s. Want anything?”
“No thanks, mate. Desdemona packed me a lunch today.”
Sirius nodded and got up, heading toward the elevators. He had to pass through three glass partitions on the way, one of them required his keycard to open. Luckily, the break room was on the other side of the office, so he wouldn’t have to walk next to whatever celebration was happening there. Or see Gideon.
He reached the lobby, winked at Rosie, and asked, “Want anything from Hagrid’s?”
“No. thanks dear,” she said.
He crossed the street to the kiosk. After he bought instant ramen (no, he didn’t care that he was 32 and could afford real ramen; he needed MSG in his system), a Coke Zero (because Rosie liked it), and the biggest bag of M&M’s he could find, he wished Hagrid a good day, and when he got back to the lobby, he handed Rosie the can.
“Sirius, you’re an angel,” she said, just as the elevator doors opened and fuckin' Gideon stepped out with his stupid face.
It was too late to pretend he hadn’t seen him, the idiot grinned like they were best friends and called out, “Hey, Black! Didn’t see you upstairs!”
Sirius smiled back even wider. “Maybe that’s because I was down here.”
That didn’t confuse Gideon in the slightest. He walked over to Sirius and Rosie like they were actually friends or something. “How are you?” he said, clapping Sirius on the shoulder, then glancing at Rosie. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything,” he added with a wink.
Sirius wasn’t a violent person, but Gideon made him want to stab him in the eye with a pencil. Who talks like that to someone they once met during their boyfriend’s office Christmas party? Sirius didn’t answer. He just smiled.
“Alright, I get the hint,” Gideon said, winking again. “Just wanted to invite you to come play football with us this weekend, we could use someone small and skinny like you.”
Rosie snorted into her Coke. Sirius scanned her desk for a pencil.
He was not a violent person. Also, he wasn't small. And not skinny. He was one meter eighty-one and a half centimeters, for fuck’s sake. The fact that he wasn’t a giant troll like Gideon doesn't make him small.
“Yeah, sure, why not?” Sirius said. “Especially if Lupin’s on my team. I like winning.”
The stupid-ginger-troll blinked. “Remus plays?”
Sirius feigned surprise. “What, he didn’t tell you? He’s really good! He even tried to start a team here once, but we’re all too lazy.”
Gideon’s face lit up. “That’s amazing! I thought he wasn’t into sports at all, so I didn’t even ask… Anyway, gotta run. When you head back up, there’s a fruit platter in the team room – I brought it for you all for Valentine’s.” He sealed it with another wink and left.
Rosie immediately burst out laughing.
“Why do you even let that idiot in?” Sirius asked.
“Because it’s company policy,” she said between giggles. “And besides – it’s so funny watching you get this worked up.”
“Oh, come on, you know he’s a wanker.”
“I don’t know…he seems nice.”
“Sure. Anyway, I’m heading back up. See you.”
She waved him off, and he headed upstairs. Once inside, he decided to go to the team room. Gideon wasn’t there anymore, and he needed hot water for his ramen. When he walked in, Remus and Mary were sitting at the central table, half of it taken up by the fruit platter, which Sirius now noticed had some of the fruits cut into heart shapes. What the fuck.
He went to the kettle, which was still half full and hot, and poured hot water into his ramen.
“Hey, Sirius! Did you see the fruit platter?” Mary chirped.
“You can see that damn platter from Mars,” Sirius muttered into his ramen cup.
“What?”
“Yeah, never seen a platter with that much class.” He turned and sat down near them. Remus was halfway through his lunch, which was a slice of Hope’s pie. Sirius really liked Hope’s pie.
He dropped the M&M’s next to the fruit platter and loudly slurped a forkful of noodles, glancing up just in time to catch Remus glaring at him.
“Well, I’ve got a Zoom in a second, gotta run! Enjoy your...meal?” Mary said, looking at his noodles like it was a bad decision, and rushed out.
Silence settled in, broken only by the low buzz of fluorescent lights. Sirius took another exaggerated bite.
“You’re ruining your body with that crap,” Remus muttered.
Sirius smiled sweetly. “Since when do you care?”
Remus let out a bitter little laugh into his lunchbox and didn’t answer. Sirius kept eating. He knew he had at least ten more minutes; Remus wouldn’t leave before finishing his food and making himself tea. The world would probably collapse if Remus didn’t have his tea after lunch.
Sirius took another loud bite. “So – got plans tonight?”
Remus raised an eyebrow. “Yeah.”
“Lovely. I’m sure Gideon planned an amazing evening for you. Full of all your favorite things.” Remus didn’t respond, but Sirius saw the muscle in his temple twitch. It got under his skin. Good. Sirius lifted his ramen and drained the remaining broth in one long gulp, setting it down with a loud, satisfied “Ahhh.” Remus looked at him in disgust.
“Think I need something sweet,” Sirius said with a grin, opening the M&M’s. He grabbed a handful and stood up. “Nothing beats chocolate, don’t you think?”
He popped one into his mouth and started walking back toward his cubicle, leaving Remus and the M&M behind. He didn’t miss Remus muttering into his lunch, “prick”.
Remus
He watched Sirius walk back to his cubicle. As he passed James, he smacked him on the back of the head. James looked up, Sirius muttered something to him, James laughed, and Sirius kept going to his spot next to Pettigrew. God, what a prick.
He and Sirius had broken up last September; they’d barely been together four months (if you could even call whatever that was “together”). Remus had already moved on. He wanted to put it behind him, but for some reason, Sirius Black just wouldn’t leave him alone. He’d thought maybe after the Christmas party Sirius would drop it, but that hadn’t really happened.
Remus finished the pie he’d made from his mother’s recipe and got up to make himself tea. He reached for the kettle, assuming it was empty because of the Pot Noodle Sirius had made - but to his surprise, it was still full. And still warm.
He made his tea and glanced at the fruit platter Gideon had brought. He knew he meant well, but...who does that? He’d only known Gideon three months, and sure, it was a nice gesture, but who shows up to their boyfriend’s workplace with a fruit platter? One featuring kiwi carved into heart shapes, no less.
Remus shuddered slightly. His gaze shifted to the open bag of M&M’s on the table. He looked up again toward the copywriters’ cubicles and saw Black with his back to him, headphones on. He grabbed a handful of M&M’s and went back to work.
Sirius
He had a mild headache from the night before. Not quite a hangover, more like the ghost of one...but it was enough to put him in a foul mood.
He had a morning meeting about an insurance campaign, and suddenly he was convinced his idea was complete rubbish. Sirius walked into the meeting room and saw that James was already there.
“Oh, that’s the face of someone who had a great night.”
“Absolutely,” Sirius muttered, because sitting on your couch drinking whiskey while thinking about your ex was such a celebration. He plugged his laptop into the screen. “Hope you made the most of all that vitamin C yesterday,” he added dryly.
“Was that a pun?” James said without looking up from his Excel sheet. “Because if it was, I really hope your storyboard is better than that.”
“Oh, Gideon, thank you so much for the adorable fruit cut into little hearts,” Sirius said in a high, mocking voice.
James snorted. “I can’t believe you’re still bitter about that.”
Sirius threw a whiteboard marker at him. James caught it effortlessly mid-air. “Have you considered,” James said, “that instead of being an idiot for once in your life, you could just go talk to Lupin?”
“Talk to me about what?” came a deep voice from behind Sirius. Brilliant. Exactly what he needed.
“About the football match your boyfriend invited me to on Saturday,” Sirius said quickly, turning around. “I pulled something in my thigh yesterday - I don’t think I’ll make it.” Remus looked good. Shirt slightly open at the collar, emphasizing his neck. Trousers sitting just right on his hips, showing off those long legs.
Remus looked at him with complete indifference and sat down next to James without answering. Silence.
Sirius could practically hear James about to explode with laughter. He busied himself with pulling up the presentation. When he ran out of things to fiddle with, he glanced at Remus again, who was scrolling through his phone. Remus lifted his other hand absently and scratched his neck. The collar shifted slightly and revealed a hickey just below his collarbone.
Sirius thought he might actually combust. Thankfully, McGonagall walked in. “Good, everyone’s here. Sirius, you can begin.”
Sirius cleared his throat. “Good morning. After reviewing Remus’s analysis of potential customer segments and the overall user profile, we developed a campaign framework for ‘Alastor Insurance.’ I’ll start with the main storyline, and James will follow with the cost breakdown ---”
The meeting went smoothly. Sirius ran through the presentation, McGonagall liked the concept, James presented three financial models, and Remus said it all looked good from his perspective. They scheduled a meeting with the client for next week. Before leaving, McGonagall asked Remus to go over the consumer segmentation and media distribution again with Sirius.
Sirius nodded. Remus didn’t react.
“Potter, walk with me,” McGonagall said. “I need to discuss Slughorn’s budget.” James gathered his folder, gave Sirius a good luck gesture, and left.
“Well,” Sirius said, “do you want to log into your account on my computer? We’re already here, we might as well get it over with.”
Remus stood and walked over. When he reached for Sirius’s laptop, he leaned forward slightly; it was too close. Sirius decided that was his cue.
“Doesn’t even know how to give you a proper hickey, does he?” Sirius muttered.
Remus turned to him. “It’s fascinating, Black, how you suddenly become an expert on what I like and don’t like right after I get a boyfriend...Not, say, after I told you I was falling in love with you... No, at that time you decided to have a full-blown panic attack.” Remus smiled a poisonous smile.
Sirius didn’t care because Remus hadn’t stepped back. So Sirius leaned closer, until his mouth was just under Remus’s ear. “I seem to remember,” he murmured, “that even when I was panicking, I still knew exactly where to kiss you.”
He could feel Remus’s body heat against his lips. Feel his breath. Remus still didn’t move or push him away.
After a long moment, Remus pulled back abruptly. “I can have you thrown out of here if I go to HR.”
Sirius leaned back casually. “Go. If I harassed you, go to Mary’s office and report me. I’ll come with you if you want, and I'll take full responsibility. Say it’s entirely my fault.”
“You’re talking out of your arse, as usual.”
Sirius stood too, snapping his laptop shut and unplugging everything. “Yeah? Try me.”
Remus let out a short laugh. “You expect that to be convincing? You’re the same person who panicked six months ago about coming out! Or are you so hungover you forgot about the closet you live in?”
Sirius kept his expression neutral, even as something burned inside him. “I told you two months ago I love you,” he said quietly. “And that I’d do anything to get you back. Even while you kept shoving that ginger idiot with his two remaining brain cells in my face every chance you got.”
He saw the muscle in Remus’s temple twitch again. Good.
“How convenient!” Remus said, “You only realized that after you saw I’d moved on. Sorry if I don’t believe you.”
He turned toward the door, but Sirius stepped in front of him. “What would convince you?” Sirius asked. “If I went out there and shouted it in front of everyone?”
“Maybe.” Remus didn’t even think before answering. They stood there, locked in eye contact.
“Go on,” Remus said, that poisonous smile back. “You fucking coward.”
Sirius smiled right back.
Then he turned and walked out. He headed toward his cubicle, hoping Remus would follow. He’d much rather that Remus see this firsthand than hear about it through office gossip.
Instead of looking back, Sirius kept walking past his cubicle, straight into the center of the floor. It was 10:00 AM Most people were in.
“Hey! Everyone!! Can I get your attention?” Sirius called out.
Heads turned. Pete even stood up to see better.
“So - I just wanted to say I’m gay,” Sirius announced. “As in, I like men. A lot. So for anyone who thought Rosie and I had something going on - we don’t. Though she’s been very entertained by the idea.” A few nervous laughs.
“Anyway,” Sirius continued, “if I were going to date someone in this office, it would be Remus Lupin. But apparently he prefers prats who bring him fucking kiwi cut into heart shapes even though he hates kiwi because it’s too acidic and makes his tongue sting.”
Faces shifted from curiosity to absolute shock. Except James, who was practically dying to laugh.
“And now,” Sirius added, “I think I’m going home. I’ve got a fucking headache.” He finally turned and saw Remus standing in the doorway of the meeting room, staring at him, stunned.
Sirius didn’t want to look at him like that. Didn’t want to see that expression. So he grabbed his things and left. He didn’t think about anything except Remus’s face until he got home, collapsed onto his bed, and fell asleep.
Sirius woke up sometime around four in the afternoon with a throbbing head and a general feeling of dehydration. It felt deeply unfair considering he’d already publicly outed himself in front of the entire office before noon. He stayed motionless for another minute, staring blankly at the wall of his flat.
Right...Well, that had happened. Sirius groaned into the mattress and reached blindly for his phone. Three missed calls from James, twenty-seven unread messages in the Marauders Inc. group chat, one message from Rosie.
And nothing from Remus.Of course. Sirius rolled onto his back dramatically.
"Brilliant," he told the ceiling while his phone buzzed again.
"'lo?"
"You absolute psychopath."
Sirius closed his eyes. "Good afternoon to you, too."
"You came out by giving a speech about kiwi."
"It was relevant to the narrative," Sirius said, sitting up slowly with a winch. " To my defence, he called me a coward."
James made a strangled noise over the phone. "And your immediate response was to publicly confess your love like you’re in a 'Love Actually' sequel?"
"I didn’t confess my love."
"You basically got on a table and screamed that you know how acidic kiwi feels on his tongue."
"I'm observat man." Sirius flopped back down.
James sighed. "McGonagall nearly had a heart attack."
"You think she's gonna fire me?"
"Shockingly, no...After Remus stated that he did not intend to file a complaint, HR decided this technically counts as ‘an interpersonal incident’"
"Amazing. Love bureaucracy."
"Mary cried laughing in the bathroom for ten straight minutes."
Sirius did not doubt that, "Good for her."
"And Lupin left right after you did."
That got Sirius’s attention. "What?"
"Yeah. Said he wasn’t feeling well."
Sirius’s stomach twisted."Oh." Fuck. He suddenly felt the need to cry.
James was quiet for a second. "You alright?"
"Fantastic," Sirius lied. "Never better, actually. Thinking of making another declaration tomorrow. Maybe with PowerPoint this time."
"Anyway," James continued, "I’m coming over tonight. You’re not allowed to be alone after pulling something like this."
"I’m thirty-two."
"And somehow that's even more alarming. See you at seven."
The line disconnected.
Sirius stared at the ceiling again, gathering the courage to open the office group chat. He took a deep breath while trying to remind himself that he had to deal with this sooner or later, and it was better to rip off the band-aid as quickly as possible.
Marlene (10:13): I think the kiwi thing was romantic.
Mary(10:13): IT WAS INSANE
Peter(10:14): are sirius and remus like...okay?
Mary(10:15): no ❤️
Amelia(10:15): McGonagall just sent an email titled “professional boundaries reminder”
James(10:16): honestly fair enough
Marlene(10:15): I can’t believe black actually did it
Mary(10:16): “i’m gay. i like men. a lot.”
Mary(10:16): i nearly blacked out
Rosie(10:17): Personally I enjoyed the clarification that I was not sleeping with him.
Mary(10:17): oh my god ROSIE
The messages continued below, with no sign of Remus.
Sirius locked the phone again, and the silence in his flat suddenly felt too loud.
Remus
The kitchen floor was colder than the sofa, and he was sitting there when Sirius texted him at eight thirty. His brain felt like static. He was alone now; Gideon had left an hour ago. He was very polite when he walked out the door of Remus' apartment after they broke up less than 24 hours after Valentine's Day.
Because apparently Remus’s ex-boyfriend was clinically insane.
Remus stared at the cold mug in his hands, and his phone lit up with Sirius' name. For one horrible second, Remus’s heart jumped, then he reminded himself that Sirius Black was an emotionally catastrophic idiot.
Sirius (20:31): so
Sirius (20:31): hypothetically
Sirius (20:31): if someone made a public scene at work
Sirius(20:32): how long would it take before people stopped talking about it?
Remus stared at the messages.
(20:36): Depends.
(20:36): Was this hypothetical person a complete fucking idiot?
Three dots appeared instantly.
Sirius (20:36): devastating that you know me so well.
Remus pressed his lips together; he should not smile, but he did know him quite well.
Sirius(20:36): still angry?
(20:38): I honestly haven’t decided yet.
Sirius(20:38): fair.
Another pause.
Remus stared at the screen. He hadn’t meant to reply to that, but he didn’t want the conversation to end either. It was the exact same old dance - Remus sitting there, waiting for Sirius to come to him. It hadn’t ended well last time, but Remus felt the circumstances fully justified in behaving like this now.
Sirius(20:45): for what it’s worth
Sirius(20:45): i meant it.
Remus shut his eyes. That terrible, aching pull Sirius always managed to awaken twisted low in his stomach, sharp and familiar, like someone reaching inside his chest and wrapping a hand around his ribs.
(20:46): You always mean it in the moment.
Sirius (20:50): that’s not fair
Remus laughed bitterly. Right. Not fair was falling in love with Sirius Black only to discover that Sirius treated letting people in like stepping off a cliff. Not fair was spending four months trying not to scare him away. Not fair was saying “I think I’m in love with you” and watching panic flood Sirius’s face so quickly Remus wished he could physically take the words back.
(20:52): Gideon broke up with me.
The typing bubble appeared fast.
Sirius(20:52): WHAT
Sirius(20:52): WHY
(20:52): Apparently having your ex publicly announce he wants to date you specifically is “a red flag.”
Sirius(20:52): are you okay?
Was he? He didn’t actually know. Gideon had been nice - maybe too nice...Like dating a golden retriever in human form, but every time Gideon kissed him, Remus found himself comparing it to somebody else. Which probably should’ve been his first clue.
(20:53): I’m fine.
Sirius(20:53): liar
(20:54): Says the man who publicly detonated his own life before lunch.
Sirius(20:54): yeah but i did that with confidence and charisma
Remus actually laughed this time, and he kind of hated that Sirius could still pull one out of him so easily.
The phone rang suddenly, and Remus stared at Sirius’s contact picture.
"Hello?"
"Hi," Sirius said immediately.
Remus could hear music in the background, and James yelling something incomprehensible. "Are you drunk again?"
"No. maybe emotionally drunk? Does that make sense?"
"Nop."
"I love you, Remus."
Remus leaned his head back against the cabinet behind him. He could picture Sirius perfectly, curled dramatically on the sofa, hair messy, one hand gesturing while he talked, even though nobody could see him.
"Are you?" Remus asked quietly before he could stop himself.
The line went silent, but when Sirius answered, there was no performance in his voice at all. "Yeah."
Remus swallowed. "You looked terrified when I told you I loved you."
"I was terrified," Sirius admitted.
"That’s not exactly comforting."
"Remus," Sirius said softly, "I spent my entire life watching love turn into something ugly. To say it back then felt like being trusted with something I didn’t believe I knew how to keep.”
Remus shut his eyes. "That’s horrible."
"Thank you, I’m very emotional right now." Despite himself, Remus smiled. Then Sirius added quietly, "I still should’ve said that back." Remus could hear James somewhere in the background yelling, “Tell him you’re pathetic!” Sirius shouted back, muffled away from the phone, “I’m trying to be sincere, you dickhead!”
Remus laughed again before he could stop himself.
"There he is," Sirius said immediately, warm satisfaction slipping into his voice. "That’s the laugh I’ve been trying to get back for six months."
Remus looked down at the cold tea beside him. "I don’t know what you want from me," he admitted quietly.
"Obviously another chance." It was a simple, direct sentence, and it sounded like Sirius had prepared for it.
Remus rubbed a hand over his face. "You can’t just publicly self-destruct every time to get what you want, Sirius."
"Technically I can."
"That isn’t the encouraging answer you think it is."
"Right, sorry." He took a deep breath and then added quietly, "I know."
Remus leaned his head back harder against the cabinet. Somewhere on the other side of London, Sirius Black was waiting for an answer. "I’m still angry with you," Remus said finally.
"I know."
"And you embarrassed me in front of the entire company."
"Incredible breasts of courage though."
"That’s not a phrase."
"It should be."
Remus pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking he was absolutely hopeless. "I’m not promising anything," he said.
"Okay."
"But," Remus continued slowly, "maybe you can buy me dinner tomorrow."
There was a loud crashing noise on Sirius’s side of the call.
Then James yelled, "OH MY GOD DID HE SAY YES?"
"SHUT UP!" Sirius screamed-whispered away from the phone.
Remus was suddenly smiling so hard his cheeks hurt. "Was that Potter?"
"No," Sirius said immediately. "Home invasion. Violent burglary. Terrible situation."
"Right."
"So tomorrow?"
Remus felt his heart soar. "Tomorrow."
The relief in Sirius’s exhale was almost painful to hear, and it was obvious he was trying to cover it up by immediately starting to ramble. “Brilliant! This is going to be an amazing date! I’ll buy you loads of fruit and we can play football. Maybe do karaoke while we’re at it - what do you say?”
Remus laughed again. It had always been so easy to laugh with Sirius.“Bye, Sirius. Call me after James goes home.”
“I love you. Talk to you later.”