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The lights have gone off and the bus is sleeping. Some houses can be seen outside. Soon, the scenery changes to dark fields. Sirius closes his eyes and listens to the sounds of the bus: the sound of the motor and the quiet murmur of the German couple two seats ahead of him. He’s thinking about his trip and about what he is going to do once he returns home. Gradually, the sounds fade away and he falls asleep.
The next thing he knows, the lights turn on. They’re making a stop and more people are boarding the bus. Should he be an asshole and not move his bag? Maybe he should keep his eyes closed and pretend he’s sleeping, just this once. He’s so comfortable the way he is sitting right now.
“Sorry, is this seat taken?” Sirius hears the voice above him and opens his eyes, just to see a cute, tall, curly-haired man smiling at him apologetically. “Hope I didn’t wake you up.”
“No, no, no worries. Let me just, um…” Sirius moves his backpack and gets up to let the stranger through. One thing he definitely wants to keep is his seat next to the aisle. Soon, the bus starts moving and the lights go off.
The new position is uncomfortable. He doesn’t know where to put his arms, and his neck feels strained. No chance of falling asleep. But he must admit, it doesn’t feel too horrible having his side slightly pressed against someone cute. The someone cute has put his ridiculously long legs up and is hugging them with his arms. It is quite cold on the bus; the AC is doing its work too well. Someone on the bus has already asked the driver to turn the temperature up a bit, and the driver’s exact response was: “If you don’t like it, why didn’t you stay home?”
Half an hour later, Sirius is still not sleeping and is trying to solve a sudoku which he has all but given up on. Either it is unexpectedly the most difficult sudoku he’s ever seen, or his brain can’t work anymore this late at night.
“I think it’s 7 here.” Sirius snaps his head around. The stranger is looking at Sirius’s phone over his shoulder with a concentrated look. Well, that’s unhinged.
“Oh, sorry.” The stranger looks surprised that he found himself in such a position and again smiles at Sirius in that cute, apologetic way. “Um, that was probably weird. Sorry. My phone died and I noticed you doing the sudoku and kinda got stuck.”
“Ha, well, no, it’s okay. So, 7.” Sirius checks, and indeed, the seven goes into the right lower square, the final number in the line. The stranger is good. “You’re right! Got any more suggestions?”
They finish the sudoku together and chat a bit in the process. Sirius notes that the stranger has a nice, soft voice. Everything about him is very nice, actually.
At some point, the stranger, whose name is Remus, by the way, accidentally touches his arm when pointing at a number on his phone, and Sirius almost yelps from the cold that shoots down his arm.
“Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” Remus pulls his hand back and hides it in his armpit to warm it up.
“No, no, it’s just… It’s quite cold in here, isn’t it?”
“Oh yeah, the AC is doing its work,” Remus chuckles.
“Hey, would you maybe like to…” Sirius is rummaging through his backpack. “Um, would you, ah, where is it? Ah, here!” Sirius holds out a hoodie in his hands. “Would you like to wear it?”
“Oh.” Remus looks at Sirius and then at the hoodie.
“It’s oversized, so it should fit you.”
“Are you sure? I’m fine, really.”
“Yes, I’m sure. Take it.”
Remus takes the hoodie and puts it on. Once again, he smiles in such a way that makes Sirius feel very, well… feel very much.
They talk a bit more afterwards, but eventually they fall asleep.
When Sirius wakes up to leave, Remus is still sleeping. He should take the hoodie back, really. It is James’s, after all. But, on the other hand, losing James’s hoodie is not the worst thing Sirius has ever done to him. As he’s leaving the bus, he throws one last glance at Remus, smiles to himself, and heads home.
______________
The next evening, he comes to James’s office to pick him up for an apologetic dinner and confess his crimes.
However, when he arrives, James is waiting for him at the door with that same hoodie from the bus slung over his shoulder.
“How…”
“A mysterious tall stranger brought this hoodie that I lent you for the trip and gave it to my assistant today, saying it should be given to Sirius.” James tries to look stern, but there is a strong note of amusement in his expression.
How did he… did he Google Sirius and then find James and where he works? But why James? Ah! Ahh. The logo on the hoodie—that’s right. It was the hoodie with James’s merch. He can’t believe Remus has gone to such trouble to return it.
“Sorry,” is all that Sirius can manage in the moment.
“There was something else for you, by the way.” James hands him a piece of paper. “Found it in the pocket of the hoodie.”
Sirius unfolds the paper and sees a phone number written there in neat handwriting.
Unable to hide his amusement anymore, James shoves him in the shoulder and walks by. “Come on, let’s go and eat. And you tell me everything about this beautiful tall stranger.”
They walk away, and James has all but forgotten to be angry about the hoodie and is instead showering him with questions.
“Did you shag in the hotel in Budapest and then he left in the morning before you woke up? Or is he someone you met through work? Ooh, is it a secret office romance? Wait, but why my hoodie? Did you shag in my hoodie? Man, I’m so confused.”
Sirius feels giddy. Maybe partly because he is still sleepy. But mostly because of the piece of paper lying safely in his wallet now. Hopefully, Remus is not leaving the city forever tomorrow morning.