Chapter Text
Remus Lupin tugs a headphone off one ear when he hears noises coming through the wall behind his desk. He sits still, hand paused in the air and almost thinks he may have completely imagined the sound before it repeats— a loud laugh muffled by the drywall that separates him from his neighbor. His very new neighbor.
The previous tenant had moved out months ago, and the space lay vacant and silent before he heard the familiar commotion of furniture being arranged, voices overlapping and the heavy door thunking shut every few minutes.
Remus doesn’t leave his apartment much, but he’s undeniably nosy as hell. He had tip toed to his front door, holding his breath like a weirdo as he peered through the peep hole. He’s only a little bit ashamed at how long he watched, but in his defense every few minutes there was a completely new face emerging from the elevator with another item in hand.
He eventually counted seven people in total. It was obvious they knew each other well, familiarity in their movements and laughter. He has no clue which of the seven will actually be living next to him.
Remus hadn’t heard much the first few days but there's little snippets of life as his neighbor seems to settle in, and they only increase in quantity and volume as the days go on. He hears the front door open and close, hears scattered laughs and conversations that sound open ended, he guesses that his neighbor likes to talk on the phone a lot. Sometimes he'll hear a thrum of music, or murmurs of a TV. One day Remus wakes to what sounds like a few guests over, the noise is extra loud then.
He tries not to think about it too much.
~~~
Remus is tired. Exhausted, actually.
Exhausted, hungry, and running on fumes. He’s been up since 7am, eyes glued to his screen as he worked on the final copy of his project. His diet for the day so far consisted of a large jug of water, crackers, two energy drinks and a handful of mints.
Once evening rolls around he can’t fight it anymore, stomach grumbling as he works up enough willpower to force a hoodie over his head, and sneakers on his feet. He pockets his wallet in his pants, keys following once he’s locked the door. He slides his headphones on, clicking play on the youtube video essay he’s halfway through.
It’s late and the hallway is empty. Remus stuffs his cold hands into the hoodie pocket and lets himself zone out as he listens, vision glazing over as he stares down the elevator doors.
His focus is interrupted by movement to the left of him. He blinks, snapping to attention and throws a quick side eye only to do a sharp double take.
Objectively this is a normal interaction, two neighbors waiting for an elevator. But this is the neighbor.
The neighbor he’s only heard but never seen, unless you count the one out of seven rotating faces when he first moved in.
The neighbor that’s filled the monotony of his day to day with sparks of life.
The neighbor that Remus has unconsciously started to match his sleep patterns to. It wasn’t too crazy of an adjustment, they seem to be a night owl as well. When things start to quiet down through the walls Remus turns off his computer for the night and heads to bed when usually he’d be up for hours longer.
He’s gotten used to keeping one headphone off while he works because the gentle noise is actually nice. Makes him feel less alone, more human. He tries to not feel like an absolute creep about it.
It’s terribly jarring to finally see his neighbor.
He’s pale, with dark curly hair. Shorter than Remus, but most people are. Probably lean but his body is hidden under baggy clothing. He looks bored, face blank.
Remus is staring, and he only realizes when the man flicks his gaze over. His expression doesn’t change, still impassive and empty as he meets his eye.
gray gray gray
Has Remus ever even met someone with gray eyes before? If he has they never looked this intense, and definitely didn’t have a face like this paired with them.
He quickly looks away, shoulders folding in slightly as he clenches his hands together in his pocket. Suddenly he is way too warm, an embarrassed flush rushing from head to toe.
His neighbor is attractive. More than attractive. Remus doesn’t even know how to describe him. Words have never been his strong suit, brain stuffed full of numbers and symbols. His thoughts have always failed him, tumbling and getting lost on the way to his tongue.
He thinks of the video playing in his ear, a long mythological deep dive into the origins of the Fey in folklore and literature.
Remus finds it fitting. The man next to him is… Well he’s stunning. Enchanting. Ethereal. Remus would foolishly walk into a circle of mushrooms for a face like this.
He risks another glance over, needing to stare at the unreal entity next to him masquerading as a human in a hoodie. Needs to catalog him to memory, just in case they never cross paths again.
He's on his phone, fingers flying over the keyboard. Remus holds his breath as he takes him in.
Dark brows, neat and arched, partially covered by hair. His bone structure is sharp. Straight nose, sitting perfect and proportional to the pale pink lips beneath. They’re chapped. He should probably drink more water.
Remus forces himself to look away.
He considers making a break for it to the stairs before he remembers that’s insane behavior, actually, so please fucking don’t.
He counts to ten in his head, then does it again, body buzzing in awareness at the man next to him, at how little space there actually is between them.
How fucking long does an elevator take? Holy—
It dings, doors finally opening. He quickly comes to the horrifying realization that he is frozen. He knows he needs to just step in. He was here first, he should step in now. He should have stepped in three seconds ago, five seconds ago, ten seconds ago, oh my god just—
A light tap on the arm makes him whip his head over. His neighbor is fully turned towards him now, eyebrow raised.
Remus rips his headphones off to rest on his neck, eyes wide and mouth parted as he stares down at him.
“Are you getting in, or..”
It’s Remus’s first time hearing him speak without a wall in between as a buffer. It kickstarts his brain, and he rudely doesn’t respond as he hurries in. He doesn’t put his headphones back on, frozen once again as he parks himself firmly in the corner.
It takes a second before the man follows him in, clicking the button for the first floor. He doesn’t go to the other corner like Remus had hoped, instead he stands in the middle of the wall, posture perfect. The gentle woosh of the doors closing feel like a jail cell getting locked. The elevator is just as slow going down as it was coming up, Remus swears it never used to be this noticeable.
The air feels thick and awkward, all due to him being the weirdest fucking person on planet earth. He has no idea how to remedy this situation. He’s forever going to be the freakizoid neighbor. Remus has to move now, probably. It’s upsetting cause he liked this apartment, the windows take up the majority of the wall so it helps him get his vitamin D in, but he’s ruined everything in the span of 90 seconds so he probably should—
“Hi. I’m Regulus, I think you’re in the unit next to me.” The man, no, Regulus, turns towards him as he speaks.
Remus prays to every single god in existence that he is normal for once in his life when he opens his mouth.
“Remus-“ He clears his throat before he continues “I’m Remus. Hi. Um.” Fuck, whatever. He’ll take it honestly. Could have been worse.
“Remus.” Regulus draws it out a bit, like he’s testing the name on his tongue.
Remus takes a shaky breath in and holds it, his only response being a small, strained smile.
Oh my god oh my god he needs to get the fuck out of here before he literally implodes.
10 silent seconds pass, neither of them breaking eye contact before the doors open.
Remus is not frozen anymore, and he flies out of the elevator without a second thought or a goodbye, speed walking to the apartment entrance and roughly pushing the door open.
The air is cool on his flushed skin. He walks and walks and walks. He walks past the 24 hour corner store that was his original destination, walks past the park, past the post office—
It’s only when he starts to feel more stupid for walking rather than for being a dumbass in front of the most beautiful person alive that he finally decides to turn back around and duck in the store for food.
~~~
Regulus knows he’s chronically online and indoors, but somehow his neighbor is an even worse shut-in than him.
He didn’t even realize the apartment next to him was occupied. There was no noise, no signs of life for days until late one night he heard his neighbor for the first time, the sound of his front door shutting. Fifteen minutes later he hears it again, the neighbor coming back.
Then nothing.
Not a peep. Regulus has had quiet neighbors, but never silent ones.
Five noiseless days go by before he hears it again. It takes his brain a second to realize before he’s scrambling out of the blankets on the couch and rushing to the peep hole in the door. Unfortunately the hallways are long, and his neighbor walks fast. Regulus can barely see him at the end of the hall in front of the elevators, and then he’s gone.
He might only be gone for a few minutes like last time, so Regulus waits, hoping he’ll be able to actually see his mysterious silent neighbor once he returns back down the hall.
Except he does not come back, and Regulus gets bored, retreating to the couch. It’s over an hour later when he hears the door again, his neighbor returning. Then silence. For days.
What the fuck?
He really has no room to judge, seeing as he tends to bunker in for days as well before his friends force him to socialize, but this is odd.
It’s weeks later when Regulus finally manages to catch the sound of the door closing, keys scraping sluggishly on the lock.
He shoves himself out of his computer chair, he can hear it roll across the hardwood as he races to the door. He’s streaming right now but he really doesn’t give a fuck. They can wait a few minutes.
He doesn’t bother with the peephole, ripping open the door and haphazardly shoving his shoes on. The only thing he grabbed was his phone, leaving the door unlocked on his way out.
His neighbor is at the end of the hall in front of the elevator. It’s only as Regulus approaches and the figure gets less blurry that he worries he may have made a mistake and jumped the gun.
First thing he notices is tall. Second is the messy mop of hair that frames a sandy brown face, currently bracketed by large black headphones.
All too soon he’s close enough for the full picture of this man to piece together and oh—
His steps don’t falter, he’s in the thick of it now and has no choice but to continue. He stops at his neighbors side and stares unblinking at the elevator doors, contemplating his life choices. Eventually he feels eyes on his face so he glances over.
Jesus, that’s just not fair. This— Fuck. He’s fucked. This is the most attractive man he’s seen in a long time. Probably ever, honestly.
He schools his face, looking away to take his phone out and open up his group chat.
Holy fuck, my neighbor is so hot
Like you don’t even understand the genre of hot that i’m next to right now
And we’re about to get in the elevator together
Alone
I might be dreaming. He is my walking wet dream.
I need him
Pandora responds almost instantly
take a picture
And look like a crazy freak next to the hottest man i’ve ever seen in my life? No thanks
Barty is the next to respond
you don’t need to take a picture to look like a crazy freak lol
Regulus doesn’t bother texting back.
His neighbor is undeniably hot, but also a bit odd. Regulus can’t ever leave anything be, so once they’re finally inside he turns to introduce himself, mainly so he can stare unabashedly.
His name is Remus. Not fair for a hot man to have a hot name. This should be illegal.
There’s three pale scars on his face, and Regulus can’t even begin to guess where from. It sets a general bias in his head of Danger, but that’s a stark contrast to his demeanor which is surprisingly nervous, shy. His stupidly hot neighbor is awkward. Regulus wants to climb him like a tree.
Everything about him clashes but somehow melds back together seamlessly, and Regulus doesn’t want to look away. Unfortunately he has to when Remus all but sprints out the doors and out of sight. Regulus doesn’t get out of the elevator, pushing the button to go back up to his floor instead.
~~~
Remus forces himself to wear headphones at full volume for 5 days after the elevator incident. If he doesn’t, he will go fucking insane thinking about Regulus in the apartment next to him.
Well— he is going insane already, but he’s trying, okay? He managed to not completely fuck things up irrevocably, so everything should be fine and good, status quo. All he has to do now is avoid Regulus like the plague, and purge him from his brain until the end of time.
Remus really should move out. Windows and vitamin D be damned.
Everything goes to shit, a complete and utter disaster and detriment to his life when he gets recommended a live stream.
They pop up occasionally on the side bar of his screen while he’s watching youtube, usually he barely spares a glance since he just listens while he’s coding.
This time he’s eating a healthy balanced meal of microwaved ramen as he watches, and his eyes drift over the screen only to see none other than Regulus. It’s a tiny rectangle but it’s unmistakably him, his beautiful neighbor.
He chokes hard, noodles and rehydrated vegetables getting lodged in his throat. His brain doesn’t know what to focus on, the lack of air or Regulus on his screen. This has to be a hallucination.
He coughs loud, pounding his chest and grabbing his water. He practically slams his mouse as he clicks to join the stream, because he has no self preservation whatsoever.
He leans both elbows on his desk and places his hands over his mouth, dread flooding through him as his eyes rapidly scan his computer.
It’s Regulus, with a popular channel, a large list of previous streams, and a weekly schedule set up for more.
Remus is fucking done for. He’s ruined. Fuck— Oh god. Oh my god. This is terrible. Absolutely fucking awful. This is so so so so bad.
Regulus has his brows furrowed, face concerned on the screen. He’s not looking at the camera, but past it. The layout behind him is identical to Remus’s apartment but flipped. It’s a horrifying realization that they have their desks up against the same wall, directly across from each other.
The stream loaded up muted, Remus quickly turns the sound up only to immediately regret it.
Regulus is quiet for a second like he’s waiting for something before he looks back to his computer to speak.
“Shit— I think I just heard my neighbor, it definitely sounded like he was choking.”
Remus pushes himself from his desk roughly, chair rolling back and away from the screen. He folds his body over and drops his head in his lap, making sure to muffle the pained noises escaping him.
No
No
This cannot be happening.
He’s dreaming. He is 1000%, completely and totally fucking dreaming, because if he’s not—
He hears Regulus again through all the static in his head, voice low and melodic directly in his ear. It’s too much, too fucking close. He rips the headphones off and tosses them to the ground.
Remus thought he had avoided the mushroom circle, thought he had escaped the traps and temptations of the fey.
What a fool.
He is not dreaming. This is not a dream, it’s a fucking nightmare.
He makes it 15 minutes before he slowly slides back to his computer. He leaves his headphones on the floor for his own sanity.
The stream is still live so he quickly switches over to Regulus’s account instead, scrolling through the other videos. The titles are all a mix of gaming, chit chat, react to x, collab with x, etc
He chooses a gaming video, in those streams Regulus puts his camera small in the corner so the main focus is on the game. Remus avoids looking at the corner at all costs. He can vaguely hear the audio from his discarded headphones.
He should have never clicked the video. Should have left the live stream and never ever looked back.
Pandora’s box is open, and Remus has no choice but to sit and endure.
~~~
He is in purgatory.
Each day goes the same. He no longer uses his headphones to muffle, instead he’s back to half on half off, one ear dedicated to hearing sounds from next door, and the other has audio from the streams playing.
He is a creep. He is a weirdo. He is obsessed. He needs to move out, smash his computer and live in the woods for all of eternity. Instead he tunes into every damn stream, and only leaves his apartment in the dead of night when he’s sure there’s no chance he’ll run into Regulus.
He avoids actually watching the streams, seeing Regulus’s face tends to short circuit his brain and make all rational thoughts go out the window. Hearing him is just shy of too much, but he endures.
He never sends money or messages. That would be too far, even for him. He is a fly on the wall (literally), and he needs to stay that way.
Things never stay the way Remus wants them to.
There’s a knock on his door. He nearly jumps out of his skin, immediately closing every tab he has on his computer. It’s not one of Regulus’s streaming days but Remus was rewatching one of his favorites.
He stares at the door like a monster is going to come crashing through. The knock comes again and he flinches, slowly rising from his seat.
He doesn’t recognize the woman he sees in the peephole until he’s already opened the door.
“Hi Remus! I’m Pandora, Regulus's friend.”
A hysteric laugh builds in him, he smothers it down.
Pandora. Of course. He is going insane.
He realizes he's just been staring so he rushes out “Um hi— Hello, Pandora. Nice to meet you?” He cringes when it comes out as a question.
She smiles even brighter, tilting her head slightly as she looks him up and down.
He wants the floor to open up and swallow him whole. This is it. Everyone knows he’s a creep. She’s come to— I don’t know, yell or beat him up or something. He really should have moved out already.
“I wanted to invite you to a surprise housewarming party for Regulus.”
He furrows his brows, confused “Pardon? I— You’re throwing him a surprise housewarming party, in his own apartment, months after he’s moved in?”
She laughs “Yes! Exactly. Are you doing anything this Friday?”
“No.” He answers instinctively, eyes going wide with fear a second later at the grave mistake he’s made.
She gives no time for him to backtrack, and even goes as far to trap him in with no way out.
“Great! It starts at 8, I’ll come and grab you then.” She side steps over to Regulus's door and knocks, eyes and smile still locked on Remus as she does so.
He panics, quickly shutting the door right as Regulus opens his.
He hears Pandora laugh, and a muffled conversation as Regulus shuts his door as well.
Remus speed walks to the bathroom, he needs to wallow away in his shower asap.
He is fucked. He is absolutely not going. He should try and get the stomach flu. He should break his leg, or both. He should pack his things and flee the country. He has three days. That’s enough time, right?
Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck
Fuck Pandora and her box, which has morphed into his worst nightmare, a party.
~~~
Regulus opens the door confused at why Pandora knocked instead of using her key. She laughs before flopping herself down on the couch, looking up at him. She’s got her troublemaker face on.
“Oh he’s real cute Reg, I can see why you like him.”
He freezes. “What—“
“Remus. He’s so awkward, it’s adorable. You’re gonna destroy him.”
“Pandora, what the fuck did you do.” He’s gonna destroy her.
“Nothing! I did nothing.” She smirks, admiring her nails before looking up at him from under her lashes. “Well— Nothing except what needed to be done.”
“You bitch! What the fuck did you do? I had a plan!”
She gives him a flat look, hand dropping to the couch. “Your plans were built on hopes and dreams. How are you going to seduce him when you haven’t even seen a glimpse of him in weeks.”
“Wait. How did you see him?”
“I did exactly what I told you to do ages ago. I knocked.” She looks proud and pleased.
He grabs his couch pillow, ruthlessly hitting her over and over.
“What! The! Fuck! What the fuck! Tell me exactly what happened right now. Oh my god you’ve ruined it all. I was playing the long game Pandora, and you just sent me back a thousand feet beyond the starting line.”
“Relax Reg, this is going to work perfectly, I just know it.”
He hisses out “What is going to work perfectly, you absolute witch of a woman.”
“Remus is coming over on Friday. We, as in all our friends, are throwing you a surprise housewarming party. It’s the perfect place to get to know him! Food, drinks, friends. It's a fool proof way to break the ice. God knows that man needs it.”
He slaps his hand to his head. “A surprise housewarming party in my own fucking “house”. There is no way he fell for that, you moron.”
“He did fall for it, and he said he’ll come, moron. Stop bitching at me, and start planning. You wanna be a control freak? Here you go. Take control and plan away, baby.”
He glares at her, mind whirring.
The variables here aren’t ideal but he can make this work. He has to make this work. If there’s even a small chance that Remus is gay like he suspects, Regulus is going to charm the ever loving fuck out of him.
~~~
It’s 7pm, and Remus is pacing. He’s heard commotion from next door all day, obvious that it’s from the party being set up.
He’s thought of every single excuse he can, even thinking of just flat out ignoring her if she actually comes knocking.
But he’s an idiot, and he sealed his fate when he showered and shaved, put on his nicest sweater and the cologne he hasn’t worn in half a year. He even ironed his pants. He’s absolutely going to hell for this.
How many people go to housewarming parties? Will everyone else know each other, with Remus being the odd one out?
He grabs his hair before ripping his hand out, patting it back into shape in the mirror. He wants to look presentable, cool. Not like a frazzled loser.
Should he pregame for liquid courage? It’s not a horrible idea, but what if he does and it ends up not being that kind of party? What if there’s no drinks, and Remus is weird for thinking there would be?
His mind races as the clock ticks down. Pandora must have a flare for the dramatics, the second his watch hits 8 he hears a knock. He takes a deep breath before opening the door, mouth set in a grim line.
She scans him quickly, stopping on his face as a slow smile spreads. He’s learning she is far more mischievous than he originally thought.
His hand is white knuckling the side of the door. Neither of them move or speak.
She seems to know on some level how much he’s dreading this, so she waits for him to process.
Remus counts to ten three times before he lets out a big sigh, walking into the hallway. “Yeah. Okay. Yeah.”
The sound she makes is bordering on a squeal as she loops her arm with his. “Oh I'm so glad you’re coming Remus! Regulus is gonna be thrilled to see you.”
He grimaces. Doubt it.
Even mischievous as she can be, Remus can’t help but feel somewhat comfortable in her presence. It’s a nice thought until all comfort is ripped away as she opens the door and a large majority of heads whip over to look at them.
He pauses, one foot in the doorway. A deer caught in headlights.
It's not too late. He could turn and run now. 15 seconds to the stairs, 7 seconds per flight of stairs, 5 seconds in the lobby, and then he’s free. He’ll hitchhike to a farm in rural fuck-nowhere’s-ville and beg for sanctuary.
Pandora pulls him in, kicking the door shut behind them.
Remus doesn’t know where to look, eyes bouncing between all the strangers staring him down. Some are grinning, others are definitely not. He knows he’s not the best gauge for social normalcy, but this feels very abnormal.
He shoots a panicked look to Pandora and she tugs him in further.
“This is Remus, Regulus’s friend. Everyone be nice. Would you like a drink, Remus?”
friend
He forces himself not to wince, to keep his expression pleasant and neutral. If there’s any place he needs to be careful about masking, it’s here. Remus needs to put on his normal person suit for the night and pray to god the seams don’t rip.
“Yeah— Yes, thank you, a drink would be great.”
He follows her to the kitchen, his only lifeline.
“What’s your poison?”
“Anything strong. Please.”
She laughs. “Aye Aye captain.”
It tastes horrible and burns his throat something fierce but he takes two large gulps before meeting her amused stare.
“Yeah?”
He just nods. “Yeah.”
Somehow, even after only minutes of knowing each other, she gets him. Remus is used to being seen, but it's a rare thing to be known. He’s not fully sure how he feels about it yet.
The peace is broken by a stranger. Remus immediately feels overwhelmed just looking at him. Pandora, bless her soul, fills him in. “Ah, this is Sirius, Reg’s brother.”
Remus quickly stores the nickname away in his brain. Reg.
There’s a fierce grin on his face, and a palm held out to shake. Remus hates handshakes. They never feel normal, and it’s frankly odd to be expected to touch a stranger's skin.
There’s no choice though, so he quickly grabs Sirius’s hand. It’s firm, steadily gripping tighter until it’s almost painful.
“Nice to meet you Remus. We’ve heard so much about you these past few months.”
His brows furrow, confused.
He’s guessing that Sirius has heard absolutely nothing about him at all, and is trying to be nice and make him feel included, maybe? But that goes against the death grip of a handshake that’s been going on for probably way too long now.
Remus has no clue what to say or do, so he does nothing besides hold his stare and keep on shaking his hand as it slowly goes numb.
Pandora lets out a loud sigh and Sirius lets go. Remus can see the sibling resemblance now, same complexion, same dark hair, almost the same eyes, though it seems Sirius’s are a bit bluer whereas Regulus’s are a silvery gray.
Remus prefers the gray.
“Come on out and meet everyone.” His smile is still sharp and kind of scary. Remus takes another gulp of his drink as he follows.
Sirius begins to shoo two strangers over on the large couch, presumably for him and Remus to cramp in, but Pandora grabs his arm to keep him walking, bringing him over to a group of four tucked away in the corner.
She pushes him lightly to sit and Remus goes stock still when he looks down and realizes.
Someone must have dragged Regulus’s computer chair over, and Remus has been unceremoniously dumped into it.
He takes another sip of his drink so he can hide his face behind the cup for at least a second as he recovers.
He has seen hours of this chair on stream. Regulus’s chair.
Remus is in his apartment.
He should not be here.
He is so weird.
This is so so wrong.
These are nice people, inviting him over for a lovely surprise party for their friend.
Remus should not be here.
Remus should not know anything about this chair, or anything about Regulus. But he does, and that is weird and wrong.
Remus should leave.
It settles like a stone inside of him, guilt heavy and shameful. He does not belong here, with all these people. He does not belong in Regulus’s space. He needs to leave—
The front door opens, making his breath catch.
“Wow. A surprise, for lil ol’ me?” Remus is used to seeing his deadpan expression by now, it’s common on stream. Pandora lets out a loud huff. Remus doesn’t look away from Regulus but he can guess she’s rolling her eyes.
He slouches down in the computer chair, hoping that if he makes himself as small as possible, he can just wait it out. Hoping that Regulus will walk into the kitchen and get distracted by his friends so that Remus can slip out quietly before he’s spotted. None of them will even remember he was here.
Regulus’s eyes scan the room before landing on Remus.
It’s an instant flush of heat, waves and waves of embarrassment. Remus does not belong here.
Remus does not belong here.
Remus does not belong here.
Remus does not belong here.
Remus does not belong here.
Remus does not belong here.
Regulus barely looks at anyone else, walking his way.
This is it.
He can already predict how this is going to go.
“Why are you here? I don’t know you. Who invited you?”
Remus readies a response on his tongue, praying that he’ll be able to get the words out.
“I’m sorry. Pandora invited me. I’ll leave. I’m sorry.”
Regulus stops directly in front of him, their knees just shy of brushing. He's taller like this, with Remus seated.
“Hey Remus. I haven’t seen you in a while, you look good.” He tilts his head as he looks down, a small smile on his face. His lips aren’t chapped anymore.
Oh.
Remus doesn’t know what to say. He was not prepared for this at all. His brain stutters, mouth opening without his permission to say the last coherent thought he had.
“Your lips aren’t chapped anymore.”
Regulus’s eyebrows fly up to his hairline, a second later his fingers come up to brush against his mouth.
Remus hasn’t even been introduced to the group seated around him yet but there is an immediate burst of laughter. Pandora snorts before slapping a hand over her own mouth, her other landing on Remus’s shoulder.
He closes his eyes. This is not real. He is not real. None of them are real, none of this is happening, this is a nightmare, and he will wake up and none of this will be real.
“Um—“ Regulus leaves it at that, completely at a loss for words.
Remus stands quickly, a second later remembering how close Regulus is. He ignores the fact that they’re fully pressed up against each other and quickly sidesteps around.
“Bathroom.” He chokes the word out, fully fleeing, ignoring eye contact with everyone as he does so.
He practically slams the door shut, locking it, checking the lock twice more before sliding down the wall to sit on the floor.
What the fuck is wrong with him. Like genuinely, actually, what the fuck is wrong with him.
Why did he even come to the bathroom? Now he’s trapped, and has to walk back out in front of everyone. He should have just went back to his apartment. Should have ran back to his apartment, locked the door and slammed his head into the wall a million times.
His eyes catch on the cup he had brought with haphazardly placed on the sink counter. He scrambles up and chugs it all, liquid courage.
He can’t stay here forever. He needs to open the door and make a break for it. If anyone tries to stop him he’ll just say he drank too much too quickly, and that he’s not feeling well. No one wants a wasted stranger at their party. They’ll be glad he’s leaving.
Before he can chicken out he unlocks the door, ripping it open only to see Pandora smiling at him. He quickly shuts the door in her face.
She squawks, offended, easily pushing it back open before he can lock it.
“Let’s go Casanova, we have party games to play. I hope you’re good at trivia cause we’re paired up and I’m god awful at it.”
He doesn’t respond, trying to convey the severity of his situation to her with just his face.
She sighs. “Everything’s fine Remus, I pinky promise. We all want you here, and I really want us to be friends. You don’t have to stay long, but I’d really enjoy your company if you did.”
They continue their staring contest. He can feel the liquor, just a small buzz settling under his skin.
She wasn’t being literal but he still holds up his pinky.
She quickly matches him, squeezing tight. “Good. Now let's go be awful at trivia together.”
They are not awful at trivia. Maybe they just got lucky, or maybe she’s just had horrible partners in the past, but they absolutely crush it.
Pandora’s on a winners high, fist pumping as she runs in circles, gloating.
“Suck it! Suck it! Suck it! Oh my god we’re amazing. Remus, you’re amazing. Fuck anyone who ever doubted us.”
Remus laughs, "You doubted us.”
She ignores him, instead going over to shake a man— James, by the shoulders and yell in his face, “Fuck you! We won!” James just laughs at her, overjoyed at her joy.
~~~
“So do I like kill myself, or—“ Regulus is standing where Remus left him, he hopes his expression is blank as he’s screams on the inside.
Pandora pushes up from her spot, presumably to follow Remus.
“It’s not that bad.” Marlene is trying to sound reassuring but it comes out with a wince.
“She’s lying. It’s bad.” Dorcas grins.
Peter is contemplative, looking towards the hallway that Pandora disappeared in. “At least he was looking at your lips? Two times now, technically. That’s gotta be something.”
Dorcas snickers “Yeah, something bad.”
Regulus is gonna kill her. “Like where do I even go from here? How do I recover from this? I— Am I known for chapped lips? Why the fuck did no one tell me this—“
“Hey, what happened to lover boy? Evan said that Pandora said that he’s like, literally hiding in the bathroom.” The asshole is grinning as he talks.
“Fuck off Sirius, oh my god— I’m going to kill myself. I’m literally going to kill myself, and all of you, starting with Pandora. I knew this was a bad idea—“
“You're overreacting. Take a shot, put on your fuck me eyes, and get to work. If it's not meant to be then it’s not meant to be, you’ll recover.” Lily is his voice of reason, slowly trickling some sense back into his brain when all he wants to do is mope. Ugh.
“Or I could go drown myself—“
“Shot. Now.”
He does what she says before walking over to a mirror on the wall. He scowls, everything looks perfect. There’s no tweaks to be done to his hair or face or clothing, because he looks perfect. He spent ages getting ready to look perfect. Like what the fuck. Chapped lips—
The only thing saving him from utter humiliation is Pandora's intuition. She’s never been wrong, and is scary good at reading people. She’s been quite taken with Remus since she met him, and the thought puts a hoard of hopeful butterflies in his stomach.
Please god, if you’re real, Let me fuck— or at least make out with Remus once before I die.
He takes one last look in the mirror, face filled with determination. This is going to work. It has to.
~~~
Remus is going to rip his hair out. This apartment is too small, but simultaneously does not have enough people in it.
He’s been doing laps around everyone in an effort to stay as far away from Regulus as possible. Every time Remus thinks he’s safe he’ll see a blur of short curly hair in the corner of his eye that makes him flee.
The only upside to this is that Remus is actually being social. It’s still a bit awkward, he’ll always be a bit awkward, but at least he’s talking. He’s so worried about interacting with Regulus that he doesn’t have enough energy anymore to care about what everyone else thinks of him.
He can’t fully avoid him forever though. Remus gets pulled into a group conversation, with Regulus right across from him. He steadily ignores looking his way.
“So Remus, what do you do for work?” Peter asks. Remus likes Peter. Their conversations flowed easy, and Remus found himself gravitating towards him and Pandora the most so far. Lily also, but there’s been a few times she's gotten this look in her eye that makes him nervous.
They’re all waiting for a response, “Coding— Um. Computer stuff. Freelance.”
“Does this mean you know how to hack us?” Remus has barely talked to Barty, who’s been too busy hanging all over his boyfriend all night.
“No— well theoretically I could probably learn if I took the time to but at the moment no, I don’t know how to hack you.” Remus has helped out plenty of questionable individuals in online forums with their random coding issues, he knows if he asked they would have no problem teaching him how but he has no interest in it. Remus feels guilty for breathing most days, hacking seems punishable by death for him.
“Huh. I wonder what you’d find.” Evan, the aforementioned boyfriend, says.
Remus raises an eyebrow. “Just open up your cache and cloud files. It’d literally just be that.”
“What about incognito mode, you can’t hack that right?” Barty looks worried.
“Incognito mode doesn’t really exist. The information won’t get stored locally on your device, but all websites and searches can be linked back to your IP address.”
“Oh my god.”
“Yeah. Most crime investigations can gather a significant amount of evidence with just an ISP warrant alone. So don’t google how to hide a dead body if you ever need to.” Remus obviously does not like crime, but there is rising concern as lawmakers strip more and more internet privacy rights as a means of control.
“How much do you make working freelance?” Sirius has had a confusing energy all night, with James being his better, balanced half. Every time it seems that he starts to actually enjoy Remus, he snaps back into his abrasive cold exterior from their conversation in the kitchen.
“Too much.” Remus answers dryly. It’s true. He gets paid more than he probably should, and he spends almost none of it.
“You don’t think you should get paid well?” Regulus sounds perplexed. Remus shoots him a glance only to immediately look away. He’s so pretty it hurts.
“It’s not that— It’s a valued skill, just feels a bit silly I guess. I sit at my computer typing nonsense all day and make money for it.”
“Still. You can never have enough money.” Sirius shrugs.
Remus doesn’t respond, not wanting to get into how lame he is. He really doesn’t need the money, and he barely does or buys anything. They all have wild and crazy stories, living the kind of lives that people like Remus only get to experience by watching through media.
He does not belong here.
Pandora's been quiet next to him for a while but she chimes in, “Regulus also sits at his computer all day making way too much money.”
Both Regulus and Remus freeze.
Regulus recovers first, straightening his spine as he looks to Remus and tacks on for context, “I’m a streamer. I do like, livestreams online.” He almost sounds bashful.
Remus had practiced for this, practiced being nonchalant and normal, like he totally doesn’t know already but his tongue is tied and he has no clue what to say anymore. He’s starting to worry that his non reaction is a reaction in itself.
He takes a drink to hide behind his cup again, but his internal freak out is quickly covered when Barty adds on “Yeah, porn livestreams.”
Remus chokes on his drink.
“Jesus Christ Barty— He’s lying Remus. My content is normal, or well— It’s normal enough for youtube and twitch.” Regulus sounds a mix of exasperated and embarrassed.
Remus just nods his head, face flushed. He is currently trying his hardest to think of all things except Regulus as a camboy.
Barty laughs, scampering away from the group and dragging Evan with him. Remus dodges out soon after as well, needing to take a breather alone in the kitchen.
He realizes he’s made a horrific mistake when Regulus joins him.
He holds his breath, waiting for someone else to follow, but no one comes.
Regulus stops right in front of him and Remus presses his back against the counter hard in the hopes it’ll give and make more room for him.
Instead he gets dragged into orbit, already lost in magnetic silver eyes.
“I promise Barty was just talking shit. I can send you a link to my channel if you're interested?”
Remus just nods.
What the fuck.
What the fuck.
What the fuck What the fuck What the fuck What the fuck What the fuck
He’s going to ultra hell, to the deepest darkest pits. This is messed up on so many levels. Remus is full of lies and sin, he is the snake in the grass. This is the type of greed they talk about in the bible.
Regulus grins, holding out his phone. “What’s your number?”
Remus takes it with a shaky hand, entering his last name as well in the contact information. It’s only fair seeing as he knows Regulus’s.
“Remus Lupin. You have a nice name. It fits you well.”
He can’t look away. Regulus has no idea what he’s doing to him, no idea how beautiful he looks with his head tilted up to meet his gaze, eyes glittering in the low light of the kitchen.
Remus stutters out “T—Thanks. Um. Thank you. I like your name too. Nice. It’s nice.” He can’t tell if Regulus is getting closer or if he’s just getting tunnel vision.
Regulus bites his lip. “Yeah?”
Remus needs to throw himself into a volcano. It would hurt less than this.
“Yeah.” His voice comes out small and breathless. Remus feels pathetic.
This is so bad. He is a creep, and this is his punishment. Remus is going to fuck this up, and then he’ll never be able to see him like this ever again.
Regulus hums, eyes darting over his face before he steps back to make himself a drink.
Remus lets out a deep breath, relaxing against the counter. He is at his limit, he cannot endure anymore.
“I— I'm getting a bit tired, I think I might head out, if that’s okay.”
Regulus turns back to him. “Yeah, course it’s okay. I’m really glad I got to see you Remus. We should hang out again soon.”
Remus nods, walking away with a quiet goodnight.
He should say goodbye to everyone, instead he only lets Pandora know he’s leaving. It’s not until he’s back in his apartment and fresh out of the shower that he sees the text.
A link from Regulus and a message that reads,
Here’s my channel. Let me know what you think if you end up watching any.
He doesn’t respond, only saves the number and flops on his bed face first.
~~~
Remus should have never gone to the party. He should have never answered the door for Pandora that first time. Remus should have faked his death and lived his life far far away in the middle of the ocean.
Regulus and Pandora both message him regularly now. Texting is hard, but at least he gets to think before he sends. He had responded to Regulus about his content, only letting himself mention one video, his favorite. It’d be weird if he told him he’s watched more than one, right?
And then Regulus texts him a link and tells him that he’s live. He plays the same game as the one in the video Remus sent, it makes him feel warm and flushed for the rest of the day.
Now Regulus has switched to texting him before his streams, asking if he’s able to watch.
Remus says yes every time.
As the days go on the texts increase, random thoughts and snippets about his day. He starts to reciprocate, sending his own messages as well instead of only replying to the ones Regulus texts first.
Remus is still worried the floor is going to open up from under him and swallow him down to hell, but things become almost… normal. He’s acclimated.
Life is always pushing his comfort zone.
It’s Wednesday evening, he’s fresh out of the shower and in his pajama pants when he gets a message.
Are you busy rn?
He wants to just ask why but that’s rude.
No, why what’s up?
I made too much pasta, it's not the kind that reheats well, I'd have to throw it away. Wanna come over for dinner and a movie?
Fuck. He should have never replied. Fuck Fuck Fuck. The rational part of his brain is screaming at him to stop but there’s a goblin controlling his thumbs.
Sure, I can come over in a few minutes.
He immediately chucks his phone on his bed, hands grasping his face in regret.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck
It was bad enough at a party with other people.
Now he has to be in Regulus’s apartment. Alone. For an entire movie.
Regulus looks him up and down once he lets him inside and Remus immediately feels stupid. He looks as beautiful as ever in his stylish outfit.
“Sorry— Um. You said movie, and I was already in my pajamas, so—“
“Wait here.”
So Remus waits. It only takes a minute or two before Regulus returns, and the sight takes his breath away more than any fancy outfit ever could.
He’s now in a threadbare tshirt and baggy plaid pajama pants, fluffy socks on his feet.
Remus wants to touch him so bad. He places his hands in his hoodie pocket, squeezing hard.
“So, uh, pasta?”
Remus doesn’t go on dates, but this is reminiscent of one of the limited few he had been on years ago. He’s never understood dinner dates. You just eat while staring at each other? It’s always been uncomfortable and weird. It’s a bit different though, eating dinner with Regulus.
He does most of the talking, and doesn’t seem bothered when sometimes all he gets in response is a nod or a face reaction from Remus. It’s getting easier to speak when he does have any questions or comments, and Regulus gives him his undivided attention while he talks. It’s as addicting as it is terrifying.
Remus somehow makes it through dinner unscathed. This is personal feat, when it comes to his irl interactions with Regulus.
“There’s a drink recipe I've been wanting to make, it should only take a few minutes. Wanna try it?”
Regulus should stop asking him questions at this point. Remus is pretty sure he’ll do anything he asks, even if his brain screams at him along the way.
“Sure, yeah, thank you.”
Remus gets a few minutes alone to breathe. He puts his head in his hands, the heels of his palm digging into his eyes.
He hadn’t realized how long he's sat there until he hears Regulus.
“Oh. Are you okay?”
Remus whips his head up. Regulus is paused in the entryway, holding two glasses of something icy and pink, with pretty herbal garnishes on top.
“Yes, sorry, I’m okay. Just had something in my eye..”
It’s a horrible excuse. Regulus makes his way over, putting both drinks on the coffee table. And then he sits directly next to Remus, thighs touching as he leans his face in close.
“Which one? Maybe it’s an eyelash or something.”
Remus can’t breathe. Jesus fuck, what has he ever done to deserve this.
“I— I think it’s gone now. It’s fine. All good. Um-“
Regulus grabs his chin gently, fingers cold and still damp from the drinks as he looks, only a mere few inches between them.
“Hmm. Yeah, I don't see anything.” He drops his hand and stands back up.
Remus lets out a sigh of relief but it’s short lived. Regulus turns down the lights, grabs a blanket and the remote, and comes right on back to the same spot. He tosses the blanket over both their laps, handing Remus his drink.
He can feel heat from his knee to his shoulder where Regulus is pressed up against him.
He chugs half the drink before worrying about his manners. Regulus was excited to make this, Remus needs to make sure he actually appreciates the taste instead of just inhaling it.
He has no idea what movie is playing, it’s background noise to the hurricane of thoughts in his head.
The more Regulus relaxes, the more he sinks into Remus’s side. He smells like citrus and mint. Remus will be haunted by his scent forever, probably.
Regulus had broken their silence midway through the movie. “You don’t mind if I'm close like this, do you? I can move away..”
Remus shakes his head cause he’s a masochist, and a goddamn idiot. “No— No it’s fine, do whatever you need to get comfortable. I don’t mind.”
Regulus was apparently holding back, once he receives permission he brings his legs up on the couch, curling into Remus’s side.
He is going to hell.
Remus is a creep, and all he can think about is how good this feels. How much he wants to do the same and lean into him. How much he wants to pull him in closer.
But he can’t, because it means something different to Remus than it does to Regulus. He should be grateful that Regulus wants to be friends with him at all, instead he’s ruining it by having these feelings.
He takes every thought and emotion and shoves it deep down inside himself. They are friends. Remus can be normal. He has to be normal.
Remus had gradually slouched down the couch over time with Regulus to get comfortable. It’s only a problem when Regulus readjusts. He moves from leaning against Remus’s arm to his shoulder, head tucked in perfectly. Remus can feel his warm puffs of air on his neck.
Jesus Christ.
Regulus turns his head slightly, saying something to Remus. He can’t hear him over the buzzing in his ears. His lips lightly graze the skin of Remus’s neck as he talks, leaving goosebumps in his wake.
Remus gasps, speaking fast in an attempt to cover it up. “Sorry— what?”
“I was just asking if you like the movie?”
Remus has no idea what’s even happening but it’s still the best movie he’s ever watched.
“Yeah- It’s good.”
“Good.” It’s whispered soft on his skin. Remus gets full body shivers at that, he swears he can feel Regulus press a grin onto his neck.
He has to be crazy, because there’s no way this is happening. Or—
Or Regulus was fucking with him.
The thought nags as the seconds tick by, so he tries to go through it analytically.
What would his motive even be, to mess with Remus like this? Is this a thing that friends do and Remus was just too isolated to pick up on it? Or were his intentions cruel? Age old insecurities pop up like weeds in his mind.
It’s not long before the movie is over. Remus can feel eyes on him but he doesn’t turn to look. Regulus’s face is too close, they’d be too close—
It’s a split second decision before he’s sitting up fast, then standing up, faking a big stretch and a yawn. “Thanks for having me over, I should probably head out though. Early morning.” He has absolutely nothing to do tomorrow.
“Oh— Um-“
“Have a good night Regulus. I’ll text you, yeah?” Remus doesn’t turn to look at him as he talks, instead grabs their empty drink glasses and methodically places them in the kitchen sink.
He’s gone a second later, not bothering to put his shoes on, instead just grabbing them.
He thinks he hears a quiet goodbye from inside the apartment but it’s swallowed up by the sound of the door closing.
Remus does not text him. Doesn’t respond for days, actually. He doesn’t watch the streams, doesn’t even open youtube.
Instead he spirals. And the longer he does the worse it gets. Suddenly the friendly gestures don’t feel so friendly. The kind smiles and laughter from strangers at the party now feel artificial and plastic.
Was he— Have they just been making fun of him? The odd, antisocial neighbor?
Pandora, who he thought understood him, who gave him the time he needed when he was overwhelmed—
Was it actually just funny to her, watching him struggle?
And Sirius— Oh god. It makes sense now, his comment, the animosity.
Nice to meet you Remus. We’ve heard so much about you these past few months.
He’s been a joke amongst their friend group this whole time. A pathetic talking point after he embarrassed himself that night in the elevator, now a specimen to be observed for entertainment.
They had invited him just to watch him flounder. The questions about his job, pretending they were actually interested. Regulus getting close, trying to fluster him in the kitchen. Regulus then texting him to watch his streams, and like a dog Remus had obeyed every time. They probably thought it was hilarious, how easy he was to fool.
Remus has always been bad at social cues but he can’t believe it took him this long to put things together and see the whole picture.
He doesn’t work, doesn’t even touch his computer. Instead he sleeps, or rereads some of his favorite books, headphones obnoxiously loud with music.
He usually avoids using grocery apps because it’s a slippery slope for someone like him, but he makes an exception this time. The last thing he needs is to run into Regulus in the hallway.
He expected the texts to slow down as the days wear on but they only increase. Small things from Regulus about his day, with an occasional message sprinkled in about how he hopes Remus is doing okay, and that he misses him.
Pandora gets worse.
She’s blunt and persistent. She asks what happened, why are you ignoring us, what are you spiraling about now?
Remus doesn’t respond to any of it.
It’s on day 6 that he learns what read receipts are, when Pandora texts that she knows he’s opening her messages. He quickly turns them off in his settings, face hot with embarrassment.
He finally responds, same text to both of them.
Been busy with work. I’m fine.
He only starts to get mad when she messages,
Is this about the movie date? If you aren’t interested in him then just let him know instead of hiding.
It’s fast and fierce in his chest, his anger. He hates it, this bright, ugly pain flooding through him.
So he blocks her.
It was apparently the wrong move, seeing as a day later he’s startled awake by sharp raps on his door, that quickly increase to a loud pounding.
Her voice is exasperated and annoyed. It sounds awful on her.
“I can’t believe you blocked me! Open the damn door Remus, I can keep knocking all day!”
Remus sits silent, mouth pinched as he rubs at his bleary eyes.
She lasts longer than he expected, before the knocking abruptly stops, and then he hears Regulus’s door shut.
He stuffs a pillow over his head so he can’t hear any noises from next door as he falls asleep again.
She knocks the next day, and the next, and the next, before she gives up. Remus gives it three days, before he finally feels brave enough to leave his apartment. He was hoping to stay longer but he was down to the bare bones of food left in his pantry.
Maybe this was her plan, lulling him into a false sense of security.
He had foolishly left his apartment in the early evening when he should have waited until late at night. He was sloppy, so he can’t even be too mad when it blows up in his face.
He impatiently waits for the damn elevator, eyes scanning the hallway for any sign of human life. The door bings, opening up to reveal Pandora, who looks just as shocked to see him as he is to see her. They’re both frozen, a rubber band between them pulling taut before finally snapping.
Remus straight up sprints down the hall, not a care in the world anymore for how outrageous of a reaction this is.
“Come back you coward!”
He scrambles to unlock his door, and goes to slam it shut before it meets unexpected resistance.
“OW— Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck oh fuck you— ”
For a second he panics, thinking he must have crushed her hand before he realizes she had shoved her shoe in the door to keep it from closing.
“Fuck you fuck you fuck oh my god—“ She sounds genuinely in pain but she doesn’t move her foot away.
“Fuck me? Why the fuck would you put your foot in my door!”
“I don’t know! Why the fuck did you run from me!”
Remus doesn’t respond, trying his hardest to push her shoe out the door with his own so he can shut it.
“Oh no you don’t—“ She shoves her whole leg in, then her arm, wrapping her body around the door like a koala. There’s a fire in her eyes that scares him, just a little bit.
“You’re insane! You can’t just—“
The door next to them whips open and they both freeze, eyes going wide as they stare at each other.
Regulus says nothing when he comes into view, shock and confusion written all over his face. Seeing him again feels like a relapse. It’s a rush of endorphins quickly followed by regret and shame.
Remus pulls the anger from his chest and latches onto that instead. It’s easier than dealing with the sadness that’s been plaguing him. “Can you control your rabid fucking chihuahua and tell her to get the hell out of my apartment.”
The noise Pandora lets out is shrill and offended, only making her angrier as she renews her efforts, catching him off guard and pushing her way fully inside.
He’s surprised when she turns and shuts the door right in Regulus's face, locking it.
“Pandora!”
“Go away Reggie. Remus and I need to have a little chat.” She sounds menacing, and once again Remus is just a little bit scared.
He shoves a hand in his hair, then drags it down his face.
Only him. Only he would be cursed to endure this fate. What the fuck.
Despite her words neither of them speak. It’s a standoff, both too stubborn and pissed to break the ice. Her eyes scan him, trying to do her stupid woo woo mind reading shit like last time.
Remus drops his face into what’s hopefully a blank slate, and that's enough for her to start speaking.
“Tell me why you ghosted us and I'll leave you alone.”
“Doubt it.” He sneers the words out.
She crosses her arms. “So was it like internalized homophobia or—“
His brows fly up to his hairline. “What? No— What?”
She looks confused now too. “Then why the fuck are you throwing a bloody tantrum? I thought we were getting close— I thought we were friends, Remus.”
Her words are the reminder he needed, bitter hate prickling under his skin. His laughs, cold and cruel.
“Friends, yeah right. You fooled me at first, I'll give you that, but I'm not a complete and total moron. I know you’ve only been talking to me because you and your buddies get some sick fucking thrill at making fun of the weird autistic guy next door. Drop the act and go to hell, thanks.”
He makes for the door, ready to drag her out if need be but she slides in front of him, blocking his exit.
“Move—“
“No. You had your turn to speak, now it’s mine.”
He rolls his eyes, side stepping but she mirrors his movements. He glares as she continues speaking.
“I truly don’t know how or why the hell you came to this conclusion, but you couldn’t be more wrong Remus.
Do you think we’re so bored that we’d bully you for sport? We like you! You’re funny, and sweet, and interesting to talk to. Is it really so hard for you to believe that, and instead you’d rather spin up this convoluted narrative like we’re some kind of teenage TV show villains?
You’re not a moron Remus, quite the opposite, so get your head out of your ass and think about which of the two is more likely to be the truth.” She huffs, out of breath as she puts her hands on her hips.
He feels a flush rise to his neck, his face, his ears, “Uhh—“
“Yeah, I thought so. Seriously, why would you think that? Have we been shitty friends to you?” She looks sad and worried, but Remus is still warring inside himself, wondering if this is another act.
“I— I don’t know, it just made sense, and the more I thought about it the more I felt like an idiot for believing you guys actually liked me. Oh! And Sirius, that fucking comment, the way he said it—
“blah blah blah we’ve heard so much about you.”
What the fuck else is that supposed to mean? He was mocking me straight to my face!” He throws a hand up, exasperated as he paces back and forth.
Pandora honest to god facepalms, a loud slap as she hits her forehead. “Is that your main piece of “evidence”? Oh my god— I’m gonna fucking kill him. No— Regulus is gonna fucking kill him. Sirius was just being stupid and posturing! Regulus had mentioned he wanted to get to know you, and Sirius can get really protective over him, sometimes a bit too much, obviously.” She ends with a roll of her eyes.
Remus presses his lips together in a firm line, it still feels like bullshit, like he’s missing something.
“Here— Read my recent texts with Regulus and tell me if you still think we’re plotting your downfall or whatever.”
He reluctantly grabs the phone, reading the messages in reverse. He only goes back two days before he hands it to her, embarrassed all over again for being so dramatic. The messages were sincere, her initial shock at getting blocked, and Regulus begging her not to bother Remus since he “wants nothing to do with us anymore.”
Remus has really outdone himself this time, managing to fuck everything up in the most creative and dramatic way possible. He wouldn’t blame them if they were the ones who wanted nothing to do with him anymore.
“I’m sorry.” He truly doesn’t know what else to say, doesn’t know how to fix this.
She lets out a big sigh, before shooting him a weary smile. “It’s okay, just a minor hiccup in the grand scheme of things. Does this mean you’ll be friends with us again? Also please unblock me, that was terribly rude of you. Nothing is worse than sending a message only to see the text bubble go green.”
He winces, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, we can be friends again. I can’t imagine this’ll go over well with anyone else though, especially Sirius. He’s probably planned a hundred ways to kill me by now.”
“Don’t worry about anyone else, I’ll deal with it. Just— Don’t disappear again, okay? Next time your brain goes disaster mode just call me and I'll pull you back, promise.”
He nods, a second later bringing his pinky up. That earns him a big grin, and she links their pinkies together before engulfing him in a hug.
“Thank god you’re just a silly little overthinker, I’m so glad you’re not homophobic.”
He chokes on his spit, still a bit confused but laughs anyway. “Yeah, me too. You can thank my mom, she clocked my bisexuality three years before I did. You can imagine the mutual confusion when she brought my dad and I to a pride parade.”
The sound of Pandora's laughter warms him from the inside out. “She sounds amazing, I'd love to meet her.”
He groans. “Oh god, you two would be menaces together. Lord save us all if you ever end up in the same room.”
She pulls back from the hug to punch him in the arm. It doesn’t hurt but it does remind him of the fact that he hurt her.
“Wait fuck, is your foot okay? I have ice—“
“I think I’ll live. My shoe took the brunt of the damage. Still hurt though.”
“I’m sorry, I panicked. You run really fast, by the way. I thought my height would give me an advantage but I must be more out of shape than I thought.”
“Track and field, baby. Best runner 3 years in a row when I was in high school.” She gives him a smug grin as she heads to the door. “I’m leaving now, I can practically feel Regulus overthinking. Unblock me or I will break this door down, okay?”
He pulls out his phone. “Already on it boss.”