“Sure thing,” Sirius stated, brushing a piece of stray hair behind his ear as he approached the Volvo. Already from a distance, Sirius could tell that the prospect weren’t good for the old car, but he was absolutely willing to give it a go.
“I can take a look at it right now, I am in no rush,” Sirius added, as he went to take a proper look at the Volvo. It was clearly an older model, probably one that the lass had inherited, so Sirius wanted to see if he could make it work in an affordable manner.
“You go fix what you need to fix, I will see what we can do for her,” he added, sending both the woman and especially her male companion a warm smile.

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Remus hadn't seen Sirius since he had kissed him at the hunting post, a decade prior. Remus hadn't even returned to their meeting spot when he knew Sirius was back for the summer; for years he had felt guilt ridden with that decision, knowing that he could have seen Sirius once more under different circumstances before the boy all but disappeared off the face of the Earth.
Remus had mourned Sirius as if he had died, something which had felt appropriate judging by how intently the Blacks wished to bury his disgraced memory.
Suddenly seeing his likeness in a grimy garage 30 minutes from his flat was almost impossible to process; for a split second, it felt like Sirius had risen from his grave, leaving Remus rightfully confused.
Remus hadn’t immediately thought twice about the presence of another mechanic, having thought it to be a cheap trick and a ruse for Miriam’s mechanic to call over another opinion. It had only been when the man had turned and smiled at Remus that he felt his heart drop to his stomach with a dizzying sense of déjà vu.
Despite it all, Remus couldn’t help but smile, the grin slow and humoured as he came to the conclusion that he must have been mistaken, some relief showing in his expression. The man in front of him was strikingly beautiful, just like Remus always expected Sirius to be, but Remus had lost all authority on Sirius years ago, no longer able to perfectly replicate his features in his mind. The last time Remus had seen Sirius they had barely been 15; now, Remus didn’t even had good authority on whether or not Sirius was even alive.
By the time Remus came to, Miriam had left his side, having failed to recognize the brush of his arm as an encouragement to follow her to the reception. By that time, Remus had been lingering at the car for too long not to say anything.
"How long's it going to take?" Remus felt complied to ask, not wanting the poor man to feel ogled at his place of work. Eyes dipping to the name tag on the other man’s chest. "Doc?"
The addition felt clumsy, once again serving to widen Remus' smile at the unintentional caricature that name brought to his question. Meeting the mechanic's line of sight, Remus was once again washed over with a warm sense of familiarity, unable to contain a smile.

It would be a lie to say that Sirius wasn’t at least a little thrilled that the guy stuck along, please to know that maybe he hadn’t been entirely wrong be interested in him.
When the guy furthermore used his nickname, Sirius couldn’t help but laugh and shake his head, looking up from where he had buried himself in the hood of the car. The guy really was something else, and while Sirius knew to step carefully, he couldn’t help but feel that the attraction was mutual.
“Oh no,” he said, standing up straight and thus realising that the guy was taller than him, something that caused his grin to widen. “Doc is my nickname, my name is Sirius.”
His gaze returned to the transmission box, coming to the conclusion that it wasn’t really good, but it would definitely be fixable if he just got enough time to fix it.
“Might I ask your’s, mr. tall, dark and handsome?” He added with a grin, looking up at the guy once more, mostly to gauge his reaction.

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Remus mind felt like it had short circuited. Perhaps it was the false sense of security he had given himself, but the mere sound of Sirius’ name felt like being plunged into water; it was completely engulfing, and Remus’ immediate reaction was a pure feeling of fright.
Remus felt utterly unprepared to face Sirius, once again feeling 18 years old and hyperaware of people’s perception of him - even more so, feeling 13 and desperately relying on Sirius' approval.
He had parted his lips to address it, but the follow up question Sirius had asked him was so far from anything he had expected that it changed something in Remus' expression. For a moment, Remus was in disbelief, struggling to wrap his head around the question.
Then, he laughed.
When the realization that Sirius hadn't recognized him finally settled over him, Remus almost felt euphoric. There was such a bliss in anonymity, but even more so in Sirius’ clear, unabashed interest. Remus wanted to bask in it, feeling a sense of accomplishment beyond what he had ever thought possible.
"You're asking me?" Remus had to clarify, the laugh still audible in his voice. He had often thought about reintroducing himself to Sirius, yet he had never thought it would be quite like this, if at all. "Remus."

The guys laughter was absolutely intoxicating and Sirius knew right in that moment that he wanted to do anything he could to get to hear that sound again.
Sirius was fully unable to put his finger on it, but there was just something about the guy that kept drawing him in, almost feeling comfortable with the guy already. There was no good reason for him to be this taken with this random guy, but maybe it was just because he was tall and Sirius knew himself to have a weakness for tall men.
“Well, Remus,” Sirius started, liking how the name seemed to fit him perfectly, “you can tell your girlfriend, that her car will live, but that it will take me a couple of days to get the right parts for it. I should think that if she comes back in a week, she will be in tiptop shape.”

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There really wasn't anything that could have prepared Remus for the sound of Sirius saying his name, finally. It sent a thrill down his spine, immediately wishing Sirius would repeat himself. He had often dreamed of Sirius, reliving his childhood in his sleep, but Remus had never been able to picture how his name sounded in Sirius' voice. Now, Sirius had so easily gifted him that missing piece, and Remus didn't think he had ever liked the sound his own name more.
"She's not my girlfriend," he stated, completely unrelated to the point Sirius was making in the first place. It wouldn't even have been worth correcting if it wasn't Sirius, but Remus so desperately needed Sirius to know that Miriam was nothing but a friend.
His smile widened with a delay, enamored by the almost crass interest Sirius had taken to him. "I'll let her know, though."

The confirmation that the girl wasn’t actually Remus’ girlfriend made Sirius grin widely, feeling good about the fact that he wasn’t at least hitting on a taken man. It also made it seem all the more likely that Remus might also be interested in Sirius, and that his flirting wasn’t entire off.
“Good, I’m glad,” he said with a wide boyish grin, intending to leave it up in the air what he was glad about, but he knew that he was probably being pretty transparent about it all. He really had no ide a what it was, but he just found the guy charming and if he had felt even an inch more certain that the guy might fancy blokes, he would have probably asked him out.

_________________

Remus felt like a kid again, looking at Sirius as it he was the sun. In any other context it would be pitiful, just how easily Remus had been caught in Sirius' orbit. There was such validation in being able to capture Sirius' interest, no matter how fleeting or superficial it might be. In fact, Remus felt quite certain he would have disappeared from Sirius' memory by tomorrow, if not sooner.
He so wished he was bold enough to say anything to prolong that.
Sirius had made Remus' heart soar, and he wanted to think that Sirius would be equally pleased to meet him, if Remus were to give him the chance to get to know him again. He was, however, not sure he could stand that.
After all, there wasn't anything preventing Sirius from rejecting Remus once over, on the same grounds as he had rejected him a decade prior. It made Remus' stomach knot up, certain he wouldn't be able to withstand seeing that look of disappointment in Sirius' eye.
So, Remus decided, maybe this really was enough. He had spent his entire youth being greedy with Sirius' affection, tripping over himself to win his approval. Now that he had, so easily and unexpectedly, it really would be for the better to take it, relish it, and close that chapter of his life.
"I'll get out of your hair, then," he said, far before his heart had caught up to the decision.
His smile had dulled slightly over his pause, his heart feeling heavy with melancholy, but at the end of the day, greatly appreciative of Sirius. And, after all, Remus suddenly knew where to find him.
"It was really good meeting you, Sirius."
Remus' smile widened in saying his name, familiar in the best way, before turning and leaving the car.

Sirius knew that it was probably pitiful, but he couldn’t stop himself from looking after Remus as he left Sirius’ presence. If he had stuck around for even a moment longer, Sirius knew that he would probably have asked him out, and now he regretted not doing it earlier.
Then again, Sirius had no real idea whether or not the guy was even interested in blokes, but he still felt that maybe that would be a chance he should have been willing to take.
“Good to meet you too, Remus,” he called after him, feeling certain that that only made him more pitiful, but he still felt that he had to showcase his interest.

_________________

________________________________________

Remus had probably regretted not asking out Sirius the moment his head hit the pillow, the same day he had been with Miriam at the garage. However, he didn't really come to terms with it until Miriam had asked him to come to pick up her car. Missing Sirius wasn't a foreign concept to Remus, so upon waking the morning after, Remus hadn't thought twice about it. It took Miriam's old Volvo to remind Remus that Sirius no longer was lost in a void; in fact, there would be a solid chance of seeing him again if Remus just came with her.
He had wanted to. Remus still believed that to be an honest truth, but when his supervisor had asked him to stay longer that coinciding afternoon, Remus had easily complied, no urge to decline or reschedule. In the end, Miriam had another friend drive her to the garage and with that, any reasonble window of opportunity for Remus to run into Sirius had closed.
Of course, nothing prevented Remus from reaching out to him, more purposefully than circumstantial, but he never got around to it. Suddenly, days had become weeks, and before Remus knew of it, missing Sirius had once again become a familiar, dull ache in the pit of his stomach, one that had always felt like an integral part of who Remus was.
So, when Sirius for the second time reappeared into Remus life by chance, that ache was violently ripped to the foreground. For a moment, Remus' chest felt tight with regret, embarrased that he hadn't just called the garage when Miriam still had their number. Then, it tipped over into a genuine feeling of relieved euphoria.
All it had been was Remus shifting his seat. Upon returning to the table with another few pints, Remus thoughtless seating himself at the opposite side of the table; how long Sirius had been sat across the room, now suddenly perfectly in his view, Remus couldn't tell.
Despite all of his well meaning attempts, Remus found his attention drifting from the conversation and back onto Sirius, unable to contain a boyish smile. He was completely and utterly thrilled to see him again.

While Sirius definitely still considered James to be his best friend, it was rare that they got to go out together anymore. Between being newly married, working hard to finish school and having just gotten a baby, James’ schedule was simply filled up and Sirius knew that.
Thus, he was really excited that James and Lily were out with him, having handed baby Harry over to Euphemia and Fleamont for the night. It was clear that his friends were excited as well and all in all they had just been having a very good tie together.
They were almost through their first drink, when Sirius caught the eye of someone familiar across the bar.
A boyish grin made its way to his lips, when he realised that it was Remus, the guy from his garage.
It seemed like a sign to Sirius that he should at least give the guy another shot, now that he had actually seen him at a gay bar. It had to mean something, and while Sirius usually wasn’t the type of guy to believe in signs, he still wanted to see what it could end up with.
“Oi Prongs,” Sirius said, catching James attention and nodding towards Remus, who seemed to constantly be looking up at him, and only further convinced Sirius that he should make a move. “Betcha that if I go to the bar to get us refills that that guy will come talk to me.”

_________________

James had, admittedly, not been paying much attention to the patrons around them. When Sirius directed his attention towards a guy across the room, the guy in question appeared engaged in conversation with his tablemates. That, however, didn't plant even an ounce of doubt in James, knowing that Sirius was probably right.
"If you need cash to cover the bill, just say so," he grinned, turning his eye back onto Sirius. "I'm not putting money against that."

Sirius grinned at that as he looked back at James and Lily, knowing that he was setting up a stupid bet, but he mostly just needed the courage to not talk himself out of it. He still had no idea why he felt so drawn to that guy, but he did know that he wanted to get to know him better and this seemed to be his only chance to do so.
“I’m gonna get us refills,” Sirius stated instead, getting up from his chair and approaching the bar. He did turn around to send a grin to his friends, all of them knowing what was going to go down now.
“Same again?” He asked, even if he knew that it was going to be a yes.

_________________

Remus didn't fail to notice Sirius getting up, his attention almost entirely on him even when he wasn't looking at him directly. Kingsley, a good friend and coworker, had grown more and more humoured by Remus' clear inattentiveness, his smile growing wider as the conversation crumbled into incoherent, pointless statements as Remus had turned to follow Sirius' path across the room.
When it became clear that Sirius was, in fact, headed for the bar, Remus had already gotten out of his chair.
"I'm sorry, I'll get back to you in a moment," Remus dismissed Kingsley, though he had failed to notice Kingsley had no longer been speaking. "I'll get another round if it drags out."
Remus hadn't dared interpret Sirius' bar run as an invitation for Remus to join him, even though they had caught each other's eyes on several occasions. He did, however, gratefully take advantage of the possibility of getting to talk to Sirius alone, finding himself unable to have any sort of fruitful conversation with Sirius in the presence of Sirius' two friends.
By the time Remus had crossed the bar, the two of them reached the bar almost simultaneously. While Sirius appeared to intend on ordering, Remus' full attention was on Sirius from the moment he joined him by the bar top.
"Hey," Remus started, a juvenile smile immediately tugging at the corners of his mouth, bleeding into his voice. There was almost a giddiness to him, his heart hammening in his chest with adrenaline and the combined courage of three pints. "I - uh - I don't know if you recognize me, it's been a while."

Once he had gotten confirmation that James and Lily just wanted another of the same, Sirius made his way to the bar, thrilled to realise that the guy was actually doing as he had predicted.
It almost made Sirius regret even more that he had not felt ballsy enough to ask him out at the garage, but it seemed that he was getting his chance now.
The mere idea of Sirius not recognising the guy made a grin come to his face, having spent quite a lot of time thinking of him since they last saw each other. It hadn’t been anything too out of the ordinary, but it had definitely been enough that Sirius had hoped that Remus would be there to pick up his friend’s car.
“Of course I do,” Sirius stated with a wide, boyish grin as he turned his full attention towards Remus. All thoughts of ordering drinks for himself and James and Lily were gone from his mind, at least for now.
“You were at the garage and you didn’t come with your friend to pick up her car, which, I gotta say, left me a bit disappointed.”

_________________

Remus was rightfully surprised to hear that Sirius had recognized him at the garage, something changing in his expression. It caught him off guard, unsure of the implications behind why Sirius hadn't addressed it then, and whether or not Remus had then severely misunderstood that interaction.
However, Sirius' smile was disarming, bright and engaged, showing no signs of the hesitation Remus suddenly felt. He had parted his lips to speak on it, but he didn't find the words to say before Sirius elaborated his reply.
Remus couldn't help but grin, endlessly humoured and pleased beyond expression by Sirius' admission. Despite what Sirius was telling him, Remus knew Sirius hadn't recognized Remus, at least not in the way Remus had phrased the question.
"Yeah, that's -" Remus didn't know what to say, the thrill building in his chest escaping him as a chuckle. Remus hadn't expected to make a lasting impression on Sirius, and suddenly that was all he could think about, his smile growing wider.
Unable to contain it, Remus once again laughed, uncertain how to regain control of the direction of their conversation. When he spoke, the laugh seeped into his voice, juvenile and giddy as he greeted a childhood friend by the name Remus still remembered him by.
"I don't think you do, Padfoot."

Sirius had allowed himself to get so caught up in Remus’ laugh that the sudden use of his childhood nickname felt like a punch in the gut.
Nobody had called him Padfoot since he had last seen Moony, someone he had thought a lot about in the years since he had had to leave. It took him a moment, his smile stiffening on his lips as he took a moment to really look at the guy.
He had been so caught up in everything that made him so distinctively male that he hadn’t even realised all the ways in which he resembled his childhood best friend.
“Moony?” He asked, almost feeling like he was choking up. It was too much for him to wrap his head properly around, feeling like a million thoughts were flying through his head, but all of them going too fact for him to have a proper hold of any of them.
Not thinking, Sirius found his arms wrapping around Remus instead, pulling his old friend close in a tight hug that he had dreamt of being able to give for years.
“Oh my god, Moony!”

_________________

It felt like the pause lasted an eternity. Remus saw Sirius' expression change, and he felt himself be scrutinized, Sirius rightfully looking for something familiar in Remus' adult features. It made Remus' lips part, having the instinct to apologize or to provide a further explanation as to why he maybe wasn't immediately recognizable to Sirius.
Then, Sirius' collided against him, knocking the air out of his lungs out surprise rather than by force. Feeling Sirius' arms tightly around his neck, hearing the genuine joy in his voice made Remus' heart soar, unable to comprehend he had been able to forego it for an entire month.
Readily, Remus returned the affection, wrapping both arms around Sirius' waist.
"Hi, Pads," he repeated, laughing. He turned his head towards Sirius, but found nothing but hair, sending a thrill down Remus' spine. "It's been a while."

Sirius definitely felt like he could cry.
He really had thought that he was never going to see Moony ever again, and not only had he seen him again, he had also almost missed out on actually seeing him. It made him tighten his grip further on his friend, unsure how long a huge like this was supposed to last, but he knew that he wasn’t ready to let go of him just yet.
Hearing his nickname used again made Sirius even more emotional, realising just how much he had missed hearing that. In that moment, Sirius knew that he never wanted to let Moony go again, unsure if he would be able to handle a separation again.
“Sure has,” he said, his voice soft in the fear that it was going to break.
Once he broke away, it was only to get a proper look at his old friend, needing to be able to commit his new face to memory. Moony looked absolutely nothing like he could have ever imagined, but there was also something so incredibly recognisable in his features that made Sirius’ knees weak.
“I can’t believe it,” he said, torn between wanting to hug Remus again and wanting to get a proper look at him. “It’s you.”

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Remus had already found Sirius to be incredibly beautiful at the garage, all boyish ease and charm; he, however, found that that memory paled tot he sight in front of him. Sirius looked at him with such attention and intimacy that it was breathtaking, his grey eyes so bright it felt like they were looking through Remus. It completely clouded his mind, too taken by Sirius' presence to form a coherent reply.
"Yeah," he replied, dumbly and with huffed laugh, not knowing what else he could possibly respond.
When Sirius shifted, Remus had loosened his grip around him, his hands tentatively at Sirius' side. Sirius' hands remained at Remus' shoulders, soft and warm, and Remus was reluctant to do anything that might discourage it. "It is."