The Scenic Route

4

Sirius was an enigma. Remus felt he should have been more concerned. An itch in the back of his mind, probably Grant, was telling him to stick this man on the train and call it a day. Yet his common sense was left adrift in Sirius' petulant comments, and the way he kept messing on with the glove box as if he'd never been a passenger in a car in his life, the way he didn't know what a Cadbury's chocolate bar was - a Cadbury's chocolate bar, Jesus, and the way he pretended to know the songs on the radio and hummed the tune about a beat behind, and the oscillations of his voice shook through Remus far more than the roar of the car motor, and his laugh warmed Remus' face as it shivered from his tongue like flickers of silver, and his smile.

Oh, God. His smile was a picture of complete and utter bliss. Wide and unruly, sturdy, well-practised, and it had Remus' heart in a painful and tight grasp.

Remus swallowed, and Sirius watched the lump in his throat bob down then back up, and he looked back up at Remus under his thick dark lashes that cast a gentle shade on his steely eyes.

"I..."

Sirius' brows tugged together, softening his gaze. Oh, God.

"... never said it bothered me, giving you your way," Remus said, though it had sounded like the words had been clawed from his throat, hoarse and discordant.

A blare from outside the car caught Sirius' attention first, who lurched at Remus and yanked the steering wheel anti-clockwise. Remus' eyes snapped back over through the windshield and realised the other boy was moving them out of oncoming traffic.

"Fuck!"

Slamming a foot on the break Remus cringed at the sounds of what was left of the car tyres being lost to the road tarmac, but thankfully, the car rolled to a stop.

Sirius was huffing and wide-eyed, engulfing as much air as he could, and Remus pressed his hand firmly on the boy's shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. He was shaking.

"You okay?" He asked, searching Sirius' eyes for a silent answer.

"Anything hurt, Sirius?"

"Remus-" Sirius began, his hand letting go of the steering wheel and covering Remus'. "Please, for my sake and yours, let me drive."

Sirius let his eyes meet Remus halfway, a breathy grin on his face. That crazy bastard had been shaking with laughter.

Sirius opened his passenger door and stepped out into the road as Remus let out a startled shout. He walked past the bonnet of the car and opened the driver's door, the breeze whisked his hair into his face, and Remus smiled when he scrunched his nose.

"Come on," Sirius said, stepping back to give way for Remus to leave the car. Remus' eyebrows lifted, startled. When the other boy made no attempt at leaving the car, Sirius narrowed his eyes at him, biting down on a smile. "Please?"

"I could leave you here you know," Remus said, tapping a finger on the steering wheel as if in contemplation.

"Don't you dare."

"Why shouldn't I?"

...

"I'll buy you a coffee?"

"More of a tea drinker."

Sirius cried out in frustration, but realisation soon trickled to the forefront of his mind.

"You're teasing me."

Remus was grinning wickedly ear to ear. "You're teasing me!"

The boy with the toffee hair climbed out of the car and stood tall, stretching over Sirius with ease, cheeks freckled like sunspots and his tan sliced by gleaming silver scars. Sirius' eyes darted down to a cold flicker on his hand, Remus was gently handing over his keys.

"I wouldn't dare," he smiled, then furrowed his brows as if deep in thought. "Let's hope you're a better driver than you are a pedestrian though, ay Potter?" Remus walked to the passenger's side and leaned down to slide back into the car.

"That's not fair! I don't know your last name." Sirius slid into the driver's seat and looked over at Remus expectingly.

Remus rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Lu-SLAM

Sirius cringed. "Sorry, didn't mean to do that." He looked back over to his passenger who looked equally pained. "Sorry," He said again. "What was your last name?"

Remus' gaze shifted between the handle and Sirius. Should he ask to see Sirius' license? No. That's... silly.

Sirius brought his seat forward and adjusted the middle mirror before twisting the key in the ignition. The engine woke with a roar.

"Remus Greyback."

Sirius blinked, and the corner of his mouth quirked up. "Your name... is Remus Greyback?" The car pulled forward smoothly.

"I- yes?"

Sirius leant back into his seat and nodded with mock understanding. "Okay."

"I mean, it's not my last name really," Remus glanced over the menu, smiling to himself when he caught Sirius flicking the plastic flowers disdainfully.

"... pardon?"

"Greyback, it's not my last name. I don't..." Sirius furrowed his brows and met Remus' gaze. His irises were gleaming silver with curiosity, and he was looking up at Remus through his eyelashes, something he'd made a habit of. Remus swallowed the rest of his sentence and began browsing the menu aimlessly again. "Nevermind."

"Tell me." Sirius pressed, but his request was interrupted when a woman walked up in an apron with a notepad, seemingly engrossed before shifting her silver-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose and turning to Remus.

"What can I get you?" She said, bored. Remus leant forward, making a small noise as he stretched out his spine. He gently placed the menu down, and rested his chin on his knuckles, letting his arm prop up his body weight. The waitress wafted some stray hairs from her face. She was blond.

"Sorry... I've not really had a proper look through," Remus said, looking up at her, but she was staring fiercely at Sirius, who was oblivious. Remus glanced down at her name tag - Pandora.

"Erm..." Pandora focused her attention back on Remus. "Would... you..."

She shook her head and blinked furiously as if trying to wake herself up. "Do you want a few more minutes?"

Sirius made a noise then, and Remus watched as the two stared at each other in fearful recognition. Sirius looked as if he were about to stand up, leaning his weight forward, but he stopped himself. What the fuck was going on?

"Pan..." Sirius' voice was hushed, but it was enough for the young waitress to unravel and she turned around and scurried off back behind the counter and into the kitchen, out of view. "Shit," Remus raised his eyebrows at Sirius questioningly, but Sirius wasn't paying attention, he stood up, knocking his chair over and followed behind her.