Ranunculus and white Carnations

Remus Lupin's life had always been rather boring. He worked as a Florist in a small shop that he had opened up recently, together with the help of his best friend, Lily Evans.

There wasn't anything special about Remus.

He always had been a bit scrawny and lanky, his thin body buried beneath his utter love for huge cuddly jumpers.

He simply couldn't help it. A warm jumper and some hot chocolate basically were all he needed to have the perfect life.

Well, at least that was before he met Sirius.

On a different thought, all of this was Lily's fault in a way, not that Remus would ever tell her that.

The horror had started when a tall, rather handsome man with unruly, short, black hair entered their shop.

Even now, Remus still remembered the look on his face when he declared "Quickly I need some roses for my-" only to stop in his tracks when his gaze fell onto Lily.

"Nevermind my mother, maybe I should just buy roses for you, oh most beautiful of all flowers."

Remus hadn't been able to hold his laughter until all of a sudden, a much darker, deeper voice resounded through the shop.

"James, do you have the flowers, your mom is waiting for us."

The florist turned to look at the second stranger, his breath hitching quietly at the mere sight of him.

The man, who stood in the entrance of the beautiful shop, was taller than Remus with black hair all the way down to his shoulders. He was clad in a leather jacket and tight black jeans that made Remus swallow harshly.

His muscles were easily seen through the dark fabrics and well, he simply couldn't help but stare.

"Sirius Black." the deep voice suddenly pulled him out of his daze, the handsome stranger only half a meter apart from him now.

Almost even dumbly, Remus looked down to where Sirius had held his hand for him to grasp.

Quickly though and with a deep blush on his pale cheeks, the florist broke his trance, taking the man's warm hand to shake it.

Both of them lingered on the touch longer than what was actually appropriate.

"I'm Remus Lupin." he mumbled softly, his voice cracking once, causing his blush to deepen. He felt like a bloody teen with a crush on some sort of celebrity.

"Well, it is certainly nice to meet you, Remus." Sirius said, causing the florist to nibble on his bottom lip softly. "You too." he mumbled.

He took a deep breath then smiled gently. "Can I help you then? What kind of flowers do you two need?" he tried his best to be as professional as possible now.

Sirius let out a quiet chuckle, a rich sound, all melodic and deep.

"Well, James and me are going to visit his mother and wanted to bring her a few roses."

Remus nodded softly and smiled. "That sounds nice..." he mumbled though after a second he added "How about something a bit more different though?" he looked around and within a minute had a beautiful bouquet of flowers prepared.

"Pink Tulips, they stand for caring. Gardenias and Geraniums for joy and comfort. The Peony symbolizes healing powers which a mother has and at last a few pink roses which show appreciation." Remus grinned up at Sirius though the second he realized how enthusiastic he had been, the male stepped back, looking down.

Sirius though, wouldn't have any of that. He gently captured Remus lower arm and smiled.

"That was beautiful." he said softly. "We'll take them."

The man carefully took the bouquet and looked around. The florist's knowledge of plants had indeed impressed him and not just a bit.

"What do those symbolize?" he asked gently, pointing to a bouquet of rather small flowers.

"Those are white Carnations." Remus mumbled softly, his cheeks tinting a light pink once more.

"They symbolize pure love." he looked away.

"I like those.." Sirius said quietly, his dark orbs catching those of Remus.

"Sorry you two lovebirds but we gotta go." James all of a sudden chirped from behind them, causing the two men to jump apart.

He was grinning brightly throwing some money on the front desk before practically dragging his best friend out of the shop, who chuckled and simply shrugged.

"I'll see you soon." the dark haired man called out to Remus, the subject of his affection only nodding shyly.

"So, that's your type then?" Lily asked teasingly the second that the door fell closed once more, Remus leaning against the wall, breathing heavily.

The florist chuckled quietly at her words, looking at her with a small smile.

"Well, he definitely was gorgeous." he mumbled, the woman only able to agree with him.

For the rest of the day, Lily would find Remus staring at a few flowers rather dreamily though well, for once, she didn't say anything, just letting him stay in his daydreams.

When Remus entered the shop the next morning, the man stopped in his tracks.

He wasn't greeted by Lily as per usual but rather by his gorgeous stranger, Sirius Black, once again all clad in leather and attractiveness.

"What are you doing here?" he asked him, confused though well, also quite curious.

"I wanted to thank you for picking out those flowers and showing me your amazing knowledge."

Before Remus could retort anything, Sirius pulled out a bouquet of flowers from behind his back.

Remus' eyes widened upon seeing them, his cheeks warming with a bright blush as he carefully took the flowers. He couldn't believe it.

"Ranunculus." Sirius said, his voice gentle as he stepped closer to the almost-stranger who was stealing his heart and making him fall oh so quickly.

A strong hand rose to cup Remus' cheek, Sirius' warm thumb running over his soft skin.

"You've dazzled me with your charm.." the taller man whispered before slowly fitting his lips on the florist's, engaging him in a beautifully slow kiss.

It was as if time had stopped, nothing else important but the feeling of their lips like this, touching, caressing each other.

And suddenly, all Remus could think about were white Carnations.