The Barista

the most handsome man throughout all the land

The bell above the door rung gently as Sirius stepped in. The first floor of the building was a record store. AC/DC played on the speakers, the smell of incense filled his nostrils, new records lined the walls and shelves while second hand records filled boxes on the floor. If one wandered up the flight of stairs at the back the records were replaced by second hand books with old yellowed pages. The afternoon sunlight fell through the windows, illuminating the dust in the room. Sirius loved the place. It gave off warm and fuzzy vibes. He wandered aimlessly through the shelves, sliding records in and out of their slots.

After about half an hour he ended up picking out three more to add to James and his growing collection. Making his way to the cash register Sirius heard an exchange of voices. He was a little shocked to see a familiar flop of sandy brown curls when he turned an aisle. "Remus?" He ran a hand through his hair.

The boy turned and smiles broke across both their faces. "What are you doing here?"

Sirius held out his selection of records. "You?"

Remus gestured to stack of books on the counter. "Come here often?"

He chuckled lightly. "You could say that, couldn't you, Gus?"

The old potbellied man behind the counter chortled. "Yer easily me best customer."

Sirius turned back to Remus with a smirk and his eyebrows raised. "Hear that?"

"I mean I am standing right here."

"Hey!" Sirius faked offense, his face twisting into one of mock outrage. "No need to be a smart ass!"

Remus rolled his eyes at him but Sirius saw the pink that dusted his cheeks. "Bag em' for me would you Gus?" He said placing the records on the counter.

Gus scanned the records and did just that. "That'll be 8.88 pounds."

"Thanks," he said flashing the man a toothy grin. "Coming?" he asked Remus.

The other young man gave him a puzzled look but followed him out the store and down the street. Sirius held the door to his favourite diner open for the other boy to walk through first.

"What a gentleman," Remus fake gushed.

"I'd say I'd give Mr Darcy a run for his money, wouldn't you?"

They took their seat at a table for two and waited for someone to take their order. "Mm I don't know about that," Remus hummed.

"Pray tell Mister...?" It dawned on him that he didn't know Remus' last name.

"Lupin. Remus Lupin."

The name repeated itself in his head over and over again. Lupin Lupin Lupin Lupin Lupin. It was so perfect. He was so perfect. Lupin Lupin Lupin. "Pray tell Mister Lupin," the way it rolled off his tongue was perfect, "why am I any less of a gentleman than Mr Darcy?"

"By definition a gentleman is a chivalrous, courteous, and honorable man," Remus recited.

Sirius put on a fake haughty accent. "And have I not proven myself to be all of those things?"

Following Sirius' lead Remus put on the same voice. "Go on and speak to me of your skills then."

"I am trilingual. I can fluently speak French, Italian, and of course English. I can play an assortment of instruments including the piano, guitar, and viol- " Sirius stopped on account of Remus shaking in his seat with laughter, eyes tearing up with mirth. "What?" he asked, dropping The Voice and using his own.

"It's like you're in a beauty pageant and you're in the interview portion." Remus' nose wrinkled, and it was one of the cutest things Sirius had ever seen. He had to sit on his hand to keep himself from doing something really stupid, like bopping it.