Dream away (Remus/Sirius; Rated T; 17,5k words)

Chapter 2

The smell of chocolate was driving Remus mad.

Yes, he tended to carry the stuff with him everywhere and it wasn't like he was against chocolate, but right now he felt like the smell had become so overbearing that it had overpassed its physical limitations of being a 'smell'.

He was certain that he could feel and hear the chocolate at this point.

But what could one do, with steep student loans forcing them to take any job they could. Even if it meant a part time job at a bakery specializing in chocolatey desserts.

Remus knew perfectly well that there were worse jobs in the world and that he should have been grateful for his definitely very first world problem of being surrounded by too many sweets. But it was a Friday evening and Remus was forced to share a shift with his most annoying chirpy co-worker, so he was going to defend his right to be grumpy and self-pitying over absurd things inside his own goddamn head.

"Chocolate," repeated James brightly, from where he was sitting on top of the counter, next to the cash register, very much against all the hygiene protocols. He was looking around Madam Puddifoot's renowned bakery, his eyes twinkling with amusement. At least he had his hairnet on (which, of course, was decorated with overly cute drawings of chocolate hearts), even though Remus doubted that it was doing much good, not with his unruly hair sticking stubbornly to every direction from underneath it.

"Chocolate," muttered Remus darkly, "bloody, goddamn overhyped disgusting stuff."

There was lots of it. The walls were covered with paintings and 'artful' photographs of different varieties. There were dozens of overgrown cocoa plants in pots along the walls and in between the tables of the spacious room where the customers could sit down for some coffee and chocolate. The display fridge had nothing but chocolate pastries and treats.

Remus scowled at all of it. He hated his job.

"I knew you secretly hated it," said James, not losing any of his bright, annoyingly good mood. The bastard seemed to be trying to hold back from laughing at Remus's discomfort. "I knew it. All these years of accepting the stuff from him, 'oh thank you, that's so sweet of you', and I knew that you were just bloody faking it. You probably were secretly throwing it all out of the dorm window the moment we turned our backs."

"I don't hate it," argued Remus, "but bit less of it would be nice. I feel like I'm drowning in it here. I feel like I have some up in my nostril."

"But I hear it's good for you," said James oh so sincerely and innocently. "Calms the nerves. Eases the mental anguish." He sounded like he was quoting someone.

Remus glared at him. James lost it, and Remus threw a piece of yesterday's chocolate cake at him.

The bell rang above the door as a new customer stepped inside. As always, Remus threw a quick glance towards the door to see if the person this time was-

It was. Remus looked away quickly and grabbed the calendar from the counter. Something to do, something to look normal. He leaned against the counter and started to flip through the notebook, not really focusing on any of it.

Get a grip, you are behaving like a teenager with his first crush, he told himself sternly.

"Blimey. What- that's Sirius. But he shouldn't be here..."

Remus glanced up to see James staring at the young, gorgeous man who had stepped inside and who was heading towards his usual spot by the window. "You know him?" he said, trying to sound casual.