﹙ *☆ ┆ lupin, remus.
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐄𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒 . He watched them from the comfort of his own table , eyes narrowed at the mess of a man who was apparently bothering the nice lady . Perhaps he could save her . Demand the homeless man leave her alone . Then earn her number . Maybe even a date . But his hope was slightly tarnished following the hug , the furrow of his brow showing off his confusion . Remus noticed this all from the corner of his eye . He also saw the concerned mother , keeping her hand on her daughter’s shoulder for protection . He couldn’t help but turn his gaze , stealing a glance of all the judgmental eyes . There was a sadness that flickered across his features , a shame that almost sent him running for the exit . He didn’t belong there . He was used to a far darker , grittier arena .
𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐃𝐀𝐌𝐍 𝐇𝐔𝐆 . Merlin , he couldn’t remember the last time he’d hugged anyone . The action itself had surprised him , his body tightening as he fought the urge to jump back from her reach . She noticed . He could see that too . He could see all the looks and stares . ❛ Yeah . Yeah . I was um , I was actually going to ask you the same thing . Last I heard , you were in America and oi ! ❜ His gaze darted toward a married couple right next to Mary’s table . They’d stopped eating in favor of watching , blatantly listening in to their conversation without a spec of shame . ❛ What ? Your life so boring , you’ve got to pay attention to mine ? ❜ He didn’t know why he yelled . In fact , his own outburst did nothing but make him angrier . He should’ve worn a nicer shirt . He should’ve brushed his hair , should’ve gotten more sleep the night before . But that didn’t make them better than him ! . . . Or maybe it did .
mary flinched involuntarily when he raised his voice, mouth an involuntary gape of shock. she was right, he had changed; she couldn’t remember the remus she knew ever raising his voice at anyone. he’d always been a portrait of civility, charming and restrained. how she’d admired him for it. now, she reached out to grasp his upper arm, soft but firm, reverting back to her native language of touch when words failed. she made eye contact with the barista -- i’m sorry, i’m so sorry for this -- made eye contact with the man in the red shirt, half-risen from his seat in ready self-importance -- please leave us alone, please don’t push it -- made eye-contact with the wide-eyed couple -- forgive him, you don’t know him like i do. but when it came down to it, how well did she know him, really ?
❛ — remus, ❜ she finally managed to say again, her body finally springing into action. she let go of his arm, moving to sweep her papers into their respective binders and the binders into her bag. she cast a longing glance towards her latte, half-finished in its porcelain mug. she should’ve ordered it to go. ❛ --- do you want to take a WALK ? ❜ her tone was cheery, absent of accusation, but it booked no room for debate. ❛ --- i’d love to catch up, and it’s such a nice day out. ❜ translation: people were staring. and to be honest, mary was a little frightened of this new remus. he was a wolf in a china shop, snarling and ready to shatter something unfixable.















