chapter 1 - the boy in the bookshop
(this is on my ao3 - the fic is called 'the moonage daydream to his lady stardust')
remus lupin woke up to a cold and bright january morning. he’d always had a thing for blue skies, waking up when there was a patch of light shining through his cotton curtains, with the feeling that the day was going to be a good one. he didn’t know it yet, but this day was going to be better - well, at least the best he could hope for. remus got out of bed, searching for the socks he’d discarded on the floor the previous night, and slipped them on as he walked towards the windows. he opened the curtains and let a bright stream of light enter the room, showering it in pretty little patterns and rainbows. the sky was all blues and pinks and purples and fluffs of clouds streaked across the sky, as though someone had drawn them with a paintbrush.
the apartment had only been his for 3 months, but it already felt like home. on coming to london, he’d bought various things from home like his record collection, his plants (stuart, kiki, and jeff), an inexplicable amount of mugs and a couple of books that he’d accumulated over the years. however, remus had always been looking to grow his collection. books were a safe space for him; a world where he could be anyone and anything, live in the biggest castles, the prettiest cottages, watch someone else grow and go through the phases he was going through. classics allowed him to feel a sense of solidarity and connection with those from the past, fantasy let him be the most confident, strongest, beautiful person and poetry let him see that he wasn’t alone - the fact that he could read and hold someone’s experiences and hopes and fears in his very own hands made him feel, well, it made him feel-
“boo!” a hand grabbed him by his shoulder.
he turned round to face his flatmate lily.
“i was calling out for you, y’know.”
“shit. sorry. didn’t hear you.” he said, pulling her into a hug.
“you know me too well,” he grinned. “anyway, what did you want?”
“well, i was wondering if you had anything to say to me.”
remus mind buzzed. fuck, he thought, what have i forgotten this time? he’d remembered to lock the door when he came home from work, he’d put out the bins, cleaned the kitchen, made lily’s cake-
“there we go.” she laughed.
“i’m so sorry. i was just thinking about… well, you know. and only just got up.”
“excuse me,” she mocked. “do you mean to say that you don’t spend every waking moment thinking about me?”
remus laughed. “of course i do, lilyflower, of course. how could i not? just look at you, with your ravishing looks, and pretty ginger hair, and intellect. and your obsession with loving people that are way below you.”
“you flatter me, remus. always the charmer.” she giggled.
“ooo, someone’s hungry.” she said. “and don’t worry about breakfast. i took the liberty of cooking for both of us on my special day. i knew you’d be tired.” she smiled, hugging him.
after a breakfast of pancakes coated in too much nutella than remus would like to admit, he showered, brushed his hair (only to mess it up again), threw on a band t-shirt, jumper, jeans, patterned socks and docs, said goodbye to lily and left for the day.
thanks to his brain and stupid boss making him work an extra shift at the concert venue, remus had forgotten to buy lily’s present. he’d always been a last-minute kind of person, but he was really pushing it this time. remus has known lily since he was 14 when they bumped into each other on accident, whilst reading a book. hers had been pride and prejudice and his had been maurice. they’d been heading to the same english class and soon became the best of friends. they sat by one another every lesson, recommended books and music, and had been remus’ only friend forever. when he was 16, and felt ready enough, he came out to her as bisexual. and then, once lily was ready, so did she. for a while, people had thought they were a couple and, in fairness, remus had thought about it once or twice, but they were better as friends. platonic love was just perfect.
remus stopped outside the bookshop. it was his favourite and he always found the cheapest books with the best stories and sweetest covers. it was a run-down kind of place, vintage, one could call it, and had a comforting and warm air to it - which remus liked.
he stepped inside and the bell rang.
a boy looked up from the counter, one he hadn’t seen before. tattoos snaked up his arms. his ears were covered in small rings, studs and loops, particularly round his helix. a leather jacket sat on the chair behind him and remus assumed it was his. he had beautiful shiny blacked hair that was tied up in a messy bun with a pencil through it at the back of his head. remus’ eyes moved down towards his hands, which were adorned in silver rings. and his eyes seemed to glow with a kind of dark but soft energy.
“can i help you?” the boy asked.
“errm, no. i think. yeah. i’m fine. all good. just, yeah, just looking.” he stuttered, his face burning up.
“alright, cool. well, let me know if you need anything.” grinned the boy, revealing a ring at the top of his teeth.
oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. what the fuck was that? remus was sure the boy could see him blushing, not even in a cute way. just bright fucking red.
anyway, he could not let a cute boy - the hottest man he had ever seen in his life stop him now. he was on a mission and would not leave the shop until he was done.
he looked around the shop, thinking about lily. she was usually a classics type, liked old romances - but not the kind where the woman takes a passive role. the sort where she fought against her society, against the men and the time, and, although you knew she’d end up with a man, it was the journey she liked. now all remus had to do was find it.
he went over to the classics section and scanned the shelf. boring, gay, women, boring, too long, read already, gay, boring, sexist, genuinely awful and gay. clearly, the classics shelf had a lot to offer. remus ran a hand through his hair; this was going to be harder than her thought.
“are you sure you don’t need help?” asked the boy at the counter.
“ha, might take you up on that offer.” remus smiled.
“the strain of choosing a book, i feel you.” he said, walking over to remus.
“yeah, i know. i can never choose one. always end up spending hours in here, going over the pages.”
“well, what kind of thing are you looking for?”
“it’s a present for a friend. i kind of forgot it was today ‘cus i was gonna come yesterday but i had to work late because my boss is a dick and then i spilled curry on myself at 3am and cried and went to bed instead.”
fuck, he always did this, always overshared to the most random people at the most awkward times, great coping mechanism, right?
“sounds rough.” he said, giving remus a sympathetic smile. “almost as bad as mine.”
“yeah. i woke up late, missed the bus, which made me late for class, got shouted at by the teacher, forgot my homework, got shouted at again, cried in front of the class, stormed out, lost my keys, had to sleep at my mate’s house, listened to him and his girlfriend the whole night, watched eyeliner tutorials until 6am, got up for work, cried again, and i think that’s about it.”
“shit. slightly worse than mine,” he nudged. “but at least you didn’t spill curry on yourself.”
“no point crying over spilled curry.” the boy shrugged.
“too late for that.” remus laughed.
“anyway, you said you were looking for a book for your friend?”
“what kind of stuff do they like?”
“usually classics, with a female, feminist protagonist, something with enemies to lovers or friends to lovers, and where men don’t dominate the whole scene.”
“pretty specific,” the boy laughed under his breath. “but, i think i might have something.”
remus watched his eyes as he laced a finger across the shelf. they seemed golden in the light. and it was cute. really, really cute.
“ah-ha.” he said, pulling one out.
“little women indeed. have you read it?”
“yeah, a while back though, i think.”
“well, if your friend likes what i think they do, then she should really like this. it’s pretty beautiful and the story’s good and it’s very female-lead. yeah. should work.” he smiled.
“okay, cool. well, i’ll take it. how much?” he said, pulling his card out and walking over to the counter.
“usually 12 pounds. but i’ll do it for seven. because you look desperate. and cute.”
what? what the actual fuck? cute. this man. this fucking man had just called him cute. remus could have cried right there and then.
“haha, cool.” he said, trying to play it off.
he swiped his card on the machine.
“do you want me to wrap it for you? i can even put a bow on it, if you want.”
“yeah, sure. she’d like that. i’m shit at wrapping presents anyway.”
the boy picked up a roll of brown paper from behind him and cut a piece to fit the book, wrapping the paper around it and sealing it with tape.
“ooo, which ribbon?” he asked, showing remus blue, red and green rolls.
“good choice. my personal favourite.”
remus watched as the boy’s fingers looped the perfect bow of forest green. he went to take the book.
“oh, wait. hang on.” he reached up and pulled out the pencil that was holding his hair up. it all came tumbling down in a swath of shiny black and the boy shook it out of his face.
as if this man could not get any more pretty, remus thought.
the boy doodled a little smiley face and kiss on the paper.
“courtesy of yours truly.” he bowed.
“fabulous.” remus chuckled.
“have a good day cutie.” the boy waved as remus started to leave the shop.
and left the shop feeling a whole lot happier than he had done this morning. this boy had called him cute. this beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy had called him cute. and remus held on to that until the next time he saw him.
amandla
blakekathryn
izzy806
2087
ellievsbear
gracieabrams
jimmyeatworldofficial
dailybridgerton
prguitarman