i was so angry at one of my class that i started writing this on the métro back home. for the anon who asked for more architecture student!sirius dealing with school stress with the help of his shiny new project-saving-umbrella-having boyfriend. hope you like it!
"I'm quitting school,” Remus learns after about six months of being with Sirius, are Sirius’s favourite words.
He says them after difficult classes, during classes that are too easy, before classes with people he doesn’t like, when he’s working on a project giving him a hard time or researching for a project that he’s already dreading. He says it as an opening line on the phone, texts it at three in the afternoon with pictures of cups of coffee or at eight in the morning with sulky half-awake selfies.
But the words carry more than annoyance only when Sirius speaks them in person.
Remus now knows all about Sirius’s group of friends, colourful characters with so much love and jokes to offer than Remus still feels overwhelmed by it all when he’s welcomed into parties, dinners or lazy Saturday afternoons at the mall like a long lost friend. He understands perfectly why Sirius adores every last one of them, has come to think of them as his friends as well, shyly at first, and then proudly when the invitations come to his phone directly. He knows Sirius still prefers to let them hear the worst of his stress, afraid their budding relationship would wilt under the weight of it.
So when Sirius does come to Remus’s flat to say, “I’m quitting school,” Remus doesn’t need to know what comes after to get into motion.
There’s option 1. Option 1 is the least demanding: a cup of tea or herbal tea depending on how caffeinated Sirius already is, taking a long shower together and cuddling in Remus’ bed while they talk about things that have nothing to do with work, or architecture, or group projects that take far too much time and are often more Sirius’s project than group ones. Sometimes option 1 includes a movie, sometimes it includes whining until Remus reads him bits of the book on his bedside table. Most of the time, it’s just petting Sirius’s hair until he falls asleep.
Option 2 is a bit more tricky. Once Sirius gets inside his flat, it’s hell to get him back into his coat and scarf, it’s no smiles until they’re out of the tube and actively working on Option 2. But Option 2 does wonders and Remus enjoys the walks through Sirius’s London, a London that has been built in such year, rebuilt then, burnt down by error, attacked during the war. Sirius’s London is full of stories of the lives of the people who have decided how the city would breathe and grow. Option 2 gives a new spring to Sirius’s steps and reduces the Quitting messages by at least fifty percents for days at time.
Remus learns of Option 3 through James and Peter, one day when Sirius won’t fall asleep in his arms nor put his coat on. The first time Option 3 has to be launched, it’s a bit on the expensive side because Remus wants it to double as a romantic getaway and splurges on the hotel. But Option 3 is the most enjoyable: they leave on the Friday evening after Remus’s work shift and Sirius’s classes, and then Sirius is all happy laughter and childish excitement to discover their destination. So far they’ve done Bath, Stratford-upon-Avon and Brighton and every time Remus thinks, a bit guiltily, that even if Option 3 occurs during Sirius’s worst times, it’s also their best time together - away from work, school, and anyone they know. It’s just them being in love, with each other, with their lives together.
Option 4 is a bit of a funny one. Sirius comes to his flat, says, “I’m quitting school,” and Remus answers, “Fine, I’m quitting work, we can go live in the woods”. This throws Sirius off in a frenzy to know what happened, who he has to kill, listening to Remus’s rant until they’ve drained the pot of tea and then they’re both too tired to care about it anymore and they decide to postpone the quitting, instead settling for a bit of a cuddle, continuing that show they’re watching together, kissing away each other’s worries.
