A/N - hello! this is something i wrte for the wolfstar trash anons' secret santa - hope you guys like it (releasing it a day early on here because i made a rad cover)

Dreaming of You

Remus Lupin was tired.

He was tired of drafting and redrafting his final portrait, tired of waking up for 9am lectures every other day, tired of his flatmates stealing his milk and, generally, tired of life.

Most of all, though, he was tired of the same old song waking him up every morning.

"Thought I was sleeping, it was just a dream…" His phone sang from across the room on his desk, and Remus groaned,

"I know the feeling, James," He pulled his duvet over his head in an ill-fated attempt to block out the rest of what had, a few weeks ago, been his all-time favourite song, but it was all in vain, and less than a minute later he found himself stood in the middle of his room, cocooned inside his blanket, frowning absently at the curtains.

8am truly was an ugly time to wake up.

The next hour passed with all the speed and elegance of an elderly slug. Remus made a point to groan as much as possible, despite being alone in his room, as he made his way through his morning routine of putting off having a shower until it would be too late to have one anyway, followed by saying 'fuck it', pulling on an unwashed jumper and heading for the on-campus Costa on the way to his fine arts lecture. The groaning was his way of rebelling, seeing as he was far too anxious to rebel in any way that could actually get him into any sort of trouble.

Earphones in, head down, hands in pockets; Remus made his way from his accommodation block towards the arts building, noting the time on his iPod before stuffing it in his pocket, choosing to listen to literally anything but the Coral. The coffee shop would only be a short detour at this time on a morning – only idiots actually attended their 9ams, and Remus Lupin most certainly was an idiot – and, seeing as it was only a two minute walk from his flat, Remus found himself there most mornings.

He pushed the cool glass of the door away from him – noting the HELP WANTED sign that had been put up not two days earlier had already been taken down – and joined the short queue of dishevelled looking students in their groggy quest for caffeine. Remus rubbed his face with the palm of his hand, screwing up his eyes and attempting abysmally to stifle a yawn, then pulled out one earphone, squinting up at the list of coffees on the wall.

Why did it have to be so complicated?

Oh yeah, it was December.

"Hiya, what can I get you?" The barista had bounded up to Remus so quickly that he felt he might keel over from shock, and when his eyes flicked down from the board to meet the boy's the feeling only intensified.

Oh fuck, he was gorgeous.

Well, Remus thought, isn't this cliché?

"Uhh…" Remus struggled to find the words to say – hadn't they been there, on the tip of his tongue, not a moment earlier? The barista smirked, "Coffee, I think?" Remus managed.

"Well, I didn't think you'd come for milkshake," His nametag read 'Sirius'. Remus took a moment to register that he had finally found someone to rival his own name in terms of sheer stupidity before the barista spoke again, "Any specific type, or do you want it black?"

His smirk intensified after the last word left his lips, though Remus did not know why. He didn't know much of anything at that particular moment. Remus nodded, before remembering that he hated black coffee, "Uh no, actually, white."

Sirius raised his eyebrows at him but nodded anyway, before turning his back on Remus and busying himself with the coffee machine. Remus took the few moments of privacy this granted him to check his reflection quickly in the dark glass of the shopfront, mussing his fringe where it protruded from his beanie in a vain attempt to make it look like maybe he had washed his hair in the last week. All of a sudden his scruffy student routine seemed gross and unnecessary. At least he had remembered deodorant today.

Wait – had he?

Sirius turned around just as Remus was about to give his jumper a precautionary sniff, and gave him an odd look, as if to say what the fuck are you doing? Remus gave him a sheepish grin, before handing over his money and taking the coffee cup from the boy, who shook his head and smiled right back.

Remus felt like he might possibly die from the embarrassment.

He hurried out of the shop, stuffing his earphones back in his ears as he approached the doors, and practically ran to the arts building, a deep red burning in his cheeks and a twisting feeling in his stomach. This feeling only increased when he took a sip of his drink, and he promptly threw the robin-emblazoned cup into the nearest bin.

That was, without doubt, the worst flat white he had ever tasted.

"You finished the assignment yet?"

Remus turned to face Alice Prewett, who was gazing up at him with her saucer-like eyes, clutching a textbook to her chest and half-running to keep pace with the taller boy, who slowed to accommodate her tiny legs. She had dubbed him her 'best course friend', meaning, of course, that she only hung out with him because none of her real friends were in her lectures, and so frequently bothered him about coursework, but never anything else.

"Not quite – need to do some more adjustments, you?"

"Oh, not really – I haven't actually even started yet, oops." She shrugged her shoulders, a gesture that looked clumsy and odd in her stiff, oversized denim jacket, "I'll probably just do an all-nighter tomorrow."

Remus rolled his eyes; this was the norm for Alice, who never did any work until the last minute but still came out with perfect firsts in everything. They walked out into the open light of the university square and immediately found themselves drenched by the rain, which was pounding against the concrete at their feet so rapidly that it was more like standing in a very large, very rectangular, man-made pond. Alice groaned loudly,

"Blech! Why did I ever decide to go to a northern university?" She took the textbook that she had been clinging to her chest and held it above her head to protect her hair, and looked longingly at the coffee shop across the square, "Can we go hide in Costa til it's over?"

Remus thought about his encounter that morning and flushed, "Uhh, do we have to?"

Alice's eyes narrowed, and she squinted up at him from under her textbook, looking rather menacing despite her lack of height, "Why, what's happened in Costa?"

Remus averted his gaze down the square towards the library, pulling his cardigan a little tighter around himself to stop his t-shirt getting wet, "Nothing happened, shut up," Glancing back at Alice, he saw she was laughing at him, "Shut up! Let's go get a fucking coffee." He rolled his eyes as she continued to giggle and grabbed her arm, pulling her down the steps and into a puddle the size and depth of a small lake as revenge, before heading off in the direction of the coffee shop.

"Back for more, eh?"

Remus and Alice had been queueing for several minutes before Remus heard the comment behind his ear. He turned sharply to see Sirius grinning, holding several plates of toasted sandwiches. Remus stumbled over his words for a few moments, feeling like his tongue had been possessed by a contortionist, before letting out a sheepish laugh and a half-hearted, "Yeah…"

Sirius quirked an eyebrow, then turned on the heel theatrically and wandered into the depths of the shop. Remus visibly deflated, and Alice elbowed him,

"So that's what happened in Costa…"

"Shut up, Al," Remus murmured, "Nothing happened I just –" He sighed deeply, "He is pretty though? I'm not making that up?"

Alice turned to gaze after him, tilting her head so that her bangs sat lop-sided on her forehead, squinting for a few moments before nodding, "Yes, I'd say he was adequately pretty."

Remus blinked at her, "Adequately?"

She gave him a Look, her eyes sparkling, "Okay he's drop-dead gorgeous. It's unfair how pretty he is. He's prettier than me."

Remus nodded, satisfied, and found himself looking back to where Sirius had disappeared, only to find he was making his way back to the counter and staring right at him.

"Shit," Remus muttered under his breath and attempted to make the situation look more casual, grazing his eyes across the whole room as if he had just been taking a fleeting glance. Alice laughed,

"That was the least smooth thing I have ever seen."

"Shut up, Alice."

"Oh, come on, Evans – just one morning shift; I'll do your Friday evening?"

Another 9am lecture, another coffee run; and Remus found himself leaning on the counter, freshly-washed hair brushing biscuit packets as he groaned into the wood, waiting for Sirius to finish his seemingly endless conversation with another barista and make his goddamn drink already.

"I've told you before, Pads, I'm not coming in at seven o'clock just so that you can get drunk and go on the pull until god knows when the night before," The redhead reached up behind her head and tightened her ponytail, before placing her hands elegantly on her hips, "We're friends, but we're not good enough friends to get me out of bed before six when I don't need to be."

Sirius whined, picking up a paper cup from the side and turning towards the coffee machine – thank fuck – but then paused, "But Lils, it's Whoops Wednesday."

Remus willed him to just turn on the coffee machine and make him another shitty coffee, but Sirius seemed to want to continue,

"They're doing a Christmas theme, Lils – you know I love Christmas!"

Lily seemed to have realised what was going on and marched forward, snatching the cup from his grasp and glancing at Remus' receipt before flicking on the machine, "I know you do, but so do I, and maybe me and James want a night out together without you for once?" She shot Sirius a significant look before fixing a lid to the cup and handing it to Remus, taking his money and shooting him a quick, "Sorry about the wait, honey."

Remus waved his free hand as he peeled himself off of the counter, "No problem, I needed a nap," and took a sip of his coffee, noting that it tasted far better than any Sirius had ever made him. Lily shot him a dazzling smile before turning back to Sirius, who wasn't paying her any attention any more. He was looking straight at Remus.

He winked.

Remus choked on his coffee.

The sun was setting beyond the horizon as Remus made his way back to his flat in the mid-afternoon. He was walking with Peter Pettigrew, his next door neighbour and Chief Cheese Stealer, who was babbling on about some geography module that everyone seemed to be complaining about. Remus wasn't particularly listening, but found himself nodding and hmming along whenever Pete stopped for breath.

"I'm just saying though, if you're going to make a module compulsory for everyone in the environment centre, you should at least, y'know, teach us something."

"Hmm, yeah, definitely," Remus nodded like a toy dog on the dashboard of a car, not in the least knowing what he was agreeing with, but instead watching a short figure with long, dark hair leave the coffee shop across the square. He could barely recognise him in the huge leather jacket – he was used to the maroon uniform – but Remus was pretty sure it was Sirius. He was walking with a tall, lanky man wearing thick rimmed glasses and laughing animatedly.

"Sorry, Pete, I just remembered I need to, uh, grab a book from the library." Remus shot Peter an apologetic look and hurried across the square until he fell into step with Sirius and his friend, about two metres behind them. Sirius was wearing the tightest pair of jeans that Remus had ever seen, not that he was looking, and a pair of ridiculous boots that must have added at least 2 inches to his height. Remus supposed Sirius must take any extra height he could, being an Actual Hobbit.

"Two days in a row he's been in now, Prongs," Sirius was saying, gesticulating with his hands avidly as he spoke, "I don't know what to do about it."

The boy called Prongs swung an arm around Sirius' shoulders, "Just write your number on his coffee cup, isn't that what people usually do in these situations?"

Sirius looked up at him, his frown glowing under the Christmas lights that surrounded the square, "That's how you got Lily, is it?"

"Pssh, no," Prongs retracted his arm from Sirius' shoulder and instead used it to gesture to the sky, "I gave her what every woman wants."

"What's that, then, when it's at home?" Sirius was watching him with a bemused expression as they turned to head down the main path to the north of campus.

"A job," Prongs dropped his hand and gave Sirius a significant look, "Chicks dig financial security."

Sirius quirked an eyebrow, "That's all very well and good, but I am not the manager of a coffee shop, and therefore I can't give him a job," he slid his hands into his pockets, "And anyway, he's not a chick."

Remus was pulled out of their conversation abruptly by a thought. Sirius was talking about a boy. A boy who had been in for coffee in the last two days. A boy who he was looking to ask out. Remus gulped.

And promptly tripped over his own feet and landed face first on the wet concrete.

"Oh, fuck – are you okay?"

There were hands on Remus' back, gripping his cardigan and pulling him back to his feet. His palms were bleeding and his nose felt numb from the fall, but his sudden lack of breath was caused by anything but. Even though he was now stood stably on his own two clumsy feet again, the boy's hands were still tangled in his jacket, and Remus was still grasping the other's elbows to steady himself.

"Uh, yeah, I guess." Remus managed, his face flushing red as he realised that it was Sirius who was now stood so close to him. So close that Remus had to crane his neck downwards so he could look him in the eyes.

They were the most beautiful shade of grey Remus had ever seen. How had he not noticed before?

Sirius was looking up at him with a look of complete amazement, as if he couldn't believe his luck that Remus had just face planted in his vicinity. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he settled on the words he wanted to say, "All those times I've seen you – you never told me your name." He grinned. Remus slid his hands upwards so that they rested on Sirius' upper arms,

"I'm Remus."

"Sirius,"

"I know, you wear a name badge." Remus laughed lightly, and Sirius' cheeks took on a delightful red hue,

"Oh yeah, sorry," His grin was less cocky now, more sheepish, "I was wondering if you, uh, wanted to go out some time?" He averted his gaze towards the ground, as if embarrassed to have asked. Remus had never felt happier,

"I'd love to," Then, with a mischievous grin, "How about we grab a coffee?"

Sirius looked aghast, but his features soon slid into a smirk,

"I can think of places I'd rather go…"