Tumgik
#should i tag the fag bracelet. sure
fleetingpieces · 3 years
Text
My One in a Million Chapter 4
Tagging @donttouchmycarrots and @sunflowerfox87 who I still can’t believe wanted to be tagged 🥺 
Thank you so much everyone for your support ❤️
And as always, thank you @inloveoknutzy and Nayla for proofreading, you guys are the best  ❤️
My One in a Million Masterlist
Chapter 4 - Morning routines
The feeling of the earth on his bare feet. Long nights playing video games with his friends. Streaming for his fans. Slow sunsets and starry nights. Having the gang at his flat all the time. Relaxing bubble baths. Sunday lunch with the Potters. Making the people who doubted him shove their words up their asses.
Those were all things Sirius Black loved.
Having his brother drilling him at 7 am on an otherwise perfect Friday morning was most definitely not one of them. Not at all.
“I told you a thousand times already, and I’ll say it again one last time. I am not. Going. To that stupid. Fucking. Dinner,” he practically yelled over the phone.
There was a tired sigh on the other end of the line.
“Sirius, please. Could you stop thinking only about yourself for once? They want you to come.” A short pause. “I want you to come.”
Sirius grunted lowly, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“No, Reg. I gave them too much already. I can’t keep giving them more. I’m sorry.” He hung up before Regulus could get another word in and raked both hands through his hair.
Manipulative pieces of crap. They ‘wanted him to come’? What a fucking pile of shit. They had never wanted him there, they only wanted whatever they could get from him, asking for more, more and more, until they could suck him dry. They wouldn’t even be bothering with him if he was of no use to them.
Saying no to Regulus was the hard part. Knowing they were using him precisely because of this, that Regulus himself was using it against him, was almost like a knife twisting in his gut. 
It hurt.
It hurt so fucking much, because Sirius still cared about him. He was still his little brother, despite the decisions they had both taken for their lives. But Regulus didn’t see it that way.
Sirius started pacing up and down his room, rubbing a hand through his face as his other went instinctively to his back pocket to grab a pack of cigarettes. He hated feeling like this, hated the push and pull that came with his family’s relationships; craving the acceptance of his own blood, wanting to be close to his brother, but also feeling like he needed to get as far from them as he could. Why couldn’t they understand he didn’t want anything to do with the company? Heck, he didn’t want anything to do with most of them, he only kept some sort of contact because of Regulus. Even if his brother didn’t really want anything to do with him.
A flash of pain slashed him in the middle of his chest, and Sirius stormed off to the balcony, a fag already between his lips.
Lighting it up felt like lifting some of the weight off his shoulders. He pictured all of his problems in his head and imagined exhaling them with the smoke, drifting away in the morning sky until there was nothing left of them.
Sirius snorted. He wished it was that easy to get rid of all his worries, but his brother’s voice kept whispering in his ears, no matter how many times he watched the smoke dissipate in front of his face, mixing with words that were not Reg’s but still sounded in his voice. Stop thinking about yourself. You’re such a disappointment. We gave you so much, and this is how you repay us? You don’t care about me. You don’t care, you don’t care, you don’t care.
“Ugh, fuck,” Sirius grunted as he leaned on the rail and let his head hang low, pressing his forehead against the cold metal.
A low sound reached him through the fog of noises in his head. It was a song he’d never heard before, its rhythm slow and calming, and Sirius tried to focus on that to clear his mind and make the voice shut up.
He raised his head, looking at the place where it was coming from, only to be faced with a sight that almost made him drop his cigarette six floors down.
The new neighbor, Remus, was behind the glass doors of his balcony, standing on top of a yoga mat, wearing a black tank top and a pair of grey shorts that were dangerously hiking up his thighs in the position he was currently in.
His arms were stretched on top of his head, his toned muscles making the veins in his arms pop, and his broad shoulders working with the slow movements he was making. There was such a peaceful air about him. His eyes were closed and the sun was drawing golden lines that flitted through his hair as he bent down at the waist to touch the floor, leaving his back exposed.
The freckles on Remus shoulders disappeared below the t-shirt, and Sirius desperately wanted to know just how far they reached. He swallowed thickly, unable to look away. It was mesmerizing to watch Remus transition between poses, his lithe body flowing like water. He briefly wondered if the man was as pliable in other ways, but when his heart rate started quickening, Sirius decided he should stop being a creep and allow his neighbor the privacy he deserved. Before he could tear his eyes away though, a black shadow darted into the room and tackled Remus to the floor.
Sirius gripped the rail unconsciously before he realised it was just Remus’ dog, and he was left breathless once more at the image in front of him.
Remus was laughing as the dog nudged him with its head, two of its paws pressed over those powerful shoulders as Remus stroked the fur at its sides. The man’s eyes were crinkled, his curls falling onto his forehead in a tawny mess that was so cute Sirius thought he might die.
Seeing him smiling like that, it reminded Sirius of the Halloween party almost a week ago.
At first, he’d been annoyed about Lily bringing Remus and a stranger into his home, but that was mainly ‘cause Sirius had been on edge about the whole family drama. He had been looking forward to a chill night with his friends, and having outsider eyes at that moment felt like something that would have made him step on eggshells all night to avoid revealing his identity.
But Remus had proved to be as interesting as Sirius had thought him to be the first time they talked, always taking him by surprise with his comments and reactions.
Sirius desperately wanted to know where the hell Remus had learned to play like that. It wasn’t every day that he was beaten by someone that didn’t seem to have a lot of time for games, even if he’d been overly distracted by his toned thigh touching his own leg. Yes, Sirius had had a hard time concentrating, but he hadn’t slacked off. Remus was good. And Sirius wanted to know how.
He was intrigued by the man in so many ways, his interest peaking with every new little thing he noticed: the gaming, the yoga, his weird way of thinking -Sirius chuckled when he remembered how Remus had thought he was a fucking drug dealer-, him showing up at a party wearing a jumper that was a few sizes too big for him, looking so impossibly cuddly and warm; his relationship with his dog, his relationship with that Leo guy.
As Remus nuzzled his nose into the dog’s fur, Sirius thought about the rainbow coloured bracelet on Leo’s wrist. He admired the guy for wearing the flag so proudly, just there in plain sight for everyone to see. Sirius wished he could do the same, to stand tall, out in the open. But the consequences for him were way too high.
A small, annoying part of his brain felt the need to remind him that this didn’t mean Remus liked dudes. But Sirius took comfort in the knowledge that, at the very least, it meant that he was ok with it. That he wouldn’t condemn Sirius for it.
Sirius reached for a new cigarette, even if he was already feeling calmer, and put it between his teeth, taking a second before lighting it. While he played with the flame of his lighter, he wondered how Remus knew about Padfoot. Oh, what he wouldn’t do to know that story.
His heart warmed, not for the first time, at how Remus had defended Padfoot so fiercely, having no idea that he was right there; no idea how much his words meant for Sirius. Remus had understood him incredibly thoroughly for someone that didn’t even know who Padfoot was. That he was sitting right next to him. And Sirius wasn’t sure how to feel about that, but he wanted to find out.
It was no surprise that Remus hadn’t recognized his voice, even though he was clearly a fan. Sirius always hid his accent on his videos to conceal any connection to his family, so his parents wouldn’t intervene and ruin everything.
Suddenly, the music drifting from the room next door changed to a more upbeat one. Remus lifted the black dog up in his arms, something that couldn’t be easy given its size, and hugged it as he started twirling around the room, laughing brightly as he did.
He was dancing. 
With his dog.
And the face he was making, like the animal meant the world to him... How could someone you barely knew be so fucking endearing?
Sirius was still staring when Remus turned around and lifted his head, his eyes locking with Sirius’. He stopped mid-turn, the smile slipping from his face. Sirius felt a blush prickling at his cheeks at being caught basically ogling him, but he waved with an awkward smile.
His only answer was a scowl, even if from afar he could tell Remus was blushing too. He set the dog down, glaring at Sirius, who let his hand drop slowly as he watched the man close the curtains in a slash.
Sirius hid his face in his hands, feeling the heat radiate from his cheeks. How could he fuck up so much? Remus would think he was a fucking creep now. Dragging his hands down, Sirius knew he would have to genuinely step up his game if he wanted to get to know this man.
In the afternoon, Sirius was still pondering ways to get more acquainted with Remus, and coming back empty handed. He didn’t want to just show up at one of his classes, he lived right next door for fucks sake! He should be able to find a way to start up a conversation with him, right? Although Sirius had to admit, he hadn’t seen much of the guy since he’d moved in. Of course, Sirius hadn’t exactly been in the right state of mind to notice him.
But life seemed to be on his side, at least this once. Because when he stepped into the coffee shop where he was meeting up with James and Lily, the first thing he saw was a head of tawny curls.
Barely keeping in his glee, Sirius walked towards Remus, figuring he could just say hi. He stopped dead in his tracks though, when he was just a few steps behind him and he realized Remus was humming the lyrics of An Open Letter to Myself.
“I love that song,” he said without thinking. The man had a lovely voice, sweet and a bit sad, and it made his curiosity peak again.
Remus jolted and turned around with surprised eyes and slightly flushed cheeks, but as gold met silver, his eyebrows dropped quickly over his eyes. Sirius was taken aback by the clear hostility in Remus’ features, which made him stutter as he cleared his throat.
“Sorry, I... I saw you and thought... I… uhm... should come and say hi? So...hi,” Sirius said and immediately groaned inwardly at his stupidity. Since when was he this clumsy? 
“Hello,” Remus said in a polite, detached tone before he turned away.
Sirius took a minute to rearrange his thoughts while he placed his order right after Remus. They got their drinks at the same time, and before Remus could walk away from the shop, Sirius scrambled for something else to say.
“Your dog is beautiful, what’s its name?”
The corner of Remus’ mouth tickled up at the mention of his pet, but it was pushed down almost instantly.
“Cocoa,” he replied reluctantly, and Sirius almost spit his tea.
“Cocoa? That huge ass dog has a cute name like Cocoa?”
Remus rolled his eyes, but he was almost pouting. “I just really like chocolate, ok? Besides, he’s just a pup,” he said as he moved over to add some sugar to his chai latte. Sirius followed.
“A pup?” he said incredulously. “How is that a pup?!”
Remus huffed. “He’s only about two or three years old.”
Sirius stared at him in disbelief. That dog was already past Remus’ knees, and if what he was saying was right, he was probably going to grow some more.
“Did you adopt him?” he asked, tilting his head, thinking about Remus’ choice of words. He was focusing his whole attention on Remus, and that was probably the only reason why he noticed the slight stutter of his hand as he stirred his drink.
“Yeah,” he said in a breath. Sirius thought that would be the end of the conversation, but then -as if he couldn't help himself- Remus added, “he was very young when I found him. He was abandoned and practically left to die; his previous owners must have thought it was too much trouble to raise a wolfdog, and decided to leave him tied up in the woods instead of being decent human beings and finding him an appropriate home.”
There was such disgust in his voice that Sirius took a step back while his heart melted into a puddle. Of course he rescued dogs. Sirius was starting to wonder if this guy was even real. He’d been so thoroughly captivated by him in such a short time, it was a bit scary. Sirius hadn’t felt like this in a very long time. He hadn’t let himself feel like this, it was too risky, and he knew it would be more sensible to leave Remus alone and stay away from him before things got worse, but he had felt drawn to him ever since the Halloween party.
“That’s awful. No one deserves to be treated like that,” he replied softly against his better judgement. If things got worse, he’d deal with that later.
Remus’ head snapped up, and for a moment it looked like he was drowning. Sirius had no idea what had brought that expression to his face, but the only thought in his mind was how desperately he wanted to erase it. 
In hopes of doing so, he tried to change the subject to something lighter. “So, you like games, huh? You really did a number on me the other day. When did you start playing?”
The response he got was not what he’d expected. Remus’ expression hardened, and he turned his gaze away as he discarded the used stick with more force than was probably necessary.
“That’s hardly any of your concern, is it?”
Sirius blinked. And then blinked again. Was he still mad at him?
“Look, I’m really sorry about this morning. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or anything, I just-”
“You really think this is all just about this morning?” Remus snapped.
“What?” Sirius was confused. What had he done? He’d made a little fun of Remus the first time they talked, but it hadn’t been that bad, had it? 
“At least you weren’t smoking into my room today,” Remus added with a huff, which made Sirius frown.
He supposed he did smoke quite close to the edge of their balconies, but by the way Remus was talking, he felt like there was more to it. He tried to think of all the interactions they had had so far, but he couldn’t think of anything that would elicit Remus’ anger. His mind drifted to them sitting on his couch with the NHL game, how their shoulders had bumped together playfully, how Remus had even seemed to be comfortable once he got a controller in his hands. It was the only time Remus had acted in a friendly-ish manner towards him, without the scowl that seemed to be permanently weighing down on his brows. But none of his smiles had actually been directed at him, they had all been shared with Leo.
He smiled a lot around the blond, but whenever he was close to Sirius he seemed to be in a bad mood. Sirius hated that.
“What did I do for you to dislike me so much?”
“If you need to ask, it just shows that it’s not even worth answering you.”
Remus turned around and walked briskly to the door, leaving Sirius completely dumbfounded. The door opened just as Remus was reaching for the handle, and he almost bumped into Lily and James, who were coming in. Sirius watched as he nodded at them with a few words, threw one last glare his way, and disappeared in the afternoon sun.
Lily watched him walk away with a confused expression on her face. She glanced at James who just shrugged, and then she looked directly at Sirius with a deep frown. He seemed to be getting a lot of those lately.
“What was that all about?” she asked when they got next to him.
“He hates me, that’s what it was,” Sirius grumbled.
“Why?”
“I don’t know!” Throwing his hands in the air, Sirius stared at Lily like she held all the answers in the world. “He looks at me like I’m the worst person to ever walk the Earth. What did I do to deserve that?”
Lily winced, and Sirius felt his heart freeze where it had melted on the floor.
“Well, apparently, you haven’t been a very good neighbor, have you?” she said gently. Everything started falling into place then, and Sirius suddenly had a pretty good idea what she was talking about. He could be a very self-absorbed prick after a row with his family.
“What can I do?”
“Maybe you should try apologizing first,” she doubted for a second before she kept going. “I’ve heard you broke something important of his on the day you two met.”
“That was him?!” Sirius asked in astonishment, remembering the day he’d knocked someone over in the hall, and ignoring the few heads that turned his way at his raised voice.
“You’re joking, right? You didn’t know?” When Sirius only shook his head, still speechless, Lily stared at him, bewildered. “Sirius, how could you not know?”
“I was so angry at the time Lily, I barely noticed anything I was doing!” Sirius said in a pleading voice. He glanced at James for support, who looked at him in sympathy and understanding. Sirius rubbed a hand over his face. “I just needed to get out of the flat, I couldn’t stand the sight of Reg with his cold eyes and-” Sirius stopped himself, clenching his fists.
It all came back to him. How Regulus had suddenly turned up at his flat, even though he wasn’t supposed to know the address. Even though he hadn’t visited Sirius’ home in five years.
How Reg had looked at him with such clear disappointment, like Sirius was nothing more than a waste of space, and had told him that he was expected to attend the annual Black Enterprises’ gala and fulfill his duty to the family. How he had stated that it was time he stopped acting like a child, with his foolish, selfish dreams, and took his place in the company.
Sirius had never wanted anything to do with the monster corporation that was Black Enterprises. He hated the way they did business and how they treated people, like anyone outside the Black family was trash.
A hand on his shoulder shook him away from his memories before he could spiral down into the hole he’d been in in the weeks before Halloween. Sirius looked up, and found James’ kind hazel eyes.
“It’s ok Pads,” he whispered. “You’re out of there. They have nothing on you, and you owe them absolutely nothing. I’m sure you can fix this.”
Sirius hoped his friend was right.
106 notes · View notes
tisfan · 5 years
Text
Get out of Jail, Free
 Title: Get out of Jail, Free Collaborators: @27dragons and @tisfan AO3 Link Square Filled: O4 - Trope: Imprisoned Together Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: jail, public drunkenness, petty crime, blind date Summary: Tony’s blind date never showed up. Now he’s in jail with a terrible hangover and a gorgeous cellmate... Word Count: 1,695 Created for @mcukinkbingo
“Morning, sunshine,” someone said, absently jostling Tony’s elbow. “Look, you have to wake up if you want coffee, they won’t let me hold it for ya.”
“Coffee?” At least, that’s what Tony intended to say. It probably came out more like, “Cffmrf?” Tony peeled one eye open -- fuck, there was a light right over his goddamn head sonovabitch. He squeezed it shut again, but now he could smell the coffee.
It smelled half-burnt and lightly metallic, the sort of over-roasted crap beans that had been ground and then left out for hours until they were stale and then mixed with tepid tap water. Every mouthful was going to result in crunching grounds between his teeth.
He needed it. Desperately.
He shoved one hand under himself and pushed up. The change of position made his head throb so hard he could hear each surge of blood through his veins. “‘M up,” he mumbled. “Coffee?”
“Come on, sit up, hold your hand out-- yeah, a little to the left. Watch the--” Tony jammed his fingers right into something hard, cold, and metal. “--bars. There you go.”
Someone practically shoved a flimsy styrofoam cup into his hand, the sort of shitty thing you got at a Sunday afternoon church buffet. It wouldn’t have even done shit to keep from burning his fingers, except it seemed lukewarm at best.
“Okay, now, pull it straight back,” the guy said, sounding amused. A hand curled around his wrist and guided the cup to Tony’s mouth like he was a toddler.
Tony would’ve been vastly offended by that, except for how he might have actually needed the help. He took a swig of the coffee -- yep, chewing on the grounds already -- and pried his eyelid open again.
There were metal bars in front of him. Outside the bars, a cinderblock wall painted institutional beige. Tony squinted at it and tried to put the pieces together.
A burly guy in a cop’s uniform walked past, not bothering to glance Tony’s way.
“I’m in jail,” Tony observed. Fuck. He took another gulp of the coffee, trying not to taste it, and wracked his brain in search of some recent memories.
(more under the cut)
“Oh yeah,” the guy said. “Not sure if it’s the hangover or the crack t’ the skull that’s got you looking like undead movie star material, but that is, indeed, where you are. Holding cell, really. Just until someone comes and gets your ass. Assuming, of course, that someone will.”
“That might depend,” Tony said, “on how exactly I wound up here.” Shitty though the coffee was, the caffeine was beginning to leach into his bloodstream. He was getting flashes of memory.
The blind date that he’d been stood up for. Deciding to have a consolation drink. Or three. And then a “fuck dating anyway” drink. And then-- “Oh, hell, someone let me have tequila.” Well, that explained the head.
“Given that you’re of age, and your wallet had quite a number of shiny credit cards in it,” the guy said, “I expect you let yourself have tequila. And I wasn’t spying, they processed both of us at the same time.”
“Tequila is never a good idea for me,” Tony said glumly. Honestly, if he’d gotten low enough to have the bartender break out the tequila shots, he was a little surprised things weren’t worse. He turned his head to tell his cellmate that and froze in shock, mouth hanging open. The guy was drop-dead gorgeous. Long hair, just a little wavy, looked soft as hell. Blue-gray eyes that were crinkled in amusement. A mouth that just begged to be kissed (and more). “Uh.”
Tony made himself blink and shake it off. Pretty people weren’t that hard to find, even if he hadn’t expected to meet anyone quite this beautiful in a jail cell. “So, uh. Since they booked us together... don’t suppose you overheard what I actually did to get arrested, did you?”
The guy laughed. “I did. Saw it, s’matter of fact. Urinating in public. Which is good, because there was talk about it being indecent exposure and some sort of sexual harassment charges, which comes with all sorts of mandatory ‘sex offender’ registration shit. But the cops blew the guy off as being full of himself.”
“There was a guy?” Tony grimaced and rubbed at his face. Shit. Maybe it was the blind date, showing up three hours late? Or just some random asshole. Not that it mattered. “Fuck.”
“No, trust me on this,” the guy said. “This dude, you do not want to fuck.”
Tony sputtered a laugh, and how the hell was it fair for this guy to be so gorgeous and funny? “No, probably not,” he agreed. “Though I’m going to go ahead and guess that my assistant is going to let me cool my heels for a while before she comes for me. She’s a firm believer in punishment.” Tony sighed and swallowed down the last of the crappy coffee. “So what’d you do?”
“I uh, mighta punched Justin Hammer in the face,” the guy said. “In my defense, I didn’t know it was Justin Hammer. Probably just as well. If I’d known it was Justin Hammer, I’d have hit him with my left arm.” The guy shifted his shoulder slightly, showing off a shiny metal prosthetic, a power-capping bracelet attached to his wrist.
“You... you punched Justin Hammer,” Tony repeated. “In the face. And you have gorgeous hardware. You are my new best friend.”
“Certainly both of us are not beloved by Justin Hammer,” the guy said. “After I punched him? You pissed on his car. I uh… think the top was down. Pretty sure, in fact.”
“I did?” Tony brightened. “Totally worth jail time. And maybe even the hangover. Do I want to know why you punched Justin Hammer? If you didn’t know it was him at the time, I have to assume you have not also been screwed out of good business by his sleazebucket smarm.”
“He, uh, used a nine-iron on my car’s window when I wouldn’t give up my parking space for him,” the guy said. “It was totally surreal, like Jack Nicholson bullshit. And then he asked me if I got kicked out of the Army for bein’ a fag.”
Yeah, that sounded like Hammer all over. “Oh, Justin, you little scamp,” Tony tsked. “In that case, I dedicate my desecration of his car to you and queer soldiers everywhere.”
“Not sure how I can put that on a resume, but I'll take it,” he said. “So, fellow Justin Hammer hater, what's your name, anyway? I missed that part of your booking. I'm James Barnes, but my friends call me Bucky, so you totally can.”
Tony offered his hand. “A pleasure to meet you, Bucky. I’m Tony Stark.”
“Huh,” Bucky said. “I know someone who knows you-- sorry I didn't recognize you. The hangover, probably. Sorry.”
Tony waved it off. “You’d be surprised how often people don’t recognize me without all the makeup and airbrushing. Who do we know in common?” It was probably a dead end -- a middle-manager at SI or maybe someone who’d sat in on a conference or something and not anyone Tony actually knew personally, but what else did he have to do while he waited for Pepper to decide he’d suffered enough? He’d had worse days, honestly, than making small talk with a hot guy, even if it was in a holding cell.
“Oh, it's--” Bucky stood up suddenly, “Nat! It's about time you got here.”
Natasha Romanov strode in, not looking anything like her usual self, wearing pink pajama pants, sneakers, and a tank top that said I haven't been the same since that house fell on my sister. “Oh. I should have known.”
“Natasha?” Bucky’s mystery friend was Natasha? “Before you take Bucky here off into the sunset -- sunrise, whatever -- I’m registering a complaint, Romanov. I don’t know what you told that friend of yours that you set me up with, but he didn’t show. At all. So all of this is somehow your fault.”
“What are you talking about, you both got drunk and assaulted Hammer, which, truth be told, will make a funny story-- I didn’t get it wrong, you two are made for each other.”
Tony froze. Beside him, he could feel Bucky doing the same thing. “Bucky was my date?” It might have come out a little squeaky. He was blaming it on the hangover.
“Oh, god,” Bucky said, covering his mouth with his hand. “They took your jacket-- you were supposed to be wearing a red and silver pocket square. I didn’t even--”
Tony stared at Bucky. Then he looked at Natasha, whose wide-eyed confusion was rapidly giving way to hilarity. Then he looked back at Bucky.
“I didn’t even need to set you up,” Natasha said, giggling from behind her hand. “I just needed to get you in the same general area.”
Tony pinched the bridge of his nose, then loftily ignored her. “So, Bucky,” he said. “Once cupid here springs us -- breakfast?”
“I could do breakfast,” Bucky said. “Don’t suppose we can impose on you to bail Tony out, too?”
“I bail him out, you and I are even on the Budapest thing?”
“That’s Clint’s debt-- you and he remember Budapest very differently,” Bucky said. “But sure. Even. We’ll go with that.”
“You... you know the Budapest story?” Tony had spent years trying to cajole that story out of Natasha.
“You know, you can stay in jail,” Natasha said. “If I know Pepper, she’s getting a mani-pedi and her hair done before she comes down here to get you out.”
“I know the Budapest story,” Bucky confirmed. “Let us out, or I’ll tell it right here. Really loudly.”
“This is the best day of my life,” Tony announced. The cop unlocking the cell door gave him a sideways look, but Tony didn’t even care.
Nat watched them both file out. “I… might have made a drastic mistake here.”
“Nope, I think you did just fine,” Bucky said, sidling up to Tony and bumping his shoulder.
Tony grinned. “Bucky, I think this is the start of something beautiful.”
181 notes · View notes