𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒌𝒆𝒚𝒇𝒎

he groans, head falling down on the bar. ' sirius ! my name ! like the star ! you know, the brightest star in the sky ? ' he points upwards despite there being a stone ceiling instead of the night sky with a huff. takes another sad sip of his pint. maybe introducing himself by his middle name would've been better, but that's the one he shares with his father. he shivers at the thought. absolutely not. ' gabriel. ' he nods, filing the name away. ' if you can bring yourself not to make anymore jokes about my name, then i like you. '

"brightest star, huh?" gabriel echoes. then, with a smirk, he teases, "think pretty highly of yourself don'tcha?" he chuckles at his own comment. he didn't mean it in a cruel way, of course.

it was infuriating, really. how distractedly beautiful gabriel was and how easy it was for remus to get so thrown off in his presence. the charm, the pretty brown eyes, the captivating smile. the wolf was like a moth drawn to the flame and gabe was that flame. it was precisely one of the reasons why they continued this on and off dance of theirs and why remus had such trouble staying away. " it was right up my alley. but then i realized most people were just going on the hayride so they could make out. unfortunately, not all that interested in my fact spewing. " which was a shame, since he worked so hard on them. brows raise and curious eyes make the MISTAKE of trailing down to gabe's lips just as he bites them, blush further extending and remus felt hot. he matched the other's grin with one of his own, nose crinkling as he leaned forward, over the bar so that their faces are mere inches apart. " our plan? " he repeats, perfectly dumbfounded, " hmm. bold of you to assume we have any plan at all, gabriel sanchez. " the wolf hummed, though given their history it was a fair assumption ( and most likely CORRECT ).

gabriel never quite understood the mystery behind remus lupin. he is kind, yes, but there's something about him that has always stumped gabe. how sometimes he disappeared without a second glance, for one. the brunet never really understood why, but he tried not to take it personally. their relationship - or lack of it, depending on how the pair were feeling - brought gabriel some weird sense of both comfort and excitement. sometimes, it was them sneaking around, other times, they were plainly out in the open. like waves, their relationship tended to ebb and flow.

gabriel rolls his eyes and reluctantly picks up her purse (that she had thrown at him, mind you...). then, his jaw drops. "you did not just say that, you little brat." he doesn't say it maliciously, and it's a common word that's exchanged between the two. ah, no better weird frenemy-friendship than theirs. it's been this way since their hogwarts days, though, and to be honest - gabe wouldn't have it any other way.

though she's been moved in for months, conversations were few and far between with the other inhabitants of hogsmeade. not that she minded, of course, the vegetation in dogweed and deathcap provided more than enough company. "just a firewhiskey." winifred spoke after taking a second to scan the bottles behind the pretty bartender. "please." she added for good measure, her mother's voice nagging 'be polite' in the back of her mind.

"you got it," gabe answers with a soft smile and a nod. glasses clink together as he makes her drink. a few seconds later, he places it in front of her. then, after a moment's pause, he adds another glass and fills it, too, with firewhiskey. "it'll be our little secret," he murmurs with a wink, raising the glass in a 'cheers' motion to her before taking a long sip.

oh, how refreshing to be unknown. he perks up immeasurably, taking a swig. ' sirius. ' just sirius. the thought is a thrill, almost a dream. ' why have i never seen you here before ? i like to think i've built a rapport with all of the bartenders. ' he points a finger at gabriel. ' except you, apparently. '

"you're serious about what...?" gabe replies, a blank stare on his face. he quickly recovers though with a follow-up reply. "ah, do you now?" gabriel chuckles. "well, i guess i must be special," he hums with a mischievous smirk.

"one drink, huh?" gabriel replies, feigning a huge sigh of annoyance. he then follows it with a quick wink to the other. "what can i get you, love?"

the walk from dogweed and deathcaps to hog's head wasn't the most fun, but it was worth the trip after a long day. after hours spent scrubbing dirt from under her nails, she needed just a minute away from the shop to compose herself. she slipped into hog's head without much of a sound, legs crossed as she leaned on the counter. "i apologize for the intrusion, then." she smiled as she spoke. this wasn't her first appearance at the inn, yet she still had rarely spoken to anyone in the village since she'd moved. "may i be a bother, for just a minute?"

"not a bother at all," gabriel replies smoothly with a grin. they both worked in hogsmeade, but gabe doesn't remember them ever really sitting down to have a conversation before. he's more than happy to now, though. (and he tries his best not to get distracted by how stunning she is...) "what can i do for you?"

"no interruption here, just finishing cleaning up. but feel free to stay as long as you'd like; i'm in no rush to leave."

sirius excels at coming into establishments at the worst possible time. of course he manages to come into hog's head when the bartender looks like he's getting ready to leave. the other doesn't even seem to realize he's there, so he clears his throat. ' do you reckon it would be a very bad idea to ask for a pint ? '

hearing a voice, gabriel looks up. with a soft smile, he answers, "not at all. take a seat." he gestures for the other to sit down at the bar stool as he gets the drink ready.

pandora didn’t drink much, and if she did, it was just for profit or god knows what. But now, she really needed a drink—she needed to cool down. After all, everyone has a bad day, right? Parla had one too, so it was worth it. Even though there was no good side to drinking, she needed to relax her muscles for once in her life. " give me the strongest drink in here, if you have one." she said as she sat on the stool, her arms crossed. "I need to kick some ass today. Like, now." Her tone bordered on sarcasm, but she never joked around on the job, and she never lied either. So if she needed a drink, it was because it was bad. With a sigh, she leaned on the counter and looked at gabriel. " seriously, my day was horrible today." she said with a shrug, a mischievous smile on her lips as she stared at gabe.

eyebrows slightly raised in a curious manner, gabriel nods and busies himself with making her her drink: firewhiskey on the rocks. it was an acquired taste but the strongest alcohol they had there. then, he stares at the glass for a second. and...whips out another one, pouring himself a drink, as well. taking it in his hand, he watches the ice clink around in the glass for a moment before answering.

L O V E R, I know you're weary.

their relationship, whatever it was, always left remus feeling confused and never quite sure where they stood or how gabriel felt about him. so needless to say, they weren't exactly sure where they stood now. " hi. oh. " cheeks heat their classic shade of remus red, a nervous chuckle escaping from him as he rubbed the back of his neck, " i said that already, huh? " tongue darted out to wet his lips, gaze dragging up and down gabe's figure before blushing and looking away, " the festival is . . . overwhelming. " he admits honestly, " i worked the hayride, which was fun. got to spit my forbidden forest facts at everyone. " remus runs a hand through his locks before resting his cheek on the palm of his hand, " what can i say? i'm just a total party animal now. " which couldn't be further from the truth. " how are you? hopefully you're off soon, yeah? "

gabriel noticed the other's eyes give him a once-over, but he simply smirks, choosing not to comment on it. he was already quite content with the current shade of red that remus' blushing cheeks were and pleased that he - gabe - was the one causing it. (guilty as charged.)