adventurous // wolfstar au ✔️

f o u r

lily pulls remus aside as they follow james and sirius out of the bar. sirius is laughing really loudly at something james says, and he pushes him away, but it's affectionate. remus watches, silent. this guy saved him tonight and he doesn't understand what's feeling about it. 

"are you okay?"

remus is startled by lily's voice even though she pulled him aside. "what? oh, yeah. yeah, i'm okay. i would've been roadkill if he hadn't come, though." remus is still watching him, his eyes never leaving sirius' laughing form. it tugs on remus' heartstrings, the sight of sirius. "i was so scared, lily -- you know how i get. paralyzed, can't think, can't speak. he just knew what to say, i guess."

lily nods, tucks her arm through remus'. "i should've been paying more attention to you. i'm sorry."

"no, red," remus says quickly. "you were distracted. it's okay. nothing happened." lily chews on her lip, still feeling guilty, and remus slings an arm around her shoulder. "lily, you're not my babysitter, okay? i should be able to watch out for myself, and clearly tonight was one of those nights that proved it. i'm not mad at you, i don't blame you, you're still my favorite redhead to walk the earth."

lily punches him in the side, and remus smiles -- she's feeling better. "i'm your favorite person."

"you wish." lily rolls her eyes, but she's smiling. "so this guy. james, is it?"

lily's cheeks are red. "shut up, remus."

remus is grinning. "ohhhh, so it's like that."

she shoves him. "shut up, remus!"

remus is laughing, tucks lily back under his arm. she fits there perfectly, like two puzzle pieces, and remus feels an almost overwhelming wave of affection for his best friend. he presses a kiss to the top of her head, and she smiles up at him.

"hey," james' voice says, "do you two need a ride anywhere?"

"nah, we're staying at the viewmount motel," lily responds, cheeks still red from remus' teasing. "it's not too far."

james' eyes nearly bug out of his head. "are you serious?" he looks over at sirius. "we're staying there, too! we can give you guys a ride if you want."

lily hesitates. after all, she did just meet these two guys in a bar, and though they've been nice thus far, it doesn't mean they always will be.

sirius rolls his eyes. "come on. i just saved your best friend's life here --"

"life seems a little dramatic," remus interjects.

sirius points a finger at him, telling him wordlessly to stop speaking. remus tries not to laugh. "i swear on the life of my little brother, regulus, that no harm will come to you while we're around."

james snorts, "okay, prince charming," which makes both remus and lily giggle. 

sirius aims his glare at james now. "are you gonna take our offer or what? because we're more than happy to let you walk back."

remus is about to tell him where he can shove his volkswagen van when the side door to the bar slams open. the guy that was chatting remus up earlier stumbles his way out into the parking lot, and his and remus' eyes lock. panic is thick in remus' throat, and he pulls lily toward the car.

"fine, what-fucking-ever," he mutters, and pushes lily towards the van. she climbs in, remus after her, and slams the door shut. "fuck." remus buries his face in his hands. panic is still rippling up his spine.

"it's okay," lily says gently, hand on remus' knee. he focuses on that, on lily's warm, tiny hand, instead of how scared he is. "you're just fine, re."

"hey." sirius' voice now, and remus un-buries his face from his hands. he's turned around backwards in the passenger seat, looking at remus with concern. "are you okay?"

remus nods after a second. his face is pale and he feels like he might faint, but he's okay.

"well, then," sirius says, his eyes still roaming remus' face, concerned. "welcome to tchaikovsky. technically, james' father's van, but i convinced him -- with my chiseled jaw and incredible wit, mind you --" all three of the others in the van roll their eyes, "-- to let us take it for our cross-country road trip post-graduation."

"you're doing a cross-country road trip too?" lily questions. "holy shit."

"holy shit," james echoes. 

"how weird," remus mutters.

"yeah," sirius responds. his eyes are trained on remus' face; he can feel it. "maybe it's fate."