Title: Fear of Prejudice

Pairing: Sirius Black x Female!Reader

Word count: 2.2k

Published: 26 March, 2021

Author: Heloise Daphne Brightmore 

Notes: Coffee shop!AU

Notes: If you enjoy my stories, please consider donating and supporting me on Ko-fi. Of course, it's completely your choice, I will continue updating for free anyway :) Thank you <3 [ ko-fi.com/heloisedaphnebrightmore ]

Sirius knew you loved him just as much as he loved you. But he wasn't aware of the amount of pure love you held for every part of him. You loved the way he tied his hair up into a ponytail or the way he smirked when he knew he was right in the middle of an argument, but still went along with your silly rambling. You loved how he wrapped his arms around you when you had a bad day and you needed to be held. As if he knew what to do in every situation. He was your safety net.

But those weren't the only things you loved about him. His heavily beating heart under your palms when you kissed him reassured you of how much he enjoyed your company. Running your hand through his firm chest, caressing the smooth skin left you hot and bothered. But there was one particular trait that you just couldn't shake. The veins on his arms. Yes, you were one of those people that might have had a slight liking for those pretty little veins popping out on your boyfriend's arms. But you never dared to voice it, it felt somewhat wrong, making you guilty for finding such an unusual trait attractive.

However, as you sat at a table in the coffee shop Sirius worked at, you couldn't take your eyes off him. His long black hair was tied into a ponytail, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbow. He wore a confident smile as he held onto a jug, frothing the milk for the cappuccino, whilst tiny veins were popping out on the back of his hand. You have never thought being a barista would ever attract you, but as Sirius stood behind the bar, preparing the drink for a customer, your eyes involuntarily attached to his every movement, making your mind wander to a path that was anything but appropriate for a coffee shop.

The only thing you could think of was how his hand held the jug securely, but casually, without the slightest of effort. Just the way he held you. You always felt safe in his arms even though he never got into a fight or argument to prove that he could protect you. There was just something about him that made him reliable, safe.

Back when you were a teenager you thought a relationship had to be chaotic, full of passion, ripping each other's clothes off, making love in every corner of your flat. Sure, there was a way to love like that and on occasion you ended up in those slightly compromising situations with Sirius. But you didn't need that chaotic love anymore. A simple look at your boyfriend made your knees weak, a mere touch of his left you craving for more, a small lopsided smile left you gaping. You weren't sure how he did it, but he certainly had a way around you.

Just like in that moment. He didn't even look at you, he was busy with his customers, still you sat at the table, elbow propped up on the table, chin sitting in your palm, eyes eagerly following his movements.

"Good God, woman, stop it!" you scolded yourself, disapproving of your own thoughts, but you seemed to have been louder than you planned to be. As you lifted your head to look at Sirius again, he frowned at your unusual behaviour and gave you a questioning look. You felt your cheeks heat up and quickly looked away, feeling embarrassed by your actions. Focusing on the screen of your phone, you pretended to be busy looking at something interesting, but instead you were just closing and opening random applications to pass time and hide your awkward state.

As you finally gained courage to look up again, Sirius was walking towards you with a cup and saucer in his hand. Once again, your eyes wandered down to his lower arm, looking at the veins running through his skin, making you feel slightly warmer than usual, even your heart started off at a faster pace as you imagined his arms around you, his hand on your skin.

"Are you okay?" he asked, making you jump. You didn't expect him to talk even though he was on his way to your table. Feeling foolish, you gulped nervously and nodded.

"Yep, peachy," you said with an awkward smile. You couldn't explain your own behaviour. Sirius and you have been dating for a couple of months and you never felt so useless around him, but in that moment even a word to leave your lips felt like the most difficult action to manage.

"Peachy? That's one word I have never heard from you," he scoffed with a wide grin across his face. "You seem a bit out of it today," he added as he sat down beside you, placing a hand on your thighs. Oh, were you glad you wore jeans and not a skirt? Your heart was already beating at a dangerous pace, you were quite certain you would not have been able to handle his touch on your skin.

"It's hot in here," you added, fanning your face with your hand. You looked down on your thigh, his long fingers spread across the material, burning your skin under his touch. Those pretty little veins on the back of his hand, running up around his arm once again distracted you and if it wasn't for his voice pulling you out of your distracted state, you could have stared at them shamelessly longer.

"It's normal temperature," he replied with a confused expression and stood up from beside you. "Give me a second, I will check the thermostat," he replied as he headed back to the bar and disappeared behind the door leading to the staff room.

Letting a relieved sigh out, you lowered your forehead onto the top of the table, scolding yourself for such a strange behaviour. What was wrong with you, you questioned for the umpteenth time.

Within seconds Sirius was walking back to you with a frown across his brows. "As I said, it's room temperature," he said and halted on the other side of the table. "You might have a fever though," he added as he leaned forward and placed the back of his hand on your forehead, checking your temperature. But as much as you just wanted to enjoy his touch, your eyes wandered down to his arms, those little bulging veins attracting your gaze once again. Tiny butterflies awoke in your tummy, tickling you from the inside. As if a movie played in your head, you imagined Sirius walking around the table, grabbing your arm and pulling you onto his lap. Your heavy breathing forced your mouth to open, your lips drying out from the fire building up inside you. It scared you.

"I need air," you exclaimed as you stood up and rushed out of the coffee shop, taking a deep, lung expanding breath, before you exhaled slowly, trying to calm your heavily beating heart.

"Did I do something?" Sirius asked with a deep frown, making you jump. You were so lost in attempting to calm yourself down, you didn't even hear the door open behind you. "You are acting weird, and I have no idea how to take that," he opened his arms questioningly as if waiting for a reasonable reply from you. But you couldn't possibly provide one.

"I don't want to talk about it, Sirius," you replied, folding your arms in front of your chest, closing yourself off.

"You can't just run out on me and expect me to act like nothing happened," he groaned, slightly irritated by your behaviour.

"I'm quite sure you don't share every single thought of yours with me, so if you don't mind, I would like to keep this to myself," you attempted to finish the conversation, your own thoughts confusing you. You were just scared of his reaction, the judgment you expected to see on his face, hear in his voice.

"No, I'm not, but I certainly don't just get up and leave you," he exclaimed.

"Can we just drop the subject?" you groaned in an annoyed tone, raising your voice in frustration.

"No, I want to know what's going on," he replied in an impatient manner, flailing with his hands. Once again your eyes wandered down to his arms, capturing your attention, before you shook your head and attempted to clear your mind.

"Then, just roll those god damn sleeves down!" you exclaimed in an annoyed tone, hoping to be able to behave like a normal human being once again. Because you certainly didn't feel like one at that moment.

"What is your problem with my sleeves?" he asked with wide eyes, his lips parted in surprise, forgetting his previous frustration.

"For once in your life, listen to me and just roll them down," you groaned, looking around the parking lot in front of the shop, inspecting each and every single car just to be able to avoid looking at him and get distracted once again.

"No?" he replied, although it sounded like a question. "Not until you tell me what the hell is going on," he scoffed, confused by your illogical thinking.

"Better if you don't know," you replied with an exhausted groan.

"I'm quite sure I have to know, because it seems my girlfriend is acting strange because of it," he scoffed.

"You will laugh at me," you said as you looked at him, his grey eyes capturing your gaze. Of course, you didn't want to say anything. You were simply scared of what he would think of you, that he might judge you for having such strange thoughts, for liking something unusual. You didn't want him to look at you like you were some kind of an idiot.

"Why would I? I love you with all your silly little traits," he smiled gently as he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around your waist. "So, what is it?" he asked with a questioningly raised brow.

"Your—," you started, but your voice seemed to have gotten lost and instead a squeaky sound left your lungs

"What was that?" Sirius frowned. His curiosity kept growing and he wanted nothing but to know what on earth your problem was.

"It's your—," you tried again, but your voice was gone once it came to the most important part of the sentence.

"Am I supposed to understand you, love?" he tilted his head innocently, making you groan. You heard your own voice, you were sure you said it out loud, but Sirius didn't seem to hear you and it made your blood boil.

"I said it's your arms, for God's sake," you almost shouted at the man holding you in his arms, although not intentionally, you were just frustrated.

"My arms?" he asked as he stepped back and reached towards you with his arms, inspecting them as if searching for something that could possibly cause you to act so out of it. "You are going to have to be more specific," he said as he looked up at you, clearly puzzled by your behaviour.

"Your arms are distracting me. To be clear, the veins on your arms," you replied almost in a whisper, scared of his reaction. But instead of disgust and confusion, he let out a loud, heartfelt laughter, throwing his head back, holding onto his stomach.

"God, woman, is that it?" he chuckled, wiping a single tear off his cheek.

"I knew you would laugh at me," you pouted, feeling slightly guilty for finding something unusual so attractive.

"I'm laughing because I'm relieved," he smiled, stepping closer and hinting a small kiss on your forehead. "You are not alone, actually many women love it. It's not strange at all," he added as he gave you a kiss on the cheek. "I have heard people talking about how sexy those veins can be and whilst I don't understand why, it's actually quite common for women to like it, so you don't have to be ashamed," he continued as he placed a small peck on your lips. "If anything, I'm glad to know it's that easy for me to distract you," he chuckled, capturing your lips with his, but before you could have melted into his arms, he pulled away. "Of course, if I'm the only victim of your newfound attraction," he chuckled happily, earning a slap on his chest from you.

"Not funny. Instead of joking around, use your mouth for something else," you groaned, annoyed.

"When did my girl become so dominant?" he laughed as he pulled you against his chest, attaching his lips to yours, using his mouth for good this time.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" you asked Sirius as you parted. "I just feel like it's slightly strange to like something so unusual," you added nervously.

"I really couldn't care less. I just want you to be comfortable around me. If that's what you like, then be it. It doesn't change my opinion of you. I'm glad you told me, but next time maybe instead of running away, just open up to me. Deal?" he asked with a reassuring smile. You returned his expression and wrapped your arms around his neck, giggling into the kiss you left on his lips.

"I have the best boyfriend," you giggle.

"I know, right?" he joked, pulling you closer to him, once again making you feel safe and comfortable in his arms. 

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If you enjoy my stories, please consider donating and supporting me on Ko-fi. Of course, it's completely your choice, I will continue updating for free anyway :) Thank you <3 [ ko-fi.com/heloisedaphnebrightmore ]