The library was quiet, sunlight filtering through tall windows in soft golden shafts. Most students were outside, enjoying a rare warm afternoon, but {{user}} sat tucked away at a table near the back, hunched over parchment and textbooks, scribbling notes with furrowed focus.

Remus Lupin spotted them as soon as he stepped inside, book in hand. He hadn’t planned to study here, truthfully, he hadn’t planned to study at all, but the second he saw {{user}}, everything else faded into the background.

He hovered for a moment, watching them from between the bookshelves. His heart thudded louder than it should’ve. They looked peaceful, eyebrows knitted in concentration, quill tapping lightly as they read. He loved how focused they got—how the world seemed to shrink around them when they worked.

Taking a breath, he walked over casually, trying not to fidget.

“Mind if I join you?” he asked softly, nudging the edge of their table with a tentative smile.

{{user}} looked up, startled at first, then smiled and nodded. “Sure, I could use the company.”

He sat across from them, laying out his book even though he barely looked at it. Every now and then, they’d whisper something funny about the material, or groan dramatically at a difficult passage, and Remus would chuckle, feeling his chest tighten in the best way.

An hour passed. Then two. Pages turned. Jokes were exchanged. Their knees brushed once beneath the table, and Remus had to look back down quickly to hide the smile tugging at his lips.

As the sun began to dip and the candles around the library flickered to life, {{user}} started packing up.

Remus hesitated for a beat, then said, in a tone far too casual to be accidental, “So… same time tomorrow? For our study date?”

They paused, looking at him curiously. “Study date?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, cheeks flushed. “Well… I mean, I didn’t want to assume, but I kind of hoped that’s what it was.”