Tan Lines on the Cruise Ship

Sirius’ luxuries were starting to rub off on Remus.

When Sirius drove Remus to work for the first time it was in a white Mustang that Remus had seldom seen let alone rode in. The two of them parked at the cruise port which harnessed an even greater luxury - the cruise ship.

It was 280 meters in length with gold detailing running smoothly all along the sides. Remus laughed to himself upon thinking that Sirius just had “cruise ship” written in his parents’ will for him. Then again, Remus didn’t really know if Sirius’ parents were around. He suspected they were the old, old money kind and if that were the case then they were most likely dead.

“This is incredible,” Remus couldn’t help himself from saying.

“Isn’t it?” Sirius replied with a pearly smile.

There were no real passengers yet since the ship was still being set up for a cruise to France, Spain and Portugal in a week. So the boss did a full tour for the day and Remus went along like a kid at take-your-kid-to-work day. He did wonder where the other new employees were, if Sirius had hired any, but enjoyed his and Sirius’ privacy all the same.

“Even the kitchens are pretty cool,” Sirius admitted, opening the double doors and allowing Remus entry.

There were about a hundred cooks working in impressive synchronization as if the meals were choreographed. The symphonic chopping of carrots and onions on chopping boards had Remus all excited for the meals supplied during his job. No more Uber Eats.

“Peter’s the head chef, he’s great,” Sirius said. He eyed the large swarm of white-hatted cooks and upon catching him pointed him out.

He was short and had nearly a hundred little spots and stains on his apron, but Remus assumed that this was the sign of a good chef.

“Hi, Pete!” Sirius exclaimed.

Peter barely looked up from his simmering pot of something delicious-smelling.

“He’s a busy guy. You’ll love him, though, we all do.”

Remus doubted this highly. He figured that since he could count the amount of people he loved on two hands, his capacity to love was just as low.

Another half hour later and they hadn’t even covered half of the ship.

“It’s huge, but don’t worry,” Sirius soothed. “I’ll expose you to different parts of it at a time once you start working, so you can feel comfy wherever you go.”

They passed by an elevator with sparkly gold detailing that had just been cleaned in preparation for all the guests, and out came somebody familiar-looking.

Sirius smiled and gestured to the boy before them. “Oh, Remus, this is my little brother Regulus! He’s one of the managers.”

Remus stretched his hand out for Regulus and the short boy took it in his own pale hand, the faintest of smiles playing at his lips.

“He’s not much of a talker. And to be honest, I can’t guarantee that you’ll learn to love him as quickly as you’ll learn to love Peter.”

Regulus glowered right at Sirius.

“He’s being mean because it’s true,” Sirius added. “But he usually is at least a little mean.”

“Only to Sirius. I’d advise you to ask me any questions you have and spare yourself a conversation with him.”

Remus couldn’t help but smile himself. Having grown up with no siblings, this was like having his tv set to a trash reality channel of some rich family taking their issues out on each other. He wouldn’t learn to love Peter first, and he wouldn’t learn to love Regulus first either. He would learn to love these little cat fights between the Black brothers.

“He seems to really look up to you,” Remus joked as soon as Regulus escaped.

“He does, he’ll just never admit it.”

After even more trips up and down pretty escalators and velvet-carpeted flights of stairs Sirius called an end to the tour and sighed contentedly.

“Well, I don’t want to overwhelm you. That should be the general idea.”

“It’s gorgeous.”

Sirius beamed. “It’s the one good thing my parents have given to me.”

Remus felt a strong urge to inquire but figured that this tour on the ship he’d be working on in the future was not the time nor the place.

“You still need a ride home, don’t you?”

“I can take the bus.”

“Don’t be silly, get in with me.”

Remus obliged and tried to fit himself in Sirius’ car once again. Luckily for him the passenger seat was still adjusted to how he liked it and he could wiggle right onto the seat without looking too much like an idiot.

Before starting up the car Sirius looked at Remus. “I’m curious. What made you want to work with me, on the cruise ship? Wouldn’t being on the water make you, um, even more nervous than being a bouncer?”

Remus raised a brow.

“Because you were a Marine,” Sirius whispered like it was a secret.

He thought to himself for a moment. He’d never really seen it that way. Ever since James told him that the ocean would be therapeutic, he tended to see it in that light as well. But now that his boss had mentioned possible trauma on-board he didn’t know if he would ever shake that thought out of his head. It would eat at him while he worked and as he went to bed in his personal cabin at night.

“But there’s no threat of violence,” Remus explained.

Sirius nodded his head slowly in comprehension, and as he did so some of the black strands of his hair fell off of his shoulders.

“Sorry to pry. I just didn’t want you freaking out while you work.”

Remus, to his magical surprise, smiled. It was a step. A baby step, at that, but a step nonetheless.

“I’m gonna be fine, I promise.”

⊹₊ ⋆

Remus hoped that the future-him was staying true to his word. But for now he was packing up for the France-Spain-Portugal cruise which was in just two days.

James sat criss-cross applesauce on Remus’ bed with a bunch of sprawled suitcases around him.

“I don’t want to believe that you and Sirius and Peter will all be gone from me this summer,” James sighed, evidently bummed at the prospect of a friendless-summer. But who was he kidding - he was James Potter and he probably had a lineup of other friends he could hang out with during the hot months.

“Wait, which Peter?”

“The one who works for Sirius.”

“You know him?”

“Yep! I went on vacation a year back, to the Caribbean, and Peter was working then too. He’s such a great cook.”

“So that means you’ve met Sirius’ little brother too?” Remus asked smugly. He knew that James would not like Regulus in the slightest. After all, Regulus seemed like a stark contrast from Sirius, whom James loved dearly.

James smiled and played with one of Remus’ sweater cuffs in the trunk nearest him. “Yeah, I have.”

Remus didn’t like the way James said that at all.

“And anyway, you aren’t exactly in short supply of friends,” Remus argued, hopping back into their previous conversation.

“They aren’t the same as you three, though,” he deflated.

“Who’s that one girl from your college? Lily, isn’t it?”

James nodded.

“Haven’t you two ever hung out outside of lectures?”

“No. She’s sort of… hard to approach,” James explained, laughing awkwardly.

Remus looked before him and most everything had been packed up. It was only a week-long cruise and yet his entire life had been stuffed into a couple of old suitcases he’d found at a thrift store nearby. How depressing.

⊹₊ ⋆

The day of the Black Sea’s departure had been almost hellish. Instead of controlling a line of pre-wasted (or already wasted) adolescents looking to flood the gates into neon stardom, Remus was controlling a line of eager and sleep-deprived vacationers. He’d never realized the parallels between all three of his jobs before.

Upon meeting one of his chatty coworkers named Mary that morning as well as chatting even more with all of the guests about to board, he figured he’d need the nighttime to unwind. And the nightlife on a cruise ship was even better than he could have imagined.

It was pushing midnight and Remus was still on guard, standing in the corner of one of the ship’s concert halls. They’d dedicated the hall to rock performances that night with multiple acts. Despite being heavily anchored in rock music Remus didn’t recognize any of these newer, on-the-rise bands - the ones that really embraced their sexuality. This is what Remus thought as he watched the lead singer of the band Hundred Hells grind against his guitarist. Like Remus, they both had ink all over their bodies. An addition of piercings and hair dye could be spotted even from where Remus was standing. The singer had announced his name before diving into the set (and the crowd), but Remus had forgotten it. Something that started with a B.

“They’re positively awful,” Mary said as she took a spot next to Remus.

“You think?”

“I don’t care for rock, really. Or maybe this is metal. I can’t tell.”

Remus sucked his teeth to prevent from saying anything hurtful to her.

“What kind of music do you listen to, then?” he asked, taut.

“You know, all sorts. Madonna, for old stuff. But other than that I’ll only listen to modern music. Like Chappell Roan.”

“Who?”

“Oh my god, Chappell Roan? You don’t know Chappell Roan?”

“I don’t think so… what genre is she?”

“Gay pop!”

Remus raised his brows in comprehension. “Maybe I do know her. I used to work at a gay club not long ago.”

“Oh, which one?”

“Miss Cherry.”

Mary’s sparkly lips parted immediately. “You’re lying! I go there all the time, and get this, I go with Sirius!”

“I bet you do. I met him there, actually.”

“You- oh my god. You’re that Remus!” Mary started laughing hysterically to herself.

“Which Remus, sorry?”

“The one Sirius wouldn’t shut up about after he met you!” Mary exclaimed.

Remus’s stomach dropped. Before he could cough up a stunned reply, the lead singer announced his and his band’s exit with exhaustion written all over him.

“We’ve been Hundred Hells, thanks for having us tonight!”

The crowd exploded in applause for their latest adoration - Barty. That’s what his name was, and Remus was reminded of it when some girl nearby started raving about how she’d gladly be a groupie to the band. This so-called Barty had that classic look for an alternative singer: skinny with tattoos and prominent veins crawling up his forearms, a fluffy shag with vibrant colouring, snakebites which definitely added to his sex appeal.

Hundred Hells was the final performance of the night. As a sleepy yet shaken Remus trudged to his personal cabin, he had this band’s explicit lyrics playing in his mind as he thought of a certain someone who, according to Mary, wouldn’t shut up about him.

⊹₊ ⋆