Chapter 9
Sirius had returned to the ship after only a couple of days spent with Remus.
It was less than a month before Regulus’ birthday, and Sirius would meet Remus in Schlange before seeing his brother and parents for the first time in over a year.
He was nervous, but felt better about Remus being there with him.
He still felt the warmth of Remus’ hug as they said goodbye.
“I’ll miss you,”Remus whispered into Sirius’ ear as his arms wrapped tightly around him.
“It won’t be too long,”Sirius responded.
“I miss you when I don’t see you for 5 minutes,”Remus said, pulling his face back but keeping his arms wrapped around Sirius’ waist.
“You’re cute,”Sirius said, “I still can’t believe all this is happening.”
“It is,”Remus said, “I’m yours Sirius, all yours.”
James was the first to greet him when he returned, whisking a slightly dazed Sirius into his Captains’ quarters.
Sirius felt a strange sense of deja vu, remembering his first day aboard the ship when James accepted him for who he was.
“What happened,”James asked, pouring them each a drink.
Sirius felt like crying again, but he had no more tears left from his goodbye to Remus.
“He-he,”Sirius stuttered over his words, reaching up to the necklace still fastened around his neck.
“I’ll kill him,”James said, slamming his drink onto the desk and placing his hand over his sword.
“No,”Sirius exclaimed, “No, James! He loves me. He loves me and I love him.”
James slumped into his chair, not saying anything for a few minutes while he tapped his fingers against the chair’s arm.
“You’re leaving then,”James asked, “This is goodbye.”
“No, god, no,”Sirius said, “I belong here on this ship with you all, and Remus knew it too. He’s giving up his life to be with me. He’ll be here with us after Regulus’ birthday.”
James’ eyes widened, and he let out a deep sigh.
“What,”Sirius asked, “Is he not allowed to come on? I told him you would be fine with it, and that we always need an extra set of hands.”
“It’s not that,”James said, sitting up and making eye contact with Sirius, “Lily’s pregnant.”
“Oh,”Sirius said, “That’s great, I mean you guys have always wanted a kid. It’ll be a learning curve for all of us, but I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”
“She doesn’t want to raise the kid at sea,”James said, “She wants to settle down somewhere, put down roots.”
“On land,”Sirius finished, “Right, of course.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,”James said, “I just didn’t want to add onto your stress before you left to see Remus.”
“I’m happy for you both,”Sirius said, “Really, I am. What’s going to happen with the ship though? I mean, it needs the infamous Captain James Potter.”
“Well, I was hoping that my brother would take over for me,”James said, “Captain Sirius Potter.”
“James,”Sirius gasped, “Really?”
“Who else,”James asked, “You're my first mate, my brother. The crew loves you, and you love the ship and the adventures that come with it.”
“Dorcas is going to be pissed that it’s not them,”Sirius said, “They’ve been here for much longer than I have.”
“Dorcas would hate all the rules and communication that come with being Captain,”James said, “They will happily be your second and handle strategy.”
“I thought you’d die on this ship before you left,”Sirius said.
“I would,”James responded, “But Lily and this baby are the most important things to me. As long as I have them, my life is complete.”
“You’ll keep in touch,”Sirius asked.
“Of course,”James said, “The baby has to get to know his godfather after all.”
“This day has been an emotional rollercoaster,”Sirius said, “Screw you and Remus for making me feel like this.”
“I’m glad he makes you happy, Sirius,”James said, “I was worried at first that he wouldn’t live up to the image you had in your head.”
“He’s the best, James,”Sirius said, “I thought he wouldn’t care about me once he knew, but he didn’t even flinch. I didn’t think it was possible for anyone but you and Reg to love me for me.”
“You deserve all the love in the world,”James said, “I hope Remus will show you that.”
“When are you and Lily going to leave,”Sirius said, before switching to a sarcastic tone, “I’m eager to re-design this space. Definitely needs some upgrades, get rid of some of the dust furniture and replace the dated artwork on the walls.”
“Hey, Pete made those,”James said.
“Yeah, but Peter’s a shit artist,”Sirius responded, “He should stick to bartending.”
The two laughed, and James just nodded his head.
A soft knock came at the door before Lily walked in.
Sirius rushed forward to spin Lily around in his arms.
“He’s told you then,”She asked, walking over to her husband.
“I’m so happy for both of you,”Sirius said, “Congratulations.”
“Thanks,”Lily said, before pressing a hand to her side, “No doubt that this is your kid James; It won’t stay still.”
James wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed a kiss to her barely present belly.
“You’ll be a good captain, Sirius,”Lily said, “And a good uncle.”
“James told me I was the godfather,”Sirius said, causing Lily to glare at James.
“What, he’s my best friend,”James said, before continuing, “I love you.”
Lily just smiled at him, and Sirius watched them.
James turned back towards him, and Sirius smiled.
“I’ll do my best to make you proud,”Sirius said, “Captain.”