Champagne Problems
“James, are you ready?” Sirius asked. His voice bounced off the walls of their two bedroom apartment.
“Almost!” James came out, trying to jump into his knee pads. Sirius rolled his eyes, grabbing an apple off the counter and starting to walk to the car to warm it up. “What time is it?” James yelled.
“It's almost 7! We have like 10 minutes to be there, James. It takes 15 to drive there.” Sirius whinged. He was not having a very good morning, as James had decided to not set an alarm for once in his life, making them both incredibly late.
“Crap!” James whined. Sirius got into the car and turned on the heater. A few seconds later, James came out with a coat and a protein bar. “Speed the bloody car.” James said. Sirius apparently took that to heart, as he pressed on the gas. James shrieked a very shrill shriek as they swerved to avoid a trash can.
Sirius, as he was going 80 in a 60 zone, was flicking at the radio until he found the 70’s channel. “Oh cool! They’re playing David Bowie.” He hummed along excitedly to ‘Changes’, as James was clutching the arm rests.
“I should have brought a helmet.” James whimpered.
Sirius groaned. “You’re so dramatic.” He said and swerved a hard left before he missed his turn. James let out a squeal this time.
“Ch-ch-changes turn to face the strange ch-” Sirius sang.
“Shut up!” James said as Sirius had to break hard.
“It’s not my fault the red light came out of nowhere!” Sirius exclaimed when James turned to look at him angrily.
“It was literally yellow! How did you even pass your drivers test?!” James asked, his voice high.
“You have to take a drivers test?”
“Sirius!”
“I’m just joshing with you. I didn’t take it. Rich kid privileges.” Sirius said. “I just got handed my license and I said ‘oh cool!’ you know?” He turned to look at James.
“Uh uh! Eyes on the road!” James said. He drew his seatbelt out to its max and let it slap back, causing it to lock.
Sirius rolled his eyes. “We’re here! 2 minutes early!” He said, grinning.
“You’re never driving. Ever again.” James said.
Sirius sighed. “Fine. Can we work on some defensive drills today?” He asked. As a libero, he wanted all the practice he could get for their next game. He knew how his brother served. He served the same way. They were taught by the same people. Apparently, Regulus didn’t grow out of it when he started getting taught by Hope Lupin, who was a volleyball star herself. Her son, Remus, was easily the best on the Snakes team right beside Regulus. Sirius really didn’t like Remus. Sirius’s plan was to go get Regulus the next night with Effie and James, but Remus beat him to it. Or technically, as the story got passed around, Regulus went to Remus.
Sirius had felt betrayed that Regulus didn’t want to go with him, so he just stopped talking to him. He regretted that decision, but it wasn’t like he could go back now. Remus was in his year in school. They had played on the same volleyball team. Up until Sirius ran away, they had been alright acquaintances. They were friendly with each other, until they weren’t. Sirius hated Remus. Remus hated Sirius. That’s just how that goes.
When they did arrive inside the building and to the correct court this time, they warmed up and worked on defense. Sirius could see the Snakes practicing on the other side of the building. Surprisingly, his gaze wasn’t drawn to his brother, but instead his best friend. Sirius watched as his long fingers set the ball, or how his scars glowed in the harsh light, or even how his sweat glistened on his forehead. He didn’t know why he was thinking these things,but he was.
Sirius ripped his gaze away from him when he saw Remus look back at him and raise an eyebrow. Sirius blushed and continued to pass the ball to James.
The next thing they had to work on was serving. He didn’t know why a bunch of college volleyball players needed help on serving, all he knew was he was the one to help them. Apparently, with the way he was taught to serve could be a real asset to the team. If all of them could either do that or a float serve, they would be an impossible team to beat. People would be terrified to play them.
Unfortunately, they could just not get it. They rarely did it the way Sirius was teaching. James taught the float serves, and they tended to switch which one they taught. James and their coach, Mcgonnagal, wanted their players to be well-rounded, and that means you can serve any kind of serve. They could all hit, bump, and set, but they did have specialties. Technically, Sirius could set and spike, but when you’re the shortest and scrappiest on the team, that guarantees you a spot as the libero.
Soon enough, practice ended and after a big speech, they got released. Sirius grabbed his water and pulled his knee pads to his ankles. He went to the car and started to get into the driver's seat. “Absolutely not.” James said from behind him.
Before they got into the car, they watched as Remus and Regulus walked out laughing beside each other. Sirius got a glimpse of the Regulus he used to know before he left. That had been 6 years ago.
Remus got into the driver's seat, sparing a quick glance at Sirius and James before turning the car on and pulling out. As they drove past, Regulus gave Sirius a glare from the passenger's seat. “Do you think something is going on between them?” Sirius whispered. It hurts to not know if your brother had a new boyfriend or not. Especially when it's the person your brother traded you for.
James patted his knee when they got into the car. “Don’t worry about it. Movie night?” He asked. Sirius nodded.
“Yeah, The Adam Project?” Sirius asked.
“We literally watch that every movie night.” James whined.
“I don’t care. It's that or no go.”
James sighed. “Fine, you go have a shower when we get home while I make dinner.”
Sirius grinned at him. They didn’t turn any music on for the ride, which was unusual, so Sirius sat in thought. He thought about how Remus grimaced whenever he set. Did that mean he had something going on?
Sirius knew how it felt to hide something so you could continue doing whatever your passion is. He supposed those were just champagne problems.