Dinner Party Drama
The next day, James decided, was the perfect time to tell Sirius. He had a photoshoot early in the day, but James rang him after he had finished and invited Sirius, Remus, and Peter for dinner.
He made keerai curry for them. He added a little extra spice to it and silently wished that it might be too much for Sirius to handle and that he would never have to say anything about Regulus at all.
He cleans a bit before they arrive, washing a few dishes and drying them. He sets a few plates on the counter before he starts serving the food onto them. He brings them to the coffee table, four for the four of them and one more for Marlene, and clicks a few buttons on the remote until he ends up with Sirius’ favorite movie. He then grabs the small ramp from the closet and sets it in front of the little step from the living room to the kitchen. Monty had built it for James and Marlene’s apartment to make it a little bit easier for Remus to get around the place with his wheelchair. Remus would never comment about it, but James knew how much it meant to him, and he was always willing to do anything he could to bring a smile to Remus’ face.
He hears a scream from Marlene’s room and slams the door open, concern covering his face. He opens the door to see Marlene on the floor, phone in hand, opened to her messages.
“Marlene? What the fuck was that? I ran over here like I was Superman, and I find you giggling over a text message?”
She only laughs in response before James exclaims, “Wait, is it Dorcas?”
Their face goes red, “Oh my god, it is, isn’t it? Show me, Marls!”
“James, she asked if I wanted to get coffee tomorrow morning and offered to take me on a picnic to the beach! That’s basically like she’s asking for my hand in marriage!”
After about five minutes of Marlene coming up with the perfect response, she forces James to click send for her and then proceeds to throw her phone across the room. James stands up and returns to the kitchen, hearing Marlene curse as he leaves the room.
“If you’ve cracked your phone screen, don’t blame me!” He calls through the hall.
“Nope! It’s all good!” Marlene says as she practically skips into the kitchen. The doorbell rings, and James’ anxiety returns. “I’ll get it!” On the way to the door, they say, “You’re telling Sirius about the job, right?”
“Yeah, hopefully.”
“James, seriously, just fucking tell him,” Marlene doesn’t even attempt to be comforting as they swing the door open.
“JAMES!” Sirius screams and sprints straight past Marlene toward James.
“Wow, Sirius, don’t get too excited to see me,” Marlene says in mock offense. Remus and Peter head through the doorway, and Marlene puts herself in between the two and links her arms around one of each of theirs. “I guess I’ll just have to steal your gorgeous boyfriend and little Pete here.”
“As if they could ever stand being around you for that long,” Sirius replies, putting his hands on his hip and sticking his tongue at her.
“Sirius, what are you? Five?” Remus laughs at him.
“I think Remus would agree that we would gladly spend our time with Marlene rather than with someone as desperate and clingy as you.” Peter chimes in.
Sirius places his hand on his heart and dramatically leans into James’ arms. “You’d never laugh at me, right Jamie?”
James shoves him away, “Sirius, get off me. Pete was a little too right about the clingy comment.”
After a few more insults towards Sirius, they walk toward the coffee table, some sitting on the floor around it, others on the couch, and begin eating.
James considers waiting till the end of the night to say anything but then finds himself talking before he can stop himself. “So, guys, I got a job today that I’m super excited about, and I think you guys will be too, but Sirius, I have to tell you something, and you might be super upset by it, but I really don’t think you will be and I think that maybe this will actually be really good for you and help you work through some past stuff. But I’m terrified to tell you, and you may end up hating me for it, but if you do, please hear me out and let us still be friends. I love you. Anyways, I have news.” He says it all in one breath, afraid that he might never say anything if he doesn’t.
The table stares at him, some slightly amused and others completely confused. “Uh, sure, Prongs. What’s up?” The confusion in Sirius’ voice is apparent. James is never afraid to tell him anything.
“So, the movie I was hired for is the same one Lily’s working on.”
“That’s great, James! This is gonna be huge for you,” Peter comments.
"Thanks, Pete." James’ explanation stops before he suddenly says, “Hey, Pads, you know I love you, right?”
“Yeah, James. I know that. What's wrong?”
When James doesn't reply, Remus looks around, clearly confused. “You doing okay there, James? What’s up?” He questions, seeming genuinely concerned.
A moment of silence passes before Marlene threatens, “James if you don’t fucking spit it out, I will break the news for you and won’t even feel bad about it.”
“What? Why does Marlene get to know before I do?" Sirius whines. "That's so unfair! I thought I was your favorite, Prongs. You've betrayed me."
His sudden input of humor makes James feel slightly better. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a big deal if he just joked and returned to his usual attitude.
“Uh, yeah, well, it’s also the same movie your brother is the lead in. He’s in the movie. And I’m taking photos for him. And I’ll be working with him for the next few months. And you guys have kind of a rocky relationship. And uh, yeah.”
Sirius just stares at him. The forks stop rattling, and the sound of water being poured stops. Even breathing seems loud.
Initially, James feels bad, but there could be positives to the situation. He remembers how close Sirius and Regulus used to be when they were younger. Maybe they could be like that again.
After a minute, which to James feels like a few years, Remus says, “Well, this is awkward.”
This comment seems to wake Sirius up. James is relieved to see that he looks more shocked than anything.“Your movie, the one you’re doing, is with my brother? You mean my brother, Regulus?”
An attempt at a joke is the first thing that comes to mind, which leads him to reply with, “No, Pads, I mean your fucking pet pig Regulus.” A small smile is on his face as he looks at Sirius.
James takes pride in the smile that appears on Sirius’ face. “Shut up, James.” He laughs, then says, “I don’t mind that it’s with Reg. That’s fucking amazing. I’m so proud of you.” James couldn’t be happier with his reaction.
Later that evening, when Sirius hugs him as they are saying their goodbyes, he hears, “It’ll be good to see him again,” muttered into his shoulder, so quiet he can’t fully tell whether he imagined it or not.