Chapter 6
Sirius’ day has been too weird. He doesn’t want to do this anymore. Things were going so well for him, and now they feel all jumbled up again.
He’s lying on his bed, trying to decompress after the hectic two days he’s had, when his phone pings. He wants to ignore it, it’s probably one of the girls, or James. But eventually his curiosity gets the better of him and he looks.
It’s from Remus.
Remus:Hey
Sirius:hi
Normally, Sirius would have replied to this with something like ‘look who finally texted me’ or ‘i knew you’d speak to me eventually’ but after the fateful night at the pub, followed by the painstakingly awkward exhibition, even Sirius can’t bring himself to act overconfident and self assured.
Remus:I really liked your art this weekend
Sirius waits a second to reply to that, as he can see that Remus is typing again.
Remus:you’ve improved
It’s clear that Remus is really having to push himself to say this, and Sirius can’t work out why he’s doing it. It goes against everything he knows about the man, everything he was sure was still correct.
Sirius:thanks
Remus:is that what you’ve been doing for the past four years??
Sirius:only since I left my parents
Sirius:there was this guy in the village who I was kinda friends with and he was moving away to live with his girlfriend and I asked what his girlfriend live and he showed the thing to me and I just knew that was what I wanted to do
Remus:that’s wonderful
Remus:i can tell it’s something you really enjoy
Sirius: It is
Sirius:and also, I’m still great friends with both the guy from the village and his girlfriend
Sirius:live laugh love frank and Alice
Remus:cool
Remus:I’m glad you have friends
Remus:shit that came out wrong you know what I mean
Sirius:lucky for you, I do know what you mean yes
Sirius:I’ll let that one slide just this once
Sirius:anyway i didnt see much of it tbh but your stuff looked cool too
Sirius:how long have u been doing that for??
Remus:A few years.
Sirius:…okay
Sirius:i was kinda expecting a little bit more information, especially since you started the conversation…
Sirius:if you need any hints on how to do that, just refer to my example above
Remus:Uh
Remus:I started the class not long before I graduated with my friends
Remus:I’ve been doing it ever since
Remus:It’s mainly just a bit of fun
Sirius:cool
Sirius:Your friends are the girls that were there on Saturday right
Remus:yeah thats Mary and Marlene
Remus:But I actually started it with our other friend lily.
Remus:It was her idea
Sirius:Lily is James’ girlfriend right??’
Remus:Yeah she is
Remus:I kinda set them up
Sirius:I know
Remus:Have you ever met her?
Sirius:nah
Sirius:I went to see James in Scotland once but I think it must have been before they got together
Remus:I feel like you’d get on with her
Remus:Maybe
Remus:I think it’s the kinda thing where you’ll either be best friends or mortal enemies
Sirius:well I should hope I get along with her
Sirius:considering she gets along with you and James
Sirius:i mean like, we have friends in common
Sirius:we like the same people therefore we should like each other yk
Sirius knows he’s rambling slightly, and digging himself a deeper hole as he does so.
Remus:Yea ig
Remus took a while to reply to that one, and Sirius tries not to let it affect him too much.
Sirius:How long have u been doing that reporter stuff or whatever u we’re doing today
Sirius:Istg how many jobs do u have
Remus:I’ve only been doing that for like a year. I do the photography fjr them and also some articles. Whatever they need me for really
Sirius:Cool
Sirius:i bet ur great at that aswell
Sirius:but seriously Remus why do you have so many jobs??
Sirius:not to intrude or anything
Sirius:like you don’t actually have to tell me if you don’t want to
Remus:jeez Sirius calm the fuck down
Remus:stop being so jumpy honestly it doesn’t suit u
Remus:the reason my parents moved away from wales is bc my mum was diagnosed with cancer and there’s a really good treatment centre down there
Remus:But it was really expensive and even though my mums over it now she’s still quite sickly and needs a lot of medication and carers etc
Remus:My dad obviously had to look for a new job when they moved and it to him a while to find one
Remus:he wants to stop working to look after her but there’s only so much he can do and it takes a lot out of him too
Remus:he deserves to retire soon
Remus:Also it turns out they spent most of their money sending me to uni
Remus:so i fund all of that for them
Remus:it’s the least I can do really
Sirius:Bloody hell Remus
Sirius:I’m so glad she recovered from that even if she’s not fully better
Sirius:also ik this really isn’t my place to say but imma say it anyway
Sirius:I’m sure ur parents are rlly grateful for everything you are doing for them but please remember that what they really want is for you to be happy so remember to let yourself rest and have you time
Remus:I can look after myself Sirius
Remus:And believe me, I have too much time on my hands. I don’t mind
Remus:Also half of them can hardly be called jobs they’re just hobbies that I make a bit of profit from
Remus:So I enjoy it
Remus:but thanks anyway ig
Sirius:Ok
Sirius:Hang on how the fuck do you have time on your hands if ur lit working like four jobs or however many it was
Remus:They’re all either shifts or part time
Sirius:Still! My job has pretty relaxed hours most of the time and it’s still too much
Remus:i think that’s just you Sirius
Remus:I’m pretty sure u can find a problem with anything
Sirius can see the bitterness behind that last comment, but he chooses to ignore it, for now.
Sirius:Nah. It’s awful
Sirius:Moony?
Remus:Yea??
Sirius:why didn’t you keep in touch with James and Pete??
Remus:Did you seriously just ask me that
Remus:Have you not learnt anything at all about me in the 15 years we’ve known eachother
Sirius:Well I guess
Sirius:But how do I know it hasn’t changed in the last four years eh
Remus:Nope. I’m still the most socially awkward person ever and I’m terrible at keeping in touch with people
Remus:tbh I was proud of myself for texting them like three times a year and visiting them once.
Sirius:i mean…now you say it…that is a huge achievement for you im so proud moons 🥹🥳
Remus:exactly
Remus:and i could literally ask u the same question
Remus:ik u told me that little story about wales but that would never have kept u away from James
Sirius:It was just a very complicated time and I was Going Through shit ig
Sirius:Idrk tbh
Remus:Oh
Remus:well i know for a fact that you’ve got back in touch with him now
Sirius:…what makes you think that
Remus:My two trusty sources of the girlfriend and the guy himself.
Sirius:oh fuck I did know that
Sirius:I was texting James and he was like hold up Remus is texting me then you were like you’re texting Sirius rn aren’t u
Sirius:WaIt A SeConD
Sirius:Why tf have u been talking bout me 🤨
Remus:haha lol I shoulda known he would tell you that
Remus:I wasn’t about to let him get away with his little ploy
Remus:it was really obvious
Remus:bitch why tf have I been talking about ME?
Sirius:…fair enough
Sirius:Wdym his little ploy
Remus:to play both sides
Sirius:THAT LITTLE SHIT
Remus:Exactly.
It surprised Sirius how much they seem to be acknowledging the situation between them. It’s absurd, hilarious, and completely not at all like Remus. Sirius isn’t exactly sure how to react to it, and doesn’t want to do something wrong and risk losing Remus all over again. Amongst all the confusion Sirius is feeling at the moment, the one thing he does know is that he isn’t going to make that mistake again.
After that, their conversation turns to small talk, easy topics that flow from one to the next again and again. Sirius ignores a series of texts from James, invested as he is with Remus.
There isn’t much meaning to their chat, but by the time Sirius falls asleep with his phone open in his hand and a smile playing in his lips, he feels something that he hasn’t truly felt in four years.
Love.