Chapter Text
James
Summer. It had been the same routine since they were 16 — pack our bags and go to France. Now, James was, as usual, packing last minute and clumsily cramming his clothes in the suitcase as Remus attempted to step in and help. You’d think he would be more put together now at the age of 24, but to no avail. It was early, too early for someone like James, but the cheaper flights were at unwanted times, so what could he do?
“James, you’re- No, just let me-” Remus tried to ameliorate while James continued to stuff the clothes in, not paying at all attention to Remus' desperate words.
“I’m doing just fine, look. I don’t see an issue!”
Remus droned out an exasperated groan and finally sat down next to Sirius, waiting for James to get everything together. James was trying to stuff in a couple of balled up socks without letting them bulge up so he couldn’t close the suitcase.
“I blame you for trying, really.” Sirius deadpanned and earned himself a glare from Remus, who previously had his head in his hands.
“Uh.. Little help here, please?” James said with a sheepish, yet somehow confident grin. James Potter was the exact type always to be assured, no matter the situation. The two boys quickly assisted James in closing the suitcase and getting it out of the apartment.
Going down the stairs of James’ flat, the boys were quiet so as not to wake anybody else in the flats, which proved to be difficult with a suitcase. James checked his phone, his eyes hovering over the time: 4:36. Oh, what he wouldn’t give to be asleep right now. James quickly forgot that thought as they got to the bottom and Sirius’ car came into view.
The sky was a purple colour, one of a dark
English violet, covered by clouds that were sure to rain soon. James could already feel the slight shower, dreading the worst of it. As they walked down the path to the gate, he could see the wind tussling the trees, feeling enveloped in the long bursts of the night air.
James looked at the dark car and saw the silhouette of a person in the back of the car, who James could only assume was Sirius’ brother. Great, he thought, exactly what I needed — a fight.
⋆⋆⋆
Three hours later, they were almost at the airport. James had slept through most of it; much to his luck, Regulus was not awake enough to argue. If James knew anything about Regulus, it was that he was not a morning person. Much like his name, he preferred time with the stars. James wasn’t sure what he’d done the entire ride so far, but he guessed it was his usual Regulus dark, I'm better-than-you, brooding.
“When will we be there?” James yawned. Even after all that sleep, he still craved more.
“Soon,” Remus answered calmly, in spite of the fact that this was the fifth time James asked. Remus, unlike the rest, was fully awake now and functioning - something James couldn’t even imagine doing this early on. He tried to stretch shortly in the small space he had, but received a grunt from Regulus, who had his head back on the car seat, slightly tucked into the right next to his window with his eyes closed.
“Well, good morning to you, too,” James said with feigned sweetness to aggravate Regulus. Apparently, his strategy worked well, seeing as Regulus opened his eyes and glowered at James like never before. James just smirked back and enjoyed the look on Regulus’ face, which meant James had won.
This has also been routine since they were young. Regulus loathed James, and he happily returned the favour. Of course, their versions of loathing were distinctly different. Where Regulus was mean, James was nice to irritate him. Where Regulus seethed quietly, James burst out.
Now, in the small, dark atmosphere of the car, James watched as Regulus rolled his eyes and turned back towards the window, knowing he was only staying quiet for his brother’s sake in the front seat. Regulus was now very different from when he was younger, as were the rest, but remained similar in his small, almost frail, stature, which made him look unlike other 22-year-olds. His black hair, like Sirius’ but somehow darker in a way he could only describe as perfectly Regulus. It was long but not so much as to cover his eyes completely. James watched the strands swaying lightly from the wind of the open front window and falling back on Regulus’ face. If he weren’t so bothersome, James might’ve thought he was pretty. But he — unfortunately — is bothersome.
Sirius had always tried to be a mediator between the two, and it worked well, considering their shared fear of his lectures. Sirius was charming, yes, but at times he was fed up — he was fed up.
James went back on his phone to text the others. They had to take other ways because of spacing and what would be most efficient. He quickly composed a message to Marlene, one of his closest friends among the girls, and double-checked it before sending it.
me<
hey marls, where about are you guys?
> marls
like 5 minutes away, you?
me<
us too, see you there?
> marls
yep
Their texts have always been short, preferring to discuss in real life. Marlene said it was nicer to see people’s reactions, and James hadn’t minded. His parents also liked speaking in person, being older than most. James’ parents were always great; they raised him in a loving home and tried their best, but they were getting older. Unlike others, Fleamont and Euphemia Potter had trouble conceiving until their mid-thirties, and now that James was 24, they were reaching near their sixties. James knew all people would die someday, but he didn’t want to know how soon it’d be until his parents became all people. Who could handle texting at this time, anyway? He tried to think of happier things, like how fun it’d be with all their friends this summer as he put his phone away and looked up to see the airport come into view.
“Finally!” He exclaimed, to which Regulus looked up at him with a face that almost resembled disgust. He couldn’t wait to get out of the car and walk. He also couldn’t wait to see Marlene. They had all been so busy getting things wrapped up before the holidays that it’d been a week or two without seeing each other.
Sirius had been and would forever remain James’ best friend, but Marlene was a very close second. Sirius and James had met at boarding school when they were young and had an unbreakable bond ever since. They did practically everything together, the good, the bad; it didn’t matter because they knew the other would never judge. Then, along the way, they became friends with Peter and Remus and wreaked havoc all over the old school. Sirius’ little brother was also an alumnus, but James didn’t pay much mind to him at first as he was two years below them. Then he started coming to holidays with them. It had been their thing — the four boys, all alone, unsupervised in France. But no, Sirius’ brother began going, too. James knew this used to be a tradition between the two boys, but it still irked him that they needed to be more cautious for Regulus.
After a few years of it being five of them, Regulus also started inviting friends. Some boy called Barty and some girls named Dorcas and Pandora. James didn’t have many opinions on them; they didn’t speak too much and preferred keeping to themselves, but he thought they looked cool. Then, when Barty got comfortable with the group, he started inviting someone named Evan, who looked scarily like Pandora — which freaked James out a little until he discovered they were siblings. Despite not knowing them, they seemed to behave all right around each other. Pandora, at least, welcomed small talk and made for a nice conversation if you needed some hope.
There was only one person in the entire makeshift group that James disliked: Regulus. Now, James didn't have a definite reason for hating Regulus, but did anyone ever have a clear-cut reason for everything? Regulus never liked James, so James just… Well, he didn’t like him either. Why would he? Regulus was nothing but rude. James wasn’t the kind of person to be mean, so he tried to fight Regulus’ remarks with sweetness, which, for the most part, worked. Regulus would get angry that James wasn’t reacting, and he’d trip over himself trying to get whatever insulting words he thought James would spew out in anger — but it never worked.
He was practically vibrating in excitement as Remus parked the car. He checked his phone before getting out. The time was now 7:43, and there wasn’t too much time left until the flight. Well, James thought as he got out of the car, not waiting for the others to follow, let the games begin.
Regulus
Regulus had gotten little to no sleep last night, from checking that he had packed everything to cleaning his room. When he had finally gotten to bed, Sirius and Remus’ loud music, which could probably be heard from the streets below, kept him awake.
Sirius had been excited about this for months, but Sirius always looked forward to these things more than Regulus did. He stopped going when he turned 13, the year Sirius had left home to go live with the Potters. It used to be just him and Sirius who went to France for the summer to visit their cousin Andromeda. It was their thing, their way to get away from the vile horror that was their “home” and have fun. When Sirius turned sixteen, he started inviting all of his friends instead of Regulus. Regulus was fine with that — definitely fine. It was just some holiday, right?
He thought it’d be the last disappointment. He expected more of his brother, with all that he’d done to protect him. He wouldn’t do that, younger Regulus thought, why would he? But only three months later, he was proved mistaken. Sirius left.
For two years, Regulus wondered what he did. Did he complain too much? Sulk? Throw his punishment at Sirius, who had committed the worst crime of being born first? He could remember the icy window ledge he sat on, looking out when he wasn’t allowed anything else. When the punishment got worse, the silence was less, and so was the food.
It was Sirius’ choice to leave him with their abusive parents, whatever reason he may have had. It was a choice. He could’ve stayed, but he didn’t. That wasn’t Regulus, that was him. With much hard work and luck, Sirius turned eighteen and managed to get Regulus out of the wretched house and into he and his friends’ flat. It wasn’t completely redeeming, but it was a start. At first, the five boys were too many for the space. Then, Peter decided to live closer to school alone, and James said he had enough money to leave and give them the extra space.
He got on fine with Remus as they both liked quiet (which was surprising to Regulus, as Remus seemed to quite like Sirius and Sirius was far from quiet) and books. Peter was a good listener, and they both liked to cook, so they mostly saw each other in the kitchen. James, on the other hand, he never seemed to click with.
From the moment they met, when Regulus was 16, he was beautiful and cocky, and Regulus loathed him for this was the boy who took Sirius away from him, took his brother away from him.
Though now, Regulus realises that James was the one that saved Sirius. Sirius had to get out of there; he didn't have a choice. Still, that feeling of loathing and jealousy never left him despite the knowledge that James never did anything wrong. Perhaps he was so far in that his pride refused to let him stop and admit he was wrong.
As I clambered into Sirius’ small, bashed-up car, I was very aware of the small space I had. It only just fit all our suitcases and us. I was — obviously — the first one in, as the boys were probably helping the perfectly chaotic James Potter. Saying the word perfect and Potter made sense in his head, but also made him feel sick to his stomach. He needed things to make sense.
The door opened, and the three other boys came out the door. Sirius, with his hair makeshiftly tied at the back and some light, messy eyeliner sprawled onto his eyes that he probably stole from one of the girls, most likely Mary. The Bowie shirt he had on was big, something he’d definitely taken from Remus — whether with or without permission, was a longstanding question.
Remus had a travel mug filled to the brim with tea and had the cosiest jumper Regulus had ever seen in his life. He could see the bit of chocolate sticking out of his pocket, alongside his cigarettes. And Potter, oh, surprisingly, had no dark circles under his eyes.
Not that Regulus ever looked at his eyes! He had a red shirt on and a casual pair of blue jeans, looking ever so annoying. As they came towards the car, he noticed Sirius going into the driver's seat. Oh no, Regulus thought. Sirius isn't necessarily a bad driver; he’s just more of a… reckless one. Then Remus got in, luckily, just before Sirius was about to sit down. Regulus could feel like heart rate as it quickened and returned to its regular pace.
“I'm driving Sirius," Remus says, giving Sirius a stern look.
“But it’s my car!" Sirius moans. Despite being older, Regulus thought Sirius sounded a lot like the younger one.
“But, you're a terrible driver, so move," Remus states with a matter-of-fact tone, which Sirius has to listen to.
Regulus breathes a sigh of relief, and a small smirk starts to form, which is then shattered into bits — that only leaves one person. Potter. He gets in beside Regulus and flashes one of those big smiles that he's done since the day he met Regulus. He could honestly throw up at the sight of it. Secretly, he always wished that he and James could at least become friends, just friends. Not in a crazy, overly bonded way he and Sirius were friends; just normal friends, civil and somewhat respectful. Happy birthdays, no lectures from Sirius about acting like babies. But Regulus also knew that their hatred was probably vital, even if James showed it in a quiet, nice way. A completely fake way. If you hate someone, at least have the guts not to pretend like you don’t. That’s just cowardice. Not like Regulus would care. He’d be relieved to hear James say it.
James tried to be nice, and a lot of the time, succeeded. But that didn’t change Regulus’ opinion that he was an insolent, obnoxious, and completely arrogant waste of a human. A disgrace to the human race and the opposite of beneficial for the future. He had everything in life — nice parents, only child, everything figured out for him and unconditional love from everyone he met. This, Regulus knew, was why they couldn’t be friends.
Regulus wasn’t a hateful person. One, it was so much energy to truly hate somebody, and two, it took quite a bit to aggravate him. Emotions weren’t tolerated in the Ancient and “Noble” house of Black. The only truth to that name was that the house was ancient, and so were their ways. James somehow, in only a few minutes, managed to acquire something Regulus rarely displayed. Unadulterated loathing.
He’s just so unapologetically happy and himself that it pained Regulus to witness it. Every smile like a blade into his ribs, every joke like a needle to the eye.
What did James’ life contain that made him so joyous? How could he live so carefree, head full of fantasies and unrealistic outcomes? The world wasn’t a place that nurtured hope; it bred terror. Fear. Pain.
Surely, everyone should know that. Everyone does know that. Except for James. The only exception to everything — Regulus’ unbothering resolve, how the world fucks people over. Never James.
For being this early in the morning, Regulus felt James was just too happy, so anytime James said anything, he made sure to show the distaste on his face. Even if he wasn't 100% sure what James had said, he knew it was most likely (definitely) useless and annoying.
As Remus parks the car, he breathes another sigh of relief. Thank god it was him driving. Potter practically screamed when he saw we were there. As usual, he was the first out of the car and was most likely already beginning to take out the suitcases. Good luck to me, Regulus thought when he envisioned the rest of the holiday. How could it possibly get worse?
Sirius
Sirus had been fake sulking for most of the car ride. The only good thing about sitting up front while Remus was driving was getting to look at his eyes and his brown mop of hair. The bits of green and gold, the way his brow creased when they just missed a green light. How he messed with his hair to keep it out of the way.
He looked behind him, trying not to get caught staring at Remus, to see the disaster that was his best friend and brother near each other. His brother had a sharp scowl, and James, being the complete opposite of Reg, had a smile so fakely sweet that it could rot your teeth. Sirius always thought that eventually they would grow out of this childish squabble, but alas, even he was wrong sometimes.
As the journey continued, the scowl remained on Regulus’ face. They muttered a few words to each other, presumably Reg throwing an insult James' way and James returning it by being his usual sweet self. He felt eyes glaring into the back of his head, as if Remus could look to the deepest depths of his mind — which he probably could if he tried.
The car had come to a halt, but he didn't turn around — he knew he would blush if he looked at him.
As everyone sprawled out of the car, he went around to the back to retrieve his bags or wait while Remus got them for him. It’s not like Sirius ever expected Remus to get his stuff for him, but Remus did it anyway. Sirius just stood there when Remus muttered something about his packing too much stuff. Sirius shot something back teasingly as he reached to grab his stuff, though he was too busy looking at Remus to really care.
Sirius always looked at Remus. They became friends when they were young, still in that ancient, snotty school. It was still fresh in his mind as if it were only last week they were there. The way the sun spilt in through the windows and set a chain reaction of groans throughout the dorm. If he tried, he could probably remember the exact stitch count of the curtains that were no help in actually blocking out the sun.
Moreso, he could remember exactly how they became friends. How they weren’t like the other two boys.
They were close — not close like Sirius and James, no. They were different. Not everybody understood them, and finding each other was a case of pure spectacular luck.
They just clicked, the four of them. Peter, James, Sirius, and Remus. The marauders. They had rightfully earned that name in second year, roaming and practically destroying the school almost every night.
Sirius’ favourite has always been the night they set a teacher’s suitcase on fire for insulting Peter. He had tried to stop the boys, but they were relentless and secretly, Peter wanted revenge. Who would’ve thought a nice boy like him would want to see someone suffer consequences?
It might not have been the most creative, but seeing the professor switch between only two measly pairs of clothes for the next month was the height of classes with him.
⋆⋆⋆
Once they got inside the airport, they met up with Peter, who decided he would make his own way there — some excuse about last-minute assignments, so he stayed late at school. They also met up with Regulus’ friends, Barty, Evan, Pandora and Dorcas, and the girls Lily, Mary and Marlene. She was meant to bring Yaz, her girlfriend, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Sirius approached the girls curiously, crossing the almost filthy airport floor and discussed the flight, including where they would be sitting — more importantly, who they would be sitting with. He looked over at Marlene, whose eyes were rimmed red like she had been crying.
“You ok, Marls?” Sirius asks worriedly, his head tilting as he furrows his brows, before Marlene bursts into tears, shying away towards the girls for a hug.
Mary had given him one of those looks, as if to say, ‘Really?’ So, Sirius had, naturally, thought it best to quickly walk away and stand next to Remus, who was a much more likeable person before they sat down, and he’d begun nagging. As they made their way to the seats, Sirius noticed the outside you could see through the tall, rain-covered windows. He was now especially thankful that they got there early, as he looked at the downpour outside. Watching the raindrops splatter and how you could practically see the strong gusts of wind hitting the structures and lightposts. He audibly sighed with relief, just now realising the atrocity that could have occurred with their late coming. How would he survive with wet, messed-up hair?
As he kept looking around, the sleeplessness and slight hangover caught up to him. He had just closed his eyes for a minute or two when Remus began to protest.
⋆⋆⋆
He started boarding the plane after going through security, checking in and finding the gate. Luckily, they managed without any issues, as Remus is what Sirius likes to call an ‘airport dad’. Of course, Sirius doesn't know exactly what that looks like, but if what James had told the group about Monty at the airport is any indication, he thinks Remus is the same, if not more rushed.
Even when everyone moaned and complained for a break, Remus didn’t let them off. He just kept repeating that the less they moaned about it, the less time they’d spend doing it— and everyone listened!
Of course, Sirius listened; he knew himself, and he knew he’d never say no, but Regulus? Barty? They never took anyone’s shit, making it all the more confusing that they’d listen to Remus.
It somewhat makes sense, he reasoned in his mind; Remus had the energy and manner that could command any room. My room, for sure.
He quickly found himself going red and regretting letting that thought in his mind.
He challengingly navigated his way through the aisles and found his seat next to Remus. As fun as it was to sit with him, sometimes (always) it was distracting.
Swiftly, he put his luggage away and sat down, pulling out headphones. He had just put them in when he noticed Remus was staring blankly until he quickly realised Sirius was staring right back, their eyes locking for a couple of seconds. It felt like the whole world stopped for them, gone completely quiet. As if everyone around them had disappeared, everything that had ever gone wrong in their lives had led to this moment, didn't matter all the abuse they had both endured because they had found each other. Best friends. Friends.
The moment was quickly ruined by the overhead speakers blaring something about seatbelts.
Remus left out a soft chuckle and turned a crimson shade. Oh, Sirius thought. Sirius now wishes that bloody speaker hadn't ruined the moment. If it hadn't, he might have still been looking into the eyes of the brown haired boy, noticing the familiar long, pale jagged scars on his face. What a mess they’d made of his pretty face. Everyone always talks about Sirius' eyes, but Remus's were on a different level. A light green that faded into a lighter hazel when he looked away, the sun hitting them like it was hand-crafted for his eyes only. He wished those eyes would look at him all the time.
He was quickly zapped out of this daydream as `Under Pressure` by Queen came blaring on in his headphones. Coincidentally relatable.
What Sirius hadn't seen was that Remus had turned to continue looking at him like the only person existing in his world, even when Sirius was talking to James about who was sharing with whom. Just friends, though. Right?
Remus
Remus had been driving for almost three and a half hours. It was early, and he and Sirius stayed up all night — it was not easy. Sirius insisted on drinking as a pre-holiday appetiser, of sorts. Now, not only are they tired, they’re hungover. Not anything too severe, of course, but it was felt. Remus didn’t drink much to be ready to drive, and Sirius always bounced back the next morning. Sirius was sitting there now with that look that Remus knew very well. He was moping, albeit it was fake. It was so immature. Who cares if it’s his car? It’s our lives I’m not endangering!
Still, it was too early to be angry or irritated or basically any emotion. He looked over at Sirius, who had just looked away from Remus and behind them to watch his brother and James. He may be annoying, but he was a sight like this. His eyes had a spark when he looked at them, and Remus couldn’t tell if it was loving or warning. James quickly got out of the car, and after a moment, so did we.
We began helping James with the luggage — by we, he really just meant himself and Regulus. Sirius was standing off to the side, waiting for his own bags. It was cold, but they had luckily arrived before it started to rain.
Remus gave him his first bag and continued giving him the rest.
“Jesus, Sirius. How many clothes could you need? There is a washing machine, y’know.” Sirius just scoffed dramatically as he moved to grab his own stuff.
“What if it suddenly gets cold?? You never know!” He tried to justify it, but Remus didn’t believe that someone like Sirius was at all concerned about the weather.
“Mhm, okay then.” The sarcastic remark made Sirius almost glare at Remus, though in an affectionate way.
Now that they were in the airport, they met up with the girls, Peter, and Regulus’ friends. Immediately, everyone sort of.. Grouped up. James spoke to Marlene, the girls spoke to each other — while, sweetly, trying to include Peter — and Regulus joined his friend group. Sirius eventually talked to the girls, but… made Marlene cry, and Remus sort of just stood there, unsure of what to do at this time of day.
After they all greeted each other, they slowly led themselves to some seats to wait. They were early, so they could spare some time before going through all the security bits. Remus considered reading or going for a smoke, but decided to save the book for the plane, and it was too cold to smoke.
He looked over at Sirius, who seemed like a blundering idiot while he dozed off. Remus nudged him to wake up, which earned him a tired groan from Sirius.
“C’mon, better to sleep on the plane.” Remus reasoned with him, knowing he probably wouldn’t listen and then complain when Remus turned out to be correct once again.
He looked outside as a light rain began pouring down, visible on the windows of the airport. It was beginning to get light outside, and Remus checked the time to see if they were meant to go yet.
Deciding it was probably a good enough time to start sorting themselves through security parts, he quickly ushered the others to the first check-in.
⋆⋆⋆
Boarding the plane was easy for the most part. Remus acted like he was in charge, and everyone followed. They got on the plane fairly quickly and didn’t fuss as much as in previous years. Maybe they’d learnt to listen, Remus thought, incredulously.
He found his seat and sat next to the window, peacefully getting ready to read his book. He had just clipped his seatbelt when Sirius came to sit next to him. So much for reading, huh? He looked at Sirius’ dark hair framing his face as he put his bags away.
Sirius had been an enigma since they met. An unbearably boring boarding school was a breeding ground for the riotous, out-of-hand “pranks” they did. He could remember very well the countless times they set something on fire or had to hide to avoid punishment. The countless times they’d been so close together, you could feel each breath. He closed his eyes, trying to forget. They were just friends. That’s all they’d be. But what was really the harm in remembering?
Sirius was always there for Remus when no one else would be, and he returned the favour. Neither of them ever had easy home lives. Remus’ mother was a mess — an ornery shell of what she had been when he was young. After his father left, she was broken and in no shape to take care of herself, let alone Remus. Sirius’ parents weren’t much better. Old-fashioned, rich, and unforgivable. It was cruel to hear his stories, to realise that the horror Remus felt at the words was nowhere near what Sirius must have felt living it.
They’d become each other’s only comforts, relating and never judging. Sirius was still James’ best friend, but James didn’t know what it was like to have parents who weren’t there. It’s not like they ever had anything against James; the two of them just understood families with problems.
Remus snapped out of his thoughts as Sirius finally sat down. He kept staring as Sirius got his headphones out. Maybe he wouldn’t be so annoying now with whatever he was planning to do with the headphones. Music, Remus was guessing.
Sirius had always had good taste. In everything. Music, fashion, media. They had agreed on most things and had fun arguing when they didn’t. Not seriously, of course, just as play. And it rarely happened; Opposing opinions weren’t something they typically dealt with — and even then, they were respectful - albeit a little condescending.
“You okay, Moony? You keep staring.” Sirius raises his eyebrows, genuinely concerned. Of course, he was. He was a great person.
“Yeah, fine. Just, er.. tired. Driving and all.”
“Right. Well, if something comes up…” He looks relieved now, smiling slightly at his friend's words.
“Of course. So… you're listening to music the whole flight?” Remus asks with genuine curiosity. Sirius had usually bothered him on flights, and now that he didn't seem to be bored and whiny, he didn't know what to think.
A bit of hope — excitement, even — gleamed in his eyes as he thought he'd finally be able to read, or sleep, or anything, really.
“Oh, no. I mean, yes. I'm going to, but I don't wanna waste my playlist before the car.” And Remus’ plan to read was swiftly thrown out the small aeroplane window. Nevertheless, he grabbed his book and tried, desperately, to use the time he was fortuitously given.
⋆⋆⋆
It had been maybe 20 minutes. Remus’ eyes were growing tired, rereading the same line multiple times.
He finally decided to complete the chapter before resting when, abruptly — but, really, expectedly — Sirius began speaking again.
“I hate flights. They’re so boring. And scary, too-” Sirius continued as he gesticulated more than any person would ever need to. Remus quietly groaned to himself as he put his book away to listen. As much as he hated being tired, he’d do it for Sirius, and he’d do the same — or tell Remus to fuck off, but who’s paying attention?
“You know, we could just fall right out of the sky? And oxygen masks only last, like, 15 minutes. That’s nowhere near enough! And-” He was still talking with his hands, making a dramatic show out of his words.
Remus was mildly confused — it was always a surprise when Sirius showed his smarts. He was such an… eccentric person that it was hard to remember he was rich and prestigious. Even in school, Remus had to occasionally ask for help from him, which, to most people, seemed like a joke. Sirius was and is, in surprising fact, well-read.
“Anyways, that’s the basic stuff, there’re lots of other things, too- Remus? Are you listening?”
He jumped a little at his name, remembering that he was meant to listen. He felt slightly bad about not paying attention to Sirius, but his talking was incessant.
“Of course. Planes are scary, oxygen masks, mhm,” Remus murmured, half asleep. “How do you even know so much about planes, hm?” He tried to seem more engaged when Sirius’ face fell slightly at Remus’ evident uninterest.
“Well, I read a lot about them. I used to get grounded a lot.” He shrugged, looking out the window at the lightening sky. The stars were just beginning to disappear, and it looked beautiful.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” He raises his eyebrows, the worry evident in his eyes.
“Yeah, yeah. Just needing sleep.” Somehow, Remus managed to reply sleepily with his eyes halfway closed.
“ Oh. Night, then.” Casually, he went back to whatever he was doing before the conversation, resuming his music.
“Night.”