A Walk in the Cosmos

The Spacewalk

Remus floated in what he felt to be a cross-legged position as he observed his slumbering best friend and commander, Severus Snape. It was oddly tranquilizing seeing his black locks surround him like a nebula, his face peaceful as he slept the morning away.

Severus had worked hard to earn his high rank, so much so that his social life had been brutally murdered because of his dedication to space exploration. His professors had been very supportive of Severus's endeavors, and that had served well when it came time for astronaut applications — he had been the top candidate in the pool of six thousand that had applied.

It was then that Remus saw a tuft of blond hair from the corner of his eye. Slowly, Peter Pettigrew's body materialized as the younger man floated his way to Severus's side. He had been in the same applicant pool as Remus along with two other men — James Potter and Sirius Black — who seemed to be even closer than Severus and Remus were.

"We should be ready to repair the robotic arm in three hours, Commander," said Pettigrew, hesitantly placing a hand on Severus's shoulder. Suddenly, the black nebula surrounding Severus's head became scrambled as his eyes blinked open.

"Can't you see I'm sleeping?" the commander spat sleepily. He was clearly annoyed.

"Yes..." Pettigrew fiddled with the hem of his shirt as he continued, "but I just thought I'd let you know —"

"All right, all right. Duly noted, Pettigrew. Get everyone else ready, would you?"

"Y-yes, Commander," he stuttered. Severus was not one to cross when he was angry.

As soon as Pettigrew left, Severus unbuckled his restraints and pushed himself through the air, intending to use the washroom before he went on a six-hour spacewalk that would happen later in the day. Remus could tell he was excited, for this would be the very first time after four years of training that Severus would actually make a repair with the vast Cosmos in view. Remus would make his own spacewalk in a week's time, but today, he'd be communicating with Severus while he controlled the robotic arm from the inside. Potter, Black, and Pettigrew had other research tasks to do, so they wouldn't be involved.

Smiling at the prospect of the big day ahead, Remus went ahead and started setting out the dry food packs for breakfast, greatly anticipating what was yet to come.

...

Severus held back a yawn, feeling even more annoyed by the fact Pettigrew ruined his beauty sleep.

"Good luck, Severus," said Remus earnestly, placing a hand on the commander's shoulder. The spacesuit Severus was wearing felt horribly bulky, and it had taken exactly forty-seven minutes to put it on. Pettigrew and Black had gotten started on their tasks while Potter and Remus had been kind enough to help Severus get into the suit. Frankly, he was surprised he wasn't sweating buckets with how heavy it was, for after that, Severus had waited another three hours to let all the nitrogen flow out of his body.

Severus had met Remus during astronaut training; they had bonded due to the similar nature of their childhoods. The two of them had been outcasts as children — Severus came from an abusive home, and Remus had the burden of a rare condition called lupus. Systemic lupus erythematosus was an autoimmune disease where the body's immune system would attack healthy tissue in many parts of the body by mistake. Thankfully, Remus was in remission, so his condition wouldn't affect him when doing his tasks.

It had been nothing short of a miracle when Remus had been selected for the British space program. Severus had insisted on celebrating the acceptance with his best mate by taking him to his favorite Irish pub.

Eventually, Severus and Remus had become roommates after a year and a half of friendship. They had both reasoned that it was easier to share expenses, but they knew within themselves that it had been about more than that. They were practically brothers by that point. There was nothing that they didn't share with one another, whether it was about assignments, life problems, relationship issues, and the rest of the hoopla. They found in each other the family they never had — the family that had been stolen from them by Severus's wife-beating father and Remus's withering body.

"Thank you," the black-haired man replied after a while.

"Really. I'm proud of you. More than you can imagine."

Severus smiled slightly as he took in the sincerity of Remus's words. He was lucky to have the uniquely gold-flecked, hazel-eyed man in his life.

Straightening his shoulders, he opened the door and went inside the airlock, letting it close behind him. Then, he took a deep breath before opening the second door.

Tears welled in Severus's eyes, his tiredness forgotten as a familiar green-and-blue planet appeared in the horizon.

"Severus? You all right?" came Remus's radioed voice in his ear.

"Yes. The Earth...my God. It's a beautiful sight."

"It is, isn't it?" another voice replied. It was Minerva McGonagall, their mission director. "The heavens will never fail to remind me of just how small we are in this vast universe."

Severus proceeded to tether himself to the ship and go outside to work on the robotic arm. He felt more tears run down his cheeks as he got a glimpse of the Moon that was not so far away. The inky blackness that surrounded the ISS didn't scare him at all. Even though there was a risk that the tether would break, he felt at ease.

The commander wouldn't remember much of the communication that took place when he would reflect on his spacewalk later, but there was one thing he did remember that would remain with him forever.

As soon as he had stepped into the Cosmos to repair that robotic arm, he knew, in his heart, that he had finally found his way home.