Moonage Daydream [Stand-alone vers]

Better Late Than Never

Sirius had sat, hiding in his bed as quietly as he could for a long while after that initial argument. Eventually he began to hear snippets of Peter and James' whispered conversations, but they weren't talking shit like he'd sort of expected them to. All the conversation seemed weirdly casual.

Eventually Remus did wake up— Sirius had been waiting for him to do so, whole body so tense that when he heard movement from the next bed over, his head snapped immediately to the side. He heard the other two stop whispering rather abruptly.
Seemed like the whole room was waiting with bated breath for Remus to say something— Instead he yawned and the hangings around his bed rustled.
Then Sirius heard him stop moving. There was a long and tense pause before he heard James clear his throat.
"Ah— Hi, Re—" Sirius messed with the fabric of his covers uncomfortably.
"When did you guys get back—"
"Late this morning— Didn't wanna wake you so we just thought we'd wait."
A pause. James seemed to be waiting for Remus to say something.
When he didn't, the boy sniffed. "I uh— I had something for you. Pads too— Is he awake?" Sirius's eyes widened, reaching for his curtains and awkwardly pulling them to the side.
"Yeah— I'm up—"
Remus turned sharply at the sound of his voice, meeting his eyes. They shared a bewildered sort of glance before Sirius let his eyes fall back on James.
He was bouncing his knee and messing with the drawstring of his hoodie, but when Sirius looked at him, he smiled.
"Hey—" Sirius waved a hesitant hand as James pulled out two small boxes. Sirius took his, frowning. "You already sent me something—" James waved a hand.
"Right— Well Pete and I teamed up to get you all something else around new years—" Peter seemed sort of surprised to hear that which struck Sirius as odd— James gave him a very severe side eye as Sirius nodded, fingers clumsily fiddling with the wrapping paper and opening his box.
Inside was a silver dangly earring. At the end of the chain was a charm, a small painted star outlined in blue. It was just the one earring. James knew he never wore ones that matched—
Sirius looked up to see Remus staring into his own box. It held a pendant with what looked like a crescent moon etched along one side.

Suddenly Sirius felt a little guilty. He hadn't even considered getting James anything—

Then again, at the time, James had been deeply undeserving of any gifts.

James' knee bounced, fingers messing with his dark hair as he watched the two of them.
Eventually Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but the boy beat him to it, stumbling slightly over his words.
"I— Err— Well I saw them and it felt too perfect not to get them, right? I just thought— Well even down to the color palettes I—" His gaze dropped, fingers working at the back of his neck uncomfortably. There was a lump in Sirius's throat. Remus closed his box.
"It's gorgeous— Thank you—" He murmured, a weak smile on his lips. James' head snapped up, glasses nearly slipping off his nose.
"Think so—?" Remus nodded.
"Yeah—" He pursed his lips. "Makes me feel sorta shit that I didn't get you guys anything—" James waved a dismissive hand, hurriedly shaking his head.
"No— No, I— That's warranted—" He said with an apologetic smile. "I'm just glad to be back at the castle— I— I missed you guys—"

Sirius wasn't sure how he meant that— Whether he'd missed them over the break or if he meant in general. All the time he'd spent away seemed to have added up to a long while.
Sirius shakily raised the earring to his ear, pushing his hair back and trying to find the hole. It took a couple tries before the metal hook settled in, but when it did, James gave a wonky sort of grin.
"Looks good with your hair! I was hoping it would." Sirius smiled despite himself, tilting his head and feeling the earring move with him.
"Thanks, mate."
There was a briefly awkward pause, but it was somehow a much nicer one than the few that had come before. Remus shifted, glancing behind him.
"Well— Um— Sirius and I got to listening to Queen's new album— Have either of you had a chance?"
James' eyes seemed to light up, elbowing Peter and shaking his head. Sirius noticed even Peter, who'd been quite subdued through the conversation, seemed excited by the mention of Queen.
"No, I didn't even know they had anything new! Can we give it a listen?" Remus nodded, getting up to grab his cassette player and the tape. They all huddled around it, Sirius pulling a blanket over his shoulders and James drawing his knees up to his chest like a child.
The music started and James's fingers were almost immediately drumming along with the beat, grin plastered all over his face. Sirius sang along, catching Remus's eyes and urging him to join in, but the boy just let his head fall down, smiling fondly as Sirius leaned into his shoulder.

Despite everything, Sirius felt a brightness seeping out of him again. It was such a simple
thing— Listening to good music with good friends— But it felt like so much more. It felt mending.
Even after the album was over, James protested, demanding they play it again. This time he sang along, voice cracking on the high notes and getting the lyrics all sorts of wrong as Peter snorted. Sirius jumped up as Bohemian Rhapsody began, letting himself sing with his whole body. They danced wildly around the room, tripping over stray shoes and loose floorboards until the last song ended.
Sirius panted, leaned up against the wall and smiling harder than he had in days. He met James' eyes and they laughed. The sound was sweet in a way Sirius had really missed—

But then he watched James' face drop. The boy bit his lip, staring from Remus to Sirius and back again before sucking in a breath.
"Fuck— Um— I'm sorry—"
The room seemed quieter than it should without the music as a background. Sirius could hear Peter shifting atop the floorboards. Heard Remus's uncertain breathing beside him.
           "Like really— I'm sorry for being stupid— Kiss whoever you like as long as we can still hang out and everything—" He swallowed hard, foot tapping against the red of the rug. "I miss you, Re—" Sirius watched Remus sway slightly where he stood, seemingly unsure what to do. There was a very quiet moment where they all seemed frozen, Sirius glancing rather awkwardly between the other boy's faces. Then James stepped forward, hugging Remus with enough force to make him stumble. The taller boy's arms tightened around him on reflex and he shook.
"Fuck you—" He choked out— But he said it with a laugh, tears welling in his eyes. James laughed himself, the sound raw.
"I'd prefer you didn't—" Remus let go, wiping at his eyes, grin wider than Sirius had seen it in a while.
"You're such a pain—"
"I know—"