all my stars | ʷᵒˡᶠˢᵗᵃʳ

[He messed up]

"I'm tired and pissed and it's your fault so please leave," Remus said with his back turned to the window of the balcony he was moping about on.

"It's me," James said.

Remus turned his head, "oh."

"You sound so disappointed," James said with mock offense.

"Rather you than 'im," Remus mumbled.

"Moony," James said in his mother voice. "Don't talk about him like that."

"Like what?"

"In that- whiny, victimised, moody tone!"

"Victimised? Victimised?!"

"No, I mean- Remus you know that's not what I meant," James sighed.

"Am I the one who sent a rival to the shack when their best friend was morphing into a perilous beast? I bloody fucking think not!"

"Language, Remus!" James scolded. "And no. You weren't. And I still haven't gotten over it - it's not exactly easy to excuse something like that."

Remus snorted. "Excuse my arse."

"Oi!" James punched his arm. He leaned on the railing next to Remus. "He's still your best friend. Fuck, I can't lie, I don't know what you are. But still. You have to talk to him at some point."

"And I will. It's not like you have," Remus pouted.

"Not yet, but you're being awful about it, Moony. You won't even spare a look his way, albeit spiteful or not. At least I'm not being a child."

"Me being a child? Do I not have fucking rights?"

"Yes, Remus, you have rights. But you can't ignore him forever. And you know you don't hate him, really, you're just angry-"

"Who said I hate him?"

"...No one, I mean- Well ... you're acting like you do," James scratched his neck.

"...I am?"

"Uh, a bit, yeah. I saw him crying yesterday."

Remus covered his face with his hands and let out a painfully frustrated cry. Sirius never cried. Not for real, at least. "So ... do you think he's served his time then?"

"Twelve weeks of it," James said, almost pitiful.

"Has Pete said anything to him yet? Making friends, or..."

"I don't think so."

Remus sighed again. "Come talk to him with me?"

James' ears pricked up. "Yeah. Any idea where he is?"

"Nope," Remus said. "Cloak?"

Jane looked at his watch. "I think we're good."

Remus nodded and they started to climb back into the dorms and descend to the common room, James' hand on his shoulder. "I don't want him to think that this is okay, though, and that I'd just let this go like some bitch-"

Sirius was just entering through the portrait midway through Remus' sentence. He looked up at them as if struck by lightening. "Oh I- um, sorry, I'll go-"

"No, Sirius, we were going to come talk to you-" James started but Sirius was still backing out of the portrait. This hurt James because he knew he heard him.

"Go!" Remus said and jogged slightly to catch up with Sirius.

"Pads!"

Sirius faltered and stumbled a little and his eyes watered at the sound of his best friend (almost former, he thought) using his nickname again. Talking to him again.