#but... you know...

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Part XI | Part XII | Part XIII | Part XIV | Part XV | Part XVI | Part XVII | Part XVIII | Part XIX | Part XX | Part XXI | Part XXII | Part XXIII | Part XXIV | Part XXV | Part XXVI | Part XXVII | Part XXVIII

Ring ring.

Remus felt his heart beating obscenely fast in his chest, ringing in his ears, and a painful lump formed in his throat. He hated this.

Ring ring.

He wasn't used to being the one to reach out to Sirius, it was always the other way around. Remus closed his eyes as he thought about how warm his flat suddenly felt and how sweaty his palms were 

Ring ring.

"Hello?"

It was Sirius who answered, but his voice was icy and hostile.

"Uh… Hi. Sirius. It's… it's Remus."

A pause.

"Mr. Lupin, are you calling me in regards to your upcoming show at the gallery this week?" The way Sirius said Remus' name made him sick to his stomach. 

"Uh, no, actually, I just wanted to—"

"Mr. Lupin, please use this number for business purposes only. I am a professional, and I expect you to behave as such."

"Oh. Um… okay…"

"Excellent. I expect you to be at the gallery by noon on Thursday to set up your work in preparation for the show. Remember, you are required to bring five pieces to display."

"Oh… O— okay…"

"Goodbye, Mr. Lupin."

Sirius hung up before Remus had a chance to respond, and the artist was left staring at his phone in awe and disbelief. He had no idea what just happened.

——-

"So how'd your talk with Sirius go?"

"It didn't…" Remus flopped onto his bed, his phone set to speaker and resting on the bedside table. He stared up at his ceiling, wishing he hadn't gone to the stupid Halloween party at all.

"I thought you were going to call him?" Lily chastised. Remus could picture her expression perfectly. 

"I did. He… didn't really give me a chance to talk. It was all business. I didn't even realize what had happened until he hung up!"

"Oh. Shit."

Remus had never heard Lily swear before. This wasn't a good sign.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"He's just… when he's mad, he yells. He bangs his fist and hits things and acts like a child…"

"Sounds classy."

"Yeah, well, he didn't have great examples of healthy coping mechanisms growing up…"

Remus internally groaned, forgetting that Sirius didn't come from a great family. He shouldn't have made a snappy remark.

"Right… sorry…"

"He just… when he's really upset, he'll act out. When he acts professional, that’s when you know there's a problem…" Lily paused for a moment. "He did the same thing to our friend Peter last year. They had a big falling out and instead of dealing with it, Sirius just cut him completely from his life. They haven't spoken since."

Shit indeed.

This was not what Remus wanted to hear.

"So… what do I do, Lily?"

"Well, you show up on Thursday. You set up your work and be polite. You come to the opening on Friday and we just try our best to make things work. I'll… try to get James to talk to Sirius. Maybe he can talk some sense into him."

A thought suddenly crossed Remus' mind, and he blurted it out before he even had a chance to reconsider.

"Why are you helping me so much with this?"

Lily was silent for a moment.

"What are you talking about? You're my friend, Remus."

"So is Sirius. In fact, you've known him way longer. Why are you on my side and working so hard to get us to reconcile?"

The moment of silence felt like it lasted forever.

"When you and Sirius were getting along… I hadn't seen Sirius that happy in a long time. You… brought out something in him. I don't want to see that disappear."

Remus' stomach did a somersault. He made Sirius happy? 

"Anyway… this is a stupid, childish problem brought on by poor communication. Maybe there's a chance that two of my friends can learn to talk like proper adults. Who am I to deny them this learning opportunity?"

Remus smiled. That was the Lily he knew and loved. The one cared for her friends deeply and insulted them politely. 

"Here's hoping they can actually learn…" Remus teased.

"Yeah…"

Lily’s voice sounded forlorn and Remus was worried that his problem with Sirius was affecting her more than she let on. 

“Don’t worry, Lily. I’ll be there on Thursday, I’ll do my best… I think we can fix this…” Remus lied, trying to comfort his friend.