#I’m working on two scenes from the last session that made this dingus look so cool

[rubeau-art]

A lot happened to Val during the last session. He’s fine.

I’m so normal about him I swear. He’s totally not going to be filling an unnecessary role in Atlas Rising later down the line that may or may not escalate into it’s own thing.

[easily-distracted-ivashkov]

The One That Got Away - Chapter 1: Rekindling an Old Flame

Nearly seventeen years had passed since Sirius had been sent to Azkaban. One year since his name was cleared entirely and best of all, the war was finally over. James, Lily, Remus, Tonks and even Marlene were all alive. The Pureblood was absolutely thrilled finding out Marlene had lived. She too had went into hiding, even went to the extent of changing her name to avoid any danger. The old couple however weren’t reunited until recently. Sirius swore his heart skipped a beat when he heard that his old flame was still alive and well. Sirius wanted nothing more than to reunite with the witch. There wasn’t another person alive that he had cherished and treasured so deeply. Only thing that separated the two was when Sirius was framed and sent off to Azkaban. He never heard from the beautiful blonde since the painful day that they were torn apart from one another.

Truthfully, Sirius hadn’t been the same since Azkaban and being stuck at Grimmauld for so long. He was calmer, much less obnoxious and rambunctious in comparison to what the Pureblood used to be. But there was more. A part of him seemed… lost, confused and even misplaced. Twelve years in prison and then spending another three locked up in his nightmarish childhood home had left Sirius feeling like he didn’t belong. The world had changed so drastically from before Azkaban, and even then he was still clueless about the Muggle world. He was scared and intimidated by nearly everything around him. It filled him with such anxiety to just leave the house without James or Remus with him. It wouldn’t take him long to get lost with the way things had changed in the time he was locked up. What started out as a curious person that wanted to learn everything about the world he never able to delve into, was now frightening to him. There was so much to learn and Sirius just felt so behind in every sense of the word.

Not only had Sirius gone through Azkaban and then was thrown right into Grimmauld, as soon as Sirius’ name was cleared, his drinking habits had only worsened. It was Lily that spoke Sirius into seeking proper treatment for his alcoholism. The pureblood had spent another year in and out of rehabs in hopes to get clean once and for all. And as of now, he had been almost a full year sober. He was still going in to therapy sessions just in hopes to help with his fight with depression and was quickly prescribed anti-depressants. He was a work in progress but he was eager to get back to a better version to what he was before.

It was a normal summers evening on a beautiful Saturday. Sirius, James and Remus. The trio of best friends had a set schedule of that being the three of them getting together at least once a week (but Sirius often saw James and Remus at least three times a week) and had lunch or tea together. Remus nor James usually brought their partners just for Sirius. They knew how being overly affectionate made Sirius uneasy and added onto that, the last relationship Sirius had was with Marlene. It wouldn’t be fair to Sirius making him the fifth wheel. James had easily caught on the second Marlene’s name was mentioned casually in a passing conversation while him, Sirius and Remus were off getting a bite to eat and catch up on their weekly activities. Remus was as busy as ever raising Teddy and ensuring that Nymphadora didn’t manage to trip and somehow manage to end up in the hospital. James was of course planning a big date for Lily for their upcoming anniversary. Somehow Marlene’s name was dropped in by Remus and James instantaneously noticed that way Sirius shot up and face lit up, knowing that Marlene was alive and well. Sirius thought he could have fainted from the overwhelming sense of happiness he felt. It didn’t stop there, though. James had made sure that Sirius was going to go out and see Marlene again. In all honesty, no one had really heard much from or about Marlene. She tended to stay under the radar even after the war had ended. James needed to try though, for Sirius’ sake.

A couple of days had passed of Sirius just going through his regular routine when James had come barging right into Sirius’ small flat unannounced. Sirius had plenty of gold to spend but he preferred something smaller. He didn’t need a huge mansion just for himself. He was much more at home in this cozy area. It was close to his best friend’s houses, so close that it was within walking distance. A place to sleep, eat and relax while being around those who mattered most to the wizard was all that mattered to him.

“Oi, wotcher, Pads?” The taller male greeted his best mate. Following the scent of tea that led straight to the kitchen. “Tea again?” James teased, hopping up on the kitchen counter right next to Sirius.

Sirius peered over at James as he entered the kitchen, “tea is calming. You should try some every once in a while,” he commented back, pouring himself a cup and then handing James one, knowing he wouldn’t turn it down.

This only earned a cheeky grin from the taller Pureblood, “you know, there are times where I’m like ‘that is the most Sirius thing I’ve ever heard’, and then you go on and make comments like that and I can’t help but think to myself, ‘when the bloody frick did my best mate turn into Remus?’ and this is one of those moments of the latter option,” James teased lightheartedly at Sirius.

Sirius couldn’t keep from rolling his eyes then as a smile tugged lightly at the corners of his lips, “hey, Remus can be fun when he isn’t nose deep into a book or you know… Telling us to be ‘responsible adults’. Whatever a ‘responsible adult’ is.”

“Ahh, and there’s the Sirius!” James exclaimed, gently patting Sirius on the shoulder before taking a sip from his tea. “Oh, so hey. I saw this really cute girl this –“

“I’m not interested.” Sirius irrupted before James could even finish his statement. It wasn’t the first time his friends had tried to set Sirius up with people because he ‘seemed lonely’. Sirius wasn’t interested. He knew none of them would be able to capture Sirius’ attention. Though he appreciated the gesture, he wasn’t in the least bit interested in dating. He was nearly fourty years old, dating wasn’t his scene back in his teenage years, and certainly wasn’t now.

“Well you didn’t let me finish, you Dingus. I know you aren’t interested but what if I told you that it was Marlene? Lils managed to get ahold of her and she definitely seemed up for meeting up with you from what Lily told me. So. Still not interested Mr. I Don’t Do Relationships?” James smirked as he folded his arms over his chest triumphantly.

Once again, as Marlene’s name was mentioned, Sirius’ full attention was piqued and James caught that immediately and Sirius knew it. “Marlene said she’d – she’d meet up with me-?” Sirius questioned in disbelief.

“Mhm. I mean if you aren’t interested I can just tell her that you’d rather not –“

“No! Don’t you dare!!” Sirius exclaimed loudly. A bit louder than intended. Clearing his throat in attempts to brush off his little outburst, he looked straight at his childhood friend, “I’d love to see her again.”

A victorious grin spread over James mouth then, “brilliant! You guys will be meeting up at the coffee shop you like!”

A pause from Sirius as he stared at James as he jumped down from the counter, “I feel like you were waiting for me to say that –“

“Well duh. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t ‘ship’ you two?”

“Ship? Are we pirates now?” Sirius cackled, downing the rest of his tea.

“Oh no, that’s what all the kids are saying nowadays. If they like a couple together then they ‘ship it’. And I very much ship this so excuse me while I go sail my ship. Peace.” James explained before shooting up his hands to extend up his thumbs and pointer fingers to make what seemed to be like finger guns to Sirius before making his exit.

“… What an odd man.” Sirius commented to himself after James took his leave.

Okay so I know that was a bit of a mess as it’s my first solo I’ve done in awhile, but I hope you all enjoyed it and feel free to leave me some love and some feedback would be greatly appreciated! Xoxoxodd