Re: James | Remus
"He'll get there," James replied, sounding more certain than he felt. "He might need time. A lot of it, maybe, but he'll get there. It's just a lot for him to wrap his head around - you know how he hates things changing. But he cares too much about you to stay away forever. That's not how this works."
James beamed at Remus through the dim light. "Yeah, they both know. They were made up. Sirius bloody near knocked me over, the daft git." He laughed fondly, his chin still pillowed in the nest of his arms. It was true, what he said earlier. He was worried about bringing a child into this situation, one where they had no control and murderous birds showed up at pool parties. But it was still another child. His child. His child with Lily, and he couldn't see that as anything but a good thing.
The smile faded a little as Remus continued. James watched his profile as he spoke. There was something different about his friend when he spoke about Black. Even pale and drawn with the poison wracking his body, there was a lightness about him when he mentioned the other wizard. As much as James hated the fact that it was Regulus Black that was doing it, he couldn't deny that it was nice to see. If anyone deserved it, it was Remus.
Perhaps he should try harder - Remus and the others had accepted Lily when he'd brought her into the fold, after all. At least, so he'd thought - Peter may think different. But then again, there hadn't been bad blood there. The blood between Regulus and James was so toxic is was basically aconite. "I'm sure you're right," he finally said, doing his best to keep his tone even. "I'd really like one of my kids to have a godfather who's halfway sane."
With a sigh, James forced himself to sit up properly. Sagging back into the torture of the infirmary chair, he kept his hand on Remus' covers, firmly encased in his friend's grip. "A little bit of domestic bliss wouldn't hurt, though. Maybe on the weekends." He wriggled his nose a little, trying and failing to jostle his glasses back into a fairly normal position. In the end he gave up, turning back to pondering what Remus had said. He was right. Obviously, Remus was right - he had made a habit of it over the years James had known him. He smiled a little, returning the gesture with a gentle squeeze of his fingers. "And how are you so bloody good at this stuff even when you're all dosed up with bird gunk?"
He vaguely wondered when he'd manage to have a conversation that didn't have Peter in it. Even when he wasn't the topic of conversation, he was somehow still lurking there. James wondered if that meant something. "I didn't have much of a choice," he pointed out. "It just... happened, at the pool. When I think about it - the people I loved most did need protecting, and he more or less..." He trailed off, catching himself. This wasn't the time, not with Remus looking so unwell and the strange, hushed atmosphere of the hospital wing.
"Maybe if I hit him?" James said instead, only half joking. "I reckon that would make me feel better." He hesitated. "Tell you what, when you're back on your feet, we'll do something the four of us. Not a full moon, something else. And we can go from there."