ROCKSTAR ⇒ jegulus

THIRTY

Sirius stops by the following afternoon, with two hot chocolates in a cardboard container, and a small bag of mini blueberry muffins too.

"Good afternoon," Sirius greets cheerily.

James smiles. "Hi, to what do I owe the pleasure?" He asks. He is clad in his pyjama bottoms still, a white long sleeve hauled over his bump; stretching over the curve of his growing belly. He takes notice of the hot chocolate in Sirius' hands, smiling a little. "And you've brought me some hot chocolate?"

Sirius smirks, shaking his head. "You are a man that always deserves hot chocolate, James Potter,"

"You're absolutely right. It's getting colder by the day, isn't it?" James hums, idly running a hand down his bump, allowing it to rest on the underside of his belly.

It is getting colder by the day, with December creeping up on him, subtly approaching. The year is almost over, in just a few short months, and then he will have a baby.

His baby bump will cease to exist, however his daughter will exist within its place.

"It is," Sirius agrees as he takes a sip of his own hot chocolate, bringing the cardboard cup to his lips. He swallows, his demeanour hesitant, before speaking again. "I...um, I just wanted to clear the air and apologise about last night. I had no idea Reg was going to react like that, and I should've realised before continuing to prod him, y'know, I know him all my life, you'd think that I'd be equipped to pick up on the warning signs of an explosion by now-"

James shakes his head, waving his friend off, before gesturing to the kitchen table and the chairs; offering Sirius a seat. "It's alright, Pads," He dismisses. "I...I don't mind. You're brothers, of course you're going to have little spats with each other,"

"We...we probably should've told you about Andy's delivery," Sirius bites his lip. He pauses, shaking his head. "I think Regulus just worries, y'know? I think he's applying all of the worry from Dora's birth onto you," Sirius mumbles. "Things hit him harder than they hit me. He's a worrier, he always has been; always stuck inside of that stupid, brainy, head of his,"

James muses. A month or two prior he may have given into this, and critiqued Regulus along side Sirius, may have even been excited, or relieved, to finally discuss how he had felt about Regulus' icy demeanour; although he would have remained careful not to agree too hard; for fear that Sirius would tell Regulus, and then James would have had to endure another awkward encounter with the younger of the two brothers.

However now? Now James almost feels a sort of protectiveness over Regulus. A sense of gratitude, and a sense of obligation to defend him.

Regulus Black is not stupid. He is not stupid for worrying. He is simply caring, and that is something that makes James feel a little funny, but that may also be the little kicks of Stella inside of him.

Yes. It is the kicks of their daughter.

It must be.

It has to be.

"He's not stupid," James comments softly. "He's not stupid for worrying about things, he's...he's just thoughtful," For worrying about me. He's worrying about his little girl that I'm carrying, and by default; he's worrying about me, right? Is he worried about me? "It's...it's kind of sweet," He admits. "He's doing all this reading, and...and I think that it's very sweet, actually," James says, his hand resting against his bump, feeling where the hem of his long sleeved top falls short, and his bump peeks out.

Sirius rolls his eyes, a funny look crossing over his face, before it is gone just as quickly. "Sweet, eh?"

It is James' turn to roll his eyes. "You know what I meant, idiot,"