CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE! ༉‧₊˚✧
━━━━ ⋆𖤐₊˚.༄ ♡ ━━━━

AS DIYA OPENED her eyes, she groaned from the cramped setting of the hammock. The blue hammock had pretty much stopped swinging, except for when she attempted to sit up. It moved back and forth once more, making it much harder to escape the grip of the cloth.

Once she finally managed to get herself onto the floor, putting her hands out to steady herself, she stood up, quickly noting that the sofa did not look to be slept on and Sirius was nowhere to be found.

The sky was still a deep oxford blue, indicating that it had to be around 3 in the morning. Sighing and realizing that she would not be able to get her sleep back, Diya walked over to the couch, picking up her burgundy-colored suitcase and opening it, looking for an outfit for the day. Finally, she decided on a blue and white ensemble with azure jewelry to match and made her way to the changing area that Euphemia had set up before she left with Fleamont.

After lastly pulling her tunic over her head, she walked out from behind the changing panel, noticing that the room had become a gorgeous water-like shade of blue, tinged with the hues of twilight.

Her hands flowed up over her shoulders and toward her hair, twisting it mindlessly as if preparing to put it in a bun before deciding against it, letting the twirled hair cascade down her back. Her feet carried her toward the kitchen, her curious nature craving to see all that James had in his pantry. Yawning, she reached a cabinet, pulling it open and peaking her head inside.

"You know, you talk in your sleep."

Diya yelped, nearly jumping out of her skin. "Oh my god, Sirius!"

Sirius sat on a stool at the kitchen island, a mug in his hand. The moonlight illuminated his silhouette beautifully, and if Diya wasn't so shocked at his presence, she might've stopped to grab Lily's camera. He gave her a tight smile, taking a long sip of probably spiked coffee.

Diya furrowed her brows as she took in Sirius's sullen state, confused by the contrast in his behavior.

"It's true." He took another sip. "You talk in your sleep."

Diya scoffed with a smile, pulling a stool out from under the kitchen island and sitting down across from Sirius. "I do not."

He smirked lightly, "Yeah, I think I remember you saying something about how awesome and spectacular I am."

"Okay, now I definitely know you're lying."

Sirius only shook his head, half-smiling before raising the mug to his lips once more.

Diya tapped on the kitchen island rhythmically, gazing at the boy as the moon gazes at the stars.

"What's got you up this early?" Diya asked, sliding her hands toward him in a sign of comfort.

Sirius shrugged, shaking his head. "Haven't been able to sleep much lately."

Diya tilted her head, "It wasn't like that last time I saw you."

"That's because I had a few reasons to be tired that morning." Sirius grinned at the dimmed sight of the blush taking over Diya's features.

Shaking her head of the thoughts swimming through her mind, she began again. "Seriously. What's up with you? Is it Reg again?"

"It's fine, Diya." He sighed, placing his face in his hands. "Just stressed."

Diya drummed her fingers on the countertop once more. "Pour me one of whatever you're having."

Lifting his head, Sirius raised an eyebrow, "Coffee?"

Diya stood up from her stool, scrunching her eyebrows together, "Just coffee? That's it? It's not spiked or anything?"

Sirius shook his head, scooting his stool back and standing up before walking over to the kitchen sink, where he began to prepare a cup of coffee for Diya.

Diya walked back over to her bags, shuffling through them briefly before pulling two things from her bag: Lily's bracelet and a pack of cigarettes. Pocketing the former, she brought the carton to the kitchen island.

She sat down once more, this time staying silent and watching Sirius's every move. His summer with his parents must have affected him since he carried himself with a stiff grace that she hadn't seen since their last Gala.

This year, the Kashyap family is preparing to host the Gala months in advance. This only reminded Diya of her sister's circumstances and that she was to be married soon, without having even met her future husband yet.

Zoya had been roped back into harsh dance lessons since she had to put on a brave face for her wedding and perform with her sister, just like they always did.

They had to pretend that everything was okay like they always did.

Diya had to pretend that her sister getting married to a (much older) stranger was okay.

She didn't know how much more pretending she could really do.

Sirius snapped in front of Diya's face twice before placing the mug of piping hot coffee gently in front of her. "Here."

Diya mimicked him, sliding the carton of smokes over to him. He nodded his head in silent thanks before plucking two out.

He reached forward, placing one between Diya's lips, as she pulled a lighter out from her bra, flicking it open quickly.

Sirius paused, his cigarette halfway to his mouth as he watched Diya light hers. Eyeing her in amusement, he leaned toward her, "What else you got in there?"

Diya raised an eyebrow, backhanding Sirius's arm lightly, resulting in snickers from him.

"Shut up and c'mere."

Sirius complied, leaning forward with the stick in his mouth. Diya ignited the flame, cupping it with her hand as she lit his cigarette.

Her eyes glowed as the embers sparked in the dark, and she ultimately flicked the lighter closed, opting to leave it on the table instead of her previous spot (for the sake of Sirius's mental state).

"Why are you up so early?" Sirius asked, cigarette hanging from his lips.

"Me?" Diya laughed incredulously. "You're the one who's ominously commenting on people's sleeping habits in the middle of the night!"

Sirius made a face as though he was thinking about Diya's comment before responding, "You have a point."

Diya smiled lightly, looking up at Sirius. He had a tired kind of smile on his face as he looked back at her.

"What's troubling that pretty little head of yours?" She asked him.

"You think I'm pretty?" Sirius mockingly batted his eyelashes, trying to evade the question, but dropped the act at the sight of Diya's concerned face. "Fine. Just a few family problems."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Diya asked, extending her hand, palm facing upward for him to hold.

"It's nothing too bad, Di." Sirius shrugged, "I got kicked out, that's all."

Diya stood up quickly, the stool making a harsh screeching noise as she began, "What?"

"Keep it down! People are sleeping!" Sirius whisper-yelled, holding a finger to his lips before pointing upward.

Diya sat down quietly, mimicking Sirius's finger. "What?"

"Walburga blasted me off of the family tree. Orion threw a curse at me. Regulus hid in his room. The usual."

"That's the usual?" Diya put out her barely used cigarette, grabbing Sirius's hand in hers frantically, almost worried that he would turn to dust in front of her if she didn't.

Sirius rubbed his thumb over her knuckles, trying to calm her down. "Well, they usually don't kick me out, but you know how it is."

"Do I, though?" Diya tilted her head, quietly getting out of her seat. Sirius dropped her hand as she began to walk around the island toward him. As she got close to him, she kneeled down to reach his sitting height. "When was the last time you actually got a good night's rest?"

"I'd rather not answer that." Sirius suddenly found the ceiling quite attractive, unable to make eye contact with the girl in front of him as he took a drag.

"Sirius."

Sirius sighed, making eye contact once more. "Maybe the night that I spent with you in the manor."

"Sirius, that was nearly two weeks ago!" Diya stood up straight, tugging him up with her. "You need to rest."

She gathered his hand in hers and attempted to drag him back over to the couch.

"I can sleep later, Diya." Sirius tugged Diya back, pulling her into his chest.

"But —"

"Diya, I'm fine," Sirius said, not sure if he was convincing her or himself. His mind wandered back to the silent nights spent awake with James as they tried to figure out where they would go from here. Sirius would've been homeless if not for the Potters, but he knew he couldn't take advantage of their hospitality for too long. Soon enough, he could potentially be on the streets once and for all, having been kicked out once more.

"Are you sure?"

"I can sleep later, really." Sirius nodded. "Plus, I did just have that coffee, and I doubt I could go back to sleep even if I wanted to."

Diya nodded warily, still concerned, but heading back over to her stool across from Sirius.

"So, what now?"

"Right now, Monty and Mia are fine with me staying here with them. I have my own room," which I barely use, "and I have James to talk to about everything," which I rarely do. "I'm fine."

Diya squinted, trying to scan the boy in front of her, smoking a cigarette while looking up at the ceiling, avoiding eye contact. Sighing, she said, "If you're fine, then so am I."

"Then we're fine." Sirius smiled.

The two continued to talk through the hour, the oxford blue transitioning to crisp indigo and eventually hues of cerulean. The coffee decreased in Diya's mug, and Sirius's smoke died out as the two murmured through the night, entranced in each other's whispers. The morbid thoughts floating through their minds faded away with the smoke that left the kitchen.

"Here." Sirius held the cigarette out for Diya. "Last puff."

Diya mockingly gasped before quipping, "Wow! Such a gentleman."

Sirius bowed in return as Diya put out the smoke.

"Props to you and Lily for figuring out how to get us all together." Sirius tapped away at the kitchen island, his feet propped up on another stool now. "I know that Wormtail's a lot of work to get places."

"Surprisingly, it wasn't really that much work at all." Diya shrugged, playing with the now empty coffee cup. "I guess I wasn't the only person who missed my friends."

"I missed them too," Sirius admitted, his hands wandering toward Diya's. "Although, I couldn't do this with them around."

Sirius stood up from his stool before neatly — but quickly — tucking it underneath the counter. Maintaining eye contact with her, he strode over to Diya's side of the island. He moved the stool next to Diya and sat down, placing a hand under her chin.

"Couldn't do what?" Diya interjected.

Sirius scoffed with a smile, his head falling in defeat. "If you let me finish, maybe I could show you!"

Diya brushed his short hair out of his face before finally leaning in, placing a kiss on Sirius's lips. Sirius immediately reciprocated, placing his hand under Diya's chin once again as the two stood up from their stools.

Suddenly, a series of loud footsteps tumbled down the stairs.

Sirius pulled back from the kiss, groaning in frustration before plopping back down onto his stool once again. "Why does this always happen every time we go at it?"

"Go at it?" Diya whispered incredulously, "We aren't dogs!"

"I beg to differ," Sirius grumbled under his breath.

Diya snickered, silencing him as she peaked her head around the corner to see who had interrupted them.

Lily suddenly came barrelling through the kitchen, barely sparing a second glance at her two guilty-looking friends as she rushed toward the porch door. Swiftly, she pulled it open and closed behind her before taking off once more. She stomped off of the porch and continued her path to the top of the Potter's Quidditch Field.

Sirius and Diya shared a look, the former shrugging. Diya walked away from the kitchen island and toward the glass (drawing a groan from Sirius, who was fed up at this point), watching as Lily crashes to the ground harshly. She lays there unmoving, staring at the changing sky.

Diya turns back to Sirius, pouting.

Placing his hands on his hips, he begins, "I'm assuming you want to go after her?"

Diya nodded once before immediately following Lily, running out of Sirius's arms and toward the hill.

"Hey! We were still in the middle of something!" Sirius exclaimed as Diya ran outside.

Knowing that Diya would stop at nothing for Lily, he simply sighed, rubbing at his temple. His arms limply fell to his sides as he realized his protests were falling on deaf ears.

Begrudgingly, Sirius stood up from his stool for the final time, huffing as he walked toward the back porch, shaking his head all the way. The sound of his steps atop the stone was muted beneath his angry mumbling.

"This damn woman," Sirius muttered, shaking his head as he trudged up the hill. "Got me walking up this massive hill this early in the morning."

At the top of the hill lay Lily, spread in a starfish position, looking as though she had just gone through a lot.

"Lil!" Diya raised her voice once she believed she was a safe distance away from the sleeping members of the house. "What's wrong?"

The redhead raised her head up from the ground, squinting at Diya, before dropping her head once more, staying silent.

"You don't want to talk about it?" Diya asked, stopping next to her friend.

Lily shook her head no in response.

"That's alright." Diya nodded once in confirmation. "Do you want me to stay here?"

Lily nodded. Yes.

And with that single motion, Diya similarly collapsed onto the grass as her best friend had moments prior.

Lily turned to look at Diya, and Diya turned to look at Diya, the two staying silent before turning back to the changing sky once more. Sometimes silence was deafeningly loud (no matter how stupid that idea seemed), and this instant was one of those times.

Moments later, a panting Sirius finally reached the top of the hill. He stared at the two best friends unamusedly.

"Did I really journey up that entire hill just for this?" Sirius motioned toward the two girls. "This weird ritualistic type thing?"

The girls stayed silent, and Lily closed her eyes. Diya looked between both of them before trying to silently converse with Sirius.

She began to nod between Lily and Sirius before lifting up her arms and making weird walking motions before crashing both of her arms back down.

Sirius leaned toward Diya, whispering, "Was I supposed to understand any of that?"

Diya threw a blank look his way, gaining a satisfied smile from Sirius.

"Alright!" Sirius cheerfully patted his thighs. "Well, you two enjoy each other's company! You sure are a hoot to be around. I hope you weren't expecting me to stick around because I think I'm just gonna head back now."

Just as Sirius began to turn back around toward the residence, a hand wrapped around his wrist, tugging him down toward the ground with an "oomph!"

Lily, Diya, and Sirius all lay next to each other now, the latter groaning in discomfort from his odd positioning.

"This is cozy." Sirius quipped, before yelping, having been punched in the shoulder by Diya.

Lily's lips curved into a half-smile as she hears the playful fighting between her friends, the nightmares swimming through her mind fading for the moment.

As she inhaled deeply, her expression quickly turned sour. Lily opened her eyes, sitting up. "Have you two been smoking?"

Diya and Sirius silenced themselves, sharing a sheepish glance before deciding on:

"It's a long story."

Lily tilted her head. "A long story? It's barely a quarter past 4!"

"Right, well, I'll take my leave." Sirius propped himself up on his elbows, fully prepared to run away.

"Stay." The girls called in unison, Diya's fingers wrapping around his wrist once more.

Sirius fell to the ground again, continuing to mumble under his breath.

"Damn women."

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a/n

including this chapter, i've written over 62,000 words for in my life which is insane considering that i am nowhere near the actual main plot of the whole story...
maybe i need to pick up the pace LMFAO