Chapter Text
“It’ll be fine,” Remus hums from where he’s watching his boyfriend stress about his appearance in the mirror, “You’ve been texting him and talking to him for a while now.”
“Yeah, but I’m thinking of telling him about us.” Sirius sighs, finally turning from the mirror, “But you know how my family is, what if he doesn’t take it well?”
Remus sighs and pushes himself up from the chair, walking to wrap his arms around the shorter’s waist, “He broke from your family, love. That has to mean that he doesn’t follow their ideology, so it’s possible he’ll be more open to it.” And because he can hear Sirius’ argument coming, he hums, “What if you don’t tell him this time, but just make comments to see how he reacts.”
Sirius thinks for a minute or two before he slowly nods, “That might work.”
“I know it will.” Remus laughs, “Now, you should leave before you get there too late. I doubt his demand for punctuality has changed much.” Sirius smiles, presses a kiss to his boyfriend’s lips, then slips out of the taller’s arms and says a quick goodbye before he leaves the flat.
He shows up at the cafe they’re meeting at only a minute or two after their agreed meeting time. Regulus is sitting in a booth in the corner of the room, facing the door. His face gives nothing away as Sirius slides into the seat across from him, “Sorry I’m late.” He settles down and takes a good look at his younger brother--the first time he’s seen his face in years, “You look good. Healthy.”
“No thanks to you.” Regulus grumbles.
Sirius cringes, “Can we not do that here? This is supposed to be a nice brotherly catch up.”
“How nice can a ‘brotherly catch up’ be when said brothers have been estranged for seven years?”
“That’s why we're catching up!” Sirius grins, dramatically gesturing between the two of them, “We have a lot to catch up on.” As he finishes talking, a familiar girl walks up to their table, and SIrius grins upon seeing her, “Evans, my love, how are you on this fine evening?”
Lily rolls her eyes, “It’s noon, Sirius. And I'm fine. What can I get you?”
Sirius scoffs, “Do you not care how I’m doing?” On the opposite side of the booth, Regulus rolls his eyes. He knows the Evans girl, of course he does. She was the intelligent girl James Potter was obsessed with in school. He assumed that James would run off with her after they graduated but… judging by the lack of a ring on her finger and the fact that Sirius called her ‘Evans’, they’re at least not married yet.
But it’s likely they’re still dating, proven when Lily rolls her eyes, “I know how you’re doing from James. I swear, you two can’t stop talking about each other.”
“Trust me,” Sirius winks, “Remus tells us that enough.”
“I pray for him everyday,” Lily rolls her eyes, “I’m getting you your regular since you won’t answer me.”
“Thank you lovely lady,” Lily rolls her eyes once again and walks off. Sirius turns to his younger brother, “You remember Lily, right?”
Regulus nods, “I do. Did Potter finally trick her into dating him?”
“Sorta.” Sirius hums, “They dated for a couple months but decided they were better off as friends. Lily realized she was a les-” he clears his throat, remembering his previous hesitation, “She realized she was in love with someone else.”
The younger Black hums, “Glad she came to her senses.”
“James isn’t that bad. Besides, he’s happy where he is right now.”
“And, pray tell, where is he at?”
Sirius gives Regulus an indecipherable look, “You really have changed, asking about James’ life.” He laughs at the glare his brother gives him, “He’s living in a small flat close to his family’s house and a couple blocks from where Remus and I live. He’s working as the apprentice to a book binder just outside town. He’s just got a cat and does weekly tea and gossip sessions with Lily and sometimes Remus.”
“No girlfriend?”
Sirius shakes his head, “Not that he’s told me about, why are you so invested in his life?”
“He was just so perfect in school, I wanted to see how much he floundered after graduation.”
“Well sorry to disappoint.” Sirius hums, “Also, I’m doing fine in life. I’m living with Remus and I just got a job as a dog trainer.”
“Cool,” Regulus hums, sounding disinterested, “What does Remus do now? Also, what happened to your one other friend?”
“Fine, just ask about all of my old friends but not me.” Sirius pouts.
“I know enough about your recent life from your texts, Sirius, you’re spectacular at just droning on and on and…”
“Okay, I get it.” Sirius cuts him off, thanking Lily as she brings his drink by, “Remus works at the bookstore a couple blocks from our flat. And Pete… we don’t talk to him much anymore.”
“Mind if I ask?”
“I don’t like talking about it,” Sirius shakes his head, “Don’t mention it around the guys… or Lily.” For a moment, he looks forlorn and almost deflated before he shakes his head, perking up once again, “Tell me about your life. And how your friends are doing. The Rosiers, Dorcas, and… Crouch, right?”
~~~~~
Two weeks and several conversations later, Regulus is stepping into Sirius and Remus’ flat. Remus is in the kitchen making tea for them and Regulus perches on their armchair in the corner of the living room while Sirius plays out on the couch.
“So, you lived here with James?” Regulus asks after complimenting the room. He would’ve asked about Peter again but he saw the sadness in his brother’s eyes the other day so he holds back.
Sirius hums and sits up as Remus hands him his drink, coffee based on the smell, “Yeah, we all moved in together. He moved out to live with Lily and give Rem and I more space.” He leans into Remus a bit.
“Did Lily move out when they broke up?”
“Not right away. She moved when their lease was up.” Remus hums, drinking his tea after, “Sirius said you’re living with Crouch Jr. and the Rosier boy?”
Regulus hums, “I moved in with Evan and Pandora and their parents when I left home but Evan went to live with Barty, then Pandora moved out to live with some friends. I felt awkward just living with the Rosiers so I’m taking the spare in Barty and Evan’s flat for now.”
“Planning on getting a place for yourself?”
“Yeah, I”m still working on my degree but I’ve got a part time. It’ll take a while but, probably like Potter, I don’t want to intrude on their… space.”
“You could always move in with James if you need.” Sirius supplies, “You’ve been so curious about him, you could ask him these things yourself.”
“I’d rather not.” Regulus almost sneers.
~~~~~
“Sorry I had to cancel last time.” Sirius apologizes, “I forgot about my date.” He lifts his drink to his lips.
“Right, how was your date? What did you and Remus do?” Regulus asks, the pinnacle of poise and acting like he didn’t just drop a bomb on his brother.
Sirius nearly chokes on his drink, “What?” Regulus furrows his brows in confusion so Sirius pushes, “How did you know about me and Remus?”
“It was obvious, it has been since school.” The younger nearly scoffs, “I don’t know why you were trying to hide it from me.”
“I was scared you were…”
“Homophobic?” Regulus gives his brother a critical look, “Sirius, I know that we were raised by them, but Barty and Evan are dating and have been off and on since third year. Dorcas and Marlene are dating. I am gay.”
“Shit, are you really?” Sirius leans in, almost conspiratorially, “Is that why you left them?”
“Partially, but it’s not the only reason.” The younger confesses, “I figured that you knew of my sexuality, and of the fact that I have been quite enamoured with Potter for several years.” He takes a minute to take a drink of his tea, watching his brother’s expression, a face of both confusion and shock. When he pulls the cup away, he hums and tilts his head, “Oh, did you not know that? I figured that’s why you kept making comments about me wanting to learn about him.”
“Not, but that makes sense,” Sirius hums, “Why did you never say anything?”
“I figured you knew,” Regulus shrugs, “It’s not like it matters much. I’m not going to do anything about it. I never have and I don’t plan to break that streak.”
“Well why not?”
“Because I have no chance with him, Sirius. Last I checked, he is straight in love with Lily.”
Sirius rolls his eyes, “He got over her after they broke up. And he’s not straight.” There’s a laugh to his voice that makes Regulus furrow his brows.
“What are you hiding?” Regulus sneers, leaning forward a bit, “Sirius, I swear to God if you are-”
“I know something,” Sirius confesses, “But it’s not my right to tell you. You should talk to James soon. I can give you his number.”
“Do you…” Regulus starts and Sirius is shocked because he has never seen this kind of hesitance in his brother, “Is there actually a chance or are you fucking with me?” Another shock to Sirius. Regulus doesn’t swear. They were taught as kids that swearing was for lesser men or people in power. Sirius didn’t figure that the younger saw himself as either enough to swear.
“I’m not. I won’t go into detail but if you remember that week where James was in the medical wing for a week seemingly without a reason? I put him there because of what I know now. I’m sure you can guess what it is, you’re very intelligent.” Sirius watches his brother for a moment before he hums, “So, would you like his number?”
Regulus hums and, after a minute or two, nods, “If you wouldn’t mind.”
“Of course, I’ll text you after this.” Sirius says softly, reaching out to rest his hand over one of Regulus’. THen he laughs a bit, “Y’know, I was so scared to tell you about Remus and I and now I’m helping you with boy troubles. I finally got to be your older brother.”
Regulus rolls his eyes and, to the complete shock of Sirius, lets out the most undignified snort, “Please, my affections for Potter is much more pathetic than some ‘boy troubles.’”
“Y’know, it might help your case if you start calling him James. Might make him think you hate him less.”
“He doesn’t actually think I hate him, does he?”
“It was worse in school. He worries about it less now.” the older shrugs, not bringing him much comfort. Sirius seems to notice this, “You realize just how much you made it seem like you’d rather he was dead, right? Even I, up until recently, thought you hated him.”
“I used to, but that conversation shouldn’t be held in a public place like this.” He glances around to the cafe, taking note of Lily walking around. He jerks his chin in her direction, “When you were telling me why she and James broke up, were you going to say she realized she was a lesbian?”
“How did you know?”
“She always glared at me in school. I figured, at first, it was because she hated me, either for being your ‘horrible younger brother’ or for being a Slytherin. It took a while before I realized she was jealous of me because I spent so much time with Pandora.”
Sirius mouths an ‘oh,’ “So you knew before she did.”
“I suppose so.”
“It did look a lot like you were dating.”
“That was the intention.” Regulus shrugs, “It kept mother and father off my back because she was a pureblood child, Ravenclaw aside, and it kept men away from her. Only our close friends know that we weren’t actually in a romantic relationship.”
Sirius huffs, “I’ve had too many revelations for the day. I need to go home and rant to Moony.”
Regulus rolls his eyes, “I should probably get going as well. Barty was pissy when I left and if I don’t get back soon, he and Evan will start having sex. I love them but…”
“They’re horny animals.” Sirius fills in, pure disgust on his face. Regulus nods and stands up, beginning to walk over to the cashier to pay, making Sirius scramble after him.
Lily is the one he talks to and she smiles at him, typing up all that he ordered, “How’s Pandora? Are you two still together?”
Regulus hums and he swipes his card, “We’ve never dated. But she’s fine.” He reaches over and grabs a napkin and pen, writing down the girl’s number, “But you should ask her yourself.” He finishes paying, takes his receipt and his half-empty tea, then walks out calling a goodbye to his brother.
Sirius sends him James’ number an hour later and he texts James almost immediately.
Regulus
This is Regulus. Sirius gave me your number.
He also gave me confidence, I’ve been in love with you for years.
James
Come to my flat
[James has sent his location]