Four years had passed since Sirius Black had stormed out of 12 Grimmauld Place, and he still remembered every detail of that night. The shouting, the broken glass, the stifling silence that followed once the door slammed behind him. He didn’t look back. Not at the cold, dark house, not at his parents, and not at his little brother, Regulus.
It haunted him—the look on Regulus’s face when Sirius left. He could still see those wide grey eyes, pleading silently, but Sirius had been too angry to hear the unspoken words. Too desperate for freedom to notice the small, fragile figure standing at the top of the stairs, watching him leave for good.
Regulus had always been the quiet one, the obedient one, the one who stayed behind while Sirius waged war against their parents. But Sirius had thought—no, hoped—that one day, Regulus would understand why he left. That maybe, Regulus would join him. But years had passed, and the distance between them had grown wider and wider.
Now, Sirius was a different man. Lead singer of *The Marauders*, a rock band that had exploded onto the scene. The anger, the fire, the rebellion he’d always carried inside him found its home in the music. On stage, he was free. His voice was his weapon, his songs his rebellion, and the crowd his army. It was everything he had dreamed of.
Except for one thing.
No matter how much he tried to outrun it, the memory of Regulus lingered. It clung to him like a shadow, following him from city to city, stage to stage. The guilt. The regret. The fear that maybe, just maybe, Regulus had never understood why he had to leave.
So, Sirius did the only thing he could. He poured it all into a song. It wasn’t like the others—this one wasn’t angry or defiant. It was raw, a confession he could never say out loud. Every time he sang it, he felt a little more exposed, like he was bleeding for the crowd. He never knew if Regulus would ever hear it. He didn’t even know if Regulus still thought about him. But he sang it anyway, because it was the only way he knew how to speak the words that had been trapped in his heart for so long.
Tonight, they were playing a sold-out show in a city he barely knew. Another stop on the endless tour, another crowd. But tonight felt different, though he couldn’t explain why. As he stood backstage, guitar slung over his shoulder, he felt a knot in his stomach that hadn’t been there before.
"Five minutes, Padfoot," James, his best friend and bandmate, called, grinning. "Ready to knock their socks off?"
Sirius forced a smirk. "Always."
But something felt off, a tension in the air that he couldn’t shake.
---
Regulus hadn’t planned on being at the concert. In fact, he hadn’t planned on being anywhere that night. He was still the quiet one, still the one who stayed behind while the world moved on. He had graduated school, gone on to university, and lived his life in careful, measured steps. But there was always a part of him that felt incomplete, a hollow place inside him where Sirius used to be.
When Sirius had left, Regulus had been furious. Furious that his brother had abandoned him, furious that he’d been left alone in that suffocating house with their parents. But more than anything, he had been hurt. He had spent years idolizing Sirius, following him around like a shadow, desperate for his approval. And then, without warning, Sirius was gone. No letters, no calls. Nothing.
Regulus had tried to fill the void with school, with books, with anything that could distract him from the ache of being left behind. But nothing worked. He hated himself for missing Sirius, hated that he still cared. But he couldn’t help it. Sirius was his brother, and no matter how much time passed, that bond couldn’t be erased.
So when his friends had dragged him to the concert, he had gone along without thinking. He hadn’t paid attention to the name of the band, hadn’t even realized where he was until he saw the posters outside the venue: *The Marauders.*
And there, on the front, was Sirius.
His heart had stopped. He hadn’t seen Sirius’s face in four years, but there he was, wild and alive, just as he had been in Regulus’s memories. His friends had been pulling him into the venue, laughing, but Regulus could barely hear them over the pounding of his own heart. He didn’t want to be here. He couldn’t be here. Not after everything.
But before he could turn and leave, the lights had gone down, and the roar of the crowd had swallowed him whole.
---
The stage lights were blinding as Sirius stepped out, the familiar rush of adrenaline flooding his veins. The crowd screamed, and he smirked, letting the energy wash over him. This was his element, his domain. But tonight, the knot in his stomach hadn’t disappeared.
They played through their usual set, the songs loud and fast, the crowd dancing and shouting the lyrics back at him. But Sirius was distracted, his mind wandering to the song he knew he had to play next. The one that wasn’t like the others. The one that meant something more.
Finally, after what felt like hours, the music slowed. Sirius stepped up to the mic, his fingers tightening on the neck of his guitar. He scanned the crowd, as he always did before this song, though he knew it was pointless. Regulus wasn’t here. He was never here.
But still, he couldn’t help but hope.
"This next song," Sirius began, his voice lower, "is for someone I haven’t seen in a long time. My brother. If you're out there, Reg... this one’s for you."
The crowd hushed, the energy shifting as the first soft chords rang out. Sirius closed his eyes, letting the words come.
*"In the night, you were my light,
I left you behind, and I still can't make it right..."*
The song poured out of him, every word a confession, a plea for forgiveness. He sang about their childhood, about how Regulus had been his shadow, how Sirius had always thought he’d come with him when he left. He sang about the guilt that gnawed at him, the fear that he had broken something that could never be fixed.
*"You were my brother, my only light,
Even when I ran, you stayed in my sight..."*
In the middle of the crowd, Regulus stood frozen. The lyrics crashed over him like waves, each one hitting deeper than the last. His breath caught in his throat as the realization sank in—Sirius had written this song for him. Sirius hadn’t forgotten him. All this time, Sirius had been thinking about him, missing him.
Tears pricked at the corners of Regulus’s eyes, but he blinked them back, his chest tight with emotion. He had spent years feeling abandoned, hating Sirius for leaving, but now... now, all that anger felt like it was slipping away. It wasn’t gone—not entirely—but something was shifting inside him. Something that felt like hope.
The song ended with a final, haunting chord, and the crowd erupted into applause. But Regulus didn’t hear it. He was already moving, pushing through the throngs of people, his heart pounding in his chest. He didn’t know what he was going to say, didn’t know if Sirius would even want to see him. But he had to try.
---
Sirius walked off stage, the familiar buzz of post-show adrenaline coursing through him. But it was tempered by something heavier tonight. Playing that song always left him feeling raw, like he was peeling back layers he didn’t want to expose. He grabbed a towel and ran it over his face, trying to shake off the lingering emotions.
“Sirius.”
He froze. The voice was soft, barely more than a whisper, but it was one he would recognize anywhere.
He turned slowly, his breath catching in his throat.
There, standing just a few feet away, was Regulus.
For a moment, neither of them moved. Regulus looked older than Sirius remembered, but his face still held that same quiet intensity. His hair was longer, and he was taller, but those eyes—those grey eyes that Sirius had missed so much—were exactly the same.
“Reg?” Sirius’s voice cracked, barely able to believe it.
Regulus swallowed hard, his own emotions swirling. “I heard your song.”
Sirius let out a shaky breath, his heart pounding in his chest. “I—I didn’t know if you’d ever hear it.”
“I didn’t know if you wanted me to,” Regulus said quietly, his voice thick with emotion. “I didn’t know if you even thought about me.”
“Are you kidding?” Sirius took a step closer, his eyes searching his brother’s face. “Reg, I think about you every day. I—I never wanted to leave you behind. I had to get out of there, but I never wanted to leave *you*.”
Regulus clenched his fists, his chest tight. “Then why didn’t you come back? Why didn’t you reach out?”
Sirius looked down, guilt flooding him. “I was scared. Scared that you wouldn’t want to hear from me. That you hated me for leaving.”
“I did hate you,” Regulus whispered, his voice breaking. “I hated you for leaving me there, for making me stay in that house alone with them.”
Sirius’s breath hitched, and for a moment, the weight of the years between them seemed insurmountable. He had known—deep down—that Regulus would feel betrayed. That by leaving, Sirius had forced his little brother to bear the brunt of their parents’ wrath. But hearing it now, seeing the pain on Regulus’s face, made it feel a thousand times worse.
“I know,” Sirius murmured, his voice barely audible. “I know I left you behind, and I’ll never forgive myself for that. But Reg… I was suffocating. I couldn’t stay.”
“I didn’t expect you to stay,” Regulus said, his voice sharp, but not angry—more hurt, like the wound had festered for too long. “I just… I thought you’d take me with you. I thought you’d come back for me.”
Sirius’s heart broke at the confession. Regulus had been waiting for him. All these years, Sirius had assumed Regulus had moved on, but no—he had been waiting. Waiting for a brother who never returned.
“I should have come back,” Sirius whispered, stepping closer, his voice thick with guilt and regret. “I was scared. I thought you’d hate me, or worse—what if you were happier without me? What if you didn’t need me anymore?”
Regulus shook his head, biting back the tears threatening to spill. “I never stopped needing you, Sirius.”
The words hit Sirius like a punch to the gut. He had spent so long running from the idea that he could ever mean something to someone, so long convinced that Regulus had learned to live without him. But standing here, with his brother just feet away, it became painfully clear that they had both been hurting—alone, in different worlds.
“I’m sorry,” Sirius choked out, his voice trembling. “God, Reg, I’m so sorry. For leaving you, for not coming back, for everything.”
There was a long silence between them, the air thick with the weight of the past. Sirius wanted to reach out, to pull Regulus into his arms and make up for the lost time, but he was afraid. Afraid that it wasn’t enough, that the years apart had done too much damage.
Regulus looked down, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths. “It was hell after you left,” he admitted quietly, his voice soft but raw. “They blamed me for you running away, said I wasn’t good enough to keep you there.”
Sirius’s jaw clenched. Of course, their parents would have twisted it like that—twisting the knife, making Regulus believe that he had somehow failed. “That’s not true,” Sirius said fiercely, his eyes burning with emotion. “You know that’s not true, Reg. You were the only thing that ever mattered to me in that house. You know that, right?”
Regulus didn’t respond right away. He just stood there, processing the words, the years of pent-up frustration and sadness clouding his mind. Part of him wanted to lash out, to scream at Sirius for not being there, for making him face everything alone. But another part—the part that had missed his brother every single day—just wanted to let go. To forgive. To be brothers again.
“You left,” Regulus said quietly, but there was no anger in his voice this time. “But I think I understand why now.”
Sirius’s heart skipped a beat. It wasn’t forgiveness, not yet, but it was something. It was an opening, a chance to bridge the gap between them. “I never stopped thinking about you,” Sirius said, his voice hoarse. “You were always in my head, Reg. Every city, every stage—I looked for you. I wanted to find you, but I was too afraid. I didn’t want to hurt you again.”
Regulus finally looked up, meeting Sirius’s gaze with those same grey eyes that had haunted him for years. “I was waiting,” he whispered. “I kept waiting for you to come back. I didn’t want to hate you, but I didn’t know how to stop.”
Sirius swallowed hard, blinking back the tears threatening to spill over. “I’m here now,” he said softly, almost pleading. “I’m here, Reg. And I’m not going anywhere this time. Not ever again.”
The silence stretched between them again, but this time, it felt different—less tense, more hopeful. Regulus’s fists unclenched, his shoulders relaxing ever so slightly. Sirius took a step closer, testing the waters, and when Regulus didn’t pull away, he closed the gap between them, wrapping his arms around his brother in a tight, desperate hug.
For a second, Regulus stood stiffly in his arms, unsure of what to do. But then, slowly, he melted into the embrace, his own arms wrapping around Sirius as though he were afraid to let go.
“I missed you,” Regulus mumbled into Sirius’s shoulder, his voice thick with unshed tears. “I missed you so much.”
Sirius squeezed his eyes shut, holding Regulus as tightly as he could without breaking him. “I missed you too, baby brother,” he whispered, his voice shaking. “I missed you every day.”
They stood there for what felt like an eternity, clinging to each other like they were afraid the moment might slip away. The years of separation, of pain and resentment, seemed to dissolve in that one embrace. For the first time in years, Sirius felt like he could breathe again. Regulus was here. They were together. Maybe the scars wouldn’t heal overnight, but this—this was a start.
Eventually, Regulus pulled back, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand, trying to compose himself. “I heard the song,” he said, his voice still a little unsteady. “It was… it was about me, wasn’t it?”
Sirius nodded, his throat tight. “Yeah,” he admitted. “It’s always been about you.”
Regulus gave him a small, almost shy smile. “It was good,” he said quietly. “I—thank you. For that.”
Sirius chuckled, a bit of the old cocky grin returning to his face. “You’re welcome. It was long overdue.”
They stood there, awkward but not uncomfortable, two brothers who had been broken apart but were slowly, carefully, finding their way back to each other.
“So…” Regulus cleared his throat, shifting slightly on his feet. “What happens now?”
Sirius smiled, a real, genuine smile. “Now? Now, we figure it out together. No more running, no more hiding.”
Regulus nodded, and for the first time in a long time, he felt something that had been missing for years—a sense of peace. “Together,” he echoed softly.
Sirius reached out, ruffling Regulus’s hair the way he used to when they were kids. “You’re stuck with me now, little brother.”
Regulus swatted his hand away, but there was a smile on his face. “I think I can live with that.”
As they stood there, side by side, the noise of the world around them fading into the background, it was clear that while the past couldn’t be erased, the future—together—was something they could both believe in again.
---
**The End.**