Sirius kept walking anxiously around the room, biting his perfectly painted nails and stopping every two rounds in front of the mirror to fix his already perfect hair. He looked gorgeous in his black attire and Converse shoes, his curls falling perfectly on his shoulders, and the black eyeliner made his gray eyes look blue.
His brother was sitting on the sofa, just watching him walk. It was the third time he had stopped himself from screaming at Sirius to stop, but he knew this wasn’t the right time to start bickering with him. “Only for today,” he kept thinking to himself.
In just a few minutes, Peter was going to come and knock at the door, and then they both would have to walk down the aisle. Twenty-one steps—Regulus had already counted them to make sure everything went as planned—and he had to deliver Sirius to his soon-to-be husband.
A wedding seemed quite ridiculous after being together since high school, but Sirius had never stopped being an eternal romantic, and Remus could never say no to him.
When Sirius asked Regulus to walk him down the aisle, he couldn't believe it. Why was he not asking James' parents to do it? They were more suited for this after Sirius ran away from home at 15 years old. But in a sincere manner, Sirius told him that Regulus was the best choice, as he couldn’t do it without his brother by his side.
And now, here he was, watching his brother behave like a teenage girl.
A loud knock on the door made both of them turn to look at each other. Reg nodded his head and stood tall. To this day, Sirius had not forgiven him for growing a few more inches than him, but today seemed like the best day for Reg to be a bit taller than his brother.
Sirius looked back at the mirror, fixed a curl that framed his face, and started walking toward him. Reg stood up and stretched his arms, letting his brother grab him, and they walked right to the door.
Bitter Sweet Symphony started playing throughout the little church they both had chosen in Remus' hometown in Wales. Remus was already standing there, and Sirius, being the ultimate attention seeker, wanted Remus to watch him gracefully walk down the aisle and show off who he was taking home tonight.
Regulus could only focus on the end of the aisle, not even looking at how Sirius happily waved to all his friends. Regulus really wanted this moment to end as fast as possible, having dreamt all week that somehow he would trip on his untied shoes and ruin his brother’s wedding.
As he kept looking at a teary-eyed Remus, who was swaying to the rhythm of the song, he found himself locking eyes with the most beautiful brown eyes he had ever seen. James wasn’t watching his brother put on his spectacle; he was watching his nervous little brother, who kept counting backward the steps to the end.
James softly smiled at Reg, who felt his cheeks turn pink.
It was something new, what was happening between them. After school and Regulus moving to France, he had never seen his brother’s best friend, except at the random Christmas parties Sirius would invite Reg to spend with them. But this wedding changed things, as Regulus was not only asked to walk Sirius down the aisle but to help with everything else—from flower picking to cake tasting. He was there, and unsurprisingly, so was James.
It felt weird to look back at the guy who starred in all his wild teenage dreams, now as a full-grown adult, finally not looking at him just as Sirius’ brother but as a single adult too.
It started with small talk, about jobs and daily life while Sirius tried on his ninth outfit, then moved on to their favorite things and childhood memories, and then softly touching their hands beneath the table or holding entire conversations with just shared looks.
When they finally reached the end of the aisle, before going straight to the guy Sirius was sure was his soulmate, Sirius turned around and gave Regulus a hug. He hugged him back as if they were kids again, saying goodnight to each other across rooms.
After that, everything went right, just as Sirius had planned. The priest gave a beautiful sermon, Remus dipped Sirius for the kiss just as planned, even before the priest allowed it, pictures were taken, and rice was thrown.
The venue they chose was gorgeously lit by hundreds of lights, and after all the slow dances and inspiring speeches, the party just began.
Latin music blared through the speakers, and Sirius screamed while dropping into a sensual dance with Remus. James was obviously in charge of the music now, proudly playing some reggaeton while showing off his Latin roots.
Regulus thought he looked gorgeous, as the shirt that had previously been neatly buttoned was now open, revealing his chest. James was loudly singing along to the music, which Regulus didn’t understand at all.
Everyone was happy, and drinks kept flowing back and forth as people enjoyed themselves. As Sirius had said, it wouldn’t have been his wedding if it wasn’t the best party ever.
Regulus would dance a bit and then sneak out to smoke a cigarette before coming back. The party kept going, and people slowly started getting too drunk to stand again or too tired from dancing, so they kept seated, chatting with friends.
The music had slowed down, and Sirius and Remus were nowhere to be seen, probably having the night of their lives.
“Hey, do you dance?” said a voice that Regulus could recognize even at the end of the world. He slowly turned around to see a tipsy James extending his hand to him.
Reg turned off the cigarette and took his hand. “I don’t do the reggaeton thing,” he said, while still walking to the dance floor.
“Don’t worry, this is slower. Just follow me, okay?” James said, smiling while asking for permission to grab Regulus' waist and pull him closer. A drumbeat started, one Reg had only heard at the Latin discos in Paris, and it was definitely not slow, but James begged to differ.
Dile a la mañana que se acerca mi sueño
Que lo que se espera con paciencia se logra
Nueve horas a París viajé sin saberlo
Y crucé por Rusia con escala en tu boca
Yo canté tu bachata aquí un Fukuoka
James looked at him and started slowly moving to the side, gracefully moving his hips. The hand that was holding Reg’s waist slowly moved to his back, pulling him even closer, while his other hand took Reg's, bringing it close.
Y un atardecer pintó de canvas el cielo
Caminé la playa de Momochi, mi anhelo
Y se me escapó una sonrisa del alma
Aquí me enseñó arigatou gozaimasu
Yo canté tu bachata aquí en Fukuoka
Reg started copying James' steps, moving side to side while looking at his feet, but James, never leaving his hand, moved it toward Reg’s face and lifted it. “Look at my eyes, and just follow me.”
Pa' bailar contigo (pa' bailar)
Se me alegra la nota
Quiero cantar contigo (quiero)
Una bachata en Fukuoka
Una bachata en Fukuoka (pa' soñar contigo)
James moved his hips beautifully, and as Reg followed James’ directions not to look at his feet, his mind slowly understood the steps.
En el mar las gaviotas
Con tu piel de abrigo (quiero)
Vivir bachata en Fukuoka
Two steps to the right and up, two steps to the left and up again. It wasn’t that difficult, Reg kept thinking, recalling his ballet classes as a child.
Y llegó la hora de partir y decir sayonara (con pocas ganas)
Y una palomita se posó en mi ventana
Kon'nichi wa, ohayoo gozaimasu
James started doing a few turns and laughing while looking at Reg. Reg laughed too. This was ridiculous, as James kept whispering lyrics to him that he definitely did not understand.
Pa' bailar contigo (pa' bailar)
Se me alegra la nota
It was as if no one else noticed them, everyone too drunk to realize the two weirdos dancing in the middle of the dance floor.
Quiero cantar contigo (quiero)
Una bachata en Fukuoka
And Reg felt something change. It was as if something clicked in James’ brain, because as if knowing the melody by heart, James quickly grabbed him differently and changed the steps. Reg tried to stop to regain his rhythm, but James didn’t let him, holding him stronger and closer while the music continued in the background.
Sueños, de arena en las olas
Besos, me daba tu boca
Tengo, estrellas y rosas
Niña, cantando en Fukuoka
And just as fast as everything had changed, everything returned to the familiar rhythm: two steps left, two steps right.
Pa' bailar contigo (para bailar)
Se me alegra la nota
Quiero cantar contigo (quiero)
Una bachata en Fukuoka
James kept smiling as if the best thing in his life had just happened, and kept whispering sweet things to Regulus, as if he understood anything at all. But seeing James like that made Regulus' heart beat to the sweet rhythm of the song they now shared forever.
Una bachata en Fukuoka (pa' soñar contigo)
En el mar las gaviotas
Con tu piel de abrigo
Vivir bachata en Fukuoka
After that, they kept dancing to songs James later explained were bachata, salsa, and even some merengue… Reg just kept following him, hypnotized by James’ movements and the soft Spanish songs James kept singing in his ear.
There was no doubt: Sirius was right. This would forever be the best party ever.