Chapter 9
The rest of the day they spend lounging around and giggling at stern looks from McGonagall over dinner. Sirius finds it a nice change. Apart from Regulus’ constant knowing looks.
They have half an hour before the hunt begins, and in preparation, Remus and Sirius are doing… nothing.
They sit on their beds and play Cats&Soup, naming their cats together. Sirius tries not to be too jealous of how many more cats Remus has.
McGonagall starts shouting through the hallways soon after, and then they’re all gathering in front of the hotel.
Each pair is handed a strip of red paper, and Remus only reads it once before nodding.
“I know where this is.”
Sirius blinks at him, then back at the clue. “Alright”
As soon as they’re allowed, Remus and Sirius take off, the first pair to do so, and run towards the tram stop.
As it starts to drive away, Sirius spots Regulus and James running up to the station, too late to get the tram. Sirius sticks his tongue out at them.
The Reichstag glows in the morning light, and Sirius finds himself just staring at the building in front of him. Sunlight flickers through the glass dome, and it’s only when Remus starts impatiently tugging at his sleeve that he looks away, only to be captured by the sight of Remus’ eyes, soft with childlike excitement.
It makes Sirius want to just… laugh.
The feeling is strange in his chest, but he lets it stay.
“I’m coming,” he whispers, grinning, and Remus grins back.
Next on the hunt is the Fernsehturm, and Sirius insists on taking a selfie in front of it, posing like the American couple just next to them, the girl’s annoying, high-pitched laughter ringing out as the locals roll their eyes.
The sun sort of ruins the photo, most of Sirius becoming invisible thanks to the light, but it highlights Remus’ face in a way that makes Sirius save the photo to favourites.
Sirius honestly wasn’t going to bother with any of the clues, not when Remus seemed so eager, so he’s proud when he figures out the third one.
The street that leads to the Brandenburger Gate is filled with trees, the leaves dancing in the soft wind.
Somehow, Regulus and James arrive before them, and Sirius and Remus watch as Regulus stares in complete focus at a map of Berlin while James just watches him, a goofy smile splitting his face.
Sirius fully intends to waltz over there and ruffle his brother’s hair as he makes fun of James, but Remus pulls him into a shop just as he moves his foot.
He wants to complain, but then he looks around, his eyes landing on the very thing Remus is pointing at.
A floppy, frankly pathetic little donkey is sitting on a shelf, alone, his head looking down at his little hooves, fur ruffled.
He looks exactly like Pebbles.
“Oh my god,” Sirius breathes out. “No fucking way.”
He rushes over to the donkey before some smelly child can sink their mucky fat fingers into him, and flips him over, checking the price tag.
Well, it’s not exactly what Sirius would think this ratty little donkey is worth, but there’s no way in fuck he’s not getting it.
Remus laughs at him when he asks to get it wrapped in bubble wrap, but the girl at the till seems to take it just as siriusly as Sirius, and she dutifully wraps the donkey up, before placing him in a little bag and handing him over.
Checkpoint Charlie buzzes with people, mostly tourists, when Sirius and Remus walk up the stairs from the U-bahn. This time they don’t only see Regulus and James, but also Lily and Mary and Evan and Barty.
Despite this, Remus and Sirius take their sweet time, going into the mirror maze, which results in Sirius running straight into a mirror and getting a nosebleed. He and Remus sit in the McDonalds, Sirius with paper up his nostrils, slurping what’s left of their McFlurries.
They end up sitting next to Pandora and Emmeline on the train to the Holocaust Memorial, who are both reading from the same book. Remus, it turns out, also likes that book and Sirius is left staring at his reflection above some rando’s head while Remus reads over Pandora’s shoulder, completely ignoring him.
When Sirius asks when they have to get off, Remus just waves as if getting rid of a fly, eyes never leaving the book, and at some point he looks up, letting out a loud swear. ”Sirius! We were supposed to get off ages ago!”
Sirius splutters, before being pulled up and off the train.
“Remus, look! Gay dudes!”
Sirius points to the huge painting of two grandpa’s making out, plastered on a wall at the East Side Gallery.
Remus laughs, shaking his head. “Sirius- Those aren’t-”
“Remus!”
Sirius turns at the sound of the new voice, heart lurching uncomfortably when Remus starts running towards a boy, both of them crashing together in a hug.
Sirius just stands there, watching, as the boy, Grant, apparently, kisses Remus’ cheeks repeatedly.
Something builds in the pit of his stomach, a quiet flame, bubbling angrily.
“Remus?” he asks impatiently, tone sharp and they both finally turn to him again.
“Oh, Sirius, this is Grant, he’s my best friend,” Remus pulls Grant toward him, completely unaware of how Sirius’ heart clenches in his chest.
“Hi,” Grant smiles, holding his hand out. Sirius ignores it.
“Hi,” he makes sure his voice is cold, distinctly remembering how Regulus reacted when he first met Lily, trying to copy his brother’s body language.
Grant flinches ever so slightly and Sirius feels a deep sense of satisfaction.
That is until his gaze meets Remus’, who looks… hurt, of all things. Sirius freezes, staring, and Remus clears his throat and looks away.
He starts talking to Grant, but in German, and Sirius doesn’t understand a word.
“Ich glaub wir müssen weiter, Junge. Sorry. (I think we have to get going, mate. Sorry)”
“Ach, alles gut. Ey, aber… du weisst schon das der total in dich verliebt ist, ne? (Yeah, don’t worry about it. You do know he’s totally in love with you, though, right?)”
“Was? Gar nicht. (What? That’s not true)”
“Digga, hast du grad gesehen, wie der mich angeguckt hat? (Mate, did you see how he just looked at me?)”
“Das bedeutet Dreck. Halt die Klappe und hau endlich ab. (That means shit. Shut up and fuck off already.)”
Grant grins at Remus, waving before he smirks at Sirius and walks off.
“So. That was pretty rude of you.”
Sirius’ head snaps to Remus. “What?”
Remus raises one eyebrow, and Sirius feels himself blush. “Um- sorry. I don’t know why I did that.”
Remus’ eyes search his face. “It’s okay.”
“Yeah?”
Remus’ eyebrows knit together slightly, but he smiles. “Yeah.”
When they arrive at the Museumsinsel, Sirius only has one thing in mind: Regulus and James.
He will be damned if he misses their first ‘I love you’s.
And so he finds himself crouching behind a bench with Remus, spying on the two.
They’re walking together, hand in hand, when James abruptly stops. The motion makes Regulus turn as he’s still holding James’ hand, and he looks at James with confusion.
Before he can misinterpret anything, James pulls him closer, so that they’re standing right in front of each other. Regulus is looking up, while James is grinning down at him. His hand comes up to Regulus’ cheek, stroking it softly with his knuckles.
They can’t hear it when James says it, but Sirius just knows from the way his brother’s eyes soften, his knees buckling ever so slightly, cheeks gradually becoming rosy and lips tugging into a gentle smile.
He whispers something back to James, who’s smile splits his face open, beaming down at Regulus like the fucking sun.
James, ever the romantic, promptly wraps his arms around Regulus’ waist and turns, dipping him as they kiss.
Sirius doesn’t hesitate in pulling his phone out, frantically pressing the camera button and snapping the picture just in time before James pulls Regulus up again.
The picture is perfect, and you can see clear as day how both of them are smiling madly into the kiss.
He sends it to their group chat, and Regulus is the one to pull out his phone.
By the time he turns to the bench, Sirius and Remus are long gone, their laughter still ringing through the air.