the black dog

Present – 7th July 1983
Remus’ POV

“So, you can’t see Canis Major at this time of year?” Remus asked from where he was lying on the roof of James and Sirius’ apartment stargazing with Sirius. The man was lying down beside him, their shoulders pressed together as Sirius pointed out different stars and constellations that were visible at this time of night.

If Remus was honest, he was barely paying attention to the stars in the sky, instead, his eyes kept drifting to the side of Sirius’ face, watching the concentration and joy there as the man mapped out the sky above them.

“No,” Sirius replied. “February is the month where it’s clearest.”

“Then what can be seen now?” Remus asked, watching with a smile on his face as he twisted his neck so he could see Sirius more clearly.

Sirius pointed up at the sky but Remus kept his eyes fixed on the side of the man’s face. “The brightest stars are the summer triangle. Altair from the Eagle, Vega from the Lyre, and Deneb from the Cygnus.” Remus didn’t miss how Sirius’ face scrunched up as he named the last constellation.

“Hmm.”

Sirius pointed to another spot in the sky. “And if you look over there you can just make out Draco wrapped around Ursa Minor.”

“Really?” Remus asked, amused at Sirius’ extensive knowledge of the sky. It was given since the man was born to a family where everyone was named after a celestial object in space.

“Really,” Sirius said before turning his head slightly towards Remus. “You aren’t even looking, are you?”

“I am,” Remus replied innocently, looking away from Sirius and back towards the sky. “I am,” he insisted as he felt Sirius glare at him. “Point out another one.”

Sirius pointed out towards his right. “There’s the Leo constellation.”

“The lion?”

“Yes.”

Remus squinted at the stars gathered in the direction he believed Sirius was pointing. “It looks nothing like a lion.”

Sirius chuckled. “That’s because you aren’t looking at Leo, you are looking in the direction of Aquila.” Sirius reached out to cup Remus’ face with his left hand, shifting where he was looking more towards the right. “There,” Sirius said, pointing with his right hand while keeping the other on Remus’ face. “There’s the sickle that makes the front of the lion.”

“I think I can see it,” he told Sirius, tracing the stars that vaguely could be strung together to somewhat create the image of a lion.

“The brightest star in Leo, right there,” he pointed and Remus tried to follow his hand. “Is Regulus.”

“Regulus?”

“The heart of the lion,” Sirius explained in amusement. “Did you know James has the Leo constellation tattooed on him?”

“Really?” Remus asked. “Actually, don’t answer that. I’m not surprised.”

“He got it when he was—I want to say twenty? Nineteen, maybe. I think I was twenty when he got it,” Sirius laughed. “Watching him get a tattoo is one of my favourite memories of him. His face gets all scrunched up as he tries to stop himself from complaining about the pain.”

“Did you need to hold his hand?” Remus chuckled.

Sirius echoed Remus’ laugh. “I’m sure he would’ve if I was able to. I couldn’t exactly hold his hand when my arm was getting tattooed.”

“And you didn’t react to the pain, did you?”

“That shouldn’t even be a question, Moony.”

Remus laughed at the expression on Sirius’ face. “So, what did you get done while James was being tortured next to you?”

He frowned as Sirius sat up beside him, following his movement. Sirius began shrugging out of his leather jacket, leaving him in a black short-sleeve t-shirt with a faded Queen logo across the front.

Remus still hadn’t got to study Sirius’ tattoos up close, it had only been the Moonage Daydream tattoo he knew was on the man’s body. It was hard to focus on Sirius’ inked skin when his face was right there.

“I got two that day. It wasn’t the first time I got a tattoo but it wasn’t the last.” Sirius twisted his arm to reveal the familiar ‘Moonage Daydream’ above his elbow. “This was my first. I got it the day after we finished at Hogwarts. Found a tattoo parlour in Wales with a nice Muggle man who gave me a good discount on it.”

Remus knew that Sirius had likely paid more than what was necessary for that tattoo.

“I’ve actually noticed that one before.”

“I got the footprints from the Marauder’s Map a few months after that,” Sirius told him, lifting up the side of his shirt to show him. “And the stag antlers after that.”

“And these?” Remus asked, hovering his fingers above the tattoo of several wolf paw prints on the inside of Sirius’ arm.

“Got that one a few months before I got tattooed with James.”

Remus’ eyes lingered on that tattoo before he looked up into Sirius’ face, who had been watching him study the tattoos. “Which ones did you get tattooed with James?”

“I got this flower tattoo.” Sirius twisted his arm once again so Remus could see it.

“I never pictured you to have a flower tattoo. Has it got a special meaning?”

Sirius paused and Remus wondered whether this was something that the man didn’t want him to know. But, before he could tell the man he didn’t have to explain, Sirius was already talking. “Obviously, my tattoo isn’t coloured in. But, it is specifically known as a tropical white morning glory. A lesser name it is also known by is a moonflower.”

Remus felt butterflies grow in his stomach. It seemed that James and Regulus weren’t incorrect about Sirius’ tattoos. “I’ve never heard of it before,” he told Sirius honestly.

Sirius made a sound that was a mix between a scoff and a laugh. “It wasn’t exactly something we studied in Herbology.”

Remus looked up at Sirius, taking in the blush across his face. “It suits you.”

Sirius’ mouth curved into a smirk. “It does, does it?”

“Definitely,” Remus replied with a nod. “What was the other tattoo you got that day?”

“This one here.” Remus watched Sirius point to his shoulder.

“A constellation. Canis Major?” He asked.

Sirius shook his head. “Lupus.”

Remus frowned, the name vaguely sparking something in the back of his brain. “Lupus? Have you mentioned this to me before?”

“Lupus is Latin for wolf, and that is the picture the stars create.”

“A wolf…” Remus trailed off, looking up at the sky. “Can I see it now?”

“You’d have to go South to be able to see it in the night sky.”

“Shame,” Remus replied, returning his attention to Sirius’ arm.

Remus focused on the tattoo on the lower half of Sirius’ arm. “Je t'aimerai jusqu'à ce que je cesse de respirer,” he read out, aware of how badly he butchered the pronunciation.

“Ah, that one I got most recently. December of last year.”

“What does it mean?”

“I will love you until I stop breathing.”

There were those butterflies again. Merlin, why didn’t Regulus tell him about these tattoos sooner?

“Can you read it out in French?”

Sirius proceeded to do so slowly and Remus echoed it, trying to pronounce it as correctly as he could. “It’s beautiful,” he told Sirius. “Your body really is a shrine.”

“A shrine?”

“Regulus and James,” was the response Remus gave him.

“A shrine—oh,” Sirius said, blinking as he looked between his tattooed arm to Remus. “I can’t believe those two. They aren’t wrong but Merlin I’m embarrassed.” Sirius buried his face in his hands.

“Oi, Pads,” Remus said, gently taking Sirius’ wrist to pull his hand away from his face. “Don’t be embarrassed, I love them. And if it makes you feel better, I will happily get myself tattooed for you until I am considered a Sirius shrine.” He paused and frowned, “If the artist can find space around my scars.” Some of the scars on his body were raised and angry looking, entirely impossible for the ink to be printed across them. His upper arms and his torso were the worst, as well as a slightly textured scar that ran across his nose from temple to jaw.

Sirius gave him a solemn smile before it twisted into something genuine. He reached out to run his thumb across Remus’ forehead. “You have a perfect space right here.”

“Across my forehead?” Remus rolled his eyes. “And what would that tattoo be of?”

“Sirius.”

Remus snorted. “The star? Or a self-portrait of you?”

“My name,” Sirius replied with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

“Tattooing your name across my forehead like I’m your property, huh?” Remus raised an eyebrow at the man smirking at him.

“Close enough,” Sirius shrugged.

Remus’ mouth dropped open. “Close enough?”

“Well, if you don’t want anyone else to see you can always get my name tattooed across your a—”

Remus clasped his hand over the man’s mouth, looking around as if he would find someone on the roof of the apartment building that they needed to apparate to get on top of. “Sirius Black, you are just as crude as ever.”

He felt a curve of a grin underneath his hand and looked back at Sirius’ face, taking in the man’s wide eyes. As a stream of hot breath from Sirius’ mouth brushed the palm of his hand he removed it from the man’s face with a flinch. “Sorry,” he told Sirius.

“Don’t be,” Sirius said, reaching out to take Remus’ hand and redirect it so it cupped Sirius’ cheek. “I might die if you continue to refuse to touch me.”

“I’m not refusing, I’m keeping aware of your boundaries,” Remus replied. “Taking it slow, remember?”

Sirius groaned. “Customers at the bar touch me more than you do.”

Remus wasn’t sure whether he liked that statement, frowning at Sirius he asked him, “They do?”

“Remus Lupin, are you jealous?” Sirius’ hand reached out to run it through Remus’ hair. “It’s nothing bad, just brushing against my arm or tapping me on the shoulder.”

Remus pursed his lips. “I touch your arms.”

Sirius sighed. “Exactly. Complete strangers touch me in the same places my boyfriend does.”

Remus brushed his thumb across his cheek, taking note of the sharp inhale Sirius made at Remus’ movement across his skin. “You want me to touch you more?”

“You were more comfortable touching me at Hogwarts when we were friends than you are now. I’m not glass, Moony. I’m not fragile. I’ll tell you to stop if I don’t want anything. But, I’m a person that loves touch, you know that. So, you are killing me right now.”

Remus pulled his hand away from Sirius’ face, keeping his eyes fixed on him as laid back down on the roof. Sirius looked at him with confusion and Remus didn’t miss the flinch of pain that crossed the man’s face.

“Come on,” Remus told him, patting the ground next to him and opening up his arms.

Sirius’ face lit up with understanding, immediately lying down with his head on Remus’ chest. Remus let his arms wrap around the man, one of his hands brushing through Sirius’ long strands of hair while the other clung to the man’s waist.

“Is this okay?” He couldn’t help but ask Sirius.

“More than okay,” Sirius replied. “It’s perfect.”

“I love you,” Remus told him.

“I love you too.”

Present – 15th July 1983
Regulus’ POV

“How are you and your James going?” Margaret asked Regulus before she lifted the cup of tea to her lips with a shaky hand.

Your James. Merlin, Regulus was ridiculous. Just the reminder that James was his made him smile and blush. What had he become?

Margaret was completely aware of the effect of calling James his had on him and Regulus knew she loved it. The old woman found it amusing that Regulus—who presented himself as cold—was capable of melting and falling apart for James.

“It’s good. I haven’t had the chance to spend too much time with him this week because of the big Quidditch game tomorrow.”

Said Quidditch game being the decider match between the top two teams: Puddlemere United and the Montrose Magpies. The winner of the match would be the winner of the entire British and Irish Quidditch League for the 1982/1983 season. James and Marlene’s coach had called for more training sessions in preparation which were much more extensive than the training for the school Quidditch teams at Hogwarts. Training started early in the morning and the team hung around most of the day to talk strategy before more training in the late afternoon. It felt like James was gone more often than not, even though the two of them hadn’t slept apart in the past two weeks.

James now had a key to Remus and Regulus’ apartment and late at night Regulus would feel his bed dip beside him as James climbed in. The man always went back to his apartment to check on Sirius and refresh before heading over to his and Remus’ apartment. Every night, as he woke up to James in his bed, Regulus would roll over and bury his face in the man’s neck, letting James wrap an arm around his waist and pull him close.

Regulus had spent his fair share of nights at Sirius and James’ apartment, but there was something about James seeking him out and coming to him that made him feel all warm on the inside.

And Margaret, who was aware of where James and Regulus spent the nights (in each other’s arms) asked him, “James is still coming to you after he finishes isn’t he?”

“Yes,” Regulus mumbled into his mug.

“Those stairs are an exercise on their own. He gets an extra warm-up having to run down them in the morning to get to training.”

Regulus shook his head with a smile. “You really don’t like those stairs.”

Margaret scoffed. “I don’t mind a little exercise but they are a workout. It’s like they want to kill an old woman. No wonder that horrible neighbour of yours never leaves.”

“I’m certain Barty would appreciate it if Gary went down the stairs and couldn’t get back up again. Maybe it would convince the old man to move out.”

Margaret laughed. “He’s a miserable old bat, isn’t he? Glad I was never like him.”

“You are not one bit like him,” he reassured her.

The old woman smiled again, taking another sip of her tea before resting it down on its saucer.

“And how are you and Sirius going?”

“Surprisingly well. We talk a lot more than I would expect, but that’s partly because of the living situations we are in. We can’t exactly avoid interactions given that we live with each other’s boyfriends,” he told her. “But it’s nice. In a way I realise now that I missed it, missed him. It’s nice to have family back in my life. I don’t talk to my cousin Andy as much as I wish and Cissa—we have drifted ever since I left.”

“You still don't argue?”

Regulus laughed. “Oh, we do. But it’s over small things. Stealing each other’s best friends and keeping his leather jacket from him. Who ate the last of the cookies Lily baked.”

“Ah, typical sibling squabbling. I did the same with my sister.”

“You had a sister?”

“Yes, Lydia. She was two years younger than me and a right pain in my ass at times.”

“Was?”

“She passed away when she was eighteen. Horse riding accident. She fell off and passed out after she hit her head. I was the one that found her hours later.”

“I’m sorry,” Regulus told her. “Do you have any other family?”

“Distant relatives, possibly. But I haven’t met them if they do exist. None of my immediate family members are alive.” Margaret reached across the table to take Regulus’ hand in hers. “I was never able to have children, Regulus. But, I see you as family. So, as long as you are alive I see myself as having living family members.”

Regulus felt tears prick in his eyes as he squeezed Margaret’s wrinkled hand back. “You weren’t joking when you called yourself my grandmother?” he laughed.

Margaret smiled at him. “Grandmother or aunt. Friend or cousin. I don’t care much for labels,” she told him. “I also want you to know that I gave your James my blessing. Not for anytime soon, I told him he had to wait.”

Regulus couldn’t believe that James had taken Remus seriously when he told him that he would have to ask Margaret for permission to marry him.

“James asked you? Already?”

“He is a good man. He knows exactly what he wants and he isn’t afraid to take it. He reminds me of my Harold.”

“Really?”

Margaret nodded. “And you remind me of me.”

“The love you and Harold had seems like it is worthy of a novel. It sounds beautiful.”

“That is exactly what you have, Regulus. Something so raw and beautiful that it extends beyond the label of ‘love’. I might have lived some decades now without him by my side but I still feel him here,” she said as she placed her hand over her heart. “And that is what love is—loving someone so much that even death cannot cage it. Cherish all the love you receive and give to others. Because when our bodies can no longer function in this world we carry these emotions and relationships with us to the next.”

“And you know this because you can feel Harold now?”

“He’s waiting for me so we can move on together,” Margaret said with a smile.

Regulus was thankful for Margaret. Thankful that she helped him achieve a relationship like the one she had with Harold. “Thank you Margaret for giving Remus that push he needed. And thank you for helping put me back together when I was falling apart those weeks ago.”

“No need to thank me for that,” Margaret told him. “I just wanted to see all of you happy. Your misery was starting to rub off on me. And I missed these little coffee dates of ours since you wouldn’t leave the house and then when you did, it was with your James.”

Regulus winced. “I’m sorry. I’ve missed you too.”

“Well, now I need a full catch-up and what I have missed. And don’t leave any details out.”

“I think there are definitely details I should and will keep out.”

“Debatable.”

“Very much not.”

“Well get on with it then, I won’t be 127 years old forever.”

– 16th July 1983

“GO JAMES!” Sirius screamed from the seat beside him as the chaser came zooming past towards the goal with the quaffle tucked under his arm.

Regulus had kept a close eye on James the whole game praying that the man played it safe. The Magpies were a tough team that weren’t afraid to get physical and rough with their movements, and their pair of beaters were extremely ruthless and accurate with every bludger they flung in the direction of a Puddlemere player. Marlene was doing her job as a beater well to counteract every shot and protect her fellow teammates, meeting every swing of the Magpies’ bats with a powerful swing of her own.

Regulus knew that Dorcas was just as nervous as him, both of them staying quiet throughout the match as they watched their partners with closed eyes as they continued to get in near-misses with the other players. The game had been going for hours and the scoring wasn’t high for either team. In fact, it was a close game so far and the snitch being caught would guarantee a win. James had managed six goals for his team in the past few hours and Regulus could tell that he was getting frustrated with every goal that was stopped by the Magpies keeper. But, James—ever the positive person—kept a smile on his face as he weaved through the Magpies players and passed the quaffle to his fellow chasers.

And as one of the Magpies’ beaters swung his bat and sent a bludger flying towards James, Regulus couldn’t help but hold his breath, his hand squeezing the fabric of his trousers until his knuckles were white. Please be okay. Please don’t hit him.

But Marlene got there in time, swinging her bat to block the shot at James, sending the bludger flying down the field in the other direction. Regulus inhaled in relief and looked down as he felt Dorcas’ hand cover his clenched fist. He looked at her and returned the nod she gave him, both of them finding comfort in each other’s concern for their Quidditch players. Was it terrible that he wanted James to retire after this season? But, he would miss seeing James in his Quidditch uniform and the man loved Quidditch more than anything in the world. Well, maybe not everything but it made him happy.

But seriously, where was this snitch? Neither of the seekers had caught sight of the small golden ball the entire game. Regulus was wondering whether it was released at all or if it was defective and had flown out of the pitch.

“GO PUDDLEMERE!” Lily screamed from behind him, where she was sitting beside Barty and Evan. The two men looked absolutely ridiculous in how they had dressed for the final. Half of Barty’s face was coated in blue paint while Evan’s hair had been charmed blue.

Regulus still had the blue scarf wrapped around his neck, as usual, he had grown quite fond of it. What had changed about his outfit was the Puddlemere jersey he was wearing. Sirius had handed him a box this morning while James was already at the pitch getting ready for the game, telling him that James wanted Sirius to give it to him. And now, Regulus was wearing said gift in the stands, the surname ‘Potter’ stretched out between his shoulder blades just as ‘McKinnon’ was across Dorcas’.

“YES JAMES!” Sirius called out again as James scored his seventh goal of the match.

Something gold flickered beneath Regulus’ vision and he lowered his gaze from James reluctantly to find the snitch flitting around low to the ground towards the centre of the pitch. The Magpies seeker was up high, too far away to clearly make out the small object lying low on the pitch. How long had the snitch been down there for? No wonder neither of the players had spotted it. The snitch didn’t typically fly that low to the ground.

The Puddlemere seeker, who Regulus now knew had the name April, was looking at eyesight around the field, her eyes not drifting low enough to spot the snitch. And if by some rare chance of luck, the snitch seemed to flit around right in April’s peripheral vision, and the girl looked directly at it. April looked up at the other seeker on the pitch, making sure he wasn’t aware that she had spotted it. Smart move. While the rest of the players were caught up in the rest of the game, April slowly drifted lower than where the main game was playing, scanning everywhere but where she knew the snitch was not to arouse suspicion. Then, once she was safely away from the crowd she was flying fast towards the ground.

The crowd in the stands immediately roared with excitement, fans jumping to their feet and screaming words of encouragement. It was one of the things about having a crowd, the players were made aware of when the snitch had been spotted. The Magpies seeker was already diving after April, several feet behind but not giving up in their pursuit.

One of the Magpies beaters slammed a bludger so that it flew right towards April and Regulus couldn’t help but join everyone else on their feet as the ball flew closer to the seeker. Fuck. It wasn’t going to hit her. Regulus had to reassure himself that April was aware there was a bludger flying towards her. Yet, she didn’t slow down, she didn’t stop. And Regulus remembered that feeling. He remembered when everything else in the game filtered out until it was just you and the snitch, your pure determination driving you to catch it and win your team the game.

“APRIL!” Puddlemere’s other beater—a dark-haired man—called out, loud enough that Regulus could hear it in the stands. The man was desperately flying towards her as he called her name out over and over again to try and get her attention.

April seemed to snap out of the snitch haze, glancing over her right shoulder towards her team’s beater. Seeing the bludger flying in the direction she was flying she pulled up on her broomstick, forcing it to a stop as the ball flew past in front of her, just managing to miss her face. It was enough to save her from a nasty head injury but not enough to stop the Magpies seeker from gaining distance on her, having the speed from the drop to easily catch up as April forced her broom to continue towards the snitch again.

They were side by side as they plummeted low on the pitch. Regulus didn’t miss the elbows that the Magpie player shoved into April’s side as they both reached out for the snitch. Both players pulled to a stop once the golden object had disappeared into one of their hands. The referee signalled that the game had ended and the horn blasted from the loudspeakers.

The crowd, the players and the referee did not know which of the two seekers had the snitch clasped in their fist and the crowd fell quiet as they waited for the result—not wanting to cheer in success or mumble their disappointments too early.

April lifted her hand up into the air and revealed a golden ball resting between her thumb and middle finger. The scoreboard flicked over, adding the points to reveal a final score of 370-230, securing the Puddlemere team a win not only in the game but in the entire season.

“PUDDLEMERE UNITED HAVE SECURED THEIR WIN!” the commentators called out over the microphones. “FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TEN YEARS!”

“Come on,” Sirius hissed at him, as he tugged on his arm.

“What are you doing?” Regulus hissed back, attempting to pull his arm away from his brother.

“So, you don’t want to go down to the pitch?”

“Oh,” Regulus replied as his feet started moving after Sirius, letting himself be dragged to the door that connected to the stairwell that led them to the tunnel underneath the stands.

“Oh exactly,” Sirius hissed as he finally released Regulus to open the door. Regulus could hear someone’s footsteps behind him and turned his head, surprised that only Dorcas was following the two of them. It seemed fitting though, what they were doing right now was breaking protocol. The team was celebrating their victory and still had to be awarded their trophy, and family and friends hadn’t been called to the pitch yet.

They stopped at the end of the tunnel just before the pitch in the same spot James and Regulus had kissed on the kiss cam weeks ago.

“We can watch from here. It means we can be the first to congratulate James and Marlene after their team is given their trophy.”

Regulus nodded, his eyes fixed on James as he watched his boyfriend land effortlessly on the ground, placing his broomstick in his left hand as the team gathered around April, cheering and celebrating their victory. The Montrose Magpies walked towards their coach with slumped shoulders, some of them shaking their heads in disappointment.

“We invite the teams to head over to the north side of the pitch to be presented with their respective trophies,” the voice announced over the speaker.

The Puddlemere United players collectively whooped, some of them linking their arms together as they walked in the opposite direction of where Regulus, Sirius and Dorcas were.

But James hadn’t moved yet and Regulus soon realised that his boyfriend was scanning the stands he was in minutes ago. Even from this distance, he could see the confusion on the man’s face as he looked up at where Remus, Lily, Evan and Barty were now. James’ eyes scanned the entire stadium as he spun in a circle until eventually, his eyes locked on Regulus.

Regulus smiled at him, hoping that the man could see how proud he was despite being halfway across the pitch. James gave Regulus a thumbs up before turning towards where the rest of his team was heading. He managed to jog slowly after them, continuously throwing glances over his shoulder towards Regulus.

“Fuck that man is down bad,” Dorcas muttered under her breath.

“They both are,” Sirius responded.

Regulus gave his input by punching Sirius lightly on his arm.

James was still lagging behind the others as the speaker crackled, the commentator’s voice once again echoing across the stadium. “I present our winning team, Puddlemere United, with their first-place trophy.”

The trophy was passed to the captain who lifted it into the air as the team swarmed around them. The crowd cheered around the stadium, expressing their delight in the victory. Yet, Regulus’ focus was still on James. James, who was not celebrating with his team but had stopped short of the group. He turned his body back around to face Regulus and began jogging back across the field towards him, not joining his team in their victory huddle.

James didn’t even look back at his team as his pace picked up, closing the distance between the two of them.

“James Potter seems to be running off the pitch!” The speaker narrated to the crowd. “Is he injured? Nobody seems to know what is going on!”

Regulus subconsciously took a step towards the pitch, away from the sheltering of the canopy that hid the tunnel from the crowd.

“Regulus,” Sirius said, once again taking his arm in an attempt to stop him from walking out onto the pitch and revealing himself to the crowd.

“Let him,” Dorcas said, placing a hand on Sirius’ shoulder.

“Fine,” Sirius said with a huff, releasing his arm. “I thought I’d be a good brother and prevent him from ending up on camera again. He better not complain later—”

Regulus blocked out the rest of Sirius’ words as he stepped out from under the canopy, walking quickly towards James, who was still jogging towards him. He was aware that one of the cameras was pointed at him, but it didn’t really affect him. Another camera projected James while another had the team celebrating. So, the attention wasn’t entirely on them. But, he realised he didn’t care. He blocked out everything until it was just him and James, much like how seekers blocked out everything but the snitch once it was spotted.

Once they were paces apart, Regulus smirked at James, calling out, “Didn’t want your trophy? You played so well and I—”

The rest of his words were cut off as James cupped Regulus’ face and pulled him in until their lips were connected, kissing him in a way that felt like he was being claimed. The last time their kiss was broadcasted for the crowd they didn’t know, but they were more than aware now. And James seemed to take full advantage of it. Claiming Regulus in front of an entire crowd of fans, players and friends in a way that left no doubt.

There wasn’t a part of Regulus that didn’t belong to James and he was sure that there wasn’t a part of James that the man wouldn’t give to Regulus if he asked.

Sirius’ POV

“Hello Sirius,” a voice came from his left as he and Remus sat at the stools at the bar of The Black Dog. Rosa had been more than happy to manage the bar alone, even though he had insisted that he helped out behind the bar. Rosa had shaken her head at him, managing to make him give in by asking him if he doubted her ability to run the bar alone on a busy night.

Drinks had worked his way into his system and he was now thankful for Rosa’s insistence, he was having too much fun now out of the bar to have to go behind it.

But his fun had soured as he took in the girl who had appeared beside him. It was the blonde girl from months ago who had danced with Remus to their song. The song that Sirius had tattooed on his body and his soul. And he couldn’t help but think of the audacity of this girl to walk up to him in his own bar. She did seem familiar but he couldn’t quite place it. He came to the assumption that she must just be a regular at the bar that he hadn’t learnt the name of.

Remus, seeing the sour expression on his face chuckled and Sirius snapped his head towards his boyfriend, scowling at him. How could he find this situation funny?

“I don’t think he recognises you, Dora,” he told the blonde girl before standing up to give her a hug. Sirius narrowed his eyes at the two people as they embraced. They both pulled away and Remus took a step back, calming Sirius’ boiling rage as he stood next to him so that their shoulders were brushing.

“I didn’t expect him to. We weren’t exactly introduced back at Hogwarts and I don’t think Regulus ever put a face to the name of his best friend I’m sure he spoke about.”

A lightbulb went off in Sirius’ head.

“Dora? As in Pandora?”

“Rosier,” Pandora nodded, holding her hand out to Sirius. “Evan’s my twin.”

Sirius ignored her outstretched hand and slid off the stool, pulling the girl into a hug. Pandora went willingly, wrapping her hands around Sirius’ back with a laugh. “Thank you for looking after Regulus at school,” he whispered into her ear.

They released each other and Pandora gave him a smile. “I think he looked after me more than I looked after him.”

“Thank you anyway.”

“Do you want a drink?” Sirius asked.

“I already have one,” she pointed over to where Barty and Evan were sitting at one of the tables. It seemed that as soon as Pandora had stepped away the two men had joined their lips together. “Just wanted to come say hello and be properly introduced to Sirius. This bar is truly an amazing place. Great music for dancing. You can find me on the dancefloor as soon as Bowie comes on.”

“Thank you,” Sirius replied with a wide smile, feeling his left eye twitch slightly.

“I’m going to return to my brother and his boyfriend,” Pandora sighed. “Hopefully their faces have detached by the time I get back to the table.”

“Nice to officially meet you,” Sirius told her.

“You too,” Pandora replied before disappearing into the crowd of people.

Remus and Sirius retook their seats at the bar, each of them ordering another drink. Remus—to no one’s surprise—ordered a moonshine while Sirius went for a straight shot of firewhiskey.

“She’s lovely,” Remus hummed.

“She is. Also a good dancer I hear,” he replied bitterly.

Remus sighed. “I’m sorry I danced with her to our song but I think I should tell you that she’s gay. Very gay.”

“She’s gay?” Sirius echoed before frowning at Remus. “You still danced to our song in my bar in front of my face. The ultimate betrayal.”

“Anyone ever told you that you're dramatic?” Remus replied lightheartedly.

“Almost every day.”

Remus sighed, shaking his head with a soft smile on his face. “I was pretty much forced into that dance and if it makes you feel better I wished it was you. Why’d you think I left the dance floor to come after you?”

“Oh yeah,” Sirius replied sheepishly, cupping the back of his neck with one of his hands as a blush crossed his face.

Remus raised an eyebrow. “Forgot that detail?”

“Slipped my mind completely.” Sirius shrugged.

Sirius watched Remus take another sip of his drink, his eyes fixed on the tongue the man ran across his lips to catch the drops of alcohol that didn’t quite make it into his mouth. Fuck. Sirius desperately wanted—needed—that man’s mouth on him. It had been two weeks, two weeks that they had been together and Remus had not made as much as a move to kiss him. And it was killing him slowly. Merlin, the man needed Sirius to tell him he was allowed to touch him and even now he still hesitated before touching his hands, his arms or his waist.

He watched the bobbing of Remus’ throat as he finished the rest of his drink, not being able to rip his eyes away from the man sitting on the stool next to him.

“What is it?” Remus frowned after he placed his empty glass down and turned back to Sirius—whose eyes were now fixed on the man’s lips.

“What do you mean?” Sirius replied, looking away from Remus’ face before losing his inner battle and returning them almost immediately after.

“You have a funny look on your face. What do you need?”

Sirius just kept staring at Remus, his eyes slightly narrowed as he traced every feature on the man’s face. His eyes, his nose, his mouth, the scar across his face, his mouth (again).

“Sirius?” Remus said, reaching out to place a hand on the side of his neck. The heat of it sent a jolt of electricity down Sirius’ spine.

“Can you kiss me?” Sirius spat out, more than aware of how desperate he sounded. “I really need you to kiss me right now.”

Remus’ mouth fell open and his eyes widened, darting down to look at Sirius’ lips before looking him in the eye. “You want me to kiss you?”

Sirius leaned closer, placing a hand on both of Remus’ thighs to support himself. Remus leant closer too and Sirius couldn’t help but think yes. Yesyesyesyesyes. He felt his eyes begin to flutter shut until the presence in front of him was no longer leaning towards him. What?

Sirius leaned back in his stool, removing his hands from Remus’ thighs and placing them on his own. He couldn’t help but feel rejected and slightly hurt.

“Hang on,” Remus told him and turned to gesture to Rosa and call her over.

Sirius’ eyes were fixed on the floor while Remus talked to Rosa, not picking up on the conversation between the two of them. He only ripped his eyes away from the wood flooring when he sensed a drink being placed down in front of him. He looked at the swirling liquid in the glass, recognising the drink that he had grown familiar with over the years.

He looked at Remus, believing he understood why Remus had—but not really—rejected him. Sirius picked up the glass and moved his hand in a circle, watching the liquid in the glass spin faster.

“Is this a sober-up potion?” he looked up at Remus with a smile that faltered as he took in Remus’ empty glass. The man had already finished his potion and was watching him closely.

Remus shrugged, a sly smile crossing his face. “I need us to be sober for this.”

“Oi! That’s my line,” Sirius replied but lifted the drink to his lips anyway. He relished in the way the potion immediately affected him, clearing his thoughts.

Remus leaned closer. “Ask me again.” The words were a whisper.

“Can you kiss—”

The rest of the question wasn’t heard as Remus’ hand cupped Sirius’ chin and pulled him in until their lips were touching. Their mouths moved in tandem and Sirius buried his own hand in Remus’ hair, using it to pull him closer. His other hand returned to Remus’ thigh, digging into the flesh there to give him support. The kiss was pure passion, a joining of lips and tongue and Sirius loved it. He had been patiently waiting for it these past two weeks and it all paid off.

Remus was kissing him. He was kissing Remus. Everything was right. The sound Remus made when Sirius swept his tongue in his mouth was pure heaven. Enough that Sirius’ groan fell easily from his mouth when Remus nipped at his bottom lip. Fuck. The wait had been worth it.

When Remus pulled back, breathing heavily Sirius gave the man a few seconds of rest before he bridged the gap between them once again. He didn’t care that people were watching. It was his bar. And if he wanted to kiss his ridiculously sexy boyfriend in it then he could. And he will.

And he didn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

Remus’ POV

Once Remus and Sirius had joined the rest of their friends over at the tables, celebrating the Quidditch win, they had already gotten the drinks back into their system. Their snog had not gone unnoticed by their companions, and they all had given them smiles and words such as “finally” and “took you two long enough.”

Well, almost everyone. Regulus had gagged, telling the two of them not to do it ever again in front of him. Sirius had then complained that he had to witness his best friend and brother snogging too and to shove his disgust where the sun doesn’t shine. Before anything could escalate further, James had tugged Regulus to the comfy couches off to the side where they were still sitting now. Regulus was folded up in James’ arms—to no one’s surprise. Remus had watched his best friend not leave his boyfriend’s side for the entire time they had spent at the bar. But if he was to tell Regulus of his observations, there was no doubt that the man would claim that it was the other way around, that James was glued to him. And maybe that was true, but it was Regulus right now whose head was resting on James’ chest.

“Where’d James go?” Sirius asked him as he looked around the room. “I want to dance with him.”

Remus nodded his head towards where James and Regulus were sitting, tangled up in each other’s arms. “Good luck prying Regulus off of him.”

“Is that little shit still hogging my best friend? Merlin’s fucking tits he needs to learn to share.”

Remus watched as James pressed a soft kiss to Regulus’ forehead, smiling down at the man resting on his chest as if he hung the moon.

“You want to interrupt that?” Remus asked. “Look at them. You wouldn’t want anyone interrupting us if we looked like that.”

Sirius huffed, grabbing Remus by the wrist and pulling him towards the couple. Regulus took one look at Sirius and said “No”, wrapping his arms tighter around James.

“Come on, Reg,” Sirius whined. “You’ve been attached to James the whole night. Can I have him for a few songs?”

“Let me think,” Regulus said, hesitating for a few seconds to add that dramatic flare the brothers shared. “No. You have your own boyfriend for these things.” He gestured at Remus.

“I thought you didn’t want me and Remus doing these things in front of you.”

“If it keeps you away from me and Jamie, then I can make an exception.”

Remus watched on in amusement as Sirius looked at his best friend. “James,” he whined, “I know you want to.”

“Sirius,” James winced. “Can you give me a little bit more time?”

“The whole night should suffice,” Regulus added with a sly look on his face. “He loves me more than you.”

“He does not,” Sirius huffed, folding his arms across his chest.

“Remus loves me more too.”

Sirius gasped. “That’s an even bigger lie.”

In some fateful moment, as if the universe was sick of seeing the two brothers arguing—or perhaps it was the girl with braided blonde hair standing near the record player—the opening lines to a very specific song started to play.

Sirius gasped again, turning to him. Remus returned the smile, not hesitating to take Sirius’ outstretched hand. But before the two of them made their way onto the dance floor, Sirius turned back to his brother.

“You are lucky this song saved you,” Sirius said as he pointed a finger in Regulus’ face. “I will be back.”

Regulus narrowed his eyes at his brother and Remus could see that he was not at all threatened by Sirius’ words. But Sirius didn’t catch the expression on his brother’s face, already pulling him away from the couple and towards the dancefloor as the song echoed around the bar.

Keep your 'lectric eye on me, babe.

Regulus POV

Sirius in fact was back after the song, successfully managing to pull James away from Regulus, leaving him grumbling next to his best friend. Pandora had joined the two of them at a small table, talking to them about the new magical creatures she had spent the past few weeks healing.

She commented on their auras, and how they were much lighter, colourful and happier now than when she had last seen them.

Right now, Regulus watched his friend’s eyes fixed on where his boyfriend was dancing on top of a table across the bar, swinging his hips and throwing his hands in the air. How was he related to that man?

James was hovering near his friend, acting like a guard dog as Sirius danced without a care. It wasn’t like the man was going to get kicked out, he owned the place. He would never admit it out loud but it had been amusing watching the two idiots dance together on the dancefloor, spinning each other around in circles with pure laughter on their faces.

It was nice though, watching the two of them have fun while he got to catch up with his two best friends. Pandora was finally going to move back home to London, keeping her healing jobs within the country. She had told them how Dumbledore had invited her back to Hogwarts to look at the Forbidden Forest and treat the magical creatures that resided there. Just the thought of that place sent a shiver down Regulus’ spine, he didn’t know how she did it. But, having the ability she does would come in handy and Pandora was capable of taking care of herself—he knew that more than anybody.

Sirius was climbing off the table as Pandora let out a soft gasp, her hand coming up to cover her mouth as she looked off into the distance, her eyes wide and unfocused on anything in front of her.

“Oh no,” she said and it was a sad sound, enough to send a jolt of panic down Regulus’ spine. Whatever Pandora had just seen—just sensed—was not good.

Remus’ back straightened beside him, looking around the room frantically. “Lily?” Remus said confused and Regulus realised that it was Remus’ hearing coming into play.

Regulus followed Remus as the man climbed to his feet and made his way towards the door. Pandora stayed a few steps behind Regulus as the three of them politely excused themselves as they beelined towards the exit.

Stepping out into the night air, Remus turned the corner and stopped. As Regulus followed he paused as he took in Lily’s dishevelled state, her eyes were reed from crying and tears were falling across her cheeks. It was something he had grown familiar with, considering the entire week the three of them had spent together moping. As well as the times Lily would show up at their apartment after an argument with Mary.

But there was something different about Lily now, those were tears of grief, not only sadness. She was radiating with despair, and he didn’t need Pandora’s gift to know that. One of the other things he took note of was that Lily was still in her healer’s robes as if she had come straight from the hospital.

His mind switched to sadness. Was it Mary? Had something happened to Mary?

“What’s wrong?” Remus said, his voice full of concern.

Lily only let out another strangled sob, and the next thing that left her mouth sent a shiver down his spine.

“Regulus?” Lily asked.

He stepped out from behind Remus and walked towards Lily. “I’m here. What happened, Lily?”

Was it Andy? Was Andy okay? Narcissa?

“I’m so sorry,” Lily cried, her voice breaking. “I’m so so sorry.”

“Lily, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“It’s Margaret.”

Regulus’ heart stopped.