There was no Hades, no afterlife in the world they lived in, only life and then nothingness. That was something that Regulus had been sure of ever since the moment he had gotten his hands on the Iliad when he was seven years old.
His parents had insisted when his brother was born that their children will be raised as they would've been during the old days.
Their children will be raised with the English language, but will be taught their mother tongue French, and will learn to be fluid in Latin and Greek.
They'll be taught the dances that were popular during the regency era, will be taught to dance as if a ball could happen at any moment.
Their children will be taught in the literary arts, from all over the world.
Regulus had hated everything about the way he was taught, up until he held a book for the first time. Then, suddenly he was grateful for all the languages he had to learn, he was glad he could read Sophocles writings in their original form and he could understand the letters that got sent during the French revolution.
Regulus had gotten his very first copy of the Iliad from Sirius, for his seventh birthday.
Regulus loved that book.
He horded his copies of the myth the same way a dragon horded its jewels. But when he wanted to read the myth, he always grabbed that very first copy.
The point of this entire thing was, Regulus knew from the very start that he and James Potter would not end up together in the afterlife, because Regulus knew it did not exist.
That's what he told him when they laid curled up together on the sofa, listening to one of the old vinyl's James' parents had given them as a gift for their flat.
"We won't have to meet in the afterlife if we find each other in the next life before that.", James whispered and shuffled closer, curling tighter against his lover and hid in the space between his chin and collarbones. His fingertips traced the line of his neck, grazing the point of his jaw.
Goosebumps spread across Regulus' skin.
"Jamie.", he whispered, hiding his pale face in the wild hair.
"There is no next life, chéri. There is only this and then nothing.", he mumbled, clever fingers working through a tangle.
"You don't know that. How could you say that if you don't know for sure?"
James and him had gotten married.
Regulus hadn't thought it possible for the boy who had stolen his brother and his heart when he was eleven years old to give both back. The ring on his finger beat with the pulse of his heart.
It had been a small thing, surprisingly. Well, sssincemall in the way that Potter's could go small.
All of their friends had been there, without plus one because most of them had found their other half within the friend groups that collided during Regulus' fifth year at Hogwarts.
Dorcas with Marlene,
Evan with Barty,
Mary with Lily,
Sirius with Remus.
Pandora was happily alone, tagging along with whatever couple was nearest her.
James' parents had been there, both with tears in their eyes as they watched the both of them exchanged their eternal vows.
I vow to always hold your hand, in darkness and in light, in death and in life.
I vow to keep your heart even if mine has left you and to hold you dear when you've cursed my mind.
James' words still echoed in his head when he slinged his arms around his husband's waist when they got to bed at night.
I vow to belong to none other than you, in this life and in every next one.
I vow to find you, wherever you and I go.
When James had said that, Regulus had started crying. It didn't matter that he didn't believe in next lives. James believed, and that he vowed to find him, no matter where they went he'd search for him, that had meant everything to Regulus.
It was a summer wedding. The sun had beaten down on them, the girls had worn flowers crowns and the boys bracelets. Except for Remus and Evan, who had insisted on crowns as well.
The breeze had been humid, sweat rolling down their skin and the kiss had been salty with it.
Afterwards they'd jumped into the small lake near their house, voices loud and happy.
I vow to be your happiness, your weariness and your sadness.
I vow to hold you close whenever you need me to.
I vow to love you, even when everything tells me not to.
James' hadn't started crying. He had been crying the entire time but his smile had split his face apart, had been brighter than the summer sun.
Sirius had shook his hair like a wet dog (fitting) when he had resurfaced and Remus had groaned when it all landed on him.
Pandora had been splashing her feet with Evan behind her, tying his twin sisters braids back into a semblance of an bun.
He had been yelling at Barty over Pandora's head over something stupid. Regulus couldn't remember. The happiness blinded him in the moment.
The other girls had been trying to drown James. Their shrieks of joy had filled the afternoon.
"I told you I'd find you. I will find you."
"I know, I know. But, Jamie, mon amour, I just…I can't imagine it's possible for me to have you in every life."
James shied away from his touch, huffing to himself.
"Jamie, come on…"
"I don't get it Reg. How can you not believe? I just…It would kill me to not think about my next lifetime with you. It kills me to think about some version of me not being with you."
"Mon amour, s'il-te plaits, you know I did not mean it like that. Of course it kills me too, but there is no proof-"
"There is enough proof!"
James' shout made Regulus flinch.
His nostrils flared and his shoulders shook and when he turned his gaze to Regulus tears stood in his eyes.
"James…"
"I promised you, Reg. Forget promise, I vowed I would find you in every lifetime. If you don't believe it, fine. But when sometime in the future, someone sees someone and they think huh that's familiar, I'll say I told you so."
Regulus shuffled closer and carded his hand through the curls that once again looked like a squirrel lived in them.
"Okay, chéri, okay."
Later when Regulus was curled up on his husbands chest, with his ear above a heart and a pair of arms had circled his waist, he laid awake and thought about Odysseus.
His love for Penelope, how he travelled for years to go back to her. How she gave it her everything to hold up his kingdom.
He thought about Apollo and Icarus, Hyacinthus, Daphne, Cassandra.
Thought about Psyche and Eros, Orpheus and Eurydice, about Hades and Persephone, Ares and Aphrodite.
Their loves were all true, all tainted, all holy, twisted in murals and sculptures.
The truth behind it all was this: Their love, behind everything else, was the same. A want to be united, despite challenges, death, horror. Injustices had been served, lives had been taken in the great stories.
But were they not all reincarnated every time people chose to love each other? Was it not predestined to lock eyes one day and say hello, there you are again, you funny feeling. Was it not a vow in itself that humanity kept on loving?
Regulus sniffed the air around him, took in the calming sense of cinnamon and black tea that James exuded wherever he went.
Regulus shuffled closer and clasped the tan wrist of his husband, watched as his fragile bones twisted to accommodate the twist.
"I vow, that my love for you will never falter, and with each new story it will grow stronger.
I vow to you my forever, in living as in death. I vow to you my love, in the past, the present and the future."
The glow of the vow wound itself around their wrists, linked their bones together and travelled through their veins, settled over their hearts.
Regulus let out a shuddering breath, curled closer to James and smiled softly when the arms around him held on tighter. Hands on his waist, lips to his head, chest to his cheek.
Maybe they were gods. Maybe legends would be told about them.
The gods that vowed to love.
The men that carved their future.
The boys that held it in the past.