bruised knuckles.
"Reg"
"Reggie"
"Regulus"
"Reggieeeee"
"What?! what could you possibly want now?!" Regulus whisper shouted in the middle of the waiting room."my hand hurts" Sirius complained,whispering to Regulus who sat opposite him in the corner of the room."yeaah,no shit" Regulus replied,keeping a steady hand stroking through James' hair."I'm bored,also.Wake him up" Sirius reached over with his good hand,ready to poke James' cheek until Regulus caught his hand just infront of James' face."i will break your other hand" Sirius pouted and shook his hand free from Regulus' grip."But i'm bored and i'm in pain" Sirius complained again,slouching in his chair."He's finally settled and you know he doesn't like places like this so please just leave him alone" Regulus whispered and Sirius sighed dramatically.
"Mr Black?" a nurse appeared in the doorway and Sirius stood up.Sirius was taken into a room where the nurse fitted him with a cast and scheduled him an appointment for a checkup for a few weeks time before he returned back to the waiting room where James was now sat looking around,his knee bouncing as he picked at his nails.Regulus' hand was on his other knee but it didn't seem to be calming him much.James' face split into a smile as Sirius walked over meaning they could finally go home.
"okay,please take me home i feel like i could sleep for a week" and so Regulus drove them all back home where they all immediately crashed not even bothering to go to their own rooms and instead taking up the couches.James and Regulus laid tangled together on one couch while Sirius sprawled out on the other,his wrist propped up on a throw pillow.
"Sirius i've already told you you're not going to work" James huffed as Sirius moved around trying to gather his uniform."I just need to serve Remus" Sirius replied,distracted by trying to pull on a pair of black jeans."No,i told you i've got it covered.I'll call you if there's any problems,i promise" James moved to sit on Sirius' bed,watching as Sirius kicked off the jeans he had managed to pull the lower half of one leg into before giving up."I'm literally going to freak out,life is so hard with one hand.James,dress me" James raised an eyebrow at Sirius who just stared at him expectedly.
With a sigh James picked up some black joggers that were either his or Sirius' and helped Sirius into them before pulling off Sirius' top and dressing him into a black tshirt."Okay,never again" James laughed and Sirius joined in,spraying himself with deodorant and cologne."you're still not allowed to work" "i am" Sirius argued,walking past James and into the bathroom to brush his teeth."Sirius.You have to rest for at least 2 weeks off work,you're not working" James leant again the door frame of the bathroom,opening the toothpaste when Sirius held it out to him."Fine,then i'll come as a customer" Sirius spoke through a mouthfull of toothpaste."oh my god,okay.Whatever you want Sirius" James sighed,chuckling to himself as he waited for Sirius in the living room.
The walk to work consisted of James repeatedly saying no as Sirius begged him to let him help at work,atleast just a little bit."but what am i meant to do?!" Sirius complained as they walked into the shop."i'll buy you a coffee and you can sit and drink that.Yes?" James suggested and Sirius punched him in the arm with his right hand."is that all you got?" James teased."leave me alone,i'm left handed but someone just had to go and make me break my left hand" Sirius argued until the bell rang signalling the first customer."Now sit down and i'll bring you a drink soon" James pointed to a seat at a two seater sable to which Sirius rolled his eyes and flopped down into the armchair.
20 minutes and one coffee later,the bell to the shop rang and Remus stepped into the shop.He looked around after not seeing Sirius at the counter until he saw him sitting at a table alone,scrolling through his phone with one hand.Remus walked over and Sirius finally looked up,a smile breaking onto his face.not working today? Remus asked and Sirius shook his head "i'll come with you" Remus read Sirius' lips wondering why he didn't sign but he just nodded thinking nothing of it and the two walked over to the counter.
Remus' POV:
As Remus waited in the line he looked over to Sirius who was standing up from the table and making his way over to the counter.He stood beside Remus as he got to the front of the line and laughed as James turned around rolling his eyes after seeing Sirius."what can i get for you,mate?" James asked his eyes flicking between Sirius and Remus.Sirius began walking James through Remus' drink when Remus felt a tap on his shoulder.He turned around to see a man looking up at him,a deep frown on his face.He had dark brown hair and he was a good few inches smaller than Remus."Wanna watch out the way if your not ordering?" Remus read the man's lips and paired with the scowl he was giving Remus,Remus had decided he definitely wasn't being friendly.
Remus frowned before turning around,deciding that the man wasn't worth his time or his effort.A few seconds later,he felt a shove on his shoulder and he stumbled forwards a step,his hand coming up to stop himself from hitting the counter.Sirius looked up at Remus and frowned,not having a clue what was going on because he had been talking to James.Sirius frowned,silently asking if Remus was okay to which Remus' eyes flicked to the man behind him and he watched as Sirius turned around to face the man.
"You got a problem,mate?" Remus was thankful for his skills in lip reading in this moment because Sirius wasn't able to sign and talk to the man at the same time.However, instead Sirius kept himself facing so that he was talking directly to the man but Remus could still read his lips."yeah,he's my fucking problem-" The man fired,pointing at Remus."alright i'm gonna stop you right there.First of all,quit getting in my face.Second of all,don't talk about him like that,if he doesn't want to answer you he doesn't have to answer you,Prick" Sirius turned,placing his hand gently on Remus' wrist before pulling him to stand back at the counter."everything all right?" James asked and Sirius clenched his jaw,nodding at James with a tight smile,his hand still gently wrapped around Remus' wrist.
A hand was placed on Sirius' shoulder and the next thing Remus new Sirius was being pulled to turn around,letting go of Remus' wrist in the process."don't turn away from when i'm talking to you,arsehole" the man yelled and James quickly but casually made his way around the counter knowing exactly what was going to happen."get out of my face" Sirius spoke calmly,as he stared straight at the man who was face to face with him."or what? you gonna turn around and ignore me like you're friend did?" The man stumbled back as Sirius' fist collided with his jaw."what the fuck!" the man yelled and James stood infront of him,a hand splayed out on his chest."okay,Get out" James spoke calmly and the man left,mumbling to himself."holy fuck.Ow" Sirius shook his hand out,wiggling his fingers a little bit as he turned towards Remus,his focus down at his hand.Remus placed a hand on Sirius' shoulder,still watching James escort the man out.
James walked towards both Sirius and Remus after flipping the sign on the shop door to closed, he walked over to the pair and Sirius looked up at him.James laughed before putting his hand on the back of Sirius' head,pushing him over to the table where he previously sat.Remus followed and sat next to Sirius and the pair waited for James to return from the back room.
Remus looked over at Sirius who had his head down,staring at his hands,one in a black pot the other with bruised knuckles.Remus reached out and tapped his finger against the pot,a silent question.Sirius looked up at him and Remus frowned in question."James' fault" Sirius smiled but Remus just looked at him."i'm okay,Really.It doesn't hurt anymore" Sirius' gaze softened as he looked at Remus who took Sirius' other hand gently in his."oh yeah,that one hurts like a bitch" Sirius joked and Remus smiled,rolling his eyes and placing Sirius' hand back down in his lap.
"tell me why it is always you who was to punch someone and ruin my day?" James announced as he walked back into the room holding an ice pack."Hey,name one time i have punched someone and ruined your day,other than today" Sirius once again positioned himself so that Remus could see his lips while pointing for James to stand opposite him instead of where he previously stood."Let me see,1st week of secondary school you got us detention because you punched a 2nd year.Third year,you got yourself expelled because you knocked a kid in our year out.Oh and don't forget the time in summer of fifth year when you knocked me out!!" Remus watched as Sirius' smirk grew,his eyes flicking to Remus before back to James again."shouldn't have stole my camera then,should you" James rolled his eyes,flipping Sirius off before walking back over to the door and switching the sign back to open.
James brought Remus' drink over,free of charge for his troubles,and left to go serve the first customer.Sirius turned towards Remus in his chair,the pair were sitting in the comfy armchairs in the corner of the room,a small table placed infront of them.Remus looked at Sirius,studying his face with a frown."what?" Sirius mouthed,a small smile threatening to show when did you learn to sign? Remus asked,still watching Sirius."well,i have a brother called Regulus and we didn't live in a good home,didn't have a good family or anything.But,when he was about 6,me being 7 we went through a load of pretty traumatising things to the point where he wouldn't speak to anyone" Sirius looked down at his hands for a second before looking back up at Remus."Not even me" Sirius smiled softly as Remus placed a gentle hand on Sirius' knee."We decided to teach ourselves sign language.We called it our way of talking when we felt like we couldn't.It lasted for years,he would eventually after a few months talk to me in private but we still used sign language when we were around other people or in places where people could hear" Sirius sighed,a small fond smile on his face.
is he better now? Remus asked and Sirius smiled,nodding at him."Yeah,believe it or not he's been dating James for 4 years.We met James in secondary school,he's been my bestfriend ever since.I'm very protective of Reg so we always hung out at school and things and they apparently started dating when Reg was 14,although i didn't find out until they'd been together a year" Sirius watched Remus raise his eyebrows in surprise."i know,sneaky bastards" The pair laughed together quietly,watching around the shop a little bit.
i'm sorry about everything you had to go through Remus signed and Sirius felt his heart melt slightly.Of course even after cracking a joke Remus was still worrying about him."it's alright.We got better in the end" Sirius nodded and Remus smiled,gently squeezing Sirius' knee.Did you know i was 16 when i went deaf? Sirius was slightly shocked that Remus was sharing this but covered it up so Remus didn't see."really?" Sirius asked and Remus nodded.I was in a car crash,hit my head and one thing lead to another,next thing i know i'll never hear again Remus shrugged and Sirius wanted to cry.that is also how i gotthis Remus pointed to the scar that ran across his cheekbone and up the side of his nose,stopping at the bridge of his nose.Sirius instinctively reached up and ran the tip of his finger across Remus' cheekbone smiling softly at the blush that followed."i like it" Sirius pulled his hand back and Remus smiled thank you.
The pair talked for a few more minutes until the bell rang,grabbing Sirius' attention."speak of the devil and he shall appear" Sirius pointed towards Regulus who looked over at him rolling his eyes and walking over.brother? Sirius nodded at Remus before smiling at Regulus who stood opposite them,on the other side of the table."what the hell do you think you're doing?" Regulus asked "talking to Remus?" Regulus watched how Sirius positioned himself,always making sure the other boy could see his lips,even before he had approached them which meant that he was the boy they were talking about last night."i meant by punching someone! you've already got one broken hand i am not afraid to break another one of your limbs Sirius" Regulus threatened and Sirius smiled.
"remus meet my darling brother Reggie" Remus smiled up at the boy,waving slightly.He didn't sign to him because although Sirius had used his brothers name when speaking about their childhood Remus wasn't always the best with lip reading names so he didn't want to assume that he was talking about him.Hi,how are you? Regulus signed and Remus smiled Good thank you.How are you? Remus returned the greeting,not missing the way Sirius stared at him with a small smile as he did so,although he did pretend not to notice.i would be good if my brother wasn't such an arse Remus laughed quietly and Sirius scowled at his brother.
They were interrupted when James came up behind Regulus,wrapping his arms around his waist."Hi" James smiled,kissing Regulus' cheek.Regulus rolled his eyes making Remus smile."don't think i'm not mad at you aswell.You're supposed to stop things like this" Regulus crossed his arms,looking directly away from James who's eyes widened."I'm sorry! he was really quick and i wasn't expecting- that's a lie i was expecting it which is why i came around to stop it" James turned Regulus to face him,holding onto his arms."yeah but you didn't" Regulus tapped his finger on James' nose before rolling his eyes."i'm sorry,love" James looked at Regulus with sad eyes and Regulus frowned."ew,never look at me like that again" James laughed and pressed a kiss to Regulus' forehead before sitting down on Sirius' knee,narrowly avoiding his hand.
Sirius scowled at James who slouched back,resting his back against Sirius' chest while Sirius pushed James' curls out of his face."sometimes even i question if they actually really love each other" Sirius spoke to Remus who smiled and looked at Regulus."i guess we'll find out when i get that ring" "stoooooppppp" James laughed as Sirius barked a laugh from behind him "i'm kidding.I love you really.Sometimes" Regulus winked and Sirius fake gagged,pushing James away from him."go away the pair of you." Sirius grumbled,his arms crossed as he scowled at the pair."nope,sorry big brother but you and i have traumatic shit to talk about for an hour" Regulus joked and Sirius rolled his eyes,trying to hide his smile."you could just say we have therapy" Regulus shook his head before waving goodbye to Remus and following James to stand at the counter while James made him a drink.
"Sorry about them" Sirius laughed and Remus shook his head with a smile.No,i think they're great Sirius smiled and nodded slightly."i'm sorry about not being able to sign either,i hope i'm doing okay?" Sirius apologised and Remus gave him a deadpanned look."what?" Sirius questioned and a smile broke out on Remus' face.Well firstly,don't apologise,you literally have a broken hand.Secondly,you're doing perfectly,most people don't go to these lengths to talk to me.So,thank you" Sirius smiled,his eyes fixed on Remus."i like talking to you" sirius shrugged and Remus smiled back at him.i like talking to you too he replied and Sirius tried his best to will the blush to go away and not show on his face.
"i wish there was something else i could do to make it easier for you to understand me" Sirius spoke and Remus nodded.I understand you,i am pretty good at reading lips it's mainly names and things that i don't understand sometimes.But if you wanted to you can put your number in my phone.My bestfriend Lily and I will text sometimes when we're tired of signing or just would rather text Remus looked at Sirius who nodded accepting the phone Remus held out to him.
He entered his number and sent himself a simple "hi" before handing Remus his phone back.The pair stood up and said there goodbyes before Remus headed out and Sirius made his way over to Regulus,pulling his phone out.
Remus :)
Remus: hi :)
Sirius: hi :)
i walked over two seconds ago and i'm already being shouted at :(
Remus: oh.
that's not fun.
Sirius: nope.
i hope they know i'm not listening,i'm just nodding ;)
Remus: of course
have a good day,Sirius.
Sirius: have a good day,Remus :)