The first time
Regulus:
It was too loud. That was his first thought. Barty had somehow convinced him to go to this goddamned party, and now here he was, in the corner, hyperventilating. Pandora was the first to notice, immediately stopping what she was doing and coming over. “Reggie?” She whispered tentatively, and he let out a small whimper, pulling his hands to his ears. “It’s too loud?” She asked, and he nodded, flinching when yet another scream echoed through the room. All of a sudden, he was back in that room. A crack sounded in his head. Sirius. He had to help Sirius. A scream that sounded like his own but not reverberated through his mind. Regulus sobbed silently, begging his mother to stop, begging her to let Sirius go. From somewhere far away he heard the one voice that could comfort him right now. Siri. Regulus gasped and threw himself into Sirius’s arms, gasping for air. “Siri!” He wailed, and allowed himself to be held by his brother.
When he finally came back to the moment at hand, he felt small. He felt as small as he did in the flashback. What’s worse is that he only wanted one person. “Siri,” he whined against his brothers chest. “Have you come back to me, Petite etoile?” His brother asked, cooing gently into his ear. Regulus nodded. He sniffled. “Siri, wan’ Jamie.” Sirius frowned in confusion, but beckoned the other boy over. It was only then that Regulus realized that he was no longer at the party. He was in Sirius’s dorm. With James. James bounded over, barely needing any prompting, and Regulus buried himself in his arms. “Jamie,” he whined, feeling awfully young. “Yeah baby?” The older boy cooed lovingly. “Feel small.” He whimpered, tears rolling down his cheeks. “Aww, baby, it’s okay. It’s perfectly normal. You can feel small. Your big brother feels small too sometimes, don’t you Pads?” James asked. Regulus’s head felt fuzzy and odd, like he couldn’t put thoughts together properly. “Yeah, I do.” Sirius agreed, and Regulus nodded, taking this into consideration. “Story?” Regulus asked, looking to Sirius. “Of course baby, what do you want?” Sirius smiled gently down at him and placed a kiss on his forehead. “Paper bag?” Regulus asked, and Sirius melted. “Of course, let me get it. It’s in my trunk.” Sirius went to get the book while James and Remus looked at each other in confusion. They had no idea what the brothers were talking about. Regulus giggled at their confused expressions, and James stopped being puzzled for a moment to coo down at the boy in his arms. Sirius finished digging around in his trunk and triumphantly emerged with a children’s book. “I found it, Reggie!” Sirius exclaimed, bounding over, and settling down in an armchair in front of the younger boy. “Siri!” Regulus cooed, feeling even tinier. “Yes, love?” Sirius stopped what he was doing and looked over at his younger brother. “‘Ove you” Regulus slurred, his mouth making the words come out oddly. “I love you too, petite etoile.” Sirius said, and Regulus smiled contentedly. Regulus looked up at James. “Kiss?” He asked, and James looked at Sirius, not sure how he would react. Sirius just smiled and said, “I know, Jamie. It’s alright. I’m a little hurt that you didn’t tell me, but I’m glad that he fell in love with you and not someone else. Now give my baby brother a kiss before he gets fussy.” James didn’t need any further assurances, and dipped his head down to kiss his boy. “I love you so much.” He said to the giggling boy in between kisses. Regulus sighed happily when James pulled away and tucked his head under James’s chin. “Alright Pads, get on with the story,” Remus said. “Yeah, I’m dying to know what ‘paper bag’ means” Peter agreed. “It’s the Paper Bag Princess,” Sirius explained. “I nicked it from some local book store in town, mother hates all things muggle, so I decided I loved it, and got the book just to spite her. I brought it home, and this little one here loved it so much that I just had to keep it.” Regulus clapped his hands in agreement, feeling rather cozy.
As Sirius began to read, his voice calming and smooth, Regulus began to drift off, his eyes fluttering shut as James rocked him back and forth.