Chapter 2
Remus' hand was lodged in Regulus' curls as the younger boy rested his head on Remus' lap.
They spent the day much like they spent all of last summer’s days- together on the sofa, Remus reading or the pair playing games.
Regulus raised his finger bored flicking it across the board, "E5."
The piece darted across the board dragging Remus' piece off.
Regulus yawned out a lazy, "Checkmate."
"I don't know why I bother playing with you." Remus huffed.
"Maybe you enjoy always losing", Regulus teased, "Honestly I don't know why you think you can beat me- I've been playing since I was in diapers."
"You're still in diapers." Remus quipped rolling his eyes.
"Funny- if this whole sulky werewolf thing doesn't work out, you could always become a clown." Regulus scoffed unimpressed.
Remus stood up brushing Regulus off his lap before cleaning up the chess board.
Regulus watched as he did so, thinking about how lucky Harry was to have Remus as an uncle.
"Remus." Regulus started softly.
The boy hummed in response.
"I want you to be Harry's godparent." Regulus explained.
Remus froze as he removed his hands from the board.
He turned to face Regulus, as he was kneeled on the ground before him.
"You'd trust your baby with a werewolf?" Remus questioned.
"No", Regulus started brushing the hair that'd fallen into Remus' face, "I would trust my baby with you."
"Can I kindly decline?" Remus questioned.
Regulus chuckled, "No."
"Nothing is going to happen to you, so why do you need godparents?" Remus quizzed, still trying to reject the position.
The question was something that popped into his head, but once it did he couldn't help but feel curious as to what Regulus would say.
"I've never had an easy life, Remus", Regulus muttered picking at invisible fuzz on the older boys shoulder, "Something tells me I never will."
"Why do you say it like that? Like the fate of the world rests on your shoulders?" Remus quizzed searching the boys expression for answers.
Regulus' eyes met Remus' gaze.
"What if it was on my shoulders? Growing inside me?" Regulus retorted.
"That's impossible." Remus scoffed lightheartedly, but it struck Regulus.
"Is it?", Regulus quizzed, "I used to think dying and coming back to life was impossible."
Remus was silent.
Too silent.
Regulus wanted to disappear, keeping his gaze glued to the boys shoulder picking fuzz.
"You never talk about it." Remus muttered softly.
Regulus' eyes meet his as he furrowed his eyebrows.
"What?" Regulus asked with the same gentleness.
"Dying." Remus answered.
"Because I'm alive." Regulus retorted.
Remus gave him a look that said 'you know what I mean'.
Regulus sighed playing with a loose string on the hem of his shirt.
"I was on my knees. The blood of my best friends seared into my skin and James- James shattered into a million pieces in front of me. I had to- I had to keep it together." Regulus explained solemnly, "One of us had to be strong."
Remus brushed his hand through the younger boys curls.
"There was darkness- cold darkness and everything stopped. It could've been seconds, minutes, hours maybe. Then it was bright and the smell of poppy's brushed against my nose and grass underneath my fingertips", Regulus muttered, "I thought I was dead."
"I know I should be grateful- grateful that I'm alive, that I didn't die- but I was so scared to die, so utterly horrified and that fear- that fear, it tears you apart." Regulus choked out.
He only realized when Remus' wiped his cheek, that he'd been crying.
"You don't have to be strong anymore, Regulus." Remus assured the boy, with a gentle loving tone.
As if Remus stomached some of the weight, Regulus felt eons lighter.