Timeless

James

I'd been up all night (it was like 4 am probably, considering how light it was outside) and only partly because of the wedding preparations. If all was going as we planned it'd be tomorrow, maybe even during the night, that Reggie would be showing up. Yes, I was excited but I was also overtaken by fear now (there was still the chance of him indeed hating me with a deep passion). 

Either way, he'd get to live. Moony had said he wrote that he wished he had a chance at life and I had at that moment told myself I would do whatever it took to give him that chance.

All night I listened for a knock on the door or steps in the hallway. A window opening perhaps. Nothing. Could he have decided not to show up after all? He might have. I hoped he hadn't. 

I gave up on sleep when the first rays of sunshine snuck in through my window, which meant it was at the very least 7 am already. Or only 7 am, if you were one of the other two members of the household, still sound asleep. 

I headed downstairs to prep everything for the day of preparations, after all, it was the day before the big wedding now. The suits would have to be ironed again probably and the cake would be arriving and the decorators and-

A familiar stranger sat behind the kitchen table, just casually reading the paper, and my heart skipped a beat (okay. fine. it skipped like 4-5 beats. happy?).

Regulus.

Regulus was here.

Reggie.

My Reggie.

I wanted to wrap him in a hug and never let go. I didn't though. Even if I would've, which I wouldn't do without his consent and he wouldn't consent if I asked, not yet anyway, I was completely frozen into place. Think my soul might've actually left my body to go greet his, they were meant to be together after all. We were. 

“James? You okay?”

My name on his lips. My name on his lips. My name. On his lips. 

“Potter?”

“Hm?”

“Breathe, will you?”

I let in a new batch of air, “Right. Sorry,”

He went back to his paper. 

“Didn't think you'd be here. In our kitchen. This early. I just. Sorry.”

“Stop apologising for god's sake. I didn't wanna wake y'all so I just thought I'd wait until someone got up. Would've preferred it to be Lupin but guess I have to deal with you now, won't I?”

I shrugged, “You're in my kitchen and I'm planning on having breakfast so I guess you might have to tolerate me for a little, yes.”

“Fine, I can leave,”

“That's not what I-” this was going as horribly as it possibly could, “I'm not going to force you to my company if you don't want to. However, I wouldn't mind making breakfast for two,”

Ever so slightly I heard his stomach ask for the breakfast offered, “Goddammit,” I don't think he could've looked more crestfallen. I grinned. 

“Breakfast for two it is.”

“You don't have to-”

“No, I know. I want to, though. After all, you're the first wedding guest.”

“Fine. Can I help at least?”

“Oh, um, sure. Fetch me a couple of potatoes from the pantry?”

He did, “What are we making?”

“Aloo paratha,” or in other words, the food I was best at yet only made on special occasions. This was a special occasion, though. The most special. I was in the kitchen with Regulus and had to put in all I had to win him over. 

I served Reggie a plate of the potato-stuffed flatbread I'd grown up loving and took another for myself. There were still a couple more left for when Sirius and Remus would wake, which likely was soon. Whenever I had made the flatbread before they'd basically fallen down the stairs as soon as the scent reached their bedroom.

For now, though, I watched nervously as Reggie took his first bite (I didn't believe in any particular god but found myself praying to all of them). His face remained reactionless and unreadable and it was killing me.

“Is it alright?”

He nodded, “It's good,” and went on eating. A flake of doubt kept disrupting my thoughts, but I kept convincing myself it was overthinking. After all, he'd said it was good (I mean he could've been lying but then again what reason would he have, right?).

I wasn't wrong and it took only a couple of minutes until two pairs of steps were moving down the stairs. I watched Regulus' eyes fasten to the doorway and wondered how long it had been since he last saw his brother. Whether or not he thought he ever would again. Moony made it to the kitchen first, which was unsurprising in any scenario with food, however, when he saw Regulus staring back at him he stopped rushing for the aloo parathas and stepped aside instead. 

Regulus and Sirius locked eyes and I had a feeling that, no matter how much Moony and I may wish to, there was no way we could understand even a quarter of the communication taking place between them. 

Sirius walked over to his little brother and wrapped him in a tight hug. They may not have been on the same page about most things the majority of the time but in the end, I don't think either had wanted to lose the other. 

Sirius then grabbed him by the arm, taking the plate of unfinished food along with them, and the brothers disappeared.