Timeless

James

I had kept waiting for Regulus to show up again but didn't see him once for the rest of the day yesterday. I was also too occupied to slip away and go looking for him (man, organising a wedding is hard).

Today was going to be even more chaotic though, believe it or not. Until the ceremony at least. After that, I was a free man. I'd win Reggie over and get him to dance with me, once Sirius was too drunk to get to the I'm-gonna-kill-you-Prongs level of pissed. I'd have to keep refilling his champagne glass. First I'd need to make sure all the bottles were cold though. And that everything else was in order. 

First on the list, make sure the happy couple is up and having breakfast; then send them to do each other's makeup because god knows one will end up with a Bowie lightning bolt (or something even more extreme) on their face before they get to their actual wedding looks. 

Second on the list. 

Third on the list.

Fourth, and so forth.

I barely had a moment to grab a bite myself the whole morning but now, next on the list was the ceremony, so it didn't matter. My two best friends were about to get married.

I watched Pete, freshly returned from the States, walk down the aisle to take a place on one side, he was Moony's best man. He grinned and waved to me, and I waved back. Confusion washed him over. Shit. He hadn't been waving to me, he'd been calling for me for I was next to make my way down the aisle - I was Padfoot's best man after all. Forgot that in the process of wedding planning, didn't I? Good thing we had a bachelor party before all that turmoil, huh?

When I made my way down the aisle and took my place, I looked over the seated guests and my stare was immediately pulled to Reggie. I-

Oh lord.

Oh god. 

Oh sweet Jesus. 

My breathing stopped. My heart stopped. Then the whole world stopped. The sun only shone for him, the wind only existed to brush through his hair, trees bowed themselves and flowers began to bloom. 

Regulus Black had not just cut his hair, he'd shed his shell, dropped his costume, unveiled his true self, and if I thought I'd been in love before then it was nowhere near how much I now wished to never leave his side. 

He was fidgeting with the sleeves of his suit, staring down at his lap. Look up. Look up. Look up. I wanted to catch his eyes so that I could maybe attempt to convey my message via eye contact. What was the message exactly? I'm not even sure, I couldn't put it into words if I tried. That's why I had to use other methods and hope they'd work. If only he looked up. If only-

He did. 

He was staring right back at me and suddenly a picture of our wedding flashed before my eyes and the wedding march began, mixed with the Queen (obviously) and it was him walking towards me, his eyes big and grey and clear and eternity staring back at me in them. 

Moony stepped over from where he'd just arrived on Pete's side of the priest and tapped me on the shoulder, breaking the illusion. 

“You may want to stop with the staring before my husb- Sirius shows up. If you stare at his brother like that, he will definitely put 1 and 1 together,” he whispered, before swiftly stepping back to his spot. Blush rushed to my cheeks. Dammit. I had forgotten to add “me confessing my love to Regulus in the middle of the wedding and having one of the grooms (I think you know which one) murder me on the spot” to the list of all the things that could go wrong in the wedding. I should've known I was the weak link in my own plan. 

Sirius emerged to make his way to his groom and I forced my eyes from his brother to him. I watched him find Moony's face and grin. Moony had a smile of his own decorating his face. They were so perfect together and I hoped one day I would be even half as happy as they were. 

At that thought my eyes slipped ever so slightly back to where Regulus was sitting in the back. He looked sad. 

“Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today, to celebrate the love of Remus and Sirius…” the pastor began and I turned back to look at the wedding we were here for. I'd find a way to bring a smile to Reggie's face later, that was a promise. I would find a way. 

“To be married does not come without its highs and lows. Indeed, part of a marriage is finding happiness. I hope you will continue to search for the good, the fun, and the beautiful in this life you share with each other. 

“But I want you to remember that your love can also always prevail in times of turmoil. It will drive you to not only learn and grow as individuals but to become stronger together. 

“Today, as you join yourselves in marriage, there is a vast and unknown future stretching out before you. Today you enter as individuals, but you will leave here as husbands; your lives blending together and expanding. You are embarking upon a great adventure, through which all of us here know you will prevail.

“It is now time for you to read your vows.”

We'd had a long discussion on who would be the one to read their vow first and ended it with the agreement that it would be Moony. Took us coin flipping, thumb war, and rock-paper-scissors to get there. I don't know why it was so difficult though, as it now seemed like the simplest truth that it was supposed to be this way. 

“Sirius. On one hand, I cannot believe we've made it here. On the other, of course we did, there was no other way. It's been you, it's always been you and only you that I belong with. I vow to always protect you from harm, to stand with you against any troubles and to look to you when I need protection. I vow to make sure you will never ever feel alone and unloved, that you have the freedom to be yourself just as you are and wish to be because, to me, that's fucking perfection. I promise to not only listen but to hear, not only to be honest but to trust. And I promise to make this the best life either of us could've imagined. No. I'll make it even better. I love you, Sirius. I love you so damn much that it wouldn't fit into words even if I used up all of them that exist. I cannot wait to leave here as your husband.”

By the time Remus finished there wasn't a soul nearby who hadn't shed a tear. This was the kind of love great novels were written about, poems carved into trees, sacrifices drowned in tears. Again I peeked at Reggie. Still there. Still blue. I wished to paint him golden. 

“Moony. My Moony. Not a single day goes by when I'm not endlessly thankful that I found you. I do not know where I would be if I hadn't. What I do know is that with you I did not only find my partner for life, my soulmate, literally, but my home, my family, my everything. Not to mention the best shag I've ever had,” I was going to actually kill him. I had told him not to even try to pull anything like that but- you know what. Nevermind. Doesn't matter. Not my wedding, it was their day. I stopped being the wedding planner and became the best man as soon as I walked down the aisle. My task now was to laugh alongside the rest of the crowd. Well, not all of them. The image of them going at it must've not been on Reg's wish list because he looked absolutely mortified. 

“I never would have imagined that out of all the people in this world, I would find someone as special as you. I vow to be your biggest fan and partner in crime. I will laugh and cry with you. And I vow to grow old with you, in mind and body but never in spirit. Lastly, well not really, the list goes on but it won't fit in here so I'll finish later if you wish me to, I promise to give all I have and more to keep showing you the version of you that I see, because you are so goddamn perfect in every fucking way. You are loved more than any metaphor can ever try to express. And not just by me. I cannot believe I am the lucky man who gets to marry you today. I love you, Moony, so so so much,”

A wedding? More like sobfest if I was being honest. (I'm not crying, you are) (Okay, let's be honest, we both are) Damn. 

“So are you ready to make this official?” the officiant proceeded with the ceremony, asking each of them if they would take the other to be their lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward; for better and for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death parts them. And of course, they both said they do. 

As the officiant began to pronounce them married I tried finding Regulus again. He wasn't there. Fear crept into me. I looked at his empty seat, then at the grooms by my side, back at the seat again.

They'd understand, one day maybe they would, Moony sooner than Pads.

As the Pastor told them to kiss I snuck away, followed my gut to where I thought Reggie may have snuck off to. If he hadn't yet apparated. If he hadn't left for good.