Chapter one
Sirius has been dating Remus for around two years, and it's difficult to know who is more in love with him, Sirius, or his family. Before he was Sirius’s boyfriend, Remus was James and Sirius’ best friend. It has been five years since James and his neighbour/best friend Peter met Sirius and Remus, and since then they have been a close-knit friend group. It was like they were destined to find one another. James’s parents adored all the boys, but Fleamont was especially fond of Remus, the only one who listened to his long literature lectures and offered to help him anytime he saw him working.
Right now Remus was sitting next to Sirius, who was surrounded by pictures of different dogs, his younger brother Regulus was looking at him with confusion from the hallway.
“Why have you printed out pictures of dogs?" Regulus asked, hanging his coat up, and taking off his shoes before joining the rest of the group in the room.
Peter waved at him from the couch. "Hey, Reg."
“When Effie asks what we want for Christmas, I’ll show her these and have her choose one,” Sirius says and looks up at Regulus with a pointed stare “And you are not ruining this for me, she asks you what you want, you say a dog.”
“What, I don’t even get what I want for Christmas?” Regulus snorts, “And I thought living with the Potters would be different.”
“Not funny, didn’t laugh.” Sirius retorted
“You’re lying that was hilarious” Peter chimed in, raising his head to look at Sirius, who stuck out his tongue in response.
“See this is why you're my favourite, Pettigrew”
“Thanks, Reg, you’re not mine.”
James sprinted into the room, dropping a bunch of papers onto Remus's lap. "I got the pictures!"
"I can see that," Remus replied, organising the papers into a neat pile next to Sirius.
Noticing that Regulus was back, James grinned at him, his brotherly teasing instincts kicking in. "Hey Reggie, how was your date?"
The others turn to look at Regulus, and Sirius gapes at him. “You had a date?”
“Not a date.” Regulus glares at James, “We were just studying.”
"Good. You're not allowed to date!" Sirius declared, pointing a finger at his younger brother. "You are way too young."
Remus leaned closer to Sirius to whisper, "We were his age when I asked you out."
"Yeah, well, he's still a baby. I was much more... mature than him," Sirius explained defensively.
Peter burst out laughing, and Regulus smirked. "Sure you were."
Hours later, when Remus and Peter had left and Regulus was fast asleep, James and Sirius were in the kitchen. James was making them tea while Sirius put the cookies they had made in the oven. When he closed the oven door, he turned to James.
"I broke up with Remus," Sirius confessed, his voice barely above a whisper.
James frowned, setting the kettle down. "You didn't have to break up.”
“I’m going to France, James,” Sirius told him they would do this weeks ago. James has been trying to change their mind since then.
“For one year, Sirius! You could make it work.”
Sirius shook his head, not wanting to hear any more arguments. James wrapped his arms around him, “You’ll be ok.” Sirius nods into the hug, pulls away and smiles at James,
“Thanks, prongs.”
After finishing their tea and taking the cookies out of the oven, they bid each other goodnight. On his way to his room, Sirius stops at Regulus's door, opening it slightly to peek inside. A soft smile crossed his face when he saw his baby brother sleeping soundly. They had not lived in the same house for almost three years, and now Regulus was finally out of their parents' house, and Sirius was leaving. He hoped Regulus didn't resent him or it.
The next day, Fleamont and Euphemia called off work to spend time with Sirius before his departure. Euphemia and James prepared Sirius's favourites for breakfast, while he and Fleamont checked that he had packed everything needed.
"Hey, where's Reg?" Sirius asked as she carried her luggage downstairs.
Euphemia smiled and looked up from the stove. "Good morning, dear. He went to get something from his friend's place."
"He's upset with you," James added, placing a plate of waffles on the table.
"Still?" Sirius frowned and grabbed her phone to text her brother. "He's coming with us to the airport, right?"
Fleamont comes downstairs and kisses Euphemia’s forehead before joining them at the table, “Regulus? Of course, he is.”
"Is he going to be gone long?" Euphemia inquired, gently nudging Sirius to sit down before taking her seat.
“He said he’ll meet us at the airport, Maryrose will drop him off” James replies.
After they finish their breakfast, James and Fleamont carry Sirius’ luggage to the car while he helps Euphemia tidy up, when they’re done they go outside to join Fleamont and James, Sirius and James sit in the backseat, bickering.
Three hours and some crying later, they were back home, and Sirius was on a plane.
James was looking at a marron red hat box his aunt gave him, Inside it were five letters, addressed to the people he had intense crushes on in the past six years, -rank Longbottom his camp counsellor when he was twelve, Dorcas Meadows who was captain of the lacrosse team or the past two years, Jasper Odair and Lily Evans, he wrote both their letters in the same night after he saw them together at a party and Remus Lupin. His best friend and his brother’s now ex-boyfriend.
He pushed it to the side to get out a picture album from the first year Sirius moved in with them, he took the album and sat on his bed to look through it when there was someone rapidly knocking on his window, there were only two people it could be, Peter and Marlene, and Peter grew out of their shitty treehouse in year eight, James went to open it to let her in,
“You know you could just use the front door, right?”
“Sirius’s been gone for less than a day and you’re already boring.” Marlene sat on the windowsill to take her boots off before jumping on James’s bed, she flipped through the open album and snorted, “They’re in France not dead, Jamie.”
He pouted, “Don’t make fun of me, I’m going to be separated from my soulmate for a year.”
Marlene hummed, then stood up and opened the door, “I’m hungry.” She walked to the kitchen, saying hi to Fleamont when they passed his office, James followed after her.
"Me and Sirius made cookies last night. They’re in the green container”
Marlene gasped and immediately went to it, Regulus was in the kitchen as well, he was working on something at the table,
“Hey Reg, what are you doing?” Marlene ruffled his hair as she passed him, James sat down next to him to look at a cut-up picture of a teal seashell.
“Give that back,” Regulus took it out of James’ hand, “I'm making a scrapbook for Maryrose's birthday. She loves them.” Marlene hopped on the table and leaned in to look at the book,
“Maryrose?”
“Jenkins, Pandora’s sister.” James said as he poked Regulus’s arm, “So…you two are getting close.”
Marlene gasped, “Do you like like her, Reggie?”
“I hate you both.” He glared at them, “Please get out.”
“You can’t kick us out of the kitchen, It’s my kitchen” James deadpanned, and Marlene nodded,
"I live here too, it’s my kitchen as well.”
“It’s my kitchen as well,” Marlene repeated mockingly.
Euphemia walked into the kitchen, smiling at the kids, “Hello, Marlene.”
Marlene smiled back, “Hi auntie.”
Euphemia opened the cupboard to get out two cups. “How are you feeling about going back to school tomorrow?” She asked the kids as she put the kettle on the stove.
Marlene was the first one to answer, “Great!!”
Euphemia looked at her confused, “Really?” Marlene usually hated going back to school.
“He’s only excited because her girlfriend spent all summer abroad and she didn’t get to see her,” James explained, and Euphemia nodded in understanding, “What about you, Regulus?” She asked.
“Hmm? fine,” Regulus replied, before going back to his scrapbook. Marlene’s phone rang,
“Oh, it’s my mum.”
James was still teasing Regulus about his very obvious crush when Marlene got off the phone,
“She wants me to go home, apparently Reuben wants to have a last day of summer movie-night.”
James looked at her, “Can I come? Wait who’s picking the movie, if it’s Annalise then I don't want to.” Euphemia turned to him,
“You’re not going either way,” She pointed at him and Regulus, “You two are going to bed soon, so you can wake up for school tomorrow.”
Marlene laughed, “Sucks to be you, losers.” She waved bye and went to James’s room to put her boots back on.
“Where is she going?” Regulus asked, looking from the front door to upstairs where Marlene went.
“She’s leaving through Jamie’s window,” Euphemia explained, she tapped her fingers on Regulus’ book, “You should put this away and get ready for bed.”
He nodded and worked faster to finish the section he was on. James stood up and kissed Euphemia’s cheek, “I’m calling it a night. Night mum, Night Reggie.”
As James was walking alongside Peter to their next class, Dorcas Meadows called his name from the end of the hallway, he paused to wait for her to reach them,
“Hey, I need to talk to you about something” She looked at Peter then back to James, “Um, alone?”
Peter glanced at James and shrugged, “Ok.” He walked up to Emmeline Vance as she headed to the same class.
“Listen, James,” Dorcas sighs, holding a letter, James’ letter, “You do know I’m a lesbian, right? I, I don’t know if I did anything to…indicate that I might like you that way, but I really don’t.” he opens his mouth to respond but can’t get the words out, She continues, “Besides, I’m dating your cousin, this is a really shitty thing for you to do to Marls.”
“I don’t like you!!” He blurts out and Dorcas steps back and waves the letter around,
“Well, I don’t know where I got the idea that you did,” She crosses her arms, “Oh, maybe the love letter you sent me?”
“I wrote that three years ago!” James says in exasperation, reaching over to take the letter from her, “I don’t even know how you got it”
“Ohh,” She exclaimed in understanding, “Wait, you had a crush on me when we were fifteen?”
“Yes, you were a very good football player and I have very low standards for my crushes,” James responded, “Now if you’ll excuse me I have to run home now.”
“We’re barely into the day? You can’t ditch school.” Dorcas called out to him as he ran through the hallway.
“Tell them I’m sick!” James yelled back, pushing through the school doors. He ran to his car, scrambling to find the keys, some traffic laws might have been broken as he rushed towards his house, when he finally got there, he ran to his bedroom to look for the hat box,
“Where is it!!” He said hysterically, tearing through his wardrobe, when he didn’t find it, he sat down on the floor, panic-stricken.