Intro
It had nearly been two months since Regulus had run away from Grimmauld Place, and he was finally starting to feel at home in his tiny London flat. He had a job and had gotten his first paycheck, so life was becoming easier. However, he still needed to find some furniture, and was headed towards his friends’ charity shop when he came across a tiny café he had been wanting to try out since he moved in, and finally decided to. The café felt very cosy, with dark wood tables and mismatched seats and armchairs. Regulus went straight towards the bar and ordered his usual, an iced americano with four pumps of vanilla (he wanted his friends to take him seriously, but who actually liked dark coffee?). The barista was a very tall man with intriguing scars and a nice sweater, who fit perfectly in the café’s atmosphere. He handed him his americano with a warm smile on his face, and Regulus started to head out to join his friends.
While he walked towards the door, Regulus’ eye caught sight of the most beautiful man he had ever seen, sitting at the bar table placed in front of the window. His hair was an extremely dark shade of brown, almost as deep as his own, but with a warmer shine. He couldn't see the man's face, but the back of his neck showed dark, smooth skin and he was wearing a burgundy woollen jumper with a gold hem around the neck and at the end of the sleeves. Regulus’ gaze drifted towards his hands, which he found delicate and ran with thin veins when the man's head perked up and Regulus was startled to recognize his face. Obviously, it didn't seem to be mutual, even though the man he now knew as James Potter wore a puzzled expression, as if he were trying to place where he knew him from. Regulus didn’t give him the chance to, and left the café swiftly, taking refuge in a corner of the street to gather his thoughts.
Meeting people from school had never been easy because of his family’s reputation, but it was even harder since his transition. But not being recognised wasn’t what upset Regulus the most – it was the fact that his brother’s best friend was sipping a coffee just down his street, looking perfectly at ease. That meant he probably lived around the corner, and if James was here, Sirius couldn’t be far. But maybe Regulus was just overthinking, as usual. After all, he didn’t even know if James and Sirius were still in touch, or even if James actually lived here. And if Sirius was in London, he would’ve reached out by now, right? The only explanation for his silence was that he left. Or, at least, the only explanation Regulus was willing to consider. His friends had many other hypothesises, but he refused to believe his brother was willingly ignoring him.
Thinking of his friends reminded Regulus he was supposed to meet them at the charity shop, and he hurried in that direction. He hated being late, but this time he had a good excuse, and it would make for a great story to tell Dorcas and Pandora to distract them from their long day of work. When Regulus got to the shop, he was surprised to find Barty and Evan already there. Knowing time was an unknown concept for the two of them, Regulus figured his quick coffee stop had been longer than he anticipated. The others seemed to notice too, because they immediately asked him what happened. They truly knew each other as if they had grown up together, which was somewhat true. Barty and Regulus met when they were kids because their parents were close, and Evan and Pandora were raised together, seeing they were cousins. The five of them met on the first day of middle school and never left each other's side since then.
Anyways, Regulus did not miss the opportunity to explain how he met James Potter, who, on top of being his brother's best friend, had somehow become the most attractive man on Earth. His friends' faces immediately dropped, which shocked Regulus.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Do you need to tell me you became insanely homophobic overnight?"
"You know very well we aren't, said Pandora, eyeing Evan and Barty. That would be extremely hypocritical of us, wouldn't it?"
After a beat of silence, realizing no one would break it to explain what was happening, Regulus started to get worried.
"Well, tell me then! Why are you all looking at me like you just saw the devil?"
"We didn't know how to tell you, but apparently, Sirius came in the shop this morning", precariously said Pandora.
"We weren't the ones working though so we couldn't talk to him, hastily explained Dorcas, but he did leave his address since he needed a piece of furniture delivered! Do you want us to give it to you?"
"I already have his address! Where do you think I send my letters? Sirius Black, I don't know where he lives but find him please?"
Regulus was already feeling very tense, and the idea of his brother being so close the whole time made him feel even more on edge. As always, the others saw right through him, and Barty was the first to try to de-escalate the situation.
"Reg, we know you have an address, but how do you know it's the right one? He could have moved just recently, which would explain the need for new furniture!"
"And the fact he's not answering your letters, added Evan. Remember you've only been out of Grimmauld Place for two months, maybe he's trying to reach you there!"
"Okay, show me the address then. I'll send him another letter, but I swear if he doesn't answer…"
"There you go, cut Pandora, giving him a yellow Post-it note scribbled with what looked like an address. And why don't you just go there? Talking to him directly could be easier, wouldn't it?"
"Yeah thanks, I'll think about it. Anyways, where is that gorgeous sofa you promised me?"
Dorcas and Pandora lead the boys towards the back of the store, where lay a beautiful couch, covered in deep green velvet and with huge back cushions. It would be the perfect addition to Regulus' apartment, and would finally allow the five of them to hang there without sitting on the floor (not that any of them minded it). The end of the girls' shift was near, so they all went to Dorcas' flat, which was just upstairs to the shop.