Sunday
Regulus was not a morning person, but he learned to wake up at 6 am every day without fail. When he woke up on Saturday there was no fainting, dizziness or vomiting, he still felt weak and with some pain in his body but nothing that prevented him from getting out of bed, outside he could see that it was a rare sunny day for that time of the year.
Since he bought the house, he got used to sleeping with the window shades open. At night, before going to sleep, he still tends to observe the stars and list as many constellations as he can find, during the day he likes to feel the sun's rays coming through the window.
The house itself has many glass windows that allow the entry of natural light, in the summer they are open allowing the entrance of the winds. It's warm and fresh, natural, like he always wanted, it's not a cold, dark house like his parents' and because of that the decor isn't green, silver, white or black. But there are potted plants scattered around the house, there are colorful pillows on the sofa, there is a strange painting of a drowning man - from when Pandora was taking painting lessons - that hangs in the dining room, and there is a wall of pictures of all her friends along the hall to the main rooms. It's Regulus' house, everything there was chosen by him with some meaning.
It is the house of your dreams. The ones he and James had dreamed of together.
When he went down to breakfast hours later, he was surprised to find his friends already ready in the kitchen. “Good morning” he greeted his friends spread out in the kitchen and sitting next to Dorcas at the table "We had made some plans for today and I forgot?" Pandora, Barty and Evan were already dressed up finishing their coffee.
"I'm going to visit Lucius and Narcissa" Pandora replied cautiously "I called him after our last conversation and we set up a meeting"
"That sounds good I guess, although I don't understand why you want to get closer to your family so much, especially Lucius" Pandora's brother, in Regulus' opinion, was the most arrogant, snobbish and prejudiced being he knew, completely different from his sister and wife.
"He's my brother" Pandora smiled softly at him knowing Regulus would understand why.
"I'm going to visit my parents" Evan replied when Pandora, Dorcas and Regulus turned to face him and Barty
"What?" Asked Dorcas in surprise, Rosier rarely spoke of the family
"Yes, what they want I don't know, but I haven't seen them for a while, so let's go for a visit"
"And obviously he's going to take me to give dad a heart attack," Barty jokes. Like the Blacks, the Rosier family has a strong prejudice against homosexuals. But unlike Regulus's parents, they still treated Evan well, even if they still made nasty comments about his life, which still hurt him.
"Well, good luck for you", wished Regulus to his friends who left fifteen minutes later.
"Looks like it's just the two of us today" said Dorcas looking at him "So what's the plan?"
"It's a beautiful day, I thought I'd tidy up some things in the garden"
"Serious?" asked unmotivated "There are so many cool things we could do, like you model for me?" suggested hopefully.
"This is my brother" Regulus hid a smile as he replied "and I'm not in my prettiest days for you to use me as a model"
Dorcas rolled her eyes at the answer and the stupid joke "Speaking of him, any news from him today?"
"Not yet, but it's still early and he's probably still sleeping"
“8 am is not early”
"It's early for Sirius" Unlike Regulus, it was always a struggle to wake Sirius although he always woke up in a good mood "Come on, let's go outside"
Eighteen year old Regulus was indifferent to gardening, he never paid attention to the garden at the Black house, but it was the first thing he noticed when he arrived at the Potter house. It was the summer after he left home that he learned the process of caring for roses, of cutting the dead branches and wilting flowers, of fertilizing the soil and watering. At first he did it more out of obligation, a way of thanking them for taking him in, but after a while that half hour early each morning helped him to relax. It was usually Fleamont, James' father, who was with him in the garden, but sometimes Mrs. Potter, Euphemia, was also there to help her husband.
Orion and Walburga were married at nineteen, had Sirius at twenty-two and Regulus at twenty-four. The brothers lived with their mother in London for most of their childhood while their father lived in Paris. When they were together they always slept in separate rooms, the time they spent together was limited to breakfast and dinner. There was no touching or cuddling between them, nothing that would say they loved each other. A reality that was completely different from the Potters.
That first summer together with the family, Regulus was surprised at Euphemia cooking together with Fleamont, with the way they laughed at each other, and how they made plans for the day, how they kissed when they left for work, or the little gestures of affection they exchanged when they thought no one was paying attention. This was all strange to Regulus at first, but it was that summer that gave him his main goal in life. It's a memory of the couple together in the garden, they were fertilizing some orchids, when Fleamont ran his hand over his face to dry the sweat and thus got dirt on his face, Euphemia laughed at her husband and he, in retaliation, got her dirty too. The day was sunny and warm, they were laughing and smiling at each other as if they were exchanging secrets between them. They loved each other and that was the kind of love Regulus wanted.
For the next few years he thought he had found that love, and he had. With James. And during the summer it was common to find the four of them in the garden. Regulus still misses them, Elf and Fleamont, more than he misses his own parents.
“So, you and Marlene?” he asked quietly after a while as he and Dorcas picked the leaves off some roses.
"Doesn't start either" she said muttering from the other side of the flower bed
"No criticism here" Regulus defended himself smiling slyly "I just want to know what happened"
“It's not a big deal really, we kept a kind of friendship during that time, we're in the same field of work and she's a great stylist. Ouch!' Dorcas jabbed her finger into the rose carnations. “Nothing else"
"Friends then" Regulus conferred once more "After everything?"
"Yepp" Regulus stared at her while she was still messing with the flowers "What?" Dorcas asked annoyed
"Do you still love her"
“No” she replied quickly.
"It wasn't a question, you still love her all these years"
“And you still love James” Dorcas snapped back
“One thing has nothing to do with the other and they are different situations”
"Why?"
"Because he didn't cheat on me" Dorcas looked at him ready to argue "We were already done when he hooked up with Lily at the party and.."
“You ass you guys were done, you fought, stopped talking and then he did that shit” The more Dorcas talked the more she aggressively picked at the roses “Me and Marls were competing for the same office, she flirted with Skeeter and the office was her. Was it dirty? Yes, but nothing compared to what Potter did.”
"Are you kidding me?" Regulus asked in disbelief "Nothing compared? The job was practically yours," he raised his voice "Vogue, Dorcas. Your dream job, just needs to sign the contract, and in one night she goes and destroys everything. The woman you trusted and loved betrayed you in the worst way he could” he ended the angry speech
Dorcas was silent for a few minutes looking at the garden "It wasn't what she wanted and you know it" she sighed heavily
“Was it an accident that she ended up in the magazine editor-in-chief’s bed?” Regulus asked, hoping his friend would see the obvious.
“They don’t have sex, nothing happened”
"That's as far as you know"
“I believe her, and that's enough” Dorcas said as she got up from the flower bed “We're over, it doesn't matter anymore”
"It matters because you love her" Regulus looked at her still sitting on the floor
Dorcas shrugged "Maybe, but that's not the only thing that matters right now" she said walking away
"No, it's not" Regulus agreed.
The first year that Regulus lived with Sirius served to bring the friendship groups closer together, mainly because his brother always got together with his friends to drink on Thursday nights, which ended up lasting the whole weekend. So Regulus thought he had the right to call his friends too.
Sirius had never liked Barty, but after seven bottles of beer they were laughing together.
Remus and Regulus drank little and tried to keep order in the house, except when Remus started to smoke along with Peter.
Peter always showed up with marijuana, much to Barty's delight.
Mary, Alice and Pandora and Lily started dancing after the third bottle
And then there were Marlene and Dorcas.
Dorcas was in the same class as Sirius, but she never got close to his group because she thought they were too stupid. Marlene was from the Sirius group and was on the school newspaper staff and they always argued over suggested subjects. Two point negatives for Marlene.
The dislike Sirius had for Barty was the same as Dorcas had for Marlene. The difference was that Barty did everything to annoy Sirius, while Marlene always tried to talk to Dorcas.
"How long do you think it will be before they get together?" James asked, approaching Regulus in the kitchen.
"Who?" Regulus frowned as he glanced at the crowd in the room, then James pointed at Marlene and Dorcas, who were exchanging glances, one sitting on the couch talking to Evan while the other danced in the middle of the room. "Ah.. and why do you think that?" He turned to James who was right beside him at the counter looking right at him.
James shrugged, looking back at his friends, took another sip of his drink and replied "I know those looks, I lived with them for five years"
At first Regulus didn't understand, and James must have seen the confusion on his face and then he nodded, smiling towards Sirius and Remus on the couch. “Oh!”
In fact, since he was sixteen, Regulus had heard at least half an hour of Dorcas complaining about Marlene every week. When Barty made fun of her once by saying that this was probably love, Dorcas broke his finger.
"If your friend tries harder, probably on Halloween" Regulus finally answered. It was the middle of September and if these meetings continued until then, Regulus had no doubt that Marlene would make Dorcas go from hate to love.
James looked at Regulus smiling "Sirius said the same thing" Regulus frowned hating to agree with his brother, James knowing that smiled even more "Fine, fine, he said it would be at his birthday party"
Dorcas and Marlene hooked up that halloween, ignored each other for the next few days, and hooked up again on Sirius' birthday. A year later they were living together and the following year they separated.
______________
James remembers the exact moment he fell in love with Lily Evans.
It was at a football match.
He knocked Mary to the ground in one throw, and then had an angry redheaded girl coming towards him screaming at him. She had disheveled hair, sweaty and red face “She's so beautiful” he thought as he listened to her screams. And that's when it all started. It was instantaneous. He just knew.
"She's so amazing" He knew at eleven
"Do you want to be my girlfriend?" He asked for the first time at thirteen "Will you be my wife one day Lily Evans" He would whisper to himself after she said no.
“I love you” He said at fifteen. And since then there hasn't been a day that James hasn't loved Lily Evans.
But his heart didn't belong to her, he found out later, because it didn't hurt when they broke up. He didn't feel out of breath waiting for her to return. He didn't drink all night and cried when she left. He wasn't angry. He just accepted it, it was natural.
James doesn't remember the exact moment he fell in love with Regulus Black.
He remembers that day in his parents' garden, they had returned from college to spend the holidays and it was autumn, it was cold outside, it was Regulus' favorite time of year. They were picking up the fallen leaves and Regulus was scolding him because James insisted that Romeo and Juliet was a beautiful love story. Tragic? Yes, but still beautiful.
“Seven days at most was the time between them meeting and dying, who falls in love in seven days?” Regulus questioned in disbelief "They were young and stupid, there's nothing pretty about the story" James refuted by saying that they were young too, and that he fell in love with Lily in one day
"It just goes to show how incredibly stupid you are, Potter, and I don't doubt at all that you would do something stupid like that" Regulus made a disgusted face as he said at the same time that he was going to gather the leaves that had fallen from the tree in the garden
"So you think I'm awesome?" James asked, smiling as he stopped to look in the direction of where Regulus was standing.
There, among the yellow autumn leaves with Regulus taunting him, he knew "I love him"
James always thinks of that moment when he looks at the ring in the box, one he keeps inside a coat in his old room at his parents' house. In those three years of separation he found himself doing it a few times, mostly around the time of their engagement, after all it was a family heirloom to propose to him, but it didn't feel right to give that ring to Lily, so he kept it.
“My father gave me this ring when i wanted to propose to your mother, his father gave it to him and now I'm giving it to you” Fleamont looked at him seriously, father and son were facing each other in the garden “There will be a day that you will just know Jamie, when the presence of the person you love makes your heart beat fast, not out of nervousness but out of pure happiness. When that time comes, have no hesitation in asking.”
The moment arrived and James wasn't afraid to ask.
___________________
Barty and Evan returned after dinner to find their friends playing cards in the library. It was something they had done since school, when they would get together in their room and drink until dawn gossiping about all the students, usually it was Pandora who came up with all the news and Dorcas got the drink being the oldest in the group. Barty always played together with Regulus, who for some reason, during all these years never managed to learn the rules of the game.
"Finally" celebrated Dorcas when she saw the boys entering the room "I even thought you were going to sleep there"
"Please no, one of us would wake up dead if that happened" Barty said as he sat next to Regulus on the couch enjoying and watching the game his friend "I never understood how you are terrible at this and good at chess"
"shut up”
"Mom asked us to sleep there, but it was like they threatened Barty" Evan rolled his eyes as he remembered his husband's reaction to the invitation
"Honey, I love you, but I'm sure your father would kill me if he could"
Evan's parents were a couple of highly recognized lawyers, they had an office that defended practically all of London's elite. They were a model for young graduates, Barty had already seen them defending impossible cases, so he had no doubt that if they wanted they could disappear with him.
"It's not my family that has a history with mobsters in Italy," Evan retorted.
"My god, I love this story" Dorcas laughed at the memory of "the Crouch family and their dark past"
Barty's great-grandfather was a mafia boss in northern Italy in the forties, and that's where they made the entire Crouch family fortune, although his father completely denies this if you ask. With the war his grandfather was sent to London and grew up away from the family business, later, he refused to get involved with criminal activities and today Barty's father is one of the main judges in cases against drug trafficking crimes. Which is ironic, since Barty used to keep kilos of cocaine under his bed as a teenager.
"I want to make it clear that my dear father is not adept at the old ways of the family. Sad I know" as he listened to Barty, Regulus played an Ace of spades "For God's sake, give it to me" Barty got irritated and took the game out of his pocket. friend
"If so, let's just start a new game" suggested Evan
"But I was going to win" complained Pandora, who was sitting on the floor
"I don't think so, baby" Dorcas showed her game with two Kings, one of spades and the other of hearts
Pandora frowned at her friend's letters "Really?" he asked in a defeated tone even with a smile on his face that was justified by the set of cards he had: king of diamonds, Ace of hearts and of Diamonds
"Fuck off"
"That's my girl" celebrated Evan high five with Pandora
"Ok, ok listen to me" began Barty while picking up the cards to shuffle "Evan and I are getting married…..again"
"What? Why?" Dorcas looked from one to the other
"My dear mother-in-law doesn't think that a marriage performed by you in the Eiffel Tower is valid" he said while distributing the cards
"Isn't it valid? I had to get a lot of licenses to be able to do the ceremony…. And the document is valid indeed"
Barty and Evan got married in France during the spring, they had been on vacation for a few days when they suddenly decided. A fortnight later his friends were there, Barty's mother, and Evan's cousin who works with them. They rented the tower, Pandora organized the decorations, Docas performed the ceremony and Regulus was the best man. It was simple, special and romantic, nothing like Barty had ever imagined but perfect in Evan's opinion.
"Relax, everything is fine with the marriage certificates, it's just that it wasn't the way my family wanted it" justified Rosier while analyzing his cards
"Starting with the choice of fiance" said Pandora
"They want to do a new ceremony, with more guests and things like that"
"Your parents? Really?" Regulis did not believe in the new posture of the Rosier family
"They want to me to be heir to the office again, introducing me to some contacts"
"After all that mess with your dad?"
Evan shrugged "It's like they forgot everything they told me"
"Idiots"
The first card is a 3 of clubs
"That's not even the worst" Barty played another card "we have to have a child so Ev can inherit everything"
"What do they expect you to get pregnant?" Dorcas jokes
"We're not going to do this" began Evan "the marriage, the company, the child. This is not what we want. The wedding was perfect the way it was, and we are managing the our office and we are happy with that" while he said he looked at his husband who was on the other side of the couch
"At least not now, you know… the son" completed Barty who was looking fondly at Evan.
Regulus quickly turned his head to the side "You want to have children? Since when?" he asked in disbelief
"Ow calm down" Barty laughed at his friend's reaction "in the distant future, maybe, we can adopt, I don't know" He looked back at Evan who was laughing at something Dorcas whispered to him on the other couch.
It wasn't supposed to happen, Barty and Evan. It was a drunken accident from the start. Although Barty knew Evan liked him at fourteen. At the time he was so in love with Regulus that he chose to ignore it. When they'd first slept together, he'd woken up horrified that he'd screwed up. But nothing has changed. Evan woke up in a bad mood with a hangover, went into the other room and changed his clothes and reminded Barty of the work they had to hand in later. Barty was still unresponsive watching it all happen.
And then it happened again and again and they never spoke about what they had, although all their friends already considered them as a couple, time passed and the only thing that changed was that they started sleeping in the same room. Until then it wasn't love, not as Barty knew love. The love he knew was full of desire and passion, with Regulus it felt like he had to have it all before it was gone.
He never felt things were going to end with Evan, that one day they would not be able to see each other, kiss each other, touch each other. It wasn't just desire and passion either, it had the calm, the laughter and the companionship. It was love. And it was more, always wanting more. Wanting a marriage, wanting a family, a child, a dog. More love.
"Okay, my turn for the news…." Pandora made suspense "Narcissa is pregnant"
"It's what? The third try?" Dorcas now had seven cards in her hand.
Narcissa and Lucius' marriage brought together two of the greatest families in the country, Malfoy and Black. It was the wedding of the year, eight years ago. Today all that is talked about is how she still hasn't been able to have a child, especially when the Black family is without its two main heirs. With that, she has already had two miscarriages, which always end up leaking to the press, further increasing the pressure on her ability to produce an heir.
"I think it's her dream, she's already four months old and this time she's hopeful"
"It's not a dream, she's being pressured, you know that. With me and Sirius gone, they're probably saying she's going to have the future heir to the Black family."
"And Malfoy" Evan threw a 10 of diamonds onto the board, and was now down to four cards.
"It's a baby, all life is welcome" Pandora said happily "I think I'll tell Xeno came in the next few months, I want to stay until the baby is born"
"Speaking of which, what about your brother's visit tomorrow?"
"Okay, be careful what you say, I don't want Lupin to know I'm sick" Warned Regulus
"Do you think your brother didn't tell him?"
"He promised me he wouldn't" he replied as he arranged the four cards he also had
"What if he asks why we're all here?" Evan asked
"You came to visit family, Dorcas came on business, and Pandora…"
"I came back because of my brother" Which is true, thought Pandora.
"That" agreed Regulus with now two cards
"And you think Lupin will believe that?" Evan doubts he will, in the years of their friendship he realized how perceptive Lupin can be.
"There's no reason for him not to believe"
Barty still had four cards, Pandora three and Dorcas five.
Evan made the last move with a King of Diamonds
Regulus placed an Ace of spades that he's held since the moment he received the "This time I think I've learned" card.
"And this is my boy" Barty cheered Regulus' victory over Evan.
________________________
Regulus was waiting for them, with his arms crossed over his chest and leaning against the door. "Remus Lupin," he greeted as his brother-in-law stepped out of the car.
"Baby Black," Remus teased, tilting his head, observing how Regulus pretended to be irritated.
"Sirius," he turned his face to his brother who was approaching alongside Lupin.
"My baby brother."
"My idiot older brother," they stared at each other for a moment. "Come in."
Regulus led them to the kitchen, where Remus encountered "the little snakes" - the way Sirius referred to Regulus's friends -, which was surprising since he hadn't expected them to be there.
"Remus," Pandora exclaimed, hurrying over to hug him as soon as she saw him walk through the door.
"Dora," he embraced her gently, while Barty waved at him from the other side of the kitchen.
After hugging Pandora, Dorcas appeared in front of him, looking him up and down. "I heard we have a new hot professor in the area."
He then turned to Sirius, knowing it was his boyfriend who had been spreading that around. "Dorcas, how's it going?" He hugged her too, albeit more quickly.
"Lupin," Evan called out to him, acknowledging his presence.
"Evan," they were all in the kitchen. Sirius leaned against the door frame, Barty sitting at the table, Dorcas cooking something, Evan chopping something, and Pandora heading to the counter beside Regulus. Remus hadn't seen them in three years, and it was surprising to realize he had missed these people.
At some point, Pandora took him on a tour of the house, and he realized that Regulus's house was exactly how he had imagined it would be. Not small and chaotic like his and Sirius's apartment, but large, clean, and organized. There were photos scattered everywhere of the five friends at parties, trips, school, with snapshots of books and artwork all around, and a prominent piano in the library, an envy-inducing library indeed. While the Black brothers had received nearly the same education, Regulus was more inclined towards the arts than Sirius, although his boyfriend still knew the difference between a Van Gogh and a Gauguin, unlike most people.
"I thought you had moved recently," Remus commented upon returning to the kitchen. "Nice house, by the way."
"I've been here for a while, actually," Regulus preferred to tell a half-truth rather than a complete lie.
Remus looked at Sirius in confusion. "Did you know?" he asked his boyfriend, who was standing beside his brother.
"He's such a little shit, isn't he?" Sirius responded, glaring at his brother, causing Regulus to roll his eyes.
Remus and Regulus managed to be alone together shortly after lunch. By then, he knew the paths each one had taken separately, or together in Evan and Barty's case. And that's why he realized how strange it was for all of them to be back there, even though each had a different reason for it.
"So, are you going to tell me what's going on?" Remus asked him.
"I killed a guy, my ex-boyfriend, and needed my friends to help me dispose of the body. Evan thought it would be a good idea to call my cop brother for help too," Regulus stated matter-of-factly.
Remus tried not to smile at what he had heard. "So, there's nothing incriminating you guys?" He got into the rhythm of the story.
"We make a good team, you know," Regulus smiled at him. After a few moments of silence, he finally added, "It's all right, I know Sirius is worried, but it's okay."
"That doesn't explain what happened," Remus said seriously. "Sirius didn't tell me anything, but I know something serious is going on. He came home crying a few nights ago, Reg."
It was quick, but Remus saw Regulus's expression soften as he became sad, then his back tensed and his jaw clenched. "Like I said, it's fine," Regulus concluded in a hard tone.
Remus realized that topic was closed for the day and refrained from asking further. But that didn't stop him from analyzing Regulus, who pretended to look for a book. He looked thinner, a bit pale, and tired. "He asked about your book," Remus decided to change the subject.
Regulus mumbled something about what was said, but Lupin couldn't understand. "The ending is still open, and the deadline Bones gave me is approaching," Regulus brought a book with him and handed it to Lupin. "How do you think the ending should be? Barty wants one where James ends up alone."
The book is called "Illness as Metaphor," written by Susan Sontag in 1978. "Is it Bones now?" Lupin asked while flipping through the book. "I can't tell you how to end your own book, which, by the way, is almost an autobiography."
"Shut up," Remus laughed at his brother-in-law. "You're going to help me with the book anyway."
"I liked him, you know? Edgar, the way you talked about him, he seemed like a nice guy," Remus persisted on the topic. "And I only edit your book; it's not like it's a big deal."
"You helped a lot with Betty's book; the chapters about childhood trauma from her father's abandonment were a hit. You gave me the best ideas," Cardigan, the title of Regulus's second book. It's the perspective of a betrayed girlfriend, triggering various memories of times she was hurt by someone. Regulus had the central idea, but it was Lupin who provided secondary ideas. Their partnership started with the first book. Both worked as editors at Flourish and Blotts, a publishing house originally from France, with an office in London, owned by the Bones family. It was Regulus who secured the job for Lupin.
Edgar, the chief editor, sent a copy of the first book in the series for Lupin to edit. At the time, he didn't know the manuscript was Regulus's, but eventually recognized some things in the story that led him to associate it with his brother-in-law. This was confirmed later via email. Obviously, they kept this from Sirius.
"My idea is an open ending, but I've never been a fan of books like that, so I'm not sure yet," Regulus concluded his thoughts. "And as for Edgar, it wasn't meant to be. Oh, this book is really good, by the way, you should read it." And then he left the room, leaving Remus alone.
______________________________
"I still can't believe you guys got married," after half an hour of hearing stories about Barty and Evan's wedding, Remus was still surprised by the news.
Barty lowered his glass and replied slyly "It's what people who love each other do after a while together, Lupin" he smiled in Sirius' direction "But of course you shouldn't know, considering that Sirius is stringing you along this time"
"For God's sake, not this again" Sirius said impatiently, as Remus looked at him blankly.
At the table, the others were smiling in the direction of the couple "I don't see why all this pressure on my brother" Regulus joined in the discussion, attracting attention by defending his brother, while Sirius on the other side of the table muttered thanking him for his support " Tell me Lupin, why haven't you made an honest man of my brother yet?" he asked his brother's boyfriend seriously, making his friends laugh even more.
Remus, who had just taken a sip of his drink, choked on the question, making Barty laugh even harder. Sirius looked at them irritably and Regulus stared at Remus seriously. "Then?"
"We never really thought about it, I guess" Remus looked at Sirius for support "It never felt like the right time"
Regulus shook his head in disagreement "In ten years.."
"Six" Sirius corrected
“In six years” he said emphasizing the length of their relationship “are you going to tell me that you never dreamed of one day marrying my brother? That you didn't think about it in those years that you pined for it?”
“I thought about my marriage to Ev after the first time we had sex” Barty helped contribute to the point Regulus raised “There was no way I was going to give up on this guy after he got me like that”
"It didn't happen that way" Evan looked expressively at Barty
“I've known Xeno for six months, and we've already talked that if we ever get married it'll be in the spring, our favorite time, you know? Probably on Solstice Day.” Pandora dropped the information onto the table dismissively.
"You see? So what's your excuse of yours?" Dorcas asked, trying to contain her smile.
"For God's sake, I already said we're not getting married" Sirius was already completely irritated "That's not going to happen"
"No?" Remus quickly turned his head in his direction "Like never?"
Sirius looked at him realizing he'd said something wrong "I mean… I don't know" he started a bit desperately "Do you want to?"
Everyone at the table was silent, waiting expectantly, as Remus and Sirius were only looking at each other for the moment.
"Maybe" Remus said seriously "One day we can do this"
"What day, Lupin?" Regulus troubled the couple once more
"Shut up Reggie" Sirius quickly shut up at his brother "Are you sure?" Sirius turned his attention to Remus in complete surprise.
"Yes, yes" Remus confirmed "We can think about it one day" he said shrugging and laughing at his boyfriend's face who was starting to open a smile that got bigger as he understood what had happened.
At the table, Barty and Evan exchanged glances with Regulus, while Pandora tried to control herself not to squeal in celebration. Sirius leaned back in his chair, relaxed and taking another sip from his cup and Remus looked at the plate of food in front of him, trying not to think too much about what had happened.
“Wait, wait” Dorcas drew everyone's attention “That's it, is it going to be like this? You didn't even ask him?" she looked towards Remus
“Dorcas is right, it can't be like that” Pandora realized what her friend meant “There was no speech or ring. Oh my god, we can have a party”
"Pandora, dear, this is not the time for this" Evan caught her attention, and then looked towards Regulus
"It's not like I came here to get engaged, Pands" Remus defended himself.
"But we can do it" Regulus said looking at Evan and Pandora, then at Sirius "Your engagement party"
"You guys made this whole moment dull, you know that right?" Sirius said to his brother across the table.
"Evan is right, it's not a good time" Remus agreed, to which Regulus turned his head towards him questioning "A couple of friends are getting married in the next few months, let's help them organize" he said carefully and looking away afterwards
Regulus saw the mood at the table quickly die. Sirius in front of him, stiffened. Barty took a big gulp of his drink. Dorcas and Evan frowned and Pandora sighed sadly.
A couple of friends.Regulus remembered what was said. He sucked in a breath at the same time he understood “Oh”
James is getting married
Inhale, the air is not enough
He got up from the table as he felt his eyes filling with tears.
"Reggie" Sirius came towards him
Looking at Barty, he opened his mouth for more air, the tears were already falling.
It's over, I lost him.
—----------------------
"There you are" James pointed to the star Regulus, which he learned to spot after their first year of dating. It was the first day the star was visible that year
"Yes there is" Regulus smiled, turning his head towards James who was lying next to him.
"My little prince" James turned his head towards him smiling too, in which Regulus rolled his eyes with James quoting the meaning of his name "Are they right, you know? You are my little prince, the king of my heart" he whispered
Regulus felt his face get hot and his heart speed up, as James approached giving a simple kiss on the tip of his nose and Regulus closed his eyes enjoying the moment.
"I love you" James whispered again looking so intently into Regulus' eyes.
Regulus looked at him smiling softly "I love you James" he pulled James on top of him kissing him "so much"
"One day, Regulus Black, I will propose to you in this garden with your star as my witness" James said smiling as he kissed every part of Regulus' face
"And I will say yes" Regulus replied with a red face.