France
The next morning, or rather, three hours after they stumbled back to the hotel, they’re hauled into a bus for a four-hour drive to the National Parc of the Pyrenees over the French border. Moody tells them over the bus speaker that it’s a natural parc in the mountains with beautiful landscapes and that there’s a lot of animals like bears, wolves or eagles. It would sound great, but a hike after a night out on three hours of sleep doesn’t sound like the dream. Fortunately, by the time they arrive, everyone has had about seven hours of sleep and is really to take on this trail.
It is rather beautiful, Remus thinks, as he follows the group, and snaps a couple of pictures of the nature, of the mountains with snow on top even deep into July, the huge and impressive hawks and eagles flying over them and the blue lakes in the middle of the white colins. It’s nice, he thinks, to reconnect with nature every now and then after so much time spent in cities. Whether it be at the beach, in the desert or in mountains, it always delivers and makes everyone feel better. After a sandwich at one in the afternoon that somehow made no one throw up, they managed to get at the top of their trail, on top of a mountain looking over the lake and other pics. It makes Remus think of that trail back in Korea, in the island of Jeju, when he had spent the walk up talking with Alex. He smiles to himself as he looks to his right, where Sirius is sitting with his hair in a ponytail, something he doesn’t do often but that Remus loves so much. They’re going into August now, he thinks. There’s only two months of this left, and it insane how much has happened. And how much can still happen in the next two months. He takes Sirius’ hand wordlessly, and smiles when he feels a squeeze on his hand. He’s so happy.
This day on the Pyrenees isn’t too long, kind of the perfect day to cool off and see some nature for a while, something to relax a bit. Once on the bus, around seven in the afternoon, Marlene and Dorcas fight over who will be posted on Remus’ account that day, until Remus shows them a picture he took of the both of them, and then it’s him they fight against for not telling them sooner. He shrugs helplessly, and spends most of the journey to Toulouse talking with them, Pandora and Mary, and it’s only when they’re in a hotel room in the Pink City that he remarks the distressed look on Sirius’ face.
“Are you okay? You’re…a bit pale.” Remus asks, brushing his knuckles against Sirius’ cheek.
“Reg still hasn’t answered.” He cries out, “It’s been ten whole days. We’ve had time to visit two fucking countries and he still hasn’t answered. What… what if he’d dead, Remus? What if I failed to save him?” he asks worryingly.
Remus pulls Sirius to his chest, because he knows that he needs the touch to feel better and pets his hair, “It’s not your fault, first of all. And second, don’t put these sorts of ideas into your head. You’ll only hurt yourself, babe. Try to think positive, yeah? Maybe he left his phone back in Grimauld Place and that’s why he can’t answer.” He tries and holds Sirius until he steps back.
“I tried, Moony.” He sighs, “I messaged his mates, the Crouch kid and that Rosier guy, but I didn’t get any answer. I don’t know who he’s friends with, and he doesn’t have any socials for me to stalk. I just don’t know.” Sirius stares at Remus desperately, and that gives him an idea.
“What about Andromeda? Have you tried her?” he suggests, and watches as Sirius freezes and bangs his head against Remus’ chest.
“Ugh!” he shouts, “I’m so stupid! Why didn’t I try her? Or even Cissy, he was always her favourite. She could know.”
Remus smiles, “You can try them. Maybe they’ll know some things, even if it’s from Walburga.” He tries, and immediately, Sirius kisses him on the cheek.
“Thank you!” he shouts and grabs his phone. Remus doesn’t see, but it’s not long until he brings his phone to his ear and waits. After two tries that go straight to voicemail, he decides that her phone is likely dead and decides to call Ted, her husband.
He answers on the second beep.
“Hey! Ted! It’s Sirius, how are you, mate?” he asks politely. For Remus’ sake, he puts the phone on speaker mode.
“I’m good, I’m good.” His voice goes through the phone, “Dora’s a monster as always, she’s been missing you!” he says.
“Ah, I miss her too.” He smiles, “Look, Ted, is Andy here? I had something to ask her, and her phone’s dead.”
“Ah yeah, hang on a second.” There’s some ruffling until a woman’s voice takes the phone, “Andy here?”
“Hey cousin!” he says excitedly, and Andromeda chuckles.
“Hey cousin, what’s up?” she asks pleasantly, although it feels like she knows exactly what he’s calling for.
“Do you happen to have any news of Reggie? He called me out of the blue the other day, but I was asleep, and I didn’t manage to get a hold of him since.” He explains in a rush.
“Since when does he call you?” Andromeda asks, and Sirius pinches the space between his eyebrows.
“He hasn’t since I left. That’s why I’m worried.” He sighs, and she does too. He clears her throat and says tranquilly.
“I heard that he left Grimauld, because Walburga sent a letter to ask if he was here. Because calling is apparently too far beneath her.” She says, and Remus just knows that she rolled her eyes, “In her letter, she said to not let him live with us because he left with enough money to live like a peasant. So I think he’s okay.” She explains, and Sirius exhales so deep that Remus wonders since when he’s been holding his breath. Probably since that last night in Morocco.
“So by my mother’s standards, he’s probably capable of buying a whole house, right?” he mocks, and Andromeda laughs.
“Probably has enough to feed five generations after him.” She retorts, “But I’m sure he’s alright, don’t you worry. You two have always been tough.”
Sirius coughs, “Yeah, well. When you have to be.” He says silently, “She asked if he was with you, but aren’t you in Berlin right now?”
“No, we moved to Paris!” she exclaims, “Just happened two months ago, but I had that job opportunity I couldn’t miss so…” she explains, “You’re welcome to come anytime, obviously.”
“Oh my God, we’re going to Paris!” he gasps, “I told you about the World Wide Experience Trip, right?” he asks, and Andromeda hums, “Well, we’re in France right now! So we’ll definitely be going to Paris in the next ten days.”
“That’s great! Oh, it’s wonderful right now with the Olympics, everyone is in such a good mood. And that’s saying a lot for Parisians.”
“Right!” Sirius widens his eyes, “I completely forgot. Anyway, we will completely be coming over. Send me your address.”
___________________________
On the 31st of August, the second day in France, they’re given a choice: either visit the city and shop on their own, or go to a space centre called “La Cité de L’espace”. Remus feels tempted to visit the space centre, but as soon as he opens his curtains in the morning and takes a look at the city, he wants to stay. They only have one day in Toulouse, and the orangey-pink buildings are drawing him in more than he would’ve guessed. After a bit of debating, Remus, Mary, James and Sirius stay in the city while the rest go see the exhibit. Remus is a little surprised that Sirius didn’t want to go, seeing as he is a huge space nerd (even if he’ll never admit it), but he claims to know everything already and that he wants to see the city. Without Moody there, Fab and Gid are a lot more lenient on the rules, and they’re basically free to explore on their own, something that proves to be easier than in the other cities with two French speakers with them. Sirius guides them and understands every sign and instruction, while Mary finds more secluded corners clearly not made for tourists. They eat cassoulet at some restaurant that claims it is the specialty here, and find the shopping street full of clothing brands. Surrounded by James, Sirius and Mary, he doesn’t have a choice but to go shopping as well and buys an oversized blue jean jacket in a vintage thrift store that Mary shoves in his arms as soon as she sees it. It’s around four in the afternoon when they finally reach the city centre after a small stroll along the Garonne with ice creams – it is very warm, after all – and they’re all surprised with what they see. On the Capitol Place, there is thousands of people gathered in front of a tall screen, music and shouts going from everywhere while everyone has their eyes fixated on the screen.
“Is there a football game today?” Remus asks as soon as they realise the commotion around. The place is truly packed, and Remus wonders if the entire city has somehow reunited here.
“Not that I know of.” James mumbles, and Sirius walks over to some girl that looks a little older than them. She’s wearing a red and black jersey, like most everyone else here, save for the lot of shirtless gentlemen.
“Excusez moi?” he interrupts her in a perfect French, “Il se passe quoi ici? On est des touristes.” He specifies.
(Excuse me? What is going on here? We are tourists.)
The girl raises an eyebrow, “Vous venez à Toulouse pendant la finale et vous savez même pas ce qu’il se passe?” she asks with an incredulous look. Her voice must sound funny to Sirius, because he laughs as soon as she talks.
(You come to Toulouse during the final and you don’t even know what’s happening?)
“Pardon, je m’attendais pas à l’accent. Mais ducoup, c’est la finale de quoi?” he asks again, and the girl rolls her eyes.
(Sorry, I wasn’t expecting the accent. Anyway, which final is it?)
“Parisiens de merde.” She mumbles, then sighs, “C’est la finale de rugby à XV. Le Stade Toulousain contre les Bordelais.”
(Fucking Parisians. It’s the rugby final. The Stade Toulousain against Bordeaux.)
“Oh! Guys, it’s rugby!” Sirius shouts at them back in English, and grins, “I used to play when I was young!” he turns back to the French girl, “Merci beaucoup!”
The girl leaves quickly, and eighty minutes and five beers later at a bar on the Capitol place, watching the match, everyone cheers and yells, red and black confetti falling to the floor and everywhere. There’s a seller of jerseys on the corner, which they all obviously buy, even if none of them even like rugby that much, and join in the celebrations as French music flows over everyone. Remus remembers the win from the Barca two days ago, and he sees the difference: while only supporters and football fans were celebrating in Barcelona, everyone celebrates, dances and shouts in Toulouse. They spend the night with the crowd even as the rugby players arrive to celebrate with them, even as two rappers take the scene and handle the crowd beautifully, Remus finally tries the alcohol Sirius wanted him to try, Ricard, which he obviously loves, and they don’t go to sleep until the celebrations wear off around four in the morning, even with the players brandishing the Bouclier de Bremus over their heads.
_______________________________
The next morning, they amble on a bus to Bordeaux, where they spend the next three days; the first one is spent in the city, the second is spent in a vineyard – it’s Bordeaux after all – and the third is spent at the beach in Arcachon. Remus buys a bottle for Lyall despite his protests, eats little pastries called canelés and chokes on horrible oysters Sirius forces him to try. He likes the city but when Moody announces that they’re going to the beach for the third day, Remus almost whoops. It’s been almost ten days since he’s had a dip, and he’s mostly going insane under this weather. Unlike the previous times, they go to a camping on the second day to sleep there and spend the entire day at the beach. They’re all in tents, which is a novelty that Remus doesn’t mind at all: he’s always loved camping, even if it’s clear as day that Sirius next to him has never slept without a roof over his head.
“You know that millions of people camp every year and almost everyone was fine, right?” he teases, and is met with a glare.
“I’m fine.” He huffs but still rolls over a few times on his mat on the floor, “I mean, my back is definitely going to be broken by tomorrow morning, but it’s fine.”
Remus chuckles, “It’s the price to pay.” He announces, then an idea pops into his head. “Hey, do you want to sleep outside? It’s warm enough.”
“Finally, a smart idea!” Sirius exclaims and sits up. Within minutes, they’ve both dragged their mats on the grass outside their tent and lie back down under the stars. It’s nearing midnight on the second of August, which makes the sky is cloudless and full of stars. It’s gorgeous, the milky way is visible, and they’re illuminated by the soft moonbeam falling over them. Remus lets out a small sigh of appreciation that makes Sirius look over at him.
“I can’t believe we almost slept with a ceiling hiding this.” He whispers and turns back to stare at the stars. Remus doesn’t even have to search for the brightest star in the sky; it’s just as beautifully blinding as the man named after it. He feels a soft weight on his chest and is pleased to see Sirius’ head resting right over his heart. He is laying perpendicular to Remus, so the position isn’t uncomfortable, and Remus can look down at him more easily. It’s perfect.
“You found Canis Major?” Remus whispers, and Sirius nods.
“Leo’s constellation is visible too. It’s August.” He mutters back, and points at the sky to a small star, Regulus; bright, but not as bright as the moon, not as bright as Sirius. Remus slides a hand in Sirius’ hair as a comforting manner, and Sirius leans into the touch. A few minutes pass by, until Sirius talks again with a smile, “Lupus is here too. Didn’t think we could see it here.”
“Where?” Remus asks, and Sirius takes his hand to point to a constellation towards the south. He sees it but doesn’t think it extraordinary. He looks back to Sirius’ star and smiles; this one is indeed special. Even if Sirius wasn’t named after it, Remus is certain it would be his favourite.
“What other stars are there?” Remus whispers, because he knows that Sirius loves to talk about them. Without surprise, Sirius beams at him and starts recounting all the stars he can see, from Polaris to Lyra’s constellation, pointing excitedly at each star and explaining their origins. It’s incredibly endearing but also interesting, so much that Remus wants to take his notebook, which, of course, he doesn’t, but instead offers a cigarette to Sirius that they share tranquilly, staring at the sky and talking.
“Which is your favourite star?” Remus asks him about half an hour later, once Sirius has recounted the origins of the Sagittarius constellation.
“Sirius, of course.” He says cheekily, then chuckles when Remus rolls his eyes.
“Your fucking ego.” He chuckles fondly. A beat passes until Sirius speaks up again.
“Actually, I don’t think I have a favourite.” He explains lowly, “I like stars, but they make me think of my family a bit too much. I don’t know why I like them. Stars, I mean.” He specifies, still looking at the sky, “I think that maybe there’s a part of me that likes being close to my family by looking at the sky. Even if I hate them, I think I’ll always kind of want to know they’re here.” He confesses, and Remus can do nothing but pet his hair and listen. It prompts Sirius to continue.
“It’s kind of poetic if you think about it.” He chuckles to himself, almost forgetting that Remus is here, “All those stars are part of the same galaxy, sometimes the same constellation. The same unit. But still, my star stands out, doesn’t it? It looks out of place, like it doesn’t fucking fit in this galaxy. Sirius will always look different than the other stars.” He explains.
“Isn’t it a good thing?” Remus asks in the same tenor as he looks at Sirius, at the shadow of his lashes falling over his cheeks, “You’re different. You’re unique. I wouldn’t make the difference between all those other stars if you hadn’t told me. But I found Sirius right away, because its brighter and more beautiful. Because it stands out.”
Sirius gazes at him for a moment from where he’s lying on his chest, “It is a good thing.” He whispers back, “Not like I want to be like them anyway.”
“You’re not.” Remus agrees, “Not one bit.”
They lie in silence for a bit longer, until Sirius seems to snap out of his thoughts and come back to his usual cheeky self.
“What’s your favourite star, then?” Sirius grins stupidly at him, and Remus can do nothing but laugh.
“Idiot.” He swears gently, poking Sirius’ cheek with his finger, “I’ll let you take a wild guess.”
Sirius chuckles too and sits up to press a chaste kiss to Remus’ lips, before pulling back to stare at him right in the eye. He stares at his brown irises for a moment, at the golden flickers dancing with the shine of the moon, until he sighs happily and hides his face in Remus’ neck. He kisses the skin there sweetly and moves a bit until he’s settled there more comfortably.
“Lovely boy.” He mutters against Remus’ neck and closes his eyes, not noticing the way Remus’ breath hitches. Remus presses his lips to Sirius’ hair and whispers.
“Good night, Padfoot.”
“Night, Moony.” Sirius says back, and it’s not long until they’re both asleep in each other’s arms under the stars and the moon.
___________________________
The third day in Bordeaux, fifth day in France overall passes swimmingly – literally – : they start their day at six in the morning when the sun rises and wakes them up, making them discover the joys of sleeping outside, and from then, since they’re both awake (Sirius is wide awake and ready to attack the day; Remus is a groggy bastard who drags his feet behind Sirius), they decide the make the most of it. They have to be on a train to Paris by six at night, so they have a full twelve hours to enjoy the French seaside. They eat breakfast at a bakery, where Sirius makes fun of the way Remus pronounces ‘croissant’, they take the bikes offered by the camping to visit the city and shop at a small town market then amble on to the beach to swim, swim, swim. Around one in the afternoon, the rest of their group joins them, and somehow this day is one of Remus’ favourites: sometimes just having peaceful and relaxed fun with your friends is the best thing that could happen to you.
At eight that night, they’re at the Gare Montparnasse in Paris with sand in their socks, sunburnt marks on their cheeks and grins on their faces. They managed to sleep at little during the three hour train ride and are able to maintain conversation as they eat at a Subway inside the train station. They walk over to the hotel where they will spend the next two days, and Remus didn’t think he’d be able to see the Eiffel Tower this closely just outside the train station. Mary, Pandora and James seem way too excited about this, and it makes him smile.
“You don’t understand, this is where Mbappe played! This is where he became a legend!” James exclaims.
“No, it’s the city of Fashion!” Mary gushes, “What a shame it isn’t fashion week.” She sighs, “I would’ve learned so much.”
“I am personally intrigued by all the museums. I heard that Monet’s house was accessible for the public.” Pandora smiles, “I really hope we go to the Musée D’Orsay.”
Remus, him, is without surprise more interested in the history of the city and is caught staring around at the streets and Hausmanian buildings in a tourist fashion. Two hours later, night has fallen in the capital and it’s even more different: everything is in black and white and Remus feels like he’s in Gossip Girl – James and Sirius made him watch in third year – the streets scream fashion, luxury and glamour, and cheers can be heard from pubs and apartments. It doesn’t take them very long to understand what happened: a French judoka just won a medal in the Olympics. Their ten group people have gotten Moody’s permission to visit Paris by night, as long as they’re back by one am, and intend to make the most of it. Mostly, they walk around, point at stores, boutiques and restaurants and map out things they’d like to check out in the morning, until they reach les Champs Elysées, which has Mary and Sirius absolutely feral. They stand in front of Dior’s, Louis Vuitton’s and Chanel’s for ages, talking about the latest runaway or collection while the rest of the group watch their antics with a smile. Sirius has always loved fashion, and he never hid it; Remus remembers Sirius’ fifteenth birthday when he bought himself a black, sheer see through Prada blouse and wore it everywhere like it made him a supermodel.
It's eleven thirty when they finally find their way at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, missing by a minute the golden glistening. Sirius claims that it will come back in fifteen minutes, and for some reason, everyone divides in pairs, with their other half. Marlene finds Dorcas, James finds Lily, Peter finds Sybill, Pandora and Mary stick together, as the only ‘single’ people on this trip, and Remus obviously finds Sirius, like he’s been doing since he was eleven.
Behind them, a piano song is playing, sweet, slow and painfully romantic. It makes Remus smile and Sirius grin.
“Will you dance with me?” Sirius asks.
“I don’t know how to dance.” Remus tries, but he’s already putting his hands on Sirius’ waist.
Sirius rolls his eyes and puts his on Remus’ shoulders, “It’s just a waltz. It’s not hard.” He says and walks towards Remus swiftly, making him walk backwards clumsily.
“Excuse me, your Royal Highness, we weren’t all trained for ballroom dancing.” Remus accuses and takes Sirius’ left hand in his.
“I’m pretty sure the problem comes for your gigantic height.” Sirius teases, “Just follow my lead, you oaf.”
Remus rolls his eyes but follows Sirius’ lead, moving his feet slowly but following the tempo of the song. Progressively, he gets better, which makes Sirius beam.
“See! You can do it!” he appraises with a chuckle, “Now spin me.” He obliges, and Remus has no choice. He squeezes Sirius’ hand and spins him around, and without surprise, Sirius turns like a freaking spinning top, graciously and effortlessly.
“Are you a bloody professional ballet dancer and forgot to mention it?” Remus frowns.
Sirius chuckles, “That was actually kind of bad.” He admits, “My foot wasn’t straight enough.”
Remus simply gawks at him, with makes him chuckle, “I was in ballet school when I lived in Paris. Like, until I was eight.” He explains, “I hated it, but my mother forced me, so.” He shrugs, “When I moved to England, I said I wanted to do a team sport, so my father allowed me to do rugby. I loved it, but my mother thought it was a brute’s sport and that it wasn’t refined enough. Eventually, they let me stick to football in school.” He explains tranquilly, and simply waits until Remus picks up his jaw off the floor.
“Fuck, I didn’t know that.” Remus says, “I actually don’t know much about you from before school.” He realises.
Sirius shrugs, “Not much to know. I’m not the one who died and forgot to tell me.” He teases, and Remus chuckles.
“Touché.” He smiles, “Guess we still have a bit to learn about each other.”
“I suppose we do.” Sirius gazes sweetly at him and smiles, “We have all the time in the world for that anyway.” He says after a bit as he stands pressed close to Remus. The music has turned into something calmer, something perfect for slow dancing, which Sirius and Remus take advantage of. They are gently swaying along to the music, arms around each other, holding each other like lovers.
That thought makes Remus think of something else, and he takes his hand to lift Sirius’ chin from his chest. He leaves his hand on Sirius’ chin and jaw as he looks closely at him.
“Sirius,” he starts, staring into his grey eyes. He looks lovely, like always, his eyes are bright and joyful, his mouth is curled in a sweet smile, and he simply looks like a dream. The prettiest person Remus has ever seen.
“Remus.” Sirius retorts with a smile and tightens his arms around Remus’ neck.
“I really, really like you.” He starts, grinning but his nerves catch up with him very fast and make him blush hardly. He can’t believe what he is about to ask. He clears his throat and fidget with Sirius’ shirt with his free hand that is on the small of his back, trying to get it to stop shaking. “I don’t want this to end.” He admits.
Sirius’ mouth opens slightly just as the Tower starts to glisten with golden lights, making them both turn to look with awed looks on their faces. Remus’ heart is racing, which he will blame on the magic of the flashing lights on the tower at midnight and turns his head back to look at Sirius, who is already staring at him.
“I don’t want it to end either.” He nods slightly, stealing a few glances at the tower. “It’s beautiful.” Sirius whispers.
“Gorgeous.” Remus agrees, his eyes not leaving Sirius’ face, “I wanted to ask you something…” he starts and sneaks the hand that is on Sirius’ jaw into his hair. He trails off as he tries to build up the nerve, but Sirius speaks up.
“Will you be my boyfriend?” Sirius blurts out, then widens his eyes as if he didn’t mean to say it. Remus freezes for a moment, searching Sirius’ face, until he starts laughing.
“You fucker! You beat me to it!” he grins, making Sirius burst out laughing. He giggles sweetly, and Remus doesn’t even care that he’s also giggling like an idiot. He’s in love, let him be a fool.
“You were taking your sweet time too!” Sirius laughs, “Moony, I’ve been dying to be your boyfriend since Morocco. It’s a miracle I didn’t blurt it out any sooner.”
“Little player. I’ve been wanting to be your boyfriend since I was sixteen.” He admits confidently, for once in his life, and watches as Sirius’ jaw drops to the floor.
“You’re fucking kidding me?” Sirius gapes at him, “Why didn’t you say anything?!” he pushes Remus’ shoulder harmlessly.
“Didn’t want to ruin our friendship.” He shrugs.
“But-But, you were with Kingsley?” Sirius stutters, obviously trying to make sense of it all.
“No, we broke up in tenth grade.” He explains, “Because I started liking you and I didn’t think it was fair to King.”
Sirius purses his lips as he thinks, then huffs, “Okay, maybe I really like that you broke up with someone for me. Like, I think that’s kind of hot. Really hot.” He bites his lip sheepishly, then grins at Remus. “But you liked me first.” He teases.
“I’m not ashamed of that.” Remus raises his eyebrows as Sirius starts to taunt him childishly.
“I’m just so irresistible!” he grins mockingly, ignoring Remus, “You’ve liked me for years!”
“Do you want me to stop liking you? Because I will.” Remus menaces, and it only makes Sirius giggle.
“I’m sure you’re unable to. I’m just too loveable.” He sighs dramatically, not paying attention as Remus shakes his head.
“Your fucking ego.” He swears but feels the arms around his neck tighten.
“Sorry, sorry. I’m just really happy that you, of all people, like me.” He sighs, still smiling.
“Everyone likes you.” Remus says, putting his hands back low on Sirius’ back.
“But I only care that you do.” Sirius confesses and passes a hand on Remus’ jaw, “Kiss me?”
Remus rolls his eyes but can’t stop smiling anyway, “If you manage not to whoop about how great you are.”
“Promise I won’t.” Sirius nods, “I just want to kiss my boyfriend.” He adds with a huge grin.
The word is enough for something in Remus’ brain to ping and for him to lunge himself at his boyfriend to kiss him. He cradles his jaw in both hands and kisses him long and sweet, pressing their bodies together. He pulls back a minute later, only to press a thousand kisses all over his face until Sirius giggles and pushes him off. He kisses Remus once again, but they’re both smiling too widely for it to be properly called a kiss.
Once they pull back, they realise that all their friends have rallied back to an edge as a group and are watching them, mostly, James who has completely taken his part in being their adoptive child for the past weeks.
“Oi, we’re heading back to the hotel.” Dorcas calls, “It’s nearing one am; you guys should come too.”
“We’re coming!” Sirius shouts at her, but as soon as she turns, he turns back to kissing Remus. After about fifteen minutes, they start to walk back to their hotel glued to the side with arms around each other. Two boyfriends, Remus thinks, and grins.
_______________________
The next morning, Sirius battles with Moody to let he and Remus visit Andromeda for the day, claiming that he already saw most of the touristic spots the night before and that he lived in Paris for eight years anyway when he was a kid. Moody accepts like the cold stone that he is, only asking them not to try not to die, and that’s how they find themselves making their way to Andromeda’s flat in the middle of Paris. It kind of permits them to do some sightseeing, even if it’s more secluded areas and not bright touristic spots like usual. It’s warm, but not too warm, and it reminds Remus of summer days spent in London with James, Peter and Sirius the year before. He’s feeling nostalgic, for some reason, but the feeling doesn’t get too important when he reminds himself that he’s holding hands with Sirius Black, his boyfriend. Again, it doesn’t fail to bring a smile to his face, and there’s a part of him that sighs and tells him that he’s pathetic, but he doesn’t really care. He’s happy, and no one is going to change that.
Sirius seemed equally as happy about their newly defined relationship; the night before as they slid into bed, Sirius grinned and told him to ‘sleep well, boyfriend’ to which Remus responded with, “thanks, you too, boyfriend”, both grinning like idiots. The same thing happened as they said good morning, and again as they passed each other the tea at breakfast. It makes Remus giddy enough to swing their hands between them as they walk earning him a strange look.
“You’re chipper this morning.” Sirius remarks, “Moony, you look like you ate a ball of sunlight.” He chuckles as Remus looks at him beaming.
Remus rolls his eyes good naturally, “I don’t.”
“You have a pep in your walk.” Sirius deadpans, making Remus blush and stop walking, only to start back without the stupid pep. He’s such an idiot. Way to look nonchalant!
“Shut up.” He mumbles, obviously embarrassed. They arrive in front of a classical looking building and open as a delivery man steps out, holding the door for them. They murmur their thanks and walk up the three flight of stairs. Sirius turns to look at him as they arrive in front of their door, on a ‘Bienvenue’ mat.
“I didn’t tell them we were coming today!” he announces, something that Remus totally guessed. Sirius loves throwing surprises and absolutely never backs down from the opportunity to throw one.
“Shocker.” Remus smirks, making Sirius roll his eyes and knock on the door three times. It takes thirty seconds for the door to swing open, and the sight greeting them swipes their smiles off their faces.
“You’re not the delivery man.” Regulus Arcturus Black drawls in his low voice. He stares at them in concealed shock, with eyes only slightly widened and mouth pressed too thinly. Remus hasn’t seen him since April in school, and he looks much skinnier, his skin is too pale and he is wearing a black tracksuit, something so different from the usual blouses and smart outfits he usually wears. His cheekbones are just as high as his brother’s but they’re more prominent, like he doesn’t have any fat to fill his cheeks.
Despite all of this, he still looks good, like a Black, standing elegantly and composed, like nothing could ever set him off track.
“What the fuck are you doing here?!” Sirius shouts when he comes out of his shock, anger and frustration taking over the reins.
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Regulus asks and raises an eyebrow judgingly.
“Fuck, Reg, I’ve been calling you every fucking day for the past two weeks, you don’t think you could’ve just given me a bloody heads up!” he continues, stepping past his brother and into the flat. “No, no you had to keep me fucking worried!”
Regulus rolls his eyes, “If you came here just to yell at me, you can just leave.” He says, still at the door.
“Oh shut up, will you.” Sirius yells, “I have every right to be yelling at you and you know that damn well.”
“I don’t really care.” Regulus crosses his arms and stares at him like he’s old cheese. Remus looks at him, remembers the boy he used to tutor back in sixth year and thinks that something really bad must’ve happened for him to have changed this much. He is so closed off, like he doesn’t care about anything and not the boy Remus remembers to help and avenge his friends fiercely.
Right then, Andromeda and Nymphadora emerge from the hallway with worried looks on their faces. When Andromeda realises what is going on, she swears under her breath.
“That wasn’t supposed to happen.” She sighs.
“No, it wasn’t.” Regulus turns to face her, “I asked you not to tell anyone I was here.” He says in a much sweeter, softer voice.
“And I asked you if you had any news!” Sirius reminds her with a desperate edge to his voice, “I mean, come on, Andy, you know how worried I was.”
“I know, I’m sorry Sirius, but I promised Regulus I wouldn’t tell.” She sighs, “Your mother didn’t send anything, I made that up so you’d know he was alright.”
A silence falls on the room, with Sirius staring at Regulus, Regulus looking at the floor, Andromeda fixing Sirius in apology, Nymphadora staring at all of them silently and Remus looking at the scene like a spectator. He seems to realise that he’s still here, that he can do something to fix this, so he tries.
“How about…” he starts, making all eyes turn to him. “How about we all just sit down, talk about what happened like adults and apologise. How’s that sound?” he feels like he’s talking to toddlers, but it seems to work. Sirius’ shoulders drop, Regulus seems to exhale and Andromeda sighs.
“I’ll get the kettle on.” She announces and walks into the kitchen. Wordlessly, the rest of them make their way onto the living room and sit on the sofas: Sirius and Remus on a sofa, Regulus on another facing them and Nymphadora sits on the floor, picking up a pencil.
“Reggie, why is everyone angry?” she whispers very loudly, almost like it was intended.
Regulus looks down at her and at her blonde with pink streaks hair and smiles softly, “Adults problems. Why don’t you go in you room, love?” Sirius and Remus watch the interaction intently, surprised by the gentleness with which he talks to her, the gentleness there definitely wasn’t with Sirius.
Nymphadora nods and walks back to the hallway with a pencase full of pencils when Andromeda reappears, holding a tray with four steaming mugs.
“Here you go.” She settles it on the table. A silence spreads out again, this time the brothers are both glaring at each other while Remus and Andromeda sit on the side awkwardly. “Can’t you guys talk-“ she starts but is immediately cut off by Sirius.
“Why the fuck didn’t you take my calls?” he gnarls, staring at his brother. He looks angry and mad, but he also has a desperate edge to his voice that makes Remus’ heart crack.
“Why didn’t you take mine?” Regulus retorts, raising an eyebrow at him. Andromeda already pinches the middle of her brows in despair.
“I was in the shower!” he shouts, kind of lying, but no one has to know. “It was one phone call, but I called you near five hundred times since then and none were returned. So please explain to me!” he asks again, but this time, there’s no anger, just hurt and pain.
Regulus crosses his arms, “I blocked your number. I didn’t know you called this many times.” He explains without emotion, “You obviously didn’t care enough to answer, so I didn’t need to have your number.”
“Fucking hell, I was in the shower!” Sirius cries, “You know damn well I would fucking cross oceans if it meant helping you. You’re being such a little shit!”
“Would you?” Regulus scoffs, “That’s a good one. Because last I remember you left me alone in that godforsaken house.”
Sirius stares at him with anger, sadness, hurt and confusion, and Remus just knows that his heart is breaking. “Of course I would.” He says without any bite, “I asked you to leave with me, and you didn’t. And after that, I called, again and again, I tried to talk to you at school and you blew me off. You’re the one who left me, Reg, not me.”
“No.” Regulus says more sharply, “Don’t fucking turn this on me. You left me to go live with your new brother, you made me the heir and made the nightmare even worse. Do you think Walburga would let anything slip after her oldest son ran, huh? Do you think I had any sort of liberty or life after you left? Do you think that she wouldn’t force me to join the fucking cult too?” he bites, his words slicing open like knifes. He stands from the couch, apparently too riled up to stay seated, “You made my life hell, Sirius. And the moment I thought you might be able to help, you weren’t there.”
Surprisingly, he doesn’t storm off but stays there, standing and pacing a little, not unlike the way Sirius does when he is nervous. Sirius keeps staring at him with his mouth agape, and his eyes look a little shiny, and Remus thinks he might cry. Admittedly, Regulus was very harsh, something he knows Andromeda thinks too as they share an eye contact.
“You’re not being fair.” Sirius starts with a cracked voice, “She did the same to me. I didn’t ruin your life, Reggie, she did! She ruined your life, our lives!” he shouts, “And she managed to ruin us too. It’s her fault, don’t you think?” he shouts at him, even stands up to be at his level, but Regulus still doesn’t meet his gaze, so he continues.
“I asked you to leave with me. The night I left, when I was barely still alive, I asked you to leave with me, not to stay in this fucking hellhole, and what did you say? You just said no. You said no and just fucking stayed with them and their weird fascist cult instead of coming with me. So don’t turn this on me, when you could’ve avoided all of that.”
Regulus shakes his head, once, twice and throws his arms, apparently giving up the fight. “Why are we doing this?” he asks, “We haven’t talked in two years. We obviously don’t agree with what happened. I don’t see why we’re still yelling at each other.”
“Because I-I’m fucking confused! Reg, why did you call me?” Sirius pleads, standing in front of his brother.
“I needed help. You weren’t there. End of the story.” He sighs, “Can we just forget the other exists? You already have a new brother to compensate. I’m surprised he isn’t here anyway, did he stop following you everywhere?” Regulus asks meanly, and Sirius can simply stare at him, silently begging him to stay and talk to him a little longer.
“Reggie, please.” Sirius begs, “I’m your brother. I love you. I don’t want us to be strangers.” He pleads, tears forming into his eyes. Regulus stares at him for longer than needed, trying to figure out if he’s honest, until he turns his eyes. Then, Andromeda speaks up.
“Reg, please. Consider giving him a chance. I haven’t talked to my sisters in years, and it’s the biggest regret of my life. Don’t make the same mistake.”
Regulus looks at her, then back at Sirius, then at the floor. A few beats pass where no one says anything, with breaths held and shaky hands, waiting for Regulus’ verdict. It would be a heartbreak Remus can’t even conceive, to have your brother not reject you once, but twice, except the second time it’s in a well thought decision and not a spur of the moment thing. Remus doubts Sirius would be able to get over the loss of his brother a second time.
“Was it a lie?” Regulus asks in a small voice. Remus doesn’t understand what he means, but Sirius probably does, seeing as he steps closer to his brother and takes his wrists.
“Of course not. I love you Reg, you’re my brother, of course I love you. I’ve loved you your entire life.” Sirius swears, and something tells Remus that he would’ve continued if Regulus hadn’t stopped him by pulling his wrists back.
“No touching.” He warns, “I…I can’t deal with touching.”
Sirius nods and draws his hands back. He stares at Regulus for a little longer, “Will you try to fix things with us?” he asks him, “I hate not having you in my life.” Regulus stares for a little longer, until he finally nods.
“I hate it too.” He agrees, still unsmiling, but well, it’s Regulus Black. He’s always unsmiling. They both sigh, obviously tired of fighting, and come back to sit on the sofas. Remus and Andromeda look at each other with a soft smile, happy that they’re at a semblance of being okay.
“I think it’s better to get all the heavy stuff out now.” Sirius starts, and waits until Regulus nods, “I’m not sorry for leaving. I’m really sorry for everything that happened to you afterwards, things that probably could’ve been prevented if I stayed, but I’m not sorry. Because I needed to leave if I wanted to survive. It was a fight or flight situation, and I’m certain that if I stayed, they would’ve killed me.”
Sirius sounds extreme, but Remus knows that he’s saying the truth; from the moments after the holidays during school when they would be greeted with a skinnier Sirius who had been starved for the entire duration of the holidays, or from what they’ve heard from their cult; which is basically neo nazi, even if they’d never admit it, it is extremely plausible that they would’ve killed him. Just the way he looked the night he left is enough to know.
Regulus nods at his brother, “I know. I overreacted, but I know that if you’d stayed, it would’ve been you who took the hits for me. Like you did our whole childhoods.” He shrugs helplessly, because there’s nothing else to do anyway. Sirius smiles weakly then continues.
“But I am sorry that you ever felt like I was replacing you with James. I didn’t mean to, really. I love him like a brother, that’s true, but it doesn’t mean that I love you any less. It just means there’s two of you now.” Sirius explains, and Regulus keeps looking down, and Remus thinks that it’s because he’s ashamed of his jealousy. It would definitely be something Regulus would be. Ashamed to have emotions.
“It’s fine.” He simply says, and Sirius knows not to push. A second later, Regulus continues, “I’m sorry that I blocked your number. I was just being a petty little shit.” He admits with a shrug, making all of them chuckle.
“At least you can admit it.” Andromeda smiles.
Regulus side eyes his cousin meanly before turning back to Sirius, “Also, I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it alone. And I managed, so suck it.” He shrugs again nonchalantly, making them chuckle.
“Prove that you could do what?” Sirius asks, frowning. They look at each other, and Remus knows that they’re back in the deep stuff.
Regulus sighs, “Escape. Manage to make it out alive.” He lists, “I have to explain what happened, right?” he asks in an exhausted way to Andromeda, who chuckles.
“Yes that’s usually how conversations go. You can’t really stay vague like that.” She teases.
“Alright. I joined the cult.” He starts, making Remus’ eyes budge and Sirius gasp.
“You’re kidding me.” He deadpans.
Regulus shakes his head, “They asked me to do it, and they couldn’t know that I didn’t agree with them so I let them. They gave me the tattoo.” He announces, and Sirius gasps. Regulus rolls his eyes, “Save the dramatics. I joined in March, and by July I was gone. It was all part of my plan.”
“You had an escape plan?” Remus raises his eyebrows.
“Yeah, I’m not an idiot. I thought you knew that, Lupin?” Regulus frowns, “Why are you here anyway?” he asks, apparently only realising now that Remus is present.
“He’s my boyfriend, I wanted him to meet Andy.” Sirius explain quickly. Andromeda’s eyes brighten, and she grins.
“Oh, I didn’t know! That’s great!” she smiles, “I already met Remus, though. When Dora was born?” she tries to make Sirius remember.
“Yeah, I know, but then you met him as my friend. Now you’re meeting him as my boyfriend.” Sirius shrugs, “And I didn’t have a plan, Reggie, and I pulled it off perfectly. So, I’m not an idiot either.”
Both Andromeda and Regulus roll their eyes, but only Regulus talks, “Your ‘perfect execution’”, he air quotes, “involved you crawling out of the window with at least eighteen broken bones and three broken teeth.”
Sirius chuckles, “So you’re telling me that you pulled it off without harming yourself? Just walked out that door, did you?” he asks mockingly, but Regulus nods.
“Yeah. I gained their trust and shoved it back in their ass. And I also destroyed the cult, basically.” He shrugs, and it’s clear that this bastard is proud of himself. Everyone’s eyes turn to him, but Sirius’ are the most shocked.
“How the hell did you do that?!” he shouts incredulously.
“You didn’t even tell me!” Andromeda gasps.
Regulus sighs, “Okay, I’m telling you the full story, but zero interruption. Or I’ll stop and leave you in the dark.” He waits until everyone nods then starts his story. “I joined it in March officially, but I already went to a few meetings and banquets before so that everyone would get used to my presence. And being the Heir to the Black family was kind of a help, if I’m honest. As long as I attended and was perfect, the parents weren’t hurting me.” He adds.
“Without any surprise, the cult is involved in crime.” He rolls his eyes, “Obviously I didn’t do anything too illegal, but they made me get packages or look out for potential victims or whatever. That made it possible to gather intel. Because the guru kept his identity hidden in case the police looked too closely. And being inside of his ring, and being able to look at all the documents, I was certain of his name, addresses, names of his closest followers, and different places he could hide by July.” He recounts the incidents simply, like he doesn’t think it important or extraordinary.
“I contacted a detective in secret, and obviously my absence wasn’t noted because I was often gone on jobs, and told him everything, with all the evidence. Within a week, Tom Riddle was behind bars, just like a bunch of his other followers. It happened on the eighteenth of July, and the parents were too shaken to realise it was my birthday the next day, so they didn’t put too much attention on me. The police did, though, since I’d helped them, so I waited until it was legal for me to leave the familial home. I don’t think they noticed I was gone until the next week.” He shrugs. Sirius goes to open his mouth, but Regulus raises a hand, signalling that he isn’t done.
“It’s only once I was outside the house with a backpack and nothing else that I realised that I didn’t know what to do now. I was so concentrated on escaping that I forgot about what came after. So I called you, because you’d always been my plan B, but you didn’t answer and I felt ashamed for asking your help that I didn’t try again and blocked you. I was also angry, it wasn’t all bullshit earlier.” He warns looking pointedly at Sirius, who simply puts his hands up in surrender.
“As I was saying, I tried measuring my options: I have two friends, the son of a member of the cult who would’ve told my parents I was there, and the son of an official who know I was in the cult. So no way. I have another friend from the stables, but she’s on a trip, so that went to hell too. I ended up calling her boyfriend, he’s a chill guy, so it’s okay. I stayed for four days, until the bank transferred all my money from my parents vault to my own, and then took a ticket to France. I joined Andy on the 25th of July, and I’ll be leaving once I find a flat here.”
“You’re staying in Paris?” Sirius asks, raising his eyebrows.
Regulus shrugs, “Why not? It’s nice here. And there’s a lot of job opportunities.”
“Wait, so you single handedly took town a huge cult and crime ring and you’re not gloating? If I did that, I would write a song about myself.” Sirius frowns.
“I don’t doubt it. With your fucking ego.” Remus rolls his eyes and is surprised when Regulus laughs.
“Yeah that sounds like something you would do.” Regulus agrees, smiling at Remus. So it appears he can smile after all. “He once danced for a full hour when we were kids because he won at chess.”
“He still does.” Remus sighs, “He had his own face as his wallpaper at some point.” He reminds everyone, which makes them laugh.
“That fucking ego.” Regulus mumbles at the same time Sirius gasps dramatically.
“That was a phase! Come on, I’m not that bad.” He rolls his eyes, “I’m so not on board with that friendship.” He points between Remus and Regulus, who both smile smugly at him.
“Too bad for you.” Remus shrugs with a smile at the same time as Regulus.
“Sucks to be you.” He says, and who knew that Regulus Black was actually kind of cool.
“I’m moving past this.” Sirius announces and takes a sip of his tea that has completely been forgotten on the table, and everybody gestures to do the same. It is now cold, which makes Remus check the time. It has been about an hour since they arrived. “So, you ran from home, took down the whole sect, and now you’re going to live in Paris?”
Regulus nods, “That’s basically it.” He answers and stands up to pet a black cat sitting in its cat tree. “Now, why are you two in Paris anyway? Or was it just to see Andy unprompted?”
“Actually, Sirius called me about a week ago. I just didn’t know when he was going to come.” Andromeda clarifies.
“We’re on a trip all around the world.” Remus explains, “You probably saw at school, the World Wide Experience Trip? We were taken in with James and Pete.”
Regulus raises his eyebrows, “That’s great. How did you afford it?” he asks Sirius, who only lives on his uncle Alphard’ inheritance since he ran away.
“The hotels and flights and all are taken care of already. I just have to pay the meals, which is affordable in all.” He explains. It’s something that Remus had trouble understanding at first; that he didn’t have to pay at every check out of a hotel.
“That sounds great. I would have liked to come.” Regulus thinks out loud, and it’s enough for Sirius to grin at him.
“Why don’t you stay with us for the rest of the trip?” he asks gingerly, “It’d be fun!”
Regulus raises an eyebrow, “Are you actually being serious?” he asks, and it makes both Andromeda and Remus groan, putting their heads in their hands.
“Not around him!” Andromeda warns as Sirius starts to grin.
“You should know better, man.” Remus tells him with a pained frown.
“I’m always Sirius.” Sirius says with a grin and a low voice that used to make Remus laugh. Now, after seven years, it lost its charm.
“Still? You’re eighteen years old, dude.” Regulus judges.
“Always.” He grins, “But yes, I am serious. We have two months, and five countries left. It’d be fun!”
“I…” Regulus starts and looks at Andromeda, who’s only smiling at them innocently, “Tell me it sounds bonkers to you as well.”
She chuckles, “Maybe a little, yes. But bonkers enough to work.”
Regulus sighs, “You’re useless.” And turns to Remus, “You must know that this impossible.”
Remus tilts his head and thinks, “I actually don’t think it is. You said that you had your money. Moody said that we were 39 instead of 40, so maybe they have enough budget to add in a student. And it could do you some good; you just had a bunch of stuff happening, maybe going away for a bit could be great to escape a little.”
They all wait, but Regulus doesn’t answer, and even Remus knows that it means he’s considering it.
“Just come with us today, and you’ll see. I bet you’ll love everyone.”
“I really doubt that.” Regulus retorts.
_______________________________________
About three hours later, a meal consisting of pasta and ham and a lot of coaxing, laughing and stories shared, they’re telling their goodbyes to Andromeda and Nymphadora who emerged from her room at some point and leave with a grumbling Regulus in tow. He keeps saying that he won’t like those people, that he already has trouble liking Sirius and Remus, so add 37 people and he’s sure to die slowly because of social exhaustion, and that he didn’t really want to come that much anyway.
Sirius and Remus ignore him, unless it is to tell him off for being so dramatic, and after twenty minutes of walking they meet up with James, Lily, Marlene and Dorcas who are waiting in front of the Louis Vuitton Foundation.
“Hey look who we found!” Sirius announces as he walks up the street. The whole group turns to face them, and all of them smile except James, whose jaw drops.
“R-Reg?” James gapes at him, not believing what he’s seeing. Regulus, him, simply raises his eyebrows.
“A problem, Potter?” he asks in the cold voice he greeted them with a few hours earlier.
James stares at him, then seems to find his tongue back, “No, no absolutely not. I just didn’t expect to see you.”
The rest of the group look incredulously at James, and it’s Lily who speaks up with an eyebrow raised. “You sure that crush on little Black has passed, Potter?” she repeats, imitating Regulus’ tone. Remus doesn’t realise what she is talking about until it hits him; that game in Mexico. James eyes grow wide, and his skin visibly flushes as he looks back at his girlfriend.
“Yeah, obviously.” He shrugs, “Just wasn’t expecting him, like I said.” He says, and when Remus turns back to look at Regulus, his ears and neck are bright red. Huh.
“Right.” Sirius squints at both his brothers; biological and adoptive, and decides to shake it off, “What are you guys doing?”
“We’re waiting for Mary and Pandora.” Marlene explains, “I think Mary picked a fight with a stylist and Pandora stayed to soothe things over.” She chuckles.
“Ooh, cat fight!” Sirius grins.
“Where are Peter and Sybill?” Remus asks, and the girls look at each other before shrugging.
“No idea.” Marlene says.
“Since Sirius has no sense of manners, I’ll just introduce us.” Dorcas declares, looking at Regulus, who smirks at her words, “I’m Dorcas, most people call me Cas, this is Marlene, my girlfriend, James, who you know and Lily. You are?” she points at each person as she introduces them.
“Regulus Black.” He extends his hand towards her, “Nice to meet you.” He says, and Sirius rolls his eyes.
“Too fucking diplomatic, Reg.” he swears, and earns a glare.
“I have manners, not like you.” He says as Dorcas shakes his hand.
“He’s right, you’re too blunt, Black.” She tells Sirius, “Anyway, are you joining us for the day?” she asks Regulus.
Regulus sighs, “If I must. I have been forced by these two idiots.”
“You said you liked me!” Remus gasps, which makes Regulus roll his eyes. They talk tranquilly about what happened at Andromeda’s apartment when the door of the museum swings open, revealing an overly excited Mary and a smiling Pandora.
“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!” she shouts, “I can’t believe it!” she exclaims at she throws herself into Lily’s arms, then James, and all of them, until she reaches Regulus.
“I don’t know you but I’m so damn happy!” she shrieks and hugs him anyway. Once she’s done, she slows down enough to show them a paper that is unreadable since she can’t stop shaking.
“What is it?” Dorcas asks.
“It’s an internship!” she jumps in place, “I got in that argument about a dress with that woman, and it escalated so fast, and I was so sure of myself and then she said she thought my views were interesting and that I would be a good asset to their team!” she exclaims, “Me! A good asset!”
“Oh my God, Mary!” Sirius gapes at her.
“That’s amazing!” Lily grins.
“Congratulations!” James exclaims.
“I can’t believe it!” she shouts out again, “Panda, I owe you one!”
“I’m happy it helped you.” Pandora smiles sweetly at her.
“How did you help?” Lily asks.
“I was her wing woman.” Pandora grins, “I am wearing an original Macdonald piece.” She opens her arms to show her top: a light blue wrapped over top with sheer ruffles embroidered with flowers. The sleeves are sheer too but the flowers only stop at the wrist. It is objectively very pretty, and it’s insane that Remus didn’t know Mary could sew.
“That’s beautiful.” Remus nods approvingly.
“Yeah, you’re talented Mary.” Lily acquiesces with a sweet smile.
“You have to make me a top, Macdonald, I swear to all that is holy.” Sirius warns her, and she giggles.
“Thank you, guys! This is the best day of my life!” she jumps up and down again, and it honestly is endearing.
“When do you start?” Sirius asks. As Remus turns to look at Sirius, he sees Regulus next to him staring at Pandora like he can’t believe his eyes. He frowns, finding it odd, and turns to Pandora to see her sport the same expression.
“First of October! I told her about the trip and she said it was no issue, so I guess I’m moving to Paris in October!” she squeals, “I can’t wait! It’s a three month internship!” she exclaims.
Right then, Pandora walks over to Regulus and stands right in front of him. “I’m going to hug you even if you don’t like it, Flash.”
Regulus smiles and his shoulders sag, “I think I’ll survive, Pheebs.” He says, and is crushed to death in a hug by Pandora. Everyone stares at them in confusion, because how on earth do they know each other? And why the hell did he call her ‘Pheebs’?
“I have no idea what is happening, but I’m loving it.” Dorcas nods to herself.
“It is…slightly disturbing to see him hug someone.” Sirius frowns at them. They pull back right then, and Pandora stares at the both of them until she sighs in a very Pandora way.
“I should have seen it. You look very similar.” She compares them; the long hair of Sirius and the shorter, neck length hair of Regulus, the grey eyes and the green eyes. The same face structure, if only less smile lines and fat on Regulus’. “I suppose I should have connected the dots.”
“The less I am associated with this idiot, the better I am.” Regulus drawls.
Sirius rolls his eyes, “He’s a stupid posh brat. How do you even know each other?” he asks.
“Yeah you’re not really…” James starts but cuts himself quickly when Regulus turns his sharp glare on him.
“I work at the stables in the summer. I love taking care of the horses.” Pandora smiles, “They’re such sweet creatures, it’s a shame I haven’t seen one in so long.”
“And I have polo practice there.” Regulus explains, “Pheebs takes care of my horse, Alhena, and we usually chat while she brushes her.”
“And you never thought that Regulus Black and Sirius Black might be brothers?” Lily teases.
Pandora smiles at her, “No, because I didn’t know that it was his name. I’ve been calling him Flash because he is the fastest on the pitch.”
“And you know her name isn’t Phoebe, right?” Mary asks Regulus, who steals a glance in her direction. He frowns.
“It is? What are you talking about?” he asks, and Pandora looks incredibly guilty, until she starts giggling.
“Alright, I lied, my name is Pandora Phoebe Malfoy. I just thought it would be funny to use my middle name for once.” she admits with a smile. It ought to make them chuckle, but the Black brothers look at each other and frown.
“Wait, Malfoy? Is your brother Lucius?” Sirius asks her.
Pandora cocks her head to the side, “How do you know him?”
“He’s married to our cousin.” Regulus explains tightly, “I put him in jail two weeks ago.” He says earnestly, because the little Remus knows about him is that he doesn’t lie unless it’s needed. This is why he ended up hurting Sirius on more than one occasion, in being too honest.
Pandora looks at him with round eyes, “What did he do?”
“He was part of a nazi sect. I’m pretty sure he killed a bunch of people, too.” He explains, making Pandora sigh.
“He was always weird like that. Good riddance, I guess.” She shrugs. “I’m not really interested in the big family affairs. I just want to open my shelter.”
“Oh yes, Xeno told me about it.” He nods, “It’s coming together rather nicely, I heard.” He says, and it’s enough to make her beam and forget about her brother.
“Yes! I’m so excited to start rescuing animals. Maybe we will be able to save some lives with this!”
“Tell me more about it.” Regulus takes her arm as he asks her and starts walking towards a narrow Parisian street next to Pandora, who settles comfortably at his side and tells her stories.
“This is the most unlikely pair I’ve ever seen.” Sirius whispers, and Remus nods slowly.
“Definitely the weirdest.”
_____________________________
The rest of the day goes swimmingly; they all decide to eat kebabs while walking up the stairs in Montmartre, so that they’re able to watch the sun set over Paris from the Sacré-Coeur, with a beautiful view over the city. Regulus mostly sticks to Pandora, and sometimes Dorcas, who seems to have taken a liking to Regulus joins them. Sirius keep stealing glances at him, like he’s afraid he will take off just like that, and Remus understands. Sitting on the stairs in front of the huge basilic, Sirius speaks up.
“I really want him to stay.” He confesses, “It would be a way to make up for lost time, right?” he sighs. “I just don’t want to not know where he is anymore, not now that we’re kind of getting along again.”
Remus doesn’t know what to say, so he simply offers him a cigarette and draws him in close, a quiet promise that he will always be there.
For the night, Regulus goes back to Andromeda’s apartment, but promises to answer to Sirius’ texts after a few thousand eyerolls and demands from Sirius. The next day is the day they will visit all the museums, the kind of days that aren’t allowed to be skipped because it is educational. So, Regulus doesn’t join them in the Louvre, in Orsay nor in the Orangerie. He doesn’t join them for lunch in the Tuilerie’s garden, nor does he come to Versailles in the afternoon to see the castle. It’s only at night, after a thousand notes and pictures that he joins them at a big restaurant that doesn’t look very fancy but smells good and is filled with chatter. Tired of eating duck and chicken in the south of France, Remus tries a piece of beef that Regulus tells him is the finest part of a cow, and isn’t disappointed. Regulus is a nice addition to their group, and only looks slightly disgusted when Peter and Sybill start to make out at the table like they’ve been doing since the beginning of the trip. They’ve all mostly tuned it out, they’ve gotten used to it, but Regulus looks like he would put a hand over his eyes like a child.
After the restaurant, Sirius takes a minute with Regulus alone, which Remus is sure is to ask whether he is going to stay with them or with Andromeda, so Remus waits for them alone as the others start to walk back to the hotel, all knackered from this long day.
The minute turns a little longer, and only ten minutes later when Remus turns to find them, they come back from their alley. Sirius has a smile on his face, and Regulus’ expression is unreadable, as always.
“So?” Remus prompts, “Are you staying?”
“Yes.” Regulus nods. Remus feels a smile growing on his face; this is about to make Sirius so much happier.
“That’s great man, good to have you with us.” He smiles at him.
“On one condition.” Regulus continues, and Remus was so sure. It’s never that easy with the Blacks. “I don’t want to have to be near Potter. I can’t stand him.” He asks, and Remus’ eyebrows fly to his hairline.
“Oh. Okay, yeah sure. I’ll see how we can manage that.” He mumbles. No one in this planet has ever hated James Potter. Not that he knows of, at least.
“Right, so I’m staying.” He shrugs.
“I spent ten minutes trying to let him give James a chance, but he wouldn’t hear it.” Sirius pouts, “Why do you hate him?”
Regulus looks at him incredulously, “Do you really want me to start listing off reasons? Because we’ll still be there in December.” He says, making Sirius and Remus look at each other and share a desperate sigh.
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The rest of the French trip is alright: with a new addition to their ranks, they are now eleven, but really, Remus feels like they’re now nine: Peter and Sybill have been spending less and less time with them, instead favouring going off together to snog for hours. Every time Remus sees them, he has an urge to roll his eyes hard, and what is even worse, is that whenever Peter talks, it’s about Sybill.
It annoys Remus, has annoyed him since Brazil, but he doesn’t say anything, because he would hate to be a hypocrite to his best friend. Well, best friends don’t want to rip the other’s head off, he thinks but well, they can be friends. Peter is his infuriatingly annoying friend. Great.
Of course, because he has critical thinking and knows how to self-reflect, he wonders if he is the same, if all he can talk about is Sirius, so he asks Lily on the seventh day in Lyon, walking along the Rhône.
“Am I an annoying lovesick dude who only ever speaks of his partner?” he asks her, and she only turns to him and laughs.
“Not more than you used to.” She shrugs, making him chuckle, “No, honestly. You’re not like Peter, if that’s what you’re wondering.” She rolls her eyes, and Remus snorts.
“That’s exactly what I was wondering.” He admits, and Lily laughs.
“Don’t you worry, man, you’re nothing like that.” She reassures him, and goes back to talking about the different themes she’s hesitating on for her thesis.
On the eighth day, they go to a touristic spot called ‘Les Gorges du Verdon’, where the water is turquoise blue, making Remus think of Mexico, and they jump from rock colins into the water. It’s gorgeous and unusual, and Remus snaps as many pictures as he can until Marlene and Dorcas approach him to throw him in the water. He then laughs and tries to escape them, and only has time to set his camera down before being thrown down the hill. He manages not to hit his back and comes back drenched but laughing and finds that night on his camera many pictures of himself getting thrown into the water, falling and resurfacing, and somehow likes the pictures enough to post them on his Instagram. His account has quickly become a dump, where he posts one photo per day, and the person who has to honour to get posted always gloats all through dinner. He loves this tradition, and if it means him sprawling his life on the internet, then so be it.
The ninth day is spent in Marseille, which Remus loves: the ambiance in the South of France is legendary compared to the North. Everyone looks or is drunk, everyone is wearing such easy outfits that Remus almost feels overdressed in his linen shorts and white shirt, and there is either French rap or Spanish pop playing everywhere, which Remus likes. He likes the way Sirius always laughs when people start talking because he doesn’t expect the southern accent to come out, or the way he feels like he is just a kid in vacation, which he is, really, except that he spends it with all of his best friends instead of with his parents.
Keeping James and Regulus apart has proven to be quite easy: Sirius and he quickly agreed that the best way to keep James away was to be honest, so they simply told him the truth, that Regulus would leave if he had to spend time with him. James had obviously taken it badly, but after reminding him of the freaks Regulus used to be friends with in school, and the fact that he trusted their parents for so long, James quickly realised that Regulus isn’t really the best judge of character.
Remus doesn’t even see anyone except Dorcas, Marlene and James on the tenth day in France; technically, they aren’t in France anymore but in Monaco, and Moody surprises them with tickets to a Formula 1 race. James jumps up and down in happiness, Dorcas and Marlene are already having countless of bets and prognostics going on about the race, and Remus is only there to get his parents some merch. He doesn’t really care that much about Formula Ones, but when one grows up in a house where the sound filling the house on the weekend is the sound of an engine coming from the TV, and Hamilton’s voice after a win, he knows a few things, and knows that getting his parents a signed shirt would be the greatest gift. And he has been looking for ideas to get his parents to forgive him for being so distant. He’s only building up the nerve to be honest with his parents for once in his life, but when he watches the tracks, he quickly forgets. Live in the moment and whatnot.
At the end of the day, Remus has two signed red shirts with Leclerc’ name on the back, a lot of pictures and a grin on his face.
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