Chapter Text
Touch your lips just so I know
In your eyes, love, it glows so
I'm bare boned and crazy for you
When you come crash
Into me, baby
And I come into you
(crash into me by Dave Matthews Band)
James
“They are opening a tattoo parlor across the street.” he walks into the flower shop carrying a couple of boxes.
Remus kindly holds the door for him. “Are they now?”
“Yeah. I ran into one of the tattoo artists the other day, Evan, he was nice.”
Remus hums with a knowing smirk on his face.
“Not like that .” James cracks a smile, Evan is indeed fairly handsome. The blonde is almost as tall as James, his tan skin is adorned with several tattoos all done in the same style and his eyes are sage green. “I mean, he is nice like that too but it’s not what I meant.”
“Sure.” Remus says unconvinced.
James puts the boxes down and looks at him. “Anyway, you know what this means, don’t you?”
He tilts his head, clearly confused. “No?” James sighs and turns around to unpack the boxes.
“Well, Sirius will certainly love to check out the new tattoo parlor, just another excuse to come by and see your handsome face.” He doesn’t need to look at Remus to know he’s blushing. His heart skips a beat everytime someone mentions Sirius, it’s even worse when he sees him but he somehow manages to play it cool when he’s around, probably because Sirius is usually the one to make a fool of himself around Remus.
“As if he needed an excuse to be a nuisance” Remus mumbles. James turns with an unimpressed look and Remus pretends to look at the time on his watch. “Well, look at that, my break is almost over. I better go back.”
“Go hide in the bookstore all you want but you can’t fool me, Remus, you’re not as subtle as you think.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, James.” he shrugs as he walks out of the flower shop.
James continues unpacking the boxes and restocking the shelves. It’s a lovely day, the sun shines through the picture windows. He whistles a song he can’t get out of his head as he goes to the back to water and prune some plants. The back of the shop is a beautiful greenhouse and James' favorite place in the whole world.
-
James hears the shop bell ring as someone walks into the shop. He wipes his hands on his apron and goes to the till with his best smile.
There’s a man with fair skin looking around the shop, he clearly hasn’t noticed James appearing behind the till yet. James clears his throat before speaking. “Hello there, what can I do for you?”
The man turns around and as their eyes meet James’ breath hitches at such a beautiful sight. For a moment the whole world stops and it’s only them inside the flower shop. His eyes are blue but not like any shade of blue James has ever seen in anyone’s eyes, something similar to stone blue he believes. He has a pair of headphones around his neck, James can faintly hear the music still playing on them.
“I need a bouquet.” his voice almost makes James melt.
It isn’t until the man raises an eyebrow that James realizes he’s been staring in silence for a bit too long. “A bouquet, right. What do you have in mind? Any particular flowers you’re looking for?”
“I need something that says ‘sorry for disappearing from the face of the earth, I’m well and alive, and here to stay if you let me’.”
James blinks, then blinks again, as he tries to wrap his mind around what the man has just said. “That’s… a lot.”
The man laughs softly and James now desperately wants to hear him laugh fully. “Yeah, it is. Maybe a bouquet won’t be enough.”
“It might not be but it’s a good place to start.” James offers a comforting smile. There’s a hint of a smile on the man’s lips. “Let me tell you what. I’ll make you some tea so you can try and relax while I prepare your bouquet.”
“Do you make tea for all your customers?” he tilts his head.
“Only for the pretty ones.” James winks. He goes to the back before he can see the man’s reaction, too mortified with himself.
He quickly prepares some Earl Grey and goes back to the till. The man is humming a song, probably the one playing on the headphones around his neck.
“Honey?” James asks.
The man looks at him with a raised eyebrow and a playful smile. “Yes, darling?”
James feels his face heat up. “For the tea.” he blurts out and the man stifles a laugh. “Honey, sugar or cream?”
“Cream is fine.” James nods and adds some cream to the tea before offering the cup to him. He gladly takes it and smiles. “Thanks, love.”
James almost melts on the spot. He walks around the shop picking some white tulips for the bouquet. “What flowers do they like?”
He sighs and takes a sip of his tea. “I’m not sure, if I’m honest. We haven’t seen each other in years, you see, I don’t know what he likes anymore.”
James hums. “See any flowers that remind you of him?”
He takes a quick look around.
“Those.” he points at the hyacinths.
James smiles. “Those are perfect.” He grabs some and adds them to the bouquet as well as some baby’s breath, lady’s mantle and ginestras. He carefully wraps them all with kraft paper and ties everything up with a beautiful ribbon. He adds his signature eucalyptus to the ribbon and smiles fairly pleased with himself.
“It’s beautiful.” the man says.
“All yours.” He goes back to the till to charge the beautiful man. He adds a special discount he only saves for his friends but doesn’t tell him. The man pays in cash. “Need a card?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t think I can fit my apology in a card, but thanks.” He grabs the bouquet and starts to walk out but then suddenly stops. “Actually, I do need a card. Can I borrow a pen?”
“Sure.” James smiles.
He cleans up a bit as the man writes something down. He then gives James back the pen and the card. James furrows his eyebrows confused and the man simply nods at the card. James looks at it and sees the man wrote down his name and phone number.
“Oh.” he simply says. He had assumed the bouquet was for an ex he was trying to win back but it must not be the case or if it is he is quite shameless.
The man, Regulus, smiles at him. “Thanks for the bouquet, James. And the tea.”
“I never told you my name.” he says. Regulus points at the name tag on James’ apron. James clears his throat, embarrassed. “Right, of course. Well, good luck, Regulus.”
“Thanks, I’ll need it.”
And with that he leaves the shop.
-
James closes the shop early and goes to the bookstore next door. Remus is reading a book behind the till. He looks up from the book.
“You’re early, I still have half an hour left of my shift.” he says.
James shrugs. “I don’t mind waiting.”
They are going out with Peter, Sirius and Marlene later on, as they do every other thursday.
“Suit yourself.” Remus says before going back to his book.
James walks around the bookstore to pass the time, humming the same tune Regulus was humming earlier. He doesn’t know the song but it’s a nice tune.
“You are awfully cheerful.” Remus accuses.
James smiles. “I had a lovely customer today.”
“Did you now?”
“I swear to god, Remus, I’ve never met a man as pretty as him.”
“Pretty?”
James nods. “Pretty.” Remus hums and tries to go back to his book but James isn’t done. “He has the most beautiful curls and his eyes, Remus, his eyes are the prettiest shade blue I’ve ever seen.”
“Does he have a name?”
“Regulus.” James loves how the name sweetly rolls off his tongue. “And he gave me his number.”
“Who gave you his number?” Lily asks, walking into the store. She has the next shift right after Remus.
“Hi, Lily.” James smiles.
“A pretty customer.” Remus answers before James can attempt to change the subject.
“Pretty?” Lily smiles.
“The prettiest.” James practically swoons.
Before any of them can say anything else Peter walks in complaining about one of his coworkers, Avery, who has been making Peter’s job unbearable by simply being there.
James looks at his phone and finds a text message from Sirius.
Something came up, I can't make it tonight. Buy Moony a drink for me.
“Sirius can’t make it tonight.” he announces. Remus visibly deflates. “Don’t look so sad, he told me to buy you a drink.”
Remus huffs. “I’m not sad . I don’t care if he can make it or not.”
“Sure you don’t.” Lily chuckles.
-
James wakes up to the sound of someone banging on his door. He reaches for his phone which is apparently dead since he forgot to plug it in the night before. Last thing he remembers was texting Regulus a simple message before tossing his phone away.
Hi, this is James. How did it go?
The banging continues. He grunts and puts his glasses on before getting out of bed.
He grabs the first shirt he can find and rushes to the door.
“Coming!” he shouts.
He tries to fix up his hair as he opens the door. On the other side he finds Sirius looking like a complete wreck. “Pads?”
“Morning, Prongs.” he forces a smile. “Can I, um, come in?”
“Yeah, of course.” James says, moving to the side to let Sirius in. “Forgot your key?”
Sirius never knocks. Since he has his own keys to James’ apartment he always helps himself in.
Sirius pats his pockets, from his pants to his leather jacket. “Fuck. I don’t know where I left them.”
James closes the door behind him. “It’s okay, Pads. Want something to drink?”
“Whiskey, neat.”
James blinks. “A bit early for that, don’t you think, mate?”
Sirius sighs and drops himself on the couch. James goes to the kitchen briefly to put the kettle on and then returns to the living room, sitting next to Sirius.
“Talk to me, Pads. What happened?”
“I don’t even know where to start.” Sirius tugs his hair.
“From the beginning?” James offers.
Sirius looks at him, narrowing his eyes. James holds his gaze and Sirius gives up, laying back and staring at the ceiling. “My brother showed up at my doorstep.”
“Your brother?” James furrows his eyebrows. “I thought you had a s-“ One look at Sirius is all it takes for him to stop himself. “Oh.”
“Yeah.” Sirius chuckles. “You can imagine my surprise.”
Sirius doesn’t talk much about his family. James knows he was kicked out when he was sixteen and went to live with his uncle, who died a couple of years ago. Sirius was a mess when it happened, but James, Remus and Peter held him together with Lily, Mary and Marlene’s help.
He doesn’t know much about his brother, other than the fact that he was sent to a boarding school in France shortly after Sirius’ got kicked out.
“I’m not sure how he found me but he did, he showed up at my doorstep with flowers. I almost didn't recognize him but he looked at me with the saddest eyes and I just knew it was him.” Sirius sobs. James wraps his arms around him. “He looked so scared, Prongs.”
James says nothing and lets Sirius cry in his arms. Sirius confesses he tried to look for his brother when the latter became of age but was nowhere to be found. He now knows he couldn’t find him because he had changed his name and started his transition, not without cutting ties with their parents first.
Apparently he was too scared of how Sirius would react to his transition, which is why he took so long to reach out to him.
James and Sirius are now in the kitchen while the former prepares his morning tea and toast. “You can’t blame him for being scared, Pads. Transitioning it’s never easy, you remember how it was for Marlene.”
“I know, I don’t blame him.” Sirius sniffs. “I just wished he would’ve reach out sooner, I would have been there for him every step of the way. He is my baby brother.”
“He’s here now and that’s what’s important, you get to be there for each other now.” James smiles.
Sirius smiles. “We are having dinner tonight at his place, he shares a flat with a friend.”
“That sounds nice.”
“It does, doesn’t it?”
James takes a bite from his toast and a sip of his tea. “Remus missed you last night.”
Sirius beams. “Really?”
James stifles a laugh. Sirius and Remus are utterly helpless.
Regulus
He checks his phone again, still no response. He texted James this morning, after he texted him first in the middle of the night.
Hi James. Will you be at the shop today? I want to thank you for the bouquet.
Regulus puts his phone away and wonders if he came out too strong. In the meantime, Barty and Evan are still bickering over which wallpaper they should pick for the tattoo parlor’s bathroom. Regulus sighs and snatches the samples from them.
“Pick this one, the other one looks tacky as hell.” he says before putting the samples down.
Barty huffs while Evan has a triumphant smile on his face. “Thanks, Reg. Good to know someone here has some taste.”
“Fuck you, Rosier.” Barty scowls.
“Wasn’t this morning enough for you, Crouch?” Evan teases.
Barty scowl softens. “You know I can’t keep my hands to myself when you’re around.”
Regulus rolls his eyes. “God bless Pandora, I would rather die than live with you guys again.”
Pandora was renting a flat with Dorcas but the latter just moved out to live with her girlfriend. Regulus wasted no time and asked Pandora to let him move in with her before she could even start looking for another roommate.
“You’re always welcome to join.” Barty winks.
Regulus feels his phone vibrate on his pocket, James finally texted back.
Sorry, I took the day off. But you can thank me over dinner tonight.
Unfortunately he can’t have dinner with James tonight since he’s having SIrius over for dinner, he tells him as much.
Can’t tonight. Let me buy you lunch tomorrow.
James replies way faster this time and Regulus can’t help but smile.
It’s a date :)
“Who’s got you smiling like that?” Evan asks.
Regulus puts his phone away. “That is none of your business.”
“Is it the guy from the flower shop?” Barty asks.
Evan furrows his eyebrows. “The guy from the flower shop?”
“Reg got his brother flowers yesterday and was completely swooned.”
Regulus tries to ignore Evan curious’ gaze. “From the flower shop across the street?”
“Don’t really know any other flower shop.” Regulus mutters.
“You mean James then?”
With that Regulus finally looks at Evan. “You know him?”
“I met him the other day, he was curious to know what we were working on here.” Evan shrugs. “I wouldn’t guess he would be your type.”
“I don’t have a type.” Regulus scowls.
Barty snorts. “Your dating record says otherwise. You have shit taste in men.”
“I dated you .”
“An exception to the rule, of course.” Barty grins.
“James would be an exception too. We only talked for a few minutes but he was really charming.” Evan adds.
Barty raises an eyebrow. “Should I be jealous?”
Evan chuckles and shakes his head. “Don’t fret, he is too nice for my taste.”
“Well, if he works across the street I’m sure I’ll run into him soon enough. I’ll give him a proper assessment then.”
Regulus covers his face with his hands. “Please don’t embarrass me.”
Barty smiles with a mischievous look in his eyes. “You know I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”
-
Regulus goes home to prepare everything for dinner with Sirius. Evan and Barty stay back to supervise the parlor’s renovations but they’ll join them later for dinner, as well as Dorcas, to give Regulus emotional support.
When he gets to the flat Pandora is sitting on the living room’s rug with her tarot cards spread on the coffee table.
She smiles at him. “Nervous for tonight?”
“Not more than I was yesterday, so I think I’ll survive.” Regulus says on his way to the kitchen.
“Want me to tell you what the cards said?”
“Was it good or bad?”
“You know it doesn’t work like that.” she says, following him into the kitchen.
Regulus starts gathering the ingredients. “Then don’t tell me.”
Pandora shrugs. “As you wish.” She steps in to help him out. “What are you making?”
“Apparently Sirius is vegetarian, so I’m making a veggie lasagna.”
“Lovely.”
Regulus puts some music on the speaker and starts to prepare everything with Pandora’s help. Her and Evan were the ones who taught him how to cook, before them he could barely make tea and toast.
He cut ties with his parents without much of a plan. Not his best idea but he had no intention of continuing living a lie. All he had was Barty, they were dating back then. At the time Barty was just starting college as a political science major, per his father’s request. He let Regulus stay with him at his flat free of charge. Once he got a job at a record store he started helping with the bills.
Barty dropped out near the end of his first year and was immediately disowned by his father. His mother sent him some money behind his father’s back to help out until Barty got a job as well. He still keeps in touch with her although he doesn’t get to see her as often as he would like.
Regulus and Barty eventually broke up but remained friends, still living together until recently. Regulus met Evan in the waiting room of his doctor’s practice, they were in different stages of their transitions since Evan got to start the process in highschool.
Barty quickly warmed up to Evan, especially with how much comfort he brought to Regulus. The three have been inseparable ever since.
They met Pandora through Evan, who went to the same art school. Dorcas was always around since she went to the same boarding school as Barty and Regulus, they weren’t close back then because she was a year above them but once they met again outside of school they became close friends.
It took time but Regulus built a family of his own. All he was missing was his brother and now he has the opportunity to have him back into his life.
“You feel happy.” Pandora states, not a question.
Regulus offers her a soft smile. “I am happy.”
Sirius
He should be on his way to Regulus flat but he’s been having an existential crisis at the wine aisle for about twenty minutes. Regulus said he didn’t have to bring anything to dinner but he showed up with flowers the day before so Sirius thinks he should definitely bring something.
“Sirius?” a warm familiar voice asks.
He turns and finds Remus standing right next to him. He has to look up to meet his eyes, amber like honey. How he doesn’t actually melt under Remus’ warm gaze is still a mystery to him.
Sirius tries not to get all fluster. “Hi there, Moonbeam. Heard you missed me last night.”
Remus smiles. “What are you up to?”
“I’m having dinner with my brother and I can’t pick a wine to save my life. He said I didn’t have to bring anything but I should, right? It’s my first time visiting his flat.” he blurts out.
“I didn’t know you had a brother.”
“Neither did I.” Remus furrows his eyebrows but Sirius doesn’t elaborate. He isn’t particularly knowledgeable on the topic but he does know that he’s not supposed to go on about outing his brother. “Help me pick a wine, will you, Moons?”
Remus looks at the wines. “Is your brother as posh as you?”
“Oi. I’m not posh.” Sirius says offended.
Remus raises an eyebrow but Sirius doesn’t relent. He goes back to the wines. “Does he prefer red or white?”
Sirius panics. “I, um, I don’t know. Bloody hell, I don’t know what I’m doing.”
His heart skips a beat as Remus gently squeezes his shoulder. “It’s okay, Pads. Let’s figure this out together.” He feels all warm and fuzzy. “You said it’s your first time going to his flat and he didn’t ask you to bring anything in particular so any housewarming gift should work, it doesn’t have to be wine.”
“I just- I really want to make a good impression, Moony. We haven’t spent time together in years and his friends will be there.”
Remus gives him a bright smile, one that makes both dimples on his face appear. It takes everything within Sirius not to bite his cheeks right there. “You always make a good impression, nothing to worry about.”
Sirius raises an eyebrow. “Really? I thought I made a terrible first impression with you.”
“I wouldn’t say terrible, it was somewhat charming.”
“Charming.” Sirius repeats in disbelief.
“Yes, Sirius, you’ll find that I’m not immune to your charm.”
“Could’ve fooled me.”
Remus shrugs. “Playing hard to get.”
Sirius chokes on nothing and Remus gives him a funny look before walking to another aisle. After a few seconds Sirius follows.
-
He steps down from his motorbike and takes a quick look at the building. It’s nice, nothing expensive, and the neighborhood seems good enough. He texts Regulus and he buzzes him in. Regulus flat is on the third floor.
The door swings open before Sirius gets the chance to knock. A lovely girl with long blonde curly hair and big blue eyes smiles at him, wearing a beautiful sundress, probably thrifted, and a cozy cardigan. She has an amount of jewelry that would look ridiculous on anyone else but somehow suits her. Oddly enough, her smile puts him at ease.
“Hi.” she tilts her head.
Sirius gives her his most charming smile, almost like a reflex. “You must be Pandora.”
“That would be me.” she confirms.
A man with short dark hair and light blue eyes suddenly appears behind her. He’s a bit taller than Sirius and just as covered in tattoos as he is. He looks at Sirius from head to toe, seemingly measuring him up.
“And you are?” Sirius asks, not intimidated at all.
He grins and much to Sirius’ surprise he extends his hand at him, which Sirius takes and the man shakes. “Barty, Reg’s favorite ex.”
Pandora giggles and another man appears behind Barty, swatting the back of his head. “Why would you say that? Reg told us to be nice.”
“This is me being nice.” Barty says, rubbing the back of his head.
This other man shakes his head in disapproval but can’t hide his smile. “Please forgive him, we’re still training him.”
“I’m not a dog.” Barty frowns.
“Could have fooled me.” Regulus says. His friends get out of the way and there he is, smiling nervously at Sirius. “Are you going to come in or do you plan to stay out there all night?”
Sirius smiles. “Good to see you too.” He finally comes inside and Pandora closes the door behind him. “I brought you biscuits and that fancy tea you used to like, not sure if you still do. It’s okay if you don’t.”
Regulus looks at the tea and for a second Sirius can see something sweet in his eyes. “I still do. Thanks.”
“Let me take that to the kitchen.” Pandora kindly offers. Barty and the other guy follow her, leaving Sirius and Regulus alone.
Sirius takes a quick glance at the flat, it looks cozy; nothing like 12 Grimmauld Place. There’s books and plants all over the place. He spots a record player on the corner of the living room and smiles.
“Sorry about Barty, he’s a menace.” Regulus says.
“Is he really your ex?” Sirius worries he might be overstepping but he’s curious, he missed so much of his brother’s life.
There’s a faint blush in Regulus’ ears. “He is, yes. But he’s with Evan now.”
Sirius assumes Evan is the blonde guy that was trying to keep Barty in check. “I see.”
Regulus scowls and gets a bit defensive. “He is nicer than he looks.”
“I’m not judging.” Sirius says, hands up in surrendering.
“Right.” Regulus doesn’t sound convinced.
“Are you seeing someone else?”
“Not at the moment, no. Dating as a trans man is a bit complicated.”
“I’m sorry.”
Regulus shrugs. “Not your fault.” He nods at the table and Sirius follows. “And you? Are you seeing someone?”
Sirius immediately thinks of Remus and all their flirty banter. He can feel his face turn red and looks away to hide the blush. “I’m not entirely sure.”
Before Regulus can say something else, there’s a knock on the door. “I’ll get that.” Evan says, rushing to the door. Pandora and Barty come out of the kitchen as well to serve the table.
“Need some help?” Sirius asks.
Pandora shakes her head. “We got it, don’t worry.”
“Look who I found.” Evan says, making everyone turn their attention to him and the girl next to him. Pandora wastes no time and hugs her, practically throwing herself at her.
The girl smiles and Sirius catches Regulus’ looking fondly at them. “I missed you too.” she tells Pandora. Her dark brown skin looks even darker against Pandora’s pale pink skin. Her blue dress compliments her skin tone perfectly.
It takes Sirius a moment to recognize her once Pandora pulls away from her. “Dorcas?”
Her brown eyes widen at the sight of him. “Sirius?”
Everyone looks between them.
“You guys know each other?” Regulus asks, sounding surprised.
Dorcas is the one to answer. “He is friends with Marlene.”
Pandora claps her hands. “Well, that saves us an introduction.”
“You’re Regulus’ brother?” Dorcas asks, looking between both Black brothers.
“The one and only.” Sirius smiles.
“Can’t believe I didn’t notice the resemblance before, you could be twins.”
“Don’t lie to him, Dorcas, we all know I’m the handsome one.”
Barty snorts, much to Regulus’ amusement.
-
Dinner with Regulus and his friends is lovely. Sirius is grateful for Dorcas’ company, having a familiar face around takes a weight off his shoulder he didn’t even know he had.
He tries to fill in the gaps of the years he spent apart from Regulus with the stories his friends tell. Barty and Dorcas cover some of their highschool years but they change the subject quickly since Regulus isn’t too keen to talk about that particular time of his life.
Evan and Pandora came into Regulus’ life a bit later but they are just as close to him as the others. Evan in particular shares a special bond with Regulus and answers most of Sirius’ questions about his own transition. Sirius makes sure not to overstep.
Regulus opens up a little and speaks a bit of his transition as well. Sirius is glad he had Barty, and eventually Evan and Pandora, to help him through the whole thing.
It’s bittersweet hearing about everything they’ve shared together. He can’t help but wish he was there too, for the good and the bad. But he reminds himself of what James said, what’s important it’s that they are here for each other now.
Dorcas is the first to leave, followed by Evan and Barty not long after. Sirius promises to drop by the tattoo parlor before the inauguration. Pandora kisses Regulus’ head before excusing herself.
Sirius and Regulus are left alone in the living room.
“I like your friends.” Sirius smiles.
Regulus smiles, visibly less anxious that he was before. “I like them too.”
“I’ll introduce you to mine whenever you’re ready. We go to the pub every other Thursday.”
“Why Thursdays?”
Sirius shrugs. “Why not Thursdays?”
Regulus chuckles. They stay in silence for a moment but Sirius eventually breaks the silence.
“Thanks for having me over.”
“Thanks for having me back.” Regulus looks at him with the most sincere look in the eyes.
Sirius is having a hard time holding back the tears. “Can I hug you?”
“Just this once.”
He smiles and hugs Regulus. “I missed you so much, Reggie.” The nickname slips his tongue but Regulus doesn’t seem to mind or if he does he doesn’t say.
“I missed you too.” The hug goes on for a barely a minute more. “You can let go of me now.”
“Right, of course.” Sirius loosens the embrace and Regulus pulls away. “What are you doing tomorrow? Wanna grab some lunch? My treat.”
He can’t help but notice the faint blush on Regulus' cheeks. “I’m afraid I already have plans for tomorrow’s lunch.”
“With whom?”
“Just some guy I met yesterday.”
“You have a date?” Sirius teases, wiggling his eyebrows. Regulus scowls and gently pushes him away but Sirius laughs it off. “Never snog on the first date or he’ll think you’re a slut, not that there’s anything wrong with being a slut.”
Regulus rolls his eyes. “Shut up.”
Sirius chuckles and lets it go but he can see Regulus is nervous. “Alright?”
Regulus doesn’t meet his eyes but he does replies. “I always get a bit anxious before a date, especially with someone new. No matter how nice or smooth everything goes I never know how they’ll react when I tell them I’m trans. It’s something I can’t control and I hate that.”
“If they don’t accept you for who you are, it's their loss, not yours.”
“I know, I just-” he sighs and hides his face between his hands. “It makes me feel like I come with a trigger warning.”
“Don’t we all?”
Regulus shakes his head. “It’s not the same. Nobody expects you to unpack your family trauma or whatever baggage you have on the first few dates but people do expect you to let them know you’re trans from the get go. It isn’t fair.”
Sirius swallows hard and tries not to choke on his next question. “Has someone ever hurt you for it?”
“Not physically but-”
“It still hurts, I know.” Sirius cuts him off. “Do you plan on telling this guy tomorrow?”
“Only if I feel comfortable telling him.”
“Well, if you do and anything happens you can let me know. I’m just a phone call away, Reggie. And I’m not above beating up a guy, especially if he hurts you.”
Regulus finally looks at him again. Sirius’ breath hitches. He is looking at him as if he hanged the stars and the moon. He hasn’t looked at Sirius like that since they were little. “Thank you.”