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Sirius had been sick for two weeks, with constant Sniffling and the occasional cough. Nothing so bad he couldn’t function, however, he always tended to look like a broken-hearted housewife from soap operas when he was sick.
Sirius was lying in bed, twirling his wand between his fingers when suddenly he heard the clash of pots and pans being used in the kitchen. He perked up, hoping it was Remus downstairs, back from whatever errand he said he was doing while Sirius had been hacking up phlegm into the sink.
Sirius dragged himself out of bed, grabbing one of Remus’s discarded jumpers and pulling it over his head. He slowly padded down to the kitchen of his and Remus’s shared apartment rubbing his eyes and yawning. He turned the corner, and raised his head, still rubbing his eyes.
He tilted his head, squinting, “Moony, don’t take this the wrong way, but you're starting to look a lot like Regulus”. He croaked, thinking he must’ve taken too much cough medicine.
The raven-haired boy sighed, “That’s because it is Regulus”. He paused, lifting a pan off the stove, mixing it slowly then placing it back down. “Morning, big brother”, Regulus says not taking his eyes off of whatever it is he was cooking.
Sirius raised an eyebrow, then walked closer, leaning over Regulus’s shoulder to see what he was doing. He furrowed his eyebrows, “Did you break into my house, to make noodles?”
Regulus’s face showed little emotion, he shook his head and pushed Sirius away when he started coughing over the food. He kept on stirring the noodles as they boiled, his brows furrowed in concentration until he finally spoke. “Remus told me you were sick, so I thought I’d check up on you”.
Sirius raises an eyebrow, giving his brother a sceptical look. He knew Regulus, they hadn’t spoken in months, and random acts of kindness weren’t exactly his thing. He looked to his brother, Regulus very rarely showed emotions through his face, Sirius used to joke about how good of a poker played he’d make, but Regulus always ignored him.
“That can’t be the only reason, I knew I was charming but even my boyfriend doesn’t want to look after me”, he joked, elbowing Regulus lightly as he grinned.
Regulus kept stirring the noodles, refusing to look Sirius in the eyes, “I just wanted to see you. We don’t exactly talk anymore, and Remus thinks we should fix our relationship, as brothers. You used to always look after me, so I thought I’d do the same”.
“I wasn’t aware there was anything to fix”, Sirius says, his brother finally looking him in the eyes as he lets out a scoff, “You can’t be serious”.
Sirius opens his mouth to make a joke, Regulus quickly interrupts him as he moves around the kitchen, cutting up vegetables and meat to put in the noodles. “Let’s face it, we barely talk and we don’t know the first thing about each other”, he pauses, “I know we weren’t exactly the closest during our Hogwarts years, but I want to be your brother, your friend.
Sirius raises an eyebrow, taken aback by Regulus’s words. They never spoke about Hogwarts, it was an unspoken rule. Their past was, well, in the past. They were both adults now, but yet deep down he still felt betrayed by Regulus, for what he did, whom he trusted. He also hated himself for leaving, although he knew he had to save himself.
“Why did you do it?” Sirius spoke, leaning against the kitchen wall as he watched Regulus hover over the stove. He had never asked why, and he wanted an answer.
“I could tell you it was honourable, that it was to protect our family. But that would be a lie because the truth is that I believed the Dark Lord was right. I thought that purebloods were superior, I believed in his ideals. I wish I could say I never did, but I willingly took that mark. I don’t regret it, but I don’t believe what I used to. The war is over Sirius, and things have changed, I changed”.
Sirius was speechless, He didn’t think Regulus would be so honest with him. Nor did he think Regulus’s ideals had changed, but then again Remus had stayed in contact with the younger Black after Sirius refused to.
“Sit”, Remus said as he poured the chicken noodle soup into a bowl for Sirius, briefly searching for the cutlery drawer, then passing a fork and spoon to him.
Sirius sat down, prodding the noodles with his fork, coughing slightly as he wiped his nose with the back of his sleeve. He could see the look of disgust on Regulus’s face and he laughed.
For a couple of moments, there was a comfortable silence between the two, until Sirius finally spoke, “You know, you’ve always been my brother, Even when we hated each other, you're still part of me Reg, and you always will be”.
Regulus nodded as he sighed, “I may not deserve it, but I truly want to be part of your life again. I want what you have, friends, someone who loves you. I want a life I can be proud of. I want to be happy”.
Sirius paused, he gave Regulus a sad smile, “You can still be happy Reg, you can build the life you want, and get married. I promise, I’ll make sure of it”.
Regulus, for the first time in a long time, smiled slightly and leaned against the kitchen counter, watching as his brother slurped the noodle soup. He stayed silent, until he said, “Are you and Remus going to get married?”
Sirius choked on the food, spluttering and coughing. He stood up, rushing to the fridge, and quickly drank out the carton of milk. He took a deep breath as he finally calmed down, putting the milk back in the fridge. Regulus made a face of disgust, then raised an eyebrow as Sirius stayed silent, “Well?”
“It’s… complicated”, Sirius says, looking away from his brother and clearing his throat. Regulus hummed in agreement, “Because you're both…?” his words trailed off, but Sirius knew what he was getting at.
“Yes. because we’re both men”, Sirius sighed, fiddling with the metal spoon as he looked down at the soup in front of him, he ran a hand through his hair and leaned back in his seat.
“What if you proposed?” Regulus asks, and Sirius laughs, “I am not proposing!”
Regulus raised an eyebrow, “Why not?”
There was a beat of silence before Regulus chuckled, “Because you want Remus too?”
Sirius groans, hiding his face in his hands then laughs, “I’ve never been on for romantics, but Remus however…”
“Is very romantic, I know”, Regulus says, watching as his brother thinks for a moment with a look that when he was younger he was going to prank a group of unfortunate Slytherins. “You spend a lot of time with Remus, should I be worried?” Sirius teases his brother, a shark-like grin on his face.
“Remus isn’t my type”, Regulus argues. But that only encourages Sirius to continue, “Then who is your type?”
Regulus groaned, wishing Sirius would drop the subject, “What are your friends up to?” He says in a lame attempt to change the topic of conversation.
“James and Lily are married, Do you prefer girls or guys?” Sirius answers quickly, a smirk plastered across his face. He never backed down from a challenge, even if there wasn’t a challenge to begin with.
“I don’t care about gender”, Regulus says, shrugging as he gives in. Realizing he wasn’t going to be able to get Sirius to drop the subject.
“You like gingers? Blondes, brunettes? Short, tall? Glasses, no glasses?” Sirius asks, tilting his head and waiting in anticipation for Regulus to answer.
“Gingers are fine, but women pull it off way better than men. I don’t like blondes, and I think glasses are sexy”. He says quickly, folding his arms and waiting for Sirius’s reaction.
“Wait-” Sirius starts, but is cut off as Remus arrives home. Regulus waves goodbye to his brother and quickly barges past Remus and out the door. Remus raises an eyebrow, confused as to what he just walked in on.
“Hey pads”, Remus smiles and kisses his boyfriend's forehead, checking his temperature and putting down his bag which contains 3 chocolate bars in different flavours.
Sirius snorts, picking up a chocolate bar, “Running errands? Really? You just had to go out and buy more chocolate?”
Remus flips him the bird, grabbing the chocolate away from his sick boyfriend, “It’s a full moon soon, I need it”.
Sirius scoffs and rummages through the bag until he finds a small satin box, “Hey, what’s this?”
Remus’s eyes widen, he tries to grab the box from Sirius but Sirius moves out of the way, opening the box. His eyes practically fall out of his head and his mouth falls open in shock. He stared down at the silver engagement rings in the box, one was styled into a star constellation and the other had a moon engraved onto it. The bands shined under the lights of the kitchen, and Sirius felt his heart thump in his chest. “Are these?”
Remus sighed and walked over to Sirius. He held Sirius’s hand and smiled, kissing his knuckles. “Sirius Orion Black, you are extremely annoying and nosy. But you're also the most amazing boyfriend, and despite what others say, you have a big heart. I love you, and I don’t think I’d be alive today if it wasn’t for you. Will you marry me?”
Sirius leapt up, and pulled Remus into a heated kiss, nodding as he grinned from ear to ear, “Of course, I’ll bloody marry you!” He yells, smiling as Remus slides the moon-engraved ring onto Sirius’s finger.
That night the pair, despite Sirius’s cold, never left each other's side. Holding each other and laughing whilst reminiscing on their time in Hogwarts, and despite Regulus’s knowing smile when they announced their engagement, Sirius refuses to admit he is part of the reason he said yes.
Regulus didn’t mind, whilst he may not have his happy ending, watching Sirius get he was more than he could’ve ever asked for. And if anyone asks, he’ll never admit he cried on Sirius’s wedding day, that secret, he’ll take to his grave.