When We Fell In Love

Chapter 20: St. Valentine's - Part 1

Sirius wanted nothing more than to Obliviate that image from his mind: his little brother, his sweet, innocent – okay, maybe not that innocent –, naive – not that either – little brother was literally straddling his best friend.

"Padfoot, I can explain..." James said, his voice shaky, breath still heavy, and an embarrassed flush on his cheeks.

"I don't want to know. You... this..." Sirius shot a look at Remus, leaning against the doorframe, looking bored. "Moony, a little help here would be nice."

"What exactly is bothering you, Sirius?" Remus asked lazily.

"What's... really? Are you serious?" Sirius was horrified. "I can't believe it."

"I don't see either of them protesting," Remus replied, chuckling under his breath. "If anything, they looked rather... entertained."

"Remus," Sirius' tone was somewhere between furious and desperate, "you can't be serious. He's my little brother..."

"I stopped being your little brother quite a while ago," Regulus countered.

"... and he's my best friend," Sirius said, pretending not to hear the interruption.

"Padfoot," James was more serious than Sirius had ever seen him. "I need you to listen to me carefully."

"I'm very, very angry with you, James." Sirius glared at him fiercely.

"I know, and you have every right to be," James said, ignoring Regulus' side-eye. "But I owe you an explanation about how we ended up in this... situation."

He looked at Regulus, hoping for some kind of support or encouragement. Regulus simply shrugged, indifferent, and went back to staring at the fireplace. "A few months ago, Reg and I kissed. And it was... nice."

"WHAT? When did this happen? And why didn't I know anything about it?" Sirius bombarded him with questions.

"That doesn't matter. It just happened. It wasn't planned, but it made me question everything... and here we are."

"So this liaison has been going on for months and I didn't know?"

"No, no, no," James quickly said. "Nothing like that. Regulus here hasn't spoken to me in weeks. Today, we ran into each other... and it just... happened."

"What do you mean, it just happened? These things don't just happen!"

"Sirius," Regulus' voice was icy, freezing everyone else. "You're getting worked up for nothing. There's nothing between me and Potter, and I'm free to do whatever I want. You have no say in what I can or can't do."

Sirius' nostrils flared, and he looked like an enraged bull.

"And by the way, dear Sirius, you're not in a position to judge me. We're more alike than you think." Regulus glanced first at Sirius, then at Remus.

"I... that's not true. Remus and I... it's different."

"If you say so," Regulus muttered, unconvinced, before exiting the room and slamming the door.

"And just as he arrived, he's gone again," Remus said thoughtfully. "James, sorry for interrupting you two like that. I know it can't have been easy to tell us the truth." Sirius was still struggling to process everything. "How are you holding up?"

"I... I think I need to lie down for a bit," James answered, his voice weak and defeated, with an undertone of deep sadness. "I'm sorry, Sirius. I really didn't want it to end this way." Shoulders hunched and looking dejected, James left, leaving them alone.