Dum Spiro Spero

Chapter 31

Now that Evalyn was at Hogwarts, Sirius and Regulus were left alone at the house. Hardly any conversation was made for a while. To put it simply, they didn't know how to act around each other. Each man was stiff and tense. Eyes always glancing at the other when they weren't looking. However, Sirius decided to take things into his own hands. He picked up his favorite takeout, grabbed a couple movies and headed back home. His younger brother was in the kitchen making tea. Regulus offered him a short nod before turning to walk back to his bedroom. Sirius grabbed his arm gently.

Regulus turned around in confusion. "I was thinking that maybe you might want to hang out with THE Sirius Black?" The younger Black could tell that despite the confident arrogant smile his brother portrayed, nerves were swimming in his eyes. His pale eyes darted to the bag of food that smelled wonderful. His stomach gave a quiet rumble and he the corners of his lips turned ever so slightly.

"Sure, I'd like that."

A little while later, Jurassic Park was playing on the tv. "Salazar, how does one even use these?" He picked up the chopsticks questioningly. He examined the wood carefully before turning to his older brother, who stuck his in his mouth like he were a walrus. Sirius smiled widely, one of the sticks falling from his mouth. He gave a shrug before passing him a fork.

"Evalyn knows, but I never really paid attention to learn." The man started shoveling food into his mouth, not realizing that Regulus hadn't taken a bite yet. The food was unfamiliar to him. His mother certainly never let him eat anything like it, and well, he died before he could even try it. The smell, however, made his mouth water. When he took his first bite, his eyes widened and he groaned in pleasure. At the noise, Sirius stopped eating and looked at him with soft eyes. "Good, yeah?"

"This is amazing." The two continued eating, making small talk during the meal.

When Evalyn flooed home that night, she expected the two to be in separate rooms like normal. She was surprised to see them both sprawled out on the couch asleep. Evalyn quickly used her magic to clean up the empty food containers surrounding them and summoned a blanket to cover them. After a shower, she changed into a tank top and shorts. The witch slid on some slippers and wrapped a blanket around her as she made her way to the balcony. Her messy curls were pulled into a bun that was slowly falling out. Her gaze was trained on the stars above her as she thought about everything that has happened.

The door cracked open from behind her and she turned her head to give Regulus a soft smile. However his eyes were trained on the scars on her shoulder. Guilt flooded him as he made his way beside her. She passed him part of the blanket so the could share it. "Don't do that Reg." She whispered.

"It's my fault." He joined her in looking up at the stars. "I should have gotten you out sooner. I should have tried harder." His voice cracked slightly and Evalyn leaned her head onto his shoulder.

"Shhh," she tried to soothe him. "What matters is you helped me Reggie."

"I won't ever let them lay their hands on you again E." He scowled up at the night sky, his knuckles turned white from clenching his fist.

Evalyn shook her head, "If anything, I should be sorry. I wasn't there to help you, and I couldn't save Barty."

He looked down at her while she was still gazing outwards. Regulus frowned and moved his arm around her shoulder. "That wasn't your responsibility. It was our decision to do the things that we did. I messed up back then. I don't know how you could ever forgive me."

Her voice was just above a whisper, "I forgave you a long time ago. You were just a kid. You'll always have me Reggie. Especially now that we are family." He could feel her smile against his chest as she hugged him.

"You'll always have me too E."

Sirius stood inside the room, watching them from the doorway with sad eyes. He longed to have that kind of relationship with his brother. But it also warmed his heart to see his wife be so close with Regulus. As if sensing his presence, Regulus scooted over slightly leaving a Sirius sized space on the other side of him. "You can come join us Sirius, you don't have to watch us like a lost puppy old man." He called out. Evalyn laughed loudly as she saw the expression on Sirius' face. It was a mixture of offense and extreme happiness.

He rushed up to the pair, stealing the blanket off of them and wrapping it around himself. "I will have you know, I am not old. But if I am, you are calling her old as well." Sirius nodded to Evalyn who reached around Regulus to smack his arm.

"Well she doesn't look like she's almost Dumbledore's age, you might want to look in a mirror mate." Regulus smirked at his brother who had his jaw dropped open. Evalyn was hunched over, clutching her stomach from laughing so hard.

Sirius quickly recovered, running a hand through his hair. "I'd like to see you spend twelve years in Azkaban and come out looking as good as me."

Regulus deadpanned at Sirius and said, "I'd like to see you come back from the dead and look as good as I do brother." He shot him a smug wink causing Sirius to pout.

Evalyn rolled her eyes with a smile, "We get it, you are both handsome. I thought incest was supposed to do the opposite." The two brothers stared at Evalyn for a moment before bursting out in laughter. Her eyes lit up as she watched Sirius lean on his brother for support while he wiped his eyes. Regulus' nose was scrunched up as he laughed. It was moments like this that made Evalyn feel almost complete again.