AN: This was requested and written for Hannah (ASiriusCrushOnMoony)! Sorry if it's a little bit too depressing and angsty - we are new to writing sibling incest. We hope you like it! Merry Christmas, love Sophie & Phoebe :)
"Regulus..."
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Hey, come on. It's just me," Sirius whispered, taking his brother's face into his hands. He rubbed his thumb over the shadow of a bruise that was beginning to form. "Who was it this time?"
"It was Father," Regulus replied stiffly. He pulled his face out of Sirius' grip, and looked towards the crack of light that was shining under the door. They were sitting in Regulus' childhood hiding place - the dingy, unused store cupboard on the second floor, but Sirius always knew where to find Regulus.
Regulus didn't really know why his parents chose to treat him like this. He had always been well-behaved, he did exactly what he was told, and didn't get into trouble at school. Unlike Sirius, who made a point of ignoring every rule and regulation that their parents established. It seemed that Walburga and Orion had simply given up on Sirius, but Regulus...Regulus still had hope of becoming the obedient son that they always wished for.
Even if it meant that they had to beat a little of it into him.
It was all his fault, really. He should have just done what his mother had told him to do. But killing the mother of one of his companions (even though she was only a House-Elf) - Regulus just couldn't do it. Yes, Kreacher's mother was old, and yes, she was useless by this point - she could barely carry a tea-tray without spilling the contents all over the carpet - but it still didn't feel right. So in the end, he had been beaten, and she had had her head chopped off anyway. Right in front of poor Kreacher's eyes.
"I heard the yelling," Sirius spoke suddenly, snapping Regulus' attention back to the here and now. "You did the right thing, you know. Killing isn't exactly in everyone's nature."
Regulus snorted, "But in this family it is."
"They're not family," Sirius replied. "They may be your biological parents, but they're not family. Real families don't beat one another for having a difference of opinion. They don't try to groom you to be a murderer. I, however, am your family. The only family you need."
Regulus squinted through the darkness at his brother, until he managed to make out the curl of his hair, and the gleam of his eyes. He reached out with his arms, until his hands connected with Sirius' warm flesh. His older brother pulled Regulus into a warm embrace, nuzzling his face into his soft, shiny hair. "No one's gonna hurt you anymore, Reg. Not while I'm around."
Regulus could only sniffle into Sirius' shirt. "I love you, Sirius."
"I love you too, brother."
There was a silence, in which Regulus shuffled a little, so that his head was resting on Sirius' shoulder. He could feel Sirius' breath on his lips, and strangely, the feeling connected to something in his lower belly, causing his throat to hitch.
Sirius seemed to be feeling the same discomfort. He licked his lips nervously and swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. Regulus was continuing to huddle closer, so close that his warm mouth was now grazing against Sirius' cheek.
Regulus couldn't withhold the urge anymore. This kind of thing always happened in the dark - whenever Sirius managed to seek Regulus out. In the dark, it wasn't really happening. In the dark, they didn't have to admit that what they were feeling was real.
The youngest brother tipped his head slightly to the side, and his mouth captured Sirius'. Warmly, Sirius kissed back, feeling relieved that he hadn't been the one to initiate.
After several minutes of heated, blind kissing, they were forced to rip apart by the sound of footsteps below. Sirius kicked his foot into the door, and climbed out, pulling his brother along with him.
They looked at each other awkwardly - all swollen lips and untidy hair. But it didn't matter.
What happened in the dark, stayed in the dark.
