Isn't it amazing that the only time writer's block can be conquered is when you should be sleeping?

As always thanks to all of you who reviewed!

Gryffin's Love, Tyleet27 (It will be party explained in this chapter. It may not be completely clear and will probably pop up later to clear it up a little, but it's a start. And you you are right. Reg is 3 years younger than Siri and only graduated a year ago, so Sirius hasn't been around him for nine months out of the year until now. He just doesn't know how to accept the fact that Regulus isn't the teenager he remembers.), living-is-easy-with-eyes-closed, The Most OOC Writer Around, ladyBlue Wolf, picky and paranoid, MyFictionalAnnihilation, smittyloveshpfic, Dark Angel's Blue Fire, crazy-harpy-chick, lostjackal, maison de neener (lol that was my fave part, too), theferretmenace, The-Lily-And-The-Stag-92, Serious Fan (thanks!)

Having a two-year-old as the only person not angry with you, Sirius decided, sucked. Royally.

Regulus refused to speak to him until he lifted the ban he had placed on Remus's visits. James was taking Reg's side and refused to back down.

It had caught him by surprise, the disagreement between him and James. He was used to both of them tip-toeing on eggshells around each other, not really ready to test the weight of their new relationship. But the messy-haired man had refused to accept seeing Reg and Remus separated, especially when it threatened the closeness the Black brothers shared.

James had finally had enough and told him not to come back until the problem was taken care of.

Sirius sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot the past two weeks. Had it really only been that long since he had caught the two lovers in Regulus's room? That long since he had exploded with protectiveness over his little brother? It felt as though it had been an eternity.

"Regulus?" he called, not really expecting a reply. His brother had kept his vow of silence well. "I need to talk to you."

"I'm in the dining room."

Sirius started at the hushed voice but headed towards it nonetheless. Regulus was sitting at the table, nursing what looked to be his first cup of coffee for the day. His shoulders were slumped and his hair had yet to be brushed, falling in tangled waves over his shoulders. Once bright gray-green eyes were dulled, sad and tired.

"What do you want?"

Sirius winced at the harsh tone. He almost preferred being ignored.

"I…I want to explain why I reacted the way I did."

Regulus snorted, taking another sip from his mug. "What makes you think I want to listen to your excuses?"

"Just hear me out." He took a deep breath. "When I saw you in bed with…with Remus, I didn't see you as a seventeen year old young man capable of making his own decisions."

"What did you see me as then? Some slut who decided to spread his legs for his boyfriend?"

"NO! Merlin, no!" Sirius grabbed Regulus's hand, the one not clenching the coffee mug. "I have never, never thought of you as a…a slut. Or any other derogatory term, for that matter."

Reg relaxed a little. It had been his biggest fear, that his big brother was disgusted with him. "Then what was I, hmm?"

"You-" Sirius swallowed nervously, closing his eyes and smiling at the images flashing behind his eyelids, "you were the five year old who came to me when he scraped his knees in the parlor." He opened his eyes. "You were the little boy who would sneak into my room after a nightmare, the little boy who I caught trying on my clothes. I saw you crying and begging me not to go to school, to stay with you until we could both go. You were sitting in the library listening to me explaining the lesson from your Ancient Runes class. I saw you-"

He didn't have a chance to say what else he had seen. Regulus leapt from his seat, coffee long forgotten, and wrapped his arms around Sirius in a tight hug.

"When you graduated it was so easy for me to slip back into thinking of you as the kid you were that I forgot you weren't. I know you're not a little boy anymore, Regulus," he managed to choke out. "And I know I'm just your older brother, but…you are so much more to me than that. Sure, I teased you like a sibling, but I was the one you ran to, not an adult, and I put you through school and stayed with you when you were sick and tried my damnedest to protect you and make sure you had everything you wanted. As far as I am concerned you are my child, my son. You always have been. You can't really blame a parent for not wanting to let their child go, can you?"