Summary: James has to tell Sirius some bad news...
For Gen, because she says things and then I write it.
thought I found a way out, but you never go away
James stood staring at the brick red door. The light drizzle that had been falling for the last few minutes was making his glasses fog up and the back of his shirt stick to his back. It was still stifling warm – muggy.
He lifted a hand, ready to knock – his fourth attempt – and put the hand down by his side one more time. He'd already had a couple of passersby make comments about how stupid he looked standing there, not knocking. The problem was James never knocked, and if he knocked now, Sirius would know something was wrong.
And yet, this felt like he needed to knock to gain entry.
In the end, James laid a hand over the lock and whispered, 'Alohomora.'
The door gently pushed open, the stairs directly in front of him to Sirius' flat, and a blast of warm air hit him from nearly a full day of the summer sun heating the place up.
'Sirius?' he announced himself, closing the front door. He pulled out his wand to dry himself, and his glasses, as he started to walk up the stairs.
'Kitchen,' Sirius' voice called distantly.
James paused for a moment in the middle of the stairs. Sirius was singing. He always sang on his good days. Gripping onto the handrail, James took a moment to deal with the invisible weight pushing down on his shoulders. He should've waited until Lily had found Remus, but it really couldn't wait. If Walburga got to him first…
He stared at the dark red carpet, already threadbare in patches, and took a few even breaths.
'Prongs?'
James jumped, snapping his head up to see Sirius smirking at him from the top of the stairs, dressed in black jeans and nothing else. He had a thin veil of sweat glistening across his torso and forehead.
'You have got to open a window in here, mate! I can't breathe for the heat.' James had thought he'd put a lightness in his tone, but the way the laughter died in Sirius' grey eyes made him realise his best friend would always know when he was keeping a secret from him.
'Who is it?' he asked. He'd been drying his hands on a tea towel but the movement had stopped, like he'd forgotten what he was doing. 'Remus?'
James shook his head once, forcing himself to walk up the stairs. Sirius backed up down the hallway, not turning from James, his gaze firmly on him. James wouldn't say a word until they were sat down. Sirius finally relented and lead the way into the kitchen, something bubbling in a large pan on the cooker. Sirius switched the heat off and took a seat at the tiny, circular table in the centre of the small, square room. James sat down in the other seat across from him.
'I was at my parents' when Mum got a letter,' James said quietly.
'Mother?' There was almost a relief in Sirius' features when he asked.
James sighed, desperately wishing that was the news, and shook his head. 'Regulus is gone.'
'Regulus,' Sirius said heavily, sounding like the air had been sucked out of his lungs with the name. 'How?'
James quickly grabbed onto Sirius' forearm; a wild animal aura radiating off him in the blink of an eye. One wrong move or word and Sirius would be gone, causing untold damage to himself. Sirius looked down at the contact, his breathing ragged; the tea towel was still gripped in one hand, his knuckles white. James let go of a breath when Sirius' shoulders sagged.
'I told him, James.' A tear fell down Sirius' cheek. His head was tilted down, but James saw it. 'I… He…'
James tightened his grip, trying to convey so much to him. 'They think he tried to get away from him, Sirius. He was trying to get out.'
Sirius found James' eyes, searching them for the truth of James' statement. A small hiccup of a sob left Sirius, pain and grief already starting to swim in his eyes, tears falling steadily. 'I told him,' Sirius whispered.
'I know you did.' James nodded. He stood up, forcing Sirius to stand up and embraced him with everything he had. 'I know.'
Sirius clung onto him tightly, burying his face into James' shoulder. And James stayed there, letting Sirius' tears soak his shirt, his sobs quiet, and held his friend – his brother. They didn't move until Remus arrived with Lily, his footsteps loud through the flat and pulled Sirius roughly from James, taking over in comforting Sirius.
They were Sirius' family and they would get him through this.
Word Count: 773