starfishstar

BROTHERS

Summary: Brothers choose each other. Always.

Characters: Sirius Black, James Potter, Regulus Black

Words: ~400

Notes: Tangentially inspired by something huldrejenta wrote ("Brother") and more directly inspired by gracerene’s comment on that story.

Thank you to stereolightning for giving this a beta-read!

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Brothers protect each other. Always.

When curses are flying overhead, when the air is thick with smoke and shouts and lancing green light, when deathly foes in dark robes press in, brothers stand back to back, wands high, and shout their defiance. And then they battle their way out of certain danger, because together they are an unstoppable force, and they dare anyone to try and slow them down.

Brothers cherish each other. Always.

When one meets the woman who is the love of his life, the other gripes and moans and worries not-so-secretly that this is the great calamity, the end of all that was, but he never says no, and he never stands in the way, because his brother’s happiness is all that really matters in the end. So he agrees to be best man, and he only grimaces a little in the wedding photos, mostly for effect.

Brothers forgive each other. Always.

When one unleashes his callous cruelty, plays a trick that nearly ends both the life of an enemy and the reputation of a friend, his brother forgives him, because it doesn’t take long to see he’s breaking his own heart with remorse. And when a brother’s heart is breaking, the forgiveness that seemed so far beyond reach in the first angry aftermath becomes the inevitable and only option.

Brothers shelter each other. Always.

When family proves fallible, when tensions explode and a sixteen-year-old boy flings himself away from the prejudice of home, finds himself thrown to the pavement with little more than the clothes on his back, his brother opens his doors and takes him in, with no question or complaint. For as long as he needs or the rest of their lives, whichever one is longer.

Brothers choose each other. Always.

When Mother’s voice rises into a shriek and Father’s words fall to that terrifying, icy register, when protestations of hatred are flung like sabres that cut so deep the wounds can never be undone, when the choice is stay or leave forever, the younger boy watches in frozen horror from the top of the stairs as half a decade’s tension crystallises into the shouting match, the shriek of rage, the slamming door, and he knows that his brother has chosen – and it was never him.

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Updated to add: Chinese translation now available! 兄弟 Brothers translated by abloomedleaf