Chapter Text
Moonseeker started out as friends like many people: shared interests.
Particularly reading.
It began one day while Remus was in his third year and Regulus in his second. The boys met after they both reached for the same book at the same time in the school library.
Their hands brushed for a brief second before they both jumped back in surprise.
Remus' eyes widened at the sight of 13 yr old Regulus, who he recognised at once cos of his likeliness to his best friend and Regulus brother- Sirius.
Fuck.
Meanwhile, Regulus' breathing had stopped for a split second at the sight of the tall boy with curly hair standing beside him. He didn't recognise him until after a few blinks. Then it hit him in the face, this was his brother's best friend.
Fuck.
The problem was Regulus and Sirius didn't get along. They never spoke to each other. Never even acknowledged each other. So the fact Remus and Regulus were now both in each other's presence, was awkward.
Both of them turned their heads toward the book on the shelf. It leaned out, teasing one of them to grab it. They both looked at each other.
Regulus' face was unreadable.
Remus sighed and made a decision.
"How about we make a deal? You take the book first, but you have to give it to me when you're done?"
"That won't do, I can't be going to the Gryffindor tower," Regulus replied in disgust.
"Okay, okay, I'll get it to you after I finish, okay? It's probably better this way anyway. I'm a fast reader."
Regulus narrows his eyes at Remus for a moment.
"Fine whatever."
He stalked off out of the library.
"I'm Remus, nice to finally meet you! Nice to meet you too, I'm Regulus." Remus grumbled to himself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Remus came to the dungeons 5 days later, to give the book to Regulus.
Regulus was shocked when he saw the tall boy standing at the dungeon entrance, scanning the room. He wasnt expecting him to actually give him the book.
He stood up and walked over the where Remus was standing.
"You really came to give me it??"
Remus face looked mildly surprised. "Well yeah, i said i would."
"I wasn't expecting you to go through with it," Regulus murmured.
Remus laughed ever so slightly. "Well just know when i say ill do something, I always will," Remus replied.
He passed the book over to Regulus and flashed a quick smile before quickly departing the dungeons.
After he left Regulus' chest felt warm, which was an unusual and strange feeling for him.
"Ah it's probably heartburn," he thought, before turning back towards his dorm to leave the book.
~~~~~~~~
And so it went, the boys regularly seeking each other out in the library after that. It's funny how often you can find someone when you are actively looking out for them.
They didn't talk much at first, just sat down next to each other while they both read. Said their brief hellos.
Eventually, the middle of April came, the warm weather settling in. Remus usually sat outside beneath a big tree when it began springtime. This year he decided he wanted to share his tree and so invited his companion to come outside and sit with him.
Regulus was reluctant at first. He wasn't really an outside guy. Besides he was rather comfortable in his usual spot in the corner of the library with Remus. But Remus looked at him with big, bright eyes, seeming to beg him to join him. So he groaned and looked grumpy but proceeded to pack up his books anyway.
He stood next to Remus and gestured for him to lead the way.
They sat outside under the massive tree, leaning against the huge trunk. Above their heads, branches swayed slightly in the fresh breeze. It was oddly calming. Regulus loved it.
~~~~~~~~
Of course, sitting outside with Remus was going to cause some problems. Particularly one named Sirius.
Funnily enough, the first time Sirius knew about Regulus hanging out with Remus was the second day they both sat outside under the tree. It didn't go so well.
Sirius was walking with James Potter, his other best friend. Both of them were laughing and talking animately to each other.
Then his eyes popped out of his head.
Regulus & Remus didn't even notice Sirius was staring at them with shock. As they were both too engrossed with their books.
Sirius came over, James following suit.
"What the fuck!?"
Remus jumped.
"Remus, what the fuck?!"
Remus' eyes widened, Regulus smirked.
"Oh hi, Sirius, what's up?" Remus said.
"What's up? What's up!!? You're hanging out with Regulus when I didn't even know you KNEW each other!!" He screeched.
"Surprise!" Regulus muttered, a look of amusement and smugness plastered across his face.
"Sirius look, we're just studying and reading together, I can have friends other than you!"
Regulus had that warm feeling in his chest again.
Sirius faltered. "That's not the point Remus! You can have friends other than me, just not HIM!" Pointing at Regulus.
Remus rolled his eyes. "Regulus is alright. Why can't I will be friends with him?"
"Because he's my brother!!"
"Just cause you to ignore his existence doesn't mean I have to! If you gave me a good enough reason of course id listen. But you don't have one, so fuck off while we read!"
Sirius glared at Regulus for a moment. Anger clouded his face. He huffed, then proceeded to stalk off.
James meanwhile, smiled at Regulus "Nice to meet you mate! See you!" Then ran off after Sirius.
Remus brushed his hands on his chest, breathing out deeply.
Neither of them addressed the "friend" word drop or the argument. Just continued their reading.
~~~~~~~~~
The months passed by like the breeze. Regulus and Remus continue to enjoy each other's company. As the months flowed by so did the years.
They kept on their study and reading together. They even chatted from time to time. Gossiping about teachers, students, about things they had learnt and read.
Occasionally Remus would make Regulus laugh. A soft chuckle that made his shoulders shake ever so slightly. Since the very first time that happened, Remus had strived to make it happen more often.
~~~~~~~~
It was whilst Remus was in his 5th year and Regulus in his 4th that feelings began to grow. Moonseeker were the people who enjoyed the small things in life; quiet, books, art, sunsets, poems and night skies.
So was it really a surprise that their feelings began slowly and softly? Poetically and gently? In such a way that could only be described as innocent...?
.....
It was a late afternoon in February.
The boys sat next to each other at a desk in the library. Scribbling away at their homework, when Remus started humming a soft tune. It wasn't unusual for Remus to start humming randomly while studying.
If it was anyone else, Regulus would have ripped their head off. But Remus' humming always had a softness to it, almost making Regulus feel like he was getting a massage.
"What song are you humming?" Regulus asked softly.
He'd never asked before, but this time curiosity got a hold of him.
Remus looked up in surprise, his eyes crinkling as he smiled.
"Only the best song ever! Moonage daydream by Bowie!"
Regulus' chest grew warm at the smile and the enthusiasm Remus was now flowing with.
"Bowie?" He asked.
"Regulus Black don't tell me you have been my friend for 2 years and don't know who David Bowie is!!"
Regulus laughed softly. "Firstly no, I don't know who he is. I don't usually like music with words.."
"You're joking right?" Remus asked, looking offended.
"No no.. not joking.."
"This won't do! Come on, you're coming with me."
He grabbed Regulus' hand and pulled him up from the desk.
"Here I'll put a hiding spell on our stuff so no one can nick off with them while we're gone!"
Regulus' hand was still trapped in Remus'. He didn't want to let go though. Usually, physical contact was very uncomfortable for him.
Even though Remus wasn't holding his hand the correct way, his hand had never felt so warm and comfortable.
After Remus had done the charm, he took long strides pulling Regulus along to the Gryffindor common room.
Adjusting his hand so he wasn't so much trapping Regulus' hand but holding it.
Regulus stopped. "Not the Gryffindor dorms!"
Remus stopped too and looked over at Regulus, whose face was stony.
"Come on Regulus! James, Sirius and Pete aren't in there. They've got classes right now. It's fine, I just need to use the record player!"
Regulus gave in and continued walking, his hand still holding Remus'.
All he could think about was the size of Remus' hand, how it seemed to protect his. "Eww," he thought.
But he couldn't stop thinking about Remus' hand. How it was soft on the outside and calloused on the palm. Mindlessly he started stroking the softness of his hand with his thumb.
They had reached the top of the stairs to Remus' dorm. Regulus blinked. He was too distracted with Remus' hand to have noticed they'd climbed upstairs and walked past the Gryffindor common room.
Remus opened the door, dragged Regulus over to the bed, sat him down and went over to his records on a bookshelf.
Regulus' heart sped up. He didn't know why. Probably cos he was in his brother's room and he'd never been here before.
Remus' was searching through his records before he found the right one.
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.
A bloody mouthful of a title. But a masterpiece.
Remus' was feeling excited, he was shaking and feeling a sense of giddiness. A feeling he didn't get much. He walked over to the record player, inserted the record and practically skipped over to his bed where Regulus was sitting. The first few chords of Five years started playing.
"Okay, so this is the greatest record ever made! If you don't like any of the songs I don't know if we can be friends anymore!" a chuckle formed in his throat.
Regulus' eyes looked panicked for a second. Before he wiped it away.
Remus saw the look. "I was joking. It's okay if you don't like any of the songs. Obviously everyone is different. But well I can't see how you can't like at least one of the songs!
Anyway, this one is Five years."
Five years and Soul love played. Regulus' face remained straight. It was when Moonage daydream that Remus started tapping his hands on his knee.
"This is the one you were humming, right?" Regulus said.
Remus turned his body towards him and half smiled.
"Yes, it was! It's one of my favourites!"
Remus' arm brushed Regulus ever so slightly. A feeling like an electric shock buzzed up Remus' arm to his chest.
He looked at Regulus' hair soft curls framing his face.
"He has pretty hair," he thought to himself. His mouth twitched and he turned his body back around to continue tapping his hands.
The next song to play was Starman. This was usually people's favourite song when they listened to Bowie, so Remus was excited to hear Regulus' opinion.
The chorus started and Remus couldn't help it, he jumped up and
"THERE'S A STARMAN WAITING IN THE SKY HE'D LIKE TO COME AND MEET US BUT HE THINKS HE'D BLOW OUT MINDS!"
He couldn't sing very well and he practically screamed it.
But Regulus loved the short performance and laughed.
Remus sat back down and smiled wide. He made Regulus laugh! Whenever he made Regulus laugh it felt like he had won a prize.
"Sorry I just had to sing that part, it's iconic!" He said through a smile. Feeling embarrassed all of a sudden. "I don't usually act like that, just Bowie does stuff to me."
"No don't say sorry, I liked the performance."
They were both smiling so much they almost didn't notice that both their arms and knees were touching.
When they did notice, Remus nor Regulus removed their arms or knees. They were waiting for the other to do so first. Neither of them did. And so they sat for the rest of the record with their arms and knees touching ever so slightly.
Warm, soft, natural.
-----
Regulus liked the listening session with Remus. So when Remus suggested they do it again 3 weeks later but to another Bowie album. Of course, Regulus said yes. He also rolled his eyes and pretended he wasn't that bothered.
The next record was Hunky Dory. Which Regulus had to admit was a funny title.
They once again sat on Remus' bed while James, Sirius and Peter were out.
Remus put the record on and Regulus listened. Remus swayed in time to the music. Drummed his hands on his legs and hummed along.
Regulus had formed a small obsession with Remus' hands after the day he had held one. He watched now as Remus tapped his hands on his knees. His nails were short. His veins were quite prominent for a teen boy. Oh, how he wanted to reach out and stroke them.
Obviously he should have thought more about the fact that he wanted to touch Remus' hands. But he never really liked focusing on his thoughts. If he acknowledged them he'd usually spiral into a wave of overthinking and he'd much rather ignore and numb his thoughts and feelings.
Eight line poem was almost finished when Remus turned to Regulus.
“The next song is my all-time favourite, it's called Life on Mars. A lot of people make their own interpretations of it. But mine is it’s about a girl with parents who aren’t so nice. She finds comfort in movies. Escaping her problems and reality. She goes on to question. Is there life on mars? Is there a better world or life out there? The title is kind of profound don’t you think?”
Regulus’ heart squeezed. From the fact that Remus was looking into his eyes so deeply, talking so passionately. Also from the fact, the song description really struck a chord with him. It seemed to have a lot of meaning for Remus too.
He nodded, looking into Remus’ eyes and sitting so close, was making him feel dizzy. He had warm brown eyes with flecks of gold. They really were quite beautiful. His nose and cheeks had tiny freckles dotted all over. So so pretty.
Okay definitely gonna have to unpack that later. Regulus thought.
The song played and Regulus fell in love. With the song of course.
Remus had turned back around by then but was quietly watching Regulus' reaction out of the corner of his eye. He’d like to admit he’s gotten quite good at reading Regulus.
Regulus' lips were turned ever so slightly upwards and he was swaying gently. But not enough that you would notice if you weren’t paying close attention. His face looked like he was concentrating. His hair looked very shiny today and if Remus breathed deeply enough, he swore he could smell coconut.
The song faded out and Regulus smiled. A full smile, A FULL SMILE. Remus' stared at the smile and the dimple that formed just under his lips.
Oh my god. He was drooling. Was he drooling? He felt like he was drooling. Stop drooling! He rubbed his mouth. Okay no, he wasn't drooling, he was fine. He was good. Everything was normal.
"I liked that song, I see why you love it!"
Remus realised that Regulus was smiling because of Remus's favourite song. Wow.
"It's awesome right??" Remus jumped up to pause the record player. The song playing was Kooks and he wanted to save that song for another day.
"Oh has the record ended?" Regulus asked. He sounded so disappointed.
He scolded himself for sounding so pathetic.
"Nope, I just thought we could save the rest of it for this weekend?"
"Alright sounds good. Hey isn't your birthday next week? Potter mentioned a party the other day.." Regulus was aiming for casual but narrowly missed.
"Oh yeah, next Thursday to be exact."
"Maybe ill come to the party"
"Maybe I'll see you there" Remus replied laughing gently.
~~~~~~~
to be continued...