He's grateful for the darkness. It means that the way he flinches will be hidden from his friend. It means that the way his hand shakes slightly as he takes the bottle back and drinks it will probably not be visible. He'll give it back after a moment, letting his finished cigarette drop to the ground and crushing it out before he lights up another one. He shuts his eyes and inhales smoke instead of a breath.

Regulus loves Remus. Remus is in love with Regulus, or at least most of the way there. That's that. Game over-- not that it'd ever really started for him.

And it's fine. It's really, really Fine. Sirius is going to be Okay.

Now to just convince Remus of that. His voice is soft as he replies.

"Reg is my brother," he says quietly, "I was-- ashamed of leaving him and that's why I couldn't-- bear to talk about him. I still am. But I couldn't-- I couldn't hate him. He was never like our-- our parents."

Never would be, partially thanks to this other young man before him.

"And I-- I could never hate you, Moony. You're-- you're family." His voice trembles at that, but he tries to cover it with another drag of his cigarette, "'s nothing you could-- ever do, to push me away."

Even this, apparently. Even break his heart, though the other man doesn't know he's doing it.

"You were.... You were l-like my brother, even before this. You're-- absolutely family, now, and not from my-- shitty one, either. I couldn't stop-- caring about you anymore than I could James or Reg or Pete, no matter what you did.