Summary: In a horrible twist of events. Sirius, James, and Reggie all find themselves on the edge of a cliff.  When James and Reggie both fall and are barely hanging on, Sirius realizes something that makes him sick. He can only pull one to safety. 

Angst Warning: ANGST

Mature Warning: Death

Ships: Starbucks (Bromance); Sirius and Reggie (Bromance)

Life had choices. Right or left. Coffee at home or coffee at the shop down the street. Getting more sleep or studying more. Some were easy, some were hard. Some were stupid and insignificant and some were ones that would change your life. But nonetheless, the choices you made, as insignificant as they were, led you to the moment you are at now. And Sirius was trying to figure out how all his choice led him to this moment, him and his practical brother, best friend James Potter standing next to him both staring at his actual brother, Regulus, who had drifted away from him standing across from them, staring, all three at the edge of a cliff.

It was an Order mission, find out what the Death Eater that set up camp on top of the mountain was doing. And wouldn't you know Sirius and James' surprise when they found out the said Death Eater was none other than Sirius' younger brother, Reggie. Reggie was equally surprised.

Staring at each other now, Sirius had more than a few questions for his younger brother. But just as he opened his mouth to answer them, the earth under them gave a tremble and began to shake. Sirius stumbled backward, landing hard on his bottom. Reggie and James weren't as lucky as him. The sudden shaking of the earth scared both of them and they both jumped, to Sirius' horror, closer to the edge of the cliff. It would almost be comical if the situation wasn't such a life and death situation. They both jumped to the edge of the cliff at the same time, both stumbling off. The small smile on Sirius' face fell and he raced towards the edge of the cliff. The earth stopped, going back to being still.

Sirius looked over the edge and almost sagged in relief. Reggie and James were both fine, both holding onto the cliff in somewhere, both just about seven feet down, yards across from each other. Reggie had managed to grab a branch that was jutting out of the cliff with both hands, dangling off as he struggled to keep his grip. James, on the other hand, managed to grab a slat of rock that was barely big enough to hold with one hand. He tried to scrap the cliff to find something else to hold on to but there was nothing, not for his hands or his feet.

Sirius stared down at his two brothers, realizing something that made his stomach churn. James might have a strong grip, but he was barely holding onto anything. His hand was slipping. If Sirius didn't pull him up soon, James' death on the rock would slip and he would plummet hundreds of meters to his death. But while Reggie had much more of a secure grip, his weight on the thin branch wasn't working well. The branch was slowly starting to break. And that wasn't the worst part.

"I... I can't pull you both up!" Sirius cried, tears forming in his eyes. This can't be happening, Sirius screamed at himself. Never in his wildest and worst nightmares did he think that he would have to only save one of his brothers. The choice made him want to scream and throw himself off the cliff so he didn't have to. But then both would die.

Reggie and James exchanged a look. They knew their brother could be overly dramatic and sometimes selfish. They knew their brother didn't think before he acted and often caused trouble and drama he didn't need to. But he was their brother and he was human so he wasn't perfect in any way, shape, or form. And they both loved their brother deerly ( yes, pun fully intended), knowing that he loved them each more than almost anything in the world. There was no way Sirius would be able to choose between the two of them. And neither wanted to make their brother choose.

Reggie opened his mouth, knowing what he had to do. He may be scared out of his mind to die, but Sirius always protected him. It was time to return the favor. Plus, if Reggie was being completely honest with himself, he knew he wasn't worth saving. After all, he had turned from what he knew was the good side and went to the dark. That wasn't very noble. But maybe he could make up for that. Maybe he could give Sirius something after Sirius gave Reggie so much. "Sirius... save James."

Sirius felt a fresh wave of tears fill his eyes. It got even worse. Reggie was willing to fall for James. Sirius began shaking his head wildly, wanting to say something, anything, but nothing coming out. Sirius took a shaky deep breath and shook his head again, his eyes begging.

James felt shocked. But he couldn't dwell on that. Instead, he noticed that the branch Reggie was gripping on was about to break. He saw the look of fear and horror in his brother's face. He wouldn't, couldn't, let Sirius lose his real brother. James was scared to die, defiantly, but he was more scared to be responsible for Reggie's death. He snapped his head up to Sirius, "Goodbye, Sirius."

"JAMES NO!" Sirius howled, time seeming to slow down. He watched in horror as James turned his head to Reggie, giving him a sad smile.

"Take care of our brother, Black."

"NO!" Reggie and Sirius screamed in unison. James looked back up at Sirius, giving him a final smile, and then let go.

"JAMES!" Sirius shrieked as he watched his friend plummet. He couldn't see James hit the ground. Reaching out a hand, Sirius quickly pulled his younger brother to safety, the branch Reggie had just been holding on for dear life breaking and falling off the cliff like James just did. Once Reggie was safe and sound next to him, Sirius squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, taking a big deep breath, then stood up, walking to the edge of the cliff.

"NO! SIRIUS! DON'T!" Reggie screamed as he watched his older brother walk towards the cliff. There were many things you may call it, but Reggie knew what Sirius was thinking. Sirius was about to jump. "JAMES WOULDN'T WANT YOU TO!"

"JAMES IS DEAD!" Sirius spun around to face his brother, almost falling off the cliff himself. Reggie was excepting Sirius' eyes to be red and bloodshot. But there were worse, so much worse. They were dead, just dead.

"I know..." Reggie's voice broke. "I know. But, please... Sirius... I... I need you."

Sirius felt his gaze soften. He nodded, turning from the cliff and walking to his brother, dropping to the ground and pulling his brother into a tight hug. Reggie returned the hug, leaning into it. The two stayed like that for awhile before Sirius shrugged off his brother.

"Come on," his voice was dull and dark. "Let's go home."

"But-" Reggie began.

"Back to my place, Reggie... please."

Reggie just nodded, glancing up at the sky. He didn't know if he believed in heaven or not but he did know one thing.

I'll protect him, James...

If it's the last thing I ever do.