There was someone at the door.

Barty, being a light sleeper, woke up almost immediately at the sound of someone knocking on said door far too loudly.

He groaned, and pulled the covers over his head. Maybe if he ignored it, it would stop.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

He rolled over to face Regulus and gave him a light shake.

"Reg? Darling, there's someone at the door."

Regulus, being a heavy sleeper, only snored in response. He was drooling.

Sighing, Barty accepted defeat, and got out of their bed. He grumbled as he made his way down the stairs, yelling "Coming!" as another round of blows was delivered to the poor door.

He opened it, groggy and furious, prepared to yell about the time of night. But when he saw who was there, all the anger left him.

"What - what are you doing here?"

"I'm so, so sorry about the time, but I wasn't entirely sure where else to go."

"That's... alright." It wasn't really, not because of the time, but because there was a drained look under Sirius' eyes and a paleness lining his skin, as if he were slowly dying and didn't really care.

"How are you doing, Crouch? How's Regulus doing?"

"Oh, fine, we're both doing well, thank you. How are you?"

"Heh... I could be better." He swayed where he stood in the doorway, and Barty didn't doubt him.

"I came here to talk to Regulus..."

"He's asleep." Barty let him in, still confused. "He hasn't slept well since your mother... I don't want to wake him?"

"No, no, I understand, it's alright." It clearly wasn't.

Sirius turned round to leave again, so Barty said quickly, "Do you want to talk to me?"

"To you?"

"Until Regulus wakes up, it possibly won't be long, he somehow senses when I'm not there with him."

Sirius considered it, then nodded. "Thank you, Crouch, thank you dearly."

He smiled. "It's alright." Maybe it could be.

They made their way to the parlour, where Barty poured them both some wine, and they sat opposite to each other on the couches. He studied Sirius carefully. The other man looked sick, not on the outside but inwardly; there was a dullness in his eyes that was desperately unlike him.

"What has happened?"

Sirius smiled wanly. "I am afflicted."

"Oh Lord. Is it serious?"

"It feels like it is. How do people bear this?"

It now occurred to Barty that Sirius may be slightly drunk. "Bear what, exactly?"

He took a long sip, not replying. "Have you heard of Remus Lupin?"

"Very few people haven't. Isn't he your artist?"

"Indeed. I am his muse, and have been so for, oh, ten months?"

"Rather a while."

"Yes. Enough time, apparently, to fall completely in love with him. And also, for him to fall in love with me, too."

"That's excellent news!" But now Barty was more baffled still.

"You'd think so, wouldn't you? But alas, there is an issue."

"Sirius? What on earth are you doing here?" Regulus had arrived, wearing a nightshirt and dressing-gown, his hair a nest and his eyes wide open.

"Ah, Regulus, you're just in time! How are you?"

"You look awful."

Sirius shrugged. "I feel awful."

"You look it, as I said."

"Alright, you don't need to rub it in."

Barty motioned for Regulus to sit beside him in the armchair (that was too small for two people). "Black has been telling me all about how he is in love with Remus Lupin."

"The artist?"

"The very same, and he is apparently in love with your brother too, which should be excellent news, except it isn't."

Regulus' brows furrowed. "How so?"

"He was just about to tell me when you walked in."

They both looked to Sirius expectantly, and Sirius, a little drunker, launched into the entire story, starting from the moment he and Remus had met to present day, surrounding the reason as to why he had called upon them at two o'clock at night.

"So you see?" he finished, a fair while later. "I'm ruined. I'm in love, and he loves me, but doesn't want to, so I'm ruined."

"Well, fuck, Sirius." There seemed to be nothing else to say for a moment. They three sat there, drunk and pondering on a situation that seemed hopeless.

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. What do I even feel?"

"Anger?" Barty suggested.

"It isn't his fault."

"Regret?"

"Much better."

"Grief?"

"We've got the idea, thanks, Bart."

Regulus put his hand up. "How about you talk to him?"

Sirius laughed. "I didn't realise you had a sense of humour, Reggie. What would I say? 'Hello Remus, you've unintentionally broken my heart, but that's quite alright because it's my fault for loving you in the first place.' Not bloody likely."

"Oh, I know, you could suppress your feelings for him and let them fester inside of you, until they lead you to a life of endless misery and regret that could be easily avoided if you just talked to the man."

Sirius laughed again. It was a strained sound, too hard, cracking at the edges. And when he'd stopped, he felt like he was cracking too, like falling glass on stone floors, breaking and breaking and breaking forever.

It wasn't funny anymore. His eyes were empty, his shoulders slumped forward.

"Sirius."

"Yes?"

Regulus took his hand. It was cold. "I don't believe you have ever loved anyone before."

"I haven't."

"And to us, it sounds like you think you may never love again."

"Don't tell me that I'm bound to move on eventually."

Barty took his other hand. "I don't think you will. Do you know why? I think your heart is the kind that will only love somebody once, and never let go of them, even if they let go of you."

Sirius' throat worked. "So I really am doomed to a life of unrequited love?"

"It isn't unrequited."

"Fine, unreciprocated love? I am going to spend my life loving a man who cannot love me, even if he loves me?"

"Perhaps. But you won't know lest you ask him, will you? Maybe him knowing you return his love will make him brave enough to love you."

"I don't think so."

"It's worth a try."

Regulus smiled. "Barty's right, Sirius. You need to tell him. No matter the outcome, he needs to know."

Sirius sighed. "Alright. Alright, I'll tell him. No matter the outcome."

"Good." Regulus breathed a laugh. "It could only really happen to you, huh?"

"Just my luck. The first man I've ever been in love with doesn't want to be in love with anyone."

Barty grinned. "Lord, we had it easy, didn't we Regulus?"

"Very easy, only took us forming a bond over horrors caused by terrible parents for us to fall in love."

"Good times."

In the chatter that followed, Sirius could almost forget the hurt inside him. Almost. But in the brief silences, or when he wasn't talking, or later when he was walking home, the ache raised its ugly head, bared its teeth, mumbled in his ear that he would never be happy and never love again.

He couldn't ignore it.

He couldn't, he couldn't.