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awanderingdeal · 3 years

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Summer camp AU - Chapter 5 - Remus

Finally an update to this! I found this chapter super hard to write for some reason. I hope you enjoy it!

CW: Food, implications of past toxic family relationships

Fic Rating: T

Please message me if you feel that any content warnings need to be added or the rating is not appropriate.

The characters in this fic belong to @lumosinlove and you should definitely go and check out her fics!

For previous and future chapters please see my masterlist

Remus moved tentatively as he climbed over Sirius, doing his best not to wake the other man. He wasn’t quite sure when Sirius had arrived, a vague memory of a muttered apology sometime during the early hours of morning surfacing, but he’d been asleep and barely registered it. He huffed a laugh at how Sirius had burrowed himself under the sheets, his inky black hair the only thing visible. The bed really wasn’t big enough for the two of them, and as much as Remus loved Sirius, his boyfriend leaked heat like a furnace. Still, soon the campers would be here and the two of them would have to set an example by not sneaking into one another’s accommodation so Remus savoured the company whilst he had it.

The air had already started to hold a damp heat when Remus stepped out, despite the amber hues of sunrise barely having lifted. A sweet breeze gave some welcome relief as he picked up a steady job, his muscles slowly waking to the chirping chorus of birds he couldn’t identify even with their daily meetings. Remus almost missed the flash of red hair hidden behind a tall pine tree, except for the hushed laugh that drags his attention away from a feisty squirrel he’d paused to watch. He rolls his eyes at the couple, an act he acknowledges is highly hypocritical considering the origins of his own relationship. The two kissed again, drawing the owner of the rough laughter into view and Remus startled. He peered closer, confirming his first observation - that was Kasey Winter, but the person he was with was most definitely not Natalie Darcy, Kasey’s girlfriend. Ordinarily, Remus would pretend he hadn’t witnessed anything, writing the situation off as none of his business, only both Kasey and Natalie were good friends of his. He pushed the dilemma to the back of his mind for now and pressed on with his run.

The work day had seemed unusually long, Remus learning the cruel lesson that even the most adored job became tiresome when you wanted to be somewhere else. Placing the final package of dressings in their drawer, Remus ticked the item off his checklist with a flourish. He looked around the nurses station, giving a satisfied nod and a self congratulatory smile; the place was really starting to come together. Now that he was finished for the day, Remus rolled his shoulders, letting himself relax.

Without the distraction of inventories and paperwork, Remus’ mind wandered to thoughts of Sirius. A phone call from a panicked parent needing reassurance the camp could, in fact, accommodate her child’s allergies had lasted long enough to result in him taking a late lunch, so Remus hadn't had a chance to talk to his boyfriend all day. He knew he could find Sirius in the drama studio, his phone having buzzed earlier with a message informing him of the fact Sirius would be there for the entire afternoon, only he didn’t want to alienate him from the other counsellors by spending all their time together. Traipsing back to the cabin to change out of his uniform, Remus shook off the doubt. There was a time for balance, but it wasn’t the day after your boyfriend reunited with their sibling after years apart.

Both Sirius and Heather jumped at Remus’s knock on the heavy wooden doorframe, the pair deep in conversation. “Oh, I believe that is my cue to leave,” Heather smiled, the expression settling something in Remus he hadn’t even realised needed settling.

“Thanks for all your help today, Heather.” Sirius accepted the broom she handed to him. “Both with this,” he continued, gesturing to the room around him, “and for the advice. You should consider a career as a therapist. Trust me, I should know.”

“Here I was antagonising over my future and Mr Sirius Black solved it in one afternoon,” Heather laughed, sticking her tongue out playfully. “It was no problem, way better than sorting out the games’ equipment shed, anyway. I can’t wait to see what your tiny theatre kids do in here.”

“They’re not tiny, they’re middle schoolers.”

“Exactly, middle schoolers. Tiny,” Remus agreed, stepping into the studio. It smelt of polish and other than a pile in the centre of the floor, any evidence of the years worth of dust that had been allowed to gather was gone.

“The key is not to let them know you think that,” Heather winked.

“This isn’t my first year, you know,” Sirius grumbled, his accent thickening the way it always did when he was even mildly inconvenienced, “Get out of here,” he shooed Heather off. “And talk to June! I definitely saw heart eyes this morning.”

“Well then, you need your eyes testing,” Heather retorted, leaving with a raised eyebrow and a peppy wave.

"Bonjour, mon loup,” Sirius sang, gathering Remus in his arms. At 5”11, Remus wasn’t even short, but Sirius could still easily prop his chin on the top of his head, albeit only briefly. A short breath of air left Sirius’ mouth, almost but not quite a laugh, and Remus found his chin being lifted for a kiss. "Come on, let's go and sit by the lake. I'll tell you everything."

Remus schooled his expression into the most innocent he could manage. "I was just going to ask how your day was."

"Sure." Sirius laughed properly now, the both of them stumbling slightly as he tried to nudge Remus' shoulder. "You're practically vibrating. Thought I was supposed to be the intense one?

“Sometimes it’s my turn,” Remus smirked, pointing out a large, flat rock in the distance that seemed like an ideal sitting place. Sirius nodded, letting Remus guide their slight change in trajectory to head towards it. “You know, you don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to. I will always be interested in your life, but if you want this to stay between you and Regulus then I completely understand.”

Sirius flicked his gaze over to Remus briefly, the smile soft on his face. It reminded Remus of when they had still been dancing around one another. Long evening walks where their hands would brush, just barely. Looking back, he didn’t know how they had lasted so long before that almost inevitable kiss. One thunderstorm and two leaking roofs, that was all it had taken in the end. “I know,” Sirius shrugged. Those were the last words he said until they reached the low slab, a once rugged thing that had been smoothed out by a lifetime of exposure. Remus thought there must be something poetic in it, but he was too tired to figure it out.

The quiet lasted long enough for Remus to figure Sirius had changed his mind, playing their hands together as they looked out onto the water.

“They live in California now, they’re here to teach archery and they are non - binary,” Sirius breathed out the sentence, the words blending together and his accent thick, but Remus was practised enough to decipher them.

“California? That’s a long way from Montreal -” Remus toyed with the sleeve of Sirius’ t-shirt. “ - How’d they end up there?”

Sirius' face crumpled a little, quickly gathering himself. “They were staying with a friend of our family’s there, Severus. He always seemed nice, nicer than the rest of their crowd anyway, but it turns out he’s no different to the rest of them. Regulus is trying to get out of there.” A sheepish smile spread over Sirius’ face. “I might have invited him to live with us. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I should have asked first. They were just so worried and -”

“Hey,” Remus squeezed Sirius's hand. “I’m not going to pretend that a consultation wouldn’t have been nice, but it’s your house -”

“It’s our house,” Sirius frowned.

"The house was bought with your money and I can completely understand and appreciate why you offer a roof over your sibling's head without question."

Sirius played with the necklace, a silver lion, hanging around his throat. Remus lifted his hand to touch its twin, draped around his own neck. "Just like that? Even though I've spent every mention of them detailing how much they had hurt me?"

Turning to face Sirius more surely, Remus gave a comforting smile. "Do you trust them?"

There was a brief pause, but the "yes" that followed was sure and confident.

"That's good enough for me," Remus said. "Shall we go and join everybody for dinner? There's apple pie tonight."

Dinner ended up being the usual ruckus that Remus had become re-accustomed to over the past few days. He loved the way the dining room thrummed with the same energy that radiated throughout meals with his own family. Thomas and James' dares grew more and more ridiculous until Sergei barked at them that he wouldn’t allow them any more BBQ if they did not calm down.

“ -Yeah, so ma Maman had to come and collect me. I think I lasted 5 hours,” Jackson finished his grandiose retelling of his first experience at camp.”

“Nado!” Evgeni set his glass down with a heavy thud. Remus had learned the tall Russian man had the gentlest of spirits, but grace was not an attribute he possessed in large amounts. “Why you go to horse camp if scared of horses?”

“I was 8,” Jackson argued. “I had never seen a horse in real life. It just looked fun.”

Once the rippling laughter dissipated, the conversation evolved into useful hints of tips from those of them that weren’t new on how to handle similar situations with their own campers.

“Hey, Katie,” Remus leaned over Sirius to address the youngest of the Dumais’. She had only arrived yesterday along with her siblings and Sergei’s wife and children, but she’d made herself right at home, squeezing herself between Sirius and Logan, who she had declared her favourite, instead of joining the rest of her family at their table. “Can I steal Sirius please? I need to show him something.”

“It’s time for Katie to go with Anya back to our cabins,” Celeste interrupted. “Viens, ma chérie. Tu peux revenir demain matin.” Katie left with a pout to a round of goodbyes.

“What did you want to show me, mon loup?” Sirius cocked his head curiously.

“Nothing,” Remus admitted sheepishly. “I just wanted to get a good spot under the pavilion before everybody else finishes and comes outside.” Sirius rolled his eyes, letting Remus tug him into a standing position. During camp, the small structure would serve as a meeting point and could fit a dozen or so people in when they were standing, but it was pretty full with Sirius’ 6 foot 3 form sprawled across it, there wasn’t much space for anybody else, and this was Remus’ favourite spot. He could lie under the shelter, a little less exposed to the biting insects that seemed to love him so much and still see everybody on the green around them.

Soon, the space would be filled with eager children, and Remus would be constantly poised to treat the next ailment, but at the moment, he was content to watch this year's counsellors get to know one another better. He was an old hand at this now, however, he could remember the bristling excitement as his first training week had drawn to a close, the knowledge that he was soon to be responsible for people who didn't seem all that much younger than he was, both terrifying and exhilarating.

The sky had been threatening rain for hours now, and it finally fulfilled its promise.

“My hair!” Finn’s screech broke through the chorus of rain. The blonde boy, something in the back of Remus’ brain supplied him with the name Leo, immediately tucked Finn against his side, throwing his jacket over his head. Remus wasn’t sure whether their shaking was as a result of the damp seeping through their clothes or the pair’s laughter.

Remus had always enjoyed people watching, noticing the subtle intricacies of human behaviour when they didn’t realise you were looking, so he caught Leo’s small glance up at Logan just before he put some space between himself and Finn.

Finn wasn’t having any of it though, dragging Leo back to him, attempting to get the small jacket over the top of the both of them.

"Do you see that?" Remus lifted his shoulder, jostling Sirius slightly.

Sirius grunted, the annoying chime of the game he was playing sounding loudly as he progressed to another level. Remus had given up on complaining, and the repetitive nature of swiping candies across the screen seemed to relax Sirius more than it bothered Remus. "See what?"

Leo was standing now, his t-shirt soaked through and his hair plastered against his face in damp strands. Remus couldn't quite work out what he spluttered before walking off with long, quick strides, one last quick look at Logan as he went.

"There's something going on there,' Remus hummed.

"Stop meddling," Sirius laughed.

"I'm not meddling!"

Sirius turned a raised eyebrow on Remus and tucked his phone into the pocket of his jacket before pulling them both down so they lay on their backs. "Listen. I love the sound of the rain."

Remus knew he was being distracted, but the thudding rhythm of heavy droplets against the wooden slats of the rood was incredibly relaxing. Or at least it was until the sheeting downpour didn't stop and they had to dart through it, laughter heaving in their chests to meet the others in the large hall. Celeste sighed, bundling towels into their hands to dry off.

"Nice of you to join us, gentlemen," Dumo said, a guitar propped in his lap. "Take a seat. We were just about to teach our newcomers a few campfire songs. Sans the fire, of course. As two of our most experienced, maybe you could lead?”

“Je te hais,” Sirius grumbled.

Dumo ignored the declaration, and once they were seated he smiled. “Perhaps we will start with Everywhere we go?”

Despite an early reluctance from Sirius the sounds of the song were soon echoing off the walls, the group of counsellors enthusiastically answering Sirius’ calls.

Everywhere we go

People always ask us

Who we are

And where we come from

So we tell them

We’re the Lions

The mighty mighty Lions

And if they can’t hear us

We shout a little louder

We shout a little louder!

Dumo was lenient, taking over leading them through a few more songs himself until he faked a large yawn. “Well, it’s bed time for me. I’ll leave the guitar for anybody who wants to play. And remember, no matter how much we try to teach our campers such fun songs, they’d rather learn whatever routine is popular on Tip Top or whatever that thing is called, so be prepared!”

Logan commandeered the guitar quickly, holding it strong against his thigh and strumming it with a relaxed ease Remus wasn't sure he'd seen in the man before. He played through a few songs, others slowly filtering out as time went by until only a handful of people remained.

“Do my song, please?” Finn asked, eyes wide and pleading.

Logan shook his head, “Not here.”

Finn’s lower lip dropped into a pout and Remus saw the exact moment Logan succumbed to the expression. Remus didn’t blame him at all, Finn’s face bore an eerie resemblance to Bambi and only a monster could deny it.

“Fine.”

The slow chords started and the room quieted as Logan began to sing. It was more romantic than Remus had expected from the younger man.

And you can tell everybody

This is your song

It may be quite simple, but now that it's done

I hope you don't mind

That I put down in the words

How wonderful life is while you're in the world.

Logan and Finn were so invested in one another that Remus wasn’t sure they noticed Leo slipping quietly from the room.

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givemetherapyimawritingtravesty · 3 years

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Hockey Isn’t Everything Pt. 3

So this part is really short but finals are going to be the end of me and I wanted to get at least a little something out in the meantime, enjoy!

Of course, credit to the lovely @lumosinlove for letting us run amuck in the SW universe!

When Remus and Reg made their way back downstairs, Sirius was chatting with Dima over in the kitchen.

“I’m glad they decided to scoop you up, the Badger’s aren’t a bad team. And it’s not too far away, so you could always come back for a visit, even of Reg isn’t around. Has he said anything about what he’s doing yet?”

“Yeah, about that…” Reg said, avoiding eye contact with his brother and smoothing out invisible wrinkles in his shirt. “Siri, I uh, have something I want to tell you.”

Remus walked past Reg, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder as he passed. Dima walked over to where Reg was standing and wrapped and arm around his shoulders, sending a reassuring smile at his roommate.

Sirius turned away from the stove and took in the scared look on Reg’s face. “What is it Reg? You didn’t knock a girl up or something, did you?” He laughed, attempting to break the tension radiating from his brother.

“No! Nothing like that, god, Sirius.” Reg laughed. He glanced at Dima before finally making eye contact with his brother, who had looped his arm around Remus’ waist. “It’s just…” Regulus took a deep breath and Dima squeezed his shoulders. “Sirius, I… Dima’s getting traded to the Badger’s and um… I was thinking that… Maybe I wanted to go to school?”

“Really? What are you thinking of studying?” Sirius asked, seemingly unfazed at the news his little brother intended to leave the NHL.

“Literature, English maybe? I don’t really know for sure yet, but Gryffindor had a great community college nearby and- wait, why don’t you seem surprised? Or upset? I just told you I don’t want to play hockey anymore, don’t you care?!”

“Reg, of course I care! I care that you’re doing what you want. You didn’t get out of Slytherin just to keep being miserable. If you want to go back to school, then I want that for you too.” Sirius chuckled. “I maybe don’t understand why you’d want to back to school, but that’s because I always hated it. But I guess you always did have your head in a book.”

“So, you’re not upset I’m quitting hockey?”

“No. Of course not. If you don’t like playing, you shouldn’t have to. Reg,” Sirius let his arm drop from Remus and moved forward towards his brother to wrap him in a hug. Dima stepped aside to let it happen. “Reg, I want you to be happy. I love hockey, but I get that you might not.” He pulled away to look at his little brother. “I didn’t always love it, but… I don’t know, I just do. Love it. And it makes me happy. And I want that for you, even if hockey isn’t it.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I want that too. And… and it’s not like I hate hockey. It’s just- I know it’s not what I want to do for the rest of my life, you know?”

“Did you really think I’d be mad at you?” Sirius asked, frowning at his brother, who he was holding at arm’s length.

“I don’t know. Sort of. Everyone said you wouldn’t, but I can tell hockey is everything to you and-”

“No. It’s not. You are. Remus is. And James and Lily and the team, Dima and Minnie. You guys, my family, that’s everything to me. Not Hockey. Sure, hockey is important, but it’s not my everything. You guys are.”

Reg didn’t know what to say to that, he just pulled his brother in for another hug, whispering, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Reg.”

#sweater weather lumosinlove #Regulus Black #hockey isn't everything mini series #Sirius Black #Remus Lupin #wolfstar #coops #Dima!#Dima Krupin

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lumosinlove · 3 years

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Dima Krupin.

#sweater weather #lumosinlove #lumosinlove sweater weather #sweater weather lumosinlove #lumosinlove ocs #lumosinloveart

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broken-mirrors-binding-magic · 3 years

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Unveiling Names: Kingdoms

Volkov Kingdom:

The Volkov Kingdom is the closest ally of the Krupin Kingdom. Like the Krupin, they are expert craftsmen. The Volkov's main craft is armor. Along with building armor they are well known for their boats. While they do not use their boats much themselves, it is their main export.

Volkov Members (Born in):

Gleb Jirí Volkov

Hazan Tibor Volkov

Samuil Zidek Volkov

Volya Tamara Volkov

Yakim Radim Volkov

Volkov Members (Married in):

Damla Raisa Zima

Dima Viera Voronin

Ece Raina Pajari

#2020 #december 16th 2020 #december #unveiled names #kingdoms #Volkov kingdom #volkov #broken mirrors

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sweenyalicewriting · 7 years

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Character Updates

So, let me introduce you to some of the original characters and adults!!

Welcome the legacy families!

Sweeney:

Conall Sweeney - Gwendoline Ayers Coinneach Sweeney - Freja Dahl Ivor Sweeney - Maria Jäger Alice Sweeney

Anderson:

Bristol Anderson - Reyan Emmet Anderson - Zyanya Ethel Anderson - Clifton Fenn Abigail Anderson, Adriana Anderson

Bellincioni:

Bruno Bellincioni - Gia Bosco Isadora Bellincioni - Orazio Corti Raul Bellincioni - Carla Anderson Lovino Bellincioni

Lund:

Eir Lund - Edvin Landvik Fritjof Lund - Rita Olhouser Ragnhild Lund - Frode Vinter Jason Lund

Krupin:

Denis Krupin - Ezgi Voronin Kelebek Krupin - Nazar Zima Timur Krupin - Meltem Pasternak Symone Krupin, Nuray Krupin, Sabah Krupin

Landvik:

Gunnarr Landvik - Siv Lund Otto Landvik - Nora Voll Katja Landvik - Oskar Strand Einarr Landvik, Leifr Landvik

Volkov:

Gleb Volkov - Damla Zima Hazan Volkov - Dima Voronin Samuil Volkov - Ece Pajari Volya Volkov, Yakim Volkov

#character list #alice's characters #7 kingdoms

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awanderingdeal · 3 years

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Summer Camp AU - Mini Chapter - The Tik Tok debacle

Just a little interlude before the next chapter. I'm hoping to have it out sometime in the next week!

CW: A few small food mentions

Fic rating: T

Please message me if you feel that any content warnings need to be added or the rating is not appropriate.

Previous and future chapters can be found in my masterlist

The character in this fic belong to @lumosinlove and you should definitely go and check out her fics if you haven't already.

Leo approached the group gathered at by the water's edge with as much confidence as he could muster. He wasn’t shy, per se, but as a first year counsellor, the close bonds the others seemed to have already formed in previous years was a bit intimidating.

Finn, it seemed, didn’t seem to have that problem. He was already shouting out instructions, informing the others about how Lily was going to run them through some quick choreography for one of the Tik Toks.

“Any questions?” Finn asked, as Leo slipped to the back of the group, hoping his lateness wouldn’t be noticed.

Thomas clapped a hand to Leo’s back, smiling up at him. “Ahh, Nutty. You made it!” he said, in what was clearly an attempt at a whisper, although Leo was pretty sure from the few faces that turned to look at him, Thomas hadn’t been successful.

“Yeah, sorry. Got caught up with Sergei in the kitchens,” Leo apologised, wrinkling his nose at the nickname. He couldn’t even remember how the conversation at the lunch table had started, but somehow they had all ended up with nicknames, and no matter how much Leo had protested the mispronunciation of his surname, it seemed to have stuck.

“I have a question.” Leo didn’t recognise the blonde who raised their arm in the air, their voice chirpy and commanding.

“It’s Natalie, right?” Finn acknowledged. “Go on.”

“Why is it that you, baby O’Hara, get to be in charge?” Natalie cocked her head a little, her eyebrow raised. “You’re incredibly bossy for a rookie.”

Somebody snorted loudly. The individual looked incredibly like Finn, although his face was a little broader, his jawline squarer and painted with stubble. Leo presumed this was the not-so-baby O’Hara.

“Because I am the one who is doing film making all summer?” Finn quipped back. “And I’m trying to convince myself I didn’t do a minor in film for nothing, considering once this is over I’m going to be employed in a bank, if that is okay with you?”

“I don’t think making Tik -”

“Natalie, please. Just let him do it, otherwise I’m never going to hear the end of it,” Logan sighed.

“Thanks, babe!”

Apparently, Natalie conceded, because she didn’t make any further comments.

Leo was amazed to find over the course of the next few hours, that was the least painful part of the process. Between Lily trying to teach choreography to them all, many of whom were painfully rhythm deprived, and discovering Olli was quite the gymnast, which led to half an hour of him showing them different flips off the float in the lake, the sun was starting to set by the time Finn announced they were on the home straight.

“Okay,” Finn said, gathering the attention of the counsellors who seemed to fall into a new conversation with even the briefest of gaps in direction. “This is the last one! I think you’ll all know it, unless you’ve been sitting under a rock for the whole year,” he said, his trademark grin unfaltering. “It’s the ‘this or that’ challenge,” Finn continued. A groan rippled throughout the group, most of them bored of the over- done video. “It’ll be fun!” Finn placated, before his expression took on a mock sternness, “And even if it’s not, I need you pretend it is, alright?!”

“Let’s get on with it then,” Natalie shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth.

“Yes, thank you Darcy,” Finn shot back, unfazed by the comment. “Everybody watch Lily so you know which direction is for which option. Remember, I’m going to overlay ‘It’s tricky’ onto the finished video so you can dance and stuff.”

“Hmm, yes. Because Sirius and Talker need encouragement to dance,” James laughed, earning a shove from Sirius.

“Cat or dog?” Most of the group moved swiftly to one side or the other except for Olli who stayed frozen in the middle. “You can’t make me choose!” he protested, crossing his arms. Timmy dragged him to the dog side, “You’re a dog person now, Halla.”

“It’s not supposed to be complicated, people!” Finn groaned, “Just pick a side.”

“Okay, next, staying in or going out.”

“Swimming or sunbathing?”

Hot dogs or pizza?

Capture the flag or dodgeball?

Going to summer camp or staying at home?

Everybody moved to the left, except for James who danced confidently over to the right.

“James!” they all shouted, a collective groan rippling through the group of counsellors, perhaps the only moment they had managed to be coherent the entire evening.

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awanderingdeal · 3 years

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Sweater Weather Summer Camp AU - Introduction - Dumo

A Sweater Weather summer camp AU! Join our bunch of young adults as they spend their summer as counsellors at Gryffindor summer camp, which specialises in creating a safe summer camp experience for LGBTQ youth. For some it's there first summer and others are returning. All are in for some drama.

The plan is for each chapter to be a different point of view. Also, everybody that is tagged will either have a chapter POV or be a partner of the chapter POV but there will be many a cameo from other characters. Of course, I'll update tags and warning as I go.

Thank you to my betas for their incredible work!

As always, this universe belongs to @lumosinlove and I thank her profusely for the creation of these wonderful wonderful characters and for allowing us to play with them. You’re the best!

For previous and future chapters see masterlist

Rating: T

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Okay, folks - listen up, please,” Pascal Dumais’ voice boomed through the microphone. Silence rippled across the crowd of young adults who had been talking excitedly amongst themselves. Dumo, as he was affectionately known, smiled as faces turned towards him. “Welcome to Gryffindor Summer Camp - Join the pride. My name is Pascal but please, call me Dumo,” he started, small laughter tinging the edges of his voice at the cheesiness of the slogan.

“We’re so excited to have you here and firstly, I want to thank you all for giving up your summers to give our kids an amazing time. In a moment, we’ll give you a couple of hours to find your cabins, get settled in and unpack. Please be back here by 13.00. The training schedule, as you’ll have seen in the information sent, is pretty full on but you’ll have the afternoon off on Sunday before we’re bombarded on Monday morning. My office door is always open if you have any questions or just want to talk.”

Dumo rattled through his usual speech, having perfected it over the years to be concise enough to hold the hoard of distracted young adult’s attention. He turned, gesturing towards a woman stood on the edge of the stage area to come and join him. His smile grew a little wider as she approached. “Alternatively, this here is Celeste, my wife, but more importantly our camp therapist. She’ll be leading some sessions with our campers, however she’s also here for you. Please seek her out if you have any worries or concerns. Okay, I can see you are all dying to get to your cabins so I’ll let you go for now.”

The crowd began to murmur amongst themselves and Dumo cleared his throat to get their final tendrils of attention, “remember that your cabin assignments are posted on the staff billboard. Please do not switch. Cabin counsellors, you in particular have been placed so that you are as near to your kids as possible. And once again, back by 13.00. Okay, that is all, au revoir.”

Pascal watched as the crowd dispersed slowly; returning counsellors stopping to greet old friends and new counsellors looking slightly overwhelmed. He wondered what stories were to come out of this bunch. He was jolted out of his musing by a strong shoulder bumping into his. Sergei. He’d know it anywhere.

“Who are you plotting to put together this year?” Sergei teased, a strong Russian accent filtering into the words despite having lived in various parts of the United States for nearly two decades now.

Dumo smirked, his eyes almost shining with mischief, “Moi? I would never do such a thing.”

Sergei rolled his eyes, slinging an arm around Dumo, “No, of course not. The fact that both Lupin and Black’s cabins were suddenly uninhabitable overnight last year was surely a coincidence.” He nodded a head towards the aforementioned couple. The boys were standing by a small huddle of other returning counsellors; their hands were clenched together and they stood so close to one another that they practically inhabited one another’s space. “They are back again.”

“They are very cute indeed,” Dumo hummed, casting his eyes over the crowd until they met two boys that he had seen earlier. One taller with red hair and the other shorter with a baseball hat over a head of brown curls. “Maybe the cabin of those two will become dangerous this year,” he laughed as he subtly pointed out the boys that he meant.

Suddenly, the red haired boy lifted the baseball cap off the other boy’s head and pressed his lips to his forehead before bounding off in the direction of staff HQ.

“I think you might be too late,” Sergei gave a small laugh, his mouth turning up at the edges just slightly.

“That only assures me that my senses are correct,” Dumo shrugged, leaning into his boyfriend. “You’re going home tonight, yes? And then you will bring the kids back with you tomorrow?”

Sergei nodded, “Yes, Anya will come by on Wednesday but I think she wants to catch up with Celeste more than see me. She has already brought a bottle of wine.”

Pascal laughed a deep booming laugh, “At least that means we can finally get a night to ourselves. Addie can keep an eye on the children.They’ll have the whole camp wrapped around their little fingers by Wednesday I am sure.”

“Pascal, mon amour, I am sorry to interrupt, but Regulus here has a room allocation issue and I thought it best if you dealt with it,” Celeste said, stepping into Dumo’s line of vision. Next to her stood a slightly rumpled looking young adult. Regulus, they/them, the name badge pinned to their chest read.

Sergei gave Dumo’s shoulder one last squeeze before grunting, “I’m going to go and do some last checks in the kitchen. Let the madness begin,” and wandering off.

Let the madness begin indeed, Dumo thought. Sometimes running this camp felt like fighting an uprising of zombies; each time he battled one problem another popped up in its place. Nevertheless, the happiness he gained from it far outweighed the stress and he couldn’t wait to see what Summer 2020 was going to bring.

#sweater weather #lumosinlove #logan tremblay #finn o'hara #leo knut #natalie darcy #pascal dumais #celeste dumais #sergei ivanov #sirius black #regulus black #alex o'hara #kasey winter #remus lupin #dima krupin #James Potter #Lily Evans #thomas walker #noelle tremblay

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awanderingdeal · 3 years

Text

Summer Camp AU - Chapter 3 - Leo

Sorry about the wait on this one! Our darling Leo will be taking us through this chapter.

CW: mentions of injury (minor)

Fic Rating: T

Please message me if you feel that any content warnings need to be added or the rating is not appropriate.

Thank you to my wonderful betas @bkfstclubmember and @fleetingpieces.

The characters in this fic belong to @lumosinlove and you should definitely go and check out her fics!

For previous and future chapters please see my masterlist

Leo had only been to summer camp once as a kid, and that had been back in middle school. It had escaped his memory how draining it was to meet so many new people, learn the layout of the site, and to keep track of all the rules he needed to remember. Between that, and the bruises littering his body from the evening of Dodgeball and Capture the Flag, Leo was exhausted. Happy, but exhausted.

Regulus hadn’t crept back into their cabin until the early hours of the morning and had declined coming to breakfast in favour of more sleep. It meant that Leo was alone when he set his breakfast tray down at an empty table. He was only able to savour the quiet for a couple of minutes though, before the chaos of camp caught up with him.

“Leo!” a boy said, startling Leo into looking up from his eggs. He recognised him from the game of dodgeball; he’d hit Leo square in the chest. Besides, it would have been difficult to forget that face. Cropped curls, a chiseled jawline and deep brown eyes. He’d cut his camp t-shirt into a low tank top. Leo noticed the scars, a slightly paler brown than the rest of his skin, peeking out through the oversized arm holes. He’d never seen anybody wear them so proudly before and it made him want to smile. Not only for the other boy, but for himself. Because if 13 year old Leo, heck if 17 year old Leo, had been told that one day he’d be in a place that would allow him to be authentically himself, and he’d be surrounded by others who understood what it was to be different, he never would have believed it.

“Morning,” Leo had to glance at the boy's badge; he was awful with names. “Thomas,” he said with a smile. He’d only said two words to the boy yesterday, but Thomas seemed like the type who would be friends with anybody that was willing.

“Call me Talker,” Thomas said, reaching out a hand for Leo to shake. “Please.”

“Morning, Talker,” Leo repeated with a laugh, shaking the hand before shovelling more eggs into his mouth.

Soon the table was full, and Leo found himself in a heated conversation about whether kindles were better than books. Somehow, that led to him lapping up James’ stories of previous camp disasters until Lily shoved her boyfriend and told him to stop scaring the rookie.

The chatter was interrupted by the static of a microphone. Everybody, including Leo, turned towards the source of the noise. A flustered looking young man stood over by the buffet table, clutching his hands around the microphone so hard that his knuckles were white. James cupped his hands around his mouth and hollered, “Go Loops!”

The man smiled and gave a nervous cough, but the encouragement seemed to work. “Hi everybody, I’m Remus Lupin. Most people just call me Loops though. My pronouns are he/him and I’ve been coming to this camp for the last two years. Clearly I didn’t suck too much, because they hired me as a medic this year,” he paused, his eyes searching the crowd. They landed on the man that Leo had met as Regulus’ brother the day before, and his smile grew wider. “I’m going to be leading the first aid training this morning, so if you could all be out at the pavilion in 15 minutes that would be fantastic...thanks.”

The room fell silent as Remus set the microphone back in its stand and walked off, receiving a pat on the shoulder from Dumo as he passed. The hall soon erupted with noise again as people finished up their food and made to follow the instructions they had been given.

“Alright! Let’s go save some lives,” Thomas boomed, downing the last of his glass of milk and grabbing his tray. He’d only taken two steps before he turned back around and flashed a grin at Leo. “Nutty! I forgot to say. Dumo asked us to film some promo TikToks and your beautiful face would be great in it. You in?”

Leo had no idea who ‘us’ was, but he’d promised himself to take every opportunity that this camp threw at him so he nodded, and gave a small, “Sure, why not?”

“Great, I’ll see you after dinner then,” Thomas said, walking off with a bounce in his step.

When Leo made his way to the pavilion, he was given a card with the number 1 on it by Remus. He didn’t know what it was for, but clutched it in his hand as he looked around for Regulus, hoping they had managed to wake up on time. He was relieved to set his eyes on them talking to June, a girl that Leo had met yesterday. She had been a bit intimidating, leaning against a tree, dressed in biker boots and a leather jacket that he later learnt had a bisexual flag stiched into back. However, she’d turned out to be extremely friendly and Leo relaxed knowing Regulus was in good hands.

“Okay! Listen up, folks,” Remus called out. “Each of you has been given a card with a number on it. There is one other person with the same number as you. Please find them, they are going to be your partner for today’s training session.”

Different people seemed to have different strategies for finding their partner. Some decided to stay where they were and just shout their numbers. Others darted around asking each individual what their number was. Leo didn’t need to use either to find his. With his first glance across the crowd, he settled his eyes on a person holding a card with the number one on it. With a triumphant smile, he weaved through the other counselors quickly so as not to lose sight of his partner.

“Hey, I’m Leo. I think you’re mine,” Leo introduced himself, glancing quickly at the nametag on Logan’s chest before looking up at his face again. The action had become almost habitual already.

Logan peered from under the brim of his hat. He had deep green eyes that Leo swore were looking into his soul as they swept over the length of his body. “Yeah, I suppose you are,” the boy said eventually. “My name’s Logan, but I guess you already know that. Pleased to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” Leo mumbled quietly under his breath. He had promised himself that he wasn’t going to do the cliched ‘summer camp romance’ thing. After all, he’d just gotten over the ‘closeted jock’ situation and that hadn’t been fun, to say the least. He wanted to be done with men for a very long time, but it didn’t hurt to look, right?

Before Logan could respond, Remus had gathered their attention again and they got swept away with learning how to recognise and assist the injuries and ailments that they were most likely to see over the coming weeks.

“Merde!” Logan gasped, pulling Leo from his thoughts. He figured that he had wound the bandage too tight around Logan’s arm.

“Sorry! Sorry,” he apologised, trying to remove it as quickly as he could. “Are you okay?”

Logan frowned for a second, “I am fine. Why would you ask that?”

“Was it not too tight?” Leo asked, gesturing to Logan’s arm, a little confused.

Logan’s features knitted into a tighter frown before he seemed to have a realisation. “Oh, non. That was fine. Perfect. I will never bleed to death with you around,” he said, gesturing for Leo to do the bandage again so that Remus could inspect his work.

“Okay…” Leo hesitated, “Why did you swear then?”

“You’re the angel,” Logan grinned, and Leo just grew more confused. Logan huffed out a laugh. “I believe you met my boyfriend yesterday. Tall...although, not as tall as you. Red hair. Bit of an idiot.”

“You mean Finn,” Leo smiled, remembering the boy from yesterday. “Wait. Did you say boyfriend?”

Leo had been one of the people allocated to defend his team's flag. His back was to it, but out of the corner of his eye, he could see the blue, white and pink stripes. Dumo had taken the opportunity to educate the counsellors on the flags of different identities before letting each team choose which would be theirs for the game. A timid looking blonde girl had whooped so loudly before her pale cheeks had turned crimson that it had been a unanimous decision for their team to take the trans flag.

It had been eerily quiet for a while when three people came crashing out of the trees. Leo recognised two of them; a Russian boy who had insisted everybody called him Kuny instead of butchering his name, and Jackson Nadeau. They were both on his team.The person they were chasing was not. Leo glanced to his right, checking that there was nobody coming from that direction before he tried to intercept the intruder. Leo had thought he was fast, but they had easily whipped past him and Leo was left watching them run. He didn’t have time to call out between seeing the rock and watching them fall flat on their face.

“Are you okay?” Leo shouted, forgetting the game as he ran over to check they hadn’t hurt themselves too badly. He was worried that they weren’t moving, but just as Leo kneeled down, they groaned and rolled onto their back.

“Shit,” Leo said, taking in the blood dripping down the pale skin. “Hey, I’m Leo. Can you tell me your name?” Leo asked, already knowing it was Finn from the name tag, but he wanted to check that the boy knew himself.

“Fi-Fish,” the red haired boy slurred, blinking rapidly. “Am I in heaven?” he asked, reaching up to cup Leo’s face.

“No, you’re at Camp Gryffindor. Not quite heaven, but pretty close,” Leo gave a nervous laugh. “Just stay still. We’re going to get somebody to help you.”

“You look like an angel to me,” Finn whispered, making Leo blush. He gave a little cough before looking up at Kuny and Jackson, who had joined him at Finn’s side. “Can one of you go and grab a medic, please?”

Leo had been meaning to check up on Finn. Both because he had been worried about him, but also because he hadn’t been able to get that red hair and those freckles out of mind all night. Finn was beautiful, of course he had a boyfriend.

“Yeah,” Logan nodded, his smile widening a second. “My boyfriend who apparently met an angel last night. He’s not wrong.”

Leo scratched at the back of his neck before continuing to wrap the bandage around Logan’s arm. “How is he?”

“He’s fine. He’ll have a headache for a few days, but Lupin fixed him up,” Logan reassured. He hummed and pulled at the grass with his unoccupied hand. “Wouldn’t shut up about the blue-eyed angel called Leo though. I tried to make him stay in bed today, but he insisted you were real. Seems you are.”

Leo thought his face was going to permanently take on its new shade of pink with the amount of blushing he was doing. “Isn’t it weird for you? Your boyfriend calling me an angel?”

Logan shrugged, “Non, he didn’t lose his eyesight just because we got into a relationship. Besides, I trust him.”

Thankfully, Remus chose that moment to join them, praising Leo’s work and making a few comments on how it could be made a little better. Once he had gone, Logan began to tell him about his life growing up in Canada as if the previous conversation had never happened. Leo wasn’t sure whether he was relieved or frustrated.

In return, Leo told Logan about the cooking classes that had led him to applying to work in the camp kitchens that summer. He found that Logan was actually a good listener, and nearly ended up spilling the details of the drama that led him to taking those classes as a replacement for the hockey games he was due to be playing. Another time maybe. Leo wasn’t going to think about how much he hoped there would be another time.

The rest of the morning session seemed to fly by after that, and soon Leo found himself saying goodbye to Logan in order to find Regulus for lunch.

“I’ll see you around,” Leo smiled.

“Sure thing, mon ange,” Logan said easily, and Leo tried not to read too much into that.

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awanderingdeal · 3 years

Text

Summer camp AU - Chapter 2 - Sirius

Hello, hello, welcome back to Gryffindor. This chapter finds us with Sirius. This one is a bit angsty again, but there’s also lots of happy points. I promise we will have some fun camp type stuff next chapter!

CW: Sirius does misgender Reg for most of this chapter in his internal monologue as he does not know that Regulus has changed his pronouns. It is not intentional and Sirius does switch pronouns both verbally and mentally as soon as he is aware. Just in case that makes anybody uncomfy.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to my wonderful betas for catching all my 3am mistakes (and also, just my complete inability to grammar).

And finally, thank you to @lumosinlove for the creation of the sweater weather universe. It honestly is a light in my life.

Fic Rating: T

For previous and future chapters see masterlist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sirius was pulled from the depth of his thoughts by two short vibrations pulsing through his hands. He glanced down at his phone and felt the corner of his mouth pull up at the name, Mon Loup. Remus was always checking up on him.

Are you okay? Is he there?

Sirius didn’t know how to answer the first question. He didn’t know how he was feeling. The last thing he had expected when they had gotten in the car that morning was to be seeing his brother's name next to his on the room allocations. His mind had spun through a rollercoaster of emotions: anger, guilt, joy, anger, confusion. Luckily, Remus had been there to notice the impending meltdown and had wrapped his arms around him and told him that it was going to be fine. And somehow Sirius had believed him.

He took a minute to compose his reply, knowing that trying to lie to Remus about his mental state was futile.

I’m...coping. No, he’s not. No bags either.

Sirius wished that Remus could be here with him. However, his boyfriend had just graduated with his BSN and was now a paid member of staff on the nursing team. Along with the extra responsibility came his own cabin. Sirius had insisted he went and settled in there. His phone buzzed again.

I told you, he’s probably just as worried about seeing you. He’s here, isn’t he? He’s more than just a product of your parents.

Sirius hated when Remus was logical like that. He was right though, something must have changed. There was no way that his biological parents would approve of Regulus’ coming here. “Merde!” Sirius groaned, flopping backwards onto the bed. He’d been through this a thousand times with his therapist. He’d tried to take Regulus with him. Regulus hadn’t wanted to come. Besides, he was still a minor and there was no way he could have gotten the evidence to get Regulus out of there legally. It wasn’t his fault. It wasn't his fault.

It’s not your fault, baby. You know that.

How did Remus always know? Sirius glanced at the time on his phone, 12.05. He worried about where Regulus was and if he wasn’t staying in this cabin, then had he found somewhere else to sleep? The big brother in him would never completely go. The backpack on the floor caught his eye. I might as well start unpacking, Sirius thought.

The time passed quickly and soon the alarm that he'd set for 12.50 was sounding. He had managed to get all of his clothes into the drawers under the bed and pinned the photo of him and Remus to the wall. He’d tucked his drawing pad under the pillow. There was only one thing missing.

Sirius took a deep breath, grabbing his smaller daypack and headed back to the main stage where they had been gathered before Dumo had dismissed them all. He was scanning the slowly forming crowd for the familiar features of his brother when a body barrelled into his back.

“Dude! I just saw your twin, I swear.”

The voice belonged to James Potter. They had only met last year - at this very camp - but Sirius already felt like he had known him a lifetime.

“Jeez, Potter. My ears,” Sirius moaned, shoving his friend lightly. “Attends...What did you just say?”

“Jeez,” James mocked Sirius’ acquisition of his boyfriend’s mannerisms. “There’s somebody here who looks exactly like you.”

“Regulus.” Sirius gasped, his eyes darting over the crowd again.

“Who’s Reg-” James started and then his hand was hitting Sirius’ arm as realisation dawned on him. “Your brother.”

Sirius could only give a slow nod.

“Do you need...I can tell him to stay away from you if you want?” James’ eyebrows knitted into a frown.

This time Sirus shook his head quickly, “Non. No, I want to see him. I need to see him.” Sirius hadn’t even realised himself that was what he wanted until that moment.

“Oh,” James said and turned abruptly to face the ever growing group of people. “He was just there, I swear. We can go find him.”

Sirius opened his mouth to reply when Dumo’s voice cut through the noise of the crowd, “Hello everyone, thank you for being back on time.”

James gave a distressed noise and Sirius squeezed his arm reassuringly. He loved that his friend hadn’t even questioned his desire to find Regulus. Sirius had wanted something and James was ready to make it happen.

Sirius tuned back into Dumo’s instructions, “ - lunch until 14.00 and then we will begin with some icebreakers. Finally, this evening we will have an in depth tour of the camp followed by a game of capture the flag. Only so that you know how to play for when the campers come, of course. We won’t have a campfire tonight, I know many of you have travelled from afar and will want to get to bed early. But be prepared because I want all of you ready with your singing voices, tomorrow.”

James had apparently forgotten about his troubles because he was excitedly bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“Come on,” Sirius said, “Let’s go and eat. It’s not as if Regulus is going anywhere.”

The lunch hall was a chaos of noise and Sirius allowed himself to be swept up in it. The empty table that they found was soon filled. Lily arrived first pressing a kiss first to James' forehead and then Sirius'.

"Lily! I missed you so much. How did you find us?" James grinned.

Lily rolled her eyes, "darling, it has only been two hours since I last saw you. And how many other people have tie dyed their t-shirts?"

James looked down at the purple, black and white swirls on his t-shirt proudly, causing Sirius to smile fondly.

“Who are you sharing your cabin with?” Sirius asked, using his hands to compress the monstrosity of a sandwich that he had created before dipping it into his chicken soup.

“That is so gross,” Lily grimaced at the action. “Now your lettuce is all soggy. And to answer your question, it’s Natalie. You know, Darcy. Tall, blonde, formidable. She’ll be over in a minute. Think she was just waiting for her boyfriend.”

As if on cue, Natalie appeared, placing her tray down next to Lily before rounding the table and wrapping her arms around Sirius and kissing his earlobe. He would have been startled had it been anybody else but he regularly received semi-threatening texts from her telling him to have Remus check his voicemails. “That is from your boyfriend. He said he misses you. Which is gross but I was bribed with cake.” Natalie said, gesturing to the two slices of cake on her tray.

“Who’s the rookie?” James asked through a mouthful of food, looking at the red headed boy who had just sat down next to Kasey, Natalie’s boyfriend.

The boy waved casually at the table, seeming very relaxed for a new counsellor, “I’m Alex. And technically, I’m not a rookie. Done a few camps down in Tampa, but I thought I’d join my brother, Finn, here at Queer camp this summer.”

“Oh, I think I sa-" James began, but was interrupted by Lily’s squeal of excitement.

"Marl! Dory!" Lily called across the hall attracting the attention of two girls. They made their way over seeing Lily’s wave, followed closely by two other counsellors.

"Everybody, this is Marlene and her girlfriend, Dorcas. Marl was my little sister at college." Lily introduced them to the table.

They both flashed a smile and Marlene titled her head towards the two timid looking boys behind them, "We said Ollie and Timmy here could sit with us. It’s their first year too."

They all found a seat and the usual round of questions began. Despite Sirius' attempts to listen to where everybody was working in the camp, his mind was drifting to thoughts of his brother.

He felt James' hand gently touch his wrist and when Sirius turned to look at him, James mouthed, " You okay?"

Sirius nodded, "I'm fine." He realised that he had reached the end of his soup and the fact he was now trying to spoon air into his mouth was probably what had attracted James' concern. "Oh. In my own world, I guess," he said quietly.

Sirius pulled himself upright, "I'm just going to get a fork," he added more loudly and climbed off the bench. He could have eaten the cake with a spoon, but he wanted a minute to text Remus without being chirped by his friends. Crossing the busy hall with his head down was always going to be a mistake and he found himself colliding with another body as he approached the cutlery trays.

“I’m so sorry!” Sirius apologised, cringing at the sensation of warm soup seeping through his t-shirt. “I was just -” he started, but as he lifted his head he was met with hauntingly familiar grey eyes.

“Reggie,” Sirius breathed, the nickname slipping out of his mouth.

He received no reply.

“Regulus? Are you okay?” a tall blond boy that Sirius didn’t recognise asked.

Regulus didn’t get to answer this time even if he had wanted to as an older man, maybe in his 40’s appeared and said gruffly, “Is all alright here?”

“Yes, yes, we are fine thank you,” Sirius answered. “It was my fault, I wasn’t looking.”

“Be more careful, Black,” the man said. Sirius managed to pull his eyes away from his brother to look at the name tag. Sergei.

“Be nice to the kids please, Sergei,” Dumo spoke lightly, a small smile resting on his lips. Sirius swore that the man had appeared out of nowhere.

“You always play favourites, Dumasha,” Sergei grumbled. “He is making a mess of my -”

“Could I just talk to my brother, please!” Sirius snapped.

“Not your brother,” Regulus said, the sound barely audible.

“Reggie, please. Just let me...” Sirius began. He just wanted a chance to explain how he tried to take Regulus with him, but it hadn’t been possible. To explain that Sirius had needed to get free himself before he could help Regulus and then by the time he was set up, Regulus had been the one to reject him.

“I don’t think they are objecting to talking to you,” the blond boy interrupted. “I think they mean that they are your sibling. Not your brother. Is that correct, Reg?”

Regulus nodded slowly, fingers clenched tightly around the empty tray in his hands.

“Not my bro-” Sirius’s eyes caught the nametag clipped to Regulus’ t-shirt. He hadn’t looked at it before. They/Them. “Oh. Ohh. I’m sorry, Reggie. I didn’t mean to…”

Regulus cut him off. “It’s okay, you didn’t know,” they said.

“Still, I’m sorry,” Sirius sighed. “Look, Regulus. Could we talk? Preferably without all these other people?” he asked, his voice hopeful. Sirius turned his gaze to the boy that he didn't recognize, “Who are you anyway?”

“Leo Knut. Regulus’ roommate. I’ll leave you two to talk if that is what Regulus wants?”

Sirius wasn’t sure if he wanted to punch the guy or hug him for protecting his sibling.

Regulus gave another nod, more sure than the one they gave earlier. “Go and eat, Leo. Sirius and I should talk. It was always going to have to happen at some point if I stay, eh?”

Sirius took the opportunity to look at Regulus properly. They looked almost identical to when Sirius had last seen them. Only taller. And they held themselves differently. Somehow it was meekier and yet more sure of themselves. Just as Sirius was about to spiral into a mess of thoughts about what he’d left Regulus to face by themself, Dumo cleared his throat.

“Okay, me and Sergei will clean up this mess. Sirius, I think you should get a clean t-shirt. Regulus, go and make yourself another sandwich. Then we’ll find you somewhere quiet to talk.”

Regulus smiled, “Yeah, I’d like that.”

Sirius let out a breath that he hadn’t realised he was holding, “Yeah, me too.”

53 notes · View notes

awanderingdeal · 3 years

Text

Summer Camp AU - Chapter 1 - Regulus

The first official chapter of Summer Camp AU. I’m afraid this isn’t such a cheery one but is necessary for plot building. Content warnings for panic attacks, anxiety and mentions/implications of abuse.

Thank you to my betas for their incredible work!

As always, this universe belongs to @lumosinlove and I thank her profusely for the creation of these wonderful wonderful characters and for allowing us to play with them. You’re the best!

For previous and future chapters see masterlist

Rating: T

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Regulus ran a hand through their black hair. Despite being out of their parents’ house for a little over a year now, they still didn’t feel comfortable in anything but the short cropped style. It was the same one that they’d had since the day they’d started kindergarten, and mixing it up had felt like one change too many in a year of unknowns.

Looking around, they felt like everybody else there already knew at least one person and that they were the only one who had come alone. They considered trying to introduce themself to one of the groups close by, but decided that going to check out who their roommate was would be a better idea.

Regulus struggled to make friends. The posh, stand-offish approach that had been drilled into them by their parents was difficult to shake off and people didn’t seem to take kindly to it. A roommate would be forced to spend enough time with them that they would slowly start to see that he wasn’t such an ass underneath it all.

With a gameplan in hand, Regulus felt a bit better as they traipsed across the camp, following the map they had been given to the building labelled staff HQ.

That was until their eyes locked onto the piece of paper pinned to the bulletin with their room assignment on; cabin 6 - Regulus Black and Sirius Black. Their brain spun through a cacophony of thoughts so quickly that they couldn't quite grasp on to them. Maybe it was just a coincidence, they tried to reason. The reassurance lasted microseconds. How many people were named Sirius Black after all.

Regulus felt a dull feeling buried in their chest. An itch almost. They knew the feeling intimately. They tried to steady their breathing. 5 seconds in 5 seconds out. The itch wasn't going. In fact, it was getting worse. They pressed the heel of their hand against their sternum rubbing it harshly but the sensation persisted.

"Excuse me, could I see the list please?" a voice cut through the fuzziness of Regulus' brain.

"Oh. Yes. Sorry," Regulus rushed out, turning on their heel and walking quickly to the exit, feeling a sudden need to be out of the building. Once outside, their eyes darted around looking for somewhere that felt safe. Their fingers clenching and unclenching by their side. Their knuckles felt tight and irritated, as if there was a pressure building inside them. Focus, Regulus. Find somewhere safe.

They didn't quite remember moving but they somehow found themself sitting behind a tree. It was thick, and the angle of the stage they had just been listening to Dumo speak from did a good job of blocking them from the view of the other staff. They just needed a minute to compose themself. However, as they let out another slow breath, letting it whistle through their teeth, they looked up and their eyes met another pair.

"Hello, I'm Celeste," the motherly looking woman introduced herself.

"I know." Regulus blurted out. Dumo had already told them that.

Celeste ignored the interruption. "I saw you sitting over here by yourself and wanted to check that you were okay. I know it can all be a lot if it's your first time with us."

"I am okay," Regulus nodded slowly. "I'm okay," they repeated, unsure which of them they were trying to convince.

Celeste watched them carefully for a moment before replying, "If you are sure. I will be nearby if you change your mind," She took a final glance at them before starting to walk away.

Celeste had barely walked a few meters before Regulus called out, "Wait. Please."

She stopped immediately, turning to face them again. "I'm still here," she said softly.

"I know that Dumo said that we couldn't switch rooms but do you think that he would make an exception?" Regulus asked, their voice filled with hope.

Celeste cocked her head slightly, "What's your name?"

Regulus was a bit blindsided by the question. It wasn't an answer to their own after all. They pulled themself to their feet, dusting off the dirt from their clothes. Mother wouldn’t approve. "It's Regulus," they finally answered, gesturing to their name badge.

"Regulus." Celeste repeated the name.

It was a bit annoying. Couldn’t she just answer the question?

"Have you had a disagreement with your roommates, Regulus?" Celeste asked.

"He's my brother," Regulus said, the reply seemingly leaving their mouth of their own accord. "We are not...we have not spoken in quite some time."

Celeste looked at them for a long time. They could tell that she wanted to ask more questions but instead she beckoned to Regulus, "come with me. We will speak to Pascal and see what we can do."

Regulus followed Celeste over to the stage where Dumo was standing with another man. They seemed affectionate. Dumo had introduced Celeste as his wife though, right? Regulus dismissed the thought, it was really none of their business and they had more important things to think about at this moment in time. Their eyes scanned over the small group of people left whilst Celeste spoke to Dumo. Relief washed over them when they noticed that none of them were Sirius. Regulus wasn’t ready to see him yet.

“Regulus?” Dumo said, making Regulus jump as they were jolted out of their thoughts.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.” Dumo apologised, giving Celeste a small smile that apparently served as a gentle dismissal, because she tapped Regulus reassuringly on the shoulder and left.

“Now, I hear that you wish to change your room?” Dumo said, waiting for Regulus’ short nod before continuing, “Remind me where you are helping us out, please?”

Regulus cracked their knuckles. “I’m teaching archery,” they replied, almost wincing at the timidity of their voice. Mother wouldn’t approve. They had always been so sure of themself, their parents constantly reinforcing the fact that they were special. However the last few years had left them feeling ground down and wary. It had been hard to bounce back.

Dumo nodded. “Ahh, good, not a cabin counsellor. I’m sure that we can find you a space somewhere. The thing is Regulus…”

Regulus worried their lip between their teeth. There was always a problem where they were concerned. Nothing could ever be easy could it?

“The thing is, this is supposed to be a safe space for our kids. I can’t have hostility at the camp. Can you assure me that there isn’t going to be any problems between you and Sirius?”

Regulus took a deep breath, rubbing the heel of their palm into their temple. Their head hurt. They just wanted to lie down. “I promise there will not be any trouble on my part,” Regulus replied. It was the truth. They would be happy if they didn’t see Sirius at all.

“Of course, I do not know the source of your troubles but would you be willing to sit and talk with Sirius? At least to come to some sort of agreement during your time with us. Perhaps with Celeste to mediate?” Dumo asked.

“Do I have to?” Regulus squeaked, much to their embarrassment.

“No,” Dumo shook his head. “You will not be forced to do anything that you do not want to here at Gryffindor. It’s a safe place for you too,” he continued, reaching out to pat Regulus’ arm.

Regulus flinched before the hand had even made contact and Dumo pulled his hand away quickly.

“I’m sorry, I should have asked before I touched you,” Dumo apologised.

“It’s stupid. I know you weren’t going to hurt me.” Regulus sighed. They wondered if they would ever be normal and if their upbringing was ever going to not affect them? “Can we just find me a room please?”

Dumo looked at them for a long time. The gaze was reminiscent of the one that Celeste had fixed them with earlier. Dumo seemed to want to say something and Regulus doubted that the “Yes, let’s go and look at the room plans,” that was verbalised was it.

Regulus followed Dumo back to the building that he had been in earlier. It was quiet now. They watched Dumo scan the sheet quickly before tapping a finger against it, “Oui, there is a space here.”

Regulus smiled at the small french word. It made them feel more at home. They hadn’t been in Quebec since they’d run away and they missed it a lot. Their eyes fell to where Dumo’s finger met the sheet; Cabin 10 - Leo Knut.

“Come, I will take you there. You’ve lost a lot of settling in time already. There is no need for you to be lost too.” Dumo said.

“I will be fine,” Regulus argued. “I don’t have much to unpack.”

“Indeed. But you look like you could do with a rest. And the longer, the better.”

Regulus cursed their pale skin, knowing that the heating of their cheeks was most definitely showing up as a bright pink blush, “Yes. I am quite tired.”

Dumo led the way to the cabin and Regulus had to admit that they probably would have gotten lost at least a few times if they had tried to make it there by themself. The door to the cabin was open when they arrived, and Regulus could see a tall blond carefully folding t-shirts into one of the drawers under the bed.

Dumo knocked on the open door, making the occupant jump a little. “Hello, Leo isn’t it? Regulus here will be taking the second bed in this cabin. I know you were supposed to have it to yourself so I hope it’s not too much of a disappointment.”

Regulus wrapped their arms around themself and dropped their eyes to the floor, making themself small in a way that reminded them of being shoved in a corner at their grandparents house, and being told to, “sit there quietly and don’t be a nuisance.”

“Oh, hey!” Leo beamed. “No, that is perfect. I was a bit disappointed to be alone, if I’m telling the truth. It’s just not the camp way is it?”

Regulus noticed that there was a twang to the words. Something southern.

“Excellent, I’ll leave you two to settle in then,” Dumo said, giving a nod before leaving.

A breath that Regulus didn’t even know that they had been holding escaped when they dropped their backpack onto the free bed and sat down. It was a few moments before they felt Leo’s stare.

“Sorry,” Regulus apologised. “I’m Regulus. But you already knew that because Dumo just told you. I’m such an idiot. Shit, sorry. I’m just really tired.” The words just wouldn’t seem to stop coming. How had they spent so many hours having elocution lessons drilled into them just to become such a bumbling mess?

“Hey, no, don’t worry.” Leo’s voice broke through Regulus’ monologue. “I’m Leo. Pronouns are he/him and I’m gay as fuck.” He sat down on the bed as he gestured to the name tag and a couple of pins attached to his t-shirt. A rainbow. Make it GAY. A small Stitch waving a trans flag with the words ‘Ohana, means nobody gets left behind’ on it. “I can be quiet if you want to take a nap?” Leo added.

“That’d be nice.” Regulus nodded. “You don’t really need to be quiet though. I sleep like the dead.”

Leo merely gave a smile and stretched a long arm to grab a book from his suitcase.

Regulus had only just rolled up into a ball and clenched their eyes closed hoping at least a little sleep would come their way when they abruptly turned back over to face Leo. “Hey. Could I ask you something?”

“Sure, go ahead,” Leo said, seemingly unfazed by the sudden question. He just glanced at the corner of his book, set it down and turned his attention to Regulus.

Regulus wasn’t sure why they were about to spout their personal history to somebody who was practically a stranger but there was something about Leo that was reassuring. “Do you have siblings?”

Leo shook his head, hand going to his wrist to play with the frayed end of the rainbow bracelet wrapped around it, “No, just me, my Mama and my Dad. Why do you ask?”

Regulus let out a breath of air through their nose, wondering how they could explain the situation. “I have a brother, but he left home when I was 11. I haven’t seen him since.” Regulus started. Leo just looked at them patiently despite the long pause, apparently recognising that they weren’t finished. “But he’s here. I was supposed to room with him. I just...I can’t. And Dumo wants me to meet with him and I said no but I don’t know if I should have and what if, maybe I should just go home?” Regulus rambled, no longer trying to bend their thoughts into coherency.

“Reg,” Leo said, kneeling by his bed now. Regulus couldn’t help but notice how tall he was from this close. “Hey, calm down. Just breathe.”

Regulus watched Leo’s mouth taking in long breaths and tried to copy them.

“That’s it.” Leo reassured. “I’m not sure if I got all that properly but you and your brother, did you get along before he left?”

Regulus squeezed their eyes shut before replying, “We did when we were little. We were each other’s best friend and then he...it was my fault, I thought he was wrong. I didn’t realise they…”

“Reg,” Leo interrupted them again. “ You don’t have to make any decisions now. Whether you meet your brother or not. Whether you go home or not. They can all wait until you’ve had some sleep. No offense but you look exhausted,” he gave a small chuckle. “And maybe put the pack off the bed, take your shoes off, get under the sheets? I’ll be right over there. Nobody is going to sneak up on you.”

Regulus cocked their head at Leo, wondering how the boy who could barely have been 18 was so wise.

“Hey, I could read to you if you wanted?”

Regulus grumbled, “I’m not a kid.”

“Good, because this story isn’t really appropriate for kids. It’s about a group of college students who murder their friend.” Leo snorted.

“Such great naptime reading,” Regulus laughed.

“Shut up. Do you want it or not?” Leo teased playfully, rolling onto his feet and making his way back to his own bed.

“Yeah, sure. Just give me a second,” Regulus replied, placing their backpack on the floor and beginning to take off their shoes. They tried to relax. Leo was right. Even if they decided to go home they could let themself sleep for a bit before they started the long journey back to California. They’d make decisions later.

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