the_debt_of_time

Mia bit her lower lip to stop herself from crying when she heard the hitch in Sirius's
throat—the way his voice began to break. She knew how much he hated crying, and if he
showed what he perceived as weakness while drunk, he would likely lash out in anger and
be even more difficult to control.
"Do you know... when he was little he was afraid of the dark. Reggie would crawl
into my bed and... they killed him, Mia."
"When's the funeral?" she asked, hoping to distract him with busy work.
Sirius scoffed angrily. "Two weeks ago."
Mia growled, shocked. She had known that Sirius found out about Regulus's death
through a letter and grieved without his family, but she had always assumed that it had
been his choice to avoid the funeral. "That bitch!"
"I wouldn't have gone anyway. I hate him. He... So stupid."
"Maybe it wasn't because he was scared," she offered. "Maybe he wanted to finally
do the right thing."
"Un-fucking-likely."
"Maybe we could pretend."
"Pretend for me, kitten." Sirius sighed and fell back into her lap. "Tell me a story
about a brother who wasn't a... Just... make it better."
Mia ran her fingers once more through Sirius's hair and let out a soft sigh of relief
when she felt him relax into her body. "Once upon a time, a family of snakes awoke one
morning to find a magical gift in their home. A tiny lion cub." She smirked when she heard
Sirius chuckle. "They raised him and taught him everything there was to know about being
a snake. Try as he might—and he didn't try very hard—the lion cub still had claws instead
of fangs, still had fur instead of scales, and still roared instead of hissed. And despite being
so very different, the lion cub loved the smallest snake in the family, who was very much a
snake in every way there was to be a snake."
Mia frowned when she felt the laughter die away from Sirius, and he went still in
her arms.
"The little snake and the lion grew up together, but then they were separated by a
long distance, and the lion found a pride of his own and grew into a fierce King of the
Jungle."
"Don't lions live on savannahs?" Sirius interrupted her.