Chapter 1
Regulus sat at his kitchen table, blowing smoke through the room. Well, rather Barty's dining table. As his phone buzzed and beeped. It was probably Sirius. Then, a faint but not faint at the same time knock. Regulus rolled his eyes.
"Do we pack up?" He asked, tilting is head to the board and all the other stuff.
"Nah it'll be right. If it was any authority they'd announce themselves" Barty said, gesturing to the table with a dismissive wave. Regulus nodded. Barty opened the door. "Oh. Come in then" Barty said, rolling his eyes in a way that told Regulus everything.
Sirius. Sirius his older brother. Sirius who'd gotten him off weed and smokes. Not good. What would Sirius think of him right now? Right now while he was sitting with his feet crossed over each other on the table, lighter in his hand, bong in his lap held loosely by his other hand?
"Are you smoking?!" Sirius snapped. but Regulus knew he wasn't mad. He could see it in his eyes. The way he looked like he broke when they locked eyes. Regulus bit his lip and rolled his eyes, pretending to be annoyed as hell. "Please at least say it's not weed, Regulus." Sirius said, obviously trying to sound stern.
He was definetly failing at trying.
"Sorry not sorry, can't say that." He replied, a faked snarky look on his face. "Where's your little boyfriend Lupin anyway? Get him to do me a 50-"
"You're not- you're- you are not getting drugs of Remus!"
Regulus rolled his eyes back lazily. "A twenty?" he offered, eyebrow raised.
"No!"
"Fine" he grumbled.
"You're sixteen, Regulus!" Sirius turned to Barty. "And you, supplying him weed and smokes and alchohol and god knows what else!"
"He pays for it."
"Oh yeah? With what money?! Speaking of, you haven't got a fucking job or nothing, your- He's broke!" Sirius turned questioningly to Regulus, who stuck out his tounge in a cockily teasing manner. A suggestive manner. "You seriously aren't telling me that my brother, who I practically raised- Regulus you are not telling me that you're a fucking druggie-slut doing- giving fucking blowjobs for weed." He snapped.
"Well a lot more than just blowjobs but-"
"Regulus! I do not Want to hear that!"
Regulus rolled his eyes with a smirk.
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"That is not healthy!"
"Get your nose out of mine and Barty's business!"
"He hit you!"
"He only ever hits me when I fuck up"
"Hold up, you think that sounds fair? Any person who hits their partner is a bitch-"
"Sirius, you will never understand" Regulus snapped coldly.
"Stop talking like you know better than me, I'm getting you off this shit-"
"Fuck off, Sirius!" And with that, Regulus walked back into Barty's house, slamming and locking the door behind him.
When he did, Barty grabbed his wrists and pulled him toward him, wrapping possessive arms around his waist and kissing him.
"Barty stop I'm not in the mood-"
"Too bad. I'm thinking of raising rent." He murmured against Regulus' lips.
~Current Day~
thrusday, April 3rd (A Year Later/No i didnt do any research so it probably wouldnt be a thursday but if you'd like to bitch about that then do the research for me and tell me or shut up :3 )
TW: Vomit, Swearing, self-harm, Suicidal thoughts.
Regulus lay on the floor of James' dining room. Drunk. Very drunk.
"You're going to have to get up eventually, Regulus." Sirius said.
"Am I though?" He asked. "The floor is so comfy." And in that moment, it was. The cold, hard tiles beneath him, his arms spread out slightly, his head tilted so his cheek was also on the tiles. He was drunk. Piss drunk. And broken. Fucking shattered like glass.
"Come on, Regulus."
"What's the point? Get up, go to bed, fall back down tomorrow, or, Get up, vomit, shower, bed, repeat." he murmured. Then he felt James kneel down beside him and put a wet towel on his forehead as Sirius spoke, but his words were incoherent. "Huh?" Is all he managed to say in reply.
"I said it doesn't matter. When we were little, and you wanted to learn to ride that skateboard, you kept falling, you kept getting back on, didn't you?"
"After I had a mental breakdown and snapped one in half."
"That's not the point." Sirius snapped, but his voice still somehow soft."You still got back up even though you knew you'd fall back down. You got to do that now, Reggie." The nickname burned through Regulus' heart. "C'mon, bub. Please? Just get up" Bub. Sirius used to always call him that. It sounded silly. But it was sweet.
"I feel like the floor will cave in beneath me." He murmured.
"I know, I know bub." He murmured. "But please. Just try. I'll help you. Me and James will help you. C'mon, Reggie." Sirius whispered. His voice was soft as he spoke to Regulus, not his normally confident, non-caring aroma.
"Yeah, Reg. I'm here too. And we'll get Remus too if we have to. Please. Get up." James said. His voice was silky and soft, like Sirius'. Like honey. Like Regulus was the only one there ever.
Sirius and James both grabbed his arms gently, pulling him up, He stumbled, making Sirius trip and fall, but James held Regulus up, quickly shooting an arm around his hips, holding him up. Sirius got up, looking at James.
James said something. It was incoherent to Regulus' ears, so he opened his eyes and looked at Sirius. Sirius bit his lip, but nodded, and James started to walk and guide Regulus up the stairs.
Regulus felt like the stairs would turn sloped and they'd fall. They didn't. James helped him to bed, taking his leather jacket and shoes off for him.
"Uhm, Regulus?"
"Mm?"
"I'm gonna have to take your shirt off to change it. Is that alright?" James asked. Regulus nodded in response.
He was too drunk to move.
James unbuttoned the shirt, Sliding it off of Regulus' shoulders and slipping a hoodie on over his binder, then reaching in and unzipping the binder. Regulus guessed he did that so he could remove it without seeing Regulus shirtless or making Regulus feel vulnerable.
Regulus would always have respect for James for that.
"Thank you." He whispered, unable to make much noise.
James smiled softly. Smiled with his beautiful red lips that Regulus wanted on his own. On his neck and-...
What the fuck?
Regulus shouldn't be thinking like that. He wasn't thinking like that. That never happened.
James lifted him up, wrapping a waist around his waist and letting Regulus lean on him so he could lift his duvet and sheets up and helped Regulus gently back down, then putting them back on him, Regulus groaning comfortably into the pillow.
Sirius bought him a couple slices of normal bread and butter and a slice of banana bread, which he ate, then drank the hot chocolate that Remus had come and put on the bedside table. Sirius sat cross-legged on the floor next to Regulus' bed. James stood at the doorway, leaning against it.
"What are we going to do about you?" Sirius murmured, lightly swiping the hair out of Regulus' face, and before he knew it, he was asleep.
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6:04
In the morning, it wasn't Sirius in his room. It was James, asleep sitting down asleep against the doorframe. Regulus didn't have much time to feel sympathy or stare though, as he felt a sick feeling in his stomach and shot up, running to his bathroom and getting on his knees over the toilet, retching and vomiting.
Before he knew it, James' hand was in his hair, holding his hair back out of his face, then rubbing small and gentle circles on his back with the other hand.
Once Regulus finally stopped and caught his breath, he spoke. "You didn't have to-" Vomit. "D-Do that." He groaned.
"It's okay." James replied, rubbing his back still. Vomit.
"I-It's gross." Regulus breathed. "It's disgusting. Please, Go away, I don't want you to s-" Vomit.
"I'm not going anywhere." James said, his voice still soft like fucking honey, still. "It's not disgusting. It's normal."
"I fucking hate you." after a moment, he threw up again.
"Mhm, I know"
This went on for a while, until Regulus had vomited everything out of him and was laying on the floor after washing his face and hands. James helped him up, leading him back to bed, arm around his waist to support him.
"What do you want for breakfast, Reg? Anything, I'll get it. And I know you don't... really like eating, but you need to." James said.
Regulus groaned. "Fucking waffles." He said.
"With chocolate and fruit?"
"Are you fucking crazy? There's no other way to eat waffles." He was sitting up on his bed now, leaning against the frame.
"Okay."
"Hey Potter?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"Anytime."
"What is the time?"
"Uhmm" James checked his phone. "Six twenty seven."
"a.m?"
James nodded. "After you eat, you'll get some rest, right?" Regulus nodded.
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8:43 am
Now, He was laying on the couch, the one big enough for two or three people. he was sitting with James because Sirius was sitting with Remus on the sofa next to them. Regulus was sort of on his side, his legs curled up next to him, leaning on James, Head on his shoulder, coffee in his hand, which James eventually took out of his grip gently when he started to fall asleep, which Effie also noticed, and placed a thin fluffy blanket over him and James, who pulled it over his shoulders.
"Thanks Ma."
"Thanks Mrs. Potter." When he'd first came, she'd insisted he called her Effie. He never did.
She also put one on Sirius and Remus. "Thanks Effie." Remus said.
"Thanks ma." Sirius said. Ever since before Regulus got there, Sirius had called Effie ma or mum. At first, It had disgusted Regulus that Sirius could replace his mother and betray their family. Then he began to understand.
Regulus fell asleep like that, and woke up like that. Comfy. Warm. Safe in James' arms. He didnt get up. Why should he? It was 12 pm. Which meant today was a lazy day. Lazy days were nice. They only happened if everyone went to sleep until or were asleep when the clock hit 11 o'clock. James and Sirius made it up. It was literally laying down, eating a bunch of junk-food getting into super, super comfy clothes and watching movies and playing games on the laptops and Xbox and board games. But never monopoly unless Remus was playing. Too much drama.
"L-day?" He heard James breathe.
"Mhm." Regulus hummed.
"C'mon." James said, helping Regulus, who was still hungover, up.
They got to Regulus' room.
"Regulus?"
"What?"
"You're sober enough to change yourself now, arent you?" James teased.
He really wasn't. He could barely move. He nodded.
"You sure? I can get Sirius-"
"No!" he yelped. "No. Not Sirius."
James tilted his head and knelt down in front of Regulus, who was sitting on the bed.
Imagine if this was sexual.
No, Regulus! Do not imagine that!
"Why? Why don't you want Sirius? Regulus, are you hiding anything?"
"What? No." He said, a little too quickly. James gently grabbed his arms. That sobered him up. "What're you doi-?"
"Shhh. Regulus, please don't..."
Regulus bit his tounge and shut his eyes when James flipped his arms over to pull his sleeves over.
He bit his tounge harder when he heard the gasp.
Harder when James didn't say a word.
He let his tounge out of his teeth when he opened his eyes and James was staring fucking mortified with his hands covering his mouth.
"You.. I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry." James said, getting up and wrapping arms around Regulus.
"Wh... You're sorry?"
"I am. I'm so so sorry, Reg. So fucking sorry. So very unbeleivabaly sorry."
"Don't- James, It's not your fault, I'- I'm fucking stupid. I-"
"No you are not. You're so smart. You're so fucking intelligent, and amazing, and pretty, and just pure caring and everything about you is perfect."
"Why would you ever think this is your fault?"
"I- I don't.. I don't know, Reg. I just... Oh god."
Regulus looked around the room. His eyes landed everywhere but on James. He couldnt look at James.
"Don't tell Sirius." He breathed.
"Regulus I..."
"James, please."
James bit his lip. "I won't." he said.
"You swear?"
"I swear."
Regulus bit his tounge. He still didn't meet James' eyes- Until he did. Until he accidentally scanned over his slightly teared up mortified eyes, Regulus snapped his arms back and pulled his sleeves down.