Together

James's POV.

When Regulus got diagnosed with autism the two had been sitting on the couch. James had gotten and email and opened it, thinking nothing. It had been from the doctor.
Thankfully they had been alone. Regulus had cried. James hated it when he cried. It made James want to cry. James, and everyone else, already knew the odds of him having it were very high, but Regulus himself denied it until he no longer could. James assumed it was because he had only just learnt to love himself. They had started going to therapy after the war when Regulus couldn't deal with any contact. He'd been a mess, needing a hug but being unable to deal with it. Things had gotten better and there therapy sessions moved on to focus on the lingering body dysmorphia Regulus still struggled from as a trans man.
Things had just got better. Regulus was learning to love himself after his transgender surgery. But then the letter came. Regulus had cried, then shouted, then locked himself in his room. The diagnosis seemed to set everything back. Regulus didn't want to touch again, he resorted back to the baggy clothes, like hoodies and jeans, he had always worn before - rather than the nice tighter t-shirts he had been wearing recently - and he was closed off again. James didn't know what to do. Regulus had his mask on again. The blank, emotionless face that James hated. It was impossible to get by. He hardly ever left the house and didn't want to speak to their friends, even when they came over to the house. He didn't want to do anything.

"Reg?" James asked, opening the door to the library where Regulus sat in a large plush chair by a window over looking the beach and gently lapping waves. He turned in his chair to face James but didn't say anything.

"Dinners ready." James stood there for a moment, waiting for Reg to move. When no movement came, he sighed internally and left the library. After about fifteen minutes of waiting at the table he got up and went back to the libary.

"Regulus?"

He was sitting in the chair, book discarded on the floor, knees folded up to his chest and arms wrapped tightly around them.

"Reg, love," James said coming to sit on the sofa opposite him, Regulus made no sign he had registered James's presence.

"Reg, speak to me love. I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong."

A tear began to fall from Regulus's eye and James felt his hear lurch, "Reggie?"

Reg buried his face behind his knees and James stood up going to kneel beside the boys chair taking his hands from around his knees, "Reg, please. I need to know what's wrong."

Regulus shook his head, "Please?"

Another head shake, "Look, Reg, I can't do this anymore," James's anger was raising but he tried to keep it down, "I can't do the not talking, small smiles and avoiding me. I need you back Reg. Harry's asking for you."

"I can't." Reg spluttered.

"Can't what?"

"Can't everything."

"What's everything."

"Everything. All of it. Life."

James reached up and enveloped the other boy in his arms kissing his soft curls, "I'm sorry love. How can I help?"

"You can't."

"Okay," James knew there was no use fighting him, "Come get some dinner?"

Reg shock his head.

"Did you have lunch today?" James asked, fear welling, Regulus was still. Deadly still. Dangerously still.

"Reg?"

"Piss off Potter."

"Regulus please. Come have dinner."

"Do you ever listen!?" Regulus yelled standing up and turning to leave, "Piss off!"

He slammed the door behind him and James swallowed back tears reaching for his phone that was in his back pocket. He dialled Sirius's number.

"Sup,"

"Sirius, I-" His voice cut off as tears took over him,

"James? You good?"

"Yeah, yeah, fine." He wiped his eyes and took a shaky breath, "It's Reg. He's... I... He..." He sighed,

"Hey, mate it's alright. Need me to kick his ass?"

"No," James said smiling slightly, "I just don't know what to do. He's... He wont eat and he doesn't want to talk to me and I-" fresh tear threatened to over flow, he took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose,

"Won't eat?"

"Yeah, he won't come for dinner and he didn't have any lunch either."

"Maybe he's just been in a mood today?"

"No, it's been for the past two weeks. I thought it would blow over. It's this stupid diagnosis, he hates himself again."

"James," Sirius voice was panicked, "Don't let him hate himself, you know what he does when he hates himself." James's heart lurched. He did know, "You have to get through to him mate, please try. If it doesn't work I'll try talking to him but please try James. Don't let him do anything stupid."

"I'll talk to him now."

"Tell me how it goes."

"Will do, bye."

"Au revoir."

James hung up the phone and fell back against the chair breathing softly before he forced himself up.

"Regulus, we need to talk... Reg?" He pushed open the bedroom door but he wasn't there, "Reg!?" He called,

"In here, James." A shaky voice came from the bathroom the joined onto the bedroom.

"What are you doing?"

"Why the fuck do you wanna know? I'm in the bathroom James stop being so fucking weird."

"Reg, please."

"Fuck off! What is your problem!?"

"Don't speak to me like that," James sighed, all fight abandoned, "Please just come talk to me, just for five minutes."

"No."

"Reg, you sound like a little kid. Please." James was standing by the door now, he knew how to open the lock from the outside, but it felt like an invasion of privacy.

"Reg please," No reply.

"Reg?" Nothing. James sighed and rested his head on the door, "Reg please don't block me out I'm just trying to help, I just want-" He was cut off by the sound of a bang as something it the floor.

"Reg?" No reply.

"Reg!?" James unlocked the door and pushed it open only for it to stop as it came on contact with something, stopping it from opening any further, a body.

"Reg! Oh my god, Reg what the fuck!" He pushed himself through the small gap in the door, Regulus was lying on the floor, eye's closed breathing coming in short stiff gasps and he shock slightly, his head was bleeding as he'd hit in on the cabinet corner.

"Shit, shit, shit, Reg, Reg can you hear me? Shit." He fumbled with his phone and he moved regulus to lie flat on the floor putting a towel under his head trying to do something for the bleeding.

"999 is the patient breathing??"

"Yes, not normally though."

"Where are you?"

James gave his address he too was shaking with fear as he scanned Regulus for signs of what might have happened.

"And what's happened?"

"Um my- my boyfr- my friend he - he just collapsed on the floor his heads bleeding, he's shaking he's, not responding, he just collapsed in the bathroom he hit his head on the cabinet, he's not breathing properly but he's breathing."

"Alright I'm sending an ambulance. Is the patient responding?"

"Reg? Reg? No- no he's not."

"How old is he?"

"Twenty-five."

"Does he have any medical conditions?"

"No, he has really bad mental health though and fuck-"

"Alright, your doing great, can you look around to see if there's any signs of what might have happened?"

James did so, scanning the room before he saw it. His heart stopped as did everything, time, space, everything just stopped. He was gonna be sick.

"There's- there- there's p- pills in the sink."

"There's pills in the sink?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know what type of pills?"

"No. We don't have pills, he doesn't take pills, well he takes testosterone but not now."

"Alright the ambulance is on it's way are the medics able to get in?"

"Back doors open. I'm in the bathroom in the bedroom."

"Alright. Is the patient still breathing?"

"Kinda."

"Alright, the ambulance has just arrived, so I'm going to let you go, your doing great alright?"

"Okay."

The phone line went dead and James tried to manoeuvre Regulus to be further away from the door. He let out a small cry as he saw the trail of blood the followed the other boy.

"Ambulance! Where's the patient!?" A women's voice sounded from the living room.

"Here!" James called his voice breaking as he heard footsteps enter the bedroom and suddenly a face was in the doorway. I kind looking lady with blonde hair pulled into a tight bun,

"Marls?" James said squinting through tears,

"Holy shit," The women said before regaining herself, "Hi James, yes it's me Marlene. Do you know what happened?"

"There's pills in the sink." He said numbly,

"How many do you think he took?"

"Dunno."

Another man in the same uniform and Marlene entered the room, "Check the sink will you Dean, see how many pills he took."

The man nodded and moved to do so, "We're gonna need a stretcher through here," Marlene spoke into a walkie-talkie on her vest.

"Hit his head on the cabinet yeah?" Marls asked, James nodded mutely staring at his boyfriend still shaking as foam began to fill his mouth.

A staticky voice came through Marlene's walkie-talkie and she looked up from where she had been checking Regulus's blood pressure, "Red haired girl with a baby at you front door, James."

"Shit. Lily and Harry." He got up to move and so did Marls,

"I'll come with, they're gonna need the space empty to get him on the stretcher." She smiled and took his hand as the walked through the bedroom to the front door where Lily stood looking worried with a crying Harry on her hip.

"James! Marlene!?" She said when she noticed them, "Oh my gosh, what's happening?"

"Reg. I - he wouldn't - dinner, and then - he- pills." James felt like he was gonna faint and Marlene wrapped an arm around him and sat him on the bench by the door then she stepped out side shutting the door. He could hear muffled voices as she spoke to Lily but couldn't make out what they were saying.

James looked up as a man approached him, "Wanna ride in the ambulance?"

"Yeah,"

"Come on. He'll be alright."

The man helped James to his feet and lead him to the ambulance where Regulus lay on the bed. James sat in a chair next to him as instructed by the paramedic in the van.
Someone closed the door and he saw Marlene climb into the passenger seat, she turned around to face him,

"Lily's gonna go home, she had Pandora can take Harry. She's not gonna tell anyone till you give the all clear."

"Someone needs to tell Sirius, I was on call with him an hour ago, he told me to speak to Reg and tell him how it went."

"I'll tell Sirius."

"Now?"

"If you want?"

"Please." Marlene fished her phone out of her pocket and dialled Sirius. James could just make out their conversation through the roar in his ears.

"Marlene! My fav girl how you-"

"Sirius, I'm on shift, I've got James and Reg in the back of the Ambulance-"

"Woah, James and Reg? In an ambulance?" James could have sworn he heard Remus saying something like "What? Pads? What the fuck?"

"Yeah. I -" She lowered he voice to a slight whisper, "I think Reg tried overdose. James is okay, pretty shaken up but told me to call you."

Silence.

"Sirius?"

"Hey Marls. Remus here, is Sirius allowed to come to the hospital?"

"Yeah, he might not be able to see Reg straight away but it'll be better if he does, saves James sitting alone."

"Okay - Hey Pads wait I'm coming as well!" The phone cut off and Marlene brought it away from her ear. She turned in her seat to smile and James.

"Hey Dean?" The doctor in the back said,

"Yup?" The driver responded,

"Drive faster, he's fading."

James was going to be sick.