Barty squeezed Evan's hand and turned away, bruises already blossoming over his skin. Blood trickled down from thin cuts that peppered his forehead. Evan gently tugged on Barty's hand, pulling him back, only for Barty to shove then away. He opened his arms to the person, the thing Evan couldn't see. A flash of red light. Barty dropped to the floor. Evan let out a strangled scream-
And jolted awake, cursing as they hit their head. As they realised it was a nightmare, their breathing slowed and they sank back into their pillow. Even if they knew they wouldn't get any more sleep, they didn't have any desire to get out of bed. They rolled over and reached for Barty, cursing again as they felt no one there. What the hell? Panic momentarily seized them, their mind immediately going back to their parents. The blood... a soft voice interrupted their thoughts.
"Hey, Ev,"
Evan snapped their eyes up to see Barty sprawled on the windowsill, cigarette in hand.
"Hey, B," they paused. "Couldn't sleep?" Barty hummed, shrugging. Evan raised an eyebrow. "So?"
"So what?"
"One: there's something you're not telling me, two: are you coming back to bed?"
Barty shook his head. "I've been awake too long."
Evan pushed themself up to sit cross-legged in the bed, holding a hand out for the cigarette. "Did you at least get some sleep?"
"A bit." Barty tilted his head, watching Evan carefully. "It's not like you're going to get any more either."
Evan bit their lip, knowing he was right, but hoping to avoid any questions. They passed the cigarette back and looked away, refusing to meet Barty's eyes. Barty hopped off the windowsill and hooked a finger under Evan's chin, forcing them to look at him.
"Ev." Evan didn't reply. Barty took their hand and squeezed gently. Evan flinched. Red light- A tear slipped out the corner of their eye. "Ev."
"Sorry." they murmured. "It's-" they broke off, pressing their lips together.
Barty wordlessly opened his arms and Evan leaned into him, dropping their head to Barty's shoulder. Barty carded a hand through Evan's hair and waited for them to speak.
They stayed like that for a while, leaning against each other, Barty running his fingers through Evan's hair. Long enough for Regulus to walk in with James, glance towards them with raised brows, shrug, and promptly ignore them in favour of his boyfriend. Barty rolled his eyes, watching for a moment as Regulus' lips curved into a smile. James leant forward and whispered something in Regulus' ear, making him blush. It only took a few seconds for Regulus to grab James' hand and lead him out the room.
When they were alone again, Evan pulled back. The room was still in silence, until Barty realised Evan wanted him to speak. He opened and shut his mouth until he figured out what to say.
"Nightmares?" he asked quietly.
Evan nodded, watching Barty's face soften. "My father-" their voice cracked. They hesitated, then settled on, "Memories."
"Not good ones?"
"Obviously."
Barty opened his arms and let Evan melt into them, unable to reply. He had a pretty good idea of what the nightmare was about, but was too cautious of bringing up that day. His grip on Evan tightened, although he didn't react. They lapsed back into silence. Finally, it was Evan who broke it.
"I love you, B."
Barty pressed his lips to their neck. "I was wondering how long it would take you to say that."
"Oh, shut up. I can take it back."
"No you can't." Barty smiled into Evan's shoulder. "Love you too."