Chapter 1
Summer vacation never felt the same way to the Black brothers as it did to other children. All of their peers always awaited summer impatiently while all Regulus and Sirius could think about was the chronic pain waiting for them at Grimmauld Place 12.
Although people always told them that they looked the exact same, Sirius and Regulus could always see the huge differences between them. When they were coming back to school after the holidays it seemed like they were true polar opposites.
Emotional and physical abuse does not only take away people's health and happiness, it takes away a part of them, leaves people in pieces, feeling way too much or nothing at all. It's not something that can be controlled, the brain's response to severe trauma can be different each time.
Regulus always knew what response his brain had to offer.
Sirius never knew who he'd be after coming back from the house of horrors.
***
"Did I not make it clear when I told you to stay in your room Regulus Arcturus Black?"
"Yes Maman. Je suis désolé Maman. Pardonne-moi Maman. "
He just wanted to help his older brother this one time just to get him out of here. This one time he had to do something, she knew exactly where to look for him. After the earlier heard argument, which resulted obviously in severe punishment, the only place where Regulus could be, was his brother's bedroom.
"Have I not made myself clear Regulus? What exactly did you think you'd accomplish by this?"
The younger brother shivered as his mother took a harsh and loud step in their direction.
At his feet, Sirius lied completely still with his white shirt ripped open and blood slowly trickling down his torso spilling on the wooden floor.
Regulus looked down knowing there was nothing he could say to stop what was about to happen.
"Regulus."
"Yes Maman?"
"You deserve this."
A welp escaped his mouth as his mother whispered her first curse of the night, as powerful as one can be with a small grin on her face. The woman never looked more terrifying than when she thought she was doing something out of love.
Later that day both brothers woke up in sweat from their night terrors, which only irritated their still fresh, hurting scars.
All they could think about was if the other one was still alive.
***
The rest of the summer was just a repetition of these events over and over again. Except this time, the brothers were forced away from each other. It couldn't have been their mother's idea to keep them from seeing one another, as in Regulus' opinion she was way too focused on the abuse part to think even for a moment about the psychological aspect. Their father was the one who thought about this as a great form of punishment, and it indeed was.
The very few times Sirius was awake and was able to form a sensible thought, it was never about the pain he felt, it was always "Regulus". The very few times he got to think about himself for a moment, it was only to source some sort of comfort in his boyfriend's name.
So it was either "Regulus" or "Remus".
Sometimes it was just a letter, just "R" so that he didn't have to choose where to spend his thoughts away.
***
Regulus also had only two people on his mind.
"Sirius"
"James"
"Sirius"
"James"
If someone could access his thoughts they'd think that it was a conversation between two people just calling each other's names. But it was indeed one person's thoughts for the entirety of summer.
***
Dear James,
Have you got any letters from Sirius or Regulus yet? I'm well aware how it's hard for them to get any messages through but it feels quite different this year. Let me know when you hear something from them.
Your Friend,
Remus.
Remus,
I haven't heard anything from them yet but I'm not worried more than usual. It'll probably take some time for them to settle back in there but I'm sure they'll be alright.
XO
James
***
"We'll be alright" said Sirius clinging tightly to Regulus the minute they first saw each other at the train station only minutes before departure of the train to their true home. "I got you, you'll be okay"
"Sirius"
"Hm?"
"Let me go" and Sirius did exactly that because even in the hectic and loud place, all he could hear was the harsh and loud footsteps approaching them from behind.
"Sirius Orion Black, I hope you've learned your lesson this summer and you will not be a disgrace any more. Me and your father will not hesitate to pull you out of Hogwarts if we learn that you've not been behaving as we expected."
"Yes Maman. Je suis désolé Maman."
"You better hope you've nothing to apologize for by Christmas."
"Yes Père. Je me comporterai bien"
"Regulus we expect you to inform us whenever there's any disturbance in your brother's behavior"
"Yes Maman."
With that the Black brothers entered the train to safety. Regulus heard his brothers' breath shaking as they walked separate ways to find their friends.