A Fragile Peace
The harsh sunlight filtering through a window jolted Regulus awake. The first thing he noticed was Sirius glued to his side, worry etched on his face. It wasn't long before Barty joined them, groaning as he attempted to move his injured leg. Pandora, despite her own bandaged arm, practically flung herself at Regulus in a hug, wincing as their injuries pressed together.
Regulus noticed the grimace on Barty's face and his foul mood. "Are you alright?" he asked, though in the aftermath of their ordeal, it felt like a stupid question.
Barty's reply was a scathing, "No, Reg, I'm not bloody alright!" He crossed his arms, the movement sending a fresh jolt of pain through his knee. "My leg's throbbing, Pandora's been drifting in and out for who knows how long, and my boyfriend is being held hostage by some psycho goons whose only goal seems to be making our lives hell!" He took a deep, angry breath before spitting out, "What the hell does your mother even want?"
Regulus narrowed his eyes, choosing to ignore Barty's tirade for now. "What do you mean?" he asked, though Pandora mumbled a weak reassurance from the bed beside him.
"Don't insult my intelligence," Barty snapped. "Getting shot in the leg wasn't exactly on my agenda. One of your mother's goons did it. Maybe he didn't want us returning because it meant Evan wouldn't think we abandoned him. Which, by the way, we have."
"Nobody abandoned Evan, or Dorcas for that matter," Regulus sighed, frustrated he even had to explain this.
"Hold on," Barty interrupted. "Since you've been out cold, Reg, you wouldn't know that we've been carted off to who-knows-where in the opposite direction of home and are now stuck with this band of strangers!"
Sirius bristled. "We're not captives!" he protested, his gaze flitting back and forth between Regulus and Barty. Regulus saw the clear strain on his face. "You were all hurt, we had no way to get back, and I had no idea where we were! We needed help and they offered it!"
"You're blinded by your newfound friend," Barty accused, his eyes narrowed.
“No I’m not! I didn’t even know Remus like that!” Sirius defended. Regulus was really confused now.
“You’re blinded by your dedication to Evan,” Pandora pointed out before Barty could argue. “You’re unable to see that Sirius made the best choice he could in the circumstances and we’re better off for it.”
Barty opened his mouth to respond but Sirius beat him to it. “Please Barty, just listen. The people here are kind, we could stay here and –”
“We are not leaving Evan behind,” He spit out venomously.
Regulus’ patience ran out at Barty’s ridiculous proclamation. His head was pounding and he was annoyed that his orders to get more rest were not able to be followed. He didn’t know where he was or who the people around him were, and that worried him. The one thing he didn’t need was for Sirius and Barty to fight with each other.
“Could you relax for like three seconds?” he snapped, eyes flashing over to the stubborn man, his voice clipped with barely suppressed irritation. “Of course we aren’t leaving Evan OR Dorcas behind. I’m insulted you even thought we would consider doing that – just because we are not dating him doesn’t mean we don’t care about his well-being too. Now would you please just shut up and let Sirius explain himself?”
Barty had the grace to look a little sheepish at getting berated by Regulus and his face settled into a pout. It was the same face Barty made when Evan yelled at him. Sighing much like Evan did at the childish gesture, Regulus turned to Sirius. “Well?”
“I know you’re worried about him,” Sirius said, his voice falling back into its usual tone, albeit it took him a little while. “I know that and I am too. I’m not saying we are going to leave him. But you can’t walk, we don’t know where we are, and we have no way of getting back. Plus, we don’t have any supplies, so even if we were to go back now, we’d be in trouble. It wouldn't do either of them any good.”
Regulus could see the reasonable points of Sirius’ argument clicking in Barty’ brain and his pout lessened slightly.
“Please trust me when I say that I’ll do whatever I have to in order to get us back to them.” he finished.
Barty let out a heavy sigh and Regulus could see the fight leave his body, replaced by fear. “I’m scared for him,” he murmured, and Regulus was surprised to see tears well up in his eyes.
Sirius smiled sympathetically and reached out to rest a comforting hand on his arm. “I know.”
“Sirius.”
Remus' (Regulus inferred) voice from the doorway interrupted their conversation and caused them all to jump. “Can I talk to you?” he asked.
Sirius nodded as he stood up, and Regulus was shocked to see his brother's normally cool and collected demeanor broken as he got up.
Barty whispered “Tell him as little as possible.” SIrius looked confused, but unable to ask any more clarifying questions with Remus right there, he nodded again, turning and leaving the room.
It was quiet for a moment before Barty said “I’m sorry, for being so rude.”
Regulus shook his head. His irritation had now vanished and he felt bad for snapping, when he was so obviously just concerned for Evan. “It’s understandable,” he reasoned. “You’re worried for him.”
“I’m worried for all of us,” Barty corrected with a meaningful look that almost made Regulus smile. “I really am. It’s just… I feel like something really bad has happened to him and… He’s not here so I don’t know…”
“He’s okay,” Regulus assured. And he wasn’t lying. There was a very large part of him that believed Evan and Dorcas were okay – he was strong enough to make it through just about anything, especially if that meant he’d be with Barty by the end of it. “They are both going to be okay.” He stated simply, to both of his friends infront of him and to himself, willing it to be true.
Barty only bit his lip in response. “I really hope you’re right,” he said. Although it was still morning, Barty looked absolutely exhausted. Regulus could see the subtle hints of pain coloring his features. “Get some sleep,” he instructed. “I’ll wait until Sirius comes back.”
“Are you sure?” Barty asked, but his elbows were already lowering him to lay down on the table he was propped on. He turned to Pandora “You won’t’ fall asleep, right? You’re not supposed to!”
“I will not fall asleep,” she promised. “At least one of us should get some rest.”
Barty took her at her word and it was only a couple of minutes before they could hear the deep breathing of their friend. Perhaps sleep would give Barty a short refuge from the terrible reality he was currently living without Evan. Regulus wondered if he had gotten any sleep the previous night before they had left on their supply run.
Pandora dragged a chair over to the bed he was on and settled into it. Staying awake seemed to be harder for her than Regulus thought it would be. Without the dramatic distractions of Sirius and Barty, it proved difficult for her to keep her eyes open and Regulus wished he had more empty promises to offer as a solace.
———————————————————
Remus led Sirius out of the room, his expression unreadable. They walked down a dimly lit hallway, the silence between them thick and heavy. When they reached a small, secluded sitting area, Remus finally stopped and turned to face Sirius. His face remained calm and neutral, his eyes betraying nothing.
Sirius shifted nervously, unable to stop himself from glancing at Remus’ features. He had admired Remus’ quiet strength, the way he handled situations with a calm that Sirius found both reassuring and frustrating. Now, standing so close to him, Sirius felt an unfamiliar flutter in his chest, an attraction that he was almost too afraid to acknowledge.
“So, Remus,” he began, injecting a bit of flirtation into his voice, “what’s a guy gotta do to get a smile out of you?”
Remus glanced at him, his expression unchanged. “Just be yourself,” he replied evenly. “That’s usually enough.”
Sirius chuckled. “I’ll take that as a challenge.”
Remus led him through the shelter, introducing him to the various people they encountered. “This is Mary,” he said, stopping by a woman organizing supplies.
“Gun girl.” Sirius points his finger, “we’ve met.”
Mary smirked. “Gun girl. I like that, it's very mysterious.”
Remus rolled his eyes, “well hopefully you don’t give her a reason to reenact the birth of that nickname, because let me tell you, she has a laser eye shot on her.”
Mary takes his comment in stride and Remus moves them along, taking Sirius through a large common area where a group of people were preparing breakfast.
“This is Molly and her husband Arthur. Molly’s in charge of the kitchen.” Sirius looked around hungrily catching Molly's eye, who seemed to be expertly chopping vegetables with a small child on her hip.
“Hungry, boy?” Arthur says, plating up a few servings of.. Something.
“Starving actually. And the name Sirius.” He reached out to shake both redheads' hands, stopping at the child, who too had a full head of red locks. “And who is this?” He prodded with his finger.
Molly, hesitant but otherwise genially replied, “This is Bill.”
Sirius grinned. “Nice to meet you, Bill. You’ve got quite the setup here,” he said, looking around appreciatively.
Molly smiled warmly. “We do our best. In a couple minutes we’ll have some more plates for you and your companions.” Sirius smiled, appreciated and turned to continue with his tour.
As they moved on, Sirius glanced at Remus. “You’ve got quite a community here. Everyone seems to know their place.”
Remus nodded. “We’ve had to learn to rely on each other. Trust and cooperation are essential for survival.”
Sirius felt a surge of admiration for Remus. “And you’re the glue that holds them all together, aren’t you?”
Remus shrugged, his expression still stoic. “We all do our part.”
Sirius couldn’t help but feel a growing respect for Remus. Beneath that stoic exterior was a man dedicated to his people, someone who understood the importance of trust and cooperation. And maybe, just maybe, there was a flicker of something more between them.
“So, Remus,” Sirius said, leaning in slightly as they walked, “what’s the plan for the rest of the day? More introductions? Or do I get some one-on-one time with my favorite guide?”
Remus glanced at him, a hint of amusement in his eyes. “We’ll see, Sirius. We’ll see.”
———————————————————
James’ plan to avoid bothering Regulus lasted roughly a few hours. It wasn’t long before he was leaving Lily’s room and heading down to the medical room.
“Why are you so obsessed with this guy?” Mary asked when James told him where he was going. She sounded a little annoyed.
James was about to protest, explaining that he wasn’t obsessed with Regulus, but then he really thought about it. He had only known him for a day and had one or two conversations with him, but already he couldn’t stop thinking about him. Did that mean he was obsessed?
“I don’t know why it bothers you so much,” Lily said, sitting up from her position against the wall. “They’re nice. I like them.”
Mary wrinkled her nose as she turned to glare at her girlfriend- she hated it when Lily didn’t agree with her. “Flower, you don’t know them. We literally just met them, and half the time they were shooting at us.”
Lily shrugged. “I just have a feeling,” she mumbled, returning his gaze back to her nail care, trust Lily Evans to look polished even now.
Mary gave her an exasperated look before turning back to James. “Look James, all I’m saying is just be careful, alright?”
“Mary’s such a worrier,” Lily said, again drawing their attention to her. “The apocalypse has turned you into such a mom.”
“I’m not acting like a mom!” Mary yelled over James howling laughter.
James waved his hand as he exited the room, easily dismissing Mary's “warning”. Lily was right; Mary couldn’t tell him what to do. And what he wanted to do was go and visit Regulus. He wasn’t sure what Mary was so afraid of. But if Remus could go hang out with his new friend, James didn’t see why he too couldn’t make a new one.
The door to the medical room was shut with Peter standing guard outside it with a book in his hand. It was interesting that Kingsley put someone like Peter in charge of the door as opposed to Frank or Arthur, who were more wary and strict. He wondered if it was because he didn’t view Regulus and his friends as a threat either.
Peter didn’t oppose James entering, though he did look mildly confused at his insistence to keep seeing Regulus. “There's only two in there right now. Sirius came back to bring the girl to get food and keep her standing. But I think Regulus is still awake.” Peter knows well enough to not question James so he returned to his book without much concern.
Peter was right, the girl was gone. Judging by the soft snoring coming from the body lying on the table, James assumed Barty was still asleep. James was pleased to see Regulus was awake, but, as he turned his head towards James at the sound of the door, James can still see the exhaustion painted on his features.
“Uhm, hi,” James said, shutting the door behind him and waving awkwardly.
“Hello,” Regulus responded politely. His eyes followed James carefully as he walked in the room and took the opposite seat. The cover of night no longer makes conversation easy.
An awkward silence stretched between them as James glared out the window and wracked his brain for something to talk about. He was coming up a little short since all topics of conversation he could think of were essentially irrelevant in an apocalypse. Any personal questions were potentially too personal but mundane things like school and hobbies didn’t really exist anymore.
“Were you not injured during that fight?”
Whether he asked because he actually wanted to know or if he was just uncomfortable with the silence as well, James didn’t know, but he was very thankful Regulus had said something. And what was even better - he initiated the conversation.
“Ahh, nope. Or not badly enough to matter.” James chuckled a bit subconsciously rubbing the back of his head that still throbbed a bit.
At the mention of injuries, James suddenly found himself full of curiosity as to whether Regulus was alright or not. “Aren’t you more tired? I’m sure your injuries could benefit from the added rest.” While James wanted him to feel better, he also didn’t want to lose this opportunity to talk more.
“Not really.”
James was quiet for a minute, waiting to see if Regulus would elaborate. When he didn’t, he prompted. “Why not?”
Regulus just shrugged and returned his eyes back to the window. “I don’t sleep much these days.”
James considered this. He supposed it made sense - even in the relative safety of the motel, Kingsley still had people stay awake and take watch at all hours, just in case something were to happen. And before he had joined this group, James and Remus had always been wary about all of them sleeping at the same time.
But James hadn’t been afraid to fall asleep for a long while. The idea that Regulus might’ve felt that way bothered him - he was safe here, even if he wasn’t particularly welcomed by everyone - and he really wanted to offer a little reassurance.
“Oh, well you don’t have to worry. It’s pretty safe here and we always have people around to make sure nothing goes wrong.”
Regulus still looked rather apprehensive. It was hard for James to wrap his head around the fact that Regulus might feel unsafe in this environment simply because he didn’t know anybody. Suddenly James felt very unsure of his actions and he wondered if he made the right choice, asking for Regulus and the others to come back with them. Did he just make everything worse by dragging them to a place they didn’t even want to be? Did they have families or other friends they had left behind? Was it James’ fault they were so miserable?
“Sorry for dragging you back here,” James found himself apologizing. “I didn’t mean to put you in an uncomfortable situation or anything. I just wanted to help.”
Something akin to surprise flashed through Regulus’ eyes as he finally met James’ gaze. “I should be thanking you.”
“Huh?” James leaned forward in shock. “Really?”
Regulus nodded. “Of course. You saved my life. If I had been lying there unconscious, I would most likely be dead.”
I’ll tell your parents it was an accident.
“Ahh it was really nothing,” James mumbled, running his fingers up through his hair. “It’s the living against the dead,” he said with a shrug, trying to give some explanation anyways. “Besides, it all ended up okay. I mean it sucks that you and your friends were hurt but you’ll heal.”
Regulus blew out a small breath. “That’s a very simple way of looking at things.”
James suddenly felt a little self-conscious. He supposed it was a little simple. But the apocalypse forced people to return back to a simple mindset. Most people were driven by the will to survive - a trait that humans have had ever since the beginning of time. If now wasn’t the time for simple thinking, then James didn’t know what was.
“Yeah, I guess it is… But there’s no reason to try and make everything complicated. We all want to live and those things don’t want us to live. Seems like a pretty easy choice.”
“It would seem so,” Regulus agreed, although his tone of voice suggested that he was only humoring James..
“Are you going to be able to fall asleep, do you think?” James asked.
“I’ll admit, I am exhausted,” Regulus responded, his eyes drifting to look at the bed almost longingly. “Why do you ask?”
James suddenly felt very bashful. “Oh um. I just… I was gonna say that I could stay here and keep you company until your brother and friend come back or something.”
To his absolute surprise, Regulus smiled a genuine smile. It lasted for a fleeting moment but it was enough to chase away the embarrassment that had flooded James after his suggestion.
“Thank you James, but I will be fine.”
Recognizing the finality in Regulus’ tone and noticing the darkness under his eyes, James nodded. He made his way towards the door. “Right. Okay, well, see you later Regulus!”
Regulus only waved in response.
James gave one last wave before exiting the room and shutting the door.
His initial plan was to go visit Lily and tell him what a loser he was and explain that there was no way that Regulus was dangerous and tell him about the great conversation he just had with him. However, his feet ended up taking him back to his own room without visiting his best friend.
He collapsed on his bed and threw his arms over his face. An image of Regulus’ smile appeared beneath his eyelids and James couldn’t help but smile back. The image remained with him until he fell asleep, finally resting after building with excitement at the idea of seeing Regulus again the next day.
...Maybe Mary was right. He may be a little obsessed.