Regulus Black and The Elemental Trials

Chapter 12 - Calm Before the Storm

"No, no, no- you can't! That mark, it's a death sentence! You're so young- you have your whole life ahead of you." Sirius begged.

"I don't- I can't leave." Regulus cried with pain in his voice.

"You can! You can come stay at the Potters'-" Sirius suggested.

"I can't", the thought of James made his anxiety soar and his nausea suffocate him, "James and I-"

Regulus couldn't even get the sentence out before he was puking again.

He hated puking.

He hated that everything had gotten so bad that it'd triggered his anxiety-induced nausea.

"James wants nothing to do with me." Regulus mumbled as he swallowed, the thick mucus clogging his burning throat.

"He's a mess, Regulus. It's terrifying- I've never seen James like this. I'm afraid he's going to explode- have an episode and end up tossing himself off the astronomy tower." Sirius explained with a frown as he rubbed his brothers back.

"You have to talk to him, Regulus." Sirius muttered.

"You were the one who didn't approve in the first place." Regulus spat.

"I'm never going to approve of any guy that defiles my baby brother, but I was irrational- I know James and he's a great guy", Sirius explained, "And like everyone else he's human- he makes mistakes."

"James hasn't spoken to me since the second task." Regulus jeered.

"He's been trying- but you and I both know if you want to avoid someone you become a ghost- he's only able to catch glimpses of you." Sirius quipped.

Regulus was quiet, slowly and shakily breathing as his nausea calmed.

"Just think about it, yeah?" Sirius muttered before pressing a kiss to the back of his head.

Regulus had thought about it.

It was all he thought about.

His entire being yearned for James. His voice like gentle melodies. His hands warm against his own ice cold ones. The taste of sweet vanilla on his soft lips.

All he thought about was James- James' arms around him, James' lips on his, the way James said his name.

He missed James from his adorable laugh to his breathy moans. From the way his fingers danced around Regulus' skin to the way his breath brushed against Regulus' neck.

Most of all, he missed the way James made him feel- like his scars were pieces of art and his broken pieces meant there was just more of him to love.

Regulus didn't know what it felt like to be in love. Love had always been such an abstract idea to Regulus, until James that is.

Regulus asked Sirius what made him fall in love with Remus.

To which he answer with a soft laugh, 'He loved me enough to make me hate myself a bit less.'

Regulus figured the statement was lighthearted and probably not to be taken seriously, but it struck a nerve in Regulus.

Regulus actually understood. With James, he saw the beauty in his flaws. The little kinks about himself that only James could make him love.