For Sophie, my favorite piece of trash.
Word Count: 1128
Prompts at the end.
Regulus tucks the cigarette between his lips, inhaling deeply.
"Filthy habit," Barty murmurs, drawing Regulus' attention back to the bed.
He hadn't even realized his lover had woken. Exhaling a cloud of menthol-scented white smoke, Regulus chuckles. "We all have our addictions."
Barty scowls. "Yes, but not all of our addictions will get us killed," he points out.
Regulus almost laughs at that. He's a dead man walking anyway. In the back of his mind, he wonders when it all fell apart, when he became so fucking disillusioned, when Barty was no longer enough to keep him here.
Barty's hands are stained crimson. A broad smirk tugs at his lips. "I love you."
"A lie is a very poor way to say hello," Regulus mutters.
His lover's smile weakens ever so slightly. Within seconds, Barty recovers, scoffing. "A liar, am I?"
Regulus swallows dryly, shrugging. Maybe not a liar. Maybe Barty really does still love him. It's so hard to tell anymore. It has been over year since they had stood together and taken their Marks. Barty had still been innocent and so full of hope, and Regulus had destroyed it. Now, a year has warped him into something twisted and terrible. The boy he had fallen in love with is a monster, and it's all his fault.
"You've got that look."
Barty's voice draws him back to the present. He tries his best for a smile, but it feels too forced, hollow. Desperate for an excuse to look away, he takes another drag, turning his head as he breathes out smoke. "What look?" he asks.
"Like you're so far away," Barty answers. "Like you're here, but you really aren't. What's wrong?"
He shakes his head. He's never really known how to talk to Barty about these things. Barty is too far gone, and he doesn't know what to do to save.
He has an idea—a suicide mission—but even that isn't guaranteed.
"Reg?"
"I miss us," he admits, his voice barely above a whisper. "I miss the way we used to be."
"Careful!" Regulus laughs as Barty slips and slides awkwardly on the ice.
"Why are you so good at ice skating?" Barty demands, his tone almost accusatory.
Regulus' lips quirk into a playful smirk as he glides effortlessly over the ice to his boyfriend. "You're taking like fifty OWL's this year. You'll get an O on at least forty-five of them." He wraps an arm around the Hufflepuff, steadying him. "And you want to complain that I am good at ice skating? Trade you for your Charms ability."
"There aren't even fifty subjects…"
Regulus snorts. "That's the joke, mate."
"Shut up."
Barty tries to skate off, but he is still too unsteady on his feet. Regulus reaches out for him, but it's no use. They both end up falling onto the frozen lake.
Barty sits up, groaning. "I think I broke something."
"C'mere. I'll kiss you better."
"I never said I was a good person, Regulus. Why are you so surprised?" Barty asks. "You had hope for me, and I'm sorry. But what did you expect?"
Regulus flinches. He fishes in his jacket pocket and pulls out another cigarette, tucks the filter between his lips, and lights it.
"I have something better you can put in that pretty mouth." Barty climbs out of bed and closes the short distance between them. His fingers ghost teasingly over Regulus' arm.
"I'm not in the mood, Barty."
His lover laughs before trailing slow kisses down Regulus' neck, his lips resting against the hollow of his throat. "You're always in the mood for me."
Regulus closes his eyes. He wants to deny it, but it has become their pattern. There's no problem that can't be solved with bare skin against bare skin. But not tonight. His mind is clouded enough. If he gives in, there's no hope left.
"Not tonight."
He wonders if Barty can hear the finality in those words, if he understands that this is goodbye, that this is an apology for leading him into hell.
"I'm scared," Barty admits, and his hands tremble as they find Regulus'.
"Embrace it. Let your fear fuel your flame."
"What's fueling yours?"
Regulus chuckles. "Anger."
He never shows it, never even raises his voice. But it's all he feels these days, and it's a miracle his veins haven't melted away. Surely his blood must be made of lava; they feel like they are.
He hates Sirius for leaving. Maybe he could have had a chance, but his brother's abandonment had been his final push. Sirius might have tarnished their family's name, but Regulus would redeem it. He hadn't had a choice; his parents and Bellatrix had pushed him, and he is not as bold or strong as Sirius.
"I love you," Barty says gently.
Regulus smiles. Barty has always felt like Regulus' saving grace. Just a soft touch and those three words, and Regulus begins to melt. "I love you too."
Regulus is called forward first. He presents his arm, looking over his shoulder so that his eyes meet Barty's. As the Dark Mark scorches his skin, he barely registers the pain. Barty is all he needs to make it through.
Barty's fingers caress his cheek. Regulus feels his resolve slowly wear away. He sighs heavily, capturing Barty's wrist. "Not tonight, Barty," he says again, firmer now.
"Lay with me," Barty says. "All I ask."
Regulus swallows dryly. He has a job to do; Kreacher will be waiting for him. But he cannot say no. This may be his final moment with Barty.
"Come on," he says, wrapping an arm around his lover and guiding him back to bed. "You need your sleep."
"Real love is always chaotic," Regulus muses, lighting his cigarette.
"Chaotic or toxic?" Barty wonders.
Maybe deep down inside Regulus knows Barty is right, that they are so horribly wrong for one another. They are both made from darkness, and it's only a matter of time before they're consumed by it.
"Both."
Barty's lips twitch into an amused grin. "Both," he echoes. "Seems about right."
Barty sleeps beside him, his soft snores filling the air. For one ridiculous moment, Regulus considers staying. He can keep his head down and pretend for a little longer. If he keeps Barty by his side, everything will be okay.
But he knows he cannot stay. It's his fault that Barty has become a monster. It's too late to save himself, but there has to be hope for Barty. Regulus refuses to believe there isn't.
"I love you," he whispers, pressing a kiss to Barty's forehead.
His body trembles when he climbs out of bed, but he doesn't dwell on it. Now is not the time for fear.
He has a monster to rescue.
For-
Character Appreciation: Regulus Black
Book Club, Julian: crimson, liar, "I never said I was a good person, [name]."
Showtime, Sex in the Heel: "Embrace it."
Amber's Attic, Show Me a God: Write about someone losing faith in something
Buttons: filthy
Lyric Alley: of having hope in insanity
Ami's Audio, 11: Write about someone loving someone
Lo's Lowdown: "A lie is a very poor way to say hello."
Hot Air Balloon: cigarette
Days, Gay Pride: Write a slash or femslash
Birthstone, Carnelian: "Real love is always chaotic."
Fire Element, Sagittarius: RegulusBarty
Musical, Rent: slash
Star Chart, Mars at Opposition: anger
Faeries: ice skating