Written for Screaming Faeries. I hope you like it, Sophie :)
We won't fake it
.
...i...
If I can't have you right now
I'll wait, dear
Another casual brush of hand, just as they were sitting down. He felt his heart race just a tiny bit faster, and he desperately hoped the signs he had been reading for past few days were true and not just the fantasies of his mind.
He settled down, his back against the tree, and shifted a bit to make himself comfortable. Then, a warm hand found its way to the top of his own, and Barty couldn't suppress the shudder that coursed through his body. He had definitely not been reading the signals wrong.
"Reg," he breathed, turning his head just a little so he could see his best friend out of the corner of his eye. Regulus was already staring at him with an intense, grey gaze. Barty shifted a bit more so he could be face-to-face with Regulus, though he didn't move his hand which was still covered by Regulus' slightly smaller one.
And then, just like that, Regulus retracted his hand and dropped his gaze. "I'm sorry."
Two words, but in that simple apology, Barty felt a heavy load settle on his chest, which he desperately wanted to remove. "Don't be," he breathed. For a moment, he felt as if the slight breeze that was rustling the leaves overhead had carried his voice away before it could reach Regulus. Then Regulus lifted his face, a small smile playing on his lips, and Barty felt lighter than he had ever before.
"I—" Regulus began, then shook his head and leaned forward. The distance between their faces dropped to six inches. Then it was reduced to three inches. An inch. A millimetre.
And Barty pulled back. Hurt flashed across Regulus' face—there was nothing Barty wanted at that moment than to wipe that expression off, yet he couldn't. He was aching to just lean forward and press his lips against Regulus', but he just couldn't. Because he was terrified.
The least he could do was to explain it to Regulus. "It's—It's not like I don't want to, Reg," he said, and then words came tumbling out. "It is your scary cousin, that Bellatrix. She asked me—more like threatened me—to escort her to the Malfoy ball. And then, I think she said something about the Hogsmeade weekend. And bloody hell, I'm afraid of her, okay. I want to, Reg, I really want to. But I don't know what she expects of me, and well, I can't play double, with you or her."
Regulus shook his head, some of the hurt gone from his face. "It's fine. I hope we can still be friends. I won't hold it against you if you like he—"
"Whoa, what? No, I just want to make sure nothing's fake between, well, us." Barty felt his face heat up. "I—can I clear things up with her first?"
Regulus' lips slowly tugged up into a small smile, and a slight blush adorned his cheeks. "If you want there to be an 'us', I can wait."
"I'd like that," Barty said, grinning. "I'd like that very much."
...ii...
You and I've got what it takes
To make it, We won't fake it
Saying that he would talk to Bellatrix had been easy enough in front of Regulus, but as Barty made his way to the Slytherin common room, his instincts screamed at him to run away. He gave the password and gulped as he entered.
There she was, cackling away with those creepy Lestrange brothers, and the sound of it sent a shudder down Barty's spine.
"Bell—Miss Black?" Those dark eyes turned in his direction, her features set in a scowl, and Barty gulped again. Then, steeling himself, he said, "Can we talk?"
She merely arched an eyebrow; Barty took a step back. "Uh—I think it will be o-okay with these two here." A nasty grin made way to the girl's face. Nodding for no apparent reason, Barty tried to continue, then paused. What should he say? He had been so busy working up courage to walk to Bellatrix that he hadn't even thought about the actual conversation.
He decided to let his mouth take over. "Well. Uhm. You asked me for the ball and the weekend. You don't mean anything, do you? I can date with someone else?"
It all came out in a single breath. Barty stilled when Bellatrix's hand went to her wand. She twisted it in her fingers, then: "Oh, please. I was torturing people back when you were still playing with puppies. Do you think I care about who you date?"
"Oh—okay?"
Then the elder Lestrange spoke. "You do know you're a backup plan for the Malfoy Ball, don't you? I might be busy that day, and Bella can't exactly go alone, can she?" He sent a nasty grin in Barty's direction.
"Y-yes, okay," Barty said.
Bellatrix smirked at him. "Now, pardon me, Barty-poo, I've got someone to kill." Barty didn't know if she was joking or not, so he turned on his heel and walked to the door.
Just as he was closing the portrait door, he heard Rabastan saying, "I'm surprised you didn't turn him into a snail." Barty ran away as fast as his legs could carry him.
...iii…
There is no doubt
You're in my heart now
It was not until the next day that he met Regulus. The other boy was just leaving the charms classroom; Barty clasped a hand around Regulus' wrist and pulled him away from the crowd.
"What?" Regulus asked, turning to him.
Barty pulled on as sad a face as he could muster. "Not here. But we need to talk." He then tugged at Regulus' hand and pulled him in a broom closet.
The second he shut the door, Regulus demanded what the matter was. Barty lowered his head. He could see Regulus' shoulders slump. "Seems like you're stuck with me. I'm apparently Bellatrix's backup plan."
Before Regulus could say anything, Barty pulled him in a kiss.
Word Count: 1000
Prompts used:
From Gift Giving Gala (Hogwarts)
• (pairing) Barty/Regulus
• (song) Patience by Guns n Roses
• (scenario) One half of the pairing is going through a breakup with another person in order to properly start a relationship with the other member of the requested pairing.
From Writing Club
• Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day — Pardon Me, I've Got Someone To Kill
From Gringotts
• (dialogue) "Oh, please. I was torturing people back when you were still playing with puppies."
• (dialogue) "I'm surprised you didn't turn him into a snail."