Regulus lifts the cigarette to his lips, takes a deep drag, and breathes out slowly. The night air is cool and he leans his back against the brick of the Astronomy tower, tipping his head back and staring at the stars.

He hears footsteps approaching, but he just takes another drag. Either it's Barty or it isn't, but it doesn't matter by now.

"Can I have a light?" Barty's voice is crisp, matching the night air. The stress Regulus knows he is feeling doesn't show.

Regulus pulls the box out of the depths of his robes, offering it up. Barty takes it silently, and then sinks down beside him, shadowing his position.

Regulus shifts, in the way he always unconsciously does, letting his cloak sleeves fall down to hide the scar on his wrist that he got when he tried to stop Sirius from leaving.

Barty takes his wrist, fingers gentle, and whispers, "Your scars are a part of you. You don't need to hide them."

Regulus just takes a drag on his cigarette in reply.

Barty breathes in deeply.

"I know we're not supposed to talk about it, but I'm really not sure about this." Barty says. "Because… tomorrow is our last NEWT, Reg. "

Regulus sighs, tipping his head forward and turning to look at him.

"I know," he says eventually. Because he does. They've been writing and reading and studying nonstop.

Barty is looking at him, eyes bright and wide and earnest.

Regulus lets the silence sit between them. He knows that if he gives Barty the space, Barty will keep talking. Barty always caves first. And this holds true, even now.

"Where do we go from here?" Barty finally asks, tapping ash off the end of his cigarette.

Regulus takes another drag, tips his head back and blows out and up.

"In life?"

"In life. And… with us."

Regulus considers this.

The truth is, the question about life is easier. There's only one route that makes sense.

They're going to be Death Eaters.

But… the question of them is a harder one.

They've been coming together in the dead of night, a secret union.

Barty is a drawn kind of handsome, thin and pale with long fingers that play easy tunes on Regulus's skin. He draws lines with gentle strokes of his fingers that light Regulus on fire.

With Barty, he can sink into the moment and forget everything else.

But while Barty is a Pureblood, he is also a man.

And Regulus is not allowed to love him in the light.

He taps his cigarette, watches the ash fall.

His mother calls it a filthy habit. He wonders what she would say about his dalliance with Barty.

In the end, he takes a deep breath and says, "I don't know."

Barty frowns.

"Not exactly helpful, Reg. You're killing me with all this ambiguity."

"I don't think there's a right answer here," Regulus replies.

Barty hums in reply.

"We join the Death Eaters," Regulus says. "We go where they tell us. We help them purify this world."

"And us?" Barty asks.

Regulus draws on his cigarette, holds it in for a moment. He blows out, letting the smoke obscure the sky.

"You know that it's not going to get better," Regulus says, his voice calm, as though he's not tearing Barty apart with his words. "It's not ever going to be accepted."

Barty looks away. "I know," he says.

Because he does. They both know all too well.

Which leaves them here. In stasis.

So Regulus takes another drag of his cigarette, because for now, he can do nothing else.


Daily: BartyRegulus

602 words

Showtime: 11. Satisfied - (word) Union / AA: Slash 2. RegulusBarty Jr / Lyric alley 19. And I'm tryin' not to cry / AAA 15. Why am I listening to this show? — Write about a character questioning something. / Sophie's Shelf: 53. Word: stress / EE: Spain 2: Write a fic that takes place at night / BBB: Jaffa Cake (IS A BISCUIT DAMMIT); [word] Writing; [Character] Regulus Black; [Dialogue] "Your scars are a part of you, you don't need to hide them."

Ham Mania: Act 2, 5. Being blackmailed - (character) Barty Crouch Jr.; optional: cloak

Chocolate Frogs: Terry Boot: incorporate NEWTS.

Funfair: South: Bumper car: "You're killing me." North: Ice cream: Black Cherry and Licorice: Barty/Reg. East: Circus: Contortion: [Dialogue] "I'm really not sure about this."; [Word] Shadowing; [Emotion] Sad; [Action] Whispering

Insane House: Location: Astronomy Tower