A/N: I have watched so much Grey's Anatomy recently... if this doesn't make any sense, it's because I have soup for brains tonight. I'll fix it tomorrow!
Prompt: Dialogue - "I have nothing to say to you." / "How about some non-verbal communication then?"
The door to the locker room slammed open. Regulus stalked in and headed straight for his locker, shedding equipment and scrubs at a rapid rate. The few people gathered in the back of the room quickly skedaddled when they caught sight of his harsh glare, scampering out of the room just as James came in.
"Regulus," he said. "We need to have a conversation about this. You can't just shut me out."
"You need to have a conversation about this. I need to have a shower."
James sighed. Regulus caught sight of him in the slim mirror at the back of his locker; he was a thin line with a scruffy jaw and messy hair pinned back beneath a blue cap. There was still a gleam at his wrists, where the water hadn't quite dried. He folded his arms across his chest, leaning against the closed door while Regulus stuffed his shoes away.
"I'm serious," James said quietly.
"I have nothing to say to you."
James peeled himself away from the door, but didn't come any further into the room. "How about some non-verbal communication then?"
"I can find something to throw at you, if you like."
"Look, I wasn't trying to step on your toes. But that was my patient. I know her case inside out, I've looked after her for years, ever since she was little. I've worked on all seven of her surgeries, and I've watched her like a hawk after every single one to make sure she survived. Every time she needed treatment, her parents brought her to me."
"So you're saying you're more invested?" Regulus snapped, folding his scrubs with quick, sharp motions. "You're saying you're emotionally invested in a patient that you've been operating on for years, and that you still chose to oversee my OR today? You're saying that you're compromised?"
"I think I liked it better when you didn't have anything to say," James said coolly.
"And I liked it better this morning, before we came into work and you started undermining me at every turn. I liked it better when you were just my husband and I didn't have to find something to throw at you for being a condescending prick in front of all our colleagues."
"I wasn't—"
"You made me look like a fool," Regulus snapped, whirling around so quickly that James shut his mouth immediately. "You made me feel like a fool. About two inches high. I've worked hard to get where I am. You may be a little older, and you might have more experience, but you don't know everything. This isn't even your field of study."
"I—I know." James opened and shut his mouth, grasping for something, anything. The scruffy jaw, the messy hair; all of it was just the outer layer, the frosting. But Regulus could see exactly how tired and frustrated he was just by meeting his eyes. "I know it isn't. I know I was being awful, a prick. I know that."
"Don't apologise right now," Regulus warned him, because he could see where James was going with this. "Not right now."
When James looked mutinous, he sighed, putting down his clean shirt, and crossed the room. He reached up and kissed James, a little perfunctory, all things considered.
"Hey," James said weakly, when he drew away. "That's the kind of thing I should be starting, isn't it?"
"The only thing you will be starting is dinner when we get home. This is your patient, James, but it was my call to make. We'll reassess in the morning, and I'll do everything I can, just like you will. And you won't doubt my opinion again, or I will do as I said, and I'll throw something so heavy at you that you're the one who'll need my surgical skills. Understand?"
James gritted his teeth for a moment, before all the tension rushed out of him in a gusty sigh. He swayed forward and kissed Regulus again, and reached up to sweep his cap off.
"Got it," he murmured. "Any chance you'd consider takeaway tonight? I don't think I have it in me to cook."
"You think I trust you in the kitchen? I was counting on it."
James poked him, but not too hard. Regulus strolled back to the bench and packed the rest of his things, forgoing the clean shirt. He stuffed his day-shoes on his aching feet and waited for James to get his things together. When they were ready, he snagged James by the hand, dragging him out of the room and down the hall towards the elevators.
"Where are we going?"
"Home." Regulus looked at him askance. "Did I not make that clear?"
James furrowed his brow. "I thought you needed a shower."
"We have a perfectly good shower at home," Regulus said, pressing the button for the elevators and throwing James a slightly wicked grin, undercut with tiredness. "Seems as good a place as any to make an apology."
[Word Count: 831]