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Challenges listed at the bottom.
Word Count: 619
Warning: Mentioned Character Death
Gut Feeling
It was like a movie scene, without the ending that always came, of the good guy bursting through the window to reveal he wasn't really dead, that he hadn't succumbed to the reaper.
Barty stood in the hall, hidden behind a mask and clustered in with the other Death Eaters, and he listened to his Lord, his Master, his saviour talk about betrayal.
Though no names had been mentioned, Barty had a sinking feeling in his stomach and his heart pounded in his chest, because he knew who the Dark Lord was talking about.
Hadn't Regulus been weird for the last few weeks, months even? Hadn't he been pulling away from Barty, getting out of bed before the sweat had even finished drying on his skin, under the guise of a cigarette?
Regulus, who'd always been an open book to Barty, suddenly an enigma that Barty couldn't read. Regulus, who'd always been open with his affection, suddenly flinching at any touch, and snapping when spoken to.
Barty had always had an excellent memory, and he could pinpoint the exact moment things had changed. The Dark Lord had asked for Regulus to stay behind after a meeting, and when Regulus had returned to the flat they shared, he'd been shaky and pale but silent.
He couldn't talk about it, he said, but Barty had seen the red specks of blood on his hands where he'd been digging his fingernails into the skin, and he'd known, hadn't he? He'd known that all was not well.
He'd tried to ignore it, tried to pretend that everything was fine, but it wasn't and now… now he had to face the consequences.
The Dark Lord was looking at him, red eyes finding him even in the midst of the crowd, and he had a smirk on his face. A warning in the tilted lips that if Barty were to follow the man he loved, he'd meet the same fate.
Barty wouldn't.
Not because he didn't want to, or even because he believed in the cause marked by the tattoo on his left arm, but because he was a coward. He daren't go against the Dark Lord, not for anything or anyone.
Not even Regulus.
He wondered if that made him worse than the lowest scum, but even if it did, he wouldn't change. Regulus had always been his strength anyway, hadn't he?
Where that left him now, Barty didn't know, but he was sure he'd be forced to find out. The Dark Lord was talking again, but it was all white noise now, because it was sinking in for Barty that Regulus was gone.
His love, his strength, his best friend, his soul… gone.
Was he dead? Barty didn't know, and the Dark Lord didn't say. He'd mentioned desertion, but that wasn't Regulus. Even when he was scared, he looked his fear in the eyes rather than run away. That was something Barty had always been in awe of.
A name cut through the fog, his own name, and he looked around to see most of the others were leaving. Glancing at the Dark Lord, who was talking only to Bellatrix and Rodolphus now, he slipped out of the room with the crowd.
Some remained, taking their masks off to chat amongst themselves, but Barty didn't. He walked with purpose—or desperation—to the Apparition point, and he left, amazed that he didn't splinch himself as he arrived at his flat, his mind all over the place.
Regulus' clothes were still hung in the wardrobe. His books were still on the shelf. His hair products were in the bathroom cabinet.
But he wasn't there, and deep in his gut, Barty knew he never would be again.
Written For:
Valentines or Palentines: Day 7, Valentines: RegulusBarty
Alphabetti: R: Red
NeonFae's Nibbles: Pain Au Chocolat: Memory (1) / Regulus Black (3)
365: 10. Enigma
Musical Yearly: 45. 90's: Waiting for Tonight: Like a movie scene
Insane House: 456. BartyRegulus
