Chapter 6 – I Wish He Would just Talk to Me

The next morning Sirius was woken by the sound of pots and pans scrambling in the kitchen. He stuck his head in the door, bleary-eyed and messy-haired. "Remus... just because you got a lot of sleep last night doesn't mean you can wake the rest of us up at the crack of dawn."

"It's eleven, Sirius and I'm cooking breakfast for y'all. Is your lady friend staying?"

"I dunno," he said and walked in, putting his arms around Remus and resting his chin on his shoulder. "I have a hangover," he whined.

"Nothing a good breakfast and a couple of aspirins can't fix," said Remus, stirring the eggs on the pan.

"I had hoped she would sneak out early but she's still here," complained Sirius. "I hope she doesn't think we're getting married now."

Remus felt a sting as he remembered Regulus' similar comment last night. "She sounded like she liked you a whole lot."

"Of course," smirked Sirius. "I'm campus' uncrowned sex god."

Peter came into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes. "Ah, breakfast!" he beamed and sat down at the table.

"Where's your date?" asked Remus.

"She left while I slept."

"Did you check my brother's room?" joked Sirius. "She seemed mighty interested in him."

"Shut up, Sirius," said Peter as a flicker of doubt crossed his face.

"I'll just go wake Regulus up," said Remus. "You look after the food."

Remus knocked twice before Regulus got up and unlocked the door. He had also been afraid that the girl might actually crash his room. She had seemed very predatory. "Yeah?" he said, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"I cooked breakfast if you'd like some," smiled Remus. "The others are up as well so we're all gonna sit down and eat."

Regulus came into the kitchen ten minutes later. Sirius' girl had also come out and was sitting with the others, eating. She looked at Regulus and then at Sirius and then back at Regulus. "Oh my. You two look a lot alike! How awesome is that?"

"It's my baby brother, Regulus," said Sirius and took another piece of bacon.

"Well, he's very handsome too," she smiled and studied Regulus for a moment.

Regulus sighed. It wasn't that he wasn't flattered when people said he was handsome, but it had always made him uncomfortable being hit on by girls, and the American girls were more brash than the British. Especially the upper-class British, whom he was used to.

"So... you lot missed out on a whole lot of fun last night," said Sirius, and looked from Regulus to Remus. "Being all boring and going home early."

"We had fun. And it wasn't that early," said Regulus.

"Since you two are the ones who got the most sleep and the least booze you're the ones going out to fetch a load of junk food later," said Sirius. "And a huge bag of Doritos. And a few gallons of Coke. You know - the basic hangover kit."

Remus agreed. He didn't mind. That meant he could spend some alone time with Regulus, unless Regulus declined.

o0o0o

About an hour later they set off to the supermarket to get the things the others had asked for.

"It's nice to get out and walk a little," Remus smiled, looking at Regulus. He wanted to ask him so many things but wasn't sure how to proceed.

"I suppose. And to get away from the others for a bit. They smell of booze. More than us, I mean. That bird is still hanging around. I wonder how my brother is going to get rid of her. But I assume he has quite a bit of practice."

"Eventually she'll leave but I had hoped she had left already. I hate seeing them disappointed when Sirius lets them down."

"I pity her," said Regulus. "She seems to be quite smitten with him. But he obviously isn't interested in having a girlfriend."

"No, sadly not, but I reckon he ain't ready to settle down," Remus said as they walked through the doors to Food Lion.

Regulus wrinkled his nose when they found the bag of caramel-popcorn Peter had requested. "You have so much crazy stuff. Who eats this stuff, anyway?"

"Peter does, obviously," Remus smiled. "These are his favorite."

"They have a thirty-meter aisle just with crisps but not a single kind with salt and vinegar," Regulus moped.

"Salt and vinegar?" said Remus. "I don't think I ever tried that flavor."

They walked up and down the aisle until Regulus finally find some chips he would eat. "I think we have it all now," said Remus and pushed the cart toward the cash register.

o0o0o

James was back when they came home. He said Lily had kicked him out because he was moaning about his hangover. "Easy for her to do," he moped, "when everybody knows hangovers affect men harder than women."

"Does everybody know that?" said Regulus, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes! It's scientifically proven. It's like the flu. Men simply get sicker."

Remus just shook his head and started to unpack the bags they had brought back with them. "I remember last year when you guys all had the flu. I had to call Lily so she could help me come take care of y'all."

"Sounds like a horrible job," commented Regulus.

Next came the near impossible task of choosing a movie.

"I want to see a film with some meaning to it," declared Regulus. "Not some stupid action flick where one man kills an entire army of Nazis or Russians or some of the other cliché villains."

"That rules out your movie selection, Pete," snickered Sirius and then turned to Regulus. "What? You wanna watch some Sandra Bullock movie where she falls in love and the man breaks her heart but then his brother saves the day?"

"No!" said Regulus, his cheeks flushed. "Cheesy love stories are as empty as Rambo movies. What about something satirical? Or a David Lynch film, for instance?"

"No, dude!" said James. "Those movies are so weird."

"Listen, Reggie," said Sirius. "When I have a hangover I don't want to watch a film where I have to use my brain to understand the plot."

Peter and James voiced their agreement.

"Let's watch a comedy, then," suggested Sirius and pulled out a few movies. "We have Scary Movie, Hot Shots, Hangover in Vegas. Let's watch the last one!"

James and Peter both agreed although they had probably seen it ten times already.

"What? No! They're all so bloody corny. What about some intelligent humor? That means, no Adam Sandler, no Ben Stiller, and no Jim Carrey." Regulus found himself wishing Lily was there. She, At least, had a sense of culture. Remus did too, but he was too soft to get involved in the discussion.

"Democracy has spoken," said Sirius. "We're watching Hangover in Vegas. That's a real hangover movie and it's dead funny."

"No!" protested Regulus.

"Come on, Reggie. It's funny!"

"Well, you can watch it on your own, then!" said Regulus. "I'll go read a good book in my room."

"You do that," said Sirius and put the movie in the DVD player.

o0o0o

Remus knocked on Regulus' door a good half hour later and entered the room when he was given permission. "I brought you some snacks," he said." And something to drink too. Coke and ice."

"Oh. Thank you," said Regulus as Remus put the things on his table. "How is the movie? Is it silly?"

"A little bit. I'm trying to get some work done so I'm not really paying that much attention," said Remus. "How's the book?" he asked and sat down on the edge of the bed.

Regulus flipped the book over so Remus could see the front. "Gone with the Wind. It's quite good. But I'm sure you know that, being an English major and all."

"Ah, yes, of course I know it," Remus smiled. "It's very good."

There was a roar of laughter from the living room and Remus rolled his eyes and chuckled. "They like those kinds of movies."

"Not you?"

"I like all kinds of movies but today I ain't really in the mood for this genre."

"Ah," said Regulus. Then after a moment's silence he said, "You don't have to agree with me or do things you think I prefer. You don't need to impress me."

"I'm not trying to," said Remus, a little surprised. He bit his lip and speculated for a moment. "How about we get to know each other a little better? Like... tell me something about your childhood?"

Regulus shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Was Remus going to be all clingy now just because they had had sex once? Maybe it wasn't such a good idea sleeping with one's flat mate, after all. "We're not on a date, you know. You already got into my pants, so there's no need chatting me up."

Remus looked hurt. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to get to know you better," he said and then got up. "I hope you enjoy your snacks. I'll leave you alone now."

Regulus sighed. Now he had hurt Remus' feelings. That wasn't really his intention but he didn't know how else to get him to back off.

"Got tired of Mr. sulky already?" asked Sirius when Remus returned to the living room.

Remus just shrugged and sat down with some papers. Had it been a bad idea to sleep with Regulus? He had wanted him so badly – and not just in a physical way – but now that he'd had him, he felt horrible. Was he putting too much into it? Regulus behaved like it meant nothing.

Regulus made a sandwich for himself when the others ordered pizzas. Then he took it back to his room.

"Why is your brother so asocial?" asked James. "Sitting alone eating a stupid sandwich when we're out here having fun with pizza?"

"Because he's weird," sighed Sirius but decided to go knock on Regulus' door anyway. "Reggie, why don't you come out and eat with the rest of us?"

"I'm not in the mood," said Regulus. "And I've had quite enough junk food recently. I'll end up like a fat yankee."

"No one says you have to eat pizza," said Sirius. "You could at least sit with us. And for your information, Southerners don't appreciate being referred to as yankees. That's what they call rude Northerners."

"I want to be alone, yeah? I was plenty social yesterday. This isn't a commune, is it?" sounded the sour voice from inside the room.

Sirius sighed and went back to the others.

Remus felt horrible. He was sure he was the one Regulus was avoiding.

o0o0o

The next day Sirius caught Regulus sitting in the kitchen. "Reg – have you figured out what you want to do with your life? Are you going to start studying here or are you going home for that?"

"I've told you I haven't made up my mind yet," mumbled Regulus, immensely irritated every time Sirius brought up his future plans.

"You can't keep saying that. You've been here over a month! The new school year is coming up in September. You can't keep putting your decision off."

"I haven't decided yet whether I want to study here or not. And I haven't decided on a major either. It's not a decision to be taken lightly."

"I thought you were going to study business, being heir to the company and all."

"Well, perhaps I would like to keep my options open. And why do I have to make up my mind so soon? I'm only 19."

"I find it very hard to believe that Mum and Dad are allowing you to faff about like this with no education plan."

"I told you I'm taking a sabbatical year!" snapped Regulus.

"Yeah – and that year is nearly over! Don't try to tell me they're letting you have more than one year to do nothing!"

"Will you keep Mother and Father out of this?" barked Regulus.

"No, I won't – because things don't add up! I know them and there's no way they would allow you to… Wait, did you say 19? You're only 18."

"I was 18," said Regulus, sticking out his jaw. "My birthday was last week. May 10th, like it has been all my life."

Sirius' expression switched from frustration to shame. "Bloody hell... I forgot. I'm sorry Reggie." He rubbed his arm and glanced around the kitchen as if looking for something to give his brother as a present. "I'll make it up to you. We'll go out for dinner. Your choice of restaurant." Then he wondered why there hadn't been anything in the mail for Regulus' birthday. Not even a card. "What did Mum and Dad get you?"

"None of your business," mumbled Regulus and tried to make his way past Sirius out of the kitchen, but his brother didn't move.

"It is my business. Come on – tell me." He stuck an arm out to block Regulus' way. "They didn't send you anything, did they? Why is that?"

"Maybe they got me something before I left," growled Regulus, shooting daggers at his brother as if he had offended him with a very inappropriate question. "Is that so hard to imagine?"

"In a way it is. They could at least have sent you a card. And now that I think about it, not once have I heard you calling them or seen you write anything on the computer."

"I didn't go half way around the world to sit on Skype all the time with my parents," Regulus shot back. "Anyway, it's not your business what I do with them - you're not part of the family anymore! You ditched us because we weren't good enough for you!"

o0o0o

James and Remus entered the apartment, greeted by the sound of raised voices from the kitchen. They found Peter sitting on the couch, reading a Superman comic book.

"What are they fighting about now?" asked James.

"Apparently the drama queen's birthday was last week and Sirius forgot it," said Peter. "And he wants him to do something with his life."

Remus looked shocked. Regulus had had a birthday? Why hadn't he said anything?

"Well..." said James, scratching the back of his head. "I would kinda feel bad if I forgot my brother's birthday. If I had one. But then again, the two haven't been in contact for five years…"

o0o0o

"I left because they were abusive and wanted to run my life!" Sirius shot back. "You'd never understand because you were always so flaming perfect!"

"I just chose to not be a disrespectful punk! You ruined everything and now you have the cheek to stick your nose in our business?" Regulus yelled back. "If you hadn't left on your own they would have kicked you out and you would have deserved it!"

"Shut up, Regulus!" Sirius screamed back, feeling his anger approaching breaking point.

"Well, let me through and you won't have to listen to me anymore!" Regulus yelled back and once again tried to push his way past his bigger and stronger brother.

Sirius was so angry that he gave Regulus a hard push, sending him reeling back to collide with the kitchen table, a few glasses falling to the floor and shattering. "You tell me why you're not speaking to Mum and Dad!"

"Sirius!" Remus cut him off as he turned up in the doorway. "Calm down!"

"Who says I'm not talking to them?" yelled Regulus, red in the face now. "I call them from a payphone outside, that's why you haven't noticed me calling!"

"Why the hell do you do that when you have a mobile phone and can borrow a computer with Skype on it?" Sirius yelled back. "And I don't even know where there is a payphone anymore. You're a bloody liar!"

Regulus felt cornered, both physically and psychologically and he charged at his brother, hoping to knock him off balance so he could get by.

Sirius tried to grab him but Regulus stormed past him and into the hallway where he jammed his feet into his sneakers. "Fine! Run from your problems!" Sirius yelled.

"Fighting with your brother physically now?" asked James, coming into the kitchen. "Granted, he's a pain in the ass, but it's not fair beating on someone smaller than you."

"I wasn't beating him," said Sirius and slumped down on a chair at the kitchen table. "He's hiding something from me and I can't stand when people lie to me." He rested his head on his hands and sighed. "I dunno what happened. Why is it so difficult talking to him? And he still refuses to understand why I had to leave."

"He was only thirteen," tried Remus. "You can't expect a child to understand such things."

"I know, but he's not a child anymore, and he still refuses to even try to understand."

"Maybe he's still hurt about you leaving him behind," suggested Remus quietly, hoping not to offend Sirius.

"Well, he could just tell me that and we could talk it through. But he never did want to talk about feelings," said Sirius, suddenly finding himself on the edge of tears. "I wish he would just talk to me. Open up a bit. He's my bloody brother, after all, and I love him."

o0o0o

Regulus stayed out until one in the morning before going back and sneaking inside, hoping not to run into anybody. Hoping that Sirius had given up on him and gone to bed.

But Sirius was sitting in the living room with a blanket over himself, half asleep. He looked up when his brother came in and sent him a careful smile. "Glad you're home. I was worried." He sat up and rubbed his arm. "Look... I'm sorry about before. I'm just worried about you. That's all."

"Right. Funny way of showing it," mumbled Regulus and looked around to see if any of the others were still up.

"I know," sighed Sirius. "But you could cut me some slack once in a while. I'm your brother and I love you. I wish you would open up a bit and talk to me about important things instead of shutting me out all the time." He eyed his brother for a while, but when there seemed to be no reaction, he sighed and got up. "Well, think about it, at least. I'm going to bed. Good night."

"Night," mumbled Regulus and disappeared into the bathroom.