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Regulus was kicking his feet at the grass beneath his shiny black shoes, knuckles whitening as he tightened his grip on the cold, hard bench he was sitting on, face passive. The chatter of the other students was coming and going as they passed him by in the hot summer day. Some might spare the solitary boy a curious glance, others would simply pass him.
He waited - and waited, and waited. Nothing. He scoffed. Of course he wouldn't come. He rarely - if ever - spent time with him anymore. Oh, he attempted it in first year. His brother had a sort of careful approach to him when introducing him to his blood-traitor friends. Regulus - being raised the way he was - did not want to disappoint his parents as Sirius had done and it would not be becoming of a Black to associate with their lot.
But Sirius was his brother and he truly wanted to spend time with him despite his associations. So he was careful; no one really suspected anything, and if anyone asked, he'd always use the excuse of trying to coax his brother to abandon his ways. Of course, Regulus might have been a child, but he wasn't naive. Sirius was always so set in his ways, even when they were small. Whenever he put his mind to something, there was no stopping him. He was like Bella or mother, in that regard.
No, Regulus knew that there was no coaxing him back to the family's ways. The family had all but lost him when he was sorted into Gryffindor.
But that didn't mean Regulus was prepared to let him go.
He let out a shaky breath as he let his body relax. There was no need to work himself up. Sirius had said he'd come. Had seemed excited even. Something he wasn't the other times Regulus had requested they meet. He would come, he would. For once, he'd choose him.
Familiar hands landed on his shoulders, and he tensed before he looked back at his older brother's grinning face.
"There you are, kiddo!" Sirius exclaimed, mussing his hair, making Regulus scowl annoyedly as he straightened his hair.
"Don't do that!"
"I do what I want!"
An indignant laugh was his only answer as he shook his head, but a fond smile still made its way to his face as he looked upon his brother who reciprocated with a smirk. This was what he'd wanted, he thought as he felt his eyes sting, and he had to blink a few times to prevent anything from appearing, but Sirius wasn't so easily fooled.
"Aww, are you crying, baby brother?" He laughed and threw his arms around the mortified younger brother, who pushed him away hurriedly, jaws set.
"No, stop-"
His brother's laugh echoed across the yard, interrupting Regulus' protests, and he went silent, taking this moment in. He was about to comment on how he appreciated that he showed up when another voice cut in;
"Padfoot! Make some space, you tosser!"
And just like that the moment was gone. Regulus didn't know how, but Potter's presence was like a screeching chalkboard. Not to Sirius though; never to Sirius. If anything, Sirius' smile seemed to widen even more as if the sun shone out of Potter's arse.
"You're such a dear," Sirius drawled as he moved to the right, moving Regulus with him to make space for the other boy.
Potter leaned forward to take a look at Regulus a smug grin on his face, "You still sore, Blackbird?"
Regulus' nostrils flared at Potter's reference to the last game of Quidditch between Gryffindor and Slytherin.
"You're the Chaser, you weren't supposed to knock me down!"
"It is, what it is, kiddo. You were in my way, and I was chasing. Couldn't have done anything about knocking into you."
"You knew very well I had my eyes on the snitch, and you were further away from the other chasers and the goal."
"How'd you reckon it wasn't part of the Gryffindor team's strategy to divide and conquer. I didn't know I was bumping into you. I figured the star of the Slytherin team was better than that."
Regulus scowled at the boy, who was still wearing that smug grin on his face.
Sirius meanwhile had been looking between them the entire duration of their stand-off, and sighed in exasperation, "Play nice. I wanna have a nice, relaxed time before we head off."
That wiped the scowl off Regulus' face, and a surprised expression replaced it, making him look as young as he actually was, "head off where?"
Sirius shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "Look, Prongs and I've planned this for a while, I thought-"
"That you'd simply fill the time until you can finally be where you truly want to be?" Regulus asked hotly.
Potter rolled his eyes, "Sirius has more than just you in his life, you know. Sometimes you really gotta cool it. It's embarrassing."
Sirius still looked uncomfortable, but seemed to agree with Potter's sentiment, "Look, I just wanted to spend some time with you; so what if we're heading somewhere else later. It doesn't matter. I'm here now, right?"
Regulus looked away. He supposed he should've known the excitement his brother had been exuding that day he asked if they could spend some time together on this day wouldn't have been at the prospect of actually spending time with him no matter what kinds of appeasements his brother was laying out. He knew him enough to know he was trying to keep the peace as much as he could between them. He knew he should appreciate that, at the very least, but having his day soured by Potter's presence was the last straw.
"Fine. I just don't understand why you had to bring him."
Sirius' face hardened. "He's my best friend, and I can bring him anywhere I like. You don't own the school, Reg."
"And you accept any and all insults he deigns to throw my way."
"He's just messing with you."
"Are you really taking his side against me?"
That shut Sirius up. For a while they were both glaring at each other.
"Fine. It's my fault that I even showed up here. I should've known you would act like this. Come on, James, we're leaving."
"Fine."
"Fine!"
Sirius stood up and turned to walk away from Regulus, Potter rising slowly as he shot a worried look at Sirius, who was started to walk until he stopped abruptly to look at Regulus with a cold look in his eyes, "When you decide that you will accept me, friends and all, I will talk to you. Until then, don't bother," and he turned away, Potter at his side, not even once looking back.