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Regulus had never planned to call the number. He had received a letter while at school, which was highly unusual seeing as a normal person would just call. But, upon seeing who the letter was from, Regulus immediately understood why the person had not called. The letter was only a sentence long; ‘if you need help, please call me’ with a phone number scrawled out at the bottom. The second Regulus had read that note, he quickly pocketed it and planned to throw it out. But for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to put it in the trash. Sure, his parents were not good, he knew that, but at the same time, he hadn't seen his brother in nine years. Regulus was six when his brother left, he barely remembered anything about him.
But none of that mattered, because Regulus never planned to call him. And yet, when Regulus went home for the summer, he brought that note with him. He hid it well, lord knows what his mother would do to him if she found it, but he still had it.
He thought he would have to call that number, until he did.
Regulus wasn’t sure how Walburga found out about Barty, but somehow she did. He had a bad feeling, a sense of impending doom, when she called him downstairs that Friday night. He had only been home for about a week, and nothing had gone horribly wrong yet. Boy was that going to change.
When Regulus made it down the elegant steps he was met with a slap to the face from his mother. “Want to explain to me who Bartemius Crouch Jr. is?” she asked.
The color left is face, but Regulus kept his features schooled. “He is a friend.”
“Friend?” Walburga laughed, but there was no humor behind it. “You make me sick.”
He was pushed into the table behind him and fiery pain shot through his whole body. He fell to the floor, unable to hold himself up anymore. Regulus tried to think about anything else as his mother kicked and hit and scratched, tried to ignore the searing pain, the tears he couldn't stop from escaping his eyes.
“Get up,” Walburga ordered, deciding that she had sufficiently wounded her son enough for the time being. “ Get up!”
Regulus shakily attempted to stand up, using the table behind him that he had previously been pushed into as leverage.
His mother grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him. Using her free hand, she grabbed his chin harshly, long nails scraping against his skin, forcing him to face her directly. “You are a disgrace.” She released him and pushed him back into the wall. “Go to your room, and don't think you are getting out of this so easily. We will deal with this properly tomorrow.”
Regulus nodded curtly. “Y-yes, mother,” he said, no louder than a whisper.
He stumbled up the stairs, hanging onto the railing to keep himself up. Upon entering his room, he immediately started shoving things into his backpack. He knew he couldn't stay, that was certain. He had tried to ignore and put up with his parents' abuse before, he planned to leave the moment he turned eighteen and never look back, but staying now would be truly idiotic. Regulus was not an idiot, thank you very much.
Where he would go, he wasn't sure. Barty was off the table, as well as Evan and Pandora, their parents were just as bad as his own. Dorcas’ parents weren't terrible, but they were strict and would likely end up just sending him back home. As Regulus zipped up his bag, his mind was drawn back to the note burning a hole in the box hidden under a floorboard. He really didn't want to call the number, but as he ran through his options in his head, he realized just how few he really had.
Just as he was about to open the window, Regulus caved and ran over to the broken floorboard. He peeled up the rug it was hidden under and lifted the board. The box under it was filled with various mementos. Some pictures, some trinkets, and the note. He snatched up the note before stuffing the box back inside and placing the board and rug back into place.
His room was on the second floor but there was a tree right next to the window that he could use to climb down. Regulus quietly opened the window and popped the screen out. He threw his bag out the window first and it fell to the ground with a plop. Now for the hard part. His body still ached from being thrown around just a few minutes ago and it was an awkward angle to climb out the window at to be able to reach the tree. Eventually, he was able to get onto a branch. Carefully, he climbed down, reaching from branch to branch. When he got close enough to the ground he simply let go and fell the rest of the way. He didn't have time to think about how loud he was being, he just grabbed his bag off the grass and started running.
Even though his body was screaming at him to stop, he didn't. He ran and ran and ran. He didn't stop until his legs gave out. He even didn't know where exactly he was. There was a twenty-four hour convenience store not far away, which Regulus decided was his best bet. The store was vacant except for the young cashier half asleep at the register, who he went up to.
“Excuse me?” Regulus asked, too quiet. He repeated it again.
“Huh?” the cashier’s eyes widened when he saw the boy before him. Regulus knew he probably looked insane, a fifteen year old, bloody and bruised with nothing but a backpack stuffed full.
“Sorry, could I use your phone for a second? I need to make a call.” Regulus hasn't taken his phone with him, he knew that his parents had put way too many trackers on it for him to possibly be able to get rid of.
The cashier looked skeptical, but gave him his phone anyway. “Be quick” he said, and Regulus nodded.
He dug the slip of paper out of his pocket, hands shaking as he punched the numbers into the phone.
It rang. Once, twice, a third time, a fourth. Regulus was about to hang up himself, mumbling about how stupid of an idea it had been, when the person on the other end picked up.
“Hello?” God, he hasn't heard the voice in almost a decade. Regulus didn't think he would even recognize it, but upon hearing it he was hit by a sudden rush of nostalgia.
“...Sirius?”
There was the sound of shuffling on the other end and a door closing. “Who is this?”
“It-its, uh…” he took a deep breath. “Regulus.”
His brother gasped. “What? Oh my god.”
“I'm sorry, I know it's late and this is totally out of the blue, but I just… I didn't know who else to call.”
“You don't have to apologize, Reggie.” Reggie. That nickname was ancient, Sirius was the only one who was ever allowed to call him that. Barty had attempted a few years ago, but was quickly shut down. “What’s going on?”
“I-I couldn't stay there anymore. I ran away.”
“Where are you now?” Sirius sounded almost out of breath and Regulus could hear rustling.
“I don't know, some random store, look, you don't have to do anything, I shouldn't have called. I’ll figure something out–”
“Regulus.” Sirius said firmly, “Tell me the address, I'm coming to pick you up. You’re my brother, how could I not?”
Regulus had to ask the cashier what the address of the store was, and he told Sirius as such when he found out what it was. “I’ll be there in fifteen, stay put,” Sirius said, and hung up. He handed the phone back to the cashier and decided to leave the store and sit on the bench outside.
The warm, pleasant summer weather did nothing to soothe his nerves. His leg bounced up and down aggressively despite the ache, and the cut on his face that he wasn't even aware was there until a few moments ago burned. His mind was racing. What was Sirius like now? Regulus barely remembers him nor did he even know much about him. His parents had fed him things about Sirius being a traitor and a disgrace, but he knew that those couldn't possibly be true.
His head fell into his hands and he tried to just sit and control his breathing. Sirius was his only option right now, he truly had nowhere else to go. Sirius was already on his way, he couldn't stop that no matter how much he wanted to.
He drifted off while sitting there, but was jerked back to reality at the sound of a car door slamming shut.
“God…”
Regulus lifted his head and he saw a face that he hadn’t seen in years, yet something he could never forget. Sirius had a strong jawline, bright eyes, and dark hair, like almost all of the Blacks. He had grown out his hair and it was tied back into a messy bun at the base of his neck. His t-shirt showed off his abundance of new tattoos. Regulus vaguely remembered the time that Sirius had shown him the janky stick and poke tattoo he had done just to piss off their mother. That plan definitely worked.
Sirius walked over to Regulus and put his hands on the younger’s shoulders, turning him to inspect the bruises.
“What did she do to you?” he asked, eerily quiet.
Regulus shook him off. “Doesn’t matter.”
Sirius looked like he wanted to argue, but he ultimately just sighed and decided against it. “C’mon,” he said, still quiet, motioning over to the car.
They didn’t talk anymore during the car ride. Regulus could practically see the questions bubbling under Sirius’ skin, but he didn't ask anything. It wasn't very long until they arrived at Sirius’ apartment.
“There isn’t another bedroom, but we do have a couch, so I hope you're okay with sleeping on that for the time being,” Sirius told him as he unlocked the door.
Regulus didn't even have time to question the ‘we’ before he heard the voice calling for Sirius once the door was unlocked.
“Sirius? That you?” The voice came from a man sitting on the couch which was visible straight from the front door. He was reading a book, but folded the corner of the page he was on and stood up the moment they walked through the door. He was tall and had a scar that ran across his face. He was wearing pajamas, much like Sirius was. He let out an “oh” at the sight of Regulus.
Regulus felt like he was six years old again, hiding behind his older brother, trying to make himself go unseen. Obviously that wouldn't work, it never did, but he sure wished it would.
“Reg, this is Remus,” Sirius introduced.
The man–Remus–smiled gently and slightly lifted his hand in greeting. They simply stood there in silence for a minute before Remus sighed and picked up his book from the coffee table. “Well, I’m gonna go back to bed,” he said, sensing the tension and realizing that the brothers should be left alone. He quickly gave Sirius a one-armed hug and a soft kiss before exiting the room.
Regulus had to fight to keep his jaw from dropping or his eyes from widening. Sure, he probably should've realized before, but seeing that kiss just solidified it. It opened a whole new can of worms that he did not want to unpack. Did Sirius leave for a similar reason that he did?
“You can put your stuff down anywhere.” Regulus had almost forgotten he was even wearing a backpack, but he took it off and set it down by the couch. Sirius sat down on the edge of the couch and motioned for Regulus to do the same.
“I'm going to be quite honest,” he started, “I have a lot of questions. But, I know that you've had a very exhausting day, so I’m gonna save those for another time.”
Regulus nodded but said nothing.
“I’m not sure the extent of the damage she's done to you, but you can go clean up in the bathroom, or I can go get the first aid kit that's in there.”
“It’s not that bad,” Regulus mumbled. Sirius raised an eyebrow.
“Look, just judging off your face and the fact that you wince everytime you even slightly move, I’m not sure I believe that.”
Regulus shrugged. “I'm fine.”
Sirius clearly wanted to argue, but instead he just stood up and sighed. “I don't want to fight you on this, but please, tell me if you need anything. You don't have to silence yourself here or ignore your needs. You aren't there anymore, and you won't ever have to go back.”
Tears pricked his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. It wasn't until Sirius had opened the door to his bedroom and was about to leave before Regulus quietly said, “Thank you.”
SIrius paused and smiled. “Goodnight, Reggie. We’ll talk more properly tomorrow.”
Regulus tossed and turned throughout the night, unable to get comfortable, and not because of the couch he had been assigned to.
***
Eventually, he had been able to fall asleep, even if it was only for an hour or two at most. When he opened his eyes, his heart jumped, not realizing where he was, before it calmed again, remembering the events of the previous night. There was rustling in the kitchen, but Regulus could not see the cause of the noise from where he was laying.
He debated attempting to go back to sleep, but decided that it would be futile. He sat up slowly, in less pain than before, but it still wasn’t great.
“oh,” he heard from the kitchen, “you’re awake.” Remus, he remembered from last night, came into the living room, carrying a glass of water. He was still wearing pajamas and looked like he had just rolled out of bed. “Here,” he said, placing the glass onto the coffee table.
Regulus thanked him, then asked, “Where’s Sirius?”
“He’s out running some errands,” Remus smiled, “He was hoping that you wouldn’t wake up before he got home. I told him that if he was so worried about it that I could do the shopping instead, but he insisted.”
“I guess he hasn’t changed much since I last saw him then.”
Remus laughed softly. “No, he is still very much the drama queen he’s always been.”
There was a stretch of silence between them, not necessarily awkward, but also not comfortable either. Eventually, Remus spoke.“Do you need anything? I can make breakfast if you’re hungry.”
Regulus shook his head politely, “I’m okay, thanks.” He had never had much of an appetite to begin with, much less in the mornings, and the new environment did not help in sparking any sort of hunger.
“Okay, just tell me if you need anything, really. I’ll be in my office, Sirius should be home soon enough.”
“Thank you,” Regulus told him.
Remus just nodded and left the room.
True to Remus’ word, no more than ten minutes later, Regulus heard the sound of the door unlocking and someone entering the apartment.
“Reg, you’re awake,” Sirius said, walking into the living room, bags in hand.
“I am.”
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Fine,” Regulus shrugged.
Sirius quirked his eyebrows. “Fine as in, ‘i’m not okay but just don’t want to admit it’ or ‘i’m actually feeling good and am being honest.’”
Regulus sighed. “Fine as in ‘im feeling fine.’”
Sirius looked like he wanted to argue that, but ultimately decided against it. “Well, i got you some stuff.” he raised his hands, showing off the bags he was carrying.
“Oh,” Regulus breathed. “You didn’t have to—“
“Don’t even start with that bullshit. Yes I did, and of course I'm going to fuss over my little brother. I see that little backpack of yours. No way you have much of enough anything in there. I got you some clothes too, just some basics since I don’t really know what you like, we can go shopping together later, but there’s no way you have enough clothes in that bag to last more than two days.”
“Washing machines exist,” Regulus grumbled quietly, but it went unnoticed by Sirius.
Sirius set the bags down and started digging through them, searching for something. He found it, a rectangular box, and passed it to Regulus. “I didn’t just get you boring things, anyways. I’m not that lame.”
It was a new phone. “I can’t accept this, I—“
“Yes you can, and you will. Besides, it was almost entirely paid for by my Uncle Alphard inheritance, the clothes too.”
“Uncle Alphard?” Regulus knew that there were a lot of people on his family tree that he didn’t know very well, but he would’ve thought that he would recognize an uncle, especially one that Sirius seemed to have been close to. Regulus had been under the impression that Sirius was completely cut from receiving any sort of money from their family.”
“Oh yeah, I guess he died when you were too little to remember,” Sirius said. “He was basically cut from the family because he included me in his will, so no one really talked about him after he passed. Unfortunately for our parents, there was nothing they could do to stop me from getting the money. Alphard and Andromeda are pretty much the only other good people in our family.”
Regulus didn’t recall the name Andromeda, either. If he went far enough in his mind, maybe he could’ve remembered Sirius mentioning her in passing so many years ago, but he didn’t recall anything else.
the confusion must’ve shown through on his face, because Sirius began to clarify. “Our cousin, Cissa and Bella's sister. They don’t like to talk about her. She was disowned around when you were born. She got pregnant as a teen, her parents were furious, ours weren't much better either. It didn’t help that her boyfriend at the time, now husband, Ted, came from a very poor family. Eventually, Andy up and left, ran away to live with Ted.”
They sat in silence, Regulus sitting with all the new information he had received. After some time, he finally built up the courage to ask the question that had been on the tip of his tongue since Sirius picked him up.
“Sirius?”
“Yeah?” he replied.
“Why’d you leave?”
Sirius stilled, then sighed, a long, deep sigh. He sat down on the couch beside Regulus. “It had been brewing for a while. They were never happy with anything I did. Hated my friends, hated my behavior, hated my personality. I was a rebellious teenager, so I egged it on. I acted out, put crude posters all over my room—“ Sirius laughed softly at the memory, “—I hated going along with any of their beliefs. A lot of the time, I snuck out to go to James' house. He was my best friend, still is, of course,” Sirius smiled. “His parents were great. They obviously suspected that my home life was, well, less than perfect, and they offered countless times for me to come stay with them.
“Eventually, the abuse ramped up. It was around that time that I started dating Remus,” Sirius smiled at the thought of his lover, but it was dulled by the memories that were being dredged up.
“I was scared, plain and simple. Sure, I had been going against them for years, but if they found out I was gay, I knew that it wouldn’t end well for me. One night, I just got sick of living in fear. I packed up my things and went to james’.”
Sirius was silent for a moment. “Regulus,” he began, grabbing his brother’s hands, “Don’t think for even one second that I wanted to leave you there, in that awful house. I would’ve taken you if I could.”
Regulus sniffed and tried to blink back the tears brewing in his eyes.
Sirius smiled sadly. “I also thought that—maybe if I left, it would make it better for you. You were still young to where they didn’t hate you yet, so I figured, if I was out of the picture, maybe the cycle would end with me.”
Sirius‘ eyes lingered on the bruises on Regulus’ face. “That clearly didn’t work out very well.”
Regulus laughed wetly, tears falling against his will.
“I’m sorry I didn’t try harder.”
“It’s not your fault, Sirius.”
Sirius just shook his head. He pulled Regulus into a tight hug. Regulus reveled in the feeling. He hadn’t remembered what it was like to even have a brother, but he didn’t want to forget that feeling ever again.
They pulled away from the hug, but still stayed close.
“Mother found out about my boyfriend,” Regulus finally admitted. He knew Sirius wouldn’t react badly, but he still held his breath nonetheless.
“Oh, Reggie-”
“I don’t even know how she found out,” once he started talking, he couldn’t stop, “I thought I was being careful, but it didn’t matter in the end. Got a good beating for that. They were planning more, I think. Some kind of conversion therapy or something. I knew it would’ve been a death wish to stay after that.”
Sirius hugged him again, somehow even tighter than last time.
“Why is it always love that drives our family apart?” Regulus asked, his voice muffled by Sirius’ shoulder.
Sirius pulled away to look Regulus in the eye. He held his face in his hand.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I really don’t, and I wish I did. But, what I do know is that I’m not going to let you go. Now that I have you again, I’m never letting you out of my sight.”
“I missed you.”
I missed you, too”