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The library door had hardly closed when Evan dropped the book he had been looking through on the coffee table. He leaned his head against the back of the couch, closing his eyes and groaning in pain. He had woken up with the beginning signs of a migraine, and his head hurt terribly. Usually, when he woke up with the tell-tale pain behind his eyes and stiffness in his neck, he took a potion and stayed in bed all day. But Regulus had knocked on his door only two hours later to tell him that members of the Order had started showing up, apparently determined to assist with research on Horcruxes that day.
Evan had forced himself out of bed without a second thought. He refused to show any type of weakness in front of the Order. He also refused to leave Regulus alone with people he didn’t fully trust yet. He downed a high-strength painkiller and followed Regulus downstairs.
His head had been growing worse ever since. The loud conversations, bright lights, and tiny print of the books certainly did him no favors. A few hours ago, at about three, he had noticed Regulus frowning at him. He had tried to smile, but it mustn’t have been very convincing because shortly after, Regulus began slowly ushering people out, one or two at a time.
“E?”
Regulus' mild voice cut through his thoughts. He opened his eyes, squinting against the light. Regulus came and sat on the couch next to him, looking concerned.
“What’s wrong?” He shook his head with a scowl as Evan opened his mouth. “Don’t even think about trying to tell me there’s nothing wrong. I know you. I know when you’re in pain.”
“Head hurts,” Evan muttered, dropping his head back and throwing an arm over his eyes to block out the light. “I woke up with all the signs of a migraine, and it’s getting pretty bad.”
Regulus made a soft, sympathetic noise in the back of his throat. “What can I do?”
Evan sighed. “I just need to go lay down,” he said miserably. “I’ve got a potion I can take. It’s too late to make it go away, but it should help make the pain bearable and ensure I don’t throw up. It’ll knock me out, though, so I’ll be pretty useless for the rest of the day.” He pulled his arm away from his face and sat up slowly, looking at Regulus through half-closed eyes. “It’s okay,” he said quietly. “I’ll get through it.”
“I know.” Regulus rose to his feet and held out a hand. “I can help you though. Let me help?”
Evan didn’t say anything, but he took Regulus' hand. He allowed Regulus to help him to his feet and guide him up the stairs to his bedroom. Regulus deposited him on the bed and went to the dresser, looking through Evan’s collection of potions. Evan pulled his robes off, leaving his undershirt and pants in place, and slipped his shoes off.
Regulus came back, holding out a purple potion. Evan took it, downing it in one, grimacing as he watched Regulus go over to his closet and rummage through his clothes. In another minute, he was back, holding out a pair of sweatpants.
“Here, put these on. You’ll be more comfortable that way.”
“Thanks,” Evan mumbled.
Regulus nodded. “I’m going to go get you an ice pack and make a cup of tea. Black or peppermint?”
“Mint.” Hopefully, it would help keep nausea at bay. He really hated puking.
Regulus nodded, briefly squeezing his shoulder. Then he left the room, closing the door behind him with the utmost softness.
Evan was curled up on his side, eyes closed, when Regulus entered the room again. He could already feel the artificial sleepiness from the potion washing over him. He didn’t want to move, and Regulus didn’t ask him to. He heard a mug being set down on the bedside table behind him, and then Regulus leaned over and tucked an ice pack against the back of his neck.
“Thanks.”
Regulus hummed softly. “I left Barty a note so he’ll be quiet when he comes in,” he said, his voice hardly louder than a whisper. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
Evan bit his tongue, hesitating. Regulus was so distant now that he almost didn’t want to ask. “I’d really like it if you stayed and cuddled with me.”
He had expected instant refusal, maybe even that Regulus would laugh. What he didn’t expect was a long minute of silence before-
“Ok.”
Evan’s eyes flew open despite the pain of letting any light in. Regulus rarely cuddled with him anymore. The most contact Evan had with him these days was when Regulus would lean his head against Evan’s shoulder for a few minutes. Most of the time, he seemed distant, as though he were in his own world. It hurt, at times, to be ignored by someone who had been so important to him since he was eleven. Barty tried to comfort him by saying that Regulus was dealing with so much right now that he probably didn’t have the energy to think about anything else.
Regulus came around to the other side of the bed, lifting the covers and sliding in next to Evan. He leaned back against the headboard and held out an arm.
Evan immediately shifted over, resting his head against Regulus’ chest. Regulus readjusted the ice pack so that it was against the back of his neck again and then wrapped both arms around him, holding him tightly. Evan curled up, resting against Regulus’ side and closing his eyes. A second later, Regulus’ slim fingers slid into his hair, pressing gently against his scalp, massaging the tense muscles at the base of his skull. It felt so good, Evan almost moaned, relaxing into Regulus’ hold even more.
The next thing he knew, he was waking up to a whispered conversation over his head.
“-was squinting a lot, and I knew he was in pain. So I got everyone else out as quick as I could.”
“I should have known something was wrong this morning. He kept rubbing the back of his neck. He only does that when he’s stressed or his head hurts. I should have asked.”
“He’s always getting on my back for not saying when something’s going on, but he never says anything when he’s in pain.”
Evan made an indignant noise. “You have a lot more problems than I do.” He felt Regulus jump at his sudden interjection. “Sorry.”
Regulus ran his fingers through Evan’s hair. “It’s ok. How’re you feeling?”
Evan opened his eyes slightly, then a bit more, when his head didn’t immediately explode in pain at the faint light in the room. Barty was standing by the bed, looking down at him with a furrow between his eyebrows. He shifted a bit to look up at Regulus’ face. Regulus still looked concerned. He was holding a book in one hand.
“Better,” Evan mumbled, dropping his head back onto Reuglus’ chest. “It still hurts, but it’s not as bad. What time is it?”
“A little after seven. You’ve been sleeping for about three hours,” Regulus answered softly, picking up his gentle massaging of Evan’s head again.
“Do you think you can eat?” Barty asked quietly, “Or do you think you’ll puke if you try?” He came closer and sat down on the edge of the bed. Evan closed his eyes again. Regulus had moved down to rub his neck muscles, and he felt like he could go back to sleep already. He considered for a minute. Back at Hogwarts, before he had figured out the correct regimen of potions, a headache like this always came with nausea. Often, he would hardly be able to eat for days following an episode. He had learned to manage better since then, though, and his stomach felt mostly stable.
“I think so? Nothing too heavy, though.”
“Toast?” Barty offered, standing up.
“I think there’s some soup left from last night, actually,” Evan murmured, “And you and Reg need to eat too. So you could heat up some of that.”
“You don’t need to be thinking about us right now,” Regulus said reproachfully. He continued when Evan laughed slightly. “No, really, Evan. We’ll be ok without you worrying for one night. We can take care of things for a bit. Stop thinking so much, try just to relax.”
Barty reached out, squeezing Evan’s hand gently. “He’s right, E. Thinking too much isn’t gonna do your head any favors. I’ll go get you some food, ok? And I’ll grab Reg something while I’m down there, just to ease your mind.”
Evan sighed, closing his eyes and relaxing back against Regulus. It was nice, not thinking about anything, Regulus’ fingers gently working the knots out of his neck. The only sound was the occasional turning of a page in Regulus’ book, which he had charmed to float in front of him. It had been a long time since he could relax like this. What with the Death Eaters, Horcrux hunting, Order meetings, and making sure Barty and Regulus ate and slept with some regularity, he rarely had a minute to breathe. Still more rare were the times the three of them could rest simultaneously. Regulus had a single-minded devotion to finding and destroying the Horcruxes, and Barty had been putting extra time into the Death Eaters, trying to distract from Evan and Regulus’ continued absence. Sometimes, Evan felt like he hardly saw either of them unless he was shoving them into bed or making them eat something.
But it seemed they were both taking the night off. Regulus seemed to have no intention of moving anytime soon, and when Evan took a closer look, he saw that Regulus was reading fiction for once. When Barty returned with two bowls of soup, he flopped across the end of the bed while Evan and Regulus ate. He stared up at the ceiling, humming absentmindedly and tapping his fingers on his chest.
Evan watched him, feeling fond and a bit emotional. Both Barty and Regulus were taking an entire evening off from their self-appointed tasks to spend with him simply because he had a headache. Regulus had given up his entire afternoon to sit in bed with him. He hadn’t left, even when Evan was sound asleep. And Barty seemed perfectly content to lay there, not doing anything, just being with them.
Evan glanced down at his soup, trying not to let it show just how overwhelmed and grateful he was. He was feeling better. His head still ached, but the pain wasn’t terrible. Light and sound no longer caused stabbing pain, and he didn’t feel at all nauseous. Regulus and Barty chatted softly, but Evan mostly listened to them. He didn’t have the energy to contribute much, but hearing them talk about random, lighthearted topics made his chest feel warm.
Regulus set his bowl on the bedside table and stretched. “I’m gonna go get into something more comfortable,” he said, sliding off the bed as he spoke. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Evan watched him go, wincing as the bright light in the hallway slipped into the room briefly. Barty sat up, scooting over and holding out both arms. Evan leaned into him, tucking his face against Barty’s neck and sighing deeply.
“How you feeling, baby?”
Evan turned his head so that he could speak clearly. “My head still hurts, but it’s not too bad as long as I don’t look at bright light. And I’m not nauseous, so my potions are still working.”
Barty rubbed a hand up and down his back. “What else can I do? You want a cup of tea or something else to eat?”
Evan sighed. “Honestly, all I want to do is go back to sleep. I think that will help more than anything else. Except, another ice pack would be nice.”
Barty nodded but kept holding Evan, running a hand along his spine, until Regulus came back. When Regulus climbed into bed again, this time wearing pajama pants and a muggle hoodie, Barty pulled back. Evan turned onto his side again, curling up next to Regulus again. Barty left the room with both their bowls.
There was silence for a long minute, Evan lying against Regulus’ side with his eyes closed, Regulus running his fingers through Evan’s hair. Evan heard Regulus open his book again.
“What are you reading?”
Regulus hesitated for a minute, sounding a bit embarrassed when he answered. “Pride and Prejudice. It’s a muggle romance. It’s about Elizabeth Bennet. And it’s the early 19th century, so it’s basically about how she needs to get a husband. And she meets this guy, Mr. Darcy, but he’s kind of a jerk. I think they’re going to get together, but I’m only about halfway through, so I don’t know for sure. But it’s been really good so far. It’s funny.”
“Read some to me?”
“Um.” Regulus sounded a bit uncertain. “It’s not particularly fast-paced or anything. It’s actually quite slow at first.”
“Well, I’m not really aware enough to follow along with something fast-paced.”
“Ok,” Regulus said, reaching out to flip through the book, going back to the beginning. “But if Barty makes fun of us, I’m letting you take the blame.”
Barty reappeared about thirty minutes later, carrying an ice pack and a mug of tea, which he handed to Regulus. Evan mumbled his thanks as the fresh ice pack was placed against the back of his neck. Barty went across the room to the dresser, shamelessly stripping off his clothes and putting on a pair of pajamas. Regulus scoffed slightly. Evan couldn’t see his face, but he could perfectly picture Regulus rolling his eyes as he sipped his tea. However, he continued reading in a soft voice, even when Barty came back to the bed, this time climbing under the covers with Evan.
“You’re going to bed already?” Evan asked as Barty wrapped both arms around his waist. It couldn’t be more than eight-thirty.
“Just feeling a little left out,” Barty said, tightening his arms, “I like cuddling too, ya’know.”
Regulus snorted, pausing to take another sip of tea. Evan shifted back slightly, pressing his back to Barty’s chest. It was so rare that he could relax, and he intended to enjoy it fully. Tomorrow, everything would go back to ‘normal’. War would once again be at the front of his mind at all times. Regulus would sink back into his singleminded devotion to bringing down the Death Eaters. Barty would be gone most of the time, returning with hollow eyes and shaking hands.
But he was choosing not to think about that. He felt Barty’s chest rise and fall behind him, slow and steady. He watched Regulus reading, his face animated, his voice still low and calm. He left tomorrow’s worries alone; there would be plenty of time for them later. Right now, in their little bubble of peace and softness, he let himself drift, only half-aware of what was happening in the book. Tomorrow would come all too soon, but for now, he allowed himself to let it go. For now, surrounded by friendship and warmth, he rested.