CANNONBALL ⇒ jegulus

SIX

Regulus doesn't leave his flat for four days. Four entire days of sitting with the idea he had confessed everything to Remus and then merely set his brother's boyfriend lose and free and who knows who else knows? Remus knows that he wants to keep this baby, he wants to keep James' baby.

Regulus has broken their rules, their conditions; tell no one, forget it happened. And he feels awful about this, truly so awful.

Regulus briefly considers that the baby has broken these rules for them. Maybe he is free of blame. Maybe.

But yet he can't shake the weightful feeling of this awfulness.

He feels awful. Every single time he let's his mind wander to think about his drinking and smoking activity while unknowingly pregnant, unknowingly carrying a baby.

His poor baby. Regulus sighs softly, his belly is still entirely flat; he has checked a lot within the last few days, checking to see if there is any physical proof of the life growing inside of him. His poor clump of tiny cells, his poor grey blob, he supposes.

At the sound of what can only be described as a hammering against his front door; Regulus drags himself up from his sofa. He hasn't even slept in his bed in recent nights.

Manon and he have been on his sofa, cuddled together; Manon so unaware of the weight of what's happening to her owner, so unaware of the screeching child that will probably be keeping them both awake, the screeching child that will be entering their home after everything's over.

After everything's over.

After he pops out James' baby and after everything changes.

Forever.

Never to be unchanged.

Regulus wraps his blanket around him even tighter as he reaches his door. The hammering hasn't stopped and he has half a mind to yell at whoever is worsening his headache, whoever has had the audacity to halt his wallowing. Especially not his three in the morning wallowing.

Regulus knows he should be asleep but he can not force his restless mind to sleep. There is too much to think about and too !much time to think about it.

Regulus opens the door. James is on the other side with a lazy, slightly tipsy grin. His eyes are alive with something so wild and so giddy that it almost makes a very glum Regulus Black close the door right in his face then and there.

"James..." Regulus breaths. He hasn't seen the father of his child since he'd book the ruddy appointment that led to their baby's discovery. "I-it's three in the morning....what are you doing here?"

James only widens his smile. "I know! Brilliant isn't it?!" He chirps. "God! I can't believe it!" He tugs Regulus into a hug.

Estimatedly four thousand separate thoughts race through Regulus' head. He knows. How the fuck does he know?!

Regulus wriggles free from James' grasp and beckons for him to follow him inside. "Er, well I suppose we should talk about this then...." He murmurs with a sigh.

"Of course we have to! I have to tell you everything!"

Regulus wants to bite, he wants to snap and tell James he that he knows everything already. Or at least he hopes he does. It is hi body after all.

"You've bloody missed it all!" James wraps an arm around Regulus neck and leads him to the sofa. Regulus is about to question this entire conversation when James opens his mouth once more.