One of Us | Jegulus

Twenty-Five

Sunlight already flooded the room when Regulus woke up. He blinked confused before he could open his eyes, he normally didn't sleep that long. But then, it hadn't been a normal night.
He was still lying on top of James, who was still sound asleep. Regulus lifted his head and inspected James' face: he already looked healthier than last night. One of his arms was still wrapped around Regulus' torso, the other one lay loosely next to their bodies.
He rested his head on James' chest again, listening to his heartbeat and gently touched his bare skin with his fingers, sliding up and down and drawing little patterns.

He felt utterly peaceful like this, as if there weren't a war going on, as if he hadn't feared for James' life just hours before. Dwelling in the living room at late night with Sirius, united in their shared anxiety felt like another lifetime—Sirius!
Was he okay? Did he return, despite being out of his mind when he left for that dangerous mission? His chest tightened and he twisted out of James' embrace, careful not to wake him.

He got up on his feet and gathered his clothes he'd carelessly thrown at the ground last night, putting them back on quickly and left the room.
He walked towards a door he was sure must lead to Sirius' room—or was it Remus's?
He decided to just give it a try and knocked before pushing the door open.

It was Remus' bedroom: when Regulus entered he was propped up against the headboard with a book on his lap, but he apparently was still too weak to actually read. He looked dreadful.

"Sorry for interrupting, I was looking for... oh."
He'd taken a step closer to the bed and now found Sirius lying next to Remus, completely entangled in the blanket and face down.
"Why is he here?" he asked confused, lowering his voice.
Remus cleared his throat. "He checked on me when he returned and just fell asleep." He sounded even worse than he looked.

"Oh, er... Did he check on James too?" Regulus asked uneasily. What if Sirius came in... and saw them?!
Remus shook his head. "I assured him that James was alright and then he already passed out."
"Oh, good," he breathed relieved. Then he quickly added, "I mean, good you're all okay." He glanced at Remus' pale face. "You are okay, right?"
"I guess so. It's just terrible timing..."
"Why? Oh, Sirius said something about you not feeling well. Are you sick or something?" Regulus asked.
Remus shook his head quickly. "Just... exhausted. I'm healthy, don't worry." He seemed tired while he said this. Regulus still wasn't entirely convinced.

In that moment Sirius stirred. "Moooony," he mumbled and reached for his friend but Remus caught his wrist. "Your brother is here," he said quickly, sounding like a warning, for some reason, but Regulus must have misunderstood this—they didn't think of him as a threat anymore, did they?

"Oh." Sirius sat up and his eyes met Regulus'. "What are you doing here?"
"Wanted to see if you returned," Regulus admitted.
"He cares about you," Remus grinned.
"Shut up," Regulus muttered.
Sirius yawned and stretched his limbs. "I'm exhausted. I think I'll sleep 'til evening."
"Don't remind me," Remus groaned. "I'd do anything to sleep through the morning."
"Perhaps a little distraction would benefit us all, though," Sirius reasoned.

Regulus stared at them, slightly frowning. "What are you talking about?"
"...Nothing in particular," Remus answered.
Regulus raised an eyebrow. "I know there's something you're hiding from me."
"Well, we don't have to tell you everything, have we?" Sirius responded provocatively.
"There's something up and I'm gonna find out what it is," Regulus stated, glaring challengingly at his brother.

"Oh, how ambitious our little Regulus is," Sirius mocked him, not taking him seriously at all. "I wish you'd use that for an actual cause and not just sneaking around."
"Huh? There is literally nothing better I can do and that's not exactly my fault," he said, folding his arms and glaring at his brother.
"How about stop complaining and actually giving us a reason to trust you and let you make your own decisions?" He fell back into his pillows and stared at the ceiling.
"I could have handed you over to the Dark Lord at any time of the last weeks but I didn't. Why should I do it when I'm out there, then?" Regulus reasoned.
"I told you not to call him that!" Sirius hissed.
Regulus shrugged. "Doesn't change anything."
"Yes it does. Only those who support him call him that. And as long as you do you aren't going anywhere because it won't be safe for either you and anyone else."
"Fine," Regulus grunted. He turned around and left the room again. He was relieved that his brother hadn't managed to get himself killed but that didn't mean he couldn't be annoyed with him.