Sweet innocence ~ Jegulus

24.

"Reg!"

Barty nearly tackled Regulus to the floor, dropping all of Regulus's books in the process. Regulus let out a little yelp and squirmed away from Barty. "Ouch, Barty not my Quidditch arm!" Regulus exclaimed, pushing Barty off of him. He frowned as he examined his left forearm, holding it close to his chest.

"The next time I see that stupid twat I will shove my foot down his throat!" Barty exclaimed, ignoring Regulus's dramatics. "Barty don't. I'm not in the mood." Regulus mumbled, gathering his fallen books and beginning to walk again, Barty following closely behind him.

"He's vermin, Reg. An absolute imbecile. A fucking wanker. How could Enzo do this to you of all people. He never deserved you." Barty was rambling on, shouting loudly as he and Regulus made their way to the library. Regulus let out a low sigh, tuning out Barty as he crossed the threshold of the library. The room was quiet mostly, except for Barty's loud ranting.

"Shhh!"

Barty clamped his mouth shut just as Pince popped out seemingly out of thin air. She gave Barty a distasteful glare then turned to smile at Regulus. "That woman gives me the creeps." Barty frowned as they watched Madam Pince walk away, disappearing behind a bookshelf. "She's alright." Regulus mumbled, shrugging indifferently.

His eyes travelled the library before they settled on the group of four sitting at a table, hunched over a book with their heads pressed together. Regulus smiled fondly and started making his way towards them. "Oh please, Reg. Tell me we're not going to sit with... with them." Barty groaned, pulling on Regulus's arm. "They're not that bad." Regulus said dismissively, turning to look at Barty properly. "Fine. But only because you're going through a rough time."

Regulus nodded at the small victory and led Barty over to the Marauders. "What are you guys up to?" He asked when he finally reached the table. The four boys jumped apart, closing the old book hastily. "Nothing!" Peter squeaked, and Regulus raised a brow at the boy. Peter was probably the worst liar that Regulus had ever met.

"I'd like to say that I believe you... but I don't." Regulus mused, taking the seat next to Peter. Barty let out a particularly loud groan and plopped down in the only seat left. The one next to James. Regulus kicked him under the table as a way of telling him to behave which only made Barty roll his eyes dramatically. "If it's another prank on Slytherin, I'll hex your balls off. All of you." Barty muttered, glaring at the four Gryffindors.

"Maybe we'll hex yours off first." Sirius countered, glaring at Barty menacingly. Regulus noted that Sirius looked like their mother when he did that. It made Regulus uncomfortable. "Or maybe I will hex all of your mouths shut so that I can get my homework done without you lot arguing for no reason." Regulus said, looking around the table with an annoyed scowl.

"Hey! I haven't said anything yet!" James exclaimed, throwing his hands up dramatically. "Yes, thank you for not being annoying today, Potter." Regulus mused, rolling his eyes. "I'm going to leave now, Reg." Barty said, rounding the table to place a kiss on Regulus's head. Regulus smiled and gave Barty a quick hug.

"He's awfully handsy with you." James pointed out as soon as Barty was out of sight, there was an edge in his tone. Sirius side glanced him and opened his mouth to say something but Regulus spoke before he could. "Yeah... Barty thinks that I wasn't hugged enough as a child so he likes to touch me just to remind me that he cares, you know?"

"Makes sense." James shrugged as if he were indifferent. Sirius narrowed his eyes and averted his gaze over to his brother. "You were hugged plenty. I should know since I was the one hugging you." He grumbled. Regulus met his gaze for a moment before he looked away, his eyes clouding over. "If my best friend wants to give me a hug, who am I to stop him?" Regulus's cold stature was back, his shoulders stiff and gaze stern. Sirius sighed. "He likes you." Sirius told him. "I'd sure hope so, he's my best mate." Regulus grumbled. "No, Reg- he likes you."

Regulus looked at Sirius blankly, tilting his head in confusion. "Elaborate please." Regulus said after a minute of silence. "He just kissed you, Reg. People don't usually go around kissing people on the head." Sirius exclaimed, waving his hands around dramatically.

"He's been doing that since we were eleven." Regulus said dismissively. "I don't see the problem here. Plus Barty is straight, he's being pining after Pandora since last term." Regulus mumbled, sinking in his chair. He just wanted to do homework.

"I think that Padfoot might be right, Reggie." Remus spoke up giving Regulus a sheepish look. "Merlin, I thought that you were meant to be the smart one, Remus." Regulus groaned. "I am... but I also have functioning eyes and that boy clearly has some underlying feelings for you." Remus replied. "Trust me. I'm kind of an expert on this." Remus smiled over at Sirius, a slight blush on his face.

Regulus frowned.

"Potter, back me up here. Barty does not like me." Regulus turned to face James, quirking a brow expectantly. James bit his lip for a moment, hesitating before he spoke. "I think that you should talk to Crouch." James said after a brief pause. Regulus then turned to Peter who only shook his head as of to say 'don't ask me'.

"Has it occurred to either of you that maybe it's just in Barty's nature to be touchy." Regulus asked and received only silence in response. He sighed and shook his head in annoyance.

"You're all wrong." He said.

~
Notes:

Me 🤝Bartylus