CANNONBALL ⇒ jegulus

FORTY NINE

Sirius feels himself growing tired from jogging, but his love for his little brother appears to he a lot stronger than his stamina as he pants. "Regulus, will you just stop for five seconds so I can at least catch up?" He pants.

Regulus sighs, stopping in his tracks on the narrow pathway outside a local grocery store. "What do you want from me now?" He bites his lip. "What're you going to demand I do, eh? Go back and make a friendship bracelet with James and forgive everything? Because I'm not making amends just for you to he comfortable, Sirius,"

Sirius sighs, slowly approaching. "I'm not going to say anything like that," He promises. "I genuinely just want to tall to you. I want to know exactly what's going through your head so I can tear down every single bad thought you're having and make it feel better again,"

Regulus shakes his head. "I just can't believe he couldn't even be honest with his own mother. Being dishonest with me is one thing, but that's just crossing a line if he can't even be honest about what he's done to us, to me and my son,"

"He's...Regulus, I didn't know he hadn't Euphemia. I'm so sorry, starboy, I really am so sorry," Sirius says softly, his features soft and sympathetic. "You know how much I love you and I hate to see you so upset. This should be one of the happiest times in you life, you've just had the most gorgeous little boy. I...I'm so sorry,"

"Please stop apologizing. Everyone keeps apologizing and it just makes me feel even worse," Regulus whispers, vision blurring slightly as he runs a hand through his hair.

Sirius' expression is laced with sympathy as he envelopes Regulus into a hug, running a hand down his back as Regulus begins to shake, and soon Sirius' ears are met with the sounds of soft, strangled sobbing noises. Sirius pats his little brother's back gently.

"I love you so much," Sirius reminds him. "You're always so much safer than words can say whenever I'm with you, you'll always be safe with me, I promise," He whispers softly against Regulus' hair.

Regulus croaks out a few strangled words. "I'm so ashamed, I-I'm so embarrassed and he has the nerve to say he's embarrassed," He chokes. "This....this entire experience is why I refuse to do the whole bloody relationship thing, it just ends up embarrassing me,"

Sirius strokes his brother's back gently, keeping a close, watchful eye on the pram and his snoozing nephew within it. "Listen to me, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. You gave it your all and you gave James and the whole relationship thing a chance. It isn't your fault that he messed it all up. You haven't done anything wrong, and I want so bad for you to believe me when I say that,"

Regulus sniffs, tearing his head away from the nook he'd resfted it in within his older brother's shoulder. His nose is red, his cheeks flush, his eyes rimmed with redness, misty grey eyes wet and glassy.

"T-the way Euphemia looked at me," Regulus whispers. "Like I was the most pitiful thing in the entire world," Regulus pauses. "I don't want that for me or for Bowie. We aren't just James Potter's left overs, I don't want to be looked at as this poor little thing who's relationship fell apart,"

Sirius shakes his head. "I would never look at you like that. Mary, Marlene, Remus, Lil, Pete, Dorcas. None of us would ever think of you like that," He swears.

Regulus clenches his eyes shut. "I hate crying,"

"I know you do, starboy, I know,"

"Bowie deserves a dad, but I don't even know if his dad deserves a son right now, and I hate to say that out loud," Regulus whispers, slightly ashamed.