Sweater Weather // Regulus Black

chapter nine // late night talks

  Estella and Regulus sat in a rather drunken silence, both feeling awkward. Estella's head was laid on Regulus's shoulder, his arm loosely wrapped around her waist. She was too confused to swoon. They'd been like this for the past hour.

  The girl had decided to stop drinking since she found out Marlene and Mary's secret, scared that it would come out if she'd drank too much.

After what felt like an eternity, the boy sighed, running a hand through his hair before speaking up. "I kind of picked up on it last year. Th-the whole Mary and Marlene thing. I watched them a lot, they always seemed so fun, and then...I don't know. I just pieces it together," He murmured, Estella's eyes widening. He knew?!

"And you're just...Okay with being friends with them? D-do they even know that you know?" She questioned, thousands of questions flying through her head.

Regulus shrugged as the two turned to face each other, seemingly unfazed. "I don't know. It really did after first, I-I didn't really want you hanging out with them, but they're really nice, you know? Maybe it's not that big of a deal."

Estella nodded, relieved that Regulus felt that way. She was scared that she didn't care enough, as much as she thought she should've. But hearing what Reg had to say really resonated with her.

"Yeah, I guess. Honestly it's really relieving that you feel that way, I-it feels like you should care more than me. I mean, after all, you are a Black. I mean, my family has standards, but you guys? You are the standards," Estella said with a small laugh, though Regulus stayed silent.

"I hate that," He breathed. Estella cocked her head. "Hate what?" She pondered. "That. People thinking I represent my family...I-I don't. I love them, and I'm proud to be a part of them, but sometimes I just feel..." He trailed off into thought, but Estella knew exactly what he meant.

"Different?" She finished, Reg nodding in confirmation. "Yeah. Sometimes I think this whole pureblood, 'We're Better Than Everyone Else' shit is crazy. I mean, I know it's not. But it just feels off," He explained through a sigh.

"I don't even know if it's not, anymore. It feels so...Wrong. What our families stand for, it's so random, a-and out of place! I don't get it." She sighed.

Regulus bit his lip, using his free arm to gently tuck Estella's white hair behind her ear, making the girl go beet red.

"Someday, after Hogwarts...We should leave all this madness. Together. Maybe we could go off with Sirius and his friends, or something. You could invite Mary and Marlene—With enough convincing, Cissy would probably come with us, too," The boy hummed, his eyes glistening in thought.

Estella smiled, desperately trying not to squeak at the feeling of his hand, which rested gently on her neck, his fingers interlocked with her hair.

"And where would we go?" She asked, only making the boy smile wider. "Anywhere but here."

Estella liked the idea of it. She had never seen this side of Regulus before—He'd always seemed very loyal to his family, and what they represented, even though he clearly didn't agree with it. It was nice to see him like this.

"I think I have to apologize to Mary and Marlene before we invited them along," She said with a small grimace, Regulus nodding along. "We have plenty of time for that. Besides, I'm pretty sure it's more common than you think," He expressed, confusing Estella.

"What do you mean?" She asked. The corner of his lip twitched up into a small grin. "The type of relationship Mary and Marlene have. I've seen it in a few different people over the years," He said, his eyes breaking contact from Estella's for a split second to trail around the room.

"D-Do they look happy?" She asked, making Regulus's smile widen more. "Most of the time. Sometimes they fight, but I guess that's natural," He explained.

As tempted as Estella was to ask who he was referring to, she knew it wasn't any of her business. She was beyond curious, but if anyone close to her was gay, she'd find out eventually.

But now, if somebody did come out to her, she could proudly say that she didn't give a fuck.

- - -

the following week

  Estella felt closer to Regulus than ever—Hell, she felt closer to everybody than ever.

  She'd apologized to Mary and Marlene the day after the party, assuring them that she would be supportive and wouldn't tell anybody, which they were really grateful for. Now the three were great friends again.

Regulus and Estella were currently sat in the back corner of the Slytherin common room, and it was just after dinner. The two always had lovely chats before bed—They would stay up for hours just talking. Estella really valued the connection the two had, despite it being completely platonic. Friendship was all she needed right now; it was more than enough.

"It's just, like—It's like, where did all the anvils go?" Estella questioned, making Regulus snort through his laughter.

"I'm sorry?" He questioned, completely dumbfounded.

Estella let out a rather ugly laugh, before elaborating. "Anvils used to be quite important, right? We don't use them anymore, but like the entire point is that they can't melt," She went on. "So when you think about it...Where did all the metal go?"

Regulus seemed as if he was genuinely thinking about it for a moment, before shaking his head with a small laugh. "You need to go to bed, Ella."

"No, no, I've been thinking about this forever," Estella countered, to which Regulus retorted: "But now you're tired enough to actually say it out loud."

She rolled her eyes, before a perfectly timed yawn crept through her lips, Regulus yawning along with her.

"And come to think of it," The girl continued through her tiredness. "Why are yawns contagious?"

Regulus continued to laugh, before propping himself onto his feet and reaching a hand out for Estella to grab. "Bedtime, come on now," He urged.

The Slytherin girl sighed, before reluctantly agreeing and grabbing the boys hand, trying her absolute hardest to stop herself from blushing at the electric touch.

The two made their way towards the staircases to the the dorms, Estella having to turn right, and Regulus turning left.

"Goodnight, Regulus," She said with a small smile as they parted ways.

He reciprocated her facial expression, his lips turning upwards. "Goodnight, Estella."

- - -

word count: 1106