Paint It... Potter?

Family

Waking up next to James was something Regulus would never get used to. He would spend the rest of his days there without complaint. The light pounding in his head was the only reminder of the night before. Well, that and the sound of some reaching in the bathroom.

"God, close the bloody door padfoot." Peter complained, pulling his pillow over his head. The headache seemed to be mutual. James groaned at the intrusion of noise. He shifted closer to Regulus, which seemed impossible. Regulus moved to face him.

A mistake.

Now Regulus was no lightweight. He had a few years of drinking experience, but at that moment, his stomach turned. His eyes sprung open, and he jumped from bed.  James sat up confused, grogilly rubbing his eyes. He fumbled for his glasses for a moment. Regulus fists collided with the door. Damn you
Pettigrew.

He knocked harder. It was only a matter of time before  he-

Shit.

He suddenly gagged. He doubled over right in front of the door. This was the worst possible outcome. His pants were covered in sick. And the wooden floor of the tower was coated. James wordlessly cast a spell to clean it. He rubbed soothing circles on Regulus back, pulling his hair behind his ears.

James unlocked the door.

"You decent?" He asked, cracking the door open. He was met with a groan from Sirius.

"Alright, mate, let's get you in bed." Jmaes said, pulling his friend off the floor. Sirius had certainly overdone it. Not that overdoing it wasn't his norm, but James suspected it had something to do with his father's death. James neatly tucked his friend into bed.

In the time Regulus had managed to crawl his way into the bathroom. He didn't like laying on the floor. It wasn't the same as it was at Grimauld place ot in the dungeons. It was warm. And though Regulus had never liked the cold, it was comforting. The warmth from the wood made him nauseous. Or maybe it was the bottle of firewhisky he had drank last night. Either was he was sat on the floor of his boyfriends dorm covered in vomit. Lord Regulus Black everybody.

James brought him water, which he drank despite the uneasiness in his stomach.James just sat next to him, letting Regulus rely on him for support,even in his state.

"Reg, we really need to get you cleaned up." Regulus looked for his wand half-heartedly.

"No, I mean the shower love." James said. Regulus stiffened at the idea. He hadn't showered in months. He had relied on a combination of charms to maintain his appearance.

"I don't know what's going on Reg, I don't, but if you tell me, I can try to help." James pleaded with him in mad Regulus sick. It was stupid really, he never particularly liked showers or baths, but ever since the lake incident, he couldn't even listen to a tap running.  He made a point not to look into a glass of water for too long either.

"It's fine." Regulus told him. "Really, James, I'm fine, I promise. " Regulus tried to give him a reassuring smile. Which he was sure looked more like a grimace.

"I know that's not true." James said.  "So either you let me help you now, or I let Crouch. hose you down by the greenhouse." That definitely sounded like something Barty would do. He would be more than happy if he had a reason to do it too.

"Okay?" James asked. Regulus nodded.

"Alright then, you know how the shower works, I'll be outside. We can talk about everything when you're done." James patted his knees and stood. Shutting the door behind him.

Regulus sat there for a long time, just looking at the faucet. He wasn't sure he could handle a shower, but the idea of being submerged in water sounded like his own personal hell. He assumed that when James said he would help that he would stay like Barty had done, not offer a therapy session.