Smuts/One Shots

calm. (rb)

regulus black had terrible anger issues. he was violent, malicious, hurtful when he got mad. his older brother, sirius, tried everything to calm him down whenever he grew angry. nothing ever worked. mattheo, tom, draco, nor theodore could do anything either. when he got in his moods, they had to let him calm on his own. they never brought it up afterwards either, unless they had a death wish, that is.

vera howard would never admit it, but she liked regulus. she'd had a crush on him since third year and now they're in their sixth. vera never knew about regulus' anger issues. she never knew that he was horrible to be around when something or someone set him off. theodore and draco tried to warn her, but the girl never listened anyway. regulus smiled at her one morning and she almost fainted. mattheo rolled his eyes at her.

"hey vera." regulus greeted.

"hi reggie." she smiled, offering the seat next to her.

"thanks love." he winked and took out his books.

draco nudged her with his elbow. the blonde smiled at her. vera side eyed him, but didn't say anything. snape started to explain a potion they needed to make, but the girl wasn't understanding. there were too many ingredients and too many steps to complete it. regulus was also getting frustrated, but he really tried to control it around her. vera looked at the curly haired boy and saw his face grow red and his hands balled into fists. 

mattheo almost jumped in to try and pull the boy out of class, but vera beat him to it. she placed her hand on his shoulder to gently guide him back into his seat from where he was standing. regulus felt his anger melt away the moment she touched him. the way she spoke to him, her tone of voice, her words, they all seemed to calm regulus down. draco and mattheo watched in amazement and shock. they had never seen regulus ever come down from an anger episode that quickly nor that calmly.

regulus let the girl sit on his lap, wrapping an arm around her waist to keep her steady. he whispered things in her ear to make her smile. she giggled every so often and whispered things back to him which, in turn, caused a rosy tint to spread across his cheeks. after the class was over, both regulus and vera had finished their potion and were top of the class. black kissed the girl's cheek before thanking her, as well as telling vera to meet him in the common room later that night before heading to his next class. mattheo and draco met up with the girl after regulus had gone out of earshot.

"how the bloody hell did you do that?" mattheo threw an arm around her shoulder.

"do what? he seemed upset, all i did was talk to him." vera shrugged.

"do you not know about him?" riddle stopped in front of her.

"is he insane or something?" howard cocked her head to the side.

"regulus, or reggie - as you call him - has severe anger issues. he's had them since second year and nothing or no one could ever calm that boy down." draco explained.

"he does not have anger issues, dray. if he did, i'm pretty sure i would know." vera rolled her eyes.

mattheo and draco looked at each other then back at vera. the trio made their way to defense against the dark arts. she sat far away from the boys, annoyed that they'd throw their friend under the bus like that. harry, ron, and hermione were happy to see the slytherin girl. they hadn't had time to sit down and catch up with her, seeing as the slytherin boys were always with her. regulus wasn't in dada with them, he had transfiguration. vera was just angry with her friends that they'd make that assumption about regulus, so she left to find him. she wanted to know the truth, and she wanted to know now. 

mcgonagall allowed regulus to step out into the corridors with vera. she said she'd bring him right back, but minerva waved them off. she hadn't really cared if the curly haired one returned, he was top of the class anyways. the duo made their way to a bench somewhere in the hall and sat down together. vera was the first to ask. 

"do you have anger issues, reg?" she rushed out.

"yes. as does sirius, however his are not nearly as bad as mine. when you calmed me down in potions today, it scared me. no one has ever been able to do that. not even my own mother." regulus admitted.

"your mother isn't a very good one to you or sirius, anyways. she chose drugs over the two of you." vera interlocked their fingers.

"i suppose you're right. thank you, though, for asking rather than just believing what everyone's been whispering about." black smiled.

"i love you, reggie, and i'd never believe anyone over you." the girl kissed the back of his hand.

regulus did eventually get back to class, as did vera, but one thing was definitely for certain. they were each others calm in the storm. he never wanted anyone else to calm him but her. mattheo, draco, tom, theodore, and lorenzo always called vera whenever it looked as though regulus was on the verge of getting angry. she never missed a beat and always came running after him. the boy appreciated her and her efforts. regulus finally mucked up the courage to ask the girl out, smiling ear to ear when she agreed.

fast forward a few months, regulus and vera were very happy together. he never got angry like he used to, the two of them never really fought. mattheo was a giddy as ever when they made it official, as were the rest of the boys. tom did get a little jealous at first, having had a crush on vera for a long time, but he quickly got over that once he met daphne greengrass - astoria's little sister. mattheo and theodore came into the common room one morning holding hands and no one questioned it. they just smiled at the pair, carrying on as normal. everyone knew mattheo and theodore had feelings for one another, but no one wanted to say anything. 

all was well in slytherin house. for now, anyways.