InsaneJournal

I've poured it on and I've poured it out, part 1
Characters: Regulus, Tybalt, Serenus, Etienne, Serafino
Summary: Regulus' decision to open up leads to an unexpected relocation. Continued here.

"There we are. That will be twenty galleons, please."

Tybalt nodded, reaching into his wallet and counting out the amount before retrieving the wrapped bottle and smiling pleasantly at the shop girl. It was a fine bottle of wine, although no doubt Regulus had far better in his own cellar. Still, it was good manners to bring something when invited to dinner, and besides, if the conversation was going to turn down the serious road Tybalt expected it would, they might need all the fortification they could get.

It was a pleasant walk from the shop down to Regulus' flat, so he didn't bother to Apparate. He'd not been terribly surprised to receive an invitation from Regulus after the discussion he and Severus had had with Regulus; in fact, he was quite glad of it, because he'd meant it sincerely when he'd said he would do everything he could to help Regulus. Serenus understood and had seen him off with a lingering kiss and a wish that things went well, and Tybalt promised to tell him everything when he returned home.

A few minutes later he was approaching the door of Regulus' flat, and he knocked briskly, then waited for Regulus to answer.

Regulus had been waiting for Tybalt's arrival, if one could call restless pacing "waiting"; he had second-guessed himself endlessly since inviting Tybalt to dinner, but in the end, he thought he had made the best decision possible under the circumstances. He didn't want to bare his soul in a clinical, impersonal setting like a Healer's office, but there were few people he knew with whom he felt comfortable enough to take the risk of being open and honest. There was, in fact, only one.

He had chosen Tybalt Savage not only because he was a trained Auror, but also because Tybalt didn't know about Regulus' sordid past from first-hand experience, only second-hand retellings , which meant Tybalt had an emotional detachment that others Regulus knew did not. Also, Tybalt was not a Snape, only married to one, and that was oddly comforting. Snapes were, for Regulus, dangerous creatures, and he wasn't quite ready to let any of them, even the seemingly most safest and sensitive of them, too close.

At the sound of the knock, he jumped, startled, and took a moment to breath deeply and smooth his robes before answering the door, Sekhmet trotting along at his heels. Smiling, he stood aside and gestured for Tybalt to enter.

"Thank you for coming," he said. "Please, come in and have a seat. Dinner is almost ready."

Tybalt smiled at Regulus, then nodded and stepped inside. "It's not a problem. I'm always willing to be a sounding board when you need one," he replied, then held out the bottle. "Smells good, whatever it is. I took a gamble on the wine; I'm not a connoisseur by any stretch of the imagination, but hopefully it will do. If not, well, you won't embarrass me by saying so. I'm always willing to learn." His smile widened, and he winked, hoping to set Regulus at ease. "One good thing is that like a proper Ravenclaw, I don't resent any lesson."

Regulus accepted the bottle and studied the label. "This will do nicely," he said with an approving nod. "Thank you for bringing it. I've made a simple lamb dish and a few vegetables, nothing terribly exotic. I wasn't certain how adventurous your palate is."

"I'm pretty adventurous, an advantage of growing up Romany, I suppose. We learned to eat what we had and enjoy it." Tybalt bent down, making a formal bow of greeting toSekhmet. "As-salam 'aleykum, revered lady," he said, then held out a hand to ask permission to stroke her head.

Sekhmet regarded the new person steadily for a moment, sizing him up, and she decided he was acceptable, especially after the formal greeting. That pleased her, and she pushed her head beneath his fingers with a demanding mew.

"Congratulations," Regulus said, smiling. "You pass."

Tybalt beamed, scratching Sekhmet's head, pleased that she accepted him. "I'm relieved. She's big enough that if she didn't like me, I'd have to fear for my skin. Not to mention that a cat glaring at you, twitching its tail, is a very unnerving thing and not conducive to either good digestion or easy conversation." He scritched behind her ears, then straightened and moved toward one of the chairs. "I'm also glad she doesn't seem to object to Wooster's scent on me. Crups are pretty protective themselves, or so we're finding out. Even a pup."

"Ah, you have a pet now as well?" Regulus moved to the kitchen area to check on the lamb and open the wine. "I imagine your boys are enjoying that," he said as he fetched a couple of wine glasses and poured some wine for them both.

"They are - and so are we," Tybalt replied, then snorted. "Well, except for having to get up three times a night to take him out, and the fact that scolding one of the twins now often results in my toes getting nipped by the little razors he carries around in his mouth pretending to be teeth. It's almost like having an infant again, in some ways, but hopefully the baby stage will pass a little bit sooner. Serafino wanted 'a Winslow', but alas, a plain oldcrup was a close as we could come. Fortunately the big ears and the two tails must be sufficient, because he hasn't complained."

Regulus carried the glasses over to Tybalt and offered one. "I haven't experienced the youth stage yet," he said. "I'm not certain I want to, after what you have described." He glanced fondly at Sekhmet, who was twining around Tybalt's ankles and purring loudly. "I prefer adults, I think."

"There is a lot to be said for older ones, definitely," Tybalt said with a long-suffering sigh. He accepted the glass and sipped the wine, reaching down with his free hand to caress Sekhmet's back. "And cats are a whole different story anyway - more independent and self-sufficient, I suppose. Or most of them are. I'm not certain that Cymbeline's kitten has set dainty paw on ground for more than five minutes since arriving at the Manor. She's probably going to be the size of a small polar bear by the time she's grown, just from lack of exercise."

Setting his glass beside his plate, Regulus returned to the kitchen and emerged a few moments later with several dishes levitating in front of him; he guided them to the table and set them down gently, and then he took his place.

"Cymbeline does seem to dote on her," he said. "Although I am hardly one to throw stones, given I have a tendency to hand-feed Sekhmet, and that collar around her neck is an antique that once graced a queen's throat."

"Really?" Tybalt's eyes widened, then he chuckled. "Don't let Cymbeline hear you say that, or I suspect Severus will find his jewelry box raided, and that could lead to violence. But taking care of a beloved pet is any owner's right, so if spoiling Sekhmet makes both of you happy, what's the harm? Mmmm ... this smells wonderful! You and Serenus seem to share a talent for cooking. If you'd not gone into antiquities, you'd have made a brilliant chef."

"Thank you." Regulus inclined his head, pleased by the compliment. "Please, help yourself," he added as he began serving portions of each dish onto his plate. He ate a few bites, but he was too preoccupied to focus on eating; it would be easy to take refuge in small talk, but he had invited Tybalt for a reason, and dawdling wasn't going to get them anywhere, especially since he suspected Tybalt would be tactful and wait for him to broach the subject.

At last, he put down his fork and released a quiet breath as he gazed steadily at Tybalt. "I suppose I don't need to explain why I invited you to dinner tonight," he said, and then he smiled wryly. "Although I confess, now that the moment has come, I'm not certain where or how to begin."

Tybalt dished up some of the food for himself, as well, waiting for Regulus to decide when he was ready to open up. He complimented the food and watched as Regulus seemed to debate with himself before finally facing him directly.

"No need to explain why, no," he replied, smiling reassuringly. "And as far as how to begin, well... depending on how much detail you wish to get into, how about at the beginning? I'm sure when you came back to England, you'd no idea how things had gone since the end of the war, right?"

"No." Regulus reached for his wine glass and drained it, refilling it in hopes of giving himself artificial fortification. "I knew the Dark Lord had been defeated for good because the Mark had faded, and I could no longer feel it beneath my skin, but I hadn't kept up with what was going on here beyond the most superficial way. I didn't dare." He toyed with the stem of his glass idly. "I thought - hoped - Severus would still be single. I'd no idea my brother had died and come back. It was a shock to me. All of it."

"I can imagine." Tybalt's voice was soft. "That would have been rather a lot to adjust to all on its own. Even if you could intellectually accept that things happened in your absence, it's only human to expect to come back and find things less changed than you could have imagined. Sort of like a child with a dollhouse: you might accept that the dolls moved a little bit while you were away, but it's another story to come back and find some unknown hand has demolished the whole scene and built it into something else."

"Precisely." Regulus smiled slightly and inclined his head. "It was somewhat idealistic of me, I suppose, to blithely assume nothing had changed and that I could waltz in and pick up where I left off twenty years before." He sighed quietly and took another deep swallow of wine. "I think disappointment is one main reason why I was driven to cause mischief at first. Well, my own nature wasn't inclined to self-awareness at that point, and I was still rather self-centered. That coupled with thwarted desires made me inclined to make trouble. I had been in love with Severus all those years, and to learn he had fallen for someone else was quite jarring to my ego." He glanced away and added more quietly, "Quite painful, too. Two decades of dreams and hopes came tumbling down."

Tybalt was silent for a long moment, respecting the pain that it was obvious Regulus still felt, at least to a certain extent. "It probably was a wee bit self-centered, especially as he thought you were dead," he said gently. "But why we feel something and whether or not we are right to feel that way doesn't change the feelings themselves. You obviously felt the need to lash out; I think in some respects, you and Severus might be a bit alike in that regard. Pain and heartache make people act irrationally; I know this for a fact, because I've done it myself, and I've seen people I care about do it, too. Sometimes wanting to hurt others, sometimes turning it on themselves. But it's obvious that somewhere along the line you came 'round, right? Otherwise I can imagine that you'd have been falling in with your cousin's lot, rather than being her victim."

"It was thanks to Bellatrix that I came 'round," Regulus replied, glancing at Tybalt again. "I could have agreed to follow her. That would have been the easy route, and it would have saved me a great deal of pain, fear, and suffering if I had gone along with what she desired me to do." He leaned his chin on his fist, lost in thought for a moment. "To be honest, I surprised myself by not taking the easy way. I never thought of myself as being particularly strong or honorable, but I suppose I found the line I would not cross thanks to her. I realized I could die and no one would care or mourn my loss, and that was shocking - and unacceptable."

"Even though it cost you, you made the right decision." Tybalt smiled slightly. "Every man has his limits, and I think it's a natural part of maturity to want to leave a legacy, to know that you'll be missed because you'd touched people in the right way, rather than the wrong one." He paused for a moment in thought. "Perhaps that might be something to think about to put things in perspective. If you had it to do over again, even knowing what you suffered, would you make the same choice? Do you feel what you gained in respect - both from others, and perhaps self-respect - was worth the price?"

"There is no question that I would make the same choice." Regulus nodded firmly, his tone brooking no argument. "My life has not turned out as I hoped or expected, but it is better this way than it would have been had I chosen to go with her. Living with her mad whims... No, that is no way to live, and I've no doubt I would have been a miserable wreck in no time."

Tybalt's smile widened. "I'm glad to hear it. Not because you suffered, because Merlin knows I wouldn't have wished that on you for anything in the world, but it shows that you definitely do have a grip on things. You didn't say 'why me' or 'it's unfair' or even try to say it's not a choice you should ever have had to make. That shows a lot of inner strength, Regulus. More than I think you give yourself credit for."

"My old self would have lamented the unfairness of it all," Regulus said with a wry twist of his lips. "But in a way, Bellatrix stripped all that away. I emerged from her torture chamber with a desire to make changes, and I was too focused on that to wallow in self-pity as I once would have done. I wanted to matter to someone. I wanted to know someone would care when I died, and that meant making amends to a great many people. It doesn't leave a lot of time to stew."

"That was probably a form of therapy, whether you knew it or not," Tybalt replied, nodding. "Sometimes you reach a... a threshold, of a sort, where you can see that you only have the choice to go forward, because going back is unacceptable. Doing something constructive to deal with your past is one of the best ways to move into the future, I think. And it appears you've succeeded. Having dealt with more than a few of your former colleagues who lacked your wisdom and adaptability, I can say that you and Severus are probably unique in the amount of acceptance you've been given. That's not a small feat. Nor is getting a werewolf to let you near his mate when you've expressed more than a passing degree of interest in him."

Regulus finished off his glass again and shrugged slightly. "I have let go of my feelings for Severus," he said. "Fortunately, Lupin has accepted that at last." He refilled his glass and lifted it in a silent toast. "I am more a pragmatist than a romantic, and I know a losing situation when I see it. I never had a chance with Severus, and I am not so blinded by my own ego that I cannot see that any longer."

"That took strength, too." Tybalt sipped at his wine, wanting to keep his own head clear, although if Regulus needed to be blurred a bit, it didn't bother him. "But there are other fish in the sea, as the saying goes. As a pragmatist, that should be obvious."

"On an intellectual level, I know that," Regulus said, taking a sip. He was feeling far more relaxed now, and it was easier to speak freely. "But I find my... desires have dwindled. I used to be quite active, but since Bellatrix..." He shook his head. "At first, I was too busy attempting to make amends, and finding a lover was not high on my priority list. Then... I am not certain what happened. I have had one lover in the last two years, and that was a healing situation for him, not a case of attraction and desire running their natural course. Afterward, I got the impression that he would not mind repeating the experience, but..." He trailed off and shrugged. "I have no real interest in sex any longer. Not even self-gratification."

That surprised Tybalt, but he recovered quickly. "I've seen that before, actually," he said, giving a sigh because he understood. "Serenus went through something similar after his previous fiance left him at the altar. For him, I think it was fear of risking his heart again. Do you think it's the same for you?"

Regulus was silent for a moment, giving the question serious consideration before answering. "I am not certain," he said at last. "Not consciously. I haven't decided not to pursue love or sex. I simply don't care about it. I no longer feel the need to seek release. It has become..." He paused, trying to decide how to explain how he felt. "Unimportant. Negligible. I am not consciously afraid to love again. I simply feel no desire or need to do so."

"Hmmm." Tybalt mulled that over. "You know, I'm not a trained psychologist, but it seems to me that what you consciously want really doesn't have anything to do with it." He sat back in his chair, looking at Regulus somberly. "I suppose what you really need to figure out is why, so that you can find a way to heal. If you're not really over Severus, then that's a rather obvious cause right there. But I think it must be more complicated than that; you went through a lot, Regulus, with what happened with Bellatrix, and you never really got a chance to heal from it. Love, even sex, is a risk, and it leaves you vulnerable. Bellatrix made you vulnerable in ways that no one ever had before, victimized you brutally. Perhaps that has made you fearful of opening yourself up on that level to anyone? The lack of desire to gratify yourself could be just a way to suppress all desire completely, making it easier to deal with not becoming intimate with anyone else."

Putting his glass aside, Regulus stroked his chin as he considered everything Tybalt had said. "Perhaps so..." he said slowly. "Bellatrix did more than torture me, and afterward, I felt I had to cope with the aftermath on my own. There were people who said they would listen and who offered support, but at that point, I didn't feel I could turn to anyone else. Part of it was not feeling certain of my place. Part of it was not knowing where I stood with the two people whose good opinion I wanted most."

"And do you feel like you know that now?" Tybalt asked quietly. "You seem to have determined it's all right to turn to someone now, at least. That's a step toward healing. And hopefully you feel a bit more certain of your place as well."

"I do, yes," Regulus said, nodding slightly. "Severus has accepted me as a friend again, and Sirius helped me put things in perspective before he left. It was difficult losing him, but I didn't have as much of a set-back as I might have had we not talked." He paused and added quietly, "And I had Anubis to focus on and help me past the worst of it."

"And then you had another loss." Tybalt kept his voice low, knowing how much both Regulus and Gaius had suffered over that incident. "I'm sure none of it has been easy, but you must know that cutting yourself off as you have isn't really a way to deal with anything. It can't keep you safe, only give an illusion of safety because you're not allowing yourself to be exposed, if you will. Laid bare. You're just denying yourself the chance to find love, perhaps even a sanctuary, while not gaining anything."

Leaning his chin on his hand again, Regulus turned his gaze to the window, gazing out without really seeing anything as he mulled this over. "I suppose that's true," he said at last, glancing back at Tybalt. "But I am not certain what I am meant to do. I have told you more than I have told anyone except Gaius when he was Anubis. I have no intention of cracking myself open to all and sundry, and I am not particularly interested in finding love. I have a new shop, and I do feel more certain of my place than I once did. What else am I meant to do?"

"I'm not sure," Tybalt said, his smile becoming rueful. "As I said, I'm no expert. But perhaps if you gave yourself permission to feel, or found a way to feel as though you could trust someone, be safe with them, you might find that your desire returned." He thought for a moment about Gaius. "You don't have to open yourself up to the masses, but I'll say to you as I once said to Serenus: you're a creature of passion, Regulus. Bottling all that up doesn't make it go away; it just risks causing yourself more harm in the end."

"I am not certain I am bottling it up," Regulus said thoughtfully. "I am not suppressing it. There is nothing to suppress. Perhaps I am not such a creature of passion after all. Sirius and I are... were... quite different men." He paused and sighed softly. "I am not certain I even miss it. Life seems much simpler."

"Simple isn't necessarily happy." Tybalt shook his head. "Perhaps you've just buried it so deeply, you're able to fool yourself into thinking it's gone completely. I'm not saying you have to have someone to be happy, or that you're going to die if you decide to spend the rest of your life celibate, but I think what is important is to find out if that is how you really feel, or if it is simply a reaction to what you have suffered and haven't had a chance to heal. You deserve to have yourself back, Regulus, to feel all the things you're entitled to feel. If you have no desire after that, then perhaps you're right. But do you really want to be able to say that Bellatrix Lestrange stole your sexuality, your manhood, even? Don't you even want to try to get back the things she took from you?"

Put like that, it did sting Regulus' pride to think she had managed to take something from him, which implied she had power over him. She did, and he knew it; the nightmares were proof of that. But while he couldn't control what his mind flung at him in the night, he could control what happened in the daylight.

"I do," he said, frowning. "But I have no idea how to go about attempting to find out whether my disinterest stems from her influence or not when I have no real desire for anyone. As I said, I have had a lover, and while I enjoyed the encounter, I have had no desire to repeat it with him or anyone else."

"If you're suppressing it, you wouldn't," Tybalt said, eyes narrowing as he realized that he'd found a chink in Regulus' armor of disinterest. He had no interest in hurting his friend, but he'd been around Snapes too long to not realize that sometimes the only way to get past their stubbornness was to push at whatever weakness could be found and hope they'd realize the ends justified the means. "It's easier to just sit there in denial, isn't it? You had the strength to face up to the hard risks before when you chose to suffer Bellatrix's torture rather than give in and join her madness. In a way, that was probably the easier decision, wasn't it? The only real risk there was death; that's always easier to face than pain. I thought you were stronger than that."

Regulus drew himself up straight, his frown deepening. He was strong; he had endured things that would have broken other men, and he had lived to tell the tale with his sanity intact. He had faced the possibility of his own death without caving in and sacrificing everything in order to save his own life, and if he could do that, he could face this issue head on as well.

"Then how exactly do you suggest I face up to this?" he demanded. "If I am indeed suppressing my feelings, then I am not going to find myself attracted to someone all of a sudden. If it hasn't happened yet, thus I feel safe in assuming it isn't going to."

"Well, if you aren't scared to learn the truth, maybe Veritaserum would do it," Tybalt said, pleased to see the way Regulus' feathers were ruffled. "Or maybe getting shit-faced drunk and letting someone seduce you might work. Or perhaps if you would just let yourself have a good wank without sabotaging yourself with this negative attitude? What are you waiting for, Black? Prince Charming to walk up and wake you with a kiss? If you were able to face up to what that bitch did to you, then why are you so afraid of a little fuck?"

Regulus lifted his chin proudly. "I am not afraid!" he retorted, his pale eyes flashing with ire. "I have had sex. I wasn't afraid then, and I am not afraid now."

Tybalt smiled predatorily. "Oh, yeah? Then prove it. I dare you. Kiss me and prove that all your passion is completely dead."

Regulus stared at him, dumbfounded, and his jaw unhinged as he tried to process Tybalt's words and decide if he had heard what he thought he'd heard. "You want me to kiss you." He blinked and shook his head, but nothing changed, and so he could only assume he wasn't dreaming or hallucinating. "You are married! To a Snape! Do you think I have a death wish?"

"No, I think you're repressing your sexuality because you're afraid. More afraid of yourself, of being vulnerable, than you could ever be of Serenus or even Severus," Tybalt said, lifting a brow in challenge. He rose from his chair, crossing to stand beside Regulus, lifting his hand to trail one finger lightly down Regulus' cheek. Serenus would understand, and if Regulus did kiss him, Tybalt had every intention of telling Serenus exactly what happened. "And you're just proving my point."

That irked Regulus to no end. He knew he wasn't as brave or noble as a Gryffindor, but he was no coward either, and he was stubborn to boot; he wasn't about to back down from this challenge and be called a coward by anyone, much less someone ten years younger.

"Fine!" He surged to his feet and squared off with Tybalt, glaring at him. If Tybalt wanted Regulus to kiss him to prove a point, then by Merlin, Regulus would kiss him, and they would see who was right in the end.

It didn't matter than Tybalt was so much taller than he was; he captured Tybalt's face between his hands and pulled him down into a hard, angry kiss.

Tybalt wasn't surprised that Regulus rose to the challenge; he'd have been terribly disappointed if Regulus hadn't, because that would mean that perhaps Bellatrix really had managed to destroy that part of him. He moved into the kiss swiftly, hoping that Regulus would forgive him for pushing him so far.

He wrapped his arms around Regulus, pulling him against his body, and returned the kiss, offering passion in the place of Regulus' anger. Regulus was an attractive man, and even though Tybalt didn't love him, he respected him, and more than that, he wanted to help Regulus prove to himself that he wasn't as hollow inside as he seemed to believe. He put all his skill into that kiss, parting his lips with a little growl as he splayed his hands on Regulus' back, wanting more than anything else for Regulus to feel some spark, not necessarily for Tybalt himself, but just to feel in the way he'd been denying himself for the last two years.

Once the flare of anger faded, Regulus found himself in the middle of a kiss he wasn't certain he wanted. Not that he found Tybalt repulsive, but it had been a long time, and if he was honest with himself, he did feel a little spark of fear. But that was Bellatrix's fault, he reminded himself sharply, and he refused to be controlled by her now that he was aware of what might be causing his disinterest.

Bracing himself, he fought the urge to pull away and rested his hands on Tybalt's shoulders instead, focusing on other things - the warmth of Tybalt's body pressed against his, the firmness of Tybalt's lips. Anything to keep himself from thinking about her. After a moment, he was even able to relax a little.

Tybalt felt the conflict, and he did all he could to immerse Regulus in the moment, hoping to drive away the spectres that were haunting him. He moved his hands up to cradle Regulus' head, slipping his fingers into Regulus' long, dark hair, thumbs caressing the sensitive places just beneath Regulus' ears. He brushed his tongue against Regulus' lips, hoping against hope that he was doing his friend no harm, willing Regulus to give himself over for a few moments and prove to himself, that he could still feel. He thought Regulus' struggle eased a bit, but he didn't pull away; he would let Regulus decide when he'd had enough and deal with the consequences then.

The swipe of Tybalt's tongue made Regulus' breath hitch slightly, and he curled his fingers into the fabric of Tybalt's shirt; he had forgotten how... nice it felt to be touched, and while being nuzzled by a cat was pleasant, it didn't compare to the touch of another person's hand. In the back of his mind, he knew if he wanted to be stubborn, he would pull away now and declare himself unaffected, but there was pride and there was stupidity, and he didn't want to prove his own point that badly.

Instead, he allowed himself to relax and enjoy a moment of connection; Tybalt was a skilled kisser, and being held felt good enough that he wasn't in a rush to break away. But after a few moments, he pulled back and drew in a deep breath, releasing it slowly.

"That was nice," he admitted.

Tybalt didn't try to stop Regulus from pulling away; he let Regulus control it all. At the admission, he smiled slightly. "Good, I'm glad," he said, giving a rather breathless chuckle. "Maybe then you won't hex my balls off for goading you that way; I promised Serenus another baby after his birthday, and I'd hate to tell him I'd completely bollocksed those plans by pissing you off... er, no pun intended."

Smiling slightly, Regulus shook his head as he stepped back from Tybalt, feeling a little odd and awkward after that. "I'm not angry," he said. "I see what you were attempting to do." His expression turned wry. "Just give me your word that Serenus won't come after me for that."

"He won't, I promise. That was entirely my doing," Tybalt admitted. He drew in a deep breath. "I'm glad you understand, because I did want to make the point - or rather, have you make the point to yourself. You seem to trust me, at least as much as you trust anyone, or we wouldn't be having this discussion tonight. I hoped that if you felt you could let down that particular guard with me, you'd see it was possible to do it with someone else." He gave a self-deprecating smile, flushing slightly. "I have no illusions about being Prince Charming, or at least not your Prince Charming. It just seemed like your pride was the only thing I could find to get you to look beyond what you didn't feel to what you could feel instead."

"It was a clever move," Regulus conceded. "It felt nice. Pleasant." He glanced at Tybalt, smiling wryly. "I am not trying to damn you with faint praise in saying so. I think at this point, it is the best response I can expect, and it is better than nothing, at least."

Tybalt laughed, genuinely amused, and patted Regulus on the shoulder. "I'm not worried about my feelings, my friend. If the earth didn't move for you, at least you saw that it didn't end, either. Nice and pleasant with someone you aren't even attracted to might show that it could be fireworks and explosions with someone else, and at least maybe now you see that you don't really have to be afraid to at least try." He grew more somber, his blue eyes darkening. "I just don't want to believe she could have taken that away from you, Regulus. I mean it when I say you deserve better. I'm here for you, if I haven't completely managed to blot my trust with you. You've got a lot in common with Severus, you know, and I hope you realize that I not only like you, I respect you as well. You're no coward, my friend; I didn't mean a word of that part, but praising you for your strength was no way to get you to admit you might be wrong."

Regulus tilted his head as he gazed up at Tybalt, amusement gleaming in his eyes. "I find it odd that you care more about my sex life than I do, but I appreciate the sentiment. I must admire your adept manipulation as well. Severus must have rubbed off on you. At the very least, he would be proud of the effort."

Relieved at Regulus' humor - and more than a bit wickedly amused by the comment about Severus - Tybalt inclined his head in gracious acknowledgment of the compliment. "I think a stranger on the street might care more about your sex life than you do at the moment," he retorted, shaking his head. "Perhaps it's part of the plot of all married people, who want everyone who is single to have to suffer along with them. Or maybe I have evil match-making plans for you." His eyes twinkled. "My mum is still single, you know, and not that much older than you. Or there's my Gran, if you like lots of experience. Or if you still prefer the boys, I have one or two in mind. I've always fancied myself as Cupid. What do you think? Would those wings be ridiculous on someone my height?"

"Yes," Regulus replied, folding his arms across his chest. "And do not even think about aiming any arrows at me. Not everyone needs a partner to be happy, and it is a tremendous leap from a nice kiss to becoming involved with someone."

"I know, I know." Tybalt reached out again, laying a hand on Regulus' shoulder. "So long as you don't let Bellatrix keep you from making that leap, if the right person comes along, then I'll be happy. I know not everyone needs a partner, but I'm rather of the opinion that you might. Which might make me a cheeky, presumptive bastard, but we all have our faults. I can't look this good and not have something to keep me from absolute perfection."

Regulus rolled his eyes at that and shook his head. "I will refrain from commenting on the last part on the grounds that you are attempting to be helpful and simply ask why you think I need someone instead."

Tybalt lifted a brow. "Because anyone who could be true to a love for Severus Snape for twenty years is obviously meant to have someone of their own. Because I still think that you're a passionate man even when it's repressed, else I couldn't have goaded you into that. Or maybe just because I'm a Gypsy and I've got a feeling about it, that a true love for you is waiting. Whatever the reason, it's what I feel, and I want to make sure you get every chance."

Shaking his head, Regulus reached for his glass and downed the rest of his wine, feeling off-balance, which he had expected, but not for this particular reason. He had expected the discussion to focus on his ordeal with Bellatrix and the nightmares that had resulted, not on his diminished libido, and he wasn't certain he agreed with all the twaddle about him needing someone. He had loved Severus for years, yes, but that didn't mean he was passionate or that he was meant to be with someone.

Besides, the kiss had been nice, but he hadn't felt a spark, and he still felt as if he could take it or leave it when it came to sex. He sighed quietly. He had felt something, though, which he supposed meant his lack of desire really was due to Bellatrix, and therefore, it was something he needed to overcome because he would be damned if he let her control him for the rest of his life. He still didn't know how he was meant to overcome it, however, when he didn't feel attraction or desire for anyone.

"Right," he said at last. "Well, now what? Am I meant to shag everyone I meet until I finally feel something again?"

"Well that would be one solution," Tybalt replied, his lips twitching in amusement. "But hardly practical, and it wasn't what you did before, was it? But it might help if you did meet people. Here at the shop, at parties, you know, the normal social thing that single Wizards do, and if you can tell someone is attracted to you and you want to take a chance, then go for it. You know your type, the things in a lover that always attracted you before, so that might be a good place to start. Or with someone that you've felt attraction to before. You've hardly spent the last twenty years celibate, unrequited love for Severus or not, right? Surely there was someone, or a type of someone, that made your toes curl just by looking at them?"

"Tall, dark, and snarky," Regulus muttered, raking his fingers through his hair restlessly. "Or at least tall and dark. The snark is optional." He smiled, although there was little real mirth in it. "I have a fondness for Snapes , it seems, or at least a fondness for men who bear a resemblance to Severus. He has been my 'type' since I was an adolescent, and my taste has not deviated much in the last couple of decades."

Tybalt wondered if Gaius would be tall enough to suit Regulus, but he bit his tongue and didn't say that there was an available Snape right under Regulus' nose. "Then I suggest you start with your type, if you find someone you think suitable," he said gently, his blue eyes full of sympathy. He reached over to snag the wine bottle from the table, then motioned Regulus into the parlor. "If I may be so presumptuous, why don't we have a seat and some more wine while we continue this discussion? You look like you could use it."