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Albus Potter is freaking RIGHT OUT. (_alsevpotter) wrote in adorkability, @ 2010-12-31 18:41:00

The One Where Something Monumental Shifts in Their Relationship
Feb. 20 2010


Regulus stared down at the fresh tracks on his arm. His left arm. He took some odd, twisted pleasure in messing up the flesh of the arm that bore his greatest mistake. Severus had given him some potion - Regulus hadn't bothered to remember what it was called - as a replacement for what Regulus's now-dead dealer had been supplying him, but then Severus had flitted away with his bride and had failed to leave a supply. Regulus had no other choice but to go back to the streets for what he needed in order to function. A need increased by the arrival of his cousin.

He rubbed a hand along his arm, closing his eyes as his fingers brushed the Mark. He fought against the duel sensation of agony and pleasure that always accompanied touch to his Mark. He hated it, and yet he couldn't help but enjoy it - the dichotomy angered him. But he couldn't change it, there were some mistakes that could not be erased.

The warning signal of his ward announcing the approach of a visitor, followed by a rap on the front door pulled Regulus from his haze of doubt and lingering drugs. He grabbed his wand from the bed side stand, and not even raising from his purchase on the edge of his bed he undid the ward on the front door specifically making the door unlatch. He didn't bother shouting out to the guest as he found it difficult to care if the person at the door took the opportunity to step into his apartment.
Sirius was missing. Officially. Al knew this, and if Al knew this than Regulus knew this and with the disappearance of Sirius came the appearance of Bellatrix one slightly mad Black for a criminally insane one and the only person in the entire bloody city who might be feeling something close to stark raving insanity had been dead silent for a few days. Al hesitated when the door unlatched, wondering if this was a good sign or bad even as he prodded the door open with his fingers.

And was assaulted by the stench of sweat and other things he wasn't sure he wanted his nostril's to readily identify.

"Who the hell died in here?"
It was Al, the haze distorted some of Al's voice, but Regulus was able to identify it well enough.

Regulus scrubbed vigorously at his eyes, biting back an angry retort, reminding himself he didn't care. What was there to care about? Sirius was gone, again, and in his place Bellatrix was here - a lovely trade according to all those concerned - ya, right. Regulus was aware it was a bit melodramatic to think, but he really missed his brother, he'd never had such a healthy relationship with Sirius before, it had been nice.

"Not me," he called back hoarsely, "unfortunately.
Al followed the rasp to the bedroom, nose wrinkling. He'd seen Regulus fucked up and high as a kite before but that wasn't anything like this. This was messed up.

This was wrong in all possible ways.

This was Regulus definitely looking for a way out, and Al felt his sympathy snap and shatter.

"You're filthy."
Regulus looked up, not as Al entered the room, but as Al spoke, but upon seeing the his friends features twisted into an expression of less than pleased Regulus quickly buried his head again in his hands. He hated seeing that look, that look of disappointment and disgust.

"So."
"No, I mean, you're so filthy I think you're going to make yourself sick." That hadn't been Al's immediate concern, but suddenly it was. No one stayed healthy when like this, not that Regulus looked all that healthy.

In fact, he looked like a drug addict. Funny how things worked that way. "You need a shower. You smell like a goat."

He crouched by Regulus' side, hands hanging uselessly between his legs as he waited for Regulus to do something other than sit there.
"Your concern is to eloquently put, Al." Regulus said from the palms of his hands, not moving even as his friend approached him.

"I don't care." Which was true, Regulus had sunk to a place he'd only been once before - just before he'd resolved to go to that cave.
"I thought I did all right with it." It was on the tip of his tongue to add 'don't make me touch and move you'. He drummed his fingers along the inseam of his trousers and came to the slow realization, he didn't really have a choice.

The stench of the bedroom was making him nauseous.

"No kidding." He clapped his hands together and rubbed them vigorously. "Well, I do, and that means you're going to shower. Come on."

He gave Regulus no further warning, before he grabbed onto his upper arm and tugged.
Regulus didn't have time to protest before he felt his body being pulled off the bed and towards the direction of the bathroom. He quite literally didn't see it coming as his head had been cradled in his hands.

"What-?!"

The world was lurching under his feet and Regulus grabbed a hold of Al's upper arm, all thoughts about his 'no touching rule' cast aside in light of his inability to remain vertical without solid concentration on his part, and, of course, Al's clear-headed walking abilities.
"Merlin, you got yourself in real bad shape, haven't you?" Al muttered, staggering under Regulus' weight. He righted them, keeping one hand on Regulus' arm and the other on his shoulder and he sort of, half danced them toward the bathroom where he shoved Regulus down onto the toilet seat.

Awkward didn't begin to touch how Al felt about all of this even as he grappled with the shower, testing the water and keeping his eyes fully averted as frequently as possible. It was strange seeing Regulus shirtless, strange because Regulus was the most uptight bloke he'd ever met and the most skin he'd seen had been his hands and face.

"You're going to be all right, you know, whether you appreciate that or not."
Moving from the dim light of his bedroom to the bright lights of the bathroom had Regulus curling back into the position Al found him in, elbows on his knees, head in his hands. He moaned a response to Al's snark about him being alright, it was mostly incomprehensible, but that was in line with Regulus's current state of apathy. He didn't know why Al was even bothering, Regulus wanted nothing more than to crawl back under some dark thing and hope for the worst. However, coming down from drugs wasn't the best condition in which to put up a front.

Regulus heard the shower, but made no move to jump in.
"I'm glad you agree." Al gripped Regulus by both his wrists and pulled him up, wondering if Regulus would be light enough to help over the edge of the tub without having to resort to a spell or two.

In the end, it didn't matter. Al gave Regulus an almighty shove and sent him pinwheeling into the tub, leaving Al only a few seconds to catch him again before cracking Regulus' skull open on the wall. Either way, he was in the tub.

But so was Al.

Shivering and wet and feeling heavier than ever, Al reached for the bar of soap and smacked it into Regulus' lax palm, curling his fingers over it.

"Scrub."

The combination of falling into the tub and the splash of water on his face did wonders to helping Regulus sober up, though, that wasn't to say he was completely lucid. He blinks a few times, and stared at the bar in his hand and then down at this now soaked trousers and socks.

He gave Al a pained look, Regulus had already endured enough touching to last him a life time, but now that his faculties were coming back to him and he felt he could make choices for himself again. And it was his choice, he couldn't see any reason to fight it any more, he would take this shower Al was making him take.

But he wouldn't do it with Al in the tub with him.

"Could you..." Regulus shifted to draw his feet towards him so he could pull of his socks. "You think you could get out, mate?"
Al hesitated but did back off, over the edge of the tub, clothing stiff and plastered to him. He couldn't remember being this soaked with all his clothing on in years. The last time he'd done it, it was the last day of school and he, Scorpius and Rose had all done running jumps into the lake to cool off.

He'd sworn never to let himself get that wet with clothing on again.

Exceptions, of course, had to be made in this case.

He gave Regulus one last wary look. "You won't fall over, right?"
Regulus screwed up his face at the accusation that he would fall out of the tub - he had no plans of standing, actually, so there.

"No," he sneered back.

He tugged at the curtain, but before pulling it the full way he looked back up at Al, driven by his high sense of modesty.

"You want to... leave?" He looked towards the door. For some reason the idea of Al just sitting out just beyond the curtain was too much for him to handle.
"Prat." Al rolled his eyes, hands held high as he backed toward the door. He hadn't really planned on sticking out the whole shower bit in the bathroom in the first place. And while Regulus planned on sitting, that created a whole host of new problems. "I'm not going far, just out the door. Don't drown and don't hit your head on anything."

And with that last, fairly reasonable in Al's opinion, command, he departed the room, jarring the door and then promptly throwing himself on the floor, trapped in too wet clothing with the need to make sure nothing back actually happened.
Regulus pulled off one sock, slowly, alacrity was not his strong point at the moment, and then the next. He managed his belt buckle and trouser buttons, and after some time managed to pull them off as well. He tossed his clothes out of the tub, but the total of the actions left him somewhat spent. He pulled him self up so that he was leaning against the wall, taking a moment to rest.

Regulus ran a shaking hand through his hair, his left hand. When he withdrew it his eyes were drawn to the Mark, tracing the faded, gray lines, unwilling, drawing out memories he tried so hard to forget.

But they shouldn't be forgotten.

His eyes traveled to the spigot, then back at his arm. With a steady hand for the first time that evening he reached up and turned off the hot water, leaving the cold to cascade down on him. He drew his knees up against his chest and rested his head there, every intention of actually taking a shower gone. Soon the chill enveloped him, dissipating the steam, reminding him of where he'd been just before arriving in this place, where he should be.

He felt at home.
Al thumped his head in syncopated beats against the wall as he silently counted passing seconds. This scared him. It scared him how much he cared about what happened, but it scared him more to think about how easily Regulus had done this to himself. It hadn't even been that long since they'd last talked. A few days at the least and that was all it took for this to happen.

He shivered, taking off his shoes and tossing them aside as worthless, stripping off his socks next to let his feet warm up again. Getting sick wasn't high on his priorities list.

He listened to the shower run for a full ten minutes before letting himself wonder what was taking so long, or more to the point, why the rhythm of falling water hadn't changed with Regulus shifting around. He gently pushed at the door to peer inside without entering and frowned at the lack of steam on the mirror.

"I thought I told you not to drown yourself."

Al climbed to his feet, barely waiting for an answer when he went back into the room and gripped the edge of the shower curtain. Again he hesitated, waiting for some acknowledgment that everything was all right, sort of, and that he wouldn't have to go back and invade Regulus' personal space.

He could only imagine the discussion this would bring about once Regulus was fully right in the head again.
Regulus ignored Al's inquiries. He simply sat, letting the ice cold water run in rivulets down his body. He was shivering, teeth chattering, arms clenched around his knees so tight if he was actually aware of what he was doing he would realize he was hurting himself, as it was he was completely distant from his physical self, lost in his thoughts and phantoms of his past.
"Fuck." Al ripped the curtain back, unhinging half of it and reached for, and grabbed, Regulus by the armpits and hauled him upward, swearing loudly at the blast of ice water that hit the back of his neck.

This time he did carry Regulus out, finding it surprisingly easier than he imagined it would have been, Al was never particularly strong, but right at that moment, Regulus was not exactly heavy either. He left the shower on until he set Regulus back down on the toilet seat once more with a grunt.
And just like that, Regulus was pulled from the dark, cold water, again, denied absolution, again.

Not again.

If he wasn't shivering so much he would be glaring at Al, but that was beyond him. What wasn't was his resolve. His hand clasped around Al's wrist preventing him from pulling away to do something silly like turn off the water. Instead Regulus pulled him down and closer so there foreheads were almost touching - they needed to be this close so Al knew, so Al could hear.

"Robert Graves, Rosa Sanchez, and Martin Blackhurt." He was unsure Al heard Regulus's teeth were chattering so much. "I murdered them. Robert Graves, Rosa Sanchez, Martin Blackhurst."
Al kept his expression set to neutral, ignoring the twisting roll of his stomach or the way his heart sped just a little from fear and axiety. He covered Regulus' hand with his own, trying to still the trembling and knowing that simple gesture wouldn't do a thing. His calves burned, but Regulus bent close and Al couldn't move even if he wished to, which he didn't.

The words that came tumbling out weren't any he had been anticipating and the shock set his mouth into a small, "Oh," he said. He knew, in a disconnected way, that Regulus was expecting him to react violently, act disgusted or scared, or pass down some heavy handed judgement, but he reached the impasse with himself and just nodded.
"Robert Graves, he owned a newspaper stand, I took his wallet... after," Regulus started talking, and now that he had he wouldn't be able to stop. In halted speech it all fell out of him. "Imperiused to stand in front of a train." Regulus didn't look away from Al, didn't blink. "The others were there, it ... it was sport to do this to muggles. I-I.... I faltered, just before the end, the spell... dropped. He knew, he knew he was going to die, just before. The look on his face-" Tears started to leak from Regulus's unblinking eyes then, but he didn't seem to notice. "The others thought I'd done it on purpose. I didn't - "

"Rosa Sanchez, some woman Rabastian and Bella found, I was at Cissa's, the Malfoy's manor, I was just there when they... They made me... tried to make me-. You've heard about Bella, how she would ... liked to play with her food, so to speak...? Rabastian was the same." Regulus shook his head, not wanting to stop, but his mouth couldn't form the words to precisely describe just how evil and horrible Bella and Rabastian were. "I was just there!" That came out as a choked sob. "I knew what they would do to her, before they killed her. I just said it was an accident, a slip of the wand..." Regulus pressed his lips against the memory. "They were so... angry... at me, they needed something to replace ... for their fun... I-I was just there."

"Martin Blackhurst, he-," Regulus's face twisted then, he took full responsibility for the other two, but part of him felt good about this kill, which revolted him more. "He was another Death Eater, and he liked to do... things... to those he thought were weaker, even other Death Eaters. And I was, I was weaker... If I stayed near those like Lucius or Severus, he would leave me alone, but they couldn't be there... always." A smile curved Regulus mouth as he let the final memory cross his mind. "But I wasn't always weak, I finally... I let him think he could... But I killed him, I... it never felt so good..." Regulus swallowed against the taste of rising bile, shaking his head. Murder shouldn't feel good, he shouldn't feel delight over that memory, but he did, and it haunted him the most. "I killed him, and I liked it."
Silent tears traced the curves of Al's cheeks as he stayed there, wavering on his toes, listening to Regulus explain everything to him. Every last thing that he had been bottling and not telling anyone, that Al had really only wistfully hoped he'd get to hear and be able to understand just what made Regulus so tense and jumpy, that made him fall face first into a pile of drugs and stay trashed until he felt nothing at all.

Al wasn't sure he could understand the feelings, or empathize, nor did he want to, or think Regulus would appreciate him trying, but there was one thing he could do, and it was something he reckoned he was pretty decent at.

Surging upwards, he caught Regulus around the shoulders, dragging him into a fierce hug, trying to reassure him without having to actually think of the correct words that wouldn't send him spiraling.
"No, I don't-" Regulus shook his head.

Regulus struggled at first, tried to pull back. He didn't deserve to be comforted for this, he deserved the cold, silent, judging water. Where he should have been left.

But Al was stronger, preventing Regulus from rejecting the compassion he offered. There was only so much fight Regulus had left in him, and with a broken sob he gave in to the arms around him. Something in him crumbled, the walls he worked so hard to keep up, and he would continue to build up after this, were, right in this moment, dust. His own arms, which had fought Al at first, moved to now embrace the only thing supporting Regulus at the moment.

How good it felt to have someone to tell.
Yeah, you do. Al didn't say it just hugged Regulus that much tighter. He swallowed his surprised gasp when Regulus stopped struggling and in turn clutched at him, and despite the uncomfortable position this trapped Al in, he wasn't letting go until Regulus moved back on his own. There was just no way it would happen.

He stroked his hand along Regulus' spine in light, comforting passes, uncertain if it would be welcome or not, but a little bit helpless to stop the gesture.
Regulus wasn't sure how long he sat there in Al's arms, but the need to blow his nose prevented any more prolonged hugging. And even if Regulus was willing to admit that that physical contact felt good, and fulfilled a need inside him he had been unable to fill with anything else he'd tried (he did, actually, admit this in his mind, and if Al asked he probably would tell him, but no one else would Regulus tell) the need to take care of his nose was beyond ignoring. He pulled back, searching for the toilet paper roll, sheepishly scrubbing a palm across his eyes.
Al caught the signs, the subtle shifting and the loosening of fingers and he pulled back in time to catch Regulus sniffling and reached for the box of tissues that sat on the back of the toiled and fisted a bunch, pressing them into Regulus' hand as he stood, stretching. He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and grinned crookedly in return.

It should have been more awkward, but it wasn't.
Regulus took the proffered (read: shoved into his hands) tissues and rather ungraciously blew his nose, but it wasn't as if Regulus had been shooting for graceful all evening. It took him the whole bunch to clear his nose.

"Thanks," Regulus motioned with his hand full of used tissues and then dumped them in the trash.

"Do you think you could hand me a towel?" Al was standing right by the closet that housed the fluffy bits of warmth, and now that Regulus had reached some sort of sense he was fully aware of how damned cold he was.
"Where-Ah," Al began to ask where said towels would be even as he started poking through cupboards, coming across them before the question could even finish. He pawed through them for the thickest looking one and held it out, well aware of how bitingly cold wet clothing could be. He grabbed one for himself while he was at it, twisting his shirt and shaking it to release some of the water.

"You didn't actually smell like goat," he said, voice muffled as he toweled off his hair.
Regulus stretched a shaking hand towards the towel and quickly wrapped himself in the fluffiness, though he was finding it not quite adequate at warming him, he had been in the cold stream of water for very long time. And he was just now realizing how stupid that was.

"More towels please?" he requested after getting the first one around his shoulders.

"And, yes, I did," he tried a half smile, but wasn't sure if he was allowed to do such a thing have that break down.
Al bent, groping for the topmost towel in the pile and tossed it in Regulus' direction. He finished drying his hair, aware without looking in a mirror of the way it stuck out every which way and then some and not particularily caring either. Grabbing a third towel, he shut the cupboard, slinging his own towel over his shoulder as he went to drop the fresh one over Regulus' wet head.

He grinned and shrugged one shoulder. "A very small one then."
Regulus tried to smile more in response to Al's jab but it was lost in the violent shakes of his body, it was becoming harder to ignore the pain of what he'd just put his body through. The best he could do was clench his teeth, but that only made him shake more.

The towels were nice, but Regulus knew he needed more. He knew he needed warm clothes, something hot to drink, and a heap of blankets in front of a blazing fire in the living room. As much as he wanted the softness of his bed, he knew he needed to work on warming up his body first.

And he also knew he couldn't get himself out of this mess on his own.

He looked pleadingly up at Al, "Do you think you could help me." It was a struggle to get that one sentence out, he was shaking so much.
Al kept his hands to himself even as he gently slid the towel back over Regulus' hair so he could see his bloodshot eyes.

"Yeah. I'm going to cast a drying charm, if that's all right." He wasn't entirely sure how Regulus would react to Al pulling his wand at this point, but getting Regulus to sane up only to come down with hypothermia was fucking mad. And Al was pretty certain they'd both witnessed enough mad behavior for one day.

He slowly withdrew his wand from his sodden pocket, pulling off the protective sleeve and held it casually by his side to wait for consent. Once he got Regulus dry, he'd be doing the spell on him and then he'd go and help find cleaner clothing.

As far as necessary actions though, getting them both thoroughly dry was a top-notch concern now.

Anything to get Regulus to stop shaking.
Regulus nodded vigorously. It wouldn't warm him completely but being dry would be an excellent place to start, and he knew he was too buggered to do it to himself. "P-please." His shivering was getting worse. "T-then warm cloth-thes."

"Course, going to do that next." Al chanted steadily a series of drying and warming charms, knowing they would only remove the sting, but not fully warm him, not if, as Al suspected this wasn't just a reaction to taking a very cold shower.

Once he finished, he wrapped one of the towels around Regulus' shoulders and drew him up by his hands. "You've got clean clothing right?"
Regulus sighed as the chill from being wet was lifted from him, and while he was still very cold, it felt like the difference of being submerged in a bath of ice from just being out of doors on a cold, winter Scottish night, the latter was still cold, but no where near as cold as the former. At least his shivers weren't so violent and he was sure he could walk now.

"Thanks."

He let Al direct him towards his bedroom, which really did smell something rank, he would need to let room service come up and do their thing.

"Yes," he tried to muster as much derision into his voice as possible, though his energy was still lacking, which diminished the full effect. Of course he had clean clothes, he'd only been wearing one outfit for the past three or four days, or so, his drawers were full of folded, hardly used clothing.

"Bottom drawer, on the right, for shorts," he dropped to sit on his bed, knowing full well he wasn't going to be able to get the clothes himself. If Regulus had any dignity left in him he would try to insist on doing this himself, but all his dignity seemed to have washed down the drain with his failed shower. "On the left for a t-shirt and pajama bottoms." The idea of soft cotton so close at had was very soothing.
The scouring charm he shot at Regulus' bed before the other boy managed to sit on it was the strongest he'd ever produced, it stripped shades of color from the bedding, but the smell in the room began to dissipate, and he could buy more bedding, better bedding, if he had to make up for decoloring the sheets in an attempt to rid the room of the stink that was now unwanted and out of place.

He dropped to the floor with mechanical obedience and opened the drawer, fishing around for a new pair of shorts, which he found and tossed over his shoulder, hoping it landed somewhere on the bed for Regulus to grab and start dressing himself. Al didn't wait to find out before reaching for the next drawer and fishing out a pair of the softest pajama bottoms he could find and a warmer top which he brought back over to Regulus without throwing.

He stood, uncertain, before Regulus and cleared his throat. "Want me to leave while you change?"
Regulus was unconcerned about the sheets, they had unlimited funds, if he really wanted to he could buy new ones.

The shorts landed to his left and he had to reach for them. His eyes involuntarily found his Mark again, though, this time the memories didn't come unbidden - he found that odd, but not wholly displeasing.

"Huh?" He snapped his head back towards Al as he drew his shorts towards him. To be honest he'd been too afraid to ask that of Al, too afraid Al wouldn't dare leave him after that stunt he'd pulled in the shower. But if Al was offering...

"Yes, please... you could leave the door open if... you know..."

He would wait until Al left before removing the damp towel and his wet shorts.
"You're getting dressed, it shouldn't be a five hour process. Think you can come out when you're done? I don't think my weak arms will be able to carry you anywhere again." He flexed his arm to show that what had happened in the bathroom wouldn't likely happen another time. He was a weakling. He'd never been sporty or athletic and unless Regulus was suddenly bleeding out on the floor, he didn't think he'd be able to muster enough adrenaline to get him out the door without magic.
Regulus nodded. He suddenly wanted Al to believe he was alright, that this wouldn't be an every day occurrence for him, but Regulus lacked the words to explain.

When Al stepped out of the room Regulus released a huge sigh, he didn't even know he'd been holding his breath like that. He rubbed at his eyes, they felt so heavy, but he didn't waste too much time, Al would be waiting, listening.

He stood slowly, dizziness certainly threatened at first but he waited for it to dissipate. He tossed the towels and his wet shorts aside and pulled on the new, dry, warm clothing - they felt so sweet against his shivering body.

Without procrastinating much longer he grabbed the comforter that had spilled on the ground days previous and had remained there untouched, and unsoiled save for simply being in the same room as those now scourged bed sheets - Al couldn't have too much to say against it. He then made his way slowly, somewhat unsteadily to the door, his wobbliness something he attributed to the drugs rather than him freezing his body.

"Alright, I'm less goat like, and more Reg like," he tried to joke when he approached Al. For the first time since he'd met the other man Regulus realized, and conceded that Al was older, and more mature than he was.
Knowing what Al did, and knowing how Regulus felt about personal space, he actually didn't loiter by the door like he had with the shower. It was different. The door was open, sure, but there was no water to muffle any odd noises and Al liked to think Regulus didn't really want to slip back down into the state Al had just yanked him roughly out of.

He went around making tea instead.

If there was one thing his Nana taught him, it was tea and chocolate made everything better, and Al doubted he'd find chocolate any easier than tea.

"Brilliant." Regulus was bundled up in a large, heavy comforter, but he appeared warmer than before, even if his skin was still ash colored and his lips tinged purple. "I made some tea." He gestured toward the two cups filled with steaming tea and pushed one toward Regulus.
Regulus collapse rather unceremoniously into a chair at the table, he pulled the blanket around him more snugly, as snug as it would go. He wanted to feel like he was being contained by some outside force, that he didn't need to work at holding everything together and that someone or something else would do it for him. What he wanted was another hug, but Regulus was far to unfamiliar with them to recognize the desire for what it was.

He picked up the hot mug, grateful Al was here to make it for him. He let the heat percolate through his fingers and palms, not believing anything could warm them all the way through, but the sensation felt good none the less. He wanted to throw back the liquid, feel the heat hit his core and thaw him out, but he knew that would be a bad idea his tongue would not forgive him of any time soon. Instead he schooled himself to take sips, though they were hurried and he still scorched the roof of his mouth slightly.

"So," he stared down into his cup, letting his mind fancy what kind of future the tea leaves would reveal for him. "I'm sorry." He wasn't sure he'd meant to say it, he wasn't sure he meant it because he wasn't sure what to be sorry for - freaking out his friend perhaps?
Al watched, and tried not to be obvious about it, as Regulus knocked back sip after scalding sip. His own tongue grew sore in sympathy, even as he blew across the surface of his own cup and took a shallow sip. His mind was peacefully blank in the silence that followed. It couldn't really last like that. Al was aware that a sort of thin, muslin shroud was wrapping itself neatly around his mind to block out the senses that had been overwhelmed by the last hour.

And they had been, Al didn't think he was allowed to continue being this calm after all that had just happened, after all that he'd been told, and it was only a matter of time before he finally broke down and did something stupid.

He didn't ask what for and nodded instead, inching his hand over the table to cover Regulus' and give it a light squeeze. This was something, though, that he knew he'd never complain about. It was a liberty, maybe even a bit of a gift, that he could reach out and touch Regulus in comforting ways and not have him recoil or flinch away.

"Is your blanket warm enough?" he asked instead.
Regulus watched Al's hand approach his, saw what was happening, the impending touch, he couldn't take his eyes away from it. And yet, he did nothing to withdraw or flinch away. He simply let it happen, and the portion of his brain that was screaming for an embrace, of which Regulus unwittingly ignored, fired to life when Al's hand grasped his, telling him this was good and right. He squeezed back then and looked up at Al, tried to smile for him.

"Ya, it's fine."

And then Regulus didn't know what to say, so much had happened, and Regulus was suddenly desperate Al not leave him - not in the sense Al would have to go back to his place eventually - but as a friend, as an idea of a friend and someone he knew he could trust. He knew he would need to make this up to Al, what Regulus had done tonight, dumped everything on him without stopping to think what it might do to his friend...

But Regulus's troubled mind couldn't find the right words. He squeezed his friends hand again to compensate for what his brain couldn't do.
His heart sort of did this odd fluttering thing when Regulus returned the gesture, even going so far to try and force a smile along with it. Al brushed that aside for later, focusing more on the strange way Regulus' eyes would shutter then blaze back to life and darken with uncertainty, and maybe that much staring was a bad idea. He didn't quite want to release Regulus' hand yet, and he tangled their fingers loosely, allowing room for movement, before nodding and returning to his tea.

A lot of thoughts criss-crossed Al's mind in that moment, but none of them were worthy of more than two seconds of scrutiny, and none were fit to say out loud. Silence, sometimes, was best though, and he figured that maybe, hopefully, this would be one of those moments where keeping quiet would be appreciated.
The silence was welcoming, mainly because Regulus knew Al, despite what should have been a very awkward situation, wasn't showing signs of feeling awkward - he wasn't moving away from Regulus, wasn't making awkward attempts at conversation. It was nice to just sit here, drinking tea, and Regulus briefly wondered if this would have been awkward had they not had the previous events of the evening for comparison. He half smiled at that thought.

He turned his smile down to his tea and realized he'd finished his cup.

"Is there more?" he asked hopefully. and even if there wasn't Regulus would be fine with hot water, it would serve the same purpose of warming him up.