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Tweak says, "If i only had a brain"

regulus arcturus black (royalvenant) wrote in makebelievelog,
@ 2012-07-16 10:29:00

Entry tags:

albus potter, regulus black

Who: Older Reg and Al
What: Talking about woeful things
When: Lunchtime, Sunday
Where: Dining Hall
Rating/Warnings: Probably low – maybe some swearing – will update if necessary
Status: In progress/Closed

Regulus sat waiting for Albus. A cup of tea was placed before him and he thanked the staff member who had brought it. He wasn’t so hungry and would wait for Albus to arrive before calling for food, but tea was always necessary. Always.

He’d not forgotten Albus had returned at this time. An interesting Paradox. Reliving the memories he already had was like revisiting an old novel. He wasn’t sure he enjoyed all the plot twists, looking back there were some he could have done without. It wasn’t hard to guess what always plagued the Brothers Black. But that was inconsequential to the meeting about to take place.

He smiled to himself, as if maybe he already knew the outcome. Only partially true, years had fragmented his memory of this day, without magic to extract the memory it was safe to say the details would be come as a pleasant surprise. But to delve now seemed underhanded and rude. Things should proceed naturally. His smile widened and he focused on his tea instead.

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_alsevpotter
2012-07-16 02:30 am UTC (link)

"You can still smile." Al greeted, sliding in across from Regulus with a half smile and a belly full of leaping toads. Could be worse, he supposed, could be better too. There was a lot he was missing. Way more than he would have guessed, and he'd spent half the night awake just staring at the city from the roof of Tracey's house.

Ranting about the unfairness of the situation wasn't going to do much to change the fact that he'd up and left. Again. But it probably would have felt nice.

"You're not just having tea for lunch, are you?"

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royalvenant
2012-07-16 03:15 am UTC (link)

“I relearned how to over the years,” Regulus retorted, and he smiled more to drive home the point.

He caught the eye of a passing staff and without saying a word communicated the need for food. The staff rushed off to get plates of food for them.

“Of course not," he said, now focusing on Al. It had been many years since he'd seen his friend this young. "But it would have been rude to start without you.”

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	_alsevpotter 2012-07-16 03:22 am UTC (link)
	"I eat like a bottomless pit," Al pointed out, wondering why he needed to point this out, and leaned against the table. They would keep doing this. The whole meal could be spent without saying one meaningful thing. They were just too damn good at evasion. "I really wouldn't have minded." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

royalvenant
2012-07-16 03:39 am UTC (link)

Regulus gave a look that said he remembered. But he still would have waited.

“You mentioned wanting to talk, but not over the network-” he paused as the staff member returned with a plate for each of them. When the young man had placed everything properly and then left them be Regulus continued. “No talking in circles, Al.”

Regulus knew how they used to be, masters of avoidance as the great House of Slytherin had taught them to be. But while Regulus could still wield that skill like a devastating weapon, the years had given him greater insight as to when to use it. Now was not that time.

"What did you want to discuss?"

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_alsevpotter
2012-07-19 04:04 am UTC (link)

"Anything." Al paused, wrinkling his nose in thought. "No. Yes. Everything?"

Yeah, off to a great start already. Al pulled down the sleeves of his newly aquired hoodie and slumped forward, pretty much beseeching with posture and words. He wasn't exactly about a bit of groveling if it greased any and all wheels.

"Reg, I don't know what I'm missing here. I'm scared as shit about what I'm missing here and you're the only one right now who seems willing to talk straight with me and I need that."

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	royalvenant 2012-07-19 04:12 am UTC (link)
	“Are you asking for the highlights of what happened in the few months you were gone?” It was only few compared to the years Regulus had lived. Looking back, he had to admit, his thoughts at the time were that those were a long few months. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

_alsevpotter
2012-07-20 12:23 am UTC (link)

"Uh, yeah." No shit, Reg. What else would he be asking about? Nothing else about returning here was exactly important. Aging spell. Check. He understood. Waking up in a sodding fantasy land? Check. Done it twice before. But this? The way no one seemed to want to actually tell him what had happened, despite them all be fucking adults, really sort of grated along his already freaked out nerves.

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royalvenant
2012-07-20 12:51 am UTC (link)

Regulus sat in deep contemplation for a moment, Albus was asking for information that was encroaching on thirty years old for Regulus. He had always been one good with memory, so that wasn’t so much the issue; but the speed at which he recalled facts that old and so infrequently reviewed wasn’t as it used to be.

“Let’s see,” he started, “now, this is all from my perspective, mind you. If you want Tracey’s or Sev’s take on that time you’ll have to ask them. But, you left and I moved in with Tracey. She did an excellent job keeping me from turning into a petrified bathtub dweller. And then the Reavers showed up for… close to a month I think. I’m not sure, exactly, I was a ghost half the time, and I didn’t track the passage of days. A condition I took full advantage of, though, moving Sev’s potion bottles just slightly out of order. Drove him batty. Then Kreacher showed up, at Christmas. Things after that with my brother improved slightly but he … I suppose, tired of that and stopped reciprocating. Eventually I gave up.”

It was easy to see Regulus had moved beyond the issues of his past to the point where he’d finally adjusted and settled. But it was also clear, even though he had come to terms with his past and had moved forward, the lack of relationship with his brother was still one of remorse for him. A distant remorse, one he could look on with sad fondness without it troubling him, but it was still poignant for the younger Black.

He smiled in a knowing way and moved on.

“Hmmm, yes. Oh yes, you missed Reggie.” Regulus knew this would lead to confusion, as Regulus as Albus had known him, had a guttural aversion to the name ‘Reggie’. No, what Regulus was referring to now was something far different. “There was a time when alternative versions of ourselves showed up here, replacing us for the duration. There is a reality out there were I was born a squib, and the results were rather entertaining for those who witnessed that.”

There was one thing Regulus had yet to touch on. “Severus and I are together, we started seeing each other during that time.”

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_alsevpotter
2012-07-20 10:52 pm UTC (link)

"I bet he-Ah." Al drew up short, sort of like the sound of old record players skipping, or maybe a bunch of angry bees just dropping dead at you feet. Buzzing and then...

So good. That was good. That was so fucking good. Al could convince himself of that. Because what did he expect? And it was good. It meant Reg was definitely 90% over that whole TOUCH ME AND DIE thing he had going on back in Vegas that Al had put a shit ton of effort into making work for them. Because it had been worth it, and Al had loved the hell out of Reg for being able to overcome that, and all his other little problems that went with it.

In fact, all of Vegas sort of massively sucked, except the parts where Reg kept getting better at being a human. And if there was a graduation party for it, it would be that he willingly went with Tracey and let her help and then moved on to Snape, which, yes, Al could see and understood absolutely perfectly.

Even if it felt like maybe one too many blows to his head and stomach.

"So wait, squib Reg, was he painfully Muggle?" Because there was just no way Al was going to be okay talking about Snape and Reg for a bit. Maybe later. A lot later. But not today, when he'd only been back for a day and trying to wrap his brain around just how much time he'd missed out on, on top of guessing who might still remember him from before.

Oh yeah. And his Dad being young again. He never knew what to do with a younger Harry. Reg being the only one who'd get that.

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royalvenant
2012-07-21 12:42 am UTC (link)

“Al-,” Regulus started. He wanted to say something comforting, but he was hardly in a position to do so. Not on this. As mature as Regulus had become at handling the tough topics of life, he simply accepted Al skipping over his new relationship status with Severus. Sometimes you needed more time than a handful of seconds before you could address the pain.

“He was a good deal opposite everything you know about me. Loud, unkempt, unwashed, crude, lewd, often nude. I think the van he purchased,” only in the loosest definition of the word ‘purchase’, Regulus might do better to describe it as stealing, “is still out in the stables. I never knew what to do with it after, and there’s something painted on the side that makes it difficult to sell.”

Yes, that was a much easier topic.

“How is it with you father?” Because Regulus knew that would be on Al’s mind, for sure.

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_alsevpotter
2012-07-21 12:55 am UTC (link)

"...He had a van?" Okay. So. Yeah. What? What exactly did that even-how? That right there was nearly enough to knock Al from his emotional crisis. Because what?. No. Really? What? Nude. And a van. Right. That was. Something.

"I told him...some mind melting facts. I haven't heard back from him yet. I figure he's off trying to find a way to spell me out of existence because I'm too damn confusing for him."

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	royalvenant 2012-07-21 01:39 am UTC (link)
	“Albus,” Regulus said. He knew Albus could work himself up needlessly over issues with his father, much in the same way Regulus used to be shit about dealing with anything having to do with his brother. “You and I both know that your father would never do that.” “Confused? More than likely, he’s only had a day to process everything.” (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	_alsevpotter 2012-07-21 02:58 am UTC (link)
	"No, but I'm pretty certain I went and overwhelmed him." Not surprising. Al knew he was a bit much. When he got nervous his muchness grew by exponential amounts. "He didn't even know he had kids. Even Lily knew who I was." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	royalvenant 2012-07-21 03:24 am UTC (link)
	“Some people chose not to seek out the information about their future.” Was it a surprise that the Chosen One with a prophecy of that magnitude might decide to let future events unfold without any peeking on their part? “How would you react if some young man showed up tonight telling you all the things you told Harry?” (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

_alsevpotter
2012-07-23 03:35 am UTC (link)

"Depends. Have I been here long?" Yeah, yeah. Al got the message, throwing stones and shit. Whatever Reg, just because you got old and over your issues, doesn't mean Al has. Yet.

He doesn't really want to know how he looks old. That isn't something he wants to find out. Mostly because he's all angles now. He'd look like a talking skeleton in old age.

Creepy.

And so avoiding everything important to what's going on here and now. Which was good. It meant Al didn't have to try and cope with anything yet. He could eat his food, go downstairs and kiss the cooks, maybe literally if the staff hadn't changed, and then saunter back to his lonely room and pout some.

Maybe try and break tiny Reg's stride and write even WORSE poetry. It would take some effort.

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	royalvenant 2012-07-23 04:13 am UTC (link)
	“Give it a day, if he hasn’t come around by then you have my full permission to agonize over his behavior.” Regulus knew where Al’s mind was wandering; you couldn’t be with someone for over a year and not pick up on their habits, or their thought processes. At least not observant people. “Are you going to be all right?” (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	_alsevpotter 2012-07-23 04:27 am UTC (link)
	"I'll get there." It was about as honest as Al felt like being. He wasn't even sure he should of said that. He needed the Reg he knew back first. The one his brain had leapt to the moment he woke up. Never could his life be that easy. Dumb freaking Potter luck. It all has to go to shit first before things can be good again. (Reply to this) (Parent)