#carina celebrates: 2k followers

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okkkkk could you argue list C 68 with regulus x legilimence reader (aka mind reading reader) and what regulus would do if he found out his gf could always tell when he's lying. Please? and congrats! amazing job!!

thank you for the request lovely! with how i see reg's characterisation, i cannot picture him taking that kind of information in lightly, so this is perhaps a bit angstier than you were aiming for ahaha. i am also evidently insane, so this is an in-depth character study:,) enjoy!

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i will ARGUE for prompt 68 "this is news to me" with regulus black

carina's 2k celebration

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synopsis: regulus visits your pseudo-family, the mckinnons, with you for the first time, expecting only to struggle with the unfamiliar family dynamics. instead, a part of you previously unknown to him is revealed in passing, and his mind shuts down, memories and fears from his childhood taking over. the conversation that follows is one of the hardest and most significant he would have in his life.

wc: 6.2k

cw: fem!reader, references to walburga and orion's a++ parenting skills, aka mentions of abuse, neglect and childhood trauma, angst, momentary belief of betrayal, fresh relationship, hurt/comfort, references to black brothers angst, regulus pov (including his mental health struggles), you are basically an honorary mckinnon, references to your bad relationship to your bio family (neglect), crying, near-break up, declarations of love, happy ending, the entire fucking mckinnon family tree as supportive characters

Regulus had been waiting for the other shoe to drop.

He had since the beginning of his relationship with you, when he realised the enormity of his feelings and was simultaneously frightened, disgusted and relieved, struggling to balance healing from his childhood and falling in love with his future all at the same time. 

A part of him wished to warn you, to urge you away, to shield you from the darkness within him through rejection – but, he was selfish. At least, that is the conclusion he reached for why he couldn’t turn away from you and leave you be, why he invited you in, despite knowing in his chest that the other shoe would drop. Regulus had grown up in the constructed shadow of Sirius, and though he now realises that was not his brother’s inherent fault, he still couldn’t rid himself of the clawing feeling in his chest that he would always have nothing. Always be second, always be the spare, even when Walburga was forced to declare him the heir after Sirius turned his back. He would always be left with portraits instead of bodies.

If you, with all your fascinating and lovely self, opened your arms to him, Regulus could not bring himself to ask you to close them. He would fall into them, all while keeping a cage around his heart and both his shoes on the ground, by the door. 

He had expected it to be his fault though. It would be a matter of him not being enough, yet again.

No part of him expected it to be you; for you to be different in a way that he couldn’t stomach.

Regulus sat stiffly but not necessarily uncomfortably in the worn out chair in the McKinnon living room, quietly observing the bustling homely life around him. It was the first time he came along when you visited, wanting to meet the people you spoke so kindly of and see more of the connection that originally brought the two of you together – he still had to thank Dorcas for falling in love with your best friend. 

There were more kids than he could count – metaphorically speaking, that is, because Regulus had of course studied up on exactly how many kids would be there and what their names were before arriving – running around his ankles. You were over in the adjunct kitchen, helping Mrs. McKinnon with finalising dinner, while Marlene was outside hounding in the remaining children and cousins. It was loud in a way that kept Regulus’ spine straight and muscles tense, but he could feel his mouth dreaming of curling up into a smile. It wasn’t as awful as he had feared.

He saw your form through the door-less opening, your clothes and hair moving in an elegant flow, a practised choreography. That sight, more than anything else, was what kept him grounded.

Regulus had, of course, asked to help, but Mrs. McKinnon – “It’s Magda, dear, please scrap the formalities” – had ushered him out. “You’re still a guest in this household! This one on the other hand… she’s got to be put to work.” A motherly wink and a bump of her hip into yours as you stuck your tongue out. Natural. Nurturing. 

He felt in no position to argue, so he settled down with the children.

“Pst!” He turned to look down at the littlest of Marlene’s nieces, a sweet girl named Mabel with her blonde unruly curls tucked up into two uneven buns on each side of her head. She smiled with an unmistakable air of mischief, lifting her tiny brows at him. “You’re Uncle Reg, right?”

Regulus’ breath caught in his throat as a nervous laugh built in his chest. He wasn’t offended that the little thing didn’t catch his introduction a full 45 minutes ago when he went around shaking hands and waving, but he was confused by his title.

“Uh, my name is Regulus, yes. And you’re Mabel?” He tried to make his voice kind, but was unsure if it was working. 

She nodded with beaming pride and happiness, glad to be known. “You’re Auntie’s husband.” She didn’t ask, which bamboozled Regulus further – she looked very pleased to have made the connection.

Regulus leaned forward onto his knees to be closer to her height as he chuckled, still with an air of nerves. “Not quite, no, but I am here with your Auntie, yes.”

Mabel furrowed her brows, contentment slipping away in favour of confusion. “No. Uncle Reggie is my Auntie’s husband. Marly said so.”

Ah. His nerves were being schooled away in favour of internally rolling his eyes at his new-found friend. “Well, Marlene probably just tried to convey that your Auntie and I are very very close, which we are. That’s why I want to be here and meet you all.”

“Uh-huh. When will you marry her then?”

Regulus could feel his heart jump out of his chest – as did Mabel’s when their heads both jumped up at the sound from the kitchen. “Oi, Belly! C’mere sweetheart!”

He looked over Mabel’s already giggling and retreating form as she ran towards you in true toddler-fashion, and saw you winking and grinning at him. He let out a sigh of relief at the same time as you picked Mabel up and spun her around.

“Don’t you be bothering Reggie now, or he won’t come back!” He heard you whisper-yelling conspiratorially to the little girl as you tickled her, high-pitched giggles bubbling up from her lungs along with faux-shrieks of denial.

His muscles remained tense, but Regulus looked down in his lap with a grin before pushing up from his seat to walk over to the kitchen, where Mabel was released and running away all giddily. You looked at him with a smirk over your shoulder, looking gorgeous with your hair slightly messed up from the heat of the kitchen. “The children scaring you away?”

Regulus leaned against the opening with his arms crossed, still keeping everything in the kitchen in eye-sight, lest there be anything he could help with after all. The smile he spared you was hopefully as warm as the oven you had slaved over. “It would take more than little Mabel to scare me away.”

“Here you go, Maggie,” you said over your shoulder as you handed her a knife where she was about to start cutting the final herbs on the opposite side of the kitchen, before turning back to Regulus. “Well, I’m glad to hear that, because we’re all about to sit down for dinner.”

“You are such an effortless team,” Regulus admired your wordless communication, putting on his practised visiting-the-in-laws smile towards Magda. “Please do let me know if there is anything I can help with, Mrs– uh, Magda.”

Magda sighed happily, looking over at you, gesturing with the knife perhaps a bit too absentmindedly. “You picked such a polite one, dear. It hurts my heart! Reg, please, all you need to do is keep us company.”

His gaze diverted down to his feet as a slight flush crept up his cheeks, a smile blooming between them. “Thank you, Magda.”

You looked over your shoulder at her with a loud laugh. “No, keep that to yourself Maggie, you’ll just embarrass him more.”

Regulus furrowed his brows in confusion, the comment seemingly out of place, but Magda laughed so heartily he didn’t have it in him to ask. He didn’t want to bring more attention than necessary to how different his socialisation had been from yours.

Despite her best efforts, Magda could not stop Regulus from helping deck the table as the two of you began magically sending everything out – though, he realised quickly that his definition of decking the table was clearly quite contrasting from yours. The McKinnons did it the simple way, and while unsettled, he wholly appreciated it.

Marlene had since come in with her youngest brother on her shoulders, tugging at her hair. “Snake-boy, you haven’t been eaten by these little lions yet?” She greeted with a grin, dropping her brother off in his seat and whistling to alert the rest of the family that dinner was ready.

“I’ve come to learn I quite like lions,” Regulus replied, his usual snark more readily available with her. “Though I wouldn’t have minded my fellow snakes here.”

Marlene snorted. “Yeah, well, Cassie and Barty had work, so.” She shrugged, pinching his upper arm as she walked past him to herd in the rest. “You’re stuck with us.”

“I think I’ll manage,” Regulus murmured and found that he meant it.

As the entire family settled down at the table, Regulus felt a bit less steady in his ability to remember everyone’s names, but he hoped muscle memory would kick in. When Magda heard you would be stopping by with Regulus, she ensured that all six of the McKinnon siblings, along with their respective partners and children, would show up. Regulus was in no way unfamiliar with large family gatherings, but the volume of their voices and smiles took some getting used to.

It didn’t hurt that he sat beside you – and that your hand came to squeeze his knee as everyone settled in and began chattering away.

There was no introduction, no speech, just immediate good natured conversations and catching up, including from one end of the table to another. 

“Pass me the potatoes?” Martin – Regulus remembered; Marlene’s other younger brother, aged 7 – asked, his eyes set on Regulus.

“Of course.” The movement was swift and elegant, bowl outstretched.

When Martin grabbed the bowl, he forgot to thank Regulus and instead asked, “So, what are your intentions with our sister?”

Regulus’ brows furrowed. “I– I’m not dating your sister?”

You squeezed his knee again, suppressing a giggle. “He meant me, dear.”

“Oh.” His cheeks flushed yet again. To be fair, he should have deciphered that one himself. “Well… I intend to care for her for however long she’ll let me.”

Martin seemed displeased. “What does that mean?”

“It means,” you intercepted, reaching out to lightly flick his forehead. “That you should mind your business, you little worm.”

Martin opened his mouth, outraged in a manner only a 7 year old boy can be, lifting his finger in the air. “I–”

“Oh, don’t you dare say that, Martin McKinnon!” You cut him off, already laughing and making the little boy laugh with you, even as he crossed his arms petulantly. 

“You’re no fun when you damage control too early,” he mumbled, despite his grin. 

Regulus tried to follow the conversation, but found his eyes squinted in confusion.

This is where Margaret – Marlene’s two years older sister – chimed in. “It’s called with great powers comes great responsibility, twat. With legilimency comes the responsibility of shutting silly little boys up!” She reached her hand over past Marlene to pinch Martin’s side, making him shriek and giggle despite himself.

Legilimency. 

Oh. Oh.

In a matter of seconds, Regulus’ world came crashing down. 

For a brief minute, his mind was painfully empty, unable to think anything or draw forth any memory, all instinctively hidden away, even from himself. Then, he broke through his own walls and had wave after wave of memories hit him – lessons of “close your mind, young boy”, repetitions of “you’re pathetic”, the piercing pain of trying to shut it all out, the stinging hurt of feeling betrayed by the people he instinctively loved. Those memories had a unique ache to them, one he hadn’t dared try to combat yet; but the ones with you hit him harder. “I would never do that to you”, “you’re safe with me”, “I would never lie to you”, “I just get you”. 

I just get you.

Except you didn’t – you were a mind-reader.

None of it was real.

Regulus sat frozen to his seat, the tensing of his muscles digging much deeper now. It was not eased in the slightest when your hand returned to his knee, a previous warm touch now disturbingly cold.

“Reg?”

It took an immense amount of force for Regulus to turn his head sideways and meet your eyes, trying to make his as unreadable as possible, trying to close his mind for the first time in months. 

“Are you alright?” Your voice was feather-light, a question just for the two of you. A brief glance around told Regulus that no one had noticed his deceptively quiet change. Or, at least, they had the decency to not continue to notice. 

An imperceptible nod of his head and a tight-lipped smile. No words. 

Your brows furrowed in dismay, clearly unconvinced, but knowing better than to push him in public. You squeezed his knee once more reassuringly before Martin and Margaret dragged you back into conversation. 

Regulus truly hoped no one addressed him going forward, because he couldn’t hear anything over the blood rushing in his ears. He wanted to further hope that if they did, you would answer for him and redirect, but he found his heart unable to trust you. It promptly shattered beneath the weight of that knowledge.

The dinner flurried by in a haze, your hand never leaving his knee and Regulus never getting used to its weight, always noticing with a sickening sinking feeling in his stomach.

The one thing that distracted him at last was a tug at his sleeve.

He whipped his head around, probably faster than what would be perceived as normal – to see little Mabel had run out of her seat and now sat at his side. She reached her small grabby hands up towards him. “Upsies!”

You leaned around him, smiling endearingly at Mabel, your hair moving in his peripheral vision. “Oh, Mabel, Uncle Reggie is a bit–”

Before you could make some excuse for him, Regulus leaned down to scoop her up. She was surprisingly light, it was honestly a miracle that such tiny lungs could produce a squeal so loud straight into his ear.

Regulus could feel your gaze burning a hole in the side of his face as he bounced the little girl in his lap. Mabel was giddy, immediately chattering away with you, Marlene and the others sitting nearby, holding onto his arms for support. He couldn’t explain how he was able to pick her up, still largely detached from his body while processing the day's revelations – but she was so young and vulnerable, he couldn’t stand breaking her heart by rejecting her. 

When Mabel leaned over to pat your cheeks and blabber with you, Regulus was forced to move his body in your direction. Your hand left his knee in favour of tickling Mabel, but the side of your leg was now pressed against his. As your lips met the little girl’s forehead your eyes met his at last.

What he saw in them is what he any other day would have labelled pure concern. Now, he had a white prickling fear down his spine that those thoughts were not his own. Even if they were, they were not his because they were not private. Another thing stripped from him. 

As Mirabel eventually came over to pick up her daughter from Regulus to go put her to bed, you also rose from your seat, getting a head-start on the dishes while Magda still sat, surrounded by grandchildren. Her head perked up when she saw you move about, but you waved her off kindly.

With robotic movements, Regulus got up and followed in your footsteps, not wanting his single visit to be remembered as rude. Picking up plates with much less skill than he had placed them down, he walked towards the kitchen that you were walking out of. 

You tried to smile as you walked past him, but he didn’t look at your face.

Regulus’ entire body ached.

It ached even more when he almost collided with Marlene on his way back out of the kitchen. She, unlike the two of you, was not carrying any plates, only herself, as she acted like a door barricading him from the rest. Her light brown eyebrows were furrowed.

“Who pissed in your cereal, Black?”

Regulus couldn’t help himself, despite the circumstances. “I didn’t eat cereal.”

The blonde breathed out in exasperation, hands coming up to rest on the sides of her hips, though her features softened a little. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m alright.”

“What changed, then?”

Regulus stared emptily at her, only to find his own stubbornness mirrored perfectly in her. In this moment, she painfully reminded him of Sirius; a thought he immediately tried to file away.

He sighed. “I just didn’t expect… I didn’t know.”

“Know what?” Marlene’s face slowly morphed into one of uncomfortable understanding, seemingly piecing together what she had come to learn about Regulus and what she knew of her best friend. Her question came out as a whisper. “About the… legilimency?”

He drew a sharp breath through his teeth. “That was news to me.”

Marlene opened her mouth to say something, but Regulus found the audacity to hold up his hand. He hoped his look was more politely pleading. “Please – don’t. I really don’t want to hear it yet.”

She pressed her lips tightly together, evidently distraught at not having the opportunity to defend her best friend. Yet, her internal monologue decided in his favour. “Fine,” she answered tightly. “You better figure it out though.”

With that, Marlene gave him a final look and turned on her heel, looking for some toddler to scoop up and throw over her muscled shoulder. Her retreating form revealed you standing there with some plates near the table, stalling by chatting with Mr. McKinnon, whom Regulus had done his best to avoid. You were looking at him. The ice in Regulus settled in deeper at the thought that you could have been privy to this conversation, too.

He sucked in a breath and turned around to begin washing the dishes. 

For whatever reason, you gave him a few minutes of space. With his back to you, he still remained painfully aware of you levitating dishes in to him in the kitchen as he began magically scrubbing them. Trying to scrub away his thoughts the same way, and then his feelings.

You gave him space, but you wouldn’t let him wallow – and thus, just when it felt like the world would never stop spinning, you placed your hand delicately on his shoulder. Everything stopped, for better or for worse. Regulus didn’t turn.

“Hi, love,” you whispered. “Ready to go home?”

Regulus turned around at that, desperate to keep neutral even as his face scrunched in confusion. “Didn’t you want to stay late?”

Your smile was wistful. “You see, I’ve gotten such a headache. Probably have become unadjusted to these environments. Magda has wrapped up some leftovers and gotten the floo network ready for us.”

Regulus’ heart twinged at the excuse you had concocted for him; then, it immediately broke as a voice reminded him that he couldn’t trust this, couldn’t trust you. The voice sounded eerily like his Mother’s.

At a loss, he found himself just barely nodding in agreement. 

He summoned enough courage to smile as he entered the living room, seeing most of the adults and older children gathered, some already running up to hug you goodbye. And not just you – Regulus suddenly had Martin and Milly at his feet for goodbye hugs. He went through the motions, politely hugging and waving goodbye, trying to distance himself from his body so he wouldn’t have to feel it.

Despite having no intention of returning, Regulus knew he had to make a good final impressions, so he walked up to Mr. McKinnon and stretched out his hand. “It was a pleasure to meet you, sir,” he said with an as steady voice he could produce at the moment. 

The older man looked down at his hand and back up at his face, before using the outstretched hand as leverage to pull Regulus into a tight hug. “It’s Mason to you, son. Come back soon.”

Regulus nodded with a tight-lipped smile, saying nothing else as he turned towards the fireplace. There he received two almost identical hugs from Marlene and Magda, save that Marlene whispered “don’t overthink this” in his ear while Magda whispered “be good to each other, alright love?”

Never before had Regulus appreciated the flurry of travelling with the floo as much as now. 

When he landed in your flat beside you, everything felt quiet. Dark. 

Your shared living room felt like it was closing in on him and Regulus quite honestly might have thrown up, had that not involved a touch more vulnerability than he was willing to reveal now. Instead, he shrugged, trying to shake the feeling off him, and immediately made a beeline for the bedroom.

“Reg…” you whispered after him.

He didn’t respond; he closed the bedroom door behind him and leaned against it, effectively keeping it shut.

Feeling every bit like the 8 year old currently shaking in the depths of his memory, Regulus slid down the door, settling at the bottom of it, cradling his knees against his chest.

In the acute silence of your flat, he could hear your heavy sigh. He tried to interpret it without letting up on his attempts at occluding, at schooling his mind from you. It didn’t seem angry or disappointed, just… broken. He couldn’t decipher in what way. 

Once upon a time, he had become excellent at it, but in the presence of his friends and you, he had let it slip. Somehow it was harder to hide his thoughts around you because his feelings were so screaming loud.  

The creaking of the floorboards were unmistakable as you walked up to the bedroom door. He expected your hand on the handle, he expected a confrontation. Instead, he felt a soft thud against the door as you slid down on your side of it in parallel to Regulus himself. His mind began to imagine how you looked, how you leaned against it and slowed your descent down, how your head was turned sideways, looking down at the small gap beneath the frame – but if he began to imagine too much, he would lose his grip on his occlusion.

He drew a deep breath and leaned his head against the door. Closed his eyes. Focussed. 

“Regulus, my love.” Your voice was soft and quiet, slightly muffled through the door, but he could hear you alright. “What’s going on in that pretty mind of yours? What happened, lovely?” 

A flicker of irritation flamed in him at your word choice and he couldn’t stop himself from the bite in his words, the first real words he spoke to you since. “Can’t you just see for yourself?”

A momentary silence. “What is that supposed to mean?” A little wounded, a little wary.

“You know.” His voice was hoarse. The insistent voice in Regulus’ head was kicking him for engaging with you on this, for not waving his wand to pack his suitcase and run as far as possible. He didn’t want to think about why, but he… he couldn’t do that. Not yet.

He heard you shuffling through the door, as if you shifted sideways to pretend to see him through the door. “My love, is this… is this about the l-legilimency?” Your voice was shaking in a way that made Regulus’ face scrunch up in pain – you seemed scared and he hated it, even if he didn’t get why.

But if you were scared, he was terrified. “Of course it is,” he breathed out, frustration leaking into his voice. “Of course it is. You’ve deceived me.”

“I didn’t deceive you.” Your response was immediate. “I didn’t deceive you, I just didn’t tell–”

“That’s the same thing! You… you kept it from me.” Regulus curled up into a smaller ball, hands coming up to cover his face. Breathe. Close your mind. Breathe. Close your mind. 

You were silent for a second. “I have never used it on you. Regulus, I have never read your mind.”

“Bloody convenient that I would never know, huh?” He laughed darkly, spiralling further. 

“You could, if you wanted. I would… I would let you try to read mine. Anyone can learn, it’s just that I… I had to be born with it.” Your voice was wavering. It almost brought Regulus clarity, but he couldn’t bring himself to allow it to. “I promise you Reg, I wouldn’t have.”

Slowly, he let his hands fall to either side of his body. He let out perhaps the worst-tasting sentence his lips had formed. “I don’t believe you.”

This time, you were silent for longer. 

You sounded painfully choked when you at last spoke up. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too,” Regulus whispered in the same tone, and that was himself talking, not any voices. 

The unmistakable sound of you beginning to get up rang through the silent flat, and panic surged through Regulus’ heart. Your name blurted out past his lips before he could stop himself.

“W-wait.” He turned to face the door, sitting cross-legged and leaning his forehead against the wood. It was terrified defiance, self-perceived stupidity and relentless love that drove his speech. “Don’t go. Not yet, please.”

If you had walked away now, Regulus was sure he would have crumbled, he would have had to apparate to Barty’s and never look back. Instead, you let out a breath he was beginning to suspect was a sob and sat back down. He felt the soft thud of you leaning against the door once more – he hoped it was your forehead, that yours were pressed together with only the wood separating you.

“Explain. Please.”

Your breathing was ragged enough that Regulus knew you were crying, rubbing your face to rid yourself of the tears before they could fall too far, like you always did. “I’m sorry,” you repeated, voice high-pitched. “I didn’t… I don’t tell people. Anyone. Because of… because…”

Because of this exact moment.

You seemed to try to stabilise yourself. Regulus ached to reach for you but remained silently rooted in place, save for the way he nudged his forehead against the door as if it was your skin. 

“Why did you think I’m so close with the McKinnons?” you asked after what felt like an eternity of silence and brazing yourself. “Why do you think I’m not close with my family?”

Regulus didn’t have an answer to that. In his friend group, no one had a good relationship with their biological families and, if it could be helped, no one talked about it. A realisation began to settle in. “I just assumed… I just assumed they were bad.” He cringed at how weak of a response that was.

You laughed a bit dryly. “No, they were entirely justified. Who would want a freak for a daughter?”

If a single sentence could have changed his mind, it would have been that one. His eyes squeezed shut in pain as he shook his head. “Amour, you’re not–”

“No?” You cut him off, tone a bit pointed. Regulus could understand why. “Some people train for years to master legilimency but I came out of the womb seeing and understanding everything. It freaked me out and once they realised, same thing there. Only the McKinnons had enough children to not care for an oddball or two.”

Regulus trained his eyes on the little gap beneath the door. He placed one hand near it, not close enough to slide his fingers beneath, but enough for his fingertips to dream of it.

“They were kind to me, Regulus,” you whispered in a hauntingly sweet voice. “That’s why I… wanted you to meet them too.”

“They are kind,” he agreed at last, voice hoarse and rough.

The breath you let out at that thankfully sounded more like a choked laugh than another sob. “I tried to get rid of it, you know. I learned to control it, not because I wanted to, but because I had to. I couldn’t stand living like this. So I… I don’t do it anymore. I hold back. I don’t read minds, I don’t read feelings or instincts unless I absolutely have to or… unless that person wants to. The McKinnons want to and with them it’s never been… something bad. It usually makes me feel sick, but it feels good with them. I don’t tell people because I don’t want them to know that I can do it, not because I don’t want them to know that I am doing it. I swear to you Regulus, I swear, I have never read your mind.”

At last, tears spilled down his cheeks. Searing and stinging, dripping over porcelain skin and splattering softly against the floor. “You should have told me, amour.” It was all he could say.

“I’m sorry.” He supposed that was all you could say.

Regulus fought for power over his own voice as tears continued spilling. He fought for power over his mind that was still screaming at him that you could be lying, he fought for power over his heart that knew you weren’t but was busy splintering at the pain you’ve carried. Of all the things he prepared himself for this afternoon, this conversation was not it.

“I am sorry,” he managed to force out at last, urgent. “Trust… trust is everything to me, and it is nothing because I almost never have it. That isn’t your fault, it’s– it’s probably my parents. I don’t talk of them. I don’t want to talk of them, you know this, but they– they would use anything against me. Anything I said or did, but also anything I thought or felt. It terrifies me that someone might have control of me.”

It cut him so deep to speak those words out loud, to share them with someone else, but either you had read his mind and already knew, or you were true, in which case you deserved to know. He heard you sniffle through the door.

“I would never.” Your voice was adamant despite how it broke. “I would never. You’re the one with control over me. I love you so deeply Regulus, I would never intentionally hurt you.”

“That’s what she would say,” he whispered. Not because he didn’t believe you, but because he needed to say it.

Your hand came down to rest near enough the gap beneath the door that he could see your fingers. “Did you feel loved by her?”

A sob. “No.”

Your next question was tentative, fragile. “Do you feel loved by me?”

It scared him that it was an immediate answer for him. “Yes.”

Your fingers scooted beneath the door, an open invitation. Slowly, as if this was the major decision, Regulus moved his fingers to brush against yours, to rest side by side under the door.

“I’m sorry I didn’t think to tell you before we went,” you whispered with a renewed energy. “I can’t say I’m sorry for not telling you right away, because I wouldn’t have been able to – but you didn’t deserve to find out like this and I should have known better. I am so sorry for putting you through this.”

Regulus’ fingers pushed more firmly against yours, tear tracks on his face drying slowly. “You didn’t put me through anything.”

You laughed quietly, shortly, unsure of how much was allowed, unsure what would happen. He didn’t really know either, acting on his heart’s instinct in a way wholly unfamiliar to him. 

“I’m sorry for reinforcing your fears,” he whispered then. “You’re not a freak. To me personally or in general. You’re not. You’re beautiful and wonderful and so capable. Legilimency isn’t… freakish, it’s a skill and a weapon. It’s the weaponisation that scares me.”

“Will you be able to live with the fear?” you asked, voice small. “I promise I will never weaponise it, never use it on you, but… is that enough?”

Regulus was quiet.

Then – “Can we open the door?”

“It’s up to you, my love.” Your voice sounded more defeated than he liked.

He withdrew his fingers and slowly lifted himself back up, slightly lightheaded as he reached for the handle. Tentatively, he turned it and opened the door inward, finding you sat in the exact same position he had been, cross-legged in front of the door.

You began to sit up, but before you could, Regulus quickly sat back down in front of you – this time, without the door separating you. Your legs were pressed against each other and slowly, ever so slowly, he reached out to place his hands over yours folded in your lap.

The sight of your face, riddled with many more tears than what Regulus had caught through the door, eyes shining with uncertainty was enough to tear him apart. He squeezed your hands.

“I– I love you.” The words were thick, incredibly hard to form on his tongue. “I do. And that is your greatest weapon against me, probably much more than legilimency could be. I didn’t think I could withstand it, but now… I don’t think I can do anything else. I can’t lose you.”

A few more tears rolled down your cheeks. Your lips trembled, but curled into a small smile nonetheless. With delicate movements, you turned your hands so that you could intertwine your fingers with his. “You couldn’t lose me. Even if you left, I would still have been yours, just a lot more heartbroken about it.”

Regulus laughed wetly. “We’re not wired right, amour. We’re just not.”

You leaned forwards and Regulus met you halfway, foreheads finally touching. “It doesn’t matter,” you whispered. “We can rewire each other together. You just… have to believe me. Trust me.”

He closed his eyes, leaning more heavily against you. “I trust you. I do trust you, it’s just– it’s just my mind that doesn’t. And not because of you, it can’t trust anyone. Not even Barty, not even Pandora. Not even Sirius.”

You let out a breath of laughter. “I know all about battling your mind. If your heart trusts me, I reckon that’s enough for me.”

Regulus drew you closer, moving his fingers up to hold your wrists, delicate long fingers spreading out over supple skin. “If you are trying to figure out if you are enough for me, amour, then of course. Of course you are, yes. That’s why it would break me so if you weren’t true, if you had been deceiving me – you’re not just enough for me, you’re all I need.”

He could feel your tears landing on his forearms as you gently nudged your nose against his in response.

“Please,” he whispered, not knowing what he was pleading for.

Somehow, you still gave it to him. You tipped your chin upwards and let your lips meet his in a slow, wet kiss. Every movement spoke of dozens of layers of emotions, layers that were stripped back and doted on as your hands continued its caress up his arms and shoulders to cup his face and hold it like it was yours. 

Regulus sighed into the kiss, leaning more of his weight against you as he enveloped you, inviting him into his very being despite how hard he fought to keep you out earlier. The Walburga-like voice in his mind was drowned out as he tried to repeat mantras over and over to wash it away.

Her, her, her, her.

Mine, mine, mine, mine.

Safe, safe, safe, safe.

When you came apart, you kept peppering small soft kisses around his lips, cheeks and nose, catching the last of Regulus’ tears as they fell. Your hands cradled his face so gently it almost hurt, but this was a kind of pain he welcomed.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated breathlessly.

“Please don’t be,” you whispered back, moving to kiss his closed eyelids with reverence.

“I always will be.”

“As will I.”

Regulus opened his eyes to frown at you. With a slight smile, you leaned in to kiss it away. He let you and hummed as he deepened the kiss, holding you close.

It was a tender, fragile night as the candles around your flat were finally lit and you changed into more comfortable clothes to hold each other on your wide window sill, looking at the stars as you talked it through.

The atmosphere remained somewhat tense, but in the same way you are tense after almost losing your partner on the battlefield, not the tension that comes from any lingering hostilities. Regulus kissed your shoulders softly each time he wanted to speak but didn’t know how, lips pressed against skin in silent apologies and declarations and promises.

You believed him – and you trusted that he believed you. 

[spierfeld]

Hello! Congrats on 2k, you deserve it! Can I please have 👌 and 🎵? My name is Carina =)

thank you sm dear!! (blog rate below cut!!

playlist: 

c: cold heart killer - lia marie johnsona: a.m. - one directionr: roman holiday - halseyi: in this life - the strumbellasn: no drama queen - grouplovea: ain’t no rest for the wicked - lennon & maisy (cover)

help me celebrate 2k!! 

URL: i don’t get it, but it’s still lovely | amazing | how!? | HARRY POTTER

ICON: cute | amazing | outstanding | RON WEASLEY

THEME: cute | amazing | outstanding | HERMIONE GRANGER

MOBILE THEME: cute | amazing | outstanding | GINNY WEASLEY

POSTS: awesome | amazing | outstanding | LUNA LOVEGOOD

OVERALL: awesome | amazing | outstanding | NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM

FOLLOWING: no, but you’re amazing and ily | now | of course | until the very end

[crescenthistory]

2K IS SO WELL DESERVED 💓💓

Please could you analyse a relationship (maybe how it starts/people finding out) between barty and potter!reader or black sister!reader 💓

thank you kindly sweetheart<33 i did poly!bartylus x potter!reader here, so i'm choosing the noble house of black scenario here lols. i loved this one so much, especially dynamic 2, so someone feel free to request a full version once i open my regular requests 🙂↕️🙂↕️

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i will ANALYSE barty crouch jr. with black!sister!reader

carina's 2k celebration

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cw: reference to walburga and orion's excellent parenting (abuse), fem!reader, sibling troubles, precocious barty

regulus was barty's first best friend and he is fiercely loyal to him, to a fault

however, he is loyal within barty's own moral compass, which, as we know, is a quite unique one

meaning he is "if i see you jumping someone, i'm jumping them with you, no questions asked" loyal and "if you are upset, it is my sworn duty to make you feel different" loyal, but he is NOT "your sister is off limits” loyal

which they both find out randomly one day, more or less like this:

"salazar's soggy balls, your sister is proper fit"

"EXCUSE ME?"

queue regulus whacking barty like he's a dog getting reprimanded while barty shrieks and yells some incoherent excuse like "what? she is???"

how it goes from there depends on which dynamic you have with the black brothers

i see two primary ones:

you were either really close with regulus and thus have a more problematic but still close relationship with sirius

OR you really looked up to sirius, which made regulus distance himself for you for periods of time

(the latter one prompts much more angst in the getting together process, naturally – in a good way)

DYNAMIC 1 (regulus centred)

if you and regulus are really close, you would be brought into the slytherin skittles from the get go and thus would have a friends to lovers arc with barty

after regulus whacked barty for drooling over "my baby sister" (you're like. eleven months younger than him.), he keeps an eye on barty

i think barty frankly would not care at all and would continue flirting with you unabashedly

"when have i ever let reg dictate my love/dating/sex life before?"

though he would be saving the more salacious comments for when regulus isn't around

and trust that he would be pursuing spending time with you when regulus isn't around – once he got hung up on you it's almost like a compulsive tic, he just has to be close to you

you would probably be the only one having any moral qualms about it, wondering how regulus would feel and how things might change

as a black sister, you would likely feel like everything good in your life is a hair width's away from falling apart and live in constant fear of that while trying to remain nonchalant

yet barty's pull towards you is far from one-sided – he gives you that calmness in the chaos and chaos in calmness that you craved

only when you nearly have your first kiss in a hallway and you pull away last second talking "what about regulus?" do i think it might register with barty that he could genuinely be upsetting his best friend

prompt the always direct barty more or less marching into his dorm he shares with regulus and evan, declaring: "regulus arcturus black, i love your sister. you have no right giving out blessings, but would you please get behind this, it's upsetting her."

it would be a ROUGH conversation, but regulus knows both of you well enough to know when you're being serious about something

and barty was being deadly serious

after they've talked it through and regulus has said something along the lines of "as long as you promise it's not just a shag, then sure, be my guest. but i want to hear NONE of it", i think he would make a beeline to gryffindor

to find sirius, of course, for once daring seek out his older brother's advice, because it's for their "better third"

"sirius, i need you to calm yourself and not be mad at them because i genuinely need your advice"

it took a LOT of schooling his face for sirius to not rip his eyeballs out at the mention that barty is interested in you, but he kept calm, for regulus

he could tell that he needed it

they talked it all out

it genuinely made regulus feel better and more secure in it, but the second he left the room, sirius turned around crying to james in the exact same way

queue sirius pulling barty aside the next day to borderline threaten him to not mistreat you

and for YOU to then pull SIRIUS aside and have an angsty sibling confrontation of "is it more important to you to go to him first and be all protective, instead of to me and offer any support or congratulations?"

i think regardless of if you have a troubled relationship for a while, he still sees you as his whole world; something to take care of

so he would nod his head, properly reprimanded and give you the first hug you've shared in a while

barty is by FAR sirius' least favourite in-law and barty adoreeeees that fact, loving to rub it in

you'll have to gently be like "babe, please" to have him calm down and not agitate sirius (and by consequence regulus) too much

it was chaotic but just right

DYNAMIC 2 (sirius centred)

you grew up always looking up to sirius – he's three years older, so the perfect age for you to think everything he does is so cool

you were still relatively young when everything went down with sirius and walburga, so you had a slightly more coloured image and fuzzy memories surrounding the abuse at home

less resentment, more uncertainty towards your parents while still idolising sirius, at least for a while

i think sirius in any dynamic considers his sister his "baby" to some degree, partly because you were the youngest, partly because of his upbringing presenting women as someone to be taken care of – and largely because you let him baby you, unlike regulus

you saw sirius as more of an authority figure than you ever did regulus and he always felt safer than your parents, so when you had nightmares as a child, sirius was the one who could soothe you the best

when you were anxious, he was the one who could talk you out of it, tether you to the earth

sirius saw you as more innocent and less tainted than him, so you could in return make him feel a bit better, a bit more like he had a purpose

i think this dynamic would make regulus very resentful of the both of you

yet another example of him being the second option, of him not measuring up, etc. -> in regards to both you and sirius

in regulus' mind, you were the better younger sibling and sirius was the better older sibling – regulus was alone

so he isolated himself more and more from the both of you as he grew up in a misguided act of self-protection

to the extent that when you started hogwarts, you were never introduced to his friends

i think they asked about you when you finally started hogwarts, but he brushed it aside so assertively that they dropped it

this is in stark contrast to sirius' marauders who happily brought you along more often than not

you were not really a part of their friend group, more so that you became everyone's honorary little sister while you established yourself your own good friends within your house and year

sirius would meet you at every breakfast, even if only to ruffle your hair and kiss your head while you groaned, embarrassing you in front of your friends

you knew of who regulus' friends were and you saw him around often, but it had been made clear to you not to engage

i think it would be the kind of situation where regulus implied you stay away, which hurt you and made you stay away, which in turn hurt him – the cycle goes on

so you never really got to know them beyond their reputations and sirius' complaints about them

until around your fifth year when you would meet barty in some capacity (same class because you were excelling above your year, same secluded area of hogsmeade, etc.)

you hit it off massively, bantering back and forth in a way that makes barty feel both challenged and seen

his interest is piqued

after which is when he makes the comment to regulus about how he finds you "proper fit"

this time, regulus loses his mind over it not because it's his baby sister, but because of his resentment, jealousy and even fear that you would be taking someone else away from him

he would not be making sense to barty, reverting back to his younger and more hurt self before stalking off

if barty, evan or even dorcas tried to bring it up to regulus afterwards, he would just say "let's not talk about her/them" curtly

he only spoke to pandora about it and she kept quiet to the others, respecting his space and boundaries

in this instance, it would be clear to barty that his interest in you was not okay, but it didn't subside

on the contrary, it only continued blazing and he kept meeting you often, mostly by coincidence – but he stayed on purpose

you think nothing much of it before regulus angirly stalks up to you when he sees you chatting in the hallway, roughly grabs your arm to haul you away and whispers something along the lines of "you have sirius. you got sirius, you can't take barty too"

queue massive sibling fight that barty eventually has to get involved in, ignoring the sound of his breaking heart

while you often ignored each other, the tension that arose between you and regulus was now palpable and uncomfortable

you were hurt regulus viewed you the way he did and always competed with you – why did he care so much for sirius' love and not yours?

regulus was hurt because he felt abandoned yet again – both by barty, but also you because he loved you and missed you

having no idea what to do, i think barty would be forced to do the one thing he had sworn to himself, any god he occasionally spoke to and regulus he would never do:

he willingly went to speak with sirius black

"believe me, i don't want to do this any more than you do, but i don't think they can get over this on their own"

i think barty might be able to articulate how regulus feels like the "odd one out" of the siblings and show sirius that regulus' standoffishness is just years of pain schooled away and not him being an aloof bother

which sirius knows but has never been able to work past regardless, not before it was presented to him like this

and while sirius would still be disturbed by it, i think this might be the only way to make him understand that barty loves you – because there was no other word but love for the pull he felt towards you, the emptiness he felt without you

the two of them would plot and scheme to get you and regulus in the same room at the same time, locking all four of you inside

when they begin to try and start a civil conversation, you and regulus are on the offensive and hostile

it is when you burst out something along the lines of "why do you hate me?" that regulus' face falls

"i could never hate you."

it would be an even rougher talk, but you are able to understand each other's pain at last

"i never meant to take him away from you, i never meant to take anything away from you. i just want to be part of your life again."

"it's never felt like i deserve a spot in your life, though. like you want me there."

"regulus there is not a day that i don't wish you were sat beside me."

loooooooong awaited hug

barty and sirius would have stepped back as mediators once the first realisation set in between you, watching while leaning on a desk from afar, feeling oddly united for a moment

at last, regulus would murmur: "do you love him"

you looked at barty for a long time before looking back to regulus with a quivering lip, despite knowing the answer

"only if you'll let me. only if you'll be okay with it."

and though a part of him might still be scared and kicking and screaming, he would use all of his big brother love to pull you close, kiss you on the forehead and whisper repeatedly "it's alright, it's alright. i'm sorry, it's alright."

barty held it together well for regulus' sake, but the second he was left alone with you he swept you up in the closest embrace

"i'm so proud of you"

not only are you the most compelling, bewitching, well, witch he had ever met, but you seemed to be the one person capable of piecing his best friend back together

went through hell to be a match made in heaven

[crescenthistory]

carinaaa congratulations on 2k!!!🥹 could I pretty please request an 'argue' with 66 and 26 from list a and 8 from list c with our resident cassanova Remus Lupin <3

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i will ARGUE for prompt 66 "half-finished crochet projects" and prompt 8 "i want to go home to my wife" with remus lupin

carina's 2k celebration

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cw: fem!reader, alcohol, drunk!remus, established relationship, idiots in love

wc: 902

There were many versions of Remus that you could fish out of various bottles of alcohol.

There was the philosopher you would find in a bottle of whiskey. There was the loud and outspoken boy you would find in a few shots of tequila. The limoncello giggler, the cocktail dancer, the vodka idiot.

Your all-time favourite, though, would selfishly always be wine drunk Remus – because there was nothing on his mind but you.

Wine drunk Remus was an enamoured Remus.

When Lily invited you all over for a relaxing wine night, you had been a bit giddier than perhaps normal and Remus just shook his head and smiled at you. After this many years together, he had to know what he was like when he had enough red wine, but he was kind enough to silently indulge you.

After spending 40 minutes in the kitchen, getting sidetracked by talking at length with Pandora about what type of incense was best for the various days of the week, you heard a slightly slurred voice that warmed your heart all too well.

“Where is dovey?” 

You lit up at the love smeared across every word he said, holding back a laugh at the petulant tone behind them that told you he was surely talking to James or Sirius – the only ones apart from you that he showed this side openly to. The lovestruck side. 

Everyone else saw it too, of course, but what Remus didn’t know couldn’t hurt him.

Pandora tapped the side of her nose knowingly. “I think somebody’s looking for you.”

Your laughter rumbled low in your chest as you handed her the bottle you had originally gone off to fetch together, kissing her cheek briefly in the passing. “I want to hear all about how the moonwater turns out!” you called over your shoulder as you exited the lovely kitchen, searching for your husband.

“She’s in the kitchen or something, Moons,” you heard James say in the same tone he often spoke to Harry in, sounding as if this was not his first time saying this. “She’ll be back soon.”

“I want to go home to my wife.”

You found Remus and James sitting on the plush chairs in the little seating area squeezed in between the living room and dining room – truly, Potter Manor was too large for their own good. Remus’ bottom lip was just slightly tutted out and you saw the mirth swirling in James’ eyes, skin wrinkling happily around them at the sight of his best friend having had one too many.

“Home to your wife? Am I not here, baby?” you asked, unable to hide the laughter coating your words. You came up from behind him to place your hand on his shoulder.

The speed at which Remus’ head seemed to whip around immediately made him dizzy, but his smile didn’t dim on account of it – on the contrary, it seemed to widen painfully as he took you in.

“Dove,” he breathed out happily, stretching his cracking limbs to pull you closer to where he was seated, pressing his face to your stomach. “You disappeared.” 

“I’m sorry lovely, I was just chatting away with Pandora and lost track of time. Didn’t know you were looking for me.”

You met James’ gaze, an unspoken understanding between your more sober selves as you let yourselves be thoroughly entertained by the sight before you. One of your hands held Remus closer as the other came up to card through his tousled hair, earning you an immediate sigh of contentment. 

“‘M always looking for you.” Remus buried his face further into you as he spoke with a decided slur.

Your body shook with laughter as you kept petting him carefully. “Did you want to go home? Perhaps it’s time to sleep a little.”

Remus propped his chin up on your stomach to stare up at you, eyebrows furrowed in question. His hands came up to cling to your hips, but you suspected it was partly a matter of balance. “Why would we sleep? We have so much to do.”

“Like what?” James was the one who spoke through a laugh this time and Remus seemed genuinely surprised he was still there.

“We have half-finished crochet projects to throw ourselves into!” Remus insisted. He looked back up at you, almost pouting again. “I wanted you to show me how to do the jasmine stitch again. I forgot. It’s so much easier to knit, but you make crochet seem so… beautiful.”

The way he trailed off at the end of his sentence made you think he forgot what he was going to say and concluded on beautiful simply because he was looking at you. It was ridiculous how content you were.

With kind fingers, you brushed over Remus’ cheek, heart warming as he nuzzled against your hand. “Okay, my love. We can crochet in bed together.”

James gave you a yeah sure look, flashing his teeth as he laughed, clearly not having any faith in Remus’ ability to stay awake for much longer. You rolled your eyes with a smile, despite being more than aware he was right.

“Come now,” you whispered to Remus, helping him up and out of his seat. “Let’s get you home to your wife.”

His responding grin told you that somewhere within him he knew he was being ridiculous – and that he was loving every second of it.

“Yes please."

[crescenthistory]

would you pretty please do "you can't fool me" with sirius? maybe he had a nightmare? please?

only because you asked so nicely<33

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i will ARGUE for prompt 1 "you can't fool me" with sirius black

carina's 2k celebration

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cw: implied past trauma, post-nightmare, established relationship

wc: 0.8k

Sirius' breathing was always different after a nightmare.

He didn't hyperventilate like one might expect he would, he didn't gasp for breath like his lungs were too small. Instead, he breathed in shortly, acutely, through his teeth and not enough, as if he was rationing air. Small breaths that rattled him more than they should as he did his best to remain entirely still.

You, James and Remus gave him grief as often as possible about how unruly he would be in his sleep now, arms and legs everywhere, but you knew that was a good thing. A learnt thing. A matter of safety.

It was when Sirius reverted back to his old ways and became still as a statue that you knew he was aching. It pained you to see – and now that you've gotten used to him taking up space, it was his stillness that woke you above all else.

"Siri? Baby?"

His back was to you, on the very edge of the bed despite there being a large amount of space for him to bask in. You could see his ribs moving rhythmically, shaking but quick and with too long in between. 

He didn't respond, but his shoulders tensed, informing you he had heard you. It was as if you could hear his thoughts in your own head, begging you, willing you to go back to sleep.

I’m alright, doll. Please fall asleep again.

You were not one for carrying out disservices to the man you love. 

Gently as to not startle him, but loudly enough to not sneak up on him, you sat up in the bed, letting the duvet pool around your stomach. You shimmied over to him so you sat with your thigh pressed to his back and a hand resting on his stomach, looking down onto the side of his face. 

Sirius’ eyes were pressed shut, skin wrinkling from the force of it. The ragged, controlled breathing continued.

“My lovely boy,” you whispered, barely a sound. Your hand dragged up and down his side in the way you knew usually helps. Just enough force to ground him. 

Sirius made a sound you think was supposed to be a dismissive huff, but his vocal chords were too tense and lungs too empty for it to become more than a quiet grunt. You sunk further down beside him, propped up on your elbow as you carefully carded your fingers through his dark curls, wild and matted with sleep.

“I’m alright,” he eventually forced out, voice hoarse. His eyes were still squeezed shut, body still turned away from you – but he was leaning into the touch of your hands, the first step. 

“You can’t fool me, love.”

No judgements, no harshness. You just tried to be a soft figure for him to fall into when ready.

Sirius’ lips tugged up into a small sad smile. They were still twitching somewhat, as if protesting him asserting control over his body again after fear’s coup d'État, but the smile remained. 

“I know.” He leaned back into your chest, turning his head ever so slightly so he could open his eyes into tiny slits and look at your sleep-riddled face. “I still try.”

You welcomed his gaze with a much more assured, wide smile. You dared drop your chin the few centimetres to press a kiss to his forehead as you hummed in confirmation. “You can keep trying if you’d like, but I won’t go away.”

Your last words seemed to strike a chord as Sirius hand shot from being tucked beneath his body to find your own. “Please don’t,” he said, hurried while quiet. “Never. That’s not what I actually want.”

Maintaining your calm energy, you kept pressing kisses around his face. “I won’t, I promise. I won’t. I know what you want and need. I can see it on you, sweetheart. Even if you were to ask me, I wouldn’t leave.” 

Sirius’ eyes were wide open now, round as ever. He blinked one more time before finally heaving a huge sigh, his lungs seemingly crying from relief. Your fingers dutifully stayed in his hair as he turned around to face you, body naturally curling up against your own.

“You’re too good to me.” He whispered in greeting, burying his face into your bare neck. “Too good.” His words were slurred by the twitching of his lips and now the closeness to his skin, but you felt them in their entirety.

It was odd how Sirius seemed to always mould perfectly against you, a harmonious presence even in his troubledness. 

“Not too good,” you murmured into his hair. “Just trying to be good enough.”

Sirius pulled back a little to gaze fondly up at you. “Now who’s fooling who?”

When you kissed him with your smile, you could feel him breathing a bit more normally against you.

[crescenthistory]

OMG CONGRATS ON 2K!!!! I hope I get to see 20k because you absolutely deserve it! May I request a Roommate au with Barty crouch please!!

THANK YOUUUUU BUBS you're so sweet!!! the way i saw the vision for this INSTANTLY omg thank you for participating mwah<33

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i will ARGUE for prompt 12 "roommate au" with barty crouch jr.

carina's 2k celebration

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cw: pre-relationship, reference to crouch senior, cursing, physical affection

wc: 1.1k

You always knew when Barty came home.

Whether it was because he didn't realise how loud he was being or because he frankly didn't care, you weren't entirely certain yet. All you knew was that this boy you met through mutual friends when you were in the middle of a housing crisis entered into his flat as if he was escaping a war zone. Door slammed both as he opened and closed it, boots flying into walls as he kicked them off, jacket accidentally knocking the shoe horn over every day, followed by a loud curse. It did not matter if he was on top of the moon, down in the valley or completely neutral – Barty would always be loud.

It brought you a lot of grief when you first moved in together, though, to be fair, Dorcas had warned you. You still remember her exact phrasing: “I wouldn’t have subjected you to him unless I knew you needed it and could handle it.”

If you waved her off for being dramatic, then that was simply on you.

Though, you learned quickly that Barty wasn’t a terrible roommate. Apart from the major peak, which was that he was renting you one of his several vacant bedrooms in a surprisingly sizable flat in the middle of London for next to nothing, he was a rather supportive and democratic roommate. Anything he bought for the kitchen or bathroom was “free for all” as he called it, he loved handling all the stressful phone calls for maintenance or billing because he got to argue with someone for an hour and on his insisted weekly movie-nights, he let you choose almost every single time. Thus; a relatively good roommate. Not necessarily a sweet one, but you would never demand that from a stranger anyway. 

And you kept insisting that you and Barty were still strangers.

A voice in your head pointed out how contradictory that was, because when Barty entered the flat today in his usual loud manner, you could pick up that something was wrong.

You had been lounging on the settee for the past hour with a book and some neglected homework, not at all waiting for him to come home. At the sound of his entry, you stiffened in your seat, sitting up and closing your book over your fingers as concern began etching itself into your expression with a knife.

“Barty?” you called uncertainly, putting one foot down onto the floor.

He rounded the corner with his bag flung over his slumped shoulders and let out a – also loud – huff. The handsome features of his face were dragged out as the skin seemed to melt off of his face in exhaustion, yet all of his muscles seemed to be tense, holding on.

Immediately upon entering the room, Barty’s eyes met yours and seemed to melt a little. “Dragă, you won’t believe the bloody day I’ve had.”

You opened your mouth to reply, but Barty was already moving across the room, dropping his bag haphazardly on a chair and yanking off his sweater in one not-at-all-distracting move before throwing it onto the back of the sofa opposite you. 

As he walked, he seemed to relay his unbelievable day to you, worries all flowing from him with minimal hindrance. Your eyes remained thoughtfully furrowed and your attention pinned on him for reasons you chose not to investigate.

“My boss has got corporate’s boot on his neck once again and the fucker is taking it out on me, trying to criticise my paperwork when I move through twice the amount of cases as any of his other top workers.” He’s opening the fridge to grab a bottle of water, chugging it all in one go before he continued – that’s another thing you’ve noticed about Barty, he has remarkable control of his body and is able to open his throat to down pretty much any drink within seconds. 

“And then Regulus and fucking Potter – you know him, right, annoying smiley bloke? Anyway, Regulus and fucking Potter are quite literally fucking and it’s the most despicable thing I’ve seen, almost making me lose my lunch anytime we’re in the same room together.” He’s walking towards you know, making a beeline towards the other side of your settee.

“Not to mention my father won’t fucking leave me alone, he has been calling me nonstop, I’m talking – and I swear to gods, I am not exaggerating at all, Dragă – over twelve times today already. And I know it’s nothing serious, which makes it all the more infuriating–”

As Barty carries on, he plops down on the seat beside you, gesturing with his hands and distracted in his animated rant. You’ve put your book aside on the coffee table and move to angle yourself towards him to fully focus on what he has to say, when he beats you to it. Barty turns around in his seat to lay down across the settee to place his head in your lap. His left leg is slung over the back of the sofa while the other is sprawled out onto the floor, arms still gesturing wildly as he gets comfortable on the plush of your thighs.

“– he’s just trying to get a rise out of me, I know it so bloody well, and he’s still fucking successful–”

Your roommate of a few months who you still tell yourself is more or less a stranger despite knowing him well enough to understand every aspect of his current rambling has laid his head in your lap as you talk.

It felt oddly right.

Partly without thinking and partly because where else do you put your fucking hands, you let your right hand come down to comb through his hair that is slightly humid from the January mist outside. His contrasting strands of black and acid green get all mixed up at the movement, but more importantly, his face took on a calmer look.

He glanced up at you through his thick eyelashes, words dying on his lips as if he was just now seeing you and catching up with his own movements.

You can’t help the small smile that takes over your features. “Sounds like a rough day.” 

He nodded his head in your grasp, his heterochromatic eyes slightly glazed over as they stared up into yours. “Yeah,” he said, voice hoarse. “Rough day. Better now though.”

You tilted your head sideways. “Yeah?”

A slow smile began to emerge. “Yeah.”

[crescenthistory]

omg congratsss on 2k!!! could i request prompt 31 from the dialogue list with remus? i’m just thinking about oblivious rem… like she’d be flirting with him in EVERY possible opportunity and he’s just like oh she’s the sweetest to me we have such a nice friendship😭

thank you so much for participating, lovely! unfortunately i evidently don't know what a drabble is, so i hope you enjoy this one-shot lol<33

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i will ARGUE for prompt 31 "give me a kiss, you beautiful idiot" with remus lupin

carina's 2k celebration

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cw: gn!reader, oblivious!remus, uk university au, background prongsfoot, disabled!remus, remus is taller than you because he is taller than everyone, physical affection, remus pov, did i make rem a history student? yes i did, sue me

wc: 3.7k 

Remus was beginning to fear he might be slightly foolish.

This whole exam season he had existed solely by your side, attached at the hip with the strongest stitch a sewing needle could provide. This brand of existence had not come as too big of a surprise to either of you – nor to your respective friends from your hometowns that you updated over messages and the occasional video call.

When Remus made the decision to go to a university far away from all his friends and family, he had been silently cursing himself for it the whole while. This university in the middle of nowhere had an excellent arts and humanities faculty that specialised in the perfect niche intersection between history and literature that Remus had always been so infatuated with. After the confidence instilled in him by his best mates from boarding school and the reassuring kisses from his painfully aging parents, Remus knew he had to go.

It was now or never for him. Give it a few years, he would want to be back home with his Mam and Tad, taking care of the farm and visiting his mates as they established families and developed their lives. This was his chance.

Yet, it ached to step away, an innate fear that had been hibernating for years rearing its head once more. Before his mates came into his life, Remus had believed himself incapable of forming meaningful connections. With his limb difference and autoimmune disorder, he had alway thought himself too different. Everything about him was odd, as he had been promptly informed on the playground one day and never forgotten. His gait was slower, his interests were peculiar, his arm looked different; Remus Lupin was surely doomed.

When, despite all odds, he found mates that didn’t just like him despite his oddities, but because of them – how could he have been stupid enough to leave them? 

“Just you wait and see, cariad,” his Mam, Hope, had whispered softly and patted his cheek as he hesitated to submit his application. “Surely if the world can produce those three lovely boys of yours, there must be more out there.”

His mother, Remus had come to learn, was consistently correct.

Because on the very first day of freshers’ week at a new university in a new town, into his life came you; so beautifully kind, so kindly beautiful, filled to the brim with an understanding, empathy and pure humour that he got drunk off of. One freshers’ week was all it took before he was fully swept into your life and friendships.

Much like how James had kindly adopted him on the train to boarding school, you picked him up and seemingly skipped the traditional “oh where is your accommodation”, “wow, how many siblings do you have?” and “no way, I did A-Level history too!” that he had come to expect and fear.

“You look like a palm tree in a snowstorm,” you had giggled after bumping into him. “Where’re you off to?”

Remus was unsure where he had been off to. He held his phone with the Welcome app opened, yet found it wholly unnavigable. “Uh, well. I don’t really know.”

Your smile had widened as you took him in. “What do you know, stranger?”

He had been practising how to answer the go-to questions and almost responded with “Oh, I’m Remus from Cardiff” when you threw him off. A warm feeling began to spread in his chest as he saw you sizing him up with zero judgement and all interest.

“I reckon just about enough to get through term, but a bit too little to get through freshers’.” A small giggle-like rumble had spread in his chest as he spoke, red nerves climbing up his neck in case you had intended the question differently.

You luckily hadn’t. “Perfect!” you announced with a grin. “I know enough to know you don’t get through fresher’s, you just go with the flow. So you can tag along with me, pretty boy.”

Remus never did stop tagging along with you. Only later that day, when you introduced him to your friends, did you learn each other’s names, too caught up in talking about anything and everything else. It went from being a nerve-racking day to a freeing one.

Your little pack of quickly-found friends welcomed Remus with enthusiasm to match yours, and together you made your way through your first week and then your first year at your middle-of-nowhere university. Though he enjoyed your little pack – named Alice, Frank, Emmeline and Dorcas, all of which he wanted to introduce to his friends back home – you were the one who stood out to him through it all.

His sentiments must have been clear as he stayed in touch with his best mates online, because they kept asking about you and eventually for you. Remus answered the phone around you once and introduced you to James on speaker, and ever since then, they wanted him to rope you into any and all chats they had.

Remus didn’t really understand why they were so insistent, but he had a sneaking suspicion he didn’t want to know. 

Eventually, realisation was forced to dawn on him, as all your friends went home for a bit when classes ended for a long assessment season, while only you and Remus stayed behind on campus. Alice lived with Frank’s family, who were only a short drive away, while Emmeline’s parents were loaded enough to fly her in and out whenever she had a free weekend, and Dorcas took any opportunity to jump on her Harley and disappear for a while. Once it was just you and Remus, alone in your designated corner of the ancient library, Remus’ skin began to tingle in a way he couldn’t explain away.

And thus, the needle came out and stitched you together effortlessly and intrinsically. 

If one of you were at the library, so was the other. If one wanted to go grab a bite mid-study session, so did the other. And, if Remus was called up by his friends, so were inadvertently you.

“Moony? Sunshine? You there?” Sirius’ voice sounded through the speakers on Remus’ laptop as he hastily lowered the volume. You were the only ones in this corner of the library, but sound might travel, he thought. You snorted as you looked at his stress for a second before turning to Sirius.

“We’re right here, Pads,” you teased as you turned the camera on, which Remus had forgotten to do.

“Ah, there! My eyes have been blessed.” His best mate’s voice was a bit static-y through the microphone, but Remus had grown used to that over the months. “Are you lovebirds still nesting in that library of yours?”

Remus’ brows furrowed as he swallowed uncomfortably over the blush already creeping up his neck. You beat him to answering it.

“I don’t know, are you lovebirds still living the life of luxury in Potter Manor?” you quipped back, raising an eyebrow at Sirius’ pixelated form. Remus felt oddly pleased with how well you seemed to know his friends through only talking over the phone.

Sirius’ shared his sentiments but expressed them in a wholly different manner – through a gasp. “How dare you insinuate that my affections towards James Fleamont is anything beyond brotherly?”

At that, James’ curly hair appeared in the doorway behind Sirius as he threw a t-shirt at his head. “Shut up, Sirius.” He laughed heartily before crouching down enough to see you and Remus. “Hi nerds! How’re you? Coming home soon?”

“God forbid someone prepares for the exam they spent all their money and braincells on getting to take,” Remus joked, knowing that James wouldn’t point out that most of the money that had gone towards Remus’ degree was Potter money. 

“Don’t worry James, I’ll ship him off to you soon.” You elbowed Remus to emphasise your point, but then smoothly slipped your arm behind his back to rest your hand between his shoulder blades. Remus physically relaxed. 

“No, no, he’s yours now babes, you just keep him,” James spoke as he walked restlessly about the room behind Sirius, who was very obviously ogling him, “but both of you please come visit as soon as you’re done with exams, yeah?”

You just smiled warmly and nodded, while Remus felt his flush creep up further. He thought this was probably a good point to cut his friends off before they took it too far and made you uncomfortable.

“What are you doing now, then? Considering you don’t seem to be dedicated to your own exams?” He shifted the conversation, instead allowing his best mates to talk at the two of you as you settled into your seat beside Remus. His skin warmed beneath his clothes where you kept your arm around him and eventually rested your head on his shoulder – in a way that couldn’t be explained away by mere physical contact.

The hour ebbed out as the lot of you went back and forth, trading life updates and stories cheerfully, pleased to leave your reading lists be for a little while. Eventually, Sirius began telling a story from their old boarding school days that involved a certain infamous Marlene that made your grin widen.

“We really should introduce Marlene to our friend Dorcas at some point,” you said, looking at Remus to see his opinion even as you seemingly spoke to Sirius. “It seems they would be a good match.”

Remus grinned, looking down at his lap before meeting your eyes. “Been thinking the same thing as of late.”

“Where’s Dorcas now?” James asked intriguingly.

“Oh, she’s off riding her bike for a while.” You waved your hand as if to say she’s just like that.

Sirius whistled and patted James on the back. “Sounds right up Marls’ alley.”

“You would be the one to know, considering you’re the only one of us who’s been up Marls’ alley.” Even as James spoke, he began to shield his body, seemingly prepared for the way Sirius would begin swatting at him.

“Prongs, we snogged once in year four to figure things out – it’s really time you let this go.”

Remus couldn’t help but snicker, which made you laugh and made Sirius narrow his eyes at him all at the same time. 

“Seems like that university of yours is where everyone meets their soulmates, then,” Sirius said in a concerningly smug tone. “If Marlene’s other half has finally been found and yours, Moony, is–”

Remus cut him off with a nervous laugh, waving him off. “Speaking of soulmates, how’s Lily doing, James?” His voice was a bit too high-pitched as he pointedly stared only at Sirius and not at you, whose gaze he could feel caressing his cheek. He hoped the look he gave Sirius read as sorry, shut up, here’s some ammunition.

Luckily, his friend took the bait, albeit only after a wolfish grin sent his way and what looked like a wink aimed at… you. “Yes, how is little Red?” Sirius asked, jumping on Remus’ diversion as James groaned.

“Happily engaged to Mary, as you know, Sirius.” James had apparently been eager to dish out old embarrassing stories of childhood crushes but not receive them. “We’ll see her next week at Peter’s.”

Remus laughed lightly as he looked at the two boyfriends quarreling in a manner only the two of them could ever pull off, never once turning his head to meet your gaze that still didn’t feel aimed in the same direction as his.

James and Sirius’ voices kept bouncing off the aging stone walls that surrounded you, creeping in between the pages of the books on the shelves. Remus enjoyed it – until you yawned. It was quiet, understated, but at last made Remus’ gaze smoothly sweep over to you, skin around his eyes crinkling at what he found. The smile on your lips was genuine as you took in the conversation, but your eyes had a glassy look to them that Remus had come to know as a tell-tale sign that it’s time to resign for the night. You stretched your neck a little after your yawn, as if the muscles there were ailing you, and Remus had half a mind to reach out and massage any aches away, if that had not been wholly unhinged of him.

Instead, he cleared his throat slightly and looked over at James and Sirius’ images on the screen. It was a sound they were well used to from years of dorming together and made nostalgic – yet no less mischievous – grins break out on their faces.

“Want to get rid of us already, Moons?” Sirius teased, but even he was beginning to look a tad bit tired, in that way only his friends would be able to decipher. 

“Yes, I am beyond bored with you both.” Remus’ tone was sarcastically monotonous until he could no longer hold back his smile. “I want to go back to my blissful existence without your intervention.”

“Don’t be mean,” you faux chided as you swatted the shoulder you had been leaning against not long ago. 

James held one hand up in defense while the other seemed to point towards you. “You really should listen to your better half there, Rem.”

“We boring old friends won’t occupy your precious time together any longer,” Sirius added solemnly as he placed his hands placatingly on James’ shoulders to get him to drop his hands and look sideways with a grin. “Run off and do something wise with your time.”

Remus shook his head. “It was nice talking to you both.” He ignored the twinge in his heart at how much he meant it, all the while not being able to wish himself to be out of your company in favour of theirs. “We’ll see each other soon.”

“And speak sooner!” You added happily, seeming to have chirped up with renewed energy at the closing of the conversation. “I’ll bully him into calling you at least once more before exams.”

“What a blessing you are, darling.” Sirius held a thumbs up, which Remus felt was unnecessary. “Keep reining him in.”

“Okay, alright.” Remus fought back a chuckle and began waving to the camera. “Bye bye, guys. Goodnight.”

You echoed his sentiments, leaning into his side as you waved.

“Goodnight!” James called. “I’m sending you big goodnight kisses for when your lips aren’t occupied, Moon–”

Remus closed his laptop and cut off the connection before James – and, god forbid, Sirius – could make any further attempts at mocking him. He let out a sound that was a mix of a heavy sigh and a chuckle, letting his head fall forward to hit his laptop with a soft thud as he closed his eyes. “Good God.”

You just laughed quietly and patted his shoulder closest to you before getting out of your seat and, presumably, stretching. Remus decided to stay put with his eyes closed for that, to be on the safe side. “Your friends are a breed of their own. I really like them.”

“I’m glad you do.” Remus turned his head sideways to peak up at you as you leisurely began to collect your things. “Ready to go home and sleep?”

You quirked an eyebrow at him in a manner that made him flush beyond his understanding. “Are you?”

He pushed any and all thoughts down as he forced himself up from the table with a sigh. “I am. I fear I can’t read another sentence, especially not if this historian is going to keep referencing Freud.”

“Which he will.” 

“I know,” Remus groaned. “Thus; let’s head out.”

You packed in relative comfortable silence, digesting the conversation and the day side by side. You helped Remus pack his pencils back in his pencil case and zipping it shut wordlessly, as always refusing any thanks. The smile you gave him as you did so was enough to make him want to thank you again anyway.

As you walked to the lift together, chatting idly, Remus allowed himself to bask in how close you seemed to always walk to him and how lucky he was to have made a friend as good as you.

James and Sirius’ comments remained in his brain, though, sifting around in a pond of increasing nerves about how you might have received and interpreted them. The thought of you getting home to your dorm and feeling uncomfortable or wary was enough to make him want to abandon his own ego and address it.

Despite the incoming spring, British weather remained stubborn, and thus the library was basked in a beautiful dusk, not quite pitch black, but enough for the yellow light streaming out of the windows while you walked past to seem mystical and magical. You walked together to the gates, just outside of which, you would have to part ways, Remus taking the left-turn and you the right.

Remus let you get right outside the black gates, but still on library property when he stopped, prompting you to do the same and look back at him with a curious gaze.

“I–” he began, a bit uncertain about how to word this. “Before you go, I just wanted to say I’m sorry.” A breath. “About Sirius and James. If they ever make you uncomfortable in any way, please just say so and I’ll get them to stop it, I swear. I don’t know what they’re getting at.”

You furrowed your brows a little, but not in a way that voiced upset – rather on the contrary, it’s the same furrow Remus often observes appears on your face right before he makes you laugh.

“What, those little comments earlier?” you asked, confusion and mirth warring in your tone.

Remus’ stomach dropped a little at the thought that you also picked up on it, but remained relieved that you didn’t seem overly upset. “Yes, I– they’re twats sometimes, you know, so please just pay them no mind. Boarding school kids with bad humour. I don’t know what they’re getting at.”

The corners of your lips began to curl upward as you took a step closer to him. Remus’ breath lodged in his throat at the action, however small. The poetic side of his mind would immortalise the image of you, tired and beautiful in the grey night and yellow light, smiling at him like your heart harboured a secret, even though he was close enough to feel it beating. 

“I know what they’re getting at.” You said it so simply, all you were missing was a shrug as the cherry on top. “I don’t mind.”

Remus had never enjoyed being compared to an animal, but he did recognise how his mouth opened and closed, not much unlike a fish. He couldn’t decide whether to ask you do? or you don’t? Instead, he asked, “What?”

“Do you mind?” Your eyes grew a shade more serious then, scanning his kindly. You reached out a hand to rest on his upper arm, squeezing it through his jumper and corduroy jacket.

It was Remus’ turn to look confused. “Well, I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

Yet again, you looked to be fighting a smile. “Yes, but do you mind?”

Remus thought that maybe, just maybe, he might be understanding what you just asked. He hoped he was not mistaken when he let out his whisper. “No.”

“Then give me a kiss goodnight, you beautiful idiot.” 

You spoke with such an endearing tone and smile, one that reassured him that you meant it but you were also not issuing a demand; it was you inviting him and teasing him at the same time. Just like a friend would, except Remus truly did not want to only be friends anymore.

Though there was no real need, Remus took a step closer to you and slowly lowered his face to meet yours, amber eyes staying on yours for as long as possible before your lips met, both sets curled up into matching smiles. His fingers came up to gently cup your cheek, fingertips gliding past your ear and into your hair, while his residual limb snuck around your waist, holding you close to him.

Remus kissed you and he realised that this is what he should have been doing all along. Remus kissed you and was grateful that this was the first time because it meant immensely more now than it ever could have before. Remus kissed you and he knew for certain that if he was an idiot, he wanted to be yours.

When you parted, he couldn’t stand pulling too far away, and kept you close to him by leaning his forehead against yours, tightening his hold on you. He didn’t open his eyes right away, instead breathing you in, melting into the memory of the moment.

Then, a wicked grin took over and he opened his eyes to find yours already looking at him with an affection he should have recognised sooner. “You think I’m beautiful?” he asked, and it sounded like humour but it felt deeper. 

“Stunning,” you whispered, tracing his cheek with your fingertips. Remus knew you were genuine.

“But still an idiot?” This time it was just humour.

“Oh, absolutely.” You laughed. “At least you know enough to get through exams.” He caught your reference and savoured it in his heart.

“I better, because I intend to finish this degree with you.” Remus dared to kiss your cheek, which almost felt more intimate. “As your idiot, right?”

You just nodded, with an expression that spoke volumes beyond words. “Yeah. Mine.”

Remus accepted in that moment that he had been more than slightly foolish. He couldn’t find it in him to regret it, though, as he decided to follow you all the way home in the darkening night.

[crescenthistory]

carina!!! congratulations on 2k followers 🥳🥳

could i ask for a drabble with rockstar au and barty?

thank you my love<33

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i will ARGUE for prompt 33 "rockstar au" with barty crouch jr.

carina's 2k celebration

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cw: gn!reader, slightly suggestive, you're wearing lipstick, doing barty's makeup

wc: 666

"Sit still."

Your left hand was holding Barty's jaw tightly to keep his face immobile, knowing that this boy did not have it in him to remain in the same position for long. Your right hand was leaning against his temple as you gently applied eyeshadow beneath his eyes in a thin streak to match what you had already applied on his eyelids.

He was grinning up at you, eyes wide and concentrated on your movements.

"'S hard when I've got such a pretty thing in my lap."

"I'm sure it is hard."

Your voice was quiet and so was the smile that you simply could not wipe off of your lips. Barty must have noticed because his hands on your thighs squeezed momentarily, appreciatively. 

This had become your new routine – you fixing his hair and makeup moments before the show while straddling him for better access. At a gig a few months back, you had teasingly suggested you do his make-up properly before he heads on stage instead of him just wiping some black eyeshadow messily over his eyelids in two back-and forth motions. To be truthful, you more than enjoyed the messy look as well, but you thought it would be fun to glam him up properly for once.

Barty insisted that he simply loved it so much that you just had to become his own personal makeup artist.

You still think it’s just because he enjoyed how you sat in his lap. Perhaps it gave him the rush he needed before going on stage for a few hours. He kept proving your point by murmuring sweet nothings as you worked on his face, hands roaming to his heart’s content – but there was no part of you that truly wanted to complain, so you let him be.

“Wish everyone could see you like this.” His smile turned cheeky as he looked past your shoulder into the mirror he was supposed to get ready in front of himself.

You squeezed his jaw a bit tighter, jerking his head back in place where it was supposed to be. “Do you now?”

His pupils were blown and he tried to do a so-so movement with his head, but you held him still yet again. “Well, not really. Just wish everyone could see how bloody lucky I am.”

You pretended his words didn’t get to you as you bit your lip to keep a smile back. “Sing about it, then.”

In between brush strokes – you’ll give him as much – Barty threw his head back laughing as he squeezed at yet another handful of your flesh. “You know I do, baby.”

You hummed in agreement, narrowing your eyes at him, deducing that you were almost done. Before he could say anything else, you leaned down and pressed a pursed kiss to his mouth, purposefully missing it just slightly. When you pulled back, he had a light lipstick stain covering half his lips and the corner of his mouth.

The way his lips pulled into a wide grin told you he knew what you were doing. “Cheeky minx. Making me all pretty?”

You let your hands drag up his arms to settle happily in a cross behind his shoulders, allowing your smile to be just as lovestruck as need be. “Isn’t that my job?”

“Nah,” he drawled. Kissing you one more time, not caring about the lipstick – or perhaps chasing it . “Your job is to be pretty. Everything else is just a bonus.”

The laugh that escaped you was more of a huff and he pinched your nose endearingly before grabbing a tight hold of your underside as he got up out of his seat, effortlessly hoisting you with him. 

He carried you all the way to the door before looking up at you, white teeth sharp and blinding. “Where’d you wanna watch tonight, dragă? Backstage? Crowd? Lights?”

You nudged your nose against his, careful not to smudge any of your work before it’s supposed to be naturally smudged by the gig. “I’ll sit just behind the curtain like last time, so I can be alone but see you.”

He spun you around with a gleeful laughter, taking to carrying you out and over to the curtains where Evan and Dorcas were already waiting. “Your wish is my command, my love.”

[crescenthistory]

A big round of applause for your 2k milestone carina congratulations^^

May I request an argue with dialogue 48 with poly!Bartylus with a fem! Ravenclaw reader likes doing questionable stuff to satisfy her random curiosity. Problem being she has little sense of self preservation so she often lands in the hospital wing and whenever the two show up after hearing she had the nth concussion, she's does a very casual report be like: 'so turns out Thestrals do behave like horses if I tugged its tail too hard'. Regulus probably aged another 10 years while Barty is half concern and half rolling on the floor. Or idk, I just wanna see Reggie massaging his temples while Bee wheezing his lungs out with a confused reader lol.

thank you so much for your request babes<33 i switched this one up a little, hope you enjoy it

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i will ARGUE for prompt 48 "sometimes i wonder how you're still alive" with poly!bartylus

carina's 2k celebration

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cw: fem!reader, use of y/n, barty pov and all of its usual chaos, established poly relationship, clumsy and whimsical reader

wc: 1.3k

Barty sat waiting for you to exit your Transfiguration class, so he could spend his free period with you, but you were taking an awfully long time. 

His instincts told him to just sneak into the classroom and call out for you, but he had been scolded for doing just that very recently – not just by professors but by Regulus, his own personal authority figure apparently – so he bit his tongue. Yet, when Lupin and Potter exited before you, he could no longer help himself from throwing his head back and groaning, drawing their attention.

“You good, Junior?” Potter asked wearily with a raised eyebrow.

“No, I’m looking at my annoying brothers in law and not my wonderful girlfriend. What’s taking her so long?”

The two exchanged a glance before Lupin cleared his throat. “Y/N wasn’t in class. I’m quite certain she’s in the infirmary?” It was voiced as a question, but Barty could tell that it wasn’t really.

On paper, this revelation should fill him with worry and concern for your wellbeing, he should want to run full throttle towards the infirmary. Instead, he was filled with a dread of a very different kind and let yet another raspy groan escape him. 

“Not again,” he hissed before slapping his knees and getting up. “Right. Where’s Regulus?” 

“Should you not be your own boyfriend’s keeper?” Lupin asked at the very same time as Potter said “Potions”.

Barty looked at Lupin with a hah-expression. 

“Best get there before he does then!” He announced cheerily before turning on his heel and skipping down the hallway, using every wall and pole he passed as leverage. He didn’t bother looking back over his shoulder to see what more the two boys had to say.

The journey to the infirmary went by quickly, Barty’s movements all motivated by a desire to have Regulus not get to the scene before him. 

“Evening, darling Poppy,” he called out to the matron who looked up at him with an unamused expression. “Where’s she at?”

She looked like she wanted to comment on his unprofessional language, but instead she gave a heavy sigh, clearly giving up before even starting. “Miss L/N is in bed 6 to the right,” was all she said, turning back to cleaning her equipment near the door.

Barty blew her a kiss before beginning to skip in and promptly transitioning to walking upon Pomfrey’s deadly expression. 

You quickly came into view, sitting up in your bed while happily eating some of the infirmary food. Your sweet expression brightened when you spotted Barty coming towards you and any thought that might have swirled in his head about being strict with you immediately melted away. He felt as if he was floating up to you as he came to plop down on your bedside.

“Good afternoon, my lovely darling angel,” he all-but cooed. “Happy to see you in one piece.” 

You leaned forward and brought him in for a loving kiss that you hummed your greeting into. “Hi, B. How are you?”

“Well for one, I’m not the one with an icepack on my shoulder.” His brows furrowed in entertainment. 

You pulled away from him and looked perplexed at his comment for a moment before reaching to your shoulder, as if you had forgotten it was even there. “Oh, that was no bother. I have good news: You can pet the Thestrals even if you can’t see them. Not all of them necessarily enjoy it, but it’s certainly possible.”

Barty huffed a laugh, leaning forward to bury his head in your non-injured shoulder. Even in the infirmary, you still smelled so effortlessly like yourself, a scent he wanted to drown himself in every time he was near you. Still, he was a man on a mission, and he could not be distracted, even by the loveliest girl in the castle.

“Right, that is fantastic to hear,” he said as he pulled away to look at you. “And I would love to hear even more – but somewhere else. Are you good to walk? You’re good to walk yeah, we can get out of here?” Even as he spoke he was beginning to back your belongings from the bedside table into your backpack. You began to giggle, but before he could ask why, he was interrupted by another voice.

“It’s no use, Junior, I’m already here.”

Barty’s shoulders sagged theatrically as he let your backpack fall to the ground with a soft thump and turned to look at the source of the voice. Coming around the corner with a wettened towel in one hand and the other places accusatorily on his hip was Regulus — Barty’s favourite boy that he really did not want to see right now.

“Aweh, Reg, baby, I’m so glad to see you.”

“Cut the crap, B,” he said with faux iciness as he passed him to sit on the other side of your bed. “You were planning on keeping this from me, weren’t you?”

Barty looked to you for backup, but you just took in the scene before you with wide entertained eyes. You were lucky he loved you so much.

“Now why would you even think that? I’m just eager to get this little rascal into her own bed.”

“Barty.”

He threw his hands in the air. “Okay, so I wanted to protect her from your hysterics. Sue me.”

You just giggled and placed a hand on Barty’s wrist, rubbing circles into it placatingly. “Thank you B, but Reggie has been very sweet and patient with me. No need to protect me.”

Regulus was placing the damp towel over your neck, which clearly provided some relief as you sighed. His fingers were mindful in his ministrations of moving every piece of hair away, so they wouldn’t be caught beneath the towel. His eyes were zeroed in on his work as he spoke. “Yes, I have been very sweet and patient. You see, Junior, I heard a rumour about where she got this idea that approaching Thestrals was a good thing.”

Barty swallowed. “Did you, now?”

Regulus looked up through one of his curls that had come loose to give Barty a withering glare. “Sometimes I wonder how you two are still alive.”

Barty felt a sudden need to play all of his cards. He brought his hand up to tuck Regulus’ curl softly behind his ear, letting his fingertips linger as he traced over the edge of his boyfriend’s sharp jaw, caressing softly. He kept eye contact as a small smile lingered over his lips. “It’s a miracle all thanks to you, pretty boy. Don’t you want to keep us that way?”

Regulus kept glaring, but Barty could see how his resolve was shaken, even by his blatant manipulation. It made him grin widely. 

“Please don’t kill Barty, Regulus. He’s too fit to die and you’re too fit for Azkaban.” You supplied your own defense around a mouthful of yoghurt, clearly beyond amused at not being the only one in the doghouse.

“If you don’t watch it, you two will be the death of me,” he grumbled under his breath as he abandoned the towel to rub the tension out of his temples. 

Barty took the opportunity to manhandle Regulus down onto the bed beside you, so that he could lay across both of your chests – a cuddle pile that this bed was most certainly not built for but that he swore to make work nonetheless. You immediately opened your arms to accept Regulus into your side, who was still murmuring protests all the while the tops of his cheeks were darkening in colour.

“We’ll keep you safe and sound, Reg. Won’t we, baby?.” Barty grinned up at him, knowing he’s won yet again. “And we’ll make sure this little bird right here doesn’t fly too close to the sun.”

“You better,” came the quiet murmur from the reddened boy.

The shade only worsened when you and Barty both went to kiss his cheeks – as did your smiles.

[crescenthistory]

back again (if that’s alright 😗✨) because i was going through your masterlist and realized i’d love to get to know your characterization of sirius more!! so if it’s not too much i would love to see u argue w/ prompt 28 of list A for the boy 🌞💗

it is more than alright lovely<33 i'm coincidentally having so much fun figuring out my different characterisations of sirius right now, so thank you for indulging me;) this one is admittedly quite marlene-focused, but there's more coming for him, i swear<3

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i will ARGUE for prompt 28 "shoes left by a doorway" with sirius black

carina's 2k celebration

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cw: fem!reader, marlene's pov, idiots in love, established relationship, platonic!valkyries x reader, public displays of affection, tickling

wc: 1.1k

There is one tell-tale sign that alerts your dormmates to the prospect of Sirius visiting; a beat up pair of boots right outside the door, one almost always fallen over to the side.

Today though, right before Marlene spotted the boots while walking down the hallway, she heard the laughter. Despite how much she enjoyed teasing the living daylights out of both of you for being so obviously and publicly whipped, a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. Marlene loved love.

She did not, however, love privacy, and did not bother knocking on the door when entering the dorm. It was hers too, after all.

With a creak, she pushed the door open as she was toeing off her own, slightly dirtier boots to fling in a messy pile beside Sirius'. She didn’t hide how she peered in through the opening to get a sight of what must be so funny.

The first thing that met her eyes was Mary sitting cross-legged on her own bed with Lily's head in her lap. It looked like she was supposed to be braiding Lily's hair, but one of her hands was busy covering her mouth as she looked over at your bed, mirth dancing gleefully all over her face.

Lily's head lolled over at the sound of Marlene's entrance – the only one bothering to acknowledge her thus far – to give her a wink and a blinding smile before cocking her head over at your bed. Marlene crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, standing on the tips of her toes now that she was bootless.

Your bed was at the very end of the room, pushed up against the wall to create some sort of small alcove, a safe haven – and you two had made it into nothing short of it.

Tangled up in two large quilts that Marlene’s mum had made you both in your first years at Hogwarts and surrounded by fairylights Sirius recently strung up around your bed frame, you looked like you were invulnerable to any pain or suffering. 

Sirius’ hand was engulfing your cheek as he delicately held your head where you laid on your side before him. Marlene could only see your back, but she was quite certain whatever expression you wore was reflected in Sirius’; lovestruck, in awe. Home. His hand kept pushing through your hair, spreading out over the back of your neck before coming back up to your cheek, a steady rhythm. Your arms disappeared under the bottom of his worn band-tee, a sign that your hands had snuck beneath it to splay over the skin of his back. 

And you were both giggling, eyes wide and occasionally diving your faces down to hide in the other’s hair or chest.

You were so adorable Marlene almost had to puke and go run to Dorcas.

Instead, she strolled the rest of the way in, kicking the door shut behind her with a soft thud, eyes trained on Sirius as she grinned. “What’s so funny?”

“Your face, ‘Kinnon,” Sirius replied without hesitation. A reflex that only made him laugh harder, a bit more boisterous this time. 

Marlene rolled her eyes and flopped down on the edge of Mary’s bed. “Hilarious coming from a guest in my dorm, Black.”

“Be nice,” Mary chided gently, causing both Marlene and Sirius’ heads to perk up as they muttered some variation of “we are being nice”.

If Sirius was planning on protesting further, it all died on his lips when you ducked your head down to press your nose against his jugular, nuzzling into the skin there. Marlene could almost feel the smile on your face despite it being hidden away – and she could see how Sirius positively melted into you, shoulders deflating as they came down to cradle you.

She looked over at Mary and Lily, quirking her brow in hopes of a response. Lily’s own knowing look must have been because she spotted the softening of her smile.

“There was something about moles and freckles,” she whispered conspiratorially. “I couldn’t really make it out.”

Marlene settled more comfortably against the bottom bed posts and tapped the side of her nose cheekily. “Careful, or something will make out.”

“I resent that,” Sirius quipped, somehow still tuned in. 

He was quickly interrupted by your hand sneaking up into his hair, pulling him down towards you. “I don’t,” you whispered loudly enough for Marlene to hear before bringing him in for a lazy kiss that completely transformed Sirius’ expression.

This time, it was Mary and Lily’s turn to giggle while Marlene fake-gagged. You joined in on the giggling as you broke apart from Sirius, twisting around in his arms to face your best friends, shaking your head at the practical joke.

Marlene thought it might not have been so funny to Sirius, who was currently burying his face into the crook of your neck. 

“Hi Marls,” you said sheepishly. “How are you?”

She let her head fall back as she cackled, shaking a chiding finger at you. “Cheeky minx. I would be better if I got to know what we’re laughing at.”

You didn’t have the decency to flush at her words, but your smile did brighten as you leaned further back against Sirius. “I was just counting the moles on his back. And apparently it tickled.”

“You can’t count them when you can’t even see them, baby,” Sirius said in a faux chiding voice, poking your side. He was a bit red, Marlene noted. 

“I don’t need to see them! I can feel them – plus, I know where most of them are. You’re just upset that you’re outed for being ticklish.”

Sirius shook his head at that and murmured something about “I’ll show you” before tightening his grip on you, rolling you over with seemingly no effort so that you were trapped between him and the wall. You let out a shriek that quickly developed into a loud laughter as Sirius got his revenge somehow.

Marlene dropped her chin to her chest, unable to suppress her big smile.

As she turned back towards Lily and Mary, chattering about their days and whatever loud thoughts were currently running through their minds, the sound of yours and Sirius’ quiet giggles and soft murmurs became a pleasant background noise. As she sat there, lazily letting her foot fall off the bed and drag back and forth across the floor, Marlene felt at peace. 

Surrounded by friends in love is something many joke about being a terrible curse, but she felt nothing of that sort.

Marlene loved her friends and Marlene loved love – meaning that she was rather blessed right now.

[crescenthistory]

CARINAAAA 2K????? CONGRATSSSSSS

could i ask you to analyse bartylus with... potter!reader? 👀😳

THANK YOUUUUUUUU tihi<333 and of course you can lovely!

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i will ANALYSE poly!bartylus with potter!reader

carina's 2k celebration

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cw: fem!reader, references to black brothers trauma

this is james and sirius' best dream and worst nightmare handed to them on a platter

james' sibling dating regulus is literally something they have been dreaming, scheming and plotting of for years – "this is our chance to become brothers in law sirius!!!"

james' sibling dating barty crouch junior, batshit barty, the weird guy with the hair and the piercings and the tongue and the– please god no

"bubs please don't do this to me"

"i am not doing anything to you jamie, i'm just eating breakfast with my boyfriends"

"yeah, jamie, she's just eating breakfast with her boyfriends"

queue james and sirius having a joint seizure

though, i do think james eventually comes around, fuelled by that potter love and family loyalty, and he drags sirius with him into acceptance by the ear

while they might still grumble and sirius most definitely fakes throwing up at least once a day, they don't protest to barty going everywhere with them

(because barty is the only part of this they have a problem with)

(mcgonagall considers this karmic justice as she watches it all unfold in the great hall every day)

as for the couple itself, i think potter!reader and poly!bartylus would be a surprisingly healthy love story, despite the inevitable chaotic conception

firstly, the potter love is strong in reader and for you to shower them both in it would be a truly healing endeavor

the slytherin skittles have a lot of love to go around between them, but there is something about that brighter-than-the-sun, devoted, blinding, all-encompassing potter love that i think would just burn right through them and trigger every healing process

(much to both boys' initial fear and confusion)

secondly, the chaotic energy of someone who has grown up with james and been raised by effie and monty is the only one that can possibly match barty's unhingedness and adhd bursts

a potter!reader would also be rather grounded in a way that would help regulus keep barty managed – because that's an all-hands on deck type of situation

the dynamic in this trio would thus be rather balanced; equal parts fun, love and safety

not to mention that a potter!reader would be able to keep up with regulus and barty's verbal sparring – both regulus' jargon and academic debate-style and barty's snide comments and silly jokes

there are so many backgrounds for their dynamic that would make sense to me, so it's quite fun to play around with

i can see reader being affectionate to regulus because of sirius and him either being really fond of it or really adverse to it

depending on how resentful he is towards sirius and james at the time and how heavily he's clinging onto denial

either he's noticing her and feeling a warmth he can't quite explain OR he feels pitied or misunderstood and tries to run away at the sight of her

in the former case, barty would not want to be spending time with a potter voluntarily and tries to fight regulus on it until he meets you and becomes infatuated himself

in the latter case, barty would pick up on regulus' hesitance immediately (because he spends most of his time studying reg anyways)

and thus, both in a genuine attempt at helping him face reality and because he thinks it's hilarious, barty would be the one to seek out potter!reader when he's with regulus

thinking it will be a friendship for laughs but then oh. oh no. she's captivating.

alternatively, i can also see potter!reader seeing barty running around the castle being an absolute menace and going "that one. i want him."

(queue james pulling out his hair and marlene being concerned but still cackling loudly at the situation)

(because marlene would be a quasi-sister to potter!reader)

barty might at first lean into your attention and be like "haha this is going to mess with (james) potter so badly"

and then not even two minutes into talking with you he goes "fuck. it's going to mess with me"

it gives you and opportunity to get to know regulus outside of the whole situation with sirius and james and allows you to see him in a new light

when you're with barty and meet regulus, he's not somebody's traumatised little brother, he's the sarcastic and witty best friend – and that would do something to you

either way, bartylus have been in love for years on end without ever truly realising or acknowledging it

it's when potter!reader gets involved (in whatever way) that they understand "oh we're not just best friends, we're Best Friends, we're let's-spend-our-lives-together friends, which really is not friends at all"

(someone is bound to make comparisons between bartylus' and prongsfoot's belated realisations, and regulus will have to be held back from biting that person's head off)

the dynamic just works

chaotic but so passionately loyal

and we all know poly!bartylus would just be obsessed with her

mhm yeah i enjoy this. good food.

[crescenthistory]

Hey, Carina! I wanted to congratulations you on 2k and say I hope this awful anon didn't affect you, they're wrong, ok? You, elle, and all the others that unfortunately were being bothered are wonderful 💗

Can I have an analyze with poly!rosekiller x potter!reader who get close after jegulus start dating? You don't have to do it if you don't write for rosekiller!

Kisses, kisses, bye! <3

hi darling<33 thank you for saying that, you are such a sweetheart. i'm alright and won't take online things too hard thankfully. big hugs to you!

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i will ANALYSE poly!rosekiller x potter!reader

carina's 2k celebration

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cw: fem!reader, references to sex, manipulative bcj and ev, semi-open relationship, background jegulus, happy ending

i imagine barty and evan have been unofficially recognised as soulmates since first year and then officially began traditionally dating in fifth year

however, nothing about their relationship was ever really traditional – they had their own way of communicating almost telepathically that no one else understood and had unique boundaries

for instance, it was not uncommon for the two of them to invite someone else into the bedroom for the night, or simply just collectively admire them from afar

evan is on the ace spectrum in my book and i think he views most human connections as something to study and pick apart, while barty views his body and personality as tools

it works out for them because they find understanding and love in each other

as the slytherin friend group has been quite heavily opposed to the gryffindors from day one, one of the things that truly frustrated rosekiller, though perhaps mostly barty, was that "those potters just had to be proper fit"

he would sling comments like that around every now and again over the years, rolling his eyes at you twins, who remained oblivious to how you're being discussed from across the room

dorcas, who always bantered with barty most freely, would answer with "gryffindors are allowed to look good, you know" or "go shag them then, if you're so hung up on it"

he never would, only ever scowling or snarling at you when you were near, though he kept grumbling about how you and james just had to be so "perfect"

dorcas laughed with him, evan only ever raised his brow or stoically nodded in agreement, and pandora didn't really interfere – but regulus, he always kept quiet

you can imagine rosekiller's reaction when regulus eventually lets them know in sixth year that he is dating james, and behind sirius' back at that

barty couldn't decide whether he was livid that regulus was dating a gryffindor, jealous that he was dating a potter or ecstatic that he was dating his brother's best friend

evan decided on all three right then and there – without making a big deal out of it

"big black isn't going to like that," he drawled with a raised brow from the seat across regulus

"and you do?" regulus was always extra sassy when he was feeling defensive

"no, but i don't intend to deal with the consequences the way he has to"

i have always imagined that if regulus willingly tells his friends about james, they wouldn't really understand it to begin with, because regulus will rarely ever show emotions if he can help it

so, unless it's revealed in the heat of the moment or during a breakdown, i think rosekiller would misunderstand the nature of jegulus' relationship to begin with

evan didn't understand that there is such an emotional depth there, that there is true love at play – it felt more natural that this is a jab at reg's brother while also getting with one of the fittest guys at school

(his own excluded)

barty was a lot more emotive, wanting answers and explanations from regulus, all but demanding they either breakup or engage in a foursome, but evan reeled him in with a hand on his shoulder in that way only he could

they let it be – for now

because evan had a plan; if regulus could break the unofficial 'no gryffindors rule', then so could they

how do they wreak the most amount of chaos in the marauders' circle while also taking advantage of a once in a lifetime opportunity?

they try to get with you, of course

james' twin sister and light of his life is adequate revenge for him 'defiling' their star, regulus

the look on sirius and james' faces alone would be worth it, but rosekiller had both always had this fascination with you specifically that they weren't mad about getting to act on

so, while jegulus is still a secret from sirius, they try to approach you in secret as often as possible

at first in the hallways when walking to class

"little potter, wait up!" barty would yell, running up behind you

you would give him a weirdly amused look and clarify that you were born first, to which evan would hold his hands up

"fair correction. big potter, then."

they walk with you and try to chat you up, just falling a little short of their goal

mostly because evan had expected barty, the infamous flirt he is, to take the lead with you, and he didn't. barty fell oddly quiet, almost stuttering.

if it didn't botch evan's plans, he would have found it painfully endearing

unlike your brother, you don't have as much of an immediate dislike for slytherins and wouldn't have been opposed to a friendship with them had it not been for how they actively scowled at and avoided you for years

but precisely because of your brother, you could also smell a prank from miles away

so you engaged in banter with them, but kept them at arm's reach as they approached you in hallways, in the courtyard, in hogsmeade

you could tell they were trying to flirt within the first few times, despite being thrown off by their change in energy

but you became more uncertain over the weeks as they seemed to grow... comfortable? with you?

behind the scenes, evan had scolded barty a little for growing shy the first few times, but became quickly distracted himself as they talked more and more with you

it took longer than expected – and they inadvertently grew comfortable with you

considering how you kept brushing them off, what wound up happening most of the times they approached you is that you just... talked. together. for longer than evan talked with even most of his friends

hm. peculiar.

speaking of, pandora was just sitting there smiling endearingly at her two boys floundering around the whole time, always knowing where this was leading

eventually, rosekiller became comfortable enough around you and forgetful enough of the plan that they wound up speaking to you in public, with your brother and friends near

that's when regulus noticed first, having wondered where the hell his friends have been running off to

the look he sent his two best mates was the definition of deadly

they would yell something at you across the great hall and sirius would immediatley whip his face around to look at you.

"you're on speaking terms with rosier and junior, pots?"

you just shrugged, kind of brushing it off

even as it happened again on the quidditch field with barty waving at you from the field as they fought against hufflepuff

"bub, what is going on?" james would ask

"i don't know. i think they're just a bit odd. you know, socially."

rosekiller accept that their plan has not worked out at all, so they deviate from it one final time – instead of trying to hook up with you at some party, they ask you out

in the hallway, after your final classes of the day

you just laugh at them

which, ironically, is when they both realise they actually, genuinely, disturbingly like you

"okay, it's time you two spit it out. why are you running around after me and flirting with me like this?"

you knew it was a failed prank somehow, but you didn't get what, how or why – it amused you, really

evan composed himself, trying to think of the strategically best answer to give you when you're so clearly calling them out on their bullshit

unfortunately, barty is wired a little differently

"regulus is shagging your brother"

instead of saying something to risk you getting upset with them – which, based on their track record with you, barty did fear they might – he said the one thing you might all unite on

"WHAT?!"

unlike barty and evan, you aren't upset with the idea of gryffindor and slytherin or potter and black – but you were bloody pissed at your brother for keeping it a secret from you

barty spills everything regulus had told them, though of course affected by his own interpretation of it

"they've been shagging ever since big black sent potter to check in on regulus, the fucking audacity he had," barty would grumble, to which you only raised your brow

"yes, how dare he care" combined with an eyeroll

then, you would squint your eyes at the both of them, reading how annoyed or frustrated they are with the idea of regulus and james

evan could feel his stomach dropping for once, feeling scrutnised by you only shortly after embracing the idea that he maybe cares what you think and feel

luckily, you only burst out laughing when you realise

"is that why i've gotten myself two street cats suddenly? you want revenge on my brother?"

for once, barty is stunned while evan is stuttering

"i- we-" he cuts himself off and embraces it. "yeah. a potter for a potter. i guess."

"i won't apologise, but you know... sorry," barty added. "to be fair, i think we went after the better one."

which is when your grin went from amused to a bit sweet

"you're two right idiots, you know," you started, taking enough pleasure in how they're squirming to prove that maybe the three of you are an alright match. "but i'll help you."

barty's jaw was nearing the floor while evan's eyes began to gleam

you held up one finger. "except, not how you maybe originally planned." you looked at them both with a mischievous glint that made your relationship to james undeniable. "if you truly want to go out to dinner, we can. the revenge is, we don't tell james either."

at this point, barty was ready to admit to himself that he didn't give a fuck about the revenge anymore

a quick glance sideways to his partner, he saw his own emotions reflected there in a way only he could decipher. and maybe, hopefully, you could one day, too.

suffice to say, you went out to many, many dinners

at hogsmeade in hiding, around the hogwarts grounds, once at the edge of the forbidden forest

enter a montage of laughing and falling in love in springtime

the boys could now be fully comfortable with you in a way neither of them could ever have expected – the beginning of a genuine relationship

you took lighthearted enjoyment in knowing you are keeping it from james when he had kept something big from you

meanwhile rosekiller immediately told regulus and giggled at how horrified he was

"don't you bloody dare ruin this for me," reg would moan in a mix of a plead and a complaint

"if anything, we're making it easier on you, pretty boy"

the best part of the punchline, though, was that james, of course, knew too

the poor sod sat in his dorm, positively tweaking seeing his twin sister running around as a part of a new disturbing trio on his little map

unable to confront you on it without being a massive hypocrite

and barty was right – their emerging relationship with you, did make life easier for jegulus, too

because when sirius noticed the three of you on the map and wanted to confront them, james had to be the one to stop him

"excuse me, prongs? are you just going to let that lot run around with your sister?" (and if sirius almost said our sister, james didn't mention it)

james would sigh, squeezing his eyes shut

he had been avoiding and postponing this conversation with sirius simply out of fear of how he might take it – that's why he didn't tell you either, he knew it had to be sirius first and he was simply too scared

but how else would he explain that he couldn't interfere in your relationship without setting a precedence against his own without telling him?

so, at last, james told him everything

and he truly was a poor sod for having tortured himself over something sirius already had been expecting since fourth year

a happy ending<3

james would come up to you in the common room one day, looking somehow both mischievous and sheepish

he toed your shoe with his to get you to look at him and sat down across from you

"you know, don't you?" he asked carefully

"that you're an asshole? damn right."

he playfully smacked you, "don't be cruel"

you tilted your head at him and inquired back. "are you telling me because you know too?"

he failed to fight back a wince. you kicked his shin under the table. "yeah, yeah, i know."

"and?"

"i won't ruin it for you if you don't ruin it for me"

your smile was nothing short of loving. "deal."

[crescenthistory]

congratulations my darling, you deserve thousands upon thousands of followers 🥺🥺 you are truly a poet, an artist, a master !!

if it's not too much, could i ask you to argue for domestic prompt #15 with our lovely boy remus lupin? 👉👈

STOP IT that is so sweet of you, i love you endlessly darling<33 big hug to you

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i will ARGUE for prompt 15 "odd socks" with remus lupin

carina's 2k celebration

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cw: fluff, fireplace, teasing/banter & wc: 1.5k

Remus could hear from the creaking of the floorboards upstairs that you had woken up at last. A small smile began to bloom on his face, not much unlike the winter sun that was peaking in through the sheer curtains of the living room.

The two of you had been spending the start of January at the Lupin household in Cardiff to look after its plants and animals while his parents travelled south to escape the cold. If Remus wasn't already certain that he intended to build a quiet life with you, he was now completely swallowed up by the idea, feeling as if he was living in a fairytale with you.

His aching back did not allow him to sleep for long, but you looked so heavenly when he fell asleep with you and woke up to you in the guest bedroom. The floral sheets looked stunning against your beautiful skin, your messy limbs splayed perfectly out beneath the duvet. It felt so natural, so domestic to spend these moments with you that Remus knew had it not been for his pain, he would have stayed swaddled up with you forever.

Instead, he had the pleasure of lounging around this cabin-like home that his parents moved into during his last years at Hogwarts, wearing baggy and cosy checkered pants and a knitted jumper courtesy of his grandma. Remus took his time watering the various plants his mum fawned over, cleaning up the little messes he found and keeping the hearth alive to encourage some heat into the stubborn wooden floors.

Eventually he settled down in a plush armchair and picked up his knitting needles – gods, if James and Sirius could see him now, they would be laughing until they cried, calling him all sorts of names ranging from "senior citizen" to "GILF". Remus knew this because they had before. He had rolled his eyes then and most certainly would do the same now, but a smile played over his lips at the thought nonetheless.

He picked knitting back up again whenever he went home, especially after he saw how you lit up when you found out he even knew how. The warmth that spread in his chest at the mere thought of maybe impressing you was enough to keep him speeding his way through this second sock he was working on.

It was while in the midst of a purling row, humming New Angels of Promise by Bowie absentmindedly to himself that he heard you wake up at last. He had set a kettle on earlier and prepared a fruit bowl for breakfast, but wanted to wait for you. He would have happily done so for many more hours if it meant he was about to be blessed with the sight of your freshly woken up face.

Descending the stairs while yawning, you turned the corner to the living room and Remus got to see what he had longed for – you, in his oversized t-shirt with messy hair and sleepy eyes.

"G'morning, dove." The smile was both audible in his tone and very visible on his face.

Your eyes locked on his and you returned his expression tenfold. "Good morning, handsome." Your voice was hoarse with sleep, which apparently came as a surprise to you by the widening of your eyes at the sound.

You both burst into quiet giggles.

He turned his face up towards yours, fingers stilling on the needles, waiting and hoping for a kiss; you were never one to deny him. With the smile still plastered over your lips, you pressed yours against his and he breathed you in while beckoning you closer by the softening of his lips and touch.

He hummed happily until you pulled away, taking a few steps away from him to stand directly in front of the fireplace.

"Where'd you go?" He asked with a pout that was only half in jest, making you roll your eyes fondly.

"I just escaped my cocoon, it's freezing out here in comparison," you stated matter-of-factly, wrapping your arms around yourself. While he was sure the warmth was quite nice, Remus was also overly aware of how close to the smoldering fire you were.

"Come here and I'll warm ya up." His tone was equal parts teasing and joyful as he properly set his knitting aside to open his arms to you.

You didn't need to be asked twice. With a grin that just screamed of lovestruckness in a way that made Remus' blood sing and twirl, you climbed into his lap, tucking your feet beneath his pajama-clad thigh.

One of his hands immediately settled around your waist, while the other began to rub up and down your thigh, over your knee, warming the cold and exposed skin beneath your shorts.

When he looked at where your feet were hiding beneath his leg, Remus couldn't help but laugh.

"Dovey," he said, almost chiding but a bit too happy to sound convincing. "Of course you're cold, you're walking around wearing just one sock!"

You looked down, eyebrows already shooting up and mouth opening to defend yourself. "I couldn't find the other one! This cabin requires big wool socks, and I could only find one half of the pair."

Remus' cheeks heated at the realisation, and his tone immediately switches from faux chiding to sheepish. "You mean the blue ones?"

Your eyes narrowed on him. "Yeah? The mate to the one sock I am wearing?"

Remus let his arm around you come up so he could twirl your hair between his fingers. "Sorry dove, that might be on me. I may have borrowed your sock."

While you desperately wanted to keep up the banter, you could not help but break character and laugh heartily at how chastised he looked already, cupping both of his cheeks and squeezing them hard before pressing quick kisses in succession to his lips. "You silly silly man," you murmured. "What are you even doing with my sock?"

Remus melted into your touch, smiling dopily at your attention. He looked sideways towards his knitting needles placed on the coffee table to the right of the armchair. "I might have used it... for reference?"

Your brows furrowed in interest and you dropped his hand in favour of looking in the same direction he was. The cooing sound that escaped you at what you found was one that James and Sirius also would have bullied you relentlessly for – Remus was beginning to realise how lucky you both were to be in private.

"Love, are you knitting me a pair of socks?" you asked in reverence, letting your hand ghost over the delicate yarn in your favourite colour.

"Well, you said you should have packed more thick socks before we came here, so." Remus shrugged, trying to downplay the significance of the act. 

You didn't let him, of course.

You melted further into his side as you picked up the one half of the pair that he had already finished, feeling how soft it was to the touch, how beautiful it looked against your skin. When you turned your head towards him, your faces were mere millimetres apart. "How did I get so lucky with you, hm?"

"Must have been a gift from the universe," he agreed readily, already leaning in for a kiss before you could claim it for yourself.

These slow morning kisses that were all softness, cosy fabric and cold skin cemented Remus' love for you beyond just his heart, it became ingrained into his bones and nerves.

You came apart just so you could put on the finished sock. Remus shook his head and laughed at you. "Darling, they're not finished."

"This one is!" You pulled the sock all the way up on your exposed foot, lifting it so he could see how much of a perfect fit it is. "You can continue using the one you stole as reference, and I'll break this one in in the meantime."

The sight of you with mis-matched wool socks, one of which he made, while placed so prettily in his lap with sleepy eyes was one Remus worked overtime to commit to memory and never forget. "You're an odd one, you know that?" He smiled his whole way through the sentence.

You returned it in full. "Yeah," you admitted breathlessly. "And you are the sock thief who is in love with me."

Remus pressed a chaste kiss to your lips. "Is it really classified as thievery if I return it and give you another pair?"

You murmured a "shut up" as you chased his lips for more, laughing heartily against him.

[crescenthistory]

I'm so excited to see you're having a celebration, congratulations on the followers lovely!!

could I get you to argue for the red strings of fate au with bartylus x fem!reader. Maybe Regulus can see the strings (not everyone can) and has at this point told Barty about the two of them (though i see him having been extremely reluctant to at first and getting all angsty about it). But there was always another string and they never figured out who it was while at school. Maybe they start new jobs as adults and Regulus realizes the third is getting pulled more often so they must be nearby, but they are constantly MISSING HER. Culminates in them meeting, yada yada yada

Okay, kind of a lot of details, I had thoughts lol. Feel free to trim or edit wherever you please ~

thank you so much my love, you are an angel<3 this one was the hardest to write for some reason, but wound up becoming one of my absolute favourites! so thank you for challenging me xx art by vidhic0re

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i will ARGUE for prompt 65 "red string of fate AU" with poly!bartylus

carina's 2k celebration

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cw: fem!reader, reg pov, established bartylus, suggestive scene, barty has abandonment issues (and thus is worried about a third soulmate), referenced mental hardship for them both, very fluffy, first-meeting

wc: 2.2k

Regulus had grown used to his life with an unknown string; comfortable, even.

When he met Barty at age 11 and could for the first time in his life see the end of one of his two strings, he had been too young to feel truly excited over it. Rather, it just became a fact of life for the two of them, something put aside for the time being and scheduled to be brought up again at a later point.

Barty couldn’t see the string, so he didn’t really get what Regulus meant all those years back when he mumbled “oh, we’re connected”. The scene he caused when someone explained it to him at a Yule Ball, and he barged up to Regulus, drunk out of his mind and confused, heartbroken and in love all at the same time, is one that still haunts them both. Just like untangling a knot, they talked it out in the hallway and then in the common room and then in the dorms and then in every other room they were in for the rest of their lives.

Because it was officially for life – and despite his jokes, Regulus would never have it any other way. 

The only thing that was left itching on his curiosity was this still-strange string. The one he had told Barty about, only to have him blow it off, calling it unimportant because “all I need is you, baby”. 

Regulus couldn’t disagree with that sentiment, but the curiosity still lingered. 

It lingered over months and years as they broke away from their families and bought their own – rather cramped, now without their money – flat in the boroughs of London. It lingered as they settled down in their separate lines of work and tried to make a life worth living. It lingered as the string would be taut or slack, almost as if their third was out there, swirling close and then away, just outside their periphery. He never pulled on it, even when his mind swam with possibilities.

Regulus climbed the ranks and became the manager of a new quill and parchment shop to rival Scrivenshaft's and Scribbulus, while Barty jumped from job to job, having a suspicious amount of commitment issues for someone quite literally tied for life to his boyfriend and some stranger. He had dabbled in everything from freelance bountyhunter that took too much enjoyment in hauling in extremist bloodpurists, to stand-up comedian that made himself laugh more than anyone else. It made Regulus roll his eyes, but Barty’s adventures truly were his greatest source of entertainment. 

Said entertainment was what brought them to a hotel room in Paris, lazily making out on the pristine white bed on the top floor. Barty had the wild idea of auditioning for a muggle circus there the day after – “just a momentary thing, Reg, c’mon, don’t you always call me a clown?” – and Regulus decided to make it into a faux couple's business trip to ensure his partner didn’t accidentally break the Statute of Secrecy. He told the higher-ups at his job that he was visiting their Paris branch for a few days to learn how to improve. Quite frankly, Regulus made them too much money for them to argue. 

“Be honest, you only came along because you wanted me all to yourself before I become a world star,” Barty teased against his lips, body sprawled out over Regulus’, tattooed hand resting idly around his neck.

Regulus let out a breath in between kisses, fighting an indulgent smile. “I want to make sure I get to keep you without your arse getting thrown in Azkaban.”

“What about my arse, hm?” Barty murmured, lips divulging on a path down Regulus’ jaw that was bound to turn his brain off.

There was but one thing that could break through the delicious haze of Barty.

His string pulled.

Regulus’ hands suddenly shot up to Barty’s face, gently but firmly pulling him away as his lips parted in shock.

Barty’s brows furrowed, concern beginning to seep in already. “Reg, wha–”

Regulus hushed him. His gaze was fixed, almost hypnotically so, on the shimmery red string that stretched out from his wrist, the one that only ever he could see or touch. The one that was currently drawn taut and shaking as if someone…  “I don’t believe it,” he whispered.

“Spit it out, Regulus.” Barty’s face was still filled with concern, taking on the tone of no-bullshit that was reserved for when he was worried his boyfriend wasn’t communicating with him. 

Remembering himself, Regulus let his thumbs brush gently over Barty’s cheeks, soothing. “I’m sorry amour, it’s just… the string. They’re pulling on it.”

A wave of relief and slight frustration washed over his face. “Merlin, Reg, that’s it? You had me thinking it was something important.”

This brought Regulus’ gaze back to Barty’s again, and this time, it was his turn to furrow his brows. “It is important, B. They've never pulled before, never been this close.”

His boyfriend dragged his hands up and down Regulus’ sides, soothing in their own right, as if trying to reassure any emotive reaction out of him. “Well yeah, sure, it’s intriguing, but it’s not gasp-mid-snog-and-make-your-boyfriend-piss-himself important.”

Regulus couldn’t help but snort. He began to sit up, pushing a willing Barty back with him so that they were sitting facing each other on the bed. Tentatively, Regulus intertwined his fingers with Barty’s on the hand the strings were attached to, his free hand coming up to trace the strange string in the air.

It was hypnotising – even Barty, who couldn’t see the string, watched Regulus’ fingers tracing the air reverently with rapt attention. “They’re here, Barty,” Regulus whispered, looking up at him through his lashes. “I’m sure of it. That is important.”

For a beat, Barty didn’t say anything, eyes flickering back and forth between Regulus’ as he breathed out slowly. Then, he drew the air back in sharply between his teeth, as if pulling a decision in with it, and squeezed Regulus’ hand.

“Alright then – let’s go find the poor sucker.”

This time it was Regulus’ turn to be bewildered, trying to hold onto Barty who was already moving away from the bed, free hand reaching out towards the hotel door.

“I– wha– Barty!” Regulus all but hissed, trying to hold him back. “We can’t just– barge in, we have to think this through.”

His boyfriend scoffed and rolled his eyes, all while wearing his signature grin. He turned on his heel, dragging Regulus closer to him by their intertwined fingers so that he could caress his side all the way up to his face. The green in Barty’s eyes seemed to shine brighter as he gently cupped Regulus’ face, bringing their foreheads together.

“C’mon Reg. This is pretty straightforward. If we have another soulmate, that soulmate is close by and important to you. So I say we go find them. Yeah? No need to overthink or overprepare. Isn’t the point of a soulmate that they’ll like us for who we are? If not, then fuck them, yeah?”

Barty’s pep talks were always difficult to argue against, no matter how much fault Regulus found in his logic. Tonight he didn’t have it in him. Instead, he gripped the back of Barty’s neck and brought him down into a searing, deep kiss – one that Barty had no problem returning in an instant. 

When they parted, both were smiling and panting. Barty looked endearingly at Regulus’ closed eyelids before they fluttered open to meet his gaze. 

“Yeah, okay,” Regulus whispered. “Alright. Just– just let me grab my jumper.”

Barty released his fingers in favour of Regulus throwing on a jumper, feeling, despite his insistence, that he needed some layer of protection against whatever might face him outside this hotel door. An eternal love, a stinging rejection, or – perhaps worse – no end in sight.

Regulus’ fingers traced the taut string in fascination while his free hand grasped Barty’s once more before they spilled into the hallway, a many-limbed mythical creature of jittering nerves. 

“You lead the way, babe,” Barty teased, squeezing Regulus’ hand reassuringly.

With bated breath, Regulus began following the string. It was still just as tight, but it hadn’t shook or shown any signs of being pulled for a few minutes. He was beginning to worry he had imagined it.

Until he rounded a corner and there – there the string ended. The string led straight to the door labelled with 117, disappearing in behind it. 

Regulus stopped in his steps, making Barty almost run into him.

“What?” Barty whispered, sensing the change in tension.

“It’s that one there.” Regulus’ eyes hadn’t left where the string disappeared in between the cracks. “Room 117.”

Barty’s breath hitched and Regulus swore he could hear him whisper sick, but chose to ignore it.

With tentative steps, Regulus moved closer towards the door until he stood in front of it. There was a faint sound of rustling and some form of indecipherable melody seeping out through the door, and though it might have been placebo, he felt oddly at peace in front of it. Choosing to follow Barty’s sentiments – don’t overthink – he lifted his knuckles to rap on the door once, twice, thrice. 

Any sound behind the door ceased. 

Regulus remained staring at the silver numbers on the dark brown wood, holding his breath. The complete lack of sound from Barty told him that he was doing the same, but he couldn’t bring himself to check, too wrapped up in the consequences of this singular moment.

No sounds from the door – but the string pulled once, twice, thrice.

Regulus looked down at the fickle thing, heart pounding in his chest. For the first time in his life, he wrapped his hand around the buzzing string and pulled too. An agent of his own fate, he pulled three times himself. Unsure if that was what he was meant to do, wholly unaware of what else there was to do.

To his utter amazement and deepest fear, the string went slightly slack, almost as if the other person had let it go. Instead, the doorknob twisted.

With rusted screeching hinges, creaking wood and the screaming of Regulus’ heart, the door swung open to reveal – you.

You stood before them, in an outfit they would come to know as quintessential you, staring at them with slightly parted lips and wide eyes. When his gaze trailed down your every feature, they finally landed on what he never thought he would see; his final string reaching out from his hand and circling neatly around your wrist. Regulus’ eyes remained trained on that sight, digesting it.

“She’s beautiful,” Barty breathed out. Not one for silences, not even now. Your eyes moved from looking at Regulus’ own wrist to Barty’s and then up to his face, still equally rattled. Barty cleared his throat a little and Regulus looked up to see a spark in his green eyes that he had seen many a time but never aimed at someone else. “You’re beautiful,” he clarified, daring to smile a little at you. 

To Regulus’ joy, you let out a laugh. It was an airy, almost teary laugh, one that summarised every intensity of this very moment. 

“Well, thank you… erm, and, hi.” Your voice was melodic, creeping up over Regulus’ skin and into his ears. 

“Hi, amour,” he whispered back, squeezing Barty’s hand reassuringly at the usage of his pet name. He tried to open his mouth to say more, but the words got stuck. 

“I… I can’t believe…” You seemed utterly bewildered as a smile grew on your face, taking them both in rapidly. 

Regulus had never considered what it would mean for their third partner that he and Barty found each other so long ago, that she had been without them both for so long, waiting, hoping. It made him a little choked up. 

“This is the strangest fucking thing I’ve ever experienced.” Barty’s declaration and accompanying laugh zapped Regulus of some of his remaining nerves. 

“Strange as in horrifying or… exciting?” Your voice was a bit small, but your expression was so encaptivating that Regulus saw Barty melting.

“Most excited I have felt in years. Certainly more than I will feel at the circus.”

A surprised bark of laughter escaped you. “At the what?”

Barty grinned – Regulus couldn’t help but do the same. “We have a lot to catch up on, love, but it… it would be an honour to do so. Mind if we come in?”

Your eyes shone with a glossy sense of endearment and mischief that Regulus knew would mould perfectly into their relationship. You took a step back and gestured inside. “Please do. Just don’t kill me.”

“Oh, he would never,” Barty said, already beginning to enter, suddenly more than eager to meet his last soulmate. He shot you a wink. “I might though.”

Regulus met your eyes as Barty’s hand dragged him in, milking the moment of eye contact for all its worth. “He won’t,” he whispered in passing.

“Oh, I figured,” you stage-whispered after him with a beaming smile.

You shut the door behind them, and a new chapter began.

[crescenthistory]

Ohh you should not tempt me when it comes to Barty. May I request an ARGUE with roommate Barty ⁶⁴⁾ movie nights please??thank you in advance, have a lovely day!

YES i see you picking up the things i was putting down in the last drabble — movie night's coming up. thank you, hope you're having an even lovelier day<33

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i will ARGUE for prompt 64 "movie nights" with roommate!barty

carina's 2k celebration

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previous roommate au drabble

cw: reserved!reader, not yet established relationship, physical affection, tension, fluff, gn!reader, implied financially unstable reader

wc: 1.3k

It was a seemingly normal, domestic tradition, you supposed. One that most roommates engage in, especially if they were friends from before.

While you and Barty most certainly were strangers when you moved in, you had to admit you were warming up to him – your connection might even be labelled a friendship. You were generally careful with such assertions, one to take it step by step and bide your time, but Barty made it easier to be brash. He had that effect on people, and you were most certainly not immune.

Thus, when he insisted on weekly – “biweekly at the very least, Dragă” – movie nights from essentially your first week of living together, you weren't one to argue. This man was renting you a comfortable room in a sizable flat for a price that seemed to mock the current housing market, after all. If movie nights are his big demand, you just considered yourself lucky.

You had one settee and one regular sofa situated around a TV screen that probably cost more than you earned in a year. Where you sat and what you watched seemed to vary greatly from night to night; Barty was not one for routine, you had come to learn, despite his insistence on certain rituals. 

Luckily for you, that meant he often let you choose.

“What’re we watching tonight, darling?” Barty asked as he plopped down beside you on the dark green settee, despite there being ample room everywhere else. He wasn’t fond of space, not with you. He leaned his head back against the cushion, hair blending in with the fabric, and rolled it to the side to look at you. It amazed you how at ease he was.

“Haven’t gotten that far yet,” you mumbled as you distractedly tried to get comfortable in your seat. 

“Something slowing you down?” You didn’t need to look at him to know he was teasing you with a raised brow.

When you did look at him, his gaze oddly softened.

“I just can’t for the life of me get comfortable.” Your muttering was something you had been shamed for in many a friendship, but strangely not with Barty. “It’s like my clothes are too tight.”

It had been a long day, working a gruelling shift to pay off your student loan debts that you preferred to pretend didn’t exist. It was the kind of shift that left you feeling uneasy more so than exhausted.

“No such thing as too tight, Dragă,” Barty drawled with glee while he slid further into his seat – clearly not facing the same issues as you, as he sprawled out like he owned the place. Probably because he did. “But maybe changing out of your clothes would help?”

You swatted at his knee closest to you in reprimand.

“Not like that,” he groaned through a grin. “Just change into your pyjamas. We’re at home.”

An odd sensation settled into your spine at him calling your shared flat home – even though you had been living here for quite some time now. You sighed and looked down on your every-day clothes with contempt. “Yeah,” you relented. “It’s just– God, it’s been a long day.”

Barty’s eyebrows furrowed and his mouth pressed down into something akin to a pout, as if he was distraught that the sensory input of the day had been too much for you. “Well, the day is over and night – movie night, might I add – has commenced, so there shall be no more uncomfortableness. Go change, I’ll make tea, and we’ll be golden.”

You had been the one to convert Barty into liking tea just two months ago, which his friend, Regulus, had shamed him immensely for. You were apparently not the first person to make that conversion a mission, but you were the first to succeed. His offering to make it made you smile, even though you feared the execution of said making might turn it back upside down. 

“Thanks, B,” you mumbled, getting up and stretching out some of your body’s discomfort. “I’ll be right back.”

When you looked back down after cracking your neck, you saw his eyes still trained on you with a mixture of mirth and domesticity that seemed to contrast his general style and personality. It made you shiver a little as you moved past his sprawled out limbs, making a beeline for your bedroom. 

“You better!” he called out after you. “I’m not watching chickflicks on my own, that would be quite sad.” 

“Who said we were watching chickflicks?” You called back over your shoulder, shimmying out of your clothes. 

There was a heavy sound followed by a rustling of limbs, indicating that Barty physically rolled off the settee to get to the adjunct kitchen. On the way he murmured, “Well then, you’re no fun.”

You couldn’t help the giggle that escape you, followed by a relieved sigh as you were finally clad in your preferred pyjamas. This was what you needed. It’s taken you a while to feel comfortable enough around him to be in your comfort-wear, but you were glad you were past that now and able to live freely in your current home. A voice in your head took note of how it was Barty who noticed you were uncomfortable and needed to change, a sign of familiarity that struck deeper than you anticipated.

Barty’s head picked up at the sound of you shuffling out of your room towards the kitchen to help carry the tea, and he looked at you over his shoulder with a grin. “Sleeping beauty has returned!” he declared, turning around with two steaming mugs. “Ready for a cinematic endeavour?”

A warmth crept up into your cheeks at his comment, however absentminded. “Aren’t I always?” You reached out for your mug, but he – gently – kicked you away, determined to carry them himself apparently.

“No, you aren’t. I had to talk you into this your entire first week here.” He shot you a playful glare with no malice behind it, his brow piercing tugging with the action in a way you tried to ignore.

You shrugged. “I’m still here, am I not?”

Barty breathed in sharply and nodded with faux solemnity. “And thank fucking Christ for that.”

Giving no more explanation, he set for the living room, mugs still in hand. You trailed after him, becoming more aware of the fully relaxed dynamic between the two of you and trying to disregard how much it meant. 

You sat down in your previous spots, right beside each other on the settee, with Barty setting the mugs before you, the handle turned inwards. Such a small action, yet it spoke volumes. 

As Barty settled against the cushions, one leg tossed out across the sofa and one stretching beneath the coffee table, he turned to look at you. It was a gaze you returned instantly, expecting a question, but instead he held it for a second, eyes searching yours. You realised then just how close you were to each other, how unnecessary yet somehow necessary it felt, how his hand rested mere millimetres for yours.

Then, he grinned. “Are we really not watching a chickflick?”

The laugh that escaped you was equal parts a release of your sudden onset of nerves and a genuine boisterous reaction. “Sure, B, we can watch a chickflick. Any takers on Clueless?”

Barty reached over you – more like, lunged across you – body dwarfing your lap as he dug between the cushions on the far end of the settee, producing the sleek remote. He sat back down beside you, your thighs now touching, holding the remote out for you. “As if! Hit play.”

You snorted – and then, you hit play. Retrieved your mug from the table and, subtly, settled back down against his side, bodies now fully touching. Barty leaned equally into you as he threw his long legs out on top of the coffee table, body somehow both steady and liquid.

You couldn’t claim that movie nights were a bad idea.

[crescenthistory]

could i pretty please with a cherry on top ask you to argue for dialogue prompt 62 with sirius?? 🥹🤭

you absolutely can<33 this is a bit angsty but mostly in the bittersweet way, i promise. i just adore the thought of sirius falling for a slytherin during the war and learning to understand and forgive his brother through them...

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i will ARGUE for prompt 62 "this means war, my dear" with sirius black

carina's 2k celebration

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cw: fem!reader, hurt/comfort, pre-established relationship, background wizarding war, reader was friends with the slytherin skittles, implied death eater barty

wc: 1k

Sirius was always the best of the bunch to distract you.

When the meetings became longer and more frequent and when you felt you were spending more time at various safe houses than in your own bed, Sirius had become the one you would subconsciously turn to. Whether he realised the position you had accidentally bestowed upon him or not, you did not know, but he seemed to readily accept it regardless.

Prior to the Order, you never really spoke with Sirius Black, being a year below him and close friends with his little brother and the other Slytherins. Had someone told you four years ago that you would seek him out in corners and laugh quietly together, you would have thought them mad and, perhaps worse, thought yourself a traitor.

Yet, here you were. 

When you excused yourself for a glass of water, there was Sirius, ready with the cup. When you got up to pace by the window, he would sit down in the windowsill, so you weren’t alone. When you could not sleep at night, you went to the living room where you almost always found him sitting with some beat up guitar, playing some tune you never knew.

It remained unspoken, but you reckoned he kept you tethered more than you’d care to realise.

Dorcas was with you in the Order, but it was in part because you were such close friends that you struggled turning to her. So, it became Sirius. You weren’t sure how, when or why, but it became him.

Dumbledore had called the Order together to spend the weekend in Potter Manor, planning an extraction of muggleborns that were held up in Southern Wales by some death eaters there. Officially, you didn’t have any names on death eaters involved yet, but from the minute Moody described one of them as having “acid green hair”, you were mentally checked out for the rest of the day. Everyone knew, you could tell from the weight on their eyes on you, but you couldn’t focus.

You excused yourself early, and found yourself sat on the floor in front of an old record player that had gathered dust, looking through the piles upon piles of records, not really seeing any of them.

A beat up pair of black boots came into view seconds before he spoke. “Some music to drown out your thoughts?”

You looked up to meet Sirius’ eyes, already hearing the joking tone in his voice and relieved to find the same atmosphere on his face. He crouched down next to you, so you wouldn’t have to strain your neck and bumped his shoulder into yours. “What’re we listening to, princess?”

He questioned you, but he didn't hurry you, allowing you to take your time to process your thoughts and connect your mind back into a conversational mode. You gave him a weak smile. “I don’t really know, I haven’t looked at them properly yet.”

Sirius had the grace not to comment on the fact that you had been sitting before the records for a good 20 minutes – on the contrary, he looked completely unphased, still smiling that easy smile of his. The more you got to know him, the more the suspicion that it wasn’t all that easy settled into you. It only made you more grateful to have it bestowed upon you.

“Well, this is Uncle Wulfric’s collection mostly, so it’s quite outdated. None of the David Bowie, Freddie Mercury crowd, but I believe he has some Andrews Sisters, Glenn Miller and the likes.”

You sometimes forgot that Potter Manor was as much his house as James’.

“Oh, that’s alright.” You didn’t quite recognise your own voice as you spoke. “I don’t really listen to a lot of Bowie anyway.”

Sirius turned on his heels to you, grabbing your knee with one hand and his chest with the other as he gasped theatrically. “You simply cannot say any such blasphemous words to me, princess, I’ll have a stroke. I’m terribly sorry, but this means war, my dear.” 

He nodded at you gravely but squeezed your knee to show it was all in jest. You surprised even yourself when a laugh bubbled up past your lips, rumbling your body in a delightful way. 

Sirius’ eyes widened along with his smile as he took in the sight. His eyes read mission accomplished and you deigned not to think too much about its implications. 

You held your hands up in surrender as the mirth continued its dance across your face. “Fetch me a white flag to wave, would you? We’ve got enough war on our hands without me angering the Almighty Music Knower.”

Sirius dropped his chin to his chest and chuckled, looking up at you through his stray dark curls and long eyelashes.

“What do you say then, pretty girl?” He squeezed your knee again. “Can I put on some Ella Fitzgerald for you?”

Your eyes followed his gaze to the Fitzgerald plate propped up against the side of the record player. It seemed well-loved. “You may,” you said with faux recession, to which Sirius’ grin became more beaming.

He leaned over past you, putting his knee down on the ground right beside yours to reach the record player and pop the plate on with skilled precession – a comfortable action, one he has done many times before. You didn’t move to give him more room, instead you allowed him into your space, basking in how it seemed to ground you.

Sirius smelled like his shampoo and leather jacket, even when he wasn’t wearing it, and though his skin was cold whenever it brushed yours, you still ached for its proximity. 

This odd feeling going through you was perhaps something to look into after all of this, when the only war that was waged was the one between you and Sirius apparently, over what music to listen to. For now, when he gave you a smile that was equal parts fond and reassuring, you simply did your best to return it.