TICK TICK BOOM

*   @improviseddevice   /   katara starter call   !

“suki! thank goodness.” katara’s pleased to see her friend not only for the usual reasons, but because she also needs suki’s HELP. “what do you think? how do i look?”

“I’m–sorry?” Regulus probably wasn’t, it was more an expression like excuse me? But he didn’t clarify, just stepped in–because Sirius let him in, and wasn’t that strange?  He licked his bottom lip and tasted salt, tried to categorize the flat as he walked in–the carpet, the curtains, the bits that were left out.

It didn’t look right. Granted, Regulus hadn’t actually seen the inside of Sirius’ new place but there was… he had expected maybe some nostalgia. Bright colors maybe. Something that was missing…but, again, with the Potters missing, maybe that was why.

“Was there an accident?” He asked at last, trying to piece together Potters dead and thought you were, too. “At Graduation maybe.” Except why would the Potter’s be there? They only had one son. Also, Regulus was certain he remembered graduating just fine.

So it wasn’t some mudblood attack. Or Voldemort …something. At least not then and there.

Regulus sat heavily onto the couch.

        How was he supposed to talk about this? Sirius stared at Regulus, who appeared at odds with everything in the apartment. He felt like, for just this moment, reality had shifted just slightly to the left and here Regulus was, sitting on the couch as if it were almost normal. Almost but not quite. He wondered at what moment everything would shift back into place and he would be left standing here, alone, staring at his sofa. He wasn’t drunk. Sometimes he was drunk. Was he so sure he wasn’t drunk?

        “An accident?” Sirius echoed, his eyebrows made it halfway up his forehead. “What in Merlin’s name makes you think it was an accident?” He wished he was drunk. He pushed the thought aside. He didn’t want to talk about the Potters, about Harry or the Dursleys or how much he hated Dumbledore for the whole situation. What he wanted to talk about was where the fuck Regulus had been. Some part of him had hoped his brother was a deserter. Another part had believed he was dead and that he surely deserved it. Both parts still harbored an intense dislike bordering on hate.

       Sirius’ body was shrunken, pulling into himself as though he wanted to be as small as possible. James hated this version of his friend, who could be larger than life if he wanted to be. Sirius Black was not designed to be small, but here he was anyway. ❛ Why would I bother if I can just ask you? ❜

      James took a few steps forward so he was directly in front of Sirius, who would barely look at him, his words both empty and full of heat. Even though his friend was telling him to go, James could recognize the plea to stay underneath. It was something he’d learned over five years of friendship. Sometimes, James thought he knew Sirius better than he knew himself. ❛ Oh yeah, real riveting conversation you’ve got going on here, ❜ he said sarcastically before taking a seat on the ledge with Sirius, right where he’d been pointing to the wall. They were a tight fit, sitting like this together, facing one another on the ledge. But James pushed himself as far against the wall as he could and made it work. There was no fucking way he was leaving.

      ❛ I’m just bored, ❜ he said mildly. They both knew that wasn’t true, but James wasn’t going to force his friend to talk. Sirius would talk when he wanted to talk. They’ve sat in silence together before.

        Sirius allowed himself to hate James for a brief moment. The moment passed. He felt a little better. Of course, he could never really hate James, especially not when he could pinpoint what true hate felt like. But this little bit of spite gave him the energy to sit up a bit straighter and finally look at his friend. In truth, he was grateful to have someone like James in the moments like these, even if he couldn’t put words to the feeling. 

        “Better than half the shitheads in the common room,” he rolled his eyes and produced a thin smile, although there was no joy in his voice. He kicked the wall across from him and let his eyes trail away again. He knew James was asking what was wrong, he knew James was the sort of person he could tell. He just didn’t know how to tell. He stared at James’ knees next to his knees. It hurt to think about. That James was willing to sit in this cramped space with him without expectations, it was all Sirius could have asked for. Something he should have been able to expect from his own family. But they had never cared, not even enough to realize something was wrong in the first place. His knees knocked against James’ casually. He wondered if his mother had a tendency to scream at walls. He didn’t want to know, probably couldn’t handle the truth.

        Sirius had not expected the bell to ring at this time of night. Sirius had not expected a lot of things, the least of which was the bell ringing at this time of night. To be fair, the bell rarely rang. Other rare events currently happening included Regulus standing on his doorstep. This was mainly because Regulus had been missing – or dead – for quite some time. But based on current events dead was probably off the table.

        He stared. Regulus babbled. He grimaced. Sirius made a mental note to make sure no one at the Three Broomsticks would give out his address again. He didn’t need anymore possibly dead relatives showing up on his doorstep, regardless of time of day. He liked not having to worry about that sort of thing, considering he already had plenty of other things to worry about these days. Such as the aforementioned Potter family and their decimated home in Godric’s Hollow. He didn’t so much worry about Uncle Alphard. Everything there was to worry about there was in his Gringotts safe.

lily raises an eyebrow. “i really doubt that. and i’m busy, okay? so your ‘ awesome ’ conversation is DISTRACTING me.

Neil’s eyes had been glued to the screen since the game started. This was the only way he could watch Exy games. He didn’t have a home of his own and never got close enough to anyone to visit. Not even his teammates. The only downside to watching in public was the grating of nerves when someone started yelling. Also, possibly the fact his food went cold and potatoes in any form just weren’t the same at that point. 

It took a moment before Neil realized someone was talking to him. There wasn’t anything personal about this conversation and it revolved around Exy. He didn’t see the point of trying to worm his way out of it. “The goalkeeper sent the ball back down half-court. Turns out the man with the anger issues also has terrible taste in teams.” He shot a glare in the man’s direction though he didn’t seem to be paying Neil any attention. 

He ate some of his now cold food before he got distracted again. Once he swallowed, he looked back over at the girl who seemed curious about the game. He got the impression she wasn’t a fan, but something about it had captured her interest. That was good enough to get Neil rambling. “Have you ever watched an Exy game before?”

        “Oh,” Suki smiled, her eyes lingering on the angry man. Terrible taste in teams. She was fairly certain that was a matter of opinion. Unless the team he supported was something ridiculous like a team of convicted murderers and felons. She also had very little understanding of what it meant to send the ball back to half-court. She nodded quietly and wrinkled her nose at the screen. This boy seemed to prefer his food over answering her questions.

        It was a surprise when he spoke to her again, but Suki was happy for the conversation. She leaned in and smiled. “Well, I’ve seen it before but never really knew what was going on,” she admitted. “I’m more of an individual sports person.” She much preferred various forms of martial arts over pretty much all other sports. Considering she actively practiced and competed it should be expected. But this boy was a stranger and she wasn’t going to bore him with that sort of information.

        “it’s a big house, it can’t be that bad. though i’m still gutted by the cost of that repair of that ceiling up the dining hall.” he shrugged, somehow satisfied that all the flames were damped down to nothing in no time. if it was the music room or his mother’s bedroom, he might’ve fallen into a state of panic. but this was his father’s study. not much of a loss, really. “i’ll just move my desk over here and this one can be used for firewood. those curtains were hideous anyway.” spinning away from the disastrous corner, he sideeyed jesper and wrinkled his nose, only slightly offended, “maybe sarcasm isn’t yours. if math isn’t my strong suit, then we’re practically fucked.”