Anonymous

hiiii! Decided to give writing a shot after just lurking for a while

James had never been too light of a sleeper, but he had went into the trip already accepting that he would be wide awake until they got to the hotel. It was hard to get comfortable enough to fall asleep on the bus, the seats were too stiff, the fabric burned his neck, and the snoring coming from the blonde boy beside him was not helping. He didn’t mind it much though. Weirdly enough for him, he found it quite peaceful. It gave him a bit of time to check out where they were, look out the window, maybe spot a cool landmark or two. He often imagined himself parkouring through the buildings as they passed by, planning how he would jump from the roof to grab the streetlight, then swing himself to the wall, climb up the wired fences… He was certain he could do it if he tried, with enough luck and more than enough beers to give him the courage to. He was already thinking of ways to get their hands on a few cans, maybe a bottle of vodka to share if they were lucky, and sneak it into the hotel. The last part was easy, but they needed a place that would sell them alcohol without asking for an ID. But then again, Remus looked old enough. At least, James thought so, and hoped the clerk would as well. 

His thoughts were interrupted by the ghost of a hiccup and what sounded like a sob coming from the seat in front of him. He tried to look over, but could not make much out in the dark. He knew it was Regulus sitting there, he had seen his dark curls peaking through the gap between the seats, but he had been so quiet he almost forgot he even came on the trip with them in the first place. It had surprised him to see Regulus getting on the bus; he did not seem like the type to sign up for an end of school trip to an amusement park five hours away, especially if none of his friends were there to physically drag him there. James assumed they were his friends, but he could never be too sure. No matter who he was with, Regulus Black never seemed like he wanted to be there. 

Another ghost of a sob was enough to peak James’ curiosity enough to investigate. He had never seen Regulus upset, let alone cry. Thinking of it, he hadn’t seen Regulus show much emotion, except for that time he caught a glimpse of him laughing at the other side of the cafeteria. A quick smile appeared on his lips as he recounted the way his eyes creased and a small dimple appeared on his right cheek. 

He carefully slipped out of his seat, almost levitating to not touch, kick or push anyone, and made his way over to the empty seat besides Regulus. 

“Hey” he whispered. 

The younger boy looked at him for maybe a second before turning away to face the window.

“What do you want…?” He hummed. 

James could see what looked like tears glistening with the streetlights on his cheek. 

“You alright?”

“…”

“Reg?”

“I’m fine, leave me alone…”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

James looked at him again to confirm that those were indeed, tears. 

“Have you been crying?”

Once again, Regulus did not respond.

“Oi-“

“What do you want?!” He snapped. 

“Nothin’… Just… Uhm- Are you okay?”

“That’s none of your— hrmph—“ his fist flew to his lips, and he closed his eyes. James was now watching him. He seemed pale, paler than he already was, and he could make out eyebags even in the darkness. 

“Regulus?”

“…Please leave…” the other boy murmured, his hand still not leaving his lips. 

James studied him for a second. 

“Are you sick?”

Regulus was silent for a while, and James had almost given up on waiting for an answer when he heard a faint whisper. 

“I do not like cars…”

“Uh— Should I tell the driver to pull over?”

Regulus shook his head. 

“You don’t look good though…”

“I’m fine.”

He spoke again after a pause, quieter. 

“They don’t need to know…”

“Know what?”

“This…”

“Regulus, if you’re carsick—“

“I’ll be okay… I just—“ he took a deep breath. 

“It’s not a big deal… You’re making a big deal…”

James was certain that he wasn’t. Regulus Black looked, well— green. 

He sighed. After a few minutes, the silence was interrupted by another repressed gag. James immediately turned to Regulus, who was facing away from him. 

“Are you—“

“Please go away…”

“Regulus…”

“James Potter, will you— Hrrk!-“ 

A hand flew over Regulus’s mouth, and he shut his eyes tightly. He was sweating, shaking a bit, and James could tell what was going to happen. He got up.

“I’m telling them to pull over.”

“…Highway…” Regulus hummed. 

James looked out the window. Indeed, it was probably not possible to stop. He had to think quickly, and he reached for his bag through the gap, and grabbed the plastic bag that once held sandwiches for the road. 

“Here…”

Regulus opened his eyes for a second, then immediately shut them again, shaking his head. 

“You might need—“

“Everyone will see…”

“Everyone‘a asleep, it’s okay…”

He shook his head again. James sighed, and shifted in his seat so that his entire body would be facing Regulus, shielding him. 

“C’mon… Turn to me… They won’t see…”

“Hmph!—“

He was fighting to keep everything down, James could see it, he lightly touched his shoulder.

“It’s okay… Let it out if you need to…”

Regulus gave no response, nor did he obey. He just stayed still, eyes closed and covering his mouth. James had almost pulled the bag away when a hand frantically grabbed his and pulled the bag towards itself.

“BLEUGHH” Regulus heaved, throwing up into the bag. James held it for him.

“There you go…”

Regulus sobbed, followed by another heave.

“HEUGHHH”

A few people had woken up to the sound, and James could sense the heads turning towards them. He did not care, he just shifted a bit, both to protect Regulus’s privacy and to cover his vision from any curious eyes.

Regulus lifted his head up, and looked at James for a second, before having to dip it back down.

“Hmmrrkh—BLEUGHHH”

He had gotten up most of his stomach contents at this point, but he kept dry heaving for a while. Only after about a minute after he had stopped vomiting, he felt safe enough to lift his head back up. 

Suddenly, he fell over towards James, exhausted from having been so sick. James let him rest his head on his shoulder as he tied the nearly full plastic bag to discard of it in the nearest rest stop. 

“I-I’m sorry…” Regulus murmured.

“Shh… Shut up… No need to apologize.”

Regulus sobbed again, and pulled away from James as he leaned toward the window, pulling his legs up and hugging his knees. 

“Are you… okay…?”

“I’m better…” he replied. 

And he was. Regulus would spend a delightful 45 minutes before James having to pull him to the back of the gas station to puke into the bushes when the toilet line was too long at the rest stop. Before finding out the reason why he decided to join the trip, James would spend the entire bus ride wondering why on earth Regulus would choose to do this to himself. After learning it, however, he would believe that Regulus Black, vomiting into a plastic bag on a bus in the middle of the night, was the most noble anyone could ever be.