For the Love of a Brother (sirius)

"Oi! Baby bro, why you in your boxers sitting in the hallway?" Sirius called climbing the stairs with hands full of food and a small jug of only Merlin knew. The eldest Black brother actually cared about Regulus whether anyone wanted him to or not. Flesh and blood was a strong bond and he was still malleable at such a young age. Sitting down next to Regulus, Siri looked over at a railing and told his mates he would meet them inside with a nudge of the head. "You look like right shit you know. Here." Setting the food stuffs down, Sirius slipped out of his jeans and handed them over to Regulus. "Wouldn't want any potentials to see you like this now would you?" A chipper lad who was somewhat free from the pressures of his parents for letting them down when he was sorted into Gryffindor. Regulus on the other hand had to deal with the ebb and flow of the aged Black parentals considering that he was sorted into Slytherin a year later.

"You know, you don't have to deal with them right? It seems to be a new fad called 'blow of the parental advisory units' I think I started it actually, it's right fun." He smiled and offered Regulus some snack he scavenged from the kitchens mere moments ago as well as whatever was in the jug. It's not like he couldn't wander down there in his boxers and grab something else anyway. Who was going to tattle on him? Rolling his eyes at the thought, Sirius let his nearly naked cheeks sit carefully on the floor in a freezing manner.

Throwing his arm over Regulus there was nothing he wanted more than his brother to become a Marauder and live the high life. Instead he was stuck in the same rut as most Slytherin's were these days. "Right shame it is to let them down, but you're better off not pleasing them. You do realize they're going to die right?" It was a little morbid, but the sixth year Gryffindor was a dungeon master he needed to be a little more dark than he actually let on. It was a nerdy habit and he enjoyed it, but what Sirius enjoyed more was being free from the confines of their parents. "It's weird, but in the end who do you have Regi? Me, I'll always be here of course you're my brother that's what brother's do." It was odd how Sirius knew exactly what Regulus was feeling, but at the same time how could he be so oblivious to the way his brother was acting. There was only one valid reason behind it all and that was their parents. The assholes.

The pants were still in his hand and Regulus seemed to blow up from out of nowhere, or as Kasch would say, 'from left field'. Silly baseball references anyway. Setting the pants down on the stone floor; Sirius and Regulus were now pantless. "Well fine be that way, I offered and you declined, it's not like I can force you to wear them." With a shrug Sirius went back to leaning against the wall with a sigh. Normally he would be up and peppy, but Regulus was such a downer he didn't even know what to talk to him about.

A growl came from his younger sibling and Sirius could only cock an eyebrow. "You don't!" Exclaiming with his mouth full as he took a bite from a sweet roll and held his hands open for a moment. "Look Regi, you can defy them all you want. The only reason I get away with it is because I don't give a shit about what they think. It's not my fault they won't let me come home so don't try to pin this on me. It's not my fault you still listen to them. Howlers? You should see my closet I don't even open the damn thing anymore. I've gotten plenty of hate mail from mommy and poppy dearest. So trust me, you're not the only one." Crossing his arms he looked at his feet and bare legs for a few moments and then back to Reg.

"Whoa mate, take a chill pill!" Throwing up his arms, sure being a fifteen year old was hell in a hand basket, but sixteen or seventeen didn't get any better. "I get it! Stop yelling at me like I'm an idiot, because I'm not. I've heard it all before. Look at everyone around you and stop groveling to follow what they want. There is no way you'll ever be your own person if you keep doing what they want you to do. Sweet roll?" Holding the baked good out for Regulus to have, Sirius eyed him pleadingly. "Stop being such a Debby-Downer, they'll get over themselves in time. I know they've gotten over me considering I hardly, if ever, get a letter from home."

"Then why don't you start collecting them? It only makes sense to pile them all away and forget about them. Trap them and hide them from the real world. Reggie, you don't need to take their crap. Honest. It's not like they can control every little thing you do. You turn seventeen in two years. If you're that worried about what they think, just do what they want you to until then. Stick it out, be tough little bro." Sirius nudged Reg with his elbow lightly, but then things started to get a little depressing. That was what he didn't like. Regulus was so tied down by their parents that maybe the grave was, in fact, too deep.

Taking in a deep breath. Sirius glanced at his bare legs while lost in thought. "You should please people that will give you the attention you deserve. As it stands now you're not getting anything out of Reg. I please my mates, but in turn they make me happy and I really can see the light. With them, we can do no wrong. We are on top of the world, but when I think about pleasing mommy and daddy dearest, I will get nothing in return." Swallowing tightly after Reg mentioned his name being burned from the family tree.

His hands went limp as they draped over his knees. "They may not of forgotten Reg, but they don't care about me. I'm not apart of the family anymore and I never will be, not now, not if they did that." Letting his finger find his own eye he wiped quickly and sighed. "You can report anything you want to them about me. I'm not doing anything wrong. All I do is sit, play Dungeons and Dragons with the guys, go out drinking on the rare occasion with James and Remus, sometimes Peter. You know the usual stuff any normal student would do. I'm trying to be normal Reg. I don't want the weight of the world on my shoulders, I'm only seventeen and I've barely been given the chance to live my own life. Now that I live with the Potters I feel like I can be myself, who I always wanted to be. You should do the same. Find someone to take you in. Maybe your best mate, er I don't know, what's his face. You have to have someone that will take you in and let you be you. So if you feel like you're betraying me because you're telling them, don't worry about it. I can handle it, I just don't think you can." Sirius wasn't too sure about that. He hadn't talked to Regulus in a long time, and here they were sitting in front of the Gryffindor Common Room without pants on. Very interesting to say the least.

"Whoa, hey now don't cry brolo. I seriously hate when you're upset." Letting his hand meet with his brother's cheek brushing away the tears, Sirius put on a small smile as he looked over at him. "Don't be sorry for something like that. I know I can be a handful, it's just my nature. Wild and crazy you know? Like everyone thinks I'm supposed to be. You should be free to express anything you want, if you don't express yourself Reg, you'll be lost."