Rise and Fall
Title: Rise and Fall
Character(s): Sirius, Regulus
Pairing(s): Maybe Sirius/Regulus, if you really really really want to see it... but eh. Not what I intended.
Rating: PG
Warning(s): None.
Challenge(s): Always
Word count: 200
Author's notes: This was written for slytherin100.
Regulus stands in a slant of light spilling into the corridor from Sirius's room and stares in through the inch-wide gap. This is the way it's always been: Sirius inside, tucked into a space he has carved out for himself; Regulus outside, seeing the way in but not sure he can really fit without sending the whole thing crumbling to ash - without sending the door smacking against the frame and collapsing Grimmauld Place like a house of cards.
In the shadows, he watches the rise and fall of his brother's chest and sees the rise and fall of everything else; sees the precariousness of blood and purity and dignity and nomenclature. He sees his own future, suddenly, and it is in this moment that he realizes that he must eventually make the decision to either expand or contract; to become the in-breath or the out-breath. He can aid in the rise, or he can aid in the fall.
For now, though, he falls to his knees instead and creeps across the floor. Sirius knows he's there - even when he sleeps, he doesn't really sleep - and moves towards the wall. Regulus slips under the covers and sighs heavily against his neck.
Character(s): Sirius, Regulus
Pairing(s): Maybe Sirius/Regulus, if you really really really want to see it... but eh. Not what I intended.
Rating: PG
Warning(s): None.
Challenge(s): Always
Word count: 200
Author's notes: This was written for slytherin100.
Regulus stands in a slant of light spilling into the corridor from Sirius's room and stares in through the inch-wide gap. This is the way it's always been: Sirius inside, tucked into a space he has carved out for himself; Regulus outside, seeing the way in but not sure he can really fit without sending the whole thing crumbling to ash - without sending the door smacking against the frame and collapsing Grimmauld Place like a house of cards.
In the shadows, he watches the rise and fall of his brother's chest and sees the rise and fall of everything else; sees the precariousness of blood and purity and dignity and nomenclature. He sees his own future, suddenly, and it is in this moment that he realizes that he must eventually make the decision to either expand or contract; to become the in-breath or the out-breath. He can aid in the rise, or he can aid in the fall.
For now, though, he falls to his knees instead and creeps across the floor. Sirius knows he's there - even when he sleeps, he doesn't really sleep - and moves towards the wall. Regulus slips under the covers and sighs heavily against his neck.