Somehow, the silence doesn't feel nerve-wracking. The silence feels like what it is. Quiet, processing. Regulus doesn't try to pull out of Remus' arms, doesn't try to escape or go hide or anything like that; he just sits, quiet and still and waiting. He's worried anyway, anticipatory of what Remus will say, if he'll leave utterly like he's trying to get him to do or if he'll sweep it under the rug like it doesn't matter.
He does neither of these things and Regulus sits, eyes closed, feeling Remus' thumb on his shoulder as his own hands clutch at Remus' shirt. Small desperate affections because he's afraid to try for more. The things Remus is saying are... The don't feel like absolution but Regulus never wanted that anyway. They feel like something that allows him to breathe, to feel like a flawed human and not an irreparable devil.
He's still tired. He still feels like he should have died - still wants to die - but rather than running away (or running headlong into danger) he stays where he is, leaning into him like he can't get enough. He can't. He breathes erratically but manages to keep it down, a soft and wounded noise leaving him as he shifted, burrowing into Remus' neck, nosing into the crook of it with a soft sob.
"I love you too," he whispers, "I don't know why you love me but I love you too. I just... I don't know what to do now. I never planned anything past the cave I was in because I wasn't ever supposed to leave it. I don't... Know how to use a second chance." He takes a shaking breath, kissing his neck, beneath his ear, his jaw, his cheek, his forehead, his lips - shifting the angle of his head to accommodate all of these - before whispering a hair's breadth from his mouth. "Stay with me," barely audible, "help me figure out what to do from here."
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He does neither of these things and Regulus sits, eyes closed, feeling Remus' thumb on his shoulder as his own hands clutch at Remus' shirt. Small desperate affections because he's afraid to try for more. The things Remus is saying are... The don't feel like absolution but Regulus never wanted that anyway. They feel like something that allows him to breathe, to feel like a flawed human and not an irreparable devil.
He's still tired. He still feels like he should have died - still wants to die - but rather than running away (or running headlong into danger) he stays where he is, leaning into him like he can't get enough. He can't. He breathes erratically but manages to keep it down, a soft and wounded noise leaving him as he shifted, burrowing into Remus' neck, nosing into the crook of it with a soft sob.
"I love you too," he whispers, "I don't know why you love me but I love you too. I just... I don't know what to do now. I never planned anything past the cave I was in because I wasn't ever supposed to leave it. I don't... Know how to use a second chance." He takes a shaking breath, kissing his neck, beneath his ear, his jaw, his cheek, his forehead, his lips - shifting the angle of his head to accommodate all of these - before whispering a hair's breadth from his mouth. "Stay with me," barely audible, "help me figure out what to do from here."