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Regulus finally reached the roof of Grimmauld, taking in the night sky and the cold air biting his fingertips. It was the Black's turn to host the pureblood get-together, and with Barty and Evan sneaking off to go do who knows what, he went to the roof. He remembered all the times Bellatrix took Sirius up here and they talked about the stars. He guessed, or hoped, that the woman he was expecting to find up here wouldn't care to talk about those things.
"Why do you always leave me alone during these parties?"
Pandora looked up at the sound of his voice, but seeing it's culprit she went back to smoking a cigarette (that looked wrong in her hands), and looked up at the night sky. "I never leave you alone, Evan and Barty are both downstairs."
Regulus walked over and stood next to her, getting out a fag and lighting it off Pandora's cigarette. "You know what I meant."
Pandora just shrugged, flicking off the ashes of her nicotine stick and watching them fall down until they disappeared into the wind. It was silent for a moment.
"Hey, Reg, you know how everyone said the stars shone for Sirius?"
Regulus huffed. "Yes, I know."
"I never got that, you know, their obsession with Sirius. I still don't get why he has to be, for lack of a better term, the most all the time."
Regulus took in the sound of the fire burning the cigarette slowly, and didn't respond until he breathed out all the smoke in his lungs. "Because Sirius is special."
"Because of the stars?" She burned out the cigarette she was smoking on the railing they'd both been leaning off and walked behind him. Taking his hand, she made him point to the Leo constellation, where the Regulus star stood proud. "I swear your star got brighter when you walked up here."
Regulus lightly yanked himself from her hands. "Don't bullshit me to make me feel better."
Pandora laughed exasperatedly. "No, I'm serious. You have just as much power as your brother."
Regulus sighed. "My father always said that Sirius was going to be a great leader one day."
"Why not you?"
"You know why."
"Humor me?
Regulus rolled his eyes. "Because the moment Sirius was born, he was special."
"Because the stars shone for him?"
"Because the stars shone for him."
This time, Pandora sighed, and they stood in silence until Pandora lit herself another fag. "My mother was talking with yours about our... 'relationship'."
"Again? We're not in a relationship. We don't do that."
Pandora looked up at the sky, stars twinkling in her eyes and making her look more ethereal than she already did. "I wish we did. It'd be easier if we did."
Regulus tensed slightly, his shoulders becoming lightly sore. "What do you mean?"
Pandora looked him in the eyes, smiling sadly. "Come on, I've seen the way you look at-"
Regulus pressed his hand against her mouth, like he was scared if she said it, it'd be real. "Don't."
Pandora moved out of his grip, pressing the cigarette to her lips and letting herself feel the burn in her lungs. She let the smoke go out as she spoke. "Remember when we had our first kiss in Third year?"
"I remember. We both felt weird afterwards. Or, at least, I felt weird. My heart felt like it was throat and I wanted to go shower."
Pandora nodded. "Yeah. Me too. I asked Dorcas about it once and she said it was just jitters. I think everyone thinks we're just in denial about liking each other."
Regulus took a hit and blew the smoke out of his nose. "Evan thinks so too."
Pandora closed her eyes and leaned backwards against the balcony. "Is it bad I like that he doesn't know?"
Regulus shook his head. "No, I'm glad he doesn't know. He already goes out with Barty to parties and shit. Parading his gayness around like an idiot. Barty, I get, but Evan?"
Pandora shook her head, slumping down with her arms still on the railing. "He's going to get himself killed."
"Because he's a faggot?" Regulus asked, sadness underlining his voice.
"No, because he doesn't know when to stop. I told him not to go out with Barty in public."
Regulus sighs. "That's Evan for you."
Pandora took a hit off her cigarette. "Do you think Barty's actually going to join the deatheaters?"
"Probably. He talks about it the way Bella did. Like it's some sort of aspiration."
Pandora sounded like she had been holding in this thought for years when she finally said it in a pained voice. "Do you think Evan will follow him?"
Regulus looked at her and sat down next to her, pulling his arm from a sleeve of his oversized leather jacket he got when Sirius bought a new one, and semi-forcing her arm into the now empty sleeve. Pandora rested her head on his shoulder and took a hit of her cigarette.
"I never knew you smoked."
Pandora shrugged. Her eyes were closed even though they both knew she wasn't at all sleepy. "I picked up the habit recently."
"Why? Dorcas doesn't smoke."
"You, Evan, and Barty smoke."
"That's not the point."
"That's absolutely the point."
Regulus sighed. "I don't want you to go down the path we're all headed. Go marry an acceptable pureblood and run. Go as far away as possible."
Pandora buried her head into the crook of Regulus's neck. "I wish I wasn't Pandora Rosier."
Regulus smiled wistfully. "And I wish I wasn't Regulus Black."
Pandora grabbed Regulus's wrist and rested their now-joined hands on his leg. It was silent for a moment before she raised her head with a passion in her eyes Regulus was very familiar with. "We aren't. Not now. We're Pandora and Regulus. We're the reasonable in the unreasoned. We're the quiet in the loud. We're the star in the bottom right of the Leo and the first woman on earth. We're just Pandora and just Regulus. Maybe that's enough."
"You know that's not true." Regulus looked down, unable to meet her eyes. "We'll never be enough. Not for our families, not for anybody."
"Yeah, I know." Pandora sighed. "But it's nice to think of a world where we are enough."
"Do you think there really is a world like that?" Regulus looked up at her, the hope in his tone betraying what he had just said.
"I do."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."