Chapter Text
Regulus Black didn't do mornings.
His alarm screeched at 4:30 in the morning, a sound so irritating Regulus briefly considered throwing the entire device out of the nearest window. He smacked it quiet, glaring into the darkness of the room. Barty seemed to be already gone, favouring an early morning run before a gym session. Regulus spent a moment contemplating what brand of madness motivated that action.
Careful not to wake Evan, who would be extremely grumpy the rest of the day otherwise (and Dorcas would hang, draw and quarter him if her dance partner was even more irritating than usual), he reluctantly pulled on his ballet unitard, a loose pair of black linen trousers and a dark green hoodie that may or may not be Barty's. He had rehearsals at 7am which was annoyingly convenient as that was when his mandatory presence at the rugby gym ended.
Picking up his pre-packed ballet bag on the way out, Regulus made his way to Pandora, all but hissing at the bright light of her room. "Oh Reg, good you're here. Thank you for asking me to come, my mornings would have been much more lonely otherwise." She smiled, looking far too lively for this inhumane hour.
"No problem I guess." He groaned, looking longingly at her bed as he begrudgingly followed her to the sports centre, eating a breakfast bar as he walked. "It's glorified babysitting Panda, I just have to be there in case something happens. These idiots have been in the gym since 14 I swear, how could they possibly get injuries?" Regulus complains as she tuts.
"Honestly it's not like we're going down a mine darling Reg. We get to sit by the barre, break in some of our new point shoes and stretch. We would do that anyway." She reasons with him again in a far too logical way for the time in Regulus' exhausted opinion.
As they reach the gym Regulus wakes up enough to take in her attire. All ballerinas generally have questionable outfits that they warm up in but Pandora takes the cake here. She has her usual soft pink leotard and tights over the top, which is already a crime in Regulus' book. She also has bright yellow leg warmers and a bright green cardigan he wants to burn, however she insists it is 'lucky'. He disagrees.
Entering the gym, Regulus finds himself wishing he had splurged on the Etsy witch during his minor breakdown yesterday. Cursing his enemies for 50 pounds could surely be written off as a business expense? The gym was rife with testosterone filled rugby players and disgusting looking protein shakes.
Sirius bounced up to him, already energetic. Regulus scowled.
"Reggie dearest! Come to supervise?" Sirius says loudly, making him wince. Yep, still too early. "Call it what you like, we'll be over there." He huffs, gesturing to the far end of the gym where the barre and mirror are.
"Have fun!" Sirius calls after them, Pandora laughing at Regulus already. Traitor. "Come on grumpy git, these shoes won't do themselves. It's only two hours."
Regulus nearly faints again. "You say two hours like that's a short amount of time." He mutters under his breath, sitting next to her on the floor near the barre, taking out one of his new pairs of point shoes.
Barty wanders over to them. "Morning Reggie, Dora." He greets, going to the bench press closest to them and to Regulus' horror James follows him. "Oh you know my workout buddy, James, right. James this is Pandora by the way."
James has the audacity to smile warmly. Prick. "Morning." He greets simply, looking over at them both sitting with their point shoes curiously. "What are you both up to? I like your yellow leg erm... things Pandora."
Pandora beams at him. "Why thank you James. We're breaking in some new shoes for rehearsals after this. You'll have to forgive Reggie, he's not a morning person you see." Regulus' frown deepens, plotting Pandora's murder- best friend or not. He bends the shank of his shoe with unnecessary aggression.
"Why break new shoes?" Sirius asks, coming over to join them. "Because it makes them fit to our feet and look better. Besides, stiff shoes are hell, much like this gym." Regulus replies, fishing in his bag for a small spiky ball, rolling his feet over it with the energy of an 80 year old man.
Sirius nods, ignoring his jab at the gym. James sits up from the bench press to add more weight, still looking on curiously. "So you two dance together?" He asks, slipping another set of tens onto the bar. "Yes, we've been partners since we were kids. McGonagall has taught us for years too." Pandora answers, ruffling his hair as Regulus scowls up at her again.
They settle into a comfortable silence, Pandora and Regulus stretching and the rest working out nearby. Pulling on his point shoes he starts to carefully bend and soften his arches, all too aware of James watching him between sets. “Take a picture Potter, it will last longer.” Regulus drawls.
James blinks out of his daze, grinning at him. “I just might one day.” He winks, making Regulus’ traitorous heart flutter for a reason he's currently pushing down to unpack later. Or never.
“How you dance without any form of toe pads or spacers continues to astound me Reggie.” Pandora hums whilst slipping her own shoes on. He just laughs dryly, eyes darkening briefly. “Mother saw it as weak.” He answers simply.
His new therapist often says coping mechanisms shouldn't be dry humor and an unhealthy amount of sarcasm around these topics. She says he's deflecting his real emotions. Regulus pretends not to hear her, which now upon reflection may just be proving her point.
He sees his brother stiffen but masks it quickly. Perhaps avoidance runs in the family, Regulus thinks to himself.
As the two hours mercifully come to a close he and Pandora pack up their things and start to wander out to the ballet studio on the other side of the building. That is until his brother and James catch him in the hallway. “Reggie!” Sirius calls. “Are you free to hang out? Just us two maybe-” Sirius rambles nervously. Regulus smiles unwillingly. Curse his stupid face. “Yeah Sirius. Text me when and where.”
Sirius’ face breaks into a huge smile. “Alright see you at training Reggie.” He practically skips back to the gym. Regulus rolls his eyes. “And you Potter? What do you want?” He asks stiffly. Why is he nervous?
“Oh right yeah, I came to give you this- it's silly really, you don't have to take it…” James smiles sheepishly, holding out a small keychain with a crocheted giraffe on the end. Regulus can't help but laugh, he doesn't mean to, it just slips out. Soft and genuine. “Oh right, yeah it's stupid. You don't want this- Sorry Reg.” James blushes furiously, turning away to leave.
“No! Potter of course I'll take it, I guess I just didn't expect it.” Regulus wheezes, holding out his hand expectantly. James hesitantly hands the giraffe over, looking less flustered now. “Er well his name is Keith. Peter named it for me. Welcome to the team I guess.” James smiles again. Regulus’ stomach does a weird backflip.
“Thank you. I'll treasure him.” Regulus giggles involuntarily again. “Bye Reg, have a good rehearsal!” James calls after him as he walks down the hall.
Regulus doesn't turn back. If he was entirely truthful he didn't want to have to acknowledge the fluttery feeling he kept squashing down every time he saw James Potter.