Chapter Text
“During the sensorimotor stage, children go through a period of dramatic growth and learning. As kids interact with their environment, they continually make new discoveries about how the world works. The cognitive development that occurs during this period takes place over a relatively short time and involves a great deal of growth. Children not only learn how to perform physical actions such as crawling and walking; they also learn a great deal about language from the people with whom they interact. Piaget also broke this stage down into substages. Early representational thought emerges during the final part of the sensorimotor stage.
For our next lesson, I would like it if you could write an essay on how Piaget’s ideology and theories helped grow our modern society’s view. That’ll be all for today. Thank you and have a good evening.”
James looks up to the clock above the blackboard and sees that the lesson has indeed come to an end. Of all the psychologists they have been studying so far, Piaget is one of the few he has actually been interested in. Not to get him wrong, he knows he can’t like them all, but, seriously, they all say the same things over and over.
Peter catches his attention, eager to exit the room, and James nods to him so he knows to wait for him by the door. He puts his things together and quickly follows Peter, watching behind him to make sure he doesn’t forget anything.
“James! Do you want a ride or can I go? I have a date with Sybill and I don’t want her to wait.” says Peter, nervously checking his watch while they walk down the corridor.
“It’s alright Pete, I wanted to take a walk home anyway.“ James tells him, while he searches in his pockets to find his phone.
He parts ways with him after telling him to text him if he wants to work on the essay together, and he closes up his jacket, having come into contact with the cold breeze of late January.
He takes out his phone and clicks his mother's contact, leaving her a message informing her he’ll probably come late and to eat without him.
Walking home instead of using his car has always been his favourite thing to do, even if his house is half an hour away. While he walks he can take a breath from the outer world and focus on his positive thoughts. He watches the way the clouds move, or how the sun slowly gives way to the moon and the stars.
Sometimes, on his way home, he likes to pass through the park and stop on a bench. Today, as he is in no hurry, he does exactly that and watches up the sky through the trees' branches. He shivers from the cold and reminds himself to bring a pair of gloves next time.
A good twenty minutes pass before he decides it’s going to be pitch black soon and that he has to go back home if he doesn’t want his parents to worry.
He stands up from the bench and stretches himself when he sees a racoon skit shivering near the bench’s legs. It looks like it can’t have more than some weeks of age and James immediately approaches it to pick it up. He knows that racoon moms rarely leave their skits alone, let alone abandon them, but it’s all alone shivering from the cold and racoon litters usually have from three to six skits, so he really doesn’t have that much of a choice.
After some thoughts, James picks it up and puts it in his now slightly open jacket, hoping this will give him some warmth, one arm under to avoid it falling. The skit gives no sign of wanting to move away from there soon, and on the contrary it nestles between James’ clothes.
Carefully, James takes out his phone from his pocket and calls the animal services’ number. After five long minutes of “I’m sorry, there’s nothing we can do about it”, he searches on Google for the nearest pet food store.
“I’ll have to start somewhere, sooner or later” he sighs, a white cloud of steam leaving his breath.
While walking towards the pet store, he occasionally glances down at the skit, making sure it’s okay.
“You know, if you do end up with me I’ll call you Meeko. It suits you. I hope you like biscuits as he did, because then we would be biscuits buddies.” He chuckles and he feels the skit moving around a bit.
As he’s waiting for the pedestrian traffic light to turn green he sees the pet food shop’s sign just a few feets ahead.
Finally, he manages to reach the store and as he opens the door he hears the unmistakable sound of bells above him.
He gets closer to the counter and tries to draw the attention of the clerk.
“Hi, I’m sorry for bothering you this late in the day, and this might sound weird, but do you have something specific for racoons?”
The guy at the counter looks up to him, leaving sight of what seems to be half-made sudoku pages, and watches him with a weird look.
“You do know that this is a pet food store, right? Not some kind of animal services’ office?”
James nods steadily “Uh, yeah? That’s why I asked for food.”
As the clerk clearly watches him with even more uncertainty, he sighs.
“Look, I’ve already called animal services’ and they said I’m on my own with this. Don’t you have some, I don’t know, protein biscuits or similar things to give this skit? He’s barely a month old and I don’t want it to die on me.” adds James, unsure.
To that the clerk shrugs “I don’t think so, man, sorry. We have things strictly for cats, dogs and fishes so unless you want cat treats, bones for dogs or pebbles I don’t think I can help you.”
James nods to him and he starts mumbling in his thoughts, thinking of a way to find a solution or other questions to ask the clerk, when somebody behind him speaks.
“Hi, sorry, couldn’t help but overhear you. Just outside town there’s an animal shelter that is open to all kinds of animals, if you want you could take it there.”
James turns to his back to face what could be the most helpful stranger of the day, and in front of him now stands the most handsome guy he’s ever seen.
With high cheekbones, messy black curls and grey eyes that could hide all the secrets of the universe and nobody would ever know, he’s dressed in a dark green coat, pitch black jeans with stars embroidery on them and a handmade green beanie at top of his head. He seems to be in his nature even if he’s just in a pet food store. In a room full of people, James is sure he would be standing above all of them, with this powerful aura he has. He wouldn’t even care to be crushed down by him, he thinks between himself.
Needless to say, James’ in awe.
“What?” he finds himself asking because, well, he didn’t really pay attention to what he had said.
“Uh. Just outside town there’s an animal shelter if you want? I can leave you their information. Well, our information, I work there so, yeah?”
James shakes his head in order to exit his thoughts and go back to the present and watches the very-cute-stranger he has just ahead, smiling brightly at him.
“Sure, thank you! I mean, I could manage on my own, I kind of have a lot of sheltered animals at home, but I’m worried for little Meeko here” he says, looking down in his jacket “I don’t know how much time he’s been in the cold and I wouldn't want something to happen to him, he’s so tiny.”
He moves closer to the very-cute-stranger in order to let him see the skit.
The guy looks at the racoon skit, seems thoughtful for a moment, and then watches up to James, nodding, and taking out of his pocket a little card, handing it to him.
“Here, on this card there are all of our informations. Where we are and at what time you can call to ask for questions. For now I advise you to put it in some warm blankets and to try and give him some milk or water with a pipette.”
“Whew, thanks a lot. And to think I didn’t even know that an animal shelter existed around here. All these years I’ve been keeping abandoned animals home.” says James, chuckling a little, while taking the card with the only free hand he has and putting it in his pocket.
“Well, I don’t mean to pry but if you want you could take them with you when you bring, uhm, Meeko? If only just for medical supervision.”
“You know what, sure, they could use some time with other animals anyway. When can I come by? Is tomorrow morning too early?”
The very-cute-stranger shakes his head and smiles reassuringly “Tomorrow morning is just right, I’d say.”
With that he goes to the counter and starts putting on it several pet food boxes he must have put on the ground while speaking with James.
Therefore, James exits the store and starts to walk towards home.
Besides Meeko's safety, the stranger’s smile is all he can think of.
Notes:
skits: baby racoons
litters: groups of skits
Chapter Text
At exactly 7am James opens his eyes, his alarm playing Beatles’ “Here Comes The Sun” in the background.
The first thing he sees is his cat, Matisse, laying on his chest, purring. A small smile pops on his face and he starts petting him. Rays of sun emerging from the window shade the cat’s orange fur. After a while the cat seems to lose interest, as he moves away from his chest and runs out of the room.
James gets up stretching his arms, yawning lightly.
While he’s getting dressed, he makes a quick checklist in his mind of what the day will hold for him. He doesn’t have classes to attend so that’s great. He might have to call the library to see if they need help with the kids, but there’s nothing scheduled already so everything should be alright. Other than helping his mom cleaning the house and doing the laundry, the only thing he has planned is going to the animal shelter.
As he exits his room, he takes the card that the very-cute-stranger gave him the day before, thoughtful.
He said I could go whenever, but maybe 7am is still a little early. James thinks, as he reads what their schedules usually look like. Everyday from 9am to 18pm.
That’s great, I have plenty of time to put them all in my pick-up. If God permits, that is. At the thought of all his animals together in his truck he chuckles and starts to go downstairs, blueberry-pancakes scent filling the air.
“Good morning mom! Good morning dad!”
He says as he approaches his mother, who is cooking on the stove. He gives her the biggest of the hugs and a quick kiss on the cheek before sitting at the table. Near him sits his father, half eating and half reading a book, who glances up and smiles fondly at him before going back to read “Woman on the Edge of Time”.
“Hello to you too, love. Mind telling us why there’s a racoon skit on our couch?” Euphemia Potter watches him with a smile on her face, apprehensive.
Shit , for a second I almost forgot . He thinks, before sprinting up on his spot and running to where he had put Meeko the day before. He finds him rolled up in the pile of blankets he had put in the living room, the room with more warmth in the house. He gives a quick look at the skit, and he seems to be doing better than the evening before so James breathes a sigh of relief.
He hears a cough and he turns to face his parents, who are now watching him, waiting for an answer.
“Uhm, mom, dad, this is Meeko.” he says, a smile on his face, hoping that smiling will help his cause.
Before they have a chance to reply, he quickly adds “When I was coming back yesterday I found him in the park. He was alone and shivering so I brought it here. Don’t worry though, I’ll bring him to an animal shelter in the morning. Also I’ll bring the other buddies with me for a health check or something like that, if it’s okay with you.”
The silence that follows doesn’t take James by any surprise. He sighs.
“I know, I know. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be sheltering all these animals alone. It’s hard to keep up with everything they need and I shouldn’t act like a good samaritan every time I see an animal in need of help. It’s just, I look at them and they look at me with those eyes and I can’t say no to their little faces.” he says, gesturing towards the skit, who’s now rolling lazily between the blankets.
Euphemia looks at him with a fond reassuring smile and moves the last made pancake from the pan to James’ plate.
“You know, that’s actually one of the qualities I love more about you Jamie. You see the best in everyone who crosses your path. You care so much about other people and I love you and I’m so infinitely proud of being your mother, but sometimes you forget to care more about yourself. I trust you and I know you’re doing your best with these animals, but maybe you should think about bringing them to the shelter and trusting other people to take care of them. Now sit down and eat your pancakes before they get cold, sweetheart.”
And so he does. He sits down and he thinks about it. Because ten times out of ten Euphemia Potter is never wrong, and he loves his mother for being the strongest woman he knows and for always telling him the truth straight up in the face.
“Oh, but I suppose that Romeo and Matisse could stay here with us after all, don’t you think Monty?”
Because his mother is the most human person he knows. Because that’s just who Euphemia Potter is. And he loves being her son with all of his heart.
So he just smiles fondly and eats his pancakes.
It’s well past 9 o’clock when he finally manages to put all of the rascals in his red 80’s Old Chevy. Luckily enough, all of them have gotten used to each other by now and no one really is that wild to try to escape.
After making sure that every one of them will travel safely, he hops on the driver’s seat and fastens the seat belt. On his lap he fixes Meeko, wrapped up in a small travel blanket. Once he knows for sure that the skit won’t fall off from him, he starts the pick-up and switches on the radio.
Immediately, ABBA begins filling the truck on the notes of “Dancing Queen” and James starts to ride, humming along, the GPS on his phone being the only thing sure of where he’s going and which roads to take.
A good forty minutes later he reaches his destination and stops the truck. In front of him now stands a towering building, a sign on the front door confirms that he indeed has arrived at the animal shelter “the Bowtruckle”. It’s located pretty far away from the city and it’s surrounded by huge fields, that with the current atmosphere have all withered.
He picks Meeko up, keeping him between his arms, and closes the pick-up’s door behind him with his foot. After telling a quick “I’ll be right back” to the other animals, he begins to approach the shelter’s front door. He rings the doorbell and waits at the door, whistling lightly while lulling the skit in his arms.
After a few minutes, an old man opens the door and watches James with a smile. He has short grey hair, dark blue eyes with a youthful gleam in them and freckles all around his slim face. He’s dressed with a simple old dark yellow sweater, dark grey trousers, and a handmade green and grey scarf.
“Hello sir! My name’s James Potter and I’ve brought you this racoon skit, hopefully you’ll know how to care for him better than I do.” he says to the old man, smiling confidently.
“Why hello young man. My name’s Newt Scamander, you can call me Newt, pleasure to meet you. Come inside, can I offer you a cup of tea in this cold weather?” the old man asks, waving at the door, inviting him to enter the building.
“Actually, I have a few more animals in my truck. Yesterday evening I talked to a guy that works here and he said I could bring them in for a wellness check in? And maybe some of them could stay here with you, if it doesn’t bother you, I mean.” he explains, and watches Newt, waiting for an answer.
“Why yes, of course. That’s exactly why I’ve opened this shelter, you know? So I could lend a hand to the animals in need. Let me just call Regulus so he can help you. A very helpful young man, he is. He cares about animals just the way I do. I know for sure that one day when I won’t be able to work anymore he’ll replace me just fine.” and with that he goes back inside, leaving James at the doorstep.
Some minutes pass and James goes back to the pick-up, which is not far away and can be seen from the doorstep, to see if everything is going well with the other animals, and while he waits he’s left wondering who this oh-so-helpful young man named Regulus is.
Could be a nephew, he thinks, or maybe just an extremely skilled part-timer. Either way, I hope he’ll come soon or Jeb will start to lose his cool.
Seeing as nobody’s going to come out in the near future, James places Meeko back on the driver’s seat and after closing the pick-up’s door he goes to the back of the truck. Carefully, he starts opening the trunk, hoping that Jeb won’t jump down and bite his ankles or that Bambi won’t get spooked by the new environment and try to run away.
He’s so deep in thoughts that he’s the one to get spooked when someone behind him talks.
“Need a hand with that?”
James immediately smiles, as he turns and in front of him stands the stranger from the day before. And the moment their eyes meet James knows he’s pretty well gone and wasted already. Because there’s no fucking way he can look this good even in an apron covered with mud and who knows what. It's just not fair.
“Oh, hello there. Didn’t hear you coming.“ he says simply, “sure, I could use a hand. Mind your ankles though.” he says, as he opens the trunk wide open.
Surely enough, the very-cute-stranger is taken by surprise when he sees what animals are in James’ pick-up trunk.
“What the fuck.” he looks like he just saw an unicorn alive and well, which, honestly, James can fully understand.
“Okay so, here’s the gang.” James says, pointing to the trunk. “This great dane here is named Scooby, because, you know, Scooby Doo. Then, this cuteness of a donkey’s name is Eeyore. I was pretty much obsessed with Winnie the Pooh when I found him as a mule foal. Then, this fawn here is named Bambi, want to guess why?” and he adds a whispered ‘Don’t tell the others but he’s kind of my favourite.’ before he keeps going “And last but not least, mind your ankles, this one here is Jeb the goat, you know, from ‘Home on the Range’. He’s as grumpy as the character. Again, mind your ankles, he likes to bite them from time to time.”
And as he says so, Jeb tries to jump off, aiming at James’ legs. James’ catches him with nonchalance, having done this before, and keeps the goat still with an arm.
“Woah. I know I said the shelter’s open to all kinds of animals, but that’s- that’s a lot.” says the stranger, watching him amazed with wide open eyes.
“Didn’t finish.” replied James before closing the trunk again, not with little effort as now Jeb had seen what the different environment looked like and tried to escape from James’ arms probably wanting to rule the world or something.
He moves closer to the front part of the truck and opens the door, two dogs watching him between two transport boxes and a racoon.
“The two beagles here are Odie and Snoopy” then he gestures to the transport boxes “Here we have Leonardo, Raffaello, Donatello and Michelangelo, yes, they’re four turtles. Then here we have Romeo and Matisse, father and son. I’ll probably bring these two back home.” he finishes. Then he looks at the driver’s seat and adds “And of course you have already met little Meeko here.”
He turns to face the very-cute-stranger, who has his mouth slightly open from the astonishment while his gaze focuses first on him then on the animals and then back to him like a game of ping pong.
“Are you Snow White or what? What the fuck. How did you even get a fawn to stay with you? And a donkey? Where did you even find a donkey? The fuck?”
At that, James smirks. Seeing as the other could use some time to process what’s happening, James takes a better look at him and his figure.
“Were you always so small?” he asks, teasing.
“Okay, you know what? Fuck you. Yes, I was always so small. What even a question is that?” and James is sure the stranger could swear at him in every language he wanted, he wouldn’t even be offended.
“So”, he tries again. “I quite didn’t get your name?”
“No shit. I didn’t quite tell you.”
Notes:
mule faul: baby donkey
also I kind of love the idea of Newt creating a shelter <3
(in the fic he's really old, like in his 80s or something)
Chapter Text
“And I miss them so much, you know? Them and their little cute precious adorable faces.” says James for the seventh time now.
He’s sitting at a table just outside the University’s library entrance. Near him his best friend of a life Marlene McKinnon is applying bright red polish to his nails, listening absentmindedly to him talking, while his other best friend of a life Peter Pettigrew is staring at his pages about the differences between Vygotskij’s and Piaget’s theories for an exam they’re going to have in less than a week as if his life would depend on them. In front of them sits Remus Lupin, James’ University buddy for two years now, who is revising his notes about Aestheticism for an exam he’s going to give in just a few hours.
“I know I should be happy for them being at the shelter, but what if they miss me the same as I do? Oh God, what if Bambi misses me? I’m such a bad friend, taking them away like that. What was I thinking? My babies will never see me as they did. I’ll forever be pictured as the traitor for the rest of their lives. I miss Bambi so much, my baby will never forgive me.” a moment of silence follows before he eventually goes back to talk, panic in his voice.
“Oh God, even worse. What if they’re living a way better life than the one they were living with me? They’ll forget me in an instant and I’ll be remembered as a nobody forever and ever. Wait, now that I think about it I don’t actually know what’s worse. Marls? What do you suppose is worse? Pete?”
“I” says Remus, exasperated “think you don’t even know that the worst that can happen is going to happen in the near fucking future if you don’t fucking shut your mouth and fucking study.”
James begins to open his mouth again to say something back, when Remus threatens him with a half eaten sandwich and a look that could very much incinerate something non flammable easily. With that, James closes his mouth shut and goes back to reading his notes about language development and cognition in children.
Just for a bit.
“If I knew I would be missing Jeb biting my ankles so much I would have let him do it more.”
“For the love of God, James, just go visit them at the shelter or something. Now concentrate on Chomsky’s Linguistic Theory and shut it.” says Remus, eyes focused on Dorian Grey’s biography.
“Hold up, how do you know what I have to study?”
“Because somebody has to and it’s pretty much obvious it’s not going to be you.”
“Still” intervenes Marlene “Lupin isn’t wrong.”
She gestures to James to give her his other hand and as he does, she continues to apply nail polish on his nails. This time it’s dark green.
“Thank you.” replies Remus, raising his hands to the sky. “Now go back to study, both of you. Take an example from Peter.”
Peter stays still and James is pretty sure that he’s been asleep with his eyes open for a while now. Either that or he’s so scared of disappointing Remus he’s afraid to move even an inch. Or both.
“What I meant is” she stops talking for a second, deep concentration in her eyes to try and not mess up her artwork on James’ nails, her tongue pressed between her lips “you definitely should go back to the shelter from time to time to visit.”
At that James nods, contemplatively. He has been thinking about it a lot, actually. His thoughts have been pacing from visiting little Meeko and making sure he’s still full of life to seeing those gorgeous grey eyes again for more than a week now.
His and Regulus’, he had learnt the stranger’s name not without insisting, last conversation together was brief, but James had learned more things about him in those few minutes than the other probably wanted. His name came from the star in the Lion’s constellation and, honestly, James thought that it was pretty accurate. He was fierce and he was sweet, even if he knew how to hide it well, and James could see it in the way he looked at animals or in the way he talked kindly about Newt Scamander. He was more real than anybody James had ever met, like he knew the universe’s most important secret and decided that it was okay, that it was right. He had this aura around him that inspired trust and relief and James felt like he could very happily drown in it.
So, yeah, James had indeed been thinking about going back to visit.
“Now that this is resolved” says Marlene, letting go of James’ hands, who is now admiring her finished work. “Tienes que contarme todo sobre ese tipo. ¿Está caliente? ¿Está lindo? Habla ahora, guapo. O de lo contrario yo diré a Remus que accidentalmente comiste su chocolate.”
At that he gasps loudly “Nunca lo harías.”
“Pruébame.” she replies, looking at him straight into his eyes.
James gulps. If anything, he knows from experience he shouldn't mess with Marlene's motivation. He still isn’t able to look at pineapples the same way as before.
After what seems like forever of them just exchanging glances, James sighs and Marlene watches him with a smirk on her face.
“Cuenta, cuenta.” she encourages him with the movement of her hand.
And so he does.
“Te lo dije, sólo lo he visto dos veces. Pero oh Marlene, si sólo pudieras verlo. La mirada que pone cuando habla de los animales del refugio... Es tan cariñoso. Pero parece que quiere ocultar su verdadero yo a los demás y, no sé, quiero saber más.” he says, returning with the mind to the conversation he had with Regulus.
“Oh estoy segura de que quieres saber más. Si sabes lo que quiero decir.” she says, winking at him playfully.
“Marls, oh my god, you know I’m not like that.” he replies, switching back from spanish to english.
“And I don’t know jack shit in spanish but I’m pretty sure I heard my name and chocolate in the same sentence.” intervenes Remus, without taking his eyes off his notes.
“Whoops, my bad.” says Marlene, shrugging her shoulders.
James chuckles as his and Marlene’s eyes meet, unspoken words being shared.
If James were to be honest, his and Marlene’s friendship is the one he cares about the most. He has known her and Peter since they were in preschool and even before then their parents were friends, so really they have been together since the first seconds of their lives.
To this day, they pretty much have experienced everything together. From their first crush (the popular girl of the school on which all three of them have fought over, before giving more importance to their friendship), to graduating middle school, studying spanish together to shit talk about bullies without being understood, having their first kiss at a party in high school and then graduating from it. University and adulthood is just another rung on the ladder.
His friendship with Peter is not to be underestimated, he’s always there when James needs help or advice, but, truth to be told, the one he has with Marlene is a reassurance. They speak the same language as if they’re the only ones in the Universe. Marlene probably knows James better than anyone, and the same goes for James. James knows that she’ll alway be there for him in the same way he’ll be there for her.
She was there when James discovered his demisexuality and even if Peter has been his number one ally from the start, Marlene knows what it truly feels like to be considered against nature and even more what it truly feels to consider yourself out of the ordinary. They see life in the same way to such an extent that James can’t help but think that if he has a soulmate, that’s probably Marlene.
As if they aren’t already in this, in another universe they’re probably siblings.
So even if she knows what to say to hit James’ nerves, he won’t ever be mad at her.
“Okay, enough chitchat.” says James, grinning to Marlene “I better get back to good old Chomsky.”
A mumbled “Fucking finally.” is heard coming from Remus.
“So,” James starts “Chomsky based his theory on the idea that all languages contain similar structures and rules, an universal grammar, and the fact that children everywhere acquire language the same way, and without much effort, seems to indicate that we’re born wired with the basics already present in our brains.
A competent speaker of a language routinely produces sentences that-”
James’ words are interrupted abruptly from what remains of an almost-all-eaten sandwich having come into contact with his face with an onomatopoeic “splat”.
“In fucking silence, Potter.”
Notes:
- James' and Marlene's conversation spanish to english (pretty much literally):
M: You have to tell me all about that guy. Is he hot? Is he cute? Talk now, handsome. Or else I'll tell Remus that you accidentally ate his chocolate.
J: You would never.
M: Try me.
M: Tell, tell.
J: I told you, I've only met him two times. But oh Marlene if only you could see him. The look he has on his face when he talks about the animals at the shelter... He's just so caring. But he looks like he wants to hide his real self from others and, I don't know, I want to know more.
M: Oh I'm sure you want to know more. If you know what I mean.- Anyways Peter is the one who suggested to learn spanish just because he wanted to swear at the bullies that picked on James and Marlene in a language they coulnd't understand
In this household we stan supportive Peter <3- James and Peter both study Psychology
Remus studies Literature
Marlene studies Fashion Design- ps: my aroace ass googling "how to describe your crush" just to put together 150 words is so funny to me
like girl what did you expect? lmao
(I'm therefore sorry if the words I'm using seem too stretched or too ordinary, I'm honestly trying my best)Thank you for reading! Lots of love <3
Chapter Text
The thing about James Potter is that he does everything to the maximum, even the smallest and most insignificant of the things.
He does not simply enjoy living, because he does it at his fullest.
He does not simply care for his friends, because he cares so deeply about them that all of his problems are forgotten, disappeared in clouds of thought.
He does not simply love people, because in loving them he puts all of his time and energy.
Most of the actions he does are based on pure thoughts. He does not think about anything twice if he considers it the right thing to do. He definitely does not stop in front of trouble. He smiles in front of it, like how an old friend would do.
For these reasons most people think that he is self-centred, but really he is everything but it. Ten times out of ten he does what he does, not because of what people will think of him, but because he simply cares. He cares so much and to such an extent that sometimes it feels like fire burning from inside, like a lightning thunderstorm on the coast of an abandoned beach. Sometimes it’s hurtful, sometimes it’s pleasant, sometimes it’s numb. But James Potter does not stop caring even a bit. Because that’s just who he is.
So, really, what happens next shouldn't surprise anyone.
It’s not until he passes his Cognitive Psychology’s exam that he finally decides to go back to the shelter.
The exam had him drained and while in Peter’s and Remus’ opinion eating sweets and reading a book will recharge them fully until their next exam, James just needs to breathe again.
So really it’s no wonder that one cold afternoon some days after his exam he ends up in his red 80’s Old Chevy headed towards The Bowtruckle.
As he sings along the notes of Madonna’s “Material Girl” wind ruffles his hair, the truck’s window being open.
These days the air is pretty chilly and while he usually doesn’t mind the cold, with it being now mid February the temperature is starting to rise more and more and James can’t honestly wait for it to be spring.
He loves spring. Flowers blooming, birds chirping, kids laughing, sunsets, lake picnics. It feels like life at its fullest and he can’t honestly wait to feel that alive again. He is mostly a cheerful person all year, but when spring arrives he goes back to being that little kid he used to be, looking at the world with brand new eyes every time. He gets excited for the smallest of things and feels on cloud nine most of the time. But what he likes about spring the most is the preceding period, where everything takes its time and blooms again from its ashes.
Thinking about spring always puts him in a good mood, so when he finally arrives at the shelter he’s already feeling a good chunk better than he was the day before.
Before getting off the truck, he takes the basket full of carrots that he had prepared especially for Bambi the evening before. Even if he doesn’t like favouritism, he has to admit that Bambi has a special place in his heart. James has been taking care of him since he was a fawn. One day, when he was a kid, Bambi had just straight up showed up in his parents’ garden and stayed. To this day, James still doesn’t know what brought him to their house, but he has never been more grateful that it happened. Him and Bambi pretty much grew together, and with James discovering the hard truth of becoming an adult, facing his middle school and high school years filled with bullyism, going back to Bambi at home was his safe spot. Sure, he had the most loving parents who he wouldn’t change for the world and the most awesome and supporting friends he could have ever asked for, but Bambi was something else. The deer knew when James was feeling down and didn’t want others to see it.
So, simply put, James can’t wait to see his favourite deer again.
He opens the trucks’ door and hops down the drivers’ seat, whistling on the notes of TOTO’s “Hold the Line”, it being the last song the radio was playing. With the carrot basket in his arms he goes up to the shelter’s front door and rings the doorbell, waiting for someone to appear.
Not long passes before a young man who is approximately the same age as him opens the door. He has a rounded face, topped with short brownish hair, and a kind look in his eyes. He’s dressed with simple plain clothes, dirty with mud, and has garden gloves on his hands.
“Hello, what can I do for you?” the stranger says, and James can’t help but smile at his cordiality.
“Hi! My name’s James. Some weeks ago I brought some animals here and I was wondering if I could spend my afternoon with them a bit.”
“Sure. I’m Frank, pleasure to meet you. Let me take you to Newt, he’ll know for sure where your animals are.” he says, as he opens the door to let James in.
With it being the first time James set foot in an animal shelter, he doesn’t exactly know what to expect. The inside is open and rays of sunshine enter from the big windows, lighting up the place. It gives James cosy and homey vibes, which he takes his time to appreciate. The walls are filled with pictures of animals in the shelter, pictures of the fields at every time of the year and pictures of the volunteers that have worked there. He spots a photo with Regulus that couldn’t be older than some years. In some of the pictures stands Newt, a beautiful woman smiling happily in his arms, which James guesses to be his wife. Overall, the shelter is a friendly and welcoming space and James honestly doesn’t know how he didn’t know it existed until now.
As he lets Frank lead the way, James loses himself in his mind. He hopes that he’ll manage to see Regulus before he’ll go back home even for a bit, in the last few weeks the guy’s honestly been a magnet for his thoughts. He doesn’t know why he’s that interested in him, it’s probably just an innocent crush, but he feels drawn to him for some reason.
Frank stops abruptly in his steps, and James goes back to reality. They’ve reached some kind of backyard garden, and Newt can be seen taking care of some crops. As James starts approaching Newt, Frank says goodbye to him warmly and James reciprocates, smiling.
James waves at Newt, who has now noticed him, and greets him affectionately.
“Good morning James, what brings you here?” says the old man with a warm smile on his face, as he stands from where he was crouched.
“Hello Newt! I hope I’m not interrupting anything, I just wanted to spend some time with Bambi, the deer that I brought with me last time.” and as he says so he shakes his carrot basket.
“Oh, for sure, this way. He’s been nothing but well-behaved. I’ve never taken care of a deer, but I can say for sure that you did a great job.” he says, smiling kindly at James, as he walks towards another part of the building.
James follows him from behind, and as he glances at his surroundings he realises just how big the shelter really is. It must be hell to clean , James thinks to himself.
While they walk, James starts a conversation on how the weather is changing to give space to the spring and he discovers that Newt’s favourite season is autumn. Really, it matches his vibe. He also tells James that spring is a good season for the shelter.
“You know, I created this shelter because in the cold seasons there are way too many people that abandon their animals off on the streets. Whereas in spring and in summer people are more happy and take more care of them. It’s not like we don’t have a lot to work on in warm seasons, but not having to take in abandoned or abused animals is always a relief.” his words are marked with eyes full of bittersweet sadness.
“Anyways,” Newt says, smiling at James “here we are. I have to get back to the garden but come see me whenever you need something.” and with that, he goes back from where they had come.
James has a few seconds to look at his surroundings before something crushes against him, knocking him on the ground.
“Ouch, hi to you too baby.” he says, hugging his deer in the middle of mud.
“I missed you a lot, bud.” says James, chuckling as he tries to stand up with the deer not letting him.
When he finally manages to get back to his feet, he remembers the carrots he has brought and takes one from the ground, offering it to the animal. The deer watches the vegetable with hesitation before taking a bite, crunching loudly.
James spends the next few hours mindlessly watching Bambi eating carrots and hopping near him in search of affection. Needless to say, James gives him all the love he wants.
He’s sitting on the ground with his legs intertwined, Bambi cuddled next to him with his head on James’ lap, looking up to the sky and occasionally glancing down to watch the deer sleeping, when he hears someone talking to him.
“Hey, Snow White, we’re closing in an hour.”
James rolls his eyes, grinning. “Hi to you too Regulus. Name’s James.”
“Yeah, whatever you say. Still closing in an hour.”
“That eager to kick me out, are you?” he says with a grin, as he turns his head towards Regulus.
“Oh, yes, absolutely. I’m on closing duty today and I can’t wait to go back home and watch my brother try to cook dinner without setting our kitchen on fire. It’s my favourite evening activity.”
“Wait, shit, evening? What time is it?” says James suddenly standing up from the ground, spooking Bambi who jumps up.
James says a quick “sorry bud” to the deer, before taking out his phone from his trousers’ pocket and watching how the clock signs it being a little over 18 pm.
“You’re lucky this time, I promised my mother I’d cook for her so I actually have to go now.” James says to Regulus, as he dusts his jeans to remove the now dry mud.
“Ha! I won.” says Regulus back, a teasing gleam in his eyes.
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever lets you sleep at night, Queen Grimhilde.” replies James, collecting what remains of the carrot basket.
“You did not just-!” gasps Regulus, before being interrupted from his phone ringing on the notes of Tatu’s “All The Things She Said”.
“It’ll take just a minute, sorry” he says to James before replying to the call “Hey Pans, what’s up?... Wait, wait, slow down, I can’t understand a thing you’re saying” he stands still listening to the phone for a few seconds before he eventually goes back to speak ”Oh, okay… Yeah, sure, I’ll tell Newt… Say hi to Evan for me. Bye Pans, love you too. Bye.” the second the call ends Regulus hides his face with his hands and takes a big breath of air sighing, exhausted from the conversation.
“Everything okay?” asks James, carefully.
“Kind of.” Regulus mumbles from in between his hands.
As he does not want to pressure the other, James just stands there waiting for Regulus to speak. Some minutes pass before Regulus eventually talks.
“Aren’t you going to ask?” he says as he pulls his hands away from his face, looking him in the eyes.
James shrugs “Not really my business, is it?”
“Right, well, my best friend and coworker just dropped all of her next shifts on me. Well, not on me specifically, but we’re in three working here and I do most of the work anyway, so. She said she was going on a last minute trip with her brother, who is also my friend, by the way.”
“That… sucks?” tries James, looking at him hopeful.
“Wow, you really know how to boost morale.” Regulus says, chuckling lightly.
“I mean, I did manage to make you laugh so I’ll count it as a win.”
“Whatever lets you sleep at night, Snow White.” replies Regulus, teasingly.
“Wow, you dare use my own words against me, huh?” says James, the biggest grin on his face.
The two start walking towards the exit, not before James says goodbye to Bambi, and James jumps at the opportunity without even thinking twice.
“You know what? I’d be happy to lend a hand if you guys need one.” he suggests, shrugging his shoulders.
At that, Regulus stops abruptly in his steps.
“What?” he asks, as he turns to look James in the eyes.
“Uh, I’d be happy to help. I’m good with animals anyway. And I don’t have exams for a bit, so, yeah.”
Regulus stares at him for a few seconds, before quickly turning his head to face the floor, the tips of his ears reddening.
“Oh, uhm, yeah, sure. I’ll talk to Newt about it but I think he’ll be on board.”
And just by that, James Potter finds himself working at the shelter. Because he does not ever stop caring.
Notes:
'Sup! Hope you liked this chapter.
I'm sorry in advance for the grammatical errors, but I didn't have time to review it fully before publishing.
It'll be a while before uploading the next chapters because I'm currently studying for an enormous exam and if I want to pass I actually have to study and not write ao3 fanfics.Thank you for reading! Love and kisses <3
ps: Regulus definitely gay panicked in the last lines
he was all like "what the fuck what the fuck that was so hot? omg omg" because he doesn't know what basic human decency is, let alone James'
Chapter 5
Notes:
James starts working at the shelter.
From now on it's chaos, enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Come on, Remus. If it was too much work I wouldn’t have suggested it myself. You know it.”
It’s a little past 8 am and James is currently on the phone in a video call with Remus while he’s getting ready to go to his first shift at the shelter. James had given his phone number right away but some days had eventually passed before Newt had called him to tell he would gladly have him working with him, and so James had time to tell his friends all about it.
While Peter and Marlene were happy to hear the news (for two completely different reasons, but still), Remus was a little more skeptical.
“Oh do I, now? Do I need to remind you what happened the last time you tried to manage way too much work at the same time?”
At that, James shivers, trying to pick a shirt to wear from all the ones scattered across his room. The thoughts of his friends having to sit him down to review his schedule popping up in his mind. “You know that’s a completely different situation. I learnt to control myself from saying too many yeses in a row. Besides, this time I’m actually interested in doing this.”
There was a time in his first year of University where he couldn’t simply not agree to everything he was suggested to. It all started with sharing his notes to one of his classmates and before he knew it, the situation had grown enormously. People from several school clubs would ask him to help them with their activities, professors of his major would occasionally ask him to do additional work “for more credits”, classmates would ask him to help with studying, and he just agreed to everything. Soon enough, he had found himself overworking to try and make everyone happy. Only he forgot to actually keep himself happy. He had just wanted to lend a hand where he could, he didn’t know that others would take advantage of that.
It was in that situation he had met Remus. Weirdly enough he was the only one stranger that didn’t want anything from him. They had met each other while James was helping set up some kind of literary club, they had started talking about different books they liked and their friendship had bloomed. More so when two worried Marlene and Peter had followed James to the literary club and begged him to stop overworking so much. Once Remus had discovered the extent of the situation, he had immediately sided with Marlene and Peter and they had talked James through his problem. He had felt kind of betrayed for this back then, he was convinced he could manage to satisfy everyone on his own, but now looking back he couldn’t be more grateful.
He ends up choosing his old red Beatles t-shirt, so that if it accidentally gets ruined he won’t cry too much (as happened with the ABBA’s one, but he has already mourned its death and forgiven Matisse). Plus, it fits well with his dark trousers, the ones that in Marlene’s words give him a “marvellous butt”. He shows the shirt to Remus with questioning airbrows, and his friend nods, sighing.
“Just promise me you’ll take care of yourself and won’t overwork yourself. Don’t forget you also volunteer at the library most of your week.”
James smiles at him and nods, fondly. He had started to work as a volunteer at the city’s library almost by accident. One day he was walking between the bookshelves searching for something he could use in an essay, when he had seen a kid asking his father to read a book for him. The father, lost in an animated phone call, hadn’t heard him and James had offered to read it out loud for him instead. Soon enough, he had found himself surrounded by children hanging from his lips.
Little did he know, the librarian was watching him and later on offered him to read to kids part-time. She even offered money, but James didn’t need them. He had discovered he enjoyed being around children, so he had agreed wholeheartedly. He liked making different tones of voice, from the high pitched ones to the scary low tone ones. He liked how impressionable kids were at that time in their lives and for this he put his heart and soul into reading for them.
It did, however, take most of his week’s time.
“I’ve already spoken to Irma and she agreed to change my schedule to less hours. See? I’m so professional. Also stop fretting that much about me or I’ll have to start calling you mom, Remus.” says James, as he puts on his jacket and starts to gather his things, ready to go to the shelter. He starts to play with his pick-up keys –a habit that he has taken over the years, a stag keychain being attached to them– as he starts to go downstairs.
“Yeah, yeah, so professional. Just stay safe or whatever, oh son of mine. See you tomorrow at lunch.” replies Remus, not without rolling his eyes, before closing the call and letting James go to his first day of work.
At that James laughs lightly and as he hops in his old pick-up, starting it to get off, he loses himself in his thoughts.
When he had told his parents that he would start working at the shelter, even if for a short time, they took it better than he would have thought. He knows they trust him completely on his decisions and they can’t help but support him, but deep down he knows they’re worried too. They try to mask it up, but James knows better.
Euphemia and Fleamont Potter will never interfere with their son’s decisions even if they initially worry about him. They know that if his decisions will prove to be harmful, he’ll manage to get back up on his feet or ask them for help. And for this he’ll be forever grateful. He couldn't ask for better parents.
He also couldn’t ask for better friends, honestly.
At that thought, James smiles fondly. He knows that sometimes he can be a little too much, he gets excited about the smallest things easily and he focuses far fewer on himself than he should. He knows that sometimes this leads to other people being tired of him. He’s been told that he uses so much energy himself that he drains the whole room dry. He has been working on himself a lot because of this and he tries to back off when with people he doesn’t know. As a consequence he started to appreciate small things within himself, whether than being too explosive. Most of the times he actually doesn’t mind, but he loves how he can be his bursting self when with his closest friends and family.
While he’s driving, he occasionally glances out of the pick-up’s window to see how the dried out fields are beginning to bloom into a plethora of different colours. The thought of sunflowers and poppies flourishing into spring brings a childlike smile to his face as he recognizes them. He feels more alive already.
“Last but not least, we usually do a check up on all the animals before closing up.” says Regulus to James.
He’s been explaining to him what they usually do at the shelter for an hour straight now and James honestly feels like he’s about to fall asleep. It’s not that he didn’t follow what Regulus was saying, he’s pretty sure he managed to understand a good chunk of what kind of work will wait for him in the next weeks, but he sometimes finds it hard to concentrate on something for such a long time. Plus, they’ve been walking through different corridors and rooms and the pictures on the walls are kind of distracting. So far, he’s seen Regulus in eight of them.
While Regulus is finishing with his explanation, a rather small picture catches James’ attention. It’s a photo of Regulus and another guy, taller than him and with longer hair. They have quite similar features and James catches the resemblance. James guesses they could be brothers or really close relatives. In the picture they’re both smiling, even if Regulus is trying not to let it see much, and at that sight a small smile unknowingly pops up on James’ face.
James doesn’t realise he’s stopped in front of it until Regulus manages to bring his attention back to him.
“Are you even listening to what I’m saying?”
James snaps his head back to him and gives out to an awkward laugh, scratching the back of his head.
“Sorry, I tend to lose myself in thoughts sometimes. I did follow you in your speech, though.”
Regulus watches him with a raised eyebrow, doubtful.
“Okay, well, maybe not the last part?” says James, unsure. At that, Regulus sighs, shaking his head lightly.
“It’s okay. I asked you if you wanted to follow me for today to see better what we do.”
“Oh, yeah. That’d be cool, thanks.” replies James, fixing his glasses higher up on his nose, as they had slowly fallen to its tip, as he gives Regulus a shy smile. Which is so not like him.
“Okay, great.” is all that Regulus says before taking off to another room. James doesn’t know what else to do but follow him and so he just does.
They spend the next fourty minutes adding water and food to the animals’ bowls. The shelter currently shelters about twenty three dogs and twelve cats, the only animals that aren’t cats and dogs being James’, so it’s mostly a chill job to do. James is actually enjoying himself already, Regulus is letting him pet the puppies as they work and James couldn’t have hoped for anything less, but it’s too quiet. Regulus has been silent since their previous conversation, not including the few words he has spoken to tell him what to do.
Now, James doesn’t usually mind the silence, he likes to know people can be comfortable around him to the point of not talking at all, but he has to make conversation again. He has to talk. He just has to.
“Do you think bees know they’re going to die when they eventually sting someone?”
Regulus raises his eyes up from the papers he has between his hands with a confused face. James watches him with clear honesty in his eyes. They’ve stopped at the shelter’s office because Regulus had to check the pet food store’s receipts on the computer. The office is pretty small. Other than a desk and some lockers the room is filled with potted plants. The second they entered, James had gladly taken control of the swivel chair.
“Sorry, I just wanted to make conversation again. I mean, if you want to. No pressure.” he says, as he spins mindlessly with the chair.
“Can’t say I don’t. That’d be my fault, I tend to be quiet when I work, sorry.” at his words a small grin appears on James’ face.
“What’s with the bees question though?”
“I don’t know. It’s something I’ve always wondered about. When I was a kid I read in a book that bees are prepared to die to protect their home and their queen if they feel danger approaching.” James shrugs “But I don’t know whether they’re aware of the sting fact or not. Do they know they’re going to die or not? Do they live their lives being unaware and, like, there’s a bee council that knows and keeps the secret from age to age? Or do they, like, know and have to wait for the day they eventually kill themself?”
"Oh, wait, you're actually invested in this, aren't you?" Regulus asks, glancing at him once again before looking down back to his papers.
“I mean, duh? Should be like a government issue or something.” James replies, only half joking.
“Don't tell me you were the kind of kid to also be concerned about the Bermuda Triangle or something.”
“Wow. Should I be offended? Yes. Yes I was. It's a really important matter. Aren't all kids?”
“I wasn't.” Regulus shrugs, watching him with an air of superiority.
“...’cours you weren't. You probably were the kind to enjoy playing chess.”
“I'll let you know I still play chess and have yet to be defeated, thank you very much.”
“I’m pretty good myself, actually. My friend Peter taught me in third grade. Don’t see myself going around bragging about it though, do you?” James counters, smug, as he comes to a stop in the swivel chair.
Regulus looks up from his papers once again, a questioning look in his eyes. “So, are you actually admitting that you also were the kind to enjoy playing chess or am I missing something?”
“Wait, fuck, no, yes, I mean. God, whatever. I don’t want to talk to you anymore.” says James, starting to spin again on the chair.
Regulus watches him with amusement in his eyes. “And what if I do want to talk to you now? You disturbed my peace and quiet, you better as well keep talking.”
Some seconds filled with silence pass before he goes back to talk, enjoyment in his voice. “Oh my god, James are you pouting ?”
“Fuck you.” James replies, while he is, indeed, pouting.
James doesn’t actually know why he is pouting, let alone why he’s offended by Regulus' words, but he can’t simply drop the act now, can he?
It takes James five long minutes of full silence to talk again.
“So, what’s your favourite colour?”
Regulus watches him with a grin on his face. “Whatever happened to not wanting to talk to me?”
“Life’s too short not to make conversation.” replies James, shrugging, a smirk on his face. “Aren’t you gonna reply?”
“Well,” starts Regulus, thoughtful, “I’d say my favourite colour is dark green.”
“Is there a specific reason?”
“Not really, I guess. It does remind me of my parents' house wallpaper, though. I hated it.” this leaves Regulus with a thoughtful expression. He doesn’t add anything else to it, and James doesn’t ask for explanations.
Eventually Regulus goes back to talk. “What about you? What’s your favourite colour?”
“Red.” James replies, simply, shrugging.
As Regulus rolls his eyes, James laughs slightly and explains further.
“I know, pretty basic. I do actually have a reason behind it though. When I was little I went camping with my parents. One night we were on the porch of our van, drinking honey lemon tea and telling tales, and as the stars started to come out, so did a blood moon. For my six years old self that was a pretty new thing and I fell in love with its colour. I hadn’t ever seen anything with such a bright tone. I became quite obsessed with it, if you couldn’t notice from my pick-up and probably every piece of clothing I own.”
At his words, Regulus simply smiles at him. A little and meaningful smile that makes James’ heart skip a beat.
After that, they spend the next few hours deep in a conversation filled with random questions. From “What’s your favourite ice cream flavour” to “How would you know if someone has manipulated your memory?”.
Even if they talk for a rather short period of time, James ends up learning more and more about Regulus. He tends to keep this kind of mysterious aura on the majority of his replies, but James doesn’t mind. He knows he’s just being reserved.
It’s almost the end of James’ shift now and they’re casually chatting about the shelter. Regulus is telling him how most people don’t even know it exists (at that James laughs awkwardly) and how this eventually brings to the animals not being adopted at all, when James turns towards him so quickly that he could have twisted his neck, a grin on his face.
“I have the best idea ever.”
It doesn’t take that much of an explanation before a small grin appears on Regulus’ face too.
And just with that, James finds himself into much more work than he had initially thought.
Notes:
I don't know why James' character is writing himself like this. I wanted him to be a honest ball of sunshine. Whatever, we all have our skeletons in the closet. (Spoiler Warning, they're gay.)
Also yes James Potter pouts, deal with it.
Thank you for reading! Love and kisses and whatever
Chapter 6
Notes:
Holy shit it's been a month.
Sorry for the delay, I fell into the Voltron/Klance hole for the first time in my life in this oh-so-pleasant 2024 and I crawled out of it just for writing this chapter (I'll probably crawl back later but, I mean, happens to the best of us right)I don't know how I managed to write this chapter
All I wrote in my notes was "work + thunderstorm" so, yeah, there's that!TW! panic attack near the end
Stay safe (and eat chocolate)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Seems like it’s going to rain soon.” says Marlene panting, coming to a full stop in her steps. Peter stops near her and looks up to the sky with uncertain eyes.
He turns to look at James, with a questioning expression, and as their eyes meet a grin appears on their faces. They nod simultaneously.
“You guys want to have an earlier breakfast than usual?” says James, a smirk on his face.
He doesn’t have to ask it twice before him, Marlene and Peter find themselves sitting at one of the tables of their go-to bar.
It’s almost 6am now and rain starts pouring gently, tapping on the bar’s windows. James and Peter start a rain drops race. Peter always ends up winning.
Saturday mornings is one of the things James loves more of his friendship with Marlene and Peter. Every week they wake up early at 5am and go for a run in their neighbourhood. After their two hour run they eat donuts. They’ve been doing this since their early years in highschool. It’s become tradition. It’s sacred.
During the day they’re usually really busy and because of this they sometimes find it hard to express their feelings to each other or take time for their friendship. But this early in the morning it’s only them. Their safe space.
The donuts are just a bonus.
They’ve been doing this for so long that they ended up being regulars. They even bonded with the bar owner, a woman named Minerva. They don’t actually order anymore, she just brings them whatever sweet she’s working on to see if customers would like it. They usually end up loving it. There are no donuts like Minerva McGonagall’s.
“So,” says Minerva, placing a plate full of strawberry glazed donuts between them, interrupting James and Peter’s race (in which Peter’s drop had proved itself to be the fastest yet again) “how are you kids holding up now that the exams are over?”
She looks at them with sympathetic eyes, waiting for an answer she already knows. She had opened the coffee shop with her wife after she had retired from being a teacher at highschool. Somehow, when they were struggling in their highschool years she always knew. Call it some teacher magic. Or mother magic. She did have a daughter their age after all.
They end up telling her all about their exams, which ones they think they’ve aced and which ones they’re mostly sure they’ve bombed. Marlene shows her pictures of the clothes she had to design, while Peter and James tell her about the conspiracy theories they’ve thought of based on the psychologists they’ve studied.
James also tells her about the project he’s started at the shelter aiming to ensure that more animals are adopted. He’s still working on it, but he tells her he’ll make sure to explain better once it’s ready.
In exchange she tells them about how her wife Poppy has caught a cold in the most stupid way possible, and that makes them laugh as she used to be the best doctor in the hospital ward she worked.
Time passes and eventually other customers start to enter, so Minerva goes back to the counter.
The moment they’re left alone, Marlene, James and Peter exchange a serious look. James is the first one to talk.
“So, who wants to start?”
Their friendship is based on honesty, sincerity and the promise to not ever hide their feelings from one another, so of course part of their early Saturday tradition is to openly say what’s on their mind at the moment.
Marlene looks at them and then with a sigh she starts talking.
“You guys remember the vinyl store I like to go to? The one where my friend Sirius works? The one that has been closed for like almost a month now?” there’s some seconds of silence where both James and Peter nod, before she goes back to talk “Turns out, it hadn’t closed at all. It partnered with a tattoo artist and now they’re in business together. They reopened some days ago. That’s when I found out.”
She stops talking and watches first James and then Peter, a well-known look in her eyes. They already know what she’s going to say, but they don’t interrupt her. It’s their sacred rule. You never know how much someone has to tell if you interrupt.
“I didn’t realise Sirius had extended his business until I saw her. God, guys, you have to see her. She’s like, this gorgeous wonderful lovely angel sent from Heaven to tempt me. And I can most surely say, boy, does she tempt me. I’m in the middle of the biggest lesbian crush I ever had. Really, guys, I tried to talk to her. She smiled and before I could stop myself the only thing I said was ‘I’m gay’. Sirius laughed way too much at that.” she hides her face with embarrassment and Peter and James exchange a soft smile.
Marlene had always been the one with the biggest crushes, but they’ve never seen her like this. Usually, when she crushes over someone she’s so excited that she doesn’t shut up about it, not even a second. But this time they know that it feels different just from the way she’s telling them. It feels more real.
“Marls, c’mon. You can’t just say that and not show us a picture.” jokes James. Because he knows that she doesn’t need them to make a big deal out of it, and so they won’t.
“I did find her Instagram from Sirius’ store page. Her name’s Dorcas. God, guys, even her name sounds angelic. You had to hear her laugh, too. Angelic, I’m telling you.” she grumbles between her hands. She then takes out her phone from the pocket of her trousers and after some seconds of tapping on it she hands it to them.
They scroll through some of her photos and, yes, she is pretty gorgeous.
Peter’s just about to hand the phone back to Marlene when James stops him and takes the phone, looking at it with puzzled eyes. A feeling of déjà vu hitting him.
“Wait, Marls, who’s this?” he says, showing her the phone’s screen and more precisely a photo of Marlene’s new crush and a guy with long black hair.
Marlene watches the photo with confused eyes, before looking back to James. “That’s my friend Sirius. Guapo, I’ve been telling you about him literally for so long, pay attention.”
James goes back to look at the picture, even more lost. Somehow he feels like he’s already seen him. The long black hair, the mischievous grin on his face, the way he has his arm above Marlene’s crush.
Then it hits him.
“Oh my God.” he stares at the photo with his mouth open, dumbfounded.
Marlene and Peter watch him, not understanding where this is all coming from. Then James goes back to look at Marlene.
“Does he perhaps have a brother?” he asks, because he’s pretty sure he knows the answer already.
“Now that you mention it, yes. I think I’ve met him once, name’s,” says Marlene,
“Regulus.” “Regulus.”
They widen their eyes more and more, understanding in their eyes. Peter watches them with amazement.
Few seconds of silence and restrained sighs pass before Marlene’s roaring laugh fills the atmosphere.
“Oh my God we’re so stupid. How did we not figure it out before?” says Marlene, trying to stop laughing and not being able to.
For his part, James is laughing too. He feels dumb. But also kind of relieved. He wouldn’t know why, though, so he just laughs with Marlene. Peter seems to catch up on what’s happening before joining them with the biggest laugh of them all.
“To be fair,” says James, between a laugh and another, “I didn’t really say his name to you before, so it’s kind of on me.”
“I can’t believe I met the guy you’ve been crushing on before you.” says Marlene, slowly stopping laughing, as she dries some tears from her eyes. “He even said he worked with animals, I thought he was a veterinarian or something.”
“I mean, all he’s told me about his brother is that watching him burn down the kitchen making dinner is his favourite evening activity, so I guess you did know more than me.” at James’ words, Marlene goes back laughing.
“Oh this is too good, we have to tell Remus.” she says, taking her phone back from James’ hands and starting typing before Peter takes the phone out of her hands, a brief glint of fear in his eyes.
“Stop. It’s way before 10 o’clock on a Saturday morning. He’d kill us on the spot. We’ll tell him later. Also he would probably call you a cottonhead or something, whatever that means. I swear, he’s obsessed with that word this week.”
All three of them exchange a look before nodding and laughing softly.
“Anyways,” says Marlene, “back to the topic. I finished my turn. James, I believe now’s yours. You know, since Regulus has already been mentioned and all that.”
James nods, slightly. He doesn’t really know what to say.
“I’m kind of scared.” is all he manages to say, before looking at them, uncertain. Marlene nods at him, encouraging him to continue.
“It’s not like I haven’t had crushes before. If anything, I crush on people pretty easily. But I’ve never really liked someone this much before. It’s scary. It definitely feels more than a crush and I don’t know how to manage it.” he says, and it’s true. He’s been thinking about it for some time now.
For James, talking to Regulus feels like breathing for the first time ever again. It’s almost like he didn’t know how to do it before, but then it feels like the easiest thing in the world. It feels natural.
The way Regulus hides his smile when James makes a joke or the way he concentrates, furrowing his brows lightly, it doesn’t feel like he’s trying to put up a mask to please other people.
“Talking to him feels real. He feels real. It hasn’t been that much since the first time we’ve talked and I’m scared I’m going to ruin everything. I don’t want to mess this up, I think I really like him.”
“Guess we’re both in our biggest queer crush era. Nothing can stop us now.” says Marlene, taking James’ hands into hers, a reassuring smile on her face.
A way to tell him he’s in the present and that he doesn’t have to worry about anything if he doesn’t want to. He can choose his own path, and he knows that - God if he knows - but he feels like he has to make a decision the very moment he understands something.
But maybe that’s for his future self to deal with.
He smiles at Marlene and nods. Then they both turn to look at Peter, who’s watching them with a soft glint in his eyes.
After some minutes of silence, to let their words settle down and not overload the atmosphere, Marlene is the one who speaks again.
“So, Pete, I guess it’s your turn.”
Marlene and James watch him, expectantly, waiting to hear what he has to say on this peculiar Saturday. Some second pass before Peter talks.
“I adopted a rat.”
It’s still raining when James arrives at the shelter for his shift. It’s not even close to 9 o’clock, but he feels like the whole day has already passed.
He hops down the driver’s seat, not caring about the puddles or the mud that the rain is creating. His truck’s radio had stopped working some days back, and because of that in the last few days he’s been listening to music with his earphones, one in and one out. He takes them out and puts them in the pocket of his jacket before running to the shelter’s door.
He feels a lot lighter than before. His, Marlene and Peter’s Saturday talks always help him feel better. They reassure him that everything is going to be alright, that it’s normal to feel what he feels, that he can rely on other people.
The shelter is still closed, as it opens at 9am, so he sits down on the steps and waits. It shouldn’t pass that much before someone opens, so James spends the time watching the rain.
He’s always liked the rain. She could be peaceful, but she could also be devastating. Watching the rain in all of her identities made him feel like he was alive, like he was looking at the pure essence of life. It calmed him.
It did make his glasses fog pretty easily, though, and at the thought he takes them off, trying to clean them.
He’s in deep concentration when he hears someone talking to him.
“God, Snow White, I sure hope you’re not going to make the floor dirty. I cleaned it so well yesterday.”
James looks up from his glasses and it’s not like he can’t see everything blurred, so he fixes his glasses back, rain drops falling from his hair on the lenses.
And there he is, the guy that makes him feel so many emotions in so little time.
James smiles.
“Hi to you too, Regulus. You know my name’s still James, right? Hasn’t changed from the first time I told you.” he says as he gets up from the stairs, brushing lightly his trousers. Not like doing so matters, he’s wet as a chick.
Surprisingly, Regulus isn’t.
“How are you not wet?” James finds himself asking, watching him with his brows furrowed.
“Umbrellas exist? You know, those things that were especially created to help you not getting wet when it rains?” says Regulus, giving him a weird look before taking out of his pocket the shelter’s keys.
“I’m serious, though. Don’t you dare enter with those.” he adds, pointing at James’ shoes before walking through the entrance’s door. At his words James looks down too, finding them muddy. He chuckles and he cleans them on the carpet, before following Regulus inside.
The next few hours pass quickly. James convinces Regulus to at least let the dogs out to enjoy the rain with the promise he’ll be the one cleaning the floors after. He had seemed uncertain at first, looking doubtfully outside the windows, but had given in once James had started complaining about how much dogs love puddles and saying something along the way of ‘Who are we to get in the way?’.
Taking the opportunity, they talk about James’ genius idea more in detail. People don’t really know of the shelter’s existence, so it’s difficult for animals to be adopted. It was talking about how sad it is that the animals at the shelter would probably never have a new home that James had given birth to what he had called ‘the idea of the century’.
The aim was to work on having an Open Day to let kids and families meet the shelter and its animals. They had talked about it with Newt and he had been immediately excited and on board.
Pandora, Regulus’ friend who had gone on a last minute trip with her brother, would be restarting her shifts soon, but James had agreed on staying some weeks more just until the Open Day, so he could lend a hand. It had been his idea, after all.
James and Regulus are talking about some concepts they had thought about when suddenly a rumble from outside interrupts their conversation.
Without them noticing, the rain had transformed herself into a storm, and a huge one.
At the unexpected sound, Regulus chokes a gasp.
James acts immediately, sprinting up from his seat and running to the backyard’s door to bring the dogs inside. He goes out in the open and calls them, trying to remember how many they had let out.
He can hear crashing sounds coming from the sky, where the storm fastly grew. Thunders and winds roaring furiously. Flashing lightning lighting up the sky like fireworks.
Now, James usually likes thunderstorms and the power they carry within themselves, but he soon decided that finding himself in one isn’t on the top list of his favourite things to do.
The moment he makes sure all the dogs are safely locked-up, he hurries back too to close the door and check that everything is okay.
He doesn’t realise that Regulus had stayed inside until he sees him curled up near the chair where he was sitting before, covering his head with his arms.
He’s shaking, and James doubts it’s from the cold of the opened door.
Regulus is trying to breathe, and James can see the struggle he is doing so, and he knows the feeling. Trying to breath but not managing to, as if someone was clutching your own throat stopping you from taking full breaths. The feeling of being alone.
He can see Regulus trying to hold back tears, fear. The feeling of blood pounding in his ears, his heart thudding in his chest.
He’s shaking, and James' heart drops. Because he’s been through something similar in his life so many times and it pains so much to see Regulus going through it too. His hands are trembling, and all James wants to do is hold him and never let go.
James moves closer to him, he doesn’t exactly know how to help or if Regulus would want help at all, but he sits on the ground near him and starts to talk.
“It’s okay, everything’s okay.”
He slowly brushes Regulus' hair with his hand, trying to offer comfort. Regulus doesn’t move.
“You can get through this. Deep breaths.”
He strokes his head gently, shifting his arm around Regulus’ shoulders to keep him close. To let him feel warmth among darkness.
He can feel Regulus scooting towards him and he tightens his grip around him.
Another roaring rumble comes from the sky, and Regulus curls up against James even more.
“You’re doing great, I’m proud of you. You’re safe, stay in the present with me.”
The storm doesn’t seem to want to be ending soon, and so an idea pops in James’ mind. Not letting Regulus go, he takes his earphones out from his jacket’s pocket and connects them to his phone, putting on his calming songs playlist.
Gently, not wanting to scare Regulus off, he passes them to him and he feels him taking them.
“You’re safe.” he says again, stroking his hand gently on Regulus’ arm, as he holds his hand lightly. So he knows he’s there with him. So he can feel that he’s not alone.
They stay like that until the storm calms down. And even after then, no one of them moves for a long time.
Notes:
- I want M&J&P friendship so bad
Imagine loving your friends so much you get up at 5am to RUN and EAT DONUTS- Minerva McGonagall makes the best donuts, change my mind
Also she's married to Poppy because they're just so <<<<3333
And they adopted someone, gee I wonder who that is 🤔- Peter's rat is named Burrhus
Because, you know, Burrhus Skinner was the one who experimented with rats and when Peter and James studied it Peter gasped so bad
(how does it feel to be a rat, now, Burrhus, huh??)
He loves his rat though- Regulus calling James Snow White might be my new favourite thing and I'll be using it forever and ever and no one can stop me
Hope you liked this chapter, next one will be the last one from James POV
(miss my baby already)Thank you for reading!
Chapter 7
Notes:
So, I might have disappeared. Wasn't my intention. Sorry.
The news of Yuri on Ice's film being cancelled brought up again my fixation on victuuri and it's been a mess (cue to me also refixating on Dead Poets Society, Supernatural and It respectively)
But we're back on board baby (the problems of being a multifandom kind of girl, am I right)Okay, now that we've resolved this:
Hi, hello, what's up.
Today's chapter is a bit longer than the others, hope you'll like it anyway.Also I might have lied. This chapter isn't entirely made out of James' POV.
Surprise, surprise: here comes Regulus!
The POVs respectively: J - R - J - R - JThe ending is shit because it's way past midnight and I have no neurons left
Enjoy !!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Regulus was avoiding him. James was pretty much sure of it by now.
James hadn’t been to the shelter that much the past few days, being busy working on some of the details for the Open Day with Irma, the librarian, as they had partnered up for publicizing the event and James was the one with the connection to her.
Because of this, he hadn’t immediately noticed.
Whenever he had tried to talk to the guy, Regulus had just turned in his steps and walked the opposite way.
Whenever he had tried to wave at him to greet him, Regulus had looked somewhere else.
At first, James had thought that it was just his imagination. But now, he just knew.
He suspected that the events of the evening with the storm were the cause of this, and he understood. Being that vulnerable with someone you don’t fully know kind of messes you up.
The shame you might feel, the way you suddenly feel more self-conscious.
That’s why when James realised, he gave Regulus space. He knew that sooner or later they’d talk again. So, he just minded his business and focused on other things instead. Even if deep down Regulus didn’t leave his thoughts not even once.
That was until apparently Regulus was scolded by Newt.
And had decided to talk to James again.
Regulus had been avoiding James.
At first, he had told himself that he needed some space after what had happened.
He wasn’t used to being that much in the centre of somebody’s attention. Not like that. He had felt put on a pedestal on which he did not want to stand on. He felt exposed.
And for what, a fucking thunderstorm? Yeah, no, thank you very much.
He had told himself he would take some days for himself, just some.
Really, it wasn’t his fault that he had let that much time pass. It’s like when you wait some time before you reply to a text but then you forget to do so and now it’s been months and you don’t know how or if you should reply. He didn’t mean to ghost him, but how could he go back to talking to him now?
Hi, remember me? I’m sorry I avoided you, how are things?
Yeah, never in a million years. His life was fine before knowing him, it’ll be fine even if he doesn’t talk to him ever again.
The only good thing that this whole mess had brought upon was that now Regulus had earned a brand-new pair of earphones, because him being the idiot he was had forgotten to give them back to James.
Not having plans to ever talk to him again, they were his now.
These were the thoughts that had been bothering Regulus for the past two hours. Hours that should have been spent working instead of just pacing around the shelter.
It’s a little over 18 pm now and while Regulus is on closing duty and should actually do something, he finds himself going to the cage of a specific animal.
Little Meeko’s.
He had found himself doing that a lot, actually. He wouldn’t know why or how, but they had bonded pretty fast after the racoon was brought to the shelter.
If anybody would ask, Regulus would say that it was because the racoon was just so polite and adorable. But really, it just reminded him of James.
He wouldn’t ever admit that to himself, though.
He also wouldn’t ever admit to himself that watching Pocahontas after meeting him wasn’t that much of a coincidence.
He had regretted watching the film in the living room on a random Tuesday night the moment his brother had walked in after his work day. The never-ending teasing he’ll have to endure.
Still, he had let slip a laugh or two or ten watching movie-Meeko and his shenanigans.
Mostly, it was the similarities between the two that had made him think that after all James was great with names. Or just a great person in general.
Real-Life-Meeko really liked biscuits too.
Point is, spending time with the racoon had been a usual thing for him to do in the past few days, while waiting for Pandora’s return. Sometimes he had caught himself wondering why James had never once stopped by to see how the racoon was doing, but he knew he was busy with work at the library for the shelter’s Open Day.
Work that Regulus also should have been doing, by the way.
This situation is a mess, Regulus thinks to himself while petting the racoon, I can’t be this bad at talking to people. Not after all I’ve been through. I thought I was over being this awkward around them.
He sighs, his thoughts being interrupted by his phone vibrating.
It’s a call from Newt.
Regulus watches the phone skeptical. Newt rarely calls just for chatting.
He prepares for the worst. But he doesn’t even have a clue on what the worst with Newt could or will be.
He gulps and focuses his attention on the phone, pressing the green icon.
Regulus doesn’t even have time to greet the old man before he starts speaking. Soon, Newt’s words fill the air.
“Regulus. I’m sorry for calling you this late in the day but I couldn’t not say anything one day more.”
His voice is tough and Regulus thinks that he has never heard him like this. He immediately stiffens on his seat.
“I noticed you’ve been a little distant at the shelter, and that’s okay. We all have our ups and downs. Plus, it’s not like there’s that much work to do at the shelter per se. So, I’ve given you all the time you needed.
We do, however, have an open day to set up and if I’m not mistaken it was you who brought this plan to the table alongside with James.”
He briefly stops, probably for letting his words sink in for Regulus, before going back to talk. Now with more kindness in his tone.
“Now, I know I’m pushing you and normally I’d give you all the time in the world to figure yourself out, but we are on a schedule, so will you kindly help that poor kid out? He’s been preparing everything on his own and even if he seems comfortable in his role as a busy bee, I don’t want him to overwork himself for the sake of my shelter.”
Immediately, guilt washes over him mighty as a waterfall. Tears briefly stinging his eyes.
“I’m- I’m sorry. I didn’t realise I was jeopardising the whole thing. It wasn’t my intention.”
And somehow, it’s true. Part of him knew what he was doing not talking to James, but part of him just hadn’t thought that far. More guilt hits him.
“I’ll talk to him tomorrow and I’ll try to do my best to regain your respect. I didn’t mean to disappoint you.” He adds, his voice trembling.
How could it be that the only thing he was good at was disappointing people? How could it be that he was always ruining things? First his parents and now this.
Everything for a stupid fucking thunderstorm and the emotions it carried within.
He had been careless. Every time he had found himself caring for something or someone he always had inevitably messed up. He had put himself first and for what? That had never helped him.
It was childish for him to avoid James like that. Why did he even do it? Why did the events of the thunderstorm bother him that much? Why should he care of what people think of him in the first place? He never did, why start now? Why did he feel like that? Where are these emotions coming from?
His mind was soon filled with Whys and Hows and Regulus was starting to spiral in his thoughts of blame, when Newt spoke again. From Regulus’ initial reply not even two minutes had passed.
“What are you talking about, I could never be disappointed in you. I’ve known you since you were ten, I’ve experienced firsthand the remnants of what you went through in your childhood. You being a little distracted at work won’t change this and you know it.”
Newt’s kind and loving words hit Regulus with such a force that he manages to get out of his anxious thoughts. It takes him some minutes before he finds his voice again.
“I know, I’m sorry. I just- It’s been a very long week and I don’t even know why and I spiralled a little. I’ll talk to James tomorrow first thing.”
He sighs. He hasn’t spiralled like that in such a long time, it had taken him by surprise. Newt had treated him like a grandson since the first day they’d met and the last thing Regulus wanted was to disappoint him.
In the end they find themselves chatting at the phone for some time, before Regulus realises he still hasn’t closed the shelter. It’s almost 20pm.
The first thing James does when he wakes up at 9am, after his alarm clock had sounded uninterruptedly for half an hour, is taking a fortune cookie from the box on his nightstand and opening it. He’s been doing this for some days now, definitely not because a certain grey eyed guy has suddenly decided to stop talking to him, to see if luck really is on his side.
Plus, daily morning biscuit.
Today one’s saying: “Something you lost will soon turn up”.
Which is somehow better than the one he had opened the day before, “You will be hungry again in one hour”.
Which, by the way, had turned out to be true, much to James’ amazement.
He hadn’t shut up about it for three hours straight and it costed him being blocked on the phone by Remus. But still, worth it.
He puts the fortune cookie’s card in his sweatshirt’s pocket.
After a brief breakfast, as he had woken up late but still wanted to take his sweet time reading the fortune cookie, he hops on the driver’s seat, ready to go to the shelter.
Some days before he had realised his earphones had disappeared, so until the radio in the pick-up would start working again, he was on his own.
On his way to the shelter his thoughts fly briefly to Regulus. It had been something close to an entire week without talking to each other now. Not like they talked every day, but with their shift at the shelter matching James had started to get used to seeing him most of his time.
He wondered after how many days he would talk to him again. If he would ever, that is.
I just hope I didn’t mess things up, he thinks while he stops the pick-up in front of a red traffic light, I’m used to keeping my crushes to myself so really that’s not a problem, but I really like talking to him. I don’t want to lose that. I don’t want to lose him.
Red changes to green and James spends the remaining time in silence, occasionally glancing out of the pick-up’s windows. He can see the poppies in the fields starting to grow, it now being mid March.
When he arrives at the shelter it’s some time after 10am. He hops down the driver’s seat and slams the door closed with his foot, as he’s watching his daily schedule on his note app on the phone.
He doesn’t realise that somebody’s waiting for him at the entrance door until he hears someone fake-coughing.
He looks up with a confused look, and his heart melts.
There he is. The boy he’s been so eagerly waiting to talk to.
James smiles.
“You’re late. I thought I would have to wait for you all day.” Regulus says casually, as if he hadn’t been ignoring him the entire week.
James watches him with a raised eyebrow, a grin on his face.
“You made me wait all week. One hour is nothing.” he replies and he can see a glint of guilt briefly pass in the other’s gaze.
“I know, I’m sorry.” says Regulus, and the honesty behind his words hits James right in the heart. Never would he have imagined the mighty Regulus Black apologizing.
James just nods, before passing past him and inside the shelter.
This action makes Regulus go stiff, and James wonders if maybe the other thinks he’s mad at him, so he turns back to him.
“Come on, you need to update me on your week.”
Regulus’ eyes shine, a small smile appearing on his face as he follows James inside the building.
While taking care of the animals at the shelter, they spend the entirety of their shift just randomly chatting. From James telling Regulus how chaotic the library had been all week to Regulus telling James how fast Meeko had been growing.
The smile on James’ face not being gone away not even once.
It’s not until their shift ends at 16pm and they say goodbye to Frank and Newt that Regulus realises they still haven’t worked on the Open Day.
He fidgets with his rings, thoughtful, before finding himself asking such an impulsive question that takes even Regulus by surprise.
“Hey, Snow White.” he says, stopping right before the entrance. James turns to him, an eyebrow raised.
Really, the way he replies to a princess name without a care in the world doesn’t stop to amaze Regulus. It started out as a joke, but now he finds himself being quite attached to it.
“Do you, uhm, do you want to come to my house to talk more about the open day? I’m not really updated on what’s going on and I guess you’re the one who knows more about it.” the moment these words exit from his mouth, he regrets them a little already. Why couldn’t he have found the courage to ask for updates during their shift?
James seems confused for a second, before an enormous smile takes all the space of his face like the sun in the galaxy. And he grins, the dork.
“Oh my god, Reg, do you even have to ask?” he says, and he adds a quick and almost whispered “I can’t wait to meet your brother.”
As he says so, Regulus swears he seems as exited as a golden retriever. It’s kind of endearing, really. Just a bit.
“First of all, why would you want to meet that idiot? Second of all, I suggested it for work purposes only, keep it in mind.”
“Long story. And you can’t invite me to your house and not expect me to want to see baby photos, what the hell.”
At his words, Regulus winces, but James doesn’t seem to notice.
“Where do you live? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drive a car.”
Regulus scratches his back of the head, “I don’t have a license. Sometimes Newt gives me a ride, but usually I just walk. I mean, in the end it’s really just half an hour of a walk if I walk fast.”
James watches him with wide open eyes.
“You-?! You walk every fucking day here?? We’re, like, in the middle of nowhere??”
Regulus just shrugs, “I’m used to it.”
And he is, really. He likes to walk. When he walks, he can take a breath from the outer world and focus on how beautiful the little things in life are. He watches the way clouds move, the sun giving way to the moon and the stars, the fields withering and blooming. Over and over again. The cycle of life you rarely find in the city.
“Okay.” James says, stopping him in his train of thoughts, “But if and when you’ll need a ride, count me in.”
That being said, he exits the building’s door and starts to walk over his red 80’s Old Chevy. He turns back to him and nods in direction of the pick-up.
“You coming? Somehow we have to arrive to your house, don’t we?” and as he says so he opens the passenger’s seat door, inviting him inside with a small bow. A hand offered in help.
Regulus rolls his eyes to the sky and walks over to the pick-up. He completely ignores James’ hand as he enters the vehicle, a smirk on his face.
At his action, James snorts, shaking his head while closing the door. Like the fine gentleman he wants Regulus to believe he is.
Regulus watches James as he goes around the pick-up and hops down on the driver’s seat.
He takes out his phone and quickly adds the coordinates to his house, passing it to James so he can follow the instructions without him making a fool out of himself. He isn’t really the best at explaining which roads to take. He’d get them lost at best.
James thanks him with a smile as he starts the pick-up, beginning to exit the shelter’s parking lot.
“I’m sorry, today I won’t be able to entertain you with the most awesome and badass road trip music playlist ever, as my radio is temporary broken.” says James, briefly looking at him while he drives, before looking back to the road.
“Oh no, whatever will we do to fill the silence now?” replies Regulus, sarcasm in his voice, a smirk on his face.
James chuckles.
“I know, right? Talking is so 18th century. Overrated, if you ask me.”
That manages to draw a small laugh out of Regulus, as he shakes his head. Present him doesn’t even remember why he had been avoiding the little ray of sunshine sat near him.
“I would ask you what music you like to listen to while you drive but you neither have a license nor drive.”
“I mean, you don’t need to drive a car to listen to music, you know that right?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Listening to music while driving hypes me up like nothing else.” and as James says so he starts humming on the notes of Eagles’ “Hotel California”.
“On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair” he says as he passes a hand through his. That makes Regulus roll his eyes. What a show-off.
“Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sigh grew dim, I had to stop for the night”
Regulus doesn’t try to stop him, even if James’ talent really doesn’t coincide with singing. Not even a bit. Regulus suddenly mourns his phone, which right now is on James’ lap.
He could have recorded the best audio blackmail ever.
“There she stood in the doorway, I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself, ‘This could be heaven or this could be hell’”
And the drama girl James is, as he sings those lines he turns to Regulus and mimics singing into a microphone.
“Then she lit up a candle and showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor, I thought I heard them say…”
James mimics passing the microphone to Regulus, inciting him to sing along with him. Regulus rolls his eyes and joins him, smothering a smile.
“…Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place, such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year, any time of year
You can find it here.”
James lets out an enthusiastic and liberatory scream, a fist closed in victory.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” he turns to look at Regulus, an honestly joyful glint in his eyes.
Regulus smiles back to him, before going back to watch outside of the pick-up’s window.
“Whatever you say, Snow White.”
“Oh, come on. Can’t you actually call me with my name at least once?”
“Now, now, where’s the fun in that, princess?”
That seems to shut James up. Regulus honestly has no idea why, but he’ll take everything over listening to him sing again. Even if deep in his mind he found the act endearing.
Still, he doesn’t want to fall in an awkward silence.
“How do you manage to drive if your radio is broken, then?” he finds himself asking.
“Well, I used to listen to music with my earphones, but I can’t seem to find them anymore so I’ve just been humming by myself.” replies James, checking Regulus’ phone for the correct road indications, keeping on going straight ahead.
“Oh!” says Regulus, as he frantically checks his pockets, “I think I might have them.”
It takes him some moment before he finds them deep in his trousers’ back right pocket.
He hands them out to James, who’s now watching him with a confused look.
“I must have taken them after you, uhm, lent them to me.”
The second James has his earphones in hand, trying not to get too distracted as he is still driving the pick-up, he lets out an incontrollable laugh.
Regulus watches him with a questioning look.
James looks up to meet his eyes and laughs even more.
“Oh my god.” he says, before wiping away some tears that had formed at the end of his eyes.
“What? What’s so funny?” Regulus finds himself asking, confused.
In response to his question, James checks his sweatshirt’s pocket and takes out a little card, handing it to him.
Regulus reads it aloud, “Something you lost will soon turn up”. He lets out a snort.
“Second time a fortune cookie guesses correct in a row.” adds James, a smirk on his face.
“I’m just that lucky.”
After that, James ends up telling him about his fortune cookie routine.
Deep down in Regulus’ mind, the thought that, somehow, he was James’ ‘something lost’ settles down.
The moment he parks the pick-up, James suddenly becomes very aware of the fact that he’s pretty much a nervous tangle of cables. His heart starts beating faster and the desire to get out of the car isn’t really there with him.
He doesn’t really know Regulus’ family situation: every time the other has mentioned his parents it was only in past tense and the only other member he had mentioned was his brother.
But still, meeting his crush’s relatives is scaring the hell out of James. He doesn’t even know why.
He takes a quick breath and opens the pick-up’s door.
In the meantime, Regulus had already got out of the vehicle and had made his way to the house’s entrance. James hurries there too and tries to stand with his posture straight.
Regulus takes out of his pocket the door keys and the moment he opens it he says a loud “I’m home”.
James braces himself before entering the building after Regulus.
He takes a quick look at his surroundings and decides that the atmosphere definitely feels like Regulus’ home. Books are scattered everywhere in tall neat piles. Forgotten half-drunk tea cups on them. From the ceilings a warm yellowish light enlightens the room. On the walls posters of 80’s rock bands are arranged in cheap frames, next to classic movies’ ones. Here and there find place pictures of Regulus and what James guesses to be his brother in their special moments in their life.
All James can think is how he’s glad Regulus comes back every evening to this kind of environment.
He has exactly one second to let this feeling set inside of him.
“Who would have guessed, Reggie has brought home a friend!” says a voice coming from above him.
While James was busy looking at the room, he hadn’t noticed someone looking at them from the stairs.
James looks up to find a long dark-haired guy approximately his age staring at them.
The resemblance with Regulus is uncanny.
“Oh, shut up Sirius. You know I do have friends.”
James turns to face Regulus, a grin on his face.
“Aw, Reg, you’re admitting I’m your friend? I’m honoured.”
Regulus rolls his eyes trying to seem indifferent. James knows better.
Regulus’ brother, Sirius, descends the stairs hopping steps and puts a hand forward in front of James. James shakes it, a smile on his face.
“You must be Sirius, I’ve heard all about you.”
“Only bad things, I assume. Coming from this little shit and all.”
That makes James laugh, he shakes his head.
“From my best friend Marlene, actually. From this one here I was lucky to know you existed.”
Sirius lets out a roaring laugh and pats firmly James’ shoulder.
“I like you already. And you know Marlene. A friend of Marlene is a friend of mine. I feel like we’ll become best friends though. Let’s just ditch my brother and go on adventures together, what do you say?”
“Hell yeah. I can already picture us doing mischievous things like stealing candies from the rich and giving them to kids. Or evading taxes.”
“You know me too well already. Will you be the father of my kids?”
“Thought you’d never ask.”
“Okay, eugh.” interrupts them Regulus, “You’re making me want to puke. Stop.”
James and Sirius laugh and share a knowing look, a new friendship formed.
“Don’t worry, Reg, I won’t forget about you.” says then James with a soft smile, messing up the other’s hair. The other’s thin, delicate and very very soft hair.
James finds himself messing them up even more, not wanting to ever let go, before stopping himself and quickly taking his hand away. The realization of what he’s just done hitting him.
James’ action doesn’t seem to go unnoticed but Regulus doesn’t say anything about it and so the conversation continues. James, though, can sense Sirius’ eyes on him the entirety of the time.
After some time, James finds himself sitting on the most comfortable sofa he’s ever sat on. A cup of early grey tea in one hand and notes he’s made for the shelter’s open day in the other.
They actually spend a couple of hours working on it, much to James’ disappointment.
James updates Regulus on what’s already decided and together they storm more ideas. They’ve decided to make things simple yet interesting and as much of a challenge they find in front of them, they don’t seem to falter. James finds himself thinking how nice it is, working like this beside Regulus. He doesn’t seem to worry about the difficulty of the work, he just straight up enters his serious mode and focuses on it until they finish.
When they finish, James watches Regulus with expectation.
“Baby photos?” he asks, trying to do the Puss in Boots eyes. It doesn’t work.
“Next time.” replies Regulus, rolling his eyes.
But the only thing that matters to James is that there’ll be a next time.
Before calling it a night and going back home, James finds himself impulsively asking a question he’d been thinking about for some time now.
“Hey Reg. Before I go, can I have your number? You know, work purpose only.” he asks, a questioning yet hopeful look in his eyes.
This time, the Puss in Boots eyes work and five minutes later James finds himself driving back home loudly singing on the notes of Blondie’s “Call Me”, a newly saved contact in his phone.
Notes:
- Regulus watching Pocahontas and having to put up with Sirius teasing the hell out of him? Hell yeah
- James reading fortune cookies and not looking up for his horoscope like a normal person is everything for me
- James Potter singing while driving is me. I'm James Potter singing while driving.
- Regulus calling James princess 👀👀
- James meeting Sirius 👀
- James discovering the fluffiness of Regulus hair 👀👀👀- last scene literally being:
J: baby photos? 🥺👉👈
R: lol noHope you liked this chapter, from the next onwards we'll see more of Regulus' POV
If you feel like commenting please do, I love reading your comments <3
Thank you for reading!
(also if you want to chat about dead gay wizards or life in general you can find me on tumblr @aristotle0
I also occasionally post sketches of scenes that happen in the chapters, you can find them under the tag #my fanart and #it all started with a racoon)
Chapter 8
Notes:
Sup. (won't say "sorry I'm late" because it will happen again, sorry not sorry)
Today chapter's marks the start of Regulus' POV
Started making it. Had a breakdown. Bon appetite.
(enjoy the chapter, I guess?)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
If anybody were to ask Regulus Black how many hours of sleep he needed to be awake and functional, he would reply an average of five.
It wasn’t a lot, but those five hours were essential to him (even better accompanied with some cups of black coffee during the day).
Today, however, those five hours did not greet Regulus at all.
The fuckers.
At his phone alarm ringing, Regulus opens his eyes.
Not like having closed them had helped him sleep. Not in the least.
Sunrays entering from behind the window’s blinds illuminate the room, making the lava lamp on his nightstand reflect its colours on the light grey walls.
Regulus turns in his sheets and reaches out to his phone, turning the alarm off.
With the alarm being off, he finds himself in front of Sirius’ close-up he has as a lock screen. He snorts. His idiot brother had put it on himself and ordered to Regulus not to take it off. As if Regulus would ever. The endless teasing one could do.
He glances at the time. 6am o’ clock.
He rubs his face while he contemplates whether getting up or not.
He’s dead tired.
Usually, he manages to fall asleep quite immediately after laying on his bed.
Unlike Sirius, it’s not something he was always able to do. When they were kids, he had struggled falling asleep everyday, the fear of his mother hovering above him in his sleep stopping him from closing his eyes.
With time, he had found himself comfortable enough to fall asleep in an empty room.
However, the past night he hadn’t be able to catch not even a glimpse of sleep.
Somehow, a certain someone had managed to bother him even in his precious five hours. The jokes, the smirks, the laughs.
Regulus was pretty sure he was starting to hate him. Just how more cheerful could he get?
To tell the truth, what bothered Regulus the most was the thought that James Potter had started to feel so relevant in his life that he occupied his thoughts even during the night.
Therefore, he’d firmly decided that he would not spend time elaborating better on the case. It wasn’t that important anyway.
He rubs his face once more before giving in and getting up from his bed.
He yawns lightly, wondering how many cups of black coffee he should drink to recover the lost sleep.
He figures three must be enough.
After quietly opening the blinds, he glances outside the room’s window.
It’s still dark outside, but with the street lights he can see that the day has already started. Groups of people walk fastly, probably hurrying to work. A couple passes under his window, hand in hand, a cup of coffee in the other. A girl is running, glancing at her watch to keep the time. A guy is walking his dog.
Life really never stops for a second. Regulus finds comfort in that.
He switches on his phone’s screen just in time to see that an hour has already passed, it now being 7am.
Awesome.
He fastly gets dressed, before finding himself in front of his idiot brother’s door.
The one thing Regulus likes doing in the morning, is getting to wake Sirius up.
With him working at his own store and all, he had decided that he could also choose the store’s opening time. He’d say it was to “attract more clients with his well-rested face” but if you were to ask Regulus, it was just an excuse to sleep more.
Regulus opens his brother’s room’s door quietly before starting to turn on and off the lights. To make sure to properly wake him up, he fully opens the blinds and the window too, allowing the sunrays and the fresh breeze of early April to enter.
“Wake up, dickhead, the sun is shining and the birds are chirping.”
The only response he receives is a quick and mumbled “fuck off”.
It’s enough for him.
“Get up, I’m making coffee.” he says, leaving the room and walking to the kitchen. Not before taking out Sirius’ pillow and throwing it at him.
Weirdly enough, he finds his uncle already up and awake. More or less.
As Alphard Black works as a paramedic, he often finds himself doing late night shifts. But seeing him during early mornings is pretty unusual.
“Good morning, uncle. Already up?” Regulus asks, turning the espresso machine on.
“They asked me to fill in for a sick coworker’s spot this morning. I got enough hours of sleep, so don’t worry.” he stops reading the newspaper for a moment, staring at him, before going back to reading the sport page, “You, on the other hand, look like shit.”
Regulus’ about to reply when Sirius swoops in.
“That’s because he’s the worst one of all, uncle.” he says, sticking his tongue out childishly. As always, his hair are a confused mess of black waves and Regulus honestly doesn’t know how he’ll manage to style them later.
“Thanks, Sirius, always on point.” he replies, and at that Sirius just gives him a thumbs up, starting to toast some bread slices.
After that, they fall in a comfortable silence.
Regulus doesn’t mind, really. In all the years that him and his brother have lived with their uncle, there’s been many different types of silences. From the heavy and pressured ones to the quiet and relieving ones.
With time, they’d managed to live with them.
After all, it was just a small fraction of what they’d passed together.
Of one thing Regulus Black is sure: he’ll be forever grateful for these comfortable silences.
People may take it for granted, but he knows.
He knows what being scared of silence means.
“Heavens and Hells and everything in between. Regulus, you look like you haven’t slept in a month.”
“Yeah, Reg. You look like shit.”
“What’s up with people telling me I look like shit today?”
Huffs Regulus, regretting having videocalled his friends.
“I mean, I’m sure that if you weren’t looking like,” Pandora Rosier points to him, uncertain, “that, people wouldn’t be telling you, dear.”
“I’d still tell him.” replies Barty Crouch, stone-faced, and apparently his reply is so hilarious that Dorcas Meadowes starts to laugh hysterically. That, or because it’s still barely 8 in the morning and they’re all night-owls. Oh, what adulthood makes you do, waking up early mornings.
“Wow, I have such good friends.” says Regulus, on the verge of closing the videocall.
“Don’t mind them, Reg, they’re idiots with no tact.” is what Evan Rosier decides to say, before eventually starting to question him.
The traitor.
“It’s Potter, right? You’ve been texting the guy all week, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’d do it at night too.”
Which, okay, fair.
After that idiot had asked for Regulus’ number, they’d been texting a little. At first, it was just about the open day at the shelter, but Regulus had soon discovered what texting James Potter truly meant.
Endless “good morning” texts, photos of random street signs and banners that had made the other laugh, photos of fortune cookies’ phrases. Sometimes, even photos of James himself with the animals at the shelter. Usually followed by a “where you at, the homies are missing you” text.
But still, Regulus Black had a little bit of self-respect left.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Rosier. I merely let him text me out of pity.” is what he decides to say. Which nobody really believes. They know him a little too well.
“Keep saying that to yourself. Meanwhile, we have a bet going on, if you must know.” says Barty, wiggling his eyebrows.
“You have a-?! No, you know what, I don’t care. It’s okay. It doesn’t really surprise me. You guys love your little bets.”
Since their little group had been formed, Barty and Dorcas had started betting on literally everything one could imagine. From who would win in an intense Mario Kart competition (with intense meaning them all being underwater in Evan and Pandora’s pool with the jacuzzi turned on) and who would be the one to hold their breath longer (to no one surprise, Evan had been the winner), to who would be the first to admit their crush on someone (Dorcas had started a secret bet on Barty and Evan, the two being oblivious of each other’s feelings).
Regulus had been banned from taking part in them, as he had always managed to win them all.
“Barty! You shouldn’t be exposing us like this!” says Pandora, looking at Barty like a mother who discovered his child drawing on the walls with crayons.
That makes Regulus fake a gasp.
“Tu quoque, Brute, fili mi!” he says, pointing at her.
Pandora is known for being the Switzerland in their friendship.
Not once has she sided with someone in their quarrels. So, faking being surprised or not, Regulus really didn’t expect her to engage in the other’s betting routine.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but you have to understand our point of view.” she says, watching him with apprehensive eyes.
“You’ve been talking to the guy for just some months and now you’re even texting each other. Not that we’re not happy for you, we obviously are. It just seems weird to us how you’ve opened that fast.”
“Yeah, it took you a year just to tell me your name!” adds Barty, taking a biscuit out of nowhere and starting to eat it.
“Okay, first of all. That was in middle school. And you used to follow me with dead lizards.” replies Regulus.
He lets few second of silence pass before going back to talk.
“But you might be right.”
Barty is about to reply, a fist closed in victory, when Evan gives him such an incinerating look that makes even Regulus shiver. He then nods to Regulus, inciting him to continue talking.
Regulus gets up from his spot on the bed, starting to walk around his room.
“He’s like, the annoying stupid main character of Dorcas’ favourite novels. Sometimes I really can’t stand him, he’s way too cheerful and it’s like watching the sun without sunglasses on. But I also don’t really mind getting my eyes burnt, kind of?”
He sits again on his bed, looking up to the ceiling.
“He wears his heart up on his sleeve and I don’t even know if he’s aware. He just cares so much about other people. It’s kind of endearing. When we talk, I feel like he’s really interested in what I have to say and he’s not just listening because he has to.” he says, mostly to himself, forgetting for a second who he’s talking to.
“Oh God, what did you make me say. You made me talk feelings. Eugh, I’m going to puke.”
Few seconds of silence pass before eventually Evan talks.
“Seems like I won, guys. I accept both cash and credit cards, thank you.”
After Regulus’ talk with his friends, he had felt a little lost. They’d closed the videocall soon after Evan’s remarkable reply, leaving Regulus alone with his thoughts.
A quick glance to the clock and he had learnt that he was, in fact, late.
He was supposed to meet the guy who had ruined his beauty sleep exactly at 9am, in front of the library.
Now, while he was hurrying to the front door, he guessed he could take his sweet time. He was already late, wasn’t he? A couple of minutes more couldn’t hurt nobody.
Slowing down the pace, he decided to walk.
After all, the library wasn’t that far away, was it?
He stops in his steps, putting his hands on his face, before shuffling his hair and letting out a sigh.
Damned the world and damned him.
Ten minutes away, he thinks to himself after checking the time on his phone.
Awesome, now I’m all alone with my thoughts. My favourite company.
He starts to walk a little faster, unable to stop his train of thoughts.
If he were to be honest with himself, he’d agree with Pandora.
He knew that for him opening up to someone that fast is a little bit out of character. With the exception of Frank, of course. The guy could manage to befriend anyone in the world if he wanted.
After having started living with his uncle instead of his biological parents, with time Regulus had started to open up. Slowly talking more with people. Slowly growing into the person he’d always wanted to be.
At first, it hadn’t been that easy. Being with people had scared him. He was frightened. He always thought he could see Walburga and Orion Black in the crowd.
Talking about his fears with Sirius and Alphard had helped him. As well as meeting the Rosier twins, Barty and Dorcas. They’d all been there for him in ways he couldn’t explain. He didn’t even know if he could ever reciprocate as much.
But with James it was different, Regulus had learnt.
He had come in his life by chance, without giving a sign of wanting to leave soon.
He hadn’t stopped in front of Regulus’ sarcastic replies and cold eyes. And that had hit Regulus more than anything.
So, maybe, yes. It was weird that Regulus had opened up to him more than he had done with anybody in such a close time, but he hadn’t really had a choice.
He’d challenge anyone not to after exchanging one mere word with him.
Having arrived at the library, Regulus hurries up to the building’s steps.
As he waits by the entrance, he glances at his phone. 9.13am.
Not that much late, after all.
He quickly opens his and James’ chat.
[09:13] Snow White
[09:13] I’m at the entrance
[09:13] Are you already inside?
He spends the next few minutes waiting, glancing around the building, before texting the other again.
[09:16] I swear to God, James
[09:16] Why did I give you my number if you don’t reply to my fucking messages when you need to?
He waits some more, before deciding to enter and maybe wait for him inside.
He’d wait for him ten more minutes and then he’d go back to the shelter.
Frank would have replied to his text immediately.
He enters the building, the scent of old books filling his nostrils. Inside, the library is even bigger than outside. Regulus can’t help but notice how well the spaces are optimized.
Overall, it’s quite a cozy space. Christmas lights, which Regulus guesses were never taken off from the first time they were taken outside their box, hang off of the walls while here and there some pots of yellow flowers bright up the room.
He decides to give himself a little tour.
He has never been to the library. He vaguely remembers his uncle trying to bring him there as a kid, but Regulus hardly ever wanted to leave the house. Plus, he preferred reading his books between the silent walls of his room.
He walks through the shelves, reading the books’ titles as he passes in front of them.
He wonders how many people have touched them. How many people have read those stories, got to known those characters. It fascinates Regulus, knowing that everything one can see has possibly been seen by other people. Humanity is connected. And it’s something so beautiful and heart wrenching that Regulus can’t help but stand still and quiet.
People are more connected that they think.
And it’s while he makes room for these thoughts in his mind that he recognizes a voice.
A hushed and cheerful voice.
His voice.
Regulus walks after it, finding himself at the entrance of the kids’ reading room.
He stops once he sees him. James, sitting on an orange pouf. Ten or twelve kids sitting on the ground in front of him, hanging from his lips.
He’s reading “The Gruffalo”, changing his voice’s tone as he switches between the mouse and the other animals.
He doesn’t seem to have noticed his arrival, so Regulus decides that after all ten more minutes without working can’t hurt. He leans on the doorframe, listening, his arms crossed.
“On went the mouse through the deep dark wood.
An owl saw the mouse and the mouse looked good.
Where are you going to, little brown mouse? Said the owl.
Come and have tea in my treetop house.” James reads, lowering his tone of voice.
“It’s frightfully nice of you, Owl, but no.
I’m going to have tea with a gruffalo.”
He stops, letting his words sink in. The kids listening with anticipation.
“A gruffalo? What’s a gruffalo? Asks the owl.” he says, taking his eyes away from the book, in order to watch the kids. He must have seen Regulus, because he lets a small smile slip away before continuing his story.
“He has knobbly knees, and turned-out toes.
And a poisonous wart at the end of his nose.” and as he reads aloud, he stretches out to touch the tip of one of the kids’ noses.
The kids laugh together, letting out disgusted noises.
“Where are you meeting him? Said the owl.
Here, by the stream. Replied the mouse.
And his favourite food is owl ice cream.”
James goes on with his reading, keeping the kids focused on his words.
He’s good with kids, he thinks. Is there something the guy’s not good at?
He shakes his head, hating him more because hating him is impossibly difficult.
Without being seen, Regulus lets a smile slip away.
He exits the room as soon as James finishes the story, waiting for him by the entrance once again.
Some minutes pass before eventually he’s joined by the other.
James has a bright smile on his face as he greets him. Regulus almost finds it endearing.
“Hi Regulus.” says James, “I’m sorry for being late. I’d forgotten I had scheduled a reading this morning.”
“Morning.” is Regulus reply, a nod towards him. “Heard you reading to the kids.”
At his words, on James’ face appears the biggest of the grins.
“Did you, now. Did I read well?” an exited gleam in his eyes.
“I suppose for someone who’s used to talking to animals you did reasonably.” is what Regulus decides to say, shrugging his shoulders.
James laughs, the dork.
“You flatter me, Reg.”
After that they start to talk business, as one should say.
They go up to the librarian’s desk, a middle-aged woman named Irma Pince, to review the last few details with her.
They had partnered up with the library in hope to attract the children’s attention.
Working with the library had been going fairly well, considering that James had done most of the work. He’d been telling the kids he’d been reading to of the shelter’s open day and the reaction had been better than they had hoped for.
After that, they both go back to the shelter.
They help Frank and Newt setting up the last things, the open day being only a few days away.
They don’t talk much.
When Regulus finishes his shift at 20pm, he forgets to say goodbye to all three of them, focused only on going back home.
The walk home is long, but Regulus barely has memory of it once he drops tired on his bed.
The last thing his eyes see before shutting down completely is his phone’s screen lighting up to a new message.
[21:34] You called me James :)
Notes:
For those who got excited for the long chapter last time, I'm (not) sorry to disappoint you
At first I didn't know how to write from Regulus' POV, but I have to say I enjoyed it quite a lot
Hope you still liked it <3
If you feel like commenting please do, I love reading your comments <3
Thank you for reading!
(also if you want to chat about dead gay wizards or life in general you can find me on tumblr @aristotle0
I also occasionally post sketches of scenes that happen in the chapters, you can find them under the tag #my fanart and #it all started with a racoon)
Chapter 9
Notes:
"Sometimes they come back"
It's me, hi, I sometimes come backDisappearing is fun
The ao3 writer's curse might be real (not true, I simply didn't want to write this longass chapter)This is the longest chapter I've written so far, don't get used to it (it'll probably never happen again)
The POVs respectively: R - R - R - J
This said, enjoy the chapter I guess
(<3)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It’s 7am and it’s way colder than it should.
There aren’t that many people outside, the streets are quiet, and Regulus finds comfort in that.
He breathes onto his hands, trying to warm up a bit. How is it still cold even if it’s already April?
He’s been standing on his doorsteps for a while now, and as time passes, he wonders if maybe he’s forgotten about it.
After all, they do have a pretty full day scheduled.
He considers walking alone, and just when he’s about to, he sits back down on his doorsteps.
He decides to put aside his worries and trust him.
A few minutes pass by before a familiar red pick-up stops before him, the even more familiar smiling guy at the wheel.
James Potter turns off the engine and reaches out to open the passenger door.
“Hey there sunshine.”
Regulus replies with a scoff, standing up from where he was sitting, approaching the truck.
“You’re-” he switches on his phone’s screen to check the time, “-ten minutes late, Snowhite.”
James furrows his brows and look down on his SpongeBob-themed wristwatch, “That’s not true, it’s only six minutes past 7.”
“I approximated.”
“That- Sure, okay, whatever you say, Reg.” replies James, shaking his head, a smirk on his face.
Regulus smiles inside, knowing he’s won yet another battle, as he hops on the passenger seat. The moment he secures the seatbelt, James starts the engine and they’re ready to go.
They spend most of the drive in a comfortable silence, rock music at low volume coming from the radio that was now fixed, before one of them talked.
“You know,” James starts, briefly looking over to Regulus, “just because you called me James once it doesn’t mean you can’t call me like that ever again.”
Regulus focuses his look on the trees out of the window, trying to avoid the conversation.
Because, well, it’s embarrassing.
He had started calling him Snowhite as a joke, because of all the animals he had brought to the shelter, but now he liked how James reacted to it.
Regulus didn’t exactly know why or how, but James had power over him. He could put him at comfort, in a way nobody could ever do. He could make him feel relaxed, not a worry in his thoughts anymore. Which was weird, and Regulus definitely wasn’t used to this. Not with someone he barely knew.
After what had happened when him and Sirius were little, Regulus had sworn to himself to always be the one in control of his life. Everything that had happened since then had happened because he had wanted it to.
But James wasn’t planned, he had decided to enter his life without a warning.
Which, okay, Regulus wasn’t the one to complain for this. He actually kind of liked the guy, not that he would ever admit it to himself.
But he made him feel things he wasn’t used to feel.
Feel things he didn’t want to feel.
So, yes, his spiteful self wanted to keep calling him the wrong way, just to make him see who really was in charge.
The fact that calling him James made him feel butterflies in his stomach definitely wasn’t the reason.
Not at all.
After what felt hours, but probably was minutes, he turns back to James.
He’s focused on the street, as he should, but Regulus can see the wrinkle he has between his eyebrows. The one that only comes out when he thinks too much. The overthinker.
He sighs.
“I know,” at his reply James looks at him briefly before pulling over in the shelter’s parking lot, “but it’s way too much fun calling you like this, ”
As he says so, Regulus frees himself of the seatbelt and opens the passenger’s door.
But before leaving the vehicle and entering the building, he turns back to face the other.
“James.”
He then hops down, closing the door behind him without turning, a smile on his face as he can hear the other quietly cheer.
They spend the next hour setting up different booths people can stop by during the day and while James helps Newt rehearse his opening speech, Regulus takes out his phone to text his brother.
[08:17] Brother dearest
[08:17] The birds are chirping
[08:17] The sun is shining
[08:18] You said you’d lend us a hand
[08:18] You’d better be arriving
Sirius leaves the messages on read, which is good, because that implicates the fact that at least he’s not still asleep.
Regulus puts his phone back in his trousers’ pocket and start approaching James, Frank, Newt and Pandora (who had come back working just in time for the Open Day).
They’re in the middle of some energic conversation mostly coming from James, who’s hurriedly talking while jumping up and down on his spot.
The moment he notices him he knows something’s about to happen.
“Reg! Reg! Tell me I didn’t just have the best idea ever!”
Regulus exchanges a look with Frank, who looks just about to pass out from the exhaustion, and then with Pandora, who looks as excited as James.
“I mean,” starts Regulus “seeing how the last time you said that it brought us here I’m willing to hear you out.”
James frantically explains him what he has in mind and Regulus stops him mid-sentence.
“Absolutely not.”
“But-!” starts James, to which the two start bickering, before being interrupted by Newt.
“I say it’s a great idea.”
Regulus turns to him, wide-eye.
“And seeing how you two are the ones with the strongest opinions about this, I’ll let you two figure it out.” and as he says this, he walks away taking Pandora and Frank arm by arm.
Regulus turns back to face James, who looks at him with the biggest grin painted on his face.
Regulus gulps. He’s not sure he’ll survive this day after all.
“I obviously don’t want to be part of this, so I’ll let you do the honour.” he says, starting to walk away.
Before he can run away to save his life, James blocks him by grabbing his arm.
Regulus faces him, and he swears to himself not to fall for the other’s puppy eyes.
“I know you wouldn’t like this, but let’s at least try and talk things through as Newt said.”
James smiles at him, and Regulus can’t help but nod.
Nobody can resist James Potter’s smile.
“I was thinking we could flip a coin to decide. The winner has to do it?” James suggests, at which Regulus starts plotting.
“I choose tail then.”
In all his life, whenever he had flipped a coin for a bet, tail never once had won. Between his friends, he’s known as the one who would always win choosing head. Because it never stops on tail.
But it seems like today isn’t his lucky day.
James flips the coin in the air and then turns it facing the back of his hand.
The side of the coin that faces them definitely isn’t head.
“Goddamnit.”
James starts to laugh and offers to reflip the coin, but Regulus has already accepted his fate.
James is fixing him up when Sirius arrives.
He bursts into laughter the moment he sees him.
“Reggie, are you baby carrying a racoon?”
The next half an hour passes quickly, and Regulus would lie if he said he wasn’t actually enjoying this. Because of the fact that he’s carrying a racoon around, he doesn’t have to help the others finish the preparations.
Apparently, the night before James had the idea of carrying Meeko around in a baby carrier because he didn’t want the racoon to feel left out.
God bless his soul.
He had even brought kid-sized sunglasses for him.
Regulus sits down on one of the benches, watching James, Pandora and Sirius setting up some decorations. He’s a bit far away from them, so he’s pretty sure they can’t hear him.
“How are you holding up down there, buddy?”
Meeko looks up to him, and Regulus can’t help but find the view of the racoon in star shaped sunglasses adorable.
He makes a noise of approval and nestles down in the carrier, watching out the world.
Regulus starts patting the racoon on the head, when he sees a group of people coming down his way.
He vaguely remembers seeing the blonde girl, but he has no idea who the other two guys are.
“Hi! You must be Regulus,” says the short one “James has talked a lot about you.”
For whatever reason, hearing that makes the tall scary one elbow him on his hips.
“Ouch! Remus, what was that for?” the tall one must have said something with his eyes, because the short one immediately shuts up and turns back facing him.
“Pleasure to meet you, I’m Peter!”
“I’m Remus, as Peter just said.” says the tall one, nodding to him.
“I’m Marlene!” says the blonde girl, butting in “I’m your brother’s friend.”
Regulus connects the dots and nods at her.
“Why are you carrying a racoon?” says Peter, to which Regulus comes back to reality.
“Ugh, James.”
They all nod in unison.
“He didn’t want Meeko to feel left out. He even got him sunglasses.” says Regulus, watching down to the racoon, a small smile leaving his lips.
“Yeah, he’s just like that,” adds Marlene “our own precious angel James.”
The moment those words fall out of her mouth, a certain boy with messed up hair appears out of nowhere.
“Guys! Hi! What are you talking about?” he says, scanning their faces. When his sight stops on Regulus, he smiles even more.
“Just how much you’re annoying, really.” replies Regulus, deadpan serious.
At that, Remus laughs.
“I like him.” he says to James, to which he smiles, fonder, his eyes still locked with Regulus’.
“I know right,” replies James, “he just has this way of being liked by other people the moment he opens his mouth. Impressive, really.”
“Shut up, Potter.” replies Regulus, rolling his eyes to the sky.
That makes the others laugh, and Regulus lets himself laugh with them a little.
“And if I may,” starts James “I have just the thing that could help us increase the likeableness.”
Regulus definitely doesn’t like the smirk on his face.
Rightly so, as James pulls out a pair of star shaped sunglasses from his pocket.
And this time, they aren’t kid-sized.
Regulus and James are circling around the field as soon as people start arriving, making sure that everything is under control.
Newt’s speech had been simple yet encouraging and people’s response seemed to be positive, as some had already asked what they had to do to in order to adopt and what were the risks and such.
There were lots of children too, which was great, and had put James in a better mood than he already was in. He had told Regulus some of the kids he read to in the library would come too, proudly talking about them as if they were his.
Now, Regulus was having a great time, but it had been two hours since the whole thing had started and he was already tired.
Even more, as he knew his friends would be coming soon and he was baby-carrying a racoon.
He could already picture the never-ending teasing he’d have to endure.
But still, deep down, he knew that if it was for Meeko it was worth it.
He looks down to the racoon, letting a smile slip away. After all the time he’d spent with the animal he’d started to feel more connected with it.
Meeko looks like he’s hungry, and truth to be said they haven’t fed him yet, so Regulus pulls the sleeve of James’ sweatshirt in attempt to catch his attention.
The guy turns around from the petting area where he was engaged in a conversation with Scooby, the Great Dane he had rescued. Something about chasing squirrels and how he shouldn’t do it if a family ends up adopting him.
“Hey, I’m going inside to get something to eat for Meeko. I think he’s hungry. You mind being alone for some time? It’ll take just a couple of minutes.”
James shakes his head “No problem at all, don’t worry.”
He seems to be thinking about something for a moment before adding a quick “You need a hand?”
Which would be reasonable, if it didn’t just make Regulus’ heart flutter.
He looks down at the racoon, trying to avoid James’ eyes. “It’s probably better if you stay here. Besides, I don’t think Newt would be happy if both of us were to disappear.”
James nods, but Regulus can see that his words made him feel down.
“I’ll be back before you know it, James.” he says quickly, turning away and hurrying to the shelter’s front door. But he knows he’s leaving the other guy with a smile on his face.
He feels relieved the moment he has walls around him. He had been approached by lots of people curious about the racoon and it had been truly exhausting. He wasn’t used to that many people breaking into his personal space. More so as he knows he’ll have to endure this for the rest of the day. At least, James will be with him.
Not that it matters that much to him.
It doesn’t take that much time feeding Meeko but by the time he’s back something disastrous has happened.
“Reg! You didn’t say James was this good looking! Wait- is that a racoon?”
Regulus decides he’s either going to bury his head in the ground or take a flight to Mexico because, what the fuck, he was gone for like five minutes.
How has Barty managed to ambush James already?
He doesn’t even have the time to reply that Barty is all over him.
“Oh my God, you didn’t tell me you guys had a racoon.”
“Well, we didn’t. We do now.” replies Regulus, shrugging.
James seems to have gone silent, and Regulus wonders why.
He concentrates on him for a second too much, and he realizes it a little too late. The moment he hears the click of Barty’s camera he knows he’s fucked.
“Oh, absolutely not.” immediately says Regulus, trying to take the phone out of Barty’s hands as he begins to take even more photos.
“So, so, good blackmail material. I will not let it go to waste.”
Regulus doesn’t even notice that Evan has approached them too until he speaks, “C’mon, Barts, stop taking photos with that phone of yours.”
Regulus is about to think that, maybe, one of his friends is still by his side, but the idiot keeps on talking.
“You know mine takes them a lot better.” says the traitor he is, as he hands his phone to the other, a smirk on his face.
He then turns to face James. “Hello, nice to meet you. Name’s Evan.”
He offers his hand with a smile and James shakes it happily.
“I’m James, but I’m guessing you already know that.” says James, glancing towards Regulus with a smirk on his face.
Barty is still all over Regulus, fixing his sunglasses in order to match Meeko’s, but before the situation can get worse Regulus intervenes.
“My, would you look at the time. We have that work thing to do.” he says, shoving Barty away.
He takes James by hand and he starts dragging him away.
Not nearly fast enough, as he can hear Barty promising James he’ll find a way to send him the photos.
James doesn’t seem to mind holding his hand, but the moment Regulus realizes what he’s done he drops it, hoping it goes unnoticed.
“We have nothing work related to do, Reg.” says James, as they walk towards where the booths stand.
“Of course we do, we have to, uh, help Frank out, yes.”
James rolls his eyes to the sky, leaving out a laugh as he takes the paw Meeko was reaching out to him with his hand.
“Frank can manage on his own and you know it. Why don’t you want me to talk with your friends? They seem nice.”
Regulus scoffs, “Yeah, nice my ass. They just like to make fun of me.”
“Somehow I doubt that.” hums James in response, looking over to where they had left Barty and Evan. “So, you didn’t actually tell them I’m good looking? I’m hurt, Reg. And here I thought you spoke highly of me.”
“Oh, shut up. Don’t let his words get to your head. He’s an idiot.” is what Regulus decides to reply with, but he can feel his cheeks getting hotter so he speeds up his pace hoping James doesn’t notice.
What the hell.
After what it seems like hours of circling around, they end up at one of the booths James had put more energy into. The moment they're near it, James starts hopping excited near Regulus.
The booth in question was the one they had asked for help to “the Transfiguration”, James' and his friends' go-to bar.
The Transfiguration was owned by a cheerful yet ambitious woman named Minerva McGonagall, with whom Regulus had bonded over their mutual interest in classical books. Regulus had learnt that she had worked as an English literature teacher in high school. He had felt pity for the woman, hard times those were.
The booth is surrounded by a crowd of people waiting their turn to taste some of Minerva's sweets. Regulus could understand them, once James had made him taste a coffee motcha cookie it was all he could think about for weeks.
For the occasion, Minerva had prepared pastries decorated with friendly animals. Every animal had their own flavour. The chihuahua was a mascarpone and strawberry muffin, the siberian cat was a tiramisu flavoured donut, the rottweiler was coffee and dark chocolate cookies.
Helping Minerva at the booth, a young red-haired girl. James tells him she’s Minerva and Poppy’s adopted daughter. Regulus is pretty sure he’s already seen her somewhere, but he can’t quite picture where or in which occasion.
They wait a bit as the two women serve some clients, and then they decide to approach them to see if everything’s going alright.
They chat a bit, apparently people are loving the hamster caramel glazed donuts. Minerva’s kind enough to give Regulus a biscuit for Meeko, the racoon immediately appreciating the gesture. She had put at her booth a small space for animal food, in case someone had brought their pet along.
“How’s carrying that cutie around going?” asks the red-haired one, resting her elbows on the booth’s counter, and Regulus swears they know each other.
He looks down to the racoon, who is munching happily his biscuit.
“Pretty good, everything considered.”
He can hear the grin on James’ face the moment his words exit his mouth.
“See! I told you it wouldn’t be that bad!”
Regulus scoffs, “Yeah, yeah.”
He won’t admit he’s been enjoying this. Not ever. Not to him.
Regulus is checking his phone, an unread message from Pandora updating him on Frank’s booth, when suddenly he connects the dots.
“You’re one of Pans’ girlfriends!” he looks at the red-haired girl, eyes fully opened.
He knew he’d seen her somewhere. Pandora had sent them a photo with the announcement some months before, but they hadn’t been able to meet them just yet because Pandora and Evan had gone on their trip.
“Dora and Mary’s, yes. Good to finally meet you Regulus.” she replies to him, a bright smile on her face.
“Same. Sorry if I didn’t recognize you earlier. Lily, right?”
Lily nods, she’s about to say something back when James intervenes.
“Your Pandora,” he says, pointing at Lily and then at Regulus, “is your Pandora?? How am I realizing just now?”
Lily lets out a laugh, “Because you’re an idiot. Pandora’s quite a unique name, don’t you think?”
Regulus grins, “I like you already. I accept you as my best friend’s girlfriend. Now I just have to meet Mary.”
“Oh, she’s a sweetheart. I’m sure you’ll like her too.” At her words Lily completely melts on the counter, a lovestruck smile on her face. “I couldn’t have asked for two better girlfriends.
She’s coming in a while, if you want to say hi.”
Regulus nods and they end up deep in conversation. He doesn’t even notice the time passing that quickly until Lily has to go back helping Minerva, a big group of people wanting to buy their pastries.
He and James end up alone together again.
They end up sitting on a bench for a while, not saying anything. Regulus likes this type of silence, the one where you don’t feel pressured to talk.
Weirdly enough, he goes back thinking about how much he feels safe when he’s with James.
He knows it’s unreal, because they’ve known each other for a little more than four months now. He’s always had issues trusting new people, he can’t really explain to himself how James made him trust himself that soon.
He glances at him, unnoticed, trying to shake away this weird feeling he has when he looks at him. It’s probably nothing anyway.
Some more time passes, when James jumps up from his seat, taking Regulus arm excitedly.
“My kids are here! My kids!!”
Regulus looks up to him, a confused look on his face.
He follows James’ gaze, a group of kids near one of the booths, and he realizes. He remembers a face or two.
He gets up from his seat too, and he starts pushing James towards the library’s booth.
“C’mon, let’s go say hi.”
James sprints and the moment the kids see him arriving they’re all over him.
Regulus can hear James laugh from afar, as he slowly reaches them.
A small smile pops up on his face, unknowingly.
After staying for a while at the library’s booth, they decide to just wander around, chatting with people and letting kids pet Meeko.
It’s been a really full morning, and when Regulus checks his phone to see what time it is he doesn’t know whether to be happy because it’s lunch time or even more tired because it’s only half a day.
12.35 am.
He can feel his belly growl, and he suggests James to go eat something.
The last thing he expects is his hunger to disappear without a trace the moment they’re at the food stand.
He feels sick.
“Are my brother and your best friend… flirting?”
He turns to James, disgust painted all over his face, but when he sees a smile on the other’s face he tries to compose himself better.
“They look good together.” is what James decides to say, “Remus deserves someone to be happy with.”
Which, Regulus can’t argue with. Sirius also deserves happiness, with all they’ve gone through.
He turns back to his brother.
He knows Sirius has a lot of friends by his side, and he’s grateful for that, because they can be there for him in ways he can’t, but he also knows Sirius yearns for that special one-in-a-life connection.
And he can see it in his eyes he may have found it.
“Ugh, right in front of me?” Regulus says, as Sirius puts a strand of Remus’ hair behind his ear.
“I’ll be right back,” he says to James, “you can order whatever, I’ll eat everything at this point.”
And then, he decides to do the most stereotyped thing ever. After all, he is his brother.
He approaches the two, hoping to look scary enough even with Meeko with him.
The moment he’s near them he covers Sirius’ ears with his hands and deadpan looks Remus in the eyes.
“If you hurt him just know I watch crime series for fun and I know how to make a body disappear.”
Then, he walks back to James as if nothing has happened, a victorious smile on his face.
“You’re a good brother.” says James, looking down to him with a look in his eyes that Regulus can’t quite decipher.
“Don’t say so many nice things about me, people will start believing you.” is what Regulus decides to reply with, stealing some fries from James’ plate.
James shakes his head laughing softly. “You’re impossible.”
Regulus nods, “That’s more like it.”
He gives one of James’ fries to Meeko, who by the sound of it appreciates.
They end up in a casual conversation and soon enough they’re joined by their friends.
And then it’s chaos.
Barty and James exchange numbers and social media, so now they’re posting photos as if they’re long-lost reunited childhood best friends. Hearth filters and all.
Lily and Remus (who keeps looking at him with amazement in his eyes, not quite Regulus’ aim) are geeking over literature books while Pandora and Sirius paint each other’s nails.
Mary (who now Regulus had finally met and accepted and his best friend’s girlfriend, she really was sweet), Peter and Evan had found a common interest in actor Lin-Manuel Miranda. Regulus had learnt James and his friends knew Spanish and he didn’t know what to think about it. It made him feel weird.
Dorcas had managed to come, early in the afternoon, and was now chatting with Marlene, on whom Regulus could see heart shaped eyes.
After all, he guesses, queer people really do attract each other like magnets.
Regulus plays a bit with Meeko, that many people on a single table made him feel weird. He never had that many people to talk with. It made him feel happy, but a little bit anxious too. Social interactions are a bitch.
He manages to get Pandora’s attention, telling her he’s going to take a breather, and gets up from his seat.
He goes back to the shelter, within the very much familiar walls, where people are not allowed to go, and takes a deep breath.
He takes off the carrier and lets Meeko free for a bit, while he stretches his arms and shoulders.
He goes into the office and takes some carrots from a basket Newt had put there some weeks back, before scooping Meeko back up with a hand and going to the secluded area of the shelter where one particular animal is resting.
The moment Bambi hears him, he trots in his direction.
Regulus puts down Meeko again, whom starts running around cheerfully, before offering a carrot to the deer.
The animal happily takes a munch out of it and settles down on the grass. Regulus decides to sit beside him, stroking his fur from time to time.
He can see why James loves the deer that much, the animal really knew how to make you feel comfortable around him.
As he sits there, arms behind his shoulders, feeling the sunrays on his body, Regulus feels at peace. The deer had rested his head on Regulus’ legs, and it made him remember the time when it was James in his same spot.
He remembers watching him from afar, waiting for the right moment to send him away. James looked so at ease that Regulus hadn’t wanted to disturb his time with Bambi. He had waited until the last minute possible.
He checks his phone, and he guesses five more minutes of time alone won’t hurt anyone.
That is until he looks over the garden’s entrance and he sees a very familiar face.
“How long have you been there?” he asks, starting to get up to his feet, trying not to wake the deer who had fallen asleep.
“Just some minutes.” replies James, “I wanted to check up on you, but I didn’t want to disturb you.”
How the turntables.
“I’m okay, I just wanted to rest for a bit. Social interactions are not my thing.”
“Thought so.” says James, taking out of his pocket a honey lemon scented candy.
“Got this for you, in case you needed some more energy.” he hands him the candy, and Regulus looks at him with a strange look in his eyes.
Is this what being cared about feels like?
“Oh, thanks.” he says, taking the candy and putting it in his trousers’ pocket. He can feel something in his mind shifting, but he decides not to pay attention to it just yet.
“If you want I can carry Meeko from now on, you did it for so long already.” suggests James, to which Regulus just nods to.
He would lie saying that hadn’t helped at tiring him out.
He helps James putting on the carrier, and at the sight of him and Meeko both smiling at him his heart does something funny. It flutters.
He takes off the star-shaped sunglasses and gently put them on James’ head, “There, they’re yours now.”
While fixing the sunglasses, his fingers brush against James’ hair and Regulus can feel the time starting to slow down.
He looks James in the eyes and he’s suddenly self-aware of the fact that they’re very close. And that he’s very much nervous.
Regulus still has his hands on James’ head. He lets his fingers travel between the other’s hair, absentmindedly, and he can see James leaning towards him at the touch.
He suddenly feels dizzy, and surprisingly not in a bad way.
Then, James looks at him with a look Regulus can’t quite decipher, and he realizes they’ve been standing still for some time now.
What the hell.
He shakes off this weird feeling of dizziness, it’s probably just from being tired anyway, and he takes a step back.
They go back to the eerie new group of friends the day has created in silence. Regulus occasionally glances sideway to James, and he can see he’s deep in thoughts. The wrinkle between his eyebrows ever so present. He wonders if maybe he did something wrong.
The moment they’re back to the table, Pandora looks at him with questioning eyes and quietly asks if something’s happened. Something about their aura changing colour.
Regulus replies not to worry, everything’s okay. But the words he’s saying aren’t directed to her.
The next few hours pass quickly, and Regulus barely register the conversation Barty is having with him (pretty much one sided). Something about seagulls.
He puts his hand in his trousers’ pocket to take out a tissue, April’s wind can make your nose drip like crazy, when he finds something else in it.
He takes out the honey lemon candy James had given to him.
Turning it around the palm of his hand, he realizes something big might have happened. He just isn’t sure what.
Simply put, James was fucked.
He hadn’t even realized the very much so called “innocent” crush he had on Regulus had developed that much until the other’s face was just a few inches away from his.
Or better even, he had decided to ignore it. The fluttering feeling in the chest whenever he looked at him, the sense of relief that englobed his body every time he was with him.
He didn’t mean to fall for him that bad.
The fact they’d been closer since the preparations for the Open Day (both metaphorically and physically) surely didn’t help.
He fidgets with his hands nervously, as the others chat, glancing occasionally at Regulus.
Regulus hasn’t looked at him not even once since they’ve come back from inside the shelter.
James sighs, he knows he has to end his feelings for Regulus once and for all before he finds himself in a mess. He doesn’t want to ruin his friendship with him. He really cares about him.
In the past, he was pretty open about whether or not he was interested in someone. He flirted, he asked out, he bought flowers. Dedicated poetry. Wrote songs.
He hadn’t really cared whether his feelings were reciprocated or not, he enjoyed pursuing people he had found connected to. Never in a pressuring way, thought, he was always playful about it. And he always stopped when people asked him to.
Most of the times this hadn’t brought nowhere, anyway. And more than half of the people he had like ended up stopping talking with him.
But that’s just the cycle of life, right? He knew this. He had never felt pitiful about it. It never had been with people he really knew anyway.
But even more so, this was the reason he was scared about his feelings for Regulus being this strong.
He would’ve mostly surely scared the guy away as he had done with all the others before him.
And this time, he cared.
So, yes, James was pretty much fucked.
Because being near Regulus made him feel like taking a deep breath on a sunny day of spring, sunrays passing through clouds, children laughing, people having a picnic at the lake.
It made him feel like all the happiness in the world, concentrated in just a drop.
Happiness syrup.
And he didn’t want to stop feeling like this.
He wanted to be selfish enough to not care, to just stop feeling guilty about his feelings for the other, but he knew he wasn’t strong enough.
Putting yourself first is hard when you feel this deeply for someone.
Even if it means you have to let go.
He looks down to the racoon in the baby carrier, telepathically asking him to give an answer to all his problems. Meeko just looks at him funny, and James doesn’t know what to make out of it.
He tries to snap out of his mind. After all, they had put so much energy in creating this day, the least he could do was enjoy it.
He falls in a conversation with Remus and Evan about Star Wars, whether “Revenge of the Sith” or “Return of the Jedi” carries more cultural relevance (obviously it’s Revenge of the Sith for James, young Hayden Christensen was after all his very first queer awakening), and the way Remus and Evan argue about it makes James laugh.
He almost doesn’t remember what he was so worried about before.
As time passes, James can feel himself coming back to his usual self. Not in a masking kind of way, not wanting others to know how you’re feeling, but in a more honest and sincere way.
He knows the group of friends that has just been created is what he’s been waiting all his life.
He can feel the connection.
He spends most of his afternoon playing Uno with Barty and Sirius. Barty doesn’t let them win not even one game. James and Sirius proclaim him the Uno Master after he skilfully manages to win at the first round.
They even make him a crown with the fries’ box.
Meanwhile, Meeko has fallen asleep. And it’s one of the most adorable sights James has seen. He quickly fills his phone’s gallery with photos of him sleeping.
He decides to bring him back to the shelter and put him in his spot to sleep better. His back after all is sore, he could use the rest. He doesn’t know how Regulus managed to bring the racoon around all morning.
After some time, he decides to start walking around the booths again. He feels bad not working while others still do.
He’s chatting with Frank at his booth, as a veterinarian student he had set up the booth to inform people about the risks of abandoning animals and what people can do if they find them abandoned on the streets, about the right flowers to plant in that season when it happens.
He hears a “Potter? Is that you?” coming from his back.
James immediately freezes at the sound of his voice.
He could always recognize his voice. The pettiness, the coldness. The arrogance.
He doesn’t want to turn and face the other.
Not after everything he’s been through.
Frank looks at him, a raised eyebrow, as if asking questions James really doesn’t want to answer to.
“It is you right? I could recognize your ridiculous hair everywhere. Hey, why aren’t you saying nothing? You know that’s rude right?”
James turns.
“Snape” he says, nodding to the other.
“That’s better.” Severus Snape, the boy who bullied him all through high school, says “What brings you here Potter?”
“I- uhm, I helped organizing this day.”
“Look at you, being helpful for once in your life.”
At that, Frank intervenes. “What the hell is your problem, man, James is like the most helpful person I know.”
James is glad to know Frank’s by his side, but he doesn’t want him to fall into this mess. He doesn’t deserve it.
“It’s okay Frank, don’t worry.”
He can see his reply bothers the other, but he really doesn’t have a choice. Even after all the years that has passed, Severus Snape still has power over him.
He sees Frank taking out his phone, and suddenly he’s scared he’ll tell Newt about this. The least he wants is to stress people on such a good day.
He turns back to Snape, who is watching him with cold eyes, and he can feel a chill coming down his spine.
“Why are you talking to me? I thought you didn’t like me.” says James, in hope the other just decides to go away.
“I don’t. Are you, you know, still that out of the ordinary shit?”
James freezes. Those words still hurt more than a punch in the stomach.
“I thought you’d get past that phase already. You know, getting laid could help.”
James can feel Frank going stiff, and he really doesn’t want to explain to him the nature of this conversation.
“Go away Severus, I’m sure you have better things to full your day with.” says James, but he can feel his voice tremble as the words exit his mouth.
He can feel tears prickle the edges of his eyes, and he tries really hard not to cry. Not in front of him. He doesn’t want him to take satisfaction out of it.
He can see the other mouth moving, but he doesn’t hear his words anymore.
He’s still shaken up from the anxiety he can feel coming to the surface.
Years of therapy to come to this? No, thank you. He knows he can take control of the situation.
But he’s scared. He hasn’t seen the other since high school finished and he wasn’t really expecting it.
He can feel his mind travelling to all the old thoughts that had chased him through those hard years. To all his worries, his burdens.
He can feel his heart start pounding faster, and he knows he have to take control of this. He knows how to. He most surely doesn’t want others to see him in this state. Not again. Never again.
He tries to take a deep breath, but it feels like sharp pain up his throat.
Snape is still talking, and James can only imagine what horrible and cruel things he’s saying.
After all, he had to listen to him for years.
He’s still down deep into his thoughts, trying to come back to the surface, when something he really didn’t expect happens.
Someone punches Snape straight in the face.
It’s Regulus.
He’s threating the other menacingly with a fist raised, ready to throw another punch.
James still can’t hear no matter how hard he tries to focus on his breath, but he can see Snape going away, one hand on his nose, and he feels as if a weight had been lifted from his chest.
Regulus turns to face him, a worried look into his eyes, and James can see him talking to him, but he can’t still quite decipher.
He feels dizzy.
He doesn’t want to feel like this anymore. He doesn’t want to hear these evil thoughts ever again. They make his heart clench.
But then Regulus takes him by hand and James can hear his mind going blank. His worries disappear at the touch.
Regulus is still talking to him, and James takes a deep breath. This time, it works.
He slowly snaps out of it, concentrating his energy on Regulus’ touch.
He can hear Regulus asking him if he’s okay, but he doesn’t have the strength to reply, so he just nods.
The other tries to let his hand go, but James hangs on to it. It calms him.
Regulus doesn’t let go again until James does so.
The rest of the day passes quickly and James is still drained from everything that had happened.
But at night, moments before falling asleep, a thought occurs to him.
Maybe he can be selfish for once.
Notes:
I have to say, I got pretty used to writing Regulus' POV
I do miss my baby James thoSo, a lot of things happened this chapter.
I want you all to know my notes for this chapter were life this: Chaos (slytherin skittles + marauders = gay disasters)
So, yeah, I think I did great with the gay disaster partHope you liked the chapter <3
If you feel like commenting please do, I love reading your comments <3
Thank you for reading!
(also if you want to chat about dead gay wizards or life in general you can find me on tumblr @aristotle0
I also occasionally post sketches of scenes that happen in the chapters, you can find them under the tag #my fanart and #it all started with a racoon)