Those Never Sent

by thatshowugetthegirl

Summary:

“Remus was stomping away. Thank fucking god.

Regulus looked back at James. His glasses were crooked and a little foggy. His mouth made a perfect O and he was breathing heavily. Oh.

Okay. So he might have made things worse..”
OR!
Regulus and James fake date. Moonwater is not endgame (it’s worth it i promise okay.)
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before AU!

and i hate jk fucking rowling! :3

Chapter 1: It All Starts

Notes:

edit!- changed the title!!!

hey gang! so this is a To All The Boys au and i didn’t know who would be kitty sooo OC?
Everyone meet Lyra Celeste Black!!

also there’s some french thrown around but you can probably tell what it means through context clues.

 

okay enjoy!

Regulus has always loved romance. Growing up his aunt, Ornelia, would read him just about every book in her bookshelf. This included the soft and sappy romance novels, and she owned a lot of them. They were his comfort in the harsh world he lived in.

Just before his 5th birthday, his aunt and uncle came to see them. Alphard was acting differently, Regulus remembers. That night, just two days before his birthday, he woke up in the arms of his Aunt.

His body ached. The reason? His absolute hell spawn parents. He doesn’t remember what he did and he doesn't like to think about it. But his parents had punished him for something dumb, he was sure.

Alphard and Ornelia witnessed the whole thing and that was it. They scooped up the boys and ran in the middle of the night. Since then, Regulus has lived the best life he could have dreamed of.

He had his brother, Sirius, whom he loved so deeply. His younger cousin, Lyra. She was practically the sister he never asked for but he wouldn’t trade her for the world. He had his uncle who took care of him and healed his wounds. And he had his lovely aunt who was always ready with warm food and encouraging words.

Then she passed. Regulus had everything he ever wanted. He had the simple loving family he wished for until Ornelia died.

All Regulus had left of his mother figure was the faint memories, photos, and her book collection. He read every book on the shelf once, twice, and thrice as his own way of coping. Romance novels reminded him of his aunt and uncle.

His whole life he secretly hoped that he would have love as strong as Alphard and Ornelia. Years after her death, Regulus can tell Alphard is still head over heels in love with her. He often finds Alphard alone just looking at the pictures in the house.

Maybe one day someone would love him that deeply and he would feel the same back.

A knock on his door snapped him from his thoughts. He’d been lost in his own world, reading of course. He sat on his full sized bed, his duvet up to his chest and he was currently re-reading Pride and Prejudice. Before he could turn to the door and put away his book Lyra was already inside.

“Dad said come help set the table.” Lyra jumped onto his bed with a soft ‘oomph’. Regulus’ book flew out of his hand and onto the floor. She rested her head onto his shoulder which he promptly pushed away.

He stepped into his house shoes and picked up his book that landed a few inches away from his bed. “I just want to finish this chapter.”

Before he even opened the book it fell from his hand again. The sound of dishes clattering and a muffled ‘shit!’ made him jump. The sounds caused by Alphard and his clumsiness.

Lyra looked over at Reg and they came to a mutual, unspoken conclusion. They made their way down the stairs, meeting Sirius as he walked out of his room at the same time. Sirius wrapped his arm around both of them and smiled as they walked down. “No matter how terrible this meal is going to be you have to smile and say it tastes exactly like Aunt Nelias okay?”

He clearly directed his words at Lyra. She’d always made jokes about how much she did or didn’t like the food her father prepared. Today for dinner Alphard was trying to replicate Ornelia’s recipes which never ended well.

Alphardwas still in the kitchen and the three set the table, listening to the music playing from Sirius’ phone. The doorbell rang and Regulus’ heart felt like it would burst. He knew who it was.

Sirius ran to the door and threw it open. He practically jumped onto his boyfriend. He peppered his scared face in kisses and dragged him into the house.

“Hey Alph!”

“Hey Rem.” Alphard responded as he set his insanely burnt chicken onto the table. Honestly, Regulus wondered why he wasn’t the one cooking.

A pair of arms hugged him quickly from the side and Regulus wouldn’t stop himself from smiling. Remus ruffled his hair a bit and Regulus had to bite his cheek to stop himself from giggling.

God what is wrong with me? Regulus thought. They sat down at the table and waited as Alphard tried his darndest to cut the chicken. Spoiler alert, it wouldn’t cut.

“I got it Unc!” Sirius hopped up and took the tray from Alphards hands and into the kitchen before he could retaliate.

“God I can’t believe we won’t see him till Thanksgiving!” Lyra sighed and smacked her head down onto the table letting her wavy brown spread across the table.

“Till Christmas, sweetheart.” Alph corrected.

Lyra quickly sat up and shouted, “Christmas?!”

Alphard glanced between his daughter and Regulus who both had shocked expressions on their faces. “Well Scotland's way too far to come back so soon guys.”

Four months. From August to December, Regulus would be without his brother. Without his better half. He hated to admit this but he wouldn’t feel whole without Sirius there. Whenever he needed anything, no matter what, his big brother was there. Always. But he would be so far away in just 24 hours. What was he going to do…

“Seriously? Till Christmas?!” Lyra practically jumped from her seat. Regulus knew they were probably way too codependent but what was so wrong with that. He loved his brother and he loved his almostsister so what?

“Look on the bright side, Ly. Sirius won’t take the car anymore so our Reggie here can practice driving.”

“Oh. Right.. Regulus has to drive me to school now.” Lyra groaned. “He’s gonna kill me dad, don’t make me!”

Usually Regulus would retaliate to Lyra's relentless teasing but he couldn’t focus. Remus was laughing his signature dreamy, soft, kind, warm laugh that made Regulus cheeks burn and his heart pound. Damn him for making him feel this much. Regulus knew he shouldn’t be feeling this way.

He knew what a horrible person he was for the thoughts he had about his brother's boyfriend. His heart twinged with guilt every time he laughed too hard at Remus jokes or stared at him too long. But what he meant to do?

Before they got together Remus was his first boyfriend. Boy Friend. A boy who was his friend. His best friend. Sirius hadn’t known about Regulus’ feelings. Regulus felt like he could confide in Sirius about anything but the one time he kept a secret from his brother, it was like someone threw a brick at his head as karma.

Remus was his best friend. Just two years ago he was the most important person in Regulus’ life after his family. Remus would be at their house almost every weekend. They’d trade books and poke fun at Lyra. It was like he was part of the family.

One day, Sirius came to Regulus and out of nowhere said that he and Remus were dating.

And Regulus had no other choice than to be supportive.

They didn’t stop being friends after Sirius and Remus got together. No way. Remus just wasn’t his best friend anymore. It was too different.

Sirius felt bad everytime he and Remus would go out so he felt like he had to invite Regulus with them everywhere. Most times it wasn’t too awkward but Regulus still felt like a third wheel. Every time.

“Well if you need, I’ll give you a ride Lyra.” Remus suggested because of course he did. Of course he came up with the best solution because he actually cared about what goes on in this family. Of course he was as sweet and kind as ever. God dammit.

Sirius walked back into the dining room with a perfectly cut chicken and started putting some onto Regulus’s plate. “What are we talking about?”

“How horrible of a driver Reggie is.” Lyra chuckled.

“Yeah we were but we were also talking about airplanes given how far you’re going to be, love” Remus reached into his pocket and pulled out a red envelope with Sirius’ name on it, “Speaking of which. I have a surprise for you.”

Remus beamed and Regulus couldn’t help but sigh. Remus’ smile made his heart flip.

Sirius put down the plate and let Lyra serve herself some of the chicken. “Oh?” He smiled and slowly opened the envelope. “Better be tickets to some overpriced and overhyped rock band or I swear…” He trailed off.

His mouth agape as he read whatever was on the paper. Regulus tried to look at the paper but Sirius quickly folded it up. “You.. You already paid for this?”

“Yeah.?” Remus was definitely expecting a better reaction than this, “I checked for flights the moment you said you were going.”

Oh. Remus was going to Scotland too.

So the universe just wanted to fuck with Regulus huh? Not only is his brother leaving. No. But his long term crush and childhood best friend too? That's fucking insane. He felt like he might just rip his hair out. ‘What’s next huh?’ he thought. Are they going to take Lyra next? Then Alphard? Then Evan? Then Pandora? Then-

Sirius put the ticket into the pocket of his leather jacket and left without saying a word. Remus called out and followed him.

After the very silent and awkward dinner between him, Lyra, and Alphard, Regulus went back to his room. He snuck to his closet, like he was on a mission. It’s not like he had to be quiet but what he was doing felt so personal and secret that he wouldn’t dare make a noise.

He grabbed the stool from his desk and brought it with him. He placed it in front of his highest shelf. Reaching up blindly, he felt around. It was a little dusty up there but he was a bit too lazy to clean it now. His hand grazed over the box and he grabbed it. He quickly stepped out of the closet and sat down on the floor of his room. He kicked the door closed with his foot and crossed his legs.

The box was small and round. A plain green box but it held his deepest secrets. On the lid was a snake he’d drawn on it when he first got the box from Ornelia. The image was smudged and faded but it gave it a little charm he thought.

Inside laid letters. Love letters. 4 total.

The first one was to a boy Regulus met briefly in summer camp. He barely remembers that summer because it was the one right after Ornelia’s death. The reason Regulus liked this boy so much was because he was there for him.

Regulus was so heartbroken over Ornelia’s death and he was there for him. His name was Charlie. Regulus didn’t know his last name and it honestly didn’t matter. After summer, Regulus never got Charlie’s address so they haven’t spoken since.

The second was to James Potter. James was just a year older than him and Sirius’ best friend. The crush was brief. Short. But it was so intense he had to write about it. In fact, he probably wrote the most about James out of all his letters. Regulus refused to acknowledge this crush though because he knew that:

1. James would never feel the same

2. Sirius would NEVER let that happen

The third was not even a crush, really. He just danced with Barty Crouch at freshman homecoming then followed him around school for the next month. He still wrote about that night though. Why wouldn’t he? It was magical.

He had so much fun with Barty, he couldn’t deny it. They danced and laughed at peoples outfits the whole night.

And the fourth was to the one and only Remus Lupin.

Regulus writes a letter every time he gets a crush so intense it feels like he’s drowning and the only thing he can think to do is write. He writes out his feelings on paper, addresses it, does everything you would with a letter but he never sends them.

Instead he rereads them. It reminds him how powerful emotions truly are and in a way, it helps him keep them in check.

Later that night, Regulus felt someone crawl into bed with him. At first he thought it to be Lyra but he knew that sigh. So deep and broken. He turned to face his brother who had tears streaming down his face.

“I broke up with Rem.” Sirius muttered.

Regulus didn’t know what to say. So instead of talking he just held out his arms and embraced him.

The two were close but more in an emotional and mental sense. Never really in a physical way. But when they were, Regulus felt safe and calm. He ran his hand through Sirius’ hair and tried to put him to sleep. Sirius was peacefully asleep in a few minutes.

As Regulus finally felt like he might drift off, he heard the door creak open. This time he knew who was getting into bed with them. Lyra pulled the blanket over herself and threw her leg over Regulus’ to let him know she was there.

The next day, they were in an airport.

They stood outside the gate in silence. Not one of them was ready to say goodbye. Alphard spoke up first. “I’ll miss you kid. So much.”

He held back tears as he wrapped his arms around Sirius. He kissed the top of his head and sniffled. Sirius held tight and let out a shaky sigh.

Sirius pulled away and Lyra immediately jumped on him. He held her up the best he could as she sobbed into his shoulder. “Don’t go..” Regulus could faintly hear. Sirius soothed her hair and shushed her.

“It’ll be okay Ly. I’ll be back in four months.” He put her down and held out his pinky, “I promise.”

Lyra held out her pinky and hooked them, tears still streaming down her face and onto the sticky airport floor. She wiped her nose and tried to hold it in, to no avail.

Slowly, he turned to Regulus.

Regulus tried. He really did. He knew that crying made no sense because his brother would be home soon. 4 months wasn’t even that long. He could always call. But that didn’t help.

His eyes welled up with tears and his vision became blurred. Sirius held out his arms and Regulus hugged him immediately. He didn’t speak because he knew it would come out like a broken sob. So he settled for the warm embrace of his older brother. Sirius pulled away and watched Regulus wipe his eyes.

“Why do you have to go? You can just stay here and go to school with me.” Regulus asked quietly. A little part of him hopped Sirius didn’t hear so he could just deny it.

“You know how badly I’ve wanted to go there.” Sirius frowned.

Regulus did know. It was Sirius’ senior year and he was spending it at a private school in Scotland. Far away from his family. “Listen to me Reg.”

Regulus wiped his eye one final time and sniffled. He nodded slightly for Sirius to continue, “I want you to think of this as an opportunity. Branch out, Make new friends. I want to hear all about your amazing adventures when I get home.”

Regulus rolled his eyes but nodded. He knew Sirius would say that. He’d been trying and trying to get Regulus to do something, anything, after school and now he’d resorted to guilt tripping.

“Also! I left a box in your room. You seriously need to get rid of some stuff.” He smiled. “If you ever need me, I’m just a phone call away.” He kissed Regulus forehead softly.

It was a sensation Regulus had never felt before. Well, not from his brother at least. Ornelia was a forehead kisser.

Every time she left and every time she came back, a kiss was pressed onto Regulus’ forehead. That wouldn’t happen anymore.

Sirius turned back to Alphard who hugged him again. Then Lyra joined in, still crying a bit but she was calmer now. Finally Regulus wrapped his arms around them.

A few moments later, Sirius was boarding.

The three watched him walk away. “Do you think he’ll look back?” Lyra asked, her face stained with tears and her voice dry. The sight alone made Regulus want to cry again but this time he held it in.

“No. He won’t.” He stated simply. He wrapped his arm around Lyra, who hugged his waist tightly.

Sirius didn’t turn around. That wasn’t who he was. When he made a decision, he never went back on it. Regulus also knew that if Sirius looked back, if he even caught a glimpse of either of them, He’d come running back and would never leave.

The rest of that day was somber. Nothing happened. Regulus sat in bed all day but he couldn’t even read. He just couldn’t. So he did was Sirius asked.

He went through his clothes and books and put everything he didn’t really need into the box for Alphard to take to GoodWill.

The day after was the first day of school. Regulus’ eleventh year and Lyra’s ninth.

They stood outside of the house with boards displaying the grade they were going into. Regulus was already tired of this tradition after seventh grade but he did it anyway. Ornelia started it when Sirius was in the 1st grade. Now they do it every year.

Another thing that reminded them of her.

He smiled softly at the camera as his uncle took the picture on his digital camera. Regulus’ smile dropped the moment his uncle took the photo and he turned to Lyra. “Alright, ready to go?”

“Just a sec!” She ran over to her little bike (Ornelias originally) and grabbed the sparkly pink helmet. She clicked it on in one swift motion.

“Is that really necessary?” He scoffed.

“Of course!” She skipped to the car and opened the passenger door, “You could kill me!”

“Sure..” He muttered.

Now that they went to school together it didn’t take as long to get to school. Regulus tried to give her some encouragement but she seemed fine so they went their respective ways.

Walking through the hall, Regulus was surrounded by familiar faces. None of which he was happy to see. He continued to his locker, doing his best to avoid Remus. However, he was spotted.

Remus waved at him and Regulus reluctantly waved back. And he kept waving till Remus’ back was turned, not noticing the girl behind him.

“Ow!” A soft voice came from over his shoulder.

He whipped around and saw those horrible, beautifully placed red curls. He looked down and saw that he’d stepped onto her foot.

Quickly he stepped back. “Sorry Evans.” He mumbled.

She bent down and dusted her dark red pumps.

“It’s okay Regulus.” Lily smiled. Her bright freckled skin glowing in that stupid, signature way it always did. It was like she was effortlessly perfect. “I like your shoes.” She pointed down to Regulus’ black Doc Martens.

Regulus resisted the urge to roll his eyes. She sounded sincere but he just couldn’t help but feel like she was being sarcastic. Why in hell would she be complimenting him? “Yeah…Thanks.” He bit his cheek.

It was the first week of school, so maybe he shouldn’t start a fight with anybody. So he bit back his words for once.

“So, how is Siri-” She stopped mid sentence when a pair of arms wrapped around her. James.

James Potter. Sirius’ best friend and Lily’s boyfriend (also the second guy Regulus wrote a letter to but that didn’t matter). He spent the entirety of his Sophomore year chasing after her and eventually he got her.

Good for him.

“Hey lovely.” He smiled and pressed a kiss on her cheek.

Merlin, Regulus was literally gagging. Just watching them made him feel utterly disgusted. He looked away and saw Pandora walking towards him. Of course Evan was with her, them being twins and all.

The Rosiers had such light blond hair it was practically white. Pandora's hair was always braided so perfectly and Evan had his hair in locs since he was 10. Now they were down to his upper back at 16.

Pandora always styled Evan’s hair and eventually started doing Regulus’.

Regulus took the opportunity to run towards the twins and get as far away from the couple as possible. Thank god for James. He did NOT want to talk about Sirius. Especially with Lily.

“Hey Reggie- What’s going on?” Pandora grabbed his arm and tried to slow him down.

“Potter and Evans.” He stated simply, tilting his head in their direction.

Pandora and Evan shared a look and turned around. James and Lily were in their own world. They seemed to be having a serious conversation. Lily’s arms we crossed and James was just staring. In shock maybe?

“Can we please just go?” He pleaded and dragged them towards their first period. They walked side by side and talked for the short walk to their class.

He would have two classes with Pandora and only one with Evan that semester. First period (Astronomy) he had with both and he had fourth period (P.E) with just Pandora. However, He didn’t have lunch with either of them. Typically he’d have lunch with Sirius but of course he was in a whole other continent.

So, He was on his own. Not much of a problem really. He just went down to the Library. His favorite place really, and he could return his library book. But when he got there, it was nothing like a library.

It was loaded and loud. Ironic huh? The librarian wasn’t even trying to shush them. No way he would be able to sit in there.

His next option was the bleachers. There he found Remus. Alone. He had his headphones in and he was reading. God he looked so dreamy. The sun made his hazel eyes so perfect he could drown in them.

Regulus turned to leave. He could not face Remus right now. But.. Those brown eyes looked up at him the moment he took a step back and Remus was smiling softly.

Regulus took the seat next to him and Remus took out his earbuds. They sat in silence for a brief moment before he spoke up, “Did you know?”

Regulus didn’t answer. They sat in quietly a few seconds more and Remus spoke again, “I just figured, you guys are so close so, did he tell you?”

Regulus shook his head softly and sighed. “He didn’t.”

“But.. We’re still cool right?” He offered Regulus a bottle of orange juice from the vending machine.

“Yeah. We’re cool.” Regulus replied. He was smiling on the inside. Maybe he wouldn’t feel so guilty about liking Remus now that they’d broken up.

Either way, he was set on getting over him. For both his and Sirius’ sake. He knew Sirius was still absolutely in love with Remus and he knew Remus felt the same.

Maybe he should’ve asked why Sirius broke up with him. It made no sense. He honestly thought they’d get married. Regulus would get over Remus and he’d be smiling at their wedding.

He imagined himself in the front row, Alphard on his left and Lyra on his right.

She’d be crying into his shoulder and he’d try to hide the tears streaming from his face as they watched Sirius walk down the aisle. Probably in some elaborate outfit with the most eccentric music. He did have a flair for the dramatic.

That’s what he thought the future would be like for them.

He ate lunch in silence with Remus. It was nice. After almost a full day of avoiding him, he felt so much better.

For the next 72 hours he counted down the days till his brother would be home.

He could get through 4 months.

Just 4.

Notes:

HELLOOO DIVASSS!!

i actually don’t like this chapter cuz the pacing is pretty fast but i wanna continue writing while i have the energy so here it is!!

i don’t have a posting schedule bc i hate time constraints but ill try to updates less than a week apart (no promises:3)
alsooo consider following my ig
@riricantwrite I’ll start posting there soon!

thanks for reading and baisies ;3

 

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Chapter 2: Made Things Worse

Summary:

Regulus isn’t hating school entirely…until James shows up.

Notes:

boo!! yes i’m posting this the day after the first one, don’t get used to it loves :p

italics are Regulus’ thoughts btw!

more french in here but just use context clues? i translated most of them in the text it’s self so yay!

 

baisies and enjoysies!

Finally, it was Friday.

His final period of the day was P.E. So he said goodbye to Remus, whom he ate lunch with everyday.

It was slowly becoming less awkward between them. They still talked about books like normal plus Remus never brought up the many sweaters of his Regulus still had.

He’d meant to return them after finding out they’d broken up, but he never had the courage to go over. Things were finally going back to normal. And Regulus began to feel less stressed about talking to him.

Regulus had been avoiding calling his brother by any means.

When he would walk into Alphard's office and see he was on the phone with Sirius, he’d immediately turn away. When “Starman” blared from his phone everyday at 4pm on the dot, he’d let it ring. Although he felt bad for not calling, but he just couldn’t right now.

He walked into the locker room and god that place smelt. The mix of B.O and 8 different colognes was suffocating. Everytime he walked in there he felt like he was drowning. Not to mention the loud chatter that buzzed around him as he tried to change. It was awkward but they were not allowed to change in the stalls. Stupid right?

He changed as quickly as possible and dashed out of there. Coming out he saw Pandora waiting for him by the door. Her blonde-fade to blue braids covered her face a bit. She looked up when the door opened.

“Reggie!”

She practically jumped onto him. Her bracelet-covered arms wrapped around him and she dragged him to the track. He stumbled over his feet trying to follow her but eventually she slowed down. Their footsteps were in perfect sync and the crunching of the gravel under them was almost therapeutic.

The sun beat down on them but the soft breeze every 3 minutes canceled it out making it the perfect weather. Regulus’ ideal weather, truly.

They walked the sandy track together and talked. But talking just means he listened to Pandora rant about everything happening in her life.

Currently she was talking about the wonderful rabbit she found in her backyard the night before and Regulus didn’t have the heart to tell her that she told him the story already. So he just listened again.

The shriek of a whistle cut Pandora off and immediately the two started jogging. They had to run 4 laps around the track.

Regulus tried to keep a clear positive mind. As much as he hated P.E or just anything physical, he hated getting bad grades more. Alphard wasn’t particularly strict about grades but if there was one thing Regulus wasn’t, it was a failure.

Sirius was the ‘cool, athletic one’ and Lyra was the ‘fun, younger one’ so that left Regulus with one choice, the ‘smart one’. And he was not losing that title.

Halfway through their 3rd lap, Regulus saw James. Which was odd because James was definitely not in this class? If he remembers correctly, James had Biology right now. So why was he outside?

He was looking around for something. Or someone. His brown eyes scanned the track and landed on Regulus as he ran past. Quickly, James caught up to them.

“Hey, Reg.”

“Don’t call me that.” Regulus snapped and tried to brush him off. He picked up the pace, Pandora followed. And so did James.

“Can I talk to you?”

Reluctantly, Regulus slowly came to a stop and faced James. He suddenly realized how tall James was. Of course he’d always been taller than Regulus but he couldn’t have grown that much over the summer?

You would think that since James and Sirius were best friends, Regulus would see him often. You’d be absolutely wrong. When James and Sirius hung out, it was almost always at James’ house. His parents always insisted that people come over.

Regulus had been there a few times, for dinners and birthday parties. James’ parents, Effie and Monty, were just about the sweetest people he’d ever met. But Effie reminded him too much of Ornelia. Maybe that’s why Sirius liked it there so much.

He hadn’t been in a long time actually. Not since James’ birthday in March. Maybe when Sirius came back, he’d visit again.

Regulus’ expression was bored as he looked up slightly at James. Here he was, having a pretty damn good day, and James just had to bother him.

He raised a brow and waited for James to speak. James’ eyes flickered to Pandora then back to Regulus.

“Alone… Please..?” He pleaded with Pandora but his eyes were focused on Regulus.

Pandora glanced at Regulus then sighed. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and stretched a bit. “Well..” She tried to catch her breath. “If you need me Reg, I’ll be at the nurse!”

She leaned in to Regulus a bit, “And definitely not bothering Evan in his drama class.”

She patted him on the back as if to say “good luck!” and ran over to the P.E teacher. They watched her go inside and James turned back to him.

“What is it?” Regulus crossed his arms.

James rubbed the back of his neck and muttered, “Listen. I’m flattered but it’s not going to happen..”

Regulus’ face twisted with confusion and he narrowed his eyes. The hell was he talking about?

“Um what?”

“I just- me and Lily are going through a pretty rough patch right now and I think it’s cute but. um, no. Well Sirius would never approve and..”

Yeah I don’t really care about Lily. He wanted to say but James had already resumed talking

Regulus studied James’ features, barely listening to what he was saying. His messy brown curls. His glasses that were on the tip of his nose, about to fall because of the running. His horribly wrinkled Queen shirt that matched with Sirius’ and his slightly less wrinkled black jorts. His arms and legs were so toned as a result of playing football.

Often, a few years ago, Regulus would wonder what it would be like to be held in those arms.To let James hold and comfort him. Those thoughts were long gone though.

In his large hand was a letter. Regulus also used to wonder what it would be like to hold-

Wait. He knew that envelope. It looked so familiar. It was a crimson red color and was addressed to James in black pen with swirly, perfect handwriting. The handwriting was familiar Regulus thought. Almost like mine..

“I’m glad you think I have gold specs in my eyes but..” He smirked and shifted his weight to one side.

No.

No way in hell.

Regulus’ head was spinning. That letter. He wrote it. But there was no way the letter could’ve gotten out. He hid it so perfectly.

“Regulus?”

No fucking way. It can’t be-

Regulus blinked and the next thing he knew, he was laying on the hard ground with a mind-splitting headache.

James was standing over him, his curls draped over his face. “You okay?”

Regulus tried to close his eyes again, hoping he was dreaming. Maybe if he tried hard enough, He’d wake up and the whole day would start over. But James shook him awake. “No no. You need to get up.”

James held out his hand and Regulus, very reluctantly, took it. James sat him up like it was nothing and dusted him off. He ran his hand through Regulus’ hair to get out the sand and gravel.

“That was a pretty hard fall.” James snickered.

Regulus swatted his hand away and spoke, “Listen.” He felt like he was overheating. It wasn’t even that hot outside but he was drenched. Maybe from the running? Maybe from the fainting?

His words were slurred a little as his brain did its best to process what was going on. His voice was dry and hoarse because of how thirsty he was. “That letter was not meant to get to you. It’s old. From 7th grade.”

James just blinked at him and nodded. His glasses were gone, Regulus realized. He looked so weird. Whatever.

“Just please ignore it. Honestly-” As he spoke, he glanced around. No one seemed to notice he’d fainted. Good.

James reached for his glasses that sat next to Regulus on the ground and put them back on.

They stared at each other for a moment. Actually they stared for an abnormally long time. Regulus snapped his gaze away and spied someone walking towards him. Remus. With a goddamn letter in his hand.

The damn red letter Regulus had addressed to him in his favorite fountain pen.

“Fuck.” He muttered.

His arms wrapped around James’ neck and pulled him in. Their lips fit together perfectly. He heard James’ breath hitch but he relaxed a moment later. Regulus pulled him down so James practically laid on top of him, doing his best to cover himself from Remus’ view.

He could faintly hear the gasps of people around them. But he was more worried about the lack of hesitancy in James’ movements. His toned arms immediately wrapped around Regulus and he kissed back. One of his hands found their way into Regulus’ hair, brushing through the waves.

As much as Regulus didn’t like it when people touched his hair, the sensation was oddly nice.

They only pulled away when the teacher yelled at them. Regulus immediately looked over at Remus to see if he’d gotten the hint.

Remus was stomping away. Thank fucking god.

Regulus looked back at James. His glasses were crooked and a little foggy. His mouth made a perfect O and he was breathing heavily. Oh.

Okay. So he might have made things worse..

James opened his mouth to speak but Regulus was already on his feet. He quickly ran away. Where was he going? He didn’t even know.

He ended up in the bathroom of the freshman hall. The farthest bathroom from where he was and luckily it was empty. He whipped out his phone and called Alphard.

Three rings and it picked up.

“Hey kid-”

“Are you at home right now!?” Regulus whisper-yelled, cutting off Alphard.

“Yes I am, what’s wrong?” Regulus could hear the concern in his uncle’s voice. Probably because he didn’t call unless it was important. And this absolutely was important.

“I need you to go in my room, top shelf of my closet, and see if there is a green box. Please and thank you.”

Alphard didn’t respond but he heard shuffling and heavy steps. About 1 1/2 minutes later, Alphard spoke, “Nope. Nothing here Reg.”

“Dammit.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a shaky sigh. “Okay thank you.”

He hung up before Alphard could respond and let his arm go limp. He was so fucked. He leaned his head against the wall and breathed deeply.

Okay Regulus. Think. How could the letter have gotten out?

The sound of heavy footsteps approached the stall he was in and he held his breath. The person slowly walked to each stall before stopping at his. They knocked lightly.

“Regulus?” The voice was deep, one he couldn’t put to a face. He didn’t respond and just hoped they’d go away. The sound of rustling came from outside the stall and a crimson envelope slid under the door.

Bartemius Crouch Junior.

Slowly Regulus opened the stall and Barty stood in front of him. His black hair was short with green on the ends. He smelt heavily of cigarette smoke and was loudly chewing on a piece of gum. He smirked at Regulus and nodded towards the letter in his hands, “I thought you might want that back. It seems kind of,” he snapped his gum, “personal.”

Regulus nodded and pushed past him to wash his hands.

“You know… I didn’t know you felt that strongly about me.”

“It’s from freshman year. Those feelings are gone.” He threw the words over his shoulder and scrubbed his hands clean.

“Aw, so you don’t like me anymore?”

Regulus could see him pouting in the mirror and bit back a laugh. He turned and flicked the excess water onto Barty’s face then reached for the paper towels.

Barty barked out a laugh and wiped his face. “M’ glad some things never change.”

“I’m glad you’re still a cigarette smoking loser with daddy issues.”

Barty clutched his heart dramatically and gasped. “Oh my, Reggie, you wound me.”

The piercing sound of the bell signaled the end of fourth period. The one good thing that happened to Regulus today was the bell. The timing was perfect. Regulus rushed out of the bathroom without saying bye to Barty and pushed through the exiting crowd, not saying a single “excuse me.”

He hopped into his car and slammed the door shut. He whipped out his phone and saw he had two missed calls from Sirius. He couldn’t avoid him forever, but he would as long as he needed.

He opened his messages and shot Lyra a text.

Hurry up.

Please.

read

Lyra would be out soon then they’d go home and Regulus could drown his sorrows in the overpriced chocolate milk he’d been saving.

He rested his head on the steering wheel and closed his eyes, trying to breathe. His breath came out shallow and hot as it wafted back into his face.

The passenger seat door snapped open and Lyra hopped in, shaking the small car slightly with her fast movements. “Oh em gee today was awesome!” She cheered.

She slung her bag into the back seat and put on her seat belt. Looking over she noticed Regulus, his head still pressed against the steering wheel and his hands wrapped around it, squeezing tightly.

“You okay Turus?” Lyra placed her hand on his shoulder. Regulus sighed a bit and finally lifted his head, rubbing his eyes he turned to Lyra.

“Who’s Turus?” He asked, trying to distract her.

“Oh.” She retracted her hand and reached into her pocket. “I wanted to give you a nickname specifically for me to use!” She smiled and unfolded a small slip of paper.

The paper had a 3 variants of Regulus’ name:

1.Turus

2.Rab

3.Turi

Regulus let out a small laugh, “What happened to calling me ‘cousine aînée’?” He asked.

Growing up, when Lyra was first learning French, she called him ‘cousine aînée, which simply translates to older cousin. For a while she even called him grand frère, meaning big brother.

Honestly, Regulus wouldn’t have minded if she still called him big brother but she grew out of it. It made 9 year old Regulus a little sad but he dealt with it.

“Well I want it to be super special! So, pick one.” She placed the list in his hand and he looked it over.

“Turi is a definite no.” He pointed to it, “And I quite like my middle name so, Turus is fine.”

He smiled softly and handed her the paper. She put it back into her left pocket and Regulus started the car. His mind was much clearer now.

Lyra had that effect on him. She cheered him up by just being her usual self. That was just what he needed.

Without looking, Regulus backed out of the packing space.

A soft and muffled “oof” came from behind them.

Merlin’s sweaty balls..

First week and he’s already hit someone.Please for god’s sake, let that be my imagination.

Lyra stared at him with her wide green eyes but he didn’t meet her gaze. He stared down at his lap and for once in his life, he prayed.

A soft knock came from his window and he slowly rolled it down. Looking up, his eyes met with a familiar pair of hazel ones, hidden behind gold rimmed glasses.

Oh for fucks sake.

There stood James Potter. He had a smug look on his face, and he was covered in sweat. Based on his athletic attire, Regulus could tell that he was coming from football practice.

“Do you always just back out without looking?” James teased. He leaned into the window and waved at Lyra. She smiled and waved back.

“Hi James!” She crawled over Regulus and gave James a fistbump. “Why didn’t you come with us to drop off Sirius?” She asked.

James was originally meant to have dinner with them the night before Sirius left and go with them to the airport. However, he just texted that he was busy and never showed up. Sirius never said why but he seemed pretty sad his best friend wasn’t there.

“Oh yeah.” He fluffed his hair and checked himself out in Regulus’ side mirror, “I was still in Mexico with my mum and dad. Sorry kid, I was hoping I could be there.”

“What do you want?” Regulus spoke over him and glared.

“Well I was just minding my business, trying to walk to my car when some distracted driver almost ran me over.”

Regulus sighed. Okay so maybe this doofus had a point.

“Désolé…” He mumbled.

“Sorry I don't speak French?” James joked and Lyra covered her mouth as she giggled.

Regulus shot her a glare then turned back to James “I said I’m sorry.” He practically yelled and rolled up his window. In his peripheral vision he could see James staring at him but he kept his eyes straight ahead. Eventually, James walked away without a word. Finally,

He waited until James’ went back into the building to finally leave. Lyra was strangely silent but he didn’t mind much.

When they got home, he headed straight to the fridge and grabbed his last box of chocolate milk. He stomped up to his room and stayed there for the rest of the day.

Around 8pm, his nose was hit with the smell of popcorn.

Right. Him and Lyra were meant to be watching a movie that night. Slowly he crawled out of his bed and onto his feet. He walked down the stairs and saw Lyra who was sitting on the couch, the popcorn ready, and the remote in her hands.

“Hey.” She said but didn’t look at him. She simply held out the bowl to him.

He took it into hands and sat down right next to her. He pulled the blanket over himself and finally Lyra picked a movie. Not that she really had to look because they always watched the same five movies. One of them was Pride and Prejudice and it played on their flatscreen television.

Lyra scooted under the blanket and laid her head onto Regulus’ shoulder. They shifted closer and finally settled in with the bowl of popcorn between them.

These were the moments Regulus lived for. If Sirius had stayed, he’d be here too no doubt. This was their thing. The three of them would squish together onto the couch and watch their comfort movies. But Regulus was fine with just Lyra. There was more popcorn for them since Sirius was a terrible popcorn hogger.

Just about 40 minutes into the movie, Lyra mutters, “Don’t you think it's weird that you’re here right now?”

Regulus moves to look at her and she lifts her head from his shoulder. “What do you mean?”

Lyra grabs the remote from beside her and pauses the movie, “I mean.. You’re sixteen and you're spending your Friday night with your 13 year old cousin?”

Regulus laughed a bit and stroked her hair, “No? I like this movie and I like being at home, I don’t see a problem.”

She sat up fully and looked him in the eyes, taking off her glasses. She bit the inside of her cheek before speaking, “Turus. I am 13 and I canceled plans to be here.”

She tried to tell him gently but it still sounded very condescending.

Okay. So his 13 year old cousin had a better social life than he did. So what?

Most things didn’t embarrass Regulus but this did. Just a little bit. He didn’t admit it though. He brushed Lyra off and they continued their movie. After, he went back to his room and reached to the top of his closet but found nothing.

Right. Somehow his letters had gotten out. Where could he have put it so that other people would find and send them. Somewhere outside surely, no one in his house would’ve sent them.

What was recently taken from their house? It had to have been within the last two days because he had his letters on Tuesday. So what was moved out of their house in the last two days?

The goddamn donation box. The one Sirius left last week.

There was no way Regulus would have made such a small mistake like putting one of his most prized possessions in a box to be sent to GoodWill. No way.

But it was the only thing that made sense. God damn Regulus and his easily distracted mind.

He flopped down onto his bed with a loud creak of the springs and yelled into his pillow. He let himself wallow in self pity for the second time that day before deciding to sleep. He reached onto his nightstand and turned out the lamp.

He listened to the faint sounds of Lyra on the phone with some friends and the rain outside. This was going to be a long 4 months.

He’d finally reconciled with Remus and not even a week later, it was ruined and he was back to ignoring him.

And now he had a whole new set of problems with Potter. But that was something that future Regulus could deal with.

For now, present regulus was going to sleep and dream of the day he found his one. The one.

Notes:

hey gang! i actually quite like this chapter so yay for me!!

see yall soon with a hopefully longer chapter!

alsooo consider following my insta Tumblr will be posting updates in there soon :p

thanks for reading and baisies!!

Chapter 3: Think About It

Summary:

Regulus has a problem and James has a proposition (and a possible solution?)

Notes:

short chapter but if i wrote anymore it would be way too long. Yes this took me four days, im writing like 3 other things..

And im catching up on missing work. Also have a test tmr so dont expect anything till this weekend maybe.

okay bye!! see yall soon :3

The next morning Regulus slept in. For the first time in a while, he let himself do absolutely nothing. His trigonometry and AP Language homework could wait a few more hours.

He scrolled on his phone to distract himself from his thoughts. But it didn’t work. He couldn’t help but think of what a mess his life was becoming. 

The moment Sirius was gone, things changed.

Honestly, how was he meant to face James now? Should he keep avoiding Remus? How would Lily react to him kissing her boyfriend? How would Sirius react to him kissing his best friend? How would Sirius react to him having a crush on his ex? How would Sirius-

The doorbell rang. It was then followed by three sharp knocks.

It caught Regulus off guard but he assumed it was one of Lyra’s friends so he waited for her to get the door.

“Reggie, Remus is here!” Alphard shouted up the stairs.

Fuck!

Regulus ripped the covers off himself and hopped out of bed. He threw on a sweater and slipped on his shoes. He scrambled around for his things, throwing his wallet, phone, and a book into his backpack and zipped it up.

“What are you doing?”

He whipped around to see Lyra’s head peeking into his door. She squinted trying to see Regulus better without her glasses.

He shushed her softly as he unlocked the  window, “You never saw me. I am at Pandora's house.” He stated simply before climbing out. He sat on the roof for a second to adjust the straps of his bag then reached out and grabbed the large branch next to him.

He never snuck out. Mostly because he never needed to. Alphard never said no to any of his plans because he almost never made any and rarely ever got in trouble. He only knew about this way out because Sirius had told him.

Sirius would sneak into Regulus’ room late at night and sneak out through his window. Once, he woke up Regulus by accident and had to explain what he was doing and how. This proved to be the best mistake of his life because after Regulus would leave his window slightly open for Sirius to climb back in.

Regulus used the branch to get to the trunk of the tree. He jumped down and hit the soft grass. His ankle ached a bit but he needed to go. He grabbed his bike that laid against the tree and headed off. 

Originally he was actually going to Pandora’s house but after texting her he found out that she was at the beach with Evan picking up trash.

Pandora had an excessive amount of volunteer hours and by extension so did Evan. She dragged him to every event, never one without the other.

So Regulus changed routes and went down to the Corner Cafe.

He sat his bike against the teal exterior walls of the cafe and reached to set his helmet on the handle, eventually realizing he wasn’t wearing one.

Alphard was going to get on him for that later but it didn’t matter now. Right now he needed a chocolate milkshake to drown his sorrows in.

He walked in and took in the familiar environment. His absolute favorite place in this whole town. The walls were a very light yellow, there were red booths lining the far right wall, a counter near the kitchen with bar stools on the right, and in the middle were regular wooden tables with wood chairs. He walked to the counter and took a seat on the stool.

“Hey Regulus.” A beautiful face smiled at him from behind the counter. His favorite waitress, Mary Mcdonald. She went to his school and started working here the summer after freshman year.

He always thought she was pretty nice, always waving to everyone. They had been paired together for an AP World assignment last year and she was undoubtedly smart. They got the project done three days before its due date and spent the remainder of their time here.

However she’s one of Lily’s best friends (and James’ by extension) so they didn’t talk much in school.

Her curly brown hair was tied neatly into a bun except for one stand that fell down her face. She had many tiny clips in her hair that were shaped as flowers. She wore dangly coffee cup earrings and was dressed perfectly in her uniform: a pink button up, white cargo pants, and a white apron around her waist. She held a memo pad in her hand but she wasn’t writing because she knew what Regulus wanted.

“Hey Mary.” He smiled softly at her and pulled his homework out of his bag.

“I’ll get your milkshake right out. Be right back!”

Regulus breezed through his trigonometry homework. Math wasn’t his best subject but so far it had been pretty easy. He was on the third question when someone pulled up a chair next to him. The seat scraped the tiled floor, snapping Regulus out of the zone.

“Is that Trig homework?”

Motherfucker.

Regulus didn’t even turn his head. He tried his best not to acknowledge the curlyhead football player sitting next to him. But he just couldn’t. James’ presents was too loud. Just being in his general area blinded Regulus and frankly, it brought too much attention in their small town.

Everyone knew James. Star quarterback. Brought their school to the championships twice and won both times. Also sang in a band with his friends sophomore year and just about every girl in the school tried to shoot their shot. Dating the debate team captain and the girl who was guaranteed to be valedictorian.

“What does it look like crétin?”

“Looks like a love letter if you ask me.”

That definitely got Regulus’ attention as his head snapped towards James so fast he felt like he should’ve gotten whiplash. “Shut up.” He muttered, glaring at James.

He held his hands up in defense and laughed, “God, I’m just teasing.” He smirked and rested his elbow on the counter, gazing over at Regulus.

Regulus turned his focus back to his homework and a large glass of chocolate milkshake slid towards him. It was filled to the top with whipped cream and had two cherries, courtesy of Mary.

He opened the straw and crumbled the wrapper, putting it in his front pocket. He took a long sip and it was perfect as always. The right amount of chocolate, the right amount of whipped cream, and so toothrottingly sweet it made Regulus want to cry.

“Oh hey James. What can I get ya?” Mary asked and still didn’t take out her notepad. It sat still in her pocket, almost never used because of her extraordinary memory.

”Just a diet coke, Mary dear.” He smiled and handed her the menu next to him. She nodded and walked back to the kitchen.

That insufferable flirt.

“I don’t think your girlfriend would appreciate you calling her best friend ‘dear’.” Regulus scoffed.

”What girlfriend?” James raised an eyebrow at him. “Me and Lily broke up.”

“That sucks.” Regulus stated dryly, taking another drag from his straw. He licked his lips a bit and wiped it with the back of his right hand. 

There was a beat of silence.

”Lyra told me you’d be here.” James fluffed his hair and pushed up his glasses.

That dirty traitor.

“And I just want to make this super clear, that this won’t happen.” He gestured between him and Regulus.

“I’m not trying to date you James.” Regulus finally set his pencil down and faced James. 

“I don’t know. Kissing me kind of gave mixed signals?”

If Regulus didn’t know any better, he would think James enjoyed  that kiss. Thinking back to it, his lack of hesitation when kissing him felt so? Real? Special?

Regulus just glared at James for a moment. He noticed James’ eyes flicker down to the corner of his lips. So quick that if he had blinked, he wouldn’t have noticed. “What?”

James’ hand reached out and his thumb brushed the side of his mouth, and Regulus let him? Although he flinched back for a moment, it was barely noticeable. 

Mary stepped between them and James ripped his hand away. “Here you are! Anything else?” She placed the coke on the counter and smiled. James beamed up at her as he took the straw from his hand.

“No, thank you.” Regulus reached into his bag and pulls out a twenty dollar bill. He smiles and hands it to Mary, “For both drinks.”

He grabbed his stuff and walked towards the door, “Wait!” James called from behind him. He walked straight out the door and didn't look back. Before he could petal away on his bike, a firm hand grabbed the seat, stopping him.

“Let me give you a ride, Baby Black.”

“I’m good.” Regulus huffed.

“It’ll rain soon.” James stated and he knew he won. Regulus had a horrible fear of drowning. And in relation to that, he hated being wet. His showers were quick and if he didn’t dry off fast enough he’d cry.

Regulus never told him that last part though. Sirius told James and the two used to tease Regulus for it.

Sighing, he got off his bike. “Fine.”

The drive back home was quiet and thank god for that. Regulus really did not want to talk to him.

They pulled up in front of his house and Regulus quickly hopped out. He opened the backseat and pulled out his bike. Setting it on the ground, he closed the door and turned back to James. Leaning into the window he spoke, “You can tell everyone we aren't dating and it was an accident. Sorry by the way.” 

He tapped the door and walked away. 

Three steps then; “Wait!”

James hopped from the driver seat and ran after him. His large hand wrapped over Regulus’ wrist and turned him around. He just stared into Regulus’ eyes, his soul. 

Regulus looked up at him and yanked his arm away. 

“What if uh..”

“‘Uh’ what?” He leaned his bike against the faded white fence of his house.

“Let’s let people think we’re together.”

The hell?

Regulus turned and walked away, “Absolutely not.” He muttered over his shoulder.

What the hell was James on about?

Regulus could only imagine how people at school would react. Pandora would throw an absolute fit because Regulus didn’t tell her and Evan would refuse to believe it.

God, Lily would probably go ballistic. Well, Regulus had never seen her angry for real but he imagined that seeing her most recent ex with the guy she doesn’t like would send her into orbit.

The thought alone almost made Regulus change his mind. But he couldn’t. Sirius would have an aneurysm, he just knew it. 

“Just think about it okay!” James shouted as Regulus opened the front door. He didn’t respond, simply nodding and closing the door behind him.

 

He did think about it. He thought about it alot. 

For the entirety of that Sunday he silently weighed the pros and cons.

Pros

It would get Remus off his back and it would royally piss off Lily.

 

Cons

Sirius would throw a proper fit; Kill James, disown Regulus, and get Remus thrown in jail. He wouldn’t kill Remus, he loved him too much. 

 

However the pros outweighed the cons because Sirius couldn't throw a fit if he never found out. If he could convince James to keep his mouth shut, then it could work.

So the next Monday, immediately after school, Regulus stomped his way through the football field. He kept his head down, ignoring the not so inconspicuous stares of the team and coach.

He stopped 8 feet away from James and waited. He did not plan this out. He wasn’t ready for James to approach him and ask:

“What’s up Black?”

He took off his helmet in one pull and looked down at Regulus.

He was dripping with sweat, his hair was disheveled and glistening. His glasses were gone but his eyes shining as bright as ever. He didn’t show a single hint of exhaustion despite the sweat beading down his face.

“Let’s do this.” Slipped from his mouth before he could stop it. He had meant to say ‘never mind’ and walk away but he couldn’t back out now.

James dropped his helmet on to the grass and used his now free hand to pull Regulus in by his waist. He leaned down and captured Regulus’ lips in a rough kiss.

Regulus tensed up and didn’t move. His arms stayed and his side but when the kiss went on a little too long he tapped James’ chest lightly.

He pulled away at the touch and let out a deep breath.

“Um, okay. I’m gonna.. go. Au revoir.” Regulus quickly scurried away and forced himself not to look back. He did not want to see James’ cocky smile.

 

He drove home in silence. Not really. Lyra was listening to music. But he could only hear the thoughts running wild in his head. So now he was dating James?

Fake dating James?

Notes:

haisies!!! thanks for readying! here are your translations:

crétin - Dumbass/Idiot
Au revoir - Bye

not much in this chapter bc it’s so damn short. Next one will me longer I PROMISE!

 

Tumblr

 

kay bye! xx

Chapter 4: Contracts ARE Necessary

Notes:

HEY! this was meant to be two separate chapters but …no.
And, i have no real excuse for my week absence except that my favorite fic isn’t updating :( LIKE COME BACK I MISS YOU. okay enjoy :3

On Tuesday, the very first thing Regulus said was, “We need a contract.”

They sat at a booth in the corner cafe, a chocolate milkshake in front of Regulus and a diet coke in front of James. Plus a basket of fries in the middle of them.

James picked up a fry and held it to his mouth, “Seriously? That sounds so unnecessary.” He popped the fry into his mouth and quickly reached for another.

Of course he thought that.

“Contracts are extremely necessary.” Regulus stated as he flipped open his spiral notebook. He flipped through the pages quickly and hoped James didn’t notice his poetry. Or ‘sad gay boy poetry’ according to Sirius. “First order of business, I don’t want you kissing me anymore.”

It wasn’t that Regulus didn’t like it. It was an objectively good kiss. Kisses? Well, he didn't have anything to compare them to but the way the books described them. But he hadn’t hated it, not at all. But it was too weird. And heaven forbid Sirius found out.

James whipped his mouth on the back of his hand and scoffed, “You kissed me first or do I have to remind you?”

“Yes but that was so that someone didn't think I liked them.”

“Who?” He rested his head on his hand and raised a brow. 

Maybe he shouldn’t have mentioned it. It would definitely be weird to tell your brother's best friend that you only kissed him so that his brother's ex-boyfriend and his other best friend didn't think he liked him. 

“Doesn’t matter.” He clicked his pen and wrote in big swirly letters:

1. No kissing

“Actually it does or I’ll just assume you go around kissing every hot guy.”

Insufferable.

He sighed and took a large gulp from his milkshake. He whipped the milk stash off his face with a napkin and sighed. “Remus. He got a letter too.”

A choked cough came from James as he pounded a hand on his chest. His wild coughing made people look in their direction but eventually they realized he was joking. “Moony got one too? Damn, I guess the Blacks really like him.” He smirked.

Regulus just frowned in response because it was not funny at all. He was in a crisis.

“I thought I was special..” He pouted and batted his eyelashes up at Regulus.

“Nope.” He scoffed, “There’s three others.”

“Ugh! Are you saying I’m the other woman?” James clutched his chest as if he’d been shot with an arrow. He swung the back of his hand to his forehead and began to faint. His head fell onto the table with a loud thud.

“Yeah sorry. But that crush didn’t even last long.” He mocked. 

It really wasn’t that long. Sure, he did still think that James was the sun in everyone's life and he did brighten every room he walked in but it was no longer a crush. Just mild — very mild — admiration. 

“Now, what else should I add?”

James reached his hand over and slid the notebook across the table to himself. Finally lifting his head he said, “People will get suspicious if i'm not allowed to kiss my boyfriend.”

Damn. Okay that’s a pretty good point. You would never see James and Lily together without them violating some kind of PDA rules. Regulus wasn’t the biggest fan of physical touch but for them to really sell it, he had to do something.

“Well.. I guess hand holding is fine and..”

Oh! Oh my god, Sixteen candles.

“You can put your hand in my back pocket.” A small smile ghosted over his face. It was perfect for him to live out his little romcom fantasy. Sixteen candles was a classic! Except, his romcom wouldn’t end the same as others. He and James wouldn’t end up together, he just couldn’t allow it. This was fake.

“In your back pocket — who even does that?” He raised a brow with a slight laugh.

“Hello? Sixteen candles?”

James shook his head.

“Seriously, nothing?” He shook his head again. Yeah, no. Regulus could not be seen with someone who hadn’t watched sixteen candles. It was already bad enough that he dated a football player and a guy who happened to be immensely popular.

Without another word, he snatched the paper bad dramatically and write:

2. Watch sixteen candles.

James groaned, “Is that seriously a requirement?”

“If it’s on the contract, it’s required Potter.”

James’ face changed, for a split second, from its usual bright smile. He was thinking (something Regulus wasn’t sure he could do). “Well, add that you have to call me by my first name.”

As if.

“Or better yet, pet names.”

He scoffed, “Yeah like what.” Regulus folded his arms over his chest. Pet names were a no go. Even if they were actually dating, he could not see himself enjoying pet names let alone using them. “Jamie?” He asked in a mock-sweet tone, batting his lashes just a bit.

James froze and his smile dropped. Um? “Yeah..exactly like that.”

His voice was serious? And his face was just.. plain weird. Regulus quickly scribbled pet names and moved on. 

They spent 20 minutes debating the contract and eventually came up with a total of 5 rules. 

1. NO kissing (hand holding/hand in pocket)
2. Watch Sixteen Candles  
3. Pet Names :p 
4. Parties together
5. Finally, Never tell anyone this is fake

Regulus wasn’t too thrilled about rule four though. He didn’t often go to the parties. Not because he didn’t want to or because he wasn’t invited. He was invited more often than not but the reason wasn’t because people wanted him there but because of his brother. 

Because Sirius was so popular that people thought if they invited Regulus the chances of Sirius being there was higher. They thought that maybe if they were on Regulus’ good side they could get in with Sirius and James. But Regulus saw through them everytime. The one thing he couldn’t explain though was when James would invite him.

It didn’t make sense. He was already the closest person to Sirius, there wasn’t anywhere James was that Sirius wasn’t. But for some reason, James was insistent on Regulus coming to parties. He invited him to everyone for a while but by Junior year he got the hint.

From that rule alone, Regulus was ready to just accept that the whole school might think he goes around kissing everyone.

But, it was James’ rule and he wouldn’t allow this (whatever this was) to happen without it. So that was that.

They had their contract. Now to play it out.

 

First step, the hallways. To convince everyone, James bagan walking Regulus to class. Every class. That way everyone saw them. Regulus tried to keep his head down despite being distracted by the warm hand in his back pocket.

Second step, lunch. By lunch time everyone knew. The moment James saw Regulus walking into the cafeteria with Pandora and Evan, he called him over. “Reggie, over here!”

Regulus would have preferred to keep their friend groups separate but there was no damn way Regulus would be sitting with ‘The Marauders’ without moral support. Before the two could walk away he grabbed Pandora, who instinctively grabbed Evan, and pulled them to the table.

James gestured for his friends to make space and they did. Regulus sat right next to James and he reached into his pocket. “For you, amor.” He smiled and handed Regulus a folded up note. Regulus glanced slightly over at the table next to theirs, Lily was staring. Good.

“Um what the hell is this?” Remus, who was sitting across from James but next to Peter, snapped. Right, Regulus forgot. Remus was close friends with James. Really close. 

Although, because Sirius and Remus had broken up, he honestly expected them to not talk as much. But, maybe Sirius was okay with it. They were friends for years before they dated, their whole group was close, so maybe they were still cool.

James wrapped his arm around Regulus and smiled, “Moony, I’m dating Reg.” Peter slapped a hand over his mouth after his obnoxiously loud snort. He tried to stifle his giggles but he just couldn’t. 

What was so funny?

Remus didn’t respond right away. He stared for a moment and if Regulus were crazy, he would say there was a hint of a smile on his face. But why would Remus be smiling? Exactly, he had no reason so clearly, Regulus was crazy.

“Hmm.” He hummed and went back to his book. Really? That’s it?

Regulus didn’t expect much from Remus but at least a little more than that. Just a hum? A nod? Just a slight acknowledgement? God, Rem give him something!

Regulus looked down at his lap. What was the note for? To make Lily angrier? Yeah that had to be it. He put the note in his back pocket and turned to Pandora. She stared at him, mouth agape. Evan looked the same. Honestly, sometimes setting those two side by side freaked Regulus out.

“Right. Forgot to tell you. I’m dating P-” He quickly stopped himself.

Right, rule three. This was going to be a struggle.

“— James. I’m dating James.”

He could basically feel James’ smile behind him. I bet he’s getting a kick out of this. He leaned back slightly, his back pressed against James’ side. Gotta make this look real.

He could do this. 

 

Three days. It had been three days since that damn contract and Regulus was regretting it immensely. 

“Hey, are you dating James?” “So you and James?” “Really? James and mini Black?” “I didn’t even know James was gay!” 

God it was irritating. If he heard anything about him and James he would throw a fucking fit — 

“You and Potter huh?”

Motherfucker…

He honestly hadn’t expected it to follow him outside of school but here he was. Middle of the grocery store, cart in front of him and he was still being bothered.

“What’s it to you?” Regulus whipped around, glaring. But his face immediately changed when he saw who it was. Barty. “Oh, it’s just you.”

Regulus grabbed a box of strawberries from the shelf and threw it into the shopping cart. He began to walk away and Barty followed. He leaned in close, his breath burning down Regulus’ neck, “You didn’t answer the question.”

He sighed, “Yeah. We’re dating.” He walked past the dairy aisle. Scanning each aisle briefly, he went over the mental grocery list. Tonight, he was cooking and so he needed to go shopping.

“Go make yourself useful, grab some bags of flour. The biggest one you can find.” He stopped abruptly and shooed Barty away. He saluted Regulus as if he were a general and began to walk away. “And get a can of whipped cream!”

With Barty’s help, Regulus got everything he needed. He also made Barty put everything in the trunk. Maybe he’d invite Barty the next time he went shopping. It would certainly make things easier. Although he complained a bit, it was better than Regulus doing it himself.

He slammed the trunk shut and walked to the driver's side. “You’ve been a terrible help. Goodbye Bartemius.” He opened the door and slipped inside. On the passenger side, the door opened and Barty hopped in. 

“What the hell? Get out!”

Barty snapped his gum and reached down to push the seat all the way back. “I figured I should have dinner with you guys.”

Okay, just invite yourself over then! 

“Why would you wanna do that?” But he asked more in a way of needing an explanation than a reason to say no. He actually wouldn’t mind having Barty over. Nor would Lyra or Alphard.

“I do not want to see my dad right now.”

Well that was reason enough. Barty’s dad was a massive twat from what he heard. When the two of them were friends, really friends, he heard plenty of horrible stories about Bartemius Crouch Sr. That’s why Barty went by…Barty. Anything to separate himself from his father. He did anything and everything his father didn’t like. And honestly? Regulus thought that was cool about him. 

 

They arrived at the house and Regulus made Barty carry everything as a way to earn his spot at the dinner table. For said dinner, Regulus made Chicken Confit, roasted potatoes, and asparagus. And for dessert, a strawberry cake requested by Lyra and her sweet tooth.

Barty devoured his plate as if he hadn’t been properly fed in weeks. It worried Regulus a bit. Either his cooking was that good or his father was a bigger twat that he thought.

After dinner, Barty sat on the kitchen island as Regulus washed the dishes. “So..could I stay over?” 

It was out of nowhere. Regulus had only ever had 2 people sleepover, the Rosier twins. But that was so rare. However, he wasn’t opposed to the idea. He liked his space though but it was one night right?

He simply nodded in response and stacked the bowl he was rinsing into the dishwasher. From then on, they just talked. For once in weeks, Regulus felt normal. Barty didn’t mention James in every sentence like everyone else did. Instead, they talked about some random porno he watched. He tried to explain the weird position the girl was in but Regulus just couldn’t picture it. 

“Her leg was where?” He laughed. He was long done with the dishes. Now they were in Regulus’ room. He sat on his bed and Barty at his desk. He gazed over Regulus’ stacks of papers and admired his grayscale vision board.

“I swear, it was hooked behind her head!”

“Impossible!” He flopped down onto his bed in a fit of laughter. Since when were topics like this funny to him? Only when he was around Barty.

That night, he went to bed late. Later than he would on a Friday. Barty kept him up softly laughing as he laid tucked into bed. Barty slept on the floor next to his bed, wrapped in a blanket Lyra lended him. 

ᯓ★

That morning, Regulus was exhausted to say the least. And the way he was woken up didn’t help.

Pounding on his half closed door caused him to stur. He didn’t truly wake up until someone jumped onto his bed. “Turus! You said you’d make breakfast.”

Another body sat by his side, “Yeah Turus.” He mocked. He being Barty and the first voice being his younger incompetent cousin, Lyra. 

He pushed Lyra off of him and turned over. Stepping into his house shoes he quietly walked to the door, the other two following after him.

Lyra hopped onto the couch and put on Dance Moms. Immediately Abby Miller agitating, grating, voice filled the area. As Barty and Lyra began to debate about who deserves a solo, Regulus made crepes. Using the extra strawberries from yesterday he made Nutella and strawberry crepes. 

Serving three to each of them and saving the rest for Alphard whenever he woke up. 

They ate in the living room, Lyra’s hand and Barty’s face stained with chocolate spread. 

Barty didn’t leave till just before lunch. He said goodbye to Regulus and ruffled Lyra’s hair as he left. 

There was peace and quiet for a bit. Alphard was in his office, Lyra was in her room, and he had the living room to himself. He let Dance Moms continue playing until he heard David Bowie playing. Starman in particular. And a soft buzz rattled against the couch. 

Siriusly….

God what was he going to do? Sirius. Whom he’d been avoiding. For weeks. Too many weeks. He let out a breath and picked up his phone. 

Answering the facetime, he let out a breath.

“Oh mon putain de dieu! Regulus!” Sirius screamed into the phone. At first, the camera was pointed to the blue-grey cloudy sky then pointed down and close to Sirius’ face. His black hair flowed in the aggressive wind, Regulus could hear the wind pounding at the speakers.

“Salut Siri..” He muttered. 

“God, It’s been forever!!” Sirius propped up his phone and Regulus could see he was sitting at the outside table of a restaurant.

“Yeah, sorry. School.”

“Oh.. I get it! How are you?” Sirius’ smile was soft and sincere.

Please, I don’t want to talk about it.

“I’m fine,” He said, “How is Scotland!” He quickly changed the topic and Sirius took the bait. He went on a rant about the weather and what it does to his hair, the classes, the people, his new friends. Everything.

But when he got to that last topic, he suddenly had a question. “Oh! Have you talked to James..,”

God couldn’t they talk about anything else. He was not about to admit that he was dating fake dating James. Never. While he was thinking of how to respond, Sirius continued:

“Or Remus..?”

Um. So, why would Sirius be bringing up his ex? Sirius wasn’t the type to be strung up on exes. Between his many flings and relationships, he only kept in contact with two.

There was only one major event with Remus right now, the damn letter. But no way. No way he could’ve found out.

“No.. Why?”

Silence. 

It was so uncomfortable. Silence was not common with Sirius. He was thinking.

“I have to tell you something Reg.” His voice held the hint of a treble, like he had a secret. 

“What?-”

The doorbell rang. Then three rhythmic knocks. Remus. 

Sirius’ eyes snapped wide open. They just stared at each other for a moment. Sirius nodded slightly then smiled, “Go open it. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

“Si-” He hung up. 

Okay damn. No goodbye?

Regulus opened the door and just stared at him. Remus was sitting on their old porch swing. He lifted his head slightly and smiled. Regulus walked up and sat next to him. 

Without a word, Remus handed Regulus the letter. Regulus took it reluctantly and stared at it. 

If only he hadn’t written it. Slowly he ripped it in half. Then fourths. Then eighths.

“Well if I knew you were going to destroy it., I would’ve kept it.” He chuckled. 

“Yeah, no way I’d let you keep it.” He put the scraps into his pocket.

They didn’t speak, thank god. Regulus didn’t want to. He would’ve preferred if they didn’t talk at all but he knew they had to.

Remus pulled out a cigarette and flicked open his lighter. He lit it and took a long drag. Regulus held his breath as Remus let out his smoke. “Have you spoken to Sirius?” He took another drag. 

“Yeah, just now… for a bit. Although I’m not too sure he’d be happy to know I’m dating his best friend.” He huffed. 

“You haven’t told him?”

“No.”

“Hmm. Let’s hope he doesn’t find out.”

More silence.

“And you’re happy with him?”

Am I? Wait, why would that matter? They aren't actually dating so if he’s happy or not, doesn’t matter in the slightest.

“Yeah.”

Remus nodded, he grabbed his cane and stood. “Good for you then Reg.”

Regulus watched him walk away, the hard thumping of his cane on the ground.

 

Goodbye Remus.

Notes:

HAI!! Thanks for reading. I don’t have much to say fr so SEE YOU SOON XX

tranlations:
Oh mon putain de dieu - Oh my fucking god.
Salute Siri - Hey Siri

 

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Chapter 5: Partying is… Something

Summary:

Reg goes to a party… yay?

Notes:

TW- underage drinking and tons of swearing!!!

look at me spoiling you guys :3 two days later and yall get an update, HOW DOES IT FEEL TO LIVE MY DREAM? lungsilk still hasn’t dropped the next chapter after almost 2 weeks:(

okay that’s all enjoy

So Remus was okay with this? Cool. Great! Regulus didn’t care. Why would he, at this point he was way over Remus. Definitely.

That fluttery feeling? LONG GONE!

Everything is fine, okay! Sirius still doesn’t know about the deal, Remus is chill, Lily is a little jealous, and James is — 

“Reg?”

Lyra had been staring at him for sometime but he hadn’t noticed. He sat in the middle of his room, still recovering from his brief talk with Sirius and Remus. Thinking back at it, Sirius said he needed to tell Regulus something. But he was very rudely interrupted. 

“What?”

He didn’t lift his head from his textbook. Just 5 minutes after Remus left he found himself lost in his homework and studying. Why think about all of the problems in his life when he could just make sure he aced his finals. Though, maybe he was over preparing given that it wasn’t even Halloween yet.

Speaking of which, he wondered if Pandora had plans that day.

Lyra (the absolute traitor she was) opened the door and James stood there. In the doorway. Of HIS room. Regulus tried his hardest not to seem annoyed because he did not want to see James at all that weekend.

“Hi baby!” He waved. Regulus half expected him to jump on him but no. James stayed just outside the door, not even crossing the threshold. “Can I come in?”

Regulus could feel the warmth surrounding him as James smiled. Honestly, James’ aura was so unbelievably bright, his eyes started to burn. His dark grayscale room suddenly felt like a teenage girl's room: bright and colorful.

He snapped his textbook shut and stood, “No.”

Clearly his ears weren’t working because he swore he heard James whine. What was he, a dog? A slight frown was present on his face. An unusual look on James given he was a very smiley person. It almost hurt Regulus to see it. Almost. 

“My uncle won’t allow it.” He offered as an explanation. Since they were dating fake dating, Alphard would not allow James to be alone with Regulus maybe ever. He tried to do the same with Remus and Sirius but Sirius was so defiant he just gave up. Plus he knew that Remus was responsible enough for the two of them. 

They balanced each other out. What Remus lacked, Sirius had an abundance of and vice versa. Regulus often questioned, what went wrong?

Regulus hoped that maybe when (more like if) he started dating, his uncle would trust him that much but with James? Maybe not.

They walked downstairs and Regulus stepped into the kitchen. He turned off the fire under the kettle and opened the cupboard to grab two mugs. “So, why are you here?” He asked, jumping up to sit on the counter. He crossed his ankles and his legs swung slightly. 

James leaned back onto the marble kitchen island and smiled, “I have a proposition!”

”What kind involves you coming to my house?”

”A party!”

He raised his hand as Regulus opened his mouth to refuse, “And before you say no, remember rule 4! Marls is having a party and we have to go.” He raised an eyebrow because he knew he was right. It was Regulus who proposed the contract after all.

Regulus simply sighed as he grabbed the kettle, slowly pouring the water into the mugs and dropping tea bags into them. He handed one to James and nodded slightly, “Fine. But seriously I am not staying more than 2 hours.” 

James beamed as he opened the sugar bowl and dropped two cubes into his cup. “Great!”

After finishing their tea, Regulus went to his uncle’s office to ask him (more like inform him) of their plans. He was overly enthusiastic and just said to be home before midnight, Regulus promised to be home way before then. He went to his room to change before realizing he didn’t know what to wear.

He didn’t go to parties but he did know people who did. Sirius was out of the question. He would have an absolute fit if he found out that Regulus was finally going to parties the one time he wasn’t there.

He scrolled through his contact list and quickly texted Barty. 

Sos. I’m being forced to a party,

what do I wear?

 

A moment later he was getting a facetime call. “For god’s sake please don’t wear all black. Add some color. Oh! maybe something sparkly!” Regulus nodded slightly as he listened to Barty list off what he thought was appropriate party attire.

He came to the conclusion that he really, really, did not want to go nor dress up. Fuck him and his contract. He could just say no… Then he got a text,

 

James

hurry!! :p

 

He reached to the back of his closet, through all the clothes he borrowed from Sirius and showed each one to Barty. “No.” “ew? Your brother has no taste!” “um…” “okay just throw on a leather jacket Regulus!”

Fine by him.

He grabbed a black leather jacket Sirius and Lyra  had made him as a birthday gift just the year before. Although he hadn’t worn it yet, he appreciated the effort. The back had jewels in the shape of the Alpha Leonis (Leo) constellation. The brightest star in Leo was his. Lionheart. Regulus.

He put on a green band tee that Barty suggested (“for color!”) and the jacket over it. Paired with some black ripped jeans he didn’t even know he had and his docs but he swapped out his usual black laces for green ones, he was ready.

Barty agreed to meet him there because god Regulus would not be surrounded by those people without support.

He told Lyra to lock the door before she went to bed and kissed her forehead. He walked out of the house and sighed as the crisp October wind hit his face. 

Regulus felt like he thrived in Autumn. Spring was too rainy, Summer too hot, and Winter too cold. But Autumn was perfect. Warm enough to wear shorts, cool enough to wear a sweater.

Lyra locked the door behind him and he took a deep breath before getting into James’ car. 

“Ready?” James turned to him with a smile as he started the car. The engine roared and the dashboard light flicked on. Regulus nodded slightly and brushed his hair out of his face. It was getting long, typically Sirius would cut it for him but since he was gone Regulus kind of forgot. 

“One more thing!” James reached into his pocket and grabbed a box. A jewelry box.

“What are you proposing?” Regulus mocked with a slight laugh. 

James smiled fondly at him and opened the box. A beautiful silver necklace sat inside. The initials J and R side by side.

Regulus couldn’t stop his mouth from falling open because… What the fuck?!

Since when were they on a gift giving basis? He looked up at James, a confused and slightly agitated look on his face. James just blinked at him and nodded his head slightly.

Regulus reached out and gently grabbed the box. Placing it in his lap, he grabbed the necklace and examined it closer.

J and R… When did he even get this?

“Here.” James reached out and grabbed the chain from his hands. Regulus turned and let James clip it on for him.

The cold silver made him shutter a bit. The raised his hand to toy with the chain as he thought. He felt cool under his hands, calming in a way.

James admired him for a minute, a smile ever so present on his face. He finally pulled his gaze away and backed out of the driveway.

 

Marlene's house was big. Not huge, not medium, but definitely not small. Just big. From the outside you could see that it had two stories (not including the attic). And a two car garage. Regulus could hear the music from outside. Through the many windows he could see flashing lights changing color every second. 

Regulus gulped, surprisingly loudly, and let out a breath. It's fine. Before they entered the house, James grabbed his wrist. “Wait.” He grabbed his phone from his back pocket and pointed it at Regulus, “Smile Reggie.”

His face stayed neutral until James raised a brow. His lips curled to form a forced smile. Click. 

“Okay give me your phone.” 

James took Regulus’ phone and snapped a photo of himself, “Now you have to make that your wallpaper.” He smiled. 

“What’s yours then?” He took his phone back.

James held up his phone to show the picture of Regulus he took. ‘God, I look like Sirius…’ He thought. Between his longer hair and leather jacket, he realized how similar he and Sirius were. 

He held out his hand for Regulus to take and reluctantly he did, interlocking their fingers. James squeezed his hand and opened the door, the music flooded their ears. One step into the house and someone called out, “JAMES!”

Cheers. Literal fucking cheers as James walked in. A few ooh’s as well when people saw Regulus with him. He hid slightly behind James, not because he was scared, no. Because he did not want to be seen honestly. 

“Reggie!” 

Lucky for Regulus, Barty showed up. He barely even acknowledged James as he pulled Regulus into a side hug, “I honestly thought you wouldn’t take my outfit advice.”

“Well what else was I supposed to wear?”

“I don’t know,” He shrugged, “Maybe something that screams ‘I live in the fantasies inside my head.’ Like a cardigan!”

 “I think you’re mistaking me for Lupin.” He laughed. James squeezed his hand at the name, ever so slightly. Like it was instinctive. 

Regulus looked up at him, his face wearing the question “Are you okay?”

James smiled in response, “I’ll go get us some drinks. Go on, I’ll find you.” He raised Regulus’ hand up to his lips and pressed a soft performative kiss. Blush crept up his neck and onto his cheeks as he watched James walk away.

Barty dragged him towards the living room, filled to the brim with people he did not want to see. Just two hours. 

He saw that bright red haired girl sitting on the couch next to his absolute favorite waitress. Lily and Mary. Best friends those two, you’d see those two together almost as much as you see Sirius and James.

Mary pointed Regulus out to Lily as he walked in and Lily smiled brightly at him. She waved them over and patted the space next to her on the couch. Barty shot Regulus a quick look before he could run off and pulled them over. He shoved Regulus down to sit next to Lily while he sat next to Regulus.

“I didn’t know you were coming!” She brushed a curl away from her face. Her makeup was bright and her eyeliner sharp. She held a red solo cup in her hands but it was empty. She sat it down on the coffee table in front of them and grabbed Mary’s from her hand. When she began to protest, Lily stuck out her tongue playfully. 

“I wasn’t planning on it but, you know James. Can never say no to him…” He tried to hide the sarcasm dripping from his voice, it seemed like only Barty noticed because he nudged Regulus with his shoulder.

She smiled and took a sip of Mary’s drink before handing it back to her, “Speaking of that dork. Where is he?”

Of course she was asking about him. Way to let everyone know you still think about your ex..

“Oh, he’s just getting me a drink.” He offered a smile. 

Right on cue, James appeared behind Regulus. He wrapped his arms around Regulus’ handing him his drink. “Here you are, love.”

Regulus put on his best ‘helplessly in love smile’ and signaled for Barty to scoot over. He made space for James who jumped over the back of the couch to sit next to Regulus. He reluctantly took a sip of his drink only to be met with a familiar taste. Tangy yet sweet orange juice. With pulp, just how he liked it. 

He looked over at James who gave him a small wink as he began talking to Mary. Regulus felt a tug on his heart and his lips curled up involuntarily. How did James know? Outside of chocolate milk or milkshakes, orange juice was his favorite drink. Sure it was basic but he loved it. And how did he know that he preferred it with the bits in it?

It wasn’t something he went around telling people. Only if asked he would say “Smooth orange juice just feels wrong.” Yet somehow, he knew. Maybe Sirius told him. 

Barty reached behind James and tapped Regulus on the shoulder. “Dance?” He mouthed. 

Regulus thought it over. Would he rather dance to some music he didn’t listen to or sit here and listen to James yap about any and everything. In all honesty, he wouldn’t mind either but he knew Barty didn’t want to stay here. So he nodded and took a final gulp of his juice. Setting his cup on the table, he leaned over to James and pressed a soft kiss on his cheek, “I’m gonna go dance.”

So technically this was a defiance of his own rule but they were in front of Lily, their main target, so surely he could make an exception.

James looked a little shocked but quickly fixed his face to a grin. “Okay.” He nodded. 

Barty led Regulus to the center of the living room, pushing through the crowd currently drunkenly dancing to Hey Ya! By Outkast. He expected different music from a party hosted by Marlene McKinnon but this actually felt on brand. 

For a moment he just watched the crowd dance, a few stood still and talked but either way the scene was nice. Almost nostalgic though he’d never been to a real party. The song came to an end and everyone cheered. The next song played, Somebody To Love.

Bary grabbed his hand as he sang, his other hand hovered over Regulus' waist. “Absolutely not!” He tried to pull away but Barty stopped him.

“Don’t be a party pooper! Just dance.”

Regulus rolled his eyes and fixed Barty’s grip on his hand so their fingers were interlaced. He danced to the best of his ability but he could not keep up with Barty. 

The song finally ended and in all honesty? He had fun. Softly singing and just moving his body, it was more fun than he could have imagined. Although he was sweaty and breathing heavily.

Barty turned his head and scoffed. Following his eyes, Regulus looked in the direction of James.

He saw that Lily was talking to him but he wasn’t listening. He was staring dead at Regulus. When Lily noticed his diverted attention, she stood and walked away. James swiftly followed after her because of course he was. 

He rolled his eyes. James was in this for Lily, right. That’s what he wanted. But for some reason, Regulus wasn’t happy. This was the point of their contract though. Makes Lily and Remus jealous. Although Remus didn’t seem to care, which was a huge problem, they still had to get Lily royally pissed off so maybe she’d take James back. Or that’s what Regulus assumed James wanted, he never explicitly said. 

His heart hurt as they walked away. He quickly averted his eyes and looked back at Barty who had an apologetic look on his face. “Drink.” He blurted. “I need a drink.” Regulus ran a hand through his hair and sighed. Barty let him go and he stomped away to the kitchen.

Regulus didn’t drink. Never. But for fucks sake he felt like he wanted to. Just this once. He grabbed a solo cup from the stack and looked over the various alcohols and mixers. Maybe he should’ve brought Barty with him because he didn’t know what was what. He spent a good five minutes rereading the name of every drink.

“I suggest only taking a shot of this one.” Someone grabbed a bottle with an odd name he couldn’t pronounce. Looking over, Regulus saw Dorcas Meadows. Someone he never really knew but knew of. She was quite popular, being the girlfriend of this party's host after all. And an amazing basketball player.

She had beads of sweat dripping down her dark skin and hair, illuminated slightly by the red glow-stick around her neck.

She smiled at him and opened the bottle, pouring two shots. “I suggest using something as a chaser though.. It’s a tad bitter.”

She slid the shot over to him and held up her arm in cheers. He held up his shot and nodded. They took it at the same time, Regulus’ face twisted in disgust. 

A tad bitter? Liar. That shit was horrible. He could barely swallow it. Dorcas on the other hand took it like a champ. He coughed at the burning in his throat as she patted his back. In between her wild laugh she asked, “Never drank before huh? I should’ve picked something else.”

“No no,” he coughed, “It's — ahem — it’s fine!”

“Want me to grab some water or..?”

“No, I'm good!” He coughed one final time and stood up straight. Leaning forward onto the counter he sighed. It did help with the nerves though that would be his first and only shot of the night. No absolute way he could take another and he could not go home drunk. Not only was it illegal but Alphard would have a fit.

She made space on the counter for her to sit and jumped up, crossing her ankles. “So,”

Regulus rolled his eyes internally because he knew exactly what she was going to ask:

“You and Potter huh?”

He simply nodded and dropped his head. All of a sudden his neck felt heavy and his face hot. 

She patted his back lightly and laughed, “Good luck with that. He’s a bit much in my opinion. Though him and Marlene are very alike, James seems worse..”

“Oh you wouldn’t believe!” He scoffed. 

James was a lot. Regulus thought that if they were actually dating, he probably couldn’t make it. He’s too affectionate, too nice, too helpful. Not just with his partners but with everyone. Regulus just knew he would develop hyper jealousy just looking at James talk to someone else. IF they were really dating. Which they weren’t. 

“Oh hey Cas.” Barty’s voice came from somewhere behind him but he didn’t look.

“Hi Bart!”

“Are you good Reggie? Want me to get James?” 

At the sound of James’ name Regulus’ head popped up. “Non. Please don't, I do not want to talk to him.”

 The two shared a soft glance then looked back at Regulus, “Why not?” Dorcas asked, taking a sip of her new found drink. She wiped the excess that dripped from her lip with her thumb. 

“Because he’s talking to Evans. Her and her perfect hair.” He huffed, rolling his eyes. He heard a soft snicker from Dorcas and he shot her a glare. 

“Sorry sorry!” She held up her hand in mock defense “I just never pegged you for the jealous type.”

“I hope you never pegged him..” Barty joked. The three laughed in sync. It was ironic because Dorcas was a raging lesbian and Reg was as gay as they come. Regulus fully sat up and let out  a breath. He hopped up onto the counter and reached for a cup. He ordered Barty to find the orange juice and hand it to him. 

He filled half the cup with it and then gave Dorcas a look, “Which one would go best with OJ?”

She bit her lip as she thought, silent for a moment. “I don’t recommend drinking anything right now Reg. You’re very clearly a light weight.” She laughed. 

“Aw come on! I just need one more drink.” He smiled, bright and sincere. 

“Fine. But I’m pouring it.” She compromised and she began pouring the three of them drinks. 

One more drink turned into two. Then three. And almost four before James appeared. 

The three were sitting on the counter, Barty swayed to the music, Dorcas rambled about Marlene, and Regulus just laughed at nothing. When he spotted James he smiled and a soft giggle escaped his lips, he would absolutely deny it later. “Jamieee!” He cheered. 

Next to James was Marlene who seemed less drunk than as they were. Which came as a surprise to Regulus, she seemed like a hard partier.

“Hi guapo.” He reached out and ruffled Regulus’ hair. It felt nice. Better than he thought it would, maybe his years of never letting people touch his hair caused him to miss out. 

“What does that mean?” He questioned, leaning in. But James backed away before their faces got too close. He chuckled a bit and turned to Marlene. 

“It means handsome. Which you are.” His thumb brushed over Regulus cheeks that were no doubt a bright red. Not just from the drinking but the casual compliment.

“Get Dorcas, I’ll take care of these two.” He said to Marlene, not taking his eyes off of Regulus.

She nodded slightly and grabbed Dorcas’ arm. “Hi baby. Come on, let's go to bed.” 

Dorcas nodded and jumped off the counter. They walked away hand in hand, up the stairs and out of view.

“Don’t worry about me Jamie boy!” Barty rested his hand on James’ shoulder and slowly slid off the counter. 

“I can drive you home if you need?” James offered but Barty quickly shook his head.

“Ehh. I’d rather crash here and bother the lesbians in the morning.” He wandered off. 

“Bye-bye Barty!” Regulus cheered and waved as he walked out. He leaned forward and rested his head on James' broad shoulder and inhaled heavily. “Wow, you smell good.”

“Thank you, love.” James snickered and his finger tangled into Regulus’ hair. Reg sighed and let out a soft hum. 

“That feels nice.”

“Does it? I thought you don’t like me touching your hair..”

He doesn’t. But for some reason it just… felt right? 

 

“Hmm.. It’s okay when you do it.” He smiled softly against James’ shoulder. James’ hand soothed his head for a moment. Regulus relished in the silence and felt his conscience slowly slip away. Calm and feeling safe where he was, he let his mind drift.

Before he fully fell asleep, he felt James lift him off the counter by his waist. He wrapped his legs around James’ to keep himself up and James patted his back softly. “Come on, love. Let’s take you home.” He murmured. 

Regulus simply hummed and as he left the sleep wash over him, he hoped he wouldn’t be lectured the next morning.

Notes:

HEY HEY HEYYY!!!

i wish i could write longer chapters but i suck… so bye! see yall soon. let’s pray the next chapter is 4,000 words instead of 2,000 ☹️☹️

 

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Chapter 6: Meet The Potters

Summary:

This was meant to be apart of the last chapter and it’s basically a filler.. sorry!

Notes:

This chapter is basically a filler but I was told to never delete a scene so i’m keeping it in. This and the next chapter were meant to be one but…. god it would’ve been too long. and i went so off my chapter layout with this.. im just writing whatever at this point
oh also i’m too lazy to fix the spacing so deal with it! okay love you bye!!!

When Regulus woke up, he expected a heavy lecture on how underage drinking is not cool and a list of all the things that could have gone wrong because he hadn’t been careful. 

 

He expected Alphard to stand at the foot of his bed and yell at him for the first time ever. He expected Sirius to fly home immediately and never leave again because they couldn’t trust Regulus anymore. He expected Ornelia to rise from her grave just to put him in time out as if he were five years old again and just played a prank with Sirius. But no.

 

He woke up to the sun, both literally and metaphorically. The sun shone down brightly in his eyes but the sun also sat at the edge of a bed he could faintly recognize, a bright smile on his face. 

 

Looking to his left, Regulus saw a small window with its curtains wide open. A bird sat  on the window sill, its faint chirping filled his ears. From the position of the sun — something he learned to read when he was young —  it was pushing one o'clock.

 

He tried to sit up but he was immediately knocked back down by the pounding in his head, like he’d been shot. He squeezed his eyes shut and placed his hand over his head. 

 

“Morning Reg. Are you feeling okay?” The sun asked. 

 

Regulus blinked back at him for a moment and the sun was replaced with the face of his boyfriend fake boyfriend.

 

“Qu'est-ce que tu m'as fait, James?” He groaned, “I feel like I’m fucking dying.”

 

James chuckled and kneeled by his side. “That’s because you’re hungover.” He whispered, so as not to hurt Regulus’ ears. He reached on the nightstand and grabbed a cup of water, handing it and two pills to him.

 

“You need to take these and finish the glass.”

 

The water felt weird in his throat, he was so parched. The pill slid down with a loud gulp and he sighed. “Can you get me some orange juice?” He asked softly. Not because he was being sweet or anything. But because his throat hurt so much.

 

His mouth tasted faintly of puke, he couldn’t remember it but he was sure he threw up at some point last night.

 

“I would but I feel like you could throw it back up any moment.” James reached up and ruffled his head, “Go back to sleep. If you feel the need to hurl, use this.” He set a bucket next to his bed as he stood. “I'll be back in a bit, maybe with some orange juice.” 

 

His eyes flickered down to Regulus’ lips then back up as quickly as it happened.

He smiled softly and it made Regulus want to smile back at him. He was so sweet, sickeningly so. God did he make Regulus want to rip his own hair out.

 

He walked out of the room, his footsteps soft on the carpet of the room then heavy on the hardwood floors of the hallway. He made sure to close it behind him, giving Regulus privacy. Regulus watched him leave and he stared at the door till James’ footsteps went quiet.

 

He let his eyes gaze over the room. 

 

So bright and colorful, it was. Mostly red and gold but dashes of green all around. He had his old jersey framed on his wall and his open closet filled to the brim. There were piles of clothes close to the wall like he’d pushed them away to make space. 

 

Regulus pulled the blanket over his head and let out a heavy breath. He suddenly became hyper aware of the dainty silver necklace on his neck. His hand reached up to touch it, the silver slightly warm from his body heat in contrast to his cold hands. He twisted the R for a moment then the J, tracing his fingers over them. When did James have time to buy this? Surely it was to make the relationship more convincing. People did buy their partners gifts! It was in every book Regulus read. 

 

He began to wonder if James ever bought anything like that for Lily. It was likely. He’d liked her for a while and they were together for a little more than a year. Thinking about it, he never really saw Lily wearing anything James related other than his jersey. The same one on the wall in front of him. 

 

He felt sick thinking about it. He had the jersey his ex wore up on his wall. Sure it was his first but.. God he had to throw up.

 

He reached over and grabbed the bucket. It was vile. Regulus felt like absolute trash. Not just because he was hungover but because of how much he was thinking about James and Lily. 

 

Why did he care so much? They weren’t together anymore. Hell, he and James weren’t even actually together.

 

He put the bucket back down and sighed. He shifted onto his stomach, though he knew that probably wasn’t the best idea given that he still might throw up. But he really couldn’t care. He was all consumed by James. His smell surrounded him, every time he opened his eyes James’ things were there, James was even invading his thoughts. 

 

What he needed right now was a nice nap. 

 

ᯓ★

 

Soft hands gently shook him awake. They weren’t James’ though, he would know. Don’t ask him how though. He’d like to pretend he didn’t spend a couple months of his life studying every part of James. 

 

Although, these hands were similar. Just slimmer and gentle. He blinked his eyes open and saw someone sat next to him. Euphemia Potter, James’ mother. Sirius’ by extension. 

 

And by extension of an extension, Regulus’ as well.

 

She smiled softly at him, a glass in her hand. She set it down and used her now free hand to brush his hair away from his face. “Hello Regulus. How are you dear?”

 

Her smile was almost as bright as James’. There was no doubt that was his mother. The resemblance in their facial expressions and hair made Regulus sure of it.

 

Regulus sat up, his back pressed against the headboard. His hands instinctively reached up and grabbed hold of his necklace. He fidgeted with it slightly, drawing Euphemia’s attention to it. There was a slight glint in her eye when she caught sight of it but she hadn’t said anything.

 

“I’m okay, Mrs.Potter. Thank you for letting me stay the night.”

 

She snorted at the name and let her hand rest on his knee, “No ‘Mrs.Potter’. It makes me feel old. I’m Effie to you dear.” He smiled up at her softly. The contact didn’t make him flinch away like it would with other people. He adored Effie, no matter how much he’d like to deny it.

 

She was too kind. As sweet as her son. 

 

“Or..” She trailed off a bit, “Sirius likes to call me mom. You can do the same if you’d like.”

 

Mom. Mom.

 

He tested it in his head. How it might sound. Although Alphrad and Ornelia raised him, he referred to them as his Aunt and Uncle. There was a point where he did call them Mom and Dad but it was too much for him. 

 

Maybe he’d get around to doing it eventually.

 

He simply nodded.

 

“James said you might like some orange juice.” She handed him the cold glass. He quickly took a sip and god did it make him feel better. Maybe this is his hangover cure. “He practically threatened me when he realized we didn’t have the kind you liked.” She joked. 

 

Oh. That jogged Regulus’ memory. James got him orange juice at the party. With pulp. Exactly like he liked. When did he even find that out? And it’s not like Marlene’s house didn’t have the smooth kind because later that night he saw some. James actually put thought into what he gave Regulus.

 

It felt almost as if he cared. Almost.

 

“Yeah. Sorry if it was any inconvenience, Mrs- Effie.”

 

“Not at all, Love.” He patted his head slightly and stood. “If you’re hungry, I made some pancakes. Saved you a few.”

 

She didn’t let him respond, simply gave him a peck on the forehead and stepped out of the room.

 

‘God. What is it with the Potters and their unbearable kindness.’

 

After a few moments and finishing his orange juice, Regulus stood up and stretched a bit. He looked around the room once more and a photo caught his eye. On top of James’ nightstand was a photo of him and just about all of his friends.

 

They were in a field somewhere. Tall grass surrounded them, wild flowers and dandelions all around. James, Sirius, and Marlene kneeled on a blanket, arms all wrapped around one another. Marlene was in her soccer uniform, her front slightly muddy. Peter and Mary were to their left (Regulus’ right) hugging each other, his arms around her waist and her arms clung to the back of his neck. They made silly faces at the camera. Remus and Lily sat on  two of the three lawn chairs to their right. Her hair was tied back neatly into a bun and she wore chunky sunglasses, her tongue stuck out to the camera. Remus wore a gray grandpa sweater, he looked at the camera but he didn’t make a face. Nothing but what Regulus knew to be fondness. 

 

Regulus held the picture frame in his hands, trailing his finger over the edge of it. Bumpy from the seashells glued to it. Regulus examined the picture again, really taking it in.

 

Everyone seemed so happy. So comfortable together. 

 

His heart hurt just a bit when he saw James and Lily were holding hands. Well, of course they would be. They were dating at this time. 

 

He sighed and put the photo down. Turning away from it, he found more. Some printed and on the wall and many placed in silly frames on top of his desk and wall shelves.

 

Photos of him, Marlene, and Peter as kids, no older than 5. A photo of his parents' wedding. One of him and Sirius during freshman year (Regulus could tell because of James’ horrendous haircut). A photo of a young James and a much older man, holding each other close. Regulus deduced that the man was his grandfather. (‘Abuelo’ as it said on the frame).

 

He smiled as he trailed his fingers over each one, as if he could feel how James felt while taking them. However, he stopped when he saw one. One with him in it.

 

He was sitting on the porch swing of his house, talking to Lyra. He couldn’t have been more than 11 at the time of this photo. Sirius stood in front of them, nodding. 

 

When did James get that photo? And why would he put it up?

 

Another one, right next to it was just Regulus alone. A side shot of him sitting in the sand of the lake near their house. He’d recognize it anywhere. James and Sirius would drag him there every summer.

 

All he was doing was reading. His head down, looking at the book in his lap. What was so fascinating about that?

 

“What are you doing?” The voice made his jump slightly. 

 

He whipped his head around and saw James with his head peeking into the door. 

 

“Uh, Just looking.” He rubbed his hands onto the hoodie he was just now realizing wasn’t his. Not only was it way a little too big on him but it was the brightest red he’d ever seen. And it matched with one Sirius owned. “You have a lot of photos.” He stated, walking over to the bed. 

 

He sat down, the bed creaking softly under him. James followed, sitting so close yet so very far. “Yeah. Mary prints them for me.”

 

“I knew you’d be the sentimental type but this just feels like too much.” He laughed and pulled his knees up to his chest, resting his head on them.

 

“I don’t know. I like keeping the memories I guess.” He looked at the photo on his nightstand. A smile crept onto his face, like he was replaying the memory in his head.

 

“Is that why you have not one, but two photos of me?” He raised a brow. He meant it as a tease, in all honesty, Regulus didn’t care that James had photos of him. It was sweet in a way.

 

That catches James’ attention. His eyes widen and flicker to the wall, gazing over the two photos of Regulus. His smile falters and for a moment, Regulus regrets bringing it up.

 

“Yeah. I guess it just felt like a special moment. Something I wanted to.. keep.” He explains. His voice is soft, almost like a mutter. 

 

Regulus hums in response, not wanting to push it. It felt good knowing that James saw some importance in that. In a moment that involved Regulus. So much so that he had to take a photo. He let the silence surround them a little longer before speaking, “Have you told your parents that we’re.. You know?”

 

“Dating?”

 

“Fake dating.” He corrects at a whisper, just in case his parents can hear them. 

 

James nods, “Mom kind of guessed it when we came back last night.”

 

Oh god. Regulus never went home. Alphard must be going insane! He’s probably sent out a search party and called Sirius. How was Regulus going to-

 

“Before you freak out, I had my mum call Alphard. He said it's okay if you sleep here.”

 

James, as thoughtful as ever. He knew Regulus would be absolutely freaking out. As if he could hear Regulus’ thoughts.

 

He let out an involuntary sigh and leaned back a bit. He took a deep breath and collected his thoughts, everything was okay. James, of all people, took care of everything. 

 

Regulus’ stomach growled loudly. Really fucking loud. His cheeks burned, he could imagine what he looked like at that moment. His hair felt sweaty, the oversized sweater and the shorts that somehow fit him, his face covered in a harsh blush, his eyes probably with dark circles, and now he was starving. 

 

But James still stared at him with that look in his eye. Like he was a work of art.

 

James huffed out a laugh, soft and quick. Regulus didn’t look over at him, in fact he looked away. James did not need to see him like this. He quickly stood and left the room.

 

“Reg wait up!” 

 

He just needed to eat and go home.

 

Getting to the bottom of the stairs he looked around the house he hadn’t seen in so long. The same red and brown color scheme. The tv in the same place, the couch sat the same way it always did. Plants hung from the sealing and some sat on shelves. 

 

Blankets thrown over the couch, on top of people sleeping there. More blankets and pillows laid on the floor. 

 

Several heads turned towards him when he reached the ground. Effie looked over at him from the kitchen. Peter was laid out on the couch, the blanket over his arms. Remus was on the arm chair, a quilt over his lap and a steaming mug in his hand. Lily sat on the arm of the chair, lifting her head from the book in Remus’ lap, a matching mug in her hand. Mary was asleep on the floor just next to Peter. Fleamont, James’ father, was sitting at the dining table, a new paper in front of him.

 

They all looked fucked. Except Remus. He always looked great in Regulus’ opinion. What was weird this time though is how Regulus’ heart didn’t flip when they made eye contact. How his face didn’t heat up, how his hands didn’t get sweaty. Nothing. 

 

James, finally reaching the bottom of the stairs, grabbed his hand and pulled him to the kitchen. Effie handed him a plate, “Two and a half pancakes, per James’ request.” She giggled just a bit. 

 

“Um, how the hell.” He exclaimed. He lowered his tone at the wraning look Effie gave him, “James why do you know how many pancakes I eat.” He asked as the two walked to the dining room. James set down his glass of milk and sat next to him. 

 

“Yo no se. It just makes sense.” He shrugs then continues, “two isn’t enough but three has always been too much.”

 

He just shrugs? Like it’s nothing? Like it’s common knowledge? 

 

“Do you observe me that much?” Regulus scoffs, picking up a piece of his now pancakes. Dry, no syrup. The same way he typically ate them,  something that hopefully James hadn’t told his mother. Maybe, Effie just forgot. 

 

James takes a big gulp from his glass and sets it down softly. Whipping his face with the napkin he grins, “Well yeah. Why wouldn’t I know that about my boyfriend.”

 

The emphasis on ‘my boyfriend’ made Regulus shudder slightly. He resisted the urge to correct James and say it was fake, but people were all around. Speaking of those around them, Regulus swore he heard someone snicker. One of the many in the living room. 

 

Regulus nodded and bit his lip. Maybe it’s best not to be snarky in front of his fake boyfriend's parents. He continued to eat his food, not looking up from his plate. Even ignoring James when he placed his head on his shoulder.

 

He didn’t shrug him off or make a face. He just let it happen. The faster he ate, the quicker he could go home.

 

Taking his plate to the kitchen, he walked around Effie and straight to the sink. There was a few soft gasps from the others but he ignored it, turning on the water.

 

“No.”

 

He looked up at her with a confused look, “No..?” He repeated. 

 

“Absolutely not Regulus. You are a guest in this home, Cariño. Don’t ever touch that sink again.” Effie’s voice was stern as she pointed her finger at him. 

 

He dropped the dish and raised his hands in surrender and she smiled. Leaning down, she placed a kiss on his head. “Go sit.” She ushered him out of the kitchen and into the living room. 

 

He shot a glance at James who grinned back at him as he cleared the table. 

 

“Are you sure-?”

 

“Hush!” She didn’t even look back at him. He snapped his mouth shut and sat down on the ground in front of the couch. He could hear Peter laughing into his pillow. Mary laughed as well but she didn’t try to cover it up.

 

“Um. What are you guy’s reading?” He asked. His eyes locked on Remus’, completely avoiding Lily. Unfortunately for him, she spoke first.

 

“I’m making good old Rem here read Pride and Prejudice!” She nudged Remus slightly and he scoffed. 

 

Regulus practically jumped when he heard the name but he stayed as calm as he possibly could. Pride and Prejudice was his absolute favorite. But did they know that? No. Well maybe Remus did. Although he never spoke about it to him, Regulus never really tried to hide it either. 

 

“Have you read it Regulus?” She asked, almost as if she knew. As if she saw him jump.

 

“Yeah. Once or twice.” He stated plainly.

 

James, who made his way to Regulus, scoffed. He sat down and laid his head on Regulus’ lap. “Don’t lie, love. You have like five copies.”

 

God he wanted to strangle James right then and there. And he definitely would have if he wasn’t so distracted by James and his unruly hair. It was wild and practically untameable.

 

Before he could think, Regulus ran his hand through James’ curls. He studied James’ face and he didn’t find a single sign of discomfort. So he did it again. And again. And again.

 

“Don’t tell me you have the Elton Press cover!” She gasped. Her tired eyes wide as she stared at Regulus. Even though she was clearly sleep deprived, Regulus couldn’t say she wasn’t gorgeous. And she was very clearly cultured. Such a shame she had an animosity towards him.

 

“Yeah I do.” He didn’t look up at her. His eyes were still trained on how his finger ran through James’ hair. How soft the curls were and how James smiled up at him. His glasses slightly crooked. He just wanted to take them off. 

 

“Would you want to borrow it?” He could be civil. Lily was James’ friend. Friend. They could get along.

 

“Regulus, I would actually kiss you.” She said it so casually Regulus almost didn’t process what she actually said.

 

“No you would not!” James’ head lifted from Regulus’ lap. He already missed James’ warmth and the softness of his hair. Instead of yanking James back down, what he desperately wanted to do, he began to fidget with his necklace. 

 

Lily laughed, though it sounded more like a snort to Regulus, and leaned her head onto Remus’ shoulder. “No, I wouldn’t. Only because Regulus wouldn’t let me.”

 

James gasped, offended. 

 

Regulus smirked, at how shocked James was (or was pretending to be). He decided to play into it a little. “You don’t know that.” Lily raised a brow at him and batted her eyelashes. She blew a kiss at him and before he could catch it, James jumped in and caught it. 

 

He leaned over and smacked it down onto Mary’s cheek, a little too hard. She jumped up and glared at James. “What the hell!”

 

“Lily blew a kiss, I think you should have it.”

 

Whatever James meant by that, everyone seemed to get. Except Regulus apparently. All of their faces shot up in amusement and he just sat there, confused.

 

Maybe it was an inside joke. They definitely had an abundance of those.

Notes:

Guys I love Regulily friendship but I can’t have them be friends immediately. Also I PROMISE LILY ISN'T A VILLIAN I JUST NEED REG TO THINK SHE DOESN'T LIKE HIM FOR A BIT OKAY. It's important to the plot :(

 

alr i love you guys! (btw pandalily fic coming VERY SOON !!!)

 

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Chapter 7: Least Favorite Holiday

Summary:

Halloween party with side of Regulus discovering his feelings!

Notes:

guys. i don’t want to post this… I WISH I COULD ADD MORE BUT WE GOTTA MOVE ON ALREADY.

this is also kind of a filler ig? like nothing really really happens except some kissing and gift giving…

okay enjoy!!

It was late October and October equals Halloween which equals costumes which equals costume shopping with James. 

 

Even though Regulus thought he was much too old to be dressing up, James absolutely insisted. In any other scenario, he would have said no. But, James was having a Halloween party and if the ‘it couple’ didn’t have matching costumes, people would know something’s up. 

 

So there they were. Walking down the packed ailes of Spirit Halloween. James walked slightly in front of him, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his baggy jeans. James’ red chuck taylors in sync with Regulus’ black ones.

 

“Okay, what if we were Peraltiago?” James suggested. 

 

They’d been discussing matching costumes for 30 minutes and still hadn’t come to a conclusion. Everything Hames suggested was well… childish? and Regulus wasn’t suggesting anything at all.

 

“That’s basically just dressing up as cops?” Regulus brushed his hand through the clothes up on hangers.

 

“Well kind of..” James spun on his heel, almost causing Regulus to bump into him, “But it fits us right?”

 

“Well you’re very Jake but I don’t see how I’m Amy?” 

 

The show they were referring to was called Brooklyn 99. Regulus could definitely see how James was like the main character Jake Peralta. The same unruly hair, extreme amount of energy, crazy amounts of drama, and unusual closeness to their best friend. However, him as Amy Santiago? Unlikely.

 

“Come on. I could give a whole list!” 

 

Regulus crossed his arms and called his bluff, “Do it then.” He taunted. 

 

“OCD havers, weirdly into puzzles, abnormally clean, freakishly short, cute angry face-”

 

Regulus raised his hand, stopping James’ spiel. “Okay, that’s enough out of you.” To quickly change the subject, Regulus blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “How about Prince Bubblegum and Marshall Lee?” He reached into the rack of clothes and pulled out a Marshall Lee costume, complete with the fangs. 

 

James examined it for a moment before smiling. “Look at you actually making suggestions!” He wrapped his arm around the back of Regulus’ neck and walked him towards the register. 

 

After insisting on paying for their things, James dropped Regulus off home.

 

<3

Regulus soon realized his mistake when Pandora pulled up to his house on Halloween night.

 

She quickly ushered him back into the house, lecturing him the whole way about his “lack of festivity”.

 

She forced him to sit quietly on the floor as she painted his face grey. Of course Pandora was the type to keep a face paint set with 30 wonderful colors at the bottom of her purse. Half because it was Halloween night, someone was bound to need it. The other half due to the fact that she volunteered at elementary schools just about everyday and the kids just love face paint. 

 

“You never know when you might just want to have pink skin!” 

 

She dabbed his face in grey paint with a makeup sponge, colored his lips in a black, added the fangs, and dripped a bit of crimson blood onto the corner of his mouth. 

 

“You know, if you weren’t with Potter, you and I totally would be dating.” Evan blew the smoke from his cigarette out Regulus’ window, not facing them. Pandora was particularly against his smoking habit but as long as he kept it on the down low she lived with it. Literally… because they lived together.

 

“No way James would let that happen.” Pandora scoffed as she snapped her paint set shut and stuffed it in the bottom of her bag. “Mr.Longing-stares would rather pine for the rest of his life than see someone else with Regulus.”

 

Regulus, in his head, scoffed. If only they knew. Whatever “longing stares” Pandora thought she saw, they were all fake. James was just a very good actor.

 

“Alright,” She looked at the clock on Regulus’ wall; 9:57 “We’re already late. Let’s go!”

 

Evan put out his cigarette and flicked it out the window. Regulus made a mental note to pick it up when he got home. 

 

“We are not late, it doesn’t start till 10?”

 

“Reg, James lives thirty minutes away!” She said, her footsteps were heavy on the carpeted stairs of their house. She called out a goodbye to Lyra and Alphard, as she always did. They adored her. Lyra, when Pandora isn’t around, would call her her big sister. Regulus thought it was sweet, thought he was a bit jealous since Lyra no longer called him her big brother. 

 

They got into Pandora jeep, Evan laid out in the backseat taking a “party power nap”. Regulus sat in the passenger seat, his left hand twisting the charms on his necklace. Pandora went on about one of the bunnies at the animal shelter she visits, Evan occasionally chiming in about how they already have too many pets. 

 

Regulus listened, laughing lightly at the twins. He loved hanging out with them and they knew it. He had fun listening to them joke and argue, oftentimes dragging him into it.

 

They arrived at James’ house and that's when Regulus got a bit nervous. A party at James’ house. There were bound to be more people there than the last one they went to. He’d have to turn his performance up to eleven.

 

The three stepped into the house. Marshall Lee on the right who looked like he really didn’t want to be there (he didn’t). Tinkerbell stood in the middle, quite literally glowing because she had fairy lights all around her dress and wings to replicate the pixie dust plus jewels that reflected the party lights. And Harley Quinn stood to the far left of them, his blond locs tied in pigtails, the ends covered in red and blue temporary dye. 

 

He had blood splattered over his face and a wide grin. His shorts a bit too short, if he bent over at any point the whole room would see his ass (as he intended). He swung the bat in his hands as he spoke, “Dora, you’ll drive me home when I get too drunk right?”

 

“If, Ev. If.” She replied, tugging off her jacket and hanging it on the coat rack.

 

“When.” Regulus huffed out. His eyes scanned the crowd looking for anyone. He hoped he’d find Barty first and could put off talking to James as long as possible. 

 

Lucky for him, Barty was already rushing over. Regulus began thanking the gods that Barty was always there before him so he wouldn’t have to be alone. 

 

Barty wrapped an arm around him with a sly smirk on his face as he looked Evan up and down. “Hey Reg.” He spoke to Regulus but his eyes were glued on Evan who paid him no mind, rather talking to his sister.

 

“No.” Regulus stated simply, ducking his way out of Barty’s arm. “Eyes off, he’s out of your league.” 

 

Barty laughed before pointing down at his costume. “I’d say it’s fate.”

 

He was dressed as Heath Ledger’s Joker. His black hair was now green with a clumpy clay and his make up was messy, seemingly on purpose. Regulus reached up and smeared the red around his lips into a frown, “Wipe that smile off your face, freak. It’s not gonna happen.”

 

No way Bartemius McDaddyIssuesAndSmokingProblem would get with Evan. He wouldn’t let it happen. Except he knew, deep down, that it would. They were, unfortunately, each other's types.

 

Evan was soon next to them, Pandora no longer by his side. “Well look who it is.” He smirked, “Haven’t seen you in a while. How have you been, Pudding?”

 

The emphasis on the nickname made Regulus gag. If only the people in his life would stop getting into the messiest relationships. 

 

“Still the same shit I’ve always been, Doll.”

 

“You look it.” Evan reached out and ran a hand through Barty’s hair, “This green is not your color.” His hand trailed down to his face and cupped his jaw, “And your makeup is fucked.”

 

He didn’t even try to hide the way his eyes flickered down to Barty’s lips Nor the flirtiness in his tone.  

 

Regulus took a big step back, then another, and when the two were way too close to each other, he quickly walked away. Maybe it was time to find his ’boyfriend’. 

 

He found James just a minute later, his back to a wall and talking to a few friends. Most notably, Remus. Immediately, James called him over.

 

“Oh! That’s who you’re meant to be.” Mary laughed, finally realizing who they were mean to be. James pressed a kiss on Regulus’ temple, leaving a pink kiss mark from the paint on his lips. 

 

“Hi, love.” He wrapped his arm around Regulus’ waist, his breath hot against Regulus’ ear. 

 

“Hi.”

 

Dorcas spoke, taking Regulus’ attention away from the burning in his chest, “You’re going to take it easy on the drinking tonight right, Baby Black?”

 

His first thought would be to correct her and say that he doesn’t appreciate the nickname but he was far too distracted by James’ laugh. 

 

“You drink? Sirius is going to have a field day with this one.” Remus said before snapping his mouth shut. As if Sirius was someone who shall not be named. 

 

That pissed Regulus off a bit. They should be allowed to talk about Sirius, it’s his brother after all. If he and Remus were going to continue being friends he’d have to deal with Sirius being around a lot. 

 

“That’s why none of you,” He pointed to everyone in the group, “are going to tell him.” Regulus threatened. A very empty threat though.

 

“And I’m sure he’d love your costume Rem.” The nickname tasted bitter and old on his tongue. One he hadn’t used in almost a year.

 

Remus was dressed as Freddie Mercury, Sirius’ favorite singer. Funny enough, Regulus knew that Sirius was David Bowie that year. Remus’ favorite singer. 

 

Regulus was still wondering why they broke up. They were so perfect. Even thousands of miles apart, they still matched.

 

The group moved on with their conversation and Regulus got bored. Sure, the group was funny but god did he miss Pandora right about now.

 

He moved little by little out of James’ grasps but eventually he caught on. “We’re going for drinks. Any requests?”

 

Regulus sat on the counter and watched James hum to himself as he poured drinks. James, the considerate asshole he was, got drinks for everyone and even though Regulus didn’t ask, he gave him a cup of orange juice.

 

Sipping on it, he smiled. “We um. We should dance after this.” Regulus muttered behind his cup.

 

James didn’t look up, he smiled down at the cup he was pouring and nodded. “Yeah. Any song requests?”

 

“I don’t know. Whatever you want is fine..”

 

James pulled all the solo cups into one hand, shaking his head when Reguous reached out to help. He walked just a bit behind James as they took the cups back to everyone. Immediately after passing them out, James grabbed his wrist and pulled him to the living room.

 

They walked up to the mantle where James’ phone was plugged into the speaker. “Sublime?” He asked as he scrolled through his playlist.

 

Regulus nodded but he truly only knew one Sublime song, one he probably shouldn’t have been singing at a young age. But, it was Sirius’ fault that 9 year old Regulus would hum ‘Caress Me Down’ all summer, every summer.

 

“Sorry everyone! Music change per the request of my lovely boyfriend.” He yelled over his shoulder at the dancing crowd.

 

A few boos and some awws but no one complained. 

 

A song played, the bass shaking the whole house. Regulus heard the voices of several girls squealing “This is my song!” like they did with every song.

 

“Is this the kind of music ya’ll dance to?” Regulus laughed, taking James’s hand as he led him to the center of the room.

 

“Yup!” James placed his hands on Regulus’ waist, almost hovering over him. He leaned in close and whispered, “You okay with this?”

 

Regulus swallowed hard and let out a breath as he nodded. He rested his arms on James’ biceps, resisting the urge to squeeze them. 

 

James sang under his breath, a bright smile on his face. He grabbed Regulus’ arm and stepped back, “Spin.” he mouthed. 

 

Regulus let out a huff of laughter, as James spun him. Once. Twice. Thrice. He pulled Regulus in, their chests pressed together, rising and falling in sync.

 

In all the books he’d read, Regulus had heard of “the look”. A look that conveyed all words with none at all. One that a person could recognize instantly. The look Regulus could see plastered on James’ face.

 

“Kiss me.” It said, “Right now.”

 

He let out a breath, studying James’ face once more. It was gone. That soft fondness was there but the desire wasn’t. Maybe he’d imagined it? 

 

Yeah, James was doing this for Lily. 

 

Speaking of which, she soon appeared behind him. Tapping James on the shoulder she handed him a box. With a bright smile on her face, she winked at James. 

 

Regulus could feel the jealousy coursing through his body and he was ashamed of it. Possessive over the guy he wasn’t even dating. Insane.

 

She sent Regulus a look. A weird one. One he couldn’t read. Then walked away, back down the hall, and into a room.

 

“What was that?” Regulus questioned, his head still turned to the door Lily entered.

 

James grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the back door. Regulus marveled at the smile on his face, soft and warm. Reassuring.

 

They stopped at the pool, a few people were inside, splashing each other in the clear-blue water. A few were sitting on the edge, drinks in hand. 

 

The bumping music was muffled and hushed voices surrounded them.

 

James took off his shoes and rolled up his jeans. He sat on the edge of the pool, putting his feet into the cold water.

 

Regulus stood there for a moment before doing the same. 

 

James kicked his feet, the water splashing up at Regulus, a few drops getting on him. He gasped softly before placing his hands in the water and splashing some into James’ shirt.

 

“Okay okay! I’d like to keep this costume dry, thank you.” James raised his hands in a mock surrender.

 

“You shouldn’t have splashed me first.” He chuckled, running a now wet hand through his hair. Good thing he didn’t let Pandora straighten it before they left. Between the sweating and pool water, his hair would be ruined right now. 

 

Then he began to wonder, where had Pandora run off too. She was usually in his line of sight. Was he so distracted by James that he didn’t see her leave?

 

He could feel James’ eyes on him, watching him nervously play with his hair. James placed a box in his lap. Smaller than a ring box and a dark green color, almost reminding him of the box he kept his letters in.

 

“What is it?” He looked up at James, picking up the box. It was light, almost feeling like it was empty. But when he shook it he could hear something small inside.

 

“Open it.” 

 

It opened with a soft click and inside were two charms. One of the Leo constellation. His constellation. The stars were small diamonds but Regulus was bigger than the others.

 

The second one was a silver snake, with pearls for eyes. 

 

Regulus gently picked them up. Small, dainty, and cold in his hands. 

 

“When do you find the time to buy these?” He couldn’t hide the smile in his voice or on his face.

 

He looked up at James and found him still staring. The look.

 

“I always have time to buy stuff for you.”

 

For him.

 

James took the charms from his hands and gestured for him to turn. He clicked the necklace off his neck and pulled it off.

 

He slid the snake onto the chain, next to the J, and the stars onto the left of the R.

 

It was then clipped back onto Regulus’ neck, now slightly heavier. 

 

Before thinking twice about it, he turned back to James and crashed their lips together. He wrapped his arms around James’ neck and slid his hands into his unruly hair. 

 

When he felt James’ hands rest on his waist, he pulled away. 

 

Maybe he should’ve thought twice about it. He tried to catch his breath but James’ lips were on his again. This solidified it. 

 

It may have been fake for James but Regulus knew. Well, he knew now. It wasn’t fake for him. It never was. He liked James. 

 

Not love, no way. Just like. A small crush that he had years ago was ignited again, this time burning brighter than ever. He. Liked. James. Potter.

 

James pulled away to catch his breath and despite Regulus’ body telling him to pull him closer, to kiss him like his life depended on it, he pulled away. His hands missed the feeling of James’ curls, his mouth missed his lips, his hips missed his hands. 

 

“Uh, Thank you. For the gift.” He muttered, wiping his mouth as discreetly as he could. 

 

James blinked at him, confused. He cleared his throat and looked away, “Yeah. You’re welcome.” He adjusted his glasses. 

 

Well that was awkward.

 

His heart was pounding. He liked James. He kept repeating it in his head, hoping that it would help him grasp the thought. But it didn’t help. If anything it made it worse. Way worse.

 

“Wanna go inside?” James pulled his feet from the water and grabbed the beach towel on the chair next to them. When he was done, he put his socks and shoes back out. 

 

He held out his hand to Regulus but he looked away. “I’ll stay here a bit longer.”

 

James stood there a moment longer, the air tense around them. Regulus heard an affirmative huff behind him and James’ footsteps slowly retreating. The back door slid closed and he finally let out a breath. 

 

Regulus didn’t know how long he’d been sitting there but after a while, his feet got so cold it felt like he was walking on pin needles. He slowly pulled his feet out of the water and onto the towel.

 

He made his way back inside.

 

He danced like nothing happened, talked with James’ friends like nothing happened, and smiled like nothing happened.

 

Eventually he found Pandora and she looked royally fucked. Her tight bun was moved down into a low ponytail and her face was flushed. Regulus knew she’d definitely been making out with someone but he waited till the next day to ask. 

 

Later, they found Evan who had smeared lipstick on his lips — clearly from Barty. He had hickeys from his collarbone up to jaw. Honestly, Regulus thought it fit the vibe of his costume.

 

Before leaving, he went right up to James and kissed him, completely throwing his rules out the door. The kiss was mostly preformative but also just a bit because he wanted to. 

 

He heard soft cooes from Marlene and Mary —Lily was nowhere in sight— when James wrapped his arm around Regulus’ waist. The other one reached up to grab the plastic crown off his own head and place it onto Regulus’. With a final kiss on Regulus’ cheek, he left.

 

 

Pandora dropped him off at home and he quietly crept into bed, trying to not wake his uncle. Lyra was still out trick-or-treating with some friends even though it was a bit past her curfew. He immediately went to bed. But as he laid there he had one lingering thought:

 

What’s after ‘like?’

Notes:

is it obvious i’ve never been to a REAL party like ever? is it obvious that i have no idea what’s going on?

like ive gone so far off of my chapter planning that im practically winging it. its fine tho! WE’LL LIVE :3

ALSO!! are any of you guys kpop fans… did anyone get the reference in the last sentence??? After Like by IVE?

OKAY LOVE YOU BYE SEE YOU SOON!!!
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Chapter 8: NYC Sounds Fun!

Summary:

nyc trip YAY!!

Notes:

hi.. so yes it’s been almost 3 months but it’s not really my fault.. I didn’t update in June cuz of finals then i got grounded for most of July!

The ao3 curse got me but i will not be elaborating! anyways im back for now so i figured ill drop something while i can.

Thank you all so so much for the support it means a lot. Please enjoy<3

When it came to making plans, James was a cryptic texter 90% of the time. He’d send random things like “11pm” when it was only 5pm. Regulus came to realize that meant he made plans for them at that time.

Or he’d say “Lunch at mine.” Point blank. No room for discussion, just information on what Regulus would be doing.

Honestly, despite the lack of communication on plans Regulus was fine with it. He kind of preferred it that way. He didn’t have to think or ask any questions, just be there. Plus he never really had anything planned. He didn’t really go places, Sirius was the one who was always going out.

Regulus was fine watching the ideal teenage life unfold around him in the form of his older brother.

Though, when James said: “NYC” it felt more like a question than something he had set in stone.

 

3:45 pm, Tuesday 

Dec 19

What are you talking about?

Do you, Regulus something Black want to go on the Amazing Potter Family (and friends) Ski trip this weekend?

Arcturus*

Your initials are RAB… XD

Yes they are.

Mine are JFP!

I know James.

If we got married your initials would be RAP!!!

James.

Why are you just now telling me about this trip?

I’m not!

Sirius comes every year

I invited you every year up until 10th grade!

Right.

Who’s going?

As far we know:

Me, my parents obviously, Moony, Wormtail, Marls, Lily, and Mary

Though Lily said she might be inviting some people

hm.

I don’t know James.

I think i’m busy this weekend

 

PLEASE REG :(

 

4:00pm, Tuesday

Dec 19

You’re being so meannn!!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

DONT MAKE ME CALL MY MUM

Threatening me with Effie is a new low. 

Even for you James.

JUST SAY YOU’LL GO PLEASE.

I want you to be there :(((

It would be soooo lonely without you

I think I’ll be busy James.

read.

Well he’s glad that’s over! Except it wasn’t. Just two days later when he had forgotten the interaction, Pandora texted him.

 

Have fun this weekend!

 

He was, obviously, confused. He had nothing planned that weekend. Did she plan something? He got up from his bed and checked his calendar. As he suspected, he had nothing to do so he texted her back.

 

Panda.. What the hell are you talking about?

Lily told me you’re all going on a trip with James’ family!

Okay so… when did Pandora start talking to Lily and when did he agree to a trip with James’ family. 

Immediately he called James, pacing as he waited for him to pick up. 

Click.

“Hey baby, what’s up?” James’ voice came through the first ring. Reguluscould hear water running in the background and dishes clinking.

“James.”

“..Yes?”

“Why did Pandora say we’re going on a trip this weekend?” He huffed out, hoping it’s a mistake.

“Oh!” Shuffling and the water turned off, “Yeah, you’re coming on my family’s ski trip right?”

Regulus scoffed. When had he agreed to that? “James, I said I'm gonna be busy on Friday.”

“Baby I know you’re not. I checked your calendar obviously.”

Okay, this was getting bad. If James called him ‘Baby’ one more time he might just lose it. He’d overheat so badly it would become a fire hazard.

“Well.. Things change James!”

He heard a soft chuckle, one he was sure wasn’t James’. 

“Alright, love. Will you please join my family and friends on our trip this weekend?”

‘Love?’ He was going to die on the spot.

Regulus didn’t even know if he wanted to go. He really just called James to complain. Why did Pandora know about his plans before he did? She wasn’t even going. But being in a home with James’ family didn’t seem all that bad. He’d have to keep the dating charade up 24/7 though.

“Oh, Regulus, we'd love to have you. It wouldn’t be a problem, don't worry!” Effie’s voice came from in the background.

Well now he couldn’t really say no. He let out a sigh, happy that his smile was hidden behind a phone. “When do I need to be ready?”

“Saturday morning! We’ll come pick you up at 9, alright?” He could practically hear James and Effie’s grins through the phone. 

“Alright.”

“Okay, I need to get ready for Peter’s art show tonight. Are you sure you don’t want to go?” James asked. 

“I can’t.. tell him I said sorry. I’ll try and be at the next one?”

“Okay. Love you!”

Love you? LOVE? No, this was not in Regulus’ fucking contract. He really should have written it. He should’ve known he’d fall for James. He could fucking feel it the whole time and still he let this go on. 

Though, he’d already broken the biggest rule on his list. What did he have to lose? Except for his fucking sanity.

“Love you too..”

Immediately he hung up and threw his phone onto the bed. He could feel blush creeping up his cheeks like he was a 12 year old girl with a crush. Though, he was younger than that at the peak of his crush on James.

Two days in James’ home. With his family and friends. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Regulus packed Friday night, going over the list of his things over and over. He didn’t want to leave anything.. even if it would be a good excuse to not go. 

As he got ready for bed that night, he got a text from his brother.

 

Since when do you go on vacation with MY family?

 

He scoffed, grabbing his phone from the bathroom counter. He spit out his mouth wash and began to type:

 

Heaven forbid I have friends.

NOT MY FRIENDS?? you’ve never wanted to go on the trip before.

You’re not telling me something…

 

Okay he had a point. The last three years when Sirius would go, he never wanted to. Why would he? He didn’t like James, not even as a friend. He only liked two people there. His brother and Remus.

But now, he’s dating (fake dating) James. It would only make sense for him to go with his boyfriend's family. Wouldn’t it?

He couldn’t tell Sirius that though.

 

I’ve had a change of heart? Plus, Effie asked me herself. You know it’s against the laws of nature to say no to her..

 

The perfect excuse and it was pretty true. The few times he’d met Euphemia she was the sweetest woman he’d ever met. When their families had dinner (which was pretty rare) he couldn’t deny her a single thing. It would be like slapping her in the face.

 

Fine. I’m happy you’re getting out there Reg.

Just don’t be trying to replace me:(

Of course not.

Have fun! Send pics!!

 

8:30am, bright and early on Saturday morning, Regulus was just finishing up his chores. He checked that he had everything in his bag, cleaned his room, and was loading up the dishwasher.

Lyra sat on the couch, her arm leaned over the back as she faced Regulus in the kitchen. “So you know Dylan right?”

She was going on about Freshman drama - literally, drama about the freshmen in drama club. Though Regulus pretended not to care about what happened with underclassmen, he liked the time he and Lyra (and usually Sirius) spent together, no matter what they talked about.

It was nice to know that she trusted him with any and everything. Whatever she didn’t tell Alphard, she told him.

“He played the wolf in Into The Woods right?” He asked, stacking the final plate into the dishwasher and closing it.

“Yeah! He quit yesterday!” She exclaimed.

Regulus scoffed, “Called it.”

He didn’t know anything about these kids except what Lyra told him. And she told him a lot.  Dylan, from what he knew, was a stuck up brat and the director’s favorite. 

“No one liked him anyway.” he laughed. 

“Except Sahara, she threw a fit!” Lyra said, throwing her arms in the air, her bracelets clinking in the process.

There was a knock on the door, stopping their debrief. Checking the time on his phone, Regulus realized how early it was. It couldn’t be James.

The door opened a moment later, as it was unlocked for when Alphard came back from the store. Pandora rushed in and shouted, “Honey I’m home!”

She was still in her pajamas, a baby blue duffle bag covered in pins was thrown over her shoulder, weighing her down. She threw it onto the floor and jumped over the back of the couch, sitting next to Lyra. Her knees up to her chest as she asked, “What are we talking about?”

“Stuff with the drama department-” Lyra started, facing her.

“Pandora what are you doing here?” He cut her off, walking towards the living room. 

“We’re going on the trip.” Evan said, hauling his bag through the door as well. He set his down next to Pandoras and leaned over the back of the couch. “Now, what’s this about the Drama department?”

“Dylan quit!”

“You’re lying.” The twins said in perfect sync.

It was unsettle how often they did that. ‘Twin telepathy’ is what most called it.

“Stop changing the subject! Since when were you guys coming?” He placed a hand over Lyra’s mouth before she could continue her story, as much as he wanted to hear it.

“Lily invited us. She said there’s plenty of room so I’m also bringing Evan.” Pandora said quickly then turned back to Lyra, moving Regulus’ hand.

“Continue.”

Lyra continued her spiel and they all listened. Kind of? Regulus was still wondering when Lily and Pandora became friends? Just two or three months ago, she was just as avoidant of Lily as he was. 

Twenty minutes later, Regulus saw a car pull up in their driveway. Two actually. One was a large black van, the other a much smaller red car. He recognized the red car as the one James drove to school everyday. 

“They’re here.” He said as he stood, grabbing his bag.

Lyra said goodbye with a frown as they left. At least she’d have the house to herself, Regulus thought. Then she wouldn’t have to worry about the volume of the tv when she inevitably watched Hamilton and invited her friends over.

James stood outside the red car with the back door wide open. Barty was waving to them with a stupid grin on his face.

“Of course he’s going..” Regulus muttered. 

“Lady and gents!” James bowed slightly as he held open the car door. 

Pandora curtsied as she stepped inside, Evan right behind her. James closed the door and opened the passenger side for Regulus. “After you.”

Regulus playfully scoffed as James took his bag. He sat down, admiring James’ dash board. There were stickers everywhere and some things written in sharpie. Lily’s name, a note from Marlene calling him ‘Dumb Jock #1’, and a drawing signed by Sirius. It was meant to be him, James, Peter, and Remus. Regulus could tell.

James slammed the truck shut and jogged to the drivers side.

The engine roared as he turned the key. “Alright, the drive is an hour and a half at the least. It’s pretty early so it shouldn’t take long!”

Almost two hours? Had Regulus been blessed? There was nothing more peaceful to him than a two hour drive of looking out the window with his music blasting in his ears. 

He slipped in his earbuds as the car pulled off. His head rested in his hand and his elbow on the arm rest. 

James followed behind Monty who was driving in the Van ahead of them. When he got onto the freeway, just as Regulus was about to close his eyes, he felt a hand on his thigh. 

Obviously it was James. He was the only one who could reach from that angle… plus Regulus spent months studying his hands but that’s not the point. 

His question was, WHY WAS IT THERE? He turned his head and James was dead focused on the road. He squeezed lightly, acknowledging that Regulus was staring at him.

Regulus let out a breath and rested his hand on top of James’. Before he could see James’ stupid grin fully form, he went back to resting his head on the window. 

For an hour, James’ hand stayed on his thigh with Regulus’ on top of it. James’ hand would twitch every once in a while and it would cause Regulus’ eyes to shoot open. Only for them to close five minutes later. 

He drifted in and out of sleep, his music blasting in his ears, the vibrations of the car lulling him back to sleep every time. He could faintly hear the three in the back seat talking, then go silent, then argue, then get quiet again.

Finally, when they were just thirty minutes away from their destination (as it said the GPS) Regulus’ eyes closed and his mind turned off.

Someone opened the door simultaneously, waking Regulus and almost making him fall out of the car. The same person caught him before he hit the ground. “Careful love.”

Gently, a pair of arms lifted him to his feet. James’ arms. Letting himself slump over, he rested his head on James’ shoulder.

“I’m tired..” He mumbled.

“I can see that.” James laughed. “Let’s get you somewhere to lay?”

He nodded slightly, allowing James to walk him around. He felt the air shift when he entered the house. The vibe was warm and cozy. Even with his eyes closed, he could practically sense what the place looked like.

He could hear chatter around him, all voices he recognized. Bags’ dropping, trucks slamming, cars locking, shoes stepping.

“Stairs.” James said and he lifted his foot. 

Surprisingly, he made it up the steps without falling. Finally, he opened his eyes and found a room. The door was cracked open and a soft, comfy looking bed was in his line of sight. In seconds he was face down in the satin pillows, breathing it in.

“Finally.” He mumbled. Or something like that. He couldn’t actually understand the words coming from his own mouth.

There was a dip on the left side of the bed and a soft chuckle. “Sleepy?” James asked. Regulus could hear the smile in his voice. That dumb, beautiful grin. 

“Yeah..” Regulus sighed, turning his head to face James. Blinking his eyes open slightly, he was face-to-face with James, just inches apart. 

He let out a startled breath that he hoped James hadn’t heard. Blush crept up his face, he could just feel it. Being so close to James, no matter how often they held hands in the hall or the few times they kissed, it never failed to make Regulus turn redder than a beet.

“Have you ever ice skated?” James asked.

“Yeah?”

“Wanna go with me tonight?” Regulus thought about it for a second then James continued, “Just us?”

Just them.

Regulus had always seen ice skating as weirdly romantic. It usually leads to holding hands and falling on top of eachother (for those who weren’t as good as Regulus.)

James bit his lip and studied Regulus’ eyes, looking for any kind of confirmation.

In response to Regulus’ nod, James beamed. “Really?”

“Why not?”

James hopped up and rushed for his bag. He grabbed his phone and began typing. He said something. Asked a question but Regulus was ready drifting off.

“Mhm..” Regulus hummed in response. And just like that he was out.

 

Notes:

thank you so much for reading💛💛 idk when i’ll update next but please stick around! Tumblr