Chapter Text
His knee bounced up and down underneath the table, he tried to control it, calm it down, but the trembling wouldn't stop. He stared at the plate in front of him, it only made him feel more and more sick. He looked up for a moment, looking at his friends, they seemed to be deep in conversation about something, Regulus wasn't even sure what, he hadn't been paying attention.
He looked across the hall then, letting out a small smile as he met a familiar pair of eyes; brown and warm, soothing the anxiety deep inside him for at least a moment. James smiled too, though he looked worried as he saw how nervous the other was. He made a small gesture towards the door with his head, someone else would've probably thought of it as a stretch of his neck, but Regulus understood it, nonetheless, and nodded slowly getting up from his seat. He excused himself from the conversation he hadn’t even been part of and started walking towards the doorway. He went to the entrance hall, sitting on a bench that was hidden behind a beam, just in case someone happened to walk past. James walked out of the great hall after a moment, looking around for a moment before he found Regulus.
He sat down next to him on the bench, taking his trembling hand into his. “What's up, love?” He asked quietly, brushing a strand of hair behind his ear to make Regulus look at him. He didn’t say anything, just leaned against James’ shoulder, sniffling sadly as he tried to keep the tears at bay. “Not feeling good?” He shook his head. “That's okay, darling.”
He wrapped his arms around Regulus, pulling him closer to his chest, starting to rub his back to try to make him feel better. “M’sorry.”
“Don't be, it's okay.” He whispered, kissing his head, letting his lips linger there for a moment. “I'm here, baby. Always here for you.” He said, closing his eyes as he tried to think what he could do to help. It had been rough the past few weeks, James tried to help and be there for him as much as he could and Regulus let him to, but he wasn't sure if he was actually helping. He tried to make sure that Regulus ate at least once a day, carrying small snacks with him to get the boy to eat something whenever they had time to spend with each other.
James wiped away the tears when they fell, trying to comfort him as best as he could. “Wanna go somewhere else, love? Somewhere more calm?” He asked after a while, starting to notice how people started to leave the great hall, walking past them. Regulus nodded, lifting his head to glance at James, who wiped away tears before taking his hand, getting up and starting to lead him out of the entrance hall. James started walking towards the astronomy tower, they went there quite often, usually to watch the stars.
When they got there, James sat down onto the floor, leaning his back against a pole, pulling Regulus to sit down next to him. He leaned against James’ shoulder, shivering slightly from the slight wind, he curled up to his boyfriend, head resting on his shoulder and feet thrown over his lap. The sun was slowly starting to set, painting the sky in pink and purple hues.
“It's cold,” He whispered, pulling his sleeves over his hands. “Why'd you drag me out here?”
“Because you like watching the sunset.” Regulus smiled slightly as James kissed his head. “Sit up, lemme warm you up.” He sat up, looking at James confusedly as he pulled his hoodie off, then pulled it over Regulus' head.
“Won't you be cold?”
“I won't,” He smiled, pulling the boy back into a hug, holding him close as Regulus curled back up to him. “Don't worry about me, baby.” He said, rubbing his arm as he reached into his bag, pulling out his water bottle, an apple, and a few of the cookies he had gotten from the kitchens.
“No.” Regulus whispered, shaking his head as he saw what James was doing. “Please no, Jamie.”
“You gotta eat,” He said worriedly. “Please, baby, for me? I'll have a cookie with you.” Regulus took a deep breath, then nodded slightly, taking the apple James offered him, biting into it and slowly chewing on the piece. He looked at the sun as he ate, listening to James talk about some random drama he had heard from Sirius. It was a nice distraction from what he was actually doing.
“Thank you, sweetheart.” He whispered into his hair, kissing his head. “I'm proud of you.” Regulus smiled slightly, looking up at James, who smiled too, giving him a chaste kiss. “Do you think you could eat the cookie as well?”
“Okay,” Regulus said after a moment, leaning back against his chest. “But only if you have one too. And, you come to my dorm for the night, I want cuddles.”
“Whatever you want, darling.” He smiled, kissing his head again before giving one of the cookies to Regulus, taking the other one for himself. Regulus slowly nibbled on the cookie, taking small bites of it as he listened to James talk in between bites of his own cookie. He eventually finished the cookie, earning another kiss from James when he turned to look at him. “I'm so, so proud of you, you're so brave, baby.” Regulus blushed slightly, hiding his face into James' chest. “You're amazing, sweetheart. I love you.”
“I love you, Jamie.”
They continued to watch the sunset, cuddling closer to each other as time went on. The pink and violet turning to yellows and oranges, the sun slowly sinking behind the horizon. They got up from the floor after a while, both starting to get tired and cold, deciding to head to bed.
“Thank you,” Regulus' whispered as they walked down the corridor leading away from the astronomy tower, the last rays of sunshine shining through the windows. “I don't know what I'd do without you, Jamie.” He said, leaning against James’ shoulder, smiling as James squeezed his hand when they continued walking.
“You don't have to thank me, I'll always be here for you. No matter what, love.” James said, glancing down at Regulus who smiled, tears glistening in his eyes, but he still smiled, standing on his tiptoes to give him a soft kiss.
“I love you.”
“I love you,” James smiled, kissing his forehead before continuing down to the dungeons and Regulus' dorm. “Let's go to sleep, hmm?” Regulus hummed, smiling at James.