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Regulus was fuming. For the first time in his life he’d grown a backbone and actually stood up for himself, and his mother had kicked him out. He’d only been home from school for a week! One little tattoo and she’d absolutely flipped her shit. It wasn’t even visible unless he wore short sleeves — something he wasn’t stupid enough to do at home — so he didn’t want to think about how the old bat had seen it in the first place.
He angrily stuffed another handful of underwear into his rucksack, muttering under his breath as he did, then yanked the ties at the top hard and clipped the lid shut. How had everything gone to shit so fast? Sirius had got away with way more stuff, and he’d never been kicked out — he’d left! Of his own accord! He'd fucked off and left Regulus to deal with their batty parents alone. It wasn’t fair.
Sighing, he took one last glance around his childhood bedroom — the dent in the wall from where he’d fallen off the bed when pretending to be a superhero, the wardrobe he used to hide in when he was scared, and where Sirius would always find him to cheer him up, the scorch mark on the windowsill from when he tried to have a sneaky fag out of the window — then stomped down the stairs and out of the front door without looking back.
As the door slammed shut behind him, the sounds of the city replaced his mother’s irate shrieking. He paused to take stock of what he’d done. He was actually leaving; he’d stood up to his parents and now he was homeless. Shit. He attempted to squash down the panic that threatened to send him grovelling back to his mum and pulled his phone out, scrolling through the list of contacts until he found the name he was looking for — the one person who might be able to understand.
He held his breath and pressed the call button, his chest tightening with each ring.
“Hello?”
That voice. It hadn’t changed at all. Regulus slowly released the breath he’d been holding and blinked to clear the tears from his eyes. His hand trembled as he pressed the phone to his ear.
“Sirius? It’s Regulus…I…um...can I ask you a favour?”
“Regulus!? Jesus fucking... you’re shitting me. How the fuck are you?”
Relief flooded through Regulus at the sound of Sirius’ voice, and he sat down heavily on the curb; his legs too shaky to hold him up any longer.
Once Sirius had gotten over the shock of hearing from his brother after almost two years, and had finished congratulating Regulus on finally ‘growing a decent-sized pair of bollocks’, he’d been surprisingly helpful. Regulus set off for the station, armed with his brother’s address and a vague plan. He felt lighter now he had a place to stay and the panic receded until it was nothing more than a dull presence in the back of his mind.
He had his big brother back! Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad after all.
+++
James pulled out his phone and scrolled through the last few messages in the group chat he had with his housemates. He was definitely in the right pub at the right time, so where were they? He looked up and scanned the pub for any familiar faces, ignoring the loud group of girls by the bar who kept staring at him. He should wear a sign, he thought bitterly. Couldn’t they tell he wasn’t interested? Fuck relationships and casual hook-ups. He was in a long-term, committed relationship with his right hand and he certainly wouldn’t be jumping off the wagon for a bunch of harpies like them.
“Are these seats taken?” Said a gruff voice from somewhere across the table.
“Yep,” James answered without bothering to look up from his phone.
“Okay, only you’ve been sat by yourself for a while and we’d like to sit so we can order food.”
James finally lifted his gaze and found a rather large man glaring at him from the other side of the table, arms folded across his chest. He briefly toyed with the idea of just letting Buff McMuscles and his friends have the bloody table, but he was bored, and he never made good choices when he was bored. Instead, James theatrically looked around the pub before shrugging. “Yeah, good luck with that.”
The man bristled and leaned across the table, gripping the back of a chair with one hand and jabbing a meaty finger at James. “Fuck you. Who do you think you are, you —”
“Jamie! Pissing off the locals again I see,” Sirius crowed, throwing arms around James’ neck and eyeballing the man until he blustered back to his friends.
James sagged with relief and grinned at his friends, then turned to stick his fingers up at the now-retreating group.
“Do you actively try to get yourself beaten up or is it purely accidental?” Remus asked, frowning at the guy James had antagonised.
“I couldn’t help it! You guys were so late and I was bored. You know my prattishness increases with my boredom, Moony,” he grumbled.
“Yeah, Moony, and we always have his back, so it’s fine! I won’t let anyone harm a hair on my Jamie’s head,” Sirius said, planting a wet kiss on James’ cheek.
Remus rolled his eyes. “Well, I’m not visiting any of you in hospital when you inevitably piss off the wrong person. Anyway, sorry we’re late James, there were extenuating circumstances. Perhaps Sirius can —”
James held up a hand to shush his friend. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to hear all about these ‘extenuating circumstances’, but his full attention was suddenly captured by a breathtakingly beautiful boy he’d spotted loitering a short distance behind Remus and Peter; his monogamous relationship with his right hand now nothing but a distant memory.
“I’d trade my soul for a wish, pennies and dimes for a kiss,” he muttered, slowly getting up from the table, his eyes not leaving the boy for an instant lest he turned out to be a mirage — surely no one that stunning could be real?
“...James?” Remus said hesitantly.
James put his hands on Remus’ shoulders and gently moved him to the side so his view of this perfectly exquisite boy — whose shirt happened to unbuttoned just low enough set James’ pulse on fire — was no longer hindered.
“I wasn’t looking for this...” James murmured.
“What the…? Is he broken? Did someone break him?”
“Don’t panic Pete, I’m sure everything’s fine…”
“Yeah, probably drunk already, right Prongs?”
His friends’ voices faded into the background as he rounded the table, the sultry boy with jet black hair now almost within his grasp.
“...ripped jeans, skin was showin’...Where you think you’re going, baby?” He whispered as the boy startled at his approach and took a step back.
The increasingly panicked voices of his friends teased the edges of his consciousness, but James kept his eyes on his target.
“What’re you...Oh! Oooh shit,” Remus said, sounding more amused than worried.
“Wait...Jamie, no. No, no, NO! Bad Prongsy!” Sirius yelled.
“Guys? I don’t get it!” Pete whined.
James frowned and shook Sirius’ grabby hands off his sleeve. He knew his friends were just concerned about him cheating on his right hand, but he’d entered into that relationship without knowing this raven-haired god existed so it was hardly his fault.
“Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but—” he slipped a hand into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, and retrieved one of the business cards he and Sirius had made once as a joke, “—here’s my number. Call me, maybe?” He shot the boy his most dashing smile — it had never failed in the past — and waited for the swoon.
The boy looked between him and the rectangular, lemon-yellow piece of card with thinly veiled disdain, and James’ confidence wavered. He reached out slowly and plucked the card from James’ grasp, holding it between a delicate forefinger and thumb as if it were contaminated with the pox. After a brief inspection — James’ hope plummeting with each passing second — he sneered and crumpled the card in his fist, tossing it to the floor. Somehow, James managed to maintain his smile throughout the whole torturous rejection, but fuck, it stung. That line never failed! What was he supposed to do now?
“Sirius?” The boy said, looking past James. “Is this prat with you?”
James spun around, shocked. Sirius knew this heart-breaking Adonis? Oh God… had he just hit on Sirius’ new boyfriend? His shock changed to confusion as he took in the sight of Sirius smacking his head on the table, Remus patting his shoulder sympathetically while struggling not to laugh, and Peter staring like he’d just seen a Pikachu dancing on the table.
“What the actual fuck!?” Sirius cried. “I thought you’d sworn off sex! Why the hell are you hitting on my baby brother?”
“Brother?” James yelped, rapidly looking between the two of them. “I don’t...oh! Wait…yeah, I see it. Fuck! How come you never said you had a brother?”
“I know for a fact I’ve told you about him, idiot,” Sirius yelled, smacking James on the back of his head.
“It’s true. He’s always going on about him. ‘Regulus this, Regulus that’,” Remus added unhelpfully.
“Wait, Regulus is your brother? I thought he was your dog or something!” James exclaimed. “…Although a lot of the stuff you said about him makes much more sense now,” he added, happy to finally have some long-standing questions about Sirius’ home life answered.
“What? Jesus fucking Christ, are you for real?” Regulus cried in disbelief. James cowered slightly under the force of his glare, but at the same time, he was thrilled to finally have Regulus’ eyes on him. Regulus tutted and rolled his eyes. “You know what, fuck the lot of you, I’m getting a drink. You should muzzle your friend, Sirius,” Regulus growled, shouldering his way through the crowd towards the bar.
“I think I’m in love, Pads,” James sighed, smiling dopily at his retreating back. “I took no time with the fall, you gave me nothing at all…” he murmured dreamily to himself.
“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Sirius exclaimed throwing his hands into the air and storming off after his brother.
A tiny part of James acknowledged that it was ridiculous to get so hung up on a boy so immediately, but maybe this was that ‘love-at-first-sight’ thing that always seemed to happen in films and books. Whatever it was, he didn’t think he could fight it even if he wanted to. All he needed to do now was get Regulus to look at him with something other than unfiltered disgust and scorn.
+++
If Lily dumping him had taught James anything, it was that he did not handle rejection well. For some reason though, being rejected outright by Regulus before the boy had even taken the time to get to know him hurt more than being dumped by Lily. At least she’d given him a chance, dated him, slept with him, and stolen his heart before deciding ‘nah, this ain’t the guy for me’ and ripping his heart from his chest. Regulus had turned him down before they’d even had a single conversation! To add further insult to injury, he’d managed to resist James’ best move—how was that even possible?
“He’s a little emo shit, Jamie,” Sirius had said later that night while James was busy drowning his sorrows in one too many pints of Bulmers. “He’s not happy unless he’s miserable; so really, he’s done you a favour. Also, he’s my little brother so I’m sure there some sort of rule that forbids you from screwing him.”
James groaned pathetically and slumped down in his chair. “I don’t want to screw him, Pads. I want to make love to him. Sweet, sweet lo—”
“No! Do NOT finish that sentence. God, this is worse than that one time I saw my Mum and Dad kiss when I was five. Stop having sexy thoughts about my brother!”
“Too late, sorry,” James shrugged. He flopped forward, resting his forehead on the cool surface of the table. One way or another, he’d make Regulus notice him, and nothing Sirius said would stop him.
+++
When Sirius had informed them that Regulus would be sleeping on their sofa for a while, James had initially been thrilled — what better opportunity could there be to prove to his crush that he was worth taking a chance on? Regulus would be a captive audience, and James would have plenty of time to work his magic; maybe he could even make Regulus see that he wasn’t a complete prat.
He soon discovered, though, that sharing a space with someone who unashamedly hated him wasn’t much fun at all. Every sneer, every scowl, every time Regulus left a room as soon as James entered, prodded open the wound left by his rejection and left him feeling miserable and lonely. However, he refused to give up. The one thing that kept a flicker of hope alive inside him was that Regulus was pretty much like that with everyone as far as he could tell. He held on to that knowledge and used it to reassure himself that it was just Regulus’ way, and not a special kind of hatred reserved only for James.
Then something happened that fanned the flicker of hope into a tiny flame that burned brightly inside him.
James was running late for work as usual and, after having showered, realised — while he was standing in his room and dripping water onto his carpet — that he had no idea where any of his work shirts were. After a quick search of his room, he grabbed his towel from the back of the door and wrapped it around his waist. He wasn’t shy about his body, but he’d learnt from past experience that his housemates didn’t appreciate it when he wandered around with his junk hanging out, so with towel secured he ran downstairs to check the washing machine. When that search turned up fruitless too, he dashed into the living room to see if anyone else had seen them.
“Hey Remus, have you seen my work shirts anywhere?” He asked, upon finding his friend on the sofa watching a talk show while Regulus glared at a book in his hands.
“Ah, sorry, I hung some of your stuff on the line yesterday ‘cause I needed to do a wash. Your work shirts are probably there,” Remus replied, barely looking away from the screen.
“Ace, cheers Moony.”
James strode across the room, one hand on his towel, and went to pull open the patio doors; but as he did he felt someone’s eyes on him. He turned his head and caught sight of Regulus whipping his gaze back to his book, only now he had a delightfully pink flush across his cheeks. James turned back to the doors and smirked. So it seemed Regulus wasn’t as immune to him as he pretended to be…
Following on from that little revelation, James formulated a new plan to get Regulus acknowledge his feelings for him. A plan that, much to the distress and amusement of his other housemates, basically involved him parading around the house wearing as little as he could reasonably get away with. Sirius, Remus, and Peter teased him mercilessly, but the satisfaction he got from feeling Regulus’ searing gaze on his skin made the teasing bearable.
Unfortunately, after a week of semi-nudity, Regulus still acted as if James’ very existence offended him despite the near-permanent blush on his face, and James began to feel the hopelessness seeping back in.
“I don’t know what I’m doing wrong,” James whined one rainy afternoon as he sloped into Remus’ room and threw himself down on his bed. “All the other boys try to chase me, but Regulus must be made of ice or something. I’m handing myself to him on a platter and he gives me nothing at all! Not even a ‘hi’ or a ‘fancy a pint?’”
Remus sighed wearily, marked his place in his book, and leant forward to give James his full attention.
“Have you ever tried just talking to him? Or maybe just generally acting friendly?”
“Act friendly? What do you mean? I’ve been nothing but friendly since I met him!” James cried frustratedly.
“Are you sure? As I see it, you went from hitting on him, to sulking, to strutting about semi-naked in front of him. Have you even tried to get to know him?”
“But… he won’t… I mean, he probably wouldn’t… What should I say? How do I ‘act friendly’ in a non-creepy way? Help me, Remus!”
“I don’t know…make him a coffee? Offer to pick up his shopping? Maybe just try talking normally to him? I really have no idea, but anything that gets you to put a shirt back on seems like a good plan.”
“Ugh. You’re no fun,” James pouted.
+++
When James brought Regulus a coffee the next morning, Regulus stared at him with such a look of deep suspicion that James half expected him to either throw it in his face or at the very least abandon it on the side. He didn’t though. Despite his obvious confusion, he accepted it without even a snide comment and even drank it (James watched him, so he knew he didn’t just tip it down the sink). By day three of Operation: Caffeinate, James even received a nod of thanks, and he vowed never to doubt Remus again.
+++
From the outside, James’ campaign of friendliness did little to thaw Regulus’ icy exterior, but James could tell he was making headway. For one, Regulus no longer pretended he didn’t exist, and sometimes went so far as to return a greeting or grunt a reply to a simple question. He knew if he had more time he could get Regulus to like him back, but his friends weren’t quite so confident.
“You just need to get out there and start dating again — this guy, Max, is perfect for you. Funny, smart, loves sport almost as much as you do—”
James cut Sirius off before he could waste any more breath. “—but he looks like a foot.”
“He doesn’t look like a foot! Where’d you even get that from?”
“Because when you mentioned him before, Pete said ‘is that the guy that looks like a foot’, so call it an educated guess.”
“Fine. Maybe he’s not traditionally handsome, but just give him a chance! Come out, meet him with us, and if you like each other, well…”
James gritted his teeth to prevent himself from snapping at Sirius. He knew his friends meant well, but did they have to go on and on about how he just needed to ‘get out there’ and ‘start dating’? Regulus was the first person to spark his interest since Lily and he doubted a series of meaningless hook-ups with foot-person and friends was going to change anything. But he also knew Sirius would never back down... “I don’t know…”
“Come on, are you really going to waste the whole summer pining after the mardy git? He’s never going to like you back. You’re young! Live a little!”
“Ugh. Fine. Whatever. But you owe me.”
“YESSSS! GET IN—”
Sirius’s celebration was halted by the sudden appearance of Regulus in the doorway. James blanched— had he heard what they were talking about? His face was giving nothing away, but something about the way he was holding himself suggested he was barely restraining himself from serious violence.
“Do you have Uncle Alphard’s number?” Regulus asked flatly, without even glancing in James’ direction.
Sirius frowned. “Er, yeah? Why?”
“I thought I might look him up, see if he needs any help around the house or something, then I can finally leave you in peace.”
“Aw, Reggie, you’re welcome here as long as you want, but sure, I’ve got his number somewhere. Want me to put in a good word for you?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
He left as quickly and quietly as he’d appeared and James was left wondering what the hell he’d done wrong now — the fully-clothed coffee-thing between them had actually been working!
+++
It was still dark when James woke up. He lay there for a few moments trying to work out why he wasn’t still asleep before he blindly groping for his phone to check the time.
4:48.
Fuck.
He groaned in frustration and dragged a hand down his face. They hadn’t got home until around two, and he had to get up at seven to get ready for work so he really, really wanted to not be awake. But after five minutes of tossing and turning and huffing, he realised he wasn’t getting any more sleep until he took a piss, so he reluctantly rolled out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom across the hall.
He managed to relieve himself, wash his hands, and shuffle back to his room without turning any lights on or opening his eyes wider than a bleary squint, and was feeling quite proud of this achievement, until he reached for the glass of water beside his bed and accidentally punched it to the floor.
“Fuck!” He cursed, snatching the glass off the carpet and ignoring the puddle for now. It was only water. Probably.
He stumbled down the stairs in the dark, still unwilling to turn any lights on, as if being able to see where he was going would mean he’d given up on sleep. On his way past the living room, he peered inside; Regulus was still sleeping soundly by the looks of things. Despite it being a pain in the arse having someone staying on their sofa, he was going to miss having him around, and not just because he was desperately in love with him. Regulus had been absorbed into their household so completely, it was as if he’d always been there: an unofficial, grumpy, fifth Marauder. But most importantly, James knew that given just a tiny bit more time, he could possibly even get Regulus to reciprocate his feelings.
With his bladder empty and his glass filled, James headed back to his room to try and squeeze in another couple of hours before his alarm went off, but as he passed the front door, he noticed it was slightly ajar. He frowned. Had it been open when he came downstairs? Pete or Sirius probably forgot to shut it, idiots. They were lucky the house wasn’t overrun with burglars! He pulled open the door to check his idiot housemates hadn’t left the keys in the lock too, and stifled a yelp when he saw someone sat on the doorstep hunched over their knees.
“Regulus?”
Regulus whipped his head around guiltily and stared open-mouthed at James, his eyes flicking down briefly to James’ bare torso.
“Sorry, I’ll leave you to it,” James mumbled, suddenly feeling rather exposed under Regulus’ scrutiny when he realised he was stood only his boxer briefs.
Regulus turned back to face the road, and James knew he should just leave him to his brooding or whatever it was he was up to — any potential intruders would surely be scared off by his perma-scowl — but something made him step over the threshold.
The only acknowledgement he received was a sideways glance, but when Regulus didn’t tell him to ‘fuck off’, James decided that was as good as an invitation, so sat down beside him on the step.
“You okay?” He asked after a few moments of strained silence.
Regulus shrugged. “I guess.”
“Couldn’t sleep?”
“What does it look like?”
“Okay, okay, but I’m up too and I can sleep fine, I just had to get up to piss, then I twatted a glass of water across the room, and then I had to get some more water—” He clamped his mouth shut to avoid rambling any further. Being around Regulus always gave him verbal diarrhoea.
Regulus graced him with a very unimpressed look, but didn't say anything.
“It's going to be weird you not being around, but, uh, you must be really looking forward to getting out of Canterbury, eh?”
Regulus puffed out his cheeks, then exhaled noisily before answering. “I guess. I’ve got used to it here though, even if you are a bunch of weirdos.”
“Ha… yeah, we are that. I'm sorry, by the way, about the whole hitting on you thing… and, um, walking around half-naked. I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable. I’m going to have to bring the ‘Call me’ trick out of retirement — I can’t let it end on such a massive failure,” James said, chuckling to himself.
Regulus eyed him sceptically. “Oh good. I’ll be sure to alert the people of Canterbury to lock up their sons and daughters before I leave.”
“Oi!” James cried, and nudged Regulus with his shoulder before he thought about who he was with. He glanced over nervously, hoping he hadn’t overstepped any boundaries, but when he caught sight of Regulus’ slight smile he knew he was okay. “I don’t know what went wrong,” James said, suddenly feeling emboldened by the almost-friendly atmosphere that had fallen between them. “No one’s ever been so resistant to my charms before. You’re completely unique, Reg.”
Regulus snorted. “Maybe I’m just not easy like you.”
“Hey! I’m not actually like that. I know you think I’m some ‘lad’ who only cares about getting laid, but that’s not me at all. I was pretty serious about my ex, but she thought I was too clingy or something. Anyway, I really am sorry for making you think I’m some kind of sex-pest, but, you know, you’re the most beautiful person I've ever met and, well, not that it's much of an excuse, but you kinda make it hard for me to function normally.”
“You're a strange creature, James Potter, and I suppose I'll miss you being around. You may have grown on me just a little.”
James resisted the urge to punch the air in celebration. “I’ll miss you too. You're welcome back anytime, by the way. There's always space on our sofa for you.”
“Good to know.”
“Right, well I suppose I should try and get some sleep. Night, Reg. If I don't see you before you go, good luck with your Uncle, and uni and... whatever.”
James pulled the door to as he stepped inside, but not before sneaking one last glance at the back of Regulus’ head. He was really going to miss that miserable git. Hopefully, Sirius was right, and he’d get over this little soul-destroying crush if he started dating again, but if he was being truthful, he wasn’t sure he really wanted to. Fuck. He was so gone for that prick.
+++
James was going out of his mind. Everywhere he looked he saw reminders of Regulus’ absence: the coffee mug he always used that was slowly getting pushed to the back of the cupboard; a plain black hairband abandoned on the window sill and already gathering dust (Sirius always favoured bright colours so it couldn’t be his); a listings magazine for some obscure independent cinema tucked down the side of the sofa. If he squinted, he was sure he could even see a Regulus-shaped depression in the worn out sofa cushions. However, when he’d mentioned that to Remus he’d just patted him on the shoulder and offered him a patronising smile, so James supposed that one might be his imagination.
Now it was Saturday night — exactly a week since he’d last seen Regulus — and he was laying on Sirius’ bed and ignoring his friends’ attempts to get him down the pub.
“I miss him so bad, Sirius!” James exclaimed.
Sirius, who was by now clearly exasperated with him, just rolled his eyes and lobbed a book at his chest. “For fuck’s sake, Jamie. You didn’t even know he existed until, like, a month ago and you still barely know him! I mean, Jesus, you thought he was my fucking dog!”
“He’s just so beautiful. It’s hard to look at him. Like, I feel I’m not worthy to gaze upon such perfection. Ugh. Why doesn’t he like me back? Has he said anything to you?”
“Jesus fucking Christ. Kill me now,” Sirius groaned, burying his face in his hands.
“I should kill you, you know, for keeping him hidden away from me. You’re a cruel, cruel man, Padfoot,” James said, narrowing his eyes at his friend.
“He’s my brother, and I love him, but he’s a miserable twat. He hates you, me, the sun, life. He even hates Moony, and NO ONE hates Moony. Give it up, Jamie.”
“I can’t Pads. I really think he’s the one.”
Sirius cursed, and looked about ready to throw something else at James, but the doorbell chimed before he got the chance.
“Get over it, Prongsy!” He shouted over his shoulder as he left to answer the door.
Once on his own, James sighed and pulled Sirius’ pillow over his face. He knew he’d been trying his friends’ patience with his pining for the past few weeks, but they’d obviously never experienced the crushing pain of unrequited love. If they had, they’d understand that he wouldn’t just be ‘getting over it’ with a cheap lay - or four.
The bedroom door clicked open, and James tensed as he waited for Sirius to continue from where they left off.
“Hi.”
That voice. It couldn’t be. Could it?
James’ heart leapt into his throat and he sat up so fast his head spun, his eyes instantly finding the boy who’d occupied so many of his thoughts the past few weeks.
“Regulus?” He said softly, as if the boy was an apparition that would vanish if he spoke too harshly.
“Can I come in?” Regulus asked, his gaze flicking up to James before returning to the patch of floor at his feet.
James scrunched up his face in confusion. What was Reg doing here? Why was he asking for permission to enter Sirius’ room? “Uh, yeah?”
Regulus walked into the room, pushing the door closed behind him and perching on the edge of Sirius’ bed, leaving no more than a foot of space between them. Their eyes met briefly and James swore he saw the corners of Regulus’ mouth quirk up into the faintest of shy smiles before he tore his gaze away and stared at his hands in his lap, his brow furrowed.
James could tell Regulus was working up to say something, but the longer the silence persisted, the harder it became to fight the urge to speak and fill the void.
“So, uh, what brings you back? Sirius never said anything about you visiting,” he blurted, causing Regulus to flinch at the suddenness of his words.
“He didn’t know I was coming. It was a spur of the moment decision,” Regulus mumbled without looking up from his lap.
“Oh, okay. Things not working out with your uncle? Not that I’m complaining about you being here, ha.”
“No, no, Alphard is great. Like, really great. I can see why he and my parents don’t get on.” Regulus paused and straightened his back as if he was preparing for something terrible. “Um, actually, he told me a few things about himself, made me understand some things about myself, and well…that’s why I’m here.”
“Understand what?”
Regulus didn’t answer immediately. He took a deep breath and turned his gaze to the ceiling. “I guess… well…” He exhaled loudly. “How do I say this? Shit.”
James shuffled a bit closer and hesitantly placed a hand on Regulus’ shoulder. “Is everything alright?”
He shook his head then turned to face James, but he still didn’t meet his eyes. “I’ve missed you. And I hate that you’ve done this to me,” he said in a rush.
“You’ve missed me? Like… as a friend?”
“Yeah? No? Maybe? I don’t know. This hasn’t ever happened to me before. I just… all I know is that I’ve not stopped thinking of you since I left and the thought of you trying that ridiculous ‘Call me’ trick on anyone else makes me feel sick.”
James frowned. His heart was racing a mile a minute, and he was fairly certain he knew what Regulus was getting at, but he had to be sure.
“What are you saying?” he asked carefully.
“Are you really that stupid?”
“I…I just want to be sure.”
Regulus glared at him, and James was sure he was about to get punched in the face, but in the next moment Regulus surged forwards, hooking a hand behind James’ head and crushing their lips together. James’ eyes widened, and he would have gasped if his mouth hadn’t suddenly been occupied. Before he could respond to the kiss, though, Regulus pulled back and dropped his hand back to his lap.
“That clear enough for you?” He asked, somehow managing to glare defiantly at James despite the blush.
“Uhh, better try it again, just to be absolutely certain…” James said, moving closer until he could feel Regulus’ breath ghosting across his lips.
Regulus smiled, his eyes softening, and closed the remaining distance.
The kiss started slower this time, more gentle, but soon that wasn’t enough. James cupped Regulus’ face and angled his head to deepen the kiss, parting his lips and licking into Regulus’ mouth. James groaned as Regulus slid a hand under his shirt and scratched nails down his back. He wanted to get closer, needed to get closer, but the angle was awkward. Growling in frustration, he grabbed Regulus’ thigh and dragged him onto his lap. Regulus gasped, but quickly settled into the new position, grinding down on James’ erection while he sucked a trail down his neck.
“Wait! Wait!” James shouted suddenly.
“What?”
James awkwardly fumbled for his wallet and whipped out another lemon-yellow card.
“It’s hard to look right at you baby, but here’s my number so, call me?”
Regulus rolled his eyes and laughed, snatching the card out of James’ hand. “Maybe.”
“What? I told you I couldn’t leave that trick on a failure!” He yelped as Regulus shoved him back onto the bed and started tugging open his belt.
+++
Sirius exhaled heavily and checked the time on his phone. Fifteen minutes. That was more than enough time for Reg to turn down James. It wasn’t that he wanted his best mate to be upset, but this strange obsession with his brother had gone on long enough. It was Regulus, for fuck’s sake! Pretentious, straggly-haired Regulus. The thought alone was enough to turn his stomach.
He heaved himself off the sofa and went to check on the state of play in his room. He‘d expected to hear a bit more shouting, or maybe hear one of them storm out of the house, but the quiet didn’t mean anything really.
Sirius paused outside his bedroom door, one hand raised to knock, but decided at the last minute that he didn’t need permission to enter his own room so he blustered in, fully expecting to find James in a snivelling heap on his bed.
“Oh God! My eyes!” He cried, throwing his hands over his face in a desperate attempt to block out the images. “My sheets! Oh fuck, this is so gross. Guys. GUYS! Hey! Knock it off! Ugh, Fine! I needed a new bed anyway. MOONY, WORMTAIL, WE’RE GOING OUT! DON’T ASK!”
Sirius turned on his heel and fled the house, not waiting to see if his friends had actually followed.