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“Kiss me.”
Regulus glanced up from his drink and raised his eyebrows at one of his closest friends. Well, it wasn’t common knowledge that they were friends, because of the whole ‘Slytherin/Gryffindor’ rivalry, and his own reputation he had to uphold. But because they were at a Gryffindor Party (don’t ask how he got to be in such a place, that’s a story for another time), it was safe to say everyone was drunk, and no one was paying attention to him.
And the moment he saw the complete seriousness from Remus, he shook his head in disbelief and started laughing. He was laughing like he hadn’t laughed in a long time, and for some, it would be like music to their ears.
“You’re drunk, Remus,” Regulus replied, using the palm of his hand to lean on the wall where he was standing, so he wouldn’t fall over from his laughter. He still had a tickle in his chest that wasn’t going away. He let his guard down with Remus; he always did. There was just something that connected them both, and it was easy to get along with him.
“I’m not and you know it. Kiss me.”
“I don’t follow –”
“God, you’re just as bad as Sirius on the uptake. Look, you like James, yes?”
“Yes,” Regulus did his best to ignore the blush creeping up on his cheeks as he frowned, trying to figure out where Remus was going with this.
“And I like Sirius –”
“Finally, he admits it!” Regulus joked with a smirk. Although his eyes widened in surprise, as something clicked in his brain. “No.”
“Yes.”
“No. Definitely not! That’s your worst idea yet!” Regulus hissed, punching Remus on his chest. There was no way he was going through with this. Absolutely no way.
“What about the stink bombs?” Remus asked, smirking.
“Worse than the stink bombs! It won’t work, James is so dumb! And…”
Regulus didn’t finish his sentence, someone had bumped into Remus and he stumbled into Regulus’s arms clumsily, trying to gain his balance. Regulus’s heart started beating heavily as he rolled his eyes. Remus held his arms on Regulus’s waist, pulling them close, so their foreheads were touching.
“Smartass," Regulus grumbled, underneath his breath.
“Idiot,” Remus responded, not moving from their position, grinning mischievously.
Regulus looked round and spotted who he was looking for before focusing back on Remus, only registering how close they were when he felt Remus’s hot breath on his lips. “He’s watching,” he whispered.
“So is Sirius," Remus whispered, "So, let’s try this again. Kiss me?”
He didn't respond straight away, he didn't have to. Remus closed the gap, and their lips touched in a firm, yet gentle way as Regulus's eyes fluttered closed. He felt their bodies move closer to each other, so there was no gap between them as Remus held him tightly. Regulus' heart skipped a beat or two as Remus deepened the kiss.
He forgot about why he had come to the party in the first place, he forgot about his longing crush on James, and he forgot about where they were kissing.
Regulus just wanted to be in Remus's arms. To keep kissing him.
He let out a low moan, but it turned into a disappointed groan as he felt himself being torn away from Remus.
"Right, that's enough!"
Regulus's cheeks flushed a dark shade of red once he remembered why they had started kissing in the first place. He tore his gaze away from Remus, who looked just as shocked as he felt, and turned to face a very pissed off James Potter. Next to him, his brother was furious. He could literally see the steam coming from Sirius's ears.
He couldn't help but look at James once more, who had his arms folded across his chest, a pointed look between himself and Remus.
"Hi," Regulus said, with a sheepish smile on his face. He was giddy, not because of the amazing kiss he had just shared with Remus, but because Remus’s idea had worked. Both James and Sirius were beyond mad, and Regulus smiled when his heart skipped a beat, feeling comfort in knowing that James just might go the extra step and ask him to be his boyfriend. Maybe.
"Hi? Hi! That's what you have to say right now?" James asked, waving his hands about frustratedly.
"Alright, James, Sirius. Calm down, we –" Remus tried to bring peace, but it didn't exactly work.
"Pfft, calm down? Calm down! You hear that, James?" Sirius asked, interrupting dramatically.
"Yeah, I hear it. Take yours, I'll take mine."
Before either of them could say anything more, Regulus was being dragged off out of the Gryffindor common room, James holding his wrist leading him away from Remus, who was being dragged in the opposite direction.
Regulus grinned as Remus winked subtly at him, giving him a nod, which Regulus returned, somewhat awkwardly.
Regulus’s heart was beating heavily as he was pinned against a cold, stone wall, out of sight in an empty corridor not far from the Great Hall. He stared into James’s eyes, and he just knew he was going to have a hard time explaining this one.
“So, Reggie, do you mind explaining to me what that was?”
Regulus opened his mouth only to close it again, biting his bottom lip nervously. He couldn’t find the words, even though he knew why he had done it, his words just seemed to be failing him. His neck and cheeks flushed red at James’s signature cocky smirk.
“You kissed Remus,” James whispered, disappointed. “You kissed him, does that mean –”
Regulus’s eyes widened, finally finding his words, “No. It doesn’t mean anything –”
“Are you sure?”
Regulus was stunned by James’s doubt, by his vulnerability, by the lack of confidence that he usually displayed. It made him like James all the more, and he didn’t have to speak to answer the question.
He leant his forehead on James’s, smiling as he felt James’s hot, familiar breath on his lips. Regulus closed his eyes, bringing his arms to wrap around his neck, his hands bringing James in to close the gap between them.
What made kissing James different from anyone else, was that kissing James was like being home after a long time away. But not the home he grew up in, no. In a home that he liked to dream about when he was younger. He dreamt that he and Sirius grew up in the country, in a cottage with a beautiful garden, loads of colourful flowers ranging from roses to daffodils to lillies that brightened the place even in winter. They’d be next to a forest full of pine trees, leading out onto a stony beach. The smell of the sea was right next to home.
A place so opposite from how he grew up, the feeling of happiness every time he came home, the fire going in the living room, his father reading the newspaper complaining about the latest thing the Ministry decided to do. His mother, who was never at home. He and his brother chasing after each other, playing pranks and games that brought laughter to the house.
The daydream that got him through the hell of Grimmauld Place.
Being with James reminded him of that. How he felt during the daydream.
Truly happy.
He didn’t know how long they had been kissing for, so when James broke the kiss to breathe, Regulus sighed in content, finally opening his eyes once more to find James's cheeks flushed and his eyes only focused on his own.
“I’m sure,” Regulus whispered, staring at James in return with nothing but awe, love and affection.
“You’re mine, you know that, don’t you?” James asked, kissing his forehead so softly and gently, lingering for a little while before placing their foreheads together again.
Regulus grinned a smile that was only saved for James, nodding without even needing to think about it. “I know, love. I know,” he replied, his heart pounding out of his chest.
It worked.
Remus was an ass. But a smartass. His idiot plan worked, and Regulus couldn’t be any more thankful.
As James held him in his arms, both silent in their thoughts, enjoying each other's company more than ever before – Regulus couldn’t help but think about what he had shared with Remus.
That perhaps, in another time, another “Regulus and Remus” could have been more than just close friends. They could be what James and Sirius were to them, and Regulus wouldn’t have minded that.
His thoughts subsided, however, when he realised that he could, if he had to, live without Remus.
But he couldn’t live without James.
OoO
Meanwhile, in the fifth year Gryffindor dormitory, one Remus Lupin was very much regretting coming up with his plan. Regulus had been right all the long, it was ridiculous .
He had been an idiot.
Because now, he had to convince Sirius that kissing his brother meant absolutely nothing to what he and Sirius shared. And, for reasons that Remus couldn't explain, Sirius wasn't believing a word that came out of his mouth.
Honestly, they had been talking –well, arguing, for about half an hour and Sirius was being a stubborn pain in the ass.
"I do not fancy Regulus!" Remus exclaimed for the millionth time, running a hand through his hair frustratedly, trying to stay calm and rational through this.
"Well I didn't see you stopping the kiss! In fact, I didn't see either of you wanting to stop the kiss!" Sirius responded, continuing to pace up and down the dormitory.
"Please, for the love of God, stop pacing! You're doing my head in!" Remus couldn't help but burst out, rubbing his forehead to try and stop the headache he knew was going to arrive soon.
He groaned when Sirius looked at him with a look of offence, walking back towards Remus with his arms folded across his chest, raising his eyebrows.
"That's really who I am to you? Someone who does your head in? Second choice? The disappointment? Not what you expected? Well, sorry, Remus! But if this is who I am to you –"
Remus couldn't take it anymore. He didn't want Sirius to finish that sentence. He walked over to his best friend and the love of his life, and covered his mouth with the palm of his hand, leaning their foreheads together.
"You're a stubborn idiot, Sirius. You know how much Regulus loves James. You also know how much I love you," Remus replied, softly, yet firmly. His heart skipped a beat or two when Sirius's eyes widened, as if only now finally realising what they had both known for years.
"It was my idea for Regulus to kiss me. I wanted you both to stop being a pair of idiots and actually realise just what we were to you. And I wanted you to be jealous. I wanted you to realise how much you loved me. Yes, it was a stupid plan. But, it worked. I'm just waiting for you to ask me something," Remus continued, holding Sirius by his waist, bringing their bodies as close as he could get away with as he removed his hand away from Sirius's mouth.
Sirius smirked at him, in an almost dazed like way, before registering the rest of Remus's speech. "Hey, why do I have to be the one to –"
Remus raised his eyebrows, giving Sirius a pointed look, not taking anything else as an answer.
Sirius started laughing, and he shook his head in disbelief. "Alright, alright. Remy, darling," he started, whispering in Remus's ear, "Will you be my boyfriend?"
Remus pretended to think, and he laughed at Sirius when Sirius whacked him on his chest impatiently.
He kissed the top of Sirius's forehead once more, before giving his lover an answer.
"Yes, I'd love to."
Although, somewhere in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but think of Regulus. What if… In another time… They had kissed earlier? Perhaps, before they developed feelings for James and Sirius? What would have happened, if anything?
He was brought out of his thoughts when Sirius closed the gap between them. Remus moaned, closing his eyes, smiling as their tongues synchronised as Sirius deepened the kiss, somewhat roughly, the way they liked it. Both holding each other so tight neither wanted to let go.
No, he thought.
He would always end up with Sirius.
Every, single, time.