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Although Sirius hated Regulus a little at the moment, he’d been unable to refuse when James suggested they invite him to his seventeenth birthday. You’re going to be an adult, James had said, I know things are complicated right now but you should invite him, it’s an important day.
Complicated was quite the understatement. Things had been awfully tense between the two brothers since this summer – ever since Sirius had run away to the Potters and left Regulus all alone in that dreadful house. They had barely even spoken since then. Sirius had tried on the first few days of school, had tried to ask Regulus if he was okay, but the younger had decided to give him the silent treatment.
Sirius hated Regulus for staying, and Regulus hated Sirius for not forcing him to leave.
Regulus had hesitated when they’d invited him. But James had given him his adorable puppy eyes from behind Sirius’ back. So, of course, Regulus had said yes on the condition that he could bring Evan and Barty with him. And here they were, in the Gryffindor common room, on the night of November 3rd, 1976. James and Regulus had been together for six months by that point, but only Barty and Evan knew about that. For now, at least.
***
Regulus had definitely had too much to drink and he was absolutely hammered.
He hadn’t planned to turn out in that state, but drinking with Evan and Barty was always a dangerous game, and he’d gotten caught up in it. The three of them had had an entire bottle of Firewhisky, which wasn’t the worst, but they didn’t drink that often and they’d drunk so fast that they were all approximately in the same state of advanced inebriation.
The fact that Sirius barely acknowledged Regulus’ presence at the party, apart from the occasional stiff smile and nod, hadn’t helped. It had only made the younger of the Black brothers want to drink more, so he could forget about all of this shit and have a tolerable night.
Regulus could feel James’ eyes on him, but considering the fact that nobody apart from Evan and Barty knew about their relationship, he didn’t dare acknowledge him too much, especially in the presence of James’ friends. He couldn’t even imagine what his brother’s reaction would be if he caught them staring or talking to each other.
At one point, during an animated conversation about shagging, Evan wandered off, most likely trying to find a Gryffindor girl that would give him the time of day and eventually a blowie, leaving Regulus and Barty on their own.
Their friendship had always been a bit… Well, a bit special. The line between friends and more had often gotten a little blurry before James and Regulus were serious, and although they had never done the deed, they had kissed a fair amount of times. Barty respected Regulus’ relationship and didn’t try anything anymore, but he was still quite the flirt.
“Reggie, if I didn’t know about your loverboy, I would totally jump you right now,” Barty said casually, slurring his words a little, and running a hand through Regulus’ curls, making him giggle.
“As if you usually give a shit if someone’s already in a relationship,” Regulus teased him, his eyes instinctively going to James standing on the opposite side of the room, who was clutching a bottle in his hand, his knuckles almost white. He looked a little less drunk than Regulus felt, and Merlin, he looked really fucking hot, too.
“You know I always give a shit when it comes to you, love,” Barty whispered in a fake-seducing tone, making Regulus roll his eyes fondly. His eyes met James’ and he smirked at his boyfriend before putting a delicate hand on the back of his friend’s neck, their faces closer than necessary.
Regulus leaned in, his lips almost touching Barty’s ear now, and whispered to his friend while still holding James’ gaze.
“Someone looks jealous if you ask me.”
Barty turned his head not so discretely to look at James who was still staring at them, looking concerned, jealous, but also a bit amused all at the same time. He really was an open book. James trusted Regulus with his life, but he absolutely did not trust Barty, and it took all of his strength to not go over to them and punch him in the face, especially with the alcohol running through his veins. Regulus gave him a wink and a little smile before breaking the eye contact.
They didn’t have a lot of opportunities to have fun in this way, especially in public, so Regulus, in his clouded and hazed mind, wanted to be, to put it simply, a little shit. It wasn’t a side of him that James often got to witness, so he wanted to put on a little show. He laughed at everything Barty said, unnecessarily touching his chest and shoulders, and although nobody else in the room paid much attention to them, James did. Even when his friends came to him, danced with him, he looked back at Regulus almost every minute, sometimes smirking, sometimes glaring.
After a few minutes of exquisite teasing, Regulus and his friend got up and mixed in with the Gryffindors who were dancing around the common room. It had been a while since Regulus last had this much fun during a party, since he usually didn’t let himself get too drunk, but right now he was fannied and enjoying it a lot.
James was a very social and likeable person, so he was friends with almost everyone in the room, which made it easy for him to dance with whoever was close when Regulus got a bit too touchy touchy with Barty. Oh, he was loving this.
“I think your man is going to murder me, Reggie,” Barty singsonged in his friend’s ear, which made them both laugh.
“I have no idea why he would even think about doing this, dear Bartemius,” he responded, giggling once again. He really was in a splendid mood. He felt like he was on top of the world; everything was bright and happy and funny and he didn’t have to think one second about his family or the war. He put his arms around Barty’s waist, chatting, dancing, and laughing.
However, when he was dancing with Barty and Evan – who had, as expected, not found a Gryffindor girl to go and sleep with – and least expecting it, he heard a familiar voice whisper ‘meet me at our usual spot’ in his ear. He was startled for a moment, his drunken brain taking some time to register. James and his bloody invisibility cloak.
Regulus waited for a few minutes so as to not raise suspicion – his friends might’ve known about them, but he didn’t really like to talk about it much – and then made up an excuse about needing to use the restroom and practically ran out of the Gryffindor common room to go meet James.
They always met in a quiet corridor hidden in a secret passageway that James had discovered on his own and not told anyone about so they could have some privacy without worrying about someone finding them. It was one the fifth floor on the castle, hidden behind what looked like a solid brick wall but was actually a door that could be opened by tapping on one of the brick on the top left corner, a bit like the entry to Diagon Alley from the Leaky Cauldron. Regulus had no idea how James had found it; did he just go around the castle and tap on random bricks? Or was he some kind of architectural genius?
After about five minutes of walking – the passage was quite close to Gryffindor Tower –, Regulus arrived to their meeting spot. As soon as the brick wall opened up for him, James grabbed him by the hand and pushed him up against the wall, a playful smirk on his face. He did that gently, of course. He was James Potter after all, and would never think of treating Regulus with anything less than incredible care.
“I didn’t know you could be such a tease, darling,” James whispered, cupping Regulus’ face between his hands, looking him straight in the eyes.
“I have no idea what you are talking about, Potter,” Regulus responded, looking up at him innocently through his thick lashes, though a smile was threatening to appear on his face.
He wrapped his arms around James’ broad shoulders, slightly cocking his head to the side.
“You do look hot when you’re jealous, though,” he added, grinning.
James chuckled and shook his head. His vision was quite blurry, sure, but even like that Regulus could see just how attractive James was and it was the only thing on his mind at the moment. How had he managed to pull the best looking boy in school?
“Is it bad that I find you hot when you’re flirting with someone else?”
“Absolutely dreadful, indeed,” Regulus said, nodding. He loved talking with James. At that moment, though, he just wished his boyfriend would shut up and kiss him already.
Maybe he’d said it out loud, or maybe James was a mind reader, because only a second later, James’ lips were on his, pulling him into a bruising kiss that made Regulus’ entire body tingle in love and pleasure. They’d never told each other they loved each other, and Regulus really, really wanted to tell him at that moment, but even if he had been able to express his feelings through words – which he very rarely did – he knew it wasn’t the right time. If he ever had the courage to tell him, he wanted it to be when they were both sober.
James was the first to break the heated kiss. Regulus opted for placing soft kisses on his jaw and neck instead, keeping his eyes closed and enjoyed the whispers of enjoyment he managed to get out of his lover.
“If I’d known you’d react like that to me flirting with my best friend, I would’ve done it ages ago,” Regulus said, chuckling against James’ skin, who was now softly running his hands through the younger boy’s hair.
“I didn’t know I’d react like this either,” James whispered, putting a finger under Regulus’ chin to lift his head up, kissing his lips chastely, making Regulus melt under the soft touch. “You have no idea what you do to me, love. You’re perfect.”
Regulus smiled softly and kissed him again, caressing James’ torso, his hands getting lower by the second. He was really quite turned on at the moment, but who could blame him? However, James broke the kiss again, tutting in amusement.
“As much as I would love to go further with you right now, we are not doing anything with you in that state.”
Regulus pouted, sticking out his bottom lip, and wrapped his arms around James’ shoulder again. Why did he always have to be so respectful.
“Alright, alright,” Regulus said and kissed him one more time. He never had enough of him. He wished he could stay in James’ arms forever. “You’re so annoying when you’re being a gentleman.”
James snorted and kissed Regulus’ forehead lovingly.
“I know, but I don’t think you’d want our first time getting sexual to be while you’re too pissed to walk straight.”
“I never walk straight, I’m gay,” Regulus answered, giggling, which made James laugh as well.
“Let’s get you to bed, darling.”
Regulus huffed, pouting again like a little kid, but let James wrap the cloak around them to take him back to the Slytherin quarters without getting caught. He accompanied him to his dorm, which was thankfully empty, and helped him get in his pyjamas. When Regulus got under the covers, James kissed his lips and temple one last time before whispering a goodnight in his lovely boyfriend’s ear. Regulus wrapped him in one more embrace before letting go and James left.
Regulus’ eyes stayed on the closed door for a few minutes, and he whispered a quiet ‘I love you’ that James wouldn’t hear before instantly falling asleep.