Work Text:
Regulus wiped the sweat off his face, after finishing an endless practice session of the new choreography that he and Pandora had worked on in the past few months. It was quite arduous because of the various technical difficulties they had wanted to add, but Regulus loved a challenge. He had stayed until late to perfect his arabesques, which his mother had described as "poorly executed and hurtful to watch"; when his muscles had started to ache painfully, he had decided on going home to have a shower and rest.
Picking up his bag and water bottle, Regulus made for the exit, when he heard music coming out of a lit up studio; it was already 9 pm so no one was supposed to be there, except for him, who was allowed to stay a couple more hours by the owner.
Annoyed by the intruder, Regulus peeked through the ajar door, only to find the last person he ever wanted to see after his brother.
In the middle of the room, a very shirtless James Potter was dancing, concentrated and absorbed by the music; his brown skin glistened with sweat, and his untamed hair looked messier than usual.
James was his brother's best friend, and also the best Latino dancer of the country; he and Regulus had known each other since they were children, but the latter always ignored James' attempts at befriending him, so they never really had a civil conversation.
Still, Regulus unwillingly knew a lot of things about James Potter, because his brother perpetually ranted about his 'amazing and talented best friend' to him. The boy was kindness personified, selfless and charming and everyone wanted to be his friend; he was talented enough to get first place for three years in a row at national competitions and to be known among many dancers of high level.
Reg wanted to turn on his heels and get out of there, but he couldn't move. His eyes were fixated on the boy as he moved around the ballroom. He watched James' reflection in the big mirror on the wall and noticed he was lip-syncing the words of the song, rather dramatically
And i wish i could free you
of the hurt and the pain,
but the answer is simple
He's the one to blame (hey)
Suddenly the music changed, and the melody reminded Regulus of distant places, sunny afternoons, spicy food and, for some reason, the smell of incense.
James started dancing differently with the song, his usually quick and wide movements were replaced by a graceful motion of his hips and his body became a sinuous mass in the ballroom. Regulus couldn't take his eyes off the beautiful boy and his hypnotizing hands that were moving elegantly around his body, tracing rounded lines in the air as he rotated his wrists.
His aura had changed too, from playful and excited to something that Regulus could only describe as sensual and mystical.
Suddenly the music stopped, as James turned around to meet Regulus' eyes and wink.
James Potter fucking winked at him.
Regulus must have been dreaming, because Potter couldn't have done that just now.
The moment lasted only three seconds before the music came back and James turned to the mirror to finish his dance.
Looking up, Regulus saw the boy grinning at him in the mirror as he danced
Let's not kill the karma
Let's not start a fight
It's not worth the drama
For a beautiful liar
James was singing.
At him.
Can't we laugh about it?
It's not worth our time
James had started approaching the door and Regulus was panicking
We can live without him
Just a beautiful lie
The song ended and James was standing in front of him, arms crossed and a sly smirk on his face.
"Well hello there, care to join me?"
Regulus stared at him.
"No."
He spun and got to the door before he could do something stupid, like accepting Potter's offer.
Well, Regulus thought, I'm fucked.