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Ever since the war was ended, Regulus has been moved into the Potter household as well, but not before his parents were taken to Azkaban. Regulus floo’d to the Potter’s home after his parents were taken, but he hadn’t been planning to leave Grimmauld Place. Because of their parents being imprisoned, he and Sirius were given their inheritances, and he made sure that Sirius was back on the tapestry that he managed to bring with him when the Potter’s made the executive decision, following Sirius’ outburst, to take Regulus in as well. Once that decision was made, however, he had a long conversation with both Sirius and Kreacher to decide what would happen to him. They came to the decision that Kreacher would go to work at Hogwarts, from Kreacher’s decision between Hogwarts or his freedom.
Since returning to Hogwarts again, he’s been on the outside of his dorm because he played a crucial part in helping Dumbledore end the war with Voldemort. They don’t actually mention him, but seeing him with James, Sirius, Remus, Severus, and Lily apparently showed that he was a traitor in their dorm. That’s what he was told when he was getting moved back into the dorms, but they still seemed to respect him, and his friends still stood by his side in all of this, Evan and Barty looked out for him along with Severus. He kept his spot on the team because he’s “good, too good to lose despite being a traitor to the Slytherin name” according to Lucius who is in his final year, and the rest of the team murmured their agreements.
But as Regulus accepts the stare down with Lucius in the middle of their changing rooms after losing their Quidditch match against Ravenclaw, he knows this will cement the traitor whispers he hears in the halls, their common room, and out on the pitch.
“You were absolutely ridiculous out there! You let those logical idiots destroy us before bothering to go after the snitch, and you have the audacity to claim everyone else is in the wrong? Your job is to win the game with the snitch, just what the hell took so long to catch the damn snitch?” snaps Lucius harshly as he glowers down at Regulus, throwing his broom at the row of lockers as the team crowds around them.
“I did my fucking role, you asshat! I caught the fucking snitch. That sonofabitch took forever to find because it was hiding in the goddamn bleachers, literally in the bleachers!” sneers Regulus harshly as his grey eyes narrow on Lucius daringly, stepping into his space rather than shrinking away because he’s so tired of their bullshit. “And it’s not my fucking responsibility to score the fucking points, just to get the damn snitch. And that’s what the fuck I did. It’s not my fault you dumbasses don’t know how to play quidditch. Your forms were fucking sloppy, and three of them fell off their fucking broom without interference. So, Lucius, go fuck yourself!”
“You shouldn’t have fucking taken so long. You were supposed to get the damn snitch before those assholes managed to score shit. You should’ve gone to the fucking bleachers, you know damn well you can fly in them, so what the fuck, Regulus? You truly have become a fucking traitor to us, not only did you fuck us over in the war, but you chose to befriend those bastards!” snarls Lucius as he takes the threat in stride, turning it onto Regulus with a single raised blonde brow. “But just because you’re friends with those disgusting people, doesn’t mean you can come at me like that. I’ll only say this once, so listen up. Don’t ever come after me like that again, or you will find yourself off this fucking team without a moment of hesitation. I can find twenty of you in our house, this is your spot because you’re a fucking Black.”
Regulus watches as Lucius leads the entire team away, brooms in hand. He watches as each of his own teammates' glare at him with hatred and disgust written all over their faces. It hits him that he may have just given them what they needed to completely isolate him from his own dorm.
He doesn’t know how he gets himself into the shower, but he can feel the heated water turning cold as it pours down on his head and down his clothed body. He never even took off his uniform, he just got himself seated in the shower under the spray, his back pressed to the wall. As he stares unseeingly out of the stall, all he can see is the pure disgust, and hate, in their eyes as they left. The people he used to be able to tease in the changing rooms, the people he plays with and is supposed to be able to trust on the field, they all hate him now. Is it even worth continuing to play this fucking game? If Lucius can find more of him, then why didn’t he just kick him from the team? He turned everyone against him already, so it’s not like there would be an argument about it. Maybe he should quit.
His hair is sticking to his face in all directions, even his clothes are sticking to his body, thanks to the spray of water that’s now freezing, but none of that is pressing enough to pull him from the thought spiral he’s drowning in. His cheeks are wet, tears mixing with the water as his sits there unmoving, body growing stiff. He’s become numb like he used to back in that house with his parents, all he can see is everything he’s been told he’s done wrong.
“Regulus? Regulus! Hey, Regulus, you in here?”
Regulus can hear his name being called, but it sounds so far away that he knows he’s imagining it. He pulls his knees closer to his chest until it feels hard to breathe as he sits there under the icy spray, staring unseeingly out of the stall.
“Regu- Regulus! What the hell?!”
As the water stops falling on him, Regulus feels a wave of magic wash over him as warmth builds under his skin. Suddenly, he’s not cold, he’s not numb, he’s warm and his grey eyes focus enough to see James Potter kneeling in front of him. His hazel eyes are tracing him as if to look for an injury, worry sparking in those eyes of his even as he keeps a bit of space between them.
“Potter? What are you doing here?” asks Regulus hoarsely, his throat burns, from the argument with Lucius or the crying, he doesn’t know.
“Coming to check on you. When we didn’t see you come out, Sirius told me to come and get you. You’re supposed to be hanging with us today, remember? What happened?” replies James in a quiet, caring tone as he hesitantly reaches forward and cups Regulus’ face in his warm, rough hands.
“Got into it with Lucius and the rest of the team. Not that it matters. Anyways, I’m not going to be good company, so you lot should just move along without me.” says Regulus shortly as he turns his face out of the comforting hold that he wishes he could wrap himself in.
“I’m not going to do that. What I am going to do is get you to my dorm, and I’ll make sure you’re well rested to blow Lucius’ mind during the match with Hufflepuff next week.” says James seriously as he cups Regulus’ face with both hands, reminding Regulus why he fell for him in the first place.
That big heart of his.
“James, just leave me alone. Please.” begs Regulus, his voice cracking loudly in the empty shower stall.
“Never again, Regulus. I’ll never leave you alone again.” James says it so seriously, almost like it’s a declaration, an oath more than a promise. He says it while holding Regulus’ face between his hands, kneeling in front of him, those hazel eyes latched on him like he’s all that matters.
“James, I can’t do this right now. I can’t be around you and the others right now, just leave.” says Regulus brokenly, he can’t fight his feelings when he’s breaking like this. He can’t ignore the way he wants to melt into James’ arms and be held close like he’s the only one that matters, like he deserves to feel cared for. He can’t do it right now.
“Stop pushing me away when I’m showing you that I care, Regs, I know you need me. So, let me show you how much I want that.” pleads James as he moves over to sit beside Regulus, easily slipping his arm between Regulus and the wall to wrap him in a side hug as his other hand cups Regulus’ face. “Lean on me, let me hold you until you can be strong again. I want you to do that, I’m begging you to do that. It doesn’t have to mean anything, not if you don’t want it to, but if you do, let me love you.”
Regulus stares at James, his jaw has dropped in awe and shock. On his worst day, he’s being offered something he’s only been given in his dreams. This man wants to love him, and Regulus already loves him. Something breaks in his mind as he feels his cracked heart start to thread back together again.
He wants this, and he can finally have it.
“Please.” whispers Regulus quietly, turning into the hand cupping his face. “Please love me too.”
“I already do. Let’s go to bed, Regs.” says James quietly as he stands and helps Regulus stand as well. “We’ll tell the others to bring food to the dorms that way we don’t have to deal with everyone, and I can have Lily ask Severus to bring you your school bag as well.”
“That sounds perfect, James.” says Regulus quietly as James hugs him.
James leans up and brushes a soft kiss to Regulus’ cheek before whispering, “When you feel better, we can discuss our first date.”
“I look forward to it.” replies Regulus quietly, shy as James leads him out of the locker room by their intertwined hands.
“What’s wrong with Reggie? Who hurt you? Who am I killing? Give me names!” rants Sirius immediately when they step outside, pulling himself away from Remus as he falls into overprotective brother mode with ease.
“We will handle it all later, for now, Regs is going to stay at our dorm. All you need to know is that Regs wasn’t okay and got into it with Lucius and the others, but he really doesn’t want to talk about any of it right now.” explains James quietly as he switches from their intertwined hands to slinging an arm around Regulus’ waist and holding him closely as he looks over at Sirius. “Oh, when we get to the common room, we should ask Lily to see if she can get word to Severus about bringing Regs’ school bag to us for him.”
“Prongs did you two finally have that talk?” asks Remus with a knowing glint in those amber eyes as they all head for the castle.
“Moony, why are you asking him when you’ve been up my ass since the start of the year?” asks Regulus as they walk, leaning forward slightly to look at Remus as he chuckles.
“Well, I figured, since you didn’t want to talk, that I needed to point the question at James to get an answer.” replies Remus with a lighthearted shrug to avoid knocking Sirius’ arm off his shoulders.
“Well, I figured Siri would be the one to ask about it… So, I guess we were both wrong.” chuckles Regulus as he shakes his head, James is chuckling beside him as Sirius makes an offended noise and whips around to look at his brother, free hand pressing to his chest. “Yes, we had that talk, Moony. We’ll continue the talk when I’m okay, and Sirius, don’t you dare get all dramatic right now. We all know that Moony probably beat you to the question, or y’all decided he’d ask instead.”
“I cannot believe my own brother would do me like this. You wound me, Reggie, you wound me.” says Sirius dramatically as he clutches at his chest before bursting into giggles when they all stop walking to stare at him. “Moony said it just before I did, but I’m glad you two have talked. Don’t hurt each other, and we’ll be fine. Can’t wait to hear about that first date, and if ya need tips, ask me anytime!”
“Padfoot, baby, I planned our first date.” says Remus with a chuckle as they start walking again, his tone is fond enough that Regulus pretends to gag as Sirius turns to him.
“I know that Moony, and you did an amazing job! I wasn’t talking about that! Neither of them have been with a man before, and I just want them to know they can come to me!” replies Sirius as he snuggles up to Remus happily, light teasing tone making James snort while Regulus rolls his eyes as Remus presses a kiss to Sirius’ cheek.
“I have been with a man before, thank you very much.” replies Regulus and he shakes his head a split second before Sirius turns to look at him because James looked at him in shock. When Sirius turns to him with the most hurt look on his face, Regulus decides he’ll explain to stop that mess as they walk into the castle and head straight for the staircase. “It wasn’t a dating thing, but I’ve kissed a man before. Barty was confused about everything, and I’ve always known. It was just a friend helping a friend, and Evan already threatened me about it after ignoring Barty for a whole month.”
The walk to the Gryffindor common room takes no time at all, the moving stairs being kind to them as they go.
“I still can’t believe my brother had his first kiss and never told me! How rude!” exclaims Sirius with a shake of his head as Remus whispers the password for them.
“I had my first kiss with a boy too, Pads.” says James with a chuckle as they all head in through the portrait.
“How rude! Why didn’t I know this? Who was it with?” asks Sirius seriously as he turns around and pokes a finger into James’ chest.
“It was a muggle at one of the bars you dragged me to last year.” replies James with an amused snort as Remus hollers, “Lily, we gotta ask you something before you go down for dinner!”
“You two are in so much trouble.” grumbles Sirius before he heads over to Remus and Lily.
“He’s so dramatic.” says Regulus quietly with an eye roll as James leads them to the stairs as Remus, Lily, and Sirius talk, pointing at them as they do.
“He’s definitely got a knack for the dramatics, but as you know, he means well. Now, let’s get to the dorms. They’ll probably head to the kitchens after the common room clears out for dinner.” replies James with a fond tone as he gestures at their staircase.
They head up the stairs to the dorms, hands tangled together, in a comfortable silence that Regulus has noticed happens more often with James than anyone else. It’s so comfortable and easy for Regulus and James to hang out in silence, talking just doesn’t have to happen, and there’s not an urge to fill it with anything either. With Sirius, Regulus doesn’t want to be silent, he wants the noisiness that his brother brings, and he welcomes it with open arms because he’s missed it. With Remus, it’s amicable, but usually still filled with school talks, which Regulus enjoys because he loves learning. But the silence that James brings, it’s a beautiful thing that Regulus hopes he never tires of.
As they walk into the dorm room, James leads him to a poster bed by their intertwined hands. Regulus notices the snitches on the pillowcase and the plain red and gold sheets peeking out from under the deep red comforter as James climbs onto the bed. James uses his free hand to pat the bed as Regulus moves close enough to lean a knee on the bed, but he’s hesitant to actually climb onto the bed.
“Come on, Regs, lay with me at least.” says James softly, encouragingly as he tugs at their still intertwined hands.
Regulus sighs after a moment before making his way onto the bed and laying on his side. James curls around him from behind, and suddenly they’re pressed together in such a comforting way that Regulus feels like he can breathe again.
“I’ve got you. If you want to try to rest before they come up here with the food, I’ll wake you when they get here. Just rest, Regs.” whispers James softly as he holds him close, his breath ghosting over Regulus’ ear with every word.
“Thank you, James, for all of this.” replies Regulus quietly as he lightly turns around, the urge to see those eyes too much to ignore now that he knows he can.
It’s quiet with James looking at him with those eyes, a softness to them that Regulus still isn’t used to seeing pointed at him.
“Regulus, you don’t have to thank me for anything. You stopped a war before it could truly begin, you saved everyone, and you did it because of your brother. You turned your own parents in because of what they’ve done to both you and Sirius. You chose to fight for the relationship you’d lost with Sirius because that witch refused to let you leave with him.” rambles James as he looks at Regulus, lifting himself up so that Regulus can lay on his back and meet his eyes easier. One of his hands holds his head up while the other lays against Regulus’ chest as it cups Regulus’ cheek, thumb brushing just under his striking silver eye. “Regulus, if I can just sit with you, even if it’s silent, that’s what I’m going to do. I want to do this. I want to be here with you, and I want you to know that I love you with everything that I have. And I will tell you every single day until you believe me. But you never have to thank me for that, for any of this because I’m doing it because I want to because you deserve it.”
Regulus is left speechless at the speech, but he knows what he wants to do. So, he does it.
Regulus cups James’ face with his hands and leans up as he lightly tugs James down until he can brush their lips together. He quickly pulls back to look at James, to make sure he didn’t just screw up, but James is already leaning forward again, brushing their noses together before kissing him. Pressing light kisses to his lips before Regulus starts to reciprocate and lightly deepens the kiss as he slots their lips together, head tilting lightly, feeling the ridge of James’ glasses pressing into him as James leans over him, pressing further against him. Regulus introduces tongue hesitantly, lightly running his tongue over James soft, bottom lip, and he’s surprised when James’ mouth opens slightly, and the ends of their tongues meet in a glancing touch. James pulls away, but his thumb falls until he’s running it over Regulus’ bottom lip. They’re both breathing hard, and Regulus decides “fuck it” as he leans up to latch his lips on James’ bottom lip, suckling on it before lightly raking his teeth against it, pulling a quiet groan from James.
“Ack! My eyes! Moony, I need you to obliviate me! I’m traumatized! How could you do this to me?! You two were supposed to be resting, not making out without the curtains drawn!” exclaims Sirius loudly, and Regulus pulls away to hide his face in James’ neck as his body shakes in laughter at the dramatics.
“Love, we have traumatized James in worse ways. Stop being dramatic and go give them their food.” Replies Remus with a snort as James moves to lay next to Regulus again, being careful not to dislodge him from where he’s hiding his heated face. “We know you’re red, Regulus, you may as well come out and eat your food. Sirius’ entire body turned red when James did the same thing, you know. It was quite entertaining when I got Sirius to stop hiding in my chest.”
“Ugh! Lupin, I didn’t need to know all that!” whines Regulus as he turns to glare at Remus from where he’s sitting on the trunk at the end of James’ bed.
“You can’t glare at him when you look like a tomato, Reggie. Though, he’s not wrong because I was entirely too red when James squealed like a pig because he caught us. I don’t think Lily could hear for three hours afterwards.” chortles Sirius as he sets the food on James’ lap before going to sit next to Remus on the trunk as Remus hands his plate over.
They sit and eat together, and Regulus feels the hurt and guilt from earlier draining as they talk, even going as far as teasing each other about whatever they can think of. That, of course, includes when Sirius snorts water out of his nose when Remus grumbles about Minnie saying she’d won the faculty bet about them after she took the note Sirius threw at him and read it to herself. Regulus finds him easing as he chuckles at them, even contributing his own stories with his dormmates, and James’ got a hand around his waist as he eats, thumb rubbing soothing circles under his quidditch robes. Lily brings his bag to him at some point, but she only stays long enough to drop the bag off and a note from his dormmates and Severus before disappearing to bed.
Regulus may have lost his teammates, and the older students who were interested in becoming death eaters, but at least he knows he still has his brother, his new boyfriend, and his friends. He has everything he needs, and that’s what has him smiling as he falls asleep hours later in James’ arms.