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It had been weeks of Regulus pacing and paining, unbeknownst to Orion and Walburga, for the hope that James would appear again and all would be well.
Regulus should've known better. He'd called out James's name and not gotten a call back. Wasn't that enough of a sign?
He was delirious now, phone chucked to one corner with a notification box of zero messages. His near-boyfriend had rejected him, he knew it, and yet this pain was so different from the others he'd ever experienced.
It was almost like losing Sirius. The darkness returned, mining the hole in his heart deeper, and leaving an empty spot for somebody who won't be there to fill it.
Losing Sirius was the most painful thing amongst countless lashes and multiple broken bones to have happened to him. Now, James was trying to tie for first place.
Regulus, for the next few days, didn't bother catering for his needs, proving his parents were going to have an easy summer holiday. Meanwhile, Regulus would sit and preferably die.
Pandora and Evan had left for France, unaware of their friend's mental and physical state back at home. Regulus swiped through social media with a frown on his face, watching Pandora's snowballing competition with Evan on her Insta, and the next second he was on Potter's and scowling at the posts with either Sirius or Evans' happy stupid faces.
Walburga had noticed something was wrong, but her carelessness made her only scold Regulus about taking it to heart so much. "Weak," she had called him. Regulus sarcastically thanked her for calling him anything at all, because it felt like more than what James had ever done since their mishap.
A few days of his delirium had Orion joking tastelessly that his son was schizophrenic because he hallucinated up a certain brother and talked to himself in the bathroom mirror. When even Orion realised it was getting excessive by the end of the week, Regulus had to answer to the brutal punch of his ringed-finger fist.
Barty had tried to check up on Regulus a few times, but it seemed he kept getting his phone taken away. Dorcas was busy somewhere, though she also tried contacting him, but Regulus made sure to pretend everything was fine. Her tight schedule proved useful for him in hiding behind his 'I'm okay' facade.
It got so bad at one point that Walburga dragged him to the doctor and stuck a thermometer in his mouth.
"He is feverish," the doctor had said. There was something knowing in the doctor's gaze, but it hardly mattered, because Walburga and Regulus disappeared after that to probably never visit again.
"Fever," Walburga had scoffed. "What a weakling."
Regulus curled into himself.
The summer was apparently perfect for everyone, except Regulus, who was missing the sun dreadfully even as it hung in the sky. His sun was somewhere else, quite far away, and tragically out of reach.
And once Walburga found Regulus's nose buried in Sirius's Instagram account, carefully scrolling through his brother's posts, she had given a horrendously high-pitched cry and punished him severely for it. She took his phone away for the month in the process.
"They don't care about you," she had informed him, coldly. Her icy tone sunk its way through Regulus's bones and he believed he had become just as cold as his mother for a fleeting, horrid second.
Stuck wandering in circles from his loss of procrastination, Regulus read books by the fireplace and indulged Dorcas when she cleared time for him in her schedule.
"You're sure that you're okay?" Dorcas asked, frowning and wagging a jewelled finger at him. She was quite a fan of rings like Regulus, with the addition of wearing multiple necklaces and a wrist full of admittedly sometimes dorky bracelets. Her opinion was that it was cool.
"I'm sure," Regulus often replied, not even close to convincing her. "Um... you don't think I could borrow your phone for a second, do you?"
Dorcas sighed. "Tell me what's wrong."
When Regulus opened his mouth to object, she cut him off.
"Now."
So, begrudgingly, Regulus explained. Halfway through him fawning over James, Barty had arrived at their three-person meet-up and within moments of overhearing, demanded he also hear the full explanation.
Regulus endured Barty's teasing and Dorcas's frankly terrifyingly good advice, before getting up to leave in a hurried mess.
Dorcas stopped him. "Didn't you want to borrow my phone?" She raised her eyebrows knowingly.
Swallowing, Regulus nodded, and in quiet gratefulness acquired her phone and tapped into Instagram. His mouth went dry as he clicked onto James's page, admiring the latest post with a new face of shamelessness in front of his friends.
"You should apologise and get together again," Dorcas resorted to advising at last. "It's annoying, seeing you so fucking worked up about love, of all things."
Regulus was shocked and maybe a little horrified to find he was subconsciously considering her words. Then he decided that for once he could try to be brave and just follow Dorcas's advice so as to pull his head out of his arse as well — hopefully.
Only, Regulus had to wait a month to get his phone back. Which in Dorcas's opinion, was unacceptable.
Safe to say he was stuck in a telephone box figuring out its old-fashioned system, and for one purpose: getting the quote-on-quote from Barty 'love of his life' back.
Finally, Regulus rung James. It rang for one beat, then two, before he released his breath in a stutter as the man in question picked up.
James's beautiful voice floated through. "Hello?"
Regulus felt stupid to have missed it so much. "James, please just hear me out, please." It wasn't his style to beg or let the desperation be heard in his voice, but Regulus had hoped too long for a chance like this and he wouldn't be losing it because of his mean ego.
There was silence on the other end, but James didn't hang up. "Alright. I'll hear you out." He sounded resigned to his fate, but Regulus was just relieved he'd snatched this chance.
"Thank you," Regulus choked out quietly, knowing James would hear it.
"Go on, say whatever you want. I need to leave soon, party with Sirius and Remus, you must understand." James was obviously trying to appear bored and uncaring, but James was James, and no matter what, he was eager to grab at anything Regulus would give him. Because James was a disgrace, and was lucky Regulus was more of one.
"Yes, right." Regulus bit his lip, still so utterly fond. "James, I'm sorry," and he let it all come out in fluttery breaths. "I didn't want to mess things up. But, ultimately, I did. And I feel like an idiot. Don't make me repeat this, okay? But... I really fucking like you, and I'm a desperate man who would get on my knees for you and go through this heartbreak all over again for you. Anything, for you. And- and this is because Dorcas told me to just stop being a pussy- so- what I'm trying to say is..."
"Fuck," went James on the other end.
"James?"
"Fuck."
Then James had hung up.
They don't care about you. Regulus heard the words falling from his mother's mouth again, the memory still rich in his mind.
Regulus wanted to scream. Crash and cry and do so much that the next day he couldn't talk.
Stumbling out of the telephone box, Regulus shuddered and nearly fell into Dorcas's arms — if she wasn't intensely eyeing Regulus with her wicked gaze and slowly, strangely, grinning. She held her phone to her ear.
"I think you'll want to take this call," Dorcas said suddenly, passing her phone over and not listening to Regulus as she slammed it to his ear with a determined force.
"Reg? You there?"
It was... James. Regulus gasped. "Oh, yeah, uh..."
"Sorry, I freaked out back there. Stay where you are. I'll be there in a sec."
"Wait- what?" But Regulus's words were cut off by the notable sound of James hanging up, again. Regulus's mouth hang open, a bit shaken, a bit confused, and... a bit hopeful?
Dorcas was grinning at him. "He'll be here soon." And she sounded very, very sure.
Regulus struggled for a response. But it seemed he didn't need one, between Barty invading their conversation again and then getting dragged away by Dorcas despite his protests, until Regulus was left alone outside the telephone box. Waiting.
When the thud of oddly familiar footsteps neared, Regulus thought he might be sick with the amount of hope ne anticipation choking him. Slowly, painfully, he turned.
James stood there, right by the telephone box, lips parted like on the verge of a question but eyes shining a deep almost sultry brown. It seemed the both of them wanted the same things yet had so much to cover at the same time.
Regulus took a step closer, then another, and one more until they were practically chest-to-chest.
"James," Regulus breathed, still recovering from the shock of the moment. He wondered if he was delirious even now. "I think I have a fever... need a thermometer... er, yes, this can't be right..."
James blinked, before his lips stretched into a wide smile. "You're talking nonsense again. Means you are actually sorry, doesn't it?" And it seemed James wasn't looking for an answer, maybe already having one, and immediately ducked to smash his lips against Regulus's.
Regulus moaned into the kiss, not forgetting his many weeks of heartbroken pining and wanting for James. He deepened their kiss and relished in the way it made James groan into his mouth.
Then with a smack, James pulled away, Regulus almost chasing after his lips but stopping himself before he got overly carried away. "I fucking missed you, you- you meanie!"
Regulus laughed breathlessly, something small and sincere to James on so many significant levels. "Shut up and kiss me, for fuck's sake, James. I was miserably scrolling through your Insta for weeks, okay? Don't tell me you've missed me when I've been so fucked up myself over here."
James's eyes widened and softened at this. "What- Regulus, really?" He sounded so in love it hurt, if it wasn't for the fact Regulus loved him just as much.
"I said, shut up and kiss me."
With that, it didn't take long for James to get the message at all.
It turned out Regulus wasn't so delirious or stupid to think someone cared for him still after all. Nobody had abandoned him. And this time, when Regulus called out James, he had James easily call back.