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James looked around to try and find the object of Regulus’ Black unnerving attention. Ever since James had sat down in the library, he had felt an ice-cold gaze on his skin. But the question was, why on earth would Regulus Black be looking at him? He hadn’t talked to the boy since he was twelve and Sirius had brought him into their train car.
When James checked the surrounding seats, he found no one. Then, when he looked back at Regulus, the other boy had gotten out of his seat. He was taking long purposeful strides towards James. It was an incredibly awkward moment for him. James wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be making eye contact or not.
“Erm- hello,” James said to Regulus as he reached him.
“Be at the Three Broomsticks tomorrow at 2 p.m..” Regulus ordered. “Bring money.
“Oh-” James mumbled, “Sure- I guess.”
Then, Regulus nodded and walked away without saying another word. What was that? What was James supposed to do with that? There was no point in him continuing studying because, for the next twenty-four hours, he would think of nothing but what the fuck just happened. He needed to talk to Sirius to see if he could offer any context.
—-
“So he just walked up to you and ordered you to meet him tomorrow?” Sirius asked, puzzled.
“That’s exactly what happened, he also told me to bring money,” James responded.
“Mate- I have no fucking clue what that’s about.”
“It sounds like some sort of reverse drug deal,” Peter laughed.
“I know what it sounds like,” Remus said from his bed.
“What, Moony?” Sirius exclaimed, “Let us into your incandescent mind and share in your knowledge.”
“Shut up you fuck-head.” Remus swatted his book at him. “It sounds like you’ve been asked out on a date, Prongs.”
“It does not,” James rolled his eyes.
“It can’t be,” Sirius disagreed.
“Think about it,” Remus responded.
“I am thinking about it!” Sirius responded.
“Okay, well think about it this way, how would you expect Regulus Black to ask someone out on a date?”
There was a pause well the other three boys thought about it.
“Bloody hell,” Peter breathed.
“What would my brother want with Prongs?”
“Oi!” James responded. “He could want to date me!” Even as James said this, he wasn’t sure if he actually believed it. Regulus was just unbelievably cool in a cold aloof way that was the exact opposite of James. They really did not make sense together, but James wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“Could he though?” Peter asked, which led to James hitting him with a light stinging hex.
“Yes, he could,” Remus said.
“Betrayal!” Sirius yelled.
“I don’t think you’re the one being betrayed here, Pads,” James grumbled.
“Of course I am. My own best friend agreed to go on a date with my own brother- AND my own Moony thinks that my own brother could fancy my own best friend!”
“None of those things strictly have anything to do with you, besides the fact that you apparently own all of us,” Remus responded dryly.
“Moony, I would never date your brother,” Sirius declared.
“I don’t have a brother you wanker.” Remus responded.
“You were supposed to say that you would never date my brother either,” Sirius said.
“I can’t date your brother, he’s dating James,” Remus said.
“Betrayal!” Sirius yelled once again and hit Remus in the head with his pillow. From there the conversation devolved into a lot of immature name-calling that all the boys enjoyed. But James couldn’t help but be nervous about what the following day would contain.
—-
At breakfast the next morning, James could barely eat. All he could think of was his alleged date with Regulus Black. Why would Regulus Black ask him on a date? What if it wasn’t actually a date but James had assumed it was a date and then Regulus laughed at him for assuming that he could fancy James? What if James doesn’t act like it's a date but it is a date and Regulus gets offended that James didn’t know it was a date and then Regulus starts to hate him and he loses his chance with him? Also, since when did James even fancy Regulus? He definitely didn’t think he fancied Regulus before he maybe asked James out, but now it's undeniable. Then James began to think, what if it does work out? What if it is a date and James acts like its a date and they start dating? Would Sirius be mad? Would they be a good couple? What would a date between James and Regulus even look like?
After breakfast, James was just pacing around his bedroom. All of his questions and thoughts were following him around and he couldn’t escape them. God, what if it’s a date but James is so nervous that he blows it?
“Prongs-” Sirius started.
James turned to him with wide eyes, “What?”
“I can definitely see why your animagus is a stag, you’ve got the deer in the headlights look down.”
“Ha.” James said dryly and continued to pace.
“You’re going to wear down the rug with all that walking.”
“No, I’m not. This is a normal amount of walking. I’m being normal.” James responded quickly.
“You are definitely not being normal,” Sirius said carefully, “Are you actually nervous about your meeting with Regulus.”
“I- erm Pads,” James started shyly, “I think I might fancy him.”
“Oh Merlin,” Sirius rolled his eyes. “Why’d you have to go and do that?”
“It wasn’t really my choice,” James responded.
“Well,” Sirius started as he got up and started to walk towards James’ closet. “Regulus is particular about manners, so make sure to be on your best. He also loves reading, spends his whole break always holed away in the library. A good way to get him to talk is to ask him about whatever book he’s reading.”
“What are you doing?” James asked.
“I’m helping you,” Sirius said, then handing James a pile are clothes, “put this on.”
“Why?”
“My brother and I have style, you do not. He will appreciate the effort.” Sirius explained, “Do you have any Jewelry.”
“Not really,” James said as he put on his clothes. Surprisingly, the outfit wasn’t in Sirius’ style, but rather in a version of James’ style that was significantly better than anything James could actually put together. “I have my father’s watch.”
“Put that on,” Sirius ordered. “And Prongs?”
“Yeah?” James asked distractedly.
“If you hurt my brother, I’ll slit your throat in your sleep.”
“Noted.”
—
At 2:05 James was sprinting towards the Three Broomsticks. He wasn’t going to be late but then he spotted some wildflowers and well, if this was a date, he didn’t want to show up empty-handed. When he finally reached the tavern, Regulus was standing in front with crossed arms. He did not look particularly happy, not that he ever actually did.
“You’re late,” Regulus glared.
“I know, I’m sorry,” James said while still catching his breath. “These are for you,” He handed the other boy the bouquet of flowers and watched as Regulus’ extraordinarily white cheeks turned pink. Without saying anything else, Regulus led James into the building.
Once they sat down there was a very long silence. Neither boy was trying to look the other in the eye. When James couldn’t take it any longer, he blurted, “Is this a date?”
Regulus looked up wide-eyed but before he could say anything, James continued, “Just to be clear, I want this to be a date. I don’t know if you want this to be a date- and obviously, if you don’t then we don’t have to date. We could be just mates. Or not. You can decide. You could say you never want to see me again. Maybe that's why you asked me here because you wanted to tell me that you never wanted to see me again but that’s a bit silly because we didn’t really see a whole lot of each other before- which I’d be happy to change. To see you more, not less. Though if you want to see me less then I could probably do that. The point is you can see me as much as you want,” James rambled nervously.
“It is,” Regulus responded quietly.
“What's what?” James asked earnestly.
“For fucks sake,” Regulus exclaimed, “this is a date!”
“Oh-” James smiled, “brilliant!”