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Quiet. Dark. Peaceful. Those were the very useful observations James’ mind came up with when going on his impulse induced midnight stroll. He knew for a fact that most, if not all, people in the castle would be asleep.
He didn’t really have a destination in mind. He would follow wherever his feet took him.
James saw the astronomy tower in the distance and decided to go up. It wasn’t like he had anything better to do anyways.
He was a few steps away from the top when he heard the calm breathing of someone else. Strange. There really shouldn’t have been another student in the astronomy tower in the dead of the night, but, then again, who was he to judge? He shrugged and waltzed in, only stopping dead in his tracks when he saw just who was sitting there.
Nobody other than Regulus Black. Sirius’ little brother.
He almost slipped out the same way he came, but Regulus noticed him there all too soon. Regulus’ eyes widened and he cleared his throat awkwardly, shifting his eyes here and there.
“Oh, uhm, hi?” James stuttered nervously, unsure which direction to drive this conversation to. It was an anomaly, really. He was James Potter, after all. He could handle any social situation with grace and charisma. How did Regulus Black of all people manage to turn him into a stuttering mess?
Regulus blinked. In a second, his surprised face turned into his regular stoic expression he carried around with him at all times. James didn’t like that. He didn’t want him to hide. He wanted to see every single expression on his face.
“What are you doing here, Potter? Shouldn’t you be asleep?” He asked. Although, it didn’t feel like he was asking a question. He was stating something. Calculating.
James hummed thoughtfully, “A bit hypocritical, I could be asking you the same thing.” He grinned, striding over next to Regulus and sitting down. Strangely, the younger didn’t seem all that bothered, which surprised James.
Regulus chuckled softly. The sound was beautiful, he wished he could bottle it up and keep it forever in a box. Wait, what?
“Touché.” He said simply.
They sat like that until the sun started rising. Regulus got up without a word and left, leaving James questioning more things than just his sexuality.
————
The next night, James made his way to the astronomy tower yet again. Silently praying he would see Regulus there again.
It seems that his wish was granted, because, like magic, he was sitting there, looking all effortlessly perfect like he usually does.
James sat down next to him.
“Hi, Reggie,” He smiled. Regulus hummed in acknowledgment.
“That is not my name, don’t call me that.” Regulus muttered, raising an unamused eyebrow at James.
James scoffed good-naturedly, “Well, if you want to play that way, then Potter , isn’t exactly my name either.” He grinned, challenging.
Regulus rolled his eyes, but held a soft, reserved smile on his face. James took that as a sign of success and mentally pat himself on the back.
Once again, they sat in comfortable silence the rest of the night. Although, this time, Regulus mumbled a quick, quiet, “Goodbye, James.” before slipping away.
Despite the evident lack of sleep, James has never woken up feeling better than that night.
————
Regulus sat at the astronomy tower impatiently. Usually, he would go to the tower every few days. He would never admit to your face that the reason for him going so frequently recently was his brother’s best friend, but that was, in his opinion, the unfortunate reason.
Like clockwork, James came stumbling through the entrance and sat beside him. James tossed him his signature grin that he was starting to hate. It was a facade. One that he could see right through. He wanted a real James Potter smile, not one almost everyone at Hogwarts has fallen victim to.
He would see it, sometimes. It would play over and over in his head until he couldn’t think straight anymore. He didn’t understand why, but he found that the best way to get the smile would be the rare moments when he would laugh or smile himself.
“You played well today, James, ” Regulus said quietly. There was a Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw quidditch match today.
James played with his hands idly, “Still lost.” He mumbled. He looked so beside himself it was almost impossible to believe that this was James Potter of all people. The golden boy. The boy with an ego the size of a lake and a heart to match. In Regulus’ humble opinion, it should honestly be illegal for this wonderful boy to ever be upset.
Regulus had no idea how to comfort people, it was never his strong suit. If not with words, he could at least show with actions.
He bit his lip and reached for James’ hand wordlessly, staring up at the stars.
“Can we see you tonight?” James whispered. His voice sounded strained, like he was forcing the words out.
Regulus turned to look at the other boy in confusion, “What?” He questioned.
James smiled. A real smile. Somehow, it shined brighter than all of the stars in the sky combined.
“Your star.” He explained, as if it should’ve been obvious in the first place, which, honestly, should've been.
“Oh,” Regulus said, “Yeah.” He said, pointing to the star with his free hand.
James hummed, following Regulus’ hand.
“Sirius is over there.” He added quietly, pointing to the bright star.
They watched the stars together. From time to time, Regulus would point to a star and tell James the story of it. For every star has a story, begging to be told, to be heard.
————
James excitedly made his way up to the tower again. Like every night, he sat down next to him.
James offered him his usual smile as hello, it brightened ten times as he received a soft smile in return.
Surprisingly, Regulus broke the silence. This boy seemed to be surprising him a lot recently.
“Do you have a valentine?” He asked.
James chuckled, “A valentine? Nope.”
Regulus seemed to be shocked by this. He raised an eyebrow, “No? Not Evans?” James would swear his tongue seemed to be actually spouting venom when mentioning Lily.
“Mmm. No. I don’t fancy her anymore. I’ve…got my eyes on someone else.” James looked everywhere but Regulus’ face.
“Someone else, huh?” He scoffed, then hummed. “Well, what a waste.”
James furrowed his eyebrows. Regulus was acting weird, but he couldn’t think of any reason as to why.
“A..waste?” James said slowly.
“A person you, of all people, fancy and yet they aren’t even your valentine. Aren’t you going to ask them?” Regulus replied, no emotion showing in his tone at all.
James bit his lip, thinking for a moment. “Should I? Ask them out, I mean.”
“Well, if you fancy them a lot, I feel like you should.” He said, monotone.
James smiled. A soft and quiet one. “Then, will you be my valentine?”
Regulus blinked, obviously surprised. “What?” He asked incredulously.
James shrugged, “Um. You said to ask the person I fancy to be my valentine, so..” He trailed off.
“Oh.” Regulus stated, blushing. “Yes.” He whispered, smiling.
James grinned, wide and happy, “Really?”
“Of course, you idiot.” He rolled his eyes. “For some reason, I happen to fancy you too.” He said as the blush on his cheeks brightened.
There wasn’t much silence happening that night, but there wasn’t much talking either.
————
Regulus’ eyes followed James as he sat down. He felt an arm wrap around him as he was pulled closer to James. It was the night after valentines, and it was safe to say that it went quite well.
Regulus smiled happily, leaning into the touch. James kissed the top of his head.
“You know, you never really told me why you were up here in the first place.” James said.
“You haven’t told me, either.” Regulus countered.
James hummed, “Fair,” He shrugged, “I just couldn’t sleep. I decided to go on a stroll and happened to end up at the astronomy tower. A pure coincidence, really.” James added.
Regulus leaned back into James’ hold. “I couldn’t sleep either. Sometimes, my thoughts get too loud and I need to get some fresh air. I come up here often. Not everyday often, like recently, but often nonetheless.”
James was quiet for a few seconds. “Are your thoughts..loud right now?” He asked carefully.
Regulus looked up at him, “No.” He whispered. “They’re always quiet when I’m with you. I think my brain likes you, Jamie .” He muttered.
James smiled at both the words and the nickname, “I like your brain, too, Reggie.” He kissed Regulus’ temple gently.
There wasn’t much to be said after that, so they sat with the seed of silence that blossomed alongside them.