Work Text:
On the on-ramp, you said
“If you love me, you will listen to this song”
~~~
“You’ve got to be joking.”
“I swear I’m not.”
“Regulus!”
James Potter and Regulus Black were riding together in the former’s red jeep heading to their friends’ housewarming party.
Dorcas and Marlene had just recently bought a flat and wanted nothing more than to celebrate by shagging in every single room. But Sirius and Mary made it their own personal mission to give them the best experience ever by celebrating with all their dear ones.
“Right now neither of you is particularly dear to me.” Marlene said when she gave into their enthusiasm, knowing that one way or another those two would get what they wanted in the end.
Dorcas convinced her it wasn’t the worst of ideas by making a list of all the shit they could buy them as gifts, because you can’t have a party without gifts. Marlene was more than happy to write down the most expensive items she could think of.
So, Regulus and James made a stop at a shop some days ago to buy a lips shaped sofa. And it had to be cherry red, of course.
It now sits in the back while they bicker because James argues it’s impossible that his boyfriend has never heard of Without Love from the Hairspray musical.
“James, mon coeur, do I look like someone who would voluntarily watch a musical?”
“Still, Regulus! I can’t believe I’m dating someone who doesn’t appreciate the masterpiece that is the Hairspray film.” he exclaims, throwing his hands up.
Regulus just rolls his eyes. “And I can’t believe you’re trying to get us killed because of this- James keep your hands on the steering wheel for fuck’s sake!”
James ignores him reaching for the phone connected to the car and restarts the song turning up the volume.
He briefly turns to look at Regulus and solemnly says, “If you love me, you will listen to the song.”
Then, for whatever reason, he takes the wrong turn.
“James-“ Regulus tries to warn him.
“Nuh-uh Reggie, no talking until the song is done. Or else I’ll think you don’t love me.” he fake pouts in front of the glare Regulus is sending him.
Unfortunately for him, Regulus does love James an insane amount, so he sighs and listens to the song.
When James will ask him if he liked it, he’ll simply have to lie and then pretend to be annoyed when James chooses to watch the musical on their designated movie night.
~~~
And I could tell that you were serious
So I didn't tell you you were driving the wrong way
On the interstate until the song was done
~~~
The last note dies down along with James’ soft singing, he’s wearing a smile on his beautiful face and Regulus hates that he’s going to make him drop it.
“Can I talk now that my suffering is over?” he asks. James nods absentmindedly.
“I hate to break it to you,” he ponders his words, “but we’re going in the complete opposite direction.”
“What?!” James widens his eyes and rushes to pull over. He then turns to Regulus. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
Regulus just shrugs. “You wanted me to listen to the song and I did.”
James actually has to think about it for a second, just to remember his almost childish behaviour from before.
“Right.” he fondly shakes his head, chuckling. “I love you too.”
Regulus smiles and James pokes his dimple.
~~~
You felt like an idiot adding an hour to the drive
~~~
“Oh I love you so but, God, do I feel like an idiot right now.” James sighs.
He was so happy to see all the people he loved the most in one place. They still see everyone quite often, of course, he could never go more than a couple of days without seeing his three best friends, but it’s not like when they were all in school.
They’re all adults with jobs so it’s not like they can spend their time causing trouble here and there.
Barty still does it, but he’s Barty .
“Hey, it’s not the end of the world, we're just going to be a bit late.” Regulus takes his hand, giving him a reassuring smile.
James grimaces at that. “Sure. So when we call your brother to tell him that, you think he’ll handle it well?”
“I really don’t care.” he scoffs, “Let’s put the address on the gps and then we’ll call them.”
A few minutes later they’re back on the road, no more Hairspray music playing but a phone ringing.
“Hello?”
“Hi Pads!” says James.
“Is everything alright Prongs?”
“Yeah, yeah… actually?” he turns to Regulus, silently asking for help.
“We’re going to be late, Sirius.” Regulus supplies.
“Oh, hi Reggie- wait, what?”
“We got distracted and took the wrong turn.” explains James.
“Distracted?” he asks suspiciously.
“Yes?” James answers, but he’s more confused than anything else.
“Mmh”
Regulus sighs, “What, brother?”
“Please tell me you were not blowing each other and that’s why you were distracted .”
“Jesus, Sirius!” James thinks his best friend should think about it twice before saying stuff like this while he’s driving.
“Nope, not this time.” says Regulus which, again, he shouldn’t have said it like they’re talking about their favourite candies.
“EXCUSE ME WHAT?!”
“Byeeeee!” Regulus sing songs before hanging up.
Sirius calls them back immediately. They both ignore it, obviously.
“Do you want me dead?” James asks while Sirius’ name on the screen keeps threatening him.
“You’re no use to me dead, Potter.”
“You’re a menace.”
“You love me.”
James doesn’t argue with him on that one.
Dorcas calls them next.
“Why is Sirius having a meltdown?”
James wants to answer but Regulus speaks first.
“Don’t know and don’t care. We’re gonna be late, sorry Cas.”
“No worries. Drive safely.” she hangs up.
“That was surprisingly easy.” James is honestly impressed.
“That’s what happens when you have a functioning brain. I guess the inbreeding really did damage my brother.” he says feigning pity.
James fully laughs at that, any sort of worry forgotten when Regulus is here by his side making jokes and holding his hand.
~~~
But it gave us more time to embarrass ourselves
Tellin' stories we wouldn't tell anyone else
~~~
“Barty says thank you because, for once, no one will complain that he’s always the last one to arrive.” Regulus says, locking his phone and putting it away.
“That boy has a special talent when it comes to being late. How does he do it?” James asks amused.
“Don’t ask me, I’m always perfectly on time.”
“That’s not true.”
The way Regulus turns his head to look at him is a little concerning.
“The fuck is that supposed to mean?” he asks, borderline hysteric.
“Regulus, you were late to our first date.” he smiles softly.
“Oh.”
That is true, but Regulus had a valid reason to be late.
“Did I ever tell you why I was late?” he asks, knowing that he swore to himself to never tell the story to anyone.
“You didn’t, but I always wonder. I’ve come up with quite a few stories, you know?”
“Really?” Regulus arches a brow.
“Yep. Some are just ridiculous, like, you almost drowned trying to destroy a locket containing the soul of an evil dark wizard. Or maybe you had just pulled the greatest art heist in history and, rightfully so, were running late.”
If James wasn’t suddenly so concentrated on the road, he would’ve seen the way Regulus’ jaw went completely slack. His eyes wide open. One thought on his mind.
What the fuck?
James, though, goes on unperturbed.
“Oh! Maybe you were sent into an arena to fight for your life!”
“That’s the Hunger Games plot.” he mutters without really meaning to. He’s more concerned about the fact that his boyfriend sounds so excited at the idea of him fighting his death.
“Is it? I didn’t notice, anyway, there are also plenty of mundane motives for your lateness. You were probably having a crisis on your outfit, a red light, you losing your keys, Barty, your own thoughts because you used to overthink everything about us…”
“Okay, I get it. You definitely have too much free time.”
James just grins. “Look, we’re back on the right way!”
They both relax into their seats, knowing it won’t take them long to arrive and maybe, maybe, they won’t get as scolded as they thought.
“Do you want me to tell you why I was late or do you want to keep coming up with little tales?”
James stops at a red light and gives him a quick kiss on the cheek, “Tell me.”
Regulus sighs, a smile ever present on his face, because how could he ever not be smiling when he feels the heat James left on his cheek spreading all over his body, creeping under his skin reaching his bones, his blood, his heart.
He starts recalling that warm day of May, four years ago…
He is panicking. He’s meeting James Potter (!) in an hour or so for their first date (!!!), after too much pining if he’s honest, and he’s panicking over a rock .
He’s having a good hair day, his outfit fits perfectly, his jewellery shines so bright it’s blinding and he even put on some makeup.
“Let me tell you, dinner isn’t the only thing Potter will be eating tonight.” said Evan when he came into his room.
“I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t propose on the spot.” his sister Pandora confirmed from his phone. She was showing him her newest seashells she found on the beach on a video call.
He also sent a picture to Dorcas, who replied with some not so subtle emojis.
Safe to say he looks stunning and is aware of it.
Still, he can’t stop thinking about a stupid fucking rock.
He used to collect rocks as a child, the dread of everything slipping away from him already anchored to his soul, so he started picking them up everywhere he would go.
The beach? He took some home.
A trip to France? There too.
Sirius’ favourite playground? Of course.
He needed something to remind him of those special days. Something that would stay there, heavy, keeping things from running away from him.
He kept them in his wardrobe until his mother found them and threw all of them away when he was twelve, coming back from his first year at boarding school.
He couldn’t do anything but watch as his memories were taken from him. He wouldn’t have anything to make sure they really happened. How could he stop them from drifting away, now?
He only managed to keep one that was still in his suitcase, one that he didn’t pick up himself.
It had been a difficult year for him. He did manage to make a couple of friends like the Rosier twins and the Crouch boy, but he thought he would get through it with his brother.
He didn’t expect Sirius to pretend he wasn’t there.
His brother had hoped for him to be sorted in his same House, Gryffindor, and while Regulus was taking his test to determine his House, he wanted nothing more than to make him proud.
But he ended up in Slytherin, just like his parents wished to, and Sirius couldn’t stomach it.
That afternoon he wandered around the castle’s grounds repeating to himself that everything would be okay.
He settled on the ground near the lake, taking in the Scottish view.
He heard people coming and going around him, they chattered getting to know each other or shared summer adventures with their school friends.
He hadn’t noticed someone joining him by his side.
“Hi.” the brown eyed boy said.
James Potter, Gryffindor, Sirius’ best friend and new brother.
“Go away.” Regulus didn’t even look at him.
“I just wanted to make sure you were okay, I saw how Sirius reacted…” he carefully said.
Regulus just scooted to the left, putting more space between them.
“Give him time, I’m sure he won’t care about it anymore. He was so excited to have you here with him, kept talking about you the whole year. I can’t believe he’d just shut you out.” Potter kept talking.
Regulus didn’t let himself hope.
“Anyway I wanted to give you this.”
Regulus turned his head watching as Potter looked for something in his pocket, his brows furrowed when he couldn’t find it right away.
“I swore I put it in this pocket… wait… ah! Here it is!” he extended his hand, a small reddish rock sitting on his golden palm.
Regulus just stared at it, not daring to meet the other boy’s eyes.
James saw that Regulus wasn’t going to move and spoke again. “You collect rocks, right? Sirius mentioned it once or twice. I thought you’d want something to remember your first day by.”
Oh.
Regulus had hated James at the time because how could he be so… so… so!
He felt a little embarrassed remembering how he’d kept the rock with him all year, its weight a comforting presence in his pocket.
When he got back home he didn’t want to risk losing it so he hid it under a floorboard in his room, alongside with other gifts his friends had got him. He was sure his mother wouldn’t be happy if she found them.
He left his house when he was seventeen and, in the rush of it, he took only a couple of clothes and books. He didn’t have much in his room anyway.
Now he couldn’t help but take his keys and leave his house to go and get back the stupid rock that stupid twelve year old James gifted him.
It’s been two years since he stepped in Grimmauld Place, he hates to break his streak but he is a man on a mission.
Obviously he can’t get in through the front door, no matter if Kreacher is there to help him, so he’ll have to climb the tree outside his window. Miraculously left open.
He hasn’t done this since the night he left. He tries not to think about it, as he swings one leg and then the other and then he’s standing in his childhood room.
He knows Sirius’ room was left untouched so he’s not sure if he should be surprised to see that his room faced the same fate.
He wishes he could stay here and reminisce about his happy childhood, but he didn’t really have one and he has a date with James Potter so he starts looking for what he came here for.
He easily finds the floorboard that hides his little treasure: some postcards, a necklace Pandora made for him, some pins and the rock.
He takes everything just because he can.
He’s putting everything in place when he hears footsteps and the only thing he can think of is jumping out of his window. Well, on the tree he climbed to get in.
“Who’s there?” he hears Walburga asking.
His grip on the tree tightens, he hopes the leaves will cover his face at least.
“Sirius Black that better not be you!” she shouts.
Sirius? He can work with that.
He lets himself down the tree while he did his best impression of his brother, “You’ll never get me you old cunt!”, then he runs away laughing hysterically.
The newfound weight in his left pocket not slowing him down but encouraging him to go faster and faster until he feels like he could touch the Sun.
“…and then I went straight to yours to pick you up.” Regulus finishes talking, he’s peacefully looking outside his window like he didn’t turn James’ world upside down.
“You kept it?” he asks breathlessly.
“I did.” he hums, “I keep it in my bedside table’s drawer.”
“But- why? You didn’t even like me then!”
James remembers the day he gave Regulus the little rock he found that summer when he was on holiday with his parents. It stood out to him, it was the only one that differed from the other grey ones.
He decided he would give it to Regulus Black right away, because nobody stood out to Sirius the way his little brother seemed to do.
The way the exchange happened wasn’t exactly how James thought it would be but, nonetheless, he was glad he got to give Regulus his little gift.
He knew better than to think he had kept it.
He is so happy to be wrong.
“I kept it because you cared.” he shrugged, like it didn’t matter. “It reminded me that people, someone, cared when I thought I wasn’t worth it.”
James stilled.
Oh.
Oh.
Regulus is just so lovely. He doesn’t understand how absolutely lovely he is.
James is so heavy, so full of love for this beautiful boy it might just drag him down to the bottom of the deepest ocean. He’s sure, even there, he’d still be able to live with the glimpse of his star’s light, shining down on him.
~~~
You said, “I might like you less now that you know me so well”
I might like you less now that you know me so well
~~~
“You know,” Regulus breaks the silence that fell on them, “I might like you less now that you know me so well.”
James laughs at that, “Throwing my words back at me?”
Regulus smiles and leans to turn up the volume of the song because he knows James likes it.
And James, despite what he once told him, doesn’t like Regulus less because he knows him.
He’s afraid of it, sometimes. He is terrified of people actually knowing him, seeing deeper than the persona he carefully crafted with his shaky hands.
James is a happy person, always confident, ever the optimist, eager to help. What if everyone finds out that one day he’s just decided that’s who he shall be. Someone people can’t help but be glad to have around because why shouldn’t they?
He’s always such a joy to be around, after all.
James longed for the person he used to be before he figured out who he should be. Is this his real personality? Has he made everything up? Is it the perfect mix of both?
The lines are so blurred not even his glasses can help him.
He figures something about him must be real. For example, he truly is an optimist. He’s sure he’d be severely depressed if he wasn’t one and he’s not half as strong as Remus, Regulus or Lily to survive such a fate.
But happy? Confident?
He can’t be sad, doesn’t let himself be, but to say he’s happy? He’s cheerful, content at most.
Happiness is such a strong word, he can’t claim it as often as he’d like to.
It’s fair, it’s human, but it makes him angry .
James is always feeling angry because he’s incapable of being casual about anything.
If he can’t be happy, then the people around him should be. But they’re not and he wants to help, needs to, because they deserve it.
James thinks nobody will want to be near him once they figure out they don’t need him anymore, once he’s fulfilled his role.
He secretly hopes they never do.
It makes him feel angry because he’s selfish and wants people to keep needing him, his help, but if they get better… then what? What’s James to them?
Why would they want him around when they can have anyone now that they’re better?
They will leave him without looking back, hurting him because James gave them everything he had and now he’s left starving.
He gave the key to his soul to many people, some of them didn’t deserve it one bit but he still did and was left trying to forge together the pieces.
He can trust people like Peter, Marlene, Remus and Sirius to never disappear because they knew him when he was still sure to be James .
Regulus on the other hand?
He saw right through him. Started digging until he found every little fragment of him and treasured it. The sharp edges and the soft ones.
When James first realised his feelings for the younger Black he thought nothing of it because Regulus would never have liked him back.
Except he did.
And James was terrified of scaring him away.
“Stop running away from yourself.” Regulus once told him, when he stubbornly tried to distance himself.
“What?” he asked.
“You keep trying to be somebody you’re not, or at least, somebody you don’t feel comfortable being. You think I don’t notice but I do and it’s breaking my heart to see you changing every time you speak with someone.”
“What would you want me to do?” he asked with tears in his eyes.
“I want you to look in the mirror and see yourself, not one of the many characters you invented, just… I want you just as you are.”
James couldn’t help himself but cling to that very beautiful person that life gifted him.
He let himself trust Regulus and hated him at times. He hates that he is not blind to his one man show and refuses to get tickets.
“I might like you less now that you know me so well.” he whispered one night when they were stargazing.
“I think I’ll live, Potter.” he said, intertwining their fingers, making sure James won’t run.
James didn’t like him less then, instead he loved him even more.
~~~
Leonard Cohen once said
"There's a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in"
And I am not an old man having an existential crisis
At a Buddhist monastery writing horny poetry
But I agree
~~~
Here they are. Two people who both thought themselves to be broken.
One thinking to be undeserving of anything that’s even remotely good and the other trying to be everything that’s good in the world.
Both with their flaws and insecurities which tried and tried to break them down. Sharp as knives trying to cut them apart.
Broken vases shouldn’t be able to contain anything, but here they are full of each other’s light. A light that only finds it easier to get in from the scarring cracks.
You rarely see the stars and the sun in the sky at the same time. They’re still there, though.
Day. Night. They coexist never letting the other one feel lonely.
“Remember when I broke my arm in college?” James asks.
“Ugh! You were insufferable, truly, not even a child would have been that dramatic.” Regulus scoffs.
“Oh, please, don’t pretend you didn’t love playing nurse with me.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Sure you don’t.” he grins, remembering how Regulus basically enslaved all of their friends for the time James had a cast on so he wouldn’t hurt his arm even more.
Regulus surely liked taking care of his boyfriend, but he enjoyed barking orders left and right just as much.
“I should’ve let you suffer. You broke it because you were an idiot.”
“Not true!” James exclaims, offended.
“You fell off a tree!”
“It looked so easy when you did it!”
“The only reason you climbed it it’s because you wanted to recreate the Spider-Man Kiss!”
“And it’s a perfectly valid reason. We’re not arguing about this again .”
~~~
I never thought you'd happen to me
~~~
Regulus is glad to see that they are almost there. He’s loving his little adventure with James, but he can’t wait to get out of the car and stretch his legs.
“Oh look, there’s a flower market.” James says without thinking too much about it.
It’s not like he always buys Regulus flowers when he comes across someone selling them. Unfortunately, he was not blessed with a green thumb, so since he can’t grow flowers like his father does, he buys them.
Regulus loves to press them on his journals. Loves that James still gets him flowers years in their relationship. Loves him .
“Pull over.” Regulus says.
“Mmmh? What? No, no, we’re already late.” James quickly replies.
“Exactly, a few more minutes won’t change anything. Pull over.”
Regulus won’t take no as an answer so James gladly pulls over with a bright smile.
They walk hand in hand through the market, each of them picking a few flowers here and there. They both agree to also buy a bouquet for Marlene and Dorcas to apologise for being late.
Twenty minutes later they’re ringing the bell at their friends’ flat.
Chaos ensues.
“Look who finally showed up!” Marlene opens the door accepting the flowers.
“Thank God you’re here.” Dorcas quickly kisses them on the cheek, “Reg I need you to put a leash on Evan and Barty, they’re terrorising our friends from work.”
“I’m not their keeper.” he deadpans.
“You are.” all three of the people surrounding him say at the same time.
He sighs, gives James’ hand a last squeeze and then follows Dorcas into the kitchen.
“James Fleamont Potter!” Sirius Black’s voice echoes from the other side of the living room.
“Prongs, hide!” Peter laughs beside him.
James doesn’t think about it twice and rushes to the balcony where he finds Remus and Lily smoking together.
Lily quirks a brow, “Hiding from Sirius?”
“Yes, Moony can you distract him?” asks James, knowing that his friend would never let him down.
“No.”
See? Remus never disappoints.
Wait.
“What?!” he shrieks.
“Nope.” Remus says, smoke coming out from the corner of his mouth.
James just gapes at him.
“We’re both hiding from our significant others.” Lily explains, “They’ve been meticulously checking that everything is just as they planned it. I think we both have future bridezillas in our hands, Lupin.”
He sighs, “Don’t make me think about it.”
“Oh don’t worry Remus. Me and Sirius have already made plans for your wedding, it’s gonna be perfect!”
James is mildly offended that Remus doesn’t seem even remotely surprised.
“You did?” he asks.
“When we were sixteen.” he proudly admits.
“Of course you have.” Lily shakes her head fondly.
“We didn’t even get together until we were eighteen.” Remus points out.
“When has that ever stopped me? I’m James Potter .” he points to himself like that should explain everything.
And it does, because Remus knows him, he really does.
The balcony door slides open and Sirius comes into view.
“Prongs.” he warns.
“Oh, it’s so nice of you to be here! Moony was just saying how much he missed you!” James pushes Sirius towards Moony, taking the former’s place.
He mouths an apology to a glaring Remus and then rushes inside.
“Looking for Regulus?” Pandora asks. She’s holding a glass containing a weird bright green drink. James doesn’t even want to know.
“Avoiding his brother, actually.” he answers.
She nods, “Well, you’re successfully failing.”
He doesn’t have the time to question her, because someone crashes into him making him fall.
“Gotcha!” Sirius triumphs.
He groans and sees Pandora’s shoes walking away from them.
“Hi Pads.” he mumbles into the floor, “can you forget Regulus ever said anything?”
“It’s really hard to.”
“You know you and Remus have done worse than that.” he defends himself.
“Doesn’t mean I want to know what you are doing with my brother .” he complains.
James rolls on his back, Sirius falls on his side so now they can talk face to face.
“Stop being dramatic.” James tells him.
“You know who you’re talking to, right? I didn’t give you a concussion, did I?” Sirius takes James’ head between his hands and studies him closely.
“I don’t know. Are you the most brilliant, smart, talented and sexy person I ever laid my eyes on?”
Sirius smiles and kisses him on the forehead, “You’re all good, Potter.”
He’s about to get up when he hears a camera clicking and he looks up to see Mary holding a Polaroid in her hands.
“I can’t wait to tell your boyfriends you’re cheating on them with each other.” she smirks.
“Oh please!” Padfoot rolls his eyes, “Remus knows James doesn’t count.” he waves her off.
“Still, I’ll keep it. I can cause drama with less if I want to… and that’s a warning!” she gives them a sweet smile before going after Dorcas saying that she has to get a picture of her because it’d do wonders on Pinterest .
James and Sirius laugh and end up chatting with Peter about the latest album of a band they’ve been following since their high school days. They all agree to go and see them when they eventually perform again in their city.
“Remember when we went to one of their first gigs and smoked a joint with them after the concert?” Peter dreamily recalls.
“Best night ever.” Sirius confirms.
James nods, he’s not really paying attention to his friends. He’s too occupied watching as Regulus politely makes small talk with the other guests while also keeping an eye on Barty and Evan, who are aggressively making out a bit too close to a porcelain vase.
Regulus’ silver eyes meet his and his mouth twitches, his cheeks slightly flushing. James tunes everything and everyone out, he can only see Regulus and feel his heart beating faster. It’s always ready to jump out of him when he looks at his Star.
He doesn’t break eye contact even when the vase breaks into pieces on the floor and everyone starts shouting.
Regulus tilts his head, inviting him to follow him to the balcony. So James finds himself outside, again, with the warm glow of the setting sun colouring both their faces.
“Hi.” he breaths out.
“Hi.” Regulus smiles back at him.
“I’m glad we never had a housewarming party when we moved in.” he says, daring to take a glimpse of the living room where he sees Marlene threatening Barty with a spatula while he hides behind Evan.
“Me too, let’s remember this day if we ever think of having one when we move to another place.”
James furrows his brows, confused. “Another place? You don’t like our flat?”
“No, no, I do!” Regulus is quick to clarify. He suddenly looks scared like he just said something he shouldn’t have.
“What?” James prompts.
“Nothing.” Regulus lowers his gaze to the ground.
James takes his pale chin between his fingers so that he can look Regulus in the eyes. “You can talk to me, estrellita.” he says softly.
Regulus breath catches, his eyes searching James’ face as if it will give him all the answers of the universe.
“I- it’s n-nothing, really.” he stutters.
“Mi amor…”
Regulus blushes violently at that. So what if James called him that on purpose because he knows it makes his boyfriend melt every time?
“You’re cheating.” he mumbles, scowling a bit.
“I’m not ashamed of that. So?” he tries again.
Regulus remains silent for another minute before sighing in defeat.
Regulus is shy when he speaks, “I was thinking that our flat is perfect for two people but if we, hypothetically, get married and, hypothetically, adopt a cat or two and, again, hypothetically, have children… It’ll be too small to fit all of us.”
“Us?”
“Yeah, us. Our family.”
James is walking on air.
“Hypothetically speaking, of course.” Regulus nervously adds when James still doesn’t talk.
He’d normally feel guilty about it, but he’s too shocked and happy and he’s feeling so much, too much .
“I don’t want it to be hypothetical.” he finally manages.
Regulus perks up at that, “Yeah?”
“I love you, I want all of the beautiful things you mentioned and everything else. Even if we don’t get to have any of that, I’d still be immensely happy and grateful to have you by my side.”
A pair of arms wraps around his neck, his hands find a familiar waist to grip.
Regulus leans in, their noses touching. “You need to stop saying things like that.” he whispers.
“Why?” James whispers back.
“Because I’m afraid I’ll never be able to put into words how I feel about you when you do and you deserve to hear it, you should know.” he closes his eyes, breathing James in.
“I don’t need to hear it. You already show me plenty.”
As if to prove him right, Regulus closes the distance between them letting their lips meet each other.
They used to be both so greedy with their kisses, never believing they’d get this far.
Right now the bright red sun is almost completely ready to rest, but the stars have already taken their place, wanting to greet their friend.
Right now and forever they exist together.
~~~
I never thought you'd happen to me