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As he wiped tears of mirth from his face, taking a sip of his drink, Regulus took a deep breath, chuckling and grinning, reflecting on how he’d gotten where he was.
He didn’t do things like this. In his twenty-two years of life, he’d never been one for romance or sappy love stories. Sure, he liked quick hookups in random pub bathrooms and could easily be seduced by suggestive stares across crowded dance floors, but intimate dates in fields of flowers?
That was not something he’d ever done before.
Emotion, he’d decided long ago, was for weaker beings. People who were vulnerable and stupid enough to be hurt. Quick fucks and avoiding goodbyes got the job done, and he’d never been unhappy for it.
But James Potter, he’d also learned long ago, was the exception to every rule. James, who was the first boy who’d ever had him stammering and sweating nervously when he looked at him. James, who he’d daydreamed about when he was a teen. James, who he’d long-ago written off as extremely good-looking, but ultimately unattainable.
James, who was sitting on the blanket next to him, refilling his cup with cheap wine and staring at him adoringly.
It had been a whirlwind up to this point. After years of not seeing each other- going off to different universities and only interacting through liking posts on various social media- they’d run into each other quite by accident when James had walked into the coffee shop Regulus now managed while he got his Master’s degree part-time. The other man had returned to visit a friend, he’d explained, and his choice in coffee shop had been completely random.
But he’d lit up as soon as he’d seen Regulus standing at the counter. And Regulus had felt something deep in his bones that he didn’t want to admit at the time meant something.
“Can you sit for a moment?” James had asked breathlessly, making Regulus’s stomach flutter a little.
A moment had turned into an hour as they’d caught up, not a care in the word for anything going on in the shop. And Regulus, who usually approached conversations, especially with men, with an air of uncaring aloofness, found himself completely wrapped up in everything they discussed. Time had been irrelevant.
“Don’t leave,” James had said as closing time came.
And he found it impossible to refuse.
It had been James’s idea. The cheap department store blanket, the wine that tasted absolutely awful, and the open field nearby. If anyone had told Regulus a week ago that on that evening he would be traipsing into nature in the dark, hand-in-hand with a man he hadn’t seen in years, he would have told them to fuck off and stop doing drugs. He was the farthest thing from spontaneous or adventurous. He liked plans and routine and safety. But as he’d clutched James’s warm hand in his own, the spontaneity of the whole thing felt fun and he’d grinned to himself as James spread the blanket, gesturing for them both to sit.
And then came the stupid game, which brought them to this point. After staring at the stars, pointing out the constellations and laying just a bit too close together to be platonic, James had sat up, pouring wine into plastic cups and said happily, “Never have I ever been on a stargazing date.”
Picking up on the game quickly, Regulus rolled his eyes, but couldn’t fight the smirk on his face. “Never Have I Ever? Are we fifteen?”
“Humor me,” James suggested, smiling around the rim of his cup.
Pretending to be annoyed, Regulus sighed. “Never have I ever dragged someone into a field in the middle of the night against their will.”
Gasping with fake offense, James took a sip. “As if you didn’t want to!” he laughed. “Never have I ever known all the bloody constellations in the sky, like a nerd.”
Sticking his tongue out, Regulus drank. “Jealousy isn’t flattering on you, Potter. Never have I ever been the star of a sports team.”
“Targeting!” James cried, tipping his cup back and drinking.
They went back and forth like that for a while, saying statements that made the other person drink, the effects of the alcohol slowly taking over their bodies. Eventually, their inhibitions were lowered and they became brave. Brave enough to speak a bit more freely.
“Never have I ever been the most stunning person in the room,” James said softly after they’d refilled their cups a few times, staring at Regulus.
Something warm and syrupy settled in Regulus’s stomach as he looked at James, wondering if he’d understood correctly.
“You’re meant to drink,” the other man smiled nervously, cheeks pink.
Pressing the cup to his mouth, Regulus barely took a sip before murmuring, “You ought to, too, then.”
Wordlessly, James drank, the air between them thick.
“Never have I ever shown up at someone’s job and made them so fucking distracted they couldn’t think straight,” he mumbled, fighting the blush on his cheeks.
James began to grin, laughing. “In a good way?” he asked, eyes sparkling, as he drank.
“Yes.”
“Never have I ever made someone’s day the one of best days of their life, just by being with them,” James whispered, staring into Regulus’s eyes.
Trembling, Regulus drank. How did James manage to make him feel this way? “Never have I ever been kissed in a field of flowers,” he said simply, biting his lip, waiting for James’s reaction.
The taller man blinked before breaking into a smile. “I haven’t, either. Though it seems very romantic,” he said softly, something akin to hope flickering over his face.
Regulus didn’t do things like this. He didn’t like romance or spontaneity or emotions. So why did he murmur, “We should try it, then. See what the fuss is about.”
Their lips met in a rush of emotion and need, the taste of alcohol on both of their tongues, their hands grabbing for each other as they licked into each other’s mouths. James’s kisses were a reflection of him: passion and fire and sunlight. It was addictive. Immediately, Regulus found himself clinging to him, deepening the kiss, searching for more.
But before he moved things further, James pulled away, gasping a bit. “Never have I ever kissed my childhood crush after playing Never Have I Ever in the middle of a clearing,” he said hastily, taking a huge gulp of his drink.
And, heart tripping wildly, Regulus took a sip as well, beaming as James laughed with joy.
Their lips connected again, and Regulus had a feeling that he would be doing this again.