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“Hey Reg! Whatcha doing?”
Regulus rolled his eyes. “What does it look like to you, Potter?” he asked, feigning annoyance and gesturing to the book he was reading.
He would die rather than admit it, but his heart had started to beat faster at the sound of James’ voice. He should get used to it, he thought. The boy had started to seek him more and more the last few months and he was a chatty bloke; if Regulus’ heart continued to skip a beat every time he heard him, he would soon be dead. This time, though, he could blame this weakness on the fact that James startled him. Regulus thought he would be lonely at Hogwarts on a Hogsmeade day. Especially, in the astronomy tower. Who would come here during a sunny afternoon? James Fleamont Potter apparently.
“Watcha reading, then?” he asked with an amused tone while seating down next to Regulus. Why did he sit? He wasn’t planning on staying did he? Oh god, please no. Regulus wanted to finish his book peacefully, and he knew that it would be impossible with the living distraction that was James Potter.
“Why aren’t you in Hogsmeade?” he flicked a page of his book and focused on the next, not wanting to give even a glance at James.
“Oh, you know, the usual, Sirius and Remus went together and Peter with Gilderoy” the other boy responded lightly, “wasn’t feeling like being a third wheel today.”
“You prefer being an annoyance to your best-friend’s little brother instead?” he drawled.
“Oh, but I see you as much more than that, Reg,” responded James with a playful smile.
“Stop calling me that, would you?” he slammed his book shut, abandoning all his dreams of a quiet afternoon.
As soon as he met James’ gaze, he was rewarded by a blinding grin. “If that’s what you want, darling.”
“What I want is finishing En finir avec Eddy Bellegueule,” Regulus replied firmly, not letting the endearment term go to his head; James was just messing around, that’s what he always did with him.
“That’s what your book’s called?” asked James with what seemed genuine interest in his warm brown eyes.
“Yes,” Regulus sighed, reopening his book in the hope it will make James understand he was unwanted.
“You can read it, while I’m here, I don’t mind,” shrugged the older boy.
“I mind.”
James sat straighter, leaning more in Regulus’ space “Come on. Think about it that way: you’re always telling me I’m an idiot, you agree with that, yeah?”
“Yes,” reluctantly replied Regulus.
“And you and Remus always tell me I should read more books, to cultivate myself because ‘Hagrid’s pumpkin patch is more cultivated than I am’ isn’t it?”
“Yes,” repeated Regulus carefully.
“So, you could read your book to me! It’s a win-win situation here, if you think about it,” concluded James with a triumphant grin.
“No.”
“But why?” whined the brown-eyed boy, “you know it’s the only way you’ll be able to finish it! I’ve got all afternoon to annoy you!”
“I won’t give in to blackmail,” the younger boy stated. He then desperately tried to keep his eyes on his book, but James started to tug at his robes to make him look at him. “What?” he snapped, turning to be met with pleading eyes and long fluttering eyelashes. “Please, darling?”
Who gave him the right to have this face. God knows Regulus loves Euphemia and Fleamont Potter but fuck their genes.
“You wouldn’t understand it anyway, it’s in French,” the black-haired boy muttered, averting his gaze.
“I know a bit of French!” exclaimed James.
“Oh really?” snarled Regulus, raising an eyebrow to the brown-haired boy.
“Yes!” he responded excitedly, “Sirius speaks French! I can speak French! I heard him speak French before!”
“Well, go ahead then, I’m listening,” said Regulus with a daring smile and an eyeroll.
“Ok, ok, uh…”
Regulus crossed his arms; this should be fun. “It’s the first time I see you searching for your words, Potter.”
“Shut up. Ok, I know,” he took a deep breath with a proud smile before saying, “J’ai envie que tu m’encules jusqu’à ce que j’en oublisse mon nom.”
Regulus’ eyes impossibly widened, and he choked on nothing, while James’ smile only grew. “Ah! You didn’t think I was that good, uh?”
“Wh- what?” spluttered the younger boy.
“I never thought I could make you lose that unimpressed face of yours. Wait. I can say other things,” he frowned in reflexion. “Ah! Tu es tellement irrésistible, je veux te sucer avant de lécher tes-”
“Wow, ok,” Regulus yelled in a high-pitched voice, his cheeks burning, “we’re gonna stop here!”
“I wasn’t done!” complained James, pouting his lips.
“No, no,” the younger boy stood up quickly, his book falling from his lap, “I think that was enough of a demonstration,” he fumbled with his bag and started fleeing, when James caught his wrist, pulling him back to him.
“Reg? You’re forgetting your book,” he said softly, getting up and handing it to him with his free hand, the other still on Regulus’ wrist which was dangerous because he certainly could feel his pulse.
“Oh, yes! My book, My gay book! Silly me!” he laughed nervously, snatching it from James’ hand and attempting to make it fit into his bag clumsily.
“Your gay book?” repeated James, his eyebrows furrowing, “Regulus, are you ok?”
“Hm?” he raised his head and met worried brown eyes, “What?”
“Are you ok?” he repeated, “Did I say something bad?” James bit his lower lip and Regulus’ gaze got stuck on the sight.
“Oh, you said a lot of bad bad things, Potter,” said Regulus absent-mindedly, distracted by the other boy’s lips.
“I’m sorry, Regulus, I really am, I didn’t want you to get mad,” he immediately replied, alarmed, “please, don’t go.”
Regulus looked at James then at the exit, hesitating. He couldn’t stay; this was too much to bear. He would die from gay panic because his brother couldn’t use a fucking silencing charm and because James Potter was enough of an innocent fool to repeat what he heard him say. God, he fell in love with an idiot.
“I’m sorry,” repeated James, bowing his head and looking at him through his ridiculously long eyelashes, “Please. I’ll be as good as gold, I’ll obey your every command, letting you finish your book without a word from me.”
Regulus immediately folded at his words. James had no right to say that with those eyes. Regulus will never be able to forget this image of him. He’ll get wet every time it crosses his mind. Regulus was doomed to pine away forevermore for this idiot called James Potter.
“For starters, do not ever again listen to my brother when he’s speaking French to - I assume - Lupin.” James nodded eagerly, a small smile returning to his lips as he sat back, tugging gently at Regulus’ hand to encourage him to do the same. When he did, James’ grin grew wider, his dimples deepening, and the younger boy thought that maybe seeing his smile was worth it.
He retrieved his book from his bag and opened it, not knowing what else to do.
They stayed like that for a long time, but Regulus did not read even one sentence, all his focus was on the quiet noise of James’ breath. Once he realized he hadn’t changed pages for at least twenty minutes, he turned to James, finding he was already looking at him, lips slightly parted.
When their gaze met, the older boy blinked before averting his gaze, a blush spreading on his cheeks.
“You know, you can talk. It must be pretty boring to watch me read.”
“Boring?” James swiveled his head at an alarming speed, “you’re not boring!”
“That’s not wha-”
“Watching you read is the best thing I did this week!” he cut him off.
“Must have been a really dull week, then,” mumbled the black-haired boy.
“Without you, everything’s dull!” replied James and Regulus’ ears turned red.
That was such a cheesy thing to say and it still flustered Regulus. He was so far gone at this point.
He turned his attention back to his book, desperately trying to regain his composure, and James let him, leaning his back against the wall in silence.
After a few long minutes, the older boy asked tentatively, “Regulus?”
“Yes?” he responded, raising his head.
“Did I- uh- No, forget it.”
“What?”
“Swear you won’t laugh at me,” asked the brown-eyed boy with an earnest tone.
“I don’t think I can,” replied Regulus with a smirk.
“Please?”
“Fine. What is it?”
“You said- I mean, earlier- You said, I shouldn’t listen to Pads when he was talking in French to Moony. How did you know? Was it- Did I- uh… Did I court you in French or something? I’m sorry, it made you uncomfortable, if I did,” he stammered, only meeting Regulus’ eyes once he was done talking.
“James,” sighed Regulus, which made the boy’s eyes glisten with joy. “I’m going to hold your hands while I say this,” he warned before actually taking them, and scooting a bit to properly face him, James mimicking him. Regulus was not going to say this without the Black’s dramatics. He sighed again to keep the tension going, “You did not court me in French.”
“Oh,” let out James, “well, that’s a reli-”
“But,” Regulus interrupted him, “you did ask me to fuck you until you forget your own name.”
The taller boy gasped and brought his hands to his mouth, abandoning Regulus’.
Seeing James was speechless, Regulus continued, “You then told me I was so irresistible, you wanted to blow me before licking my-”
“Enough!” yelled the brown-eyed boy, “That’s enough, I think.”
“Exactly,” laughed Regulus.
“No,” James buried his head in his hands while shaking it franticly, “no, no, no, no, NO. WHY.”
Regulus rested his hand on James’ shoulder and patted it in a mocking manner.
“I can’t- Reg- It’s- No.”
“It’s ok, Potter, you’ll get over it. It’s not like you never embarrassed yourself before,” said the younger boy with sympathy.
“That’s not the problem, Reg!” James cried out through his hands, “I mean ok, that’s a problem, but it’s nothing compared to the pictures! In my brain! They’re burned there forever! Why, Sirius, why?” he lamented.
“Oh, come on, Potter, I’m maybe not your first choice, but it wouldn’t be that horrible to sleep with me,” half-joked Regulus. The thing is, he wanted to make James smile again, he didn’t know how to deal with a non-smiling Potter. Why did a non-smiling Potter exist in the first place, anyway?
The brown-haired boy slowly raised his head away from his hands, “What?”
“You, me, sex, not horrible,” Regulus mocked.
But when James eyebrows went flying before deeply frowning in a way that would be hilarious if Regulus was not a ball of nerves, he quickly added, “It’s a joke, Potter, get over it.” He then turned his head and started putting his bag back in order, cursing himself.
“Wait, wait, Reg, that was not what I was talking about.”
“What do you mean?” the grey-eyed boy turned back to James.
“I meant, Sirius, Remus, sex, horrible,” he smiled apologetically.
“What? EW! Potter!” he grimaced, shaking his head to try and clean his mind from this atrocity.
James’ light laugh echoed in the tower, making Regulus’ lips curved into a smile.
Once a comfortable silence settled down again, the taller boy asked softly, like if he was afraid of breaking it, “Reg?”
He hummed, meeting James’ warm eyes.
“You’re my first choice,” he whispered like a secret, making Regulus question his hearing.
“What?”
“You’re my first choice,” repeated James, “actually, you’re my only ch-“
He was cut off by Regulus’ lips on his, warm and soft. It was like a caress.
Regulus had closed his eyes and when James regained some semblance of his brain function, he did too, pressing their lips harder, one hand in Regulus’ hair and the other at his jaw. Regulus gasped into the kiss, and James took advantage of it to lick faintly his lower lip, asking permission to enter the warmth of Regulus’ mouth. The other boy groaned and put his hand in James’ hair in response and their kiss soon turned heavy, before Regulus parted from James, gasping for air while the older boy chased his lips.
Needing to keep his mouth on Regulus, James nibbled at his pale skin below his jaw, earning a moan from the black-haired boy. “Wait. Ah, James,” Regulus panted. The taller boy detached himself from his neck, “What is it, darling?”
A faint whine then escaped Regulus’ red-bitten lips and James felt like he was dying. God, the sounds this boy was making; it was killing him. He could never be the same after this.
“It’s just-” he locked his arms around James’ neck and passed a leg over his, straddling him, “that would be more comfortable,” he said with a little satisfied smile that James kissed right away, while putting his hand on his waist. He then rested his head on the wall behind him, fully taking in how disheveled Regulus looked. “You’re so beautiful,” he breathed.
“James?”
“Yes, love?”
Regulus couldn’t suppress the smile tucking at his lips at the pet-name. “Shut up, I won’t be able to ask you out if you say things like that.”
“Ask me out?” repeated James with stars in his eyes, “like a date?”
“I was more thinking about a French private lesson,” shrugged Regulus, a smirk playing on his lips, “but a date is fine, I guess.”
“Next week?” he asked, hopeful.
“Perfect,” replied Regulus, pecking James’ lips. “We have a rendez-vous then!” he said, smiling softly at his new-found boyfriend.
“What’s the French for rendez-vous?”
“James, you’re an idiot.”