Chapter Text
"Welcome to the establishment, what can I get for you?" The waiter asked, taking out a notepad and a pen.
"I'll have the-" Before the person could finish their 'date' leaned back in his chair and flashed him a smirk.
"Are you on the menu?"
No reaction. Regulus shot the man a glare before turning to the woman ordering.
"What were you saying again?" He asked politely. After writing down their orders he took out a lighter and made a show of lighting the candle just to force the one golden ring into the man's face to make a point. However that flew right over his head as he kept looking at Regulus' face. With a scoff he walked off to the kitchen. This day was already stressful and now he had some douchebag trying to flirt with him. It was really not for his nerves. It was by no means anything new that the restaurant was popular, perhaps even the most visited place in the area but the amount of people pouring in was overwhelming. One moment he's taking plates of food from the kitchen, the other he's already across the room to take people's orders and the next there's someone shouting about waiting too long for food. It would've been much easier if Sirius was doing his damn job. That bastard went for a break fifteen minutes ago and still wasn't back, leaving the whole mess on Regulus' shoulders. Not to mention the wheel in one of his roller skates was absolutely refusing to cooperate and sometimes made his leg slip the wrong direction. The amount of times it almost made him fall over was ridiculous. Orders were mounting up and frustration was bubbling inside of him but he pushed it down.
Another thing pissing Regulus off was the band playing or rather the genre of music they did. Unfortunately it was the week when his idiot of a brother was choosing the setting and by Sirius fashion he decided on something energetic and obnoxious. Couldn't it, for once, be a time where either he or Remus chose the theme when he was having an absolute shit day? Because no, it wasn't improving his mood. It was only making it worse with the volume of each song. Though he supposed the fast pace matched his own when gliding around the room. He's most definitely going to be a bitch about it for the rest of the day or maybe even the rest of the week. His headache was worsening by the hour because everything just kept making more and more noise whether it was the music, or people talking or a fucking baby crying- everything just pushed up the loudness of the restaurant. More things adding to his discomfort were the sticking of his clothes due to sweat, the hair in his face, the belt squeezing his stomach too tight and the lack of hydration. Jesus, when was the last time he drank anything? He's going to pass out by the end of this.
Regulus was gliding through the room, doing at least three different tasks at the same time before a shout broke him out of focus.
"MY BABY! OH GOODNESS, WHERE'S MY CHILD?!"
His head snapped up in alert. After quickly writing down the rest of the order he collected the menus and made his way to the small window where they dished out the finished products and threw the menus onto the counter. His gaze quickly scanned the surroundings before passing by every table. He checked every room until the realisation that the kid most likely had somehow snuck into the kitchen dawned upon him. Not wasting a moment he rushed just there. Barging in he almost tripped if he didn't use the door as a support. As usual the cooks were working fully in harmony, every move done so many times it came naturally. Regulus cautiously slid between the food preparers, keeping a close eye out for the little rascal. However the rush kept him rather out of rhythm. At one point he lifted his head too fast and slammed his head into an open cabinet.
"SON OF A-!"
He placed his hand on the point of impact and shoved the wooden doors closed with much more strength than needed. Once he opened his eyes again he almost made a close call with a hot deep fryer basket that someone was holding up, barely dodging in time. And of course, his damned roller skate had decided that this was the perfect time to act up. One of the wheels simply flew right off and threw him off balance.
"FUCK-!"
Regulus fell back, flailing his arms around. He grabbed onto a nearby cupboard, stabilising himself. Muttering a few profanities he got back on track. Just as he was about to come to terms with the child simply disappearing he spotted something in the corner of his eye. There, near the chef's legs was a little boy, barely standing on his wobbly legs.
"James!"
Regulus called out. His husband had a tendency to get lost in his work, especially on busy days so it came as no surprise he didn't notice the small kid next to his leg. The other man's head snapped up, looking around before spotting the waiter just as he was gliding to his side.
"Reg?"
The taller male raised a brow. Noticing the disheveled state of his normally 'perfect' other half he turned his full body around, still holding a knife he was using to cut a piece of meat. That seemed to have scared the boy, who let out a loud cry and once again ran off, leaving James startled and confused.
"Fucking dammit!"
Regulus groaned loudly, following after him. He was damn sure he's never getting kids in the future. When he was about to reach the child one of the cooks accidentally got in his way, making him clash into the poor lady. The woman let out a yelp in surprise. He apologised, almost tripping again in his rush before getting back on track. The boy was about to reach the staff break room when it opened, revealing the one and only Sirius. When the kid saw him he cried even louder.
"Mommy!"
"WHAT-"
The older Black's eyes flew wide open, glancing down at the boy.
"What in the-"
"Sirius!"
Regulus shouted, reaching him in no time. When he did he immediately leaned against the wall.
"Take him and go. Table 5."
Sirius blinked a few times.
"What-"
"TAKE. HIM. TO. TABLE. 5."
After he finally understood the assignment his older brother shushed the little boy, awkwardly picked him up and set off to return him. Regulus took a moment to breathe. He closed his eyes, willing himself back into a composed state. This day was a nightmare. Letting out a sigh he pushed away from the wall, slowly making his way out of the kitchen.
"Reg-"
"Not now."
James frowned but went back to cooking. On his way out Regulus grabbed a plate ready to serve. While unsteadily gliding across the wooden floor he glanced at the table number. Three. Fucking three. He groaned internally and scoffed under his breath. The real breaking point came when he was serving the food to the table. He already had a dreadful feeling when approaching, seeing that man check him out made his stomach twist in disgust.
"Please enjoy your meal."
He uttered in a monotone voice and immediately turned to leave. However then he felt it. The slap on his lower region. And he snapped. Before he even knew it the guy's head was turned to the side with a red imprint appearing on his cheek.
"Keep your fucking hands to yourself, pervert!"
Regulus shouted. Suddenly the whole room went silent. The air grew tense and his gaze was sharp as a knife. A moment later Regulus left the room. However it didn't take long before his brain caught up with what he did.
He hit a customer.
A customer.
James' going to be furious.
And suddenly he felt as if he were suffocating. The walls around him grew closer, trapping him in the hallway and making his head spin. Everything came crashing down at once, making his eyes prickle with tears. It's going to ruin the restaurant's reputation. 'A waiter physically assaulted a customer in the famous restaurant run by James Potter-'. He choked back a sob. So what if he was assaulted first? The media don't care. It won't take long before the word spreads like a plague. Tears ran down his face one by one until becoming an unstoppable waterfall. He ruined this. He did it.
"Reggie?"
He froze. James.
"I... I'm sorry-"
Regulus choked out before taking off.
"Regulus, wait-!"
"I'M SORRY!"
And just like that, he was gone leaving James confused once again.