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Rarely did Regulus hate the Black family’s need to be punctual, but sitting in this pub an hour before the band went on was a bit much . Sirius insisted that they should arrive early just in case, and Regulus agreed whole-heartedly despite the fact it was quite unneeded. The two sat now at a high-top table with not much to say.
Regulus had driven up earlier that day to the university where his brother was attending school for a tour. It was pure luck that Cinders of Satan were performing at a pub near campus, and Sirius offered to let him stay the night in his dormitory so that Regulus could attend. Regulus had dropped his stuff in the small concrete cell earlier, unimpressed that neither his brother nor his roommate seemed to care to clean a little bit for company.
Sirius sat glued to his phone, most likely spamming his boyfriend with messages about where he was. Regulus had briefly met the boyfriend earlier in the day, and had been a little disappointed that the elusive Remus that Sirius had hidden so well from the family was just a normal looking guy.
“Is he any closer than he was twenty seconds ago?”
Sirius looked up briefly at his brother to give him the bird before going back to his phone.
“You could at least make conversation with me,” Regulus said.
“We’ve had so much conversation today. Scroll on your phone like a normal person.”
Regulus rolled his eyes and kept people watching.
The pub was full of your typical university types you’d find at a pub show: guys in too small of band tees and girls in uncomfortable looking mini-skirts. Even people watching was proving to be boring. Then he saw him. Standing by the bar with said too small of a band tee on.
“Shit, Sirius.”
“What?”
“It’s fucking Ian.”
Sirius looked up.
“Ex-Ian?”
“Yeah.”
Regulus turned so his back was to his ex, covering his face with his hands. Of course Ian had to be here. Regulus had dated Ian for just shy of six months before the asshole had cheated on him. Looking back it was not a great six months; Ian was an emotional manipulator and he always made Regulus out to be crazy or stupid. The worst part was that Regulus was actually devastated when Ian cheated on him, and considered taking him back before his friends gave him an intervention. He hadn’t seen Ian since he had gone off to university.
“I forgot that he went to school here,” Regulus hissed.
Sirius shrugged, “I didn’t even remember what he looked like.”
Regulus pleaded to any deity that would listen that his ex would not see him.
“Regulus?”
He was so fucked.
It was too late for a hasty escape. Regulus turned in his stool, facing his ex head on. To Regulus’s delight, it looked like Ian’s freshman year had hit him hard, particularly in the middle area. Unfortunately, the sight of him still unlocked a flurry of memories that Regulus had tried to bury.
“Ian. I forgot you went to school here.”
“It is you! Shit, it’s so good to see you. What are you doing here?”
“My brother goes here.” Both looked towards Sirius, but his brother so helpfully did not move to come to Regulus’s aide. Prick.
“That’s neat. I’ve really missed seeing you. How have you been?”
“Fine,” Regulus said shortly. “Busy. With exams and all that.”
“Right. I tried to call you; you never picked up.”
Regulus fidgeted with the ring on his finger. “Did you?”
Sirius stretched and let out a loud groan, drawing attention to himself. He stood up, not even acknowledging Ian’s presence as he said:
“Reggie, I’m going to have a smoke before Remus and your boyfriend get here. Do you want one?”
From a very young age, Sirius and Regulus were taught how to lie. His own mother had taught them that it was their word against yours, so you better make yours believable. The brothers had learned quickly how to play off each other. The vase in the parlor broke Aunt Carol? We are so sorry to hear that. It was beautiful, an exquisite piece. We were outside playing in the garden all afternoon. Do you think it could have been Bella? She did ask us if we wanted to play witch trials.
The lies came out as smooth as if they were recounting the morning news. Which is why Regulus did not react to his brother’s little lie in any way other than casual agreement.
“Yeah, I think I will.”
“You have a boyfriend?” Ian asked as Regulus slid off the stool. “Does he go here?”
Sirius, thankfully, took the lead.
“He’s my roommate.”
Roommate. Roommate. Regulus could work with this, what did he know about Sirius’s roommate. His name was…John? Jeff?
“We are doing long distance,” Regulus said, “but I take the train here when I can.”
“Makes for some awkward nights in the dormitory for me,” Sirius grimaced. “Luckily my boyfriend lives down the hall and I can escape from my personal hell there.”
“Stop being dramatic,” Regulus said, “we don’t even bother you that much.”
“Oh really? As if the sleepovers aren’t bad enough, I have to deal with James on the phone for hours with you on school nights.”
James! That was the name of the roommate. Thank you Sirius for naturally slipping that in.
“You are such a drama queen.”
Sirius scoffed, but nodded his head to the pub’s backdoor.
“C’mon, I wanna go before Remus gets here. He’ll get all pissy if I take a smoke break during the set.”
“Nice seeing you,” Regulus nodded, and prayed that would be the last of it while he followed his brother through the throngs of people to the door that led out to the alley.
“Why the hell did you say that?” Regulus asked as soon as the door slammed behind them. There were a couple of others already out there, but no one paid the brothers any attention.
Sirius flipped open the carton of cigarettes in response, offering one to Regulus. Regulus waved him off.
“I was thinking,” Sirius answered, “that I don’t want this shitbag to try to get with my brother again. So I made up a reason that would make him shut up.”
“And what are we going to do when my “boyfriend” never shows?”
“He is coming. I told you, Remus was picking James up after his practice. His name is James Potter, by the way, I could tell you forgot in there.”
“Okay. But that doesn’t change the fact that James is not my boyfriend and Ian is sure to notice that.”
“Nah, I’ll ask James to play along. I am sure he’ll be thrilled to help out a friend. Wouldn’t be the first time he has had to play scary boyfriend to ward off unwanted attention.”
Regulus stared at his brother who was calmly lighting the cigarette in his mouth.
“How are James's lying abilities?”
Sirius shrugged again. “He’s gotten us out of getting arrested a time or two. I’d say he’s decent enough to fool that fucking loser. Plus he’s pretty fit. Not my type, but sure to make an ex jealous.”
Regulus rested his head against the brick wall and considered his options. He could always leave right then, make Sirius leave as well and they could find another pub. But Ian had robbed Regulus of so many experiences in their time together. Regulus wanted to see Cinders of Satan, and he was not going to let his shitty ex ruin that. For one night, Regulus could pretend that this guy was his boyfriend. It wasn’t like Regulus had to keep up this charade for any longer.
“You’re buying me a drink for this. And he better be as hot as you said.”
Sirius chuckled.
“Trust me. Ian is going to lose his fucking mind over the fact that you upgraded so hard.”
…
Back inside, Sirius bought Regulus his drink and then promptly abandoned Regulus to see if Remus was outside struggling to find parking. All hope that Regulus would be able to avoid his ex for the rest of the night went out the window as soon as his brother left, and Ian appeared beside him.
“Your boyfriend is still not here?” Ian asked, his own drink in hand. Regulus clutched his glass tighter, nervous that Ian would somehow slip something in it even though Regulus was not going to set it down.
“Not yet,” Regulus hummed. “He’ll be here soon.”
“Ah. Why didn’t he come with you?”
Regulus was thankful that Sirius just had reminded him outside where James was at.
“Late practice.”
“What does he play?”
“Football.”
“Oh really. Recreationally?”
Regulus actually had no clue where James played. He assumed it was for the school, but Sirius actually never mentioned. Regulus pulled a classic avoiding answering tactic that he learned from his politician father.
“He’s quite good. Do you still play, Ian? I remember you were hoping to play at university.”
Ian’s face cheeks tinged a bit pink. “No, I only play here and there now.”
“Ah. Apologies.”
Regulus took a drink at this small victory of taking his ex down a peg.
“You know you really are looking good Regulus. We should get a bite while you're in town. Catch up.”
And just like that the feeling of the victory had dissipated.
“You know I don’t think James would be comfortable with that,” Regulus replied slowly.
“Does your boyfriend control everything you do?” Ian countered. “I thought you were stronger than that, Regulus.”
It was ironic coming from Ian who very much controlled Regulus’s life. Regulus did not point out that irony, instead trying to come up with a way that would explain that his new fake boyfriend was nothing like Ian.
“I think anybody would be a little concerned about their partner meeting an ex alone,” Regulus said. “James trusts me entirely of course, but I don’t want to give him any uneasiness.”
“Ah. Trusts you entirely, huh? That must be why he has left you here alone.”
Ian took a step towards him, Regulus taking a small step backwards and bumped into the wall. He glanced around quickly, willing his brother to return and rescue him but Sirius was nowhere to be seen.
“You know, if you were still mine, I would not be so careless with you,” Ian said, reaching out to touch Regulus’s arm. “Someone as pretty as you should not be let out alone.”
“I must be a shitty boyfriend then.”
Both Regulus and Ian turned to see an absolute Adonis of a man walking towards them. Regulus’s jaw almost dropped when he realized who this must be.
“Sorry I am so late, love,” James Potter said, inserting his body in between Ian and Regulus. He put a soft hand on Regulus’s side, leaning to kiss him on the cheek. “Coach ran practice late, and then of course I needed to freshen up before coming.”
“I appreciate that,” Regulus smiled up at him, for James Potter was at least six inches taller than him.
James turned towards Ian, but kept a loose hand around Regulus’s waist.
“Hi, I’m James Potter,” he said.
To Regulus' surprise, Ian responded with a meek, “I know”. His ex cleared his throat and then shook James’s free hand. “Sorry, I mean I’ve seen your matches. Regulus said you played football, but uhh I didn’t connect that the James he was talking about was you.”
Interesting. So James was apparently a well known football player at this school. This made things all the more sweeter.
James looked amused. “And who are you?”
“Ian Smothers,” his ex said, and when James blinked as if he had no idea who he was, Ian added, “Regulus and I used to go out in school.”
“Ohhhh, right you did mention something about your ex once, didn’t you Reggie? Didn’t you say he played football?”
“Oh not-I mean I do,” Ian stammered, “Just for fun though.”
James flashed him a brilliant smile, and Regulus knew that Sirius had told James what to say to push Ian’s buttons.
Regulus’s confidence was soaring now that he was in the presence of his new well built boyfriend. He took a sip of his drink, making eye contact with his ex, enjoying him squirming under the gaze of James Potter.
“That’s great,” James told Ian, “Are you planning on coming to the match tomorrow? Perhaps we’ll see you there.”
“Er, yeah I did get tickets.”
“Hopefully it’ll be a good show, worth your money. I always play better when my lucky charm is here,” James grinned over at Regulus, bumping against him. Regulus blushed, for real. A guy that looked like that, who wouldn’t blush?
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you at a match before, Reg,” Ian said.
Regulus raised an eyebrow at him.
“The pitch is quite large.”
“You’ll have to look at the family seats,” James added, most helpfully, “He’s so lucky to spend matches with my parents.”
Regulus smiled up at him. “You know how much I love your parents.”
“And they love you so much, I think they’d sooner disown me then let you leave their lives.”
Regulus turned his shoulder, putting up a barrier now between his ex and his new boyfriend. It felt great to do. Ian was no longer relevant in his life or in tonight.
“Did my brother find you then?”
“Mmmhmm, he went with Remus to the bar to get some drinks. I told him we’d find a good spot for the show.”
“Let’s go then,” Regulus said, intertwining their hands together.
“Lead the way, love,” James replied. “And it was nice to meet you, mate,” he added towards Ian.
“Yeah…you too.”
Regulus said nothing, instead pulling James away from his still stunned looking ex.
“And it’s nice to meet you,” James said in a low voice as soon as they were out of earshot of Ian.
Regulus stopped at what he thought was a good spot to see the stage. “You as well. Thank you for doing this.”
“Spending the night on a gorgeous guy’s arm? The pleasure is all mine.”
Regulus couldn’t help the smirk coming to his face. He briefly looked around to make sure Ian was far away from them. He clocked that his ex was still at the bar, gazing in their direction.
“How do I know you're telling the truth? Your lying skills are exquisite.”
James chuckled. “Touché. You are just going to have to trust me then.”
Regulus took a step closer, looking up into his hazel eyes. They glinted in the dim lighting, offering up a challenge that Regulus could not resist.
“And you me when I say that my brother has done me wrong by not introducing me to you earlier.”
“Has he told you about me?”
“Almost nothing.”
James tsked. “Well your brother has done me wrong as well then. Because I’ve been wanting to meet you since I saw your face hanging from his cork board.”
Regulus hummed in amusement. His brother had done them both so wrong. This could have been real months ago.
“Care to give me a quick bio on you?” Regulus asked, “Seeing you know about me, and I don’t know anything about you except your name is James and you play football.” Both were facts he learned fifteen moments ago.
James grabbed Regulus’s hands, rubbing small circles on them. An intimate introduction.
“Anything for you, love. Let’s see. I am from Manchester. I am a Scorpio. I am an only child. I am quite good at football, though I suppose you figured that out for yourself. I am studying sports medicine. I will do anything for my friends. Even let myself be used to scare off ex-boyfriends. I don’t mind in the slightest, of course, when the most beautiful boy I’ve ever seen is asking.”
“You have a thing for my brother then?”
James gave a little chuckle. “Yep. That’s why I am trying to charm his little brother right now.”
Regulus took another step, now having to look up at him as he stood chest to chest.
“Consider me charmed.”
James reached up to brush a finger down Regulus’s cheek, sending shivers down his spine. “What are your boundaries?”
Regulus cocked his head in thought, although he already knew the answer.
“Anything to make it believable,” he replied.
James put both of his hands on Regulus’s waist, pulling him forward until James’s mouth was by Regulus’s ear.
“I was hoping you would say that,” his breath tickled, and Regulus was so far gone despite meeting this guy five minutes ago.
‘Oh good you found him,” his brother’s voice came from behind them. Sirius and his boyfriend appeared, Sirius handing James a soda.
James nodded in thanks. “I did, just in time to rescue him from the clutches of the evil ex-boyfriend."
Regulus rolled his eyes, despite the smile not leaving his face. “My hero.”
“Aw he already saw you? What was his face like?”
“You would have loved it,” Regulus said. “It was priceless.”
“Turns out he’s a fan of mine,” James added, “Well probably not anymore.”
“Well shit, I’m bummed I missed that.”
Cheering arose as the opening act came onto stage. Regulus turned around to watch as a girl with bright pink hair introduced themselves. As the first song started to play, Regulus began to nod his head along, like everyone else in the crowd.
The opener was pretty good. What was even better was the solid mass of a man standing behind him, hovering close enough like anyone would to their significant other. Occasionally he would bend down and whisper something into Regulus' ear about the song or about how hot Regulus looked in the moment. And Regulus had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t just for the sake of the lie.
There was a brief intermission after the opening act and before Cinders of Satan came on that James and Remus used to go to the loo. Regulus used that moment to berate his older brother.
“Siri, you completely undersold your roommate to me.”
His older brother shrugged. “I told you people found him attractive, just not my type.”
“Why didn’t you introduce me to him earlier?”
“You didn’t ask.”
“But he did.”
A brief look of disgust crossed his face. “Yeah. I wasn’t going to help my mate pursue my little brother though.”
Regulus put himself in Sirius’s shoes and decided that if his friend found his older brother hot, Regulus would also do nothing to help that along.
“Despite that, I will be pursuing this.”
“Thought you might.”
James and Remus returned, Remus pulling away Sirius’s attention and James immediately settling himself at Regulus’s side.
“How long are you here for?”
“I am supposed to leave on the twelve-thirty train. But I might be persuaded to stay longer.”
James grinned. “Might you? I would love it if you came to tomorrow’s match.”
Regulus put a faux hand to his heart. “Am I already meeting your parents?”
“If you want. As Sirius’s little brother. Or their future son-in-law. Whichever you prefer.”
Regulus gave a small shake of his head at this insane proposition, and at the fact he was considering it.
“Let’s see how tonight goes, and then I will decide.”
“Mmm? Am I sensing there is a chance you will come home with me tonight?”
“Well I was going to stay in your room regardless tonight-”
“True. Buuut I might be able to convince my roommate to stay in his boyfriend’s room tonight. If you're okay with that.”
“I would like that. Very much.”
The crowd erupted again and Cinders of Satan climbed up onto the stage. Regulus turned around eagerly, grabbing James’s hand and pulling him closer to the front.
“Don’t look now, but your ex is a few people away from us,” James said in his ear.
Regulus looked over his shoulder, up at James.
“I really don’t give a fuck.”
James grinned and wrapped his arms around Regulus’s middle.
Cinders of Satan were great, but the buzz that was coursing through Regulus's body was neither from the music nor the alcohol. I
God he felt loved. More loved than he had ever felt with Ian, and this was a guy he had met that night. A guy who was kissing his neck softly, causing a shiver to run down Regulus’s spine.
Regulus couldn’t take it anymore. He was going insane with lust and needed to kiss this man now. He turned around in James’s arms, so he could look up at him. James was staring down at him with such adoration, freezing Regulus for a moment under its weight. Then Regulus made his intention clear, glancing down at James’s lips and leaning up. James captured him, pressing their mouths together.
He meant it to be just a quick kiss, but he should have known as soon as he tasted James, he was going to become addicted. James’s fingers gripped Regulus waist, helping keep Regulus grounded as he felt he was going to float away. It was a kiss that could have lasted seconds or hours and it would haven’t been any different to Regulus.
“Oi! We are in public!”
James tore away from Regulus much to protest. Who cared what his brother or the rest of the people in this pub thought? Regulus tried to chase after him, but James laughed, spinning Regulus around again so his back hit the taller guy’s chest.
James gave him a kiss on the cheek, whispering in his ear.
“Later, love. We have all night.”
Regulus gave a noise of disapproval, gaining another peck on his cheek.
Lucky for him, Cinders of Satan started playing his favorite song, cooling down the need for James Potter.
As the band left the stage, the throngs of people turned to make their way to the exit. James slipped his hand in Regulus’s, fingers interlocking like they were meant to be there.
“That was amazing,” Regulus said as they exited into the cool night air. The sudden temperature change caused a quick shutter to run through him. James put his arm around Regulus and pulled him into his side for warmth. Regulus smiled up at him in thanks.
“We should do this more often,” Remus said, “They are always having bands here.”
“Agreed,” James said, “Nothing beats live music.”
The four were heading towards where Remus had parked, Sirius complaining about the walk they were having to make, when they heard a voice calling from behind them.
“Regulus!”
They turned to see Ian walking briskly toward them. His ex stutter-stepped when he met James’s figure wrapped around Regulus’s side.
“Who’s this guy?” Remus asked, though Regulus was fairly certain that Remus was smart enough to figure it out.
“I think his name is Ivan,” Sirius not so whispered, “He went on some dates with Reggie once.”
Regulus tried to smother the grin at his brother taking his ex down a few pegs. He loved that Ian would think that their relationship was so insignificant that Regulus didn’t even tell his brother much about it. Ian would not get the pleasure of knowing what he did to Regulus.
“Hey Ian,” James said, helping Regulus who had nothing to say, “Quite the show, huh?”
Ian glanced over at the football player, before going back to only looking at Regulus.
“I just wanted to say again that it was good to see you. I hope to see you again, so we can catch up.”
Regulus stared at him, not even bothering to hide the disgust on his face. He was very much over this whole situation.
“Sorry, but I’m busy with school and a lot of football matches to attend to.”
James grinned, giving Ian a shrug before turning to kiss Regulus on the head. Regulus watched as Ian’s face fell into stony disbelief.
“Let’s go love,” James said, and Regulus happily turned away from his ex, leaving him on his own terms this time.
Later that night, Regulus found himself lying against the chest of a sleeping James Potter in a tiny dorm bunkbed. There had been a lot more kissing and a lot more more, but there had been a lot of talking. And the more that James Potter talked, the more Regulus fell for him. He still couldn’t believe that someone this perfect could exist. And that his brother was keeping this man from him. He was going to give his brother way more grief for that.
Who knew? Maybe tomorrow Regulus would wake up and the magic of the night would be gone. Regulus would take the twelve-thirty train home. Decide to go to a different school. And tonight would be just a fond memory to look back on.
But he had a feeling that wasn’t going to happen.
Tomorrow he would wake up to peppered kisses and apologies that James had to leave so early. Regulus would attend the match with his brother and Remus, and meet James’s parents. He would introduce himself as Sirius’s little brother, not knowing that James had texted his parents to be cool because they were going to meet a guy that he really liked. Regulus would sit next to them at every home match, taking the train up on weekends until the fall when he started school. Sometimes Regulus, while sporting a kit with Potter emblazoned on the back, would spot his ex at the pitch. It would always make Regulus pause and think of how lucky he was to find someone like James. Someone who was loving, kind, supportive, and caring enough to pretend to be someone’s boyfriend just to make them feel safer.