The sun was absolutely blinding once Regulus opened the window shade. He peered down to look at the turquoise waves as the airplane was doing a half circle towards the airport. Somewhere behind him, a flight attendant was fighting for her life to stay calm while dealing with a difficult passenger. Right before him, a lady was trying to figure out why her seatbelt would not buckle up. The pilot was saying something in a heavy-accented French. The guy next to him kept glancing at Regulus, probably thinking he was very subtle about it (he was not).
It all made Regulus itchy somewhere underneath his skin. A dozen of work-related Zoom calls followed by this flight made him overstimulated and sick of people altogether. Not for the first time, he wondered if coming here was a good idea at all.
The baggage claim area made him even more pissed because the concentration of not-very-bright people was honestly concerning. He could only hope that they were that slow only because of their travels, or maybe they, like him, had no rest between seven in the morning and now (even though it was barely 5 in the evening).
Regulus hated this.
Not Nice, it was lovely. The high season. The number of people that were currently in between him, his suitcase, and the peace, quiet, and cool air of his room in Sirius’ flat.
Once his luggage was in sight, Regulus quickly scooped it up and strode towards the exit where Sirius was waiting.
“How was the flight?” his brother asked cheerfully with an annoying grin on his face. Apparently, something about Regulus’ expression told him it was not the right question. Right now, Regulus hated this too, Sirius’ ability to read him so easily. “Guess it’s not the time,” he shrugged and opened the boot of his car to put Regulus’ suitcase in.
☀️
A few hours later, Regulus was much calmer. It took a shower, a glass of beer, half an hour of mindless scrolling through social media, and banter in the group chat with his friends for him to become less grumpy and be willing to step back into the world outside.
Regulus was among the tourists again, though this time, they were not that annoying. He stabbed his scoop of ice cream with the wooden spoon and pushed past the group of Americans loudly discussing different ice cream flavours.
If not Sirius’ sudden urge to propose to his boyfriend as soon as possible (and the “but Regulus, I need you for emotional support and also as a distraction for Remus, or this won’t work!” and “you would have to come here anyway! There’s no way we would celebrate our engagement without you!” and “you would benefit from a vacation! It’s August, and you’re still as pale as a ghost!”) he would have been in London with the same heatwave, the same number of tourists but without azure water, a pretty sunset, and Lavender Miel taste on his tongue, so maybe it was not too bad.
There were worse things to be annoyed about.
Like James Potter’s existence, for instance. Because Sirius’ genius plan would have to include him at some point, there would be no way his best friend would be left out. And Regulus would be chill about it. He can be chill about it, right?
“What flavour did you get?” Remus asked once Regulus fell into step right next to him.
“Lavender honey,” Regulus said and licked the wooden spoon.
“That’s my second favourite,” Remus nodded. “Anyway, James.” Regulus groaned. James was the topic of their conversation since they left the flat. “As I said, you know of him, but you don’t actually know him. And I’m sure you should get to know him, but your reason is a bit…” A pause stretched.
“A bit what?”
“Wrong.” Remus rolled his eyes.
“It is not,” Regulus huffed. He could talk to Remus about the embarrassing fact that he fell victim to James Potter’s charm and was one of those people who unfortunately found him attractive. Remus figured it out a while ago, his observation skills be damned. “Crush is a lack of information, and it will go away once I get to know him.”
“It’s James we are talking about, and I’m not sure this rule applies to him,” Remus said.
“Of course it does. It applies to everyone. So since I can't avoid him forever, I need a different approach.”
“Sure,” Remus said, looking very skeptical. He definitely wanted to say something else, something that Regulus had a feeling he would not like, but instead, he settled on: “What you do know about him anyway?”
They reached the beach, and Regulus looked around to see if there were any free spots to occupy with their picnic blanket. The sun was almost down, the heat was bearable, and there were a lot of people on the pebble stones and on the promenade.
“Not much. I know his name, obviously. I know he’s Sirius’ best friend, obviously. I know that he’s annoying as hell, I know that the fucker likes pineapple pizza, like why? He often wears some tacky sports clothes, and he’s the straightest man alive, which is kind of a shame but also surprising since he is surrounded by so many queers, he’s dating the redhead girl you went to uni with—”
“Lily.”
“Right, Lily. I know he loves Christmas, or well, holidays in general, as long as he’s invited, and I guess that’s about it. There’s nothing else I can think of at the moment.” It was kind of a lie, but Regulus would rather die than admit that he stared at James so much that he picked on his little habits and could go on for hours about those. Considering they were in the same room not that often (once in a few months at best), it would be a new level of embarrassment, and he did not feel like admitting it. It was not exactly the question anyway.
“I’m not even sure where to start,” Remus blinked. “He’s not dating Lily—"
“He’s… Not? I was absolutely sure he was?”
“No, he’s not. And he’s not —” Remus stopped and took a deep breath. He was silent for a good minute. “Taky sports clothes,” he muttered. Blinked a couple of times and turned to Regulus abruptly. “Do you know what his line of work is?” he asked cocking his head.
“No,” Regulus said, a little confused. He thought about it a couple of times wondered what James might be doing, if he worked at all. He knew James’ family was wealthy, he would not even have to bother with something like a job. Regulus didn’t have to bother with it, either. But he liked what he was doing, and his work was flexible, mostly done remotely, giving him a lot of freedom, like coming to visit his brother in Nice for as long as he wanted to.
“Have you ever looked him up on social media?”
“No.”
“Not once?”
“No, not once. Actually, I have him blocked. I’ve seen Sirius tag him on insta, but I’ve never gone to look at his profile. I’m sure he has a bunch of shirtless pictures there, he gives off that vibe, and I value my peace, thank you very much.”
“Hmm…” Remus hummed and licked his ice cream cone.
Regulus squinted at Remus. He had an odd look on his face like he was trying to figure something out.
“Spill it, Lupin.”
The waves crashed on the shore and drew back, dragging the pebble stones along with them with a hiss. The car honked on the road behind them, someone screamed and then laughed after being splashed by a water gun.
“I’m sure you’re in for some surprises,” Remus had finally said, ate the rest of his ice cream, and plopped on his back.
“I know I am,” Regulus rolled his eyes.
☀️
Meeting James Potter should not have been a surprise. Because Regulus knew that there was not a chance of him not being here. He even played a couple of scenarios in his head of what he would say to him and things he would ask. Because Remus was right (of course) — Regulus knew of James, but he didn’t know James.
However, the meeting didn’t go as planned because, of course, James would pop up unexpectedly.
A weekend came and went, Regulus was hesitant to admit that he rather enjoyed it. On Monday, Sirius informed him that his plan would come into motion tomorrow. On Tuesday, Regulus almost died from laughter when he found out what Sirius’ plan actually was. On Wednesday, he was horrified to find out it was not a joke.
“How is this romantic?” Regulus cocked his head standing in the doorway with the five cartons of french fries Siris requested earlier.
“Listen, I need your help, not your critique.”
“I am going to criticise this. In fact, I’m going to judge you. This is a very odd way to propose to the man you claim to be the love of your life.”
“I said the same exact thing,” a voice from behind him said, and a shiver ran down Regulus’ spine. Why even his voice had to be attractive? When did he even get here? Probably while Regulus was in MacDonald’s line for the third time today. He actually expected to meet James way sooner than this, too. “You probably know that he tries to recreate their first date, and that was in a MacDonald’s, as I learned. So yeah. I don’t know why he would turn the flat into one and not just take Remus out, though. If you can’t talk him out of it, I’m sure no one can’t. Believe me, I tried.”
“People, James. I don’t want anyone interrupting us. You should understand the privacy thing.”
Regulus swallowed to try and do something about his suddenly too-dry mouth. “Why the fuck did you bring Lupin to MacDonald’s on a first date? Of all places?” he said and moved out of the doorway to make a wide enough gap between him and James so he would not catch a single whiff of his scent. Regulus knew all too well that whatever was that damned thing that James used to wash his clothes in made his knees weak for some reason.
“It was in high school!”
“That’s not an excuse, you’re rich. Like rich rich.”
“I panicked! It’s not like I would bring him to a Micheline restaurant, you snob!”
“Not Micheline, but a nice place?”
“You are a shitty emotional support brother.”
“Emotional support, brother?”
“A few more words, and you won’t be my best man.”
“I’m fine with being Remus’ best man if he even says yes. I wouldn’t.”
“Good thing I’m not proposing to you.”
“Thank god for that, because given our family history, I was scared you might.”
There was a snort to his side and both Sirius and Regulus turned abruptly to glare at James, who threw up his hands in mock surrender.
“Yeah, sorry, go on. This is entertaining,” he said.
“No, new plan,” Sirius interrupted. “You,” he pointed at Regulus, “text Remus, take him somewhere because he can’t come here too early. And you,” Sirius pointed at James, “go pick up two more deliveries. I’ll finish up here.”
“You could have just ordered those delivered here, you know?” James grumbled.
“No, I couldn’t! Because there would be no way they would deliver all this within three hours, Remus is busy.”
“Where do I take him?”
“I don’t know! Anywhere! Go grocery shopping for all I care.”
Regulus kept Remus company for an hour and a half and brought him back to the flat once Sirius gave the green light to that. James was leaving the flat, and Sirius, to Regulus’ horror, suggested Regulus to spend some time with his best friend. If Remus thought it was suspicious, he said nothing.
Once the door was closed, Regulus was left alone with James. He was not even sure what to do now. Should he book a hotel for the night or something? Should he just go for a walk and be back later? Probably should go get some dinner, that’s for sure. There was an awkward silence, James was the one to break it.
“So— Umm— Do you need some company?” he said, scratching the back of his head. Regulus knew he did that when nervous.
“No, not really,” Regulus said at first. But then he thought it was a great opportunity to get to know James without anyone around to witness him interrogate his brother’s best friend in an attempt to get information he would not like. “Or— Actually, do you fancy a walk? And maybe a dinner? Since," he gestured to the door, "I probably won't get in anytime soon. There’s this place near Old Town that has amazing pizza.”
“Yes, sure. I mean, it sounds good.” Regulus nodded,d and they walked outside.
Mid-August was Regulus’ least favourite time to come to Nice due to way too many people in every single corner of the city. Want some ice cream? Wait until 10 other people who came here before you decide what they want. Want some food that is not Sirius’ hit-or-miss cooking? Well, go earlier or try your luck, finding a free table can turn into a real quest. Don’t even get him started on people yelling outside at the wee hours of the night, Regulus loves his grandpa's routines, and having his beauty sleep is one of the most essential ones.
So when they arrived outside of a small Italian pizza place, Regulus felt his eye twitch because, of course, every single table was occupied.
“Guess no luck,” he said.
“Do they do takeout?” James asked. “We can take it and eat elsewhere.”
“I think they do, but—” Regulus just got a thought that he wasn’t about to say out loud. Just now, he realized that he was about to have dinner with James Potter. Alone. Like a date. He didn’t even think about it when he suggested to go get some pizza.
But friends go out to eat all the time, right? Not like they were friends, and not like they ever were left alone like this, but they could be friends, who knows?
“Let’s find out then?” James asked when Regulus stopped whatever he was saying, and it didn’t seem like he was about to go on. “And then we figure something out.”
“Yeah, okay,” Regus said, feeling his cheeks heating up with embarrassment.
“I can wait here. Order whatever you like, I’m not picky.” James said, and Regulus took the presented opportunity to sprint away from Potter.
About 30 minutes later, Regulus was walking beside James with three boxes in his hands.
“We can go to the beach,” he said. “But I didn’t take a blanket, sitting on pebbles might be not that nice and I'm sure there are no other free spots other than pebbles.”
“Yeah, well, we can go to a sand beach.”
“There are none in Nice.”
“Yeah, but there are some close by. We can drive there.”
“I don’t have a car,” Regulus blinked.
“I do,” James chuckled.
“Well, then we could go to Eze, but — Wait, you have a car?”
“Yes? It’s parked at Sirius’.”
Regulus was a bit perplexed by it. Because he knew for sure James didn’t live in France. Maybe it was a rental? “Alright,” he said.
“We should get something to drink, though, it’s so hot today,” James nodded towards a coffee shop with a lemonade stand next to the open door.
“Uh, yes,” Regulus said.
“What would you like?”
“Un citron pressé,” Regulus blurted out.
“Got it,” and before Regulus had an opportunity to say that maybe it would be better if he ordered the drinks, James hopped a few steps up into the coffee shop and with a smile on his face, asked for the lemonade for Regulus and peppermint soda for himself. In French. Then proceeded to say no thank you to everything else the lady offered but asked if they happened to have lemon tarts. In French. They didn’t have lemon tarts, and James voiced his disappointment about it. In French. Then he paid, said thank you, and wished the lady a good evening. Again, in French.
James hopped back into the street while Regulus’ brain short-circuited.
“You speak French?” all Regulus could manage while staring at him. He definitely did not expect this.
“No,” James passed him his lemonade.
“But you just—” Regulus turned back to look at the shop and back at James, then back at the shop.
“I understand French to a certain level, can muster a few basic responses, make a small talk,” James shrugged like it was something every person could do. Which was not the case at all. “I would not call it speaking, I can’t keep up with a conversation like you or Sirius.”
“Huh?” Regulus was confused, but James didn’t look like he wanted to elaborate, so he didn’t push. Also, he felt like if he did, the answers might make him like James more, which was the opposite of what he wanted. It was very easy to dismiss him as a stupid one when he was doing the stupid shit. It would be much harder to do so when he was acting like a smart guy (yes, Regulus knew James was actually smart, and yes Regulus did his best to ignore it.)
The walk back to Sirius’ was short, but as they went down the street, Regulus was getting progressively annoyed as he kept catching people giving James prolonged stares, which was a bit odd since his face was half obscured with a baseball cap and huge sunglasses. James was hot, yes, but it was not the reason to stare like that.
Once back to Sirius’ place, James strode to one of the cars parked on the street. Regulus was by no means a car expert, but he knew an expensive car when he saw one. And this one was expensive.
“Alright, rich boy,” he mumbled.
“Hm?”
“Oh, nothing,” Regulus shook his head, hoping James didn’t actually hear that as he opened the door for Regulus to get in. What a gentleman.
“So where should we go?” James said excitedly as he slipped into the driver’s seat and started the car. “It’s pretty here; there are so many scenic views.”
Regulus knew it was pretty here. He’d seen a lot of Provence. Since he was a little kid, his parents brought him and Sirius on vacations here every year. Sometimes, their cousins would join, and together they explored the little villages and bigger cities. But James was so excited about it that Regulus decided not to mention it.
“Anything works. Go east from the city and we can stop once there’s a nice spot.” After a moment of consideration, Regulus decided that he had to ask James about his hotel, they had to go back here after all, what if he stayed somewhere else?
“Where are you staying?” Regulus asked, fastening the seatbelt as James drove out to the main road.
“I— I have my own place. 20 minutes away or so.”
Regulus blinked. James lived here? That’s odd. He was absolutely certain that James did not live in France, though it would explain why he spoke some French. Regulus wrecked his brain of what could be 20 minutes away from here. His mind came to a screeching halt as he realized.
“You live in Monaco?” He asked.
“Uh, yeah, kind of,” James nodded, and Regulus was even more confused now.
“But I thought you live in London?” Regulus cocked his head.
“Yes, I have a place there, too,” James nodded. “Mostly stay there, to be honest," he explained. "My parents are there, my friends too. And work, well, part of it in England.”
Regulus nodded, trying to put all the pieces together. Sirius did the same thing, actually. He stayed in Nice while it was warm enough to swim in the sea, but went back to London once he got bored of slow life here. That was when the “annoy Regulus” season started and lasted for at least seven to nine months a year.
Now thinking about it he could vaguely remember Sirius planning to get a place in Monaco, but settling on Nice due to the significantly smaller amount of paperwork required since he already had French citizenship. Though he would not expect James to live there but, James seemed to have way more unexpected in him.
“Can we go there?” Regulus asked.
“Monaco?”
“Yeah. I’ve been there a couple of times but did not really decide if I liked it or not. It is an odd place."
James grinned. “Let’s go then. Actually, we can have dinner at mine and then go around the city. Is that alright?”
“Yeah, fine.”
The drive turned out more comfortable than Regulus, though it would be. James seemed to have completely forgotten their previous awkwardness and was yapping away like he suddenly remembered he was allergic to silence.
Regulus liked his voice.
“What do you do for a living?” Regulus asked once there were a few seconds break while James chugged his drink. “I’ve known you for years, but I don’t know where you even work,” Regulus explained.
“I —” James blinked. “Um… I drive?”
“You what?” Regulus sputtered. James Potter, the most restless person on this planet, would not spend hours behind the steering wheel. Or would he? He was from a rich family too, why would he be doing something like this? “Drive? Like an Uber driver?”
“Not quite,” James looked at him quizzically. “More like sport? Um— Sirius never told you?”
“Why would he?”
“Huh? I don’t know? Now thinking about it, you’re right, why would he?” James scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, so I drive.”
“Do you like it?”
“Yes, I do. It is my passion,” James smiled. And if Regulus thought that it was impossible to find James even more attractive he was just proven wrong. The way his voice softened and his eyes crinkled— Regulus was a weak human being.
It was a really short time to prove Remus right and Regulus really hoped there still was a chance to discover something about James he really wouldn’t like.
Meanwhile, James, oblivious to Regulus’ staring took a sharp turn and drove into an underground parking lot. Regulus probably wouldn’t even notice if not for an abrupt change of lightning.
He’d been to Monaco before and could not figure this place out. For him, it seemed like an odd place to choose to live. There were way too many buildings on such a small piece of land. There was too much concrete considering that if you looked around it all was surrounded by beautiful nature. There were way too many visitors and yet so little to do.
The people were polar opposites too: a millionaire could walk down the streets in the crowd of tourists wearing flip-flops and chugging a latte from a corner shop and you might never know. And then there would be women, like his mother, who would only take off their stilettos when going aboard a yacht, and men like his father who refused to drive their supercars, taking a personal chauffeur everywhere.
There was a thing that annoyed Regulus though: those who came here on a hunt, networking their way into the circle of rich pretending to be someone they were not. Which was so embarrassing to watch, because they stuck out and did not blend in like they thought they did.
The car stopped and Regulus saw a lady in a tailored dress walking down the parking lot. She held a cat in her arms, a simple tabby, the type you’d see dig in a dumpster alongside raccoons in London.
“Hello Minnie,” James said cheerfully as he got out of the car, opened the door for Regulus, and went to pet the cat, chatting with the owner, who turned out to be his neighbour. Of course, he was the type to pet any animal on his way.
A few minutes later, they were in front of the door to James’ flat. “Uh, I did not expect guests, so—” James said while turning the key in the lock. “Excuse the mess.”
The flat seemed perfectly normal, maybe even too normal. There was no mess it just looked like a person lived there. A blanket on the sofa, a teacup on the coffee table, slippers by the door.
“There are drinks in the fridge, you can take anything you want,” James said as he put the pizzas in the oven. Not a microwave, in an actual oven. Regulus was not sure if James knew about his beef with microwaves or if it was what he usually does, asking would be weird, so he didn’t ask.
Regulus didn’t want a drink, he hadn’t finished his lemonade yet. He wanted to look around though. He imagined James’ place to be — well, different, maybe more like Sirius'. He thought he would see loud colours, maybe a bit more of clutter maybe. There were neither.
The mismatched teacups, the kitchen towel left haphazardly on the table, the water stain next to a succulent that looked surprisingly alive were the small signs of love and care that had been put into this space. And suddenly it made sense because this place was so James: warm and cosy and lived in.
“So? —” James took the pizza out of the oven and put it on the table next to two empty plates. “What’s my score?”
“I’d say solid 8.”
“Huh? Coming from you? I think I’d put it on my SV if I ever need one.”
“You should,” Regulus chuckled sitting down on a chair and putting a piece on his plate. “Your place is nice. But I’m surprised it so I don’t know, minimalistic?”
“It’s the Swedish death cleaning method—” James started, then stopped. “Okay, this is awkward, I usually don’t tell people about it.”
“What?” Regulus stared. He did not like the name.
“We can't pretend I never said that, can we?”
“No,” Regulus said slowly.
“Well,” James scratched the back of his head. “It sounds a bit morbid, but it is not that morbid. It’s a way to keep your space clutter-free, a mindset, I think. Basically, you only keep things that you need, that serve their purpose or have strong sentimental value, and get rid of everything else. When you die, people who will go through your belongings won’t have to dig through piles of dumpster, hence the name.”
Well, that tracks Regulus, though. James thinking for the wellbeing of others even after his death is a very James thing to do.
So he nodded.
“I usually don’t tell people about it, though, so can it stay between us?”
“Sure.”
“I mean, don’t tell Sirius too. I think he might not like the name, and explaining it to him might be very daunting unless he agrees to read the book, which, again, might take some persuasion.”
“Wait, Sirius doesn’t know about— This?”
“Not really. As I said, I usually don’t tell people because I don't know, kind of an odd conversation to have, I think. You caught me off guard.”
“I thought you meant people who come for the first time of something.”
“Regulus, how many people do you think come here?” James laughed.
“I don’t know? Okay, let's drop this subject.”
"Sure," James laughed.
“So you decorated it yourself?”
“No. My friend is an interior designer. I got this flat when she was doing her final project in the uni, so I let her design it. She did well, I think. I only made a few tiny changes. But to be fair, I answered so many quizzes about colours, furniture, textiles, and all that stuff that I never want to see another Pantone ever again.”
Of course, James would be the type of person who let his friend experiment in his new flat.
By the time the pizza was eaten, Regulus had given up counting the number of times he said “of course” in his head. Deep down, he knew Remus was right, and getting to know James would possibly be the most stupid decision he ever made.
☀️
“So, what do we do now?” James put away the plates and was drying down his hands.
If he’s being honest, Regulus would prefer to stay inside. To people watch from the balcony, to enjoy the sunset, to keep listening to James talk. But instead, he got up from his chair.
"You're local here. What is there to do?"
“How are you feeling about golf?”
“I’m bad at it,” Regulus blurted out.
“Like Sirius?”
“Not that bad,” Regulus scrunched up his nose.
“Well, you’re good then. It will be easy to beat me.”
“Shouldn’t you try to impress your—” date Regulus thought. “Guest,” Regulus said. “Making a fool of yourself is not helping.”
“Well, I can suggest Padle? Tennis?”
“Can I suggest a TV show?”
James’ eyes went to the TV on the wall and then back to Regulus. “Sure,” he said.
"I mean, if you don't want to, we can go do something—"
"I'm fine with a TV show, but thought you'd want something more— Never mind." James picked up a remote and plopped on the sofa. "So what do we watch?"
☀️
Long after the sun dipped down behind the mountain and the city came alight with twinkling lights, Regulus realized that in one night he laughed more than he had in months.
They watched the show, and then James suggested a walk along the sea and Regulus agreed. However, he regretted it a bit when he saw James’ ridiculous outfit.
“Why do you even need this thing? It’s neither a longsleeve nor a hoodie.”
“It has a hood, which is exactly why I need it and which is why it can classify as a very thin hoodie.” Regulus only rolled his eyes at that.
But James’ questionable fashion choices aside, it was nice. The sea breeze was cool, and the people on the streets seemed to be mostly locals since tourists tend to linger in more touristy areas with more stuff to do.
Regulus breathed in the salty air, the wind was ruffling his hair, and he felt happy. The type of happiness he had not felt in a long while.
James turned out to be not like most people. Just like Remus said. No, warned. The more Regulus found out about James, the more he liked him.
☀️
Only when they got back to James’ car did Regulus check his phone. There were a bunch of messages from Sirius, saying he could come back now; the group chat with his friends already made some theories about what might have happened to Regulus that he had not answered for so long.
The ride was quiet, James was humming along to the music, and Regulus was answering all the ignored texts.
James stopped near Sirius’ flat and shut down the engine.
“Well,” he said. “I had fun,” James grinned that annoyingly perfect grin. Regulus absolutely loathed those dimples on his cheeks.
“I had fun, too,” he managed to say. “Thank you for tonight. I would have stuck outside with absolutely nothing to do otherwise.” He cursed himself the second he finished that sentence. It sounded so wrong. Like James was just a convenient distraction. To be fair, he was in the afternoon when Sirius pushed both of them into the hall, but then Regulus got so into this, whatever it was, that he lost track of time.
“Good,” James nodded, his smile faltered only so slightly. If he thought something of Regulus’ words, he tried not to show it.
“Yeah, well, see you,” Regulus smiled.
And that was it. The end of the perfect evening. Regulus shut the car’s door. As he went up to the entrance of the complex, he heard James’ car coming to life, but he went in without looking back.
“We’re engaged!” was the first thing he heard as he stepped into the flat.
“Congratulations,” Regulus said as he was taking off his shoes.
“Hey,” Sirius gasped, “more excitement, more passion!”
Regulus screamed the happiest scream he could manage, “Congratulations!” and Sirius grunted when Regulus threw himself on him to give the most obnoxious hug. Remus snorted on the sofa.
“Oh, that’s better,” Sirius laughed as Regulus let go of him. “You were out for a while, what did you do?”
Regulus glanced at the clock that said 2:15 in the morning.
“Went to James’s. We had some pizza, watched a TV show, went for a walk.”
“Huh?” Sirius cocked his head. “James took the task very seriously.”
“The task?”
“Well, I asked him to keep you company. On the stairs when you and Remus got back here.”
Regulus nodded, remembering Sirius’ words. It brought a bitter taste to his mouth. James only spent time with him because Sirius asked? But he seemed kind of genuine about it. Regulus was confused.
“Now that you are back, we are going to celebrate our engagement!”
“Wait, you were waiting for me to come back?”
“Of course,” Sirius coked his head. You were not answering your phone, neither was James, so I didn’t know what to think.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Regulus said. “Wait, should I go to a hotel for tonight? I don’t want to hear your celebration,” he groaned.
“The walls in this flat are soundproof,” Remus said. “We took care of it once one of our guests was a bit traumatized by what she had heard.”
Regulus snorted but was relieved. “Oh, that’s great.”
“But first, the cake,” Sirius waved his hand toward the kitchen. “I was dying to try it!”
“When are you going to have a dinner?” Regulus looked at the cake suspiciously, the colour of the frosting looked too bright for his liking.
“Next week, I think. Tuesday, probably.”
“Huh? A weekday? I thought you’d have it on the weekend, no?”
“Summer break is over, it’s a race week,” Sirius stared at Regulus. “Double-header too.”
“What? Don’t tell me you are moving your engagement dinner on a Tuesday because of the sport you can literally watch any time,” Regulus was confused. Sirius was very into F1, but this? Seemed a bit excessive. “It’s during the day anyway, your evenings are free.”
“Reg, I’m not having my engagement dinner without my best friend.”
Silence hung in the air and the brothers stared at each other. Eventually, very slowly, Regulus’ brain started connecting the dots. The busy weekends, the I drive for a living, Monaco, James the driver in a navy blue suit his brother would not shut up about, James Potter in the same navy blue suit that Regulus had assumed he was wearing when carting with Sirius.
A soft sigh to his side and the clanking of a spoon against the plate made Regulus turn to Remus. “James will be in one of those cars on track. We will either have a dinner with just a few people after the race or skip it altogether.”
☀️
“How the fuck you didn’t know? Is this some sort of a prank?”
“I wish it was,” Regulus whined. “How the fuck I didn’t know?”
“That’s what I’m saying! I literally never shut up about it!”
“James is a very common name!” Regulus’ voice was high-pitched now and he felt like he was about to start hyperventilating.”
“They literally call the drivers by their last names!”
“I literally have not lived with you for over three years!”
“Well, that actually tracks, since James got into F1 three years ago. But you still come over on weekends!”
“I tune it out!”
“Can you two stop screaming at the top of your lungs?”
“No!” both brothers turned to Remus.
“You knew,” Sirius narrowed his eyes.
“Yes, but only for a few days. I never thought that something this big could be a secret. But now thinking about it—”
“How can you not know what your siblings’ best friend does for a living?” Sirius huffed.
Remus hummed. “What does Barty do for a living? Evan?”
“I’m—” Sirius blinked. “Okay, got it. But their faces are not plastered all over media outlets.”
“Very specific media outlets,” Remus corrected him. “I’m just surprised Reg has never stumbled upon any of the interviews. Or podium pictures.”
“I’ve never paid attention to it. And podiums— I think I’ve seen a few on Sirius’ socials, but I always assumed those were the carting events.” Regulus mumbled rewinding in his head every single time he was over at Sirius’ during weekends when the F1 channel was on more often than not. How James’ face was never in sight? “I don’t even know how to feel right now.”
“James is going to die from laughter,” Sirius barked, “I need to tell him right now!”
“Yeah, about that. I think I already have told him.”
“What?”
“I asked him what he does for a living,” Regulus glared at Remus.
“Oh, and what did he say?”
“He said “I drive”.”
Sirius laughed again and Regulus dropped his head on his arms. “This is so embarrassing.”
“I think this is the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done,” Sirius was dying from laughter, a second away from falling over and rolling on the floor.
“Can you stop it?”
“No. This is honestly hilarious!”
“Yeah, hilarious,” Regulus was glaring at his brother. “What do I even say to him when I see him? Should I just move to the other side of the world and never meet him again?”
“Oh, come on! This is not that bad! Remus was actually right, you can easily not know what your brother’s best friend does for a living. And also, this is James. He is the most understanding person I know, he will laugh about it and that’s it.”
“That’s it,” Regulus said in a mocking tone. “You have no idea.”
“About what? Your crush on him? I know. You’re not that subtle.”
“What?”
“Reg, you are not subtle at all. But he is even worse with reading clues, so unless you tell him directly, he most likely won’t figure it out.”
“Okay, that’s it. I’m done with this conversation,” Regulus stood up abruptly and walked out of the room. Then he thought that he was raised better than that, went back, said “Goodnight. The cake was good, thank you.” and left for good this time.
Once showered and dressed in his comfy home clothes, his room doors shut behind him Regulus thought that at this point the only logical step would be stalking James' social media for a bit. It could not get any worse. And what else would he do at three in the morning? It was a must at this point because things he learned today still did not line up with the image of James he had in his head.
And there still might be a chance it was one of Sirius’ pranks, that he somehow got his friends to play along.
What could happen anyway? At worst he would end up with some wanking material, at best he would know for sure it was not a sick joke.
Regulus went to Sirius’ profile, scrolled to a picture of him and James together, hesitated for a second, tapped on the handle with James’ name on it, and unblocked him.
When not even a week ago Remus said Regulus was in for some surprises, he did not specify just how big the said surprises would be. He should have.
Regulus did not scroll all the way through the pictures, but from what he could see so far there was not so much exposed skin as he would expect. James was clothed in almost every photo of his.
He should have stalked James’ social media a long time ago and not discovered these types of things right now.
“Fuck me,” Regulus muttered as he threw his phone away and plopped face down into his pillow, screamed into it, and kicked his feet on the mattress.
☀️
Friday snuck on Regulus way too fast. He skipped the media day trying to comprehend the information he got the night before.
In the morning he had breakfast with Sirius and Remus. Then he went for a walk along the seashore and was back to the flat minutes before the FP1 started. He intentionally dragged it out because now he would be watching the screen knowing that in one of those cars was the man he had dreamt of for years.
“Reg!” Sirius waved his hand, “It’s starting, come on, you’ll miss it!”
“I can watch a recap later,” Regulus mumbled.
“No no no! It’s Zandvoort! Actual track, not some city circuit. Come on!”
Regulus had some vague idea of what was so bad about city circuits, but he had a feeling he would hear a lot more on the topic soon enough. So not having many options he did plop next to Sirius on the couch.
Half an hour later he was questioning his life choices. He could not tell which car was James’, Sirius was yelling at the top of his lungs when someone named Frank crashed into a barrier. Remus looked way too amused.
“Which car is James'?”
“Black and red car has 71 on his helmet,” Sirius said not looking away from the TV and sitting on the edge of the couch. “Oh my god! What the hell is he doing?”
The funny thing is that Regulus has seen this scene so many times. When he lived with his brother, he witnessed this every other week. Sirius was always very passionate about racing. If his parents had not plucked him out of the carting he was attending as a kid, he might have been on that track too. But according to Orion, the Blacks should have more conservative and prestigious occupations. Eventually, Sirius did go back to carting, but it was too late to build a career.
It still was so baffling that somehow, he didn’t know James was the one Sirius yelled about for the past three years, it’s a common name sounded like a very lame excuse at this point. Regulus could not even fathom that it was James bloody Potter. Maybe he shouldn’t have tuned his brother out so much.
After FP1 was over and there was a break Sirius settled in on the couch and turned to Regulus.
“I still can’t believe you didn’t know this,” Sirius nodded towards TV. “I posted a million pictures of him on social media. He posts too, not that much, but still.”
“I had him blocked and did not see his posts,” Regulus explained. “And the pictures you posted — I thought those were carting events, the suits literally look the same.”
Sirius huffed. “They are not the same at all. And I’m rather sure I wrote something about it in captions.”
“You write an entire essay there every other post, I rarely read it.”
“Well, then it is not my fault you did not know my best friend’s occupation for years!”
“I know but—”
Regulus was interrupted by Sirius’ phone. Sirius picked it up, looked down at it, and as a huge grin crept on his face he glanced at his brother as he tapped the button, and James’ face appeared on the screen.
“Have you seen that? Sirius, I thought I was going to go flying like Webber in 2010! Like who does that? He literally bumped into me! There was more than enough room for him to pass! I feel so bad for the mechanics, now they have to have to fix my rear wing and — Oh, Regulus? Hello!”
Regulus blinked as James’ rant stopped and he heard his name. “Hi James,” Regulus said. “You did well,” he added and cringed internally.
“Not really,” James chuckled, “but thank you.”
There was a ring of the doorbell, “I got it!” Sirius said as he got up and handed Regulus his phone with James Potter on the other side of a Facetime call. Regulus never felt so awkward in his whole life.
“So, you drive, huh?”
“Yeah. Well, I said it was a sport, so I didn’t lie,” James shrugged.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I kind of embarrassed if I’m being honest.”
“I don’t know,” James said as he closed a door to a room he went in, and the noise of the garage was cut off. “Didn’t want to make it sound like I’m bragging. It’s just I never had to explain it, somehow people always knew, or it would just come up in a conversation naturally when someone else mentioned it. Actually, I am surprised you didn’t know.”
“Trust me, I’m more surprised that I didn’t know,” Regulus had to collect himself because his voice was becoming high-pitched, and he knew that he could slip into his whining mode any second. “This is a thing to brag about though, never thought you would be this shy about your achievements.”
“I’m not exactly shy, I was just taken aback.”
There was a second of silence.
“So, are you going to watch the race on Sunday?” James asked.
“Yes,” Regulus said.
“Are you going to root for me?”
“Maybe. Have not decided yet.”
"It would mean a lot to me."
"I'll think about it."
"Thank you."
Regulus had no chance to answer because someone called his name and he had to cut the call short.
Regulus was watching the qualifying on Saturday. And he was watching the race on Sunday.
What he realised was that he had no idea how Sirius managed to do it for so long. This was no fun at all, it was stressful as hell.
James ended up not winning, but at least he got the podium.
☀️
James briefly called Sirius who congratulated him and they had a very short conversation. Regulus did not get to even say hi.
It was two in the morning when he woke up from the knocking on his door. Who the hell would knock? Sirius would just burst in, he did it way too often. Remus might have knocked, but most likely not in this hour. Was it a very polite robber? Regulus cleared his throat, “Yeah?” he said.
“Can I come in?” was a muffled Response from the other side of the door. Regulus froze. Because it was James. How he’s supposed to face him? This is too soon, he’s not ready.
“Sure,” he said instead of no, I can’t do it.
James opened the door and slipped in. He stood there without taking a step forward. Regulus switched on his bedside lamp and looked at James standing next to the door in a dimly lit room.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come at this hour,” he said. “I don’t know what —” he sighed and, in a few steps, closed the distance to Regulus’ bed who sat there confused. James shuffled from foot to foot and then sat on the floor cross-legged, laid his arms on Regulus’ bed, and dropped his head on them. He mumbled something inaudible.
“James,” Regulus said. “What is this? Why are you here? Are you okay?”
“No,” James lifted his head, “Yes. I don’t know I—" he took a deep breath. "I was thinking. Like a lot. About the way we were able to finally interact without you ignoring me, and I could not stop thinking about it. I spend years trying to make you not hate me and it seems like I finally succeeded—”
“James,” Regulus interrupted, “I never hated you.”
“Yeah, sure,” James huffed. “I was never able to talk to you for more than 3 minutes. You always turned your back on me and I wanted to have a good relationship with you because you are my best friend’s brother—”
Regulus insides went cold. This was something he never wanted to hear. But James went on: “But this is not why I wanted to get to know you. I want to know who Regulus is without being associated with Sirius. And also I realised how little we know about each other. Well, I think I know more about you than you know about me—”
“James,” Regulus interrupted because he was rumbling and if not stopped, he might be doing it for a while. “I never hated you. I had my reasons to push you away but trust me, it was never because of hate.”
“Why then?”
“What?”
“Why did you block me out? What did I do? Did I hurt you? Offend you?”
“No—”
“Why then?”
Regulus breathed in, breathed out. Should he say it out loud?
“I had a crush on you,” he said. “Out of sight out of mind and all that.”
“Huh?” James looked at him with big doe eyes. “You what?”
“James, please, don’t make a big deal out of it. I know that you are off limits, and I will never try anything, so can you be chill about it?”
“Actually, I can’t be chill about it,” James cocked his head. “Why am I off limits?”
“Because- You’re— Sirius—” Regulus stuttered. This is not the conversation he wanted to have at 3 in the morning after being rudely woken up. “First, you are not into guys. Second, you are Sirius’ best friend, he even calls you brother sometimes so— yeah.”
“Well, one, kind of am into guys. Two, Sirius will get over it. And three,” James moved his hand and lightly touched Regulus’ fingers that were holding to the quilt for dear life. “Can I take you out for dinner?”
“Uh—” Regulus blinked. “Dinner?”
“Yes. But I’m afraid it will be moved to the next week because—”
“Double-header, I know.” Regulus sighed and James chuckled.
“I still cannot believe you didn’t know. Like how did it even happen?”
“I blocked you on social media.”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t explain it,” James shook his head. “You lived with Sirius who talks about racing non-stop.”
“James is a common name,” Regulus sighed. “We talked about it and I was shocked how I managed to avoid all the interviews because on track you are wearing a helmet so I wouldn’t know it was you. And then Sirius showed me a couple of the interviews,” Regulus looked pointedly at James. “Do you have to flirt with every interviewer?”
James laughed. “No, but it is fun. They are supposed to be professionals and be able to handle any situation. So I give them some field training. Anyway, the dinner?”
“Why?” Regulus' heart sped up, James’ fingers still on his were burning hot.
“Because as I said, I am into guys. But more importantly, I’m into you. Which you would know if you didn’t avoid me like a plague for years.”
"You— Wait what?"
"Reg, I like you. And I want to take you out for dinner."
"Yes," Regulus might have said it a bit too quickly, but he didn't care.
"Yes?"
"Yes."
James' smile was as bright as ever. "Thank you," he whispered.
"How did you get in here anyway?" Regulus asked remembering it was 3 in the morning.
"Sirius gave me a key for emergencies or to stay here when I'm tired and don't feel like going home. The airport in Nice so—"
"Do you want to stay? You kind of look tired."
"Yes, but I won't," James tugged Regulus' fingers that were still gripping the quilt. When Regulus let go of it, James' warm hand curled around his.
"Can I message you tomorrow though?"
"Yes."
"Okay, I will."
James pressed a kiss to his hand, wished Regulus goodnight, and left.
Regulus did not have any more sleep after that.