Is it cool that I said all that?
James had been flirting with Regulus nonstop since the day they met and Regulus found this equal parts exhilarating as he did absolutely terrifying. That’s what Sirius had told James anyway. James knew that Sirius knew far more than he was letting on but it wouldn’t be fair to Regulus if he asked, so he had to figure this out on his own. He and Regulus have been talking more and more, getting to know one another and slowly, Regulus has been letting his guard down. As much as James was known for being loud and abrasive he knew when not to push and has been doing quite well at toning himself down if he does say so himself.
Last time Regulus and James met to ‘study’ in the library (for James this meant watching how Regulus’ tongue poked out between his teeth as he poured over ancient runes texts) James had finally worked up the courage to invite him to a party in the Gryffindor tower. Of course this invite was under the ruse that Sirius ‘really wanted him there’ but it’s probably for the best that neither Regulus nor Sirius discovered that little white lie. In all fairness Sirius had been very excited when he found out about Regulus’ attendance so James supposed it wasn’t really a lie.
Now what James hadn’t considered is that inviting Regulus to the party and him then saying yes would mean Regulus would in fact, be at the party. The party which started in 30 minutes. As a result of this recent revelation James stood in front of the floor to ceiling mirror in their dorm with Remus sitting on the bed behind him surrounded by the sea of what must be every garment that had ever been in James possession.
‘I have nothing to wear’ James whined, dramatically throwing himself onto the bed beside Remus
‘You do, I’m literally surrounded by at least 500 things you have to wear’ they’d been at this for nearly 40 minutes and James could tell he was losing Remus’ attention, he suspected it had something to do with whatever Sirius whispered in his ear when he came into to do his eyeliner a few minutes ago.
‘You don’t understand how important this is moony, if I wear the wrong thing he’ll think I’m stupid and he already thinks I’m stupid so he at least needs to think I’m pretty otherwise there's no hope and I might as well give up’ James took a deep breath as he finished rambling, looking up at Remus with puppy dog eyes.
‘You are pathetic James Potter’ Remus laughed out, ‘if only your court of loyal admirers could see you now’
‘This is no time for mockery Remus, I am but a damsel in distress and I command you help me’ James emphasised his words by flailing himself across Remus’ lap resting his hand against his forehead.
‘Okay okay, get off of me you oaf’, Remus stood up and began picking things up from around the room, formulating an outfit for James to wear, unceremoniously throwing each item of clothing at James’ head. ‘There you go, he’ll go mental for that, now if you don’t mind I have somewhere I need to be’
‘Yeah yeah, say hi to Sirius for me, and Remus’
‘Yeah?’
‘Make sure he can still dance at the party will you’
‘Oh bugger off you’ Remus said as he left James in the dorm
James put on the clothes Remus had picked out for him and looked in the mirror. He was wearing a pair of leather pants he was 90% sure Sirius had bought for Remus over the summer. They were a little tight on him in a way that made his arse look spectacular if he did say so himself. Paired with it was a loose crimson button up that cut off at his waist, leaving a sliver of skin exposed before the low cut waistband of the trousers.
‘Oh prongsy, parties starting, you coming down’ Peter's warm voice called up the stairs. James slipped his shoes on as the door opened and a whistle sounded. ‘Wow Remus really outdid himself, you look delicious’
‘Thanks Pete, you think Regulus will like it?’
‘Like it, the boy might just fall to his knees at the sight of you, and if he doesn’t, hell I will’
‘Shut it Pete’
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An hour later and the party was in full swing, Sirius was up and dancing on the table, Remus’ hungry eyes bearing into his back but James was far too distracted to even think about teasing his mates. Every ounce of James’ attention was focused on the corner of the room where Regulus leaned against the wall with Barty’s arm wrapped around him. James wasn't foolish, he knew the position was designed to get a rise out of him, they’d been playing this game for nearly 2 years now. James normally was better at controlling himself, but now with two and a half drinks in him James was not nearly as reserved.
Deep down James knew his situation with Regulus was delicate, that the boy needed to be handled with care. But that wasn’t how James wanted to treat him right now, not when he showed up here wearing an emerald green crop top that accentuated his eyes and a pair of dark washed low rise jeans that hugged his curves perfectly. Not mention he was wearing fucking eyeliner and was now standing not 10 feet away from James with Barty draped all over him.
Nope his thoughts could not continue to go this way, he needed some fucking air. He opened the door onto the nearly abandoned balcony and tugged his cigarettes free from his pocket. He mainly carried them for Remus but he felt in this moment he needed them more.
‘You could just ask him out you know, he’d say yes’, an airy voice spoke from behind him.
He turned around to see Pandora, one of Reg’s closest friends, looking back at him.
‘I wouldn’t be so sure, he seems perfectly enamoured with Barty right now’ he muttered in response
‘And here I was defending your honor, you really are as stupid as Reggie says you are’ Pandora chortled.
‘What are you on about’
‘Barty is dating my darling brother, and little Reggie wouldn’t touch him in a million years, trust me Barty tried. Regulus has been trying to get you to ask him out for months, you’re just too dense to notice. Oh and by the way, he’s always wanted a picnic by the spring in the forest’
And with that Pandora wanders back into the party, leaving James dumbfounded. He takes the half burnt cigarette to his lips taking a long drag before the door opens again. Regulus strolls to the edge of the balcony, leaning against it next to James.
‘Hey Jamie’, James thinks Regulus might have said more after that but he didn’t hear it. All James heard was a chorus of Jamie playing over and over in his head. In that moment James was hopeless to do anything else. He didn’t remember how delicate the situation was, or how much he had to lose as the words tumbled from his lips.
‘Will you go on a date with me’, James' lips snapped shut and silence engulfed the pair but if there was one thing about James it was that he did not like silence. ‘Shit, I didn’t mean to say that’ Regulus’ face fell and that would just not do. ‘No no no, that’s not what I meant, it’s just like, your so so pretty and you’re so clever and funny and so so mean to me and I really really like you and would you please please go on a date with me’
Regulus looked down at his hands for a moment, and James knew this face, he could work with this face. Regulus was calculating, he was weighing the logistics of the situation. Now if anyone other than him and Regulus existed inside of this bubble they would say that was the longest James Potter has ever stayed completely and utterly still. It seemed like years until Regulus looked up. Even before the words left his lips James could tell by the look in his eyes.
‘Took you long enough you perfect idiot’ and with that Regulus sauntered back into the party leaving James smiling to himself stupidly.