under cotton and calicos
The path he was following James down was nothing short of beautiful. The sparkling light of early spring shone through the blossoming trees, breaking through the shadows to cast light on the daffodils and snowdrops that scattered the forest floor. They’d been making quiet conversation since they met at the forest boundary and had now fallen into a comfortable silence. One which Potter inevitably broke.
‘Close your eyes Reggie’
‘Oh absolutely not Potter, I’m already going against my better judgement following you into the forest, I am not sacrificing my sight too’
‘Pleaseeee Reggie, I want it to be a surprise’ James practically whined, he looked like a wounded puppy in a way that was, if Regulus was being honest, quite pathetic and also embarrassingly endearing.
Still, Regulus found himself huffing at Potter’s absurdity but closing his eyes nonetheless. Regulus let himself be led through the forest, muttering all the while about his hatred of the boy standing in front of him. The comments were made inane by the way Regulus’ pale skin flushed at the contact with James.
‘And…. open’
Regulus’ eyes fluttered open and he let out a shaky exhale at the sight in front of him. In the little clearing where they now stood lay a large green pleated picnic blanket with dark green cushions and a basket. The clearing itself had been enchanted so that the cherry blossoms were in full bloom despite it only being early march and the large oaks and maple trees were varying shades of yellows and reds. Regulus thinks back to a sleepless night on the astronomy tower nearly a year ago now, where Regulus had told James he found the deepening of the leaves in autumn just as beautiful as the blooming of flowers in spring. As if the scenery wasn’t thoughtful enough, Regulus could feel the warmth of privacy wards that surrounded the clearing.
‘James… its perfect’ Regulus’ voice came out breathless as he caught James’ eye. For a moment he felt nothing but the growing tension between the two of them. James gaze flickered from his eyes to his lips before he abruptly cleared his throat.
‘I’m glad you like it’ James' voice came out gravelly before he cleared his throat again to continue, ‘right let's sit down shall we, I’ve got all your favorites.’ James said as he sat down on the blankets.
The afternoon had sped by, filled with soft conversations and vibrant giggles that Regulus would never admit emerged from his throat. As the sun sunk into the tree line, painting the sky in deep purples and yellows, Regulus became enraptured in James’ face. In this light his olive skin glowed and his velveteen eyes shimmered in the purpling light. Regulus studied James' face as the light of the sun drifted away from them. His mind wondered as James spoke to him, thinking of the sun, would it move on to shine upon another pair of lovers who watched each other as the sun rose behind them, not one bit interested in the view, instead focused on the new perspective in which the light painted their lover.
‘Love, you with me’ James' saccharine voice floated into his ears.
Regulus blinks away his thoughts, determined to stay in the moment, ‘yeah sorry, what were you saying Jamie’. James smiled, like he does every time the nickname falls from his lips, Regulus used to try and fight it but he stopped after he realised the true effect it has on James.
‘Which one are you?’ James whispers into the cooling air, looking from Regulus’ eyes up to the sky. Regulus followed his gaze and sure enough the stars had slipped into the night sky.
Regulus grasped James’ wrist and pointed it into the sky, ‘I’m right there next to the moon, March is when it’s the brightest’ He moved his and James’ hands lower, nearer to the horizon, ‘and there is Sirius, he would have been brighter in January, his star dims over the summer, when he first came back from hogwarts for the summer he said it was fitting because our parents dimmed his soul or some nonsense like that. He really is one dramatic fuck. I.. sorry, I didn’t mean to ramble.’
‘It’s okay love, I love listening to you talk. Especially about the stars, you get all excited and your eyes sparkle something magical. I still remember that first night in the astronomy tower, god you were so guarded with me then but the second I mentioned the stars there was that sparkle and I knew then that I was absolutely gone on you.’
Regulus was speechless, he knew James wore his heart on his sleeve but he still hadn’t quite wrapped his head around the apparent fact that even a little bit of that heart belonged to him. When James had first started flirting with him in third year he’d thought it an elaborate prank concocted from his brothers fucked up mind. Even after he realised James intentions were true back in fourth year, he’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop. But now Regulus realises that not once over the time they’d been out here had Regulus even thought about that other shoe.
Upon looking up Regulus discovered James’ staring intently at him, well more specifically his lips and Regulus was becoming increasingly worried his brother's impulsivity was rubbing off on him because before he could even process it words were leaving his mouth.
‘You can kiss me if you want to Jamie’
And then they were. James’ lips were just as soft as they looked, it felt as if electricity was crackling between the two of them and all of Regulus’ senses were filled with James. His only coherent thought was closer as he let himself be pulled into James’ lap. His tongue slipped into James’ mouth and he tasted like honey and the chocolate from earlier as well as something so distinctly James’. As the kiss deepened he began to push James further down until his head hit onto something hard and the kiss reluctantly broke.
‘That was amazing,’ James’ broken voice sounded out. ‘We should do that again immediately’
In the few second James had been talking Regulus seemed to have regained his wits, ‘hmmm, it’s getting pretty late, I think it’s time we head back to the castle’
‘You are evil love’ James replied, rising to his feet nonetheless.
They headed back to the castle hand in hand and before they parted on the third floor Regulus placed a delicate kiss on James’ cheek ‘goodnight, Jamie’
‘Goodnight love’