Regulus' POV
All of Regulus' energy was being consumed from trying to ignore the throbbing of his heart as James slid his hands in his pockets and walked forward, a knowing smile curving his lips.
What was happening? One second, he'd been in the corridor, a public space where nothing crazy could occur, and the next he'd been pulled into an empty classroom with the one person who made his anxiety skyrocket.
And James could tell. He was smart enough (and smug enough) to recognize when Regulus got flustered, when his cheeks reddened and he needed to back up against a desk to steady himself.
"She might have mentioned a certain potion that was brewed..." James began, and he was getting closer and closer to Regulus, who couldn't tell if he was getting more annoyed or more excited.
Regardless, he needed to compose himself.
He took a page out of James' book and faked a smile (though it was a pitiful attempt, he was sure) before jumping onto the desk behind him and sitting, his legs swinging absentmindedly. He tiled his head slightly and responded, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Something about his tone made James stop approaching and Regulus considered that a small win. "You don't?"
Regulus shrugged, a genuine smile forming this time. "Not at all."
The noise from students outside filtered into the empty room, and Regulus took it as an opportunity to avert his gaze from James and towards the closed door. He couldn't recall ever having a class in this room; most of the desks had a thin layer of dust covering them and the windows could benefit from a cleaning. He willed himself to focus on that instead of boy across from him, whose confused expression had broken into determination as he continued walking forward.
"So..." he started, and then suddenly he was inches away from Regulus, his hands positioned on either side of Regulus' body on the desk. He'd trapped him. "...you wouldn't mind telling me what you smelled in the Amortentia?"
And Regulus' heart rate jumped again. Had Pandora told him?! He'd only admitted what he really smelled in the potion because her smile suggested she knew anyway. She did have a psychic energy, to be fair.
"What I smelled?" Regulus repeated, unable to come up with anything else. His response made James smile as he mimicked Regulus' head tilt from earlier.
"Yeah!"
"Why should I tell you?"
"Why not?"
Regulus resisted his urge to groan and leaned back, needing a breather after being so close to James. "It's none of your business," he replied, cooly. "Now if you don't mind, I have a class to-"
"In one hour."
Regulus blinked.
Well, there goes that lie.
"You know my schedule?" Regulus didn't try to hide his horror at that fact.
"Why shouldn't I know the schedule of the guy I like?"
Oh.
Oh.
"The-" Regulus sputtered, his mind in a tailspin as he attempted to reason with himself. "You like-"
"You, Regulus." And James' face was suddenly devoid of humor and mischief, his eyes serious as he continued. "I like you, Reg. I suppose I always have, in some way. It just took me until now to realize it. And I'm not sure getting drugged with a love potion a few days ago was how I wanted to find out but here we are. And...well I just needed you to know."
Silence filled the room and Regulus let the weight of James' confession hit him right then. He liked him. And then...
"Wait, drugged?"
James recoiled slightly and sucked in a breath. "Yeah...that's what Pandora helped me realize. We think it was a lame excuse at a prank from Snivellus or something."
"A prank?" Regulus' brain couldn't keep up. "I don't understand."
The older boy smiled patiently. "Amortentia. Snape must've slipped it into my drink before I made it down for breakfast a few days ago. That's why I stopped you that day before class. He drugged me to fall in love with you."
Oh. So...
"So this is all a prank." Regulus recalled his earlier conversation with Pandora in the potions' classroom, how he'd feared James was pranking him all along.
"No! No-Merlin I'm explaining this terribly." And Regulus didn't have a moment to think before James' lips crashed against his, his hand snaking up to rest on Regulus' cheek.
It was alarming. It was out of character. It was wonderful.
And in a rare moment, Regulus allowed himself to not think. His instinct took over and his hand landed on James' chest, feeling the boy's heart race rapidly, while the other ran through James' hair. He felt the boy smile into the kiss as he deepened it and Regulus felt a hand grasp his hip tightly.
And then the smell hit him. Cinnamon and cedar in his cologne. Leather from the gloves he'd had on just hours ago for morning Quidditch practice. Broom polish lingering on his shirt from being in the pitch's player entrance and locker room. How predictable.
James broke away first, his breathing heavy as he looked at Regulus with both astonishment and need. It made Regulus' heart skip...before he remembered.
"Must be a strong potion..." he pushed James back, not wanting to accept that this was all a fabricated act because of a pink liquid.
"It was," James replied, not taking his eyes off Regulus. "Until Pandora brewed me the antidote."
Oh.
"Antidote?" Regulus managed to ask.
James nodded, his hair slightly disheveled. "The potion made me realize I like you, Reg. And I drank the antidote. But that doesn't mean I stopped thinking you. I never did."
Endearing words had never cracked Regulus' armor until those were spoken. He wasn't sure whether to laugh or roll his eyes.
So he did both, scoffing at the boy who now reapproached him.
"So, I take it you fancy me then?" James smiled.
"Against my better judgment," Regulus replied before leaning forward and kissing him again.