traditions
Regulus had never had “Christmases”. Yes, Walburga and Orion hosted stuffy dinners and parties and “White Elephant”s for every rich and powerful family they knew, but come Christmas day and neither he nor Sirius would get presents, or family-time (not that they wanted it), or anything of the sort. Sirius would always bitch about it loudly.
“I want a real Christmas! Not stuffy robes and shitty rich-people foods,” he’d grumble, earning a backhand across the face from their mother. She’d refuse to leave any visible marks on them, lest it “ruin their reputation”, but it hurt well enough as is.
Regulus, on the other hand, would treat Christmas as a normal day. He pretended he didn’t care, earning quiet outrage from Sirius in private (“How do you not care, Reggie?” “Don’t call me Reggie.” “But how can you just sit there and take it?”), and indifference from their parents. Much to his pleasure, as any attention from Sirius was good attention to Regulus, and no attention from Walburga and Orion was much much better than negative attention. So even if he had to endure shitty “holidays” (they can’t even be called that in that household), at least he wasn’t getting hurt.
So when their mother allowed them the opportunity to stay at Hogwarts for the hols one year, his heart leapt to his throat and he almost screamed.
“Oh my god. Maman is letting us stay for Christmas,” he whispers disbelievingly, passing the letter over to Sirius, who gasps excessively loudly. James almost instantly pipes up.
“We all have to stay now. We must throw a party of sorts, or at least celebrate together.”
“Ooh, yes, good idea. We can have, like, a week-long sleepover,” Sirius says with wide eyes. Regulus turns a little more stoic, a lump forming in his throat as he realizes that Sirius would rather be with his friends over him.
“Oh, yeah, great, cool, have fun,” he mumbles unenthusiastically.
“You’re coming with us, I hope you know you’re coming with us,” James says amusedly.
“Great, spending Christmas with my brother and his little friends. Peak holidays right here,” Regulus says sarcastically, a warmth seeping through his chest as the prospect.
“I mean if you don’t want to, you don’t have to co-” James starts before getting cut off.
“No, I’ll come. I mean… yeah sure, I’ll be there,” Regulus says with a faint blush. Remus and Sirius both looked equally as confused, as Regulus never quite showed any sort of fluster or emotion. James could always pull that out of him -- he always seemed good at things like that.
“Great, good, meet in our common room at midnight? The password is collywobble.”
Soon came 11:50, and Regulus tentatively ventured out. He’d been exploring the castle at night since his very first night at Hogwarts, but this was different. He was meeting his brother’s best friend in forbidden territory: the Gryffindor common room. At 11.58, he whispered the password, quietly shut the door, and stood in the center of the room, looking around. James pads down the stairs softly, each step evidently his by the rhythm of his walking. Regulus quickly sits on the couch, wanting to look less tense than he actually is.
“Oh hey Reggie, you’re early,” his voice comes flowing smoothly from the doorway.
“I left early,” he shrugs indifferently, firmly ignoring the way his face heats up at James’ very presence.
“Makes sense. So we’ll be sleeping in here. Sirius refuses to share a room with his brother for… obvious reasons concerning him and Remus, and I wouldn’t want you to be all alone,” James says, grabbing a few blankets and pillows and setting up sleeping arrangements on a couch for the two of them to share.
“Wait wait wait- we’re sharing a bed? Or, couch I should say?” Regulus asks incredulously, heart pounding in his chest so much he’s shocked James can’t hear it.
“Oh, yeah I mean none of the other couches or armchairs are as comfy to sleep on, and they cause serious back pain in the morning, so I figured it’d be better to just share. Plus we can keep each other warm since it’s below freezing,” James says awkwardly, wringing his hands as if he’s scared Regulus will refuse.
“I mean, I guess that makes sense,” Regulus agrees, seemingly hesitant but inside he’s screaming excitedly.
“Okay, as long as you aren’t uncomfortable,” James says was a warm smile, handing Regulus a pair of his pajama pants and a comfy quidditch hoodie to change into, showing him to the bathroom to change.
The second the door shuts, Regulus silently screams, instantly changing and taking in the scent of the clothes. Gods I’m so whipped Regulus thinks helplessly, stepping out after fixing himself slightly.
James was sitting on the couch with a book, seemingly waiting for Regulus to join him. He hesitantly lies next to him, curled into James’ chest instinctively, as the couch was quite small.
His eyes flutter shut serenely, thankful for James inviting him to this as he dozes off, only very faintly aware of James pressing a kiss to the top of his head before falling asleep with Regulus tucked into his arms under the blankets so very peacefully.