Chapter 10
“James wake the fuck up!” he finally woke up “Qué pasa” “Oh my god, now is not the time for spanish, we have to leave in an hour!” James replied in a string of spanglish which Regulus had assumed was mostly swears. “James get the fuck out of bed we have to get ready!” “Mierda, me olvidé de eso” James finally got out of bed. “Reggie, Baby it’s ok. Mama and Papa told us what time we needed to leave at, not the time we needed to get there, they usually do that for me and Sirius, it helps us get there on time” Regulus dropped his shoulders and let out a sigh “Salazar, I was freaking out thinking we were gonna be late!” Regulus’ face was hot and his eyes were welling with tears. James stood up and hugged Regulus “Reg, it’s ok we have two hours before we have to leave, we have time to shower, pick out what to wear, prepare, and whatever else you need to do before we go. Alright?” Regulus buried his head deeper in the crook of James’ neck. They stood together like that for a few minutes, Regulus tried to pull away, but James just hugged him tighter. “Jamie, I’ve gotta shower” James reluctantly let go of Regulus and pressed a light kiss to the top of his head. Regulus smiled and turned to grab a pair of boxers and went to the bathroom to shower. A few minutes later James knocked on the door “Reggie, Remus called, said he needed to speak with you, I told him you would call him when you get out of the shower, is that alright?” “Yeah” Regulus got out of the shower fifteen minutes later and facetimed Remus, partially so he could get Remus’ opinion on his outfit, but also because he was pretty sure he knew why Remus needed to talk to him. “Regulus, oh thank merlin!” “Hey, Remus” “Hey, um sorry, I know you guys are going to dinner, but I need your opinion, I’m picking out a ring for Pads, and I figured you’re his brother, so I called you” “Ok, but when we’re done with this, I need your opinion on my outfit.” “Okay” Remus showed Regulus 3 rings, a white gold ring with moon and star diamonds, a silver (not real silver) with ‘moony and pads’ engraved on the inside and on the outside just a simple diamond, and the last one was a silver band (also not real silver) with what Regulus assumed was morse code for something. “The second one, they’ll love it!” “Ok, that’s what I thought, but I wasn’t sure, Thank you so much!” “Of course, now I need help with my outfit” “Ok” Regulus pulled out three options. A pair of black dress pants and the sweater Remus and Sirius had gotten for him, a pair of black jeans the knees slightly ripped and a shirt he took from James’ flat the other day, and the last one was just a pair of plain blue jeans, an orange Smiths shirt and a black cardigan. “James would love to see you in his shirt; however, the Smiths shirt looks very comfortable, I say go with the third option” “You are a lifesaver!” Remus chuckled, “Alright I gotta go, my flight leaves in about an hour so I’ll text you when I’m back, we can meet up sometime and talk about books?” “Oooh, that sounds nice, Bye Remus” “Bye Reg” Regulus hung up and changed. He stopped for a minute before putting his shirt on. He didn’t know how long he stood in front of the mirror. James walked in and saw Regulus just standing in front of the mirror, a huge smile on his face, just looking at himself. “Reg, it looks so good!” Regulus jumped “Dear fuck! You scared me!” James laughed “Sorry baby,” James walked over to him. “Reggie, you look so good!” “Love? You’re staring” “Oh, didn’t realize” Regulus let out a small chuckle and walked over to James and held out his hand “Your shirt’s all wrinkled. Give it to me, I’ll put it in the dryer” James took off his shirt and put it in Regulus' hand. Regulus went to the laundry room and put James’ shirt in the dryer. Regulus returned and finished getting dressed. “How does it feel?” James asked, pointing at Regulus’ chest. “It feels different, but good, really good!” Regulus was still smiling. Fifteen minutes later Regulus pulled James’ shirt out of the dryer “Here, you look less homeless” James took his shirt and put it on and smiled “I smell like you” “You do, It’s nice” Regulus kissed James and went to the bathroom to fix his hair. He came back out and sat down on the couch to look at the menu, so he knew what he was getting in advance. About half an hour later they left. Regulus plugged his phone into the aux and turned on his playlist. The drive was smooth, James’ hand resting on Regulus’ thigh most of the ride. When they arrived at the restaurant Mr.Potter and Mrs.Potter had already Arrived, James hugged his parents “Oh, dear! James, how lovely to see you, oh, and you must be Regulus, it’s so nice to meet you!” Regulus shook Fleamont and Euphemia’s hands. “It’s nice to meet you Mr and Mrs.Potter” Euphemia pulled him into a hug “Oh please, call me Effie” he hugged her back. A few minutes everyone sat down, and the conversation started flowing. Fleamont had asked him if he was in college and if he has a job, Regulus answered all of the questions. “Oh, I’m so sorry Regulus, I forgot to ask when you got here what are your pronouns?” “Oh, um, he him please” “Of course!” Effie was such a bright, loud, and kind woman, Fleamont was calmer, he had a good sense of humor, and he was quite handsome. Sirius showed up about twenty minutes late but was able to quickly join in on the conversations as soon as she sat down. Sirius had on a long black skirt, and a sweater (most likely Remus’), and a pair of docs. “Sirius, you made it!” Effie got up and hugged Sirius “And you, pronouns?” “She they please” “Alrighty” Effie sat back down, and Sirius walked over to shake Monty’s hand before sitting down. She sat at the end of the table, Regulus on their right, Monty on their left. After a while they ordered, Regulus got butter noodles, Sirius got a caesar salad, James got a grilled cheese, Effie also got a caesar salad, and Monty got fettuccine alfredo. Everyone was getting ready to leave, “So Sirius, where’s Remus?” “Oh, he’s out of town on a work conference, actually he should be back tonight” “Oh, that’s lovely, give him hugs from us!” “Ok, I will, bye Effie, bye Monty!” Sirius hugged the two of them, then made her way over to James and Regulus, she hugged both of them and left. “Bye mama, bye papa!” James shouted back to them when he went to start the car, “Bye Effie, bye Monty, it was lovely meeting you!” Regulus said as he hugged Effie and shook Monty’s hand. James stayed in the parking lot until his parents left, to make sure they got out of the parking lot. He pulled out soon after them “So, how do you think it went? Do they like me?” “They love you! In fact, when I hugged mama, she told me ‘No puedes joder esto, me gusta mucho’” “I don’t speak spanish” Oh, right she told me not to fuck this up because she likes you too much” Regulus smiled and hooked his phone up to the aux, he turned on his playlist and leaned back in the seat. James rested his hand on Regulus’ thigh absentmindedly rubbing his thumb back and forth. The drive home was quiet Regulus was reading on his phone, and he had also texted Pandora
Regulus: His parents love me!!!
Panda: Of course they do!!
Regulus: Effie told him ‘You aren't allowed to fuck this up, I like him to much’
Panda: I already love her!!!
Regulus: Monty said he’s gonna check the store out soon!
Panda: That’s amazing Reggie!
Regulus: I know right!!
Regulus closed Pandora’s messages, put down his phone, and laid his head against the headrest. Regulus slept the rest of the way home, which was only twenty minutes but he was tired. “Reg, we're back” James was soft, his touch was light and gentle. He unbuckled Regulus, grabbed both of their phones, and very carefully picked Regulus up bridal style and carried him to the bedroom, got him out of the clothes he wore to dinner and into some comfy pajamas, he layed Regulus down in the bed, quickly changed and got in bed next to Regulus, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy. This was the first night in months that Regulus slept through, no nightmares, no spiralling thoughts, nothing. He slept through the entire night in his boyfriend's arms. He woke up to James still wrapped around him, he checked his phone
10:32am 1 new message from Panda, 2 new messages from Siri, 1 missed call from Remus. He opened Pandora’s message first
Panda: Sorry to bother you right now but I thought you might want to know that Ev is planning to propose to B soon, I didn’t want you to be caught off guard or anything so just a little warning!
Regulus: Ok, thanks for letting me know!
Then he checked Sirius’ messages.
Siri: Effie texted me, she wants to have everyone over for a game night, I’m sure she already texted Prongs, but I thought I would let you know
Siri: Remus is home!!
Regulus: Good!
He closed Sirius’ chats and texted Remus
Regulus: Sorry, I was asleep, what’s up?
Remus: I was just wondering when you wanted to meet up and where
Regulus: I don’t really care, we can meet up at my store if you want
Remus: Sure, It’ll be nice to see your store
Regulus: Ok, so my store, tomorrow at 11:00?
Remus: Ok, sounds like a plan!
He turned his phone off, got out of bed, and followed the sound of latin music. Regulus found James sitting at the table working, and singing along softly to the music. Regulus smiled and walked over to James “g’morning Jamie” he said, his voice still thick with sleep. “Buenos días Reggie bebé, ¿duermes bien?” James pulled Regulus in by the waist. “I don’t speak spanish, Cependant, je parle français” James chuckled and hugged Regulus. A couple minutes later Regulus went to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee, then he went to the library and sat in his comfy chair, wrapped himself up in his blanket, and grabbed a book. Regulus stayed like that for a while, he isn’t quite sure how long but it was long enough read Red, White & Royal Blue cover to cover, start another book, and for James to come check on him “Regulus? You’ve been in here for hours are you alright?” Regulus who was halfway through his second book “Oh, hi James, I’m alright. Just lost track of time. What’s up?” James leaned down and kissed the top of Regulus’ head “Remus called, said you hadn’t been answering calls or texts, so I told him I would check on you” “Oh, I think my phone is in the room” “Ok, I’ll grab it” James got up to get Regulus’ phone. “Here you go” James handed Regulus his phone plopping down in the chair next to him. “Thanks, Jamie” he opened his phone. 2 new messages from Remus, 1 missed call from Remus. So, he opened Remus’ chats.
Remus: How was dinner?
Remus: Sorry, I didn't mean to call, Sirius bumped my phone
Regulus: Dinner was good!
Remus: Good, Sirius said Effie and Monty loved you
Regulus: Apparently Effie to James ‘‘You aren't allowed to fuck this up, I like him to much’’
Remus: That sounds like Effie
Regulus: They seem nice, however I now need to learn spanish, or more spanish
Remus: More?
Regulus: I picked some up from James here and there
Remus: Here and there?
Regulus: Yes
Remus: Ok, well I have to get back to work, see you tomorrow?
Regulus: Yup
Regulus turned his phone off and put it on the coffee table. “Reg, have you eaten?” Regulus shook his head “Ok, let me make you some food, what do you want?” “You don’t have to, I’m not really hungry” James remembered what Regulus had told him a couple days ago about his parents, and what they had done to him. “Do you want me to call Pandora?” Regulus shook his head, “No, she has better things to do” James got out of the chair and crouched in front of Regulus “Regulus, she would drop everything for you, and so would I” Regulus shook his head “James I’m fine just go!” James got up and walked out of the library. Once he was in the living room he called Pandora “Pandora, hey um sorry for not texting first, Reg is-” he trailed off “Woah, James calm down, what’s going on?” James took a deep breath “He hasn’t eaten at all today, and when I asked if he wanted me to make something he said he wasn’t hungry, I asked if he wanted me to call you because he had said you or Dorcas would sit with him when stuff like this was going on back in school, he said you had better things to do, I told him we would drop everything for him and he yelled at me. I wasn’t really sure what to do so I called you” “Ok, I’ll be over in like thirty minutes, can you tell me when he woke up and what he’s done today?” “Ok, yeah, um, he got up at 10:30 i think, then he just went to the library and he’s been in there since” “Ok, I’ll be over in a little under thirty minutes, I’ll bring some of his comfort foods, you get hamilton queued so when I eventually get him out of the library he has familiar to watch, ok?” James was already moving to find the remote. “Ok, yeah, is there anything else I can do?” “Make sure he has a book, blanket, and water near the couch” James found the remote and got Hamilton ready, grabbed a book, a soft blanket, and Regulus’ water bottle. He put them all next to the couch, “Ok, I’ve got everything” “Ok, thanks James, for now just leave him be, I’ll be ther in about twenty to twenty five minutes ok?” “Ok. Bye Pandora” “Bye James, thanks for calling” Pandora hung up and drove to Regulus’ flat. James sat at the dining table and tried to get some work done, but failed to do so. After about twenty minutes of staring at his laptop screen trying to get work done, he heard the jingle of keys. Pandora came in with a takeout bag, “Library right?” James nodded. “Ok, thanks for calling” “yeah” Pandora sat the takeout bag down on the kitchen counter and hurried to the library. Regulus was sitting in his chair, wrapped in a blanket, book in hand. “Regulus?” Pandora, of course James called her. He sighed “Yes?”. “Listen, I know your not happy that he called me, but I brough takeout” “I already told James I’m not hungry” “I know, but you need to eat. I can call Dorcas or you can eat the food I brought you and tell me what the fuck is going on” she stood in front of him glaring down at him “Well? Which one is it?” “You don’t need to call D, she has better things to do, and so do you!” “I’m not leaving until you talk, I don’t care if it takes days, your gonna talk one way or another” Regulus just rolled his eyes, “Fine, you want to know what the fuck is going on!? Remus is gonna propose to Sirius, Evan’s gonna propose to Barty, you and Lily have Mary, everything is changing, and I can’t do anything!. James is probably sick of me, you probably are to” he doesn’t know when this started but he was sobbing. Pandora knelt down and hugged him “Regulus, neither of us are sick of you, and if I could do anything to slow down the change I would” “I know, It’s just all so much, so fast and I can’t do anything. I just- I just want it all to stop, and it’s not that I’m not happy for all of you guys, because I am. It just all happened so suddenly” Pandora just kept hugging him. Twentyish minutes later he and Pandora made it out of the library and to the couch. On the way out Pandora had grabbed the food. James started Hamilton and sat down on the couch. Pandora finally got Regulus to eat. When he finished eating he curled up at James’ side and whispered “I’m sorry” James turned to face him, “Regulus, you have nothing to be sorry about”