Almost kisses
"Those assholes! I was just trying to talk to my brother!" ranted Sirius. He'd been complaining about the incident since breakfast, and it was currently lunch. Regulus and his friends were still nowhere to be seen.
Nobody else seemed to notice, but James saw a flicker of hurt on Regulus' face this morning. He also saw Regulus whisper to Pandora for help, and James wondered why. Truly, he was confused. Both Regulus' hurt expression and his declaration of hatred were playing over and over in his head like a broken record.
Remus put a hand on Sirius' shoulder, making him stop talking, and from what James could see, Sirius stopped breathing as well.
"Padfoot, you will see him tonight. It really doesn't matter what happened this morning," he smiled gently before adding, in the same kind tone, "now please shut the fuck up."
Sirius smiled back at him and rolled his eyes, his cheeks slightly red. He frowned, however, when Remus removed his hand from his shoulder.
Tonight, they were going to write their essay on Amortentia since the potion was now fully brewed and in a little bottle. They had agreed to meet in the Gryffindor dorms since they met in the Slytherin ones last time, but James wasn't sure how that was going to go, especially after the events this morning. Another thing, which he probably should have worried about earlier, was telling the others what he smelled in the Amortentia. According to the project, they had to 'compare and contrast' what they each smelled. And James had a feeling that Sirius wouldn't be very happy to hear that James, his best friend, smelled Regulus, his little brother, in a love potion.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dorcas Meadows, one of Regulus' friends, walking to the Gryffindor table. At the same time, Marlene started coughing and adjusting her hair. She has had a crush on Dorcas since year one and did not hide it well.
Dorcas stopped when she came to the Marauders' group. She looked at them with a polite smile, but the rage was clear in her eyes.
"Regulus is... sick," she stated simply, and Sirius raised an eyebrow.
"Really? Because that's 100% believable," Remus told her, and she frowned.
"Believe it or not, it's not my problem," she rolled her eyes. Dorcas was about to leave, but before she did, she added, "and stay the fuck away from him, Black.
"He's my fucking brother, Meadows."
"Not anymore."
Dorcas walked away, leaving Sirius a bit stunned
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Dinner had just finished, and there was no sign of the Slytherin group. James was worried, so he may have stalked Regulus just a little bit.
It wasn't really stalking; he just happened to glance at the map, then happened to wait till he saw Regulus leave his dorm, then happened to see Regulus go to the Astronomy Tower. Then happened to run at the speed of light to the Astronomy Tower. It was just a pure coincidence that he saw Regulus at the Astronomy Tower.
"Hey," he smiled, and he saw Regulus give a startled jump. He was sitting down with his knees to his stomach, looking at the stars. He looked majestic.
"You look really sick," teased James, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he came and sat down next to Regulus.
"What do you want, Potter?" he snapped, frustration in his voice, and James frowned.
"You seemed upset this morning. Why?" he asked, and Regulus glared at him with so much anger.
"You're an idiot if you don't know"
OH.
That's when James' brain made the obvious connection.
The fact that Sirius ran away and Regulus didn't want to. Regulus must have felt abandoned. He must be angry at Sirius still.
"You want a hug?" asked James, and Regulus looked at him as if he had just said he wanted to throw him off the Astronomy Tower. They went back to sitting in silence, Regulus staring at the stars. James was staring at the only star that mattered to him. The most beautiful one of them all. The boy sitting beside him.
"You're beautiful," he blurted out, and he realized he made a mistake when Regulus looked at him with pure shock... and just... confusion. "I'm sorry, I just—" James said quickly, trying to save himself from possibly being hexed by Regulus. "Thanks... I guess." Regulus interrupted. He spoke softly, and his cheeks were slightly red.
James inched closer, and Regulus didn't comment on it. His heart pounded; Regulus and he both refused to break eye contact.
"You really are, you know?"
"What?"
"Beautiful. Probably the prettiest person I've ever met," he said. He wasn't thinking; he was too close to Regulus to think. And as far as he could tell, Regulus wasn't breathing either.
"I'm sorry," Regulus breathed out, and James was instantly confused.
"For what?" he asked, and Regulus took a deep breath. "I said that I hated you. I didn't mean that," he mumbled, his gaze dropping down to James's lips.
"It's alright," James smiled, leaning a bit closer. It was now or never. Regulus seemed to lean closer too.
They were only inches apart and James' heart was running a marathon. James put his hand on Regulus' shoulder, but this ended up being a mistake because Regulus let out a small gasp and moved away.
So it was never...
They were about to kiss, at least that's what James thinks was going to happen. James cursed himself; Regulus was straight. Obviously. And he was Sirius', James' best friend's, little brother. Merlin, he has gone mental.
"I'm sorry- I have to go," Regulus said quickly before basically sprinting away.
Well... at least Regulus said that he didn't hate James? He was taking this as a win.
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When Regulus got into his common room, he wasn't breathing. So when he finally made it into the dorm rooms, he was truly a dead man walking.
He thought arguing with Slughorn about changing groups, only to be denied, was going to be the highlight of his day. Or maybe it was the fact that his brother and his friends almost killed each other in the Great Hall. But no, it was almost kissing JAMES. FUCKING. POTTER.
"Reg? What's wrong?" asked Barty. He shot up, as did Dorcas and Evan. Pandora was currently with her potions group, so she didn't get to witness Regulus panting and drunkenly sitting down on Evan's bed, where the others sat.
"I almost kissed him," mumbled Regulus. He was in a daze and didn't register what he was saying.
"WHAT?!" they all screamed in unison. Oh right, they don't know. Oops.
"Who the fuck did you almost kiss, Reg?" asked Dorcas, and Regulus sighed.
Regulus bit his lip and sighed again. His friends were always so good to him; they deserved to know.
"I'm going to tell you this, but no making fun of me."
"No promises," Evan said immediately, and the others murmured that they would, in fact, make fun of Regulus.
"Potter."
Shrieks. Screams. High-pitched noises. That's what Regulus heard and what made him go deaf.
"I've liked him for so long and—agh, I'm an idiot."
"How long?"
"OH MERLIN, REGGIE, HOW LONG HAVE YOU LIKED HIM?"
"Since I was 11."
"You're so fucked," laughed Barty, and Regulus groaned.
"Now, tell us about this almost-kiss," Dorcas said. And Regulus did; he explained it in detail. His friends, being so amazing, did not stay true to their word; in fact, they made fun of Regulus. Pandora, who was supposed to be the nice one, joined in on the teasing once she arrived.