“Reg, I'm home!” James shouted entering the apartment. He closed the door behind him and took his coat off. He was a little confused when he didn’t receive an answer immediately. “Reg?” He went to the living room. Regulus wasn’t there. He must be upstairs or something. James made his way to the stairs, shouting Regulus’ name once again.
No answer.
He went upstairs and that’s when he heard water running. Ah, That’s why he didn’t receive an answer.
He was about to go back downstairs, when a soft sound stopped him. He frowned, his ears pricking. A sob came from the bathroom, which made him very concerned. He neared the bathroom door to make sure he heard what he thought he was hearing. He put his ear to the door, listening carefully. There it was again. A few soft sobs. Carefully knocking on the door, he called Regulus’ name.
“Reg?” No reaction came and the crying didn’t stop. “Regulus, are you alright?” He asked concernedly, but still no answer came. “Reg, can I come in?” When once again no answer came, James carefully pushed the doorhandle down and opened the door.
There Regulus was, sitting in the shower, fully clothed, knees drawn to his chest and his head against his knees. James approached him silently, getting in the shower as well and sitting down next to him. He put an arm around the distraught boy in an attempt to comfort him. Regulus didn’t react to it, but let him.
“Hey,” James spoke softly. “What's going on? You're getting completely soaked in here. Are you alright?”
Regulus choked out a sob, pulling his knees tighter.
“Talk to me, Reg. Maybe I can help.”
Regulus’ sobs became worse and James pulled him into his arms. Regulus kept on crying, his body shaking with every sob and James was getting soaked as well. His hair was sticking to his forehead and his glasses were covered with water drops.
“I'm sorry…” Regulus mumbled after he started to calm down.
“What for? You didn’t do anything.” James rubbed his back.
“You're all soaked because of me..” Regulus said sadly.
“You don’t have to be sorry for that, I got in the shower myself.” James assured. “What's going on, Reg? Why are you crying in the shower?”
“It's just all too much…” Regulus muttered.
“What is?” James asked gently.
“That bloody feeling I get… I can't deal with it.”
“What feeling?”
Regulus let out a deep sigh and muttered something inaudible.
“I'm sorry, I didn’t catch that.” James said softly.
“I think I'm falling for you, James.” Regulus confessed.
James heart skipped a beat at this. “… Why would you be crying in the shower for that?” He asked after a moment of silence.
“Because you're… well, you're not into men you know… it's hard…” Regulus sighed.
“Who said I wasn’t?” James frowned incredulously. Regulus looked up at him for the first time since James entered the bathroom.
“I thought… but you… Aren't you straight?” Regulus looked at him in utter confusion. James almost laughed at that.
“Me straight? Yeah right, and Sirius isn't bonkers about Remus. I'm as straight as cooked spaghetti, Reg. I'm pansexual. Didn’t Sirius tell you?”
“No, he didn’t. And since you dated Lily for so long, I assumed you were straight…” Regulus said, blushing.
“I'm not. Just because I dated a girl doesn’t mean I'm not attracted to other genders.”
“I know, I just… couldn’t afford to get my hopes up..” Regulus let his head hang.
“You're not getting your hopes up, Reggie. I'm not straight, and I like you. I've fancied you for a while now.”
“You have?” Regulus furrowed his brows.
“Yes,” James laughed. “You drive me mad.”
Regulus blushed. “So.. What now?” He asked after a short moment of silence. James shrugged with a soft smile on his lips.
“I don’t know, we can do whatever we want. I'd be happy to have a relationship with you, but being friends is good for me as well.” He got up and offered Regulus a hand. “Come on, let's get out of the shower, yeah? Sirius can be home any minute.” Regulus took his hand and got up as well.
“James.” He said, stopping the boy as he was about to leave the shower. James hummed in response, turning to him. Regulus pressed his lips to James’ as soon as he had turned, taking him completely by surprise. James moaned softly, kissing the younger boy back. They pulled away with smiles, pressing their foreheads together. Regulus giggled, burying his head in James’ soaked shirt. James put his hand on Regulus’ cheek and tilted his head up, leaning in to kiss him again, much to Regulus’ delight.
When Sirius came back home only minutes later, he was surprised to find the house empty. Or at least the ground floor.
“Oi! Reg, Prongs! Where are ya?” He shouted from the bottom of the stairs. Regulus pulled away from James immediately, startled by his older brother.
“Upstairs!” James shouted back. He was just as startled. They heard footsteps come up the stairs and both scurried out of the shower as quickly as they could.
“’Ello mate, you in there?” Sirius knocked on the bathroom door.
“Yeah, I'm here.” James answered, eyeing Regulus.
“Where’s that brother of mine?” James gave Regulus a panicked look and frantically waved with his hands. Regulus gestured towards the door intensively, the look on his face just as panicked as James’.
“He's here with me.” James answered to which Regulus’ eyes widened and his gestures became fiercer. That wasn’t what he meant, then.
“Really? What are you guys doing in there? Weren't snogging ma brother, were ya Prongs?” Sirius laughed, but James and Regulus were panicking even more now. “Can I come in?”
“Er.. no!” James shouted quickly. Regulus gave him an incredulous look and kicked him in the chin. James had to bite his tongue not to cry out.
“He means yes,” Regulus said, sounding fairly calm compared to his facial expression from only moments ago. “He's just joking.” He glared at James. The door handle was pushed down and moments later Sirius’ hand appeared around the corner, with his typical grin plastered on his face.
“What are you two doing in here? Why are you all soaked?” He frowned amused, clearly oblivious.
“We uhm..” Regulus stammered. “We…”
“We went into the shower!” James said quickly, earning raised eyebrows from both Black brothers. “I dared Reg to shower with his clothes on and he pulled me into the shower as well.” He bit his lip slightly, hoping Sirius would buy it. He didn’t even dare glancing at Regulus. Sirius frowned for a few seconds, but then his expression changed to wicked smile.
“What a bonkers idea Prongs! I can't believe you went along with that, little brother. Seems like you're finally starting to see the fun in life.” He rubbed his hands. “You two get changed, I brought food.” Sirius left the bathroom and went downstairs. James let out a heavy sigh and leaned against the sink.
“A dare to shower with clothes on? Seriously?” Regulus raised an eyebrow at him. “You couldn’t think of anything better?”
“Like you knew anything better! And he bought it! Clearly!” James exclaimed indignantly.
“Yeah, you’re lucky he did.” Regulus grumbled, wringing his clothes. “Right, Imma go get changed.” He left the bathroom and went to his room where he got changed. When he opened the door to leave his room he saw James who had been about to knock on his door. Regulus looked expectantly at him.
“I…” The Gryffindor flushed a sweet pink and he looked at his feet. “I.. er… I just… What are we? Are we… you know uhm…”
Regulus couldn’t help but think that James was incredibly adorable when he was all shy and flustered like he was in that moment.
“James, I don’t think this is a good moment to discuss this.” Regulus said. “Sirius is waiting with dinner downstairs, you know..”
“Right,” James nodded, still not looking at Regulus. He turned away from him. “Let's go have dinner then.” He cleared his throat. God he was adorable.
“James.” Regulus said once again. James turned back to him, confusion clear in his features. Regulus stood on his tiptoes, pressed a brief kiss to his lips and then proceeded to make his way downstairs with a smile on his face.