Ventures in knowledge
A week had passed, and Regulus was feeling much better. He had been staying at James's house. And today was the first day he had really left his room. He made his way downstairs.
Besides sitting in the drawing room waiting for his brother to arrive he really hadn’t seen much point in coming downstairs. He ate alone in his room, he appreciated the space. Time to get his thoughts and plans together. He was still deciding whether he should stay here or leave.
Regulus was unsure if he was welcome to stay, but James had made no sign that he should leave, and so he did not.
He actually had not seen much of the viscount, except daily before he went to Bed. James made sure he was okay. and that he was comfortable. But other than that they rarely saw each other. Regulus was glad, because seeing James. the way he did, it reminded him of the ball. And the way James had made him feel, the way the man's touch lit a fire under his skin.
Stalking out of the door he made his way down the stairs, he told one of the servants where he was going in case anyone came looking. He made his way quickly outside carrying one of the books James had given him.
The garden was beautiful. It had many trees and flowers. Some bushes. There was a path that went straight through the middle, and some smaller ones off to the side. Regulus took a deep breath, the fresh air was a nice contrast from the stuffy house. He sat down on a nearby bench and opened the book.
The sun was out, and the sky was clear. The weather was nice, and not too hot or cold. There was a light breeze that rustled the leaves. Regulus felt content.
"There you are." A voice spoke.
He looked up and saw James. He was wearing a suit. He always looked nice wearing a suit. "Hello." He said as he waited for James’s inevitable question.
"How are you feeling?” The older man asked.
“I’m fine James, I’m not going to drown on air or suffocate on a tree branch."
"I didn’t think that Reggie" James said. "But if you need anything just tell me"
"Thank you, James, but I will be fine"
James nodded and went to sit down, the man had a few papers with him. He assumed it was some work he had to finish. Regulus went back to his book.
It was a nice moment.
They sat in silence.
It was nice.
They both sat like that for a few minutes until Regulus looked up from his book, "what are those papers for?" he asked the man. James had been shuffling them and the noise had caught him off guard.
"Nothing." The man said, and placed them back into his coat.
This only made Regulus wonder what was on them. He began to realize over these past ew days that he didn't know much about James Potter. While his brother had become very good friends with the man he never found himself actually paying any attention to what Sirius had told him about the viscount.
"So, have you heard from my parents?"
James looked at him, "no, not since I hit Lucius."
"Ah, yes. Thank you, by the way. for punching him. He deserved it."
"Yeah. He did" James said.
There was another bout of silence between the two of them. James shuffled some more papers. And Regulus could not focus on his book, he was curious what the man had with him. though he did not want to ask out loud he did not like not being informed of things. or things being kept from him.
"you can tell me what the papers are, James, I'm not a child you know," he said to the man.
James looked at him and smiled that small smile he had missed seeing, "It's a part of a recent botany project that I have been working on, well not recent. I have been working on it for well over a year now. " he said to the younger man. "i have a friend who is a botanist, and a great one at that. his name is Peter. He has helped me a lot with this. it has a lot to do with plants and how they grow and what they need to survive. " he explained feeling the need to keep going.
Regulus watched him with intrigment, he didn't give a damn about plants but with a voice like James potters, he could listen to him talk for hours.
"And the reason I have been trying to figure out why certain flowers are able to live and other flowers are not. it's not for science or any of that. I was just curious. and it's taken forever. and I just can't get it right." James explained to him. "i have no idea why i told you all of that, its stupid"
"It does not sound stupid. you are a viscount. and yet, you choose to work and learn and help people. you are not lazy, nor are you stupid. You are quite the opposite. and I enjoy listening to you. so please continue."
"I have to go soon, but we can talk more about it later." James said to him.
Regulus was sure he had a lot of work to be done, he knew the old Viscount had died a year ago making James have to step into the title early and take after his father. be a more adult person than he was most likely ready to be. Regulus understood that he couldn't even remember a time where he was allowed to be a child. it was always he had to act like the superior person he was. it didn't matter if he wanted to cry or maybe or go out and play with the other children, he couldn't. those things were beneath him.
which is why he supposed he couldn't cry around anyone else besides his brother.
He doubted he could do that now.
"You should go. I know you have work to do." Regulus told him.
James got up and put the papers back into his coat, and then placed his hand on the top of Regulus's head, he ran his fingers through his hair, "you'll always have a place here Regulus, as long as i am alive." he said. the younger didn't feel the need to respond. James would just brush him off with that stupid smile and laugh, if he thanked him so he stayed silent as he walked away leaving him alone like he was before.
he wasn't sure what his future held anymore, but it seemed it was something more than what he had planned for.
He hoped that would be a good thing.
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Soon enough Regulus went back inside and it seemed he was called down to dinner, he assumed James had told the staff that he would be joining him since he was feeling better, which was nice.
Regulus sat across from the Viscount at the table, they were silent, the sound of the cutlery clinking against the plates was the only noise in the room.
"so.." Regulus looked up. James was smiling, "I hope you were going to be staying here a bit longer"
"yes, I suppose i will"
James chuckled, "You don't have to say yes, if you don't want to, i know this is not exactly proper or maybe even comfortable with you, you and Sirius not being in the best of places, and not being able to go back to that home, if you can even call it that" james told him. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to, I will understand."
"no, James. I think it's for the best if I stay here." Regulus explained. "I mean, what other options do I have?" he said.
"thank you for taking me in though, even if im nothing but a stranger to you in most areas" yes they had kissed but that didn't mean they knew each other or loved each other. or anything like that.
"You're not a stranger Regulus, I know your name and age. and the color of your eyes. and the way your nose scrunches up when you laugh." James explained to him.
"That doesn't make me not a stranger."
"no. I guess it doesn't. But, I can't imagine you living anywhere else. I can't see you leaving this place." James said.
Regulus sat down the drink he was holding and looked into James' eyes. he didnt say anything. James looked flustered after saying it, the tips of his ears turned a bright shade of red.
"I don't know why I just told you that."
"Because you're an idiot. that's why."
James laughed. Regulus was not wrong. His laugh was like honey to his ears. James looked back into the younger eyes and smiled. Regulus looked down at his plate.
"I think I'm going to stay up and read tonight, I have a book that I need to finish." Regulus said changing the subject.
"okay, if you need anything i'll be in the study, or my room"
"Thank you."
Regulus finished his food and got up, the two had a pleasant conversation while eating, James talked about the plants and how they worked. and Regulus listened. He wasn't bored. and it seemed the Viscount was interested in his opinion as well, he didn't really know anything about botany, or plants. But James did not care and kept talking, he seemed happy that he could talk to him.
Regulus felt a warmness spread in his chest.
"Goodnight." James said as he left the room.
"Goodnight."
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It was late at night when Regulus woke up, he took some deep breaths trying to calm his racing heart. A bad dream had pulled him from his sleep. they had been happening more often ever since the incident. as much as Regulus wanted to say it didn't affect him. it did.
He got out of bed and made his way out into the hallway. He decided it would be a good idea to go down and get something to drink, his mouth was dry and he needed the cool water to help him calm his nerves.
Water.
It was a funny thought, while he had no aversion to drinking it, it took a lot of convincing of himself to take a bath after that night with Lucius. He eventually brought himself to do it, but it was no easy feat and he found himself out of the water in no more than 3 minutes.
He walked down the hallway. He could see the light was still on in the study. He made his way quietly past the room and downstairs. As he was filling his cup with water, a noise came from the other room.
The door opened and he heard footsteps walking towards him, it initially made his heart jump, but soon enough he realized that it was James walking towards him, and not his parents or someone else. Regulus looked up at him, and saw the look on his face. James looked angry, the anger on his face made his blood run cold, but as quickly as it came. it disappeared and he smiled softly, he leaned back against the wall and watched the younger pour his glass.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Regulus nodded, "Just a dream. I'm fine."
"You want to talk about it?"
Regulus shook his head.
"Okay"
James grabbed his own cup and filled it with the water, the two were silent, James was looking at him, he could tell. He didn't know what for, but he was. "Are you sure you're okay?" James asked.
"I'm sure, '' Regulus said, though it wasn't true.
James looked at him with a sad smile and silence was all that sat between them for a few seconds, Regulus took a sip of his water. The older man was wearing a nightshirt and some loose pants, the kind of attire that Regulus had never seen him in before. The man always looked good but this was just different. It felt more intimate, seeing him like this. though they were living in the same household. it just felt more personal.
the man sat his cup down on the counter, " Fancy a distraction? I do not see you being able to go back to bed at the moment " he told him, looking Regulus up and down.
"What kind of distraction?"
"well, you're already dressed for a walk, and it is a beautiful night out."
"You want me to take a walk with you." Regulus said.
"I wouldn't be opposed."
Regulus thought for a moment. A distraction was exactly what he needed, and a walk sounded like a good idea.
"Okay, let's go."