Never Have I Ever
James Potter is fucked, he wants to get fucked. By one boy in particular. A boy who only gets cuter by the day. James can't help himself when Regulus pops up on his Instagram or a video or edit of him comes up on his TikTok, the people love the rookie driver. And most people have eyes, they can see that he is a good-looking person. And James squeals like a schoolgirl when this happens. Or he just kinda stares at it for a while.
But today he has work to do, the F1 social media managers have scheduled something for the socials. Most of F1 is just social stuff; interviews, videos for YouTube or TikTok, talking to people, blah, blah, blah. All that stuff, James normally enjoys it. And the things the social media managers set up are normally fun, and it gives James a chance to learn more about the other drivers. Well one time he had to do a video with Snape, it didn't go well.
When he arrived at the track, he had to fly to Paris so he would need to find a hotel to stay in for the night, since he needed to get back to London for training. But Paris is only a few hours from his flat, a short plane ride. And being rich comes with perks, for example, a private jet paid for by Ferrari. Fully red with the Ferrari horse largely plastered. It was pretty cool.
The sun was high in the sky, it was almost noon, and the air was still cool as it was early March. Paris was slightly chillier than London, but less rain and the sky was clear. The sun and lack of wind helped make it feel warmer than it is. London didn't have that luxury. He had to train in the rain most of the time because of the London weather. Paris wasn't as wet, it was nice. He wouldn't mind living here.
To accommodate for the weather, he was wearing a red Ferrari crewneck, jeans, and red Converse. His favourite colour since childhood was red, so it was lucky that he got signed with Ferrari.
“James! Over here!” He heard Mary shout, she had been talking to someone. James could see even from afar his short stature and black curls. Regulus Black.
Oh.
Oh.
Well, that's different from what he expected. Regulus looked at him and turned back to Mary, continuing their conversation.
“Hi, Regulus. Now it makes sense that I need to be in Paris.” James said smiling. Regulus had on a black sweater and a Mercedes hat; small curls peeking out around his head. He looked adorable. A bit tired, probably from workouts and practices. James felt the same, though he probably didn't look as good as Reg, maybe he is a tad biased. (As we all know, James Potter is a good-looking fella.)
“Sorry, you had to fly. I could have gone to London.” Regulus cocked his head as he spoke, a strand of hair falling in his eyes.
“Oh, no biggie. Paris is much nicer than London right now. It has been raining for probably two weeks straight. Can barely go out of my flat if it isn't for work.” They both smiled at each other and then turned to Mary.
She explained what they were doing: Never Have I Ever. James hasn't played it with F1 yet, but Sirius has done it with Remus. He said it was fun. They would set up a camera and answer questions Mary asked by holding up one side of the paddle.
“Okay, let us begin. We will start easy, Never Have I ever snuck out as a teenager?” James quickly put up the Never side, his parents let him stay out or go anywhere as long as they knew where he was. He had no reason to sneak out. He turned to Reg, who had the I have side showing. James raised an eyebrow.
“I had strict parents, it was the only way to go on dates.” he shrugged. That was far. James knew Regulus had never been into girls, and he also knew that the Blacks weren't very open to that. Regulus has never ‘come out’ to the world. But people just kind of assume because he had never been spotted with a girl or publicly had a girlfriend. He had been seen a little closer to Barty than normal once though. Most people chose to ignore it, Orion and Walburga included.
“Okay, next. Never have I ever googled myself?” They both put up what I have. You can't blame them, you would do the same.
“I’ll do it and then tell myself never again, and then I do it again,” James admits and Reg nods.
“It is mostly rude stuff, or, umm, well, inappropriate stuff,” Regulus says that is true for both of them. But Regulus has dealt with comments like that since he was young, disturbingly young. People see a famous child that they think is good-looking and will say whatever they want. And Regulus was famously known for being an adorable little kid. Dimples, curls, big eyes. Everything, he still had all these things. And people still love him for it. James was also known as a cute kid, not like Regulus, but still, people thought he was cute when his parents brought him somewhere. Chubby face, brown eyes, and a love for his dad that he showed when at a race
“Never have I ever done something crazy to an ex? This is a little broad but whatever.” James put up the Never side, he has had exes but nothing ended badly, it was always mutual. Regulus had the opposite though.
“I am not sure if this is crazy, I think I was valid. But they cheated on me, so I stole their microwave plate. It wasn't anything super big, but a large inconvenience I think.” James isn't sure what comes over him but he bursts out laughing at the story.
“OK, don't cross Regulus. He will steal your microwave plate.” James says through laughs, looking down to see a smiling Regulus. His grin isn't large, but it's humorous.
“Really, for how long?” Mary asked, clearly invested in the story.
“Oh, I still have it in a box back at my flat if anyone wants it.” Regulus laughed along with James who only continued to lose control of himself.
They went through the rest of the interview, all of the questions were decently normal and sparked some conversation. In the end, they were all talking about the Saudi Arabian GP.
“How are you feeling about it, Reg? Second race in F1.” James asked, hecouldn imagine Regulus was probably nervous, and he set up such a high expectation last Prix.
“I don't know, I think ok. I like driving at night.” Regulus avoided eye contact and messed with his hat in his hands. Yep, James was right. But Regulus has every right to feel that way. Sirius mentioned their parents were going to be there.
Haves the Mercedes engineers done anything new with the car?” Mary asks, directing her question to Reg.
“Yeah, they mentioned airflow to make the car drive easier. And it will help make my DSR faster. But they're not establishing it fully till Australia or Japan. Honestly, the whole engineering part has never been my best strength. My job is just to drive, I tried to help one time and got yelled at. I touched something I wasn't supposed to.” Regulus' story made James laugh.
“Do you all want to get lunch?” James offered. “I am here till the morning so I have some time before my manager finds a hotel.”
“You're staying in a hotel? No, I have an extra room, you can stay with me. Don't argue James, really you've never stayed in Paris before. It would be best.” Regulus argues James agrees, trying to hide the fact that he is elated by the idea of staying with Reg. “Do you need a place, Mary?”
“No, I stay here all the time. I have a go-to hotel, and I have been looking forward to staying there again.” Regulus nods at the words and they all go to a cafe Regulus knows.
James has something with a long French name that Regulus tried to teach him to pronounce, Regulus has a salad, and Mary has some sort of croissant sandwich. It looked good. And Mary left them at the table to go to her hotel.
“Do you have your stuff, we can return to my place?” Regulus asked when the check arrived, he reached for it but was beaten by James who swiftly grabbed it. He looked up and frowned but James just smiled victoriously. There is no way in hell he is letting Reggie pay.
“I do, it’s in my locker back at the track.” Regulus nodded and stood when it was paid.
They both got James's stuff and got Reg's car to leave. It was nicer on the inside. Perfectly clean, markless leather seats, a fresh scent James couldn’t quite put his finger on because it mixed with Regulus’ smell of Strawberry and tea- it was one of James’ favourite things about him. He had a nice touchscreen thing on the front and heated seats. Music automatically played from his phone when they stepped in. James smiled as Last Goodbye started playing.
When they arrived at Reg’s flat the only thing James could think was ‘This is very Regulus’
Regulus’ flat was spacious and well decorated. It had a large sitting room with sofas that looked like a dream to sit on, multiple large windows directly facing the Eiffel Tower, a few vast bookshelves, and a grand piano. Pieces of art scattered on the walls, all looked like oil, Regulus didn't seem like a modern art type of guy. He had multiple guest rooms, all nicely furnished with the largest beds and plenty of room. He had plants everywhere, and the kitchen was large but not too big it looked easy to manoeuvre but not like a commercial kitchen, just the right size. It had an island so you could sit while the other person cooked. Everything was spotless, but it looked lived in and cosy; the floors were clean,and tables were dusted, but books were scattered and there were a few blankets. He had a few pictures of his friends and trophies won from racing.
“Your room is all set up, I have to leave for a few hours but I'll be back soon and we will have something for dinner.”
Regulus stepped out the door and James was alone, staring at the Eiffel Tower still thinking of two large green and grey eyes.