You’re the perfect storm
And I wanna hear the rain
You’re my favourite nightmare
And for one I’m not scared
You made a good impression
You make me wanna question
Every little thing
(CyberGirlfriend)
Friday
“You told your mother?”
James simply shrugs. “You know I tell her everything.”
“And what did she say?”
“That we’re going to fall in love.”
Lily raises an eyebrow. “Well, yeah, isn’t that the idea? Enjoy our weekend in the countryside, find a nice guy for you and a cute girl for me.”
He gives her a look. “I’m pretty sure she meant with each other. Me and you.”
“Oh.” a pause. “Yeah, no thank you. I don’t make the same mistake twice.”
He snorts. “Thanks.”
She playfully hits his arm. “You know what I mean.”
He smiles because he does. Lily was James’ first girlfriend and he will cherish the short time they were together until the day he dies.
Things didn’t work out. Sometimes love is not enough to keep a relationship alive and that’s okay.
Their friends often comment on their odd friendship. Remus and Sirius in particular were sceptical about their weekend getaway to Cornwall, having seen first hand the mess they both were when they broke up.
But that is all in the past.
Now they are walking the beautiful cobbled streets of Truro, admiring the architecture and enjoying the sunset with an overpriced iced coffee on one hand and a portion of hevva cake on the other.
Life couldn’t be better.
Except it could.
James sees it in every couple that walks by. Stolen glances, whispered secrets, reassuring touches. He misses that. He yearns for it. To love and be loved.
Not that he isn’t loved. He knows he is loved by his parents and his friends. But he is a hopeless romantic at heart. He believes in soulmates and crossed star lovers. But in all honesty he is starting to think he will never find his person. At least not in this life.
Since he and Lily broke up his dating life has been a complete mess, not that it wasn’t already one before her.
Lily was James first girlfriend but not his first partner. Before her he had two boyfriends. He broke up with his first boyfriend, Frank, right after the latter started college. James still had one highschool year ahead of him and he didn’t want to tie Frank down to him.
His second relationship has been his longest one so far, it lasted almost his entire four college years. James doesn’t like talking about Gideon. They were wrong for each other. They hurt each other in irreparable ways.
A couple years later, fresh out of the worst situationship of his life, came Lily. He hasn’t had a real relationship since then. He dates around and has had a couple of situationships but nothing that lasts.
Peter once said James could see his transition as a clean slate, a restart to his dating life. James thinks about it fairly often. He wouldn’t really mind erasing what he had with Frank, Gideon or Benjy - especially what happened with Benjy-, but he would never want to erase what he shared with Lily.
James has many regrets in life. Loving Lily Evans will never be one of them. He will always love her, even if that love takes a different shape.
Their relationship was eye opening in many ways.
“Sometimes I wish I could remove my breasts.” said James to Lily once, as they laid in bed together.
“God me too.” Lily agreed. “I wish they were detachable so I could wear them depending on the mood or the outfit.”
They both laughed at that.
“Sometimes I wish I had a dick.” James confessed.
The silence that followed was deafening.
“Hm.” Lily hesitated. “I don’t think I see the appeal, no.”
Months after their break up, when James figured out he was trans they both laughed remembering the awkward interaction.
“We should get going or we’ll be late to our massage appointment.” says Lily, pulling James away from his thoughts.
He looks at his watch because yes, he is a watch guy thank you very much. They have barely enough time to make it.
-
Lily doesn’t miss the way the masseuse -Marlene, according to her name tag- quickly glances at James’ top surgery scars as he removes his shirt.
“Nice tats.” she says instead, now looking at the stag horns tattooed on James’ lower abdomen.
James smiles. “Thanks.”
If it bothers her that he is trans she doesn’t show it.
“Ready?” asks Mary, Lily’s masseuse.
Lily bashfully smiles. “Right.”
Funny enough this weekend getaway started with an offhand comment James made about how it would be nice if they go get a massage together. One thing led to the other and they ended up travelling all the way to Cornwall.
Lily is glad they did because Mary’s hands are magical.
Her touch is gentle but firm. She applies the right amount of pressure in all the right places. If Marlene is just as good as Mary, Lily worries James might start crying mid massage. He’s been feeling particularly touch starved for months.
Once the massages are done they turn around as Mary and Marlene prepare everything for their facials.
“That was lovely, Marlene, thank you.” Lily hears James whisper.
“How long have you guys been together?” Mary asks out of nowhere.
James honest to god giggles.
Lily rolls her eyes. “We’re just friends.”
“Oh, my bad. I didn’t mean to make assumptions.” Mary says.
“It’s okay.”
“But you’re not entirely wrong, we dated.” James unhelpfully adds. “Years ago. No bad blood between us.”
Marlene stifles a laugh. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay, you can laugh.” James grins.
“I keep asking him to stop telling people we were together but he thinks it’s funny.”
“It is funny.” James pouts. “People react in all sorts of ways. It never gets old.”
“How are we supposed to find ourselves dates if you keep telling everyone we’re exes?”
James takes some time to respond. “Well, you got me there.”
Mary and Marlene laugh unapologetically.
“If one of you ladies was considering asking Lily out don’t stop on my account. She’s great, I would know. Highly recommended.”
Lily groans. “I hate you.”
“No, you don’t.”
She really doesn’t.
“I for one am happily married.” Marlene says.
“Where are you guys staying?” Mary asks.
“At the Newquay Beach Hotel.” James replies.
Neither James or Lily can see Mary and Marlene exchange a conspiratorial look.
“There’s a party not that far from there tomorrow night.” Mary says.
Marlene smiles. “We’re going with some of our friends, perhaps we could introduce you to someone.”
Lily can feel her cheeks burning. “Oh I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?” James all but shouts. “Don’t listen to her, we are definitely going.”
“Perfect.” Mary smiles. “I’ll pick you both up at your hotel and we can go together from there.”
“Your skin is gorgeous.” Marlene tells James, suddenly changing the subject.
“Thanks. You wouldn’t believe how much money I spent on skin care after starting T.”
Lily tenses as she waits for anyone to comment on what James just said. He tends to be very open about his transition whenever he feels comfortable enough but people don’t always take it well.
“It shows. This is clearly the job of a great dermatologist.” Marlene simply says and Lily feels her body relax.
-
“She is totally flirting with you.” James says, mouth full with food.
They are having dinner at a restaurant Sirius and Remus highly recommended and James is convinced that the waitress is flirting with Lily.
The redhead rolls her eyes but there’s a hint of blush on her cheeks. “You always think people are flirting with me.”
“Because everyone should be flirting with you.”
“Well, she isn’t.”
He shrugs his shoulders. “Her loss then.”
The waitress comes back to ask if everything is in order and Lily is thankful James doesn’t say something to embarrass her any further. She’s beautiful. Her voice is soft like velvet and her long platinum blonde hair is tied on a beautiful braid.
Every time her piercing blue eyes meet Lily's, her heart skips a beat.
But she’s clearly just friendly and has great customer service skills. She’s definitely not flirting with Lily.
Except maybe she is.
While James goes briefly to the bathroom the waitress returns to their table to take the empty plates with her. Before leaving she gives Lily their bill alongside a napkin with her phone number written.
When Lily looks up her eyes meet those of the blonde girl. She winks before walking away.
“What’s that?” James asks when he returns from the bathroom.
“Pandora’s phone number.”
“Who?”
“The waitress.”
James beams and Lily immediately regrets telling him. She’s never going to hear the end of this. “I told you.”
Saturday
Against his better judgement he re-downloads Grindr on his phone. Not even five minutes go by before he receives a message.
A dick pic.
An unsolicited dick pic.
The worst part? It is a really nice dick pic.
As he checks the guy’s profile he must admit that he looks quite handsome. KillerB is all covered in tattoos and has a few piercings, including one on his tongue, which has James blushing. If he hadn’t started the conversation with a dick pic James would have loved to go out with him.
But he’s learned his lesson. He no longer goes out with guys who start the conversation with unsolicited dick pics no matter how pretty the picture is or how handsome the man is.
He puts his phone away and sighs.
Lily went out with Pandora and James was left to his own devices. Otherwise he wouldn’t have re-downloaded Grindr, Lily would never have allowed it. She knows about all the bad experiences he’s had as a trans man on a gay dating app.
Since Lily met up with Pandora for lunch, James goes by himself to one of the restaurants on Sirius and Remus’ list.
“Table for one?” asks one of the waiters by the entrance.
James tries not to grimace. “Yes, please.”
They sit him on a nice table by the window. He orders quickly -only because he checked their menu online before coming- and patiently waits for his food.
He takes in the restaurant's decoration, everything is quite put together.
The man sitting on the table in front of him catches his attention. He is by himself, just as James, and seems deep in thought with a book in one hand and a pen on the other. James doesn’t think he’s ever seen such a pretty man.
There’s something familiar about his aristocratic features. His dark curls frame his face beautifully.
The unmistakable sound of a Grindr notification makes the man look up. His eyes are grey like a storm and are now staring at James. Deep into his soul, or at least that’s how it feels.
The man raises an eyebrow and James feels his cheeks heat up in embarrassment.
“I wasn’t-” but before he can finish he gets another notification. James wishes the Earth would swallow him whole right there.
He quickly reaches for his phone and puts it in silence. When he looks back at the handsome man he is clearly stifling a laugh. “Don’t worry. I’m not one to judge. We’ve all been there.”
His voice is as beautiful as he looks. There’s a hint of an accent there, maybe french.
“I don’t even know why I keep downloading it.” James mumbles.
The man shrugs. “It feels good to have validation.”
And he’s right. James still remembers the first time he got on the app. He did so when he finally felt he passed as a cisgender man. He craved the validation of other men. Unfortunately passing didn’t stop the unsavoury messages from transphobes.
Not that passing should be a requirement to have one’s identity respected and validated.
“It does, doesn’t it?” he admits.
The man offers him an understanding smile before returning to his book. James doesn’t want their conversation to stop.
“What are you reading?” he blurts out.
The man looks up and James is worried he might find him annoying. Remus would have already killed him for interrupting his reading twice.
“The Iliad.” the man replies. “It’s a new translation by Emily Wilson.”
“Oh I’ve heard about that. It’s the first translation of the Iliad done by a woman, isn’t it? My best mate gave it to his boyfriend for his birthday.”
James was there when Sirius bought it.
“It is, yes. The first official translation at least. That’s a really thoughtful gift.” the man concedes.
“How are you liking it so far?”
The man puts a bookmark into the book before placing it at the table. He doesn’t look annoyed, if anything he seems eager to talk about the book. James takes that as a win. “I’m loving it so far. It’s beautifully written.” James tries not to squirm under the man’s intense gaze. “Are you familiar with the story?”
He nervously slides his glasses up. “A bit, yeah. I read the Iliad in school but I didn’t quite understand that particular translation. My friend got me to read The Song of Achilles a couple of years ago and I cried like a baby.”
There’s a hint of a smile on the man’s face. “You should give Emily Wilson’s translation a try, I think you might like it.”
“Noted.”
As soon as he’s back home he will ask Remus to lend him the book.
“Are you waiting for someone? Perhaps a Grindr date?”
James grimaces. “No, nothing like that. My friend ditched me for a pretty blonde girl, which I totally understand, and left me to have lunch on my own.”
“Sit with me.”
He doesn’t need to be told twice. James scrambles out of his chair and joins the man at the table.
“I didn’t catch your name.”
“James.” he smiles.
“James.” his name sounds beautiful coming out of the man’s mouth. “Beautiful name.”
“Thanks, I picked it myself.”
He makes the joke out of habit and immediately panics. Despite the fear he looks carefully at the man’s face to see his reaction.
The man smiles, genuinely smiles, and it’s the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. “It suits you.” James sighs relieved, unaware that he was holding his breath in the first place. “Mine’s Regulus. Didn’t have much of a choice with that, my family is obsessed with astronomy.”
“The little king.” James grins. “It’s in the Leo constellation, isn’t it?”
Regulus seems surprised. “It is, yes. How do you know?”
“My best mate is obsessed with astrology. He’s named after a star too, the brightest one in the sky. It does wonders for his ego.”
Something flickers Regulus’ eyes but it’s gone before James gets to make sense of it.
-
Lily wishes her date with Pandora didn’t have to end.
They visited the mythical Tintagel Castle on the north coast, the alleged birthplace of King Arthur, and the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic. Pandora was a great tour guide, saving Lily from falling prey to all the tourist traps and showing her all sorts of things she wouldn’t have seen on a regular tour.
They had lunch in a lovely family owned restaurant in town that wasn’t on Sirius and Remus’ list. Lily made the mental note of recommending the place to them for when they next visit.
Pandora is kind enough to drive Lily back to her hotel and let her choose the music. Lily plays the playlists her and James made together for their trip.
“I take it you like musicals then.” Pandora says amused as Lily sings along to Agony from Into the Woods.
Lily offers her a sheepish smile. “What gave it away?”
Pandora shrugs her shoulders. “Some would say I’m a Seer.” Lily can’t help but laugh and Pandora smiles with her eyes still on the road. “My best friend loves musicals too but he’d rather die than admit it. He’s a closeted theatre kid. I think you would like him.”
“My best friend is the same. He would never admit he likes musicals but I always catch him singing tunes from Sweeney Todd.”
She is certain she has a video somewhere of Remus singing Pirelli’s Miracle Elixir in the shower. She will forever be in debt with Sirius for sending it to her.
By the time they arrive back at the hotel Lily doesn’t want to get out of the car and Pandora certainly doesn’t rush her.
“I had a lovely time.” the blonde girl says, smiling at her.
Lily can’t help but smile back. “So did I.”
Pandora gently puts her hand on Lily’s cheek and leans in to kiss her. It is not the first time they kiss, Pandora spent the whole day stealing quick kisses from Lily, but it is the longest and deepest kiss they share.
When they finally pull apart due to the lack of oxygen Lily is breathless, cheeks flushed.
“Would you like to go to my room?” she asks.
Pandora smiles and it’s lovely. Everything about her is lovely. “I was afraid you wouldn’t ask.”
Booking one room -with two beds mind you- might not have been their smartest idea but hopefully her and James won’t be needing the room at the same time.
-
James returns to the hotel soon after Pandora leaves. He walks into the room with a mischievous smile.
“I just saw Pandora on her way out.” he wiggles his eyebrows.
Lily rolls her eyes but fails to hide a fond smile. He is ridiculous, truly. The bed dips when James sits down.
“How was your date?”
She smiles. “It was great.”
It really was. She proceeds to tell James everything about their date and he listens attentively. It really was lovely. Pandora is a force to be reckoned with. A truly wonderful experience. Lily slightly regrets having made plans with Mary and Marlene for tonight or she would have asked Pandora out for dinner.
“You can ask her for lunch tomorrow, we’re not leaving until the afternoon anyway.” James offers an alternative.
She sighs. “I guess that could work.”
“And you can always come back to visit.”
Either way she is thankful for the time she shared with Pandora. She is also grateful that James wasn’t in their room when they came in to shag.
“But enough about me, how was your day?” she asks.
James immediately blushes.
“What did you do?” she asks fairly intrigued.
“Funny story that.” he says with a sheepish smile. “I went out to have lunch all alone since the friend I came with ditched me.”
“Bugger off.” Lily chuckles.
“And, please don’t be mad, but I gave in and downloaded Grindr.”
She groans. “Tell me you didn’t.”
“I did, but that’s not important. I didn’t really talk with anyone on the app, I was mostly looking. But in the restaurant I met the prettiest guy I’ve ever seen.”
Lily furrows her eyebrows. “And what does Grindr have to do with anything?”
James proceeds to explain just that and Lily dissolves into a fit of laughter. Only James would have something as embarrassing happening to him, but at least it gave him an excuse to speak with the pretty boy.
After talking each other’s ears off over lunch they had a walk on the beach. Apparently the pretty boy isn’t a fan of deep waters since he doesn’t know how to swim but he was fine with dipping his feet on the water. Never above the ankles, James says he was very insistent about that.
They went for an ice cream afterwards and James eventually had to rush back to the hotel when he saw the time.
This makes Lily check the time on her phone and he does have a point. Mary will be coming for them anytime soon.
“Are you seeing him again tomorrow?” Lily asks as she begins to look for something to wear tonight.
James beams. “He said we can meet for breakfast if I survive tonight’s party.”
Something must click on James’ head because the colour completely drains from his face. “What is it?” she asks genuinely concerned.
“I didn’t get his number.” he says in a verge of tears.
Lily rushes to comfort him. “Oh, James.”
“I’m an idiot.”
“Not an idiot, just a little over the place. But that’s okay.”
James sniffs. “Maybe I could find him on social media, how many Regulus could there be?”
-
None. The answer is none. There’s not a single Regulus on any platform.
While Lily was getting ready James looked everywhere but he couldn’t find anything. He even looked on Facebook for god’s sake. Not knowing Regulus’ last name only made things even more difficult.
“Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.” Lily says, trying her best to comfort him. But that doesn’t sound right.
There’s something about Regulus that feels inevitable, in the best of ways.
It wouldn’t be the first time that James falls head over heels too soon, but it feels different this time. He doesn’t have the words to explain it but it simply does. Being with Regulus felt right. It was as if meeting each other was long overdue.
“Now hurry and get ready, Mary will be here anytime now.”
James pouts. “I don’t think I want to go out anymore.”
He really wants to spend the night wallowing in their room but Lily won’t stand for it. “James Fleamont Potter, pull yourself together and get your arse ready. I could have gone out with Pandora tonight but I didn’t because you made plans with Mary and Marlene, you can’t back down now.”
She’s right. She is always right. It’s not fair to either Lily or Mary and Marlene for James to cancel on them now. He grabs Lily's phone to change the music and tries to get in the right mindset for a night out while he gets ready.
-
Despite wishing she could have gone out with Pandora tonight Lily doesn’t regret agreeing to a night out with Mary and Marlene. The club Mary takes them to looks like a lot of fun. The music is great and the drinks are wonderful.
“What’s wrong with him?” Mary asks, looking at James pouting at the bar waiting for his drink alongside Marlene and her lovely wife Dorcas.
Lily sighs. “He had a great day with a pretty boy and forgot to ask for his number.”
“You think a round of shots might cheer him up?”
“Sure. Anything but tequila, he can’t stomach it.”
“Men really are weak, huh?” Mary teases.
Lily laughs with her and takes another drink of her cocktail. She is not sure what it’s called but Mary picked it for her and it tastes wonderful.
-
A couple rounds later James is giving it all on the dance floor with Dorcas. Lily, Mary and Marlene got lost somewhere on their way to get another round of drinks, presumably in the bathroom.
James sometimes misses the unique brand of comradery that drunk girls share in the women’s bathroom. He is happy for Lily. She clicked with Mary and Marlene in a similar way she has only have with Remus.
He is also proud of himself. Here he is, enjoying himself with Dorcas and he hasn’t thought of Regulus. Not even once.
Except he just did.
He is fortunately saved from spiralling by someone tapping his shoulder. He turns around and is surprised by the familiar face of KillerB himself. The guy who sent him an unsolicited dick pic earlier.
“Hey.” KillerB says with a charming yet dangerous smile.
“Um, hi.” James eloquently replies.
“My friend over there would love to buy you a drink.” he says, gesturing behind him.
James takes a look and his heart skips a beat. Regulus smiles at him and raises his drink in acknowledgment.
Maybe Lily isn’t always right. They were meant to be.
James is about to rush across the dance floor when he remembers he’s with Dorcas and he can’t just leave her alone.
He turns to her and she smiles although she looks a bit confused. “It’s okay, James. Go. Barty here can keep me entertained while the other’s return.”
James raises an eyebrow. “Who?”
“That would be me.” KillerB -Barty, apparently- says.
James has many questions, he is a bit drunk to make sense of things, but Regulus is waiting for him so he wastes no more time.
“Can you let Lilly know?” he asks Dorcas.
“Of course.”
And with that James makes his way through the dance floor. Regulus is not alone, he is standing with a blonde guy. A fairly handsome guy.
“James.” Regulus greets him. He will never get tired of hearing his name coming out of Regulus’ mouth.
He can’t help but smile. “Regulus. Hi. Lovely seeing you again.”
Regulus’ friend -James hopes he’s just a friend- visibly stifles a laugh.
“Can I buy you a drink?” Regulus asks.
“Sure.” James replies embarrassingly quickly. “But before I forget again, can I have your number?”
Regulus laughs at that, genuinely laughs, and it’s the most wonderful sound James has ever heard. “Yes, James. You may have my number.”
-
Lily is a bit confused to find Dorcas dancing with a guy that’s clearly not James. The guy greets Mary and Marlene before taking the drink that was meant to be for James.
“That’s not yours, Crouch.” Mary frowns.
He shrugs. “Better not let it go to waste.”
“Where’s James?” Lily asks, internally praying to every deity she knows that he is not crying in the bathroom for not getting the pretty boy’s number earlier today.
The guy only then notices Lily’s presence. He grins. “Your friend is a bit busy.”
Lily raises an eyebrow.
“He’s with Reg.” Dorcas adds, pointing at them.
Marlene and Mary are just as confused as Lily. James is on the other side of the club having a drink with a guy and let’s just say that he wasn’t lying. That’s a really pretty boy. There’s something familiar about him but Lily can’t figure out what. She might have had a few too many drinks.
Before anyone can ask any follow up question Lily hears a familiar voice whispering in her ear. “Fancy seeing you here.”
Lily turns and is pleasantly surprised to find Pandora standing there smiling with a drink in hand.
Turns out Pandora is friends with Dorcas, as are Barty -the guy dancing with her-, Regulus -the pretty boy James met earlier- and Evan -a lovely blonde guy that joins them with shots for everyone not long after-.
Unlike James, Lily is not one to believe in soulmates or star crossed lovers, but even she has to admit this goes beyond coincidences.
-
“Friend of yours?” James asks, pointing his drink at Barty.
“I’m afraid so. We met in school. Same goes for Evan and Pandora.”
James’ interaction with Evan was brief but far more pleasant than his first interaction with Barty, meaning the unsolicited pictures. “He, um, he was the one texting me when we, you know, when we met.” he says for some reason.
Regulus blinks. He looks at Barty on the other side of the dance floor and then back at James. “Well, I don’t know whether to kill him or thank him.”
James laughs. There’s a hint of a smile in the corner of Regulus’ mouth and that’s enough to ease his worries.
A song James really adores starts playing.
“Do you dance?” James asks.
“Not really, no.” Regulus replies before taking a sip of his drink.
“Oh.”
A beat.
Regulus rolls his eyes. “You’re not asking the right questions, James.”
It takes him a moment to understand what Regulus is trying to say. He often struggles to take a hint but he prefers to blame it on the alcohol this time. “Would you dance with me?”
“I would love to.”
Sunday
With the club about to close Barty suggests they go to a junk food place nearby, which they all agree is a wonderful idea. Barty gladly accepts all their praises as they enjoy their food.
James and Lily mindlessly grab things from each other’s plates without breaking their respective conversations with Regulus and Pandora. It doesn’t go unnoticed.
“Have you known each other long?” Evan asks.
“For a couple of years, yeah.” Lily replies.
“Where did you two meet?” Pandora asks.
Despite the alcohol in her system Lily is conscious enough to give James a warning look but he doesn’t even look up from his food when he carelessly replies. “Tinder.”
Everyone goes silent. This is not new information for either of the girls, including Pandora, but it is for the others.
James’ words seem to catch up to him as he turns to look at Regulus wide eyed.
“You two dated?” Regulus raises an eyebrow.
“Ages ago.” Lily is quick to say.
“We had an amicable break up.” James adds.
Regulus smiles softly. “No need to look so scared, James. I don’t mind.”
“You don’t?” James sounds hesitant.
He shrugs his shoulders. “Exes can be friends, even if it’s uncommon. Barty and I dated in highschool.” Barty wriggles his eyebrows at him. “Although I can’t see myself going on a vacation with just him.”
“Oi.” Barty takes offence and Evan doubles down in laughter.
“I think it’s sweet you’re that close.” says Mary.
Lily and James smile at each other.
The conversation moves on to another topic and that’s that.
-
The sound of a phone vibrating on the nightstand wakes up James. He groans and reaches for the phone.
“‘Ello.” he answers.
“Prongs?” Sirius asks after an unusually long silence.
“Why are you calling this early, Pads?”
He doesn’t even know what time it is but any hour is too early after being out drinking so late.
“I do you one better. Why are you answering my brother’s phone?”
James is far too sleepy to process the full meaning of what Sirius just asked. “Huh?”
“James.” Regulus sounds more awake than him. “Give me my phone, will you?”
He does just that. Regulus plays with James’ hair while he talks -in french- over the phone with Sirius. He is about to fall asleep again when that thought sinks in.
He opens his eyes and looks up to Regulus. He looks back at him and chuckles but keeps calmly talking, leaving James completely out of the loop.
He does eventually hang up.
“Sirius says hi.” he says with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“He said- Is he- Are you-” it’s too early for this.
“He did. He is. I am.” Regulus replies with an amused look.
James blinks. “Why didn’t you tell me? When I talked to you about him.”
Regulus looks away and swallows. “Our relationship is a bit complicated. Did you know he had a brother?”
“I did.”
“But he never told you my name.” it’s not a question. He didn’t.
Having been Sirius’ best friend for so long James is no stranger to the Black family drama. There’s a reason why Sirius has never mentioned Regulus by name. And there must be a reason why Regulus didn’t tell James who he was when he learned he was friend’s with his brother.
Sirius both hates and loves Regulus. He assumes it must be the same for the youngest Black brother.
Doubt creeps down his spine. “Did you sleep with me to get back at him or something?” He can’t even look at Regulus when he asks.
“James.” a pause. “James, please look at me.” He musters all his strength to do so. “Me sleeping with you has nothing to do with Sirius. Learning you are friends with him did make me a bit wary of you but turns out you are very charming.” James scoffs. “No, really, you are. I slept with you because I like you. I really like you.”
He slowly comes closer, giving James enough time to move away. James does not move away and Regulus gives him a tender kiss on the lips.
“Would you like to join me in the shower?” he asks, his lips still brushing James’.
“I would like nothing more.” he says with no hesitation.
-
James sends her the cutest photo of him and Regulus enjoying a late breakfast. James is smiling to the point his one dimple is showing. Regulus' smile is shy but his eyes give him away, he is just as happy as James.
Lily shows the picture to Pandora.
“They look thoroughly shagged.” she says.
“Don’t we all?” Lily tries to be smooth but she can’t help but blush as she says it.
Pandora softly smiles and gently squeezes her hand. “We do too, yes.”
-
Pandora is kind enough to drive them to the train station, accompanied by Regulus. Everyone else is wishing them safe travels on the group chat Marlene made for them to keep in touch.
James doesn’t want to part ways with Regulus. He hasn’t let go of his hand since they got in the car.
“I don’t want to say goodbye.” James says barely above a whisper.
Regulus kisses his cheek. “It’s not forever. I will be there next week, remember?”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
-
James and Lily listen to one of their shared playlist on the train back home. When they started dating Lily would always make curated playlists for James. He still has every single one of them saved on his phone.
“How did it go with Pandora?” James asks.
Lily sighs. “We agreed to meet up next time I go, nothing more. She’s wonderful but I know I can’t do long distance.”
“You could always move to Cardiff.” James says as if it was that easy.
“We’ve just met, James.”
He shrugs his shoulders. “The heart wants what the heart wants.”
She shakes her head. “You’re absurd.”
James smiles.
“What about you and Regulus?” she carefully asks. Having learned that he is Sirius’ estranged brother certainly makes things more difficult.
Lily is no stranger to complicated sibling relationships. She hasn’t spoken with Petunia for three years now, they cut all contact after she married that bigot. She wasn’t even invited to their wedding. They have a son now that Lily probably will never get to meet. She tries her best not to dwell on it. Some things can’t be fixed.
She hopes Sirius and Regulus can work things out, not just for James but for both of their sakes. A part of her will always miss Petunia and what could have been.
“He has some business to attend to in London next week, something about his trust fund I think. Grimmauld is not an option since he’s not on speaking terms with his parents. Things with Sirius are complicated to say the least so I told him he could stay at mine.”
“Are you going to do long distance?”
“For him I’m willing to try. I’ll go to Cardiff every weekend if I have to. He wants to show me the Minack Theatre next time.”
“Only if Sirius doesn’t kill you first.”
He hasn’t talked to James since he accidentally answered Regulus’ phone earlier.
“You think I can outrun him?”
Lily giggles. “You can try.”
All jokes aside Sirius might not be keen on the idea of James dating Regulus but if he sees that doing so genuinely makes James happy he’ll get over it soon enough. If not, Lily is willing to knock some sense into him.
As for what’s going to happen with her and Pandora, only time will tell.