Soup.
The soft clinking of the two mugs in James' hands filled the silent room as he placed the two teas down on the bedside table.James stood up before looking down at the lump of blankets on his bed,only the younger boys face visible underneath the thick cream blanket that was bunched up by his face.James slowly reached down,pushing Regulus' hair from out of his eyes,tucking a stray curl away with the rest."Reg?" James spoke softly,he knew Regulus had a headache before falling asleep so he made sure to be extra cautious of his volume.Regulus shifted slightly,wheezing a deep breath and bringing up a hand to rub his nose before settling again.James smiled softly before placing a hand on top of Regulus' head over his hair,"Reg? I've brought you some tea,Sirius said you've got to keep drinking" James' tone was still gentle and low but this time Regulus shifted again,Peeling his eyes open and squinting up at James."Hi" James smiled."Hi" Regulus croaked,his throat burning and he brought up a hand, gently placing it on his neck as he sighed.
"I've brought you some tea" James whispered,picking up Regulus' mug and handing it to him once he had pulled himself to rest against the headboard of James' bed,before taking his own and sitting on the edge of the bed beside Regulus' hip."How are you feeling?" James asked and Regulus took a sip of his tea,sighing in relief of the liquid soothing his throat."i'm fine" Regulus replied,he could tell that James,of course,did not believe him but he didn't say anything further."What time is it?" Regulus asked and James lifted his hand to look at his watch,the silver wrist watch sitting against his tanned skin."Noon.Are you hungry? i can make some soup?" James asked as Regulus took another sip of his tea.Just as Regulus was about to reply,the door clicked open and the light flicked on making Regulus squint,the pain of his headache still not eased.To add to the mix,in stepped Peter who clearly wasn't watching what he was doing as he looked down at his phone and talking way too loud for Regulus' liking "James i- oh" Peter stopped,looking at James and Regulus "Oh Hi Regulus" Peter spoke cheerfully and god did he have to be so loud?
Regulus nodded,his lips pulled into a straight line before bringing his hands up to his head and groaning quietly."Pete,the light" James spoke,still quietly but loud enough for Peter to hear him."What?" Peter asked,still stood by the door."Turn the light off,Reg isn't well" James pointed at the light switch.Regulus dropped his head down,still in his hands to rest against James' thigh,just above his knee.Peter flipped the light off with an apology as James brought a hand to gently card through Regulus' hair.James gestured for Peter to be quite a bit,a smile on his face as he pressed a finger against his lips."Whats up,mate?" James asked,quietly and peter caught on,closing the door to block out the daylight coming from the living room before moving to stand against the bottom of James' bed,leaning against the poster because of course James Potter has a 4 poster bed.
"Well,Marlene has asked if we're still on for movie night for my birthday tomorrow? i was just checking you're still free because you didn't answer the group chat,i thought you'd just be asleep or something sorry" Peter asked with a shy smile."It's alright don't worry about it,mate" James replied,his hand stilling and moving to itch his knee."Erm,yeah.I'll be checking on Reg but yeah,that's fine.Sorry,Sirius just asked this morning if he could stay here.Long story kind of" James breathed a laugh and Regulus reached out,without lifting his head up off of James' leg to grab James' hand off of his knee to place it back on his head.James smiled to himself and carried on gently carding his fingers through Regulus' hair,lightly scraping his nails against his scalp.
Regulus sighed contently before shifting from his previous position where he sat with his legs crossed,facing James with his head bent forwards down onto James' leg.He shifted to lie down,his legs against the pillows,his head still on James' thigh,his face facing towards James.James and Peter carried on their hushed conversation for a few more minutes before Peter left to go back to his room."Reg? Come on,let's get you some soup" James woke Regulus gently.Regulus rolled onto his back,the back on his head on James leg before James helped him up.Regulus stood still for a second,his eyes closed as he waited for the dizzyness to pass."you alright?" James asked and Regulus nodded,opening his eyes.
Regulus followed James into the Kitchen where he sat at one of the seats at the island,his head in his hands,covering his eyes from the brightness.He listened to the soft humming as James hummed along to a song that must have been stuck in his head while making them both a bowl of tomato soup each.The soup didn't take long at all to make before James held both bowls in his hands."Okay,where to? do you want to sit here or the couch or back to bed?" James asked and Regulus lifted his head up."Bedroom,it's too bright in here" Regulus spoke,his voice husky and deep as he led the way back to James' bedroom.Regulus returned to his place on the bed,sitting against the headboard,a blanket wrapped around him.He took the bowl of soup from James,holding it in his hands,resting against his knees that were tucked up close to his chest.
They spent the next 10 minutes in silence,eating their soup until Regulus reached over to place his bowl onto the bedside table,beside James'."Feeling any better?" James asked and Regulus sighed,which when he let his breath out too fast turned into him coughing,turning away from James and coughing harshly into his elbow."Anything i can do?" James asked and Regulus shook his head "I'm okay,I'm just tired" Regulus nodded,his voice was now at whisper level.James nodded before standing up and lifting the covers up further,waiting for Regulus to lay down.Regulus slid himself further down the bed,laying down with his head against the pillow,the scent of James immediately filling his nose."I'll come check on you later,if you're still not feeling good i'll see you in the morning,if you need anything i'm just in the living room,yeah?" James spoke softly,brushing Regulus' hair off of his face.Regulus nodded and james smiled before quietly making his way out of the room and clicking the door shut quietly.
James checked on Regulus later than night before he went to bed just before midnight to find him still sleeping peacefully,bundled up among the duvet and blankets,a hand covering his face,and with that James gently shut the door and made his way to his bed for the night.