Chapter 1
Regulus Black didn’t get nervous before performances. He didn’t have much experience, but with what he did have, he never once felt anything like how he feels right now. It can’t be classified as nervousness, because he stands by the fact that he doesn’t get nervous. But he and the rest of them are about to go out and undoubtedly give their biggest performance yet, broadcasted on national television. Better yet, he’ll be performing in front of his brother, whom he hasn’t spoken to in years.
So yeah, he might be feeling a bit of a tingly feeling in his stomach at the prospect of it all, but that doesn’t make it nerves, perse.
They have two songs to perform at this award show. He has to get through two songs, and the rest of the award announcements. And then he’s done. He can go back to his shared house with Pandora, Evan, and Barty, and sleep for as long as he wants. Ok. He can do that.
They’re nominated for 4 awards. Despite Skittles only being a little over a year old, they have seriously blown up over the past year. Best New Artist, Group of the Year, Album of the Year, and Performance of the Year. It was a bit overwhelming if Regulus was being honest. He and the rest of the band never even meant to get anywhere, simply wanting to make music together after graduating and look at them now.
“Alright, Reg?” Evan asked as the four of them hustled about in their tiny changing room. They had 15 minutes until they had to be on stage, and Regulus could hear the MCs introducing the next award.
“Mm, yeah,” Regulus responded absently, staring at himself intently in the mirror as he tried to apply his eyeliner and cursing when he messed up. Pandora tsks and grabs it from him, doing it herself.
“My, my, is the Regulus Black nervous before a performance?” Barty mocks, leaning back on the couch and staring amusedly at the other three. He’s been ready for 5 minutes and has been spending his time joking back and forth with Evan, who’s the only one who’ll pay him any attention even while still getting ready.
“Why don’t you suck my dick, Crouch?” Regulus responds, though there’s truly no heat to his words as he stays still while Pandora carefully applies the eyeliner.
Barty laughs out loud. “Hey now, you know I would-”
“Alright, you four need to hurry up and finish getting ready, you need to be out there in 10 minutes so stop screwing around” Their manager, Dorcas Meadowes, bursts into the room, effectively shutting Barty up.
“We’re ready,” Barty says “Just waiting on Reg.”
“Ok, all done, Reg” Pandora caps the eyeliner, allowing Regulus to turn and look in the mirror.
Evan wolf whistles. “Shit, we look good,” he says, automatically earning a whoop of agreement from Barty.
Regulus chuckles at their stupidity, but can’t help but agree with Evan. They do look good. And they are going to kill this performance, regardless of whatever weird feeling (that isn’t nerves) Regulus is feeling.
Dorcas rushes them out of the room and into the backstage area. They still have time, and the rush is unnecessary, but none of the Skittles say anything as they can feel the nerves radiating off their manager. So, they do as they're told, checking their in-ears and making sure all of their equipment is set.
Before he knew it, He was approaching his mic. Evan takes the drums, Pandora takes the guitar, and Barty takes the bass. He hears the MCs introducing them, along with the claps of the crowd.
Then, the curtains are lifting, and Barty opens the song, followed shortly by Evan and Pandora. Their background vocals all morph together and Regulus knows when it’s his time to sing, and he lets it all take over him.
If changing my clothes would make you like me more
If changing my hair would make you care
Then I’d grab the kitchen scissors and cut myself to slivers for you
This was one of their less popular songs, but contained all the same intensity. Regulus had written it, as he wrote most of their songs. He never thought it’d see the light of day when he first wrote it, as a 16-year-old runaway with no one to turn to. If only 16-year-old him could see him now, performing his lyrics to millions. Regulus locks that thought away as he continues into the chorus.
I’ve changed every part of me
Until the puzzle pieces aren’t me at all
I look in the mirror, now I’m just a jigsaw ah-ah
You take every part of me
All of the things you need
Then the rest you discard
Regulus continues, increasing the intensity as he goes. This is the first time they’ve ever performed the song live, and he feels himself living through it all over again as he grips the mic.
All I did just to make you happy
Still you don’t even fucking love me
Pandora, Evan, and Barty all come in to yell out ‘Jigsaw’ into their mics as he continues through. In the back of his mind, he’s reminded that Sirius is still somewhere in the crowd, likely hearing this song for the first time. That thought fuels the fire in him even more.
Killin’ parts of myself to fit you
Clear as shit I was not the issue
Regulus continues through the song with no issue, and when he hears the deafening cheers of the crowd, he allows a small smirk to slip on his face as he looks back to his bandmates. Barty does the pleasure of introducing the group with his energy bursting, yelling into the mic “Hello everyone, we are Skittles and that was our song, ‘Jigsaw’!” More cheering ensures, which is still drowned out as Barty continues. “We’re happy to be here performing for you all tonight and we have one more song to share so thank you so much for having us here tonight!”
Regulus smiles again as the opening of their next song starts. This is one of his favorite songs to perform. It doesn’t have the same dark vibe as Jigsaw does but it contains the same bite. Barty takes the first part of the verse, a rare occurrence in the band’s discography. Regulus and Barty wrote the song together, and its meaning went deep within Barty. Regulus continues in after, walking over to Barty to interact with him.
My daddy put a gun to my head
Said, "If you kiss a boy I'm gonna shoot you dead"
So I tied him up with gaffer tape and locked him in the shed
Then I went out to the garden and I fucked my best friend
Regulus moves onto the chorus, with Barty backing him up as he makes his way around the stage, before standing back at the front.
'Cause my high hopes are getting low
Because these people are so old
The way they think about it all
If I tried I would never know
My high hopes are getting low
But I know I'll never be alone
It's alright, we'll survive
'Cause parents ain't always right
The song is over too quickly, in Regulus’s opinion. It was their biggest song, the song that blew them up after a video Evan posted of them practicing it had gone viral. He never fails to enjoy himself while singing it. Regulus appreciates the applause from the crowd as the song ends, the curtains slowly closing. He thinks he hears the MCs begin to gush about how good the performance was, but he’s not sure. His ears are ringing as the adrenaline of performing begins to wear off.
He and the rest of the Skittles are rushed back to the changing room to get quickly changed back into their award show suits and dresses and are walking towards their seats in no time. They hadn’t had time to see where their seats were before the show started, instead being rushed right backstage as soon as the red carpet ended seeing as they were the opening acts of the award show.
As they approach their seats, Regulus feels an immense dread settle into his stomach when he makes out who’s sitting next to them. The Marauders. Of-fucking-course. Regulus can tell the moment the rest of his bandmates come to the same realization all slowing down as they glance towards Regulus, seemingly waiting for him to say something. He sighs.
“God, I need a fucking drink.”
Barty laughs quietly, throwing his arm around Regulus. “It’s alright Reg, we won’t have to talk to him.”
Right as Barty says that Dorcas is suddenly walking towards The Marauders’ table, motioning behind her at the Skittles to follow along as the blonde woman sitting at their table waves them over. Regulus swears Barty jinxed it, and he silently curses everything and everyone in the world as he approaches the table.
Regulus didn’t know what to expect when they got called over to this table, but he most definitely wasn’t expecting Dorcas to lean down and kiss the blonde woman on the lips as the woman said hello kindly. He looks to Pandora and Evan, a question in his eyes.
‘Did you know about this?’
They both shake their heads, clearly as shocked as him. Barty stifles a laugh.
“Hi, Skittles. I’ve heard a lot about you guys from Dorcas. Your performance was incredibly impressive, wow.” The woman - Regulus still doesn’t know her name - acknowledges them, kindly. Regulus briefly wonders if they should be talking in the middle of the show, but remembers they've cut to some pre-recorded clips as they continue to get the show ready.
Pandora, bless her soul, chooses to be the one to respond in her usual happy attitude, and Regulus finally takes the time to look towards his brother and the rest of the Marauders.
While he was immensely shocked to see his manager kiss that woman, he was already well prepared to see four pairs of eyes staring - studying - him when he finally landed on the Marauders. They’re practically staring holes into his head, but Regulus finds he can’t blame them. This is the first time the groups have seen each other since the Skittles debuted, and truthfully the first time Regulus has seen any of them in person in years. It all seems very anti-climactic, Regulus thinks off-handedly.
Regulus hears the rest of Skittles begin a conversation with the woman, clearly leaving him to it. He waits for somebody to break the silence because he sure as hell won’t be the one to do it.
It ends up being Remus, which, again, isn’t a very big shock to Regulus. From what Regulus could remember, Remus was always the most level-headed between him and his groupmates. He always handled tense situations the best, with his Welsh accent smoothing everything out.
“That was a really great performance, Regulus.”
Regulus nods, smiling tightly. He knows there’s a lot more to be said about it other than just that it was a ‘great’ performance, but he also knows they shouldn’t talk about any of it now, in the middle of the show.
Truthfully, he does wonder what they think about it, though. Especially Sirius. He’s willing to bet none of them had heard the songs before, and they haven’t seen him in so long, they probably didn’t even know what happened to him after Sirius left. They probably didn’t even care, honestly. The thought leaves a bitter taste in his mouth.
He doesn’t get the chance to thank Remus because Sirius speaks first. Sirius, who’s staring up at Regulus with his arms crossed, has an expression on his face that Regulus can’t read. God, he used to be able to read his brother so well.
“Well, it sure was interesting, to say the least.”
Regulus refrains from rolling his eyes, instead settling for a small sigh. James gives Sirius a warning look. Right. James Potter.
He looks just as gorgeous as he does every time he pops up on Regulus’s Twitter feed. Just as gorgeous as he did all those years ago. Regulus never quite shook off the tiny crush he had on his brother’s best friend, no matter how much he hated him.
James Potter. The man his brother replaced him with when he was 10 years old, and then abandoned him in that horrid house for the Potters four years later. Yeah, Regulus didn’t think he would ever be able to wear off the bitter resentment he felt towards James Potter, no matter how kind his smile was.
Now, the man gives him an apologetic smile after seemingly silently scolding Sirius, who now has the nerve to seem sheepish.
Regulus doesn’t feel bitter. He doesn't.
Instead, he finally acknowledges Remus’ compliment.
“Thank you, Lupin. Good luck tonight.” He says, to all of them, proceeding to approach his groupmates, who are still talking with Dorcas and that woman.
Barty puts his arm around him again, looking at him silently. He sighs with a nod.
“Reg, did you know Cas was dating the Marauders manager” Evan asks, seemingly trying to wrap his head around it himself.
“Nope. Seems like that’d be something you’d tell the group you manage yourself, though.” Regulus says with a pointed look, though Dorcas simply laughs.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Regulus. I’m Marlene Mckinnon. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Regulus glances back towards the Marauders, who are still looking at him. They must have a staring problem. James, specifically, seems to be staring lasers into Barty’s arm around his shoulder. Weird. Regulus turns back towards Marlene, giving her his signature tight smile. “It’s nice to meet you as well.”
Nothing more is said before the lights go off, signifying the show to begin again. Dorcas quickly says goodbye before rushing the Skittles into their seats, just a few feet away from the Marauders.
Regulus quickly realizes how boring award shows are. This was the first one he'd ever actually attended, and he was surprised at how much time there is between awards where everyone’s just waiting. Award shows are definitely meant to be more for the online audience than the people actually attending, he thinks sadly.
Time moves even slower when he can still feel The Marauders’ piercing gazes from behind him, and he’s all that much more aware of himself knowing their eyes are on him. He keeps his back straight and his expression neutral, occasionally whispering with his members.
“God this is a bore.” Barty mumbles in between another award. Regulus nods his agreement.
“They should just do our awards so we can finally leave,” he sighs.
Evan laughs. “Nah, we’re going last, we’re nominated for the big awards. Welcome to fame, Black.”
Regulus doesn’t respond, instead cursing Barty for posting that video of them to begin with, landing them here.
—
James Potter hasn’t seen his best friend’s brother in 3, maybe 4 years. Regulus Black was somewhat of a taboo subject within the Marauders, similar to the rest of Sirius’s family. James still remembers the day they saw that video that Regulus’s bandmate (Barter?) had posted, gaining the attraction of millions overnight. He remembers the four of them mindlessly scrolling on their phones while waiting to go to a meeting when suddenly Regulus’s voice started playing out of Sirius’s phone.
Sirius was absent most of that day, skipping their meeting and hiding in his room. None of the Marauders tried to talk to him, knowing him well enough to know he would come out when he had at least partially processed that his estranged brother was now in the music industry.
As expected, he opened his bedroom door later that night to see Sirius standing there and immediately knew.
Now, a little over a year later, they’ve done their best to avoid anything relating to the Skittles. Sirius doesn’t know that James sometimes finds himself taking a second too long to scroll past a post about them on his feed, or that his fingers sometimes hover over his keyboard as he hesitates to type out ‘Skittles’. And that’s fine, it’s his own little secret.
He wouldn’t claim himself to be an expert on Skittles, at all, but he liked to think he knew the general idea of their band. At least he thought he did, until they got on stage. He knew they would be performing at this award show tonight, and he was truthfully anticipating it, but nothing could’ve prepared him for their choice of song.
It was so clearly a commentary on Regulus’s childhood, on his relationship with his parents, and James thought it might even have connected to his relationship with Sirius. James always had a bit of a soft spot for the younger brother. When they were younger, back before Walburga and Orion destroyed their relationship, Sirius would always bring Regulus to hang out and play with James, Peter, and Remus.
James was always looking out for Regulus, but he could never figure out why. Even years later, after Sirius had left, James always felt terrible about Regulus being left in that house. Sirius always claimed he deserved to be stuck with them, but James never found he could believe him.
Seeing Regulus tonight just further solidified James’s belief, that Regulus was never like their parents. He never carried those same beliefs that they carried, he just wasn’t like Sirius. He couldn’t stand up for himself and he had nobody to go to.
He didn’t know how Sirius felt about the performance. He sat there, stoic as ever as he stared up at the stage with a blank facial expression. That was the thing with Sirius. James could read him like an open book until he couldn’t. Until Sirius had a reason good enough to completely close himself off, becoming unreadable to even the people who knew him best. It hadn’t happened in a while, becoming less and less frequent over the years as he healed from his trauma. Now, James wasn’t sure when he would be able to get through to Sirius, and that made him nervous.
Another thought, that he was really trying to push to the back of his mind, was how good Regulus looked. He was no stranger to the Black genes, and he’d always known the Black brothers were attractive, but wow. Watching Regulus on stage was unlike anything he’d ever seen. He had a certain way of captivating the audience, turning what was meant to simply be a short performance for an award show into something akin to his own concert.
With a thousand thoughts running through James's mind, he still managed to find room to think that Regulus Black was hot. Truly, undeniably hot.
It’s unfair, James thought, as he watched Regulus begrudgingly approach their table under the arm of one of his bandmates. It’s unfair that his best friend’s brother is so attractive.
James feels a bit bad about the way he just stares at Regulus when the rest of his bandmates start up a conversation with Marlene. He’s not sure if he should speak, or what he would say if he did. It seems nobody else knows what to say either, leading to them staring at each other for a couple of long, awkward moments.
Remus, bless his soul, chooses to be the one to speak first, allowing James more time to stare at Regulus.
“That was a really great performance, Regulus”
James smiles secretly, immensely thankful for Remus’s ability to handle situations like this because the rest of them can’t deal with it to save their lives. James would have liked to give his own compliment as well, if not for Sirius speaking first.
“Well, it sure was interesting, to say the least.”
Peter and Remus both exchange nervous glances with each other while James gives Sirius a warning look. At least Sirius looks sheepish about it. James turns his attention back towards Regulus and can’t help but give an apologetic smile. No matter how much time had passed, his soft spot for the man never seemed to go away, and it seemed to be even more mushy right now.
James watches as Regulus blows out a small puff of air, a clear sign of annoyance with his brother. He chooses not to acknowledge it, which James is strangely proud of his maturity, and instead acknowledges Remus’s compliment. He thanks him and wishes the group luck before promptly moving back over to his group, taking his spot under his groupmate's arm once again.
James kind of wants to burn that arm off of Regulus. He isn’t sure why. He doesn’t think much more about it, instead turning back towards his groupmates when the Skittles start to walk towards their seats and the lights begin to dim, signifying the show starting back up. James leans into Sirius’s side.
“Are you ok?”
“Fine.”
James lets out out a sigh. That’s probably all he’ll get from Sirius at the moment. He felt bad, but he really couldn’t wait for this award show to be over. He knew they were nominated for some big awards and while he felt immensely grateful, he couldn’t find it in himself to care about the outcome of the the awards. Seeing Regulus had truly thrown him out of the loop, and it was clear the rest of his bandmates felt the same.
He sighs once again, subconsciously glancing back towards Regulus’s table. He sees him whispering with his groupmates and manager, chuckling at something the girl says. James almost smiles at the sight, until Regulus suddenly looks up, meeting his eyes. He immediately straightens his posture and fixes his face to be carefully blank, raising a single eyebrow. James quickly looks away, clearing his throat.
—
Regulus thinks he’s never been this bored in his life.
Ok, that’s probably a bit dramatic. He knows for a fact the hours he spent locked in a closet throughout his youth were much more boring than the award show. But god, it was a bore., At least there had been some good performances. Barty and Evan helped, too. There was never a dull moment when the two were together, and neither could refrain from making a joke every five seconds. It was probably - definitely - bad awad show etiquette to be constantly whispering and giggling throughout the show, but Regulus truly couldn’t find it in himself to care. They weren’t technically disturbing anyone, the only people who were paying them any attention were the Marauders.
Ironically, they were the people Regulus wanted least of all to be staring at him, and he had to fight the urge to bang his head on the table every time he caught James staring at him, which was happening a concerning amount. Damn James Potter. He settles for instead dropping his head onto Barty’s shoulder and groaning during another small break to prepare for the next performance. Truly, why did there need to be so many damn breaks?
“Seriously, how much longer can this thing possibly be? We’ve been here for hours,” Barty complains.
“There’s not many awards left, our last nominations will probably be coming up pretty soon.” Pandora checks her phone, where she’s kept a list of all the awards, checking them off as they go. Regulus seriously thinks he, Barty, and Evan would be in a ditch somewhere if not for her.
Out of the four awards they were nominated for, Best Performance and Best New Artist had both already been announced, and they had won both. Admittedly, Regulus was really happy about winning them. He didn’t have very high hopes for any of their nominations, but he knew how hard he and the rest of Skittles have worked over the past year, and he knew that they deserved it.
He zones out for the most part. He only distantly recognizes the name of the girl performing and has never heard her music so he doesn’t pay attention to her performance. He does, however, tune in when the performance ends and the MCs take the stage again, talking about the girl’s performance for a minute before building suspension for the next award. He really hopes Pandora is right about the awards almost being done, he’s so tired.
It seems for once somebody in the universe is actually on his side because the next award ends up being Album of the Year. They were nominated with their debut album, which came out soon after they went viral for ‘Parents’. While he’s confident that their music is good, he doesn’t have very high hopes for winning this award. They were nominated along with some other really big artists, such as The Marauders.
So, when the MCs have finally finished going over the nominees, now taking forever to say who won to make it as suspenseful as possible, Regulus is fully expecting to hear them yell into the mic ‘The Marauders’. When it’s not ‘The Marauders’ that echoes through the venue, but instead ‘Skittles’, Regulus doesn’t believe it.
For a moment, he thinks he might be going insane, but his disbelief is short-lived as his groupmates stand up, Evan pulling him to stand up as well. Evan shakes his shoulders in excitement as Barty and Pandora begin to walk up, with huge smiles on their faces. Regulus finds he can’t fight the smile off his own face as he walks with them. He feels like he’s in a bit of a daze when he steps up on the stage, but he thankfully remembers to thank the MC when she hands him the award.
He’s begrudgingly pushed to the front, being forced to give the speech. Pandora and Evan had given speeches for the last two awards, so he shouldn’t be very surprised that they’re making him take this one.
He clears his throat, barely hiding the cringe as he hears it echo throughout the entire venue. “Um, sorry, I’m not really good at this type of stuff,” Regulus starts with “I want to thank our manager, Dorcas Meadowes. We’ve known her since we were all just teenagers in school, and she’s supported us for so long, always sticking out for us and pushing us to go farther.” Regulus pauses, looking down at the award momentarily. “This album really means a lot to me. It contains some of my deepest thoughts, dating back to years ago. It’s truly so special that so many people have been able to resonate with it, and sometimes I really wish 16-year-old me could see where the lyrics in his notebook are now. So thank you so much for this award, thank you to everyone who has supported us and our album, and thank you to my bandmates for staying with me for so long.” Regulus finishes, allowing the applause to consume him momentarily before stepping back and accepting a hug from Pandora.
He’s not a hugger, he truly thinks it's one of the things he hates most in the world. But, he’s never been able to decline Pandora, and he thinks he tears up just the slightest when she whispers in his ear that she’s proud of him before they make their way back to their seats.
God, he loves Pandora Rosier.
Skittles doesn’t win Group of the Year, but Regulus truly doesn’t mind. It ends up being The Marauders, and despite everything, Regulus knows they had a very successful year and deserve the award. He even feels a tiny, barely there, swell of pride as he watches his brother accept the award. He remembers before they were torn apart, when Sirius would still bring Regulus to play with his friends, how they would talk about being rockstars one day, being the biggest group in the world. No amount of bitterness or anger will ever make Regulus forget their dreams.
He feels the same sense of pride when The Marauders end up winning Song of the Year as well, but at this point, he’s honestly struggling to keep his eyes open and he’s so tired. By the time the last award, Artist of the Year, is announced, he’s nodding off every five seconds. He’s never missed his bed more, truthfully.
Regulus is more than annoyed when, instead of going straight towards the exit once the show’s finally over, they start walking over to The Mauraders’ table again. Something Dorcas said about congratulating them on their win, but Regulus sees right through her. She wants to see her girlfriend, and she’s dragging Skittles with her to make it seem more natural.
Dorcas immediately leaves them with The Marauders when she gets there, further proving her bullshit lie. Evan mumbles something about being homophobic, causing Regulus to laugh.
“Yea, ok, Rosier. You’re one to talk”
“And you’re any better? Lord, if only your mother could see you now, she’d have a heart attack.”
“Amen to that.” Regulus mumbles, more so under his breath. He doesn’t intend for any of the Marauders to hear it, but they clearly do as Peter laughs in surprise, reminding Regulus that they are still unfortunately standing (awkwardly) with his brother’s band.
Pandora slaps Evan around the back of his head before smiling at the group before them. “Congratulations, your awards were very much deserved.”
“Thank you, Pandora.” Remus smiles
“Yeah, you guys did really great as well.” Peter continues.
It seems they’re the only two functioning Marauders at the moment, as both Sirius and James are staring mindlessly at Regulus. It’s honestly starting to piss him off, how much they’ve been obsessively staring at him, but his brain isn’t working with him right now so all he does is blankly stare back.
He really can’t decipher what the looks on their faces mean, but he doesn’t bother trying. He’s had a long day and he’s tired. He just wants to go home.
“Are you guys going to the after party?” Barty asks, to keep the conversation going.
The after party, which was also known as where all the celebrities gathered after long award shows like this one to get absolutely shit-faced. It usually ended in at least three scandals and sounded like a genuine nightmare to Regulus, hence why he never went.
Peter laughed at the question, though not meanly. “Of course, I don’t know how we’d survive these things if we didn’t always have the after-party to look forward to after.” Regulus thinks he might be insane, but he keeps the thought to himself.
“Thank you!” Evan bursts, “We’ve been trying to tell Regulus that forever, but he never budges. So stubborn seriously.”
“Because I know there are better ways to spend my time than with a bunch of wasted shallow celebrities?”
“God, even after all these years you're still so posh,” Remus laughs. Regulus is a bit shocked that he feels comfortable enough to joke with him like that, but he bites back just as easily.
“‘Toujours pur’,” he shrugs. Remus laughs even louder at that.
Regulus sort of relishes in how Sirius finally cracks, choking on his spit a bit at Regulus’s words. Nobody gets a chance to respond before Dorcas is coming back over.
“Alright, are we ready to go? We still need to stop by the house to drop Reg off so we should probably head out now.” She says, and Regulus is pretty sure he can see her lipstick smudged a bit on the corner of her mouth. He smirks but says nothing about it.
“Yeah, let’s go. I’m so tired.” He says, beginning to walk
“When are you not,” Pandora responds fondly, following as well.
“We’ll likely see you guys at the after-party, but congrats again!” Barty says as he and Evan rush to catch up. Dorcas gives a small smile and waves goodbye before leaving as well.
The ride back to the shared house isn’t too bad, thankfully. Regulus is in the comfort of his own living room within no time, waiting for his bandmates to leave so that he can go to bed. They’re making it rather difficult, though, deciding to take on the role of being concerned and overprotective parents.
“Are you sure you’re okay, Reg?” Evan asked, even though he, Barty, and Pandora had already asked a million times. “We don’t have to go tonight.”
“God's sake, yes I’m fine!” Regulus groaned. “I’m a grown adult, I can handle myself.”
“We know that of course, we know that. We just also know that this was a long night for you, and nobody will blame you if you need some support.” Pandora adds in.
Regulus sighs. “Look, I’m honestly fine. Yes, you’re right, tonight was a lot, but it’s nothing I can’t deal with. I just need some time alone, so please, if you want to help, just go to that party and let me sleep in peace.”
The Skittles seem to finally accept his answer at that, nodding in defeat. They all say their goodnights before filing out of the house, finally leaving Regulus alone for the first time in hours. Leaving Regulus alone with his thoughts.
His thoughts were scary.
He wasn’t lying when he said it wasn’t anything he couldn’t deal with, it truly wasn’t. Over the years of his abuse, he’s learned to thicken his skin beyond belief, and he rarely let anything get to him anymore. Seeing his brother wasn’t going to erase that. Even if it did shake him up a bit.
He always knew he was going to have to see Sirius eventually when they had originally decided to take the band seriously, especially when that video blew up and they were growing at insanely fast rates. By that point, it was a given that they were going to make it in the industry, and that alone proved that the Black brothers would be brought back together at some point.
He had known since nominations came out three months ago that today would be the day when they saw each other again. He had three months to prepare himself, to plan out what he would do and how he would act if he were to talk to Sirius, and it still wasn’t enough. He still felt like he was 14 years old again, practically begging his brother to say something to him.
But he wasn’t 14 anymore. He hasn’t been 14 for six years and he won’t go back to that, he can’t. He doesn’t think he’ll survive it.
He vowed a long time ago to never let Sirius hurt him again, and he will keep that promise for as long as possible.
Another topic; James Potter. God, he hates James Potter and his stupid smile and his stupid personality and his stupid hair and how stupidly good-looking he is. It is so unfair.
Regulus has always had a slightly toxic habit of blaming James Potter for basically everything. In his eyes, it was James’s fault that Sirius changed and started to hate him, that Sirius left, and that Regulus was all alone to suffer the way he did.
He knows it’s wrong, and he’s always known it was wrong of him to think like this. He just needed somebody to blame, and he couldn’t bring himself to put it only on Sirius. So instead he forced James to take some as well.
Again, toxic, he knows.
Regulus sighs as he finally stands up from the couch, where he has been zoning out for who knows how long. His brother just does that to him.
He walks upstairs, taking his sweet time in the bathroom. He showers and goes through his routine diligently before changing into his pajamas. He brushes his teeth and washes his face but otherwise doesn’t bother with much skincare.
When he finally gets to his room, crashing onto his bed in a way that would have his mother locking him up for three whole hours if she ever saw him, he briefly thinks that he’s glad he was able to do all of his overthinking earlier. Now he’s too tired to even finish a thought, and he falls asleep before he even gets the chance to settle into a comfortable position on his bed.
While he sleeps he dreams of Sirius. He dreams of the happy moments in his early childhood when Sirius still cared for him.
–
James is wasted. Genuinely wasted. He honestly doesn’t want to fall asleep ever again because of the life-ruining hangover he’ll wake up with. He can’t even remember the last time he got this drunk, but it was likely when he got into an argument that was so heated he ended up punching Lucious Malfoy in the face. He remembers waking up the next day with a genuine wish to be killed mercifully and his wasted face covering every news article he opened. It stayed that way for a couple of months, and the damage control he had to do was immense.
Since that night he had promised himself to never get drunk like that again, at least not in a public space. It seems tonight he was throwing that all out the window, all because of Regulus Black.
At least, it seems James wasn’t the only one dealing with this issue. He didn’t have a very proper grip on his surroundings at the moment but he could clearly see how gone Sirius was as well. It made perfect sense to James as to why Sirius would be reacting this way to his brother, especially with their history. James, on the other hand, really had no reason to be feeling this way. He was never particularly close to Regulus and it clearing wasn’t hitting Remus or Peter the way it was hitting him, despite them spending the same amount of time with Regulus. So James is properly confused.
They’ve been at the party for almost two hours, and it’s nearing one in the morning. They should probably start heading back to their flat soon, but Sirius just keeps throwing back shots.
“Already, Pads, let's switch to water now, yeah?” Remus said, trying to gently coax the shot glass out of Sirius’s hand.
Sirius, who was currently ranting about how the moon was made of cheese, just dodges Remus.
“Nooo, Moony!” He stops abruptly, his eyes suddenly lighting up. “Oh my god, MOONY! You’re the moon, we need to figure out what type of cheese you are!” Sirius begins to debate with himself over what type of cheese Remus is. Through James’ laughs, he briefly thinks that Sirius is far more wasted than him.
Sirius continues on with his one-sided debate until Remus has to grab his hands and physically take the shot glass from him, quickly replacing it with water. “Pads, I’m not actually the moon, y’know?”
Sirius looks up at him, seeming genuinely offended. “Yes, you are, Moony. You’re my moon.”
A pretty blush flourishes on Remus’s cheeks at Sirius’s words and proceeds to spread throughout his entire face and down his neck. “That’s just the alcohol talking, Padfoot,” Remus mutters, stubbornly.
Anyone with eyes can see just how gone for each other Sirius and Remus are. Well, anyone except Remus, apparently. James would say that out loud, but his mouth isn’t cooperating with him and all that comes out is slurred mumbling. He groans, banging his head down on the table.
Why is Regulus so pretty?
He’s not sure where the thought came from, the alcohol had previously been doing a fairly good job of getting his mind off of the man, but now he’s thinking about him again.
He’s just so curious about Regulus. He was always intrigued by the younger man during their teen years, and even as they group up he never quite forgot about Regulus. He hasn’t ever felt such a strong need to actually know about him until now, though.
James wants to know what happened to him during the years that they didn’t speak, he wants to know how he got into song-writing, what his deepest secrets are, if he’s ever loved someone, if he would ever love James-
Oh.
James sits up from where he had been lying his head on the table, forcefully taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes. God, what is wrong with him? The alcohol must really be getting to him. He groans once more, in agony.
Peter appears in his eyesight, sitting down next to him. He doesn’t know where Sirius and Remus went. Sirius probably dragged him away to flirt with him while Remus tries to sober him up. Peter rubs his back sympathetically, sliding over a cup of water which James accepts with a nod. He doesn’t want to be drunk anymore.
“Seems like you need this just as much as Sirius does,” Peter says while he takes a huge gulp.
“Cheers,”
Peter laughs, loudly. “Alright, Prongs, let’s get you home, yeah? Should I go find Evans?”
James could do nothing but numb dumbly, and Peter leaves without another word.
James picks at his nails, spinning slightly on the stool as he waits. It’s not a long wait, and Peter is back with Lily Evans in no less than five minutes. In that time, he does manage to drink all of his water, clearing his mind just the slightest. James smiles. “Hey, Evans”
“Potter, how did you even manage to drink this much.”
“It’s a talent.”
Lily Evans was The Marauder's producer. She was insanely gorgeous and even more talented. More often than not, James was left in awe that they got so lucky with such a good team. There was a point, not long ago, when James truly thought that Lily was The One. That she was the one he would spend the rest of his life with, the one that he would grow old with and raise children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren with.
He’s grown now, matured into himself, and realized how childish his old ways were. He realized that his feelings for Lily were purely based off of infatuation and a desire for love. A part of him will always love Lily Evans, but his love for her belongs in the same place as his love for Remus and Peter. Now, he’s just thankful she still even wants to be his friend after how he acted during their teenage years.
“Ready to go?” Lily asks, snapping James out of his thoughts.
“Please”
“Alright, we’ll go. Peter, are you coming?”
“Nah, it’s best I stay, make sure Sirius and Remus don’t do anything that will require an official apology tomorrow. I’m gonna see if I can find the Skittles as well.”
Lily nods and begins to stand James up. “Ok, If you see Sirius starting to cause trouble just drag him away.”
Peter chuckles, waving goodbye with a nod.
James doesn’t remember much after that. He knows there was a group of paparazzi camped outside the house, waiting for any and every celebrity to leave, and he knows they went crazy when they saw him leaving with Lily. He’s sure he’ll see a million articles about that tomorrow. He thinks he might’ve thrown up in a bush on the walk back to the Marauder's flat, but he throws up a lot throughout the next couple of hours, so he's not certain where he did or didn't throw up.
When James wakes up the next morning, with potentially the worst hangover anyone has ever had, he knows he’s fucked. They have about a hundred meetings to do today dealing with tour plans, he needs to get brunch with his mother, and the media is already twisting some non-existent relationship between him and Lily.
Even with all that whirling around in his head, he still manages to return to the one topic that drove him to drink so much last night; Regulus Black. Fuck, when did Regulus Black get so attractive? What happened to the shy little 12-year-old who hid behind his older brother? James groans, running a hand down his face. He must be going insane.
—
The worst part about Regulus’s job is having to wake up at the ass crack of dawn for meetings, especially ones that he’s not previously aware of. He values his eight hours of sleep greatly, and even though he might technically be a ‘rockstar’, he still does everything in his power to get the sleep he needs. And if that means going to sleep incredibly early if they have to wake up early the next morning, then so be it.
He especially hates when he gets woken up early for a meeting he didn’t even know about. When that happens, it always means something bad. Usually, it’s because one of them got into a scandal so bad that they need to start doing damage control immediately.
So, when Regulus is awoken at 6 in the morning on a Saturday, a week after the award show, by Pandora, he’s surprised. He tries to rack his brain for anything he might’ve done recently that would cause him to be in a scandal, but he can’t come up with anything. He’s also pretty sure that none of the other Skittles have done anything, either, but he’s not sure.
In the week since the award show, they’ve been given a much-needed break. They’ve had so many schedules and recordings and practices over the last couple of weeks, all piling together. On top of that, the label has been pressuring them for new songs to start working towards their next album, but with how busy Skittles has been, Regulus hasn’t even had the time to think, let alone write.
So, the week-long break was much overdue. He knew it would go back to being just as hectic as before very soon, but he appreciated it while it lasted. He was able to get started on a couple of songs, even finishing one or two. A few were about Sirius. Seeing him really inspired him to throw whatever onto a page, hoping it was good. Which, it was.
Regulus would rather die than admit that another was loosely based off of James Potter and his stupid, stupid, smile. But… Well, it was.
He feels good about where he and the group are right now, though. There’s been lots of talk about going on tour recently and other big plans and he’s excited for it. He won’t allow himself to be setback even the slightest by seeing his brother. It’s not like it’ll become a common occurrence to see him.
He gets out of bed grumpily, pouting just a little bit as he haphazardly throws on a hoodie with some sweatpants. He can’t be bothered to worry about his mess of hair, so he grabs a random baseball cap and puts it on as well, hoping to smooth down his hair. It doesn’t do much, but he’s too tired to care and leaves his room quickly.
When he walks downstairs, he sees Pandora, Evan, and Barty, all looking far more awake than he is. Barty grins at him
“Morning, Sunshine!”
“Fuck off”
“Always such a pleasure in the morning, aren’t you?”
Regulus ignores Evan, turning towards Pandora instead. “Do you know what this is about? We weren’t supposed to have anything today.”
Pandora shakes her head. “No, Dorcas didn’t say. Just that we needed to meet at Hogwarts Records by 7.”
Regulus furrows his brows. “Hogwarts? Why the hell would we be going to Hogwarts?”
“Beats me. She hung up before I could ask.”
Regulus sighs, nodding. “Ok, let me make a coffee real quick and then we can go.” He begins to move towards the coffee machine but stops when Evan prevents him from doing so.
“Already got it, let's go.”
He points to the tumbler sitting on the counter, presumably filled with coffee. Regulus, not for the first time, is suddenly hit with how much he loves his friends. He’ll never admit it out loud, though. Instead, he settles for giving a small nod of his head, mumbling ‘thank you’. It’s okay that he doesn’t say it, they know.
A driver is sitting outside waiting for them, and when they all pile in, Regulus purposefully gets the seat next to Pandora. Hogwarts is a pretty far drive from where they live, and he’ll be damned if he doesn’t spend every minute of it trying to sleep. Pandora has the best shoulder for sleeping on, it’s just soft enough and she usually runs her hands through his hair. He knows hers is the best because he’s tested it, never missing a chance to take a nap on one of his bandmates.
—
The ride ends up being pretty uneventful, Regulus doesn’t actually get the chance to nap because Evan and Barty are talking so loud, but he still feels fairly peaceful He doesn’t feel too stressed for the meeting like he usually would, which is nice for a change. He truly can’t come up with anything that any of them could’ve done to get them in trouble, so he really hopes they aren’t. He still hasn’t been able to come up with a reason as to what they were doing here. They never have meetings outside of their own label, so he really can’t make sense of any of it.
Either way, they meet Dorcas in the lobby when they get there, and she immediately starts rushing them up the steps. Regulus doesn’t think she’s ever not rushing.
“So, care to tell us what we’re doing an hour away from where we live at a record label that we aren’t signed to?” Evan asks as they enter the elevator, going up to the 8th floor.
“Nope!” She purposefully pops the ‘p’, “And seriously, you guys couldn’t at least dress a bit more appropriately?”
“You’re the one that woke us up at 6 in the morning and won’t tell us why.” Regulus grumbles bitterly.
None of them get a chance to hound her for any more answers as the elevator dings right as Regulus finishes his sentence. Dorcas walks out, not even bothering to check if Skittles follows behind her. They do, struggling to catch up with her as she walks quickly. Barty almost runs into her back as she abruptly stops in front of one of the many doors in the hallway, turning around to look at them sharply.
“Now, this is important. Be on your best behavior and do not embarrass me. Got it?”
“You won’t even tell us what ‘this’ is.”
Dorcas ignores him. “Got it?”
They sigh, nodding. She smiles and opens the door, allowing them to step into the room first.
Walking into the room, Regulus is immediately met with the four Marauders. There’s more people in there as well, fancy-looking business men and women that Regulus has never seen before. He does recognize Marlene, who seems to be whispering with Sirius.
The Marauders all look as tired as he feels. Well, felt. Now, Regulus is wide awake as he stares at Sirius and his bandmates, annoyed.
Regulus suddenly remembers an important detail that he somehow hadn’t thought of before. The Marauders are signed to Hogwarts Labels. He mentally beats himself up for a moment, wondering how he could’ve missed such a big point when he had been racking his brain trying to figure out what they were doing here. He’s even more disappointed that he didn’t figure it out sooner when he realizes that now he has nowhere to escape. He’s already in the room, there’s not much else he can do. He does still curse Dorcas’s entire existence in his mind.
Marlene stands up to greet them, ending her conversation with Sirius abruptly. Sirius stares at him with an expression that must be similar to his own. Regulus wonders if The Marauders knew this was going to happen. “Hey, Skittles! It’s a pleasure to see you all again! Please, sit,” She walks around the table, guiding them to the four chairs that seem to be specifically for them. Regulus ends up across from James, who doesn’t look at him. God, this is terrible. “I’m sure you all know why you’re here today, yes?”
Pandora shakes her head. “Somebody wouldn’t tell us.”
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Dorcas says as she takes her seat.
Marlene smiles, going back to her own seat as she starts speaking again. “Even though I’m sure you already know them, We’ll get this out of the way for introductions sake. This is Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter. They’re the Marauders.” She nods to each one of them as she says their names.
“And this is Barty, Regulus, Pandora, and Evan.” Dorcas does the same.
“Great, now that we’ve gotten through that… Minerva, would you like to start?”
An older woman sitting at the head of the table nods. Regulus does know her. Minerva McGonagall is the CEO of Hogwarts Records, but she’s also an extremely successful musician herself. Regulus wasn’t allowed to listen to her much when he was younger, his mother always despised her and her openness towards queer people, but he has always been quite fond of her work. So, when she starts speaking, he listens intently.
What she has to say is not what he expected to hear. At all.
“We’ve been planning The Marauders upcoming tour for a very long time, but we’ve been stuck on one factor for a very long time, but we think you can help.”
Regulus raises an eyebrow. He’s not entirely sure how they’re supposed to help with whatever issue The Marauders tour, but he doesn’t interrupt.
“I’m not sure if any of you saw, but after last week at the award show, the internet truly went crazy. Someone captured pictures of your guys’ interactions and posted them everywhere. People haven’t stopped talking since.”
Regulus did not know that at all. He generally tries to avoid social media, and this week he was so focused on enjoying his time off that he didn’t even have time to check. He supposes it’s not surprising, though. Twitter fans have been dying to see an interaction between him and Sirius since the day Skittles blew up, and now that they have one they likely won’t even let it go.
“They really enjoyed seeing the eight of you together, even with such minimal interaction. Most notably, they enjoyed seeing Sirius and Regulus interacting. Your reunion has been anticipated for a long time, and now that they’ve seen it they want more.”
He can tell she’s beating around the bush, and he wishes she would just say what it is she wants from them. He doesn’t care what the fans want, in all honesty.
“So our problem is that we need an opener in The Marauders upcoming tour. We’ve been looking around for months, trying to find the perfect artist, but nobody struck the way Skittles has. Your vibe matches but also clashes with The Marauders so beautifully, and all parties benefit from this arrangement.” She finishes, allowing them all a moment to process.
Regulus doesn’t even need to think. “No,” he says simply.
“Regulus” Dorcas hisses, glaring at him from her seat. Regulus ignores it.
“I’m sorry, but no. Forgive me if this sounds entitled, but aren’t we a bit too popular to be opening acts? Not to mention the fact that this is literally a disaster waiting to happen, putting me and Sirius on tour together for an extended period.” He argues.
“Regulus, don’t be a child,” Sirius says. The first words to be properly spoken to him in years.
At that moment, Regulus had never seen his mother more in Sirius than he does now. “Did you know about this?”
Silence.
He takes it as a ‘yes’. “And you didn’t think to try and stop it? I know you hate the idea of this as much as me, probably more,” Regulus scoffs.
He stops there out of respect for everyone else in the room. Barty leans over, mumbling into his ear. “Just hear them out, yeah? We won’t do anything you don’t want to, so let's just consider it.”
Regulus closes his eyes and sighs, giving a small nod. When he opens them, he meets Minerva’s eyes, who’s smiling at him kindly.
“We are very aware of how big Skittles are currently. Your numbers are incredibly impressive, topping almost every chart,” Minerva says, almost buttering them up. It doesn’t do anything to change Regulus’s mind. “But, this could be an amazing opportunity for you. The venues you’d be playing in have capacities of up to 30,000 people, and you could widen your audience immensely. While Skittles is big enough to do a solo tour, you guys simply don’t have enough published songs yet. You’re at the perfect point in your career to start touring, but you aren’t ready. Being the opening act for another huge artist is a perfect solution to it. Your sets would be around 3-4 songs a performance, completely up to you. Does this all sound alright?”
Pandora speaks before Regulus can. “Yes but… How long will the tour be? We’re meant to be working on completing our upcoming album soon.”
“You’ll be doing the North American leg of the tour at least. It’s around 20 shows over three months. Following that is the Europe leg of the tour, where we can re-group and decide if you would like to continue opening. We’ll also work with your label to help accommodate your own needs, but there will be resources and time for you to work even on tour. Touring and viewing different cities can help spark some inspiration, as well as working with other songwriters.”
Peter chooses to speak next, “We would love for you to come with us. I’m sure we’ll all have a lot of fun.”
Next to him, Sirius snorts. “Yeah, it’ll really be a blast.”
Regulus rolls his eyes, taking a sip of his coffee loudly, pettily. He chooses to ignore Sirius’s snide comment, and it seems everyone else does too. “I take this has all already been decided, then?” He directs the question to Dorcas.
She smiles, “All you four have to do is sign the contract,”
Evan scoffs lightheartedly, “I knew that break was too good to be true.”
“At least we had the decency to give you a warning meeting.”
Regulus ignores her. “When does the tour begin?”
“Not for about another two months. We’ll be making the announcement today, on both The Marauders' and Skittles’ social media accounts and tickets will go on sale next week. It’s advised that you all spend at least a little bit of time together getting to know each other between now and the tour, seeing as you’ll be with each other constantly when it starts.” Minerva finishes with a pointed look towards Regulus and Sirius.
Marlene clasps her hands together, smiling. “So, any more questions or are you ready to sign?”
Regulus sighs, glancing at the four men sitting in front of them. Sirius is staring with the same expression he’s had on for the past hour. James is still not looking at him, which Regulus truly can’t understand. Remus seems to be fairly calm about the whole situation, but he can see his hands twitching on the table. Peter’s the only one who seems truly confident about this, which Regulus kind of admires and hates at the same time.
He looks at his own members, seeing them already looking back. “Let’s do it, I guess,” he mumbles as he picks up the pen, signing his ‘Regulus A. Black’. He hears three other pens follow.
He truly believes this will backfire, but there’s not much he can do now.
—
The Marauders | @themarauders
So excited to announce our 3rd World Tour kicking off November, 12th with our opening act, Skittles! Please see the following picture for information about the dates and look forward to more information on ticketing.
8,325 comments | 37.9k retweets | 1.2m likes
—
Skittles | @skittles
Going on tour with The Marauders starting November 12th! Please look forward to it!
5,367 comments | 28.8k retweets | 802k likes