Chapter 3
Regulus shuts his phone off with a sigh, glancing out the window and looking at the view of New York City.
James and Sirius have no business trying to demand anything from him. They have no right to suddenly start texting him and trying to get him to open up to them like they have any care for what he has to say.
He never should’ve performed that song, now Sirius is going to be all obsessed with ‘fixing’ them. Regulus truthfully didn’t see that coming.
He doesn’t want to fix them. He doesn’t want to let go of his resentment that he’s held close to his heart for so long. It’s his home as much as Andromeda and her family is his home.
With the sudden reminder of Andromeda, Regulus looks towards the GPS to see how longer until until he gets to their apartment. He got picked up from the airport 45 minutes ago by a driver that they sent. The driver, thankfully, is rather quiet, leaving him to his own thoughts.
He’s so incredibly excited to see his family, he honestly can’t put it into words. Living across the country from Andromeda, Ted, and Dora is difficult. Going from seeing them almost every week at least to only a couple times a year was a really hard adjustment, but he understood why it had to be like that. Andromeda never wanted to move back to California, where the rest of the Black family still resided, again. With Regulus’s work, he really had no option but to stay in California, where all the business was.
Regulus hopes one day when he’s retired from music and Andromeda and Ted are both ready to settle down fully, they can finally move back closer together. Maybe up North, in a state like Michigan. Spend their summers by the lake and the winters shoveling endless snow. Regulus smiles to himself at the thought. He thinks if that’s where his life ends off, with the people he loves, the entire rest of his life will have been more than worth it.
For now, Regulus can only fantasize about his future life and appreciate his current one. He gets to spend the next week with the Tonks family in blissful peace until he has to go back to California, where the tour will begin and go nonstop for a couple of months. He’s going to do everything in his power to enjoy his time with them as much as he can.
There are two minutes left in the drive until they get to the apartment, which, in all honestly, is closer to a penthouse. Regulus takes a couple of deep breaths to prepare himself and calm his racing heart. No matter how long it’s been, how welcomed he’s been in the Tonks family, he can never quite shake his nerves. He just wants to be good for them, he wants to be enough.
When the car eventually comes to a stop in front of their building, Regulus politely thanks the driver, paying him with a hefty tip. He grabs his luggage and swiftly gets out of the car, turning around as he hears the sound of the car driving off. He looks up at the building and takes one more deep breath before texting Andy to let her know that he’s there.
Her response is almost immediate, letting him know that they’ll let him in. He enters the building, nodding to the security guard who he vaguely recognizes. The security guard nods back, allowing Regulus to go on. Regulus gets to the elevator on autopilot, clicking floor 8 mindlessly.
He gets stopped on the third floor, by two teenage boys getting on. It’s clear they recognize him the minute they look at him, but Regulus is relieved that they don’t go over the top about it. They stand in silence for a bit, but Regulus can see the boys whispering to each other, sneaking glances at him.
Just as they’re reaching the 8th floor, one of them, the brunette, finally gathers the courage to speak to him.
“I’m sorry, but, you’re Regulus Black, right?”
Regulus isn’t the kindest person. He’s never claimed or tried to be, but he knows better than to be cruel to innocent fans. So, instead, he smiles slightly and nods. “I am, are you guys’ fans?”
The boy blushes, nodding shyly. “Uh- yeah, we are. I just wanted to say that you’re music has really, really, helped me feel less alone so.. Thank you.”
Regulus’s lips twitch. “I’m glad. I hope my music continues to help you however you need.” The elevator rings, signifying they’ve reached the 8th floor. Regulus nods at the two boys as they thank him, stepping off the elevator quickly.
Fan interactions are usually a disaster. They make his skin itch and his hands sweaty. He never knows how a fan will act or what they’ll ask him, which is why he always prefers to not be recognized. Regulus is glad they had the respect to not ask him why he was in New York, or for a photo. He can only handle so much.
There are exceptions, of course, such as this one. Hearing that a fan resonated with his music and he was able to help someone always leaves him feeling inexplicably warm. He feels less alone knowing others can relate.
Regulus allows that warm feeling to carry him all the way to the door of the Tonks. He pulls the key out of his pocket, the key that he’s carried with him non-stop for years now. He takes one more deep breath before unlocking the door, slowly pulling it open. He enters quietly, taking his shoes off. The first thing he sets his eyes on is a black cat, blinking slowly up at him from where it sits in the doorway leading into the rest of the apartment.
Regulus resists the urge to squeal like a schoolgirl, instead toning his excitement down to soft cooing, as he bends down to pet the cat - his cat. Achilles welcomes his touch fully, pushing his head into Regulus’s head and attempting to crawl all over Regulus. Regulus huffs out a small laugh. He forgot how cuddly Achilles was.
Achilles was a black cat that Regulus has had for about five years. He had gotten the kitten at a shelter, barely able to let it out of his sight for weeks. Moving across the country without Achilles had been difficult, but he simply would not have been able to have taken care of Achilles with how hectic his life was. Regulus kind of thought he was going insane the first couple of months living in California without Achilles, as well as the rest of his family.
Now, though, he finds Achilles to be one of his favorite things to look forward to every time he comes home.
He only gets a few more moments with Achilles before his name is being called from further in the house. “Regulus? That you? Get in here! What are you doing out there for so long?” Dora’s voice travels, excited.
Regulus smiles down at Achilles, picking him up and walking towards the living area. Achilles, the docile little thing, goes without an ounce of complaint, seemingly just as happy to be back with Regulus as Regulus is to be back with Achilles.
In the living room, Andy, Ted, and Dora are all waiting for him eagerly. Dora hums in understanding when she sees Regulus holding Achilles. “Ah, Achilles already has gotten a hold of him, I see. We didn’t even get the chance to say hi to him.” She sighs, dramatically. Regulus rolls his eyes at her.
“Come here, dummy,” he laughs, setting Achilles down on the couch as Dora immediately launches towards him. “Always so dramatic,” Regulus says as she hugs him. Dora grumbles something into his chest that he doesn't care to decipher.
When Regulus first moved in with the Tonks all those years ago, Dora was incredibly young, only four years old. She’s grown up with Regulus in her life for pretty much as long as she can remember, and even though she knows he isn’t her technical brother, she refuses to see him as anything but. Even now, at twelve years old, Dora loves him just as much as she did when she was six.
“Alright, Dora, let the rest of us get a chance, yeah?” Ted interrupts after a couple of moments of Dora squeezing Regulus as hard as she can. Ted laughs at her petulant pout when she pulls away before replacing her spot, giving Regulus a firm hug. “How’s it going, son?”
Regulus will never get used to hearing Ted call him ‘son’. Every time he says it, it leaves him a bit winded. Not in a bad way, of course. It’s just a small reminder that despite his shitty start in life, he’s gotten more than he could ever imagine, including two amazing parental figures that have given him more than he ever could’ve imagined. It leaves him with the same warm feeling that he had earlier after that interaction with the fan.
“Could be worse as always. You?”
“Amazing now that you’re back under my roof.”
Regulus smiles as he pulls back from the hug. Hugging truly, truly, is not his thing. But.. well, if he thinks he has a hard time saying no to Pandora, hell with freeze over before he ever denies any of the Tonks anything.
So when he looks towards the last person in the room who has yet to actually say anything with hands already held out expectantly, he barely hesitates as he walks into him. He allows Andormeda’s perfume to fully engulf him, breathing it in as he welcomes himself home in her arms. She rubs his hand soothingly up and down her back in that special motherly way that he never once experienced from Walburga, but Andromeda never misses
“Hi,” he whispers, unsure of what else to say.
He can feel her smile in his shoulder as she whispers ‘hi’ back. While Regulus isn’t the tallest person ever, he certainly isn’t the shortest and he still has a good couple of inches on her as she has to reach up to wrap her arms around his neck.
He allows the hug to go on, longer than just to be a simple welcome hug. But, he knows how much Andromeda needs it. She never quite stops worrying about him. The minute she has him in her arms, she’ll keep him there for as long as she can.
Over Andromeda’s shoulder, Regulus sees both Dora and Ted smiling fondly at them, as happy to see them hugging as they are to be hugging. Neither Dora nor Ted will ever fully understand the Black family trauma, but they’ve always seen the connection that Regulus and Andromeda had due to their shared trauma.
When Andy finally pulls back, her eyes are shining. Nobody mentions it.
“If you don’t start coming back weekly we’re going to have some issues,” Andromeda says, seriously. Regulus can’t stop his laugh.
“Not very environmentally friendly, eh?”
“I would destroy the world to have you here without a second thought.”
And Regulus… well, Regulus isn’t entirely sure what to say to that. Coming home is always sweet and emotional. So much that it almost makes him sick, but he perseveres for them. But something about today, Regulus doesn’t understand. Andromeda’s usually not this sappy.
All he can muster is a small ‘oh’,
Ted smiles as he seems to notice Regulus’s loss for words, stepping in just at the right time. “Alright, let's have dinner now, yeah? I’m sure you’ve had a long day, Reg. We made your favorite. We can eat and talk.”
Dora absolutely jumps on the idea, grabbing Regulus’s hand and beginning to drag him towards the table as she starts ranting about how much she likes her music teacher. Regulus smiles at Ted and Andromeda as they follow right behind.
Dinner is nice. They have fettuccine alfredo, which is Regulus’s favorite and it tastes as good as it always does. Dora talks about her classmates some more, Andy talks about some of her current cases at work, and Ted talks about some of the current pitches they’re working on.
Andromeda is a social worker, specifically working with children and teens who come from bad families. After she and Ted got Regulus, she was inspired to help many more kids get out of their hard situations, leading her all the way here. Regulus truly doesn’t know how she’s able to do it. Hearing some of the stories she’s told gives him flashbacks of his old life, he can’t even imagine how she feels, going through it every single day. It’s not all bad, apparently. Just as much as Andromeda comes home with horror stories, she comes home with the happy endings that she helped the children she works with get.
By the time they wrap up dinner, it’s already pretty late, far past Dora’s bedtime. Regulus says good night to her, promising to take her to school the next morning. Ted rushes her off to bed as she complains the whole way, giving Andromeda a kiss on the cheek and a promise to meet her in their room.
Regulus and Andromeda work together to clean up the kitchen. Andy has long given up trying to stop Regulus from helping, well acquainted with his stubborn nature by this point. They talk about random things, the bitchy lady that tried to cause issues with Andromeda at the grocery store the other day, and the progress on Barty and Evan. Andromeda is very invested in the drama revolving around those two, always checking in to see if they’ve gotten their shit together and are dating yet.
They both avoid any heavier topics as they finish clearing the table and loading them into the dishwasher. However, as they make their way out onto the balcony, the conversation subdues as they both get lost in their minds.
Regulus pulls out a cigarette, lighting it. Andromeda has never approved of his smoking habits, but she also smokes from time to time so she doesn't have very much leverage on the topic. He holds on out for her. She takes it
“It’s her birthday today.” Andy breaks the silence, taking a puff off the cigarette and sighing.
Regulus looks over at her as their peaceful silence is broken. He tries to think in his head as to who ‘her’ is, but can’t get it fast enough as Andromeda continues, still looking forward.
“Narcissa’s. I saw the other day that she's expecting.”
Regulus, in all truthfulness, doesn’t know how to respond. Andromeda’s sisters have always been just as much of a taboo subject as Regulus’s brother has been. He can count on his hand the amount of times the two of them have talked about their respective siblings. It’s not the healthiest, to bury their feelings so far down, but, well, old habits die hard. Years of Black Family expectations being drilled into their heads isn’t as easily erasable as one may think.
Regulus hasn’t thought about Narcissa, or Bellatrix for that matter, in a very long time. Now that Andromeda has mentioned them he allows himself to think back to his memories with them.
He always liked Narcissa more than Bellatrix. Bellatrix was scary, in a way that was different from his mother. She always tried to make him do things, such as hurting innocent animals or picking on children at the park that was by their house. Regulus feels a bit sick just remembering what Bellatrix put him through. It wouldn’t surprise him if insanity had gotten its grip on her just as it did his mother by now.
Narcissa, on the other hand… Regulus doesn’t have words for her. They were never explicitly close. Regulus generally tried to keep to himself, even more so after Sirius left. But, there were times when he’d be hiding in the library, studying anything that caught his interest. And sometimes, Narcissa would come in silently, sitting across from him and pulling out her own book.
Regulus never kicked her out. He always went to the library to be alone, but couldn’t help but enjoy the company when she was around. They generally wouldn’t speak, but there was one time when both of them happened to be reading about the same topic. When they realized what had happened, they talked about it with each other, momentarily putting the masks down that both held tightly to their faces.
They didn’t talk about that one time after, nor did they ever really talk again. Narcissa continued to come, but they continued to stay silent. Narcissa never defended him, never strayed away from what she was told, refusing to step even a toe out of line. In a way, Regulus thinks they were very similar.
The difference is, Regulus got out. Regulus got out and Regulus is living the way he wants to live now, with the people he wants to love. Regulus never, ever agreed with the Black Family ideologies. He was just a child, stuck in a terrible situation. He’s not too sure if that was the case for Narcissa, though. Sometimes, he likes to think it was.
Regulus likes to think that maybe if Narcissa had received help as he and Sirius had, she might’ve gotten out as well. He doesn’t like to dwell on it, though. Not when he knows she married Lucious Malfoy, who is quite possibly the most arrogant dick Regulus ever had to meet. Not only that, but she’s also expecting a child with him now. Regulus supposes there’s no point in wasting time mourning now. It seems Andromeda might not feel the same.
“Oh… I’m sorry, Andy,” Regulus isn’t entirely sure what he’s apologizing for, and it seems Andromeda knows as well. “I didn’t realize you still thought about her.”
“What have you got to be sorry for, hm? I think I’ll always mourn her. Perhaps Bellatrix, as well. It’s hard not to when I can never shake the memories the three of us had as children, far before everything went to shit. It always makes me wonder when exactly everything did end up going to shit. When we stopped arguing about who got to play with what doll and instead who would marry which Lestrange twin. I know you’ll deny it, but I imagine deep down, you’ll always feel the same about Sirius. The only difference is you have a chance to get your relationship with him back. I’m not sure I’ll ever have that opportunity again with my sisters, and honestly, I’m not sure I want to.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop mourning Sirius. Even on the off chance that we do eventually makeup, I’ll never recover fully. My head spins with all those missed years, filled with bitter hate brewing up inside me. I think that bitterness is just as permanent as the yearning, and that’s something that I can’t stand.” Regulus admits, choosing to ignore how Andromeda turned it around onto him.
Andromeda smiles softly. “You deserve your closure. You’ll never be able to get those years back, but you also shouldn’t extend them farther than they need to go. You made your choices, Sirius made his. Overthinking them too much is just as bad as my mourning for something that doesn’t exist. If you want Sirius back, if you want that yearning to go away, you need to reach out. You may even finally be able to let go of that bitterness you hold so closely to your heart with the closure you could receive if you would just talk to him.”
Regulus looks down at Achilles in his lap, who blinks blearily up at him as he fights off sleep. He bites his lips guiltily. “Well… Sirius did text me today.”
Andromeda raises her eyebrows. “And?”
“He was trying to talk to me,” Regulus sighs. “Earlier at rehearsal he was being a dick about me being the reason we had to rehearse so early and I was honestly just really tired of it so I decided to play ‘The Grudge’. I left pretty much right after so he couldn’t talk to me, but then in the car when I was on my way here he texted me about the song but I honestly thought he was being a dick so I didn’t really let him explain and basically just told him to leave me alone.”
Andromeda regards him for a moment, taking in everything he said before putting her head in her hands and groaning loudly. “The Black Family and their insane inability to communicate seriously drive me mad one day,” she says, her voice muffled by her hands.
Regulus sighs, nodding in agreement. “You’re not much better.”
“Mm, I know. Every day I’m thankful Dora didn’t get that trait.”
Regulus smiles. “I’ll talk to him, eventually. We got shoved into this so quickly, neither of us were given proper time to process. I can’t promise you we’ll suddenly be the closest brothers in the world but I… I’ll try.”
Andromeda looks up at him with a smile from where her head rests against her arms. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted from you, Reg. I’m so proud of you and who are you now. You’ve come so far.”
Regulus closes his eyes and groans. “Don’t give me that sappy shit, you know I can’t handle it”
Andromeda laughs, loudly. “It’s why I say it. And because I mean it.”
“Thank you,” Regulus says, quietly, like it’s a secret.
Andromeda smiles fondly, standing up straight. “I love you. I’m going to head to bed, gotta be up early in the morning for work. You know what time to leave to take Dora to school, right?”
“Could never forget. Love you too.”
—
The week leading up to the start of the tour was the calm before the storm. There was still a lot going on, lots of meetings and preparations, but something about it all seemed very subdued to James.
They were spending a lot of time with Skittles, minus Regulus, which had been going a lot better than any of them could have expected. Everyone was getting along very well, and the two groups were getting to the point of being comfortable with joking around and poking fun at each other. It seemed with the absence of Regulus, the underlying tenseness in all of them had lifted. Not because Regulus made them tense, but because Regulus and Sirius together made them tense.
Despite that, James still found himself missing seeing Regulus hanging around in the room with them. He missed seeing Regulus make fun of Barty with Evan or seeing him talk with Remus and Pandora about whatever sophisticated topics fascinated them that just left James confused. James supposes he doesn’t need to miss him too much, seeing as he’ll be spending the upcoming months with the younger every day.
James hasn’t talked to Regulus since the day he left, he was able to catch the hint that Regulus didn’t want to hear from him. Despite that, he still watched Regulus’s socials like a hawk. Regulus, who had been obsessively posting pictures of a black cat, each one leaving James cooing.
James never knew that Regulus had a cat. He finds it unbelievably endearing and fitting, of course, Regulus would be a cat person. He figures one of the Skittles would know more about Regulus’s cat and decides to ask. It’s not a crime to know more about someone he’s working with.
They’re currently all hanging out at the Skittles house, seeing as it's bigger than the Marauder’s apartment. The first show of the tour is tomorrow, following two more nights in LA before they begin to head up North to Seattle. All they had to do today was get the outfits set for tomorrow, everything else already being set and ready after months of planning. Marlene and Dorcas let them off for the rest of the day under strict instructions to relax and stay sober. All of them have kept that promise, hanging out at the Skittles house and drinking nothing but juice and water.
Regulus was meant to be back soon, according to Pandora. They had said in about two hours almost two hours ago. But James isn’t keeping track, why would he keep track? His eyes stray to the clock every now and then, though.
He’s listening to whatever dumb argument Sirius and Peter are having, going back and forth about nonsense, as he looks around the room. Remus and Pandora are talking animately with each other, having gotten extremely close, even in the absence of Regulus. Evan and Barty are also off in their own little world, practically sitting on top of each other as they talk with their faces close together. James isn’t entirely sure if they’re dating or not, and he’s scared to ask.
“You two keep arguing about… well, I don’t even know what you're arguing about, honestly,” James says as he begins to stand up, cutting off whatever Sirius had been rebutting against Peter. “I’m gonna go talk with those two,” he nods towards Barty and Evan.
Sirius raises his eyebrows, momentarily distracted as he glances over at them. He looks back up at James, suspiciously. “Why?”
James shrugs. “I wanna get to know them better.” He says, trying to appear innocent.
Sirius looks back over once more before nodding, “Yeah, okay,” and then goes right back to debating with Peter.
James throws Peter, who’s still staring at him suspiciously, one last smile before walking the six steps it takes to get over to the couch Evan and Barty are sitting on. He falls back onto the couch next to them, breaking them apart from their conversation. They look over at him, unimpressed, but he’s not deterred.
“What’s up, Barty, Rosier #2?”
Since Pandora and Evan are twins, James has taken to calling them Rosier #1 and #2, much to Evan’s dismay. Evan is #2 because he was born a minute after Pandora, something James greatly enjoys holding over his head. Additionally, James doesn’t even really call Pandora ‘Rosier #1’, annoying Evan even more. Barty laughs, always first to support mocking Evan, while Evan rolls his eyes. “Do you value your life, Potter?”
James waves him off. “Ah ah ah save the threats for later. Now, why don’t you tell me more about this cat Regulus keeps posting about?”
Evan looks at him funny, seemingly lost, he glances towards Barty for help, who only shrugs. James sighs, pulling out his phone and opening Instagram. Regulus’s profile is already open so he clicks on the story, showing a black cat in Regulus’s arms with the caption ‘leaving today :(“. He turns the phone towards the duo.
Evan’s eyes widen in recognition and he looks away from the phone to laugh at James. “You want to know about Regulus’s cat?”
“So that’s his cat? Why doesn’t it live with you guys, then?”
“His name is Achilles, he doesn’t live with us because Barty’s allergic, the asshole, and we’re all too busy to take care of the cat here, so he stays in New York with uh..” Evan trails off, glancing towards Barty, who’s still caught up on being called an asshole, pouting. “With some people there, so when Reg visits he can see Achilles.”
“I’m not an asshole for having an allergy, asshole!”
“You’re keeping Reg from ever finding true happiness!”
“God, you’re both children. Achilles was never going to move here with us, he’s just as much Dora’s as he is Regulus’s. She wouldn’t let it happen.” Pandora cuts in from where she was talking to Remus, rolling her eyes at the two.
‘Who’s Dora?” Peter asks, finally over his conversation with Sirius, who immediately loses interest as they begin to talk about Regulus. He can pretend all he wants, but James sees right through him. He’s as thirsty for information on Regulus as James is, though James supposes they have different motives.
“Reg’s gonna kill you two.” Barty sighs at the twins.
That doesn’t really help any of the Marauders' confusion. James is trying to think back to all the conversations he’s had with Regulus, and he can’t think of Regulus mentioning anything. Is Dora his friend? His girlfriend? James doesn’t like that. James doesn’t want Regulus to have a girlfriend which is… weird. Why should he care who Regulus dates? Regulus isn’t his.
“No, really, who’s Dora?” Sirius speaks. Evan stares blankly at him.
Just then, the front door opens and closes a moment later. They all wait to hear somebody, likely Regulus, say something, but all they hear is a bit of shuffling. The shuffling approaches the living area, “Anyone here? You won’t believe what the guy next to me on the plane-” Regulus stops as he finally walks into the room, taking in the sight of the Marauders there, in his house. “Oh.”
Seeing Regulus in person for the first time in a week is refreshing to James. He’s dressed comfortably, probably the most informal James has seen him in the past couple of months. He’s wearing a green sweatshirt, with the Skittles logo embroidered onto the right chest area, and some simply black sweatpants. His hair is messy, black curls falling everywhere around his face. James thinks he looks like a work of art.
“Hi, Reg!” Pandora smiles.
“Um... Hi. Care to explain why they’re here?” Regulus sets his stuff down, leaving it there for later as he leans against the doorframe and crosses his arms. James distinctly feels like he’s being scolded by his mother with the way Regulus is looking at each Marauder.
“Bonding.” Barty winks.
“And you didn’t think to text me beforehand because…?”
Evan sighs, sucking his teeth, “My phone broke,” he says, sadly.
Regulus rolls his eyes. “You and Barty have been spamming me with reels for the past hour.”
Remus laughs. “Hey, Regulus, good to see you.”
Regulus, remembering the company, looks towards him. “Lupin, always a pleasure. I’m glad the rest of you are here.. Making yourselves at home as well.”
Sirius scoffs a bit, “Posh prick.” Everyone decidedly ignores it.
“Did you have a good trip to New York?” James asks, always eager to have some sort of interaction with Regulus.
Regulus stares at him for a moment before answering. “I did, yes, it was nice to visit before the tour starts.”
James smiles, “That’s great, Regulus.”
Regulus’s mouth opens, but nothing comes out. He seems a bit lost for words, as he slowly closes his mouth, nodding slightly.
“We were just talking about Achilles!” Barty declares, moving on.
“Achilles? Why?” Regulus moves further into the room from where he had been leaning against the doorway, choosing to sit down next to Pandora, who immediately begins to mess with his hair. He lets her do as she wishes. James wants to be in Pandora’s place, truthfully.
Evan smirks. “James was curious. It seems he was intrigued after all the pictures you were posting, he has all of them saved to his phone!”
James sputters a bit. “I do not! Don’t lie!”
Evan and Barty laugh together, “God it’s too easy.”
“You two are so fucking annoying” Regulus sighs, leaning his head back into Pandora’s hands.
“Yet you still keep us around, so what does that say about you, Reg?”
“That I’m just as much as a moron as you two.”
“Wait, that’s what you went over there for, Prongs?” Sirius suddenly says. “Because you wanted to know about his cat?”
“You guys make it sound so weird.” James mumbles.
“It is a bit odd, mate,” Peter says. James flips him off.
Pandora jumps in, deciding to break up whatever the Marauders would soon begin to start bickering about if no one stopped. “C’mon then, how are they?”
“Good, they’re going to come to the shows in New York.”
“Both? That’s great, Reg, I bet Dora’s losing her mind.” Evan encourages.
Dora again. Who is Dora? James feels like he’s going crazy.
Regulus smiles, “Yeah, she’s really excited. Misses Pandora the most, of course. She’s been going around school bragging about all of it. Says everyone’s jealous, but I think she's lying about that.” Regulus, seemingly forgetting the other presence in the room, rants about Dora happily. Barty laughs at that.
James’ eyebrows furrow. If she’s in school she’s probably not dating Regulus. That still doesn’t explain who she is. Either way, Regulus seems happy to talk about her, comfortable. It’s a good look.
“How’s Andy?”
“Good, she’s been super busy with work recently, she has six cases right now. They want us to stay at theirs when we come to New York, and I’m pretty sure she’s not taking ‘no’ for an answer.”
Evan cheers. “I miss her cooking.’’
“You missed out, it was so good.” Regulus smirks. Evan groans, throwing a pillow at his head.
“Sorry, I kinda feel like I’m missing something here..?” Peter says.
“You are,” Regulus replies, blandly.
Pandora sighs. “We’re talking about the people he used to live with in New York.”
“New York? I thought you were here all this time?” Sirius questions.
“I haven’t lived in California since I was 16,” Regulus replies, dryly.
“What-” James begins. Regulus has grown tired of the conversation apparently, as he quickly cuts him.
“Enough about me. The tour starts tomorrow, let’s just watch a movie or something, since you guys are insisting on hanging out here.”
Everyone seems to agree, specifically Remus who had been stressing every time Sirius opened his mouth, “Yes! That’s a great idea, let’s do that.”
Soon, all eight of them are spread out around the room, in similar positions as before. They put on a random movie that Pandora had really wanted to watch. Skittles has never been able to resist her, but it seems in the short time the marauders have known her, they felt the same way. Snacks are passed around and everyone is content to spend the next couple of hours sitting in each other's presence.
James is sitting next to Sirius on the end of the couch. He hasn’t tuned into the movie too much, his attention primarily caught on Regulus, who is now sitting under Barty’s arm. James had previously believed that Barty and Evan had been dating, but seeing the way Barty and Regulus interact, he’s starting to think maybe they’re dating. Or, maybe the three of them are all together. James doesn’t like that. He hopes Regulus is just really good friends with Barty and Evan.
Sirius’s whispering catches his attention, pulling him away from where he was looking at Regulus and Barty. “Do you know who Reg was talking about?” He whispers. James figured it’s been nagging at him the entire time.
He had heard about how the conversation with Regulus went, which had ended with Regulus basically saying he didn’t want anything to do with Sirius. It messed Sirius up a lot, and he’s been staying in James’s room as a result of it. James understands where Regulus is coming from, but seeing his best friend destroyed like this hurts. A lot.
James still doesn’t feel it’s his place to tell Sirius about Regulus’s connection with Andromeda. He feels like shit lying to his best friend, but he’s unsure what else to do. “No, I’m not sure. I knew he was visiting some people but he never specified who to me,’ he whispers, quietly.
He is being truthful, technically. He still has no idea who Dora is. Sirius nods, accepting his answer and turning back to the TV sadly. James glances towards it as well but discovers he truly has no idea what’s going on and gives up on trying to pay attention. Instead, he brings his attention back to where Regulus is - or, where Regulus was.
Now, the spot next to Barty is vacant, and Barty now messing around on his phone. James stretches his neck a bit, trying to see if Regulus switched places in the room, or went to the kitchen. Now, he’s too curious to let it go. He begins to stand up, whispering ‘bathroom’ to Sirius’s questioning look and begins to head up the stairs, hoping to run into Regulus.
He’s truly not sure why he’s so interested in talking to Regulus right now, but he still finds himself walking past what clearly is the bathroom in hopes of finding something else. Someone else. Regulus.
He sees a dim white light shining out from under one of the doors on the left and decides to take his chances, knocking on the door and waiting a moment. He’s relieved, and a bit nervous, to hear Regulus’s muffled voice call out, telling him he could come in. He doesn’t imagine Regulus would be thrilled to see him, honestly.
Nonetheless, he opens the door slowly, revealing Regulus’s room. Regulus is standing in the middle, his sweatshirt now switched out for a simple black tee. “Potter? What are you doing in my room?” He asks, unimpressed. He tosses his sweater over his desk chair, turning towards James with his eyebrows raised. James feels a little weak in the knees.
James swallows. “I uh, I was looking for the bathroom.”
Regulus blinks at him. “It’s down the hallway and the door is open. Kind of hard to miss.”
James stands there for a moment before sighs, deflating. “Ok, maybe I wanted to just talk to you then. Is that a crime?”
“Depends on what you want to talk to me about.” Regulus continues to walk around the room, seemingly unpacking from his trip.
“Why aren’t you watching the movie?”
“I got too hot. I came upstairs to take my hoodie off, but ended up deciding to just unpack.”
“You run cold, though.”
Regulus pauses, turning from where he was hanging up clothes in his closet. James is still standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame similarly to how Regulus had been earlier, his arms crossed on his chest.
“I do… You don’t know that though.”
“Yes, I do. I remember from when we were younger.”
“Oh… that’s.. I didn’t think you would remember that…” Regulus says, lost for words.
“I remembered everything, Reg,” James says, earnestly.
Regulus clears his throat and looks away, no longer able to handle the eye contact. He turns back towards his closet, clearing his throat once more, before speaking again a moment later.
“Well if you’re insisting on being up here with me then don’t just stand there. Come in here.”
James does as he’s asked, walking into the room, and looking around as he does. Previously, he had been preoccupied with just looking at Regulus, now he takes the time to admire the rest of Regulus’s bedroom.
Regulus’s room is interesting. It’s not bare, not like the one Sirius described at Grimmauld Place, but more minimalistic. It was littered with small interests of his, a book on his nightstand, and a light that projected numerous constellations onto his ceiling when it was dark. He even had small pieces of Pandora, Evan, and Barty scattered through the room. It was chaotic in a peaceful way, was how James would best describe it. James liked it. He liked that Regulus had a place where he could feel at home. Something he never got the chance to have in the time that James had known him previously.
No ones been in the room in a week, unless one of the Skittles came looking for something, but it looked fairly neat, at least compared to what James’s own room looks like in the Marauders’ apartment. The bed is made and the floor is picked up. One of his many journals is opened on his desk, lyrics sprawled messily on the page with a pen lying open next to it.
“Don’t just stand there, sit down or something.” Regulus sighs.
James only chuckles as he takes a seat at Regulus’s desk chair. It’s rather comfortable. “So impatient.”
“Tread carefully, Potter. I won’t hesitate to kick you out.”
James just smiles.
—
Regulus isn’t entirely sure why he’s letting James Potter hang out with him in his room to begin with. They both should be downstairs, watching the movie Pandora picked with the other members. Regulus hopes they won’t notice. He’s not sure how they would explain it, and he would truthfully rather die than deal with Evan and Barty’s teasing.
Something about James is so intriguing to him, but Regulus can’t quite figure out what. Either way, he needs it to stop. He can’t be getting close to James like this, truly.
Nonetheless, he still finds himself entertaining James’s antic for some reason. They sit in silence for a couple of moments, James continuing to admire Regulus’s room as he continues to unpack. He wanted to get it out of the way now, seeing as he was going to be far too busy to do it later with the start of the tour. Thankfully, he had thought ahead and was already packed for the tour with what he personally needed to bring.
He was truthfully really grateful they weren’t doing a tour bus. Apparently, The Marauders are big enough of a group so they were able to afford a private jet for the entire North American leg of the tour. Regulus doesn’t think he would’ve been able to survive two months in a bus with Barty and Evan, honestly. He can barely survive living in their huge house with the two.
“You’re room is nice,” James says, breaking the silence. “It’s unexpected, but it still fits you all the same.”
Regulus hums as he finishes putting his clothes away. “Pandora insisted on helping me decorate, so you have her to praise for this I suppose.”
“Thank god for Pandora Rosier.” James smiles.
“Indeed.”
“So.. aare Barty and Evan dating?”
Regulus looks up, abruptly, and laughs. It’s loud and free like it’s the funniest thing he’s heard in weeks. James doesn’t really know what’s funny about it, but he’ll take pride in making Regulus laugh like that any day, truthfully.
“What?” James asks, a confused smile on his face as Regulus tries to compose himself. “Was that stupid to ask?’
“No, James,” Regulus wheezes “It’s just funny how obvious it is. They’ve been chasing each other for years, literally, everyone can see it. They’re just a pair of morons in denial. So technically they aren’t dating, but they’re bound to be one day, if they can manage to get their shit together.”
James's mouth takes the shape of an ‘oh’ as he processes that. “Oh... Then why are you and Barty so… close?”
Regulus looks at him, curiously. “I don’t think I’m any closer with him than I am Evan or Pandora, but maybe I am. It’s not really a big deal though.”
Regulus puts his last shirt away, checking his phone. “Ah, they’re definitely growing suspicious down there. Apparently, Peter is growing concerned that you’re going to blow up our bathroom. We should probably head back down.” Regulus looks up from his phone, glancing at James a bit judgementally.
James laughs, scratching the back of his neck. “Ah, I think he was just joking. Yeah, we probably should go back, though.”
James heads for the door, Regulus following behind.
They go downstairs, dodging the questions from the rest of the Skittles and Marauders. When Regulus is sitting back next to Barty, he finally allows himself to properly breath. He can’t believe that even after all these years, James Potter still has this effect on him.
He needs to figure something out. The tour starts tomorrow, and then it’s 3 months of being around his brother and his brother’s best friend (who he may still not be over). Regulus still isn’t quite sure if he’ll survive it, but he supposes he’ll have to nonetheless.
For now, he’ll enjoy the presence of three of his favorite people, before everything likely goes to hell. Maybe throughout this, he’ll learn to appreciate the Marauder's presence as well.