everything calculated.
“Remus, Peter, this is Dorcas Meadowes.” Regulus said as the girl next to him smiled widely, extending a hand which was accepted almost immediately.
“I'm Peter. He is Remus. And we are happy to meet you.”
“The pleasure is all mine. Thank you for the job. I'll be worth it.” the girl replied, adjusting her bandana better and rolling up her sleeves. “What can I do?”
“Do you know how to make drinks?”
Dorcas smiled as she joined Remus behind the counter, “Hell, yeah. Try me, Regulus.”
“Right.” The boy said getting a nod from Remus and asking the most complicated thing he could think of. To then get the same thing asked for, with a delicious taste, which he made Peter and Remus try too. Peter gave her a high five while Remus, of course, only gave her a faint smile.
“Where is James?” asked Peter while Regulus wrote the address to Barty who would join him shortly to have breakfast together and to get to know the place.
“Yeah, about that. He apologizes for not coming today, but one of his friends invited him somewhere else. Tomorrow he will be the first to enter through that door.” Regulus said as Remus raised an eyebrow, “His words, not mine.”
“Friend more important than us? Shame.”
“Yeah.” Regulus said flatly, “Shame.” Then, turning to Dorcas, “Barty will be here in a few minutes.”
“Of course he is going to be here.”
“Pandora and Lily are coming. They went to get Marlene.” He added towards Remus satisfied that he had actually brought him other customers, while his one rolled his eyes, passing him a piece of tart,
“Just eat.”
“Tell me I was right first.”
“Okay, you were right, Reggie.”
“I know, Remmy.”
“Can I call you Remmy?” asked Dorcas immediately with a secret wink at Regulus who smiled just as secretly,
“Don't spread yourself, Meadowes.”
“Not one to joke around much, huh?”
“Jokes? Remmy is a real joker here.” Peter added as Remus sighed heavily,
“I hate you both. And I'm starting to feel some hate for you too, Dorcas.”
The girl didn't stop smiling, “Nobody really, can hate me.”
Remus stared at her for a few seconds, smiling too this time, but before he could say anything, the door opened and Barty came in with a huge smile. And this time, Regulus noted with pleasure, he wasn't wearing his glasses.
“Well, good morning, people.” He said happily as he walked over to Regulus giving him a quick hug and nodded to Dorcas, “I'm Barty.”
“As in Bartemius?” Peter asked curiously,
“Yes. But don't call me that.”
“It’s his father name.” Dorcas said, leaning over to give him a quick kiss on the cheek before walking back behind the counter,
“Who is an asshole. Or a bitch. And all the insults you can think of. So, I'm Barty. You must be Peter.”
“Got it. No Bartemius. And yes, at your service.”
“So you must be Remus. He really is tall.” He said turning to Regulus who nodded, observing his friend who now resembled Barty much more than him,
“You didn't describe me as the tall one.” Remus said flatly as Regulus tilted his head,
“In fact, I didn't. You have so little faith in me.”
“What do you want to have, Barty?” Remus asked then and the boy shrugged,
"Whatever you want. I will have time to taste everything.”
“What did I tell you? You won't be able to get rid of us anymore. Happy now?” Regulus asked again in a satisfied tone while Remus smiled slightly at him this time. Smile that he hid the next moment. Regulus stood up and followed Barty to the table but not before saying, “I saw that!”
“Fuck you, Reggie.”
“You love me, Remmy.”
“I think he does.” Dorcas said discreetly while Peter added,
“You definitely do.”
“I'll fire both of you.”
“It's my place too.”
“Not for long.”
“Really? That's—” Peter began but stopped when he saw the three previously mentioned girls come through the door.
Pandora smiled openly as soon as she saw Regulus and with a determined step approached the two boys, sitting next to him, while Lily followed her, sitting next to her, after which Marlene did the same, but sitting next to Barty.
“I'm Pandora, Reggie's best friend, she is Lily my girlfriend and she is Marlene. And you must be Barty, right?”
“In person. Good to meet you.”
“So you are the guy who is deaf right?”
“Marlene.”
“What? That didn't intend to be rude! I like him, he has good vibes.” defended the girl while the boy nodded,
“That's me. And you are the girl who taught Regulus? I think something went wrong.”
“Oi!” Regulus said offended as the girl smiled,
“I know. I told him how to do things in a way, he does them in his own way.”
“I feel you. Evan is just like him.”
“Evan?”
“My boyfriend.”
“Mhm, got it. Listen, I have an important question.”
Barty rested his elbow on the table, resting her cheek in the palm of his hand, “Shoot.”
“How did you become deaf?”
“Marlene.” Lily said shocked but Barty simply replied as if nothing had happened, even though Regulus could see a hidden emotion behind the boy's eyes,
“Years ago I was in a car accident with my mother. My mother died, while I suffered a head injury which led to damage to the acoustic nerve which has led me, to total hearing loss. Some doctors said that it could come back, by some miracle I don't know, but I've been like this for more than 5 years now.”
“That's really shit.” Said the girl sadly,
“I'm sorry, Barty.” Lily added but the boy shook his head,
“Nah, don't do that. I'm fine. I can hear thanks to them,” he said, pointing to the cochlear implants in his ear which were so small they couldn't be seen, “And right now I 'm happy. So yeah, I agree with Marlene, life is shit, but don't be sorry for me. Be sorry for Dorcas because she has those shoes.”
“I heard that, you asshole!” promptly replied the girl while Barty smiled.
“How was she?”
“My mother?”
“Yeah.”
“She was…amazing. She was born with love in her veins, do you know? And she always tried to convey it to everything and everyone. Unfortunately, she met my father and it ended up the way she did. But she was happy with me. Really happy. You could see it in her eyes. It's hard to forget those eyes of hers.”
“I understand. My dad was like that.” Pandora added with a nod, “It was like all the bad things could always be good with him. He always managed to find—”
“That unique detail of things.” Barty finished nodding as well as Pandora smiled sweetly at him, “My mom was the same.”
“Maybe they are talking up there right now. I mean, Pandora and Barty? We'll be perfect together, trust me.” The girl said as Barty sent a quick glance to Regulus who shrugged imperceptibly,
“Yeah. I guess so.”
“I know. Sorry for the delay but Peter showed me a trick.” Dorcas said approaching their table with a smile,
“What kind of trick?” Barty asked mischievously as Regulus snorted a light laugh,
“The one you show Ev in the bathroom.” replied the girl and then turned to the others, “So, orders. Tell me everything."
“Who are you?” interrupted Marlene, who did not take her gaze off Dorcas' face, who, turning her head, studied her from top to bottom,
“I'm Meadowes. Dorcas. The new employer. It's a pleasure to meet you, cutie. What's your name?”
Marlene leaned lightly against the loveseat, “Whatever you want it to be.”
Dorcas smiled again, “Oh yeah? Everything?”
“Yours is on the list.”
“Get a room?” asked Regulus and Barty nodded,
“Or the bathroom. That's very nice too.”
“Oh, you know that really well, right?” Dorcas asked without moving her gaze from Marlene who smiled widely,
“Oh, shut up you two.” promptly shushed Pandora as she motioned for the two girls to calmly continue flirting.
“Dorcas, I need your help please!” Peter said the next moment, so the girl nodded, taking everyone's orders, and after winking at Marlene, she reached the boy and helped him.
“Please tell me she is single.” She sighed this last as she walked away,
“She is.” Barty confirmed, making an expression that made Regulus smile,
Lily rested her head on Pandora's shoulder, “Not for long.”
“How can she be single? Did the people see her?”
“Dorcas is quite selective.” Regulus said with a pause while this time it was Barty who smiled,
“Something it's going on between you two. Why are you always smiling at each other?”
“Male thing.” Barty said and that made Regulus laugh,
“And you call James stupid?” Lily asked innocently getting a dirty look,
“James is an idiot.” observed Regulus in the most neutral way possible, still managing to let that drop of affection escape,
“Your idiot.” Pandora said promptly as at that, everyone nodded. Even Barty,
“You shut up.” Regulus said rolling his eyes as Dorcas returned to the table with all the orders ready,
“Chocolate muffin for Reggie, strawberry tart for Lily and peach tart for Pandora and a coffee for both of them, an iced decaffeinated latte for Barty with his usual plain croissant and for this cutie, a cappuccino with a chocolate croissant.” Dorcas said deftly before turning to Marlene, “Call me later. And maybe we can work on who I want you to be.” And with that she turned away.
Marlene stared at her while Pandora quickly reached out for the girl's cup, to see that there was actually a number on it. “Marls…she did leave you the number.”
She whirled around excitedly, “What? Really? Give me that!” She turned the cup to see the writing, “Regulus? I love you.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. God, I just met my wife like that?” And this actually made everyone laugh. “Look how beautiful the «e» she makes are!”
In the end the only ones left were Barty and Regulus, as Lily, Marlene and Pandora had to head to the conservatory.
So the two spent most of their time talking about anything and everything, until Evan texted Barty that he would pick him up since he finished work earlier that day.
Obviously he had insisted that they give him a lift, but Regulus had politely declined the offer, waiting for James to show up.
He always did.
Even though the boy hadn't received any messages from him that morning. And this was confusing him for a moment. It had never happened. Even though the messages had decreased, they had never completely disappeared.
“Still nothing?”
Regulus looked up from his phone, “Mhm?”
“From James.”
“Nope. I think something is wrong. He never doesn't write to me.”
“Did you call him?”
The boy waited a few seconds before replying, “Yeah, I actually did this time. But he is reachable.”
“Then he is not ignoring you. That's a good sign.”
“James doesn't ignore me.” Barty held up his hands in surrender, “And he wouldn't ignore anyone. That's why it’s strange.”
“Do you think something happened to him?”
“What could happen in the worst case?”
“Uh… maybe he fell. Or he broke his phone." Barty said and for the first time Regulus felt a pit in his stomach.
“Ev!” Dorcas said enthusiastically the next moment and both boys turned to see Evan come in, looking for Barty, who as soon as he found it caused a flare up on his face,
“Hey, Cass. How is it going?" He asked in response as he approached Barty and Regulus as the girl simply gave him a thumbs up as she served a couple of girls who had been studying at one of the tables for at least 20 minutes. “Hey, babe.” He then said placing a kiss on Barty's forehead who jokingly pushed him,
“You remember Regulus?”
“I do.” Evan said, putting his arm around the boy's shoulders, pulling him towards him, and then moving his gaze to Regulus, “Hi, Regulus. How are you?”
“Fine.” The boy said absentmindedly as he checked his phone again. Okay, it had definitely been at least 6 hours since James hadn't spoken to him. Or given any sign of life.
Evan gave Barty a confused look, “His boyfriend isn't responding and he's getting worried.” He explained then while Regulus gave him a flat look,
The first one cleared his throat, “Listen dude, I wanted to tell that I'm sorry.”
“Sorry?”
“Yeah. For how I behaved that time. I am sorry. I didn't…I saw you next to Barty and I knew he couldn't hear you so I thought you were picking on him.”
“That's okay.”
“No, it's not. I felt really bad after.”
Regulus raised an eyebrow, “Really? You looked really—proud of yourself.”
Evan smiled, “Fuck off, I wasn't.”
“If you say so.” He replied, shrugging his shoulders in the air,
“For real, I'm sorry.”
“Forgiven and forgotten.”
“Good. Now we can be friends then.”
“Think carefully before you say yes.” Barty added as Evan pushed him slightly, then pulled him back,
“Fuck off you too. You love me.”
“I'm crazy. Of course I love you.”
Regulus reached out his hand to shake the boy's hand, "I would love to, Evie."
“You told him about that?” He asked the boy hearing the nickname that Regulus had given him,
“Of course I told him about how you—”
“Shut up.” Evan said, glaring at him, “Did you get everything?” He asked then turning to Regulus,
“What?”
“We'll take you home. Come on."
“I’m—actually I—”
“He is waiting for his boyfriend to take him.” Barty explained and Regulus glared at him,
“Fuck off, he's—” but he stopped when his phone started ringing. And oh, was it bad to admit that his stomach immediately felt light at that tune?
“See?”
The boy rolled his eyes but took the phone, only to see his certainties fall away. It was a private number. Great. “It's a private number.”
“Wait, actually? I really thought it was James.”
“Yeah.” He sighed
“You do not answer?” Evan asked looking at the screen,
“No? Why should I?”
“Well, maybe they are the cops. Who knows?”
“How could it be the cops?”
“He is right, they call on private numbers.”
“How is that—really? How did you know, anyway.”
“He is Barty.” Evan said simply and Regulus shrugged,
“Yeah, that explains a lot.”
“Answer it, c’mon.”
“Yeah!”
“Okay!” Regulus said putting his cell phone to his ear with a skeptical look towards two boys, “Hey.”
“Did you really say hey?” Barty asked amusedly as Regulus gave him the middle finger,
“Hi, mi amor.” The metallic voice said and oh. Oh. Oh. Oh.
Regulus felt a tug in his stomach that he ignored, “James? What the fuck are you doing? Why didn't you call? Wrote? Made alive? Now what do you do, call me and—”
James on the other hand laughed, “Sorry, but i was busy convincing the police not to arrest me.”
A pause, “What did you do?”
"Nothing! I swear. I was just walking in my car and they stopped me. As you well know, I didn't have a driving license, so I said I simply forgot it. They believed it, but then a Korean guy, proposed to check who the car belonged to and since the car belongs to both me and you after we changed it from the name of Pandora, they said that they don't intend to leave me until someone prove it's true. That is you.”
“You realize that doesn't make any sense, right? Who ever arrests someone because all the owners of a car are not in the car?”
“I know, right?! That's what I said! But they didn't listen to me."
“Of course not.”
“Can you come? It's getting cold here. And there is this guy that smells weird.”
“I have to wait for Pando—”
“We'll take you.” Evan quickly interjected as Barty nodded next to him,
“Oh yeah. We want to see James.”
“Are you sure? It's—”
“Yes. Tell him.”
“I—okay, I'm on my way.”
“Who was it?”
“Evan and Barty. They're offering me a ride to come get you out of prison, Potter. You realize?"
“Aw, I missed your Potter.”
“I'm going to kill you. I swear to Merlin, James. If it were the last thing I do."
“I love you too, Reg.” The boy said with a clear smile on his face,
“We'll see about that. And please, don't go and talk to the guy that smells weird.”
“I think it's alcohol. And maybe pee?”
“Just don't.”
“I won't.”
“James, I'm serious.”
“You’re Reg.”
“Bye.” He said closing the phone call under the amused gaze of the two boys.
“We're going to get James from prison, Cass! We will see each other later!" Evan said the next moment as the three were now heading towards the exit,
“Wait, what? Is James okay?” quickly asked Peter while Regulus nodded,
“He is just in prison.” He said as if this should make the situation better,
“Why is he in prison?”
“He just killed this guy, it's not that deep.” Barty said with a shrug as both Remus and Peter looked at him with wide eyes.
“He is lying, don't worry.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. James wouldn't hurt a fly, you know him. See you tomorrow. Peter. Remus. Dorcas.”
“Call me when you are there.” Remus said by way of greeting to the boy who nodded promptly.
And of course when they got there, James was in an intense conversation with the guy who smelled weird. If Regulus hadn't been happy to see him, he probably would have killed him.
“Oh, he is here for me.” James said kindly to the man who was still laughing at something the boy said earlier, “I hope that you're ex-wife comes, Greg.”
“I hope too, James.”
“She will. Don't worry about that.” James said as he stood up and headed towards the cell door, behind which stood Regulus, who had signed some papers earlier, Evan and Barty, who were both smiling.
“Have a nice day, James.”
“You too, Greg!” The boy said with a smile as he walked out of the cell.
“I told you not to talk to him. To anyone, actually.” Regulus said softly as the policeman led them out, not without a few dubious glances at the boy with his eyes.
“But he is a really good man.”
“Yeah, sure. Thank you sir.”
“Have a good night sir.” replied the policeman while Evan and Barty nodded to him.
“He was really sad, Reg. I'm sure talking to someone did him some good.” James said as he approached Regulus to kiss him on the cheek, after giving him an imperceptible sign. It was for show. For all of them they were still together. He was kissing him because he was his boyfriend. And the warmth Regulus felt where the boy's lips had been on his cheek was definitely for the scene. It was all calculated.
Everything calculated.
James put an arm around Regulus' shoulders and he let himself be pulled towards him, “By the way. Thank you for accompanying Reg. I'm James Potter.”
“We know. Reggie here has been talking about you all day.” Barty said as Regulus glared at him,
“Wait, really?” James asked surprised turning to Regulus,
“Oh yeah. All day and—”
“I didn't.” Regulus interrupted while James smiled,
“Oh please, tell me more…?” He pretended not to know the name of course,
“I'm Barty. He is Evan. And we are his friends.”
“Not for long.”
“Oh please, don't put out on us. We are just telling the truth.” Evan said sadly as Regulus leaned forward to hit him on the arm,
“You weren't even there. And I just said that you didn't call all day.” Regulus said handing him his phone, which the cops had taken from him.
“I didn't have a phone. You know I always write to you." James said and that was true.
“I know. Where is the car?” He asked, changing the subject,
“There.” He replied, turning towards the two boys and holding out his hand, “It was really a pleasure to meet you guys.”
“The pleasure was all ours, Potter.” Barty replied, “See you tomorrow, Regulus?”
“No.” He lied while Barry smiled,
“Alright. I will miss you.”
“I won't.”
“We will miss you though.” Evan added as James smiled,
“See you tomorrow, guys.” He said before following Regulus who had turned away,
“Or maybe not!”
“We love you, Regulus!” The boys said laughing.
“It's the first time that Barty doesn't insult me, you know.” James said casually as the two reached the car, “That was weird.”
“They act similar to our Barty and Evan if I'm being honest. But yeah, it's not the same. They are more…”
“Sweet?”
“I mean, a little?”
“Mhm.” He agreed Regulus putting on his seatbelt as James started the engine. “Sirius is sweeter?”
“Not really. If all, he is more energetic?”
“Energetic.” Regulus repeated confused while James nodded,
“Something like that. You have to see it to understand, you know?”
Regulus rested his head on the seat, “Mhm.”
After a few minutes of silence James finally said, “I have to go see Sirius.”
“Was it today? Merde, I forgot.” Regulus asked and James nodded,
“Yes. Remember the cards game?”
“What game by the way?”
“I don't know.” James said and then added in a more delicate tone, “Regulus. I know you said that you'll think about it but I would like you to come with me.”
Regulus was silent second, “You’re asking me again.”
“I'm asking you again.” James tightened his fingers lightly on the steering wheel, “Come with me.”
“Did you tell him about me?” Instead he was asked,
“No, I didn't. Because I didn't know if you wanted me to.” The boy explained and Regulus simply released a barely audible breath, “We are going to do this together.”
“James—”
“I will be there all the time. And if you want me to I'll never leave you alone. And if you want to leave at some point, any point, I'll make an excuse for us to leave.”
“Why are you doing this?” Regulus asked closing his eyes,
“Because I know how much you miss him. And unconsciously he misses you too.”
“Unconsciously.”
“Exactly.” James turned to look at him before turning back to the street, “Are you going with me? Or do I have to take you home?” The boy asked, “I'm about to get to the crossroads.”
“You're gonna leave if I want to leave?”
“I'm going to make an excuse for us to leave, yes. I'll start bleeding through my nose if you want. And I'll take us home.” He offered, and Merlin, Regulus didn't believe he had said those words when the two arrived at the crossroads even after having said them himself.
“Just drive to his house.”
“Are you sure?”
“No. But do it.”
And so it was that Regulus got out of the car in front of the same building where James had waited and hoped for Sirius to come out.
“I'm going to kill you.” Regulus whispered looking at the building as his heart was definitely beating faster now,
“Are you into it?” James asked curiously as he adjusted his glasses on his nose,
“Into what?”
“You know, you always say that you want to kill me so…” he began and when Regulus understood what he meant he turned towards him exasperated,
“Not in a sexual way, James! What is wrong with you!”
“I don't know! You are always saying that you want to kill me and maybe I—”
“See? That's why I want to kill you.”
“You like me too much for killing me.”
A little hesitation, “I don't.”
“Was it a hesitation? Oh Merlin, you really like me, don't you? Are you falling in love with me, Regulus Black?” James asked, leaning forward so their faces were a short distance from each other,
“Of course not.” Regulus said without missing a beat,
“And what if I am into the killing stuff? You holding a knife against my throat?”
“I would tell you to change your ways because it will never happen. A knife? Too banal.”
James fake pouted, “Just like that?”
“Just like that.” He confirmed before taking a step back and then hitting him on the arm,
“You have to stop hitting me.”
“One, it was a light blow. Two, when you stop being an idiot.”
“Well, that's hard to do.”
“For you? Totally.” Regulus said, smiling slightly as he looked at the building while James smiled slightly, texting Sirius that he had arrived and that he should come down. “You texted him?”
“Yes. He is coming.”
Regulus took a light breath as he leaned against the wall, “Great.”
“Are you okay?”
Regulus looked up and held James's, “If I'm—”
“Leaving, I'm leaving with you.” He concluded quickly and Regulus nodded.
“Thank you.”
“You don't have to thank me, you know it. You would have done the same for me.”
“I would've.” Regulus said. And this time, he wasn't lying.
“Yoo, P! What are you doing? We were expecting you a little bit earlier and—” Sirius said in a loud voice, appearing at the door and Regulus immediately stood straight next to James, while his heart skipped a few beats. It really was Sirius. His brother. Always him.
Sirius stopped short, looking at Regulus for a few seconds in silence. He looked from him to James and from James to him. “I thought you were alone. Who is him?”
…And yes. Regulus was right. It fucking hurts. At least this time Sirius' eyes were not filled with coldness, but only confusion. Somehow…did it ease the pain for a few seconds?
It wasn't his fault, right? It wasn't a choice of him as it had been in the past. It wasn't. It wasn't. It wasn't. Because this time it wasn't Sirius' fault. The decision wasn't Sirius's. It had been Regulus's. It's his fault. It's his fault... it's his fault. Decision-
James next to him grabbed his hand and squeezed it in his. And that succeeded in taking Regulus out of his thoughts. James was there. As he had told him. As he had promised him.
“Sorry if I didn't warn you, but I probably would have lost right away. I needed an extra hand.”
“Well, that's true. Who is he again?”
“He is… my fiancé. Regulus.” James said stunning both Regulus, Sirius and himself. What had he just said? Fiancé?
Not friend. Not boyfriend. Fiancé. Why hadn't he simply said friend? Fiancé.
For this Regulus would have truly killed him.
Sirius' face lit up instantly, “No fucking way. Fiancé? Why you didn't tell me sooner!”
“It didn't come out.” James said trying to sound as natural as possible as he felt Regulus squeeze his fingers.
“Wait until B knows. I'm so happy for you? Like, congratulations! I don't even know what to say right now.” Sirius said hugging James suddenly as Regulus shifted slightly, even though James just wanted to have him close.
Regulus wanted to have James close.
Sirius pulled away, “I'm sorry. What was your name again?”
“Regulus Black.”
“No way.” Sirius said in surprise, “Black? Is your last name Black? I'm Black too! And you're name is also a star? This can't be happening right now.”
The boy now understood what James meant by “energetic”.
“A beautiful coincidence.” Regulus said before being pulled into Sirius' arms. And oh, this hurt. Very bad.
Sirius smelled the same. The same strength, the same height and oh. Was he about to cry? But Sirius kept holding him in his arms and he didn't know what to do and—and his breathing had increased and—
“Sirius, that is my fiancé not yours.” James interjected and Sirius laughed, moving away from him,
“You're right. Sorry. I'm just so happy, like…you are getting married. You have a fiancé and you never told me? And you. You are basically my brother now, do you know that?”
Fuck.
“C'mon, let's go! B will be so much happy for you! We have to celebrate.”
“It happened some time ago.” James said with a nervous laugh but Sirius just shook his head,
“We have to celebrate. We will celebrate with your defeat at cards, P, wait and see.” He said before disappearing, leaving them there alone, as if it were normal.
James turned to Regulus who was staring straight at where Sirius had disappeared the moment before. “Reg? Do you want to go home?”
Regulus didn't respond right away, and James turned fully to face him, “Reg, one word.”
“It's okay. I'm okay.”
“You truly are?”
“I, truly, am.” Regulus said with a nod turning towards James who was really undecided whether to touch him or not.
If he touched him, would Regulus let him? Would he reject him?
James tried anyway. He reached out and slowly grabbed the boy's hands in his.
And he didn't move, closing his eyes, concentrating only on the boy's delicate fingers on his hands.
“Why did you do that, James?”
“Do what?” He asked carefully, not taking his hands off his,
“Fiancés?” Regulus opened his eyes, “Really? Not boyfriends, not friends, but fiancés?”
“I started to panic.”
“What we will do?”
“I thought you would take it worse, I have to be honest.”
“Oh, don't worry about that. Inside me I have already beaten you seven times and killed you twice.”
James smiled slightly, “Oh, really? Only two?”
“He will find out about us. And I honestly don't know how it's going to end.” Regulus said taking his hands away and putting them in his pockets, the boy adjusted his glasses not knowing what else to do with them,
“We are good at pretending. Nobody understood that we are not really together. What changes this time? Fiancé is just a title, right?”
“But we are not—”
“You can lie. I can lie. It's going to be fine.”
“You can't lie so good.” Regulus said and James let out a barely audible nervous laugh,
“But no one ever doubted us, right? That means that I can lie.” That means that I'm in love with you already. “It's not going to be different for what we had always done.”
“I know, but this time I feel like—maybe because it's Sirius but—”
“The only thing that we have to do is to pretend to be in love.” Said James, “We can do that. We've already done it.”
“I know.”
“I trust in us. I can pretend to be in love with you.” James lied as Regulus looked at him silently, “Can you pretend to be in love with me again?”
A pause, “Yeah.”
“Then we have a deal.”
“We have to find rings.” He suddenly said,
“What?”
Regulus threw his arms in the air, “James! People who are fiancés have rings! Or at least one has a ring! I believe! I don't know!” He screamed-whispered,
“You have rings.”
“It's not the same.”
“We'll be looking for a ring. I promised, I—” James began as Regulus rolled his eyes at him.
What the two didn't know, however, was that at that moment someone else was listening to their conversation.
And that someone else was Benjy. Benjy who was shocked listening to them. What was happening? Was that really Regulus? And why did they have to pretend to be together? Indeed, why had they lied?
The boy turned around suddenly when he heard Sirius' footsteps coming down the stairs, so he said in a loud voice to make the two hear that they were not alone, “B, move you ass, I want to eat that chips!”, before looking out, to see the two who had suddenly stopped talking.
“Benji?” Regulus asked confusedly and oh, he honestly didn't remember how cute Regulus was. Actually yes, he remembered it all right? He had just tried to ignore it.
“Lus? Is that you?” Benjy asked pretending to be surprised. He would talk to him. That was for sure. He had to talk to him.
“You didn't tell me Benjy was here.” Regulus said giving James a flat look as he shrugged,
“It didn't slip my mind. It's nice to see you again, B.”
“My pleasure, P. And you sure didn't tell me about Lus.”
James instinctively walked towards the boy who was looking at Benjy curiously, “Didn't come out.”
“Your fiancé's name never came out? Shame on you.” Benjy said playing along as Sirius butted in at that moment,
“That’s what I said! You know him?”
“Me and Lus are actually friends.”
“Well, that's another piece of news. This night is full of surprises. Come on, let's go upstairs.” Sirius said, taking James' arm and then turning and entering the building, leaving the two alone.
“Benji. I didn't—” Regulus began in surprise but the boy raised a hand to silence him,
“Listen, Lus. I don't know what you are doing, but just because you're pretty you can't play with people. Especially Sirius.” He whispered interrupting him,
Regulus froze, “What?”
“I heard you talking with James. Pretend to be in love? What the fuck are you two doing?” Fuck. Fuck fuck shit fuck.
“I swear we are not here for hurting Sirius. Trust me.”
“Trust you? How can I trust you after what I heard? You know it's hard, right?”
“It's not something bad. I promise. I know it's—it seems, but it's not. It's way more complicated than this. Don't tell him, please.”
“Do you want me to lie to my best friend?”
Regulus sighed, “Yes. The last thing I want to do is hurting Sirius. I would never.”
“Sirius is my best friend since I've known him.”
“I know.” He replied quickly,
“And I'm lying to him for you. It's not cool.”
“I know.”
“I don't know at what game you two are playing.”
“It's complicated. I swear I'm—we are not doing something bad.”
“Lus, I like you. Okay? You know it.” Benjy said looking him in the eyes, “But I can't lie to Sirius because I like you. I'm not like that. I—”
“Please, Benjy. Please.” Regulus said in an almost broken voice and the boy stared at him for a few more seconds in silence managing to see the sincere and honest fear behind those eyes as he sent a look towards the stairs,
“You promise you—”
“I give you my word. And James's word. I can't tell you the truth because I can't, I really can't, but I'm not going to hurt Sirius. You know me. You like me.”
“Low blow.”
“Please, Benjy.”
Benjy nodded just after a few minutes that felt like an eternity, “But if you or James try to—”
“Yes. Of course. Everything you want to do to us.”
“Am I a bad best friend?” Benjy asked disappointedly as Regulus shook his head as he approached,
“Trust me, you're not. You're doing something good.”
“You said a thousand times to trust you. And I feel that I should but Sirius—”
“It's important to me too. To James too.”
“I can see that.”
“See me too then.” Regulus said tiredly as Benjy looked at him without ever taking his eyes off him,
“Guys! What are you doing there? We have to play bullshit, for god's sake, move your asses!” Sirius shouted apologizing the next moment to a neighbor who had come out to complain.
“Don't make me regret this.” Benjy said defeatedly as Regulus shook his head,
“I won't.”
“You really never played Bullshit?” Sirius asked outragedly dividing the cards between the two couples. Benjy and Sirius vs Regulus and James.
“Oh, shut it.” James said as he stood next to Regulus as he kept throwing quick glances at Benjy, but he wasn't returning them. Fuck.
“It's like the best game. You never saw How to lose a guy in 10 days?” And when they didn't answer he gasped loudly, “Are you kidding me?”
“Can we play B?” Benjy asked, taking the cards in his hand and looking at them carefully,
“But they never saw How to lose a guy in 10 days.” Sirius said sadly towards his friend who patted him on the back,
“We can watch it together.” James proposed, looking at Regulus who however wasn't paying attention to him, only looking anxiously at Benjy. He nudged him which made him turn to him in confusion, “We'll watch the film together, right?”
“Yeah, totally.”
“You promise?”
“I swear it on James’s life.”
“Wait what?”
“Great! Let's begin.”
“No wait, why did you swear it on me?” The boy complained while Regulus smiled,
“Because I don't want you to die, so I have to keep my promise.”
“That’s a—Reg.”
“You don't trust me?”
“You know what I know.” James said instead taking the cards into his hands.
“So, the game is simple.” Sirius interrupted a second later before Regulus could respond to the boy next to him. “You place cards in the center of the table and name them. For example,” the boy began to explain, placing two cards on the table, “I say that the cards in the center that I placed are two aces. It's up to you to decide whether I'm lying or not. If you think I'm lying, say Bullshit, of course, and if you showed me the cards i’ll take them again, otherwise you have to take them. Whoever has no more cards wins.”
“So it's a game of who can lie best.” Regulus said as James next to him sighed,
“I'm not good at lying.”
Benjy turned to Regulus, “You’re not alone.”
James interjected, “What does the winner win?"
“The winner will have to pay for a dinner.” Sirius offered.
“Two dinners. We are two.” Regulus said and his brother looked at him for a few seconds before smiling coldly, holding out his hand which his brother shook the next moment, a slight tingling sensation derived from his feelings that he decided to bury in that moment,
“Done.”
“Good. Then let's start. B, you are first.”
“Two aces.” The boy said placing the cards face down.
No one said anything, so the game continued, with Regulus looking carefully at his and James' cards before saying, “Two fours.”
Benjy looked at him for a few seconds before saying, “Bullshit, Lus.”
Regulus tilted his head, taking the cards and then turning them over to show that he had actually told the truth. “Sorry.”
“We will take revenge, don't worry.” He said taking the cards in his hand while Sirius let out a laugh, him being next and placing three cards on the table which no one objected to.
So it was finally James's turn, and he decided to lie. Regulus understood this without even seeing the cards he chose. And this surprised him. How was James great at pretending but not at lying? He knew that he was terrible at lying but no one could tell him anything when they had to pretend to be together, because he was really good at it.
“Two red sevens.”
“Bullshit.” Sirius said immediately and the boy pouted slightly as he took his cards and those previously placed by Sirius in his hand.
“It was a very good attempt.” Regulus said trying to console him because seeing him sulking was really sad. One thing that definitely didn't look good on James' face was an actual pout. “Three sevens.” He then said placing the cards on the table as James turned to him with a slight smile now.
Well, that was definitely better.
They played for quite a while until the end of the game was coming. The worst, as one might imagine, was James, who had the most cards in his hand. After him followed Sirius, who nervously had always been discovered by Regulus when he lied because it was difficult for the boy not to be able to read him. He lied the same way his Sirius did.
The two left with the same number of cards were Benjy and Regulus. Three cards each.
The first looked at the cards in his hand before looking up, “Just me against you?”
Regulus glanced at James who nodded and then he nodded too. “Just me against you.” He said and both Sirius (with some complaints) and James placed their decks face down.
Benjy smiled and put the three cards down together. “Three aces.”
Regulus stared at his three cards, which were all the same. Three fours. He had no aces. And he remembered that Benjy had drawn a deck in which there were at least two aces.
The boy sent a look at Sirius, who was now truly impassive. He knew that he couldn't look at James, because it was against the rules. He looked at his cards again. He looked back at Benjy's face and said with a pause, “Bullshit.”
Sirius and James immediately turned to Benjy who took the cards back into his hand with a smile. Sirius groaned loudly as James touched Regulus' shoulder excitedly.
He had three fours. He could have put the three fours down, told the truth and he would have won because Benjy would have said Bullshit. He would do it, he was sure of it.
But this wasn't funny. And honestly, he wanted to prove a point. A point Benjy would surely have understood. So he laid the cards on the table and the words that followed were, “Three sevens.”
Silence. Sirius turned to Benjy as he scanned his cards, then placed them face down next to him on the table, running a hand through his hair, and then said, "”, I think...”
“You think…?”
“You're telling the truth.” He concluded. Regulus held his gaze, his expression neutral, as he took the cards and slowly turned them over, to reveal his victory.
The reaction was immediate. Benjy smiled at him as Sirius hit him on the arm while he snorted openly, clearly dissatisfied and nervous about the end. About how it had ended.
James, on the other hand, laughed openly before leaning over, grabbing Regulus's face in his hands and pressing a kiss on both cheeks, something the boy definitely wasn't expecting, leaving him speechless while he celebrated happily next to him. “Reg, you're a genius! God, we are the winners! Ah!”
“No thanks to you.” Regulus muttered as a pink color spread across his cheeks, while his tried desperately to hide it.
“Get the money ready, Sirius!” James said while he made an offended expression,
“Me? Why me? Benjy has to pay! He lost!”
“Well, thank you for your support B, but you were worse off than me, so between the two I won!”
“Now, that's just a lie!”
“Where is the lie?!”
James laughed again before hugging Regulus, pulling him into his arms.
And Regulus? Regulus didn't move from that grip.
On the contrary. He returned the hug, releasing a light, barely audible laugh that made James squeeze his arms one last time before pulling away. “Sorry, got too excited.” He whispered to him before looking at Benjy and Sirius arguing.
Which Regulus, a smile on his face, did too.
“You're such a bitch! Like you don't have the money!”
“It's not about the money, you asshole, it's about the loss!”
“Next time lie better!”
“It wasn't—”
“Don't sulk on me any longer, Sirius, let's go.” James said with genuine sadness as the four boys were saying their goodbyes. “I didn't win.”
“We won together.” Regulus instead said just because he wanted to be precise and not because he wanted to twist the knife in the wound...
“Reg.”
“It's the truth, love.” He said proudly, obviously unable to hear James' heartbeat which he hadn't beaten.
“Oh, shut it. I'll beat you next time. I just have to get to know you better.” Sirius said and it hurt more than it should, honestly.
“I'll see you next time, then.” replied Regulus while Sirius looked at him for a few seconds before wrapping his arms around him in a greeting hug. A hug that the boy tried to enjoy as much as possible, even if in his world he wouldn't have hugged him.
“I'll talk to you tomorrow, Lus.” He said approaching Benjy while James was greeting Sirius, “You lied perfectly.”
“Luck.”
“Sure. But I can trust on you for a secret.” He said before adding, “And you can too. Just don't.”
“We won't.” Regulus replied with slight relief as Benjy placed a hand on his shoulder in a sign of trust.
“It's was a pleasure to beat you all.” James said with a smile before Regulus added,
“Oui, vraiment merveilleux.”
Sirius widened his eyes in surprise to hear that he spoke French too. “Seriously? Do you speak French?” Regulus nodded and Sirius smiled, “Tu es vraiment mon frère maintenant.”
“Stop that.” James said and Benjy added,
“Yeah, I agree. Stop.”
Sirius smiled even more and winking at Regulus said, “Jamais.”
He nodded and repeated the same thing, “Jamais.”
“Time to go home.” James said quickly, putting his arm around Regulus's shoulders who, with a last look at his brother and Benjy, followed him towards the car.
“James.” Regulus said as the two found themselves in the car in silence.
“Reg?”
“Benjy knows about us.”
James turned to him, the car engine turning on at the time, “What?”
“He heard us talking and knows we're not really together.”
“Will you tell Sirius?”
“I do not believe. He said no. I hope not.”
“He did?”
“Yes. I—he actually yelled at me a little bit, but then he just—accepted? I don't know. I just wanted you to know. And that we definitely have to decide the story we want to tell and stick to that.”
James said nothing, simply backing up and pulling out of the parking lot.
“Are you okay?”
“Are you okay?” He asked instead and Regulus thought about it for a few seconds,
“With you by my side it was okay. I wasn't alone, so thank you.”
“I'm okay if you trust Fenwick. I honestly don't, but if you do, I trust you.”
“You hate him just because he is Sirius'a best friend here.” Regulus said emphasizing the "here" and James shrugged knowing there was more to him. Like the looks Benjy gave Regulsu when he wasn't looking. Because James was looking instead.
“I don't know.”
“You do.”
“Would you like some ice cream?”
“Do not change—”
“No, I'm serious. We are close to the mall, but in reality we are already there. Let's go get some ice cream and then go home.”
“Can we also go to the bookshop?” Regulus asked after a few seconds and he, of course, nodded.
“Of course we can go. After my ice cream though.”
“Deal.” Regulus said satisfied and then added, “Thank you for today.”
“You—”
“Just take the thank you, you idiot.” Regulus interrupted with a sigh and James smiled in response.
“It's amazing how even when we get ice cream, you can get coffee.” James said as the two walked out of the ice cream shop,
“Because coffee is a lifestyle. You wouldn't understand and you don't understand. And you will never understand.” Regulus said licking his ice cream proud of himself, “Amazing how an ice cream shop is still open this time of year.”
“An ice cream is good at any time of the year.” James said as if it were obvious,
Regulus glanced at him quickly, “That is not true. An ice cream is cold. We are eating something cold when it's cold outside. It does not make sense. If anything, we should warm up by eating something hot.”
“I know a thousand other ways to warm ourselves.” James said,
“Really? For example? Eating—oh. Oh, you idiot!” The boy said, understanding the joke and hitting him on the arm while he laughed, while the two got closer to the bookstore.
Regulus took the phone from his pocket when it vibrated, and it vibrated again in his hand when he took it, “It's Pandora.”
“Say hello to her.”
“Really?”
“Do it!”
“Don't tell me what to do.” Regulus said, however, writing in his message that he said hello, to receive her response immediately afterwards, “She says that she won't be coming to dinner tonight because Lily gave her a romantic surprise at her house and that Romeo is with them. So it's just you and me.” The boy read while James next to him didn't respond. The boy texted his friend about having fun before turning to James and asking, “Do you want to go out for dinner tonight?” But to receive no response.
James continued to look forward and had stopped eating his ice cream. “James? Are you okay? If you don't want to eat outside it's fine.” Regulus asked looking at him but he wasn't moving. Honestly, it was disturbing. “James, you're literally scaring me, you idiot, are you okay?”
James didn't look at him or move, but simply whispered, “I think I just saw my Mom.”