The pool is cool.
So from that day on, every morning Sirius went to the cafeteria and tried to talk to Remus as much as possible. And Peter.
With the help of James of course, who was trying to make Remus understand that the boy had changed, even if he didn't know the previous version.
So, after getting past the stage of saying good morning first, trying to start a conversation or communicate, they had arrived at the stage of gifts.
In fact, at James' suggestion and Regulus' disagreement, Sirius now brought something with him every day for Remus. A drink, a muffin, a cake, an ice cream (yes, that hadn't been a wonderful choice at 7 in the morning), a new notebook to take orders, a bookmark because Sirius remembered that the boy liked to read and sometimes even books.
Which was wonderful. But Remus still didn't seem to want to give in.
The most he had gotten to was a “Thank you, Black.”
And so that morning’s plan had been decided (to ask Remus for forgiveness directly and take him out to dinner) when Regulus had asked Sirius if he had actually apologized to both Remus and Peter, after Sirius had told him, in more detail than his brother, who didn’t know he was to him, had wanted to hear.
He had told him how Remus had started dating Sirius in the past. When they were at school together. And how he had become friends with Peter right away. And how they were happy and content. (Regulus’s short summary, because Sirius’s description had been much longer.)
And how Remus had later learned that Sirius was a “bully.” And how, upon finding out, he had asked him to stop. And how he had tried. (According to Sirius, of course, although Regulus doubted it.) And how, upon finding out that nothing had changed, he had decided to leave him.
Oh, and how Remus' exact words were: I like these (referring to the tattoos he had) and I like these, (referring to the hair and the leather jacket that the boy was still wearing and that his mother had given him. Yes, this had left both Regulus and James very surprised. But obviously it was different there and probably Walburga was not a monster like she was in their world.) but I'm not dating a fucking bully, Sirius.
So that was why the three boys, or rather, how James and Sirius entered the cafeteria ready for their speech (speech that will be given by Sirius, James is there as moral support) while Regulus went to sit at the table with Barty after greeting Dorcas, who was waiting for him.
"What is Potter doing?" Barty asked as soon as the boy sat down observing the scene,
Regulus looked at him for a few seconds, “Have you changed your look?”
“Oh? Not really.”
"You did. Barty, you look—” he paused for a few seconds. You look like my Barty. “Different. Don’t you like wearing sweaters? And the gel?”
The boy made an amused expression, “The gel is out and honestly Evan said I look better this way—”
“Totally true.”
“—thank you.” He finished by running a hand through his hair and slightly messing it up like James did. Not on James levels, but on that road. “And Evan stole my sweater, and by the way I don’t wear only sweaters you bastard, to wear it. So I had to get one of his shirts.”
“Because was your closet closed?” he asked innocently,
“Do you want to talk about which closet was closed?” he asked with a raised eyebrow,
“This is my hoodie.” Regulus said defensively, “I just like it bigger.”
“Sure. And of course you like bigger things, just look at Potter.”
“It’s true, you asshole.”
“Of course. Sure.” Barry said before Dorcas came over and sat down next to him with a,
“The show’s about to start.” To Remus, Sirius and James, who were now looking at each other, before she handed Regulus a small plate containing a freshly baked brownie, the warm steam still visible.
“Good morning, Remus.”
“James. Sirius.”
“Did you just call me Sirius?” asked the boy immediately with a slight smile on his face,
“He’s had his coffee already.” Peter explained with a nod as Remus gave him a flat look,
Barty leaned slightly towards Dorcas, “Is this the first time he’s called him by his name?”
“Oh yeah. Totally. These days it was just Black, or he ignored him. But James was always there so he always ended up saying hello to him.”
“Is today a good day then?” Asked Barty to Regulus curious,
“Coffee makes you more bearable.” Was the boy’s response,
“Are you getting the usual?” Peter asked instead while James shook his head giving Sirius a light push who cleared his throat,
“Me and James wanted to tell you something first. Me, in fact.”
“Do it before the customers arrive?”
“Right. So. I wanted to apologize publicly, if you want I’ll do it in front of the customers who will come after, for how I behaved years ago. For how I behaved with the others to whom I apologized once my brain decided to work again and for how I behaved with you, ignoring you, disappearing and then making really stupid jokes even though I knew you hated them when you passed by me. I tried to look for you over the years but I realized, thanks to Benjy, shout out to Benjy here, that if you disappeared like that it was because you definitely didn’t want to see me. And I understand that. I was an idiot, I’m still an idiot, but not in that sense. Not in the sense that you didn’t like it. So I ask you, first of all, to forgive me, same goes for you Peter because you were my friend too, and to give me the chance to introduce you to the new me, who has the same look but not the same head, Remus.”
Dorcas gave a mini cheer of encouragement that Barty and Regulus also joined in, while Remus looked intently at the boy.
“I’ve already forgiven you, I hate holding grudges against people. But it was fun.” Peter then said with a shrug while James smiled widely at him.
“And if you forgive me we can start tomorrow night. James and I have a dinner planned for over a week now.”
“Me, you and James?”
“Me, you, James and Regulus. A double date. It will be fun, we can talk and have fun. And eat! The food is delicious, you have to trust me! Us!”
“Regulus accepted?” Remus asked turning to the boy who looked at James, who however looked at him with a smile,
“No, i didn’t.”
“Regulus, c’mon.” Dorcas said hitting herself on the forehead while the boy shrugged,
“He asked me! And no one asked me!”
“You could lie?” Barty asked as James turned to Remus,
“Just accept. I’m sure Reg will.”
“James, I—” Regulus began rolling his eyes but Remus smiled and nodded satisfied with himself,
“Alright yeah. If Reg is going than I’m going too. And then I will decide if I’ll forgive you.”
Regulus gave them all a flat look, “Why me? Honestly, why?”
“Peter, the plan B.” That was all James said and the boy quickly turned away disappearing into the back, only to appear with a huge bouquet of white roses that completely covered his face, which he handed to Regulus a few seconds later, who this time stared at him wordlessly, under everyone’s gaze.
The words he wanted to say disappeared from his mind when he saw that the roses were not real roses, but roses made of paper, roses therefore handmade.
Handmade by James.
The boy ran a hand through the petals of the flowers to see that there were writings on them, to then understand that they were the orders that Remus took every day from customers, and that James had used those to avoid wasting paper or worse, to avoid breaking the pages of a book, while a feeling of Dejavu was creeping into him.
And because his mother always says that if you have to pick a flower it must be for a good reason, or else you are taking a life needlessly. And that he would pick not one, but two for him, even if those were definitely more than two.
Barty interjected surprised, “Did you really make all of those? You have talent, Potter.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were going to do something so big? I could have done the same!” Sirius complained as James shook his head,
“You can’t make those flowers, it took me days myself but it was worth it.”
“You’ve managed to leave Regulus speechless and soon I won’t even be able to see his face from how many there are.” Remus said as the person in question gave him the middle finger,
Peter quickly interjected, “And he hasn’t read the letter yet! There’s a letter in all those roses, Regulus. I swear, James almost hit me when I went to read it, I want to at least see his reaction.”
The boy raised his head to meet James's gaze, who this time, unexpectedly, had a light pink color on his cheeks before he noticed his gaze and his own suddenly softened as he smiled at him, now embarrassed. Regulus bent slightly to search among the roses for the letter, which he found a moment later, before placing the roses next to him delicately and opening it, still under everyone's gaze.
Dear Reg,
James here. How are you? I hope everything is going great.
If you're reading this, it means that Remus has finally agreed to go out with Sirius (thank Merlin!) and that the time has come for me to ask you what everyone will be waiting for (that I am waiting for).
P.s: You should probably laugh now, otherwise they'll think I wrote something bad and it's not true because I'm writing something beautiful.
And that made the boy snort a laugh as he continued reading,
Okay, good, I can continue. As I was saying, or rather writing, now that Remus has finally agreed to go out with Sirius, it's time for me to ask you out, or better yet, ask you out.
I know you're going to say that this is stupid and that I'm your idiot and that you should say yes regardless because otherwise we'll never get Sirius and Remus back together because they'll probably kill each other, but I'm just going to pretend that this isn't happening (so please don't make this happen or I'll look like an idiot, thanks) (although you'd probably welcome any opportunity to prove how right you are because we both know you love being right.) (Okay, maybe I'm giving you too many ideas, just pretend nothing happened, please.)
So here I am writing this letter to ask you out to dinner.
And if you say no, well, that's not very in love with me of you!
Kidding, but really, what do you say? Would you like to be my guest, my special someone, my only someone of course, on this amazing night so that you can be the most amazing person that I can be with, on this amazing night?
Regulus looked up with a smile on his face that he honestly didn't even try to hide, before getting up and reaching James who was watching him intently, as were the others, and then instinctively throwing his arms around his neck, feeling the other wrapping his arms around him with a laugh.
Why he had hugged him so suddenly was a question he couldn't have answered.
But then again, at that exact moment, he didn't have an answer either when, feeling the laughter vibrating on his neck, he felt a strange sensation in his stomach that worsened when James slightly tightened his grip, bringing him closer to him.
A sensation that sent a wave of heat through his entire body, almost as if he were near a fireplace. The same fireplace he sat by every evening with Romeo to read something.
A feeling that made him feel his heartbeat but at the same time also the heartbeat of the boy in front of him, who the next moment pulled away slightly with a smile, looking at his face, “First time you hugged me like that. If I had known before, we would probably have the house full of paper roses, so much so that Romeo would never be seen again. But I am grateful that you decided not to use any idea I gave you and that you said yes.” James said in a whisper so that only the two of them could hear quickly, and Regulus, to that, could not answer. He could not answer probably because of the lump in his throat that he had at that moment.
Or maybe, from the way James looked at him through his glasses. As if they were alone. As if the only thing that mattered in that moment was that. It was that hug. It was the answer that the boy had offered him unknowingly.
Instinctively he reached up and gently adjusted the boy’s glasses, which as usual were slightly askew, as the boy looked at him smiling widely now, so that they settled perfectly on the boy’s nose with a click.
A click. A tiny click.
A click that resonated in Regulus. A click that was produced when something was put in the right place. In the working position.
A click that marked the completion of something like the click that was produced when he closed the trunk after putting all the clothes, books, and ties in with satisfaction.
Or the click, the satisfying click, when the last piece is added to the puzzle that is finally complete and reveals the full picture. The same click he felt for the first time, as he now looked at the boy in front of him.
“C’mon, just kiss already!” Dorcas said enthusiastically as the others joined her enthusiastically.
No.
No.
No, no, no, no.
Not now.
He shouldn't have kissed him. He couldn't have kissed him. No. Regulus couldn't kiss James now. Not now.
Not now that the click was playing in his head over and over again while his face, his hands, his body was warming up.
Not now that everyone was staring at him. Not now that he really wanted to do it.
Did he really want to do it?
Not now that he could have taken the opportunity and gotten away with it because they had to pretend, right?
After all, it was a game. And they were two players.
Pandora had been wrong. James? James was a player. He was good. Organizing all that even if it was for him? He believed him, he believed it was for him, only for him. But he also believed that he had chosen the right time to do it. No one would ever doubt them like that. Who would? What sane person wouldn't?
And Regulus? Regulus was a very good player. He always had been. When he was little he could always fool his mother with an extra word carefully placed in the right place with the right tone or a risky nod that was appreciated. He had always won against Sirius at that game. At pretending that everything was fine. That everything was normal. At pretending to be someone else in front of others, in front of his parents but not in front of his brother. Never that.
When had he stopped playing and given the quaffle to James? When? How could he have been so…so what? Stupid? Distracted? Reckless? Reckless…what was he even thinking?
James put his hands on his face and it was this gesture that actually brought him back to reality and not to what he was thinking about. “Do you trust me?” He then whispered, without taking his eyes off him even though he could feel the boy’s hands on his face, unsure, as if what he was doing was already a risk, with barely moving his lips.
“I can’t.” Was Regulus’s barely audible reply, his look now decidedly panicked. He couldn’t kiss James Potter. Not there. Not now. Not in front of everyone. Not now that the only thing he could hear was his heartbeat that continued to pound. Not—
“You have to trust me, Reg.”
The latter swallowed looking at James' eyes to search for something, anything, that would tell him not to do it. Not to do it because he couldn't trust him. He didn't trust himself, let alone others. In his life he had learned not to trust anyone except Sirius before he “betrayed” him in the past. But in his eyes and not only there, he found nothing. So he nodded perceptibly and James leaned forward.
Regulus closed his eyes while his heart was making itself felt even in his eyelids now, before feeling next to his lips, on the corner of his mouth barely touching it (probably if he hadn't been so careful he wouldn't have even noticed that James had touched it) the boy's lips gently rest, with a delicacy that he had never felt, not even with Barty, and leave a light kiss before he pulled away and returned his gaze to him to see if he was okay while their friends began to applaud, before moving away slightly and taking his hand, with a light squeeze.
“Fucking finally! That was the first time I’ve actually seen them kissing on the mouth! It was perfect! I ship them so much.” Dorcas said fondly as Remus shook his head,
“Nah, every time James leaves he always gives him a kiss on the cheek and then leaves.”
“That’s right! On the cheek!”
“Oh, stop it.” Barty said, to James and Regulus’ surprise. “They are just more personal, you morons. Reg? I approve 100%.”
Dorcas made a disapproving noise, “Like you don’t take every opportunity to make out with Evan when you can.”
“We are not personal.”
Peter chimed in, “Oh, I saw that too. You are very not personal.”
“Okay, you know what? I’m out of here.”
“Going to see your boyfriend?” Sirius then asked,
“The one you don’t have? Definitely. You can always join me and Evan anytime Remus.” He then said standing up and giving Regulus a pat on the shoulder, though the boy could only feel James’ hand now holding his, while his brain didn’t work, “See you tomorrow, Reg.” He added before walking away as Remus added in turn,
“I’ll think about it!”
“Hey.” Sirius said sadly as Remus smiled,
“I’ll decide what to do tomorrow night so don’t screw it up. Time?”
“We’ll be there at 7pm sharp.” James confirmed with a smile as he squeezed Regulus’ hand again, but he didn’t respond to the second squeeze. Just as he didn’t respond to the first. And just as he didn’t respond to the next one either. And other.
Oh, Merlin. Regulus would never get the quaffle back now.
When Regulus finally came down the stairs, James was literally speechless. He knew the boy was handsome. Very handsome. But right now he was simply out of breath.
He was wearing a simple pair of black pants made of… cotton? James assumed they were cotton anyway, with a dark green long sleeved shirt (which fit him perfectly, if you ask James) tucked into the pants, which were tied with a black belt. His hair was definitely different though, the white of it now even more noticeable. It was… softer, it definitely looked softer, and fuller, the curls falling delicately into the boy’s face with a certain order.
“If you take a picture it will last forever, you know?” Regulus said as James burst into a smile, before reaching over and picking up the camera that was oddly placed on the dresser and pointing it at him,
“You are always right. Smile, Reg.”
“I will not. I don't like this look and—”
“Regulus, you look amazing.” James promptly interrupted him while he looked at him skeptically, “No, it's true. I'm not saying this because it's manners.”
“Really? Because I don't have the one I wanted, which was much more beautiful I assure you, and therefore—”
“You are gorgeous, Reg.” James just said and Regulus went quiet at that.
“Really?”
“Yes, really, really. I will tell you when you're a little less gorgeous, which will never happen but alright.”
“Thank you, James. I—You look—”
“Ridiculous? I know! I was trying to put this tie, because Sirius says ties look good on me, but I have no idea how and—”
“You look beautiful.” Regulus interrupted him by reaching out and grabbing his tie, the boy now looking at him intently through his glasses, the camera forgotten in his hand.
James watched for a second as the boy’s hands deftly adjusted his tie, “Stupidly beautiful?”
He looked up at him and then down at his tie again, “No. Just beautiful.”
“Never like you.”
A pause. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Yes, of course.” James said now in a low voice, though he didn’t know why he was speaking in a low voice. Probably because the boy was so close to him now?
“Do you think whoever has the quaffle can decide the match?”
“Are we talking about quidditch?” James asked in confusion,
“Yes. We are talking about quidditch.”
“I think, as a Chaser myself, that the quaffle can make a big difference. But I do believe that the Snitch is more important in deciding the match.”
“Are you saying this because of me?”
“No. I mean, you are a Seeker, one of the best Seekers I know, so you should know.”
“I know. But if the Chasers do better, even if the Snitch is caught, the match might not end in the advantage of the team that caught it.”
“And these are the rules of Quidditch.” James said with a smile as Regulus nodded stupidly, still focused on his tie,
“If someone gave you the quaffle, do you think you could call the game?” Regulus then asked carefully, looking right at him. They were really close. More close than he thought. If he had leaned in just a few millimeters and tilted his head, their lips would probably—oh.
Okay, no. No lips. Definitely no lips.
But maybe a little bit of lips wasn’t so wrong.
No, definitely no lips.
But was it wrong?
Oh, Merlin. What was he thinking? Lips?
Their lips? Together?
Fuck. No.
“Not until you take the Snitch. Or if you take the Snitch.” Said James and Regulus quickly tossed all those thoughts aside, returning to the conversation. Yes, definitely no lips. Even if they were James’s lips.
Yeah, definitely no lips.
“Should I take the Snitch?” He asked then, deleting the lips.
“If you take the Snitch I could lose.”
“But if I do you could win.”
“I could.”
“Are you going to win, James?” Regulus asked, dropping his arms to his sides and then taking a step back as the boy looked at him intently,
“We all want to win, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, I think so.” Regulus said, looking at him for a few more seconds before shaking his head lightly and picking up his phone and reading the message that had come in earlier, “Remus is waiting for us. And he says that he hates us.”
“Us?”
“Me. He hates me for accepting.” He admitted as James took his jacket and opened the door for him to leave, obviously not before the two said goodbye to Romeo one last time, who when the door closed, went to lie down on the sofa.
“You won’t regret it, Reg.” The boy said opening the car door for him to get in but he stopped.
“James.”
“Yes?”
“What did you do?”
“Well, right now I have the quaffle, right?”
“James.”
“And thinking that until recently I was just Potter.” The boy said getting into the car and starting the engine,
“I’m going to kill you if you did something bad. I swear.”
“I’m just trying to take you out on a date.” He said sadly,
“We are going out to get Remus and Sirius together. I would have preferred a thousand times to stay home with Romeo.”
James turned sadly to him, “Really? You’re not even a little bit excited?”
Regulus looked at him for a few seconds before turning forward, “I’ll let you know tonight if I was excited or not. Now let’s go and take Remus first, or he will kill me.”
“Sirius said he’ll come on his motorbike.”
“He is such a show off.”
“You’re so mean.”
“You like me anyway.” Regulus said and James couldn’t help but make a noise of agreement.
“So wait. Are you telling me that neither of you asked the other to marry you?” Sirius asked looking at James and Regulus, who both nodded.
Well, Regulus, who had slightly more to drink, had nodded. James had agreed.
“It just happened.” The first one said shrugging,
“No, but really. Who did what?” Remus asked curiously as he hit Sirius on the arm who had stolen his bread. “Okay, you have to stop stealing my bread!” He then added with a smile as Sirius pouted slightly,
“Yours is better.”
“That’s true. He is right. James’s is even better.” Regulus said high-fiving Sirius who had raised his hand while James looked at him amused.
“Yes, but James will let you do it, I need my bread.”
“Switch it.”
“Then mine becomes his and his becomes mine and then we’ll be back in the same situation as before.” Sirius explained as James filled Regulus’s glass with water this time and Regulus gave him a bored look, which was returned by a nod,
“Whatever. You owe me bread now.”
“I can bake any bread you want, Remus. Or I can make it up to you in other ways. Tell me the place and time.”
Remus watched Sirius’s serious expression for a few more seconds before turning to the two boys in front of him, a smile on his face. “So? How did it happen?”
“Talking.” Was the response he received from Regulus as James gave him an affectionate shove with his shoulder,
“We just decided we wanted to be together forever. Well, decided no, of course. The night before we were talking about this and that and the next morning the question came up spontaneously, over burnt toast.”
“Over burnt toast?”
“Yes, Reg—”
“James can’t cook. He wanted to try but it didn’t work out.”
James turned to him, offended and surprised at the same time, “Hey, that’s not true. I’m a great cook. I do all the cooking in the house.”
“Alright, I don’t know who to believe. Remus?”
“Mhm. I know that James is a great cook.” Remus said reasoning with Sirius,
“Thank you!”
“But I’ve never actually seen Regulus cook.”
“Because he doesn’t cook.”
“I do cook. When I want to.”
“Which is never?” Sirius asked curiously as Regulus shrugged,
“You can always order out.”
“That’s the same thing I say to Benjy. Regulus, I feel you, my brother.” Sirius said nodding as Remus rolled his eyes.
When this time Regulus simply took James’s glass and not his own that had water, he didn’t comment. 1 because he understood the sentence and why, 2 because it was almost finished anyway so better his than another whole one. And anyway, dessert was about to arrive.
Speaking of dessert, a few seconds later, it made its entrance, and of course everyone got what they had ordered. Everyone except Regulus, who was now looking at his plate in silence.
“Something is wrong?” Remus asked, watching him as he only looked up at James now, who was tasting his own, dessert.
“Is this you?”
“Maybe.”
“How did you know?”
“Hey, we want to be involved.” Sirius said sadly and this time Remus agreed with him,
“James, you didn’t have to.” Regulus said in a low voice, barely a whisper, as he placed a hand on his leg under the table and then removed it a moment later. “You really didn’t have to.”
“It’s nothing, really.”
“What is that?” Remus asked curiously and calmly as Sirius sighed next to him,
“You lost half a point with this.”
“I thought it was you who was supposed to win me over, not me.”
“Well, you still lost half a point. It’s a piece of a tarte tatin, a typical French dessert.”
“Forgive me for not knowing all the French desserts, Black.”
“Ever thought of putting this on the menu? I bet it would be a hit. And I bet,” Sirius continued, nodding, “Peter could make it perfectly.”
James looked up, “It’s a sort of upside-down apple pie. Reg’s favorite.”
“Oh, I feel you. I love it too. Honestly, it’s too good if it’s made well and smells like that, it sure is made well.” Sirius said as Regulus nodded absentmindedly,
“It was my brother and I’s favorite dessert. We…used to eat it whenever our parents had a party with their…friends. It was the only good, non-weird dessert there was. And it was made by our uncle, he was the one who…always brought it. Behind our parents’ back.”
“Padfoot always told me you ate it so I took the chance. I tried making it at home but it turns out it doesn’t come out as good as this. I assure you this is good though. I’ve already tried it myself. You know I would never give you anything that isn’t good.” James said softly with a shrug.
“You have a brother? I didn’t you have a brother! He lives in France?” Sirius asked curiously,
Regulus was silent for a few seconds too long before saying, forcing himself to make a stupid decision, “Lived. He died not too long ago. I don’t really like to talk about it so…can we just…not?”
Remus elbowed Sirius which made Regulus look up from his plate, “I’m sorry, Regulus. We didn’t know.”
“It’s okay. It’s not—I mean, it’s okay.”
There was a slight pause afterward where no one said anything, and the only noise was the chatter in the background and the clatter of forks on the table, before Sirius leaned over and stole a slice of Remus’s cake. “Oh, really?!”
“It’s good. Now try mine, c’mon. I’m not a horrible person.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Oh, c’mon RemRem. Just try it.” Sirius said, smiling as he took a piece of his dessert on his spoon and tried to make him taste it, which Remus really didn’t want, as he tried to straighten his face while laughing.
“I swear I will hit you.”
“Joke’s on you, I’m into that, so you’ll only make my huge crush on you worse, come on. Open your mouth—”
“Sirius—”
“Thank you, James. Really.” Regulus said in a low voice, looking at the boy who turned towards him, taking his attention away from Remus and Sirius who were still arguing at that moment,
“I wanted to make you feel a little better.”
“It helped.” Regulus said, nodding as he placed the plate in the center so that he could eat too and so they could share that slice of the tarte tatin.
“You know, we could really go.” James suddenly broke the silence, causing Regulus to open his eyes.
The two had finally returned home after their date and after Sirius had managed to convince Remus to ride home with him on the motorbike.
So James had made them both tea and the two had gone outside next to the pool, where they both sat down and began to drink their tea in silence.
Silence until then.
“Where?” Regulus asked confused as James turned from looking at the lit up pool to looking at him,
“France.”
“France.” He repeated,
“Yes, France.”
Regulus looked at him for a few seconds before running a hand through his hair, “Why do you want to go to France?”
“Because it’s beautiful.”
“What are you talking about right now?”
“Alright, also because it’s beautiful but mostly because you miss France.”
A pause before the boy shook his head slightly, “No, I don't.”
“Oh, you do. You know you can't lie to me.”
“I can lie perfectly to you.”
“Probably but right now you're lying. You always say you miss France.”
He shrugged, “I miss Cissy mostly but I guess I miss France too.”
“Then we are going. You miss your France, then we are going to France. I'm sure they wouldn't mind.”
“James, we have a mission.”
“Which is going very well. Am I wrong, or did Remus go home with Sirius?”
“We can't go to France.”
“Why not?”
“Because we can't. And you know it.”
“I don't know it and I wouldn't care anyway. C'mon, dress up.”
“You don't care to come back then?” Regulus asked with a half smile while his shook his head, “Nope. You're sad and that's the only thing I care about right now.”
“Did you drink?”
“You did. I didn't. I had to drive.”
“I'm not drunk, James.”
The boy adjusted his glasses, “Right. But you are a little bit fuzzy.”
“I'm not a little bit fuzzy.”
“But you are!” James continued smiling as Regulus glared at him, “I swear I’m going to kill you one day.”
“Oh yeah, totally.”
“You're so stupid.”
“And mean Reg is back. Everybody clap.”
“I'm not mean.”
And at this James half laughed, “You, Regulus Arcturus Black, are not meant to me?”
Regulus was silent for a few seconds before looking up as the boy stood up and stood in front of him, hands in his pockets, “I’m not that mean.”
“You are really really mean, you’re lucky I like it.”
“That’s because you’re weird.” Regulus nodded as James nodded in return,
“Your weirdo.”
The boy looked down at his hands before looking up at him again, “Was I really that mean to you?”
“When?”
“In these days. Months. Years?”
“I mean, not really.” He said vaguely in response,
“James.”
“Alright, maybe a little bit, but who cares right now.”
“I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry.”
“You are sorry?”
Regulus studied him for a few seconds before lowering his head, “Yes, I’m sorry.” He closed his eyes for a few seconds, “I wished you to die. Oh, Merlin.”
“That was years ago and besides that, I wished you to live so opposites attracts. And look where we are.”
“I’m a cruel person.” Regulus said sadly and this made James move and grab him by the hands and pull him up, then stand in front of him,
“You are not. A cruel person thinks what he says. You say it, but you don’t mean it. You would never want me to die. You don’t think I’m really stupid—”
“About that—”
“And you certainly didn’t think years ago that Sirius wasn’t your brother anymore.”
“He told you that.”
“Yeah, and maybe it was a low blow to use it now.” James said just thinking about it at that moment,
“Yes, it was.” Regulus said, pushing him with a half, half smile.
“Oh, you didn’t just push me!”
“What if I did?” He challenged him then,
“Then I have to push you back.” And as he said he did, and of course the two ended up pushing each other until Regulus, with all the luck in the world on his side, put his foot in the wrong way and lost his balance and fell into the water.
And that definitely made James burst into a full-blown laugh, throwing his head back laughing as Regulus came up from the bottom of the pool, his hair covering his face.
“It’s not funny!” He said out loud as James continued to laugh,
“You know it is funny!”
“Potter, help me get out of here!” Regulus said letting out a light laugh that sent a shiver down James’s spine, brushing his hair out of his eyes as he felt his shirt sticking to his chest more and more, at least the part that wasn’t in the water, anyway. “Right now!”
“Alright, alright, sorry. Here.” James said laughing again as he walked over to offer a hand to the boy who promptly grabbed it and just as promptly pulled with more force than James expected, pulling him down and making him fall into the water next to him.
“You moron.” Regulus said again as he ran a hand over his face, the water flowing down before after a few seconds James came up next to him.
“That was a really smooth move.”
“I know.”
“But I lost my glasses.” James said the next moment as Regulus turned to him to see that he was indeed without his glasses.
“How did you do that?”
“I don’t know, falling in the pool?” He laughed, squinting, “I can’t see anything.”
“Good, then maybe you can shut up for a little bit.”
“I thought you wanted to be nice from now on.”
“Yeah, that was before you pushed me into the pool!”
“You said it yourself, the pool is cool.”
“Shut up, James.” He concluded.
“Can you find my glasses?”
Regulus turned around but all he saw was water. Of course. “No.”
“They’re definitely at the bottom.”
“And that’s because you threw me into the pool.”
“I didn’t mean to, I apologize publicly.”
“It’s still a no.”
“I’d love to see your angry face I bet you’re adorable, but I don’t have my glasses.”
“Can’t you go and get them yourself?”
“I can’t see!” James said more emphatically and Regulus sighed,
“Give me one minute.” Regulus said with a sigh before taking a deep breath and diving under the water, opening his eyes, which filled with water the next moment, causing him an instant swelling sensation that was not uncomfortable, to look for his glasses, which he found after a few seconds in the center of the bottom of the pool.
So with a stronger push he reached them and taking them in his hand he climbed back up right in front of James, maybe less than three centimeters away from his face, while he continued to squint.
Regulus reached out and shaking the glasses slightly and as gently as possible so that the water on the lenses would fall, he leaned over and placed them on the boy's nose, who immediately wrinkled his nose trying to straighten them.
“Thank you, Reg. You’re a totally my hero. I could kiss you right now that I can see.”
“You’re still a moron.”
“I owe you a coffee.”
“Of course you owe me a coffee.” Regulus said before being lightly splashed with water while James smiled widely.
And of course Regulus reciprocated until the two, again, ended up splashing each other with water until the first one grabbed James' wrists to try to stop him, an effect he subsequently achieved while James continued to smile, now definitely wet on the face again.
And with that, Regulus stopped short. Because they were only a few inches away, as had already happened earlier in the evening and he could see the drops of water running down the boy's cheeks. And yeah, the lips.
He could see his eyes that were now watching him curiously.
And he could see how, when he moved slightly closer to him, his wrists still in his hands, James' pupils slightly widened following his movements.
And something in the air changed. It was strange. Like those classic moments in the movie or in the books where the two protagonists were at that distance. Everything seemed silent around them and the only thing you could hear was the breathing and heartbeat of the two boys.
It was also strange that neither of them moved and that neither of them had any apparent intention of moving.
“What are you doing?” James whispered after a few seconds of them just looking at each other, getting closer and closer.
“I just—I’m just looking at you.” Regulus replied in the same low tone, as he let go, but didn’t move away from him.
The boy didn’t move, but he still said, “We should get out of the water.”
“Do you really want to get out?” He asked, moving even closer, and he didn’t know how to respond to that, because damn, of course he didn’t want to get out. Of course he wanted to stay there, get even closer. Like he shouldn’t have, after all. It was all he’d been trying to do for months if not years.
To have him this close. To feel him this close. To be this close to him.
“It doesn’t really matter. We should.”
Regulus shook his head, “You know, I thought about it.”
“About what?” James asked cautiously still not knowing whether to move away or not,
“About you.”
A long pause in which the boy clearly felt his heart slowly accelerating its rhythm, “You thought about me?”
“Yes. These days the only thing I can think about is you, thanks to Dora.” Regulus said without taking his eyes off his face now while James was watching him from behind the still wet lenses but still allowing him to see him well through the drops that rested there,
“I hope good things.” He then said stupidly because honestly. What else should he have said?
“You are very stupid James Potter. But you are also very intelligent. It makes me confused sometimes.” He then continued,
“Really?”
“But I like you.” Regulus said then and James was pretty sure his heart skipped a few beats, a slight ringing now in his ears,
“You…you like me?”
“I thought about it and I like you.” He said more to himself the second time than to him as the boy with glasses in front of him searched for the funny or amused part in his eyes. But he found nothing. No joke. No spark. Nothing at all. The only thing he noticed was the fact that his eyes were slightly more blurry, as if wrapped in a veil, but that could be the fault of the wet glasses. He didn’t know. And he wasn’t sure.
“You like me.” Breathed James only now realizing how close Regulus had gotten to him, being able to feel his breath on his lips, “Why?”
“What?”
“Why do you like me?” The boy asked helplessly. He couldn’t move. He didn’t want to, and he didn’t want to move.
Regulus closed his eyes for a few seconds and then opened them again. “I like the way you always try to make me smile. I know that I almost always insult you, but I do it just to say something, because otherwise I wouldn’t know what to say. I like the way you always bring me breakfast, or the fact that you order it for me and somehow is never wrong. I like your smile and how you laugh and how you always try to make me laugh and…and I simply like you.” He said and James just looked at him, not knowing what to say. Because Regulus was drunk. He was drunk. But…wasn’t it a drunken mind speaking for a sober heart? Wasn’t that what everyone said? Or maybe it was just a lie? “Do you like me too like you said before?” He asked then, bringing him back to reality,
“Reg.”
“What?”
“Don’t.”
“Don’t do what?”
“Ask me.”
“Do you? Like me?” He asked anyway.
“I—” James said not knowing what to say. Should he have said that? Why was Regulus saying that? Was it true? Were they true? Finally, he looked away slightly before saying, “Yeah, I like you.”
“Then kiss me.” He finally said in a low voice and it definitely made the boy’s heart skip a beat.
“What?”
“Kiss me, James.”
“Don’t do this, I—I can’t, Regulus.”
“Why not?” He asked now confused as he placed both his arms on his shoulders and then wrapped them around his neck,
“You’re drunk.”
“I’m not.”
“You are or you wouldn’t have asked.”
“Why not? Just because I didn’t ask you before, that doesn’t mean I didn’t want to ask you.”
“Reg, you’re not you right now.”
“Because I want to kiss you? Because I wanted to kiss you since yesterday? That’s why I’m not me?”
“You’re going to regret it.” James said then,
“But do you want to kiss me, right?”
“Regulus.” He begged now,
“I’m here, James. I’m right here.” Regulus said leaning even closer, their lips now separated by what…an eyelash?
“I can’t kiss you because if I kiss you right now—I mean, if I kiss you right now it wouldn’t matter.” He continued vaguely,
“I have to know.” Regulus said moving James’s chin so that he could look him in the eyes, something he was trying to avoid given the too, too close,
“You have to know what?”
“I just have to…” he began vaguely again but when he made to put his lips on his, and really, in a second more he would have, James pulled away just a little,
“You’ll regret it. And I—Don’t make me do it.”
“Tell me you don’t want to kiss me right now.”
“I—”
“Tell me you don’t want this and I’ll get out of the water and we’ll both forget about this and blame it on the alcohol.”
James looked down at his lips for the first time, briefly, “I haven’t been drinking.”
“Tell me.”
“I don’t—” James began but somehow Regulus leaned in again, or maybe it was just him, and the words died in his throat, replaced with, “I can’t tell you that. You know I can’t tell you that.”
“And I don’t want you to tell me that.” He said trying to be as convincing as possible,
“We know how this will go, alright? I know, you think I don’t know?” James said not moving. Why, why couldn’t he move? Maybe because he wanted this to be true? That this was happening and Regulus wasn’t drunk? He certainly wasn’t drunk drunk, but drunk he was.
Now, he was the one who was drunk.
“I’m giving us what we both want.” Regulus replied and James closed his eyes for a few seconds. “Just one kiss. Then if you don’t—”
James opened his eyes, “You really think I might not like it? Look at me, Reg. I’m here and—It wouldn’t be just one—”
“I’m looking and I just—” Regulus began as his gaze fell on the boy’s lips without even hiding it like he had been doing until now, “Can I kiss you, Jamie?”
Jamie.
Jamie.
Can I kiss you, Jamie?
Can I? Can I? Jamie?
Jamie, Jamie, Jamie.
The boy raised a hand and slowly placed it on his glasses, his fingers, his fingertips, on the arm of them, waiting for James to stop him as he had been doing, but he didn’t move, he didn’t take his eyes off his, so he gently took them off his face, holding them in his hand, and then he placed his arm on his shoulder and moved closer, and closer, and closer, until his lips were no more than a breath away from the boy without the glasses.
And the next moment James moved closer and his lips, finally, finally, touched Regulus’s with a light force, his eyes closed. A touch. A small, barely felt, touch.
It was just a touch and it lasted less than a second before he pulled away and Regulus didn’t even have time to process it, or process it all, his thoughts or anything, before he did it again.
And all those hours of thinking about it, all those talks, Pandora's expression, the fact that they were still stuck here and not at home, and that it was colder outside than either of them could feel, it all disappeared suddenly and the only thing that mattered to him were James' lips, soft and insecure on his, as if he was afraid he would pull away, as if he didn't trust himself to do anything more.
But that only made Regulus take control, who was not soft and insecure until he deepened the kiss and James in reflex pulled him towards him to have him as close as possible, pulling him by the hips towards him under the water while he followed him now decidedly helpless, too busy on top to control that too, even though he probably would have done the same thing if he hadn't had his glasses in one hand behind the boy's neck, who pushed himself slightly against him responding now, only now, to the kiss.
And oh. Regulus knew that James was famous for being handsome and a heartbreaker. He had heard the stories. They were probably false. In fact, almost certainly. Since there was also a story that he was Sirius' twin brother and that he had decided to pretend to be a year younger.
Yeah…he and Barty had had to do a lot of work to get it out of Hogwarts.
Horrible.
But he wasn't stupid. James Potter was very good looking. He had a nice body. And he was nice. A good person. A person who cared about other people. He was one of the nicest people he knew.
But his lips? Oh, his lips were all of those things at once so maybe the rumor wasn't entirely wrong. Except for the Veela lineage part.
Regulus had kissed people before, obviously. But kissing James Potter? That was definitely a different experience.
It was like feeling a thousand emotions at once. It was like the rainbow when it appeared between the sun and the rain. Maybe James was the sun and Regulus was the rain. And maybe, that kiss was the rainbow that united them.
Pandora always said that she saw the rainbow as something magical, even if everyone knew the natural causes of why it appeared, but she simply loved to ignore them.
And in that moment Regulus couldn't agree more. That rainbow, that kiss, that moment was definitely something close to magic. And he had always liked magic. Its nuances and its imperfections.
But when James placed his wet hands on his cheeks to pull him closer to his lips, his thoughts melted without a shape, as he also melted in his hands, before James pulled away slightly to catch his breath, their foreheads now resting on each other.
But it didn't last long because Regulus placed his lips on his again and when his tongue slid across James' lips there was a small noise from James' body, pulling the boy closer until finally, finally, their tongues met and this made him forget all about the glasses which were abandoned the next moment, reaching the bottom of the pool again as the hand that had previously held them went into the hair of the boy in front of him grabbing and tugging lightly, unconsciously.
Regulus didn't know who the sound came from that moment afterward. Him? James? Both of them? But it was honestly the last thing on his mind at that moment, as he felt hands slide down his back, under his shirt, peeling away from his skin, the sensation of the water now replaced by James' fingers on him.
And James? Oh, James.
James had definitely gotten the Snitch at that moment even if it wasn’t his job. But, but, but…
The only question was…did he get it at the right time? Had he won or had he completely lost?