Timeless

Regulus

The room we found solid ground in was dimly lit with only scanty contours of sunlight trailing in from someplace behind me, forming intricate patterns on a wall behind James, as well as on his face.

One of his eyes was now lighter than the other, sunlight unveiling the presence of flecks of gold in the warm chestnut iris. The pattern only extended to part of his face, the shadow of me hiding his lips and jaw from the light. 

Ironic.

Of course, it would be me casting a shadow over him, standing between him and the light. I was facing no light, just a dark wall of torturous patterns on it, a maze where light would disappear more and more the closer I got to it. 

And then there was James, facing the light. The closer he got the more it would shine on him. 

“Reggie,” he whispered. 

We were in each other's way. Stuck. And so I stepped past him and towards the depths of the room. I didn't want to be in his way or have him in mine anyway. This was stupid. 

“Before anything.. happens. We need a set of rules,” I kept my focus on the detailed tile wall I'd moved to, “First. Nobody touches me, that includes you.”

“I promise, Regulus, unless you ask me to, I will not lay a finger on you,” he appeared beside me, head leaning against the wall. Arsehole.

But what if I asked him to place his hand on my-. Nope. That's. Nope. “Don't worry. I won't” I said instead and forced myself to believe it. 

“Secondly,” I turned my eyes back onto the exotic patterns on the tiles as if they were the most curious of curiosities ever to exist, “if my parents find out… I won't hesitate to kill you. You get two weeks and that's it. I need to head back home for my wedding preparations then,” 

I didn't want to look at him as I said that so I drew circles on the wall with my finger to hold my attention there.

"Your what?!" I flinched. So he had not known all of it.

“I'm getting married,” I finally looked at him, the hurt in his eyes burning holes in my chest that I had not known had enough room left for them. I'd thought there wouldn't be anything to carve holes into by now. I gave him a chortle, laying a blanket over the new holes to act as if they weren't even there. “Well, I guess Remus only gave you half the story. Only mentioned me seeking to feel alive, but failing to mention why, huh?” 

“You- He- I-"

“Forgot to mention there was a deadline, now did he?”

"Regulus, please,” he begged. 

Didn't fit him one bit, begging, I rolled my eyes. “Oh will you stop that? You gonna follow up your words with actions or nah?”

"Fine,” I watched him cover up something in his own insides, “One rule back though - you can't say no just because you're afraid"

“Sure. Now, you planning on telling me where we are or?”

“Come on,” he offered a hand and for the second time I failed to make myself turn it down, instead letting him drag me to the archway with countless holes forming a pattern within the wood, “Open them,” he ordered me, letting my hand fall for I would need them both to push the two sides of the door open together.

I did and sunlight flew in, blinding and warm and full of so many colours – greens flying over pinks, blues mixing with reds to create purples. People in white, or what had once been white, were flowing down the streets. Singing. Laughing. Throwing colours in the air and at each other and it was all light and colours and laughter and songs I could not understand.

“Welcome to India,” James' voice tickled my ear, so close, too close, never close enough.