Skittle's Shenanigans
Three days.
It had been three bloody days since Regulus and James had been in that alcove. Three days since James had miraculously agreed to go out with him. Three days since they had exchanged their first kiss.
And since then, nothing.
Absolute nothingness.
Regulus was really starting to despair. He didn't know how much longer he would be able to live like this, ceaselessly yearning for another kiss. Another touch. He was starved for it. He'd gone years dreaming of it, wondering what it would be like to have a bite of James Potter, wanting to know the flavor of his lips...
But Merlin, now that he'd had a taste ? He needed more. The craving in his bone was achingly permanent. Just one little taste, and he was addicted.
Regulus couldn't stop thinking about it. That kiss had ruined every other experience he could ever have, because there was nothing better than this. He felt himself burning from the inside just remembering it, James' hands on him, his tongue in his mouth...
He had been so thoroughly snogged Regulus had been forced to skip DADA, his knees so weak they couldn't carry him to class. Not that his presence would have changed much : he'd been in a blissful haze the rest of the day, brain unable to work. He kept reliving everything again and again, from the discussion in the Great Hall, to the thrill of being pinned to the wall, the warmth of his skin clashing against the cold stones.
Regulus groaned in frustration, head falling on his desk with a thud.
He was utterly ridiculous.
A laugh from behind him confirmed this theory.
"Dude, stop torturing yourself and just go talk to the guy."
"But," Regulus protested, not caring if he was pathetic. "He's the one who accepted to go out with me. He should take responsability."
Though he couldn't see him, Regulus felt Barty roll his eyes. Then, he heard parchement shuffling, and guessed he too, gave up on the assignment. He would probably copy from his or Evan's later anyway. Regulus never really understood why he did so when he was smarter than the both of them, but he knew his friend didn't particularly care about grades, and was practically a proffesionnal at procrastinating.
Regulus stiffly got up from his chair and started pacing, grabbing his grey and green striped scarf when he shivered. Barty had settled in the opened window nook, letting the cold automn air slip inside their room. He didn't seem to mind though, as he lit the tip of a cigarette stuck between his lips.
They had all tried smoking during their fourth year, but only him and Dorcas had kept the habit. Pandora sometimes indulged in pot, and Evan didn't mind the occasional high. Regulus on the other hand, wasn't found of it. He hated the feel of smoke in his lungs, the false impression that he was suffocating. Same thing happen when he had his head under water ; Regulus loathed being unable to breath. He liked his air pure and oxygenated, thank you very much.
He'd gotten used to the cold though, knowing that Barty would smoke regardless of the weather.
Regulus felt his friend's stare on him, but dismissed it. He'd had a surge of hope when James became his boyfriend -Merlin, the word sounded foreign in his mind. A hope that he'd thought lost long ago. But now, he wondered, fatalistic, if maybe everything had been a farce. James was a known prankster after all...
But Regulus refused to think of James doing such a sadistic thing. His heart wasn't rotten, he'd never stoop so low, of that he was certain. Maybe he wasn't unbiased, but he believed himself to know James. At least that much, at least his heart.
"Look, I'm no expert in relationship, but what was the point of asking him out if you don't want to talk to him ?" Barty resumed, giving once again his unrequited opinion.
"I didn't plan to ask him out in the first place, if you recall." He bit out, comming to a stop in the middle of the room and shooting him a dark look. "And I do want to talk to him, only I want him to come to me !"
Barty waved him off, "Alright, alright, I get it. You're both too afraid to make the first move, blah, blah, fucking blah."
"James isn't afraid." He countered reflexivly.
He also didn't bother denying that he wasn't : Barty knew him, and knew better than to point it out.
"Yes, of course. No fear and no regrets, isn't that as the saying goes ?" He referenced to the French idiom sans peur et sans reproche, that Regulus had taught them. "Gryffindor's unquestioned bravery !" Barty mocked, swooning in derision. "Well then, if he's so fearless, where is the lion now ?"
Regulus deflated, because that left only one answer... A farely obvious one, but no less painful. The Slytherin went to sit on his bed and breathed deeply before answering.
"He's not here simply because he's not that interested. Not enough to seek me out. This was a mistake..."
Barty's loud groan covered whatever he was going to say next.
"Oh how I would hate to have your brain. You're literally your own enemy - worst ! Your own cockblock !" He deplored, throwing his hands up. "You overcomplicate everything. Be rationnal for a minute, will you ? Why would he go out with you if he wasn't interseted ? We're not talking about a guy who's affection starved, someone who doesn't have a shot with anybody else, here. He's James Potter, he could have his pick out of anyone really, but he chose you - Slytherin, wet cat behavior, mean, and mean some more you - as he's boyfriend. You can't overthink your way out of this one."
Barty took a drag of his cigarette, shaking his head, before he continued :
"You asked him out ; he said yes. That's it ! You did it mate, you've got him. After years of pining and drooling and swooning, you have him. Don't ruin that." He smirked then, and rose a defined brow on his forehead. "And from what I've seen, he gave you the snog of your life... You can't fake that sort of chemistry, we both know that."
Regulus grabbed a pillow and hesitated between throwing it at Barty, or burrying his head in it and scream. But his friend did kind of make sense, and he was a bit gratefull, so he just flipped him off and fell back, sprawled out on his covers.
He knew that. He knew Barty was right. About James reasons for going out with him, about the chemistry... But it felt surreal still, three whole days later. James was his boyfriend, James had given him the snog of his goddamn life.
And James wasn't talking to him.
James talked all the time, to anyone who would or wouldn't listen. But he paid more attention to him when they weren't dating, and had absolutly nothing to do with each other, than he did now.
Regulus teeth clenched, "I hate him."
Barty barked out a laugh at his conclusion, very much aware that the probleme was that Regulus did not.
Before he could resovle himself to go and see James, the door creaked open, letting inside Evan, Pandora and Dorcas. The later looked tired, she just got out of Quidditch practice.
He didn't move from the bed, and Regulus' friends ignored his corpse for a while, greeting Barty. Then Dorcas asked :
"Did he talk to Potter ?"
Barty blew out a cloud of smoke, "Nope."
"Is he still moping ?"
"Yep."
Regulus turned his head in time to see Dorcas roll her eyes so far she must've seen her brain. She pushed Barty's legs from the window bench to have a sit.
"Ugh, give me one of those." She sighed, designating the pack of tobacco.
"Well hey, fuck you too Dorcas." Regulus deadpanned.
The matresse next to him shifted, and Pandora lied down next to him, mindlessly staring. Softly, she smiled at him, no mockery in her eyes, nor any pity.
"Don't listen to them."
Regulus smiled back, "And this is why you are my favorite. You understand."
Pandora nodded, proud of her title, "Of course I do. Mopping is totally natural in this situation."
His smile dropped quikly, and he sat up stiffly.
"I. Am. Not. Mopping."
The others laughed, and Pandora followed him up, grimacing, "You kinda are... But you're my favorite too anyway, so it's okay."
Her innocent joy didn't falter against the mean stare Regulus strained on her.
He scoffed and turned away, "That means nothing, I'm everyone's favorite."
Dorcas and Evan immediatly denied it, but each of them knew the truth ; he was. And they were all secretly fighting to be second to Pandora, jealous of her but recognizing her superiority. He wondered when their friendship became like this, rivals to win his praise, Pandora's approbation, and Evan's hugs.
Barty was surprisingly his confident, the one who knew most about Regulus, but Evan and him were undeniably best friends, while his was Pandora. Dorcas was their older sister, treating them like siblings, with the right affection to aggravation ratio.
After a bit of digression and chaos - Pandora stealing his pillow to throw it at Barty - they finally got back on track, discussing his relationship problemes... Or lack of actual relationship.
"I just don't understand why he would accept in the first place, if it's to not pay attention to you afterward." Evan said, frowning. "I thought he'd be the sort of boyfriend to be all clingy and sappy."
"Maybe it's because he knows that, and he's nervous about doing something that would make you feel uncomfortable or being too intrusive ?" Pandora kindly suggested.
"He's very much not being intrusive since he's not even looking at me ! He's avoiding me." He lamented again.
"Oh, you mean like you've been avoiding him ever since Thuesday ?" Barty mused, sluring his words with his cigarette still in his mouth.
A light rain started to drizzle, the sound of it falling on the roof relaxing. Regulus bit the inside of his left cheek, hating feeling so visibly vulnerable. Rare were the times where he showed his struggles, much less discussed them...
"This is useless," Dorcas declared. "You're just stalling, and wasting time. It's Hogsmead weekend, ask him on a goddamn date."
Pandora clasped her hands together, exited by the prospect.
"You don't need to wait for him to make a move. Just get it done yourself, if you want his attention, then take it." Approved Evan, grinning.
"That's what I told you earlier. Go talk to him. Worst case senario, you spend a very bad afternoon with him, it's ackward and boring. But at best," Barty argued, "You stop being stressed around each other, he becomes even more attached to you and snoggs the life out of you. The mopping comes to an end, he's happy and even sends one of those 10,000 watts smiles of his. Why wouldn't you do it ?"
Outnumbered, once again, Regulus pushed his pride aside and accepted his fate with a sigh, expressing vehemently that he was just tired of arguing with them. And not that this prediction had in any way motivated him.
The truth though... Was it the idea of seeing James smiling at him that made him accept ? Yes, absolutly. This damn smile would be the end of him.
"You should go invite him now before he makes other plans with your brother."
Regulus got up at Evan suggestion, but Pandora grabbed his arm, sitting him back down.
"No ! You must know what you're inviting him to first. Where are you planning to go ?"
Regulus, a little lost, had to admit he hadn't really though about that. What would they even do... Instinctivly, he turned to Barty. The question must have been obvious in his eyes, because Barty answered immediatly :
"It really depends on what you want from this. A shag and a dinner-date don't require the same location, if you see what I mean..."
Evan faked a gag, "We always see what you mean Barty, you're a pig." He turned his attention to Regulus, "Just take him to Three Broomstick, no ?"
He grimaced, "It's a little too crowded. I'm not even sure if he's out, and I could do without all the gossip that would ensue. And we'd surely run into my brother..."
Regulus didn't want to think about Sirius right now, and how this whole thing would affect them.
"Right... Well what does our Potter like, then ?" Barty asked.
"Not ours, mine." Regulus corrected. "And I'm not really sure, to tell the truth."
"How about the Tilting Theater ?" Barty advocated off-handedly after a roll of his eyes. "It's dimly lit inside, so you could be discreet and keep to yoursleves, especially if you get seats on the balcony. You like it there, so the setting's familiar, and you'll have an hour less to make small talk if things go awry... And if not, nobody will spot you making out at the back."
Regulus rubbed his jaw distractedly, taking an instant to consider it... That wasn't such a terrible idea. But wouldn't James get bored there ? He wasn't sure theaters were the older boy's "scene".
"Do any of you know what play is sheduled for tomorrow ?"
"Heard a bunch of Fourth Year muggle-borns talk about a musical retelling of one of their Fairy Tales... Don't remember what it was about though, sorry." Dorcas shrugged.
Regulus nodded. He'd always had a soft spot for muggle's tales as a child, and remembered how Kreacher had aquired him a story book about myths and legends of their making, with princes, love potions and poinsoned apples. If it was something like that, with heroics and adventurous heist, surely James woud like it.
"Oh ! I remember the last Holls, Xeno took me to the city, so we could sneak out and see a Muggle movie ! I didn't understand much of it, but it was charming." She assured him, eyes shining at the mention of her boyfriend. "Now I wish this was my date..."
Evan wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "Another time Doll, now is Reg's time to shine."
Regulus showed nothing of his exitement on his face, pretending to be bord of the plannification.
"If you truly want to shine though, definitly stop by Honeyducks before hand. Some sweets during the play is an absolute must." Barty ordered him, pointing his almost entirely burnt cigarette at him.
That seemed feasible. He could picture it, the two of them, picking snacks and probably bickering on what to take. They surey didn't share the same taste, and would end up buying too much to satisfy them both. Then, they'd hurry on High Street to get at the theater in time, because they'd have taking too long in the sweet shop.
Yes, Regulus could see it. He fought back a smile.
"So..." He cleared his troat. "I just tell him to meet me at Honeyducks ?"
"What ? No mate, that sucks !" Evan frowned.
Miserable, he groaned, pulling at his hair, "What should I do, then ?"
"Seriously," Barty chuckled, "if I have to do everything, I should probably just go on this date for you."
A beat passed between them, Regulus raised his head to meet his eyes.
"You want to go on a date... With my boyfriend ?" He urged, dangerously low.
Dorcas coughed, and Barty back-tracked real quick.
"Just kidding, just kidding. He's not even my type."
Evan snorted, "As if you have a type."
"I do though. I just don't have standarts, there's a difference." He said with a pretentious tone. "But we'll discuss that later my Rose," Barty teased, wiggling his brows.
Regulus wasn't sure what that meant, and didn't want to think much about it. He knew his friends' relationship wasn't entirely platonic, but wasn't aware how far those benefits went. He was pretty sure Barty had arbored real feelings for Evan, but to what extent ? He didn't know. Neither did he know if Barty still felt that way. He rather not be involved in it.
"Anyway. Tell James you'll meet him in front of his House's common room, and keep the surprise of where you're going. It's what a gentlemen would do anyway."
"Fine, there's the plan. Now can he go ?" Dorcas sighed, exasperated.
Pandora and Evan gave him the go ahead just as the rain suddenly started pouring. He left the room as Dorcas was cursing, her and Barty getting wet with the wind pushing the rain on them and her ordering him to close the fucking window !
He hurried out of the common rooms, heart pounding in his chest. He couldn't stop nibbling on his bottom lip, wondering what he would do if James said no. Probably drown himself in the lake and let the giant octopus feast on his remains.
He shook his head with intent, forcing some assurence in his stride. There was no reason for James to refuse. He had a good enough plan and a pretty face, he should manage.
He was rehearsing how he would approach James about this, when a shout called his name from a corridor perpandicular to his.
"Regulus !"
Recognizing the voice immediatly, Regulus spun around with a startle and an impression of déjà vu. Only, no one was in the passagway. He frowned. He swore he'd just heard...
James' figure poped out of the opposit side of the hallway, rounding the corner rapidly. He seemed slightly out of breath, like he'd run to catch up to him. But how had he even known Regulus was there ? He'd came from the opposite direction...
Seemingly unaware of the oddity of this situation, James jogged to him with a grin.
"Hi. I thought I was going to lose you there !" He laughed, loosening his tie. "It's lucky I'm fast, you were walking like a man on a mission. I almost missed you."
Forcing himself to regain composure, Regulus furrowed his brows.
"How did you even know I was there ?" He asked, glancing behind him, trying to figure out what he was missing.
"I was looking for you."
His heart skipped a beat. He ignored the treacherous organ.
"That doesn't really answer the question."
James shrugged dissmisvly, but his head dropped a little. So did his smiled. He looked at Regulus through his lashes with puppy eyes, and fuck, why does that turn me on ? Regulus chastised himself.
"Does that mean now isn't a good time...? I can leave if I'm a bo-"
"No !" Regulus cut him off, hopefully not looking as panicked as he was. "No, I... It's not a bother."
Regulus melted at the sight of James lips curling up again. He would do anything to earn that smile, Regulus thought.
"Actually," He started nervously. "I was looking for you too. I meant to ask you earlier but... Are you free tomorrow ?"
Regulus held his breath waiting for an answer, forcing himself not to look away.
James shoved his hand in his pockets, and let his shoulder fall on the wall, leaning on it as he crossed an ankel over the other, "I am for you."
Holy shit.
Holyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitholyshithoyshitholyshitholyshitwhyishedoingthistome ?
"Great." Regulus croaked out. "See you tomorow then."
He needed to get away before he no longer controled his hands and got them on the sinfully beautiful man in front of him.
So Regulus, a man having accomplished the mission he was on, turned away and planned to walk the fuck off, if it weren't for the hand grabbing his wrist and spinning him back around.
"Wait, wait a second." James urged, amused for some reason. "That's it ?"
Regulus blinked, unable to respond without fumbling with his words. And he wouldn't, under any circonstances, stutter in front of James Potter.
"What time should we meet ? Where ?" James asked him, still holding onto his wrist, mindlessly stroking it with his thumb in a circular motion.
Reppressing a shiver, Regulus realised that he hadn't shared the logistics yet. Merlin, his brain was a mess around James.
"Right. Don't mind where, I'll come and get you. Is two pm alright for you ?"
The plays usually started at tree thirty, so it would leave them a little time to pick up snacks and get there.
"Two's perfect. Regulus, have you planned us a date ?"
"Yes," He bit back deffensively. "Do you have a probleme with that, Potter ?"
"Not in the slightest." He grinned. "Though I do have a probleme with you calling me Potter. Aren't I your boyfriend ?"
Regulus almost choked on his saliva, "That has nothing to do with the way I call you."
James pursed his lips in a pout, obviously disagreeing. Not that Regulus cared.
"But you called me James last time."
Regulus frowned, "No, I did not."
"Yes, you did. Right before you asked me if you could kiss me."
Oh Lord. He had, Hadn't he ? Denial was now Regulus' only ally.
"No, you're mistaken." James was about to argue some more, but Regulus didn't let him speak. "I would know what I did or didn't say, and I haven't called you anything other than Potter in years."
At least in his presence, but he wouldn't tell James that...
"You know what ? This is my new goal then ; I'll have you call me by my name before the Chrismas holls."
Regulus raised a brow at him, sceptic.
"I am not making another bet, and from what I heard, you shouldn't either."
That earned him a laugh, but James didn't back out from his promise.
"Well, if that's all... I'm going to go." Regulus declared, clearing his troat.
"Okay, see you tomorow then." James said, he's hand sliding up his arm as he leaned down to place a peck on his cheek.
Regulus let out a small whimper in surprise. And when James pulled back, before he turned away, Regulus was certain he saw a victorous smirk on his face.
Statuefied, Regulus waited until James was out of sight before collapsing on the wall, head in his hand to cover the blush he felt burning his cheeks.
What the hell was that ?
And how the hell was he going to survive the following day ? In such condition, his heart wouldn't last long.