Settling In
Rowan leans against the wall of the open kitchen, eyebrows raised as he watches Remus and Crypt bicker over who gets what from the frankly enormous amount of food spread out across the kitchen counters. He closes his eyes, crossing his arms as the rest of the group find their way into the kitchen. Regulus joins Rowan on the wall, watching the scene with lidded eyes as Hydrus forces Arminius to actually take food while Sirius pokes fun at James for being all flustered… honestly you’d think that Sirius would have realized Rowan was the cause, what with Prongs not being able to take his eyes off the boy.
Either way, Rowan couldn’t be bothered. He’s still recovering from the ride over… and if he’s being honest he would like to see James’s room… and maybe also James in his room. An elbow to the side is what makes him open his eyes, turning his attention to Reg with a tired ‘hmph’. “What?” Rowan asks, glaring at him. “What yourself, where’d you get those?” The middle Black brother asks, gesturing towards the hickeys on Rowan’s neck.
“What-” he slaps his hand to his neck- “that bastard-” Rowan grumbles, grabbing Reg’s arm and dragging him out of the kitchen and into one of the sitting rooms. “Whatt- Don’t want Siri knowing you’re shagging his best friend?” the younger boy snickers, Rowan releasing his arm. “W-Well we haven’t gotten to that point yet-” his face is red “B-But shut up!” more muffled laughter meets his words, Rowan lightly shoving his shoulder. “It’s a miracle I don’t hex your mouth shut, Reg-”
Reg rolls his eyes, plopping down in an armchair “So you two are finally a thing?” he asks, that dumb little grin from before making its home on the middle Black brother’s pale lips. Rowan scoffs, arms crossed and a blush high on his not-so-pale cheekbones. “What’s it to you anyway?” he deflects, a scowl furrowing his brow. “It’s not like you have a stake in it-”
Regulus crosses one leg over the other as he leans into the back of his chair, his ankle just barely over his knee. “Oh but I do! The entire school’s been speculating about the relationship between you and Gryffindor Star Quidditch Captain, James-motherfucking-Potter” Regulus pauses for dramatic effect “And if I have knowledge nobody else does, I can control what the school talks about for at least a couple of weeks- they’ll give me their money, sweets, favors, hopefully homework answers-”
Rowan rolls those oh so pretty violet eyes of his, leaning against the side of the couch across from the armchair. “Self serving per usual-”
Reg sticks his tongue out at the older boy. “Yeah yeah- you’ve been doing the same thing, you asshole.’
“I- well- Yeah but-” Rowan splutters- “Shut the fuck up!” the paler black haired boy laughs.
“Anyways. Sure, we’re a thing. Just for the love of Merlin's left asscheek, don’t tell Siri-” Rowan fixes Reg with a serious look, sweater clad arms crossed tightly across his bound chest. “He’s just as protective over my dumbass as he is yours-”
Regulus fixes him with an incredulously dramatic look “Are you implying that I’m a dumbass, Rowan?”
Rowan shrugs, raising their eyebrows and glancing to the side. “It’s not an implication if it’s obvious-” He murmurs, providing amazing evidence for the fact that Hogwarts has no English or writing class. These children have never heard of mla formatting and I’m jealous.
Regulus dramatically gasps, pressing the pads of his fingers against the top of his chest before grinning. “Can’t deny that- but wow-”
“Quiet, tired bastard- and golden retriever mom friend- dating-” Regulus shakes his head in disbelief. “Wait until Cissa hears this- oh she won’t believe it-”
Rowan looks over, head tilted “That’s… That’s ‘Quarius’s mother, right?'' he asks, frowning as he tries to remember. Regulus nods in confirmation. “Yep, got married then pregnant right out of highschool- shame it’s to Lucius, though-” the paler boy huffs, crossing his arms with a scowl. “He’s a right arsehole, that one. He cares more about his precious dark lord than he does my cousin.”
Rowan’s frown deepens, teeth worrying the inside of his bottom lip. “Dark lord?” the darker boy asks, a concerned tone coloring his words. Regulus simply nods again “Yeah. She did a good thing trusting me, Siri, and Remus with little ‘Quarius- I think I’d rather drown than think about Lucius as a father to that rambunctious little shit.”
Rowan hums, moving his frown to the wall. “I’d rather get lit on fire than imagine a death eater parenting Aquarius-”
Reg sighs, uncrossing his arms and looking up at the ceiling. “She said she might visit this year, after Aquarius’s birthday, of course. I just.. I have a feeling something is gonna go wrong on the poor kid’s special day, you know?” Rowan nods, unfurling the frown and looking over. “Yeah.. yeah. Fucking hell man- I wouldn’t really be..” the frown returns as he struggles “be… how is it.. you know, sorpresa? But in english???” Reg merely laughs at his struggles, prompting Rowan to flip the younger boy off. “Sopresa.. Sorpresa.. SURPRISE!” Rowan shouts, hitting himself in the forehead with the heel of his palm. “I’m such an idiot!” the elder mutters, Reg agreeing and earning himself another middle finger in his direction.
“Anyways-” Rowan continues, shaking his head- “I wouldn’t really be surprised if something bad happened… I don’t trust Lucius. Not a single fucking bit. He’s too self centered.”
Regulus nods, frowning at the wall before getting to his feet. “Hm.. I’m hungry as fuck- how many of the pastries do you think those two assholes ate while you were scolding me?”
Rowan rolls his eyes. “It was more of a ‘you motherfucker’ which devolved into ‘your cousin’s husband sucks and they need a divorce’, if you want to put a label on it”
Reg crosses his arms. “The only thing that needs labeling is you and James’s relationship, asshole- now c’mon.” The middle black brother pokes Rowan’s shoulder “I want some fuckin pastries.”
Rowan chuckles, “Alright, you ravenous beast- Merlin-” and with that he follows Regulus out of the sitting room and back into the kitchen.
. . .
Remus is leaning against a counter, resting his head on Sirius’s shoulder while Crypt stands on the eldest black brother’s other side, the man the myth the legend sitting on the counter between the two tall fucks as Rowan and Regulus walk in, Reggie making a beeline to the surprisingly sizeable amount of remaining pastries remaining on the counter. Rowan looks around, spotting James sitting in the family room beyond the open archway that leads into the kitchen. He stretches before walking over to the quidditch captain, leaning over the top of the nice, dark-colored couch and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “How was the awkward conversation with El Perro, Ciervoito?”
James blinks up at him. “I- it was terrible-” The boy sighs dramatically- “He accused me of having a crush on someone in the house! He’s discovered us, love- I don’t know how I can go on!”
Rowan playfully shoves him with a laugh. “Potter, you’re such a dramatic dumbass!” he laughs.
“Your dramatic dumbass” James murmurs in response, a dumb little smile on his even dumber face- but it’s endearing- Rowan decided- how dumb this absolute idiot looks.
“Hm… James?” Rowan murmurs, his face heating up ever so slightly. James looks up at Rowan fully, deep brown eyes meeting nervous purple ones. “Yeah, chhota?” the taller boy replies, head tilted like a dog when the dog is confused by something.
“I’d rather like to see your room, now”