about you

The past week was the busiest Regulus' life had been in a solid five years. Yet, he found himself enjoying ever second of it from the album release to the people he's met.

Until now.

He found himself, once again, trying to get ready to meet up with James. After the Twitter leak, they both decided they were comfortable being spotted by fans or paparazzi together in public. In all honesty, Regulus was flattered by James' tweets about him. Who was he kidding, he was more interested after seeing what James said about him. The tweets made Regulus feel pressured to keep up his image to James, which lead him to his current issue.

Regulus had been debating what to wear for almost a whole hour before he called in for backups. That's how he ended up with Dorcas, Mary, Pandora, and Remus in his room. Just like before the 1971's party, the group was making Regulus try on outfits they personally picked out for him.

Regulus put on what felt like the fifteenth outfit and looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing a simple black sweatshirt and jeans. There was nothing wrong with simplicity, right?

He walked out to the living room where the judges sat on the couch. Once he was in front of them, each one seemed to analyze him, some even taking notes. The silence didn't last long, however.

"Boring," Remus remarked. Everyone seemed to nod their head to what Remus had to say.

"I feel like I'm falling asleep just by looking at your outfit," Pandora said with a small laugh.

"I agree. Where's the spice?" Dorcas added.

"You guys are brutal. You're almost worst than Rita Skeeter," Regulus groaned.

"Honestly, we're just trying to prepare you for her after what happened to the 1971. Who knows who she could go after next," Mary mentioned. Regulus knew she was right. It was possible for Rita to publish an article that drug his name through the mud without a single drop of remorse.

"Oh no, what ever shall I do if Rita gets to?" Regulus asked sarcastically as he went to go change out of the supposed basic outfit.

The whole group, especially Regulus, knew Rita Skeeter far before her professional career in journalism started. They went to school together at some point, but she was a little bit older than Regulus. They were only in school with one another for about three years.

Despite the short amount of time, Regulus could still remember the tight grip Rita had on their small boarding school. Rita ran a small newspaper at the school that was full of gossip and complete nonsense. What she wrote would often cause huge fights between friends or even friend groups. Regulus vividly remembered one event she had caused.

It was regular, boring Tuesday night at Hogwarts. School had just begun for the year, which meant Regulus was officially a third year. Regulus had been in the library with Remus before the pair was interrupted by James and Sirius. As he was stepping into the common room as he heard shouting that nearly sounded like screaming. He peeked around the corner to see a group of girls he didn't know arguing with one another. All he knew was that they were first years.

"You called us sluts behind our backs, and we find out through Skeeter's newspaper!" One of them yelled out.

"That's so untrue," Another seemed to gasp in shock as she angrily spoke. "I was told that you were interested in the bloke I think is fit and you tried telling him all of these nasty, horrible things about me!"

"You're such a pathetic liar, I can't believe you," A girl off to the side said with a scoff which caused the girls to start fighting each other. While they definitely weren't the best, Regulus saw punches being thrown from inside the little mob of girls.

The fighting and squabbling seemed to continue in a downward spiral from there. Eventually, a teacher had to come in and forcibly remove some of the girls. Regulus tore his eyes from the group and looked around the room. Near the stairs that lead to the dorm rooms, he saw Rita observing the scene with a small smirk on her face. Most people with common sense knew not to believe her, but it seemed like the group of young girls were unaware of her tricks at the time. While he hated to admit it, she was good at what she did.

Who else could singlehandedly destroy friendships and relationships with one small article?

Quickly, Regulus found out who else could do what she did without any regret. It was his cousin, Bellatrix Black. He observed as the pair quickly hit it off after realizing their similarities. Rita's newspaper was worse than ever after she had become close to Bellatrix. She would often get Bellatrix to sneak around and find out the inside scoop so she could expose it to the whole school. Regulus found out through gossip, funny enough, that Bellatrix and Rita were dating.

While Regulus didn't care much about them together, Bellatrix and Rita being together caused an uproar in their homophobic family. Regulus still remembers how Bella got exiled for nearly a month, but the family eventually came to terms due to Rita coming from a respectable family, whatever the hell that meant.

It was bullshit in Regulus' opinion. He was happy for his cousin being in a happy relationship, but he still felt a twinge of jealousy. Regulus thought his reaction was natural considering how he was thrown out for being trans while Bellatrix still had support from the entire family. He had to admit that he was happier without his god awful family, but it still hurt nonetheless.

Regulus pulled himself out of memory lane and looked at the next outfit that sat on his bed. He let out a small groan when he saw the shirt, but still continued to put it on.

"Alright, cut the shit. Who the hell just had this laying around?" Regulus stormed out of his bedroom in a shirt that said "I Love The 1971". Everyone on the couch started laughing at the sight of him.

"Wow guys, you are so funny," Regulus crossed his arms and huffed, unamused by their antics.

"Oh my god! You should see the look on your face," Pandora said as she threw her head back, basically cackling at this point.

"You have to wear that now. It's perfect for your little date with the guitarist from The 1971!" Mary called out between her giggles.

"Did you guys seriously order this shirt just in hopes that I would go on a serious date with James?" Regulus asked.

"No, not at all. I had it laying around from my days in the band," Remus replied as he wiped away the tears in his eyes that were caused by his laughter.

"I'm so glad you got it out of storage just for me," Regulus muttered as he turned to leave. Everyone let out noises of protest which caused him to turn around and give them a questioning look.

"Regulus, just hear me out! If you show up in that, James will fall head over ass for you and the paparazzi pictures will look great, that is if they find you today," Dorcas said. Regulus knew she had some good points in what she said, so he sighed pitifully.

"Fine, I'll wear it. You better be right though," Regulus admitted to his defeat, his shoulders sagging slightly as he spoke. The group cheered in delight.

"I feel like I just won the lottery," Remus joked and began to get up, Mary following after him.

"It looks like our job here is done," Mary remarked as she made her way to collect her things and put on her shoes.

"It's been an honor, but it appears that it's my time to leave. Dorcas, Pandora," Remus said as he looked back at the pair. "Have fun dealing with the rest of the process!" Remus grinned and went to grab his shoes and such.

"Thanks for leaving the hardest part in our hands, good god," Dorcas grumbled and Pandora patted her on the back.

"We'll be alright, I mean we've been through worse with his since we live with him," Pandora chimed in to lift Dorcas' spirits. Regulus scoffed, as he still stood in front of them.

"Do you guys just forget I'm right here?" Regulus asked.

"No, but it's good for you to be self-aware," Dorcas replied with a cheeky smile. Regulus lightly swatted at her in response. Remus and Mary said their goodbyes before they walked out the door, shutting it behind him.

"A little birdy told me that Remus was meeting up with Sirius today," Pandora said after Remus left.

"I'm sure, I remember how often they used to be around each other. It's like they were glued together. I'm not looking forward to that happening again," Dorcas commented.

"Neither am I because this time around, I actually have to be around Sirius now that he knows I exist," Regulus said. Shortly after, he heard his phone ping from the other room.

"You might want to check that, lover boy might be worried," Pandora joked which resulted in both her and Dorcas giggling.

"Fuck off," Regulus said as he walked to his room to retrieve his phone. He unlocked his phone and he did in fact have unread messages from James.

future husband james: HELLOOOO SUNSHINE
good morning or afternoon since it is 12:30 PM
am i still good to pick you up soon ??

Regulus realized that he now only had fifteen minutes to make himself presentable, but at least his outfit was already decided on.

LOVE OF MY LIFE: hi JAMES
yeah we're still good i'll be ready by then
i'll meet u outside so u dont have to deal with my roommates

future husband james: YIPPEE
also i wanted to meet ur roomies :-( can i not come up pleaseplease

LOVE OF MY LIFE: they're very nosey u wont be able to leave this apartment until they know your full name, address, birthday, and family history
so not TODAY but we could have dinner here sometime with them if u want

future husband james: already bringing up a second date before the first even starts.... hmmm....

LOVE OF MY LIFE: who said the dinner was a date....
love the confidence tho

future husband james: wow Ok
Anyways
ive gotta go ill see u in maybe 10 <3

Regulus was taken aback by the heart, but he didn't have time to sit and stare at it.

LOVE OF MY LIFE: <33

He heard shuffling and saw Dorcas standing there.

"Don't just stand there, you still have to make your hair look decent. Which, by the looks of it, is going to take nearly ten minutes," Dorcas said as she got closer to him and raked through his messy hair with her hands. Regulus swatted her hands away and patted his hair down, attempting to tame it.

"I just need to put something in it, stop worrying," Regulus assured Dorcas while he moved towards a mirror to fix his hair.

"It's gonna take a lot to fix that," Pandora said when she appeared in the doorway.

"You're hilarious," Regulus replied with a sarcastic tone. He put some hair product into hair, hoping that would do the trick. His hair definitely looked better than before he started messing with it, so he would take it.

"You and James just can have messy hair together," Pandora said with a small laugh. Regulus turned to face her and gave her a judgmental look.

"Please stop, oh my god," Regulus pleaded. He grabbed his phone and keys from his room before squeezing his way out of the door to collect his shoes, Dorcas and Pandora not too far behind him.

"Do we need to walk you down and give James a talk about not hurting our son?" Dorcas questioned jokingly.

"James probably wouldn't take that as a joke, honestly. He would listen to every word you had to say and follow your rules," Regulus answer truthfully. He knew James would most likely shit himself if Dorcas and Pandora said anything along those lines to him. The two girls shared a look for a second before laughing.

"I would kill to see that! Imagine how funny his face would be," Pandora commented.

"I bet he would start crying, especially if we were the ones saying ut," Dorcas added, still giggling with Pandora.

Regulus blocked out the rest of their conversation and finished tying his shoes. As if on que, his phone chimed and he knew it was James.

"Alright, I'll see you guys later," Regulus gave them a smile then proceeded to open the door and walk out of it. He shut the door behind himself and took a deep breath to try and calm his nerves. Regulus began walking again and made his way to the stairs, which he walked down quite fast. He didn't want to keep James waiting for too long.

Regulus walked out the main doors of his apartment building and saw James standing there, kicking what seemed like a rock with his foot. Regulus took a second to take in his appearance since James wasn't aware of his presence. He was wearing a sweater similar to the ones that Remus wore and simple jeans. He felt awkward in his current outfit, considering the shirt he was wearing. At this point, there was nothing Regulus could do.

"Hey, hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long," Regulus finally said, offering James a small but genuine smile. He looked up from the rock her was kicking and smiled upon seeing Regulus in front of him.

"Hi Regulus," James seemed to cut himself off while talking as he observed Regulus' appearance. "Oh my god, your shirt! Where can you even buy that?"

"No clue, it just magically appeared on my doorstep after I got your number," Regulus joked, suddenly feeling a hint of awkwardness in himself.

"Oh, I see. The 1971 fairy godmother must have visited you," James joked.

"That's what it is? Well then, please send my thanks her way," Regulus let out a laugh.

"She'll definitely appreciate that," James said. "Also, is it alright if we walk? The place I wanted to take you isn't too far away and it's not too cold outside," James explained. Regulus' apartment was in a busy part of London, so he knew it would be a short walk to whatever place James was talking about.

"Oh yeah, that's fine," Regulus answered while nodding.

"Great! Shall we then?" James said with a weird accent as he extended a hand towards Regulus. Regulus stared at the hand for a few beats before grabbing it.

"We shall," Regulus said as he looked up at James, who was smiling so brightly it made the sun appear dull.

The pair began their walk, and Regulus found it surprisingly easy to talk to James. Usually, Regulus found himself struggling to talk to people, other than his bandmates and Mary, without making a fool of himself or without the other person simply not attempting to make a conversation. This wasn't the case with James. The other would listen to whatever Regulus had to say and would easily make conversation out of it.

"How did you get into guitar?" James asked. He was bound to be curious, as nothing about Regulus would lead anyone to believe he was into music.

"Honestly? I wanted to rebel against my family in small ways. My parents hated anything other than classical music, and I knew a loud guitar would piss them off. My brother taught me the basics," Regulus explained, trying not to reveal too much information. One tiny slip up and James would know that Regulus was Sirius' missing little brother.

"Look at you, the family rebel," James joked. "You've never mentioned a brother before. Could I meet him sometime?" James slowly asked, sounding as if he was scared of what rejection may come.

"I've never mentioned him because he's no longer in my life. He didn't support me when I needed him most, so I didn't support him," Regulus said as he carelessly shrugged. He wasn't a huge fan of talking about Sirius and his issues.

"I see, I'm sorry about that," James said, voice full of genuine.

"It's alright, really. It's not like you took him away," Regulus laughed bitterly because in some ways, James did take Sirius away from Regulus.

"Yeah," James said quietly before stopping in front of a building. Regulus was unaware until he felt himself being pulled back by the arm since he was still holding James' hand.

"What?" Regulus asked a little but concerned. He wasn't sure if it was normal for James just to randomly stop in the middle of the sidewalk.

"We're here," James said cheerfully. Regulus let out a sight of relief before peering up at the sign. It was the café Regulus frequently visited with Dorcas and Pandora.

"Oh, I love this place. I come here with my roommates a lot," Regulus remarked while he shifted his eyes from the sign to James.

"Really? I come here a lot with Sirius and I've never seen you here," James said as he started walking to the door. Regulus nodded as James opened the door for Regulus and he walked in. To his delight, Regulus was met with the smell of coffee and pastries. The place was crowded, considering it was a Saturday afternoon. The pair got into the fairly long line and began waiting.

Regulus looked at the couple in front of himself in the line and felt a pang of familiarity in the two women's appearances. He had seen the woman's long, platinum hair before and the other woman's dyed blonde hair. He had to see their faces. Regulus fake coughed in an attempt to get at least one of their attention. He was successful and he was then met with Bellatrix Black staring at him. The two kept their eyes locked on each other for what felt like a century.

"Oh my god. Is that you, Reg?" Bellatrix said with a gasp. Regulus hoped her dramatics wouldn't draw any unnecessary attention.

"Keep your voice down, you're drawing attention-" Regulus was cutoff by her sweeping him into a hug. From over Bellatrix's shoulder, he saw the woman with platinum hair. He also heard James make a noise of confusion from somewhere behind him. Honestly, neither of those thing were important to him since he was in Bellatrix's familiar iron grip.

Regulus had always been Bellatrix's favorite out of himself and Sirius, so her antics didn't surprise him.

"Don't even try to lie your way out of this, I recognize your eyes," Bellatrix whispered into his ear before releasing him. She looked him up and down and gave him a smirk. "Looks like someone's changed a lot."

"Can we not do this right now?" Regulus pleaded.

"Who is this, Regulus?" James asked curiously. Bellatrix glanced over to James and Regulus thought her jaw was going to go through the floor.

"You've got Potter now too, huh? Maybe you and your brother aren't as different as you believe," Bellatrix commented. James looked at Regulus, confusion written all over his face.

"We'll be back in a second," Regulus mumbled before he walked off, dragging Bellatrix with him. He hoped he would be able to find a way to explain this to James. Regulus walked into the café's bathroom with Bellatrix and locked the door behind them. The two analyzed each other, trying to notice all of the differences in appearance from over the years.

"Look at you, you're all grown up," Bellatrix said in a tone Regulus couldn't understand. He wasn't sure if anyone could identify her weird tones of voice.

"Listen, you cannot go around telling everyone about how I'm a guy now," Regulus explained. He hoped that she, out of his whole family, would understand.

"I won't, just because you've always been my favorite. But, you have to explain what the hell happened before you disappeared. Your parents wouldn't tell a single soul what happened to you. You also have to tell me why you're here with James Potter," Bellatrix said.

"Alright, fine. There's not much to explain about my supposed disappearance. I came out to my parents and of course they didn't accept me. I was thrown out with only the clothes I was wearing and a little bit of money. They had my things packed and sent to me at Hogwarts," Regulus only briefly summarized that dreadful night. No one had to know the horrible things his parents said to him.

"Sounds about right," Bellatrix replied, acting as if that was normal. "Now why on Earth are you here with your supposed mortal enemy?"

"He's not that bad, it turns out," Regulus was interrupt by Bellatrix groaning. "Shut up, I'll explain! We met at my band's album release party and he fell head over heels for me. We've actually spoken everyday since. This is our first date, which I should probably get back to," Regulus rambled.

"Sounds like my baby cousin has a crush," Bellatrix teased.

"Does that satisfy you?" Regulus asked, unamused by her teasing.

"Very much so. Can we get out of this disgusting bathroom now?" Bellatrix questioned, disgust in her voice. Regulus nodded and Bellatrix went to unlock the door. Regulus saw a shiny ring on her ring finger and gasped.

"Did Skeeter finally get the balls to ask you?" He asked smugly. Bellatrix paused and turned her head back to look at him with a smirk on her face.

"You're about four years late to that news," Bellatrix let out a laugh. "To answer your question, yes she did. By no surprise, our family went ballistic. They said something about how they wouldn't have a queer marriage on the family tree. I threatened to make Rita write an exposée about the Black family and publish it in her paper. That shut them up fast. Only thing I had to agree to was keeping my last name and Rita keeping her last name. We've been married for two years now, almost three."

Regulus nodded in shock. He wasn't aware of how much he had really missed until now. Bellatrix seemed to notice his shift in emotion.

"Hey, cheer up. At least you don't live with Sirius anymore," Bellatrix said with a massive grin on her face. Regulus laughed. He couldn't disagree with her on that. She seemed pleased that he was in a somewhat better mood, so she continued to unlock the door and walk out. Regulus followed her and tried to come up with an explanation for James.

Once around the corner, Regulus saw James awkwardly talk to the woman with platinum hair, who turned out to be Rita Skeeter. James looked up to see Regulus coming his way and his face lit up. Regulus stopped next to him, giving him a small smile.

"Hey, what was that about?" James questioned in a low voice as he smiled back at him. He also relinked their hands, which Regulus was thankful for. Regulus felt grounded while he held James' hand.

"I'll explain in a second," Regulus replied, his voice level matching James'.

"So when were you going to say hello, Reg?" Rita suddenly asked.

"Hello, Rita. Lovely to see you, of course," Regulus said bitterly. Despite their long history, this was still the same person who leaked James' tweets.

"I was just talking to your little boyfriend here. How long have you guys been together?" Rita asked with a smirk on her face. It was evident to Regulus that she was trying to form a story right there in the middle of a café.

"Classified information, I'm sorry," Regulus responded with false sincerity. At this point, all he wanted to do was sit down and talk to James.

"Well then, I apologize for asking," Rita nearly snapped at them before smiling. "Have a good day," She finished as she was pulled away from the line by Bellatrix, who had ordered for Rita.

James and Regulus avoided the conversation after they ordered their drinks and food.

"So, how did you and Sirius meet?" Regulus asked eagerly. He may know exactly how they met, but he was interested in seeing a different perspective of it.

"Boarding school, actually," James answered. "Us becoming best friends was practically written in the stars. We were in the same year for starters, but them we were put in the same group and dorm room. Being in the same group meant we would also have the same classes, so there was barely a moment we were separated during the day."

Regulus nodded as if he was taking in new information, but he already knew how Hogwarts worked.

"It sounds like you haven't gotten much time to yourself since meeting him. I feel like Lily says that you guys are always together," Regulus joked.

"We are, for the most part. It's not my story to tell, but he ran away from home at sixteen and he came to stay with me. My parents took him in and treated him like he was their son and I mean, in a way, he is their son," James explained passionately. Regulus could tell just from how James spoke about Sirius that the pair were close. Regulus wondered if Sirius ever spoke about him like this.

"That's really sweet, your parents sound amazing," Regulus commented.

"I really hope you can meet my parents one day because they're honestly amazing. I'm sure they would love you," James admitted with such confidence in what he was saying. Regulus was silent. He never had good parent's growing up, so he really didn't know what to say. Regulus' parents could never be described as amazing or lovable, like James' parents were.

"I'd love to meet them, James. I'm surprised you're already mentioning me meeting your parents," Regulus said.

"My sixth sense is knowing when something good is happening, and whatever we're doing is definitely something good," James said, almost overly confident. Regulus took time to understand what he had just said before he burst out laughing.

"Did you actually just say that? I think I'm having a fever dream," Regulus said while he was still laughing. James just looked at him with admiration in his eyes.

"That may have actually been the stupidest thing I've ever said, but hey, at least it got you to laugh," James pointed out while grinning like an idiot.

The two of them were called to get their food and from there ate in silence. Once they had finished their meals, they gathered their things and headed towards the door. After walking out, James relinked their hands.

"What happened with Skeeter and the other person?" James asked as soon as they were on the sidewalk.

"Bellatrix is the woman who approached me. She's my cousin. I was disowned from my family, so she hasn't seen me in over five years. I guess she was just a little shocked," Regulus explained quietly. James seemed to be at a lose for words, which was rare for him.

"I'm sorry for pressing like I did. I should've minded my business because you didn't have to tell me and-" James kept rambling on, so Regulus cut him off.

"James, it's fine, honestly. I wouldn't have told you if I didn't want to," Regulus reassured him, which seemed to help.

"Thank you for telling me," James said.

"Of course. As you said earlier, this is a good thing so I have to be honest if I want to keep it good," Regulus joked. James let out a giggle and Regulus almost stopped walking completely.

"Did you seriously just giggle?" Regulus asked as he laughed.

"What? No, I would never!" James said defensively.

"Sure, keep telling yourself that," Regulus remarked as the pair kept walking.

They were now in front of Regulus' apartment, James let go out Regulus' hand.

"I've had a wonderful time, Reg. Could we do this again?" James asked. James was now suddenly shy, as if he didn't giggle in front of Regulus just a few short minutes ago.

"Of course, I'd love to. Just text me," Regulus nodded. James perked up and smiled at Regulus like he was everything.

"I'll text you later!" James said as he started walking. Regulus raised an eyebrow and decided to do something that every bone in his body was begging him not to do.

"James!" Regulus called out to him as he started walking over to James. James turned around, confused. Regulus finally caught up to him and grinned.

"You really think that's how you end a first date?" Regulus asked before lightly pecking James on the lips. James looked stunned, completely frozen in place. Regulus just turned around and walked back to his apartment.

If Dorcas and Pandora heard Regulus happily screaming into a couch pillow as soon as he got home, they wouldn't tell a single soul.

--

@ritaskeet: who ever thought two rockstars from opposing bands would date? hear the latest about james potter and regulus black, or what fans are calling "Jegulus", in my latest article, where i recall my experience after running into the couple on a date earlier today ..