"Try harder," Regulus tells him before he rolls his eyes and starts backing away from James.
The bouquet of red roses falls from his hand in an instant. He watches dejectedly as Regulus doesn't even spare him a second glance before walking back through the hallways.
Now, see, James has been trying hard. For a whole week now, in fact. But despite his best efforts, nothing seems to get through Regulus. His boyfriend is just that stubborn when it comes to forgiving him.
James distinctly remembers the previous days that played out exactly like this.
Monday
Noticing the foul mood Regulus had been giving him lately, James decided it was only appropriate to tell him as many jokes he could think of as possible.
"Like if I clean a vacuum, does that make me a vacuum cleaner?" James was laughing at his own joke, mostly because he believes his laugh was contagious, and his boyfriend looked like he desperately needed one.
This, however, did not have the impact he was going for. Regulus looked like he was ready to murder him.
"Are you seriously just going to be making jokes this whole time?"
James stops in his tracks, taking the question as a direct hit to the chest, feeling ridiculously hurt by this. "I.. I just thought I’d make you laugh—you never do lately.”
Regulus clicks his tongue and looks away from him. “You really don’t know why I’m being like this?”
“Love, if I had any idea, I would have done something to fix it by now."
As if struck by his response, Regulus flinches. James doesn't even try to hide the growing panic that settles within him seeing Regulus jerk like that.
"Hey, you okay?" But Regulus just frowns, James wants to kiss the crease between his brows.
"I have to go."
"Reg—"
When Regulus doesn't stop for him, James is left standing there, dumbfounded by the entire situation.
Tuesday
Euphemia Potter—his wonderful, intelligent mother—had once told him that "when in doubt, have ice cream."
Wise words, if you ask him.
So James can't really be faulted when he spends almost the entire day in the ice cream shop near their school, having a hard time deciding which ice cream would best make Regulus' mood at least a tad bit better.
He can feel the ice cream employee eyeing him, clearly exasperated at James' expense. He wishes he could feel offended by it, but all it did was further his embarrassment. It didn't help that the ice cream names weren't really ice cream names.
James considers throwing himself against the wall.
"I guess I'll have the 'Kill Me With Love Berries'," he says finally—which really was just a strawberry flavored ice cream with chunks of cheese cakes. He resists the urge to roll his eyes at how pretentious this shop felt.
Regulus had always reminded him that he didn't have a flavor he particularly favors when it comes to ice cream. In this case, James just goes with whatever suits his fancy at the moment. Strawberries always did have a certain magic to make him feel better.
After he paid for it—not without smirking in triumph at the employee for finally leaving the damn shop—he heads straight to the dorms to surprise Regulus.
Everything was going to be fine. Regulus would warm up to him and James can finally sleep well at night knowing his boyfriend doesn't hate him.
Everything was going to be —
"What the hell?!"
The ice cream falls from his hands and lands directly on Regulus' shirt. Creams of pink wrapping his black top.
"Shit, Reg! I'm so sorry!" In his panic, his hands frantically try to wipe the ice cream off his shirt, which only made matters worse by the way Regulus snaps James' hands away from him.
"Stop that."
James steps back an inch, feeling small and incredibly stupid. "Reg, I really am sorry."
"What are you even doing with that?" Regulus asks, jerking his head towards the empty cone on James' hand. He still looks rather upset, but nonetheless kept his voice gentler this time.
"I was going to give them to you," he lets out, his usual confidence slowly leaving him.
Regulus wrinkles his brows, as if not understanding the inclination. "Why?"
"Because you're mad at me."
That seemed to stop the irritation on Regulus' face and be replaced by something much more softer. For only a moment, at least. Because at the next second, he keeps a guarded expression back on as he searches for something in James' eyes.
"But why would you do that?"
James thinks the question couldn't be any more confusing. It's obvious, isn't it? Why wouldn't James make it up to Regulus when he feels like he has done something wrong?
And also, well, James loves him for fuck's sake!
"Because I've upset you?" he asks instead, unsure of the answer.
Regulus only sighs. "Yes, but why do you care if I'm upset with you or not?"
"I—uh—because you're—"
"Figure it out first and then start giving me ice scream, James," Regulus cuts him off. "I won't let you lead me on again."
With that, Regulus leaves his sight once more. James doesn't chase him down this time, his previous words echoing through his head.
I won't let you lead me on again.
"What do you mean, Reg?"
Wednesday
He had to change his tactic. If Regulus was going through something he couldn't voice out yet, then James was just going to patiently wait for him to open up about it, all the while letting Regulus know that he was there for him.
Whatever plans he had for the two of them, however, was utterly crushed when Regulus decided to avoid him all throughout the day.
James supposes he owes it to him—to let Regulus have his space. It won't do him any good to force him to talk anyways. He also promised himself not to go after Regulus unless he approaches him first, afraid that it would just scare the latter into closing up again.
Turns out, even that was the wrong decision as later that day, Regulus storms into where James had been lazing around—looking just about ready to blow.
Unaware of his boyfreind's murderous wrath, James was lying on his back at one secluded corner of the school rooftop, eyes closed as he lets himself fall asleep, dreaming of gray eyes and constellations. This has been their little meeting place—him and Regulus—before their relationship was ever official.
Now, James just wishes that Regulus was there with him.
"James."
The cool voice calling his name had sounded familiar. He instantly perks up and smiles to himself. It's Regulus.
Only when he opens his eyes does James realize he's in deep trouble.
"Oh no," he blurts out without thinking, "I didn't do anything, I swear."
Regulus scoffs, stepping directly beside him, "Yeah? Then why do you sound so guilty?"
"Because, love, when you won't talk to me for a whole day and come at me looking like that," James gestures to Regulus' expression, "one might think I kicked you out my bed—which I didn't by the way. You're still very welcome to sleep in my bed."
The smile he gives him doesn't phase Regulus in the slightest. Instead, all it did was make him narrow his eyes at James.
"Where were you the whole day?"
James lifts a brow. "Here, love. I was just here the entire time—well, for the most part."
"Then why didn't you..." Regulus trails off, looking away, and if he didn't know any better, James would think he was hurt .
Confused, he stands up now. "What is it?"
"You didn't see me," Regulus breathes out.
"I was under the impression you didn't want to see me ," he points out. The night air sweeps through both of them, though neither of them felt the cold. "I was giving you some space, Reg."
Regulus didn't respond for a while, opting to look over the buildings painted with darkness instead. Then, "Why can't you say it?"
"Say what?"
"What I've been waiting for you to say."
James has no idea what that could possibly be, but something about Regulus—looking worn out and tired, like he's been worrying about it this whole time—urges him to say, "I'm sorry."
But Regulus just shakes his head. "I hate that you don't even know what I'm talking about."
He was about to apologize for another time when Regulus cut him off.
"Save it."
When a few minutes have passed and Regulus is long gone, James nudges his head against the hard ledge, defeated.
"What is it? What do I have to say for you to forgive me?"
Thursday
Regulus doesn't see or speak to him.
James doesn't think he could face rejection this time around.
Friday
When James was twelve, he and Sirius had their first real fight.
He remembers thinking he might have lost his best friend forever and cried for days. He found out later that Sirius had felt the same and how he had cried even more.
They couldn't even last more than three days being mad at each other. Remus and Peter just found them one afternoon crying and hugging one another, promising they wouldn't let a day go by that they won't solve their issues.
Thinking back, James doesn't even remember what they fought about. He just remembers crying—a lot of it.
If James feels that way about Sirius, he's having a full-on mental breakdown right now about Regulus.
Albeit less crying and more devoid of any emotions.
James can't do this. He just can't . He needs to talk to Regulus and figure their shit out. So that's what he does. He waits for Regulus outside his class, determined to see this through.
"We need to talk," he says once Regulus steps out the room.
If Regulus was surprised to see him, he shows a pretty good damn act of hiding it.
He simply bypasses James, muttering, "I'm busy."
"Oh no, you don't get to do that." James steps forwards in front of him and blocks his way, the students walking around them paying them no mind. "You are going to talk to me."
"Will I?"
"Yes," he grits out. "What is it, Reg? What did I do? Tell me so I can make it right."
"You're an idiot."
"And you're being a prick."
Regulus scoffs back. "Yeah, well, nothing we can do about that, can we? Now, if you excuse me."
"Regulus."
"Oh don't use that tone with me, Potter."
"I wouldn't have to if you weren't being so difficult right now." James lets out, throwing his hands up in frustration.
Regulus just rolls his eyes. "You poor thing."
James breathes in for a few moments and runs his fingers through his hair. "Why won't you tell me?"
"It's not something that would change if I tell you so why bother?"
"You don't know that."
"Then figure it out for yourself, Potter," Regulus spats out, crossing his arms as he glares at him. James knows he's too far gone with Regulus when all he could think about was how absolutely beautiful he is. "Because I won't stoop so low as saying it for the third time and not hearing a reply."
After that, Regulus leaves again. It seems like that's all he does lately. Later that day, James runs back up to the rooftop, groaning out his frustrations.
All of that had happened a week ago. A week .
He doesn’t know how much longer he could take this.
To be fair, James honestly doesn't understand what got Regulus so upset with him in the first place. He figures it started ever since they were lounging around James' room without a care for the world, his head on Regulus' lap as he watched the final episode of a series he's watching while his boyfriend was peacefully reading his book above James' head.
No matter how many times he recounts the whole situation, his mind still comes up blank every time. He remembers Regulus looking at him with an unreadable expression on that beautiful face of his. He remembers thinking how lucky he was to have him.
And then Regulus clears his throat, blurting out the words James already knows and treasures the most in his heart, "I-I love you."
James was about to say that he loves Regulus too—truly, deeply, and all that. But Sirius just had to call them out from downstairs at that exact moment and ruin it, screeching "Andromeda's here! Time to go home, Reggie!"
Before Regulus could leave, he stops by the door and stares at James nervously, as if waiting for something. James didn't know what that meant at first, but then it all clicks and he lights up in realization.
"Oh, I almost forgot." He lets out a chuckle. "Goodnight, Reg. I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"
For some reason, that didn't seem to be the right thing to say. Regulus blinked and a cold look covered his face in an instant.
"Yeah, alright. See you tomorrow, James."
The door closes and James doesn't know why the room suddenly feels like it dropped ten degrees lower.
James fully expected his boyfriend to act harshly around him, but the next day, Regulus seemed to forget about what happened. They were laughing and telling jokes again that only they could understand.
That time, they were in the library, secluded in the back corner away from other students and enjoying each other's company like no one else's.
"That doesn't even make sense," Regulus had said, snorting when James just told him about a particularly humorous anecdote involving rubber ducks. His eyes were sparkling and his smile was radiant as ever, putting the sun to absolute shame.
Then, well… James had wanted to kiss Regulus then.
He planned to do just that, actually. He leaned in closer and tried to close the few inch gap between them. Regulus, noticing the look James was giving him, had stopped laughing entirely, eyes slightly wide in anticipation.
Then, "James... I love you."
There it was again. Those three, enchanting words that made his heart swell, making him feel like he can do anything and everything all at once; words coming from the most beautiful person he's ever had the privilege of knowing.
"I know," James replied softly, brown eyes meeting gray ones.
Like before, that didn't seem like the response Regulus was waiting for. He didn't have a chance to ask why that was because Peter had barged in on them and yelled for James to hurry over.
"Get up, prongs! The movie's gonna start without you, you know? Sirius will get fed up for real this time."
James loves his friends. He truly does. But at that moment, he wants nothing more than to shove Peter in an empty cupboard, lock him up, and leave him there for days.
Insanely enough, he had the wildest thought that Regulus wanted to do the same with him.
Because at the next second, Regulus shoots him a fierce look before harshly getting up from his chair, leaving James to stare after him, confused beyond belief.
And so, the frustratingly endless cycle of making it up to Regulus began. Nothing was working . It's been a week since and James doesn't want to admit it but—he's about to go fucking cry if Regulus continues to reject him for another day.
He's back to dumping all of this to Remus, so to speak.
"Okay, let me get this straight," Remus starts, rubbing the side of his head, "He's been like this ever since he confessed he loves you?"
"Yeah!" James suddenly blurts out loudly, causing the students beside them in the great hall to glare at him.
Remus looks unimpressed, "Well, did you say it back?"
"That I love him?"
Remus nods.
James frowns, rubbing the back of his neck, "I'm pretty sure he knows that already."
"Are you, though?"
"I show it all the time, moony."
"But have you said it verbally?"
At that, James falters. Surely in the three months of their relationship, he had said it, right? It's James! There was no way he hadn't jumped at the opportunity to tell Regulus how much he loves him. Right?
"Uh, I.. I—"
"James." Remus sounded pained. The look he gave him was almost pitiful. "He tells you he loves you and then you never even once said it back."
James throws his hands up. "How does he not know? I was literally the one who begged him to give me a chance and let me be his boyfriend!"
"That doesn't mean he knows you love him, prongs."
"But I do!"
"Then go and tell him that, will you?" Remus says, turning back to his food. Sirius was slumped down, sleeping beside him. Peter doing the same at his side.
Meanwhile, James ponders on what Remus had said. Was that it? Because he didn't say "I love you" back? When he looks back at all the signs and all the chances that he could've said it—that Regulus should've heard it—everything becomes clear.
Oh.
James is a bloody fucking idiot.
Groaning, he slumps his head straight down on the table, cursing himself. There is only one way to see through this.
If Regulus wants to hear him say it, James is going to make sure he does. Loud and clear.
People laughing at his face when he's not trying to be funny has always been a huge blow to his chest. This time, though, he doesn't give a damn as long as he gets the proper help he needs.
"Are you guys done now?" James impatiently asks, tapping a foot on the common room floor.
Lily seems to be the only one to get over it by now whilst Marlene and Mary are still laughing their asses off.
Marlene even pretends to wipe a tear off her eyes. "I'm sorry it's just that I didn't know you were this much of an idiot, Jamie."
In order to have their help and opinion on the matter, James had told them all about what had happened with Regulus. Although, he now questions if that was the right thing to do.
"Yeah yeah, I know that now, alright?" James mutters, biting his lip. "So will you guys help me or not?"
"I'm not sure what help we can give you, James," Lily remarks.
To be honest, he doesn't know either. He just knows he needs something . "I just need an idea..."
"Maybe Regulus just wants to keep things simple, make it private," Mary suggests thoughtfully.
"Yeah, no," Marlene counters from her seat on the couch between Lily and Mary, "have you seen the Black brothers? Those gits are dramatic like hell! Nothing's ever simple with them.”
James puts a hand up his mouth to hide the bubble of laughter coming out. Marlene winks at him.
Lily hums in agreement. "Maybe you should try screaming it at the rooftop again? Like what you did the last time when Regulus agreed to date you?"
Mary snorts. "Oh god, I almost forgot about that."
"James was so happy it was almost pitiful," Marlene adds, chuckling.
"I'm still here guys."
"Hey, you said you wanted it loud and clear," Lily shrugs, albeit still laughing at his expense, "seems like the perfect plan to me."
James considers this, but he doesn't really think doing a repeat of what happened then would be special enough for what he's about to say. Oh, he is so screwed.
"Speaking of rooftops," Marlene starts, repositioning herself on the couch, "my neighbor once brought speakers to his fucking roof and started singing like crazy and—"
"Holy shit, that's it!" James blurts out suddenly, causing the three of them to slightly jump in their seats.
"What's it?" Mary was the first one to ask.
James beams at her. "I finally know what to do!"
"You're not gonna bring speakers to the roof and sing to Regulus, are you?" Lily asks, sounding amused.
"What? No—not that. Something better ."
"Oh no." From Marlene.
"Oh yes," came James' smooth reply.
He then steps forward and smacks a kiss on each of their cheeks, muttering a "thank you" as he does so.
When he stands up again, a huge smile plasters his face. There was only one more thing left to do.
"But what's in it for us?" Evan smirks, folding his arms together.
"Yeah, Potter," Barty adds mockingly, "can't have you using us without compensation now, can we?"
James rolls his eyes at the both of them. He knew getting Barty and Evan to help him in this would be easier said than done.
He could've easily asked his friends if not for the reasons being 1) Sirius chooses not to participate in any relationship issues he and Regulus have because "I'm Switzerland, prongs", 2) Remus will laugh at his face before flat out ignoring him, and 3) Peter actually has curfew, the git.
So he seeks for Evan and Barty instead, though he probably shouldn’t have.
"If you'll help me with this," James replied coolly, "then you guys can drive my car for a week."
Barty drops the sandwich in his hand. Evan gapes at him like he's seen two heads.
"No way," Barty punches out.
"Do you know what this means, Crouch?"
"I think I do, Rosier."
James struggles not to laugh at that moment. Barty and Evan had always had a fascination with his car, although he doesn't really know why. Ever since he and Regulus started dating, the two of them always chastised James into getting equal ownership towards the vehicle, claiming "we're practically family now, mate, let us drive it from time to time."
Today seemed like Christmas for both of them. James was about to open his mouth when a voice interrupted them.
"Oh, fraternizing with the enemy, are we?" Dorcas teases from behind him and James abruptly tenses.
Was Regulus with them?
Dorcas sits beside him, placing her food on the table. He can see Pandora doing the same in front of him on the seat beside Evan.
"Why hello, James," Pandora greets and James smiles at her, trying his best to act cool.
His eyes wander around, searching for a curly haired boy, unsure if he was ready to face him yet. Pandora seemed to notice his gaze linger behind her and a smirk tugs at her lips.
"No need to worry, Regulus is at the dorm reading his book."
James instantly snaps his gaze back down, his face flushing, "I wasn't worried."
Pandora just hums, obviously not believing him. To be fair, he lied anyway. He is worried. He's more worried that he can't help himself and would fuck it all up and lose Regulus forever.
The thought settles an uncomfortable pit at his stomach. He opts not to think about it. Ever.
"So, is this about fixing things with Reg?" Dorcas asks casually, not even bothering to lower her voice.
James lifts a brow. He already knows the answers, but he asks anyway. "And how do you know that?"
"Marlene."
"I hate your girlfriend," James grumbles, feigning annoyance.
Dorcas snorts. "You hate her because you ain't her, Potter."
James only grins at that, nodding his head. "Very true, Meadowes."
"Potter here is letting us drive his car for a week," Barty announces as he takes a bite of his sandwich, jerking his head at him.
Dorcas turns to James in surprise. "No."
"Desperate times and all that."
He hears Pandora chuckle while Evan just shakes his head in disbelief. He couldn't blame them, he's willing to do anything at this point.
"What's the plan then?" Dorcas asks after a while.
James lets Evan and Barty explain what he told them, albeit sounding crazier and less detailed coming from their mouth.
Once they were done, Pandora clapped her hands in excitement, eyes sparkling. Dorcas smirks at him but doesn't comment further.
Faintly, he realizes he was nervous about their reactions. These were Regulus' friends . No matter how cliché it sounded, James has to have their approval.
And he got them, judging by the way no one has beat him up yet or anything—which was a very likely cause, thank you very much. Evan, Barty, and Dorcas were not to be underestimated. Although it doesn't seem like it, Pandora can probably make his life ten times worse if she wanted to as well.
James lets out a smile. He wishes Regulus was here with him right now.
"Are you enjoying this?" Sirius asks from where he's lying on his back in Regulus' carpet. "Like fortune cookies aren't even real. There's nothing freaky about it!"
The two of them were currently watching a movie in Regulus' room. Since the beginning, Sirius has been babbling non-stop and it's driving him insane.
"Will you ever shut up and just watch?"
He can see Sirius roll his eyes. "I'm just saying, it has pretty shit accuracy."
Regulus scoffs from where he's lying on his bed. "It's not supposed to be accurate. It's a fantasy movie, you idiot!"
"Well it's a fucking shit fantasy mo—" Sirius words where cut off when he hears a loud, sort of melody playing. "Do you hear that?"
Regulus whips his head to the sound and realizes it was outside his window. He moves forward and once he’s close enough to take a peek, he freezes.
"Why? What is it?" Sirius stands up and slightly pushes him out to take a look too, gaping at what he sees. "No fucking way!"
Together, they see James standing outside the house, holding a megaphone to his mouth while a retro boombox is lying in front of him, releasing the melody. Regulus is even more astounded to see Evan and Barty swaying in synchronization just behind James.
He cannot even begin to comprehend Pandora and Dorcas mostly hidden at the side, filming the whole thing.
Regulus feels his heart race.
Suddenly, Sirius opens the window and they hear James singing in clarity.
"Tell me baby 'cause I need to know now, oh because..."
Oh, god.
James was singing a Britney song. The idiot was fucking singing "Baby One More Time" outside his house.
Sirius was cackling despite his confusion. "Oh prongs, you're mental!" He shouts out.
James had the audacity to wink at them. Then, "My loneliness is killing me."
"And I," sings Barty and Evan in the background, still swaying.
"I must confess," James continues, "I still believe."
"Still believe," again from Barty and Evan. This time though, Sirius joins in on them.
"When I'm not with you I lose my mind." James makes a dramatic act of pointing at Regulus and then holding his head like he is, in fact, losing his mind.
He can't help it. Regulus bites his cheeks to keep from bursting out in laughter. Everything just seems so fucking comical . When he meets James' eyes, he can see him also holding back a laugh.
It doesn't help that James has the fucking voice of an angel that Regulus couldn't look away even if he wanted to. It was so unfair! How did he not know this about his boyfriend?
After this, Regulus makes a mental note of forcing James to sing to him every hour of the day now.
"Give me a sign," James carries on, mostly screaming at this point. Neighbors be damned.
"Hit me baby one more time," he finishes with Barty and Evan—including Sirius.
As the song continues on, James takes a step forward, megaphone still in hand as he proclaims, "I'm an idiot!"
"Yeah, you are," Regulus says back. From the looks of it, he now realizes why exactly James is here. He bites his lower lip, trying hard not to panic.
"I'm sorry I didn't say it back when you did," James starts, "but I'm here to tell you now," he takes a deep breath and looks directly into Regulus' eyes—like he can't see anyone else. "I love you, Regulus."
His breath hitches in his throat. He didn't know how much he wanted to hear those three words until he did. Don't you dare fucking cry, Regulus.
But James wasn't done. "I've loved you ever since I've known you, Reg. And I'm so fucking sorry that I've let you believe otherwise. I'm just that much of an idiot, love, you should know that by now."
A short chuckle leaves Regulus' mouth.
"But please believe me when I say I do. I love you. I'm so in love with you, Regulus Black!"
James gives him a lopsided grin and Regulus doesn't want anything more in that moment than to kiss him. Sirius must've noticed because he nudges his arm.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Sirius teases. "Go get your boyfriend. I just know he's shitting himself right now waiting for your response."
Regulus doesn't need any more persuading as he runs down the stairs. On the way out, he meets Andromeda and Ted's knowing looks, clearly having heard the whole thing. Regulus doesn't even have the heart to feel embarrassed when he has got only one thing in his mind.
Once he's out, James was already waiting for him. Regulus runs to him and James instantly picks him up in his arms, spinning them around.
This time, Regulus doesn't stop the giggle coming out of him. When he's back down, his boyfriend is still holding him close in his arms. He looks into James' soft, brown eyes. "You're an idiot, James Potter."
"And you're beautiful, Regulus Black," came James' smooth reply.
Regulus rests his forehead on James' chest. The latter lets out a sigh as he says, "I'm sorry you doubted me, love. I really thought it was clear already."
"I knew somehow... I just really needed to hear the words, you know."
"I know, I'm sorry," James repeats, "I'll say it all the time now."
Regulus chuckles. "I'm sorry I was harsh to you."
"I deserved it."
He turns to face him. "No, you didn't."
"No, I didn't," James shakes his head. Their eyes meet and the both of them laugh. It was all so stupid.
Slowly, James brings his face close and Regulus closes the distance between them.
It's been so long since he felt James' lips pressed against his again. Curse that one week he was being so stubborn about them. Regulus doesn't think he can ever live that long without this again.
Suddenly, they hear a cough close to them. They turn around at the same time to see Sirius looking at them with feigned disgust.
"Surprise, surprise. Other people exist too, you know," his brother comments but he doesn't really care.
Barty and Evan were also there giving Regulus funny looks that he knows he'll be teased for the next day. Dorcas and Pandora have stopped filming and are smiling at them.
Evan talks first, "Don't forget our deal, Potter."
"You won't want to be on our bad side now, would you?" Barty adds.
Regulus raises a brow at that and looks to James for an explanation. James just shakes his head.
"Yeah yeah, have my damn car."
Barty and Evan both grin in excitement and Regulus finally understands what the deal was about. Idiots. Meanwhile, Pandora shakes the camera over her head to show them. "I can't wait to show these to the others!"
"Oh oh, moony has got to see that!" says Sirius.
James groans beside him. "I knew I should've done this alone. Marlene's never going to let me live this down."
Dorcas laughs. "Too late, Potter."
“Don’t give her too much credit, prongs,” Sirius smirks, “I’m still here.”
James shoves him half-heartedly.
Despite what he said, James doesn't seem to mind as much though. Not when he looks back at Regulus with a gleam in his eyes and once again whispers close to his ears, "I love you."
Regulus doesn't hesitate. "I love you, too."
The next day, Pandora had set the video of James, Evan, and Barty (and a bit of Sirius too) singing on one of the walls using a projector. The gang from the previous night were still present for the rewatch.
James can feel his ears turn red at how literally everyone in the room laughed. Lily and Mary were clutching their stomachs, Peter wheezed all throughout the video, Remus slapped a hand onto the wall and had to hold onto it for support from laughing so hard, and Marlene…
Marlene did in fact, not let him live it down—as well as Sirius. They were the ones to laugh the most at his expense. James was afraid they'll begin hyperventilating.
All of these though, James thinks, was worth it.
Regulus laughing softly beside him, tucked inside his arms, was worth all of it.