What?! No!
Buy and sell (buy and sell me, baby)
Like I'm a product to society
Art don't sell
Unless you fucked every authority
James was the first one to wake up, as per usual. He already accepted that he’s an early bird long ago. He slept surprisingly well given how he fell asleep on the couch supporting his own head. James wanted to let Regulus sleep, so he tried his best to get up from the couch without moving Regulus too much. He put Regulus’ head back on the pillow and he arranged the blanket as best as he could before grabbing his phone to go into the kitchen to kill some time.
He set his stuff down, opening a window too. It was raining, but in a very relaxing way and the air was oddly clean for London, which was hard to come by lately. After a moment of people-watching James sat up to go to the bathroom, tip toeing on his way there. He was awful at not waking those around him.
Once all of that was finished Prongs noticed a few texts from Remus, who has been spamming him with messages since last night. He skimmed through everything, only minding the important stuff:
Can you come over at around 4 or something? Sirius has a class to teach so he won’t be around, I want to ask you sumthing!! Moony sent so many texts that could easily be summarized in just this one. James responded to it, wondering what Remus could possibly want them to talk about.
After another short wait James got bored, again. Lately he has been considering an adhd diagnosis, and although it was very exaggerated he sort of knew there was a small possibility at it being true.
Prongs didn’t want to get started on breakfast, not until Regulus was up to tell him if he wanted anything, nor could he make coffee because it would most definitely be too loud. His last option at entertainment was grabbing his laptop, which was once again left in the living room. Just like the last time he had Regulus over, James slowly creeked the door open, walking towards the table which he left his laptop on.
“Morning…” Regulus yawned. It made James twitch a little, but he soon regained his composure.
“Shit, sorry did I wake you?” he held his laptop in his arms, looking like a little child apologising. His glasses slipped off of his nose slightly, but he resisted the urge to push them back up.
“Been up for a minute or so, I’m just too comfortable.” he rubbed his eyes, stretching slightly before sitting up and leaning on the couch.
“Do you want tea or coffee? I’m bored out of my mind and I haven’t even been awake for that long!” James was already walking towards the kitchen, not being able to stand in one place for too long.
“Coffee please, I’m particularly groggy this morning.” Regulus joked.
As Regulus slowly came to his senses, going to the bathroom to wash his face and hands, James made some coffee, perfectly measuring out the coffee beans yet again. Since the mugs he used for tea last night weren’t washed he just opted for regular white ones, no fun design or shape. He poured some for himself, not adding anything to it since it was easily the most enjoyable way to drink coffe, then he waited for Regulus to see exactly how he likes it.
“I didn’t even notice it’s raining, my knees always hurt like crazy whenever it rains, it’s such a pain.” he sat down in the kitchen, rubbing his face slowly.
“Oh it’s because of the changes in barometric pressure! When there’s less pressure in the air, muscles and tendons sort of expand and it adds pressure to the joints!” James loved saying fun facts out of nowhere. “What d’you want in your coffee”
“Do you just know everything?” Regulus smirked “Milk is fine, like half milk half coffee” Regulus picked up the cup to show how he liked it proportioned “And maybe a little bit of sugar”
James assembled the drink quickly, placing it down in front of Regulus and giving him a tiny spoon in case he wanted to mix the sugar in a bit more. He then sat down in front of him, searching for a good conversation starter.
“What’d you want to eat?” James tried to sip his coffee but failed, it was by far way too hot.
“I told you I don’t eat breakfast, too much food for too early in the morning” Regulus glared at him.
“It’s not even breakfast anymore.” Prongs opened his phone to show Regulus the time “It’s 11, by the time we finish the coffee it'll be 11:30, taking the time to actually make something to eat it’ll be 12, which is basically lunch.” he justified his meals perfectly.
“Just give me a muffin and let me spin a record and I’ll be happy.”
James let out a defeated sigh, handing Regulus a muffin on a very small tray nonetheless. Regulus balanced the coffee mug and the muffin perfectly on his way back to the living room, where he placed them down on the table, next to the fish cups that they drank out of yesterday. Prongs followed him, moving slowly since his cup of coffee was still really full and hot.
“What are you picking this time?” James smiled as Regulus already began searching for the perfect album.
“I’m not sure…” Regulus squinted, trying to read the small titles “Do you have any Radiohead?” he muttered.
“Radiohead? At this time of day? Are you setting yourself up for failure or something?” James found the sight of Regulus searching through his records pretty amusing, especially since instead of pulling them out to look at the covers he tried to read the writing on the side. “I’ve got In Rainbows and The Bends.” he didn’t sit up from the couch, he actually just pointed towards the section that had both of these.
“In Rainbows…” Regulus quietly searched for a moment, his fingers gliding smoothly along each cardboard cover, trying to find the right one “Finally!” He took the disc out, admiring it while also making sure to not touch the ridges with his fingers. He looked like he had just found treasure.
As Regulus spun the disc, slowly placing the needle with a genuine smile on his face, James couldn’t help but take a picture of him. He likes taking pictures, especially of his friends looking happy. Regulus watched the record spin around quickly as 15 Step began to play. The picture Prongs took was so well made, the poor lightning from outside still managed to peek through the windows to enhance his features, not only did Regulus look great in it but James’ tidy and nicely decorated flat in the background really tied everything together. Prongs’ photography skills were on another level.
“I love this album, I think I like OK computer a bit better though..” Regulus was deep in though for a second before he resorted his attention back to his coffee and muffin.
“I’m not a big Radiohead listener to be honest, they’re good but how many sad songs can a person listen to before becoming miserable? I just really like Faust Arp and Bodysnatchers from this particular album, not sure why .” James commented.
“I like Nude and Weird Fishes” Regulus said “Weird fishes has fun instrumentals, I like fun instrumentals!” He spoke just like a child.
“Hey was that Snape guy in yesterday’s show?” James suddenly remembered to ask “I really wanted to see him dance since he clearly has a lot of opinions.” Prongs never actually had a complete conversation with this man, he just knew Regulus hated him.
“Do you seriously remember him? No he wasn’t, I’m not exactly sure when he performs” Regulus was lost in thought again “I suppose he made quite the impression”
“Well you told me you hate him, I just wanted to think about whether I liked his dancing or not” James was actually feeling unnecessarily angry at a person he had only seen about two times.
“I don’t really think he’s a bad dancer or anything, he just lacks fluidity and consistency.” Regulus’ tone switched, he sounded professional, just like during class. “Instead of thinking of a dance as a whole, he thinks of each individual move that he has to perform, when you do that it ends up looking clipped, the best way I can describe it.” he was speaking quickly, his passion for dance was more than just noticeable “If you were to have to go from an arabesque to a grand jete for example, when I have to do it I think of having to lower my leg as a push for the jump, so as soon as my leg reaches the ground I already sort of prepare to go into the jump, I feel like Severus first waits until both of his feet are down before getting started on the next move, it’s like he thinks too much about what comes next.”
James was trying hard to imagine what Regulus was describing but he had no idea what a grand jete even is, Regulus did say it’s a jump but he couldn’t really picture the moves in his head.
“And of course this is something rather fixable, he’s got loads of natural talent but it’s still raw and he refuses to work more on it. He’s against me or Barty performing, Barty is another principal he’s one of my friends, anyway, he’s got some sort of deep hatred towards us and instead of spending his precious time in the studio practicing he keeps trying to convince Minerva to give up on us? It’s ridiculous!” Regulus scoffed, biting angrily into his muffin.
“And Minerva is okay with it? Does she believe him?” James loves a little bit of drama.
“Well,” Regulus paused to chew. “She knows a lot about me, basically my whole life story, so she doesn’t believe what Snape says. Most of the time we just gossip about whatever stupid lie he managed to come up with.” he laughed “But with Barty it’s sort of my job to convince her that he’s done nothing wrong. She just has a soft spot for me and only me I suppose..”
“But like, if she knows that Snape lies then why not just scold him or something? I don’t get it, why doesn’t she give him a bad role or whatever? There’s loads of options.”
“I’m actually not quite sure either, the woman’s still pretty much a mystery to me.” Regulus shrugged “Severus has been trying to convince her to let him be my understudy, not in a million years!” He emphasized greatly on how much he hated that idea. “Worst part is I think she might be considering it, having an understudy is the worst thing possible.”
“And an understudy does what exactly?” James was a bit lost.
“Well, Snape’s not a principal, he’s a first soloist. If he were to become my understudy it would mean he’s one step closer to becoming a principal, which I wouldn’t really care about. Thing is, if by some divine intervention you injure yourself before a show, the understudy steps in, obviously. It would be his chance to play a principal role. The second Minerva makes him my understudy I will be in constant danger, I just know it. He wants me injured.”
“But if he’s this weird dude who refuses to learn, how did he get hired in the first place? Surely there must have been someone better?” James asked.
“Bless your pure little heart! Take a guess!” Regulus looked at Prongs with a very amused look on his face.
Prongs just shrugged as Regulus still stared at him. James really had no idea.
“He slept around! Obviously! I mean we all sort of have to at some point, sponsors see us as nothing more than a few pieces of meat. Nobody earns a role based on talent alone! Back when I was in Paris, our director put all of his trust in this man, Tom. He did the casting and he reported everything back to anyone with the smallest bit of power in the company. He caught a particular liking to me at some point, I just didn’t want to give in so I left. Here it’s a bit less messy, Minerva has connections too, sponsors that she wants to impress, but she doesn’t listen to them all of the time and people don't spread rumours as much.”
“Oh!” James was stunned, frozen in place. He never really imagined this side of ballet.
“You know Degas I assume? The painter?” Regulus said and he waited for James’ nod “His obsession with ballerinas wasn’t based on their dancing alone, he liked how desperate they were for money and attention! Back then especially they always had to sleep with old married men, whether it was for money or a good role in a show. Degas was a bit of a pervert himself, he liked the idea of such young beautiful girls doing this. That’s why he painted them!” Regulus looked almost mad, but he still spoke with a calm and collected tone.
“I mean, I've heard about these sorts of things in movies or books but I assumed it was just drama, y’know” the subject was a bit uncomfortable for James now, he never really imagined that the ballet world is this corrupted.
*
*
*
Once it was time for Regulus to leave James took his flowers out of the vase they stayed in during the night. Prongs also let Regulus borrow an umbrella, since the rain outside kept getting heavier and heavier with each minute, and Regulus insisted that he needed to walk to his friends’ flat before actually heading home. James gave him one short pat on the shoulder as Regulus thanked him for the hospitality and for coming to see the show, and they parted ways once again.
Prongs remembered he didn’t show Regulus the incredible picture he took of him, so, after thinking for a moment he sent it to him.
?!?!?!?!?! why ru good at taking pictures too?!!??!!?! Regulus replied in a heartbeat, his phone must be glued to his hand.
James smiled a bit at Regulus’ response, his use of punctuation marks was definitely hilarious.
Not too long after Remus called him to remind him that he needs to go over to his flat. Prongs almost forgot, but Remus and Sirius lived fairly close anyway so it wasn’t that big of a deal.
“Hi! About time!!” Moony greeted him, opening the door just wide enough for James to squeeze through without Buckbeak running out.
“What could you possibly want us to talk about” Prongs took off his jacket and he threw it somewhere, he knew Sirius and Remus never minded.
“Kitchen, c’mon” Remus directed his attention towards Buckbeak, who was running around everywhere excited to see James.
Prongs grabbed the bag of treats that sat above the fridge to calm Buckbeak down, and he sat where Remus wanted him to.
“So, I need help with my vows.” Remus slammed a piece of paper on the table, looking James dead in the eyes “I can’t put my feelings into words. This is too hard.”
James chuckled. “You’re an english major, you specialise in romantic stories, I bought you twenty dictionaries for your birthday and you still can’t find the right words? The power of true loveee…” James teased “I’d love to help let me hear what you have so far!”
Remus read everything aloud, cringing at certain moments, occasionally blushing slightly. They weren’t badly worded, not bad at all, they just didn’t work together. James always believed that vows should come at least a little close to poetry, since it’s one of the most romantic ways to declare your love for someone.
They eventually settled for a certain phrasing, and Remus scribbled it down as ugly as he could, just in case Sirius found the paper.
“Good thing he can barely read my handwriting” he smiled affectionately.
“How do you reckon he’s writing the vows? He didn’t ask me for any sort of help” James actually considered this a pretty good question, if Remus needs help with his vows then Sirius must also have a pretty hard time wording them.
“He’ll probably come up with something last minute, I’m the precautious one” Remus folded the paper nicely and he shoved it in a drawer “Anyway, what were you so busy doing Friday night that you didn’t respond to my texts? One night stand? Out drinking?” Remus and his usual interrogations.
James considered lying, but Moony would figure him out easily, so the best approach was an attempt at changing the subject.
“Nothing much, how will you guys split us for groomsmen? I assume Sirius will want me as his best man, he said it before”
“Well, I was thinking of choosing Lily, to take care of everything and all. I like Peter but I feel like my bond with Lily is a bit stronger. We were thinking about only choosing two people to stand by us during the ceremony, I settled for Lily and Marlene and Sirius said something about you and Regulus” Moony’s words surprised James a tad, he was glad that Padfoot actually wanted to bond with his younger brother regardless of what happened in the past.
“How do you feel about Sirius wanting to invite Regulus and all? Think he’s doing the right thing?”
“Yeah, to be fair I think I might have sort of pushed the idea onto him…” Remus was lost in thought for a moment “Anyway stop trying to change the subject, I know you did something on Friday night, you only forget to respond if you’re busy” he glared at James, forcing the response out of him.
“I was with Regulus” James watched Remus as he shamelessly smirked.
“Doing…what exactly?” he was nothing short of blatant.
“Well, he danced opening night for Romeo and Juliet and he asked if I wanted to come watch”
“I'm assuming you went?” Remus lit up a ciggarete.
“Yes, after we already had plans to watch Fantastic Mr. Fox since I recently discovered he had never seen a Wes Anderson movie”
Remus nearly choked as James spoke.
“Woah slow down! You took him to your place? After the performance? More details please!” Remus begged. “Start from the top. From what you wore to what you did until he left.”
“Well, just that silk shirt of mine and a wide pair of pants, dunno just something elegant.” James actually forgot what he wore the previous day. “Before the show I bought him a small bouquet obviously, basic etiquette, then I just met him after.”
James said that as such a matter of fact that he didn’t even notice Remus’ baffled expression.
“What the fuck?! How did he react? To the flowers I mean?” He finished one cigarette, already moving on to the second.
“Just y’know, a kiss on the cheek and a hug. Anyway we walked back to my flat after, oh and I tried smoking for the first time ever” James was actually having a fun time recalling every recent event “I told Regulus I never smoked yet and he asked if I wanted to try, I just took a quick inhale nothing much, it wasn’t wow or anything”
Remus didn’t say anything. His eyes were studying James closely.
“Ok and after you went back what exactly did you do? In as much detail as you can, James.” his tone was serious and even a bit scary.
“Well I made some tea while he got changed, then he needed help tying his hair up so I obviously intervened, being used with Sirius and all.” James still couldn’t understand why Remus was staring at him like that. “Afterwards we just watched the movie, fell asleep on the couch.”
“Did you do the light thing you always do at the start of the movie?” Remus asked.
“Duuh, obviously. When I quoted the I don’t want to live in a whole anymore he knew Felicity’s lines! It was really fun!”
“And what do you mean you fell asleep on the couch? Both of you?” Remus raised an eyebrow.
“Well, I let him lie down at some point, we just fell asleep like that”
Remus looked James in the eye, his expression was so serious nothing could possibly beat it.
“Is there something you need to tell us, James?” he didn’t even twitch, James had no idea what he had done wrong.
“Tell you what? I don’t get it?”
“About you and Regulus?” Moony squinted his eyes, just enough to try to make Prongs understand what he meant.
“What about me and him?”
“Oh my fucking God you’re so oblivious.” Remus rubbed his eyes shut “Are you two dating?”
“Dating? What? No?! Where did that come from?” James was nothing short of frozen in place.
“Have one” Remus lit another cigarette for himself before throwing the packet towards James “And it’s not a suggestion it’s a demand”
James obeyed, feeling a bit intimidated by Remus. He lit the cigarette quickly, inhaling as Moony was clearly watching him.
“What you and Regulus did was a date.” Remus blew out the smoke right in front of James, not wasting time on being discreet.
“Was it?” Prongs just couldn’t see it, he definitely didn’t picture their hangout as a date.
“You bought him flowers! He kissed you on the cheek!” Remus raised his voice.
“Well, the flowers are basic etiquette, he’s a ballet dancer and he invited me to his show. You guys kiss me on the cheek all the time, it's not a big deal!” Prongs defended himself.
“You gave in when he asked you to smoke even though me and Sirius have been asking you to try it for years.”
“It just felt like the proper moment!”
“You helped him tie his hair up. You let him lie in your lap. You fell asleep together for God’s sake!” Remus just wouldn’t falter.
“But I do it with you guys all of the time!” James seriously didn’t see any issue in what he and Regulus did. To him it seemed like a perfectly normal hangout.
“Yes but well” Remus scoffed “We’ve broken any sort of boundary way too long ago, whatever we do doesn’t count!”
“But technically he was part of our group before he and Sirius fought, he knows that’s what we’re like! He knows me!”
“You know what fine, imagine yourself doing that whole thing over with a girl!” Remus leaned back in his chair with a sigh of defeat.
Only then did the mechanisms inside James’ head begin to tick. Maybe there was a tad bit of romance in their hangout. As the realisation began to get to him a smile grew on Moony’s face, he knew he won.
“Well he knows I’m straight!” James found another excuse quickly.
“Are you though?” Remus teased, blowing some more smoke.
James rolled his eyes, not wanting to keep this conversation going for much longer.
“And he also knows about the bet we set up! Sirius told me James, if you don’t feel anything for him then consider being a bit more careful! You never know…not to mention Sirius won’t be thrilled to find out about this.” Remus watched the smoke curl into the air as he finished yet another cigarette. James still hasn’t finished his.
“Sirius won’t know about this, at least not from me.” James threatened Remus.
“I won’t tell him anything yet, but if anything remotely similar to this situation passes by my ears again he’s the first person I’ll be talking to.”
Their conversation did make James think. He still didn’t entirely understand the issue between what he and Regulus had done so he decided to drop the subject, Remus just had a different perspective on things.