Chapter 15
Regulus couldn't help the instinct to stay behind Jem as they walked into the house, "Boys!" The woman from the photo smiled and kissed James' cheek before doing the same to Jem pausing a few moments later to smile at Regulus from over Jem's shoulder. "You must be Regulus, I'm Euphemia and that's Fleamont." She pointed to a smiling man behind her who was talking with Lupin. "You're welcome to stay as long as you'd like. We have another guest room or you can stay with Jem. Whichever is more comfortable."
He glanced at Jem who seemed to catch the question and answered with a nod, "It's alright. Trust me you're doing far better than Sirius did."
"So not my fault!"
"Yes it was ya dog!" Jem called back getting a laugh from Lupin. His attention was then back on Regulus, "It's okay. You're safe here. The worst that's gonna happen is Sirius and James are gonna break another vase while running around like idiots. No judgement, just safety."
"Your entire group just ends up here for the summer?"
"Well yeah, mostly. Peter comes and goes. But Sirius is here to get away from your parents and Remus used to live at an orphanage before he came to Hogwarts. No surprise visits from unwanted visitors, promise."
Regulus nodded and let out a breath before shaking the woman's outstretched hand, "Thank you."
"Of course. We love all our boys isn't that right, Fleamont?"
"Even wily wolves," the man said as he and Lupin arm wrestled, for a skinny kid he seemed rather strong.
"Right you haven't gotten the proper introductions." Jem led him further into the house, "You already know I'm an animagus." Regulus nodded, "Sirius is a black dog. Padfoot." His brother turned into a wiggling black fluffy dog trying to get out from under James where he'd gotten him pinned. "Bambi here is a stag. Prongs." He said each with the name associated with them, and James turned into that huge stag prancing after Sirius down the hall. "Peter isn't here but he turns into a rat. Wormtail." Then he was led to where Lupin and the older man were arm wrestling, the same time Lupin's eyes flashed gold. "Remus is our Moony." Regulus, for the life of him hadn't been able to connect the dots but laid out so clearly, the scars, the disappearing around full moons, the nickname, it made sense. Lupin was a werewolf. Concern flickered across Jem's features as he pressed lightly at Lupin's jaw, the other tilting his head without a thought, "You okay?"
"Almost healed." The other answered, ruffling Jem's hair with his freehand.
"Not what I asked."
"Yes, I'm alright." Jem smiled and nodded before leading Regulus down the hall the stag and dog had ran down.
"You're all animagi."
"More or less." He answered with a nod.
"Why?"
"First few years Remus got hurt real bad during full moons," they had all broken the law and became unregistered animagi to help their werewolf friend. "In the end it was watch him suffer and know we did nothing to help or do what we could. Not a hard choice for any of us."
"I've never seen a werewolf with quite so many scars."
"Yeah, Remus doesn't exactly take it easy on himself." The sound of glass shattering had Regulus tensing up but Jem just shook his head. "I hope one of you idiots steps in it!" Regulus dropped his shoulders, no one was upset...Jem seemed rather exasperated if anything.
And then they were walking again, Jem opened the door to what he could only assume was his room, pages of music in Jem's handwriting littered every surface capable of holding paper, a few band posters were up on the walls and Regulus' trunks sat on the desk probably on another handful of papers. Jem fell down onto the bed with a soft laugh as Regulus looked around.
"This is..."
"What? Does it scream illegal animagus? If so I'll have to be doing some redecorating." He was actually looking around and Regulus couldn't help his smile.
"You sure it's okay I'm in here?"
"We've been sharing a bed for a good portion of the year, I doubt anything crazy will happen because we're in my room." He had a point, they hadn't gone beyond shared kisses and making out on a couch. Regulus had felt pressured to do so in other relationships but Jem honestly couldn't seem to care less, if Regulus was curious about it, Jem trusted he'd bring it up. "That in no way implies I'm not open to doing anything crazy." Regulus looked up and Jem smiled, "You looked like you were a bit stuck in your head."
"You won't get much sleep in that house," Regulus smiled slipping onto the piano bench, Jem glancing up from the pages he'd been singing from, he gestured for the other to set the pages on the piano and he started playing, "You wanna blow off steam good luck finding any relief to compete with her mouth. She'll scream and shout, til she's red in the face. There's no better place to bicker all your fickle little troubles away. Just be ready to give what you take. You'll pay more than green for your turn, handmaiden or queen, same price. But the shorter your fuse, well the hotter she'll burn..." he trailed off watching Regulus play.
"If I didn't know any better," Regulus mumbled fingers not stopping on their track of the keys, "I would say you want to kiss me?"
"Has it ever been a secret?"
Regulus shook his head with a small smile, "If it was, you were never any good at keeping it." Jem's lips crooked up as he folded his legs up on the bench. "Why don't you? I'm right here, darling."
"Is the piano really the best place for making out?"
"Honestly, not the worst idea I've had." He didn't know which of them moved first, but Jem was more than happy to welcome the soft lips against his own, lazily opening his lips when Regulus licked at them, letting the other map out the inside of his mouth. He smiled at the small shiver the wracked the black haired man's body as he hit the cool metal of the bar bell in his tongue. He would gladly die here.
Regulus moved so he had a leg on either side of Jem's hips and the other was quick to shift so he was supported and leaning slightly on the piano, Jem's hands cushioning where his back met the edge of the keys. He chuckled when Regulus huffed at his t-shirt that kept slipping between his fingers.
"Off....please?" Jem pulled back, the t-shirt being easily discarded onto the instrument and Regulus smiled at the feeling of familiar warm skin under his fingertips, the small scars here and there, the larger one across his spine, he was Jem, his Jem.
Regulus hummed at the thought before returning to his task of memorizing the feeling of that tongue piercing. "Pretty boy," Jem murmured letting his head fall back as Regulus kisses trailed from his lips to his jaw and down his neck. Stopping at the hollow of his throat and sucking a bruise there, leaving more open mouthed kisses to his skin and finding a spot that had Jem shifting under him, just a little but enough Regulus decided he wanted to add another bruise. Dragging his tongue over the red spot as if to soothe it afterwards, "what are you planning?" He said it like he wasn't really looking for an answer content enough to let Regulus continue as he rubbed circles onto his hips.
Jem's eyes opened ever so slightly when Regulus let a hand find his neck, he didn't seem upset just curious, well before Regulus found a new spot to color. Regulus could feel Jem's heart beating under his palm, his pulse fast but not in a concerning way, his eyes fluttered closed after a few moments, trust. Regulus realized, Jem was offering him trust, letting know that sure his history was shit and fucked up, he trusted Regulus.
"Body shots," Jem mumbled letting Regulus' hand guide his head to the side slightly.
"What?"
"Bloody hell, next party I'm making James set up a body shot table."
"Body shots?"
"Yes. Licking liquor off pretty people? Fantastic."
"Are you saying that because you actually like shots or because you want to lick something off me?"
"Answer that yourself." Regulus smiled at the lazy smirk that painted Jem's lips. "You have a thing for my tongue piercing, I bet you'd enjoy it." He didn't say anything, better to stay quiet then let Jem know he was right. With the hand on his neck, Regulus led Jem's head back up, his eyes meeting brilliant green.
"Mine?"
A soft sound, almost a purr almost a hum escaped Jem's throat as he watched Regulus with half lidded eyes, "Yours."