Chapter 3
Dinner was almost over and for the tenth time – Regulus counted – the same irrelevant topic was discussed.
He didn't want that.
Regulus never wanted to see these people again.
He wanted to experience something new. But that would never happen since Sirius and his mother were taking care of him like he was still a baby.
He wanted to punch that fucking grin off Severus' face, just once.
Regulus wanted– He wanted... more.
Very gentlemanly, he said goodbye to the other people at the table with the excuse that he was tired.
But he wasn't. The young man was wide awake.
He stepped onto the deck, stood for a moment, and then ran. He ran towards the stern without knowing what he was doing.
On his way he also ran past another young man without realizing it.
James, hearing only footsteps at first, sat up on the bench where he sat and simply gazed at the stars.
Then, more out of curiosity, James followed the footsteps that walked away from him just as quickly as they approached.
Regulus ran into the base of the stern flagpole and almost clinging to it. It took him a moment to catch his breath. His eyes fell on the black horizon beyond the ship.
Then he climbed over the railing and was now standing with his back against it, staring into black nothing. The Propellers worked under him. Regulus leaned further forward, he just had to let go now.
James recognized him immediately. It was the young man from a few hours before.
What was he doing? James asked himself.
His question answered itself as the young man climbed over the rail.
What happened? The young man wanted to know. What happened to him that he was thinking, he has no way out?
Slowly, so as not to startle the other young man, James stepped closer.
"Don't do it," he said.
Regulus jumped slightly in shock. He turned and saw a young man he had never seen before.
Regulus' jaw almost dropped. The man in front of him was… perfect. He was nothing compared to Severus, or any man Regulus had ever seen.
"Stay back," Regulus said. "Don't come any closer."
James heart stopped a beat.
The black-haired young man was maybe a year or two younger than James, he guessed.
What James had not realized, however, was that the other man looked far more beautiful up close than James could have ever imagined.
But it wasn't because of that that he nearly went into shock. It was because of his eyes. Those beautiful storm gray eyes that look so sad and desperate.
"Come on," James found his voice again. "Just give me your hand. I'll pull you back over."
James took a step closer to Regulus and held out his hand, but Regulus did not want James' help.
"No! Stay where you are. I mean it," Regulus waited with little conviction in his voice. "I'll let go."
James stepped closer to the rail without stepping closer to Regulus. Then he put his hands in his pockets.
"No, you won't," he said simply.
"What do you mean, no I won't?" Regulus wanted to know. "Don't presume to tell me what I want and won't do. You don't know me."
"Well, you would have done it already."
James was right without knowing it. But Regulus didn't want to hear that. The guy should just leave him alone. He certainly had more important things to do.
"You're distracting me. Go away."
Regulus turned back and leaned forward slightly. He knew he was being a little too dramatic, but he didn't care at that moment.
"I can't. I'm involved now," James explained and meant it. "You let go, and I'm going to have to jump in there after you."
"Don't be absurd. You'll be killed," Regulus pointed out.
"I'm a good swimmer."
"The fall alone will kill you."
"It would hurt. I'm not saying it wouldn't. Tell you the truth I'm a lot more concerned about that water being so cold," James said and started to put of his jacket and shoes.
Regulus stopped for a moment. He hated deep water.
Even as a child, when he, Sirius and their nannies went to the beach, Regulus had only gotten into the water up to his ankles and that had been enough for him.
But deep, freezing water – a nightmare.
"How cold?" Regulus asked skeptically.
"Freezing. Maybe a couple degrees over," James replied. "You ever, uh, ever been to Wisconsin?"
"What?" Regulus asked perplexed.
"Well, they have some of the coldest winters around. I grew up there, near Chippewa Falls. I remember when I was a kid, me and my father, we went ice fishing out on Lake Wissota. Ice fishing is, you know, where you–"
"I know what ice fishing is!" Regulus interrupted, annoyed.
"Sorry. You just seem like, you know, kind of an indoor boy", mumbled James. "Anyway, I fell through some thin ice. And I'm telling you water that cold, like right down there it hits you like 1000 knives stabbing you all over your body. You can't breathe. You can't think. Least not about anything but the pain. Which is why I'm not looking forward to jumping in there after you. Like I said I don't have a choice. I guess I'm kind of hoping you'll come back over the rail and get me off the hook here."
"You're crazy."
James' mouth twitched up and inevitably he had to think of Lily. She told her best friend at least once a day that he was crazy.
"That's what everybody says–" said James. "But with all due respect, I'm not the one hanging off the back of a ship here."
"Come on. Come on, give me your hand," James tried again. "You don't want to do this."
And this time he did it. Regulus let go of the rail with his right hand and grabbed James' hand before carefully turning around.
"I'm James Potter," the young man introduced himself.
"Regulus Arcturus Black."
"I'll have to get you to write that one down."
Regulus chuckled, but then he stopped. He didn't know how James had managed it, but he had talked Regulus into not jumping to death.
Regulus carefully climbed over the rail.
The two men looked at each other for a long moment.
James had a strong urge to hug Regulus and not let go. But he did not do it. Instead, he took a step back.
"What's going on here?"
Startled, they turned and now faced Sirius, Severus, and some of the officers.
They draped a blanket over Regulus' shoulders and Severus went straight for James.
"What made you think that you could put your hands on him, hey?! Look at me, you filth!"
James responded by raising an eyebrow. He didn't care what that rich asshole said. He was used to people looking down on him and treating him like dirt.
It had bothered him before as a child, and he had wondered why some people did this. But now he just did not care anymore.
But Regulus did.
"Severus," Regulus addressed him.
"What do you think you were doing?" Severus continued to speak to James.
Regulus stepped between the two. The young man didn't want their situation to be misinterpreted he didn't like the way James was treated.
James didn't deserve it– no one deserved to be treated like that by someone like Severus.
"Severus, stop. It was an accident."
"An accident?" Severus repeated in disbelief.
"It was. Stupid, really. I was leaning over, and I slipped," Regulus lied easily. "I was leaning far over to see the, uh... uh, uh, the uh..."
He looked at James and at the same time seemed to search for a word. He made a circular motion with his hand.
Severus gave him an annoyed look and Regulus felt oddly small, as he always did when Severus looked at him like that. Like it was his fault no matter what happened.
James noticed the change in Regulus' demeanor and didn't like it at all. He didn't like that Regulus suddenly seemed so different and he didn't like the way Severus spoke to him either. Like this beautiful man would be anything less than perfect.
"Propellers?" Severus helped Regulus.
"Propellers," the young man confirmed. "And I slipped. And I would have gone overboard but Mr. Potter here saved me. And almost went over himself."
"You wanted to see the... He wanted to see the propellers."
Following Severus' tone, he couldn't seem to believe Regulus could be that stupid.
"Was that the way of it?" one of the officers asked James.
James looked at Regulus. The younger one meet his eyes slightly agitated. James read that Regulus didn't want anyone to know about the whole thing.
"Yeah. Yeah, that was pretty much it," James confirmed.
"Well, the boy's a hero then. Good for you, son. Well done."
"I can't thank you enough, Mr. Potter", Sirius said bevor turning to his brother. "Look at you. You must be freezing. Let's get you inside."
He put his arm around Regulus' shoulders and was about to take him inside. The younger brother glanced at James and then down at the floor.
Severus planed to follow the two, but one of the officers stopped him.
"Perhaps a little something for the boy?"
"Of course," Severus offered. "Mr. Malfoy, I think a 20 should do it."
"20? Is saving my life worth that much?" Regulus inquired.
James deserved a medal and not just 20 dollars– a lot more. Severus didn't seem interested and took a step towards Regulus.
"Regulus is displeased. What to do?" he said, and you could hear the slight amusement in his voice.
His eyes fell on James and the corners of his mouth twitched up.
"I know."
Severus stepped away from the brothers and moved closer to James.
"Perhaps you could join us for dinner tomorrow evening," Severus suggested. "– to regale our group with your heroic tale."
James' eyes darted to Regulus, just for a second. His stormy blue eyes looked at him curiously.
James needed to see Regulus again. He just had to, there was no other alternative.
Unfortunately, this also meant that the invitation, which was not meant to be taken seriously, had to be accepted. The young man looked at Severus again.
"Sure," he accepted the invitation. "Count me in."
Severus put on a fake smile.
"Good. It's settled then."
That ended the conversation for everyone.
"Come on," Sirius murmured. Reluctantly, Regulus turned with him and started back.
But now something was different. Regulus looked forward to the next day for the first time in years.
He had this strange tingling in his stomach but didn't really think about it. After all, he had skipped dinner.
"You didn't want to see the Propellers, did you?" Sirius murmured.
"I don't know what you mean," Regulus replied. "I'm exhausted, it's been a… eventful day."
The other men followed the brothers and James watched as they disappeared one by one.
Then Mr. Malfoy turned back to James.
"You'll want to tie those," said Mr. Malfoy, pointing to James' open-toed shoes.
"It's interesting he slipped so suddenly, and you still had time to remove your jacket and your shoes."
"Interesting indeed."
~~~~
After Sirius got his brother back into the suit, he made the two of them hot chocolate.
The drink warmed Regulus up and a feeling of comfort spread through him. However, he wasn't sure if it was the chocolate or the way James' hand felt on his.
Sirius and Regulus sipped their hot chocolate in silence.
"Oh good, you're still awake," Severus drew attention to himself.
He was standing by the door, holding a small black box.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Severus asked Regulus.
"Can that wait until tomorrow?" Sirius cut in on the conversation. "Regulus should rest."
Regulus rolled his eyes and nodded at Severus.
Severus smiled and sat down on the table in front of Regulus, pushing Regulus' cup aside as he did so.
"I um– I have something for you. It's an old heirloom and I want you to have it."
"Me? Why me? I–"
The young man stopped his sentence as Severus opened the small box to reveal the heirloom.
It was a silver medallion with gold accents, engraved with a capital 'S'.
"Regulus, I want you to have this... as a future member of the family."
Regulus carefully took the locket in his hands. It was beautiful, no question.
But it didn't feel like a nice gift, more like a bribe or a reward for good behavior.