Regulus Arcturus Black pouted
Flying with James was something Regulus never thought that he’d be doing.
But here he was laying down beside James under the moonlit sky, admiring the stars after James had successfully been able to teach Regulus how to stand on his broom and then move it while standing too.
Sure he had fallen a few times, but James had caught him and that was a very big plus point.
It was really comforting to be in James’ arms and to know that he would catch him whenever Regulus fell, and hold. Except for that one time.
The fucking bastard had just let him fall.
After Regulus nearly fell off the broom about 3 times, each time caught by James, about fifty feet in the air they decided to move down to 3 feet.
James had turned around and Regulus decided that that would be the perfect time to try and stand up on his own.
So he did, and naturally as someone with little to no experience would, he fell down. Three feet in the air is quite literally nothing but Regulus landed on his arse letting out an ‘oof’ which made James turn towards him and then just like the absolute (hot and cute) arse he is, he starts to laugh.
And Regulus pouted
Regulus Arcturus Black, pouted .
Which made James laugh even more as he made his way over to Regulus and pulled him upwards by his hand.
Every single time James held his hand, all Regulus could think was how perfectly their hands fit together and he became aware of the sparks which would shoot from his palm and travel throughout his whole body, warming him up from head to toe.
After standing up he swatted James’ shoulder who just chuckled and looked into Regulus’ eyes in such a way that had him fighting down a blush.
“Cute” he murmured in Regulus' ear before turning around and mounting his broom.
Taking a moment to calm himself and gather his thoughts, he mounted his own broom too.
“Don’t fall,” said James, smirking.
“Why? Won’t you be able to catch me anymore, end of your stamina?” asks Regulus, challenging and copying James’ smirk.
“I’ll always catch you don’t you worry, Reggie” James said in such a low voice that Regulus nearly missed it, but how can you miss something uttered from such beautiful lips in such a heavenly voice.
Surely you can’t.
Regulus found himself growing hot from James’ words.
So instead of sprouting some random nonsense, as he was sure he would do if he opened his mouth, he decided to try and stand up again.
Technically James hadn’t let him fall, he had seen him after he had fallen.
But the absolute arse had also made him blush twice.
Regulus looked towards his right to look at James, and he watched, mesmerised as the moonlight shone in James’ eyes, he hadn’t been wearing glasses all throughout the night.
Many people said that brown eyes were basic and boring, but looking at James’ eyes he realised just how wrong they were.
“Jamie?”
Jamie. Jamie. Jamie. Jamie. It had originally been a sort of payback towards James for calling him Reggie, now he just seemed to be using it as a nickname even when James wasn’t calling him Reggie.
Jamie. Reggie.
“Hm?” answered James
“Why aren’t you wearing your glasses?” This question had been bothering him ever since he arrived.
How was he even able to see without his glasses?
This was some absolute fuckery.
A slight chuckle left James’ lips as he seemed to revisit some old memory.
“A couple of years back,” he started, “I was practising some quidditch tricks when I fell off my broom, landed straight on my face which caused my glasses to shatter, a few pieces got into my skin and one small one got into my eye.”
Regulus winced, that sounded awful. “Oh. That sounds awful”
“It wasn’t that bad, I went to St. Mungos, where they removed the glass pieces, couldn’t see in my left eye for a few days,” of course going to a hospital wasn’t that bad for this absolutely mental buffoon, “but now it's back to normal and there was this one piece of glass that went deep into my skin and was quite long, I still have a scar.” he finished as he pointed to a small scar beneath his eye which couldn’t have been more than a centimetre or two long.
Maybe something was in the air, or maybe Regulus was just feeling brave but he reached up to touch James’ scar and watched in fascination as James’ eyelids fluttered close, and his breath stuttered suddenly. The skin beneath his finger felt like it was on fire, yet so soft.
“How do you see then?” asked Regulus, his finger moving back and forth on the scar.
“Contacts” muttered James in a low voice.
Of course Regulus knew what contacts were, for Dorcas wore them practically everyday claiming that they looked bad with glasses, which is an absolute lie for they could have a shoe for their nose and would still rock it.
Pulling his hand back, Regulus re-settled on the grass.
After several minutes of stargazing, Regulus remembers Barty’s and Evan’s hair.
“Why do Barty and Evan have each other’s hair?” he asks, curious.
At this James just does this slight chuckle, like he has this secret that no one but he knows about, it’s such a chuckle that it makes the caterpillars in his stomach leave their cocoons earlier, and evolve into beautiful butterflies and start fluttering in his stomach.
“I wanted to know what their children would look like as that isn’t biologically possible and because they haven’t seemed to have their shit figured out yet, they’re worse than Sirius and Remus even they had figured it out by fifth year” he said with such passion that Regulus laughed.
It was true, it was getting painful just to watch them.
“You are absolutely ridiculous Jamie” jested Regulus, trying to rile him up but he just sighed and said, “I am though’ aren’t i?” he said back in a soft voice.
And so they lay there talking in hushed voices of nothing and everything and all in between.
His favourite moment was when he told James about the way Mulciber and Snape had even tried to colour their hair with black ink but their hair seemed to be repelling the ink.
He watched in fascination as James’ eyes twinkled while he explained the entire process of creating the spell, the things that went wrong, the two explosions and three near explosions.
The night rushed on, and when they decided to check the time, both were surprised to find it nearing four am.
As they were leaving, Regulus decided to be brave and rushed forwards to wrap his arms around James, who lifted him up and spun him in a light circle which had Regulus giggling.
Being in James’ arms, Regulus got this indescribable feeling. It was comforting, safe, homely, nice, lovely, warm and so many other words that Regulus couldn’t even begin to describe. He wondered if others got that feeling when James hugged them, or if James himself ever got that feeling. Selfishly, Regulus hopes he gets that feeling every time they embrace each other.
James put Regulus down, and Regulus was hyper aware of the blush burning his cheeks so much that they may as well be on fire.
“Thank you so much for today Jamie.” Regulus says as they pull apart, a grin on his face.
James takes his hand (!!!) and does that little bow thingy that people do when they meet an important lady, delicately holding his right hand, and then he presses a soft kiss on the back side of Regulus’ hand.
Regulus brings up the backside of his left hand to cover his mouth in an attempt to cover his giggle.
James gets back up and salutes’
“Farewell Mr. Regulus Arcturus Black”
And with that he leaves.
Regulus watches him leave and breaks out a grin.
This boy is extremely ridiculous and gosh if Regulus doesn’t adore it.
Regulus walks back to his dorm, and if there's a certain skip to his step no one needs to know about it.
This happens every single fucking time yet everytime he manages o be surprised.
There on the beds in their dorm was the entire group just sitting and waiting. Sometimes Regulus thought whether they were owls instead of humans, they just looked at him with such wide eyes that Regulus truly thought that hey would pop out.
Putting on his least impressed face he walked in and sat on his face, which had ever so graciously been left empty for him.
“Tell us everything.” demanded Barty.
Now usually Regulus would deny but this was about James, and Regulus just had to gush on about him.
“Okay so he taught me a broom trick, and i feel down alot-” Regulus held up a hand to silence pandora before she could go into her mother hen mode, “but he caught me every single fucking time . I swear to god i was dying right there and then we just laid beneath the stars, and we just- talked i guess. And, and andddddddd” Regulus starts to get excited telling them about the hug and the twirl and the kiss, “quand nous étions sur le point d'y aller, je l'ai serré dans mes bras et il - désolé (when we were about to go, i hugged him and he - sorry) and when we were leaving i hugged him, me , i initiated it and he fucking spun me and then he kissed my hand!!” Regulus' voice had gone up an octave by the time he finished, which was quite embarrassing.
All of his friends are looking at him with weird eyes, and then they – simultaneously – burst out laughing.
“These Gryffindors may be something special, no? First ‘Cas now you, damn” said Evan between giggles.
“I’m kind of surprised your snarky, mean sarcastic arse hasn’t scared him off yet, he is the literal personification of a golden retriever” comments Dorcas
Regulus’ mind floods with memories of their little hangouts, him comforting James, him making sure James wasn’t feeling bad, running a finger on his scar, the hugs, and only then does he realise that he acts quite differently with James than he does with others.
Also while on the topic Regulus seems to think that James is more like a stag than a golden retriever, the gracefulness with which he walks, and how fast a deer or stag is able to run, Regulus thinks that that's the way life seems to go for James for in between the little time he has spent with James and the great amount of time watching him, he has learned that James is always there for others and is next to always seen with someone, helping them.
Life ought to go by fast when you spend nearly none of it for yourself.
And even though people believe that Lupin was the mature one between the four, Regulus knew that it was James for he had seen the worst of this world, from abusive families to helping out a person whose kind is feared by nearly the entire wizarding world (yes he knew about Lupin’s ‘furry little problem’) to helping people with their insecurities, he surely has matured the most and earliest out of all those his age.
“No i- i’m not like… that with him, it’s different…?” he says, trying and failing to explain everything.
He definitely notices the way Pandora gives him a side glance. Sometimes it’s almost like she can read his mind.
“Has your little crush made you go all soft?” asks Barty with a sickenly sweet voice.
“No it's- it’s not like that. He has been hurt, I think, but he hides it well, really well. I once said something and just for like a minuscule of a second pure hurt flashed through his eyes,” explains Regulus, grimacing slightly as he revisits the memory, “i don’t know really, you know he’s always there to help others i wonder if anyone is actually there for him, like he is for others”
The mood instantly drops and his eyes instinctively shift to Pandora’s who with little amount of effort sends them all to bed and comes to sit with Regulus on his, muttering a silencing charm she begins to sleep, “Regulus, you’re right, in a sense i guess, he is hurt and life is harder for him than it is for others, please don’t hurt him.”
Regulus can see the worry etched on Pandora’s face, it’s clear how much she worries and cares for James. He leans across and wraps his arms around her, while Regulus may not be an affectionate person he has always made an exception for Pandora, and as of late – it seems – for James too.
“I won’t, Pans, i promise”
He feels her nod against his shoulder, muttering a goodbye she leaves for her dorm.
Before sleeping Regulus replays everything in his mind, every fall, every catch, every smile, every laugh but most of all the hug.
Regulus is simply put, thriving.
He is so excited, what has happened.
He wonders how James is doing.
𖧷•°❀♡︎❀♡︎❀°•𖧷
James is freaking out.
They held hands.
James caught Regulus.
Regulus pouted.
Regulus ran his finger on James’ scar.
He touched James’ face.
He initiated a hug.
James kissed his hand.
Regulus giggled.
They spent the entire night together.
James was so gone.
But he really didn’t care, for even as he went to sleep his mind was on Regulus’ eyes, the feeling of his touch on his James’ skin, his pout, his giggle.
Just him.
𓆙𐂂𓆙𐂂𓆙𐂂𓆙𐂂