Fake Dates and Rainy Nights

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/52924348.

Rating: Explicit
Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: M/M
Fandom: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Relationships: Regulus Black/James Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Characters: Regulus Black, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Euphemia
Potter, Fleamont Potter
Additional Tags: Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting,
Modern Marauders (Harry Potter), Regulus Black-centric, POV Regulus
Black, Regulus Black & Sirius Black Have a Good Relationship, Trans
Regulus Black, Gay Regulus Black, Latino James Potter, Regulus Black
In Love, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Eventual Smut, Bad Parent
Walburga Black, Oblivious Regulus Black, Established Sirius
Black/Remus Lupin, Sweet James Potter, Boys In Love, No Angst, just
fluff, Dancing, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Fake Dating, there‘s
only one bed, oh no, Good Parent Euphemia Potter, she‘s awesome
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2024-01-09 Updated: 2024-01-25 Words: 18,881 Chapters:
2/?
 Fake Dates and Rainy Nights
by itsprettyunfortunate

Summary

Regulus is in love with James. That’s how it always has been. But when he asks James to be
his fake date to a ball his parents organised things aren’t going exactly as planned, and soon
Regulus finds himself having to pretend to be James' boyfriend on more than just one
occasion. What could possibly go wrong?
 Mirrorballs and Red Wine

Regulus sits alone in his room, his record player blurting out some classical tracks while he
tries to think. His unbearable parents announced a ball for this evening weeks ago, and since
then, Regulus has put off trying to find a date for the ball. He tried (without success) to get
out of the whole thing, and he tried to reason with his parents, convincing them that he
doesn’t need a stupid date for the ball, but he also didn’t succeed in that. His older brother,
Sirius, wasn’t any help at all. He has a boyfriend and announced that he is going to take him
to the ball. Surprisingly, their parents didn’t object. Or maybe it’s not that much of a surprise
at all.

When Sirius announced that he was gay, Regulus vividly recalls thinking that their parents
would lose it and punish him for it. Sirius threw this information at them in the middle of a
fight, and it wouldn’t have been the first time that either of their parents would punish them
for things neither of them can change, but nothing happened. They didn’t send Sirius to bed
without food, they didn’t lock him in the closet—though Sirius later admitted that he would
have found that rather hilarious.

Something similar happened when Regulus came out as trans. He finally gathered the
courage to ask their parents to stop referring to him as something he is not, to stop calling
him by a name that is not his. Sirius was right next to him, a comforting presence by his side,
ready to fight their parents if they so much as breathed at him the wrong way. To both of their
surprise, their parents didn’t react at all to that either. Just shrugged it off and carried on with
their day. Regulus tried to tell himself that it was because their parents loved them, but he has
come to realise that it’s just because they don’t care enough about them.

Regulus is pretty sure that Sirius only started taking boys home in order to get a reaction out
of their parents before he realised that he was gay. But their parents don’t really spend much
time at home at all, always travelling the world for some reason or another, leaving Sirius and
Remus mostly to their own devices, so Regulus doesn’t think they would have found out
about Sirius hooking up with boys at all.

The announcement for the ball came via a message delivered by mail. Regulus doesn’t know
where their parents were when they sent the letter, and he doesn’t really care. He called them
and tried to convince their parents not to hold a ball at all, because it’s ridiculous, and we‘re
living in the 21st century, for god‘s sake, but their minds were already set. Who even does
balls anymore? But their parents don’t ever really listen to either of their sons. Regulus knew
that, but he still tried.

In the end, Regulus took his defeat and started moping around until it was almost too late to
find a date. Was that smart? Maybe not. Regulus doesn’t really care, though. He doesn’t want
to do this at all, so why rush into preparing for it when you can ignore it instead?

Well, now the ball is coming closer, and he has to do something. This morning, he got a call
from his mother’s assistant, reminding him that a date to the ball is obligatory. She blabbered
something about their image and reputation, but Regulus didn’t really listen.
There are two huge problems with finding a date for that stupid ball. First, Regulus doesn’t
want a date. Well, if he is completely honest with himself, he doesn’t want just any date.
There is a particular person Regulus has been crushing on for ages, and that’s where the
second problem comes in. He can’t just ask him.

James Potter. Sirius' best friend. James was the first friend Sirius ever made in school, and
they were inseparable. Back then, Regulus used to tag along whenever they would let him
because he was young and naive, and he used to think that Sirius was the coolest person in
the world. Don’t ever tell him that, though. So, Regulus tried to be around him, and that
meant that he got to know James. It didn’t take him very long to discover that all the stories
Sirius used to tell about the other boy were true and that James is the absolute best person
there is. He is kind, funny, reliable, generous, and so fucking beautiful, inside and out. It’s
really no wonder Regulus fell for him. He never stood a chance. It against his charme, his
smile, his witty comments and jokes.

He thought he would get over it, thought that it was just a stupid little childhood crush, but
now that this crush or whatever has been going on for a couple of years, Regulus has given
up all hope for it to pass and has came to accept the fact that this is just how things are.

If Regulus is completely honest, he knew that he wouldn’t get over the crush he had on
James. Knew it from the moment on when some rude kid made some rude comments about
him being trans, and Regulus went crying to his older brother, only to find James with Sirius.
While Sirius tried to calm him down, taking care of him, James rushed out of the room, and
he came back with bloody knuckles, telling Regulus that he took care of the kid. Right then,
Regulus knew that it was either going to be James or nobody for him. No other option.

It doesn’t matter that he stopped hanging around as much ages ago, that he found his own
friends and wasn’t around Sirius and, by extension, James as often, but the feelings for James
stayed.

Sirius and James are still best friends, still inseparable, which annoys Regulus to no end, but
this also means that James is around quite a lot. That is, of course, when Regulus decides to
endure Sirius' company. For James' sake, he decides to do that more often than not. It’s a bit
pathetic, he knows, but there is really nothing he can do about it. He tried and failed.

Now that he thinks about it, James probably knows about the ball; Sirius surely told him.
They talk about everything (to the point where it’s almost concerning). Maybe he even
invited him?

And maybe, maybe, this is Regulus' chance. It could work, couldn’t it? He doesn’t have to
ask James out. He can just ask James for a little favour, which includes accompanying him to
the ball, and spend some time with him. The mere thought makes Regulus' heart beat faster.
It’s exciting. Should he really do that? Yes. Now, or never.

Before courage leaves him again, Regulus turns the volume of his record player down and
reaches for his phone.

He holds it to his ear and prays that what he is about to do won’t ruin everything.
But what could possibly happen? It’s not like Regulus is really asking him out, so James can’t
really reject him, right? Yes, that sounds logical.

"Regulus?" James asks as he picks up the phone. His voice alone makes Regulus' stomach do
a little somersault. It’s ridiculous, honestly. James has no business having this much of an
effect on him.

"James. Do you remember a few weeks ago at that café? You were stuck in a conversation
with some guy, and you just grabbed my hand, told him that I was your boyfriend in order to
get out of that situation and pulled me out of that café?"

"Er, yeah, I remember," James says, sounding confused. Regulus gets the confusion. But he is
trying something here, so James just needs to wait a moment before things are going to clear
up.

"Right. I said you owe me something for that."

When James starts speaking again, Regulus can hear the smile in his voice, and it makes his
heart beat faster. That man, honestly. "I remember you saying that. What is it? What can I do
for you?"

"Well, Sirius probably told you already. Our parents decided to hold a stupid ball, and they
made having a date for it obligatory," Regulus explains while fidgeting with his rings. He
starts getting nervous. Maybe all of this wasn’t a good idea after all. What if James says no?
Is he currently making a fool of himself?

"I see. And I’m guessing you don’t have a date, am I right?"

"It’s not like I couldn’t find one," Regulus makes clear. James shouldn’t get any wrong ideas.
"It’s just that I wasn’t looking for one because I thought I might get out of that whole thing.
Turns out I don’t, and now I don’t have a date."

"This thing is today, right?" James asks, and Regulus can hear some rustling on his end of the
line.

"Correct."

"Hm." There is some silence, except for the rustling on James' end of the line. What is he
doing? "Reggie, if you want me to go to the ball with you, you’ve got to ask."

And just like that, Regulus' face is on fire. He doesn’t remember when James started calling
him Reggie, but he knows he never wants it to end. "Well, I just need someone to pretend to
be my date so my parents leave me alone." Regulus takes a deep breath before he continues.
"Would you do that or not?" He tries very hard to sound indifferent, though his heart is trying
to beat out of his chest.

"Of course. How can I decline when you ask so nicely?" And Regulus just knows that James
has one of those huge smiles on his face while he says that, and he would give everything to
see that. Only a glimpse. He only needs a glimpse.
"Great. Text me when you‘re here," Regulus says, and before James can even answer, he
hangs up and sinks to the floor.

His hands are shaking, and his cheeks are red. He wonders briefly if it would be inappropriate
to do a little happy dance because James just agreed to be his fake date to a stupid ball, but in
the end he decides against it. He can’t stop the little squeal that comes out of his mouth
without his permission, though.

Getting ready is suddenly not so much of a chore, but it’s more stressful than before. He has a
tailored suit that he is supposed to wear, but he still has to make sure his hair is in place, has
to decide which pieces of jewellery would be most fitting, and how James might find him
most beautiful. The most annoying part about all of this is that Regulus has to go through all
of this, and James could show up in sweatpants and an old sweater, and he would still be the
most beautiful person in the room. Truly unfair.

Well, two hours and a bunch of breakdowns later, Regulus bursts into his brother’s room.

"Did you steal my ring?" He asks as he barges in, only to find Sirius half-dressed on the bed,
laying on top of his boyfriend. Remus looks up at Regulus and smiles as a greeting. Regulus
truly admired Remus for putting up with his brother all the time, but in his soft moments, he
has to admit that he likes Remus quite a lot. He is happy for Sirius, happy that he found
someone like Remus. If only Regulus had something similar. Preferably with James.

Sirius looks up at him with the messy bird‘s nest on his head that he calls hair, and he scowls
at Regulus. "Which one?"

"The one that I bought last week."

"Oh, that one. Yes, I took it," Sirius says and untangles himself from Remus. He crosses the
room and rummages through one of his drawers, then he pulls out Regulus' ring.

"What time is it?" Remus asks, smiling kindly at Regulus. He gets up as well and tries to fix
his hair, looking into one of Sirius' many mirrors. Regulus doesn’t understand how his
brother can own so many mirrors and still seems to never look into one before he leaves the
house.

"Guests are going to arrive in about a half hour," Regulus says as he inspects the ring. If
Sirius left any signs of wear and tear on it, Regulus is going to kill him on the spot.

Lucky for Sirius, the ring looks perfectly fine, so he can leave just in time before Sirius is
jumping into Remus' arms again, attempting to eat his face.

Back in his room, Regulus takes a seat on the edge of his bed and stares at the black screen of
his phone. James hasn’t texted him yet. That means he isn’t there yet. And that means that
Regulus won’t go and greet any guests. He‘ll stay right where he is and wait for James.

It puts a smile on his face. If he has to do this stupid thing, at least he gets to do it with James
by his side. He‘d do anything if it means James would be with him. It sends a little rush of
giddiness through his body. This is really going to happen. He is going to that ball with
James, and suddenly, the whole situation doesn’t seem as terrible as it did before. Yes,
Regulus is absolutely gone for James.

When his phone finally chimes, he jumps up and checks his reflection in the mirror one last
time. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know what James' type is exactly, so he decided to go for a
pretty classic look. He hopes James likes it. He is faintly aware of the fact that maybe he
shouldn’t be this worried about James finding him attractive, but he has been doing it for too
long to be able to just stop now. It’s second nature at this point. His friends give him shit for
it to no end.

Thinking of them, maybe he should text them about James accompanying him to the ball
since Evan and Barty won’t come, but as soon as he picks up his phone, a message from
James comes in, and everything else loses priority. He‘ll do that later.

He doesn’t really know where James is because his message only says 'I‘m here', but Regulus
is determined to find him. He‘ll always find James. This special power of his was actually
pretty useful on more than one occasion. Because James has a habit of getting lost, which is
especially unfortunate when he and Sirius loved to play in the woods when they were
younger. Well, no problem for Regulus. It’s like James has his very own gravity, and Regulus
can’t escape from his orbit.

It still surprises him when he opens his door and almost walks right into a very handsome
man.

"James," Regulus greets, trying to hide his surprise.

"Oh, wow, someone really put effort in today. You look gorgeous," James says, and his eyes
travel down the length of Regulus' body. "Not that you don’t look gorgeous every other day.
You do. Just- you look especially gorgeous today."

Slightly uncomfortable, Regulus starts fiddling with his rings again, and he averts his gaze,
saying, "Thanks. You look fine, too."

It’s an understatement. Of course it is. James is wearing a suit that fits his beautiful frame
perfectly, and his hair is messy, but it’s evident that he tried to tame it. Regulus appreciates
the attempt, but he likes James' messy hair just fine. Also, James' face looks gorgeous, as
always. His beautiful brown eyes behind his glasses, his lips—oh, those lips. Regulus wants
to kiss them so bad. If only James liked him back.

"Well, thank you," James says. "Want to get going?"

And as if all if wasn’t crazy enough that James is here in the first place and that he pretends
to be Regulus' date to this stupid ball, James stretches out his arm for Regulus to connect
their arms. For a moment, Regulus hesitates, but James says, "Come on. I‘m your date."

And, well. Regulus can’t argue with that logic, and he is absolutely hopeless when it comes
to James. He will use any excuse to touch him. So he moves closer and links their arms, and
while doing so, he can smell James. He doesn’t know what it is exactly—his shampoo, his
parfume, or something else—but he knows that he would recognise it anywhere.
Together, they walk down the stairs and down the corridor towards the ballroom. Yes, the
house Regulus lives in has a ballroom. Sirius aren’t usually allowed to go in there, but it’s not
exactly a room you’d want to spend much time in. It’s huge and empty and just reminds
Regulus of all the annoying events Regulus had to endure there. They don’t speak, but the
silence isn’t uncomfortable. For Regulus, it’s quite convenient because he needs a moment to
collect himself. The closeness to James and the fact that he really showed up are just so
much. If James wasn’t holding him up, he‘d probably just faint.

Regulus leads them to the far corner of the room, away from the dance floor, away from the
bar, and away from where most people are. He wants to use this opportunity and try to talk to
James, and he doesn’t want to be interrupted by some unpleasant people. He is not a big fan
of large crowds of people in general, but even less so when they could ruin his chances of
speaking with James. This stupid ball has at least one advantage, then.

James, like the gentleman he is, offers to get some drinks for them, and of course, Regulus
doesn’t have any objections. His parents are nowhere to be seen, and Regulus is grateful for
that. He intends to avoid them the whole evening.

James pushes through the crowd, and Regulus tries to find Sirius or Remus, but he can’t.
Either they aren’t there yet, or they are in the middle of the dance floor, hidden by the crowds
of people. Well, he is sure that they will see each other throughout the evening. Surely James
told Sirius that he is going to attend the ball. The only question is, did he mention that
Regulus asked him to accompany him?

Just as Regulus spots James making his way back to him with their drinks, some guy
approaches Regulus. He is wearing an ill-fitting suit, and he has a moustache that really
doesn’t look good on his face, and he is probably about twenty years older than him. Regulus'
flight instincts are kicking in with force.

"Hello, pretty boy," he says, and Regulus isn’t sure if he wants to vomit or punch him in the
face. Or both. But in which order?

Before he can do or say anything, though, James is by his side. Wonderful, wonderful James.
"Sorry, he‘s my date," he says, and he goes to stand right next to him, their elbows touching.
It sends sparks down Regulus' spine, even in this situation. Oh, he has it bad for James.

"Apologies," ugly-moustache-guy says and actually backs off. It’s relieving. "Didn’t know
you had a boyfriend."

And, well, neither did Regulus. But he doesn’t correct him, and neither does James, and if
Regulus' heart almost explodes, it’s surely just a coincidence and not because some random
guy just assumed that James is his boyfriend. James. He really thought James was his.

"Thanks," Regulus mumbles while he takes one of the glasses from James' way too beautiful
hands. Honestly, why are his hands so beautiful? Why is every part of James so breathtaking
and pretty? It shouldn’t be allowed. Should be illegal, actually. Nobody should be allowed to
be this beautiful if Regulus can’t have him.
"Yeah, no problem. I figured that’s part of the deal, you know? That whole being-your-date
thing. Gotta keep those creepy men away from you," James says, and his smile is almost
blinding Regulus. He wants to feel that smile on his skin and kiss it.

"Thanks," Regulus repeats. They are both silent for a moment, and Regulus busies himself
with sipping on his red wine.

"Good?" James asks, and Regulus replies with a nod and a small smile. "Alright. I wasn’t
really sure which one to get you. They all sounded very fancy. I thought I’d just trust my
intuition, and bought the only one I knew the name of, but if you don’t like it, I don’t mind
going back to get you a new one."

The worst thing Regulus could think of right now would be James leaving again. They are
pretty close, and James' attention is only focused on him, and Regulus has a feeling that he
might get addicted to this feeling. James is like a drug.

"No, no. I like it," he assures, because James needs to stay right here.

"Good," James says, and leans his back against the wall, one foot propped up against the
wall. It has no business being this hot, so Regulus decides not to stare, because if he does, he
might never be able to look away. Instead, he settles against the wall as well, maybe standing
a bit closer to James than absolutely necessary.

"Have you seen Sirius and Remus yet?"

"No." Regulus shakes his head.

"Alright. I told him that I was going with you."

"You did?" Regulus asks. He doesn’t really know what to do with this information. James just
nods and sips his drink.

The silence between them doesn’t feel particularly uncomfortable, but Regulus still feels like
he should say something. So he does. "Thanks for coming with me. I know it’s been very last
minute."

"Of course," James says, and he smiles brightly. And this time, Regulus is right here to see it,
and it’s aimed directly at him. It makes him feel a little dizzy. "I was going either way,
because Sirius invited me, and for some reason, my parents are invited as well, but when you
called, I was rather happy, actually. Surprised, but happy."

Regulus turns and looks at him with a questioning look. James was happy that Regulus asked
him to be his fake date? Why?

When James turns his face fully towards him, Regulus wants to look away to stop the blush
from creeping into his cheeks, but he finds that he can’t. Can’t look away. James is like a
magnet.

"See, I thought I’d spend this evening either third-wheeling Sirius and Remus or my parents,
and now I can have a fun time with you instead."
There is nothing Regulus can do except try to stop his mouth from falling open while he
stares. James is glad that he gets to spend this evening with Regulus. For whatever reason. It
doesn’t matter. He isn’t annoyed at Regulus; it doesn’t seem like a chore to him. Regulus
feels like the most lucky person in this world.

A fun time is what James wants to have with him. Whatever that implies for James, Regulus
is up for it. He would do anything for James.

Regulus hums and convinces his face to form a smile. If he can’t find any words, at least he
can smile.

"So," James exclaims a moment later and empties his glass with a large gulp. "How about we
dance a bit?"

And, well. Regulus didn’t plan on dancing at all. He planned on observing the people who
followed their parents invitation and judging them for their every move, but, well, James.
James wants to dance, and Regulus wants to see him smile. Wants to be close to him, wants
to have his attention, wants to be in his orbit. James wants to dance with him, and dance with
him he will.

It’s truly ridiculous how little effort it takes for James to get what he wants from Regulus. He
just smiles and extends his hand, and Regulus knows his defences are crumbling. James pulls
him in, not with his hand but with his mere presence. It’s scary, but Regulus just takes his
hand without thinking, and before he can blink, James leads them on the dance floor.

Once James turns around and pulls Regulus closer, his brain stops working. He faintly
registers that he puts his hand on James' shoulder and that he starts swaying to the music, but
that’s it. All Regulus knows now is the way James' hand feels against his waist and how easy
it is to follow his lead. How close they are.

James smiles down at him—he is a few inches taller, and Regulus has to crane his head a
little in order to look him in the eye, but it only adds to making him feel giddy. Because
James looks down, and there are only a few inches between them, and he smiles, and all
Regulus can think of is how badly he wants to taste that smile.

"You‘re a good dancer," James compliments him, and it’s a good thing that he is holding
Regulus so tightly. Otherwise, his knees would probably just give in, and he‘d transform into
a puddle.

"My parents forced dance lessons on me and Sirius," he explains. His voice is a little strained,
but apart from that, he thinks that he sounds normal. He hopes so. He doesn’t need James to
know that it only takes a little bit of dancing, only a little bit of closeness for Regulus to be
incapable of any logical thoughts. He really doesn’t need to know.

"And now I can benefit from that."

"Did your parents make you learn this too?" Regulus asks as James puts some space between
them and spins Regulus around.
"No, actually," James says as they are chest-to-chest again. "I actually begged them for
dancing lessons."

"Really?" The thought is somehow very precious to Regulus.

"Yeah." James nods. "It didn’t take a lot of convincing. They dance all the time, but not this
kind of dancing."

"Which kind, then?" The fact that they are having a casual conversation while dancing with
their bodies pressed this close together takes a lot more effort from Regulus than it probably
should.

James repositions his hand on his waist before he replies, and it makes Regulus shiver all
over. It’s not like James is touching him inappropriately for this kind of dancing, but James'
hand is now significantly closer to his arse.

"My dad‘s from Puerto Rico, so they mostly dance Reggaeton, and Salsa, and so on. I started
doing that as well, but I wanted to learn waltz and other types of dances as well."

So much information, and Regulus stores every little detail away carefully. The way James
rolls his rs when he says 'Reggaeton' does something to him, and Regulus should find a way
to make him say that word again. He finds that he would like nothing more than to see James
dance Reggaeton or Salsa. He doesn’t really know anything about either of those types of
dances, but he knows that James would look absolutely stunning.

"I‘ve never danced Reggaeton," Regulus admits. He says it primarily because he just wants to
keep the conversation going, but when James smiles cheekily, he doesn’t know if it was the
best thing to say.

"I can teach you," he suggests.

Regulus doesn’t know a single thing about Reggaeton, but he knows for a fact that he wants
James to teach him. He knows.

Just as Regulus is about to decide whether to just agree or think of something clever and
maybe a little teasing to say, they are very rudely interrupted.

"James!" Sirius exclaims, his arms thrown in the air, making his way to the crowd towards
them. Remus trails behind him.

Regulus pulls back immediately. The moment is gone, and now it just feels awkward to kling
to him like a koala. Before, he didn’t have it in himself to be even a little bit ashamed about
pressing himself against James, but that changed with Sirius' arrival. Regulus can’t help but
resent his older brother a little for it.

"Alright mate?" James asks. He seems a bit irritated about the speed with which Regulus
distanced himself, but he doesn’t say anything.

"You and Regulus are here together?" Remus asks and crooks his eyebrows in a way Regulus
doesn’t know how to interpret.
Regulus doesn’t intend to answer with more than a smile, but James is already talking. "Yeah.
He called me earlier today."

It doesn’t seem like a very good explanation of what really happened, so Regulus has to step
in. Mainly because Sirius looks at him with a piercing, questioning look in his eyes.

"I tried to get out of this ball thing, but our parents wouldn’t let me."

"So I stepped in," James announces with a bright smile on his face. Remus smiles right back
at him, but Sirius doesn’t.

While Remus and James start a conversation about the poor choice of drinks that are served,
Sirius comes closer and starts hissing into his ear. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Nothing," Regulus says and shrugs. He ain’t doing anything.

"Reggie, you- fuck. Don’t."

"What?" Regulus hisses. He starts getting rather annoyed with his brother. First he interrupts
them while dancing, then he prevents Regulus from trying to flirt with James, and now he
scolds Regulus. Great.

"You know exactly what I’m talking about, Reg. I know you‘re still not over your crush, but
what the fuck are you doing?"

"I‘m not doing anything," Regulus repeats in annoyance.

"You were rubbing against him in a way you definitely shouldn’t in this situation."

"We were just dancing."

Regulus glances at James and Remus, but they are joking with each other, not really paying
attention to the two brothers hissing at each other.

"Just- Reggie, is this really necessary? If you’re so desperate to spend time with him, just
fucking tell him that you fancy him. No big deal."

Regulus doesn’t even grace him with an answer. This has to be the dumbest thing his brother
has ever said. Of course, Regulus thought about just telling him. But once he does, there is no
coming back, and when the inevitable happens and James tells him that he doesn’t feel the
same about Regulus, things are going to be awkward. James isn’t going to hang out with him
anymore, and by extension, Sirius is going to spend more time with James and apart from
Regulus. So, no. Confessing to James is not an option. Not now, not ever.

When Remus comes closer, Sirius hisses, "Be careful," and then he turns around and shoves
his tongue down Remus' throat.

"Everything alright?" James asks him after chuckling at Sirius and Remus.
"Yeah, everything‘s fine," Regulus assures. The last thing he needs now is James asking him
about his conversation with Sirius. Fortunately, he doesn’t.

Sirius and Remus detach, and Sirius gives Regulus a warning glance before he grabs his
boyfriend‘s hand and drags him away in order to dance with him. Just as he starts grinding on
Remus, Regulus turns his back towards them. He doesn’t need to see that, thank you very
much.

"Want to get another drink?" James asks, and Regulus nods eagerly. "Okay. Save us a table
somewhere. I’ll be right back."

Regulus does as he is told. It’s almost concerning how eager he is to follow James' orders, but
he can deal with that another time. Right now, he watches James' back until he disappears
into the crowd near the bar. Then Regulus goes searching for one of the high tables.

And then, yet another guy approaches Regulus. Why do they always seem to show up when
James isn’t by his side for two seconds?

"Hey, you‘re Regulus, right?"

Regulus knows him. He is the son of some friends of his parents. One of their close friends.
That is definitely not a good sign. None of his parents close friends are people Regulus would
ever spend time with unless forced to. Regulus faintly remembers his name. It’s Mulciber or
something like that, and he only knows it because his mother was very fond of the idea of
Regulus marrying him. Hopefully, she isn’t behind all of this.

"Yes," Regulus says coldly, and he looks around the room, trying to spot James. He avoids
looking at Mulciber completely, because that guy shouldn’t think that Regulus is interested in
him in any way whatsoever. He is not. Where the fuck is James?

"Care for a dance?" Mulciber asks, clearly not getting the message. Regulus would very
much like to smash that guy‘s head through the wall. He wouldn’t dance with him if his life
depended on it.

"No." That’s all Regulus says. He doesn’t want to dance with him, and he doesn’t feel like
being nice to that prick. He should leave Regulus alone. Shouldn’t have come over to talk to
him at all. The last time they talked, he tried to put his hand on Regulus' arse, and Regulus
made it more than clear that he wouldn’t hesitate to break his hand if he did it again.

"Why?" Mulciber asks, insensitive like always. If it wasn’t clear that Regulus' mother doesn’t
care about him very much, it becomes very evident with her desire for Regulus to spend the
rest of his life with that piece of shit. Mulciber has money and influence, and that is all his
mother cares about. "Do you have a girlfriend or something?"

"A boyfriend, actually," Regulus says, and as if summoned, James chooses that exact moment
to push through the crowd, right towards him. "He‘s right there, so you can fuck off," he says,
and gives him one of his fakest smiles.
But Mulciber stays until James reaches them, and he looks him up and down, then squints his
eyes. "You‘re his boyfriend?" He asks.

"Yes," James says without missing a beat. Regulus ignores how much it makes his heart
flutter. He knows that it’s not the truth, that James is just being a nice person, but Regulus can
pretend.

Mulciber lingers for a moment, then he says, "Pity," and looks at them with disapproval.
Regulus doesn’t care. He only cares for the fact that Mulciber backs off and leaves them
alone.

"I hate that fucking prick," James says, and Regulus is a bit surprised at his choice of words.
He doesn’t think he has ever heard James curse before. He finds that he rather likes it. It’s
endearing.

"You know him?"

"Yes. Ran into him at school a couple of times. He always tried to give Sirius a hard time, so
I got into one or two fights with him myself."

And Regulus hides his smile by taking a sip of wine. The thought of James getting into a
fight is weirdly appealing to him, but if he imagines James putting Mulciber in his place, it
makes his whole body tingle. Huh. Interesting.

"Should’ve known it, honestly," James says as he takes a sip from his wine and turns to watch
the people dance.

"Huh?" Regulus doesn’t know if he is just a bit slow due to the front row seat he has to
James' profile or if the thing James just said really doesn’t make much sense.

"Should’ve known known that I’d spend the whole night trying to protect you from creepy
men."

It still doesn’t make a lot of sense. "Why should you have known?" Regulus asks. He doesn’t
understand. Is James making fun of him or something? The mere thought makes Regulus'
stomach clench. James wouldn’t, right?

"Just- if I just saw you standing here, I’d definitely want to dance with you." And if that
wasn’t enough, James turns his face towards him and he winks. He winks, and Regulus
chokes on the sip of wine he just took.

That- well. It does something to Regulus. James- he would dance with him even if Regulus
hadn’t asked him to be his fake date; is that what he tried to say? Is James attracted to him?
Does he like him? Regulus knows that he cares about him in some capacity, but he isn’t sure
if it’s just because he is Sirius' little brother. And if not, he doesn’t know if those are romantic
feelings.

Regulus has to say something. He has to. The silence has been going on for too long, and
James starts fidgeting. He takes a deep breath and mumbles, "Would definitely prefer that
over all the other people who try to talk to me."

He doesn’t know if it’s too much, and he can’t look at him. What if James finds him weird for
saying shit like that? So, no. He isn’t going to look at James. Unfortunately, James doesn’t
seem to mind. Out of the corner of his eyes, Regulus can see that James just turned towards
the dance floor again, and now they just stand next to each other in silence and watch the
crowd of people dance.

"Can’t he be normal for once?" Regulus groans when he spots Sirius on the dance floor, one
of his legs wrapped around Remus' hips, their faces pressed together. This has nothing to do
with dancing. This is just inappropriate.

James follows his gaze and snorts as soon as he spots them. "I hate to tell you, but this is
actually them being tame. I‘ve seen them do worse."

Regulus looks at him with a scandalised expression on his face and says, "Please don’t. I
don’t want to know."

James laughs again, that lovely sound escaping his lips, and Regulus averts his gaze. He
doesn’t want to watch his brother practically climb Remus on the dance floor, but he also
can’t look at James. If that man keeps smiling like that, Regulus might not be able to control
himself, and he‘ll end up doing something indecent—something much worse than Sirius is
currently doing.

And when Regulus lets his gaze sweep over the room, there is a guy staring at him, looking
him up and down from just a few steps away. He starts walking towards him, and Regulus
manages to elbow James in order to get his attention just in time before the guy stands right
in front of them.

"Wanna dance?" He asks with a suggestive grin on his ugly face. He holds out his hand, and
Regulus retreats, which coincidentally means that he presses further into James.

To his great surprise, he feels James' hand slide around his waist, and it makes him want to
scream. James' hand is on his waist and not under the excuse of dancing. No, this is a hand
that means this is mine, and even though Regulus knows that this is not real, he feels like he
can die happily now.

"Sorry, mate. He‘s my boyfriend," James says, and Regulus is sure that he died and is
currently experiencing something that can only be heaven. These words out of James' mouth.
This is literally his dream come true.

But suddenly, there is a voice behind them, making the guy in front of them irrelevant. "Your
boyfriend?" A woman asks, and both Regulus and James turn around.

The woman who now stands in front of them is dressed in a beautiful blue dress, and she has
an artful hairdo. The man who holds her hand looks shockingly similar to James, only older.
He wears a fitted suit, and with his messy curls and his round glasses, he looks exactly like
how James might look like in about twenty to thirty years. Oh god, this can’t happen right
now, can it?
"Er, mum, dad? This is Regulus," James says, and now Regulus wishes he died.

"Nice to meet you, dear! I‘m Effie, and this is Monty," James' mother says as she pulls
Regulus in for a hug. He can’t even do anything about it. He is just pulled in, wrapped in her
warmth, before he is released again. Then, James' father extends his hand, and Regulus
shakes it. He doesn’t want to be unfriendly in any capacity, but these are James' parents, for
god‘s sake, and this is not how Regulus pictured meeting them for the first time.

Oh god, they think that James and Regulus are dating, don’t they? How would they know that
James only said that in order to get him out of that uncomfortable situation? Regulus turns his
head, and the stupid guy who caused all of this still stands there and watches the whole
interaction. Why is he still there? Why doesn’t he fuck off?

"You didn’t tell us about your boyfriend, James," his mother says, but she doesn’t sound
accusing. No, she sounds a bit surprised, but if Regulus isn’t completely off track, she sounds
curious above anything.

"Er, well, we‘ve only been dating for a few weeks," James explains, and his hands find their
way to Regulus' waist again. All Regulus wants is for the ground to swallow him whole. He
wants to exit this situation as fast as possible. He can’t just stand here with James' parents
while they think that Regulus is dating their son. He can’t do that. He can’t. This is going to
kill him. Because now he knows how it must feel like if this was real, if James really
introduced him as his boyfriend to his parents, but it’s not. It’s not real. And still, Regulus
can’t help it. He can’t help but lean into James' touch. He can’t help but smile at James'
parents. He can’t help but let himself sink into the feeling, just for a moment, because if this
is all he can ever get from James, then he will take it. He will take everything, and he knows
that it’s not fake and that it’s going to hurt so much when James' touch leaves him, but for
now, he leans in. Doesn’t pull back.

"Oh, James was so eager to leave earlier, he didn’t even wait for us to finish getting ready,"
James' father—Monty—says with an amused grin. It’s shocking how much he resembles
James. "Eager to see your boyfriend, weren’t you?"

When Regulus turns his head a bit, he sees panic wash over James' face. Shit. James feels
uncomfortable. Regulus made James feel uncomfortable. He starts pulling back, but before he
can get anywhere, James grabs his hand. "Anyway. I promised Reggie another dance. We‘ll
see you later, yeah?" And with that, he pulls Regulus into the sea of dancing bodies.

"Fuck!" Regulus curses as James pulls him closer. He can see that Monty and Effie are still
looking at them, so he doesn’t protest. Not that he would have in any other situation. It was
James who pulled him closer, and when James wants to be close to him, then who is Regulus
to deny? "Now your parents think that we‘re dating. Fuck."

"What was I supposed to do?" James asks, and he shrugs. This doesn’t seem to affect him at
all. He just starts dancing. "That guy was still standing behind us, so I couldn’t tell them that
we‘re not."

"And what are we doing now?"

"I don’t know," James asks, and shrugs again. "I guess you just pretend to be my boyfriend
for the rest of the evening."

And- well. Regulus can do that. Definitely. Staying close to James, dancing with him, flirting
a little, being touched by him? Yeah, Regulus can definitely do that. Maybe, just maybe, he
might be able to show James that it would be quite nice if they were really dating, right?
Maybe. Regulus can try. Hope. He always does.

"Fine," Regulus says reluctantly, but his body language says something else. Under the
pretence of misstepping a little, Regulus pressed himself a bit closer to James than he was
before. And they were close before. If James only knew him a little better, he‘d know that
Regulus never missteps. It has been trained out of him since he could walk, and such things
would never happen to him. But James doesn’t need to know that, does he?

"Good. It’s just tonight. I‘ll- yeah, I’ll find a way to tell my parents the truth."

Regulus has to swallow, but he nods. Of course, it’s only for tonight. Only one night.
Fortunately, the night is still young, or so Regulus thinks. He hasn’t checked the time once,
and that is a true miracle, because usually he watches the hands of his watch crawl forward
whenever he has to attend these kinds of events. It’s James’ magic, for sure.

Maybe Regulus should try and get James to join him more often if his parents keep insisting
on hosting these kinds of ridiculous events. Before that thought can take shape, Regulus has
to stop it. This is a one-time thing. He would need to find a very clever excuse to get James to
do this again. But. But there is no one stopping him from brainstorming a little the next day
in order to find a solution for this problem.

Not right now, though. No. Right now, he is on the dance floor with James Potter, and the
other man has his hands on Regulus' waist, and their faces are close enough that he can smell
the wine in James' breath. That’s what he should focus on.

He is only James' fake boyfriend for tonight, and he has to make the most of it.

They dance until their feet hurt, and then some. They get drinks whenever they need a little
break from dancing, but Regulus doesn’t stay behind and wait for James to come back
anymore. He accompanies him to the bar, never letting more than a few inches of space
between them. He doesn’t need another stupid encounter with some ugly man. So he stays
close to James.

They run into James' parents again, but Regulus is starting to feel a little tipsy from all the
wine and not having eaten anything beforehand, and apart from that, James' touch is making
him feel a little high. It’s a lot, so Regulus isn’t really able to follow the conversation. It
doesn’t matter, though. Regulus just clings to James, and the other man holds him tight while
he talks to his parents.

He is only pulled out of the lovely haze he has retreated to when James turns his face towards
him, and he hears him say, "A little tired, are we?" That makes Regulus attentive enough that
he fully registers what happens next.
James leans even further down and presses his lips against Regulus' temple. It’s a kiss. James
kissed him. He has just been kissed by James. That is- that’s- well. That is fucking wonderful.
All Regulus can do is let the smile light his face up, because he isn’t powerful enough to fight
it. James kissed him. He has felt the shape of James' lips on his skin.

To his parents, James says, "I‘ll make sure he gets to his room safely." If Monty and Effie
react to that, Regulus doesn’t register it. All his attention is focused on James. His lips, his
eyes, the hands that lead Regulus somewhere. He doesn’t know where. He doesn’t need to.
He trusts James blindly, and if James wants to lead him somewhere, Regulus knows that he
wants to be right where James wants to have him.

The surroundings feel familiar, and that’s probably because they are still in the house Regulus
grew up in. Lives in. But it feels different. Maybe it’s just the alcohol. Maybe it’s James. It’s
probably James.

"Hey, are you alright, Reggie?" James asks as they make a turn and they slow down. Next
thing Regulus knows is that they are stopping in front of the door that leads to his room.

"Fine, yeah," Regulus says, and he is rather proud of himself for thinking of saying that.
Good job, he thinks, and mentally pats himself on the shoulder. James smiles at him, and
Regulus deserves a pat on the shoulder for that. Because he made James smile. With
something he said or did, he doesn’t know. He also doesn’t care. Because James smiles at
him.

"Maybe we shouldn’t have had that many drinks," James says as he opens the door to
Regulus' room.

"But you‘re fine," Regulus remarks.

Inside, it looks like a bomb has gone off there. Clothes are everywhere. On the bed, on the
floor, under his desk. Everywhere.

James doesn’t seem to mind, or at least he doesn’t comment. He just shoves the clothes that
occupy the bed onto the floor and then helps Regulus get situated on the bed.

Without many other opportunities, Regulus just relaxes and clothes his eyes. That is, until he
feels someone yank on his shoes. James. James is still here. His eyes open again. He should
have never closed them.

"You‘re undressing me?" Regulus asks, and he is feeling bold enough to smirk a little.

"Only your shoes," James replies very matter-of-factly.

And James is right. He just takes off his shoes, and then he goes to sit right next to where
Regulus lies. The mattress dips in, and it’s not Regulus' fault that he rolls a little closer.

"Did you have fun tonight?"

What a stupid question, Regulus thinks. "Mhm, yeah," he tells James, so he can stop asking
stupid questions. Of course, he had fun. He spent the whole evening with James, talking,
dancing, and getting drunk. What’s better than that?

"That’s good," James says.

Regulus doesn’t know why James is still in his room, honestly. But he is too tired to really
question it. James is there, and James' presence is always so fucking nice, so Regulus feels
great.

He feels his eyes fall close, and that’s when he hears the door open. Moments before he falls
asleep for good, he manages to force his eyes open in time to see James exit his room.

"Stay," Regulus says, but James doesn’t. Maybe Regulus was too late, or maybe he didn’t say
it loud enough or out loud at all, or maybe James simply didn’t want to. Regulus might never
know. But what he does know is how James smells, how his hands feel around Regulus'
waist, and how soft his lips are when they touch his temple. How his laugh makes Regulus'
body vibrate, how his smile makes him melt into a small puddle. How easy it is to follow
James' lead. Yeah, he knows that he is in love with James Potter.
 Questions and Rainy Nights
Chapter Summary

A family game night and conflicting feelings.

Chapter Notes

I hope you enjoy this chapter <3

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Something is wrong. Very wrong. This is not how Regulus usually feels. What the fuck is
this? His eyes won’t open, and his head hurts like a bitch. And there is this noise. What is that
fucking noise?

Okay, first things first. Regulus needs to open his eyes. He can do that. It takes a lot more
effort than it should, but when the task is finally managed, it seems like the smallest problem.

Yes, his head fucking hurts. Why? Why does it hurt so bad?

Oh. Oh no. Memories from last night start becoming clearer and clearer in his mind. The ball.
James. Those ugly men. James' parents. A lot of wine.

Of, fuck. Did Regulus and James really make Monty and Effie think that they date by
accident? And did Regulus get absolutely drunk afterwards?

Regulus groans and rubs a hand over his eyes. He fucked everything up, didn’t he? Fuck. His
head hurts, and he didn’t close his blinds before he fell asleep, which means the stupid sun
shines right into his face, nearly blinding him. Instantly, way too many comparisons between
James and the sun come to his mind, and Regulus has to stop that immediately because he is
hungover and he has to find out how bad last night was in terms of Regulus' chances of
getting a real date with James.

And there is still that fucking noise. What the hell is that fucking noise? Regulus sits up
despite the heavy protest in his head. He has to find out where that noise comes from.

Ah, there is the source of that torture. His phone. It’s ringing. Someone is calling. Regulus
reaches for it and answers the phone without checking who it is, and definitely without
thinking. Blame it on the hangover.
Normally, there are just three people in the world who call him. Evan, Barty, and Sirius. For
all of them, the grunted, definitely annoyed "What?" he grumbles into the phone is
appropriate.

But he didn’t think. And therefore, he is not prepared to hear James fucking Potter‘s cheery
voice.

"Hi, Reggie, good morning," he says, and he sounds so lovely. He sounds happy and not tired
at all, but then again, he wasn’t as drunk as Regulus. Was he drunk at all?

"Fuck," Regulus curses and scrambles up. Why? He doesn’t know. He just heard James'
voice, and he knew that he had to do something, and now there he is, awkwardly standing in
the middle of his room, his phone pressed against his cheek.

"Sorry to bother you. I didn’t know when you‘d be awake, but, uh- I left a glass of water and
an ibuprofen on your bedside table. Did you see it?"

"No," Regulus says, but he goes to check immediately. Indeed, there is a glass of water and a
small white pill next to it. Regulus has no memory of that happening.

He puts the phone on speaker and takes the pill, then empties the whole glass. He didn’t even
notice how thirsty he was until the cold liquid ran down his throat. Did water always taste
this fucking good?

"Reggie?"

"Yes, still here," Regulus says. He regains control over his senses and his body, and he
realises that he might have come across as a bit rude. But James can’t think that he is rude.
He needs to like Regulus. Needs to want to have a real date with Regulus.

"Okay, great."

Silence. Why did James call? He doesn’t say anything. Shit, maybe he wants Regulus to
apologise for last night. It was probably the worst night of James' life. First he couldn’t spend
it with his friends, Sirius and Remus, because he had to hang around with Regulus, then
Regulus put them in a stupid situation where they led his parents to believe that they were
dating, and then he got so drunk that he needed to be escorted to his room. Regulus is so
sorry.

"Listen, Ja-" Regulus starts, but simultaneously, James says, "I wanted-"

"Sorry, you first," James says, because he is always nice. Regulus envies every single person
who gets to experience this kindness from James. A selfish little part of Regulus wants to
have it all for himself.

"Right, well. I just wanted to apologise for last night. I‘m sorry."

"Wait, what? What for?" James asks, and he sounds genuinely confused.
"For-" Regulus gestures around the room vaguely, faintly remembering that though James is
on speaker, he still can’t seem him. "For everything."

"Er, okay," James says. "Don’t remember anything that you could possibly apologise for, but
alright."

Regulus is too tired to argue. Too tired to explain to James that he doesn’t need to be nice to
him right now. It’s okay if he dislikes Regulus for what happened last night. Okay, maybe not
okay, but he would understand.

"Anyway, I also wanted to talk about last night." Regulus stomach clenches, and he feels like
he is about to throw up. It’s not the alcohol, that much he knows. It’s the fact that James is
about to break his heart. James is only calling to make sure that Regulus doesn’t think last
night meant anything to James. He wants to cry. But he waits. He needs to hear this. James
needs to tell him this. Maybe he can move on, then. He knows he won’t, but he can try.

"Sooo… Well, I told you that I’d tell my parents the truth about us, but I- I couldn’t. They
were so happy for me—for us—and I was kind of tipsy, and I didn’t know how to tell them.
So, anyway. I didn’t tell them, and now they made me call you in order to invite you over."

"What?" Regulus asks. Because. Like, what? This is not what he expected at all.

"It’s family game night this evening, and they want you to be here. You know, since they
think that you‘re my boyfriend, they want to make sure that you know that you‘re like- part
of the family. So, are you coming?"

Stunned, Regulus stares at his phone. He pinches himself, once, twice, three times, but he
still doesn’t wake up. It’s not a dream. Fuck. James is asking him to hang out with him and
his family. That’s literally one of Regulus' dreams.

"But- but I’m not your boyfriend," Regulus points out. Unnecessarily. James knows that.

"I know," James assures him. "I know that. But, well, my parents said not to accept a no.
They are so excited, planning what to cook and everything. Please, Reggie. I can’t tell them. I
just can’t. Not yet. Just today, okay? I‘ll think of something, and then you‘ll never have to
pretend to be my boyfriend ever again."

James sounds desperate. And the worst part is that Regulus didn’t know that he could sound
like this, and that’s why he wasn’t prepared at all. And, well. For James, he is weak. So weak.
He wants James to be happy and overly optimistic and excited, like he usually is. And he
knows, logically, that nobody can be happy all the time, but right now, Regulus can influence
it. He can make James happy. Do him a favour. That would just be nice of him, right?

Yes, there are some selfish thoughts that mingle with those more selfless ones. One more
night of getting to touch James and pretend he is Regulus'. One more night of being close to
him. One more night with him.

"So, just dinner and game night?" Regulus says that, as if it’s not the most exciting thing that
has ever happened to him. He thinks that he is doing a great job of keeping his cool.
"Yes, exactly. Nothing huge. They just want to get to know you, but I‘ll tell them not to be
intrusive or anything. Actually, you don’t have to talk at all if you don’t want to." James
sounds a bit breathless, but a hint of his usual excitement is back in his voice. It makes
Regulus' heart flutter.

And Regulus knows damn well that it’s not the best idea to do this. He knows that in the end,
he‘ll only get hurt, and James will regret having asked him in the first place, but that’s a
future-Regulus problem.

"I- are you sure?" He asks. He needs to hear James confirm this again. Confirm that he wants
Regulus to come over to his house so he can meet his parents.

"Yes. Please. My parents are going to be so happy, and we‘ll have a nice evening. I promise.
I‘ll- I’ll owe you."

Regulus breathes in and sighs. He pretends to think, but his decision is already made. He‘s
going to do it. He is going to have James for one more night.

"Fine."

"Oh, thank god. My parents are going to be so happy! Thank you," James says. The smile is
audible in his voice. And that’s Regulus’ work. The smile—which he can’t see, but he knows
for a fact that it’s there—is only for Regulus. How fucking exciting!

"When am I supposed to be there?" Regulus asks. He needs that phone call to be over soon
because he can feel a childlike excitement bubble inside. And he feels like he can’t hold it
back much longer. James absolutely cannot hear that, under any circumstances.

"Er, I’ll ask my parents, and then I’ll text you, yeah? I was honestly a little scared that you‘d
say no, especially after last night. I- I wasn’t too pushy, right? I didn’t make you
uncomfortable?"

"What? No!" The mere fact that James could think that confuses Regulus, and for some
reason, it makes him a little angry. "You were really nice. I expected the whole evening to be
fucking awful, but I actually had fun. With you. It was fun, right?"

"Yeah, it was," James agrees. "Especially when you told my parents that story about how you
got stuck in the slide near your house when you were little, and Sirius and I had to come
rescue you."

"I- what?" Regulus does not remember telling that story. Was he that drunk?

James laughs at the other end of the line, and Regulus knows that it’s ridiculous, but he picks
up his phone from where it sat on the bedside table, and he cradles it in his hands as if it’s
James' face. That laugh sounds so lovely.

"I had a feeling that you wouldn’t have told them that story if you had been sober," James
chuckles. "That’s why I dragged you away shortly after that. Figured you‘d have wanted me
to rescue you from that situation."
"I- yes. Thanks." Now Regulus is really glad that James can’t see the blush on his cheeks.

"Yeah, 'course. Actually, before I forget it. Do you have any allergies or something? Any type
of food you can’t stand? My mum was very specific about what information she needed from
you."

This is how it must feel like if you‘re in heaven. Because, what? Even if this is not real,
James' parents still approve of Regulus as their son’s boyfriend. That’s fucking exciting to
think about. It was their idea; they made James invite Regulus in the first place. They are
asking James to make sure Regulus isn’t allergic to anything they have at their house.
Nobody has ever asked Regulus about his allergies. Nobody’s parents ever cared about him
this much, and it almost makes Regulus cry. This family is willing to adapt the course of the
evening to Regulus.

"Uh, I’m allergic to peanuts, but apart from that, I eat everything," Regulus says, and he fails
to hide the huge smile on his face. If only James knew how much this means to him.

"Alright, I’ll let my mum know."

There is some silence, because Regulus doesn’t know what to say. It’s- it’s a lot. Those
bubbling feelings inside of him need to get out right now.

"Okay, tell her thank you."

"I will."

"Good. So, you‘ll text me when I should be at your place?"

"Yes, definitely."

"Alright. See you then."

Before James can say anything else, Regulus hangs up, throws his phone away, and falls
headfirst onto his bed. He takes one of his pillows and screams into it. There is just so much
going on inside of him, and he doesn’t know how else to get it out. So screaming it is. They
are not angry screams. More like screams of triumph, like people who just won in sports or
something—Regulus doesn’t know very much about that sort of thing, but he has seen people
screaming in happiness after winning a race or winning a match. He imagines that those
people must feel a tiny bit like he is feeling now. Only they never got to experience James
Potter inviting them over to their house to spend some time with his family.

Right. As soon as Regulus is done letting all his feelings out—it takes way longer than he
would like to admit, but it’s James, so what did he expect—he has a message from James. He
is supposed to be at his house around six o’clock, and he also sent his address along with a
small text, thanking Regulus again for coming over. Not that the address is really necessary.
He was there before, only a handful of times, and it’s been ages since he was there, but
Regulus wouldn’t forget where James Potter loves. Come on. But the good thing is that
James doesn’t seem to suspect any hints of Regulus' crush on him.
Glancing at his watch, Regulus has to realise that it’s already two p.m. How long did he
sleep, exactly? It doesn’t matter now. He needs to get ready.

He starts with a shower, then brushes his teeth. Then, he focuses on his hair. Sirius has lots of
nice products for his hair, and fortunately, Regulus is quite good at stealing them, so he now
has a considerable collection of his own hair products. He does his best to make his curls
look soft and just the right amount of tousled. It’s not the easiest thing to do, but when he is
finally done, he walks back into his room and realises that his hair wasn’t even the biggest
problem. Because what is he going to wear? He can’t be dressed up too much because this is
supposed to be a family game night kind of thing, but he has lots of people to impress. Effie
and Monty need to like him, just in case he really starts dating their son, and he has to
impress James, of course. He needs to realise that Regulus would be the perfect boyfriend for
him. So, what is he going to wear?

Briefly, he considers asking Sirius for advice, but he doesn’t know when he went to sleep last
night, and therefore he doesn’t have any information on his state of wakefulness. And a tired
Sirius is not a very pleasant Sirius to be around. Plus, he would have to explain where he
goes and why he goes to see James. He doesn’t want to have this conversation right now
because he isn’t sure if Sirius would support this decision. He needs to figure this one out on
his own.

Most of his clothes are still lying around on the floor, and Regulus is incredibly embarrassed
by the thought that James saw his room in this state. But he doesn’t have time for this right
now. So Regulus goes to work. He inspects all the clothes that lay around, throwing the ones
that might be appropriate and are not too wrinkled on the bed.

In the end, he goes for those black slacks he likes to wear because they are comfortable, and
Barty always tells him that his arse looks good in them, so maybe James will think the same.
One can dream. After a lot of thought, he goes for his favourite green jumper. It’s a bit too
big for him, which means he can hide himself a bit in case he feels uncomfortable. Of course,
the necklace and the rings he usually wears must not be missing, so he puts them on.

He has about forty-five minutes left, and he decided to walk to James' house in order to calm
down a bit, which will take him about twenty minutes. So he has some time left. He goes
downstairs to the kitchen and looks for something to eat. Nothing huge; he knows that he is
invited to dinner, but he hasn’t eaten all day, and if there will be alcohol, it’s a good idea to
have something in his stomach.

"Where are you going?" Sirius asks, startling Regulus almost to death.

"Fuck, don’t sneak up on me like that."

"I do whatever I want." Remus, who walked into the kitchen right behind Sirius, snorts at
that. He prepares tea, while Sirius lifts himself up the kitchen counter. "Now answer my
question."

"I don’t know why you just assume that I’m going somewhere," Regulus says, desperately
hoping that Sirius will drop it, but he knows his brother.
"You were pretty drunk last night. Or so I’ve heard, at least. You don’t just get yourself ready
like that for nothing." Part of Regulus cringes at hearing this. Obviously, James told him
about last night; Regulus expected that, but it still feels weird, still makes him feel
uncomfortable.

"Well, maybe I just-"

"Cut the bullshit," Sirius interrupts him. "James already told me that you are going over to his
place for a family game night."

"If you already know it, then why do you ask, you idiot?" Regulus asks. He is not exactly
surprised by the fact that James has already told Sirius. He probably complained about
having to spend yet another evening with Sirius' annoying little brother. That thought is not
exactly nice.

"Are you going to tell him that you like him?" Remus asks, and now that surprises Regulus.

"Sirius, you told him?" He asks in disbelief, glaring at his older brother. Why would he tell
Remus? Remus and James know each other quite well. They talk.

"It slipped out, okay? I didn’t mean to. But he won’t tell James, right?"

Remus smiles kindly at Regulus, and he says, "Nah, of course not."

"Right," Regulus says, and he moves to leave the kitchen. He is not hungry anymore. Maybe
he‘ll just leave earlier. He‘ll just walk slower than usual.

"Reggie, where are you going?"

"Why do you always ask stupid questions?"

Regulus enters the hall, and he searches for his headphones, which must be in the pocket of
one of the jackets that he previously wore. He always forgets them there, and then it takes
him ages to find them. Unfortunately, it takes him long enough for Sirius to follow him.

"Are you sure about this?" Sirius asks. He doesn’t sound teasing; he sounds genuinely
concerned.

"What do you mean? I‘m sure James told you all about what is going to happen tonight. He
just needs me to pretend to be his boyfriend; that’s all."

With a sigh, Sirius crosses his arms. "Reggie, you like him. I really think this would be so
much easier for both of you if you just told him that you liked him."

"I can’t do that," Regulus says with some finality.

"But just-"

"No," Regulus cuts in. "I know what I’m getting myself into."
"Do you, though?"

"Yes," Regulus says, finally holding his headphones in hand.

"Alright. Just be careful, okay? Don’t get your heart broken."

Regulus turns his back toward his older brother. That’s not really in his hands, is it? If there is
anyone who could break his heart, it’s James. What could Regulus do about it? Nothing. So
he just puts on his shoes, then his jacket, and when he turns around, Sirius is still standing
there, arms crossed and his brows furrowed.

"Text me if you need anything, yeah?"

Regulus nods, but he doesn’t know what he could possibly need. James is going to be there.
Everything else is going to be irrelevant. He is going to go through whatever pain it takes if it
means he gets to spend time with James. Maybe he‘ll kiss his temple again. Maybe he‘ll kiss
another part of Regulus. Maybe his cheeks. Of his forehead. Or, if he is really lucky, his
mouth.

Without looking back, Regulus opens the door and leaves.

He knows that the situation is not ideal. The opposite, actually. Ideally, he would be on his
way to a real date with James, so his parents could meet his real boyfriend. But Regulus takes
what he gets. He‘ll take everything James is willing to give him, even if it’s just fake. He
doesn’t care.

He puts his headphones in and searches for the playlist he made a few years ago. It’s called
'JFP', and it consists exclusively of songs he heard James say he likes. He has a different one
with songs that remind him of James—there are maybe a few hearts too many in the title—
but a lot of them are slow love songs with themes like yearning and such, and it’s not the vibe
he is looking for. No, he needs the sort of energetic, upbeat songs that James goes on and on
about. They are quite motivating, and motivation is what he needs right now. Because with
every step, he gets closer to James' house, and his knees are getting a bit wobbly.

Faster than he thought, he stands in front of James' door. He is ten minutes early, but that’s
alright. He can wait. Or should he knock? Is it weird to just stand in front of someone’s door
for ten minutes? Probably. Maybe he should just knock. He lifts his hand, but he can’t
convince himself to connect his hand to the door. Is he really going to do this now? Is he
going to have dinner with James and his parents? Oh god, maybe he didn’t think this through.

So now there is only one option. He has to just force himself to knock. Because he can’t
leave now. Because he wants to spend time with James, and this is all he gets. He decided to
do this, so he is going to do it now. The fact that the sky darkens and the first few drops of
rain fall from the sky also helps him make this decision.

He knocks. Three times. And then he tries to get his breathing under control while he waits
for someone to open the door. It takes ages, or maybe it’s just a few seconds. Regulus doesn’t
know. But as soon as the door opens, he nearly has a heart attack.
Monty stands in front of him, smiling almost as brightly as James usually does. "Hello,
Regulus," he greets him. "Come in!"

And so Regulus does. He was hoping that James would open the door so he could talk to him
for a moment before they do this. Before Regulus has to pretend that he has everything he
ever wanted while knowing that it’s not real. But it is what it is.

It smells amazing, though Regulus can’t tell what it is exactly. The smell comes from the
kitchen, and from the same place, some faint music can be heard. Regulus wonders if that’s
the Reggaeton James told him about.

"Effie and I made a traditional Puerto Rican meal called Mofongo. It’s one of James'
favourite, so we figured you might like it as well." He winks at Regulus and then takes his
jacket off as soon as Regulus shrugs it off. The implication of that is something Regulus has
to push to the back of his mind because he can’t deal with it just now.

While Regulus fights with the laces of his shoes, James comes thundering down the stairs. If
Regulus did that at home, his parents would send him to bed without dinner for his behaviour,
but James' father doesn’t seem to mind at all. He just lets James do his thing, and once again,
Regulus feels a rush of affection for James and his family. James passes his father and stops
right in front of him.

His hair is less messy than usual. Apparently, James really put effort into trying to tame it,
and Regulus doesn’t like it at all. He prefers James' messy hair. It makes him want to reach
out and ruffle his hair until it’s messy again. But he doesn’t. Instead, he takes his whole
appearance into account. He is wearing a red shirt and jeans. That itself isn’t really special at
all, but the way those fabrics hug his body tight in all the right places makes Regulus
question whether it was intentional or not. Whether James knows what effect those clothes
have on any mortal and whether he put them on specifically for Regulus. He likes to pretend
that he did. For tonight, he is James' boyfriend, and he allows himself to be a bit delusional
today.

"Hi, Reggie," he says, and as soon as his shoes are off, he hugs Regulus. His hands sneak
around his waist, and so Regulus has no choice but to wrap his hands around the slightly
taller man’s neck. From this position, he can nuzzle his face into the crook of James' neck,
and he does so because Monty is still in the hall with them. And that’s what he is here for,
right? To make James' parents believe that they are dating. Hugging is part of that.

The hug goes on for a bit too long, but Regulus doesn’t want to be the first one to let go, and
so he doesn’t. Monty clears his throat and says, "Well, just come into the kitchen whenever
you‘re ready."

He leaves, and James pulls back instantly. It takes a lot for Regulus not to wince at that.
"How are you?" He asks, tugging a strand of Regulus' hair behind his ear. James' hand
brushes his cheek, and the skin there feels like it has been set on fire. James' touch is electric.

"I‘m fine, yeah," he croaks.

"That’s good. So, about today. We‘re going to have dinner, and then we‘ll move over to the
sitting room and play some board games or cards, I’m not sure. If anything or anyone makes
you feel uncomfortable, you tell me, and I’ll take care of it. If you want to leave early at some
point, that’s alright. Just let me know before, and we‘ll come up with something, okay?"
James takes a small break, but after a beat, he starts babbling again. Is he nervous? "My
parents want to get to know you, so they‘ll probably ask questions, but I told them not to be
rude or anything. But I think maybe we should agree on, like, a story about how we met, how
you- you know, became my boyfriend."

Regulus hums. It seems logical. Effie and Monty seem to really care about their son; they
seem to be interested in his life, the people he is close with. "Well, you‘re my brother’s best
friend. That’s how we met, and that’s not even a lie." James nods enthusiastically. "And you
already told them that it’s only been a few weeks."

"Yeah. Okay. We‘ll just say that we’ve been into each other for quite some time, and then one
evening it kind of happened. We don’t have to go into detail. When they ask, we‘ll just let
them know that we want to keep it between us. They’ll understand."

Regulus shrugs in a way that means he agrees. "Alright." It’s not entirely a lie. In a parallel
universe, it’s probably the truth. Regulus has been into James for quite some time, so he
wouldn’t even be lying about that. It’s just the part where James actually reciprocates the
feeling and where they start dating, which is not true.

"And if they want to know anything else about our relationship, we just improvise." James
waits for the nod that means confirmation, and then he breathes in, holds it for a moment, and
breathes out again. "Alright. Are you ready? Should we go in?"

"Yeah, okay."

To his great surprise, James takes his hand, and then he leads Regulus down the hall into
what is probably the kitchen. Before they walk through the door, James squeezes Regulus'
hand once, and it’s just a small touch, but it means the world to Regulus. It says I‘m here, and
it says it‘s going to be alright. It’s encouragement from James, and that means that he cares
about Regulus, about how he feels. He cares enough about Regulus to want to reassure him,
and that makes his heart beat faster.

Or maybe that’s just the result of both Effie‘s and Monty‘s heads turning around in sync
when they step into the room.

"Oh, hello, dear," Effie says, abandoning the pot that she was stirring in favour of crossing
the room. "Did you find here okay?" She hugs him again, and he feels a little awkward, but
he just goes along with it. She is nice; it’s just that Regulus doesn’t really know how to deal
with motherly affection. Not Effie‘s fault, though.

"Yes," Regulus says. "Thank you so much for the invitation," he adds, because his parents
didn’t teach him much, but they did teach him manners. Or, they forced manners onto him,
but the result is the same.
"Of course, dear." Effie pulls back and starts bustling around the kitchen. "We want to meet
the boy who stole our son‘s heart, right, Monty?"

Monty smiles at Regulus, and he hopes the blush that creeps into his cheeks isn’t too obvious.
Against Regulus' expectations, James doesn’t comment. He just squeezes Regulus' hand,
reminding him that their hands are still intertwined, and then he leads them towards the large
dining table.

"So, how long has this been going on for?" Effie asks conversationally while she carries a pot
to the table. James and Regulus sit down, though Regulus feels a bit uneasy about not helping
James' parents at all. They keep bringing pots and bowls to the table, and it would go a lot
faster if James and Regulus helped them, but they probably want to be nice and not ask
Regulus for help. They could, though.

"Only a few weeks," James responds, and he squeezes Regulus' hand once again. Their hands
are now laying on James' leg, and it takes everything in Regulus not to keep staring at the
exact point where their hands are joined, at the spot where James keeps Regulus' hand in his
by pressing it against his leg. If Regulus was alone, he would maybe squeal a little. He has to
remember to cast a silencing charm on his room when he gets home tonight so he can
properly react to everything that happened and is going to happen this evening without his
brother hearing. Sirius is never going to leave him alone if he overhears him being overly
excited about a fake date with James.

Once everyone sits down, a bowl is being passed around, and everyone starts filling their
plate. From home, Regulus is used to not being allowed to speak during dinner, but
apparently that rule doesn’t exist in the Potter‘s house. It’s more like when Sirius and
Regulus get to have dinner alone because their parents are on one of their many trips.

"So, Regulus? What do you think?" Monty asks, nodding towards the food.

"Oh, it’s delicious. Very good," he replies once he has swallowed.

"Lovely," Effie says. "Usually, James helps us cook, but someone was quite nervous about
you coming here." James clears his throat and shakes his head, as if to tell his mother to stop
talking, but to Regulus' delight, Effie doesn’t. "He couldn’t decide what to wear; he changed
about a hundred times, and when you knocked, all we heard from his room was a gut
wrenching scream about how you‘re early and how he wasn’t ready yet."

Regulus smiles. Brightly. Maybe brighter than he ever has. James was worried about his
appearance—about the way he looks? That’s good. It’s good because it means that even if
James isn’t in love with Regulus, he still cares about what he thinks about him. It also means
that James has absolutely no clue that Regulus finds him attractive and incredibly beautiful,
no matter what he wears or the state he is in. And that’s also good. Because if he knew, he‘d
either make fun of Regulus for thinking that or he‘d turn into the most arrogant fucker
around.

"Well, sorry for being a little early," Regulus says, turning to look at James. He is staring
down at his plate, and if Regulus isn’t mistaken, he is blushing. Well, James can count
himself very lucky that his skin hides most of the blush, because with Regulus' pale skin,
every little blush is visible, and he can’t ever hide from that. Still, Regulus is sure that he sees
a little blush, and it makes him smile even brighter.

"'S fine," James says, then clears his throat and looks up again. "So, what game are we
playing later?" The way he tries to change the subject is not very subtle, but no one at the
table mentions it.

Monty starts going through four or five games they apparently play usually, wanting to hear
Regulus' opinion on them, but he doesn’t know any of them. At home, Sirius and Regulus
don’t have any boar games or card games, except for a chess board, but you can’t play that
with four players. So in the end, James has to decide which game to play.

"You know what Regulus might like best, James. You chose," Monty says.

They finish eating, and Regulus helps Effie clear the table while James and Monty move to
the sitting room already, preparing the game.

"You‘re Sirius' little brother, yeah?" Effie asks, and Regulus feels a little scared, being
questioned without James by his side. His presence grounds him, but from what he gathered,
Effie seems like a nice enough person. She wouldn’t ask any personal questions, so Regulus
tries to relax.

"Yes," he says, and he does his best to smile, but he just masters an incredibly fake one. He
doesn’t know where this leads, and he feels a bit uneasy.

"It took me a little while to put two and two together, honestly," Effie says. She smiles at him
in a way that suggests that there is some mutual understanding between them; only Regulus
doesn’t know what Effie is talking about. He decides to just smile and see where this goes.
He can’t do much else.

"We used to hear a lot about you when you were in school, but a few years ago, that stopped.
I assumed he had gotten over his little crush on you, but I guess it never fully went away." At
this point, Effie winks at him. Regulus just stands there and doesn’t know what to do with
himself. He doesn’t feel like he was supposed to have this piece of information. It feels
wrong to have it. James used to have a crush on him? About a million questions start rising.
When was that? For how long? What did he tell his parents about Regulus? Did Sirius know?
Why didn’t he say or do anything to let Regulus know? In hindsight, Regulus doesn’t think
he was very subtle during the early stages of his crush on James, so if there was a time where
James liked him back, did he just not notice Regulus' crush on him? And also, when did
James stop having a crush on him?

Of course, he can’t ask any of those questions. The only thing he can do is keep listening. "I
was a bit surprised to see you together at the ball, but I‘m happy for him. And for you. I‘m
glad you found back to each other."

And suddenly, it’s very hard not to cry. The urge surfaces, and his eyes start prickling, but he
can’t start crying now, standing in the kitchen with James' mum. How could he possibly
explain this? How should he explain that he desperately wishes that everything Effie just said
was true? It’s not, and he has to smile through the pain that almost rips his heart out of his
chest, and he has to blink his tears away.

Luckily, Effie is busy with the plates, so Regulus has some time to collect himself. "Yeah.
Yeah, I’m glad, too," he finally croaks, and Effie looks up, smiling kindly. She seems to
interpret his behaviour as nervousness, which is fine. She doesn’t suspect anything.

Maybe all of this wasn’t a good idea at all. Maybe Sirius was right. Because hearing all of
this is fucking hard. It’s like he has everything he ever wanted, like it’s within reach, but he
can’t fully grasp it. Can’t reach out and take it. Because it’s not his to take. It’s like he is
standing in a pool full of water, the water rising up to his chin, and he is so fucking thirsty,
but every time he tilts his head to take a sip, the water pulls back. Right there, but still out of
reach. That’s James. And Regulus is starving.

"Come on," James says, poking his head into the kitchen. He smiles at his mother and then
extends his hand. And Regulus has no choice. He is being pulled in by James' gravity, and he
knows that he is burning himself. He is Icarus, flying closer and closer to the sun, testing the
limits because the feeling is so thrilling, and somewhere in the back of his mind he hears a
voice screaming that he is too fucking close to the sun, but he won’t stop. Icarus didn’t stop,
and neither does Regulus. Icarus falls from the sky, and Regulus takes James' hand,
wondering how much closer he can get to the sun before he is burning, before he is falling.
He won’t stop until he is falling.

Outside, a storm is forming, making the trees Regulus can see through the window sway in
the wind and bend whenever a particular hard blow of wind rustles through them. Rain
splatters against the class, as if to warn Regulus.

They settle down around a small table, sitting on the floor. There are several stacks of cards
prepared on the table, and Regulus has no idea what is going to come.

While Monty explains the rules, Regulus tries so hard to focus, but it’s rather difficult to do
that when James decides to sit down so close to him that their thighs are touching. And it also
doesn’t help that James grabbed his hand again and is now rubbing slow circles on the back
of his hand with his thumb. He tries to understand the rules, but he doesn’t.

In the end, Monty decides that Regulus and James should play as a team for the first round so
he can try and understand the game this way. It’s a good idea. At least Regulus thinks so.
Until James picks up the cards and then uses the opportunity to lay his arm around Regulus,
pulling him closer. Now, Regulus is pressed into James' side, trapped by the arm that holds up
the cards so both of them can see them, and even though everything in Regulus shouts at him
to pull back, to leave, he doesn’t. He stays right where he is, and he even nuzzles closer
because, honestly, he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. He‘ll take everything he can, so
when he inevitably falls, at least he has some nice memories to hold on to. To cry to.
Whatever. He has the knowledge of how James' body feels against his, and that’s very
important knowledge.

For the entirety of the first round, they stay just like that. Regulus tries to understand what
James is doing, but he is a little busy staring at those beautiful hands that are holding the
cards. With his current position, Regulus is also quite close to James' chest, which means he
feels the vibrations of the other boy’s laugh in his very bones. And James laughs a lot.

Sometimes it’s loud and cheery, especially whenever they make a good move—at least
Regulus assumes. Sometimes his laugh is gleeful, but it borders on nasty whenever his
parents seem to make a less good move. But Regulus' favourite one is that small, breathy
laugh he does sometimes. It’s more like a little exhale, and he always hears it after James
asks him to decide which moves to make next. Regulus supposes that he knows too little
about the game, but James asks about his opinion anyway. It’s quite nice.

The best part is that every time Regulus suggests something that is actually a good move,
James praises him. He says things like, "Very good move," or "Yeah, that’s clever," and while
doing so, he seems to inch closer every time.

And finally—Regulus doesn’t know why or how—the first round is over, and James and
Regulus won.

"Well, done," Monty congratulates them, and Effie smiles while collecting the cards.

"We‘re a good team," James says, and smiles. Regulus turns his head a little, and then,
without any kind of warning, James leans down and kisses his cheek.

It’s only a very small kiss, but the heat of James' lips lingers on Regulus' cheek. He wishes
that those lips would leave a mark, so he could look at it in the mirror and always remember
the moment James kissed his cheek. It’s the second time that it happened, and now that he is
sober and fully understanding the situation, it feels magical. Yes, Regulus is swooning, but he
doesn’t care.

Only a few long moments later, Regulus notices that James has already turned his head again,
focusing on his mother, who is dealing the cards for a second round. But Regulus is still
frozen in the position he was in when James kissed him, and when he finally regains control
over his mind again, he realises that he must have been smiling like an idiot the whole time.

He clears his throat and pulls back a little, focusing on the cards on the table as well. But
when he looks up, he catches Monty‘s eyes, and he smiles at him with those kind eyes that
are so similar to James'.

Oh god, what have they gotten themselves into? How is this not going to end up in flames?
Regulus feels panic rise in him, but before it can bubble up and reach the surface, Monty
interrupts his train of thoughts.

"Regulus, do you want to try and play on your own?" He asks.

No, actually. He‘d like to let himself sink into James again and not focus on the game at all,
but he can’t admit that. So he nods and scoots away from James. Only a few inches, though.
He is still very close, but now he is not practically sitting in his lap anymore. For a few
seconds, he mourns that loss.
The next few rounds they play are quite fun. For the first three of them, Regulus has a hard
time focusing on his moves and the conversation that is going on simultaneously, but he
manages. By the fifth round, James' hand that has been sneaking up his legs and is now
resting on his thigh, which is only mildly distracting, and surprisingly enough, he even wins
the sixth round.

Embarrassingly, Regulus squeals a little when he realises that he finally didn’t lose the round,
but what happens then is even more exciting. James opens his arms and doesn’t even wait for
Regulus to sink into them. He hugs him tightly, chanting, "Well done, love," and right then
and there, Regulus melts.

He is enveloped by James, by his strong arms and his scent, and he has just been called love
and a second later, James smacks a kiss on his cheek, dangerously close to the corner of his
lips. Regulus is in heaven. Or maybe this is his own little personal hell, because nothing of
this is real. God, he has to remember that. Nothing if this is real, and while this is truly
amazing in this moment, Regulus knows that soon he has to go home and this will be in the
past. He only has this for today. And he knows that it’s going to hurt when his little bubble
pops, but until then, he can make the most of it, right?

When James lets go of him, Regulus is sure that his cheeks are blushing like crazy, but there
is nothing he can do about it, so he decides to simply ignore it. That seems to be a common
theme with his problems lately, but he decides to ignore that thought as well. Sometimes,
ignorance is bliss.

When the next round begins, Regulus is starting to feel bold. He closes the distance between
them that he created in the first place, and he is delighted when James wraps a hand around
his waist, pulling him closer. Oh, if only this was real. Regulus would wish for nothing else.
Only James by his side, wanting to touch him, to be close to him.

He plays the next round cuddled up against James, and he can see all of his cards, but the
other boy doesn’t seem to mind. Regulus ends up losing again, but this time, James wins.

He throws his hands up in the air, almost startling Regulus to death. Regulus smiles at him
from where his head is resting on his shoulder, and he has the perfect view of James' smile.
He looks so beautiful.

Soon enough, James' celebration is over, and his hands come to rest on Regulus' waist once
more. That alone is something Regulus would be squealing about if he was alone, but when
James turns his head only moments later, moving to kiss the tip of Regulus' nose, it gets very
hard for him to keep his cool. It’s bloody hard, especially when James keeps finding new
places he can kiss while avoiding his lips.

After that, the evening seems to come to an end; the cards are being stored away, but they
stay seated around the table.

"What time is it?" Regulus asks. There isn’t a clock around, which is odd because Regulus'
house is full of old and mostly ugly clocks standing around on every surface, ticking and
driving him insane.
"I don’t know, dear. Let me check," Effie says. She gets up and leaves the room. While she is
gone, nobody says anything, but James still has his hand on Regulus' waist. He doesn’t seem
to intend to remove it any time soon, and Regulus doesn’t want him to.

Instead of staring at James, Regulus busies himself with looking out of the window at the far
end of the room. The storm has picked up, apparently, and the world outside looks pitch
black, except for the bolts of lightning that cut through the sky every few minutes.

"It’s half past eleven," Effie announces when she is back in the sitting room. "But it looks
horrible outside."

Regulus agrees. He would much rather stay here in James' embrace, wrapped in his warmth,
instead of going into the wet mess going on outside, but he fears it’s not an option. He has
enjoyed the Potters' hospitality long enough now, and surely James is tired of having to
pretend to be his boyfriend.

Against what he desperately wants, Regulus untangles himself from James and gets up. "I‘m
sure it‘ll be fine," he says. "Thank you so much for the invitation and the lovely evening."

"No, Regulus, dear. I can’t, in good conscience, let you go out into this storm right now. You
can stay here," Effie says and effectively blocks the door. Regulus could definitely still slip
through, but that would be incredibly rude. So Regulus stays where he is.

"Oh, no, that’s alright," Regulus assures. "It’s only a twenty-minute walk. I‘ll be fine."

Effie shakes her head. Her face is determined, but somehow, she doesn’t look scary like
Regulus' mother does when she is determined to get her way. And she also seems to be
seriously worried about Regulus going out into that storm.

"I‘m sure James can borrow you some pyjamas, right, James?"

"Er, yes, of course," he says, and only then does Regulus notice that the taller boy is standing
right behind him. Monty gets up as well.

"Are you sure?" Regulus asks, fully turning towards James. He has to be able to see every
little twitch of James' face in order to know what he really thinks about this situation.

"I am. Besides, I don’t think there is any way to convince my mum to let you go now," James
says, but he doesn’t look at Effie when he says it. He keeps looking at Regulus with an
intensity that is both a little scary and very exhilarating. James nods slightly and then smiles.
He seems to be okay with Regulus staying.

"Okay," Regulus says.

"Very well." Effie seems very pleased with that, already retreating to the kitchen. "James, you
show him everything he needs, yes? And Regulus, if you need anything, just say the word."

Regulus nods, and as soon as Effie disappears, James takes his hand and leads him up the
stairs and into his room.
It’s a room with big windows and a large bed in the center. There are a few cabinets and
shelves pushed against the wall and a desk with all kinds of things that don’t have anything to
do with studying scattered across it. The curtains are drawn, but Regulus assumes that the
room is very bright when the sun is shining. The walls look like they are painted in a dark red
colour, but it‘s hardly visible because every last inch is plastered with posters, photos, notes,
and drawings.

Some of the posters are from bands Regulus knows because Sirius goes on and on about.
Sirius is also smiling at him from several pictures that hang all over the room. Some are
framed, some are not, but what catches Regulus' attention is one picture in particular. It hangs
right next to James' bed, on the side where he apparently sleeps most of the time, because the
nightstand is full of little trinkets, while the other side doesn’t have a nightstand at all.
Briefly, Regulus wonders if it’s weird that he just inspects James' room like that, but he hears
the other boy bustling around the room behind him, and he assumes that James doesn’t mind.

The picture that caught Regulus' attention is a very old one, but the thing that makes his heart
beat a little faster is that Regulus is in it. It was taken years ago, and Regulus remembers it
quite well. James got a camera for his birthday, and he brought it with him to show his
friends. That day, Sirius let Regulus tag along while they strolled through the woods near
their house, and James was very proud of his camera. He showed everyone how it worked
and even let Sirius and Remus try to take pictures with it. Regulus didn’t dare ask. He was
happy to be included at all, and that’s how this picture had to be taken.

It shows James and Regulus, both sitting on the grass. James is happily smiling into the
camera with a flower crown on his head that Regulus made and gave him just before this
photo was taken. He can’t believe James has this hanging next to his bed, where he sees it
every time he gets up or goes to bed. Strangely enough, this is the first time he doesn’t cringe
at seeing a picture of himself pre-transition.

"Are you sure that this is okay for you?" Regulus asks, turning to look at a picture of James,
Remus, and Sirius when they were older. "Because I know that I am supposed to pretend to
be your boyfriend, but I- well, I don’t have to stay the night. I can just wait for the storm to
calm down a little, or I can wait for your parents to fall asleep and then sneak out."

James is listening to him, and he knows that because he is humming, but he is not looking at
Regulus. Instead, he is rummaging through one of his drawers. When he finds what he was
looking for, he finally looks at Regulus again.

"No, no, absolutely not. Now my mum expects you to be here for breakfast tomorrow, and
she‘ll kill me if I let you go out into the storm. And besides, I don’t want you to go out there
either. Fake boyfriends or not, I don’t want you grilled by a bolt of lightning, and besides, I
don’t mind you staying here."

Regulus nods. "Okay. Well, thank you. I swear, I won’t bother you. I- do you have, like, a
spare mattress or anything? Or, I can also just sleep on the floor; I don’t mind."

James looks at him as if he just said the most out-of-pocket shit ever. "Why would you sleep
on the floor? I have a bed." He points to the bed next to which Regulus stands, as if he hadn’t
noticed it before.
He genuinely doesn’t seem to understand, so Regulus explains, "Oh, I know. I just thought
maybe you don’t want to share a bed since we‘re not actually together."

It’s not clear to Regulus what James thinks. He just shakes his head and says, "I don’t mind
sharing a bed with you." With those words, he hands Regulus some pyjamas that surely are
way too big for Regulus because James is taller than him, but he doesn’t mind. Because they
are James'. And he is going to wear them. To sleep. While sharing a bed with James. Regulus
once again struggles not to squeal.

"The bathroom is down the hall to the right," James tells him a moment later, pulling Regulus
out of his thoughts.

"Alright. Thank you."

He gets ready for bed in a rush, not wanting to occupy the bathroom for longer than
absolutely necessary.

As soon as he is ready, he leaves the bathroom and almost runs headfirst into Monty.

"Sorry," he says, trying to walk past him without bothering him, but Monty seems to have
waited for him, so Regulus stops and looks at him.

The fear about what is coming must be evident in his eyes, because Monty chuckles and says,
"Oh, don’t worry. There are just a few things I have to get off my chest now that I have
officially gotten to know you."

"Okay," Regulus croaks.

"James seems to be quite infatuated with you," Monty states, making it very hard for Regulus
not to crawl out of his skin because James is not. He‘s not. It’s fake. But he stays silent and
lets Monty continue. "He is a sensitive boy, and he seems to care about you a lot. I‘m not
trying to interfere or anything, but I will ask you to be careful. Don’t hurt him."

"I won’t," Regulus promises. And he means it. He momentarily forgot about the fact that
soon James is either going to tell his parents that Regulus and him never dated at all or he‘ll
make up some story about their relationship ending. He just hopes that Monty won’t think
that Regulus broke his promise and hurt his son in any way. The last thing Regulus wants to
do is hurt James.

He enters the room he is going to share with James tonight, and when he does so, James
looks up from where he is sitting on his bed and smiles. He seems to be a bit amused by the
fact that James' pyjama pants are way too long for him, especially at the bottom where the
fabric pools on the floor. Regulus decides to ignore that and just be happy about the fact that
he is being smiled at.

"I‘ll be right back," James says, and leaves the room.

The moment he does so, Regulus' phone rings. He fishes it out of his pocket, and when he
looks at the screen, he groans a little. It’s Sirius. Of course it is. James probably told him
about their little sleepover already, and now Sirius is calling to scold him or something.

"What?" He sighs as he answers the call.

"Reggie," is all Sirius says.

"I know, okay? I couldn’t get out of this. James' mum was convinced to not let me go out into
the storm. She insisted on me staying here," he explains.

In response, Sirius just scoffs. "Honestly, I don’t understand you, Reggie. I know you‘ve been
crushing on him for years now, so why didn’t you just tell him? You‘re in his house right
now, about to stay with him over night. Those are the best conditions to finally confess your
feelings."

"Oh, don’t even start. I know how long it took you to admit that you liked Remus. Don’t be a
fucking hypocrite and leave me alone."

For a moment, Sirius is silent. Then he sighs deeply and dramatically and says, "Fine, have it
your way. But you know that your fears are probably not worth fearing them, right? I bet
James lets you sleep in his bed."

"And?"

"Oh, he does?"

"Yes," Regulus mumbles.

"That’s hilarious," Sirius chuckles. "How was the whole evening anyway?"

"It was fine," Regulus says very vaguely. Best not to tell Sirius about all the times James
touched him, kissed him. Sirius would definitely make fun of him, and additionally, Regulus
doesn’t know how his older brother would react if he and James really did start dating.

"Just fine?" Sirius teases.

"Yes, just fine," Regulus hisses. He is standing in the middle of the room, his face turned
towards the door, so he‘ll see James immediately when he comes in.

"Mhm okay. Well, Reggie, in the end, you have to decide what you want to do yourself. I just
think that you should tell him. This pining you got going on there is getting old, and I think
you‘d really do yourself a big favour by admitting to James already."

Regulus shakes his head, though Sirius can’t see it. He is sure that his older brother still
senses his unwillingness to do what he just asked Regulus to do. "No," he tells Sirius. "And
stop being all up in my business, you nosy fucker. I never should have said anything about
me liking James."

The silence that follows after that is interrupted by James sauntering into the room again.
Regulus panics momentarily after seeing him, and so he holds his phone closer to his ear and
says, "Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow."
"Tell him and get yourself out of this misery," is the last thing he hears Sirius say before he
hangs up.

"Sirius called?" James asks.

With a nod, Regulus confirms this and lays his phone on top of the little pile of his clothes
next to James' bed.

"I texted him that you are going to stay here overnight, so that’s probably why he called?"

"Yes," Regulus says.

"He- what did he say?"

"He just wanted to check on me," Regulus lies, because he can’t tell James that his brother
only called so he could make fun of him for being stupidly in love with James.

James nods and moves towards the bed. Not having any better idea, Regulus follows him.
The room is dark except for the light of the little lamp on James' bedside table.

"I hope my parents didn’t make you feel uncomfortable or anything. Or me," James says as
they both crawl under the covers. He sets his glasses on the nightstand, and Regulus stares a
bit because he has never seen James without his glasses, and his face looks kind of off. Not
entirely bad, but definitely something he is unfamiliar with. Still, he is happy to have seen
James ready for bed, about to sleep, and without his glasses.

As soon as James is in bed, he turns his whole body and looks at Regulus. It makes his heart
beat a lot faster, because once Regulus mimics his position, their faces are laying pretty close
to each other. Thrilling.

"No, no. I didn’t feel uncomfortable at all," Regulus assures, smiling at James to underline
his point.

"Okay, that’s good." James mirrors his smile. "I wasn’t sure if the touching was okay."

And- well. What is Regulus supposed to say to that? That James' touches are going to haunt
him forever? But that he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way?

"It was," Regulus says, and he turns onto his back to stare at the ceiling, because if he keeps
looking at James' lips, he is definitely going to do something stupid. Like kiss him and ruin
everything. He can’t have that. No.

"Thank you," James murmurs, and he also switches to lying on his back. "For tonight, and
like- everything." Then he reaches over to his nightstand and turns off the light.

"No need to thank me. It was a nice evening."

"It was," James agrees. "Goodnight, Reggie."

 "Goodnight." Regulus fights the urge to call him Jamie, like he used to do sometimes when
they were kids, just fooling around.

Apparently, it doesn’t take long for James to fall asleep. Soon his breath evens out, but for
Regulus it’s not that easy. At home, he would be tossing and turning, but right now, he can’t.
He‘d probably wake James, and he won’t do that, so Regulus just lays there, trying his
absolute best to fall asleep. He doesn’t know for how long he just lies there, but eventually,
James inhales deeply, and Regulus turns to look at him for a moment, just in time for James
to scoot closer and throw one of his arms over Regulus' waist. His face is now close enough
to Regulus' neck that he feels his breath against his skin with every single exhale from James.
Carefully, Regulus wraps his own arm around James.

Strangely enough, now, cuddled up against James, wrapped in his sleepy warmth and his
lovely scent, the sleep comes over Regulus within a few minutes.

Chapter End Notes

I kind of just didn’t stop writing because the words just kept coming, so it turned out to
be a bit longer…
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading!!

Let me know what you think <33

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