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Chapter Text

August, One Year Ago

     James was fucked. Utterly fucked. It was the first week of his second year of college and he had really planned on behaving a bit better than he did last year. That was not the case however as James felt every moment two frames after its occurrence and he could taste the powders sour aftertaste in his throat. He didn't care for now though, he just wanted to dance. 

     It was a Wednesday and James was in the middle of some gritty club in Soho absolutely off his head. He had just arrived back in the city a few days ago for uni, leaving behind a very teary eyed Euphemia at his front door. Both James's front door and his mothers presence seemed very far away right now and he could admit he was feeling homesick. However, his friends had managed to convince him all he needed was a good night out. James had lightly protested before being swayed and he could now admit begrudgingly that they were right. College didn't even start until next week anyway, he had reasoned with himself. He was having the time of his life as the lights flashed around him and his head spun faster than the decks he couldn't quite look away from. 

      As James willed himself to look up, he saw Marlene smiling at him while she danced across from him. She had recently cut her hair into a shaggy number that James was a big fan of and he was mesmerised as her choppy bangs bounced while she swished her head from side to side. Marlene had been the first person James had interacted with in university and they had clicked instantly.

      When he was bringing in boxes to his first year dorm, James heard a string of curses coming from the kitchen followed by a loud clatter. Naturally, he had run to the kitchen to help and found Marlene with a frying pan braced in her hand and quite possibly the biggest spider James had ever seen was squished into the wall. Truly squished. James didn't know how Marlene hadn't dented the wall itself. Marlene had looked from the spider to the pan to James, not knowing what to say. 

     "Came to help you, but by the looks of things, it was that spider that I should've been worried about." He smiled at her warmly. "Remind me not to get on your bad side."

     "Fucker came out of nowhere." Marlene had let out a low laugh and the tension collapsed in an instant. She put down the frying pan and held out her hand to James. "Sorry you had to witness the massacre. I don't even know your name."

     "James."

     "Well, sorry for the massacre, James."

     "Better him than me." James replied and Marlene laughed again. They were friends immediately and James utterly adored Marlene, she was the ideal roommate. She was laid back and did her dishes, unlike their other roommate who was an absolute nightmare. Xeno hadn't really done anything except for drugs since he came to university. James and Marlene were glad to see the back of him when they decided to share a house together for second year, though they would miss the free nodges. They managed to find a house through some letting agent that Marlenes mother knew and quickly managed to fill the two free rooms.

     Sirius had been an obvious choice. James had met Sirius on the very first day of college at some party and they had been inseprable ever since. James had arrived late, coming from the club and Sirius was outside having a smoke away from the party and James had drunkenly begged to bum one. Sirius had promptly told him to piss off but eventually after a lot of persuasion, he passed him one. They sat together and chatted about everything under the sun. They talked about music and movies and everything that they both loved and James found himself thinking he could talk to Sirius forever. It was simple, they just got each other straight away. James was certain that they were destined to be best friends and from that moment on, they were. James and Sirius were already practically glued at the hip, so of course he would take one of the rooms in the new house. 

     Sirius was currently off doing whatever the fuck Sirius does. Most probably causing trouble going by his reputation. Sirius was atomic, the absolute life and soul of every room he entered. He was a comfort to everyone, most especially James. His presence was always duly noted. When Sirius laughed, he tipped his head back and let it fill the room. People loved him and most people who met him fell in love with him. Even just a little bit, but James always saw it.

     Personally, James had never been attracted to Sirius. What they had was more than that, it was something on a soul level but of course he could acknowledge that Sirius was pretty. Of course Sirius also knew that he was pretty and was at no obligation to use that fact to his advantage. James couldn't blame anyone for their infatuation, he could understand how people obsessed over Sirius's dark curls and pretty grey eyes, but he had never seen Sirius as anything more than what they were. He was happy for that because this was exactly what they were supposed to be. 

     Mary was obviously the next person to ask to move in. Marlene and her had gone to school together and were practically insepreble. James often thought that they were the female version of him and Sirius. Mary and Sirius got on like a house on fire, sometimes James convinced himself they could be the same person. Mary was absolutely gorgeous, she and Sirius certainly made quite the pair as they got up to their antics. When the two of them danced together, all eyes in the room watched them and they absolutely relished it. Ever the dynamic duo, Mary MacDonald and Sirius Black. 

     They had all packed up and moved in to their new house on Phoenix Rd. last week, doing a draw for who got what room. James had got the smallest one, but he preferred small spaces anyway so was indifferent on the matter. Sirius on the other hand had gotten the biggest room with a small built in wardrobe and had not taken the win with grace. He waved the slip in Mary's face, doing a little celebratory dance before darting up the stairs to claim his stake. Honestly, James thought it made sense for Sirius to get that room seeming as he definitely owned the most clothes and could do with the extra space for his boot collection.

      On their first night, they had opted to stay in and christen the house. They smoked a joint on the rusty patio furniture that their landlord had left in the garage and curled up in the sitting room to watch Grease. Sirius made his famous orange hot chocolate and James made pizza from scratch while the girls walked to the shop for snacks. Their first night had been spent in the sitting room, all of them sleeping in a jumble of limbs on the L shaped couch. It was the perfect night in, but every night since then James has found himself at either a pub, club or party. The only thing that had been getting them all through the hangovers was to start drinking and go out again. James didn't know how much longer his body could keep this up, but he couldn't quite bring himself to care because he just wanted to dance. 

     James looked up so see Marlene in a similar frame of mind. Just this morning, she had barely said a word with her head planted firmly on the table only letting out a slight groan as James slipped her a slice of toast. She ate it in silence, before making a very strange noise as her eyes went wide. She had practically sprinted away from the table then promptly vomited her guts up in the bathroom under their stairs. When Marlene came back, eyes watering a little, she said she felt a lot better and two hours later, she had a bottle of Captain Morgans in her hand. 

     Marlene spun around the dance floor without a care in the world. Her pupils were wider than usual as she looked at James and starting giggling for no apparent reason at all. James started laughing too though he didn't entirely know why. He just knew that when Marlene laughed, he wanted to laugh too. 

     The beat changed suddenly as a familiar song came on and James immediately locked eyes with Marlene. It was Gimme!Gimme!Gimme! by ABBA. This was their song, Sirius played it every time they were having drinks before going out, in fact he had done only a few hours before hand. It never failed to make James and Marlene want to dance and this time was no exception. 

     Except maybe it was because as James's eyes found the guy behind Marlene, he didn't think he could move if he tried. He was utterly fixated on this beautiful boy, whoever he was and could not for the life of him look away. The guy in question was wearing a white chemise that was tight across his torso but the sleeves were loose and flowing. It had delicate cuffs and the top few buttons were open, revealing a chain around his pale neck. His pants were a deep pink and flared out slightly at the base, matching the glitter swiped across his eyelids. He looked magnificent, but James knew that even if this man was wearing a potato sack, he'd be looking at him. The boy was gorgeous.

     His eyes were huge, topped with long black lashes and full eyebrows. James could see every angle in his perfect almost aquiline looking nose and the freckles dotted by the edges of his eyes. He had perfectly angular cheekbones which led to a jaw to match. His hair was a mop of black curls, touching his shoulders slightly. His lips were full so they appeared in a permanent pout as he looked about, making his way to the dance floor with a girl next to him. The girl was beautiful with thick bedazzled butterfly locs that ran down her back, but James only spared her a second before turned back to the boy at her side. James wanted to drink in every detail of him and in the coloured flashing lights, he couldn't even tell what colour the boys eyes were. He was trying to tell, honing in on them when the eyes in question turned to look at him. 

     The guys mouth parted slightly as he made eye contact with James. James still couldn't tell what colour they were but he could see something new in them that hadn't been there before. He was looking at James with something like interest in his eyes, but only for a seconds before he blinked quickly. When he opened his eyes again, it had been replaced with something entirely new as he tilted his head at James. James liked that, oh he liked that a lot. He couldn't help but smile as the boy looked at him, almost teasingly As if to say, 'Caught you staring, what are you gonna do about it?' and James had a lot that he wanted to do about it. 

     "Jesus James, what the fuck are you staring at-" Marlene cut off quickly as she whipped around to face the same direction James was gaping at. Her mouth snapped shut and as James looked at her, he realised she was looking straight at the beautiful girl standing next to him. James had never, not once seen Marlene at a loss for words. If anything, Marlene always had too many words but as she looked at the girl across from her, her mouth remained firmly shut. 

      "One for each of us by the looks of things?" James glanced at Marlene to find her slightly more pink than usual, maybe from the dancing but James highly doubted that. "Come with me? Please?"

     "Yes." Marlene replied instantly, swivelling around to look at James and grasping him by the shoulders firmly. "Okay, James, look at me. We need to get this right, okay? Be fucking cool."

     "Yes." James echoed, turning his gaze away from Marlene back to where the guy had been, finding that his view had been obscured. The floor had filled up significantly, because who could resist ABBA, but it was the first time James was unhappy about that fact. The couldn't see the boy anymore. "Oh for fuck sake! C'mon we need to go find them Marlene, let's go this w-"

       "Oi!" James was cut off as Mary barged up to them, yelling over the music. Her earrings bounced as she spoke and navy eyeliner was smudged across her lower lash line. "There you are for fuck sake, I've been looking for ye for ages! Fucking come on, Sirius is off his tits and keeps trying to flirt with the bouncer. The bouncers loving it of course, but his girlfriend's the bartender. She's threatened to call the police because Sirius is clearly on a bit more than the drink and Sirius responded that he hopes they take him and her boyfriend in so that they can be fuck buddies in jail. Jesus, he doesn't even like the guy, he's just off his chops and that bitch is not happy with him. She rang them ten minutes ago saying someone was causing trouble, we have to go or we're all fucked! Spent ages looking for ye but I knew ye'd be here when ABBA is playing."

     Mary looked frantic, a bit off her chops as well and definitely on the come up. She had taken a bomb of MD about forty minutes ago and needed them to get out of there before it kicked in, that much was clear. She needed to be able to sort it out while she could because this wasn't a problem she could solve in twenty minutes when she was off her tits. James knew they needed to get Sirius and leave, but God did he wish they didn't need to go. 

     "Fuck." He managed to mutter, before looking around the crowd once more. The boy was truly lost in the sea of people and James couldn't spot him and his friend anywhere. Everyone was dancing happily as if James hadn't just lost the love of his life. 'Okay,' he thought, 'that's a bit dramatic but I didn't even get to speak to him. He could have been though, you never know.'

      "Fucking Sirius, of course." Marlene huffed, before throwing up her arms defeated. "Okay, c'mon quick."

      With that, all three of them practically sprinted from the dance floor in search for Sirius. James didn't even get the chance to take a look back as Mary dragged him and didn't stop until they came face to face with Sirius. He was leaning against the wall near the door and James got one look at him before Marlene caught his arm and swung them both through the door. Their house was about a twenty minute walk away, but they sprinted down the first few streets until they were far enough away from the club. A minute or two later, they slowed to a walk and started catching their breath as Sirius laughed slightly.

     "Black. I hate you." Marlene panted. "I hate you so fucking much. Not only have you made me run but you deprived me of the lady."

     "Huh?" Sirius said confused, turning to face Marlene as she gave him a light dig on the shoulder. Not hard enough to leave a bruise, but hard enough for Sirius to let out a small scream. "Ow! What the fuck, McKinnon?"

     "That's karma. I was going to talk to that fucking goddess back there but someone," Marlene rolled her eyes pointedly to Sirius before continuing. "Couldn't keep it in their pants for five fucking minutes."

     "Excuse you, I did keep it in my pants!" Sirius huffed, half joking and half defensive. "I wasn't actually going to shag her boyfriend! I just wanted her to know I could."

     "For fuck sake, Sirius." Marlene couldn't help a tiny smile escaping as she looked at Sirius exasperated. Sirius never failed to make Marlene laugh with his unhinged schemes. "Why?"

     "Just wanted to." Sirius said, but James could tell there was more that he wasn't saying. Sirius had the habit of acting out when any pressure was applied. If you did something, he would lash out and usually regret it soon afterwards. James knew that, so he kept his mouth shut and knew that Sirius would tell him when he was ready to. As they pushed through their front door and collapsed on the couch, Sirius closed his eyes and lay there for a moment as Mary and Marlene chatted. Mary stroked his hair as Sirius plonked his head straight in her lap. He was clearly deep in thought and when he opened his eyes, it was as if he had put on a mask. He smiled at James as if nothing was wrong, but James knew better. James always knew better. 

     It was only eleven o'clock after their night out had been cut short and James found himself grateful for a night in with his best friends despite his loss. They sat about and ate any leftover snacks they could find, chatting and laughing as Sirius recounted the things he had said to the bouncer that night. James was enjoying it all, he really was. However, he couldn't help but feel like something was missing from the night. 

     This night had been his opportunity to talk to that guy and James had missed it. James hadn't spoken to him, he hadn't gotten to know what colour his eyes were and he didn't get to tell him that he was the most beautiful thing that James had ever seen. The chance had been whisked away from him and without having so much as a name, the chances he'd ever get to see him again were slim to none. James wouldn't get to know what his voice sounded like or what his favourite colour was and he hated that. James hated that he could've done all those things, but it simply wasn't to be. Not tonight and not for James. 

     He found that even as he tried to enjoy the next few hours as they lay around, he couldn't help but come up with a list in his brain of things he'd like to know about that boy. The short answer was everything, but the long answer was a list of things that James composed all night in his head. They had been so close, but he had disappeared through the crowd. James wondered if he had wanted to talk to him and was pulled from the thought as Sirius wish him goodnight. James managed a small wave goodbye as Sirius stretched lazily, climbing the stairs to his room. Mary mumbled something about bed as well, not even looking back as she pushed herself up off the couch and stumbled through her bedroom door. She didn't even bother to close it before flopping herself down on her red bed spread and promptly falling straight asleep.

     "God, she doesn't give a shit, does she?" Marlene snorted at the state of her best friend. "Makeup, boots and jewellery still on."

     "That's our girl." James smiled, turning to look at Marlene. She was still wearing her outfit and makeup, which was significantly more smudged than it had been earlier after all the dancing but she still looked great. The thought reminded James of how Marlene had also had an eye on that girl, he hadn't been to only person robbed of a chance to meet someone tonight. "We have to love both her and Sirius a lot if they're going to keep fucking up our love lives like this."

     "Fucking tell me about it." Marlene rolled her eyes and laughed despite herself. "Jesus that girl was gorgeous, James. She was right there in front of me, practically glowing and I didn't even get to talk to her."

    "Tell you what," James nudged her, raising his eyebrows and giving them a wiggle. "If I ever see her around, I'l go straight up and I'll give her your number. Straight away, I won't even hesitate to tell her about my lovely friend Marlene and how she's apparently an amazing shag. Hey, you might even be able to tell her yourself. Who knows, maybe we might see them around?"

     "He was very pretty as well." Marlene noted, hitting her knees off of James's teasingly. "Just not my type, that's all."

     "What with him having a penis and everything?"

     "Exactly." Marlene stood up and put out her arm. James let her drag him up from the couch. "Oh well, maybe another day. You know, I probably shouldn't be after anyone else at the minute anyway seeming as I'm head over heels for your mother."

     During the summer, Marlene and the rest of them had come up to Liverpool for a week to visit James. James's mother was his favourite person, who treated all of his friends as if they were her own children. Her and Sirius seemed to have a special bond, she was always extra careful with him and Sirius loved it. He had been coming up longer than the girls, coming home with James every weekend that he went all year as Effie and Monty had practically adopted him. Sirius loved to be made feel special and Effie never failed to pull through, always remembering small details about things he liked and things he didn't. She made special homemade marmalade for him that had no bits because Sirius didn't like the texture and he loved being fussed over, always thanking her profusely when she made him a batch. Sirius loved her and acted as if she was his own mother, which never failed to make James's heart fill with some kind of pride for them both.

     Marlene however was a different case. She was insistent that Effie was a milf and James hated it. He hated it so so much, but it was Marlene's favourite topic since her visit to Liverpool. 

     "Don't start." He said as she laughed at him mercilessly. "C'mon, let's go sort out the kids."

     James took off Marys boots as Marlene draped a blanket around Mary and gave her a small kiss on the forehead. Mary grumbled and twitched her nose causing Marlene to give her a fond look. James placed her boots on her neatly organised shoe rack and they left the room to do the same care for Sirius, who surely enough lay atop his duvet still wearing his own platform black boots. He had managed to whip off his top, which was in a pile on his floor but he still donned his usual leather pants that had lacing along the side. James folded the top and pulled off his boots as Marlene hit the lights and lay a blanket across Sirius, kissing his head as well. They slipped silently into the hall and shut the door behind them, standing in the hall for a moment as Marlene rolled her tense shoulders. 

     "I think we'll see them again." James said, completely thinking out loud. He could not wrench that guy from his thoughts if he tried. His beautiful face was practically engrained in James's mind and James had the feeling that it would be for a long time yet. He couldn't help but feel pensive about what could've been, but something was telling him to remain hopeful. James had always had an awful habit of being hopeful and this was never going to be an exception. They'd see each other some time, he knew it. "I mean, they'll be around surely. Won't they?"

     Marlene sighed, shaking her head at James as she pawed the handle of her bedroom door.  She was laughing at him, he knew that but James couldn't help but smile. 

     "Ever the optimist, Potter." She said with a smile. "Who knows? I hope so, but I mean it's a slim chance. London in huge, James. You should know that by now."

     "Yah, I guess." James agreed, something sinking in his stomach a little bit but he still couldn't quite shake the feeling that he was right. "I just have a feeling the odds are in our favour, that's all."

     "Oh, James." Marlene said with a soft smile. "I hope you're right too. She was definitely something. I mean nothing on your mother but-"

     "Marlene!" James protested. "Jesus Christ."

     “Okay this is all I'm going to say. I’d love to bang your mum, Potter.” Marlene said with a smirk. “Which is a bit worrying for me, considering she’s a bit of a mother figure actually but I’m gonna try not to think about that.”

     “Marlene?” James seethed.

     “Yes?”

     “Get fucked.”

     “That’s the idea, as I said.” Marlene laughed at her own joke, shooting a wink in James's direction before slamming her bedroom door behind her, leaving a very annoyed James in the hallway. He flipped the middle finger at her door like a petulant child before descending to his own room. He closed Mary's bedroom door before turning to his own and flopping down on his bed as soon as it was shut. 

     James lay there for quite some time, thinking of nothing but the boy on the dance floor and knowing that he would see him again someday. He just had to. James had a feeling that his optimism might just turn out in his favour this time. 

Chapter Text

     One Year Later, August

     "Are you taking the piss?" Sirius groaned as they pulled onto their street. James couldn't see Sirius even though he was only two seats away from him in the back of the taxi. Marlene called dibs on the front seat and was happily chatting away to the Irish driver as her friends continued to suffer in the back seat. It was a tetris of bodies and baggage, James was squished up against the window with Mary's backpack digging into him along with Sirius's guitar case resting between his legs. Sirius was also being squished as James couldn't even see him under the pile of gear bags, but he could definitely hear him as Sirius hadn't stopped complaining since they left the train station. "Of course none of you have a key."

      Nobody was comfortable in the back, but the driver hardly noticed as he had been speeding the whole way from the station. He had been too preoccupied telling Marlene about everything under the sun, not bothering to take a glance at the speedometer. Every time they took a corner or bend, the bozos in the back were squished within an inch of their lives. Tension was thick as they were all crabby and wanted nothing more than to get out of the taxi and go to bed. All of them except Marlene of course, who was comfortably laughing at the driver jokes in the front. 

     They had been living at their house in Pheonix Rd. for over a year now and all was going swimmingly. Of course, Sirius left his socks all over the sitting room and Mary had never done a dish in her life, but these were things that James could get over. They were happy and that's what mattered most. The group of them had even decided to stay there for the summer after their second year in university and work in the city to save up for their trip. At the beginning of August, they had left for three weeks to go interrailing and James could safely say he was happy to be home. 

      James loved travelling and by God did he love his friends, but he needed some peace and quiet. Sirius was James's best friend and he loved every inch of him, he loved Sirius all the way down to his bones, but he needed a break. Right now, he was on his last tether as Sirius could not shut the fuck up. The same went for Mary, who also seemed like she just needed a long shower and to sleep in a room that was just hers and not some shit hostel. Nobody had really slept last night, they had been in Paris on their last night and fully planned on taking advantage of the end of the trip. They were getting the Eurostar to London at 8 a.m and had arrived at the station pissed off their heads just in time to hop on the train. They were all on a come down, snapping at each other since they had sat into the taxi and clearly everyone just needed some space. However, without any key this wasn't proving to be the a very doable plan.

     "Oh, get fucked." Mary prodded as she shifted about, trying to get comfortable in the heap of shit. "Where's your key then, dickhead?"

      "Up my ass, McDonald, care to grab it?" Sirius snapped back and he promptly let out a shriek as Mary hit his thigh. "Ow! What the fuck!"

      "Alright!" James burst in, as cheery as he could muster but it still came out quite forced. He took a deep breath before continuing, willing himself to be the most patient he ever had been. "I think there's a spare key around the back. Anyway if there's not, then Lily has a key, she's been feeding the cat all week. We can just go over and get that one back. Simple."

      "Oh, that one around the back is gone." Sirius said, suddenly sounding quite sheepish. "I, ehm, lost my keys the last time I was out before we left. Left it at some guys house and couldn't go back to get it, so I just robbed the spare one."

     "Slag." Mary muttered, but it was all teasing. Sirius laughed and pinched her leg as she screamed out a laugh. James smiled as he watched them, feeling as though being home was doing them some good already as they pulled up outside their house. James was happy to see their little house and couldn't wait to jump into his own bed. 

      Marlene paid the driver as the others hopped, dropping all of their belongings on the curb outside their house. Marlene laughed as she waved off the taxi man, claiming to try something called Firewhiskey as soon as she could. 

     "I'm heading over to Lily's." James announced before turning around to Sirius. "Wanna come?"

      "Sure." Sirius grumbled as he stretched, a low rumble escape his throat as if he was a stiff dog. "No flirting though, I wanna go to sleep."

      James huffed and turned away, leaving Sirius to amble after him groggily. James had met Lily for the first time last year when they had moved in to their new place. He could now admit that he definitely used to have a bit of a crush on her, but he quickly got over it. The more time he spent with her, the more he realised that they were just friends really. He felt no real spark for her, as beautiful and lovely as she was, they were never destined to be more than friends. James knew that now, and ever since they had become closer than ever and James found himself happy with the way it had all worked out. 

     Lily regularly came over to their house and quickly fell in with the rest of them. Her own roommates were a bit shit as far as James knew, and she preferred being at their place. They never hung out at her house because her roommates usually had their shitty friends over, so Lily had taken to sleeping on their couch most nights. Some guys called Yaxley, Mulciber and some girl, who's name Lily never even mentioned, had all been making Lily's life a living hell for months now. James had wanted to go over and say something, but Lily immediately shut him down explaining it was better just to stay out. Thankfully, the girl had said she'd be leaving in August and true to her word, she packed up her stuff and headed back to Belfast. Good riddance in James's opinion, but he'd prefer if the guys were leaving. He was still truly delighted though because this had led to Peter moving in. 

      James knew Peter from an exam he had to take last year. James had just sat down next to Peter and started talking, which he found was really easy actually. They were both half an hour early as James couldn't stay home because of his nervous energy and Peter was so worried he'd be late that he had come an hour early. Peter had mentioned wanting to move out of his mother's house in Bromley and James had mentioned to him that there was a room going in Lily's house, so it had all been perfect really. Peter had moved in the same week that James and his friends headed to Berlin to start their trip. Everything was going great according to both Lily and Peter, who really seemed to have hit it off and Lily definitely seemed grateful to have an ally in her house. 

     Climbing the steps to the house next door, James knocked on the door with a grumpy Sirius in tow. James rapped his knuckles against the new green paint and admired the new flower plant pots that decorated their front step. He had just spotted some wild daisies, his favourite when the door swung open to reveal someone that James had never seen before. Sirius made some sort of choking noise in the back of his throat as he took in the stranger in front of him.

     The boy was absolutely gorgeous, there was no doubt about that. He was so tall that he had to duck slightly to see them at the doorway, his hazel eyes squinted down as the sun shone into them. He had freckles that plastered his lovely nose and sandy curls sat atop his head, sticking out ever so slightly. Two faint scars were visible on his face, one vertical on the right side of his lip and one short silvery line just touching the slight bump at the bridge his nose. He was certainly lovely to look at, which was only affirmed by the look of awe of Sirius's face. James almost laughed as Sirius genuinely looked as though the air in his lungs had been sucked out with a hoover. His eyes were wide and his lips parted slightly. James struggled not to smile as he took it upon himself to speak as it was clear that Sirius couldn't all of a sudden. 

      "Hello." James said lightly, pushing up the glasses that had slipped down his nose while being jostled in the car. "Is Lily here?"

      "New boyfriend, is it Lil?" The tall boy teased as Lily came through the hall and dug him playfully in the ribs.  "Sorry, sorry. I mean neither of them really seem like your type anyway."

      "What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius replied next to James. He had a small smile on his face as he looked at the guy in front of him, almost shy. James didn't think he would ever associate the word shy with Sirius Black but sure enough he seemed almost nervous. James was definitely going to rip the shit out of him later. 

      "Nothing against you of course." The stranger smiled at Sirius cheekily and James swore Sirius visibly paled. "You're very lovely, I just know her usual type and you are definitely not it."

      "I could be yours though." Sirius seemed to say without thinking because he quickly bulged his eyes and started waving his hands in defence. James had never seen Sirius this flustered in his life, he was practically spluttering as the sandy haired boy just looked at him with a very cheeky smile and leant against the door. "I mean.... well actually, I don't know what I mean really. Ignore me."

     Sirius averted his gaze to where Mary was standing by their bags, looking as if she might sleep standing up as she waited for the boys to get the key. Even though James was definitely going to tease Sirius about all of this later, right now he needed to be a good best friend. James quickly coughed to clear the laugh building in his chest and instead he spoke. 

     "Hey, Lil! I've missed you and we will definitely see each other properly later, but right now we all need to sleep." He explained giving her hand a quick squeeze. "Sirius and Mary have been like two alley cats all the way home and I need some peace, but none of us have our keys. Can I get that one you've been using all week?"

      "Of course." Lily said, grabbing the key off its hook and handing it straight to James. She smiled softly at him as the boy next to her just kept his stare on Sirius, who refused to glance back and was very interested in all the new flower pots at his feet all of a sudden. "Ye had fun?"

     "Too much." James said grimly, thinking of all the money he had pissed away. He'd do it again in a heartbeat though because the experience had been nothing short of amazing. He had travelled all of Europe with his friends and enjoyed almost every second, except the tenth night of course. Sirius had been matching him shot for shot, but neither of them could ever give up first. It ended with both of them puking into the canals in Venice on their way back to the hostel and trying to avoid the gondolas as they blew chunks into the water. Definitely not their finest hour. "Going to need to recover for about a week. Thanks so much for feeding the cat, was she any bother?"

      "She never is." Lily smiled in response. James noticed she had cut some kind of swoopy side bangs and with her red curls pulled back in a low bun, she looked lovely. 

      "Good news." James clapped his hands together, the new boy tore his gaze from Sirius to instead look at James. He suddenly felt very rude for not introducing himself earlier. "Sorry mate, I'm James by the way, completely forgot to mention. Think my brains a bit fried after everything in the past few weeks to be honest."

     "No problem," The boy replied, sticking out his hand, which James shook right away. His grasp was firm and he had a friendly smile on his face as he nodded at James. "Remus."

     "Oh!" James said cluing it all together, as he finally put a name to a face. This was Lily's friend from home in Manchester, though James knew that Remus was originally from Wales. He could hear it in his accent slightly now that James thought about it, but you'd only hear it if you knew it was there. He knew heaps about Remus, who had lived about half an hour away last year. Though he had been Lily's classmate in school, he had taken a gap year and only started his first year when they were in their second. "Of course, I've heard so much about you."

      Lily constantly talked about Remus, often threatening that they should meet because she knew they'd all get on well with him. She didn't seem to be wrong, not on Sirius's account anyway who had looked at Remus like he was the most amazing thing he'd ever seen just moments ago. 

     "You too, James." Remus nodded, shifting his gaze to where Sirius stood uncomfortably next to James. Remus smiled coyly, looking Sirius up and down. "Sirius. Heard about you too."

      "All good things I hope." Sirius said as he looked up. He still looked vaguely embarrassed but was trying to hide it very well, and to anyone but James it might have worked. He smiled charmingly and ran a hand through his hair absentmindedly, but James saw right through it. Sirius was absolutely shitting himself as Remus smiled back at him with a glint in his eye.

      "Not at all." Remus replied, giving Sirius a wink before retreating down the hallway and shutting the kitchen door. Sirius's cool demeanour deflated instantly as he gaped after Remus, who was long gone. James couldn't help but start pissing himself laughing and Lily quickly followed suit. 

      "Oh fuck off." Sirius grumbled, clearly mortified now as well as sleep deprived. He turned to Lily, looking frustrated beyond belief. "Lily, Jesus. How come you've never brought him around before? You're telling me I had to spend a whole night dealing with your nightmare of a sister, and never not once did you think to bring along your pretty friend instead?"

     James could vividly recall the weekend that Lily's parents had suggested that Petunia visit her sister at college and it had been hell. James liked to see the best in people, he really did but there was something truly evil in Lily's sister. Lily hadn't bat an eyelid at Sirius's comment, knowing full well how intolerable she was having grown up with her. Lily once told James that Petunia had locked her in the cupboard under their stairs when she was ten and that why Lily was now claustrophobic. James didn't like Petunia before he had met her and his beliefs had only been affirmed when he did.

     "Well," Lily said with a sly look as she reached out nudge Sirius with her elbow. "Better get used to him because he's moving in next week. Yaxley and Muciber found out there were two free rooms going in some townhouse in Kensington owned by one of their rich buddies, so they fucked off and moved out yesterday! I may or may not have poured a bit of glitter in their open boxes before they headed off, but I figure that's just reparations after they kept nicking my milk."

      "He's moving in?" Sirius exhaled, half nervous and half hopeful, ignoring everything else that Lily had said. 

      "Yup, he just came over to drop some stuff, but he'll be sleeping here for the first time tomorrow. You'll be free to visit whenever you please." Lily mused with a devilish glint in her eye. "He's taking the room across from mine and one of his buddies is going to take the downstairs one, so they're gonna come together tomorrow."

   "Cool." Sirius managed to huff out, trying and failing not to look absolutely besotted by the fact. He grabbed James by the arm and dragged him away, calling back to Lily as they slipped out the gate. "See you tomorrow, Evans. Thanks for taking care of the kitty, love you."

     "Love you both, get some rest." She called back, slamming the door with a bemused look on her face that matched exactly how James felt. He turned to face Sirius, ready to make a quip when the other boy interrupted him before he could get a word in.

      "Not a word." Sirius warned as he grabbed the key from James's loose grip, hoping over their low wall with a whoop. He ran around the side of their house to unlock the back door before James could even call after him. 

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     James woke up from his nap feeling unbelievably groggy, probably because he hadn't woken up willingly. As someone set down on his bed, the old mattress creaked and James woke up when it sagged under the weight of someone coming to join him. James had begrudgingly opened one eye to see a Sirius shaped blob climbing in next to him and getting comfortable on the outer side. James couldn't make people out very well without his glasses on but he would know Sirius anywhere.

      Suddenly, James didn't need his glasses at all because Sirius left all but an inch between their faces as he plopped his head down on James's pillow. His hair was tickling James's forehead and James couldn't quite bring himself to move his cosy arm from under the duvet to fix the problem. He flashed James a guilty smile as he curled up sideways in a ball to face him, clearing wanting to talk, which James was in no frame of mind to even attempt. 

     "Sirius." James mumbled, half asleep still. "Fuck off."

     "Rude." Sirius said, kicking James lightly in the shin. James groaned and rolled over the face the wall, away from his horrible friend who continued nonetheless. He was so close that James could feel his hot breath on the back of his neck. He hated the tickling of it and flicked his head in annoyance, but Sirius relented. "I just woke up and needed to talk to you, that's all."

     "Oh Sirius, I fucking hate you." James groaned as he flipped onto his back. He forced his eyes open slowly, believing his room had never been so bright and must have changed somehow while he was away. He squinted to look over at his best friend, who tried to smile innocently. "Of course I'm going to have to wake up when you say something like that. What kind of friend would I be if I just rolled over and went back to sleep after you've gone and said that?"

     "A shit one." Sirius agreed, absolutely delighted that he was getting his way. Sirius always got his way, the bastard. James was also usually the one giving him his way, but he couldn't help himself really.

     "I hate you." James sighed, cursing himself for being a good friend and stretching as he reluctantly arose from his lovely, comfortable bed. He shoved on a pair of slippers and his comfiest fleece, before turning back to Sirius. "C'mon. If I'm going to have to be awake then I at least deserve a cup of tea."

     Sirius made the tea while James searched through Marlene's cupboard hoping to find some biscuits. He hit the goldmine when he found an unopened packet of Hobnobs hidden in the back and quickly took them out. He told Sirius he'd replace them tomorrow, she'd never know the difference anyway. At least James told himself that, secretly knowing full well that he had no intention of replacing them. Marlene loved "borrowing" James's favourite t-shirts and then never ever returned any of them, so James really thought it was completely justified that he take a packet of Hobnobs. 

      "Right," James sighed, as he plonked himself down on one of their mismatched kitchen chairs. He looked across the table to find Sirius, who seemed to be having some kind of mental crisis by the look on his face. "What's up? You look constipated."

     "Oi!" Sirius complained, flicking James lightly on the ear before reaching over and robbing the biscuit right from James's hand. "I'm dealing with enough, Prongs. I don't need you wishing that on me as well."

     "Go on then." James mumbled, grabbing himself another biscuit. Sirius would go on all day if you let him and James was still exhausted, he didn't have the energy to chat all night. 

     "Well," Sirius started shakily before stopping completely, looking as if he'd rather die than say what he was thinking. James could see it in his face, he looked absolutely mortified. There's this specific kind of look that comes into Sirius's face as James knows that they are breaching uncharted territory and there's going to be a lot for Sirius to get out. He straightened himself a bit and gave Sirius the encouraging look he needed.

     Sirius's emotions became him. If Sirius was angry, he exploded with comments that cut like a knife and threw a fuss over things he didn't even care about. When Sirius was upset, James became upset by extension because the world seemed sadder somehow. When Sirius was embarrassed, he wrapped himself in a blanket of shame and let it suffocate him completely. Sirius had a very guilty conscience and as far as James knew, had been through quite a bit in his time. Right now, Sirius was practically scarlet and it was an emotion that was new to his face. 

     "Right," Sirius said after a long bought of unusual silence. "That guy we met today? God, James. I can't stop thinking about him.

     "Okay," James said nodding slowly, testing the waters while being quite uncertain what Sirius was getting at here. "You like him. That's good....?"

     "No, not good." Sirius spluttered. He groaned, holding his head in his hands as he leaned against the kitchen table. "I haven't even been able to sleep James. I'm fucking exhausted, I haven't slept in about thirty hours, I went on a bender yesterday in a different country and I only stopped being high about two hours ago. All of that and I still can't sleep because I can't stop thinking about that fucking guy. I feel like I'm going crazy."

      James could see the faint purple tinging Sirius's eyes and could definitely agree that he needed some rest. Only fifteen hours ago, James had watched him 

     "I mean," Sirius continued to ramble. Once he started he could never stop and James was just happy for him to be saying it out loud. It always eased his mind a bit just to have someone to tell and James was more than happy to be that person. Even when he was horribly grumpy and sleep deprived. "I mean I've never felt that before, I don't even remember the last time I actually liked someone. Obviously, I've been with people- don't laugh James, that's slut shaming. Obviously I've been with people, but I've never gotten that spark before. I want to shag him more than I've ever wanted to shag anyone ever. But not only that, I want to do nice things with him and hold his hand and I just- Jesus, James I've never understood when people talked about that 'at first sight' thing, but my stomach dropped when I saw him. Have you ever felt that?"

          "Once." James admitted, thinking back to a year ago when he had seen him. That lovely boy who's eyes he had never gotten to find out the colour of. "Funny story actually, last-"

     "Okay, so you get it!" Sirius ploughed on, completely too caught up to stop now. His sentences all began and ended on different points as he bounced excitedly from thought to thought. "Fucking hell, he was like an angel or something at the door. It's not even fair that someone can look like that and he's moving in James! Oh, he's moving in and he's going to live right there. I mean, what do I do? How do I even go about this? I made a fucking fool of myself today, completely lost my cool."

     "Yah, you fucking did." James laughed at the memory, dunking a Hobnob in his tea and popping it in his mouth whole before Sirius could grab it.

     "Cunt." Sirius breathed, looking slightly embarrassed again but more frustrated than anything. "What the fuck do I do, James?"

     "Honestly," James said, helping himself to another Hobnob. "If I were you, I'd just go over and ask him out. What's the worst that could happen?"

     "Ehm, he could say no?"

     "Yah, and then what?"

     "I die?" Sirius asked, completely not joking at all. James had no choice but to sigh at his poor emotionally stunted friend. "You're useless, I'm going to ask Mary instead. 'Just ask him out' - do better James. Jesus, that's terrible advice."

     "Okay, I'm going back to bed then." James heaved himself up from the table, bringing his mug with him. He had decided Mary would be better for this task anyway and seeming as Sirius was in no actual immediate danger, James could go back to sleep. He could feel guilty about it tomorrow and listen to Sirius talk about Remus all day to make up for it, but now sleep seemed more promising as Sirius was having a hissy fit anyway. "Who knows, maybe he found all your spluttering endearing?"

     "Okay, Judas." Sirius yelled after him dramatically as James flipped him the bird before shutting his door. He practically threw himself back in to bed, kicking off his slippers and slipping back under the warm sheets. He had missed his own bed so much during their stays in grimy hostels that it now didn't even seem real, it was that comfortable. James snuggled down into his fresh white sheets, entering his usual sleeping position and he was immediately more cosy than he had been in weeks.

       Despite how comfortable he was, James still couldn't sleep for some reason. That reason was the same thought that frequented his mind as he wondered yet again what would've happened if he had spoken to that beautiful boy he had seen last year. Would he have embarrassed himself as Sirius had today? Maybe he could have. Maybe James would have made an utter fool of himself. Maybe he could have mucked the whole thing up and nothing would have come of the experience at all. Maybe James would have left dejected, but able to move on knowing that it was never going to happen. All of these maybes were entirely possible but James still couldn't shake the feeling that they were supposed to speak. 

     James never got hung up on 'what if's', not really. He liked to believe that his life had worked out this way for a reason. Things that were meant to be simply happened and he had no ability to change those things, so why bother wondering if he could. He was very much a 'live in the moment' kind of guy and found that it had served him well over the years. Even when he had to come to London for university, despite wanting to go to Manchester, James had made the best of it and it had ultimately made the best of him. He had amazing new friends who he shared a house with. He had ended up loving his course which had been his second choice after Law, which he was now happy he hadn't done. Even though he had to leave his parents in Liverpool, he rang his mother every Wednesday and they talked so much that it was as if he had never left. James just worked with what he was given and often found that it rewarded him in ways he never could've expected. 

     However, James could not help but wonder what he would have said to that guy. Marlene had jokingly taken to calling him James's 'man after midnight' and he now thought of him every time the ABBA song played and at plenty of other moments in between. James had held up hope all year, hoping to catch a glimpse of the stranger when he was at uni or in any bar he went to. James had never seen him again. He wasn't in any of James's lectures and he had never passed him on campus. James was growing weary despite his usual optimism, but he still couldn't let go of the idea he would see the guy again. He looked the same age as James, so he was bound to show up at one mutual place or another.

      James didn't know how or when it started, but eventually he had found himself looking in the face of everyone new he met for something familiar. James would continue to do it until he was right because he knew exactly the feeling that Sirius had described earlier and James had only ever felt it that once. It had to mean something. James had to believe that it meant something.

     James didn't know how long it took him to fall asleep that night but his thoughts blended into one with his dreams as his mind flashed with images of a familiar face, tilted and smiling at him across a crowded room. 

Chapter Text

     Regulus.

     Regulus looked around his empty room, feeling oddly melancholic. He had liked his first house since leaving home and it was the first real home he'd really ever had. Grimmauld Place was never home, not really. Especially not after Sirius left, Regulus shuddered at the thought and packed it away in some dusty corner of his mind. There are certain things you just can't allow yourself to think about, it leads to spiralling. Regulus's way of not doing that was just to tuck the thought up for later, try to forget it whilst knowing that it's hidden in there somewhere and no doubt will be found again some other day. For now, he could forget it, leave it in the dusty box in a corner for a rainy day. Today was not about Sirius, today was about moving.

     Regulus often thought that someday maybe there'd be so many boxes that he'd be trapped in the middle, unable to take a step without sending them all flying down on him. But that day was not today, so he gave the place a final sweep for anything else left behind. His box room in their first year house was stripped of any signs of Regulus Black at all and lay completely bare before him. He couldn't help but feel that this was a sad thing.

     Two boxes were all that remained in the room, the rest of his stuff was packed in the boot of Lupin's Ford Fiesta and Regulus could hear him honking on the street. He opened his window for the last time to shout down at Remus, who was sitting in the drivers seat with the door open. He had his long legs stretched across the path with his hands hanging lazily between his them. He looked up at Regulus, squinting in the sun and scrunching up his nose.

     "Hurry up!" He yelled before Regulus could get a word out. He scowled down at Remus.

     "Jesus, a little more sympathy, I like this place." Regulus said, picking at the paint on his windowsill. "Thought you did too."

     "Oh, don't get me wrong," Remus replied, as Regulus watched the green pigment crumble onto his fingertips. "I love the gaff, but our new house has the sexy neighbour, so excuse me for being eager to get a move on-"

     "Alright, I get it, you love the sexy neighbour." Regulus snapped. The first thing Remus had said when he came to pick Regulus up this morning was to back away from the sexy neighbour, because he was already vouched for. Regulus had just agreed and left, not much caring to hear any more about the sexy neighbour when he still had so much left to pack. "I just need two minutes. Then you can go straight to your fella."

      "Too right." Remus smiled, before leaning back into the car and slamming the door. Regulus copied by slamming the window and turned to his empty room. It seemed a lot smaller now but when had first moved in when freedom had bled eternity. The most Regulus Black that had ever been in a single room. It had been all his, no one else's. Even though he wasn't really one for hanging  up posters, the room was covered in books and pictures that showed he had been there. He grabbed the remaining boxes and took once last lingering look before hitting the light.

     As he made his way to the car, Remus honked almost making Regulus's drop his boxes all over the road. Regulus flipped him off as he bent down to pick up the photograph that had fallen out as he fumbled to catch the book that slipped off the top of the pile. His heart skipped slightly as he took in the image. It had been tucked in between the pages of his old book for so long that he had forgotten it was there at all. 

     It was him and Sirius, before his first day of boarding school. His mother had made them take it, so naturally Sirius looked miserable. Regulus however had a smile plastered on his face like no other, and even now Regulus could remember how excited he had been. He was finally going to school with Sirius, he'd be a part of his life again and he had been ecstatic about it. Regulus almost laughed at how naive he had been, but couldn't quite bring himself to at the sight of his younger self, who just seemed so happy. He would hate Regulus for laughing. So Regulus kept his mouth shut, tucking the picture into his back pocket and the memory away in his mind. 

     Regulus threw the boxes in the back, squishing them in amongst all of his and Remus's stuff as Remus started up the engine. Neither of them owned a lot of things, but they had an extraordinary amount of books between them and it was taking up the majority of the back seat. 

     "Jesus, the car is weighed down," Remus commented, glancing back at the stacks as Regulus hopped in beside him and cracked the window. "We should think about joining a library or something."

     "And have to give the books back?" Regulus huffed and rolled his eyes. "You're mental."

     "Criminally insane." Remus muttered as he glanced at the oncoming traffic, pulling onto the main road and away from their home. Regulus took one look back at their terraced house and silently wished it goodbye as they shot off onto the next street. The drive should only be about thirty minutes, so Regulus kicked his legs up on the dashboard and starting rolling a fag. 

     "Not a chance," Remus swatted at his feet and Regulus was an inch away from spilling tobacco all over the carpet. "You can smoke all you want, but get your gnarly toes off my dash."

     "Excuse you, I have lovely feet." Regulus said with a smile, wiggling his toes in Remus's direction to piss him off even more. He had kicked off his shoes at the start of the car journey, fully intending on being as comfortable as possible. At least he was wearings socks, but Remus pretended to gag. "Okay, okay. I'll roll you one if I can stay like this."

     "Deal, just stop doing that!" Remus insisted petulantly. 

     They arrived at the house soon enough and squabbling aside, Regulus was excited. He had met Lily a few times last year and he had actually taken quite a shining to her. She was so lovely that it seemed to radiate out of her, Regulus couldn't help but be charmed and had grown to think quite highly of her. She was clearly waiting for them to come as Regulus could see her waving out the window when she spotted them and rushed over to the door as soon as they pulled up. Her copper curls bounced as she ran down the steps to engulf Remus in a hug the second he stepped out of the car. 

     "I was so excited for you coming, I've been sitting by the window like a lost puppy." She exclaimed earnestly, pulling back from Remus and reaching out her fingers to squeeze Regulus's hand. She knew he wasn't big on hugs and never pushed for one. For that, Regulus was grateful. He always offered her a little hand squeeze instead, to show his appreciation and she always smiled like she knew she was special. "We're having drinks tonight! To celebrate and all that, I invited my friends from the next house over. Remus met them yesterday actually."

     "By God I did." Remus smiled, looking very fond of the memory and patted down his pockets. He pulled out a pack of Marlboro Gold and lit one up.

     "Alright, loverboy." Regulus clapped his friend on the shoulder, sneaking his other hand over to grab the fag. Remus just rolled his eyes and pulled out another one, scowling at Lily when she snuck her hand in the box too. "Grab a box, we have work to do."

     "It's 'all work, no play' with you, isn't it?"

     "You can play tonight. For now, grab a box."

     "Oh, I have full intention of it." Remus said with a smirk. "Lil, any chance we could do those drinks tomorrow instead? I sort of made plans for tonight, even though they're not confirmed yet. They should be fairly soon though, I'd wager."

     "You're asking him on a date then?" Regulus asked. Regulus had watched a trail of people fall in love with Remus over the past year, but Remus rarely ever felt the same. He preferred to keep things casual and never really kept anyone around long enough to be considered serious by Regulus. Remus had never done serious. "Or are you just planning on knocking on the door and asking to shag?"

     "You think so little of me." Remus commented, but Regulus noticed the faint upturn in his lips. "I'm a thorough gent, Reg. I'm gonna wine and dine the man."

     "Dinner? What are you in you thirties. Do something fun, grandad."

     "Figure of speech, dickhead." Remus went to flick Regulus lightly on the ear but he dodged the move, knowing it all too well. "We are gonna do something totally fun but now I'm not gonna tell you what it is because you're being a meanie."

     "What are you, five years old?" Regulus rolled his eyes as Remus stumped out his cigarette and stuck out his tongue before grabbing a box of books and heading up the stairs. Regulus and Lily watched him carry the heavy box with ease and grabbed their own, finding it slightly harder. 

     Regulus made his way up the steps of his new home and admired his work to the front of the house. The plants he gotten Remus to bring over during the week seemed okay, Lily had clearly been watering them as promised. Regulus had always loved plants of any kind really and Lily had begged him to decorate their front porch so they had all gone shopping during the week. He had gotten sunflowers, lilacs, ivy, lavender, chrysanthemums and countless others, even grabbing some lupine for Remus as a little inside joke for himself. Lily wanted to go all out with the redecorating and insisted Regulus picked a new colour for their front door. Of course, he picked green and thought it looked great every time he trekked up and down the stairs laden with boxes.

     Even though he was upset to leave, Regulus could admit he was already quite fond of the new house and was so lucky to have found such a gem. He still got to live with Remus, along with Lily now and had heard nothing but good things about Peter. His room was a lot bigger, he even had a double bed which was a luxury compared to his single box spring the year before. His room was downstairs and even had its own door that opened out onto the back garden and a bathroom that he would share with Peter. He had hit the gold mine as far as student housing went, which he knew full well due to all the kips he'd seen in the last year. 

     "That's fine anyway, we can have a night in." Lily said later, as she dropped her last box on Regulus's floor. "I'll text James and tell him we can do tomorrow instead. I'd actually prefer a night in anyway, I'm exhausted after work last night and I'm off for the next three days anyway."

      "Oh," Remus said, as he flopped down on Regulus's bed. "I think you'd like James actually, Reg. Nice guy, seems like a bit of you."

     "Not all of us are trying to shag the neighbours, Lupin." Regulus quipped back.

     "I'll keep that in mind when you meet him." Remus smiled to himself before rolling over and hopping out of the bed. He stretched, tipping his head back like a lazy dog, stiff after a day basking in the sun. "Alright, wish me luck."

     "You're doing it now?" Regulus exclaimed, checking the time to see that it was only twelve o'clock. The guy probably wasn't even up yet and if Lupin hadn't insisted on picking him up at the crack of dawn, Regulus would most definitely still be asleep. Okay, the crack of dawn was an exaggeration but Remus had woken him up at nine o'clock on a Saturday, which was nothing short of a sin in Regulus's opinion.

     "No better time." Remus tossed them both a wink as he bounded out the door and headed over the road.

     "God, I wish I had his confidence." Lily said as she threw herself onto Regulus's bed and he opted to lay down next to her, exhausted from all of the hauling. "Makes it seem so easy, doesn't he?"

     "Once he puts his mind to something there's no stopping him." Regulus agreed, looking around at his bare shelves and wondering how he was going to fit all his books on them. The short answer was that he wasn't going to be able to, so he frowned as he continued. "Stupidity, confidence, they're one and the same anyway. He was practically rearing to get back over here, just to ask out his as he's been so delicately putting it, 'sexy neighbour'."

     Lily snorted in response and Regulus couldn't help but smile. Lily was excellent really, she had a sense of ease about her that made you comfortable straight away. She had even offered him the room without question after only meeting him a handful of times. Lily Evans was kind beyond belief and Regulus truly appreciated that. He had been a stranger to kindness in his own home for so long, yet Lily gave it so freely that Regulus was beginning to think that this house might just be his favourite yet. 

     "God, he would love that." She laughed, looking over at him. "I swear listening to you and Remus is like watching a verbal tennis match. I'm not even sure I know what ye are saying half the time, but I'm always very entertained."

     Regulus couldn't help but smile at this. He had met Remus a year ago when they had first moved into the house and he had quickly become the best friend that Regulus ever had. Things were just easy with Remus, he didn't pry and he somehow always knew what to say. Remus had quickly come to know Regulus in a way that nobody ever had, not from lack of trying but rather a lack of understanding. Remus just understood everything, Regulus swore they shared a brain on some strange level.

     "I'd be lost without him." Regulus told her simply because it was the truth.

     They talked for some time and Regulus was beginning to feel more at home by the second. She eventually left, leaving Regulus to unpack his boxes and settle in. He took out his pictures and lay them all on his new desk, feeling the one in his pocket practically burning a hole there. 

     A phone starting ringing in the kitchen and Regulus darted to answer it. 

     "Heya." Remus's voice came from the other end of the line immediately. "Look, I have a hot date tonight so I need to go and sort out some bits. Do you want anything as I'm out?"

     "He didn't turn you down then?" Regulus poked.

     "Firstly, they never do, love." Remus replied and Regulus could practically see the coy smile on his face. "Secondly, fuck you I am actually very excited about this, and thirdly, do you need anything? See, even though you're a dickhead, I'm being nice."

     "You're practically a martyr." Regulus drawled. "Anyway, thank you but I'm good. I'm just unpacking and then I'm just gonna have a night in, I'd say."

     "Loser." Remus teased. "I almost feel bad leaving you all alone while I'm off with my hot date, who by the way is-"

     "Okay, enough. I get it, you're so cool." Regulus cut in dryly. "Enjoy your wild sex, see you tomorrow probably."

     "Awe, see you can be nice when you want to be." Remus cooed. "Okay, bye darling. I'll be back later before I head away."

     Regulus hung up and went to return to his room before bumping into a very pissed off looking Lily. She was practically steaming, her slightly tinged cheeks only highlighted by her red curls. She seemed to be in a hurry, flinging the front door open. She turned back to Regulus, frantically pulling on a black sweatshirt over her completely black outfit and looking in the hall mirror. She was tucking back her flyaway hairs and popping in a pair of gold hoops as she spoke to him.

     "Completely forgot they asked me to come into work today. They said it last night before I left and I just completely forgot." She seethed, looking equally annoyed at both them and herself. "I fucking forgot and they just rang asking why I'm late and it's going to take another half an hour to even get there."

     "Awe shit," Regulus sympathised with her, throwing her her keys from the kitchen table. "Where is it?"

     "Harry's in SoHo, it's a club and a bar kind of thing." She pulled on a pair of black runners and offered him a smile despite her current situation. "Come in any time you want, drinks are on the house. God knows those cunts don't pay me enough, so we might as well get some free drinks out of it."

     "Deal." Was all Regulus mustered to respond, not mentioning that he had been in Harry's before. The memories of the night came flashing back to him as Lily appeared to be ready, turning back to call to him as she headed down the hall.

     "I'll be back at around two, so don't wait up." She slammed the door before opening it again, popping her head around the frame. "Oh and Peter should be home in the morning, you'll like him. So don't get freaked out, it's not a home invasion. Just Pete."

     Lily was gone again in a flash and Regulus was left standing in the kitchen with only his thoughts for company. He turned around and boiled the kettle, trying to distract himself by keeping his hands busy. Of course this was unsuccessful because Regulus was nothing if not a multitasker at heart, so he thought about the boy as he grabbed a mug and a teabag.

     He was gorgeous, Regulus remembered that well enough. All dark curls and golden brown skin glistening under the disco ball he had been stood under. He shone like the mirrorball above him as he smiled directly at Regulus, who could never quite shake the image from his head. Regulus had never even packed the memory away in any dusty box because it wasn't something he ever wanted to forget. However, because life is cruel and Regulus decided that boy was by extension, they had never even spoken as he had slipped away from the crowd with two girls. Regulus had been on his way over to speak to him, cutting through the crowds by circling around the room to the opposite side of the dance floor. Regulus had only seen the back of his head for a moment before he disappeared completely from view, never to be seen again. He hadn't even looked back.

     'It clearly meant nothing to him, so why am I still thinking about this?" He scolded himself, pouring far too much milk into his tea. "Some guy would rather run away than speak to me and here I am thinking about it a year later? Get a grip."

      So Regulus returned to his new room, ignoring the pictures on his desk and instead opted to read instead. He sipped his tea and tried to start his new book, finding that he kept having to reread whole pages because he hadn't been paying attention. Regulus cursed himself every time, returning to the first line and willed the man who disappeared in the crowd to disappear from his thoughts as well. The man did nothing of the such and instead just smiled back in Regulus's mental image, as he always did. 

Chapter Text

Regulus

     As the sun set on his first day in the new house, Regulus found himself absolutely content. He had just seen Remus off on his date, who was absolutely beaming as he skipped next door to knock. Regulus snorted as he watch Remus trying to stand and act cool with his hands in his pockets. He was looking very handsome after Regulus helped him pick something to wear. They had settled on a simple white knitted jumper and some brown trousers, paired with his brown Doc Martens and new golden nose ring. Remus looked his best as he stood at the door, trying to contain his nervous energy by twirling the ring on his thumb. 

     He couldn’t see who answered the door as Remus stepped straight inside, Regulus followed suit and stepped into their own porch. He watered the sunflowers that were looking a bit sad in the August heat and quickly realised he was absolutely starving. Even though he had told Remus that he wanted nothing from the shops, he had brought Regulus back a Pot Noodle anyway and now he was very grateful. Regulus had scoffed it quickly before settling down out in their back garden with a book and a spliff. He stayed out until it was dark and some time after that, enjoying the peace of the night and the view of the stars from the bench. 

     Regulus only realised he should go inside when he started shivering. He had only been wearing a t-shirt all day and always failed to remember a jumper of any kind. As he slid the door shut, his eye line went straight to the abandoned photographs on his desk.

     'Maybe it would be funner to do high." Regulus reasoned to himself, so he picked up the pile before climbing onto bed. He grabbed some blu tac from his bedside drawer and got straight to work. 

     The photos were mostly of Regulus and his friends from school along with some of Remus. His mother had never let him hang things on his bedroom walls, let alone his friends that she didn't approve of. So when Regulus left, he made sure to put pictures of the people he loved all over his walls. Regulus had never really played the part of social butterfly at school, he had still been very much cocooned at the time. Since coming to university, that had all changed for him but in those days, he really only had four good friends. Regulus almost considered them as family but he would never do his friends a disservice like that because his family was truly mental. They were something more than family, in fact they were all that Regulus really had for a long time. 

      Regulus smiled as he worked, remembering the moments that had been caught in a single frame. Barty and Pandora kissing either side of Regulus's face as he was practically squished between them, absolutely mortified. Evan, Barty and Regulus covered head to toe in silly string after the girl had ambushed them one night. Dorcas and Regulus all dressed up to go to a ball, Dorcas squishing Regulus's cheeks with her left hand and looking at him fondly. All of them together, sitting on the front steps of their old school happily chatting away as if they had all the time in the world. Regulus missed them terribly and moving to Phoenix Road seemed to be as promising as ever when he discovered how close it was to their house. The four of them lived on Salzar Road, only about a two minute walk away from Regulus's new house and everyone involved was absolutely smitten. 

     Regulus had never really had friends until Hogwarts, having been homeschooled as a child with only Sirius for company. Their mother was a lot of awful things, but cold was most definitely at the top of the list. The chill that ran off of her blew a gale that rattled their whole house, leaving her children well and truly shaken. His friends at Hogwarts had shown him warmth and Regulus loved them dearly for it. Of course, he had loved Sirius but in a very different way. They had fought so much before he left, not to mention the atrocities on the night Sirius departed. Regulus hadn't seen Sirius since he left. He hadn't let himself even think about Sirius in a very long time. 

     Regulus hung up his last few things, some pictures of him and Remus along with his few small posters. He stepped back to judge if they had all been hung proportionately because Regulus was nothing if not a perfectionist. Everything seemed to be in order but he couldn't help his eyes from darting to his crumpled jeans on the floor. He had abandoned them there earlier before slipping on a pair of loose tracksuit pants for his relaxing evening. The picture was still in the pocket, poking out slightly of the heap.

     Before he even realised what he was doing, Regulus walked over and grabbed the photograph of him and Sirius. He gripped it so tightly that his fingertips turned white. After looking at it for a long time, Regulus pulled his bed forward and stuck the photograph behind one of the thick wooden posts where nobody else would see it. It remained perfectly hidden by the bed frame, but Regulus would know it was there. He didn't even know why he did it, but something felt right as he did. Some unknown tension unravelled itself deep in the pit of his stomach. Regulus took a deep breath as he gave the picture one last glance before shoving his bed back to its original position, completely covering his little secret. 

     Regulus switched off the light and fell into a surprisingly good sleep on his first night in the new house, his mind seeming clearer somehow. 

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     Regulus opened his eyes and shook his head slightly in an effort to wake up. Some annoying alarm had woken him up that he most definitely hadn't set. As he listened, Regulus realised the alarm was saying his name and looked up to find Remus at his door. 

     "Regulus." Remus repeated for what felt like the millionth time. 

     "Fuck off." Regulus threw a pillow at the door. He could tell it was early by the way the orange sunlight was pouring through the gaps in his blinds. He turned his back to Remus and cuddled down further into his duvet. "It's practically fucking dawn, you psychopath."

      "Morning to you too, your highness." Remus replied, not even sounding the slightest bit upset that Regulus was insulting him with every breath. "It's actually nine. Not even going to ask how my date went w-"

     "Remus," Regulus mumbled against the pillow, trying hard to drone Remus out as he squeezed his eyes shut. "I like you and I will care later, but I need you to fuck off. Right now."

     "Awe, okay, I'll take what I can get." Remus agreed, sounding far happier than usual and being a lot more pliant. "I'll piss off, just need to know where my grinder is? See, last night was so fucking amazing that I asked him to go for a breakfast picnic in-"

     "On my desk." Regulus interjected, pulling the whole duvet over his head to block out Remus's incessant rambling. "Now, piss off."

      There was a faint clattering as Remus grabbed it and dashed away from Regulus's room, calling out that he loved him as he flew down the stairs. The front door slammed, rattling the walls and Regulus flinched in his sleepy haze, suddenly feeling a lot more awake. In that moment, Regulus hated Remus more than anyone he knew, except maybe his own mother. Regulus was definitely awake as that thought was a lot to unpack this early in the morning. Not wanting to stay in bed and think about it any longer, he decided to get up and cursed Remus the whole time he got dressed. 

     He passed the morning making final touches to his room while some records blared in the background. Regulus had worked in a vinyl store all summer and had taken full advantage of his staff discount, putting nearly all his wages back in the till at the end of every week. He would still work there on Saturday afternoons after going back to university, so no doubt his collection would continue to grow as the year went on. He had gotten Remus to drop over his records during the week, when Remus's car wouldn't be packed and they had less chance of being smashed. Regulus had missed them all week and was dancing along to 'Psycho Killer' by Talking Heads when he heard his phone buzz across the room. He was shocked to find that it was two o'clock, but not as shocked as he was at Remus's text. 

     'Hey, not coming home tonight. The date continues ;) See you tomorrow xx"

     Regulus had never known Remus to be the kind of guy that would spend two days with someone he just met. This guy must be special because it seemed like Remus was heading towards something serious. Remus had never done serious before, it was a new colour on him. Regulus couldn't help but think that maybe this so called 'sexy neighbour' was doing his friend some good. 

     He boiled the kettle and took a cup of tea and his pouch of tobacco out to the front step, finally sitting down for a break. Regulus had mostly been using their back garden when he went for a smoke, but decided to have a change of scenery as he was in a particularly good mood. He had a lasagna in the oven that would be done in twenty minutes, so Regulus rested his legs while he waited for it. He text Remus back as he inhaled his first drag, saying 'Enjoy, slag.' He spent a few minutes relaxing, basking in the last of the August sun like a happy cat before stretching and turning to head back to unpack the last few boxes. Except, the door wouldn't open. It was stuck, no matter how hard he pushed, the door remained firmly locked. Regulus sighed and stepped back, thinking to himself that this is what he deserved for trying new things. He picked up his phone and quickly dialled Lily's number.

     "Hey, I'm just on my way to work. What's up?" Lily chirped at the other end of the line. "Oh God, Remus didn't go off and elope, did he?"

     "Not as far as I'm aware, though I don't want to assume anything. Ehm, the front door won't open." Regulus admitted sheepishly, feeling a bit silly. "I stepped out for a smoke and I don't have a key on me."

     "Oh, fuck!" Lily exclaimed. "Shit, I completely forgot to mention it autolocks when you close it from the outside. It's for burglary and stuff. Fuck, sorry."

     "Don't worry about it, any chance there's a spare key anywhere? I have food in the oven."

     "Yah, James has one for emergencies. Knock next door, he should be home." Regulus hadn't met this James character yet, but right now he seemed like a hero of some sort. "If he's not then Peter is supposed to be home soon anyway, he'll let you in. So sorry about that, I'm a complete feather head."

     Regulus didn't know what a feather head was, but he told her she wasn't one and wished her a good day at work before hanging up. He looked at the house next door wearily, not keen on knocking on anyones door when he didn't actually know them yet. The wall looked low, so Regulus was just about to hop over it before he spotted a car pulling up to the house. A blonde man stepped out, he was laden with bags and waved off the taxi driver as they pulled away. Regulus remained stationary straddling the wall, a leg in each garden as he watched the boy begin to climb up the stairs and saw the shock in his eyes as he finally noticed Regulus's presence. 

     "Oh, hello." The boy said, giving Regulus a friendly smile and tilting his head slightly at him. He seemed to be a bit shorter than Regulus, with chocolate brown eyes and dimples at either side of his toothy grin. "Why are you climbing my wall?"

     "I got a bit locked out. Not a home invasion, I promise." Regulus admitted, realising quickly who this guy must be. "You must be Peter, I'm Regulus."

     "Oh, right!" Peter exclaimed, holding his hand out which Regulus shook. "Stupid door, isn't it? Can't tell you the amount of times I've been out for a smoke and forgotten my key, thank God James has that spare one. Anyway, c'mon."

     With that, Peter opened the door and they sat down and had a cup of tea along with the lasagna, which was a strange combination but Regulus didn't mind it. He quickly decided that he liked Peter, he was easy to talk to and had brilliant taste in music. He said he knew Regulus looked familiar because he had been in the record shop a few times and Regulus was only too happy to show him the collection he had gathered over the years. 

     "You have really similar taste to the guy next door, you know." Peter informed him as he flipped through a stack of special editions that Regulus had set aside on his desk.

     "James?" He asked, feeling even more intrigued about this guy the more he learned about him. James seemed like someone Regulus was going to get along with by the sounds of things, especially if they had similar music taste. 

     "Nah, I mean James likes some of this stuff too but I'm talking about- Fuck off." Peter's train of thought was suddenly interrupted as his eyes went wide and his jaw slacked slightly. "Regulus, how the fuck did you get this?" 

     He had pulled out a record that had remained unplayed for as long as Regulus had owned it. It was a picture-sleeved version of Bowies single 'The Prettiest Star'. He had wanted it for years and eventually saved up enough, so he had just gone for it and bought the thing. The song had always held a special place in his heart as it used to be Sirius's favourite. Regulus couldn't resist when he had seen it, even though it had cost him a small fortune, it had been worth it. Peter clearly knew its value, he held it carefully as if he was afraid to even breath near it. Some of the best memories that Regulus had from being a child, which were definitely few are far between, was when Sirius showed Regulus music that he loved. Regulus had lapped up every single bit of it. 

     Sirius had always wanted to be a rockstar, not that their parents would ever approve of such a thing. He played Regulus all the music he loved and talked about why it was all so special, and Regulus grew to understand over time. He knew that there were artists you just had to feel and rarely actually understand, Bowie being at the top of that list. Sirius raged on about the lyricism and how Marc Bolan's guitar made the record what it was. Regulus never let himself think about Sirius, not really, but he could never quite separate Sirius from the music, because Sirius was the music. Not that Regulus would ever willingly admit it, but Sirius had given him his basis of love for music from a young age. Back when Regulus had thought everything Sirius said was true and nodded along happily as Sirius explained Bowie, Queen, and T.rex, commenting on every instruments use and how the nonsensical lyrics made so much sense really. 

     When the record had arrived in the store, Regulus begged his manager to put it aside for him and annoyed them about it until they agreed. Six months later, it was his but he still couldn't quite bring himself to play it. Sirius had always wanted a record player more than anything, but their parents never would have allowed it. He rambled on to Regulus about how one day, when he was out of their shit house, Sirius was going to buy himself every record he had ever wanted and never turn them off full volume. Regulus had heard so many times about how he wanted this exact vinyl, claiming it was the most iconic cover in rock history. It seemed wrong to listen to it without him, not that Regulus would ever get the chance to lay on the floor and listen to music with Sirius again like when they were children. Regulus knew this fact well, yet he still couldn't bring himself to play the song alone.

     They weren't children anymore, Sirius didn't care about him anymore, Regulus didn't even know where Sirius was anymore- they had grown up.

     He had never looked for Sirius after he left, unable to deal with knowing if Sirius wanted to see him or not. His anger and hurt had left him raw over the years, but Regulus still couldn't bring himself to even listen to a song without his big brother. He wasn't a child anymore, yet he was beginning to feel like a tall one. 

     "Oh," Regulus replied, trying to act as nonchalant as possible and move on from the topic before he drowned in it. Something was weighing down on his chest and he didn't know why it was all still so fresh, even after all these years. "It was a present, there's more Bowie over there if you're interested."

     Peter gave Regulus a small knowing smile before placing the record carefully at the back of the pile, moving over the the other stacks Regulus was trying to organise. He clearly knew something was up, but said nothing. Regulus appreciated people who didn't pry and he was quickly becoming fond of Peter. 

     "Are these alphabetised?" Peter asked, thumbing through the titles and moving away from the topic with ease.  

     "Possibly."

     "Very nice." Peter smiled at him, chatting away as he found each new title as exciting as the last. Regulus found himself grateful that Peter hadn't lingered on his earlier question, but he couldn't help his own eye line from darting back to where the Bowie record lay on his desk. He couldn't even see it, but its presence alone felt like a weight in his chest. Regulus shoved the thoughts as deep down as they could possibly go, busying himself by chatting to Peter about the Arctic Monkeys and he quickly forgot about the knots in his stomach. 

     They passed the evening chatting before Peter stood up suddenly when he realised the time. He was supposed to ring his girlfriend as hour ago and it had completely slipped his mind. He had been with her since they were sixteen years old apparently and were trying to make it long distance as she dropped out of college last year, opting to move back to their home town. Peter cursed and sprinted off down the hall, shouting at Regulus that he'd be back later to pick up their conversation.

     Regulus heard his door slam from across the hall and was left alone with his thoughts, which he considered to be a very dangerous position indeed. He decided to busy himself by heading out for a smoke to fill the time. Lily had told him that the sunset was actually nicer from the front, so he made sure to grab his key just incase even though he propped the door open as well with someones welly boot. No way was Regulus getting stuck outside again when Peter was the only one home and probably would be getting an earful from his girlfriend for the next hour. 

     So, Regulus sat alone and watched the world go by. He played some music and chain smoked as the sky turned a brilliant orange flecked with rose tones and clouds that resembled brush strokes across its surface. Regulus loved the sunset, which let to his favourite time of his day: the night. Regulus was the very definition of a night owl, he loved that the night was just for him while everyone else remained asleep and out of his way. With Remus on his second date (or possibly still his first date, when Regulus thought about it more), Lily at work and Peter busy being screamed at, he was pretty much guaranteed to remain unbothered tonight. Even Pandora, Barty, Evan and Dorcas were away in Germany until next week, so there was truly nobody around to interrupt his time of rest and relaxation. 

     "You're new." A voice came from his right and it became clear that Regulus was not to remain as unbothered as he was led to believe. Over the wall, there was a very beautiful girl and she was staring directly at Regulus through her long dark eyelashes. She couldn't have been more than a few meters away, so Regulus could see her well enough to notice the friendly smile on her face. She had long blonde braids that ended at her waist with small clear beads and green eyeliner that highlighted the similar shade that was dotted throughout her hazel eyes. Regulus's eyes landed on her mouth and he noticed there was a ring that wrapped around the middle of her plump bottom lip. "Lily mentioned we were gonna getting some fresh meat, I'm Mary."

     "Regulus." He nodded in response, feeling instantly comfortable despite his previous wishes to be alone. Mary seemed nice and if Lily liked her, then Regulus could see no reason why he wouldn't. Regulus was beginning to think that this neighbourhood was from some children's show because everyone he met was being exceptionally nice and welcoming. 

     "You came out for the sunset as well then? Pretty isn't it." Mary commented, looking away from him to take in the view in front of her with a hand on either hip. Regulus hummed in agreement and closed his eyes to enjoy the warm sun beaming on his face. "Any chance I could bum a rollie?"

     Regulus agreed and Mary quickly hopped over the wall with a surprising lack of grace as she she stumbled and almost lost her balance completely. She cursed and quickly plopped herself down on the step as Regulus began to roll her a fag, falling quickly into easy conversation. Regulus had never considered himself to be one for easy conversation, but his new neighbours and roommates seemed to be people he was actually interested in talking to. 

     "So," Mary said about five minutes later, with a coy smile on her face. "You're Remus's friend. You know my roommate in quite raptures with him?"

     "Oh don't get me started." Regulus rolled his eyes, still a bit pissy at Remus after this morning. "The prick woke me up at the crack of dawn, looking for something for his date and banging off everything he touched."

     " 'Wasn't the only thing Remus was banging this morning. You could hear them all over the house, I'm surprised the roof didn't come down." Mary quipped and laughed as Regulus sniffed his nose disapprovingly.

     Mary looked as if she was about to continue on the subject before an alarm went off on her phone and interrupted them. Her eyebrows shot up, closely followed by Mary herself as she jumped off the step, her various earrings clattering against each other with urgency. 

     "Fuck, James is home in half an hour." She looked at Regulus with a slight panic in her eyes. "I promised I'd make us dinner for a change and he bet me a fiver that I'd forget. Thank fuck my pill alarm went off, I lost track of the time and its fucking six o' clock. If I don't have food in the oven, then I'm down a fiver!"

     "Do you need a hand?" Regulus asked, despite that fact that he really didn't want to at all. He decided he was going to practise being a good neighbour and this seemed like an easy place to start. 

      "Nah, you're fine." Mary called over her shoulder as she hopped over the wall, managing not to stumble this time as she yelled back at him. "I have a point to prove, so I have to do it myself. James would never let me hear the end of it otherwise. I'll see you later, ye should pop over for a drink when Lily's home."

     "Maybe, thank you!" Regulus replied as Mary gave him a little wave, running through her front door and most probably darting straight to the kitchen. Regulus didn't know what she could even manage to prepare in time, but he wished her well before standing and heading back inside for his quiet evening as promised. 

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     Regulus had fallen asleep. He didn't know when, but it was now seven o'clock and he only opened his eyes when he heard the frantic banging on the front door. Regulus was curled up on top of his sheets in only his pajama bottoms, the sliding door was open and a book lay next to him. He had lost his page, which he would have time to be annoyed about later when there wasn't some psychopath trying to bust his door down. Regulus's head pounded at every knock, he pulled on some socks as the person outside began screaming Lily's name between loud laughs of pure glee. There was some noise coming from next door that Regulus couldn't decipher and it was absolutely splitting his skull.

      "Evans, you've got to see this."  The deep voice called through the letter box as Regulus heard the flap swing open with a creak. The voice seemed absolutely delighted about something as Regulus pulled a large crew neck over his head and crossed the kitchen. Peter's door was open and his room was empty, meaning Regulus was the only one home. He gave a deep breath as he unhitched the lock, bracing himself for whatever bullshit was happening outside.

     Even if Regulus had taken a thousand deep breaths, it never could have prepared him for the sight at the other side of the door. The guy was turned to the side, looking into the house next door and he was laughing. Laughing and looking so lovely that Regulus almost felt his breath hitch. Regulus thought that it was the nicest laugh he had ever heard, full and hearty and so very whole.

     He stood about two inches taller than Regulus with beautiful black curls that seemed to stick out of his heads at all angles. His shoulders were broad and Regulus could see his neat jawline highlighted by his turned head. His dimpled smile was causing crinkles by the edge of his eyes, peeking out under gold rimmed glasses and the sight was something very lovely indeed. Happiness itself seemed to radiate out of him and Regulus felt almost warmed by its intensity. He was golden. Golden from his brown skin right down to his mahogany eyes, this boy was sunshine itself. 

     This was the boy who he had never met. The boy who had ran away. The boy who Regulus had wanted. The boy that had made Regulus really feel something. He was here. 

      He was here in front of Regulus and he was as lovely as ever.

     Regulus realised that he couldn't hear laughing anymore and only the horrible alarm noise, but he wasn't focused on the ringing anymore. Regulus found that the smile he had liked so much was gone, replaced with a look of pure shock. The guy blinked at Regulus a few times, fluttering his long dark lashes that appeared to have a natural curl. He was as beautiful now as the day that Regulus had first seen him, if not more so.

     Regulus should know, he had memorised the moment, analysed it, revisited it time and time again. Every time, he came up at a loss realising that this guy simply just hadn't wanted to speak to him. It wasn't the universe or any wider problem, he simply hadn't wanted to meet him. Regulus didn't let himself believe otherwise, knowing that hope is always capable of more damage than good. 

     Yet, Regulus felt something very near to hope as the boys face broke out into a familiar smile. If possible, it was even wider this time and Regulus was happy for the return of the sun because this time, it was shining directly on him. He looked delighted and that was enough for Regulus to feel something jump in the pit of his stomach. Hope was trying to lurch itself out, but Regulus tried forced it down as best he could. 

     "Hello." He managed to muster as the stranger just continued to beam at him. Regulus couldn't help the slight upturn in his own lips, his happiness was infectious.

     "Hello." The stranger repeated softly, tilting his head slightly at Regulus with a knowing smile. "I don't think we ever had the pleasure of meeting. I'm James."

Chapter Text

James

     When James was a teenager, he discovered his favourite movie. It was Scott Pilgrim vs The World. He had always had a little crush on Ramona Flowers, which Marlene found way too funny, and he loved listening to Micheal Cera's cover of 'Clay Pigeons'. It was an obsession, Mary and Sirius groaned every time he elected that they should watch it and weren't unknown to throwing popcorn at him in protest.

      Throughout James's whole life, he had never been able to like things casually. If he liked something, he was invested in it. James couldn't help it, there was something about all the layers to it that he just loved, he couldn't help laughing every time at the same jokes. James was obsessed with the fact that a person could ever be this interesting and mysterious. He often thought of the boy on the dance floor when he watched the movie. 

     The boy who was across from him now. In Lily's house. Right in front of James. Next to James's house. Which was currently a little bit on fire.

     Mary was just stamping out the last of the flames with a damp towel when James had ran over to inform Lily straight away. For the last two years, James had made Mary dinner every single day. Unless he was away, in which case, she had some Pot Noodles. She claimed it was just because James was such an amazing cook, but he knew for a fact that Mary could probably burn water. Mary however insisted that she could in fact cook if she wanted to and bet James a fiver that she could make him a lovely dinner tonight. The lovely dinner in question was reduced to ashes and sopping wet by the time Mary had put the fire out. James couldn't even tell what the charcoal had been. Maybe some kind of pastry, but Mary had left it in the oven for so long that it was now a cinder block. 

      Once they had put the flames out, James had started pissing himself laughing. Mary had started chasing him around with a menacing tea towel, asking what was so funny. James ran for his life and out of their front door. He hopped the wall to inform Lily of Mary's kitchen nightmare, except Lily hadn't answered the door at all. It was him.

     James knew he was right and he loved to be right. James knew that he would see him again someday, and someday was now. There was definitely a before this moment, but James was more keen for the after. It had all worked out in his favour. He seemed the exact same as James remembered him, maybe even prettier. His hair was a bit longer, but that was the only noticeable difference. He was beautiful and he was looking right at James. This was the second time, but it had all the same affect as the first as James could not stop smiling. He didn't want to either. 

     "No, we've never met." The stranger replied after James had been staring at him for what felt like years. The alarm had stopped, but James hardly noticed. "You saw to that when you ran away."

     "What?" James's smile was gone now and replaced by confusion. He hadn't ran away, he would never. "No, you disappeared. I was looking for you and then my friends got in a bit of trouble, so we had to head."

     James felt as though the stranger was looking straight through him. He scanned him up and down before landing again on James's eyes, his gaze unreadable but James was just happy to finally get a close look.

      His eyes. His eyes were grey and green all at once, it reminded James of kambaba jasper. His mother had loved crystals, she kept them all over the house and James's favourite had always been the large jasper one by the piano in their living room. Effie had dozens, but James had always loved the way the grey and green swirled together, creating beautiful patterns and designs on its surface. His eyes looked uncannily similar as they studied James and he could feel the weight of the stare. James wasn't complaining about it. In fact, he could do it all day. 

     "Okay, James. I believe you." He decided after a few seconds. 

     "You never mentioned your name." James said, wanting to know it now more than he ever had. 

     "You're right, I didn't." He replied, smiling at James in a way that made him feel very warm. His eyes were slightly downturned and they were looking at James through dark lashes. James really couldn't help it and was smiling again as he continued. "What was going on over there."

     "Oh, Mary burned the dinner. Not an unexpected altercation." James rushed out, not caring about the matter at all anymore. Mary could even keep her fiver as far as James was concerned, he just wanted to talk to the new neighbour. "Can I know your name?" 

     "You're very insistent." 

     "Because I've been kicking myself about not getting it for a year now. I'm not going to pass up this opportunity." James admitted. 

     The boy gave James an unplaceable look before quickly looking away. He was glancing over at James's house, where Mary had opened all the windows to let out the smoke. Just then, Mary herself stumbled down their front step, running onto the grass with something smoking in her hand that she threw down quickly. She donned an apron that was covered in some brown gooey liquid and she was stamping out a tea towel on the grass, which seemed to have caught alight somehow since James left her in the past five minutes. The girl was a mess and an absolute liability in the kitchen.  

     "Oh, hi Regulus." She breathed out, placing her hands on her hips and stretching out her back, as if everything was in order. "I may or may not have caused a small house fire. I see you've met James."

     Regulus. Oh, James liked that. It was perfect. It rather suited him, James thought. He looked exactly how a Regulus would look. 

     "Twice." Regulus replied, still not looking at James. He was staring straight at Mary as he continued. "Both things have happened twice now."

     "Well, I know for sure that I've caused more than two house fires in my time. Only one today though." Mary replied, bending down to pick up the tea towel which now had a tennis ball sized hole burned through it. "Besides, this hardly counts it was just a slight burn from the hob. Anyway, I didn't know you two already knew each other."

     "Oh, we don't know each other." Regulus replied with a smile and after what felt like years, he looked back at James smiling slightly. All James could see was jasper and he had never been so happy. It was like he was at home and looking at the one on his piano, the resemblance was uncanny. 

     "Regulus." James said for the first time, feeling immediately comfortable with it. He liked the way it sounded. "Regulus, Mary was there that night. Mary, do you remember that night we were on MD in Harry's?"

     "Oh, yes. I was shitting it. I remember I lost one of my favourite earrings on that dance floor when I came over to grab you and Marlene." Mary scrunched her nose at the memory, clearly gutted about the whole endeavour. "You remember the ones, they were lilac and zebra print stars? Ugh, they were so cute and I had gotten them on sale that week. We ran away so quick I didn't even get the chance to look for it. I mean they did only cost me five pounds, but it's the principal! If it wasn't for-"

     "See, I told you!" James interjected, knowing that Mary would gladly talk about the missing earring all day. Usually, he would listen but today there were more pressing matters at hand. "We had to leave. I was in the middle of looking for you when we had to run off."

     "Why exactly were you running away?" Regulus inquired, though not looking too skeptical. 

     "Ehm," They hadn't really talked about that night since it happened because Sirius clearly had some reason for acting out the way that he did. He clearly didn't want to tell them and it seemed like a sensitive topic, so they all tended to steer clear of it altogether. Something had happened between Sirius and that bartender, he would talk about it when he was ready. "One of my friends just needed to get out of there."

     Regulus studied James, slowly nodding. He didn't pry, which James was grateful for but he still couldn't tell what he was thinking. Regulus looked lovely while he was thinking, James noticed a straight vertical furrow between his eyebrows as he seemed to be concentrating very hard. 

     "Still coming over for a drink later Regulus?" Mary said, clearly clued in to the fact that something was going on here. She continued with a knowing smile. "I mean, meet the neighbours and all that jazz."

      "No." James said before he could stop himself. Regulus turned to him with a somewhat hurt look, so James quickly got to making reparations. "I just meant that you have plans with me."

     "Huh, do I?" Regulus seemed appeased, haughtily staring at James as he leant his arm against the doorframe. His crewneck swooped slightly at his neck and James couldn't help but notice the small constellation of freckles across his collarbones. He tried not to stare at them and failed desperately. "I don't recall agreeing to any plans."

     "Yes, but I knew you would, so I just skipped a step." James cheeked, hoping to God that it would work. James decided he was going to have to make it work because there was no way he was letting this opportunity slip away for a second time. Something in Regulus's expression told him he was right, so he decided to take that and run with it. James backed up and hopped over the wall, yelling back to Regulus before he could even open his mouth to reply. "Have to show you around the neighbourhood, I'll pick you up in an hour."

     James grabbed Mary by the sleeve and yanked her through their front door, leaving Regulus gaping after them. He clearly had something to say, but James was not even giving him a chance. Mary waved her fingers briefly as James caught a last glance at Regulus before he shut the door. He was smiling, just the slightest upturn in the edge of his lips but it was enough for James to have hope. 

     "James." Mary interrupted James's stream of thought and only then did he notice that he was smiling. "What the fuck is all that about?"

     "That was the guy you nabbed me away from when Sirius almost had a brawl with that bar tender. That's him, Mary." James grabbed Mary by the shoulders, shaking her slightly. A look of realisation came over her and a smile spread across her face. Mary caught peoples happiness as if it was infectious, so when James was practically buzzing, Mary was ecstatic. "Mary, I fucking knew I'd see him again and now he's moved in next door! What the fuck."

     "What the fuck!" Mary repeated, equally as excited. She started pulling him over to his room like a woman on a mission. "James, he's divine! We need to get you ready, c'mon! I wish the others were home, this is so exciting! Oh my God, you should wear that jumper with the...."

     Mary's voice droned out because James only had one thought. 

      Regulus.

      Regulus, Regulus, Regulus.

      He couldn't care about what he was wearing right now because it didn't matter, not when the only thing James could think about was the fact that he would be seeing Regulus again in less than an hour. For the past year, James had never truly known if they'd see each other again and had managed to get on with it somehow, but now an hour seemed like a lifetime. When the time was indefinite, it was easier but now James's mind was practically counting down the seconds.

      He was grateful for Mary getting him prepared as she picked out outfits and shoes to match. She scrunched one of her nice mousses through his hair, which dried and left his hair soft and smelling of mangoes. She took off his glasses, dropping them on the floor accidentally before she cleaned them off her t-shirt. Mary was always giving out about how James never cleaned his glasses, constantly asking if he could even see through the layer of grime. She had started taking it upon herself to do it for him, and James could admit that things always seemed a lot clearer once she did. Plus, he liked being fussed over and Mary loved to fuss, so he happily let her. 

     James sat there while Mary primped him, thinking about all the things he had wondered about the stranger on the dance floor for the past year. Regulus.

     James had a name, and that was a brilliant start. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Regulus

     Regulus was left on his front step feeling confused, annoyed and excited all at once. James hadn't so much as let him get a word out before he had whisked Mary away with him and slammed the door. Regulus had to call Remus. He ran into the kitchen and dialled his number straight away, pacing the kitchen as he listened to the rings. 

     "Hello." Remus chirped at the other side of the phone, picking up almost immediately. "I-"

      "I need to talk." Regulus spluttered out. "Are you alone?"

     "Two seconds," Regulus heard Remus say to someone, no doubt still on his date. "What's happening? Are you okay? I'm just at the park, I can com home if you-"

     "No, no. It's fine." Regulus insisted, not wanting to be fussed over. He just needed Remus to listen. "I met James."

     "Oh, yeah?" Regulus could practically see Remus grinning on the other end of the line, humour laced through his tone. "You think he's pretty, don't you?"

     "No- well, yes but that's not the point." Regulus rushed out, stumbling over his words a little bit. A lot had happened over the span of five minutes and he needed Remus to help him decipher all of it. "Well, it's just that I've seen him before. We sort of almost met a few years ago and then we didn't. Also, I'm going on a date. Well, I don't know if it's a date actually, we never clarified because he just kind of ran off."

      "Sorry, what?"

      Remus had every right to be confused, so Regulus explained everything to him in detail. When he was done, Remus let out a low whistle on the other side of the phone.

     "You know what's funny? I distinctly remember a few days ago, you said the exact words to me, and I quote; 'Not everyone's trying to shag the neighbours, Lupin.'  Well, I'd like you to now look back on that statement and-"

      "Okay, I get it. You're a dick and I was wrong."

     "Brilliant. Now, what are you going to do then?" 

     Regulus stopped. He hadn't thought this far. That's why he had called Remus. Remus always knew what to do, so surely he would know now because Regulus had come up at a complete loss. 

     "You decide." He replied after a few seconds. 

     "Why me?"

     "Because I trust you. Whatever you want me to do is probably the right thing to do." Regulus said because it was true. Remus always wanted the best for him and was not opposed to being blunt about what he should do, even if they had been things Regulus wasn't willing to hear. Remus told it as it was and Regulus appreciated that, if not straight away then always with time. "I don't exactly have a history of making good decisions."

     "And I do?" Remus huffed, but clearly he was happy at the compliment. "I suggest you go on your date-"

     "Is it a date, I don't-"

     "No, I speak now. You go on your date. You have a great time, maybe do some saucy bits, and then I'll come home later tonight with snacks and we can gossip about our respective dates." Remus interrupted. "We can watch a movie or something and chat about it all night. In order for this plan to work out, you have to go. Wear something that doesn't have any holes or stains."

     Regulus was about to be offended by this statement when he realised there was in fact a new fag burn on his jumper sleeve. He kept his mouth shut as Remus continued.

     "Comb your hair and if you shag him, then-"

     "Okay, okay." Regulus interjected. "I want your opinion on some things, Lupin, but don't let it get to your head. I'm efficient enough on my own without your advice in that department."

     "Oh, I believe that. Your room used to be next to mine last year, incase you forgot. I was just going to say I want every filthy detail."

     Regulus couldn't help but laugh at this, so they talked for a few more minutes before bidding each other luck on their dates. Regulus still didn't even know if it was a date, but it was something. Regulus could work with something and James was trying. Trying was something. 

      Regulus was just looking for a clean jumper when the front door slammed shut, almost rattling the walls. He ran into the kitchen to find Lily, who seemed distressed to say the least. Mascara was smudged under her puffy eyes and her nose was dripping slightly, which she rubbed off the sleeve of her work shirt. 

     "Do you want a tissue?" Regulus asked because he didn't quite know what else to say. He had never been great at comforting people, but always tried to do his best. 

     "No, doesn't matter anyway. I'm never gonna wear this stupid thing again." Lily flopped down on the couch, looking very defeated indeed. Regulus sat next to her and took her hand quickly. It was a small gesture but Lily promptly started crying. "They fucking fired me, the pricks."

     "What?" Regulus had seen Lily working practically all day at night for the last few days he had been here and she was clearly exhausted from it. She barely even had time to eat and sleep and now they were firing her? It didn't make sense.

     "I know, right!" Lily could clearly see what Regulus was getting at as she took in the confused expression on his face, well aware of how overworked she was. "It's not even my fucking fault."

     "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked, rubbing a thumb over her palm in soothing circles. It was seemingly working as Lily took a deep breath with her eyes shut. When she opened them she didn't seem to be crying anymore, just sniffling slightly as she began to wipe her puffy eyes.

     "No, I want a drink."

     "That can be easily arranged." Regulus immediately stood to go to the kitchen, pulling a glass straight from the drying rack. "I make a lovely strawberry daiquiri, care for it?"

     "Oh, I definitely like having you around." Lily managed to muster a smile for him as she plopped herself on the counter, looking significantly cheerier than before. Regulus was pulling out the blender when a few sharp knocks sounded from the front door.

      James.

     "Come in." Lily screamed over her shoulder. The door swung open to reveal James, who was looking very lovely indeed. His black curls looked more bouncy than they had been and he was wearing a lovely white jumper with some brown trousers. "Well don't you look handsome. Come here, I need a hug."

     "What happened, Lil?" James drew her in for a hug immediately when he noticed the tear stains on her face. Regulus couldn't help but think that James looked like he would be nice to hug, but he pushed the thought away. Now was not the time, Lily was upset.

      "Ugh, just work. Bastards fired me, but we're not talking about it. We've elected to drink instead." Lily pulled back from James and beamed at him as she simultaneously tipped up the bottom of the rum bottle that Regulus was currently pouring, doubling the amount he would usually put in. "Care for it? I really just need a bit of company. Oh, I have Pringles upstairs, hang on I'll grab them. This is so exciting, we can finally have drinks here instead of at yours now that those pricks are gone!"

      Lily was gone like a shot up the stairs as she left James and Regulus alone in the kitchen. Regulus busied himself with his task at hand, as James quickly made his way over to stand next to him. Regulus hated hovering, but he didn't mind it so much when James kept far enough away that he wasn't breathing down Regulus's neck. 

      "Hi."

      "Hello, James." He replied coolly, pouring lime juice into the mixture. Regulus had been a bartender during his first year of college and was used to making far nicer things than strawberry daiquiris, but he was working on a budget so they would have to do. 

     "Whatcha doin' ?" James asked, hoisting himself up on the counter next to Regulus and swinging his legs like a kid with too much energy. 

     "Making pipe bombs." Regulus deadpanned.

     "Mean." James replied, but he was smiling.

     "Then why do you seem so happy about it?" Regulus inquired, but James just shrugged his shoulders and kept smiling. James was utterly unphased, so Regulus just sighed and continued. His comments seemed to just bounce off James, who seemed no less disinterested as he watched what Regulus was doing. It was making Regulus slightly nervous actually, so he started talking to distract them both. "I'm making cocktails, James. Strawberry daiquiris."

     "Oh, I love those!" 

     "What makes you think I'll give you any?" Regulus taunted, because he was just in the mood to be honest. 

     "Well, we can't go on our date because we have to mind Lil, so the least you could do really is give me a drink." James seemed to say before he realised his choice of words, quickly darting his eyes back to Regulus to make amends. "Well, obviously I don't want to just assume it was a date, sorry. We didn't really talk about it or anything."

      "No, we didn't." Regulus replied, very much enjoying what James had said for a lot of reasons. "Assumptions are a dangerous thing. Like how you just assumed I would even agree to go with you. I mean-"

     "Okay, answer me thing." James interrupted and Regulus let him because of the look on his face. It was smug, but there was a gleam of something in his eye that Regulus found very sexy. So, Regulus shut up and let James continue on. "Would you have said yes?"

     "Well, that's beside the point."

     "No, no, no." James shook his head before looking back at Regulus with a trademark smile. "I just asked one question, that's all I want to know. If I had actually said the words 'Do you want to go on a date with me?' and let you respond, would you have said yes?"

      James tilted his head at Regulus and Regulus knew he would have, but he was never going to admit that. He was also never going to admit that the way James was looking at him right now was making him feel extremely funny. 

      "I would've had to think about it." Regulus replied, because he's a dirty liar. He leant against the counter across from James, who leant back as well with his palms on the counter top. Regulus couldn't help but notice the way that the sleeves of his jumper slipped up to reveal tattoos all over James's forearm. Regulus could count at least six, so he couldn't even guess how many James had all over his body. Regulus tried to stop thinking about James's body as soon as he could, redirecting his attention to the conversation at hand. 

      "Oh, would you?" James said with a hint of disbelief in his voice as he made a point of rolling his gaze from the top of Regulus's head all the way down to his toes, before dragging his eyes back to Regulus's again. Regulus couldn't hide the slight blush he felt grow on his cheeks, but he could make sure his features remained completely stoic. "That's interesting because-"

       Regulus didn't let him finish as he childishly flipped the button on the blender, causing James's voice to drown out under the whirring noise. 

      "Sorry, can't hear you." Regulus practically screamed over the noise, gesturing to his ears. 

     James starting laughing, and tried to swat Regulus away from the blender, who dodged him every time. Regulus stopped the whirring and when James began to try get in his twopence, Regulus just turned it back on to stop him in his tracks. They did it for quite some time, Regulus was quickly learning that James was an adamant guy. If he wanted to say something, he had to or else he'd explode. He was currently caught between laughing at Regulus and trying to get out what he needed to say. 

     "Oh real mature, I-"

     Whizz. Whizz. Whizz.

     "Regulus, you can just admit it you know-"

     "Really can't hear a word, James." Regulus mouthed, keeping his finger firmly on the button and letting the noise fill the space between them. Every time James opened his mouth, Regulus quickly interrupted him until Lily came flying back down the stairs a moment later, arms full of snacks.

      "Jesus, that ice takes ages to blend." She noted, plopping a can of Pringles and a packet of custard creams down on the counter. James threw Regulus a look, which he promptly ignored. "Absolute score, I also found biscuits. Now, hurry on with those drinks."

      "Yes, boss." Regulus said with a weak mock salute as he poured their drinks. 

     Over the space of a few hours, Regulus made so many strawberry daiquiris that they had ran through the whole bottle of white rum. Lily had then pulled out some Smirnoff and made a pitcher of vodka cranberry that was so strong, Regulus had gagged when he took his first sip. The night ran away from them as they spent it playing some drinking game involving a dice and some cards. It was a game of chance and somehow, Lily just kept getting fucked over by fate. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing though, because she quickly forgot all about her terrible day. Lily was on her fourth vodka cranberry when Regulus started his second and James was still sipping away at his first. 

      Regulus made sure to sit on the opposite couch, away from James so that he wouldn't have to look at him after their kitchen encounter. Regulus was many things, but proud was one of his worst qualities. Of course, he would have wanted to go out with James but he wasn't going to admit it. Not when James had that smug face in the kitchen, and not as he kept shooting Regulus looks over his cards. Nope, Regulus was not going to say a thing or even look his way. 

     Lily was asleep by eleven o'clock, passed out in a tumble of limbs on the couch next to James. She dozed off mid conversation after they had abandoned the game, which Regulus was glad for because he was feeling the effects of the drinks already. He was talking more than he usually would as they lulled into a slow conversation in their tipsy states and Regulus realised he was actually quite tired. Regulus hadn't been speaking for a few moments because he was staring down at James's feet as he chatted to Lily, thinking about how much he liked his shoes when James abruptly stopped talking to Lily. Regulus looked up to find her snoring and James was just staring at her.

      "She drools in her sleep." James commented with a fond smile and Regulus felt a pang of jealousy, which was absolutely ridiculous so he kept his mouth firmly shut incase anything bitter escaped. How did James know that? Regulus pushed the thought away quickly before he could delve too deeply into it. "Better get her to bed before she gets it all over the couch. I'll be back in a second."

     Without another word, James stood from the couch and picked Lily up bridal style, as if she were as light as a feather. He tucked his arms around her and climbed the steps without any strain as she mumbled something about ducks sleepily. James laughed and continued on until he was out of Regulus's sight. Regulus thought that he had never heard a nicer laugh than James's one, there was nothing hollow about it. Everything about James just seemed so full.

     Regulus doesn't want to think about that either. He doesn't want to think about James at all right now actually. Not when he's feeling so tipsy and James is right there, just being so incomprehensibly lovely and infuriating all at once.

      "For fuck's sake." Regulus whispered to himself, truly sick shit of thinking all together. 

      "Some greeting." James announced, flopping down on the couch next to Regulus. Regulus just looked at him, without showing any response at all. He sat far enough away so they weren't touching, but even having James so close was doing something to him. The swirl of emotions and alcohol left Regulus in a very playful mood and he was nervous to even be anywhere near James right now. "So, would you have said yes?"

     "Back on that again, are we?" Regulus took quite a large sip of his drink, feeling as though he would probably need it for this conversation. 

     "Well, you never answered me."

     "Well, you claim to already know my answer."

     "Yes, but I want to hear you say it." James said with a devilish smile that glued Regulus to his spot.

      Oh, that was dangerous. The look on James's face was dangerous as he grinned wickedly and Regulus wanted to kiss it all away. He didn't let it show though, he just kept looking at James and feigned 'amused disinterest' as best he could. 

      "Get your ego boost from somewhere else, James." Regulus said, not unkindly. He was thinking of distractions, anything to wipe that look off of James's face. "If you're so sure of my answer, then you shouldn't need to hear it from me. Unless you think you're wrong, of course."

     "What?" James looked confused, which Regulus took as a small victory so he continued. 

      "Well, I mean, if you are so very positive that I would say yes, then you surely don't need to hear it from me as well." Regulus explained, not breaking eye contact for a second. "Unless, that is, if you think you might be wrong and need the reassurance." 

     "I know I'm right." James tried to insist, but he looked slightly more unsure. Regulus began to smile like the cat that got the cream. He couldn't help it, Regulus loved to be right and even if he wasn't right, he would usually manage to convince the other person that he was.

      This time was no different than the others, except for the fact that James was still trying to be persistent. Usually, people just gave up when they felt outsmarted, except for Sirius who practically wrote the handbook on being a stubborn git. 

     "Then you can have assurance in that knowledge." Regulus said, rising from his chair and making his way over to his room. He didn't miss James watching him with a slightly open mouth as he walked away. Regulus took slow steps as he continued. "I can be silent on the matter and it makes no difference seeming as you're so sure anyway. If you really know it, then you can just keep believing that. Now, seeming as you are already so self assured and don't require anything from me, I am going to sleep."

      Regulus turned at his door to look back at James, who had his head propped up on the back of the couch looking straight at Regulus.

     "Well, okay." He said slowly, lulling over all of the information Regulus had just dumped on him. His face was full of concentration as Regulus watched him think for a few seconds, thoroughly appreciating the view. He seemed to have come to a conclusion as he opened his pretty mouth and Regulus didn't even try to hide the fact that he was still staring at him as James began to speak. "Would you say yes if I asked you again some time?"

     "Try and you'll find out." Regulus gave him a very cheeky smile before shutting his door, finally able to breathe again as he leant his back against it. 

     Regulus had to leave, he couldn't be in a room with James alone right now. James was far too lovely and Regulus was far too tipsy. Regulus had a tendency to make bad decisions while drunk and he didn't want James to just be a bad decision.

     He was also exhausted after hauling so many boxes for the last few days, so Regulus really did want to sleep. So, he did just that, pulling off his clothes and throwing them onto the floor haphazardly before crawling under his duvet. Regulus had a very long day, but the drink made it easy to fall into a comfortable sleep without too many thoughts to bother him.

     Regulus dreamed of a familiar face except this time, he is no longer stranger.

     It's James. 

Chapter Text

Remus

     "Promise you'll tell me every filthy detail?" 

     "Oh, fuck off." Regulus snapped at the other end of the line, but he didn't quite put his heart into it as he usually would. Oh, this meant something. It wasn't like him to not add some kind of comment after the usual 'fuck off'. Remus knew better than that "Bye, dickhead. I'll see you later."

     Remus couldn't help it, he was smiling like a fool in the middle of the park as Regulus hung up on him. He was leaning against the railing as he chatted, shooing pigeons away with his feet. One even had the audacity to peck at his shoe, pigeons are getting far too brave these days he thought. Remus hated pigeons, they were just rats with wings and if he was being completely honest, their eyes freaked him out a bit. It was like they could see through you or something and it gave Remus the heebie-jeebies. 

     However, he was still in a good mood after the call with his best friend. Regulus had seemed to be in an absolute tizzy, but not necessarily the bad kind. He had seemed more confused than anything, but there was some kind of excitement laced through his ramblings. This was a very rare case, Regulus had never really cared for anyone at all, well at least as long as Remus had known him. Sex was just transactional and nobody ever seemed to be kept around very long, so Remus had just assumed that he was always like that. He couldn't even picture Regulus truly liking someone, he was the very picky sort.

     Sometimes, that thought alone was the only thing that let Remus know he was good. The fact that Regulus was so rigorous about the company he kept, yet somehow he decided that he liked Remus's company best. Though he rarely said it, Regulus really and truly loved Remus and the feeling was frighteningly mutual. Love is something you do and Remus saw it everyday in the way that he would find new books on his locker every week or sometimes find that the pile of laundry he couldn't bring himself to do was clean and meticulously folded in its basket. Regulus loved quietly, often with an absence of words yet an abundance of care. Remus didn't need to hear it from him because he already knew. Regulus cared for him in a way that nobody really ever had bothered to and Remus always felt so lucky to have that. To be loved. 

     Regulus was the kind of person who was immensely hard on himself, he thought he was everything bad under the sun and more. He refused to see the good in himself, but Remus had always seen it. He was lovely, Remus loved every part of him and was very vocal on the matter. Sometimes all a person needs is to be reminded of their value and they begin to see it again, slowly but surely. Remus wanted nothing more than for Regulus to be happy, and he had caught a glimpse of something during that call. That something was not necessarily happy, but it was something. Some kind of nervous joy that made Remus think that whatever this thing with James was, it might be good for him. For both of them. 

     Remus was still grinning to himself as he pushed off the railing, not even bothering to shoo away the last remaining pigeon at his ankles. He was in that good of a mood, and besides, he had more important business to attend to.

     As Remus strode back to where Sirius was waiting for him, he couldn't help but stare. It was reflex. Sirius was simply far too easy to stare at.

     He was leaning against a tree on the red and gold picnic blanket, so immersed in his book that a small furrow had formed between his eyebrows. The expression seemed all too familiar, but Remus couldn't quite place it, especially not when the only thing he could focus on right now was Sirius. They had came to the park hours ago with the promise of doing some reading after they had bought each other a book to read. Remus had picked out a collection of Oscar Wilde short stories for Sirius because it contained his favourite one. He had even put a little star in the index to mark it, which Sirius had loved once he saw it. Remus had received Northanger Abbey, which was apparently Sirius's favourite Austen novel. 

     They had brilliant plans to spend the evening reading, but after the book swap they had quickly fallen into comfortable conversation and the idea pretty much went out the window. Sirius had moved his head to Remus's lap almost immediately, smiling up at him with those stormy eyes as Remus ran a hand through his hair. Very gently, as if he was dealing with something precious. Which he was really.

      He hadn't even noticed when he started doing it, but Sirius relaxed into the motion like a happy dog getting scratched. Remus slowly starting tracing his fingertip along the bridge of Sirius's nose as he talked, quickly becoming entranced by the slope as he repeated the motion again and again. Sirius seemed to enjoy it, looking completely content as the corners of his mouth upturned while he continued speaking. Remus just listened as he kept exploring, running his fingers along Sirius's eyebrows and trailing them all over his face as he chatted.

     Remus couldn't help it. He wanted to memorise everything about Sirius, not limited to sight but everything. He wanted to remember the smell of Sirius's shampoo and the taste of his cherry lip balm, but that was nothing compared to how much he wanted to touch him. He didn't care if it was as small as intertwining their pinkie fingers, Remus just always wanted to be touching Sirius in some way. He wanted to kiss him, hold him, shag him, anything. To have Sirius is to feel as though you are holding something precious, like a fallen star in the palm of your hand. Electrifying and warm and everything good.

      Everything with Sirius was comfortable. Remus still couldn't quite believe that they had just met, it felt as though they knew each other forever. As if somehow it was inevitable in this and every lifetime that they were supposed to know each other. It was predetermined, they had had no say in the matter. It was simply true. Remus knew virtually nothing about this practical stranger, but he wanted to know everything.

     He would listen to Sirius talk all day just to hear his voice, and Sirius had been putting this fact into very good practise as he told story after story about him and his roommates. Roommates who Remus was quickly learning seemed to be a good time. He was very intrigued by this Marlene character, which only increased tenfold as Sirius recounted the time that she wrote, performed and recorded an entire song about Sirius being a cunt. However, his curiosity remained intact as Regulus had called before Sirius could explain just what inspired 'Wanker Ate My Ice-cream' , but to be fair Remus could probably take a wild guess at that one.

      Remus had stepped away, sensing the urgency in Regulus's tone immediately and deciding this should probably be a private matter. He wrenched Sirius's head off of his lap, pressing a small apologetic kiss to the back of his hand before standing. Sirius had given him a bashful smile that warmed Remus to the tips of his ears and all that he could do was pray he wasn't blushing. If Regulus ever saw him blushing, he would rip him a new one, so Remus was eternally grateful that he couldn't see him through the call as he had practically melted at Sirius's reaction.

      If Remus was being honest, it terrified him how much he liked Sirius. It terrified him because he was just so sure of it. He didn't know how but he just knew that Sirius was it. Remus didn't even know what it was, but he just knew that it was Sirius. Of course, Remus was well aware that this is mental to think so soon, but he jus can't help being sure of it all. He was like nobody else Remus had ever met and as he walked back, Remus made sure to take his sweet time so that he could enjoy the view before he was spotted. 

     Sirius was beautiful. Everything about him screamed to be looked at. Every time they went out together, Remus counted the amount of double takes from strangers and that day alone there had been seven. Maybe on some small level, it made Remus want to snatch him in closer but the thing was, he couldn't even blame them. It was the Sirius effect, his presence demanded attention. There was some kind of magic surrounding him that just seemed to reel people in. Remus was caught; hook, line and sinker. Enamoured didn't even begin to cover it, but he couldn't quite find it in himself to be petrified by that in that moment. He was busy observing an unknowing Sirius, drinking in every inch of him greedily while he wouldn't be caught staring. 

     Sirius leant forward slight, an elbow resting on his knee and the opposite ringed hand clutching his new book. His dark hair fanned around the shoulders of the cream knitted jumper Remus had leant him. It was one of Remus's favourites, but he couldn't help but think it looked better on Sirius than it ever had on him. It swooped slightly at the neck revealing sharp collar bones and Remus could see the top of his black t-shirt peeking out, which was Sirius's usual colour. Remus thought the lighter shade was a nice change, though he didn't think he would ever get over the sight of Sirius in all black. 

     His full lips were pouted as he concentrated, clearly drinking in every word as he hadn't even noticed Remus approaching him. Remus was glad because he wasn't quite ready to lay all of his cards on the table just yet, so getting caught gawking would be a dead give away. Remus couldn't help it. There are certain things in life that are accepted as fact. What goes up must come down, the moon appears anew in the sky each night just as the sun will surely rise as dawn approaches. Remus had come to accept a new rule of fate as of recently and it was that he was utterly enamoured with Sirius Black and that would remain unchanged. He was a haze of gentle touches and kisses that Remus never wished to meet the end of. Not only was he the prettiest thing that Remus had ever seen, but he was lovely in every sense of the word. 

     When Sirius laughed, it came out as a bark and filled the room. When he told stories, people listened as though he was preaching. People wanted to look at Sirius, listen to Sirius, to know Sirius. Remus wanted it more. He had never wanted anything more and if Sirius wasn't so lovely, it might be scary.

      However as Remus watched him, he couldn't quite bring himself to feel scared because of the ever expanding comfort that bloomed in his chest when he saw Sirius. No, he wasn't scary at all. He had no fangs or horns, no pointed wings or pronged staff. Truthfully, if Remus squinted enough he was sure he could probably make out a halo.

      He tested out his theory and when his eyes snapped back into focus, he saw that Sirius was staring straight at him with a very amused looking grin on his face. 

.     Busted.

     He put down his book immediately, turned to cross his legs and face Remus, who sat down and mirrored him. Sirius liked to sit like this. He liked to be close it seemed and to be able to see Remus's face while they spoke. At least it was a comfort to know that Remus wasn't the only one who felt that way, like sometimes they were the only two people for miles. they lost themselves in conversation, never managing to run out of things to talk about, yet silence with Sirius was different than normal silence. It was accompanied by Sirius's soft hands running along Remus's palms or chest or jaw. Sirius seemed adiment to leave a trace of himself on every part of Remus's body, and who was he to object to such an agreeable arrangement.

      Just that morning he had opened his eyes to Sirius doing just that as he traced the curves of Remus's cheekbones with his thumb. Remus had opened his eyes to a sheepish, but happy Sirius so he had nothing to complain about really. If he could be woken up like that every morning, he would. 

.      Oh for fuck's sake, he thought to himself, If Regulus heard me now, he would rip me a new one. 

      Actually, maybe he wouldn't. Maybe because of this new found romance or whatever it was with the neighbour boy, Regulus doesn't have a leg to stand on. Remus had heard his babbling enough times to know that Regulus didn't really get enthusiastic about many things. Annoyed, yes. Enthusiastic, never. He wasn't exactly an enthused kind of guy. All that being said, Remus had heard that hint of something today and that was huge for him. 

     "Oi," Sirius called, snapping Remus out of his train of thought. He gave a little wave of his fingers, desperate to draw Remus's attention back to him. He had a very mischievous smile plastered across his face, which Remus was quickly discovering he was a big fan of. "Too busy thinking about your fancy fella on the phone to even pay me attention while you're here? I get that you're in high demand, darling, but this is my time. Time for me. I'm entitled to all of you right now."

        Remus, who couldn't bring himself to deprive Sirius of anything really, huffed a laugh as he grabbed Sirius's hands. Drawing them up to his face, he pressed a kiss to each knuckle knowing how much Sirius liked it. He was still laughing as he did it because yes, Sirius was ridiculous. However, Remus was equally as ridiculous, so who was he to judge really.

       "There's no fancy fella, I'm afraid." Remus smiled, turning over Sirius's hands to peck the centre of his two palms. Sirius watched him throughout, smile spreading a little wider with each new addition. "Just a friend."

     Being one of the only people that Regulus actually trusted, Remus knew better than to just splurge all of that on Sirius. After all, they hadn’t even met each other yet.

      Regulus had told Remus about James in confidence, so he would of course keep it between them. Besides, James would probably blab the whole story to him later anyway so who was Remus not to let him have his moment.

      "Oh right." Sirius seemed almost bashful, similar to the first time they had met. Remus had picked up on the faint pink that tinged his cheeks then and was blessed to see it again. 

      Remus had thought Sirius would be shy then, but boy did he learn how wrong that assumption was. Especially after everything he had pulled last night. Sirius was everything.

     “Just me.” He seemed to repeat to himself, not letting his gaze waver from where Remus now chose to place two kisses on his lovely wrists.

      Remus was well aware that he was completely gone for Sirius. In a way he never quite had been. He didn’t really know if he had ever truly liked anyone or if he was just trying so hard to try to like them that he had convinced himself he had. It wasn’t like that with Sirius. 

     Sirius had perfectly mirrored how Remus felt when they had met, but Remus was better at concealing it. Sirius had been looking away and fidgeting with his rings which his cheeks tinged, but Remus felt some kind of explosion deep in the pits of him. He had known just as well then as he knew now that it was ‘Just Sirius.’

     So he indulged himself, taking Sirius’s face between his hands and kissing him softly. Remus knew that he never knew what to expect, it was wonderfully different every time. Sometimes kissing Sirius was like being caught in the tide, pushing and pulling just the right amount to make Remus feel the urge to drown then and there. It was hungry and biting, desperate and untameable.

      This time however, it was as sweet as it could be. Remus felt as though he was floating on the verge of everything. Sirius sighed contently as Remus lifted his hand, not able to resist the reflex of running his fingers through it. It was a quickly developing habit. Sirius was a quickly developing habit, and not one that Remus saw any problem with having.

     He somehow willed the strength and pulled away from Sirius, who was looking like something very fearsome indeed. His usual pout was parted slightly, eyes wide and he was staring at Remus through those lovely eyelashes of his. 

      "Just you." Remus agreed, hoping that Sirius understood the weight of the words. His mouth snapped shut immediately and Remus could practically see the cogs turning in his head.

      Remus knew it was soon, it was too soon but if Sirius felt the same way as he did, maybe it wasn't. Maybe, just maybe, they were on the same page.

     "I mean, I'd like it to be just you. If that's also something you would like."

     Fuck. Okay this was embarrassing, usually Remus was a lot more cohesive than this but Sirius's presence did something to him. He had let the butterflies take over for a second.

     Sirius didn't seem to mind somehow. In fact, a smile spread across his face and he lit up. It was as if he was a star, gleaming per usual. This was more special somehow because this time, he was shining just for Remus. On Remus. For fuck sake, Remus would even settle for just near him. Sirius was an enigma. 

     "I would like. that very much." Sirius managed to breath out before Remus was on him again in a second, pressing every inch of his mouth into Sirius's smile in attempts to absorb it whole. 

_________

      Remus has somewhat of a skip in his step by the time he arrived back to his new home. Maybe today had been one of the better days in Remus's life, possible even the best. Sirius had the power to do that. 

      Finding the willpower to leave his bedroom and cross over to his own house was hard. Sirius had been all but pouting, but Remus had promised to talk to Regulus. He had to go, despite the urge to stay right where he was with Sirius comfortably splayed across his arms. Remus reckoned if he hadn’t moved then, he never would have. 

     Knocking lightly and pushing through to Regulus's room, Remus was shocked to find the man in question asleep. Passed out would probably be a better word for it as he lay limbs akimbo toussled under layers of blankets. Remus debated waking him up and ultimately settled on leaving the poor bugger get some sleep while he could. Regulus had always suffered from insomnia and often had nightmares that he would never disclose the details of. Remus didn't need to know the details, but he wanted his friend to rest. Regulus looked too peaceful to be disturbed, so Remus turned to ascend to his own room.

      He peeked into the sitting room to find James curled in a ball on the armchair, glasses at a strange angle against Lily's bathrobe which he was using as a makeshift pillow. Sirius had been wondering if they were bothering James with all the noise, but judging by all the vodka bottles, James hadn't come home at all. Remus found the spare blanket and covered him up with it because James would undoubtedly be waking up with a crick in his neck tomorrow morning so Remus didn't want him to be chilly on top of all that. 

      Remus's eye couldn't help but catch on the front door. Regulus was asleep anyway, so surely it wouldn't matter if he just woke him up in the morning instead for their chats. If that was the case then maybe he could...

     Before he was even conscious of his actions, Remus was through the door and slammed it shut behind him. His key was inside.

      'Oh well, no going back now', He thought to himself as he hopped the wall.

     Moments after Remus knocked, the door swung open to reveal just the man he was looking for. Sirius had tied his hair back with some kind of pin and the look was far too much for Remus's already highly strung emotions. He couldn't pinpoint what exactly about Sirius made him feel this way, but he had a feeling it was everything. He looked shocked to see Remus again so soon, but not disappointed in any sense.

     "Hi." Remus willed his pulse to calm and attempted to focus on the person in front of him. He had been away from Sirius for all of five minutes, but something unclenched in Remus's stomach when he laid eyes on him again. It was comfortable. Sirius was comfortable. "My roommate is out for the count and I just found James conked on the couch, so I said I'd leave our plans until tomorrow instead. So, my night has freed up if you'd like to-"

     Remus didn't even get to finish his propositions before he was tugged into Sirius's arms, who quickly slammed the door behind him.