Archive of Our Own ^beta

Regulus was sulking. Which was a common occurrence, really. But instead of sulking in the comfort of his room in his shared flat with Sirius, he was sulking at a party. In an unfamiliar house. With loud music. And people snogging and making fools of themselves all over the place. He was currently perched on the corner of a couch, making himself as small as possible. He nursed a cup of straight vodka (he never went for the punch bowl, ever, he would have been stupid to do so) and warily watched the people swaying and laughing around the room.

He hadn’t even wanted to go to this party- it had all been Sirius’ idea. “You’ve got to get out more, Reggie! I can barely stand you moping in the flat all day, you brat. And I met some really cool blokes the other day at the record shop, one of them is having a party! C’mon, it’ll be a blast,” he had pleaded with him, and Regulus never wanted to admit it, but he was secretly pleased that his brother cared enough to pester him. Besides, he had resolved to try to get along with Sirius now, and his therapist had told him that, “Spending time getting to know your brother again is a good thing, Regulus,” and, “Oh, my, you’ve both been through so much together, you poor, poor darlings.” Regulus had found her quite annoying, but he supposed she had had a point.

The dipping of the couch next to him broke his train of thought and he glanced over to see two young women happily making out without a care in the world. One of them had straddled the other, and was loudly and sloppily sucking on the other’s neck. The other was moaning the girl’s name- Marlene- over and over again. Regulus sniffed in disgust and took a large swig of the vodka, the burn welcome in his throat. He found the whole ‘public displays of affection’ thing to be completely over-the-top and distasteful.

Getting up from the couch quickly, he made his way through the crowd, wincing every time a sweaty body touched his. He felt like he was suffocating, and the cup of vodka clenched tightly to his chest and the steady movement of his feet across the room was keeping him anchored to reality. He was granted a quick respite by an armchair, and arched his back up and stepped on his tiptoes to gaze above the crowd. He had always been a short little thing, and Sirius often teased him for it (though Regulus reminded him that he was no better). With a soft exhale of relief, he spotted a balcony that seemed to be completely unoccupied. He looked through the crowd again, trying to find the easiest way over, when he spotted his brother unabashedly snogging some tall, curly-haired bloke in the middle of the dance floor. He groaned. Sirius had zero sense of decorum. Not Regulus’ problem, anyway. Regulus spotted an opening through the crowd, and quickly made his way through it, pausing only at the kitchen counter to refill his cup. He needed all the alcohol he could get tonight.

As he was refilling his drink, someone sidled up to him, pressing their body against his and snaking a hand around his waist to pull him close. Regulus froze, his hands shaking slightly. He gripped his drink with two hands to mask it. “Get off of me,” he said, with a slight bite in his tone. The person behind him chuckled-- a deep voice, male, pompous-- and said, “I’ve been watching you all night. Quiet. Gorgeous. Just begging for attention. Don’t tell me you don’t want this,” and moved one of their hands down to his crotch. Alarm spiked in Regulus’ head, and he tightened his grip on his drink before snarling, “I said, get off of me.” With that, he leaned his head forward and then brought it violently back, feeling the impact of the man’s nose with the back of his head. The man released his hold on him with a groan, and Regulus took the opportunity to dash into the crowd, heading to the balcony, where he would have space to breathe. He didn’t look back.

Regulus sat on the ledge of the railing (which was terribly dangerous, he knew) and brought his drink to his lips with still-shaky hands. He vaguely recognized that he was crying. He could still feel the man pressed up behind him, the grip he had had on his body, his deep laughter, the fear he had felt. He hated parties, and he vowed he always would. It was ridiculous, really-- every time he had been at a party, something bad had happened. “Fuck me,” he breathed angrily into the cool night air, relishing the way his breath made smoke-like shapes in the sky.

“Okay, but I barely know you,” a voice to his right said cheekily.

Regulus startled and would have fallen off the railing if it weren’t for the stranger’s strong and steady hand. He turned and saw concerned hazel eyes emphasized by rectangular glasses, tan skin, and messy black hair. Fuck, he thought, and his cheeks burned. He was glad for the darkness, maybe this stranger wouldn’t see his blush against his pale skin. “S-sorry,” he said, gently prying the man’s hand off of his arm and getting off of the ledge himself. He couldn’t help but hate physical contact-- it had been ingrained in him from a young age that any form of touch was with the purpose to hurt. “Thanks for helping me,” he said, averting his eyes from the young man’s. He took that moment to hastily wipe the tears from his eyes, hoping they weren’t red.

He simply smiled and waved it off. “So. What’s a handsome man like yourself doing out here all alone, whispering to the air?” the stranger said, leaning against the railing casually. Regulus felt his cheeks burning again, and evidently the man could see him blushing now, because he grinned at him cheekily.

“This party is absolute ass, that’s why,” Regulus said, surprising himself with his vulgarity. Oh, well. Perhaps he had had more vodka than he had thought. The stranger’s expression widened in a large smile-- it was quite dazzling to the eye, really-- and through his grin, waved his hand at Regulus, as if to say, “Elaborate.”

And he did. But he said it in a much more charming way, one in which Regulus was sure to respond. After all, he was a stranger, right? So when he said in that steady voice, “Well, go on then, tell me about it,” Regulus assumed there would be no harm done. He would spill his guts about this horrendous party to some attractive stranger, and be on his merry way with Sirius when he was done snogging that lanky fellow from earlier.

Regulus groaned. “Well, of course my brother has to drag me here. Because I absolutely loathe any form of party. There’s too many people snogging-- which I don’t mind, sure, but when you’re borderline shagging on the couch right next to me, it gets a bit uncomfortable. And then everyone’s sweating all over the place, and probably throwing up in corners and planters from all the punch they’ve been drinking,” Regulus noted that the stranger looked a bit put out at that, “--and then of course some absolute fucking prick has to go and feel me up while I’m pouring myself a drink. As if I wanted that in the first place,” he said angrily, and bit his lip to keep from crying again. His hands were still shaking. He looked away and took a deep breath. “So yes. I hate parties, and especially this one.” After a moment, he added, “and the music was absolutely dreadful.” He took a large swig of his vodka then, and realized the other man wasn’t speaking. He spared a glance over at him and almost choked on his drink.

He looked absolutely murderous. Regulus flinched and backed away slightly, and the man’s gaze softened and looked apologetic.

“Sorry- I-” he ran a hand through his dark hair. “I’m not mad at you. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just- who? Who… touched you? I want to make sure I never speak to them again. You don’t deserve to be touched without consent. No one does.”

Regulus shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said, a jolt of heat running through his chest as he heard the other man speak so kindly. “He… came up behind me.” He shuddered then, reliving it, and squeezed his eyes shut. “I hit him, in the nose, though. With the back of my head.”

The man looked pleased at that, and gave him a smile. “Good for you. You’re alright, though? Need anything?”

Regulus nodded. “Change of subject, if that’s alright?”

The man smiled cheekily at him. “‘Course. Shall I go back to flirting with you, or are you not interested?” Regulus’ heart did somersaults right then and there. The brazenness of it all, the charming grin, the twinkle in his eyes. His throat felt dry, and he swallowed.

“That- yes, that sounds nice,” he said, allowing himself to laugh quietly. The man beamed then, and Regulus smiled too. “I’m Regulus,” he said, offering his hand.

“James,” the man-- James, said, taking his hand and kissing it, keeping eye contact the whole time. Regulus’ breath caught in his throat, and his cheeks burned. “You’ve got an intriguing name, Regulus,” he said, and Regulus immediately fell in love with the way James said it-- it was like he was telling him a secret and shouting it to the rooftops all at the same time.

“My family is super into astrological names,” he said with a shrug. “James, though- that’s got a nice sound,” he said with a shy smile. He noticed then that James had not let go of his hand, and he found that he didn’t want him to. He squeezed it gently, and James squeezed back, tracing small circles over the skin of Regulus’ wrist with his thumb.

It was then that Sirius and the tall man burst into the balcony, and Regulus quickly sprang apart from James. James, however, just leaned back casually and grinned, sticking his hands into his pockets. “Reggie! My darling baby brother!” Sirius yelled, flinging his arms around Regulus’ neck. Regulus groaned at the full weight of his brother, pushing him off of him.

“Ugh, you’re absolutely pissed,” he grumbled, finally able to breathe as the curly-haired bloke helped haul Sirius off of him.

Sirius looked positively offended. “I’ll have you know I’m only tipsy. I can handle my alcohol, Reg.” Regulus shook his head while the tall man laughed.

Sirius straightened up. “This is Remus, he’s absolutely lovely,” he said with a grin, snaking an arm around the curly-haired man’s waist. Remus blushed and rolled his eyes, but treated Sirius to a kiss on the lips. Regulus frowned and looked away. “And I see you’ve met James, then? Mate sure knows how to throw a good party!”

Regulus’ jaw dropped. James was the party host? He turned to him and that cocky grin and began to stammer out an apology when the other man just laughed. “It’s quite alright. So, you think I’ve got shit music then?” Regulus was debating whether or not to lie and then decided against it.

“It’s some of the worst stuff I’ve heard,” he said truthfully, with a grin. Regulus Arcturus Black wasn’t normally one for a bit of drama, but he was certainly not one to back down from a challenge, either.

Thankfully, James laughed.

“I have got to agree with you there, Regulus,” Remus frowned, “the music wasn’t your strong suit tonight. Definitely not the best part of the party.”

“Nah, the best part was getting to snog me, wasn’t it?” Srius said with a smirk.

“Oi, you think so highly of yourself, I swear-” Remus said with a wide smile. Regulus thought that anyone with half a brain could see how madly attracted they were to each other.

“Well then, Regulus, you’ve got to teach me what good music is. Fancy a day out?” James said with a nervous smile. Sirius gasped in shock. Remus chuckled.

“Like a date?” Regulus said hopefully, ignoring his brother.

James grasped his hand. “Yeah, I was hoping so.”

Regulus grinned, squeezing his hand. “Yes, I would love to.”

James beamed, and that settled it.

It was then that two redheaded twins popped their heads out to the balcony. “Lockhart’s got a broken nose, the massive git won’t even tell us how he’s got it,” one of them said in annoyance.

“Bleedin’ all over your countertop, James,” the other added helpfully.

“Yeah, who even invited that snobbish sleazebag in the first place?”

Regulus squeezed James’ hand tightly, sending him an alarmed look. Someone with a broken nose. James had inevitably come to the same conclusion, because he looked positively enraged. “That bastard,” he breathed, just as Gilderoy Lockhart came around the corner of the balcony.

He locked eyes with Regulus and winked at him. Regulus felt positively sick.

Remus and Sirius seemed to have caught on as well, without knowing any other information, because Sirius had rushed up to grasp Lockhart tightly by his shirt, and Remus looked like he could rip him apart, but had succeeded in pulling Sirius back. James, on the other hand, had strode forward in a rage and pushed Lockhart up against the wall, forearm against his throat.

“You absolute monster,” he seethed, pressing hard against his windpipe. The twins looked slightly alarmed, but not surprised at the turn of events. “I don’t know who invited you here, but you are not welcome near any of these people ever again, you hear? And especially not Regulus.”

Lockhart nodded as much as he could, looking shaky and struggling to breathe at this point.

James released his hold on him and shoved him towards the doors. “You’re lucky. I had half a mind to toss you off the balcony,” he said in a cool voice that was more chilling than a shout.

The twins had matching expressions of steel and grasped Lockhart’s arms in theirs. “We’ll toss him out for you, Jamie,” they said, with a salute to Regulus.

When Lockhart was gone, Regulus could breathe, and sank to the cold stone patio. Sirius’ arms were around him, and Remus sat next to him, not touching him at all, and James knelt in front of him, not caring about the bruises he would have on his knees from the hard stone. “You alright there, Regulus?” he said, hazel eyes large with worry.

Regulus’ throat felt tight, but he nodded. “I will be.”

James had called off the party early after that. It had been a few hours since then, and after a few rounds of Truth or Dare, Sirius and Remus were now curled up on the couch, asleep in each other’s arms. Regulus and James sat in front of the fireplace, both clutching steaming hot mugs of cocoa and speaking in hushed tones.

“Thanks, for tonight,” Regulus said softly.

“It’s what anyone would’ve done,” James said simply. “You’re truly wonderful, Regulus, y’know that?”

Regulus smiled softly at that, leaning his head on the ottoman behind him. “Nah,” he began, “but you make me feel wonderful, James.” They were looking directly into each other’s eyes now, and something like a spark passed between them.

James let out a warm sigh. He noted how the light of the fire softened Regulus’ features. Turning his aristocratic cheekbones and jawline into something questioning, secretive, warm.

Regulus thought that for an awful party, it sure had the best turn of events in capturing the heart of one James Fleamont Potter.

If they kissed that night, no one but them and the fire were to know.

fin.