#regulus realising what he wants too late

[queerhairycowboy]

I ADMIT IVE HAD MY DOUBTS BUT I WANT TO BE LET IN NOT OUT. OH I WANT TO BE LET IN NOOOOT OUUUUT.

are we allies or enemys?????? this will be the death of me.

[anxiousthoughts365]

Broken

Trans!Reggie. Mildly NSFW - mostly just suggestive. Minors DNI.

'Fuck,' James hisses, his back hitting the edges of the pantry shelves as Regulus shoves him against them. The shorter boy smirks, but the teasing comment poised on the tip of his tongue dies when James wraps a large fist around his t-shirt and pulls him forward. Regulus staggers, but James catches him with ease, and then they're kissing.

Regulus feels like he'll never get used to this. How could he ever get used to the warmth of James' body pressed against his? How could it ever be normal for his own body to react the way it does whenever he catches a whiff of James' cologne, which somehow seems to be everywhere in the Potter Mansion? How could there ever be a time where James' mouth on his doesn't make his head spin and his insides melt?

He's so caught up in the feel and the smell and the taste of James James James that he doesn't realise what's happening until it's too late. James' hand is snaking down his abdomen over his shirt, heading lower, lower, until it finally comes to rest against the front of Regulus' jeans. James presses. And Regulus freezes.

He's been so careful up until now, so damned careful to avoid this, and in the weeks he's been here this is the one time he's let himself slip for a brief second, has been greedy, wanting to fully experience the feel of James' hands and lips on him without the constant background noise of his fear. And now look. Everything's ruined. He should leave, he needs to pack his things, to get out of -

'Baby?' James is still, too. More still than he's ever been in his life, Regulus thinks. His voice is gentle, achingly so, and oh so lovely as he murmurs, 'Reg, will you look at me?'

Regulus is surprised to realise that his eyes have closed of their own volition, but he can't do it. He can't make his lids lift. Can't see whatever devastating expression might be on James' face right now. So instead, he presses his lips together and shakes his head.

'Alright,' James murmurs, and he still hasn't moved, and Regulus doesn't know what to make of that. Everything shifts when James breathes, 'You know this doesn't matter, right?'

'Of course this fucking matters!' Ah, there it is. There's comfort in anger, in vitriol, and Regulus draws from the seemingly endless well of it inside himself as his eyes snap open and he spits, 'How could it not fucking matter? It means that this - this - whatever this is, it can't go on. I knew it, of course, but I had selfishly hoped for a little more time. Should have known better, really. Well, go on, let's hear it then. It's disgusting, and wrong, and fucked up, and you want me out of your house immediately and -'

James' hand finally leaves his crotch, but only so that the calloused, dark fingers can be pressed against Regulus' mouth, stilling his flow. Regulus blinks, pulled back from the brink of self-loathing by the set of James' jaw, the fire behind his hazel eyes.

'Alright,' the taller boy growls, the word slightly slurred from being forced through gritted teeth. 'Alright, then it matters. It matters, because this is who you are. It matters, because every time I hear how your family treated you because of it, I want to burn things. It matters, because I want to be able to make you feel good, but I need you to know that I have no expectations of you, no judgement for you or your body. It matters, but it changes nothing about how I feel for you.'

Regulus wants to believe him, but he's scared. And maybe James can see the fear, because his face softens. Regulus can see how he makes his jaw relax, how he pushes the tension from his shoulders. He's seen James do this before, when he adjusts his expression or body language almost subconsciously around Sirius, whenever his brother is stressed or frightened.

Regulus should be annoyed that James is treating him like he does Sirius. He should be, but he's not. At this moment, Regulus is grateful. Because with James' careful approach, he's able to drop his own defenses, is able to let logic filter through.

'You ... You don't mind,' he murmurs against James' palm. His reward for allowing James to soothe him is that the hand is removed from his mouth and moves instead to cup his cheek, James' thumb running over his cheekbone in a way that sends sparks shooting down his spine.

'No, Baby, I don't mind. You've already told me about this. I have never minded.' James frowns suddenly as a thought seemingly occurs to him, and he mutters, 'Although I'm annoyed that I forgot myself and didn't ask you before I touched you.'

'I'm not annoyed at you,' Regulus says quietly, making an effort to meet James' gaze so that the boy can see the sincerity in his words.

'You're not?' James sounds so unsure that Regulus wants to scoop him up, to reassure him and make everything better, make all of this goes away. So he does the only thing that he can think of in that moment. He steps closer, leaning in deliberately as he winds his arms around James' neck.

'I want you to touch me,' he breathes, and his heart rate speeds up as he watches James' pupils dilate.

'Yeah?' James chokes out, his cheeks flushing lightly as he stares down at Regulus. He nods, his lower lip caught between his teeth, and in no time James' hand finds its way between Regulus' legs once more, and he presses with the heel of his palm. The pressure and the pleasure make Regulus' head fall back, a soft sigh slipping through his lips, and James' resulting groan is almost sinful. But then he's pulling away, his fingers wrapping around Regulus' wrist as he moves towards the door.

'Wait, what -'

'I'm not doing this here,' James pants, and his eyes are slightly wild when he turns back to Regulus. He presses a brief but passionate kiss to the shorter boy's lips, before reaching for the handle on the pantry door. Regulus has to fight to stop his knees from buckling when James adds, 'I want you spread out on my bed while I take you apart.'

[veritas-scribblings]

improve - @jegulus-microfic - words: 848

James was just a naive twelve-year-old boy the first time the feeling consciously struck him. It was a feeling that could only be described as wonder with the slightest undercurrent of pure desire. He’d been on the football field at the time and he’d noticed Frank Longbottom, the captain of the sixth form Gryffindor football team. Of course he’d seen Frank before, but this time he actually saw him. Sweaty. A bit muddy.

For months afterwards, he’d been preoccupied with thoughts of Frank Longbottom, watching him practise almost daily, marvelling at the way his football uniform fit his strong, muscular form. Only he was still at the time frighteningly on the cusp of adolescence, old enough to have the thoughts and feelings and the strange sensations in his body, and still young enough to not be able to understand them well.

And so he’d passed it off as admiration for an older student, one who many students at school desired. His football idol. The almost-man he wanted to be (not the almost-man he clearly wanted to have).

It’s only, years later, while watching Regulus Black cross the South Lawn for the third time, flanked by Crouch and Rosier, that James starts to realise that there’s something more to the feelings and thoughts that have been plaguing him as of late. The ones he now associates with Regulus Black. That maybe the warm, flushed feeling in his stomach, the way he feels just a bit breathless at the sight of Regulus Black ought to be examined with a little bit more scrutiny.

‘Fucks sake, James, you’re drooling,’ Marlene hisses, tugging on James’s arm.

James looks around hastily and does his best to appear entirely innocent and unassuming. ‘What? No, I’m not. Drooling over what? Don’t be an idiot.’ 

Marlene rolls her eyes and plops down onto the lawn, staring up at James like he’s the simplest creature alive. Only Regulus is still across the way, now sitting underneath a tree with Crouch and Rosier, and he’s taken off his coattails so James can see the way his white shirt and the green-black of his prefect waistcoat fits his form perfectly. The way his black hair falls loosely, catching the light autumn breeze. The silver of the rings on his slender, elegant fingers, which gleam in the sunlight every once in a while.

‘What!’ When Marlene pulls on James’s arm, James goes down gracelessly, falling in a heap on the grass beside her. 

‘Quit staring, you fool. You’re going to look like a creep.’

‘I’m not—’

Marlene leans forwards, narrowing her gaze disbelievingly. ‘You’re not making lusty eyes at little Regulus Black? Please. You’ve been undressing him with your eyes for weeks. It’s so obvious a blind person could see it.’ She pauses, and a little bit gentler, uncharacteristically so, ‘It’s okay, you know. Liking guys. It’s perfectly normal.’ 

‘I know it’s normal! That’s not it.’ A warm flush fills James’s cheeks. He ducks his head and looks away sheepishly. ‘I have not been “undressing him with my eyes”! I’ve been entirely honourable in my looking. I’m just…observing how beautiful he is.’

‘Right.’ Marlene snorts in laughter and pats him on the shoulder sympathetically. ‘All right, Mr. Honourable. Stop “observing his beauty” and ask the boy out already. You’re making me sick with the constant googly eyes.’

‘Shhh!’ James waves his arms frantically, glancing over her shoulder to where Regulus is still lounging under the huge fig tree with his friends. ‘Quiet! I can’t!’

Marlene raises an eyebrow sceptically. ‘Because he’s a boy?’

‘No! Because he’s Sirius’s little brother, and he’s bloody Regulus Black! He’s got his own personal bodyguards. When are Crouch and Rosier ever not with him? They’re damned scary.’ 

Marlene grins. ‘Call me your wingman,’ she declares, sounding a little too excited as she scrambles to her feet. ‘I’ve got it under control! I’ll lure Crouch and Rosier away and you go get your boy.’

‘No! No wingman-ing!’ James reaches out and grabs her wrist to prevent her from bounding off towards Regulus and h his friends. ‘That’s Sirius’s little brother, I can’t! There’s an…unwritten code between best friends that you don’t develop feelings for their little brother, let alone try to date them.’ 

Across the grass, Regulus has taken out a copy of what looks like some Shakespearean text. He’s always so serious when he reads, James has noticed from the times when he’s…honourably observed Regulus’s beauty from afar. So focussed. And occasionally a loose curl falls into his eyes and sometimes he’s so serious and so focussed he doesn’t notice for a while. And James is sometimes overcome by the urge to reach out and tuck the lock of hair behind his ear for him and feel how soft and silky it must be.

‘That’s the stupidest unwritten code I’ve ever heard,’ Marlene says with a shake of her head. ‘When Sirius sees how pathetic you are right now, he’ll be begging you to ask Regulus out. Believe me.’

[thedvilsinthedetails]

rosekiller microfic band au pt3

heyyy pt3 is here yayyy

I haven’t rlly read it thru again and I’m feeling pretty tired today so if there’s a quality dip that’s why but also we have some nice Barty POV which I find easier to write sooo balances out ig

also we have some Marlene in this one (u can thank @good-oldfashioned-lover-girl because I wasn’t gonna put her in but she loves Marls [not that I don’t] to and yk she’s the boss so 🫡🫡🫡 Marlene is in the fic and I’m actually glad bc I love her part in this)

oh also Reg is autistic in this [in my mind] so when I mention him wearing headphones it’s bc he wears headphones on public transport/often in public/during gigs to help block noise <3

oh also all the skittles have matching nail polish and little tattoos on their wrists (idk if I actually mention it here but just so u have it in ur mind)

Tags for ppl that (I think?) wanted to be tagged <3 : @depressedtheatrekiddo @blu3stars @picklerab23 @lady-stardust-incarnate @always-reading @no-names-work @y0url0verb0y @2bluetwo85 @idk-what-to-put-here-123 @weirdtinkerbellversion @lulublack90 @nikholascrow (please please do tell me if you don’t want to be tagged bc idm and obviously won’t be upset but I just don’t want to tag ppl that don’t actually want to be tagged so I’m just sort of guessing by who commented last time so um yeah)

Link to previous part

link to part one

link to next part

(Cw: lil bit of homophobia in here sorry)

***

By the time the train arrived at their station both Barty and Evan had dozed off. Arms wrapping around each other, bodies curled into one another like a jigsaw puzzle. Evan didn’t wake up as gently as he fell asleep though because he was woken by Regulus kicking his seat aggressively. Once he finally opened his eyes he turned to face him. He was wearing his headphones, big and black originally but covered in splodges of spray paint from when Barty had offered to ‘customise‘ them for Regulus. He’d pushed them back though, now that the majority of people has filtered out of the little compartment.

“Hurry up and get your stuff.”

Regulus ordered before following Pandora and Dorcas who had already left.

Evan turned and tapped Barty gently to wake him up. Then when that didn’t work he shook him till he opened his eyes with a start. 

It took Barty a moment to realise where he was but even once he did he just grumbled.

“Ev don’t make me get up, please.”

He pouted, eyes wide and dilated in some kind of cheap attempt at cuteness.

“Come on you know you have to get up baby- Barty!”

Evan gaped, realising his mistake just too late. A slip of the tongue and he’d gone and fucked everything up.

“D’you just call me baby?”

A grin spread on Barty’s face and he poked Evan gently and laughed.

“You’ve been single too long Rosier.”

“You- you’re not mad?”

“Why would I be mad, baby?”

Barty winked, clicking his tongue as he got up and shuffled past Evan with a wicked smirk.

•••

Barty was going insane. 

Evan had called him baby. Baby. And fuck his reaction had been visceral. But like…in a good way? It made him want to bite down on something hard but that thing was the muscles on Evan’s arms. Or bruise something but that thing was Evan’s neck…with a hickey or two. 

Something about the way it had slipped out so naturally, so warmly. It just made Barty’s heart flutter. Made him want to grab Evan and shake the sense out of him enough to like Barty. Something along the lines of ‘kiss me, ruin me, dear God I’m begging you.’ Ah well, nothing you can’t really do about these kinds of situations except get on with it. Lying was something Barty had gotten very good at from a young age and not stopped since. Some might call it acting but those were the types of people who were just trying to convince themselves they were good and moral. Barty didn’t really care enough about that kind of stuff to bother. White lies this and how it contrasts with malicious lies that, like someone trying to section off a gradient in two. You can’t, it’s all the same monochrome blur in the end. 

Barty was lost in this little daydream when he heard Pandora roar.

“WHAT?!”

Now Pandora didn’t often roar, maybe laugh maniacally every now and then yes, but yell? Scream? That was never her type of thing. Save for some rare occasions that Barty could probably count on one hand. Pandora yelling meant it was time to stop daydreaming about Evan’s curls or Evan’s hands with their chipped green nail polish or Evan’s fucking tight t shirts. Yeah time to stop thinking about that and listen up. So he did.

“I do not intend to offend anyone by it.”

Riddle raised his hands up defensively with a cheap sleazy smile that immediately made Barty dislike him.

“I’m just saying that this venue prides itself on a distinct lack of…untoward behaviour. It’s not a massive deal, I think your lead and backup singers can use separate microphones for two nights of a six month tour. 

“What the fuck man?”

Barty stepped forward immediately hands curling into fists, Riddle was pretty short, he could definitely take him if that’s what it came to.

“Barty stop, that isn’t the right way to solve things. Come on let’s just- let’s come back later ok? See if we can talk to someone else, not this piece of shit.”

Dorcas spat out the last three words as she pulled Barty back to the group.

He was going to argue till he felt Evan put a hand on his shoulder, instead he just left Evan guide him away after the rest of the group.

“We’ll figure it out ok?”

“Fucking- Ev we can’t play there. They’re fucking homophobic.”

“Barty the O2 has been your dream since-“

“I DONT BLOODY CARE!”

“Barty shut the fuck up. I said we’ll talk about it and we will, we will figure it out but stop acting like a goddamn CHILD.”

Barty looked over at Evan who had his teeth bared, slightly wild look in his eyes. He was seething too, clearly. Just more mature than Barty.

“Ok, yeah.”

He breathed in.

“I’m sorry Ev.”

“Hey it’s alright. It’s just important the band shows a united front against this you know? We can’t split up or in fight because then, well then we all lose.”

“Yeah. Yeah you’re right Rosie. But we will do something.”

“I promise you they’re not getting away with this.”

Evan nodded. He tossed a hand over Barty’s shoulder, pulling him in just a little bit closer as they walked. Barty wasn’t complaining. 

•••

“You don’t get it Marls, we can’t just not play the O2. We’d lose way too much money off it, probably too much to be able to continue with the rest of the tour. Plus venues will think we’re unreliable and might cancel or pull out. Riddle is such a fucking dick, he only told us when we went there for a tech practice literally today.”

“Fuck yeah that’s shitty.”

Marlene was sat next to Barty on the floor of his hotel room, helping him repaint his nails. The entire band had them matching, a bright toxic green, his had started to fade though. 

“What if you just…ignore them? Do it anyway?”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s not like they can drag us off stage mid performance.”

“Not without exposing their homophobia.”

“Still…I wanna make a statement. Something big you know? Show them they can’t straight wash us.”

Marlene looked up at Barty, eyes twinkling mischievously.

“I might have an idea then.”

•••

Evan was sat in an alcove in the hotel corridor watching Regulus patiently braid and unbraid Pandora’s hair on the sofa opposite him. It calmed them both down whenever they were stressed. And Barty and Marlene, locked up together in Barty’s hotel room. Both raging homosexuals dead set on never following rules talking amongst themselves just before the biggest gig of the band’s history? Yeah that was a reason to be stressed. That’s when he heard the tell tale clump of Barty’s docs down the corridor. And he was walking with purpose.

As soon as he came into view Evan noticed the way his eyebrows were knotted together yet his eyes were glimmering with excitement. Evan had no clue what Barty was going to say next but it wasn’t that.

“Marlene thinks I should kiss you.”

Barty announced and Evan dropped his jaw, staring at him agape.

“What?”

“And I agree with her.”

“What?”

***

OK HOPE U LIKED IT

xxx BYEEEE

pt4 probs gonna come soon bc I swear this fic has a life of its own

[nerdcousin]

Do you ever just think of a different universe, in which the marauders realise that they are being dicks in like third year or something when it isn’t too late yet, and they stop bullying Snape, and apologies; and Snape (and a good few of the other Slytherins bc that whole portrayal is just lazy writing in my opinion) don’t have as much of a problem with muggles (probably because they actually spend time with people who don’t have blood supremacist views/have positive examples of muggles and muggle borns, depending on case); and they all become friends.

And when Regulus comes to Hogwarts Severus befriends him, and ofc he’s Sirius’ brother. And because he’s obviously friends with other Slytherins as well, and he introduces them to the marauders and their other friends and thus the gap between Slytherin and Gryffindor starts to mend.

A good few more people find out about Rem being a werewolf and become animagi. Lily also befriends the Marauders and stats dating James earlier (canonically she couldn’t stand at least James and Sirius until sixth year).

All the friend groups (Marauders, Snape’s gang, Slytherin Skittles etc) become intermingled. These people all get invited to so many weddings and anniversaries after Hogwarts, it is actually ridiculous. The wizarding world, canonically-ish, has no issues with queer people so whatever rocks your boat works. Charora, wolfstar, jili, sevity, snulciber, Jegulus, rosekiller, marily whatever you want.

And Sev isn’t mentally quite as fucked about Lily’s death, but now he’s of course also sad about James, Sirius and Peter, and Regulus, but he’s got other friends too, ones that are not death eaters, so he isn’t (actually) one either, and he’s mentally just more healthy. We’ll just say he still becomes a spy for the Order for the sake of convenience.

Remus is left mourning Regulus and his other new friends after the war, but the wizarding community is stronger, and he had more support.

The Order is also in a better position because the kids managed to change the views of their age group so drastically.

If you have ideas for other characters, please add, idk too much about them cuz I tend to fixate on just a handful of characters but I would love to read your thoughts.

When Snape goes to teach at Hogwarts he isn’t a downright antisocial asshole like he is in canon so he becomes part of the Big Happy Hogwarts Staff Family. (If you know fics for this trope please tell me I am starved)

He’s also actually a good teacher, because he has always been competent, and since he’s healed from his own trauma much better than in canon, he isn’t an utter arse to everyone.

And when Remus comes to teach they instantly become, or rather re-become, rampaging bffs.

When the staff starts a prank war they team up, and no one stands a chance against the man who knows virtually every potion in existence and the literal former marauder.

Sirius gets pardoned, because this time both Remus and Severus are willing to hear him out. Peter still escapes because Remus transforms, but everyone present demands Sirius is questioned with verita serum. Professor Binns is finally retired/exorcised, and Sirius becomes the History of Magic Professor. (Idea for this from Oh God, Not Again on AO3)

Remus still has to leave because of the curse, but he drops by now and again, now that his boyfriend and hopefully-soon-to-be-but-we-all-know-it’s-gonna-happen-so-soon-to-be fiancé works there. Harry never goes back to the Dursley’s.

Snape eats dinner with the other members of the Order. His hair isn’t greasy, because he isn’t too depressed to wash it. Minerva and Poppy (they are married btw) are mother figures for him, as well as the Marauders. Snape isn’t Nevils biggest fear, because he isn’t a bully. Everyone is actually shocked when he kills Dumbledore, and he is just generally more well liked.

Umbitch doesn’t know what hit her when she comes face to face with not only the Weasley twins and the contempt of the entire student body and faculty, but also prank-planing mastermind and gay disaster Sirius Orion Black the Third.

Draco isn’t a twat, or at least not as much, because his parents weren’t as bad as they are in canon. Him and Harry start dating.

Harry’s name-choice for his kid(s) isn’t terrible.

The marauders era gang comes together in the afterlife by the end of the second war and ‘lives’ happily ever after. The rest of course join then eventually, but they’ve got their lives to live at first.

Like these characters could have ALL had such beautiful relationships with each other, platonic and romantic, but nO, they HaTe each other and they have too much tRaUmA

Feel free to add and comment, but (and the fact that I feel I need to say this says a lot about this fandom or at least my experiences with it) if you’re going to insult me for liking certain characters or having certain head canons, just don’t. You don’t like, scroll.

[lulublack90]

Prompt 21 - Whomping Willow

@wolfstarmicrofic September 21, word count 595

Previous part First Wolfstar part

Peter cowered before them, whimpering behind his gag. Sirius had conjured one the second he’d started begging them in turn, not wanting to hear it. Remus stepped forward and wrestled Peter’s sleeve up on his left arm. Peter squealed in terror and tried to get away from Remus, but it was too late. Remus ripped the sleeve clean off and revealed the dark mark, plain to be seen, inked into Peter’s skin. Remus spat on the ground beside Peter and walked away. 

“Watch him,” Sirius warned as he hurried after Remus. The last thing he saw before the trees covered them was Regulus racing his wand and sneering at Peter. Sirius didn’t feel bad at all. 

He followed Remus’s scent through the trees, not that he really needed to, he could sense where Remus was most of the time, as though an invisible bond joined them. He slowed to a steady walk when he realised Remus had come to a stop and slowly pushed through the last bit of undergrowth before he stopped beside Remus. He was staring blankly out at the trees. 

“How could he, Sirius?” Remus asked him quietly, his voice catching at the end. “I almost had myself convinced that you’d just been seeing things, but it’s right there, plain as day,” Remus turned, looking at Sirius with sorrowful eyes. “Wormtail’s a death eater,” Sirius nodded sadly. “After all the death and hurt Voldemort’s forces have caused, how could he?!” Remus’s voice changed, and Sirius could swear he heard his wolf twined with Remus’s voice. 

“He was always weak,” Sirius said, trying to soothe Remus. “He probably saw how our side was losing and hopped ship,” Sirius huffed. “He always did like being where the power was. You, me, and James, best in our year, with all the talent, Evans and the rest of the girls as well. He sought us out, and we welcomed him with open arms,” Sirius was feeling the anger now. It had jumped from Remus to him. Remus wrapped him in his arms, and together, they let themselves seethe over what their friend had become. 

“Mean, I know Regulus has the same mark,” Sirius said a while later, his face buried in Remus’s chest. “But it’s different somehow. Regulus didn’t have a choice, not really, and look where he is now, helping to destroy Voldemort. But Peter was already on the right side. He had us the entire time, yet he joined them.” He couldn’t wrap his head around it. 

“We need to decide what we’re going to do with him,” Remus said into his hair. “It won’t be long before Voldemort tries to summon him, and when he doesn’t answer the call, Voldemort is going to get suspicious.”

“We need my father to get back to us. Peter was summoned a few days ago. Let’s give Father until the end of the week, and then we’ll decide.” As hurt and angered as he was by Peter, he still wasn’t sure about the whole bait thing, when what he really wants to do was tie him to the whomping willow and let it have some fun. But they’d been friends for over a decade, and he’d watched him grow up. His heart was conflicted. “Come on,” He finally said, wriggling out of Remus’s hold and taking his hand. “We’ve left them too long. There’s no telling what Regulus might have done to him or how much James might let him do,” Remus grimaced, and they walked quickly back to where they’d left James and Regulus with Peter. 

Next part

[tealeavesandtrash]

🎄 Sweet Dreams of Holly and Ribbon: Part 11 - 1 Day Until Christmas 🎄

Read in full || Part 1 || Part 10 || Part 12

Work is miserable, worse than normal but Sirius can’t tell if that is just because of the pressure they're under at the moment, or because he’s just come back from he isn’t starting to realise that might have been the best month he’s had in years. 

He’s up at six in the morning after barely sleeping the night before, kept awake with a carousel of questions. 

How did he let Reg talk him into this? Why didn’t he put off coming back for another few days? How much more fun are they having in Scotland right now? Is he okay to do this shit for the rest of his life? Was Teddy upset he didn’t say goodbye? Did he ever actually enjoy working for Orion? Is it too late to go back?

The moment he’s fully awake, he’s on the phone with various stakeholders. Everyone is running at a hundred miles an hour and every call is a new amendment, a different figure floated, or another document that needs chasing down. 

The only respite he gets is during the commute into the office, and that’s only because of the lack of signal in the tube. The second he steps into the office building, someone’s PA is herding him straight into a conference room and he gets thrown head first into back-to-back meetings with representatives from the board or legal or accounts.

He doesn’t particularly care who he’s meeting with or what’s being discussed - Regulus is there to handle the majority of the workload while Sirius can sit, take notes, and pick up anything that gets forgotten or needs chasing. The facade of a united front while they bend over backwards on Orion’s whim.  

Someone is debating the wording of subsection whatever, throwing around legal jargon that Sirius has no hope of following. Even Regulus looks like his eyes are about to roll into the back of his head. Instead of paying attention, Sirius doodles absentmindedly on the notepad in front of him, wondering about what’s happening in Hogsmeade - what James and Lily are doing for last-minute Christmas prep; how excited Harry and Teddy must be for tomorrow; whether or not Remus is working today and what he’s doing if the bookshop is closed. 

Remus has been on his mind a lot over the past couple of days, more than he ever anticipated. 

‘Do whatever you want.’

Those words keep circling in mind as they take a quick fifteen for lunch. Because he doesn’t want to be here; he never went out of his way to work for his father in the first place but fresh out of uni in a volatile job market and no clue what he wanted to do - working for the family company was the easy option, it’s been the easy option for the past few years because he hasn’t been put in a position where he’s had to think about what he really wants to do or what makes him happy and what his purpose in life is. 

He always just figured this was what he wanted - the big corporate job with the big paycheque, central London apartment and vibrant social life. But, as he sits and tries to listen to someone drone on about cost projection analysis, he’s starting to realise that the only place he wants to be right now, is in some tiny town way up in the highlands. 

“I can’t do this anymore,” Sirius says over coffee, his fifth cup of the day. They have about ten minutes until a string of late afternoon/early evening meetings. Someone’s arranged a small buffet of snacks and tiny sandwiches to keep everyone going and Sirius is making quick work of it. 

Regulus peers over at him, slight frown present on his face. “What do you mean this .”

Sirius sighs, staring into his mug as he swirls the last dregs of coffee. “All of this, Reg. The job, the meetings, it’s all bullshit. We’re working round the clock for what? So one corporate dick can stick it to some other corporate dick?”

“We just need to get through the next few weeks. Things will ease up in February. ”

“And then what? We relax for a few weeks and then there’s another deal to push through and we’re bending over backwards for Dad again.”

“It’s what we do Sirius, it’s what we both signed up for?”

“But on Christmas, Reg?”

“So what? Since when did you care? We get out of Mother’s dinner party and this gets pushed through quicker because most of the people who want to stop are out of office.”

Sirius lets out a slow breath and lets his head drop back. “I can’t do any of it anymore,” he says quietly. “I don’t think I can last any longer. I just - I just need out of this.”

Regulus swallows, glancing away. “I need you here,” he says quietly, pointedly not looking at Sirius. 

There’s a moment of silence that settles over the pair of them before Sirius steps closer and bumps their shoulders together. “No you don’t,” he says softly, and when Regulus finally looks back he gives him a small smile. “You’ve been fine all month without me, you’ve smashed these meetings. Christ, the only way this merger won’t go through is if you decide it won’t happen.”

Regulus studies him for a minute until his face finally relaxes and he lets out a low sigh. “If this goes tits up I’m blaming you, I hope you realise that.”

Sirius huffs out a laugh, “Yeah that’s fair.”

"And father will literally kill you if it does."

Sirius nods.

There’s another beat of silence. “So what are you going to do instead?”

“Go back to Scotland I guess?”

“Right now?”

“Why not? I can get the sleeper up, I'd be there by lunchtime.”

“Sirius, it’s Christmas Eve.”

“So what?”

Regulus fixes him with the ‘you’re an idiot’ glare which he’s had pinned down since he was about thirteen. “It’s Christmas Eve,” he repeats. “How many trains do you think are running right now?”

Sirius pauses to think a moment. “Well, then I’ll take the bike.”

“You can’t drive all the way up the Scotland overnight.”

“Says who? I’ve driven further before, and if I need to nap in a service station then I’ll have a nap in the services.”

Sirius is on the way back to his flat before the next meeting starts. He grabs a couple of handfuls of clothes and shoves them into a bag, along with any other essentials he can think of in the moment. 

He shoots Reg a text on his way down the garage - thanks him again for watching over the flat and covering work, and lets him know where his present is. He gives his bike a quick once over, making sure she’s ready for the long journey.  She doesn’t get as much use as Sirius would like in London, but his regular tinkering keeps her in decent shape.

The sun has long since set by the time he finally makes it out of London and onto the endless stretch of motorway that paves the way up north. 

Read in full || Part 1 || Part 10 || Part 12

@annaliza999 @marigold-hills @veganbutterchicken (If you do/dont want to be tagged in the next parts lmk <3)

[accio-sriracha]

The Seven Stages of James Potter Falling in Love with his Best Friend's Brother.

~~~♤~~~

Stage 1: Oblivious.

James is oblivious to his feelings for Reg.

He goes about his day as though nothing's changed, because for him it really hasn't.

If you look close enough though, you'll see the slight shift in James' posture, always subtly tilted in Regulus' direction.

Or the way he stares a fraction of a second too long, but mostly when he's lost in thought, so it really doesn't mean much.

James now talks a bit more animatedly around Regulus, he'd always been kinda nervous talking to him, afraid of scaring him off. But they've gotten a bit closer and James can't wait to get to know him better.

James and Regulus are becoming good friends, and James seems overjoyed by that fact.

~~~♤~~~

Stage 2: Denial.

James realises that maybe he has been acting a bit different towards Reg recently, but he doesn't see anything wrong with that.

They started bonding over Sirius, over what it's like being a brother to him. Surely that's not a negative thing?

James doesn't think it's bad they've gotten closer, or that they'll stay up late into the night on the astronomy tower so Reg could show him constellations and they could talk about their favorite things.

They were just trying to get along, just like Sirius hoped they would.

So what if he started sitting a little closer to him than everyone else? It was just easier to talk that way, that's all.

And yes, it's completely normal to be fascinated by the way your best friend's brother's eyes catch the sunlight and turn the most beautiful color you've ever seen.

But James has always loved the color of people's eyes, he probably gave Remus more compliments on his eyes than anything else.

Maybe James looks to him automatically every time they're laughing in a group.

And maybe that's because he spends the majority of his time waiting to hear that laugh again.

But who doesn't? His laugh is contagious, it brightens up the room instantly. Of course James would be excited to hear it. That's totally normal.

Yeah, James ditched quidditch practice, (something he had never, ever, done before) to hang out with him. But that's only because they hadn't talked at all that day, it would have been rude not to.

James and Reg are closer than ever, and there's no reason at all James should be worried about that, right?

~~~♤~~~~

Stage 3: Avoidance.

James started liking Reg a little too much, and the thought terrifies him.

He decides to keep his distance a little, wait for his feelings to sort themselves out. He could go without talking to Regulus every minute of the day, couldn't he?

Whenever Reg would go to sit next to him James would panic, muttering something about an essay due later that week and jumping up from the couch.

Every casual touch sent shocks through him, it got to the point where James would stay at least a meter away at all times.

Sure, the distance was a little awkward, and Regulus' expression when he'd jerked away from his touch felt like a knife to his chest, but it was for the best, wasn't it?

James was way too interested, and he knew he shouldn't care as much as he did.

~~~♤~~~

Stage 4: Anger.

James gave up avoiding him, he couldn't live in a world without Reg, but that doesn't mean he wasn't angry about it.

He should have never developed feelings in the first place. This was Sirius' brother. That is against so many rules.

He hated himself, spiraling in guilt and rage and all things torment.

It made it worse that Reg was always there to comfort him.

And even more so that he desperately needed it.

James and Reg could never be together, he was furious with himself for ever falling for him.

~~~♤~~~

Stage 5: Depression.

After a while, he lost the energy to be angry anymore. He was so sad. He didn't want to have to fight his feelings for Regulus, he wished something was different, anything.

Regulus was so kind to him, showing a softer side of himself nobody else got to see. It made James' heart skip a beat, the way he touched James' cheek, reminding him to breathe.

James laid awake most nights crying, he wanted to be with him so badly it physically hurt. But he knew he could never betray Sirius like that.

So every touch was like a knife to his chest, every calming whisper an open wound. Regulus was dangerous to be around, but James would take the pain a hundred times over before he ever left.

James and Reg can never be together, the thought broke James' heart a little each time.

~~~♤~~~

Stage 6: Acceptance.

James was in love with Regulus. It was a fact, as simple as that.

He loved him with every piece of his soul, he knew they could never be together, knew that it would take moving mountains and earth itself to get Reg to ever like him back, but he didn't have a choice.

He was unwillingly, unrequitedly, and so impossibly in love with Regulus, and nothing was going to change that.

The touches weren't so painful anymore, they were a part of his day just as much as breathing was, he laughed louder than he ever had, smiled brighter, looked deeper, it was Reg. Reg made him whole, made him alive.

So he could never be with him, so he would always be the background in Reg's story, he could be okay with that as long as he was near.

James knows they can never be together, knows Reg will never like him back, but he can't help falling for him anyways.

~~~♤~~~

Stage 7: Love.

By a miracle James will never fathom, Regulus told him he loved him. Like... he loved him.

Regulus confessed his feelings as they lay on their blankets in the astronomy tower, watching the stars twinkle in the night sky.

James felt so many things at once, hope, fear, excitement, confusion. He was terrified, terrified of what that meant for them. He was so, so happy, happy that he lived in a world where Reg loved him too.

They started dating in secret, they snuck off to that tower every night, holding each other under those same stars. James found his hand fit perfectly in Regulus', and Regulus' head fit perfectly in the little space between his neck and shoulder.

They were made for each other, in every way physically possible they were so entirely perfect.

James knew he needed to tell Sirius, not only out of the guilt, but because he was so happy, and Sirius was always the one he went to first with good news.

Reg and James made promises of forever underneath those stars, and neither of them could ever imagine spending their life any other way.

James and Regulus are madly in love and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

And, if James is being honest, he's never been happier.

~~~♤~~~

[itsjaywalkers]

hi laurie, my lovee..do you have any oby jeggy crumbs perchance? the way they've been LIVING in my mind like they need to start paying rent honestly, hope you're having a super good day/night, mwah<3

HI AILISH BABY sorry it took me so long to reply to u, i just wanted to give u an oby snippy and none of what i had written back when u sent this was . allowed to share . but i've been making progress on part 3 lately so !!! here u go !!! (and i feel u they're in my every waking thought i'm obsessed) (kissing u all over i hope ur also having a great day) (and that u enjoy this silly snippet)

A soft buzz interrupts Sirius and drags Regulus’ attention away from him. He scrunches his nose, before realisation dawns on him, and then he’s reaching for his phone, which is dangerously dangling from one of the corners of the coffee table.  Daddy <3 hey baby  how’s it going?  i’m pretty sure you’re off today  any fun plans? Regulus can’t suppress the smile pulling at his lips, and he’s about to unlock the device to reply to James, when someone takes his phone away from his grasp. He gasps, eyebrows raising at his suddenly empty hand, but by the time his mind manages to process what just happened, it’s too late.  “See? That’s what I’m talking about,” Sirius mocks him, a victorious glint in his gaze. “You look like a schoolboy with a crush. What is this dude even saying to you to have you—oh my god.”  “Sirius, give me my phone back,” Regulus demands, already lunging for his brother. He’s so shocked, eyes frozen on the screen, that he doesn’t even resist.  “Oh my fucking god,” Sirius repeats, a lot louder.  Regulus sighs, putting his phone away. “Sirius—” “What the actual fuck. Is this—are you—” “Sirius, listen—” “Have you found yourself a motherfucking sugar daddy!?”

[samynnad102687]

Silencing Charms

@struttingstag

April 19 prompt: Silencing Charms | Jegulus | 1191 words

CW: NSFW, sexual content non-explicit, light bondage

James was going to meet Regulus in the Come and Go room but when he went to the seventh-floor corridor, the door wouldn't appear for him. He was pacing back and forth in front of the wall, thinking of every possible way to get it to appear but nothing was working. After the seventeenth pass, James finally realised that somebody else must have found the room and was using it. He was about to pull out the map to see if Regulus was on it when he looked up and saw the boy in question looking at him with a confused look on his face.

"What are you doing out here?" Regulus asked after another minute of silence.

"The door won't open," James replied as he stepped closer to him.

"Oh." Regulus looked at the wall where the door usually appeared and then back at James. "Has it ever not opened for you before?"

"No, but I think someone else must have found it. I think if it's already occupied then it won't open for anybody else except who the person wants there."

"That makes sense, I guess." Regulus stood there for a minute and James could see that he wanted to say something else so he waited. "Do you want to come back to mine?"

"Aren't Barty and Evan there?"

Regulus shrugged as if it was nothing for his roommates to be there. They already knew about James and Regulus but that didn't stop the complaining every time James was in their dorm.

"There's silencing charms."

"Lead the way," James replied as he pulled the cloak out from inside his robes.

Barty and Evan may know about them but he didn't fancy the other Slytherins finding out any time soon and it was still early enough that some of them could be in the common room. They walked quietly all the way to the dungeons and James threw the cloak over himself before he followed Regulus inside the portrait hole.

"Oi, Black!" Mulciber called out and James saw Regulus tense up for a second before he released it and turned towards him.

"What could I possibly do for you, Mulciber?" Regulus drawled in a bored mocking tone.

"Is it true The Dark Lord was at your house over the winter holidays?"

James tensed up now when Mulciber mentioned The Dark Lord. Regulus had already told him what was expected of him and that he didn't want to do it. They were coming up with a way to get him out of that house before it was too late. James was sure once Sirius knew that he didn't want to do it then he would help Regulus but Regulus didn't want to tell him, at least not yet.

"And if it is?" Regulus asked emotionlessly.

"You should put in a good word for me."

"That's funny," Regulus replied before he turned and walked towards the stairs to the boys' dormitories.

Regulus didn't see Mulciber pull his wand but James did and hit him with a jinx before Mulciber could even think of a spell to hit Regulus with. The look on Mulciber's face was priceless while he looked around to find who jinxed him. James followed Regulus quickly into the dorm.

"Did you really have to jinx him?" Regulus asked after the door was closed.

"Jinx who?" Barty asked from his spot in Evan's lap.

"Mulciber."

"I didn't jinx anybody. Although, he would be one that I would just for existing."

"Not you," Regulus pinched the bridge of his nose before he grabbed the cloak to reveal James. "James."

"Would you rather him hit you with a spell?" James asked innocently.

"Wouldn't be the first time," Regulus mumbled before he turned to James with hungry eyes. "Now, I believe we had some plans."

"Don't forget the silencing charm this time," Evan remarked.

"Don't forget yours," Regulus countered.

Once they were in Regulus' bed, he closed and locked the curtains before putting up a silencing charm. Regulus scooted back against the headboard before gesturing for James to follow. James crawled up the length of the bed before he started to slowly undress Regulus as he made his way back down, trailing kisses along the way.

"Jamie," Regulus moaned softly as James sucked one nipple into his mouth and rolled the other between his thumb and forefinger.

"Yeah?" James asked after he released his nipple.

"Stop teasing. I've been waiting all day."

"So have I but I want to take my time and take care of you."

Regulus grabbed onto James' hair and tugged him back up before he crashed their lips together. James ran his tongue along the seam of his lips and Regulus opened up for him to explore. Regulus' hands started undressing James and before long they were both naked. James sat back on his haunches and admired his boyfriend before he smirked.

"What?"

"Wanna try something new?" James asked curiously.

He hadn't thought about it until he saw the curious look in Regulus' eyes. He didn't get it often but it usually led to something interesting when they were in bed together.

"Maybe," he replied shyly.

Regulus may have a cold, mean, calculated mask for everybody else but James knew that he had a hard time asking for things that he wanted that weren't academic.

"What do you want to try, baby?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to-" Regulus looked down at his hands.

"To?" James prompted gently after a minute of silence.

"To bottom?" Regulus looked up and James' face must have been doing something because he continued quickly. "It's okay if you don't. I just thought I would ask since you always take care of me and I want to take care of you for once. Never mind, forget I said anything."

James snapped back to reality at Regulus' rambling.

"We can try it if that's something you really want to try," James said gently as he took Regulus' hand in his.

"Really?"

"Yeah, but can I make a request?"

"What?" Regulus asked as he tilted his head to the side.

"Tie me up," James smirked mischievously.

"Why?"

"Because I know I won't be able to keep my hands off of you if you don't."

"Oh," Regulus nodded before he grabbed his wand. "Turn over."

James did as he was told and flipped onto his stomach. He let Regulus move him how he wanted, which was apparently with his ass in the air and his hands tied behind his back. James tested the binds and he was truly stuck, not that he was complaining. Regulus hummed before he pulled James up by the hair so he was sitting with his back to Regulus' chest and his arms trapped between them.

"Are you going to be good for me?" Regulus whispered in James' ear before he tugged on his curls.

His cock twitched at the praise. Well, that was new. James nodded as much as he could with Regulus still gripping his hair.

"Words, baby," Regulus purred in a commanding tone that James had never heard him use but he was all for it.

"Yeah."

"Good boy."

Also posted on Ao3: New Experiences

[masivechaos]

lullaby - send me an au + a character from the list above (rockstar! eddie munson, tasm! remus lupin, rugbyman! james potter, soulmate au...) + a prompt/scenario -> i'll write a short blurb!

soulmate au where any tattoo your soulmate gets appears on your body w/ regulus black. the dark mark…

ME AND THE DEVIL - regulus black x gn! reader [0.724k] .ೃ࿐

summary: in a universe where you get any tattoo your soulmate has, the dark mark appears on your arm

warnings: ansgt whoops

navigation / masterlist / taglist 

Everybody was waiting for a tattoo to appear on their body, a sign to find who their soulmate was. But you were still at Hogwarts, therefore very few people were old enough to get a tattoo and even fewer got one. Some people were lucky and found themselves with stick’n’poke early, like Remus who got quickly covered with tattoos as Sirius got more and more ever since the fifth year.

You wanted someone in particular to be your soulmate… Regulus. You had to wait one year before being able to get tattooed so you tried not to get too attached. But he was your best friend, and it was difficult to hide things from him. 

But lately, you couldn’t find yourself bothering him with your heartaches when you saw he wasn’t well. He had dark circles under his eyes and seemed more miserable than usual. You tried to talk to him but he just kept on avoiding the subject and you decided to give up, he would talk when he wanted to.

One night, you were lying on your bed, staring at the ceiling as you thought about him, you wished you could do something. But as you tried to find solutions to help him, a shooting pain appeared in your arm. You yelped as you grabbed it, tears forming in your eyes. It kept going on for some long minutes before it slowly started to disappear. Scared to find what was on your arm, you rolled up your sleeve with your eyes shut.

You finally looked down and you let out a loud sob. On your arm was tattooed the Dark Mark. You cried at the former pain and the realisation: your soulmate was a DeathEather and he condemned you to have the same fate.

Your roommates were asking you what was going on but you couldn’t speak, you were far too choked up. You got up and stormed out of the room as you hid your tattoo with your sleeve. There was only one thought in your mind, find him.

You knocked at his door, you were never more grateful rich Slytherins could get single rooms. You knocked again but he didn’t open the door. “Regulus, please…” you sobbed. You let yourself fall against the door to the floor, crying in your hands. You didn’t know how long you stayed there before Regulus entered the corridor, finding you there.

“Y/n? What is going on?” he asked, he sounded himself as if he had cried.

Your eyes widened when you saw him and, without even thinking, you threw yourself in his arms. “I- I got a tattoo… My soulmate… they-” you sobbed in his neck. He opened his door and sat you both on his bed, you could be alone and could talk about anything in the intimacy of his room.

“What is going on?” he asked again.

“My soulmate just got a tattoo and- and…” you couldn’t even finish your sentence and lifted your sleeve as a loud cry left your lips. Regulus’ eyes widened as he saw the Dark Mark.

He got up off the bed as he covered his mouth with his hand “I- I’m sorry… It is all my fault,’ he said as tears rolled down his cheeks.

“What do you mean?” you asked confused.

“I- I,” It was so difficult to say it out loud. How could he tell you that he was the reason of your pain and sorrow. He loved you, he regretted this so much. He thought his feelings could never be reciprocated and thought that he didn’t care if anybody got hurt as long as it wasn’t you. He rolled up his own sleeve, revealing your matching tattoo. “I- I got it tonight.” He was too ashamed to look at you in the eyes.

You stood up “That’s you?” you said in disbelief. “I thought you weren’t going to do it, Regulus!” you were angry now, he had never seen you mad at him like this. “Look at me, Regulus!” you yelled. His eyes met yours, full of tears “You ruined my life! How could you? You said you weren’t going to join him…” Tears ran down your face and as you let a loud cry leave your lips “I don’t want to see you again.” You looked at him one last time before leaving the room “I hate you, Regulus”.

⋆ ★ regulus black taglist: @ell0ra-br3kk3r @inkluvs @cauliflowertree @madison-rebel @moonlitmeeks @rhydianissuperior  @loveeharrington @meredarling @jackys-stuff-blog @elenatries2write @juneberrie @f4iry-blush  @gilmore-angel @heartfucks @songs4themoon @moondemon123 @mystic-writings @siriusblackstwin @natashxromanovf @unadulterated-syd @garfieldsladybird @starconfettii @percy-the-hufflepuff @fairydxll @spookydarkwitch @duxpuella @innerloverpainter @kieracassette @whennyxfallsinlove @venussflytraps @oncasette @goodoldfashionedluvergirl @widowbf @starlit-epiphany @rosalyn-s @etanordiesbullsh!t @sageskisses444 @luvmarsbars @jsjcue @mellozhi

[thebibutterflyao3]

Day Twenty-Nine - Prompt: Beg @rosekiller-microfic

March Daily Series - 711 words

<<<Previous Part OR Start Here

Barty watched Pandora walk up the pavement and into the rear garden entrance of her parents’ house. When he and Lily discussed this “clear the air” campaign, he’d been as sceptical as Pandora that it would work.

She was right about everything.

When he explained how it all fell apart, Lily sighed and said, “I suspected as much. I saw how they all looked at you in Wales. It wasn’t just because you were fighty. They’re posh snobs. I adore them, but still.”

No one but Evan just listened to him like she did, but even Evan never heard his side of things with Reg. Lily let him talk until he worked most of it out for himself. Perhaps, a therapist would have done the same, but certainly not for free.

Barty realised that he wasn’t the only one in the wrong, but he had escalated it. Even if Pandora didn’t admit that she and Regulus were partially responsible, it didn’t matter. Lily said he didn’t need their validation or even their approval, just to earn their respect.

After ten minutes, he opened his door and stepped out to stretch. This could take awhile and his nerves were still stretched thin. He was prepared to beg, if necessary, and knowing that humbling himself to that level was a possibility exhausted him.

“Bloody hell. That’s a start,” he said, shaking a cigarette free from his pack. He lit it and inhaled deeply. “It has to get better, it just has to.”

A window flew open on the second floor and the curtains burst free in billowy clouds of navy blue. Evan leaned out between the streaming fabrics and shouted his name.

Once. Twice. Three times!

“Barty? Barty! Barty, you scared the shite out of me!”

He froze, then backed up to his car and leaned against it for support. Evan was crying. Barty stared at him with a mix of confusion, disbelief, and panic.

Is it my fault? Did I make Evan cry? How? What did I do now?

Then, a thunderous noise echoed through the house. The rear door was thrown open and Evan bolted out of it. He raced across the grass and fucking leapt at him. Startled back to reality, Barty dropped the cigarette and held out his arms to catch him. Their combined weight shifted the small car back a foot.

“You’ve lost your fucking mind!” Evan chastised. He wrenched Barty’s head back by his hair as he wrapped his legs tight around his waist. He sobbed between wet, slobbery kisses pressed all over Barty’s face. “I thought…I didn’t know…for fuck’s sake, Barty!”

“Whatever I did this time, I’m truly sorry, Rosie. I never want to hurt you.”

Evan cupped his cheeks and dropped his forehead to meet Barty’s. “Why is your phone in the bloody river, you twit?”

“Oh, I threw it in when you blocked me,” he admitted sheepishly. “I was upset.”

“Thank fuck! I thought you jumped!”

“What? No! When I was so close?”

Evan closed his eyes and sighed. “Tell me we can fix this. I miss you so much, it hurts.”

“I apologised to Pandora, and Reg by extension, but I’ll tell him directly too, if he wants to hear it,” Barty rambled, trying to get all of it out at once. “I’m trying to make it right. I can’t take back what I did, but I can try to show them that I want to be better. I told you that I would do anything for you, and I meant it.”

“You did? Fuck, you really did, didn’t you?” Evan hugged him tight and Barty buried his face in his neck.

“I will always try for you, Rosie. Anything for you.”

A loud slam jerked Barty from his long-awaited moment of bliss. He gripped Evan tighter when he saw Pandora stalking the pavement toward them.

“You couldn’t wait for me to talk to him?” she said, flailing her hands.

Barty pointed at the second-story window, still wide open in the late December chill with the curtains dancing in the breeze. She snorted a derisive laugh and rolled her eyes.

“A Romeo and Juliet moment, was it?”

“More like a shite 1980s rom-com,” Evan said, laughing as he wiped his face clean. “He even caught me!”

“Complete twats, both of you.”

Next Part>>>

[hotdamnitsmoony]

regulus black who didn’t realise he’d made the wrong choice until it was almost too late. regulus black who spent every waking hour he had left researching ways to help end the war. regulus black who discovered the dark lord’s deepest secret. regulus black who desperately wanted an end to his situation, but knew that what he was doing wasn’t about him. regulus black who spent many nights in his brother’s abandoned room, wishing he could apologise. regulus black who spoke to no one but his house elf and occasionally the other death eaters. regulus black who’s friends were either dead or insane. regulus black who could never achieve any of the unforgivable curses. regulus black who knew he wasn’t going to come out of the cave alive, but went in anyway. regulus black who’s last thought was “i’m sorry, sirius.”

[kiwi2229]

Racing against the tide

(James Potter / Regulus Black | 733 words)

For @jegulus-microfic prompt: Miracle

CW: depresive episode

Most of his life James spent running from the tide. It’s the law of nature. It will come inevitably. But maybe if he runs fast enough this time he will escape. It’s tricky with a tide. You don’t notice it until it’s reaching you. It creeps up on you while you are resting and enjoying a nice day. And suddenly it’s too late to escape.

James can feel the sadness washing over his body in waves. Slowly. Without notice. He is just more tired he says. He just has to sleep more. He is not hungry lately. But that’s alright, maybe tomorrow the lunch will be tastier. The time of the day stretches with boredom. James just has to find a new hobby.

He knows the tide is here when his smile starts to hurt instead. It takes an effort to lift the corners of his lips and not let the tears slip during the process. He does it anyway not to worry his friends. The more he smiles the more he is hurting inside. His laughter is too loud and too intentional. He has to start deciding when to laugh so it looks natural.

He knows the tide will catch up to him when everything stops making sense. The world, his life, any decision he ever made. He can’t find any meaning. Not with the loneliness that surrounds him. He doesn’t want to be around people because they instantly suck the little energy he has. And he needs the energy to hold on. To keep breathing. To collect it so he can take a shower or clean his teeth. It’s the moment when it would take a miracle for him to get out of bed. When he wants nothing more than to leave. Because this room is too suffocating. Just pack his stuff and start walking. They would be better without him anyway. He doesn’t. As he lays on the bed, he dreams about leaving, about happiness he used to have but feels fake now, about the air not being so heavy. He wonders when it got so heavy.

“Jamie?” Regulus asks as he sits on the side of the bed worry written all over his face. James told him about the tide. How it always catches him in the end. And he did try to run, for Regulus. But he didn’t run fast enough. He never does.

“Hi,” James whispers. His voice sounds wrong. He realised he barely said a few words in the last three days. Regulus is here and James is hurting, because he didn’t manage to give him the world he’d promised.

“I… James, what can I do?” Regulus asks reaching for James who doesn’t take the boy’s hand. Defended Regulus places his hand on the blanket covering James’ shoulder.

It takes a long time for James to answer. His brain is just not working properly. “I’m just tired, Reg.”

“Tired of what?”

“Running,” James admits, and he knows it doesn’t make sense to Regulus. He doesn’t try explaining. “Reg, you should go.”

“You want me gone?” Regulus asks without standing up.

“I just want you happy and not wasting your time here. So go and do something you truly want to do.” James says curling up more under the blanket. He expected Regulus to leave. Instead, the boy climbs to the bed right behind James, wrapping his arms around him.

“What are you doing?” James breathes out trying to ignore the pain in his chest.

“Doing what I truly want to do. And that’s being here with you. I will find a way to help you more, but until then I will just be here.” James doesn’t say anything. He lets Regulus hold him, swiping his fingers through James' tangled hair, whispering in his ear.

The thing is when the tide catches up on you, you have to hold your breath and try to swim to the surface. It’s hard work and his body is aching from exhaustion. He doesn’t even know if he is swimming in the right direction or how far the surface is. The question is: Does he have enough oxygen to make it? He is not sure. He tries anyway. For Regulus, Sirius, Peter and Remus. For his parents. Never for himself. But it’s okay, he is used to it. You’ll get used to it after a lifetime of racing the tide.

[prongsfish]

✧ fish | he/him .. codependency fanatic — nsft is tagged professional multishipper & bartylus soliloquist. ml below ->

ongoing: ✧ starry-eyed | 1/8, 5.3k, E, jegulus -> uni au, fluff & smut, sex worker!regulus. james potter was the most heterosexual man you'd ever meet, which made it even more awkward when the amateur porn actor he'd been obsessed with for years turned out to be his best friend's recently un-estranged little brother.

✧ butterflies (inside & out) | 1/?, 3.2k, T, pandalily -> sapphic spring fling '24 – prompt 'bugs & insects', high school au, fluff, light angst. lily was never one to care for love, but after meeting the peculiar leader of the school's gardening club, she realised she mightn't have had the right idea of what love even was in the first place.

one-shots: ✧ may your organs fail before your dreams fail you | 1/1, 3.3k, M -> black brother angst, hurt no comfort, canon compliant. sirius tries to fix the one mistake he made by running away, but he's too late.

✧ call it fate, call it karma | 1/1, 6.6k, T, bartylus -> hp trans fest '24 – prompt 'coming out to long-term partner', trans regulus, angst that leads to fluff. a fragment of regulus' journey of self-discovery and acceptance.

microfic tag / spotify

want you so bad i can taste it, but you're nowhere to be found

[underburningstars]

drift 30

for @jegulus-microfic prompt draw, wc 495, major character injury, near death experience

The fight is vicious. There are Kaijus everywhere. And man, they're all so fucking big. Some of them are bigger than the Jaegers. Half the time, James has no bloody idea what he's doing. He's functioning entirely on instinct at this point.

The Kaijus are everywhere. Their ugly skin is all James can see.

He wishes everything would just pause. Just for a minute. He's so tired.

And suddenly, there is a rattling explosion. So Sirius managed to set up the bomb on time then. But the Kaijus are still here, and they have to take them all down. Regulus moves the left arm to stab one in the head, and it falls over.

Kaiju Blue leaks out of it and James gags. God they're ridiculously disgusting.

James is distracted by the horrible sight, but this one second of distraction is all what another Kaiju needs. It hits the Jaeger before James has a chance to lift his hand up and defend.

James blasts the Kaiju off, but it's already too late. The Jaeger is hit badly, and the system is failing.

"We have to eject, James. Right now!" Regulus screams. Or at least, James thinks he does. James' oxygen tank most likely broke because suddenly all air is getting sucked out of his lungs. He can't breathe, he can't feel anything. Every sound feels like white noise.

There is someone screaming his name. Telling him to do something. But James' body isn't moving. It feels too heavy in the Drivesuit, and the lack of air is making his vision hazy. He realises that it's Regulus who's calling him.

It's such a shame. He really wanted to go on a date with him. Several dates, actually. For the rest of his life. He'd make it so good for Regulus. Take him to an art gallery. He knows Regulus likes to draw. James would do his absolute best to make Regulus happy. His last thought before losing consciousness is about a life he couldn't build.

When he wakes up, it's to Regulus' hiccuping sobs over his chest. James tries to move, but his body hurts too much. He tries to remember what happened. Right. The Kaiju hit them, and his oxygen burst. He passed out so he couldn't eject on his own. Regulus must've used emergency ejection. But why is he crying?

"Regulus," He croaks, and Regulus flinches.

"James? You're--Fuck, fuck, you asshole. I thought you died," Regulus sobs out. Big, fat tears sliding down his face. If James had the energy to wipe them, he would.

"Sorry," He mumbles.

"No, shut up. Rescuers are coming. The Kaijus are all dead. It's gonna be fine."

James looks around and sees they're on his floating Conn-Pod in the middle of the ocean with no Kaiju in sight. Regulus must be telling the truth. James closes his eyes, and this time, he lets his consciousness go, he thinks of a future he actually might be able to build.

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