Chapter Text
October 2023 Prompts
Prompt: Zombie
He stumbled into the cramped corner shop, half-asleep and cursing his ever-present procrastination. After staying up until 4am to finish his essay, James felt more zombie than human.
Hence, stopping for shitty coffee in the horribly cliché chain coffee shop.
Even his normally chipper personality felt dampened- he kept his head down as he shuffled one step at a time in the slowly moving line, praying to whatever higher power he could think of that his stupid decision didn't result in a headache or failing grade later on.
He was so lost in his own thoughts that he only looked up at the last second to give his order.
"Erm, hi, yeah, I'll have a-"
He broke off when he met the eyes of the person behind the counter.
James wasn't normally one to be flustered, but he also wasn't normally one to come across literal angels in horribly-decorated cafes.
And the man was an angel. He was about James's age, all pale skin and dark hair, with gray eyes that pierced James's very soul. His thin frame was shorter than James's own, but he held himself in a way that made him seem almost regal, even with his horribly unflattering green apron.
"-a...coffee..." James finished lamely, lost in the man's eyes, well aware that he might as well have gone to a sandwich shop and said one sandwich, please.
But the man gave him a smirk. "Type?"
James cleared his throat, trying desperately to remember how to breathe, let alone flirt. "Surprise me," he managed, throwing what he hoped was a roughish grin. Too late, he realized, he could have responded with something witty like 'pale and on the shorter side,' but he was too busy focusing on not passing out.
The man continued to smirk and he leaned in to whisper to his coworker, a blonde girl with pins all over her apron that said things like, 'There's a crystal for that.'
The girl took over the register seamlessly as the beautiful man began to make a drink, and before James knew what was happening, he was being waved over to wait awkwardly a few feet away, never having paid for anything.
He truly wasn't sure what had just happened, and almost opened his mouth to ask when the man handed him a paper cup. "Enjoy," the man said with a smug look, and disappeared behind the counter before James could respond.
He looked at the cup.
Learn how to flirt and I'll give you my number next time. -RAB
James didn't know if he wanted to skip or kick himself. But he did know where he would be stopping again for coffee tomorrow morning.
-
Prompt: Ghost
It was a game he and Dorcas played, swiping through the dating app and making up stories about the faces that popped up on the screen.
It had taken weeks for her to convince him to even make a profile, but when he did, he found it was actually deeply satisfying to be so judgmental, swiping left and right to his heart's content, flirting with all the boys he wanted and ghosting half of them. It entertained him.
But their game was his favorite.
"That one definitely snaps at waitresses to get their attention," Dorcas rolled her eyes, swiping left for Regulus.
"Ew," Regulus wrinkled his nose, taking in the next picture. "This one definitely thinks socks with sandals is an appropriate fashion choice."
Dorcas cackled and swiped left again. "Urgh, he Tweets 'not all men' unironically."
Regulus grimaced and swiped left again. "God, this one definitely posts pictures of himself holding fish." He swiped left quickly.
The app revealed a picture of a stunning man with golden skin and dark hair, grinning happily at the camera.
Dorcas opened her mouth to say something, was was interrupted by a voice behind them. "Not him. He's definitely a total mama's boy."
They both whipped around from their seats on the couch in their favorite coffee shop to see the same beautiful man standing there, smiling.
Dorcas gaped. Regulus recovered first, rearranging his face into what he hoped was an aloof stare. "That does sound annoying," he said, raising his eyebrow.
"Maybe you should go on a date with him first and find out," the man said, smirking.
Regulus met his gaze, holding it for a moment, before turning back to his phone.
He moved his finger to the right, and his phone dinged.
It's a match! You and James have liked each other! His phone read.
He looked up to see the man grinning. "You should message him. I have a feeling he'll message back quickly."
And he turned around and walked away.
-
Prompt: Party
He hated parties. The blaring music, the sticky floors, the crowds of people, the small talk.
It was headache-inducing, even before the hangover.
Except, this evening was different.
This evening, he was at a Gryffindor party.
He didn't remember who had suggested it. Probably Dorcas, it was obvious that she fancied McKinnon. But there he sat, squashed between the arm of the couch and Barty, tipsy from the punch that Sirius had clearly spiked, watching James Potter dance.
Potter was an idiot, and couldn't dance to save his life. At first, Regulus had started watching purely for entertainment (or so he told himself). Until their eyes met.
Then, the energy shifted.
Now, as Potter danced, moving his hands down his body, lifting his shirt slightly, swaying his hips, his gaze never left Regulus's.
And he quite forgot that Potter wasn't that great at dancing.
Because what Potter lacked in rhythm, he definitely made up for in confidence, and the suggestive smile that flitted across his lips had Regulus raising his eyebrows.
Potter took a shot, still staring at Regulus, wiping a bit at his mouth.
Regulus inhaled sharply, feeling his face redden.
Potter bit his lip, smirking.
Regulus crossed his legs, trying to keep his composure.
Potter tilted his chin up, as if beckoning him forward.
And Regulus stood, walking quickly out of the Common Room. Enough of the games.
He made it about twenty feet down the corridor before he heard footsteps behind him and felt a body slam him into the wall.
"Regulus," a voice murmured in his ear, making him shiver.
"You're a fucking tease, James," he whispered back, and allowed Potter's lips to crash into his own.
Perhaps parties weren't that bad.
-
Prompt: Shock
Sirius prided himself on being up-to-date with all the school gossip. Want to know who hooked up at the last party? Ask Sirius. Want to know who's currently snogging in that broom closet? He could tell you.
So when he started hearing a new rumor that he didn't start?
He was almost offended.
Especially when he heard the name attached to it.
"Yes, I heard that Potter was kissing..."
"....and then Potter ran off with..."
"...too bad Potter's taken, now."
It was obviously not true, right?
James would definitely tell him what, if anything, he was getting up to. But he had to ask him, just to be sure, so he headed to the Dorm, almost running to avoid hearing the whispering trailing the halls.
Which is why he didn't hear the noises coming from the room he barged into, yelling. "Prongs, everyone is saying you're snogging some girl--"
He did, however, stop and recoil in shock when he found James in bed. Shirtless. With Regulus.
"What--the--bloody--fuck--?" he screeched, flapping his arms indignantly, covering his eyes and running into the wall.
"Erm...hi, Padfoot." James's sheepish voice was a bit strained, as Regulus was currently in his lap. "What's everyone saying?"
"That...that you're snogging some girl..." Sirius repeated weakly, unsure if he should laugh, cry, scream, or punch someone.
"Well, I'd hope he's not," Regulus sniffed, raising an eyebrow. "That would make this even more awkward."
And James cackled, pulling Regulus into a kiss, as Sirius gagged and ran away.
-
Prompt: Scared
He tried to hide it.
He tried to casually cover his eyes with one hand. To block out the death, the screams, the fear.
He couldn't show weakness. Not now. Not when he had a name and reputation to uphold. Not when news of his fear would spread like wildfire. Everyone would hear about how he crumbled.
But it was no use.
A voice rang out, making him jump, his heart beating loudly in his chest, his fight-or-flight response activated. He had half a mind to run from the room.
"Reggie, are you scared of The Ring?" James screeched amusedly, catching Regulus hiding behind one hand, shivering a bit under his blanket, hardly able to look at the screen where a long-haired demon was in the middle of crawling out of a television.
"I- what- no!" Regulus stuttered, trying desperately to regain a shred of his dignity.
But James just laughed and pulled him close. "Don't worry, love. I'll protect you," he murmured with a smile.
-
Prompt: Dead
"You're dead, Potter."
Regulus's voice rang down the hall as the Slytherin approached, almost stomping his feet in anger.
James used all of hill willpower not to shrink back. Though Regulus was smaller and shorter than he was, he was undeniably scary, and James much preferred a happy Regulus to an angry one.
He contemplated for a moment, wondering what he had done. Had he forgotten an important day? No, their one-month anniversary wasn't for eleven more days. A birthday? No, Reggie's birthday was in the summer. Some plans?
Shit.
"Ah, shit, Reggie, I-" he started, wanting to explain that he'd gotten detention the previous night and it was unavoidable.
"Don't you 'Reggie' me, Potter!" Regulus admonished venomously, looking ready to bite his head off, stopping in front of him. "Who the fuck were you with?"
James knit his eyebrows together and had to think carefully about that one. "What d'you mean, who?"
There was a bit of strain behind the anger as Regulus spoke now. "Don't bullshit me, Potter. You skipped our date last night and I heard that you were with some- some slag in a broom cupboard!"
He couldn't help it. He laughed.
Regulus threw him a scathing look and turned around, walking away, muttering about murder.
"Wait, no!" James said quickly, grabbing Regulus's arm. "Reg, I was in detention! Even ask Sirius! We got caught turning Snape's hair pink again!"
Regulus stopped, studying James's earnest expression intensely. "Really?" he whispered, the anger seeping out of him.
"Yes," James assured him, pulling him into an embrace. "Reggie, I've told you a thousand times I'm absolutely gone for you. Why would I ever want to be with anyone else?"
And Regulus stared at him, eyes a bit watery, biting nervously at his lip. "Alright, then," he finally muttered, scowling.
James grinned, placing a small peck on the shorter boy's lips. "Plus, I know better than to cheat on you. I don't have a death wish," he teased, pulling Regulus closer and burying his face in his curls.
"Too right."
-
Prompt: Spirit
It was stupid.
It was stupid and horrible and ridiculous and mortifying and he was never going to leave his room again.
He'd tried to deny it. Thought, perhaps, he was just getting sick, or maybe he'd been confounded. But no. Yesterday, during the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin game, he'd almost missed the Snitch because he was distracted.
Distracted by James Potter.
Most people probably didn't notice, but Regulus's friends knew better. Normally, during games he was unshakable. So as soon as he'd returned to them, they'd all started in with the inquisition, wondering what had distracted him in such a way.
And he'd been so shocked by his own ability to be distracted by something as horribly embarrassing as feelings that he hadn't even denied it when Dorcas accused him of oogling James.
He was never leaving his dorm again. He would die here. It was fine.
"Let's go, love," came Pandora's voice by the door. "You need food."
"No," he groaned, turning away from her.
"Potter is wearing a crop top today."
He paused. Then he rose, glaring at her with a look that dared her to poke fun.
"That's the sprit, Reggie."
"Fuck off."
-
Prompt: Mask
Regulus was not the romantic one.
It was a fact that everyone knew; it was not hidden, and he was not embarrassed by it.
The truth was, he used his sarcasm and aloofness like a mask, to drive people away and avoid the pain of being perceived. It was too terrifying to even think about anyone seeing him for who he really was. If they did, they might realize he was even more of a terrible person than the persona he put on. They might tell others. They might leave.
It was much easier to never take that chance. To just never make those connections in the first place. To have control over the horrible things people might say.
Except James had refused to allow him that luxury. He'd oafishly crashed through every wall Regulus had fearfully built, smiling and joking all the while. He'd never backed down, never allowed Regulus to succumb to self-hatred and self-doubt. He was there, unquestioningly willing to walk through the most difficult moments with him, annoyingly optimistic and positive.
Which sometimes rubbed off on Regulus. Caused him to do stupidly sweet and spontaneous things.
Which is why he was here.
Silently mouthing, trying to find a way to take back what he'd just said without ruining his entire life.
Not that he hadn't meant it. He'd meant it more than anything he'd ever said in his entire life, really.
It was just that the words he had just uttered changed everything.
And his heart was absolutely hammering out of his chest, because he had never felt more vulnerable, more stripped bare, than in this moment.
Because, idiotically, when he'd entered his dorm room after a horrifically long day to find James there, the taller boy had pulled him into his arms and then offered to read to him.
So of course, he'd curled into the embrace and whispered , "I love you so much."
And they'd never said that to each other before.
The silence they sat in now was deafening. Regulus had never wanted a Time Turner more than in that moment- the moment that he, the emotionless and horribly unromantic, sarcastic arse, had said 'I love you' first.
He considered running. He considered claiming he was ill. He considered drowning himself in the lake.
But through the sound of his thunderously beating heart, he suddenly, finally heard a noise from James.
A sniff.
Like he was crying.
And for one one horrible moment he was truly afraid he'd made James Potter cry in anguish from his disgusting love confession, before James used a gentle finger to guide his chin upward so their eyes met. And James was crying, but he was also grinning stupidly.
"Fuck, Reg, I've been waiting so long to tell you I love you, too," James whispered, grinning from ear to ear as a tear fell down his cheek.
Merlin, he was gone for this boy.
-
Prompt: Bad Luck
The bottle began to slow, rotating lazily around the circle.
It wasn't like James could protest playing- nobody knew about his current relationship status; the way he really spent his Sunday evenings.
As far as his friends were concerned, this was a genius plan. A way to finally get him a kiss with Evans.
And for one fearful second, he almost believed they'd succeeded.
The bottle sluggishly slid, first pointing directly at Lily, who looked a bit nervous about the result.
But, centimeter by centimeter, it drifted to her left. To finally rest on Regulus Black.
Sirius swore softly, looking crestfallen that his wonderful plan had come so close just to fail.
"Bad luck, Potter," Regulus murmured, eyes bright and a teasing smirk on his lips.
Lips that crashed into James's own with familiarity and heat, just as they had done for weeks, now.
-
Prompt: Spooky
He was pretty sure James knew that he knew about the Map, but neither of them spoke about it.
Regulus knew that James felt obligated to keep the secret for his friends, and as cold-hearted as he pretended to be, he would never put him in the position of outright asking about it.
But James was also stupidly obvious. (And Remus had told him about the Map ages ago).
So Regulus liked to mess with him sometimes.
"Wow. You must be so smart, James. You always know where I am."
"You're so great at pranking, Potter. You never get caught. I wonder how you do it?"
"How do you always know where the Professors are, James? Are you a Seer?"
All in a deadpan, sarcastic voice, of course.
But James would just turn a bit pink because he loved compliments, even those that were sarcastic, so he would just say, "Yeah, spooky, huh?" and pull Regulus into a kiss.
-
Prompt: Prank
It had been a joke.
A stupid, 'harmless' prank.
It hadn't been that malicious, he knew, because nobody knew.
Well, except Sirius and his own roommates, but they had nothing to do with it.
But Snape and a couple of his cronies had thought it would be hilarious to throw Regulus into the Black Lake.
And he was wearing his school shirt. His white school shirt.
And when it became soaked with water, it had turned see-through. See-through enough to see the binder underneath.
And suddenly, his secret was out. The secret he'd been working for years to hide.
And the worst part about it?
James Potter had been only fifty feet away.
Close enough to hear Snape disgustedly exclaim about the outline on Regulus's chest.
James Potter, who he'd had a massive crush on for ages. Who was finally looking at him instead of Lily fucking Evans. Who had been flirting with him the past few weeks.
He'd wanted to scream. To shrink upon himself. To disappear forever.
But instead, he'd run.
He'd run all the way to the top of the Astronomy Tower, trying to avoid the entire population of Hogwarts. If he was lucky, he could live there until graduation and then become a recluse, writing or living off the land, (even though he hated nature).
But of course James Potter ruined that plan.
Because all too soon, he heard a voice call, "Reggie? I know you're up here!"
"Fuck off, Potter," he replied softly, trying not to let his voice betray his embarrassment and hurt.
"Fat chance," James replied, ascending the last step and trying to meet his eyes.
Regulus started stubbornly downward. "Why are you here, Potter?"
"Well I would have been here sooner but I had to deal with Snape first. The month of detentions was well worth it," James said with a small chuckle.
Regulus didn't look up.
"Stupid prat will be bald for at least a month. There's no counter-curse. He doesn't even have eyebrows."
He couldn't help himself. Regulus gave a single snort.
"Reggie..." James murmured, gently touching Regulus's elbow.
He looked up, ice-gray eyes meeting hazel. He almost gasped at the intensity of the look James was giving him.
"...I wish you had told me. I...I'm not gonna lie, It made me a bit mad that you didn't."
And there it was. The admission that James felt differently now. That they would never work. "Well, obviously it's not that easy, James. It's not easy to just tell people, especially when they react all horrified like Snape or you!"
James looked bewildered. "Hor- Regulus, I'm not horrified! I just wish you had told me because I would have told you ages ago that it doesn't matter!"
Regulus froze at that.
"I mean, it matters. Like obviously, it matters that, erm, you have to deal with...I dunno, all the things you have to deal with. And all the stupid people, like Snape. Like...your feelings matter, right? But-" James started to blabber, mistaking Regulus's silence for anger.
"James, stop."
He stopped.
"Why...why did you come here?" Regulus asked, heart hammering in his chest.
James looked confused, like the question was unnecessary. "I wanted to be sure you were okay!"
"But why did you come here? Rather than send Sirius? Or Evan or Barty?" Regulus pushed.
The taller boy raised his eyebrows and turned a bit pink. "Oh, erm...I mean, I think I've been pretty obvious about how I feel, haven't I?"
"About?" Regulus breathed, allowing James to move closer to him, to completely take up his space. But he smirked, because he had, of course, been flirting back, and he snaked both of his arms around James's neck to make his own opinion clear.
James grinned. "Menace."
As their lips met, Regulus decided maybe he and James could become recluses together, because he was not allowing the other boy out of his arms anytime soon.
-
Prompt: Blood
It was so stupid.
He'd tried to tell James as much.
It was the smallest bump, a miniscule amount of blood.
They'd been joking around, tossing a Quaffle back and forth when he'd embarrassingly missed the catch and the ball had hit his nose.
And now, James had him seated in the stands, the taller boy's sweater bunched up as makeshift gauze, soaking up the red liquid slowly dripping from Regulus's nose.
He tried to protest, to insist that he could just wipe it on his own sleeve and keep playing, but James stood firm, so here they were.
"You don't hab to take care of me like this, James," Regulus murmured, still a bit embarrassed about missing an easy catch.
But the red that painted his cheeks increased a hundredfold when James gazed at him softly and said, "I'll always take care of you, baby."
-
Prompt: frighten
James jumped halfway into the air as cold, thin fingers snaked their way around his waist, pulling him backward toward the Astronomy Tower steps.
Regulus did have a way of sneaking up on him.
"Did I frighten you, baby?" the Slytherin's voice almost cooed, hot breath in his ear, hands already pulling James's shirt up over his chest.
"Fuck, Reg," James whispered, turning to meet urgent lips and the hands that would surely be the death of him.
-
Prompt: Halloween
"Baaaaabe," James's loud voice rang across the store, not helping Regulus's headache.
He hated shopping.
"What, love?" he replied through gritted teeth, trying to keep his voice even. They'd been in there for twelve whole minutes; twelve minutes too long as far as Regulus was concerned. The sensory overload of screaming children and Muggles in their pajamas was making him want to gag.
But then he really wanted to gag, because James approached him holding matching Halloween costumes.
"It's EGGS and BACON!" James explained unnecessarily, excitedly waving the two obnoxious outfits in Regulus's face.
"No," Regulus said firmly, feeling like he was talking to a small child.
"But Reggie! It's so cute! Look, you can be the bacon, because-" James began to whine, smiling widely.
"Don't you finish that sentence with some sort of euphemism in the middle of this goddamn store, James!" Regulus cut him off, but he fought back a grin. "I will not be wearing meat."
James grinned cheekily. "You seem to have no problem with meat when it's in your-"
"Absolutely not, James," Regulus growled, blushing pink.
And then James threw him the most ridiculously cute pout- lip out, eyes wide, eyebrows pushed together, the whole picture.
It took about ten seconds before-
"Ugh. Put it in the damn cart, then."