July 24: Dealer | @jegulus-microfic | Word Count: 595

July 24: dealer | @jegulus-microfic | word count: 595

Game nights were James’ favorite.

Every Saturday evening, James would host a small game night at his flat with all of his friends. They’d have a few drinks, maybe order in some food, and play card games for hours. James looked forward to it every week.

But this Saturday was going to be extra special.

Sirius, James’ best friend, was bringing his little brother, Regulus, with him to James’ game night. James had never met Regulus and was thrilled to finally meet Sirius’ brother. 

Sirius had told James that sometimes Regulus was fairly mean and not to expect much out of him. James mulled over that and thought about a million exchanges that might go down between him and Regulus that Saturday. 

However, James hadn’t foreseen that Sirius’ brother would be the most beautiful man he’d ever seen. 

Regulus was the first person to arrive and he came alone. 

When James opened the door his jaw dropped just slightly at the sight of the man in front of him. “Um, hi,” James stammered, “I’m James.” He held out a hand for Regulus to shake. 

“I’m Regulus. Sirius’ brother. I’m sure he’s said something about me,” the other man responded in a cool voice, taking James’ hand. 

He dropped his hand from the shake and led Regulus inside. “You’re the first to arrive, so it’ll be a bit boring before other people show up with the drinks and cards,” James explained, showing Regulus to his living room and gesturing him to sit on the couch with him. 

Regulus nodded and sat down next to James leaving a small gap between them. 

They sat like that, in awkward silence, for a few minutes before James couldn’t bear it anymore and asked, “Um, Sirius said you’re still finishing up in uni?”

Regulus nodded again and turned his piercing grey eyes on James. “Yeah, I’m about done with my last year.”

James muttered something that sounded vaguely like “That’s cool” before blurting again with, “So have you ever played cards before?”

Regulus raised an eyebrow at him. “I wasn’t raised under a rock, of course I’ve played before. What are we playing?” Regulus assured James.

James grinned and answered, “Blackjack.”

The other man’s cheeks went pink, which James found insanely adorable. “Oh.” Regulus looked sheepish all of a sudden. “I’ve actually… never played blackjack before. Our family only ever played poker.”

“Oh,” James said a quick prayer in his head before risking putting his arm around Regulus’ shoulders. “I can teach you the basics right now, if you’d like!” He grinned at the man.

Regulus rolled his eyes good-naturedly and huffed, “I guess.”

“Great!” James exclaimed. “So, in blackjack all the players are trying to get closer to 21 than the dealer, but they can’t hold over 21. If you go over, you bust and get nothing. Each hand is played separate and the end goal is to have a higher hand value than the dealer.”

Regulus’ brows furrowed while he took in the information. When James finished his explanation, Regulus remained quiet.

“So, did you understand any of that?” James asked with an airy chuckle.

The corners of Regulus’ lips tipped up in a small smile that lit up his eyes. “Er, no,” he confessed, laughing a little too.

James waved his hand, dismissing the problem. “Lily’ll explain it better anyway.”

James and Regulus made eye contact and burst out laughing together. 

“PRONGS?”

Their heads snapped to the living room entrance where Sirius stood, bewildered expression on his face and a pack of 6 drinks in his hand. 

"with every breath"

word count: 279

“When we’re older, we should get married,” Regulus had whispered softly.

“Yeah?”James looked at his boyfriend, who had been hugging his chest as they lay in bed together. 

“Yeah.”

James pressed a gentle, lingering kiss to Regulus’ head. “What kind of flowers should we have?” He asked quietly.

“Roses,” the younger boy answered. “But, only red ones, those are my favorite.”

“Anything you want, love, it’ll be yours.”

“You promise?”

“With every breath from my lungs, every kiss from my lips, and every touch from my hands, I’ll love you forever and anything you ever want, I’ll make sure it’s yours.”

“Ugh, James! Quit being such a sap!” Regulus chuckled affectionately. 

—

James smiled at the memory as tears rolled down his cheeks slowly. 

He knelt down to the ground and placed the roses he brought with him down next to him. 

James stared at the grave and the ache in his chest was all he could feel. He heaved in a shaky breath and felt a pang. 

He didn’t bother with trying to stop his tears from falling as he retrieved the old flowers and replaced them with the new ones. 

James closed his eyes and repeated the same speech he gave every time he went to see Regulus. 

“With every breath from my lungs, every tear from my eyes, and every rose from my garden, I’ll miss you until the day I leave to join you. But until then, I’ll love you now as fiercely as I did then. And every day from the year will be a reminder of a day we spent together.”

With that James left Regulus’ grave. 

Today would have been their anniversary.

"always never"

word count: 96

“Let me take you out for coffee.”

“No.”

“We can see a film?”

“No.”

“Stargazing?”

“Promising, but still no.”

James groaned. This was probably the millionth time Regulus had turned him down. 

“Just let me take you on a date, Reg,” James pleaded. “I’d always be good to you.”

He scanned the face of the younger boy who scoffed, “I’ll never go out with you, Potter.”

“I don’t believe in never,” James said simply, lips curling up. 

“I don’t believe in always,” Regulus countered.

“Well, opposites attract.”

“Never.” He raised an eyebrow.

“Always,” James finished, smirking.

regulus with barty and evan

It's my 1 year anniversary on Tumblr 🥳

@lulublack90 🩷 @monachopsisindefaultmode 🩷

July 29: ignore | @jegulus-microfic | word count: 342

— 

Thanksgiving 1977

“Reg, love, you can’t keep ignoring me,” James pleaded with his boyfriend, who was pointedly looking anywhere but in his direction. He stood on the opposite side of the empty classroom they were in with his arms adamantly crossed. 

Regulus stayed silent, merely raising an eyebrow, giving James the go-ahead to speak. 

“Regulus…” James took a step closer to him, tucking a loose curl behind his ear, “I don’t want you to stay in that house. Please. My parents have already said they’d be more than happy to have you stay at ours. And Sirius wants you to escape before…”

“Before they inevitably force me to take the Mark.” Regulus snapped his head to glare at James as he talked. His eyes swirled with a thousand emotions that James couldn’t really put names to. “I know, James.” 

James pulled him closer to hug him. Regulus turned away from him but didn’t pull away from the embrace. 

“I-I know they’re awful, but James,” Regulus finally turned to look at him, eyes shining with tears, “they’re my parents.” He choked on a sob before continuing, “But, I know I have to leave soon.”

James rubbed his back comfortingly and whispered soft consolations as his boyfriend sobbed into his chest.

Regulus sniffed and shifted his gaze to meet James’ again. This time, James saw nothing but resolve and determination set into his eyes “This Christmas break. I’ll apparate. I’ll do it on the day before Christmas Eve. I promise.”

—

New Years' Day 1978

James frantically searched the train platform for signs of his boyfriend. 

He hadn’t come on the day before Christmas Eve. 

James had been worried out of his mind. Regulus hadn’t even sent a letter to explain why he didn’t show up. 

Then, James saw a glimpse of Regulus’ black curls. He left behind his bags and sprinted to where Regulus sat on a bench, eyes trained on the ground. 

“Reg.”

Regulus lifted his head. The second he saw Regulus’ eyes, he knew.

“I’m so sorry, Jamie,” Regulus whispered.