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July 23: attitude | @jegulus-microfic | word count: 178

“Moony, he rejected me again!”

“That’s a shame.”

James spun around in his chair to pout at Remus. “I’m serious, I think I might be single forever!” James sputtered. 

Remus looked up from his book and raised an eyebrow at James. “With that attitude, I agree.” He hummed and returned to his book, absentmindedly continuing the conversation with, “Just keep trying, yeah?”

James sighed, leaning back. “Yeah, okay.” James thought on that for a minute before bursting out, “Wait, you agree I’ll be single forever?”

Remus glared up at James from his book. 

“You’re his friend, Moony, what do you think I should do?” James pleaded, giving Remus puppy dog eyes.

His friend closed his book. “Regulus is quiet and isn’t fond of excess attention so I suggest you stop declaring your love in the Great Hall,” Remus told James with a smirk.

“So, I can still declare my love, I just have to do it quietly?” James asked, waggling his eyebrows at Remus.

Remus rolled his eyes and picked his book back up. “You do you, Prongs.”

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. 

"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.

july 25: bundle | @jegulus-microfic | word count: 227

Regulus groaned and buried his face in his boyfriend’s shoulder at the sound of a blaring alarm going off.

“Jamessss,” Regulus grumbled. “Turn it off.”

James stirred awake at the sound of his daily alarm and blinked the sleep out of his eyes. He glanced down, saw Regulus, and scrambled to quickly turn off the alarm on his phone. 

Shitfuckshitttttt.

In his mind, James panicked. This was the first time Regulus had stayed over and of course James had forgotten to turn his dumb alarm off. James always woke up early. Clearly Regulus did not.

“I’m sorry, love,” James whispered to him. He stroked the side of Regulus’ face gently.

The other man merely grumbled again and hugged James tighter.

Regulus slept for another hour until James couldn’t stand doing nothing anymore. James shook his shoulder softly, trying to wake up Regulus. 

He stirred and lifted his dreary, sleep-heavy eyes to look up at James. 

James grinned down at him and kissed his forehead softly. “Good morning,” he said as he peppered little tiny kisses on Regulus’ jaw.

Regulus squirmed and mumbled, “S’too early.” He furrowed his eyebrows and tried to shove James but ended up just flopping on top of him. 

James chuckled quietly and poked Regulus’ cheek. “You’re quite the bundle of energy in the mornings, aren’t you, love?”

His boyfriend rolled his eyes. “Quite.”

July 27: pressure | @jegulus-microfic | word count: 275

“Reg, watching the mailbox through the window isn’t going to make the mail come any faster,” James laughed as he gently pried his boyfriend away from the window overlooking their tiny front lawn.

“Jamie, the letter could arrive any day now,” Regulus protested as James pulled him away, lips turned down.

James led him to the kitchen of their flat. He pulled two mugs from the cupboard as Regulus retrieved two tea bags.

As James had finished boiling the water in the kettle, Regulus burst out, “The mail! James, it’s here!” His boyfriend took off running to their mailbox. “Come on!”

James quickly set the kettle aside and ran after Regulus. When he reached the front door, Regulus was already sprinting back to James clutching a thick envelope. 

“It came!” He exclaimed. Regulus’ face was etched with nervousness as he used his thumb to tear open the envelope. Regulus snatched the letter out and scanned it eagerly. His eyes widened and he looked right up at James. “Baby, I got in!” Regulus cried jumping into James’ arms. “I got into that law program at Oxford!”

James exhaled as soon as the words left his boyfriend’s mouth and he felt an invisible pressure get lifted from his shoulders. James caught him and spun them in a circle. He set Regulus down and grabbed his face. He kissed Regulus and drew away to look in his eyes. “I’m so proud of you, love.” 

Regulus’ face was glowing with happiness as he grinned from ear to ear. “I did it,” he mumbled, tears filling his eyes.

“You did it,” James murmured, stroking a stray tear from Regulus’ cheek. 

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.

July 30: enter | @jegulus-microfic | word count: 322

“James, stop clinging to me so much, you literally haven't let go since the guy at the line said we could enter, just relax!” Regulus exclaimed, as James was clutching his boyfriend’s arm. “It’s just a haunted house!”

James looked at Regulus with wide eyes. “It’s all dark in here!” He clutched Regulus’ arm tighter. He dropped his voice to a terrified whisper and said, “And did you see that bloody zombie back there?”

“Yes, I saw the clown.” Regulus shook his head and rolled his eyes with an affectionate smirk. He patted James’ head as they turned a corner in the gloomy house. “I think you’re grown enough to not have to hug me through the whole experience,” Regulus cooed, peeling James away and walking ahead of him. 

James swallowed nervously as they continued to trek through the seemingly endless twists and turns. 

Regulus was a few feet ahead of James and made the turn into the next hallway before James did.

A second after Regulus turned the corner, James heard a shriek and a loud thump on the floor. 

“Reg!" James worriedly yelled after his boyfriend and sprinted around to see what happened.

As soon as he set foot in the new hallway, he came face to face with a wide-eyed Regulus and one of the haunted house actors dressed as a werewolf sitting on the floor, cradling his face with his hands.

Regulus grinned sheepishly at James, which was all it took for it to dawn on him.

"You didn't..." 

Regulus nodded slowly, his terrified eyes running all over James' face. 

"It's 'just a haunted house', huh?" James asked with a chuckle as he pulled Regulus in to give him a tight, comforting hug. 

"Oh, shut up," Regulus snapped. He put a finger on James' chest threateningly. "We are never speaking of this, do you hear me James Potter?"

James couldn't help but laugh again before responding, "Yes, dear."

august 3: reputation | @jegulus-microfic | word count: 150

Prompts are from the August 2023 collection from the lovely jegulus microfic mod

Regulus knew he had a reputation.

He didn’t do “relationships”. He preferred casual. No attachments. 

This all changed when he started with James Potter though. 

Suddenly he found himself caring about the other man and wanting more than just a fling.

The look in James’ eyes had enough to make Regulus’ heart and knees go weak.

Regulus found himself even getting jealous when he spotted James chatting with other blokes. 

Finally, one day when Regulus had had enough, he grabbed James by his shirt and pulled him into a closet.

James had started to lean in but Regulus shook his head adamantly. 

“I want you,” Regulus demanded, “all to myself. I hate sharing.”

“So we’re dating now? What happened to ‘casual’?” James smirked down at him.

Regulus put a finger on James’ chest. “I told you, I hate sharing.”

James chuckled as he leaned over and locked the closet door.

august 4: sweet | @jegulus-microfic | word count: 151

prompts are from the August 2023 collection from the lovely jegulus microfic mod

“Moony, I seriously don’t know what it is about him, I just can’t stop thinking about him!” James exclaimed, flopping backwards onto his bed. 

James heard some shuffling then his friend’s response, “Who?”

“Regulus! He’s just so… He looked so sweet today in that black jumper,” James sighed, smiling at the mental image he’d given himself. 

Earlier, when James had seen Regulus saunter into the library, wearing that oversized jumper, he couldn’t help but stare. It’d earned him a hit over the head from Marlene, but god Regulus had looked good in that jumper.

James turned his head to peer at Remus, who hadn’t responded, and instead made eye contact with Sirius, who was curled up to Remus’ side and glaring at James.

James gulped nervously.

Sirius narrowed his eyes. “Care to explain, Prongs?” He asked dangerously. 

James got up and ran out of their dorm before Sirius finished his sentence.

august 5: pain | @jegulus-microfic | word count: 198

prompts are from the august 2023 collection from the lovely jegulus microfic mod

Regulus groaned as he woke up. A stab of pain shot through his head as he tried to sit up in bed. He crumpled back down and another sting went through his head when it hit his pillow.

He didn’t even bother opening his eyes as he called for his husband. “Jamieeee!” He coughed immediately after yelling and his throat felt like it was being burned.

Regulus dragged a blanket over his face to shield it from the light coming through the bedroom window.

He heard some shuffling then felt a light touch on his shoulder. Then came the gentle inquiry, “What’s wrong, love?” 

Knowing James was near, Regulus turned over and curled into him, wrapping his arms around his waist tightly. “M’sick,” he grumbled. 

The mere presence of James was already helping Regulus feel better but even though they’d been married for a year, he wouldn’t admit that to James.

“I can bring you some tea and a Tylenol?” James offered, stroking Regulus’ head comfortingly.

Regulus leaned into the touch and hummed. He shook his head and nestled his face into the crook of James’ neck and shoulder. “Just want you,” he mumbled.

“Anything you want, Reg.”

august 7: stimulate | @jegulus-microfic | word count: 332

prompts are from the august 2023 collection from the lovely jegulus microfic mod

Regulus and James had been going out for a week, but they still pulled each other into broom closets between every other class. 

Regulus wasn’t complaining though. He quite enjoyed it even though his attendance record was taking a but of a hit. They tended to get carried away together. 

So when James grabbed his wrist and pulled him into an empty classroom, Regulus followed eagerly with a smirk blooming on his lips. 

As soon as James closed the door, Regulus spun them around and pressed James into it. He linked his hands behind James’ neck and snogged him. Regulus heard James make a tiny noise in the back of his throat when he pulled away. 

“I need some more stimulation before I go to Charms,” James whined, cupping Regulus’ cheek.

Regulus moved his hands to rest gently on James’ hips. “And I need to not be late to Potions again,” Regulus barely got his last word out before James leaned in to snog him relentlessly.

All thoughts about school quickly faded from both of their minds as they continued. 

Just as James had picked up Regulus and placed him on a desk, a loud gong sounded through the room.

The late bell. 

Shitfuckshit.

Regulus pulled back and swatted James over the head. He glared at him but his anger melted when James gave him a sheepish grin and mumbled an apology.

James helped Regulus off the desk as Regulus grumbled to him about how Professor Slughorn would have his head for being late again. 

Everything he had said, though, seemed to have gone straight through James because when he was about to step out, James pulled him in again for a quick peck on the cheek.

“See ya later, Reggie!” James waved goodbye before proceeding to skip to his next class.

Regulus shook his head affectionately as he took the stairs down to the dungeon.

He didn’t care about his attendance record if it meant he’d have more time with James.

"you are my person. I need you alive. you make me brave" but it's regulus writing a letter to James before he goes to the cave

august 8: tattoo | @jegulus-microfic | word count: 196

from the august 2023 collection

It was James’ birthday.

Regulus had gotten him a nice cologne and a pair of shoes James had been whining about for months. 

At James’ birthday party with all their friends, Regulus had given James his gift and James had loved it. Back at his flat, James told him thank you and given him a kiss.

But he didn’t know Regulus had another gift for him.

So when Regulus showed up at James’ flat unannounced and wearing his low-rise, baggy jeans that sat on his hips and a tight black crop top, he couldn’t help but smirk when James opened the door and gaped at him.

James pulled him into his flat and promptly shut the door. 

Regulus put his hands on his hips and whispered into James’ ear, “Happy Birthday, Jamie.”

Regulus saw James pupils multiply a million times in size when they stopped to gaze at Regulus’ hips. Where he had a brand new tattoo of deer antlers on each hip bone. The ends of the tattoos snuck under the waistband of Regulus’ jeans.

James dragged his gaze back up to meet Regulus’ eyes.

He held that gaze as he dropped to his knees.

august 11: home | @jegulus-microfic | word count: 289

“James, I am not letting you ruin our home!”

“Baby—“

“Not another word,” Regulus hissed at his husband, “we are not painting the walls of this house red.” 

Regulus glared at James who was  giving him puppy dog eyes and clasping his hands together.

Regulus raised an eyebrow at him.

“James, I don’t understand what you find so… cool about a bright red wall,” Regulus sighed as James came over to him and hugged his waist tightly. He instinctively brought his arms up to hug James’ neck.

James pressed a gentle, lingering kiss to Regulus and mumbled into his mouth, “I never said bright red, love.”

Regulus shook his head softly. “Red is such a…” Regulus looked at his husband’s eyes instead of his mouth and decided to bite back his retort. “Red is a very… bold color,” he said.

Regulus moved to kiss James again but his husband pulled back. 

James instead went to peppering little, tiny kisses all over Regulus’ neck. 

“Just one wall, love.” 

“I—“

“It can be in my office so people don’t see it.”

Regulus thought about it for a moment while James continued kissing.  He couldn’t see a good enough reason why not.

Regulus pulled James’ head away from his neck and brought it down so their foreheads were touching. He cradled James’ cheek with one of his hands.

“Okay.”

James immediately pulled back and did a leap in the air with a shout of “YES!”

Regulus put a hand on his husband’s shoulder and pointed a threatening finger at him.

“But only in your office, mon soleil.” Regulus fixed him with a glare. When James tried to lean in for another kiss, Regulus pulled away. “I mean it, James, just your office.”

august 23: stomachache | @jegulus-microfic | word count: 255

Finally a Part 2 for the Game Night au!

Part 1

“PRONGS?”

Both James and Regulus’ heads snapped to look at Sirius, who had just let himself in through James’ front door. 

Sirius gaped at the pair of them and set down the six pack of drinks he was carrying.

“Since when were you friends?” He asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously and taking out a drink for himself.

Regulus blinked innocently up at Sirius from where he and James were sat on the couch. “We just met,” he told his brother. Regulus put a hand on James’ chest. “He was just explaining how to play Blackjack.”

James’ skin tingled from where Regulus touched him and he felt his cheeks get hot. He could tell Regulus was trying to work up Sirius. 

Kudos to him because, frankly, it was working. A vein in Sirius’ temple was visibly straining and he was gripping his drink so tight his knuckles were white.

Sirius cleared his throat and asked, “James- a word in the kitchen?”

James nodded and extracted himself away from Regulus. He heard a small whine in the back of the younger man’s throat and he felt like he could have collapsed right there. As soon as Regulus’ hands weren’t touching him anymore, James felt a cold absence and longed for them to come back.

Surely having thoughts like this about your best friend’s younger brother isn’t normal, right?

He looked back at Regulus before stepping into the kitchen and his heart skipped so many beats he had a small stomachache.

Nope. That definitely wasn’t a normal feeling.

september 3: storm | @jegulus-microfic | word count: 107

James loved Regulus so much. Loved every part of him. But the part James loved the most was his eyes.

He loved the stormy grey depths and the just barely-there hints of blue mixed in. 

He loved Regulus’ thick, dark eyelashes that framed his eyes perfectly.

James adored the way Regulus’ eyes glowed after any time James said “I love you”. 

He especially loved the intensity in  Regulus’ gaze when they were tangled up in each other. 

But above it all, there was nothing in the world that could match the pure joy and love in those stormy eyes when James had knelt down on one knee.

September 4: sign | @jegulus-microfic | word count: 208

Regulus was nervous.

Today was the semi-final Quidditch match between Slytherin and Ravenclaw. Today would decide who’d be playing Gryffindor in the Championship.

Of course Regulus felt a small knot of nerves in his stomach about the match, but he knew he was the best Seeker in all of Hogwarts so he wasn’t terribly worried.

He was more nervous because this was his first match that James would be attending since they’d started dating.

Regulus knew James had a tendency for dramatics. For all he knew, James could’ve planned a song and dance. It’d already happened before, much to Regulus’ utter horror.

So when the whistle blew and the Quaffle was tossed to start the game, Regulus sped away to hover above the players on the Pitch and to see what James did this time. 

After about 2 seconds of searching, he found James. It wasn’t hard at all actually. The man was painted head-to-toe in silver and green and was over enthusiastically waving a sign in the air.

Regulus flew a little closer to read what James’ poster read. 

He groaned out loud in exasperation when he read:

DON’T HURT THAT NICE ARSE OF YOURS, REGGIE!! 

At least James didn’t do another song and dance, Regulus thought.

September 9: carry | @jegulus-microfic | word count: 190

“Jamie, pleeeease.”

“Reg…”

“I’ll break up with you if you don’t.”

“Reg!”

“James, I might die.”

James’ laugh almost bubbled over and spilled out, but he held it in stoically. Regulus would kill him for laughing at him right now.

Regulus gave James a death stare so intense others might have cried from. Not James though. James merely smiled and finally relented.

“Okay, yes, I’ll carry you for a bit,” James told his boyfriend, who had been dragging his feet through the amusement park for the last hour. 

“Finally,” Regulus groaned, hopping up on James’ back and swinging his legs to circle James’ waist.

James caught him and squeezed his thighs lightly. He loved carrying him around like this. And he knew Regulus liked to be carried. So it worked out pretty well for them.

“So which ride did you want to go on next, love?” James asked.

“The one with the snakes,” his boyfriend answered sweetly, angry tone completely evaporated now that he’d gotten his wish.

“That one’s on the other side of the park…” James said slowly.

“I know.”

God, James loved that man. Truly. Bless his soul.

September 11: abroad | @jegulus-microfic | word count: 234

James had been waiting anxiously in the airport for an hour.

Regulus was returning from a work trip abroad to Italy and he’d left James at their flat in London.

The thing was that James couldn’t see Regulus anywhere in the airport. He’d even made a special sign with his boyfriend’s face printed across it.

James missed Regulus SOFUCKINGMUCH. Like honestly, he didn’t think he’s ever missed anyone that much.

Just then, he got a text message from Regulus. In his excitement, he fumbled his password twice before unlocking his phone and reading the message that said:

omfg check behind you, jamie…

James spun around, nearly dropping his special sign, and finally laid eyes on Regulus, who was rolling his eyes and walking over to where James was.

James sprinted to Regulus and attacked with a hug so fierce that had made him drop his bags. He didn’t care. He’d missed him too much to care.

Regulus let out a soft airy laugh and hugged James back. He could feel Regulus’ hands tighten in his hair where he was grabbing at it.

James pulled back just enough to look into Regulus’ eyes. His eyes flicked down to his lips for an instant then back up to gaze into that familiar stormy blue.

“I missed you,” he whispered, cradling Regulus’ cheek gently.

“I missed you more,” Regulus sighed before capturing James’ lips with his own.

September 13: water | @jegulus-microfic | word count: 391

Regulus wanted to leave. Actually, he *needed* to leave.

Today, his whole agenda was supposed to be to finish the latest book he was reading and relax at home. And maybe grab a coffee somewhere along the way. 

Then, his idiot brother had come over, physically dragged him out of his own home, and brought him to a beach of all places.

When they arrived, Regulus spotted Sirius’ other friends already set up on the sand and frolicking around.

Sirius looked at Regulus seriously and said, “Reggie, you never get out. This can be fun for you.”

And Regulus could never say no Sirius when he talked to him like that.

So he stuffed down his pride and sat on one of the many beach towels the Marauders’ had laid down on the beach. 

After they’d bored themselves out, one of them (Regulus thinks it was McKinnon) had the bright idea to have them all go swimming.

Sirius tried to drag him to the water, much like he’d dragged him out of his house, but Regulus remained adamant about staying on land.

Eventually, his brother gave up and Regulus was sure he’d won this battle. 

Then, James Potter walked up to Regulus’ towel. He looked like a god. His chest was bare and Regulus could see the droplets of water clinging to his skin. His swim trunks clutched his thighs in a way that made Regulus suddenly envious of anyone who’d ever had the pleasure to touch them.

James plopped down next to Regulus and gazed meaningfully at him.

“Why are you not swimming?”

For whatever reason, Regulus couldn’t find it within himself to lie to the man, and he told the truth.

“I-I don’t know how…” he muttered, avoiding James’ eyes.

James’ hand grabbed Regulus’ face gently and tilted up to face his.

“I can show you,” he said earnestly. “It’s quite easy once you get the hang of it.”

Regulus hesitated. For years his worst fear in the world had been anything related to swimming. But how could he say no to James of all people?

“I guess-“

“Yes!” James blurted out, giving Regulus a quick peck on the cheek as some sort of celebration.

And that was how Regulus found himself swimming, waist held tightly by no other than James Potter.

Regulus should learn how to say no.