Chapter Text
James Potter had been a nuisance to Regulus Black since they were kids. Sirius went off to middle school, and as soon as he came back, he was talking about James this and James that. Once Regulus finally met James, he didn’t understand what had Sirius so enthralled. He was an idiot. Could barely string two sentences together.
Not to mention all the childish pranks the two boys would pull together.
So no, Regulus was never a fan of James Potter.
Unfortunately, that leads him to this past month, when Barty moved out of his and Regulus's shared apartment to move in with his boyfriend, Evan. Regulus mentioned to his brother that he was looking for a new place to live, since he couldn’t afford to live on his own. Sirius had suggested he ask James, who lived alone in a two bedroom apartment ever since Sirius moved out to live with Remus.
Regulus hadn’t been keen on the idea, but the rent was relatively low, it was close enough to his job, and much closer to where Sirius lived, so he eventually agreed.
The first day goes better than Regulus anticipated. Regulus shows up at the door with a UHaul, and James opens the door with a large smile and immediately helps him with his boxes. It isn’t long until Sirius comes over, dragging Remus along, and together they all help Regulus unpack.
After they’re finished, they order a pizza, and sit around chatting and laughing while they eat. But eventually Sirius and Remus are about to leave for the night.
“You’re sure you’ll be okay?” Sirius asks Regulus quietly. They’re alone, Remus has already started walking to the car, and James is still in the kitchen.
“Yes,” Regulus says, exasperated. Secretly, he feels a fondness for his big brother, and how much he tries to take care of Regulus. But he’d never let Sirius know that.
“Okay, well I’m five minutes away if you need anything,” Sirius reminds him.
“I know,” Regulus says.
Sirius’s eyes flicker to the kitchen doorway. “Be nice to James,” he tells Regulus. “He’s more sensitive than he seems.”
Regulus rolls his eyes. “I can be nice.”
Sirius squints at Regulus. “Can you?” he asks dubiously.
Regulus shoves Sirius towards the door, “Alright that’s enough. Go home,” he insists.
Sirius laughs but acquiesces, and Regulus is left alone in the entrance hall. He takes a breath, steeling himself.
He’s not sure what he’s supposed to do now. Does he go into the kitchen to make small talk with James? Does he go to the living room and scroll on his phone, or does he go to his bedroom and hide away until he’s ready to go to sleep?
Feeling the weight of his brother hanging over his shoulder, he heads into the kitchen first. If it’s awkward, he decides, he can always pretend he was just getting a glass of water.
The kitchen is painted a pale teal color, with the cabinets painted a darker shade of teal. The color made it feel cozy, even though it was relatively big, with a marble island in the middle of the room that had teal colored stools next to it.
As soon as Regulus enters the kitchen, James turns around and grins widely at him. “Hey! I’m just about to make tea, do you want some?”
Regulus hesitates only a second before saying, “Sure.” If he’s going to be rooming with James for the foreseeable future, he figures he should make an effort, and that starts with having a cup of tea with him.
James hums in acknowledgement and turns the stove on. He turns back to Regulus, leaning back against the counter. “So,” he says, eyes on Regulus’s face, “You work at a restaurant, right?”
Regulus wets his lips. “Yeah,” he says. “It’s called Le Jardin.”
James eyebrows shoot up. “That sounds fancy,” he says.
Regulus shrugs. It was fancy, an upscale French restaurant with a small menu and high prices.
“Do you like it?” James asks, looking genuinely interested.
Regulus doesn’t think anyone’s asked him that before. He talks to his brother and friends about his job, little stories of the day to day happenings, complaints about guests, but he’s never really talked about whether or not he liked working there. “It pays the bills,” he says eventually.
“Is that a no?” James presses.
“It’s a sometimes,” Regulus admits.
“What do you like about it?” James asks.
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re very nosy?” Regulus says.
James smiles wide, with a light chuckle. “Everyone I meet, pretty much. Ever since I was young. So? What do you like about Le Jardin?” He butchers the french name, making Regulus wince.
Regulus bites his lip as he considers the question. “The work itself is fine, I don’t love taking orders and trying to be friendly for a nice tip, but I can handle it. I guess I like the atmosphere - because it’s a nice place, there’s a level of expectation that I’m used to. You’re meant to dress up and play the part of a respectable person.”
James nods slowly. “I think I get it,” he says, though his brow is furrowed. “It’s familiar to you.”
Regulus nods. “Yeah, I think that’s it.”
James bites his lip. “But, isn’t it tough for you to be in that kind of situation? I mean, just because of how you grew up…” he trails off with a slight grimace.
Regulus thinks of his mother’s constant critiques of his looks and his behavior when he was younger. She was constantly telling him to act like a lady, and didn’t believe him when he told her he wasn’t a girl. “Look,” Regulus says, perhaps a little harshly. “I know Sirius has probably already told you all about how we grew up, but I don’t particularly like to talk about it, especially with people I don’t know well.”
“Okay,” James says easily. “Tell me about your friends then.”
Regulus’s shoulders, which had tensed without his realizing, relaxed. He allows the topic change. “Well, there’s Barty,” he starts. “He was my roommate until he moved in with his boyfriend Evan, who’s another friend of mine. Barty is,” Regulus’s face twists. “Complicated. Evan is cool, and he definitely helps keep Barty grounded. There’s also Dorcas, who is probably the coolest person I know. She’s into fashion. And then Pandora. She’s a witch influencer.”
James laughs, startled. “A witch influencer?”
Regulus frowns. “It’s a real thing. She’s a witch, and she shares her knowledge and experiences with other witches, or anyone who follows her.”
“Sorry, I’ve just never heard that term before. But I’m sure she’s very good at what she does.”
“She is.”
“Do you see them often?”
“Pretty often. We try to meet up once every week.”
James smiles. “That sounds nice. I always see Pads and Moony, but some of my other friends I only see once every month or two.”
“Who are your other friends?” Regulus asks. It’s only fair, he reasons, James asked about his friends.
James’ smile softens as he thinks about his friends. “Well you know Sirius and Remus, and there’s also Pete We're the four marauders. And then there’s the girls, Lily, Mary, and Marlene.”
“Oh, yeah,” Regulus says. “Sirius talks about them sometimes.” He tilts his head. “Lily’s the one you have an embarrassing crush on, right?”
James grimaces. “I did, but not anymore. She’s just a friend. Besides, her and Mary are dating now.”
“Oh,’ Regulus says. “Good for them, I guess.”
James snorts. “Yeah, they’re pretty happy.”
The kettle whistles, making James jump. “What kind of tea did you want?”
Regulus asks for an herbal tea that he brought and already unpacked into the cabinet with James’s teas. James acquiesces, and pours hot water into the two mugs on the counter.
Once the tea is steeped, James leads Regulus over to the living room, and they sit down together on either end of the couch.
Regulus’s knee bounces as they wait for the tea to cool down.
“What do you like to do for fun?” James asks after a few moments of silence. He turns slightly to look at Regulus from his side of the couch.
Regulus shrugs, “Read, mostly. Though I also spend a fair bit of time on social media.”
James nods, “I’m also a victim of social media,” he admits. “What genre do you like to read?”
“Mostly historical non-fiction,” he says. “I’ll also read some fantasy every once in a while though.”
“Interesting,” James says, and he sounds genuine. “What do you like about historical non-fiction?”
Regulus tilts his head as he considers the question. “It’s fascinating to read about things that happened before I was born. There’s a whole world out there, teeming with history and information. I want to learn about it.”
James smiles softly. “I love that. Are you reading anything now?”
“Yeah, it’s called the Wager. It’s about a shipwreck in the 1700s, and everything that followed.”
“Tell me more about it,” James urges.
Regulus bites his lip. He knows James is likely not actually interested in the book Regulus is reading, but he has been wanting to talk about it with someone. Why not James?
So Regulus talks. He talks for a while, with occasional remarks or questions from James. The subject changes eventually, but the conversation persists, and they talk well into the night.
“And growing up,” James is saying. “We had a playset in the backyard where I would pretend to be a pirate, and I made my dad pretend to be a rival pirate, who I made walk the plank.”
Regulus opens his mouth to respond, but instead he lets out a yawn.
James laughs. “Sorry, am I keeping you up?” He pulls his phone out of his pocket and glances at the screen, eyebrows shooting up. “Oh shit, it’s late.”
Regulus glances at his own phone. Almost 2am. “I should probably get to bed,” he says.
“Yeah, me too,” James agrees. They say their goodnights, and each head to their own rooms.
After getting ready for bed, Regulus slides under the covers. All in all, he thinks as he drifts off, not the worst start to living with James Potter.