#and reg would be thinking about finally leaving home

[calamitoustide]

once again thinking about James and Reg going backpacking to run from their problems alone and then they meet each other on the fourth day and just keep walking with each other because they’re going the same pace so why not (James’ idea) and they end up talking through everything and heal together in a way they couldn’t do alone

[ecstarry]

@into-the-jeggyverse // reporter // 411 words // a love confession @bloodbruise

“You’re getting on my nerves, James.” Regulus storms off into the kitchen, his hands gripping the counter as if the marble could supply the air he needs to breathe right now. 

“Answer my question.” James follows him instantly. Regulus doesn’t need to turn to know exactly which leg James is resting on, that one hand is on his hip and the other on his hair. 

“Who are you? A reporter?” Regulus asks as if it was a punishment. He’s being mean, he knows. If James leaves tonight he can at least point to this moment and tell himself it had nothing to do with him not being enough.  

“Don’t fuck with me.” James is hurt. 

Regulus hates himself right now. James’ voice is stern, deeper in a way he had only heard whispered next to his ear when James touched him. He still wants James.  

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Regulus used to wonder if there would come a time where there would be no more of him to give to James, maybe this was it. 

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to.”

“You fucked him.” James acknowledges quietly, barely loud enough for Regulus to listen. 

“No.” He replies quickly. 

They remain in silence for a moment. Each of them is a soldier stopping in the middle of a battlefield to evaluate their own wounds.

“Then what could be so bad you won’t tell me?” 

Regulus can feel James walking towards him, his arm reaching for the back of his shirt. Regulus is a weak man. Denying James Potter of anything felt like a sin. 

“I broke it off.” He confesses.

“Reg.”

“No! Don’t ‘Reg’ me. Gideon and I are fucking done is that you wanted to hear?” His voice grows with every word because he needs James to know. 

“Reg.” James pleads.

Finally, Regulus turns to face him. 

 “Are you happy now? I can’t even go on a fucking date without thinking about you. I can’t hear anyone laugh without picturing yours. He ordered a stupid drink and all I could think is what you would’ve gotten. I am fucked, James.” He allows himself to breathe for the first time since he got home. “You won.”

“Reg.”

“What James? WHAT!?” He feels his body turn as James pulls him closer, the callused palm that had held his face just this morning holds him just as gently once more and-

“I’m going to kiss you now.”

[my-castles-crumbling]

break - Jegulus Microfic - @into-the-jeggyverse - word count: 693

The first time Regulus Black thought James Potter was going to break his heart, he ended up with a boyfriend. Because really, they hadn’t been actually been going out in the first place, Regulus had just grown so mortifyingly attached that he knew he would never be the same, even when James came to his senses and told Regulus that this strange, addicting thing between them was done.

So one night in February, when James turned to him with a terrifyingly serious expression and said the words, “We need to talk about something,” Regulus wasn’t even surprised, though his heart sank to the floor. 

He just maintained a completely blank face, squeezed his fingers into his palms so tightly his fingernails left marks, and uttered the words, “Go on. Say it, then.” 

And was completely, blissfully shocked when James said softly, “I…I care about you, Reg. I want this to be something. Have for ages.”

And after he snogged the living daylights out of him, he gave him a very stern talk about never, ever using the words ‘we need to talk’ again.

-

The second time Regulus Black thought James Potter was going to break his heart, they ended up moving in together.

Well, not like that. But it was the end of Regulus’s sixth year and James’s seventh. James was leaving, and Regulus had feared for a while that the end of this chapter of James’s life meant the end of them, as well. Every time James murmured adoring sentiments in his ear, every one of them felt like it had an expiration date, and he found himself scrambling to make plans for the summer, for the future, for being alone.

So when James sat him down, face full of anxiety and nervous determination, Regulus figured this was it. He’d finally gotten the nerve to end things. He was focusing so much on keeping himself together, on keeping his face emotionless and his breathing even, that he barely heard it when James said in a firm voice, “You’re coming home with me this summer.”

“I-what?” he asked after a minute, still processing.

“I know you’re independent and you don’t need help and all that shit, but I honestly don’t think I could make it through three whole months without you, and I’d spend every waking minute worrying about you,” James said in a rush, as if he’d practiced this speech many times. “So it’s not for you, not really. It’s that you’re doing a favor for me. So please, just- please at least think about-”

He interrupted James with a kiss.

-

The third time Regulus Black thought James Potter was going to break up his heart, they ended up engaged.

James had been acting so differently lately, coming home late from work and talking in hushed tones to his friends. Regulus had worried himself into an all-out panic, convinced that he was cheating, that everyone was in on it. That his luck had run out, and James had finally realized Regulus was not the person he thought he was, after all.

So when James sat him down after a lovely dinner at home and began his speech with, “I wanted to do this differently…” his heart again sank, because he was sure this was the end.

Until James continued. 

“I wanted to do this in front of a crowd, or, I dunno, have a flash mob or something stupid like that,” James said, smiling softly as Regulus frowned in confusion. “But I decided that you’d probably kill me if I did, and then you wouldn’t be able to say yes, so…”

And that was when Regulus saw the ring in his hand.

He didn’t take in much after that.

And when they finished celebrating their new engagement, Regulus turned to his new fiance and mumbled, “You know this really means you can’t leave me, right?” the vulnerability of the statement hanging in the warm air around them. Perhaps he was finally believing it. 

But James just looked at him like he’d hung the stars in the sky. “Baby, I was never planning on it,” he grinned, brushing their lips together.

[faireyhouses]

— Dinner Guest (Cg!Tai, Reg!Jackie + Reg!Van)

Summary: Jackie isn't one of Van's usual playmates, but when Van brings her home Tai doesn't hesitate to care for her

WC: 1,700+

Contents: brief paddedreg scene towards the end 𓈒 brief mention of a sad home life for jackie (literally a sentence and a half) 𓈒 implied autistic!jackie

A/N: not too fond of this, it feels a little jumbled, but it's my first fic and I've been thinking of cg!tai + reg!jackie, so who actually cares?

Tai glances at the clock on the wall, pausing as she takes note of the late time.

She had made Van promise to be home by five, in time for their pizza dinner to be ready, when she had gone to the park with Nat earlier in the day, and as the clock's arms tick towards 4:50 she readies herself to go sit in the living room to wait.

But before she can leave the kitchen, she hears the front door swing up and the sound of feet, as well as soft murmuring and assumes that Nat had come home with Van again, not an uncommon occurrence, so she places the hand towel down on the counter and turns on her heel to go say hi to the shaggy haired kiddo.

But instead she finds Jackie, shoulders hunched as her and Van murmur back and forth in the entryway.

Jackie notices her first, her mouth clamping shut as she somehow manages to hunch her shoulders further up, ducking her head as well.

Tai stares at the obviously regressed girl, in a state of light shock. Not at her regression, practically the whole Yellowjackets team were some type of regressor, but at the simple fact that she was here, with Van.

Jackie wasn't one of Van's usual playmates, sure when the whole team were together she would join in on whatever make-believe game they had conjured up, but she wasn't as close with Van as Nat or Mel, and Tai usually saw her playing with Lottie or Laura Lee.

But Tai doesn't really get more time to ponder, because Van finally takes note of her and quickly approaches, beckoning her caregiver back into the relative privacy of the kitchen.

"Mama," she quietly starts once they're away from the entryway between the two rooms, "can Jackie stay for dinner?"

Tai tilts her head, frowning slightly. "Van, Jackie can't just join us. Does Shauna even know she's here?" She starts to worry, had Van somehow managed to drag the little girl all the way here without her own caregiver noticing?

She starts for the phone on the wall, but stops when Van grabs at her shirt, tugging lightly. "No, mama. Shaunie isn't home, remember?"

Ah. Tai does remember now. Shauna had mentioned something about a family trip at practice on Friday, she had been complaining about it to anyone who would listen.

"Jack don't wanna be alone, mama. Not in her big house." Tai feels her heart break a little, sure the Taylor's weren't as loaded as the Matthews' were, but their house was plenty big, and if Tai had to guess, Jackie’s parents were probably equally as absent as Lot's were.

"Okay sweetie." She says softly, gently patting her kiddo on the head. "How about I go talk to Jackie while you set up the plates?" She offers, and the ginger beams. "Can I give Jackie my dinosaur plate?" She asks excitedly, and Tai nods, appreciating the sweet gesture.

As Van scrambles off to find the plates and utensils, Tai turns, walking back into the living room. Jackie was where they had left her, thumb now stuck in her mouth as she gazes at some photos on the wall.

"Hi Jackie." She says softly, crouching down in front of the small girl and offering her most reassuring smile. "Van told me you were going to join us for dinner, is that right?"

There's a pause as Jackie looks at her, her thumb quickly sliding out of her mouth as she tucks it against her side, blushing lightly. "If it oh'tay." The small girl quietly murmurs.

"Well of course it's okay, I'd love to have such an important guest join us. Do you like pizza?”

With a small nod in response, Tai straightens, offering a hand and guiding Jackie to the kitchen once she takes it.

Van happily greets them, gesturing towards the table's set up proudly, Tai helps Jackie towards the extra chair Van had scooted next to hers, with the promised green dinosaur plate set out in front of it with the added, mismatched kid's utensils alongside it.

Van scrambles into her own chair, patiently waiting until Jackie is settled before she holds up her plate. “Pizza please!”

Tai smiles, ruffling her hair before taking both of the girl's plates. She slides a piece each onto their plates, despite Van's usual asks for two, promising more if they finished what they had already.

And as she sets the plates back down in front of them, she crouches slightly, pulling both of their attention to her. “Do you want yours big or cut up, Van?” She asks first.

“Big! Cus’ Imma big kid.” She says with a toothy grin, Tai chuckles. “Okay, just be careful not to get sauce everywhere.” She gently, yet firmly, reminds her, before turning to Jackie.

“What about you, Jack?” Jackie takes a moment, glancing between her and Van's plates. “Imma big kid too.” She murmurs softly, but Tai can tell she isn't so confident in the decision.

“Big kids can have cut up pizza too, you know.” She gently says, “Uh huh!” Van says from her other side, sauce predictably smeared on her face, “Mama even has special kitchen scissors!”

Tai nods, “Cool red ones,” she says, standing to get them to show her.

Once she does, Jackie nudges her plate back towards her, and Tai ends up cutting up her own pizza to make her feel even better about the decision, and of course once Van sees it she asks for her next piece to be cut up as well.

After Tai gets the two sippy cups of juice and her own drink as well the three of them settle into a nice dinner, Van rambling about her day at the park while Jackie quietly nods and occasionally softly adds her own details.

Once they finish, Tai lets the two go off to the living room to play while she loads the dirty dishes into the dishwasher and saves the leftover pizza for lunch tomorrow, and once she's done she goes to find the two.

They're building with some of Van's Legos on the carpet, and once they see her they both show her their own creations, which she exaggeratedly marvels at before Jackie shuffles her feet, glancing towards the dark sky out the window.

“Go home now?” She asks Tai softly, and Van pouts beside her. “Does she have to?” She asks, sending Tai a big pleading look.

Tai glances at the girl, remembering that her home was most likely empty and at least a fifteen minute drive from theirs. “How about,” she says after some thinking, “you spend the night with us, would that be fun?”

“Fun!” Van cheers, turning to Jackie excitedly. “Can sleep in my room with sleeping bags, right Mama?” Tai nods, the sleeping bag sleepovers were already a common occurrence whenever Nat or Mel slept over.

Jackie glances at Tai, shrugging. “Don't have jammas.” She says simply. “And toothbrush.”

“Can have my dino footies!” Van interrupts with a beaming grin, but Tai notes the slight hunch of Jackie’s shoulders and recalls the girl's previous aversions to certain clothes in the locker room.

“Or,” Tai offers, “I have some shorts that would fit you, Jack, and we have some extra toothbrushes in the bathroom.”

Jackie seems to debate her options for a moment, and although her thumbs rises slightly it doesn't enter her mouth, instead hooking around the collar of her sweater.

“Would be fun…” she eventually says and when Van cheers she grins, nodding to Tai.

They collect a pair of shorts and an old Yellowjackets shirt that Jackie approves of, and Tai lets her go into the bathroom to get changed before going to help Van set up her room.

They lay out a sleep bag for Jackie, and one for Van after she decides she'd rather lay on the floor beside her, along with plenty of blankets and pillows around them to create a comfy nest.

But once they're done Jackie hasn't returned, so while Van roots around her pile of stuffed animals for a bedtime buddy, Tai leaves to go check on the girl.

She gently knocks on the bathroom door when she finds it still closed, and after a moment of silence she cracks it open.

“Jack? You alright, kiddo?” She gently asks before she pokes her head in.

She finds the girl standing in the middle of the room, her hands pulled up to her chest as she looks at the pile of new clothes still folded on the counter.

“What's the matter, sweetie?” Tai softly asks as she fully steps into the room, pulling the door in behind her to offer some privacy.

Jackie avoids her gaze, and when Tai hears a soft sniffle she reaches out to gently rest a hand on her shoulder.

“Jack?” The girl rubs a hand under her nose, her eyes darting towards Tai as she gently rubs her back.

“Do you need a pull-up, sweetie?” Tai gently asks, knowing from experience with Mel how some littles don't like to talk about any need for such tools, even if they need them.

Jackie’s bottom lip pokes out, and a light blush appears on her cheeks. “It's okay if you do, we have spares, and there's even some with cool glow-in-the dark stars.”

Mel much preferred the Clifford the dog printed ones, but there had been a sale and the stars were a hit with Nat whenever she needed some while over.

Eventually Jackie nods, and after giving it to her Tai retreats to the hall, waiting until the door cracks open and Jackie sticks her head out, asking for help with brushing her teeth.

Once they finally enter Van's room, they find her sitting on her bed, a handful of stuffies spread about her spot, and a few around Jackie’s as well.

“Found friends for you if you want ‘em.” She says as she climbs down, quickly scurrying under her sleeping bag.

“Thank you.” Jackie says, carefully climbing into hers as well once Tai gives her an encouraging nod.

“Goodnight you two, make sure to sleep good.” Tai says once they're both comfy, making sure the Barney nightlight Van had once sworn she didn't need, but had since insisted on using every night, was turned on before she steps towards the door.

“If you guys need me I'll be in my room, okay?” She says, earning nods from both of them, and sending Jackie an extra smile before she leaves, making sure both her and their door was cracked before starting to get ready for bed herself.

[trstalks]

NSFW MOONWATER ‼️‼️‼️ trans Reg and submissive Remus my loves

Gets a little kinky past this be warned lol

Trans Regulus in an established Moonwater scenario who has an insanely high libido thanks to his t-shot, and a very short refractory period. Remus can barely keep up with him the day of his shot, so he usually ends up spending a lot of time lying on his stomach in between Regulus legs eating him out while he recovers enough to fuck him again.

One day, after his shot, Regulus is feeling a little sadistic, and asks Remus if he can take the lead that night. Remus is used to this question by now, and figures he’ll be bottoming for Regulus, which is uncommon on his tshot days, but he loves it and he’d do anything for Regulus, so he agrees to letting him take control.

When he gets home, Regulus is waiting for him in their bedroom, and instructs him to get into the bed. He ties his hands together at the headboard, and his legs to the corners of the bed. When he goes down to prepare Remus, he eats him out and fingers him for a little while before slipping a vibrator into him, not turning it on. He slips a cock-ring onto Remus preventing him from cumming.

He then quickly gets on top of Remus, and sinks down onto his cock, before leaning down and asking Remus if he’s comfortable, and if this is okay. Obviously it is more than okay.

Regulus spends the next 20-30 minutes riding Remus, going from bouncing up and down on his cock to frantically grinding down on him, chasing his own pleasure. He’d move the intensity of the vibrator up and down at whim. At first Remus is able to take it, but once Regulus cums for the first time, he starts begging for him to let him cum.

Regulus would kiss him slowly before riding him intently again, chasing his second and then third orgasms, leaving Remus writhing and whining beneath him for the next hour or so. At some point, he starts crying and blabbering on about needing to cum, but he never safewords and Regulus loves seeing him cry so he continues.

At about the two hour mark, Regulus is feeling a little oversensitive from riding Remus’ large cock for so long, and when he pulls off Remus only sobs louder, begging for him to not stop, and to let him cum inside of him.

Regulus would turn the vibrator down to its lowest setting, and pet Remus’ hair while kissing him slowly before telling him that if he can make Rsgulus cum one more time with his mouth, that he’ll take the ring off and let him cum. He goes to sit on Remus’ face, and turns the vibrator up again. Remus is sobbing and writhing around, but once Regulus sets himself down fully and Remus gets his tdick in his mouth, he settles a little.

It doesn’t take long for Regulus to cum, and when he does he squirts all over Remus’ face.

Finally, Regulus goes to lay beside Remus, and with the vibrator on its highest setting again, he pulls the ring off. As he does, he pushes the vibrator up against Remus’ prostate, and takes him into his mouth, swallowing his semen as he cums.

Remus goes from blissed out to overstimulated in only a matter of seconds as Regulus continues his assault. He starts fucking Remus with the vibrator and swallowing around his cock until he comes a second time, and Remus is shaking with overstimulation that has turned quite painful.

Regulus lets up a bit, taking his mouth off of Remus and lowering the setting on the vibrator so that can he take Remus out of his binds. He’s still shaking, and he’s incoherently begging for Regulus to stop and that it’s too much but he still doesn’t use his safe word. Regulus knows he needs this.

Out of his binds, he curls up against Regulus, front to front, and buries his face in his chest. Regulus wraps his arms around him, kissing him on the forehead and telling him how good he is before turning the vibrator up all the way once again, using his thigh that Remus is currently straddling to push the vibe further into Remus.

Remus can’t even think. Completely lost in pleasure, shaking and writhing and well on his way to a third orgasm in Regulus’ arms. He doesn’t know what to do, or how to make it stop, and all he can think about is the unrelenting pleasure wracking through his body as Regulus murmurs praises in his ear, telling him that can do it, and the he deserves to feel so good. At some point, Remus begins grinding down on Regulus’ thigh, unable to stop even though it hurts.

He orgasms a third time, grinding down, and when Regulus still doesn’t let up, he continues to grind his soft dick down on his thigh, even though the pleasure is barely there, even though it hurts so bad, all he can think about is being good for Regulus, about how his body belongs to the younger man.

Regulus rocks him through it, watching him sob and shake and grind down on him like he’s an animal in heat. Remus orgasms again and again and again, unable to cum anymore as the pleasure and pain wrack through him.

He isn’t sure how long it lasts, only that he needs to keep rocking down on Regulus’ thigh to be good. He can’t think beyond that. He’s babbling, crying, and shaking, but being so good.

Later on, he wakes up in Regulus arms feeling completely wrung out. Regulus has already cleaned him up, and he offers him some chocolate and juice before falling asleep once more.

Anyway it’d go something like that.

[laughhardrunfastbekindsblog]

It took 2 people to fully convince Crosshair to do a 180 on the Empire - but neither of those people were Bad Batch members.

They couldn't be. What would a squad of defective clones who had been disobeying orders since day 1 know about loyalty to an institution determined to establish order for the good of the galaxy? What would they know about finding purpose in being "good soldiers"?

Now, I DO think the seeds of Crosshair's eventual defection were planted by his brothers. Hunter pointing out that "Blind allegiance makes you a pawn" and then telling Crosshair "All you'll ever be to them is a number" are statements that are proven later to be true. But it takes Cody and Mayday to drive the lessons home.

Cody and Mayday share several characteristics that place them in unique positions to influence Crosshair:

Both are regs who accepted and befriended Crosshair - Cody says he specifically asked for Crosshair for the mission, and Mayday is upfront and friendly to Crosshair right from the start. (Contrast this to the other regs getting up to move tables when Crosshair sits to eat, or the other clone troopers who walk past Crosshair to get onto the shuttle without even sparing him a glance.)

Both are commanders. (I believe Crosshair ultimately respects authority for the most part: even when he was arguing with and challenging Hunter in "Aftermath," he still deferred to Hunter's orders until his inhibitor chip was intensified and he was then promoted to commander.)

Both are loyal soldiers who have served the Empire well - again, these regs are still commanders even under the new government. And we all know how important loyalty to the Empire is to Crosshair at this point.

Both save Crosshair's life during their missions.

In short, both are regs, but they are still soldiers Crosshair can quickly identify with and trust.

I think it's key that Crosshair encountered Cody before Mayday, though. And despite their similarities, both soldiers drive home different points.

CODY

Cody is one of the few regs we know Crosshair already respected - and still respects, given that Crosshair almost smiles when he recognizes him.

(Some proof in case it isn't apparent: Crosshair goes from frowny face...

...to relaxed almost-happy-if-you-squint-just-right face)

Anyway, while Cody does drop some hints early on that he has doubts about the Empire, he is willing to carry out the mission to rescue "Governor" Grotton, showing he will follow orders to a certain extent. However, he shows more restraint than Crosshair might have: he doesn't attack the civilians despite their obvious mistrust of the soldiers, he comes to an understanding with Tawni Ames, he's NOT willing to follow an order to execute her, and he is clearly dismayed and disappointed by her death.

And so, at the end of a "successful" mission, Cody more plainly reveals the depth of his dissatisfaction with following orders against one's own moral scruples:

Hunter had said "Blind allegiance makes you a pawn." And Cody, unwilling to blindly and unquestioningly be a pawn - or act like a battle droid - any longer, goes AWOL.

But that lesson alone isn't enough to make Crosshair turn on the Empire. Instead, he needs Mayday to give him the final push.

MAYDAY

First, Mayday indicates how appalled he is by the idea of anyone leaving their own behind - which we know is a sore spot for Crosshair. But most importantly, Mayday has demonstrated since he was first introduced that he strongly believes in soldiers being loyal to and looking out for each other (which is far different than just being loyal to the Empire).

Second, Mayday unknowingly challenges Crosshair's belief that serving the Empire provides meaningful purpose. (Remember that one of Crosshair's main arguments to his brothers about joining the Empire was so they could "find purpose again.")

Then, he unwittingly goes for the jugular and rips apart the motto Crosshair had adopted.

And then, in case Crosshair has any lingering doubts about the answer to Mayday's rhetorical question, Nolan decidedly answers the question for him.

Hunter had said "All you'll ever be to them is a number," and he is proven right in the most heartbreaking way.

Crosshair had accused his brothers of not being loyal to him; unfortunately, now he sees what true disloyalty looks like. And for Crosshair - severe and unyielding - realizing that he has misplaced his loyalty by giving it to an entity that mocks him and casts him AND those he cares about aside for doing so... this is the final straw.

Thankfully, Crosshair has now rediscovered the people who are worthy of his loyalty.

[fredtheemoplant]

June 7: welcome – @jegulus-microfic – word count: 414

It all starts with one small question.

“Reg? Do you think you would want to stay at my house for the Easter break?”

It’s mumbled into Regulus’ bare shoulder one night while he and James are in the come-and-go room together, arms wrapped around each other, and legs tangled in thin sheets. When James asked the question, though, Regulus pulls back to look him in the eye.

Regulus shouldn’t. He really, really should not. His mother would not allow it. But, he could just not go home. Regulus rids himself of that idea immediately. He can’t. His mother would hunt him down. The last heir to the Noble And Most Ancient House of Black? Regulus is mad if he thinks she wouldn’t leave him be for a single second.

“James…” Regulus murmurs back. There would be no way he would be able to go.

“No, I know. Just think about it, yeah?” James rushes out. “Besides, we have plenty of space, and Mum and Dad wouldn’t mind at all. You are always welcome back home. Sirius would be ecstatic. So would I.”

“Mother wouldn’t allow it, James,” Regulus says, but, Merlin, does he want to say yes.

“What if you just, like, don’t? Like how Sirius did?” James sounds hopeful. Can this man read Regulus’ mind?

“Run away, you mean?” James nods. “James, I’m their final heir. Mother would hunt me down. Maybe bring Sirius with me, while she’s at it. She would hurt us.” James presses his lips fiercely against Regulus’ cheek. “I don’t want that for Sirius. He got out, and now I have to stay. So that he can be safe.”

“I will keep you safe. Both of you,” James declares, and he appears to be confident that he, a seventeen year old, who is still in school, could fend off Walburga Black, a fully-trained, fully-grown dark witch. “Mum and Dad will help. They can fight, I’ve seen them dueling once. And they’ll set up wards, and they will contact the ministry and the school and we can talk to Sirius and we’ll–”

“Okay, James,” Regulus interrupts. Regulus wants to get out, and he has full trust in Euphemia and Fleamont Potter. They are brilliantly talented wizards. If they all work together – all five of them – Regulus trusts they can defeat Walburga and Orion.

“Okay? You’ll leave?” James eyes glitter with how thrilled he is. He swoops in and kisses Regulus on the forehead before swaying away again.

“Okay, James.”

[spideyanakin]

summary - malfoy + slything! reader, sirius left home to be disowned, leaving you to be engaged to his little brother. You and regulus decide to play the game and pretend - this part is literally just r and reg comforting each other after their wedding!

warnings - platonic best friends + husband! regulus x reader, moonwater mentioned, mentions/ allusions to sex but it’s kind of poetic in an icky weird way

part of all I think about now - masterlist

You don’t know how long you had spent staring at the guilded ceiling. Definitely long enough to know how many carved Lys flowers painted in gold adorned each corner of the room. Enough to know how many laurel leaves were circling the chandelier’s hook.

The bed felt soft beneath you. A duvet of goose feathers, wrapped in white silk sheets that smelled like summer and roses.

Your corset felt suffocating in contrast to the light and softness of it all, and the pins in your hair were pulling your locks in places that you never wished would hurt again.

For a minute you felt as though you would never be able to breath again.

"So… this is really it, isn’t it?"

His soft voice broke your turmoil.

You turned your head to the side to look at him.

Regulus was in the same position as you. Sprawled out like a starfish over his side of the giant bed, hair tousled, jacket gone to the other side of the room and the few first button of his shirt popped open as he blankly gazed up at the ceiling.

Your mind seemed to finally comprehend.

You were married to Regulus.

You had travelled to France. You had been dolled up for hours until your entire body felt numb.

There was cake, champagne, an ungodly amount of congratulations from death eaters, and pure bloods. There were wedding vows, a binding of your magic to his. There was the Dark Lord, staring at you in all his charming glory, piercing eyes, and a sharp smile of approval as you walked inside the large hall of the chateau at the arm of your new husband.

Your skin was still burning from the fresh mark adorning your arm. He had insisted on doing it tonight, to mark the occasion. After all, you were now a woman of society, no more the schoolgirl being readied for her duties.

There wasn’t a world in which you could refuse the Dark Lord’s wedding gift.

It was burning and you hated it.

And then, when all the courtesies were said, the cakes eaten and drinks drunk, they finally set you free.

You had been driven to yet another chateau deeper into the French forests whose name you did not know. The place was smaller, with yet an even more splendid garden to drown your days in. It was owned by some follower of Lord Voldemort. Yet another good friend of your brother whose name you couldn’t even start to attempt to remember.

There was a staff of maybe ten house elves running around to prepare the home for your honey moon as you walked inside.

Once you had been shown to your suite, the door closing behind you in a snap of magic, your shoes had gone flying, and you caught sight of Reg’s jacket being thrown across the room as you threw yourself on the enormous bed. You barely felt the thud that followed as Regulus did the exact same thing.

"Are you alright?" He turned to look at you, after what felt like hours of silent rumination, meeting your eyes in a soft gaze.

"I am not sure," you whispered, afraid of your own voice.

He sighed. A deep sigh pouring from the depth of his chest as he shuffled to face you.

"You?"

"I am not sure either." He offered you a small smile, softly closing his eyes. Once he opened them again, he looked down at your arm, "how does it feel?"

You followed his eyes to the skull and snake now rudely drawn upon your forearm.

"It hurts," you mumbled, shuffling to lay on your side to face him as well.

"The pain will soothe in a few days…"

"It’s ugly."

That got a laugh out of him.

"I know."

"Who drew it for him?"

"I think the Dark Lord himself."

"Well he might be good at magic, but he is not a good artist."

He couldn’t help but smile at your complaints. He watched you gently rub your dark mark with the tip of your fingers, as your gaze went back to his face.

Regulus offered you his hand, which you took without a second thought. He squeezed your hand once it was securely against his, his thumb rubbing circles on your knuckles.

"How was last night?" You mumbled, face half hidden within the soft pillows. "Did you go?"

"I did," he spoke, barely above a whisper.

"Good, I’m proud of you," you squeezed his hand to accentuate your word. "How was he?" You met his eyes; there was a soft tragical sadness in them that made your heart twist in itself.

"Heartbroken, although he tried not to show it... But you were right."

"About?"

"I would have regretted it if I hadn't gone." You nodded in silent agreement.

"I know. I do not think he would have forgiven you either. Werewolf are famous for their grudges," you joked, which almost made him smile as you saw the soft memories of Remus flash before his eyes.

You watched as he softly played with your fingers, the pads of his own staying longer upon the golden band that now intertwined the two of you.

"How about you? How did it go?"

"It was devastating..." your voice wavered. "Devastatingly beautiful," closed your eyes as they started stinging.

The thought of Sirius's skin against your own, of the shared whispers and desperation in your voices. At the kisses that dragged until you ran out of your borrowed time.

You thought of him, of the glorious minutes where you only made one. Of his tears against your own, the ones swallowed by hopeless moans and gripping of flesh, hoping his skin would stay under the creases of your fingers, that his cells would forever stain your own. That you could slither yourself into his DNA, and stay there for eternity.

Your nose stung when you opened your eyes again.

"Sometimes I wished I had a time turner, but then, I do not know what I would change," you spoke as you met Regulus's stormy eyes.

"Nothing you could have done could have prevented this, Y/n. Sirius was always meant to leave this life."

"I know. I just wish," you dragged your words "that maybe, I had a similar destiny."

"I understand," he squeezed your hand once again.

"We will be alright, won’t we?"

"I think so," Regulus mumbled, offering you yet another soft smile, the ones you were the only witness of. "As long as we stick together."

"As long as we stick together."

[bradleysass]

Gifts and Christmas Day - @noblehouseofgay - word count: 613 - 25 Days of Jegumas - Part 1 | part 2 :) James gets his present from Reg

Regulus wasn’t much for grand gestures or sentimental speeches, but when it came to James, he found himself going to lengths he never thought he would. For weeks leading up to Christmas, he had been quietly working on something that, if executed properly, would leave James speechless.

The morning of Christmas was a blur of warmth and laughter. James had been practically vibrating with excitement all day, basking in the magic of giving Regulus the book. Regulus, meanwhile, had been his usual composed self, though James swore he caught the faintest flicker of nerves as they worked through their pile of gifts.

There was one small box left under the tree, wrapped in plain black paper with a neatly tied ribbon. Regulus picked it up, holding it out to James without a word.

“This from you?” James asked, eyes gleaming with curiosity.

Regulus rolled his eyes. “Obviously.”

James tore into the wrapping like a child, grinning the whole time—until he pulled out a small, glossy frame. His grin faltered, replaced by a look of pure astonishment as he stared at the photograph inside.

It was a picture of his parents—Fleamont and Euphemia Potter—taken years before their health had declined. They were younger, standing in front of the Potter family home, arms around each other and smiling wide, full of life. The photograph wasn’t just moving, as wizarding photos often did—it was practically glowing. There was something about the way it captured them that felt alive, vibrant. James’ mother’s laugh was almost audible, and his father’s mischievous wink might as well have been directed at him.

“How…” James’ voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. “How did you—?”

Regulus shifted in his seat, suddenly uncomfortable under James’ wide, astonished gaze. “Your house is like a vault of family history,” he said quietly. “I found it tucked away in one of the old trunks in your attic. It was damaged, but I—” He hesitated, then gestured vaguely. “I repaired it. Restored it, really.”

James was utterly silent for a moment, his thumb brushing over the edge of the frame. He’d thought he’d lost every image of his parents like this, healthy and happy. The memories were there, of course, but seeing them again like this—it felt like a gift from another time.

“I—Merlin, Reg—” James exhaled sharply, his eyes suspiciously glassy. He set the frame carefully on the floor beside him, then lunged forward, wrapping his arms around Regulus in a fierce hug.

Regulus made a startled noise, stiff at first, before relaxing into James’ embrace. “You’re crushing me,” he muttered, but there was no bite to his words.

James pulled back just enough to look at him, his face split into a grin that was somehow brighter than the firelight. “This is—you have no idea what this means to me.”

Regulus tilted his head, his lips curving into the faintest of smiles. “I think I do.”

James surged forward again, kissing Regulus like the world was about to end, pouring every ounce of his gratitude, his love, his everything into it. When they finally pulled apart, both breathless, James rested his forehead against Regulus’.

“You’re bloody perfect, you know that?” James whispered, his voice still thick with emotion.

Regulus huffed a quiet laugh, his hand finding its place at the nape of James’ neck. “And you’re insufferable. But I suppose I don’t mind.”

And for the rest of the day, James carried the photo with him, setting it carefully beside him no matter where they went, as if it were the most precious thing in the world—second only to the man who’d given it to him.

[supernova-stardust]

A Habit to Kick (The Age-Old Curse)

chapter 1 | chapter 2 | chapter 3 after the break wip | rated M | jegulus | wolfstar | rosekiller | total word count: 19,273 full fic also on ao3

A few weeks ago, Regulus Black jumped off a bridge. It's not that he really wanted to die, but he didn't really want to live either. He didn't think anyone would care one way or another, if he's honest. Now he's stuck learning how to live.

James Potter was used to seeing Reg every day at the cafe he worked in, until one day he stopped coming in. When he finally sees the guy he's been crushing on come back into the cafe, he knew he had to take his chance at asking him out on a date.

***This fic deals with heavy themes of depression, lack of a will to live, and suicide, but will have a happy ending***

Regulus threw himself onto his bed and let out a heavy groan. He thought that nothing his brother did could surprise him anymore, but here he was, shocked. Sirius hadn't acted this immature since they both lived at home with their parents and Regulus had always assumed that it was in act of defiance more than anything else. He couldn't help but wonder what had triggered his brother to be so over-protective when he had been the one encouraging him to go on the date in the first place. He had to know what going on a date meant, right?

He pulled his phone from his pocket and opened the text thread with James, staring at the glaringly bright screen in contemplation. He started typing out a few messages before promptly deleting each one.

sorry about my bother

you're a great kisser

hey i had a nice time, sorry my brother ruined it

funny story, a few weeks ago i jumped off a bridge because i was so desperately lonely that it felt better than living with the fear of being forever alone, anyway that's why my brother is a fucking menace to society right now

He continued to stare at the open thread, wondering what he could even say, when a text from James popped up on the screen.

[James]: hey, i had an amazing time with you. i'd love to go on another date, is later this week too soon? i really want to see you again.

Regulus fumbled his phone from shock and then immediately began spiraling. Had James watched as Regulus typed and typed and typed, never sending a message of his own? Of course having the thread open, James would have seen that Regulus had read the text immediately. He quickly typed a reply.

[Regulus]: i would love that, my treat like we talked about. how's friday? [James]: friday's perfect, you plan and let me know details, but i'll plan to pick you up since you don't have a car? [Regulus]: sounds perfect, can't wait

James reacted to his message with a heart almost immediately and he felt a flutter of excitement in the pit of his stomach. Then, another text came through and Regulus nearly screamed. He probably would have if his brother and Remus weren't in his apartment to judge him.

[James]: can't wait to kiss you again [Regulus]: you have no idea how pissed i am at my brother for interrupting us [James]: i have some idea *exhaling emoji*

Regulus laughed, imaging James' face making the same expression. He heard a soft knock at his door and locked his phone as he placed it on his nightstand. "Go away, Sirius."

Sirius opened the door anyway, a sheepish look painted on his face. "Look, I know you don't want to see me right now—"

"You're right, I don't. Leave."

"I want to explain myself. Please?"

"I don't want to listen right now. Whatever it is, it can wait until I'm less pissed."

"Yeah, sure, I mean… I wanna believe that. I do. Except we both know that you don't get less pissed. You just ruminate."

"Let me ruminate, Sirius."

"Listen—"

"No, fuck off." Regulus grabbed a porcelain trinket tray from his bedside table and dumped the contents onto the surface before holding the tray up in his hand. "I will throw this at your head if you don't fuck off right now."

Sirius held his hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine. I'll be here when you're ready to talk." He left the room, closing the door gently behind him. As Regulus laid back, he overheard his brother and Remus talking in hushed tones in the hallway, but he wasn't able to make out what they were saying.

He appreciated both of them, he really did. He would even go so far as to admit to himself—never to Sirius—that they were a huge reason why he decided to follow through on all of the treatment he's been participating in. Sure, a huge lesson in therapy was that he needed to do it for himself, but he couldn't find it in himself to care about himself enough to get better right now. He did, however, care about Sirius. He cared about Remus. Maybe it was pathetic to consider his only reason for carrying on to be his brother and his brother's boyfriend, but it was the truth.

Fuck, he was pathetic.

***

In the morning, Regulus mindlessly went through his routine before going to the café, driven solely by the motivation to see James. As he hurried through the door, he immediately deflated upon seeing his least favorite barista behind the counter instead. Peter.

It wasn't that Peter was unpleasant, in fact the problem very well might have been that he was too pleasant. He was boisterous and what he lacked in ability, he made up for in friendly discussion and remembering every detail about each person who came through the door. He may have routinely burned himself with steamed milk, but he always had a laugh at himself about it. Regulus found him to be absolutely irritating.

"Want anything other than your black coffee, Reg?"

"No, thank you." Regulus replied curtly as he took out his cash.

"You sure? I know you don't usually grab anything to eat, but the almond croissants are especially good today." Peter gave him a smile that was far too cheerful for the early hour as he poured the cup of coffee.

"I'm good," Regulus deadpanned. He held out the cash for his coffee in a polite attempt to end the conversation, but when Peter placed the coffee on the counter, he reached into the pastry case. He placed an almond croissant on a plate and set it on the counter next to the coffee and Regulus gaped in shock.

"On the house," Peter said cheerfully. "Have a great day!"

When Peter didn't take the cash in Regulus' outstretched hand he placed it on the counter and picked up the coffee and the croissant. He stared at the abomination of a pastry the entire time he walked towards the back of the café. Placing his things down on the table and sitting down, he continued to glare at the croissant. It wasn't that he didn't like croissants—he did, very much so—but almond? Who on earth had thought to put the least impressive nut inside something so decadent as a croissant?

He sipped his coffee—it tasted terrible—and decided that today was going to be awful.

***

This was the first time Regulus had participated in group therapy that wasn't mandated by the hospital as a part of his treatment. Participated was a strong word, really. He sat in a metal folding chair and disassociated as everyone around him shared their traumatic backstory, a valid reason for their attempts at ending it all.

He couldn't help but to feel inadequate. First, his reasons for jumping off a bridge were trivial at best, and then he couldn't even kill himself properly.

None of his backstory was nearly as traumatic as anything he had heard here today. Here were people who had been terribly abused, neglected, and in one case quite literally tortured. Yet here he sat, among these people with real reasons to give up on living, with nothing but a little bit of religious trauma and loneliness to fuel his suicide attempt.

The group leader, Poppy, looked to him next. He had been so self-indulged in feeling sorry for himself that he hadn't heard what she said. "What?" Regulus asked, making it clear to the entire room that he hadn't been paying attention. He heard a few people laugh under their breath and he did his best to ignore them.

"Is there anything you'd like to share with us today, Regulus?" Poppy was kind, her voice gentle. He hair was pulled back in a way that would make many look severe and cruel, but on her it accentuated her softness. Everything from her face, to her voice, to her body was soft and sweet. She exuded a type of maternal energy that Regulus had longed to feel his entire life.

He resented her for it. It made him feel weak in the face of her questions.

"I— Well, I fired my therapist this week."

"Did something happen?" She asked, probing him to elaborate.

"Not really? I just…didn't like him." He answered like it was a question. When she didn't say anything he continued. "He was late to the appointment. He didn't bother to take the time to read my chart before our session. I just didn't feel like he cared, so I fired him."

"I've fired therapists before," a girl with platinum hair said in an airy voice. "The least they can do is be likeable. Awful of them to not be likeable, really."

"Pandora, we've talked about this. You can't villainize people because you don't like them. People are all individuals and not liking someone doesn't make them bad," Poppy admonished.

"Yes it does." Pandora answered so plainly that Regulus choked out a laugh.

Poppy leveled a reprimanding look towards Pandora before turning back to Regulus. "Have you found a new therapist then?"

"Uh…"

"Regulus, group therapy is a great tool to help in your recovery process, but one-on-one therapy is very important. Stay after for a few moments so I can give you a list of therapists who are taking new patients, okay?" Poppy said with no room for Regulus to argue.

Group therapy continued with Regulus staying silent throughout everyone else updating the group about their weeks and their goals. When Poppy asked Regulus what his goal for the week was, he said to find a new therapist, taking the easy way out so that he didn't have to think any further. He had been intending on it anyway, but now he was going to milk it for all that it was. As everyone got up to leave, Pandora gave him a smile and a wave before heading out with a skip in her step. Regulus followed Poppy to where she had left her belongings and she rifled through her bag to find the list of therapists she promised him.

"I try to keep this list up to date with therapists who are currently open for new patients and who would be able to see you soon, so you shouldn't need to call too many in order to get an appointment in the next week or so." Poppy pulled out the list and held it out to him. He hesitated for a moment before finally taking it in his hand and scanning it over.

"Do you know any of them personally?" He knew it was a bit of an invasive question, but Poppy was kind and if she knew any of these therapists herself, he hoped that her knowing them would be a bit of a filter in his search for the right therapist for him.

"I went to school with Sybil Trelawney. She's… Very kind. Different. She tends to be a bit outside of the box for most, but she means well. I find that sometimes it's refreshing to see things from her perspective though."

"Thanks," Regulus said and he meant it. "I'll give her office a call to make an appointment. I could do with a new perspective, I think."

"I hope it works out," Poppy said with a gentle smile as she grabbed her bag and followed him out the door.

When Regulus stepped outside, he saw Remus leaning against the wall smoking a cigarette and let out a groan. "I can walk home alone just fine, you know. It's only a fifteen minute walk."

Remus took a drag from his cigarette and exhaled, avoiding looking at Regulus as he did. "I know, I'm not here to babysit you."

Regulus leaned against the wall and held out his hand in a silent request to share the cigarette Remus was smoking.

"I didn't know you smoked," Remus said.

"I thought you weren't babysitting."

"Fair enough." Remus handed him the cigarette and watched Regulus take a long drag. When Regulus exhaled without coughing, Remus took out another cigarette from his pack and lit it. Regulus raised an eyebrow but continued to smoke. "You clearly need it."

"I do," Regulus laughed, a hollow and humorless thing. "Why are you here then?"

"I wanted to talk about your brother."

"I'd really rather not."

"I know, but we all have to live together for the next week or so and I'd rather it be peaceful. I can't handle the stress."

Regulus took another drag from his cigarette, his eyes fixed on the scars painting Remus' face as he mulled over his words. Life hadn't been kind to Remus—not when it came to the body he was forced to live in. Even at his young age, there were days where he struggled to get out of bed. Plagued by rheumatoid arthritis and lingering injuries from a childhood car accident, his joints would flare up in agony whenever the weather was particularly cold or when the stress was too heavy on his shoulders.

"You should quit smoking if you're so concerned with your health."

"Sure, and you should talk to your brother. We both have to do things we don't want to, I guess."

"Oh, come on." Regulus complained as he tilted his head back into the wall and stared at the overcast sky.

"You walked into that one, I'm afraid." Remus pushed himself off the wall and stubbed his cigarette out, pocketing the trash and giving Regulus a look that said let's go.

Regulus followed suit and the two of them walked towards his apartment in silent understanding. Neither of them were chatty or wanted to spill their guts out to one another, but they had always understood each other all the same.

"He didn't mean to ruin your date, you know." Remus said, breaking the silence when they were nearly home. "He just says shit sometimes, doesn't even think about it before it comes out of his mouth. I know you know what I mean, you grew up with him. He's mortifying sometimes. And protective. I know the impact overshadows his intentions, but he really does mean well. What you did—the whole jumping thing—it really fucked him up. He won't say it because he's trying not to make it about him, but it did. Fucked me up too, if we're having an honest moment here. I think you need to give him a little bit of grace to act childish right now. We're all coping the best we can."

"I'm not acting—"

"I'm not even gonna let you finish that sentence, you've been petulant and childish. You literally shoved him, Reg. And that's okay, we've been letting you act out. But you need to give Sirius the same grace, this happened to him too. He nearly lost his little brother and now he's doing the best he can to be strong and act like it didn't hurt so it's easier for you."

"Can we go back to unhealthy coping mechanisms? I want another cigarette."

"Nah, we just quit. Besides, we're home. I can't be seen as an enabler."

"We did not—Ugh, he's gonna smell it on us anyway." Regulus groaned as they walked up the walkway to his apartment. "Just one more, then I swear we can quit."

Remus rolled his eyes, but he reached into his pockets for his cigarettes and lighter anyway. "You're awful, you know."

"Yeah, I know." Regulus smirked, taking the cigarette from Remus' outstretched hand. He put it in his mouth and leaned into Remus' space as he lit the cigarette for him. "I can't help it though, I'm a byproduct of my upbringing. Just look at what a mess my brother is. Therapy can only do so much."

Remus laughed before lighting his own cigarette and taking a deep drag. "How was therapy anyway?"

"It was therapy? I don't know. It never seems to make much of a difference."

"You get out of it what you put in, you know." Remus shrugged. "Not saying that you're not putting in the effort, but you're not exactly known to be the most vulnerable guy around."

"I've already had terrible coffee, gone to therapy, been babysat by you, and now you want to give me more therapy?" Regulus inhaled his cigarette. "I'm gonna get a fucking migraine before I even talk to Sirius."

"Hey, I said I wasn't babysitting."

"Could have fooled me."

Remus chuckled and stubbed out his cigarette. "Fair enough, c'mon." He walked away and flicked his finger between Regulus' brows. "Sirius was in a good mood when I left."

Regulus trudged up the steps behind Remus and they walked inside together. He shoved his hands into his pockets in search of something to do with his body. Talking to his brother wasn't something that he was exactly pleased about—Sirius wasn't known to admit when he was wrong, but then again, neither was Regulus. Growing up, they couldn't show any sign of weakness, and admitting they were wrong was a huge weakness that they couldn't risk. He was trying to be better, though. The two of them had made huge progress in the last few years in regards to their relationship, but they also hadn't had many opportunities to fight as they had. Something about living together brought out the worst in both of them.

"Hey," Sirius said from the couch in the living room. His voice sounded small and unsure. "How'd it go?"

Regulus wasn't sure if Sirius was talking to him or to Remus, but he answered anyway. "It was fine. I got a new recommendation for a therapist. Gonna call tomorrow, I'm too beat to do it today."

Sirius nodded. "Good, that's… Good. I'm glad you found someone new."

Regulus sat on the couch next to him and watched Remus walk past the living room into the kitchen to busy himself. Close, but not intruding. Just present enough to help diffuse the situation if the brothers blew up at one another.

"Look, I— I'm sorry I shoved you."

"It's fine, Reggie, I get it. I'm sorry I ruined your date."

Regulus scoffed. "You didn't ruin my date, asshole. I'm seeing him again on Friday."

"Oi, then why did you get so pissed?"

"I said you didn't ruin my date, I didn't say you didn't ruin the moment. Which was amazing, by the way—"

"I really don't want to hear about how great making out was from my baby brother," Sirius complained.

"Then you shouldn't have interrupted the moment." Regulus leaned back into the couch and rested his head on his brother's shoulder. "I really like him, you know. He's not just in it for the sex, I think he actually wants to get to know me."

Sirius pulled him in closer, hugging his body and resting his head on top of Regulus' dark curls. "That's good, Reggie. I'm glad, honest. I want you to be able to come to me and talk about it, just… Don't tell me about your sex life. You can talk to Remus about that. Deal?"

"Deal."

"So… are we good?"

"Yeah, we're good."

"You stink like cigarettes," Sirius said solemnly into the quiet room. Regulus heard Remus choke on a laugh in the kitchen—clearly, he was eavesdropping.

"Don't ruin the moment. Remus and I quit today." Regulus said, including Remus in the whole concept of 'quitting' as punishment for babysitting and eavesdropping.

Sirius hummed. "Glad to hear it, he's needed to quit for a while."

***

"Oh, thank God it's you today," Regulus said as he walked into the café to find James working behind the counter.

"Well aren't you sweet," James said, laughing and pouring Regulus' coffee.

Digging through his bag for cash, Regulus snorted. "Peter is a fucking nightmare, James. Why does he still work here?"

"What, you're just happy to see me because Pete can't manage to brew a cup of coffee?" James gave him a mock pout and held his coffee just out of reach. "And here I thought I was special."

"You are, but Peter is so intolerable that he overshadows your greatness."

James stared at him in horror. "What did he do?"

"He made me take a croissant yesterday, wouldn't take no for an answer, and while I may have excused a plain croissant, he insisted that I try the almond one. Wouldn't take no for an answer. Almonds? In croissants? An abomination, truly. I swear he watched me the entire time I was here to see if I'd eat it." Regulus shook his head. "I didn't, for the record."

"What a terrible person he is," James said with mock outrage. "How dare he give out free croissants."

"Almond croissants, James."

"Yes, yes, you're right, love. Almond croissants. The horror."

Love. James said it so casually, Regulus was determined not to visibly react to the pet name, but internally he preened.

"Glad to know you're on my side on this." He said, his voice laced with sarcasm. "I-I wanted to warn you that my friends are stopping by here today to meet up. They… might be insufferable."

"Your friends? Evan and Barty?"

Regulus nodded. "We haven't touched base in person in a bit and since this is the only place I go to besides my apartment and therapy these days, they're trapping me into hanging out. I can't break my routines and they know it." He paused, realizing too late how much he had just divulged to James in that moment. What was it about him that made Regulus feel as though he could say anything that came to mind?

"I think that's good of them," James said.

"Good of— Huh?" Regulus was speechless.

"Yeah, I mean, we all want to be seen, right? Seems like they see you for who you are and work with you."

What was with this guy?

"How are you so fucking perfect all the time?"

"I-I'm not, but I have done a lot of therapy myself. Teaches you things, y'know?"

"Yeah," Regulus said softly. "I suppose it does." He grabbed his coffee from the counter and hoisted his bag higher on his shoulder. "Are you working tomorrow?"

"I'm not, but I'll see you tomorrow night? What time should I pick you up?"

"Let's shoot for 6, but I might be a little anxious and take a few minutes longer. Just… text me when you're there this time? I'll come out. I don't really want to have my brother ruin another date for us already."

"Can't wait." James gave him a soft smile. A blush dusted his cheeks and Regulus couldn't help but stare for an extra moment before turning away to allow James to continue his work.

Regulus settled into his usual booth, pulling his headphones on and placing his laptop and coffee on the table in front of him. He opened the outline of his novel and stared at the screen, hoping that a revelation to the plot would come to him. It didn't, of course, but staring at the screen while sipping coffee was a necessary component to writing a novel.

After working for a while, he glanced up to see Evan and Barty enter the café hand in hand and waved at them. Evan waved back as Barty walked up to the counter. Regulus' hearing was still impaired by his noise-canceling headphones, but very quickly he could tell that Barty was being a menace. He pulled his headphones off and pushed his way out of the booth towards his friends.

Evan immediately pulled him into a hug, which was… strange. They weren't huggers. In fact, he couldn't remember ever hugging Evan when he was sober.

"Uh, hi?" Regulus tried to pull away, but Evan just pulled him in tighter.

"I need you to promise not to kill Bee," Evan said under his breath.

"Sure."

"He's hitting on James."

"I take it back, he's dead."

"Reg, you promised."

"I lied."

Evan locked his arms around Regulus and spun them around so he was facing Barty. "Bee, I can't hold him back any longer, abort mission."

James and Barty laughed in unison and it immediately soothed Regulus' frayed nerves. He was worried that his friends were going to be too much. He knew that they were loud, silly, and overall a lot to handle. Most people were surprised by the fact that Regulus was a part of their group, but those people didn't know any of the trio well enough to know how perfectly they all fit together. Three completely different people perfectly designed to balance each other out.

"Aw, Reg, are you jealous?" Barty teased. He came up to where Evan was still hugging Regulus tightly and wrapped his arms around both of them, sandwiching Regulus between them. He planted a kiss on Evan's lips and then on the top of Regulus' head. "You have nothing to fear, James rejected me. Can you believe it?"

"Well, now that I know the three of you are that close," James said suggestively.

"Now you've done it," Regulus said.

"Done what?" James asked.

"Barty isn't gonna rest until he's gotten you into bed with us now," Evan sighed. "He practically begs Reg for a blowjob at every opportunity."

"Speaking of—"

"No." Evan and Regulus said in unison.

Regulus looked up to James in an attempt to gauge his comfort level. After their conversations around sex and dating, Regulus was nervous that Barty's forwardness and constant flirting would be abrasive, but James' eyes were crinkled with laughter and his expression was open. He wriggled his way out of his friend's embrace and glared at the two of them. "Can't you act normal for five minutes? At least long enough to properly greet someone?"

Barty and Evan adjusted themselves so that Barty had his arm slung over Evan's shoulder and Evan nestled himself into the crook of Barty's body. They couldn't help but to touch each other at every possible moment they were together. Two halves of a whole, with just enough space for Regulus and their mildly codependent queer platonic relationship.

"What's normal, Reg?" Evan asked. "Don't tell me you're getting boring in your old age. You used to be the wildest of us all."

James watched them carefully as he worked on making their coffees, silently observing and absorbing every detail that the three of them revealed.

"I was not," Regulus gaped. "Don't make shit up just to embarrass me in front of James."

"No, he's right," Barty said. "I might have always been the one that people expected to be crazy, but you're the one who always encouraged me and you can't even deny it."

"How crazy are we talking here?" James asked as he placed their coffees down on the counter in front of them. "Threesomes crazy or passing out from drinking crazy? Drugs?"

"Yes," Evan and Barty said in unison. Regulus had the fleeting thought that maybe he should have tried harder to kill himself—at least then he wouldn't be stuck in this conversation right now.

James laughed. He was expecting to be judged, but instead James said something that surprised them all. "I've been there too, I just wouldn't expect it from Reg—He's so quiet and unassuming."

"Not once he's had a few shots," Evan teased.

Regulus' eyes widened in shock, ignoring Evan in favor of finding out anything new he could from James' past. "You told me—"

"That doesn't mean that I've been a virtuous priest my entire life, Reg."

"I like him," Barty said with a maniacal grin plastered on his face.

"We know," Evan smirked. "Let's go sit, yeah?" He moved to grab his coffee. "Thanks, James. It was great to meet you. Let's all get together sometime when you're not working and you can tell us all about your party days."

"Sounds great, it was nice meeting you guys too."

"Bye James," Barty sing-songed. "I'll miss you."

Regulus smacked Barty upside the back of his head as they walked together towards his table in the back of the café. "I could kill you, you know. I'm rich enough to pay off the cops and no one would ever find your body."

"You'd miss me too much and we all know it," Barty said.

They piled into the booth and Regulus put away his laptop to make space for his friends.

"So, how's writing going?" Evan asked, always one to start with a safe subject with Regulus. He was aware that his friend did this to help him put his guard down and while a part of him resented it, a bigger part of him appreciated that Evan always went out of his way to soften the blow of whatever heavier conversation they were about to have.

"Not great, honestly. I haven't been feeling inspired, I guess. Haven't written much the last few days."

"Maybe it's because you need to stop writing about murder and start writing romance," Barty suggested, leaning in conspiratorially. "How did the date go?"

"Barty, he's right there," Evan whispered.

"He can't hear us all the way over here. C'mon, spill."

Regulus sighed and took a sip of his coffee to delay the inevitable. "It was amazing."

"Why do you sound so put out by it?" Evan asked.

"Because, I just— He's so sweet, I'm afraid I'll ruin him."

"Was the sex good? I just know that man fucks like—"

"We didn't have sex." Regulus said quickly to avoid hearing whatever Barty was going to say next.

"You— What?" Barty sputtered in complete shock. Evan, however, looked pleased.

"We didn't have sex. He's… I think he's demisexual? He told me he hasn't gone on more than one or two dates with other men before, which… I was worried meant that he was just experimenting by dating me, but he says he's sure that he's queer so… I don't fucking know. He's sweet and fucking beautiful and I can't stop thinking about him, so I'm just gonna keep going at whatever pace he sets. Follow his lead."

"I'm impressed. Dare I say, proud?" Evan said. "I think this will be great for you, Reg. Even if it doesn't go further, just going on dates with someone without the expectation of it leading to sex is so important. And god, he really is beautiful. Did you guys kiss? Please tell me you kissed."

Regulus groaned. "You're never gonna fucking believe this."

He recounted the story of how amazing their first kiss had been, and then how it was immediately interrupted by his brother being absolutely terrible. The three of them laughed and made fun of Sirius, and caught up on everything they had missed out on in the last few weeks, completely ignoring the elephant in the room that was Regulus' attempt. It was like they had all made a silent agreement to never talk about it again, so long as Regulus was continuing his treatment and seemed to be improving. And he had to admit, at least to himself, that things did seem to be improving.

For the first time in a long time, Regulus felt content and was looking forward to the next day.

[pandorasopenedbox3]

I’m not sure if someone’s said this before but I’ve always felt that Regulus could’ve very possibly been groomed as a child (And many other children that joined the death eaters upon adulthood).

Can you imagine Riddle visiting the Black’s when Sirius and Regulus were young to gain support. Can you imagine him targeting not the adults of the house but the children that were going to inherit it in probably less than a decade. Can you imagine little 10 year old Regulus Black, who’s advanced at magic and often quiet in contrast to his older brother who fights back. Imagine how Riddle would see this impressionable but powerful child from one of the greatest pure blood families in the UK and immediately seize that opportunity. Especially after Sirius starts at Hogwarts and Regulus is stuck there scared and alone. Riddle showing up randomly to play with him or take him for ice cream or whatever Regulus wanted. Him pretending to care and listen to Regulus and Regulus finally feeling like someone loves him. Seeing a second preferred father in Riddle.

When Regulus starts school he writes to him sharing everything and Riddle writes back short replies and keeps an eye on him. Regulus and Sirius starting to fight because of their family’s ideals. Riddle starts planting doubt in regulus’ mind about how much Sirius truly loves him, picking James over him etc.

The years go on, Riddle is the one there when Sirius leaves. Regulus beleives every word he says bc he truly thinks he’s the only person to have ever truly cared about him.

Regulus starts getting scared by the war. He doesn’t want to kill people, he knows it’s wrong, but when someone you idolize is constantly putting in your head that this is the right thing and those people are actually hurting you then you start to believe them.

The thing with manipulators tho, is they tend to get paranoid. Regulus starts getting really close with Dorcas Meadows who is a blood traitor. Riddle makes him take the dark mark. Oh his best friend Pandora Rosier leaves her pure blood family to get away from the war. Forces him on his first mission and to physically kill a civilian which Reg has protested against adamantly. His one thing is he didn’t want to have to kill someone. He starts using all these threats on Reg, but he does it slowly enough that he doesn’t notice. Still Reg is beginning to get cautious around him and go behind his back (as teenagers do, he still sees Riddle as this person who loves him so he’s not necessarily afraid but he starts to fight back little by little)

But oh the kicker is when Reg stays friends with Pandora, behind his back. Oh now this time Riddle takes Kreature. And that just happened to be one step too far.

Imagine 17 year old Regulus lending his beloved house elf out to his mentor, his idol, his father figure and expecting for him to treat this person regulus loves more than anything well and send him home safely only to find out how awful that person is. Imagine Regulus sobbing on his bedroom floor because nothing he thought was true in the last 7 years were real. Riddle never cared about him, he was a weapon, a thing to be controlled. Finding out everything he was taught was a lie and wrong and he should’ve just trusted his gut god damn it and left with Dorcas and Pandora. Imagine regulus realizing his brother was right all along and he loved something that would never give him anything real back. Imagine Regulus Black putting all of his hatred and spite into killing the man that had ruined his life. Imagine him signing that letter knowing Riddle was the one who taught him how.

I could say so much more about this situation and how much it hurt him. And now I’m just sad for that poor lil boy. They were children.

[lulublack90]

Prompt 22 - Evoke

@jegulus-microfic April 22, Word count 966

Last one guys!

Previous part First part

For the second time that week, James woke wrapped around Regulus. The TV was still switched on. Matthew Broderick’s young face smirked back at them. James reached for the remote to turn it off. 

Regulus stirred. He nuzzled his face into James’s chest. James gently ran his fingers through the other man’s hair. 

“Morning, love,” He murmured into the quiet room. 

“Hmmmm,” Regulus groaned as he slowly woke. 

It was their last day together. Tomorrow morning, they would be leaving and returning to their homes. James didn’t want to think about tomorrow. He wanted to make today count. Regulus’s ankle was almost better, but still got sore if he exerted himself too much.

“So what have you two got planned for today?” Sirius asked as they crowded around the sofa with their breakfasts. “More canoodling?” He snickered. 

“Oh, with what I’ve got planned, almost definitely.” James winked at Regulus and watched him screw up his face as he pretended not to enjoy James’s attention. Sirius’s face replicated Regulus’s expression, and Remus clapped him on the back, doing nothing to hide the laughter in his voice. 

“You did ask, Sirius,” Sirius grumbled something under his breath but cheered up when Remus ruffled his hair and pecked a kiss on his cheek.

Soon, Sirius and Remus disappeared together, leaving James and Regulus to themselves. 

“So, do you have something planned, or did you just say that to shut my brother up?” Regulus asked, trying not to look too interested. 

“Can’t it be both?” James answered, wiggling his eyebrows wildly. Regulus huffed out a laugh. 

“Alright, spill it. What are we doing today, then?” James reached into his pocket and tugged out a slightly rumpled leaflet. 

“Did you know that the hotel has a selection of private hot tubs you can rent?” 

“No, I did not,” Regulus leaned closer. 

“We’ll they do, and I’ve rented one for us for this afternoon. So we can watch the sunset together.” James had thought it was a perfect idea, but Regulus’s silence made him second guess himself. 

“And what if I didn’t bring my swimming things?” Regulus broke his silence. 

“Oh—er—erm.” James stammered. He hadn’t thought about that. He always brought his swimming things just in case when he went on holiday. “Well, it is completely enclosed, so it’s up to you. We could go into town and get you something, or you could just wear your undies…” 

Regulus moved so his mouth was whispering against James’s ear. James had to concentrate on breathing evenly so that he didn’t pass out. 

“There’s another choice, you know.” James gulped at Regulus’s sultry tone. “I don’t have to wear anything.” James’s mind went white. Everything became static, and it took him a minute to recover. 

By the time he could think again, Regulus was back on the sofa licking chocolate from his fingers left over from his pain au chocolat. “What about this morning? There are a lot of hours between sunset and now.” Regulus finally took pity on him when his mouth opened and closed a few times, and nothing came out. “ Shall we go have a wander through the shops, get some lunch and then come back and watch a group of kids try and find pirate treasure?” James shook his head. 

“Sounds perfect.” 

The shops were a lot more interesting than James had thought they’d be. There were the usual tourist traps full of crapy overpriced souvenirs. But tucked away at the back of an alley was a little reading cafe. Regulus yanked James into it and refused to leave until it was nearly time for them to get back. 

“Reg? Just so you know, we’ve been here six hours.” Regulus’s head snapped up.

“What?! How?!” He looked shocked and spotted the multiple tea cups on the table. “Oops, sorry. Got carried away.” 

“Absolutely no problem at all, love. I enjoyed watching you enjoy yourself as much as you enjoyed reading. Did you find any you wanted?” James asked indulgently. Regulus looked at the small pile beside him, but before he could narrow it down, James scooped them all up and went to the till to pay. He carried them dutifully up to Regulus’s room, refusing Regulus’s offer to pay for them but accepting his thanks before they headed back outside.  

They settled back into the warm, bubbly water just as the first pink rays began to cross the sky. James leaned his head back on the side and let the water relax his body. He let out a contented sigh as he closed his eyes. 

“James?” Regulus said quietly. 

“Yeah, love?” James replied, keeping his eyes closed. 

“Will we see each other again? You know, after we leave tomorrow.” James cracked an eye and stared at Regulus. 

“You just try and keep me away.” He growled playfully. 

“You promise?” 

“I promise.” He vowed and let his eye droop closed again. 

He felt the water shift as Regulus moved but wasn’t prepared for what happened next. Regulus hopped into his lap and grasped either side of his face with his pale hands. James’s eyes flew open as he stared into those quicksilver eyes. Regulus hesitated for a second before he closed the gap between them and pressed his lips to James’s. 

James wrapped his hands around Regulus’s waist and pulled him closer as he deepened their kiss. 

They lost themselves in each other, missing the sunset entirely. 

They moved away from each other when the stars lit the sky, and Regulus began to complain about pruning. James held Regulus’s hand as they made their way back into the hotel and up to Regulus’s room. James looked back fondly at the hot tub, knowing that every time he saw one now, it would evoke memories of their first perfect kiss. 

Part two of the story

[pain-in-the-riri]

Please talk more about motoboy 👁️👁️

HEHEHEHE okay so picture this

Sirius Black grows up in posh english society, going to the best schools, and is expected to participate in the family business, Orion's international law empire. He has approximately one close friend, Benjy, two if you count his brother Reggie who is ten years younger than him.

His parents are the absolute worst, of course, but it's not like he can avoid them he's only 17 and he has nowhere to go if he did run away. Plus if he leaves in such a dramatic way, he'll never see Reggie again. But he has a plan, he's convinced his father that he wants to do american law, not british. He gets into Columbia University and moves to new york to get away from his parents fucking finally! He even goes to NYU Law after undergrad, and then starts working at his father's New York law firm.

Except then the problem is, he's still living in his family-owned brownstone in nyc, he still has to answer to his father at work (even if he is across the ocean most of the time), and any time Orion is unhappy with him he punishes him by threatening him with losing access to Reggie.

So he finds himself 27 years old and "free" in the sense that his parents are no longer breathing down his neck physically, but still every move he makes is scrutinized, any time he does something that his father thinks will make the family or the law firm look bad he gives Sirius a talking-to, and threatens him with not letting Reggie visit next spring or telling him "you're a bad influence on your brother maybe we should limit contact". And he really doesn't want to lose access to Reg, who is now 17 years old himself and still living in that awful home with his abusive parents, and Sirius isn't even there anymore to protect him (something he feels a lot of guilt about).

But there's only so much "being good" that he can take, he has to live his fucking life. So he goes to gay bars, he gets tattoos, he spends time with his two best friends from undergrad. But his friends moved to New Jersey to buy a bigger house for their new baby, he works ridiculous hours, and his shithead coworker snitches on him to his father for every infraction. So in the end it's very lonely in his big ol' brownstone.

Then one day he has a really bad meeting with a slumlord who wants to hire his father's law firm to help him evict an apartment block of people so he can build a mall. Sirius tells him to fuck off, as professionally as possible, but unsurprisingly his dad does not take it well that he's just pissed off the biggest client on their roster, and he gives Sirius an ultimatum: get your shit together or we're transferring you back to the UK to do grunt work, and on top of that-- you're such a bad influence to your brother that we will force him to cut contact. Sirius is afraid that Regulus is just enough under his parent's thumbs that he would actually never speak to him again-- he's never been as rebellious as Sirius was. Kid just wants to keep his head down and survive.

Then one day Sirius is walking in the village and a hot teaching assistant drops his motorcycle at a stop sign because he only just got the thing and he's still figuring out how to even ride it without falling over. Sirius helps him up, gives him some tips on riding his bike, and he zooms off late to class.

But! He forgot a journal that slipped out of his unzipped backpack during the fall :0 👀

it's gonna be like 10-ish chapters, I have like 5.5 written so far hehehe I wanna start posting maybe next month or february I'll see how far I get cos I wanna have it mostly/all written before I start posting

[cressthebest]

Crimson Rivers thoughts pt. 31

chapter 50: (15 chapters left)

1. oh SHIT the girls are fighting (sirius and regulus are at each other with nails and hair pulling)

2. “It's mean. It's nails and hair-pulling and brutal in the way only siblings can be. In mere seconds, they've both made each other bleed, and they don't seem inclined to stop there.”

i think the arena allowed them to do this, but they’ve been ready to go at each other like this for AGES. cause like, i want to go at my siblings like this sometimes. and then go watch tv together after

3. 😬😶 sirius just found out reg is a death eater

4. 😬😬 it was just revealed that reg did NOT in fact kill Coen. yikes dude

5. “"You're a fucking death eater?!" Sirius snarls as he dodges Yaxley's elbow.

"Yeah, it doesn't feel good, does it?!" Regulus snarls back ……

"How is this even comparable, you little shit?!"”

😭😭😭 plsss he’s so funny

6. damn, when sirius was fighting the others, he wasn’t going full force, cause he was having an emotional conversation. but he was still winning. and then he gets tired of fighting so he just in like two swift moves kills two people. jfc he’s scary.

7. “"I was going to lose James anyway, don't you get it?! I never even really got to have him! But you—I got you back. I had you back, and you took that from me. You weren't—you promised you wouldn't do that. How could you do that, after I—I begged you not to? And for what? Me? You think you did it for me? No, you did it for you. You tossed me aside, and it's not even the first time!"”

😧😧😧 holy shit, he just went right at it

8. “Grow up, Regulus."

"You won't let me!"”

😧 jaw on the freaking GROUND

9. jfc this fight is brutal. i think it would hurt less for them to just kill the other. cause like, these words hurt even ME

10. “"What I regret most isn't that you broke your promise, Sirius," Regulus continues. "It's that I wasted time caring enough to ask for a promise from you at all."”

yoooo wtf wtf wtf this HURTS

11. “”Let me guess, you told them only you could kill me? Something like that, yeah?"”

😭😭 sirius guessed it right and reg is like ‘😳 no…. i never said that. why would i say that?’

12. reg is like “😡😡😡 I HATE YOU” and sirius is like “liar ☺️”

13. i bet the entire hallow is on the edge of their seat watching this like the highest quality entertainment. no way has anything been this juicy in the arena for AGES

14. YOO WTF REG THATS OUT OF POCKET. HE JUST THREATENED TO HURT REMUS. MY DEAR, THATS YOUR FRIEND TOO! YOU CANT DO THAT!! LITTLE BITCH!

15. god, regulus is actually about to say it and just goes after regulus. like, hardly holding back. holy shit

16. “Sirius, for the first time, doesn't believe in his brother. Because Regulus wants to say Remus' name, and that would hurt Sirius more than dying by Regulus' hand.”

god, just stab me in the heart why don’t ya?

17. 😧 dagger raised above his head, ready to strike down in reg’s chest and just can’t. and then as he’s about to kill him, regulus says he loves sirius. good god, i’m actually crying so hard rn

18. “He can see it, suddenly. It does become clear, then, all at once. Regulus did trick him. He did fool him. Just not in the way Sirius was prepared for. He never imagined this at all.

Regulus never intended to go home.”

BAWLING LIKE A BIG BABY RN

19. “"Don't, please don't do this to me. Sirius, please just—please do it, or let me do it. Don't make me live without you, please don't, Sirius—””

YOU WOULD THINK THAT THE SADDEST THING HAS ALREADY BEEN SAID, BUT NO!!! IM SOBBING HARDER!! AND I HAVE A FINAL EXAM IN HALF AN HOUR

20. “It's horrible, because the arena has brought Regulus back to him twice, once when Regulus became a Victor and right this very second, but for Regulus, all the arena does is take Sirius away.”

BAWLING LIKE A BABY

21. oh SHIT james did not leave them a note this time

22. god, it hurts knowing that sirius doesn’t trust reg with a dagger. not because sirius is scared reg will turn on him, but that reg will kill himself

23. “"It has to be you, okay? It has to, because I don't want to go home if I'm not going home with you. I—I just don't see the point."”

that freaking HURTS

24. this entire chapter hurt like a fucking BITCH

[faireyhouses]

— annoying (reg!jackie + cg!nat)

Contents: hoh!jackie 𓈒 hoh!nat 𓈒 worrying about being a burden 𓈒 negative self-thoughts 𓈒 comfort & reassurances 𓈒 based on personal experiences lol

WC: 1,300+

A/N: personal agere yj au + sorry the ending is a little rushed, I got tired and wanted to get this finished, but I still like it and hope you guys do as well!

“Jackie!”

Jackie jumps in her seat, her green crayon veering up and into the already blue sky as her hand jerks in surprise.

Van is standing nearly right beside her, her head bent down as she looks at her with an expecting look.

Jackie frowns slightly, tilting her own head in confusion. “I've been calling your name for like thirty minutes, do you want to come play castle with us?”

Jackie knows she's exaggerating the time, the rest of the kids currently at home had scattered from the table not even ten minutes ago to find a new game to play, but her shoulders do slump at the thought of her having not heard her name being called for any more than two times.

Jackie hates when things like that happen, when she makes others have to repeat themselves or speak louder than the usual just so she can understand.

The others are never mean to her about it outside of sighs and the occasional eye roll when she misses the instructions for games, but she knows it's annoying.

Tai had stepped in a few times when someone (usually Mari) had complained about it, but that really just made Jackie feel worse, felt like she was being babied even when she wasn't that small, or feeling responsible for someone getting scolded.

And although Van is looking at her hopefully, she lightly shakes her head no, knowing how complex and intense playing castle can get, she doesn't want to break the immersion of the dragon battles and princess rescues when she inevitably misses a key detail or peice of lore.

She pretends to not see the sad slump of Van's shoulders as she mumbles and okay, picking her crayon back up as the ginger retreats back to the game starting to unfold in the living room.

Jackie stays focused on her crayon scribbles, not even looking up when she feels someone settle into the seat beside her, continuing to drag the blue crayon over the green smear in an attempt to fix her sky, but she does lightly tilt her good ear towards them, hoping to prevent another incident like the one earlier.

No noises come though, and when she finally lifts her head she breaks into a wide smile when she sees Nat looking at her.

She'd been sad when Nat had just dropped Shauna, Akilah and Mari off earlier, having to take Misty to therapy.

But now that she's there Jackie happily leans over to hug her.

Nat hugs her back, lightly ruffling her hair as well. Jackie proudly presents her drawing to her, a simple garden and sky with yellow and pink flowers dotted around it.

Nat oohs and ahhs at it, not even mentioning the green streak ruining the bright blue sky as she studies the scribbled petals and blades of grass.

She lets Jackie continue to color for a bit before she breaks the silence again.

“Hey.” Jackie lifts her head quickly, not wanting Nat to think she was ignoring her. “Why aren't you playing with the others, huh?”

Jackie frowns, glancing down at her fingers now messing with the edge of her paper. “I think they're playing castles, you like that game, right?”

Jackie does like castles, it's one of her favorite imaginary games they play, and yet, she feels like her inclusion would ruin the fun for everyone else.

So instead she shrugs, picking her crayon back up and returning to her spreading of the colorful wax across the paper.

There's a pause as Nat studies her, before she tilts her head, reaching out a hand to gently tap the table between them, once again drawing Jackie’s full attention upwards.

“Were they mean?” She asks seriously, her hands automatically moving to sign the words as they leave her mouth.

Jackie shakes her head, her eyes following her hand movements as her own fingers starting to pick at the wrapping around the crayon.

“Did they ask you to play?” Nat continues, and Jackie bobs her hand up and down in confirmation.

There's a pause before Nat continues, Jackie’s eyes carefully flicking between her mouth and hands as she tries to translate her confusion into words as well as matching signs. “But you said no?”

Jackie doesn't respond, her eyes flicking down towards the now stripped crayon in her hands.

“Did you want to play?”

Jackie shrugs, but she can feel tears start to prick at the corners of her eyes. “Jackie.” Nat says softly, a hand raising to gently rub her shoulder.

Jackie sniffles, hunching her shoulders more as she wipes at her face with the large sleeve of her sweatshirt. “What's wrong then, sweetie?”

Jackie really starts to cry then, her shoulders gently shake as she lets out soft sniffles and Nat leans over to pull her into a hug again, her arms wrapping around her shoulders as she lets her get her frustrations out.

Jackie feels stupid as she pulls back, taking deep breaths like she had been taught too when she was feeling overwhelmed.

Nat lets her, scooting over a few inches to give her some space as she regulates herself, counting in her head until her brain feels less foggy and the tears start to dry.

She doesn't want to talk, so instead she clumsily starts to move her hands, sliding them together repeatedly as she forces her closed left hand against her right in her own version of annoy.

Nat frowns, moving her own hands towards her head, you're annoyed?

No. Jackie’s fingers snap before she repeats her sign from earlier, adding a gesture towards herself for more emphasis. Jackie’s annoying.

There's a heavy pause as Jackie turns her head away, fighting back tears as she chews on her lip.

Nat watches her, her heart feeling heavy as she eyes the young girl's hands twisting in her lap, fingers curling in ghostly versions of self-soothing words.

She shifts, clasping her own hands as Jackie glances back towards her, a slightly defeated look in her eyes.

“Am I annoying?” Nat finally prompts, and Jackie frantically shakes her head, turning to look at her with wide eyes. “But sometimes I don't hear things.” Nat continues, tilting her head, “and I need things to be repeated.”

Jackie frowns, shaking her head again.

Yes, Nat struggled with hearing things sometimes, she had been firing a shotgun with no ear protection day after day for months out in the woods, but that was different!

Wasn't it? Physically, yes. But they both needed the same things, right? She frowns again, and as if reading her mind Nat gently curls an arm around her, pulling her closer again. “That doesn't make us annoying, Jackie. We just need things done in a special way sometimes.”

“Like how sometimes Lottie needs things to be extra quiet, and Laura Lee needs Leo to help her get things.” She continues, making sure to name the two girls she knows Jackie looks up to the most.

“They're not annoying, and neither are you.” She lightly pokes her, earning a small smile that she tries to hide. “And if anyone ever does make you feel annoying, tell me, okay? That's why I'm here.”

Jackie doesn't respond immediately, but Nat doesn't look away until she gets a soft okay, squeezing her tightly once more before she glances back towards the living room, where she can still hear the game going on.

“Now, I think the girls in there need a real princess to save, so how about you go climb up on that tower?” Jackie excitedly nods, scooting out of her seat.

She pauses briefly as she smooths down her shirt, turning back towards Nat and shyly sticking a hand out. “Play too?” She softly asks and Nat nods, moving to stand as well.

“Of course. Every princess needs a pretty pony to ride, right?” That earns some more giggles, and once she takes her hand Jackie leads her towards the sounds of the other kids playing, her head held a little higher than before.

[z-eel]

i’ve survived work but i was fighting a caffeine headache for like four hours. i hope you like this. i’m going to go pass out in my rat nest

after that night, regulus just doesn’t really … leave. one day they even come home to regulus waiting for them because he claims they locked him out. it’s not that they’re complaining, they’re just confused. regulus has a fancy remote tech job where he makes a ton of money and can afford an ex-boyfriend-less apartment. he just doesn’t get one. he even still has stuff there, but he spends all his time with james and remus. his excuse? james is a great cook, remus makes amazing brownies, their tea selection is amazing, and their shared home library is something to be marveled at. why the hell would he leave?

there’s also one other reason he doesn’t want to. well, two.

the way that they were so protective of him, so understanding, so kind … who could blame regulus if he wanted to climb his brother’s friends like trees. and he wasn’t oblivious. he knew they were watching him. he could see the way remus subtly adjusted himself when he walked past in only a towel. he noticed that any time he laid on the floor reading, james would pause for just a moment before continuing. (this would make even more sense when james later confesses about his free use fantasies)

it’s been a long week. it’s finally saturday, james sleeps in every sunday, the moon isn’t for another week and a half, so they’re passing around a joint. it’s enough to make regulus the lightweight float. on his next pass around the circle, he tells the joint that he wishes they’d pass him around too. and then as he’s taking a hit of it, he realizes that 1. he was just talking to a joint. and 2. he said that out loud. he looks up at remus and james who are both … surprised but not.

in sync as usual, james goes did you just talk to the joint? as remus asks him if he really wants them to pass him around. regulus’s slightly shameful answer is yes to both.

remus takes the joint and takes one last hit off it. before he blows out the smoke, he turns to james and pulls open his mouth to shotgun it. the way james moans into his mouth at the taste and visibly tangles their tongues together… it’s downright pornographic. he stubs the joint out. i think we’ve had enough of that then. regulus do you want to join us in our bed tonight or do you want to just go to bed and listen to me fuck james into the mattress?

and regulus with his typical edges softened by the weed says he’s going to join them. no argument, no debating within himself, just acceptance that, yeah, he’s going to join them tonight. and hopefully other nights. maybe forever. okay, he’s getting ahead of himself. fuck first, romance later.

he ends up naked on all fours in their bed while they quietly argue over… a game of rock paper scissors? regulus isn’t entirely sure, he’s facing away, but that’s kind of what it sounds like.

wait rem best seven out of thirteen – james i think reg is going to go soft if you don’t just accept defeat. i thought you wanted to eat him out anyways – okay but now i’m indecisive. can we do it this way and then switch and make him come again

that’s how remus ends up below regulus, sucking his pretty cock into his mouth. regulus is so eager for it that he accidentally bucks into remus’s mouth. remus can take it, but he wants regulus to have a fighting chance once james gets settled, so he forces him to take a slow pace. it’s barely more than a tease if not for the fact that nothing can be teasing when remus’s mouth feels just that heavenly.

and james deserves an award for how good he is at eating ass. he sucks on regulus’s hole in a way that has him crying out and leaking. james throws himself wholeheartedly into making regulus feel as good as possible. regulus is so responsive it has james leaking all over remus’s stomach below him, and he can’t even be bothered to feel ashamed because… fuck, regulus is one of the best things he’s ever tasted

-💫🐀

aww poor baby, i hope you get all the rest you need.

"fuck first, romance later' is so Regulus Balck oh my god

Remus would go to kiss Regulus, and it's like so messy too because Regulus can taste himself and James is tongue is absolute magic, Regulus can't really mush else but pant and moan into the kiss with Remus. it also doesn’t help that Regulus is still high.

James' goal is to make Regulus come quickly because there are so many other things he wants to do but right he really wants to make Regulus come with his mouth. and Remus is mostly enjoying the view because it's a good fucking view.

and to be completely honest, i don't even think Regulus would come a second time before he'll knock out. like when they switch positions, James would be all enthusiasm, he would not let Regulus rest while Remus is making sure Regulus is still with them because his moans are becoming more breathy and every slight movement has Regulus nearly falling foreword.

(love the idea of Regulus struggling to keep up with James and Remus because he just didn't fuck as often as they did)