Chapter Text
When everyone caught their breath, Barty insisted James and Regulus shower first because he wanted more rest. James pulled Regulus into the shower, cleaning each other up, and as James was washing Regulus’s hair, he spoke quietly, “When they get into the shower, I’m going to go make us breakfast. I think we should all talk about what happened.”
They coaxed Barty and Evan into the shower and made their way to their kitchen. James insisted that he make a full spread for everyone to regain their energy and had Regulus handle drinks.
They laid the meal out on their kitchen island. James had definitely over-cooked, but he was certainly pleased with himself. Pancakes, toast, sausages, eggs, and sliced fruit were available in copious amounts. Regulus turned on the kettle while he grabbed various teas and set the coffee maker on in case anyone would prefer that.
Evan and Barty stepped out of the room with lazy grins, “Wow, look at this. Pulling out all the stops, are you?” Barty laughed, his voice raspy as he started fixing plates for himself and Evan.
Regulus smiled from behind his coffee, “James got a little excited, but he claims he had to cook this much because he didn’t know what you both liked.”
All eyes moved to James as he gave a casual shrug, “Are you all complaining? None of you seem to have a problem with having your mouths stuffed one way or another...” Evan couldn’t hold back his laughter, “Fair enough, Potter. No complaints from me, though. This looks so good.”
The four men ate, sharing casual conversation throughout. Evan sang his praises to James for the cooking, “You and your cooking have a lot in common. I thought the looks might’ve been deceiving, but this is genuinely one of the best breakfasts I’ve had in a long time.”
Barty nodded his head enthusiastically in agreement, not bothering to stop forking food into his mouth. James thanked them for the compliment, “Breakfast is my favorite meal to cook, I think. You both are more than welcome to join us anytime.”
As their meal was winding down, James placed his cup down and looked to Regulus. Regulus gave him a short nod of encouragement in response. “So…”, James spoke up, everyone looked over with cautious eyes, “I feel like Regulus and I, especially me, took things into our own hands last night and I just want to make sure everything is good.”
A few beats before he continued, “Evan, I know we talked before we did anything, I still want to check in and see how everyone is feeling though?”
“Well, I felt quite called out and was tortured for some time,” Barty joked in response, not being one for serious conversations when it’s not his own partner. Evan shot him a look, telling him now was not the time to joke. Barty cleared his throat and spoke again, “Okay, sorry. I meant what I said last night. I’m perfectly fine and I know that if anything was too much I could have told you and you would have respected my boundaries. I had fun, though. Nothing wrong with me here. Are you okay?”
James nodded in response and looked over to Regulus for him to speak up, “I’m great, had a lot of fun. In a way, it felt long overdue.”
The men all nodded in understanding. No one was blind to the sexual tension that had been growing between them in the last few months. At first, it was seen as jealousy, that Barty and Evan were mad Regulus wasn’t with them. The line between jealousy and pining for one person turned into sexual tension all around.
They all sipped their drinks before Evan piped in to end the conversation, “I’m feeling good too. I appreciated you talking to me before we did anything, and thank you for the breakfast.”
They all gathered their plates and lounged in the kitchen in comfortable silence. “Well, if no one else is going to say it, I will,” Regulus stated as he studied everyone’s faces, “I had a good time and would be open to it again. No one needs to agree now, I’m just putting it out there and we can leave it be.”
Barty and Evan stared at each other with wide eyes, shocked at the idea of this happening again. James had a smirk on his face, nodding his approval before speaking up, “I’m open to it too, but we’ll have to set some boundaries or maybe safe words just so everyone is comfortable.”
Barty and Evan turned their faces back to the other men, “I agree, safe words would be a good idea,” Evan responded confidently. Barty looked at everyone’s faces; he was surprised that everyone was so willing. I mean, he had been wanting this for longer than he was probably even aware of. Well… he knew he wanted Regulus and Evan, but James was certainly news to him (and apparently only news to him) until last night.
“So, were you all giving me shit for this when you all were wanting the same?” he spoke out cautiously.
James cleared his throat, “Well, we hardly had the opportunity… Regulus and I talked about it before, but I’m happy it happened this way. Felt much more organic,” Regulus nodded as James was speaking. “So, thanks for listening to us have sex on multiple occasions,” James continued with a smirk.
Regulus laughed at James’s comment and found his voice, “I think this was the best-case scenario, honestly. Are we all open to this another time?””
He glanced around the room again and everyone agreed.
“Do we want to do the color system? I think it’ll be easiest for all of us. I know we’re all familiar with it,” he continued.
“Yeah, that works for us. Barty and I need to head out though, we need to go shopping. Just text us if either of you come up with anything else. We’ll see you next weekend?”
The men said their goodbyes and Regulus began gathering whatever dishes were lying around while James started washing them. Regulus picked off the plate of fruit, eating the small amount left over.
James looked over his shoulder, “Well? What are you thinking?” he asked Regulus while scrubbing the plates.
“I’m thinking we’re going to have a lot of fun toying with them. I want to see what their breaking point is before they turn it around on us,” he smirked in response.
They finished cleaning and fell onto the couch with an exasperated huff, “Let’s think about what we’ll do to them next weekend…” James grinned, pulling Regulus into his lap to straddle him.
Regulus rested his head on James’s shoulders, letting out a sigh. “I know Barty likes you in crop tops. Every time you wear one, he won’t stop staring at your tattoo… I wonder why,” he laughed.
James started rubbing soothing circles on Regulus’s back, “We’ll do something easy. Just wear clothes we know will drive them crazy… I think that could be enough. Just being at the bar again is going to put this back on everyone’s minds.”
Regulus could only respond with a hum, he was still so tired. He wrapped his arms around James’s neck, “Still sleepy, can’t talk anymore.”
James got up, still holding Regulus, his legs wrapped around his waist, and brought them back to their bed to take a nap. Regulus curled onto James’s chest, “You were so hot last night and this morning. If I wasn’t so tired, I’d be riding you until my legs were broken.”
James lightly tugged on Regulus’s hair, directing him into a kiss, “Let’s get some sleep and see if you’re still willing to follow through on that after.” They fell asleep within minutes, the smell of their morning breakfast still flowing through the air.
The boys had been texting each other throughout the week in a new group chat, talking about their days, what they were up to, and whatever limits they had—which were few and far between.
Everyone admitted that they were open to experimenting with their new dynamic and felt comfortable enough to speak up if needed. While this development was new, their friendship was not. James and Regulus had been dating for two years; they’ve been around Evan and Barty plenty, even before they were dating.
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When Regulus and Sirius started the journey of mending their relationship, those two would always accompany him to functions that included Sirius’s friend group. Everyone was awkward at first. Sirius and his friends were high energy and very friendly, whereas Reggie and his friends were more relaxed, typically stuck to each other for safety and comfort. Eventually, Remus broke the tension. He’d been observing everyone at their parties and decided they couldn’t just pretend the past didn’t happen.
Regulus and his friends seemed to appreciate Remus for being blunt. They all sat around the living room passing a bottle of tequila around and airing out their grievances. That night led to Regulus hugging Sirius for the first time in over a decade, Barty got Remus high, and Evan and James continued drinking, talking about the brothers and their lack of emotional vulnerability.
“Honestly, you wouldn’t believe how much Regulus talks about him. He’s always asking if he should see if Sirius wants to hang out, and you have no clue how many things he’s bought saying Sirius would like it,” Evan was laughing, a bottle of tequila splashing all over him, “And guess how many he’s actually given to him? None! They’re all in his closet, but maybe they’ll finally make it to him now.”
James was shaking with laughter, eyes glossed over. “Sirius does the exact same thing, that’s the whole reason he started inviting everyone over every weekend. He thinks if he invites just Reg he won’t show up. They are honestly ridiculous.” He snatched the bottle from Evan and took a swig.
He looked out to the patio, spotting Regulus alone, leaning over the railing. Evan smirked at James, “Offer him this,” passing off a pack of cigarettes.
James looked at the pack of cigarettes with intrigue and stood, offering his hand to Evan if he wanted to get off the floor. Evan took his hand and went to find Barty.
As James made his way to the patio, he started opening the pack. He loved a good drunk cigarette. He placed the unlit cigarette in his mouth and opened the door outside. Regulus turned his head, raising his eyebrows. “Didn’t know you smoked, that’s interesting,” he said as he reached out to pluck one from the pack.
“Only when I’m trashed,” he lit his cigarette and took a long drag, “Here, let me.” He leaned towards Regulus, lighting the cigarette with the lit end of his own.
Regulus looked James in the eye as he did, taking his first hit and holding it while he spoke, “You’re trashed then?” He followed up on James’s comment.
“You can’t tell?” James laughed, taking another drag, leaning against the railing with his back facing Regulus.
They stood there in silence, smoking and looking into the night sky. There was knocking on the glass of the sliding door. They looked to see Evan and Barty at the window giving a thumbs up to see if Reggie was okay. Regulus nodded.
Barty opened the door anyways, “Did you wanna head out with us?” His eyes darted to James with caution.
“I already told Sirius I’d stay the night so we can get coffee in the morning.”
Evan flashed a knowing smile at James, “Well, good night you both. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, yeah?”
Everyone was winding down for the night. Sirius and Remus poked their heads in the door to let them know they were heading to sleep. An hour of peace passed. James turned his head to ask if Regulus was going to sleep, only to see that the man had already passed out.
He sat there for a moment, unsure what to do but eventually decided to pick him up. He grabbed Regulus’s waist and carried him bridal style.
Regulus blinked the sleep from his eyes trying to gather what was happening, “Jamie?” James’s jaw dropped at the nickname, heat rushing to his face. He’d never been called that by Regulus before.
He took a moment before finally responding, “Hey, you fell asleep outside. I’m just taking you to bed, grabbing you some water first.” He held Reggie with one arm, opening the fridge to grab a bottle of water.
The fact that James was casually carrying him around the house with ease woke him up. He stared up at James as he was shuffling through the house, water bottle in one hand as he brought him upstairs. James kicked the door open and placed Regulus on the bed, “Do you need anything else before I head to my room?”
Regulus turned his face, hiding the blush staining his cheeks, “Um, do you know if Sirius has any spare clothes for me to sleep in?”
James stood there for a moment, “I don't think I’m interested in sneaking into his room with Remus in there. I can grab you something of mine to wear if you want? It’ll be big on you though.”
Regulus tried to form a response. He was particular about clothing, not liking the way some materials felt on his skin or how they bunch up on him in his sleep. James continued after a moment, “Actually, I remember Sirius mentioning you had preferences when it comes to what you’re comfortable wearing. You can come raid my closet if you want?”
Regulus sighed in relief, “Yes, I’d like that better.”
He got out of bed and followed James through the dark hallway, “I keep all my pajamas in the top drawer, but help yourself to anything that might work for you. I have some softer shirts hanging too,” he said as he leaned against the wall next to the closet, watching Reggie with curiosity.
Regulus plucked an oversized silky t-shirt; since it was so large, he didn’t bother with grabbing bottoms, nothing of James’s would fit him anyways. “I’ll just take this… thank you.”
They said goodnight to each other. Both laid in separate beds in the same house, falling asleep with the other on their mind.
James was reeling at the thought of Regulus calling him “Jamie” in his sleepy voice. He never saw him shy and gentle. Regulus was typically calculated and stoic; he had to be with how he was raised. Seeing the softer side of him stirred something in James, he was already trying to figure out how he could experience it again.
Regulus stared up at the ceiling in his room, chastising himself for being caught off guard by James’s actions and behaving like a lovesick teenager. James had always been nice to him; it used to get on his nerves. He thought it was because he was Sirius’s little brother, but that was shattered one night when someone kept referring to him as “Sirius’s baby brother” or “Baby Black.” James had snapped, “You do realize he’s not just Sirius’s brother, right? He’s his own person, with his own life? His name is Regulus, why don’t you try addressing him as that?”
Regulus remembered how his heart had stopped beating for a moment when those words came out. Regulus remembered how everything clicked for him that night. He had a crush on James, and now he was living in the reality where he was just carried around like he was weightless up a flight of stairs, James not even working up a sweat. His last thought before falling asleep was James lighting his cigarette with his own, eyes glossy but dilated without James knowing.
Maybe James felt the same way too.