Written by NeonDomino & Screaming-Faeries for Capture the Flag.
Prompts Used: (object) Cigarette, (object) Guitar, (emotion) Excited, (dialogue) "You'll never guess who I saw in the Leaky Cauldron!" (dialogue) "Blimey, what are you trying to do to me!"
"You'll never guess who I saw in the Leaky Cauldron!" Regulus babbled excitedly, as he sat down opposite his friend at an outdoor table at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Barty Crouch was reading the Daily Prophet, and made little effort to look up when Regulus threw himself into the opposite seat.
"Who?" he murmured in a bored tone, turning the page.
"The Marauders!" Regulus practically squealed, reaching over to grab Barty's arms. "Isn't that exciting?"
"I'm sorry, who?" Barty pulled his arms away and rolled up the newspaper, swatting at Regulus with it. "What are you talking about?"
Regulus rolled his dark eyes expressively. "The Marauders. Only the hottest band in the world right now."
It was Barty's turn to roll his eyes. "Oh, those posers who are always being featured in the Smashing Runes magazine. They're hardly the hottest band in the world. Maybe the lukewarm band in the south of England."
"They toured with the Weird Sisters, Merlin, you're so behind on the times."
"I don't care," Barty dismissed, leaning back in his seat. "Anyway; why are you acting like such a groupie? Isn't your older brother the lead singer?" Barty racked his brains for a moment, trying to picture the foursome from the various posters that were scattered around Wizarding London. "He is, isn't he? What's the deal?"
A crimson tinge spread across Regulus's nose and cheeks almost immediately, causing Barty to raise an eyebrow. "Nothing. Just because my brother is in the band doesn't mean that I can't really enjoy their music."
"And get really excited about seeing them walk into a pub," Barty continued.
"Well, Sirius hasn't lived with us for years, you know! I don't exactly get to see him often."
"Which one of them is it?" Barty asked, a wicked glint in his eye. He leaned over the table, grinning widely when Regulus' blush deepened.
"James Potter," he mumbled.
"I knew it," Barty replied, reopening his newspaper once again. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go over to the Leaky Cauldron, you slut."
Regulus threw a glare at his friend, but he was grinning. "Fine, I'll see you later." He spread his fingers in a wave as he jumped up and walked away from Fortescue's, and headed over to the Leaky Cauldron.
Regulus looked around the familiar pub, his gaze quickly falling on the band drinking together in the corner - minus his brother. He took a deep breath, and turned in the direction of the bar. He didn't want to come across as a fangirl, though that might have been the accurate description for him.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could make out James Potter gesturing wildly about something, whilst the drummer sat back in his seat, looking quite relaxed, a butterbeer in hand.
From his position, he wasn't able to see the bass-player at all. He turned to the bartender, Tom. "Just a butterbeer please," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out some change.
"Allow me to get that for you," came a smooth yet familiar voice, and Regulus tensed at the sound. Surely that wasn't James Potter standing next to him. He slowly turned his head, and held back a gasp.
"If you don't mind," James added, raising an eyebrow. He smiled easily at Regulus, who could only nod in return. "And one for me," he added.
There was a brief silence before the drinks were put down next to them.
"I've… I've met you before?" James mused, his eyes narrowing slightly as he tried to work out where he knew Regulus from.
"Yeah, we were in the same school," Regulus replied. There was no way he was telling the man he had fantasized about since school, that he was Sirius Black's little brother. That would be the worst thing to do right now.
"That must be it," James said, smiling. "Not in my year?"
"The year below," Regulus replied, returning the smile. "Though I do remember you."
"You do, good to know. So, I'm in a band now," James offered, looking at Regulus hopefully. "We're pretty good, you should come and listen to us sometime… if you want?"
Regulus' heart was pounding and he had never felt more excited. "Yeah, that sounds like fun," he replied casually. "I've actually heard of your band, you are pretty good."
"Yeah?" James replied eagerly. "We've actually got a new song coming out in a few weeks… would you like to hear it?"
Regulus could only nod his head, he awkwardly took a sip of his drink as James moved closer. "You understand that I can't let everyone hear it?" James said, his voice lowering and his grin becoming a smirk. "The lyrics start with: I solemnly swear I'm upto no good!"
"And are you upto no good?" Regulus breathed.
James' smirk widened, as his gaze darted down to Regulus' lips. "How about we find somewhere private, and you'll get your answer? I could give you a… backstage pass to access all areas?" The euphemism wasn't lost on Regulus.
"Yeah," Regulus whispered, ready to follow James anywhere. He was completely lost to James, as the lead guitarist of the Marauders began to close the distance between them.
Lips softly brushed against his, and Regulus leaned in to deepen it. He was very aware of the arms moving around him, caressing his back and moving down to his arse and he brought his own around James, closing his eyes. It was like a dream come true.
Suddenly James was thrown back and Regulus opened his eyes, only to find a very angry Sirius Black standing over James, who was on the ground, looking utterly confused.
"What are you playing at, Potter," Sirius roared, and Regulus saw the other band members come running over. "Get your filthy lips off my little brother!"
He watched as the drummer, Lupin, reached to calm Sirius down, trying to get him to sit down at the table, as Pettigrew offered a hand to help James up.
"Sirius' little brother?" James asked, looking at Regulus curiously. "You didn't say anything?" He raised his eyebrows questioningly.
"Well, if I did, you wouldn't have invited me to spend time with you privately," Regulus murmured, low enough so his brother wouldn't hear his words. He wasn't able to hide the disappointment in his voice.
James reached for his butterbeer and took a long drink. "Maybe not straight away," he finally said, wiping the drink from his lips. "But you're Sirius' little brother, so that changes things." His eyes slowly trailed down Regulus' body. "Blimey! What are you trying to do to me?" he whispered mostly to himself, before shaking his head.
Regulus waited silently as James seemed to fight with himself on what to do next.
"You can hear our new song at practise tomorrow," James said, his hazel eyes meeting Regulus' dark ones. "How about dinner instead?"
He headed over to the table and grabbed his guitar, before sauntering back to Regulus. An arm wrapped around Regulus' waist, and he sent a smug grin over his shoulder.
"You know, everytime Sirius sent a package full of our merchandise home to his little brother, I never once considered his little brother to be so gorgeous," James commented, as he began to lead the way from the pub.
Regulus turned back to look at his brother, who was watching after them with narrowed eyes, a cigarette between his lips as Lupin kept him calm, stopping him from getting up and following them out.
Regulus knew they'd both have hell to pay, but it was more than worth it!