Enter for the Quidditch League Competition - Round 6 - Puddlemere United - Chaser 2
Prompt: Regulus/James
Optional prompts used: 8. Dialogue: "Is that really what you want?"; 9. Trope: Fake Dating; 11. Trait: Cheerful
Word count: 2,046
Warnings: AU No Voldemort, Good Black Family
Chasing after you
"Is that really what you want?" James asked. He wanted to reach towards Regulus, but he knew it was probably better if he didn't.
"It doesn't matter what I want; it's more of what I need," Regulus murmured, not meeting James's eyes. "Besides, we agreed that it would only be until the Yule Ball."
"Sure, if that's what you want..." James let it hang in the air, suddenly exhausted by the conversation. "Let's go pretend to break up."
James started to walk towards the Great Hall with his head held high even though his heart was breaking with every step he took. He just needed to move forward and deal with everything later.
James Potter was known for being the most cheerful and happy person that you could find in Gryffindor house. He was used to getting up at seven in the morning and smiling like he had just found one million galleons lying about. The Marauders were used to it already, but the minute that James started singing, they would throw him out of the dorm.
"Did you hear what Minnie told us, or were you too distracted trying to get your beauty sleep?" James asked his best friend, smiling like he didn't have a worry in the world. "You need more than fifteen minutes if you want to be handsome like me, Siri."
"Shut up, Jamie," Sirius Black grumbled under his breath, glaring at James, which only made James's smile widen. "What did Minnie say, and why are you being so obnoxious about it?"
"This year, we're going to have a Yule Ball! Isn't that wonderful? Imagine if they got the Weird Sisters to play!" James was already making plans for an event that wouldn't happen for another three months, but nothing could dampen the wide grin on his face or the little skip in his step. "Who are you going with?"
"Merlin, Prongs, I don't know… I just learnt about the ball five seconds ago. Give me a minute to breathe." Sirius was walking and looking around him, trying to find someone that would catch his attention. "I don't have a clue who I'll invite."
"I think you should ask Marley. She's amazing, and you've been friends with her for years now," James said, not so subtly pointing at Marlene McKinnon, who was walking in front of them. "I bet she would love to go with you."
"Are you trying to play matchmaker again?" Sirius asked, his eyebrow raised, at which James grinned. "Just because it worked with Moony and Lily, I don't think it's going to work with me."
"Never say never, my friend," James replied with a bigger smile. James was fully intending on playing matchmaker again. After having seen Remus making goo-goo eyes at Lily, James hadn't wanted his friend to miss the love of his life for fear of getting rejected. So, he had done the obvious thing: shoved the two of them together in an unused classroom and only let them out after they had snogged each other senseless. Worked like a charm.
He had almost reached the Great Hall when he found Regulus, Sirius' younger brother, looking lost. Regulus was sitting on the floor, staring at the wall and looking like someone had sent him a vicious howler. All thoughts left James's mind instantly.
"Reggie? Everything okay? What happened?"
Regulus glanced at James, and something in those eyes made James's heart beat faster, but he let the thought slide, not wanting to dig deeper. Lately, Regulus was always in James's thoughts, and he didn't know what to do with the little fourth year — even though Regulus wasn't so little now.
"Hey, Jamie," Regulus replied, his voice just a mere whisper. "Everything's all right. Why do you ask?"
"Because you look like a little ball of despair standing near the Great Hall, but you haven't entered yet, so I thought about asking." James sat down next to Regulus, trying to make the younger boy relax a little. "Want to tell me what's troubling you?"
When Regulus met his eyes, James could see his thoughts running through his mind. Something inside James wanted to protect Regulus — from what, he didn't know.
"You've heard the announcement about the Yule Ball?" Regulus asked, not looking at James anymore.
"Yeah, I heard. I can't wait for it, actually," James replied, his excitement bubbling up again, smiling as he imagined the dance and the food. "It's going to be incredible, don't you think?"
When Regulus didn't reply, James got worried. The younger boy seemed to be lost in thoughts, so James thought it was better not to interrupt him.
"It would be incredible, except that I won't have someone to go with. Not many people want to go out or even date me, you know?" Regulus said in a mocking tone, but James could hear the hurt underneath.
"Why would someone not want to date you? You're an amazing person!" James almost shouted, but he caught himself when he remembered where they were. "I would date you."
James hadn't realised what he had said until he saw Regulus' wide eyes and gaping mouth. Wincing inwardly, he cursed his big mouth for leaping before he looked.
"You, James Potter, would date me, plain Regulus Black?" Regulus asked in a disbelieving tone, making James frown. "I find that hard to believe."
"Why? It's not so hard to believe. You're a fine young man, and I bet you have a line of admirers just waiting to ask you out, but you're too shy to realise that." James didn't know why he was saying all of that to Regulus, but he believed it to be true.
"You're a good friend, James, but I don't think what you're saying is true. Don't worry. I'll think of something." Regulus was about to stand up, but before he could, James stopped him.
"You're saying that you don't think anyone would want to date you?" James asked, a plan forming in his head. Regulus nodded his head. "Well… I know that you don't like me like that, and neither do I like you like that, so what do you think about pretending to date me?"
Regulus stood rooted to the spot, looking at James like he had a second head, and James internally winced at what he had said. He didn't know why he had proposed that to Regulus, but it didn't seem so bad; if he could spend some time with Regulus while doing him a favour, it was James's gain, right?
"What are you saying, James?" Regulus asked.
James thought Regulus was going to hex him right on the spot, but he still needed to try it. "I know perfectly well what I'm saying, Reggie. I think this would be nice for both of us." When James had an idea in mind, no one was able to discourage him. "Besides, it doesn't need to be forever. It could be until after the Yule Ball."
"Three months? You want us to pretend that we are dating for three months?" Regulus asked incredulously, and James shifted on the spot, suddenly realising that the hallway wasn't the best place to have the conversation.
"Listen, it's lunch time now. Think about it, and you can give me an answer at dinner, all right?" James stood up and helped Regulus stand up, too. "Just think about it, and I won't hold anything against you."
James left Regulus behind and tried not to turn around to see if Regulus was looking at him or not. It wasn't what James had planned on asking Regulus when he had found the Slytherin sitting alone, but now that he had asked him, James hoped he would receive a positive answer.
"All right, let's do it," was the first thing Regulus said to James later that day as he sat down beside him at the Gryffindor table. "I may be losing my mind here, but I accept to be your fake boyfriend for the time being."
James' smile was so wide that he was feeling his cheeks hurting, but nothing could wipe it off of his face. He wrapped Regulus in a tight embrace, which immediately caught the attention of his friends.
"Oy! What's happening here?" Sirius asked, trying to sound angry. It was ruined by the smile on his face. "Why are you attacking my little brother, Potter?"
"Because he agreed to date me, so now he's my boyfriend." James cheerfully kissed Regulus' cheek, while the other boy tried not to blush. "Hey, Pads, we're family now!"
"Merlin, take me now," Regulus muttered under his breath, but James couldn't stop smiling.
"Don't worry, these three months are going to be awesome. You'll see," James whispered in Regulus' ear, squeezing his hand and beaming at him. "Don't you worry about a thing."
James kept his promise during the duration of their "romance": he took Regulus to Hogsmeade on dates, kissed his cheek when the latter least expected it, and he never once complained about the stoic expressions on Regulus' face. James was the happiest that anyone had ever seen him, and even Regulus could be seen smiling a little as time passed by.
James could never imagine having his heart broken would hurt this bad. He couldn't help but feel like the world was all wrong. He missed Regulus more than he thought he would, the way that Regulus smirked at him when James made a joke, or the way that he would frown when James kissed his cheek — which, if James was being honest, he grabbed every opportunity to do.
It shouldn't be such a surprise to discover that he had developed feelings for Regulus; it was right there under his nose! James practically swooned over every little thing the younger boy did, and he just wanted to be able to be near Regulus again. It had been one week since they had 'broken up', and it had been the worst week of his life. Everything reminded him of Regulus, and it hurt.
Sirius and James were in the common room talking, but James's heart just wasn't in it. He just sat there staring at the wall and wondering what Regulus might be up to.
"Prongs, do you want to talk?" Sirius asked, interrupting his thoughts. "You don't seem to be fine."
"What are you talking about, Pads? I'm perfectly fine," James replied, forcing himself to smile. If he didn't revert to his cheerful self soon, his friends might start to notice.
"You aren't fine. Not since you and my brother broke up," Sirius said, and James cursed himself for having such an observant friend. "Why don't you talk to Reggie? You're too sad to be around — you don't even want to play pranks on people anymore. I'm tired of watching you mope around the common room, so just get back together already and put me out of my misery."
James's smile slipped. "Because I know he won't want to get back together."
"You never know if you don't try. So, stop being a moron and go talk to him — or snog him. Whatever you want." Sirius practically shoved James out of the common room.
James thought about stalling Sirius by saying that he didn't find Regulus, but to his surprise, the Slytherin was pacing outside the door.
"Hey," Regulus shyly said, not meeting James's eyes for long.
James's mind blanked when he saw Regulus, and he blurted out the first thing he could think of.
"Do you want to go out with me? For real, this time?" He winced, realising what he had just said. "Sorry, I know what you said and—"
"I would love to go out with you — for real this time." Regulus's lips turned up in a little smile, and James smiled back.
"Thank Merlin," James said, wrapping his arms around Regulus. He promised himself that he wasn't going to let the other boy go. "This may have started as something fake, but I'm all for the real now."
"Me too," Regulus whispered in James's shoulder, tightening his hold on James. "Let's go tell Siri that we're back together."
"We will… in a second." James didn't leave the warm embrace, and for the time being, neither did Regulus.