…

James Potter bounced his infant son in his arms as he watched the new neighbours moving their belongings into the house next door.

"Sorry, Harry," James said after the removal van drove off. "Doesn't look like they took in any kiddie furniture. I don't think you'll be getting a little mate after all."

His wife, Lily, came up behind them, taking Harry out of James's arms swiftly. "Have you finished spying on the neighbours?" She asked, sounding slightly irritable.

"Harry and I were just watching to see if they had any kids," James replied with a shrug. "He's the only one in this neighbourhood."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I didn't see the new neighbours; just the removal men. They might have kids—and even if they don't, what does it matter? If it's a young couple, then they'll probably have some eventually." She paused to rub the bridge of her nose with her free hand. "I have a headache. I might drive out and get a takeaway instead of making dinner, if that's alright with you."

"Sure," James said, breezily. It was the third night this week that Lily had suggested getting a takeaway, but he was reluctant to bring it up. As of late, Lily's mood had been terrible. He'd tried to offer to make dinner himself the last time Lily had wanted to get fish and chips, but she blew up at him as soon as he suggested it, blaming him for treating her like she was incapable of cooking her family a meal. "I don't mind driving out to get it, though. I can take Harry—"

"—I'll do it," Lily interrupted. "You just stay with Harry."

…

A few days later, Lily and James were silently eating their dinner, when there was a knock at the door.

"Who on earth could that be at this time?" Lily said. "I hope that knock didn't wake Harry up…he took hours to get down..."

"I'll get it," James said, standing up from the table. He left Lily in the dining room and opened the front door.

Two men stood on the other side of the threshold. They both had a distinct similar look about them—the same ebony hair, ivory skin, sharp cheekbones—but one was slightly taller and dressed in leathers, grinning cheekily like he'd known James all his life, and the other was shorter, smartly-dressed, with tidy hair and a polite smile on his face.

"Hi! Nice to meet you, I'm Sirius Black, this is my brother Regulus. We just moved into the property next door." Sirius stuck a hand out, which James shook politely. "Sorry we haven't had the chance to come and introduce ourselves sooner. We've been busy, you know. Moving in."

"Oh, that's not a problem," James replied. "Nice to meet you, too. I'm James." He held out his hand to Regulus, who gave him a tentative handshake. James noticed that Regulus's eyes were a very distinct shade of grey—almost shiny and flecked with silver. Beautiful.

He shook the thought off as quickly as it arrived in his head.

"Anyway, sorry to interrupt...whatever you were doing," Sirius continued. "I'm sure we'll see you around. I usually work for a few days at a time, but Regulus is on a gap year, so he's basically just going to be lazing around the house most of the time." Sirius smirked, ignoring the way Regulus rolled his eyes.

"Sounds great," James replied. "My wife and I both work from home at the moment. Our son only just turned nine months. Lily is my wife, Harry is my son—I'm sure you'll see them at some point."

"A baby," Regulus suddenly said softly. "How sweet."

His voice was as sweet as syrup, and James felt like he wanted to blush. "Y-yeah."

"Well, we'll get together for a beer sometime. C'mon, Reg."

James waved the brothers off as they hurried back down the drive and across to their own house.

As soon as the front door shut, Lily sidled into the hallway. "Brothers?" she said, raising a neat auburn eyebrow. "Well, there goes the chance for little friends for Harry to play with."

…

James soon realised that Sirius Black was absolutely not suited to the quiet suburban cul-de-sac that he and his brother had moved into.

Sirius was loud. He was in a band, and whenever he wasn't working, he would often be dropped off at home by a purple minibus, carrying an amp and mic-stand back into the house. Sometimes the band members would follow him in, and the whole street would be treated to some off-key rock music for a few hours. He also threw loud parties, most weekends, which resulted in him and his friends spilling into the back garden, giggling and squealing and sometimes fighting at all hours of the night. But other than that, Sirius was just generally loud. Even though James and Lily's house was detached from Sirius and Regulus', James would often just be able to hear Sirius talking to his brother or his friends, his voice practically vibrating through the walls.

Regulus wasn't loud. James didn't see him frequenting the parties as often as Sirius, and when he did, he was usually just walking around the partygoers picking up rubbish and clearing away empty glasses. He spent most of his time alone in the house while Sirius wasn't home, sitting by the empty pool in the back garden under a large parasol, reading a book. Sometimes Regulus left the house for a brief period, then would return with an armful of books with a takeaway coffee cup balanced precariously on top of the stack.

Occasionally Regulus would have a friend over, though usually when Sirius wasn't home. A tall, skinny bloke with untidy, mousey hair would visit Regulus. He seemed just as bookish and they would often just sit on loungers in the back garden during the sunny weather, reading their novels.

James couldn't help but be intrigued, and sometimes even jealous, of the life that Sirius and Regulus had. He would never admit it out loud, but since marrying Lily, his life had become...stale at best. He didn't regret any part of their relationship, and he loved Harry more than life itself, but he couldn't help but feel like something was lacking in his life.

…

"You're going to have to go and say something," Lily finally said in the middle of the night. Sirius was having a party for the sixth consecutive weekend, and the heavy music was rattling the walls. "This is so unfair. We have a baby."

James didn't bother to mention that Harry didn't seem fussed by the music at all. In fact, he seemed to sleep more soundly during Sirius's weekend parties.

"What am I supposed to do about it?" he groaned.

"Just go and politely ask them to turn the music down a bit," snapped Lily. She rolled over in bed, facing away from James, indicating that the conversation was over. James grumbled and climbed out of bed, pulling his slippers on and a jacket over his pyjamas, and stomped out of the bedroom.

He hated that Lily was making him go and knock on the door like a grumpy old man. It was only less than two years ago when he was throwing those types of parties, and laughing in the faces of the neighbours who dared to complain.

He hoped that his tentative knock wouldn't be heard, but the front door swung open instantly. Regulus Black stood on the other side, wearing a dark sweater and black jeans, and staring back at James thoughtfully. "Are you here to join the party?" he asked. James noticed that Regulus didn't seem inebriated, like the rest of Sirius's friends sounded to be.

"Er—unfortunately not," James replied.

"That's a shame."

James wasn't sure what to say in response. Luckily, Sirius came to the door, throwing an arm over Regulus's shoulder. "Reg, what are you doing out of your room? You hate my parties."

"Our neighbour is here," Regulus replied stiffly, disentangling himself from Sirius. "I think you may have a complaint coming your way." Regulus offered James one final lingering look, before disappearing into the house. Sirius beamed at James, wobbling where he stood.

"Alright, mate?"

"Hi, Sirius," James shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. "I'm sorry to do this, but you know, the wife…"

"Is it the music?" Sirius grinned apologetically. "Look, I'm sorry. I'll get it turned down, and you say sorry to the missus for me, yeah?"

James was momentarily bewildered. He hadn't expected Sirius to be so agreeable. "Oh. Yeah. Thanks, mate."

"Anytime. Feel free to come and kick my door down next time I'm making too much noise." Sirius laughed, and clapped James on the back. "Oh—I meant what I said about us grabbing a beer sometime. Why don't you come in?"

It was tempting—the thud of the music and the raucous laughter inside called to an old part of James that hadn't been seen in a long time. "I couldn't," James said finally. "It's late. I have work tomorrow, and my wife is waiting for me."

Sirius's smile faltered a little bit, but he nodded. "Sure. Next time?"

James smiled back weakly. "Definitely."

…

Sirius Black appeared at the door the very next morning, bright and early, carrying a large basket and wearing his biggest, brightest smile. James stood back to let him in, and Sirius immediately crossed the kitchen to the dining room, where Lily sat at the table, spoon-feeding porridge to Harry.

"Please accept my apologies for the noise last night," he said in a dramatic, grandiose voice. "I know my parties can get out of hand sometimes. I would hate there to be any bad blood between our families because of me and my stupid friends." He placed the huge basket on the table and popped open the lid, displaying a large selection of muffins. "These just came out of the oven."

"Oh, you bake?" Lily asked, peering into the basket and smiling politely at Sirius. Sirius laughed out loud.

"Absolutely not," he said. "These are courtesy of my brother." He dug around in the basket and pulled out a four-pack of beers and tossed them to James, who only just managed to catch them. "Those on the other hand, are courtesy of me. If you want to come over for a drink tonight, I'm free!"

"Oh, thanks mate," James put the beers on the worktop and scratched the back of his head. "I'm not sure what our plans are tonight—"

"Your parents are looking after Harry this evening until Tuesday, remember?" Lily interrupted.

"That's right," James confirmed.

"The invitation is extended to your lovely wife too," Sirius added, offering a lopsided grin to Lily.

"I have plans with my friends," Lily replied quickly. "Remember, James? I told you last week. You can go and enjoy yourself with the neighbours."

"Then it's all sorted!" Sirius clapped his hands then ruffled Harry's hair, who giggled up at Sirius. "I'll see you later, mate!"

…

It was fun being around Sirius Black.

They sat around a firepit in Sirius's garden, drinking beer and laughing like they were old friends. James soon realised that he had a lot in common with Sirius—they had a similar sense of humour and liked the same music. Regulus sat at the firepit with Sirius and James, though he didn't say much, seeming more content just to listen to the other two talk.

After a few hours, a car rolled up on the drive, and Sirius jumped to his feet. "That's my ride," he announced, grinning at James. "Catch you later, mate. Don't stay up too late, baby brother." He cuffed Regulus on the head as he passed him, and Regulus rolled his eyes in response. Sirius ran to the car and jumped in the passenger seat, and in a few moments he was gone.

Regulus and James sat in silence around the crackling fire for a few moments. James felt terribly awkward, and he wished he knew why—he just didn't know what to say to Regulus, not once they were alone together. Regulus made him feel slightly nervous, with his brooding good looks and inquisitive eyes, and when he spoke, James's stomach fluttered uncontrollably.

"That was his boyfriend," Regulus declared. "Remus. He usually ends up just...turning up randomly to pick him up."

"Oh, I see," James said. "Does he go for the whole night?"

"Most of the time." Regulus was watching the fire, and James was momentarily awed by the way the embers danced in his steely eyes. "I sometimes wish we hadn't been left this stupid big house. It sucks to be alone in it all the time."

The statement hung in the air for a while before James replied. "You were given this house?"

"Yeah," continued Regulus. "It belonged to our Uncle Alphard. He left it to Sirius in his will when he died, and I agreed to move in with him after Sirius fell out with our parents." Regulus paused. "I thought it would be a good idea to get out of the house, but I kind of miss having people around when Sirius is out for days and nights on end."

"I'm sorry to hear that," James said, taking a swig from his beer. "My wife takes off a lot too, especially lately. She seems to prefer spending time with her friends. As soon as my parents offer to look after Harry she makes plans with her friends."

Regulus looked at James over the fire. "Does it bother you?"

James wanted to squirm under his piercing gaze. He didn't know why he felt like being so completely open with Regulus, who he barely knew. "Sometimes. But other times...not so much. Lily and I…"

"Yeah?"

James sighed. "I don't know why I'm telling you this. You're young and free. You don't want to hear about the trials and tribulations of married life."

But Regulus only leaned further across. "Tell me."

And so James did. He didn't know what came over him, but he suddenly started spilling his woes to Regulus, barely stopping for breath. He told Regulus about how he and Lily had been childhood sweethearts and had been determined to get married from being as young as thirteen. As soon as they left high school they moved in together, and James swiftly popped the question. They were married by the time James was eighteen, and Harry came along a year later.

It was a whirlwind, and before James even knew what was happening, he realised he was unhappy. He and Lily had never been with other people. They'd never experienced other relationships. They didn't really know what they wanted; they just assumed that they were each other's endgame.

James buried his face in his hands as he spoke. "I know she can't stand me," he explained. "We bicker all the time. We argue for the sake of arguing, and she finds excuses to get out of the house. We never spend any time together, not properly. My parents look after Harry every weekend so that we can spend time together as a couple, but Lily doesn't want that." James paused and looked into the fire. "And to be honest, I'm not sure I do either. It's hard...and it's lonely, I suppose. When Harry's at my parents' house and Lily is off galavanting around with her girlfriends, I'm just left in that stupid old house."

Regulus stood up from his chair and moved around the fire to sit on the bench beside James. He put his hand on James's arm, and James almost flinched at the heat that radiated from his palm. "I get lonely too," Regulus said softly, looking deeply into James's eyes. "If you feel like that, you can come hang out with me any time."

James smiled. "Yeah. I'd like that. Thanks, Regulus."

…

James and Regulus started meeting quite regularly. Most of the time James went around to his house when he noticed Sirius running down the drive to jump in Remus's car or the purple band bus, and Regulus made coffee and they talked. Other times Regulus turned up at James's door, holding two takeaway coffee cups and a paper bag with some of his baked goods. Sometimes Lily was home when Regulus came over, but she would just disappear into the back garden or take a drive out to visit her friends.

A few weeks later, Regulus knocked on the door. When James let him in, he realised that Regulus's eyes were red-rimmed and his pale face was splotchy. He'd been crying.

"S-sorry for coming over here like this."

"Regulus," James pulled Regulus into the house and closed the door behind them. "What happened?"

"Am I disturbing...is Lily here? I'm sorry, I feel so stupid." He made to put his hand on the door handle to leave, but James took his hand away.

"Lily is visiting family with Harry," he said. "Come into the kitchen. I'll make some coffee."

Regulus leaned over the worktop, his face buried in his hands, while James busied himself with the kettle. "He's so fucking stupid...why did he have to ruin things like that…"

"Who are you talking about?" James asked, placing a steaming mug of coffee in front of Regulus a few moments later.

"My friend. Barty. He comes over sometimes, when Sirius is away."

James recalled the slender, straw-haired man who often joined Regulus to read in the back garden.

"He's my...he was my best friend," Regulus continued. "We went to boarding school together. We've known each other since we were ten. He was the only real friend I ever had...and he...he…"

James put a hand on Regulus's shoulder as Regulus started to sob again. "It's okay...you don't have to tell me if it's too hard to talk about."

"He tried to kiss me!" Regulus said finally, looking up at James with tear-filled eyes. "I told him I didn't like him like that...I was so sorry, I didn't want to embarrass him. But he blew up at me. He said I'd been leading him on for years, and now I was just chucking him because I'm a nasty little slut like my brother." Regulus burst into fresh bouts of tears, and James felt a surge of anger towards the skinny bloke he'd only seen from the window. Without really thinking, James wrapped Regulus into a hug, and Regulus buried his face in James's chest to cry.

James rested his chin on top of Regulus's head as he held him. "Why would he say those things?" Regulus mumbled. "Why would he say that about Sirius? About me? I thought we were friends."

"He was obviously embarrassed," James replied softly. "He lashed out. He probably hates himself right now and regrets everything he said." As angry as James felt towards Barty, he didn't want to reflect that onto Regulus, who clearly just needed comfort.

"I hate him," Regulus sniffed. "I hate that I don't have any other friends."

James pulled back and looked down at Regulus. "You do have other friends, you numpty," he said. "I'm your friend, aren't I?"

Regulus blinked up at James with his watery eyes for a few moments. Then suddenly, he bridged the gap between their faces and kissed James.

Before he really knew what he was doing, James was kissing him back. Regulus's hands threaded through James's hair, and James wrapped his arms around Regulus's torso. They kissed until they ran out of air, and then finally broke away, gasping for breath. "Oh," James murmured, unable to tear his eyes away from Regulus's lips.

"Oh," Regulus repeated.

…

Liking Regulus was trouble.

Regulus had practically jogged out of the door after he and James had kissed. It had been over a week since the incident, and Regulus was actively avoiding James.

James watched him from the window sometimes, wishing that he'd come over and talk about what had happened. It had been an accident. Regulus was overcome with emotion, and James was there, and it just happened. He was embarrassed about it too, but it was made more awkward by Regulus's refusal to speak to him.

When James went over to drink with Sirius, Regulus stayed out of the way. He casually asked Sirius where Regulus was on one occasion, and Sirius only shrugged and mentioned the argument with Barty, though it was pretty apparent that Sirius had no idea that Barty had tried to kiss Regulus.

It was pretty apparent that Sirius had no idea that Regulus had kissed James either, and James was pretty content to keep it that way. He wasn't entirely sure how Sirius would react to the knowledge.

James wanted to forget about the kiss. He really did. He wanted to forget about the feelings that came with it, and focus on his wife and son, but it didn't help that Lily was so distant. She was spending more and more time out of the house, sometimes taking Harry with her, sometimes leaving him with James, and during the weekends when Harry was with James's parents she was out of the picture. So, James was left with nothing but his impure thoughts about Sirius's little brother.

James watched out of the window during the weekend while Harry was with his grandparents. He waited for Sirius to leave with the band bus and then walked around and knocked sharply on the door.

Regulus didn't answer straight away. "I know you're home," he shouted through the letterbox after nearly ten minutes of knocking. "Just come and talk to me. This is getting ridiculous." Finally Regulus opened the door, and walked back into the house without looking at James.

James followed him into the lounge, where Regulus sat on a velvet couch, his arms folded across his chest. His pale face was tinged with pink, and he couldn't meet James's eye. James sat across from him. "Regulus."

Regulus sighed heavily. "I don't want to talk about it. I'm mortified."

"We have to talk about it," James replied.

"Why?" Regulus demanded to know, glaring at James. "Why can't we just pretend it never happened? I'm not—" he lowered his voice, and his face glowed crimson. "I'm not a homewrecker, James. I don't want to cause any problems between you and Lily."

"We have to talk about it," James repeated, clasping his hands together in front of him. "Because...because I like you."

Regulus blinked across the room at him. "Probably not your best idea," he whispered back after a long silence.

James crossed the room to sit on the small couch next to Regulus. "I'm not saying this to make excuses," he started. "I don't know what is going on between Lily and me. I told you about our relationship before. I told you what it's become like." He paused and glanced down at his hands, focusing on the gold wedding band around his finger. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since it happened. I haven't felt like that...in a long time."

Regulus didn't say anything.

"If you tell me you didn't feel anything, then I'll leave now and I won't bother you with it again," James continued. "I promise."

Regulus buried his face in his hands. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about you, either," he whispered.

James pulled Regulus's hands away from his face, pulling him around in his seat to face him. Before he could convince himself otherwise, James pressed his lips to Regulus's.

It was euphoric, kissing Regulus. It was nothing like kissing Lily—back when he and Lily used to kiss. It was a rush—his stomach filled with warmth and he wanted nothing more than to drown in the feeling of being connected to Regulus. His hands slid around Regulus's neck, across his back, into his thick hair. He wanted to touch Regulus everywhere and all at once. He didn't want to let go.

Regulus clung to James desperately as they kissed, balling his fists in the front of James's shirt to keep him close. He rolled his head back to let James kiss his neck softly, and the guttural moans that left Regulus's throat sent shockwaves to James's nether regions. He stood up and pulled Regulus to his feet, barely breaking the kiss. "Your room," he muttered. Regulus nodded and took James's hand, leading him through the house.

It was like moving through a dream. As Regulus pulled him up the stairs and across a corridor, James could hardly take in the surroundings. He only focused on the back of the dark head in front of him, and the hand that dragged him through the house.

Regulus's bedroom was dark. The thick curtains were closed, blocking out most of the sunlight outside. When the door was shut behind them, James pulled Regulus back towards him and captured his mouth once again. As they kissed, James tugged at the hem of Regulus's t-shirt and pulled it over his head, then let his hands roam greedily across the expanse of pale flesh.

Regulus dropped back onto the bed, and James pulled his own shirt off before crawling on top of him.

…

James knew that he should have felt guilty.

As the weeks progressed, so did his and Regulus's relationship. Whenever Sirius and Lily were both out of the way, James went straight around to Regulus's house, and they would fall into bed together.

They didn't always sleep together. Sometimes they would sit in bed and talk for hours. James had never talked to anyone like he talked to Regulus. They spoke about everything and anything, and sometimes nothing. Sometimes they simply lay side by side in silence, gazing at each other as though they were trying to map out the features of the other person.

James certainly was. Whenever he spent time alone with Regulus, he wanted to savour every moment and recall every last detail once they were apart again.

It was when he was away from Regulus that he could think straight, and wondered why he didn't feel guilty for cheating on his wife. It wasn't until James was sorting out an overflowing basket of laundry that he had an inkling why he might not feel so guilty.

One of Lily's black blazers was sitting on top of the pile of laundry. James remembered the last time he'd thrown a suit jacket straight in a hot wash—the blazer had shrunk and Lily had been furious. So he moved the jacket out of the pile, but not before he noticed something on the lapel. A single long, blonde hair.

If James hadn't been engaging in a secret, sordid relationship with the boy next door, he wouldn't have thought anything about the hair on his wife's jacket. He thought about shoving the jacket out of the way and forgetting about it, but considering what he was doing behind Lily's back, he needed to know.

"Lily!" he called into the house. Lily came to the laundry room, scowling.

"Don't shout," she snapped. "Harry just went down for a nap."

James plucked the hair off the jacket and held it up to the light. "Lily, whose hair is this?"

Lily looked between James and the hair, her mouth falling open. Her eyes became shiny and watery, and her lip wobbled. "James...I...I can explain."

"I'm not angry," he said. "Honestly."

"There's something I need to tell you."

"There's something I need to tell you too."

…

Lily confessed everything to James, and James did the same. It was like a huge weight off his shoulders to tell her everything, and it felt surprisingly good to hear her truth, too.

Lily had been secretly dating her friend Marlene for months. Marlene's family owned the fish and chip shop in the village, which explained why Lily wanted to get food from there so often, and also explained why it always took Lily so long to pick up the order. On the weekends when Harry was with his grandparents, Lily and Marlene would shack up in a hotel together.

It probably should have hurt James to hear that his wife had been cheating on him for months with another woman, and he figured it should have hurt her when he confessed that he'd started a relationship with Regulus. He didn't expect that they would end up sitting in front of the dryer, laughing weakly at their unusual situation.

"Do you ever think…" Lily started.

"Maybe that we…" James continued.

"Got married a bit too quick?" Lily finished. James nodded.

"I still love you, Lily," James reached down and took Lily's hand in his. "I've always loved you. I love Harry more than anything. I love what we created together. I just...I think we…"

"I know," Lily whispered, entwining her fingers with James's. "We moved too quickly. We thought we had to be together. We didn't even understand who we were."

"I suppose we should…"

"Apply for a divorce?"

Lily and James laughed out loud, until they had to clutch their sides. It was so ridiculous. It was such a crazy scenario.

But everything would be fine.

Written For:

- Race to the top of Mount Potter/Checkpoint 5: (pairing) James/Regulus

- Writing Club/Gotta Catch Them All: 17. (weather) Sunny

- Writing Club/Written in the Stars: 13. (trope) secret relationship

- Writing Club/This or That: Winter 11. (colour) Gold

- Writing Club/Showtime: 10. (plot point) a breakup

- Writing Club/Angel's Archive: 12. (trope) Secret Relationship

- Writing Club/Artist Appreciation: 23. (setting) bedroom

- Writing Club/Buttons: Words 2. Trouble

- Writing Club/Resolution Evolution: 9. Write a fic of one of your favorite OTPs

- Writing Club/TV Spree: 3. (scenario) Being interrupted by a neighbour knocking on the door

- Writing Club/Sophie's Smut Bucket: 6. (action) Neck kissing

- Autumn Seasonal/Days of the Year: 28th September - National Good Neighbour Day: Write about neighbours

- Autumn Seasonal/Sarcastic Month: 15. (dialogue) "I like you." / "Probably not your best idea."

- Autumn Seasonal/National Author Month: 20. (theme) New Relationship

- Autumn Seasonal/Crystals & Gemstones: 13. (word) Impure

- Sandwich Time/Fillings: 7. (word) terrible

- November Monthly - Insert Title: 2. (plot point) splitting up/breaking up

- TV Tropes: 22. (Marriage) Affair Hair: A piece of hair not belonging to a spouse found on one's clothing, which makes their spouse believe they're cheating on them.

- Moony's Neon Cafe/Food #2: 22. (word) Blush

Word Count: 4,863