Regulus winced slightly at the slight touch. "I know. I'm not afraid, though." He sincerely hoped he sounded more convincing then he felt. He didn't want to die, but he felt for some reason that this was worth it.

"There they are," Regulus said, pointing them out as he and Sirius walked in.

James smiled, "I don't mind keeping this secret if you need. I want to tell everyone, but I'd rather have you safe than have everyone know how I feel about you." James couldn't resist anymore, he leaned over and kissed Regulus's cheek.

"Hey," Sirius smiled as he sat down.

James ignored him, "Just think about it, okay?" He squeezed Regulus's hand before dropping it so that he could start and eat. He received a thankful growl from his stomach.

Regulus smiled a bit to himself, thankful that James understood. He hated hiding, but then again he was sure that being a secret would be more enjoyable then necromancy- particularly when you were the corpse. He smiled at Remus as he grabbed some bacon. He asked his brother without taking his eyes off James, "Have a nice morning?"

Sirius laughed, "Not as nice as yours. Remmie wouldn't stick his tongue down my throat. How did you talk James into it?"

James laughed and kicked Sirius under the table. "Can't say I blame Moony…can't understand why anyone would want to stick their tongue in your mouth."

Regulus inhaled his pumpkin juice and promptly tried to spit it out again. This resulted in a rather odd sensation and a lot of coughing.

"It's more enjoyable then you might think," Remus said serenely as he thumped Regulus on the back, "as long as you mind the teeth."

James laughed, "I'll take your word for it. There's only one Black who will have my tongue in his mouth, and he doesn't bite. At least he hasn't yet." James gave Regulus a seductive smile.

"Watch it, Potter," Sirius growled, "I may be willing to allow you to date my brother, but keep your hands to yourself or I'll cut them off."

Regulus, who by now had started breathing again, sent Sirius what he clearly thought was a challenging look. "Oh, so now you chose to go all big brotherly on me? You have an odd sense of timing."

Sirius opened his mouth, and then closed it again. He made a few more desperate attempts to retort, but finally just ended up muttering, "Better late than never."

James smiled, "Besides, I don't plan to keep my hands, or any other body part, away from Regulus for any long stretch of time. If you feel the need to cut said body parts off, then I will have to castrate your boyfriend. And we both know you wouldn't want that."

Sirius glared at James, but wisely kept his mouth shut.

Regulus's face flushed a brilliant shade of maroon at James's comment. The idea brought him pleasure, but more then that he couldn't believe James had dared say that to his brother.

Remus made a kind of spluttering noise as protest. "Excuse me! Don't I get a say in this?"

"No," James said easily. "Me and Cub have a date this weekend, so I'm not going to be with you at Hogsmeade…if Cub agrees to the date," James turned pleading eyes on his boyfriend. He had decided that it was time to change the subject. And he and Cub still had a lot to discuss, and it didn't seem likely they'd get much alone time with Sirius wanting to reform his relationship with his brother, something that James thought was equally important.

"Of course I do," Regulus said defiantly before Sirius could try and make up his mind for him. He then picked up a piece of toast and put it in his mouth, quite happy at the thought of having James all to himself.

"We," Remus said, kicking Sirius under the table, "can respect that if it will save me from castration."

James laughed, at his friends. Turning his eyes on Regulus, his smile softened. "You are beautiful," he whispered in the boy's ear.

Sirius sighed, "Fine, we'll respect that. But you two had better stop kicking me if you want me to stay cheerful about all of this."

Regulus felt his ears get hot. No one had ever told him that before. He wanted to say something about how wonderful James was, but didn't want it to feel like he was just returning the compliment. He wanted it to be real. He settled on sliding his hand back into James's.

Remus laughed, snaking one arm around Sirius's waist, "Alright, we'll stop kicking you, my poor picked on Padfoot."

Sirius graciously forgave his mate and kissed him deeply.

James smiled, "Feel up for a walk?" He knew that he should stick around and let Regulus and Sirius spend more time together, but he couldn't help the desperate need he suddenly had to be alone with the Slytherin. And so long as he and Regulus were touching, everything felt like it would work out. Instinctively, James knew that the minute he was alone, the confusion and worry would rise again.

Regulus nodded, eager to be with James without his brother's reawakened instincts getting in the way. Quickly stuffing two apples into his pocket and grabbing some toast, he allowed James to pull him out of the Great Hall.

James smiled at Regulus as he led the way outside and towards the lake, "Tell me something about you that I don't know." It wasn't the most pressing of things that needed to be discussed…but James was beyond caring. He just wanted to enjoy this for a minute before reality set back in and he had to ask all those oh so important questions.

Regulus had to think about this for a moment. It wasn't that James knew an especially large amount about him…it was more what he wanted James to know at this stage in the relationship. "Well…I really enjoy muggle football. It's not as exciting as Quidditch, but takes a bit more stamina because you're running around all the time."

James laughed, "Drawing and muggle football, you're just the rebellious one." He kissed Regulus's nose to make sure the boy had no hard feelings. "Not a football fan myself, but I do rather like hockey. Quidditch will always be my sport of choice though." James pulled Regulus close, wrapping both arms around the boy's thin waist, and whispered, "One thing about me…I've never been as happy and comfortable as I was when we were kissing this morning. And I'd like to feel that again." James didn't lean in for a kiss though. This time he wanted the Slytherin to kiss him.

Regulus didn't hesitate. He wanted to kiss James again more then James wanted it. It just felt so good.

He shifted his weight so that he was almost on tip toe, James being slightly taller then himself, and pressed his lips firmly against James's own. He could smell the kind of musky sent that clung to the other boy, a scent of soap and clean air from Quidditch playing. He could taste the kind of cinnamon pumpkin taste. He loved it. Loved all of it, and everything that was James.

James smiled into the kiss. Regulus was so…perfect. Gentle, but firm. Warm, and delicious. He tasted of peppermint and rain clouds. James wrapped his arms around Regulus's waist, pulling the boy as close as was humanly possible considering they were still both fully clothed.

Regulus allowed his hands to find their way into James's hair, tangling his thin fingers into the soft black strands and jerking James's head closer. He nibbled gently on James's bottom lip, begging for entrance.

James moaned, gladly opening his mouth for the beautiful boy in his arms. James slid his hand up the back of Regulus's shirt and began to caress the Slytherins silky skin.

"You better let go of my brother," Sirius growled as he and Remus came in sight of the two.

Regulus whirled around, shooting his brother a look that would have killed him if it could. "Excuse me! No one asked you to accompany us. What do we have to do to get some privacy around here?"

Sirius opened his mouth to respond, but James beat him to it, "You know, Sirius. You are my best and oldest friend, but if you keep this up I'm gonna have to hurt you." He wrapped his arms around Regulus from behind, pulling the boy's back to his chest and glaring at Sirius.

Sirius smiled, this was fun. Maybe James going out with Regulus wasn't so bad after all.

"We came out here," Remus said in a loud voice, "to give you these. It's freezing out here." He stretched out his arm to reveal the two coats draped over his arm, two pairs of gloves and two hats. "We figured you had both forgotten about the snow."

James smiled, "Actually, we just found a better way to stay warm."

Regulus blushed, feeling quite safe in James's arms like he was. He looked at Sirius, challenging him to say something. Instead, Remus spoke again.

"From personal experience," he said in a rather off-hand voice, "sex in the snow doesn't keep you warm for very long."

Sirius seemed to choke on air at that.

James coughed, "Good to know." And it was. Even if James didn't think that they would have gotten that far. They had only been dating for two hours! James shook his head, wondering how long it had taken Sirius and Remus before they…never mind. Train of thought ends here. He really did not want to know.

Regulus started to laugh as Sirius whirled on Remus.

"Moony! They didn't have to know that!"

Remus shrugged, "I figured they might need to know for future reference. Now, be good little boys and put on your coats or we shall just have to keep chaperoning you."

James burst out laughing, "Yes, mother." But he quickly let go of Regulus and took the offered clothing.

"They better not need to know that anytime soon," Sirius muttered under his breath as Remus started dragging him away.

James turned back to his gorgeous Slytherin and held out the coat, hat, and gloves.

"I'm beginning to think," Regulus said as he took them with a grin, "that having a brother is highly over rated." He dressed quickly, and looked at James. He wanted to tell him that he was perfect, and that he was sure everything would be all right as long as James was there. The words seemed to be made of peanut butter though, as he couldn't seem to get them out. Instead he waited for James to give him some kind of sign as to whether they would be continuing to kiss or start talking again.

James reached up and caressed Regulus's cheek. He pulled the Regulus down to sit beside him beside the lake. "Did you think about it? About whether you want this to be public or not?" James pulled Regulus's hand up and kissed it gently.

Regulus nodded. "I think in a way it'll be easier on us if as few people as possible know. I mean, it will be hard 'cause it means we'd be separated for longer periods of time but…I think it's safer."

James nodded. "Probably true. I really love being with you, I don't want to see you hurt." James then smirked, "But we'll be able to see each other more than you think. I have my ways of sneaking around the school and getting into others dorms or sneaking someone into mine."

Regulus felt something very unpleasant rise in his chest. "Oh, really? Have you done that often?"

"Mostly just snuck into other dorms," James smiled, loving the look of absolute jealousy on Regulus's face. "But that was always to prank someone. Never had any other reason before." He couldn't be too evil. Regulus was too sweet for James to just let him suffer.

Regulus rolled his eyes, but grinned. Except for Evans, James was all his. He felt a great rush of pleasure at that thought, and knew he was blushing. "Good, 'cause Blacks don't share well," he said, smiling still more.

James smiled, then gave Regulus a chaste kiss on the lips, "I don't wanna be shared." He knew that it was a mushy thing to say, but it was true. He liked the feeling of only belonging to the boy in front of him, so long as Regulus would belong to him alone. "You're mine, Cub. I won't share you either."

"I'll have to tell Lucius to cancel Friday then," Regulus teased gently, laying his head on James's shoulder. Really, this was too comfortable to be legal.

James growled playfully, knowing that Regulus was teasing. Praying that the boy was teasing. "You better tell him that if he comes anywhere near you I'll personally cut his cock off and shove it up his own…" James snapped his jaw shut, maybe that was going a little too far with the jealousy thing.

Regulus laughed, nuzzling his face into the space where James's neck became his shoulder. "Lucius likes Cissy. He wouldn't think of touching me…though probably more out of fear of what Cissy would do then you."

Wrapping his arms around the Slytherin, James laughed, "Good to know. No one else down in those dungeons that I'll have to kill is there? Male or Female." James kissed the top of Regulus's head, just enjoying being with the boy. Just wanting to stay forever with Regulus lying in his arms and loving him.

Regulus sighed, contentedly. This was far and away the best Christmas he could possibly have imagined. "No, they're content to leave me to my own devices. It really makes my days rather pleasant."

James pulled Regulus's chin up and said with a seductions purr, "I, however, refuse to leave you to your own devices. I'd gladly give you a hand whenever you wanted." He was slightly curious as to whether or not Regulus would understand the innuendo. He just couldn't shake the feeling that this boy was completely innocent, even if he knew it wasn't true.

It was the look on James's face that keyed him into the fact that he was missing something, and he blushed. He hadn't had much exposure to relationship type things, considering he was usually quite asocial. He returned his head back to James's shoulder with a small laugh. "Sirius wouldn't appreciate that. It involves hands."

James laughed, "That went right over your head, didn't it?" James heard footsteps behind them and wondered if Sirius was back. Well, might as well give him a show. James lifted Regulus's chin again and began to kiss him deeply.

"Oh. Sorry," Said a quiet, shocked female voice.

Regulus broke the kiss and looked over. In spite of himself, he grinned wickedly at the girl standing there. "Oh! Hey, Evans!"

Lily was blushing a shade of red that nearly matched her hair. Her brilliant green eyes were now staring at her boots in the snow. "Hi Regulus. Hi Potter. Was I…interrupting something?"

James blushed, this was awkward. What did he say now? 'Yes' was overly rude, 'no' was too dismissive. Finally, he just settled on, "Hey. Umm…listen…we kinda didn't want anybody to know about this yet, so would you mind not mentioning anything to anyone?" That was alright, wasn't it?

Regulus smirked as Lily's blush deepened and she nodded slowly.

"O-okay. Yeah. I won't tell if you don't want me too. Um…is this a new development?"

James nodded, "Yes." What else did one say to their old crush while still holding their boyfriend close after being caught snogging?

"I just," Lily stuttered as Regulus wrapped his arm around James's waist and held him closer, "I always thought you liked girls."

How is someone supposed to answer that! James looked down at Regulus, and a smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. Looking at Regulus made everything seem so much simpler. "So did I," James whispered, looking deep into his boyfriends eyes, "Guess living with Sirius and Remus really rubbed off."

Regulus smiled at James, suddenly feeling warm all over. He didn't want to ever have to look away from those deep hazel eyes.

Lily was obviously uncomfortable now. "Well…um…I guess I'll be seeing you around then?"

James just nodded, before leaning back in and capturing his Slytherin's lips in another kiss. He pulled back just slightly, so that when he spoke, Regulus could feel James's lips moving over his, "You enjoyed that, didn't you?"

Regulus smiled as he listened to Lily's fading footsteps, "Just a bit. I can still remember Sirius telling me during your first year how badly you wanted her to like you. I can't help but enjoy just a little the fact that she knows what she could have had and lost. That's my Slytherin side coming out, I'm afraid."

James smiled, "I like your Slytherin side. Lets me know just how much you fancy me." Which was completely honest, he liked that Regulus was a Slytherin and so very different from all the people that James had ever surrounded himself with. He was so very different from James himself. "My demented little Slytherin."

Regulus grinned wickedly and hoped that James wasn't expecting him to spout poetry of how much he loved him. Regulus was not a person who was very good with words- particularly when it came to how he felt. Instead, he firmly placed his mouth over James's again. This kissing business was so much fun.

James immediately gave himself in to the kiss, loving everything about it. Regulus really was adorable, and perfect. James let his hands wander into his Slytherin's jacket and up the boy's shirt, moaning at the feel of skin on skin. He laid down slowly, pulling Regulus down on top of him.

Regulus like this considerably more than kissing alone. Pleasure was shooting from his lips to his fingertips, and the feeling of James's hand was pleasant. He ran his tongue along James's bottom lip, pleading for reentrance into the other boy's warm mouth.

Opening his mouth, James moaned. He pushed his hand lower, into Regulus's pants to gently cup the boy's arse. He didn't know how far Regulus was comfortable going, but he was having a hard time keeping his hands from wandering all over the perfect body on top of his. He pulled the Slytherin closer.

Regulus gasped and let out a small moan into James's mouth. That felt good, and he really wanted to return the favor. He allowed his tongue to wander James's mouth, memorizing every part of it, and slipping his hand up James's shirt. He could feel James breathing underneath him, the contrast between his cold skin and the warmth under James's shirt. Both sensations thrilled him.

James arched his back, desperate for more contact. This was Heaven. If he had known that kissing a boy could feel so good, he would have declared himself gay ages ago! James pulled away from Regulus's mouth and began kissing across the boy's jaw and down his neck, where he lightly nibbled, sucked, and licked. He knew that his ministrations would leave a mark, but that was part of what thrilled him. Knowing that he was marking Regulus as his own.

Regulus moaned deeply. Why hadn't anyone done this before? His head was swimming from the pleasurable sensations, and he desperately wanted more contact. He slid a hand under James's back and pushed their bodies almost painfully close together.

A deep moan escaped James. He pulled away from Regulus's neck, gasping for breath. He arched his back, and rolled his hips, grinding them against Regulus's. This was going too fast, he was sure. But he just wasn't sure if he really cared at this point.

Regulus moaned again. That. Felt. Good. A part of his mind, however, told him that if he returned the favor it would go places he wasn't ready to go just yet. Not until he was sure this relationship was going to last. He put his face close to James's ear and whispered softly, "you're going to catch cold down in the snow, my Jay-Jay."

James pulled away slightly, knowing instinctively that this was Regulus's way of stopping things before they went too far. "Guess Moony was right about sex in the snow," James smiled. He pulled his hand out of Regulus's pants and brushed the hair out of the boy's eyes. "You are so damn sexy right now."

Regulus laughed softly, looking down at James's flushed face and glowing eyes. He loved that face. "Thanks." He kissed James on the nose. "Come on, let's get some hot cocoa. It's freezing out here."

James allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. Without Regulus's weight on top of him, he finally realized just how cold it really was. He glanced over at the boy, smiling when he saw the bright red hickey on Regulus's neck, "Sirius is going to kill me."

Regulus touched the spot James was looking at, realizing for the first time just how sore it was. "Nah, I won't let him. He's just going to have to live with this."

"Protecting me now, are you?" James laughed, though he loved the idea of it. "You're mine now, and this proves it," James traced a finger lightly over the mark, loving that it was there. Wishing that this mark would counter act with the one hidden beneath all these cloths. Wishing that he had marked the boy first, and hating that he hadn't.

Regulus smiled and slid his hand shyly into James's own. He rested his head on James's shoulder. "Everything will be alright," he said as if reading James's thoughts, or perhaps just countering his own, "you'll see. Somehow we're going to make this work."

"I know," James whispered, pulling Regulus into a gentle hug, "because I refuse to give you up. Now that I know just how perfect you are, I would fight to the death to keep you in my life."

Regulus felt his face warm again, and smiled. Standing here, his hand in James's, he believed that the two of them could single handedly handle the Dark Lord himself. He sighed contentedly. "I hated you when we first met, did you know that? You had changed Sirius, and I hated you for it. I can't understand why now."

James laughed, "Glad to hear that. I would hate to know that you still hated me." James's expression cleared of laughter, "I hated you too. For all the pain that Sirius had ever went through. I just…never imagined that maybe you had experienced that pain as well."

Regulus was silent for a moment. He took a shuddering breath before continuing. "It was a different kind of pain. When we were young, Sirius was spoiled silly. He had everything he could possibly want. Every toy, every sweet, everything. Nothing was too good for him because he was the heir apparent of the Black clan. Then Grandfather died, and suddenly life got hard for him. He was supposed to study and act like a true Black because he was suddenly next in line for the fortune. He resented it, but didn't act until after he came here.

"Me…I wasn't anything. I was unwanted and unloved because I was an extra. A mouth to feed with now value. They wanted to drown me when I was born, did you know that?"

James closed his eyes, because he didn't want the boy to misinterpret the look of hatred that he knew was in them. Taking a breath, he whispered, "I want you, and I love you." He was going to say more, but realization of that confession suddenly hit him and he had to open his eyes again to see how Regulus took it.

Regulus's eyes opened wide, and he looked up at James. "Really?" His voice sounded weak and too hopeful. 'Please, God, let this be real. Please, let someone finally want me'. "Because I…I love you too."

James was suddenly smiling with everything he had in him. He lifted Regulus up and spun him around in a circle, before putting him back down and kissing him furiously. When they finally broke apart, James said in a breathless voice, "I love you so much that I feel like my heart is going to explode!"

Regulus laughed, having enjoyed the sensation of being spun like that. It was like some scene out of one of those cheesy muggle movies Sirius had once dragged him to before things spun entirely out of control. Once again, at a loss for words, he kissed James and hoped that his lips would somehow convey the words lodged his throat. Hoping that James would understand all those things he wanted to say but had no words for.

And James did understand. Regulus wasn't one for speaking his emotions out loud, but that didn't mean that they weren't just as obvious to anyone who cared to look. "What about that hot coco?" James whispered when they parted. This boy was simply too delicious for his own good, and if he kept kissing James like that they'd end up back in the snow.

Regulus laughed softly from where he was now held tightly to James's chest. Personally, he wanted to just stay like this forever, but knew that they would shortly freeze to death if they did. "Can we get some with marshmallows in it?"

Laughing, James just nodded. He started toward the castle, keeping one arm draped around his boyfriend's waist. "I wouldn't deny you anything you wanted, love."

Regulus was sure his face was glowing in the steadily dimming sunlight. Thick black clouds were gathering overhead as the temperature started to drop. They were in for one heck of a snowstorm if this was any indication. Regulus shivered. "Let's hurry. It's freezing out here!"

James ran along behind the boy, laughing all the way up to the castle. He grabbed Regulus's hand and led the way, a lot slower, toward the kitchens. Reaching the picture of the bowl of fruit, James absentmindedly reached up and tickled the pear.

Regulus wondered which of the founders had been crazy enough to decide that tickling a pear would get you into the kitchens. He decided on Godric Gryffindor as he followed James inside. As much as he loved James, Gryffindors were crazy.

He looked at the sea of house elves suddenly looking at him, and offered them a smile. His heart froze when he recognized one of them. "K-Kreacher! What are you doing here?"

"Mistress sent me to keep an eye on the Little Master," the house elf said wickedly. "Sent Kreacher to Hogwarts kitchens for the holiday. Going to give a nice long report when I get back, oh yes."

Regulus visibly paled.

James stood still, too afraid to move. Finally he pulled out his wand, pointed it at the elf, and yelled, "Petrificus Totalus!" He grabbed up the small creature, grabbed Regulus's hand and ran all the way back to Gryffindor Tower. Throwing open the doors to the dorm, he yelled out, "SIRIUS! WE HAVE A PROBLEM!"