A/N: Written for the Slytherin Cabal Death by Quill Competition in 2021! Thanks to the modmins for hosting this competition, it's one of my favorites!

Thank you to pet for being an excellent beta!

If you liked this (or hated it) let me know about it in a review! You can find me on Tumblr at crochetawayhpff or Facebook at Shan Crochetaway. Enjoy!

Summary: Regulus drags James into a hunt for his brother.

Pairing: Regulus Black/James Potter

Rating: T

Warnings: N/A

The Flirtation

"Where's my brother, Potter?" a voice asked James, a wand digging into the back of his neck. James felt like a complete idiot to be surprised at his own home, as he was unlocking the door to the flat he shared with Sirius and Remus. He slowly turned around to see Sirius's younger brother, Regulus, glaring at him.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he spat, glaring back. It always surprised him to see Regulus; he looked so much like Sirius, it was uncanny. They both had long, dark, curly locks and icy grey eyes. The main differences between the brothers were that Sirius's eyes were often full of laughter. James had never seen Regulus laugh.

"We have a standing meeting every other Wednesday, and Sirius didn't show up yesterday," Regulus bit out. "Where is he?"

"On assignment," James snapped. "Not that it's any business of yours." He wasn't going to tell this baby Death Eater anything.

"It is my business," Regulus grunted. "I just told you it was. He always leaves word if he's going to miss a meeting. He did not."

"The assignment has gone long," James said, shrugging. His wand was gripped tightly in his fist, but he didn't point it at Regulus. The news that Sirius and Regulus were meeting regularly was a surprise to him, but James was an Auror. He knew how to keep a straight face. Regulus wasn't entirely wrong; Sirius should have been back from his assignment already. It was a simple one, after all.

There were multiple reports from Loch Ness regarding the kelpie that lived there that the Muggles had affectionately dubbed Nessie. Several Muggles had gone missing in the last few weeks and Sirius had been sent up north to figure out what was going on and deal with Nessie. She did this every couple of decades or so and this assignment was considered routine.

Regulus shook his head, finally dropping his wand from James's neck. "Something's gone wrong on his assignment."

"Do you have proof of that?" James asked, struggling to keep his voice hard. If Regulus knew something he didn't, James wanted to know. Sirius was his best friend, the brother he'd never had. He'd do anything for him.

Regulus's jaw tightened and he turned away from James.

"No, you don't," James concluded. He sighed. "I'll look into it tomorrow."

"No, you'll take me with you to where he was assigned," Regulus countered.

James scoffed. "Impossible. It's Auror business. Last time I checked, you weren't an Auror."

"He's my brother," Regulus said, the tendons in his neck standing out. He was practically vibrating; he was so angry.

"If you were worried about your brother you wouldn't have joined up with the Death Eaters, would you have?" James taunted, his temper getting the best of him.

The other man didn't rise to the bait though. Regulus speared James with a look so cold, he wanted to shiver. "You have no idea of what you speak."

He shrugged. "I know what Sirius has told me. That you've taken the Dark Mark. That's all I need to know. I'll find out about your brother." He turned his back on the younger man and opened the door to the flat.

He had hoped that would be the end of it, but Regulus pushed him into the flat from behind, plucking the wand out of James's hand. He kept shoving James until he was pressed against the wall opposite.

"What the fuck?" James hissed as Regulus pressed his entire body against his back. He didn't want to think about Sirius's brother in that fashion, but with their bodies pushed so tightly together, licentious thoughts started entering his head.

"You're going to take me to Sirius," Regulus hissed into James's ear. "And you're going to do it now. I'm a Death Eater, remember? I'm not above doing what needs to be done to accomplish my goals." His voice was deep and husky and doing things to James that he did not want to think about. Sirius may have been like a brother to him, but Regulus wasn't, and he was just as pretty as Sirius.

"Fine," James grunted, pushing back against Regulus. He stood his ground for a long moment, before taking a step back. The moment James turned around, Regulus tossed his wand to him. James fumbled it and it dropped to the floor. He snarled at Regulus as he wordlessly summoned it to his hand.

Regulus lifted an eyebrow as if he might actually be impressed with that move. James desperately wanted him to be impressed and just as desperately wanted to go back to the world where he didn't think of Regulus Black at all. He glared at Regulus as he tried to decide exactly which was the best way to get up to Loch Ness.

Grabbing an umbrella from the stand, he muttered, "Portus." He then held it out for Regulus.

Regulus grasped it and a moment later they were both tugged forward through space. James landed with a small grunt. He envied Regulus who didn't make a sound and also looked as perfect as he had when he accosted James. He couldn't be sure, but James felt as if he looked like he'd just taken a wild broom ride.

"Where are we?" Regulus asked in a low whisper.

"Scotland," James replied, unwilling to give a more specific location than that. Regulus only needed to know the bare minimum. Besides, if he was anything like Sirius, he would figure it out quickly.

It was almost dark, the sun just going over the horizon when they had arrived and he and Regulus slowly made their way toward the loch itself. They had arrived on the southeast shore, in the woods that populated that area. Loch Ness was such a popular tourist destination, that he was nervous to show up even where they did.

When they were almost at the shore, James heard voices and he yanked Regulus against a tree, their chests pressed together and James's finger over Regulus's mouth to keep him quiet. He wasn't quite sure where the voices were coming from and held his breath to try and hone in on where exactly the sound was originating. He did not miss the way Regulus's hand fisted in his Auror robes at his hip, though he tried valiantly to ignore the sensation of that and of their chests pressed so closely.

Finally, after several long moments, the voices drifted away and the sound of a motor began. James assumed whoever it was must be on a boat on the loch itself. It was almost as tortuous pulling himself away from Regulus as it was being pressed up so close. He really needed to stop thinking of his best friend's little brother this way. Sirius would kick his arse if he found out.

When they made it to the shore, James took a look around but didn't see anything or anyone nearby. It was almost fully dark now. The loch was extremely long and while he could see the shore directly across from them, he couldn't see either end. It could take ages if James didn't have some Auror-level spells at his disposal.

"Now what?" Regulus hissed. He looked around with James, his eyes narrowing. "Is this Loch Ness?"

James nodded absentmindedly as he drew his wand in a large, flat circle and intoned Sirius's name under his breath. The Auror tracking spell on Sirius dinged from the far end of the lake, furthest from Inverness, though he knew there was a small settlement over there.

"Come on," he whispered to Regulus as he began picking his way through the underbrush, trying to stay as silent as possible.

Regulus seemed incapable of staying silent, cursing under his breath and hissing questions at James about why exactly Sirius was up at Loch Ness.

"Will you shut it?" James finally snapped, whipping around to glare at the other man. "Or are you trying to wake up Nessie and whatever else lives in this lake?"

Regulus glared back and gave a barely-there nod. The two continued forward for what seemed like hours but, when James checked his watch, it was only about thirty minutes, until he heard a distinct splash. He stopped in his tracks and looked toward his right where the shore of the lake was, but in the darkening gloom, he couldn't quite make it out.

"Sounded like a mermish tail," Regulus murmured under his breath.

James thought so too. He hadn't known Loch Ness had a population of merpeople, though they were common enough in the highlands.

Just then, there was a burst of chatter in a language that James recognized, but did not speak. "Do you speak Mermish?" he asked Regulus as they both crept closer to the lakeshore.

"Only a bit. Mum wanted me to learn Gobbledegook instead," he replied quietly.

"Me too." He frowned as they reached the edge of the shore and knelt. He tapped the water three times with his wand, a polite way to summon any merpeople in the area, and waited.

They didn't have to wait long. Soon there were ripples and after that two heads covered in dark hair popped through the surface of the loch. They asked something in Mermish, but James shook his head.

Regulus responded in Mermish, and the Merperson scowled, then said in English, "What do you want?"

"We're looking for someone," James replied, as politely as possible. "Looks a bit like him," he jerked his thumb over his shoulder, "but taller."

The two Merpeople spoke to each other in hushed tones.

"They have him," James whispered to Regulus.

"How on earth do you know that?" Regulus responded with narrowed eyes.

"They're shifty. They're hiding something, and if it's not Sirius, I'll eat my wand." James was quite confident he was right, even if the Merpeople were now glaring at them.

"We have nobody," one said with a shrug and turned away.

"Then you won't mind if I search for him in the loch?" James asked, throwing his cloak off his shoulders. "I'm an Auror, you see, and so is the person we're looking for. This is official Ministry business." He began unbuttoning his shirt, hoping the Merpeople would take his bluff because it was bloody freezing.

"Damn, I think you might be right," Regulus muttered. "That one with the green hair just said 'he's too pretty to give up.'"

James snorted, working hard to control his laughter. Oh, he was going to give Sirius so much hell about this later. "The jig is up. You'll need to return Sirius, the 'pretty' human you've lured to your depths, if you don't want a full-blown interspecies incident with the Ministry of Magic."

"Fine," the one with the green hair snapped, and dove back under the water.

"Your friend better be on their way back," James warned the one with black hair who was glaring at them.

"He will be," the Merperson said. They were clearly angry as their tail swished in agitation. It was only a few moments before the loch surface was breached again, this time with Sirius in tow. The enchantment put on him to allow him to breathe underwater dissipated as he surfaced.

"Ah, James! Reggie! Just the people I was hoping to see," Sirius said with a grin. "Did you hear them? They think I'm pretty!" He sloshed his way through the shallows toward them, practically preening.

James gritted his teeth in annoyance as Regulus helped Sirius out of the loch and he thanked the Merpeople for returning the Auror without too much prompting.

"Your head doesn't need to be any bigger," James muttered to Sirius as they followed Regulus away from the loch shore.

"Honestly, I'm surprised to see Reggie here with you," Sirius replied, eyeing his brother. "Didn't think he liked me that much."

"He's the one who alerted me to your absence," James admitted, feeling his face heat. "I had just assumed the assignment had gone long."

Sirius grunted as James prepared the Portkey to return home, his eyes still on Regulus. "Perhaps my brother isn't so bad after all."

James nodded his agreement, though the little flirtation he had with Regulus earlier in the night was something he vowed to take to his grave. Sirius would never let him live that down.

~Fin~