Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Written for Assignment 5: Media Studies, Task 8: Write about someone expressing raw open emotions to another/others.

Word Count - 2446

Beta'd by Elizabeth, Lucy and Jane

Listening To The Wrong People

"We may have a problem."

James stared at his best friend. "You're not planning to leave Remus at the aisle, are you? I'll be honour bound to kick your ass, and you always bitch about the bruises."

Sirius snorted. "No. No I am not planning to leave the love of my life at the aisle. But. Do you remember when we booked the rooms for the hotel?"

Frowning, James nodded. "I do."

"Well, you and Reggie were still together and we, um. Well. We forgot to change the booking to two singles and now the hotel is all booked up."

James' heart sank into his stomach. "Ah. Well, it's fine, I can just, uh. Book a room at a nearby hotel or something. It's not—"

"Remus checked. There's a convention nearby and they're all booked solid. I'm sorry, James, I should have remembered."

James sighed and shook his head. "It's not your fault. I should have remembered myself, I guess I just… tried not to think about him? Does he know?"

"Not yet." Sirius grimaced. "If I'd told him before he got here, he might not have come at all, and he… he's my brother. I want him here, even if he did—"

He cut himself off, but James knew that the end of that sentence was 'break your heart'. He patted Sirius on the shoulder and shook his head. He was an adult, and this was his best friend. He could deal with this.

He said as much and accepted the room key Sirius held out to him, pulling his suitcase and his bagged suit along with him as he walked to the room.

It was only two nights; he'd manage.

He wasn't going to ruin Sirius' and Remus' day for anything.

Not even Regulus.

…

He was the life and soul of the party. Only Sirius seemed to realise that most of it was an act, as James laughed and joked and danced and charmed his way through the wedding eve dinner. Thankfully, Regulus was sitting at the opposite end of the long table, and despite knowing the younger man was watching him, James had managed to ignore him for the most part.

Instead, he lavished his attention on Lily and Marlene, made jokes at Peter's expense, and waggled his eyebrows playfully whenever Sirius and Remus kissed.

It was exhausting, pretending to be okay when he really, really, wasn't.

Eventually, the night had to end, and after loitering for as long as he could, James made his way back to his room. When he slipped inside, closing the door quietly behind himself, Regulus was already there, leaning over his bag.

He looked good, James could admit. His hair was as shiny as ever, and he'd put on a little weight. He looked healthy. When he turned to look at James, his grey eyes glinted in the low light, and James swallowed hard.

"Reg," he greeted quietly.

He crossed to his own bag and quickly pulled his shower stuff out, hightailing it into the bathroom and closing the door behind him.

He leant back against the door and took a deep breath.

It had been nine months; why was this still so hard?

…

After his—admittedly longer than usual—shower, James wrapped a towel securely around himself and opened the door. He saw Regulus' eyes widen slightly when he stepped out, but he ignored it in favour of crossing once more to his bag in search of something to wear for bed.

He hadn't thought he'd need anything, after all. He'd foolishly just expected to have his own room.

As James found a t-shirt and shorts, the door to the bathroom closed quietly, and he slumped slightly, air rushing out of him. He dressed himself and climbed into the bed—left side, always the left side—his back to the middle of the bed, the blanket pulled up to his ears.

If he could only fall asleep before Regulus got into bed, he thought maybe he could be okay.

Unfortunately, sleep was elusive, and before James knew it, the door was opening and steam was pouring into the bedroom. Regulus always had liked his showers scalding.

"I, uh. I can sleep on the floor?" Regulus offered softly into the dimly lit room.

James snorted. "If you want."

"I just thought you might be uncomfortable sharing a bed with me," Regulus snapped.

Without even turning over, James knew he was running a frustrated hand through his hair, glaring daggers at the back of James' head.

"It's fine," James replied shortly. "Sleep wherever you want to sleep."

There was a long silence, and then the bed dipped. James shifted slightly to stop himself rolling into the middle, clutching the edge of the mattress like it was a lifeline.

Regulus settled beside him, the warmth of his skin emanating despite the gap between them.

James closed his eyes. It was going to be a long night.

…

He wasn't sure what woke him up at first. It was still dark in the room, and James didn't feel like he'd had nearly enough rest.

Then a whimper sounded, and he realised Regulus was having a nightmare. Was he really still so attuned to him that even quiet noises were enough to wake James?

"Reg," he murmured, turning over to shake at Regulus' shoulder gently. "Reg, wake up. It's just a dream, you're okay."

Regulus' eyes fluttered open, and for a moment, fear was evident in his expression and the tenseness of his limbs. Eventually he relaxed, his breath hitching slightly.

"Sorry," he whispered hoarsely, raising a hand to rest it over his eyes. "Sorry I woke you."

"S'fine," James replied quietly. "You okay?"

Regulus nodded once, sighing deeply. Unsure what to do—and if he was even allowed to offer comfort after everything—James lay back down on his back and closed his eyes, intent on getting a few hours more sleep before the wedding preparations began in earnest.

A hesitant touch to his wrist startled him slightly, and he turned his head to see Regulus watching him.

"Thank you for waking me up."

Throat suddenly tight with emotion, James just nodded. He wasn't really sure what he was supposed to say or do in this situation, and what he wanted to say… well. He wasn't allowed to say it these days.

Regulus closed his eyes, and James followed suit. He was almost asleep when he felt Regulus move and then a moment later, press up against James' side, his face pressing against James' shoulder.

James knew he should move, he really did. This was inappropriate, and he—he wasn't going to move and he knew he wasn't.

Despite knowing that this would hurt more when Regulus was gone again, James couldn't stop himself from enjoying the feeling of having him there.

Where he belonged, even if Regulus didn't think so.

…

"He's not going to be there, is he?" Sirius asked for the fourth time. "He's going to realise that he doesn't actually want to marry me, isn't he? We all know he could do much better than me and—"

"He'll be there; he loves you," James interrupted.

He shared a smirk with Regulus, because in this, they'd always been united. Sirius' meltdowns about Remus leaving him were varied and common, and they'd only gotten worse on the run up to the wedding.

Even the smallest argument had often driven Sirius to James' couch, his melodramatic arse in hysterics over nothing.

"He's as gone on you as you are on him, idiot," Regulus added, straightening his tie in the mirror before he checked his watch. "Five minutes until showtime."

"Oh my god," Sirius breathed. "I'm getting married to Remus in five minutes. Holy shit!"

Laughing, James tugged Sirius to his feet and straightened his suit. "You're going to go out there, and marry the man of your dreams, and later, you're going to have quiet sex because we're in the room next to yours, okay?"

Eyes glinting with excitement, Sirius scoffed. "Not likely. Get drunk, it's the only way you're sleeping through the night. I'm going to make him howl."

Regulus wrinkled his nose. "Ew."

…

The wedding went off without a hitch—as James had known it would. Remus and Sirius were both beaming, and their hands hadn't unlinked since the reception had begun.

James had spent most of the meal teasing them for being sappy. Regulus had even smiled, despite the slightly awkward air between them.

After the first dance, James found himself alone at the table with Regulus. He searched the hall for someone he could kidnap for a dance, but so many of their friends were couples, and most of them were already on the dancefloor.

"Do you want to dance?" Regulus offered.

James wasn't sure if Regulus had misread his intentions, but he didn't want to be cruel and Regulus looked… hopeful.

"Sure," James agreed, accepting the offered hand. They quickly settled into the crowd on the dancefloor, and while James tried not to pull Regulus' closer, Regulus didn't seem to have any problem inserting himself into James' arms.

It was hard to realise that Regulus didn't seem to have any problem being close to him.

"I've missed you," Regulus said after a moment.

"You don't get to say that," James muttered, his voice slightly shaky. "You don't get to tell me that you miss me when you're the one that left."

"I was stupid," Regulus replied quietly. "I listened to the wrong person, and I messed up. I just… you deserve to know that I regret it, and I hope you know that it was never anything you did."

James stared over Regulus' shoulder, his eyes burning as he forced back the threatening tears.

He hadn't known that it wasn't anything he'd done; he'd agonised for months, wondering what he'd done to push Regulus away.

To hear now that he hadn't done anything was bittersweet, but in all honesty, it didn't change anything. Regulus was still gone, and James was still an idiot in love.

"Listened to the wrong person?" he asked then, Regulus' words registering. "Who?"

"It doesn't matter," Regulus replied flatly. "They were wrong and I was wrong. I never wanted to hurt you."

Unable to continue the conversation, James gently extracted himself from Regulus. "I can't do this."

He turned and walked away, ignoring Sirius' call of his name from across the dancefloor. He needed some air.

…

"Are you okay?"

James shook his head silently, leaning heavily against the balcony wall. "I'm really not."

Lily stroked his back gently. "You and Regulus looked like you were talking in there? Was it not good?"

"He said I didn't do anything wrong," James replied, shrugging. "I just… he said he listened to the wrong person, but why would anyone tell him to break up with me? All of our friends seemed happy for us. I… I wanted to marry him, Lils. I was always planning to propose to him today, you know? Sirius and Remus had agreed to it and everything, we were all so excited."

"Only you would plan a proposal eight months in advance," Lily said, shaking her head.

"A year," James corrected quietly. "I planned it a year in advance."

"So what else did he say?" Lily asked.

James shrugged. "That he regrets it. That he misses me."

"Maybe he wants to get back together," Lily suggested carefully. "If he's realised he made a mistake…"

"But what if he does it again, Lils? I can't give him my heart again if he's only going to break it again."

"Give it to him?" Lily asked. "I wasn't aware that you'd ever gotten it back."

…

"I miss you too. I didn't say it earlier, but I do."

James turned around to look at Regulus, who'd just slipped into their room. After talking with Lily, James had returned to the reception, unwilling to ruin his friend's wedding, but he'd kept his distance from Regulus.

He'd been trying to figure out the words he needed, but none had come to him.

Regulus walked over to the window, where James had been standing while he waited for his ex to come to bed.

"I'm sorry I hurt you," Regulus said softly. "And I know I don't deserve another chance, but—"

"I'm scared," James interrupted. "I'm not going to pretend that I'm over you, or that I don't still love you, because I'm not and I do. But what happens to me the next time you listen to the wrong person?"

"I wouldn't do that again, James," Regulus said gently. "I learned my lesson, I know it was stupid. I guess I just let my insecurities get the better of me."

"I was going to propose to you today," James said. He pulled the ring box from his pocket and handed it over. He didn't know why he'd brought it, but when he'd been packing his bag, he'd found himself unable to leave it behind. "I bought that the day Sirius and Remus announced their wedding date."

He watched as Regulus carefully opened the box to reveal a silver band, emerald embedded in it. When he pulled it out, James knew he would see the engraved message on the inside; always yours.

It was true, even when James hadn't wanted it to be.

"I still want to marry you," James admitted carefully. "But not yet. I want… I want time to trust you again, and to believe that you're really in this with me. That you're not going to leave again."

Regulus nodded, closing the box with a quiet click. When he tried to hand it back to James, James shook his head. "Wear it on a chain. Let it remind you that I'm in this, and I love you. Maybe it'll help you stand up to anyone that you shouldn't be listening to."

Regulus nodded and reverently put the box down on a nearby table.

"Does this mean you'll give me another chance?"

"Don't break my heart again, Reg. I'm not sure it could take it," James pleaded softly, and Regulus nodded, leaning up on his tiptoes to wrap his arms around James' neck, pulling him into a tight hug.

James' arms slipped around Regulus' waist, and he exhaled against his neck before breathing in the expensive cologne that Regulus preferred.

"Let's go to bed," James muttered after a long moment. "Maybe we can compete with Sirius and Remus and see who can be louder."

Regulus laughed, free and easy, and it was so much more satisfying than anything else James would hear that night.

…

Sirius and Remus would definitely disagree with that opinion come the morning.