A/N: So we're already on chap 4! Hope you guys are enjoying the fic :)

Chapter 4 – Regimus? What Does That Mean?

"You look tired," said Lily, finding Regulus in the study the following morning.

"Didn't sleep well," he mumbled and poured her a cup of tea.

"Well," Lily smiled and sat down. "You two really made the headlines today." She pushed a newspaper over to him.

"Yes, I checked the internet," said Regulus, eying the large picture on the paper where they stood holding hands, Regulus smiling at the camera and Remus looking at him with a lovestruck expression on his face. He was a good actor, Regulus had to give him that. "Yes, we were quite convincing. And you were right about Remus. They loved him."

"I told you they would, didn't I?" grinned Lily. "So... is he still so horrible?"

"I never said he was horrible. I said he was annoying and rude. But obviously the public likes him."

"Is he still sleeping? I think we should run over the next steps together."

"I don't know. I've been up since before dawn."

"Nightmare again?"

Regulus didn't answer, which Lily clearly took as a yes. She got up and moved over behind him to gently massage his shoulders. "Perhaps you should talk about it with someone again," she said.

"Why? What good would it do? I know where it comes from, I don't need some dream interpreter."

"I know, but you can't blame me for worrying about you."

"I don't. But there's no need. It's just dreams. I'm fine."

Regulus was saved having to continue on the topic by Remus coming into the room, fully dressed and smartphone in hand.

"Oh, good morning, Remus," beamed Lily. "You were brilliant yesterday. Did you see the two of you all over the social media?" she gave a nod at the mobile in Remus' hand.

"Aye, I did," said Remus and sat down opposite Regulus. "All over Twitter." He read a tweet aloud: "So I met Regulus Black's new boyfriend today. Ironically, he is more charming than the model himself ever was. Will this be a turn for the model? We hope to see more of them."

"Eh? Who wrote that?" asked Regulus, not recognising the name of the account.

"Not necessarily someone you know," said Lily. "Could have been anybody at the party or even a spectator from out front.

Remus shrugged and handed Regulus the phone so he could see for himself.

"There... there are loads of posts! Those hashtags - isn't that what you call them? #Regulusremus, #regulusblackisgay, #rainbowregulus, #regulusboyfriend, #regimus… regimus? What does that mean?"

"It's a pet name for the two of you," said Lily. "What do you think, Remus?"

"It has a ring to it."

"They have a pet name for us? Why? And that's a strange name. Who came up with that?"

"Oh, random people," Lily explained. "Some stick and some don't. I think this one will, though. As Remus said, it has a ring to it."

Regulus sat engrossed in Remus' mobile, scrolling back and forth. "Birds love us. They... some of them write some creepy stuff."

"It will probably get worse," Remus said. "They will write fanfiction, too, I'm sure. There's probably already a few of you out there."

"Leeeet's not get into that," Lily said before Regulus had a chance to ask what fanfiction was. "I have good news for you, Regulus: do you remember that Lewis Green considered you for his upcoming collection, but wasn't sure you were the right type? Well, he has made up his mind, and he wants you! I'm sure it has something to do with all this positive publicity, because he phoned me this morning. So next month you two are going to spend a whole week in Spain!"

"Spain? Oh… he wanted to do beach wear, yeah?" Regulus suddenly remembered his and Remus' talk the first night and what Remus had said about Regulus' underwear photos. "I don't know... Might say no to that one. There are plenty other jobs I can take."

"Why not?" said Lily, looking baffled. "It's Lewis Green! Of course you want to do it and add him to your resumé!"

"I don't feel like doing swim wear."

"You were so excited about getting that job when I told you about it - and now you suddenly don't want to go? You also get kind of a holiday out of it. The two of you can relax and enjoy the sun a bit."

"Well... people might get the idea to wank to my pictures," said Regulus, sending Remus a sour glance. "We wouldn't want to make my boyfriend jealous, would we?"

Lily sighed. "Regulus, get over yourself. You can't control what people do to your pictures. Some probably even do it to your fully clothed pictures. That's just the way it is when you're a hot celebrity. So stop thinking so much about it and do your job."

It ended, as it always did, with Regulus giving in and Lily getting her way.

o0o0o

Regulus brought Remus with him to a job the next day. It was an outside shoot, so they would be seen by plenty of people. The staff at the shoot were, naturally, very interested in Remus, asking him about all sorts of things and generally making him feel welcome.

"He's really sweet," said Emmeline, who was again working with Regulus, as they stood waiting for the photographer to change lens while Remus was talking to a few of the others on the set. "He seems to take to celebrity life."

"Surprisingly well, yes. I was nervous about how he would deal with it. Worried, in fact, that it might scare him off, but he takes to it like a duck to water. He was only nervous the first five minutes or so of the fundraiser the other day."

"Have you met his parents yet?" Emmeline asked. Then she gasped. "Has he met yours?"

Regulus let out a dry laugh. "Not yet. My mother is not going to be impressed. Nobody is ever good enough for me, and Remus is a commoner. And although she's not exactly a homophobe, she's not too pleased about his gender either. But the worst part is definitely that he's a nobody. He's probably only with me for the money and fame."

"Sounds like something she would say," Emmeline agreed. "I hope it'll work out, though. Remus seems really nice so it would be a shame if she scared him off. I mean, she almost scared me off."

"I know. But if he's going to stay for the long haul, he'll have to get used to her, and she him. But I suppose he's already used to people looking down on him."

"Why should he be used to people looking down on him?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

"Oh," said Regulus, realising what he had said. "I don't know what I meant by that. I... Well, he's gay and that. Lots of people looking down on homosexuals."

"That doesn't seem to bother him too much. He seems comfortable with his sexuality. It was easy to see on the photos online."

"Yes, I know. That's what I mean: he's used to it. Nobody has given him a hard time about it here - they bloody love him - but earlier in his life he must have experienced some. All gays do, don't they? Especially in the working class, I imagine. Not that I know anything about the working class, really. Thank goodness."

"Emmeline!" the photographer called. "You're up."

The model put down her bottle and sent Regulus a smile. "Time to go back to the slave pen."

Regulus looked around for Remus, not seeing him anywhere. It annoyed him. Well, it also annoyed him when Remus was there, but when they were out it was his job to stay close to Regulus and be the adoring boyfriend. Ever since they arrived, he had been busy chatting to everybody on the set, pretty much ignoring Regulus.

He found him in the make-up room, laughing at something Tony, a (very gay) make-up artist had just said. Regulus leaned against the door-frame, arms crossed. "Keeping my boyfriend entertained, eh, Tony?"

"Well, someone has to, when you're so busy," said Tony and pursed his lips. "But not to worry. I couldn't steal this sweetheart away from you even if I wanted to. He's head over heels for you, that's clear."

"We were just talking," Remus smiled.

Regulus supressed the need to snort. "You're not getting paid to talk. Well, not only to talk," said Regulus to Remus in a low voice when Tony had left and they were alone in the room. "You're supposed to be my adoring boyfriend and you haven't been paying me two minutes' attention since we arrived."

"Well, I'm sorry, but if I were hanging on your arm all the time, people would think I were desperate or summat. I'm trying to make this look real." Remus crossed his arms. "But you're the customer. I'm sorry if I didn't earn me keep today. I will do better."

"I'm not telling you to hang on my arm constantly, but pay me a bit of attention, yeah? We're supposed to be in love. Can't keep our eyes off each other and so on."

"However, it's perfectly fine for you to chat up some bird and leave me to talk to people I don't even know? It's not like you came over and joined me, luv."

"What?" said Regulus, forgetting to keep his voice down. "I wasn't chatting her up! She's my co-worker and we're at work. Besides, if you must know, we were talking about you."

"I'm sure you were. And you don't think I were playing me part with the others? You heard Tony - I'm head over heels for you."

Regulus suddenly heard someone enter the room behind him and he quickly shoved Remus against the counter, kissing him quite aggressively.

Remus was caught off guard and about to push the Regulus away when he noticed the person entering the room, and he quickly played along, running his fingers through the model's soft locks and kissing him back eagerly. A strange feeling started to form in his stomach. This wasn't like the pecks they had exchanged on earlier occasions. Regulus had been very specific about no French kissing, and yet here they were.

"Oh! Sorry," the man said, sounding flustered. "I'll just… wait outside."

Regulus kept at it for a good ten more seconds just to make sure the man really had left. He pulled back, panting slightly, and wiped his mouth, noticing the strange look in Remus' eyes. "Just... that was just to give that bloke something to talk about. He's a real gossip."

Remus looked at him slightly unfocused, his heart hammering in his chest. He wasn't sure if it was because of the argument or the kiss. He just found himself stuttering a: "O-of course."

"Good... Well, they'll be needing me any time now," said Regulus and hurried out of the room.

"Where were you?" Emmeline asked when she spotted Regulus. "And why is your hair a mess?" Then she laughed. "Oh, Reg... you need to fix your hair before the photographer sees you!"

"Shit!" said Regulus, a hand flying to his hair. Why did that bloody Northerner have to mess up his hair like that? He had probably done it on purpose just to embarrass Regulus.

o0o0o

They sat in silence all the way back to the house, Remus looking out the window, not knowing what to say or how to feel. Regulus looked moody as always whenever Remus snuck a peek at him, so eventually he just stopped looking.

"I'd like to take my supper in my private lounge tonight," Regulus told Kreacher before leaving Remus in the entrance hall.

Remus stood there for a minute, feeling as cold as if he had been standing on a street-corner in the autumn wind. Then he headed for the library, his favourite room in the house, where he slumped into a chair.