Chapter Text
James has heard more complaints directed to apartment 502 in the past few months than he has heard in the two and a half years he has lived on his own.
It's a constant topic of conversation to Regulus with anyone that is not his brother, because Sirius would've picked a fight and Regulus’ next talk with the property manager of his building would be her informing him that he should start looking for somewhere else to live.
The main issue in the situation, Regulus has explained, is that she most likely simply hates his guts.
Regulus follows every rule on the damned document he's been sent, from not moving heavy furniture around from 9pm to 10am to leaving warnings on the groupchat before using a drill. He's not loud, doesn't have people over too often and when he does, they're not loud either. He doesn't complain about the neighbor using a blender at four in the morning and he does his best to not look like he wants to burn the world when he's walking in the hallways and he always greets good morning and good evening if he crosses someone.
Regulus is a goddamn good neighbor but he's still getting scowls from the property manager who lives just across him and his first slip ─ using a drill two minutes after the allowed schedule, and for less than ten seconds ─ has earned him a thirty dollar fine before a single warning could be issued. After that, more often than not fines had been accidentally sent to his apartment when he most definitely did not make that offense, and he had to explain to his landlord that it wasn't him and he got in touch with the manager.
The fines get redirected and Regulus doesn't get an apology. Every single time.
Being in college and with most of their friends renting apartments or house sharing, they all know a thing or two about dealing with… difficult people. It was pretty unanimous when Regulus told them all about it that he was being targeted and that those mistakes were meant to piss him off, enough so that he would look for another place and leave the apartment building.
Regulus was on a rant about it while James, Remus and Lily made their way to the library on campus. The plan was for James and him to return the book and head to Regulus’ place, like they have been doing for a while now.
It's something that has been getting more and more frequent. From time to time, they order takeout, and other times they cook or bake something together. James has even gotten the little notebook he and his mother had made when he was still a kid, when she would tell him to write the ingredients and instructions of a dish as a way of distracting him when he was growing too fast and being as messy as a child could be.
Regulus has taken a liking to baking pastries somewhere between moving out to live with his aunt and starting his art history degree. At this point, he knows some of James’ favorite desserts from his childhood by heart.
James still doesn't know how to make a croissant properly, and definitely not by memory, but he is aware of the many steps involved. All thanks to Regulus.
He doesn't quite get sourdough, though. He prefers not to think about it too much, even if Regulus laughs at him for it. Light bantering, is all it is, but it's not like it matters. James likes when he laughs, even if it's at his expense.
“She's probably on your back because you're young,” Remus says, and James gets out of a haze of pastries and sweets he hadn't realized he had gotten into. “Some people just hate living near uni students because they think they're going to be loud and cause trouble and have people over all the time.”
“And because they think you're an easy target,” Lily adds, and James knows from what she's told him before that it comes from experience. “The first place Dorcas, Alice and I stayed at was somewhat like that. The property manager thought we wouldn't know how to deal with the things he would throw at us or that we would just settle for it to avoid confrontation.”
When Regulus asks what they did to fix it, Lily gives him a sad smile before telling him that they didn't, that they broke the lease, lost their security deposit and moved out. James catches it when his lips quiver and the way his shoulders slump for a second before Regulus straightens his back again, asking if Remus or Lily know whether the elderly lady or the girl with a buzzcut has today's shift, even when James knows Regulus knows that Mrs. Wiseacre is there on Thursdays.
“I hope it's not Mrs. Wiseacre,” Lily says, running a hand through her hair.
Remus glares, adjusting his grip on his cane. “Why not? She's always nice to everyone. Or everyone who respects the silence rule, actually.”
“Lily enjoys the scenery when she's not on shift,” James wiggles his eyebrows at her.
She scoffs, and James laughs when she makes no point in denying it. “Buzzcut is pretty, and I didn't get the chance to get her number last time because I was late for class.”
“The one with a nose ring?” Remus asks.
“God, yes, her!”
James takes the opportunity of Remus and Lily being distracted in their conversation to move to walk closer to Regulus, who has a small frown on his face that has not disappeared when the subject of property managers subsided. He slips a finger in one of his belt loops, gives it a little tug to pull him closer, and Regulus looks up at him with wide eyes. James doesn't try to explain himself, simply grins and watches as his face gets progressively more red.
Regulus looks in the other direction, the small tug on his lips being enough for James to light up entirely.
He lets his hand slip down from the belt loop until he fits it in the back pocket of Regulus’ jeans, reveling in the glare it earns him. There's absolutely no bite in it when Regulus looks so clearly flustered.
James wishes he could kiss the corner of his lips, the warmth creeping on his cheeks, right there, in the middle of campus. He keeps himself calm and collected, though, with the thought that he will get to do just that in hopefully less than a full hour.
They get to the library in no time. Even if she doesn't have any book related reasons to be at the library at the moment, Lily walks up to Mrs. Wiseacre alongside Remus and Regulus and smiles when she compliments the little braids on her hair.
Regulus starts to make his way back first to where James is waiting by the door while Lily and Remus chat up with the elderly woman. He tilts his head to the side when he gets close and pointedly looks in the direction of where James parked his car, then back to James.
James doesn't bother holding back a chuckle, amused. “Eager to get home, aren't you?”
His expression remains blank, and it makes James want to push his buttons to see just how much it would take for him to break. “I have some things to get done back there, you know. I've been planning to make good use of you for it.”
And, oh. Any ideas of just how to rile him up are instantly cleared from James’ mind, because Regulus looks up and down at him, with the same carefully constructed indifferent expression, and he just nods.
As if James is adequate, for whatever his intentions are. As if he doesn't know well enough by now just how far James will go to make sure he's particularly praiseworthy, like the overachiever he is.
He's sure his face must be warm, and he's about to answer when Remus speaks up, and James hadn't even realized they had been heading for them right behind Regulus.
“Sirius found another Mexican place to rate. We're trying it out tonight, do you want to join? I texted Peter about it, too.” Remus asks, looking at James and waiting for his answer and misses how Regulus’ lips curl into a smirk for just half a second before it goes away.
Oh, James hates him.
Lily answers it first, calling it off for plans previously arranged with Marlene, and James tries to think of an excuse good enough to stick when he has never really denied spending time with them. It's especially hard because these nights trying out food are fun , even when the places Sirius finds absolutely sucks, because he likes being around them and the face Remus and Peter make when they get a particularly bad bite. Yet, James really wants to find a way out of any other plans for tonight without─
“The last place he found got me stuck with food poisoning,” Regulus deadpans. Remus purses his lips and James knows he's trying his best to not laugh at the memory. “I'm leaving it to you to be the test subjects this time.”
It's a good excuse. A great excuse, even. A nice way to refuse to spend time with his brother in favor of spending time with James in ways his brother absolutely doesn't need to know about. It's a good enough excuse that Remus doesn't bat an eye when James agrees with Regulus but asks him for reviews anyway.
Not long after, with books returned and a pleased Lily ─ after getting the information from Mrs. Wiseacre that Violet, previously known as buzzcut girl, is in the library from Mondays to Wednesdays ─, James and Regulus part ways with them, avoiding a pointed glare Remus gives them, because, just maybe, Remus did bat an eye.
Does bat an eye, in fact, because James’ phone vibrates once they are already in the car and the messages there are nothing short of a confirmation.
Remus
You're not as subtle as you think you are
Neither of you
James
no idea what you're talking about mate
Remus
Whatever you say
“I have to admit, when you said you were going to make good use of me, I didn't think you meant moving books around.”
There is mirth in Regulus’ eyes while he looks for his keys, walking through the corridor of the floor of the infamous ─ to some ─ apartment 202. “There's gotta be some use for those muscles, don't you think?”
James smirks, following him through a path he's tread dozens of times by now. “I thought you appreciated them plenty.”
Regulus hums, but doesn't deny it. James knows that's as much as he's going to get from him─ not like it matters. He has plenty of proof that Regulus does appreciate them. Appreciates him.
“If you ran out of space, don't you put some shelves up? I got some sturdy ones last year that can hold a lot of weight, and they're still standing strong.” He asks.
“I don't plan on making more holes in the walls just to cover them up when I move out.” Regulus explains, putting the key in the hole of the lock of his apartment. “Plus, I'd have to use a drill for that, and I'm not putting my hands in one of those again if I don't have to. The property manager hates my guts already. I've been doing my best to go unnoticed so she won't complain so I can prove to the landlord that she's been targeting me.”
James frowns. “Why do you have to prove it?”
A sigh leaves Regulus’ lips before he turns his head around and looks back at the apartment across from them. “I don't want to stay here for much longer,” his voice is a tad lower, likely trying to avoid being heard by any of his neighbors. He unlocks the door and only after both he and James slip inside he speaks up again. “I don't like feeling like I'm being monitored. I know managers are supposed to, you know, keep an eye out, but she keeps lurking. And I know I'm not doing anything wrong, but it still feels very…”
“Cathartic?”
Regulus nods, wincing. He sits down on the couch and starts to untie his shoes. “I have seven months left on the contract. I thought about starting to look for other apartments around the area, but I want to show my landlord that I'm not being irresponsible. I just… I don't want to live like this again.”
In moments like these, James misses being a teenager. In his Hogwarts days, after hearing Regulus say all that, he would've called an official Marauders Meeting™, how they liked to call it, and would teach Mrs… He didn't quite get her name, and he doubts Regulus would give it to him, either way. He and the boys would figure out a plan to show her that using her power as manager to try and harass Regulus out of the building wouldn't just go without any confrontation.
But… James knows better, now. He knows why it's completely off the table, and he knows why Sirius hasn't heard a word of this situation from Regulus ─ he tends to be pretty irrational when it comes to his brother, and he would most definitely get him kicked out, five months left or not.
Contrary to popular belief, James has matured. It tends to happen to everyone, at some point.
It happened to Regulus, too, James is sure, because the Regulus he first met, the Regulus who lived under his and Sirius’ parents, would've let it slide and endured. He would've stayed in the shadows for five more months, and then maybe left, if the hope for her to have changed, just a bit, had died.
Sometimes, James can see so much of Sirius in Regulus. It goes both ways, really. Yet, in times like this, James sees only Regulus.
“I take it you're trying not to cause any trouble?” James says, leaving his bag on the counter.
Regulus looks up at him, a small glint of mischief in his eyes. “I'm on my best behavior. All of her mistakes will be pretty baseless if I just keep being good.”
James smirks. “You're always pretty good, aren't you?”
Regulus takes a deep breath, and it could've been easily mistaken for annoyance had it not come out just the slightest bit shaky. Someone else might've not noticed, but James does. He always does. And he's very aware of the faint blush spreading on Regulus’ cheeks.
There's something about pulling out reactions of Regulus.
Regulus, who won't crack a smile at his stupid attempts of making him laugh, whose eyes soften for a millisecond during a greeting before hardening again, and who carries a blank expression on his face that James now knows is calculated.
Regulus, who bares himself open when they're alone, who can't keep the stoic act when James nips on that one spot on his neck, who stopped being able to hide his pretty noises after a few times of him and James coming back for more of each other, who melts when James’ head is buried deep between his thighs.
A challenge, that's what it is. Knowing which buttons to push to make him blush, squirm, giggle ─ James had been starstruck when he realized he could do that.
He wants to learn more, to know more. To crack Regulus open and make a space for himself there and explore. What else are you hiding, he wonders, and will you let me reach them?
“I'm going to take a shower,” Regulus gets up from his spot on the couch. “And you are going to wait for me in the bedroom.”
James’ eyes glisten as he nods and Regulus scoffs. “Yes, love. Right on that, love. Anything for you, love.”
He follows as Regulus makes his way to the bedroom before being inevitably left alone once he closes the bathroom door and tells him, Behave or I'll take longer in there out of spite. James doesn't doubt him for a second.
Having been there a fair amount of times before, James doesn't feel awkward about being on Regulus’ bed when he's not there. He tries not to think too much about what awaits him, to push the anticipation away. He thinks about taking his clothes off, or at least his pants, but decides against it.
Regulus has taken a liking to watching James undress, rather than taking matters into his own hands. Once he catched up to that, James had tried to make a show out of it, only to embarrass himself by getting his shirt stuck in his glasses. One of the few things that can match Regulus’ eyes filled with desire, he learned, is when there's a crinkle on the edges of them, a pout on his lips from where he's so obviously trying not to laugh and so clearly amused. By James.
He has long since let go of the embarrassment he feels if he crosses any bumps on the road on their way to the finish line. How can he, when that is what he's rewarded with?
James hears it when the shower is turned off, and it doesn't take long before Regulus comes out of the bathroom, wearing only a muted green shirt and boxers. His brain stops functioning for a solid five seconds as Regulus makes his way to him, positioning himself standing near the edge of the bed, in the middle of James’ legs.
His hands move instinctively, landing on each side of Regulus’ hips, pulling him impossibly closer, until he can put his lips to something, anything, as long as it's him. James leaves kisses on each mole that paints his skin and revels in the way Regulus sighs above him.
And then there are hands on him, on his nape, toying with the grown out hair there, and another on his jaw, holding his face up, urging him to look at Regulus. He comes closer until their lips are barely brushing, and James feels when he smiles against his mouth.
"A bit eager, aren't you?" Regulus teases him, because of course he does.
James doesn't grant him an answer. Instead, he presses his lips against Regulus' before he can get another word in.
No matter how many times they do this, James doesn't think he'll ever get used to the taste of him. Every time they part, he longs for more, and he isn't above begging, not for Regulus.
When Regulus pulls away, though, his lips are parted and his eyes shimmer with intent. All James does is ask, “How do you want me?”
“What time is it?” Regulus asks, his voice deep and rough from a mix of use and sleep. James has to hold back a small smile from the thought that he did that.
He reaches blindly for his glasses and puts them on once he finds them. His eyes adjust quickly and he checks the watch he had left on Regulus’ nightstand, wincing when his eyes focus on the numbers. “Almost midnight.”
Regulus hums. James didn’t think he’d be here still at this hour─ they had gotten here pretty early in the evening, but he's not complaining in the slightest about what has kept him here until now. And, by the way Regulus lies on the bed, body limp and relaxed, he doesn't think he will, either.
James takes a moment to watch him, back sprawled out for him to admire and the sight of the light bruise of his own fingers on his thighs from where he held him is enough to run a shiver through his body.
He leans closer to run his hand through Regulus’ messed curls and chuckles when a small happy noise escapes his throat.
James wonders if he could lure Regulus to sleep just like that, playing with his hair. Worth a try, he decides. But not now─ Regulus always showers right after they're done, and refuses to sleep without that step. The fact he hasn't gotten up in the past five minutes and headed to the bathroom is proof of how much James has left him blissfully drained. He can't help but feel a little smug about it.
“I can carry you to the bathroom, you know.” James offers. “Least I could do after tiring you out.”
He hears Regulus snort─ a pretty sound, one he has grown accustomed to by now. The mattress shifts when he turns around to face James, and there's a smile stretched out on his lips that James is torn between wanting to kiss it and stare at it for a lifetime. “Are you going to run me a shower, too?”
Before he can register it, James finds himself nodding. Regulus’ eyes are filled with surprise for a second, a little fun discovery, and James realizes it as the joke it was meant to be. He doesn't back out, and grins when Regulus blushes and it spreads through the rest of his body. It was something James loved to learn, and that he loves about him. That his whole body blushes with him, that is.
Regulus’ voice is small when he speaks up, “You're staying the night, aren't you?”
It's such a contrast to loud, demanding Regulus that James had gotten used to for the night. He can't help but to want to hear more of it. He wants to hear everything there is from Regulus.
James teases, then, “Am I?” And there it is again, the blush. James takes his time to appreciate it.
“You're gonna make a lot of noise on your way out,” Regulus says, reaching out to touch where James still plays with his hair, holding him there. As if he's afraid of James pulling away.
As if James ever wanted to.
“And I don't plan on getting another noise complaint, especially not because of you,” he says, nuzzling into the touch.
James has the urge to pull back, only to see if Regulus would go after it, if he'd try and chase it. He doesn't, though. Not when he wants it just as much. Instead, he leans down, presses a kiss to his temple and lingers with his face close to Regulus'.
His voice is almost a whisper then, “I'll get us in the shower in five, and then we come back to sleep. How 's that?”
“You're having good ideas, for once.”