favorite liar | jegulus

four

a few days had passed following its course as it normally would; drag sirius out of bed, watching moony eat five helpings of breakfast, attempt to stay awake in class, hide out in the library all afternoon, watch moony eat for five again, go to bed, and do it all again the next day

james had been going to library to stay on top of his studies because the work load had picked up a great deal this year. but as he sat there he found himself wondering where regulus was and what he was doing

something he had never thought twice about before and would only cross his mind if sirius brought it up which wasnt often

it was currently a warm saturday morning as james was walking around the hogwarts grounds getting some fresh air

he wasnt a morning person per say but he had trouble sleeping in unlike everyone else. he was awoken early every morning without fail and could never fall back asleep. hed learned to embrace it and get started with his day

he was on a walk to just pass the time before sirius came rushing out with a brilliantly stupid idea of what they could do to get landed in detention

growing tired of walking he found a shady spot underneath a tree by the lake. he sat down and leaned against the tree. he found some rocks in the grass nearby. he started trying to skip them on the water, something hed seen muggle do at the beach

he sat there failing miserably to skip the rocks and it turned into him seeing how far he could throw them or how big of a splash he could make

he did this for what felt like ages but in reality was only a couple minutes. just as he ran out of rocks a familiar face appeared at his side

"mornin," regulus said softly rocking back and forth on his feet

"youre up early," james said to him

regulus shrugged, "so are you."

"common sit," james offered. "i dont bite."

regulus took a seat across from him setting his book down next to him

"for the amount of reading you do, you werent in the library much." james pried looking for an explanation

regulus chuckled to himself and for a moment there was a flash of guilt in his eyes but it disappeared as quick as it had appeared

"yea uh," regulus scratched the back of his neck nervously. "i wasnt avoiding you exactly, i-."

"you were avoiding sirius," james finished for him

"yea," regulus's voice trailed off

james shifted to lay down completely on his back in the grass peering up at the blue unclouded sky

"you dont have to explain yourself," james broke the silence. "but hes a lot to deal with, that i do know."

regulus leaned back on his hands looking up at the sky as well as if james had indicated he spotted something and he wanted to see

"i know," he began. "still, i feel like i should be thanking you for being the brother i could never be for him."

james turned his head to look at reg. he didnt show much emotion but james recognized the dull sadness lingering in the back of his eyes. it was the same he often saw in sirius

"no need, honestly." james told him. "happy to do it."

"is he happy, though?" regulus blurted

james gave him a confused look

"i mean, hes happy now that hes out, right? hes not regretting it, is he?" regulus corrected himself

james gave him a soft smile, "his only regret is leaving you behind."

regulus frowned softly. it was so subtle james almost missed it

"he shouldnt have to worry about me," regulus said in a way that told james he didnt want to keep talking about it

james propped himself up on his elbows and looked up at reg

"so how did you spend your first week," james asked

"studying," he answered being extremely broad and dry

"where?" james asked with a light laugh. "i know it wasnt in the library."

regulus rolled his eyes, "you sure ask a lot of questions...this is the warmest the dungeons will be all year. just decided to take advantage of it."

"not a bad idea," james grinned. "but i bet you missed me."

"not. one. bit." regulus joked playing along, but he was lying. james could tell. though neither of them would admitted sirius and regulus shared the same tells; bitting their lip slightly, avoiding eye contact, and a longer silence before responding

he didnt tell reg that he knew. he figured hed wait, see how long regulus would lie for. james thought it might be more fun that way

james plucked a few blades of grass and tossed it at regulus, "ouch. why so harsh reg."

"i dont see anyone else deflating that ego of yours, especially your friends." regulus crooked his eyebrow

james liked this side of regulus, he seemed happier this way. but he was still fond of the silent regulus who found james's presence to be enough

as james laughed he turned his head the other way to see sirius, remus, and peter approaching them. he turned his head to face regulus who was already starting to get up and make his escape

regulus wasnt quick enough to disappear before his brother arrived though

"hey," sirius said softly

"hi," regulus whispered

peter and remus gave regulus a polite nod. james flashed sirius an innocent smile

"how are you?" sirius asked his brother timidly

"same as always," regulus answered as he turned away to leave the scene

siris sighed and left it at that. there wasnt much he could do that he hadnt tried already

james stood up unsure of what kind of reaction to expect from sirius

"you better have a bloody good explanation you prat," sirius shook his head trying to hide a laugh

james threw sirius wink that sent everyone into a fit of laughter