KNOWING ME KNOWING YOU ⇒ jegulus one shots

IN WHICH IT'S JAMES' TURN

James grumbles as he rolls over, his son squeezed between he and his husband. "Joel, baby, what are you doing in mummy and I's bed?" He turns to see Regulus already awake and stroking soft, loving fingers through their sons dark hair. "Morning, love," He hums to Regulus.

Regulus smiles at him. "Morning, handsome. How're you feeling?" He asks, his freehand reaching out to gently caress the swell of James' belly.

James shrugs and mouths, "Like absolute shit," They've decided the absolutely can not afford for Joel to become a potty mouth at the age of two. "Dunno how you did this, babe," He looks to Regulus with awed eyes.

Regulus smirks, pulling James in for a quick kiss. "Because I had you by my side and now you've got Joey and I to look our for you and the little one," He glances down at Joel laying contently between them. "Isn't that right, baby boy?"

Joel crawls closer to James and nods eagerly. "Love daddy," He snuggles his small body against James' almost bump, his little hands pressing gently against it.

It hadn't been their intent to be James pregnant this time around at first. They had been trying, Regulus felt like his body was ready for another baby; it exclusively had not been ready for baby Joel.

It was taking much longer than it had to conceive Joel and the reasoning shattered Regulus.

Hence the tears that had fallen from Regulus' eyes in the healers office when she had told him with a shake of her head and a saddened smile, that no, he wouldn't be able to have anymore babies as a direct result of how worn down and how long he had taken to recover from Joel's birth.

James doesn't like too address it, but almost losing both his baby and his Regulus had indeed left him weary to have another. But now? Now that Regulus had to tell him that they wouldn't be having another?

Regulus had come home that evening and fallen into James' loving arms and cried. He had sobbed to James for hours, until his throat went raw and his tone was scratchy. James had carried him up the stairs and tucked him underneath the blankets before slipping back down the stairs to do some thinking.

Regulus hadn't been on bored at first. "You want to what?!" He had squeaked.

James' smile had only grown wider. "I want to have our baby,"

Regulus shook his head. "Jamie, t-this isn't funny, usually I like your jokes but please," He looked to James with sad, red rimmed eyes. "Please don't joke about this. This isn't funny. W-we can't have anymore babies," His voice had been hoarse.

James only sighed. "Reg, baby, m'not joking. I promise, honey, this isn't a joke. It's the furthest thing from a joke," He had told Regulus, pulling the younger man in for a soft kiss before pulling away to face him. "I want to give us another baby, you do want that, don't you? For us to have another child?" He asked hesitantly.

Regulus had nodded with a small whisper of, "But I don't want anything to happen to you...." He trailed. "Or the baby," He had let his fingers gently brush off of James' toned belly, which most indefinitely would lose all of it's definition if James truly wanted to give his glorious body up to carry a baby.

"Nothing will happen to me, Reg, we're all going to be alright," Was James' reply and it had been good enough for Regulus. "Besides, pregnancy can't be particularly nasty stuff, eh? I'll manage," James had reassured.

"I love you more, little one," James replies to his son as he presses a tender kiss to the top of his sons head. Joel squirms and wriggles before poking at James' belly, feeling for his sibling. James smiles softly. "Your baby siblings in there, mate, I'll be swelling up instead of your mum,"