KNOWING ME KNOWING YOU ⇒ jegulus one shots

REGULUS BLACK AND THE EVENTS OF APARTMENT HUNTING

"Moons? Pads? You in?" James calls as he steps through the floo. He hums, stepping into the kitchen. James feels himself visually grimace when he finds who is in. "Hello, Regulus," James comments as he straightens himself up after the floo.

Regulus is reading at the countertops, a bowl of fruit nearby. He looks up at James with grim grey eyes, his hair falling down to cloud his vision. "James," He drawls before going back to his reading. James watches how his eyes skim through the pages.

Regulus is brooding, moping around Sirius' kitchen, apparently his favorite hobby. James sometimes forgets that Regulus is twenty years old and not tweleve years old. He's sulky and whiney and privileged and James hates him. Regulus gets under his skin. He fucking hates him.

"Padfoot and Moony here?" James asks, perhaps to fill up the silence.

Regulus sighs, not looking up from his novel. "Does it look like they're here?" He challenges dryly. 

James' face scrunches in annoyance. "No," He chirps. "But it looks like you're here, which you still are, after four months of apartment hunting," He snarks.

"Awh, jealous you don't get to have sleepovers with your little best friends like I do?" Regulus teases sharply, toying with the handful of grapes in his hand. He looks up to James. He pops one into his mouth, chews briefly, before, "I'll tell them you were here if you want, but I'm not doing anything more than that so fuck off-"

James grits his teeth. "Who the fuck are you to tell me to fuck off? This isn't your house-"

"S'not exactly yours either," Regulus shrugs as he stands up to place his bowl in the nearby sink.

"You have some nerve, do you know that-"

"Yeah, so you keep insisting?" Regulus raises an eyebrow, casually. James hates how nonchalant he is, how bored of the argument he has already grown. Why can't Regulus just hold a temper like a normal person?

James huffs through flared nostrils. "Right then, m'off, lovely chatting to you, twat,"

"Prick," Regulus retorts. 

"Prat,"

"Wanker,"

"Stupid, pretentious, bastard-"

"Oh, now, play nice, Potter," Regulus smirks and that is what fucking does it for James. That ignorant little smirk. It isn't charming, unlike when Sirius wears it. Regulus' smirk is a leer, it's arrogant and smug and annoying. James hates Regulus Black and he's beginning to hate Sirius Black for allowing his younger brother stay with he and Remus for awhile.

"Fuck you," James hisses, lunging closer.

Regulus snorts. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind that, would you, though? Sirius always says he wishes you would stop fucking chasing after Lily Evans. It's been a few years, though, maybe you should keep trying, maybe she's playing hard to get," Regulus rolls his eyes. They're so close now, James can smell the sweet hint of watermelon on the younger man's breath.

James narrows his eyes. "Where do you get off speaking about all of us like this? As if you don't live under your brother's roof, you're an ungrateful brat,"

Regulus flickers his eyes, blinking comically. He steps closer to James, sneering. "Why don't you get on your merry way? Before I start talking about you 'like this'?" Regulus mimics. "Because trust me, I have a lot to say about you,"

"Say it then, I'm not afraid of you. You may have been a bloody death eater, Regulus, but you don't fucking scare me. You're lucky Sirius houses you. How you avoided Azkaban is fucking beyond me," James retorts sharply, his tone snarky and stormy. "You're just a little bratty kid,"