Pretty Boy {Jegulus}

18

Regulus was shaking in his boots with nerves. His bag with his skates felt oddly heavy and the strands of hair falling in his face annoyed him severely, but his hair was too short to put in a bun. James was already there when he arrived, sitting in the stands, staring down at his phone. He looked a bit tired, as far as Regulus could tell from where he was standing. He wasn't sure if James had meant for him to bring his skates and now he felt stupid he did. Why had he expected they'd just go skate together and everything would be fine again? James looked up when Regulus let the heavy door fall shut behind him and he awkwardly stood up. Regulus walked over to him, glad to know he wasn't the only one who was nervous. He dropped his bag about two rows below where James was standing, keeping a safe distance between the two of them.

"I got your note" said James, scratching the back of his head. His note? No, no that couldn't be true, James had sent him a note, not the other way around.

"My note?" he asked. This couldn't be happening right now. James fumbled in his pocket and got out a crumbled up piece of paper.

"Yeah, this one?" he said, holding out the note. It had the same exact words, just a different sign of and a much neater handwriting. Not as neat as his, though.

"No, you are the one who sent me a note" Regulus said, retreating the note he had gotten from the pocket of his coat and handing it to James. James took it and laughed. At least he wasn't yelling at him again, that had to count for something, right?

"That doesn't even look like my handwriting" he said. Regulus frowned and held up the note James had handed him.

"This does not look like mine either" he said. James pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers and shook his head.

"So I thought you wanted to talk to me, and you thought I wanted to talk to you but neither of us actually sent a note and now we're both here" James laughed. Regulus wanted too laugh as well, the situation was almost funny.

"Oh, Sirius, you sly, sly motherfucker" Regulus hissed between his teeth.

"You reckon it was them?" James asked. Them? Had Regulus been misgendering his brother this entire time? How had he not noticed? Why had no one said anything.

"Of course it was. Also, them?" Regulus said. James nodded.

"Yeah, Sirius uses he and they. Has no one told you? Anyways, how could they know, I haven't told him anything" James said. Look at them, they were having a normal, civil conversation as if nothing had even happened.

"I have, he found me mid breakdown this afternoon" Regulus clarified.

"Oh, figures. I was just trying to protect you, or something. Didn't want them to go all batshit crazy on you, you know? Guess I do still care a bit, funny how that works eh? But I guess, if I didn't, I would not be here right now" James rambled. He was so clearly nervous, it was kind of adorable. And of course he was adorable, he was James mother fucking Potter, he had technically done nothing wrong so there was nothing wrong with Regulus for feeling this way about him.

"Well, if we have both come here for nothing, maybe we should go then, yes?" James asked.

"No" Regulus replied without thinking. James raised his eyebrows.

"No?"

"No"

James sat back down in his seat, hands folded.

"Alright, go on" he said. Regulus cleared his throat and took a deep breath.

"Alright, yeah. I eh, I'm sorry. Truly am. It was stupid of me and the way I responded when you called me out was also stupid and immature" he said. James nodded thoughtfully, as if judging him on something.