Let the fear you have fall away

2.

꧁ ꧂

"Does that mean you're the one of the brightest, of all the universe?"

"Not me," Regulus said, trying to hide the beginning of a smile on his lips. "Regulus."

"But you are Regulus," James replied, leaning against the railing, looking at Regulus.

The third week of the trip had started the day before. The Pole Express needed a little bit less than two months to cross the whole ice field, without stopping once, and all that from the train station, in Greenland. Regulus' family, who were from England, travelled all their way to Iceland in cruise ship, and then from Iceland to Greenland, where they took the train.

After their little discussion in the hallway, James told Regulus to meet him.

"8 pm, 20th wagon," he said then, that day.

The 20th wagon was the last one, at the tail end of the train. Regulus had been surprised, first, of course. What gentleman would say such things. It was, once again, something very unexpected to say. But then Regulus remembered James wasn't a gentleman.

And that night, he went to the 20th wagon, with his warmest coat, his warmest gloves, and his own personal dagger inside of his coat. Because Regulus was never too cautious. But he didn't need it. He didn't use it at all.

Coming to the 20th wagon was probably one of his best decisions.

James was there, sitting in the cold. He also had a coat on. And he smiled at Regulus as soon as he stepped outside. James had been sitting at the very end of the train, at the end of the wagon. It seemed the 20th wagon was made for smoking, if you paid attention to the interior design of the wagon, but no one walked to the wagon; it was too far from the bedrooms, and the living rooms. A details James probably didn't ignore, as he worked here. The end of the wagon 20 was a sort of terrace. But in the cold of the arctic circle, it was no use either.

And James was sitting here. Before noticing Regulus, he was staring at the sky. There was no lights in the sky, but still, he looked at the cloudy night sky, as if he was expecting a star to appear. And Regulus opened the door. And James smiled at him.

And then, they started to be friends. As soon as they started talking. Because it was easy, with James. He used to be a stranger, but that night, he became Regulus' friend in the cold tempest.

"I am not a star," Regulus argued, still trying to hide the smile that threatened to bloom on his face. James was always trying to make him smile.

"But you are," James said, nodding.

"I am not," Regulus smiled, not able to resist anymore. "There is several reasons for that."

"Tell me, Regulus," James replied, leaning even more forward, his eyes on him. James' eyes seemed darker during the night. During the day, when they would see each other randomly, his brown eyes would look lighter.

"First of all, I don't shine," he started, looking to the sky. That day, there was no clouds in the sky.

"Wrong," James cut him quickly in his tracks. "You are."

"What are you talking about."

"There is gold on your clothes," James said, eyeing at Regulus coat. "And when you smile, the night is over," he added with that charming smile of his, looking right into Regulus' eyes.

And Regulus scoffed, shaking his head. "It doesn't count."

Regulus was always grateful they met outside, where the temperatures were cold; like that, he didn't have to face directly the fact that he couldn't help but blush at James' words. He could just tell James it was the cold. But James never noticed — at least never out loud — that Regulus was blushing. He always looked at Regulus with a smile when he did, and that was it.