Only the Brave

Chapter 14: Rubik cubes and Hogsmeade Visits

James keeps his word and shows up to the roof on Monday night. Regulus doesn't try to kill him again. They sit, and Regulus smokes. James works on the Rubik's cube. They don't talk much that first day, like they need to let it simmer. James can sense Regulus doesn't trust him yet, which is fine. James can be patient. He will earn it. Something in his gut tells him that Regulus is worth it, if only James can take the time to wiggle through the tiny cracks in his walls.

Tuesday night is better. James asks Regulus about brooms while he works on the Rubik's cube—he's getting better at it, faster—and they spend almost two hours discussing brands, and models, and specifications. It's the longest conversation James and Regulus have ever had. Regulus does insult James, or more specifically, his choice of brand. But James doesn't mind, because Regulus' voice has less bite.

A week passes, and they meet on the roof almost every night. Saturday, they agree to skip, because their friends would catch on if they disappeared without trace. It's Regulus' idea, and James agrees immediately. Sunday, they meet again. And Monday. And Tuesday.

They talk about Quidditch plays and tactics. About muggle TV (where Regulus explains electricity to James, who realises he's seen it working but never really got how they managed it). Regulus tells James about cars, which James find fascinating. He immediately announces that he'll get himself one as soon as he graduates. James tells Regulus about his father's lab, because he knows Regulus likes potions and James' father made a ton of money with an innovative beauty potions brand. They talk about school gossip, because James is friends with Mary MacDonald so he knows it all. Regulus is shocked to learn that the Arithmancy professor is rumoured to be having an affair with the Alchemy one, even though everyone suspects she's in love with the Muggle Music part-time teacher.

By the second Wednesday, James solves the Rubik's cube almost without looking at it and Regulus comments on the fact that he's mastered it. He says it in a way that leaves it ambiguous enough that James can't tell whether he's being complimented or insulted, but he likes it nontheless. James puts it down between them, and they don't say anything for a while. He realises that it served as a sort of buffer, because if James was busy solving it while they talked, then there was no room for anything else. But now that there's no point to him fiddling with it anymore, well. It feels a little different, but in a good way.

Thursday night James sits closer to Regulus than before. The other boy doesn't acknowledge it, but he also doesn't move away. James counts it as a win. It's a heavily overcast night, and the wind is turning chilly. Mid-October starts to get cold this far up North, and sitting on a roof isn't the cosiest of places.

"What happens when it's too cold to sit here?" James asks. Regulus is lighting a cigarette, one of the last in his pack. James has already planned to sneak out to Hogsmeade tomorrow to get more for him.

Regulus cuts him a sideways glance, then exhales the smoke. "Have you forgotten you're a wizard?"

James scoffs. "Oh, come on Regulus. Warming charms work only for a little while and they're hardly pleasant."

Regulus shrugs. Takes a drag off his cigarette. James watches him, the way the burning tip reflects in his eyes, or the elegant curve of his fingers as they hold it. Regulus is the most beautiful person James has ever seen, and he still can't believe he gets to spend time with him. Alone. Away from the rest of the world.

"I'll come up with something," James says. "Find somewhere else to go."

Regulus looks at him, a deep scowl furrowing his brow. James wants to ease it. The urge to press the pad of his finger against the spot between his eyebrows has never gone away. At this point, James thinks it never will.