Glimpse Of Us | JEGULUS

10 | don't leave me hanging

James sat on the ground across from the troll tapestry. He had his head rested on his knees, slowly starting to regret his decision. He was being stupid and he knew it. Regulus had made things very clear to him and he wasn't sure why he was so eager to open himself up to something that would only end with heartbreak.

But he owed it to himself to try, if Regulus was willing.

He glanced down at his pocket watch and shook his head. He stood up, dusting his hand off on his pants. He was an idiot. A 'fool' as Regulus had called him. How was he so naive as to believe that Regulus cared about him as more than just a one night (one week?) stand? An absolute-

"James?" a voice spoke from behind him and his head shot up. He turned slowly to look at the boy. Regulus' hands rung together in front of him and he looked around nervously. James was startled, surprised that the boy had even shown at all. He was at a lost for words and it wasn't until Regulus looked like he was going to run away that James found his voice.

James let out a breath of relief, "Reggie." He looked behind the boy, "Just, one second." He started pacing back and forth which alarmed Regulus. He was trying to be quick, out of fear of scaring the younger Black away. He probably looked insane, walking back and forth with no explanation.

"What on earth are you-" but then the door appeared and his eyes widened. "What-"

"Hurry, before anyone sees us," James said before he grabbed the boy's hand and yanked him through the door. Once they were fully in and the door shut, James released him. He turned to look at the boy, "Hi."

"Hi," Regulus said breathily. He looked panic, like someone had caught him doing something he wasn't supposed to do and he was about to get reprimanded for it.

"I-" James began as Regulus said, "You-"

James cleared his throat, "Er, sorry, you can..." he gestured towards Regulus.

"No, you can go first," he suggested.

"Right," he said, "Um, honestly, I wasn't expecting you to actually show up." He ran his hand through his hair, "I - well...I-"

"Spit it out, Jamie, I don't exactly have all day," Regulus informed him and James looked up in surprise. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "W-what?"

James's face softened, "I like when you call me that. When you call me Jamie."

Regulus's face turned red and he looked off at the door, "If you don't actually need anything, I'll just leave."

"No!" he shouted. "No, please don't leave."

"Okay," he said. Regulus looked skeptical, like a cat who had been moved to a new home. Unsure and cautious. James noted the irony of his Animagus. "Then can you tell me what exactly you asked me to come here for?"

James bit down on his bottom lip as he tried to think of how to talk to the boy without scaring him away. It was a delicate situation. "Why did you come here?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Because you asked me too?"

"Well, obviously," he huffed. "But why did you actually show up? You made it pretty clear that you wouldn't show up."

Regulus let out a heavy sigh, "Look, as complicated as this all is, I-" He shook his head, "I don't like you. You are the reason that my brother left me. You tore my family apart. And yet...a part of me can't seem to ignore you."

James stared at him, his mouth opened slightly as he processed. He hadn't considered this, of course a part of him had thought about it but for Regulus to just come out and say it? "You think that I'm the reason your brother left?"

Like some sort of switch had been flipped, Regulus's guards immediately went back up and he took a step back, "He never would have left had he not met you."

"Regulus, he was dying there," James shook his head. "You had to have seen that. And he didn't leave you. He left your parents. He wasn't going to survive."

"You've always viewed the world with too much faith, Potter," Regulus countered. "Everything you think you know...I guarantee you know nothing."

"Then tell me," he practically begged. He moved closer to the boy. "Tell me what I don't know." James grabbed Regulus's hands gently, "I will always protect your brother, no matter what. That meant he had to get out before it was too late." James scanned his face, "I'll get you out too."

Regulus pulled his hands away, "They said you'd do this. I just didn't think you'd be stupid enough to try."

James was taken aback by this, "What?" He shook his head, "Who said that?"

"My parents," he explained. "They thought that you were trying to take their family away from them, because of what they did to your parents. I just didn't realize they'd be right."

James' expression darkened, "They didn't do anything to my parents. And this was never some mass plan to tear your family apart. They did that to themselves."

"Whatever, I don't have time for this, Potter," he said as he made his way to the door.

"What did Sirius say to you?" James asked and Regulus stopped for a moment. "What did he say that upset you so much?"

"What do you care?"

"I do care," he explained. "More than I probably should. But I care." James ran a hand through his hair, his frustration seeping through as he spoke, "Just talk to me."

"Why are you pushing this?" he demanded, turning around. "What are you trying to get out of me? Is there some plan? Some ploy to get me to open up to you so you can break me too?"

James sucked in a breath. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. "Reggie..." he trailed off. He took a cautious step forward and Regulus looked at the boy with wide eyes. And it was then that James understood everything. The boy in front of him was not cruel for the sake of being cruel. He was not trying to follow in his parents footsteps. He was just scared. Terrified, even. And he was just trying to protect himself.

He raised his hand and placed it on the side of his face, "Did you know that your eyes change colors when you're upset?"

Regulus faltered, "What?"

"Your eyes," he repeated, his thumb brushing over the boy's cheekbone. "Normally they are gray. Kind of like the clouds before a storm. But right now? They're green. Like the forest." Regulus blinked but said nothing. "There is no ploy, my love. I have no plan to destroy your family, no matter what anyone may say. I just want to keep you safe. And I promise nobody is more confused by that fact than myself. But if you think that with your family is where you belong then fine, but don't cut me out because of that. Not if you don't want to."

"And what if I don't know what I want?" Regulus asked, his voice pleading, desperate.

James smiled slightly, "Then I'll wait for you. However long it may take."