What's In a Name? | Regulus Black | Marauders Era

8

"Evenin', Bails." Malia sat on the dark blue sofa beside her blonde friend, sighing softly and resting her head on Bailey's shoulder so her dark hair cascaded down her torso. Bailey made a small harrumph to show Malia she was irked about something and the girl looked up at her, "You feeling alright?" she inquired and Bailey looked away from her, lifting her nose in the air and shrugging Malia's head from her shoulder. The Ravenclaw frowned at Bailey's behaviour and shuffled towards her, "What's the matter, Bails?"

"Dia told me about what happened at the party." Bailey said matter-of-factly but Malia's face remained blank. "On the dance floor." Bailey continued and the dark haired girl raised a single eyebrow,

"That Gryffindor boy came up behind me, it's not my fault my arse didn't stop moving."

"No, Malia!" Bailey threw her arms in the air in an exasperated gesture and Malia scratched her face,

"I really don't know what you're on about, baby."

"Regulus Black!" Bailey sent her a wide eyed look and Malia reared her head back,

"I thought you fancied Sirius." she whispered comically and Bailey groaned dramatically,

"You denied his request of becoming friends!" Bailey's lips had formed a pout and Malia was surprised to see a glisten wash over her big, brown eyes - these made it very easy for the girl to do her famous puppy eyes. "He handed to you on a silver platter what I humiliated myself trying to achieve." Bailey looked downwards and genuinely looked upset that Malia had not become Regulus' friend, making the girl feel rather guilty at blowing off the bully. Malia stared at Bailey as the girl traced patterns on the denim of her jeans, watching as her blonde hair formed a curtain over her face - something she did when she got shy and tried to hide her blushing face, but now it was to hide her sadness. Malia cleared her throat decidedly and stood up, making Bailey look up from her evidently intriguing trousers. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go and make a new friend, Bails." Malia ran a hand through her hair and smirked, leaning down to Bailey's level as she sat on the sofa, the pout already disappearing from her face, "But you can't complain if you start to miss me, I'm very popular now." she tapped the tip of Bailey's button nose and turned on her heel, already curling her lip at the thought of spending time with the arrogant, self-righteous and annoying nice-smelling Regulus Black. 'Oh well,' she thought, breathing deeply and mentally rifling through the filing cabinet in her mind containing all of her biting insults, 'It's for Bailey.'

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Regulus was sitting on his bed in his dorm, a redhead girl on his lap screeching into his ear about how she was going to become a model, rubbing his eyes with his finger and thumb. His other hand was resting on the girl's rear because, despite being unbelievably annoying and having a voice that could make a banshee wince, she had a banging body.

"And, as I said, Mummy knows this massive photographer guy so as soon as I graduate Hogwarts I'm basically guaranteed to be on the front of a magazine." The redhead trailed a false nail down the length of his neck and Regulus had to stop himself from slapping her hand away from him. Her claws trailed from his neck to his jaw and she turned his face towards her, smiling widely so Regulus could see a bit of spinach in her teeth. 'Big boobs big bum, big boobs big bum,' he kept chanting in his head but he audibly sighed in relief as there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" he called and he felt the girl deflate at his side as the doorknob turned. A random housemate of his walked in and told him someone was asking for him outside of the entrance. "I'll be right there." he nodded and shifted the redhead from his lap as he stood from his bed with a newfound spring in his step,

"Oh," the girl pouted and looked up at him, pulling her lip between her teeth and dragging her index finger down his arm, "Will you be back?"

"Nah," Regulus shook his head and the girl gasped shrilly and he raised an eyebrow at her, leaning forward slightly so he was in her face, "I took you up here to sleep with you because you have a fit body, you screamed in my ear for half an hour about your 'guaranteed' modelling career and I can see your lunch in your fucking teeth." Regulus smiled sarcastically at the girl as she reared back, an offended look on her face and her hand going up to her mouth, "I would rather have my dick sucked by a troll," he stood up properly and walked towards the door, "They'd probably have better oral hygiene."

Regulus was very surprised to see Malia leant against the wall outside his Common Room. He smirked and strolled over to her, his hands in his trouser pockets and his tongue darting out of his mouth to wet his bottom lip. Malia looked over as she saw him approaching and crossed her arms, Regulus notes that her nails were natural and a picture flashed in his mind of them clutching onto his hair. He froze. Why in the name of Salazar did he think of that?

"Take your time, Black. It's not like I've been here for fifteen minutes." Malia rolled her eyes and Regulus was pulled out of his own mind, managing to plaster on his usual smug expression before she noticed anything,

"Got to keep them waiting, Burke." he winked and she stuck her tongue out in disgust. His icy eyes followed the pink tongue as it slipped back into the cage of her lips and he saw the light reflecting off the now wet spot where it had rested.

"I came to talk to you about your proposition." she pushed off the wall and stood in front of him. He looked down at her, the top of her head reached his nose, and noticed just how flawless her skin was. There were no marks, no freckles, nothing, it was as though it was porcelain. He wondered if it was cold to the touch, how it felt under his fingertips. He stopped his train of thought again, marvelling at how carried away he got. "I think we should be friends."

"What made you change your mind?" he tilted his head and his dark hair flopped over his forehead, partially blocking his view of Malia rolling her eyes at him. He flicked it away just as the entrancing blue iris' returned to their rightful place,

"Bailey did."

"Masons?" Regulus let his shock show on his face accidentally, he tried to be as unreadable as Malia but only she seemed to have the knack for it. "What does Masons care about us being friends?"

"She tried to be your friend once because she felt sorry for you but you ruthlessly embarrassed her - not sure if you recall," Malia's eyes narrowed so slightly that Regulus wouldn't have noticed had he not been staring intently at her, drinking in her features so deeply in the hopes it would ingrain itself in his mind even when he closed his eyes. "She told me I should do what she couldn't." Malia finished and Regulus lowered his head slightly,

"So you're asking to be my friend?" he clarified, enjoying the way her lips fell into place once they had finished forming a word, the bottom one making an indentation just above her chin as it lay contently on top of it.

"Don't get cocky, Black or I might change my mind." she said and Regulus noted the side of her mouth lifting into the smirk he had yearned to see.

"God forbid." he breathed, the cogs in his brain clunking and whirring as images flashed before his mind: him holding Malia to his chest, her hands on his shoulders, the cushion of her waist being indented by his fingers.

"Friends then?" she held out a hand, blissfully ignorant to the desired plaguing Regulus' mind. He gripped her hand and shook it, wondering how she could be so blind...how he could have been so blind. He didn't want to be friends. Neither did she. Malia became his friend because Bailey Masons had told her to, she didn't like him, he repulsed her. Regulus became her friend because he had told himself that's all he wanted, she did something to him, she intrigued him. As their interlocked hands shook up and down between them, Malia looked up into his eyes. Blue crashed into blue like two waves meeting in the sea, she was dragged down by the icy water as it pulled back and a name was whispered in her ear, she no longer heard nothing, she now heard:
'Malia Burke'.

bit of a reggie pov at the end there - except it's not bc it's third person but it's following him n his feeling OK jeeesus