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The room was the perfect warmth right now and Regulus didn’t know if he’d ever been this content.
He was curled up on the maroon leather couch of the Potters’ living room, a nice distance away from the fireplace. His head was in James’ lap and the older man was scratching his scalp as he read.
It was a fascinating book, about the political implications of Goblin relations.
Soft babbling could be heard from the other side of his boyfriend, where Regulus knew Lily was sitting with her head against James’ shoulder. She had Harry in her lap, making butterflies dance around him.
Both the toddlers’ biological parents had their full attention on the child.
Regulus contently turned the page.
“Sirius fire called earlier, by the way,” the woman spoke up. “He wanted me to let you boys know that he’ll be over tomorrow.”
“What is he coming for?” Regulus questioned grumpily.
Sundays were usually days strictly for them to do something as a family. Which wasn’t to say that Sirius wasn’t family, but his brother and James’ other friends were here constantly and Regulus liked it when it was just the three of them and their son.
Which wasn’t even to speak about the fact that when the ‘Marauders’ (and what a silly little nickname that was, how could grown men still call themselves that?) weren’t here, Severus was. Or Marlene. Or Dorcas. Or Mary. Or Alice and Frank.
So yes, he didn’t like this sudden change in their schedule.
James scratched him behind his ears and Regulus frowned up at him. His boyfriend simply grinned mischievously, knowing full well that the Slytherin couldn’t stay mad when he was scratched there.
Lily sounded vaguely amused when she replied and the Black turned his frown on her, deepening into a scowl.
She looked unimpressed, maybe because he had to twist quite tremendously to even look at her from where he was curled up and it probably looked ridiculous.
“Remus is doing some academic museum tour with Peter, apparently and he doesn’t want to be alone.”
“Not my problem,” the pale man grumbled.
James chuckled. “You love him.”
“Not on Sundays, I don’t,” Regulus argued without any heat.
He saw his Metamour roll her eyes and barely refrained from childishly sticking his tongue out at her. He had better manners than that, thank you very much.
“We’ll kick him out before lunch and take Harry to the lake in the afternoon,” James offered and Reg settled back down.
“Fine,” he said softly, placated.
“Anyways,” Lily said. “You’re on Harry duty now, Regulus, darling.”
This time it was the youngest who rolled his eyes, but he sat up and easily accepted his son.
“Do be quiet,” he said boredly. “And if you take too long, I’m giving Hadrian his first ice cream and you won’t be there.”
It was an empty threat and they knew it.
“You know, I’m sure Sirius and Remus would be happy to babysit spontaneously if you want to join us,” James offered, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
Regulus scrunched up his face. “You are a married man, Lord Potter. Have some decency.”
The redheaded woman snorted and James grinned fondly, leaning in to kiss Reg gently. On the forehead. The man angled his face up and easily accepted the affection.
He watched the couple leave, only allowing an equally as fond smile to grace his face when they’d left his sight.
“So what book do you want me to read to you today while your parents try for a sibling for you, Hadrian?” Regulus greatly enjoyed this stage of toddlerhood where he could still stay things like that without having to answer questions. Mainly because Harry could not talk yet.
The man stood, his son still on one arm and walked over to the bookshelf. On the lowest shelf were Harry’s books. He had quite the collection, mainly because Regulus and Lily were of the opinion that they had to get him hooked on reading early lest he turn out like James.
It helped that Severus and Remus usually also gifted the little boy books and so did Barty on the rare occasions that Reg’s friend group met here, academically gifted genius that he was.
“How about the flying rabbit? Would you enjoy that, Hadrian?” Unlike his boyfriend and his boyfriend’s wife, Regulus never spoke to the toddler in baby talk.
Harry babbled happily.
“Yeah, I thought so.”
~•~
Regulus got through seven books and a hot cocoa before James and Lily re-emerged, flushed and grinning.
~•~
“You know, you said Severus was going to be the godfather of your second child,” Barty started and Regulus shot him a suspicious look.
“Mhm.” It had been a wild few days of discussion when Harry had been on the way, but ultimately they had agreed that Sirius would get first godfather due to being Regulus’ brother and James’ best friend and a close friend of Lily’s.
Which was also a tiny bit because while Severus had apologized and everyone had apologized, the tension between him and the marauders right after school had still been there.
James had considerably warmed up to him now that the potions apprentice was predictably smitten with Harry and spoiled him in his own, distant way.
“So does that mean that I’m going to be the godfather of your third?” Barty finished lazily.
Regulus was pretty sure that the other man wasn’t all that interested in the actual answer, mainly asking to get a rise out of Reg.
The pale man stared incredulously at his best friend.
Not because he thought that Barty wouldn’t make a good godfather or because he didn’t trust him with his child, but because well, that meant he thought they’d have a third child.
It also meant that he thought one of Regulus’ people would get to be godfather.
Barty was smirking at him, as if he saw all of his thought progress, the prick.
The Black heir opted not to reply to the question instead of dwelling on his feelings.
“Are you shoving all of your emotions away again?” Barty probed, because he was a fucker and couldn’t let things just be.
“It’s called occlumency and your impulsive ass would benefit from it,” Regulus shot back.
Crouch laughed. “Oh, ickle little Black got claws.”
The Slytherin flipped his best friend off just as Evan re-entered the room.
“Leave Regulus alone,” he immediately said, not even needing the context to jump to his former housemate’s aid.
The Ravenclaw shrugged and then tugged on Evan’s wrist, having him tumble into his lap.
The Rosier heir laughed in surprise at his lover’s actions.
“I’m just questioning Regulus about his commitment issues,” Barty stated, pressing his cheek against Evan’s. “Why aren’t you married yet, Reginald?”
Regulus stiffened slightly. Barty knew where to press. “Why aren’t you?” he snapped back.
The Crouch Lord snaked his arms around Evan, pulling him tighter to his chest.
“Because Evan won’t accept my proposal,” the sandy-haired man said, grinning at his lover in a way even Regulus could recognize as seductive. “But I’ll definitely be trying to convince him again once you’re gone.”
Evan blushed and Regulus rolled his eyes, standing abruptly.
“Why does everything revolve around sex with you two?” he asked in a scathing tone they would be able to tell was not actually all that real and stalked over to their fireplace.
“Why does nothing with you?” Barty called after him.
Regulus called out the Potter Manor and stepped into green flames.
~•~
The younger Black brother asked Remus if he could borrow one of his human psychology books about relationship styles. To his credit, the werewolf didn’t push.
~•~
“Smoking’s bad for you,” Sirius said without even a greeting as he stepped out on the porch to where Regulus was exhaling smoke.
“Pot, Kettle,” he shot back, offering his brother a cigarette.
Lord Black took it with a grin and a wink.
Neither of them smoked often or ‘correctly’ as Lily called it. Mainly because they didn’t inhale the smoke, but simply let it linger in their mouths.
Individually, apparently, they’d both decided that they liked the taste of smoke.
Sometimes, Remus and Lily joined them outside, both of which smoked with much more conviction, if rarely, but today it was only the Black brothers.
Regulus watched his brother light a flame on the tip of his finger.
While Reg was great at school, brought home top marks and held the prefect and later Head boy position, Sirius was… well, he was much more talented in the magic department.
Even as a child, his accidental magic had been much wilder than his younger brother’s and what Regulus did through the impressive amount of spells he knew, Sirius did through raw will.
It said a lot about their differences as people.
And why they were even talking to each other again. If it had been two Regulus’, they would have had a feud until the day they died and then some longer.
“Poser,” the younger man snarked at the show of wandless magic.
“Jealous prick,” Sirius replied easily, tossing him a glittering smirk.
They both knew it was true, so Regulus just conceded the point and moved on.
“Why are you letting Mother and Father stay in Grimmauld’s place still?”
Sirius hesitated, cigarette between his lips, clearly not having expected the topic. Normally, they never brought up their parents nor the fact thay Regulus still sometimes visited, coming back from the visits with barely contained tension and anxious magic flickering around him.
“‘Cus you asked me to,” the other answered, gray yes meeting their counterparts.
They looked very similar, the Black brothers. Both had the curls and high cheekbones, the aristocratic tilt of their mouths and slender builds.
Sirius had muscle packed onto his frame though while Reg stayed lithe.
Sirius had long hair while Regulus couldn’t bear his to be over his ears, curling tightly right at his scalp instead.
Sirius was handsome and his brother was beautiful.
James called him handsome often, Regulus that was, because he knew that it was a real insecurity of his boyfriend. Not a strong one or the man would never allow Barty to call him ‘Pretty boy’ when he wanted to tease, but still there.
“What do you think they’ll say if I marry James?” The Slytherin had been raised a Black and then trained in his house’s common room, so he was well capable to not fidget under his brother’s sharp glance, but he knew Sirius would still know he felt the urge.
“They’d have a conniption,” the dog animagus replied with that glint in his eyes he only ever gained when he could trash talk their parents.
It was precisely why Regulus didn’t usually bring up Orion and Walburga.
“Why, are you thinking of accepting his proposal?” A beat, then Sirius corrected himself, the malicious glint having turned mischievous. “Proposals. Plural. My bad.”
Regulus fought the urge to flip him off, instead taking the last drag of his cigarette.
“How many has it been now?” his brother continued on when Regulus didn’t reply. “Seven? I mean, I’m actually sure it was seven because James came to agonize over it every single time as if it was the first.”
Why had Reg started this conversation again?
“It must be perfect, Padfoot, you don’t get it,” Sirius said in a decent mimickry of James.
Oh right, because he’d wanted to have this conversation but as soon as it got to the emotional part of it, he once again chickened out. There was a reason he wasn’t the Gryffindor brother, thank you very much.
Regulus stared at Sirius blankly.
The older man abruptly stopped joking. “Are you?”
And Regulus did, what Regulus did best.
He turned into a cat.
“Oh for fuck’s sake, Reggie,” he could hear his brother above him, the abrupt shift of senses familiar but still disorienting.
“You can’t animagi your way out of every conversation, you emotionally constipated little wanker.”
Regulus could, actually.
~•~
Regulus found himself doodling a heart on Harry’s scribbled drawing. It read ‘Mr. Regulus Potter.’ Horrified, he burned the thing.
~•~
“We should talk about what we want Harry to call you two, now that he is talking more,” Lily said during breakfast one morning.
Her red hair was in a messy bun and she was wearing one of James’ shirts. If Regulus swung that way, he would be attracted right now, but even he could appreciate how stunning his boyfriend’s wife managed to be in every attire.
It helped that the shirt was green, making her eyes pop.
“Well, I suppose Reg would be fine,” Regulus mused from where he was mushing up a banana for a whining Harry. “Since Regulus is hard to pronounce for a toddler. Or do you think Reg is too hard as well? It does have an R-sound.”
He looked up when neither answered, meeting their stares flatly. “What?” he snapped, immediately on the defensive.
Maybe it was because he didn’t usually speak much at a time.
“Darling,” James started after a look at Lily who, for once in her life looked supremely out of her depth. “Why would our son call you by your name?”
The heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Insanity lifted an eyebrow. “Because that’s usually what people call each other?”
Very carefully, the former Evans put her fork down.
They once again exchanged a glance and Regulus all but shoved the banana at the little boy who happily started munching it. Messily, because children were sooo messy.
“Just spit it out,” the youngest bit out. “And spare me from your Gryffindor sense of subtlety.”
Both looked mildly offended at that, James more so than Lily. It was a satisfactory reaction. It was the truth, after all. They were not subtle and it was painful to watch them try to be.
“He’s our son,” James said, circling himself, Lily and Regulus to show that he meant all three of them.
The black-haired man nodded.
“So why would he not call you something parental?” the redheaded woman interjected when it was clear that her husband was struggling.
Oh.
Ohhhh.
“You’d be okay with that?” Regulus hated how small his voice sounded and he pulled the calm of occlumency over his brain, smoothing his face back into indifference.
“Yes. Of course, yes. What do you think you are to us, you idiot?” James burst out and Regulus tried not to get distracted by the way the other man’s face managed to look handsome even when he was frustrated. Or maybe exactly when he was frustrated.
“What James is trying to say,” Lily said with a roll of her eyes at her husband’s outburst, “You are a part of our unit. Whether you want to name that by marrying James or not and no matter if Harry came from my womb, he is as much your son as he is ours. I know for sure you call him your son, I’ve heard it. So why shouldn’t you get to be called a fatherly title?”
They gave him time to think that over. Regulus stared at Harry. It was true, he called him his son and also referred to himself as a father when he lamented that James and Lily had really hurried the fuck up and he was too young to be one. Mainly because Harry had been an accident, a happy accident, but an accident none the less.
And even if Reg wouldn’t have necessarily chosen to become a father at 20, coparenting with two 22 year olds, he would not exchange it for the world.
In fact, he was not lying when he told Harry that his parents were trying for a sibling, not wanting too large of an age gap and he was excited for it.
“Yeah,” the Black heir said eventually. “Yeah, I’d like him to call me something like that.”
James smiled as brilliantly as the sun and Lily too looked elated.
In the beginning, Regulus was pretty sure that Lily was less than happy to share a boyfriend with Reg of all people. They’d not gotten along, both too sarcastic for their own goods and too witty to not be able to cut deep with their words. It didn’t help that back then, his and Sirius’ relationship had been more tense than brotherly.
Still, both had tried to be civil for James’ sake.
Then, one late night, shortly before the Seventh Years left Hogwarts for good and thus left Regulus alone for his last year of schooling, Lily had found him outside.
‘You are breaking curfew,’ she’d said. ‘I could take points, I’m a prefect.’
‘So are you and so could I.’
‘Why are you crying?’ She’d sat down next to him and he’d scowled at her, because how dare she point out that he was indeed crying.
‘James is leaving Hogwarts,’ Regulus had replied and to this day he didn’t know what had compelled him to be honest.
‘Jealous?’ she’d asked with a slightly mean smirk.
‘Yeah,’ he’d admitted simply.
“I think, I’d like to be Papa,” the Potter Lord said, effectively drawing Reg from his memories.
“You look like a Papa,” Lily stated in a tone that left it very open to interpretation if it was a compliment or an insult. Regulus would bet on both.
“Why thank you,” the man replied simply, grinning at his wife.
Trust him to just take it as a compliment.
“Dad,” Regulus stated, going back to smearing jam on his toast.
He ignored the fond looks he got.
~•~
Harry’s first word was ‘Dada’ and if Barty claimed that Regulus cried about it, he was a dirty liar who lied.
~•~
“So, do you have ideas on what to name them?” Evan asked politely.
They were sitting in the Potter living room, Evan leaning against Barty, Regulus next to them.
James and Lily were opposite to them and Sirius and Remus were there too, the former having slung a friendly arm around the redhead.
In the lone armchair, Severus was sitting, back ramrod straight and looking like he was only not fleeing because of the toddler in his lap. The toddler who was playing with the man’s long, straight hair. Severus looked like he was debating murder, but he was not fooling anyone in the room.
He adored Harry like they all did, even Barty reluctantly pulled into the child’s unique charm.
“Teddy,” Sirius announced.
Evan smiled lightly, but Barty turned a withering look on Reg’s brother. “Wow, thank you ever so much, we did not know that information,” he stated, sarcasm dripping heavily from his words.
Mainly because Sirius had stated it at least seven times today already. That and the fact that the child’s legal name would be Edmund, since the werewolf at least seemed to have the good grace to not name his son a nickname on paper.
Remus next to him looked amused, but the Black Lord stuck his tongue out at Barty.
The two didn’t not get along, not exactly, but they also didn’t get along necessarily. They tolerated each other. Barely.
Regulus rolled his eyes at them.
“I was asking the Potters and Reg,” Evan interjected before his partner and friend’s brother could escalate to hexes, as they often did when in the same room.
It was somewhat good-natured usually. Small mercies.
“You’ll find out,” James replied with an easy grin and Evan accepted the answer, melting more into his partner who was still glaring at Sirius but still tightened his grip on the Rosier Lord.
That had been a newer development, Evan’s fayher biting the grass about three weeks ago.
Reg had heard Lily give her condolences earlier, but he knew that Evan had only been relieved, even if he hadn’t necessarily wanted the Lordship.
His dad had been a right bastard.
“Come on, give us a hint,” Sirius said, abruptly abandoning glaring at Barty to whine at James instead. He’d not found it very amusing that they were keeping the names secret, even if they’d done it for Harry already.
“No,” Regulus said stoically.
Camellia and Alexander. Or Cammie and Xander, since Lily and James seemed physically unable of calling their children by their beautiful given names.
It had been a surprise when the diagnostic spell had shown them that Lily was pregnant with twins, but they’d been more than elated.
As had Sirius been, especially since Marlene, who wanted to experience being pregnant but did not want a child in the slightest, had agreed to carry a child for Remus and him. She’d gotten pregnant about two months before Lily had, so their children would be very close in age.
They’d had a sit down to talk about godfathers, since Sirius could not decide between James and Regulus. Since the younger knew how much it meant to his boyfriend, he’d all but shoved the role at him.
Speaking of.
Regulus straightened slightly and James and Lily mirrored him.
“Severus,” the green-eyed woman started. “Would you like to be the godfather of our son?”
Regulus was looking at the older man, so he caught the moment the words registered with the Potions Master. His eyes blew wide in a way he’d never seen on the other.
Severus was the best at occlumency from their whole house, at least from the time Reg attended Hogwarts.
“I-... yes. Yes, I’d love to,” the man choked out. James accepted Harry easily when Severus handed him over so the man could hug his best friend.
Regulus could hear Lily whisper to Sev, but couldn’t quite make the words out. When she pulled back, the man’s dark eyes were suspiciously misty though.
James looked at Regulus and the younger sighed. “Barty,” he started and his best friend looked at him sharply.
Despite the Crouch Lord’s prickly demeanour, Reg knew that it would actually mean a lot to the other to be made godfather. He also knew that he didn’t expect it, since traditonally, girls had a godmother. Lily had pretty much said ‘Fuck traditions’ when Regulus had brought it up and both men had accepted it.
“Would you like to be the godfather of our daughter?” the man asked smoothly and for a moment, Barty’s usually mask of cocky smiles and cutting sarcasm broke.
Sirius looked like he’d bitten into somethib sour and Severus looked mildly relieved, probably because he’d hoped not to have to co-godfather with a Marauder.
“Sure,” Barty drawled and the two exchanged a smirk.
“What a touching reaction,” Sirius commented, but James laughed and as such none of them started an argument.
Even Barty for once looked like he didn’t want to, looking at Reg softer than the other had ever seen him.
“Rabastan will be so jealous,” the Crouch said gleefully.
“Rabastan hates children,” Severus commented from where he was sitting. He’d know, one of his best friends other than Lily was Rodolphus and the Lestrange brothers shared their distaste for children.
“Yes, but he’s a competitive bastard,” Evan commented from where he was sleepily leaning against his lover.
“Language,” Lily admonished sharply, gesturing towards the toddler who now very much spoke and started to mimic things already. She also looked vaguely surprised that the curse word was coming from Evan. The Rosier portrayed himself as nothing other than perfectly polite and pleasant in public, even if he was slowly starting to drop the act around Reg’s beloved.
“I apologize, Lady Potter,” Evan said smoothly, putting on a flawless act of regret, aided by a charming half-smile.
Lily blinked. “Oh, uhm, that’s alright, don’t worry, Rosier.”
Regulus smirked. “He’s playing you Lils.”
The redhead rolled her eyes as she realized. “Slytherins,” she said without any heat and Evan’s smile widened into something genuine.
“Right?” Barty agreed. “That’s why I went to Ravenclaw.”
“Could have had me fooled,” Sirius grumbled, not one to pass up an opportunity to needle Crouch.
“Why thank you,” Barty replied sweetly.
Regulus exchanged a long-suffering look with James, biting back a laugh.
Idiots, the lot of them.
~•~
“So, what’s her name?” Barty asked a week later when the two of them were in the Crouch’s family home’s laboratory, brewing.
Regulus threw in some crushed shells, side-eyeing his friend. “I’m not supposed to tell you.”
The sandy-haired man sent him his best innocent smile. “I won’t tell the missus.”
Regulus ignored him, continuing to brew. A few minutes later, he simply said: “Camellia.”
Barty grinned triumphantly.
~•~
“So many grandchildren,” Monty said with a laugh, looking absolutely delighted by the development.
He held Cammie in one arm and Teddy in the other, while Effie had Harry in her lap. Xander was being held by Regulus.
Unlike with Harry, who had not been planned, the twins had been and as such, after long discussion, they’d agreed on a procedure that would make it a possibility that they were Reg’s biological children too. How exactly it worked, he wasn’t sure and also didn’t want to know because it made him squeamish, but something of his had been put into Lily.
Much to his delight, while Alexander looked a lot like Harry had when he’d been that age, he opened his eyes to showcase gray.
Camellia had her mother’s green eyes and maybe a slight red tint to her hair, but much like her brothers, she looked a lot like James.
‘Merlin, did you guys’ genes even fight?’ Sirius had commented when he’d first seen the twins.
He had a point. All three children had the coffee skin of the Potters and the wild Potter hair and James’ nose.
‘Right back at you,’ Reg shot back, because Teddy was a brown-haired little angel with brown eyes. He looked exactly like pictures Regulus had seen of Remus as a child.
“Grandma, Papa lemme fly,” Harry declared from his place in his grandmother’s lap.
When James caught his mother’s glare, he shrugged. “You can never start them too early.”
“Yes,” Lily hissed. “You can.”
“But Lils,” James started, before shrinking under her glare.
“Did you know about this?” Lily asked, whirling to Regulus next.
“No,” he replied and the way he too was glaring at James seemed to appease the redhead, because she focused her ire back on her husband.
“I did,” Sirius commented.
“You’re banned from our house,” Regulus said with a dead serious tone before Lily could say anything.
His brother gasped dramatically and Reg saw Euphemia hide a smile at her sons’ antics.
Before the argument could escalate further, Harry wriggled free from his grandmother’s lap and instead demanded to be held by his godfather.
Effie stood, walking over to Regulus. “May I?” she asked gently, not reaching for Alexander and instead waiting for the man to decide if he wanted to hand his child over.
The lithe male did so, sending the woman a fleeting smile.
Euphemia cooed at her grandson.
They slowly migrated to the couch. Unlike his boyfriend and his boyfriend’s wife and his brother and his brother’s husband, Regulus could never quite relax when they were at the Potters. They had accepted him into their family easily, but he felt stiff around Monty and Effie. Parents were complicated.
He also felt stiff around Lily’s parents who adored the quiet young man.
And Lyall Lupin, who he’d only seen once and disliked on principle.
Luckily, his friends all had shitty relationships with their parents so those two were the only ones he had to meet. Which was pretty morbid humor, to be fair.
As such, Regulus was quiet as Sirius chattered with Monty and James with Effie and Remus and Lily with each other. He wanted to go home.
Cammie started fussing and then, quickly, started to cry and Regulus nearly jumped physically at the chance to take her off Monty’s arm. “I’ll go walk around with her a little bit,” he muttered, pretending that he didn’t feel James’ concerned look on him.
“Shush, Camellia,” Regulus said softly, gently rocking his daughter.
When the girl didn’t stop sobbing, he opened his mouth. By now, he was outside, walking back and forth on the porch.
“You are a child of the stars,” he sang quietly. “Shout what has been unsung.”
The girl slowly started to calm down.
“Open all the doors around you. Use the power in your lungs. I can only lead you so far. I believe in whooo you are.”
Finally, Cammie was only hiccuping calmly, Regulus reducing himself to humming.
“You’re a great dad.”
Immediately, Reg tensed, hand notably not going for the wand strapped to his arm, mainly because his child was in the way, instead going for the hidden knife on his side. Then, he registered the words and the figure and relaxed.
Camellia, alarmed by the sudden movement, started to cry again.
“I’m sorry, baby,” he muttered into her wild curls, starting to rock her again.
“I didn’t mean to startle you,” Monty said, stepping out of the dark.
“It’s fine,” Regulus replied shortly, sighing in relief when Cammie quieted down quickly.
They stayed silent for a bit.
“Thanks,” the Black said eventually, because well, it had been a compliment.
“You’re very good for our sons,” Monty continued and Reg had to look away from him, trying to fight a blush.
“They’re good for me,” he said, voice cool and collected even if his face burned.
Monty just grinned at him.
~•~
Regulus hated crafts, but he helped Harry put some glitter on his Fathers Day card for Monty.
~•~
“Check mate,” Rabastan said, moving his rook.
Regulus looked and it was indeed a check mate.
“Where’s your head today, Reginald? You just got beat by Rabastan. Rabastan.” The repetition of the name was said with an emphasis that had Rab flip Barty off.
“Fuck you, Crouch, but also, he’s got a point, Black.”
Regulus shrugged.
He was at Barty’s, with Rabastan, Evan and Cereus.
“I think I want to marry James,” he blurted out and his four friends turned to look at him.
“Since when?” the Greengrass heiress asked, lifting one, pale eyebrow.
The black-haired man shrugged somewhat helplessly. “I thought I didn’t want to get married because of my parents, but I do want to get married and not doing it because it’s what they want for me is letting them win.”
They stared at him, clearly shell-shocked at the amount of words he’d just spoken.
“I doubt your parents will be happy with you marrying a male Potter in any case,” Evan snorted.
Reg cracked up too, even if he felt more desperate than anything else. He didn’t know when he’d last wanted to do something this much nor had he known until the exact moment he’d told his friends that he was sure about this.
“I’m going to go tell him,” Regulus said, jumping up.
“Right now?” Rabastan asked, flabbergasted.
“Isn’t it their alone time right now?” Crouch asked at the same time, making a lewd movement with his hand.
The Black spare, Teddy was now the heir, shook his head. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Crouch. They have the kids.”
He walked over to the fireplace.
“Speaking of kids, when can we see our daughter?” Evan called after him.
The couple was absolutely smitten with Camellia and frankly, they spoiled her. They would also be the types of uncles who would teach her how to castrate a man who was being inappropriate towards her once she was older, so he let them.
“My daughter,” Regulus corrected with a half-hearted glare and then, “just come by tomorrow.”
“I’m inviting myself to that,” Cereus declared and that was the last he heard before he stepped out of the fireplace in their home.
He was treated to the sight of Harry making the twins float while both parents had their wands out, ready to catch them should his magic stop.
The little boy had an extraordinarily strong accidental magic already and stuff was regularly floating around or changing color in their house.
“Reggie?” James asked at the same time as Harry gently let his siblings down and screamed “Daddy”, throwing himself at the man.
Regulus caught him with instinct honed by years of being a father.
“You’re back early,” Lily commented, tucking a strand of her fiery hair behind her ear.
“I want to get married,” Reg said in the same hasty manner as he’d told his friends.
James stopped, hands shaking ever so slightly, gorgeous hazel eyes fixed on his boyfriend with an awed, dazed look in his face. “Reg, are you saying what I think…”
Regulus closed the distance between them, Harry still in his arms. “Yes. Yes I want to marry you, James Potter.”
James made a sound like a dying bird, before he broke into the most brilliant of smiles. Since Reg had his hands full, it was James who put his hands on the other’s face and tugged him into a kiss.
Regulus kissed back despite not caring for kissing, enjoying it in this rare moment since he knew what it means for his boyf-... fiancé.
Then he pulled back, oddly breathless.
Harry looked from one of them to the other, slightly confused, but also happy with them being happy.
When Regulus looked past James and at the other’s wife, he found Lily grinning, tears in her eyes. When she caught him looking, her grin widened. “I’m planning the wedding,” she declared.
“Yes dear,” Reg said in a sarcastic voice and she laughed.
James tugged him into a tight hug and Regulus let himself melt into it, their son happily squeaking at being lightly squished between them.
He didn’t think he’d ever been this happy.
~•~
“James, how long have you had this ring?” Regulus asked, looking at the silver band with the stars engraved, a perfect piece to go alongside James’ golden sun ring and Lily’s rose gold one with little comets.
“Ever since Lils and I got married.”
Regulus smiled.
“It’s perfect.”