KNOWING ME KNOWING YOU ⇒ jegulus one shots

LILY, LILY, LILY

James isn’t sure how Lily convinces him to do shots, but he has a distinct feeling that Regulus was not the voice of reason when Lily suggested she and James get drunk on his behalf. It’s very strange for Regulus to be the sober one in the room, but he pays for the Chinese takeout they drunkenly order.

“Lily, what--”

She waves her hand dismissively. “Come on. Just tell me.”

“Tell you what?” James asks warily, and he nearly knocks over his beer.

“So, when did you two.......you know?” She waggles her eyebrows and they both laugh.

James' laugh, however, turns nervous. “What exactly are you asking me here, Evans?”

“James, you got him pregnant. You guys must’ve.” Lily stops mid-sentence, wrinkling her nose.

“She wants to know when we started fucking,” Regulus clarifies, swallowing his noodles with more enthusiasm than one would expect.

“Um... Well…...” James occupies himself with one of the boxes, poking at a piece of carrot with his chopsticks.

“What are you this all on counting, Evans?” Regulus finally asks.

Lily blushes. “Anything that involves,” She waves her hand vaguely in front of her crotch. She takes a swig of her beer and turns even redder, but waits for an answer.

“The day after you announced you were leaving for America,” Regulus says, his tone giving away nothing. “But he told me that you two were, well, ‘complicated.’” Regulus practically bites out the word.

Lily nods solemnly. “Uh huh. And that was.....?”

“Not a big deal,” Regulus supplies with a shrug when James buries his head.

“I just-" He cuts himself off. "It just happened,” James murmurs into a pillow.

“It wasn’t until I told him I was pregant that he even told me he liked me and we had been fucking for a few weeks by then.”

This is even more proof of just how much James Potter and Regulus Black didn't mean to concieve their baby.

James is pretty sure Regulus just likes saying shit like this and the glint in Regulus' eyes seems to agree with him.

Lily opens her mouth, scandalized, and turns to James. “You kissed me!” She says. “After that! A week after I said I was leaving, you kissed me!”

“Oh?” Regulus asks, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m feeling rather ganged up on here, maybe I should just-" James tries to stand and Lily tugs him back down.

“James,” Lily admonishes.

James lets out a long, loud groan. “Me and Reg were a thing before you left, alright? But not like......not like an actual thing, more like the construct of a thing, really? You getting me here?” James laughs nervously.

Lily looks at him, then turns to Regulus'. “That made no sense.”

Regulus has his box balanced on his rapidly growing bump and seems to stare at his food thoughtfully. “Most of our relationship has just......happened. When we started this, I knew that he was still in love with you.” He snorts, but doesn’t look up. “Shit, he still is half the time!”

Lily doesn’t know which of them to look at, or if she should look to anyone at all. She hadn’t meant to overstep any boundaries, but things have gotten weird anyway. Finally, she surreptitiously glances at James to find him staring at Regulus. He looks hurt. He looks guilty.

“Wow, it’s late,” Lily says. “I should be heading home.” She checks her bag, making sure she has everything, including a potion to nurse her potential hangover.

“Wait,” James says, and she looks at him like he’s lost his mind all together. “You should hear this, too.” His eyes plead with her and, giving in, Lily nods.

Regulus doesn’t say anything, but he watches James from beneath his bangs.

James stands up shakily and lets out a sigh. “He’s right,” He says, then addresses Regulus directly. “I told you I’ll always have feelings for her. And I do, I love her.”

Lily's face is distressed, caught between shock and horror at the situation she’s been put into. James holds up his hand.

“Just listen.” He kneels down in front of Regulus, his voice going soft and sweet. “Hey,” He says. “I know I did it wrong chasing after you yesterday. Saying I love you after I tell you I've still got feelings for Lily, but Regulus, baby......I'm not in love with her anymore. That love, i-it’s forever, yeah, but it’s.......we’re just friends.”

“Is the word you’re looking for ‘platonic,’ James?” Regulus asks drily.

“Is this the hormones?” James mutters and Lily looks somewhat outraged on Regulus' behalf, even if she thinks it might be true.

The heat of Regulus' glare could probably burn holes straight through James'  body.

Suddenly, Regulus deflates. “Probably,” he admits. “But you’ve gotta admit, James, ours isn’t exactly the epic romance.”

James smiles at him. “You sure about that? Guy knocks up his best mate's baby brother? Pretty Hollywood if you ask me, mama."

Regulus' eyes are sharp as he returns, “Baby brother and best mate accidentally make a baby and then navigate those waters together while best mate is fresh out of a childhood romance."

James tries for offended and fails, laughing. “See? Sounds pretty epic to me.” He nudges Regulus' knee with his elbow. “How ’bout that?”

Lily clears her throat. “Well, I think I've heard all I need to, so I’ll just leave you two to........do what you do.” She mentally retraces that sentence and shakes her head.

“See ya,” James mumbles, not daring to take his eyes off Regulus or his belly.

“Take the floo." Regulus says.

“Um. Thanks. I’ll just…” Lily backs out of the apartment slowly, feeling that drunk kind of dissociative that makes everything a shade more surreal.

It leaves James and Regulus alone together.

“Reg...…” James starts slowly, then he steals the box off of Regulus' belly and starts devouring it.

Regulus sighs. “I’m the one who’s eating for two, here. Give me nack my dinner,” He protests.

James barely swallows a mouthful of noodles before he’s pressing a kiss to Regulus' belly, situating himself even further between Regulus' legs on the floor and leaning up to kiss him.

Regulus responds to the kiss, letting it lull him into some sort of calm.

“So, you’re over this Lily thing now, right?” James asks, and falls over when Regulus shoves him back and storms off. “Does that mean yes?” He calls after him. “No?”

Regulus doesn’t tell James that he owls Lily an apology for his dramatics, but it had been one thing to know, objectively, that James had been carrying a torch for Lily when their relationship began, that they were maybe still together.

It is another thing entirely to have it talked about in no uncertain terms while he’s pregnant with James Potter's kid. He had taken the opportunity to react to both of these notions in quick succession.