KNOWING ME KNOWING YOU ⇒ jegulus one shots

JAMES AND THE FAILED POST DIVORCE PRANK

Slowly, James unlocks the front door, leading Regulus inside. "Um, welcome back," James tries to smile. "The cats missed you,"

Regulus smiles tiredly. He looks down to his feet; Salem and Kasper swarm him; two sleek black cats he had missed every night since he had agreed that it would be best if James kept them in their familiar environment; their once shared home.

"Hello, boys," Regulus smiles tenderly, bending down to gently scoop them both up. They had adopted their cats when they had been a few weeks old and brought into a shelter. They're brothers. James often joked that Kasper is Sirius, while Regulus is Salem.

"Don't strain your back, especially with Kasper. I've been, um, very generous with his meals lately," James laughs a little. He strokes a hand across Kasper's back. "Haven't I, Kas?" He hums.

"I've missed them," Regulus utters as he holds them close to him, relishing at their soft, humming pur sounds.

"You...you could've come to visit them, I wouldn't have stopped you,"

"I know that," Regulus nods swiftly. "I...I was trying to figure out how to grow a baby, James, I didn't really have the time," He pauses. "Or the courage, I suppose." He shrugs.

"Well then, did you figure it out? How to grow a baby?" James smirks a little. He sighs, continuing. "Reg...you're always welcome here. I...I just wish I'd known about our son sooner, I...I've missed out on so much-"

"He's due in December, so hopefully he's going to be a Sagittarius, he's supposedly quite small for four months, so I'm hoping he's going to get bigger soon. He likes I when I take really, really absurdly long baths but he hates it if I eat anything dairy. He kind of likes cherries, though, I assume, because that's all I've been craving lately," Regulus exhales, shyly.

James smiles, feeling his world come to a halt as he looks to meet Regulus' bright eyes. This is the man he was married to for six years; the man he slept beside nightly for almost eight years. This was his man, his Regulus, the mother of his child. He feels his heart combust at the idea of them sharing a child, of them creating a child.

"He must be tiny, Regulus," James says softly, his tone quiet and gentle. "You barely have a bump,"

Regulus gently places the cats back to the shiny timber floors. He straightens himself out, shaking his head with a soft chuckle. "I'm not tiny. I'm just wearing Ted's jumper," He laughs slightly as he glances down at his, Ted's, grey crew neck.

James laughs gently at this. He eyes Regulus middle. There isn't any indication of his pregnancy. He looks, to put it simply, just as he always has; sweet and soft and delicate but yet so strong and brave.

"Um, could...could I-" James cuts himself off. "No, no, forget it. I...I probably shouldn't ask that of you-"

Regulus cuts James off by stepping forward a little, so that they are closer now and the distance between them seperates. Wordlessly, he reaches for James' hand and softly places it above his lower abdomen. He mumbles quietly, "He usually sits around here, um, my doctor says that he likes to sit low, apparently it's common with boys,"

James frowns. "I...I don't feel anything,"

He can't feel his son. Is he a terrible dad already? Had he missed that much? To the extent that his son is giving him the silent treatment?

"Shush, just give him a second,"

James is about to speak again when he feels the thumping. He stares down at Regulus' belly in awe, his eyes wild with something. "Fuck," He utters. "He's...he's really kicking, isn't he?"