Jegulus: Oneshots <3

Tired </3

After a moment of James staring off into space, Regulus opened his notebook and began sketching again.

James leaned his head back on the couch and stared at the ceiling blankly for a little while while he listened to Regulus' quill scratch across the paper.

Regulus focused intently on drawing James' sharp cheek bones, and the way his glasses sat on his nose. He made smile lines around James' eyes, something he always admired.

James' focus on the ceiling didn't break until Reg tapped his shoulder gently. James looked at him with curious eyes and Regulus held up the sketch.

James felt his heart thud quicker against his chest. It was him. A better version of him, a happy, handsome version. But Reg had drawn him. James couldn't help but smile.

"It's really good Reggie."

"You think?"

"I really do."

Cautiously, Regulus ripped the page out, signed the bottom, and handed it to James. "Get some sleep James," he murmured softly before quickly exiting the common room with his belongings.

He was gone quicker than James could even register. But he felt a bit better, so dragged himself back upstairs and collapsed into bed.

Another time, Regulus and James were in transfiguration. A pointless class, according to Regulus but nonetheless, he was paying close attention to the teachers lecture when he heard an outburst.

"I said shove off!" James snapped suddenly from the back of the room. One of the Slytherin boys taunting him looked towards Regulus, who shook his head subtly. The boy backed off of James, who was already getting scolded and points taken away from Gryffindor for the outburst. He just lay his head down on the desk, going silent.

Regulus lost all ability to focus for the rest of class.

He managed to catch up with James after class, who was walking quite a few paces behind his friends. "Hey," Regulus said quietly. James jumped a bit, not noticing the shorter boy right away.

"Hey Reg.."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm just tired," James responded softly, running a hand through his messy hair.

"Do you want to talk about it?"
Regulus didn't even know what he was saying. He didn't have anything in common with James, he wouldn't be any help if James really did tell him what he was going through.

It didn't matter anyway. James shook his head and smiled weakly at Reggie before slipping off.

It was dark, and snores filled the Slytherin common room. Regulus couldn't sleep. The interaction between him and James kept him up, playing over and over in his mind.

Eventually, it frustrated him enough that he slid out of bed, his feet freezing in the cold basement floor. He snuck out of the room, pulling socks over his feet on the way out.

Regulus couldn't shake this bad feeling in his chest. He paced the halls for a while, trying to calm him mind. Nothing was working. He was worried about James. And he couldn't even explain why.

Regulus eventually wandered to the library, opening the door with a whispered spell and sliding in. He set himself down on the couch, still cautious of his foot and hauled out a book from a nearby shelf when he heard it.

A soft whimper. Too quiet to be heard, if it wasn't dead silent in the library. Regulus figured some homesick first year had snuck off to have their pity party in private but the sick feeling in Reg's stomach wouldn't cease.

Slowly, he crept around the shelves and towards the noise, only to stumble upon a familiar face.

"James," he sighed and bent down next to the boy. "What's wrong?"

James' cheeks were red and wet with tears. He sniffled a bit and put his head in his knees, waving Regulus off. "I'm fine. I'm just-"

"James don't you dare say you're tired," Regulus warned, rubbing James arm absentmindedly with his thumb.

"I am. I'm tired," James managed, his voice breaking as the floodgates opened up again. Regulus, at a loss, pulled James close and clutched the boy in his arms while he shook with sobs.

"James..."

"I'm sorry," he cried, his voice an octave higher than usual. "I'm sorry."

"James, it's okay."  

Regulus felt his heart breaking. He held James as tight as possible, whispering soothing things in his mess of hair as the boy simply cracked open.

"I'm so tired of it all," James whispered into Regulus' shirt. "I'm so tired."

"I know. I know James." Regulus wasn't sure he could get James any closer to him, but he still pulled him tighter and rested his lips on his head. "It's okay," he whispered.

James continued to sob, brushing tears and snot off his face with the back of this hand. Regulus didn't even care. James, this perfect example of everything Reg wanted, was falling apart in his arms.

After a while, James cried himself out and was half asleep against Regulus' chest. Gently, Reg brushed tears off of James' cheeks and smiled when the boy gave a weak, sleepy grin at the touch.

It took ten minutes, but Regulus was finally able to coax James over the one of the library couches. Mere minutes later, James was passed out on Regulus' again, his breathing steady.

From then on, Regulus kept a closer eye on James Potter. Happy to watch him be his bubbly, excited, loud self, and there for him when he needed to be the opposite.

Regulus went back to being the watcher. He rarely spoke. But it was different this time. It didn't escape the notice of their peers that when James didn't seem himself, they could find Regulus hovering near him. 

Students watched as quiet, antisocial Regulus would whisper words into James ear and kiss him on the cheek when the two thought they were alone.

But only James and Regulus knew.
They knew how if James has a bad day, they talk and sleep in the library until dawn.
They knew if James seems down, Regulus will whisper encouragement in his ear, subtle, but enough to make James smile reappear for a bit.
They knew that they'll always be there for eachother - even if they won't admit it.

(...sorry if it's not any good lol, but I do end up thinking that about everything I write and I haven't had any complains from you guys. also, I'm sorry it took so long <3 feel free to point out mistakes that I can fix or place an idea in the comments because I'm always low on ideas) 1600 words