Prompt 31 - Age
@jegulus-microfic July 31, Word count 994
This is the final part of the Apple Core series
Previous part First part
James had been worried that Regulus would struggle to furnish his new flat and had offered to buy him what he needed, no strings attached. But Regulus had been smart. After he’d watched what happened to his brother, left penniless and with nothing but the clothes on his back, he made a contingency plan. Every pound he made went into a separate bank account to which only he had access and now had a healthy little nest egg, albeit a slightly smaller one after their shopping spree.
James had sweet-talked the assistant in the furniture shop into giving Regulus a nice discount on the pieces he’d picked out. Everything was loaded up onto the truck as Regulus paid and was being unloaded by the time they’d walked the short distance back to the flat.
“Did you buy the whole shop or something?” Sirius snorted as he waited on the street.
“Something like that,” Regulus grinned.
Sirius insisted on helping take the heavy items upstairs. So James suggested that Regulus wait on the street and keep an eye on his things.
It took an age to get everything upstairs. Sirius left them to unpack while he went to help Remus with the café.
“Wow, this sofa’s comfortable,” James said as he bounced up and down on it a few times, settling in.
“Hey, you can sit later, come and help me put the bed together,” Regulus ordered. James didn’t argue. He hopped up and followed Regulus into the bedroom. It was a bit of a squeeze putting it all together but eventually, there was a bed.
“Now for the best bit,” James waggled his eyebrows suggestively at Regulus. Regulus jumped up and put his hands over the wriggling brows. “I meant unrolling the mattress. Gees Regulus get your head out of the gutter.” That earned him a few huffs and light smacks to his chest. He hauled the heavy box in and upturned it, letting the compressed mattress slowly slide out. “Want to do the honours?” He asked, holding up the little bag opener that came with the mattress. Regulus took it, and with his tongue poking out between his lips as he concentrated, he drew a long straight line down the plastic and watched as the squashy mattress expanded out of its casing. They both flopped onto it side by side.
“I think I picked the right mattress. Regulus groaned as the memory foam cradled his body.
“I could get used to this,” James sighed, reaching his arms further up the bed until they brushed against the wooden headboard.
“Oi, you two, if you’re shagging, stop and get down here, it’s barbecue time!” Sirius shouted up the stairs to them. With big sighs, James and Regulus reluctantly left the bed and trudged down the stairs.
Sirius and Remus lived around the corner in a sweet little ground-floor flat that came with a garden. It was a lot bigger and a lot nicer than the one Regulus now lived in, but they’d put a lot of effort into making it that way.
James walked straight through and started getting the barbecue set up. Sirius and Remus were useless when it came to getting the thing going and James quite enjoyed watching the fire light. Regulus came up behind him and watched as he piled the coals just right and added the firelighters. He stuck the long lighter in and clicked the button until the flame lit and held it near the firelighters. It didn’t take much and then heat blasted out of the base.
“Want the tour?” He asked, waving at the flat.
“Yeah, okay,” Regulus gave a half smile, but followed James back into the flat. He started in the living room.
“They’ve got a very soft sofa as well,” James grinned, bouncing on it the same way he had on Regulus’s earlier.
“If you break it, Potter, you’re paying for another one. Remember last time?” Remus poked his head out of the kitchen and raised his brow. James flushed as he remembered their old sofa that had broken in half when he’d had one too many and tried to wrestle it.
“Er, yeah, sorry, Moony,”
“You broke a sofa?!” Regulus whispered unbelievably to him when Remus was out of sight.
“Yeah, but it was old and buggered before I tried to put it in a headlock.” He tried to explain. Regulus shook his head in disbelief.
“Right show me the rest of this flat then,”
James showed him the bathroom, and they poked their heads into the bedroom. Regulus didn’t linger once he saw what was on the bedside table. They finally went to look in the kitchen. It was tiny but Sirius and Remus had made good use of the small space. Every scrap of counter, however, was full of dishes for their meal.
“Right start taking this stuff out,” Sirius ordered as he finished mixing some sort of salad dressing.
James and Remus cooked while Sirius handed out beers, and they sat down in the warm sun to eat. James was stuffed but still had room for a few toasted marshmallows. He looked over at Regulus and Sirius scrolling through TicTok together, laughing at the videos. He felt incredibly happy and lucky and all over a dropped apple core. They might just be starting out, but he could already see the mending relationship between the two brothers, so even if they didn’t work out, he’d always be glad Regulus had that, he’d make sure of it.
“WHAT THE ACTUAL!!!” Sirius yelled at the phone in his hands. He began furiously scrolling through videos, getting redder and redder. James peeked over his shoulder and paled. Sirius had stumbled onto Wormtail’s account. James grabbed Regulus’s hand and whispered in his ear.
“Scarper?!” The other man nodded. James blew a kiss to Remus and then raced out of the place, Sirius’s ranting following them down the street as they headed back to Regulus's flat.
Second part of the series (Wolfstar)
